HOW KOOL!

PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES.................



Unique house in Belgium with two balconies designed by Bassam El-Okeily from Egypt. In addition to looking cool during the day, every night the townhouse is transformed into a beautiful art installation by soft lights.

SHREWD DESIGN

NO BILLBOARD IS SAFE


The Billboard Liberation Front (BLF) is honored to announce a new marketing partnership with Philip Morris that finally brings together the rugged sense of American independence with your most important choice as a consumer: your death.  Philip Morris brings this message to the consumer to remind them that some rights are inalienable in life as they are in death. All former Marlboro Men, Wayne McLaren, David McLean and Dick Hammer, were unavailable for comment due to their rugged, manly choice of death by lung cancer.








Professional provocateur group The Billboard Liberation Front has struck again, lending their billboard modification skills to the Final Exit Network's controversial advertisement - or, rather, public service announcement - at Howard and South Van Ness in San Francisco. 
The declarative statement, "My Life, My Death, My Choice," to be formerly understood in the context of advocating a right-to-die currently in existence in only three states, has been put to the service of BLF's Adbusters-esque subterfuge, and now indicates one's right to smoke his or herself out courtesy of Phillip Morris.  
This seems to mark a new era of productivity for the BLF, as just a few weeks ago they alerted the residents of Nob Hill were alerted that an Egg McMuffin may in fact be responsible for the mass murder of their taste buds. beware, SF advertisers -- no billboard is safe.

LOOK WHAT WE'VE STARTED




Istanbul Turkey June 27th 2010

FOR ONLY $520 A NIGHT

It's finally happened! The $5.95 billion Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Singapore finally opened its doors to public in a gala event, and it also managed to dethrone the Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi from its position as the world's most expensive hotel. But that's not all, the main attraction of the hotel is a 650ft wide pool perched up at the 55th storey of the magnificent hotel, making it the largest outdoor pool in the world that high. Called as the Infinity pool, the drop at the edge of the pool spills into a three-tiered catchment which pumps water right back to the main pool! The hotel also has a boat-shaped 'SkyPark' on top of the three towers.
The hotel features 2,560 rooms that would cost you $520 a night. Designed by Moshe Safdie, the structure is said to be based on the design resembling a deck of cards. The hotel décor includes an indoor canal that has Sampan boats to ride in, a casino, an outdoor plaza, a convention centre, a theatre, a crystal pavilion and a lotus flower shaped museum. The resort will open employment to over 10,000 locals, enough to generate $72m each year.

FIERCE BEAUTY



A stunning short video from Craig Shimala, shot on Wednesday.
He writes: "For the third time in the last 6 days, another line of nasty storms rolled through Chicago on Wednesday evening. I love coming home and being able to watch and capture nature's beauty from my balcony. 'Wed's storms towered up to 63,000 ft, unleashed 80 mph gusts, local 3"+ rains and 15,000 cloud to ground lightning strikes in a single hour.' via @Skilling" stunning short video from Craig Shimala, shot on Wednesday.

FAMOUS HOUSE


The last time this house was on the market in 1991, it sold for $1.6 million. Now the asking price is a cool $14 million for the Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen designed work of art in Pacific Palisades, and we can see why. Previous owner Barry Berkus restored the property to serve as a guest house (wow!) for his main residence nearby. Berkus is one classy entertainer - shouldn't all hosts provide a mid-century modern masterpiece for their guests?

SUPERSONIC GREEN MACHINE

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This future aircraft design concept for supersonic flight over land comes from the team led by the Lockheed Martin Corporation.

The team's simulation shows possibility for achieving overland flight by dramatically lowering the level of sonic booms through the use of an "inverted-V" engine-under wing configuration. Other revolutionary technologies help achieve range, payload and environmental goals.

This supersonic cruise concept is among the designs presented in April 2010 to the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate for its NASA Research Announcement-funded studies into advanced aircraft that could enter service in the 2030-2035 timeframe.

WHAT A SHAME


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How can a building so glorious face such an uncertain future?
That question drew photographer Eric Smith to Detroit's Michigan Central Station, a 1913 Beaux-Arts landmark that closed in 1988 and now stands in a state of ruin. "A few years ago, I heard that artists were finding ways to secretly get into the station—a treacherous proposition, but one I couldn't resist," he says. "And the experience, once I got inside, was incredible. That main waiting room is enormous and, despite its current condition, still wonderful. I photographed the destruction caused by water and neglect—and vandals—and tried to capture the sheer drama of the interior."
Smith employs a photographic technique called High Dynamic Range Imaging, or HDRI. "By shooting a series of exposures that are later processed with a computer program, I can reveal all the color, shadows, highlights, and depth that standard photography misses."
In the months since Smith captured these striking images, the graffiti-filled station has been secured and fenced to prevent trespassing. Phil Frame, director of communications for CenTra Inc., a diversified holding company that owns the station, says, "The site is dangerous, and we don't want anyone hurt. We're trying to keep it structurally very sound, and would prefer to save it if we can."
Proposals under consideration include adapting space for law enforcement or judicial offices, Frame says. "We also think it would make a great site for the Michigan State Police Crime Lab. We're studying feasibility, but no project has been lined up at this time."
Designed by Warren & Wetmore and Reed & Stem (the firms responsible for Grand Central Terminal in New York City), the depot complex includes an 18-story office tower and a three-story station.The cavernous 54-foot-high waiting room was inspired by the Roman baths of Caracalla.
"If it wasn't so beautiful it might have disappeared long ago," Frame says. "But it survived. It's absolutely unforgettable."
Photographs courtesy the Detroit Historical Society and Eric Smith. To see more of Eric Smith's photographs of Michigan Central Station, visit ericsmith.us.


FRANKENSTEIN ON A BIKE


He wanted to be able to take his piano out and play -- so he put it on his bike.
If you've been biking around the city this past year, you've probably seen him hammering out some ragtime as he pedals along in a 10-gallon cowboy hat. This weekend he was out at Sunday Streets in the Mission.
He goes by the name Gary St. Frankenstein, a nod to the 64-key, 350-pound St. Frankenstein piano he mounted on the front of his black bike. A sign-maker by day, he's worked as a cabinet maker and a guitar repairman though nothing really prepared him for the pianobike project.
It took about two years to make. He deconstructed and reconstructed the piano, figuring out just how to balance it on two little wheels on the front of the bike.
How do you steer with a piano for handlebars? Gary said he works it into the tunes he writes. He's got a foot break and a parking break. And don't forget the tip jar.
He's out at most every Sunday Streets -- where the city shuts down the streets to cars and lets San Francisco's cyclists roam free. And you can find him out at the Embarcadero on the weekends.
Times Square has its Naked Cowboy, Gary said, so why can't San Francisco have it's own ragtime-playing-bike-riding cowboy?

VERY CLEVER

GREAT NEW STAR


Mexican pop singer Christian Chávez has been out as a gay man since 2007, but he's put out his first solo studio album this year. Before he was known for his work on a telenovela and with the band RBD. Here's his first solo single, "En Dónde Estás?"

ON BECOMING A GLEEK

WHY DO WOMEN DO IT?

For the sake of fashion and other women!

IS IT LUNCHTIME YET?













Meishan pigs walk through their enclosure at the Tierpark Friedrichsfelde zoo in Berlin on June 15, 2010.






The Meishan is a breed of domestic pig named for the Chinese prefecture of Meishan. It is a sub-group of the Taihu pig and is a small to medium-sized breed with large drooping ears, and wrinkled black skin.  Native to Southern China, the breed is best known for its large litters of 15-16 piglets. Due to its fecundity, it was imported to the United States in the late 1980s by the USDAAgricultural Research Service. However, it has not found much use in farms, as a result of its slower growth rates and abundance of fat. On the other hand, it reaches maturity very early, and both boars and sows carry traits that make them one of the most prolific breeds in the world.

COMING TO A THEATER NEAR YOU

EXCESS HAS NO LIMIT: ONLY $422,648 PER MONTH










The recent purchase of a Bel-Air mansion has broken the record for most expensive real estate transaction in the United States so far in 2010. Developer Mohamed Hadid sold the property Le Belvedere to an unnamed LLC for a price between $50 million and $72 million (the asking price), exceeding the $46.5 million sale of a Colorado property earlier this year. The French chateau-inspired mansion features a Moroccan entertaining room, a Turkish steam bath room, an infinity pool, an industrial kitchen with pizza oven, and a 5,000-bottle wine cellar.
Le Belvedere - LuxuryRealEstate.com™

EXOTIC SWIMMING HOLE



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The Maya believed natural wells, such as the Xkeken cenote in Mexico’s Yucatán, led to the underworld.

Photograph by John Stanmeyer, National Geographic

EARLY 1950'S TEA PARTY

"YOU MUST BE A REPUBLICAN"





A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."
The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above ground elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude. 
"She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be an Obama Democrat." 
"I am," replied the man. "How did you know?"
"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."
The man smiled and responded, "You must be a Republican."
"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"
"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You've risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault."

BEAUTIFUL EVIL



Waves crashing on Alabama’s beaches. Mother Nature will always make the best of almost anything!
Thanks, BP.

JESUS TORCHED BY ACT OF GOD

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There was a huge, rather startling statue on I-75 between Cincinnati and Dayton just north of the Monroe interchange on the grounds of Solid Rock Church that locals have dubbed “Touchdown Jesus.” The statue, a part of a music theater complex, was built in 2004 and depicted Jesus swooping up from out of a pond by the side of a busy freeway. 



Last  night, the “King of Kings” statue was struck down by lightning. Witnesses traveling on I-75 first reported seeing the Right Hand of God on fire, and then the rest of the statue was quickly engulfed in flames. Firefighters say that the styrofoam/wood/resin combination was extremely flammable, and that the fire was too hot for firefighters to approach. It was, church members agree, an act of God. One church member said, “It’s a sign from God that we need to learn something as Christians as whole that we’re not doing something right.” Another agreed: “It scares me, like, it really does. I just think about what that symbolizes and to me that’s a sign, and not a good one.”
I’m the last person to read current events as signs from God, but I would like to point out that the giant Hustler Hollywood adult bookstore sign across the freeway is still standing tall.

D.A.D.T MUST END NOW!


Leonard Matlovich (1943–1988) was a Vietnam War veteran, race relations instructor, and recipient of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.
Matlovich was the first gay service member to fight the ban on gays in the military, and perhaps the best-known gay man in America in the 1970s next to Harvey Milk. His fight to stay in the United States Air Force after coming out of the closet became a cause célèbre around which the gay community rallied. His case resulted in articles in newspapers and magazines throughout the country, numerous television interviews, and a television movie on NBC. His photograph appeared on the cover of the September 8, 1975, issue of Timemagazine, making him a symbol for thousands of gay and lesbian servicemembers and gays generally.[1] In October 2006, Matlovich was honored by GLBT History Month as a leader in the history of the GLBT community.