South Korea’s K-pop superstars perform in North

South Korea’s K-pop stars have reportedly performed in North Korea for the first time in more than a decade as the two countries on the divided peninsula prepare for a rare summit.

More than 150 artists are in the capital Pyongyang for two shows.

It is a reciprocal visit after the North sent performers to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics earlier this year in South Korea.

It comes amid thawing relations between the Koreas after months of tension.

One concert took place on Sunday evening local time at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre, said South Korean media, with another set to follow on Tuesday. The delegation mixes K-pop, rock and other genres.

Florida alligator: Police posts show Nokomis pool gator

Florida police have posted photos and video of an 11ft alligator in a family’s swimming pool, along with the words “Just no”.

Residents in Nokomis called for help after discovering the animal.

The Sarasota County sheriff’s office posted film of a trapper dragging the animal from the water on Saturday.

Responding to their own tweet, the officers said the gator managed to “bust right through” a screen door to get to the pool.

Officers posted with the hashtags “Tweet from the Beat” and “Only in Florida”.

John Kelly: Rex Tillerson Was on the Toilet When I Told Him He’d Be Getting Fired

The White House chief of staff shared the story with a room of reporters and Trump administration officials Friday.

Reporters gathered at the White House on Friday were stunned when Chief of Staff John Kelly shared a very embarrassing story about outgoing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The reporters were there with senior White House officials for an off-the-record meeting with Kelly, who was attempting to tamp down speculation about an impending administration staff purge. The Daily Beast was not invited, but was briefed on its contents by three sources with knowledge of the meeting.

According to those sources, Kelly recounted a very awkward conversation with Tillerson during which he informed the secretary that President Donald Trump would very likely soon fire him. The awkwardness was less a result of the contents of the conversation than its setting.

A critical Russia probe witness may have poked a huge hole in the Trump team’s story about a mysterious Seychelles meeting

• George Nader, a little-known but critical witness in the Russia probe, has reportedly contradicted key portions of Trump associate Erik Prince’s testimony before the House Intelligence Committee last year.
• Prince told lawmakers that his meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, the head of a sanctioned Russian investment fund in the Seychelles in January 2017 happened by chance, and that he was introduced to the Russian by potential business customers in the United Arab Emirates.
• Nader, meanwhile, has reportedly told prosecutors that the Seychelles meeting was set up in advance to open a Trump-Russia back-channel, and that the Emirates were not the ones who introduced Prince and Dmitriev.

South Korean leaders announce unprecedented invitation for Trump to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un

• North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has invited US President Donald Trump to meet, and said his country would refrain from further nuclear and missile tests.
• The announcement was delivered by South Korean national-security officials on Thursday evening after they briefed their US counterparts about their recent trip to North Korea.
• Trump agreed to meet Kim Jong-un “to achieve permanent denuclearization.”
• The White House says a timeline for such a meeting has not yet been determined.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has invited US President Donald Trump to meet and said his country would refrain from further nuclear and missile tests.

British intelligence reportedly told the CIA months before the election that Trump’s campaign had illicit contacts with Russia

• Well before the 2016 presidential election, the CIA received intelligence from the UK about President Donald Trump’s communications with Russia during his presidential campaign.
• Shortly afterward, they also received a confidential package containing information about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s involvement in Russia’s hacking and online influence campaign during the election cycle.
• Then-President Barack Obama was well aware of these threats before the election, but his administration did not take much decisive action in time to prevent Russia’s effort from influencing the election.

---

Over two months before the 2016 presidential election, the head of British intelligence flew to Washington to brief then-CIA Director John Brennan on intercepted communications between the Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and the Russian government, according to a report from the New Yorker.

Critically ill man is former Russian spy

A man who is critically ill after being exposed to an unknown substance in Wiltshire is a Russian national convicted of spying for Britain, the BBC understands.

Sergei Skripal, who is 66, was granted refuge in the UK following a “spy swap” between the US and Russia in 2010.

He and a woman, 33, were found unconscious on a bench at a shopping centre in Salisbury on Sunday afternoon.

The substance has not been identified.

Police are investigating whether a crime has been committed, following the incident at the Maltings shopping centre.

Col Skripal, who is a retired Russian military intelligence officer, was jailed for 13 years in 2006 for spying for Britain.

4 of the Most Challenging Day Hikes in the U.S.

With winter winding down, now’s the perfect time to start making plans for your next outdoor adventure. Perhaps you are looking to push the envelope this season and get outside of your comfort zone by hitting one of the toughest day hikes in the United States. To assist in your planning efforts, we’ve selected four of the hardest treks in the lower forty-eight to get your adrenaline flowing.

These trails are not for the faint of heart. However, if you possess the necessary skills and are in above-average shape, they can be knocked out in one day. However, you can always break it down into a slower, multi-day trip.

Slickrock Creek Trail (North Carolina)

Partners of the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness, Inc./Facebook

This 13.2-mile slog is the longest single trail in the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness (located near the North Carolina-Tennessee border). What begins at a starting elevation of 1,160 feet ascends over 3,700 feet before reaching the Naked Ground, a popular backpacking spot. The barely visible trail seemingly disappears amongs the dense foliage of rhododendrons and old growth forest. The dozen or so creek crossings can range from moderate to challenging depending on precipitation.

Diversity Declines in Georgia’s Southwestern Mountains

Three empires left behind a mosaic of religious, ethnic and linguistic identities.

For centuries, mountainous southwestern Georgia lay at the crossroad of the Ottoman, Persian and Russian empires. It suffered many conflicts between the rival powers, while also nurturing complex religious, ethnic, and linguistic identities.

Today, though, that rich diversity is under threat from economic, political, and demographic change. We traveled throughout the region to document the remaining traces of this fading diversity.

Perhaps the first modern blow to the region’s multicultural fabric occurred during World War II, when Stalin deported all Turkish-speaking Meskhetians, in the belief that they represented a threat to Soviet security.

The vast majority of Meskhetians are still in exile, and the traces of their presence are hard to find in their native land. Despite a 2007 law paving the way for their repatriation, only 50 Meskhetian families are estimated to be living in Georgia’s Samtskhe-Javakheti province today.

Kim Jong Un meets with South Korean officials for historic talks in Pyongyang

• A South Korean delegation met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time in history on Monday.
• The talks could set the tone for US engagement at a later date.
• The South Koreans received a warm welcome, but promised to push North Korea on denuclearizing — something it bitterly opposes.
• International sanctions are closing in on North Korea, and the US and South Korea will return to regular military drills after the Paralympics.

A 10-member South Korean delegation met face-to-face with Kim Jong Un for the first time in history on Monday — and the talks could set the tone for later US engagement.

The meeting, which took place in Pyongyang, reportedly involved an elegant reception and banquet for the visiting diplomats, who will stay in what South Korea’s president’s office spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom told NK News was a “luxury resort” on the Taedong River.

Italy election: Populist surge prompts political deadlock

Italy’s voters have turned to right-wing and populist parties in an election that is set to leave the country with a hung parliament.

The Eurosceptic, anti-establishment Five Star Movement was the biggest party with almost a third of the vote.

But a coalition of the far-right League and centre-right of ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is set to win most seats in the lower house of parliament.

Forming a government may now take weeks of negotiation and coalition-building.

One of the biggest winners was League leader Matteo Salvini who declared his party had the “right and duty” to govern at the head of a right-wing coalition.

Results showed the League conquering broad swathes of Italy’s north, while Five Star saw its strongest show of support in the south.

US State Department official gives a slam-dunk response to a shadowy North Korean’s visit to South Korea

• A high-ranking North Korean official’s upcoming visit to South Korea spurred a decisive statement from a US State Department official.
• Kim Yong-chol, North Korea’s former intelligence chief, is scheduled to visit South Korea on Sunday.
• His visit is marked with controversy due to North Korea’s previous provocations.

A high-ranking North Korean official’s upcoming visit to South Korea amid the Winter Olympics spurred a decisive statement by a US State Department official on Thursday.

Kim Yong-chol, North Korea’s vice chairman of the ruling Worker’s Party Central Committee and the country’s former intelligence chief, is scheduled to arrive in South Korea on Sunday. Kim is part of the North’s delegation to take part in the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics.

‘This could be the massacre of the century’ – 50 children among 250 killed in brutal Syrian forces bombardment

• At least 50 children are thought to be among the dead.

• The attack by the Syrian government was on the rebel enclave of eastern Ghouta.

• The suburbs are near Damascus and host rebel groups.

Concerns are growing that Syria faces the worst humanitarian catastrophe of its seven-year civil war after more than 250 civilians were reportedly killed in airstrikes by forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad within two days.

Amnesty International said there were “flagrant war crimes” going on in eastern Ghouta, near the capital Damascus.

A Secret Service agent tackled a Chinese security official over the nuclear football when Trump visited China

I can’t believe this story hasn’t gotten out, and neither can the very very few people who know about it.

On Thursday Nov. 9, when President Trump and his team visited Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, Chief of Staff John Kelly and a U.S. Secret Service agent skirmished with Chinese security officials over the nuclear football.

I’ve spoken to five sources familiar with the events. Here’s what happened, as they describe it:

Parts Of Canada Are Being Hit With Life-Threatening -65°C Wind Chills Right Now

It’s one of the coldest places on Earth right now.

Canada’s northern regions are facing the wrath of a polar vortex that has caused wind chills to plummet to as low as -70 C. Yes, -70. 

Such temperatures make those regions of Canada colder than Mars, which has an average annual temperature of around -62 C.

Environment Canada has issued an extreme cold weather alert for the town of Kugaaruk, Nunavut, which currently sits right in the heart of the polar vortex. People have been advised to stay indoors, especially younger children, older adults, individuals with chronic illnesses and outdoor workers due to high risks of hypothermia and freezing.

Sexy ‘Graft’ Video May Lead Russia to Block Instagram, YouTube

Russia may block access to YouTube and Instagram after billionaire Oleg Deripaska won a court injunction against videos and photographs that showed him and Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Prikhodko relaxing on a yacht with a woman described as an escort.

Deripaska won an order from the Ust-Labinsk district court in his native Krasnodar region ordering the removal of 14 Instagram posts and seven YouTube videos that breached his right to privacy, according to a spokeswoman for his Basic Element company.

Anti-Kremlin campaigner Alexey Navalny said the order also threatens to block his website after he published an online film alleging that the videos and photographs posted by Anastasiya Vashukevich, who goes by the name Nastya Rybka, showed evidence of a corrupt relationship between the aluminum tycoon and the senior minister.

The Mysteries and Tragedy of Russia’s Bottomless Karst Lake (PHOTOS)

The water is serene but deathly cold – and danger lurks beneath its surface. Yet, in the aquatic depths the promise of discovering hidden underwater caves and relics of our past awaits. Here, beauty and allure belie risks – but risks that some are prepared to take.

“A sapphire in a ring of green trees.” That’s how this stunning lake has been described. Even on overcast days, the water has a deep, crystal blue color like the gemstone to which it has been compared.

But there is much more than splendor to this lake. Beneath its smooth surface lie mysteries as yet unsolved. And some of these are secrets that the lake will not easily give up; at least, not if the recent tragic death of one diving explorer and the hospitalization of another are read as telltale signs.

9 Magical Zen Gardens

Zen garden is an interesting and deeply spiritual aspect of Japanese gardening traditions. The typical Zen garden consists of an enclosed and shallow sand box of sorts which features predominantly sand or gravel with rocks of various shapes and sizes.

The rocks and sand (or gravel) are the chief elements of the garden, which generally creates the scene of islands in the sea. The sand or gravel in a Zen garden represents the sea or ocean and is used instead of water. It will be carefully raked by tending monks to create the impression of waves on the surface of a body of water.

The rocks themselves represent islands or rock formations jutting out from the water. The overall goal is to create a small-scale recreation of an aerial or cliff-top view of an intricate coastal scene. One of the primary differences between a Zen garden and most other varieties is the lack of living elements. Although grass may sometimes be included, no other plant or flower species will be found in a classic Zen garden.

This can be both unusual and exotically appealing to people with no past experience with the history and meaning of a Zen garden.

The world’s most extraordinary hotels in pictures

Mihir Garh, Rajasthan 
“The fort sits in splendid isolation amid the Thar Desert near Jodhpur. It looks like an enormous sandcastle, a mirage, and is not just a unique place to stay; it’s a shrine to the artistic and architectural traditions of Rajasthan in general and Jodhpur in particular.”

Planet Baobab, Botswana
“Botswana’s Makgadigadi Pan comprises the world’s largest network of salt pans – a thirsty, mirage-inducing landscape of flat, shimmering expanses under hard blue skies. Halfway along the sole tarred road through this arid moonscape, a statue of an anteater towers at the dusty verge. It is a surreal sight, and an appropriate signpost for the distinctive Planet Baobab.”

Prendiparte B&B, Bologna, Italy
“A medieval high-rise turned romantic hideaway, the Torre Prendiparte is unlike anywhere else you’ll ever stay. The living area is on the first two floors and comprises a snug, classically-furnished living room, mezzanine bedroom, and kitchen. Above this is the former jail where you can still see graffiti left by prisoners on the 2m-thick walls.”

Qasr al Sarab, UAE
“Rising from the shifting sands, Qasr Al Sarab appears like a mirage on the edge of the vast Empty Quarter desert. Outside high crenellated walls echo fortresses of old. Inside rooms continue the dream of Arabian Nights with sumptuous fabrics, carved Islamic designs, woven rugs, wooden doors and metalwork lanterns.”

Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge, Tasmania, Australia
“A stay at Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge plunges you into the heart of Tasmania’s wilderness, with luxury that feels as organic as your surrounds. The cabins are nestled privately in the bushland, with wallabies bounding past the windows and wombats shuffling amid the trees.”

Free Spirit Spheres, British Columbia, Canada
“Suspended in the trees on sturdy guide ropes, Vancouver Island’s Free Spirit Spheres look like giant eyeballs peering deep into the British Columbia woodlands. Step inside and the handmade orbs – accessed via spiral rope staircases or slender steel bridges – are lined like comfy boat cabins with built-in beds and cabinets.”

Taskonak Hotel, Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey
“Göreme has dozens of beautiful cave-hotels but Taşkonak manages to dish up the cave-suites and stupendous views Cappadocia is famous for without breaking your budget.”

Thonga Beach Lodge, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa
“One of few such lodges within the extraordinary 328,000 hectare iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a Unesco world heritage site.”

Saugerties Lighthouse, New York state, USA
“Saugerties Lighthouse is a historic 1869 landmark that makes a wonderful base for exploring the scenic Hudson valley. It is 100 miles north of New York City, and the red brick building has played a pivotal role in safely guiding steamboats, barges and other vessels safely along the Hudson river over the years. More recently (in the mid 1990s), the lighthouse was transformed into a two-room B&B, providing safe haven of a different sort.”

The Gibbon Experience Treehouse, Bokeo Reserve, Laos
“The tree houses erected by conservation group Animo are a thing of architectural wonder, straddling the giant trunks of strangler fig trees. But more extraordinary still is that to reach these vertiginous eyries you’ll have to trek through the fecund realm of the tiger, then catch a series of exhilarating zip lines strung across the forest canopy, before flying into your night’s accommodation.”

Amazing color pictures from 1960s Budapest

1958

1960

1962

1960

1960

1965

1960

1965

1965:

1965:

1960

1960

1970

1970

National Geographic Photo Contest

 

 

 

 

100 years old pictures in colours before World War I

Türkei, Bursa, Ladengeschaeft einer Confiserie, Auguste Leon, 1. Juni 1913

Vietnam. Tonkin, Leon Busy, 1914

Indien, Statue des Heiligen Stiers, Stephane Passet, 29. Januar 1914

Österreich, Wien, Judengasse, Fotograf unbekannt, 23. April 1913

Mongolei, nahe Ulaanbaatar Urga, Stéphane Passet, 23. Juli 1913

Irland, Galway, Marguerite Mespoulet, 26. Mai 1913

Indien, Uttar Pradesh, Agra. Mausoleum Taj Mahal von Shah Jahan für Mumtaz Mahal, Stéphane Passet, 19.-21. Januar 1914

Indien, Amritsar. Marmorne Strasse zum Goldenden Tempel, neben den rituellen Reinigungsbecken, dem Darbar Sahib und dem Hari Mandir, Stéphane Passet, 15. Januar 1914

China, nach Kalgan. Nomadenlager, drei Männer und ein Junge vor einer Jurte, Stéphane Passet, 18.-21. Juli 1912

Water pipe smoking. Samarkand

Mongolei, Ulaanbaatar. Der Finanzminister des unabhängigen Staats Mongolei auf dem Marktplatz, Stéphane Passet, 22. Juli 1913

Major Lazer & DJ Snake – Lean On (feat. MØ)

Listen To A Rare 1965 Recording Of Stanley Kubrick’s Most Profound Interview

When physicist and renowned author Jeremy Bernstein (born December 31, 1929) penned a terrific piece on 37-year-old burgeoning director Stanley Kubrick for The New Yorker, the story gained so much attention that Bernstein was commissioned to write an even more elaborate profile of the legendary filmmaker. Normally Kubrick would have flat-out refused, however, he agreed due to the fact that he shared a common passion with Bernstein — chess. When Bernstein travelled to Oxford, England for the conversation on November 27, 1965 it was also captured on tape. The interview remains to this day one of the most profound conversations with Kubrick ever recorded, and you can listen to it in full below.

Helios – Hope Valley Hill (Arms and Sleepers Remix)

Keith Kenniff – Helios

Mac DeMarco // “Brother” (OFFICIAL SINGLE)

 

Alan Watts: Sense of Nonsense

November 27, 1965: A Rare Recording of Stanley Kubrick’s Most Revealing Interview

“People react primarily to direct experience and not to abstractions; it is very rare to find anyone who can become emotionally involved with an abstraction.”

George Orwell on how to make the perfect cup of tea

Excerpt from Orwell’s fantastic 1946 essay outlining his 11 “golden” rules of tea /

Harald Grosskopf’s 1979 Masterpiece “Synthesist” Is 7 Minutes Of Pure Amazingness

Yesterday TEEN DAZE released a new mixtape which you can stream and download by visiting ThePlayground.co.uk.  The 8-track collection provides a perfect ambient backdrop for pretty much any situation, but the crown jewel of the mixtape is unquestionably Harald Grosskopf’s brilliant track “Synthesist”.

Shanghai Tower (650 meters)

Raskalov and Russian photographer Vadim Mahora broke into and climbed the Gensler-designed Shanghai Tower, soon to be China’s tallest and the world’s second tallest skyscraper at 632 meters (2,074 feet) high. Although the tower will eventually boast the world’s fastest elevators (reaching 40mph), the pair had to climb the 120 flights of stairs by foot (taking them about two hours); they then spent another 18 hours sleeping and waiting for the weather to clear. The staggering resulting images show not just the dizzying heights, but also fantastic views of the adjacent Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center (together, the trio of buildings that are re-defining the Shanghai skyline).

Adam Magyar – Stainless, 42 Street (excerpt)

High speed video recording in NYC at Grand Central station.

Tolkien & Sendak On The Psychology Of Fantasy & The Powerful Effect Of Fairy Tales On The Adult Mind

In March 1939, renowned fantasy writer J. R. R. Tolkien penned an essay enitled “On Fairy-Stories” which explores the nature of fantasy and the cultural role of fairy tales. His argument is the same — that there is no such thing as “writing for children.” Tolkien writes: “A ‘fairy-story’ is one which touches on or uses Faerie, whatever its own main purpose may be: satire, adventure, morality, fantasy. Faerie itself may perhaps most nearly be translated by Magic — but it is magic of a peculiar mood and power, at the furthest pole from the vulgar devices of the laborious, scientific, magician. There is one proviso : if there is any satire present in the tale, one thing must not be made fun of, the magic itself. That must in that story be taken seriously, neither laughed at nor explained away.”

Tolkien adds: “Creative fantasy, because it is mainly trying to do something else … may open your hoard and let all the locked things fly away like cage-birds.” You can read more excerpts from Tolkien’s essay by visiting BrainPickings.org.

The Aqualibrium Garden – The Future of Food

The Aqualibrium Garden – The Future of Food by “Aqualibrium”

The fish in the self-cleaning aquarium in the bottom chamber of the Aqualibrium Garden provide the nutrients that feed the plants in the self-watering grow space in the upper chamber. This cycle… like nature herself… is automatic, providing the potential to grow an abundance of fresh vegetables, herbs and flowering plants all year.

The Real Walter White (VIDEO)

When AMC’s Breaking Bad premiered in 2008, one of Alabama’s most successful meth cooks was already knee deep in building a massive meth empire. His name? Walter White. In this documentary, Walter tells us the secret behind his product, how he stacked up thousands of dollars per day, and why his partner is now serving two life sentences.

A new industry born from the disaster — LED indoor farm

A new industry born from the disaster — LED indoor farm

Awesome pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope

 

 

 

 

Great Gardens: “Prospect Cottage” by Howard Sooley – NOWNESS

http://vimeo.com/103807651

Great Gardens: “Prospect Cottage” by Howard Sooley – NOWNESS

Speeding Around The World in Under 5 minutes Time Lapse

17 Countries. 343 Days. 6237 Photographs. One incredible journey.

GoPro: Wild Downhill Ride with Claudio Caluori

Claudio Calouri and Will Longden takes us on a wild run through the UCI Downhill Course at Leogang in Austria.

World’s smallest cat – Big Cats

森の木琴

TOUCHWOOD SH-08C http://answer.nttdocomo.co.jp/touchwood/

“TRUMP ANTHEM” — A Bad Lip Reading of Donald Trump

Snow falls in the Sahara desert

The town of Ain Sefra, on the edge of the Sahara desert, was hit by icy weather last week – and even snow.

Snowfall is very rare in the Sahara, despite the fact that it can be cold at night – because there’s rarely enough water around for any kind of precipitation.

Unbelievable Unlikely Animal Friendships Compilation 2017

Winds on this mountain in the US will make it feel like -67C

Temperatures on a mountain peak in the US state of New Hampshire could fall so low you risk getting frostbite in just a couple of minutes.

Micro Wind Turbine

Oxmo Puccino – 365 Jours

The Future Of Transportation

The World in 2050