Rare Kitten Born With ‘Two Faces’ Grows Up Into The Most Beautiful Cat Ever

We usually stay away from two-faced people, but there’s nothing more adorable than a kitty with two-toned fur.

Recently, professional animal photographer Jean-Michel Labat shot Narnia, an adorable British Shorthair cat in its home in France, and the pictures are making headlines all over the internet.

Labat has purrfectly captured the unique looks of the feline which probably occurred early in its mother’s womb. Narnia was born on the 28th of March, 2017, and his breeder Stephanie Jimenez instantly fell in love with her blue-eyed sweetie.

While the exact cause of this particular pet’s striking appearance is unknown, other cats with this mysterious look are known as chimeras.

French budget chief fights renewed rape investigation

French authorities are taking another look at a woman’s rape accusation against the government’s budget chief, who denies the allegation.

The prime minister’s office expressed support Saturday for Budget Minister Gerald Darmanin and said it would be up to the justice system to investigate.

Darmanin is the highest-ranking French official accused of sexual misconduct since the scandals that started with Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in October snowballed into a movement affecting numerous industries and countries.

The World’s Greenest Oil Company?

France’s Total is hedging against a low-carbon future by investing in solar and biofuels. 

A SunPower/Total photovoltaic power plant in Kern County, California (AP)

When Total, the French oil and petrochemicals conglomerate, announced a joint venture yesterday with California biofuels company Amyris to produce low-carbon jet fuel and diesel, it was just the latest move into renewable energy by the fossil-fuel giant.

Boris Johnson wants to build a giant bridge from England to France — but it’s not very feasible

• British foreign secretary Boris Johnson wants to build a massive bridge from England to France.
• It’d be one of the biggest bridges in the world, and would be the second link between the two countries after the Channel tunnel.
• President Emmanuel Macron reportedly told Johnson said “let’s do it.”
• But there are significant logistical issues facing the idea.

France Suspends Delivery Of Warships To Russia

France has announced a U-turn on its controversial decision to press ahead with the sale of two warships to Russia amid the crisis in eastern Ukraine ahead of the Nato summit.

President Francois Hollande said Paris was suspending the delivery of the first of the two hi-tech Mistral helicopter carrier ships to Moscow because of the “serious” situation in Ukraine.

“The President of the Republic has assessed that, despite the prospect of a ceasefire, which has still to be confirmed and enforced, the conditions for France to deliver the first BPC [mistral class ship] are not currently satisfied,” the Elysee palace said in a statement.

He’s back: Nicolas Sarkozy promises return to French politics

He is back. Or rather, some say, he never went away. Nicolas Sarkozy will announce on television this weekend that he is abandoning his gilded retirement and returning to politics to save France from economic and political calamity. A brief statement has appeared on Mr Sarkozy’s Facebook page.

His friends compare him to General Charles de Gaulle, who returned from self-imposed exile in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises in 1958, or to the Emperor Napoleon, who escaped from enforced exile in Elba to restore the Empire in 1815.

Critics, however, say Mr Sarkozy, 59, is more like the Count of Monte Cristo, determined to revenge himself on those – both apparent friends and declared enemies – who have belittled him and thwarted his ambition.

Frenchman Tells Of Daring Escape From Siberia After ‘Falsified’ Child Pornography Conviction

IRKUTSK, Russia — Russia has labeled him a pedophile and child pornographer who posted naked photographs of his 5-year-old daughter on the Internet, then fled Russia to escape a 15-year prison sentence.

But Yoann Barbereau, the former Irkutsk branch director of the nonprofit Alliance Francaise cultural organization, says he was framed by Russian computer hackers and law enforcement.

He says he thinks he became the target of so-called “discredit tactics” because of a “troubled local situation” in Irkutsk, strained Franco-Russian relations, and his “cultural sphere” connections with a mayor who was elected in opposition to President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party.

Putin Speaks Directly To Separatist Leaders, Presses Prisoner Swap

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told leaders of Moscow-backed separatists in Ukraine’s eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk that he favors a plan for a prisoner swap with Kyiv, in a rare acknowledgement of direct contact with the separatist forces.

Russian state-run news agency TASS on November 15 quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying Putin spoke by phone with separatist leaders Aleksandr Zakharchenko of the Donetsk region and Igor Plotnitsky of Luhansk.

Leonardo DiCaprio & Tobey Maguire Cruising with Hot Chicks in St. Tropez!!!

For Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire, it’s always hunting season. Ahh … the single life!

Leo and Tobey partied aboard a yacht in St. Tropez with a few hot chicks … days after Leo raised about $40 million for his foundation benefiting wildlife protection.

May Day in France: six police injured as violent group hijacks Paris march

About 150 people armed with molotov cocktails and stones invade event, with France divided over presidential election

It is a day when the workers of France traditionally unite. Instead 1 May 2017 has been riven with political, personal and social divisions before next Sunday’s final round vote in the French presidential election, as well as violence and clashes between police and masked youths.

The New Leader Of France’s National Front Questioned The Existence Of Nazi Gas Chambers

Jean-François Jalkh, Marine Le Pen’s second-in-command, denied he ever said it, but BuzzFeed News spoke to a researcher who has his comments recorded on tape.

Marine Le Pen, who faces independent Emmanuel Macron in France’s presidential vote on May 7, stepped down Monday as the leader of the far-right National Front party, handing the keys to her second-in-command, Jean-François Jalkh.

The move is a symbolic step intended to distance Le Pen from the party so she can “meet the people.”

Putin, Poroshenko talk on phone, – Kremlin

The conversation was held in the framework of telephone negotiations between the leaders of the Normandy Quartet on the situation in Donbas

President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

Interview: Richard Dearlove—I spy nationalism

A former head of MI6 says that, though the White House commands our attention, Europe is the greater worry.

Richard Dearlove frowned at the coffee pot on the table before him, as he pondered the phenomenon of Donald Trump. “I think he’s very strongly nationalist,” he said, pouring himself a small cup. The room, at a discreet location in central London, was large and empty of other people, its walls lined with 19th-century portraits. Is Trump the start of something worrying, I asked. “I think it depends on how fundamental this shift in politics in the US and other countries is,” he replied, speaking slowly. “I think the jury’s out on how far it is going to go.”

Here’s how the world reacted to the US’ missile strike on Syria

While several countries have admonished the US’ missile strike against Syria’s airfield on Thursday, there has also been an overwhelming response in support of President Donald Trump’s answer against the Syrian government’s use of nerve agents that killed more than 80 people earlier this week.

‘Their message is urgent’: the Holocaust survivor and his 7,000 pieces of antisemitic propaganda

When Arthur Langerman was two, his parents were sent to Auschwitz. As his collection of antisemitic works opens in Normandy, he explains his obsession.

The drawing is detailed, dramatic and disgusting. Called The Jew, Universal Enemy, it shows Christ on the cross and churches in flames, overseen by a sinister, red-lipped, voracious face. Philipp Rupprecht, better known as Fips, composed this caricature for the notorious Nazi newspaper Der Stürmer in 1937. He also illustrated a 1938 children’s book Der Giftpilz (The Poisonous Mushroom), intended to educate young Germans about the Jewish menace.

Rupprecht was sentenced to 10 years hard labour after the war. His work is among 150 pieces of antisemitic propaganda – posters, drawings and objects – on show at the Caen-Normandy Memorial Museum, in an exhibition called Heinous Cartoons 1886-1945: The Antisemitic Corrosion in Europe. They depict sinister, red-faced, obese capitalists smoking cigars on the backs of oppressed workers. They show grotesque communists clamping chains on a suffering Aryan. They portray Jews as rats and vermin. As the dates in the title suggest, the exhibition chronicles how anti-semitism grew at the end of the 19th century and reached a horrible culmination in the Holocaust.

Orly airport: Man killed after seizing soldier’s gun

A man has been shot dead after trying to seize a soldier’s weapon at Paris’s Orly airport, French officials say.

The 39-year-old was killed by the security forces after attacking a patrol in the airport’s south terminal.

The airport has now partially reopened after what the authorities described as an extremely serious incident.

The man was involved in a shooting north of Paris earlier on Saturday. He had been reported as radicalised in the past, and was a police watch-list.

He had a long criminal record including convictions for armed robbery, French media report.

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

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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