Liam Gallagher forces Parklife festival to ban potato peelers

The rock and roll potato feud just got serious.

Parklife festival in Manchester has banned potato peelers after being swamped with requests following the announcement of Liam Gallagher as a headliner.

This goes back to Liam asking fans to “peel some spuds” at a gig last year after brother Noel’s appearance on Jools Holland.

It was a dig at the decision by Noel to have one of his band play the scissors.

Liam’s referred to his brother as a “potato” on a number of occasions.

So after seeing the performance with scissors, there was only one natural response.

Here’s Where Europe’s Wealthiest People Live

UBS and Wealth-X have teamed up again to produce the World Ultra Wealth Report for 2014, totting up the number of people with $30 million or more (£19.1 million). The number of mega-wealthy Europeans is up to over 60,000 this year, and UBS have got a map showing the cities they live in.

There’s a huge amount of information in the report: you might be surprised to learn that Germany has far more ultra-high net worth (UHNW) residents than the UK. With a population only 25% higher than the UK, Germany has 65% more super-wealthy people, and nearly a third of Europe’s total.

Chinese business chiefs pay £12,000 for dinner with David Cameron

Fancy dinner and a photo with David Cameron?

That was what was on offer recently for wealthy business figures at an event in China – as long as they stumped up about £12,000.

Mr Cameron featured on social media adverts for the Shanghai International Ball and Leaders’ Forum, which took place earlier this week.

A photograph of the former prime minister was accompanied by a price in Chinese renminbi.

London ranked the most prosperous spot in the UK, but its growth is slowing against other regions

London has held its position as the UK’s top spot for prosperity, but growth in the capital is lagging against a backdrop of fluctuating economic conditions and Brexit negotiations, new research suggests.

Barclays Wealth & Investments’ annual UK prosperity map, which will be published today, found London’s growth was slowing across a range of indicators measured by the study compared with the rest of the UK.

Princess Diana revealed ‘the greatest love I’ve ever had’ was bodyguard Barry Mannakee in secret tapes

The programme may be inappropriate and sly in parts, but it doesn’t merit accusations it was ghoulish or exploitative.

The most controversial TV programme for years began on Sunday night, at 8pm on Channel 4, with a giggling voice asking: “Is that thing on?” Even before viewers saw the blushing cheeks and familiar up-sweep of eyes under the fringe, the posh-flirty voice clearly identified Diana, Princess of Wales.

For many of her supporters, Diana: In Her Own Words is a thing they wish had not been on. The film includes videotapes recorded by the voice coach Peter Settelenin 1992 and 1993 during sessions to improve Diana’s public speaking, but in which she spoke frankly about private matters. They had been shown before in the US, but it was their first airing in the UK.

Banksy Brexit mural of man chipping away at EU flag appears in Dover

A Brexit-inspired mural by Banksy showing a metalworker chipping away at a star on the EU flag has appeared in Dover.

The artwork emerged overnight on the Castle Amusements building near the ferry terminal, which connects the UK with mainland Europe.

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.

Celebrities react to the terror attack at westminster in london

London was struck by tragedy yesterday after what’s being treated as a terrorist attack left at least four dead and 20 injured. The victims included people from all over the world with 12 Britons, three French children, two Romanians, four South Koreans, two Greeks and one person each from Germany, Italy, the US, Ireland, China and Poland all hurt during the incident.

At around 2.40pm, a man in a 4×4 ploughed through pedestrians walking along the pavement of Westminster bridge before proceeding to the entrance of the Houses of Parliament, where he stabbed and killed police officer Keith Palmer. The attacker was then shot by another officer on the scene, and it is understood that he died shortly after.

Meghan Markle May Quit Acting Soon Because Duh

Everyone keeps saying that Prince Hot Ginge and Meghan Markle are going to get engaged by the end of the summer, and no, that high-pitched wail that just stabbed your eardrums wasn’t from me loudly crying while thinking about the day that I’ll watch my beautiful(ly delusional) dreams go up in flames as I burn the assless cropped tuxedo I was planning to wear during my wedding to PHG.

If Meghan Markle becomes Duchess Meghan, she’ll be way too busy waving and smiling alongside Duchess Kate at the opening of whatever to do acting stuff. But a source tells E! News that Meghan would’ve probably quit acting even if she wasn’t with PHG. Uh huh…

EU threatens UK with astronomical £500BILLION Brexit DIVORCE BILL

THE EUROPEAN Parliament’s top Brexit negotiator has said Britain could face a £500billion (€600bn) Brexit divorce bill – ten times the figure initially expected.

Late last year it was widely reported Eurocrats were planning on slapping the UK with a £50billion (€60billion) exit bill as punishment for voting to abandon Brussels in the June referendum.

The EU defended the demand as it argued Britain had unpaid budget commitments, pension liabilities and loan guarantees to honour.

Damien Hirst eco-town gets the green light

Local authorities in devon, uk, have approved plans for a eco-town to be built on land owned by artist damien hirst. The 750-home development is designed to stimulate economic growth in the community, expanding its current population by 20%.

The masterplan, which has been draw up by architects mrj rundell + associates and urban design specialists david lock associates, has been hotly debated with some local residents concerned about the impact the expansion will have on the quiet seaside town.

The scheme also incorporates a range of retail outlets, commercial space and a school.it is understood that the project will take between 10 and 15 years to complete.

Bentleys are the least reliable cars, says survey

Honda is the most reliable manufacturer for the ninth year running, while luxury and prestige marks languish at the bottom of the table

They may be dream cars for many motorists, but Bentleys and Porsches could cause their drivers more headaches than any other make of car a new study has found.

The two prestigious marques carry hefty price tags, but are at the bottom of an annual index ranking cars by their reliability.

At the other end of the 37-strong table of manufacturers, Honda was crowned the most reliable manufacturer for the ninth year in a row.

Japanese and South Korean manufacturers dominate the top of the annual table, which looks at used rather than new cars, with Suzuki and Toyota taking the second and third positions. Chevrolet, Ford, Skoda, Peugeot and Fiat also fought their way into the top 10 compiled by What Car? and Warranty Direct.

What Car? said: “At the opposite end of the scale, luxury and prestige marques Bentley and Porsche are the most likely to break down.”

^{The Honda Jazz was the most reliable model, according to the survey}

Jim Holder, editor, said: “Honda’s success in the reliability index is chiefly down to low failure rates. However, when things do go wrong, the cars are also relatively cheap to fix.

“Reliability is always one of the key attributes buyers look for when considering a used car purchase, so manufacturers that consistently demonstrate durability will always do well with the consumer.”

The list was compiled from 50,000 live insurance policies of cars aged between three and eight years old.

The study ranks manufacturers by taking into account each vehicle’s failure rate, age, mileage and cost of repair.

Overall, the most reliable models were the Honda Jazz and the Mitsubishi Lancer, both of which also had relatively modest average repair costs.

Ford, Skoda, Peugeot and Fiat also fought their way into the top 10 compiled by What Car? and Warranty Direct, providers of the Telegraph Warranty Service

^{Electrical faults and trouble with the axle or suspension were the most common problems (ALAMY)}

The least reliable model was the Audi RS6 which was also the most costly to fix, with an average repair bill of £1,003.

Electrical trouble was the most common gripe across all cars, accounting for more than 22 per cent of visits to garages. Axle and suspension faults also proved troublesome, affecting a similar percentage of cars. Air conditioning was one of the least problematic parts of the car, accounting for only three per cent of trips to the garage.

Luxury marques appear towards the bottom of the table both because they were liable to break down more often, but also because repairs can be expensive and parts difficult and time consuming to source.

The average repair bill for a Honda was £335.87, while the cost for a Bentley was £678.50 and for a Porsche £784.71

David Gerrans, managing director of Warranty Direct, said: “Household budgets continue to be stretched further in the current economic climate; the last thing people need is a car that costs them money they don’t have in unwanted bills.

“It is imperative that consumers research their intended purchases thoroughly before taking the plunge.

He said failing to research a car’s reliability could leave motorists “making the wrong choice and inadvertently landing yourself with a car that causes you nothing but hassle and a financial headache.”

Honda, which manufactures hundreds of cars a day at its plant in Swindon, has dominated the table for years.

This year is not the first time either that Bentley, whose list prices can reach up to £224,700 for the Mulsanne 6.75 V8, has found itself at the bottom of the table.

The firm hit back at the survey, saying it was “not an accurate reflection of the Bentley ownership experience, as it covers less than four per cent of the Bentley vehicles of comparable age on the road in the UK”.

It also said it was skewed against luxury brands.

A spokesman said: “It also fails to include any comparable high luxury brands as a benchmark. Due to the very high quality materials and components used throughout our vehicles, the cost of owning and maintaining a Bentley is never going to be directly comparable with the other cars in this survey.”

Porsche also criticised the rankings, saying they were drawn from just two per cent of similarly aged Porsches on the road.

A spokesman said Porsche models had topped other industry surveys for design and performance.

Here’s What 44 Countries List As The Greatest Dangers In The World

Amid rising conflicts engulfing the Middle East, most of the 44 nations surveyed in a new Pew Research Center study listed the top threat in the world as “religious and ethnic hatred.”

Nations were given the option of selecting between five dangers: nuclear weapons, pollution, AIDS and other diseases, inequality, and religious and ethnic hatred.

At 58%, Lebanon had the highest level of concern of any country and identified religious and ethnic hatred as the single greatest danger to the world, correlating to its diverse religious makeup of Shia Muslims, Sunni Muslims, Lebanese Christians, Greek Orthodox, and Jews.

Meanwhile, severe battles between Hezbollah and Jabhat al-Nusra have brought war to Lebanon. Egypt, Israel, Palestine, and Tunisia also shared Lebanon’s concern.

Meanwhile in the West, “the gap between the rich and the poor is increasingly considered the world’s top problem by people living in advanced economies,” the Pew Research Center says. 

Americans, and generally most European nations listed “inequality” as the world’s greatest danger. Spain cited this concern at a rate of 54%, the highest level of concern in this category.

Ukraine and Russia both named “nuclear weapons” as their highest threat, along with Japan, Pakistan, and Turkey. It is estimated that Russia —which leads the world in number of nuclear weapons — along with the US, UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea, possess approximately 17,000 nuclear weapons altogether.

Most African countries claimed “AIDS and other infectious diseases” as their most pressing issue in the world today.

Fearing Russia may be arming Argentina, Britain beefs up Falkland Islands defences

Argentina’s cabinet chief says Britain’s £180m plan to bolster the Falklands’ defences over 10 years is ‘cheap nationalism’ before the 7 May general election

Argentina has branded Britain’s plans to beef up defences in the Falklands a provocation and a pre-election stunt .

The British defence secretary, Michael Fallon, said on Tuesday that the UK would spend £180m over 10 years to counter “continuous intimidation” from Argentina. The two countries went to war over the islands in 1982.

“This business from Great Britain is a provocation, not just to Argentina but also to the United Nations,” Argentina’s foreign minister, Hector Timerman, said on Wednesday.

The UN’s decolonisation committee adopted a resolution last year calling on Britain to negotiate with Argentina on the islands’ status, as Buenos Aires has long demanded.

Britain argues the islanders should decide for themselves which country they want to belong to. In a 2013 referendum, 99.8% voted to remain a British overseas territory.

Timerman said the British defence initiative made “no sense”. “We are committed to dialogue and international law,” he told Radio del Plata.

Timerman said Argentina would file a formal complaint with the decolonisation committee, saying Britain was “expressly violating UN regulations on not altering the situation when there is a state of controversy regarding a territory’s sovereignty”.

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s cabinet chief, Aníbal Fernández, said the plan was less about Argentinian threats and more about the campaign for Britain’s general election on 7 May.

“They’re facing elections, so they resort to cheap nationalism to put all of British society on tenterhooks over a military matter,” he told a press conference.

Argentina invaded the Falklands, which it calls the Malvinas, in April 1982, sparking a war that it lost in just over two months.

The conflict claimed the lives of 649 Argentinian soldiers, 255 Britons and three islanders.

Barbados plans to replace Queen with ceremonial president

The Queen and Prince Philip driving through Barbados waving to the crowds on their 1966 tour.

 

Freundel Stuart, the prime minister, tells colleagues that island nation will have its own head of state by 50th anniversary of independence in 2016

It has long been independent from Britain, but the eastern Caribbean island of Barbados looks set to sever links with the Queen, drawing up plans to replace her as head of state with a president.

Freundel Stuart, the prime minister, told supporters of the ruling Democratic Labour party (DLP) that the island was functioning as a republic, according to the Jamaica Observer.

“We respect (the Queen) very highly as head of the Commonwealth and accept that she and all of her successors will continue to be at the apex of our political understanding. But, in terms of Barbados’s constitutional status, we have to move from a monarchical system to a republican form of government in the very near future,” Stuart said.

George Pilgrim, general secretary of the DLP, confirmed the development and said the change was expected to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Barbados’s independence in 2016.

A draft bill will have to be put before parliament.

Pilgrim said: “We don’t expect any opposition coming from the opposition party.

“This will move the country through to the next major step in the process of nationhood.”

He added that Barbados would remain part of the Commonwealth, of which the Queen is head, thus retaining some links with the crown.

It is not the first time Barbados has considered becoming a republic. In 2005, Owen Arthur, then prime minister, outlined his proposals for dropping the Queen in favour of a locally elected president, but the process was not completed.

The same year, the Caribbean court of justice became Barbados’s final court of appeal, instead of the London-based privy council, which has long served as the highest court of appeal for many former British colonies.

The island became independent from Britain in 1966.

The Queen’s Royal style and title in Barbados is Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Barbados and of Her other Realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth. She is represented through the largely ceremonial role of the governor general.

The monarch has made five official visits to the island, including in 1977 when she left by Concorde on her first supersonic flight. In 1989, she visited to celebrate the 350^th anniversary of the Barbados parliament.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “It is a matter for the government and people of Barbados.” Downing Street appeared to be unaware of the decision, which was announced on Sunday night.

A spokesman for David Cameron, the prime minister, said: “I expect the approach will be consistent with self-determination, decisions around this being a matter for the people involved.”

Portia Simpson Miller, prime minister of Jamaica, pledged in 2012 to replace the Queen as head of state.

The Queen is sovereign of 15 Commonwealth realms in addition to the UK.

Take A Mouth-Watering Tour Of School Lunches From Around The World (And The Embarrassing U.S. Equivalent)

Eating at the school cafeteria could’ve been amazing—if you grew up almost anywhere but the U.S.

For a fourth-grader in Italy, school lunch might include a caprese salad, local fish on a bed of arugula, pasta, and a baguette.

A school cafeteria in France might serve steak, brie, and a plentiful helping of fruits and vegetables. In comparison, a typical school lunch in the U.S. looks fairly embarrassing: Some fried chicken, congealed fruit salad, and a giant cookie.

These images are all from a recent photo series, created by the salad chain Sweetgreen, showing what school lunches look like around the world. Each plate is meant to be representative of a typical lunch and was put together by intepreting local government standards and studying Tumblr photos taken by elementary students.

“We wanted to look at how kids are eating around the world—not in a literal way, not that this is exactly how every plate looks, but as a way to relate to how we eat in this country,” says Sweetgreen‘s co-founder Nic Jammet, who started the company with his friends while in college because they were sick of their school’s own mediocre cafeteria food.

The company says that the photos illustrate the basic fact that we shouldn’t necessarily be eating the same thing in every location. “You should be eating what grows around you,” says Jammet. But they also show how far the U.S. has to go to give kids anything approaching a balanced diet.

Thirty-two million students in the U.S. eat cafeteria food each day. Compared to their peers who bring lunch from home, they’re fatter, eat fewer vegetables, and have higher cholesterol. Only 2% of middle school students actually attend schools that fully meet theUSDA‘s nutritional guidelines.

Sweetgreen, which operates a healthy eating education program in schools, argues that part of the solution is education. “Kids have been marketed unhealthy food in a really big way over the years,” says Jammett. “I think it’s time for healthy food to use the same tools.”

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