Tinselman

Dead in Paris

I recently took this photo at the Le Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. The skull's surface texture is especially fascinating: a texture which you can now study from the comfort of your cubicle! Just click on the above photo and it will enlarge to almost life-size proportions (though not quite that big).

Load time is fast. Firefox is preferred (for zooming in and out).

 

Blue Dragon

photo copyright ©2007 the doubtful guest

Dragons really do live! Of course, all you long horse disbelievers will probably deny the existence of this little beauty (without a second's thought), but I assure you, it is oh-so-very real. And strange. And blue.

It's real name? The pelagic sea slug. For more info, and to look at larger versions of the above great photo, visit the doubtful guest on flickr.

(via: spy's spice)

Staring at the Sun

My colorized version of Lagault's photo.

So you say astronomy is no fun? Then take a look at this blow-your-mind shot of the space shuttle and space station, silhouetted by a gigantic yellow sphere (the sun).

Thierry Lagault, the amateur photographer who took the photo yesterday (in Normandy), definetely deserves a round of applause... what a photo!

(via: Wohba!)

Mars Ice

Ice in crater at the north pole of Mars.
(makes great desktop wallpaper)

(via boing boing)

Mantis Contemplating Me

If you've ever sat and stared at praying mantis, you may have struck by it's uncanny tendency to stare right back. Which always seemed odd, for an insect. Maybe that's why, as a kid, I always left them alone – I always just assume let them be. But finding a praying mantis was still always a treat.

I've long since moved and I haven't seen a praying mantis in a long time. Never to fear... mantisuk.com can easily remedy this by supplying us with a wide variety of extraordinary mantids! Their sister site, bugsuk.com, is there for those of us who are more interested in the likes of stickbugs, millipedes, tarantulas, toads, hermit crabs and other exotic alternative pets.

By the way, there is a big plus to these alternative creatures. When they die, they can be eaten!

       

For More Insects:
• Easy Insects Store

Update: This is unbelievable: a praying mantis, eating a hummingbird (via: Boing Boing)

1000 Years of Clucking

This famous Bowthorpe Oak has used every ounce of her great and ancient power to shape herself into a cozy den for few chickens. Why? Perhaps, at 1000 years old, she has at last begun to sense there may be something worthwhile about the tiny feathered beings... even though they are short-lived, even though they are inestimably dumb.

And oh, and what a coop it is. Luxury coop! Coop of wondrous coops! What a grand place to fritter and cluck about one's business!

For more photos of famous trees, visit Ancient Trees.

Additional links:
• Famous Trees
• Wikipedia List of Famous Trees

Friendly Clouds Approaching

Beware. Your doom approaches. You are about to be sucked, like little Dorothy, into that witch-infested, freak-o-rama world they call Oz.

Oh, sorry... false alarm. These are just harmless Mammatus Clouds. These pouch-like shapes may look malicious, but they actually want to be your friend.

(via wohba!)

Disappearing Forests

Clear-cut land in British Columbia, Canada, as viewed from the space shuttle.

Tangled Maze of Caddo

Growing up in East Texas had its advantages. Caddo Lake was one of them. Named after the Caddo Indians, the lake is shrouded in mystery and myth. The legend of the lake tells of the Caddoan Chief. Warned in a dream to move his village away to higher ground, he refused to listen, and so the violent-earth-spirits shook the ground and swallowed up his village. Ergo Caddo Lake.

Scientists say it was just a big earthquake.

In any case, the result is something otherworldly: a tangled maze of swampy passages that seem to stretch on forever and ever. Maps can't begin to help (not even Google Maps). Comments like, "don't get lost out there; you'll never find your way back," used to give me the distinct impression that there were countless numbers of forever-adrift canoeists out there – bewitched by the fog and magic of the quiet, alligator-infested waters. And every once in great while, a mysterious, white Ghost Ship would wander along to gather them all up for one last long ride.