Citroen DS Safari

What it lacks in sex appeal and beauty it makes up for in utility and funk.  From the streets of Amsterdam.

Eduardo Kobra

"Brazilian street artist Eduardo Kobra is currently finishing his tribute to the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, who passed away last December at the age of 104. The new mural is 52 meters tall, 16 meters wide and it covers the entire side of a skyscraper on Paulista Avenue, one of Sao Paulo's busiest streets.

The work started on January 14th and since then, Kobra and four other artists from his team have been working on the painting around 6 hours a day to finish all the details.

The artwork was inspired by Niemeyer's architecture and among the colorful forms the viewer will find that some of them were based on Niemeyer's works.

Photo by Alan Teixeira

Mr. Chickpea

Great advice ..... 29 times

Left click on the image to enlarge it.

1951 Kaiser Drag'n

I found this of particular interest because I owned a Kaiser Special in the '70's.  It was a 1954 and was powered by a Continental 6 cylinder flathead engine.  I always loved the top line of the windshield and it really works on this custom build that was eight years long.

Mine was almost as cool as this one.

Images of the Drag'n are here

Rap and Bluegrass have a child...

I like it... it has a good beat and I can dance to it.  You can dance to it, too.  Go on.  Crank it up a bit and get up and dance.  See?  Easy dance music.

Li Hongho Pure White Paper

Asperatus Clouds over New Zealand

Francis Bavier

Hardly anyone would  recognize the name or identify her from the image shown.  It is safe to say some people remember the series she played in and her character.  It is Aunt Bee from the Andy Griffith Show.

Sportsmanship and beyond

I have always enjoyed the "On the Road" segments at CBS News.  A person would have to be pretty hard hearted to not be touched by this one.

The Joker

Mickey, what up ???

Getting a round to it

Date line: May 11, 1929

A photo from the International Rhonrader Contest in Wurzburg.  The Rhonrad, or German wheel, was invented in 1925, and apparently shown at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, but not as an official sport.

Early minimalists

This way to Barney's beat

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A lot of bull

Pohang Nga Bay

Andaman Sea, Thailand

New York Museum of Trash

Nelson Molina made the initial effort, but apparently his fellow sanitation workers have made numerous contributions as well.  Read the article in the New York Times or view the slideshow of the collection.

SunRay Kelley

Inspired By... SunRay Kelley from Shwood Eyewear on Vimeo.

I've got my eye on you

Herb and Dorothy

Herb Vogel never earned more than $23,000 a year. Born and raised in Harlem, Vogel worked for the post office in Manhattan. He spent nearly 50 years living in a 450-square-foot one-bedroom apartment with his wife, Dorothy, a reference librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library. They lived frugally. They didn't travel. They ate TV dinners. Aside from a menagerie of pets, Herb and Dorothy had just one indulgence: art. But their passion for collecting turned them into unlikely celebrities, working-class heroes in a world of Manhattan elites.

While their coworkers had no idea, the press noticed. The New York Times labeled the Vogels the "In Couple" of New York City. They counted minimalist masters Richard Tuttle and Donald Judd among their close friends. And in just four decades, they assembled one of the most important private art collections of the 20th century, stocking their tiny apartment floor-to-ceiling with Chuck Close sketches, paintings by Roy Lichtenstein, and sculptures by Andy Goldsworthy. Today, more than 1,000 of the works they purchased are housed in the National Gallery, a collection a curator there calls "literally priceless." J. Carter Brown, the museum's former director, referred to the collection as "work of art in itself."

The Vogels had no formal training in art collecting. They didn't aspire to open a gallery or work in museums. They bought art the way any amateur collector shops: for the love of the individual pieces and the thrill of a good deal. But you don't accumulate a priceless collection of anything by accident. Herb and Dorothy developed a methodical system for scouting, assessing, and purchasing art. When it came to mastering their hobby, the Vogels were self-trained professionals. This is how they did it.

Read the entire story from Mental Floss here

No Where to Run

In the apparent car theme of the day.....

High Speed Terror

There are a number of videos that have recorded peoples' reactions to riding in a race car at speed.  This is one example and it is just a minute long.  I don't know what people expect but it must be something other than what they experience.

The second video is Jaoa Barbosa giving his wife a ride around Daytona International Speedway in a Grand Am Daytona two seater prototype.  They reach speeds of 185mph.  The engine makes it difficult to hear her screams, but several times the decibel level of her screaming drowns out the engine noise.  It's all fun and games until he fires up and gets under way

High Speed Grocery Run

Frank Lecerf lives in Pont-de-Metz, France.  Frank was driving his Renault Laguna to get groceries when he experienced a problem.  When he tried to stop the car it sped up.  It continued to accelerate each time he tapped the brake.

Frank eventually reached 125mph and his crazy ride continued for an hour covering over 100 miles before ending in Belgium.  The story has a happy ending as no one was hurt.  Frank has contacted a lawyer.

Read the story in The Atlantic .

Insect Love

Happy Valentine's Day

Running with the big dogs

The world's tallest dog this is not, but this is:

Frank Lloyd Wright House

Frank Lloyd Wright designed a home that was built in Cincinnati in 1955.  It has just come on the market for the first time priced at $1.7M  It comes with four acres and some of the custom furniture original to the house.  It is located in Amberley Village.  

I am a big fan of Wright, but the redundant rectangles throughout this home are a bit much for my taste.

Additional photos of the house can be seen at Architizer.com

Where it go??

Military showdown

Lots of strut and attitude

Nice shingle

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Smartphones have a new role in medicine

I am sorry but I am not aware of a way to eliminate the advertisement before the video:

Gravity light

GravityLight: lighting for the developing countries from Therefore on Vimeo.

The people at deciwatt.org wanted to develop a device that would provide free light in developing countries.  They asked for $55,000 in support donations at indiegogo.com.  The pledges have amounted to $400,000.

It is basically a device that works by suspending a bag full of rocks and letting gravity turn a small generator which powers an LED.  Current production cost is about $10 per unit and with continued R&D they hope to bring the cost down to $5.

Lighting in rural areas of developing nations is largely provided by kerosene.  This is an expensive proposition as well as being dangerous and unhealthy.  The cost of a gravity light can be returned in cost savings over kerosene in about three months.

Red Bull Rampage 2012

Not your typical recreational morning bicycle ride.

King Richard III found

A skeleton found under a Leicester car park has been confirmed as that of English King Richard III.  Compelling evidence reinforces earlier speculation that they had found the 500 year old grave.  They should have that team work on finding Jimmy Hoffa.

Read the whole story at the BBC site.

Rarely Open

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It's that day again.

Happy Ground Hog Day

Arc de Triomphe

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Taken from the top of the staircase.