Collection of Castles During Winter Amazing. Wonderful. Spectacular. Dramatic. Extraordinary. The national park, founded in 2005, stretches some 75 kilometres from north to south in the Western Sayan and is well-known in Russia – if not yet abroad – for its untouched beauty. Bluebell woods may be found in all parts of Great Britain and Ireland, as well as elsewhere in Europe. Keukenhof also known as the Garden of Europe, is the world’s largest flower garden. Point Reyes National Seashore is a 71,028-acre (287.44 km2) park preserve located on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, California, USA.
Architecture Imagine the renovation dilemmas. A huge penthouse of a converted 1930s office building in TriBeCa, New York, is to be turned into a functioning home for a family with three teenagers. In fact, we can not quite imagine the issues that faced Steven Harris Architects when the family showed up, literally, at the doorstep of the celebrated architect and asked if he’d like to work on their home. Harris said yes and proceeded to make his magic. The scale of the apartment is huge and the freedom from budget constraints allowed for some spectacular solutions. Harris’s work is often distinguished by clarity and light, by the use of glass, by the maximization of views and, above all, bold solutions. What emerged as a result of the TriBeCa Penthouse project, is a multi-level (27th and 28th floors) nearly 8,000 square-foot (743 square meter) family-friendly residence that includes self-contained guest quarters and a new glass-and-teak-beam rooftop pavilion that functions as a recreation room.
Neuschwanstein Castle Neuschwanstein Castle is a 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as an homage to Richard Wagner. Contrary to common belief, Ludwig paid for the palace out of his personal fortune and extensive borrowing, not with Bavarian public funds. The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886. Since then over 60 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle. More than 1.3 million people visit annually, with up to 6,000 per day in the summer.The palace has appeared prominently in several movies and was the inspiration for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle and later, similar structures.
Transportation We are wondering why it is that car manufacturers are tripping over each other inventing boring and redundant “super modern” and “high design” cars, when the end result is a sea of lookalikes. One can no longer recognize a “premium” make from a lower-end car, certainly not by distinctive and recognizable design features. They are unimaginative, uninspiring and suffer from a serious case of follow-itis. As opposed to being leaders and, in particular, design leaders. We see design tweaks and add-on features advertised as if they were a revolution when in fact, there’s nothing really significantly new or exciting. No wonder so many are giving up cars altogether. Our hopes are up a bit with a sighting of the carbon fiber-bodied “Bella Figura” Bugnotti. We are all for going back to the basics, to looking at the best and most beautiful models of the past and resurrecting them. Imagine if we could again drive cars this cool?
This week on gdgt: LG shows there's room for more than one mega-smartphone Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their latest picks -- along with a few you should probably avoid. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox. LG Optimus G Pro 5.5 Samsung's Galaxy Note II may dominate the "phablet" market, but that doesn't mean it's the only option if you want a giant smartphone. Fuji FinePix X20 Fuji's X20 is a slightly updated version of the X10 camera, featuring a new sensor and an updated optical viewfinder intended to give you more information -- like exposure data -- when framing your shots. Pure Jongo S340B Small, portable and colorful, the Jongo S340B is a WiFi-enabled speaker that provides 360 degrees of sound, but doesn't do enough to stand out among the competition. Drobo 5D Featured gdgt discussion
Top 100 Photos of the Year 2012 *Please note the photographs themselves were not necessarily taken in 2012, they just happened to be featured as a POTD this year. The pictures are also listed in reverse chronological order. There is no ranking amongst the photos Enjoy! Photograph by Robert Elves on Flickr Photograph by Stephen Wilkes | Prints available Photograph by George Steinmetz Photograph by Andrew Choy Photograph by Jakub Polomski on 500px Photograph via The Natioanl Archives and Records Administration Photograph by Caleb Charland COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Photograph by Jason Pope Photograph by Dan Fisher Photograph by Scott Robertson Photograph by Berenice Abbott Photograph by NASA/GSFC/SDO Photograph by Liammm on Reddit Photograph by haqbar on Reddit Photograph by Marcus Peabody Photograph by The Lost Gardens of Heligan Photograph by sleepychinchilla on Flickr Photograph by Scott Hutcheson (SMHutch Photography on Flickr) Photograph by Mario Neumann (scuba.hamburg on Flickr)
16 Bizarre yet Inspiring Structures The field of architecture has always been a subject of fascination for people and beauty is clearly in the eye of the beholder. This compilation will take you on a tour around the globe, pinpointing some of the most wonderful architectural landmarks, which do not respect the rigorous lines or the well-set rules of traditional architecture. All of the buildings here are pure reflections of the rich imagination and creativity of their masters and each of the structures is filled with intense symbolism. Enjoy this collection of bizarre, yet extremely beautiful landmarks from all over the world! 1. Image source Image source Image source Image source Image source This is an utterly bizarre yet extremely beautiful multimedia plaza, located in the province of Vienne (north of Poitiers) in France. The structure is made up of many pavilions that are built of glass and metal. 2. Image source Image source Image source Image source 3. Image source Image source Image source 4. Image source Image source 5. 6. 7.
Young girl who’s best friends with African wildlife Born in Africa to French wildlife photographer parents, Tippi Degré had a most unusual childhood. The young girl grew up in the African desert and developed an uncommon bond with many untamed animals including a 28-year old African elephant named Abu, a leopard nicknamed J&B, lion cubs, giraffes, an Ostrich, a mongoose, crocodiles, a baby zebra, a cheetah, giant bullfrogs, and even a snake. Africa was her home for many years and Tippi became friends with the ferocious animals and tribespeople of Namibia. As a young child, the French girl said, “I don’t have friends here. Because I never see children. Parents Alain Degré and Sylvie Robert documented Tippi’s life and relationships with the African wildlife and transformed those moments into captivating books and movies. Looking past some fairly obvious and natural parental worries, Tippi had the most amazing upbringing.
16 tech inventions that went amok in science fiction | Blastr - FrontMotion Firefox 16 tech inventions that went amok in science fiction Mon, May 20, 2013 11:11am You might build it with the best of intentions, but that doesn't mean it won't destroy the world. Science fiction is full of amazing technological ideas. For every good idea in sci-fi, there's a bad one that leads to horrific technological misadventures.