I was the Chinese Girl in Tretchikoff's painting - FrontMotion Firefox 6 May 2013Last updated at 20:19 ET Earlier this year Vladimir Tretchikoff's portrait Chinese Girl, often referred to as The Green Lady, was sold for almost £1m ($1.5m) at auction in London - a reflection of its status as one of the most popular prints ever made. The model, Monika Pon-su-san, recalls what it was like to be thrust into the limelight. One day in 1950, a curly-haired stranger walked into my uncle's laundry in Cape Town, where I worked. He stood there as I served a customer, his eyes fixed on me the whole time. "Hello!" Continue reading the main story “Start Quote I thought I looked like a monster from a horror film - I pulled an ugly face and said 'Ugh - green face!' End QuoteMonika Pon-su-san At that time Vladimir Tretchikoff wasn't very famous but by chance I had read about him in a newspaper just the Saturday before. So I was a bit nervous, but I said yes. I was given his wife's gown to put on. A lot of people ask me: "What is that stern look you had on your face?
Abuse awareness poster is 'only fully visible to children' - FrontMotion Firefox 6 May 2013Last updated at 15:18 GMT From the view of the average 10-year-old, more information is displayed on the poster A poster than can only be fully seen when looked at from a child's point of view has been used in an anti-child abuse campaign. Spanish organisation the Anar Foundation used lenticular printing - a technique which means those looking at different angles see a different image. On the poster, a "secret" message showing a child helpline would show up when seen from a child's height. The foundation said it helped children gain confidence to call the number. The campaign was designed get the information about where to find help to children who may be accompanied by their abuser. Seeking help The foundation worried that if a poster containing a phone number that both adult and child could see, the adult may possibly say things to dissuade the child from considering seeking help. Lenticular printing can also be used to produce a 3D effect
How many birds are killed by windows? - FrontMotion Firefox 4 May 2013Last updated at 03:43 ET By Charlotte McDonald BBC News Birds sometimes leave a collision imprint on windows - they don't always die Spring has arrived in the northern hemisphere, the sun is shining, the birds are migrating back from warmer climes. But do they face a deadly foe on their return - the pane of glass? The figures reported for bird strikes against windows are astonishing. It is often said that between 100 million and a billion birds die in the US each year after striking windows. These numbers appear in news articles, bird guides and even the American Bird Conservancy's website. In the UK, the British Trust for Ornithology estimated a few years ago that 100 million bird strikes occurred each year, of which a third are fatal. But are the numbers accurate? Continue reading the main story “Start Quote I don't think any reasonable person should be using those figures as facts until we have more supportive evidence” End QuoteProfessor Daniel Klem
Robotic insect: World's smallest flying robot takes off - FrontMotion Firefox 2 May 2013Last updated at 14:05 ET By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC News See the tiny robotic flies in action Scientists in the US have created a robot the size of a fly that is able to perform the agile manoeuvres of the ubiquitous insects. This "robo-fly", built from carbon fibre, weighs a fraction of a gram and has super-fast electronic "muscles" to power its wings. Its Harvard University developers say tiny robots like theirs may eventually be used in rescue operations. It could, for example, navigate through tiny spaces in collapsed buildings. The development is reported in the journal Science. Tethered flight: It will take "a few more years" before the robo-flies will be able to carry a power source Dr Kevin Ma from Harvard University and his team, led by Dr Robert Wood, say they have made the world's smallest flying robot. It also has the fly-like agility that allows the insects to evade even the swiftest of human efforts to swat them. Continue reading the main story
From industrial toil to tourism in Wales - FrontMotion Firefox 6 May 2013Last updated at 11:38 ET By Leigh Amor BBC Wales Continue reading the main story Miners waiting to go down the pit, 1976 Visitors to Big Pit, 1983 The view from the top of the zip wire at Zip World in Penrhyn Quarry, Bethesda Blue Lagoon at Abereiddy in Pembrokeshire A face shovel loading narrow gauge wagons in the 1950s at Cosmeston The west lake at Cosmeston Park The Keeper's Pond, Pwll Du Continue reading the main story Industry in Wales has declined over the past 30 years, but its profile as a tourist destination has grown in size and diversity. Former industrial sites have been converted into museums to preserve Welsh heritage but they are also being reshaped and reinvented into unlikely tourist attractions, from adventure parks to wildlife havens. A miner guide with visitors at Big Pit Mining Museum, 2012 The museum has welcomed more than 3.5m visitors from across the world since it conducted its first underground tour in April 1983. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
Missing the point. - FrontMotion Firefox THERE are lots of things worth cheering when a missing child is found alive. First, they're alive. About a fifth of children abducted by non-family members are killed, and most of them are dead within three hours of being snatched. It could be worse and thank heaven it's not. Second, they've either been rescued or managed to escape. Thirdly of course there's a grieving family somewhere which will experience an elation and joy it's hard to put into words. But the sight and sound of crowds cheering the news that three missing girls - Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight - have been found alive after up to 13 years in captivity in a Cleveland basement misses the point that there's an awful lot more to worry about than celebrate. The cheering reduces their story to the end of a feel-good movie - to a bedraggled Bruce Willis kissing his wife at the end of Die Hard, or Bill Murray standing on a New York cab after the Ghostbusters save the city from a giant marshmallow man.
Three US women missing for years rescued in Ohio - FrontMotion Firefox 7 May 2013Last updated at 08:59 ET A neighbour, Charles Ramsey, tells reporters: "We had to kick open the bottom of the door" Three young women who vanished in separate incidents about a decade ago in the US state of Ohio have been found alive in a house in Cleveland. Amanda Berry disappeared aged 16 in 2003, Gina DeJesus went missing aged 14 a year later, and Michelle Knight disappeared in 2002 aged around 19. Their discovery followed a dramatic bid for freedom by Amanda Berry on Monday, helped by a neighbour. Three brothers have been arrested in connection with the case. City officials are to hold a news conference on Tuesday morning. 911 call: "Help me I'm Amanda Berry... Cleveland police said the suspects are Hispanic, aged 50, 52 and 54, and one of them had lived at the house on Seymour Avenue. One was named as Ariel Castro, who has worked as a school bus driver. Police have said a six-year-old was also found at the home. "It's been a whirlwind kind of day. 'Here a long time'
Is the mystery of a 1908 blast 1,000 x stronger than an A-bomb solved? | Blastr - FrontMotion Firefox One Russian scientist think he's finally got the "Tunguska Event" figured out. In June 1908 (nearly 105 years ago now), an explosion rocked the forest land of Tunguska, Siberia, in Russia, killing one person and flattening trees (pictured above) in an area as big as Tokyo. The blast is said to have packed 1,000 times the power of the atomic bomb detonated at Hiroshima in 1945. Andrei E. Zlobin nicknamed the three samples "dental crown" (1), "whale" (2) and "boat" (3). "It's not hard to imagine that the political changes that engulfed the Soviet Union in the year after his expedition may have played a role in this, but it still requires some explaining," read a May 2 post on the Physics arXiv Blog. Still, it seems Zlobin's research may end up confirming the prevailing theory of what caused the Tunguska event. (Via Huffington Post)
Epic Dredd fan film is the closest we're gonna get to a sequel | Blastr - FrontMotion Firefox Last year’s Dredd film was great, but sadly, it was a box-office bomb. Luckily, with no sequel on the horizon, some fans have stepped in to fill the void. Enter: Judge Minty. Based on the minor character from the 2000AD comic series, this fan film tells the story of an aging Judge forced to face his own weakness. It’s 27 minutes of pure, unadulterated awesomeness. The film is so good that the folks at 2000AD and publisher Rebellion have given it their blessing, and the creators are even planning some screenings at a few fan cons. (Via Bleeding Cool)