Staff members at the Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon were able to save the life of this cheetah cub when he was rejected by his mother at birth. When the mother failed to clean off the birth sack, the cheetah keepers had to step in to save the cub from suffocating. After time in an incubator, the cub is being raised by the staff and so far is healthy and thriving.
Cheetahs are an endangered species due to loss of habitat, poaching and hunting by livestock owners protecting their herds. This cub is the 174th cheetah born at the Wildlife Safari, one of the most prolific breeders of cheetahs in the United States. Via Zooborns.
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Say you start dating someone you'd like to impress, but they are into art, and your artsiest idea is craft beer. For a mere $300-$500, Savador Dalí — or, rather, his French cookbook "Les Diners de Gala," published in 1973 — can come to your rescue. Tell your honey you plan to cook them a dinner fit for Dalí. What's on the menu? Why, everything from frog legs to desserts. There's even a chapter called "Aphrodisiacs" (the title of which translates to "I eat Gala." Probably not a coincidence that Gala was also the name of his wife)! Dalí's trademark bizarre beauty of the illustrations should win you enough points to get through the evening, even if your cooking skills are terrible.
Front and back cover of the cookbook
Chapter on Meats
Poultry
Aphrodesiacs
Desserts
One thing you can cross off your shopping list: spinach, about which Dalí writes,
"I only like to eat what has a clear intelligible form. If I hate that detestable degrading vegetable called spinach, it is because it is shapeless, like Liberty."
Of course! If it made logical sense, it wouldn't be Dalí!
Via Dangerous Minds.
In Pete Holmes' latest episode of Realistic Mario, Yoshi the dinosaur has a seemingly insatiable appetite, and the result is more than a little bloody. Watch out Mario and friends, the only journey Yoshi wants to help you with is the one that leads to his stomach! Via Laughing Squid.
This video is a compilation of clips that represent the history of special effects from the years 1874-2014. Pieced together by video editor Jim Casey, who set it to musical piece “Liberi Fatali” from Final Fantasy VIII, it has something to love for every film enthusiast. Via Twisted Sifter.
PicoBrew, a Seattle startup company run by a former Microsoft executive, is set to begin shipping their new home beer brewing machine, the Zymatic. In October 2013, the PicoBrew principals launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund their venture. The idea was to create the equivalent of a high-end espresso maker for the home brewer. Their $150,000 goal was met in a single day, and they have gone on to amass over $660,000. Nothing like a bit of prospective customer support!
Earlier versions of home brewing devices have been on the market prior to this, but they were more expensive and limited as to the kind of beer they could produce. At $1699, Zymatic is still cost prohibitive for many households, although professional craft beer brewers have been eyeing the machine for possible use on testing small batches, as the machine isn't limited to the type of beer it produces.
Zymatic does have an interesting feature: the machine connects to the Internet and is capable of sharing recipe and batch information with other home brewers. Ingredients are mixed automatically and the user can walk away and return to a batch of unfermented beer in 3.5 hours. After a week of fermentation and added carbonation, the recipe is ready to meet a frosty mug.
Visit the PicoBrew website to learn more. Story via Forbes.
Adrenaline junkies are sure to delight in a new feature called "Tilt!" on the 94th floor of the John Hancock Center in Chicago. Located in the John Hancock Observatory, now renamed "360° Chicago," Tilt! doesn't appear to be much from the inside, except floor-to-ceiling windows with long, metal bars attached vertically between them. The adventurous participants stand against the windows, which overlook Chestnut street and offer views of the Water Tower and Michigan Avenue. Then they hold on to the bars as an eight-window portion of the wall slants outward at a 30° angle. Tilters are suspended against the glass as they look out at the spectacular view and down at the 1000-foot drop to the pavement. Windows, don't fail them now!
Read more about Tilt! at the Chicago Tribune.
Steve Axford, a retired IT professional, says he is now free to devote time to his primary interests: photography and travel. Axford's photography is largely an exploration of the natural world, from the smallest plant life to volcanoes. He prefers to photograph remote areas that are infrequently traveled. While documenting the terrain surrounding his home in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales, Australia, which he describes as "once a huge area of uninterrupted lowland, subtropical rainforest," Axford has come across lesser known and rarely photographed examples of subtropical fungal species. Axford, in explaining his motivation, said,
"I try to combine the beauty I see with some scientific accuracy, so most of my photos could be used to identify things and will show the fine detail. Recently I have started to take time lapse videos of mushrooms, and other things, growing. This adds another dimension to an already fascinating world and sometimes allows a glimpse into the world of interactions between different life forms."
See more of Axford's compelling captures at his SmugMug and Flickr sites. Via Colossal.
The pool pictured above is located at the Hanging Gardens Ubud Hotel in Bali, Indonesia. It is a split-level infinity pool made with stone from the area and containing a wall of solidified volcanic ash. Swimmers are suspended high up over treetops of the lush jungle below.
Architect Popo Danes designed the hotel and grounds with the intent to blend in with the contours of the land and existing natural habitat.
The pool's upper level has a spacious deck, which is connected to the hotel bar. The lower level is built for added privacy and is nearly hidden from view. Guests seeking a romantic evening can reserve the lower level of the pool to dine on a floating, wooden deck draped with sheer fabric. From this candlelit deck, the diners are treated to views of an ancient temple in the distance, with nighttime jungle sounds as their "musical accompaniment."
See a larger photo gallery of spectacular swimming pools from some of the most luxurious resorts in the world at this LifeBuzz article.
The Denver Zoo is celebrating the recent birth of an animal on the endangered species list: a Malayan Tapir named Baku. The calf, whose name is the Japanese word for "tapir," is the second born to mother Rinny and father Benny. A baku is also a spirit in Asian folklore that protects against evil and wards off the nightmares of children.
Baku's birth was free of complications, as opposed to that of his older brother Dumadi, born in December of 2012. Dumadi had liquid in his lungs at birth and was unable to breathe until a member of the zoo staff performed "mouth to snout resuscitation."
See more pictures of Baku and his family at Zooborns.
Hugo Germain, an 18-year-old math and physics student from France, is receiving recognition for his artful animated gifs and videos. Germain says that his work is inspired by "everyday life," but he also lists both Mattrunks and Videocopilot as influences (as well as fine places for those interested in learning Adobe After Effects, a software program used in the creation of motion graphics). Germain, in explanation of his artistic thought process, said
"Mainly it’s a way for me to provide inspiration and make people question basic things we take for granted. I often wonder “What if this or that was different/existed? What would that look like?” Being able to actually create an answer to that question is very exciting for me."
See more of Hugo Germain's work at his website Graphonaute.
This restaurant is built into a cliff in the Swiss Alps, offering beautiful mountain views in the area of Wasserauen, Switzerland. Once diners are through with their meals, they can catch a cable car back to the base of the valley. The pressure is off with regards to making stimulating conversation to keep tablemates on the edge of their seats when the restaurant itself is a cliff hanger!
Learn about the other restaurants with stunning surroundings pictured here and see more examples at this post on Twisted Sifter.
While few people are lucky enough to face the issue of how best to clip their nails in zero gravity, this video of Commander Chris Hadfield demonstrating his technique is a great reminder for everyone that containing and disposing of nail clippings is the way to go.
This photograph of a tigress named Busaba was selected out of more than 22,000 entries from over 150 countries as the Grand Prize Winner and Nature Winner of the National Geographic Photo Contest for 2012. Photographer Ashley Vincent said of her winning shot, taken at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand:
"I had taken many portraits of Busaba previously and it was becoming more and more difficult to come up with an image that appeared any different to the others. Which is why I took to observing her more carefully during my visits in the hope of capturing something of a behavioural shot. The opportunity finally presented itself while watching Busaba enjoying her private pool then shaking herself dry."
See the winners in all three categories — nature, places and people — at National Geographic. Link
(Image credit: Ashley Vincent)
This beautiful white cat named Kido seems to have a special talent for winning at the shell game. Those who warn that the game cannot be won should bring Kido along and see if their luck changes.
Todd McFarlane wears many hats. Comic book artist, writer, toymaker and film animator, to name a few. But his otherworldly characters wear a lot of gear as well. Armor. Spikes. Horns, bones and tusks. Weird weapons. Evil appendages. Parrots and platform shoes?! You name it, McFarlane's created it.
The gallery above includes three of the top ten most bizarre McFarlane figures, as compiled by Topless Robot. See the rest, including the writer's amusing descriptions, at their site. Link
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