Image: Sweetwater Portraits

Some of the most wonderful wedding ceremonies involve the bucking of certain age-old traditions. In a perfect example, bride Christine Quinn asked her grandmother Betty to be one of her four bridesmaids, and the delightful 89-year-old eventually accepted. When Christine first posed the question, Betty said, 

"Are you sure? Why would you want an old lady in your bridal party? All of your bridesmaids are young and pretty, why would you want me?"

But once her granddaughter assured Betty that she was certain she wanted her as a member of the wedding party, Betty's apprehension turned to enthusiasm. The result was not only great pictures, but a meaningful ceremony that obviously emphasized the importance of family over fashion. 

Visit THe Huffington Post to read more on this story and to see the adorable wedding photos of the bridal party. 

Image: Fyrelight

Mothers and fathers with their beloved babies — rarely is there a scene that's so naturally sweet and meaningful. These Animal Kingdom moms and pops of the canine variety don't need language to express the love they feel for their offspring: it's found in their body language, eyes and faces.

See a large and undeniably adorable collection of dogs bonding with their new puppies here. 

Image: gabbitronn


Image: starer


Image: unknown

Image: Farhad Ghaderi

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Veteran actor Kevin Bacon has a problem. A problem he feels can be solved by him being naked. And other men being naked. Naked on film. Let him explain his deeply felt concern to you and learn what you can do to support this noble cause in this video to promote the "Free the Bacon" campaign. Oh yeah, it's NSFW. -via Mashable

A photo posted by Tal Peleg (@tal_peleg) on Nov 2, 2014 at 12:38pm PST

Makeup artist Tal Peleg (previously featured at Neatorama for other whimsical creations) has been recognized again lately for these wonderful feline designs, which is only one of her concentrations in the past year. Peleg gets creative with any number of shiny and perfectly shaped objects to add to her designs — even the peephole from her door, as seen in the shot below. 

Check out Peleg's Facebook and Instagram: it seems that there's nothing that she can't paint to add fantasy and sparkle to the windows of souls. 

A photo posted by Tal Peleg (@tal_peleg) on Dec 13, 2014 at 9:06am PST

A photo posted by Tal Peleg (@tal_peleg) on Jul 18, 2014 at 6:42am PDT

Day after day, we are inundated with messages issued via machine. Phones. Computers. Software and apps built into everything from cabs to washing machines. What if every message delivered to us via those "technological wonders" were completely honest, or even said what we were thinking at the moment? Would it make it harder or easier to hit the button necessary in order to proceed?

Connor Toole at Elite Daily created a number of entertaining graphics that represent the brutally honest side of technological messages. See them all here. 

By now, most people are aware of the recent incident involving an American dentist killing a protected Zimbabwean lion named Cecil. The death of the lion evoked outrage and sadness amongst animal lovers worldwide and brought the issue of hunting protected animals into prominence. 

One way Cecil's legacy will live on is as a Ty Beanie Baby, it was announced in a press release on August 3. Ty Warner has created a Cecil the lion Beanie Baby in memory of the fallen lion. Ty says that 100% of the profits from sales of the Cecil toy will go to the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit of the University of Oxford, the group who was engaged in study of the lion when he was killed and continues to work toward African wildlife conservation.

Read more on this story at the Chicago Tribune.

Via Mashable | Image: Ty Inc.

When it comes to movies, one of my favorite directors has always been Martin Scorsese. One reason behind that is I prefer my films with a good dose of gritty realism. Disney characters? Not known for gritty realism. But about as real as it gets is showing Disney princesses in old lady mode. They're gray, they're matronly, they've lost their sex appeal. It's slightly depressing: just the way old age should be! All jokes aside though, BuzzFeed staffer Loryn Brantz has prepped a number of princesses for past-prime time. See them all here. 

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From barley beer in 8,500 B.C. to the high-alcohol beers of 2010. The Atlantic's animated video "Good Libations: A Brief Visual History of Booze" provides viewers a quirky and graphically appealing glance at poison picks throughout history, showing us the drinks and their approximate years of origin. Via Laughing Squid

Image: The God of Pegana / Deviant Art

During his prolific writing career, Stephen King has created a wealth of unforgettable scenarios and characters, both horrific and dramatic. Many have been brought to the screen by now, with varying degrees of success. As such, and in this cinematic climate of sequels and reboots, a number of television and movie productions based on King's writings are in the works. One of them is his unusual story of kinky sex gone wrong, Gerald's Game.

As the story goes, a married couple into bondage leave home to vacation in an isolated cabin in the woods, with intent to play their favorite sex games in secluded privacy. But when something goes wrong during their sex play, things turn horrific in an instant. Given a great cast and talented director, a lot could be done with the premise. 

Read all of the Stephen King movies and television shows in development here. Are you looking forward or hopefully optimistic about any of them? Weigh in with your comments. 

Monday is typically the day that most people find themselves dreaming of their bed at some point during the day. Yet for some sleep worshippers, the day of the week makes no difference: bed is the place to be, and if they can't be there, they daydream about its comfort.

The Lingvistov brand of illustrated items is the brainchild of two Russian teachers Asia and Landysh, who were educated in linguistics and initially taught language. Their simple graphics that make the most of a mix of illustration and words are a delight. See all of their odes to sleep here, and check out the website, Facebook and Instagram of the illustrators to keep up with their works. 

Visitors to the Maldives can have a unique, underwater dining experience in high style at Subsix restaurant. To get to the destination, diners take a speedboat ride over a reef to a location less than 2000 feet offshore. Upon arrival, they descend a three-tier staircase lit with Italian chandeliers and surrounded by elaborate cabinetry and mirrors. 

The décor of Subsix is themed around the reef setting, complete with chairs designed to look like anemones, capiz shells draped from the ceiling and chandeliers reminiscent of coral. Diners sit near large windows that allow them to feast their eyes on 90 coral reef species and a vast array of marine life as they feast on their cuisine inside. Regular sights include parrotfish, moray eels, grouper, butterflyfish, damselfish and a Hawksbill turtle.

Learn more about Subsix and see more gorgeous photos at its designers' website, Poole and Associates.

Via Contemporist | Images: Poole and Associates

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This summer of 2013 video is still making rounds online, and for good reason. Created by students from De Montfort University, the 3D rendering of London before the Great Fire of 1666 is incredibly well done. According to Londonist,

“Although most of the buildings are conjectural, the students used a realistic street pattern and even included the hanging signs of genuine inns and businesses mentioned in Samuel Pepys' diary.”

To learn more about the source material and making of the animation, visit the project's blog.

YouTube Link

Kiango the baby giraffe was born on June 14, 2015 at The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo in Indiana. Staff members captured this sweet footage of Kiango dreaming giraffe calf dreams in his downtime. According to his zookeepers, adult giraffes typically sleep in a standing position, perhaps lying down briefly on occasion. Babies, however, generally do their sleeping lying down. Sweet dreams, Kiango. Via Fort Wayne Children's Zoo Facebook page

"Charlie Bit My Finger"
YouTube Link

Considering the impact the existence of YouTube has had on the internet experience as we know it, it's hard to imagine that the service is only ten years old. Founded on February 14th, 2005, the largely individual-based video sharing service has a content that is as varied as the human experience. From the absolutely bizarre to the epitome of human talent to the unbelievably obscure, it can be found on YouTube.

This grouping of classic viral videos that helped to put YouTube on the map run the gamut of that variety. The two videos featured here were chosen primarily due to being SFW; some others in the collection are not, despite their entertainment value.

Sneezing Baby Panda 
YouTube Link

Brooke Shields

This collection of family photos capture moments between mothers, sons and daughters, many from show business or high-profile families that have one generation of celebrity after another. Some, like Brooke Shields above, were pushed into show business by their aggressive stage moms. Others, like Demi Moore and Rumer as well as Susan Sarandon and Eva, are daughters with high hopes following their famous actress mothers into the business. See the entire 25-photo collection here.  

 Miley Cyrus

Sarah Silverman

Justin Timberlake