Chris Barnes, formerly an Australian tour guide, once saw a dead female kangaroo at the side of the road. While the body was in the first stages of decomposition, there was a joey in her pouch barely alive, that had been left for dead. Barnes took the helpless joey, whom he named Palau, and decided to raise her. A year later, Palau was healthy and able to be released.
Barnes missed his friend, and realized that there was no sanctuary in Australia to handle the situation he had with Palau. He also recognized the need to educate the public about orphaned joeys in similar circumstances. Intent on making a difference in the lives of these animals, Barnes began to work two jobs to cover the cost of helping orphaned Joeys. Eventually, an uncle of his passed on and left Barnes the money to build a sanctuary and continue his passion. Since then, Barnes has acted as parent to more than 200 joeys in need.
See many more adorable shots, a video, and read the full story of Barnes' commitment here, and visit and donate to his Kangaroo Sanctuary.
Lisa Marcus's Blog Posts
Image: reddit.com
If there's any creature that isn't in need of pajamas, it's one who's covered in a cozy coat of fur. Yet these pups in pajamas for the sake of a picture are... I hate to admit it, but they're ridiculously cute. I didn't think there were many ways to improve upon the cuteness of a puppy, but pupjamas rachet things up to another level of cute. I'm going to imagine the "perfect world" scenario that, just after these shots were captured, these puppies were given many tasty treats in direct proportion to the nuisance of donning people clothes.
See more absolutely adorable puppies in pajamas here.
Image: reddit.com
Household Hacker presents this video full of egg tips and tricks. Not all involve the stove, either. Microwave and conventional oven tricks are included, which offer a number of ideas for a quick egg breakfast, even for folks short on time.
The Farnsworth House | Image: Marco 2000
In 1945, wealthy nephrologist Dr. Edith Farnsworth of Chicago commissioned celebrated modern architect Mies van der Rohe to design a weekend home at which she could enjoy her hobbies of playing the violin, translating poetry and enjoying nature.
Van der Rohe came up with plans for the Farnsworth House which, after construction in a then rural expanse 55 miles south of Chicago, instantly became regarded as a model of modern architecture. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 and became a National Historic Landmark in 2006. The house is now a museum, run by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The architecture even exists as a LEGO kit. Yet Dr. Farnsworth was incensed to find the structure practically uninhabitable once she began spending time there.
Van der Rohe refused to install blinds or curtains to cover the floor-to-ceiling windows that were the walls of the house. Thus, the heating bills were tremendous, and Farnsworth had no privacy. Due to the fame of its architect, sightseers were constantly trying to get a glimpse of the building. The doctor complained that people with cameras were snapping pictures of her in her underwear at night.
Also at night, the light from within and rural location attracted moths in droves. Insects and mosquitoes infested the open plan areas. Despite Dr. Farnworth suing Van der Rohe — her rumored former romantic liason — over these drawbacks, she was left with no recourse when she lost her suit.
Read about other revered architectural masterpieces that were living nightmares, including the Palace of Versailles and the homes of Frank Lloyd Wright, here.
Skirt Blown Up Over Grate Shot of Marilyn Monroe from The Seven-Year-Itch | Image Source
Perspective is everything, and in the case of these famous photographs, seeing the scene from even a slightly alternate view can be an eye opener. This fascinating collection of iconic tableaux shot from different angles than we're accustomed to seeing may just — from a spatial or relational context — set everything viewers previously knew to "wrong."
Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin, scaling the side of a building | Image Source
Star Wars Episode IV opening crawl | Image Source
It's not hard to understand why some of the little dogs shown in this video choose big beds in which to stretch out. It must feel like one person basking in the glory of a king-sized bed all their own. What's more difficult to understand are these huge dogs trying to cram themselves into teeny tiny dog beds. Are they going for the "cat in a too-small cardboard box" secure feeling or what? It's a pet question for the ages. -Via Daily Pic Dump
YouTube user Timothy W. captured this video of his four-month-old baby watching his wife eat tortilla chips. For some reason, mommy crunching makes baby laugh. If that was my baby, I'd be eating chips too, just to see that adorable smile. Someone get that baby an agent! -Via Tastefully Offensive
Maymo the lemon beagle is one smart pup, and his human constantly throws challenges at him. In this odd turn of events, Maymo is met with carrots tied to the blades of the ceiling fan with string, which looks like some kind of carrot carnival ride. But this weird orange contraption is no match for Maymo, particularly since he's aware that it's edible. -Via Arbroath
Jeffrey Milstein is a New-York based photographer who took great aerial view images of some of the world's largest cruise ships. Milstein spent months on the shots, which he captured using high-resolution equipment from a helicopter hovering above these massive ships as they sailed. Milstein said of his series,
"Giant cruise ships, over three football fields long, have become unique floating cities. Photographed symmetrically from directly above in very high resolution, the large gallery prints, up to 74 inches, show the viewer a detailed view not commonly seen.The ships can be seen with their passengers lounging on deck chairs, playing on water park slides, putting greens, running tracks, and basketball courts. They have a curious beauty and tell us something about how we as a culture form instant communities for shared recreation and relaxation."
See the entire series here, and visit Milstein's website to see more of his photography. His work is definitely worth your time.
Angelina Jolie had a leg up in show business due to her famous parents, actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand. If that wasn't enough of a head start, Angelina's godparents are Jacqueline Bisset and Maximilian Schell. While many would assume her connections ensured that her young life was fairly easy, that wasn't the case. Jolie struggled with problems such as an eating disorder, self harming by cutting, drug abuse and other troubles. At age 24 she had a nervous breakdown and had a brief stay in a psych ward. Jolie says what ultimately turned her around and gave her stability was adopting a child. She told USA Today,
"I was just being a young girl who was experimental, bold and a bit nutty. I was absolutely self-destructive. I think a lot of young people in this business lose their way. You don't know what is of value. You don't know where you are. And you know something's wrong, because it isn't life as it actually is. It's like living in some warped reality. I knew once I committed to Maddox, I would never be self-destructive again."
Jolie may not have had her life together at the time this collection of thirty black-and-white photos of her as a young model were taken, but she obviously had the beauty thing cornered.
Carol, art director in advertising
Canadian photographer Melanie Gillis' gender bending project Animus consists of images of females as they appear in their everyday lives alongside shots of them in drag. The name of the series is a reference to Carl Jung. The anima and animus are elements of Jung's theory of the collective unconscious. The unconscious of the male contains a feminine inner personality called the anima; the female's masculine inner personality is the animus.
Gillis' series features diptych images of the feminine and masculine sides of the subects opposite each other. The photographer captured the women in their personal or professional spaces and used their wardrobes and ideas for the shoot. Thus, in a way, the masculine side of each woman was coaxed out in the form of creative ideas as to how they'd style themselves as masculine.
See the rest of the series here.
Marta, photographer
Three adorable lion cub sisters aged three months have fun of the rough and tumble variety as they vie for a ball at Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. These cuties were recently named Huruma (aka Uma), Kya and Willa. Huruma, meaning "compassion" in Swahili, was chosen by the curator and lion keepers at Cincinnati Zoo in honor of a recently-deceased staff member at St. Louis Zoo who helped hand raise Imani, the mother of the cubs.
And from the "Yikes" file, Polish biker Michal Kollbek rides the White Line in Sedona, Arizona in this video footage. His risky adventure was filmed by Marshall Mullen. -Via Gizmodo
Dennis is a dachshund from from Columbus, Ohio who was abused by his former owners in the form of being grossly overfed hamburgers and pizza. The poor dog grew to an uncomfortable and unhealthy 56 pounds. Luckily for Dennis, he was saved by a relative of his owners, a 26-year-old nursing student named Brooke Burton. Under Burton's program of diet and exercise, this former jumbo weiner dog has shrunk to a svelte 12 pounds; losing over 75 percent of his body weight. Dennis' previous large size necessitated skin-removal surgery after he shed the weight, which Burton was able to raise money for on GoFundMe.
She told 10TV News:
"I wasn't even sure what breed of dog he was supposed to be because he was so large,”
Burton took the dachshund on long walks and fed him a strict diet of dry dog food, in addition to giving him a lot of love to fight any depression or discomfort he experienced from being so heavy. Great job, Brooke!
Keep up with Dennis in his new fighting shape on his Facebook page, "Dennis' Odyssey: Health, Wellness, Awareness & Education."
Via Daily Dot | Images: Facebook
Seati Penthouse
You just won mega millions in the lotto and you're looking for a piece of ridiculously expensive and decadent real estate in which to luxuriate? Try these not-so-humble abodes on for size. Our one-percenter tour starts with the photo above, the $27 million Seati Penthouse in beautiful Miami. This space on the 40th floor of the Seati Tower consists of four bedrooms, six bathrooms and offers spectacular ocean views. The penthouse also includes a private terrace, pool, and hot tub.
The photo below is the tallest residential space in Singapore, a 21,000+ square foot, three-story penthouse with a roof garden. This beauty will only set you back $47 million. The view looks like it's worth a few mil alone.
See photos and descriptions of the remaining 13 pricey penthouses here.
The Clermont Residence