January 2008 - Photos

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Photos - January 2008

World Pilgrimage Sites

January 30th 2008 05:46

Members of every major religion participate in pilgrimages. A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim.

Buddhism offers four sites of pilgrimage, one such site is Bodh Gaya where Buddha attained Enlightenment.

Pilgrimage site at Bodh Gaya in India. Where Buddha attained Enlightenment.

Bodh Gaya or Bodhgaya in the Gaya district of the Indian state of Bihar.

The Kaaba is the ancient stone building towards which all Muslims pray. It was originally one of multiple such buildings in Arabia, but was the only one made of stone, and therefore is the only one still standing. Many Muslims believe that it dates back to the time of Abraham in 2000 BC. All pilgrims are required to walk counter-clockwise around the Kaaba seven times, in a ritual called the Tawaf.

The Kaaba, inside the al-Masjid al-Haram mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

The Western Wall, or simply the Kotel, is a Jewish religious site located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is sometimes referred to as the Wailing Wall.

The Western wall or Wailing wall in the old city of Jerusalem, Israel.

Below are two more of the architecturally beautiful pilgrimage sites. You can see even more here.

Temple in Ethiopia. Perhaps the tomb of Haile Selassie

*These pictures used with permission from Damn Funny Pictures.

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Posted By: Ian - Category: places

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Mount Everest

January 28th 2008 06:43

The photos in today's post are of some of the earliest mountaineering expeditions up Mount Everest.

Mount Everest, also called Chomolungma or Qomolangma or Sagarmatha is the highest mountain on Earth, as measured by the height of its summit above sea level (8,848 metres (29,029 ft)). The mountain, which is part of the Himalaya range in High Asia, is located on the border between Nepal and Tibet, China. By the end of the 2006 climbing season there had been 3,050 ascents to the summit by 2,062 individuals, and at least 630 more ascents in 2007. There have been more than 200 deaths on the mountain.

In 1953, a ninth British expedition, led by John Hunt, returned to Nepal. Hunt selected two climbing pairs to attempt to reach the summit. The first pair (Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans) came within 300 feet of the summit on 26 May, but turned back after becoming exhausted. Two days later, the expedition made its second and final assault on the summit with its second climbing pair. The summit was eventually reached at 11:30 a.m. local time on May 29, 1953 by the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay from Nepal climbing the South Col Route. At the time, both acknowledged it as a team effort by the whole expedition, but Tenzing revealed a few years later that Hillary had put his foot on the summit first. They paused at the summit to take photographs and buried a few sweets and a small cross in the snow before descending.

The highest mountain on earth - Mount Everest

On June 8, 1924, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, both of the United Kingdom, made an attempt on the summit via the north col/north ridge route from which they never returned.
In 1999, the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition found Mallory's body in the predicted search area near the old Chinese camp. Controversy has raged in the mountaineering community as to whether the duo may have summited 29 years before the confirmed ascent (and of course, safe descent) of Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. The general consensus among climbers has been that they did not.

Highest peak on the planet - Mount Everest

*These images used with permission from Damn Funny Pictures.

**This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation Licence. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Mount Everest.

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Posted By: Ian - Category: nature

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Jim Warren Art

January 25th 2008 11:26

If you're a fan of the Jim Warren's fantasy artwork below then why not visit his website here to find out more.

Here's some info about Jim Warren taken from his website:
Jim Warren is one of the most successful & versatile artists in the world today!
From the wild & whimsical to the sweet & sensuous, for over 35 years Jim Warren has been painting his way into the hearts and minds of people the world over. Already considered a "living legend of the art world", Jim continues to surprise and amaze.
His versatility ranges from his unique portraits for celebrities, CEO's and families, to his illustrations ( from the 1980s) for books, movies and album covers, most notably his Grammy award winning artwork for Bob Seger's 1981 album "Against the Wind". His fine art oil paintings and limited edition giclee prints are currently featured in some of the top galleries in the world, most notably the Wyland Gallery chain in Florida, California, Hawaii, Las Vegas and other locations.

Here are some samples of Jim Warren's art. You can find more samples here.

Jim Warren is like a mix of Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali

*These images used with permission from Damn Funny Pictures.

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Posted By: Ian - Category: art

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Robert Bateman Art

January 23rd 2008 10:47

Robert Bateman (born 1930-05-24) is a Canadian naturalist and painter. He was born in Toronto. Even as a child he was interested in art and wildlife. He found inspiration from the Group of Seven, making abstract paintings of nature. It wasn’t until the mid 1960’s that he changed to his present style, realism.

Bateman was always interested in art, but he never intended on making a living from it. He was fascinated by the natural world in his childhood. As a child he recorded the sightings of all of the birds in the area of his house in Toronto. Although the stage was set for an expert wildlife artist, Bateman moved on to be a high school history teacher. However, he still painted in his free time. It wasn’t until the 1970’s and 1980’s that his work started to receive major recognition. Robert Bateman's show in 1987, at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, drew the largest crowd a living artist ever has there.

Below are some examples of Robert Bateman's incredible pictures. You can find many more here.

Robert Bateman Animal Art - Grizzly Bear

Robert Bateman Wildlife Paintings - Deer

Robert Bateman Animal Paintings - Elephants

Robert Bateman Wild life artwork - Wolverine or Mountain Lion

Robert Bateman Artwork - Orca Killer Whale

*These images used with permission from Damn Funny Pictures.

**This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation Licence. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Robert Bateman (naturalist).

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Posted By: Ian - Category: animals

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Petra Carvings

January 21st 2008 10:16

Petra is an archaeological site in southwestern Jordan, lying on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is renowned for its rock-cut architecture.

Pictures of the Petra rock carvings in Melbourne

The site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was discovered by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. It was famously described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a Newdigate prize-winning sonnet by John William Burgon. UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage."

Photos of the Petra tourist attraction in Jordan

On December 6, 1985 Petra was designated a World Heritage Site.
In 2006 a team of architects began designing a "Visitor Centre," and Jordan's tourist revenue is expected to increase dramatically with the attraction of visitors on package holidays. The Jordan Times reported in December 2006 that 59,000 people visited in the two months October and November 2006, 25% fewer than the same period in the previous year, which may suggest that the flow of visitors may be affected by perception of political instability or travel safety considerations.

On July 7, 2007, Petra was named one of New Open World Corporation's New Seven Wonders of the World.

The picturesque site is a popular sight and featured in various works of art such as the movies Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Passion in the Desert and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, the Sisters of Mercy-Video "Dominion", the game Spy Hunter, or the novels Left Behind and Appointment with Death as well as in The Red Sea Sharks in The Adventures of Tintin.

The Temple of Petra was featured in the Critically-panned Mortal Kombat: Annihilation in 1997 as the Temple of the Elder Gods, The Temple was destroyed by the character Queen Sindel with her scream.

*These images used with permission from Damn Funny Pictures.

**This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation Licence. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Petra

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Posted By: Ian - Category: places

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Weasels

January 18th 2008 11:30

Weasels vary in length from fifteen to thirty-five centimetres (six to fourteen inches), and usually have a light brown upper coat, white belly and black fur at the tip of the tail; in many species, populations living at high latitudes moult to a white coat with black fur at the tip of the tail in winter. They have long slender bodies, which enable them to follow their prey into burrows. Their tails are typically almost as long as the rest of their bodies. As is typical of small carnivores, weasels have a reputation for cleverness and guile. They also have tails that can be anywhere from 22-33 cm long and they use these to defend the food they get and to claim territory from other weasels.

Weasels feed on small mammals, and in former times were considered vermin since some species took poultry from farms, or rabbits from commercial warrens. Certain species of weasel and ferrets, have been reported to perform the mesmerizing weasel war dance, after fighting other creatures, or acquiring food from competing creatures. In folklore at least, this dance is particularly associated with the stoat

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Posted By: Ian - Category: animals

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The V-22 Osprey

January 16th 2008 11:42

The V-22 Osprey is a joint service, multimission, military tiltrotor aircraft with both a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability. It is designed to perform missions like a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft.

The V-22 was developed by Bell Helicopter Textron, which manufactures it in partnership with Boeing Helicopters. The initial operators are the U.S. Marine Corps and United States Air Force. The FAA classifies the Osprey as a model of powered lift aircraft

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Posted By: Ian - Category: military

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Wallabies

January 14th 2008 11:24

A wallaby is any of about thirty species of macropod. It is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or wallaroo that has not been given some other name.

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Posted By: Ian - Category: animals

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Ice Storm

January 11th 2008 11:51

These pictures were taken in Versoix, a town near Geneva in Switzerland.
Very cold conditions, (-8 to -12 deg C, 10 deg F) combined with winds of over 100 km/hr (62 miles/hr) resulted in a spray that froze on anything that it touched! It took place in January 2005. The water is from Lake Geneva (Lake Léman). You can see more photos from the Ice Storm here.

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Posted By: Ian - Category: weather

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Seven Deadly Sins Represented by Women

January 9th 2008 04:27

Lust is usually thought of as involving obsessive or excessive thoughts or desires of a sexual nature.

Gluttony is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste

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Posted By: Ian - Category: people

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Hayden Panettiere

January 7th 2008 03:57

Hayden Leslie Panettiere (born August 21, 1989) is an American actress, singer, and Grammy Award nominee.

Hayden began professional modelling at the age of 11 months old. She then began appearing in commercials at 11 months, first appearing in an advertisement for Playskool. She later landed a role as Sarah Roberts on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live (1994- 1997) and later as the child Lizzie Spaulding on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light when she was seven years old (1996 - 2000

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Posted By: Ian - Category: people

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Bear Cub

January 4th 2008 14:22

Today's picture is a fantastic photo of a mother and her baby, featuring the cutest bear cub you've ever seen!

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Posted By: Ian - Category: animals

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Seashells

January 2nd 2008 13:17

Seashells are very often found in beach drift, which is deposited along strandlines on beaches. These shells are often washed up empty and clean, the animal having already died, and the soft parts having rotted away or having been eaten by other creatures. This is how most shells are found by beachcombers, and collecting these shells is a harmless hobby.

Below are pictures from a collection of Sea Shells from all over the world. You can see more photos here
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Posted By: Ian - Category: nature

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13 Posts