Aerial photography offers a drastically different perspective than the one you get from shooting on the ground. It includes photographs taken from aircraft, helicopters, balloons, rockets, kites, skydives, etc. It can be a rewarding, challenging and enriching experience. It can produce unique shots that look different than any other ground shot you have ever taken. Scenic flights can give you some great, memorable photos.
What makes aerial photography so challenging?
Without any doubt, aerial photography is a challenging art. Aerial photographers have to tackle many problems while shooting in the air. Photographers must deal with the effects produced by motion — not only the motion of an airplane or helicopter, but motion of the camera as well. Photographers should be equipped with cameras that have very fast shutter speeds to avoid hand shakes (motion blur) caused by airplane and helicopter vibration. Because airplane windows are made of Plexiglass, which doesn’t have the same optical qualities as normal glass, images taken through them are of inferior quality.
Also, shooting through aircraft windows presents other obstacles, such as having to shoot around your neighbor’s arm. But it can also result in some interesting images. Aerial photography totally depends on a photographer’s judgment and experience to predict and capture the proper moment. Also, being a form of outdoor photography, aerial photography depends for its success largely on the environment. Therefore, a basic understanding of the atmosphere and its effects on photography is necessary for successful aerial images. As with all outdoor photography, the aerial photographer depends on the sun to illuminate the subject. And haze further reduces contrast levels in high-altitude shots.
In many ways, aerial photography is both more and less complex than other kinds of photography. However, the skill and techniques needed to obtain good results are easily learned through careful observation and good judgment.
Photographer Mike Stimpson is recreating some classic photos using Lego setups. Every single one of them has a great story behind.Accompanying each shot is a credit to the original photographer, information about the shot (lighting, exposure, etc.), and a photo of the setup itself
A lego reconstruction of the famous photograph “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper” taken by Charles Ebbets
A Lego recreation of Jeff Widener’s 1989 photograph of “The unknown rebel”.
“V.J. Day Times Square”.of Alfred Eisenstaedt’s - 1945
A Lego recreation of Eddie Adams famous Vietnam war photograph from 1968
Lego recreation of Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal during the quarter finals of the 1986 World cup between England and Argentina.
One of the most published photographs in history. Joe Rosenthal’s 1945 photograph “Raising the flag on Iwo Jima”.
We won't bore you with some wordy, elaborative theory on the universal appeal of sex and death. Mainly because we're not that smart, but also due to the fact that sex and death are like adult diapers...They tend to sell themselves.
Join us now as we look back at the 25 moments comprising cinema history's most creative uses of these two opposing, yet somehow complementary, inevitabilities of life.
Laurie Holden in Silent Hill
Suffering the most disturbing death in an extremely disturbing movie based on the most disturbing videogame series of all time, making this list is indeed a testament to actress Laurie Holden's sexiness.
Playing policewoman Cybil Bennett in "Silent Hill," Holden's character is eventually captured by a maniacal church-group who tie her to a ladder and then lower it into fire, jubilantly burning her alive for being a witch as she screams in agony, the flesh on her face bubbling and blistering before falling away.
What can we say? Laurie Holden just looks extremely hot in a cop uniform.
Amanda Detmer in Final Destination
As Terry Chaney in 2000's "Final Destination," actress Amanda Detmer played the role of hot/bitchy girlfriend to a T.
Having unnaturally avoided a plane crash, Terry's time in the film was of course limited, and what better, sexier way to dispatch a hot girl in the midst of cursing out her boyfriend than with a bus collision? Observe.
Perhaps more "awesome" than "sexy," Detmer narrowly slides into our Top 25, regardless.
Cara Seymour in American Psycho
"Don't just stare at it Sabrina, eat it!"
Ok, so Patrick Bateman wasn't exactly a romantic. Convincingly portrayed by Christian Bale, Bateman did, however, know what he wanted, and a terrified prostitute running amok through his New York apartment building wasn't it.
And while the death of Cara Seymour's character through well-timed combination of chainsaw and gravity was no-doubt troubling for some to watch, most have to admit: You were rooting for Bateman.
Carmen Electra in Scary Movie
Following a failed attempt at a music career and a brief stint on "Baywatch," Carmen Electra finally found her niche in 2000 after landing the Drew Barrymore role in the "Scream" parody, "Scary Movie."
Comedically dispatched in the first 10 minutes, Electra has since gone on to appear in film parodies such as "Date Movie," "Epic Movie" and the appropriately titled "Disaster Movie"--proving positively that looking sexy while getting murdered in a movie--even a satirical comedy--is a one-way ticket to success.
Drew Barrymore in Scream
In 1996, Drew Barrymore lent her street cred to a small movie called "Scream." Though appearing only in the film's opening scene before her character gets violently stabbed to death, Barrymore--complete with a new blonde bob haircut--was the preeminent face on the movie's poster, assuring young people they'd be getting more than just a bunch of murdered television actors.
The film's success breathed new life into the sagging teen-horror economy, paving the way for films like "Urban Legend," "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer."
Thanks a lot Drew.
Teri McMinn in Texas Chainsaw Massacre
There's nothing misogynist about being turned on by a young woman hanging from a hook, is there?
We're kidding of course! We know there's not!
Known in horror (or more accurately "genre film") circles as Pam, the "girl on the hook" in Tobe Hooper's 1974 classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," Teri McMinn's role has since garnered her inclusion into convention panels across the country, a Wikipedia page, and even permanent placement in New York City's Museum of Modern Art.
Now 57 years old, indeed McMinn may never be "off the hook."
(Sorry)
Joanna Cassidy in Blade Runner
As Zhora in Blade Runner, the image of Joanna Cassidy handling the cybernetic snake, her bare breasts visible beneath a patina of glitter, and moments later getting shot in the back by Harrison Ford - who in 1982 most young film-goers were unable to separate from Han Solo - left quite the indelible impression.
Viva Ridley Scott. Nuff Said.
Radha Mitchell in Pitch Black
Australian actress Radha Mitchell, put simply, is the quintessential girl-next-door type. Possessing a subtle beauty that grows exponentially appreciable over time, she's like the poor man's Naomi Watts--just as beautiful yet somehow, unqualifiably, more accessible.
For this reason, it was actually a relief watching her character (Carolyn Fry) in the movie "Pitch Black" plucked from the ground and eaten by a nocturnal winged alien, rather than survive just to wind up with monosyllabic beefcake Riddick (Vin Diesel).
And make no mistake, had she survived the film, the two WOULD have hooked up.
Chiaki Kuriyama in Kill Bill
One might ask: What's so sexy about a 17 year-old girl in a school uniform wielding a long chain with a ball attached to it? Legally speaking, absolutely nothing.
One can't deny, however, that Japanese actress Chiaki Kuriyama as Gogo Yubari, engaged in mortal battle with a desperate, sweaty, blood-soaked Uma Thurman while Lucy Liu watched them from above, was at least a little bit sexy.
Actually, we better go back and watch it again just to be sure.
Eva Green in Casino Royale
In James Bond movies, 007 always seems to get the girl, yet somehow never really gets the girl.
Aside from Moneypenny, there's no better example of Bond's pattern of lovelorn-ness than in 2006's "Casino Royale." After enjoying a few days of hotel coitus with Vesper Lynd, Bond is forced to watch as his new love drowns in a submerged elevator car, prompting him to go on yet another killing spree (oh yes, Bond is quite arguably a sociopath) that spills over into the series' next film, "The Quantum of Solace."
Just give it up James. Between the nice suits, fancy martinis and that gym body, you're probably gay anyway.
Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction
Likely former North Carolina Senator John Edward's favorite movie, the final scene of 1987's "Fatal Attraction" is no-doubt catnip for philandering husbands around the globe.
After cheating on his wife and getting his girlfriend, "Alex" (played by Glenn Close) pregnant, Michael Douglas' character winds up drowning her in his family's bathtub, or so he thinks. Only slightly dead, a wet, very unhappy Close soon emerges wildly from the bathtub, only to be shot in the chest by Douglas' wife, played by Anne Archer.
Unfortunately for Senator Edwards, happy endings usually only occur in movies.
There's always been an unspoken rule in horror movies: The film's attractive lead female character--who doesn't expose her breasts or have sex at any point in the film--always survives. Period.
Perhaps the only instance of this rule ever being ignored, fashion-model turned actress Saffron Burrows made it all the way to the end of 1999's "Deep Blue Sea," after over 90 minutes of avoiding genetically engineered sharks in her underwear. Then, suddenly and unceremoniously, with the closing credits only a few minutes away, her character is violently ripped in half and consumed by a Great White.
Predictable? No. Awesome? Of course! Sexy? Quite.
Jada Pinkett in Scream 2 Before she married Will Smith and began popping out child actors like Pez, Jada Pinkett was an actress, co-starring in mainstream hits like "Menace II Society" and "The Nutty Professor." In 1997, the year she married Smith, Pinkett attempted to reboot her career by getting killed off in the opening scene of a bad horror film--a strategy that had worked wonders for Drew Barrymore the year before.
Unfortunately, after playing Omar Epps' talkative girlfriend who gets fatally stabbed in a movie theatre, Pinkett's career began a slow retrograde from which she has still not fully recovered.
Still, great death scene.
Kari Wuhrer in Anaconda
topless, late-night cable television roles, "Remote Control" hotty Kari Wuhrer appeared alongside future A-listers Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson and Ice Cube in 1997's ode-to-fromage, "Anaconda."
Outsurviving Owen Wilson in the film, Kari's death scene involved collaboration with no-less than screen legend Jon Voight, whose bad Cuban accent character, Sarone, ends up suffocating her with a karate style leg choke before dumping her lifeless body into the river.
Sadly, despite having a featured role in the "Mystic Pizza" of giant snake movies, Wuhrer would never again share the screen with anyone more famous than David Arquette, and continues to fight her way up from the C-List. We're rooting for you Kari.
Dina Meyer in Starship Troopers
Romance is sexy, and for people who like a little dismemberment, horrible acting and a few hundred CGI created alien insects mixed in with their romance, there's no better film than 1997's "Starship Troopers."
In a moment comparable with the goodbye kiss between Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in "Titanic," Johnny Rico (played by Casper Van Dien) takes his love, Dizzy (played by Meyer) into his arms after she's been impaled several times and swung around by a giant arachnid. Spitting up blood she tells him, "Johnny, I'm dying...it's alright, because I got to have you."
Great! Now we've made ourselves verklempt. Give us a minute...
Sheri Moon Zombie in The Devil's Rejects
After dispatching several victims over the course of two films (including "House of 1,000 Corpses"), Baby Firefly, played to perfection by the lovely Sheri Moon Zombie, met her presumable end during the closing moments of 2005's "The Devil's Rejects."
Set to the music of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird," Baby and her nefarious brood drive fearlessly into a hail of police gunfire, being riddled with bullets before the scene fades out and credits begin to roll. Moon's character seems to have died, and we never even got to see her topless.
Thankfully though, "Rejects" grossed almost 3 times its $7 million budget, making it highly likely Baby will someday, somehow be resurrected for a sequel.
Susan Backlinie in Jaws
Though her name is unfamiliar to most people, stuntwoman Susan Backlinie's nude night-swim and subsequent eating at the beginning of 1975's "Jaws" heralded the beginning of what we now recognize as the "summer movie blockbuster."
For further proof of Backlinie's contribution to film history one need only look at the movie's poster, which features her, the shark, and nobody else. No bearded Richard Dreyfuss, no Roy Scheider or Robert Shaw....just a naked girl stretched out above a really, really big shark. The film went on to gross $470 million.
One of cinema's sexiest, most overlooked scream-queens, we salute you Ms Backlinie.
Heather Matarazzo in Hostel II
Ok, we won't attempt to gild the lily here...it basically goes down like this:
Heather Matarazzo, best known for playing awkward 7th grader Dawn Wiener in "Welcome to the Dollhouse," is cast by director Eli Roth as an awkward college student who winds up meeting a bad end. A very bad end.
After winding up in a European torture house, Matarazzo's character, Lorna, is disrobed, hung upside down, and then slashed repeatedly with a large scythe by a woman who proceeds to cut her throat and lay naked beneath her, writhing in ecstasy as Lorna's blood pours onto her body.
Dang Eli, that's some cold chicken soup! Your move now Rob Zombie.
Carrie-Anne Moss in Matrix Revolutions
Since we're still a little choked up from recalling Dizzy's death scene in "Starship Troopers," we're going to offer a more objective approach in discussing Trinity's expiration in "The Matrix Revolutions."
Similar to Dizzy's demise, Trinity is with her man and offering her final words of love, shortly after she's been impaled (also similar to Dizzy, Trinity's man is being portrayed by a really bad actor).Both heroines are fierce warriors who have fought in a desperate battle to save humanity, and both no-doubt would have continued fighting were it not for their perforated torsos. Ranking Trinity higher on our list than Dizzy, however, is the fact Trinity had much larger breasts and wore a body-tight latex suit throughout her movie.
Sorry, Diz.
Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias
To watch "Erin Brockovich" pretty woman Julia Roberts dying young in "Steel Magnolias" was something to talk about. Indeed, the film's hook came in watching the "Mary Reilly" star flatline...ok, sorry. Enough with the IMDB humor.
The only entry on our list to die of natural causes, Julia Roberts proved in "Steel Magnolias" that a woman can die sexy without being hung up on a hook; without being eaten by a shark and without Uma Thurman driving a nail-studded board into the side of your head, causing you to weep blood before falling over dead.
Kudos, Julia. You were hot in that movie.
Salma Hayek in From Dusk Till Dawn
As opposed to her later, more "talky" characters in films like "Fools Rush In" and "Frida," Salma Hayek's role as Santanico Pandemonium in Robert Rodriguez's 1996 classic "From Dusk Till Dawn" was 100% fat free.
In a completely streamlined appearance, Hayek dances seductively in a small bikini for a few minutes wearing a large snake, turns into a vampire and then gets shot in the face by George Clooney. No muss, no fuss.
If only Jessica Simpson had been given similar scripts...
While the idea of killing yourself because you can't be with Claire Danes is understandable, for many guys, the idea of Claire putting a semi-automatic pistol to her head and pulling the trigger--because she can't be with you--is far-fetched to say the least.
Regardless, for young men capable of making it all the way through 1996's "Romeo + Juliet," Danes' suicide scene at the film's end was indeed a money-shot to remember. In the words of Billy Shakespeare, "These violent delights have violent ends, and in their triumph die, like fire and powder, which as they kiss consume."
Paris Hilton in House of Wax
In 2005, while discussing her "House of Wax" death scene in an interview with reporter Jeff Otto, Paris Hilton noted, "It was hard and I had to, like, pretend to be scared even though I really wasn't."
Acting prowess aside, Paris' highly publicized red-bra demise, in which she's impaled through the forehead by a large pole, distinguished "Wax" as more than just another low-budget slasher flick and set a new bar for horror film cameo deaths--much like how "One Night In Paris" revolutionized the home porn industry.
Janet Leigh in Psycho
In 1960, it wasn't very often one went to the movies and got to see a beautiful naked woman getting stabbed to death by a transvestite in the shower. In fact, not until the emergence of so-called "Grindhouse Cinema" were such scenarios available for viewing in local movie theatres.
We’re not quite sure why, but there’s something about toys doing drugs that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. (You know, other than the actual drugs…) From Thor to Barbie, just put a joint in their mouths and some coke on their noses, and these dope-loaded playthings come to life in a way you’ve never before seen. In fact, they look so real, you almost want to have an intervention (or just join in!).
Celebrities have bad days just like the rest of us. Unfortunately, there are usually still recording devices nearby when they have those bad days. Unfortunately for them that is. Fortunate for us, because that means we get to hear them. And here are 9 of our favorites.
9- Chris Berman
Somehow, the fact that a sportscaster like Chris Berman has a nasty temper really doesn't come as much of a surprise. So when some people are walking around during his shot it's pretty expected that he would freak out on them and throw a little tantrum. But what really makes this one memorable is his inability to let it go. Every time he takes a breath you think his rant is over, but nope, he gets riled up again and has to keep repeating how shocked he is that his amateur crew would dare to distract him from his craft. Chris, you're reading footbal scores off a prompter buddy. It's not like they walked through your monologue during a production of Hamlet.
8- Orson Welles
Orson Welles was one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, producing the classic Citizen Kane as well as many other legendary films. Yet, in the age of Youtube, what Orson is best remembered for is getting very mad about peas. When a visionary like Welles is asked to do voiceover work for a simple peas commercial, he cannot help but get involved creatively, insisting that the script (for a pea commercial) is not up to par and that they should allow him to insert his own re-writes. I guess he was determined to make the Citizen Kane of pea commercials.
7- Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem made himself into a radio star thanks to his always peppy, soothing, friendly voice that he would use to introduce the hits of the day and dedicate songs over the air. But what does it sounds like when that voice is delivering not so pleasant lines? Casey answered that when he went on a tirade about the fact that an up-beat song led into a dedication about a dead dog. If any young people ever heard this recording they could be scarred for life, wondering why Shaggy from Scooby Doo was angrily talking about a dead dog.
6- Alec Baldwin
Right now Alec Baldwin is at the top of his game, earning rewards left and right for his work on 30 Rock. But just a couple years ago things weren't so hot for poor Alec, who was caught on tape applying his impeccible ability to insult towards his daughter for avoiding his phone calls. It all culminates in the climactic "rude, thoughtless little pig" comment that Alec will never fully live down. And to be fair to Alec, his daughter might actually be a rude little pig. And even though it was less hurtful to the family name than any of Steven's acting roles, it was still inappropriate and Alec attempted to smooth things over by supposedly asking to be let out of his 30 Rock contract, which was promptly denied. And thank goodness, because his hilarity on that show is far more important than a healthy relationship with his daughter.
5- Bjork
Right off the bat, let's get one thing straight. Some paparazzi can be a-holes. Whether they're invading on the intensely personal moment of childbirth or killing princesses, the hardcore scoop stealers can be demonic from the cradle to the grave. Celebs know that, and have been giving them grief for years. Most celeb-paparazzi encounters, as violent as they look, are justifiable given the ravenous nature of the newshound. When you beat down a woman with a microphone because she said "Welcome to Bangkok," then you might be acting a bit crazy. Even for Bjork.
4- Christian Bale
Bale is a notorious method actor with a temper, but this onslaught of abuse aimed at one crew member is surprisingly mean for even him. The poor guy just went to check on the lights (you know, his job) and Bale flips out because it is interrupting his important scene from the new Terminiator movie. Even with the steroids I bet Arnold never pulled anything like this in his Terminator days. Then again Christian Bale was also arrested for assault on his own mother and sister, so maybe the unlucky crew member got off lucky.
3- David O. Russel
Is there even anything that can be said about this wonderful clip of just how angry a movie set can become? Lily Tomlin's constant whining finally leads to I Heart Huckabees director David O. Russel to flip out, challenging himself to see how many profanities he can lace together and direct at Tomlin. However, the true magic is watching the other actors trying to block out the awkwardness and just ignoring the chaos around them. Not to mention that Russel seems to continue directing even in his fight, walking out of frame in one direction and coming through a door on the opposite side of the set only a moment later. Even when calling Tomlin the c-word he keeps up the movie magic!
2- Bill O'Reilly
"F*** it, we'll do it live!" No line ever uttered before or after that has quite captured the anger inside Bill O'Reilly, who has made a career out of yelling at people. But Papa Bear O'Reilly became an internet phenomenon when one video of his outrages was released decades after it was originally taped. In it, he yells at his crew for messing up his teleprompter in an attempt to cover his own failings as a news anchor who apparently can't read.
1- Michael Richards
Oh Kramer, you learned the lesson that Dog the Bounty Hunter and a few other celebrities have faced the hard way: you cannot lace an angry rant with the n-word and expect that no one is going to care. So when Kramer tried to save his bombing set at a comedy club by throwing racial slurs at people in the front row of his show he crossed the line into hate-speech, cementing himself in history as "that weirdo from Seinfeld who is actually a big racist." Not to mention also insane. If anyone can explain the comment about hanging them upside down and putting a fork in their ass 50 years ago I'd love to hear it, because I don't remember that particular chapter in my American history book. Then Richards put the final nail in the awkward, prejudiced coffin by referring to black people as "Afro-Americans" during his apology on Letterman.
People like to argue that Paris Hilton is actually a business wizard. But really, she’s just has rich girl street smarts. (i.e. she knows which bag is going to be “hot” - and then makes it “hot” by saying it’s f**king “hot.”) But if you don’t know how to use a shovel or fry an egg, then there’s something wrong with your brain. A f**king three-year-old knows how to use a shovel. Anyway, thanks for letting us see you naked…
Sarah Palin
We’re not saying Sarah Palin has a low IQ. I mean, she’s the governor of Alaska, for f**k’s sake! But she sure does say (and do) some of the dumbest sh*t I’ve ever seen. Obviously, the infamous interview with Katie Couric was a political abomination, her debate performance could have been better executed by a tree stump, and she didn’t know that Africa was a continent.
To top it all off, she just brought charges of yet another ethics violation against herself by “improperly mixing official duties and political broader political ambitions,” when she gave a national interview to Fox News. And while she was doing all this, she and her family were looting McCain’s campaign bank for over $150,000. What, did she think nobody would notice? Our guess is, yes.
Jessica Simpson
It doesn’t take much to convince someone a blond is stupid. In fact, if you’re blond, it takes a lot more to convince people you not. And it especially takes a lot if you have a TV crew following you around, recording your every move. But the thing is, if you’re even a little bit stupid and you let people record your every move, THAT’S F’ING STUPID! I don’t care what it does for your career, after having gems like Jessica’s Chicken of the Sea line, I’m sorry, but people are going to think you’re an idiot. Sure can fill out a bikini top, though.
Ashley Dupre
Um, she’s a whore - not that there’s anything wrong with that. But as noble a profession as whoring is, nobody can argue it requires an above average IQ to suck d**k for a living. And if going down on strangers is what you’re doing with your life, something tells me it’s not because becoming a bio-chemist wasn’t challenging enough. To cut her some slack, it’s not like she’s claimed to be smart. But when you go on television and don’t even know that one of your clients is the governor of New York, that takes a special kind of stupid.
Kendra Wilkinson
This girl next door might have made a bundle off of being blond and having giant fake tits. But, well, that still means she’s just a blond with big fake tits. Even Hugh Hefner called Kendra “dazed and limited,” which I guess is a nice way of saying she’s dumb as a ball of pubes. But if you’re so stupid that euphemisms don’t even work around you, it’s time to stop being on television.
Brooke Hogan
Let’s face it, Brooke Hogan is lucky as hell she came out hot because she’s sure as hell not going to get anywhere with ideas. I mean, she can’t even make the right decision when it comes to wearing ass-less jean chaps. (Hint: You don’t wear them unless you’re auditioning for Brokeback Mountain 2.) But you can’t blame just her - the entire Hogan family has about as much brains between them as a Chia Pet. And If her father weren’t the most famous pro-wrestler on the planet, she’d probably be knocked-up by a 37-year-old wino and working at a bowling alley.
Heidi Montag
This blond Beverly Hills bombshell might be one of the hottest girls to come out of reality TV, ever. But she’s dumber than George Bush’s ass cheek. First of all, she was a fashion design student, which doesn’t exactly scream “intellectual powerhouse.” But then she couldn’t even do that! So she dropped out, saying school wasn’t “challenging enough,” which is just code for “I wanted to party and lay by the pool more.”
Things started to look up after Bolthouse Productions promoted her to ‘events planner.’ Then she got the boot from that. But the really dumb part is that everything that’s wrong in this girl’s life is because of her extra-retarded boyfriend, Spencer Pratt. Maybe if she were a single mom on welfare you might understand why she keeps going back to him. But not when you have more money than all of Detroit.
Britney Spears
This chick is hilariously stupid. Everything she touches turns retarded. She shaves her head, video tapes herself doing drugs, marries F’ing Kevin Federline! I mean, c’mon. She doesn’t even know how to take care of her children properly, and that’s supposed to be at least half instinct. It’s like she’s huffing spray paint or something. You’d think after touring around the world she would have learned a little more than…well, we’re not sure she actually learned anything. At the rate Britney’s going, let’s just say she’s not gonna receive any honorary PhDs anytime soon.
Lauren Caitlin Upton
There is nothing I could say to convince you of why Lauren Caitlin Upton should be on this list more than she already said during her Miss Teen USA competition answer. It’s….amazing. Now, you might say, “Hey, she just had a brain fart.” But that answer wasn’t just a brain fart, that was her brain taking a dump on the stage. You just want to scream at her, “STOP TALKING!” And when she doesn’t, all you can do is punch your face to make the idiocy go away.
Kelly Pickler
This “Small Town Girl” might be the dumbest celebrity we’ve ever seen on TV. The country singer and former American Idol contestant might be ballsy, going from a roller-skating waitress at Sonic to an Idol star in no time. But wherever her balls start, her brain ends. To see how bad it really is, just watch this video of her on “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” (It’s even worse than Lauren Caitlin Upton trainwreck.) Before this hilariously bad performance, her fans might have been able to convince you she’s actually a secret genius. But now, it’s hard to image how she gets through the day without wearing a helmet.
Photographer, Chris Jordan used 200,000 packs of cigarettes to make his latest work, “Skull with Cigarette.” It’s also equal to the number of Americans who die from cigarette smoking every 6 months. This piece is part of Jordan’s photographic series entitled Running the Numbers: an American Self-Portrait visually examines the vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs.
American Civil War through art These are great pictures, with great detail show some of the battles in American Civil War.
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam (also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the South), fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with almost 23,000 casualties.
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 13, 1862, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, is remembered as one of the most one-sided battles of the American Civil War. The Union Army suffered terrible casualties in futile frontal assaults against entrenched Confederate defenders on the heights behind the city, bringing to an early end their campaign against the Confederate capital of Richmond.
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, fought near the village of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, from April 30 to May 6, 1863. Called General Robert E. Lee's "perfect battle" because of his risky but successful division of his army in the presence of a much larger enemy force, the battle pitted Union Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's Army of the Potomac against an army half its size, Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Lee's audacity and Hooker's timid performance in combat combined to result in a significant and embarrassing Union defeat. The Confederate victory was tempered by the mortal wounding of Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson to friendly fire, a loss that Lee likened to "losing my right arm."
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1 – July 3, 1863), fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's turning point. Union Major General George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, ending Lee's invasion of the North.
Battle of Pea Ridge
The Battle of Pea Ridge (also known as Elkhorn Tavern) was a land battle of the American Civil War, fought on March 7 and March 8, 1862, at Pea Ridge in northwest Arkansas, near Bentonville. In the battle, Union Army forces led by General Samuel R. Curtis defeated Confederate troops under General Earl Van Dorn. The outcome of the battle essentially cemented Union control of Missouri. One notable fact of this battle is that it was one of the few in which a Confederate Army outnumbered a Union Army.
Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 18 to September 20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in south-central Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign. The battle was the most significant Union defeat in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The battle was fought between the Union Army of the Cumberland under Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans and the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg, and was named for the (now South) Chickamauga Creek, which flows into the Tennessee River about 3.5 miles (5.6km) northeast of downtown Chattanooga. Chickamauga was a local Indian word meaning "Stagnant River" or, less accurately, "River of Death," usage that may have begun after the battles.
Battle of Perryville
The Battle of Perryville, also known as Battle at Perryville and Battle of Chaplin Hills, was an important but largely neglected encounter in the American Civil War. It was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky. The battle began with a middle-of-the-night skirmish over a source of drinking water, and ended more or less by default with the onset of darkness and the retreat of the tactical victor, the Confederates. The Confederate "victory" marked the end of their last offensive campaign in the West, and their retreat left the border state of Kentucky under the control of the Union Army for the rest of the war.
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought on April 6 and April 7, 1862 in southwestern Tennessee. Confederate forces under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard launched a surprise attack against the Union army of Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and came close to defeating his army. Gen. Johnston was killed during the first day's fighting, and Beauregard, his second in command, decided against assaulting the final Union position that night. Reinforcements from Gen. Buell arrived in the evening and turned the tide the next morning, when he and Grant launched a counterattack along the entire line. The Confederates were forced to retreat from the bloodiest battle in United States history up to that time, ending their hopes that they could block the Union invasion of northern Mississippi.
Battle of Vicksburg
The Battle of Vicksburg, or Siege of Vicksburg, was the final significant battle in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of brilliant maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate army of Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton into defensive lines surrounding the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Grant besieged the city, which surrendered six weeks later, yielding command of the Mississippi River to the Union.
Third Battle of Chattanooga
The Third Battle of Chattanooga (popularly known as The Battle of Chattanooga, and including the Battle of Lookout Mountain and the Battle of Missionary Ridge) was fought from November 23 to November 25, 1863, in the American Civil War. By defeating the Confederate forces of General Braxton Bragg, Union Army Major General Ulysses S. Grant eliminated the last Confederate control of Tennessee and opened the door to an invasion of the Deep South that led to the Atlanta Campaign of 1864.
Battle of Cedar Creek
The Battle of Cedar Creek, or The Battle of Belle Grove, October 19, 1864, was one of the final, and most decisive, battles in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War.
Second Battle of Franklin
The Second Battle of Franklin (more popularly known simply as The Battle of Franklin) was fought at Franklin, Tennessee, on November 30, 1864, as part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. It was one of the worst disasters of the war for the Confederate States Army. Although the Union Army of the Ohio, commanded by Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield, left the field after the battle, the Confederate Army suffered devastating losses in its unsuccessful frontal assaults against the Union defenders, sometimes called the "Pickett's Charge of the West." A further loss at the subsequent Battle of Nashville in December marked the end of Confederate Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee as a fighting force.
Battle of Five Forks
The Battle of Five Forks was fought on April 1, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, in Dinwiddie County, during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle, sometimes referred to as the " Waterloo of the Confederacy," pitted Union Major General Philip H. Sheridan against Confederate Major General George E. Pickett of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Pickett's loss at Five Forks triggered Lee's decision to abandon his entrenchments around Petersburg and begin the retreat that led to his surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9.
Battle of Champion Hill
The Battle of Champion Hill, or Bakers Creek, fought May 16, 1863, was the pivotal battle in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Union commander Major General Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Tennessee pursued the retreating Confederate Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton and defeated his army twenty miles to the east of Vicksburg, Mississippi, leading inevitably to the Siege of Vicksburg and surrender.
Battle of Wilson's Creek
The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was a battle in the American Civil War that occurred August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri, between Union forces and the Missouri State Guard. It was the first major battle west of the Mississippi River and is sometimes called the "Bull Run of the West."
Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter (April 12 – April 13, 1861), a relatively minor military engagement at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, began the American Civil War.
Battle of Hampton Roads
The Battle of Hampton Roads, often called the Battle of Monitor and Merrimack, was a naval battle of the American Civil War, famous for being the first fight between two powered iron-covered warships, or "ironclads", the USS Monitor, an entirely new design, and the CSS Virginia (which had been rebuilt from the burned-out hull of the USS Merrimack). The principal confrontations took place on March 8 and March 9, 1862, off Sewell's Point, a narrow place near the mouth of Hampton Roads, Virginia.
Second Battle of Fort Fisher
The Second Battle of Fort Fisher was a joint assault by Union army and naval forces against Fort Fisher, outside Wilmington, North Carolina, near the end of the American Civil War. Sometimes referred to as the "Gibraltar of the South" and the last major coastal stronghold of the Confederacy, Fort Fisher had tremendous strategic value during the war.
Battle of Resaca
The Battle of Resaca was part of the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle was waged in Gordon and Whitfield counties Georgia from May 13 to May 15, 1864. It ended inconclusively. The battle was fought between the Military Division of the Mississippi (led by William T. Sherman) on the side of the Union and the Army of Tennessee (Joseph E. Johnston) for the Confederates. There were 5,547 casualties: 2,747 for the Union and 2,800 for the Confederacy.
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain was fought on June 27, 1864, during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. Despite its name, much of the battle was fought to the southwest of Kennesaw Mountain, near Marietta, Georgia. The main participants in the battle were the Union armies under the command of Gen. William T. Sherman and the Army of Tennessee under the command of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston.
Battle of Atlanta
The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864 just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Despite the implication of finality in its name, the battle occurred mid-way through the campaign and the city would not fall for another six weeks.
Battle of Fort Sanders
The Battle of Fort Sanders was the decisive engagement of the Knoxville Campaign of the American Civil War, fought in Knoxville, Tennessee, on November 29, 1863. Assaults by Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet failed to break through the defensive lines of Union Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside, resulting in lopsided casualties, and the Siege of Knoxville entered its final days.
Battle of Williamsburg
The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the first pitched battle of the Peninsula Campaign, in which nearly 41,000 Federals and 32,000 Confederates were engaged, fighting an inconclusive battle that ended with the Confederates continuing their withdrawal in the direction of Richmond, Virginia.
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania, was the second battle in Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. It was fought in the Rapidan-Rappahannock river area of central Virginia, a region where more than 100,000 men on both sides fell between 1862 and 1864. The battle was fought from May 8 to May 21, 1864, along a trench line some four miles (6.5 km) long, with the Army of Northern Virginia under Gen. Robert E. Lee making its second attempt to halt the spring offensive of the Union Army of the Potomac under the command of Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade. Taking place less than a week after the bloody, inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness, it pitted 52,000 Confederate soldiers against a Union army numbering 100,000.
Battle of Stones River
The Battle of Stones River or Second Battle of Murfreesboro (in the South, simply the Battle of Murfreesboro), was fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. Of the major battles of the Civil War, Stones River had the highest percentage of casualties on both sides. Although the battle itself was tactically indecisive, the Union Army's repulse of two Confederate attacks was a much-needed boost to U.S. morale after the defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg, and it dashed Confederate aspirations for control of Middle Tennessee.
Battle of Cold Harbor
The Battle of Cold Harbor, the final battle of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign during the American Civil War, is remembered as one of American history's bloodiest, most lopsided battles. Thousands of Union soldiers were slaughtered in a hopeless frontal assault against the fortified troops of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Grant said of the battle in his memoirs "I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made. I might say the same thing of the assault of the 22d of May, 1863, at Vicksburg. At Cold Harbor no advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained."
Battle of Fort Donelson
The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 12 to February 16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The capture of the fort by Union forces opened the Cumberland River as an avenue of invasion of the South and elevated Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant from an obscure and largely unproven leader to the rank of major general and earned him the nickname "Unconditional Surrender" Grant.
Battle of Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull Run (named after the closest body of water), also known as the First Battle of Manassas (named after the closest town), took place on July 21, 1861, and was the first major land battle of the American Civil War. Unseasoned Union Army troops under Brigadier General Irvin McDowell advanced against the Confederate Army under Brig. Gens. Joseph E. Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard at Manassas, Virginia, and despite the Union's early successes, they were routed and forced to retreat back to Washington, D.C.
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by Grant against Lee's army and, eventually, the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia. The battle was tactically inconclusive, as Grant disengaged and continued his offensive.
Artist Peter Gibson --aka Roadsworth, often referred to as Canada’s own Banksy-- creates fascinating artworks over pedestrian crosswalks. A direct response to what he calls the ‘car culture‘ that has gotten him into trouble with the law --he was arrested and charged with 53 counts of mischief--, he began painting the streets of Montreal in the fall of 2001 and received almost universal praise from the public for questioning the impact of our dependency on automobiles on society. Meet some of his finest works.
Some of the coolest, most creative uses of escalators in advertising campaigns.
Juice Salon: Hairstyles
Stabilo: the Non-stop Escalator HopiHari Theme Park: Have fun at Hopi Hari's rollercoaster
Consol Energy: America would have 50% less electricity if our coal miners didn't make this trip every day
Duracell Head & Shoulders: Easy to comb Revita Beauty Centre: Relax with Shiatsu Pantene: silky touch, irresistibly smooth HP Photosmart Pizza Kingdom: Want extra cheese pizza? Just get over here!
From a veggie Mona Lisa --Mona Tofu, made out of rice, sea kelp, and tofu-- to Van Gogh's self portrait --made of leek--, meet vegetable artist Ju Duoqi's works.
Mona Tofu, made out of rice, sea kelp, and tofu
Van Gogh's self portrait, made of leek The Scream of the Sweet Potatos The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Pickled Cabbage Cabbage Monroe Picasso with Onions and Noodles The Dream of the Tofu
Napoleon on Potatoes The Raft of the Lotus Roots The Last Supper with the Gingermen
Some of the most beautiful pieces of architecture in the world have a spiral stair as the final flourish. The spiral stair is an architects favorite, from Gaudi to Corbusier to Foster, but some of the most interesting spiral stairs are accidental pieces of architecture, such as those inside lighthouses or on giant silos and storage tanks. Here is a deliberately diverse collection of some of our favorites.
Vatican Museum Spiral Staircase The unusual feature of the beautiful staircase in the Vatican Museum is the risers stay the same but the going increases in length, with each step, allowing for a staircase which opens up conically.
Ross Lovegrove DNA Staircase The most beautiful of all the modernist spiral stairs.
Double-Spiral Stair Case That Leads Nowhere An interesting double spiral sculptural stair which sits outside KPMG in Munich.
Spiral Stairs on Silo The spiral staircases that rise up silos are one of the best examples of accidental architectural greatness.
Legendary Loretto Chapel Stair - replica for sale The Lorreta Chapel stair has become legendary, with people claiming it is somehow miraculous. The truth is that it is just very efficiently and elegantly made. Instead of featuring the stair itself, we are showing a replica that took 4 years to make in the 70's and can be yours for an undisclosed price.
The Mosque of al-Mutawakkil Ziggurat
Double intertwined spiral stair Graz
Spiral Stair City Hall London City Hall is not the best of Fosters buildings, being one of the vogueish blob shaped jobbies that will look increasingly kitsch as they are built in abundance in oil rich states. And the stair is not as good as some similar forms such as the Reichstag ramp or the New York Guggenheim, for the matter. But they are ramps and this is a list of spiral stairs, and this is one of the best examples in recent architecture.
Spiral Stairs in Malaysia While not the most beautiful in the strictest sense, these stairs are interesting because they are so unlike any traditional architectural style that they look out of time and place, science fiction without being futuristic.
Spiral stair on giant tree The spiral stair at Cedar Creek Treehouse Observatory is actually cantilevered off the trunk of a huge tree.
Helicoid spiral staircase by Roger Tallon Sentou, in France are distributing a re-issue of the classic Roger Tallon modular staircase. Impossible to tell from their website, however.
Chambord Castle Staircase The staircase in the largest of the Loire Valley Chateaux, is possibly the worlds most famous spiral stair. It consists of two separate intertwined staircases that go up three floors without meeting.
St Pauls Spiral Stair A cantilevered stair that is said to be the grandest in England
Casa Battlo Spiral Stair Any number of Gaudis innovative spiral stairs could have been used for this list, but this shot of the organic shape of Casa Battlo in Barcelona is particularly inspiring.
Villa Savoye Spiral The effortless spiral stair at Corbusiers Villa Savoye shows that you dont have to make a big deal of exposed structure for a spiral to be beautiful.
Stair At The Old Library at the Dutch House of Representatives As with the lighthouse stair, we could have chosen from a wide array of libraries which often have stunning spiral stairs. This is from the Handelingenkamer.
Spiral staircase, Rideau canal, Ottawa The overlaid pre-cast concrete slabs are rotated so that there is no obvious central support. Beautifully simple.
This stair happens to be in a lighthouse in Florida, however it is chosen to represent a type rather than an individual masterpiece. Architecturally, lighthouses are often like building which consist entirely of a spiral stair and a balcony, an extreme requirement which creates some stunning examples.
Christie Brinkley The ultimate sun-kissed California blond, Christie reigned as America's sweetheart during the early 80s.
Christie's recent tabloid divorce from fourth husband Peter Cook proves that just because a woman has her pick of men doesn't mean she is good at picking men.
Iman The quint-lingual (that means five) daughter of a Somali diplomat was legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent's "dream woman."
Iman has been married to David Bowie since 1992, and currently hosts "Project Runway Canada."
Cindy Crawford With her trademark mole and early embrace of "tasteful" nudity, the former high school valedictorian stood out even in the era of the supermodel.
These days Cindy does former supermodel stuff like charity work and being photographed with other famous people as she sunbathes in St. Tropez.
Christy Turlington Turlington's flawless skin made her the perfect pitchwoman for Maybelline's "Maybe She's Born With It Maybe It's Maybelline" ad campaign, and helped her become one of highest paid supermodels of all time.
Turlington is married to director-actor Ed Burns, and in 2006 she signed a multi-year deal to return to Maybelline. She also has no problem posing in the buff, as evidenced by her work for PETA.
Carol Alt Alt, labeled "the face" for her piercing blue eyes and pouty lips, appeared on over 500 magazine covers before abandoning the fashion industry for an acting career that never quite took off.
Alt has found success as a nutritional guru -- her two cookbooks promoting the virtues of the "raw diet" became national best sellers. She's also gone toe-to-toe with Trump on "The Apprentice."
Paulina Porizkova This Czechoslovakian stunner gave the world a preview of the bevy of beauties that would eventually emerge from post-Communist Eastern Europe, and then gave hope to not-traditionally-handsome men everywhere when she married gangly Cars front man Rick Ocasek.
Paulina has been doing the reality TV circuit lately, with appearances on "Dancing With The Stars" and "America's Next Top Model."
Janice Dickinson The self-proclaimed "World's First Supermodel" also claims to have slept with leading men Sylvester Stallone, Warren Betty, Jack Nicholson and Bruce Willis, as well as rock legend Mick Jagger, during her 80s heyday.
Dickinson and her special brand of crazy has gotten more out of the reality television format than any other former supermodel thanks to Oxygen's "Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency."
Grace Jones During the 80s, the androgynous model had a successful singing career and displayed disturbingly superhuman strength in the movies "Conan the Destroyer" and "A View to a Kill."
Jones has a new album coming out later this year, although, sadly, she no longer sports her once-signature flat top.
Claudia Schiffer A fashion insider once said that Guess Jean girl Schiffer "looks better in jeans than any other model has looked in Chanel."
After making long-time beau David Copperfield disappear, Schiffer married a film producer, had a couple kids and enjoys horseback riding, painting, playing tennis and skiing.
Jerry Hall The one-time roommate of Grace Jones used her 6-foot frame and long blond hair to end up on the cover of every fashion magazine and nab common law hubbie Mick Jagger.
After having four kids with Jagger, the couple split in 1999. Hall is currently working as a pitchwoman for Levitra, an erectile dysfunction drug. No joke.
Elle Macpherson In 1986, the Aussie sensation had men all over the world learning the proper way to say g'day after she landed on the front of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition for the first of her record five covers.]
Macpherson dabbles in acting -- she had a cameo on "Friends"-- and has just signed up to be the global brand spokeswoman for cosmetics manufacturer Revlon.
Kathy Ireland Ireland appeared 13 times in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition, including three covers, and was known for having mesmerizing green eyes befitting of her surname.
Ireland has been so successful selling clothes, furniture and skin care products through her company Kathy Ireland Worldwide, that Forbes Magazine called her "the prototype for the model turned mogul."
Brooke Shields At 14, Shields was the youngest model ever to appear on the cover of Vogue. But it was probably her controversial nude film scenes and her provocative advertisements for Calvin Klein that made her one of the most recognizable faces in the world by the age of 16.
Lately Shields has been guest starring on TV shows and forgiving Tom Cruise for making insensitive comments about her.
Naomi Campbell With her distinctive catwalk strut and exotic Chinese/Jamaican looks, Campbell was a fashion powerhouse well into the 90s.
Campbell's charity work in Africa and on behalf of the victims of Katrina tends to get overshadowed by her nasty habit of assaulting underlings with cell phones and other PDAs.
Carrie Otis In 1990, Otis was thrust into the spotlight amidst rumors she shot an unsimulated sex scene with then-boyfriend Mickey Rourke during filming of the movie "Wild Orchid."
Otis has overcome anorexia and heroin addiction and now works as a plus-size model.
Linda Evangelista Evangelista was famous for constantly switching up her hair style, and for coining the supermodel maxim, "We don't wake up for less than 10,000 dollars a day."
Linda, who had her first child in 2006, still pops up on the modeling scene from time to time -- presumably for at least 10,000 dollars a day.
Beverly Johnson Johnson made history in 1974 when she became the first African-American woman to appear on the cover of fashion bible Vogue.
In 2006, it was reported that she was being considered for a spot on "The View," but instead the producers went in a completely different direction and hired Rosie O'Donnell. Fortunately, Johnson has a successful collection of signature wigs to fall back on.
He is a very unusual and very talented sculptor. What makes him such an unusual sculptor is not so much what he chooses to create, but how he chooses to create it.
Willard Wigan is the creator of the smallest sculptures in the world.
He uses a very tiny surgical knife to carve his work from such material as a single grain of sand, a grain of sugar, and grains of rice.
Statue of Liberty
The finished sculptures are so small that some of them measure only 0.005mm or 0.0002 inches tall and the only way the artist can see his project is to use a high powered microscope.
Peter Pan
The slightest movement or breeze could cause a sculpture to be lost forever. Willard tells one story of losing one of his sculptures when he sneezed saying he may have accidentally inhaled it.
Lloyds of London
These extraordinary sculptures are mounted on the heads of pins, inside the eye of needles, and on the tip of needles.
Golfer
After being mounted, Willard paints his figures using a hair from a dead fly for a paint brush. He will not kill a fly for his work.
Marilyn Monroe
Because he had trouble learning when he was young, Willard said he was made to feel inferior and small so he began his art as a way to show the world that sometimes, small can be a lot.
Henry the Eighth's Six Wives
Willard has mastered complete control of his breathing and his heartbeat. He works in between heart beats to keep a steady hand and chooses to work at night when there is less commotion that could cause the loss of his tiny sculptures.
Liverpool suffers a giant insect invasion - and it's not The Beatles! A huge Steampunk Spider Princess takes her place on the city's skyline.
Yes, it is. No, this is not Photoshopped. This is in fact a massive thirty six tonne hydraulic spider scaling the side of a city block in Liverpool, England. The city is of course best known for The Beatles. However, during its time as the European City of Culture visitors to one of its main railway stations, Lime Street, could have been forgiven for thinking that the city had been invaded by a different type of insect altogether.
Through the windows of the station as they exited they would have caught their first site of La Princesse, a huge steampunk spider and the creation of the French company La Machine. One can only hope that arachnaphobes in the locality were given good forewarning - this particular sight could well induce the occasional myocardial infarction.
Steampunk is often denoted by a cross pollination of ideas from the past - a Victorian age of steam - combined with elements of fantasy and science fiction that arose during that era. True enough, La Princesse looks as if she could easily be straight from the pages of Jules Verne or HG Wells. Representative of a technology path that could have been but, perhaps relievedly, was not taken, La Princesse is a vision of our attempts at robotics, but invented during an earlier or even alternative time. Although La Princesse was on an almost contemporary office block the Victorian veneer of most of Liverpool city center was a perfect place from which to view the awesome arachnid from afar.
La Machine, though, did not simply plonk the spider on the office block and let it be (with apologies to Lennon and McCartney). La Princesse was the centre point of a four day piece of performance art during early September 2008. Scientists, played by members of the La Machine company, removed the spider to Albert Dock - to a place of quarantine as they feared that the spider was about to lay her eggs. Interviews were given by the scientists to willingly credulous members of the press - perhaps relieved that for once they were listening to ‘lies' rather than writing them.
Its final destination, after spraying hosts of Liverpudlians with water and escorting them like some spidery Pied Piper through the streets (with huge amounts of fireworks too) was the Queensway Tunnel. Tens of thousands of people took part in this part of the performance. At the Queensway, La Princesse foraged around for a while and finally entered the tunnel, lost to the sight of its human followers, never to be seen again.
So what was a French spider doing scaling the walls of a Liverpool office block and stalking the streets like a great big giant stalky thing? The city is undergoing a transformation, due partly to its status in 2008 as European City of Culture but also because of the tenacity of its citizens. Once virtually declared a write off - closed effectively due to the decline in traffic to its ports - the city has had to pull itself up by its bootstraps and reinvent itself. Liverpudlians have always had some style when it comes to the showy and 2008 was to be no exception.
The European City of Culture programme designates one place each year to showcase not only its culture but that of the entire European Union. By many British people, Liverpool was considered an odd choice for the United Kingdom, with many prejudiced eyes giving the city a once over and rejecting the chances of success offhand. However, as La Princesse - among many other events - proved, Liverpool successfully transformed its cultural base. Although the city may not have changed the way in which many UK citizens view it, it has changed its international reputation for the better.
Concourse House, the site where it first appeared, was due to be demolished. In a fit of perfect sense, Liverpool decided that the most appropriate swansong for the rather ugly nineteen sixties office block was to have a great big spider scale its heights. A latter day beauty and the beast but with something of a difference. Which was the beauty and which the beast?
The La Princesse spectacular cost one and a half million pounds (and because it was a free event it has sadly lost several hundred thousand). Despite the loss it was an enormous popular success. It is hoped that La Princesse will return to live permanently in the city and negotiations are underway. It is, perhaps, best left to Phil Redmond, the Artistic Director of the Liverpool City of Culture company, to sum up the La Princesse experience. With some typically Scouse pragmatism, he proclaimed the event a success. At the very least it was, he said, cheaper than getting Macca (Sir Paul McCartney) in to do a show!
You probably wouldn’t expect a French airline to outfit their stewardesses in frumpy uniforms, and you’d be right. Air France reportedly dropped about $23 million for Christian Lacroix to design a fresh look for their 36,000 employees in 2005. The navy blue uniforms definitely work for me -- they nicely accentuate the stewardesses’ shapely curves.
What makes them especially hot: They could very well follow the French ideal of passion over happiness.
Air New Zealand
For would-be stewardesses, Air New Zealand states, “vitality, resourcefulness, enthusiasm and flexibility are… attributes we search for in candidates.” Knowing they’re required to be able to swim the length of an Olympic-sized pool tells us they’re in shape, too. Finally, the airline’s TV ads use actual staff to promote New Zealand’s rugby teams. Stewardesses who love physical sports can only be a bonus.
What makes them especially hot: Durex’s 2005 sex survey finds Kiwis even hornier than Americans.
All Nippon Airlines
ANA’s corporate philosophy includes a desire to “create attractive surroundings for customers,” An extreme example would be the appearance of a bootlegged uniform in a Japanese sex shop: the anticipated selling price was up to $2,650 U.S.. While that may be out of line with the airline’s decency standards, it does exemplify how guys lust after their stewardesses.
What makes them especially hot: ANA offers a line of anime-faced dolls wearing uniforms from the past and present -- maybe they’re intended for the kids, maybe not. Either way, it makes the real stewardesses even hotter.
Cathay Pacific
One way Cathay Pacific marked their 60th anniversary in 2006 was with a fashion show, which highlighted their uniforms of the past and present. Instead of hiring professional models, Cathay opted to showcase their stewardesses on the catwalk -- an inspired choice . The company may stress service as the top quality to their stewardess candidates, but there’s an underlying sense of aesthetics present, too.
What makes them especially hot: Their stewardesses are equally adept at covering runways on a plane and onstage.
Gulf Air
You might wonder if Gulf Air is the Hooters of the Mideast: They made headlines in 2004 when they reportedly targeted stewardess recruitment to China’s Sichuan province. Their claim was that the region’s young women possessed “patience with natural affinity.” “Cultural and aesthetic cultivation” were also key traits said to be considered. Even now, the airline asks for a full-length color photo at the formal interview.
What makes them especially hot: Gulf Air offers its Sky Nanny service on select flights, giving you a great excuse to interact with the beauties. Finally, there’s a practical reason for traveling with kids.
Hooters Air It’s sadly ironic, but Hooters Air has gone bust. Two Hooters Girls on every flight was the kind of policy we applauded for obvious reasons. The leather seating, extra legroom and light atmosphere were also appreciated. Unfortunately, after a three-year run, high fuel costs helped to ground Hooters’ scheduled service in April 2006. For now, private charter is the extent of their operations.
What makes them especially hot: In the event of a water landing, they had their own flotation devices.
QantasDustin Hoffman’s Rain Man (1988) may only have been willing to fly Qantas because they “never crashed” (actually, they have). The airline’s requirements of an “excellent level of health and fitness” and “natural, genuine, engaging, and confident personalities” ensure your continued presence in their seats. Trans-Pacific flights are tough enough to endure without sub-par stewardesses. Qantas seems to understand this and staffs their routes accordingly. A word of advice: calling them sheilas is not endearing, and won’t score you any points.
Southwest There was a time when Southwest clearly wanted to be the sexiest carrier in the air. In the early years after they took to the air in 1971, the stewardess uniform included orange hot pants and white go-go boots. Recruiters plainly asked candidates to wear dresses so their legs could be checked out. “We were selling sex,” admits current president, Colleen Barrett. Times have changed, and so has the dress code. Southwest stewardesses now display more fabric than skin, but we’ve seen a lot of them with figures built for the minimalist attire. Given society’s love for retro and Southwest’s laid-back business approach, we can still at least hope for throwback uniforms.
What makes them especially hot: Genuinely great attitudes to go along with their looks.
What makes them especially hot: Genuinely great attitudes to go along with their looks.
Thai Airways International
Thai Airways International has limited North American service, which is really unfortunate: the airline requires its stewardesses to be single, Thai nationals. They are also required to be at least 5’2” with proportional weight. Suffice it to say, it’s worth the effort to fly Thai. From the moment you’re greeted with the traditional sawasdee, or welcoming gesture, you cant take your eyes off these stewardesses. Who needs any other in-flight entertainment?
What makes them especially hot: The fact that they’re required to be educated, too.
Virgin Atlantic
Take Virgin Atlantic’s progressive approach to business, factor in hot stewardesses and keep in mind the 2005 Durex sex survey that lists the UK as the seventh-busiest nation (four slots ahead of the U.S.), Virgin’s red skirts are tailored to show off figures rather well; certainly better than most uniforms we’ve seen. Most flights on Virgin are long, but it doesn’t mean they’re dull.
What makes them especially hot: Combine the name Virgin with hot women… your imagination will take care of the rest.
Saffron Burrows in Deep Blue Sea
