Jan 15
Zaha Hadid’s Abu Dhabi Performing Arts Centre
We’re gaga over these renderings of Zaha Hadid’s proposed Performing Arts Centre in Abu Dhabi. We haven’t heard much about how green the building will be, but we’re excited to see more and more star architects inspired by natural and organic forms (check out the leaf-like windows!). The Performing Arts Center will be part of a multi-billion dollar cultural district with other buildings by Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, and Tadao Ando. In her own words, Ms. Hadid describes the structure as a “biological analogy” whose primary components (branches, stems, fruits, and leaves) are then “transformed from these abstract diagrams into architectonic design.” We can only hope that such poetic biomimicry will be translated into green functions, materials, and technologies as well. Read the rest of this entry »
Nov 20
Kjeragbolten
Kjerag mountains, Norway
Kjeragbolten is one of natures wonders and it is certainly one of the most amazing natural motifs. It lies at the end of a strenuous 3-5 hour hike on often muddy terrain. Kjeragbolten is a big rock that has fallen into a crack in the mountain and there it has been wedged into the crack. The rock is located about 1000 meter above the fjord.
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Nov 19
Ugly Dog
This Chinese crested pooch was spotted at the International Dogs exhibition in Moscow. Sorry, dog, no tongue is big enough to cover that ugly face.
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Nov 15
Mirny diamond mine, Siberia
Looking at photos like these scares and fascinates in equal doses. The sheer scale of these holes reminds you of just how tiny you are. It’s an absolute beast and holds the title of largest open diamond mine in the world. At 525 meters deep with a top diameter of 1200 meters there’s even a no-fly zone above the hole due to a few helicopters being sucked in.
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Nov 05
Khajuraho Temple of Love
The name Khajuraho may be derived from khajura (date palm), which grows freely in the area and perhaps because there were two golden khajura trees on a carved gate here. The old name was Kharjuravahaka (scorpion bearer), the scorpion symbolizing poisonous lust. The temples were built under the late Chandela kings between 950 and 1050 AD in a truly inspired burst of creativity. With the fading of Chandela fortunes, the importance of Khajuraho waned but temple building continued until the 12th century at a much reduced pace. Far removed from the political centres of the kingdom, the location of Khajuraho minimized the danger of external attack and symbolized its role as a celestial refuge. Khajuraho’s temples were ‘lost’ for centuries until they were accidentally ‘discovered’ by a British army engineer in 1839. Of the original 85 temples, the 20 surviving are among the finest in India
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Oct 24
HHKB Professional HP Japan
US$5,000
The most outrageous and crazy keyboard in human history. How much good dough are you ready to burn for your PC keyboard? Most computer geeks are pretty stingy. They refuse to spit out more than the miserable amount their grandmas had spent to buy a washboard 50 years ago. So when you hear some people are eagerly paying more than US$5,000 to buy a keyboard, you will shake your head and murmur: “Oh my, this world’s gone mad”!
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Oct 24
Diamond Necklaces
$5 million
Diamonds are not only the girl’s best friend. They are also an economical man’s worst enemy! It is no secret that diamonds and diamond necklaces as well as diamond jewelry are costly. The ordinary you and I might wish to have a necklace with small, cheap diamonds just to tell others we have diamond necklaces as well, but well, otherwise, the more exotic diamond necklaces with large stones or many stones are simply not for average folks.
How about a diamond necklace that has a pear shaped diamond, about 75 carats? The necklace looks simply stunning with the diamond in it, and it costs only about US $5 million. There is also a diamond ring that is quite cheap – about $1 million. A beautiful diamond necklace, by Stefano Canturi, costs only about &750,000 – $1 million.
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Oct 01
Bugatti Veyron
$1,700,000
The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is the most powerful, most expensive, and fastest street-legal production car in the world, with a proven top speed of over 400 km/h (407 km/h or 253 mph).
It reached full production in September 2005. The car is built by Volkswagen AG subsidiary Bugatti Automobiles SAS and is sold under the legendary Bugatti marque. It is named after racing driver Pierre Veyron, who won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1939 while racing for the original Bugatti firm. The Veyron features a W16 engine—16 cylinders in 4 banks of 4 cylinders.
According to Volkswagen, the final production Veyron engine produces between 1020 and 1040 metric hp (1006 to 1026 SAE net hp), so the car will be advertised as producing “1001 horsepower” in both the US and European markets. This easily makes it the most powerful production road-car engine in history.
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