Wednesday, August 25, 2010

5 Mysterious Places Around The World



The Door to Hell


This place in Uzbekistan is called by locals “The Door to Hell”. It is situated near the small town of Darvaz
The story of this place lasts already for 35 years. Once the geologists were drilling for gas. Then suddenly during the drilling they have found an underground cavern, it was so big that all the drilling site with all the equipment and camps got deep deep under the ground. None dared to go down there because the cavern was filled with gas. So they ignited it so that no poisonous gas could come out of the hole, and since then, it’s burning, already for 35 years without any pause. Nobody knows how many tons of excellent gas has been burned for all those years but it just seems to be infinite there.

Mysterious Holes of Russia


From the end of 1980s a strange phenomena is happening in some Russian forests. People find strange, deep holes.
They appear in the dense forest, in the places you can’t get on the car or truck to bring any device to drill the ground. There is no any soil that should be taken from such deep holes is found.
People go down to one of such holes but it just finishes with nothing. There are no any reasonable ideas on how these holes appear and what they are being used for.

The mouth of Hell


In 1962, a little fire in Centralia (Pennsylvania) migrated into an exposed vein of anthracite coal under the town. The flames on the surface were successfully extinguished, but the coal continued to burn underground for many years, so that in 1984 the fire was completely out of control and the city had to be evacuated.
Nowadays, Centralia is an abandoned and ghostly place. The fire still burns beneath the town and there is enough coal to feed the fire for up to 250 years.
 

Hill of Crosses in Lithuania


It has more than 50,000 crosses on it, and no it is not a cemetery.
The reasons for the crosses to be there is that there is a story that each one who would put his own cross on this mountain would become a lucky guy, so thousands come here and install their custom crosses.
They say this tradition appeared before the Christianity came to Lithuania and Russia and is of pagan origin.
  

The ghost town buried in the sand


Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Namibia, a few kilometres inland from the port of Lüderitz. In 1908, Luederitz was plunged into diamond fever and people rushed into the Namib desert hoping to make an easy fortune. Within two years, a town, complete with a casino, school, hospital and exclusive residential buildings, was established in the barren sandy desert.
But shortly after the drop in diamond sales after the First World War, the beginning of the end started. During the 1950′s the town was deserted and the dunes began to reclaim what was always theirs.
Soon the metal screens collapsed and the pretty gardens and tidy streets were buried under the sand. Doors and windows creaked on their hinges, cracked window panes stared sightlessly across the desert. A new ghost town had been born.

Most Craziest and wonderful tattoo on bodies






Monday, August 23, 2010

15 Of The Most Iconic Photographs

Jeff Widener – Tank Man
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On June 5, 1989, protests where taking place at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. When the chinese military brought in re-enforcements one extremely brave man stood up to tanks, to this day his identity is still unknown as well as his whereabouts. Four people claim to have took photos of the event, but the most famous was this one by Jeff Widener.
Kevin Carter – Vulture Stalking a Child
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This horrific photo shows a starving Sudanese child being stalked by a vulture. Kevin Carter, won a Pulitzer Prize for this photo. Kevin was criticised for spending over 20 minutes setting up the photo instead of helping the child. Three months after taking the photo, he committed suicide.
Alberto Korda – Che Guevera
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Alberto Korda’s photograph of Che Guevera has become a symbol of the 20th century, the photograph was taken while Che was attending a memorial service for the victims of the La Coubre explosion. The picture is printed on the Cuban 3 Peso banknote.
Neil Armstrong – Moon Landing
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There are many pictures of the 1969 Moon Landing this one is of Buzz Aldrin posing on the Moon which allowed Neil Armstrong to photograph both of them using the visor’s reflection.
Steve McCurry – Afghan Girl
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This photo was taken in the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan in 1984 after the soviet union had bombed Afghanistan. The photo then appeared on the cover of the National Geographic magazine in June 1985, the identity of the girl remained unknown for over 17 years, until in January 2002 a National Geographic team traveled to Afghanistan to locate her.
Richard Drew – The Falling Man
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The Falling Man photo was taken by Richard Drew at 9:41:15 a.m. on September 11, 2001. The story appeared in Esquire magazine in september 2003 and was then later made into a film. The identity of the man still remains unknown.
Nick Ut – Phan Thị Kim Phùc
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On June 8, 1972, America dropped a napalmbomb on Trang Bang. The photo above was of people fleeing the bomded area, it was taken by Nick Út who won many awards for the photograph including the Pulitzer Prize.
John Filo – Kent State Shooting
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On May 4, l970 members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students. The impact of the shootings was dramatic. The event triggered a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges and universities to close.
William Anders – Earthrise
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Earthrise was taken by astronaut William Anders during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968. It has been quoted as “the most influential environmental photograph ever taken.” In 1969 the US Postal Service issued a stamp of the image.
Alfred Eisenstaedt – V–J day in Times Square
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This photograph was taken on August 14, 1945, it was on V-J Day in Times Square. The photograph was then published in Life magazine a week later along with three other kissing poses from celebrations in other cities.
Malcolm Browne – Thích Quàng Đức
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Thích Quảng Đức burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection on 11 June 1963. He was protesting against the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam’s Ngô Đình Diệm administration. Photos of his self-immolation shocked the world and brought attention to the policies of the Diệm regime.
Frank Powolny – Betty Grable
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In 1943 Betty Grable posed for the pinup photo, she was one of the most popular pin-up girls. Her poster was seen in the lockers of most G.I.s during World War II.
Frank Fournier – Omaira Sánchez
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On November 13, 1985 in Armero, Colombia, the Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted which then led to Omaira Sanchez being trapped for 3 days in water, concrete, and other debris before she died. The photograph was taken by Frank Fournier shortly before she passed away.
Yevgeny Khaldei – Soviet Flag over the Reichstag
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This photo signifies the fall of Germany in World War II, the photo is of a Soviet Red Army soldier waving a flag above the German Reichstag. The original flag raising happened at 10:40 PM on April 30, 1945, but it was too dark so on May 2, 1945 Khaldei retook the picture the picture with two hand picked soldiers.
Lawrence H. Beitler – Thomas Shipp & Abram Smith
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On August 7, 1930, Lawrence Beitler took this photo of Thomas Shipp & Abram Smith being lynched to death and then hung from a tree. Since then the photogrpah has sold thousands of copies and even inspired a political poem called Strange Fruit.

american Football vs Futbol (football/soccer)

Every four years the World Cup is held, and every four years, Americans everywhere ask exactly why we’re supposed to care about soccer.  As somebody that avidly watches football but played soccer for more than a decade, I feel uniquely qualified to compare some of the major differences and decide which sport is truly the best.  Let us begin.

Equipment

Shoulder Pads for Football
Imagine wearing this and a helmet for 3 hours
Football players wear helmets, shoulder bads, flack jackets, knee pads, thigh pads, mouth guards, gloves, forearm pads…the list goes on.  Soccer players wear shin guards.  That’s it.  People can pick on soccer players for being weak sissies, but they don’t run around wearing 40 pounds of kevlar body armor.  This one goes to Futbol.

Game Length

The clock on a football game may say 60 minutes, but anybody that’s watched a game knows that it’s more like a 3 hour engagement.  Between commercials, time outs, half-time, penalties, instant replay, injuries, and huddles, what is supposed to be a 1 hour game quickly balloons – and that’s just during the regular season.  In soccer, the clock never stops.  If you’re injured they get you off the field as soon as possible, teams only get three substitutions per game, and there are no time outs.  Any time that’s wasted is just added on to the end of the clock so that a game lasts only 90 minutes.  Futbol wins on this one.

Instant Replay

Ref under the hood for Instant Replay
At least he's getting it right
While Instant Replay in football does add to the length of the game, it also lends to getting the calls right.  While there will always be room for human error, having the ability to slow down video to review certainly cuts down on the number of calls that are wrong and change the outcome of games.  While soccer doesn’t currently have Instant Replay, this past World Cup and several blown calls during it, are causing there to be more and more calls for some sort of technology to help the refs get the calls right.  This one goes to Football.

Celebrations

Brandi Chastain celebrating
This will not draw a yellow flag
Doing much beyond spiking the ball in the end zone will draw a penalty flag and probably a fine in the NFL.  The days of Emmitt Smith taking off his helmet after every touchdown are long gone, and that’s a shame.  While football may be the “ultimate team sport”, America has always celebrated individual excellence.
On the other hand, in soccer, celebrations often involve tumbling, piling on, dancing, and sometimes stripping.  If you’re not celebrating a goal in soccer it’s because you accidentally scored on your own team.  I think we can all agree that Futbol wins this one.

Biggest Game

Super Bowl
At least it happens every year
Super Bowl Sunday is an unofficial holiday in the US.  The pomp, the circumstance, the pageantry, we love watching football’s biggest game every year.  The World Cup is arguably bigger, with 32 teams being invited to compete in a tournament that results in one team, one country, being crowned World Beaters.  The Super Bowl only lasts one day, while the World Cup lasts an entire month.  That being said, I’m giving this one to Football as the Super Bowl happens every year, and the World Cup once every four.

Annoying Fans

Steelers Fans with Terrible Towels
At least they're not rioting
Every sport has annoying fans.  Football has several teams that have cities known for obnoxious fans.  The Steelers and the Terrible Towels, anybody that’s ever rooted for the Cowboys, the Black Hole of the Raiders (though the Raiders themselves could be called a black hole) – football fans can obnoxious at best, and mind blowingly annoying at worst.
Soccer has hooligans.  Rioting when they win or lose, hooligans destroy property, get in fights, and make a general nuisance of themselves.  They give the sport a bad name and embarass themselves and those around them.  While part of me wants to call this one a tie with both sports losing, I think I’ll give it to Football as we don’t really hear too much about hooligan activity accept around championship games.

Superstars

Tom Brady and David Beckham
International Superstars
Every sport has superstars, faces of the sport that everybody knows whether they follow the sport or not.  For football that star is Tom Brady.  The Patriot’s quarterback is known around the world thanks to modeling he does for several clothing lines, not to mention his marriage to Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen.
David Beckham is the Tom Brady of soccer.  With a movie named for him (“Bend it Like Beckham” starring Kiera Knightly), a high-profile marriage to former Spice Girl Victoria “Posh Spice” Adams, standing as a fashion icon, and being the face for several international fashion ads, there are few people in the world that aren’t aware of who David Beckham is.
We’ll call this one a tie, with both Futbol and Football having huge international superstars.  Looks like we’re going to a tie-breaker.

Tie-Breaker:  Women

Futbol WAGS
Makes you want to get on the pitch don't it
Football has cheerleaders.  While they’re great to look at and are often featured in calendars and make appearances at charity events, there’s one thing that Futbol has that Football hasn’t yet embraced.  WAGS.  Wives And Girlfriends of Soccer Players have become an institution in soccer, particularly in English soccer.
Often models, actresses, a combination thereof, and almost always in the tabloids, WAGS present much the same appeal as cheerleaders, accept they are far more in the public eye.  This one goes to Futbol as does the game.

12 World’s weirdest stadiums

osaka-stadium
A lot of stadiums around the world have spectacular designs, like the new World Cup 2010staduims in South Africa. Staduims give pride to the countries where they are located. Yet there are some stadiums where architects have failed and there are some very clever adaptations to the surrounding landscape and that makes them kinda weird.
osakastadiumJapan, Osaka stadium, former home ground of baseball team Nankai Hawks. The stadium situated in center of Osaka City, with capacity of 31379 seats. In 1988, The Hawks’ owner company sold the team to Daiei Group and moved to Fukuoka City. As 3 remaining teams in Metro Osaka got their own stadiums, Osaka stadium was abandoned for baseball and soon converted to sample housing showground. The stadium was demolished in 1998 and and shopping center is build on that location.

Caracasbolivia-stadiumVenezuela, Caracas “Cocodrilos Sports Park” is a multi-use stadium. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the part time home stadium of Caracas FC. The stadium holds 3,000 people and lies next to a highway.

braga-rocky-stadiumbragarockystadiumPortugal, Braga. One of the most expensive and weirdest stadiums in Portugal. The enormous rock moving process contributed heavily to the final $122 million cost, more than any other of the ten new stadiums built for European football championship in 2004. The stadium is often considered one of the most original and beautiful stadiums in the world. We find it strange.

croatia-stadiumcroatia-stadium-2imotskiCroatia Gospin dolac is a stadium in Imotski. It was built in 1989 and serves as home stadium for NK Imotski football club. The stadium has a capacity of 4,000 spectators. Beautiful strange stadium.

eco-stadium-stairseco-stadium-presseco-stadium-playerseco-stadiumBrazil Eco-Stadium “Janguito Malucelli” became famous for being the first “green stage” of Brazil, his main stand was built with chairs placed on top of a hill, without the use of concrete. Therefore, the stage is also called Eco-Stadium.

faore-stadiumThe Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. Their national football team is playing with European national teams on pitch located next to the sea. There’s also a guy in a boat that collects the balls that fall into the sea during a match.

floating-stadiumfloat-terracefloatingstadiumfloating-stadium-4floating-stadium-3Singapore, Marina Bay. Made entirely of steel, the floating platform measures 390 feet long and 270 feet wide. It can bear up to 1,070 tonnes, equivalent to the total weight of 9,000 people, 200 tonnes of stage props and three 30-tonne military vehicles. The gallery at the stadium has a seating capacity of 30,000 people.

bulgarian-stadiumBulgaria FC Chernomorets Balchik football club from the town of Balchik, currently playing the second division of Bulgarian football. The team plays its home games at the local “Balchik Stadium” with 6,000 of the ugliest seats we’ve ever seen.

norway-strange-stadiumnorway-strange-stadium-3norway-strange-stadium-2Norway FC Aalesund old stadium was very strange with terrace on a hill. Club build a new stadium in 2005. It was also a home of the Norwegian Woman’s Premier League matches.

google-eart-stadiumsouthaf-stadiumsouth-af-stadium-2South Africa Mmabatho Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in city Mafikeng It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 59,000 people and was designed and built in 1981 by a Russian construction company.

vienna-stadiumstadium-viennaAustria, Vienna the “Hohe Warte Stadium” is a multi-purpose stadium in. Primarily a football venue and the home of First Vienna football club, it has also occasionally played host to Austrian international rugby union matches and the Vienna Vikings American Football team.

belgium-stadiumAntwerpBelgium FC Antwerp stadium was built in 1923 and was once one of the biggest and most luxurious soccer stadiums in Europe, now stands look totally different, each competing for the title “ugliest stand world wide”.

ukraine-stadiumUkraine, absolute winner , gravity is not a best friend of players on this team. We don’t have additional info about this pitch and is there any football matches going on on this field, but for sure it is fun for drivers on this road.