Kurts90

Polish artist Pawel Kuczynski creates thought-provoking illustrations that comment on social, economic, and political issues through satire. The illustrator's portfolio ranges from criticizing military practices and the incentives behind war, to themes of mortality and reinterpreting the uses of social media as elusive spying platforms. Each image reflects its fair share of serious issues balanced with whimsical illustrations.

Taking a recurring interest in the power of the dollar and its connection to war, Kuczynski tends to reintroduce the image of artillery, protective military gear, and money as codependent objects. On a more domestic level, the artist also produces images of society's ironic treatment of cats versus farm animals. In one image, the house cat is treated like a king, sitting patiently and waiting to feast on any number of animals from the butcher's farm.

In another, Kuczynski creates a brilliant rendering of alcoholism. The visual is of an individual chugging a beer bottle with a floating fishing line in it. One can foresee the future: as he drinks the ale, the snare gets closer to hooking him in. Overall, the illustrator's satirical work is all-encompassing, touching on universal subjects of global problems as well as personal demons.

Pawel Kuczynski website
via [ghost in the machine]

Source: Puebla Online Friendly Gestures: The High Five The high five’s origin is an extraordinarily contentious issue, given its association with camaraderie and celebration. The low five had long...

Click through to see the full post!

 

Alexey Kljatov (aka ChaoticMind75) is an artist and photographer from Moscow, Russia. In an ongoing series entitled Snowflakes and snow crystals, Alexey takes macro shots of natural snowflakes, snow and hoarfrost crystals right outside of his house.

In a detailed blog post Kljatov explains that he shoots with a Canon A650 with a custom-built macro add-on for the camera: a Helios 44M-5 from an old USSR SLR camera called a Zenit. The images seen below were shot on dark woollen fabric in natural light (typically a grey cloudy sky).

These are only 10 in a series of 67, which you can see in its entirety on Flickr. It’s fascinating to see the numerous varieties of snowflakes. From simple prisms, sectored plates and stellar dendrites; to capped columns and triangular crystals, no two snowflakes are quite the same.

You can find a great list with pictures of different snowflake types here, and you can find a lot more amazing photography from Alexey at the links below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you live in Moscow, your morning commute can now include a brief fitness session

To promote the upcoming 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, subway stations in Moscow have added these impressive new machines which allow passengers to do 30 squats for a train ticket.

It's a little like how you used your Wii Fit that first week after Christmas, but with an actual reward. This machine can also tell if you're cheating, unlike the couch calisthenics you can get away with at home

Would you be up to the 30 squat challenge?

Read more...

More about Viral Videos, Health, Fitness, Olympics, and Russia

 

Robby Cuthbert is an artist and designer based out of Palo Alto, California. After studying sculpture and architecture at Williams College, Cuthbert now creates furniture and sculptures under his own studio, Robby Cuthbert Design. On his website, Cuthbert says that he uses tools such as CNC machines, laser cutters and 3D printers to assist in the iteration process.

In the series of furniture items below, Cuthbert uses tension wires to hold pieces of furniture together. No screws or glue are used, just opposing forces of tension to achieve stability in each design. In a recent post on reddit, Cuthbert elaborates on the process:

“For the process of removing the slack, it’s all done by feel. I have some pliers that I use to pull the cables tight and a pair of crimpers that I use to clamp copper sleeves down around the cables and hold them in place. I started out making a bunch of abstract sculptures with this method, so I got a lot of practice and a good feel for it before I went on to making practical things.
 
The surprising part is, because there are so many cables, none of them has to be pulled that tight. If you push on any of them, it doesn’t feel like they’re under that much tension. It’s just that the added effect of them all creates a totally stable system. The cable is 1/16” galvanized steel wire rope.” [Source]

 

Many of the items below are available for purchase. You can find much more information at the links below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you only watch one ski video this week then make sure it is this one. Old school is back with music to match!

Five French teenagers from Bordeaux decided to kidnap a llama from the circus and party with him around town. At first they really wanted a zebra, but the zebras weren’t down to party. Llamas on the other hand are always down the party. That’s how Serge the llama ended up on the tram. However it [...]
Visit IncredibleThings.com for the full post.

Huli in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea

Before They Pass Away is a powerful documentary series by photographer Jimmy Nelson featuring dozens of cultures around the world whose people live in seclusion and are at risk of fading away. Traveling across five continents, the English photographer manages to embrace the various cultures he has encountered and highlights each of the 35 tribes' unique beauty.

From Ethiopia and Nepal to Papua New Guinea and Siberia, Nelson exhibits a wide array of environments that these diverse tribes inhabit.The refreshing project goes beyond exhibiting humans across the globe, though, documenting their culturally rich lifestyles and appearances. Each community displays their own means of survival while retaining their distinct spirituality and exhibiting their diverse decorative adornments.

There is a very human appeal to viewing Nelson's series. Though modern civilizations are equipped with technology and an abundance of unnecessary possessions, the photographer digs deep into the remote tribes of the world, finding something far greater than gadgets and gizmos—a sense of humanity.

We were lucky enough to get in contact with the photographer and ask him a few questions. Jimmy kindly shares his insight and experiences with us, below.

Also, Before They Pass Away is a book that is available to purchase directly through the publisher's website.

Your photo project is a beautiful record of secluded and endangered cultures. Was it difficult to be accepted into the different communities as a guest?
After arriving at the locations, I always made sure they never saw any cameras. I also made myself small—in both a physical and metaphorical sense. I’m quite tall and imposing, but when you make yourself small, you give them the feeling that they are in control, even if it means spending 4 days crouched in the dirt. I would then try to communicate, usually with the help of translators. In places like Papua New Guinea, where there are thousands of languages, I had to use hand gestures and touching. Another important point is that I always stayed in their accommodation, whether it be a teepee or the ground, because I didn’t want to give the impression that I was better than them.

Goroka in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea




You refer to your subjects as "visually unique tribes." How do they compare in terms of practices? What are their similarities?
These tribes were all chosen for aesthetic beauty, geographical location, and the diversity of the nature they live in. I originally wanted to photograph 70 tribes, but several were eliminated because they were physically inaccessible or there were bureaucratic barriers in some countries, especially in Africa and the Amazon. Overall, I strived to make the subject accessible to individuals who wouldn’t normally be interested in these tribes. Their similarities lie in how they live in balance with the environment, and how they have achieved the perfect harmony that everyone in the West dreams of.

Karo in the Omo Valley of Africa's Great Rift Valley


Can you please explain, from your firsthand experience, how global changes (in terms of technology and urbanization) have directly affected the indigenous cultures you've photographed?
Although they will always exist, what is happening is that they are abandoning their culture. Affluence is taking over the undeveloped world and—in my opinion—there should be a balance somewhere in between. I want to show these tribes that they are already rich, that they have something money can’t buy. What I want to achieve is bring attention to these people by showing that they are beautiful.

Kalam in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea


Is there an especially memorable story from your travels for this project that you can share?
There’s a photo of three native Kazakh men from Mongolia with eagles on their shoulders on a mountain. That picture took 4 days to make, because each morning there wasn’t enough light. On the fourth morning, it was about minus 20 degrees on top of the mountain and the light was beautiful. I took off my gloves to take the photo and they literally froze to the camera. I began crying and turned around and saw that 2 women had followed us there. One of them took my fingers and cradled them in her jacket until I got the feeling back and was able to take a couple of shots. What I didn’t know was that these women were actually strict Sunni Muslims, and broke all codes of modesty to aid me. They saw my desperation and did what they could to help me achieve what I was there for.

Kazakh in Eastern Europe and northern parts of Central Asia



What do you hope viewers take away from your work?
Tribes and forgotten cultures teach us about aspects of humanity such as love, respect, peace, survival and sharing. There is a pure beauty in their goals and family ties, their belief in gods and nature, and their will to do the right thing in order to be taken care of when their time comes. Whether in Papua New Guinea or in Kazakhstan, in Ethiopia or in Siberia, tribes are the last resorts of natural simplicity.

Tsaatan in the remote subarctic taiga of Mongolia

Ladakhi in the Northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir

Maasai in Kenya and Tanzania

Maori in New Zealand

Mursi in Ethiopia

Nenet in the Yamal peninsula


Before They Pass Away website
Before They Pass Away on Facebook

Métropolisson is a creative project by Parisian photographer Janol Apin that takes place on the many stations of the Paris Metro. Using the underground metro stops as the inspiration behind each image, Apin creates visual puns and anecdotal scenes that relate to their respective station names.

While some of the subway platforms use French words, making it harder to decipher the humor in the shot if your aren't well-versed in the language, there are plenty of text and costumed subject combinations that transcend language barriers. For instance, the Champ de Mars stop has an astronaut donning his cumbersome suit, easily drawing a link between the red planet and the moon man.

Other cleverly orchestrated stations include Dupleix, which humorously features one person sitting on the shoulders of another individual, simulating the dual levels of a duplex building, and Argentine where couples appear to be performing an Argentine tango right on the metro platform. There are countless creatively executed images in the project, which has amassed a collection of over one hundred metro stops that can now be seen in a new light.

Janol Apin website
via [etoday]

Back in 2011, we first wrote about Candy Chang's powerful interactive art project "Before I Die" where she painted a side of an abandoned house in her neighborhood of New Orleans with chalkboard paint and then stenciled in the words, "Before I die I want to ___." Anyone who happened to pass by could share their deepest and most personal thoughts.

Then, this happened. "It was all an experiment and she didn’t know what to expect," her website states. "By the next day, the wall was completely filled out and it kept growing: Before I die I want to… sing for millions, hold her one more time, straddle the International Date Line, see my daughter graduate, eat more everything, abandon all insecurities, plant a tree, follow my childhood dream, be completely myself… People’s responses made her laugh out loud and tear up. They consoled her during her toughest times. She understood her neighbors in new and enlightening ways, and the wall reminded her that she’s not alone as she tries to make sense of her life."

Fast forward a few years and you could say that this project took on a life of its own. Currently, over 350 "Before I Die" walls have been created in over 60 countries and in over 25 languages. A new book, coming out November 5 by St. Martin's Press (the same publisher who brought you Humans of New York), chronicles Chang's journey and shows many of the different places in the world that have "Before I Die" walls. To help celebrate the book launch, an "International Day of Walls" event will happen on November 5 that will bring together even more people from cities worldwide who will put up their own interactive art wall.

Now, courtesy of St. Martin's Press, here's a sneak peek of Before I Die, the book.

You can pre-order the book at one of many stores including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Looks like another great art book to collect.

Before I Die website
Photo credits: [Sweet Julep Photography, St Martin's Press]

This beautiful Round House is a unique home design concept where soft curves replace the dusty corners of a typical four-sided home. Developed by L.A.-based architecture firm Johnston Marklee, the completely open interior space is enclosed by floor to ceiling windows, allowing light to radiate throughout the space from all around. For more privacy, sliding doors can be pulled closed to section off the space into separate rooms. To top it off, the roof terrace, including swimming pool, provides residents with a stunning panoramic view of the surrounding scenery.

The project is part of Solo Houses, a program developed in 2010 to revolutionize the world of architecture. Creator Christian Bourdais pulled together the world's most talented architects to develop 12 of the most impressive homes in the 21st century. Each home design concept will be built in the Mattaranya region two hours south of Barcelona, and will offer owners a "unique architectural experience," according to Bourdais.

Johnston Marklee website
Solo Houses website
via [MoCo Loco]

I think Jackson Day needs to adjust those DIN settings a bit, as his first attempt at a double backflip fails before it even gets started.

Related: Shea Flynn picks top 9 ski fails of 2013

The post Skier fails miserably while attempting first double backflip appeared first on Freeskier Magazine.

Junk in the Trunk is our gear review column, brought to you by evo.

Selk’bag Patagon
MSRP: $259.
SelkBagUSA.com

Sleeping bags may be the status quo for campers, but there’s something obnoxious about waking up in a human burrito. The tubular layout makes it hard to move, harder to escape, and heaven forbid you have to take a piss in the middle of the night.

That’s why the Selk’bag Patagon caught my attention. With easy double front entry and separated arms and legs, the Patagon may look like the real-life Michelin Man, but it allows mobility in any sleeping situation. Naturally, my mind wandered to Subaru overnights and one-room cabin sardine fests. Could this puffy coverall and its added flexibility be the answer to my winter car camping woes?

Snow wasn’t yet a consistent commodity, so the Patagon got its first action on a surf trip to Baja. I knew the days would be wave-filled, the nights Tecate-soaked, and the chances of me finding an adequate place to sleep small. Sure enough I spent one night in a boat hull and the other in a beach shack, but the Patagon and its two-dimensional anatomical fit made passing out anywhere a viable option.

Selk’bag’s newest offering is its most technical, featuring an upgraded insulation material known as Krekran and hand holes for dexterity without taking off the suit. Removable booties were great for slipping into flip-flops to check out the morning point break, and they would be just as suited to throwing on snow boots for a midwinter outhouse run.

But despite the functional goodness of the Selk’bag, it has one fatal flaw. All of the added freedom increases the exposed surface area dramatically, which means the Patagon isn’t built for cold. In fact, the Patagon is the warmest of the Selk’bags and still only protects down to 35-degrees Fahrenheit—hardly a helpful temperature on long winter nights or anywhere above a few thousand feet. It’s a shame because the suit employs lots of other tech to curb heat loss—an insulated hood, adjustable thermal collar around the neck, and exaggerated draft tubes to prevent heat escaping from the zippers.

That being said, the Selk’bag Patagon is a comfortable sleep alternative. The limb mobility is an invaluable plus, and while it may not fit my car camping intentions (or the high alpine), the suit is a great fit for conking out in heated ski homes or camping in warmer climes—especially if you don’t dig struggling with a microfiber cocoon every morning.

The post Junk in the Trunk: Selk’bag Patagon appeared first on POWDER Magazine.

Anyone who ever wanted to have a small tree house in their backyard will be totally amazed by this massive construction, The World's Biggest Tree House, located in Crossville, Tennessee. Designed by Minister Horace Burgess, the structure relies on six oak trees as the base to support all five stories, which collectively stand 97-feet-high.

According to Burgess, his inspiration to build the tree house originated from a vision he had in 1993. He says, "I was praying to God and he said, 'If you build me a treehouse, I will get you all the supplies." To develop the project, the minister spent $12,000 and used mostly recycled materials across the course of 14 years. All of the wood is held together by exactly 258,000 nails, put into place by Burgess and a handful of volunteers.

Inside, there are more than 80 rooms, including a sanctuary, which can also be used as a small basketball court, as well as a church and bell tower, an antique church pew, a stained-glass window of Jesus, and a choir loft. This year, the building finally made it into the Guinness Book of World Record, which really does make it the largest church in the sky. As a bonus, from the roof, one can see the word 'Jesus' spelled out with grass in a field nearby.

Top photo: Chuck Sutherland

The Road Junkies

The Road Junkies

The Road Junkies

The Road Junkies

The Road Junkies

Frank Kehren

Frank Kehren

Frank Kehren

via [CJWHO]

Andreas Fransson may seem like the maddest man on skis, ticking off unimaginably steep descents around the world. But he’s also a yogi and deep thinker with endless musings on life in the mountains.

Backcountry Managing Editor Tyler Cohen got to know Fransson last April on a trip to Chamonix, France, and he profiled the extreme skier in the October issue profile “Mind Over Mountain.” While there, Cohen skied with filmmaker Bjarne Salén, and Bjarne’s latest video features footage from the trip and dozens of Fransson’s musings.

Happy Winter from Bjarne Salén on Vimeo.

The post Happy Winter: Andreas Fransson’s Musings appeared first on Backcountry Magazine.

This is Snake Venom from Brewmeister. It's a 67.5% alcohol beer. It also costs £50 (~$80) for a 9-ounce bottle, so it's probably not the most cost effective choice for getting drunk. Which is why I'm gonna stick to drinking hand sanitizer and mouthwash. Please nobody actually drink hand sanitizer or mouthwash. I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing there are Geekologie readers out there so stupid.

This unique beer is made with a plethora of malts including peat smoked malt, acid malt and chocolate malt. It is fermented using two types of yeast - ale yeast and champagne yeast in order to deliver a higher alcohol content. It is then painstakingly freeze concentrated. Tasting notes: Dark brown in colour with a nose of alcohol, whisky and hops.

There's a warning on the bottle that says you shouldn't drink anymore than 35ml (~1 ounce) in a sitting, which seems like a little overkill. I guess they just have to say that to cover their own ass. To cover my ass? Right now it's a dirty bath towel but I may slip into some sweatpants or athletic shorts later. "You're disgusting." I'm the monster that monsters are afraid of. Thanks to TBTMH, who agrees there's no purpose for a 67.5% alcohol beer when liquor already exists. Cheers to that.

 

In case you didn’t know, candy is the best thing in the world. In years to come, when humans fly around on robot hovercrafts they will look back at our time and achievements and see one above all else: the invention of teeth-rotting, stomach-ache-creating, oh-so-perfect candy.

I love candy. Chances are you love candy. If you don’t, then get out. No seriously. This post is not for you.

As for the rest of us, it’s time to take a look at the magic behind everybody’s favorite holiday, Halloween. So rip open a bag of your favorite treats, pull up a chair, and get ready to have a few cavities filled.

[dropcap]The History of Candy, Halloween, and Candy on Halloween[/dropcap]

Where do we start?

[dropcap]Candy[/dropcap] has been around forever. If you’ve ever heard your grand parents talk about candy, you’ve likely thought to yourself how un-candy-like it sounded though. The sugary stuff has an impressive ability to evolve quickly over a short amount of time, especially when introduced to the hyper-industrilization of food manufacturing. So, where did candy where start?

Candy can be traced as far back as primal humans sticking a finger in a bee hive, taking a swipe of honey, and snacking on it. No, this may not sound like candy but it fulfills two parts of what makes candy candy: 1. It’s super sweet, and 2. It’s not good for you. Honey may be good for you, but sticking your hand in a beehive is, well, not.  That and there’s a significant amount of conscious effort required to risk pain for a little sweet pleasure.  From there, history records ancient Greeks, Chinese, and Romans rolling various nuts, grains, fruits, flowers, and other items in honey to make it sweeter. Again, it may not sound too candy-like in today’s terms. In fact it sounds downright like granola – I dare you to give trick or treaters a handful of almonds covered in honey and see who get’s TPed. But this was the candy of the time.

Then, somewhere along the line, historians like to claim that candy made the jump from a conglomerate of sweet ingredients smashed together, to purposefully created sweet confections. However, the intention wasn’t so sweet. It seems that the first modern candy was merely an attempt to make medicine more enjoyable. Afterall, this is essentially how Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr.Pepper, and most other sodas were invented, as cure all elixirs that thanks to time have been recognized merely as junk food, rather than medicine. Many of these earlier candies were specifically created as digestive aides, and were a sweet and spicy mixture of various sweeteners, spices, herbs, and oils. The random amalgamation of ingredients soon became sugar coated pills or syrups (usually bitter). Someone eventually stood up, announced their love of these early tums, and helped turn the world onto candy.

By the 1800s, candy – real candy – had moved past the socioeconomic confines of indentured servitude to the rich, and became a a treat for the masses, mostly kids, and a lot of adults – pretty much everyone. Penny candy came to life in the 1830s, candy presses soon followed in the 1840s, and by the 1850s, sugar cooking methods were perfected. Candy was revolutionized and it was here to stay. And with a plethora of shapes, sizes, and flavors, everyone had their favorite and no one had to share. By the late 1800s and early 1900s, many of our favorite candies today came to into existence.

 

[dropcap]Halloween[/dropcap], like candy, has been around for a long time, and just like candy, it’s origins are very, very … umm… very different from halloween today. In fact, it was downright ghoulish. Early halloweens, which often coincided with the celebration of the fall harvest, were a chance to reconnect with deceased loved ones – that explains the whole ghost thing – so much so that families often left a chair open for dead relatives during their halloween feast. Of course, the friendly ghosts weren’t the only ones hanging around. It was often thought that evil spirits lingered during this time as well. Not everything was so different. Mumming was often a part of these fall harvest festivals. Certain Christian traditions involved baking cakes for christened souls and wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized by lost souls and evil spirits.

Early in American history, Halloween was surprisingly absent. Once Irish and Scottish immigrants began coming to America in the nineteenth century, Halloween began to gain traction and by the early 1900s, it was being celebrated throughout the country. Trick or treating began a few decades later, but when did candy come into the picture?

[dropcap]Candy & Halloween[/dropcap]

A lot of stories point to corporate America for giving us the candy-filled Halloween we all love today – it’s beginning to sound like Valentines day and Christmas in here. It’s not a far leap from handing out cakes and caramel apples to handing out candy either. The original intention behind handing out these gifts of foods, or leaving offerings outside your door, was to ward off evil spirits. Today candy helps fight off rogue kids out to TP a house or two.

No matter your favorite candy, chances are it’s a lot older than you think. Just how much older? Let’s take a look:

What’s your favorite candy? Have you ever tried making candy at home? Tell us all about it in the comments.

Sweetgrass Productions has made the nude segment from its latest film, Valhalla, available to watch on Vimeo. The nude scene is probably the most talked about segment from the entire film. The author’s personal favorite part of the scene? A skier throwing a flatspin 360, wearing nothing but an avalanche beacon.

Related: 2013′s Best Ski Films: Read Freeskier’s review of Sweetgrass Productions’ “Valhalla”

The post Watch the full-length nude segment from Sweetgrass Productions’ “Valhalla” appeared first on Freeskier Magazine.

After posting about Tour Paris 13, the nine-story social housing tower in Paris that's been transformed into one massive street art exhibition, we had this uneasy feeling that the pictures didn't quite do the project justice. Lucky for us, photographer HBA_Jijo took over 370 photos of it, capturing incredible work after work in every imaginable space.

"I really wanted the artist to intervene on a whole space," said Mehdi Ben Cheikh, the gallery owner who initiated the project. "I didn't want the spectators to come and look at art. I wanted the spectators to come and enter an art work ... which means there are things everywhere — we enter a room, and have to turn around in every direction to understand the surroundings."

You have only a few days left to see this unique exhibition in person. Tour Paris 13 is free and open to the public for only five more days, and then the dilapidated building will be demolished, piece by piece. To give you a sense of how popular this exhibition is, according to Businessweek, visitors have lined up for to eight hours to walk inside Tour Paris 13.

Tour Paris 13 website
Photos via [HBA_JIJO]

Switcheroo is a playful series by Canadian photographer Hana Pesut (aka sincerelyhana) that juxtaposes a simple photo of a couple with a similar portrait of the same two people, except each member of the duo is wearing the other's clothes for round two. We first discovered Pesut's series over three years ago and she has only expanded her quirky project to include a diverse group of people volunteering to swap their clothes.

Young and old, tall and short, slim and stout—the growing collection of images pair up anyone and everyone, turning odd couples into even odder twosomes. The visual experiment is especially effective when the pairs are extremely different, in terms of gender, height, and style. Countless men can be seen donning a dress and heels while their female counterparts are left to flaunt oversized blazers and baggy pants.

Pesut's fun photo series is now available as a book to purchase online.

Hana Pesut blog

 

During World War II and beyond, a number of Russian and German sea mines were built and used in the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland. Estonian artist Mati Karmin has repurposed these old and decommissioned mines into a variety of different furniture pieces ranging from fireplaces to chandeliers. You can find more information on the specific mines used here.

The range of works have resulted in art exhibits and a mine furniture company named Marinemine. At the official site you can find all of the different pieces of furniture Karmin has built from old sea mines. Some, like the bed are more sculptural than practical but all are interesting to see.

[via failure_fiasco on Reddit]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the beer fridge rolled out in Europe by the Molson Coors Brewing Company as part of a campaign to sell more Canadian Molson beer in Europe. Why would Europe want some mass produced Canadian beer when they have so much good stuff themselves? They probably don't. But has that ever stopped a company from pissing away money trying to change people's minds? Never.

A public fridge chock full of free beer may sound like heaven to some, but there's a problem: It's locked. And there's only one way to open it--you have be Canadian. The fridge will open only if you scan a Canadian passport. A webcam inside snaps a photo of the passport, unlocking the swill when it recognizes the document as 100 percent official maple leaf.

So if you're a Canadian traveling in Europe and you want a free Canadian beer you can have one, but nobody else can. I'm failing to see how this is supposed to convert people. Besides, you don't actually NEED a Canadian passport to open the fridge, just an axe. Axes are like, a universal passport for doors. Thanks to Jwudafuq, who isn't afraid to jumpkick the shit out of a vending machine for a stuck bag of chips.

 

Hua Shan is a mountain located near the city of Huayin in Shaanxi province, about 120 kilometres (75 mi) east of Xi’an. It is one of China’s Five Great Mountains and has a long history of religious significance. Hua Shan is classified as having five main peaks, of which the highest is the South Peak at 2,154.9 meters (7,070 ft).

It is on South Peak where you will find the famous Cliffside Plank Path. The exhilarating mountain hike is not for the faint of heart. There is a cost of approximately 30 yuan (just under $5 usd) and you are given two straps to hook onto wires on the path. The plank path includes steel rod ladders, footholds carved out of the cliff and narrow wooden plank walks. All of this is located thousands of feet above ground (check out the video at the bottom for a first-person POV).

Although the total length of the plank path is only a few hundred feet, there are plenty of other hiking paths and trails throughout Hua Shan and its various peaks. A cable car is also available for the less intrepid. According to travelsofmike.com, there are several ways to Hua Shan including train, taxi, and bus. There is also a general entrance fee to Hua Shan of 100 yuan ($16 usd) on top of the additional cliffside plank path cost.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources

- Wikipedia: Hua SHan
- Figo’s Fromagio: Huashan – The most wonderful of mountains – Part 1
- Figo’s Fromagio: Huashan – The most wonderful of mountains – Part 2
- Aaron D. Feen on Flickr
- Harry Alverson on Flickr
- Travels of Mike: Conquering the Hua Shan Cliffside Plank Path

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inspired by an early 20th century light bulb voltage tester that was discovered in a factory in Germany, this hinged metallic replica opens up to reveal an impressive bar. Equipped with three shelves, three stemware racks, and five slots for wine bottles, the 265-pound iron ball is fully capable of storing all the best liquor, spirits, and barware.

The unique design also exudes an overwhelming sense of masculinity. Its antiqued finish adds to the refined manliness of the design that makes it look like it belongs to a James Bond villain or perhaps to 007 himself. There's even an elusive hatch on the sphere, allowing for easy access to alcohol.

The bar is currently being sold through Restoration Hardware for $1,995.

via [Beautiful Life]

 

Italian artist Gabriele Galimberti is a commercial photographer (featured previously here and here) whose human-interest photo series’ have garnered critical acclaim.

During a recent 18-month ‘couch surfing’ trip around the world, Galimberti pursued a number of personal photo projects including Delicatessen with love, where he asked grandmothers to prepare their signature dishes. In a side by side series, Galimberti took portraits of the women with the ingredients used to cook the meal on one side and the finished dish on the other.

Galimberti took the project a step further, collecting the recipes for each meal, which you can find on his official site. Below is a small selection from this heartwarming series. To see all 44 grandmothers, dishes and recipes click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8,000 people were skiing in the Austrian resort of Stubai at the weekend. Many other high resorts in the Alps are open with the best October conditions in recent memory. But where are the Brits? PlanetSKI reports from the Austrian Tirol.

The Real Skifi boys are back with another episode showcasing their wildly creative skiing antics—episode 10 does not disappoint. The edit opens with some spring park skiing that features more than a few moments to shake your head at, including a ménage à trois rail slide and an impressive game of leap frog. From there, the crew proves that you really can ski all year round, in any conditions, if you put your mind to it; the boys slide rails in the mud, jump into public fountains and backflip off bridges into rivers. Yet another eye opener from the famed Finns.

Related: Real Skifi drops episode 9 of their crazy urban webisode series

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This edit showcases Tom Leitner’s 2012/13 ski season, with footage accrued while filming with Legs Of Steel and Simon Thusbass. According to Mischfabrik Movies on YouTube, “It’s not supposed to show the hardest action and the biggest lines possible, it’s more about the moments, the people and surroundings making skiing the addictive lifestyle that many of us choose to live.” If there’s only one thing to take away from this video, it’s that Leitner can shred, and he can shred in a variety of ways, in different conditions and locations. Great work all around.

Related: Legs of Steel drops official trailer for “The LOSt”

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