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Daily Archives: January 9, 2014
That’s an ice pattern: Artist uses a compass and his FEET to create intricate designs – that are gone with the next snowfall
An artist makes incredible delicate and detailed pieces of art just by walking over fresh snowfall.
55-year-old Simon Beck walks miles in the snow to make these incredible pieces that only last a day before being covered by a fresh snowfall.
The artist from Bracknell, Berkshire walks over layers of fresh snow with nothing but an expedition compass and a pair of snowshoes to create his slope styling art.
He typically makes his mind-blowing designs in France, where he lives during ski season, and documents them afterward with awe-inspiring photographs.
Mr Beck first plans out the pattern on graph paper, then surveys the site and judges where the major points of the design should be, and starts at one of those points.
It takes him about 10 hours on average to complete a piece and he estimates that he’s walked more than 40km to complete some pieces, which only last until the next heavy snowfall.
Spectacular photographs show the moment Niagara Falls FROZE in polar vortex
The record-breaking chill across the U.S. and Canada was so frigid it literally stopped Niagara Falls in its tracks.
A collection of spectacular photographs have shown the moment the U.S. side of the famous falls froze before they could reach the bottom.
Thankfully, the freezing air and ‘polar vortex’ that turned the cascading water to ice – and affected about 240 million people in the U.S. and southern Canada – will depart during the second half of this week, and a far-reaching January thaw will begin, according to AccuWeather.com.
Tuesday was a day of record-setting cold in Niagara, with the mercury bottoming out at a chilling -2F. Combined with the wind chills, it felt like -20F.
One would think the icy cold would keep tourists away, but those who enjoy taking photos rugged up to snap the conditions, producing exceptional images they wouldn’t otherwise have an opportunity to capture.
The natural wonder should be looking more like itself come Saturday when temperatures are forecast to be in the 50s, according to Environment Canada.
Raining dead BATS! 100,000 rotting carcasses fall from the sky and die during blistering heatwave in Australia
Around 100,000 bats have fallen from the sky and died during a blistering heatwave in Australia.
Temperatures up to 43C are to blame for the mass deaths in at least 25 colonies in southern Queensland, the RSPCA said yesterday.
The bats have caused havoc in townships with teams of rubbish collectors run off their feet clearing them from trees and bushes.
Some residents say they have had to put up with the stench of rotting carcasses for four days.
At least 16 people have needed anti-viral treatment after being scratched by dying bats.
A Bat Rescue spokesman warned: “Don’t touch them, they’re stressed. If they do break your skin you can get a vaccination.” He said people should not try to clear them up themselves.
Canada reports first case of H5N1 avian flu in North America
Canadian health officials confirmed Wednesday that a resident from Alberta has died from H5N1 avian flu, the first case of the virus in North America.
Canada’s Health Minister, Rona Ambrose, said the infected individual had recently traveled to Beijing.
Ambrose stressed that Canadians should not be worried about contracting the virus.
According to the World Health Organization, most avian flu viruses do not cause disease in humans. However, some like H5N1 are zoonotic, which means they can infect humans and cause disease, even death.
Iraqi Kurds Announce Start of Crude Flow to Turkey
The authorities in Iraq’s self-ruled northern Kurdish region say they’ve unilaterally started exporting crude oil through Turkey despite objections by the central government in Baghdad.
The Kurds’ regional Natural Resources Ministry said in a statement late Wednesday that pumping started in early January.
The oil is being shipped north through a newly constructed pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, bypassing Baghdad.
The Kurdish ministry has invited companies to participate in a January tender for the 2 million barrels already deposited in Ceyhan. It anticipates an increase in exports to 4 million barrels in February and 6 million barrels in March, with the goal of 10-12 million barrels in December.
Man who thinks he’s Jesus… along with hundreds of young women who follow him across the world
A 66-year-old Brazilian man has spent 35 years preaching the word of God – because he believes he is the reincarnation of Jesus.
Inri Cristo has ‘hundreds of followers’ from around the world, including the UK, Britain and France, some of whom live with him at his ‘church’ compound outside Brasilia.
Since 1979 he has travelled for 27 countries to spread his word, however his controversial views has seen him expelled from the US, Britain and Venezuela.
Most of the disciples who live at his church – mostly women – have followed Inri for decades, the eldest, Abevere, 86, has been following him for 32 years.
His youngest disciple is now 24 years old and first met Inri when she was just a two years old.
His Jesus-like dressing and unorthodox views on capitalism, abortion and even Christmas has seen him detained by police more than 40 times.
But despite seeing himself as Jesus reborn, Inri refuses to celebrate Christmas saying it is just a day where ‘the rich humiliate the poor’.
He now runs his own church, the ‘Soust’ (Suprema Ordem Universal da Santmssima Trindade), located on a lush farmland outside of Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, which he calls the ‘New Jerusalem’.
His quirky life has led to critics saying he is mentally ill – an accusation he firmly denies.
Lack of Snow Leaves Kosovo With a Drought
In 2013, winter brought heavy rains and flooding to Kosovo. The year before that, it was blizzards and snow drifts. Now it’s a drought.
An official said Wednesday that some 400,000 people in and around Pristina, the capital, could face reduced supplies of drinking water, given a dramatic fall in the levels of the two artificial basins they get it from.
Arieta Mjeku, a spokeswoman for the regional water supply company, said strict reductions must be imposed if the winter drought continues. Mjeku said some areas are already on limited water supply.
Abducted Swedish Journalists Released in Syria
Abducted Swedish Journalists Released in Syria
Two Swedish journalists who were abducted in Syria in November have been released, Swedish and Red Cross officials said Wednesday.
Sweden’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the release of writer Magnus Falkehed and photographer Niclas Hammarstrom, and said both were receiving assistance from Swedish diplomats in Beirut.
The two freelance journalists were abducted as they were on their way out of Syria in November.
Swedish authorities wouldn’t say who abducted them or how they were set free. But national police spokeswoman Jessica Krasser Fremnell said Swedish police had worked closely with other authorities to secure their release.
Their state of health was not immediately clear.
Press advocacy groups say Syria has become the most dangerous country in the world for reporters over the past two years, with kidnappings becoming a major threat.