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Bird Flight Fractals

Mesmerizing curves and formations made from a flock of birds… some say that these birds exploit the atmospheric conditions preceding a tornado. But tornado, or not, if you see this happening again, can you please make a better-resolution video and send it to us?

Link

Today’s pictures & links:

Aerial Swimming Pool

Marina Bay Sand’s Skypark in Singapore. Somebody has to shoot the next James Bond movie there. It just asks for a tightrope dance with a villain.

(images via)

This swimming pool even has the “infinity edge” emptying out on the neighbouring skyscrapers. Simply awesome.

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A River Runs Through It

…it runs through the gardens at Keukenhof in the Netherlands.

(original unknown)

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The Endless Staircase

(image credit: Philipp Klinger)

Sculpture in the yard of the KPMG building in Munich. Designed by Olafur Eliasson – see more images and info here.

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The Enormous Grid of Trees Spotted in Japan

Our reader Dave DenHerder spotted something unique in Google Maps on the northern island of Hokkaido, Japan – a giant forested grid of truly stupendous proportions!

He says, “At first, I almost ignored it until I realized that this pattern was huge… and very straight and precise for something that big. So I zoomed in until I saw that the grid was made up of bands of trees. Using the scale in the corner of the screen, I estimate that each square in the grid is about 2.5 miles wide!”

(images via GoogleMaps, sent in by Dave DenHerder)

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Mixed fresh links for today:

Crazy Mushroom-Shaped City – [architecture]
To woo a mate, male bowerbirds decorate, lavishly. – [wow nature, pics]
New fantastic wall graffiti animation – [wow video]
Inspiring Science Fiction Art from the 1980s – [cool art]
Carte Geografichen – [vintage maps]
These ATMs will give you money… grudgingly – [funny]
Is Mafia Dead? (State of Mafia Families Today) – [interesting]
Concrete Aircraft Carrier in China – [weird architecture]
Plane Refueling a Ferrari! – [wow video]
An Interview With The Editor Of The Onion – [neat videos]
Short Cute Animation from Stephane Halleux – [cute video]
Unbelievable Acrobatics Performance – [wow video]

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We like Klockwerks by Roger Wood

Klockwerks. Gorgeous design pieces – one look at the catalog will make you a believer, anbd possibly, a buyer:

(images via)

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Cats… The Good, and the Evil One

Note that we do not specify which one is which, exactly:

(original unknown)

(image via)

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Yarn Break

(image via)

See a lot more knitted oddities in Strange Knits and Yarn Monsters.

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This truck is too heavy for this bridge

Or rather, “was” too heavy. Somewhere in China, any additional info?

(images via)

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Great Star Wars “T” – Bow Tie Tuxedo Shirt!

Among many cool t-shirt designs, this one just begs to be bought – from here. Designed by Reece Ward exclusively for Lucasfilm Ltd. (another example)

(image via)

Other Reece Ward’s designs – see gallery:

(images credit: Reece Ward)

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The Skull of the Sneezing Man

Very frightening:

(original unknown)

Take care when sneezing!..

READ THE PREVIOUS ISSUE ->

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“QUANTUM SHOT” #638
Link – article by Simon Rose and Avi Abrams

The Wild, the Wonderful and the Downright Weird Designs for Motorcycles

Even for those who have never ridden a motorcycle, there’s just something about these magnificent machines that make us simply stop and admire them. In this article, we take a look at the cool, the fascinating, the unusual and the ‘what the heck were they thinking’ designs for motorcycles that have appeared for over a hundred years.

(Predator Bike – more images and info at 1, 2)

Let’s start with some vintage beauties. The first motorcycle was designed and built in Germany in 1885:

(image via)

FN or Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, a Belgian manufacturer of firearms, also made motorcycles from 1901 to 1967. This one is from 1913:

(image via)

1913 Garelli (left) and the Evans Power Cycle (right), from 1919:

(images via)

Indian Scout from 1928:

(image via)

The Sokol 1000 was made in Poland and used by both civilians and the Polish military in the 1930’s:

(image via)

1940 Indian four cylinder (left). On the right is the design for a Dream Motorcycle One from the early 1950’s -

(images via 1, 2)

The NSU Sportmax motorcycle was a winner in the 250 cc class in the Grand Prix Season of 1955:

(image via)

I’m not sure if I’d want to be racing across the battlefield in this machine:

(image via)

This one on the other hand looks more impressive. The Vespa 150 TAP, equipped with a cannon, was used by the French army and was meant to join the battle after being dropped by parachute (read our article about it here) -

(image via)

This bike, which also featured a gun, was developed for the Danish military in the 1930’s:

(image via)

Wondrous Biking Machines

From the movies here we have the Hill Valley police motorcycle from Back to the Future (left). And how could we forget Batman’s two-wheeled mode of transportation as portrayed in The Dark Knight (right):

(images via)

Boldly go where no has gone before, on the Star Trike, which apparently appeared at the San Diego Comic Con in 1982:

(images via 1, 2)

The TrikeBack’s engine reminded me of the propulsion systems in the jetpacks and rocket belts from an earlier article right here on Dark Roasted Blend:

(image via)

Although this looks like a rocket bike, this is a real bomb shell. More info about this “Crotch Rocket” here:

(image via)

Could this be the world’s largest, or perhaps tallest, motorcycle? -

(image via)

Or how about this 48 cylinder machine, which apparently actually runs – more info:

(image via)

The Panzerbike from Germany, weighing in at just under five tons, has an engine that once powered a Russian T55 tank and the sidecar used to be the casing of a Soviet missile:

(images via 1, 2)

Hopefully, this motorcycle isn’t a real death trap? Skeleton bikes by Jud Turner, John Farr and others:

(images via 1, 2, 3)

Toys for big boys? The Burgerbike, ideal for visiting the drive-through window, perhaps? (left) Not sure what the top speed would be on this one? (right) -

(images via)

This machine was apparently made from spare parts and bits of miscellaneous junk (left)… while this one is made of wood, partially at least (right):

(images via)

Not sure if you want to give up your motorcycle and buy a car, or vice versa? You can have the best of both worlds, with the Laverda sidecar bike (more info):

(images via)

Who said limousines had to be cars? Here is “Anaconda” -

(image via)

The Jaguar motorcycle, such a cool design! –

(images via)

The Allmond Rocket motorcycle fromn Roger Allmond, more info (left) and another unusual design from Japan (right):

(images via)

These are actually part of the “Tuner Scooter” culture phenomenon in Japan – see more here:

(images via)

Here’s a selection of really cool concept bikes. From motorcycle manufacturer Arlen Ness – more info:

(image via)

Icare concept (left) and Swordfish bike concept (right):

(images via)

Ferrari V4 Motorcycle concept (left); Speed Racer motorcycle (right):

(images via)

The Magic Tricycle might sound like a brightly painted kid’s toy, but it’s actually more like something from Transformers. If you prefer to be driving a car, the vehicle moves along on its side using three wheels, but can also flip upright and turn into a motorcycle.

(images via)

The 4-wheeled motorcycle? No, this is not an ATV: Japanese “Tesseract” is a unique dual scythe suspension system, allowing this sleek machine to lean into turns like a motorcycle:

(image via)

And finally, here is perhaps the weirdest vintage bike of all – this one includes a sewing machine! – more info:

(image via)

CONTINUE TO STRANGEST VEHICLES! ->

Simon Rose is the author of science fiction and fantasy novels for children, including The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse, The Heretic’s Tomb and The Doomsday Mask.

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“QUANTUM SHOT” #636
Link – by Avi Abrams

Monster Waves… Tricky Lighting… Astounding risk… Timeless Photographs.

“The Shorebreak Art of Clark Little” is nothing short of epic. Getting inside, over and under 30-40 foot waves is no small feat, especially with bulky camera equipment, and a goal of finding that perfect angle and lighting condition that makes a perfect shot.

(all images copyright Clark Little, used with permission)

Clark Little is pretty well known today as the foremost shorebreak art photographer (his art has been seen on “Good Morning America”, and featured in a number of glossy magazines all over the world). But as much as we like the fantastic shots of various wave’ innards, we are even more impressed to see him pitched against dangerous, massive amounts of water – violent waves, where you only have a moment to make that shot and to get out of the harm’s way.

With exclusive permission of Clark Little Photography we publish today the rarely-seen photographs of Clark Little heading with his camera into…

Into the Vortex!

(Clark with his camera “inside” and “under” the waves)

Encounter with a Wave (almost alien-like in intensity, if you ask me):

The Result: Out of This World

A glorious, almost Mandelbrot-like complexity is simply striking in this “Glitter” photograph (our favorite):

Unusual, over-saturated colors show up inside crystal clear waves, reflecting kaleidoscopic world around them:

There is also a place for pure abstraction, even psychedelic touches:

This image is titled “The Twelve Disciples” – see if you can spot some faces inside that wave, too:

Here is perhaps his most famous image: the wave’s “mohawk”, an amazingly colorful splash, featured recently inside National Geographic magazine:

Another singular splash:

Inside the belly of the beast: “The Twister” photograph shows what a violent wave is made of -

Even in the absence of killer monster waves, the shorebreak art can look slightly alien… Here is the little “Frosty” guy:

(all images copyright Clark Little)

The Book! The Ultimate Spectacular Photo Book!

Can’t get the computer screen wide enough and HD TV capable enough to give justice to Clark Little’s slices of glorious wave eye-candy? Well, now you can order his book, a coffee table-sized huge book, in fact arguably a “mother of all coffee table books”: 182 pages, over 100 photographs, 12×12 size, weighing close to 7 pounds.

Make sure you own a coffee table big enough to do this book justice (you might have to move your coffee cup closer to the edge, but then you might be already seating at the edge of your seat – with excitement over Clark Little’s fantastic images).

(Clark Little with Jack Johnson (musician) and Kelly Slater (9-time Surfing World Champion) at book signing)

Some of Clark’s newest images can be seen here… don’t forget to look for his book in your bookstore, or order it online.

ALSO SEE “BLADERUNNER TOKYO LARGE-FORMAT PHOTOGRAPHY” ->

CHECK OUT OUR “PHOTOGRAPHY” CATEGORY FOR MORE! ->

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Scroll down for today’s pictures & links.

Huge Starfish, Wrong Side Up

Speaking about unexpected and full recovery: flip a huge starfish (with 9 arms, no less) wrong side up, and see what happens… What’s more, they do it without any brain involved.

Link – via

Today’s pictures & links:

Sensuous.

These sexy curves belong to Ferrari Dino 206 Competizione (Pininfarina) from 1967:

(image via)

Another beautiful car: Lamborghini Miura, 1967 -

(image via)

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Determination

Which movie is this from? -

(original unknown)

Late for the prayer meeting! -

(original unknown)

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Beautiful Kirgizia, Central Asia

See other spectacular views on this site.

(image credit: Vasili Mikhailin)

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Mixed fresh links for today:

Miniatur Wunderland: Incredibly Detailed – [wow video]
Blasted Urban Decay: Detroit Book – [photography]
Shanghai 1990 vs. 2010 – [stunning comparison]
Trees Like Crooked Fingers Reaching to the Sky – [wow nature]
Ancient Roman Way of Multiplying Big Numbers – [interesting]
False building Facade in London an Urban Joke – [architecture]
Shaking Their Behinds to Send a Message – [weird nature]
Surface Area Required to Power the Whole World by Solar Energy – [pic]
Shaking Russian Bridge: Strong Wind Causes Runaway Vibration – [wow video]
Found a Place to Park… Oh Wait – [fun video]
Grzegorz Brzeczyszczykiewicz: Unpronounceable – [fun video]
Indestructible American Cars – [wow video]

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I See Pixels… No, It’s Not “Shopped”

This is 6dpi Eyewear by SAMAL DESIGN (France), more info:

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A Strange Turtle

This seems to be Mata Mata turtle, but we are not sure.

(image via)

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More Labatt’s Beer Trucks, 1939

Wish we could observe similarly unorthodox designs on the streets today…

(images via Ken Goudy)

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The Hills Are Alive

“Tree Embryo” carving by an unknown artist… brings all sorts of “green” thoughts to the mind:

See a different take on “embryo inside a tree” here… even weirder

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Knitting Gone Wild

(image via)

Does this qualify as auto-tuning?

And the winner is…

(images via)

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African Pygmy Hedgehog

Cute Image of the Day. Works as a great avatar, too.

(image credit: Adam Foster)

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Not friends, not really

Relegated to the dustbin of history… still suspicious of one another.

(original unknown)

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Flight of the Bumblebee

According to good old aerodynamics and common sense, the bumblebee should not be able to fly. Its wings aren’t big enough… however, as you can see in animation below, its heavy body is one big muscle creating air turbulence, plus “the wings of a bumblebee bend to create vortices that provide lift on both the upward and downward strokes”

Watch this while listening to the the amazing rendition of “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov – click here.

READ THE PREVIOUS ISSUE ->

Permanent Link……+StumbleUpon …+Facebook

Link
Scroll down for today’s pictures & links.

Huge Starfish, Wrong Side Up

Speaking about unexpected and full recovery: flip a huge starfish (with 9 arms, no less) wrong side up, and see what happens… What’s more, they do it without any brain involved.

Link – via

Today’s pictures & links:

Sensuous.

These sexy curves belong to Ferrari Dino 206 Competizione (Pininfarina) from 1967:

(image via)

Another beautiful car: Lamborghini Miura, 1967 -

(image via)

————

Determination

Beauty, brains, motorcycle… Which movie is this from? -

(original unknown)

Late for the prayer meeting! -

(original unknown)

————

Beautiful Kirgizia, Central Asia

See other spectacular views on this site.

(image credit: Vasili Mikhailin)

————

Mixed fresh links for today:

Miniatur Wunderland: Incredibly Detailed – [wow video]
Blasted Urban Decay: Detroit Book – [photography]
Shanghai 1990 vs. 2010 – [stunning comparison]
Trees Like Crooked Fingers Reaching to the Sky – [wow nature]
Ancient Roman Way of Multiplying Big Numbers – [interesting]
False building Facade in London an Urban Joke – [architecture]
Shaking Their Behinds to Send a Message – [weird nature]
Surface Area Required to Power the Whole World by Solar Energy – [pic]
Shaking Russian Bridge: Strong Wind Causes Runaway Vibration – [wow video]
Found a Place to Park… Oh Wait – [fun video]
Grzegorz Brzeczyszczykiewicz: Unpronounceable – [fun video]
Indestructible American Cars – [wow video]

————

I See Pixels… No, It’s Not “Shopped”

This is 6dpi Eyewear by SAMAL DESIGN (France), more info:

————

A Strange Turtle

This seems to be Mata Mata turtle, but we are not sure.

(image via)

————

More Labatt’s Beer Trucks, 1939

Wish we could observe similarly unorthodox designs on the streets today…

(images via Ken Goudy)

————

The Hills Are Alive

“Tree Embryo” carving by an unknown artist… brings all sorts of “green” thoughts to the mind:

See a different take on “embryo inside a tree” here… even weirder

————

Knitting Gone Wild

(image via)

Does this qualify as auto-tuning?

And the winner is…

(images via)

————

African Pygmy Hedgehog

Cute Image of the Day. Works as a great avatar, too.

(image credit: Adam Foster)

————

Not friends, not really

Relegated to the dustbin of history… still suspicious of one another.

(original unknown)

————

Flight of the Bumblebee

According to old beliefs and some aerodynamics, the bumblebee should not be able to fly. Its wings aren’t big enough… however, as you can see in animation below, its heavy body is one big muscle creating air turbulence, plus “the wings of a bumblebee bend to create vortices that provide lift on both the upward and downward strokes”

Watch this while listening to the the amazing rendition of “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov – click here.

READ THE PREVIOUS ISSUE ->

Permanent Link……+StumbleUpon …+Facebook

“QUANTUM SHOT” #635
Link – article by Simon Rose

More Sea Monsters, Alternate Histories and – a Genuine “Road to Success” (Accept No Substitutes!)

I’ve always loved maps and had great fun researching and writing the first unusual and marvelous maps article last year. Here we take a look at some other cartographic curiosities from around the world, from the height of the Age of Discovery right up to the present day.

Keith Thompson created this caricature map of Europe on the eve of the First World War in 1914 for Scott Westerfeld’s 2009 graphic novel Leviathan:

(image credit: Keith Thompson)

When much of the world had yet to be mapped, many illustrations of the world’s still mysterious oceans featured the weird and wonderful creatures that supposedly lived there. This chart showing sea monsters dates from 1550:

(image credit: http://www.raremaps.com)

And here we see a sea monster off the North African coast near Sicily:

(image via)

On this 1570 map of Asia, we see a curiously shaped Japan and a Pacific Ocean inhabited by mermaids and strange sea creatures:

(image credit: University of Washington Special Collections)

Here’s another vintage map of South East Asia from the mid seventeenth century:

(image via)

This decorative map of the North Pole was created by the renowned cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1623:

(image via)

Compare it to this map, detailing the competing territorial claims in the Arctic in the present day, as countries bordering the North Pole jockey for position as the ice steadily retreats:

(image via)

At the other end of the earth, this 1570 map shows the supposed great southern continent of Terra Australis Incognita. The map even shows land still imagined to be discovered in the far north:

(image via)

And have you ever wondered what Antarctica might look if it was free of ice? Here’s just one person’s opinion of how the great southern landmass might appear devoid of the ice sheet:

(image via)

On this fascinating language map of Europe, you can see just how closely, or not, national borders coincide with the language spoken by the local inhabitants – click here to see the full-size version.

In an earlier era, foreign governments often ruled a variety of different nationalities. Here we see the distribution of races in perhaps the most well known multi-national entity, the Habsburg Empire of Austria Hungary, in 1911:

(image via)

The German speaking peoples of Europe of course were all once part of the Holy Roman Empire, famously said to be neither holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire. Just look at the multitude of individual states shown here in Holy Roman Empire of 1789, on the eve of the French Revolution – click here to see the full version:

(image via)

And how about an empire straddling the three continents of Africa, Asia and Europe? Here we see the mighty Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent, around 1580 – click here.

Appearing in my earlier article, Flags of Forgotten Countries, was Gran Colombia, the nation that comprised much of northern South America and parts of Central America, from 1819 to 1831. As the map shows, Gran Colombia included present-day Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela, plus parts of Guyana, Peru and Brazil – click here to see the full version.

This fascinating and extremely colourful map shows the various states of the US flying the flags of countries with an equal population:

(image via)

Striking Comparisons

We sometimes forget that Australia is a continent. Here we see just exactly how sizeable the land down under is when compared to Western Europe:

(image via)

Here Australia is compared to a number of other countries, including the United States:

(image via)

This interesting map similarly reminds us just how large the continent of Africa really is, by superimposing some of the world’s largest countries:

(image via)

Africa also unfortunately figures prominently in this map showing the world distribution of doctors per inhabitants.

(image via)

Fanciful Figures Inside Maps

This curious map of Scotland, shown as a Scotsman, dates from 1869 (below left):

(images via 1, 2)

The earlier one of Ireland as Lady Hibernia from 1795 (above right) is by Robert Dighton, a well-known eighteenth century painter of portraits and caricatures.

This magnificently decorative map depicts The Netherlands and Belgium as a lion. At the time this was created, in 1617, the two counties were united as one nation, although the Spanish Empire ruled the area:

(image via)

The Victorian British cartographer Lillian Lancaster drew this map depicting the American election of 1880:

(image via)

This Adidas map of Europe is a bit more up to date, commemorating the Euro 2008 Soccer championship.

(image via)

The alternate history genre has produced its fair share of fanciful maps in the past and no doubt will continue to do so. Here’s an alternative map of the USA, based on a Russian professor’s prediction of just how the USA will one day splinter into several pieces:

(image via)

The Allegorical Map for the “Road to Success”

This is the Victorian Road to Success which is still relevant to our day; if you follow the good advice contained in this graphic depiction of the Grand Way to Glory, you’ll be well ahead everybody (who might get stuck, for example in the Beer Gardens of Bohemianism, or take indefinite vacation in a “Know-It-All Hotel”) -

(image via 1 and 2)

Click here to enlarge for details… gotta love this “Hot Air” air balloon…

I hope you’ve enjoyed our journey through the curiosities of cartography. Until next time…

READ THE FIRST PART HERE ->

Simon Rose is the author of science fiction and fantasy novels for children, including The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse, The Heretic’s Tomb and The Doomsday Mask.

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