Bizarre and Creative Fruit & Vegetable Carvings (Part 1)

 

Some artists use marble, some use wood, but this guy uses … bananas! The artist's name is Suu (male, 23 years old).

(Link | Via)          

 

Melon carving... (Link)          

 

 

World map carved on an apple. (Link)          

 

Potato bikini lady.

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Cabbage face.  

Bizarre Stories of Animals Getting Stuck

 

Hilarious Signs That You Are a Computerholic

 

You work in your computer even when you are sick, I mean, really sick.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have several computers, and you use them at the same time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You create your own DIY Portable computer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You sleep at work and your office looks like this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You take your computer to the bathroom with you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or even worse, you take your bathroom to your computer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have keyboard keys as sleep prints

 

 

 

 

 

 

You neglect your kids.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your family and friends need to send you an email if they want to talk to you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You stop caring for your personal hygiene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You rather die than to live without your computer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And when you do die, you ask to be buried under a computer gravestone. 

 

 

 

 

 

Amazing Cities with Beautiful Walls - Part 3

 

Berlin, Germany

The Berlin Wall is certainly not the most beautiful wall on our list, but it’s the most significant in modern history. Erected starting on Aug. 13, 1961, to separate East and West Berlin, this notorious symbol of the Cold War was made of 95 miles of concrete and barbed wire, and stood almost 12 feet tall. More than 190 people died trying to cross from East to West before the wall was famously torn down by East Germans in 1989.Checkpoint Charlie was demolished in 1990 and rebuilt at the Allied Museum, as was a 140-foot section of the wall.

 

Bruges, Belgium

Only an hour’s drive from Brussels, the charming Flemish city of Bruges has a lot to offer visitors who explore inside its walls, which have been protecting the city in some form since Julius Caesar’s time. The city’s strategic coastal location was controlled over the centuries by Romans, Franks and Vikings, among others. Today the streets and cobblestoned alleys are lined with cafes and chocolate shops, colorful homes and canals. Don’t miss the Diamond Museum, Chocolate Museum or, if you’re a fan of potatoes, the French Fry Museum.

 

Gimignano, Italy

Tuscany is famous for its scenic hill towns, but perhaps none is as impressive and imposing as San Gimignano. Encircled by thick walls punctuated by 14 surviving stone towers, San Gimignano has an instantly recognizable skyline. The town has had a checkered history of fortune, from saffron, and decline, from plague. Today it is rich in tourism: By some counts, more than 3 million tourists visit each year, many of them arriving in large buses that idle just outside the town walls. Despite all that, San Gimignano is definitely worth a visit. Be sure to sample the local specialty, pignolata, made with cream custard and pine nuts (learn how to make it). If you’re lucky enough to be there in June, catch the Ferie delle Messi, a re-enactment of medieval jousting.

 

Lucca, Italy

Walls have surrounded this charming town, a stone’s throw from Florence, since the Roman times. They were rebuilt frequently over the centuries, but those that visitors see today were built during the Renaissance. You can walk on top of the walls all around the city: Lucca turned it into a pedestrian promenade. Take in the sights, including the two well-preserved gates of Santa Maria dei Borghi and San Gervasio, the clock tower, St. Martin’s Cathedral and the Roman amphitheater. A town with a rich history, Lucca is the birthplace of a famous composer and was once run by the sister of an emperor. 

 

Quebec City, Quebec

The Old Town of Quebec City (Vieux-Quebec) gives North American travelers a rich taste of Europe in terms of its culture, language and cuisine. The city, on the banks of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, also looks decidedly European with its walls and gate towers, making it the only remaining fortified city north of Mexico. Visitors today can visit the Royal Palace, the Citadelle, Artillery Park and Battlefields Park to get a dose of local history, and should definitely seek out local food and wine, everything from Charlevoix lamb and St. Lawrence seafood to regional ice cider.

Amazing Cities with Beautiful Walls - Part 2

 

Rhodes, Greece

The Old Town of Rhodes is a maze of streets and alleys amid a wonderfully preserved medieval city. Surrounded by fortifications built during the Knights’ Period of the 1300s, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is divided into two parts by the wall: the northern part, which includes the spectacular Grand Master’s Palace, and the southern part where the laymen lived. Rhodes is also the site where one of the Seven Wonders of the World once stood, and today a popular attraction is the ancient Acropolis of Rhodes

 

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Want to "own" a piece of the wall in this charming town? For 1,000 euros, visitors can sponsor a piece of the fortifications that were damaged during World War II. Airstrikes killed many people and destroyed nine watchtowers and 2,000 feet of the wall, but thankfully it was spared from heavy artillery damage. Today, Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a popular stop along the Romantic Road in Bavaria. Sites other than the wall itself include the Rathaus, the Gothic town hall; the Christmas Museum; and the Criminal Museum

 

Segovia, Spain

The stone walls of Segovia are impressive, but so are the sites within those walls. The Roman aqueduct shows off an amazing feat of engineering, and includes 170 arches made with 25,000 stone blocks held together without mortar. Not to be outdone are the Gothic cathedral, which soars over the city and dominates the skyline, and the royal palace, known as the Alcazar of Segovia. This masterpiece of a walled city is not far from Avila, and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

Xi'an, China

Xi'an is on the eastern end of the famous Silk Road trade route and is one of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,000 years of history. Its thick stone walls are more recent, dating to the Ming Dynasty, around 1370. They were originally more than seven miles in circumference and nearly 40 feet high, and some parts of the base were 60 feet wide. Two of the many attractions in Xi’an today are the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the fascinating Terracotta Army.

 

York, England

 If you hear locals in York talking about Monk Bar and Bootham Bar, they’re not referring to their favorite pubs, but the city’s defensive gatehouses. There are four, including Micklegate Bar, which is where royalty and other VIPs would enter the city; from this gate, visitors can climb up onto the walls for a look around. York sits at the confluence of two rivers, the Foss and Ouse, and has been a walled city since 71 A.D. A few pieces of the original Roman wall and structures remain, notably the Multangular Tower, visible in the Museum Gardens. Much of the interior is pedestrian only, which leaves visitors free to amble along the snickelways and explore narrow stone streets like the Shambles

 

 

 

 

 

Amazing Cities with Beautiful Walls - Part 1

 

Avila, Spain

Avila, 75 miles northwest of Madrid and 3,700 feet above sea level, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and with good reason: The city is completely wrapped in well-preserved granite walls built in 1090. Surrounding the city are 88 towers and nine gates, and within the fortification are many religious sites, including the Cathedral de Avila and the Basilica de San Vicente. St. Teresa of Avila was born here in 1515 and is honored each October with a solemn festival, and every day with the egg-and-sugar confection known as yemas de Santa Teresa

 

Carcassonne, France

Stunning Carcassonne stands sentinel over France’s Languedoc countryside, and its hilltop vantage point made it a strategically important city since Roman times. The city is wrapped by two miles of double walls and more than 50 towers. In fact, the old city is part of a huge castle called La Cite de Carcassonne. (Most of the population now lives outside the wall.) Centuries of neglect almost resulted in the walls being torn down, but an architect was commissioned to restore them. The same architect also restored another famous French landmark. As you stroll the medieval streets, be sure to stop for a traditional meal of cassoulet.

 

Dubrovnik, Croatia

At the crossroads — and sometimes in the cross hairs — of the Near East and Europe, Dubrovnik learned early to protect itself. Over the centuries, the city walls grew to 80 feet high and 20 feet thick in some places. The walls, forts, bastions and towers were all in keeping with its role as a major maritime power.  Today, the walls are a reminder of all the rivals it has fought off since the seventh century — the Saracens, Turks and Venetians, among others. They also make great venues for the popular Dubrovnik Summer Festival, when people flock to the terrace of Revelin and Lovrijenac forts for theater and live music. Enter by the Pile Gate if you want to walk on the walls and get unique views of this Mediterranean port city.

 

Naarden, The Netherlands

When visitors look down on Naarden from the air, the fantastical walls seem like something out of a Peter Jackson movie. In fact, the star shape was a popular style of fortification in Europe during the 16th century; it originated in Italy and is sometimes called a "trace italienne." Naarden is only 10 miles east of Amsterdam, making it an easy and worthwhile day trip. Take a boat trip around the moat (an actual moat!), and visit the fortress museum inside the walls

 

Taroudant, Morocco

This fortified city in southern Morocco has long been an important point on the caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech, and its nearby gold and silver mines meant it has enjoyed a flourishing culture since the 11th century. Backed by the snow-capped Atlas Mountains, the red mud walls seen today were built during the 16th century and still encircle the city. Visitors can experience Taroudant’s thriving trade and market culture, especially carpets, jewelry and handicrafts

Weirdest Apartments

 

The apartment made of 25,000 ping pong balls

Daniel Arsham's apartment in Brooklyn is the only pint-sized place we've ever wanted to live in. It's a mere 90 square feet -- that's about big enough to fit a toothbrush -- but the decor's so sleek and minimal, we'd trade in our own sardine can in a heartbeat. The apartment's a loft attached to the offices of Snarkitecture, the cool-kid architecture firm where Arsham is a partner, and it's basically just a room that serves two functions: sleeping and dressing. But oh, what a room it is. The walls look like great big, pixelated screens that fade from gray to white as you approach the ceiling. On closer inspection, the pixels are actually ping-pong balls -- a whopping 25,000 of ‘em.

(Link)

 

 

NY's smallest apartment

A pair of New Yorkers living in a 175-square-foot studio might just be the wave of the future. Zaarath and Christopher Prokop don't cook in their own kitchen. They "store" most of their clothes at dry cleaners. A cappuccino machine is their only kitchen appliance, and a cat-gym and a queen-sized bed are almost the only furniture. But the Prokops say that they're happy with their home, which cost them $150,000 a few months ago. With two full-time jobs, they'll have paid off the mortgage in just two years. (Link | Via)

 

The Hamster wheel apartment

File this one under nuts. Mimicking that of a hamster wheel, the conceptual design puts a handful of rooms in a giant wheel like device. As you turn the wheel – looks like it takes some leg power – and alter its orientation it changes its functionality. In other words, turn it 180 degrees and the kitchen becomes the ceiling and the floor the living room. Hey, it might be viable in a really long tube like design. Ideal for NYC living where you often feel like a rodent anyway.

(Link | Via)

 

 

The Jean-Paul Gaultier designed after himself

When famous fashion designers show interiors of their homes it's always exciting. This apartment belongs to French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier. It is situated in front of the Eiffel tower, with amazing views over Paris. The interior design seems a bit crazy and monochromatic because of nautical stripes that are running through the apartment walls, floors and furniture. These stripes happened to be a signature of the designer. Besides there are a garden and a doll rooms that also should be mentioned. The garden room is all covered with plants: ivy weaves into the sofa; lichen grows over the woven chairs in the shade of a tree, and moss, like green velvet, carpets the stone. The doll room is also the bedroom. Fabric unfolds on its walls and forms a powdery velum on the ceiling. The corsetlingerie, a lace that fishnets on the carpet and is mirrored in the window panes. dress of a fairground doll becomes the bed's giant quilt. In this room,

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The apartment created out of paper

Artist Don Lucho has created “Casa de Karton”: an entire apartment (including a toilet, a bed, and even utensils) out of paper and cardboard. While his motivation is unclear, it's still pretty impressive. The apartment has all the furniture and other items that a kitchen or a bedroom is expected to have. Being in these “carton rooms” will make you feel like you're a part of a drawing. Beside the house he has also made a car wreck out of carton, and placed it on the street so it looks realistic.

(Link | Via)

 

 

The apartment decorated with paint over concrete

This seems to be just another lobby on the thirteenth floor of a middle class building in Ukraine, with the exception of the unique concrete painted walls. The lady who lives in one of the apartments is devoted to keeping things the way they are supposed to be. According to her, some neighbors tried to protest against the way it looks and they tried to even ruin this artwork, although they couldn't really do much about it. So she is keeping the looks as it is regardless of her neighbors disapprovals.

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The apartment connected with external stairs

Pictures of Iwan Baan for this building and apartments in Tokyo, designed by Sou Fujimoto. A unique design for this house, in opposition to the district, consisting of 5 separate units with separate bedrooms. All are connected by stairs.

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The cinema transformed into an apartment

You are looking at a fascinating studio apartment that used to house the Plaza-Astoria Cinema initially opened in 1931. We don't know if this is the consequence of Astoria Cinemas being hit by the financial crisis, but we do know this one bedroom apartment located in downtown Stockholm (district of Vasastan) is currently up for sale for 3 216 400 USD. The total surface of the loft is 423 sqm with terrace of 39 sqm and an orangery of 22 sqm near the Vasa Park. Aside from its impressive size, the former cultural crib also features a large walk-in-closet, a luxury bathroom with adjoining sauna, a Japanese recreational area, a fire ring, a 5 meter high palm-tree (total ceiling height 7.8 meters!) and many more.

(Link | Via)