Train spotting

Pictures like this never cease to amaze me. Hindu devotees traveled on the roof of a train after participating in Guru Purnima Festival in Mathura, India. First seen here.

Headline

We all make mistakes, but some mistakes are more "in your face" than others. Just imagine his/her face when the paper rolled off the press. First seen here.

To provide information on the matter. Now.

Talk about addictive. If you think that one google translator can wreak havoc, how about a 50 language sequence? This site gives you the possibility to see what you original phrase ends up like with such a treatment. Just look what they did to my song, ma. First seen here.

X marks the spot

A fascinating optical illusion. There is no X, no matter what you think you see. Taken from an impressive collection of optical illusions. First seen here.

Recycled toy doggies

Great sculptures made from used toys by Robert Bradford. Thanks to a Jenny Downing buzz. First seen here.

Saxopipe

Another off-beat shot by Spanish photographer Chema Madoz, the Magritte of photography. First seen here.

Sporcle

One of my favourite brain teasers sites: Sporcle. Full of quizzes, some very light, some very hard, on a variety of themes. Today I tried ny hand at the chemical elements one, and as usual I missed a few that made me think "how on earth can you not come up with that one?" - such as strontium and cadmium. You also get where your score ranks and how often each answer is guessed. Good for hours of fun. First seen here.

Sushi clock

What time is it? Salmon past tuna. A great clock for sushi lovers. First seen here.

Radiohead on ukelele

A new album by Amanda Palmer: some of Radiohead's most famous songs in versions for voice and ukelele. It was destined to be a Mixed Nuts entry, but listening to her efforts on her site, I find it actually quite impressive. First seen here.

Still need the vision

Perhaps not crazy, but it struck a chord so I decided to post it. There are far too many people who think that the secret of taking good photographs is having an expensive camera - or even worse, having a camera with a lot of megapixels. It is the photographer's eye that is overruling! First seen here.

Ilyushin Sturmovik

One of the less known heroes of world war two aircraft, and another one that I had as an airfix model when I was a teenager. The Soviet Union built over 30000 of them - it was probably the best ground attack aircraft of the war, and very successful in tank killing. Picture and information taken from here.

Change

Whether you agree with the underlying political sentiment or not, it is undoubtedly clever. First seen here.

Axis of Awesome

Comedy and rock/pop don't mix too well in general, but this Australian act Axis of Awesome is hilarious. I love their demonstration that almost every hit song is based on the same four chords. First seen here.

Gun hoof shoes

What a fascinatingly kitsch design - even Texas redneck girls would have to think twice before wearing this. Way to go, Iris Schieferstein... First seen here.

Time stops for no-one

We all know that the ageing process is unavoidable, but it seems that rock stars suffer more from it than most.... A great collection, from the Rolling Stones (like Keith Richard above) to Metallica. First seen here.

A matter of perspective

So.... any idea what this is, when seen from a different perspective? Just guess, then click the link. First seen here.

Bogda Mountains

Another magnificent satellite shot. The Turpan Depression, nestled at the foot of China’s Bogda Mountains, is a strange mix of salt lakes and sand dunes, and is one of the few places in the world that lies below sea level. First seen here.

Tank

Rather than making money with his art, Won Park makes art with his money. Amazing structures folded from dollar bills, such as this battle tank. First seen here.

FIFA World Cup football 2010 [8]

The hangover of the final is slowly fading. Third time unlucky for the Dutch, partially by their too aggressive tactics, partially by some hideous refereeing, and mainly by the absolute superiority of the Spanish team, the deserved overall winners.

So now that it is over, how did I do with my pre-tournament predictions?

Top favourites: Brazil, Spain
Other favourites: England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands
Outsiders: Argentina, France, Portugal, Uruguay

Well, not too bad actually. The winner was one of my top favourites Spain, the runner-up another favourite The Netherlands, who eliminated my other top favourite Brazil along the way. Also the numbers 3 and 4, Germany and Uruguay, were in my list of 10. Then again, so were the hideous French and Italian teams......

Doggy style

If you have seen more like this one, I guess you see it coming: the two dogs are identical in all detail, including colour, never mind what that eye/brain combination of yours is trying to tell you. First seen here.

Ten most bizarre fragrances

Ranging from "Funeral home" to "Stilton cheese", ten hilarious but real fragrances you can actually buy. Should you want to. First seen here.

Good news

Guilty as charged - and it made me smile. Thanks. First seen here.

FIFA World Cup football 2010 [7]

The further we get in the tournament, the more the tension is increasing. I feel I have aged years during the last few minutes of Uruguay-Netherlands, after the shock of the late 2-3 and the subsequent turmoil. In the end though, I think Holland was the deserved winner. The other semi did not go the way I predicted (or most of Germany for that matter), but Spain finally got their act together and catapulted themselves in the role of top favourite for most.

The losers final, for the third place, will go to Uruguay I expect (70%) - I really can't see Germany finding inspiration for this match, whereas Uruguay would love to get to third place. The final.... I really think this can go either way. Maybe a slight edge for Spain (55%), but I would not be surprised (and of course immensely delighted) to see the Dutch lift the trophy. In any case, we will have a first-time world champion, and that is something to cherish no matter where your sympathies lie.

Westland Whirlwind

This was one of many Airfix model planes that I collected as a kid, and I still love the elegant design of this twin-engined fighter. In duty as a contemporary of the Spitfire and Hurricane, it had the potential to outclass both, due to its speed and heavy armoury. However, the Royal Air Force showed no patience with some teething problems associated with the new fighter, and only two squadrons were equipped with them - the last one being replaced in 1943. Picture and information taken from here.

Va(vase)se

Very, very clever design for a combination of vases. Found once more thanks to a Jenny Downing buzz. First seen here.

Face two face

Found via a Jenny Downing buzz. This is one of the most ingenious optical illusions I have seen, please klick the link and the linked Flickr page on that link for the full story. Trust me, it is worth it. First seen here.

The Vuvuzelist

A funny (and perfectly executed) variation on the theme. And frankly, I will be missing those noisemakers once the tournament is over. First seen here.

Popcorn

The Muppets were a must-see for me when they first aired. Yesterday I found out that there are still new scenes being recorded by the Muppets Studio. Here is one of the legends, the Swedish Chef, struggling with popcorn shrimps. First seen here.

Eighty20

A clear example of a logo designer being far too clever for his/her own good, and ending up with a dull logo that most people will never get. Or did you figure out the method behind the madness of this design? If you view the dark squares as ‘1′ and the light squares as ‘0′, the two rows read 1010000 and 0010100, which read 80 and 20 in binary. Yeah, right. First seen here.

Who(m)

Thanks to a buzz by Jenny Downing. Put a smile on my face. First seen here.

FIFA World Cup football 2010 [6]

Any complaints about the lack of tension and spirit in this tournament are gone by now. What a quarter finals. Holland might have been 3-0 down at half time, but took full advantage of Brazil's lack of decisiveness to turn the game around in the second half. And Ghana qualifying in the last seconds but for the hand of Luis Suarez - with Uruguay almost inevitably getting the upper hand in the penalty shoot out. Germany absolutely demolishing Argentina at 4-0, and Spain battling through in a far less convincing way, with the drama of two missed penalties.

I had predicted Brazil (but close), Argentina (but close), Uruguay and Spain, only 50% right mathematically. Germany has moved into top favourite position now, no doubt. They have played the best football of the tournament, and highly effective as well. Hoping for a re-run of the 1974 final though, where the team who played the best football succumbed to the team who played efficiently.

The semi-finals according to my expectations:

Netherlands-Uruguay
Suspensions handicapping both team,s but Holland should have an easier job replacing the missing players. They are the clear favourite, say 80%.

Germany-Spain
With Germany on a high, and Spain still not reaching their level of 2 years ago, another pairing where I have little doubt about the outcome. Germany at 90%.

Coup de vent

Brilliant imagination displayed by Sandrine Estrade, who takes orindary photographs and gives them a totally new meaning with her drawings. First seen here.

Xylophone

Simple, but it made me smile. And that's more than can be said for a lot of things in life. First seen here.

Irony

Here's a poster I just created myself, inspired by a BP truck driving next to me.....

Good at losing.....

Gutsy and funny, I'll grant you that. Bye bye USA, see you again in four years. First seen here.