Rain and stormtroopers

Stormtrooper figurines in daily life settings are ten a penny on internet, but this one put a smile on my face. Such a sweet picture, with their cocktail umbrella. First seen here.

Bruckner's Fifth (again!)

What is with Bruckner's fifth symphony that inspires cover designers to come up with such surreal images? I have posted one with a horse and train race before, but this one is even more absurd. Derrick Bruckner I presume? First seen in a music blog that I prefer not to link to.

Ladies Day at Ascot

Thanks to Jenny Downing who buzzed about this some time ago. Lady's Day at Ascot is traditionally a showcase for women in hats - although not all of them as weird as this one. One wonders who the bigger nut is, the lady who wears this monstrosity or Beth Simpson, the designer of the model "windswept picnic". First seen here.

Licking Darth Vader

More Darth Vader. Wonderfully designed ice cream sticks (courtecy of Russian advertising agency Stoyn), shaped like the heads of famous people and pop cultural icons. First seen here.

The dark side

A suitable post now that summer is really starting here today. If you can take your eyes of the admittedly very attractive model, her swimsuit is a beautiful mix of Pink Floyd and Star Wars iconic images. First seen here.

Haha!

I have seen shots like this before, but this one has the advantage that it does not look arranged at all. First seen here.

Organic stairs

Although these stairs were published in an entry entitled "Beautiful staircase", I would not want them in our home. Just looking at them makes me nauseous. This was designed by Atmos Studio for a nature inspired residential house in London, England. Mixed nuts material, unfortunately. First seen here.

The Truth is out there in your camera

Simple, but fun. My kind of humour. First seen here.

Copy Village

Many of us know how easy it still is to get copies of western items like watches, bags, and DVD's in China. Well, they are taking it one step further. The Austrian village of Hallstatt (one of my favourites) will be copied lock, stock and barrel somewhere in the Guangdong province as a tourist attraction. First seen here.

Playing Bach's Air?

This is one of the weirdest news photographs I have seen for a while. Who comes up with stunts like this? Violinist Shenzo Gregorio playing in the Queen Victoria shopping mall in Sydney (been there!), while strapped into a trapeze, just a few days ago. First seen here.

Nostalgia

I came caross this shot earlier this week, and found it endearing. Possibly because I would date it in my own childhood (around 1960), and because it shows a different time, when life was more simple and even an examination on the street provided entertainment for school children. First seen here.

En garde!

Now here we have a special fun design that I'd like to own - next time it rains, you just pull out your sword and slay the rain drops. First seen here.

Tubby

Without question, full marks for thinking outside the box when designning a new chair. But the end result is still mixed nuts material... First seen here.

That tickles!

A beautiful example of a photograph where the interaction of a person with an existing (billboard) photograph leads to a great situation. First seen here.

Schnittke

This cover for an album of compositions by Alfred Schnittke defies all descriptions. Possibly the worst I have ever seen in this genre. Ran across it in a dedicated classical music blog. My eyes still hurt.

The mask of love

A recent optical illusion, one of the finalists of a 2011 contest. A surprising number of people who look at this image do not notice that the main features of the mask are actually composed of two distinct faces: a man and a woman kissing one another. Once the viewer discerns two individual faces, his/her brain will flip between two possible interpretations of the mask, making the viewer perceive two faces or one face in alternation. First seen here.

Oh no, you don't!

Sent to me by a colleague. The combined body languages and the coming trial against Strauss-Kahn for sexual assault make this a priceless shot.

Epitonium scalare

The most beautiful and amazing shell I have ever seen (well, a picture of it). Wikipedia: Epitonium scalare, commonly known as the ‘precious wentletrap’, is a predatory or ectoparasitic species of marine gastropod with an operculum. In the 17th and 18th century, it was considered to be a very rare shell and specimens changed hands for large sums of money. The shell of this species grows to a lengthbetween 25 mm to 72 mm. The shell is particularly striking because the whorls themselves do not touch, so the shell is held together only by the well-developed ribs (costae). First seen here.

Urban headache

This beautiful piece of graffiti by the artist who goes by the alias of JR comes close to Art for Art's Sake territory - especially given the setting. Excellent piece of work. First seen here.

Rainbow carrots

A beautiful wheel of carrots in all colours of the rainbow, thanks to a group of researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) who selectively bred carrots with pigments. First seen here.

The top 10 reasons why girls do not want to settle down

An interesting choice for one of my photographs as illustration for a blog entry in French, dealing with the top 10 reasons why girls do not want to settle down. First seen here.

Hidden garage

Now, how cool would it be to live in a house like this, with a garage that is really the talk of the town? It is actually a cleverly converted aircraft hangar. First seen here.

Like mother like daughter

Not my favourite type of dogs, but a very cute combination indeed. First seen here.

Morbid mirror

Well, only a really fanatic horror movie enthusiast or someone with a deeply disturbed mind would consider this a suitable mirror to hang in the house.... First seen here.

Riding the wave

At first sight, nothing special - a surfer about to tackle the waves. Then you realize that this wave is actually solid rock. An amazing landmark, Australia's Hyden Rock. First seen here.

They killed Kenny!

A must for the fans of South Park - the eternal victim Kenny as a fun door stop. My choice of a series of special door stops given in the link. First seen here.

Model Airplane News May 1958

Another lovely cover of days gone by for model aircraft enthousiasts - like myself when I was a teenager. Pure nostalgia, but not artistic enough for the under cover series in Art for Art's sake. First seen here.

Vertigo included

These 3D side walk drawings do not come more impressive than this creation by Qi Xinghua. It is 23 meters in width, 32 meters in length and over 6 meters in height, and can be found at the Baiyan Wanda Plaza shopping-mall in Guangzhou (China) - it took Qi more than a month to finish the project. First seen here.

Apple Art

It is "just" an apple, and even not extremely fancy carving, but what a great effect this would make on your dinner table. A pity to eat it actually. First seen here.

Camel thorn trees

As a piece of art, this is definitely Art for Art's Sake material, but when Jenny Downing buzzed about it, I checked and I had featured the photographer (Frans Lanting) already in my main blog. Photographer? Yes, that is why it appears here under Optical Illusions. Your mind is telling you that you are looking at a painting, but it is a straightforward photograph - in this case silhouetted trees against the famous red sand dunes of Namibia. First seen here.