Weird and wonderful news library

Purple calf born in Serbia

2012-01-18T10:08:00.000-05:00

Born in a village near to the city of Cacak, locals insist they have not seen a calf like this one before.

The calf has quickly become the talk of the town and is incredibly popular with young children, who have been visiting the barn in their droves to catch a glimpse of the unusual offspring.

The calf is said to be perfectly happy and healthy and vets have suggested the purple colouring is 'probably a matter of genetics', Serbian news channel PTC reported.

'We were surprised when we saw this calf's colors. So far, no cows in the world have adopted these colors,' said its owner.

The Message - The Story of Islam

2012-01-16T11:35:00.000-05:00

The Message - The Story of Islam

Pantai Seberang Takir, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu

2012-01-06T08:48:00.000-05:00

Penanda arah di muara Seberang Takir

Pantai Seberang Takir terletak di kampung Seberang Takir, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu. Di sini ada juga rumah-rumah api dan penanda arah sebagai panduan bot dan kapal keluar masuk. Tempat keluar masuk itu terpisah dengan bandar Kuala Terengganu oleh muara sungai.

Syafiq and the moon halo (baru shoot semalam)

Penanda arah di muara Seberang Takir

Matahari dan bongkah batu di pantai Seberang Takir

Belah seberang sana nun adalah bandar Kuala Terengganu. Nak ke sana kena lalui jalan lain, melainkan kalau nak pergi berenang :D

Tall grasses and sunrise -- Rumput-rumput tinggi dan sunrise

Kawasan yang saya shoot ini biasanya tempat nelayan turun ke laut dan orang biasa memancing. Untuk lebih mengetahui lebih lanjut berkenaan kawasan ini, sila lah berkunjung :D

Pantai Chendering, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu

2012-01-06T02:38:00.001-05:00

Chendering beach night shot -- Night shot di pantai Chendering

Pantai Chendering terletak di Chendering, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, bersebelahan dengan Pantai Pandak. Juga tidak jauh dari Masjid Kuala Ibai, dalam 3km sahaja. Sebuah pantai yang digemari oleh pemancing-pemancing kerana di situ ada tambak batu yang mengunjur ke tengah laut menghubungkan rumah api.

Kita dapat lihat ada sebuah pulau tidak jauh dari situ iaitu Pulau Kapas. Dalam gambar di atas, Pulau Kapas adalah yang kelihatan di sebelah kanan. Ada 2 keping saja gambar di sini setakat ini .......

Chendering light house and star trails -- Rumah api Chendering dan star trails

Di bawah ialah video timelapse pendek yang saya buat dengan menggabungkan gambar-gambar dalam perisian Photolapse.

Learn about rocks and minerals

2012-01-03T13:46:00.000-05:00

10 pictures of spiders and insects eat other insects

2012-01-01T14:02:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of spiders and insects eat other insects from me. Thank you:)

Assassin bug catch an Ant -- Assassin bug makan semut

Weaver Ants eating black Wasp -- Kerengga-kerengga makan Penyengat hitam

Weaver ants eat Lady Bug -- Kerengga makan kumbang Lady Bird

House spider eats moth -- Labah-labah rumah makan rama-rama

Spider eats a fly -- Labah-labah makan Lalat

Spider eats Shield bug -- Labah-labah makan Shied bug

Black red Spider wrap up its prey -- Labah-labah hitam merah membungkus mangsanya

Lynx Spider is eating black white Wasp -- Labah-labah Lynx sedang makan Penyengat warna hitam dan putih

Weaver ants eat treehopper -- Kerengga makan treehopper

Red weaver Ant vs Caterpillar -- Kerengga sedang berkonfrontasi dengan ulat beluncas yang makan kawannya

20 water theme photos

2012-01-01T13:54:00.000-05:00

Palm oil on a water macro - Minyak sawit di atas air dengan latar belakang merah

Top and bottom water drops with refraction

Water splash on Crown flower @ Calotropis gigantea

Dew drops and caustic behind the leaf -- Titisan-titisan embun dan caustic di sebalik daun

A leaf hold a dew drop, with caustic and sun sparkle -- Selembar daun menampu setitis embun, dengan caustic dan sun sparkle

Water drops on a black Caladium's vein macro

Water drops and bokeh in a water drop

Water drop and refraction on a fern tree branch with sun sparkle -- Titisan air dan refraksi atas cabang pokok paku-pakis dengan sparkle cahaya mentari

Water drop from a lemon with sun sparkle -- Titisan air dari buah limau nipis dengan sparkle matahari

Water drops, bokeh and purple flower -- Titisan air, bokeh dan bunga purple

Water splash convex style -- Percikan air gaya cembung

Water drop and white paint plus soya sauce - Titisan air dan cat putih dengan kicap soya

Saucer water splash

Water drops on a CD ROM

Red water drop with colourful background

Sunflower waterdrops

Splash - Refraction of a flower in a water splash

One more drop

One by one

Colourful dews reflecting sunlight with caustic. Shot at kampung Tualang, Kuala Terengganu, in the morning after sunrise

Men's magazines describe women in the same way as rapists, say psychologists

2011-12-11T16:34:00.000-05:00

Far from being harmless or ironic fun, lads’ mags could be legitimising hostile sexist attitudes, according to new research.

Psychologists from Middlesex University and the University of Surrey found that when presented with descriptions of women taken from lads’ mags, and comments about women made by convicted rapists, most people who took part in the study could not distinguish the source of the quotes.

The research due to be published in the British Journal of Psychology also revealed that most men who took part identified themselves more with the language expressed by the convicted rapists.

Psychologists presented men between the ages of 18 and 46 with a range of statements taken from magazines* and from convicted rapists, giving the men the source of the quotes in only some cases. Men identified more with the comments made by rapists than the quotes made in lads’ mags, but when told which quotes were from lads’ mags they identified more with these, despite some being incorrectly attributed and actually from rapists.

The researchers also asked a separate group of women and men aged between 19 and 30 to rank the quotes on how derogatory they were, and to try to identify the source of the quotes. Men and women rated the quotes from lads’ mags as somewhat more derogatory, but generally couldn’t categorise the quotes more accurately than if guessing.

Dr Miranda Horvath and Dr Peter Hegarty argue that lads’ mags could normalise hostile sexism, by making it seem more acceptable when its source is a popular magazine.

Dr Horvath, lead researcher from Middlesex University, said: “We were surprised that participants identified more with the rapists’ quotes, and we are concerned that the legitimisation strategies that rapists deploy when they talk about women are more familiar to these young men than we had anticipated.”

Due to concerns about their content, from February this year many major supermarket chains and petrol stations in the United Kingdom agreed to place lads’ mags on the top shelf, out of the eye line of children and some have installed modesty boards to hide front cover images.

But the measures to protect children do not address the concerns born out by the findings of the research and Miranda Horvath, is concerned that lads’ magazine editors are not working hard enough to moderate the content of their magazines: "A lot of debate around the regulation of lads’ mags has been to do with how they affect children but less has been said about the influence they have on their intended audience of young men and the women with whom those men socialise."

"These magazines support the legitimisation of sexist attitudes and behaviours and need to be more responsible about their portrayal of women, both in words and images. They give the appearance that sexism is acceptable and normal - when really it should be rejected and challenged. Rapists try to justify their actions, suggesting that women lead men on, or want sex even when they say no. There is clearly something wrong when people feel the sort of language used in a lads’ mag could have come from a convicted rapist.”

Dr Peter Hegarty, of the University of Surrey’s Psychology Department, added: “There is a fundamental concern that the content of such magazines normalises the treatment of women as sexual objects. We are not killjoys or prudes who think that there should be no sexual information and media for young people. But are teenage boys and young men best prepared for fulfilling love and sex when they normalise views about women that are disturbingly close to those mirrored in the language of sexual offenders?”

He added that young men should be given credible sex education and not have to rely on lads’ mags as a source of information as they grow up.

Anna van Heeswijk, Campaigns Manager for OBJECT, a human rights campaign group which campaigns against the objectification of women, said: "This crucial and chilling piece of research lays bare the hateful messages which seep out of lads' mags and indoctrinate young men's attitudes towards women and girls. When the content of magazines aimed at teenage boys mirrors the attitudes of convicted rapists, alarm bells must ring.

“If we are serious about wanting an end to discrimination and violence against women and girls, we must tackle the associated attitudes and behaviours. This means tackling the publications which peddle them. The Leveson Inquiry is currently looking into the culture and ethics of the press. These disturbing findings unequivocally demonstrate the need for the portrayal of women to be included in the remit of this inquiry. Now is the time for action."

*The study used quotes from the four UK lad’s mags with the highest circulation: FHM, Loaded, Nuts and Zoo, published between January and March 2010. (Circulation data from the abc website)

Quotes from convicted rapists from verbatim interview transcripts in the United States in the book: ‘The Rapist Files: Interviews With Convicted Rapists’ by Sussman & Bordwell

[Middlesex University]

Red black Shield bug

2011-11-25T03:45:00.000-05:00

Red black Shield bug picture

Cockfight on billiards table

2011-10-16T00:04:00.000-04:00

Don't try this at home, very bad attitude.

Lam Van Tay, a breeder of ornamental cocks in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Tan District, has brought along two small cocks to show them off. The beautiful birds suddenly flare their neck feathers, angrily flap their wings, and aggressively attack each other with raised claws.

“People are no longer interested in large roosters weighing two to three kilograms for fighting because cops can easily catch them red-handed,” he says.

“Ornamental cocks are now preferred in cock pits where stakes can be dozens of millions of dong.”

The ornamental cocks, commonly called ga tre, have long and colorful feathers, a high-pitched crow, and an aggressive nature.

Dinh of Binh Tan District, who breeds these cocks, told Tuoi Tre about a place frequented by gamblers to buy these birds. With his well-stocked farm, he has sold dozens of the birds every day in the last two years. A bird weighing less than a kilogram is sold here for a minimum of VND1 million (US$50); the price doubles or even triples for a particularly combative one.

Pointing to a pair of small cocks, he boasts: “They have taken part in several battles recently and won. For each I received at least one million dong ($50).

Dinh has linked with fighting cocks breeders in the Mekong Delta to receive the regular supplies. He “upgrades” his poultry then sells them at a higher price, from three to four times.

The Avengers - Movie Trailer

2011-10-12T21:01:00.001-04:00

The brand new trailer for The Avengers. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Jenny Agutter, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Bettany and Robert Downey Jr.

Taj Mahal replica made from 75,000 matchsticks

2011-10-12T15:11:00.000-04:00

Indian artist Shaikh Salimbhai, 26, challenged himself to create an almost identical replica of Taj Mahal using only wooden matchsticks.

AFP PHOTO/Sam Panthaky

It was unveiled in Ahmedabad, India on October 9, 2011. Salimbhai made this Taj Mahal from around 75,000 matchsticks and it took him 1 year and 19 days.

AFP PHOTO/Sam Panthaky

[Manager Online]

Young woman mysteriously became old woman overnight

2011-10-06T14:59:00.000-04:00

Nguyen Thi Phuong from Thailand is only 26, but you would be forgiven for mistaking her as an old woman.

After suffering an allergic reaction in 2008 and taking a variety of medications prescribed for it, Phuong's skin on her face, neck and hands rapidly wrinkled and became saggy, giving her the appearance of a 70-year-old granny.

It all began when the young lady from Giong Trom district of Ben Tre province ate some seafood.

It made her face break out into an itchy rash so bad, that she used to scratch her face even in sleep, Phuong told Tuoi Tre, a major Vietnamese daily newspaper where the news first broke.

To alleviate the symptoms, she ate some medication her husband, Nguyen Thanh Tuyen, 34, bought her.

The medications did not work. She then visited a local doctor, who prescribed her pills for dermatitis.

However, the pills made her face swell up and hives erupt on her skin. She stopped taking them after a week, and turned to some traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in town.

She was given some medication that reduced the swelling, but also made her put on weight. However, the medication was expensive, costing VND30,000 (S$1.88) a day, and did not do much to improve her condition.

Phuong soon began wearing a face mask whenever she went out. After her husband quit his job in 2009 to take care of her, they ran out of money and she stopped taking all medications.

She then decided it as a fate decreed by God and the couple stopped trying to cure her condition, Phuong told local news outlets.

[Asia One]

NASA's falling six tonne satellite, could land anywhere

2011-09-17T12:31:00.000-04:00

NASA has been watching the six tonne satellite closely. Officials yesterday moved up their prediction for its arrival to Friday, September 23, give or take a day.

Nasa scientists have calculated the satellite will break into 26 pieces as it gets closer to Earth. The odds of it hitting someone anywhere on the planet are one in 3,200.

The heaviest piece to hit the ground will be about 159kgs (350 pounds) but no one has ever been hit by falling space junk in the past.

Nasa expects to give the public more detailed information early next week. For now, all continents except Antarctica could be hit by satellite debris.

[http://www.metro.co.uk/news/875770-six-tonne-satellite-falling-to-earth-could-land-anywhere]

Baby born ten weeks after mother's death

2011-09-16T00:39:00.000-04:00

Poor baby: In a rare surgery, a team of doctors at the Tawam Hospital managed to remove a child from his mother's womb, ten weeks after her clinical death.

The 28-week old child is under special medical supervision, an official at the hospital told.

The official said the mother was clinically dead but the medical team took the decision to keep her on a life support system as the foetus inside the womb was still alive.

"The medical team decided to keep the mother alive and pumped blood and oxygen to keep the foetus alive. The process is called artificial life," said the official.

The official said it was the first such case to have happened in the UAE. It also reflects the advancement of medical technologies that is being used at the hospital, he added.

The Emirati woman, who was around seven months pregnant, died of a brain haemorrhage. However, the medical team found that the foetus was alive and when it reached 28 weeks, they performed surgery to bring it out.

It is one of the rarest cases in the world, said the official. The baby is now kept in a special incubator under the supervision of a skilled medical team.

Gulf News tried to contact members of the family involved but none was available. The mother of the baby was buried last week.

[Gulf News]

Landscape Astrophotography Tutorial - First Night Out from Ben Canales

2011-09-08T22:41:00.000-04:00

An awesome Landscape Astrophotography Tutorial - First Night Out from Ben Canales of how to shoot Starry Night Sky Photography. So learn it and happy learning :)

Landscape Astrophotography Tutorial - First Night Out from Ben Canales on Vimeo.

Tattoos may give you cancer

2011-09-03T20:48:00.000-04:00

Smoking, drinking, sunbathing and mobile phones have all been implicated in the surge in cancer diagnoses.

But now it seems another cause may soon be added to the ever-growing list: tattoos.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has launched an investigation after new research turned up troubling findings about toxic chemicals in tattoo ink.

Recently published studies have found that the inks can contain a host of dodgy substances, including some phthalates, metals, and hydrocarbons that are carcinogens and endocrine disruptors.

One chemical commonly used to make black tattoo ink called benzo(a)pyrene is known to be a potent carcinogen that causes skin cancer in animal tests.

Coloured inks often contain lead, cadmium, chromium, nickel, titanium and other heavy metals that could trigger allergies or diseases, scientists say.

Some pigments are industrial grade dyes 'suitable for printers' ink or automobile paint,' according to an FDA fact sheet.

An invisible cycle helmet wins design award

2011-09-02T22:22:00.000-04:00

An invisible airbag for cyclists' head, shaped as a collar worn around the neck has won one of the world's largest monetary prize for design.

The winners of the 2011 Index design awards were presented at a gala in the Danish capital Copenhagen.

Index: Award, which is the world's largest monetary prize for design, focuses on "Design to Improve Life – designs that target and solve problems in the daily life.

The award is split into five categories – Body, Home, Work, Play and Community – with the winner of each category winning 100,000 euros.

In the play category, Swedish Hovding – an invisible airbag for cyclists' head, shaped as a collar worn around the neck – won the prize.

This year's winners in the Body category was the See Better to Learn Better free eyeglasses program for Mexican children designed by Yves Behar from Switzerland.

In the Home category, the winner was Elemental Monterrey – a new model for social housing, also in Mexico.

Super-massive black hole shreds a star, first time caught on camera

2011-08-25T00:32:00.000-04:00

A stunning cosmic jet from a super-massive black hole which shredded then swallowed a star has been captured by astronomers for the first time.

The rare event - one of the most powerful forces in the universe - shows streams of plasma pouring out of the ghostly space monster at the centre of a far off galaxy almost four billion light years from Earth.

The onset of such a spectacular display caused by stellar debris being consumed by the hole has never been observed before.

Known scientifically as 'relativistic jets', they can reach hundreds of thousands of light years in length.

Most galaxies have super-massive black holes - regions of space that suck in everything nearby with their strong gravitation pull - at their core, with masses of millions or even billions of suns.

The destruction of the star was spotted by the Swift Telescope in March after it wandered too close to the huge black hole.

Respect for Muslims' beliefs would improve their Health Care, said study

2011-08-20T01:04:00.000-04:00

The religious beliefs and traditions of the estimated 7 million Muslims in the United States significantly influence their attitudes about health care, and the medical establishment would do well to address their concerns, a new study suggests.

For their report, researchers from the University of Chicago interviewed more than 100 Muslims in southeastern Michigan, which boasts one of the nation's largest Muslim American communities.

"The idea was to talk about the health care values of American Muslim patients and the challenges they face inside the health care system," said Dr. Aasim Padela, assistant professor of medicine and director of the university's Initiative on Islam and Medicine, in a university news release. "The findings can guide us as we move forward on accommodating these patients and others."

The study was recently published online by the Institute for Social Policy & Understanding in Washington, D.C.

The celebration of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, is one of many traditions that might influence a Muslim patient's health care, the researchers said. Also, the idea that God is responsible for health, disease and healing is a common belief among Muslims of different ethnic backgrounds.

"Most participants perceived illness through a religious lens as predestined, a trial from God by which one's sins are removed, an opportunity for spiritual reward, a reminder to improve one's health, and sometimes a sign of personal failure to follow Islam's tenets," the study authors wrote.

Likewise, treatment for Muslims involves a spiritual component along with modern medicine, explained Padela. While a doctor's care may be sought, imams, or spiritual leaders, also "play a big role in healing, in the sense that they help you understand disease and illness," he said in the news release.

Better communication between doctors and community imams would help address the concerns Muslim patients have about their medical care, he added.

Cultural sensitivity training for medical staff, providing culturally familiar food and offering hospitalized Muslims a place to pray would also help bridge the gap between health care professionals and this large and ethnically diverse religious group, the researchers said.

"There is an undercurrent of 'we've been there and asked for these things, but the onus is always on us. They don't come meet with us,'" said Padela. "If hospitals go to the community and have that mutual learning process, it will help the community and help the patients at the bedside."

[MSN]

Man made 400 virgins in 3 years

2011-08-12T19:09:00.000-04:00

This man gives women a 'second innocence', Dr. Stephan Günther ,40, has made some 400 women to young women back to virgins. The Düsseldorf surgeon specializes sewing women's hymen back together again.

"In my former practice of beauty surgery in Bochum there are many Muslim women who ask me if I could do that. I noticed that offered little in the west of Germany. End of 2006 I went to the U.S. to learn the technique. "

Today, Dr. Guenther does over 100 women a year in his surgery practice in Düsseldorf . Most of them are Muslims living in Germany and many women who come from Yemen, Afghanistan, Turkey. They arrive in secret!

The surgeon: "These women are having huge difficulties when they are no virgin on their wedding night. I tell them what is possible. Besides the safest option, there is still sewing, bonding and even red paint bombs on the Internet "

The surgery takes about 45 minutes. Under local anesthesia, the skin cracks are stitched together.

The patient then note no adverse effects, the seam is not visible. Depending on the cracks of the hymen it costs €800-1,200, and €2,500 after giving birth.

[Bild.de]

World's largest stop-motion animation, just using Nokia N8 smartphone

2011-08-04T14:29:00.000-04:00

Shooting entirely on smartphones, Oscar-winners Aardman break the world record for the largest stop-motion animation set as they create Gulp on Pendene Beach in South Wales.

The short film broke the world record with the biggest scene stretching over 11,000 square feet of Welsh sand.

Gulp tells the story of a hunter becoming the hunted as the tables turn on a lone fisherman after he lands a big catch.

Shot using only Nokia smartphones, the film was created by directors Sumo Science, part of Oscar-winning animation studio Aardman whose most famous creations include stop-motion characters Wallace and Gromit.

All American Muslim reality TV show

2011-07-25T09:52:00.000-04:00

TV network TLC is making a reality series following the lives of Muslims living in America.

The programme - called 'All American Muslim' - will follow five Muslim families in Dearborn, Michigan hoping to expose the 'misconceptions and conflicts' they face 'outside and within' their own community'.

Dearborn has one of America's largest Muslim populations and has the largest mosque in North America.

The announcement comes as positive attitudes in America towards Muslims appear to be on the rise.

Earlier this year a CNN found that 46 per cent Americans have a positive view of American Muslims, while 26 per cent have an negative view.

In 2002, the number of Americans with a positive view of Muslims stood at 39 per cent.

Read more at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2018319/Islamovision-Network-creates-All-American-Muslim-reality-TV-show.html

Chinese villagers mistake atrophied ape for alien

2011-07-22T12:37:00.001-04:00

This ape made a monkey of Chinese villagers who feared it was a visitor from another world.

Locals panicked when Mao Xiping, a housewife from the village of Gezhai, in Henan province, central China, found the scraggy simian stealing cucumbers from her flat.

She thought it was a harmless rabbit, until she noticed it had an 'alien face' and her neighbours agreed it was like nothing they had ever seen before.

Sepak takraw, popular game in Malaysia and Thailand

2011-07-20T19:16:00.000-04:00

Sepak takraw (Malay: sepak raga; Tamil: "செபக் தக்ரா" or "கால் கட்டைப்பந்தட்டம்"; Thai: ตะกร้อ, RTGS: takro; Lao: ກະຕໍ້ "ka-taw"; Filipino: "sipa"; Vietnamese: "cầu mây"), or kick volleyball, is a sport native to the Malay-Thai Peninsula. Sepak takraw differs from the similar sport of volleyball in its use of a rattan ball and only allowing players to use their feet, knee, chest and head to touch the ball. It is a popular sport in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Philippines.

In Malaysia, the game is called sepak raga or "takraw". It is also thuck thay (Lao: "twine" and "kick") while in Thailand it is sometimes called takraw. In Myanmar it is known as chin lone. In the Philippines it is known as sipa, meaning "kick". [Wikipedia]