“Sky burial or ritual dissection was once a common funerary practice in Tibet wherein a human corpse is cut in specific locations and placed on a mountaintop, exposing it to the elements or the mahabhuta and animals – especially to birds of prey. The location of the sky burial preparation and place of execution are understood in the Vajrayana traditions as charnel grounds. In Tibet the practice is known as jhator, which literally means, «giving alms to the birds»”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A burial master chops bones of a body to feed vultures during a celestial burial ceremony on April 19, 2006 in Dari County of Guoluo Prefecture, Qinghai Province, northwest China. Celestial burial is a traditional funeral of Tibetan people, which began in the 7th century. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

A Buddhist monk uses a traditional needle to tattoo the body of a man at Wat Bang Phra in Nakhon Pathom province on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, March 18, 2016. Believers from across Thailand travel to the monastery to have their bodies adorned with tattoos and to pay their respects to the temple's master tattooist. They believe the tattoos have mystical powers, ward off bad luck and protect them from harm. (Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)

Light is the sole reason why life exists. It provides us with warmth; it allows us to see; it nourishes all the living things on this planet. Many painters, especially the masters of Old Renaissance Period, have recognized the importance of light and its intimate connection with nature and life itself. In their paintings they gave tribute to light, giving the impression that their paintings had a light source hidden within them. Al Hogue, the artist who created the paintings that you see before you, has studied their techniques for many years. As time went by, light permeated not only his paintings by also his life, becoming his sole philosophy.

Google has built its first self-driving car prototypes and hopes to test hundreds more models this summer. If all goes well, the company is planning a pilot program in California over the next few years.

Wide-angle category winner. Part of the Illusion by Marcus Blatchford (UK). Location: National Dive & Activity Centre, Chepstow, Wales. “This is the deepest inland dive centre in the UK. The dive plan was to explore the deep end, but this time I dived ‘unplugged’ (without my strobes). With the exception of this change to my camera technique, there were no planned shots I wanted to achieve – just a fun dive with ad-hoc photos along the way. Shortly after this photo was captured, in 6C water and two hours of decompression ahead of us, we turned and started the long ascent back to the surface”. (Photo by Marcus Blatchford/Underwater Photographer of the Year 2016)

This graceful husky appears to be smarter than your average dog having apparently mastered the art of walking on water. The soft-footed canine was photographed while making its way across a lake in northern Russia. Photographer Fox Grom captured a remarkable set of images after heavy rain fell on a frozen lake to create the amazing illusion. The 40-year-old, who works as an all-terrain vehicle driver, regularly walks his pet dogs, Alaska and Blizzard, near the natural beauty spot. “I always take pictures of my dogs whilst walking them but on this occasion there was an extraordinary phenomenon“, he said. “The ice was already very thick when it rained heavily making for a spectacular scene”. Here: Husky dog Alaska walks on water in Northern Russia, January 2015. (Photo by Fox Grom/Visual Press Agency)

This photo taken on November 6, 2023 shows people posing for photos next to the statue of “Hachiko” in front of Shibuya station in central Tokyo, ahead of the 100th anniversary of the legendary dog's birth this month. A century since its birth, the tale of the loyal companion who had waited at the Shibuya train station for its master to come home – not knowing he had already died – continues to inspire the public, who have made the statue a singular landmark at a glitzy hub of Tokyo's street culture. (Photo by Richard A. Brooks/AFP Photo)

A member of the public wears a pandemic face mask ahead of the prime minister announcing the government's Covid-19 winter strategy on September 13, 2021 in Manchester, England. Tomorrow, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out his plan to manage Covid-19 through the winter, including what actions would need to be taken if the NHS hospital system were at risk of being overwhelmed. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)