“Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the agave family, Agavaceae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry (arid) parts of North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Early reports of the species were confused with the cassava (Manihot esculenta). Consequently, Linnaeus mistakenly derived the generic name from the Carib word for the latter, yuca. It is also colloquially known in the midwest United States as “Ghosts in the graveyard”, as it is commonly found growing in rural graveyards and when in bloom the flowers appear as an apparition floating.” – Wikipedia

Photo: A yucca standing among flowers bursts forth a very large stalk of flowers as a heavy wildflower bloom on June 21, 2005 in the Angeles National Forest northwest of La Canada, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

A Thai devotee in a state of trance screams while holy water is sprayed as thousands race towards the edifice of the founder monk during the annual Tattoo fesitval at Wat Bang Phra on March 7, 2009 in Nakhom Pathom, Thailand. Some men take on the characteristics of sacred animals that have been carved onto their skin. Thousands of believers from all over Thailand come to take part in one of the country's most bizarre festivals about 50 miles outside Bangkok to pay respect to the temple's monks who are master tattooist. In Thai culture the tattoo or Thai word sak yant is worn as a symbol of spiritual and physical protection, many believe that the tattoo have mystical powers. Many tattoo fanatics choose to have monkeys and tigers as well as the Khmer/Cambodia ancient script on their bodies. (Photo Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

“Itasha (痛車), literally “painmobile”, is a Japanese term for an otaku fad of individuals decorating the bodies of their cars with fictional characters of anime, manga, or video games (especially bishōjo game or eroge). These characters are predominately “cute” female. The decorations usually involve paint schemes and stickers. Automobiles are called Itasha, while similar motorcycles and bicycles are called itansha (痛単車) and itachari (痛チャリ), respectively”. – Wikipedia


Photo: A visitor takes pictures of an anime-decorated «Itasha» car displayed during the “Moe Fes in Washimiya” at Washimiya Town Hall on July 18, 2009 in Washimiya, Saitama, Japan. Itasha, a word derived from “itai” (painful) and “sha” (car), are vehicles decorated with mostly female characters from Japanese manga, anime and video games. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images)

Chris “Birdman” Andersen poses for Getty Images photographer Mike Ehrmann during the Miami Heat's Media Day at AmericanAirlines Arena, on September 30, 2013. (Photo by Gary Coronado/The Palm Beach Post)

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“Harry Whittier Frees (1879–1953) was an American photographer who created novelty postcards and children's books based on his photographs of animals. He dressed the animals and posed them in human situations with props, often with captions; these can be seen as progenitors of modern lolcats”. – Wikipedia. Photo: “The nurse”. Photograph shows a puppy holding a kitten, 1914. (Photo by Harry Whittier Frees/Library of Congress)

P.S. All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture (if available; this principle works anywhere on the site AvaxNews).

A man dressed as “El Chapulin Colorado”, a character by screenwriter Roberto Gomez Bolanos, performs for fans and media as they wait for the arrival of the funeral van carrying the body of Bolanos, at Mexican media company Televisa in Mexico City November 29, 2014. Mexican actor and screenwriter Roberto Gomez Bolanos, one of Latin America's most beloved comedians, whose slapstick acts charmed fans from Spain to Argentina for over four decades, died on Friday at the age 85. Known as “Chespirito”, a word play on “Little Shakespeare” for his diminutive stature and his prolific scripts, Gomez Bolanos created some of the region's most enduring comic characters. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)

Have you ever heard of a psychological phenomenon which lets us easily understand words, even if the order of letters is mixed up, as long as the first and last letters remain in their rightful place? Similarly, the art works of Michael Turner use only two colors to highlight the main futures of well-recognized superheroes, allowing our imagination to create the rest of the picture. The colors used in the pictures weren’t chosen at random. They perfectly reflect the key characteristics of the superheroes that they depict. For example, the picture of Flash uses red and yellow colors, which are exactly the colors of his costume. While the picture of Green Lantern is, you’ve guessed it, green and black. (Photo by Michael Turner)

As part of FLAIR Melbourne – a Flinders Lane art festival – Melbourne’s Lisa Minogue presents stylised photographic portraits of Australian women of colour, their faces painted vibrantly to accentuate their individuality and encourage the viewer to study each face more closely. Minogue asked each woman the same question: “What do the words “coloured girl” mean to you?”. (Photo by Lisa Minogue/The Guardian)