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A YouTube video of a chainsmoking Indonesian toddler inspired me to create this series, "Smoking Kids". The video highlighted the cultural differences between the east and west, and questioned notions of smoking being a mainly adult activity. Adult smokers are the societal norm, so I wanted to isolate the viewer's focus upon the issue of smoking itself. I felt that children smoking would have a surreal impact upon the viewer and compel them to truly see the acts of smoking rather than making assumptions about the person doing the act. ... ~Frieke Janssen

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07 Aug 2012 01:56:00,post received 0 comments

Fact Bruce Campbell's Boeing 727 Home Project

Bruce Campbell doesn't just love planes, he lives inside of one. After purchasing a a Boeing 727-200 for $100,000, he placed it in his backyard, otherwise known as the middle of the woods in Oregon.
Campbell's startup costs were actually quite considerable. He paid $17,000 to move the plane from an airport to a staging site, $20,000 to rent the staging site for four months, $21,600 to remove the wings and tail, and $25,000 to finally move it to his house.

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15 Aug 2012 10:00:00,post received 0 comments

Touching Dogs Dress Up For Annual Tompkins Square Park Halloween Parade

Meatball, a bulldog, poses in a tuxedo at the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade on October 20, 2012 in New York City. Hundreds of dog owners festooned their pets for the annual event, the largest of its kind in the United States. (Photo by John Moore)

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22 Oct 2012 08:20:00,post received 0 comments

Sad New Zealand Penguins in Need of Sweaters

Penguin sweaters, also known as penguin jumpers, are sweaters which are knitted for penguins that have been caught in oil slicks. When an oil spill affects penguins, they are dressed in knitted sweaters to stop them preening their feathers and to keep them warm, since the spilled oil destroys their natural oils. This also prevents them from poisoning themselves by ingesting the oil. The sweaters are removed and discarded as soon as the penguins can be washed. The original project has been completed, but the knitting pattern is still available on-line, as subsequent oil spills make it necessary. The extra sweaters are kept on behalf of the Wildlife Rescue Team.

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31 Oct 2012 13:06:00,post received 0 comments

Fact Santa Claus Diver Performs In Seoul

A South Korean diver clad in Santa Claus costume swims with sardines at The Coex Aquarium on December 8, 2012 in Seoul, South Korea. Even though the official religion of South Korea is Buddhism, about 30 percent of it is Christian and Christmas is one of the biggest holidays to be celebrated in South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun)

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08 Dec 2012 09:46:00,post received 0 comments

Fact The Dubai Fountain

The Dubai Fountain is a record-setting choreographed fountain system set on the 30-acre manmade Burj Khalifa Lake, at the center of the Downtown Dubai development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was designed by WET Design, the California-based company responsible for the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel Lake in Las Vegas. Illuminated by 6,600 lights and 25 colored projectors, it is 275 m (902 ft) long and shoots water 240 feet into the air accompanied by a range of classical to contemporary Arabic and world music. It was built at a cost of AED 800 million (USD 218 million).

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08 Jun 2015 10:55:00,post received 0 comments

Charming Pencil Sculptures – by Jennifer Maestre

Jennifer Maestre (born 1959 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a Massachusetts-based artist, internationally known for her unique pencil sculptures.
She derives most of her inspiration from the form and texture of the sea urchin. To make the pencil sculptures, Jennifer makes use of a variety pencils, nails and stitching. She takes hundreds of pencils, cuts them into small 1-inch sections, drills a hole in each section, sharpens them all and sews them together.

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22 Aug 2012 13:16:00,post received 0 comments

Educative Leafy Sea Dragon

The leafy seadragon or Glauert's seadragon, Phycodurus eques, is a marine fish in the family Syngnathidae, which also includes the seahorses. It is the only member of the genus Phycodurus. It is found along the southern and western coasts of Australia. The name is derived from the appearance, with long leaf-like protrusions coming from all over the body. These protrusions are not used for propulsion; they serve only as camouflage. The leafy seadragon propels itself by means of a pectoral fin on the ridge of its neck and a dorsal fin on its back closer to the tail end. These small fins are almost completely transparent and difficult to see as they undulate minutely to move the creature sedately through the water, completing the illusion of floating seaweed.

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05 Sep 2012 08:51:00,post received 0 comments