It is said that Torajans are people who “live to die”. For this Indonesian ethnic group, funerals are such extravagant events that they sometimes attract tourists. Families can postpone burials years (and the deceased are considered sick and hosted at home until the funeral) until the family can raise enough money and gather as many relatives as possible. And then it’s a jubilant multiday social event with a parade, dances and animal sacrifices. Agung Parameswara photographed these funerary practices when he traveled to South Sulawesi province, where the Torajans live. (Photo by Agung Parameswara/The Washington Post)

The selfie is the most popular photography trend of the internet today. It's gotten so popular, in fact, that even our beloved feline friends have started to catch on. I dare you to keep the smile off your face for this one!

Nobumichi Asai has used projection mapping to put CGI onto cars, docks, building and more. What is his latest canvas? A real, live human face! Asai used Omote, a combination of real-time face tracking and projection mapping to transform a model's face into mesmerizing patterns. It's called “electronic makeup”, but as you will see in the (creepy-ish) video, it goes much, much beyond anything makeup can possibly do.

Patty and Allen Eckman have been creating wonderful high detail works in their hand made acid free cast paper sculpture since 1988 and they have become internationally recognized as not only masters in the medium but also the only masters of their medium. the Eckman Method® of museum quality fine art cast paper sculpture is a trademark of Eckman Fine Art Inc. and Allen and Patty Eckman. From this page you can navigate through the One-of-a-Kind and Limited Edition works of the artists, which encompass the different categories of works Patty and Allen have done individually as well as some they have done together.

Without mincing words we would like to present a feature: Self-Publishing, let's call it Samizdat. :-) Sure we aren't Flickr, StumbleUpon or add_whatever_you_like, we're really small in comparison with these giants but we have constant, very attentive and grateful audience. All we can offer you is a place on the main page and attention of all our visitors to your posts, the things that are hard to achieve on numerous social services. Who knows, maybe tiny and humble indie project like AvaxNews will be much more helpful in searching of your audience than facebook for example. %-)

Meet Booboo, the 2-year-old guinea pig. Her hobbies included eating chicory and posing for pictures. Described optimistically as ‘spirited’ by owner Megan, she can generally be found knocking about with her guinea pig crew, Titi and Teddy. But don’t worry, these gangsta guineas are lovers not fighters (didn’t the chicory give you a clue?). In fact, they’re pretty cerebral, often to be found quietly reading a book, or staring contemplatively into the distance next to a sprig of lavender, that kind of thing.

“These incredible shots show the stunning formations of an iceberg beneath the surface of the ocean. Taken in Tasiilaq, Greenland, by Franco Banfi, the underwater photography captures the beauty of these ice mountains beneath the ocean’s surface. In some of the photos, divers are swimming around an iceberg under the frozen water, while other images show some of the weird and wonderful creatures you can encounter in that part of the ocean”. (Photo by Franco Banfi/Caters News Agency)