“The Spanish Civil War (The Crusade among Nationalists, Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans) was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939. An estimated total of 500,000 people lost their lives as a consequence of the War”. – Wikipedia. Photo: Actors take part in a re-enactment of the “Battle of Areces” that took place during the Spanish Civil War, in Grullos, north of Spain, September 14, 2013. The re-enactment of the historic 1937 battle was organised by the Frente del Nalon Association. (Photo by Eloy Alonso/Reuters)

“Sixteen pilot whales died when they became stranded at Pittenweem, near St Andrews, on Sunday morning, Forth Coastguard said.

The mammals were part of a group of 26, of which 10 were refloated and returned to sea by vets and more than 50 volunteers from the emergency services and British Divers Marine Life Rescue. The whales were kept cool and hydrated with wet blankets and sheets on the shore”. – WalesOnline

Photo: Emergency service personnel walk near beached whales as they continue in their rescue attempt to save a large number of pilot whales who have beached on September 1, 2012 in Pittenweem, Scotland. A number of whales have died after being stranded on the east coast of Scotland between Anstruther and Pittenweem. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell)

Intrigued by photographing time, Singapore-based photographer Fong Qi Wei created single, composite pictures from a sequence of images spanning 2-4 hours. He concentrated on capturing sunrises and sunsets as they evolved over different landscapes, seascapes, and cityscapes. He then digitally stitched the images together to get a snapshot of time passing over the scene for his series “Time is a Dimension”. “Most paintings and photographs are an instance of time”, Wei explained in his artist’s statement. “That’s not the way the world works. We experience a sequence of time, and that’s why a video is somehow more compelling than a freeze frame”. (Photo by Fong Qi Wei/Thoughtful Photography)

A close-up shot of dews of a soldier fly on August 2014, in Banten, Indonesia. Wildlife photographer takes incredible close-up images of tiny bugs. Yudy Sauw has captured close-up images of creepy crawlies – revealing their disturbing faces. The insects have an assortment bulging eyes and sharp pincers and look grotesque in the face-to-face shots. The miniature-models include a soldier fly, a red ant and a longhorn beetle. The 33-year-old photographed the bugs at his home studio in Banten, Indonesia, placing them 2-10 centimeters away from the camera. (Photo by Yudy Sauw/Barcroft Media)

The Longsheng Rice Terraces are located in Longsheng County, about 100 km (2 hours drive) from Guilin, Guangxi, China. The most popular are Ping An Rice Terrace and Jinkeng Rice Terrace. The terraced fields are built along the slope winding from the riverside up to the mountain top, the highest part being 880 m in elevation while the lowest part is 380 m[citation needed]. The coiling line that starts from the mountain foot up to the mountain top divides the mountain into layers of water glittering in the sun in spring, layers of green rice shoots in summer, layers of golden rice in fall, and layers of silvery frost in winter. The terraced fields were mostly built during the Ming Dynasty, about 500 years ago.

It's that time of year again when dogs with unusually large heads, hairless bodies and other oddities compete to be the World's Ugliest Dog. This year's winner? A 2-year-old mutt named Peanut, whose wild white and brown hair, bulging eyes and protruding teeth belie his sweet, energetic personality. Peanut's owner, Holly Chandler of Greenville, North Carolina, says he was seriously burned as a puppy and she wants to use her pet to raise awareness about animal abuse. She plans to use the $1,500 prize to pay for other animals' veterinary bills. The contest, held at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma, California, is in its 26 year. The dogs are scored by a three-judge panel in several categories, including special or unusual attributes, personality and natural ugliness.

“Rapa das Bestas is the name of an operation that involves cutting the manes of the horses that are performed in the curros (enclosed which retain the horses) held in various locations in Galicia (Spain).

The best known is the Rapa das Bestas of Sabucedo, in the city hall of A Estrada, which lasts three days: the First Saturday, Sunday and Monday in July. In fact, the name given to the celebration (Rapa das Bestas of Sabucedo), while in most places speaking about curros, including curros de Valga, etc”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A wild horse leaps up during the Rapa das Bestas (shearing of the beasts) festival on July 2, 2011 in Sabucedo, Spain. Hundreds of wild horses are rounded up from the mountains and trimmed and marked in the corral. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

“Friedrich Christian Anton “Fritz” Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the “Master of Darkness” by the British Film Institute. His most famous films are the groundbreaking «Metropolis» (the world's most expensive silent film at the time of its release) and «M», made before he moved to the United States, his iconic precursor to the film noir genre”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Director Fritz Lang (right) and crew members inspect the robot from the film “Metropolis”, which is made to resemble the saintly Maria. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Circa 1926