With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)

“The Greek Civil War was fought from 1945 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece (ΔΣΕ) (Greek initials DSE), the military branch of the Greek Communist Party (KKE), backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania. It was the result of a highly polarized struggle between leftists and rightists which started in 1943 and targeted the power vacuum that the German-Italian occupation during World War II had created. One of the first conflicts of the Cold War, according to some analysts it represents the first example of a postwar Western interference in the internal politics of a foreign country, and for others, marked the first serious test of the theory of the so-called Churchill-Stalin percentages agreement. The first signs of the civil war occurred in 1942–1944, during the Occupation”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A Greek commando soldier, wearing a fur-collared jacket supplied by the Americans, waits for a guerrilla target to emerge during the Greek Civil War. (Photo by Bert Hardy/Picture Post/Getty Images). 22nd May 1948

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)

While communism, collectivism, worms, dry rot and casual looting failed to destroy the majestic wooden churches of Russia, it may be ordinary neglect that finally does them in. Dwindled now to several hundred remaining examples, these glories of vernacular architecture lie scattered amid the vastness of the world’s largest country. Just over a decade ago, Richard Davies, a British architectural photographer, struck out on a mission to record the fragile and poetic structures. Austerely beautiful and haunting, “Wooden Churches: Traveling in the Russian North” (White Sea Publishing; $132) is the result. Covering thousands of miles, Mr. Davies described how he and the writer Matilda Moreton tracked down the survivors from among the thousands of onion-domed structures built after Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988.

Internet is filled to the brim with cat pictures and cat videos. It seems that cats became the symbol of the internet. For some unknown reason, cat owners simply love taking pictures of their beloved kitty-cats and posting them on the internet for all to see. Everyone’s cat is special; however, some are more special than others. Take Garfi for example. As soon as you catch his menacing stare, you immediately realize the reason why this kitty became popular. The look he gives you would send shivers down anybody’s spine. Yeah, the look Garfi has is somewhat special, but nothing will compare to the “facial expression” of Tard – the Grumpy Cat! A look that screams – “All is lost! Life has no meaning…”. (Photo by Hulya Ozkok)

There are so many little, seemingly simple, yet ingenious things that make our life so much simpler. Take scotch tape for example. It’s just a roll of thin plastic film that is sticky on one side, yet how much simpler it made the packaging process of various goods! However, the removal of scotch tape, now there is a problem. Unless you have something sharp, it’s nearly impossible to tear it. To combat this, a brand new product has come out. Rip cord tape – is a regular scotch tape combined with a rip cord. The manufacturer of this product claims that it will make the removal of scotch tape much easier. However, when we look at the pictures, we realize, that yes, the rip cord will remove the middle of the scotch tape; however, the sides will remain in place! This will once again present a problem during the removal process.

(Excuse me for the clumsy electronic translator) Today in Moscow presidential elections are spent. Abundantly clear that without dependence from their results the winner will be declared Vladimir Putin. It can lead to the mass protest. Therefore the authorities have deduced on streets of thousand soldiers and policemen. For example, personally I (Avax) see from the window: four buses and two trucks with RIOT police. In photos more low – Moscow on March 04, 2012. A Garden Ring, The Tverskaya street, The Mayoralty, The State Duma, and The Bolshoi theater. (Photos by: Vladimir Maltsev; Source: LiveJournal; Rustem Adagamov; Source: LiveJournal).

“Philippe Halsman (2 May 1906 Riga, Russian Empire – 25 June 1979 New York City) was a Latvian-born American portrait photographer. Many celebrities photographed by Halsman include Alfred Hitchcock, Judy Garland, Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, Dorothy Dandridge, and Pablo Picasso. Many of those photographs appeared on the cover of Life. In such photos, he utilizes a variety of his rules of photography. For example, in one of his photos of Winston Churchill, the omission of his face makes Halsman's photo even more powerful at making Churchill more human”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Marilyn Monroe, “Jumpology”, 1959. Photo by Philippe Halsman