Prague astronomical clock

On the south side of the Old Town Hall in Prague, Czech Republic is a fascinating clock called the Orloj. It's an astronomical clock that displays the location of the earth, moon, sun, and planets in relation to the the signs of Zodiac. The clock dates to the Midieval era in 1410 when it was designed by a mathematics professor. The tower also has an hourly clock and a calendar dial, both added in 1490.

Detail of the calendar

In October the Orloj reached a 600-year milestone. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Astronomical_Clock

Cat's Eye nebula, NGC 6543

The beautiful Cat's Eye nebula shows what scientists believe is a binary star system in the end stages of stellar evolution. The Cat's Eye is a very complex nebula and its process is not yet well understood by scientists. What you see in this picture, by the Hubble Space Telescope, is layers of atmospheric gasses being shed, or "puffed away," by rhythmic eruptions. The nebula is 3,000 light years away, and is a relative newcomer, about 1,000 years old in its present state. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel in 1786.

A nebula is a gas cloud.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula

Photo credit: NASA/AURA/STSCI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat%27s_Eye_Nebula

Getting closer, Mr. Turkey

Relative time

You can see the past and the future in this clock.

1890 lithograph

Trapeze Artists in a Circus

 Calvert Lithograph Company (Library of Congress)

Checking facebook

Space junk orbiting Earth

The European Space Agency has released this image of debris in Earth's orbit.

Only 7% of objects in space are operational. 

Some incredible facts here:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/shocking-space-debris-images.php 

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/space_junk.html 

Makes you bark like a dog

 

Whole wheat flour breakfast food

Ralston Purina Company, St. Louis

1905

"If a child is sickly, weak or out of sorts, it is wrong to dose it with strong medicines. Investigate what the child eats. See if you are not giving it too much pasty, starchy food."

Don't forget to laugh today

It's good for ya.

The Nicholas Brothers

 

The phenomenal tap-dancing team The Nicholas Brothers performed in Harlem jazz clubs in the 1930s, then became a sensation in movies and later on tour. Neither Fayard or Harold Nicholas had formal dance training, but they grew up watching Vaudeville and learned their craft by observation. 

What set the Nicholas Brothers apart was their innovative "flash dance" style — high energy and acrobatic routines that won them accolades across the globe. They performed alongside great jazz masters like Cab Calloway among many others. Their many film credits include Stormy Weather and The Emperor Jones.

From Wikipedia:

"Fred Astaire once told the brothers that the "Jumpin' Jive" dance number in Stormy Weather was the greatest movie musical sequence he had ever seen...One of their signature moves was a "no-hands" splits, where they went into the splits and returned to their feet without using their hands. Gregory Hines declared that if their biography was ever filmed, their dance numbers would have to be computer generated because no one could duplicate them...Ballet legend Mikhail Baryshnikov once called them the most amazing dancers he had ever seen in his life."

Please look them up on youtube and watch the craziest dancing you've ever seen!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Brothers 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8yGGtVKrD8&NR=1 
 

Sleepy head

It's going to be another day like this, I'm afraid.

William-Adolphe Bouguereau

YOUTH

1893

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William-Adolphe_Bouguereau

Lawn party

"Casual attire" assumes one is wearing pants.

Look right

Road sign

UFO identification chart

Legal speed

Japanese weddings

In a traditional Japanese wedding, brides wear a kimono called a shiromuku, The headdress is called a wataboshi which conceals the bride's face from guests, saving it for the groom.


The traditional religious ceremony is held at a Shinto shrine. Today this shrine may be inside the hotel where the wedding party will stay. A Shinto priest conducts the ceremony in which the couple is purified; they drink sake and express their commitment to each other.

A reception is held, and then the wedding is celebrated with a meal. A bride may change her attire several times.

Wedding gifts are traditionally new, crisp yen presented in a white envelope with the giver's name printed on the outside. The amount of the gift is determined by the guest's closeness to the couple.

Western-style weddings are acceptable in Japan, and it is up to the bride and groom to decide.

Copenhagen Opera House, Denmark

 

Completed in 2005, and home to The Royal Danish Theatre, the opera house is one of the most modern theatres in the world. It seats 1500, has an orchestra pit to accommodate 100 musicians, has five automated, movable stages, angled seating, and hi-tech acoustics that were tested to the strictest standard. It sits on an island in the harbor with a great view of the city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_Opera_House
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/denmark/copenhagen

Big house in Little Rock

In the historic Quapaw Quarter

Little Rock, Arkansas