Jungfrau is a mountain in the Bernese Alps of Switzerland. It rises 13,642 feet high. Nine climbers with the outfitting company Mammut reached the peak. Using a drone with a fisheye lens, they captured a photo of themselves, locked arm in arm, around the peak.
This is one of many outstanding photos that Mammut has staged in the Alps. You can see the rest here, and you really should.
-via Colossal
John C. Wright is a commercially successful science fiction novelist. That is an enormously difficult accomplishment. There are many great writers who struggle to get published and then to get published widely enough to earn a living at it.
Wright counsels struggling writers not to despair. Even if they never become widely-read, a writer can transform one person's life. In a moving and beautiful post, Wright explains that your rarely-read book can be one reader's book of gold:
If you only write one book in your whole life, and only sell 600 copies or less, nonetheless, I assure you, I solemnly assure you, that this book will be someone’s absolutely favorite book of all time, and it will come to him on some dark day and give him sunlight, and open his eyes and fill his heart and make him see things in life even you never suspected, and will be his most precious tale, and it will live in his heart like the Book of Gold.
Let me give you three examples to support my point: VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS by David Lindsay had perhaps more effect and influence on me in my youth than any other book aside from WORLD OF NULL-A by A.E. van Vogt. To be fair, I misinterpreted both books, and took them to be preaching a resolute form of scientific Stoicism, an absolute devotion to sanity and truth which I doubt either author would recognize. I never wrote Mr. van Vogt a fan letter, despite that my whole life was influenced by him (but I did write a novel to honor him). Had it not been for his books, I never would have studied philosophy in High School, never would have gone to Saint John’s in Annapolis, never would have read the Great Books. I never would have met my wife.
As for Mr. Lindsay, he sold less than 600 copies of his book, and died in poverty, ignored and forgotten, of an abscess in a tooth any competent dentist could have pulled. And this is a book luminaries such as Colin Wilson, C.S. Lewis, and Harold Bloom regard as seminal. Mr. Wilson called it the greatest novel of the Twentieth Century.
Wright says that he has already received heartfelt appreciation for his work. He doesn't always understand why:
People have written me to say that this tale inspired dreams and nightmares, inspired new resolve, inspired hope, and at least one woman who was in the midst of her most wretched hour of despair, said she found strength just from the one description of a star appearing through the darkest clouds. What these readers see in my work is far beyond what I have the power to put down on the page: the hand of heaven touched that work, and those readers who express awe are seeing not the author’s hand, but the hand of the Creator who is author of us all, who guided the work without my knowledge.
Are you a writer? Are you trying to create something great, but no one else can see it? Perhaps to some reader unknown to you, your work is that book of gold:
I write for that one reader I will never see, the one who needs just such a tale as I can pen, in just such a time and place, some rainy afternoon or dark hour, when providence will bring my book into his hands. And he will open it, and it will not be a book, but a casement, from which he will glimpse the needed vision his soul requires of a world larger than our own, or a star in a heaven wider and higher than ours, a star aflame with magic more majestic than any star mortal astronomers can name.
I humbly but strongly suggest you write for that unknown reader also, and not for worldly praise, or influence, or pelf, or applause. The world flatters popular authors, and the clamor of the multitude of brazen tongues is vanity. It is dust on the wind. The unknown reader will greet your work with love. It is a crown of adamant, solid and enduring.
You will never meet that one reader, not in this life. In heaven he will come to you and fall on his face and anoint your feet with tears of gratitude, and you will stand astonished and humbled, having never suspected.
I found Wright's post via Brian J. Noggle, a novelist who is too modest about his own abilities.
(Photo: Chris Drumm)
This cartoon was painful to read because it's accurate.
So when I got home from work, I played with my daughters for a few extra minutes.
This time in their lives and mine will never come again.
(Photo: Disability Horizons)
Martyn Sibley is the editor of Disability Horizons, an online magazine that advances "a 21st Century view of disability." He recently visited the New Forest, a section of southern England that was once William the Conqueror's private hunting ground, but is now a national park open to the public.
It's remarkably accessible to people with some disabilities. Sibley uses a wheelchair but found all of the accommodations necessary to have a great time. He engaged in archery, biking, and sailing. And, as you can see from the photo above, he even climbed a tree!
-via Marilyn Terrell
Catfish
Lobster
Thornback Ray
Suren Manvelyan, a photographer from Armenia, has developed a niche that has captured popular attention. He takes close-up shots of eyes, including human eyes and animal eyes. He has a new set of animal eye photos, mostly from fish and reptiles.
In an interview with GBTimes, Manvelyan describes how he acquires the cooperation of animal subjects:
The photographer got professional assistance when dealing with venomous snakes and other not so 'people friendly' representatives of the fauna. “The hyena, however, was such an exceptional sweetheart. I got licked from head to toes,” Manvelyan smiles.
The photographer shares some useful tips for those who would like to try their hand at animal photography. “First of all, an animal needs time to get used to you. All the animals have a strong instinct for protecting their territory. Anyone who crosses the line creates a tension. The animal needs time to realize you don't present a danger to it. So, be patient and respectful.”
-via Twisted Sifter
It's not Christmas season yet, but it is cold and flu season! Nick Seluk of The Awkward Yeti reminds us to keep in mind what really counts: mucous, sleep deprivation, and sore throats.
Remember that this is a time to be charitable. Not everyone has a cold this year. If you see someone being left out of the joy of the season, help him out.
Lorraine Loots, an artist in Cape Town, South Africa, calls her series "Postcards for Ants." It's composed of teeny tiny yet richly detailed and precisely rendered pictures of landscapes and everyday objects. Many of them, as you can see, are smaller than a 1-pound coin. Loots has been making them every day since January 1, 2013. She creates 5 prints of each painting, which will no doubt sell well.
Magnus the tarantula is all dressed up for her human's birthday party!
Redditor schizophrenicwheel wished herself a "Herpy Birthday" (a reference to herpetology--the study of reptiles and amphibians). Her husband brought her an appropriate cake and made sure that their pets were ready for the occasion.
Mooch the iguana is also ready to party hard! You can see more photos of the party here, including a less than unenthusiastic response from Zadkiel the emerald tree monitor. Pajaaamas the Argus/Goulds monitor is politely faking interest.
-via Mahnaz Dar
(Photo: Banksy)
Poor Calvin. He couldn't stay 6 years old. But none of us can. We must grow up, for the alternative is worse.
-via Nerd Approved
UPDATE 9/17/18: There seems to be some dispute that this is actually a work by Banksy. In fact, it's not even clear that Banksy is on Twitter.
(Image: NBC 4)
Are you going to visit the dearly departed before the funeral? If you're in a hurry, then you won't have to go inside at the Paradise Funeral Chapel in Saginaw, Michigan. You can just pull up to the window in the drive-through lane.
The entire system is automated. Drive up to the viewing window. A sensor detects your car. The curtains open and music plays. After three minutes, the curtains close. Then drive away to make room for the next customer in line.
It's a nice service, but it would be more convenient if the funeral home offered curbside delivery.
-via Dave Barry
(Photo: Lort Smith)
George is a 10-year old goldfish that lives in Australia. He had a brain tumor that was gradually impairing his health. So his owner, Pip Joyce, paid a veterinarian at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in Melbourne to surgically remove it.
(Photo: Lort Smith)
This was a challenging operation that required George to be placed under anesthesia. The veterinary staff pumped water into his gills to keep him breathing during the 45-minute operation. It was a complete success and George has now returned to his home pond where he lives with 20 other goldfish. There's every reason to think that he will continue to live another 20 years.
-via Huffington Post
(Photo: Vintage Technics)
Before the Walkman, the Discman, and the MP3 player, there was the Emerson Wondergram. This battery-powered record player manufactured by General Electric in the UK from 1960 to 1965 played 33 and 45 RPM records. GE marketed it as "the world's smallest record player." It measured about 8x4x2 inches. You can occasionally find one for sale on eBay.
-via Messy Nessy Chic
Part of good parenting is protecting the innocence of your children. There's a lot of ugliness in the world. Someday, your children will have to face it. But that can be done in an age-appropriate manner at the right time. There's no need for frighten them before they can emotionally handle traumas that adults have to grapple with.
If you're a dog and your human is an artist, then you've got a good chance of going on fantastic adventures. Rafael Mantesso's bull terrier knows that. He can fly around the world, enjoy romantic escapades, and acquire angelic enhancements with a few details added to the background of his photos.
You can view more images of him at play on Mantesso's Instagram page. It's filled with not only cute dog photos, but very imaginative illustrations that are worth exploring.
How do artists stimulate their imaginations? Some artists engage in a daily creative process--a discipline that compels them to create something along a theme. One Pixar animator makes a new superhero every day. Nick Scalin made skulls every day for a year. Other artists photograph miniatures or decorate coffee cups.
For Stian Korntved Ruud, an artist from Norway, it's wooden spoons. Every day for a full year, he plans to make a wooden spoon:
By repeating the production of a spoon every day for a longer period of time (365 days), the goal is to challenge and explore a spoons aesthetic and functional qualities. I make all the spoons in a traditional way with only hand tools. The point of this is to actively cooperate with the material, in this case wood. In a modern industrial production the machines overwrites the wooden structures and natural growth pattern. When using manual hand tools my hand collaborates with the wood structure during the forming process. This underpins all the spoons unique qualities.
Some of his spoons may be impractical, but all of them are fun. Click on Continue reading to view more.
