~* Once Quoted *~

"The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." - Jon Krakauer

Friday, April 29, 2011

New WishList Item :)


a Rocking bed!!


Weird & old









Sedlec Ossuary



The most ALIEN looking place on Earth






Stonehenge beneath Lake Michigan



Capuchin Catacombs


Rosalia Lombardo, who died over 90 years ago from pneumonia, still just looks like she’s sleeping. She resides in a glass coffin in Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo, Italy. As one of the world’s best-preserved bodies, she has been a consistent source of frustrations for embalmers and taxidermists for decades. Recently, anthropologists have uncovered the secret to her pristine preservation that her original embalmer took with him to the grave in 1933. As it turns out, Ms Lombardo was preserved with a combination of formalin, zinc salts, alcohol, salicylic acid, and glycerin. Formalin, to kill bacteria, salicylic acid to kill fungi, alcohol to dry the body out and mummify it, and glycerin to keep her from getting too dry. Embalmers don’t use zinc anymore, but that’s supposedly the key ingredient for Lombardo’s successful embalming.

Capuchin Catacombs, Palermo, Italy


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Square Watermelons?

Farmers in the southern Japanese town of Zentsuji have figured out how to grow their watermelons so they turn out square.
It's not a fad. The technique actually has practical applications. "The reason they're doing this in Japan is because of lack of space," said Samantha Winters of the National Watermelon Promotion Board in Orlando, Florida.
A fat, round watermelon can take up a lot of room in a refrigerator, and the usually round fruit often sits awkwardly on refrigerator shelves.
But clever Japanese farmers have solved this dilemma by forcing their watermelons to grow into a square shape. Farmers insert the melons into square, tempered glass cases while the fruit is still growing on the vine.
The square boxes are the exact dimensions of Japanese refrigerators, allowing full-grown watermelons to fit conveniently and precisely onto refrigerator shelves.
But cubic fruit comes with a caveat: Each square watermelon costs 10,000 yen, the equivalent of about $82. Regular watermelons in Japan cost from $15 to $25 each.
At $82 apiece, Winters said she didn't know if there would be a market for square-grown watermelons in the United States.
"I think that's a pretty expensive watermelon," she said. "Maybe they give them as gifts. Maybe it says something for the gift-fruit market, perhaps."
But Winters also said that there does appear to be a growing U.S. market for watermelon that is more refrigerator-friendly. She said the industry is hearing from consumers that size matters.
"Our growers grow round, seedless melons in various sizes," she said. "And that's one reason why we grow the smaller watermelons ... so they'll fit into a refrigerator."
Winters added that so-called fresh-cut watermelon is widely available at U.S. groceries, another possible solution to a crisis created by oversized melons.
A recipe on the board's website calls for half-inch watermelon squares for use in martinis.
"You can find two-inch cubes" in groceries, Winters said. "They have watermelon that's cut in quarters and halves. And you can find clamshell containers with fresh-cut watermelon in there as well." Watermelon also can be pureed and poured into ice-cube trays for freezing.
So it seems U.S. watermelon lovers will have to settle for fresh-cut for now, and the $82, square watermelon won't be showing up at American groceries anytime soon.

Statue of Libery FAQs


What is the Statue of Liberty made of? The Statue of Liberty is made of copper 3/32in.thick, the same as two pennies put together.

Why is the Statue green? The Statue's copper has naturally oxidized to form its familiar "patina" green coating. This patina is as thick, in many places, as the copper behind it and is protecting the copper from naturally wearing away.

How tall is the Statue of Liberty? The Statue is 305ft. 1in. from the ground to the tip of the flame. It is the equivalent height of a 22-story building. In 1886, it was the tallest structure in New York. See more Statue Statistics.

Is the Statue of Liberty an image of a man or woman? Classical images of Liberty have usually been represented by a woman. The Statue of Liberty's face is said to be modeled after the sculptor's mother.

Is the crown open? Yes. On July 4, 2009, the National Park Service re-opened the crown in a limited fashion. To learn more about crown access, click here.

Is the torch open? No. The torch has been closed since the "Black Tom" explosion of July 30, 1916, which was one of the largest acts of sabotage to our nation prior to the event of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Many people think they've been there and confuse it with climbing a spiral staircase which goes to the crown. National Park Service staff must climb a narrow 40ft. ladder in order to maintain the floodlights which light the torch.

If I have a question about pedestal/museum tickets and ferry tickets, who should I contact? The ferry company should be contacted regarding advance tickets, confirmations, pedestal/museum ticket availability. You can reach them at: 877-LADY TIX for advance tickets and monument access passes or on line at: www.statuecruises.com

What does the torch represent? The torch is a symbol of enlightenment. The Statue of Liberty's torch lights the way to freedom showing us the path to Liberty. Even the Statue's official name represents her most important symbol "Liberty Enlightening the World". The Statue's current replacement torch, added in 1986, is a copper flame covered in 24K gold. It is reflective of the sun's rays in daytime and lighted by 16 floodlights at night. The original torch was removed in 1984 and is currently inside the lobby of the monument.

What is written on the Statue's tablet? The tablet of law, held in the Statue's left hand, has the date of American Independence July 4, 1776, written on it in Roman numerals (July IV, MDCCLXXVI).

What do the seven spikes on the Statue's crown represent? The seven seas and continents of the world. 

Is the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island? No. The park is comprised of two separate islands, Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The Statue of Liberty is on Liberty Island and Ellis Island, the former federal immigration station, is currently a national museum of immigration.

THE Kiss!!



Saint Orsola Convent, Florence, Italy


"In the document, Francesco asked his younger daughter, Marietta, to take care of his "beloved wife," Lisa. Marietta, who had become a nun, brought her ill mother to the nearby convent of Sant'Orsola," Pallanti said.
Lisa died four years after her husband's death, at the age of 63, according to an archive known as a "Book of the Dead," found by Pallanti in a church archive.
"Lisa di Francesco Del Giocondo died on 15 July 1542 and was buried in Sant'Orsola," the document states.



More Mona Lisa Theories


(Reuters) - Researchers have begun their hunt for the remains of the woman who might have been the model for Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, hoping to unravel a mystery that has baffled art historians for over five centuries.

A team of experts armed with a special radar device descended this week on a dilapidated convent in Florence where they believe the body of the woman who modeled for da Vinci back in the 16th century is buried.


The real Mona Lisa, Italian art historians say, was Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a rich Florentine silk merchant named Francesco del Giocondo who is thought to have commissioned the portrait -- although there is no definitive proof of this.


The researchers say that if they can find her skull, they will be able to reconstruct her face and compare it with the painting.


The true identity of Mona Lisa and her enigmatic smile have intrigued art lovers around the world.


According to the Louvre museum in Paris, where the painting is on display, the portrait was likely painted in Florence between 1503 and 1506 and could have been commissioned to mark one of two events: either when Gherardini and her husband bought their house or when their second son was born.


The key to solving the mystery may lie at the Saint Orsola convent, a structure in central Florence almost reduced to ruins.


Using radar equipment which can identify objects underground, scientists are scanning the floor in the small church to pinpoint areas where they may start digging for Gherardini's remains.


"We have a document confirming the burial of Gherardini in 1542 here in the convent" said Silvano Vinceti, head of the National Committee for the Promotion of Historic and Cultural Heritage.


Researchers say Gherardini spent the last years of her life at the convent, looked after by her two daughters who were nuns, and was buried there.


"To be sure we have to find the DNA in her bones, and once we have found that we can compare it with the DNA of her children who are buried at the Santissima Annunziata convent," said Professor Francesco Mallegni, a paleoanthropologist.


Vinceti has been studying the painting for months and recently claimed to have found symbols hidden in the portrait.


He says Gherardini might have been an early model for the Mona Lisa but that da Vinci was also probably inspired by the face of his young male apprentice, Gian Giacomo Caprotti, who some say was also his lover.


It is not clear how long the project to study Gherardini's remains will need before coming to any conclusion but some of her descendants have already expressed skepticism.


"Let her rest in peace. What could finding her remains change to the charm of Leonardo's painting? To look for her bones seems a sacrilege to me," said one of them, actress and writer Natalia Strozzi.




(Wikipedia) - Speculation assigned Lisa's name to at least four different paintings and her identity to at least ten different people.[33][34] By the end of the 20th century, the painting was a global icon that had been used in more than 300 other paintings and in 2,000 advertisements, appearing at an average of one new advertisement each week.[35] In 2005, an expert at the University Library of Heidelberg discovered a margin note in the library's collection that established with certainty the traditional view that the sitter was Lisa.[36] The Mona Lisa has been in custody of France since the 16th century, when it was acquired by Francis I of France; however, after the French Revolution it came into the possession of the people.[37] Today about 6 million people visit the painting each year at the Louvre in Paris, where it is part of a French national collection.[38]


(Louvre.fr) - This portrait was doubtless painted in Florence between 1503 and 1506. It is thought to be of Lisa Gherardini, wife of a Florentine cloth merchant named Francesco del Giocondo - hence the alternative title, La Gioconda. However, Leonardo seems to have taken the completed portrait to France rather than giving it to the person who commissioned it. It was eventually returned to Italy by Leonardo's student and heir Salai. It is not known how the painting came to be in François I's collection.

Wedding Pictures




Wedding Ceremony





THE dress