Palacio de Cristal

The main park of Madrid, Spain, the Jardines del Buen Retiro or Parque del Buen Retiro (literally "Gardens" or "Park of the Pleasant Retreat"), or simply El Retiro, the Lungs of Madrid is a large and popular 1.4 km² (350 acres) park at the edge of the city center, very close to the Puerta de Alcalá and not far from the Museo del Prado. A magnificent park, filled with beautiful sculpture and monuments, galleries, a peaceful lake and host to a variety of events, it is rightfully one of Madrid's premier attractions. The park is entirely surrounded by the present-day city.

Wikipedia

What I love most about the park is the Palacio de Cristal. It's a glass pavilion modeled in 1887 after the famous Crystal Palace in London, and designed by Ricardo Velázquez Bosco, the same person who designed the nearby Palacio de Velázquez.

Ramon Duran posted two beautiful photos of the Palacio de Cristalon on his Flickr account:






Barrosopal also posted two beautiful photos of the Palacio de Cristalon on his Flickr account:





You can click on each photo to go to its original page on Flickr.

Bored? Let's Jump!

(Caves of Swallows) / Mexico - The largest cave shaft in the world:


(Majlis Al Jinn) / Oman - Eighth largest cave chamber in the world:

Favorite Photographers: Part#6

Colors, colors, and colors is what I can say about Axel's photos. Axel is from Germany, and he has a wonderful Flickr profile that has many beautiful shots. Here are some:

Please click on each photo to go to its original page.

Floating Volcanic Stones

Fredrick and his crew discovered something really interesting: a sea of stones.

You can check the rest of the photos here.

Wedding Interrupted

A unique slide show in the New York Times about the moments that followed China's earthquake when it interrupted a wedding ceremony. You can see the slide show here.

The Great Indoors

I can't breathe.
I hate my room now. I hate every indoor.
I want to tear down all the walls and run.
I want to plunge into a cold pond. I want to feel the chilled water engulf me and shock me. I want to inhale the frost, feel my lungs turn to glass, and see my breaths in blue puffs.
I want to stand under the sun and feel it burn my skin, my nails, and my hair.
I want to look up and cup its glowing disk between the palms of my hands.
I want my heart to melt into a pool at my feet.
I want to feel the wind crash into my body and break my bones.
I want to walk barefoot on grass. I want to wiggle my toes in the dirt and feel the dry twigs prickle my skin.
I want to dance a Sufi dance. I want to close my eyes, throw my arms in the air, swirl around, and lose myself in the sensation of spinning.
I want to sleep under a huge oak tree. I want to sleep to the sound of its humming branches. I want to wake up to the light washing its leaves.
I want to eat wild berries, and feel its juices drip on my fingers.
I want to go bungee jumping. I want to feel the rush of leaping to the void.
I want to hold a lantern and walk through a forest at night.
I want to sit near the top of a pyramid and sip a cup of green tea.
I want to stroll in crowded streets. I want to laugh with strangers.
I want to stop being afraid.
I want to get away from the indoors.

Great Commercials: Part#13

A light commercial from SunChips. Did I mention that SunChips is one my favorite chips?



You can see the rest of their beautiful commercials here and here.

Blu

Awesome video from Blu blog. It is a short film about moving graffiti on public walls.

Mamas and Babies

Julie from the Pet Blog posted a very cute post featuring pictures of animal mothers and their babies. Ah...gorgeous little things. Here are some of the pictures:

Underwater Graves

A great article in the guardian.co.uk features The Neptune Memorial Reef as a uniques resting spot for people who loved the sea. It is also a heaven for divers:

About 14 metres beneath the ocean's surface lies a cemetery with gates, pathways, plaques and even benches.

The watery grave can host the remains of people who want to be buried underwater:

The ashes are mixed with cement designed for underwater use and fitted into a mould, which a diver then places and secures into the reef. A copper and bronze plaque is installed with the person's name, date of birth and death. There is also a line for a message.

Matthew Hoelscher (tiswango) has a great collection of photos for The Neptune Memorial Reef. You can check his whole collection on Flickr here .

How We Said Happy Mother's Day

She proudly showed me how to operate the new washing machine she bought. My mother and I stood between piles of white and colored dirty laundry in the tiny laundry room and scrutinized the operating manual sheet. My mother passed her hand on the gleaming silver panel of the drier and sighed contently. "Isn't it she a beauty?" she exclaimed happily. "Er..yeah..very," I complied.

My sister passed the door and shot me her you-better-be-ready look. I nodded discreetly over my mother's head. My youngest brother stuck his head in the door and smiled sheepishly. He took one look at my face and sobered immediately. When my mother turned her back at him, he winked at me and disappeared again. He followed my sister again as she walked in to the laundry room holding a small jewelry box.

"Happy Mother's Day !" We all sang in one voice.

Mother: Aww...

She opened the box and gazed at the ring we bought her.

Mother: It's beautiful. I love it.

My brother, feeling the attention steering away from him, pushed a red envelope into her hands.

Brother: Mama..Mama..I made this at school for you.

My mother gave me and my sister her amused please-cheer-for-your-brother look.

The three of us, crammed in the small space, expressed ecstatic admiration for his cute little card.

World WideTelescope

The World Wide Telescope by Microsoft Research is a great application that presents space in a whole new light. You can download the Beta version here.

Sealed Under Glass

My work mines the debris of memory through the creation of intricate worlds sculpted in 1:43 scale and smaller. Often sealed under glass, the works depict the remnants of things past—whether major, transformational experiences, or the quieter moments that resonate loudly throughout a life. In much the way the mind recalls events through the fog of time, the works distort reality through a warped and dreamlike lens.

Thomas Doyle: Statement

Amazing work by Thomas Doyle. I love the creativity and detail of his miniatures.

You can see more of his work here.

The Dilemma of Buying My First DSLR

With all the brands available in the market right now, choosing my first DSLR camera can be a bit challenging. I finally decided to move from the point-and-shoot territory to the DSLR territory. As a result, I started researching on the types of camera out there and reading a lot of reviews online. I really liked what I read about the Canon Rebel XTi camera. I also stumbled on an interesting article that reveals the truth about the mega pixel myth.

Any tips or advice, my friends?

Bend it like Beckham

Comet, a goldfish, can really bend it like Beckham.

Great Commercials: Part#12

Creative commercial from Qwest.

Life-Like Creations

What you see is not real. These are life-like sculptures of people amazingly crafted by Ron Muek.

Please click on each image to go to its original page. You can see a wonderful gallery by the Washington Post featuring Ron Mueck here.