Amazing Tropical Rainforests of the Sea
Posted by CHARMINGBOY on 1:28 PM
A variety of corals form an outcrop on Flynn Reef, part of the Great Barrier Reef, AustraliaCoral reefs are the largest and most unique underwater structures on planet Earth. These beautiful biological structures are made from calcium carbonate deposition secreted by hundreds of types of corals. Reef-building corals live in clear waters in tropical and sub-tropical parts of world.
According to the WWF: "Roughly one-quarter of coral reefs worldwide are already considered damaged beyond repair, with another two-thirds under serious threat." Not only are coral reefs facing danger from global warming, ocean pollution, overfishing, ocean acidification and various diseases, but the life in and around these reefs is also under threat.
Dead corals: The future of all corals if we keep on polluting and exploiting the seasEven a slight environmental effect can harm the fragile ecosystems of coral reefs. Cyanide fishing, chemically enhanced pesticides, fertilizer runoff and shockwaves from blast fishing are other factors damaging coral ecosystems. Also, sewage water, if not treated properly, is very harmful for growth of algae, and this in turn damages coral reefs.
In fact, even though we might live thousands of miles away from coral reefs, harmful garbage and other runoff water ends up in watersheds which ultimately damage their ecosystems.
We must remember the fact that coral reefs depend upon their surrounding habitats. Also, these reefs are home to a huge variety of other organisms. The list includes worms, seabirds, sponges, echinoderms, crustaceans and even visiting dolphins. In fact, every inch of a coral reef is covered by some or other organisms.The structure of coral reefs is directly related to changing water acidity. Increasing CO2 levels affect these reefs' ability to grow properly. Therefore reefs become less supportive for the organisms that depend on them.

Known as the "rainforests of the sea", coral reefs support the most diverse ocean ecosystems and therefore need our help and attention to survive properly.
In order to let them thrive properly, we might follow this guidance: "Be informed, do not pollute your surrounding and support coral conservation organizations."
Royal fan spends two months KNITTING a wedding cake for him and Kate
Posted by CHARMINGBOY on 4:47 PM
This wedding cake took two months of painstaking work to complete - and it is not even edible.
Royal fan Sheila Carter spent hours every day knitting the three-tiered creation in homage to Kate Middleton and Prince William's nuptials on April 29.
The 'cake' has taken more than 100,000 stitches and has around 300 hand sewn flowers adorning white woolly 'icing'.
Its three tiers are topped by the fabric version of Prince William and his fiance Kate Middleton.


Royal fan Sheila Carter spent hours every day knitting the three-tiered creation in homage to Kate Middleton and Prince William's nuptials on April 29.
The 'cake' has taken more than 100,000 stitches and has around 300 hand sewn flowers adorning white woolly 'icing'.
Its three tiers are topped by the fabric version of Prince William and his fiance Kate Middleton.

Mrs Carter, a retired greengrocer, spent three hours each day creating and adding the final touches to the imitation confectionary.
The 74-year-old great grandmother, from Southampton, Hants, said the work had been a labour of love which took 400 hours.
She said: 'I've been doing it for about three hours a day. My husband's moaning that he hasn't had a cooked meal for weeks.
'I'm a huge fan of the Royal family, especially when Diana was around, and I think William and Kate make a lovely couple.
'I've knitted lots of cakes before for my granddaughters to play with and I just thought "I'm going to knit a wedding cake one day".
'When I started I hadn't really thought about who would be on top but then the engagement was announced I thought it would perfect for William and Kate.'

Three boxes were used as bases for the cake tiers, before being covered with white woolly 'icing' and each flower was individually knitted and sewn on.
Sheila said she has tried to make the couple on the cake as life-like as possible.
She added: "It's not based on a pattern, I just made it up.
'There must be about 300 flowers and that's what really took the time. I should think in each little flower there's probably a couple of hundred stitches.'
Mrs Carter has knitted everything from birthday cakes to a cauliflower for her seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild to play with.
10 Awesome Transparent Sculptures
Posted by CHARMINGBOY on 3:33 PM
This amazing full-size transparent sculpture of Lexus' new $375,000 LFA supercar was constructed by Scu Fujimoto, a noted Japanese architect. The sculpture was displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show, in 2009. What's most impressive is that details like the seats, instruments panel, engine, suspension, and transaxle can all be seen.
Korean artist Jin Young Lu creates transparent sculptures with expressive masks that she partially covers with nicely patterned clothes, and the result is quite astonishing
This is Luke Jerram's glass sculpture of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, from his gorgeous Glass Microbiology series, which includes E. coli, SARS, smallpox and HIV.These transparent glass sculptures were created by the artist, to contemplate the global impact of each disease and to consider how the artificial coloring of scientific imagery affects our understanding of phenomena.
Mark Jenkins is a street artist who makes sculptures from transparent tape and places them in interesting and unexpected places
The Milanese sculptor Benedetta Mori Ubaldini has been living and working from 1991 in London. She says “The pieces I do with chicken wire come from a childlike side of my imagination. The magical power of transparency is capable of giving each piece the lightness of an apparition, a ghostlike quality, like a trance from memory”.
Other sculptures from Mark Jenkins in Washington, DC.
A strange sculpture of a head made of glass.
The artist Kohei Nawa, from Osaka, Japan, transforms the body of an elk by covering it with transparent glass and resin beads, transforming our perception of the original creature.By covering the skin of taxidermy animals with transparent glass spheres, sculptor Kohei Nawa magnifies the underlying surface and distorts the surrounding light to create a pixilated “husk of light.”
The artist Christina Bothwell employs glass, clay, wood, paint and found objects in her revealing sculptures. She includes glass within glass and painting on top of glass. Clay and wood come together to add warmth to many of her creations. Christina is an accomplished artist with many solo and group exhibitions and numerous awards. She was the 2008 Winner of the Virginia A. Groot Foundation Award.
Trapeze artists appear to be flying through the air, horses galloping across open fields, and gymnasts looking as if they were performing impossible twists and turns. Washington glass artist David Bennett uses glass and bronze figures capturing both the shimmering, liquid qualities of the glass and the motion of his subjects
Wonderful Pictures Drawn With a Ballpoint Pen
Posted by CHARMINGBOY on 4:34 PM
They may look like pin-sharp photographs – but these amazing pictures are actually drawings created with the humble ballpoint pen.The stunning pictures, measuring up to 10ft high, were drawn by a rising star of the art world, Juan Francisco Casas. He can use up four 14p ballpoints on one picture, but his prizewinning works already fetch up to £3,750 each.















































