Very Sweet and Cute Animals: July 2011

Friday, July 29, 2011

wild tiger

Friday, July 22, 2011

The Nile crocodile has a somewhat deserved reputation as a vicious man-eater. The proximity of much of its habitat to people means run-ins are frequent. And its virtually indiscriminate diet means a villager washing clothes by a riverbank might look just as tasty as a migrating wildebeest. Firm numbers are sketchy, but estimates are that up to 200 people may die each year in the jaws of a Nile croc

nile crocodile

nile crocodile

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Alexander Calder mobile

Last year's "Antiques Roadshow" opened with its first $1 million-dollar appraisal for some pieces of carved Chinese jade. This year's season, which started earlier this week, began with the second highest valuation in the popular TV show's 15-year history, for an Alexander Calder mobile was appraised at $400,000 to $1 million. In the episode which premiered on Monday, decorative arts appraiser Christopher Kennedy examined a colorful metal mobile made by Alexander Calder made around 1950.

Alexander Calder mobile

Alexander Calder jewelry

It is stunning.As modern today as it was in the 1930s and '40s.
The rapturous jewelry of American artist Alexander Calder (1898-1976) is on display today through June 15 at the Norton Museum of Art, before moving to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Calder may be one of the world's most beloved sculptors. His mobiles and other three-dimensional pieces evoke childhood memories of circuses, mechanical toys and colorful mobiles. An American innovator who showed a talent for sculpture at the age of 11, he studied mechanical engineering, physics and kinetics, later creating exquisite wind driven mobiles and motorized devices, in addition to painting and sculpture.

Alexander Calder jewelry

courtesy of calder foundation /ARS,NY

courtesy of calder foundation /ARS,NY

alexander

alexander calder

alexander calder

Who was Alexander Calder?
Alexander Calder (July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor and artist most famous for inventing the mobile. In addition to mobile and stabile sculpture, Alexander Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, tapestry, jewelry and household objects.

alexander calder

Confusing Signs

Neuter Your Pets Funny Sign

Funny Bathroom Sign

Gregor Mendel

Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) is often known as the founder of modern genetics. He was an Augustian monk born in a small village in Heinzendorf (now Czechoslovakia). His parents, Anton and Rosina Mendel named him Johann. Johann was a good student and very academic, but unfortunately, when he got older he could not complete his education because his family was very poor and could not afford to put him in high school. In 1843, Mendel decided to join an Augustinian monastery in the town of Brunn so that he could continue his studies on his own. There, he was required to choose a new name, so he became Gregor Johann Mendel and became a priest in 1847. At the monastery, the priest in charge sent Mendel to the University of Vienna so that he could study physics, chemistry, zoology, and mathematics. After his return to Brunn, Mendel’s interest in evolution and gardening led him to take up the hobby of hybridization. He also carried out a series of experiments on pea plants in the beautiful garden that surrounded the monastery