Surf at Your own Risk  Far from the beaches of Hawaii, big wave surfers McNamara and Mamala were the first surfers to ride an Alaskan Glacier Tsunami. Waves sheer ice faces of over 400 feet calved away from Child’s Glacier, crashing into the waters below and setting off left- and right-breaking waves that peel across a pebble-bottom river bank for more than 300 yards, offering rides of up to one minute long. Surfers wait up to several hours in icy water for a glacier to calve. When it splits off, it produces a deafining eruption of water, with chunks of ice exploding into the air, producing a 20-25 foot wave. The surfers then chase down the wave on their jet ski and attempt to ride with out being injured or killed by ice and rock debris. The forecast for surfing these bizarre waves looks good for awhile, with global warming contributing to a massive increase in glacial calving. Child’s Glacier is located on the Copper River, in South-Central Alaska, located near the town of Cordova, Alaska.  (more…)

Natives target the photographers  flying overhead, with their bows and arrows. Acre State, Brazil- Images from Survival International Indian’s of the Envira, who have never before had any contact with the outside world, photographed during an overflight in May 2008, as they react to the over flight at their camp in the Terra Indigena Kampa e Isolados do Envira, Acre state, Brazil, close to the border with Peru.  (more…)

It’s where the ‘four-knights opening’ could inspire a rap song.

The Hip-Hop Chess Federation holds tournaments that combine chess, poetry, and martial arts. Founded by a lecturer and a visual artist, its last tournament in October was frequented by multiple founders of the Wu-Tang Clan, members of Hieroglyphics and Living Legends Crew, and black-belt Ralek Gracie. Chess master and child prodigy Josh Waitzkin didn’t play - it wouldn’t be fair - but instead, he spoke on a panel.

Many rappers have a tendancy to use chess metaphors in their songs. Rap star GZA once opined, in ‘Queen`s Gambit’: You know, war, capturing, thinking, strategy; Planning, music, it’s hip-hop, and sports; It’s life, it’s reality.` That song was only one of the songs on his 2005 album. It was titled, ‘Grandmasters.’

This federation was founded, first and foremost, to help educate young people. Chess, martial arts, and poetry all involve strategy, deep thinking, patience, focus - all the things that are so underemphasized in popular culture. Their chess tournaments are often mixed, for example, with symposiums on non-violence.

It’s a window to the world.

More specifically, it’s a window between London and New York City, and it’s called the Telectroscope. It claims to be a tunnel, buried through the earth, connecting the two cities. If you stand on one side in Brooklyn, you can see out the other end, in London City Hall.

It isn’t quite the first of its kind. In 2003, people began to talk about a system called ‘Tholos,’ which aimed to network the cities of the world. Huge cylindrical screens would connect London to Vienna, Warsaw to Copenhagen, New York to Shanghai. But Tholos never got off the ground - whereas the Telectroscope goes straight through it.

Brits and New Yorkers alike have been waving hello for over a week now. The Telectroscope is an ‘art project,’ running for a mere month. As the story goes, the ‘tunnel’ was begun a hundred years ago, by the artist’s great-grandfather, Alexander Stanhope St. George. The reality is actually just some high-speed broadband - but the tunnel story is more fun.

It was found in an English garage.

This seemingly pickled dragon was also found with technical papers, in German. The papers suggested that in the 19th century, German scientists had created the creature - most likely out of india rubber, or wax - in order to hoax their British counterparts at the Natural History Museum. Supposedly, it was rejected and sent to be destroyed - but was intercepted by a porter in the process, and saved.

But it wasn’t just a fake - it was a marketing scheme. The entire story - the garage, the porter, the duplicitous 19th century scientists - was actually created out of whole cloth by a British fantasy author. The dragon, meanwhile, were created by modern model makers. But in the resulting media furor, he managed to finally score a book deal - about, of course, dragons.

It even has an umbilical cord. And hoax or no hoax, it was enough to make a few scattered dreamers very, very happy.

It is a house fit for either a genius, or a 12-year old.

The home of Teller - legally, he has only one name - includes trick mirrors, human skulls, and the inevitable secret passages. Medieval torture racks come outfitted with artificial skeletons, and he still has a coffin in which he was stuffed for his 55th birthday. There is also a talking bear, which can tell you which card you randomly picked out of a deck.

Occasionally, his whimsy gives way to sentiment and wisdom. A taxi cab receipt for a drunk Buster Keaton is framed on the wall. There are also busts of Teller’s parents: Joe Teller was no insignificant man himself, painting his way through a Depression-era, hobo-style existence. Teller has also had a portrait painted of himself, of course - in the style of Dorian Gray.

Penn, of course, has his own house. It’s up the road.

In Japan, square footage is worth its weight in gold.

They are the province of travelers, and Japanese businessmen who miss their last train. These hotels are available all over major Japanese cities - especially Tokyo, where even cemeteries are housed in skyscrapers. These hotels closely resemble youth hostels - the sleeping berths are two meters long at the most, and maybe a meter wide. You can roll down a screen for privacy. But this is Japan, so the entire operation is often sleek, and spotless.

They are actually quite cozy. For anywhere from 3-5000 yen (~$30-50), you get a bathrobe, free showers, and often wireless internet. The capsules themselves come with radio, alarms, and a television. Toiletries like razors, shaving cream, and so forth are also available - allowing hungover Japanese to show up at the office the next morning, looking fresh as a rose.

The only thing they can’t guarantee is that your bunkmate won’t snore.

It’s a weapon of war that’s turned over a new leaf.

Tankballing is paintball, but with tanks. The paint pellets: 40mm. The site: a former WWII bombing range in Leicestershire, England. The weapon of choice: a retrofitted 17-ton war machine. Two hours will cost you as much as a few tanks of gas. Spectators are welcome.

The Brits invented the tank: it was called a landship, a ‘behemoth.’ Tanks helped defeat Germany in World War I, and German embarrassment about that defeat spawned the panzers, and the tank graveyard that became the Battle of Kursk. Tanks are iconic, mechanical beasts that long served as a symbol of liberation - just as often as they crushed dissent.

But sometimes, war can take a backseat to shooting brightly-colored balls of paint at your mates.

They may be the most stylish carpenters in the world.

They are Journeymen - Gesellen. Since the 13th century, these young German tradesmen have gone ‘auf der Walz,‘ or taken to the road with little more than a walking stick and their tools. Then, as now, they always were their trademark, tailored Kluft: bellbottom pants, double-breasted vests with gigantic buttons, and a black slouch hat. In modern times, fedoras are very popular.

They wander the earth, for at least three years, doing their job. Stonemasons ogle the technique of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and carpenters survey the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. They take odd jobs, and are often put up and supported by strangers, cafe owners and farmers who are inevitably impressed with their skills. They’re almost always the most interesting people at parties.

There are rules. No Journeyman can come home: not within fifty kilometers of their hometown. No cell phones. Always wear the Kluft - of which they have a second, less expensive pair, for work. And it may or may not be a rule to look fantastically snazzy at all times.

In the whole world, there are only hundreds left: estimates range from 250 to 600. And yet, if you ask, many of them have tales of running into each other - from Morocco to New Zealand.

The Serpent Mother is apocalyptic, and beautiful.

Her metal skeleton stretches 168′ long, and she breathes fire. Her entire being is shot through with propane, which erupts into flame at forty-one distinct spots along her spine. The flames are controlled by audience participants. So is the hydraulic head, and jaws.

It was first seen at Burning Man. This is not at all surprising, for an art-fueled festival of bohemian debauchery held annually in the middle of the desert. A shared love of fire, too, made it a match made in heaven. But the Serpent Mother has bigger plans: a world tour.

The Flaming Lotus Girls - the creators of the Serpent Mother - are raising funds. One of their methods is to sell calendars, displaying both the men and women metalworkers posing sexily, while wielding arc welders and sledgehammers.