Unusual Life

Unbelievable photo set from Boston.com

It is Carnival Season in many countries around the world with a Roman Catholic heritage. Celebrations and parades put on just prior to the observance of Lent. Tomorrow will be the Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but the past couple of weeks have seen parades and celebrations throughout Europe, the Caribbean and South America - notably Venice, Italy and Brazil. Collected here are just a glimpse of some of the elaborate celebrations of this Carnival season.

More fabulous photos about the Carnival on Boston.com

Bill Gates, as Microsoft Corporation Chairman (left), looks at an empty oversized bowl on a giant kitchen table, accompanied by Portugal’s Science and Technology minister Mariano Gago at the knowledge and Living Science pavilion at the Parque das Nacoes, Lisbon, Portugal.

Want your own big furniture? Great Big Computer Key-stool

World’s Largest Chair

World’s Largest Useless Things

Erika Nelson’s cool traveling roadshow: World’s Largest Collection of the World’s Smallest Versions of the World’s Largest Things

Bill enjoying his retirement hobnobbing with the rich and famous:

Marlow Harris and Bill Gates

Bill relaxing on a table in his office:

<

To celebrate Lincoln’s birthday and President’s Day, the editors at RoadsideAmerica.com have selected their favorite Lincoln tourist attractions and exhibits. From a much longer list, these 12 leapt onto the stage of infamy — from the Lincoln Watermelon Monument to the bronzed foundation of Lincoln’s Boyhood Home. There’s even one unmentionable exhibit (which they’ve chosen to mention, of course).

Buy Abraham Lincoln candy

Unusual Lincoln objects at Brown University

Abe Lincoln and Jesus Shrine

Lincoln Watermelon Monument

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Here’s a very red room we stayed in last August at The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, California. They named it the Tack Room. I had red leather wall covering, red leather bedspreads, red stained wood walls, pink marble pedestal sinks, and lots more red stuff.
I wonder who’s staying there this Valentines Day?

See our full set of photos from the extraordinary Madonna Inn

The Madonna Inn has 109 unique theme rooms where you can stay, as well as multiple odd over-the-top dining environments. You can/should see photos of all 109 rooms here.

Click "Tour Our Rooms Online" at the top right, and then the "Next " button under the photos to tour through each room.

Grotto of the Redemption was the second folk-art installation I remember visiting as a child. It was a fascinating place, made completely out of rocks and gemstones by Father Paul Matthias Dobberstein.

It’s said that Father Dobberstein became critically ill with pneumonia. As he fought for his life he prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary to intercede for him for the grace of health. He promised to build a shrine in her honor of he lived.

And he did.

Official Grotto of the Redemption website

Brian & Eileen’s Wedding Music Video. from LOCKDOWN projects on Vimeo.

At first glance, these images look like painted landscapes covered in snow. However, if you look a little more closely you will see that the landscape is made of bacon and other cold cuts. These aren’t paintings but true photos! Also everything you can see in the photograph is made of real food! Pictures were photographed by Carl Warner, a photographer who works in London, and who made specialty of these food landscapes or how I like to call them - ‘foodscapes’. In recent years he has been commissioned by many advertising agencies throughout Europe to produce his distinctive images for clients in the food industry. Each scene is photographed in layers from foreground to background.

This is actually part of an advertising campaign for HSBC Bank! Their ad company had an aerial photo of city skyscrapers attached to the bottom of this pool, in attempt to raise global warming awareness. I just love the idea! It makes me wonder what other pictures would look really cool at the bottom of a pool!

From Neatorama

• Our friend David Gedye, who is always leading projects he cooks up with mind blowing results, just sent us an email for his newest project, a collaboration with CNN and Photosynth for an ambitious presidential inauguration project. He writes:

You’ll be interested to know that I’m on my way to Washington DC to help CNN with an ambitious presidential inauguration project that we cooked up a month ago.

The idea is to use Photosynth (the 3D photo technology I’ve been working on for the last few years) to capture the exact moment when the President-Elect becomes the President. We are using about 10 CNN photographers and thousands of people in the crowd, who are being asked to send us their photo of “the moment”.

If all goes well there will be a “synth” on the CNN website a few hours after the inauguration, and if it’s great, they will show it on their big Magic Wall on their TV broadcast sometime during the afternoon or evening of inauguration day. CNN is promoting the project on air already, so if you tune in today you’ll see graphics for “The Moment”, and Photosynth being demonstrated by Tom Foreman.

Exciting stuff! You can see how CNN is promoting it at http://cnn.com/themoment

• You may remember the post that I wrote for UnusualLife.com with the video embedded of the Synth that David Gedye did of our living room for the Photosynth release Demo/How-To video last August. Here is a link to the article with the video.

Yes, at Unusual Life, we love our Legos too ! Legobama? http://sfweekly.com/slideshow/view/222857/1

Link to Unusual architecture in Michigan

Writing about Elvis so I don’t have to, Seattle/Bellevue Realtor Debra Sinick writes about the recent tour she took of Elvis’ Honeymoon Hideaway in Palm Springs. It wasn’t an agents or brokers open, but an open house for the public to take an inside peek at the home Elvis and Priscilla used as their Honeymoon Hideaway.

Debra works with Windermere and has her own blog Eastside Real Estate Buzz and also writes for the Seattle PI’s Real Estate Professionals.

Her post provides me with the perfect segue to our premiere Elvis event in Seattle, The Elvis Invitationals!

Please join me on January 24th, 2009 for our 12th Annual Elvis competition to find Seattle’s finest Elvi.

Performing again for your viewing and listening pleasure is Dino Macris, husband of real estate educator and marketing guru, Denise Lones.

I know you want to come! It’s on Saturday, January 24th at Club Motor and advance tickets available through Brown Paper Tickets. Also appearing is professional Elvis Steve Adams and his band Kentucky Rain.

Thank you. Thankyouverymuch!

Design Within Reach is having their annual Champagne Chair Contest.

Use the cork, foil, cage and label from no more than two Champagne bottles to make miniature chairs, the more elaborate or unusual the better. Glue is the only permitted adhesive. You are not permitted to use any additional materials—including tape and or paint. Check out their website to see some examples.

Email your submissions to them by January 9th and you can win some fancy modern designer chairs and the chance to have your “chair” shown in their traveling show.

So get busy!

• HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009 !!! •

• Earlier today we did this in Seattle…

• Bad Wig and Ugly Tracksuit Walk around Greenlake on Thursday, January 1st. This is a yearly New Years Day tradition. We meet at Noon on New Years Day at the Kiddy Pool to walk around the lake, every year, so if you missed it, be there on New Years Day 2010.

What a great way to get the New Year off on the right foot.

Luckily, wigs do offer some insulation from hangovers and there’s no need to fret about bad bed-head.

Rain-or-shine, umbrella’s & kids ok. Meet at the Kiddy Pool on the North end of the Lake at noon. I’m pretty sure we’ll all be pretty easy to spot.

• See lots more photos and a video here.

It’s the New Year! Sure, the big December blockbuster holidays are over. But, the rest of the year has no shortage of neat and unique holidays to brighten up those cold winter days. While you are stuck indoors and have a little time on your hands, explore some of the years less-heralded days at Holiday Insights.

And don’t miss your opportunity to download the original Rangerville 2009 calendar, full of art cars, folk art, installation art, sculptures, bizarre and unusual holidays and wackyness for the whole year.