The world really IS flat!

An eye-popping optical illusion created by Parisian artist François Abelanet is on display outside Paris City Hall. This work of art looks like a giant grass sphere, but it's actually flat.


Watch this video in French that describes the construction of this anamorphic 'global park'.

"Vous êtes ailleurs" ou à l'Hôtel de Ville ? by mairiedeparis

What if Earth had rings?

This is a really cool representation of what it might be like if the Earth had rings around it like Saturn.

Ottawa LRT tunnel to go under Queen Street

The tunnel for Ottawa's $2.1-billion light rail transit project will now go under Queen Street instead of Albert Street as part of modifications designed to keep the project under budget.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said the move to Queen Street will allow the tunnel to be built at a depth of 15 to 16 metres instead of 39 to 40 metres. The LRT station at the Rideau Canal also rises from 38 metres to 29 metres.

The cost of the project also drops to $1.74 billion in 2009 dollars, or $2.1 billion in inflation adjusted dollars.

Who needs humans?

United Nations condemns gay discrimination

The United Nations issued its first condemnation of discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgender people on Friday in a cautiously worded declaration hailed by supporters including the United States as an historic moment.

Members of the UN Human Rights Council narrowly voted in favour of the resolution put forward by South Africa, against strong opposition from African and Islamic countries.

"You just witnessed a historic moment at the Human Rights Council and within the UN system with a landmark resolution protecting human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people," U.S. ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe told reporters after the vote.Members of the UN Human Rights Council narrowly voted in favour of the resolution put forward by South Africa, against strong opposition from African and Islamic countries.

Homophobic hate crimes on the rise, UN human rights chief warns

John Amaechi awarded O.B.E. by Queen Elizabeth

Former NBA player John Amaechi was awarded the Order of the British Empire by the Queen in her Birthday Honours List. It’s a big deal in Britain, handed out to a select few individuals for their chivalry. Amaechi was given the honor for his work with kids. 


In February 2007, Amaechi released a book, Man in the Middle, published by ESPN Books (ISBN 1933060190), which discusses his career and life as a closeted professional athlete. Amaechi is the firstNBA player to speak publicly about being gay.

It's all how you look at it

With a few supplies and some careful cutting and pasting, you can build this gravity-defying structure that won the 2010 Best Illusion of the Year Contest. Created by Japanese mathematical engineer Kokichi Sugihara, the magnetlike slopes illusion is cleverly designed to make marbles roll "uphill." It's a trick of perspective.

“I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggonit, people like me”

“Accentuate the positive,” the 1944 song by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen cheerfully implored us. 

Plug “positive thinking” into Amazon.com, and you will find a never-ending supply of products designed to help us see life through rose-colored lenses.

In fact, however, positivity is not all it is cracked up to be. Although having an upbeat attitude undoubtedly has its benefits, gains such as better health and wealth from high spirits remain largely undemonstrated. What is more, research suggests that optimism can be detrimental under certain circumstances.

Beyoncé Live at Billboard Music Awards 2011

Run The World (Girls) 

Be sure to watch the performance after the testimonials about Beyoncé - at the 3:00 minute mark. It is an incredible combination of live performance and LED staging.

7 Ways to Cultivate Your Creativity - How to unlock your untapped ingenuity

People who are highly creative often have odd thoughts and behaviors—and vice versa.

Both creativity and eccentricity may be the result of genetic variations that increase cognitive disinhibition—the brain’s failure to filter out extraneous information.
When unfiltered information reaches conscious awareness in the brains of people who are highly intelligent and can process this information without being overwhelmed, it may lead to exceptional insights and sensations.



This slide show presents an interesting discussion of what it means to be creative.

3. Connect Brainset:

Here, you relax your focus so that you can see the connections between very different types of objects or concepts. This process of so-called divergent thinking helps you generate multiple solutions to a problem rather than just one. The more ideas you can come up with for a difficult conundrum, the more likely one of them will work. This brainset enables you to "think outside the box," and generate flashes of insight. Use it, for example, to solve the following problem: Connect all the dots in the array pictured above using four straight lines, and without lifting your pencil from the page.