A priest was being honored at his retirement dinner after 25 years in the parish. A leading local politician and member of the congregation was chosen to make the presentation and give a little speech at the dinner.

He was delayed, so the priest decided to say his own few words while they waited.

“I got my first impression of the parish from the first confession I heard here. I thought I had been assigned to a terrible place. The very first person who entered my confessional told me he had stolen a television set and, when questioned by the police, was able to lie his way out of it. He had stolen money from his parents, embezzled from his employer, had an affair with his boss’s wife, and taken illegal drugs. I was appalled. But as the days went on I knew that my people were not all like that and I had, indeed, come to a fine parish full of good and loving people.”…

Just as the priest finished his talk, the politician arrived full of apologies at being late. He immediately began to make the presentation and gave his talk. “I’ll never forget the first day our parish priest arrived,” said the politician. “In fact, I had the honor of being the first person to go to him for confession.”

The crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavour returned to earth on Friday morning after spending 16 days in space.

For whoever has seen the 2002 movie “City of God” — based on real stories set in the eponymous slum in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro — a favela can be a scary place, plagued by violent crime.

If you thought Spiderman lives only in Marvel comics and Hollywood movies, think again. Spiderman is real, his name is Jyothi Rai and he lives in India.
The 22-year-old former builder spends most of his time entertaining tourists by acrobatically climbing Chitradurga Fort. He fearlessly and effortlessly goes up 300-feet-high walls without a safety harness and hundreds of eyes watching from down below.
Young mister Rai says he developed his climbing skills by watching monkeys climb trees and trying to reproduce stunts from his favorite films. He hopes he’ll soon be recognized as the world’s greatest climber.
The real Spiderman says he has never wore safety equipment and has never had one accident. He believes his ability to see footholds others can’t is proof he was born to climb. He practices every day and does Yoga to maintain his flexibility.
A big fan of French climber Alain Robert, Jyothi Rai hopes to achieve his success and one day open a school for climbers…

Spiderman Comes from India

If you thought Spiderman lives only in Marvel comics and Hollywood movies, think again. Spiderman is real, his name is Jyothi Rai and he lives in India.
The 22-year-old former builder spends most of his time entertaining tourists by acrobatically climbing Chitradurga Fort. He fearlessly and effortlessly goes up 300-feet-high walls without a safety harness and hundreds of eyes watching from down below.
Young mister Rai says he developed his climbing skills by watching monkeys climb trees and trying to reproduce stunts from his favorite films. He hopes he’ll soon be recognized as the world’s greatest climber.
The real Spiderman says he has never wore safety equipment and has never had one accident. He believes his ability to see footholds others can’t is proof he was born to climb. He practices every day and does Yoga to maintain his flexibility.
A big fan of French climber Alain Robert, Jyothi Rai hopes to achieve his success and one day open a school for climbers.
Watch the video at the bottom, it’s really something!
source: here

Inspired by the hyper realistic paintings of the 15th-Century Flemish masters, Laurie Lipton has developed a unique, decidedly painterly graphic technique using a permanent-point pencil.
At first glance her drawings look like photographs, upon further inspection many thousands of distinct, precise, cross-hatched pencil-strokes, build up the rich and monochromatic tones.
While working exclusively in black and white (“because those are the colours of memories and phantoms” she says) her unsettling and macabre images resonate a slanted psychological realm where rooms are ghost traps filled with yearning souls, secret fears and disturbing memories……

Hyper Realistic Pencil Drawings

Inspired by the hyper realistic paintings of the 15th-Century Flemish masters, Laurie Lipton has developed a unique, decidedly painterly graphic technique using a permanent-point pencil. At first glance her drawings look like photographs, upon further inspection many thousands of distinct, precise, cross-hatched pencil-strokes, build up the rich and monochromatic tones. While working exclusively in black and white (“because those are the colours of memories and phantoms” she says) her unsettling and macabre images resonate a slanted psychological realm where rooms are ghost traps filled with yearning souls, secret fears and disturbing memories.

Toshiro at HDRi Life has been walking the streets of Tokyo, photographing the people and structures of its urban scenery in HDR.
High dynamic range imaging (HDRI or just HDR) is a set of techniques that allows a greater dynamic range of luminances between light and dark areas of a scene than normal digital imaging techniques. The intention of HDRI is to accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from direct sunlight to shadows.
Toshiro’s photos have a unique look and angle. Shot with ultra-wide-angle and fisheye lenses, his photos present a disconcerting landscape of surreal colors and impossibly bent structures that make Japan’s megalopolis look more cold and inhospitable than it really is…

Awesome HDR Photographic Sketches of Tokyo

Toshiro at HDRi Life has been walking the streets of Tokyo, photographing the people and structures of its urban scenery in HDR.
High dynamic range imaging (HDRI or just HDR) is a set of techniques that allows a greater dynamic range of luminances between light and dark areas of a scene than normal digital imaging techniques. The intention of HDRI is to accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from direct sunlight to shadows.
Toshiro’s photos have a unique look and angle. Shot with ultra-wide-angle and fisheye lenses, his photos present a disconcerting landscape of surreal colors and impossibly bent structures that make Japan’s megalopolis look more cold and inhospitable than it really is.

Think your baby boy is going to grow up to be as hard as Chuck “Ice Man” Liddell? Why not ensure that he becomes a badass by buying him some badass baby toys?

If he lives through it, he’ll live through anything.

All kidding aside, this is some pretty impressive fine art…

Toys For Your Badass Baby

Think your baby boy is going to grow up to be as hard as Chuck “Ice Man” Liddell? Why not ensure that he becomes a badass by buying him some badass baby toys?

If he lives through it, he’ll live through anything.

All kidding aside, this is some pretty impressive fine art.

Varalakshmi Vratham pooja audio Songs & track list

We should stop being proud by saying that the Hindu faith has a wonderful tradition of Shakti. Female divinity not found in any other religions. The very same Hindus who are proud to be part of this great tradition consider their daughters as a burdens.

Today is Varlakshmi Vratham a popular festival of married ladies in the Southern States of India –Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and also Maharashtra.

Married females are doing this fast because the name Varalakshmi itself can be interpreted in two ways. In one sense Varalakshmi is one who grant boons. In another,she is the Goddess who is invited into the home and honoured. Different types of benefits that will accrue thanks to performing the Varalakshmi puja are “dhan” (money), “dhanyam” (grains or food), “arogyam” (health), “sampath” (property), “sathsanthanam” (virtuous offspring) and “dheerga saumangalyam” (longevity of the husband).

How to do the pooja:

The day of the Vratham, make the house very clean and set rangoli on the floors, set up an area about 1 feet in distance across and height and one that place a plate spread the rice in it. On the rice, place a small Silver small pot (or) any other good pot. Decorate the pot applying it with Sandalwood, Kumkum, Flowers and a Coconut smeared with Turmeric powder. Chant the Sri Lakshmi Prayer and finally dedicate sweets towards Sri Lakshmi. Before that, tie a small thread that is smeared with Turmeric with 9 knots in it and keep this towards the pot. After the offerings are made, tie the knotted thread around the neck.After the puja is over, give the Turmeric and Kumkum to everyone and tie the thread around the right hand.

List of Varalakshmi vratham pooja audio Songs

1. Aarati Belagire Naariyarella
2. Janma Nooru Saaladu
3. Ksheera Sagardi
4. Mangapuradali
5. Nodu Nodu Srilakshmi
6. Tingala Tilisiri Kangala
7. Vaara Bantamma Shukravaara
8. Varadaate Lakshmi

Varalakshmi Vratham Tracklist

• Sri vara Lakshmi Vratham – Artist : Vadula Nageswara Sarma
• Sri Vara Lakshmi Vratha Katha – Artist: T. Srinivas
• Asheervachanam- Artist: Vedula Nageswara Sarma

Varalakshmi Vratham Aarathi: