What the World Trade Center in NYC look like now

I've been in Scotland for about five days now. I kinda have my bearings...in the sense that I can get to the university and the grocery store.

Baby Steps!

But because I'm not in America anymore I kinda missed out on all the 9/11 tributes that are happening. Reading updates from Facebook has made me sad because everyone is telling where they were when they found out.

But it made me wonder how the progress on the rebuilding of the World Trade Center in NYC was coming along and what it will eventually look like.

Supposedly, it's going to have tons of space for offices and performing arts..and a mega mall.

Sorry for the ridiculous amount of pictures...I just can't help myself really.

(via the World Trade Center webpage)

(Via The World Trade Center)

(via The World Trade Center)

 The building known as "One World Trade Center" (or 1WTC) is going to be the tallest building in NYC when it's done and the third tallest in the world, which is pretty spiffy. Plus...the height is supposed to be 1,776 feet high (1776 = the year of American Independence). I love nerdy stuff like that!

(via Gothamist.com)

The tallest building in the world is the Burj Dubai, and for comparison here it is with 1WTC (an earlier version I think, but still a good comparison).

(via newspaper.li/freedom-tower)

Here are the artist renderings of what it will eventually look like

(Via The World Trade Center

(Via The World Trade Center)

(via The World Trade Center)

• The World Trade Center's webpage has videos and tons of pictures showing the construction from various months as well as the design and artist renderings.  
• Gothimist.com has articles on the progression, including this one (One World Trade Center Becomes Tallest in Town Today) which has photos.
• Wikipedia has articles, packed with tons of information on the original World Trade Center, 1WTC or Building 1 World Trade Center (the tallest one) and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

The Danish police...are kinda awesome

Oh my gosh, I didn't mean to stay away for sooo long! I've been trying to pack my life into a suitcase...and find actual winter clothes.

It's just that I keep getting distracted, by things I don't need.

And I had to buy a laptop/netbook computer thing for class. I have learned that my personal preference when picking out electronics is: "is it pretty?". The sales men love me.

Since, I'm still packing (I mean, how many jeans do I need anyways?), I'll just post a photo of a Danish police officer being fun.

A Danish police officer skate boarding, via 22 Words

Can we even talk about the fact that they (as in the Danish police) have a facebook page!

Have you ever wondered what the Olympic Rings meant?

Even though NBC is doing the broadcasting of the Olympics in America in a delayed and edited and...incredibly obnoxious fashion (what--you don't yell at Ryan Seacrest?) the basic Olympic stuff gets through. Sort of. If you can wait up for it. And not yell at the inane questions they ask the Olympians. I mean seriously, "How does it feel to win a gold medal?" What are they going to say "Oh, absolutely awful, won't do it again. Can't stand it, darling". Ugh!

There's all sorts of rules about the Olympics, logos, and anything that could link to them. Like, you can't sell Olympic themed merchandise without permission. They're HEAVILY trademarked. Strange but it makes perfect sense.

The Olympic Rings, the five interlocking rings, have a fun back story which I didn't know before I was browsing the internet to avoid thinking about buying a coat (because it's going to cold this winter!). I'm damn good at procrastination.

Olympic Rings via Wikipedia

There are five colors and then the white background that represents all the colors of the countries that competed in the Olympics in 1912. The design was created by Pierre de Coubertin, who also is the founder of the International Olympic Committee and in theory the founder of the modern Olympic games, and the owner of a spectacular mustache.

Pierre de Coubertin, via Wikipedia

Isn't that fun to know. Don't you wish the NBC people talked about stuff like that? Or maybe they do. But I'm asleep by the time that happens.

Paralympic Symbol via Wikipedia

The Paralympics are also happening this summer and this is their flag/symbol. Which is new, from 2003. It's about unity and motion and the colors are the most common flag colors in the world.

Lab 42 made this infographic based on a poll they did from 500 social media users. I only feel bad for not picking up on what an Olympiad was, but I knew everything else question wise. Go me!

Via Lab 42

Links:

• Wikipedia article on the Olympic symbols such as the rings, flags, anthems, medals and mascots
• Wikipedia article on the Paralymic symbols such as the symbol, history, oath and anthem
• Times article, Who Made the Olympic Rings, about Pierre de Coubertin and other tidbits (Nazis and Dunlop tires)
• Pierre de Courbertin Wikipeida page
• Olympic Symbols -The Five Interlocking Rings from the Olympist

Britain during the 1920s

I LOVE old pictures. They're always so interesting! What's also really interesting to me, is while we have "old" houses, bridges, buildings and other structures in America---it's not really as old as some places in Europe or Asia. "Old" kinda becomes relative then.

Tower Bridge and Tower of London on March 1921

So, if you want to look at pictures of England (Britain...I'm not really sure the name thing, I've never figured that out) that were taken between 1919 to 1953, there's a website called "Britain from Above" that has about 95,000 images.

England's Houses of Parliament on June 1926

This is the cool thing (ok, to nerds like me, it's super cool). The company that took all these pictures is called Aerofilms Ltd, which was the first commercial aerial photography company in Britain (founded in 1919). They own about 1.2 million negatives/photographs. But I think only the 95,000 from the website have been digitized. Which is still a lot. But you can see the changes of the English/British landscape during those forty years (which includes World Wars and industrialization). It's pretty amazing.

the Crystal Palace on April 1925

The Crystal Palace was created for the World Fair, and was really one of the first "modern" buildings. All steel and glass. As a random aside. I thought it was awesome (picture wise!).

Blackpool Tower and the Winter Gardens, 1920, look at the Ferris Wheel!

They have the pictures tagged by locations and I went through to see if there were any I recognized by place but I only saw a few. Mostly because I only went to England once so nothing really hit me beyond the touristy places.

Royal Crescent in Bath, 1920

Related articles

Britain from Above: 1919-1953, where the archive is located as well as more information on each picture. 

"Britain from Above" project displays archival photographs, MSNBC photoblog article with pictures and information on the Britain from Above project. 

• Need to Read: Snapshot Wales - fascinating historic aerial photographs go online

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• Scotland from above: New aerial archive rolls back mists of time

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• What Britain used to look like from the air

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• Gazing down on history: early aerial photographs a snapshot of yesteryear

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Want to know what it looks like crossing Niagara Falls?

It's scary. Scary, scary, scary.

Granted, I'm not a daredevil. And heights make me a tad bit nervous.

THIS guy crossed Niagara 

But I digress, Nik Wallenda crossed the Niagara Falls this past Friday. Going from the USA side to the Canadian side in about half an hour. He's from a family that's particularly famous  for walking tightropes and performing acts for Ringling Brothers Circus that would make me ill to even see.

He had to get permission from that state assembly in order to do it (as well as from Canada), wear safety gear, and have a safety team in place. Craaaaaazy.

The most interesting thing I learned from all this was that only 12 people have attempted to even cross the Falls, while one person died during the crossing. I would have thought that number would be much higher...because there's a lot of crazy in this world.

Crossing

P.S. that cable was only two inches wide. Uh-uh. Nope. Never ever.

Extra Links:

• Photos from MSNBC's PhotoBlog, Nik Wallenda completes tightrope walk across Niagara Falls
• Wallenda gets OK to cross the Falls, from Buffalonenews.com, which also talks about ther attempts made to cross the falls
• The Flying Wallendas Facebook page, which is the famed family this man belongs too. 
• NY Times article on the Wallendas, called A Balancing Act in the Story of Aerialists. Specifically about the documentary "The Show Must Go On" which features the family. 
• Wikipedia page about the family, The Flying Wallendas
• Washingpost Article, Flying Wallendas have rich daredevil history, though not without tragedy

Hot Navy Guys for the Win

In celebration of...um...Sundays. The US Navy has released lovely photos of the newest (maybe old ones...I don't know...but they're great) graduation class. Aren't they nice?

I'm not sure of the entire point. Something about climbing a tower and getting a hat while making a hunky man pyramid.

and there's a video!!! What a great country!

Images (and other links):

• originally found on BuzzFeed.com's article The Ultimate Collection of Hot Shirtless Navy Guys Climbing a Monument Covered in Lard
• Guys Next Door: Navy plebes climbing the Herndon Monument
• MSNBC's PhotoBlog of Plebes struggle to climb lard covered monument in Annapolis, Maryland

I want to move to Korea

There's no words, I don't even need to introduce this beyond this: Epic Taekwondo Dance "Battle" Coolness. Ridiculously awesome.

Originally found on 22 Words: Taekwondo Dance Battle

YouTube Channel: Taekwondo Shuffle in Korea

Did you ever wonder...what world leaders do on their break time?

It's not that soccer/football/fut-ball/etc. isn't popular in the USA. I have guy friends who are devoted lovers (mostly of German football).

Hopefully the pic doesn't offend. But it does make me giggle.

The first time I ever experienced football (soccer) like the rest of the world was when i was in England. I was in high school, and our high school trip was to Europe. So we were walking down some road near Trafalgar Square in London, everything was quiet and peaceful and quite pretty. Then BAM--doors open, people are screaming. Complete chaos.

Now, growing up in America I assumed that something disastrous had happened and every (semi-drunk) British man had been called to arms. Like, the queen (bless her) had died. The country had run out of fish and chips, France had invaded or...someone dumped tea into the harbor (again). I wasn't sure...but obviously it was bad right?

So, while still horrified, my friends and I stopped in the sidewalk because this hoard of British men were coming near us. Our teachers and school supervisors were a bit panicked because there were 40+ students and this melee was coming our way. Our Italian bodyguard/tour guide just shrugged.

A couple of us got picked up and carried to the actual square and all I remember is being put on a fountain/lion/thingy, while a once civilized country went to pot.

Original map from CNET.com

Eventually, our Italian guide saunters up, grinning and points to us and says to the British guys around us. "Eh...Americans".

The Brits all nodded and helped us down and waved us on back to our hotel. Which is where we learned that England had won a game in the world cup.

This was the trip where I learned that there was a world cup. And that soccer men take their shirts off (not as much anymore). And that the rest of the world is way into soccer. Waaaaay into it.

Which leads me to this pic...some world leaders watched a game between Chelsea and Bayern Munich. I know Bayern Munich is in Germany because I know enough German people who love this team. And google said Chelsea is English. And that's all I give a pootey-toot about.

David Cameron, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and Jose Manuel Barroso watch at Camp David

Eh...Americans...

Images:
Demotivational Posters.com
Cnet.com
MSNBC PhotoBlog's article "Leaders take time out from G8 to watch shootout in Champions League Final"

How to get a Tiger to the dentist

I've never actually thought about dental care in association with a zoo...but it makes perfect sense. That being said...poor kitty!

Tiger getting a root canal via MSNBC

The tiger lives at the Birmingham Zoo in Alabama (USA). And during a routine medical exam, they discovered his tooth had been broken, so they vets their decided that in order to save the tooth, a root canal was needed. Ouch!

operation, headed by Dr. Gaddis via AL.com

The tiger, whose name is Kumar, is 13 years old and is 235 pounds. He's a Malayan tiger, which is an endangered species.

closeup of the operation from al.com

Links:

1. MSNBC's PhotoBlog Birmingham Zoo's Kumar the Tiger gets a root canal
2. Birmingham Zoo's Malayan tiger gets root canal, slide show and video from AL.com; also has a little information on dental care for zoo animals, Dr. Gaddis's other zoo operations and an article
3. Malayan Tiger information from Wikipedia

What a Supermoon looks like

Last night there was a supermoon. I had never heard of a supermoon so I skipped outside around ten at night to see this phenom. I had two problems of course, lots of trees (we like in an area surrounded by Canopy roads/neighborhoods) and apparently the actual area where i live. The moon was bigger of course, but nothing like some of the area photos that popped up on the news today. Oh well. It was still pretty cool.

Supermoon over Athens, Greece (Temple of Poseidon, Cape Sounion)

I wanted to work for NASA when I was younger, I had TONS of magazines and books about space, stars, black holes. I found the entire thing to be thrilling. And then I thought about the fact that when an astronaut goes out into space, he/she can look out to the left and right and above and see for such a long distance...but that same thought applies to below. Because there's not really ground in space. And that freaked me out and that was pretty much it for my space dreams. Weird right? I can't explain my bizarre thoughts.

Cairo, Egypt (Mohamed Ali Mosque), with the supermoon behind the minaret

NASA's  YouTube page explains that a supermoon is officially called a perigee moon. In this case the moon was 14% larger and about 30% brighter. Got it. Big and shiney.

Also, for those recovering from margaritas or mint julies...Cinco de Derby is over (sadness) and the horse, I'll Have Another, won the 138th Kentucky Derby. It was kinda a neat nod to the day because the winning jockey is from Mexico. Cinco de Derby indeed!

I'll Have Another and winning jockey Mario Gutierrez

Images from : 

Supermoon rises around the world, MSNBC's Photoblog
I'll Have Another wins 138th Kentucky Derby, MSNBC's Photoblog



More Info/Pictures on Supermoons:


Spectacular Supermoon Wows Sky-watchers Around the World
Supermoon illuminates, captivates around the globe
NASA explains the supermoon of May 5

More Info on the Kentucky Derby, I'll Have Another and Mario Gutierrez


I'll Have Another Wins 138th Kentucky Derby

How to get a bear down from a tree (as well as an army officer)

Image from MSNBC's PhotoBlog (via Andy Duann)

The fire departments of the US were pretty busy this week. Crazy pictures too!

Don't worry, the bear is tranquilized and was reported as fine. But this is how you would get a bear down from a tree.

The bear was (in a tree) at the University of Colorado (near the dorms).

Links:
MSNBCs PhotoBlog Tranquilized Bear Falls From a Tree at University of Colorado
Bear Tranquilized In Tree Near Williams Village (UC-Boulder)- with more pictures


Also, two army paratroopers got blown into a tree during an exercise at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington on April 26. The fire department had bring out the ladders to get the guys down.

Photo via MSNBC's PhotoBlog

Links:
Fire crews called in after paratroopers get stuck in a tree

Cool things from last week...

First off...I feel like I need to be friends with these people. I don't even need a back story.

via Texts From Last Night

This is how NASA transports the space shuttle. It's also the last flight of the Discovery space shuttle.

The Titanic has been all over the news because of the anniversary of the sinking of the ship. This was probably the coolest thing I've seen. The iceberg and the Titanic is huge!

Created by Gerry Hofstetter

An $87 million (yes MILLION) dollar house is going on the auction block...and I think that I could totally buy it if I lock everyone else out of the auction room and cut the phone lines so no one can phone in a bid. Totally realistic. I've got about...ummmm 25....dollars.

front doors

model of the house

It has 17 bathrooms, a vineyard, horse stables, and a lake. It's in California...and it's really beige. Seriously, it's empty and every room is beige.

But I suppose I could like beige...87 million dollars of beige.


Of course, my (haha) future beige palace pales in comparison to the most expensive house in the world. Which is about 1 billion or 2 billion. I'm not really sure. Of course, no one's living in that house according to the Daily Mail (which tends to give me a Daily Chuckle...)



Related Links:

• Texts from Last Night
• Last Flight of Discovery space shuttle over Washington D.C. from MSNBC's PhotoBlog
• Gerry Hofstetter, a swiss artist, projected an image of the Titanic on an iceberg, from MSNBC's PhotoBlog
• $87 Million California Mansion heads to the auction block via MSNBC's photoblog
• Inside the World's First Billion Dollar House via Forbes
• World's Most expensive house lies abandoned...because billionaire owners believe it would be bad luck to move in via Daily Mail. 

God's serious about tennis

If you don't know of 22Words, you are so missing out. It's a ridiculously awesome site with the most random and cool things that they find. And it's updated daily! It makes the nerd in me happy.

I busted out laughing over this one (which going through the back archives).

 Source: 22 Words--Tennis player yells at God. God answers...

White House Easter Egg Roll

The fun thing about the government being on Facebook (there is a fun thing about the government) is that they publish photos.

In time for Easter, the White House's Facebook page has pictures of the White House Easter Egg Roll (Historically). Plus a few facts--- For instance, President Rutherford B. Hayes started the Easter Egg Roll in 1878

Easter Egg Roll of 1898. Check out that hat!

Easter Egg Roll of 1903.

The Easter Egg Roll was canceled from 1917-1920 (another fact on the White House Facebook page) because World War I was going on. It was also canceled during 1943-45 because of World War II (and all the rationing).

Easter Egg Roll in the 1920s

Easter Egg Roll of 1939. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt is on the right

Easter Egg Roll of 1956. 

Easter Egg Roll of 2012. How cute are these kids!

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter, start of Passover, or weekend in general. 

Photos are from the White House (Photo) Page on Facebook. If you do follow the link, try and ignore some of the more ridiculous comments. Apparently anyone can get access to FB now- oh well.