Reflections of Paris

Joanna Lemańska, who goes by the handle MissCoolpics, uses naturally-occurring reflections to capture unique views and unexpected moments of urban life. Particularly interested in architecture and the city, the art historian and self-taught photographer is constantly in search of original angles and fresh perspectives. Here, a few of her futuristic and incredible snapshots in the City of Light.

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Waterworld: Cities Of The Future

For years, scientists have warned about the danger of rising sea levels — and thanks to Pittsburgh artist Nickolay Lamm, we can now see what the impact might look like in real life. Armed with stock photos of popular U.S. sites and projection maps from Climate Central, Lamm painstakingly re-created each scene as it would appear after a 25-foot rise in sea level. The good news is, it will take hundreds of years to get there (levels are only projected to rise 2 to 6 feet by the year 2100) but Lamm says he’s hoping to draw attention to the threat of climate change now, before the worst effects take hold.

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Google Maps Adds Street Views Inside Japan Nuclear Zone

Google Street View shows images from Japan’s ghost towns deserted after nuclear disaster.

Please click here for Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant Disaster.

In this screenshot made from the Google Maps website provided Wednesday, March 27, 2013, by Google, showing a crushed building with the roof atop in March 2013, in Namie, Japan, a nuclear no-go zone where former residents have been unable to live since they fled from radioactive contamination from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant two years ago. Google Street View is giving the world a rare glimpse into Japan’s eerie ghost town, following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami which sparked a nuclear disaster that has left the area uninhabitable. The photo technology pieces together digital images captured by Google’s camera-equipped vehicle and allows viewers to take virtual tours of locations around the world, including faraway spots like the South Pole and fantastic landscapes like the Grand Canyon, or in this case contaminated deserted townscapes. (AP Photo/Google) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

In this screenshot made from the Google Maps website provided Wednesday, March 27, 2013, by Google, showing stranded ships left as a testament to the power of the tsunami which hit the area, near a road in March, 2013, in Namie, Japan, a nuclear no-go zone where former residents have been unable to live since they fled from radioactive contamination from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant two years ago. Google Street View is giving the world a rare glimpse into Japan’s eerie ghost town, following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami which sparked a nuclear disaster that has left the area uninhabitable. The photo technology pieces together digital images captured by Google’s camera-equipped vehicle and allows viewers to take virtual tours of locations around the world. (AP Photo/Google) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

FILE – In this Dec. 29, 2012 file photo, the Unit 1 reactor building, left, and Unit 2 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant are seen through a bus window in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. Tokyo Electric Power Co. acknowledged in a report Friday that it was not prepared to deal with the earthquake and tsunami that ravaged northeast Japan in March 2011, causing triple-meltdowns at its Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, Pool, File)

In this March, 2013 image released March 27, 2013, by Google, showing its camera-equipped vehicle as it moves through Namie town in Japan, a nuclear no-go zone where former residents have been unable to live since they fled from radioactive contamination from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant two years ago. Google Street View is giving the world a rare glimpse into Japan’s eerie ghost town, following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami which sparked a nuclear disaster that has left the area uninhabitable. The photo technology pieces together digital images captured by Google’s fleet of camera-equipped vehicles and allows viewers to take virtual tours of locations around the world, including faraway spots like the South Pole and fantastic landscapes like the Grand Canyon, or in this case deserted townscapes.(AP Photo/Google) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

In this screenshot made from the Google Maps website provided Wednesday, March 27, 2013, by Google, showing tsunami-hit cars and houses are seen in March, 2013, in Namie, Japan, a nuclear no-go zone where former residents have been unable to live since they fled from radioactive contamination from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant two years ago. Google Street View is giving the world a rare glimpse into Japan’s eerie ghost town, following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami which sparked a nuclear disaster that has left the area uninhabitable. (AP Photo/Google) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

In this screenshot made from the Google Maps website provided Wednesday, March 27, 2013, by Google, a collapsed house is seen, top, in March, 2013, with its location pinpointed on a map below, in Namie, Japan, a nuclear no-go zone where former residents have been unable to live since they fled a radiation spewing from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant two years ago. Google Street View is giving the world a rare glimpse into Japan’s eerie ghost town, following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami which sparked a nuclear disaster that has left the area uninhabitable. (AP Photo/Google) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

In Photos: Gauchos (Cowboys) In Action

Today I learn a new word which – gauchos.

In the U.S.A. people call them cowboys but in Latin Americas they are called  ‘gauchos’.

These gauchos from all over Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil visit Montevideo to participate in the Criolla Week to win the best rider award.

(Please click here for the images)

GE13: DAP’s Rocket Has Reached PAS’s Moon

GE13: “TUMBANG PAKATAN!” – PAS’s Latest War Cry Slogan

During the PRU13 candidate nomination in Marang, Terengganu this morning, PAS supporters grouped together in the middle of the road chanting words of war cry to taunt the Barisan Nasional supporters.

Let us listen to what they say:

I really love this part of their war cry:

Tumbang, Tumbang ! TUMBANG PAKATAN !

That shows how confused PAS supporters are that they even shouted, “TUMBANG PAKATAN!” 🙂

This reminds me of this ‘interesting’ photo during the KL 112:

There can’t be four qiblat in the Merdeka Stadium. So, which direction is the real qiblat? (Photo from Paneh Miang)

So, no wonder today they are chanting for, “TUMBANG PAKATAN” 🙂

That is why we should not vote PAKATAN RAKYAT!

Vote for BARISAN NASIONAL!

Credit to Uncle Din Turtle: http://dinturtle.blogspot.com/2013/04/hot-marang-kumpulan-sorak-pas-tersasul.html

Earthquake Hit China’s Sichuan, Killing At least 71

A view of a collapsed building with a sign reading, “Lushan Kindergarden” after a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit southwestern China’s Sichuan province is seen in this April 20, 2013 still image taken from TV. The earthquake hit the province on Saturday, killing at least 28 people and injuring at least 100 close to where a big quake killed almost 70,000 people in 2008. REUTERS/China Central Television (CCTV) via REUTERS TV

China’s Sichuan province was hit by an earthquake on Saturday morning April 20, 2013.

The official Xinhua news agency reported that at least 71 people were killed while more than 2200 others were injured.

The earthquake occurred at 8.02 a.m. (0002 GMT) in Lushan county near Ya’an city and the epicenter had a depth of 12 km (7.5 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said.

China’s seismological bureau measured the earthquake at magnitude-7 while the U.S. Geological Survey at 6.6.

It was reported that nearly all of the structures in Longmen village collapsed and that nearly 10,000 houses were damaged throughout the county.

Water and electricity were cut off in Lushan.

The shallow depth of the earthquake caused greater damages to the area.

Hard-hit parts of the county remained unreachable by road, with several highways cut off.

On May 12, 2008, a devastating 7.9-magnitude quake struck the nearby area leaving more than 90,000 people dead or missing and presumed dead.

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Photos And Video: Texas’s West Fertilizer Co. Explosion Aftermath

At least forteen people were killed in the West Fertilizer Co. plant explosion, 80 miles from Texas on April 17, 2013. (Please click here for Photos And Videos: Deadly Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion)

Authorities were still calling the blast site a crime scene though they said they strongly suspected an accident.

Reuters reported that accoding to the authorities:

“There was no indication of foul play in the fire or the blast it triggered Wednesday night at West Fertilizer Co, a privately owned retail facility that was last inspected two years ago.”

The explosion badly damaged or destroyed nearly 175 homes and other buildings, including a fifty unit apartment complex, a nursing home and schools.

Dozens more homes were reported to have been damaged.

Please click here for the photos and videos:

Photos And Videos: Deadly Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion

In this Instagram photo provided by Andy Bartee, a plume of smoke rises from a fertilizer plant fire in West, Texas on Wednesday, April 17, 2013. An explosion at a fertilizer plant near Waco Wednesday night injured dozens of people and sent flames shooting high into the night sky, leaving the factory a smoldering ruin and causing major damage to surrounding buildings. (AP Photo/Andy Bartee)

A massive explosion hit the West Fertilizer Co. plant some 18 miles north of Waco, Texas on Wednesday, April 17, 2013.

CNN reported that:

“The Wednesday night blast shook houses 50 miles away and measured as a 2.1-magnitude seismic event, according to the United States Geological Survey”.

At least 160 people were injured in this massive blast.

So far they are not sure how many people were killed but at least up to 15 people were reportedly killed including two emergency medical personnel.

West Mayor Tommy Muska forewarned on Wednesday night:

“There are a lot of people that got hurt. There are a lot of people that will not be here tomorrow.”

This explosion is far more greater than the ones in Boston during the marathon on April 15, 2013. (Please click the here for the photos and videos of the Boston Marathon tragedy)

“It was like a nuclear bomb went off,” said West Mayor Tommy Muska.

It is said that 10 to 15 buildings have been totally demolished and probably 50 homes were heavily damaged.

People expect more to be found dead because this is a very big one and some people might still be trapped in collapsed buildings.

Yahoo News reported that, Texas Public Safety Department spokesman D.L. Wilson said about half the town, about eight to 10 blocks, had been evacuated and that “we might even have to evacuate on the other side of town” if winds shifted.

The cause of the explosion is not immediately known.

It is really sad and scary to see another huge explosion just two days after the ones in Boston.

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GE13:Should BN Politicians Who Are Not Chosen As Candidates Support PR?

Barisan Nasional’s leader, Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Sri Mohammad Najib Bin Tun Abdul Razak has announced the BN’s candidates for the coming 13th General Election.

I’m sure that the chosen ones are happy to have been chosen but I’m not sure if all of the BN’s politicians who are not chosen as candidates are happy for their teammates and will still work hard for the party during the campaign period.

It is a pity that when this happens, there are politicians who had not been nominated as candidates will sabotage their teammates and even vote for the oppositions as a revenge.

That is indeed a very bad thing to do and they will not gain anything by doing so.

Imagine what will they feel if others do that to them later and what will happen if the oppositions win the election.

And when that happened, sometimes BN lost in the election as in some cases during the 12th General Election.

But some politicians are very selfish and only think about themselves; not their party, the people or their country.

Before the nomination day, they told people that the oppositions will destroy the country and when they are not chosen, some will talk bad things about BN, sabotage their teammates or campaign for the oppositions or even join the oppositions parties together with their supporters.

Of course they must be sad because they feel that they have worked very hard and done very well and deserved to be nominated as a candidate but adults always tell children like me, we cannot always get what we wanted.

As I wrote earlier, revenge won’t bring any good to the party and politicians must be faithful to their party if they think that their party is the best to lead the country.

My advice to those politicians is to work hard for BN as if they were the candidate themselves to make sure that BN wins in the coming general election.

Maybe in the next general election, they will be chosen as candidates and the candidates whom they helped before, will campaign and vote for them.

As the idiom says, ‘a friend in need is a friend indeed’.

Sometimes I wanted something from my mother and she promised to give it to me the next day but something happened and I only receive them months later.

I was sad and sometimes I complained and I cried but my mother keeps on telling me that but Allah knows better what is the best for me; and for the same reason Allah knows best why things happened the way they happened.

Maybe there will be certain problems that will happen that the other person cannot face or solve but the nominated politicians could.

We should be thankful to all the things that Allah gave us and understand that Allah is always watching us.

It is good enough to be a politician and be able to work for the country; in fact one can still help others even if one is not in power.

After all we cannot get everything in this world just for us alone; so please be an honest and responsible politician.

Stop doing silly things and stop behaving like little children, remember, there’s no fool like an old fool.

That is why we should not vote PAKATAN RAKYAT!

Vote for BARISAN NASIONAL!