Absurd Portraits from National Beared & Moustache Championships, 2013

Absurd Portraits from the National Beard & Mustache Championships by Greg Anderson September 24, 2013

by Greg Anderson

This outrageous display of facial hair configurations made an appearance at the 4th Annual National Beard and Mustache Championships in New Orleans earlier this month. Lucky for us, Las Vegas-based photographer Greg Anderson was on-hand to give us a front-row seat as the bizarre spectacle of facial hair paraded in front of his camera lens. The championships involved some 150 contestants from the U.S, U.K., and Canada who competed in 17 different categories. If this isn’t enough, here’s a giant gallery of 164 portraits from the event. (viaPetaPixel, Twisted Sifter)

A Massive quake raised a New Island

A massive, 7.7 magnitude quake struck south-central Pakistan on Tuesday afternoon local time. The USGS warns that there will high casualties and economic losses, requiring international response. Seismologists have also confirmed that the quake raised a new island, about 30-40 feet high, off the coast.

The island is about half a mile off the coast of Gwadar, in the Arabian Sea. Already, reports the International Herald Tribune, crowds have gathered to see the mountainous, rocky island. Some are claiming it is 100 feet long. [UPDATE: Geologists have confirmed the island was created by a mud volcano triggered by the earthquake.]

Image via @Senator_Baloch

It's not unusual for earthquakes of this magnitude to change the coastline, or even deform the shape of the planet. In 2010, an 8.8 magnitude quake in Chile created new coastlines in that country and changed the shape of the Earth enough to shorten our days by a fraction of a second.

Today in Pakistan, estimates of damages are still coming in, and it may be days before we know the full extent of the losses because the quake struck in many regions that are remote.

The nearest city to the epicenter is Arawan, where damage is said to be extensive, with houses collapsing and people trapped inside. So far, death tolls hover around 40, but that number is expected to rise as emergency services reach more of the affected areas. The populations near the epicenter may be sparse, but according to the USGS, the problem is that they are extremely vulnerable. Most homes are made of materials like unreinforced brick masonry, which crumble quickly in quakes and can be deadly.

According to the BBC:

Many of the casualties were from Labach, on the northern outskirts of Awaran town. There are reports of some people trapped under the rubble of collapsed houses.

Abdul Qadoos, deputy speaker of the Balochistan assembly, told Reuters news agency that at least 30% of houses in Awaran district had collapsed.

Karachi is another nearby city, with millions of residents, whose homes may have also been affected. People as far away as New Delhi report feeling the quake.

The USGS also offers a quick scientific summary of the nature of the quake:

The September 24, 2013 M7.7 earthquake in south-central Pakistan occurred as the result of oblique-strike-slip type motion at shallow crustal depths. The location and mechanism of the earthquake are consistent with rupture within the Eurasia plate above the Makran subduction zone. The event occurred within the transition zone between northward subduction of the Arabia plate beneath the Eurasia plate and northward collision of the India plate with the Eurasia plate. The epicenter of the event is 69km north of Awaran, Pakistan, and 270km north of Karachi, Pakistan (population 11.6 million).

Right now, as emergency groups gather more information, the best thing we can do is wait to find out more. But it's very likely that humanitarian aid will be needed, and as soon as we know more we'll offer an update.

You can get quick details on the quake on the USGS page.

Dinner at 'Bijan' - an Irani restaurant

Bijan Restirant in Fremont CA

Our friends Sahnis have a knack to pick and introduce us to variety of fine Restaurants in the Bay Area. We have been frequenting dinner meets in the recent pasts on their advice.

Having spent their younger days in Tehran where Balbir Sahni, his Dad and his brother had a flourishing businesses, they wanted us to try Iranian food tonight.

The restaurant was medium size but very tastefully decorated. The walls were colorfully painted to provide detailed intricate patterns ranging from polka-dot tile patterns to a portrait of a Zebra donning its traditional jailhouse garb.

It was eclectic menu focused on Persion cuisine but included many vegetarian dishes. The names of the dishes were poetic and somewhat familiar to ears. While placing an order, Harvinder felt as if we were singing poetry. That made the excellent ambience set for an excellent and romantic dinner.

          A pan mode view of iOS 7

                                                               Beautiful set up

I am producing below the pictures of the dishes we ordered with their poetic names to give readers humming feel:

                         

                            Stuffed Madhrooms with balsamic vinaigrette and feta cheese

                                

Vegetarian Kashke Badenjoon with roasted eggplant with fried onion, garlic, mint, walnut served with yogurt sauce.

                                         

                                                   Roasted onions and green chilli

                                       

                                          Veggie Kabob with freshly marinated vegetables

                             

Ghormey Sabzi with fresh herbs cooked with kidney beans, dry lemons served with rice.

         

            Vegetarian Ghaymey tomato sauce, yellow split peas and dry limes topped with eggplant.

                                    

                                 Ghorme Pulao with mint and beans sprinkled with cheese

                                         

                          Maust-O-Khair homemade yogurt dip with cucumbers and mint

                                         

                                   Mayst-O-Khair homemade yogurt with crushed elephant garlic

                                          

                                                                Being served in a plate.

Thanks Balbir and Loveleen for suggesting such a lovely place and hosting such a beautiful dinner. In fact Sahnis commentary on the ingredients and tastes of the dishes for a person like me, who is so ignorant and un knowledgeable, to be forced to lick my fingers all the way.

This was indeed one of the best dinners enjoyed lately.

Sherwood gives a birth to little baby Dove: A Bird-God of Peace Making

Every year, a lady Mourning Dove gives birth to couple of baby doves in our backyard. Shiv was fascinated to see the creation of the nature so close to our environment and that too in our own dwelling. So he decided to monitor the growth of the little baby dove for couple of days. Shiv was fortunate enough to even capture the feeding by parent Dove to the baby Dove.

The parent usually start feeding the baby on the first day within a few hours of hatching. The parent will start eating heavily when the egg starts pipping.

A graceful, slender-tailed, small-headed dove that’s common across the continent. Mourning Doves perch on telephone wires and forage for seeds on the ground; their flight is fast and bullet straight. Their soft, drawn-out calls sound like laments. When taking off, their wings make a sharp whistling or whinnying. Mourning Doves are the most frequently hunted species in North America.

Mourning Doves often match their open-country surroundings. They’re delicate brown to buffy-tan overall, with black spots on the wings and black-bordered white tips to the tail feathers.

You must have often come across the following Songs:

The song (or “perch-coo”) is given mainly by unmated males from a conspicuous perch. It’s a soft coo-oo followed by two or three louder coos.

And the Call like this:

You can often hear paired males give the three-parted “nest call” while nest-building: a coo-OO-oo, highest in the middle. Females sometimes call ohr ohr while sitting on the nest

Some of the COOL FACTS :

• During the breeding season, you might see three Mourning Doves flying in tight formation, one after another. This is a form of social display. Typically the bird in the lead is the male of a mated pair. The second bird is an unmated male chasing his rival from the area where he hopes to nest. The third is the female of the mated pair, which seems to go along for the ride. This is just like following Bollywood formula Movie wherein the villain follows the Hero, while the  poor Heroine drags on
• Mourning Doves eat roughly 12 to 20 percent of their body weight per day, or 71 calories on an average.
• Perhaps one reason why Mourning Doves survive in the desert: they can drink brackish spring water (up to almost half the salinity of sea water) without becoming dehydrated the way humans would.
• The Mourning Dove is the most widespread and abundant game bird in North America. Every year hunters harvest more than 20 million, but the Mourning Dove remains one of our most abundant birds with a U.S. population estimated at 350 million.
• The oldest known Mourning Dove was 31 years 4 months old

With their loose nestlings

The baby dove is delicate brown to buffy-tan overall, with black spots on the wings and black-bordered white tips to the tail feathers. Trying to brave out near the Pagoda

Trying to get his head out

The mother keeps a watch

Not scared of the humans, keeps it's agile to watch the kiddo safety

Mom and the baby

Closer look

Feeding starts on the very first day

Grossly involved in feeding

The parent eat more during the feeding days

Caressing

Healthy baby out to make his own journey

                                            Learns to sit on a higher and sound solid platform

   

Photo Shoot at Bahamas