There are only two people in the world who can do this stunt. And here’s one of them:

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By Daily Mail Reporter

This astonishing 18ft drawing of the world’s most famous skyline was created by autistic artist Stephen Wiltshire after he spent just 20 minutes in a helicopter gazing at the panorama.

The unbelievably intricate picture was drawn at Brooklyn’s prestigious Pratt Institute from Stephen’s memory, with details of every building sketched in to scale.

Landmarks including the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building can be seen towering above smaller buildings after just three days in his spellbinding creation.

Sensation: Autistic artist Stephen Wiltshire on his third day of drawing the New York skyline from memory

Listening intently to his ipod throughout the artistic process – because music helps him – London-born Stephen uses only graphic pens as he commits his photographic memory to the high-grade paper.

Invited by top U.S. television network CBS to display his talents to the American public in a new screen appearance this week, Stephen has dumbfounded art lovers around the globe with sketches of Tokyo, Rome and Hong Kong.

‘Stephen sketches his layout in pencil first and then scales it within the border, first adding in landmarks before filling out in more intricate detail,’ said Iliana Taliotis, who works with Stephen and his family.

‘He works methodically in short sharp bursts and is even being put on webcam by CBS as he puts his art to paper.’

Inspired: Stephen listens to his iPod as he sketches the famous skyline. He draws heavily on music from the 70s to the 90s

On his third visit to New York, this is Stephen’s first panorama of the world’s most iconic cityscape.

‘Stephen feels this is his spiritual home,’ said Iliana.

‘There are many similarities between his home, London, and New York that he can relate to.

‘The only difference is that everything is on a bigger scale and with taller, more modern buildings.

‘Cities have always been his passion, and he is drawn to cosmopolitan lifestyles.’

Heavy duty: Stephen uses up to 12 pens and takes up to a week for each skyline

Diagnosed with autistism at an early age, Stephen’s talent for drawing emerged as a way of expressing himself.

Using his drawing’s to help him learn and encouraged by his family, Stephen created a series of 26 coded pictures to help him speak, all of which corresponded to a letter in the alphabet.

Going through up to 12 pens during his sketches which can take a week to finish, Stephen also draws heavily on music which he carries everywhere.

He listens to everything through the 70s, 80s, and 90s, including blues, soul, funk, Motown, pop, Back Street Boys, All Saints and even New Kids on the Block.

True to life: Stephen’s sketch mirrors the actual skyline, pictured, capturing the Chrysler Building (right), the MetLife Building (centre) and the Rockefeller Center (left)

‘He always listens to music while he works,’ said Iliana.

‘This work will encompass the five boroughs of New York, New Jersey, Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty.

‘This one is extra special and unique.

‘Due to his personal love of New York it contains far more detail and the perspective of the panorama is much more in-depth, giving a more realistic, 3-D view of the city.’

World famous: Stephen’s drawings of Tokyo, Rome and Hong Kong have dumbfounded art lovers around the globe

In May 2005, Stephen produced his longest ever panoramic memory drawing of Tokyo on a 52-foot canvas within seven days following a short helicopter ride over the city.

Since then he has drawn Rome, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Madrid, Dubai, Jerusalem and London on giant canvasses.

When Wiltshire took the helicopter ride over Rome, he drew it in such great detail that he drew the exact number of columns in the Pantheon.

In 2006, Stephen Wiltshire was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to art. He opened his permanent gallery in the Royal Opera Arcade, Pall Mall, the same year.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1223790/Autistic-artist-draws-18ft-picture-New-York-skyline-memory.html#ixzz0XcuaJDqv

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By Steven Grabber

Residents at a coastal community in South Florida have nicknamed two-year-old chocolate labrador retriever “Aquadog” because of her ability to swim underwater.

The dog’s owner Rob Vaughan said, “She’s just amazing. You can even see bubbles coming from her nose while she’s under so she knows by instinct to breathe out but still holds her breath while she’s under.”

He said that every time his dog Kiba goes for a swim, dozens of people gather to watch the dog go underwater.

Vaughn said the dog dives for stones on the riverbed and can stay below the surface for up to 15 seconds.

He told the Mirror newspaper, “If I don’t throw a stone she dives under and swims along the bottom till she finds her own.

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Some of the consumer electronics highlights include:

> A 15.6-inch eMachines laptop with 2GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, AMD CPU, and Windows 7 for $198 — a new low for notebook prices.

> A 42-inch Emerson 720p plasma TV for $448. A 50-inch Sanyo plasma will run you $598.

> A 46-inch Sony 1080p LCD TV for $798.

> Nintendo DS Lites for $98.

> Rock Band Special Edition (with all the instruments) for just $50.

> PlayStation 3 Slim with two games and a Blu-ray disc for $299.

> A 320GB Western Digital external hard drive for $49.

> A 10.1-megapixel Sony Cyber-shot camera with 3x optical zoom for $79. Or get a 12-megapixel Kodak for just $69.

> TomTom GPS units as cheap as $59.

Most deals are good on Friday only and while supplies last.

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By Robert Roy Britt

One of the best annual meteor showers will peak in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday, and for some skywatchers the show could be quite impressive.

The best seats are in Asia, but North American observers should be treated to an above average performance of the Leonid meteor shower, weather permitting. The trick for all observers is to head outside in the wee hours of the morning – between 1 a.m. and dawn – regardless where you live.

The Leonids put on a solid show every year, if skies are clear and moonlight does not interfere. This year the moon is near its new phase, and not a factor. For anyone in the Northern Hemisphere with dark skies, away from urban and suburban lighting, the show should be worth getting up early to see.

“We’re predicting 20 to 30 meteors per hour over the Americas, and as many as 200 to 300 per hour over Asia,” said Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office. Other astronomers who work in the nascent field of meteor shower prediction have put out similar forecasts.

Urban dwellers and suburbanites will see far fewer, as the fainter meteors will be drowned out by local lights.

Behind the Leonids

The Leonids are created by the comet Tempel-Tuttle, which passes through the inner solar system every 33 years on its orbit around the sun. Each time by, it leaves a new river of debris, mostly bits of ice and rock no bigger than a sand grain but a few the size of a pea or marble.

Over time, these cosmic streams spread out, so predicting exactly what will happen is difficult.

“We can predict when Earth will cross a debris stream with pretty good accuracy,” Cooke said. “The intensity of the display is less certain, though, because we don’t know how much debris is in each stream.”

When Earth plows into the debris, the bits hit the atmosphere and vaporize, creating sometimes dramatic streaks of light and the occasional fireball with a smoky-looking trail that can remain visible for several minutes.

The Leonid stream is moving in the opposite direction of Earth, producing impact speeds of 160,000 mph (72 kilometers per second) – higher than many other meteors.

“Such speeds tend to produce meteors with hues of white, blue, aquamarine and even green,” says Joe Rao, SPACE.com’s skywatching columnist.

How to watch

The best viewing will be in rural areas. Get out of town if you can. If you have local lights, scout a location in advance where the lights are blocked by a building, tree or hill.

Dress warmly, and take a blanket or lounge chair so you can lie back and scan as much of the sky as possible. “At this time of year, meteor watching can be a long, cold business,” Rao reminds people.

Leonids can appear anywhere, but if you trace them back, they all point to a hub, or radiant, in the constellation Leo – hence the name.

Give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust to the darkness. Then give the show at least a half-hour. The hourly rates stated above typically come in bursts, with lulls that may test your patience. No special equipment is needed. Telescopes and binoculars are of no use because meteors move too quickly.

When to watch

Earth will pass through one of the denser debris streams at around 4 a.m. EST (1 a.m. PST) Tuesday. If you have only an hour or less to watch, center it around this time. Leo will be high in the sky for East Coast skywatchers, putting more meteors into view. In the West, Leo will be low in the eastern sky at this time, so fewer shooting stars will be above the horizon, and therefore Western skywatchers should also try to stick it out until daybreak.

Across Europe, the best bet is to watch anytime between 1 a.m. and daybreak local time.

The planet will pass through an even denser stream later, just before dawn Wednesday in Indonesia and China, but that show won’t be visible from North America because it will be daytime here.

One truth about the Leonids: They always produce, and they sometimes produce spectacular, unforgettable fireballs.

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/091116-leonid-meteor-shower-2009.html

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“Validation” is a fable about the magic of free parking.

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http://www.fourwinds10.com/siterun_data/spiritual/pictures/news.php?q=1245101530

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Royal Carribean’s “Oasis of the Seas”  was completed on October 28, 2009 and debuts as the largest cruise ship in the world.

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RivalsHigh

It’s amazing what two guys with a little athletic skill, a video camera and a lot of free time can come up with.

Check out this amazing basketball shot with a baseball bat – then ask yourself, is it real or is it fake?

We’ll go with legit, but I’m sure others will disagree. Either way, it’s a fun watch.

http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1009250

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by Mike Smith

Remember that spate of flying-remote, broken-TV mishaps that accompanied the launch of the Wii back in ‘06? A recent sales pitch on TV’s Home Shopping Network ended in disaster when the host accidentally demonstrates why cheap plastic controller attachments can be a liability.

Check out the smooth way the huckster segues into a quick lesson on Wii remote safety — “Make sure your accessories are definitely latched on all the way” — and stands in front of the smashed TV for the remainder of the clip. Calm in the face of TV tragedy, he’s a regular Sully.

Joking aside, the real tragedy here is that they’re trying to sell a $199 Wii, plus 15 worthless controller attachments, for $330. That’s worth breaking your TV over.

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/how-not-to-play-wii-courtesy-of-the-home-shopping-network/1364836

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