extreme and correct bus drift!!!!

no more Herman van Rompuy!!! (if you didn't know him, do know!)

The Sex Pistols - My Way

Nostalgic Star Flyer, the worldwide highest roundabout

Praterturm,
Nostalgic Star Flyer,
the worldwide highest roundabout,
height: 117m (385ft),

location: Wiener Prater,
manufacturer: Funtime,
foundation: 720 tonns,
steel construction: 200 tons,
build: 2010,
video: onride and offride

Schiller - ein schoener Tag

Landslides strike Zhouqu County, China

At midnight on Sunday, August 8th, a temporary lake caused by a recent landslide broke loose above the town of Zhouqu, in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China. The outflow slid down the valley as a wall of mud, wiping out houses and muli-story buildings, and killing at least 1,144 residents - with over 600 still reported as missing. More than 10,000 soldiers and rescuers arrived soon to comb through the mountains of mud that buried several parts of Zhouqu County. Engineers also worked to blast the debris that had passed through the town to partially block the Bailong River, causing further flooding. Collected here are images of the landslide-affected area of northwestern China, part of a series of disasters in Asia caused by recent heavy rains.

1. The landslide-hit town of Zhouqu in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, China on August 9, 2010. Chinese rescuers armed with little more than shovels and hoes hunted for survivors of a huge mudslide, as relatives of the missing trekked into the disaster zone to look for their loved ones. (REUTERS/Aly Song)
2. Women grieve near their relative's body in Zhouqu County, China on August 10, 2010. (REUTERS/Aly Song)

AS TIME GOES BY...

1945, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and two bombs that changed our world

Hiroshima

Nagasaki

dress for the moment

Finland's passion for crazy contests

The mobile phone throwing world championship in Finland on Saturday is just one of many crazy contests on the country's summer diary. Helsingin Sanomat columnist Perttu Hakkinen asks why Finns have such a fondness for these wacky pursuits.

Finland is well-known for several reasons: mass-produced mobile phones, lakes - 190,000 of them - and boiling hot saunas.

Also, for Santa Claus and the Eurovision monsterman, Lordi.

Finnish summer sports and pastimes owe something to all of these things. The telecoms industry, the natural environment - and the country's gimmicky eccentric side.

The list includes boot throwing, wife carrying, mosquito slapping, mobile-phone throwing, swamp football, sauna endurance contests... and many more.

I guess all Finnish summer sports were invented by drunk people Harri Kinnunen, boot-throwing world championships organiser

And it's probably no coincidence that of all the many countries where people exult in playing air guitar, it's Finland that hosts the world championships.

But no-one should assume that Finns treat these contests as a joke - nothing could be further from the truth. The players and fans involved really do mean business.

Vodka and envy

Here's my theory about how they originated.

The countryside is soothing, but some people want more

Almost every Finnish family has its very own summer cottage, ormoekki, where it hides every summer to escape annoying neighbours and noisy urban racket.

(Since Finland is a big country consisting mostly of trees and water, it's quite easy to find some soul-soothing peace.)

But after few days of relaxing country life, some Finns get bored. Activities like fishing, boozing or swimming lose their magic. Then it's time to call-up the annoying neighbours (or relatives) again, ask them to come over and get them to engage in some kind of contest. Toilet-paper throwing, for example.

The winner usually gets a bottle of cheap vodka and envious looks from their rivals. (Finnish people are quite competitive.)

But boredom is not the only motivating force behind weird summer sports.

"We can lure in 8,000 to 9,000 tourists during a weekend," says Eero Pitkaenen, announcer for the annual Wife-Carrying World Championships in Sonkajaervi.

This little village located in north-east Finland normally has a population of 4,825, so wife-carrying enthusiasts triple it every summer. And that means money.

Rubber boots

While the first Wife-Carrying World Championships were held only in 1992, the sport allegedly has its roots in a local 18th Century folktale. It is said that a cold-blooded bandit called Rosvo Ronkainen (Rosvo means "villain") used to snatch women from nearby villages, to have his way with them.

In pictures: Finnish summer sports

It is said that he didn't accept men in his posse who couldn't jump over a creek with a 100kg sack of grain on their shoulders.

The official 253.5m-long wife-carrying track seems to be influenced by this fable since it features different types of obstacle, including water.

Like wife carrying, boot throwing also goes back a long way, at least to the start of the 20th Century.

Quite how or why it began is unknown, but Harri Kinnunen, two-time organiser of the Boot Throwing World Championships, has a hunch.

"I think it's pretty obvious that some drunken people were sitting on a terrace after a sauna and saw a rubber boot," he chuckles as if no further explanation were required (the urge to pick the boot up and throw it being, quite obviously, irresistible).

"I guess all Finnish summer sports were invented by drunk people."

Urine samples

The UK and New Zealand have their own versions of this sport (wellie wanging and gumboot throwing) but the first world championships were held in Finland in 1992, and over the years a real sport has evolved.

Now it even has its own organisation IBTA (International Boot Throwing Association) its own official throwing boot, designed by Italian manufacturers, and strict anti-doping regulations.

"First time I was working as an organiser I received a phone call from a doctor who wanted to come around to collect urine samples," Kinnunen explains.

"I asked him a few times if it was a prank call."

It wasn't. A few years later one contestant was actually caught for using prohibited substances!

"Believe it or not, it's a dead serious sport," Kinnunen says.

Swamp soccer

The most popular summer sport in Finland, however, is not wife carrying or boot throwing, but swamp soccer (SS).

The SS World Championships can attract over 30,000 enthusiasts and 300 teams to the tiny northern village of Hyrynsalmi (population 2,895), travelling all the way from the UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Russia and Iceland.

The game is basically just like normal soccer, but it's played on a wet, marshy swamp.

It generates the same emotional behaviour. Every once in a while violence raises its ugly head. Players have been taken to hospital with nasty bruises or missing teeth.

There's one more factor that helps to explain the popularity of goofy sports in Finland - something I call "the blessed madness".

Blessed madness is basically an improvised rite where a member of community exalts himself by doing something stupid or dangerous.

Like, say, sitting naked on an ant's nest.

In a culture as stiff as Finland's, this ritual bears a great value and it also makes the culture more interesting in the eyes of strangers.

"Yeah, I know what the foreigners think," Kinnunen laughs. "Those crazy Finns!"

BP - Now that the oil well is capped...

Between April 20 and July 15, 2010, a generally accepted estimate of nearly 5 million barrels (200 million gallons) of crude oil emerged from the wellhead drilled into the seafloor by BP from the now-destroyed Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. Now that the flow of oil has been stopped, the impact of all the spilled oil and natural gas is still being measured. The current moratorium on deep water remains in place as reports from varying scientific groups are at odds about the extent of the remaining oil, and some fishing restrictions have already been lifted. As BP finalizes its work in killing the well, here is a collection of photos from around the Gulf of Mexico over the past couple of months, as all of those affected enter the next phase of this event.

1. Waves partially obscure the Development Driller II at left, and the Development Driller III, which are drilling the relief wells, at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill site in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast on Thursday, July 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
2. A dolphin swims through an oil sheen from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill off East Grand Terre Island, where the Gulf of Mexico meets Barataria Bay, on the Louisiana coast, Saturday, July 31, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Why Most Shampoos are a Waste of Money

Why Most Shampoos are a Waste of Money

It’s the dirty little secret shampoo companies don’t want you to know—when you wash your hair with one of those nutrient-rich shampoos, most of the nutrients and active ingredients in the product don’t actually end up in your hair, they wind up down the drain… along with all the money you spent on the shampoo.

Why does this happen? Because the shampoo molecules they contain are too large to penetrate the cells of hair and more importantly the tiny hair follicles where our hair actually grows. They sit atop the follicle until we wash them away.

Why is that a problem? Think about it this way—if you wanted to fertilize a plant, where would you pour the fertilizer? On the leaves? Of course not! You’d pour the fertilizer on the root and the soil where it’s needed most. Our hair works basically the same way—if you want to treat your hair right, you need to treat the roots.

But if regular shampoo can’t penetrate the hair follicles where our roots grow, what are we supposed to do?

Fortunately, a California company called Kronos decided to tackle this problem. Their team of researchers designed a more-effective shampoo—one that contains tiny microscopic spheres so small that they penetrate hair follicles and deliver nutrients to where they’re needed most. They call it “T-Sfere Technology”.

Once they had solved the delivery method dilemma, they turned their attention to formulating ingredients that targetted the 5 most significant signs of damaged hair:

1. Thinning hair that lacks volume
2. Dry, frizzy, unmanageable hair
3. Limp lackluster hair
4. Damaged hair with split ends
5. Hair with poor color retention

Does it work? Check out the results from the product’s clinical testing. In a recent study, the Kronos system was shown boost hair volume and body by an unprecedented 96%; increase hair hydration by 91%; improve luster and shine by 96%; reduce split ends and breakage by 96%; and virtually eliminate color fading for up to four weeks. It’s rare that a shampoo can provide so many amazing benefits.

Already, Kronos has quickly become one of the most talked about hair care systems out there. It was recently featured on the Today show and was rated the #1 Overnight Hair Treatment product by The Good Housekeeping Institute.

Since Kronos is still relatively new, the company is offering a limited amount of free trials of its 4-piece introductory kit, just so new customers can see the results for themselves before deciding whether or not they want to pay for their products.

The special trial includes a full, 60-day supply of four products that each feature the line's key ingredient complexes and delivery technology: Kronos Shampoo, Kronos Conditioner, the Phyx Overnight Repair Masque that repairs damaged hair while you sleep, and the Liquid Theory Conditioning Detangler that protects hair from thermal damage due to heat styling.

If you want to try this new way to shampoo, visit the Kronos website to see if these special Internet free trials are still being offered.

Continuing Russian wildfires

Though many have been contained, wildfires continue to rage throughout many parts of Russia. In a new twist to the situation, officials have confirmed that some forests that were contaminated with radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster have now burned, but it was unclear what danger the smoke from such wildfires could pose. Monitoring stations have not registered any increase in radioactivity as yet. Recent windy conditions have temporarily cleared the smoke from Moscow's skies, but it could possibly return soon. The area of burning forests in Russia is now 927 sq km (358 sq mi), down from from 1,740 sq km (676 sq m) only 24 hours ago. The economic costs of the fires are now estimated at up to 15 billion dollars.


1. Light shines through forest fire smoke near a Russian Orthodox church 30km from Moscow in Zelenaya Sloboda late on August 3, 2010. (ARTYOM KOROTAYEV/AFP/Getty Images)
2. A burning forest is seen near village Dolginino, Russia on August 4, 2010. (ARTYOM KOROTAYEV/AFP/Getty Images)

at last... the new nuclear papaya!!!

Spellbound (Alfred Hitchcock 1945)

Faith No More/Boo-Ya Tribe - Another Body Murdered

Stormy skies

In the past several months, powerful storms have wreaked havoc in many places, torrential rains in central Europe and parts of China, tornadoes in Australia, Montana and the American Midwest, and strong thunderstorms across the northeast. Now, as Tropical Storm Bonnie makes landfall in Florida and heads into the Gulf of Mexico, oil cleanup is being suspended, and the final "kill" operation is delayed for at least one more week. These storms have been destructive and deadly, but beautiful and awe-inspiring at the same time. Collected here are a handful of photographs of stormy skies, lightning strikes and storm damage from the past several months.
1. A large storm cell moves over farmland between the towns of Ross and Stanley, North Dakota on Monday July 12, 2010. A tornado was reported to have touched down for a few minutes from the cell. (AP Photo/ The Forum, Dave Samson)
2. Lightning flashes across the sky over Maquoketa, Iowa Friday June 18, 2010. (AP Photo/Kevin E. Schmidt, Quad-City Times) MANDATORY CREDIT

Severe flooding in Pakistan

Between April 20 and July 15, 2010, a generally accepted estimate of nearly 5 million barrels (200 million gallons) of crude oil emerged from the wellhead drilled into the seafloor by BP from the now-destroyed Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. Now that the flow of oil has been stopped, the impact of all the spilled oil and natural gas is still being measured. The current moratorium on deep water remains in place as reports from varying scientific groups are at odds about the extent of the remaining oil, and some fishing restrictions have already been lifted. As BP finalizes its work in killing the well, here is a collection of photos from around the Gulf of Mexico over the past couple of months, as all of those affected enter the next phase of this event.

1. A boy hangs on to the front of a cargo truck while passing through a flooded road in Risalpur, located in Nowshera District in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province July 30, 2010. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
2. Men take refuge on a boat during heavy rain in Pakistan's Nowshera District on July 29, 2010. (REUTERS/K. Parvez)

lollitop readers... "click for more" message

Do you know this message -> CLICK for MORE... ???

Most of the lollitop's posts support the "click for more" feature.

This feature doesn't shows the entire content of a post but a small part of it.

With this way the initial page of the blog appeared quickly and you can see all the recent post at a glance without need to do extreme scrolls.

So, next time check if the post shows the message

CLICK for MORE...

as it contains more stuff for you.

Lets do it for this post...

you are lollitop reader indeed :)

Swimming Pool, Afghanistan

"A self-portrait running back and forth with a Petzl headlamp in an old Russian-built swimming pool that sits atop a hill in Kabul City, Afghanistan."—Casey Johnson

Severe flooding in Pakistan

It is only the start of the monsoon season, but already Pakistan is experiencing some of the worst flooding it has seen in over 80 years. Entire villages have been washed away, an early estimate of over 1,600 deaths so far and over 2 million displaced or otherwise affected. Not only is the immediate water damage causing havoc, the floods have inundated crop-producing areas, dealing a crippling blow to the agricultural-based economy and threatening a food crisis. The Pakistani government now struggles to rescue and provide aid to millions - while still fighting with militant Islamist forces in many of the hardest-hit regions. With even more heavy rains predicted in the coming days, here are a handful of recent photographs of Pakistanis as they cope with this latest disaster.

1. A boy hangs on to the front of a cargo truck while passing through a flooded road in Risalpur, located in Nowshera District in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province July 30, 2010. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
2. Men take refuge on a boat during heavy rain in Pakistan's Nowshera District on July 29, 2010. (REUTERS/K. Parvez)

BP is a perfect and lovable company INDEED

Everyone Loves BP - An Unedited Marketing Video

HILARIOUS toyota comercial.. BANNED!!

Cleaning Dalian harbor

The oil spill resulting from a pipeline explosion in the port city of Dalian on July 16th [see previous entry] is being cleaned up by a small army of fisherman, locals, and government workers manning over 250 oil-skimming vessels and 8,000 fishing boats - much of the work being done by hand. The spill, now contained according to authorities, grew to 430 square kilometers (165 sq mi), but was prevented from fouling international waters. The explosion was due to improper desulfurizer injections into the pipeline, according to a report by Xinhua, China's state news agency. As workers continue their efforts and watchdog groups like Greenpeace level criticism for what they call an inadequate response to date, Dalian Port has already resumed operations at two of its oil berths, the company said on Sunday.
1. A worker cleans up oil at the oil spill site in the port near Dalian, China on July 23, 2010. Fuel exports remain temporarily halted, industry officials said amid continuing efforts to clean up an oil spill at the country's major port of Dalian. (REUTERS/Stringer)
2. Workers clean up oil spilled into Dalian Port, China on July 27, 2010. (REUTERS/Stringer)

Schiller - Let me love you (Official Video) HD

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Finalist dies at World Sauna event in Finland

A finalist in Finland finished!

The annual World Sauna Championships in Finland have ended in tragedy with the death of one of the finalists.

Spectators were deeply shocked by the accident

Russian Vladimir Ladyzhensky and his Finnish rival, Timo Kaukonen, collapsed after suffering severe burns. Mr Ladyzhensky later died in hospital.

The event requires participants to withstand 110C (230F) for as long as possible. The men managed six minutes before judges noticed something amiss.

Its chief organiser said all the rules of the event had been followed.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

It is not so unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna. A lot of competitors before have sat in higher temperatures than that”

Ossi ArvelaOrganiser, World Sauna Championships

"All the rules were followed and there were enough first aid personnel. All the competitors needed to sign in to the competition with a doctor's certificate," Ossi Arvela told reporters in Heinola, where it was held.

Half a litre of water was added to the stove inside the sauna every 30 seconds, and the last person remaining was the winner. There was no prize other than "some small things", he told the Associated Press.

"I know this is very hard to understand to people outside Finland who are not familiar with the sauna habit," he said. "It is not so unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna. A lot of competitors before have sat in higher temperatures than that."

Mr Kaukonen, the defending world champion, had refused to leave the sauna during the final despite appearing sick, Mr Arvela said. He is now said to be in a stable condition in hospital.

Mr Arvela said police were already investigating Mr Ladyzhensky's death, which he said had left the organisers grief-stricken.

The event, which had over 130 participants from 15 countries, had been held since 1999. The organisers said it would never be held again.