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Vintage Photos From The London Playboy Club

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:25:04 +0000

The first Playboy clubs were bars were upper class people came to gamble. They also offered cocktail bars and the waitresses and performers were ladies dressed up in sexy bunny costumes. The first club opened in Chicago, and soon a lot of other American city had their own bunny bar.

Being a member of a Playboy club was status even though 21% of the members ever went to one of the clubs which means they only got the membership to show that they are upper class. In London the first Playboy club opened in 1965, and before the opening English girls were trained in America to become perfect bunnies.

This club was visited by the rich and famous in London, like Frank Sinatra, but also from America like James Garner and Woody Allen. In 1981 the London Playboy Club had to shut down because they didn’t renew their gambling license, but now 30 years later this club has opened again with well-trained modern bunnies.

5 of the Most Expensive Wedding Presents Ever

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:22:23 +0000

On their wedding day most couples can expect to be showered with an array of decidedly mediocre gifts. The traditional offering is something for the home, be it a trendy toaster or a silly shower curtain. These gifts are often uninspiring and are the perfect example of the old adage “It’s the thought that counts”.

She is not impressed.

With the wealthy elite, however, wedding presents can be used as a symbol of status—a way to impress your peers and ‘flash your cash’. These gifts can amaze and astound with their ostentatious extravagance and, if intended, overshadow even the wedding itself.

Here are the most expensive wedding presents. Ever.

5. The Star of the East—$144,000 (£93,000)

Old-school bling wins.

An American mining heiress and socialite, Evelyn Walsh Mclean, was the daughter of Thomas Walsh, an Irish immigrant who made his millions from mining and prospecting. In 1908, Evelyn married Edward Beale Mclean, the heir to a large publishing fortune. For their wedding the couple received $100,000 (£65,000) each from their respective fathers with which to get Evelyn a wedding gift.

All that money and still she doesn’t smile.

The wedding gift Evelyn’s father had suggested was “The Star of the East”, a 95-carat, pear-shaped diamond, mounted on a chain below a hexagonal emerald of 34 carats and a pearl of 32 grains. Upon seeing the diamond, Evelyn was spellbound and is reported to have bought the gift immediately, using an additional $20,000 (£13,000) dollars of her new husband’s money, bringing the total cost of the gift up to $120,000 (£78,000). On top of that the couple was forced to pay an undisclosed amount of import tax, reckoned to be around $24,000 (£15,000).

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4. Clive Christian Perfume Set—$450,000 (£293,000)

Luckily, they arranged the bottles C then W, and not the other way around.

The Clive Christian No.1 Imperial Majesty Edition is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s most expensive perfume. This isn’t surprising as its ingredients cost $2,350 (£1,530) per ounce and include Italian cinnamon rose, which requires at least 170 blossoms for a single drop of oil.

The bottle includes a 24-carat gold collar with a 5-carat diamond inset; a one-of-a-kind seal commissioned by Queen Victoria over 135 years ago, and is made from a material so difficult to work with that one out of every three attempts to create a bottle fails.

Royals don’t use tongues—it’s not dignified.

For the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William, Clive Christian presented the pair with “his and hers” editions of his signature scent in a luxurious silk lined case adorned with an ornate, hand-embroidered, gold coat of arms. This one-of-a-kind gift is technically priceless, as it cannot be bought, but to commission such an item would cost close to half a million dollars.

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3. Custom Gulfstream Jet—$20,000,000 (£13,000,000)

Superman took this picture.

One of the most famous celebrity couples in the world, Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, married on November 18, 2006, in a $3.5m (£2.3m) ceremony at the fifteenth-century Odescalchi Castle in Bracciano, Italy. For their engagement Cruise had given Holmes a $275,000 (£178,000) Fred Leighton oval-shaped diamond ring; however, for his wedding gift to her he decided to set the stakes a little higher.

She is kneeling down.

Cruise is known to be a fan of personal jets, having owned a Gulfstream IV for a number of years. So, it is no surprise that he would want his bride-to-be to travel in similar style. Some people may consider giving their loved one a $20,000,000 customized Gulfstream Jet, to be a bit ”over-the-top”, but if you’ve ever seen an interview with Tom Cruise, you’ll know that’s exactly his style.

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2. Wedding Stadium—$22,000,000 (£14,000,000)

This makes every present you ever got look pathetic.

In 1981, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, married Princess Salama. To celebrate the occasion, the Sheikh’s father, the Ruler of Dubai, provided the venue for the wedding, which is not an unusual gesture for a parent to make.

More royalty should wear sunglasses.

In this case, however, the venue happened to be a purpose-built 20,000-seat stadium, at an estimated cost of around 22 million dollars. Upon completion, the couple enjoyed a week-long celebration within the stadium of their marriage. Even though the wedding was over two decades ago, it is still in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive wedding ever, costing an incredible $100,000,000 (£65,000,000).

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1. Two Towns—Priceless

This is only half of the gift.

In 1659 Portugal was abandoned by its ally France. Fearing for her country’s security, the then regent, Queen Luisa, opened up negotiations with England that were to end in an alliance that still lasts to this day. This alliance was secured by the marriage of the recently restored monarch, Charles II of England, to Catherine of Braganza.

The original pimp.

As was the tradition of the age, a dowry was given to the husband as “payment” for taking over possession of the wife. Usually, a royal dowry would consist of precious jewels and metals, but the dowry Charles II received was rather more extravagant—he was given the towns of Tangiers and Bombay (modern day Mumbai). The price of this gift is incalculable as both towns are now world-class cities, creating billions of dollars of money every year.

If a single person where in sole possession of these two cities, they would be the richest person in the world.

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There you have it, five dazzling ways in which well wishers have approved the joining of lives that wedding represent. Don’t worry if your wedding presents don’t pass the 100k amount – love should not cost your life savings. You can’t by happiness, or love for that matter.

The Biggest Tree House Ever Made

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 18:38:04 +0000

This has to be every children’s dream; a gigantic tree house. The self-taught carpenter and landscape architect Horace Burgess built this great tree house in Crossville TN after God told him to do so, as he claims himself. He started building in 1993 and hasn’t finished yet. It consists of 10 floors and weighs 5700 pounds.

Each floor is about 11 feet high and measures between 8,000 to 10,000 square feet, and it’s 97 feet tall. 400 to 500 people visit this tree house every week, and you can find people from each state that comes to see this madness. Of course this great house will enter soon into Guinness book of records, Burgess will just have to have the right measures first.

As for now he is still adding new pieces to the house that are recycled lumber from garages, storage sheds and barns. What to do than to wish him good luck with this awesome project. Some other great tree houses are these ones in Costa Rica where people actually live in their own little world.

Floating Village On Magical Tonle Sap Lake

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:00:22 +0000

In Cambodia there is three villages that are attached together and called Kampong Phluk. The interesting thing about them is that they float on the Tonle Sap lake that lies about 16 km southeast of Siem Reap. The houses in these villages are built on wood poles that vary from 6-8 meters.

The 3000 inhabitants feed themselves in the flooded mangrove forest surroundings that consist of much wildlife. When there are dry seasons the water level goes down so the houses are in a way levitating over it which can look pretty funny.

The lake Tonle Sap always reverses direction during the wet season, which makes it fill the lake, and it can thank the Mekong river for that. It is then one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia, and hundreds of waterbirds live by it. Something completely similar are these floating islands on lake Titicaca in Peru.

Pets Meet Celebrities

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:39:02 +0000

When pets and celebrities meet this is what you’ll get a Dr. Spock corgi, a Michael Jackson chihuahua, an Amy Winehouse kitten, and so on. These are all funny photo montages of dogs and cats that are turned into famous people. They are inspired by funny gifts, mugs and greeting cards that are all over these days. This is the work of website Takkoda and publishing house TeNeues.

Takkoda is run by a couple that has developed a strong love for animals while living in England. They believe that each pet has a strong personality, and that is what they wanted to show in this book full of images. Every pet is photographed by the couple, then afterwards they fix their outfits and hair on a photo software.

And I can really say that they fit their new roles, like they were born for it. Unfortunately some pets are homeless, but at least they have some kind of shelter, check this out

Five Places That You Should’t Miss in Prague

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:24:24 +0000

Prague, which is believed to be one of the most beautiful and picturesque city of Europe is also known as one of the most well-liked holiday destinations in the whole world. The popularity of this place has increased considerably owing to its rich culture and historical background. This captivating city is filled with spectacular medieval churches, castles, art galleries and museums. Those who want to avoid the regular tourist crowd should take a tour of the surrounding areas. This will give them a chance to the get a view of the real Prague. During spring time and fall Prague Tourism is at its peaks since this is the time when natural beauty of Prague is in full bloom. During this period the city is visited by large numbers of tourists from all across the globe.

Prague Castle

The Prague Castle considered to be the biggest medieval castle across the globe, appears as if it includes a small township within its walls.

The magnificent castle is of great historical importance since it is the place where the Holy Roman Emperors, Czech kings as well Czech Republic presidents once had their offices. The Prague Castle encloses the Golden Lane, Prague Castle Gallery, Powder Tower and Toy Museum.

Old Town Square

The Old Town Square is located in the center of the ancient town and is encircled by attractive baroque, rococo Gothic architectural marvel.

The square is one of the liveliest places in the whole city, flooded with locals and international tourists. The town square offers travelers with wide array of restaurants, shops, pubs, entertainment, museums and galleries.

Powder Tower

The Powder Tower also known as Gothic Gate was built in 1475 as the main entrance to the Old Town from the Royal Court Palace, which once proudly stood there. It is among the 13 earliest fortified gateways that lead to the Old Town.

Once King Vladislav II Jagiello left Royal Court Palace and started living in the Prague Castle, the construction of the tower was stopped half way through. At present this gothic tower stands tall, all by itself reminding visitors of the glorious past.

Charles Bridge

The Charles Bridge was constructed in the year 1357 to take the place of the 12th century Judith’s Bridge. Today it is considered to be among the most well-liked sight seeing spots in the city of Prague.

The place remains lively all throughout the day and night, swarming with entertainers and vendors. It offers visitors magnificent views of the surrounding places particularly during early morning and early evening, when a lot of tourists come here to witness the breathtaking view of sunrise and sunset.

Petrin Tower

The Petrin Tower, which looks very similar to the Eiffel Tower, is nearly 60 meter in height, made of steel framework. It was constructed in the year1891 as a transmission and observation tower.

At present it is one of the key tourist attractions. On a clear day, the tower presents the tourists with a spectacular sight of the city skyline.

Artistic Subway System Of Stockholm

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:54:14 +0000

When you enter the subway system in Stockholm, you’re not sure whether you’ve entered an art exhibition or a transport system. That subway system is said to be the longest art exhibition in the world, about 110 kilometers in length. There are 100 subway stations around Stockholm, and about 90 of them are decorated with old and new art. Everything from sculptures to paintings.

150 artists have participated in this project to make the Stockholm subway an amazing traveling experience, and it is part of a long tradition. When you sit on one of the trains and travel underground you feel like you are traveling through time. In some stations the roof has a bright and crazy color.

Another station looks like an archaeological excavation, while others have modern style several arrows painted in different directions. You can find all kind of art, and it’s open for everyone. Something completely opposite is this abandoned subway in Cincinnati.

Unbelievably Realistic Paintings

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 19:15:28 +0000

At first I thought this was real black and white photographs, but then I realized it was paintings. Amazing is the perfect word for Spanish painter Juan Bautista Nieto’s work. And if you wonder how he can draw such perfect human bodies, the answer is: he studied medicine before studying art.

He uses a combination of acrylic and oil paint, and he paints with an air-brush method. He uses a lot of time on each painting because he wants it all to be very detailed, so he produced a couple of paintings every year.

He says himself that only one painting take about 6 to 9 months to finish. In his work you will see a lot of female bodies, either dressed or half undressed.

The work is so delicate that you can sit a really long time just staring at them trying to figure out one flaw that would make it look more like a painting than a photo. Other realistic paintings are these cinematic paintings.

Detroit – Town That Is Falling Apart

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:36:10 +0000

Detroit has become a ghostly town. Its population has really fell from 1950 till today. It used to live about 2 million people, now it lives only 700 000. No jobs and poverty has driven away families to live outside the city.

When driving through the city you will notice lots and lots of abandoned houses. Some of the houses are torn down by now, but photographer Kevin Bauman did capture a lot of them in the 90′s.

He wanted to create a record for these homes. The style of photographing is straight-on, like it’s supposed to be in a commercial catalog magazine. Here you have a selection of the most beautiful abandoned houses of Detroit.

Some are still going strong while others are really rusty and old. It’s a bit spooky I’ll admit. Other abandoned places is this French town in Cambodia.

The Perfect 1960′s American Town

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:16:13 +0000

An typical American town from the 1960′s, untouched like it has frozen in time. How is that even possible? Well, at first glance this looks like a real town with all the Chevys parked around, the cinema, the toy stores and all the dining places. It’s like entering a movie scene, but where are the people?

You will maybe be disappointed when you hear that this is a miniature town built by Michael Paul Smith. He has called this little kingdom Elgin Park, and it’s a mental combination of memory and fiction brought to life by this great artist.

The photos he takes of his little town look freakishly real. He has even brought some rain to one of the scenes, and with the lights and all it just looks like reality. This is a proof that camera or photos can lie.

Photos of Elgin Park has been launched in a book that you can buy on Amazon. Speaking of miniature models, take a look at the world’s smallest aquarium with baby fish swimming around.