The Chinese government has launched a building (and demolition) frenzy the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the Works Progress Administration was launched by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935.  One of the most interesting of the 300 new buildings that are going to be built in Peking’s business district is the so-called Falling Towers, a brand new TV center with office-space for 10,000 people and one of the most fascinating designs I’ve ever seen on a building. 

The building, two glass towers connected by an overhanging area on which television will be screened, is just insane.  I can only imagine how dizzying it must be to stare directly overhead at, say, Olympic games sports coverage or your favorite Chinese soap opera.  Despite looking like it might fall over at any time, the $900 million dollar building is actually built to withstand an 8.0 earthquake, despite being made mostly of steel and glass. 

In a bonus series of images, Dark Roasted Blend also passes along some shots of future potential Chinese Olympians and the painful-looking stretching exercises that these seriously young (like elementary school aged) gymnasts do.  Just looking at those poses makes my hamstrings twinge in sympathy pain!  Ouch!

Tags: buildings, skyscrapers, china, falling towers, architecture, unusual, images, construction

Fashion designer Marc Ecko’s designs draw from a variety of inspirations, but there’s nothing as cool as his Black Rhino clothing articles.  After all, the Black Rhino collection is the home of the incredibly awesome Black Rhino Jason Hoodie, inspired by Jason Voorhees and the classic 80’s slasher movies in the Friday the 13th series.  […]

Throughout history, there’s been one constant.  People are going to do whatever they can to make themselves more beautiful.  Whether it’s a tattoo of an Internet superstar like Tay Zonday, a tooth tattoo, an eyeball coloration, or even an amputation disguise, there’s no shortage of ideas on what people can do to the body to […]

As lights get smaller and more powerful, you’re going to start seeing them in more and more places.  For example, check out the Galaxy Dress from CuteCircuit.  This formal-style gown made of crinoline, chiffon, 4,000 Swarovski crystals, and 24,000 LEDs is a pretty impressive combination of form and function.  Assuming you want to function as […]

Canada’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Remembrance Day.
Tags: moment of silence, 11:11 on Novemeber 11, Remembrance Day, tributes, veterans

Twenty years ago today, on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall came down.  The wall, separating East and West Berlin, was a symbol of the Cold War between the free world and the Soviet Union.  Google has a great selection of images from Life Magazine detailing the history of the wall, and there’s also a […]

From the outside, Emma Cahill looks like your average school girl.  She just turned 16 and attends St Mary’s Convent School in Worcester, England.  She is active in sports and has many friends, but there’s one thing different about Emma.  At 6′5, she is the tallest teenage girl in the UK.
Fortunately for Emma, her unusual […]

The New York Marathon ran this weekend.  Surprisingly, the winner was an American; in fact, Eritrea-born Meb Keflezighi is the first American citizen to win the marathon since 1982 (the year after I was born).  However, with an estimated 42,000 runners in the marathon this year, not all of them are hardcore professionals.  There are […]