Image roundup

Gallery of nighttime wildlife photos.Translucent frog. Here's the wikipedia entry on glass frogs.Cactus.Chestburster chicken.Submarine in ice.Smiling dog. (Even creepier photoshops at the link.)

Image roundup

Tokyo Rockabilly Club. (Lots more videos and pics available.)Jello prank.Penguinologist.The view from Mount Reinebringen.

Image roundup

This truck has two sides.Whale shark.Butterfly.Hipster Jesus loves you.Norway.Gandalf versus the Balrog.Streams of water colliding.

Video of a lake filled with ash

Per Google translate, "Diver trying to swim in the lake Nahuel Huapi, which is covered by a thick layer of volcanic ash emitted by the volcano Puyehue." Via.

Image roundup

Frozen cherries. Via.User friendly handle.Cat with a tie.A rejoinder.Sauron.Dog loves fawn.Peacock Mantis Shrimp.

Tree growing on a tree

Tree growing on a tree branch via.

Link roundup

1. Sky on fire. Via.2. Fast Company has a great article about Cargill's creation and marketing of the sweetener Truvia:

TRUVIA HAS ITS OWN tribute message, an ode to the comfort Cargill wants to provide. "Have you ever cured bad news with hot choc-olate? Ever snuck downstairs to eat a cookie before breast-feeding the baby at 3 a.m.?" If the answer is yes, you are part of Cargill's new demographic, the Yoga Momma, the company's name for the typically harried but well-intentioned working woman.On a recent day, McFerson and Truvia's marketing director, Ann Tucker, explain the tao of Yoga Momma-ism. "The Yoga Momma wears yoga pants but may never make it to class," Tucker says. "It's more about a mind-set," McFerson adds. Both readily admit this sounds like them. "I've never been to class, but I have the pants," McFerson deadpans.The brand homage was conceived by mothers at Ogilvy & Mather in Chicago. "What is cool about Cargill is it's a pretty female-based group," says Donna Charlton-Perrin, one of the campaign's architects. "There is a line in there about how women have a complicated relationship with sweetness. Everyone just had this autobiographical understanding of how that goes." Not surprisingly, Yoga Mommas tend to be prime spenders on health-related supermarket goodies. To reach them, McFerson spent lavishly to secure a name (which sounds like true plus stevia, and was devised by Lexicon Branding); a logo (light green type with a tiny stevia leaf, by Pentagram); and clever print and TV ads designed by Ogilvy.

3. Goofy mystery awaits Detective Rex Starbuck in House of Mystery #251.

Image roundup

Crib full of baby pandas.Electrified acid sounds awesome.Glassedwinged Butterfly. See also. Bonsai.Ant and water drops. (High-res at the links.)

Link roundup

1. One of Drew Magary's readers talks about meeting Randy Savage:

We were met backstage by some WWF people who were leading us into the locker room area, and we were brought to Randy to say hello. There were a bunch of other wrestlers around, which was really cool but there was one problem: the good guys were hanging out and being cordial to the bad guys! Seeing good guys like Brett Hart sharing laughs with bad guys like Jake "The Snake" Roberts was almost traumatic to see; like seeing your Dad french kiss your aunt. It simply wasn't supposed to happen.I was sad, scared and confused. I gathered up the courage to ask why the Good Guys were friends with the Bad Guys. Randy said, "We're not. We're just tricking them. You'll see."After this, a WWF rep was showing us some other areas of the backstage. I don't remember what we saw, but I know when we circled back to the area where Randy was, all of the wrestlers I had seen before were back in character. Bad guys were yelling at Good Guys about how they were going to kick their butt and Good Guys were holding each other back from attacking the bad guys.This. Was. Awesome. It IS real! Of course it is!Randy didn't know me too well, but he cared enough about a young fan and professional wrestling to keep the illusion and innocence alive.

2. Crooked forest. Via.3. If you've experienced problems commenting, there's apparently a problem affecting some users. (It'll be pretty sad if Blogger stops being reliable - - that's really all it has going for it.)

Link roundup

1. Time-lapse videos of mushrooms growing.2. Homemade oreo recipe.3. The BBTS has various Alice: Madness Returns items available for preorder (vorpal blade, tea pot).

Terrific TED talk about Antarctic Ice and the fearsome leopard seal (narwhals, too)

This presentation by Paul Nicklen is possibly the best TED talk I've watched - - funny, fascinating, well-delivered, and supported by tremendous photographs. Among the interesting factoids: The ice he regularly dove in was so cold that he typically vomited each time he hit the water. National Geographic's informal motto is "we publish photographs, not excuses." And unless I heard wrong, one of the whales pictured in the video is believed to be 250 years old.But most of all, the leopard seal stars as a fearsome (as in, sometimes they eat people), but sometimes charming creature.*Buy National Geographic back issues at eBay.