Fairway to heaven: Hit some golfing highs at the loftiest resort around

If you love a game of golf but are bored of your usual club, this rather unusual 19th hole could be just the thing you've been looking for.

Located at the top of Mount Currie in Whistler, Vancouver, the lofty site is situated 8,000ft above its nearest competitor, the Big Sky Golf Club in the Pemberton Valley.

The site of the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Mount Currie is 8,000ft above the Big Sky Golf Club in the Pemberton Valley.




If you take up the £290 offer, you'll be flown to the top of the mountain by the Four Seasons Resort to practice your drive with biodegradable golf balls.

PR officer Samantha Geer says: 'It's a great attraction that has brought a lot of interest and a different experience to our guests.

'It takes around 20 minutes from the Big Sky Golf Course to reach the tip of Mount Currie - and the views are magnificent!'

Don't delay in booking your spot, though, because the 19th hole is only offered from May to October.

Amazing Toilet Papers

Leaves that Literally Move by Themselves

Katydids are fascinating little buggers, er, bugs. More than 6,400 species exist so it’s not surprising they come in a range of shapes, sizes and colors, or that they have adapted to blend with their habitats to avoid becoming lunch. Leaf mimic katydids are the most adept at getting lost in the undergrowth. Their bodies have evolved to look just like dead, dying or discoloured leaves, and the longer they avoid detection, the better their disguise becomes.
It would be all too easy to stand on one of these little fellers. Up close, the lie of the viens, discoloration of the body and small speckles are uncanningly similar to those of a real leaf. It’s no wonder these creatures can go without be discovered by their predators.
Praying mantis are other intriguing specimens, some of them also live with the same leafy disguise. Mantises, as a group, are excellent predators themselves, using their camouflage to surprise unsuspecting prey. They often blend with their surroundings but some have developed in various ways to mimic leaves, twigs, flowers and grass, much like the katydid.
Many mantises are also able to change their covering on the go – some species in Australia and Africa will turn soot black on their next molt following a fire. The specimen below was photographed in Halong Bay, Vietnam, so it seems these clever creatures know no bounds.

Horse sculptures made entirely of driftwood

Frozen in a series of dynamic life-like poses, these beautiful horse sculptures are even more incredible because each one of them is made almost entirely from driftwood found on the beach.

Created by noted West Country artist Heather Jansch, the driftwood horses have become much sought after amongst equine enthusiasts, with some trading at almost £55,000.

Painstakingly created, each sculpture which can take Ms Jansch, 60, up to three years to create is totally different and unique.


Each three quarter-of-a-ton driftwood horse is heavy enough to be self-supporting, despite the fact that they appear extremely light at first glance.

'The structure must not only be strong enough to withstand public display, it must also be able to withstand heavy winds without falling over,' said Ms Jansch.

'The larger sculptures require a steel frame. This is first painted with a rust inhibitor and then coated with fibreglass to give a roughened surface.

'I then tie the driftwood to the sculpture with wire and then nuts and screws to secure the solidity of the piece.'

Each horse she builds usually stands around 17 hands tall (five and half feet), but it is the life-like qualities that are most impressive.

'I really couldn't tell you why people find my horses so alluring. I think it is something to do with the dynamic aspect of my horses.

'I have seen people become deeply affected by my work and that makes me pleased,' said Ms Jansch, who is based in the small Devon hamlet of Olchard.

Originally working in fine art paintings, Ms Jansch started driftwood sculpting in the 1970's almost by accident.

'I was tired of following in other peoples footsteps. I had been working with copper wire and the sculptures were like Da Vinci's line drawings but lacked the power I wanted.

'One day I while I was out my son could not find any kindling wood to light the wood-burner and had chopped up a piece of ivy that had grown round a fencing stake, he had left behind a short section that I immediately saw as a horses torso of the right size to fit straight into the copper wire piece I was working on.

'The next question was where could I find more or similar shapes and the answer was of course driftwood.'

Working on several horse sculptures a year, Ms Jansch usually aims to produce two a year for her customers.

Her work has become so popular that now she has a waiting list of three years.

Ms Jansch has been making changes to her usual sculpture methods, with her works starting at £15,000.

'For my larger commissioned pieces I now have moved on to using oak for the sculptures. It is more durable. Which is important if the buyer has spent a lot of money.'


Having now created almost 100 horses in the 30 years since she started, Ms Jansch still keeps her love of horses true to her art.

'I don't generally like to build anything other than thoroughbred race horses.

'I mean for example, Shetland Ponies are fat and uninteresting compared to a raging stallion.

'I like athletic beasts and the movement and poise of horses lends itself incredibly to my work.'

Ms Jansch's horses have even been displayed at the Eden Project in Cornwall, but most of her equine masterpieces remain in private collections.

10 Abstract Masterpieces of Frost [PICS]

When thinking of snowflakes and frost, your memory tends to give you subtle hints: it’s translucent, abstract, beautiful and short-lived. Nothing however, can prepare you for what abstract masterpieces icy nights may bring. Flourishes of Jack Frost’s brushstrokes envelop windscreens in fractal crystal and transform into icy autumn leaves, crystal ferns and mathematical shapes. Jack Frost is an abstract artist.

Perhaps the beauty of frost lies precisely in the fact that it is ephemeral, melting into oblivion only several hours after it is created. Frost deposits form when water vapor turns directly into ice, which happens when the air temperature is at or below freezing. When the first frost crystals form a layer, new crystals will align themselves with those already there, which gives us the amazing natural patterns we see

This amazing shot could easily be mistaken for a close-up of a crystal vase. The detail and clarity are unbelieveable. It’s actually the windscreen of a car taken from the inside. Windscreens are more prone to frosting over because they cool much quicker than the other windows in the car. Being vertical, the side windows loose heat at a slower rate the windscreen, which is a larger surface area and points directly into the cool night air, making it a perfect canvas for Jack Frost.

Like little Christmas trees fallen from the sky, this shot looks cool in iced blue. Trees and plants cool off by a process called radiative cooling, which means they give off energy in the form of infrared radiation. This means they retain more heat so they don’t frost over in the same way windows do.

Wonderful natural looking landscapes are created without any direction. The patterns in this photograph look like petals of a tropical flower, and are just as fragile.

The lighting on this image gives an awesome 3D quality to the frost, but one touch and it would be gone. Still, whether touched or not, the first rays of the morning sun will melt nature’s hard word in minutes. Shame.

Taken in macro, this image shows the intricacy of frost formations, and like many others looks 3D. It also is not unlike some of the great impressionist masterpieces from the 19th century.

“We had a day of hard rain and then a sudden windy hard freeze. Made for some interesting frost patterns on the windows,” says Muffet the photographer. The wind seems to have frozen the rain in upward strokes resulting in this fantastic image. Although, it also looks like the old flock wallpaper from the 70s – not so cool.

It’s uncanny how the long arms of this frost formation are repeated in equally spaced-out chunks, like a shaft of wheat. The shape of frost crystals are influenced by the type of glass they’ve formed on, and any imperfections or scratches in the surface will play a part in the final look.

Like frosted sunflowers these frost formations look as if they’ve erupted from rain drops, their icy petals growing slowly in the cold air.

This mish-mash of crystals looks like a little like a tall ship caught in a storm. The waves to the bottom right of the image and the masts keeling sideways. Other people will probably see something different, but then that’s the beauty of art – it’s in the eye of the beholder, as they say.

Amazing 3D Landscapes Art Made Entirely Out of Food

The next time you’re trying to figure out what to do with your leftover food in the fridge, take a look at the work of British photographer Carl Warner for inspiration. If you weren’t hungry before, you’ll be famished after!

Using nothing else but food bought in his local supermarket, Carl creates these awesome landscapes with the help of food stylists and model-makers before painstakingly shooting each scene in layers.

The whacky masterpieces, which include a broccoli trees, a salmon sea, a garlic village and salami mountains, have to be precisely timed and planned to avoid the food wilting.

The only problem with making scenes like these is the waste. Carl told the UK’s Telegraph: “Although there is a fair amount of waste, there is a lot of food left over which is always shared out with the team, though most of the food used in the sets have either been superglued or pinned, and neither of these makes for good eating.

There are plans to turn the ‘Foodscapes’ into a book, which Carl hopes will encourage children to eat more healthily, even though he’s still having trouble to get his kids to eat their greens. Well, how hard would it be to take orders from a father who still plays with his food?

Just goes to show, art is all a matter of taste.

The American toddler who got a set of car keys lodged in his brain ... and recovered unscathed

This brave little toddler has made an astonishing recovery after the horror of having a car key lodged in his brain.

The freak accident happened when Nicholas Holderman, 20 months, was playing at home with his two elder brothers.

Somehow he managed to fall on to his parents’ car keys, one of which pierced his eyelid and penetrated deep into his brain as these X-ray scans reveal.

Miraculously the American tot has since made a full recovery.

Nicholas’s parents, who had been alerted by his screams, dialled the emergency services.

And today the youngster appeared on American television with his family as they relived their ordeal.

His father Chris Holderman said: 'Nicholas fell down and we heard him cry. It was different.

I said to my wife, "I think he hit the recliner".'

Mother Staci Holderman added: 'I'll never forget that moment. Nothing can prepare you for something like that.

'You can just watch him this morning and see he is a normal healthy baby.'

The accident happened on September 2.

Nicholas and his two brothers Isaac and Caleb were playing in the family living room in Perryville, Kentucky when his parents heard him scream.

His brother Isaac said: 'When I looked at it close I saw the key in his eye.

'It was a very horrifying sight to see this happen to your baby', dad Chris added.

His mother made a frantic 911 emergency call after finding Nicholas with the key in his head.

She told America's The Today Show: 'We knew that he was injured seriously.

'It was pretty horrifying. Not something I ever want to see again', said firefighter Chris Coffman, was one of the first on the scene after responding to the call.

The youngster spent six days in hospital after being helicoptered to the medical unit.
Doctors initially believed his right eye had been ruptured.

Medics were able to remove the key during surgery without Nicholas suffering any damage to his brain.

But then doctors found a quarter of an hour later that his eyesight hadn't been damaged after all.

And now he has fully recovered and has perfect vision, his family says.

'Fifteen minutes later for another [doctor] to say nothing was wrong, we knew it was a miracle from the Lord', Chris added.

Staci said: 'Everyone will say, 'Which eye is it?' 'We all grin and look at him and are so thankful and are reminded every day of what a miracle it truly is.'

Dial M for murder: The Mafia gun disguised as a mobile phone

It's the mobile phone that could leave you with more than a warm ear.

As startled Italian police discovered, the device seized in a raid on a Mafia gang is actually a pistol.

The phone gun - complete with a dummy display - holds four .22 bullets.

It was fully loaded and ready to be used when it was found in Naples.

The phone transformed into a gun by sliding the keypad section.

The stubby antenna is the barrel, and a touch on a particular key fires a bullet.

A police spokesman said: 'This is the first time such a weapon has been seized and shows the sophistication that the crime syndicates are turning to.

Tests are being carried out to see if it has been used recently or has been involved in any shooting attacks.'

The raid in a Naples suburb was part of an operation against the Gionta crime family of the Camorra, the port city's version of the Mafia.

Officers from the paramilitary Carabinieri police also seized two ordinary handguns, ammunition, bullet-proof vests, drugs and cash.

A 28-year-old man was arrested during the raid in the Torre Annunziata area but several other suspected gang members escaped.

My little pony: The tiny horse that wants a name for Christmas

Toy horses are usually pink and plastic – and aimed at young girls.

But this little pony is 100 per cent natural – and ready to make friends with anyone her size.

Born ten days ago at a stud in the southern state of Victoria, Australia, the 15in miniature horse – which is yet to be named – has already formed a bond with Sam Leith, 12.

Silver dun tovero in colour, she was given a clean bill of health – and should reach 24in when grown.

The birth has generated such excitement in the community that local people are entering a competition to give the horse a name in time for Christmas.

Owner Lee Scown said she wanted a name that reflected the tiny, unique nature of the horse.

'It’s the smallest horse I’ve ever had and she’s so gorgeous,' Ms Scown said.


'It’s amazing to see a horse so tiny, and she’s about the size of a week-old lamb.'

The horse is the smallest born at Riverdance and its arrival surprised even its breeder.

'We got told the mare wasn't due for another four weeks but on Sunday morning I walked outside and called her, and out ran the little foal behind her.'