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Animal Soccer

Jack, a Jack Russell terrier from Inverurie, Scotland, gets a kick out of playing soccer. While most dogs will just chase after a ball, Jack demonstrates his technical proficiency for the sport by dribbling and heading.

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Han Solo and Chewbacca, 30 years later

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House Hubby

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Why Soccer is Rife with Cheating

Soccer's most infamous example of cheating came during the June 1986 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal. Argentina and England were vying for a spot in the finals when Argentine star Diego Maradona achieved the first goal of the game by striking the ball with his hand—a flagrant violation of the rules. At first Maradona was coy about his cheating, but he eventually admitted he had intentionally hit the ball with his hand. The illegal goal (which likely decided the outcome of the game) became known as the "Hand of God" play.
There are of course many sports where cheating occurs (or is alleged to occur). From Sammy Sosa's "accidental" use of corked baseball bats to doping scandals to New England Patriots coach Bill Belichik stealing signals from opposing teams, there's nothing new under the sun.

But soccer seems to allow many more opportunities for cheating, from handballs to "diving" (faking or exaggerating an injury in an effort to falsely penalize another player) to "accidentally" tripping other players.

Not only is there widespread willingness to cheat in soccer, but the fact that there is no instant reply in soccer greatly helps the cheaters. Referees and judges in most other professional sports (baseball, hockey, tennis, football, and so on) can consult videotape more or less immediately to check on the accuracy of a call. Soccer has no such option, and therefore feeds the "If the officials didn't see it, then it didn't happen" mentality. Exactly as Thierry Henry noted, he is not the referee, and it's not the players' job to follow the rules but instead the officials' job to catch them when they do not. If a referee isn't paying attention to a foul (or, in some cases, even a goal), then it didn't happen. And there is no appeal.
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Mouse Innards in 3D

(Mouse lung images; Credit: Michael Leven, Yale)

A scientific first can be claimed by Yale University engineers, who have for the first time created 3D models of whole intact mouse organs, according to a report in the latest Journal of Biomedical Optics. You can now feast your eyes on three dimensional images and videos of the brain, small intestine, large intestine, kidney, lung and testicles of a mouse.

The models were made possible by techniques known as fluorescence and multiphoton microscopy, which allow the natural fluorescence emitted by tissues to show up on camera.
Cool as this is, you might be wondering why anyone would take the time to study mouse innards so intently.
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White elephant caught in Burma

The female elephant was captured by officials on Saturday in the coastal town of Maungtaw in Rakhine state, according to news reports in Burma, also known as Myanmar.
She is aged about 38 years old and seven feet four inches tall, the English-language New Light of Myanmar said, although it did not mention where she would be kept.
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Cleopatra died of drug overdose

The Queen of the Nile ended her life in 30BC and it has always been held that it was the bite of an asp – now called the Egyptian cobra – which caused her demise.
Now Christoph Schaefer, German historian and professor at the University of Trier, is presenting evidence that aims to prove drugs and not the reptile were the cause of death.
"Queen Cleopatra was famous for her beauty and was unlikely to have subjected herself to a long and disfiguring death," he said.
He journeyed with other experts to Alexandria, Egypt, where they consulted ancient medical texts and snake experts.
"Cleopatra wanted to remain beautiful in her death to maintain her myth," he says on the Adventure Science show screened by the German television channel ZDF.
"She probably took a cocktail of opium, hemlock and aconitum. Back then this was a well-known mixture that led to a painless death within just a few hours whereas the snake death could have taken days and been agonising."
Cleopatra reigned from 51BC to 30BC and was the last person to rule Egypt as an Egyptian pharaoh. After she died, Egypt became a Roman province.
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iPhone 4.1 is here

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"Are you kidding me?"

"This hilarious high-chair is a must-have for any dog who wishes to dine in style with the family and forgo the usual scraps from the floor."

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Gillard won't play religion card

Ms Gillard says that while she greatly respects other people's religious views, she does not believe in God.

Ms Gillard has been quizzed on personal topics including her attitude to religion and her relationship with her partner during interviews this morning.

She says does not go through religious rituals for the sake of appearance.

"I am not going to pretend a faith I don't feel," she said.

"I am what I am and people will judge that.

"For people of faith, I think the greatest compliment I could pay to them is to respect their genuinely held beliefs and not to engage in some pretence about mine."

"I grew up in the Christian church, a Christian background. I won prizes for catechism, for being able to remember Bible verses. I am steeped in that tradition, but I've made decisions in my adult life about my own views.

"I'm worried about the national interest. About doing the right thing by Australians. And I'll allow people to form their own views about whatever is going to drive their views.

"What I can say to Australians broadly of course is I believe you can be a person of strong principle and values from a variety of perspectives."
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So I'm ugly. So what?

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Sculptures of Native American scenes made out of paper by Allen and Patty Eckman

These stunningly detailed sculptures may only be made from paper - but they are being snapped up by art fans for tens of thousands of pounds. The intricate creations depict Native American scenes and took up to 11 months to make using a specially formulated paper.
Husband and wife team Allen and Patty Eckman put paper pulp into clay moulds and pressurise it to remove the water.

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WOW! Croatia

American television journalist and producer Ashley Colburn was nominated for the prestigious Emmy Award for her documentary "WOW Croatia," which was filmed in October last year in our country.

Based On A True Story

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Cute Pictures Of Puppies

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Giant octopus takes public transport in Seoul

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52 Fascinating Facts About Love

Historically, sweat has been an active ingredient in perfume and love potions.

In Bali, men believed a woman would fall in love if her suitor fed her a certain kind of leaf incised with the image of a god who sported a very large penis.

The Mexican chief Montezuma considered chocolate a “love drug” and drank 50 cups of chocolate a day before visiting his harem of 600 women.


Scientists suggest that most people will fall in love approximately seven times before marriage.

Some individuals who claim never to have felt romantic love suffer from hypopituitarism, a rare disease that doesn’t allow a person to feel the rapture of love.
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Underwater Photography by Brian Skerry

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Build It—And They Will Come

To win choosy females, male bowerbirds swagger, croon, and…decorate. In some species, only males with the most spectacular lairs, like this Vogelkop on New Guinea, succeed in passing on their genes.
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No, Kaiser, this time we’re ready by Dan McDougall

This time England are ready. Or they think they are. The football team have used every bit of technology they can lay their hands on to prepare for a penalty shoot out with the Germans and have been practising daily.

David James, the goalkeeper, has studied videos of the five likeliest German penalty takers on an i-Pad and a DVD player. James said, “If it goes to penalties, we are ready. We’re confident and we will do what is needed.”

All 23 members of the England squad have been graded on their penalty-taking ability. Steven Gerrard, the captain, and fellow midfielder Gareth Barry are top with nine out of 10 goals in their most recent spot-kicks for their club and country.

The Germans claim not to have practised penalties even though the “Kaiser” himself, their former captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer, has predicted that is how the game will end.

He said: “I hope for the fans, for the excitement, a draw — whatever, 1-1, 2-2, overtime, okay — and then penalty kicks, and then ... the German wins! Sorry!”

England, however, have done their homework, time and time again, to avoid adding to their sorry tally of five exits from big tournaments in the past 20 years.

Stuart Pearce, the team’s assistant coach, who endured semi-final knockouts to Germany at the 1990 World Cup and at Euro 96, said: “It hurts and the pain never mellows. These players have no interest in that, but I learnt lessons and I have to make sure they’re passed on.”

Despite famously missing his spot-kick in Turin in 1990, Pearce has been overseeing Operation Penalty to make sure no one fluffs their lines or, rather kicks, today.

Capello has promised a bonus to his players if they win; they can spend tonight with their wives or girlfriends at the hotel. Those already in South Africa include Christine Bleakley, Frank Lampard’s TV presenter girlfriend.

Many of the 11,000 England fans expected at the match have paid up to £200 for black market tickets.
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Ray Manzarek, the Doors’ keyboardist, on Morrison’s wild life, mysterious death and the new film about the iconic band

When the lights dimmed in Sundance on that cold January night for the screening of When You’re Strange, it was like a flashback to the Sixties. Seeing Jim leap about in the ether, larger than life, was a very exciting moment, but also incredibly emotional. I felt as devastated as I did when I heard the news of his death. A moment that made me choke back a tear, was when I saw Jim as a young, vibrant Adonis, so handsome, so alive, so filled with energy and potency.
There was my best friend, my poet, and seeing this personal footage made me relive those days on Venice Beach when we were poverty-stricken film students filled with life, with potency, with possibility. When You’re Strange is the first feature documentary to tell our story as it happened. We used rare footage shot between 1965 and Jim’s death in 1971 to follow us from the corridors of UCLA’s film school, where I met Jim, to the stages of sold-out arenas.
I felt it was time for a true story about the Doors. We didn’t want to be saddled with the Oliver Stone fiasco [the 1991 biopic with Val Kilmer] for the rest of our lives. Jim’s legacy would be as a drunken lunatic, but this film is the real Jim Morrison, it’s the real Doors. Johnny Depp narrates it in a very sensitive, soulful way — Johnny has beatnik blood. If Jim were alive today he would have loved the documentary.
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Well Hello There, Cold Frosty Friend!

photo bombing