Banksy is burning up the Facebook airways as pictures appear on profiles and short micro snippets of information cryptically represent a call to action.

Apparently Banksy is something of an anonymous vigilante; a renegade graffiti artist who’s politically themed images have caught the attention of the world. His work is actually rather ingenious, and it’s easy to see why he has garnered the attention he has.

Easy to see. His work is obviously controversial, and his anonymous nature only seems to feed the fire. And let’s face it…. looking at it, his images are powerful, and even someone such as myself with no artistic knowledge at all can see the brilliance.

Read more: A Facebook Revolution Affecting Us All

Guest article by Lima

You can almost hear Barcelona groan under the weight of its own brilliance - the Catalan capital is embarrassingly well-endowed with architectural and cultural icons. And in some ways, the shadow of one man's uncompleted work – Gaudi's Sagrada Familia cathedral – is cast exceptionally long over the rest of the city. Many may wonder, what else lies hidden in this city, just out of the light?

Of course, any visit to Barcelona would be pretty hollow, if it were not to include a respectful pilgrimage to Gaudi's extravagant master-piece – not to mention the many other modernisme beacons shining in Barcelona's firmament. But Barcelona has other facets beyond these brilliant icons – and if you want to get a little closer to the Catalan soul, it's worth digger a little deeper.

The wide avenues of the Eixample district, which has the Temple of Sagrada Familia at its heart, are a good place to start. Here the street-facades are grand, with many buildings beautifully embellished in the modernisme style - that effusive blend of art nouveau and Catalan exuberance that is so emblematic. But what is less well known is that, behind these impressive 19th Century blocks, are green oases – sunlit parks and cool patios lying in the courtyards at the heart of each apartment block.

 ( Casa Mila Atrium)

There is the hidden garden of the Palau Robert mansion; the peaceful courtyard at the back of the Casa Mila, and the children's playground, overlooked by the Gothic splendor of the Church of Immaculate Conception. All it takes is a few steps down the alley, away from Eixample's bustling roads, to be able to take in an unfiltered slice of Catalan day-to-day life.

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Just to the north of the grandeur of Eixample is another face again - the edgy alternative heart of Barcelona that is the Gracia district. Catalans are rightly proud of their radical political history - one that saw Anarchism embraced in the Spanish Civil War. Here, in Gracia, anarchy is not a corrosive anti-social nihilism – it is seen, instead, as a vibrant and positive form social reform. The legacy of independent political thought lives on in the bars and narrow streets of this old district, which has become the center of Barcelona's counter-culture.

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Strolling down the Passieg de Gracia, and onto the Catalunya Plaza, you'll be treading the well-worn tourist path down to La Rambla. There is a lot to see and do along this busy street, including the sensory overload that is Barcelona's most famous market – la Boqueria. But if you take a dive down one of the passages on your left, you'll find yourself in a different city altogether - the dark cloisters and alleys of the Gothic Quarter.

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Here it feels as if history has been slowly accumulating, layer by gentle layer, so that the modern world can often seem entirely blanked out. There is much exploring- or getting lost – to be had in this myriad of streets. On your way, look out for Roman walls, Gothic fragments and the rearing form of the medieval Cathedral - beneath which is a labyrinthine subterranean world, a gateway into the darker passages of Barcelona's soul.

(Carrer del Bisbe Irurita)

And after the claustrophobia of the Barrio Gotica, there's a welcome herald from the south - heading seawards the vista opens up, welcoming you onto the Mediterranean sea-front of Barceloneta. This is where some of most real of the Catalan eateries can be found - with the seafood paella enriched by the freshly plucked fruits of the sea. And as Barcelona runs into the sea, here you really get a perspective back over the city - where a stroll can only glance the surface of its diverse and storied vibrancy.

This article is contributed by Lima, an avid traveler who owns a website offering high quality adjustable dumbbells for sale.

You can walk into a college library on any day of the week and see students draped on the many couches and chairs, sound asleep with their textbook and Starbucks still in hand. A short snooze to absorb the ridiculous amounts of data or just an eye closing exercise to relax? Recent studies have actually found that quick naps can help the brain process and retain information.

Naps are, according to most reputable sources, the greatest thing that can possibly happen between the hours of 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. But did you know they are also good for helping you remember things?

A group of scientists thinks that taking a short nap after learning information speeds up the process by which information is retained. In an experiment, the researchers had two groups of people memorize one set of illustrated cards, and then, after a 40 minute interval, learn another set of cards.

Full Article on Napping and Memorization Via Gawker

Picture (Luca, an endangered white-naped mangabey monkey, has a nap at London Zoo.) © Metro.co.uk

(Start video at 1:28)

The latest video of the Obama so called birthright scam has hit the internet and needless to say the public is not fooled. Legally, Abercrombie has no rights to the documents, so whether he could verify their existence  could never be determined without a court order. Lack of legal education and privacy rights of citizens is sending political enthusiasts into an uproar.

Chocolate is already sinful enough without turning it into one of the most mysterious archaeological sites on Earth. One Italian artist, however, was able to do so.

A chocolate sculpture of Stonehenge, created by Italian chocolatier Mirco Della Vecchia, is displayed as part of his "Chocolate World Heritage" exhibition in Hong Kong January 20, 2011. Vecchia currently holds the Guinness World Record title for making the largest chocolate sculpture in the world.

The Dubai islands were intended to be developed with tailor-made hotel complexes and luxury villas, and sold to millionaires. They are off the coast of Dubai and accessible by yacht or motor boat.

Now that the sands are eroding and the navigational channels between them are silting up, the British lawyer for a company is bringing a case against the state-run developer, Nakheel, has told judges.

"The islands are gradually falling back into the sea," Richard Wilmot-Smith QC, for Penguin Marine, said. The evidence showed "erosion and deterioration of The World islands", he added.

With all but one of the islands still uninhabited – Greenland – and that one a showpiece owned by the ruler of Dubai, most of the development plans have been brought to a crashing halt by the financial crisis.

Read the full story at Telegraph: Dubai Islands Falling into the Sea

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© Friends Revolution

Wood carving is complicated as it is without complicating the matter by making life size automobiles. This wooden Vespa was crafted by sculptor Livio De March of Venice and is exact in every detail. This particular wood carving is not the only work of Livio De March awing crowds.

Livio De March is an innovator with his fun loving wooden trees draped in carved leaves with a a body reflecting that of a women.

 Born in Venezia, this inspiring artist creates art reflecting the Venetian tradition. March studied art at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice. An inspiring location indeed to create such works of individuality.

Livio De March started sculpting with marble, then bronze, and eventually wood. Many of his pieces can be seen in Ripley's Museums around the country.

 De March has an inner passion, an irony as he calls it, to see the evolution of life in so many different ways.

From a Porsche carved entirely out of wood and dropped in the canal of Venice to his numerous "floating creations", origami paper hats, an enormous floating shoe, a Cinderella Pumpkin Coach and four horses, Livio De Marchi has blessed the Canals of Venice with his own individual style, his spirit, a completely different way of being an artist and having tons of fun. You just can't help but smile when you see a wooden pumpkin float down the canal.

Screenshots via Friends Revolution.
All art portrayed in pictures below Vespa are © Livio De March

In the summer of 2006, Tom Storm was traveling through Galway, Ireland, when he came upon the Galway Arts Festival. Huge bubbles suddenly surrounded him and he found them so beautiful and intriguing that he started snapping away. A few months later, as Tom was rediscovering these photos, something caught his eye. In the bubbles' reflections, he found incredibly crisp detail. "I found there was a whole world within the bubble, a perfect world in focus," Tom said.

Bubble Photography via My Modern Met

How is this video of Father Guido Sarducci's Five Minute University has been around for years and I never knew? Imagine obtaining a 5 year college education is less than 5 minutes. To be honest, only a small percentage of people actually retain the information they learn in college.

• How many of you can say "How are you?" in Spanish? Como estas?
• Describe economics. Supply and Demand right?

 Father Guido even has the perfect school for lawyers and it only takes one minute. Watch this video and try. Just try not to crack up!

After arriving back from Gatlinburg, Tennessee a few weeks ago, I discovered the cabin company I stayed with is running a contest for the best picture of their holiday or vacation. One of the last days I was in the mountains, I snapped a shot of the mountains on one of the clearest days I'd ever seen.

The sky was a crystal clear blue, the air was thin and rich with smells of the forest, and the snow had almost completely melted.

Lend me a hand by liking my photo on facebook. What's in it for me? Well, to be honest, an IPad and $500.00 towards a vacation with Cabinsforyou. I'd like to get the IPad for classes, however I'd like to hold a contest on Ancient Digger for the vacation. So the moral of the story is, if I win, you get the chance to as well.

Follow this link to my photo and click the facebook like button. You have until January 17th so hurry before time runs out!

© Friend Revolution

The last thing you would think of when you consider the rap music superstar Eminem is chocolate candy coated with a delightful hard sweet shell. However, this portrait by Enrique Ramos puts the idea into a completely different perspective. Ramos supplies Ripley's with a vast array of wacky and bizarre artworks and sculptures like this M & M Artwork of Eminem. The art is made from 1000 M & M candies and weighs close to 8 lbs.

Guest written by our friend Jan Petersen

Little Bill, which was created by the famous Bill Cosby, makes this a great show in my book to begin with. Not only is this show educational for children but parents do not mind watching it either do to the fact that Bill Cosby wove his humor into Little Bill himself. This wonderful show comes on at four in the afternoon on nick jr, which is on satellite television that we got after reading this Directv vs cable page, which is a good thing because it comes on right after school lets out. Like I said this show is great for all age groups, but especially for preschoolers.

As children watch Little Bill they are taught how to love and value their family, how to increase their self esteem and to help develop social skills that they will need to develop within this world. Little Bill is the youngest of three children, April who is the oldest sister loves to play basketball and sing in her church's choir, then you have got Bobby who is the middle child and loves to give Little Bill a hard time but also be there for him when he really needs someone. Then there is the grandmother who is called Alice the Great. Why is she called Alice the Great, there is really no telling.

There's only one place in the world, at least I think there is, that has a floor that changes every time you step on it.

As one screen shows petals of roses blowing across the floor as someone walks across, another sensor sends in the snakes, which actually move when you nudge them on the floor. This was just wickedly bizarre!

 

On 400 archaeology sites spanning an immense expanse of land stretching from Thailand, through Laos, and into northern India, there lies a bizarre oasis of jars.

During the 1930’s, Madeline Colani, the French archaeologist, performed an excavation of the Xiangkhoang Plains. Further investigation turned up two enormous chimney’s in a cave in close proximity to the jars.  Colani discovered human remains in the jars leading archaeologists to theorize what the jars were actually used for.  Colani, however, believed the chimneys were kilns used to cremate remains.

From: The Plain of Jars: Xiangkhoang, Laos

It's hard not to be touched and enamored by Ted Williams, an ex radio announcer, who is now unfortunetly homeless.

Ted Williams was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of 14 he went on a field trip to meet an area announcer and he quickly found that the man's voice didn't match his appearance. The announcer told Ted that Radio is defined, "Theater of mind". You don't have to have a gleaming and shiny appearance to make the world love you. Just a voice to sooth the minds and hearts of listeners.

Williams tells the Columbus Dispatch about his struggles, but thankfully "alcohol and drugs and a few other things" haven't diminished Williams' velvety vocal cords, and he says he's two years clean now.

Being I'm originally from Ohio and quite familiar with The Morning Zoo, I was thrilled to hear that Williams will be appearing on the morning show after they saw his You-tube performance. A lot is about to change for this man with the Golden Voice of Radio.

It's one of most discussed, rated, and  favorited science and technology youtube videos today. Why?

The topic being discussed is climate change and James Hansen, NASA's chief atmospheric scientist, is walking listeners thru the most recent geologic periods, and speaks to the commonly heard climate canard, "It's been hotter in earth's history before - so what's the big deal?'

Give you one guess as to where these toilet tops can be found?

© Friends Revolution

Politicians admitting they were never a witch. Republicans saying they will be republicans when times are good and when times are bad. Aww, the sounds of a year gone by and hundreds of idiotic people making waves on the internet so we can revel in their stupidity.

When the last of the Chilean miners finally emerged from the fetid belly of the Earth, he probably went home, ate his favorite food, made love to his wife, and then logged onto the Internet and watched a Kitten Hugging a Teddy Bear before drifting off into a hero’s sleep, right? 

Via Videogum