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bone cancer.
bone cancer.
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aboutegypt: Snake relief (by Stephan Alberola)
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a-l-ancien-regime: The Stone Hall, Houghton Hall,...
The Stone Hall, Houghton Hall, Norfolk
Architects: Colin Campbell and James Gibbs (1721-1731)
Photograph: A. E. Henson (1920)
Houghton Hall (1721-31) is one of the most important houses of its time. It is also one of the most intriguing: here the Baroque and Palladian combine to splendid effect.
The largest room of the house is the entrance hall, shown here in this photograph. A room with a full complement of external architectural details: stone walls, pedimented doorcases, sculptural reliefs, deep galleries, niches and false windows. The sculptural effect is magnificent, but odd for an interior. Essentially the outside has been brought in, and the upholstered furniture looks slightly ill at ease.
This interior is peculiarly English. Rather than being based on Palladio, this form was really invented by Inigo Jones (1576-1652), who to the eighteenth-century Palladians was as much to be imitated as the Italian architect. This room was directly inspired by the hall at the Queen’s House, Greenwich, designed by Jones in the 1630s. Later Georgian architects would reconsider the merits of this approach, notably Robert Adam (1728-92).
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"At the heart of the emptiness there is born in me a sudden understanding."
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Sylvia Plath, “Contusion”
Sylvia Plath, “Contusion”
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animals-animals-animals: Leopard Gecko (by bummy2810) * Where...
animals-animals-animals: Leopard Gecko (by bummy2810)* Where as most geckos that we know of have no eyelids, and can therefore not close their eyes, members of the gecko family Eublepharidae (like leopard geckos) do have eyelids.
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Boelen’s Python (Morelia boeleni) A rarely encountered and...
Boelen’s Python (Morelia boeleni)
A rarely encountered and gorgeous python found in the forests of mountainous areas of New Guinea, that reaches a length of up to 10 ft. It is thought to be equally comfortable at climbing up in the trees and traversing the forest floor. It eats a wide variety of small mammals, birds, and reptiles.
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Florida Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula floridana), (which used...
Florida Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula floridana), (which used to be known as the Brook’s or Brooksi Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula brooksi), there have been many reclassifications over the years) are a popular and easy snake to care for regardless of the confusion over the exact species.They can be found in several different morphs, such as Peanut Butter (Hypomelanstic), Amelanistic, and many others. These are not large snakes and rarely grow larger than 6ft in length, usually only reaching 3 to 4ft long. As a kingsnake they do well in captivity and are easy to look after. The only difficult you may have is locating a breeder in the UK.
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The Common European Adder(Vipera berus), is a venomous viper...
The Common European Adder(Vipera berus), is a venomous viper species that is extremely widespread and can be found throughout most of Western Europe and all the way to Far East Asia. Known by a host of common names including Adder and Common Viper, adders have been the subject of much folklore in Britain and other European countries. They are not regarded as highly dangerous; the snake is not aggressive and usually only bites when alarmed or disturbed. Bites can be very painful, but are seldom fatal.p-e-r-e-g-r-i-n-e: female adder (photo by danny green)
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A Timber Rattlesnake, (Crotalus horridus). Adults usually grow...
A Timber Rattlesnake, (Crotalus horridus). Adults usually grow to an average length of 91–152 cm (35.8-59.8 in). Generally, this species is found in deciduous forests in rugged terrain.During the summer, gravid (pregnant) females seem to prefer open, rocky ledges where the temperatures are higher, while males and non-gravid females tend to spend more time in cooler, denser woodland with a more closed forest canopy.Female timber rattlers often bask in the sun before giving birth, in open rocky areas known as “basking knolls”.
During the winter, Timber Rattlesnakes hibernate in dens, in limestone crevices, often together with Copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix) and Black Rat Snakes (Elaphe obsoleta).
Photo taken by Tad Arensmeier
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Red-sided Garter Snakes Have Sexy Snake Skin! by Jane J....
Red-sided Garter Snakes Have Sexy Snake Skin!
by Jane J. Lee
For red-sided garter snakes, beauty is literally skin deep. Sex pheromones wafting from a female’s skin drive males crazy, but how they work has long been a mystery. In a new study, researchers implanted estrogen capsules near the testes of male snakes to mimic the location of the hormone’s production in females. Then the team allowed unaltered males to choose between scent trails of altered males, large and small females, unaltered males, and she-males (unaltered males that naturally emit small amounts of female pheromones).
The scientists found that altered males and large females were equally attractive to unaltered males and that their pheromone blends were identical, the team reports in The Journal of Experimental Biology. The authors suspected estrogen played a key role, and by implanting males with hormone capsules, researchers avoided confounding influences from female physiology and confirmed their suspicions. The results are worrisome, the team notes, because estrogen-like pollutants could disrupt normal mating activities if they induced males to smell like females in the wild.
(via: Science NOW) (photo: Chris R. Friesen)
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Yellow Bellied Sea Snake
Yellow Bellied Sea Snake
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capitaldeath: A Blue Malaysian Coral snake (Calliophis...
A Blue Malaysian Coral snake (Calliophis bivirgatus or Maticora bivirgata).
This is a beautiful, but highly venomous, front-fanged species - if bitten, its neurotoxic venom can cause death within half an hour or less through respiratory failure. Surprisngly the venom glands of this snake extend all the way down the first third of its body! Adults are usually 140 centimetres (5 ft) in length, though larger specimens have been captured.
It inhabits forest floors and is nocturnal in habits.It avoids confrontation during the day but as it becomes more alert after nightfall - most bites occur because they pass by or tread on this snake. They may sometimes be encountered stretched across forest trails in the early morning.
There are 3 subspecies : Maticora bivirgata bivirgata inhabits Java, and M. b. flaviceps is found from Burma, Thailand and Cambodia through West Malaysia and Singapore to Sumatra and various islands of the Riau Archipelago. M. b. tetrataenia inhabits Borneo.
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San Francisco Garter Snake Photo by vabbley
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