Amazing dog with ridiculously long tongue breaks world record

Markozen.com Animals, Offbeat

An incredible canine with a ridiculously long tongue has entered the Guinness World Record books.

Mochi “Mo” Rickert, an eight-year-old St. Bernard from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has set a new record with a tongue measuring a whopping 18.58 cm (7.31 in) in length.

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Her owner says she is regularly stopped in the street by strangers keen to grab a photo with the slobbery pet.

“It still does not seem real! Mochi is so humble, she never brags or boasts but I know that she is as proud of her new record as we are,” said her owner Carla Rickert.

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“It feels truly amazing to be a part of the Guinness World Records: Amazing Animals book!  We are so grateful for the opportunity to make others smile.”

She adopted Mochi, who she describes as “a resilient, happy-go-lucky dog, with a big personality” from a rescue organisation six years ago.

Mo enjoys dressing up in costumes, having her picture taken, spending time with her family, or snacking on sweet potatoes, she added.

However, being a record breaker comes with its own unique challenges, with Mochi facing some breathing difficulties and sometimes needing help to pick things up off the floor.

Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records: Amazing Animals, said he was “very excited” about Mochi entering the book.

 

Amazing Space Photos from a few years ago

Markozen.com Space

On September 22, 2010, with the departure of the Expedition 23 crew, Colonel Douglas H. Wheelock assumed command of the International Space Station and the Expedition 25 crew.  He has been tweeting pictures to his followers since he arrived at the space station. We thought that we should put some of them together as a tribute to him and the whole ISS crew.

Discovery launch September, 2010.

 

Soyuz 23S, “Olympus” docked to the nadir side of the Space Station. This will be our ride back home to planet Earth when our work is complete here. Thought I would tweet this view out of the Cupola, as we were passing over the majestic snow-capped Caucuses. The sun rising and reflecting off the Caspian Sea (9-26-2010). Space Photo: NASA, Astronaut Wheelock.

 

Western Europe

 

 

 

 

Patagonia, southern tip of South America

 

Egypt, Israel, Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea.

 

Our ‘Progress 39P’ unmanned resupply spaceship on final approach for docking this past Sunday. It was laden with food, fuel, spare parts, and much needed supplies for our orbiting outpost. The greatest gift was just inside the hatch…some bags of fresh fruit and vegetables. Such a wonderful treat after 3 months of eating out of tubes and plastic pouches (9-15-2010)! Space Photo: NASA, Astronaut Wheelock.

 

Ayers Rock, Australia.  This beast is 2.2 miles long and 1.4 miles wide.

 

The ‘Cupola’, attached to the nadir side of the Space Station, gives a panoramic view of our beautiful planet. Cosmonaut Fyodor took this picture from the window of the Russian Docking Compartment (Airlock). Here I am in the Cupola preparing a camera for our late evening Hurricane Earl flyover…trying to capture the moment…(8-31-2010). Space Photo: NASA, Astronaut Wheelock.

The Private Homes of Moscow

Markozen.com Buildings, Cities

The vast majority of Muscovite’s live in apartment buildings.  In the Soviet era private property was sacrilegious. It was a communal society from top to bottom.  Under the later Soviet regimes people could apply to live in the Dachas – country houses just outside the city.  To get into a Dacha one had to be extremely pro-regime and wait on a very long list. It was a type of reward.

Almost a 100 percent of Moscow residents live in high-rise apartment buildings.

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Because there are so many tall apartment buildings, Moscow has more elevator lifts than any other city in the world.

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How about living in the suburbs? Some people do indeed live at their dachas (and in that case these are more like country houses), but there is no such thing as suburbia in the “American way of thinking”. People do not move to suburbs when they start families and want to raise kids. People want to have an apartment in the city as the permanent home and dacha as a summer-house for weekends. And those people, who do live outside of the city, but work in the center are heavily penalized for the opportunity to have fresh air by sitting in traffic jams on their way to and from work for many hours every day.

So, 99% of Russians, living in the city do live in apartments. To have a private house within the city limits is super rare. There are just several townhouse communities in Moscow and all of them were established in the recent decade or two.*

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They all have big fences surrounding the houses.

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This looks like a 4 car garage.

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The Dachas are not really lined on streets, in the North American sense, but narrow back lanes.

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Some have really impressive fences and gates.

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Back in the city, strange parking arrangement. Going over a curb.

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Source: Google maps, *understandrussia.com

 

Astana, new capital of Kazakhstan has grandiose architecture

Markozen.com Geography

 

 

Politics and government are the main economic activities in Astana the capital, which also forms a Special Economic Zone.  Astana has seen one of the world’s greatest building projects, as oil money has been spent on government buildings, a massive home for the president, a mosque, and numerous parks and monuments. The project is designed to make the town the centre of not only Kazakhstan, but all of Central Asia.

After Kazakhstan gained its independence in 1991, the city and the region were renamed “Aqmola”, literally meaning “White Shrine”.

In 1995, the city was designated as the future capital of the newly-independent country, and the capital was officially moved from Almaty on December 10, 1997.  The new name, Astana, was bestowed in 1998.

Government officials cited several problems with keeping the capital in Almaty, such as the city’s risk of seismic activity, insufficient room for expansion, and proximity to international borders.  Additionally, parts of northern Kazakhstan are populated primarily by ethnic Russians, which raised fears of possible irredentist activity. Moving the capital to this area may have been an attempt to anchor it more closely with the rest of the country.

To some Kazakhs, the move remains controversial. Critics cite the city’s isolated location in the center of the Kazakh steppe and the forbidding climate in winter.  Financially, some resent the massive expenditure of public funds to build the new government complexes, as well as the continuing cost of airfare and hotel expenses for the many government workers who still live in Almaty.

 

Floral flourishes decorate Nurzhol Boulevard, or “Radiant Path.”

 

The Baiterek, towering over Astana’s central promenade, flares green against a dappled evening sky. Intended as a symbol of the new capital, the 318-foot monument evokes a giant tree with a golden egg in its branches. In the Kazakh myth of Samruk, a sacred bird lays a golden egg in the branches of a poplar each year.

 

 

A flock of giant doves flutters on a stained-glass conference room ceiling at the Palace of Peace and Harmony. The 203-foot-high pyramid designed by Norman Foster provides spaces for worshippers of all religions.

 

 

Kazakhstan’s new capital is the opposite of understated. After dark, government buildings change hues as the night progresses, creating a theme park atmosphere. The presidential palace suggests a gaudy version of the White House. Prize-winning British architect Norman Foster is one of many foreigners who helped shape the city. His purple Khan Shatyr shopping mall has an indoor sand beach and wave pool on the top floor.

 

Flanked by traditional Kazakh dancers, a bride awaits her formal unveiling at an opulent wedding palace, where she has just been married in a ceremony capped by the release of two white doves. The revelry begins when the veil is lifted.

 

 

McMansions that could have been airlifted from any American suburb are among the more incongruous sights in Astana, whose architectural style is nothing if not eclectic.

 

 

 

Like thousands of educated young professionals in Astana, these cardplayers at a riverside park grew up in other parts of Kazakhstan and moved to the new capital for the opportunities it promised. A baby boom has accompanied the influx.

Little Cowboys with Big Guns

Markozen.com Movies

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The Terror of Tiny Town is a 1938 American film produced by Jed Buell, directed by Sam Newfield, and starring Billy Curtis. It is the world’s only musical Western with an all-dwarf cast. The film was filmed at a sound studio in Hollywood and partly at Placeritos Ranch in Placerita Canyon, California. The inspiration of the film came when Jed Buell overheard an employee jokingly say “If this economic dive keeps going, we’ll be using midgets as actors”.
Using a conventional Western story with an all dwarf cast, the filmmakers were able to showcase gags such as cowboys entering the local saloon by walking under the swinging doors, climbing into cupboards to retrieve items, and dwarf cowboys galloping around on Shetland ponies while roping calves.

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Jed Buell was able to find about sixty cast members for the film, with an average height of 3’8”. He found most of them through talent agencies, newspaper ads, and radio broadcasts. The film presents Jed Buell’s Midgets. Many of the actors were former members of the performing troupe, Singer’s Midgets., and played Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz, released in 1939.

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