In today's WTF news....

Somewhere in London a 30 year old man welcomed his twin brother into the world...via his bellybutton.  Finally!  The brother he always hoped for...

Plumber 'gives birth' to twin in scene reminiscent of Alien

A plumber's embryonic twin spilled out of his stomach, in a scene reminiscent of the movie Alien.

 

By Chris Irvine 
Last Updated: 1:03AM BST 09 May 2009

Gavin Hyatt, 30, explained that the lump forced its way out after lying inside his abdomen since he was born.

Medics said the 4cm growth was a parasitic twin that died in the womb early in their mother's pregnancy.

Mr Hyatt, a former firefighter, from Witney, Oxfordshire, said: "Four hospital doctors had previously examined me and were all puzzled by the lump.

"Some thought it was a cyst, others an in-grown hair.

"Then one said it could be my undeveloped identical twin that I absorbed at a very early stage. I feel absolutely fine now but it has not sunk in yet that I could have had a twin brother. I have him in a jar at home and I call him little Gav. I haven't told many people. I feel like a bit of a freak."

Mr Hyatt, who has four children with his wife Kate, spent a week in and out of hospital after making an emergency appointment with the GP.

An operation at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital was cancelled at the last minute and he went home. But later he felt a stabbing pain near his belly button. Lifting his shirt, he saw he was bleeding as the lump pushed through the skin. At that point he drove himself to his local surgery.

His GP Dr Joe Santos, told The Sun: "It was like something from Alien. I didn't believe Gavin when he said something was coming out of his belly button until I saw him."

Um, I think if I kept my twin that purged itself from my body I probably wouldn't keep it in a jar on a shelf.  Or maybe I would and get it a little tophat and cane. Or I'd bury my mini-freak and have a little rite of some sort.  Either way, this guy definitely qualifies as a freak.  Sorry dude.  He is.  This doesn't happen to normal people.

Really thinking about it, the twin travelled for 30 freaking years to reach the surface!  That is a boring life. I wonder if it felt all the emotions of the guy.  Lived the man's life with him.  Loved the same loves.  There to pick him up when he fell down.  

I'm getting carried away.  

Dubai

Definitely on the list of places to go. I just had to post a few images that I thought were cool.

I have to start with the  Burj Dubai Skyscraper.  It's the tallest, most fascinating skyscraper to ever be built on the planet.  It looks like a drawing!  Completely unreal...yet it's real.  Shit is blowing my mind over here people!  Of course it's about to be surpassed by the futuristic and completely obnoxious Al Burj (see under the Burj Dubai image). 

 I mean, how big do they have to go?  I get it, you could fit my hometown in one building.  Now that's something else.  I wonder how long the elevator ride is going to be.  What if you really had to go to the bathroom and all you had to do was ride the elevator....198 floors.  I'm sure they thought of that and have bathrooms in every elevator or something.  These are the things I think about.

Burj Dubai (Yes, this is an actual photograph)

Al Burj (Yes, this is a drawing)

And just for shits and giggles, a comparison?  You know you need it.

Palm Island Resort as seen from space

Palm Island Resort, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is featured in this image photographed by Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao from the International Space Station. The resort is under construction on reclaimed land silhouetted against the dark waters of Dubai’s Persian Gulf coast. Advertised as "being visible from the Moon," this man-made palm-shaped structure displays 17 huge fronds framed by a 12-kilometer protective barrier. When completed, the resort will sport 2,000 villas, 40 luxury hotels, shopping centers, cinemas, and other facilities. When completed, the resort is expected to support a population of approximately 500,000 people. 

The Atlantis Resort

This is just a little taste!  Someday I'll go to there and it's going to be totally awesome.  Who's with me?

Nathan Ota

So I've been posting a lot of videos lately. They are easy, and I don't have to type anything really (which is better for me because I can never think of anything to write, quite horrible at describing things actually). I went to this art show a couple days ago and thought I would at least mention Nathan Ota. Ota's pop surrealism stands out for itself and each painting was absolutely incredible. Hollow-eyed birds, life-like trees, little robot dudes, swirly dunce caps, and upside down trees with underwear on them are what he excels at.  He's rad, I hope to see more of his work.

Touch of Class

Going Home

Apparently he is making toys too!  I just found his blogspot, I think I'm going to become a fan.  Ooh.

Space is cool

Thanks to the folks at Space.com and Hubble, the best images from the telescope were released today.    I thought these were freaking amazing.  

"Pillars of Creation?

Undersea corral? Enchanted castles? Space serpents? On April 1, 1995, Hubble snapped this image of pillar-like structures in the Eagle nebula. These eerie, dark pillar-like structures are columns of cool, interstellar hydrogen gas and dust that serve as incubators for new stars.

Credit: Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen (Arizona State University), and NASA/ESA

There are a lot of really cool images here.  This next one is another favorite. 

Crowning Jewel: The Cone Nebula

Resembling a nightmarish beast rearing its head from a crimson sea, this celestial object is actually just a pillar of gas and dust. Called the Cone Nebula (in NGC 2264) - so named because in ground-based images it has a conical shape - this monstrous pillar resides in a turbulent star-forming region. This picture, taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, on May 11, 2002, shows the upper 2.5 light-years of the Cone, a height that equals 23 million roundtrips to the Moon. The entire pillar is seven light-years long.

Image Credit: NASA, Holland Ford (JHU), the ACS Science Team and ESA

All of the images are absolutely stunning.  Makes you think about how small and insignificant Earth is on the galactic scale.  Stars are being born and dying all over the universe.   And I wonder why it's so hard to do my laundry and go to the grocery store on a regular basis.  

Random photo(s) of the day.

What exactly is going on here???  Oompa Loompas?? Giant rabbits?  If I were there I would keep a safe distance from that crowd.  Looks dangerous.   I don't even really want to talk about the woman.... or man? hmmm...

After perusing the internet for another 5 minutes, I found this photo.  Might as well put it in here because it's equally, uh, interesting.

  Found these jems at yesbutnobutyes.  I like that blog.

AAANNDD then just to keep up with the topic of the day, I'll add this one too.  It's a cat sitting on a glass table...but it looks...smurshed.  Weird.

But I guess that cat has nothing on this one.  This one looks like a serious ass-kicker:

Now THIS is face paint. Take that, hippies!

My!  These are surreal!  To think of the amount of time or effort that has to go into this!  

 This video of Puss 'n Boots almost freaked me out.  Ok, it did freak me out.  My doors are now locked.  But I digress.

Here's a link to the website.   There are more pics and videos in the right hand column as well, which are insane.