16 OF THE MOST MAGNIFICENT TREES IN THE WORLD

How do I love thee, tree? Let me count the ways; you change carbon dioxide into the oxygen we breathe, you sequester carbon, and you provide shelter for countless critters. There are many reasons for which we should all be tree-hugging hippies, but within the scope of this article, all we’ll focus on is how amazing some of them look.

Granted, not all of these amazing beautiful trees are trees (the Wisteria is a vine, Rhododendrons are shrubs, and bamboo technically belongs to the grass family), but we’ll give them a pass because they are amazing, huge and beautiful. So once you step outside and take a breath of fresh air, hug the nearest tree and say thank you!

If you know of an amazing tree not on this list, you can submit it at the bottom of this post.

125+ Year Old Rhododendron “Tree” In Canada

This huge 125-year-oldold rhododendron is technically not a tree – most are considered to be shrubs. You can find out more about it here. (Image credits: reddit)

144-Year-Old Wisteria In Japan

At 1,990 square meters (about half an acre), this huge wisteria is the largest of its kind in Japan. Read more about it here. (Image credits: y-fu)

Wind-Swept Trees In New Zealand

These trees on Slope Point, the southern tip of New Zealand, grow at an angle because they’re constantly buffeted by extreme antarctic winds. Find out more here. (Image credits: Seabird Nz)

Beautiful Japanese Maple In Portland, Oregon

Image credits: Tom Schwabel

Antarctic Beech Draped In Hanging Moss In Oregon

The antarctic beech is native to Chile and Argentina, though this specimen is from the U.S.’ North Pacific region. (Image credits: Drew Hopper)

Blooming Cherry Trees in Bonn, Germany

This beautiful tunnel of cherry blossoms blooms in Bonn, Germany in April. To see more tunnels like this one, click here. (Image credits: Adas Meliauskas)

Angel Oak In John’s Island In South Carolina

The Angel Oak in South Carolina stands 66.5 ft (20 m) tall and is estimated to be more than 1400 or 1500 years old. (Image credits: Daniela Duncan)

Flamboyant Tree, Brazil

The flamboyant tree is endemic to Madagascar, but it grows in tropical areas around the world. (Image credits: Salete T Silva)

Dragonblood Trees, Yemen

The dragonblood tree earned its fearsome name due to its crimson red sap, which is used as a dye and was used as a violin varnish, an alchemical ignredient, and a folk remedy for various ailments. (Image credits: Csilla Zelko)

The President, Third-Largest Giant Sequoia Tree In The World, California

President, located in Sequoia National Park in California, stands 241 ft (73m) tall and has a ground circumference of 93 ft (28m). It is the third largest giant sequoia in the world (second if you count its branches in addition to its trunk). (Image credits: Michael Nichols)

Maple Tree Tunnel in Oregon

Image credits: Ian Sane

Rainbow Eucalyptus In Kauai, Hawaii

Image credits: jwilsonnorton

The rainbow eucalyptus, which grows throughout the South Pacific, is both useful and beautiful. It is prized for both the colorful patches left by its shedding bark and for its pulpwood, which is used to make paper. (Image credits: Christopher Martin)

Jacarandas in Cullinan, South Africa

These beautiful Jacarandas, with their violet flowers, grow in South Africa. (Image credits: Elizabeth Kendall)

Avenue Of Oaks At Dixie Plantation In South Carolina

This avenue of oak trees was planted some time in the 1790s on Dixie Plantation in South Carolina. (Image credits: Lee Sosby)

Baobab Trees In Madagascar

These baobabs in Madagascar are excellent at storing water in their thick trunks to use during droughts. (Image credits:confitalsurf)

The Dark Hedges In Northern Ireland

Ireland’s Dark Hedges were planted in the 18th century. This stunning beech tree tunnel was featured on Game of Thrones as well. Read more about it here. (Image credits: Christopher Tait)

Credits:

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Davido finally addresses beef with Wizkid, says he was upset about Wizkid's shade

In an exclusive interview with Sahara TV, Davido, who is currently in the US, said his recent online beef with Wizkid was because of the shade Wizkid threw regarding their concerts in the US...

"It's not beef at all..but I'm the type of person if I feel something..to me everything you do, you don't hit your brother down. This is the first time I'm saying this but the only reason I was upset was because of the NY concert. I was even going to tweet like you know 'make sure everybody turn up for my brother Wizkid's concert' and he threw a shade like that. I'm not going to take that...that's why I went and said what I said. But it's all cool, at the end of the day, we got to keep it on the music. Shout out to him. I'm still a big fan. It was never nothing but don't throw a shade at me...especially when we were on the flight earlier. By the way, check the numbers on my last concert. Let's leave it like that.." David said. Watch the video after the cut.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West “Fake Marriage” Exposed? (EXCLUSIVE)

(In Touch)

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have a “fake marriage,” declares In Touch, which often seems like a fake magazine.

According to the weekly, the duo sleep in “separate bedrooms” and have “scripted public appearances,” Kardashian is allegedly “living a lie” and is secretly “disgusted” by West, and their arrangement is a “business deal” that has nothing to do with love or family.

Of course, two weeks ago, In Touch lied to its readers and falsely claimed the marriage was supposedly “over after 58 days!”

So we can understand why those guys are feeling a little embarrassed and desperate right now, with Kardashian and West doing just fine.

PHOTOS — Kim and Kanye: Happy Anniversary Pics!

In Touch’s “reporting” on the marriage has been a joke ever since the tabloid had the gall tofake a cover wedding dress photograph shortly before Kardashian and West tied the knot.

Because the magazine has done such a miserable job of covering the couple, it apparently feels the need to invent sensational stories.

That’s how we get this train wreck of a report, which calls the Kardashian-West marriage a “charade fueled by image and greed” but provides NO EVIDENCE to support the claim.

All we get are bland “source” quotes about how the couple is staying together as some kind of cash grab, and unverifiable accounts of Kardashian supposedly bashing West behind closed doors.

There’s no specifics about the money, no rationale for why they’d choose to have a child if it was all a business arrangement… nothing.

Like so many In Touch stories about the duo, it’s completely wrong.

The only thing “exposed” here is the tabloid’s rapidly diminishing relevance.

A rep says the In Touch report is totally false: “It’s ridiculous — the magazine is disgusting.”

 CREDIT and LINK to Gossip Cop on this exclusive.

HD PHOTOS : Dr Sid and Simi Osomo's official white wedding photos

Here are the official photos of Dr Sid and Simi Osomo's white wedding which held this past Saturday August 2nd in Lagos. The church wedding service held at Ikoyi Baptist Church, followed by a grand reception at Oriental Hotel. See more photos after the cut...

Technological Breakthrough:Company To Create 'Smart Glasses' That Will Allow The Blind To See

In what can be described as a giant leap in technological development, “SMART” glasses that will give sight back to millions of blind people could be in the shops by 2016 after a project to develop them won a competition to develop “technology that will change the world”.

The spectacles, already being developed for a mass market by the Royal National Institute of Blind People, won a public vote in the Google Impact Challenge Awards, joining another three winners receiving funding of £500,000 each.
The award will allow the charity to give a prototype of its smart glasses to 1,000 people to test for the next 18 months, with the aim of making a finished product available by 2016.
It is estimated 150,000 people in the UK and about 15 million worldwide will benefit from the spectacles which echo the sci-fi Visor of Star Trek character Geordi LaForge, played by actor Levar Burton.

In his fictional case his vision came via implants into the optic nerve which delivered images straight to the brain.

In today’s reality a spectacle-mounted 3D camera enhances images of nearby shapes and objects. It then highlights and outlines them clearly on the inside of small transparent displays that are part of the spectacle lenses.

This makes the most of the remaining vision that many people who are registered as blind still have. Prototypes used in initial testing after pioneering work by scientists at Oxford University, enabled wearers to identify faces and obstacles more clearly than they have for years.According to Neil Heslop, group director of RNIB Solutions, nearly 90 per cent of the 360,000 people registered as blind in the UK have some form of vision.

He said: 

“We estimate there are more than 300,000 people registered as blind in the UK who still have some remaining vision. About half of them will benefit from augmented glasses, so it will help 150,000 in the UK and 15 million worldwide.
“Five years ago this would have been completely unthinkable but thanks to the cutting-edge work of scientists at Oxford University we are now in a position to make this a reality.
"One gentleman with sight loss who tried the glasses reacted with ‘wow, I can see your face’.”

The RNIB is hoping to make the ­finished smart glasses as cheap as possible but warned they could be costly at first.

Mr Heslop added:

 “We want to get them down to £300 each but as with any technological development, prices will start at one level and then fall rapidly. Future developments will be less about sight but more about getting information, such as text, through the glasses.”

Remarkable isn't it

17+ Maheeda oozes sexiness in new racy photos

You gotta admit, this lady knows how to work her body and take very sexy poses. See more photos after the cut...

  

Sandra Bullock Tops Forbes' List Of Highest Earning Actresses With $51M

On paper, the movie Gravity seemed like a crazy risk. The effects-heavy movie cost upward of $100 million to produce and instead of comic book heroes duking it out, the film featured one woman floating in space for almost the entire 90-minute running time.

Despite the odds, Gravity turned out to be one of the highest-grossing movies of 2013 bringing in $716 million at the global box office. The film was the rare commercial and critical success. Gravity earned 10 Oscar nomination and won seven gold statues.

Gravity star Sandra Bullock didn’t win for Best Actress this year (though she did in 2010 for The Blind Side) but she did walk away with a ton of money. Thanks mostly to Gravity, Bullock tops our 2014 list of the highest-earnings actress with an estimated $51 million in earnings between June 2013 and June 2014.

Top Earnings Actresses 2014

1 of 10

Joel Ryan/Invision/AP, File

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Sandra Bullock

$51 million
Movies based on original ideas, as opposed to comic books or young adult novels, are rare these days in Hollywood. Movies based on original ideas that cost $100 million to produce and feature one actress for the majority of the screen time are even rarer but director Alfonso Cuaron and Warner Bros. had a huge hit with "Gravity." Much of that success can be chalked up to Sandra Bullock's gripping performance as Ryan Stone. Not only did the film win seven Oscars but it also helped Bullock become this year's highest-paid actress.

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Despite Bullock’s impressive showing, women are still earning less than men in Hollywood. Our ten top earning actors brought in a combined  $419 million during our  time frame while the top ten actresses brought in just a little over half of that — $226 million.

Hopefully the women on our list can start to change that as female-led blockbusters bring in just as much money as action films starring men.

The fact that The Hunger Games franchise stars a woman hasn’t stopped fans from spending millions of dollars on the movies. Star Jennifer Lawrence earned less than $1 million upfront for the first movie. Now she’s in a position to demand top dollar for future Hunger Games movies as well as a share of the backend. We estimate that Lawrence earned $34 million between June 2013 and June 2014 ranking her second on our earnings list. Lawrence ranked 12th overall on our Celebrity 100 list which measures a mix of earnings and fame.

To come up with our earnings estimates we talked to agents, producers, lawyers and other in-the-know folks to figure out how much each celebrity earned from entertainment-related work during our 12 month time period. We didn’t deduct for taxes, agent fees or the other costs of being a celebrity.

Ranking third on our list is Jennifer Aniston with $31 million. Thanks toFriends and her endorsement work for products like Aveeno, Aniston can be choosy about her film projects. Lately she’s focused on smaller-budgeted comedies like We’re The Millers and Horrible Bosses. Aniston is usually willing to cut her upfront pay for these movies in return for a chunk of the profits. It’s a strategy that’s paying off. Aniston should continue her streak with Horrible Bosses 2 which is scheduled to hit theaters in November.

With an estimated $19 million in earnings, Gwyneth Paltrow ranks fourth on our earnings list. Though she doesn’t come close to earning Robert Downey Jr. money, the star’s work in Iron Man 3 (the top grossing film of 2013) helped land her high on our list. Paltrow also earns big endorsing Max Factor makeup and Hugo Boss.

Last year’s top earning actress, Angelina Jolie, ties for fifth place on our list with Cameron Diaz. Each actresses earned an estimated $18 million last year. In 2013 Jolie earned an estiamted $33 million. She earned less for our latest list because we had credited her with her large upfront payment for Maleficent last year. She’ll earn more next year thanks to her profit participation on the Disney film which has earned more than $700 million at the box office so far. She’s also well positioned for some kind of Oscar love. Unbroken, which Jolie directed, hits theaters this Christmas.