Thursday, August 4, 2011

Shuriken

A shuriken (Japanese 手裏剣; literally: "sword hidden in the hand") is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing. They are sharpened hand-held blades made from a variety of everyday items such as needles, nails, and knives, as well as coins, washers, and other flat plates of metal.
Shuriken are commonly known in the West as "throwing stars", "ninja stars" or (inaccurately) "Chinese stars", though they took many different shapes and designs during the time they were used. The major varieties of shuriken are the bō shuriken (棒手裏剣, stick shuriken) and the hira shuriken (平手裏剣, flat shuriken) or shaken (車剣, also read as kurumaken, wheel shuriken).
Shuriken

Shuriken

Shuriken

Shuriken

Shuriken

Shuriken

Ninja Shuriken

Ninja Shuriken
Ninja Shuriken

Ninja Shuriken

Ninja Shuriken

Ninja Shuriken

Ninja Shuriken

Cave of Hira

Hira (Arabic: حراء‎ Ḥirāʾ) or the Cave of Hira (غار حراء Ġār Ḥirāʾ) is a cave about 2 mi (3.2 km) from Mecca, on the mountain named Jabal Al-Nūr in the Hejaz region of present day Saudi Arabia. The cave itself is about 12 ft (3.7 m) in length and 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) in width.
It is notable for being the location where Muslims believe Muhammad received his first revelations from God (Allah) through the angel Jibreel, also known as the angel Gabriel to Christians.
Taking 600 steps to reach, the cave is at a height of 270 m (890 ft) and the radius is 263.23 m (863.6 ft) During the Hajj it is possible that 5,000 Muslims a day will climb up to the Hira cave to see the place where Muhammed received the first revelation of the Qu'ran on the Night of Power.
Cave of Hira

Cave of Hira

Cave of Hira

Cave of Hira

Cave of Hira

Cave of Hira

Islamic architecture

Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture. The principal Islamic architectural types are: the Mosque, the Tomb, the Palace and the Fort. From these four types, the vocabulary of Islamic architecture is derived and used for buildings of lesser importance such as public baths, fountains and domestic architecture.
Islamic architecture

Islamic architecture

Islamic architecture

Islamic architecture

Islamic architecture

Islamic architecture

Islamic architecture

Islamic Art and Architecture

Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people (not necessarily Muslim) who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations.The huge field of Islamic architecture is the subject of a separate article, leaving fields as varied as calligraphy, painting, glass, ceramics, and textiles, among others.
Islamic art is not at all restricted to religious art, but includes all the art of the rich and varied cultures of Islamic societies as well. It frequently includes secular elements and elements that are frowned upon, if not forbidden, by some Islamic theologians.Apart from the ever-present calligraphic inscriptions, specifically religious art is actually less prominent in Islamic art than in Western medieval art, with the exception of Islamic architecture where mosques and their complexes of surrounding buildings are the most common remains. Figurative painting may cover religious scenes, but normally in essentially secular contexts such as the walls of palaces or illuminated books of poetry. The calligraphy and decoration of manuscript Qu'rans is an important aspect, but other religious art such as glass mosque lamps and other mosque fittings such as tiles, woodwork and carpets usually have the same style and motifs as contemporary secular art, although with religious inscriptions even more prominent.
Islamic Art and Architecture

Islamic Art and Architecture

Islamic Art and Architecture

Islamic Art and Architecture

Islamic Art and Architecture

Islamic Art and Architecture

Modern Islamic Architecture

Modern Islamic Architecture

Modern Islamic Architecture

Modern Islamic Architecture

Modern Islamic Architecture

Modern Islamic Architecture

Honda CBR 1100XX

The CBR1100XX Super Blackbird is a Honda motorcycle made from 1996 to 2007. The bike was developed to challenge the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-11 as the world's fastest production motorcycle,and Honda succeeded with a top speed of 178.5 mph (287.3 km/h).Two years later the title passed to the Suzuki Hayabusa, which reached 194 mph (312 km/h). The Blackbird is named after the Lockheed SR-71, also a speed record holder.
Honda CBR 1100 xx

Honda CBR 1100 xx

Honda CBR 1100 xx

Honda CBR 1100 xx

Honda CBR 1100 xx

Bugatti Veyron

The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engined grand touring car. The Super Sport version is the fastest road-legal car in the world, with a top speed of 431.07 km/h (267.85 mph). The original version has a top speed of 408.00 km/h (253.52 mph).It was named Car of the Decade (2000–2009) by the BBC television programme Top Gear.
Designed and developed by the German Volkswagen Group and produced by Bugatti Automobiles SAS at their headquarters in Château Saint Jean in Molsheim (Alsace, France), the Veyron's chief designer was Hartmut Warkuss, and the exterior was designed by Jozef Kabaň of Volkswagen, with much of the engineering work being conducted under the guidance of former Peterbilt engineer and now Bugatti Engineering chief Wolfgang Schreiber.
A number of special variants have been produced, including two targa tops. In December 2010, Bugatti began offering prospective buyers the ability to customize exterior and interiors colours by using the Veyron 16.4 Configurator application on the marque's official website.
Bugatti Veyron

Bugatti Veyron

Bugatti Veyron

Bugatti Veyron

Bugatti Veyron

Bugatti Veyron

Bugatti Veyron

Cliff Diving

Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.
Diving is one of the most popular Olympic sports with spectators. Competitors possess many of the same characteristics as gymnasts and dancers, including strength, flexibility, kinaesthetic judgment and air awareness.
Cliff Diving

Cliff Diving

Cliff Diving

Cliff Diving
Cliff Diving

Cliff Diving