Football Worldcup in South Africa

June 11 to begin the 19th FIFA World Cup. This year's event will be hosted by South Africa and will be the first World Cup played on the African continent. For the ten stadiums, in 9 cities will play 32 matches of national teams, among which, unfortunately, our lack of representation.Therefore, the great festival of football, I invite you to Football Fridays at 990px. Every Friday until the start of the championships, will show some photographs related to this edition of the championships, organized in South Africa. The first one is going symbols upcoming championships and the arena where the matches will be played, so treat not only for fans but also the blade changes for all fans of architecture. (29 photos)

1st GERMANY, Berlin, June 9, 2006: Employee security company presenting a statuette given to masters of the world by FIFA. Based on the information engraved on the winners of the previous championships. AFP PHOTO BARBARA SAX. more pictures after the break...

2nd Germany, Leverkusen, September 5, 2009: Zakumi (a combination of ZA - South Africa signs the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 and the words of Kumi - in many African languages means "ten") - the mascot of the championship in South Africa - poses for photos before a friendly match between the representations of Germany and South Africa. AFP PHOTO DDP / Lennart Preiss

3rd GERMANY, Munich, 4 December 2009: Jabulani (which in Zulu means "celebrate") - A formal model of the ball, which will play football at the championships in South Africa. AFP PHOTO DDP / OLIVER LANG

4th GERMANY, Duisburg, 27 April 2006: Presentation Cup FIFA World Cup. AFP PHOTO DDP / Volker HARTMANN

5th South Africa, Johannesburg, 13 June 2009: The tunnel leading to the turf at Ellis Park stadium, Johannesburg. The stadium can accommodate 60 thousand. viewers. AFP PHOTO / ROBERTO SCHMIDT

6th South Africa, Johannesburg, 20 November 2008: Work on laying the new turf on the stadium's Ellis Park. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER JOE

7th South Africa, Soweto, 16 March 2010: General view of the stadium in Soweto, which will house nearly 95 thousand. viewers. (Photo: 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa via Getty Images)

8th South Africa, Soweto, 13 December 2009: The football stadium on the outskirts of Johannesburg. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER JOE

9th South Africa, Soweto, 28 March 2010: A lump seen the stadium in Soweto in the late evening. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER JOE

10th South Africa, Johannesburg, 23 June 2009: Children playing football in a stadium in Soweto. AFP PHOTO / YASUYOSHI Chiba

11th South Africa, Soweto, 28 March 2010: The football stadium in Soweto at night. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER JOE

12th South Africa, Cape Town, 2 December 2009: Night panorama of Cape Town and the scene of the upcoming world championships in football, with a capacity of 68 thousand. viewers. (Photo: Darren Stewart / Gallo Images / Getty Images)

13th South Africa, Cape Town, 25 April 2010: Panorama of Cape Town with a visible Green Point Stadium. AFP PHOTO / Dean Treml

14th South Africa, Cape Town, 22 March 2010: The Prayer (here sitting in the stands 45 thousand. People) at the newly opened stadium in Cape Town. AFP PHOTO / Roger Bosch

15th South Africa, Cape Town, March 1, 2010: One of the locker room at the Green Point stadium. AFP PHOTO STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN

16th South Africa, Cape Town, March 1, 2010: The cell at the police station, located at Green Point stadium. AFP PHOTO STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN

17th South Africa, Durban, December 8, 2009: Cloakroom Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER JOE

18th South Africa, Durban, December 8, 2009: View of the grandstand and turf stadium in Durban. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER JOE

19th South Africa, Durban, February 12, 2010: Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. AFP PHOTO / EUROLUFTBILD

20th South Africa, Polokwane, 15 February 2010: Aerial view of the stadium Peter Mokaby in Polokwane, where 45 thousand can cheer. viewers. AFP PHOTO / EUROLUFTBILD

21st South Africa, Nelspruit, 21 March 2010: Football Stadium Mbombela in Nelspruit, which stands at 44 thousand fit. viewers. AFP PHOTO / STR

22nd South Africa, Nelspruit, March 21, 2010: Tribune, and turf stadium in Nelspruit. AFP PHOTO / STR

23rd South Africa, Nelspruit, 21 March 2010: The entrance to the toilets for the ladies at the Mbombela stadium. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER JOE

24th RPA, Rustenburg, June 16, 2009: In the foreground a woman carry water from the distribution point. On the second plan, the Royal Bafokeng Stadium - multi-use stadium in Rustenburg. AFP PHOTO / FRANCOIS XAVIER MARIT

25th South Africa, Rustenburg, June 21, 2009: A view of the whole object Royal Bafokeng Stadium, located 42 thousand in the stands. viewers. AFP PHOTO / FRANCOIS XAVIER MARIT

26th South Africa, Port Elizabeth, 23 June 2009: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth capacity of 48 thousand. viewers. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER JOE

27th South Africa, Port Elizabeth, July 23, 2009: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium at night. AFP PHOTO / JOE Alexander

28th South Africa, Port Elizabeth, May 14, 2010: Sokolniki Arnold Slabbert, together with her students - a wandering hawk - involved in killing pests on Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (mainly pigeons and rodents). AFP PHOTO / Gianluigi GUERCIA

29th South Africa, Port Elizabeth, May 14, 2010: The peregrine falcon is at work on the stadium Nelson Mandela Bay. AFP PHOTO / Gianluigi GUERCIA

Leighton Meester in colorful dress

Casual yet beautiful, Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester is back in action to her show The Gossip Girl. Leighton Meester together with a new comer was on the set of Gossip Girl in New York to film the season three of the said show, with and airing schedule. Wearing her colorful haltered dress and casual sleepers, Meester looks extremely beautiful and girly in these photos and probably stands out in the set. The denim pants and off-shoulder blouse shows the casual beauty of Leighton. Aside from Gossip Girl, Leighton Meester is also busy doing her two upcoming movies that includes the Roommate and Date Night. More images after the break...

Tallest man in America named Igor Vovkovinskiy

At a towering 7 feet 8 1/3 inches, Igor Vovkovinskiy now holds top honors as the tallest man in the United States, according to Guinness World Records officials. more images after the break....

The 27-year-old Minnesota resident -- who sports size 24 10-E shoes -- one-upped previous record-holder George Bell, passing the 7-foot-8 deputy sheriff by a third of an inch.

{{{Standing 7 feet and 8 1/3 inches, Minnesota resident Igor Vovkovinskiy was named the tallest man in the United States by Guinness World Records officials.}}}

 Tallest man in America named Igor Vovkovinskiy

Taking trips when you are 7 foot 8.33 inches tall can be a challenge but Igor Vovkovinskiy left his Minnesota home for the New York City set of the Dr. Oz Show to be named the tallest man in the United States by the Guinness World Records this week.

Vovkovinskiy took the record set by Virginia deputy sheriff George Bell by just a third of an inch.

Vovkovinskiy came to the US from the Ukraine as a 7-year-old with his mother Svetlana twenty years ago.

The young man with a size 24 10-E shoe faces daily challenges living in a world where the average man is just 5 foot 10 inches tall. Just sitting at a desk at the Minnesota School of Business can be a task for the paralegal studies student. Upon accepting the Guinness World Record, Igor said in a press release obtained by Digital Journal, "It feels good to finally have proof that I am the Tallest Man in America. Everyone is always asking me if I'm certain that I'm the tallest and I was never able to prove it. Now that I have this certificate to hang on my wall, I could finally show it!" "Igor had been on our radar for a while, so we were eager to measure him and see if he was, in fact, the Tallest Living Man in America," said Guinness World Records adjudicator Danny Girton Jr. "Following stringent Guinness World Record guidelines on measurement, we're pleased to confirm that Igor is now a part of record-breaking history."

Top 10 Prehistoric Fish Alive Today

10 Hagfish

 

According to the fossil record, hagfish have existed for over 300 million years, which means they were already old when dinosaurs took over the world! Found in relatively deep waters, these animals are sometimes called slime eels, but they are not really eels, and actually, they may not even be fish at all,according to some scientists. They are very bizarre animals in all regards; they have a skull but lack a spine, and they have two brains. Almost blind, they feed at night on the carcasses of large animals (fish, cetaceans etc) which fall to the sea bottom. They owe their “slime eel” nickname to the fact that they produce a slimey substance to damage the gills of predatory fish; as a result, they have virtually no natural enemies. 9 more after the break...

9 Lancetfish

The lancetfish has a very obvious “prehistoric” appearance, with those fierce-looking, sharp teeth on its jaws and the sail on its back, reminiscent of that of some dinosaurs (although, in the lancetfish the sail is actually an enlarged dorsal fin). Even its scientific name has a dinosaurian sound to it (Alepisaurus ferox). Up to two meters (6' 6?) in length, this predator is found in all the oceans except for polar regions; very voracious, it feeds on smaller fish and squid, and has known to feed on members of its own species sometimes.

8 Arowana

Belonging to the ancient group of the Osteoglossids, these fish already existed in the Jurassic period. Today, they are found in the Amazon, and in parts of Africa, Asia and Australia. Sometimes kept as exotic pets, arowanas are voracious predators that feed on any small animal they can catch, including birds and bats which they catch in mid flight (they are able to leap up to 2 meters (6' 6?) into the air). In China, arowanas are known as “dragon-fish” due to their appearance, and they are thought to be harbingers of good luck.

7 Frilled Shark

 

This deep sea predator, one of the most primitive sharks alive today, is a relic from the Cretaceous period, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. Seldom seen alive, and only recently filmed for the first time, the frilled shark can grow up to 2 meters (6' 6?) (with females being larger than males) and they live in deep waters, where they feed mostly on squid. They are not dangerous to humans, and as a matter of fact, most frilled sharks spend their whole lives without seeing a human being. Only dead or dying specimens are usually seen and recorded by fishermen or scientists.

6 Sturgeon

 

Another survivor from the age of dinosaurs (they were already around in the early Jurassic), the sturgeon is well known for being one of the main sources of caviar (which is made out of their roe or egg masses); due to overfishing, these magnificent, armored fish are sadly endangered nowadays. The largest sturgeon species can grow up to 6 meters (19' 7?) long, being as large as most great white sharks; they feed on small animals from the sea bottom and pose no danger to humans, unless provoked (although they are so big that they have hurt, and even killed, people unintentionally by leaping out of the water and landing on boats!)

5 Arapaima

 

A close relative to the arowana (see #8), the Amazonian arapaima is sometimes considered to be the largest freshwater fish in the world. According to early descriptions, it could grow up to 4.5 meters (14' 8?) long, but today, enormous individuals like these are seldom found and most adult arapaimas average 2 meters (6' 6?) long. These slow moving predators feed on smaller fish, crustaceans and whatever small animal they can fit in their mouth. An interesting trait of this fish is that it needs to breath oxygen from the air, like a cetacean, in order to survive. Arapaimas pose no danger to humans and are often hunted for their meat; unfortunately, they are very scarce nowadays. Although the arapaima seemingly appeared in the Miocene period, it belongs to a much older family, the Osteoglossidae, and therefore its origins can be traced back to the age of dinosaurs.

4 Sawfish

This critically endangered animal is a survivor from the Cretaceous period, and can be found both in saltwater or in rivers and creeks, and has been found up to 100 kms inland. Up to 7 meters (23') in length, sawfish may look like sharks but are actually more closely related to rays. Their “saw” is both a weapon and a sensory organ, covered on electro-sensitive pores which allow it to sense prey despite its terrible eyesight. Although usually peaceful, the sawfish can become extremely dangerous if provoked. Due to an extraordinary fossil, we know that gigantic, prehistoric sawfish were probably a staple food for the largest carnivorous dinosaur, Spinosaurus, as a vertebra from the fish was found stuck between the dinosaur’s teeth.

3 Alligator Gar

This formidable, thick scaled predator is found in the southern US and northern and eastern Mexico, being the largest freshwater fish in North America (although it sometimes wanders into the sea). It can grow up to 4 meters (13') long and weigh up to 200 kgs (440lbs). Gator gars are so called because of their reptilian appearance and long jaws, armed with a double row of sharp teeth. They are voracious ambush predators and have been known to bite humans on occasion, although no confirmed deaths due to alligator gars have been recorded to date. Gars are among the oldest fish alive today; their origins can be traced back to the Cretaceous period.

2 Polypterus Senegalus

These african fish are often called “dinosaur eels”, due to their reptilian appearance and serrated dorsal fin, reminiscent of some dinosaurs’ spiked backs. They are not really eels, but members of the bichir family. Bichirs were already around in the Cretaceous, so the “dinosaur” part of their name is actually fitting in a way. Although often sold as exotic pets, dinosaur eels are prone to escaping their fish tanks. They can survive out of the water for long periods of time as long as their skin remains wet, which enables them to wander far away from their tank.

1 Coelacanth

The Coelacanth is the most famous of all “living fossils” and deserves to be #1 in this list, because it is the best example of a “Lazarus taxon”, this is, animals that were supposed to be long extinct and are unexpectedly found to be alive. Coelacanths were supposed to have become extinct in the Cretaceous period, along with the dinosaurs, but in 1938, a live specimen was caught in South Africa. Since then, more specimens have been seen and photographed, and a second coelacanth species was even found in Indonesia in 1999. Coelacanths are large predators, up to 2 meters (6' 6?) long; they feed on smaller fish, including small sharks, and are usually found in deep, dark waters. Although rarely captured and consumed due to their horrible taste, coelacanths are critically endangered nowadays.