Christmas Feel-Good Special, Part 1

"FEEL-GOOD SHOT" #14 (Part 1)
Link - by Avi Abrams

Happy Holidays and Great New 2014 Year from DRB!

Welcome to the new issue of Dark Roasted Blend's "Feel-Good" series: some joyful stuff to brighten up your day - it is the Christmas Special this time, Part One only:

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These are all galaxies! Every letter is a uniquely-shaped galaxy - courtesy of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Galaxy Zoo, found on It's OK to be Smart great website.

J. R. R. Tolkien Art for "Silmarillion"

The Grand Master of High Fantasy could paint really well, too: his watercolors possess a very special charm, especially when he was drawing beautiful Middle Earth environments, or anything concerning Elves (which would be a good antidote to those who love everything Elvish and think that Peter Jackson's version of Elves is too gritty and not inspiring enough):

On the bottom right, there is a splendid hardbound copy of the "Silmarillion", done by Heather Stevick at BookwyrmBound - more info

Tzeni Karezi could've played a perfect Elvish Lady, in her time... -

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STUNNING SPACE ART

This is only a few of gorgeous space adventure paintings by A. Sokolov from Russia, active in the 1970s-1980s:

Awe-inspiring 1970s space art by John Berkey - still the best depiction of gigantic space stations, if you ask me:

(art by John Berkey - see more here)

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Mixed fresh links for today:

Awe-inspiring "Street-View" of CERN's Hadron Collider - [best of Google]
Amerika Bomber (a Nazi Plane) - [interesting, tech]
Our Galaxy has a Peanut-shaped Core! - [wow space]
The Paris of Your Dreams... - [spectacular photo]
Quite an unusual way to construct a roof - [wow video]
Probably the Most Satisfying Scientific Experiment - [wow video]
Spectacular POV Canyon Bike Run - [wow video]
Beads in a Jar: Very Strange Experiment - [wow video]
Beatles' Acoustic "White Album" Rarities - [neat video, music]
Strange Ice Spinning Disc Discovered - [wow video]
Russian Police sings... "Get Lucky!" - [fun video]
Most Incredible Data Centers, Steampunk PCs - [geek info]
The Dumbest Criminals - [fun compilation]

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FEEL-GOOD CARS

1954 Pontiac Bonneville Special:

1969 Holden Hurricane concept car, shown above.

This cool orange beauty is BMW, of course - a classic 1970s small car with a timeless design:

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Only a lucky few will climb into this jet-fighter-like cockpit of Lamborghini Egoista - only one such car has been made so far:

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FEEL-GOOD GIRLS

(top: original unknown; bottom image credit: Selena)

Shown above, is a wonderful "Sailor Mercury Cosplay" by Selena. Some of the great Japanese-style manga artwork works very well to lift spirits, too:

(art by Magda, Poland; Juby, Canada; Hello Baby, Masariro)

BEAUTIFUL ACTRESSES: Jean Seberg, Christine Carere, Hayley Mills, Giorgia Moll, France Anglade, Brigitte Bardot, Mitzi Gaynor, Natalie Wood:

Among the images above, you can also see some groovy cars of the 1960s era - and Peter & Gordon, an awesome baroque pop duo from England.

Kim Darby in "True Grit", 1969 version:

Jane Fonda in "Barbarella":

On the right image below is Suzi Quatro, who would make a kickass space pilot in some 1970-1980s scifi movie (in a parallel universe, say, in the "Alien" series?):

Zooey Deschanel... and above her is a screenshot from a very cool ("cool" in a cult-ish way) movie "Legend of the Dinosaurs" (Japan, 1977)

Gabrielle Drake as Lieutenant Gay Ellis in the 1970 science fiction television series "UFO":

Russian actress Elena Koreneva in the early 1970s (who eventually emigrated to America, spent there 11 years and returned to Russia in 1993):

Here are some handsome actors (by popular request)... including Alain Delon, of course:

Very talented Russian actor Valentin Gaft, usually portraying deep, complex dramatic characters:

...and Vladimir Etush, in one of his more goofy roles (on the bottom left is Andrei Mironov):

Monty Python crew, in all their glory:

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FEEL-GOOD VINTAGE GRAPHICS

(images via The British Library)

This is only a sample from a wealth of beautiful vintage illustrations (more than 1,000,000 of them!) released by The British Library on Flickr - link.

(images via The British Library)

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A Cartoon-style, Painted Christmas Tree

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Christmas Chocolate Gift - Surprise!

No hidden religious meanings here, of course.

And then, there are water balloons half frozen with candles placed in the hollow center... -

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AWESOME MANGA ART

This is "Air Gear" by Oh Great! (yes, this is the artist's real name). Air Gear is perhaps the greatest manga series of them all - highly recommended for its wild, wild, wild plot and exceptional graphics (getting even more polished and detailed as series progresses). It contains lots of lovely fan-service, so it's definitely not for kids, but for a science fiction buff and a lover of high-tech Japanese design, this is a must read. "The Only Full-Series Manga You Have to Read from Start to Finish Before you Die"!.. So, there, I've said it.

(art by Ito "Oh Great" Ogure)

Remember "Pacific Rim" (one of the best movies of the passing year, in my opinion)? Well, "Five Star Stories" manga series is just as spectacular and even more sweeping in its world-building. Even though it was mainly written in the 1980s-1990s, it still holds its own in terms of spectacular mecha design and baroque "Dune"-esque action: