“It was ten minutes dominated by the ghosts of young lives, cruelly destroyed by radiation, upheaval, trauma.” Peter Zarko-Flynn documents Chernobyl in a series of photo essays, 30 years after the disaster.

Giethoorn: The Village Without Roads

May 10, 2016 by Patrick Jones

Thanks to Chris The Story Reading Ape for finding this post!

ALK3R

The village Giethoorn has no roads

But that doesn’t mean there’s no way to get around…

The most common mode of transportation is by “whisper boats”, which have noiseless engines

Therefore, the village is very peaceful…

The loudest sounds you’ll hear is probably the quacking of a duck (well, when it isn’t flooded with tourists, of course)

Also known as “the Venice of the Netherlands”, this magical village was founded around 1230

Its first inhabitants found numerous peat deposits and dug many holes over the years

Eventually, these holes turned into lakes

The newly created islands were connected with more than 176 bridges

Which give the village a cozy fairy-tale touch…

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Not just a virus

April 30, 2016 by Patrick Jones

Absolutely beautiful pictures from Inese! She always captures beauty!

Making memories

In this picture, I am looking through the natural ‘window’ from a coastal cave. It was chilly outside, and we quite enjoyed our refuge from the elements.

A couple of days ago I went outside first time after a week in bed. It felt like leaving a cave.

Viruses, the tiny things that are not even technically alive, can cause a lot of trouble. The only criteria for being alive they fit in is that they can evolve over time. It is why we need to get a flu vaccine every year. Basically, a virus is a string of DNA (or RNA) wrapped in a protein coat. It doesn’t respond to any stimuli and doesn’t reproduce. It just is. At this stage it is called a virion. The horror story begins when such virion gets in contact with a cell – human, animal or bacterial. Viruses are parasites, they must have a host…

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Chris The Story Reading Ape: Photos of things around the world…

April 28, 2016 by Patrick Jones

Fantastic pictures from Chris The Story Reading Ape!

China Sojourns Photography: Slowing Down the Perception of Time

January 1, 2016 by Patrick Jones

Most beautiful thoughts and pictures from China Sojourns Photography!

Global Sojourns Photography

I’ve made a mistake.

I look behind me but there is no turning back, I’ve past the point of no return.

The chill of frost has seeped further into my bones; the other side of the frozen lake appears just as far away as it did an hour ago. Or was it only a few minutes ago?

With snow blowing around I bow my head and take a seat, lost in time.

Earlier today I met up with a friend, a theoretical physicist who has one of the best minds I’ve ever known. Her head is often in the clouds and her optimism makes her irresistible in conversation.

The day started out as it often does, walking along a path with coffee in hand amid a group of monkeys. Today, she brought up the infinite monkey theorem: given an infinite amount of time, a monkey at a typewriter would almost surely

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