Link Banana

The Big Picture really should try to do a post about this. Even Passport’s rather small picture is impressive.

More than 10,000 people have been mobilized to clean up green algae that has invaded the Olympic sailing venue in Qingdao, Shandong, China. The Qingdao Olympic Sailing Committee estimates that the area will be cleared before July 15.

Matt Kirkland has stripped away the fluffy cuteness behind Elmo and other plush toys to reveal the creepy-looking robots underneath.

(via kottke)

I have no idea how this picture was made, but it looks really really awesome. That is all.

(via Matt Yglesias, who actually links to this story about rapidly chilling beverages)

Pictures of abandoned filling stations.

The Morning News has some great photos by Phillip Toledano of those people you always wondered about. The captions are also fascinating.

(via MeFi)

Some pictures are just too great for me not to link to them.

Something about this photo made me laugh. A lot.

Two have come to my attention recently:

• Sunset on Mars
• The Earth from Mars

Though many of these shouldn’t count — being either illustrations or stills from movies — it’s still interesting to look through.

(via Mark Larson, who points out that Fidel Castro appears nine times)

This picture may be the most awkward to ever feature an American president.

File this one under “surprisingly compelling.” May I recommend the slideshow?

(via Boing Boing)

This (temporarily down) has rightly been getting some loving. Jamie Livingston took a Polaroid a day, from 1979 until his death from cancer in 1997. mental_floss has collected some of the most interesting and telling shots.

Your daily dose of “crazy/awesome” comes via Buzzfeed:

Instructions: stand still in front of a camera. 3…2…1…SHAKE YOUR FACE! Now take a picture! Icky meme or awesome party game? Your call.

Also from Buzzfeed, the charming photos of Fencing for Old People.

These pictures are pretty awesome. Perhaps best as a slideshow.

(via Andrew Sullivan)

Speaking of the difference between the real and fake: a fascinating Flickr gallery comparing GTA IV’s Liberty City against real New York City sights.

(via Fimoculous)

I’m not quite sure how to react to these photos from Lebanon.

Chaitén was long thought dormant, then it started erupting last week. Evacuations of about 4,000 have gone on, but it’s thought to have caused no human casualties. And these pictures really are amazing.

(via Wired Science)

A surprisingly entertaining selections of photos from parties that the blog’s author did not attend. This one’s been getting a lot of attention.

(via BuzzFeed)

Though not all the photos in the “Swing Jumping” Flickr pool show people jumping off swings, they’re all undeniable awesome.

(via clusterflock)

• Because they give us pictures like this.
• And also some like this.

(both via kottke)