Australian Family Sets New Guinness Record with Over Half a Million Christmas Light Installation

An Australian family who put more than half a million Christmas lights on their house has claimed a world record - for the second time. Father-of-three David Richards from Canberra first won the title in 2011 with 331,038 lights, but was beaten by a family in New York who put up 346,283.

His family vowed to take regain the title this Christmas - so installed more than 31 miles of wire with 502,165 lights, glowing reindeer and loud music around their suburban home, to the frustration of some neighbors. Guinness World Records confirmed the family's charity feat has officially the most Christmas lights on a residential property.

Some of the Richards’ neighbors are very upset and haven’t spoken to the family since 2011. But most of them love the dazzle and come to visit from numerous miles away. David says, “I have always loved Christmas. Having the Christmas lights with the community coming in and sharing it is a time when you get to know people you perhaps should know better, I guess.”

Of course, putting up so many lights would mean a enormous electric bill. It comes up to about $2,200 a month, an amount that the local power company has been generous enough to donate. The Richards hosts a charity event open to the public, and the proceeds go to children’s charities that fight Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. In 2011 they had 70,000 visitors and collected about $70,000. This year David wants to up the amount to $90,000. “It actually helps a lot of families who have put up with an amazing amount of grief. That makes it all worthwhile to me,”

David lives in the suburb of Forrest with his wife Janean, 13-year-old son Aidan and daughters Caitlin, 10, and Madelyn, 6. It took them a month to put up all the lights – they started in October and worked every weekend since. Thankfully they didn’t have to physically count all the lights. Delivery records and invoices helped with that. The lights aren’t just meant for Christmas, they’re also meant to party his wife’s cousin’s wedding this Saturday.

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Caroline Lunny Crowned Miss Massachusetts USA 2014

Caroline Lunny was crowned Miss Massachusetts USA 2014 at the conclusion of the state pageant held on November 24th, 2013 at the Lowell Auditorium in Lowell. She will represent the state of Massachusetts in the Miss USA 2014 pageant, scheduled for next summer.

The new Miss Massachusetts USA is 22 year old and she stands 1.75m tall and will represent her state at Miss USA 2014. Lunny was Miss Massachusetts Teen USA 2008 and was one of the top 15 semi-finalists at Miss Teen USA 2008.

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Ranveer Singh Kisses Deepika Padukone in Public

While Deepika Padukone has always abstained from commenting on her relationship with Ranveer Singh, the boy has gone on to claim that he is in love, albeit without mentioning the name of his ladylove. We got to see his romantic side at the Hello! Hall Of Fame Awards 2013.

 Ranveer and Deepika might not be confessing their love for each other in public but the affection says it all. And their blossoming romance was once again seen at the Hello! Awards where Ranveer was snapped planting a kiss on Deepika’s cheek.

Ranveer bagged the Entertainer of the year award (male) and Deepika got the Entertainer of the year award (female). They certainly make a perfect pair and touted to be Bollywood’s hottest couple.

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Latest Pics: Aaradhya Bachchan’s Latest Trip With Mommy Aishwarya Rai

Aaradhya Bachchan was spotted at the airport in her mum Aishwarya's arms on their return from Dubai this weekend. The tiny tot, who recently turned 2, looks super-cute as she resembles dad Abhishek, but of course she has her mom's beautiful complexion.

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Stunning Hammer & Nail Portraits by David Foster

Instead of using a pen and ink, artist David Foster hammers thousands of nails onto a canvas to generate these extremely detailed portraits. Originally an architect, Foster's love for technical drawing translates perfectly into these meticulously produced arrangements. Each piece is based off of a photograph that the artist first reproduces with an ink pen. He then enlarges the drawing to use as his guide for the finished pieces.

Nail head by nail head, dot by dot, the pointillist images slowly emerge as Foster builds across the canvas. His smaller drawings average only about 5,000 nails while some of the larger pieces can comprise as many as 30,000! The artist says, "I have always been fascinated with how little information the brain needs to interpret a picture and love the easiness of a picture made up from just dots." David’s art covers a range of subjects: celebrities, animals, flowers and get this – even a hammer and nail! The level of exactness and realism in his art is a result of years of practicing and perfecting his technique.

David obviously loves what he does, going by what he tells us on his website. “The whole process thrills me, taking just a hammer and a box of nails and arranging them into an artwork. It is very tangible art and the viewer will find it hard not to touch the work,” he writes. He also insists that the best way to view his work is up close, since photographs don’t do much justice to it.

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Woman Gets Platinum Jewel Implanted in Her Eye For $3,000

An eye jewelry process that is popular in Europe and L.A. is now being done for the first time in New York City, at Park Avenue Laser Vision — which inserts small platinum hearts and other shapes into people’s eyes in a method called safesight jewelry. The procedure, which has not been approved by the FDA, is about $3,000.

Lucy Luckayanko is perhaps the only New Yorker to have an eye-stud. She spent $3,000 on a one-minute procedure to have a heart-shaped piece of platinum inserted into the white of her right eyeball.

It seems doctors have done this practice several times in Europe and Los Angeles, but this was New York’s first. To perform it, Dr. Chynn first injected an anesthetic into Lucy’s eye. Then he made a minute incision to “try to divide a pocket in between the sclera (the white part) and the conjunctiva (the clear part)” of her eye. Using forceps, he placed the 3.5mm platinum stud in a drop of water on Lucy’s eye membrane. Since the stud is so small, it had to be floated into position. It was all over in a matter of minutes and Lucy went home with her new bejeweled eye soon after.

This strange cosmetic procedure was invented in 2004 by a Dutch eye surgeon. Dr. Chynn tells us it’s very safe. “It’s a very thin piece of platinum that’s designed for insertion on top of the eye, it’s not in the eye so there’s no risk of blindness or anything at all,” he said. “She could have a little bit of local bleeding. That could go away in a couple of days or couple of weeks. She could have an infection but we’ll avert that with antibiotics.”

Lucy doesn’t seem too bothered with the consequences, however. She’s just actually happy with her “really small, really tiny, really cute” eye-heart. I wonder if she knows that her cute heart isn’t even FDA approved. The American Academy of Ophthalmology is warning consumers about potential dangers. They say there isn’t “sufficient evidence to support the safety or therapeutic value of this procedure,” and that people should “avoid placing in the eye any foreign body or material that is not approved by the FDA.

A few days after the procedure, Lucy said she did not have any problems or pain with her new accessory. “50 percent of my friends are like: ‘What is it? Why do you need it oh my god are you crazy?’ But 50 percent of my friends are like: ‘Oh my god, its super cool.’” She could even swap it with something else when she gets bored of the heart. Each swap costs $1,000. Lucy thinks her eye is now going to be a “conversation maker.” I find this bizarre; if I wanted to make conversation, I’d just stick to a comment on the weather. But perceptibly Lucy wants more. She wants her eye to be her “unique factor.”

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Gorgeous Aishwarya Rai Stuns In New Photo Shoot

Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai Bachchan popses in Indian designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee's latest creation. The actress stunned us in Sabya's latest creations which are for real Indian women. His creations feature embroidery, gota work, block printing, bandhani and hand dyeing.

Looking at Aishwarya's photoshoot we can say the baby weight debate is certainly over. We now wait for her big screen return. Ash embodies Victorian grace and beauty in this embellished silk and cotton gown by Sabyasachi.

Sabyasachi Mukherjee, the man behind actress Vidya Balan's iconic sarees, Aishwarya Rai's stunning red carpet appearances and Sridevi's traditional yet contemporary outfits, is one of the finest designers in the business.

Sabyasachi has, over the years, redefined ethnic wear with what he calls "international styling with an Indian soul". He says his creations, featuring embroidery, gotawork, block printing, bandhani and hand dyeing, among other indigenous methods, are for "real Indian women with real assets."

Sabyasachi's creations are turning into a hot favorite among the Bollywood ladies. In the last month alone there have been 20 or more spectacular appearances by celebs in Sabyasachi.

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Pacific Barreleye - Weird Fish With Transparent Head

The Pacific Barreleye fish gets its name from large eyes that are exactly shaped like barrels, topped with beautiful green lenses. Also known as the Macropinna microstoma, its head is entirely transparent, filled with fluid. This unique creature lives at depths of around 2000 to 2,600 ft. The Pacific Barreleye’s see-through head may seem weird, but it has a very clear purpose – to help it see better in the dark waters that it inhabits.

The Barreleye’s eyes have been found to be extremely sensitive, snapping up any stream of light available. Unlike most other fish, both the eyes are in the front of the head and point in the same direction, which gives it astonishing binocular vision. So the Barreleye is able to spot faint objects that other fish cannot, making it a feared predator. It’s particularly fascinating, how it searches for prey. It starts off by staying still, eyes pointed upward in search of prey. Sometimes the eyes are rotated to face forwards, or the eyes are still and the body is rotated so that the mouth is pointing in the same direction as the eyes. When tiny silhouettes of prey are spotted, the Barreleye moves in just the same direction to catch them. Its flat, horizontal fins help it to swim very precisely. This method is so effectual that it is sometimes able to even snatch food away from the stinging tentacles of other deep sea creatures. Its mouth is really tiny so that’s of great help as well, and the transparent shield makes it immune to stings.

The Pacific Barreleye was discovered in 1939, but it hasn’t been spotted alive since 2004 off California’s central coast by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MABRI). Its biological system seemingly has flaws; it is said to be rather sensitive to pressure. When fished up, it’s head would shatter somewhere along the way and only mangled specimens would come up in the nets. MABRI was effective in finding the only such fish with its soft dome intact, measuring about 6 inches in length.

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Chinese Artist Honored By Guinness World Record For The World's Longest and Most Detailed Wood Carving

A Chinese artist has won a place in the Guinness Book of Records after creating the world's longest wooden carving. Zheng Chunhui, a famous wood carver, spent four years making the artwork which is over 40ft long and made from a single tree trunk. The scene is essentially a copy of the famous Chinese painting 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' which was created over 1,000 years ago.

Though it has been replicated many times, Chunhui's version, which is made from a single piece of tree trunk, is surely the most spectacular. The complicated work features boats, bridges, building and even 550 individually carved people. The piece measures 12.286 meters long, is 3.075 meters tall at it highest point, and is also 2.401 meters wide. The original painting, referred to as the 'Chinese Mona Lisa' because of its fame, was finished during the Song Dynasty by artist Zhang Zeduan.

The work was awarded the world record on Thursday last week as part of Guinness World Records Day, set up to honor the day the book of records became the best-selling copyright book. Other records broken on the same day included the most hula hoops spun simultaneously, which was broken in the UK, by the ‘Marawa's Majorettes’ dance group, who spun 264 hula hoops between them.

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