Off to school in Manila

From the Big Picture.

One of many walls in the world

Cosmo Sarson's mural of Jesus breakdancing on the wall beside The Canteen, Bristol, England.One of many great walls on this edition of The Big Picture.

Italy!

Shiraz Timelapse

Over at Juan Cole's Informed Comment, this portrait of Shiraz in Iran. What gorgeous gardens and monumental buildings!

Three pictures of rural Iran

Three striking views of Palangen village by Amos Chapple via The Big Picture. Click for the big pics.

Mali -- a peaceful scene on the River Niger

From the Big Picture.  Click to make it big.

It's time again for the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival!

Harbin is in northeastern China (Manchuria). It is so cold there that the only logical thing is to make situation an advantage. Every year, too, the Big Picture showcases the best of the festival. Here are two photos to motivate you have a look.

Click on the pics for a good view.

Honoring the animals?

 

From the Big Picture:

"A man rides a horse through a bonfire, Jan. 16, 2012 in the small village of San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain. In honor of San Anton, the patron saint of animals, horses are ridden through the bonfires on the night before the official day of honoring animals in Spain." 

Translation: some nut did this centuries ago and now it's a tradition.

Autumn in Queenstown, New Zealand

From the Big Picture; click for a better view.

This is part of the annual the National Geographic photo contest.

Ship lift on the Yenisei River, Siberia

And they say everything is bigger in Texas!

(From the Big Picture; click for a good look.)

Bridge over a canal in Santos, Brazil

From the Big Picture at boston.com

Two wind-driven photos from the Big Picture

Wildfire in Yuma, Colorado:

Spectators chase a competitor in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Click pics to see them big, and if you've time, see the whole collection.

An Auckland beach

Image of Auckland by Cuba Gallery

Raja Ampat atoll, off Papua, Indonesia

From the Big Picture.

Democracy Burman style

These are the members of parliament.

Say no more, say no more.

Thanks to the Big Picture.

Balloons over Burma

From the Big Picture.

Earth, ISS, aurora and clouds

Thanks, Atlantic.

This is no abstract, this is real

The moons Titan and Dione pose before Saturn and its rings.  Click that image!

Beautiful, but it makes late winter in the Near North seem cozy.

Thanks to Will McLean for pointing me to this feature from the Atlantic.

And yet another

Click for a bigger view!
Big Picture picks another from the Smithsonian Magazine contest.

And another

Click!
Thanks, Big Picture and Smithsonian Magazine!