| Cuban Sculptor Proves Tobacco Can Be Used for Better Things than Smoking and Chewing Posted: 29 Feb 2012 02:04 AM PST 
Janio Nunez is a talented Cuban artist who has the gift of making incredible sculptures exclusively from tobacco leaves. He creates works of art both tiny and life-size that prove there are better things to do with tobacco than smoking it. Janio’s fascination with tobacco began as a little boy, watching his grandparents roll cigars at the factory. He started copying them and ended up becoming a tobacco leaf roller himself. He worked at the factory, but after passing evaluations, he was sent to Varadero, Cuba’s largest resort in Cuba, to roll cigars for tourists. Everything was normal until one day when something really strange happened. He began seeing his co-workers like they were made entirely of tobacco leaves. He would get scared and close his eyes, and when he opened them they were normal again, dressed in their regular clothes. Then would turn around and see another colleague sitting down, all made of tobacco (clothes, face, skin, etc.). This happened sporadically for about four months, and his friends even took him to see a doctor about his “problem”. That didn’t help very much, and realizing something was wrong with him, he decided to do somehow fix things himself. 
Photo by Amado de la Rosa Labrada One late night, while sitting at his work table, images of tobacco people came to him again, so he started modelling with tobacco leaves. That night he created his first piece, and felt a kind of release, because he realized that all this time some kind of supernatural force had been trying to tell him what to do. From there on he just gave in to his obsession with tobacco and created an entire series of famous people made of leaves. He knew his gift was something special so he spent the next three weeks trying to gain an audience with the manager of the hotel he worked in, to show him his sculptures. When he finally got his chance, he told the manager “tell me if they’re worth it, if you say they’re worthless, I will destroy them immediately”. But his boss was mesmerized by the unique tobacco art and arranged for Janio to display his sculptures in the first edition of the Festival del Habano. 
Photo © AFP/Adalberto Roque He continued creating his amazing tobacco leaf masterpieces, putting together a series called “Famous Smokers”, which included miniature sculptures of icons like Fidel Castro, Jack Nicholson, Winston Churchill, Groucho Marx, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Che Guevara, just to name a few. His works were featured in over 50 international publications on tobacco, and he was invited to appear in various exhibitions around the world. But it wasn’t until the year 2000 that he reached the pinnacle of his career – he created a detailed life-size sculpture of British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, smoking a cigar. This really attracted the attention of the media, and he even received praises from Churchill’s grand-daughter, who came to Cuba to see the amazing work of art first-hand. Today, Janio Nunez has a small workshop in Guanabo, near the sea, just a half hour from Havana. It’s here that he creates his amazing tobacco leaf sculptures, by simply gluing them together. In the near future, the artist is planning to start work on his largest piece of art, one that would hopefully set a new world record for the Biggest Sculpture Made of Tobacco. He also wants to start a museum of tobacco art. More photos here Cuban Sculptor Proves Tobacco Can Be Used for Better Things than Smoking and Chewing was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Believers Rock Out at Colombia’s Heavy Metal Church Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:38 AM PST 
Some may find it blasphemous, but for the members of Pantokrator Church in Bogota, Colombia, Heavy Metal is a form of pure devotional worship. I know it's pretty hard to associate screaming and head banging with the serene image of Jesus, but somehow, the 40-member-strong church is able to make the connection. I wouldn't blame you if you took one look at the people gathered here and assumed it was for some kind of satanic ritual. What else could one expect, with people dressed in black clothes, army boots with metal spikes and weird body piercings. But nothing good has ever really come out of stereotyping people. So a deeper look does reveal that the church-goers at Pantokrator (Greek for 'All Powerful'), are pretty serious about their faith. The founder of the church is 24-year-old Cristian Gonzalez, who is also a heavy metal drummer. According to Cristian, it's perfectly normal to worship through heavy metal music, when Jesus himself got involved with people no matter what their condition – prostitutes, thieves or tax collectors. 
Photo © AP/Fernando Vergara Unfortunately, not everyone shares his views on the subject and the church remains unrecognized for now. Senior leaders of various traditional churches have criticized the concept of Pantokrator. According to Fabian Marulanda, a respected leader of the Christian Catholic Church of Colombia, liturgy needs to be conducted with seriousness and sobriety, and expressions should be dignified rather than overwhelmed. Others feel that the messages put forth through such means about the Bible could be confusing. 
Photo © AP/Fernando Vergara Meanwhile, the followers of the heavy metal church are far from discouraged. They meet every Saturday night on the second floor of a house, above a paint store. The services are a mix of traditional mass and metal that has biblical themes. The rosaries are made from chains and the bibles lined with denim. As the music reaches a crescendo, praises of the Lord are sung. Cristian asserts, "If Jesus were alive today, he would be neither a guerilla nor a metalhead. He would accept everyone without distinction and without reproach to anyone." Can't really argue with that! Believers Rock Out at Colombia’s Heavy Metal Church was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| The Mosuo Tribe – China’s Kingdom of Women Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:05 AM PST 
There's a popular one-liner that's been doing the rounds on Facebook for a while now – "If women ruled the world, there would be no wars. Just a bunch of jealous countries not talking to each other." While that's something we've all laughed at and forgotten, there actually does exists a Chinese matriarchal tribe where things are seemingly always at peace. Also known as the Kingdom of Daughters, the Mosuo Tribe have been in existence for the past two thousand years in the Lugu Lake region of Southern China. In the Mosuo tribe, women rule. To such an extent that their language doesn't even have a word for 'father'. Property is handed down from mother to daughter, and sons are treated as simple inhabitants of the house. Even after they are married with children of their own, the men continue to live in their maternal homes, while children live in the home of the mother. In fact, there isn't even a concept of formal marriage. Couples who fall in love meet in the home of the woman, and continue to refer to each other as 'friends'. Vows and bonds have no place in a "walking marriage" system where mutual affection is valued. 
Photo via Chinancient The Mosuo are apparently doing something right, considering the fact that issues such as prostitution or rape are unheard of. Even divorce is of no concern, because a woman is free to end a relationship at any time. Nothing really changes since the couple never lived together. No common finances, shared property, or child-custody battles implies that there are no worries whatsoever in case of a break-up. Unlike many other cultures in China, the birth of a girl-child is celebrated in this ethnic minority, and they truly do seem to be a happy lot. 
Photo via Utopianist You must be wondering at this point if the men of such a society are really happy with the way things are. Well they surely must be, because no amount of insistence from the Chinese Government could make the Mosuo change their ways. The men proudly claim, "Mosuo men are only stealing the girls, not their stuff." Today, cultural curiosity actually draws several tourists to the land of the Mosuo each year. This is one tribe I will surely be visiting if I ever happen to travel to China. The Mosuo Tribe – China’s Kingdom of Women was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Young Comatose Patient Loved to Shoot Hoops Posted: 28 Feb 2012 11:36 PM PST 
Her eyes looked dazed, her expression blank. And yet, her hands worked in perfect coordination, shooting a basketball through the hoop with practiced precision. This is the story of 18-year-old Maggie Meier who was able to shoot hoops while comatose, at age 14. In 2008, Maggie started to complain of headaches and suffered nonstop seizures. At the time, she was a freshman and star athelete at Blue Valley High School in Overland Park, Kansas. When she was taken in to the hospital, she was diagnosed with a rare brain infection called mycoplasma meningoencephalitis that causes swelling in the brain. Maggie soon slipped into a coma, and remained in a vegetative state for nearly three months. During that time, her family made sure she was moved every two hours so her limbs didn't stiffen up. And so that she wouldn't forget her identity, a basketball was put in her hands as she sat upright on a wheelchair. It was then that her dormant memory kicked in and she could shoot hoops for a while, before slipping back into a coma. 
While this sounds incredible and even a little scary, doctors say that such an occurrence isn't entirely unnatural. Since Maggie had been playing basketball regularly, and shot about 500 times every single day since the third grade, the movements were probably hardwired into a certain part of her brain – the part that had thankfully not been damaged by the infection. So while the rest of her memory was completely wiped out, her ability to shoot with perfect form remained untouched. Eventually, Maggie recovered from the disease and had to spend time relearning several things such as reading, writing and even walking. But the girl's fighter spirit ensured that she did it in no time, and she is all set to graduate High School with the rest of her class. Maggie now plans to get a college degree in special education. Who better to teach children with special needs, than one who had overcome them herself? via ABC News Young Comatose Patient Loved to Shoot Hoops was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
