The Ostrich is the largest living species of bird, able to run at max speeds of 70 km/h (43 mph) - the fastest land speed of any bird.

I took this picture today, during a hike to Bodeda Ruins in Eilat Mountains , about an hour before the sunset. The black mountain on the right is Mount Solomon (705 meters). A tiny bit of the Red Sea (the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba) can be seen to the left, in front of the heizy mountains of Jordan in the background.

Somali Wild Ass are critically endangered species - there are less than 1000 animals in the wild.

The 13th century castle of Volta in Barolo ( il castello della Volta di Barolo ), seen through the vineyard, got its current name from the collapsed vault of the central hall (hence the name "Of the Vault"). According to the legend, the men and women of the court of the castle's lord, were buried by the collapse of the ceiling during a collective orgy, as the devil took possession of their souls.

Fetishism is a very old obsession. The Neanderthals were praying to stones to bring luck in the next hunt, the ancient Egyptians got totally infatuated with the pyramids... Finally, in 1927, Sigmund Freud have explained that the fetish is a substitute for penis. For many people this was a profound realization, which caused them to put their fetishes away and instead concentrate on revolutions and wars. However, not everyone had the will power to dedicate their life to bigger causes, so fetishism simmered under the surface, until the blogging have emerged in the late 1990s. Now every single fetish could have a dedicated blog, with a growing vibrant community to discuss the object of passion. There are blogs about stones, pyramids, cars, food, shoes and of course cameras and lenses.

There are about 1500 wild Nubian Ibex ( Capra Ibex ) in Israel, inhabiting Judean desert, Negev, Eilat mountains and the Golan Heights. You can often see them on the mountain slopes, while driving to Eilat on Route 90 .

The homeless in Japan are very polite, quiet, never ask for money and try to stay out of the way. They are completely ignored by the general population and rarely harassed by the police. There are about 5,000 homeless in Tokyo (vs. at least 100,000 in New York City).

Air China 's Boing 747-400 taking off from Tokyo's Narita airport.

Annecy is a small town in south-eastern France, less than an hour drive from Geneva.