Tongue painting

When you see his tongue you can figure that he has a good taste for art. You might wonder what we are trying to explain. We came out with this bizarre statement because Chinese artist Han Xiaoming actually uses his tongue as a brush to create paintings.

When using one's tongue to pain means that some of the paint must be going to his stomach too. Now your next question will be whether he is still living because paints can be poisonous.

Thank God he doesn't use oil paints or acrylic, just sweetened food for his creations.

Han, 35, claims he came up with the technique while trying his hand at traditional Chinese sugar painting. The ancient art form involves the use of melted sugar to create figures such as dragons, monkeys, fish, dogs, birds and flowers.

Halfway through his work, however, sweet-toothed Han got hungry and decided to take a sip of the sugary paints used to paint the sugar artworks. He loved the taste so much that he finally ended up abandoning the paintbrush and continued to paint with his tongue. Eventually, he completely switched to using his tongue as a tool for his art.

Han has received nationwide praise for his unique interpretation of sugar painting. He is now travelling around China, giving several performances of his self-developed tongue-painting technique. During one of his performances at Hangzhou city in Zhejiang Province, he dipped his tongue in water colored with food dye and enthralled the crowd with his paintings. He completed two pieces in 40 minutes, which he later sold to the crowd.

According to Han, the tongue, when used properly, can be very advantageous to the artist because it creates a brush stroke that is unique to that artist.

"It is a great way to really feel a connection with the artwork you are creating, using the tongue so you can only feel directly the paper rather than through the brush, but you can also taste it as well," he said.

Spreading ashes with a bang!

After death the soul is expected either ascend to heaven or descend to hell according to the good and the bad someone has done while on earth.

But Jim Carver, the funeral director of Greenlawn Funeral Homes, in Missouri, may be having other ideas. If you send the ashes of the dead man into the heavens it may induce the soul to follow suit? Or is he trying to create a new trend?

Jim innovated the spreading of dead man's ashes by using fireworks.

His first Firework Memorial program was held when fireworks packed with his father James Carver's cremated remains was launched skyward as part of his family's goodbye.

Carver's family is the first to try Greenlawn's new program. Jim says his father, who died in 2008, loved watching fireworks and will appreciate the unusual send off.

The family followed the eight-minute fireworks display with a cookout and memorial celebration.

According to the news release Greenlawn's Fireworks Memorials range from a $300 "Sensational Celebration" to the "Ultimate Goodbye," costing between $8,000 and $10,000.

Thai Miss Universe still young at 67

She was a sensation with her exquisite beauty represented Thailand at the Miss Universe Contest. And later she was crowned Miss Universe. Apsara Hongsakula, born in 1947, was only 18 when she won the most coveted beauty pageant title in the world. This was in 1965 and ever since she chose to step out of the limelight and most people had forgotten about her.

But almost half a century after Apsara was crowned Miss Universe, she is back in the news for her astonishingly youthful looks. The 67-year-old doesn't appear a day over 35, and her recent photographs have been causing quite stir on the internet!

However she chose to step out of the limelight soon after, and most people had forgotten about her. But when a recent photograph of her surfaced online last week, people were amazed at how little she had aged since she was last seen in 1965.

The photograph in question shows her wearing a slimming black dress, with long hair and a complicated-looking headdress. Her cherubic face has caused waves, sparking a wild rumour that she has spent THB 2.5 million on anti-aging treatments and plastic surgery. But others are quick to point out that she looks quite natural and doesn't seem to have a 'space-alien plastic surgery look'.

Apsara's manager cleared things up by denying the rumours of her bizarre and expensive rejuvenation therapies.

He said she'd only changed her hair from wavy to straight, which made all the difference. He also explained that she has taken good care of herself over the years, eating good food, exercising and using plenty of sunscreen.

Well, whatever the reason, there's no denying the fact that Apsara looks much younger than her years.