Close up Filters Results...

As mentioned in one of my previous posts, I got myself a set of close up filters to go with my Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens..So, here are some of the results I got, which is also available for view in my flickr account..Most of them are taken with +10 dioptre filter attached to the lens..

---MORE PHOTOS IN MY FLICKR ACCOUNT---

Heroes Volume 5 : Redemption

Here's some spoiler from Michael Ausiello over at Entertainment Weekly on Heroes Volume 5 : Redemption.

------------------------------ SPOILER ALERT ------------------------------

Question: I need some Heroes scoop, my dear! –Heather

Ausiello: The working title for next fall’s fifth volume is “Redemption.” That’s according to James Kyson Lee (Ando), who told us that production on season 3 wrapped last Friday and the cast is now in the midst of a three-month hiatus. He also called this Monday’s Bryan Fuller-penned episode a “monster” hour of TV. “Ando learns a new trick with his mojo,” Lee revealed. “He will not just be a supercharger anymore. He will be something more from that point on. He is becoming a legitimate superhero this season. which is really fun for me to go from powerless sidekick to hero."

Free Photoshop Brushes II

Here are few more free Photoshop brushes for you guys, in addition to my previous post on Free Photoshop Brushes..These include film strip, cloud, note paper, petals, ink splatter, artist board, abstract, music and octanes signs brushes..Feel free to download.. :)

Close Up Filter & Macro Glass

With the kit lens of 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 on my Canon EOS 400D, I'd say macro shooting is quite limited since the image gets blur whenever I move close enough to the subject. So, finally I got myself a set of FOX Close Up filters (+1, +2 and +4) and a macro glass (+10). Now, I can experiment macro shooting without actually spending a fortune. I realize that the image quality won't be as good as using a dedicated macro lens such as Canon 250D or 500D, but as a beginner, having this set should be good enough for me, at least for now. I'm looking forward to shooting stuffs like the frog below, great one!

p.s: I'm thinking of extension tube too, actually..It can give me longer focus point while maintaining the image quality, since it has no glass element at all..hmmm..

Now we've Boyle, Jafargholi..Lets see who comin' up next ..

Over the weekend, while Boyle was setting up chats with "Oprah," CNN and every other news outlet that could get her "gobsmacked" reaction to being viewed more than 50 million times on YouTube, another Britain's Got Talent singer was already waiting in the wings.

Shaheen Jafargholi, a 12 year-old from Swansea, appeared on the show on Saturday and initially bombed with judge Simon Cowell, who made him stop singing his Amy Winehouse version of the "Valerie" after just one verse. Here's the video of Shaheen singing during BGT 2009 episode 2.


When the preternaturally poised Jafargholi rebooted with the second song, Who's Lovin' by Michael jackson, the audience went nuts. At the end of the song, all judges gave the boy standind ovations - even Cowell too. Reaaly a great moment!

"This is how one song can change your life. And this may be the start of something special for you young man." Cowell said before winking at the boy. And Holden said he passed her goosebumps test just as Paul Potts and George Sampson did. Lets just hope she's right..

p/s: I've been watching the video over and over again. The boy has really good voice and with both Cowell n him, OMG they are really cute! :P

~A Gift for Myself ~

After dreaming of doing things in different ways, after having high hopes, and after a long long wait, I finally gave myself a birthday gift that has always been in my wishlist. Now, there's a new member in my little world - my Canon EOS 400D with Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens.

I've took some photos during my recent trip to Leicester, and I'd say I'm quite impressed with the results. At times, the weather wasn't that good, hence some pictures look rather underexposed. And for some, it's just my lack of talent and knowledge of operating an SLR that made them look nothing more than a normal point & shoot produced pictures. Here are some of the photos I took with my new EOS:

My Canon EOS 400D - I'm loving it... =)

Gaza War Crimes Investigation

Cut to pieces: the Palestinian family drinking tea in their courtyard.
Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles – the dreaded drones – caused at least 48 deaths in Gaza during the 23-day offensive



Palestinian brothers: Israel used us as human shields in Gaza war.
Three teenage boys say they were made to kneel in front of tanks to deter Hamas attacks



Under attack: how medics died trying to help Gaza's casualties.
Israeli military says medical staff 'take the risk upon themselves'

Nikon Latest Price Hike in the UK!!

Nikon has officially confirmed a new wave fo price increases from 1st March on most of its product lines. The increase is the second in less than two months. On 12 January, Nikon had already raised its prices by up to 20%.

'The [new] price increase is due to the relative weakness of Sterling and the continued strength of the Yen,' Nikon explains. 'A range of product groups will be affected however the Coolpix series and selected digital SLRs will not see an increase.

However, more worrying for photographers, is Nikon's aknowledgment that this recent price increase could be the second in a long series. 'Nikon will continue to review its pricing structures,' it says.

[British Journal of Photography]

Here's a sample graph of the price trend of the Nikon D300 with 12-24mm lens kit:

Since Canon had also increased its price twice this year, so people are left with no choice but a whole range of more and more expensive cameras than they have ever been..Let's just have a look at the price trend of Canon EOS 5D Lens Kit (EF 24-105 f/4 L IS):
Too bad!!! This is like taking the world back to the 70's, when a camera would cost u a FORTUNE!! :(

Children of Heaven (Bacheha-Ye aseman)

Children of Heaven (Persian: بچه‌های آسمان) is a 1997 Iranian film by Majid Majidi. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1998. It deals with a brother and sister and their adventures over a lost pair of shoes.

In 1998, the film was the first Iranian film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was successfully shown on numerous film festivals and won awards at the Fajr Film Festival, the World Film Festival, the Newport International Film Festival, the Warsaw International Film Festival, and the Singapore International Film Festival. It was nominated for the Jury's Grand Prize at the American Film Institute's festival.

(I watched this film few years ago, when I was still studying at school..Personally, I think it's a great movie, one that's worth-watching..Here's the download links for those who wish to give it a try, and for those who feels like watching it again, just like I did.. :)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Free PS Brushes

Here are some PS brushes I'd like to share with u guys..They should work with all PS CS versions..Have fun trying them all! :)

Nottingham University Islam Awareness Week '09

In the name of Allah the most beneficial, the most merciful

>>>>> Psst ... Think Islam’s A Bit Outdated?? <<<<<

The University of Nottingham Islamic Society, Proudly Presents:

ISOCs Biggest Events of the Year " Islam Awareness Week" where we challenge the common misconceptions and Ideas about the world fastest growing religion, Islam

This is YOUR chance to find out what Islam really says about terrorism, the current financial crisis, the oppression of women, health problems and whether these ideas originating more that 1400 years ago are compatible with today’s society!!

Speakers include world renowned Dr Jamal Badawi, Idris Tawfiq, Abu Muntasir, Rajnaara Akhtar, Dr Aisha Janjua, Faisal Sattar

For more information: suislamicsoc@nottingham.ac.uk

Latuff's Palestine Cartoons

-All images are the courtesy of Carlos Latuff-

We Will Not Go Down - Michael Heart

A blinding flash of white light

Lit up the sky over Gaza tonight
People running for cover
Not knowing whether they're dead or alive

They came with their tanks and their planes
With ravaging fiery flames
And nothing remains
Just a voice rising up in the smoky haze

We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight

Women and children alike
Murdered and massacred night after night
While the so-called leaders of countries afar
Debated on who's wrong or right

But their powerless words were in vain
And the bombs fell down like acid rain
But through the tears and the blood and the pain
You can still hear that voice through the smoky haze

We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight

Forever Paletine - Sami Yusuf

Mother don’t cry for me I am to win i must
God almighty is my witness and trust
Palestine, Forever Palestine

Children being killed for throwing stones in the sky
They say to their parents don’t worry, God is on our side
Palestine, Forever Palestine

Mother don’t worry when they come for us at night
Surely they’ll be sorry when God puts them right
Tell me why they’re doing what was done to them
Don’t they know that God is with the oppressed and needy
Perished were the nations that ruled through tyranny
Palestine, Forever Palestine

Children of Palestine are fighting for their lives
They say to their parents we know that Palestine is our right
They to say to their parents we’ll fight for what is right
They say not to worry God is on our side
They say we’ll die for Palestine
Palestine, Forever Palestine

Mark Steel: What have Palestinians got to complain about anyway?

When you read the statements from Israeli and US politicians, and try to match them with the pictures of devastation, there seems to be only one explanation. They must have one of those conditions, called something like "Visual-Carnage-Responsibility-Back-To-Front-Upside-Down-Massacre-Disorder".

For example, Condoleezza Rice, having observed that more than 300 Gazans were dead, said: "We are deeply concerned about the escalating violence. We strongly condemn the attacks on Israel and hold Hamas responsible."

Someone should ask her to comment on teenage knife-crime, to see if she'd say: "I strongly condemn the people who've been stabbed, and until they abandon their practice of wandering around clutching their sides and bleeding, there is no hope for peace."

The Israeli government suffers terribly from this confusion. They probably have adverts on Israeli television in which a man falls off a ladder and screams, "Eeeeugh", then a voice says, "Have you caused an accident at work in the last 12 months?" and the bloke who pushed him gets £3,000.

The gap between the might of Israel's F-16 bombers and Apache helicopters, and the Palestinians' catapulty thing is so ridiculous that to try and portray the situation as between two equal sides requires the imagination of a children's story writer.The reporter on News at Ten said the rockets "may be ineffective, but they ARE symbolic." So they might not have weapons but they have got symbolism, the canny brutes.

It's no wonder the Israeli Air Force had to demolish a few housing estates, otherwise Hamas might have tried to mock Israel through a performance of expressive dance.

The rockets may be unable to to kill on the scale of the Israeli Air Force, said one spokesman, but they are "intended to kill".

Maybe he went on: "And we have evidence that Hamas supporters have dreams, and that in these dreams bad things happen to Israeli citizens, they burst, or turn into cactus, or run through Woolworths naked, so it's not important whether it can happen, what matters is that they WANT it to happen, so we blew up their university."

But mostly the Israelis justify themselves with a disappointing lack of imagination, such as the line that they had to destroy an ambulance because Hamas cynically put their weapons inside ambulances.

They should be more creative, and say Hamas were planning to aim the flashing blue light at Israeli epileptics in an attempt to make them go into a fit, get dizzy and wander off into Syria where they would be captured.

But they prefer a direct approach, such as the statement from Ofer Schmerling, an Israeli Civil Defence official who said on al-Jazeera, "I shall play music and celebrate what the Israeli Air Force is doing."

Maybe they could turn it into a huge national festival, with decorations and mince pies and shops playing "I Wish We Could Bomb Gaza Every Day".

In a similar tone Dov Weisglas, Ariel Sharon's chief of staff, referred to the siege of Gaza that preceded this bombing, a siege in which the Israelis prevented the population from receiving essential supplies of food, medicine, electricity and water, by saying, "We put them on a diet."

It's the arrogance of the East End gangster, so it wouldn't be out of character if the Israeli Prime Minister's press conference began: "Oh dear or dear. It looks like those Palestinians have had a little, er, accident. All their buildings have been knocked down – they want to be more careful, hee hee."
And almost certainly one of the reasons this is happening now is because the government wants to appear hard as it wants to win an election. Maybe with typical Israeli frankness they'll show a party political broadcast in which Ehud Olmert says, "This is why I think you should vote for me", then shows film of Gaza and yells: "Wa-hey, that bloke in the corner is on FIRE."

And Condoleezza Rice and her colleagues, and the specially appointed Middle East Peace Envoy, could then all shake their heads and say: "Disgraceful. The way he's flapping around like that could cause someone to have a nasty accident."

[Retrieved from belfasttelegraph.co.uk]

PMS Buddy now on iPhone..

PMS Buddy - an iPhone app that helps to facilitate harmony between Mars and Venus, enables users to keep a close eye on the mood swings, headaches and food cravings that often occur at “that time of the month”. Men can use it to be ‘forewarned’ of impending PMS-related issues, while women can use it to monitor their own cycle or that of others. The app is based on the PMS Buddy web site, whose slogan reads, "Saving relationships, one month at a time!"

Yes, the idea is to give you a reminder of when that time of the month is coming, so as to avoid misunderstandings, which could lead to heated arguments and "dinner plates being hurled across the room," PMS Buddy's web site says.

“Women don’t appreciate it when you come home and maybe things are a little tense and the man says ‘Hey, do you have PMS?’” he said. “So we thought, ‘wouldn’t it be funny to automate it and make it available to the masses,” said Jordan Eisenberg, founder of PMS Buddy.

"Definitely useful for the 'WTF is wrong with me? Why am I so bitchy?' moments,"tweeted "Jemmen." "Also will be useful for couples trying to conceive."

[Retrieved from: blog.wired.com and telegraph.co.uk]

This is actually not something new as some similar apps have already been released before; iPeriod, My Girls, Calendar and PMS Meter to name a few. As long predicted, IT gadgets can do almost everything now that it can tell you when women in your life are closing in on "that time of the month" - when things can get intense for what may seem to be no reason at all. Here's a screenshot of iPeriod app on iPhone.
There's this one comment on the site which I find quite funny, yet very true.

"Warning: Asking a woman when she has PMS while she is experiencing PMS can result in the service not being needed until you meet someone new." --Posted by: EricF

And here's another comment from a user of PMS Buddy web app..Sounds like this app is really worth trying for most men out there..

"I've been using their web app for 6 months or so..now I get updates when my 2 exes are on their period. Great." --Posted by: Drew

A kid prodigy + love for his sister = iPhone app!!

Software companies big and small should live in fear of Lim Ding Wen — a nine-year-old in Singapore who's already authored an iPhone application.

His painting app Doodle Kids, free in the iPhone App Store, doesn't do much besides scatter colorful triangles, squares and plus signs on a virtual canvas, but he's way ahead of his time. Doodle Kids has been downloaded 4,000 times over the past two weeks.

"I wrote the program for my younger sisters, who like to draw," Lim told Reuters.

Lim started using a computer at age 2. He is fluent in six programming languages, and he's completed 20 programming projects. Lim is wise to get an early start on the App Store, where some developers are striking it rich with their iPhone apps. For example, independent developer Steve Demeter, said he made $250,000 in just two months with his iPhone game Trism.

Lim's father Lim Thye Chean is a chief technology officer who also writes iPhone applications.

With Doodle Kids complete, Lim is already working on his next iPhone app: a science fiction game called Invader Wars.

[Retrieved from wired.com]