Spring is Here !!!

Look around you, the trees have new buds and the flowers are blooming, you're going to be waking up in the morning to the sound of birds chirping and that nice weather you're experiencing is here to stay. What do all those signs point at? They point at the arrival of Spring! I absolutely love Spring, and I always look forward to the arrival of the flowers of the Magnolia tree. They simply put a smile on my face! They make everything seem so beautiful and perfect after a boring grey Canadian winter. Well, this year I didn't experience the typical "harsh Canadian winter". Perhaps that's why I wasn't awaiting the Magnolia trees as usual. Life was just life, on this "normal" Thursday. As usual getting up late in the morning, wishing I could just go back to sleep, jumping into the shower, running off to school, dragging the day out, counting down the seconds, awaiting the bell and then hopping in the car so I could finally get home! Usually I make small talk and /or zone out on the ride home, that day I did both suddenly we had reached the end of my street, but there was something unusual! Then it hit me, at the end of the street there the Magnolia tree covered with lots and lots of beautiful pink flowers! Spring had arrived and so have the beautiful flowers of the Magnolia tree! The flowers are like nature's most perfect design, they're petals come in an organic oval shape, the flowers have lots and lots of petals. The most amazing thing was how every petal appeared the same, but after taking a closer look each petal was unique, each petal curved differently and each had a slightly different colour gradient,

but all together they make the flower look so unified and perfect.( kind of like how all of my friends and I are different; because of the way we think, look and how we are all very different from one another, but together we are like these individual petals uniting to create a beautiful flower) The flowers come naturally in a perfect tone of white, violet and rosy pink. On the weekend I saw Magnolia trees with flowers whiter than snow, and I also saw a yellow Magnolia( kind of unusual), it was beautiful. They're natural beauty have inspired me to take the time and observe nature and all it has to offer. I am incredibly sad that these flowers are only here to stay for a few weeks, but they have impacted me in such an unforgettable way that memory will always stay in my heart. I shall be waiting for my magnolias' long after spring has gone.

I forgot to mention, I took these pictures ! Weird eh, I don't usually take pictures, I guess that Thursday wasn't so normal after all...

Siddhagiri Wax Museum

In case you have not seen it before...

Siddhagiri Museum[similar to Madame Tussauds wax museum]

Siddhagiri Museum[similar to Madame Tussauds wax museum]
Siddhagiri Museum is located near Kolhapur city in Maharastra State , India . It has a history of more than 1000 years, and is a holy place of worship of Lord Mahadeva. The surrounding around the museum is very calm and quiet, a hilly place with a good collection of Flora and Fauna.The main objective of the project is to refresh the history of self sufficient village life. There were 12 main profession based casts i.e. professions performed by generation by family members and 18 ALUTEDARS, who provided equipments to all villagers useful in their day-to-day necessities of domestic as well as agricultural life. The first phase of the museum spans over 7 Acres of area with almost 80 main scenes and around 300 wax statues. There is a unique combination of expression, accuracy and liveliness in the whole village. Each sculpture has a multi dimensional effect and lifestyle theme to make a proper visual story.The Museum projects the entire village as a single family, and as single family members in a joint family. No adulteration, no cut throat practice, no mad rat race, no pollution, but caring, and delightful atmosphere, no bitter feeling, but fertile land, clean water, clean air, quality food, maximum use of natural resources, cattle field, livestock, job satisfaction. All these things are reflecting the beauty, joy, satisfaction of human race and one-ness with nature.
Here are some more scenes ..

Love the clarity and color, its so vivid, definitely a place I shall visit in the future.

Sprokets film festival

Today, all the CyberArts students took a trip to the Sprockets Film Festival in downtown Toronto. In the morning, we watched a variety of short films made by Canadian Students. These films were all very different from one another, they were all from different genres and made using different techniques(mediums). The Freshwater Plague, was like a documentary about the invasion of shadflies also known as mayflies in North Bay, while On the Bus was about a young man who lived in a fantasy world, far from reality and his fears of acceptance( it was like a fictional film). Bonefeather was a funny film about two male birds trying to impress a female bird(animation).

(On the Bus)

We got a chance to talk to a few of the film makers and screenplay writers, it was very interesting to learn about film school, their experiences in film school and their experiences of making the films. It was nice of them to share personal stories with us. They also gave us advice. It also was intriguing to see the different paths they have taken and it really helped me distinguish the difference between what film making is and film school is and the reality of it.

('U')

In the afternoon we watched an animated french film called 'U'. 'U' a movie about a princess "Mona"(who is a dog) and her friend "U", a unicorn. U introduces Mona to Lazare and his family the "Yeah Yeahs"(a bunch of musicians), Mona falls in love with a cat from that family, who plays the guitar. U gets worried that Mona will find true happiness with someone else and will no longer need her. Then U starts to shrink because Mona is all grown up, has found happiness and is in love.(that's all I can remember) 'U' is very different from the animated movies I have seen from Hollywood. Most of the animated movies I have watched are for children and were mostly fairy tales or movies with morals. 'U' seems to be for a more older, more mature audience and deals with mature subject matter, Unless the children in France are exposed to kissing and nudity at a very young age. Although it did contain a magical aspect, witch is common in animated Hollywood(Disney) movies.

('U')

I really enjoyed myself today, I especially liked the birds from Bonefeather, I'm not entirely sure how they were made, but they were bright, vibrant and visually pleasing. I would really like to know how the film was made and how long it took?They really did a good job of tying the film together with the story and the sound

After watching the morning films, when we were chatting with the filmmakers, the producer of The Freshwater Plague, shared with us how he made his film. He told us that he basically made his film with microphones that were lent to him or he rented them from a small musical group in his town and he shot the footage with his dad's camcorder, I found this extremely interesting and cool.

I had a great time at the Sprockets Film Festival, If you get a chance definitely check it out!

Flash CS4 Tutorial: How To Motion Tween

Hey Guys,

I wish I would have discovered this a few weeks ago, when I was struggling to deal with the change from using Flash mx to Flash CS4! I just discovered something very useful this video is great ! It shows you how to create a motion tween in Flash CS4, if you're new to Flash or have used an older version in the past. This video is extremely helpful (in case your new to Flash it shows you how to create a symbol, a motion tween and explains everything clearly) There is a new tween in Flash CS4 the "classic" tween and it can be difficult to understand which tween to use, between the motion tween and the classic tween and which is best. There is also a new motion tween engine that I wish I knew about. I was slightly confused at first when I started using Cs4, I would have had seen this video it would have helped a lot. What I liked about this video is that it clearly explains the differences between the different versions of tweens. Well it's to late for me, but I wanted to share this with you. Hope this helps !! -Rali

Wild and Wacky Recycled Jewellery

Cool accessories are essential to tie together the perfect outfit right ?

I just found an eco-friendly way to look trendy and cool!

In UK there is some wild and wonderful jewelry (or jewellery as they say across the pond) created from recycled plastics, textiles and metals. Designer Ann Ellis is behind these materpieces and I have not seen plastic bags & bottles look so stylish!

Check Out some more funky plastic !

Dil Bole Hadippa !!!

Dil Bole Hadippa, Hadippa can't be translated literally in english it's not exactly a word, but much more than that, it's a feeling that comes from with in your heart.

This video perfectly portrays this feeling. Dil meaning heart, this video is not in english but just by watching it, you get that tingly feeling in your heart, not the I'm in love with someone feeling, but, I love this land and this life. The video captures the essence of Indian culture. Life is a celebration Hadippa! In the video Rani Mukerji(the girl) is trying to say to the guy who has just come back home from abroad that no matter how much you run away from it you cannot escape the fact that you may be American by birth, but by nature you will always be Indian. In the video, the girl is explaining to the guy how she feels, about her country, her village life in Punjab and the friendly fun loving people. The Hindi language is so beautiful, as are other foreign languages no doubt, the words are so meaningful and wether you understand or not! the sense of patriotism, love for one's country are a celebration. The feeling is mutual.

Art comes in may forms; singing is an art, dancing is an art but capturing true feelings of the heart is an art in it's self. This is incredible India! The girls in vibrant coloured clothes, the beautiful shots of the fields, the people, the props and the dancing are all of the elements that make the distinction. You don't have to be ultra hi-tech to love life.

Watch the Video and you will see what I mean!