Big Cats Decline?

Learn more about the decline of Large breed cats. All of the large cat breeds throughout the world are declining because of things like:

RETALIATORY KILLINGS:

Conflict between livestock herders and big cats have left the animals vulnerable to retaliatory slayings.

ILLEGAL HUNTING:

Some hunters target big cats to fuel a market for illicit products. 

LOSS OF HABITAT:

As human populations increase, the amount of natural hunting ranges and habitats for big cats declines.

There are things that we can do to help them, and National Geographic is trying to save them all before it is too late. So find out what you can do to help these poor creatures! 

Crop Cirles.

Article: Who makes the crop circles you ask? Well no one really knows for sure. But one thing i learned from this video is that there are crop circle makers, who do make crop circles in broad daylight because it is an art to them. But the crop circles that are being found appear in the morning and there is no way that a person or team of people could make it in one night. So maybe there are aliens? That is your opinion really, so.. what do you believe?

Winter Solstice + Lunar Eclipse Tonight - First in 632 years.

Article: "In 2010, for the first time since 1378, a total lunar eclipse of a full moon falls on the winter solstice—a stargazing event almost anyone in North America will be able to see tonight, weather permitting."  The shortest day of the year, today is going to provide us with a Lunar Eclipse. Starting to become visable at 1:33 am, you will be able to see the Earth, the moon and the sun all line up. This will last until a little bit after 5:01 am. This could be a once in a lifetime thing to see, and may mean something more religious to some people. I'll be watching, will you?

Hyper Parents and Coddled Kids.

Video: The "Hyper Parent and Coddled Kids" video explains the fact that in today's society kids are babied around even until they get their first job. Parents feel the need to provide the best for their children, and this video shows that most parents think that enrolling kids into more programs then they can handle is the way to do that for their kids. Some parents are even okay with spending $1200 a month to send their child to pre-school, that ends up costing them $14000 a year! My university schooling won't even cost that much. And what are these kids learning that costs their parents so much? Some parents are so obsessed with what their children are doing that they are okay with implanting a chip into their child's arm so that they can track their child's every minute. Parents just want to best for their children which is understandable but the limits that they go to today to get the best for them seems a little bit unreasonable, studies have been done and letting the children learn on their own, will help the children later on in life. So hopefully babying our children won't last for much longer or else our future doesn't look too bright.

Zeitgeist 2010: Year in Review

Video:  This video sums up the main things that happened throughout the year of 2010 by showing the main searches that we typed in Google. Summing up this video we are shown the crisis's that we survived through, the new milestones that we reached, the loved people that we lost, the heroes that we found. But overall I really enjoyed this video and thought that it did do a good job to remind us of the events that took place in 2010. Now we can only hope that 2011 will be as good as 2010 was!

Flat-Headed Babies?

Article: The way that we were all taught to let our babies sleep is now causing them learning disabilities. A study of 476 babies is being done, of which 40% have the flattened head syndrome. There have been ways to fix babies that do suffer from a flattened head, but ways to prevent it include: changing babies head positions while they are sleeping, providing more tummy time, and not letting babies sleep in their car seats or bouncey chairs.

Eye in the back of his head... Literally.

Video: This artist decided to get a painful surgery so that he can, for one year take a photo every one minute of whatever is behind him. This photo stream will go live on December 15th and the photos will be put up on the internet and in a museum as part of an exibit. He says "Alot of people may not get it... Alot of people don't even get art.." I guess having three eyes would be pretty cool... but i also think that the surgery would have hurt quite a bit...

Banning Pencils in school?

Article:  Really? What were you thinking Wendy Scott? Any kid that you see in a school would have at least one of their own pencils with them or in their pencil case. So why was she trying to ban them? Apparently kids are making weapons out of pencils... I'm sorry what? I'm still in school and I have never even thought of using a pecil to build a weapon. I think there are a million other ways that i could make a weapon out of school supplies.. Not saying that I plan on doing so. Wendy wants to give the kids pencils.. but I don't understand... If I can make a weapon out of my pencil, what is the difference between mine and the schools? Good thing the school doesn't agree with this crazy teacher. Maybe this is the weapon i could make with my pencils? ...

Are we digital dummies?

Article: The documentary was explaining how our lives revolve around our electronics. We now make time in our day just for our cell phones and feel the need to bring them everywhere so that we can stay connected to our friends and family at any moment in any day. But I don't believe that this is true for every cell phone user. I believe that maybe some of us did develop an unhealthy addiction to our cell phones but not all of us. The people that their days are surrounded with making plans with their cell phone are the main people with these addictions. These are the people that are the digital dummies. It is only a small portion of our society, not all of us. So to answer your question! No we are not all digital dummies.

Opinion: Don't Follow Your Dream

Don't follow your dream you ask? Why would this man write about telling people not to follow their dreams? Doesn't really make sense does it? Well good thing that isn't what he is writing about. He is only writing to explain that kids and teens these days do have big dreams and are ready to follow them, but the problem is that none of them are ready to work for their dreams.. they just expect their dreams to be handed to them on a silver platter. That is part of what is wrong with our teens these days.

Proposal Questions

Proposal Questions

What communications technology skills will you be using in this project?

I will be using the skills that I have learned to take appealing photos, and will be putting them into a video using Adobe Premiere and will add music and transitional effects to make a successful video.

How will this project be significantly different from the current projects listed? Make direct comparisons?

This project will be significantly different from the other projects listed because it will have a special touch of my photography. Since I am more interested in photography rather than videography I feel that a video made from photographs will turn out better than a video made from small video clips.

What technology is needed to complete this project?

Technology that will be needed to complete this project includes the following: My Camera, My computer, And Adobe Premiere. The internet will also be needed to get the proper music to fit my video.

What kind of preparation work is needed for this project? Include research

Preparation includes planning a theme for my video and photos, finding a proper song to fit the theme, and taking the photos and putting them into the video format, including editing the video and sound effects.

Describe pre-production work needed to prepare for this project.

Pre-production work needed to complete this project includes, planning a theme, planning the photos that I will be taking, and brainstorming the proper music to fit the theme in the video.

What will you do during production?

During production I will take the photos that I need in the proper locations with the proper settings and lighting.

What kinds of things will you be doing in post-production?

During post-production I will be editing my photos to make them the best that they can be, I will then select an order for the photos to be displayed and find attach the proper music to the video.

Storyboard

Longer Samples on iTunes?

We all know that when we want to hear a sample from iTunes we only get the annoying 30 seconds, but now Apple has confirmed to change the 30 seconds to a whopping 90 seconds. That is only for the songs that are at least 2:30, but anything shorter will still have the old 30 seconds clip. Why the change? Apple feels that the sample of the song is an important part to whether or not someone is going to buy the song, so having a longer sample means that iTunes will have more sales from songs. Or at least they are hoping so... But how many of us honestly buy all of our music? Or do we steal it like everyone else in today's society? When was the last time you yourself bought a CD? Stealer. 

Teen Dies after being hit by SUV.

Toronto teen girl, age 16 was struck by an SUV Saturday night causeing fatal injuries leading to her death in hospital on Monday. She was walking late at night with another 17 year old who was also struck but whose injuries were not fatal, and has since been released from hospital. The parents of the girl asked police not to release the name, for personal reasons. The investigation has so far ruled out the factor of drunk driving and speeding. So what else could be the cause of this sad death? Care to read more?

Cyclist Hit by GO Train.

A 54 year old women got hit by a GO train a few nights ago in Scarborough. She went through a safety barrier and was on the tracks of the train with her bike when she got hit. There hasn't been much investigation of the incident yet but more info should be announced soon. 

Faking Cancer?

Video and News story talking about a women who faked cancer. She shaved her head and eyebrows and made a Facebook page asking people to donate money so that she could get surgery.. but she spent the money on herself, instead of getting a surgery that she never actually needed. She has pleaded guilty in court now and now feels bad for all the people that she has effected from her scam. Who wouldn't feel bad for lying to so many people and taking money that they thought was going to a worthy cause? 

18 month girl falls out window.

Today, In Paris an 18 month old baby girl fell out of a seven story apartment where she fell the seven stories and bounced off a cafe awning below where a man had prepared to catch her. This man also happened to be a doctor. What are the odds?

Office Video - Individual Brainstorming Sheet

Situation: A how-to-video on how to train your dragon.  A dragon has crashed into the house, and we have to figure out a way to get it back to its own habitat. Major skills will be required to accomplish this task, skills that we will need to teach it. We will have to encounter many obstacles throughout our quest to success.

Ivestigation:
Main Character:
1. Amy (The Dragon)
2. Andres Gaitan
3. Jenna DeAbreu
4. Random Stranger
5. Random Stranger #2

Setting:
1. Jenna’s house
2. Backyard
3. The park
4. The street
5. The sky

Exploits:
1.  How the dragon got into the house
2.  How we plan to get it out of the house back to its habitat
3. What it has to learn to get back to its habitat
4. How good of teachers we are to teach it
5. Whether or not it does succeed in learning its needed abilities

Movie Review

Movie Review

                          

 “The Social Network” – Teens “like” the movie that “lerks” the reality of their life.

Actors/Actresses/ Characters:

Jesse Elisenberg ---Mark Zuckerberg

Rooney Mara --- Erica Albright

Joseph Mazzello --- Dustin Moskovitz

Justin Timberlake--- Sean Parker

Andrew Garfield --- Eduado Saverin

Have you ever had an idea that you thought would bring you fame and fortune? Maybe it wouldn’t make you 500 million friends, but it would get you out in to the big world. You thought that if the world discovered you then you would be rich and famous and that would be a perfect life to live. But not all ideas are that simple. Some cause problems that not even the richest people in the world can deal with.

On a night in 2003, Harvard Student Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Elisenberg), sat down with an idea and worked hour after hour that night to produce his idea of “The Facebook.” After only six years and 500 million sign ups later, Mark Zuckerberg finds himself as the youngest billionaire in the world. But all of his success does not come without a price; it costs him legally and personally.

The most important actors in this movie were: Jesse Elisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, Andrew Garfield as Eduado Saverin. They were the three that I felt any connection to. They seemed to have the most drama between them and played their roles the best. I was convinced most by the way they acted compared to anyone else in the movie.

The things that I like about this movie are as follows. The fact that they made the movie about something so relevant to their audiences lives such as Facebook. Facebook is a big deal in today’s society. People use it as a way to communicate and a way to plan events. Imagine for a moment that we didn’t have Facebook… Our lives would be very different than they are right now. That is why making a movie about one of the huge factors of communication would make it important, because what kid would not want to watch a movie about the way they spend half of their lives?

I think that most people could take away from this movie the fact that money isn’t everything. Of course Mark Zuckerberg never thought that his idea would get him to where he ended up, in some ways good, others bad. His idea completely changed his life. Sometimes putting your wants in front of what you already have in life, it will cause you loss more than gain.

Since the movie is rated PG-13, for sexual content, drug and alcohol use and language, I think that the largest age group that will go to see this movie are people between the ages of 14-24. I feel that these are the people who find that Facebook affects their lives the most, so they would be the most interested to see the story behind it. People older than that would look at the movie and think that Facebook is a waste of time therefore, a movie about it is also a waste of time.

I would rate this movie 4 stars out of 5 because it did have a lot of the important elements for a movie to be successful, but I felt that it was missing the importance of feeling a bond with the characters. Usually I try to connect with them so that I feel sad when bad stuff happens, but because these characters didn’t have much in common with me I didn’t feel that connection. Other than that all the other important elements were there.

                                                         

                                         

                                         

Biography:

The brilliant writer of this movie review is named Jenna DeAbreu. She is a Senior student at Holy Trinity and a valued employee at Longos. She plays rugby and soccer, rugby for the school, and soccer as a summer time filler. Her hobbies include, taking photographs, being outdoors, and travelling. These three things are very important to her as she is striving to become a photographer after her time is done at Holy Trinity.

Rotoscoping Project

OUR VIDEO!

After like four weeks of hard work, this is what we have to show for it, and man are we proud! :)

Pugliese Bread.

This simple, crusty bread hails from Puglia, Italy, and is great for making sandwiches or dipping into olive oil. Some producers flavor it with olives or cheese. I will post the sticker price and nutrition facts ASAP.

Ht Moive.

                                       Well there it is folks, the joys of being a student at Holy Trinity.

Tablet computers: Will devices like the iPad replace paper?

No more paper? Or is this just wishful thinking? Many people feel that the iPad is going to reduce the need for paper... But does everyone think the same thing? I do. But onlt to some extent. The people that I know that have an iPad prefer to type and use their laptops instead, so maybe we just aren't in the swong of things? Or maybe we just don't want to change the norms that we already have for note taking and stuff that the iPad is used for. We are going to have to make some serious changes to adapt to the iPad. Hopefully it will save the planet. :)

Mozilla Seabird Phone?

Do you think our technology will reach this point? If so when? Mozilla is proposing a new phone to come out with many interesting features. Some of these features include being able to project your keyboard onto a flat surface and being able to type that way, which will pose some issues because we have all learned to type a certain way and the keyboard shown is split in two halves which will mean a new way of typing. Do you think that technology will take this turn and make us learn to type in a new way if we want to keep up with it? I guess you can wait and see for yourself.

Don't Text 911: B.C Mounties.

Really? I didn't know people could be so dense as to text 911 with their emergency... Did you ever think that if you were in an emergency situation that you could text 911 with your emergency and then help would be on the way? I didn't think anyone thought that... But apparently I was wrong. The only reason that I would think that it would even be benificial to be able to text your emergency would be in a situation where you cannot speak, so maybe if you were kidnapped and still had your cell phone on you.. Other than that I think that this problem is a little bit outrageous...

Facebook Outrage: Were you more productive?

Do we depend on facebook too much?
According to this article many people were in a panic yesterday when Facebook servers went down. What does this really mean for our generation? Are we going to need to check our facebook every so often to fill our addiction? I really think that we should all limit ourselves to our Facebook usage, because although it is a fast and easy way to connect with friends and family it is a very bad addiction. We now feel the need to buy better and more expensive phones just so that we can check our Facebook on the go... If we keep up with the way our lives revolve around Facebook, eventually we will most likely never have face to face confrontation because it will inconvenience our lives too much. So should we all start to quit Facebook now? Or should we keep up with our addiction and let the social change of the world do its own thing?

Human Mirror.

About Improv Everywhere.

Improv Everywhere causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places. Created in August of 2001 byCharlie Todd, Improv Everywhere has executed over 100 missionsinvolving tens of thousands of undercover agents. The group is based in New York City. 

The video that I watched of improv everywhere was called "Human Mirror. It was pretty much a group of 30 people (15 twin sets) that ride the subway somewhere and sit across from each other on the train and mirror each others movements. The people that did see them had reactions that included: laughter, shock, confusion, and one person even said "They must be twins or something... they are identical. Maybe there is a twin conference going on somewhere." 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MBBr-a2KnM

Attack of the clones!

And you thought just one Jenna was bad...                                             THINK AGAIN! 

Do we take our finger nails for granted?

Do we take our nails for granted? We paint them, cut them, file them, and even chew them. But maybe this isn't possible for everyone? This article was very interesting in the sense that it shows how difficult an astronauts gloves are to design in such a way that it will not cause health problems. The best way that professionals think is to custom make gloves for each astronaut that has to go on a EVS. But even this could cost up to a hundred thousand dollars. So as for right now they are hoping that "applying protective dressings, keeping nails trimmed short—or doing some extreme preventative maintenance. " will keep the nails attached. It is also true that some astronauts will remove their nails before they go out so that they don't detach themselves while they are working. But even if the nails do come off completely, don't stress, it will most likely grow back fully, but it will possibly be deformed. So, if you do like having your fingernails, wait it out until they do find a fix for this issue until you become an astronaut. 

Jenna's working with a clone stamp! :)

BEFORE!

AFTER! :)

10 Things About Me... In case you were wondering.

Dare to find the ten things?

Out of the darkness with a solar-powered light bulb.

(Article)

"The World Bank estimates that breathing kerosene fumes from an indoor lamp is equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. "And nearly one million people a year die from kerosene lamp fires," says Katsaros." So, Stephen Katsaros invented a solution.. Solar powered light bulbs. The light bulbs were designed for campers, hikers, and people in underdeveloped countries. But is it too farfetched for someone in a situation where they cannot even pay for lighting to ask them to spend $15 per one light bulb? I believe that it would be, unless someone was willing to buy many light bulbs in bulk (meaning the price per light bulb would decrease) and send them to the poorer familes. This way we could decrease the need for kerosene lamps, and therefore decrease the number of people the lamp fires, and carbon monoxide from the lamps kills each year. So the light bulbs in turn could be a good idea if we can work together to get them to the people that need them the most. ->Here <- is a video explaining the Nokero light bulb.

Fruit and vegetable head!

Fruit and vegetable face done on photoshop!

Portfolios 101

This article by Nacy Hill is very imformative,
http://www.photography.com/articles/basic-concepts/portfolios-101/

If anyone is looking to put together a portfolio I would strongly suggest for them to read this article. It helps to show the steps of how and what is needed to put together a portfolio. It offers many suggestions from: what a portfolio would be needed for to how to organize your portfolio in the best way that suits you.

Considering I am applying to Universitys for photography, a portfolio is a part of my application that I need to include. This gave me very good advice for how to put it together in a way to "Wow" my audience.