Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir and Lara Jade

It must definitely be helpful to be a hot female, and definitely even more helpful when you are a photographer. When you do not have a model lined up, just photograph yourself! That is one of the advantages that Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir and Lara Jade are entitled to.
That statement should not however diminish in any way the great work of these two fine ladies. Actually, Lara had her picture (of her) stolen for some video cover a while back and Rebekka recently had her pictures stolen and sold on iStockphoto. That’s just terrible.

I also noticed that many of their photos are of nice rolling landscapes or even of people with those landscapes as backdrops. They make me want to visit Iceland and the UK.

Well, they have been on my flickr contact list for a long time now but I thought I’d blog about their awesome work … especially when it’s awesome enough to get stolen! :) Keep up the good work ladies!

 

Python eats family’s dog … and cat … and guinea pig

A Kuranda couple fears for their children’s safety after a 5m python devoured their dog in front of them, just weeks after other snakes killed their cat and guinea pig.

Actually watching it unfold before your eyes was pretty gut wrenching,” he said.

“We’d had the dog about five years, so it was part of the family.”
Cairns

Wow, how unlucky can someone get? Dog, cat … and guinea pig all eaten by pythons! Actually, I recently had a chance to hold a python. To be honest, I only held a part of it, it’s belly and I can say it’s one BIG animal. It was no where near the five metres that this python measured.

I watched a Discovery Channel episode which tried to answer the question, which type of snake you rather be attacked by: a constrictor (pythons, boas, anacondas, etc) or a venomous snake (cobras, rattlesnakes, etc)

The answer, was that if you were bitten by a venomous snake, at least you had some time to get to the anti-venom. On the other hand, if you were constricted … and had no one around you to help you … well, let’s just hope that you have written your will as there is no way you’re getting out.

(I chose not to stalk a python to take it’s picture for this blog entry.)

 

Human Doing vs Being

Be A Human Being – Not A Human DoingHave you ever admired a successful person? What was it that you admired? Was it their fame? Their lifestyle? Their accomplishments?

Society teaches us that to be successful, we must achieve-we, must “do” something to earn it. We are taught to work hard to be “successful”. And to show our success we buy things – material “things” that prove our success “status”. When we focus on earning success we become “Human Doings”.

Human Doings overload themselves with long lists of goals, objectives and “to do” lists. They become emotionally drained as they spread themselves too thin. Worse yet, they are unavailable to respond to the emotional needs of those around them because they have so little left to give. Just as a hand becomes calloused to toughen sensitive skin, so does a human doing become insensitive to “feeling” the emotions of those around him.

“Human Beings” consciously chooses to slow down, prioritize and maintain balance. They understand the risk of getting too over responsible to their success at the cost of becoming insensitive, distant and emotionally unavailable. They make a decision to stay in touch with those they love by setting up boundaries that prevent them from becoming a slave to their goals.
Strive2Thrive

Thanks to Kevin Charland for this link. I love the quote here and it makes a lot of sense. I guess in this society, there is much pressure on defining people by what they achieve, and not really what they are. It’s a philosophical debate that can go both ways, but I like how they define Being vs Doing here.

 

Empowering Youth

Youth Symposium

Twenty years from now
you will be more disappointed
by the things you didn’t do
than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbour.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.

~ Mark Twain

I covered a couple of youth based events this weekend, the Mississauga Choral Festival, featuring a few children’s choirs, as well as the Youth Can Move the World symposium, which gave the youth of today’s society tools to help make a difference in this world.

To put it shortly, I was moved by all the work the youth have done, and especially by the Wildfire dance team. I love to dance and the notion of being able to travel to various continents in the world and communicate through dance … makes me think … what was I doing when I was younger?

I had all my credits to get into University at 16 … I think I should’ve been learning about life … or roaming the world instead.

Better late than never. My sails are hoisted. Just waiting to throw off the bowlines. This time though, the wait won’t be long … and I’ll just go whereever the winds take me.

 

So close, and still so far …

Ok, somehow, I got a disney princess movie stuck in my head. Save me. This song from the Oscars echos in my brain:

 

and the actual song in better quality …

 

 

Volunteering for a Good Cause

Gizmo AwardsToday I covered news for another good cause. The Tetra Society’s Gizmo Awards. A bunch of volunteer engineers who help build custom “gizmos” for handicapped people. From clothes racks that help a lady in a wheel chair hang her clothes, to a rotating TV that rotates via remote for a lady with shoulder strain injuries, to a custom flag holder/waver for a mayor in a wheel chair.

If you’re in engineering, I’m sure there are such people who would love to have you volunteer your time for them. :)


Gizmo AwardsGizmo Awards

 

Selyne Maia: Top 2 Finalists!

 

 

You totally hafta vote for her! I blogged about her before here. Go listen to her awesomeness!

http://www.popvideostar.com/video.aspx?SubmissionID=359

 

Review: Sony ECM-HGZ1

Sony ECM-HGZ1

Sony ECM-HGZ1

Prior to purchasing the Sony ECM-HGZ1 mic, I was absorbing reviews online like a sponge. Many were negative, but the ones that were positive essentially said the negative reviews were from people who did not know how to use it, or perhaps had unrealistic expectations from a $100 mic. I ended up on a page with reviews on this mic after I had purchased mine, and decided to write my own review on the product. Here goes:
Read the rest of this entry »