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Post by The Herald on Oct 2, 2008 0:15:46 GMT
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Post by The Herald on Oct 2, 2008 0:16:08 GMT
We've been working hard on v7 all of this month. The coding is coming along nicely and we have been looking to your ideas in the suggestions board too. Some of the features that we thought feasible have been added to the list to be implemented but we're always looking for more ideas so please do suggest any that you may have. We're currently experiencing some issues with the website so this may go down during the next week or two whilst the issues are sorted out by our hosting company. Don't worry, no data should be lost Finally, Kay and I are working on a new competition for those who like to write and throw in the occasional joke. More to come on that soon. Enjoy this month's edition of the Herald
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Post by The Herald on Oct 2, 2008 0:16:30 GMT
Recently checked for v4 code compatibility and resubmitted Holy Flux by Lans has always been a popular template for version 3 of the ProBoards software. Now, with the updated codes, this gorgeous but simple skin is ready for use with all ProBoards. It doesn't come with all the buttons, (these have been provided elsewhere, however) icons or smilies but it is still a beautiful template. It is elegant, using soft gradients and a nice blue that is not overpowering and compliments the whites and silver-greys used for the rest of the skin. Without the icons etc. that would make this skin a template, most would not consider using it. But actually, this is an advantage because you can add premade images from other sources, making your forum that much more customised and individual. So, enjoy Holy Flux and worship the God, that is Lans. (we all miss you)
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Post by The Herald on Oct 2, 2008 0:16:40 GMT
It wasn’t an easy decision this month, since I came up with four images that were definitely things I would love to feature. But only one can prevail! The runners up were the boy with the katana in FILM! by Kai, and the Spider shots by Jonny. But ultimately, the winner goes to the one who had two photos up for consideration. I didn’t just choose the image because of that, though. The photograph wasn’t selected for perfection in technical excellence, nor because it was my personal absolute favourite. Instead, I chose it because this person has been trying hard all month, and making vast improvements. It was due to the unique quality of the photo, and the deliberate actions taken to make the photo her own. The way the colours stood out in contrast to each other, and the minimal amount of focus. Abstract photography and nature photography are both difficult things to master, and yet this photo managed to combine them wonderfully to make something intriguing for the eye to look at. And so, while there were others I personally love more, I bestow the honour of the Photo of the Month to Me (FKA Chantry) with her photo, A Balance. Congratulations on a job well done, and on all the steps you’re making in photography! Keep up the good work, because I can’t wait to see where your style goes. To further accompany the photo, Lamaenica has written a poem for it. Of Dew and Day
Grey days Are quick and cold, Where sorrow plays And takes its hold.
Frosty chill, Rosy air, The dew doth spill On petals fair.To see this image, and more of the wonderful work she has been producing, please visit the original thread.
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Post by The Herald on Oct 2, 2008 0:16:39 GMT
"Veni, vidi, vici." ("I came, I saw, I conquered.") - Julius Caesar"Nothing can be created out of nothing." - Lucretius"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - Franklin D. Roosevelt"This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Post by The Herald on Oct 2, 2008 0:16:55 GMT
Nuclear component production confirmed by IranAugust 29, 2008President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stood beside his country in their stance on developing nuclear technology. Source CNN.The Iranian deputy prime minister announced that nearly 4000 uranium-enriched centrifuges are currently in operation at the Natanz enrichment facility. Nearly a year ago, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the country had around 3000 of these centrifuges. In April of this year, Ahmadinejad stated the country plans to have 6000 more by the end of this year. This particular type of centrifuge is used to separate uranium atoms to produced a uranium concentrated enough to be used in a nuclear weapon’s fission chain reaction. Click here to read the entire article.Skagit Co. shooting leaves 6 deadSeptember 2, 2008Police investigate one of seven different crime scenes related to the shooting spree. Source King 5.ALGER, Wash. - A shooting spree stretching from the small northwest Washington town to the state’s most frequented highway left six dead and four injured. One of the dead included a Skagit County deputy sheriff, while one of the wounded was a Washington state trooper. The shooting suspect later surrendered near Mount Vernon. Click here to read the entire article.People trapped in hotel after car bombSeptember 20, 2008A 33-foot-deep crated was formed after the explosion, which Pakistani officials now collect evidence from.ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A packed Marriott Hotel was nearly destroyed after a suicide truck bomb exploded inside its gate. The explosion, which ignited and set off a natural gas line, killed at least 34 people and wounded another 200. The explosion left a path of destruction for a few miles, officials say. The hotel is a five-story, 258-room establishment, which caught on fire shortly after the natural gas line exploded. Click here to read the entire article.
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Post by The Herald on Oct 2, 2008 0:17:03 GMT
The Hoosiers, formerly known as The Hoosier Complex, are an English band that have been active since 2003. The band members are Irwin Sparkes, Martin Skarendahl and Alphonso Sharland. Sparkes is the lead singer and also plays guitar, Skarendahl plays bass and acoustic guitar, and Sharland plays the drums. The band claims to have created a genre that they call 'Odd pop', combining a number of different musical styles. The Hoosiers debut album, 'The Trick to Life', was released in October 2007, and has four different colours for the front cover. The album has reached double platinum, selling over 600,000 copies, and peaked at number 1 in the UK album charts. The album features the singles 'Worried About Ray', 'Goodbye Mr A', 'Worst Case Scenario' and 'Cops and Robbers'. At about 40 minutes long, it may be considered a short album, but what it may lack in length is definitely made up for by its sheer quality. Some of their songs have strong influences from classic songs, 'Worried About Ray' borrows from 'Happy Together' by The Turtles, 'Goodbye Mr A' shares similarities with 'Mr Blue Sky' by ELO and 'Cops And Robbers' is influenced by 'The Lovecats' by The Cure. The Hoosiers have a great pop rock sound, and their upbeat songs can easily be listened to over and over again. This band is definitely one to watch.
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Post by The Herald on Oct 2, 2008 0:17:10 GMT
Just how many times do you have to kill these idiots?! Apparently, many many times. For those of you who don't get the hint yet, this article is talking about... Yes this. It did not seem that long ago when I first played Diablo. Yes, the first one. Back when I was seven, my tuition centre had computers with Diablo installed. So I would rush to finish my work and then rush to the computers to play Diablo. Being seven means you don't really remember a whole deal of the game, but it all changed when Diablo II came about. Almost daily, after classes my group of classmates and I would rush to a LAN gaming shop and sit for four hours straight, just to kill those pesky cows and get some cool looking armour. To stretch every single inch of our ingenuity to maximise our DPS to kick those monsters' ass. To curse and swear oaths of eternal hatred and revenge upon the boss and then a cackle of delicious evil laughter when we pierce our blades and claws and magical force through its limb body. Never mind Baal was a pain in the ass; it soon scurried for cover, tail between its legs, the might of hot-headed fifteen year-olds too much for it to bear. That was what I remembered whenever the word "Diablo" rang near me. Hence when Diablo III was announced I was overjoyed, really. I looked forward to killing Diablo again, but sadly this time it would most likely be in the comforts of my swivel chair at home. So if you grew up with Diablo II like me, then you should be glad that Diablo III is coming. It wouldn't be coming real soon, but at least the comfort of knowing that it wouldn't be for long before I get to face these evils again. Even my swivel chair seems to shiver with sheer anticipation. Currenty, only two classes are announced - Barbarian and Witch Doctor. The Barbarian is the good old one we all remember from Diablo II, while Witch Doctor is probably the bastard child of Necromancer from Diablo II and those iffy little Troll stick-wavers of Warcraft III. Check out videos of Barbarian: 1, 2. Check out videos of Witch Doctor: 1, 2.Add destructible environments and 3D engine into the mix, and Diablo III becomes something more 21st century. Did I mention those walls can crush your enemies and squeeze the juice out of them?! It creates a whole new experience when it comes to PvP, if it is implemented for PvP as well. The roar of laughters and sneers when I crush my opponents with the wall, priceless. However, here comes the catch: no planned date of release. That means it would be a long and dark wait for us. Till then, I guess.
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Post by The Herald on Oct 2, 2008 0:17:12 GMT
NameAjay Age15 SexMale Where is it that you live?New York, USA Are you married?No. Do you have any talents other than designing? (writing, programming, singing, etc.)I like to play basketball. How did you start? I started by watching other people do the same as me. What motivates you? Other people's work. Where do you draw your inspiration? My friends. -------------Personal-------------------- What is your . . .
Blue [/li][li]Favorite Food?[/b]Pasta [/li][li]Favorite book?[/b]Charlotte's Web How did you find SSD?Proboards Support[/li][/ul] What do you think of the forum?It's very nice. Is this a community you are happy to be a part of? Yes. Finally, is there any interesting things that you'd like to add?No sorry nothing.
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Post by The Herald on Oct 2, 2008 0:17:20 GMT
Basic InformationEpisodes- 1, it’s a movie Genre- Historical Fiction Rating- 5/5 Background Information and SummaryGrave of the Fireflies is a Studio Ghibli movie, and probably one of their best. It is set in WWII Japan, during the fire bombings. You follow the life of two young children as they struggle to survive during the times, and all the hardships they face. There really isn’t a truly happy moment in this movie. Maybe a few seconds worth, but it accurately portrays just how hard the Japanese had it when we put them under our wartime reign of terror. It’s no wonder they grudgingly surrendered! It doesn’t matter how strong you are emotionally with this movie either, only the truly heartless will find amusement in this, and not cry. Even those who never cry at movies will cry during this, I can almost guarantee it. The tale is so well written, and so beautifully illustrated that you can’t help but be sucked right into it, and feel as if you’re walking alongside the kids and feeling their pain. Some of you may have already seen the movie, and know what it is I’m talking about. And also know that it’s very difficult to explain just how touching this movie is without spoiling it. Somehow, for all its sadness, it is an excellent movie, and I would watch it again. If you do decide to watch this masterpiece of a tragedy, make sure that you have something happy or funny on hand for afterwards. You’re going to want it to help get you over the events that transpire in Grave of the Fireflies. Grave of the Fireflies really is a beautifully sad movie. It can’t be said enough. But it will make you feel extremely thankful for everything that you have, things that you take for granted, and thankful even for your family and friends. Many of us speak of having it bad, but somehow things seem a lot better after seeing Grave of the Fireflies; which is why I recommend it whole heartedly to everyone out there. See it, love it, cry over it, and appreciate life a little better than you did before.
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Post by The Herald on Oct 2, 2008 0:17:23 GMT
It seems like CS3 just came out, but alas, already CS4 has hit the market with many new features, a smooth design as you’d expect, and a heart-stopping price you’ll probably choke on. Just when we all really couldn’t think of many ways that it could get any better, because seriously, new technology always seems like the best, Adobe did it. They made CS4 drool-worthy. CS4 is bringing a wide variety of features into play! Most of them are geared more towards photographers, as the name implies, but I’m sure all you graphic designers will figure out how to use them to your advantage as well and blow minds. You always do. One of the biggest features they’re boasting, are enhanced zoom and smooth rotation. You can now zoom right in to view and edit individual pixels without loosing clarity. And should you desire, you can rotate the picture, no distortion necessary. Adobe has streamlined both of these processes to make these edits go smoother and look better. Both will be big bonuses in any world of editing, enhancing, and creation. We’re also being introduced to an Adjustments and Masks panel, making access to some of our favourite tools easier. And, with some added features we also are given more control and creativity with them. This promises to make the time you spend on an image less, since it will not take as long to find and use what you want, and this also means it should be more user-friendly to beginners. There is also content-aware scaling now, so as you resize an image it will preserve what is in it. This means distortions and compositions shouldn’t be ruined by the scaling of an image in any direction. This is definitely a feature that deserves fiddling with, because it could open up a whole new world by way of panoramas. And, anyone who is tired of trying to multitask with images can stop groaning! Tabbed browsing is here! They’ve enhanced the way you can combine images as well, and it will now better preserve the tones, colours, and sharpness of each image to make one final composite image that you can be proud of. Also enhanced, are the raw and colour processing. Updated to work with Camera Raw 5, it supports over 190 camera modes. And if that’s not enough, the colour enhancement has also been upped, so that the sponge, dodge, and burn tools are even more dynamic than before. Photoshop CS4 is going to streamline even better with printers as well, giving you more control over just how the image looks when going from pixels to paper. For the Lightroom fans out there, rejoice! CS4 is also streamlining your digital workflow to make the cross-editing process that much faster. You can now open multiple images at once in Photoshop with one click instead of many to create that perfect panorama, HDR, or whatever else your heart desires; and exporting them back to Lightroom is just as simple. Those who prefer Bridge, you’ve also got new stuff to play with in the workspace! This includes making web pages, PDFs, and contact sheets, plus other things, much more easily than before. Plus, the start up for it will be faster! This means less time waiting and more time working. Always a plus! So it looks like CS4 has a lot of good stuff in store for its users, and these probably aren’t the only cool features. It does cost a pretty penny though, since to buy the program new you’re looking at shelling out $699usd for a new copy, or $199usd to upgrade. Either way, you better start saving because that’s a little more than a drop in the bucket. But knowing Adobe, it’s probably worth your while. Click here to read the release notes for yourself.
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Post by The Herald on Oct 2, 2008 0:17:47 GMT
Started in 1993, National Arts and Humanities Month has given people new insight into art and the world around them. With four goals in mind, NAHM striives to: as cited from www.nasaa-arts.org/nasaanews/nahm_05.shtml- create a national, state and local focus on the arts and humanties throught the media;
- encourage the active particiption of individiuals, as well as ats, humanities and other interested organizations nationwide;
- provide an oppurtunity for federal, state and local business, government and civic leaders to declare their support for the artgs and humnites; and
- establish highly visible vehicle for raising public awareness about the arts and humanities.
And nothing short of pure determinatin can achieve such visionary prizes. But NAHM is not alone. Many people like myself and other, more active individuals, help lift this organiziation up by organizing many supporting events such as "brown bag" lunchtime concerts in their local town square, "adopting" artists for a month, etc. Media plays a big part in the art exchange, and there's nothing better than calling your favorite news station to host a great fundraiser or small convention. When you open your mind to the art possibilities, you go a long way. Even now people are preparing for the festivities and can only hope for a great turnout. A gathering of people to appreciate the power and hold that art has on our society. One thing is certain, these activities are welcoming enough. I look forward to taking part in this art celebration myself.
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Post by The Herald on Oct 2, 2008 0:17:55 GMT
This is a small tip, but a really good one to learn. When it comes to composing something, we are all generally aware of the rule of thirds, and that unless there is a need to, you don’t want to center the object of interest. Yes, rules are made to be broken and so sometimes these don’t apply. But something many do not realize is that when composing, you want to aim for the crashpoints when placing your main subject in the frame. Crashpoints are the four spots where two horizontal and two vertical lines that divide your image into six equal squares meet. By placing the main object of focus in or very must around these crashpoints, the image will have that much more interest. This is because those are the main points of interest in any image. Also be aware of where the subject is facing. Try not to place it so that it appears to be looking out of the frame. By having the subject looking into the frame, it will keep the viewer in the photo. We instinctively follow invisible lines such as that. Another thing to remember, is that the more crashpoints you’re able to hit doesn’t necessarily mean that the image will look better. Only if you can do it well, should you try to get multiple points. But don’t force it and create an odd crop angle, or a bad crop in general. Hitting one is all you really need. Hitting extra is just bonus goodies, and as you work with crashpoints more, it will get easier to hit multiple ones. The main focus isn’t the only thing that can go into crashpoints. You can also place leading lines or smaller supporting objects in them as well. Crashpoints have many purposes and uses to support the image you are creating. So while it is a small tip, it will help you monumentally when composing your images. Good luck and happy shooting!
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