13 August 2022
Skull Rock: Is this the Best Super Villain Lair Ever?
The Trogon: Beautiful Nibblers of the Forest
Part of the Trogonidae family contains six species which are considered the most beautiful – if not the most unusual – in the family. These are the Quetzals – you can see one in the picture above.Jump over to our sibling site, the Ark in Space, for a glimpse of ten of the 39 species of trogon.
Image Credit Flickr User Brettocop
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Snowtime
Again, I have no clue how it was done but thank you for doing it, Mr Ivanov.
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God-Mother
Although not necessary this is a perfect excuse to feature some Bulgarian folk music on Kuriositas. I came across this wonderful, enigmatic animated short by Nina Paley today and as well as being entranced by her work I was further transported by the ethereal, other-worldly singing of the Bulgarian State Radio and Television Female Vocal Choir which I first came across in my 1980s university days. The combination is simply… well, why don’t you watch it and put your own adjectives in place?
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Bingewatchers Anonymous
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10 Tips to Becoming a Professional Casino Player
There are a lot of tips out there on how to get started playing online casino games but the advice is all over the place. Here's how to find out exactly what will help you become a better player.
Casino players are the kings and queens
of the gambling world, but you don’t have to be a professional to play. The
rules of the game of casino roulette and poker are very simple. But mastering
the basic rules of each casino game is a skill set that takes years of practice
to achieve mastery. To win consistently at the tables, you need to learn how to
analyze your opponent’s weaknesses and use them against him. In this article,
we’ll look at ten rules that you should learn to apply when playing at a casino.
This
post has 10 tips that can help anyone to improve his or her betting strategy,
even if they are not casino players yet.
Find an online casino
There are many types of online
casinos, but the most popular and successful ones that offer free play and games.
They provide their players with a unique experience, and allow them to practice
before playing real money. For example, Slots City allows players to try out
slots without depositing any money. That’s why it’s important to choose an
online casino wisely. Make sure that you’re dealing with a reputable company
that will pay you back if you lose your money.
If you want to try some online casino
games, it is very important to choose a safe one for beginner onlinecasino players. There are many online casinos that aren’t reputable at all,
so it's important to select one carefully. One good thing about online casinos
is that you don’t have to drive anywhere, which is why it is easier to access
them. Another benefit of using online casinos is that you don’t have to go to a
brick-and-mortar casino to play your favorite slot or game. Instead, you can
play them right from the comfort of your own home.
Set Your Expectations
Low
In online casinos, the games of chance
can be exciting and thrilling, but the games of skill, and in
particular poker, are often boring and frustrating. This is because it requires
some concentration, patience and strategy, and as such there is little
excitement or entertainment value to the game. In addition, playing online
poker, as opposed to a live casino game, offers little personal interaction
with the dealers and other players.
Understand Your
Weaknesses
It is possible to play a game of
chance online with the right strategies. However, there is a lot of information
that will help you understand what you need to know and be ready to play. A few
things that could help you win more money are to understand the basics of the
game, know your odds, and realize that you cannot always rely on luck to help
you win. You need to know how to control the game.
Understand the Game
When players play slots, they often
try to analyze how the machines work. Most online casinos offer guides on how
to win, but it’s never too early to understand the game itself. This is
especially true for slot games since the odds of winning are fixed. While some
players may feel lucky, the machine does not care, and they’ll lose even if
they don’t make any mistakes. Knowing what you’re dealing with gives you the
advantage.
Know When to Walk Away
Do you play online casino games like
slots, blackjack, roulette, and more? If you do, then you may have come across
the phrase “walk away,” which usually means that there’s no reason to continue
playing a particular game because you’re sure to lose. However, if you’re able
to walk away from a losing streak, you can eventually turn that bad luck
around.
Have an Attitude
of Gratification
In online gambling, players want to
win more than anything else. They want to feel the rush of winning as much as
possible. So, as they play, they set their targets based on how much they think
they can win. They decide how much money they want to spend and try to get as
close to their target as possible without spending more than their budget
allows. If they win, they get a feeling of happiness and satisfaction; if they
lose, they feel sad and frustrated. This is called “gratification.”
Have a Clear Purpose
While there are many sites available
that allow you to play casino games, it’s important that you select one that
offers the most exciting and varied range of games. Casino games come in all
shapes and sizes and they all have one thing in common, they’re designed to
give the player the best chance of winning.
Learn About Betting
Patterns
With the advent of online casinos,
players have the ability to bet on all sorts of events. Online casinos are
typically offered in many different forms, including table games, slots,
scratch cards, and sports betting. The more options available, the better, but
there is one thing that all casinos have in common: They all use betting
patterns.
If you want to get the most out of an
online casino, you need to know the different types of betting patterns. To
begin with, all online casinos have some type of betting pattern. They have
progressive jackpots. The progressive jackpot is a pool of money that keeps
growing and growing as more people participate in the games. There are some
games that use a progressive jackpot. They include keno, lotto, scratch cards,
and others. In some casinos, players can win this money. On the other hand, if
you play for real money, you will never win the jackpot because you cannot
withdraw the money.
Plan Ahead
You should always plan ahead while
playing online casino games. In fact, you should have a strategy for every
situation you face, whether it’s a bad hand, a good hand, or if you need to
bluff. When you’re playing online casino games, having a strategy is essential.
If you want to win, you should have a
plan. When you are playing online casino games, you should always have a
strategy. If you don’t have one, you are losing, no matter what you do. To play
online casino games, you should always prepare a plan before you start playing.
That way, you will know what to do when you need to do it. If you need to
bluff, then you will have a clear plan. If you want to do better, you should
have a strategy that you follow to achieve your goal.
Study the Game
There’s a reason why online casinos
are a hot topic these days. No doubt about it – online casinos are becoming
increasingly popular. The world is changing rapidly and online casinos are part
of the shift to a new type of online experience. It’s no longer just about
sitting in front of a computer all day and hoping to win big. People want to
play online and play now.
These days, more and more people are
playing online games, particularly those games that involve real money. People
love the excitement of playing against other people and making money by
winning. But the thing is, when you play online, you need to be very cautious
about the site. Never play with money that you cannot afford to lose. Be sure
that you have a good plan and a solid strategy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the number one rule of playing casino games is to treat them like the slot machine they really are. When you know this, the real casino game begins. I will tell you everything you need to know to make a career out of playing the slots. You don’t have to take my word for it though, so here’s a link to my review of “The Slot Book: Winning Strategies for Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack and Keno.”
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31 July 2022
Fan.tasia - The Ultimate Disney Mashup
This is very clever work and must have taken an age to do – but is probably the best advert for Disney I’ve ever seen.
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How Do You Know When You’re in Love?
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Fishing with Cormorants
Image Credit Pathos Photos
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The Light
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Modular Origami: The Ancient Art of Kusudama Evolved
Once There Was a King - A Polish Lullaby
The lullaby itself was written by Janina Porazińska, a famous Polish writer who was born in 1882 and who died in 1971. The writer was enamored of Polish folklore and created her own stories which drew from this rich seam of literature. Her books have been translated into many languages. The song is performed by Maria Peszek.
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19 July 2022
Takeshi Kitano - a Filmography
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I'll Hold
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Yikes!
Yikes was written and directed by Michael Fodera of Lunarcy Pictures and stars Alex Malcolm Mills and Dan Berkey.
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Anima
ANIMA from Andrew Wilding on Vimeo.
In Anima, a Native American warrior tracks his prey – a magnificent stag through such a place. Yet perhaps all is not quite as it seems in this remarkable animation, created by a group of students of the ESMA animation university in France.
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Phone Booth of the Dead
Written and directed by Vincent Templement, Cabine of the Dead (apologies but the title of this post says phone booth for translation purposes!) this is a knowing comedy-horror short which keeps its tongue firmly in its cheek (but possibly not for long knowing the nature of our zombie chums). It stars the rather dashing Richard Keep as Patrick whose character is a lesson to us all: make a note of who you are going to call when the apocalypse inevitably happens – it could just save your life!
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Flak Towers – Legacy of the Luftwaffe
The Flak Towers that protected the Third Reich were considered invulnerable. Some of these massive buildings still remain. But what should be done with them?
In 1940 Adolf Hitler was a very angry man. The RAF had launched a successful raid on the German capitol of Berlin and something had to be done to protect the city. He ordered the building of three enormous flak towers – and they were to be constructed in just six months. Other cities in the Reich soon followed this example and today these massive concrete and steel leviathans still dominate the skylines in some places.
14 July 2022
Valley of the Last Dinosaurs
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Nine to Five Ned
However, that is not going to hold Ned back and one day something extraordinary happens to him. Perhaps.
Directed and animated by Lisa and Brandon Ray, you may find a little bit of Ned in yourself.
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Taidama - What Happened when Japanese Americans were Freed from Internment?
There had been a number of laws in the USA which had prevented American Asians from being able, among other things, to own land, vote or even testify against white people in court. When it came to the Second World War, one might think common sense would dictate an assumption that people of Japanese origin had decided to make their homes in the US for something other than subversion: there was no hiatus when it came to discriminatory law-making, however.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942. It paved the way for 120,000 people of Japanese origin, two thirds of them American citizens, to be interned for the duration of the war. This happened despite the Munson Report of 1940, commissioned by the President, which stated that “There will be no armed uprising of Japanese” in the USA. So why did this happen?
Perhaps this extract from an extraordinary editorial in the Los Angeles Times might go some way to explain it. I will let you join the dots – it is hardly a challenge and may ring a few more recent rhetorical bells than comfort might allow. “A viper is nonetheless a viper wherever the egg is hatched... So, a Japanese American born of Japanese parents, nurtured upon Japanese traditions, living in a transplanted Japanese atmosphere...notwithstanding his nominal brand of accidental citizenship almost inevitably and with the rarest exceptions grows up to be a Japanese, and not an American... Thus, while it might cause injustice to a few to treat them all as potential enemies, I cannot escape the conclusion...that such treatment...should be accorded to each and all of them while we are at war with their race.”
TADAIMA - Japanese American WWII short film from Robin Takao D'Oench on Vimeo.
So we come to Taidama – which literally translates as “I'm home”. It takes place after the war. A Japanese American family has been released from an internment camp and its members make their way back to their Californian farm. They do not find it as they left it. (Full film here).
His character’s love of America in Taidama is represented through his baseball obsession and it is left to the viewer to decide whether or not he will ever play again. His retrieval of the long-buried baseball cards he hid before the family were removed from their home might suggest that, but the beautifully shot closing sequence is a little more ambivalent (although we can perhaps dare to be optimistic).
This may not necessarily provide perfect closure for the audience but it surely reflects the way that many of the 120,000 must have felt on their release. Re-integration must have been tentative, with the caution that accompanies disappointment and betrayal an everyday feeling for many years afterwards.
Although Mackenyu is the beating heart of the film he receives excellent support from Toshi Toda (who you may remember for his portrayal of Colonel Adachi in Letters from Iwo Jima), Vivian Umino who is mostly known as a producer and director, with work including Captured (2002) and newcomer Jordyn Kanaya.
Haidama was written and directed by Robin Takao D'Oench whose grandfather was one of the 120,000 Japanese Americans interned during the war. He dedicates it to all of them. Try and catch it on Vimeo now before it goes to OnDemand (ie you have to pay to watch it) in March.
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Asia Hyperlapse
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The Fire Whirl – Nature’s Fiery Funnel
11 July 2022
The Swimming Pigs of The Bahamas
Image Credit cdoborek
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Alphabetic
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10 Great Ways to End a Story that Aren't... And Then I Woke up and It Was All a Dream
How do I end my story or narrative? That’s a question English teachers get a lot. There are many ways to end a story – and this video from Teaching and Learning Resources for Me shows you ten straightforward methods to give your story an ending fairly quickly without it ruining it! This is an important skill as the end of a story forms part of its denouement and as such is an important part of its structure. Take a look at the video – which will be your favorite way to end a story?
This video is especially useful when preparing students for exams like GCSE English language where Paper 1 Question 5 of the AQA exam involves doing just that in terms of an optional narrative question.
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Valley of the Kith
The intriguing, high-adrenaline video-game-style piece extends the capabilities of animation by pushing the boundaries of Element 3D, while capitalising on the available resources of After Effects and other Adobe products.
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30 Photos that will Make you Look Twice
25 June 2022
Hitachi Seaside Park – Tsunami Survivor
King Kills
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Elwood's Ark
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High Velocity Aerial Filming Like You’ve Never Seen Before
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18 June 2022
How to Write Faster and Better
When students write their essays and other papers, they commonly face a lot of problems. One of their worst “eternal” enemies is time. The main problem is the deadlines, which are set for every assignment. You have to submit your papers by a certain date, or you will lose many grades. Thus, students have to speed up their writing. Simultaneously, they risk lowering the quality of writing because they hurry. Accordingly, they have to improve their speed and quality at the same time.
Some students try to solve these issues with the help of custom
writing services. For instance, you can buy essay at Domypapers.com without overpayments. This is a highly reputed writing agency, which
easily solves all your academic issues very fast and sets relatively cheap
prices. It is a great solution to most of your pains, including the speed and
quality of writing. Nonetheless, it does not mean you should overuse
professional online help. Try to improve the speed and quality of writing on your
own. This informative guide highlights several effective methods to reach that
aim.
Practice Free Writing
You can use one of the most popular and effective writing techniques.
It is freewriting, and it helps to improve your skills and enlarge your knowledge.
Its principle is very simple. Select a random topic and cover it. Reread in a
few hours to be sure it has no drawbacks. If you find some, rewrite it until
the essay is perfect.
Repeat this procedure every day. Cover at least one new topic. Of
course, you should try to write various essay types. Thus, you’ll learn various
topics.
Set Timers
As you want to speed up your writing, you should compete with time. It
can be done by setting timers when you write your papers. For example, you may
give yourself 30 minutes to cover a certain topic. Afterward, cover it again
but decrease the time limit to 25 minutes. It is also crucial to set timers for
every assignment given by your educators. Thus, you will be focused and will
not delay for too long.
Get Rid of Distractions
Many students delay their writing and procrastinate because they are
busy with non-academic activities. They are called distractions, and they come
in various forms. These are as follows:
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Surfing
social media platforms;
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Playing video
games;
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Exchanging
messages with friends;
●
Watching
TV-shows;
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Talking on
the phone and so on.
Find the Right Location
At times, students write too long because they are surrounded by
someone who is noisy. Other people may not care about your academic progress,
even if you ask them to be silent. That is why you should find a special
peaceful place to learn. When no one annoys you, the process will run faster,
and you will write much better.
Apply Learning Apps
You can sufficiently boost your execution time if you apply special
learning apps. Give special heed to grammar checkers and editors. They help to
revise and get rid of all the mistakes you make and commonly omit. When you
install and use them, you can detect the next errors:
●
Grammar;
●
Stylistics;
●
Format;
●
Spelling;
●
Word choice;
●
Flow;
●
Lexicon, etc.
These apps scan the entire text in a few seconds and underline all the
drawbacks. By clicking on them, you will also see suggested corrections. This
benefit helps to save a lot of precious time. You do not even have to think
about how to correct the errors because you have the answers.
Mind that you do not even have to pay for those apps. You can find a
lot of free tools and so get academic support without spending a dollar. They
run fast and smoothly on various gadgets.
Get Qualified Help Online
If you need time to improve your writing and time management skills,
you surely require fast help at the moment. A reliable writing platform has
200-400 certified experts and so you will definitely find someone suitable for
your academic needs.
Your writer will be competent and able to satisfy all your needs
precisely as you want. You can contact him or her directly. He or she can write
all essay types, as well as any other piece of writing:
●
Dissertation;
●
Term and/or
research paper;
●
Coursework;
●
Case study;
●
Lab report;
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Resume;
●
Book review,
etc.
Of course, you can count on all kinds of academic skills. All writers
offer writing, editing, outlining, quoting, rewriting, and other skills. As
there are hundreds of them, you will surely find a helper in all academic
directions.
Wrapping
Up
The speed of writing is very important, but it must be combined with quality. Do not speed up if you are not sure that you can write high-quality text. Use our smart tips and read a lot to learn the best writing strategies for all assignment types.
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