I bought myself a new camera, at last.

Also, I bought it with my pay :)

Nikon Coolpix S3000. In pink as well, except that it looks nicer in real life that in the above pic. I was shuttling between thinking of buying a semi DSLR and a point and shoot, but got a point and shoot in the end because I'm too lazy to go into the technicalities of professional photography, or even pretend to. And also I'm too lazy and paranoid to carry around such a bulky camera.

So far the improvements over my old Casio camera is that it is even slimmer,has face detection(but I haven't tested if it's really beneficial) and records video with sound. I know...such layman qualifications, but I'll edit my photos in photoshop if I'm feeling artsy thank you. Faster and cheaper, thinks I.

So I think its time for me to open that uses manual. I've been putting it off for a little while. But here are a few for-fun pictures that I took with my new cam. The first 2 are edited in photoshop though.
Meanwhile I can tell you a little story about this book, which I bought at Pay less books' warehouse sale last Friday(it was on from Friday to Sunday, I would have recommended it for fans of David Baldacci and Danielle Steele, but other than that good books would be few and far between, after all it's 2nd hand for a reason)

The book in question is a Reader's Digest condensed novel, the 4th publication for 1974. At first the reason why I was draw to buy the book was because of the first short story in the book, The Boy Who Invented the Bubble Gun. I remember back in Primary school, I borrowed this book from one of my (at that time) closest of 2 friends. We've lost touch since then, but this book is like a little time capsule with memories of a much simpler life back then. The story itself was very good too, I still remembered the basic storyline(it was written by Paul Gallico, if you're curious), and coincidentally it was a naive story about a young inventor who travels across the country by himself to patent his invention, meeting several characters on the way and changing their lives.

But other than that, it was only after purchasing the book and bringing it back home did I realise how beautifully presented the book itself is. All the books in the RD condensed novels series are hard cover and leather bound with different motifs on their covers. It contains traditional media illustrations together with it's stories, true to typical RD fashion, but unusual for books targeted at adults. But it does lend a more personal and handmade feel somehow.All that's missing is the ribbon bookmark.
Hmm...ok, next are some pictures of the view from my condominium.
Malaysian style of raining,and a sunset.Its the same view, so you get how heavy the rain was.

Lately I've been going crazy over movie soundtracks. I guess it's something that is often overlooked(except for musicals of course), people see what's on the screen, they feel the atmosphere that is there, they might catch one or two soundtracks if they were made popular on the radio(and probably only if it's vocal), but generally they don't notice that background music.But what if you take away the sound, then suddenly you're left with this thing that might look nice but overall just lacks a bit of salt and spice.

Two of the most outstanding and popular composers for movies I think would be John Williams and Hans Zimmer. Probably you've heard their music before. John Williams has scored for movies such as the Star Wars and Harry Potter series of movies, Memoirs of a Geisha , Schindler's List and Fiddler on the Roof and has a long list of wins or nominations for Grammys, Emmys, Oscars and Golden Globes, being the second most nominated person for an Oscar after Walt Disney. This guy seems to be unable to do any wrong...Hans Zimmer has scored for movies such as The Pirates of the Carribean trilogy, The Lion King, The Da Vinci Code and The Dark Knight.Also another awards regular.

Hmm..now I'm wondering how much people like them earn per project...

Incidentally, I've found a really good list of soundtracks *ehem* if you know what I mean

here

Out of curiousity, I wikipedia-ed about an alarm known as the 'mosquito', that is used to ward off teenage loiterers. A few weeks back, I read an article about it on oddee, but couldn't hear the tone thru my earphones. So I decided to look for it and find out for myself how annoying it sounds, before I get too old...seems that the sound can be heard by those under 25 years of age.

Here's a link to listen to it for your masochistic pleasure:

"MP3 sample of the 17.4 kHz tone"

Actually it's not that bad, I expected it to be painful or something. Doesn't seem like something to make such a fuss about, what with people wanting it to be banned(although I agree that treating everyone below 25 as a criminal is pretty unfair) . But some studies suggest that it's bad for your health, especially young children accidentally being exposed to it for long periods of time, and that it can give you nausea or headaches.

As for me...I'd just have thought that there was something wrong with the electric supply if I heard that noise and gone somewhere else to do my graffiti or whatever *shrug*No, actually I would have thought it was just the sound of crickets...

On the other hand, some kids are using the tone as their handphone's ringtone so they can use it in school undetected. Well...there's always a good and bad side to everything, although I'm not sure which is good and which is bad.

Vezi mai multe din Desene animate pe 220.ro

Another one I haven't seen before, this time a short animation based on Wall E

Vezi mai multe din Desene animate pe 220.ro

A new Pixar short film featuring Dug from Up.
Aww...i think everyone wishes to have a dog like that...