the Qutub Minar

Prokudin Gorskii

The photographs of Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863-1944) offer a vivid portrait of a lost world - the Russian Empire on the eve of World War I and the coming revolution.
Born in St. Petersburg and educated as a chemist, Prokudin-Gorskii devoted his career to the advancement of photography. In the early 1900s, he developed an ingenious technique of taking colour photographs. The same object was captured in black and white on glass plate negatives, using red, green and blue filters. He then presented these images in colour in slide lectures using a light-projection system involving the same three filters.
Around 1907 Prokudin-Gorskii envisioned and formulated a plan to use the emerging technological advancements that had been made in colour photography to systematically document the Russian Empire. Through such an ambitious project, his ultimate goal was to educate the schoolchildren of Russia with his "optical colour projections" of the vast and diverse history, culture, and modernization of the empire. The plan won the support of Tsar Nicholas II. Between 1909-1912, and again in 1915, Prokudin-Gorskii completed surveys of eleven regions, traveling in a specially equipped railroad car provided by the Ministry of Transportation. His subjects ranged from the medieval churches and monasteries of old Russia, to the railroads and factories of an emerging industrial power, to the daily life and work of Russia's diverse population.

In 1918, having lost all his money and property during the revolution, Prokudin-Gorskii went into exile, taking with him only his collection of nearly 2,000 glass-plate negatives and his photograph albums. The collection was purchased by the Library of Congress (LOC) in 1948 from his heirs.

In 2001, the number of glass plates have been scanned and, through an innovative process known as digichromatography, brilliant colour images have been produced. Virtual exhibition The Empire that Was Russia attracted millions of people throughout the world.

Please note that these images are NOT colorized black and white photographs. They were actually taken in colour about hundred years ago!

Because of many years of negligent storing, most of the negatives are in very poor condition, and it takes me hours of scrupulous work to restore their original brilliance. It is just the beginning of the work and I am going to continue. Hundreds of unique colour images of the past are still waiting to be returned back to life.

An Explanation of the Color Rendering Process, “Digichromatography”

There is no known replica or illustration of the camera that Prokudin-Gorskii used. It was a view camera of his own design, perhaps similar to a model [left] designed about 1906 by Dr. Adolf Miethe, whom Prokudin-Gorskii had met previously in Germany.

We know that Prokudin-Gorskii intended his photographic images to be viewed in color because he developed an ingenious photographic technique in order for these images to be captured in black and white on glass plate negatives, using red, green and blue filters. He then presented these images in color in slide lectures using a light-projection system [right] involving the same three filters.

A single, narrow glass plate about 3 inches wide by 9 inches long was placed vertically into the camera by Prokudin-Gorskii . He then photographed the same scene three times in a fairly rapid sequence using a red filter, a green filter and a blue filter.
When viewed through Prokudin-Gorskii’s camera, the scene being photographed would have appeared upside down and reversed from its actual orientation.

For the digital process, the original tri-part glass negative is scanned with an overhead digital camera in grayscale mode. Image-editing software converts the scan of the entire plate from negative to positive form. The scan is inverted to represent the original physical orientation.

The entire plate is then reduced to 8-bit grayscale mode. Under magnification, the quality of each image on the plate is reviewed for contrast, degree of color separation, extent of damage to the emulsion, and any other details that might affect the final color composite.

An electronic file is created for each image from the cropped tri-part plate forming three separate “layers” from which the final color composite will be generated. The layers are labeled by color.

the red(R), blue(B), and green(G) layers are aligned forming the “RGB” color composite.

The cropped color composite is adjusted overall to create the proper contrast,
appropriate highlight and shadow detail, and optimal color balance.

Final adjustments may be applied to specific, localized areas of the composite color image to minimize defects associated with over or underexposure, development, or aging of the emulsion of Prokudin-Gorskii’s original glass plate.
The completed color composite is retouched to minimize defects associated with age and incidental damage.

63 years , india still sucks

Music Review - Nightmare Avenged sevenfold

"Nightmare" is Avenged Sevenfold's fifth studio album.This album is dedicated to their late drummer "Jimmy  'the rev' sulliven".The lyrics are all about loss and death.heavy guitar riffs and scream vocals the album more similar to metallica and queensyringe . M shadows continually amazes with his vocal acrobatics,throught the album.Drums by Mike portnoy of the dream theater did one of the best performance for this album.

The album debuted no.1 in billboard hot 200. The chart is finally releived from Hiphop and kiddish pop songs.

The track list is 

1.	"Nightmare"	6:14
2.	"Welcome to the Family"	4:06
3.	"Danger Line"	5:28
4.	"Buried Alive"	6:44
5.	"Natural Born Killer"	5:15
6.	"So Far Away"	5:27
7.	"God Hates Us"	5:19
8.	"Victim"	7:30
9.	"Tonight the World Dies"	4:41
10.	"Fiction"	5:13
11.	"Save Me"	10:56

1) Nightmare :  M shadows vocals and the drum beats are the best parts of this song   rating 6/10
2)Welcome to the Family : Heavy metal song with the happiest lyrics of the album   rating5/10
3) Danger Line : A power ballad.Listen it for the guitar part .Good lyrics  rating 9/10
4)Buried alive : Vocals and lyrics rating6/10
5) Natural born killer:What a high speed song!! heavy metal piece Drums and lyrics rating9/10
6)So far away:punk rock styled rating7/10
7)God hates us:Total nightmare !!!! reminds of metallica  rating 9/10
8)Victim:Soft rock song rating 7/10
9)Tonight the world dies:starts with marlyn manson style and progress to soft rock.listen for the guitar notes.Rating 7/10
10)Fiction:A track originally called “Death” when written by The Rev. The title was changed to honor the band’s fallen brother and to reflect his belief that his life was like a book of fiction; it would be the final song he ever wrote.Piano gives the song a different feel rating 8/10
11)Save me:The last song of the album 11minutes with multimetalgeners .its an epic song  rating 9/10



 Overall rating 7/10

great movies -A simple plan

A Simple Plan (1998) -Directed by Sam Raimi  based on the by Scott Smith is one of the most gripping movies i ve seen.It is wonderfully shot in Minesota and Winconsin winter time.it has the complex storyline with lot of suspense. A must watch for the thriller fans.Bridget Fonda's 'Lady Macbeth' charector is worth a mention.But the real show stealer is Billy Bob Thornton's charectoe jacob.the retarded brother of the hero who knows more bitter truths than his brother do.Billy Bob Thornton got a academy award nomination for this charector whose sacrifice for his brother goes in vain in the climax.
For me the movie is more like Macbeth.

I hate (other) alpha male

'Alpha Male' is generally used to describe the dominant leader among the closely living social animals including humans.They often express the leadership characters which normally the other members defers.

In human societies alpha males are those who seems most at ease with women and can essentially get those of his choice. In this sense the alpha male is often of high socioeconomic status, good-looking,and a great build.Generally the alpha male (or a group of alpha males) are the cutest guys, usually muscle-bound and rich. while beta males may be less assured around females and may participate in less “male” activities.

Alpha males are more about exhibiting traits that are essentially masculine or “macho.” Many attractive males are beta to the core when it comes to relating with people.

In work settings, the alpha male may be a natural leader, exuding confidence. But he also may be contentious, demanding and difficult to work with. This is thought to be in part due to the alpha male attempting to retain his stature, however unconsciously, as alpha. Being the top salesperson, the quickest worker, the most aggressive boss may contribute to remaining at the top, and the alpha male has a tendency to respond aggressively to any attempts by others to outshine him.

This is true in non-human settings too. The alpha male is continually being tested to see if he remains dominant and may need to stage pitched fights with upcoming males in a group to remain “top dog.” In the human setting, the alpha male usually doesn’t fight physically, but instead acts with language, brusque or dismissive behavior, or with other tactics to remain at the top.

Though leaders in a company are excellent to have, alpha male characteristics in the workplace may not always be seen as positive. Aggression and disregard for others are not necessarily inspiring. Some people better lead by being “beta” and having good communication skills, sensitivity toward others, and downplaying their strengths so they can showcase the strengths of others.

In adult social settings, alpha males again may be judged not so much by aggression, but by their ability to get the most attractive women as mates. This is the primary reason for alpha behavior in other animals.

The alpha male in adult society is likely to be confident, attractive, and wealthy. Questions remain as to whether the alpha male can retain mates, since relationships often require ability to compromise, to discuss feelings and to be sensitive. Some alpha males have these characteristics typically thought of as beta, but many of them lack such traits. You can certainly point to prominent alpha males in our society who seem to have poor track records with women, either involving themselves in a succession of failed relationships or marrying one woman after another, with no marriage lasting for very long.

the great indian pose

clear blue sky

age of innocence

saturday afternoon

one of the tallest red wood trees.

burningsince 1962

centralia the abandoned city in pennsylvania.it will continue burning for a couple of centuries more

an interesting one ( not by me)

Fear ItselfWhat are the real risks of vaccinating – or not vaccinating – your children?
by Steven Novella, M.D – March 17, 2005

The disaster genre of film owes much of its popularity to the basic human dramas it presents. Each such film has a predictable cast of characters, from the practical hero to the greedy villain. My favorite, however, is the hapless hysteric: the person who ignores the sound advice of the hero and, motivated by terror, dashes directly to his or her doom. The moral is clear: Fear will help you survive, but hysterical terror will get you killed.
There is much to fear in modern society. Almost every day we are faced with mini versions of this classic disaster movie dilemma. As our civilization becomes increasingly technologically sophisticated, so do the decisions we must make for ourselves and our families. One such decision is whether or not to vaccinate our children. Even though in the U.S. the law requires vaccinations against polio, measles, and other diseases that used to kill, paralyze or damage millions, there is a persistent minority of people who skirt or try to opt out of these laws--and to convince others to do the same. There are, in other words, hysterics telling us to wait trembling in the burning building, rather than risk the dangers of the helicopter that has come to rescue us.
Vaccination hysteria spreads through many routes. The media is often to blame for sensationalizing the apparent risks of vaccines, while information is still new and uncertain. Vaccination fears also spread through the internet, increasingly the first source of information for the public, one lacking filters to provide quality control. Well-meaning but ultimately misguided groups of parents opposed to vaccination have also sprung up.
Some people oppose vaccination on religious grounds, others because they adhere to alternative medicine philosophies. For example, the chiropractic community still wallows in a bias against vaccination. Even though chiropractic organizations do not officially condemn vaccination, they do not officially recommend it. Rather, they emphasize the risks of vaccinations and support the public's right to refuse this public health intervention. Naturopaths also have a poor history with regard to vaccination, and they are happy to substitute their own unproven and fanciful concoctions.
The most prominent anti-vaccination claim these days is that the mumps-measles-rubella vaccine (MMR) is linked to autism, a spectrum of developmental disorders that have their onset in childhood. This fear is based on a study published in the British medical journal The Lancet in 1998. Despite the fact that the study was small (only a dozen subjects) and its conclusions doubtful, it was enough to spark a fury of media attention calling into question the safety of the MMR vaccine--a sensational issue to be sure. Autism is a frightful disease for parents, and it is easy to see why some would not want to take such a risk. The result was a decline in MMR vaccination in England--and a subsequent increase in these diseases.
In 2004, the scientific controversy over a connection between MMR and autism was finally put to rest. A series of compelling studies (involving thousands of subjects) showed no MMR-autism connection, and the editor of The Lancet even retracted the conclusions of the original study that launched the controversy. Unfortunately, news that there turns out to be no link between MMR and autism did not garner the media attention of the original claim.
There also continues to be a great deal of misinformation out there to confuse the public. For example, one group, the Allergy Induced Autism Organization--a name that implies it has wed itself to one particular scientific conclusion--still proclaims on its website that there is a link between MMR and autism. Previously it put out shrill press releases (which are still online) disputing negative studies, even calling for the public humiliation and resignation of study authors who suggest there is no MMR-autism link. The group has since toned down its website, coyly claiming that it is not anti-vaccination--but then discussing the "apparent" connection between vaccines and autism, without mentioning the new scientific studies that disprove that claim.
Major scientific, medical and academic institutions (like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control) all now agree that there is no MMR-autism link, and they have made efforts to educate the public accordingly. But misinformation persists, and there has been measurable damage to the faith that the public places in the government and health organizations when it comes to vaccines.
Although vaccines are not without any risk (no medical intervention is), they are a very safe and effective public health measure. They have dramatically reduced the incidence of many diseases, extending our lives and reducing the suffering of humanity. But to work they require public support and compliance, and that means the public needs to have accurate information about the risks and benefits of vaccination, and faith in the institutions that offer them. Rumors, disinformation and hysteria undercut the rational and well-informed decision-making the public needs.
Remember, in disaster movies, the hysterics lure many other people to their doom as well.

future me

www.futureme.org


its interesting

frozen