Why I want a Water Bear

Weather you call them Water Bars, Moss Pigs or Tardigrades they are my new favourite animal and I want one.

They are the perfect pet for someone like me. You can find them almost anywhere (for free) and they are almost impossible to kill through neglect, or any other way for that matter.

Here's the Low Down:
They are about 1mm long and live in water and most easily found on moss.
They look a little like a piglet & move a little like a bear and have claws on all 8 of their feet. Their mouth (or mouthparts) can extend to capture food , which can be plant or animal life that is floating by.

They are cool because they are indestructible. Ok, tardigrades are not undistructable, but they are pretty damn hard to kill. They are most famous for how they basically have a form of stasis that helps them survive in extreme conditions, particularly the lack of water. One of the keys to this process seems to be shedding up to 97% of their 'normal' water content, and replacing if with sugar to protect the cells from destruction by ice crystals,  which is why we can't be thawed out if we freeze solid.  Once they are covered in water, they rehydrate & plod along quite happily.

Tradigrade in it's 'Safe Mode'

How hard are they to kill? Here are some of the things they can survive:
No food or water for extended periods,
being frozen for up to 30 years,
temperatures around 150C,
exposure to 10 times the ionozing radiation it takes to kill us,
10X the pressure experienced in the Marianas trench
& they can survive in a vaccum.

Cool & a little Scary

If that's  not enough they have been around for over 500 million year & have survived unprotected space travel.  Plus there is some evidence that they may have up to 17% foreign (non-tardigrade) DNA which is a cool thing all by it's self.

The #1 reason I want one as a pet is this, With powers like that all they need is a little organization & they could take over the world. So I'm going to start being nice to them, just in case.




You can read  most of what you need to know at the obligatory Wikipedia link.
I'd also suggest doing an image search, as there are so really cool ones.
If after my sales pitch you too want one,  you can learn about the acquisition, care and feeding of your tardigrade here

NAB 4 - URSA Mini - last for now

OK the URSA mini looks awesome.

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicursamini

160fps @ 1080 , base price of $2995.

OK it will be more in Canada, & it will be a bit more to really kit it out,   Plus it's above my budget ... but damn it  looks cool.

Link of TheDay - Two for the price of one

weeping angel meets vashta nerada

Unfortunately it's not my design, but cool, is cool &this is as cool as bow tie.

http://www.redbubble.com/people/jammywho21/works/9472049-weeping-angel-meets-vashta-nerada

This one took me a minute, i had to read it out loud. .

http://www.redbubble.com/people/jammywho21/works/8333576-lord-of-the-rings-judoon?c=136342-doctor-who

WORMS !!!

The Arrogant Worms are going to be in Ridgeway on Saturday January 25th!

They're at "The Sancuary"  and tickets are $30.

Doors Open @ 7:30 & Concert Startas @ 8.

Link of The Day - Animated Gifs or Cinamagraph

Remember animated gifs?  Apparently they're cool again, but now the're try to go up-market, so they need a cool hipster name "Cinemagraph".

Honestly, I like the idea, I can see it being useful and I'm sure it will be over-used until we're all sick it.

Until then why not enjoy them, and even try making a few. I think the hardest part to making a GOOD one is finding the right subject with just the right amount of motion.


To learn more about them go Here

To learn how to make one go here

Link of The Day - 5diii Raw compared to BMCC

This really makes me want a mk3.

There are lots of reasons I shouldn't, like storage post production workflow,  extra time, not to mention cost.  None of this stops me from looking at the images and saying"WOW,  I want that"

http://nofilmschool.com/2013/05/blackmagic-cinema-camera-canon-5d-mark-iii-raw-video-test/

Link of The Day - cool name, Super Cool Lens

Somwhere in my wanderings I came across DogSchidtOptiks.

 These are lenes hand made in England from 40 year old russian parts. The lenses are full of flares, colour casts low contrast, etc., BUT these elements can be ordered to suit what you want. (Options)

Apperently the Vintage parts creat super sharp lenses, that they funk up,  but are still sharp.  They are all metal and glass & you can even choose from 1 of 3 custom finishes.

They give a cool vintage/analog look that isn't anamorphic, but they work with anamorphic adapters, and they do look alot like film.

They are made one at a time and sold on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/listing/126095702/flare-factory-58-dslr-mount-pre-order?) .  They are currently behind so they are taking preorders and have to let you know when they will be able to ship your order.

They have 7 samples on Vimeo to show different what type of footage different options will produce. (http://vimeo.com/meltingbloke/albums)
I haven't compared them all but the oners I looked at had some cool stuff going on, definately more organic feeling than modern lenses.

The best thing (well .. one of the best things) about them is the price,  about $180 CDA shipped.  That's cheaper than a lens baby. 

For me these will look way cooler on your camera and produce images at least as cool as a lens baby,  and they seem like they may be more suited to video then lens baby.***

I haven't orderd one, but after reading the FAQ's Sheet, I am seriously thinking about getting one.
If they where from a big company I'd probably say "It's a gimmick", because it is, but because they are hand made by a small (I assume) operation I somehow find them cooler. 

***I like lense baby and think they have are a neat tool.  I just thnk these have more "coolness"

Link of The Day - Craziest Low Light tests Ive ever Seen.

I may have posted something about this sensor a while back , but the video wasn't working. 
Now it is and it's amazing.
http://www.cinema5d.com/news/?p=16863#more-16863

Link of The day - Philip bloom Music Video

http://philipbloom.net/2013/03/11/bittenbythefrost/
No Budget music video shot on 1DC.

Link of the Day - Variation on "Zoom with your Feet"

http://www.petapixel.com/2013/03/09/wildlife-photographer-disguises-himself-as-a-swan-to-get-close-to-other-birds/
The arctile has some info and examples of his pics.
His Site has some really nice shots too.

Link of The Day

320 gigapixel panarama of London. 
Multiple shots taken with a 7d & stitched together.
Actually pritty cool how much detail there is.
http://btlondon2012.co.uk/pano.html

Summerfolk Performers are proclaimed!

                            New Site Look & 2013 performers

http://summerfolk.org/
http://summerfolk.org/performers/
Youtube Channel with performer videos

They are up nice & early & there appears to be a video for each performer (I haven't checked each one, yet) &
they have a youtube channel with performer videos.

The line up looks pretty good (from what I've looked at)  There aren't too many I remember seeing before and I can't see any from last year.

It seems like less performers than last year , so there could be a few more to come.

Note:Early bird tickets end March 31st.

*Also did I mention the  Proclaimers are coming ?


 Check out Last years Summefrfolk Photos.