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News: Art as a Weapon

Although most religions have inspired a variety of art, Buddhism seems to have a special relationship with the arts. Something about the endless circle of birth and rebirth seems to intrigue the minds of artists. Of course even if the art is not directly related to Buddhism, the Buddha has always been a fan of art. The Buddha has been quoted several times speaking about art, and most of his sayings are truly profound:

How To: How Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Attacks Sneak into Unprotected Websites (Plus: How to Block Them)

XSS stands for cross-site scripting, which is a form of web-based exploitation that uses client-side vulnerabilities in a web page to execute malicious JavaScript codes. JavaScript is referred to as "cross-site" because it usually involves an external website containing the malicious code. That code is most commonly used to steal cookies with a website that the attacker created and hosted on another server. The cookies can then be used to escalate privileges and gain root access to someone's ...

Instacast: A Better Way to Listen To & Manage Podcasts

Though it could be argued that Apple's popular and widely used iTunes media player was responsible for the growth and explosion of podcasting, I would argue that iTunes is not the best way to manage and listen to your podcast subscriptions—if you're a iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch user. Instead, you will find that a $1.99 mobile app called Instacast (iTunes App Store link) is a much better method. Below, a short video introduction to Instacast, plus a written breakdown of its features. Mobile L...

The Witcher 2: First Impressions

Do you have an awesome rig that is able to run anything you throw at it at 60 fps with maximum settings? Prepare to be humbled. The Witcher 2 is the first game in quite some time to tax your system the same way Crysis did when it first came out.

How To: Create Realistic 3D Shadows

Setting up shadows takes just as much time and attention as setting up lights. You can think of all of your illumination as one half of your lighting design, and shadows as the other, equally important half. Shadows can add richness to the tones and shading of your image, tie elements together, and improve your composition. Besides their artistic importance, rendering shadows is a key technical area to master. This chapter will explore both the visual and the technical sides of shadows and oc...

News: What is Belly Dance?

Good Question. Belly Dance is an American term that encompasses MANY different styles of Middle Eastern, Eastern European, and North African dances both traditional and modern, and also Fusion styles that have pieces that resemble these dances form the "old country" but are distinctly American. Also, Belly Dance is somewhat of a misnomer since the dance has much more to do with the hips than the belly. There are also many different terms for the different Belly Dance styles depending on the r...

How To: Master Figure Drawing By Erasing

Master Figure Drawing using an Eraser Having trouble with the human form in your figure drawing class? Or just looking to impress your girlfriend or boyfriend with your art skills with a beautiful drawing of their figure? Here is a simple tip to trick your brain into using more of the right, creative, side of your brain. You will need:

News: Sound Advice

Last week I talked about the video / image side of things, and as promised here is the audio side. Sound is integral to all studio productions, but for most student and low budget production, it's the last thing filmmakers seem to think about, and one of the most noticeable problems with low budget stuff. Sound IS half the experience, and yet it is usually all but forgotten come production.

News: Parent "Agents"

I’m seeing a flood of posts on youth football forums and even getting a few e-mails from youth football coaches complaining about “player agents” also known as parents. Most of these unhappy coaches are dealing with parents that have non-issues, have an agenda, are misinformed, don’t know much about the game of youth football or are just people that gain great pleasure from complaining. The 80/20 rule is more like 95/5 in youth football, 95 percent of the problems are caused by 5 percent of t...

News: Let's Get To Cookin' !

So you love the idea of delicious dinners from farmers market finds, but that idea isn't going to cook itself! Maybe your mama was one hot Italian lady but she only knew how to push the power button on the microwave. No matter the challenge or limitation have no fear, local cooking classes are here to help. Here is a list of some great classes that come highly recommended from friends across the country. So put down that take out menu and pick up your phone and get to cookin! Happy Eating!

How To: Change Rear Disc Brakes on a 2001 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan

Changing the rear disc brakes on your 2001 Chrysler Town & Country (henceforth referred to as T&C) can be quite a challenge, but if you can spare a few hours (remember that you need to budget time to get the brake parts from the parts house) and are willing to get a little dirt on your hands, then you can save quite a bit of coinage!!! If after reading this article you do not feel like you can safely change your brakes, then bring your vehicle to a repair shop and let a professional do the jo...

How To: Make a Simple Touch-Triggered Transistor Relay

In this article, I'll show you how to make a simple touch-triggered switch. This is very useful for various electronic projects, from a simple bedside light to a flat panel touch keyboard. The circuit can vary in switching power depending on the transistors you use. For example, if you're looking into creating a 120V light that turns on when touched, you'd need two powerful transistors and an isolation relay. However, a simple flashlight that turns on when touched would only take a couple of ...

Gov't Involvement: Through The Eyes of The Student

Insight Description: In our government class, each student was required to participate in any branch of government from local such as working with your community representatives; state; working with your senator or an organization and federal; which you can entreat in a presidential campaign. The total number of students who participated was Twenty-one and each individual needed to complete at least Ten hours or more.

News: 6 Places to Get Canon 5D Help Online

Since our Canon 5D World is just starting out, there's not a lot of activity in the forum. If you have a question about your 5D or 5D Mark II, then ask away. But there are other communities on the Web that already have great information from its members. Hopefully, the Canon 5D World forum will be just as helpful to everyone, but for now, here are some of the best forums on the Internet that can help you with Canon's EOS 5D and 5D Mark II cameras.

CryEngine 3: Now Everyone Can Make a Game As Good As Crysis 2… For Free

Crysis 2 is the current standard for high-quality graphics in video games. No other game looks so smooth, so colorful, so... ultra-real. German developer Crytek has built their reputation on PC game technology to the limit, and the CryENGINE 3 graphics engine they used to make Crysis 2 might be the most powerful tool for creating 3D video game graphics on Earth. As of yesterday, it's also free for anyone, yourself included, to download from Crytek's website here.

Altruistic Hacking: The Rise of the DIY Radiation Detector

Understandably, the tragedy in Japan has substantially risen the level of worldwide radiation-related hysteria. So much so, as an alternative to stampeding health food stores for iodine tablets, crafty individuals and organizations are hacking together personal radiation detectors. Rather than relying on the government, the creation and modification of handheld Geiger counters provides a self-sufficient solution to today's questions regarding radiation. Profiled below, three admirable organiz...

How To: Get Free Windows Software Daily

When you look up the word free in the dictionary, you'll find a lot of definitions, but in the days of digital dependency and a falling economy, free only means one thing—expensive stuff for nothing. And if you own a Windows computer, one of the best sites to get free software from is Giveaway of the Day.

News: Creepy Theremin Utensils Howl the Pain of Slaughtered Ghost Chickens

One of the creepiest musical instruments ever is undoubtedly the theremin, a device originating from the early 20s that emits eerie sounds with a just a wave of the hand. If you've seen the original movie The Day the Earth Stood Still, you know what I mean—freakishly creepy. Playing the theremin can be off-putting for some, since it's a relatively pricy gizmo, but a new geek gadget called the EaTheremin aims to make all of us professional, dinnertime theremists.

News: A Quick Homage to Our Benefactor

Without Richard Channing Garfield the world would be a much grayer and less interesting place today, at least for all of us. He created Magic in college, playtested it throughout, accidentally found a publisher for it, and wound up the the most well-known and successful paper game designer in the world (sorry Guygax, make something new why don't ya?). He does not seek the limelight, has not had a snappy biography written about him (or his game, amazingly enough) and I thought we should pay a ...

News: Bare essentials for poor-ish filmmakers

Equipment list for the low budget crowd Let's assume you have a script (not just an idea) and have gotten your pre production out of the way. These are both incredibly important and should not be taken lightly, especially when you have no budget. So you have an awesome film and all of your ducks are in a row, what do you bring with you to the shoot... or what is really necessary?

News: Alan Wake Episode 3 Gameplay & Musings

There are no spoilers in this writing, read without worry. Finished Episode 3 of Alan Wake yesterday, impressed by different reasons. I originally bought the game for the possibility of great story, dialogue, and voice acting. That part of the game has been disappointing. What has stood out from playing episodes 1 to 3  is the level design and game play.