Anastasia

Cinema vs Theatre

If you ask me which I prefer, I'd definitely say the theatre. No matter how often I go to the cinema, a visit to the theatre is still something special.  Seeing a play is something quite different from popping into the local cinema for a couple of hours. It's a matter of  direct communication between the audience and the actors. 

Theatro Skala - The Chairs by Eugene Ionesco

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Most cinemas nowadays surpass a theatre in luxury. Even in small villages, cinemas are spacious, well-lit and well-ventilated places where one can sit in comfort. The lights are dimmed slowly to give the audience time to prepare themselves for the film they are to see.  Talk drops to a whisper and then fades out altogether.  However much the cinema tries to simulate the conditions in a theatre - and it does it very well - it's never the same effect!  Nothing can really equal the awe and sense of hushed expectation which is felt by a theatre audience as the curtain is slowly raised.

 
Theatro Scala - Confidences Trop Intimes (Intimate Strangers)  by Jerôme Tonnerre 

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 A poor film is often far better than a bad play. The actors on the screen are always celluloid, remote and a bit unreal.. In a theatre, however, the actors  have direct contact with their audience. Each performance they give is unique and it is this that, in the final count,, makes the theatre so superior to the cinema. 

Have you seen an interesting play, recently?

 

Nikon J1 and V1 Interchangeable Lens Cameras

Nikon has been extremely tight-lipped about their newest camera system, but tonight they pulled back the curtain and unveiled a pair of interchangeable lens compact cameras that bring the company full-force into the ILC war.

The guts of both cameras revolve around a 10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor in what Nikon is calling the CX size. That's 13.2mm x 8.8mm which makes it smaller than its four thirds competition, but bigger than the upcoming Pentax Q system. That gives it an overall crop factor of 2.7, which comes into play when using the F-mount adapter (more on that in a minute). 

One of the main talking points for Nikon about the sensor is its ability to do focal plane phase detection AF at hugely fast speeds. When phase detection is wrong for the shooting situation, it automatically switches to contrast AF for speed. First impressions from technical editor, Phil Ryan suggest that it's fast, but not really noticeably faster than Micro Four Thirds in terms of AF. It also helps that it has 73 AF points in phase detection mode. That's a serious array -- more than any other interchangeable lens camera according to Nikon.

Image processing is handled by the Expeed 3 processor, which allows for a burst rate up to 10 fps with AF tracking.

One of the big new stories here is the introduction of the Nikon 1 lens mount. At launch, the J1 and the V1 will have the 1 NIKKOR VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6, 1 NIKKOR VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, 1 NIKKOR 10mm f/2.8 and 1 NIKKOR VR 10-100mm f/4.5-5.6 PD-ZOOM. The FT1 mount adapter will allow you to slap any F-mount lens on a 1-series body, which may be a substantial advantage considering their current user base.

There are two models to choose from: The V1 and the J1. The V1 is the higher-end model and includes an integrated electronic viewfinder with 140k dots of resolution. It covers approximately 100% of the frame. It also has a 921k dot TFT LCD display, a mechanical shutter and a flash sync speed of 1/250th of a second. All of that is wrapped up in a magnesium alloy body tougher than that of the J1.

The J1 loses the integrated viewfinder and drops the resolution of the LCD display to 460k dots. It also has an electronic shutter, to help keep the price down.

The V1 also has the advantage of an accessory shoe into which you can plug a flash -- neither have one built-in -- or a GPS module, neither of which have received official pricing info yet. The J1 has a pop-up flash to make up for its lack of shoe.

Nikon has also spruced up the shooting modes in their new little cameras, some of which blur the line between photography and video capture. Both cameras can capture 1080p video at 60i with simultaneous still image capture at full-resolution.

The Motion Snapshot mode records "about a second" of video footage surrounding the shutter press. It's recorded at 60fps and plays back at 24fps. It actually sounds a lot like a non-repeating cinemgraph. 

Both cameras will be available October 20th. The cheaper J1 will cost $649 and come packed with the 10-30mm zoom lens. The V1 will cost $899 packaged with the same lens.

We'll have more info and some hands-on impressions with the new cameras tomorrow, so stay tuned for a lot more about Nikon's new babies.

via www.popphoto.com

I am an amateur photographer and truly enjoy taking pictures of anything that catches my eye. Being a Nikon fan, I was very excited to read about this new Nikon technology. I'd love to have both! V1 is very expensive and right now I can't afford it - $899 = €663 but I'll save up for J1 (€478) and hopefully get it for Christmas. I won't forget to put it down on my letter to Santa!

Do you enjoy taking pictures? What kind of camera have you got?

Be Happy !

Not only did I feel the urge to take a picture of the first poppies in early Spring, but I also experienced a feeling of happiness. The great outdoors chase away all negative thoughts and make me feel as happy as a lark!  For some people, happiness seems to be a wild goose chase. This is because they never realise that happiness lies in small things such as petting a cat, walking a dog, dreaming, helping others when they need our help, feeling grateful, smiling, having a good laugh at least once a day and , most importantly, counting our blessings.

Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget about it.  ~Jacques Prévert

 

 

Back to School

In Cyprus, school starts at the age of six and ends at the age of seventeen. The first  bell for elementary schools (ages 6-11) rang last Thursday at 7:45 am while the bell for high school (ages 11-17) went off on Monday 12.  School finishes by 1:30 for all kids. Most children take up private tuition in the afternoon such as languages, computers, piano or any other musical instrument, ballet, sport - the most popular being swimming and football. At the age of 7-8 all children want to learn English, so they enrol to private language schools, like mine.

The first day of term was quite uneventful. My Junior A are so cute and eager to learn English! At the moment, they are also very quiet and attentive in class. My older students said that they did not get bored in the summer - not for one minute! They added that they did not miss school but were glad to be back to their English classes! That was a relief! They also said that they had a great time playing on the computer, watching TV and  going to the beach. 

Time has wings....mid September already. When I go back to school in September, I always bring back happy school  memories  dating back to the time when I was my kids' age. My happiest memory is the graduation ceremony at high school.

What's your best or worst memory of high school? When does school start in your part of the world?

September 11, 2011

I don't think the world will ever forget this unprecedented act of cowardice - the terrorist attack on America at the World Trade Centre Towers in New York City and The Pentagon in Washington. Ten years later, I remember things so clearly.... September 11, 2001 was a Tuesday, the second day of the new school year.. At 4:00 pm (NY time 9:00 am) I was in class with my Pre-Intermediate kids (11 year-olds). The class finished at 4:30 pm. My Intermediate kids had already been waiting in the hall. They looked pale and scared. I thought it was the back-to-school-shock- after- the- summer- break. I smiled at them and said:

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"Hey!!!  It's not the end of the world...just another school year! And summer will come again!".

Then one of my students solemnly said:

" Miss, it's the end of the world for some people.... You know, I saw it on TV ... the Twin Towers in New York fell down and many people were killed!"

That student - one of the best I've ever had - is a bright boy with a vivid imagination , so I certainly did not believe him. I smiled again and said:

" So,  aliens from outer space attacked the USA.....Right?"

"No, Miss", another kid said " Not aliens...terrorists! It's on TV"

And as I rushed into my office, a girl asked:

"What's a terrorist?"

"A terrorist", I answered, "is a very bad person who wants to scare innocent people and sometimes kill them."

I turned on the TV in my office ..... I couldn't believe that was real! I cried my heart out and  still have tears in my eyes 10 years later.. I don't have the words to express the horror, the shock and the revulsion I felt while watching briefly on TV what was happening in the USA.

Let us not forget and let us pray for all the innocent victims. May they all rest in peace.

 

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Ironically enough, September 11 is also a birthday celebration: my great friend Walid's birthday but also the birthday of this blog.. On September 11, 2004 I joined TypePad - the best blogging plarform ever and have never regretted it since then : 765 posts and 4,683 comments in addition to your visits. Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.

 

Broken Mirrors

The mirror in the photo above was given to me by my mother. Its frame is made of walnut tree wood and had decorated her house for years. A carpenter in the old city of Nicosia had made it for her in 1957. Now, it decorates my flat. To me, it's a valuable possession, not  for its material worth but for its priceless sentimental value. I also think that it's blessed. A few months ago, Alkis and I got up with a start in the middle of the night. We soon discovered that the heavy mirror had fallen down from the wall. I'm not superstitious but, I must admit, I was scared. We soon realised that, miraculously, the mirror was intact! It had neither broken nor was it damaged!

There is a lot of folklore in Cyprus about broken mirrors.

• If a mirror falls from the wall, it means that someone is going to die.
• A broken mirror means seven years of bad luck and misfortune.
• A mirror is the reflection of your soul.
• If someone dies, all the mirrors in the house must be covered.
• If a baby looks into a mirror before the age of 2, it will die.
• If you break a mirror at work, you will be fired and have 7 years of bad luck.
• If  a couple looks at one another through a mirror on their wedding day, they will have a happy marriage.

 

 

Indian Night

Last night, I surprised Alkis with one of his most favourite dishes: Indian Chicken Curry - an authentic Indian recipe I came across at allrecipes.com. Unlike me, Alkis loves hot and spicy foods and is a great fan of Indian cuisine. I also love Indian food but in its mild or ....very mild version. Well, after all, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach!! I served my Indian chicken curry with brown rice instead of Basmati - that was my own personal touch - and a mixed salad. It's impossible for us not to have a salad with lunch or dinner. If you like Indian food have a look at Curry in Kadai - an Indian cooking blog. You'll love it.

Since I can't eat spicy food, I had grilled salmon with lemon juice while Alkis was enjoying my delicious Indian dish.