Resources In this page of "Elite And Design", you can find a compilation of very good tutorials for Photoshop. They are 25 useful tutorials that can give you a lot of good ideas for future projects.
And in this other page of Noupe, another awesome list, in this case for Illustrator. There are 60 tutorials, tips, practices which can be really a good resource for helping you with Illustrator and learning new techniques.
Video, It's the first video of a series of three. Its from the BBC: Weird Nature, science is stranger than myth. Absolute interesting and I'm sure that the habitual readers of Emma Alvarez Site will love it because it's very close to the topics of this site.
Photography, a sample of the awesome work of the photographer Lubomir Mojzes.
Art, The page is F3Design. Has a lot of sections that I recommended you to see. But I have chosen an absolutely funny post with caricatures of rock stars.
Humorous, Nobody remembered this little dog breed, the Chihuahua, until Paris Hilton had one. Well, now it seems to be a top fashion dog breed. This funny post is about photos of chihuahua performances in famous movies.
Music, A reader recently sent me the music of one of his friends: Courtney Dowe, a singer that in addition of having a great voice, makes music for human rights. Her music is a mix of folk and alternative. I recommended hearing her work. She can make you fly with your mind. She is a future star, and I have the pleasure of introducing her to you.
Glitters graphics are a way to turn a boring message into a surprising, creative and fun message.
They are used both in social networks and emails.
In some of these pages, you're allowed to customize some of the glitters.
The possibilities that glitters offer you add originality to your messages, in addition to be better than words when you don't know what to say.
Without a doubt, glitter graphics are become more important and widespread. So it's a good resource having a list where to find good glitters.
Following, a list of the best sites of glitter graphics. Don't forget to suggest your favorite glitter sources in the comments of this article.
FreeCommentTags, Very good graphics, and easy to use website with many categories.
Satisfaction, Glitters of very big size and high quality.
WishAFriend, Glitter graphics for MySpace, and for every other website, forum or anything. There are many sections and an huge number of glitters.
Glitter-Graphics.com, Thousands of glitters, of all kinds. From text to avatars, everything that is a glitter is here.
Glittermaker, Glitter text maker, with different styles.
Free Glitters, Big collection of glitters in many categories, MySpace icons and avatars, and some curious things like glitter quotes.
Blingee, Create your own glitter graphics from your photos online, and share them with all the people in this community.
Peerspin, Firefox extension that helps you to customize your MySpace profile and add all kind of things, and add glitter text to your comments or text.
GlitterBank, Glitter text generator with very original styles: diamond, glitter, doodle and jewel.
Glitter Your Way, Many different styles of glitter text generators, with many effects and shapes.
Glitterfy, Great diversity of graphics and also web tools for creating glitter text, glitters with your own images, and flashing text.
Glittergraphics.us, Has an application that can create a glitter text with the message that you write. There are also several categories with glitters, from welcoming signs to cartoons or dividers.
Swordsmen movies are full of adventures, action, romance. Many of them are based in classic novels. These movies are a good option to have hours of entertainment. And if you like a good fencing combat, don't hesitate it.
After this, a list of good swordsmen movies:
1- The Mask Of Zorro
2- Scaramouche
3- Captain Blood
4- Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves
5- The Count Of Monte-Cristo
6- The Three Musketeers
7- The Man In The Iron Mask 8- Cyrano De Bergerac 9- The Duelists
10- The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Mask Of Zorro, Starred by Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Anthony Hopkins. There was actually much feeling between the couple Banderas/Zeta-Jones. It is based in the popular character of Zorro, masked hero, champion of justice. His alter ego is a wealthy Spanish rather frivolous. Without a doubt, the performance of Banderas is brilliant, and all the Spanish can be proud of having such an actor.
Scaramouche, Scaramouche is an unforgettable classic. Andre Moreau is a true swine, a womanizer, but also a very noble man. His friend, a young aristocrat, is a follower of the French revolutionary ideas. For being loyal to his belief, he is killed. And Andre Moreau swear to revenge him. He joins to a theater company and plays the role of Scaramouche. And in silence, he becomes one of the best swordsmen of France.
Captain Blood, A must-see movie for all the lovers of movies of pirates. Starred by Errol Flynn, and Olivia De Havilland. Peter Blood is a peaceable doctor, that doesn't get involved in politics, but without being able to avoid it, he gets into a unjust trial, and ends being a slave. But he escapes and becomes a feared pirate called Captain Blood.
Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, The character of Robin Hood has appeared in movies on and on, and always with great success. This film is starred by Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Sir Robin of Locksley comes back home after the crusades, but when he's back nothing is the same. The village of Nottingham is enslaved, and his father has been assassinated. He gets into the forest and finds some thieves, to whom he will train as warriors.
The Count Of Monte-Cristo, Based on the famous novel by Alexandre Dumas. This movie is starred by Richard Chamberlain, Kate Nelligan, and Tony Curtis, amongst others. Edmon Dantes is accused of a false crime, and is sentenced to prison. There, he mets another prisoner, that tells him about the existence of a hidden treasure. In the jail, he starts to hate, and his wish for revenge is each day stronger.
The Three Musketeers, Based on another famous novel by Alexandre Dumas. Starred by Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O'Donnel, Oliver Platt, Rebecca de Mornay... D'Artagnan is very skilled with the sword, so he travels to Paris to be like his father: a musketeer. Meanwhile, the King's adviser Richelieu, with captain Rochefort, plan all kind of conspiracies to dominate France.
The Man In The Iron Mask, Alexandre Dumas is a gold mine for swordsmen movies. This movie is based on one of his novels. Starred by Leonardo DiCaprio, John Malcovich, Jeremy Irons, Gerard Depardieu. The French population suffers a terrible poverty. The three musketeers have to free a mysterious prisoner that carries an iron mask in his face, and he could help to free the people of France from the tyranny of the King.
Cyrano De Bergerac, This movie won an Oscar and many important cinema awards. The performance of Gerard Depardieu is without a doubt, brilliant. Cyrano is a poet and a great swordsman. He is in love with Roxane, but his physical appearance and his enormous nose ashames him horribly. So he is resigned to not be loved. But he expresses his love for Roxane through Christian, a handsome soldier to whom he writes poems for Roxane.
The Duelists, Directed by the brilliant Ridley Scott, and starred by Keith Carradine, Harvey Keitel, Edward Fox... Armand Dhubert is a lieutenant of Napoleon. He is given orders to arrest another lieutenant: Ferand, a polemic man and a great swordsman, very keen on duels. With this arrest, starts an enmity that will last for most of their lives. The end of the movie is surprising.
The Scarlet Pimpernel, This is an old movie of 1935, and with no doubts the fans of the genre shouldn't miss it. A member of the French aristocracy hides his identity under the name of the Scarlet Pimernel. He's a hero that fights against the injustices of the French Revolution.
As the article "Stunning Beaches" was liked by many readers, I thought that it was a good idea for the Art section of this month to show these artworks.
It's very interesting to see how classical artists depict the beaches in their works, each one with his/her style and their way to see the world. In addition, watching these paintings is a curious walk through History.
"Riders on the beach", by Paul Gauguin
"Women running on the beach", by Pablo Picasso
"Enchanted Beach with Three Fluid Graces", by Salvador Dali
It was a stormy night. Laura had come back home. She had broken off with everything. It was raining with violence but she couldn't even notice the tears falling from her face, nor her soaking wet clothes.
Because pain is this way, and when it's very strong, it becomes dull. She walked through the important places of her childhood, searching for answers, and wondering when her life started to go wrong. She saw her old house in the tree, and without thinking it twice, she climbed. She turned on the old oil lamp, and wrote in a paper: "And when does one start to go wrong in life?"
The following day was radiantly sunny, and she went back to the tree house. She wanted to see it again, but this time under the light of the sun. She climbed up, and found a note in the floor that said: "When we stop living as we want, to start living as others want us to live".
When she read the note, Laura was very shocked. It seemed an answer to her note... but it was impossible. She searched in every corner but there was no traces of her own note. She looked outside, but there was nobody. Everything was in silence. Could that note be there the previous night and maybe she didn't see it? Feeling an impulse, she wrote another note: "And why do we live as others want us to live?", and threw it to the floor like in the previous night.
During all the day, she found herself looking over her shoulder to see if someone was after her. At night, she returned to the tree house. She could not contain herself.
And she found another note, that said:"Because we seek the acceptance of others".
Her hand started trembling. That was a madness. But she wrote another note: "And why, when we have the acceptance of others, we are not happy?"
The following morning, she returned to the tree house. That game could be dangerous, but she worried no more. She wanted answers. Now, her greatest fear was not finding another note. When she saw a paper in the floor, her heart jumped. "Because acceptance starts for oneself".
When she read that, she started to cry, very strong and loud. Because, some way, those words had returned her to life. And we cry when we're born. That way, Laura cried like a new born baby that discovers light and life.
And she wrote another note: "And who are you?"
That night she came back to the tree house. And with her shaking hands, she took the new note, that said "Your heart".
And then, Laura felt as if her body fell from very high. She opened her eyes. It was night still. It was raining with violence. She was very excited. She had a hard work to do: start living, but this time, truly.
Images (in order): Impure Thoughts,by JusT-ShanT; Old House Down By The Swamp, by RobinRoels; House In Tree, by Hanci; The Road Home, by AsylumWitch.
Kilauea Volcano, in Hawaii, has erupted yesterday July 9, 2008. The waves of lava reach, in this moment, 12 meters of height.
Since 1983, Kilauea has recovered its volcanic activity. Since then, the eruptions happen very often. This makes tourists have preference for this area of Hawaii, because the lava creates very interesting rock formations like this that you see below:
Lava tubes at Kilauea Volcano
Kilauea Volcano is one of the biggest volcanoes of the planet. It is located in the island of Mauna Loa (Hawaii).
The Hawaiians say that Kilauea is the home of the goddess Pele, the Goddess Of Fire.
Although the eruptions of Kilauea are very impressive, as they emit a big amount of liquid lava, they haven't violent explosions, so there's no high risk for the population.
Here you can see images of other previous eruptions of Kilauea. These images are as beautiful as terrible.
This is a video of one of the awesome eruptions of Kilauea. Images like these can be seen in Hawaii just now.
Although Kilauea is a volcano that erupts very often, its eruptions are not too dangerous. Some months ago I wrote an article about the supervolcano of Yellowstone. If that supervolcano erupted, it could cause very terrible damages.
Images (in order): A View Into Hell, by Steve Navarro; Lava Tubes At Kilauea, by Irargerich; Halema'uma'u Crater On Kilauea Volcano, by Guano; Fire And Stars, by Bobster1985; Kilauea Volcano At Mauna Ulu, by Image Editor;
From the Antiquity, and in all cultures, the Sun, the Moon and the stars have been depicted. This is not done by mere observation of the skies, but it goes much beyond, acquiring a symbolic value. When we see these depictions, we give them an unconscious meaning, even if we ignore it rationally.
The Sun The Sun has a male essence, of protection. Suns were often sculpted in warriors' shields. From the Antiquity, the Sun was thought as son of the sky. It symbolizes reasoning, justice and will.
The symbolic value of the Sun is so strong that everything that is similar to it, like for example, gold, acquired soon a big material or spiritual value, by association with the Sun.
The Sun also symbolizes energy, heat and sexual passion. Many ancient people thought that the Sun was who gave life to humans and animals. They thought that the heat of bodies came from the Sun. This way, the Sun was seen as a life giver.
The Moon The Moon has a female nature. In the Antiquity some defined the Moon as the lord of women.
The Moon was identified with women because the lunar cycles are linked to the physiological cycles of women.
The Moon also represents renovation, resurrection due to the lunar phases, in which the Moon evolves.
As the Moon is the cause of tides, it is identified as the medium between the sky and the earth.
The associated metal of the moon is silver.
The Moon is also related to the unconscious, to mystery, because its light wraps the objects and things can't be seen clearly, giving them a mysterious halo. This way, it is connected with magic and fantasy.
The Stars The Stars symbolize the spirit. They are often depicted in big number, and then they symbolize the battle against darkness. They are also associated with the cosmical order and destiny.
Depending on the number of points, the symbolic meaning varies, influenced by the symbolic value of each number.
The 5 points inverted star is the symbol of the Devil. It's like the spirit against the order of God. The star of 5 points not inverted symbolizes the human being and is used in white magic.
The 6 points star is the star of David, and its meaning is the union of God with humanity. It's the star of the Hebrew religion.
The star of 7 points as a mystical meaning, and is often used in magic. We mustn't forget that the number 7 is a sacred number from the Antiquity.
The star of 8 points symbolizes plenitude, maturity, and reincarnation, the cycle of life.
The 9 points star symbolizes success, stability, and positiveness.
Images (in order): The Bird And The Sun, by Luza; Full Moon Night, by Luza; Dreams And Stars, by Rosemary McKevitt;
