Rainbow Tree for Real!

I think, people nowadays have a new hobby; rainbow-ing something that isn't rainbow. Rainbow cake, rainbow cupcake, rainbow roll cake, what else can be rainbow-ed in this wonderful world? Anything! But, those rainbow things are all human made. But, this one thing is rainbow by itself. And this thing is a tree!

Eucalyptus trees are usually known with its characteristics aroma. But when you visit Mindaho Island, Philippine, you can find the trunk of those Eucalyptus are rainbow. Pretty!

The bark from near

 Beautiful colors that cover the whole trunk which has Latin name Eucalyptus deglupta are red, orange, purple, blue, and brown. Because the colors are like rainbow this pretty plant is also called Rainbow Eucalyptus, as written on the web of Eucalyptus deglupta.

At first glance, you might think it's just human painting for fun. But it's a NO! These colors are natural! They come out from its sap which drop into the bark annually. When the first drops began to dry up, others began to drip sap and bark of the tree on the other side. On the first drop, it shows blue color, then slowly turns to orange, purple, and red. Time difference of the sap to drop makes it colorful.

These beautiful trees can be seen not only in Philippine but also in England and Papua New Guinea. Wanna see it closely? Okay, let's together go to England or Philippine or Papua New Guinea, through your globe...

"Atas Nama Bangsa Indonesia, Soekarno-Hatta" ♥

"PROKLAMASI! Kami, bangsa Indonesia dengan ini menjatakan kemerdekaan Indonesia. Hal-hal jang mengenai pemindahan kekoeasaan d.l.l., diselenggarakan dengan tjara saksama dan dalam tempo jang sesingkat-singkatnja. Djakarta, 17 Agoestoes 1945. Atas nama bangsa Indonesia, Soekarno-Hatta"

Halo bloggers! Yap, untuk pertama kalinya gue nge-post pake bahasa Indonesia. Serius, kalian gak salah  baca atau salah buka blog kok. Jadi, kali ini gue sengaja nge-post pake bahasa Indonesia dalam rangka memperingati hari kemerdekaan Indonesia yaitu hari ini, 17 Agustus. Gue semacam terlalu bangga gitu bisa jadi salah satu orang Indonesia makanya gue antusias pengen nge-post pake bahasa Indonesia kali ini hahaha.

Oke, kita kembali ke topik. Mungkin kalian udah pada tau teks apa yang ada di paragraf paling awal itu. Yak tul! Itu adalah teks proklamasi yang di proklamirkan oleh Bapak Ir. Soekarno tepat hari ini, tanggal 17 Agustus, 67 tahun yang lalu jam 10 pagi di Jl. Pegangsaan Timur 56, Jakarta Pusat yang sekarang jadi Jl. Proklamasi 1, Jakarta Pusat. Oke, tanggalnya tepat, tapi jamnya emang gak tepat karena sekarang belom jam 10 tapi ya gapapa lah ya soalnya mungkin jam 10 ntar gue akan banyak cincong gak bisa diem kesana kemari kayak belatung nangka jadi daripada lupa mending gue post sekarang -_-

Balik ke topik yuk, Denis...

Jadi, berhubung hari ini adalah Hari Kemerdekaan Indonesia, post ini juga akan berhubungan dengan hari kemerdekaan. Tapi disini gue gak akan bahas tentang sejarah kemerdekaannya atau apalah itu karena udah banyak lah ya web yang isinya sejarah kemerdekaan Indonesia. Karena ini blog, tempat untuk sharing dan ngeluarin opini dan pendapat gue, disini gue mau berpendapat.

Kemerdekaan. Berasal dari kata merdeka. Merdeka. Bebas. Hmm... Apa iya Indonesia udah bener-bener bebas dan merdeka? Oke, gue tau itu pertanyaan klise yang tiap 17 Agustus pasti dibahas sama mahasiswa-mahasiswa intelek. Nah, berhubung gue bukan mahasiswa, melainkan mahasiswi, dan gue tidak begitu intelek, jadi tolong jangan berharap banyak, gue cuma ngulang pertanyaan klise itu doang tanpa ngasih jawaban. Terus kenapa gue nyantumin pertanyaan itu kalo guenya juga gak akan jawab? Kenapanya juga gue gak gitu ngerti ya... Maaf, kadang beberapa ketikan cuma jari gue dan Tuhan yang tau...

Oke serius nih ya...

Jadi gini. Menurut gue pertanyaan itu maknanya luas banget. Bisa diartiin merdeka dari penjajahan, atau merdeka dari kebodohan, atau merdeka dari kemiskinan, atau merdeka dari tekanan, atau masih banyak lagi. Luas banget kan? Nah, disini gue pake makna denotasi aja ya. Jadi kalo merdeka dari penjajahan negara lain/koloni itu udah pasti udah bebas dari jaman penjajahan. Buktinya kita udah jadi negara sendiri, dengan pemerintahan kita sendiri. Kalo untuk merdeka dari kebodohan, kemiskinan dan lain-lain yang sering disebutin sama mahasiswa-mahasiswa intelek itu, mungkin belum. Belum ya, bukan nggak. Jadi masih ada kemungkinan dan kesempatan untuk bener-bener merdeka dari yang tadi itu. Itu doang sih jawaban gue.

Terus intinya apa kalo jawabannya cuma segitu? Intinya bukan pernyataan gue yang menyatakan merdeka/belum tadi itu. Intinya sih sebenernya gue pengen ngajak generasi gue yang masih muda, untuk terus berkarya, berprestasi dan ngangkat nama Indonesia supaya bisa jadi lebih baik lagi. Liat kan kebodohan kayak buta huruf, terus kemiskinan, kelaparan, masih dimana-mana. Gak ada salahnya buat kita yang masih punya tenaga, waktu dan pikiran untuk bantu-bantu ngebenahin Indonesia. Bisa dari hal kecil kayak ikut lembaga/organisasi yang concern ke masalah kelaparan Indonesia, atau yang lebih gampang lagi kita ikut make produk Indonesia. Itu secara gak langsung kan bisa ngebantu ekonomi produsen Indonesia juga dan endingnya pelan-pelan bisa naikin taraf hidup Indonesia kaaan. Itu hal kecil yang setelah gue semediin sekian lama ternyata bisa ngebantu juga loh. Selagi masih muda yekaaan. Yang muda, yang berkarya!

"Berikan aku 1000 orang tua, niscaya akan kucabut Semeru dari akarnya. Berikan aku 1 pemuda, niscaya akan kuguncangkan dunia." -Ir. Soekarno

We Levitate, Not Jump!

Bloggers! Have you ever seen this kind of picture?

Or, this one?

Yap, it's levitation photography! Levitation photography is trending right now in photography lovers. Well, what is levitation? The word "levitation" was taken from Latin, levitas, which means light or mild. This photography technique makes the object of lens seems like floating defying gravitation. The picture below maybe the first levitation photograph. It is Cousin Bichonnade in Flight and was taken in 1905 by Jacques-Henri Lartigue from France.

Cousin Bichonnade in Flight

Then, levitation photography was reintroduced by Natsumi Hayashi on her blog: http://yowayowacamera.com.

Levitation photography can be generated in two ways, the first is by jumping and posing hovering, and the second is by the help of Photoshop. The object of the photo mustn't be seen like jumping but levitating.


Levitation photography is different with jump shot. In levitation photography, the object must be seen like he/she is hovering, so the facial expression, body language and other aspects must be seen natural, like there's nothing he/she is doing but levitating. See the difference with jump shot?


Well, I have some levitation photography pictures. All the pictures below are taken from Natsumi Hayashi's blog. Enjoy!

That's all! One thing, the model must be sooo professional, and exhausted while picturing these levitation photographs!

Stand-up Comedy

As we know, laughter is kinda our needs. We need to laugh or we'll be stressed out in facing our daily activities. And to be able to laugh, surely we need something funny that can make us laugh. For example, comedy. In that case, here I have one kind of comedy which is popular lately. It is stand-up comedy.

Stand-up comedy is a kind comedy performed in front of live audiences, speaking directly to them. The performer can be called as a comic, stand-up comic, stand-up comedian, or simply a stand-up. In stand-up comedy, the comic usually recites a fast-paced succession of humorous stories, short jokes called bits, and one-liners, which constitute what is typically called a monologue, routine or act.

Stand-up comedy is often performed in comedy clubs, bars, neo-burlesques, colleges and theaters, but there are no real restrictions on where the craft can be performed. Stand-up comedy is also performed by professional comedians outside of traditional entertainment venues, such as in country clubs, at corporate events and conferences, as charity fund raising events, even in temples and churches. Many smaller venues hold open mic events, where anyone can take the stage and perform for the audience, offering a way for amateur performers to hone their craft and possibly break into professionalism.

Based on www.the-top-tens.com, the top 5 funniest comics are:
1. Russell Peters. He was born on September 29, 1970. He is an Indo-Canadian comedian, actor and disc jockey. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and has been nominated for four Gemini Awards.

 2. George Carlin. Or George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, actor and writer/author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums.

3. Jerry Seinfeld. Born on April 29, 1954, he is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer.

4. Mike Ward. Born on September 14, 1973 in Quebec City, Quebec, he is a comedian.

5. Dave Chappelle. Or David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle was born on August 24, 1973. He is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, actor, and artist.

In Indonesia, stand-up comedy has known since a long time ago. Dono, Kasino, Indro are the first generation of stand-up comedy popularity in Indonesia and Taufik Savalas is the second generation. Then, stand-up comedy Indonesia was drowned. There was no new generation of Indonesian comics. It became vacuum for a long time.

Stand-up comedy began to rise in the mid-2011 when an open audition for comics was opened and televised. With the promotion from the two Indonesian celebs, Raditya Dika and Pandji Pragiwaksono, stand-up comedy has made it through social network, Twitter and YouTube. Raditya Dika and Pandji also started doing and promoting stand-up comedy, and also uploading their acts to social networks.

Characteristic of stand-up comedy in Indonesia, there are innuendos that appear in the joke, sarcasm typically theme of politics, culture, education, and can also appear in allusions which aimed at a well-known figure, that's the difference between stand-up comedy Indonesia with other countries.

Pizza's Fun Facts

Everybody loves pizza, huh? So, here it is, I have some random facts about pizza for all pizza lovers! Here we go :)

• Pizza originated in Naples, Italy
• The first pizzas was just dough and tomato sauce - no cheese
• Antica Pizzeria was the world's first pizzeria. It opened in Naples, Italy in 1738
• It wasn’t until 1889 that cheese was first added to pizza in Italy, when famous pizza chef Raffaele Esposito made a pizza for Queen Margherita using tomato, basil, and cheese to represent the colors of the Italian flag. Today, the simple Margherita pizza remains one of the most popular pizzas in the world
• The first American pizzeria was opened in New York City in 1905
• The largest pizza ever made was at Norwood Hypermarket in South Africa. It was 122 feet 8 inches across, weighed 26,883 pounds, contained 3,968 pounds of cheese, and 1,984 pounds of sauce
• It is estimated that about three billion pizzas are sold in the United States every year
• Pepperoni is the most popular pizza topping in the United States
• The three dots in the Domino’s Pizza logo represent the first three Domino’s Pizza stores
• The most pizzas are delivered (and eaten) on New Year’s Day, New Year’s Eve, Halloween, Thanksgiving Eve, and Super Bowl Sunday
• About 350 slices of pizza are consumed every second in the United States
• About 93% of Americans eat at least one pizza every month

That's all the fun facts about pizza I have. I'm gonna eat my pizza now :9

Random Fun Facts (Part 2)

I got more random fun facts! Enjoy!

• In the marriage ceremony of ancient Inca tribe in Peru, the couple is considered official if they have exchanged their sandals
• King of Moroccan (1672–1727), Moulay Ismaïl, had the biggest number of children throughout the history of human civilization; 342 daughters and 525 sons
• The world's longest place name is Taumatawhakatangihangaoauauotameteaturipukakapikim aungahoronukupokaiw-henuakitanatahu which is a hill in New Zealand
• 111111111 x 111111111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
• Elephant's tooth may have the same weigh as a bowling ball
• All parts of the country of China have the same timezone even though it's huge enough
• An '@' sign derived from a combination of letter e and a, stand for 'each at'
• There will not be a full moon on Halloween until 2020
• Earth becomes 0.2 Celsius hotter in full moon
• The biggest earthquake ever happened in Chile on May, 22nd 1960 (9,5 SR)
• Firstly, Google was named as BackRub
• Scores in the world's largest international matches is 31-0, the match between the Australian national team squad against American Samoa.
• Longest kiss world record held by James Belshaw and Sophia Severin who kissed for 31 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds.
• We have same birthday with 9 million other people in the world
• Goldfish who is placed in a dark place will turn into white. And if it were not for the influence of food, they will turn completely white.
• Ants never sleep
• Honey is the only food that will never stale 
• Honeybees visit about 2 million flowers to make 1 pound of honey
• A snail can sleep 3-4 years during the period he doesn't need food

Random Fun Facts

I read some random fun facts here and I copied some of them. Enjoy!

• 44% of kids watch television before they go to sleep
• One out of 20 people have an extra rib
• Istanbul, Turkey is the only city in the world located on two continents
• Every three days a human stomach gets a new lining
• The second best selling game of all time is Jenga. Jenga is a Swahili word, meaning “to build.”
• Cinderella is known as Rashin Coatie in Scotland, Zezolla in Italy, and Yeh-hsien in China
• In 1894 the first big Coke sign was found on the side of a building located in Cartersville, Georgia, and still exists today
• The longest distance a deepwater lobster has been recorded to travel is 225 miles
• Orcas (killer whales), when traveling in groups, breathe in unison
• The Great Pyramids used to be as white as snow because they were encased in a bright limestone that has worn off over the years
• The fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth is called Arachibutyrophobia
• Colour is not an indicator for the taste or ripeness in cranberries
• A chicken with red earlobes will produce brown eggs, and a chicken with white earlobes will produce white eggs
• Not all polar bears hibernate; only pregnant females polar bears do
• There is a restaurant in Stockholm that only offers all-garlic products. They even have a garlic cheesecake (can you just imagine how it tastes? I think it's.... Yuck!)
• Serving ice cream on cherry pie was once illegal in Kansas
• 2.5 cans of Spam are consumed every second in the United States
• The Koala bear is not really a bear, but is really related to the kangaroo and the wombat.
• Instead of a Birthday Cake, many Russian children are given a Birthday Pie
• Percentage of American men who say they would marry the same woman if they had it to do all over again: 80%
• Paul Hunn holds the record for the loudest burp, which was 118.1 decibels, which is as loud as a chainsaw
• A monkey was once tried and convicted for smoking a cigarette in South Bend, Indiana
• There are six million parts in the Boeing 747-400
• In the U.S., over one million gallons of cosmetics, drinks, and lotions are sold that contain aloe in them per year
• Japanese research has concluded that moderate drinking can boost IQ levels
• For more than 3,000 years, Carpenter ants have been used to close wounds in India, Asia and South America
• Baskin Robbins plain vanilla ice cream is the number one selling flavour and accounts for a quarter of their sales
• The typical lead pencil can draw a line that is thirty five miles long
• The word “toy” comes from an old English word that means “tool”
• Smokers are twice as likely to develop lower back pain than non-smokers
• Humans are born with 300 bones in their body, however when a person reaches adulthood they only have 206 bones. This occurs because many of them join together to make a single bone
• The reason why hair turns gray as we age is because the pigment cells in the hair follicle start to die, which is responsible for producing “melanin” which gives the hair colour
• Most lipstick contains fish scales
• The sentence “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” uses every letter in the english language
• The expression cooked “al dente” means “to the tooth.” What this means is that the pasta should be somewhat firm, and offer some resistance to the tooth, but should also be tender
• Of married couples, 70% of men and 60% of women have cheated on their spouse
• No piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times
• Asthma affects one in fifteen children under the age of eighteen
• A one ounce milk chocolate bar has 6 mg of caffeine
• Throughout the South, peanuts were known as “Monkey Nuts,” and “Goober peas,” before the civil war
• Scallops have approximately 100 eyes around the edge of its shell
  

Food Photography Tips

Taken a photo of a delicious meal only to have it turn out looking ugly and not edible. Hopefully these 10 food photography tips will help you take a more tasty-looking food photo next time. To find out more, click here

Tips #1: Keep the Background Clean
Make sure there is a color contrast between the background and the food, don’t have the two be the same color or a similar shade. For example, strawberries served on a red plate isn’t going to stand out. Keep the background simple and uncluttered. If unsure, stick to a plain white background.

Tips #2: Adjust the White Balance
Adjust the white balance on your camera according to what you’re shooting. Meat should always be shot in warm tones as a blue-ish tinge under some fluorescent lights would make it look ghastly.

Tips #3: Use Natural Lighting
Whenever you can, try to shoot using natural lighting. Shoot during the day near a window where you would get plenty of natural sunlight. When you must shoot at night, try avoid using flash directly on the food as it’s too harsh. Instead, use a flash diffuser or have the flash bounce off a ceiling or wall.

Tips #4: Use A Tripod
Most food photography will be done indoors, where there might not be enough lighting. Use a tripod whenever you can as it beats trying to hold very still for long a amount of time.


Tips #5: Small Details Make A Big Difference
Don’t disregard the small stuff. Keep in mind that using nice cutlery and a clean serving plate/bowl could make all the difference transforming a nice photo to a fantastic one.

Tips #6: Get Up Close
Instead of only taking photos of a full plate of food, take some macro shots too.  Getting up close to your subject will bring out the textures and finer details, making it more interesting and intriguing.

Tips #7: Cut It, Slice It, Dice It!
As with anything, you shouldn’t just take something for its face value. With food, sometimes it’s what’s inside that can create a great shot.

Tips #8: Take Photos from All Angles
Don’t just take a photo from a bird’s eye view, try different angles. Left, right, top, bottom. Feel free to even move the food around and come up with different compositions.

Tips #9: Use Properties
Don’t be afraid to jazz up the set. Maybe a glass of orange juice to go with those pancakes? A bottle of wine in the background with your steak and mash meal? Or maybe some hundreds and thousands sprinkled around your cupcakes? Do remember to keep it simple as too many props can be distracting.

Tips #10: Cheat if You Have To
As long as you’re not planning to eat the food afterwards, there are ways to enhance your food by using some industry tricks. For example, make your food glisten by brushing on some vegetable oil. Create that ‘fresh out of the oven’ steam by placing some microwaved cotton balls that have been soaked in water. Or make perfect-looking ice cream that won’t ever melt with some mashed potatoes.

Now you have seen it. Hungry? Me too :9

Basic Photography Tips

Well, what I know is I love photography and what I really know is I'm not good in photography -_- but, I have some basic photography techniques that can help you in making nice pictures with the source from here. Making beautiful photography needs nothing than a bit of thought. All you really need is to take a moment before each shot to think clearly about what you are attempting to capture or create. The followings are the 10 basic photography tips. Enjoy!

Photography tips #1: Move in Closer
Each time you spot a subject, snap a shot and then move in closer for a better shot. Having your subject almost fill the frame helps your viewer understand and appreciate your photo. Also, details are often more interesting than an overall view. Keep moving in closer until you are sure the photo will successfully represent your subject.

Photography Tips #2: Be Quick
If it is at all possible that your subject may move, bolt, fly away, stop smiling, or just get tired of waiting for you to take the picture, shoot once right away. Practice getting quicker and quicker to the draw. Do not worry about taking too many pictures and do not wait until you're absolutely certain all the knobs and buttons are in their correct position. As the motto, "Shoot First, Ask Questions Later."


Photography Tips #3: Compose Your Picture with Care
Even if you don't plan on selling your photo to the Smithsonian, make every effort to keep it balanced and beautiful. On one level or another, everyone responds better to a picture that has all elements in balance. Strive to lead the eye along an interesting path through the photo, with the use of strong lines or patterns.


Photography Tips #4: Be Selective
Discern what you are really interested in and center your efforts on getting the best photo of this subject, whether it a still life, your funny cat, your doggy, a friend, a family matter, a mood, a place or culture. The easiest way to do this is to watch your borders - the edges of the view you see through the camera's viewfinder. Then recompose if anything - such as an unattractive telephone wire, an old soda can, a distracting sign, your finger, or your camera strap - hangs into your picture.


Photography Tips #5: Focus on Your Subject
Practice shooting with different apertures and monitor the results afterwards to learn how depth-of-field affects your photo. This is great for taking a picture of your child, your dog, or your husband - subjects stand out against a blurry background.

Photography Tips #6: Experiment with Shutter Speed
One of the most basic, overlooked, and fun aspects of photography is that you have the power to slow time down or catch a split second. One image happens so slowly that we could never see it and the other happens so quickly in real time that we would never notice it. Play with shutter speed!

Photography Tips #7: Look at the Light
By this, I don't mean look into the sun - no, that won't do at all. But it is good to see what kind of light you are working with. Which way are the shadows falling? Unless you want a silhouette effect, where your subject is black against an interesting background, it's generally best to shoot with the sun behind you. How is the light affecting your subject? Is the subject squinting? Is the light blazing directly and brightly upon your whole subject? This works well if you are in love with the bold colors of your subject. Side lighting, on the other hand, can add drama but can also cause extreme, hard-to-print contrasts. Lastly, indirect light can be used to make your subject glow soft and pretty.

Photography Tips #8: Watch the Weather, Too
Look outside and decide whether or not you are going to want to have the sky in your picture. If it's overcast, simply keep the sky out of your pictures as much as possible. This is usually the best way to avoid both muted tones in your subject and washed-out skies in your background. You might also find black and white pictures of an overcast day more pleasing than color. When the day is beautiful, go ahead and make the most of it.


Photography Tips #9: Keep Your Camera Settings Simple
While you may wish to have "all the bells and whistles" available just in case, you will probably get the best results if you do not try to use them all the time and instead learn a simple set up that works best for you in most situations. If you want one accessory, bring a tripod. This one item can solve camera shake issues and help you get beautiful evening shots.


Photography Tips #10: Be Bold!
Don't allow yourself to be paralyzed by fears of using the wrong settings, or an non-politically-correct social policy. Be wise... but be bold.

There you have it, basic but helpful - I hope - photography tips. Now go out there, make some great shots, learn from the failures, and have fun!

Forced Perspective Photography

I just found out about forced perspective technique in photography and damn I adore it! Well, I'm not a photographer but I'm interested in photography. I don't even have the camera. Poor me. Just ignore it-_-

By the way, forced perspective photography is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It is used primarily in photography, film making and architecture. It manipulates human visual perception through the use of scaled objects and the correlation between them and the vantage point of the spectator or camera. Maybe that's why it called 'forced'. Here are some examples of forced perspective photography which are from taken from here 
Enjoy!