Clipmarks | merrie's clips

20 HDR photos

Tue, 13 May 2008 19:49:38 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

We all love an eye candy... and when it comes to HDR, it works pretty well to me! Just get your tripod, your camera and search for that one scene that will look incredible once shot.

And it's just incredible how some people make fantastic photography out there... so here are the pics of this amazing dude, Donald Fregede... don't forget to visit his photostream at Flickr!

The Gold of Varna Prehistoric Necropolis

Tue, 13 May 2008 17:17:43 GMT

clipped by: alanocu
clipper's remarks: "There are crouched and extended inhumations. Some graves do not contain a skeleton, but grave gifts (cenotaphs). Interestingly, the symbolic (empty) graves are the richest in gold artifacts. 3000 gold artifacts were found, with a weight of approximately 6 kilograms. Grave 43 (photo) contained more gold than has been found in the entire rest of the world for that epoch. Three symbolic graves contained masks of unburnt clay.

The findings showed that the Varna culture had trade relations with distant lands (possibly including the lower Volga and the Cyclades), perhaps exporting metal goods and salt from the Provadiya rock salt mine. The copper ore used in the artifacts originated from a Sredna Gora mine near Stara Zagora, and Mediterranean Spondylus shells found in the graves may have served as primitive currency."

The text above from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varna_Necropolis

Clip Source: docs.google.com

Clip Source: bulgaria-real.net

Varna Necropolis, a 3200-3000 BC burial site, contains what are believed to be the oldest examples of worked gold in the world.

Clip Source: docs.google.com

Clip Source: www.goldensands.bg

A happy coincidence in 1972 provided science with invaluable data. Digging a trench for an electric cable in the western industrial part of the city of Varna the man working with the excavator discovered in the soil discarded by the machine several gold objects, pieces of ceramics and other items.

Clip Source: docs.google.com

Clip Source: www.goldensands.bg

Hearing about this, archeologists from the Varna Archeological Museum started excavations on the spot.

Clip Source: docs.google.com

Clip Source: www.goldensands.bg

They discovered a graveyard (in scientific terminology - necropolis 'city of the dead'), belonging to some unknown prehistoric settlement.

Clip Source: docs.google.com

Clip Source: www.goldensands.bg

The results surpassed the boldest expectations of archeologists.

Clip Source: docs.google.com

Clip Source: www.goldensands.bg

Obviously there were three different ways of burying the dead — lying on their back with the body stretched and with a huddled body, with arms and legs curved.

Clip Source: docs.google.com

Clip Source: www.goldensands.bg

The third type was the so-called "Symbolic burial" where no skeletons were found in the graves

Clip Source: docs.google.com

Tags: bulgaria, archaeology

Gandhi’s 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World

Tue, 13 May 2008 11:42:16 GMT

clipped by: alanocu
clipper's remarks: "Mahatma Gandhi needs no long introduction. Everyone knows about the man who lead the Indian people to independence from British rule in 1947."

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Clip Source: www.positivityblog.com

1. Change yourself.

“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”

2. You are in control.

“Nobody can hurt me without my permission.”

3. Forgive and let it go.

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

4. Without action you aren’t going anywhere.

“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.”

5. Take care of this moment.

“I do not want to foresee the future. I am concerned with taking care of the present.

6. Everyone is human.

“I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps.”

7. Persist.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

8. See the good in people and help them.

“I look only to the good qualities of men.

9. Be congruent, be authentic, be your true self.

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

10. Continue to grow and evolve.

Clip Source: viewer.zoho.com

Tags: wisdom

Need A Specialist Fast? Too Bad You're Not A Dog

Tue, 13 May 2008 10:44:19 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: And where care for our dogs, cats and horses puts our own system to the greatest shame is in the domain of wait times and access to specialists. Our pets may not be able to talk, but they can get an appointment with a primary care vet within 24 hours and a specialist within the week. "I have a friend who had a dog with cancer and it got treatment within two weeks," says Tina Kelly, an IT buyer in Waterloo, Ont. "For something like that in a human, I bet the response would've been 10 times as long."

There are just 10,800 vets in this country compared to over 62,000 human doctors. But try, as a human, to get an appointment with a specialist. Try, for that matter, getting a GP — five million Canadians, about 15 per cent of the population, don't have one, while 15 per cent of those who do still report trouble receiving routine care. And a referral from your family doctor to a specialist puts you in store for a new ordeal. According to the most recent edition of "Waiting Your Turn...

Clip Source: www.macleans.ca

Rover will see an oncologist within days; you'll wait five weeks for a consultation. Bum hip? You could wait over a year. Cataracts? Three months. Whiskers could get both fixed tomorrow.

No horsing around
Inside one of Canada’s most sophisticated operating rooms—for horses

"Our oncologist can offer intricate chemotherapy protocols and our surgeons can do very extreme and elaborate surgeries, including mass removals, amputations and bone transplants from cadaver dogs."

This fall, when Canada's fifth vet school opens at the University of Calgary and C.A.R.E. becomes part of its teaching hospital, its referrals are likely to grow even more.

That's where millions of Bootses and Buddies and even Dobbinses have a decided advantage over their human owners in this country. If you are going to be sick in Canada, you are much further ahead being a beloved dog or cat. Even pet horses have far better prospects for healthier lives now than they ever had before.

Tags: canada, veterinarian, medical physician, oncologist, chemotherapy

Michelle 41, Expecting Her 18th Baby

Tue, 13 May 2008 08:16:33 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Finally, our enemies in the war on terror understand the need for big families. They realize that the more you produce, the more you`re likely to win. Think about it - the horniness of the American male is our secret weapon against the massive families that make for an assembly line of suicidal bombers.

This is why we need Tommy Lee more than ever.

And if you disagree with me, then you sir are worse than Hitler!

Clip Source: www.dailygut.com

I love Michelle Duggar. She's the lady who's only 41, and having her 18th child. That's right. Eighteen. She's already got a baseball team, a basketball team, and four left over to play doubles ping pong.

People are giving her crap for this, but they`re dead wrong. Here's why having all these kids is pure genius: if you have only one kid and he turns out to be a pathetic loser- a Kato Kaelin or a Pauly Shore, if you will - that blows. It`s like putting all your money on 20 red, and losing. Far better to spread your wealth all over the place - by having 17 kids. Think about it - if one of your offspring shaves his head and joins a cult, no one would miss him.

Also, when Michelle`s old, she`s guaranteed an endless stream of visitors bringing her crossword puzzles and scotch. Factoring in grandkids and great-grandkids, you'll have hundreds of people dying to hear your nonsensical stories, while they wipe your nose and clean your bed pan. I can`t think of a better way to go, frankly.

Tags: greg gutfeld, humor, politics, current events

The New “Hip-Hop Pastor”, Same Old Message

Tue, 13 May 2008 07:46:16 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: But a videotape of a sermon he delivered at Wright’s church shows this “wonderful young pastor” referring to “ghetto prophets” and “thug theology,” calling the late rapper Tupac Shakur a “prophet,” and reciting at length lyrics to Shakur’s song “Thugz Mansion.”

In an interview last month with National Public Radio, Moss refused to distance himself from claims by Wright that the U.S. government was involved in distributing illegal drugs to minorities.

In his Easter sermon, Moss said Wright was “lynched” by the international media, and compared Wright to Jesus.

Clip Source: www.newsmax.com

New Trinity pastor Otis Moss has called Biblical patriarch Abraham a “pimp” and made other statements many would consider offensive.

Barack Obama has finally distanced himself from Rev. Jeremiah Wright after a 20-year relationship, but the pastor who is replacing Wright at Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ is likely to be just as controversial

New Trinity pastor Otis Moss has called Biblical patriarch Abraham a “pimp” and made other statements many would consider offensive.

After Obama called Wright’s comments “divisive and destructive,” a questioner noted that Rev. Moss has defended Wright and asked if Obama would continue attending the church.

“Well, the new pastor, the young pastor, Reverend Otis Moss, is a wonderful young pastor,” Obama responded. “And as I said, I still very much value the Trinity community.”

Moss, the 37-year-old “hip-hop pastor,” as he’s called by congregants, will become head of Trinity in June, after serving as an assistant pastor there for two years.

Tags: trinity united church of christ, rev otis moss iii, “hip-hop pastor"

Ron Paul Supporters Plan Public Revolt

Tue, 13 May 2008 06:17:31 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: In the last three months, Paul's forces, who donated $34.5 million to his White House effort and upward of a million total votes, have, as The Ticket has noted, been fighting a series of guerrilla battles with party establishment officials at county and state conventions from Washington and Missouri to Maine and Mississippi. Their goal: to take control of local committees, boost their delegate totals and influence platform debates.

Clip Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

largely under the radar of most people, the forces of Rep. Ron Paul have been organizing across the country to stage an embarrassing public revolt against Sen. John McCain when Republicans gather for their national convention in Minnesota at the beginning of September.

But what's been largely overlooked is Paul's candidacy as a reflection of a powerful lingering dissatisfaction with the Arizona senator among the party's most conservative conservatives. As anticipated in late March in The Ticket, that situation could be exacerbated by today's expected announcement from former Republican Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia for the Libertarian Party's presidential nod, a slot held by Paul in 1988.

They hope to demonstrate their disagreements with McCain vocally at the convention through platform fights

So eager are they to follow their leader's words, that Paul's supporters have driven his new book, "The Revolution: A Manifesto," to the top of several bestseller lists.

Tags: ron paul, mccain, bob barr, libertarian