Video Widget

Sunday, July 7, 2013

How to Create the Levitating Effect



This is a guide for how to create the very striking effect of falling down / levitating in photography.

It looks complicated but it is actually quite easy. With a little bit of  Photoshop knowhow you will be able to achieve the desired result.

The List

You will need the following:
Tripod
Camera
Off camera flash (optional)
Chair (to lean from or hang off)
Model (you can use yourself if you don’t have one)

Step One

The background. The first thing you need to do is set your camera up on a tripod and get your flash lights into position (don't worry if you don’t have any). Then take a few test shots until you are happy with the light levels.

Step Two

Once you are happy with the light levels it is time to take the first photograph (‘photo 1’) - the background without the chair. Make sure you don’t adjust any of your camera or flash settings as the next shot has to have the same light levels and camera angles. This is why it is so important to use a tripod.

Step Three

Now it is time to use your chair (‘photo 2’). Lay the model (or yourself) on the chair in a position that suggests you are falling or levitating. I find the most interesting results are achieved when the subject's facial expression is relaxed as it adds a dream-like quality to the composition.

Step Four

Once you are happy with photo 1 and photo 2 you need to open up both images in Photoshop. Remember if you are going to do any post processing make sure you use the same settings for both photos as the light levels have to be identical.

Step Five

Place photo 2 on top of photo 1. The easiest way to do this is to click and drag photo 2 over photo 1 until they fit perfectly together.

Step 6

Now you need to select both the Pen tool and the Add Vector Mask tool. If necessary, you can delete the mask if you make a mistake.

Click on the Add Vector Mask icon in the layers panel and with the Pen tool highlight every piece of chair that you want to remove. Select the black colour from the palette and go over the highlighted area to remove the hair completely.

You might find you need to use the Clone tool in some areas to modify some of the shadows. A top tip is to adjust the Clone tool opacity to 30% to make the shadows softer and ensure there are no hard lines.

With a little patience and creativity you will end up with a photograph that defies gravity.
Biography

Founder of the Official London Photography Tours with a love of everything to do with photography. On our London photography tours we use London as our playground and are proud to offer the best London photo walks in the capital.

Friday, July 5, 2013

International Kissing Day


A kiss is just a kiss
appreciate the humble kiss on
International Kissing Day
6 July 2013



International Kissing Day takes place on 6 July in the UK. However, the day has now been adopted worldwide and is also known as National Kissing Day or Kissing Day.

When I think about it, the concept of a kiss is everywhere in society and has many meanings. A first kiss. A formal kiss. A passionate kiss. A kiss goodbye.

Kissing Day aims to make us appreciate a kiss in its own right. No conventions, no social norms, just a kiss. Across the globe we embrace the kiss by embracing someone else.

Competition to hold the record for the longest kiss is rife - on 6-7 July 2005 the record was set in the UK at 31 hours and 30 minutes. Then on Valentine's Day 2009 Nikola Matovic and Kristina Reinhart from Germany set a new record of just over 32 hours.

On 13 February 2011, a Thai couple, husband and wife team Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat locked lips and began their quest to break the longest kiss record. After 46 hours and 24 minutes they claimed a new record for the longest kiss. Impressive!

Nonthawat Charoenkaesornsin and Thanakorn Sitthiamthong kissed their way to the title at an event in Pattaya, Thailand on 12-14 February 2012. But now the tables have turned and Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat successfully regained their crown on 12-14 February 2013 and the record for the longest kiss now stands at 58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds - wow, that's some kiss!

Perhaps you can get some kissing tips from a friend before puckering up. Or delve into one of the many kissing guides that proclaim to make you the world's best kisser!

Think of your first kiss ... was it all you expected and a treasured memory or were you too nervous to really care?

Think of your sweetest kiss ... a kiss from your child? A thank you kiss from your closest friend? And think of all those supposedly meaningless kisses. Next time I kiss someone I will just think about how delightful it is and not about what it 'means'.

Fiverr


Fiverr, stylized as fiverr, is a global online marketplace offering tasks and services, referred to as 'gigs' and micro-jobs beginning at a cost of $5.00U.S. per job performed. Entrepreneurs and freelancers use Fiverr to offer more than 324 services categorized in 13 categories and 115 sub-categories. Customers needing services can use Fiverr’s search or surprise me functions to find and commission services directly through the site.
Currently, Fiverr lists more than 1.3 million services on the site that range between $5 and $500.

About Fiverr

The site was founded by Micha Kaufman and Shai Wininger in 2009 with the aim of providing a platform for people to buy and sell a variety of small services typically offered by freelance contractors, such as writing, graphic design, and programming. Fiverr operates in more than 200 countries and brings in revenue by taking a 20% commission from each sale that is made through their platform. The service provides its users in return a place for them to connect; the ability to communicate; the facilities to send and receive files; and the platform to make and accept payment, as well as providing support for buyer and seller disputes.

In January 2012, Fiverr launched Levels, a reputation-based promotion system. After sellers successfully complete at least 10 transactions, they unlock advanced tools to offer add-on services and increase the value. Now, close to 50% of the services offered on Fiverr sell for more than $5. Approximately 15% of the sellers consider Fiverr a primary source of income.

In an interview with Yahoo!, Kaufman stated: "The grand vision of Fiverr is really to create a marketplace where people can create a business out of their hobbies. Similar to the revolution that eBay brought to products.

The website was launched in February 2010 and by 2012 was hosting over 1.3 million gigs. The website transaction volume has grown 600% since 2011. Additionally, Fiverr.com has been ranked among the top 200 most popular sites in the U.S. and top 200 in the world since the beginning of 2013.

On May 3, 2012, Fiverr secured US$15 million in funding from Accel Partners and Bessemer Vnture Partners, bringing the company's total funding to US$20 million.
Function of Fiverr

Fiverr facilitates the buying and selling of "gigs" or micro-jobs online. More than 1.3 million services are available on the site that range from funny and quirky to business micro-services. For example, advertised services have included "to sing while holding a sign with your company logo" and "to receive travel tips for visiting Paris" in exchange for a fixed US$5 fee. The services on Fiverr have been fairly diverse with such items for sale as include celebrity impressions, marketing tips, and custom printed guitar picks.
About Fiverr Levels System

In January 2012, Fiverr launched the Levels system. This feature enabled more sellers to earn additional sales using tools which were previously available to a selected group.

Fiverr has three "Levels": Level 1; Level 2; and Top Rated Seller.

Once sellers move up a level they gain the following sales tools:
Gig Extras which enable sellers to add-on services to their gig at an additional cost (up to $100).
Multiples which enable buyers to order more than one gig at a time.

source by -wikipedia

Thursday, July 4, 2013

The Exploding Toilet

A MAN was working on his motorcycle on his patio and his engine on the motorcycle and somehow, the motorcycle slipped into gear. The man, still holding the handlebars, was dragged through a glass patio door and along with the motorcycle dumped onto the floor inside the house. The wife, hearing the crash, ran into the dining room, and found her husband laying on the floor, cut and bleeding, the motorcycle laying next to him and the patio door shattered. The wife ran to the phone and summoned an ambulance. Because they lived on a fairly large hill, the wife went down the several flights of long steps to the street to direct the paramedics to her husband.

After the ambulance arrived and transported the husband to the hospital, the wife uprighted the motorcycle and pushed it outside. Seeing that gas had spilled on the floor, the wife obtained some papers towels, blotted up the gasoline, and threw the towels in the toilet. The husband was treated at the hospital and was released to come home.

After arriving home, he looked at the shattered patio door and the damage done to his motorcycle. He became despondent, went into the bathroom, sat on the toilet and smoked a cigarette. After finishing the cigarette, he flipped it between his legs into the toilet bowl while still seated. The wife, who was in the kitchen, heard a loud explosion and her husband screaming. She ran into the bathroom and found her husband laying on the floor. His trousers had been blown away and he was suffering burns on the buttocks, the back of his legs and his groin. The wife again ran to the phone and called for an ambulance.

The same ambulance crew was dispatched and the wife met them at the street. The paramedics loaded the husband on the stretcher and began carrying him to the street. While they were going down the stairs to the street accompanied by the wife, one of the paramedics asked the wife how the husband had burned himself. She told them and the paramedics started laughing so hard, one of them tipped the stretcher and dumped the husband out. He fell down the remaining steps and broke his arm. Now THAT is a bad day...

The Halloween Surprise

A COUPLE was invited to a swanky masked Halloween Party. She got a terrible headache and told her husband to go to the party alone. He, being a devoted husband, protested, but she argued and said she was going to take some aspirin and go to bed and there was no need of his good time being spoiled by not going. So he took his costume and away he went.

The wife, after sleeping soundly for one hour, awakened without pain, and as it was still early, she decided to go to the party. In as much as her husband did not know what her costume was, she thought she would have some fun by watching her husband to see how he acted when she was not with him. She joined the party and soon spotted her husband cavorting around on the dance floor, dancing with every nice chick he could and copping a little feel here and a little kiss there.

His wife went up to him and being a rather seductive babe herself, he left his partner high and dry and devoted his time to the new stuff that had just arrived. She let him go as far as he wished; naturally, since he was her husband. Finally he whispered a little proposition in her ear and she agreed, so off they went to one of the cars and had a little bang.

Just before unmasking at midnight, she slipped away and went home and put the costume away and got into bed, wondering what kind of explanation he would make for his behavior.

She was sitting up reading when he came in and asked what kind of a time he had had. He said, "Oh the same old thing. You know I never have a good time when you're not there."

Then she asked, "Did you dance much?"

He replied, "I'll tell you, I never even danced one dance. When I got there, I met Pete, Bill Brown and some other guys, so we went into the den and played poker all evening. But I'll tell you... The guy I loaned my costume to sure had a real good time!"

Love letters


1. Audio Love Letter

My boyfriend and I are about to be separated again for school. What I did to help us cope with the distance (and the long drives) was find a lot of songs that either expressed my feelings for him, or had special meaning for us (like songs we had laughed about or did karaoke together, etc.). I wrote a "letter" on the CD with all the titles snuck in like "soon I'll be CALLING YOU again to tell you I love you." I made another copy of the CD for myself, and he's wrote a letter on it for me, too. As soon as he saw it he started to choke up!! It was such a great moment and just listening to it makes me feel close to him. I hope it works for you, too!

2. Message In A Bottle
When you're in a long distance relationship, all you can rely on is letters, cards, emails, and telephone calls. But my boyfriend came up with a creative way to send me a letter. I got a package from him one day and I found a bottle with a letter inside! It was really cute and melted my heart! Who isn't charmed by received a message in a bottle!

3. Dated...
This is not so much an idea, but something that I did for my love. I never believed in love at first sight until I met Micheal. It wasn't quite love at first sight, but following our first date, there were feelings inside me that went far beyond expression. I didn't want to say something that I may regret later, or more likely, something that would scare him away, but I had to let it out or I would simply explode. I sat down and wrote him a letter telling him of my feelings for him. I told him that I thought I was falling in love with him and that I thought he was absolutely wonderful. I put it in an envelope and mailed it to my own home, but with his name on the envelope. It was only a couple weeks later when he expressed that he felt the same feelings about me, and so I pulled the letter out of my drawer and handed it to him. Noticing the post-marked date, he read the letter with complete astonishment, and was totally charmed to know that I had fallen in love with him on our very first date.

4. Secret Admirer
I find that the most romantic gestures take a little time to do. Write a glorious infatuation letter, even better type it to conceal your handwriting. Try to make sure there are no tips to give you away, but put hints in it that would make her think it might be somebody else she knows. Use things you might know about her job, or places she might go, but things other people can also know. You might even scare her by telling her you followed her home. Sign it Your Secret Admirer, and send it to her by mail. Send flowers anonymously. Candy, Poetry, whatever you can think of. I set this up for a month, and when I let on who her secret admirer was, I never felt so gratified. It made her feel good that she thought she was still desirable, and when she found out it was me it made it all the better.

5. A letter hunt
My boyfriend told me that he would leave me a love note on my computer for when I got home. Well, he did just that and more. He sent me running around the house finding these little "clues" to where the real love letter was. After running up and down the stairs, finding clues in the cookie jar, ice cream container, under my pillow, in the bathroom, on the tv, and so on-he led me to the wine cellar in the basement where there sat a dozen roses with yet another "clue" as to where my love letter was. He had taped it to the back of the teddy bear he gave me for x-mas. It was the sweetest thing in the world even though I felt silly running through the house like I did.

6. A Single Rose Love Letter
Who says that flowers are only for girls? Guys love them too. I bought a beautiful rose for my boyfriend and plucked almost all of the petals off of it. Attached to each petal, I wrote one sentence on a small piece of paper (rolled up) telling him how much he means to me. I placed the petals face up so he couldn't see the messages. When he opened the box, he saw the left over plucked rose, a small note explaining what's behind each petal, and the petals underneath. I can honestly say that the reciever will cherish that gift forever. :o) My boyfriend did, and right after he confessed his love for me. To this day, he still takes out the dried rose petals to read each note that explains how much I admire and love him.

7. Say it with their name
Send your partner roses according to how many letters there name has. For example: "manny". You would buy 5 red roses and with each rose you would write a message starting with the first letter of their name. For example M: My love. You will never imagine how much I love you. Then for the second rose you would write: All that I ever have wanted is you and only you. then you would finish until you get to the letter Y. Before writing the note you must underline the first letter of every message. It will spell out his /her name. Then leave it where he/she will see it or just have it sent.
Submitted by Ledy Dejesus

8. Floating love letter
Save the next empty wine bottle, the next time you surprise your partner with that bubble bath, write a love letter and stick it in the bottle, cork it and float it in the bath water : )

9. Love Notes
I love leaving little love notes around the house, but you want to make sure that you leave them where your love one will find them. Two ways this can be done.
(1) buy magnetic letters (bookstores sell) and place them on the refig., they are bound to go there sooner or later.
(2) use a soap bar and write your romantic message on the bathroom mirror. It won't do damage to mirror and is easy to get off with a little water.
by Nicholas

10. Say it in a BIG way!
The other day I made a large envelope and a large note that said, "I love you in the biggest way!" I even went out on the Internet to download pictures of stamps and blew them up in size. Then I had the apartments where she lives call her to the office to pick up an "important" letter...

11. Book of Love
This is something I did for my boyfriend, and he loved it! I thought of My ten favorite things about him, then wrote a letter about each one and how much it meant to me. I put all the letters (after I'd spent tons of time perfecting and decorating them) together into a little book, and give it to him for our anniversary. Big success!!

12. Letter a day...
If your loved one is going away for vacation or a short trip, take a pink colored notepad and for each day that he's gone write a separate love letter, so that he can read one everyday and be close to you. (I tried it-- and it worked better than I thought!)
Submitted by Loving

13. Love Letter Ideas
I like to send my boyfriend a letter (snail mail) every week. However, I want every letter to be as new and exciting as for him as the first, so I try to be creative. Some ideas:
- send a letter in a bottle (be extra careful with the packaging so it won't break)
-write a letter on the back of a 100 piece jigsaw puzzle, then take it apart and let them put it together
-instead of sending a written letter, send a video cassette of yourself telling everything you want your special person to know.
14. Love Letter Ideas
I've found that one way to easily make an ordinary letter or package more special for somebody, is to decorate the package or envelope that you're sending. When one of my loves sent me a teddy bear, she lined the inside of the box with gift wrapping paper, and I still cherish that box to this day. If you've got a letter you wanna decorate, and you're not a good artist, then get some stickers. Too many of us forget about stickers after about grade school, but you can attach a cute or lovable sticker to anything at all, and whatever it touches will become special. A lot of restaurants and stores will have sticker dispensers that have those shiny, metallic stickers, they are superb. But don't just get the envelope, hit the letter itself, and be sure to perfume those pages. Perfumed pages are incredibly sensual. A good way to accomplish this is to put perfume on your wrist before you start writing. As your wrist moves across the paper, it'll be scented. Yet another thing you can do to make a letter more romantic is to write something on the flap, so the first thing your love sees when they open the envelope is an, "I love you" or something else. Before they even begin reading, they'll already be smitten with love.

15. In A Different Language
Write your loved one a long, romantic, handwritten letter in a different language (friends come awfully handy if you don't know that much). Give it to him/her with something you treasure (in my case, he gave me his lucky pen). They'll have a memorable time getting the letter translated, and they'll be inspired to do the same. *smile*
Submitted by Gemma

16. Laundry Surprise
If your loved one does your laundry, write a love letter and leave it in a pocket. On laundry day he/she will find it while checking for forget me's. Make sure to write his/her name on it so he/she will read it, not just toss it in the waste.

17. Word Power
When sending your loved one a card or letter, handwrite a word find puzzle on the envelope with the words "I Love You" hidden and ask her to find the hidden phrase. Nice little treat!

18. A Simple Letter of Love
A simple letter to show them how you feel usually makes them smile. My boyfriend and I are in high school and we were kind of fighting. Well, one day I went all day without seeing him at all. When school got out he was waiting for me by the doors and he handed me a letter and told me to open it. I opened it and all the way down the paper it said, "I love you." Then at the very bottom it said, "Hope this makes up for the times when I didn't say I love you or it didn't seem like I did. I'll always love you a million times more than what you think." I looked up and he kissed me right in front of his friends and sister. It was so sweet! See what a simple letter can do to make things better?

19. I Love You Blanket
Find out his favorite colors and make him a blanket preferably fleece and on one side using felt letters write something like "cover you in kisses" or "I Love you" or "Wrapping you in my love" or something like that. I'm giving it to my BF for christmas I hope it goes well!

20. Rescue Me!
I did this for my boyfriend and I's 1st anniversary, He loved it. OK, I got a big glass bottle with a cork on top. You glue sand on the out side, make sure that it looks like the bottle has been laying on the sand for a very long time. and glue shells,sea weed etc. Then some how get some one to draw you. (make sure you like) Then write a nice letter about how you two got together and how you feel now. Then roll the papers up and place then in the bottle. Oh an extra tip.. drop some perfume on the cork. Enjoy!
Submitted by Emily Aguilar

21. A Letter To Remember
Before your wedding write a letter to your husband to be and have them write one to you. Write about anything. But, focus on your relationship with that person. Then put both letters in a safe deposit box. On your 25th anniversary exchange letters that you wrote to each other.

22. A Ransom Note
Champagne, games, and roses are nice but can get very boring after a while. Instead, get creative and do something off the wall. My girlfriend has this stuffed animal that she adores and keeps on her bed. So I decided to kidnap the stuffed animal making a ransom note from cutting letters out of the news paper.In the letter it said " give me a McDonalds cheeseburger and a six pack of beer or your stuffed pig is pork." Then I took a picture of it on a plate with an apple by it and a fork and knife by the edge of the plate. I then placed the ransom letter and picture on her door. Of course when she saw it she new it was me but we had a fun time with it. She would make playful and sarcastic comments and of course I played back. Needless to say I gave the stuffed animal back making myself look like the hero and she rewarded me with a nite of love. However, your mate must have a good sense of hummor or you might spend the nite on the couch.

23. Candy Bar Card
For my boyfriend's birthday, I got a big poster board and I wrote him a letter using candy bars. It said things like you're better than the Three Musketeers, and meet me at 5th Avenue so I can see your Whatchamacalit. Then at the end I put little hugs and kisses. He absolutely loved it and still has it.

24. Covered In Love
Write a surprise love letter to your significant other on a bed sheet (the one you use to cover up with).

25. Butterflies
I was getting ready to go out with an old girlfriend I had not seen in five years. I was waiting for her to show up at my apartment and was very nervous. When she arrived I couldn't believe how beautiful she was, more than I had remembered. She looked wonderful. Anyway we had a spectacular evening of dinner and dancing. After she left that evening I couldn't stop thinking about her so I decided send her a letter the following week. The letter had small stickers of butterflies I had placed all over it with a message that read "These are the butterflies you gave me last Friday when I heard you walking up the steps to my apartment. I thought you might like them back." She absolutely loved it!!

26. An Overlooked I Love You
Once, when my boyfriend and I were having a rough time on a special day, I cut out nine small paper hearts, wrote one letter of "I LOVE YOU!" on each, and colored them pink and red. I put the hearts in an envelope with a sheet of paper. On the paper I had made outlines of the hearts (from when I colored them) with nine overlooked reasons why I love him, one in each.

27. Message In A Bottle
For our one year anniversary, I wanted to do something special for my boyfriend, but I wasn't sure what to do. Then, while shopping at a craft store, I came upon a beautiful, blue bottle with a cork. Inspired by the recent movie, "Message in a Bottle", I wrote my boyfriend a three page letter reviewing the past year, and expressing my everlasting love for him. Then I tied the letter with a ribbon, put it in the bottle, put the cork in tightly, and then dated it. When I give it to him, he won't be allowed to open it...he will have to wait until the following year. A year later, as he opens the bottle from the previous year, he will be presented with another message in a bottle. Hopefully, we will be together long enough so that he will eventually have many, many bottles!! :)

28. Being There For Your Love!
Write your love a love letter using kiddie stickers that say things like "terrific" or "top notch" or the like. It's a colorful way to spice up an ordinary love letter and will be sure to make his/her day that you put in the extra time.

source by :love letters

Nelson Mandela

A towering figure in 20th century history, Nobel Laureate Nelson Mandela showed how wisdom and patience can triumph over bigotry and brute force. Truly the Father of a Nation.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was the son of one of South Africa's leading dignitaries, Chief Henry Mandela of the Tembu Tribe, and it was as a young law student that he became involved in political opposition to the white minority regime. Joining the African National Congress (ANC) in 1942, he co-founded its more dynamic Youth League two years later.

The 1948 election victory of the Afrikaner-dominated National Party led to the apartheid system of racial segregation becoming law. Mandela rose to prominence in the ANC's 1952 Defiance Campaign and the 1955 Congress of the People, whose adoption of the Freedom Charter provided the fundamental programme of the anti-apartheid cause.

Initially committed to non-violent mass struggle and acquitted in the marathon Treason Trial of 1956-1961, Mandela and his colleagues accepted the case for armed action after the shooting of unarmed protesters at Sharpeville in March 1960 and the banning of anti-apartheid groups.

In 1961, he became the commander of the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe. In August of the following year, he was arrested and jailed for five years. In June 1964, he was sentenced again, this time to life imprisonment, for his involvement in planning armed action.

He started his prison years in the infamous Robben Island Prison, a maximum security facility on a small island off the coast of Cape Town. In April 1984, he was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town and in December 1988 he was moved to the Victor Verster Prison near Paarl from where he was eventually released.

During his incarceration Mandela taught himself to speak Afrikaans and learned about Afrikaner history. He was able to converse with his guards in their own language, using his charm and intelligence to reason with them and try to understand the way they thought. This caused the authorities to replace the guards around regularly Mandela as it was felt that they could were becoming too lenient in their treatment of their famous prisoner.

While in prison, Mandela rejected offers made by his jailers for remission of sentence in exchange for accepting the Bantustan policy by recognising the independence of the Transkei region and agreeing to settle there. Amongst opponents of apartheid in South Africa and internationally, he became a cultural symbol of freedom and equality.

Mandela remained in prison until February 1990, when sustained ANC campaigning and international pressure led to his release. On 2 February 1990, South African President F.W. de Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC and other anti-apartheid organisations. Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison on 11 February 1990.

He and President de Klerk - who did much to dismantle the institutions of apartheid - shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. In Mandela's 1994 autobiography, 'Long Walk to Freedom', he did not reveal anything about the alleged complicity of de Klerk in the violence of the 1980s and 90s, or the role of his ex-wife Winnie Mandela in that bloodshed. However, he later discussed those issues in 'Mandela: The Authorised Biography'.

After his release, Mandela returned to the leadership of the ANC and, between 1990 and 1994, led the party in the multi-party negotiations that resulted in the country's first multi-racial elections. As the first black president of South Africa (1994 - 1999) he presided over the transition from minority rule and apartheid. He won praise for his leadership during this time, even from his former white opponents in South Africa.

Following his retirement as president in 1999, Mandela went on to become an advocate for a variety of social and human-rights organisations. He used his status as a respected elder statesman to give weight to pertinent issues, declaring the United States "a threat to world peace" in 2002 while calling on then president George W Bush not to launch attacks on Iraq.


Because his health was declining, Mandela chose to retire from public life in 2004 and went on to reduce his number of appearances, although he was too prominent a figure to disappear completely. His name has been used to promote charitable ventures close to his heart such as the Nelson Mandela Invitational charity golf tournament, which has raised millions of rand for children's charities since its establishment in 2000.

The fight against Aids is one of Mandela's primary concerns and he used his gravitas to raise awareness about the issue on the global stage. Having backed the 46664 Aids fundraising campaign, which was named after his prison number, he went on to call for more openness in discussing the condition. His son Makgatho Mandela died of Aids in 2005 and the statesman used the occasion to tell people that not hiding the condition, but talking about it, is the only way to break the stigma.

In 2007, he brought together elder statesmen, peace activists and human rights advocates including Kofi Annan, Jimmy Carter, Ela Bhatt, Gro Harlem Brundtland and Li Zhaoxing under a non-governmental organisation dubbed The Elders. The aim of the organisation was to combine the elders' collective wisdom and use it to solve some of the world's problems.

Although he spoke out less about issues affecting neighbouring country Zimbabwe in his retirement, Mandela attempted to persuade President Robert Mugabe to vacate office with some dignity in 2007. However, Mr Mugabe ignored him and hung on to power, leading Mandela to slam the "tragic failure of leadership" in June 2008 when Zimbabwe was in crisis following disputed presidential elections.

In November 2009, Mandela's contributions to world freedom were rewarded with a unique gesture by the United Nations General Assembly. The body announced that his birthday, 18 July, would be known as Mandela Day. The recipient of hundreds of awards and honorary recognitions, including the Nobel Peace Prize, Mandela continues to exert influence on the world even without being actively involved in issues.

His last public outing was during the closing ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Johannesburg. In January 2011, Mandela was hospitalised, prompting concerns about the health of the 92-year-old statesman. The Nelson Mandela Foundation revealed that he was in Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, although it said his life was not in jeopardy. He was allowed home after a couple of days and was transported home, where he leads a quiet retirement.

On 18 July 2012, Mandela's 94th birthday, 12 million schoolchildren across South Africa honoured him with a specially composed song to mark the day. Meanwhile, Mandela celebrated quietly at home with his family.

Mandela has been married three times, including a 38-year marriage to politician Winnie Madikizela, who was his second wife. They wed in 1958 and had daughter Zenani the same year. Their second daughter Zindzi was born in 1960. His youngest daughter was just 18 months old when he was sent to prison.

Nelson and Winnie separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. His first marriage to Evelyn Mase had also ended in divorce in 1957 due to his devotion to revolutionary agitation.

They had been together for 13 years and had four children together including Thembi, who was born in 1946. He died in a car crash in 1969 at the age of 23 and Mandela was not allowed to go to the funeral as he was in jail. Their first daughter Maki, who was born in 1947, died at just nine months old and the couple named their second daughter in 1953 in her honour. Makgatho was born in 1950.

On his 80th birthday he married Graca Machel, widow of the late Mozambican president Samora Machel. The couple now live at his home in Qunu.

Mandela spent more time in hospital towards the end of 2012, suffering from a lung infection and gallstones. He was discharged a few days before New Year and started 2013 at home surrounded by his family.

ICC announced 5 new rules

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

April Fools' Day: Origin and History

April Fools' Day, sometimes called All Fools' Day, is one of the most light-hearted days of the year. Its origins are uncertain. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the seasons, while others believe it stems from the adoption of a new calendar.
New Year's Day Moves

Ancient cultures, including those of the Romans and Hindus, celebrated New Year's Day on or around April 1. It closely follows the vernal equinox (March 20th or March 21st.) In medieval times, much of Europe celebrated March 25, the Feast of Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year.

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (the Gregorian Calendar) to replace the old Julian Calendar. The new calendar called for New Year's Day to be celebrated Jan. 1. That year, France adopted the reformed calendar and shifted New Year's day to Jan. 1. According to a popular explanation, many people either refused to accept the new date, or did not learn about it, and continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1. Other people began to make fun of these traditionalists, sending them on "fool's errands" or trying to trick them into believing something false. Eventually, the practice spread throughout Europe.
Problems With This Explanation

There are at least two difficulties with this explanation. The first is that it doesn't fully account for the spread of April Fools' Day to other European countries. The Gregorian calendar was not adopted by England until 1752, for example, but April Fools' Day was already well established there by that point. The second is that we have no direct historical evidence for this explanation, only conjecture, and that conjecture appears to have been made more recently.
Constantine and Kugel

Another explanation of the origins of April Fools' Day was provided by Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University. He explained that the practice began during the reign of Constantine, when a group of court jesters and fools told the Roman emperor that they could do a better job of running the empire. Constantine, amused, allowed a jester named Kugel to be king for one day. Kugel passed an edict calling for absurdity on that day, and the custom became an annual event.

"In a way," explained Prof. Boskin, "it was a very serious day. In those times fools were really wise men. It was the role of jesters to put things in perspective with humor."

This explanation was brought to the public's attention in an Associated Press article printed by many newspapers in 1983. There was only one catch: Boskin made the whole thing up. It took a couple of weeks for the AP to realize that they'd been victims of an April Fools' joke themselves.
Spring Fever

It is worth noting that many different cultures have had days of foolishness around the start of April, give or take a couple of weeks. The Romans had a festival named Hilaria on March 25, rejoicing in the resurrection of Attis. The Hindu calendar has Holi, and the Jewish calendar has Purim. Perhaps there's something about the time of year, with its turn from winter to spring, that lends itself to lighthearted celebrations.
Observances Around the World

April Fools' Day is observed throughout the Western world. Practices include sending someone on a "fool's errand," looking for things that don't exist; playing pranks; and trying to get people to believe ridiculous things.

The French call April 1 Poisson d'Avril, or "April Fish." French children sometimes tape a picture of a fish on the back of their schoolmates, crying "Poisson d'Avril" when the prank is discovered.

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