Monday, December 13, 2010

Unofficial Top 10 Holiday Songs

So we had a little voting session for the top 10 holiday songs. Over 100 different submissions, over a span of about five days...here are the results. Some really interesting votes and songs that I have never heard before. I included links for each song, as well as links to different versions of the song. So pass this blog along to your friends and family and help them waste some time at work listening to these goodies.

10. Rocking around the Christmas Tree



9. Santa Baby

Eartha Kitt - Original

Madonna

Remix

8. Baby it's cold outside

Dean Martin Version

Glee Version

Remix

7. I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas


6. Happy Christmas (War is over)

John Lennon

Remix

5. White Christmas

Drifter's Version

Bing Crosby Version

DJ Sascha Amos Versio

4. Little Drummer Boy

Original Version

Remix

3. Silent Night

Bill Crosby Version

Cat Version

2. Carol of the Bells

Celtic Woman Version

TSO Version

Regular Version

1. O Holy Night

7 Year Old Version

Mariah Carey Version

Josh Groban Version

Honorable Mentions

1. Grandma got run over by a reindeer
2. Mary did you know
3. Fairytale of New York
4. All I want for Christmas is you
5. The Christmas Song (Nat King Cole)

Friday, December 10, 2010

Leak of the Week #1 - Sex Scandal

Hey Everyone,

I cannot stress how important it is to read and follow along with the Wikileak updates. Everyday more and more leaks come out. There are about 250,000 leaks total; only 1300 have been released.

http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/wikileaks_reveals_us_tax_dollars_fund_child_sex_slavery_in_afghanistan

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/12/wikileaks_texas_company_helped.php

http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2009/06/09KABUL1651.html (paragraphs 1, 5 and 6)

I posted links to two articles about this, as well as a link to the actual wikileak cable itself.

So what happened? There is a company called DynCorp that was used to train Afgahn police. It has been disclosed by the company how they are funded: about 95% of its 2 billion annual revenue comes from US taxpayers money. Lets stop right there for a moment.... If I had the ability to pick and chose where my taxes went, it sure as hell would not be DynCorp. Let me write out that number: $2,000,000,000.00. Yea, that's a lot of zeros. But thats not the biggest issue.

DynCorp used some of that money to throw a party for the trainees. No problem... I understand they worked hard and need to have some rewards. Maybe a little cheese and meat platter, some music, perhaps even a riveting game of boulderdash....oh and don't forget the little boys.

They threw a party where entertainment for the evening were bachi bazi boys. Money was paid to their pimps to have boys, ages 12 - 15 come to the party and dance for these men. The boys would be dressed in scantly female outfits and where then bid on. The winner would then take the boy for the night in order to have sex with them. There was a journalist who was working on disclosing this information, but if you look at the articles and the leaks, you can see that they obviously wanted this information to be covered up.

Saturday, December 04, 2010

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays: a series I started on Facebook, which will continue, as long as I find the appropriate photographs to add.....


Now, I understand why I got a bottle of Grey Goose when I was 3 years old...thanks Santa?



In Soviet Union, presents open you.

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Greetings

Hello you malchoks and devachkas,

It has been quite some time since you've last read me....

The escapades and the procrastination sort of fused with one another. Coming home from an investigation or from the office, leaves you feeling drained and uncreative. Falling into a slump I've indulged my mind with your typical TV shows and video games.

Thank god for Xander, otherwise I don't think I would have any reason to leave the house. Below you guys will find the group photos from FTX in various shapes and sizes. Download appropriately; don't worry there's enough for everyone.

Wide Version
Standard - Minute
Standard - Neutral

Standard - Full

The recent WikiLeak release has sparked some active discussion. Some go so far as labeling Julian as a terrorist. Terrorist is an interesting label; the action of terrorizing through violence or threats for political purposes. Already it leaves a negative taste on my tongue. But why are we so hellbent on covering up the truth? Is it the fear of admitting that we were wrong, or that we used our power to take advantage of the underprivileged?

What's funny is that the media is reporting about this, but they are not. Why not read through some of these leaks and pick out the ones that the people need to be made aware of. Instead we are focusing on him being a terrorist and most recently that Amazon dropped the WikiLeaks servers. yea....I really care about that.

I stumbled upon this TED video of an interview the the founder of WikiLeaks. Though fairly long, its really interesting.

Till next time,
Serg



Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween Everyone! Enjoy these vintage halloween costumes.



Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Group Photos Due

Here are the group photos due from our Western State Field Trip Event, as well as the Open House we just had. Thank you everyone for coming and for the support. I will be uploading parts of my lecture on my blog of my discussion of spiritual photographs later on this week.


Tuesday, September 21, 2010

TED Tuesday's - Derek Sivers

Hello everyone and welcome back to the ever so exciting TED Tuesday's. Derek Sivers has a way of educating and inspiring in short bursts. The topic for this lecture details how it might be better to keep your goals a secret initially. I couldn't help but fall into level of self-realization that this applies to me heavily. Often times, at least that I can recount, I tend to not follow through with some of my eccentric ideas that have been stated out loud.

http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_yourself.html

The final investigation for September creeps up in a few days and I have a couple of goals in mind... hopefully, you guys have some goals for the week as well...but don't tell me; not a word now.

The Sunday Fall Collection
i went out to regain some photographic creativity by exploring my macro nature shooting technique. as fall approaches be prepared for some vibrant colors and unexpected ideas.





Friday, September 10, 2010

Healed up and ready to go


As you guys can see, part of the image is extremely over-exposed because I had my desk light on. The reason it was giving me an error was because I was moving the camera a little too fast. I am curious to see how this works during the day.



Panoramic shots when Serg was a young'n







Monday, September 06, 2010

VLOG TIME

Sorry for the low volume everyone....perhaps headphones are in order for this episode.


Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Traveling

Arg....my memory card from my camera won't upload the photos to my computer. This makes me a sad Serg. Felt crazy exhausted last night, especially since we had to set up tech a night early. But it is amazing what a good nights sleep can do for you. I am ready to go out there and take photos, photos, photos....

How has everyones week going so far?

The thing that sucks about being gone for so long, especially when you do three investigations back to back, is that it gets hard to keep in touch with your loved ones. After I finally get some downtime, I tend to want to spend it by myself; to unwind, de-stress, relax. Furthermore, I've noticed that I've picked up some bad habits, which I need to start disciplining myself not to do and encourage doing things like stretching. My upper back is carrying a lot of stress and it needs to go.

But that is enough venting on my end. I am off to blow the next investigation out of the water....but first some green tea.

Cheers,
Serg

Here is an awesome photo I stumbled upon, while browsing the net.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Restarting...

initiate reboot
(code 43)

.............dialing WOL network....
establishing connection.........

connection brokem....
reestablishing connection......

Connected!

On Monday it will be Eilfie Music's birthday. She's truly one amazing person.



Happy Birthday Eilfie


Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Conneaut Lake Group Photo


The promised group photo....thank you for your patience.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Society Now!

Welcome to Society Now.

The advent of technology continues to revolutionize our world, but at what price? I believe what has been the greatest benefit, comes with unrealized consequences.

But thats what happens when society is built on a mentality of now, instead of later: fast food, emails, video streaming. The generation of waiting is slowly disappearing; patience along with it. I find it frustrating sometimes when I have to wait for my computer to start up. Imagine that...an entire minute or two and I am complaining how long its taking.

During a talk by Carl Honore, on slowing down he made an interesting point. The way we look at time reflects how we spend it. Now breaking this thought down, we get two beliefs: either time is cyclical, or time is linear. The thought of time being cyclical gives us a sense of death and rebirth. A sense of renewal in the day, in the body and the mind. There seems to be something organic about this idea. Now, the linear time line is filled with limitations. The arrow of time moves through past, present and future; unfortunately there is no way of going back to the past. Concentrating on this belief, we start to compress as many activities as possible into our days.

Once we start compressing our days, we see chores in things that shouldn't be chores: a family dinner without the tv being on, a walk through the park with a dog, a phone call with a long-distance friend, reading a bedtime story to your child, etc. Now looking at our lifestyle....is this healthy? What's in store for us in the future? When fast food becomes faster? When emails just take too long? When teleportation is delayed by a millisecond?

How do you view time? Most of Western ideology lives in a linear time line. Unfortunately for us, the Delorean is not able to go back to the future, nor the past for that matter. We live in a world without a Delorean, and for good reason we will continue to do so. Instead we live with quotes that tell us to make the most out of our day. Making the most out of your day doesn't mean you need to fill it with every imaginable activity.

Its interesting to see countries in Europe trying something new. There are businesses that operate on 25 - 30 hour a week days. They are finding that their employees are more productive then then most 40+ hour businesses and their employees are much happier.

Fortunately for us, our future is in our hands. Bring the speed dial down once in while. We end this post with a quote from Ferris Bueller: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once a while, you could miss it."

Time for the a cup of the ol' green,
Serg

Monday, May 24, 2010

Rest Time

No vlog tonight....yes yes I know, sad face. Hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend. I went hiking today and it was amazing. I might have to make it a repeat event.

Have a great week everyone,
Serg

Monday, May 17, 2010

Symmetrical Visions

We take a break from the traditional TED videos to go into a discussion of symmetry and how you can apply it to some of your snapshots to create images that will blow your friend's and family's mind. Seriously, be careful who you show this to...this isn't your grandma's sewing circle kind of stuff, unless grandma's sewing circle drops LSD while crocheting to Tool.

Now the basic theory of symmetry is represented will with Da Vinci's naked man, or more appropriately known as Vitruvian Man. The Vitruvian Man was supposed to symbolize perfection, and in a way the symmetrical figure does. I don't care how much acid your grandma shares with me, while she is playing Spores, but if I see a creature with a head for its arm, an arm sticking out of the middle chest and three right feet, I know its time to quit her sewing circle. Something as chaotic as that should stay locked up in my subconscious and does not need to manifest into reality.

In some way, the idea of symmetry puts the mind at ease. Humans are born to find patterns in chaos and so, we can apply this concept to transform boring snapshots into some unique forms of art. Now, remember we are adding a dash of creativity here. If your photo....whats the politically correct word I'm looking for...sucks, then now matter how much post processing you apply to it, it might be better that you let it drift into the photographic underworld.

When I first read up on applying this concept to my photographs, I won't lie to you, I went a little overboard. So much so, that I didn'tbother with this technique for close to four years.

Original and the LSD Version



That last one used to be cloud.....

So how does one create such monstrosities? Well with any simple piece of photo editing software, you take part of the image and copy it. You can copy exactly half of the image, or get creative and maybe take a third of the image. Once you copy your selection, paste it and flip it horizontally or vertically...depending on your selection. Then align it so that two pieces form a symmetrical fit. You can then chose to repeat this or retry it, if for some reason it doesn't seem right.

But once you start playing with you, you can actually start creating some pretty interesting photos.




Link to my Symmetrical Visions Portfolio: LINK

Have Fun and dna nuF evaH

Sunday Vlog Episode #10

Split the video into two files....when I went off on a rant, I had no idea that I put this vlog into the 18 minute mark.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

TED Tuesday - Eric Mead

A magician tackles the interesting theory of the placebo effect. The placebo effect is interesting because it shows a unique role the brain can play on a person's health. The power of thinking that something is real can be strong enough to have direct physiological change on your body. Blood is involved with the magic trick that he presents, so if you get uneasy turn away or don't watch the video all the way through.

http://www.ted.com/talks/eric_mead_the_magic_of_the_placebo.html


IN OTHER NEWS:

I hope to develop the film from the disposable cameras today. I will write up more about how the project originated and what the results are. Its still a little early to gauge this as successful or not. Back to the rainy day, the office work and a cup of green tea.

Cheers,
Serg

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Tonight

Quick update....

Been really busy at the office lately...but wanted to drop by and give a quick update that I will be on Paranormal Insider tonight. Paranormal Insider is something we started to stream live video to our fans where we discuss various topics on the paranormal, interview authors, experts and spiritual leaders on their views and give the latest news on the paranormal.

So tonight, I will be talking about some of the photographs I took and give them more of a back story.

http://www.paranormalresearchsociety.org/paranormalinsidertv.php
10 PM EST

Hope everyone is excited for the weekend,
Serg

Monday, April 19, 2010

TED Tuesday - Derek Sivers

Today's TED Tuesday brings us Derek Sivers. Seems like a really chill guy with a knack for interesting observations. Each video is about 3 minutes long, so a nice break from the day to day boring stuff.

http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_weird_or_just_different.html

I've also uploaded two new episodes of the photo critic to vimeo; I just created an album there and made a side link on my blog for easier access. http://vimeo.com/album/212904

Cheers,
Serg

Oh man... I just realized that its 4/20 in 9 minutes....prepare for another 4/20 related post at sometime for celebratory purposes.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Sunday Break

Hey everyone,

The past week has been rather busy for me, so I am taking a Sunday break from "Night Vlog." Time to recollect my thoughts, go over some future plans and hope for the best in others. A nice break at barnes and noble will be exactly what the doctor ordered to destress. Time for a shower and a start to a peaceful day. Sorry folks, definitely no vlogs in the shower.

Be strong, believe,
Serg

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Photo Critic 1-4

Photo Critic 1


Photo Critic 2


Photo Critic 3


Photo Critic 4

Monday, April 12, 2010

Sunday Vlog Episode #7



POST EDIT
Anyone else see only 3 comments when there are five listed?

Friday, April 09, 2010

The Front Fell Off

I don't mean to poke fun at something that should be taken serious, but here is a video of a Senator Collins, a member of the Australian Parliament reassuring the citizens that everything is under control. I can't help but think of Monty Python when watching this...



Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Ted Tuesday - Kirk Citron "Long News"

Hey Everyone,

We return to Ted Tuesday with a short discussion by Kirk Citron. He raises an interesting philosophical question: How many of todays news headlines will be remembered for years to pass? Clearly there is a difference between how many sales the iPad broke and the recent leak by Wikileaks of a helicopter gun-cam capturing the murder of Iraqi civilians. The sad thing, I somehow feel the later will fall into the void and become forgotten. That, however, is a totally different discussion of what this blog is intended for...but if it goes there...so be it.

Look back into the history that you remember. Not what you have read in the history books, but that which you have lived yourself. Looking back, what do you remember?

"... they've started doing DNA tests on kids to choose their careers."

Our good friend, LINKY

I guess though, it should not come down to a certain organization trying to find the most memorable news, but more about whether you are happy with the news YOU remember?

The thing that bothers me about news and the flow of information, is that it has become to dysfunctional and easily manipulated. Sometimes it is hard to choose which side to trust. But, thats the problem with sides. We pick a side and automatically go for the assumption that "we" are right and the "you" are wrong.

To philosophy and a cup of the ol'* green, cheers,
Serg

Cheers,
Serg


*ol' green - (n) green tea that has been steeping till it reaches room temperature; cold green tea. Sentence: The ol' green tasted delightfully bitter after steeping for four hours.

Friday, April 02, 2010

New Photos uploaded on site

Short blog action on this Friday afternoon. Just got into the PRS office and wanted to drop some blog love before I head into a meeting where we talk about Jung's Conception of the Structure of Personality in Relation to Psychical Research.....yea thats a mouthful.

I did manage to upload a new portfolio on my site: Zen in Nature

Anyone doing anything fun this weekend? Seems like the weather is getting better and better each day. I hope to explore a new park that is maybe half an hour away from here.

Well folks...off to the meeting...

Cheers,
Serg

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Gettysburg Field Trip

Hey Everyone,

Sorry I missed out on some of the traditions of this blog, but for those that are unaware, PRS and I held an event at Gettysburg. The entire trip was a blast and everyone was awesome. Thank you to everyone that came out.

First lets start off with some video action. Some of the PRS members decided to pull a prank on one of our friends, Alan....enjoy. Sadly, I was not there, otherwise...there would have been photos.


Enjoy these group photos, you field trippers. I know I have a bad habit of posting them up rather late.



Unfortunately, I wasn't able to snap as many photographs as I wanted, I did take some that I am happy to share.

Anna Bell, the creepy doll that was demonically possessed.

Rene - a gentleman man of sorts. This doctor resides in Gettysburg and awaits his son to return from war.

Sam - wife to a general. She longs for the war to be over so that she can give her children a chance for a better life.

Cheers,
Serg

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Inspired Wednesday's - Carl Jung

Hey everyone,

I have become more and more interested with Carl Jung's works. I wanted to share a piece of video that I found that I was able to connect and understand.



"They all seek their own existence and to assure their existence against that complete atomization into nothingness or into meaninglessness. Man cannot stand a meaningless life."

"The only real danger that exists is man himself." "...because we are the origin of all coming evil."

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Sunday Vlog Episode #5

Hey Everyone,

You may be reading this and thinking...wait a minute...something is off. I am not supposed to be reading, but rather watching on Sundays. Well due to the the upcoming Gettysburg trip I am gonna have an interesting Sunday. Josh, Eilfie and myself are on duty to pick up some haunted artifacts for the event.

This will be an all day thing and I probably won't be back till late Sunday, but I will bring my video capturing devices and record some video for you all. I will try and post some twitter pics as well.

Also, I am excited to share with you, my dear readers, that my website is just about done. I need to add titles and descriptions to the photos, but that should not take long.


Peace,
Serg

Post-post



Thursday, March 18, 2010

Our United States of Corporation

Hey everyone,

Sorry the posts have been pretty light. Been rather busy. I have been saving these two images I've stumbled upon from the internet. Tell me what you think of them. Do you agree/disagree? How do they make you feel?




Tuesday, March 16, 2010

TED Tuesday - Edward Burtynsky

In stunning large-format photographs, Edward Burtynsky follows the path of oil through modern society, from wellhead to pipeline to car engine -- and then beyond to the projected peak-oil endgame.


LINK: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/edward_burtynsky_photographs_the_landscape_of_oil.html

His Website

Thanks for stopping by,
Serg

Post Edit

Blood pumps through our viens in much the same way as, oil pumps through the viens of our society. Nearly everything in our lives is made from oil, made by machines dependent on oil and transported by oil. With the increasing prices of oil, and the debate of whether or not, we have reached our peak oil, this is something we need to be aware of.

The United States consumes an average of 20 million barrels of oil per day (bbl/d, according to the Department of Energy. Of that, about 45 percent is used for motor gasoline. The rest is used for distillate fuel oil, jet fuel, residual fuel and other oils. Each barrel of oil contains 42 gallons (159 L), which yields 19 to 20 gallons (75 L) of gasoline. So, in the United States, something like 178 million gallons of gasoline is consumed every day


Sunday, March 14, 2010

Sunday Vlog Episode #4

Hey Everyone...

Holy crap; it took way to long to process this video blog. I guess I made the settings a little too good. My editing is till a bit choppy, but I am making due with what I have and my limited knowledge. Still working on figuring out color corrections and white balances. Also changed where the Sunday vlogs will be posted.




Thanks for watching, till next vlog,
Sergey

PS
I am thinking of changing this from Sunday Vlog, to Midnight Vlog with the way I've been posting these lately.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

51 Words - Your socks just got knocked off

BAM! Thats right folks....out of no where comes T AND TEN photos for the THE BILLION, GAJILLION WORD PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLANGE OF DOOM. Can you feel that? Yea...its your eyes setting on fire. This blog just exploded and there is nothing you can do. You can try and warn people not to come here, but its too late.....late....its late right now....what time is it....stop rambling and just put the damn photos....damn you voices in my head.

PARANORMAL

night time

Infested

Hunger

enchantment

sound

soul

SERGEY

Reflection

Mirror

Some critiques would be great. Don't hold back, I can always delete the comments that hurt my feelings. If you have any questions about specific photos, feel free to ask and I can try and get to them.