worldnewzenaration

WORLD'S SCARIEST ACCIDENTS

2013-09-30T18:54:00.002+05:30

Car Accident Next Steps

If you have been injured or lost a loved one in a car accident, we can help you with the process of recovery and ensure that you obtain the maximum compensation for your loss.
Receiving proper compensation for your loss is complicated in Ontario because of a hybrid system of insurance covering Accident Benefits as well as civil claims against the at-fault driver.
In many instances you, and in some cases your family members as well, will be entitled to a monetary award to compensate you for your injuries, your time off work, your health care costs and your other losses.
Talking to an experienced personal injury lawyer ensures that you are not taken advantage of by an insurance company. You need to be fully informed of your rights. We can help you make the best decision possible for you and your family.

Here are the highlights of the Northborough Police log for Friday and Saturday, courtesy of the Northborough Police Department:

On Friday, at 9:44 a.m., police assisted the fire department with a medical on Village Drive.

At 10:27 a.m., police assisted the fire department with a medical on Main Street.

At 10:41 a.m., police received a report from West Main Street of a motor vehicle accident with no injuries. McFee/Newton was requested for a tow.

At 12:48 p.m., police received a report from Hudson Street of a truck into the bridge. McFee/Newton was requested for a tow. Police issued a citation. The driver and passenger were taken to Marlborough Hospital.

At 6:07 p.m., police received a report from Shops Way of a motor vehicle accident.

At 6:38 p.m., police received a report from Shops Way of a child locked inside a vehicle. Access was gained.

At 7:05 p.m., police assisted the ambulance with a medical at Belmont Street/Route 9.

At 7:07 p.m., police assisted the ambulance with a medical on Joseph Road.

At 7:13 p.m., police assisted the fire department with an outside smoke condition on Shady Lane Avenue.

At 8:23 p.m., police received a report from Whitney Street of vandalism to a motor vehicle.

At 9:15 p.m., police received a report from West Main Street of a two-car motor vehicle accident with no injuries, McFee/Newton was requested for two tows.

At 10:09 p.m., police received a report from a parent of a possible underage drinking party on Dunia Lane. Police checked, and all of the youths were sober, and the officer spoke to the parents.

On Saturday, at 11:21 a.m., police assisted the fire department with a medical on West Main Street.

At 3:02 p.m., police received a report from West Main Street of a male causing a disturbance by swearing that his vehicle is disabled. Police spoke to the male.

At 4:11 p.m., police received a report from Ball Street of a two-car motor vehicle accident.

At 4:43 p.m., Wegman's staff reported to police concern for the well-being of an elderly man. Police say the man was reunited with his wife.

At 5:33 p.m., on Davis Street, police issued civil citations for possession of a Class D drug, and speeding.

At 11:13 p.m., police assisted the fire department with a medical on Brigham Street.

A SHORT STORY

Her right arm was broken. Both feet were held fast by a large piece of metal. She couldn’t feel her toes. Her feet were probably broken too. She bled profusely from a wound in her right calf. Blood pulsed in sync with her heartbeat. The floorboard carpet shone pink in the dull light of the interior as the stain spread out in a circle. She hit the bent steering wheel where the horn should have been but the only noise was the whoosh of powder escaping from the deflated airbag.

She couldn’t tell if the wound was a laceration or a puncture. Either would kill her if enough blood drained from her body. From the flow, it had to be a Class II hemorrhage. Her heart rate would soon increase rapidly and her blood pressure would drop.

The disadvantages and advantages of being a nurse. She had the disadvantage of knowing she was dying and the advantage of knowing how long she had to live. Not long at all from the look of the floorboard.
One headlight still shone on the sparse flora that survived in the dried up riverbed. A mist hovered below the illumination adding to the eerie scene. How far had the car fallen? A hundred feet? She had no idea, but it seemed to go on forever once she had driven over the edge.
It was Bill’s fault. No. It was Jesse’s fault.
The rear view mirror was relatively intact, just a small crack. She reached up with her left hand and focused it on the backseat. Emily wasn’t there. The car seat wasn’t there. Had she taken Emily with her? She was so faint she couldn’t even remember her own name. It was short. Four letters. Lara or Kara or Jane.
She had been upset and had driven away. She was angry with Bill. No, she was pissed off at him. He called her a whore. Does sleeping with another man make you a whore? What do they call a man when he sleeps with another woman?
The windshield was translucent or transparent. What was the difference between the two? The safety glass had fractured when the car slammed into the large boulder. She could see the light from the one headlight and fuzzy images of rocks and the smashed front end and something else. Something moving.
“Help,” she said, softer than she had intended. “Help me, please. I can’t move and I’m bleeding.” Whoever it was moved in front of what was left of the hood, blurry in the darkness outside the beam of light. And the light was dimming. Something was draining the battery.
Where was her cell phone? What time was it? The radio clock illuminated, though dimly. 3:32 a.m. No one would be on the highway. No one would see the dust on the auxiliary road she had accidentally turned off on, thinking of Bill and Jesse instead of concentrating on driving. The dirt had blocked her vision and by the time she slammed on the brakes, it was too late.
She found the phone on the passenger side floorboard. Three feet away but it might as well be a thousand. Her right arm was useless and her left couldn’t reach it. She would perish only three feet from rescue like someone dying of thirst just short of the oasis.

The thing outside moved again, as if it were pacing. She couldn’t make it out.

She looked again in the rear view mirror. Emily wasn’t there.
She stared down at the wound, just visible in the radio light. Blood gushed down her leg. She counted the throbs. Eighty beats per minute. She’d have to slow her heart rate or she’d die soon. She had to be calm. No one would search for her for hours. Bill didn’t care where she was and Jesse wouldn’t worry until the afternoon. By that time she’d be dead.
She looked in the rear view mirror. Emily wasn’t there.
The thing sat stationary on the bent hood. What was it? It moved closer to the windshield.
“Can you help me?”
No answer.
She found a pencil in the armrest cup holder. She stretched as far as she could toward the passenger seat floorboard. The pencil tapped against the cell phone. She sat back in the seat, exhausted from pain.
She thought she saw Jesse in the passenger side window. She had met him when she was a sophomore in high school. He was handsome, athletic, a football player, though extraordinarily shy for someone so popular. They would love each other until the end of time and would never leave each other’s side. Never. After high school, he would play in college and she would go to nursing school. They’d marry. They’d have children. Jesse joined the Army. Without a scholarship, he had no other choice. He shipped out to Iraq three years ago. She’d wait.
Two years ago, he came back. He had only one arm and one and a half ears. He was hideous. She left him. She married Bill. They had Emily. Two months ago, she bumped into Jesse. She still loved him no matter how he looked. They met and made love. Then they met again. And again. Two hours ago, Bill slapped her and kicked her out of her own home.
She looked in the rear view mirror. Emily wasn’t there.The thing reared back on it hind legs and slammed into the shattered window with its front paws. The windshield bent in a few inches toward her. She screamed. A coyote. Gray and growling, poking its nose through a small hole in the windshield, its teeth clicking. A smell of wet fur and rotted meat. She drove the pencil into its snout and screamed as the dog yelped and backed away. It violently shook its head from side to side until the pencil flew from his soft wet nose. He pounced again. The windshield held, but just.

Jesse pounded on the passenger side window with his stump. He screamed her name. Bill smashed him with a rock, bloodying the half ear.A rattlesnake slithered through the small hole in the windshield. The coyote backed off, just visible now in the brown glow of the headlight. The snake slid down the cockeyed steering wheel and onto her lap. It twisted its head to look into her eyes. She held her breath as it opened its jaw wide to flash its fangs.

“They’re lovely,” she said.
It grinned and coiled around her leg. It stopped at the wound and flicked its tongue under the mini blood fountain. Satiated, it slid to the floor.
Jesse crashed hard into the window and beat viciously at it with his good arm. Bill grabbed him around the neck in a stranglehold.
She saw the “On Star” button above the mirror. She had let the free subscription run out a year ago. But still. When she pushed the button, the radio lights went out and the headlight went dark.
The coyote reared up and then smashed through the windshield.
She looked in the rear view mirror. Emily wasn’t there.

IN DELHI_5

2013-09-28T11:08:00.003+05:30

Diwan-i-Khass

Agra Fort

The Diwan-i-Khass (Hall of Private Audience) was built in 1635 and was used to receive heads of state, ambassadors, and other diplomatic visitors to the Mugal court. The dome of the adjoining Musamman Burj is visible to the left.
The colonnade below the terrace level fronts a formal garden, the Anguri Bagh (Grape Garden). Underneath the terrace is a warren of rooms and chambers including hot-weather retreats and possibly a dungeon.

Diwan-i-Amm

Agra Fort
Built during the reign of Shah Jahan, the Diwan-i-Amm (Hall of Public Audience) was used for durbars, formal receptions in which the emperor would conduct state business while ceremoniously enthroned.

The citadel comprises a large number of fairy-like palaces: the Khas Mahal, the Shish Mahal, the octagonal tower of Muhammam Burj, as well as reception rooms: Diwan-i-Khas, built in 1637 and the many pillared Diwan-i-Am (Hall of Public Audience), constructed in 1628, under the reign of the luxury-loving Shah Jahan (1630-55). Within the palatial complex, there are two very beautiful mosques of white marble, the Moti Masjid or the Pearl Mosque, constructed in 1646-53 by Shah Jahan and the Nagina Masjid built under the reign of Aurangzeb (1658-1707).

AGRA FORT(4)

2013-09-27T10:54:00.002+05:30

Long Description

The Red Fort and the Taj Mahal bear an exceptional and complementary testimony to a civilization which has disappeared, that of the Mogul Emperors. Agra's history goes back more than 2,500 years, but it was not until the reign of the Mughals that Agra became more than a provincial city. Humayun, son of the founder of the Mogul Empire, was offered jewellery and precious stones by the family of the Raja of Gwalior, one of them the famous Koh-i-Noor. The heyday of Agra came with the reign of Humayun's son, Akbar the Great. During his reign, the main part of the Agra Fort was built.
The Red Fort of Agra is a powerful fortress founded in 1565 by the Emperor Akbar (1556-1605) on the right bank of the Yamuna; it is placed today on the north-west extremity of the Shah Jahan Gardens which surround the Taj Mahal and clearly form, with them, a monumental unity.
This bastioned fortress, with walls of red sandstone rising above a moat and interrupted by graceful curves and lofty bastions, encompasses within its enclosure walls of 2.5 km, the imperial city of the Mogul rulers. Like the Delhi Fort, that of Agra is one of the most obvious symbols of the Mogul grandeur which asserted itself under Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan.
The wall has two gates, the Delhi Gate and the Amar Singh Gate. The original and grandest entrance was through the Delhi Gate, which leads to the inner portal called the Hathi Pol or Elephant Gate. But now the entrance to the fort is only through the Amar Singh Gate.
The citadel comprises a large number of fairy-like palaces: the Khas Mahal, the Shish Mahal, the octagonal tower of Muhammam Burj, as well as reception rooms: Diwan-i-Khas, built in 1637 and the many pillared Diwan-i-Am (Hall of Public Audience), constructed in 1628, under the reign of the luxury-loving Shah Jahan (1630-55). Within the palatial complex, there are two very beautiful mosques of white marble, the Moti Masjid or the Pearl Mosque, constructed in 1646-53 by Shah Jahan and the Nagina Masjid built under the reign of Aurangzeb (1658-1707).
Several of the buildings are made from pure marble with beautiful carvings; all of these monuments mark the apogee of an Indo-Muslim art strongly marked by influences from Persia which already manifested itself in Timurid art.
Emperor Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal, was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb in Agra Fort, from which he had a view of the building erected for his deceased wife. Shah Jahan is said to have died in the Musamman Burj, a tower with a beautiful marble balcony.

Interior Bracketing

Jahangiri Mahal, Agra Fort
The ornate, sinuous carving and pendants on the brackets are typical of early Mughal style, much of which derives from Hindu forms. Additional examples of this type are seen in Fatehpur.

Musamman Burj

Agra Fort

On the east side of the fort, this octagonal pavilion looks out across the Jumna River and countryside, and downstream to the Taj Mahal. It is said to be the tower where Shah Jahan was imprisoned. Next to the Burj in the photo left foreground is the rear of the Khass Mahal and its adjoining pavilions. Below are fortifications and the riverbank. The river was originally higher, reaching up to the base of the walls.

Inner Chamber

Mussaman Burj, Agra Fort
The inner chamber of Musamman Burj is exquisitely worked in marble decorated with pietra dura (colored stone inlay). At the bottom of the photo is the lip of the basin of an elaborate sunken marble fountain.

Pavilion

Agra Fort
This is one of two pavilions flanking the Khass Mahal (left). Its curving bangla roof imitates the shape of Bengali thatched huts, in one of the characteristic styles of 17th century Mughal building. The pavilion overlooks the Jumna river to the east (photo rear).

Khass Mahal

Agra Fort
The Khass Mahal (Private Pavilion) dates from 1636. This was probably a multifunction room that could have been used for various kinds of gatherings, or even for sleeping.

AGRA FORT GATES & MAHAL -1(3)

2013-09-26T10:57:00.001+05:30

Amar Singh Gate

Agra Fort

The gate was originally tiled. Although the colorful tile has been lost, The inlay patterns remain in the stone into which they were set. For defensive reasons, this gate is placed perpendicular to the walls. After passing through here, the visitor has to enter yet another gate, the Akbari Darwaza, before reaching the inside of the fort.

Jahangiri Mahal

Agra Fort
This palace takes its name from Jahangir, but was built by Akbar sometime between 1560 and 1580. Lacking ground-story windows, it might have been used as a zenana. The large bowl in front was carved in 1611 from a single block of porphyry; it is variously said to have been used as a cistern, or as Jahangir's bathtub.

IN DELHI Agra fort - 2

2013-09-26T10:42:00.000+05:30

Internal views of Agra fort

History Agra Fort was originally a brick fort, held by the Hindu Sikarwar Rajputs. It was mentioned for the first time in 1080 AD when a Ghaznavide force captured it. Sikandar Lodi (1488–1517) was the first Sultan of Delhi who shifted to Agra and lived in the fort. He governed the country from here and Agra assumed the importance of the second capital. He died in the fort at 1517 and his son, Ibrahim Lodi, held it for nine years until he was defeated and killed at Panipat in 1526. Several palaces, wells and a mosque were built by him in the fort during his period. Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya who won Agra in 1553 and again 1556 defeating Akbar's army After the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, Mughals captured the fort and seized a vast treasure, including the diamond later known as the Koh-i-Noor. The victorious Babur stayed in the fort in the palace of Ibrahim and built a baoli (step well) in it. The emperor Humayun was crowned here in 1530. Humayun was defeated at Bilgram in 1540 by Sher Shah. The fort remained with Suris till 1555, when Humanyun recaptured it. The Hindu king Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, also called 'Hemu', defeated Humanyun's army, led by Iskandar Khan Uzbek, and won Agra. Hemu got a huge booty from this fort and went on to capture Delhi from the Mughals. The Mughals under Akbar defeated King Hemu finally at the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556. Realizing the importance of its central situation, Akbar made it his capital and arrived in Agra in 1558. His historian, Abdul Fazal, recorded that this was a brick fort known as 'Badalgarh' . It was in a ruined condition and Akbar had it rebuilt with red sandstone from Barauli area in Rajasthan. Architects laid the foundation and it was built with bricks in the inner core with sandstone on external surfaces. Some 4,000 builders worked on it daily for eight years, completing it in 1573.[1] It was only during the reign of Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan, that the site took on its current state. Legend has it that Shah Jahan built the beautiful Taj Mahal for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Unlike his grandfather, Shah Jahan tended to have buildings made from white marble, often inlaid with gold or semi-precious gems. He destroyed some of the earlier buildings inside the fort in order to make his own. At the end of his life, Shah Jahan was deposed and restrained by his son, Aurangzeb, in the fort. It is rumored that Shah Jahan died in Muasamman Burj, a tower with a marble balcony with a view of the Taj Mahal. The fort was the site of a battle during the Indian rebellion of 1857, which caused the end of the British East India Company's rule in India, and led to a century of direct rule of India by Britain.

In DELHI AGRA FORT part 1

2013-09-25T10:50:00.002+05:30

ENTRANCE VIEW

CLOSE VIEWS OF ENTRANCE VIEW

PASSAGE OF AGRA FORT

A.R.RAHMAN JAGAO MERE DES KO FOR AUG 15

2013-08-14T19:49:00.002+05:30

A.R.RAHMAN JAGAO MERE DES KO FOR AUG 15

INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL

A.R Rahman creates the perfect tune for this Independence Day, fusing opposing styles of music and talent like only he can! Only the talent of the scale of A.R Rahman can find a middle ground, to introduce a heavily carnatic - influenced rhythm section, sitting under a funky guitar line -- all of which plays under the powerful vocals of Suchi & Blaaze. Together it creates a soundscape like nothing you've heard before. Witness this magic on Coke Studio@MTV -- Season 3. ZARIYA SONG BY A.R.Rahman
Giving a whole new spin to the term 'world music' -- A.R.Rahman spins his magic on an absolute scorcher, featuring Jordanian singer --Farah Siraj along with Nepalese Buddhist Nun Ani Choying. With the traditional Nepalese Buddhist hymn forming the base of the song, layered with a traditional Jordanian melody, and bridged seamlessly with composition written by A.R.Rahman, this song truly brings together diverse cultures and musical genres. Everything from the background vocals to Sivamani's percussion takes a big leap across musical styles and creates a storm of inspired rhythms, to give this track that extra flavour. Completely based around the theme of motherhood, compassion & ultimately happiness, this is the very first track of what promises to be an unforgettable Season 3 of CS@MTV!
Lyrics:

Tu Zariya, hun mein zariya (You're a path, so am I)
Aur uski kirpa, dariya dariya (And His compassion, like an ocean..an ocean)
Hain jo ankhiya nirmal, duniya nirmal (The world is pure, if pure is your vision)
Chalka..chalka, chhal chhal chhal chhal (Brimming o'er, brimming o'er, on and on)

Ho zuba koyeebhi (Whichever language, doesn't matter)
Bol dil se tu bol (When from the heart, words you utter)
Ya misri si ho (Like sugar maybe)
Ya shahad si ho (Or even like honey)

Anti al umm (You are the mother)
Anti il hayaa (You are the life)
Anti alhob (You are love)
Anti lee aldunya (You are the world to me)
Anti lee aldunya (You are the world to me)

Tu Zariya, hun mein zariya (You're a path, so am I)
Aur uski kirpa, dariya dariya (And His compassion, like an ocean..an ocean)
Hain jo ankhiya nirmal, duniya nirmal (The world is pure, if pure is your vision)
Chalka..chalka, chhal chhal chhal chhal (Brimming o'er, brimming o'er, on and on)

Reedaha, reedaha (I love her, I love her)
Kefima, reedaha (However it may be, I love her)
Teflatan ya halee (She is a young beauty)
Wil asaal reegaha (In her voice there is honey)

CRYSIS OR UDK

2013-08-14T19:38:00.003+05:30

WHICH IS BETTER CRY ENGINE OR UNREAL ENGINE

OR

I prefer UDK than Cryengine,
if Unreal engine 4 is out ,Cry engine 3 would get dominated
Cryengine is loaded with presets ,hence we feel it easier but its not compatible
No easier method of import of skeletal meshes into cryengine from 3dsmax or maya etc.,
But to say Cryengine is smoother than udk

I have worked with Unity,cryengine,UDk

Unity is for scripters,but not of well built graphics and lighting
Udk is having well built lighting & graphics and even supported to PS,iOS,PC,Android etc.,
Many games have been published by UDk than cryengine
Udk is totally free for study purpose & where it is not linked to net like Cryengine, We can work on it offline

But Cryengine has good method of saving assests or stuff into folders & easily organise to use it
Udk has no Stuff like that & Udk is of slow process than cryengine

Cryengine in performance is better than UDK but has no other platform support like UDK

Many people prefer Cryengine than UDK Because its Ease of use

As UDk is of old engine ,it has many tutorials than Cryengine & hence easy to learn
Both are having seperate scripting type such as kismet & flowgraph
flowgraph for cryengine
kismet for UDk
this help beginners to learn scripting easier ,its lot better than UNITY.

IN GRAPHICS
CRYENGINE greater than or equal to UDK> UNITY.

UDK/UNREAL ENGINE

2013-08-13T20:30:00.002+05:30

IMPORTING MODEL FROM SKETCHUP INTO UDK\

IMPORTING TRANSPARENT MATERIAL

trying to write game and hence importing models from sketch up , these are low quality textures
This was my first trail importing model into the sketch up.
Its a bridge and skyscaper.

The lighting is default,
The hardest thing is importing materials
sizes need to be 256*256 and to their powers

The Difference Between Texture and Material

If you’ve used UDK before, you may have noticed that you do not really use textures, or rather, you do not directly apply them to anything in your level. It seems somewhat strange at first, but materials are what you apply to your in-game assets, not textures. Materials are comprised of one or more 2D textures, which include the normal texture, normalmaps, specularity, etc. By combining several different texture files, a material is created that can now be applied to all of your assets and BSP. I will discuss how to create a material in UDK a little later on, but you will need to first create a texture that you will use. If you’d like to learn a bit more about materials and textures

Photoshop Is Your Friend

Unless you are perfectly happy with the texture you’ve found, it probably could use some tweaking to make it fit better into your level. My texture creation process begins with finding a base texture, one that I particularly like but might look too realistic or clean. I open up the base texture in Photoshop (a similar program will work just fine) and test it out to make sure that it tiles properly and fits the power of 2 restriction. If it doesn’t check out, you might want to find a new texture, or you can edit it until it checks out. Next, I find a few other textures to layer on top of the base texture. These include grunge or other textures that make the base texture look more worn. Usually the textures I find aren’t quite the right color I’m looking for, so I either create a new layer with the desired color or use the hue/saturation tool to get the right color. Tweaking textures to look perfect is going to take some time, especially if you’re a beginner, but by doing these fairly simple steps, you can quickly get better looking textures for your levels.

Importing into UDK

Before you import your new texture into UDK, be sure that it fits within the power of 2 rule, or it won’t even import. It should also be saved as a .png, .bmp, .psd, or .tga file type. To import, open up UDK and the content browser, and click the Import button at the bottom of the content browser. Find your texture and click open, which will bring up the import options window. There are a lot of different options you can select, but I won’t go into all of them this time. You do want to make sure the Package field is the same name as the package you want to import into, and when naming the texture, make sure that there are no spaces. There are a lot of different options you can select, but I won’t go into all of them this time. The two I usually select are “Create Material,” which will create a new material of the texture once imported, and “RGB to Diffuse,” which links the texture to the material’s diffuse color. After you’ve selected all of the desired options, click the OK button to import. Once imported, the content browser will open up the package you selected and show the new texture and the new material. The material will probably be the standard checkerboard right now, so to fix this, simply right click on the material and click “Recompile Material.” And you have now successfully imported your first texture and material into UDK! This is an easy way to import new textures, but if you’d like to learn some more in-depth tricks, I’d recommend checking out the UDN’s Content Creation guides; just scroll down to the Textures and Materials section.
I’m certainly no expert in creating textures, but this process is a quick way of getting a more fitting look for your levels. There are a lot of great texture artists out there, so if you’d like to learn more on creating your own textures, try checking them out for inspiration or find yourself some good tutorials. Texturing is an art itself, but it can be a useful skill to have as a level designer, especially for solo projects and prototypes. If you have any questions or have something you’d like to add, feel free!

In Photoshop:

1) Delete the Background layer (or set it to Transparent) – if you have texture info here, just copy it to a new layer first and then kill the background.

2) Setup your texture however you like on one or more layers like you would any other texture

3) Go to the Channels tab, and add a new alpha channel – this is where you’ll create a Mask which controls what parts to see or hide. Anything black is 100% see thru / anything white is 100% visible – obviously greyscales inbetween are semi-transparent. [A helpful trick is to Ctrl-click a layer to do a quick selection around anything drawn there - then back on the alpha channel you can do a quick flood fill]

4) Save the file as a 32-bit whatever … I myself prefer to use .TGA instead of .PNG but in the end it’s all going to be converted to DXT in the editor later anyway. The important part is that a 32-bit file will retain the alpha mask you made where others will not.

In UDK:

1) When you import your texture, just verify that "Compress No Alpha" is NOT checked. This is not checked by default – but if you accidently click it then you will again lose your alpha mask.

2) OK – here’s the iffy part. You can either import this as a texture sample for use in your own Material, and change all these settings in the Material itself. Or, you can use this as a raw texture asset called by code or maybe as a hud component etc which is NOT used in a Material – but then you have to set these settings in the Import dialog when you bring it into UDK. I wouldn’t recommend changing these at Import if you are going to also change them for the Material though.

- Blend Mode: The default is BLEND_Opaque … you’ll want to change this to something that supports transparency, such as BLEND_Masked. I’ve used BLEND_Translucent for my water and BLEND_Additive for our decals but couldn’t exactly say why those work … you may have to experiment.

- Lighting Model: The default is MLM_Phong … you probably dont want your HUD component to be affected by the map’s lighting (that’s kind of a cool idea though actually) – so set this to MLM_Unlit.

- Opacity: In the Material setup, connect the white tab on your texture sample (your alpha mask) to the Opacity tab. In the Import dialog, I think the option for "Alpha to Opacity Mask" does the same thing.

BTW – if you’re working on a material and can’t find these properties – click on the giant block everything connects into and check the properties window. They are in the Material sub-group.

Unreal engine 4 released

2013-08-11T22:20:00.001+05:30

Introducing Unreal Engine 4

As the world’s most advanced game engine, Unreal Engine 4 gives you the power to do more than ever before. Unreal Engine 4 offers a deep, intuitive toolset and low-level access to code, cutting down on development time and ensuring faster iteration on creative ideas. With a completely new rendering architecture, Unreal Engine 4 enables you to achieve high-end visuals, while remaining both scalable and accessible to make games for low-end systems.'

Tool & Feature Highlights

Bring your creative visions to life directly in-game without programmer assistance with Blueprint visual scripting. Blueprints enable you to easily build playable content without touching a line of code. Use Blueprints to author level, object and gameplay behaviors, modify user interface, adjust input controls and so much more.
Live Blueprint Debugging enables you to interactively visualize the flow of gameplay and inspect property values while testing your game. You can even freeze the game and inspect its state by setting breakpoints on individual nodes in your Blueprint graphs.
The all-new Code View saves time by allowing you to browse C++ functions directly on game characters and objects and then jump straight to source code lines in Visual Studio to make changes.
Make updates to gameplay code while the game is running with Hot Reload. This tool allows you to edit C++ code and see those changes reflected immediately in-game without ever pausing gameplay.
After an update is made, Instant Game Preview gives you the power to spawn a player and play anywhere in game without needing to wait for files to save.
You can also quickly debug and update gameplay behaviors when they happen through Simulate Mode. This tool lets you run game logic in the editor viewport and inspect AI as the game characters perform actions.
The Possess and Eject features allow you to play your game in-editor to easily “eject” from the player’s perspective at any time and take control of the camera to inspect anything that may not be behaving properly.
View your game in full-screen within the editing environment with the Immersive View tool. This allows programmers to complete iterations on gameplay changes without added UI clutter or distractions.
The new Persona animation system is built on top of the Blueprint visual scripting system, allowing you to construct animation behavior visually and blend movements together with its built-in state support.

ANOTHER VIDEOs FOR MORE UNDERSTANDING

UNREAL ENGINE 4 GAME TRAILERS

cryengine back now

2013-08-11T22:11:00.002+05:30

CryENGINE 3 Sandbox not working

This Site is Currently Offline

http://www.crytek.com/cryengine its back now

please check the link above

This Site is Offline before because they recently became aware of suspicious activity relating to some of Crytek's websites, and acted quickly to take those websites.

they recently became aware of suspicious activity relating to some of Crytek's websites, and acted quickly to take those websites offline for security reasons.
they thank you for your patience, and expect to have these sites fully operational soon.

MARIYAAN SONGS OUT NOW

2013-05-14T10:57:00.002+05:30

Mariyaan songs are out now in the market

5 of the 7 songs are out standing ,other 2 are also good

Mariyaan ~ 2013 ~ ACD-Rip ~ VBR ~ 320KPBS

click here to download ,but buy the original CD

A.R.Rahman Infinite love

2012-12-20T21:45:00.000+05:30

A.R.Rahman's INFINTE LOVE

Music And Concept By A.R.Rahman

The concept is a good one ,equating all the religions ,castes etc., indicating all are one .
Concept : Childrens from USA,Hong-kong,China,Tribal unite the continents into a love symbol shape single continent with the help of the cubes given by the outlander .........
Presented with a good song and editing.............

Erasing Tips,Compass Use

2012-12-17T18:27:00.000+05:30

Erasing Tips

In erasing, the idea is to remove an unwanted line or letter, not the surface of the paper or polyester film.
Erase only hard enough to remove the unwanted feature.However, you must provide enough pressure
to eliminate the feature completely. If the entire item does not disappear, ghosting results. A ghost is a line
that should have been eliminated but still shows on a print. Lines that have been drawn so hard as to make a
groove in the drawing sheet can also cause a ghost. To remove ink from vellum, use a pink or green eraser, or an electric eraser. Work the area slowly. Do not apply too much pressure or erase in one spot too long, or you will go through the paper. On polyester film, use a vinyl eraser and/or a moist cotton swab. The inked line usually comes off easily, but use caution. If you destroy the matte surface of either a vellum or film sheet, you will not be able to redraw over the erased area. Matte is a surface with some texture and is not glossy.

Compass Use

Keep both the compass needle point and the lead point sharp. The points are removable for easy replacement. The better compass needle points have a shoulder, which helps keep the point from penetrating the paper more than necessary. Compare the needle points in Remove excess graphite from the point with a tissue or cloth after sharpening. Sharpen the lead often. Some drafters prefer to use a conical compass
point. This is the same point used in a mechanical pencil. If you want to try this point, sharpen a piece
of lead in a mechanical pencil, and then transfer it to your compass. If you are drawing a number of circles from the same center, you will find the compass point causes an ugly hole in your drawing sheet. Reduce the chance of making such a hole by placing a couple of pieces of drafting tape at the center point for protection. There are also small plastic circles available for this purpose. Place one of the plastic circles at the center point, and then pierce the plastic with your compass point.

Architectural Drafting Equipment

2012-12-17T18:22:00.001+05:30

DRAFTING SUPPLIES
Whether equipment is purchased in a kit or by the individual tool, the following items are the minimum
normally needed for manual drafting:
● One mechanical lead holder with 4H, 2H, H, and F grade leads. This pencil and lead assortment allows
for individual flexibility of line and lettering control, or for use in sketching. The lead holder and leads are
optional if automatic pencils are used.
● One 0.3 mm automatic drafting pencil with 4H, 2H,and H leads.
● One 0.5 mm automatic drafting pencil with 4H, 2H,and F leads.
● One 0.7 mm automatic drafting pencil with 2H, H,and F leads.
● One 0.9 mm automatic drafting pencil with H, F, and HB leads. Automatic pencils and leads are optional if
lead holders and leads are used.
● Lead sharpener (not needed if the lead holder isomitted).
● 6" bow compass.
● Dividers.
● Eraser.
● Erasing shield.
● 30°–60° triangle.
● 45° triangle.
● Irregular curve.
● Adjustable triangle (optional).

● Scales:
1. Triangular architect’s scale.
2. Triangular civil engineer’s scale.
● Drafting tape.
● Architectural floor plan template for residential plans,with 1/4" = 1'−0" scale.
● Circle template with small holes.
● Lettering guide.
● Sandpaper sharpening pad.
● Dusting brush.
Not all of the items listed here are used in every school or workplace. Additional equipment and supplies
may be needed depending on the specific application,
for example:
● Technical pen set.
● Drafting ink.
● Lettering template.
● Assorted architectural drafting templates.

veena part -6

2012-01-13T11:41:00.001+05:30

Veena

Veena is a plucked stringed ('Tat') instrument used mostly in Carnatic music and by Dagar musicians (dhrupad). It is one of the three principal musical instruments mentioned in the vedic literature, the other two being the venu (flute) and Mrindanga. Veena player is referred to as a 'Vainika'. The veena is a complete instrument and provides the basic components: sruti, laya. Its peculiarity is the mellow tonal quality which is capable of evoking a meditative atmosphere.

History: Veena has a recorded history that dates back to the Vedic period. In Bharata's Natyashastra, there is a mention of many types of Veenas like Ektari, Kinnari, Audumbari etc.. The current form of veena can be attributed to Raghunath Nayak (circa 17th century ) of Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu.

Structure: The veena is 1.5m long and is made from jackwood. It has a large, round body with a thick, wide neck, the end of which is carved into the head of a dragon. A small resonator is attached to the underside of the neck. The veena has 24 metal frets embedded in hardened bees-wax, mixed with charcoal powder. Melody is produced on four metal strings that run above the frets. These are stretched over a wide bridge that sits on the body of the veena. Three other strings run alongside the neck of the instrument. These are used for maintaining time and for playing the drone. The performer, who sits cross-legged on the stage, rests the small resonator on the left lap. The fingers of the left hand are used to press, pull and glide on the frets, while the fingers of the right hand are used to pluck and twang the strings.

Veena variants

Tanjavur (Saraswati) Veena, Rudra veena, Vichitra veena, and Gottuvadhyam veena or Chitra veena.

Renowned Vainikas

Muthuswami Dikshitar, Veena Dhanammal, Rugmini Gopalakrishnan, Doraiswamy Iyengar, Bahauddin Dagar

VEEENA INSTRUMENT PART -4

2012-01-11T22:01:00.000+05:30

Saraswati

Saraswati Veena

BACK IN STOCK and REDUCED!!!

About the Saraswati Veena:

The Saraswati Veena is one of the most ancient and revered of South Indian instruments. Together with Bansuri flute this form of veena may be seen in many sacred pictures of Saraswati, goddess of music.
The following is reproduced by kind permission of David Courtney Phd:
The Saraswati veena has an interesting construction. It has a body made of wood, generally, this is jackwood. The highest quality veenas have the entire body carved from a single block of wood, while the ordinary veenas have a body which is carved in three sections (resonator, neck and head). There are 24 frets made of brass bars set into wax. There is another resonator at the top of the neck of the veena. This is no longer a functioning resonator, but is mainly used as a stand to facilitate the positioning of the instrument when it is played. Because it is no longer functioning it is not unusual to find that this upper resonator may be made of acoustically neutral materials such as paper mache, cane or other similar materials.
Unlike north Indian instruments like the sitar, the Saraswati veena has no sympathetic strings. It has only four playing strings and three drone strings (thalam). The main bridge is a flat bar made of brass. This bar has a very slight curve. It is this light curve which gives the veena its characteristic sound. A major centre for the manufacture of the Saraswati veeni is in Tanjore. Features:

52" Long
24 brass frets
7 strings.
Painted and carved peg box.
With wooden shell case.
Most popular traditional Veena.
A fine quality instrument.

Price $1350.00. Please email regarding shipping cost

SPECIAL REDUCED TO $1249

Rudra Veena

About the Rudra Veena:

The Rudra Veena has it's musical roots in ancient times. Rudra veena (also called the been) is associated quite strongly with Dhrupad. The performance exhibits the same wealth of melodic nuance and sophisticated development.
Dhrupad is often presented as the oldest Indian music, with an explicit continuity to ancient times. In this respect, it is perhaps the most direct development of Vedic chanting, and the literal respect for text in dhrupad is representative of those scriptural ideas. However many of the codifications of dhrupad are dated more specifically to the same period as the origin of khayal, and the two might be viewed more accurately as parallel developments, although dhrupad is certainly more austere in its formalism.
The been or veena has always been the instrument of Indian classical music and was traditionally studied by all dhrupad students until the 19th century.
This stringed instrument does not look like any other, veena or otherwise. It has been developed to follow the precision of Indian classical music, and the quality of the long and slow moving (vocal type) glissandos that are so typical of dhrupad.
The duration of these veena's notes is incredibly long.
The been is made of a body, a hollow tube made of teak wood, on which the strings are fixed at both ends. The bridge is a flat bridge, multiplying the depth of the note's spectrum.
Metallic frets are disposed on that tube on a slightly angled axis. They are always movable (fixed by wax or strings) and so can be adapted for every raga (the notes of the raga are not fixed by equal temperament). Two resonators made out of pumpkins are placed on each side of the veena, not far from the two ends of the body.
Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar introduced important changes to this veena, transforming it into a Bass instrument : the Rudra Veena.

You can hear the Rudra Veena at: Makar records. We thank them for some of the above text.

Features:

54" Long
22 frets.
Made from well seasoned Tun wood.
7 strings.
One piece bridge.
Light weight and good sound.
Includes wooden carrying case.
A fine quality traditional instrument harking back to India's rich musical history.
Price $1499.00. Please email regarding shipping cost.

Vichitra Veena

About the Vichitra Veena:

The Vichitra Veena is an Indian classical plucked string musical instrument.
It is a modern instrument, a 19th century evolution of the been, a traditional instrument of classical hindustani music.
From it's ancestor, the been, Vichitra Veena has kept the flat bridge (jawari), the two pumpkin resonators (tumbas) and a body which is a hollow tube made of teak wood on which the strings are fixed at both ends. The Vichitra Veena of the North and a rare instrument, was introduced by Ustad Abdul Ajij Khan, a court musician at Indore. It is of comparatively recent origin. It has a broad stem and six main strings are fastened to wooden pegs fixed to the other end. It is played by means of a plectrum on the right hand finger.
The Vichitra Veena's strings are sometimes stopped by a glass egg, a technique originating most probably from the playing of the tampura. Generally these days it is is played with a glass or metal bar, rather like the Hawaiian guitar. Consequently it has no frets.
One can play perfect meends (glissandos) on a octave and a half, something difficult to perform on a been, and so get closer to the abilities of the human voice.
You can hear the Vichitra Veena at: Makar records. We thank them for some of the above text.
A video tutorial for Vichitra Veena is promised by Pandit S. D. Batish and is said to be coming soon.

Pandit S. D. Batish playing the rare and exquisite Vichitra Veena

Features:

48" Long with 2 toombas
17 strings, 6 main and 11 sympathetic
Skilled, elaborate, carving.
Made from well seasoned Tun wood.
A fine quality, unique, instrument.
Includes wooden carrying case.
Price $1349.00. Please email regarding shipping cost.

veena part -5

2012-01-11T21:51:00.001+05:30

The veena is one of the most beautiful instruments in Hindustani as well as Carnatic music. It is possibly the oldest instrument and finds mention in the ancient texts.
Many kinds of veenas exist like the Vichitra Veena, Mahaveena, Sarasvati Veena, and Rudra Veena or been. They mainly differ in their size and number of strings. Because of its antiquity, it is used in the music of both the north and the south. In South India, the Sarasvati Veena is popular, while in the north, the Rudra Veena is used more often.

Veena Structure
Veena is made of jackwood or blackwood about 3 feet long.

Khunti -Tuning pegs
Patari, Fret Board - Patari or fret board is a bamboo board about 2 feet long on the stem of the veena. It supports the 24 metal frets of the veena.
Perda - Metal frets - The veena has 24 frets called perda made of steel, wood, or branze. These frets are fixed, not movable.
Tar - Strings - The veena has four metal tars or playing strings tuned to the notes Ma (Madhyam), Sa (Shadaja), Pa (Panchama), and Re (Rishaba). These strings are made of copper, brass, steel or bronze. They are attached to four wooden tuning pegs on one side and pass the gori, a wide bridge covered with a steel plate. Besides the four metal strings, three thin strings called sarani are also present. They pass over a subsidiary bridge and are suspended on the sides. They provide the drone.
Tumbar - Gourd - The veena has two symmetrical gourds called tumbar, about 1 foot in diameter. These gourds are quite elaborately decorated.
Gori - Bridge
Veena Performance
The index and the middle finger of the right hand are used for plucking the melody strings, while the little finger plucks the drone strings. A wire plectrum is generally used for plucking the strings though some players also use their fingernails. The left arm encircles the stem, so that the fingers rest easily upon the frets.
The veena is perfect for chamber music as it produces an echoing sound. It permits a continuous change of frequency from one note to another, as on the sitar, but it is much smoother on the veena. All the musical styles, and techniques like meend and gamaka, are brought out distinctly by the veena. The veena is played as a solo instrument accompanied by the mridangam and sometimes the flute. It is also a popular accompanying instrument in both Hindustani music like dhrupad and Carnatic music like kriti. Many recent instruments like the sitar and tanpura owe their origin to the veena.

Maestros of veena
Pithapuram Sangameswara Sastri, Seshanna, Subbanna, Venkataramana Das, Dhanammal, the Karoekudi brothers, Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu, Yamini Shankar Shastry, Balachander, S.Balachander, K.N. Narayanaswami, D.N. Iyengar, Chitti Babu, Mokkapati Nageswara Rao, and Narayana Menon are some of the exponents of this instrument. Among the prominent beenkars are Wazir Khan of Rampur who gave recognition to the been as a concert instrument in the early 20th century. Today, Dabri Khan, Zia Mohinuddin Dagar, Asad Ali Khan, Ahmed Raza, and Gopal Krishna are prominent been players.

veena part -3

2012-01-11T21:37:00.000+05:30

Journey Through The Lens

This blog showcases images captured across India and the US when I did my Reuters Foundation Fellowship at the Missouri University in 1997. It portrays an India of million moods and mutinies. There are many who helped me to look beyond my lens. I thank Jayant Kodkani, Vinay Kamat, Sumit Chakraberti and Balasubramanium, four of my very close friends, who taught me the basics of journalism. Apart from them I also thank Bill Kuykendall, D Rees, Julie and Loop of the MU. All images are copyrighted.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Swan Song - Thanjavur Saraswati Veena's

Around 100 artisan families in the temple town of Thanjavur are dedicated to the art of making the Saraswati Veena

Earnest music enthusiasts will tell you that even today when you listen to the recording of Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and S Balachander, you get goose bumps and are mesmerised. But even while we listen to a veena concert by a maestro, how many of us will actually wonder about the making of the magnificent instrument and the people who have toiled to get music out it? Not many, perhaps.
While several art forms die a slow death because of lack of patronage, more than 100 families in Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, have kept the veena making art alive and have passed it on through the generations.
For these families in this popular temple town, known more for its paintings that the South Indian style of veena made here, it is daily grind as they set about making the Tanjori Veena, more commonly known as the Sarawasti Veena.

“These musical instruments, made of wood from the jack fruit tree, go through rigorous testing before they are ready for use. The veenas are then sold to customers across the world, who have exclusively placed orders,” said R Venkatesan, Manager of the Thanjavur Musical Instruments Workers Cooperative Society.
MAKING A VEENA
The Saraswati Veena is one of the most ancient and revered of South Indian instruments. Its is attractive and the highest quality veenas have the entire body carved out of a single block of wood. The more ordinary ones, said Ganeshan, a veena maker, have a body which is made in three sections – resonator, neck and head. There are 24 frets made of brass bars set into wax. There in another resonator at the top of the neck of the veena. This is no longer a functioning resonator, but is mainly used as a stand to facilitate the positioning of th instrument when it is played. As it does not serve a musical purpose, it is not unusual to find that this upper resonator may be made of acoustically neutral materials such as paper mache, cane or other similar materials.

The Sarawasti Veena has four playing strings and three drone strings (thalam). The main bridge is a flat bar made of brass. This bar has a alight curve, and it is this curve that gives the veena its characteristic sound. The string instrument with two ground resonators is connected by a central shaft and held diagonally from lap to shoulder.
“The Thanjavur veena is considered the most sophisticated of all veenas. We can make any kind of veena, with any specification given by the customer, of course for a price,” says Ganeshan.
While shaping a veena out of blocks of wood is an arduous task, testing it for the right quality of music is no small work. “The veenas have to be tested for the right sound and notes and at least ten testers have to do the job before the Tanjori Veenas are shipped to their respective destinations.” says E Lakshman.
He added that the cost of a Sarawasti Veena varies from one piece to the other – the more th art work, the more the cost. While a non-decorative veena made out of three pieces of wood may cost around Rs 5,000, those which are intricately carved out of a single piece of wood cost upto Rs 50,000.

WAITING FOR THEIR DUE
“The invasion of western culture and with it, the popularity of western instruments, has brought down the demand for traditional instruments, such as the veena,” said Jayabalan, a veena maker. Though the artisans produce around 300 veenas on an average, in a year, their sale is not very high, he added.
Most of the veeena makers of Tanjore have been approaching the Tamil Nadu government for more than 10 years and also the Central government for subsidies, but they are yet to get them. They allege that the other artisans get both the state as well as the central subsidies, but the veena makers are nor getting what is due to them. “But whether the subsidies come or not, the 100 veena-making families of Thanjavur will continue their work and keep the art alive, even though it our only source of income,” said Jayabalan.
These families are determined to preserve their tradition, so that classical musicians across the country can make music.

PLAYING THE VEENA
The veena is played while sitting cross-legged with the instrument held tilted slightly away from the player. The small gourd on the left rests on the player’s left thigh, the left arm passing beneath the neck with the hand curving up and around so that the fingers rest upon the frets. The palm of the right hand rests on the edge of the top plank so that the fingers (usually index and middle) can pluck the strings. The drone strings are played with the little finger. The veena’s large resonator is placed on the floor beyond the right thigh.
DIFFERENT KIND OF VEENA
Venkatesan says that they are various types of veena across the country and have specific ways of playing them. He added that they are also made in different styles to suit the customer. To name a few there is the Rudra Veena which is mostly used by the Dhrupad performers which is considered as the oldest Indian music.
Then there is the Vichitra Veena which was popularized by Abdul Aziz Khan who was a court musician in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. And lastly the Saraswati Veena or the Tanjori Veena which is the most popular.
MYTHOLOGICAL TIES
The patron Hindu goddess of learning and the arts, Saraswati, is often depicted seated upon a swan or peacock playing a veena. According to Hindu mythology, the demon-king Ravana and the monkey-god Hanuman were great veena players, as was the sage Narada.

BOBBILI PROJECT- making of veena part -2

2012-01-04T16:28:00.000+05:30

Bobbili Veena

30 March 2010 By Vikram_Boga 1 In Music

Darsana sparsane chasya bhoga svargapavargade |
Punito viprahatyadi patakaih patitam janam ||
Danda sambhuruma tantri kakubhah kamalapatih |
Indra patrika brahma tumbam nabhih sarasvati ||
Dorako vasukirjiva sudhamsuh sarika ravih |
Sarvadevamayi tasmad veeneyam sarvamangala ||
|| Sarangadeva ||
Carnatic musicologist of the 13th century

By seeing and touching the veena, one attains the sacred religion and liberation.
It purifies the sinner, who is been guilty of killing a Brahmin.
The danda, made of wood or Bamboo, is Siva, the string is Devi Uma, The shoulder
is Vishnu, the bridge is Lakshmi, the gourd is Brahma, the navel is Sarasvati,
The connecting wires are vasuki, the jiva is the moon and the pegs are the sun.
The veena thus represents nearly all the Gods and Goddesses,
And is, therefore, capable of bestowing all kinds of divine blessings, benediction and auspiciousness.

Instrumental music has been an integral part of Indian culture for centuries. This is evident from the innumerable treatises on music in ancient India and famous sculptures in ancient places of worship depicting musicians. Gods and Goddesses are often depicted playing various instruments, particularly the Goddess of learning and the arts, the Goddess Saraswati, who’s image is never seen without a Veena.

Although string instruments of almost all types were called “Veena” in ancient Indian texts, the Veena with its long neck and rounded resonators is considered to have ancient origins. Today, some of the main types of Veena played are: the Rudra Veena (also known as the been or bin), the Saraswati Veena, the Vichitra Veena and the Chitraveena or Gottuvadyam. Veena players are often referred to as Beenkars (or Binkars) or Vainikas.

The “Saraswati Veena” has become synonymous with the tradition and culture of India. Carnatic music played on these Saraswati Veenas has won the hearts of millions of music lovers the world over, transcending geographical barriers and regional cultures.

Veenas are also known by the town where they are made, for example, Tanjore Veena, Mysore Veena, etc. The Saraswati Veenas made in Bobbili are also sometimes referred to as Bobbili Veenas. Bobbili, a town 55 km from Vizianagaram , has a unique style of playing the Veena, developed over three centuries. It is known as the “Bobbili veena sampradayam” and its exponents have performed to much acclaim from Indian and International audiences.

The history of making veenas dates back to the founder of Bobbili Kingdom, established in the 17th Century by Pedda Rayudu, when playing veena was leisure activity and had its importance in every social event. The women from the Bobbili kingdom played the Veena, which were supplied by Sarwasiddi community craftsmen who belonged to Gollapali. The Veena was specially made by Sarwasiddi Acchanna, the master craftsman who was appointed in Bobbili Kingdom.

To this date the practice of making Veena has been continued by the family members of the Sarwasiddi community which later has become a livelihood option and been carried over generations.

Veenas are made of Panasa wood (Jackfruit tree) which is lightweight and possesses qualities like excellent reverberation, clear grain lines, great durability and minimum swelling in moisture. It is acquired from the local deposits maintained by forest officials and also from nearby settlements.The wood is cut into the required size, around 4-5 ft in length. The uniqueness of the Bobbili and Nuzvidu Veenas is that they are carved out of a single log of wood. Such Veenas are called ekandi veena.

The Thumba is a spherical form fixed to the lower base of Dandi to give support. In a professional Veena, thumba is made of hollow pumpkin. In case the required size of pumpkin is not available, then thumba is made of aluminum sheet. Pumpkin is used as a resonator which helps in increasing the duration of the note played, and also for balancing the Veena to stand still when musician is not holding the instrument. All the fibrous matter in the pumpkin is removed and dried in sun for around 3 days and stored carefully. A metal pipe is screwed to the top of the pumpkin and connected to dandi to transfer the sound to pumpkin.

A fret board (danda) connects these two ends, with twenty-four brass frets set in wax and charcoal. The frets are set to halfsteps in two octaves. Four main strings traverse this fret-board, from a bridge at the right end to tuning pegs (biridais) at the left end. At this left end of the danda is attached a “yali”, which is a scroll that is carved into an elaborate head of a mythical animal. Three additional strings (talam strings) are set off to the side and are used for rhythmic emphasis.

Apart from the main body, certain brass and bronze parts are crucial for holding the wooden parts of the Veena together, for improving the tonal quality and also for adding to the aesthetic value of the instrument.

A major change in the material can be seen in the decorative inlay work, which used to be done on elephant tusks, now replaced by plastic. The patterns are engraved on the polypropylene. Lac is applied on the engraved surface filling them to produce patterns.

Thanjavur veenas are manufactured in great numbers, while Bobbili veena still remains a rural, small-scale industry. There are around 30 families in a small village called Gollapalli (near Bobbili), dependent on making this musical instrument for their livelihood.

Adapting to the changes demanded by the customers, for the past 15-20 years, the craftsmen have been making different instruments like the peacock Veenas, Swarnamandal, Tambura, Tabla set, Violin and Sitar. Bobbili and Vadada have now become more famous for producing ornamental miniature Veenas rather than the actual Veenas.

Even though the demand for Veenas is on a decline, as long as there are music lovers, the golden sounds of veena will continue to echo far and wide.

Other Veena Clusters ~ Tanjore, Mysore, Thiruvananthapuram, Rampur, Bobbili, Pithapuram and Bandar Vee

veena the bobbili project

2012-01-04T16:01:00.002+05:30

Fingerboard
- The fret board of a veena has a unique scalloped shape.
  The unique hollow, scalloped fret board is known as the dandi and contains 24 frets, or mettu, often made from gunmetal, stainless steel or bronze. The seven strings are of steel manufacture. The three tala pakarekku or talam are the rhythm and drone strings which are fashioned as subsidiary strings tuned to the tonic, upper tonic and fifth. These are attached to three pegs on the side of the neck that reside on a separate, curving bridge placed aside the main bridge, and are closest to the player's body when held. The other four (main) strings, the sarani, are tuned to the fifth and tonic in two octaves.
Meru and Peg Box
- The four main strings ascend into and are attached to the four pegs, the birdai, in the peg box. The meru is the upper bridge which begins where the fingerboard ends, on which the peg box resides before its neck curves back toward the player to end in a carved dragon's head---the yali.
Resonators
- A veena kudam is sometimes made from ornately carved wood.
  The main resonator, or kudam, is at the end of the fingerboard. It is made of hollowed-out jackwood or fiberglass. The strings descend over the resonator in the lower portion, passing over two sound holes, or nada randhra, carved into the kudam. The kudirai is the bridge over which the strings are positioned before they end in the fine-tuning langar adjustment. The langar are tied at the bottom to the naga pasha at the end of the kudam. The extra resonator, the surakkai or sarrokai, is made from tin or a gourd and hangs below the meru.
Variants
- The ekanda veena is an instrument carved from a single piece of wood. Alternatively, the parts are often made separately and joined together. The appearance of the veena has changed over time as alterations have been made to its body shape or parts manufactured from different materials, such as wood, gourd and metal pieces.
Synthetic Materials
- While the veena has traditionally been made from jackwood, contemporary versions are often made from fiberglass. A fiberglass body has the advantage of being more impact-resistant than wood and of producing a more consistent sound quality from instrument to instrument. Additionally, a fiberglass veena is lighter than one made of wood.

DANCING

2012-01-04T12:38:00.002+05:30

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music,^[1] used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting.

Dance may also be regarded as a form of nonverbal communication between humans, and is also performed by other animals (bee dance, patterns of behaviour such as a mating dance). Gymnastics, figure skating and synchronized swimming are sports that incorporate dance, while martial arts kata are often compared to dances. Motion in ordinarily inanimate objects may also be described as dances (the leaves danced in the wind).

Definitions of what constitutes dance are dependent on social, cultural, aesthetic, artistic and moral constraints and range from functional movement (such as folk dance) to virtuoso techniques such as ballet. Dance can be participatory, social or performed for an audience. It can also be ceremonial, competitive or erotic. Dance movements may be without significance in themselves, such as in ballet or European folk dance, or have a gestural vocabulary/symbolic system as in many Asian dances. Dance can embody or express ideas, emotions or tell a story.

Dancing has evolved many styles. Breakdancing and Krumping are related to the hip hop culture. African dance is interpretative. Ballet, Ballroom, Waltz, and Tango are classical styles of dance while Square Dance and the Electric Slide are forms of step dances.

Every dance, no matter what style, has something in common. It not only involves flexibility and body movement, but also physics. If the proper physics are not taken into consideration, injuries may occur.

Choreography is the art of creating dances. The person who creates (i.e., choreographs) a dance is known as the choreographer.

]

Three best-known Hindu deities, Shiva, Kali and Krishna, are typically represented dancing.^[1] There are hundreds of Indian folk dances such as Bhangra, Bihu, Ghumura Dance, Sambalpuri, Chhau and Garba and special dances observed in regional festivals. India offers a number of classical Indian dance forms, each of which can be traced to different parts of the country. The presentation of Indian dance styles in film, Hindi Cinema, has exposed the range of dance in India to a global audience.The gods and goddesses are invoked through the religious folk dance forms from good old times. Mention may be made of Ram-lila Nach, Kirtaniya Nach, Kunjvasi Nach and Naradi Nach, Bhagata Nach, Vidapat Nach and Puja Art Nach in this category. Minimum use is made of musical instruments and dancer performs the dances without humming the tune.

SINGING

2012-01-04T12:35:00.002+05:30

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments. Singing is often done in a group of other musicians, such as in a choir of singers with different voice ranges, or in an ensemble with instrumentalists, such as a rock group or baroque ensemble. As in many respects human song is a form of sustained speech, nearly anyone able to speak can also sing. Singing can be formal or informal, arranged or improvised. It may be done for pleasure, comfort, ritual, education, or profit. Excellence in singing requires time, dedication, instruction, and regular practice.^[1] Professional singers usually build their careers around one specific musical genre, such as classical or rock. They typically take voice training provided by voice teachers or vocal coaches throughout their career.

2011-12-29T19:16:00.002+05:30

VEENA(SARASWATI)

The Saraswati veena (also spelled Saraswati vina) is an Indian plucked string instrument. It is named after the Hindu goddess Saraswati, who is usually depicted holding or playing the instrument. Also known as raghunatha veena (veena also spelled 'vina', Tamil: வீணை,Sanskrit: वीणा (vīṇā), Kannada: ವೀಣೆ, Malayalam: വീണ, Telugu: వీణ) is used mostly in Carnatic Indian classical music. There are several variations of the veena, which in its South Indian form is a member of the lute family. One who plays the veena is referred to as a vainika.

It is one of the three other major types of veena popular today. The others include vichitra veena and rudra veena. Out of these the rudra and vichitra veenas are used in Hindustani music, while the Saraswati veena is used in the Carnatic music of South India. Some people play traditional music, others play contemporary music.]

History

The veena has a recorded history that dates back to the Vedic period (approximately 1500 BCE)

In ancient times, the tone vibrating from the hunter's bow string when he shot an arrow was known as the Vil Yazh. The Jya ghosha (musical sound of the bow string) is referred to in the ancient Atharvaveda. Eventually, the archer's bow paved the way for the musical bow. Twisted bark, strands of grass and grass root, vegetable fibre and animal gut were used to create the first strings. Over the veena's evolution and modifications, more particular names were used to help distinguish the instruments that followed. The word veena in India was a term originally used to generally denote "stringed instrument", and included many variations that would be either plucked, bowed or struck for sound.^[1]^[2]

The veena instruments developed much like a tree, branching out into instruments as diverse as the exotic harp-like Akasa (a veena that was tied up in the tops of trees for the strings to vibrate from the currents of wind) and the Audumbari veena (played as an accompaniment by the wives of Vedic priests as they chanted during ceremonial Yajnas). Veenas ranged from one string to one hundred, and were composed of many different materials like eagle bone, bamboo, wood and coconut shells. The yazh was an ancient harp-like instrument that was also considered a veena. But with the developments of the fretted veena instruments, the yazh quickly faded away, as the fretted veena allowed for easy performance of ragas and the myriad subtle nuances and pitch oscillations in the gamakas prevalent in the Indian musical system.^[2] As is seen in many Hindu temple sculptures and paintings, the early veenas were played vertically. It was not until the great Indian Carnatic music composer and Saraswati veena player Muthuswami Dikshitar that it began to be popularized as played horizontally.

"The current form of the Saraswati veena with 24 fixed frets evolved in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, during the reign of Raghunath Nayak and it is for this reason sometimes called the Tanjore veena, or the Raghunatha veena. Prior to his time, the number of frets on the veena were less and also movable." - Padmabhooshan Prof. P. Sambamurthy, musicologist.^[3] The Saraswati veena developed from Kinnari Veena. Made in several regions in South India, those made by makers from Thanjavur in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu are to date considered the most sophisticated. Sangeeta Ratnakara calls it Ekatantri Veena and gives the method for its construction.

While the Saraswati veena is considered in the lute genealogy, other North Indian veenas such as the Rudra veena and Vichitra veena are technically zithers. Descendants of Tansen reserved Rudra Veena for family and out of reverence began calling it the Saraswati Veena.

Construction

About four feet in length, its design consists of a large resonator (kudam) carved and hollowed out of a log (usually of jackwood), a tapering hollow neck (dandi) topped with 24 brass or bell-metal frets set in scalloped black wax on wooden tracks, and a tuning box culminating in a downward curve and an ornamental dragon's head (yali). A small table-like wooden bridge (kudurai)—about 2 x 2½ x 2 inches—is topped by a convex brass plate glued in place with resin. Two rosettes, formerly of ivory, now of plastic or horn, are on the top board (palakai) of the resonator. Four main playing strings tuned to the tonic and the fifth in two octaves (for example, B flat-E flat below bass clef - B flat- E flat in bass clef) stretch from fine tuning connectors attached to the end of the resonator. across the bridge and above the fretboard to four large-headed pegs in the tuning box. Three subsidiary drone strings tuned to the tonic, fifth, and upper tonic (E flat - B flat- E flat in the tuning given above) cross a curving side bridge leaning against the main bridge, and stretch on the player's side of the neck to three pegs matching those of the main playing strings. All seven strings today are of steel, with the lower strings either solid thick gauge wire or round wound.

BUG-THE BEETLE FAMILY

2011-12-29T11:07:00.004+05:30

Coccinellidae is a family of beetles, known variously as ladybirds (UK, Ireland, Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, India, Malta, some parts of Canada and the US), or ladybugs (North America). Scientists increasingly prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles^[2] as these insects are not true bugs. Lesser-used names include God's cow, ladycock, lady cow, and lady fly.^[3]

Ladybugs, ladybirds, or lady beetles—whatever one calls them—are favored by farmers as voracious pest-eaters.

Coccinellids are small insects, ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm (0.04 to 0.4 inches), and are commonly yellow, orange, or scarlet with small black spots on their wing covers, with black legs, head and antennae. A very large number of coccinellid species are mostly, or entirely, black, grey, or brown and may be difficult for non-entomologists to recognize as coccinellids. Conversely, many small beetles are easily mistaken for coccinellids, such as the tortoise beetles.

Coccinellids are found worldwide, with over 5,000 species described,^[4] more than 450 native to North America alone.

A few species are considered pests in North America and Europe, but they are generally considered useful insects, as many species feed on aphids or scale insects, which are pests in gardens, agricultural fields, orchards, and similar places. Harmonia axyridis (or the harlequin ladybug) was introduced into North America from Asia in 1916 to control aphids, but is now the most common species as it is out-competing many of the native species.^[5] It has since spread to much of western Europe, reaching the UK in 2004.^[5]^[6]

A common myth is that the number of spots on the insect's back indicates its age.

Habitats

Coccinellids are generally considered beneficial to gardeners, as they typically eat aphids, scale insects, mealybugs, and mites throughout the winter. As in many insects, ladybugs in temperate regions enter diapause during the winter, so they often are among the first insects to appear in the spring. Some species (e.g., Hippodamia convergens) gather into groups and move to higher land, such as a mountain, to enter diapause. Predatory ladybugs are usually found on plants where aphids or scale insects are, and they lay their eggs near their prey, to increase the likelihood the larvae will find the prey easily. Ladybugs are cosmopolitan in distribution, as are their prey.

Coccinellids also require a source of pollen for food and are attracted to specific types of plants. The most popular ones are any type of mustard plant, as well as other early blooming nectar and pollen sources, like buckwheat, coriander, red or crimson clover, and legumes like vetches, and also early aphid sources, such as bronze fennel, dill, coriander, caraway, angelica, tansy, yarrow, of the wild carrot family, Apiaceae. Other plants that also attract ladybugs include coreopsis, cosmos (especially the white ones), dandelions and scented geraniums.

Coccinellids are sensitive to most synthetic insecticides. If food sources are limited, oviposition is reduced. A larva uses its sharp jaws to crush an aphid's body and sucks out the aphid's juices.

worldnewzenaration

WORLD'S SCARIEST ACCIDENTS

Car Accident Next Steps

IN DELHI_5

Diwan-i-Khass

Diwan-i-Amm

AGRA FORT(4)

Long Description

Interior Bracketing

Musamman Burj

Inner Chamber

Pavilion

Khass Mahal

AGRA FORT GATES & MAHAL -1(3)

Amar Singh Gate

Agra Fort

Jahangiri Mahal

IN DELHI Agra fort - 2

Internal views of Agra fort

In DELHI AGRA FORT part 1

A.R.RAHMAN JAGAO MERE DES KO FOR AUG 15

A.R.RAHMAN JAGAO MERE DES KO FOR AUG 15

INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL

CRYSIS OR UDK

WHICH IS BETTER CRY ENGINE OR UNREAL ENGINE

OR

Cryengine in performance is better than UDK but has no other platform support like UDK

Many people prefer Cryengine than UDK Because its Ease of use

UDK/UNREAL ENGINE

IMPORTING MODEL FROM SKETCHUP INTO UDK\

IMPORTING TRANSPARENT MATERIAL

The Difference Between Texture and Material

Photoshop Is Your Friend

Importing into UDK

In Photoshop:

1) Delete the Background layer (or set it to Transparent) – if you have texture info here, just copy it to a new layer first and then kill the background.

2) Setup your texture however you like on one or more layers like you would any other texture

4) Save the file as a 32-bit whatever … I myself prefer to use .TGA instead of .PNG but in the end it’s all going to be converted to DXT in the editor later anyway. The important part is that a 32-bit file will retain the alpha mask you made where others will not.

In UDK:

1) When you import your texture, just verify that "Compress No Alpha" is NOT checked. This is not checked by default – but if you accidently click it then you will again lose your alpha mask.

- Blend Mode: The default is BLEND_Opaque … you’ll want to change this to something that supports transparency, such as BLEND_Masked. I’ve used BLEND_Translucent for my water and BLEND_Additive for our decals but couldn’t exactly say why those work … you may have to experiment.

- Lighting Model: The default is MLM_Phong … you probably dont want your HUD component to be affected by the map’s lighting (that’s kind of a cool idea though actually) – so set this to MLM_Unlit.

- Opacity: In the Material setup, connect the white tab on your texture sample (your alpha mask) to the Opacity tab. In the Import dialog, I think the option for "Alpha to Opacity Mask" does the same thing.

BTW – if you’re working on a material and can’t find these properties – click on the giant block everything connects into and check the properties window. They are in the Material sub-group.

Unreal engine 4 released

Introducing Unreal Engine 4

Tool & Feature Highlights

UNREAL ENGINE 4 GAME TRAILERS

cryengine back now

CryENGINE 3 Sandbox not working

This Site is Currently Offline

http://www.crytek.com/cryengine its back now

please check the link above

MARIYAAN SONGS OUT NOW

Mariyaan songs are out now in the market

click here to download ,but buy the original CD

A.R.Rahman Infinite love

A.R.Rahman's INFINTE LOVE

Music And Concept By A.R.Rahman

Erasing Tips,Compass Use

Erasing Tips

Compass Use

Architectural Drafting Equipment

veena part -6

Veena

Veena variants

Renowned Vainikas

VEEENA INSTRUMENT PART -4

veena part -5

veena part -3

Journey Through The Lens

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Swan Song - Thanjavur Saraswati Veena's

BOBBILI PROJECT- making of veena part -2

Bobbili Veena

veena the bobbili project

Fingerboard

Meru and Peg Box

Resonators

Variants