Top 10 Cartoon Characters

Top 10 Cartoon Characters

By: Paul Venier

If you are anything like me or half of the population, you have loved
cartoons growing up and most probably still do. If you are saying to yourself,
"Nah, I am too old for cartoons anymore", then you are probably forgetting that
The Simpsons and The Family Guy are cartoons that have become Primtetime Shows
for adults but are still cartoons nonetheless. Looney Toons are still my
favorites of all time and far as I am concerned, Mel Blanc was a voice and sound
genius. With all that being said, I will go through some of my favorites of all
time and then compose my absolute favorite Top 10.

The Road Runner with Wile E. Coyote have always made me
laugh. And even though I don't want to ever see Wile E. Coyote catch The
Roadrunner, I still can't help but feel sorry for him in the end. His sad facial
expressions when he realizes that the rug has been pulled out from under him, so
to speak, is priceless. By now you would have thought that he wouldn't buy any
more stuff from ACME. Foghorn Leghorn is terrific. That voice
and the way he is always duped by The baby Chicken Hawk kills me....I say son,
it just kills me!

Yosemite Sam is a great voice also. Loud and overbearing.
And let's not forget about that terrific mustache and attitude. Bugs
Bunny is an unbelievable great cartoon character. Mel Blanc said he
came up with the voice by blending a Brooklyn and Bronx accent. Bugs was The
Groucho Marx of the Cartoon World. Conniving, slick, insulting, clever,
sarcastic and knew how to manipulate his foes to his advantage.

Elmer Fudd was the perfect target for Bugs Bunny. Always
being outsmarted and even with his threatening gun in hand, he was still no
match for the superior rabbit...that little wascal! Sylvester &
Tweety Bird were also the case of the villain after the innocent one
and the innocent one always winning, leaving us still feeling sorry for villain.
The same formula as The Road Runner, just different characters. Tweety was just
so cute and Sylvester was always getting put outside by the old woman.

Porky Pig was a fantastic voice characterization by Mel
Blanc with that stuttering delivery. And where would Looney Toons be without
that famous, "That's All Folks!" Of course, Porky took a little longer to say
that. Jessica Rabbit had to be the most beautiful cartoon ever
conceived. If ever it was possible to have desires for something not real, she
would be the epitome of those yearnings. I expect that many a young lad had many
sleepless nights conjuring up images of her in their dreams. I am sure that
older lads did also.

Mickey Mouse has to be mentioned just for being one of the
pioneers of the cartoon universe. He was around before there was even sound and
then evolved with the help of Walt Disney's voice and vision.

Daffy Duck was terrific and always second best to Bugs. They
had a love/hate relationship that was epic and classic. Daffy was so excitable
and insecure. Homer Simpson is one of the best cartoon
characters of the modern era. The show was originally a spin off of The Tracy
Ullman Show and it has survived for around 20 years now............Doh! The
dialogue is very adult, clever and smart and the show has won an extremely large
audience over the years and deservedly so.

Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble were The Prehistoric
Jackie Gleason and Art Carney of The Honeymooners. Wilma was definitely Alice.
The amazing thing to me was that Fred had a car in that era and Ralph never had
one in the 50's. SpongeBob Squarepants is another today cartoon
that is very hip and adult oriented and yet still for kids at the same time.
Very funny for any age.

My honorable mentions are Popeye, Huckelberry Hound, Mighty Mouse, Baby Huey,
The Vulture, Felix The Cat, Bluto, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Heckle & Jeckle,
Goofy, Jimmeny Cricket, Beavis & Butthead, Mr. Magoo, Yogi Bear & Boo
Boo, Woody Woodpecker, Boris & Natasha, Alvin and The Chipmunks, Taz the
Tazmanian Devil, Betty Boop, Underdog and Toms & Jerry.

So after all of that, here it is:

My Favorite Top 10 TV Cartoon Characters

1. Bugs Bunny


2. Daffy Duck

3. The Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote

4. Foghorn
Leghorn

5. Sylvester & Tweety Bird

6. Elmer Fudd

7. Yosemite Sam


8. Fred Flintstone & Barney Rubble

9. Homer Simpson

10. Jessica
Rabbit

As I said before, I am very partial to The Looney Toons Characters and
especially to Mel Blancs characterizations of them. I also favor the older
cartoons to the newer ones. I don't know if it is because of my childhood
memories or because I feel they are just better. I am not really sure if I am
objective enough or not but it is, after all, My Top 10 Favorites. What
are yours?

Thanks for reading from, THE COMEDY TORNADO!! http://www.comedytornado.com

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The Best Way To Clean Your Digital Camera

The Best Way To Clean Your Digital Camera
By: Amy Renfrey
This week I?ve been asked a barrel of questions! I?m very lucky to have such a loyal group of subscribers. One the questions I was asked was from John about digital camera cleaning and what sort of digital camera cleaning equipment did he need (a different John to last week).
Well don?t do what I did before I knew anything about photography. It?s embarrassing, but I?ll tell you anyway. I was standing at a beautiful beach one balmy, Aussie summers dusk and there was a rush of wind. It blew sand all over me and onto the digital camera. Knowing ?zip? about digital camera care and maintenance at the time I cleaned the lense with the corner of my t-shirt and went on my merry way.
When I arrived home that night I took out my digital camera to download the images to the computer and out fell small particles of sand onto the floor. I thought ?what the..?? I was surprised to see so many grains. I took off the lense cap and there were sand granules embedded into the edge of the lense. And that particular digital camera lense has never retained the same sharpness and clarity since my various trips to the beach. After a while the sand granules on the lense caused the annoying lack of quality that I previously had. I?ve done a lot of dumb things in my time with digital photography from not knowing any better, and that was a doozy.
Thankfully I learnt and am now teaching digital photography. Camera care and cleaning is a regular thing you should give your digital camera. And the best way to clean a lenes? Carefully! This is why you should never take the edge of your t-shirt and clean it because unbeknownst to you, you could be leaving tiny trails of grit and dirt on the lense causing scratching.
Remember all digital camera lenses are made of glass. The clarity and sharpness you get in your digital photos relies heavily on the surface of that glass to be squeaky clean. Nothing must get onto the lense if you can help it. Its pretty hard to keep a lense 100% clean because of dust particles floating around in the air, but you can get as close to100% as possible with some handy digital photography camera cleaning equipment.
There are a couple of ways you can clean your digital cameras lens, and that?s with a bit of spit?..just kidding. Seriously, you must use a proper lense cleaning cloth. You can use cleaning fluid too. This can cause some streaking across the lense if you use too much. One drop on your lens cleaning cloth in a gentle circular motion with a will get most marks off a lens.
In popular digital camera stores you can buy a pretty good lens cleaning fluid. It shouldn?t be more than $20-$25 depending on where you go. The digital camera lense cleaning fluid is an alcohol-based fluid that, just between you and me, I wouldn?t take my digital camera out without it. The digital camera lens cleaning fluid is ideal because it?s not solely for dust but accidental finger prints and other unplanned smudges.
Don?t forget about your other digital camera filters too. You can have a polariser on the front of your lens which will most likely need a clean if you?re using your digital camera a lot, or if you are using it outside for a day. You?ll be amazed at how dirty the lens can get. If you?re not sure, grab a lense cleaning kit from your nearest digital camera store.
Personally I have several lens cleaning cloths, lens cleaning fluid, a brush with an air capsule to blow of dust then brush, cotton buds to get into the crevasse and a small leather pouch I keep it all in. The leather pouch is actually a small ladies purse. I bought it for the size and the durability and protection it gave my cleaning equipment.
No more wiping the lense with a t-shirt! (Heaven forbid!)
Happy shooting, Amy Renfrey
Amy Renfrey is the author of two major successful ebooks ?Digital Photography Success? and ?Advanced Digital Photography?. She is a photographer and also teaches digital photography. Her educational ebooks takes the most complex photography terms and turns them into easy to understand language so that anyone, at any level of photography, can easily move to a semi-professional level of skill in just a very short time. She?s photographed many things from famous musicians (Drummers for Prince and Anastasia) to weddings and portraits of babies. Amy also teaches photography online to her students which can be found at http://www.DigitalPhotographySuccess.com

Wildlife Photography Case Study Photographing Birds

Wildlife Photography Case Study Photographing Birds
By: Jennifer Clarkson
More and more it seems that bird-watching is becoming popular with segments of society I would not expect to take interest in it. Certainly photographers of all walks of life are picking up their cameras and snapping beautiful shots of birds in flight, or pecking at seeds. Come winter, I know some of us will be avidly searching for cardinals in the snow! It's really quite simple to photograph birds. Read on for some tips from the experts.
Cameras and Lenses
When photographing wildlife in general, you will be far enough away from your subject that you will want a telephoto lens to get any kind of detailed close-up - see my article on zoom lenses for more information. You also want to be able to pan your camera as it moves across the sky, so either use a tripod that allows you easy movement, or be comfortable hand-holding your lens such that camera shake is minimized. A 300mm or 400mm lens is ideal, especially it if has rapid autofocus that works well with your cameras continuous autofocus (a.k.a. Servo mode for Canon cameras).
Technique
Experts agree that any wildlife photo looks best when the eyes (at a minimum) are in focus. To that end, set your auto focusing point to the centre one since that generally results in the fastest focusing job. Also, if you're using manual mode, set your aperture to its maximum (f/4, say), and meter off a neutral shade (the sky, perhaps) to close with an appropriate shutter speed. Try to work it such that your shutter speed is at least 1/1000 second so that the entire bird is in sharp focus.
When the bird enters the viewfinder's frame, start moving your camera with the bird and engage your autofocus on its head as best you can. Continuous shooting grants you the best chance of getting a keeper, since at least one of the shots will likely turn out well.
Tips for getting started
+ Larger birds are easier to shoot than smaller birds, so if you can, start with the big ones - you have a better chance of capturing them in motion since they move slower and are easier to capture in a panning motion
+ Avoid busy background that detract from detailed feathers - aim for simple backgrounds, or use a long lens to blur the background (small f/stop for narrow depth of field)
+ Focus on the head (especially the eyes) of the bird, if at all possible
+ Overcast days yield better detail in feathers than direct sunlight
+ Keep your eye in the viewfinder and your finger on the shutter release so you don't miss a shot! + Consider placing some bird food in a secluded spot, and then pre-focus your camera where you expect your bird friends to eat (you'll have to research what food they like to eat) + Keep your hands off the food as much as possible to prevent your scent from deterring the wildlife from approaching - avoid wearing perfume or cologne
For more photography articles, please visit Jennifer Clarkson's website at http://www.jclarksonphotography.com
To learn more about the books in her eSeries on Digital Photography, or to promote sales, please visit the following sites: Choosing your camera and accessories

Travel Photography What To Do In Bad Weather

Travel Photography What To Do In Bad Weather
By: Jennifer Clarkson
There's nothing worse than being on an expensive trip and having bad weather every day: rain in Venice, snow in Canada, hurricanes in Bermuda. But don't despair: there are ways to use bad weather to your advantage, and some tips for protecting your camera gear.
Use a Lens Hood
If you're a DSLR owner, use a hood for your lens. Hoods usually prevent rain and snow from directly hitting your lens in bad weather, thus enabling you to avoid splotches on your photo. If you don't have a hood, then shield your lens from rain and snow with your hand - just be careful not to get your hand in the photo! Along the same lines, you could find a sheltered doorway in which to perch and photograph the comings and goings of locals caught in bad weather.
Combat Low Light with a faster lens
The lower the f/stop on a particular lens, the "faster" it is - that means you can shoot hand-held in lower light than a "slow" lens. Translated to layman's terms, an f/1.4 lens is faster than an f/2.8 lens because the f/1.4 lets you capture a dark and stormy night at 1/60th second, whereas the f/2.8 lens forces you to capture the same scene at 1/30th second (likely to result in a blurry image if your focal length is more than 30mm).
Spend the day inside photographing architecture common to the region
When it rains too hard for a lens hood to help, consider spending the day going from Church to Cathedral, or viewing museums (check first to ensure that photography is allowed). Architecture can be very diverse and very interesting - play with shadows and macro lenses to capture the essence of the region.
Photograph the storm itself
Storms can be very interesting close-up: blurred Christmas shoppers caught in a sudden snowstorm, raindrops in puddles, palm trees swaying in the wind with lightning in the background. Experiment with different lenses. Again, try to capture the locals and how they react to the bad weather.
Dramatic Skies
Some of the most dramatic skies happen right before, during, or right after bad weather. Try setting up shots that showcase the skies by looking for an interesting foreground, but be sure to set the horizon line low in the frame. Watch for the sky to warm up right after the storm.
Shoot Portraits
One of the nice things about bad weather is that you almost always get perfectly diffuse light, which is ideal for portrait shots. Try getting people to pose in sheltered doorways, or nearby a large window. If you can, carry a reflector with you for portrait shots - car windshield reflectors used in the summer make great fold-up reflectors for photographers on a trip!
For more photography articles, please visit Jennifer Clarkson's website at http://www.jclarksonphotography.com To learn more about the books in her eSeries on Digital Photography, or to promote sales, please visit the following sites: Choosing your camera and accessories Getting the Most out of your Camera's Basic Settings

Landscapee painting in Barodaa

Howw Landscapee painting in Barodaa and other parts of Gujaratt has developed over the yearss.

SoOMEHOW, LANDSCAPEe PAINTING NEVER REALLY CAUGHT ON IN BARODAa
Most artists have done landscapes at some point or the other during their careers but few have pursued it with passion and out of deliberate choice. Well-regarded teacher-painters, U. P. Rao and N. S. Bendre, did paint numerous landscapes; in fact, in the late 1980s, the Baroda-based corporate group, IPCL, commissioned N.S. Bendre to paint six landscapes related to their new plant coming up in Nagothane. These works, made in the pointillist technique that Bendre was quite fond of, graced the calendar that IPCL brought out in 1989. Perhaps, this was the last major body of work that Bendre did before he passed away. Though Bendre was singularly adept at different 'kinds' of painting, the only shishya he left behind (where landscapes were concerned) was Vinod Shah.
Vinod Shah was already 'doing' landscapes as a schoolboy in Rajkot. He attended painting classes conducted by one Maganbhai Trivedi who was originally from Karachi but who had relocated to Rajkot after Partition. Trivedi taught at the Saurashtra Chitra Shala, an institute that prepared students for Elementary and Intermediate Drawing exams. Other youngsters with Shah were Sanat Thaker, Ashwin Vyas, and Manhar Makwana, who became popular painters in Gujarat later in their lives. Landscapes, still-lifes, and portraits were the main 'topics' taught at the Saurashtra Chitra Shala. Shah came to Baroda in 1955 to study at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S.U, and in his second year, was exposed to N.S.Bendre and his style of teaching/painting watercolours. Bendre's influence was so strong and exhilarating that landscapes and still lifes became the foci of Shah's artistic endeavours.

mOVIE gOSSIP.............????

Nicolas Cage Film to Be Shot in India
Friday April 6

A movie starring Nicolas Cage as a soldier-turned-mystic bent on revenge will be shot in India early next year, an executive of the film's producer, Virgin Comics, said Friday.
Self-improvement guru Deepak Chopra is working on the script for "The Sadhu (The Holy Man)," to be directed by Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, said Gotham Chopra, chief creative officer of Virgin Comics. Gotham Chopra is Deepak Chopra's son.
The film is an adaptation of a comic book series about English soldier James Jensen, who is on the hunt in India for the man who murdered his family.

"Our goal is to start filming in India in early 2008," Gotham Chopra told The Associated Press.
"Nick chose Shekhar to direct the film. The sadhu is an iconic character," Gotham Chopra said. "He is an Indian equivalent of the samurai. He is the spiritual warrior of the mind."
Cage became interested in the project after reading the comic last year.
"We sat down and talked to him about India and sadhus," Gotham Chopra said. "The story is very much set here and everybody including Nick loves the idea of shooting it in India."
Virgin Comics is a year-old partnership involving British billionaire Richard Branson, Deepak Chopra and Kapur.

THOUGHTS............

If I am not for myself, who is for me?When I am for myself, what am I?If not now, when?-- Hillel (circa 70 B.C. - 10 A.D.)


If I do not document my results, who will?If the significance of my work is not communicated to others, what am I?If not now, when?-- philg