Gow lives and breathes all things yoga and  health.

She’s travelled across Canada with David Suzuki, is an Ayurvedic practitioner and  she’s the first woman to make the Guiness World Book of Records for the longest yoga marathon, lasting 32 hours, which raised more than $15,000 for charity.

I met her several years ago when I did a series of weightloss segments on CBC.

She’s fit alright.

And she really believes yoga can have a positive impact on your health.

If you’ve been curious about yoga and have questions, you may want to drop by. Email hello@yasminyoga.com

and a link to the event:
http://en.yasminyoga.com/events/yoga-basics-dvd-release-party-montreal/

(And please remember before you try any sport, no matter how gentle, talk with your doctor first!)

And for those who prefer visuals, I am sharing the pictures here…

Indian Botanic Garden, Kolkata

The Great Banyan Tree

The Great Banyan Tree, Prop roots

Rufous Treepie Bird

Butterfly in the grass

Hooghly River Bank

Common Drongo

Medicinal Herb

Medicinal Herb in Charak Udyan

Prain Lake

Squirrel!

Jungle Babbler

Egrets

Large fruits hanging from a tree

Green Bee-eaters silhouetted in the eve

Black Rumped Flameback

Bird Silhouette

Jungle Babblers

FLAAAASSSSHBAAAACCCCKKK

Don’t mind my shaky cam (seriously Michael Bay am proud after seeing this) but this is at the, very early stages of, attempt at making a new entry into the Guinness World Book for Largest Life Drawing Lesson.
I wasn’t originally gonna go to it but a number of things steered me towards it; I fucking suck at drawing real people and it seemed that most of my close friends drawers or not, convinced me to go (except my best friend who, at the mention of drawing dudes, replied with “HYUK GAAAAAAAAAAAAAY”. WHATEVER MAN). And hey, after the millionth opportunity that’s popped up in front of my face this year, I’m learning to start saying “Yes” rather than “eehhhh I’ll think about it”. I think someone’s trying to tell me something.
So I was pretty surprised when I got there (with a couple of friends from Qantm as well) with how much Qantm students went to it as well.
Especially a lot of Animation students as well (well, DUH). I mean the Legit Animation students, not the Crazy Clarks version I’m taking right now.
Anyhow this was my first life drawing class ever so you’d understand I was a little bit nervous.
It’s funny though, when I got there I started worrying about the models LOOKING at my drawing of them rather than them being, oh I don’t know, stark naked. Just sayin’ is all.
So from the words ‘Models, take your positions’ (Heh.), it was pretty much go time. With a 2 second “Oh God Hi” to kick it off, of course. But still it was pretty much draw all of the things in limited time.
I gotta say I REALLY enjoy it.
I’ve kinda noticed that I tend to focus on a group around a subject and draw that area. I can’t seem to draw a full frame subject. I just can’t.
It’s really really bizarre. So I have to work on that.
The biggest thing I noticed is that the atmosphere tends to lend itself to everyone’s pencil. It’s like there was a drug in the air which seemed to bring out the best in everyone’s artist, it was GREAT! And it’s really cool to see the range of skill and different style of drawing from around the different groups.
And not in a “Oh man I’m so jealous of that guy”, but more in a “Wow that’s some kick-ass shading. And that lady nailed the form over there”.
So I’ll definitely be going again this week as well, where I believe it’s back to where it normally is at Brisbane State High (apparently) cause I really need to upgrade my shiiiet.
Oh yeah this is probably the one I’m ACTUALLY pleased with. Check it out yo.

I guess we’ll see what I come up with next time!
OOH. Also, I submitted my first assignment.
I did. I DID.
Got it back as well and it seems like it didn’t suck as much as I thought!
Peruse and things.

Okay so I’m PRETTY happy with it for the most part but Things I need to learn for next time
1. MAKE SURE THERE ARE ENOUGH CONNECTS – You can really notice it at the end of each tail how I didn’t break up enough polys to make it smoother.
So next time it’s pretty much MAKE ERRRTHANG SMOOTH
2. Plan Textures beforehand – You can probably notice that the Leather in the Skate Cushions doesn’t really pop out well. It’s because I used a semi-low res texture in the spirit of the moment.
Other than that, not bad for a first time eh?
Next up are the Trend Presentation (a lot of Uncharted and Tintin behind the scenes clips are gonna be watched. Oh yes) and Design Brief assessments (which I’m super excited for, I’ve been doing character art for the past few hours coming up with some really awesome shit. LAWWWWRENCE)
Speaking of uni, after next week we’re moving to the West End location which means I don’t need to dread going into the damn city all the time.
I hate the city sometimes but it WAS starting to grow on me. Fucking jaywalking MY ASS.
Also, superb terrace area. SUPERB I SAY. I’ll take photos when we move in, it basically overlooks the northwestern part of Brissy River. So boss.
Many smokes shall be had up there.

So.
Enough about work.
Now about play.
Lately I’ve picked up a couple of games on my half-day downtimes.
Uncharted 3 and Shin Megami Tensei : Strange Journey (or SMT IV, whatever you like) to be exact.
I’ve always been a HUGE fan of the Uncharted series and I’ve always said that they’re pretty much Indiana Jones : The Game.
They’re fun, don’t take themselves too seriously, have freakin’ insanely good facial animations (WHICH ARE DONE BY HAND BY THE WAY NOT MO CAP. SORCERY), hilarious dialogue, interesting characters. The list goes on and on and on.
Basically, it’s the video game equivalent of a good, fun Summer Blockbuster. Also, Nolan North.
I wasn’t really thrilled with the actual combat this time around, it basically felt like every enemy was a giant walking sponge for my bullets, and I had much more fun Rambo-ing shit up and engaging in ALL of the fisticuffs. Usually with hilarious results. Or death. Mostly death.

Now Strange Journey is one of those games that I’ve had for the longest time but have barely touched, mainly because of it’s ridiculous difficulty curve.
I decided to pick it up again after conversations with a few gamers trying to find something like P3P, and I’ve been told again and again
“Go back to the mainline series, it just can’t be beat”.
It can’t. It’s really really fucking good.
Coming off of Persona and even off the original SMT, the atmosphere is, while still sinister and heavily occult themed, wildly different from any of the others I’ve played.
Without spoiling too much for a whole post, the whole game down to it’s presentation is simply put, friggin’ epic.
I don’t mean epic like “EPIC BRO” I mean epic in the truest sense of the word, which still blows my mind because it’s on a DS.
Even the soundtrack is truly an incredible experience with the most basic off battle themes sounding like a Final Battle. Every step of the way is greeted with grotesque environments, deep choral compositions, and grim story arcs.
Also special mention to the character art returning to the original SMT style, which I’ve always been a rabid fan of.
There’s something so simple yet mysterious about all of the art, especially the demons themselves (obviously) in the mainline SMT games that is just so intriguing,

Unf, just listen to this shit. Amazing. Bloody Amazing.

Sidenote to all of this, I’ve been reading a book called The Artist’s Way recently, which deals with unblocking your creative side and dealing with…well, you in a sense. It’s an amazing read and it’s put a lot of things in perspective, not just things of late, but past situations where I’ve let myself not have faith in my own abilities. I really need to travel back in time and punch that man in the teeth. But, I would highly recommend this book to anyone that’s unsatisfied with their art, in a rut, or just generally needing some inspiration. Get it. Now.

To finish up everyone needs to download this mixtape.

You’re welcome.

The  11yr old B-girl Spinderella from CTFB Crew Chi-Town Finest Breakers is in the Guiness World Book of Records for the longest headspins ever

13:53.34 min/sec

The temple building is huge and is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest building built from a single white sandalwood tree. It is 23 meteres high, guarded by those symbolic  lions, and mobbed with worshipers.

The roads leading up to Temples are lined with incense stands. Inside, several huge fire pots are available to light the incense.

Buddhists pray with incense and touch their head, mouth and bow for good deeds.

This woman has a small spread of incense but most use the huge bouquets of incense sticks in their ritual.

While many stand, some use the prayer benches.

Only ten percent of China is Buddhist because many Chinese feared retribution from the government. But, the Buddhist tradition is deeply rooted and Chinese people want to do good deeds and enjoy a better life in the hereafter.

Like all organized religion, there is money to be made. First from the incense and donations to the temple managers. Bills in the water, coins in the dish.

We left the Temple and visited the Prince Gong Garden. It was so crowded with humanity, we left very quickly.

Our last grand affair before leaving Beijing, is an old tradition in China, the Peking Opera.  The Opera is only performed in Beijing-subsidized by the government. We viewed pictures in the lobby of the costumes. Colorful, embroidered, traditional costumes, both male and female. Predominant colors in China are yellow and red.  The costumes alone were worth the price of the tickets. ($30).
The players  entertained us as we sat at square tables with no one’s back to the stage.  They served dainty little cookies of several types on a decorated square plate to pass around. Then with great flair poured tea into tiny cups from a pot held high above their heads with a three foot long spout. A took a steady aim to pour without splashing and the feat delighted us all.

Like parts in a play, one-act was fast paced, acrobatic ballet. In another act, the men and women performed in slow motion meaning every muscle was tuned. The painted white faces and red lips are not allowed to move or show emotion.  We were close enough to see their nostrils flare as they must breathe, but otherwise they were like elegant puppets, disciplined, strictly, choreographed in difficult balancing positions.  You caught yourself  holding your breath for them. The dancing and  story telling drama had more typical  movement and much emotion on stage. The words in English show on screens on either side of the stage. One sequence has the government issued degree hated by the people. They conspire to steal the key to a government room where they unlock the papers and change the degree. (Their only form of protest in ancient times.)  Another is about a Shogun who has a beautiful concubine that he is in love with. He is ordered away in shame and they cannot accept their fate and commit suicide together.  The whole thing was fascinating, enjoyable and a great send off from Beijing.

[worldnow id=6015002 width=480 height=360 type=video]

Fair organizers said it was for a good cause. Individual bites were sold for 99 cents, and the proceeds went to the Alameda County Food Bank.

KCBS’ Tim Ryan Reports: [audio_link url="http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/nyc.podcast.play.it/media/d0/d0/d0/dY/d4/dB/d4/Y4B4_3.MP3" name="Burger At Alameda County Fair Could Set A World Record" artist="Tim Ryan"]

Officials from the Guinness Book of Records were on hand to verify that the burger was bigger than the 595-pound burger that currently holds the record.

The big burger will be a whopping 1,375,000 calories, which is enough to feed one person for almost 2 years.

Trimmings include a 110-pound bun, some 50 pounds of cheese, 20 pounds of onions, 12 pounds of pickles, and 30 pounds of lettuce.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Billy Courtice Writes about the Death of the Shortest Man in the World - Photo Courtesy of A11news.com.

Billy Courtice
Online Story 6

He Pingping-death

Friends and family of He Pingping are shocked by his sudden death last Saturday. At a mere 66 cm, He was the world’s shortest living man able to walk. Despite his tiny nature, those who knew He said he made a big impact in many lives.

“From the moment I laid on eyes on him, I knew he was someone special,” Craig Glenday, Guiness Book of World Records editor told Britain’s Times Online. “He had such a cheeky smile and mischievous personality.”

“[He] was an inspiration to anyone considered different or unusual,” added Glenday.

He had been on a trip to Italy promoting “The Record Show,” where he would appear among the world’s tallest man, Sultan Kösen, who stood nearly two metres higher than He. He checked into a Rome hospital about two weeks before his death, complaining of chest pains, before succumbing to heart complications.

“We just did not expect this bad news,” He’s sister He Lihua told Times. “He called us every day saying he wasn’t eating well and that he missed us.”

He’s family still lives in Baotou, an industrial city in He’s native Inner Mongolia.

Source:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7064106.ece

While many consider this to be paradise,

I’d rather live in this than that.

Which brings me to the point of current tastes. How is that beautifying the Earth? I would defend the case of the ugly quaint cottage. That is beautifying the world much more than a tall freakish building is. Made of colorless silver that will probably blind every passerby that looks up. The Burj Dubai, along with other similar ”feats in architecture”, seem to be competing for the Guiness World Book of Records.

Doesn’t this seem to be a case of “my lightning rod is longer than your lightning rod”?

Gosh…that sounded scandalous