Paris Arc de Triomphe Saturday, June 27, 2009
Arc de Triomphe surprisingly is much bigger and taller than is shown in the picture. From the Effiel Tower it looks like a structure built for the giants. Overlooking the charming and beautiful Avenue des Champs-Élysées it is more than 10 storey high with an elevator going to the top for a panoramic view of Paris. It sits on a circle where roads from the twelve directions merge, a popular design which influenced most of the American cities during the age of the industrial revolution.
Parisians, if you love your beautiful city, please go vegan to save the world..
Labels: save the earth, travel
Lasm's story told @10:53 PM
Nectar River 西湖的甘露河 1 Tuesday, June 23, 2009
为了庆祝西湖二十周年纪念和【天艺】新书的出版，我们将在这一系列的贴子，为您详细介绍西湖绚丽的景观。今天我们来到了西湖的甘露河。如果您去西湖道场游览而没有走到甘露河，就好象入宝山却空手而归的感觉一样、或者说您去了北京而没有游览长城一样的遗憾！
甘露河可以说是整个西湖道场的精华之处，它是由西湖道场的创办人－清海无上师亲自率领一百多名长住，只花了三天的时间就建成的美丽景点。
甘露河依山而建，河水从最高处的源头冒出，沿着山丘的形势，款款而流。河床是由大大小小、不同形状的美丽鹅卵石建成，时而曲折婉转，时而款款长流，真好象人生经历的缩版一样，奇趣无比，发人深思。
“路漫漫其修远兮,吾将上下而求索”。甘露河历经几许波折，从高处的梯田，一直到下游的平地，流到了最后栖息的喷水泉，又奇迹般地从龙头高处破框而出，延绵不断，生生不息！！这样精采的结局，又是出自开悟大师一招精心设计的典范。
河水流到之处，两旁树林丛立，是人们吊床舔息，冥心静坐的好地方。一片小小竹板桥，让人们随意穿梭河的两岸，也点缀了甘露河无比的魅力，真是巧夺天工，神来之笔！
我们看到美丽无比的甘露河，就会想到为什么一群没有受过任何园艺学专业训练的人们，怎么可能只用三天的时光就开创如此美妙、幽静的景观呢？
参观了西湖甘露河，我们体验到大师深不可测的开悟力量，也感受了大师满满的爱力。回家的时候，可别忘了带一瓶甘露水，享受一下上帝的恩宠。。。
Labels: hsihu, photography
Lasm's story told @9:54 AM
Camera Talk RAW vs JPEG processing 2 Monday, June 15, 2009
Previously we talked about the advantages of shooting in RAW, and how the RAW format is actually similar to buying insurance. For those times when something goes terribly wrong, and you can never shoot the same scene again, then shooting in RAW provides you the insurance, a second chance to get things right.
We have also seen that certain camera settings can only be changed in the RAW format, after the fact. Such settings as exposure control, highlights and shadows (Nikon called it D-lighting) and White Balance can only be changed if you have a RAW file, not a JPEG file.
There are times when selecting a correct White Balance can make or break a photo, and also in certain situations a color cast can be very difficult or nearly impossible to remove in JPEG format. For these occassions, a RAW file is invaluable.
If you shoot in RAW, then the problem of White Balance becomes less critical. For example, you don't need to use White Balance Bracketing at all. White Balance Bracketing is for those who shoot in JPEG. Although it is a very fast in-camera process which captures three photos in rapid succession with different White Balance tunings without requiring you to change the drive mode away from single shot, it is absolutely redundant if you shoot in RAW. This is because you can produce as many White Balance variations as you wish when you process the RAW file.
So in short, the advantages of shooting in RAW format are:
1) Correct exposure up to 2 stops withoug impacting image quality.
3) Change White Balance settings after shooting, including fine tuning of white balance.
4) Change picture style choices, after the fact.
5) Lens specific corrections such as CA (Chromatic Abberation) and distortion correction.
Labels: photography
Lasm's story told @10:17 PM
King's Gambit Declined or Why the World has still not declared the 2009 human swine flu pandemic ? Sunday, June 7, 2009
We live in a complex world, getting increasingly more complicated.We are told that in this age of complexity, complex diseases are bound to happen.
We need to resolve the basic underlying problems of these diseases, in a timely and wise manner, as it concerns the future livelihood of our children, the hopes of our human species and indeed the survival of our planet is at stake.
We present the simple innocence of a vegan child who wants to know why the world we live in is getting increasingly dangerous, and what is the solution to human swine flu ?
Child : Mommy, what is swine flu pandemic ?
Mother : My dear, quite simply a pandemic is a major disease outbreak that is occurring all over the world.
Child : Mommy, why is the swine flu not yet declared a pandemic ? Why are we still on level 5 alert according to WHO ?
Mother : Well, my dear, the health authorities are considering various criteria, such as the kill rate, the evidence for local domestic infections etc etc and they are very, very reluctant, extremely reluctant to declare the current siwne flu outbreak as a pandemic despite mounting evidence that the disease is spreading and spreading without signs of abating.
Child : Mommy, what are the adults concerned about ? What will happen to the world if they declare the human swine flu (H1N1 A influenza) pandemic ?
Mommy : Well, my dear child, a lot is at stake if the world is declaring the current swine flu outbreak as a pandemic, and that is why the adults are dragging their feet. Declaring a pandemic has enormous consequences. The primary pork producers, the industry responsible for creating the massive unhygenic, inhumane conditions for pig farms, which resulted in the birth of human swine flu will be hit hardest. The authorities are afraid of lost of economy, or money income from the cruel and wicked meat industry. It is a huge US$26 billion global industry with a lot of political clout. There are also other worries. They are mainly political worries, such as putting the health authorities in a tight spot. They may run out of strategies to combat the swine flu pandemic. They may be faced with a situation where they suddenly find their decades old disease prevention protocols and processess being challenged and found wanting. So it has huge impact on a lot of people's fortunes, the scientists' reputation, the health authorities' reputation as guardian of public health, loss in public confidence, triggering loss in stock market confidence etc etc.
Child : Mommy, is it like a chess game the adults are playing ?
Mommy : Yes my dear, very much so it is like a chess game. Yeah, the virus could be playing King's Gambit. Right now the ball is in the court of the humans. The authorities are hoping for a break, they are praying that nature will give humanity a break and not force the virus to mutate too quickly before a vaccine is available etc.. so that the health authorities and the people in power can heave a huge sigh of relief, and life can go back to normal for everyone, and people can continue to eat meat in blissful ignorance..
Child : Mommy, what is the strategy of the adults ?
Mother : They really are running out of options.. They have tried containment, half heartedly, and it doesn't appear to be very effective, because it they carry out containment strategy to the fullest, they would have to ban air travel, but that path is considered too costly, again due to econmoic considerations.. there will be huge impact on economy, banning air travel bans trade as well, and money drive this world, my dear, not kindness, at least people have not realized that yet..
Child : Mommy, what other strategies can the adults consider ?
Mother : Well, my dear, not much options really, if all they want to do is continue "status quo", continue to destroy animal's lives and sacrifice them three times daily in ordinary citizen's kitchen table, and continue to drive the earth's environment beyond repair and resulting in permanent loss of 270 species daily, and over 5 billion animals slaughtered needlessly for food annually, the degradation and genocide of flaura and fauna, extinction of species, loss of bio-diversity, climate change, water wastage, ocean deserts or oxygen-less dead zones in our oceans etc. etc.
Child : Mommy, what about contact tracing, and personal hygiene, such as washing hands ?
Mother : Those are tactical parts of the containment strategy which appear to be failing, little tactics and tactical moves that address the symptoms of the human swine flu problem but did not attack the main threat, the source of the problem per se.
Well, if the authorities are forced to the wall by the human swine flu virus, they may well have to resort to "education", telling the public to be prepared to face the music, face the worst scenario, and that somehow their responsibilities can be discharged by "conditioning" the public expectation and perparing them for the consequences of their own choice, the choice of meat and its fatalistic retribution. In other words, be prepared to die for the pleasure of eating meat !
Child : Can't the adults think out of the box ? Like the King's Gambit Accepted !
Mother : Well, my dear, we hope they do... we certainly hope so. There is a King's Gambit Accepted vailable, but they are oh... so reluctant to consider it... that will be certainly one of the last resorts...
Child : Why, mommy ?
Mother : Well, my dear, the King's Gambit Accepted, is to move from the meat-eating world to an organic vegan world. To shut down the source of infection, the pig farms, the livestock farms, which are the breeding grounds of human swine flu by completely eliminating the demand for meat, and therefore generating zero supply for the meat industry.
Child : Won't it be a world disaster to lose the income from the meat industry ?
Mother : Well, dear, there is no fear as the lost of one industry will transform to the rise of another industry. The new industry could well be organic vegan ! In the United States alone, flu epidemics are estimated at an economic loss of US$500 billion annually, and that is many times more than what the Pork Industry earns globally !! So the maths really do not work out in favour of meat.. Further more if all the adults can think about is burn ratio, all that talk about slow burn or fast burn, will only lead to an unpleasant end game scenario, the charcoal burn !! That's the scenario where what is left is charcoal left over of burnt dead human bodies !! What price can you put to a human life ?? It's precious beyond monetary value !!
Child : So let's move to the vegan world now !!
Mother : We will have patience, my dear. We will wait to see which is the first nation in the world to declare their country vegan. You see, the people with power don't like to be forced to "show hand", or to disclose the last trump card they held close to their chest, which may be calling their bluff.. When they are forced to show hand, they will be forced to face God, their own conscience, their own highest moral judge, and that will be a very ugly scenario. There can be no excuses, they will have to be accountable to themselves, for the choices they made and the consequences of those choices which affects millions of people, the possibility of human treason, crime against humanity and nature, crime against the animals, crime against God. And that is something even the toughest, most powerful person in the world will fear to face. They would like to appear to be in control.. but sooner or later they will realize the only solution to all this madness is the vegan solution, as the end draws near and all other options have been explored, they will be forced to face the only one last drastic action left, the vegan solution. Let's hope the world make it in time, before the end game ends the world !!
Labels: save the earth
Lasm's story told @1:16 PM
Human Swine Flu lessons learned.... A wake up call !! Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Many years ago, I remembered the kind of look a friend cast upon me, when he learned that I was a vegetarian... He looked at me at the train station like I was some kind of alien...It was laughable, but actually, friends, Truth be told, vegetarians are the most "normal" people in this world. They are the ones who wish to keep the world together, to ensure the continuity of this planet, the survivability and sustainability through a compassionate lifestyle and diet, respect for the animals and respect for our environment. They are the Heroes !! The real world saviours !!
The so-called "normal" meat-eating mass is the one who are trying to destroy the world.
They are so willing to sacrifice everything... resources, water, land, air, even encourage new diseases and viruses to grow, all these things, just to satisfy their palette for a few seconds, as they push down the animal carcass into their throats. They are the ones who attract disaster and diseases into this world, and if they do not change, they will cause the world to come to an end.
If you watch Supreme Master Television. You will understand everything. You will know all the harm that we have inflicted on the planet through our actions and our eating habits.
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Now about the Human-Swine Flu. We know it is a triple hybrid mutant, combined virus from human, pigs and bird flu. It is a very malicious virus.. There are more bad news... It has jumped from pigs to human, that is the first piece of bad news. Now another major "feat"... It is transmitting amongst human-to-human...
You want more bad news ? It is now transmitting from human back to pigs !!! A very clever virus indeed, that is trying to create havoc and wreck the lives of humans.
My intelligent friends, please wake up !!! I don't want to say any more..
Our eating habits are killing us !!! It is killing our children, it is killing animals, and it is killing our planet... We ARE what we EAT ... Do you want to become a SWINE ????
Do you want your body to be a temple for the SWINE virus, the playground of the Human-Swine flu ????
Please stop it.. If you stop eating meat, the pig farms will close down.
If the pig farms closed down, the Human Swine Flu virus will lose its breeding ground.
It is so simple !!! Just do it !!!
Stop breeding Human Swine Flu !!! Say NO to Human Swine Flu..
STOP EATING MEAT !!! and cease to support the live stock industry !!
Pork is NOT SAFE to eat.
We need to change here !!! Don't leave it to the government to "take care of things" !!
Look at Mexico City !! The government close down when it is faced with a serious pandemic issue.. who are you going to rely on to solve the problem ?? You, YOU are the solution... No one else.
Don't rely on the scientist... They are just "learning" about the new virus, they will tell you they don't know anything about it .... and if you want a stronger "medicine" to suppress your "symptoms" wait a few more months, they tell you, then everyting will be "OK". Ask the scientist whether the virus can be eradicated, they will tell you NO, ask them what happens as they lurk
dormant inside the human body, and they will tell you they DON'T KNOW the long term effects..
You, my friends, you are the solution to these problems, because they are
caused by your eating habits !!
Do not pretend to be an "innocent bystander"... Do not wait for instructions from the government, or the health ministry. The health department will just tell you to wash your hands more frequently, while you are still "eating meat".... How many times do you think you can wash hands in a day ???
Just wash as many times as possible, every other second.. and then the problem will "go away" !!
The only real solution, my friends, wake up !!! Change to a healthy diet !!
Change to a vegetarian or vegan diet !!! Do it NOW !!!
Please don't let the young children die of the Human Swine Flu virus when you can do something about it..
Be a hero !!! Save our world !!
Step up, step forward and be counted ...
Contribute your part to the solution,
do not take part in perpetuating the problem !!
Be VEG. Save our planet.
Labels: save the earth, stop eating meat
Lasm's story told @10:53 AM
