What is Christmas anyway?

Christmas is the performance of Jesus Christ self-effacing birth to a virgin in a stable in Jerusalem. The time off also celebrates the proceedings neighboring his birth, such as an angel’s emergence to shepherds, telling them to visit the newborn son of God.  Even though the Church doesn’t judge it the most important Christian holiday, Christmas is certainly the most accepted, at least in terms of cultural and social importance.

The Church are of the believe that the events later in Jesus’s life should be the focal point, but we don’t even consider it all that noteworthy.  Neither the New Testament nor any historical record know the exact birth of Jesus Christ himself. As a consequence, the Church originally contemplated many dissimilar dates, including January 2, April 18th, April 19th,  May 28th, November 17th, and November 20 and the 28th. The Western Church first observed December 25 in the fourth century, and eventually the churches in the East followed this idea.

Christmas does have it’s genesis as a pagan holiday. Most of the old traditional ideas of Christmas, such as gift giving, Christmas decoration hanging, and  eating, come from sources other than the Church.

The origin of Santa Claus comes from many different sources. The initial known insight of the legend comes from the fourth century in the form of Saint Nicholas of Myra, a Greek Christian figure known for his kindness to the less fortunate. The American’s description of Santa Claus  from research do seem to have originated from a Dutch fairy tale about ‘Sinter Klaas’, which people brought to America in roughly the seventeenth century. Americans really did embrace the thought of Santa Claus, who was apparently said to have delivered gifts to good boys and girls on Christmas Eve, which is something we’ve went by ever since. A lot of Americans, Santa Claus epitomises the spirit of giving of Christmas.  In order to celebrate the Christmas of Santa Claus during the Christmas holidays, many do not only give presents to loved ones but they also donate charity work and also gifts in the form of gift boxes to the less fortunate ones.

 And on that note if you took all of that in, i'd like to wish all my happy viewers a Merry Christmas!

Why I feel Stanley Kubrick is the best director of all time

 Some would probably turn and say "strange and difficult to comprehend". Others would say "Daring,Superb, genius but a stubborn man" The late great Stanley Kubrick was labelled a lot of things during his tenure but one thing no man could ever doubt was his unbelievable talent for his contribution to cinema.

So for this blog post i've dedicated it as to why I firmly believe this man is the best director of all time.

• He was a monster and 'nailed' every genre of film. Dr Strangelove, the Shining, 2001: Space Odyssey.
 

But the way I feel his stories are used to full range of equipment a filmmaker has at their retention is unmatched even to this day over 25 years on. Kubrick embraced the art of cinema as a intermediate that could be twisted in any way he desired, unlike any other form of art you come across, with the use of music, brightness, conversation, actors and masterpiece. It is nothing.

His films I believe have been picked apart by film scholars (like myself) and the casual movie watchers alike for years now and their is still no one single general agreement as to what any of them mean. That speaks volumes to Kubrick’s brilliance by showing his complete mastery of the standard of cinema.

 

I believe if you are passionate about film making or even just a casual watcher. Then films such as The Shining, 2001: Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange are films you MUST see.

The Basics to C++

The C code programming language is a well admired and commonly used programming language for creating programs on the computers we use daily. Programmers however much of a bad reputation they may have for the Geekyness of themselves! Around the world grip C code purely since it gives the user utmost control and efficiency to the person programming. If you are already a programmer then you probably don’t have to read this bit, though if you are interested in becoming a programmer, there are a few benefits you will gain if you begin learning C code:

 • You will become intelligent enough to read and write the coding language for a large number of different platforms -- the whole lot from micro controllers to the most superior technical systems can be written in C, also if you didn’t already know many modern operating systems are also written in C.


• The leap to the object related C++ language becomes a great deal easier. C++ is an expansion of C, and I believe it is nearly impossible to learn C++ without learning C in the first place. So you’ll probably be thinking What is C? C is the shortened name for computer programming language. Which basically means that you can use C coding to create different types of lists of instructions for computers to follow.

C is currently one of the many thousands of programming languages currently in use in the programming world. C’s existence has been around for a few decades now and has won extensive recognition because it gives the programmers utmost control and effectiveness. C is quite a simple language language for the user to learn in terms of ease of use, it’s a little more mysterious and strange in it’s style than some of the different languages around but you should get passed that barrier quite quickly if you stick to it.

Favourite Music Album of 2013

1. Born Sinner - J Cole
On his second album, J. Cole represents a self confident man who has come along way since being the first man to be signed to Jay Z's Roc Nation label. He believes he’s a front runner in the hip-hop game and constantly recognizes his idols in his new album such as Tupac and Biggie Smalls which you can hear in songs such as the introduction to the track Villuminati. For Jermaine it's always about delivering an album that cements his position at the top of the Rap Game. And Born Sinner definitely gives that. He isn’t just competing with those around him, but also his idols and the rappers at the top of the game most notably the controversial big headed Kanye West.

He pushed back the release of Born Sinner  a week to coincide with the release of his album Yeezus, something addressed in Forbidden Fruit which features Kendrick.  In the end Yeezus ended up selling around roughly 30k copies more than J Coles Born Sinner; which in all honesty is a bit of a joke, but then again Kanye appeals more to the more mainstream audience and has been around longer than J. Cole, in 3 years he's come so far and I believe their is so much more to come from him.



Personally speaking I love the way J. Cole opens his album saying “Sometimes I brag like Hov, sometimes i’m real like Pac”, which sets a example for what we’re going to hear the album. He takes upon various different styles and attitudes in the album, from this incredibly self confident man who’s willing to  go to war with Kanye West in terms of Album sales, to an artist who is some what depressed  and very light hearted and timid. This can be seen in one of the  most recognisable and mainstream  songs, Let Nas Down & the track called Power Trip, which we hear Jermaine rap about his admiration for Nas, basically saying from (quote taken from his song “Let Nas Down”) he used to “print out Nas raps and tape them up on my wall”. This respect for him is followed by his regret on hearing that Nas hated his single Work Out, which Jermaine has stated many times that he regrets making because he was viewed as a ‘Sell out’ in that respect and wasn’t the real J. Cole which I believe all true J.Cole fans would relate too.

It’s a very personal song  which I believe allows us to see another side of Jermaine. For all we hear about how rappers are talking about their new chains, being from the hood, and not caring about how much they spend. Jermaine is a refreshing change to the Hip Hop world and is the realest thing I’ve seen since the days of Pac and Biggie.
 
Kudos Jermaine, keep it going.

 

5 of the Best Exercises You Should Be Doing

1. OVERHEAD SQUAT

What It Works
Total body core, with stress on legs.

Why it is important
The overhead squat improves stability and quality throughout the body by targeting weak spots within the back and legs. I feel that having the bar held upwards up over your head brings the burden further from your center of gravity and challenges your core stability even more than the standard back squat, at a fraction of the burden.

 

 

 

 

2. CABLE FACE PULL

What It Works
Your traps and rear deltoids

Why I feel it’s vital
Poor posture may be a common downside among the final population from being in unerect positions at a table, and plenty of back problems square measure a result. To combat this,  I feel you should use the cable face up which will  facilitate that tough-to-reach rear-delt space and improve upper-back symmetry.

3. Exercising Weight HIP THRUST

What It Works
Your Glutes

Why i feel it’s vital
Building robust and powerful legs square measure usually attributable to the squat and deadlift with the help of well-developed glutes. However, overuse of these exercises will strain the lower back. I suggest the utilization of the exercising weight hip thrust due to its ability to larger isolate the glutes than each the squat and also the deadlift.

4. DUMBBELL FLOOR PRESS

What It Works
Chest, shoulders and striated muscle.

Why I feel it’s vital

There's a point in a traditional bench press where weak triceps cause the the bar gets stuck—this is known as a "sticking point." Dumbbell floor presses help eliminate the sticking point by using your arms through a movement pattern that strengthens the triceps at its weakest point. 

5.  The High Step Up

 

What It Trains

The Quadriceps, glutes, and core

Why I think it’s important

I believe the squat is what you should be putting your focus into, and the high stepup is the key. The high stepup will heavily improve imbalances on both of the sides of your body,  which resultingly will improve your overall squat control and power.

 

Did you know?: Arsenal Facts

1. The biggest attendance at Highbury was 73,295 against Sunderland in an old Division 1 game played on the 9th of March 1935.

2. First English team to beat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, AC Milan & Inter Milan at the San Siro.


3.  Arsenal won 14 straight league games from February 2002 till August 2002, which still today is the longest winning streak in Premier League history.

4. When Arsenal went through the entire 2003/04 premier league season unbeaten, they completed an immaculate season and were since renown as the 'The Invincibles'. It is an achievement that has never been matched before and has not been matched since the inception of the Premier League.

5.  Arsenal’s youngest goalscorer remains world class midfielder Cesc Fabregas.When he tapped in a goal in the Carling Cup against Wolverhampton Wanderers in December 2003, he was aged just a mere 16 years and 212 days.

6.  Completing a domestic double is an unbelievable achievement. It requires consistency, class and mental strength of the highest order. Not only must you have the mental strength to cope with the rigours of  a 38-game league season, but you must also face the risks of the cup competitions.

7. Arsenal share the record with Man Utd of achieving the League and FA Cup double on three separate occasions. The Gunners completed the feat in 1971 which we were famously reknown for winning it at White Hart Lane, 1998 and 2002 when we took the crown of Manchester United on their on backyard.

On the 27th February 2010, every Arsenal fan in the world watched in horror as Ryan Shawcross ploughed through the bone of Aaron Ramsey’s leg.

“But has [Ramsey's] rise been a typical, gradual one?

Despite being over three years ago,the trauma of that day lives on. Yet, today I will review how that same player recovered in a way which today sees him as one of Arsenal’s most influential assets. He looks confident, more threatening and has certainly turned a corner in terms of his impact on the game.
But has his rise been a typical, gradual one? Or has he suddenly erupted with talent after months of dormancy? I’d argue that the latter is true – and here’s why.
- See more at: http://www.theclockend.com/featured/the-rise-of-aaron-ramsey#sthash.t9yPTtc0.dpuf

DSLR Cameras Explained

What are DSLR Cameras?

 DSLR  stands for digital single-lens reflex camera, and if you carry on reading you'll find out exactly why they are better than your standard general cameras you would come across.

 What are Megapixels in DSLRs?

Just like the standard digital cameras you can find, DSLRs have sensors that take the image, before the image then gets put onto the memory card.
DSLR sensors are in the flesh bigger than the sensors in general digital cameras, which is one of the  reasons why DSLR cameras tend to give better image quality. The average DSLR camera sensor also have more megapixels than the average  digital camera, which helps if for example are a printing firm and want very large prints.

Image Quality on DSLR Cameras

If you fasten a high quality lens to a DSLR, you can seriously maximise the quality of image of a DSLR to easily surpass what you can achieve with a standard camera – things like the detail, colour and sharpness too will be stronger.

On some  of the DSLR cameras you might come across, the quality from the usually supplied kit lens is nothing to get excited over in terms of quality shots.  You can tend to find, DSLR cameras are sold body only.

 

DSLR size and weight

DSLR cameras, when you also include the kit lense, body and standard equipment that come with it, are physically much bigger and bulkier than pretty much all of the standard digital cameras you will come across, but they're not necessarily that heavy in their own right.

Nevertheless, as you probably would  be carrying more than  just the single lens around with you,  you might want to use a bigger lens than the one already supplied, your inventory can get quite heavy. DSLR cameras usually have a good handgrip and considering mine which is a Canon and has a superb grip on it, so holding onto them whilst getting a shot shouldn’t be too hard.

Shutter delays on DSLR cameras

Shutter delays are an issue on DSLR cameras too you might find, but not as much. DSLR cameras shutter delay’s  are usually pretty quick (usually under 0.5 seconds). Also the Start up time and shot-to-shot time are also faster with a DSLR.

DSLRs' viewfinder and LCD screen

DSLR cameras have viewfinders which are precise and lucid. Unlike the older generation of DSLR cameras, most of the new models allow you to compose your pictures on the LCD screen too. Some DSLR cameras you may also come across might have a separate LCD screen on them for displaying menu's,shooting information, and other general standard things such as Battery life.

How did English Football get so popular?

“In 1992, Sky Sports bought Premier League TV rights for just over £302m, 21 years later at the start of the 2013/14 season, Sky have once again recently renewed it’s Premier League football’s TV rights package for £3billion. 

Which is a significant increase since it’s inception. Sky television in it’s inception year didn’t even have a sports channel, and 20 years on we’ve seen 4 channels added including 4 HD sports channels and a pay per view football channel called Prem Plus which was around from 2001 till 2007 which screened exclusive Premier League football matches to subscription holders of that channel, which was publically criticised by sections football fans. 

Another reason that English football has benefited so much from Sky’s television rights purchase is because football league matches until 1992 were available on free to air television such as the BBC, “which was funded by the tax payers money which more technically is referred to TV licensing fees”, so really didn’t have the budget to go out and air as many football matches as Sky do now. therefore when the hundreds of millions that were put into the Premier League clubs budget helped pay the bigger wages and transfer fees which later in this entry will thoroughly look into in a in depth manner to find out what benefits this really provided and what consequence the rest of English football are paying for the big teams increase.

Sky TV has changed the social word of football fans a lot, pre 1992 before Sky football came in, football fans would have mostly scratched their head at the possibility of going to a pub to watch a football match, the big TV screens were virtually unheard off and back when people were slightly tentative about the prospect of splashing out a lot of money at the time on a satellite dish. 

One of the problems many football fans and media alike have touched upon is the fact how Sky is socially destroying the game for the supporters due to how successful they’ve actually become, Sky have become ‘out of touch’ with the average football fan.

 

As touched upon in the Guardian article ‘The game that ate itself’ tells us how a story of a die-hard Manchester City supporter had been going to every fixture home and away for over 5 years until recently being priced out due to the rise in ticket prices. A ticket to see his team play Birmingham had risen in 1 year from £17 to £35, what was the difference? Birmingham had been promoted to the top division of English football. Due to the demand and interest Sky has brought to English football, it’s only natural for clubs to do the same and put prices up even more and take advantage of the demand. The over achievement of Sky since 1992’s rights purchase of English football has led to pricing out the average fan out of games.