The uncertain origins of a foolish day

 

April Fools’ Day, sometimes called All Fools’ Day, is one of the most light hearted days of the year. Its origins are uncertain. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the seasons, while others believe it stems from the adoption of a new calendar.

 

New Year’s Day Moves

Ancient cultures, including those as varied as the Romans and the Hindus, celebrated New Year’s Day on or around April 1. It closely follows the vernal equinox (March 20th or March 21st.) In medieval times, much of Europe celebrated March 25, the Feast of Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year.

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (the Gregorian Calendar) to replace the old Julian Calendar. The new calendar called for New Year’s Day to be celebrated Jan. 1. That year, France adopted the reformed calendar and shifted New Year’s day to Jan. 1. According to a popular explanation, many people either refused to accept the new date, or did not learn about it, and continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April 1. Other people began to make fun of these traditionalists, sending them on “fool’s errands” or trying to trick them into believing something false. Eventually, the practice spread throughout Europe.

 

Problems With This Explanation

There are at least two difficulties with this explanation. The first is that it doesn’t fully account for the spread of April Fools’ Day to other European countries. The Gregorian calendar was not adopted by England until 1752, for example, but April Fools’ Day was already well established there by that point. The second is that we have no direct historical evidence for this explanation, only conjecture, and that conjecture appears to have been made more recently.

 

Constantine and Kugel

Another explanation of the origins of April Fools’ Day was provided by Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University. He explained that the practice began during the reign of Constantine, when a group of court jesters and fools told the Roman emperor that they could do a better job of running the empire. Constantine, amused, allowed a jester named Kugel to be king for one day. Kugel passed an edict calling for absurdity on that day, and the custom became an annual event.

“In a way,” explained Prof. Boskin, “it was a very serious day. In those times fools were really wise men. It was the role of jesters to put things in perspective with humor.”

This explanation was brought to the public’s attention in an Associated Press article printed by many newspapers in 1983. There was only one catch: Boskin made the whole thing up. It took a couple of weeks for the AP to realize that they’d been victims of an April Fools’ joke themselves.

 

Spring Fever

It is worth noting that many different cultures have had days of foolishness around the start of April, give or take a couple of weeks. The Romans had a festival named Hilaria on March 25, rejoicing in the resurrection of Attis. The Hindu calendar has Holi, and the Jewish calendar has Purim. Perhaps there’s something about the time of year, with its turn from winter to spring, that lends itself to lighthearted celebrations.

 

Observances Around the World

April Fools’ Day is observed throughout the Western world. Practices include sending someone on a “fool’s errand,” looking for things that don’t exist; playing pranks; and trying to get people to believe ridiculous things.

The French call April 1 Poisson d’Avril, or “April Fish.” French children sometimes tape a picture of a fish on the back of their schoolmates, crying “Poisson d’Avril” when the prank is discovered.

 

Source: www.infoplease.com

 

 

Design

• Amazingly thin. Amazingly full-size.

The thinness of MacBook Air is stirring. There’s a full-size notebook encased in the 0.16 to 0.76 inch of sleek, sturdy anodized aluminum. And at just 3.0 pounds, it’s with you everywhere you go.

• A no-compromise display.

The glossy 13.3-inch, widescreen LED backlit MacBook Air display is the same viewable size as the screen on MacBook. The 1280-by-800 resolution gives you vibrant images and rich colors at full brightness the moment you open MacBook Air. So you get full-screen performance with all the benefits of a slim design.

• Full-size, full-feature keyboard.

The keyboard is full-size with crisp keys just like the ones on MacBook. But MacBook Air goes further by adding backlit key illumination, making it easy to work in low-light settings such as airplanes and conference halls. A built-in ambient light sensor automatically adjusts keyboard and display brightness for optimal visibility. And with the oversize multi-touch trackpad, it just keeps getting better for fingers.

Features

• The brilliance of multi-touch.

MacBook Air includes an oversize trackpad with multi-touch technology. You can pinch, swipe, or rotate to zoom in on text, advance through a photo album, or adjust an image. This gesture-based input so successful on iPhone and iPod touch now comes to MacBook.

• A smart LED display.

The backlit LED display allows for an even thinner build. It provides instant full-screen brightness the moment you open MacBook Air. The mercury- and arsenic-free display is also more power efficient, which translates to longer battery life.

• Thin is in the details.

The innovative now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t port hatch flips down to reveal (and closes to hide) all the ports you really need: a USB 2.0 port, a headphone jack, and a micro-DVI port that supports DVI, VGA, composite, and S-video output. Even the MagSafe power connection has been reconsidered and slimmed to fit MacBook Air.

• So thin yet so expansive.

MacBook Air comes with a way-more-than-generous 2GB of RAM built in — ample memory for working with your favorite applications. The 80GB hard drive provides plenty of storage space. And you have the option to upgrade to a 64GB solid-state drive, which has no moving parts for enhanced durability.

• Micro. Chip.

MacBook Air performance is as impressive as its form, thanks to its 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. This chip was custom-built to fit within the compact dimensions of MacBook Air.

• Built-in iSight camera.

Unlike most other ultraportable notebooks, MacBook Air includes a built-in iSight camera. It’s so smartly integrated, you hardly notice it’s there. The iSight camera and iChat software make video chatting easy anywhere there’s a wireless network.

• The battery is slimmer. The performance isn’t.

The MacBook Air battery is our thinnest ever, yet it doesn’t compromise power. You can access the web wirelessly for five full hours

 

Wireless

• Without wires, you’re free to go anywhere.

MacBook Air is the notebook that allows for a fully wireless lifestyle. It all starts with the fastest-available, next-generation 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR built in. And that’s just the beginning of the unprecedented wireless capabilities of MacBook Air.

• Ahead of the curve.

In redefining thin, MacBook Air has shed something you no longer need: the optical drive. That’s because MacBook Air is built for the wireless world. So instead of watching DVDs, you can rent movies wirelessly from the iTunes Store. And instead of backing up files to a stack of discs, you can back up files wirelessly using Apple’s new Time Capsule.

However, for those times when you still need to install software on MacBook Air from a CD or DVD, a new feature called Remote Disc lets you wirelessly use or “borrow” the optical drive of a Mac or PC in the vicinity. So you can have full access to an optical drive without having to haul one around. 

• Even migration is wireless.

How do you transfer all of your files, music, photos, and other valuable content from your old Mac to your new MacBook Air? Forget the FireWire cable — that’s the old way. MacBook Air lets you migrate everything wirelessly.

When you turn on MacBook Air for the first time, Setup Assistant walks you through the initial setup. Install the Remote Disc Setup software on the old Mac, and it will then be available to transfer information onto your new MacBook Air. It’s all wireless. All simple. And all secure.

• Introducing wireless backup.

Mac OS X Leopard brought you Time Machine, the built-in backup that automatically copies files to an external drive. And now, Time Capsule — the new hard drive plus Wi-Fi base station — lets you use Time Machine to wirelessly back up your files. It’s effort free and yet another way MacBook Air lets you live and work untethered.

 

There’s a reason your blues aren’t always true. Same goes for your reds, greens and every color in-between. What you’re seeing onscreen isn’t necessarily accurate – it all depends on your monitor. huey is an easy-to-use monitor color correction tool that automatically adjusts the color of your monitor so what you’re seeing is spot on. huey can even make further adjustments to your monitor to compensate for changes in the room lighting. Everything becomes more accurate and predictable: digital photos just as you remember the scene, game graphics that give you the intense edge you’re after, movies with brilliant life-like color and a Web-browsing experience that delivers colors that you can trust. huey is easy to use on any CRT, LCD and laptop monitor for the best possible color. Pantone’s Huey is essential for digital photographers, designers, desktop publishers, gamers and any computer users who need absolute color and clarity. 

 

Pantone huey Monitor Color Calibrator

Designed for calibrating and profiling all types of monitors–LCD and CRT. Each individual package includes a huey measurement device (emission only colorimeter) with ambient measurement capabilities, and software for monitor calibration.

 

huey corrects the color on your monitor so photos and designs print more accurately, game graphics are more intense and movies are more true–to–life. Easy–to–use right out of the box, huey adapts your monitor for changing room lighting and applies your personal preferences for viewing accurate color all of the time.

 

Pantone the global authority of professional color standards for the design industries, today announced the availability of huey, an easy-to-use monitor calibration tool designed for digital photo enthusiasts, gamers and any computer user wanting absolute color and clarity. Developed in partnership with GretagMacbeth and brought to market by Pantone, huey is based on GretagMacbeth’s technology for professional-level products and delivered in an easy-to-use, a true breakthrough in terms of function & usability. About the size of a small marker, huey delivers excellent results on LCD, laptop and CRT displays without requiring users to have any knowledge of color management.

 

System Requirements:

• CRT and LCD Monitors
• Windows 2000, XP, and Vista
• Mac OS X 10.3 or higher
• USB port

Pantone, Inc., developer of the globally accepted PANTONE Color Systems, is the leading source of traditional and electronic products for the selection and accurate communication of color. With over 40 years of experience, Pantone is recognized as the worldwide market leader in color communication and color technology for the graphic design, printing, publishing, textile and plastics industries. Pantone is an ISO-9001:2000 certified company. 

 

 

Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit

with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens

The Nikon D40 is an all new affordable, compact, point-and-shoot digital SLR from Nikon, it follows on from the D50 but at a significantly lower price point and with a subtly different feature set. The biggest news however is probably fact that Nikon resisted the temptation to keep chasing megapixels (hooray for that) and instead appear to have concentrated on what makes a good camera, a decent viewfinder, short shutter lag, very short viewfinder blackout.

 

The D40 is compact, lightweight and designed specifically for ease of use, yet contains all the top-quality, high-performance technologies that you expect from a Nikon digital SLR. And with world-famous Nikkor lenses, you know you have the sharpest and most reliable optical performance available. All in a camera light enough to carry with you everywhere. Beautiful photography has never been easier. 

 

Key features

• 6 megapixel DX format CCD (1.5x FOV crop, as D50)
• Nikon Image processing engine (as D80 / D200)
• 3D Color Matrix Metering II, 420 pixel sensor (as D80 / D50)
• New Multi-CAM530 three area AF sensor
• ISO sensitivity range 200 – 1600 plus HI 1 (3200 equiv.)
• Custom Auto ISO (selectable maximum ISO, minimum shutter speed)
• 2.5 fps continuous shooting (as D50), unlimited in JPEG
• No status LCD, new LCD monitor based status / settings screens
• Help suggestions on LCD monitor (eg. scene too dark, try using flash)
• Large 2.5″ 230,000 pixel LCD monitor
• Bigger viewfinder view (x0.8 magnification, 95% coverage)
• Short shutter lag and viewfinder blackout
• Support for SDHC (SD cards over 2 GB in capacity)
• In-camera retouching
  • D-Lighting (shadow / highlight enhancement)
  • Red-eye reduction
  • Trimming
  • Monochrome
  • Filter effects
  • Small picture
  • Image overlay
• USB 2.0 with PTP and Mass Storage device support
• Very compact, light body (smaller, lighter than D50)
• Improved menu user interface (as D80 / D200)
• New EN-EL9 Lithium-Ion battery (7.2V, 1000 mAh)
• New ‘Version II’ AF-S DX 18-55 mm kit lens

 

The lightest, most compact Nikon digital SLR ever, featuring intuitive controls and an ergonomically designed operation that even first-time SLR users can enjoy.

 

Great food always elicits strong reactions-the smell of freshly baked bread, the taste of a perfectly prepared steak. The job of a food photographer is to elicit that same mouth-watering reaction, but without the benefit of scent or taste. A well-shot photograph can send crowds flocking to a new restaurant or boost the sales of a culinary magazine. Capturing the perfect image requires a trained eye, finesse, and photographic skill. Digital Food Photography gives you the ingredients to cook up your own recipe for success-with professional lighting techniques, composition, food and prop styling, retouching, and tricks of the trade. You’ll learn how digital photography combines teamwork, creativity, and technology, and how to make money creating delectable works of photographic art. 

 

Intended for professional photographers, this guide explains how to use a digital camera to take high quality photographs of food, reveals the secrets of food stylists, and offers advice on planning the shoot, lighting, shot composition, props, and retouching the image with Photoshop. The author provides several color shots of the same dish to illustrate his work process.

 

 

Table of Contents

Introduction 

1. The Key Ingredient: Pixels 

2. Digital Photography: The Necessities 

3. Who’s Digesting It: Advertising, Packaging, Public Relations, and the Media 

4. Who’s Doing the Cooking: Working with Food Stylists 

5. Prop Styling: Who’s Doing the Shopping? 

6. Grabbing Your Attention: Composition 

7. The Recipe for Light 

8. The Digital Spice: Retouching 

9. Get Cooking and Make Some Money: Getting into the Business

 

 

Lou Manna is an award-winning Olympus Visionary photographer. He has more than 30 years of experience working with chefs, photographing cookbooks, and shooting food for publications such as Wine Enthusiast, Food Arts, and The New York Times, where he worked as a photojournalist from 1975 to 1990. Manna is an early adopter of digital technology¿he has been shooting digitally for more than 10 years. Manna has worked on location and in his studio with famous chefs such as Michael Lomonaco, Jacques Pepin, Bobby Flay, Lidia Bastianich, and Emeril Lagasse. He has appeared on ABC-TV¿s World of Photography and on the Food Network, and has lectured at the French Culinary Institute. Manna¿s award-winning photos have appeared in more than 30 cookbooks, including Dr. Phil’s The Ultimate Weight Solution Cookbook, Jacques Torres’s Dessert Circus, Pierre Franey’s Cuisine Rapide, and Arthur Hettich’s The Four Star Kitchen. He recently provided a number of shots for The New York Times¿s bestsellers America 24/7 and New York 24/7.