Friday, October 31, 2008

PHASMOPHOBIA


Phasmophobia (or spectrophobia) is a type of specific phobia, being an abnormal and persistent fear of ghosts, spectres or phantasms. It derives from the greek words "phasma" meaining "apparition" and "phobos" meaning "fear". It is often bought about by experiences in early childhood and causes sufferers to experience panic attacks.


Causes


Phasmophobia is similar to other specific phobia in that it is the result of the unconscious mind acting a defence mechanism to try and avoid a certain situation or object and is thus classified as a type of mental health disorder. It is often bought about by a person believing they have had an encounter with a ghost, most often at an early age, but can also be caused by television and films. When bought about by the latter it is often temporary. Therefore, although the actual existence of ghosts is debated, the fear of ghosts only requires a person to believe they have had an encounter. For example, in an attempt to recall certain events pertaining to a possible encounter with a specter, a hypnotist might use hypnosis to retrieve the lost memories of the event. Research studies have found that these "hypnotically refreshed" memories typically combine fact with fiction, but would convince a patient of the realness of their encounter. There is also the psychological factor of entering a premises in which one already possess prior information that it is suspected as being haunted or is similar to other supposedly haunted places, the psychological impact of this alone can cause the anxiety bought about by phasmophobia.


Symptoms


Phasmophobia is categorized by a series of symptoms that the sufferer experiences when they think they have seen a ghost, or apparition. The suffer usually experiences intense feelings of terror or dread and are often prone to panic or have panic attacks, these symptoms in turn result in an increased or rapid heart-beat. Another common symptom, typical of a majority of specific phobia, is attempts by affected individuals to completely avoid a situation in which one may think they are prone to encountering what they perceive as a ghost.


Monday, October 27, 2008

SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER ... AND SPRING














Spring, Summer, fall, Winter... And Spring



The film which i enjoyed more.
Now im the fan of Kim Ki Duk.
His story, the way the story was directed are simply superb.
The film ore discusses about Buddhism & it's Philosophies
It's a Cyclic Story
Do watch the movie!
Now im in search of more of KimKi Duk's Filmography :-)

Bala.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Padmasambhava


According to tradition, Padmasambhava was incarnated as an 8 year old child appearing in a lotus blossom floating in Lake Dhanakosha, in the kingdom of Uddiyana, traditionally identified with the Swat Valley of present-day Pakistan. The conventional notion is that Uddiyana was located in the Swat Valley of present-day Pakistan, although some historians, including Robert E. Thurman, suggest it may have been in present-day Afghanistan. His special nature was recognized by the local king who married him to one of his daughters, Mandarava. Mandarava and Padmasambhava's other main consort, Yeshe Tsogyal, developed into realised practitioners. Many thangkas and paintings show Padmasambhava in the middle between them.
Padmasambhava's ability to memorize and comprehend esoteric texts in a single hearing established his reputation as a master above all others. Accused of the mystical killing of an evil minister, he was banished from the court and freely chose to live in a cemetery district. Transiting various heavens and hells, he developed the power to transcend the cycle of birth and death, accomplishing the so-called great transference. His fame became known to Trisong Deutson, the 38th king of Tibet (742-797), whose kingdom was beset by evil mountain deities. The king invited Padmasambhava to Tibet where he used his tantric powers to subdue the evil deities he encountered along the way, eventually receiving the Emperor's wife, identified with the dakini Yeshey Tsogyel, as a consort. This was in accordance with the tantric principle of not eliminating negative forces but instead redirecting them to fuel the journey toward spiritual awakening. In Tibet he founded the first monastery in the country Samye Gompa, initiated the first monks, and introduced the people to the practice of Tantric Buddhism.
In Bhutan he is associated with the famous Taktshang or "Tiger's Nest" monastery built on a sheer cliff wall about 500m above the floor of Paro valley. He flew there from Tibet on the back of his favorite consort, Yeshe Tsogyal, who he transformed into a flying tigress for the purpose of the trip. Later he traveled to Bumthang district to subdue a powerful deity offended by a local king. Padmasambhava's body imprint can be found in the wall of a cave at nearby Kurje Lhakhang temple.

Padmasambhava also hid a number of religious treasures (termas) in lakes, caves, fields and forests of the Himalayan region to be found and interpreted by future tertons or spiritual treasure finders. According to Tibetan tradition, the Bardo Thodol, (commonly referred to as the Tibetan Book of the Dead) was among these hidden treasures, subsequently discovered by a Tibetan terton, Karma Lingpa.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Interaction with Eminent People







Director K. Hariharan














Dr. Uma Vangal







Yes!
We the student of Communication Department spent our 10th & 11th October 2008 usefully. We got some good initiatives regarding Film Making & Film Appreciation.
Inbetween us was two enriched resource persons related to Film Field.
  • Mr. K. Hariharan, Film Director, National Award Recipient for his 'EZHAVATHU MANITHAN', at present the Director of LV Prasad Film & TV Academy. A highly potential man who has the thirst to bring out Good Cinema.
  • Dr. Uma Vangal, She is also a faculty from same academy. She is well known for her documentaries related to Women Issues. Especially the documentary on 'TSUNAMI AFFECTED COASTAL REGIONS OF TAMIL NADU & SRI LANKA' got good acclaims.
We the amateurs in film making understood the importance of Non- Fictional or Documentary Film Making. A travelogue by Gaurav Jhani's 'RIDING SOLO TO THE TOP' gave us a new insight in creating film. Something Simply Superb!!!!!!!!!
We also saw Fictional films like 'INJA' & 'NO BIKINI' with macro concept in it but the way it was filmed & shown was in a micro way. Amazing Short Films!
We feel happy and enlightened in these two days. We need these resource persons for each semester to guide us on various aspects of films.

THANKING YOU SIR & MADAM!!!

On Behalf of Studious Students,
bala.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Plastic surgery for Daniel Craig


Daniel Craig has admitted having plastic surgery to fix injuries sustained on the set of the latest Bond film.
The star, 40, severed his fingertip and had eight stitches on his face after being accidentally kicked by a Quantum of Solace co-star.
Daniel, who was recently pictured sporting an arm sling, told Elle magazine: "It's a stupid inconvenience because we had to stop filming. But they gave me an excellent plastic surgeon."
The heartthrob also admitted having a crush on 007's boss M, played by Dame Judi Dench
.
Daniel said: "M's gorgeous. All men have thought about her at least once in their lives. The great thing about Judi Dench is that she's the matriarch of British film.
"She has an innate power about her. And yes, Bond needs a woman like M to contain his nonsense and say, 'Look, 007, you've been an idiot!'
"But they won't sleep together. Not unless the cupboard gets very bare in terms of storylines."
The actor said: "I think James Bond has changed. He's not a shallow brute.
"I wanted some fallibility. It's no good if Bond is a cocktail-swigging sexist pig with no interior struggle. Bond is often p****d off or upset and I wanted to bring that out."
The actor, whose long-term partner is film producer Satsuki Mitchell, added: "I won't play Bond forever. But I'd like to think I've added something to the lineage of how the man has changed."

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

A Workshop on Film Appreciation & Film Making




















K.Hariharan with Director Balu Mahendra.


Hello Friends,
We the PSG CAS Students of Visual Communication & Electronic Media are happy to have Mr.K.Hariharan, The famous director of many award winning films. He is one of the well reputed person in the field of film. The Workshop is to be held on 10th & 11th October 2008.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

DIET COKE CAN KILL SPERMS!!!!!


Studies that suggested sodas such as Coke and Pepsi kill sperms and exotic lap dancers make more money when they are at peak fertility have been awarded the 2008 Ig Nobel prize.
In 1980s, when researcher Deborah Anderson of Harvard Medical School's birth- control laboratory discovered that "Coca Cola douches" were being used as a type of contraception at the all-girl Catholic boarding school she had attended in Puerto Rico, she decided to test it.
For the study, Anderson, medical student Sharee Umpierre and gynaecologist, Joe Hill mixed four different types of Coke with sperm in test tubes.
A minute later, they found that all sperm were dead in the Diet Coke, however, 41pct were still swimming in the just-introduced New Coke.
"Coca-Cola douches had become a part of contraceptive folklore during the 1950s and 1960s, when other birth-control methods were hard to come by," New Scientist quoted Anderson, as saying.
"It was believed that the carbonic acid in Coke killed sperm, and the method came with its own 'shake and shoot applicator'" - the classic Coke bottle," she added.
Another study, led by University of New Mexico psychologists proposing that lap dancers earn more money when they are at peak fertility also won the award.
During the research, psychologists Geoffrey Miller, Joshua Tybur and Brent Jordan asked women working as lap dancers to report their nightly tips, and whether they were on hormonal contraceptives or menstruating naturally.
The two groups of women received similar tips when they were in non-fertile parts of their cycle, but when the naturally menstruating women reached their fertile days, the researchers found, they earned significantly more.
A Brazilian study led by Astolfo Araujo of the University of Sao Paulo and Jose Marcelino of Sao Paolo's Department of Historical Heritage on armadillos, the burrowing animals, which showed that the pesky creatures can move the artifacts in archaeological dig sites up, down and even laterally by several meters as they dig also won the prestigious alternative prize.
Another experiment with huge implications for health policy won the Ig Nobel medicine prize for Dan Ariely of Duke University in North Carolina.
He gave two groups of volunteers identical placebos masquerading as painkillers, telling one group the pills cost 2.50 dollars each and the other that the pills had been discounted to 10 cents each.
The volunteers didn't pay for the pills, but those who took the "more costly" fake medicine felt less pain from electric shocks than those who took the cheap fakes
This showed that price affects people's expectations and thus their response to medicine, Ariely says - the more expensive the pill, the more relief they expect.
These awards, presented at Harvard University, are organised by the humorous scientific journal the Annals of Improbable Research for research achievements "that make people laugh - then think".

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Naqoyqatsi, The Film






















Naqoyqatsi: Life as war
is a documentary film released in 2002; it is the third and final film of the Qatsi trilogy by Godfrey Reggio. The film focuses on society's transition from a natural environment to a technology-based industrial environment.

The first was Koyaanisqatsi: Life out of balance, the first of the "Qatsi" films, was released in 1982.

The second was Powaqqatsi: Life in transformation, was released in 1988.

All three were scored by Philip Glass.

Watch It! DVD available at our department.