DC VS MARVEL, WHICH COMIC IS BETTER?

DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American Comic Books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment, a company of Warner Bros Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner. DC Comics produces material featuring a large number of well-known characters including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Aquaman, Hawkman and Green Arrow, along with such superhero teams as the Justice League the Watchmen and the teen Titans  as well as antagonists such as the Joker, Lex Luther and Catwoman.

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American publisher of comic books and related media. In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Worldwide's parent company.
Marvel started in 1939 as Timely Publications, and by the early 1950s had generally become known as Atlas Comics. Marvel's modern incarnation dates from 1961, the year that the company launched The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created.

Marvel counts among its characters such well-known properties as Spider-Man, the X-men, the Fantastic Four, Iron-man, the Hulk, Thor, Captain America the Silver Surfer, and the Avengers and antagonists such as the Green Gob, Doctor Octopus, Magneto, Doctor Doom, Loki, Galactus Thanos, and the Red Skull. Most of Marvel's fictional characters operate in a single reality known as the Marvel Universe, with locations that mirror real-life cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

BEAT BOXING

Beatboxing (also beatbox, beat box or b-box) is a form of vocal percussions primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.It may also involve singing, vocal imitation of turntablism, and the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instrumentals. Beatboxing today is connected with hip-hop culture being one of "the elements", although it is not limited to Hip Hop music.The term "beatboxing" is sometimes used to refer to vocal percussion in general

The term "beatboxing" is derived from the mimicry of the first generation of drum machines, then known as beatboxes. "Human beatboxing" in hip-hop originated in 1980s. Its early pioneers include Doug E Fresh the self-proclaimed first "human beatbox".Swifty, the first to implement the inhale sound technique,Buffy, who helped perfect many beatboxing techniques and Wise who contributed significantly to beat boxing' proliferation.

Wise inspired an entire new fan base of human beatboxers with his human turntable technique.

MODERN BEATBOXING 

Beatboxing's current popularity is due in part to artists such as Rahzel of THE ROOTS and Kenny Muhammad who have promoted the art form across the globe.
Sometimes, artists will use their hand or another part of their body to extend the spectrum of sound effects and rhythm. Some have developed a technique that involves using their hands to produce very realistic scratching effects, which they use in beatboxing. Another artist from Belgium cupped his hands to make bird and ocean sound effects in his beatboxing, and so forth.

World records

According to the Guiness World Record, the current record for the largest human beatbox ensemble was set by Booking.com employees. It involved 4,659 participants and was achieved by Booking.com employees together with beatboxers at the RAI Amsterdam, Netherlands on 10 December 2013 during their annual company meeting.
The previous largest human beatbox ensemble involved 2,081 participants and was achieved by Google (Ireland), Shlomo (UK) and Testament (UK) at The Convention Centre, Dublin, Ireland on 14 November 2011

TOM THUM(BRILLIANT BEATBOXER)

"I am still trying to figure out how he got those sounds out of his mouth" The Daily Telegraph (UK)

Beatbox addict Tom Thum makes musical magic using only his mouth and a microphone. Packing an entire sound system into his throat, this prolific multi-vocalist creates mind-blowing soundscapes of impossible beats, phenomenal notes and a whole big band's worth of instruments.
The star of Tom Tom Crew, Thum has performed at festivals across the globe and been dubbed a beatboxing virtuoso.

2D ANIMATION

2D computer graphics is the computer based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models (such as 2D Geometrical models, text, and digital images) and by techniques specific to them.
2D computer graphics are mainly used in applications that were originally developed upon traditional  printing and drawing technologies, such as typography, cartography,technical drawing, advertising etc. In those applications, the two-dimensional image is not just a representation of a real-world object, but an independent artifact with added semantic value

2D ANIMATION SOFTWARES USED

1.Anime Studio

Anime Studio is the winner when it comes to 2D animation software. Pretty much all the features are just spot on for creating 2D animations. What sets it apart from other software is its ability to produce quality animations, its amazing speed and it comes with a number of free plug-ins. Adding shadows and shading to characters is as easy as a couple of mouse clicks. The Pro version of Anime Studio is even more scintillating and comes with a host of features for the professional animator. 

2. Flash

When it comes to usage, Toon Boom is the most widely used 2D animation software in the professional industry. If you are looking for a software to help you make professional animations, then Toon Boom is probably the best. It comes with a lot of features and produces amazing graphics. The drawing tools are also spectacular. The finished product is also amazing. However, it takes quite some time to get used to the fluid interface. It is also quite expensive but if you don’t mind the price, it is a great tool for creating 2D animations.

3.CreaToon 

 If you are looking for free 2D animation software, then CreaToon is one of the best you will lay your hands on. It’s a good program especially for training purposes and learning translation tools and key framing. However, the final animation does not come with sound so you have to import sound form somewhere else. It can also vector art but poorly and has a limited number of export formats available. You can’t also sync the voices and lips and it also has a slow render time. Lastly, it is only compatible with Windows. However, since it’s a freeware, you can’t have many complaints about it and even with its flaws, it’s still one of the best free 2D animation software out there

3. Toon Boom

When it comes to usage, Toon Boom is the most widely used 2D animation software in the professional industry. If you are looking for a software to help you make professional animations, then Toon Boom is probably the best. It comes with a lot of features and produces amazing graphics. The drawing tools are also spectacular. The finished product is also amazing. However, it takes quite some time to get used to the fluid interface. It is also quite expensive but if you don’t mind the price, it is a great tool for creating 2D animations.

 

3D ANIMATION

Computer 3D animation or CGI animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images made using 3d softwares.

10 Types of 3D Animation Software Worth Knowing

Bryce (DAZ 3D)

It now includes animation features as well, while still having a beginner friendly interface and render setup. It doesn’t get much easier than Bryce for beginners, but it offers very little to advanced animators. 

 

 Blender (The Blender Foundation)

Blender is the perfect introduction to all that 3D software has to offer animators. Not only is it capable of most of the features the top of the line products boast on their bullet point lists, but it’s 100% free.

 

Poser (Smith Micro Software)

If you just want a program that will help you easily animate 3D characters, then Poser and its free library of base human and animal meshes is still something worth having in your back pocket at all times, even if you eventually move on to more complex 3D software in the future.

 Maya (Autodesk)

 Many prefer its interface, and it has a cloth and particle physics engine for all your simulation needs. However, the icing on the cake is Maya Live’s motion tracking tools.

 

3ds Max (Autodesk)

If you want a program solely for animation it may not be the best choice, but for an all encompassing 3D software package it’s still arguably the best complete kit on the market. In recent years it’s also seen huge strides in compositing software that can come bundled with it. 

 

Cinema 4D (Maxon)  

 While some of the 3D industry is moving in specialized smaller directions, Maxon’s directly taking on 3ds Max by offering a complete 3D art package that can do just about anything.

 

 RealFlow (Next Limit Technologies)

So you don’t want to animate a character or an animal, but instead have to deal with incredibly complex environmental or physics animations. RealFlow is the answer.

 

 

EVENTS TO WATCH OUT FOR

KENYAN EVENTS

 Holi Festival of Color
This is one rare event that is scheduled to happen in Nairobi for the first time. It is one event that you should not miss especially if you are a fan of electronic music. The specific date is not yet issued out but it is scheduled to happen in the Autumn of year 2014. This is the biggest International Kenyan event targeting over 10,000 fans.

 The Rift Valley Marathon

An unforgetable experience awaits you in the magical great Rift Valley. This wonderful event will be held on March 15th 2014. The whole marathon has a registration fee for the marathon and also a tour fee. It is open to all ages.

Elephant hill Aberdares Hike

This is a hike that will take place the 1st of March 2014. Tickets gofor 2,500 for Kenyan citizens and 3,500 kshs for none citizens. Departure is from Braeburn School at 5.45 am. The event will take place at the Aberdares.
 

Guy J Pool Party

(Hosted by Tribe Hotel and Be Distinctive)

This will be a pool party like no other. With 250 tickets to be sold, this is one event to watch out for this year. The minimum age requirement will be 21 years. The event will take place on Saturday, the 8th of March 2014. The event will start at 3 pm up to 12 midnight at the Tribe Hotel.

WORLD WIDE EVENTS

Tomorrowland 2014

Incredible decorations and ten metre tulips tower over the world's biggest DJ's playing to the world's best crowd.Tomorrowland has expanded to one of the largest dance festivals in Europe, with over 180,000 making the trip to the land of wonder in Belgium. Fifteen stages cover all genres of dance music, including a frankly incredible main stage set-up.

It's easy to see why Tomorrowland is the festival on everyone's lips, and why tickets sell out in minutes after going on sale.Tomorrowland 2014 will be held over 2 consecutive weekends, giving twice the number of people the chance to attend.

ART OF PAINTING

WHAT IS PAINTING?

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or the medium to a surface. Different types of paint are usually identified by the medium that the medium that the pigment is suspended or embedded in, which determines the general working characteristics of the paint.

Painting is done using different medium such as Pastel, Watercolor, Ink , Hot wax, Gouache, Spray paint, water color, Enamel, Fresco, Tempera and many others.


Leornado Da Vinci

He was born in April 15th 1452 in present day Italy. Leonardo was and is renowned primarily as a painter. He is well known for the Mona Lisa painting, the Last Supper, the Vitruvian man and the Lady with an Ermine.
The Mona Lisa is the most most famous portrait and the Last Supper the most reproduced religious painting of all time.

Michelangelo (Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni)

He was born on March 6th 1475. He was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet and engineer who had an influence on the development of Western art.

Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the sistine Chapel which took approximately four years to complete. Shortly before his death, the Pope Clement VII appointed Michelangelo to paint a fresco of the Last Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel.
 

Vanished Kenyan oil paintings

Mr Wadu is a Kenyan based painterwhose work recently sold for more than one million shillings. He has  recently experienced a so called "crime of the west" This is after his paintings disappeared under unknown circumstances  when they were being transferred from tOsei Kofi's store in village market to his home in Naivasha. Osei Kofi who is of Ghananian origin  and the  director of Nairobi's Gallery Watatu was then in Geneva, Switzerland when all these happened. Disappearance of the paintings could be a sign of the growing interest in Kenyan contemporary art.
A Kenyan auction held on November 2013  organized by the Circle Art Agency made a record shilings18.5 million in sales.

HIP HOP AND ITS TRANSFORMATION

DEFINITION OF HIP-HOP

Many people cannot describe what Hip hop is and if they do their definition is wrong. Hip Hop is a broad conglomerate of different artistic forms that are: rap music(oral) turntablism or DJing, breaking and b-boy which is the physical part of hiphop, and graffiti art which is the visual part.

It originated in the South Bronx and Harlem in New York City among black and Latino youth during the 1970's. Hip Hop associates the music to the poverty and violence going on in their environment. Hip hop therefore functioned as a source of providing a reactionary outlet from these hardships.

This term is frequently used mistakenly to refer to the mere practice of rap music. It is more of a lifestyle.

Street gangs were prevalent in the poverty of the South Bronx and sensing that gang members often violent urgescold be turned tocreative ones, Afrika Bambaataa found the Zulu nation  which was a loose confederation of street dance crews, graffiti artists and rap musicians. The culture gained media attention with influential figures such as Dj Cool Herc coming up.By 1985, youth worldwide had embraced the culture.

NEW SCHOOL HIPHOP MUSIC

The new school of hip hop originated in 1983  to 1984 withe arly records of Run-D.M.C and LL Cool J. It contrasted with the old school due to its characteristics like drum machines and some rock fusion unlike the funk and disco outfits and live bands.






The music was shorter and could easily gain radio play. By 1986,it went mainstream with the Beastie Boys' album becoming the first to hit #1 on the Billboard charts.

Over time, hip hop music led to rivalry between two sides of the United States of America that is the East coast and West coast.This led to the deaths of two hip hop legends Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smallz.

Hip hop has since evolved with minimal gang wars since it is done commercially and truth be, it sells and many people make money out of hip hop rap music.

                                                        KENYAN HIP HOP
Kenyan hip hop was also not left behind with one of the earliest hip hop artist, Jimmy Gathu releasing a track in 1991, a song dealing with road safety. The first commercial hiphop hit came in 1996 by Harstone, a song called Uhiki produced by Tedd Josiah. Other popular pioneers are Kalamashaka, Poxi Presha, Gidi Gidi Maji Maji, Necessary noize, Redsan, Nameless,Wawesh, The late Esir and many others up to now.

 

TRANCE,EDM, HOUSE MUSIC whats the difference?

ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC.

EDM is a set of percussive electronic music genres produced for dance based entertainment environments such as nightclubs. It is largely created for use by DJ,s where the DJ progresses from one record to the next via mix. 

TRANCE.
Trance as a genre of electronic dance music developed in the 1990's in Germany. It is a genre on itself with other styles of electronic music such as techno, house, pop, chill-out and classical music. A trance is a state of hypnotism and lessened consciousness. A common characteristic is the use of vocals often sung by a female voice ranging from mezzo-soprano to soprano sometimes without verse/chorus structure.

HOUSE MUSIC. 

House is a style of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It later infused in mainstream pop and dance music world wide. House is influenced by elements of soul and funk infused varieties of disco.








 It mimics disco percussions especially the use of prominent bass, funk and reverb or delay enhanced vocals. Has vocals on its chorus and verse. 

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOUSE, EDM AND TRANCE

Many people really don't know the difference between Trance, EDM and House Music. I once was in the same situation but with research and a lot of listening, I now know the difference.

Truth be told, there is a big difference between Trance, Electronic Dance Music and House music. Trance is a form of electronic music but it has a lot of loop layers and melodies. House music on the other side is made up of simple but bumping beat with a usually catchy melody and vocals as well.


TOP TEN EARNING DJs OF 2013
1. CALVIN HARRIS - $ 46 million
2. TIESTO - $ 32 million
3. DAVID GUETTA - $ 30 million
4. SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA - $ 25 million
5. DEADMAU5 - $ 21 million
6. AVICII - $ 20 million $
7. AFROJACK - $ 18 million 
8. ARMIN VAN BUUREN - $ 17 million
9. SKRILLEX - $ 16 million
10.KASKADE - $ 16 million



Funny enough the top ten DJs are all EDM, House and Trance DJs.