My Computer Creations

1. My Computer Creations A PPT by Sara Nicole Elmer

2. Photo Montage

3. My Fave Music Artists

4. My Fave Things • I like this girl’s hairstyle because of the edgy looking cut. • I love guitars!!!! • Golden retrievers are my favorite dogs!!!

5. Leopards • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard • The leopard, Pantherapardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four cats in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion and jaguar. Once all around eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, the leopard's range of distribution has decreased a ton because of hunting and loss of habitat. It is now chiefly found in sub-Saharan Africa. Because of its declining range and population, it is listed as a "Near Threatened" species. Compared to other members of the Felidae family, the leopard has relatively short legs and a long body with a large skull. It is similar in appearance to the jaguar, but is smaller and more slightly built. Its fur is marked with spots similar to those of the jaguar, but the leopard's spots are smaller and more tightly packed , and do not usually have central spots as the jaguar's do. Both leopards and jaguars that are completely black or very dark are known as black panthers. • The species' success in the wild is in part due to its opportunistic hunting behavior, its adaptability to habitats, its ability to run at speeds approaching 36 mph, and its well known ability for stealth. The leopard eats virtually any animal it can hunt down and catch. Its habitat ranges from rainforest to desert terrains. • http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/leopard.htm • Leopards are graceful animals that are very comfortable in trees. Sometimes, they will even drag the carcass of their prey into the trees to keep them from getting eaten by scavengers. They also can hunt from trees, blending in with the leaves until it is time to pounce. All in all, leopards are predators. • http://www.bigcatrescue.org/cats/wild/leopard.htm • From this site, I learned the species/ names of its grouping , and the different types of leopards. I also learned that leopards are capable of breeding between 2 and 3 years, and produce 1 - 3 cubs after a 90-100 day gestation. The cubs become independent between 13 - 18 months, and siblings may remain together for several months before separating. Females in captivity have produced offspring as old as 19 years, but the average age of last reproduction is 8.5 years. • In captivity, leopards have lived over 23 years, as compared to 10 - 11 in the wild • Common Name: Leopard • Kingdom: Animalia • Phylum: Chordata (Vertebrata) • Class: Mammalia • Order: Carnivora • Family: Felidae • Genus: PantherinaePanthera • Species: pardus  (asian) • Sub-species: (Not all listed, these are the most common) • Javan leopard - P.p. melas • Amur leopard - P.p. orientalis • Indian leopard - P.p. fusca • North Chinese leopard - P.p. japonensis • Somali leopard - P.p. nanopardus • Zanzibar leopard - P.p. adersi • Sinai leopard - P.p. jarvisi • Sri Lankan leopard - P.p. kotiya • Barbary leopard - P.p. panthera • Persian leopard - P.p. saxicolor • Arabian leopard - P.p. nimr • Anatolian leopard - P.p. tulliana • Caucasus leopard - P.p. ciscaucasica • Indochinese leopard - P.p. delacouri • African leopard - P.p. leopardus (pictured, spotted right)

6. Geishas • A geisha is a female entertainer in Japan. The word itself means “performing artist”. Their skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music, hosting tea ceremonies, conversation, literature, and dance. Being a geisha is more than a role, it’s an all-encompassing way of life. The geisha’s profession actually evolved from court entertainers in the 1600s. The art itself is the art of a special kind of allure, or even seduction. • To become a geisha, it takes a lot of training. Many people leave because they can’t take the training. They are under a contract to a geisha house usually, which would be the house where they would live as well. And they would have very little free time, when, for example, they could go home to visit their parents. In the early days of geisha customs training actually began at a much younger age and it took considerably longer to become a practicing geisha. Most girls that chose to become a geisha were following in the footsteps of their mother, although in some instances it has been reported that some girls were abandoned at geisha houses, but this wasn’t common practice at the more reputable geisha establishments. One of the very first things that young girls arriving at the geisha house would have to do is work as maids. This first level was known as the shikomi stage. The work was often extremely difficult and many girls did not make it past this stage. The intent was to use this period to help weed out those who were not strong enough to make it as geishas. During this time the shikomi girls would also have to take classes at the geisha school in order to learn as much as they could about the styles, traditions and customs of becoming a geisha. • After the shikomi had become an exceptional student, and had passed an exam that demonstrated their dancing abilities, she could go onto the minarai stage of geisha training. At this time the chores and housekeeping work of the minarai ends and she is instead shown a more intensive level of training in which they attend the banquets, but they do not participate in the functions or speak. Most of the training would have taken place at a tea house and they would have learned a great deal of information from the owner of the tea house as most of the traditional skills in geisha interaction with guests are not taught at a school and are instead learned directly in the field. • After about a month, the minarai would progress to the maiko stage of training and would formerly become known as apprentice geisha. Most of their learning then comes from a senior geisha that they adopt as their onee-san, or older sister. The relationship between the two geisha is as important as any apprentice-mentor relationship, and would form the young apprentice’s practices later on in her career. This is because the onee-san would teach the maiko how to properly do things like serve tea, dance, converse with the guests, and play the shamisen. Once the maiko became a geisha, the onee-san would pick the maiko’s new professional name using a different variation of her own name. This is still the custom when incoming geisha elect to go through the maiko stage. • Today, many women begin the preparations to become geisha as early as the completion of junior high, but some wait until after they have finished college to join a geisha house. Even if the woman has finished higher education, she must still go through preparation in order to learn and understand all of the customs and traditions surrounding traditional geisha culture. This includes learning instruments like the bamboo flute and drums as well as songs that can be sung to accompany the music and the traditional Japanese dances. Another important facet of a geisha’s abilities is being able to select the right kimono, take part in the tea ceremony, as well as understand Japanese literature and poetry. Many of these traditions are so complex that a new geisha has to learn through observing others as they deal with clients. • The geisha’s traditional dress code consists mainly of a kimono, the customary white powder base, red lipstick, and black lined eyes. The makeup is applied before the girl puts on her kimono, and can take hours for the process to be completed. Before the base can even be applied, an oil substance must first be applied to the skin to protect it. Then the rice powder is mixed into a paste and brushed onto the skin until it creates the illusion that the girl is wearing a mask. The different ways in which the lipstick is applied indicated the different levels for geisha. For example, the maiko will not color in the top lip during her first year and new geisha will often only color in the top lip. Established geisha will wear the top lip completely colored in and the bottom lip will be a stripe that goes through its center. Also, the maiko will often wear their makeup all of the time in a bright, playful style, that will mature as she grows older to symbolize her transition into adulthood. The kimonos that geisha wear are generally very bright and luxurious. The bow worn at the back of the kimono, or obi, is always going to be more exotic than the rest of the suit in order to maintain a sense of balance. The maiko’s kimono is more extravagant and can be up to fifteen layers. The styles of the kimonos worn by all geisha will change depending on the season and the type of party the geisha is attending. The process of learning to choose the perfect kimono for the occasion is something that is stressed and taught during the apprentice portion of a geisha’s training. The elaborate embroidery and painting that is involved in making a kimono can cause the garment to take up to three years to complete. Another recognizable trait of a geisha is the hairstyles. While this may have varied throughout the early years of geishas, the style that is seen today was first established during the sixteen hundreds. The styles are very elaborate and are highlighted with the use of very beautiful hair bins and combs. In the older era of the geisha women would have to sleep in their hairstyles on special pillows to keep from having to have their hair repeatedly redone and the hairstyles would often cause such stress to the top of the head that many women would go bald over time. Today maiko still use their real hair, but most modern geisha choose instead to use wigs which must be kept up by professional stylists skilled in the art of hairstyling.For the most powerful men in Japan, the teahouse is their fantasy world, a place to relax, discuss a little business and let their hair down. For Umuchica, or the women, it's show time.

7. The First Crusade • The cry for help which later started the first crusade came from the Byzantine Emperor, Alexius. He asked Pope Urban II for help defeating the Seljuk Turks. Pope Urban II agreed, and put together an army, or the crusaders. They began on a long journey to fight in the first crusade. • The first crusade was the only successful crusade. It lasted from 1096 to 1099. The crusaders walked from France all the way to Jerusalem. The vast majority of them died from hunger and disease along the way. The sum of them that didn’t die fought against the Turks and drove them from the city. They also killed many Muslims, Christians, and Jews living in Jerusalem.

8. Point of View Shots • This is coming from the point of view of the biker. • This is a bird’s eye view picture. • This is a picture not looking directly at the person, but through a mirror. • This is in the point of view of the rider. • This is Paris from a bird’s eye view.

9. The Similes of Life • Life is like a game; you never know the outcome, for it will always change. • Love is like an ember; you can either light it or let it burn out. • Honesty is like bursting into tears; it may hurt at first, but all in all it is a big relief. • Faith is like an ocean’s waves; it is always changing. • Peace is like a plant; it will die, and then grow back. • Nature is like a child holding a piece of glass; if you don’t hurry up and do something about it, you will see it being destroyed before your very eyes. • Opportunities are like the love of your life; if you take too much time to think, and not enough to act or speak, you will find they’re already taken by someone else. • Time is like the energizer bunny; it is always moving. • War is like a disease; it can be cured, but only if you recognize that it is, in fact, a problem. • Disbelief is like eating candy; it will give you satisfaction for awhile, but sooner or later you will crave something bigger and better. • Dishonesty is like a getting caught in a spider’s web; once you do, you can struggle to get out, but you will just end up entangling yourself more. • Hate is like an endless black hole; you get so caught up in it, it consumes your being. • Death is like the ocean; after you hit a certain point, no one knows what goes on.

10. My Drawings