Poker is a game of extreme variance. Professional poker players can go stretches without winning or placing at a level that earns any cash. The wins, however, can make up for the droughts with players earning thousands to millions of dollars depending on the game or tournament entered. Considering poker is an inconsistent sport, players look to offset the risk involved. This is done through staking, where an “investor” will pay a player’s way through tournaments for a piece of the action.
Tag Archives: Videos
Italian Villas: ‘Camogli – Portofino Peninsula’
Located in a quiet residential area in the upper part of Camogli, with a beautiful view over the sea of Liguria, 600-sqm Liberty style villa with ample garden. The property, restored in 2015, offers a total of 6 (up to 11) bedrooms and 6 bathrooms and features beautiful living rooms with rich decorations. The villa could easily be split into two independent residential units.
Camogli is a fishing village and tourist resort located on the west side of the peninsula of Portofino, on the Golfo Paradiso in the Riviera di Levante, in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, Liguria, northern Italy. As of 30 April 2017 its population was of 5,332.
Views: ‘Finland’ – Cities & Landscapes (4K UHD Video)
Finland is a Northern European nation bordering Sweden, Norway and Russia. Its capital, Helsinki, occupies a peninsula and surrounding islands in the Baltic Sea. Helsinki is home to the 18th-century sea fortress Suomenlinna, the fashionable Design District and diverse museums. The Northern Lights can be seen from the country’s Arctic Lapland province, a vast wilderness with national parks and ski resorts.
Animated Short Films: ‘Ozymandias’ – A Poem By Percy Bysshe Shelley
Directed and animated by Alvaro Lamarche-Toloza
“OZYMANDIAS” is the animated 3D adaptation of a poem written by English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in December 1817. It was created with a series of wash paintings animated with the Unreal Engine and EbSynth to test an experimental 3D animation pipeline.
Additional info:
Using EbSynth, a texture synthesis / transfer tool created by Secret Weapon, we applied wash paintings to 3D scenes created in real-time with the Unreal Engine. The result is a unique look and a promising experimental pipeline which dramatically speeds up the production of 3D animation stylized with traditional 2D art.
About the poem:
Written in 1817 by Percy Shelley, “Ozymandias” refers to pharaoh Ramesses II and was perhaps inspired by the acquisition of a large Ramesses statue by the British Museum the same year. References to this poem have often appeared in pop culture, though Shelley himself might not have considered it to be one of his major works.
It was first published in the 11 January 1818 issue of The Examiner of London.
Credits:
Directed and animated by Alvaro Lamarche-Toloza
Wash paintings by Estelle Chauvard
Voice by Bryan Cranston, taken from the Breaking Bad Teaser Trailer
“Menkaure colossal statue base” model by Zhejiang University
“Ramses II” model by Taoetsia
“Horse Skeleton” model by Diego Luján García
‘OZYMANDIAS’ By Percy Bysshe Shelley
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Winter 2021 Views: ‘Chicago On Ice’ (4K Video)
Chicago, on Lake Michigan in Illinois, is among the largest cities in the U.S. Famed for its bold architecture, it has a skyline punctuated by skyscrapers such as the iconic John Hancock Center, 1,451-ft. Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) and the neo-Gothic Tribune Tower. The city is also renowned for its museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago with its noted Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works.
Evening Walk: ‘Fenghuang Ancient City’, China (Video)
Fenghuang Ancient City, also know as Phoenix Ancient Town, is located in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, in southwest of Hunan Province. It is one of the smaller counties in Hunan, but now it is known as the most beautiful ancient town for its long history and well-preserved appearances. The name of Phoenix (Phoenix in Chinese Pinyin is Fenghuang) town mainly derived from the Phoenix Mountain which is in a phoenix shape.
Medical Research: ‘Next Generation Vaccines’
Vaccine science and technology is advancing. Next generation vaccines could change how we combat infectious diseases, and it’s important to understand how the technology works.
Winter Wildlife: A River Otter Survives In Upper Peninsula Of Michigan
It takes a special breed of animal to handle the Michigan winter–and the river otter is better prepared than most. But preparation is half the battle–and it starts with a roll in the snow to keep its fur coat insulated. The waters in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan freeze over fast in winter–and river otters need to work just as fast to keep holes open in the ice. If they close, the otters lose access to fish. From America’s Wild Seasons: https://bit.ly/3pikNyY
The Upper Peninsula is a forested region in Michigan bordering 3 of the Great Lakes and extending outward from Wisconsin. It’s connected to Michigan’s Lower Peninsula by the roughly 5-miles-long Mackinac Bridge, which spans the Straits of Mackinac. Sandwiched between the 2 peninsulas is Mackinac Island, a car-free vacation destination with the iconic 1887 Grand Hotel and the Victorian-era Fort Mackinac.
Poetic Short Films: ‘NELLA MIA CITTÀ (In my city)’ – A Tribute To Venice (Video)
Filmed, Edited and Directed by: Milton Kam
NELLA MIA CITTÀ (In my city) is my visual ode to Venice. The film observes the lagoon city and its residents during the relative scarcity of tourists in its streets. From the lustre of its famous spots to the anonymity of its quiet alleys, Venice feels as if ‘the future did not come,’ to borrow a line from the poem, which the film is based on.
Nella mia città is written by Anna Toscano and was taken from her book Doso la polvere, Milan, La Vita Felice, 2012
With music by Federico Toffano (cello), Liesl Odenweller (soprano), and Ivano Zanenghi (lute).
IN MY CITY by Anna Toscano
The future does not exist
the future does not come
in my city:
however long my step is
however much you have the favor of the wind
the number 2 does not go more than 22 km per hour.
How to get beyond the past
how not to look back
(at this speed)
with your neck always at three quarters:
time stops in piazzale Roma
so we live entangled
in the stories of peoples.
We stand, happy,
in a rearview mirror.
Video: ‘How Covid-19 Vaccines Are Tested’
Vaccines are rigorously studied and tested — but there are challenges along the way.