Shimmering Randomness♥

.the vintage effect

2011-07-05T11:45:00.000-07:00

As requested by Sarah

There are various ways for you to achieve this effect using photoshop, or any other software for that matter, I'm just going to attempt to explain this in the simplest way possible, and by explaining certain steps that will help you later on in editing even if you don't want the vintage effect.

It's basically a washed surface of the picture, distorted edges, yet the colors are still vibrant and saturated

the easiest thing for me to do , is to give you this image, and ask you to fit it on a picture

because it will achieve almost everything, except one thing, you practically haven't learned anything.

so let's move on to the real deal :D

I will use this picture because it's a daffodil, and they are awesome

The first thing you're going to do is add the desired texture, I chose a very light old paper texture, try to choose one that is not too grungy, that is not a work of art itself, something stable and works like a fine base for the beigey overall tone you're looking to achieve, but has a little bit of grunge to add texture to the photograph and complete the old photo effect.

this is the one i have used

as you can see it's very simple, more like a color filter

Now, the complicated process that is adding to the photo :@ lol

Adding the texture

I am not going to add a screenshot for this because i have too much respect for you, so all you have to do is download the image, open it in photoshop , Ctrl+A then Ctrl+C

Go on to the main image you're editing, and paste

and since you had a problem with this step, if the texture doesn't already fit your picture completely ( which is the usual case ) fit it onto the photo using the transformation points, they should appear as soon as you click the texture .

Now after they're layered evenly , choose the texture layer ( make sure it's the one selected ) and change it's blending mode to Soft light, here's how you do that

Drop the circled menu and choose Soft Light

Here's the result in this case ..

You can see that the picture has a slightly beige undertone now, and it looks more washed out but it will be fixed later, also, you can notice the caused by the texture

Solid Color Layers

These layers are going to affect the shadows and undertones in the photo as well, since the above is washed out and the colors are pretty dull, these are meant to add more color, yet not enough vibrancy, this will be controlled later

now go back to the layers box, you will see a small icon in the shape of a circle half black and half white
clicking it, a menu will appear, choose Solid Color

After choosing the color, you're going to work with the blending modes again

so just a simple explanation of the colors you'll be using and what blending modes to set them to

Choose a Violet color, like this one but darker , and set the layer's blending mode to Exclusion
and change the opacity to 70%
Choose a golden orange color, like this one but deeper, and set the blending mode to Multiply
and it's opacity to 20%

These two colors will balance each other out while giving more color to the picture, and softening it's shadows

this is what it looks like so far

the colors have changed but it's still washed out, now time to add the contrast

The Black and white layer

I love using this to add contrast because i think it it automatically highlights and emphasizes the shadows of the picture without adding a contrast that is too harsh to all the points. It's extremely simple

Go back to the Adjustment Layers button, and choose Black & White

after the layer is added, set it's blending mode to Soft light

Now to the final step, or two steps actually

right click any layer in the layers list, and choose the option : Merge Visible , it will merge all the layers into one, you will be doing this so the next effect will take place on the finished photo and look stronger

Vignette

Go the Filters menu, and choose Lens correction, If you happen to have an older version of PS, this would probably be under the filter Render>Lens correction
I am currently using PS CS5, If you are, then great !

once you choose it , this box will appear , in older PS version the custom window is selected by default, in CS5 however, it is not

As for the amounts set in the screenshot, they are not necessarily obligatory , to be fair i just keep decreasing the first and increasing the second till i get the satisfying result !

aaand you're done !

voila :)

الحاله تعبانه.

2011-06-02T13:24:00.000-07:00

مش عم بلاقي باب مفتوح..

كله مسكر ، او عم يوهمني انه مفتوح ،و يضحك عليّ و الاقيه مسكر، و تخرب الحالة بزيادة

الحالة النفسية بالحضيض

العاطفية متضامنة مع اللي فوق

الماديّة شكلها هيّ اللّي لمّتهم عليّ

الصحية بتقدم طلب انضمام

بس ياللّه زبطّنا اللغة و بلشنا نكتب عربي

عربي نص كم، و لا العدم

فَرَجك يا عالي .....

في إحدى الحضانات.

2011-05-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

"المدرّس الشرس" الذي ضرب 25 طفلاً في حضانة مصرية

I couldn't bear to see the video screenshot again, that's why I only posted a link

I wonder why there's still no law to have teachers go under a psychological health examination before taking off teaching kids, especially when the ages they're supposed to be "teaching" and "taking care of" are this young and sensitive.

But apparently, anyone who agreed to hire this psychopath, needs to be examined as well, so that shows how deteriorated the situation is.

What makes me wonder even more, are the people who actually film this kind of crap, and so proudly post it online, what the frack is so entertaining about 4-5 year old children begging for mercy that is not in anyway given to them, not from the monster who is abusing them in the name of teaching, not from the animals recording this video which can't be considered anything less than a crime, and even when they get back to their homes to find relief from all this suffering they get to go through when they shouldn't even be hearing about, they go back to parents - who according to the article- don't have any problem with what's occurring in that trash shaped kindergarten.

So , 2 more groups in need of serious help.

Reading the comments, some people justify this by saying that they've experienced the worst when they were young attending public schools and they turned out fine, especially that this could be the only way to deal with some students, so the video content isn't much.

Ok, so,, I got hit by a bus and turned out fine, I should throw my kids on the street and let them experience it to prove my point ?

This does not even qualify for a justification, this does not even qualify for an opinion.

I have attended public schools in Jordan, and I know this actually does happen, but thank God - and unlike some people- I have enough rationality and intelligence to know that if it's happening that does not make it acceptable, I know the emotional and mental scarring these experiences can cause, just ask anyone who was humiliated once or no matter how many times by a teacher in high school and listen to how bitter they sound when telling the story, imagine children who have not reached the age that allows them to tell the story properly.

So to those people, congratulations, you'll be joining the other groups in the same category, I don't think you'll mind it TBH.

This is sickening, by all means, it's awful enough to see child abuse, but to see it recorded, enjoyed, intentionally shared as entertainment material and agreed upon, is just too much to take.

I know that if I ever have children, I will seriously go "Egyptian KG teacher" on anyone who comes near them , be it abusive language or even daring to touch them, I can't imagine how people would have the heart to let something like this happen to their own children.

As for that idiot, I'm not wasting my breath by praying for him to rot in hell, that's probably happening anyway.

phew

.tamagotchi

2011-05-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

I hate it when i intentionally turn down a pretty purchase, and then when it crosses my mind for whatever reason I start whining on how much of an idiot I was by not getting it, always happens. always will..

Being in large malls or stores freaks me out for a reason, I get the feeling that they're designed like that for a reason : pushing the consumer around and forcing them to buy things whether they want those products or not
* That ginormous roof is staring into my soul*

That's why I decided to have some self control when I walk into these stores especially if they're ones I actually like, but the last couple of times I did this, I thought it back and wished those forces were stronger than I was enough to let me buy those things.

they are

an awesome feather ring that looks almost exactly like the one above but in silver, that wasn't an issue for me until I started craving things that had feathers on them.

but then..

The Tamagotchi

I don't know what kind of idiocy took over the moment i decided NOT to get one when since the moment I have heard of them I have wanted to get my hands on one, I do have several portable game devices, but this is just too awesome to miss out on.

Dear Self : let yourself go next time, I already forgive you for being the push over of corporate agendas.

.Amman

2011-05-20T14:20:00.000-07:00

I always believed, and probably forever will do, that Amman is the most beautiful city in the world, every single inch of it is astounding in it's own way and color, and my dear and amazingly talented friend, knew well , how prove me right.

Even with all colors washed out, you managed to be beautiful ..

Moayad Habas

.this is how I troll

2011-05-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

I surf forums, blogs, vlogs and whatnot on daily basis. As I do, I notice that there are people who are just so sad, sad enough to put such great effort into putting people down. I blogged about this earlier, but whatever.

Don't like a blog ? Don't read it
Don't like a video ? Don't watch it

Why drain bandwidth anyway ?

It's just nauseating,you're on your way to post a comment on an interesting entry and all you see is " you're ugly " uhmm, seriously ? Bet you enjoyed that as much as you did throwing the chances of having a real life into the dumpster.

Worst case is when the person being cyber-bullied is a teenager, I have to admit a lot of those kids should have their computers taken away from them for posting crap they can't even realize the meaning of for everyone else to see, but they'll seem far more mature than the morons attacking them non-stop.

It's just despicable, some of those bloggers/vloggers work actually several days to put together an entry especially those who rely on them to provide a decent income, I can't imagine what they have to put up with when after all the hard work some idiot comes along to hurl word shaped mental vomit.

beh :\

. heartaching

2011-05-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

Beautiful ~ "I will take my grandma back to her home", he said.
This was taken at the Lebanese borders with occupied Palestine on May 15th, 2011, 63 years after she was forced to leave her home.

It is very terrorizing and threatening for you to dream, or to shout out demanding your simplest rights, apparently , according to Israel.

So that justifies them killing unarmed protesters in Gaza and the Syrian Golan heights.

I too, am very tired..

.little seedlings of hope

2011-05-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

When i was almost 10 years old, I decided to take off agriculture and see how that'll turn out, for no reason other than having too much time on my hands at that time and wanting to fill it with something useful, which is surprising, giving that now, I'm doing the exact opposite.
However, that didn't last long, everyone sure knew how bring me down by convincing me that I should seriously give it up since the soil i was planting in was layered above sub cement ( jeez ), and thanks to the abundance of worms that lead me to having an unbelievable fear of them till this very day, the looks of those earth worms are not meant to be forgotten :'(

I completely forgot about planting anything there, i knew i planted a lot and as a child it's either instant results or it didn't happen.

One seed in particular though, which location I so specifically remember, managed to make it, and it grew so beautifully, in the past couple of years I ignored it because the child that apparently didn't follow the path the seed took to grow up, was thinking : either gigantic tree, or it didn't happen.

But this gorgeous peach tree, is now screaming : you don't want to come closer, your loss, it's so beautiful, and I'm very pleased :)

Look !

And for 63 years now, a holy tree that was planted in our hearts and will forever grow, has been stolen, and is craving light, not from sunshine, but fire, knowing that it's the only way to take back what's rightfully ours.

God bless you Palestine, my everlasting love ..

نهار العصر ثوار

وأحلام يزينها دم الزيتون والغار

.the way it is

2011-05-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

That's the way it'll go, until you see a spark again ,
doesn't in anyway mean that you need to light up the torches by setting yourself on fire,
it means you should set it to all you wasted dreams, the weight built up on your heart from constant humiliation tyranny.
Rise up, I can't see you

by ~CGID

. it can too, get much worse !

2011-05-06T02:51:00.000-07:00

Monday noon, I got out of one awful oral surgery, the -still ongoing- pain is just unbearable, it's been days since i have slept or eaten anything..

Later that day, as I was wishing I had thought through going with surgery, I started to question if this could get any worse,,

phone rang, got the news : your uncle died

so yeah, have hope if you thought bad things in your life would stop at one point, they won't

May your soul rest in peace and be granted immortality in paradise.

.beauty and it's exact opposite

2011-04-29T07:14:00.000-07:00

This time of the year is usually when the International Communities Fairs are held all over Jordanian Universities, the one in YU started a couple of weeks later than others, but, oh well..

Over-excited ? First time to attend it ever, knowing that I'm junior who also used to make semi-monthly visits to this University before entering it as a student, I always miss it due to being surrounded by jibber-jabber on how unexciting it is and there's a absolutely no reason to waste several minutes of my life there, and this of course, is always followed by the regret of not going after being surrounded of non-stop comments on how beautiful these events are.

Thanking God for sending me a fun friend who's always on the look out for anything new, I got to go check it out.

Generally it's not all bad, the good thing about it is of course the gorgeous cultures and the amazing settings designed and prepared by the students themselves, which is probably why they turned out good since no one who is assigned by any authority jumped in on the process.

Personal favorites : Bahraini Coffee ! Oh my, I stood for a second after the first taste to check if this is real life lol
The looks of Thai food, most of the sections had very delicious looking food, but this one was very varied and colorful, bad thing i didn't have my cam and took the pictures using the cell phone's, obviously awful

Now to the ugly part, OUR contribution to this event ?
Ignorant individuals who apparently breathe idiocy, I can't believe such mentalities get accpeted as university students, life puzzles me
Mocking people from every culture, calling them names in Arabic thinking they wouldn't understand, guess what you imbecile, they speak Arabic better than you ever will.

I'll never know how those people's brains ( if existed ) function, I felt terrible for the students who just want to represent a beautiful image of their countries that they are away from most of the year leaving behind their friends and families, and they ended up having to put up with mere crap.

Palestine

Amen !

Turkey

Bahrain

Thailand

Indonesia

Syria

South Korea

(and wrest de Foof)

United Arab Emirates

Russia

.Rio

2011-04-23T12:33:00.000-07:00

Today, I got the chance to watch one of the most exciting 3D movies ever, Rio!
Overall, i give the the movie a 8/10, the minus 2 is for the predictable ending movie makers apparently love.
Other than that, eye-popping graphics, very interesting story, and my personal favorites : stunning musical and voice acting performances, which is pretty odd for me since the thing I hated the most in Tangled was the music, nothing personal :D The songs were just too long and boring, the samba feel to the songs in Rio however, is enticing !

you'll literally be doing this after the movie

(a GIF from the movie)

.wishlist ✰

2011-04-18T12:10:00.000-07:00

Constant cravings, and whatnot ..

one of my most important daily activities is stuffing as much Mackintosh Quality Street chocolate pieces into my mouth, I love most of the flavors but my super fav is the Chocolate Fudge ! this is what I imagine heaven tastes like ..

If I could ever send a special request to them it would be to make boxes filled with nothing but pieces of chocolate fudge, I don't feel like being distracted by another piece on my to grab one so enthusiastically :D
the wrapping alone is perfect for your appetite, how pink and pretty ❤

I want and OWL, yes, a real one ..
I think owls should top the list of God's most awesome creatures, they're mostly underrated or not generally favored and accepted, but that will never change the fact that they are an epic species.
In our middle eastern cultures, the common belief that owls are bad luck and a sign of near possible depression, where do they get these ideas, I'll never know ! When I see an owl (or an image of one) it makes me happy :) so go blame you bad luck on someone else, because these creatures are two awesome to take the blame.
I guess i can postpone working on this wish though lol, I can barely find an owl shaped necklace let alone find an owl to purchase.

And I wish I could see my 2 weeks old niece, I didn't get to see her in person since she lives so far away, and seeing her pictures made it even harder to stand that fact, and her being so edible is not helping either lol.

~sigh

..

2011-04-18T11:33:00.001-07:00

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.le procrastination

2011-04-15T05:08:00.000-07:00

As it turns out, I need to study 24/7 from now on so i can afford the damage control i'm supposed to do to my average at school, I have slacked off enough, and I need to take action If I'm really considering taking the scholarships seriously.
Thinking about it again, and even though i do have an amazing knack to procrastinate, I think pessimism is what's holding me back, through my life I have come to believe that nothing good is destined to strike me, ever !
It's not a logical nor healthy thing, but looking back at my life, I can't help but jam this thought into my mind even deeper, I try not to, It's deep enough to fight back !
I hope that one day something good will happen, some hard work would pay off, and I'll start believing in something, for once

.the current addiction

2011-04-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

Beautiful music, a voice to kill for, an amazingly gorgeous and inspiring young woman. She is the British singer/songwriter Adele Adkins, and she is my new addiction.

Introduced to her voice thorough her latest hit Rolling In The Deep , he voice literally stunned me, I had to look up the song in search for the singer behind all that beauty, while at it, I had the privilege to listen to several others by her, apparently the song that blew my mind was just a jewel in her talent crown.

On a completely unrelated note, this was my favorite show when i was a little girl, Madelene

We love our bread
We love our butter
But most of all
We love each other

I'm What's Happening !

2010-06-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

I, Foof, hereby declare a war on every last one of those -people- with unexplainable , intolerable EGO , which results them patronizing and looking down at all God's might or tiny creations, and believe that they are big shots even if everyone else can clearly see that they - due to that ego- are complete nothings.

and I am no way against being confident, as a matter of fact, I look up to those who have faith in themselves and the steps they take, but i certainly despise douche bags / baguettes

period

أنتِ زَهر العُمرْ

2010-06-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

Oh how i love this lady ! She's probably the only singer in this entire world who could pour the beats of a heart into a song, never mind that she doesn't actually write the songs, but she's the one presenting them to ears thirsty for that voice that is beyond any description that could ever be written.

As i listen to Fairouz, I teach my heart new words of love and joy, I teach myself words to express how i feel and could never think of writing on my own , not in a gazillion years.

No matter how many current singers try to follow in her footsteps ( and they are many ! ) i don't think they will ever reach where she's at, she actually crafted that mountain and the way to it..

there are moments

2010-01-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

there are moments
i am reminded, bitterly and completely,
that i love you
i slap patches of other men to my skin, it's not the same
but it helps keep me at least twelve steps away
from my vicious addiction to you
and as with any bad habit,
the very passion between us
turned to poison and

you couldn't stop and i couldn't stop you,
you couldn't stop even when i begged you to,
your unrelenting fervor tore me right in two
and now parts of me will always be
stained in the color of you

Moments - Psy'Aviah

___________________________

Though i didn't write this , but i can relate to the rhythm..

a glossy, blushy, powedered vent out

2009-10-19T11:44:00.000-07:00

It gets on my nerves how some girls are fond of wearing a crap load of make up on daily basis.
Oh well , what do I know anyway ? I must be just jealous of the fulfillment caused by going out everyday to school/work wearing on what might be considered bridal make up, and then going back home and taking it off ( that IF this happened and they didn't just keep caking on layers) and hate the face i have underneath it !

I'm pretty certain the make up is something feminine, beautiful and makes you look shinier, but i happen to stick to this only when it's applied reasonably.

Everyone is beautiful on their own way, smacking your face with a ridiculous lot of cosmetics definitely isn't one, let alone the long term damage these things cause

I'm done

BTW : http://izismile.com/2009/07/24/transformation_of_the_ugly_duckling_22_pics.html

All growed up

2009-10-17T10:58:00.000-07:00

I've always pointed my finger and laughed at "adults" who whined way too much when not getting the proper attention on their birthdays. Apparently, i had to taste my own bitter medicine to know how it feels and it sucks bad when the people you care more about their birthdays than themselves won't even bother do drop a greeting.

I was about to vent out to FML, lol ! Till i stood realizing that i just reached the age where i just grew ruthless , i no longer care .. Actually when i got a big load of messages on Facebook , my only response was : Gifts or GTFO, so i guess it's clear.

The only wish i can make for the days to come is to fall in the least amount of troubles. :\

iBlog, iNeglectMyBlog !

2009-08-28T03:58:00.001-07:00

Horribly, back for a couple of seconds then away for a couple of decades. And it'll probably happen this time too, school's back in no time, Ramadan's business is here and (not that I'm complaining) our family is getting bigger with more connections now, so Ramadan's feasts are thrice the burden they were last year, but fun while they last.

The main reason i was actually back here and subscribing to blogs :D is being informed that one of my idols in digital art now has her own beautiful space on blogspot ! Check her page at http://brightiiart.blogspot.com/
brilliance !

Also i have to say that the first blog i checked when i landed here was Aladdin's , so fee3 :P

I'm posting this photo here instead of uploading it on my flickr account why ? Because my yahoo mail has been hacked by some sleazy teenage dating site or whatever ! now the only email address i consider formal is ..poof !

Ramadan Kareem to whoever passes by <3

Just to feel it

2009-07-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken a while ago , February 18th to be exact , it's not new and it's not related to this season in anyway , but posted just to take the mind off the heat ..

The Hebron-holic

2009-06-10T04:03:00.000-07:00

It really is an addiction ! From the sweet dark grapes to the slow tongued locals ..
I guess that by next Monday-Insha'Allah- all the nagging i've been doing will finally pay off and i'll be in my dearest hometown again after more than two years of departing , to some it may not seem so long , but to the Foof it's forever

Wait for me Palestine , I'm coming to spend sleepless nights within your warmth because why sleep and dream when reality is finally as beautiful as it should be :) !

Not to Foof..

2009-05-31T03:59:00.000-07:00

Zing !

Morons

2009-05-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

For those having problem reading the comments
the comic was supposed to be larger -btw-

X : You look sad
Y : You look like F*ck

and then you get the change in the facial expressions !

Now folks how about meeting this kind of morons daily , interesting indeed !
Some people have this unexplainable urge to humiliate others , or more likely : to destroy any attempt of the person to feel good about themselves ! As I have mentioned it's not explainable . is it because they don't feel good about themselves , thus , you're not allowed to do so ? Is it because they believe you're not worthy of the feeling ? Is it... It's mostly the human's complicated nature that makes them at the end of the day.. suck !

This thing is actually more common among girls , they - or at least the ones i have been involved with so you won't think I'm generalizing , although I'm intending to- find it very inappropriate , ridiculous and probably outrageous to compliment each other ! If you think all the girls are like the ones you read about or see in comics leading endless discussions about how they like each others' haircuts , you thought very wrong ! Those who actually like things about each other are rare , mature enough to say the truth in the shortest comments possible and by expressing their true feelings .

I could go further and use the (e.g)s but my fingers are getting sleepy , plus then i would be actually giving my time to talk about the morons and i would've passed the point of venting out , which has ended probably two paragraphs ago .

And I hate the way , you walk away...

2009-05-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

Dear ...

This will be one of the many times where I try to tell you something without giving any efforts to be poetic , nice and whatsoever , it will be like the everyday me , straight forward and as the mind thinks the tongue speaks, though it doesn't matter because the odds of you reading this are not worth mentioning !

I hate it when you leave , it just shakes the faith within me, it shakes my faith in the moment before you do because i know in the next i will look around to not find you , it shakes my faith in the happiness i feel when i first see you because i know in the next moment the wind will blow all of this away,l it shakes my faith in my strength because i know that once you're seconds away ,I'll fall apart in no time.

So as I raise this glass to sorrow i would like to take a moment to thank you , because if it weren't for you my dear , i would never know how vulnerable i could be ..!

I hate it when you’re not around,

and the fact that you didn’t call.

But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you,

not even close…

not even a little bit…

not even at all !

Dear Diary

2009-05-03T06:18:00.001-07:00

Today..
As i was in the bus , i saw a woman driving a public transportation vehicle
It made me smile..

Today
As i was on that same bus , a guy with ridiculously plucked eyebrows kept staring at me then gave me the wink wink smile
It made me wish that woman had run him over..

...

Your sky,your sea...

2009-04-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

And for being this , you judge me !
I get judged for over-loving the people i believe deserve it ,, my friends,family or my other..
If you're consumed by a bitter past experience do not bother telling me , I'll try my best not to lend an ear because i can not get paranoid over something i can't even control , thus ruin it ! and because i had experiences probably far worse than yours and still i do not freak people out with endless, tasteless destructive so-called advices

in Foofster's dictionary , the term overestimating does not exist , yes you might think it's wrong, and even i might sometimes! but it will be just a thought that's fading away in no time..it's something can't control.

إعادَة نَظَر - الشاعر الكبير مظفّر النوّاب

2009-01-10T08:56:00.001-08:00

أنا ما لي أشتــــــــم الحكـــــــــــــــــام ؟

مــاذا ســــــأضـــيف

للــمراحيـــــــــــض

إذا قلت لها : أنت كنيف ؟!

وإذا ما قلــت للجيـــفه : يا جيــفه، مــا ذا ســوف يــجري ؟ هــل تجيــف ؟!

لا.. كفـــي الحـــكام شـــتما أنهـــم هــم!

وكفــا ني رادعـــا

أن بهـــم يـتــســــخ الشـــتم النظيـــف!

إني أعتـــــــذر ألآن - عن الماضي -

لإ حســـــــاســي الرهيــف

ولســـاني الطـــاهــر الحر العفيــف.

إنني لن أشـــتم الحكــام،

ما شــأني بالحكـــام؟

ملعــون ابو أشــــرفهــــم

إن كان فيــــهم أحــد حقـــا شـــر يـف

......

2008-12-28T08:54:00.000-08:00

اللهم إليك نشكو ضعف قوتنا وقلة حيلتنا وهواننا على الناس يا أرحم الراحمين أنت رب المستضعفين وأنت ربنا إلى من تكلنا إلى بعيد يتجهمنا أو إلى عدو ملكته أمرنا إن لم يكن بك علينا غضب فلا نبالي ولكن عافيتك هي أوسع لنا نعوذ بنور وجهك الذي أشرقت له الظلمات وصلح عليه أمر الدنيا والآخرة من أن ينزل بنا غضبك أو يحل علنا سخطك لك العتبى حتى ترضى ولا حول ولا قوة إلا بك

Raindrops are falling on my head

2008-12-26T04:19:00.000-08:00

Rumor has it .. yeah and the sky obviously says that it won't be raining for a couple of days and this sucky weather will continue ..lots of sunshine and freezing cold , and people still complain about rainy days and how they bring them down !

Yeh ! despite how much i love the carpenters i still don't like and don't relate to "Rainy days and Mondays always get me down" , i actually wait for rainy days the entire year , every step i take in those days is carved upon my memory , every time i want to memorize something beautiful it's usually followed by "..when it rained.."

The focus in this picture was supposed to be on the fallen leaf , ended up cropping it and leaving the water circles caused by raindrops , such magical things , makes you want to wash away everything in your site to enjoy nothing but them .. <3

All i need is a bitter song

2008-12-20T09:02:00.000-08:00

"We" as human beings , for no specific reason , tend to search for the things that cause us the greater damage , out of all the candy the ones that are the fastest to give us rotten teeth are always the best , knowing that we'll pay sooner or later by taking the bitter medicine or painful needles .. That could possibly be the main reason behind most of our actions , to learn a lesson .. yet somehow after all this and that we hardly ever do ! either we get it wrong , or get it ... but by learning the wrong lesson . and that is the essence of life : when it doesn't make any sense !

just like every single word in this entry

I miss being all creepy and alone with a good friend to talk to , and not a million i can't even hear..

iLike : Fair to Midland

2008-07-24T00:39:00.000-07:00

Fair To Midland

This band is ( in all means ) a winning combination of all what could impress me in music , when i first heard my favorite song by them " tall tales taste like sour grapes" i realized that i finally found my band ! they're literally amazing ! a mixture of powerful addictive instrumental performance , meaningful strong lyrics and astounding vocals ! Suitable for all tastes :D the music has a metallic feel to it and the vocals are sort of folksy ( in my opinion) .

And here's my favorite song , Enjoy !

Too much patience,

No resistance,

Within shouting distance,

You can hear a blind man's bluff,

Dragging names through the mud and still bitting his tongue,

The devil's in the air and I'm spitting out prayers,

While the ravenous all eat their fill,

Tell me, tell me a story,

Tell me not to worry, or pick up the phone,

So turning, turning a deaf ear,

So that I don't hear them throwing stone,

Too much hogwart,

Not enough hearsay,

Always made the front page,

You could use a fine tooth comb to get a word from the wise,

Would be a welcome surprise,

Keep an ear to the ground so to drown out the sound of the failures that make me whole,

Tell me, tell me a story,

Tell me not to worry, or pick up the phone,

So turning, turning a deaf ear,

So that I don't hear them throwing stone,

These walls don't talk,

Even when somebody knocks,

These walls don't stand,

For anyone else but themselves,

These walls don't fall,

Even when gravity's failing us all,

Tell me, tell me a story,

Tell me not to worry, or pick up the phone,

So turning, turning a deaf ear,

So that I don't hear them throwing stone

Foof's way to High Key

2008-07-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

If you search for the high key effect in well known Ps tutorials websites you'll probably get a tutorials that shows how to turn a photo to a selective black and white something , anyhow this tutorials is different from the usuals ( i suppose ) as i have figured out the technique on my own , i assume it's high key because it's the closest to it :D

Note : this tutorial works best for images taken indoors with a good amount of natural lightning , could work for anything else though , but best on the mentioned previously

Now let's get down to business *_*

First of all we open our image, i got this picture from stock exchange , here's a quick tip , NEVER get a picture from deviant art or anything displayed on forums as صور التصميم which are taken from DA as well ! because all of those images are edited already and that will will guarantee that they won't sue your butt ^_^

and here's the original image

Now the orignal background layer will have a lock icon on it , click it twice and then click ok as the window appears . sorry i forgot to explain that in a snapshot !

Now your layer is ready , duplicate it by right clicking it > duplicate layer

Next, hide the copy you made as we're only working on it to make the last touches , the hiding is very simple , done by clicking the eye icon on the left , the icon indicates the layers invisibility , make sure the eye is gone :)

Now back to the original layer , click the adjustment layer icon in the bottom of the layers palette , and choose a Gradient adjustment layer *

from the gradients collection choose black and white , then change the blending mode to Color

You will get a black and white picture ^^ now next step is to get the high key effect , a new adjustment layer , Brightness and Contrast

Set the
brightness to 60 Contrast to 80

For the last touch , we're going to make the invisible copy of the original layer visible again , simply by clicking the eye visibility icon , and set the layer's blending mode to Soft Light

We're done ^^
here's the result and the original image

* I have used a gradient layer assuming that many may not have CS3 , but if you do , a black and white layer is easier to use and without changing it's blending mode , this is only for Cs3 users

NoteS : you may use a solid color adjustment layer and set it's blending mode to Color isntead of a copy of the original layer , i have tried this with sepia , not bad !

another thing , you can leave it as a black and white photo once you've set the brightness and contrast , will be good as well

Any further questions i'm here , and excuse me if i'm bad at this =(

A Vanishing Symphony

2008-07-21T04:40:00.001-07:00

And now , here i am mourning all the melodies that i have locked to death , taking all my strings away , where no one listens but silence .. i want to steal my soul from you to the dimness of nowhere ... your sunshine has blinded my heart

No more counting all your lies , No more waiting for your goodbyes

A Vanishing Symphony by ~SoDoXa on deviant ART

Well , in this case ..

2008-07-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

الذين ينكرون الحب يصبحون أكثر الناس جنونا حال وقوعهم - المحتّم - فيه

Hassan

The World Of Fragile Things

2008-07-19T05:10:00.000-07:00

Oh God how i miss the winter ! as strange as it may sound every time i feel a summery breeze i miss it even more , i remember a teacher of mine who was once asked why she prefers winter among all other seasons her answer was " there's nothing not love!" and that is absolutely correct , everything about it is just amazing so cozy and beautiful , romantic and warm even if it's the coldest of seasons , plus I'm a coats person lol , i want to lose my self in the fog again and kiss sunshine goodbye , it it heals as it kills !

So as i'm craving the chill :D My newest manipulation . not much but i feel like using massive textures again not clean and smudged as always :P natural and better

Please Click Here

The original Image

My Snow White Queen

Snow White Queen by ~SoDoXa on deviant ART

If you want to know how this is done (which isn't so amazing) just ask , i don't feel like blabbing for no reason *_* , yet i have discussed this with Naser and we both agreed it might be useful :)

The -keep it down- tag

2008-07-18T04:01:00.000-07:00

Tagged by Naser , and in this tag i should post six new secrets about myself , but as i have told naser preciously i have no big secrets to hide , so i guess nothing will seem so interesting :D

1- I sleep with my knees up ! i don't know if this is clear enough or i should elaborate more !

2- Usually as many of my friends know , my favorite music genre is easy listening and i prefer slow songs , somehow after midnight i tend to listen to very loud Mejwez songs , believe it or not !

3- I am very straight :D but female beauty inspires and attracts me more , i suppose i like everything that is tender , or maybe because i am a female , portraits or paintings of or even songs by women astound me as they reflect something within me

4 - I am extremely thin yet people whom i know over the internet always assume that i am VERY chubby , and i'm still trying to figure out the reason that makes them think so

5- I enjoy eating unhealthy food :(

6- I never cry for anyone or anything but my own sadness and depression , i know it is very selfish but i can't help it

so that's it naser :D i guess i'll tag Jood and Muafaq now

Thank you Naser !

Peek-a-Back

2008-07-18T02:34:00.000-07:00

Yes I am ! i have left this place for a while due to my tawjihi exams (which by the would be appreciated if not mentioned =D ) then after i was done i neglected this place and to stay on my DA page around the clock which wasn't right sorry bloggy =( ! yet i think the main reason for my return is naser as he brought up the tagging thing , ah remember those days when wedad's blog was still visible to everyone ? LOL .

Many beautiful news from around the sphere as well this in specific is incredible ! congratulations dear Diana to you and your husband , yetrabba b3ezkom ya rab.

So all this blabbing to tell you that i'm back and i suppose i'll be blogging more often m though i doubt anyone will read i have been dead lately and i do not blame anyone for not entering this space , lotsa a dust here i know .

Where's that red carpet ? :P

Ham beda7ek ...

2008-05-17T03:22:00.000-07:00

قصة خيالية أردنية

كان يا ما كان في قديم الزمان و في سالف العصر و الاوان

بلد صغيرة جميلة يعيش فيها عائلة صغيرة مكونة من اب و ام وولد فقط

يصحى ابو عقلة من النوم نشيطا مبتسما

و ينظر الى ام عقلة بحب ووله

ابو عقلة: يسعدلي هالصباح شو هالحلاوة هاي اي انا الي تلاتين سنة بتصبح بهالقمر

ام عقلة: يي يا ابو عقلة انا اللي بتصبح ب احلى قمر احضرلك الفطور؟

ابو عقلة: اه بس اطفي التدفئة شوبت كتير و الله هدول بالارصاد دقيقين بطريقة مش معقولة

يعني اللي بيقولوه بيطلع صح

ام عقلة: شايف شو الطقس حلو برة؟ التلج داب من مبارح

و الجرافات رفعتة من الطريق و كل شي برة نضيف..

خليني اصحي عقلة يلحق يتحمم و يفطر و يروح على دوامه و بحضر الفطور

ابو عقلة :ما تنسي العسل و القشطة يا قشطة

ام عقلة تذهب لايقاظ عقلة ,تدخل غرفة عقلة المرتبة النظيفة جدا و تراه نائما كالملاك

ام عقلة: عقلة اصحى يما الساعة ستة

عقلة يصحى بسرعة شديدة و يقفز من سريره بنشاط

عقلة: يسعد صباحك يما..يا باي يما شو بحب يوم الاحد بعد العطلة

هيك ارجع ع دوامي ..انا يما بحب شغلي كتير

ام عقلة: بس يما زي ما بوصيك دايما انت شرطي سير الناس امانة برقبتك

عقلة: و لو يما..انا اصلا كل مواطن اخ و كل مواطنة اخت بديش وصاة

يفطر ابو عقلة و ام عقلة و عقلة في جو من الالفة العائلية الجميلة

و يقبّل ابو عقلة ام عقلة بعد ان يضع في يدها خمسين دينار مصروف اليوم

يذهب عقلة الى عمله مبتسما و يقف في مكانه على دوار عبدون

تمر سيارة مسرعة و يوقفها و يذهب للسائق مبتسما

عقلة: صباح الخير يا اخي ..كيف حالك؟ بس يا ريت تخفف السرعة شوي عالدوار

و بلاش التشحيط و كمان لو تحط الموبايل من ايدك لانه خطر على سلامتك و سلامة غيرك اتمنى لك نهار سعيد

المواطن مبتسما: شكرا سيدي الله يعطيك العافية

و يقود سيارته بتمهل و حذر

يتحدث عقلة لنفسه: ما شاء الله ما احلى سيارته الله يزيد و يبارك

ابو عقله في دوامة باحدى الدوائر الحكومية ينهمك في عمله

ولا يلتفت يمينا او يسارا

ولا يحادث زملائه

ولا يشرب الشاي

او يحل الكلمات المتقاطعة

و يبدا المواطنون بالتوافد على الدائرة التي تتسم بالنظافة الشديدة

و التي يوجد بها كراسي نظيفة جدا مرتبة غير مكسورة او مطبشة او مكتوب عليها

و يقفون بترتيب في طابور منظم بدون تأفف مع احترام النظام و اعطاء الاوليةلغيرهم

يقترب اول مواطن من ابو عقلة مبتسما

المواطن: صباح الخير

ابو عقلة: صباح النور شو طلباتك نحنا هون في خدمتك لراحتك و مساعدتك

المواطن: بس بدي توقعلي هالورقة

ابو عقلة: بكل سرور بس بدها توقعين تانين بعد هيك و بتكون جاهزة

يشكر المواطن ابو عقلة و يوقع التوقعين و تنتهي معاملتة خلال نصف ساعة و يغادر الدائرة

يخرج للشارع و يوقف تاكسي

و يجلس قرب السائق النظيف الذي تخلو سيارته من اية زينة او علبة كلينكس معلقة بالسقف

و التي يمنع فيها التدخين

و يقود السائق سيارته بكل لياقة و ادب و اخلاق

دون ان يتجاوز او ييتوقف على المنعطفات بدون انذار

و دون ان يشتم او يسب او يتافف من الحكومة او الغلاء او المخالفات الغير موجودة اصلا

و دون ان يفرض ارائه السياسية و نظرياته على الراكب

و دون ان يبصق من النافذة

و تنتهي الرحلة و يدفع الراكب النقود بدون نقاش

و يعيد له السائق الباقي بكل سرور لوجود الكثير من الفكة بحوزته

و يتابع السائق طريقه مبتسما هادئا

يستمع لصوت الوكيل الشجي على الراديو الذي قرر ان يستقيل لان البلد خالية من المشاكل

يتوقف على اشارة المرور ولا يقترب منه اي شحاد او بائع زهور او العاب لا معنى لها و لا يزمر للذي امامه او يقرفه

و يشكر الله على نعمته و يحمده على خيراته

و توتة توتة خلصت الحدوتة

وكل واحد يرجع عاشغله بلا مسخرة !!!

got this by email , it's usually all about the Kashara , notice that now imperfections are uncountable ! :\

If only ..

2008-05-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

There was a season with summer's pleasure and fun , and some of it's warmth
winter's sweetness and chill , spring's colors and Autumn's romance

If only i could stop dreaming for once lol

High Hopes

2008-05-07T01:33:00.000-07:00

I hate it when DA's down :( what i hate even more is that it's only down when i want to upload something or look for something i urgently need :\

so i guess i have to post it here since el ma7roos msh nawy ysharref :D, i don't want to forget crediting

1 2 3 4 5

Edit : it worked , then i'm just sharing this lol !

I beg to DIFFER !

2008-05-05T00:47:00.000-07:00

Why do people always look for their clones when it comes to love ? and why does it seem so strange if you tell anyone that you look for someone who's nearly your opposite in many things?

Searching for the significant other , must we really look for someone with our exact same interests and taste ? things that are skin deep and we forget what goes deep to the bones , understanding , respect and mutual admiration ..?

I might be wrong , but i believe that a relation is more interesting when people differ , if you share the same things with another person you'll be please at first , but in a while it'll get very boring , and it could be the things you share and not deep feelings , but when you bond with a person with a different lifestyle you learn from them , everyday you find something new about them that makes you love them even more , i have friends with no slight resemblance between us , yet if you ever listen to any conversation we have, we always manage to finish each others sentences , if i did something , they were already planning to do it !

It's not always about being identical twins :D it's all about understanding , and after all ,humans communicate to exchange ideas , not to look at reflections of their own

Ending ... unplanned !

2008-04-30T00:04:00.000-07:00

I've come to believe that the happiest of endings are the ones unplanned , the best of moments are the unexpected and sweetest of things are the ones we gave up on chasing !

Maybe as we plan and worry about something we become paranoid , that any little thing would make us so anxious and so we might fail to get what we want ..

Although this may not work in all cases , but mostly it does !

From now on i'll let my feet walk me to the unknown , i have a good feeling about it ..

Sighing out loud

2008-04-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

In my entire life , I've never allowed ANYTHING to me down no matter how strong it is or how huge it's effect should be , i always get over it with the blink of an eye as if it never happened , because i believe that there's nothing and no one worth crying for , and if there is , they will never let me shed a tear !

Lately I've noticed that I'm getting too sensitive and emotional , anything can put me down and make me feel so blue , i used to care the least before , yet now the hardest thing to is to let slide , I'm getting to fragile to handle the smallest of things and i hate it , as some people intend to make others feel bad to feel victorious , but i can't help it ! i hope i can get out of this sucky mood as soon as possible

Another thing i have promised myself that from now on I'll try my best not to take anything from Deviant art , a while ago i thought the site was alot like a place for stock images , but surprisingly since i joined , i realized how annoying it is to see one's work ripped off , my manips are stupid enough not to get stolen :P but i should feel for the people who are spending time and money on equipments and getting their art work done

so from now on either from stock sites , my own work or known painting and stuff along with providing a source wa domtom

:\

2008-04-23T02:57:00.000-07:00

Today i had to go to the hospital to check on my eyes due to horrible pain i felt at night , also one looks bigger than the other , yeah yeah yeah , foof's creepy :P in the prescription two eye drops were included : Efemoline and Alomide , went down to the hospital's pharmacists , she gave my mother only one eye drop , , when she asked her about the other one , the pharmacist told her that it's not available here , so we went to another pharmacy after my mother put that eye drop in her hand bag , and as she took a small paper bag from the other pharmacist , she did the same to it .

As i got home , my mom gave me the eye drop we got from the hospital and the paper bag , i noticed that there are two eye drops in it !: Efemoline and Alomide !! O_o then what the hell did she give me ?

Turned out it was an eye drop called : Apihist !

I remembered that time when my doctor told not to trust a pharmacist , although she might know these things better than i do of course , but i can barely trust the ophthalmologist himself :( i fuss over nothing :P but i think it's better

Back

2008-04-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

Bekh :D

ok for reasons i personally can't understand , i deleted my old blog ! :\ but whatever , here's a new one and surprisingly i like this one better

i'm sorry if i haven't added everyone on my bloggers list but it's a bit hard to find all the bloggers now especially that not everyone's on jood list , which is where i got them from :$

Currently i have no idea how to link this to anyone , so meanwhile i'll just put it as a siggy in mahjoob so the mahjoobian bloggers would see it

Cheers !