Posted on by Michel

The (secret world of the) Japanese Swordsmiths

How Japanese swords (the Katana) were made, an absolutely brilliant short documentary from 1997!

The Japanese sword is the soul of the Samurai. The crafting of this work of art — which embodies beauty, strength and tradition — has been shrouded in secrecy for more than a thousand of years. Because of the highly advanced techniques and numerous years of dedicated effort required in crafting Japanese swords, the skill has always been a closely kept and jealously guarded secret. Yohindo Yoshihara is a consummate Japanese swordsmith and a very high regarded Mukansa craftman in Japan. He is also the best-known Japanese swordsmith outside of Japan.
This video has been produced to appeal to all aficionados of the Japanese sword around the world and is a treasure trove of secrets to Yohindo Yoshihara’s truly outstanding Japanese sword craftsmanship.

Watched the documentary today and was very impressed. A craftsman can do what no machine can — achieving perfect balance, symmetry, and beauty…

Posted on by Michel

War Inc 2 Movie Announced

After the great success of War Inc. (2008), this year the sequel was announced!

Michel & John

Michel & John

I participated in the first part of the movie (during the cold November of 2006), and after my magnificent appearance there, together with John Cusack and Marisa Tomei, holding an AK-47 and bravely “fighting” on the premises of Sofia Airport and in some abandoned factories, I was invited to participate in the second part of the movie, now as a principal star!

Michel Bozgounov

I have many other photos from the movie sets, but only these two were around so that I could quickly make the new posters for War Inc (2)… ;)

Michel & John

PS Btw, this is no Photoshop/Fireworks, that’s me with John Cusack, Nov. 18, 2006, 13:30. Everyone has his brief moment of fun fame, right? ;)

Posted on by Michel

Steve Jobs’ Three Stories

Although I am no big fan of Steve Jobs from Apple, I do like Pixar a lot (Apple, too, but to a lesser degree;-), and the stories he tells us, are certainly worth watching …and understanding.

Posted on by Michel

Comet McNaught says Goodbye

The comet McNaught and the Milky Way (see the photo in its original size on the NASA website)Lately I wanted to say a couple of words about the comet McNaught. What decided me finally was this extraordinary photo, published on the 12th of February on the APOD website (click the thumbnail to see it in its original size). The shot was taken in New Zealand, at the end of January. You can also see part of the Milky Way – our home:)

This comet was called by many “the most photogenic comet of our time” и “the great comet of 2007”, and not without a reason.

The comet McNaught and its long tail - see the photo in full size on the NASA websiteNow the comet moves away from the Sun and the Earth, but it still can be seen in the Southern hemisphere. Not a long ago was published a photo in which the tail of the comet stretched on almost the whole Southern sky – its lenghth was 150 million kilometres, or approx. 1 astronomical unit (AU)!

You should also see one incredible montage from 3 photographs of the photographer Antti Kemppainen!

Enough about Space for today… Now I go to the window – it’s true that the comet cannot be seen anymore from our latitude, but I can at least wave to it with my hand, right? :-)

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Note: The Astronomy Picture of the Day, supported by NASA, is a very valuable resource – on this website every day is published one photograph or image/illustraion of our Universe, together with a short explanation by a professional astronomer. Some photos, especially those made by the Hubble telescope, littereally can take your breath away with its beauty and depth… and they make you realise, how small we are, people:-) I visit it often – there’s always something to see and discover:-)