Wedding photography

Helping CQ with his sister's wedding shoot brought back memories of what I used to do to supplement income: tired back, hands & fingers with peeled skin and clients who were not so genetically-gifted.


Photo courtesy of CQ

Almost everything felt and smelled the same, except that everything's digital nowadays. Gone are the rolls and rolls of film. Advantages are instant results, no more boo-boos with film handling (think accidental exposures, chemical gone wrong etc) and unlimited shooting.


CQ the master at work

Disadvantages? Seems more whimsical: Nostalgia over the horrendous weight (3kg) of the RB67, the smell of Ilford developers, hunching over enlargers, saving negatives exposed inappropriately and conjuring up magic in the process. Kinda reminds me of Cinema Paradiso

Ghost story

Just remembered a pretty lame ghost story with a twist.

*

Photo from Google image search

Once there was an old church with a reportedly-haunted bell tower on its ground. One night the church care-taker was walking near the bell tower when he heard the sound of a little girl crying. He looked around and saw a little girl, wearing a red dress, crying at the foot of the bell tower.
Puzzled, the care-taker approached the girl and asked, "Girl, why are you out so late?"
"My parents left me here!" the girl replied.
"Oh, what horrible parents you have. No wonder you're crying," the care-taker remarked.
"No, I'm crying because I'm scared!" the girl replied.
"What are you scared of?" the care-taker inquired.
"I'm afraid of the ghosts," sobbed the little girl.
"Well," replied the care-taker, "I used to be afraid of ghosts when I was alive."

*

OK, time to dodge that flying, rotten tomato...

mad chickens

I'd better scribble something in case I start losing readers (namely 3 famous ones: me, myself and I).

Had been a busy week for me. Mostly taken up by my dumb-ass research, which is at the data entry stage...



...somehow, after 24/7 of MS Excel, all the cells and numbers start to look alike. Together with that is the renovation of the new place. Thankfully wifey and I got a reliable contractor. Thanks Mr Chua! So the floor is laid, walls painted and windows secured. Saving up for the kitchen & air conditioning next. A pleasant aside was dining at the Old Airport Road Hawkers' Centre, which is right next to the new place. Yummy!

Had to run around Bukit Timah Nature Reserve yesterday to scout out locations for the next field practical. I think after last week's romp in the mud, the students will probably expect more of such to come, except that this time, it's the 45 degrees incline they'll have to deal with at the reserve...muahahahaha. Much as I hate it, it's probably going to do me some good, building up for this year end's Stanchart Marathon.

These are busy times indeed...

cool artwork by Star Wars fan

Photo from Jay Silver's website

If you think the poster is cool, you must watch the fan trailer. Bear in mind that it was made in 2002, before the actual trailers of Episode 3 were released, it's awesomely authentic enough to pass off as something from Lucasfilm.

Click here to watch (right-click & save to download). You'll need Quicktime.

Alternatively, visit the Brickfilms website. Brickfilms is a community of guys dedicated to the art of stop-motion animation, specifically animation of building toys or bricks (think Lego). Lotsa other cool stuff on their site.

something crazy...

So the crazy thing is not signing up for the marathon but that I will have to:

1. Run
2. Submit my thesis
3. Take care of wifey
4. Take care of a newborn
5. Co-ordinate renovation of the new flat
6. Look for a new job

All within the last 2 months of this year. Bring it on, I say!

Oh, yl, if you're reading this. I'm inviting you to sign up for the 10km event. All your treadmill work will be justified! I'll even sponsor your registration fees.

all your surfing habits are belong to us...

...was rather puzzled why I got 6 hits from Hungary. Even though 'tis the Hungry Ghost Month, I didn't expect any famished visitors to my rather unknown blog site. Especially when they were actually hits that lasted more than a minute each, so I know they're not search engine hits, like the one from Denmark. It was then that I recalled having some friends who're now in (budda...budda...) Budapest for a conference. So here's to Jeremy, Chris, WK & boss: having a smashing time! Enjoy your stay in Hungary during this month of hungry ghosts! Hungarian ghoulash has double meaning: 1. Ghoul; 2. Food. Therefore 1+2 = hungry ghost festival?! Now I know.....

Taking it as good as you give

One of the things about making your student/underlings suffer and they willingly take it, treating it like some badge of honour, is the ability to take as good as you give. It was quite a blast, getting wet in the mangroves. And I mean soaking wet, what with the tropical rain storm descending on us with the fury of a hundred aunties bargaining at the wet-market.

In addition to clean underwear, ziploc bags are another necessity, unless the contents in your wallet are all plastic.


All hung out to dry

For once, I'm not complaining about going cashless, heh! Time for a new wallet...

(Buzz in my head: November Rain -Guns N Roses)

sian 3/4 par deux

Found this hilarious Beng-translator script on Kenny Sia's blog. Decided to try it on one of my previous post and got this:

"Stuck in a place with no cellular service + cacat jo cake facilities. Ironically, there are a total of 4 net-connected PCs available. Solid thing my lan jiao supply of disposable underwear will last until the next commute home. Thus have Limpeh come to this conclusion: All si beh li hai world-conquering armies had one thing in common, the Romans, Mongolians, Greeks, Ming sailors under Admiral Cheng Ho and perhaps even the British East India Compali when those pukima colonized half the world - an unending supply of clean undies.Have underwear will travel.Indeed."

"si beh li hai" + "pukima"...muahahahaha

Kenny, you rocks leh!

reminder to write something about...

1. The old tree outside my place that was recently cut trimmed severely.

2. They put up a poster promoting the yellow-ribbon campaign.

There's always something about tree-slashing-unforgiving-of-ex-con type of people who get on my nerves.

Meanwhile I've got a group of students going into the mangroves this afternoon. There's always this sadistic fun about mud-and-student combination...

of search engines...

Typed in the word "search" and found this on Google...



Looks like Google isn't the most popular, even on it's own search engine. Hasta la vista, baby!

Geometry in the Carribeans

Image from Google search

This is a busy time for me. New intake of students and I have four subjects to teach + wrapping up the final phase of my research + writing the thesis. Coupled with renovations of the new place and having to make sure wifey gets through this pregnancy. Kid's coming out end of the year.

You know, what do they call it when everything sort of intersect at that particular place and time and you get this spaced-out sensation in your head?

The Bermuda Triangle.

No, not the Isosceles or the Equilateral. Not even the Scalene but the Bermuda one.

*cue-in theme from The Twilight Zone*

of cows and government...

Photo from Google search

Found this take on the different forms of government:

"Totalitarianism:
You have two cows. The government takes them and denies they ever existed. Milk is banned.

Representative Democracy:
You have two cows. Your neighbors vote for someone to tell you who gets the milk."

Link

Politics 101 for the everday man.

random rants

Current Affairs 101
Year-end Exam

Instructions to candidates:
Choose the most unlikely scenario that has come true. Only one answer is correct.

1. Andrew Kuan not given certificate of eligibility to run for presidency.

2. LTA invokes Land Acquisition Act on Hock Hee Building, a private estate.

3. Government paints a rosy picture about economy.

4. My new bed frame and mattress were delivered today, right on time as the merchant promised.

sian 3/4...

Stuck in a place with no cellular service + crappy toilet facilities. Ironically, there are a total of 4 net-connected PCs available. Good thing my supply of disposable underwear will last until the next commute home. Thus have I come to this conclusion: All great world-conquering armies had one thing in common, the Romans, Mongolians, Greeks, Ming sailors under Admiral Cheng Ho and perhaps even the British East India Company when they colonized half the world - an unending supply of clean undies.

Have underwear will travel.

Indeed.

of assassins and power...

assassination
n.
1. murder of a public figure by surprise attack
2. an attack intended to ruin someone's reputation

*****

So it has begun. My namesake's character dragged through the mud in what's supposedly a dignified race for the land's highest office.

Link

Lurid details may be found in today's propaganda channels mainstream media, with more to come in the days ahead.

Another sad and sorry chapter for 1984-ville.

Protest in Singapore? Really?

Photo from Yahoo news website

Found this on Yahoo News:

"Riot police broke up a rare demonstration by four people demanding greater transparency and accountability in Singapore's state-managed pension fund and other government-linked agencies.
A dozen anti-riot police wearing helmets and knee-high protective gear and carrying shields and batons formed a phalanx outside the offices of the Central Provident Fund (CPF) as a commanding officer approached the demonstrators."

Link

There must have been some sort of implicit approval by the authorities for this to happen. Maybe a stupid pre-election stunt.

Oh yeah, and I bet the protective gear worn by the riot police was just in case they get paper cuts from the transparency, which is what the right-most protester seems to be holding up.

Gongfu cats (aka matrix felines)

Found this...



Link

The expression of this cat is priceless

This is truly amazing Yuen Wo-Ping stuff.

Crime doesn't pay?

Photo from BBC website

Thieves in Brazil have made off with a staggering amount of moola. The interesting thing is not that somebody stole US$68,000,000. It's not even the simplistic modus operandi (ala The Italian Job & just about every heist flick from Hollywood). The biggest joke is that taxpayers will have to bear the loss due to an insurance snafu.

Link here to read about it.

US$68,000,000. Let me imagine...

= S$1,19,000,000 @ US$1 = S$1.75
= 47,600,000 packets of chicken rice @ S$2.50 each
= 793 luxury cars @ S$150,000 each
= 34,1954 iPod Minis (4GB) @ S$348 each
= 11.6 hectares of S$10 notes covering half of the Jurong Bird Park
= 166,600km of S$10 notes circling the equator 4 times (equatorial circumference ~40000km)

NDP goof-up...

First noticed & blogged by mrbrown...



Link

An unfortunate & unintentional background effect. Never let it be said that NDP's all about pomp and pageantry. Comes complete with amusing moments too!

Did some snooping around and found a video source of the whole parade at Mediacorp's website, here's a cleaned-up version of it, without the banding effect...



Dk also has a clean picture of it.

Happy 40th to y'all!

bliss on the morning commute...

You know your day is going to be good when you board the public bus and find that there's a big green sticker "Under Repair" pasted on the TV Mobile screen, and there are only 2 other passengers in the bus.

Blissfully quiet commute. Something of a rarity in 1984-ville.

Moments like these make scrapping the car a good decision indeed...


Photo & text from Channel News Asia website

"A text message that has been circulating claiming that all petrol stations would offer a 40 percent discount on Tuesday is a hoax. But that hasn't stopped queues from forming at petrol station in several parts of the island from about 4pm."

Post of the century

***POST OF THE CENTURY***

100 posts on blogspot.

I think it deserves something nice like home-made (particularly self-made) ngoh hiang...



...but wifey still does it best...



Well, so much for blogging. I get more fun reading mr brown than actually writing stuff myself. Met some nice folks online, like dr. og, yl, amithyst etc. And of course, there's the up-to-date news with a different perspective from that of the mainstream media.
Overall, it's been a fun experience.

Catch y'all later...

Taking the blue pill...

This is so going to hurt me in the long run.



Bought a new flat.

Welcome to 30 years of slavery.



Tried to have fun with Ikea's kitchen planner and not think about loan repayment. I am so glad there's an extra place in Melbourne for us so we could sell it in 5 years if things in 1984-ville get hairy.

(Countdown to post of the century: 1)

The reason why I prefer a Mac...

..is because I don't like my speed & performance questioned, especially when I've inserted my thumbdrive into some stranger's Windoze PC.

Never, never, ever do an insertion into strange orifices...

(Countdown to post of the century: 2)

deflating pompous grammar...

Taken from a website which proclaimed:

"A uniquely NUS tradition, the NUS Centennial Rag and Flag Day, is an annual charity event..."
(underlines mine, refer to definition below)


Screen capture from originating website

Link

Let's see now, where's my dictionary...

tradition
n.
1. A specific practice of long-standing.

centennial
adj.
1. Occuring once every 100 years.

annual
adj.
1. Occuring once every year.

Wow, didn't know that one can actually celebrate a 100th anniversary every year for the past 100 years...

Oh, and not forgetting:

pompous
adj.
1. Full of high-sounding phrases.

(Countdown to post of the century: 3)

what goes on in the female toilet...

Notice I've deliberately avoided using the term 'Ladies' because of certain class connotations that comes with that term...

...and this is a negative demonstration of what it is to be a 'Lady':


Photo from orgasmic hamster's blog

Link here

This is so very, very wrong...


(Countdown to post of the century: 4)

Food is heaven for the citizenry...

You know, it felt funny, and still does when I speak with my long-lost brother who grew up in KL. Circumstances had it that we were put into different households during our formative years. Wifey tells me that he initially thought I was stand-off-ish and angry with him. On the other hand, I didn't really know how to relate to him as an elder brother. I think we may have missed out on what every kid from larger families experienced: growing up together, sharing things, sibling rivalry etc. Maybe it was a blessing that we grew up far apart. It makes us appreciate the frailty of family relationships and also all the warts that come along with living closely.


Morning bak kut teh with wifey and bro at Tiong Bahru

Despite all that, one thing that connected us was the love of good food. We'd have conversation ranging from food prices, preparation, presentation and even where the best places are in KL, Sing and Melb.


bro showing us mere mortals what a real BBQ chef does

Wifey had friends who settled in Melbourne recently and we paid them a visit. Again, food was the common thread that bound us. This time, instead of Chinese, it was Indian. We were fortunate to have tasted things from 2 civilizations both with 5000 years of history behind them. Ironically in a relatively young nation Down Under.


Sonia making sure I had no room left in the stomach...

It was the first time I got up close with wifey's friend, Agnel & Sonia. What broke the ice was not talking about how they migrated there, found jobs and made new friends but, really, the food. Somehow it got me thinking. Maybe if everyone sat down over a nice meal, we wouldn't have all these hatred and war.


Pig trotters and belly stewed in black & sweet vinegar.

Well, let's hope more folks would put sense between their ears. It's not about the money, it's not about the pride, it's not even about WMD (What is it anyway? Wipe My Diapers?). As my high school Chinese teacher (whom I suspect is actually an incredibly tolerant under cover monkey-trainer, getting the lowest primates to pass CL2) puts it: 民以食为天

Food is indeed a form of heaven on earth. Peace, joy and love to y'all...


(Countdown to post of the century: 5)