all jassed up

Your world?

2009-12-28T07:18:00.001+08:00

What do you live for?

What's your world made of?

What colors do you see?

How do you feel?

Just thoughts

2009-12-12T17:55:00.001+08:00

Slowly, walk slowly,
thread slowly,

one

step

at

a

time

and, time, effort,

will tell.

Jason on Azhar Rudin's Majidee

2009-11-07T22:09:00.003+08:00

I think this was written not too long ago as part of a test for my Film Appreciation course. It took a couple of hours to write. It was kinda cool back then, but reading it again now makes me laugh:)

Realism in Azhar Rudin’s Majidee (2005)

Majidee is a good example of realism film form. The 15 minute short film is shot in one take following two characters’ walking on a busy Kuala Lumpur streets from the bus station to the LRT. The short contained important aspects of realism as outlined by Bazin.

Bazin said in order to be real, cinema must locate objects in space and Majidee exemplifies that point. Here, the camera objectively picks up a subject and follows his brief journey, intersected by another man on the street. Unlike conventional narrative, this subject and its situation can be easily understood by audience because the situation may happen as well to any of us. Our experience identifies the familiarity of the location, the environment, and the progressing conversation as something that we could also have encountered in real space.

Key to Bazin’s attempt to define spatial relationships of cinematic reality is the long take, deep focus, and mobile framing photography. To that point, the cinematography on Majidee held true. Firstly, the short was shot with a handheld camera in one long take with aperture that shows entire frame in focus. The outcome is an emphasize on better audience experience since in reality we also see our environment and subjects for long duration in real time and cannot selectively block our deep vision. Additionally, by the use of mobile framing, the handheld camera intensified viewer participation in the film by inviting us to be any one of the people walking on the street that so happened to be around the two main characters.

The styles emphasized by Bazin and used by the filmmakers in Majidee also added more ways for the audience to interpret the film. Bazin claims that editing presents the point of the director in a more clear and direct way to the viewer. By using longer takes and not relying on editing, a meaning of a film is ambiguous and the audiences are free to decide. Similarly in Majidee, the meanings are open to interpretation, limited only by audiences’ personal knowledge and experience. The film may be about meeting with strangers or act of kindness or even the hardship of communication in a city of cacophonous sounds and language. Even the ending was left open ended; we do not know the fate of any of the characters, just like the way in our real life. Everything is part of life reality.

Bazin said that cinema is perfect when it is the “art of the real”. As in Majidee, it is as every bit real as us walking the 15 minute journey and confronting different facets of our society.

Sometimes

2009-10-17T07:38:00.002+08:00

Sometimes people are strange, or is it just me?

Kinda have a thinking these days. Had to shake up a few things lately. Maybe past stuff was held up too long, or maybe its something else. Was it hard? You bet. Was it worth it? Just maybe.

Go on, move on:)

Cleaning the garden

2009-08-31T20:29:00.002+08:00

As in, this blog.

Phew, wild grasses are growing all over this blog because I was all hooked up with work, all month long. Merdeka day seems like Chinese New Year to me. Just gotten back from Penang (stuck in the NSE for hours!).

Few things:

First, officially confirmed at the studio. Getting a little bragging rights at last. Hehe.

Second, found a bit of direction in my career.

Then, there's always the issue with expenses and whats left after that.

Ah, hopefully September gives a bit of leeway in the working schedule so I can devote more time to anything else.

Stuck with workin', no time bloggin'

2009-08-04T07:14:00.002+08:00

This is another filler update, the once-in-a-hundred-years type. Apparently work is sucking every damn bit of time I have, but things are starting to get better (hopefully). After being paid for two months, I'm starting to get into the groove of commercial photography. Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly there for the money though;)

By all means, it's not a stressful job, nor a do-until-you-die kind of thing. It's fast paced, but you can't rush it. It's like playing a Brahms violin concerto finale: fast, controlled tempo with lots of flair. Focus, and responsibility are two major key in this career, then learn from observing how things are done and mistakes are made.

A lot of times I feel bad because people close to me gets neglected. For instance, those few who still reads this hardly updated blog. But, I'm trying;)

The thing with guys singing

2009-07-18T18:32:00.003+08:00

70% of music in my playlist are sung by women. I never liked male vocals as much as females. There are very few exceptions, but only a few. Guess that makes me a sexist eh?

A Qwik-blog before cruising to work

2009-06-16T08:18:00.002+08:00

Wanted to add something fast just to keep the blog flowing.

Blogging is a bit of a chore these days, thanks to faster ways of getting shorter thoughts around (read TWITTER). By the way, my default wake-up time has been 7AM these days, and by 8.45AM I'll be cruising off to my workplace. No need to rush, because its not really far. Except if the aunties of the entire KL came out on the road. I'll usually arrive within 7 minutes. That's one thing good about it. But on the other hand, its not exactly economical to drive short distances. For example, my mileage on a full tank driving to work only lasts a third compared to a full drive from Penang to KL. The fuel simply doesn't get enough time to burn and maximize efficiency.

Later.

Like I'm doing?

2009-06-09T23:55:00.002+08:00

I wanted to crap a lot about my new work, but there's reasons not to do so.

Firstly, my work is shrouded in secrecy. I work for an advertising production company, specializing in the creation of still photographs. Whatever we shoot are as important as Pentagon. It might be an upcoming car, a box of cereals, a lovely artist, a bug, some buggers. You name it. Whatever it is, its off limits to the public, until the public is notified. It is no interest to you unless until our clients -the agencies, say so. So we literally do not call the shots;)

Secondly, its not a lot to crap about. Doing this is not fun. But its important to both the company (they make money) and self (we learn things that made money).

Interesting?

PeeJay I come again!

2009-05-31T03:04:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow, I'm moving back to PJ again. This time to start work. More on that later.

Ish....

2009-05-30T02:10:00.002+08:00

Lost a 8 gig CF card. Could have bumped out of the pouch. Damn pissed. But, its comforting to know that the card served me well during the travels in China.

Oh, hi all. I guess I'm back to blogging.

Busy/Dizzy

2009-04-03T12:02:00.002+08:00

There's a lot of cacophony going on this weekend. I'm going to shoot a video on a very short notice. If some of you may have known, I stress pre-production a lot, because it's reassuring to get my ass covered up. Admittedly, I don't see this shoot as my co-producing friend does. When I can't visualize, it means I'm half ready. Anyways, nothing much can be done for such a short time. We are prepared to make it regardless.

April, and a fool

2009-04-01T20:42:00.003+08:00

It's been an incredibly long month since I last posted on this blog. Grass is growing all around here.

I don't really know exactly, but I don't have the impetus to blog that often anymore. Life is just plain dull. Someone said about crossroads, and yeah, I'm on a crossroad in my life. I wish I had 4 sets of brain and hands. So life is draggy lately.

Happy April anyway. Stop being a fool;)

Going Home, and Being Political for Awhile

2009-03-02T20:31:00.004+08:00

It's been an unbelievable 30 days in China.

By this time tomorrow, I'll be touching down at KLIA. While not being the best of vacations, this trip has really opened my eyes and mind to the hidden potentials of one of the fastest growing economy in the world. In times where everyone is talking about recession and losing their job (and heads), China is growing like it has been doing for the past 50 years. This is not the Communist China you've read in history books, this is not the country full of touristy places you've heard from family and friends; this is the world's biggest superpower (and single-party government).

There might be some who've experienced China before who would tell you that you're not seeing the real picture of China: unemployment, polution, petty crimes, persecution of ideology and religion, the list goes on. What I can say is that what I see is as real as China gets. This is the picture of a country in transition, where certain things must go in the road to development. Ultimately, this is Yin and Yang in motion. Nothing is inheritantly good or bad. It is a balancing act that any country must learn to harness.

In retrospect, I like every part of the "new" China. Large and effective networks of public tranportation; apparent waste management; a blooming television industry; good hospitality (if you can speak Chinese); environmental friendly measures (Yay! No plastic bags). Of course, I'm also aware of the "other side" of the dragon, but it is unfair to say that people from rural areas are being neglected or treated unjustly. It all depends on their mindsets and determination: if this guy in downtown Shanghai can own a car, there's nothing to stop the farmer in faraway Kunming doing so. Everyone has to try; no government can feed all of its citizens (something most people wants).

Love the weather too!

Smelling the pages

2009-02-23T23:06:00.005+08:00

Probably the best thing in Shanghai (and the rest of China) is that they are great when it comes to books and knowledge. Those of you who still think Communism is bad might just be missing your point or living somewhere down the drain.

Forget censorship! The Chinese appreciate art. That means hooray for nude art and stuff like that. Most importantly, these people know and (seemingly) appreciate the borders of political ideology and creative ideas. Unlike the snobs in my poor old country. Heck, seven floor bookshops are common around here while back in Bolehland, bookstores are trimming down to cut costs.

It's sad that a country that boasts its technological and cultural advancements is probably the one with the most people that doesn't read. Kids in China are fed with thousands of years of history. Our kids might not even recall the sequence of former prime ministers.

You think that three metro lines in Kay Ell is a milestone? Well, there are 8 operational lines here in Shanghai alone. They are going to complete another 10 by next year. We folks of Bolehland had to wait until 2012 before the third line gets running, and that line only benefits the capital city. We folks not living in KL still has to sit on crummy busses and cabs operated by renegades who are seemingly out to suck every inch of your soul.

Well, Bolehland is democratic at least. But you know that's crap! We are living in a place no different than everyone is. In the age of globalisation, it's the system of operating a country that matters, not the ideology. Politics is long dead. The key is to organize chaos, and that is what I see going on here in China. They are not perfect, but at least some of them are happy.

Shame on you, Bolehland!

Shanghai on cold feet

2009-02-06T11:15:00.003+08:00

Alrights, this is day 5 of our Chinese trip and we've left the relative comfort of ultra-efficient Hangzhou to come to the ultra-modern metropolitan of Shanghai. It's about 10 degrees C and darn cold!
Pictures to come.

Waiting Pt. 1

2009-02-01T19:29:00.002+08:00

It's boring sitting at a KFC table blogging about absolutely nothing. Anyways, I'm officially on my journey to China. But first, we had to wait and wait and wait. Hoping time flies, or else.

Bon année!

2009-01-01T11:52:00.003+08:00

I've finally moved 6 years worth of assets from KL back to BM. Will be here for at least a couple of months, and officially unemployed. Though I'm looking at the prospect of freelance graphic design. So if anybody out there needs designs for logos, trademarks, banners, name cards, greeting cards, or simply wants to do corrections/restorations for photos, I'm here at your service.

Anyways, happy new year 2009 to all of you who happens to read this. Whether it's incidental or accidental, thanks for viewing!

Selamat Hari Krismas

2008-12-25T19:58:00.002+08:00

Selamat hari krismas buat kawan-kawanku di mana jua anda berada! Diharap tahun depan baik baik belaka. Maaf zahir dan batin.

P/S: Google translate this if you don't read Malay.

Bye bye lor...

2008-12-23T13:52:00.003+08:00

We've gloriously terminated the phone lines so I would not be able to regularly go online for the rest of the week. I'm returning to Penang by the end of the week. If there's anything, just call me or drop me a sms.

3 years down the drain!

2008-12-20T03:00:00.004+08:00

Just kidding. It was a bittersweet college experience anyhow.

Yesterday was the last exam paper I sat for in this darned university. I'm glad it's over, even if that means I'm officially on the "unemployed" statistic.

My thanks to few of the lecturers (and staff) who really cared. Thanks too to all the freaky friends along the way. Also not to be missed are the tonnes of cash my parents injected to bring me to where I am now (I'm great).

For now, I'll be back to Penang. There might be something brewing over there. This is going to be my 6th Christmas day in KL. I'm tired of it. It's good to breathe a different kind of air once in a while. I miss my creative space! Don't worry, the 5 year plan is still on for my debut feature film. I'm no Mozart when it comes to creativity, but when the bulb lights, I'm as sure as a Bruce Lee.

Will miss you all (and you).

Time to move!

2008-12-19T14:51:00.003+08:00

What? Still waiting?

If you still wonder around wanting a DSLR, now's the time. Ask me 6 months back or six months ahead, I'll still say the same thing! Get it now!

No, the price of the previous model won't go down a whole lot, and by the time it drops, it's already yesteryear's model. So you might as well get the newest most affordable on the block. There's no point having an age old body when all the new stuff is really worth what you pay.

If you still want the cheapest deal without having any regrets, then the Nikon D40 is still my ultimate pick. It's dirt cheap, under 1.8k, handles well, and makes perfectly great pictures (just look at the zillions of flickr pictures tagged with a D40). The de facto entry level Canon is a 450D, anything else is history. It's got almost everything innit for someone starting out. Canon's other entree, the 1000D, is already a bit dated, but also passes as a choice if budget is your biggest worry.

If you can splurge, or have a good direction of where you are heading with your interests, go for those mid range models such as Nikon's D90 and Canon's 50D. They are not relatively cheap, but at least they are a whole new generation ahead of their predecessors.

Don't waste time with lenses and accesories too. Only worry about them when your current setup limits your needs, not by what pictures others make with this or that lens.

Lastly, DSLRs don't make you a better photographer. You had to grow that skill on your own terms. If you had a point-and-shoot, by no means must you switch. DSLR is not a natural progression from years of using a PNS. I had only three reasons when I picked a DSLR: (1) bigger sensor, therefore higher sensitivity to light, (2) close to nil shutter lag so your click is as close as what you see and (3) larger appertures, meaning more creative possibilities and faster shutter speeds to counter wobbles. In other words, get one if your current setup limit your needs.

So, as long as you understand what you'll be getting and using it for, then you'll be a happy DSLR puppy. If you already had your mind on one, get it now!

If you see this, sing it as well!

2008-12-18T12:43:00.002+08:00

I'm taking this opportunity at the day before my last exam, and therefore technically the last day in university, to fark one of my housemate.

Why don't I confront her? Nope, I'm just using her default way of "non-confrontation". I "sing" it to everybody (or at least my readers).

_____

Dear Farking Housemate,

You're my misery for the past 3 years. I've heard endless complaints about you coming in and out of my ears non-stop and that deteriorates my listening.

You yell, shriek, laugh, blabber like a 12 year old bitch. Yes, like a bitch.

You talk like the whole house belongs to you yet you're only interested in cleaning the places you used most. I know, I don't clean the toilet. So what? That's farking intentional of me.

You regard that parking lot as yours just because you happened to own (or use) a blardy big car from a company that chickened out of Formula 1, and has a farking parking sticker.

You awaken people in the middle of the night and early in the morning just because your blardy four wheels wanna go in.

"Please remove your car." does that sound familiar? Fark you lah!

You walk like you're a descendant of big foot or you have rocks tied to your feet.

You close doors like your hands are paralyzed.

You knock people out of toilet because you're out of time. So what? Everybody is.

You complained TNB charges so much when you used equally that much amount of electricity.

You have hundreds of ways to calculate things but can't make a bloody decision.

You hog the connection to download some farking drama. I hope one day this either:
i. got yourself in trouble with intellectual laws
ii. fry your hard disk and mobo (wait, that happened before right?)
iii. choke yourself to death

You complained when the connection gets bad, but you don't know the connection got worse when you download like a bitch.

You ask stupid questions that I can google for it easily.

You can bodek anybody, but we know that lah bitch!

You wanna sue me for defamation after this? No problem, come lah.

You suck.

Thank you.

______

Oh, that's not all lah, but I think one minute is deducted from my life with every line. So that's generally it.

Boringness in the midst of exam (or sort of)

2008-12-12T01:54:00.002+08:00

One exam down, two to go.

It's starting to get really boring and aimless. 3 years of study is ready for the toilet bowl.

I often ask myself what have I learned that can be practically used in the real world. There's no easy answers though. Some things seemed to work while others are a pile of rubbish, or at least, papers awaiting to be recycled.

So I still haven't found that direction I was pretty much hoping to find this day three years earlier.

The thing that made me decide it was Mass Comm in Broadcasting was that jib arm operator. The thing that made me think "holy bunch of crap!" was the endless communication theories and stories about dead people. The thing that made me think further than being a jib arm operator?

No easy answers. The school does not direct us, it just gave us easy tips to exams. We never tried past the paper.

Holy bunch of crap!

Happy December!

2008-12-01T01:58:00.003+08:00

Whoop! It's the time of the year again. The time when the blues come to play; the time when you are busy contemplating about the entire year's misses and minuses.

But hold it there! Go out, go out! Time for excitement, relax, and reset. Get yourself together, give yourself a pat, give your wife/husband or girlfriend/boyfriend a hug and some kiss, give your kids a present, give your parents your love; because you've deserved another December because you've tried and tested for the rest of the year.

Be thankful!

Almost there

2008-11-28T01:53:00.001+08:00

Today we had our last class presentation in university. It's getting closer to that liberating feel that I've been hellishly waiting for like 2 years. Even the exam does not matter anymore! Of course, its a tad sad to leave a number of friends; friends that stuck through thick and thin for almost 3 years. But its time to leave for the next stage in life again (ah, I had so many stages already).

But, before the next stage, there are basically two things to worry about:

Uno - Plans and preparations for Shanghai 2009 (a daredevil trip by 4 poor graduates), and

Due - Making enough moolah to make sure we get to Shanghai and survive the entire ordeal!

The first part was easy, but the latter part is going to be a challenge the size (or the cash equivalent to the height) of Everest. Unless some crazy relative (or my sane parents) dumps me a thousand dollar angpow next Chinese New Year, I'm going to find a work that would work me like hell with a decent pay. Darn...

Next time.

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Some due respect

2008-11-26T02:45:00.001+08:00

Right, not some, but a whole load of it.

The Girlfriend is editing for the news production. This is the second time she had her hands at serious editing. Most importantly (and where my credits go) is that she's doing all this mambo jumbo stuff complete with simple After Effects on a severely underpowered computer and she has enough hairs to spare during the times the PC lagged and hanged on her. Now that's sheer commitment! I salute!

Albeit her insecurities on things like software techniques, English, music, sequencing, sound, color correcting, design, layout, colors, balance....you name it, I actually think The Girlfriend is a perfectionist! She'd nag you until you'd given your advice, and she'll nag you again so that you'd revise it, and nag you again. The sure sign of a perfectionist.

That's The Girlfriend.

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What's cool lately

2008-11-23T19:47:00.001+08:00

Just to share what I've discovered in these few days over the internet.

Firstly, I'm posting this via Flock browser. The Flock browser actually was a development out of Firefox, so nothing changes in terms of usage. What's different is that Flock is designed specifically for social networking and sorts. This means that it makes it easy for you to access stuff like Facebook, Flickr, Gmail, and many more. For example, I'm typing this post without needing to log into Blogspot. A few days ago I've also uploaded pictures to Facebook all using Flock's photo uploader. It's a lot of convenience! The trade-off? I could be a wee bit slower compared to Firefox because of all the extra stuff on this browser. Other than that, its a fine browser that's worth a try if you're keen on social networks.

On another note, you can finally set different themes in Gmail. Gone are the bland blue and white.

That's all for now.

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The coming, came, and gone

2008-11-21T18:34:00.003+08:00

It's been a busy final few weeks of school and there's technically two more weeks to go before I wrap off another chapter in my life. So far, it's boring! So here's some of the major stuff I did for the past couple of weeks.

UTAR's Consumer Rights Campaign

Being brown for McDs (just monkeying!)

Shooting for PuiLeng's (course) ad project. More on this later.

Completing the shoot for our news programe

And that's about it for the excruciating weeks before. I still need to break my head for the Tamiya ad as well as getting fired up for next week's shooting and presentation.

UTAR sucks when there's no fun ;p

Be at peace with yourself and you'll see further

2008-11-06T22:28:00.004+08:00

Mr. Jimin Lai answers questions from the participants.

I've just returned from a very encouraging photography talk by Mr. Jimin Lai. Here he shares some of his experiences and pictures taken during his decades long career as a photojournalist.

Apart from that, he also shares some insights that makes a great picture. Suffice to say that everything depends on the one doing the click (although he did shower praises for the full frame Nikon D700, which I totally agree). He also reaffirmed something that I have in mind (and tries to remember doing it often) lately: making the shot that feels something to you.

The truth is, I shot a lot of crappy stuff. Sometimes I don't know what makes my picture when I fire off, so most of my pictures don't mean anything to me when I look at them again. That had me wondering, why the heck I'm shooting at all. I'll go nowhere like this. The technique is there but there's no bite to the images because my direction is all over the place!

Jimin also gave one final advice, one that I'm really lacking in currently: being at peace with oneself. It shows in your photos (and whatever that you're doing) when there's lots of things in your mind that you couldn't let go. Having a clear mind devoid of any aprehensions lets you see things that you previously don't realize, and that's part of a good picture, and a good life.

P/S: Mr. Jimin Lai will be having a one-day photojournalism workshop on December 6th (Sat). The fee is RM350. Check his blog or Click! magazine's website for updates.

Call that Malaysia

2008-11-05T21:18:00.003+08:00

It was puke-inducing...

Yeah, I was watching this opening of the FEI World Endurance Championship (an equestrian cross country sort of stuff) live on TV and I can't help but laugh and ponder about the "world class-ism" of our country's sporting organizers. Honestly, it felt no difference from a local event. Whoever the hell was behind the opening, he or she was sure "smart". Okay, maybe we have standards that says: "hey ini bukan olempik la, just use the usual stuff we do everytime for every event for every year". The opening cultural dance was especially awkward; it's well fusioned, old fashion, sloppy stuff that looks more like spillover than appetizer. I can't understand the Malayness, Chineseness, Indianess, and lain-lainess of what they are trying to do. In the end, it's all western beats like every cuti-cuti Malaysia songs you hear on air. There's no subtlely, no enchantment. As if they are only trying to fill up air time. Heck, this is a world class event; the stadium was filled to the brim, and all we have is a few dozen dancers wagling on the ground. Heck, the North Koreans are better; they know how to get attention. Us? We get the honor of holding an international event and being complacent. Then just throw out a little bit of salt and an uglier than life mascot. Is this Malaysia?

When you had something in mind, think again!

2008-10-29T00:51:00.004+08:00

Custom painted Hotshot Jr. from Tamiya's Mini 4WD Pro series

Us humans get used to preconditioning pretty much. Our senses are actually distorted forms of reality. But who knows what is real?

When it comes to ideas, we are pretty sure of having something nailed on our heads. But what we rarely does is going one or more steps ahead of what's already there. The first things that comes to our minds usually are the stuff that any Joe is thinking. So if we end there on our first thought, we really missing an awful lot of creative branches that leads to even better ideas.

The lesson: always challenge your original idea and the next original idea and the next, until it comes to be that the flower at the end of the twig is the most beautiful.

P/S: The car on the pic wasn't the brightest idea. It just happens to be that I'm working on an ad assignment now for the brand.

My mind exists eslewhere

2008-10-23T00:20:00.003+08:00

I get butterflies in my belly these days. I guess I know what are they trying to tell me; something to do with my unwillingness to face the challenge. It's unfinished business allright...

How long do I want to live in this shell? Law of attraction says its up to me. Hell, if the law of attraction works in the first place I wouldn't need to be in this situation. Wait, or did I asked for it in the first place? I don't know. As far as I'm concerned, I think the butterflies are having sex down there.

Recession

2008-10-21T00:55:00.002+08:00

I realize there's really not much to blog about these days. I hated to talk when all I could muster are a few sighs. The new semester are seven weeks that I don't feel like looking forward to, especially after close to three years of faux dreams that the shitty university promises to deliver. Okay, maybe I'm not working hard enough to fit in. But wait, "fit in"? I don't even need to try. So yeah, methinks the system is all wrong. I have been bred in this system that values values for the purpose of answering the right answers. I thought universities are different, but it turns out to be that same mindset and status quo of "education excellence". There goes three years of youth and an American Dream. It's almost certain I'm dead stuck on whatever road this system is leading me towards. It ain't rosy, and I'm past prime to continue student life on my terms. I'm desperately waiting for the next phase in life. This seven weeks will be hit and miss.

On a lighter note, I feel the urge to explore again. Maybe cruising on the highway for 4 hours had a sublime impact on me. But seriously, I realized how big this country really is, and for something half of the state of New York, that means the world is humongous! Maybe all these while technology stole all the fun of physical travel (New York is just nine keystrokes away). It makes me wanna travel. If you feel the same wavelength as I am, do drop me a line. Recession be damned, I wanna jalan jalan!

Hello from Penang

2008-10-08T14:33:00.004+08:00

Poor Jesus, its going to rain again...

Back in Penang means I'm lagging light years behind the internet as my home doesn't have the 'technology'. So here I'm am again typing this from places with free wifi (in this case its Oldtown Kopitiam).

There's nothing much here since the last time I was around. They had a whole new Jusco opened in the vicinity so now all the big brands are closer in town. There's a tremendous amount of flies in almost everywhere I went (even here in Kopitiam), must be fly season. Of all, the weather is moody; a nice bright morning and suddenly a gush of rain few hours later.

I'm yet to accomplish my Georgetown photoshoot. One of the reasons being I'm too darn lazy to go anywhere and that also contributes to the extra weight I managed to pump into my 'spare tyre'. On another note, I'm now an almost proud owner of a Kancil. At last I can drive with a roof on top of my head, yeay! On the other hand, its a start to all my financial miseries. This little animal of a car gushes a considerable amount of fuel and hopefully my wallet (or whatever that's left of it) could cope with it.

So there goes.

O yeah, I went to Muar before the trip back, more on that later.

Wo wo wo Balik Kampung...

2008-09-22T12:58:00.002+08:00

Yea, I'm going home! Not quite lah, I still have to go to Muar for a short trip, but at least I'm going away from PJ/KL. I love PJ and KL to some extent but hell, I miss home lah. It's been nearly 4 months stuck with awful assignments and tired faces. I need a recharge (and a car). Plus I'm looking forward to shoot lotsa pictures this time. So here goes. Tata~

Pulau Ketam and Lenses

2008-09-10T16:12:00.004+08:00

As promised, I'll now present you my photo journey with Ah Fong and Cheahwey to Pulau Ketam a.k.a Crab Island. But, instead of story you the entire trip I've decided to share some important points that came to me during and after the trip instead. You can find pictures from the trip over my flickr pages as well as Cheahwey's.

I didn't bring a tele lens last time around to Melaka and it worked, because the 17-50 was all I needed. The only thing i missed was a wider lens because the sky was so nice. So for this trip, I've decided again to leave the tele at home and carry only the superwide Tokina and the 17-50, in the hope that this gives me some focus on making it work with what I have in hand (also minus the extra weight).

The first thing when I set foot on the island was how heck I should've brought the longer one. Pulau Ketam is a small place, with packed houses, lots of people, and most obviously, enough bicycles to build a cycling academy. This is the best place for street photography because there is just so much life, but I just wasn't adventurous enough to aim the locals with a slab of glass. Don't get me wrong either, I'm not saying a tele would make the job easier from far. I wish I had the tele because I see good subjects not on street level, but in the sky, the sea, and horizons. These are hard for the general zooms and the wide to pick.

Speaking of the wide angle, there are several good subjects to take. Wide angle shots work best when there is a distinction of distance between near and far. Its not for getting everything in because its going to make subjects tiny and put a lot of blank space in front and above. Maybe I've over relied on my 17-50 for most of the shots. I felt the shots I took from the general zoom was pretty snapshots and nothing more, and I wasn't trying smart on the 12-24. Of course, I missed the tele because this could take me to the boats and ships, the birds, and other stuff not within my physical reach.

I like to go near to my subjects and exploit their shapes and distances, or else I isolate them using depth of field. So I felt a bit dissapointed of myself having to resort to the safety of the 17-50 most of the time in this trip. Nevertheless, it was fun to go out and snap.

Anyone has idea for the next location?

Crabs later, now for a bit of heritage lesson

2008-09-09T21:39:00.003+08:00

I was going to post something about my Pulau Ketam photo trip but the connection was lousy. So instead of that I'm going to talk a bit about ancestry and heritage. Really, a bit only la, because I found a better link to explain the rest. Well, here goes.

Okay, my dad's a Hokkien and mom's a Teochew. That makes me half-half of both and I'm damn proud of that. I hail from Penang. Although I speak predominately Penang Hokkien, I probably'd understand most Hokkien/Teochew related dialect spoken anywhere in this country. If not, I'd guess it to a certain accuracy. Penang itself is a strange place. As you might know, the Hokkiens there (as well as those from the north) speak differently than say those Hokkiens from Central or Malaysia.

Within the state of Penang itself, we have three dominant Chinese dialects: Hokkien, Teochew, and Hakka. In Penang, we have a clear line between Island people and Mainland people. Heck, there's a channel separating them! Islanders are mostly Hokkien speaking, and mainlanders are much Teochew and a mixture of both (or all three). People from the Island, I think, speaks Hokkien strangely. I don't know its the culture or what, but theirs are kind of soft (or what the Cantonese call "la la dei"), almost eloquently manner. Come to mainland, and you'll find alot of us are kind of barbaric. We mix alot normal Hokkien and Teochew and vice versa in our daily life, thanks to mixed heritage or mingling with friends.

As I've said, I'm half-half. I find Teochew people much nicer, although they might appear to not care a fark about you. The men are tough people, but the women are equally tough but loving and kind (my late Granny is one). They mostly come from the kampung and they are damn versatile and damn smart, unlike the town Hokkiens. They have an extrodinary childhood. Ask any Teochew grownup and he or she would tell you all the (mis)adventures they had as a kid: climbing trees, cycling, swimming, mud wars, chasing pigs and anything that moves, running all over the place, maybe breaking a teeth or two, and so much more. They are brats, unlike me. My adventures were limited to the viccinity of the house. I never had the guts to go dirty, but they do, and its fun. Sadly all of this is going away fast.

There's not much nature anymore nowadays to mingle with, and I doubt kids Teochew or otherwise could have had all the fun like their parents used to have. Even in Penang, its all bricks and slabs. Kampung kids are going away fast into the world of shopping malls, fast food, and computers. Once they enter school or college, it's bye bye bicycle and hello Kancil. The point I'm telling this is because I see a very familiar world in Pulau Ketam. The free roaming spirit of kampung kids doing the thing they do best: playing their heart out. Certainly us city slickers don't have this kind of thing anymore. The last time I counted myself as "serious playing" was about 11 or so years ago. Schools condition kids to listen to rules and all sorts of moronistic values. Go into college and capitalism the other ism isms kicks in. Come into work and you either rot or drag yourself along.

Kids are like dogs: they need plenty of imaginative and physical space to roam and play. Then they can be happy. I'm a big kid (I know some of you still are or wants to be) and I'm not afraid to show that side of me once in a while. Go on, roam free if you want. Forget the money, forget the homework, hell, fark the exam. You only live once, reclaim your childhood now or you're going to end up like Micheal Jackson! Period.

P/S: See, a bit only mah. Okay, since Pulau Ketam is predominately Teochew, my guess is most Teochew are involved in fishing/farming business. The Hokkiens are more towards business of wholesale and marketing. That's just my guess lah. And
here's a website dedicated to Teochew people, if any of you are interested in Teochew heritage.

Remember...

2008-08-30T18:26:00.001+08:00

Remember...
Originally uploaded by ojassed

Remember...

That flags was born out of sweat, tears, and blood.

Not the work of one individual, but the culimnation of a society's dream.

The dream to roam free, and treated just.

Happy independence Malaysia.

Call me a kid

2008-08-29T13:33:00.004+08:00

I'm absolutely bored these days. First, I started to listen to Chinese 'pop music' of the mid 90's (think Ah-Niu, Valen Tsu and the likes), then I read books, I start scouring for art events, and lo and behold: I bought a Gundam kit!

The last time I took my time on these snap on kits 2004 (after an accident). Then I occasionally pieced up some really mean mechas on Lego when I was at hometown. Well, it felt great everytime no matter its an original Lego design or pre-fab kits. Models are some of my favorite pastimes as a kid, and I'm good, quick, and sharp at it (sometimes at the cost of my skin!). This one is from the new Gundam series 00; a 1/144 scale FG Gundam Virtue, discounted cheap at RM26.00.
Everything took me about 40 minutes to kautim. The FG (First Grade) plastics made it snappy and easy. It'd look better with some paint, but I'd pass that for now.

We fucked up nicely

2008-08-25T19:25:00.003+08:00

Hah, seriously. Today our friends from Tutorial 3 pawned us big time. Some of you might not put down your egos yet, but admit it lah, they are really good. I'm humbled.

The feat they achieved transcends mere teamwork; there's only one suitable word to describe their success. That word is "dedication". I think they dedicated themselves in coming out with an idea, and they worked that idea to perfection; a part that obviously everybody played. Just look at the ending credits and you'll see.

I feels great to watch their two documentaries. No, its not Nat Geo or Discovery, its better. It reminds me of watching great performances by the Blue Devils or Cavaliers, which are the hallmarks of dedication. We, by the way, are hogged by politics and logistics and homeworks and time and other assignments and our displeasure with how others don't bodek ourselves and much much more. I myself was tied up with at least two of these elements and it shows.

Please don't even compare. These are different things that are done in different circumstances. The best circumstances just won, that's all. I felt sorry for myself and all my friends who are still sincerely my friends. Because of some fakers, our sorry asses are made miserable, and sadly we are ending our undergraduate journey in this manner.

Remeber your whatever dreams and ambitions during the heydays of college? I hope you keep it burning. To the uninspired, its time to take charge of your dreams now. Look forward and change for the better.

Showtime!

2008-08-25T07:35:00.002+08:00

I don't believe in getting through all the trouble just to show some works which I don't really am too proud of, but of course, there are others who liked so much of their experience and hard work. So for that, in some few minutes time I'll be off to school for my class' TV Production screening. I heard they even invited the dean and all sorts of people I couldn't care less. Nothing that I can live without.

This 'event' also marks the (I think) third time I put the clumsy Vivitar flash into official use. Yep, I'm shooting for them (us lah, if you wanna count). Too bad the Canon speedlite could only come around next week. That extra range would've helped tremendously. Anyhow, time to blow some "gulp" bulb...

I'm not rich, just desperate

2008-08-24T15:02:00.002+08:00

Hahah, I failed in my bid to get mom to sponsor (was loan actually) me a 70-200 4L. I guess I'll give it a miss for now, since I wasnt really needing it for anything this moment. It doesn't felt as clicked as the Tokina superwide I get last time.

On the other hand, I'm on course for the 580EX II speedlight and a bit leeway to settle my loan from The Girlfriend for the superwide.

Any work out there? I need one, desparately.

I am poisoned

2008-08-24T00:36:00.002+08:00

Not by some loud-mouthed PR broadcaster liked saying things around, but:

1. Recommended a quite nice EOS 1000D (new) for Sharon, which, the best part I think was the oh-so-slightly bigger than mine viewfinder. I could only imagine the spacious ones that the more expensive models have.

2. A 3-inch lcd makes hell of a difference in reviewing pleasure (from a 450D).

3. A mean-looking good condition second hand first generation Sigma 70-200 2.8 EX DC HSM at RM1450 (a big steal) which sadly is a Nikon mount, which, I dully recommended to Cheahwey and she dully purchased before an impending rainstorm.

4. A 70-200 2.8L that has been floating around the resale market in Shutterasia.com.

5. A new 580EX II speedlight.

Damnit, show me the money...

Some heathy tips

2008-08-19T22:26:00.006+08:00

1) The best way to talk is to remain silent. The mouth is a source of conflict, as well as bad breath, and invites bacteria too.

2) When you avoid conflict, you create problem. The end of one problem is the start to a new one. This chain of event has existed since Creation, and proven by the history books.

3) There is no fair share of anything in the world. Equal treatment is bad for heath. If you need to see behind the veil every time you think for others, your eyesight is going to be affected.

4) Being sarcastic makes you healthy. It puts your brain and mouth to good use. The results would also invite hatred and/or blank stares; you are stimulating their brains to work.

5) Express yourself; anger does not deserve to be caged, else it would turn to hundreds of episodes of Naruto misery. I've seen people who tried to restrain their fire had their brains fried. Don't take it to yourself.

6) If study shows masturbation is way to karma, by all means go for it. If you don't believe in the effectiveness of method (5), then at least do this. After all, its private.

This anti-social message is brought to you by the Ministry of Sarcasm Pte. Ltd. Please consult proper documentations before attempting method (6). We are not liable for injury as a result of negligence.

New resolution

2008-08-09T20:07:00.002+08:00

Me thinks that the current sorry state of my uni class and my dear country can be summarized in these words:

Resolution XX:1 : Everyone's reputation has been destroyed by everyone; everyone had a choice and they have chosen to destroy or self-destruct in front of others.

------

On the other hand, I'm looking forward for all this crap shit to end and I can get back to being among my more worthy friends. My three years are wasted by stupid academic result oriented lifestyle.

Imperialism: The Momma of All Fuck-ups

2008-07-31T00:17:00.003+08:00

Imperialism is bad: it is the source of all the big and small wars ever since antiquity. The Spanish caused all the hardships you see in Latin America; the French messed up most parts of Africa and South-east Asia; the Italians in Eastern Africa was good as Mousolini (as good as dead); the Dutch, well, they created the biggest Islamic nation in the world (not that bad though); modern day China was a result of 3000 years of internal imperialism; and the baddest of them all are the British.

Thanks to the British, we had a situation where we call this situation by the name Malaysia. You see, I theorize that Malaysia is not a country, but a result out of the mess that the imperialists were unable to mend. They brought everybody, every single culture they could muster into this tiny strip of land called Malaya and ripped every ounce of it inside out before they were chickened out by samurai wielding bicyclists, little men (and women) from the jungle, and finally Oxford educated keris wielders. So the remnants of this little piece of land had to trouble themselves because they were jealous of each others' gain.

Thanks to the British too, you had all kinds of stupid laws and rules that are written before they chickened out and now has become canon. Thanks to the British too we now had English educated brats who are experts at judging peoples' ass. Plus, the imperialists also gave us the words 'minister' and 'politicians' which equals crap in the modern sense. So don't go blaming your Malays or Indians or Chinese for the crap situation you get now, blame it on whoever that brought us together in the first place, and the people that suggested the name for this situation. Because they also couldn't keep up, just like the Brits.

DAM(N)!

2008-07-23T10:46:00.002+08:00

This news made me furious. The Sarawak Garblement has approve the construction of 12 dams (empangan lah) to boost its 'industrialization'. Apparently, I don't know which world these people came from. Maybe they are aliens sent here to reap earthly resources.

Now, its not one or two dams but twelve. What that means is that 12 natural forest areas ARE TO BE DESTROYED. They claim by year 2020 Sarawak would be able to supply 600% increase in energy to 'future needs'. Fark them lah, I'd say by 2020 the only rain forests our children will see are located inside shopping malls.

Maybe instead of causing further damage to our (I SAID OUR) environment, why not stick a dam in every Malaysian opposition leaders' asses so they won't be able to sodomize anyone?

On the melting pot

2008-07-11T17:32:00.002+08:00

I'm half past dead. That's why I don't blog as often. This whole documentary is making me nuts. As of now, I'm still refining the script, long after shooting was completed. Sometimes I'm too idealistic. It made me lazy. Because the more I think the more I delay. I have tonnes of stuff to be done and I'm not doing okay as yet. Nicotine and coffee is here to stay at least for another week. After that, I may return to my normal self again. After one week, another show is starting, but that's a different story because I don't need to worry that much. Maybe I was worrying too much all along, as evident in the white hair you can see on me. For now, I am trying to focus on this doco thingy. I cannot do multiple tasks at the same time. I still can't. Felt sorry for my new Tammy 1750, I feel badly to go out and shoot. But for now, its work first.

Tammy Updated

2008-07-05T09:02:00.002+08:00

Not that NYP Tammy. That's outdated. I'm talking about the lens. My Tammy 17-50 arrived yesterday morning and I was able to take some shots in the afternoon. I'm gonna post some pictures up later, but I'll just write something short now before I go out soon.

On first impression the Tamron 17-50 feels nice. Its bigger than the kit lens and the 55-200 (at least not longer). It has a somewhat huge 67mm filter thread. All in all, it felt professional. Autofocus was perfect. The lens' motor whines like a robotic arm, but that was just the surface of it. The autofocus was adeuately fast and mostly accurate. On the image quality, the 17-50 is one hell of a sharp lens. This added with the 2.8 max apperture at all focal lengths plus damn nice price tag means that Tamron 17-50 is a worth buy.

I'll add the pictures on the next post when my steamyx doesn't feel shitty. But for now, the 17-50 is impressive!

Tammy Me

2008-07-03T20:05:00.003+08:00

After loads of deliberation, I've ordered the Tamron 17-50 2.8 [Insert all the cryptic bla bla bla] from Shashinki this afternoon. It was a close call between the Tammy and its brother the 28-75 2.8, Sigma 17-70, and an even closer call to the Sigma 30mm 1.4. At the end, I went with the unmistakably popular 17-50. Not bad considering that Shashinki sells them much cheaper than anywhere else. Plus, they guarantee their quality although its a paralel imported unit. Well, I'm okay with the fact that its not 'official warranty' since my nice Kiss Digital X itself was an imported unit too.

So I'm crossing fingers now. Too bad I'm out shooting tomorrow when the parcel is going to arrive. Lets hope there's some miracle from the Poslaju boys and they send it here before 10. Anyhow, I'm still very much convinced with the notion of having the 30mm. Bah...when's the next 14 hundred bucks gonna be available...

Goodbye Safari! Welcome back Firefox.

2008-06-24T23:36:00.004+08:00

Depending on how you see me, I'm either an early adopter, or tech laggard, or anything in between.

So that was the case when I adopted Apple's Safari web browser some two months back. Before that, I've been loyal to Firefox. In fact, I've been on Firefox since maybe 2005 and never looked back...Until Apple finally releases the gem of all web browsers to the PC platform.

Being a Apple freak, I was quick to give it a try. Apple's simplistic view (which sometimes felt dumbdown for PC users) is not a problem with me. That said, Safari was a sleek, easygoing browser. It has got everything offered by any other web browsers (who doesn't these days?). But the lack of customization options and sore bookmarking means that Safari would be temporary. Besides, I'm not going to wait for every September for a feature upgrade or new stuff (Apple comes out with new products during this period).

So now, I'm back to Firefox. Firefox 3.0 specifically. For the start, you get the usual features with the add-ons and security, but now it has also improved on several of its navigational layouts which I find very thoughtful. For example, the appearance is much cleaner and changes with different operating systems. The bookmark window and the add-on window has been revamped too. All in all, it feels good for an old remedy.

Still using boring unimaginative MS IE?

Some gratitude

2008-06-22T01:27:00.002+08:00

My heartfelt thanks to the Indian community who so far in the course of our documentary production has been very supportive of what we are trying to achieve.

Soak me please...

2008-06-19T23:42:00.002+08:00

It's a miserable feeling to be living like a dry sponge for the past few days, and sadly this is going to continue at least a couple more days. I'm really out of juice. But this is not the right time to quit. Hell I never quit anyway. Actually, I don't need time, I need thinking space. Everything so far hasn't add up yet. And at this very second I'm damn tired. I could've opt to sleep, but if I do so tomorrow is going to be another disastrous day. I just don't know... Creative fires are short lived.

Maybe I should sleep...

I miss my life...

Feeling juicy so much that I self talk on my blog

2008-06-18T17:21:00.004+08:00

I suddenly has this realization that I need not take things too much and stress myself over myself. I had a plan, had I? Yeah, so I don't understand what the fuck am I worried about. My team members are out there digging and I'm here worrying? Doesn't make due sense...

Lets see,

The topic - I have

The aim - Surely

The structure - Pinned down

The profiles - Assumed

The meat - That's what the others are up to now

And that leaves me with,

The script... Okay, what's with the script?

Is it scripted? No, it depends on interviewee's answer.

So, what answer would I expect? That depends on what shall I ask.

So what determines what I shall ask? The core message of each parts!

So what is the core message of each parts? That's been decided already?

What about narration? What about that? Well, narration is minimal. The interview subjects are going to tell stories. Stories? Yeah, stories meaning the issues dear to the core message.

So I assume I have the 'stories'? That means I'd be getting to pinpoint the core messages and key points that I'd like the interviewee to mention! And with that done, it forms the base of what I'll ask!

This thing about key points, how do I determine it? Do I know the story already? There are two problematic parts, I suppose those needed straightening. The rest could be done already. Erm... what exactly are the others doing?

Am I fully responsible to come out with the script? Or do I need the materials gathered by others first? Why I need those?

Answer: to form my stance on the issue.

Okay, lets have it this way: for the two problematic parts, I need expert opinion. Not just any dancer or teacher, but preferably a academician. The audience part I can set teachers and performers but on the policy part, its best that a scholar or someone who has that critical depth on cultural policies can answer that. Okay I almost get the big picture.

This is the key essence of each parts:

1. The origins starting from ancient times until when it came to Malaysia

2. The very essence of this dance, emotions, music, and rhythm. In that order. Then I ask them when everything comes together how does it feel like. Then we want to know how a dancer progresses in the learning (i.e. how long does it take to graduate). Finally , the thing about divine but not to the sense that it idolizes a certain god.

3. We think that not much from our young people, be it Indians or not, understands the dance. They rarely go watch a classical dance performance. The cause is that we excusably do not understand what is being performed. That children nowadays are more attracted to pop music and hollywood blockbusters. Theses things are grooming us to ignore our past our culture. We think it is bad. But how dancers, performers, teachers would do?

4. Unity through diversity. This is the thing that I'm not sure of. The concept is nice but now we are touching some national policy stuff. First, we need to know if the assimilating the dance or mixing up the dance do any good. That would be based on consequences of assimilation. So we diversify them, made em stand individually strong. But how does different cultures of Malaysia form one big picture? So the question is to find support for this.

5. The conclusion is that taking into account of the situation now, if more can be done, that our audiences understand what is at stake, and coupled with the passion of those who practices the art, the classical art would flourish in the future.

I think that is all to be explored and done. Yeah, it should be sufficient.

------------

Excuse me for the self talk, but i guess its a good way for checking my thoughts, since I forget things easily. It provides a good reference. Okay, time to head back to work.

Divine entertainment?

2008-06-15T15:48:00.002+08:00

For the past three weeks I went from optimistic to almost depressed shit. What started as a meaningful, mystic, and beautiful dance is now turning into misery for most of my documentary production team. I guess everyone wasn't entirely sure of what's going on. Or I guessed my expectations were weird at best and impossible most of the times.

Did I went too far that nobody understands the point? Or is that everyone treats this as a homework which at best deserves only as much time as time to spend on other homework?

What do I think?

Let me tell you that I don't go well with the masses and all that 'acceptable to everyone' shit. I do what my senses tell me to do and I take a hell of my time doing it. But obviously in the real world this idea could hold true to few people. So what if I'm not Stanley Kubrick or Ridley Scott? So what if I don't get paid a few thousand bucks a day? So what if this is only a school project? Don't everything we do in life deserves professionalism?

When I dig a something, I will dig deep, very deep. That's what's happening then and now. I question things not based on how much time we have or how many marks I'm gonna lose over a dateline. I question the quality! How much research did we have? Do we even know that documentary filmmaking has a history so deep that we need to understand it before we embrace it? Its not just taking a camera out and shoot a lot of talking heads and try to piece it up during creative editing. Heck, I don't even believe in creative editing. Yes, we did it before a number of times in the past. But that wasn't creative editing; that's trying to tie up a load of things that doesn't make sense. How deep did we dig?

I'd take my time to build up credibility so I may be at rest with myself and all my ghosts. No joke, I have a lot of ghosts. My time in university is already shitty. The university seemingly wants to make money out of exams. I don't believe in that crap! I believe in the nurture of creativity. I don't believe in four-flats. That's what the society of Blurland believes in. Not me. I spend 48 grands and three years of my damned life to gain knowledge. I don't get all of that. The only thing I see is people around me getting miserable, detached, selfish, unfriendly, doubtful, blur, hurt, angry, depressed, suspicious, frustrated, and whatever feelings you can think of. The only thing that people doesn't see is creativity. They only see that decrease or increase in examination points at the end of the semester. Shitty eh?

We are filmmakers, broadcasters, mass liars, whatever we want to be when we work in media. We are not gonna publish our four-point-oh or two-point-oh exam certs to the public. We tell the public what we think is important to them or at least what they wanted to know that conforms to their self assurance, and I'd go as far as making them feel uneasy and stupid. Thats what we're suppose to become. What the hell do you think we should tell the audiences? Our self pity problems or our degree certs?

I salute those of my friends who wants to go further with this, going elsewhere to study media, be it Chicago or Shanghai or anywhere else other than here. Go for it! If I can put down my fucking age factor I'd follow suit too. In fact I was thinking of doing this with The Girlfriend. In the other hand, I also admire those who found their calling not in the field of their study. I don't really like insurance agents and network marketers, but they showed me time and time again that their purpose produces results; at least they are happier.

I'm writing all this shit in Starbucks Jaya One. I have a view overlooking the main entrance and into the beautiful modern surrounding shop blocks and a hint of the blue sunny sky. It provides me escapism from the shit that is my university block, Section 17, and the crappy SS2. At least by looking at that blue sky, I imagine myself in different place; maybe close to a beach or somewhere un-Malaysian. The jazz music in the background lets me focus on what I'm doing, because I don't understand jazz that well. I see surrounding people walking freely, like its a couple hundred square feet of utopia. That's why I don't mind expensive beverages. Besides, its good coffee. That's what I like.

Okay, I'm getting back to where I left to write this shit. If you are reading this, peace and cheers! I'm a dreamer of good things and smiley faces, that's what I hope everyone would be. Find something worth your heart to ease that pain, and get on with it. The world needs you, not yourself.

New home for my pictures

2008-06-01T14:33:00.003+08:00

I'd always wanted a web image hosting service where I could had my image collection displayed online in the least limiting way. Friendster and Facebook although doesn't cap my upload limits, is inferior when it comes to quality. Flickr was the best, but too bad it limits to only 200 most recent images for free users like me. I don't have the convenience to pay 25 USD for the Pro account too. So today I settled on this service called Zoomr. Obviously you know who's this thing copying from. In fact, its basis is similar to Flickr. The best thing about Zoomr is it doesn't cap your limits, and you get to display images in its original resolution too. Of course, I'd miss the convenience of Flickr's nicely thought out uploading options (the Flickr Uploadr). But on the bright side, at least Zoomr looks like it has some potential. So for the time being, I'd try and see.

Anyways: http://www.zooomr.com/photos/jassed/

Updates: First day of new semester

2008-05-27T09:14:00.002+08:00

A film-maker, a lawyer, and for the first time the word 'critical' is beginning to make sense!

I have a feeling that this semester would push my thinking boundaries further. Gone are the lame theories of the 60s and crazy advertising assignments that made us goofs. Added in is a film study course, which to me, felt long due. They should have do this at the very first beginning instead of some silly collage exercise that 10 year olds could do. It was a waste of time and knowledge. Most of us spent time memorizing exam passages and stopped doing the real thing: producing better works.

Updates from college

2008-05-26T13:19:00.001+08:00

A documentary proposal by next Wednesday? Are you kidding?

Well, apparently things are travelling by the speed of light now. Got to figure out the subject we're into real fast. And I don't have the luxury of a complete team to brainstorm. Heck...

Bye bye holiday

2008-05-25T22:45:00.004+08:00

Yeah, holiday is over. It also means that I'm back again to my hopelessly boring university. Not because my university was really boring, but because I find the real pleasure of work more tiring (as opposed to boring), exciting, and productive. Anyways, I waited for this moment (this semester) and it finally came. Come new semester and two production projects awaiting in my cart. Too bad it was my least favorite genre that is studio production and documentary. Ironically, those are the stuff that I watch most. But then, Stanley Kubrick started with making documentaries. We just had to try.

Wait, instead of trying, lets make it for real. Right, ideas ideas ideas...

Big Mac, Glorified

2008-05-21T22:46:00.004+08:00

It's called MegaMac. 4 beefy patties, and the same great Big Mac taste. All for a whooping RM14.60 (large set), the most expensive Macdonalds meal I'd ever bought (in Malaysia anyway). But I couldn't resist anyway.

It doesn't look that good, blame it on the phone please.

How did it taste? Like how Big Mac tastes lah.

Torn between cameras?

2008-05-21T18:00:00.006+08:00

So you'd like to start DSLR photography and you are spoilt between camera choices? Specifically you are thinking of either Canon or Nikon? A bit tight on budget too? And what's all about this different models they offer?

Erm... How should I put it? Okay, lets assume that your starting budget is 3k. For that amount and excluding second hand units, you'd actually have few choices of consumer DSLRs for you.

Canon or Nikon? If your budget is not limited, there's actually a lot I can write about brand choices. But since we are deciding the most suitable beginner DSLRs, lets look at two particular giants and the options they have for you. Bear in mind that both has a long history in this business and I consider bodies and lenses of both makers to be equally varied and impressive. As such, my initial choices could've been both ways, and I let my skills justify my buy.

Canon 350D/400D

The 350D, if you could still find one new, is the mother of all budget DSLRs. In fact, a lot of photogs still owns and uses one. Its probably dirt cheap nowadays. The 400D is an upgrade of that fine model by a new processor, bigger LCD, DOF preview, better firmware, and dust cleaning system. Of course, the pixels went up to 10.1, but thats probably nothing for a lot of serious amateurs. The pro model 1D mk2 (RM10k something) that probably shot most of the ad images you see in Petaling Jaya has only 8.2 megapixels. The 400D is a functional camera. My only complain was its tiny grip. That is a price you pay for smallness. It could do everything, given a decent lens. The kit lens, 18-55mm, is not that good for a lot of choosy 'pros'. It is unsharp and has distortion at the edges wide open. But I don't find that a problem. If you are the creative kind, you'd not mind.

Canon 450D

The new kid in the block. I haven't tried one, but based on reviews, it's not a significant upgrade from the 400D. As I said, pixel count is only for kids. 12 megapixel is a marketing stint. I shoot with only half of my 10.1 MPs these days. It saves space and since my pictures would end alot on monitor displays, I really don't need that much. Live view is certainly helpful, but only slightly. It is not a feature that you'd use even 70% of the time. It takes a lot of juice if you were to do that. It takes a lot of fun away too. Besides, the LCD does not swivel. You'd still need to work your head for that low angle shot. On the other hand, processing is slightly better than 400D. The biggest and most important addition is a spot meter. Using spot meter gives a more accurate exposure to subjects in difficult lighting. But I use manual exposures most of the time, so it does not matter. Do some research on the net and there are lots of ways to get over this with the 400D. Finally, at RM3200 with the kit lens (Image Stabilized though), it's way much expensive than the next choice.

Edit: It is every bit improvement from 400D. A less sensitive sensor (less noise) being one of them. The performance is now closer to 40D. But given the price cuts on 40D, I would choose the latter. Beg someone for another 1500 bucks (RM) and get the better 40D, or get a Nikon.

Nikon D40

This was one of my options when I was deciding. Its smaller than the 400D, has spot meter, does everything the 400D would, and comes with the excellent kit lens. The debate was the exclusion of the internal focus motor. All Nikons prior to D40 has internal motor to drive the autofocus mechanism. Canon EOS system's motor are on-lens. The D40 relies on new lenses with autofocus built-in. That means legendary Nikon glasses are mostly out of bounds (they can be focused manually). But the newer internally-driven lenses are good as well. Trust Nikon, there's no worries actually. Besides, I'd doubt you want to use the D40 forever. The prosumer and professional bodies all have focus motors built-in. The D40 also lacks a DOF preview. I use this feature sparingly, it's nice but not entirely a necessity. The grips were still not that great, but better than Canon's. That aside, the D40 triumphs for its larger, brighter viewfinder. The 400D ones were tiny. Another great feature was the max flash sync speed. At 1/500 seconds compared to 1/200 sec. for most other makes. This means that on a bright sunny day, you'd have enough flash to fill up your subject while keeping the bright background at bay. Color-wise, Nikon tends to favor saturation. You'll love the blue skies and greens. Canon's standard are more natural colors akin to what the eye sees. Oh, did I mention the 6 megapixel resolution? Like I said, megapixel are irrelevant. Nikon knows that. The D40X is a ten megapixel brother featuring all the same specs as the D40, but flash sync is reduced to 1/200.

Nikon D60

If you want a Nikon, this is it. At RM2295 (shashinki.com) including the excellent 18-55VR, its a steal. With your 3k budget, you'd still end up with enough cash to option the 55-200 (If you want a one-lens-for-all, Tamron has a 18-200 for RM1495). Its a steal. On the surface, its pretty identical to the D40/D40x, but inside is a whole new EXPEED processor and a slew of functions. Its 10.2 megapixeled too. Sadly the flash sync remains at 1/200. Although its performance is only slightly improved over the D40, it's still a better buy. D40 sells for about RM1700, the X was about RM2300. All these comes with the nice but non-VR 18-55. The 18-55 VR alone is sold at RM800. You do the maths. Lastly, Nikon might have a slightly inferior low light noise control than Canon, but on this level, it is hardly any difference.

Made up your mind?

Looking at the present situation, I'd hard pressed to go for Nikon (hard pressed, because I'm already on Canon). I still believe that the 400D, body-wise, edges the D60. But I'm impressed by the other new Nikon offerings, the D300 and D3. The D300 is a great advanced camera that I think outperforms all the Canon prosumer models (ie. 40D). Check out the Ah Long Pte Ltd promo shots. Those are all done with a Nikon. And then there was the D3. The D3 is Nikon's flagship DSLR and in my opinion, the godsend of all DSLR. It has only 12.1 megapixel (see, it doesn't matter), but in full frame. In comparison, Canon's RM27 grand, full frame 1Ds MKIII has 21 MPs. It also has a useable ISO6400 film speed. That is huge low light capability. All this greatness is priced well below 16k.

The thing is, if, in the foreseeable future, you'd like to expand and upgrade on this hobby, it doesn't matter what camera you buy now, its what system you decide to invest now. Which system has the potential to develop and maintain its offerings. This is also why I don't consider Sony nor the other four-thirds systems. I have bad experience from Sony's PDA business. Four-thirds sensors are too small to my liking. For this account, Nikon's future featuring the D300 and D3 is bright and worth it. I for one, was hooked with Canon's 5D and crosses my finger for Canon to produce something like what Nikon did. Additionally, I like the current crop of EF/EF-S lenses, particularly the L series. That's why I stick to Canon, since the 400D itself wasn't bad at all. So is Nikon's. Start off with a nice beginner model and expand your skills and lenses while working up for the big thing.

On a note, I convinced The Girlfriend to buy Nikon's P5100 few weeks ago. My first digital camera was also from Nikon. See how supportive I am towards the Dark Side;)

Penang: Life in the fast and slow lane

2008-05-14T17:21:00.003+08:00

Penang could be a cool place to live in the future. If there's a tv industry here, I'd rather be on this tiny island than the big city which is quickly falling apart. My every visit here reveals something new. New building, new roads, new people, new fads, new government, you name it. Those big big names and brands you see at 'ol Kay Elle, they are all here.

Yep... They are almost everywhere now, Penang island and mainland. Heck, I'm typing this at Starbucks and last week I was at Oldtown Coffee. Once, you could differentiate a islander from a mainlander (the island has better living standards/culture). Now its almost the same. They got Versace and Vincis over there, we had our Gucci and Guesses over here, and we still had the best foods in the entire state I dare say.

The strange thing about this small piece of land is that development happens in the expense of nothing. You get new stuff but the old things are here to stay. Take the roads for instance. Penang has lots of cars. Really lots of cars. The average mid income family now has an average of 2 cars. Times that to some few thousand and you'll get the scenario: a road full of cars. So the government was okay that they try widening most of the roads. But still, some things never change. The average speed of driving here is about 40 to 50 kmph. Be it narrow or highway, we just like to take it slow. So you see, being a reckless driver at the big city, you can imagine how frustrated I was. In fact, I'd be easier to crash here driving slowly than going full speed over there.

Anyways, Penang feels good. There's a certain aura you get, even the starbucks is different. You see the usual assortment of businesspeople and those that fit the busy person tag. But you also find a new kind of people: young kids. At least they are younger than me. Four months ago there wasn't much of these crowds. Now almost everyone owns a laptop. And looking out of the shop window, some girls on their laptop and over the distant, some guys with fishing gears passing by.

Ah... globalization my butt, modernization my ass.

Pack Pack Pack

2008-05-02T01:05:00.001+08:00

After months of work, I'm getting ready to go back to my hometown. With that comes a dauntingly simple task: packing. I always felt that I got a million tonnes of stuff I need to bring, but experience tells me that most of them are redundant. For instance, the last time I packed a dozen pieces of clothes and I only wore half of it. So, its wasted space and more importantly, additional useless weight.

I'd usually carry no more than two bags; a backpack and a luggage, and if possible always have one hand free. The fact that I have a lappie and camera with full accessories to bring along doesn't make things easier. Last time around, I lugged my camera backpack and had to squeeze the laptop into the luggage with the clothes. This time though, I got a beltpack for the photographic equipment and now leaves me with a couple of choices.

So now I'm left with two choices. One, I carry my lappie backpack and try to stuff the wearables into it (which I've done it before) or two, I take the backpack plus another rolling luggage which takes significant load off my shoulders but I have to lug the roller along. Damn, how I wish I had a car and carry the entire room with me, just like what The Girlfriend is up to now. Nope, don't even ask, she lives in Johor and I'm 600km away from her hometown.

Ah, back to pack...

Desiree 陈诗莉 - 让世界听到 (Let The World Listen)

2008-05-01T12:40:00.009+08:00

I got my copy of Desiree's (of Project Superstar Malaysia '06 fame) long awaited debut album yesterday, and having listened it another time this morning, here's my take on Des and Co.'s maiden effort.

At first glance I was quite held off by the slightly unsharp cover photo, but lauded the manufacturers for the use of a jewel case compared to most of the Digipak or DVD case crop. Well, the rest of the album liner images weren't really sharp either. It turns out that the photography was done in Hong Kong, although the liner captions would misleadingly suggest that Des has travelled the world.

The album sounds very urban. I assume this was a result of the collaboration with Singaporean Kenn Wu at his Tiny Box Studio (Singapore is urban mah). From what I heard, they took a year to come out with the album. As I've said, its very urban, with most tracks containing urban beats and electronics. Its something similar in feel with Elva Hsiao's songs. Although generally, its similar with most contemporary pop stuff of the region.

I think most (maybe not her fans) would dismiss her singing as nothing spectacular. Yup, that's my impression too. I think she doesn't have the bit of edge. "The edge" is kind of like a singing that powers the song but not to the expense of overpowering. There are emotions and good flow, but not as good as to make the music stand out like what Yise did. But I do think that she is a capable singer, and the urban feel of her songs fits her nicely. I doubt it would work if she were to sing acoustic/light stuff. This is something that I'd put on my car stereo while driving to work. No, I'm not degrading it to car music, I generally considers it a good urban album. It's just that we had a lot of urban sounding stuff on the market already and this one is going to find hard competition.

So, to sum it up, Desiree's first is an album worth listening. Although less engaging as a whole, it is better than some of the mass manufactured pops from around the region. And as a Malaysian artist, its a big leap for the industry. There are a few tracks that I particularly liked, one of them being the sentimental piece 不得不爱你 (Can't Stop Loving You). I'd put this track on a movie scene involving lady sipping wine at her 25th floor apartment balcony overlooking the city nightscape.

Lead track 'Baby':

New Look, Same Shvt

2008-04-29T21:15:00.002+08:00

Fuh... Finally completed transforming parts of my blog.

Firstly, the URL has been changed. Why? I guess the previous one was kind of lame. Maybe the new one is lamer, but hell, its easier to remember. How I'd wish I could change my email address too, but thats another thing. But I'm still being me; its either all jassed up or all messed up.

Speaking of mess, getting nuffnang ads into my previous template was damn hard. I'm not sure why, but it keeps popping out at the wrong places, wrecking havoc with the arrangement. Checking the codes and some trial and errors brought no result. So in the end, I changed to another template, which was much greener to my liking, but what the heck, it works now.

Finally, I made a new banner for my title. As you see, the no-fark branding was gone. I guess I've got no concrete answers for why or what no-fark means, so I'd be better off putting something easier but still explains much of what this blog is all about: me.

So there you go, enjoy!

-jassed

情牵南苑 (Age of Glory) - Updating Myself

2008-04-29T01:37:00.003+08:00

Filmmakers rarely watch their own work. I think this must be true to some extent, since we production people would be preoccupied with projects all the time. By the way, we'd probably knew how the final product would turn out to be. Of course, there's also this thing called pre-view. Nope, I was too busy myself even if I have access to the nice fellas at post production (;p).

And so, yesterday (or so I remembered) I took some time out of sleeplessness to watch an episode of AOG at NTV7's webbie. It was the 13th episode (I last watched was epi 4). Everything that I wrote in the previous post about AOG turns out as I've expected. Now Rose (Yu Lan) is a prominent performer at Nan Yuan and she has Chen Mei as her maid, plus now they met the oh-so-lovely-that-I-must-mention-with-oh-so-quote-unquote future songbird Shu Juan. Interesting too was the fact that the rest of the leading males has all appeared here; Ah Sheng (the trishaw fella), Mr. Fang (the boss at Jetty), his henchman (played by Justin Choo), Wang Cai (the aunty killer), and Bao Sheng (the guy that got robbed in the rain). The protagonists are up to something too. So now the stage is more or less settled. From now onwards, its going to be cheesy till infinity and beyond!

Speaking of cheesy, I wasn't expecting that AOG could be THAT cheesy. Heck, given its length, it could be cheesier than West Side Story (that's a famous musical/film, you kids). SPOILER - One main character died the same way too - END OF SPOILER. I suddenly realized AOG was a bloody good tearjerker. But to arrive at that, you viewers (and me too lah) should learn this thing called suspension of belief (SOB). In short, SOB is like you watch Jackie Chan doing all the hoo haak jumping falling stuff; you know its entertaining but there's only a 0.01% that its gonna happen in the real world. You know there's some things that doesn't make sense, like some 700dpi color posters here and there, rain that looks like the end of the world, a street devoid of vehicles, fat and skinny guys that you'd probably seen before, boobs, unnatural lights, familiar decorations, more boobs, a toilet bowl (?), and more boobs, and things of such. Well, I think we are all too immersed into the wrong direction and missed the point of a drama: character drama.

Character drama is what it is: the story of and between the characters. That's how a drama is intended to be. Now I'm not gonna talk about directors and their wacky vision yet. That's the topic for a future post. But what I suggest everyone to do is to apply some SOB in the spirit of Jacky Chan. You went in the cinema to watch an amazingly un-historic 10'000 BC and you'd thought its interesting and a lesson in human history, then why not do the same with AOG? After all, its just drama; they just did it in a different way. There's a perfect blend of characters in AOG, be it one dimensionals or two. I doubt the actors are not fit for the job. Forget the language. Even you and I can't claim total proficiency in one language. This is the problem being Malaysian and Singaporean: we are trying to be what we ain't. We are not Chinese nor Taiwanese, we are Malaysian (and Singaporean). Its time we admit our own unique culture: we are rojak, and rojak tastes damn good!

I think Age of Glory has its ups and downs, just like the decade its trying to portray. There are things we kids would never exactly know about the 60s. Heck, even the grownups don't always agree with each other. So at best, we try to come out with the most ideal vision. TV is a make belief media. It shapes reality so people like me and Jacky Chan can make money. So be a SOB sometimes, and enjoy the show.

no-fark!

Helper, Driver, Deliverer, Passenger, Stuntman et al.

2008-04-14T02:26:00.007+08:00

Just when I thought my time at The Company was almost over, I reckon I'd lean some help to The Shanster with his stuff at Exclusive. As you know, I wasn't a fan of this new team. They had a strange way of handling things, which is much bizarre than AOG. I'm not going to rant about that. The point is, poor Shanster is usually left clueless of what the hell was happening at the other end of the line and I, clueless too, was helping to make things easier. I doubt it lah anyway.

So as suggested by the title, I was basically involved with automobiles in the past few days. In addition to the van, I also drove a '96 BMW 740IL, Elaine the Stylist's Volvo S80, a Jeep Cherokee, a souped up Iswara Aeroback, a Cooper Mini, and a MZ Moskito scooter.

The BMW wasn't as powerful, the S80 was a bit too responsive to my liking , and the Jeep was a monster. My favorite vehicles were the Mini which would go to an almost halt in the middle of traffic and sod off the cars behind as I fiddled with the misaligned gear shaft, and the cruise-happy Moskito which could easily reach 100km/h while you sit tight and enjoy the wind (although I suspect the speedo lies a bit in the name of Malaysian Ego).

Anyways, I don't think stunt is my piece of cake as I'm mediocre at best as a normal driver. Spinning wheels and wasting rubber at corners are not my level yet. It's fun though. Tiring as it is, I must say that this is something nice to do before you die, erm, I mean end your internship.

no-fark!

情牵南苑 - Age of Glory

2008-04-03T22:49:00.004+08:00

I love pilot episodes; they either decide the success of a series, or its doom. They tell audiences what to expect, and generate further expectations, and at the end, make you anxiously waiting for that next episode to be aired next Monday. That's what happened to me with favorites such as Stargate SG-1, Seaquest, Lost, Prison Break, most of the Hongkie stuff and all of the J-Doramas.

In case you didn't know, "Age of Glory", a Malaysian made drama which I am deeply (almost affectionately) involved with, premiered earlier tonight on NTV7. Don't worry if you missed that. There's still 39 episodes to go, every Monday to Thursdays at 9.45pm. Edit: Past episodes are also available on www.ntv7.com.my, without the ads (yeay!). After watching the pilot of AOG, there are some points that perplexes me.

I'm not saying that perplexing is a bad sign for a drama premiere. I happened to like dramas that does things out of my comfort zone (the great TVB drama War and Beauty has IMHO an aptly apocalyptic ending which The Girlfriend loathes), although they did it at different stages, rarely at the pilot. So seeing the first episode of AOG departing from its comfort zone makes me don that Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson look. Nolah, at least they don't have shaky handphone-esque camerawork and stuff that needs me to turn my TV screen 90 degrees. So what's the quirk?

It has centralized dispersion. That means contradiction lar, even the two words are opposites mah. It tells the story from a flashback from Rose, excuse me, Yuk Lan's point (kudos James Lee for those beautiful opening shots). But, the (flashbacked) story is skewed towards what's happening to Rose's elder sister (played by Yip Lai Yee). We see a bit of what's coming for Rose - her being smart (conversations with sister), her being defensive (saving Janet Khoo from Uncle Hamsap), and most importantly her dreams (being taught makeup and dancing). Those are small bits of information to what lies ahead of young Yuk Lan. Yuk Lan is definitely the focus here, but so far its her sister's issue that is of concern, and the episode ends in that way too.

That brings us to the second point, that AOG follows a sequential character revelation ark. Most series opens with all main characters (mainly protagonists) and most side casts showing up. The characters' lives often cross paths between each other or they are shown with their own lives in the first episode until they converged at a later stage (usually less than two episodes later). AOG opened with only Yuk Lan and her immediate family. This indicates that the other two main casts would be sequentially revealed along Yuk Lan's life. This too means that audiences would need to stick to seeing only her for some more episodes. I don't suppose that is the case though. A person's life is usually boring. The characters of Shu Juan and Chen Mei would probably pop up sooner.

Finally, hooray for the comeback of Cantonese dialect. Although Janet's Malay-slanged Cantonese amuses me, but I hail the producers' bold decision to stick to it. At first I thought the editor gods made a mistake, but nope, its all true that I'm listening to locals speaking Chinese dialects on free TV again (there are maybe some others that I had no knowing of). Its odd, but my friend theorizes that maybe Janet's character came from KL, that's why she speaks Canton. I had a nice time watching HVD and The Company's Cantonese dramas during the good ol 90s, but quitted since the gaberment's initiative at pushing Mandarin as de-facto dialect for public TV. Those sucked in part because the actors had not acclimatized to speaking in full Mandarin. The small doses of Cantonese in AOG hopefully is a start for more localization of Malaysian dramas.

Maybe I was most edgy about AOG because I worked on it. I knew how they made those shots and they deliver more memories than objective emotional impact on screen. I hope those who view it purely for what they are - drama, would enjoy it as much as we enjoyed (har har) making it.

no-fark!

Only fools rush in

2008-04-01T19:47:00.003+08:00

Happy April Fool! Nope, nobody duped me today, and I'm glad. Having the very predictable April fool pranks year by year is kinda boring.

Come April, and its time to tie up loose ends, say goodbye to some people and say hello to new stuff. My days at The Company are numbered, 16 more days to be exact. After that, my internship is officially over. Kaput! I'm not planning on extending. As I posted, I don't like the new project team. Yeah, call me a picky, because I am. I understand work ethics and perseverance, but screw that for now. I don't want further examples of how tv production work sucked.

It doesn't mean that I wont be into all this after graduation; I still like making movies. But I know which part of the pay grade I want to stand at, and I know what type of person am I and who else I can work with/for. Surely I'll be back. But before all that happens, I know that for now after 16th I will have the second longest term break in college that I could recall. So I'm definitely planning to enjoy it.

no-fark!

Cofee, Tea, Oscar Nominee(s)

2008-03-29T23:51:00.007+08:00

Nope, this isn't another lengthy movie review from me. I quit reviewing movies, I'd prefer making them. Just awhile ago, I've done watching Juno and I'm eager to continue later with my half watched No Country For Old Men. Both are last year's Oscar nominees, in which the former bagged the Best Screenplay and the latter swept Best Director and Best Film.

Juno was IMHO a jewel. It took the a common life issue and turned it into a lighthearted but meaningful comedy drama. It has all the right materials a scriptwriter would want to churn out; workable story, good plot, great characters, meaningful lines, fantastic turn of events, and a perfect end. Couple that with unobtrusive camerawork and lovely music, Juno is to me, a textbook example of an effective movie. And they made their 6.5 million budget back in only 20 days of which mostly was still in limited release!

Told you its not gonna be lengthy. Now I'm going to continue with The Oscar's Best Film, which I think is another superb work. By the way, I bought my DVDs from the *distributors* at Digital Mall. They are friendlier and more accessible compared to your local assemblymen. Please do support them for all the exotic stuff you can't find in the cinemas.

no-fark!

The trailers (just watch the real thing, trailers are tools of deceive):

Juno

No Country For Old Men (this is good stuff wehh)

Another 20 Episodes of Madness

2008-03-29T00:28:00.002+08:00

The new project, codenamed "E.E." (stands for Exclusive Edition lah) started shooting today. I didn't follow the team this time, it just wasn't my game. But what I did do today was paid a visit at their shooting location somewhere in PJ. From what I could observe, it was kanasai.

Not that I really like AOG the project (it was fun listening to one of the production head theorizing how AOG could be a financial flop during lunch), but AOG was preferable than this new one. It confuses me when individuals of different working styles gather together as ONE team and try to work something out of chaos. At least at AOG, those were teams with different styles. Conversely, its fun too to watch 2 ADs working on the same set. I really don't know what are their proper roles but its nice that one of them is so like a daddy, taking care of the entire team. The mommies from AOG are not as good comparatively.

Next, the reason I was there today was to loan them a DSLR (mine loh) for one of the scene. They did not use it anyway, but I get paid, anyway. It was feared that it would not conti with the sponsored Canons due next week. Oh well, I know its a safety issue, but they could've saved some cash by doing some confirmation work first (company got lift and free phone calls ma). Confirm with the director that you are going to use what and what, show him some pictures, explain! So hard meh? Sorrylah, I know sometimes we oversee things, but it helps to see things clearly. It saves a lot of money and time in the long run, and makes the producers smile in the end.

Disclaimer: In case anyone from The Company/The EE Production read this post, please treat this as a plain opinion from a fresh kid. Everyone else, I love this company. Its a great place to work (if you are one of the staff, and tech crew to some extent). There's a few desks on the top floor that is temporary home to me. There's (so far in my case) no supernatural issues too.

no-fark!

Cure for the Shutter Bug

2008-03-27T21:21:00.005+08:00

Yada! I skipped work again today (there wasn't much work at The Company anyway). I'd been sickly sick last two days and so I decided to see the doc this afternoon. Now, getting me to the hospital/clinic is like pulling a bull. Being a sick kid when I was younger, I was ever reluctant to go anywhere that has that tinge of medical alcohol. Not that I fear, I was just damn lazy. So this time is no difference. Its something I should do the first day when I was darn feverish but I chose instead to go to the clinic today.

Well, I should say that the efficiency of medical services are excellent. You go to the counter where the lady asks for your ID, then take a seat, your name is called, meet the doctor, tell the doc whats wrong, the doc takes a look at your throat, checks your heart beat, then you're done! All that within 8 minutes, but for the cost of 45 bucks... I guess "speedy recovery" is expensive.

That's what you get for speedy consultation and tried and tested Western Medication: 45 bucks. For photographers, 6 trips to the doctor could buy you a nice 50mm prime. So I guess its good for photographers not to get sick, eh?

----

Next, I went kapchaing around town. See, I wasn't that sick after all. It was an aimless ride that brings me from Paramount to SS1-SS3-and lo... Subang Jaya.

Menara Mesiniaga, or commonly known as IBM Headquarters.

The new Tiaraville Suites, and also the new flyover at the left.

A very hot afternoon.

I basically toured around SJ without even knowing where I was heading. USJ this, USJ that, bla bla bla, until I reached the highway heading for Shah Alam (!). I don't think I entered the city, it was somewhere near Proton/HICOM. Then I took the intuitive route (God knows how) until I came out from a place very familiar; Puchong (!!!). The route from LDP to SS2 needs no mention. So that's my day, some 30km of butt numbing idealess journey. I wasn't eager to shoot photos along though. Maybe next time, when I had at least a proper map at hand.

no-fark!

One Stop Under

2008-03-21T23:12:00.006+08:00

Today I had the opportunity to do a photoshoot for The Company's image-making session. Its actually the second photoshoot i joined since they had one last week. Both are a great experience as I get to work my flashgun and learn some lessons. In the first session I wasted some good shots underexposing the leng-cai, leng-lui main casts. This time I was luckier with the supporting actors, though I still underexpose by one stop or so. The conditions was much similar to the first one. It was a heavily overcast day and the lighting was really bad. To make things difficult, the only light source was a 650-watter, which fought with my underpowered flash.

My shots were all portrait-orientated. Since the camera was vertical, the only way I could fire the flash nicely without harshness on the subjects were straight up to the ceiling. At wider shots, the TTL flash wasn't powerful enough to reach the entire height of the subject. Closer shots were much better, the only problems being hard shadow on the background (because I don't have a diffuser) and uneven lighting (caused by different light temperatures).

The very talented Alvin Wong.

The much-beautiful-than-the-main-cast Joyce Hon.

There's another session next Monday. This time with the full cast. Lets see if I can gain back that one stop.

no-fark!

Age of Glory; DONE!

2008-03-18T00:37:00.004+08:00

Nyahahaha, that's it, a simple uneventful end to a turbulent but fun project. Age of Glory's principal shooting is officially over. I hear there were tears when it was announced. A lot of us waited for so long for this day. So now all that is left is between the editors and the directors to sort out the final product. From what I understand, its going on air in another two weeks. Stay tuned.

Out of boredom, both Feng and Shan decided to celebrate this very occasion with a bit of powder bashing, all 9 packs of flour in fact. We would've used confetti and snow sprays but those were a bit expensive for casual fun. Luckily we didn't settled on whip cream either. And so the three of us stockpiled the vehicle with ponchos and enough flours to make hell for the DBKL morning sweepers. We stirred up some riot of our own.

Dai Lou's gonna have some washing to do.

We arrived in time to cause some serious damage!

"Dai sei" fatty!

The guy that started it, gets it!

They finally had their revenge on the Iron Lady.

The day's big winner.

One sore loser...

The official poster.

Darn, we still had to pick up tonnes of stuff from Broga tomorrow (today, as of time of writing). So, technically I still haven't "sau kong"!

no-fark!

Fidelio, Freedom, and the sense of it

2008-03-15T00:39:00.003+08:00

Its great to be living free. Trust me, when you are in unjust situations (like a lot of the propsmen/propswomen in the world), you'd want to believe in redemption, judgement, and maybe God. Because in the end, justice should prevail. This is what Beethoven's only opera Fidelio is all about.

Finally took some time to have a complete session of Fidelio (which has been stacked among my other classical collection for a long time), and it feels good. Maybe because I haven't got many 2 hours these days to sit duck with orchestras and singers blaring off my Hi-fi. Maybe too, that Fidelio reminds me of what it feels being oppressed and how joyful it is to breathe fresh air freely again (me being a "cell occupant" before).

Fidelio tells about this wife Leonora, who disguised herself as a man named Fidelio to work with this prison guard Rocco. Her real intention was to find out the whereabouts of his husband Florestan, whom the officials claimed dead. In reality, Florestan is jailed by this evil governor Pizzaro because he knew of the crimes Pizzaro committed. Pizzaro who learns that the minister is coming for a check, and this minister is a friend of Florestan, plots to assasinate Florestan. A side plot also tells of how Rocco's daughter Marzelline fall for Fidelio amidst being admired by the other prison guard Jaquino. Pizzaro's plan failed when Fidelio was able to delay him enough till the minister's arrival. At the end justice triumphs and the two lovers are united while Pizzaro meets his end.

O welche Lust! in Freir Luft, den Athem leicht zu heben

"Oh, what a joy! To be released from gloom, to breath the air reviving," sang the prisoners in a short break at the lawn. In other words, these people had been inside the cells for so long that any chance to see daylight is a bliss. Those who never had the same hell would not understand the plight of others.

Heil! Heil! sei dem Tag

"Hail! Hail! Hail to the day," In this sense, its liberation day, and everyone gives thanks to the One. This is a very typical Beethoven ending appropriate to his hopes and aspirations during his time. To a very large extent, the moral behind Fidelio still applies to today's world, where unjust exist on worldwide, regional, and personal scale.

One last thing I admire about Fidelio is that is puts every bit of emotion and depth in just 2 acts. A typical blockbuster flop (or all movies/shows in general) would require at least 3. There's also no need for multiple locations; it all happens in a prison. Plus, the time frame is condensed. No '10 years later' shit. That means if I made a movie like this, I won't need to hire confused ADs and frustrated location managers. And since there's less people getting paid, I could move the extra fund elsewhere, like an RV for the cast and crew, or a huge perspex dome so production could continue in any weather. Of course, the latter is not possible.

no-fark!

Every Era Must Pass

2008-03-13T00:29:00.002+08:00

Legend has it, that Age of Glory is wrapping up principal shooting in 3 more days. That also means that I too have another month left as an intern. I'd say that its nice to be a part of this project.

I was very lucky (really!) to have entered this project at its busiest phase while they were filming primarily on studio sets. As a set design guy, its damn tiring at times, but after you got the set done, most of the time you could drift off. Movie sets are simply magnificent; you take a whole lot of wood and bunch them into something, decorate them with whatever, and there you have a wall, a room, and even a fully functioning dance hall! At the end of the day, you strike it down into pieces ready for the next set, or the next truck going for the dump. That's movie magic.

So what do I think of it? AOG should be fine when its out. For most part of it, it has something. Some of the plot might be a bit boring, but I'm saying this because I didn't look at the big picture yet. I think there's a reason too why these people are so demanding on things that could be seen on-screen (props). This is a very long drama (40 ep), its tiring to see character actions all the time, so they are using settings and props to spice up things (something like mis en scene, and film directors like James Lee likes to do that). That's just my theory. Anyhow, all we did was to turn the mundane and mediocre to some good looking object appearing on your TV screen.

Well, the age of glory is coming to an end, or at least it is for me. My most memorable part was watching James and co. doing the final 'shutdown' scene at the makeup room set. I might have sobbed had I not gone out earlier for a pair of shoes (duh, also partly because I can't stand the AD). I hope it would be equally touching when its aired.

I'm feeling the void already. The new project simply lacks the motivational omph by my standards (there's nothing interesting watching a bunch of middle age men doing fresh idol stuff). AOG is bigger than anything coming, and I doubt they wanna try that again anytime soon. I'm gonna miss working with the crew and the AOG casts, and the blardy ADs too. Hopefully these people are still around next year as I 'proudly' enter this industry as a paid who-knows-what.

Rest in pieces dear AOG sets and props.

no-fark!

All in a day's work

2008-03-12T13:37:00.007+08:00

I swear I won't make another kite after AOG! Besides, why not just buy a nice flyable one for less than 20 bucks? Bah.

So it goes that the story of the day (yesterday) was I got my finger jabbed by the blade (my own blade, duh). I always had this little tinge whenever anything big was about to happen, and it did. As if those splinters from the bamboo was some kind of warning, moments later i had the big one; the blade went straight-on, harakiri-style, into my right index. Lesson learned, never put your flesh anywhere near your blade's line of sight (slicing direction).

The people at Tech Dept were friendly enough to help me with the first aid stuff and even Ivy from admin (who happens to be there) was curious. Blood attracts people. Funny too, was my first instinct was to go way up to the Tech Dept and nowhere else. Guess I like support staff more than production asses.

Anyhow, it wasn't a big deal; tiny gash. Had the two kites done anyway. Don't ask me, it ain't 60's or anything. The instinct was the same when I drew the 'kids drawing' for the orphanage. Nothing of a research. Doesn't even guaranteed to be sky worthy.

Want some 'infinite pleasures' anyone?

no-fark!

Fuyooh Malaysia Buuleeh!!!

2008-03-09T18:32:00.003+08:00

Today, March 9th 2008, the air was clear, the roads were smooth, the rain was refreshing, the sky was (partly) blue. For the first time in my 23 year life I absolutely felt like a Malaysian.

Yesterday, beginning when the very first voters put the cross on the ballot paper, a storm was built. It culminated later at the evening in the form of a tsunami. A big wave that purges some of the obsolete obstacles that stuck like a cork in the bottle that is our country. Although not all corks were successfully popped out, it still gave them dents and weaken their structure. The rest of them got carried by the wave to the open sea where they must rethink what they did to deserve this punishing.

Yes, It was the tsunami created by the people, enraged by the ignorance of the spoil corks, seeking revenge. We Malaysians are cool and calculated people who settle our differences on the right channel, and we finally did just that. Damn, this is a fun country!

Malaysia can, because you can.

no-fark!

Malaysia, boleh neh!

2008-03-09T03:24:00.007+08:00

Reading KarYan's blog prompted me to write this little review.

If you still think that Malaysian Chinese mainstream music is all about thirty-somethings lip synching at some park, think again. The past couple years saw some decent stuff coming out from the cover. Apart from the unmistakably superb singers like Guang Liang/Pin Guan, Fish Leong, Nicholas Teo et al, we've also got some great talents that are still very much local. Daniel Lee was okay sorta bloke, Quincy is worth a mention too, so as Rynn Lin too, and of course we have Karen Kong lately. But what I discovered lately is a wonderful voice by the name of Luo Yise (羅憶詩).

Yise hails from UTAR's communication course (my campus really has a lot of talents, seriously) and is one year older than I am. Apparently she started playing music at a young age and sang in competitions bla bla bla. Most of all, her first self titled album which I'm reviewing now, lives up to its claim as the most worthily awaited album of the year.

Now, don't be fooled by the typical 'local quality'ness of its cover and booklet. Plug in the CD, and let yourself immerse at 45 minutes worth of music. Its kicker is a relaxing mid tempo, aptly titled "Fresh". Here, we have a glimpse of things to come. Yise's voice is a bit husky yet doesn't stray into mature territory. Her highs were excellently executed too. "I'm Not You" reminded me of Jaclyn Victor. Funky song and unlike any local Chinese stuff I heard. The A-sider "So Easy" is a fast driven yet easy going number. Watch out for the sudden change of mood after the bridge! "Little Yellow Duckling" is my favorite song of all. A very lyrical rendition of a familiar childhood theme helped from some fine string players from National Symphony Orchestra.

The album has themes of love and nostalgia, and it did made a valid impression thanks to fine lyrics from Yise herself and other big names. For instance, Guan Qi Yuan penned a very meaningful "Ex Girlfriend", though I can guess who he meant. One of the elements I liked was Yise's very versatile voice. I'm not an admirer of singers with multiple tones on a single album, but there's just something natural about Yise's transitions that you'll just ignore and start enjoying. Sometimes you might hear the likeness to Angela Chang, A bit of Faye Wong, some Sarah Chan, and a hauntingly similar Sandy Lam (Track 10 "Great Times"). All of that on top of a voice that is unmistakably Yise's own.

Apart from a great voice singing a great work, part and parcel of a great album has to do with the musical arrangement and the people behind the music. Here, a lot of credit has to go to some of the best musicians in our industry. One prominent feature is Jamie Wilson's cool guitar parts; the entire album is like his showcase. Great work from the people from NSO and drummer Gary too. Malaysian musicians are not what you thought it was anymore, besides, most of them worked for other Asian big names.

All in, Yise's maiden album is something that in my opinion, outshines even some of the latest pop offerings across the region. It is a well prepared and produced album that has themes that are easily approachable by all age groups, and it tells stories close to your heart. I certainly hope that many would have a listen at it, and hopefully Yise carry on with greater works in the future.

no-fark!

P/S: More local Chinese albums are coming out lately. There's a new one by Superstar finalist Desiree Tan and Orange also had an EP, plus we also have Yang Zhong Wei in the male section.

Do Your Homework?!

2008-03-08T18:36:00.003+08:00

Pardon me but I don't really read the script.

Pardon me but I don't see the point of imagining things that are not there when I'm not the director.

Pardon me but isn't the script a dialog and nothing else much?

Pardon me but aren't you needed to fill up that special props requirement form?

Pardon me, but the props and set dept are no superhumans, i.e they don't produce beds and furnitures with a snap of the fingers.

Pardon me but your request is going to cost the company a bomb.

Pardon me, your ignorance is pathetic.

Pardon me, I enjoy the food you recommended, but work is work.

Pardon me, my dept are here to assist you, not for you to pull strings at.

Pardon me, I don't work well with assistant directors.

Pardon me, I don't read minds.

Pardon me, our homework are different.

no-fark!

Numbers

2008-02-24T23:49:00.004+08:00

10 weeks since the last post;

9 weeks of internship yet to go;

8 is the number that I don't have any connection with;

7 work days in a week;

6 days of work weekly is a bliss;

5 unfinished internship reports;

4 thousand spent on a newly-refreshed hobby;

3 hundred bucks a month for being workaholic;

2 weeks till bankruptcy;

1 poor guy.

no-fark!

No Ho Ho Ho

2007-12-22T03:28:00.000+08:00

They waste as much saliva speaking with talents as the number of nails I missed in a day's work

And there goes my break...

The thing about production is: everything is like water.

Water changes form depending on how it is contained, so as production. Every aspect has its variables a, b, c dependency. What has been planned one day earlier might not be the plan one day later because of these changes among the dependencies. So at the end, everyone maybe except some artists or directors, took the wrath. We are all the particles in the liquid, being shaken here and there.

On the other hand, I'd like to stress the importance of 2 groups of people in a production. The people that arranges the rundown, and those that built the sets and props. They are the unsung heroes of the industry. Its not easy being in the shoes of these very talented individuals. Talented, because they have this ability and perseverance to breathe in the 'thin air' of a busy day. Many people take credit for their hard work; producers, directors, talents, cameraman, you name it. But not many knew what happens before and after those people wrap up the day's shoot. People like casting managers and set coordinators, they never wrap up. Work is constant like a never ending karma. The moment one thing is done, the next thing starts.

Thats why a casting manager has his/her own single slide ending credit somewhere after the director. How I wish that the set builders had their own single credit line too, maybe above the director.

Do you want this job?

2007-12-18T02:23:00.000+08:00

I'm half past dead, literally! Still, I had to wake up at 8 something tomorrow, so you do the maths.

My supervisor said that production life is fast, real fast, and you don't even know what hit you. Well, I can hardly disagree, for its been one week since my day one, and it didn't felt even close to an hour. You do the maths again.

Like what Chin Li said, I'm tired: super-whopper tired. But as I stopped to ponder, I understand why my supervisor is close to being a superman. Finishing the job means a good night's sleep, at least until the next job comes. So, its worth his every second even if it means spending the night over the set. I wished I could have that enthusiasm too. That's extreme level of dedication. How extreme? 24/7 of nonstop productivity. Do the maths.

At the end of the day, its not TV ratings, its not cinema attendance, its not how much money you get, its not how many Oscars you win. Its everything for a good night's sleep. Production life is not for the faint hearted. We are an industry that never sleeps, and ironically, we don't sleep because we want that hard earned sleep. Thats production life. So any of you out there still reading this, i leave the following question for you to ponder as I enjoy my not-so-quite-earned nap (my supervisor is still on set and working):

Do you know what this profession means and, do you still want this job?

Nitey, and enjoy some of my pics from last week.

This is the 40 episode huge drama that the Chinese Productions are currently working on.

Its basically a 60s romance story based on intertwining fictional characters of BB Park, a cabaret/dance hall.

More pics on the way soon. Farking steamyx slowdown and I'm not waiting.

no-fark!

Lou Gei and Hoi Pin: The Difference

2007-12-12T00:04:00.000+08:00

I felt like continuing my post about the first day of work, actually about joining the night's shooting at Kuala Selangor.

So here goes. Firstly, Kuala Selangor is damn far and I seriously don't recommend anyone to go there except you wanna enjoy the fireflies (I didn't see any) or go Bukit Melawati, where there is a lighthouse. The Props and Set Department which I'm assigned to, typically is not required to follow a shooting team. As such I'm thankful to my Ah Tau (Head of Dept), Fung, for giving me an opportunity to go out on my first day at work. It took us 1 hour plus drive to get there.

The rain is still pouring sparingly when we arrive at the foot of Bukit Melawati. The rest of the team was already there, taking cover along shoplot corridors. There was 1 outdoor scene and some indoor ones that the team was scheduled to cover that night. The plan was to spend the entire night shooting. When it rains, there's nothing much to do but to wait. The agony and helplessness was apparent in everyone's face, as one crew puts it: Its (the rain) not really heavy, but its not light enough too, and thats why its farking annoying.

We stick around with the older adult crew (not including the director) for a round of tea at the local joint, chatting quite about anything, and breathing an astronomical amount of smoke from the cigarettes the big boys spent. Basically the group was a bunch of gung-ho happy fellas. I did learn bits and pieces listening over their conversation, although here and there you may find them cursing, which is a norm anyway. Finally after awhile, they decided to fark mother nature and get on with their job.

The director chose to begin shooting at the indoor locations first. From what I know, its suppose to be at the protagonist's room, and later some dockyard scenes. The crew arrived at the location, a pier usually used to upload see ham (clams). As soon as we set in, we set up. On one hand, a room has to be cleared for the room scene and on the other hand we have to stuff newspapers into gunny bags for the jetty scene. Suffice to say that it was no easy job, but with the number of people we have plus some help from the local kids we manage to prep the set for shooting.

Shooting was really a complex process. Contrary to my school productions, this one seems more like a streamlined sports car compared to the bicycle we had. The director is at the helm of all things, but he doesn't have to make sure of things himself. There are specified peoples for every job. Script directors making sure actors speaking the right stuff, soundman getting every needed sound on tape, lighting guys providing the right shade, PAs and contis keeping not of things, cameraman getting the correct shots, and much much more. The whole process can't be said as precise, but at least it is under tight control and things get settled efficiently.

The director calls off for a bit of supper after finishing some scenes. Hell, how I wished I was able to do that too, the only times we call off a shoot is during weather changes or its time to go home. So while the rest of the crew enjoys some food, Fung, the Art Director, and me decided to go off another place to eat and chat. The Art Director is a really nice guy, already in his 60s. He mostly ranted about how the production could've improved, but he has good intentions. So after our meal, Fung and me felt we had enough of the business already and decided to skip the rest of the shoot. During the journey back, we chatted and I learned some stuff regarding real world production and the likes. I assumed while I was snoring through my slumber, somewhere a few dozen kilometers away the production crew are still rolling, right till the morning.

Lou gei is the Cantonese jargon for 'roll camera', meaning start shooting. Conversely, hoi pin loosely translates as 'open film', which is more used to mean gang clashes. But for me, production itself is metaphorically a fight. Against weather, time, differing ideas, nature, and anything else I did not mention. Its a situation, where only the physically and mentally fit survives.

no-fark!

Interview with an intern - Part 1

2007-12-11T21:23:00.000+08:00

The following are a transcript of a fictitious interview of factitious, well, facts.

Q: So how's the feeling of working again?
A: Damn hungry.

Q: So, what's it like to work in a production house?
A: Damn freaking tired.

Q: Which department did you been assigned?
A: Props and Set.

Q: Which is...
A: Where all non living objects except wearables you saw on TV comes from. The guys who make movies want something, we get it, if we don't have it, we find it, if we can't find it, we make it, if all else fails then fark it (or getting farked at).

Q: Oh I see. How bout sets and stages?
A: Yep. We put 'em up too. Those nice dining rooms or sitcom kopitiams, we make them right inside the studio. Those variety show sets, we did those as well.

Q: Was it fun?
A: No. But then, there's a sense of joy finishing your task first and seeing other people fark over their business, and the best part is if the end of the day when you're able to go home and sleep.

Q: Do you get to follow production teams out for a shoot?
A: Generally we are sitting ducks inside the studio facilities. But as interns, you have every right to learn, so you could join the other people as long as you're free.

Q: Best experience so far?
A: Hey, its only Day 1. But then, I get to join the production team for a drama shoot at night. Was hell of an experience.

Q: So what are Producers like?
A: They are the lucky ones who get more sleep then anyone else of the team.

Q: Then who's the boss on the spot?
A: The Director, of course.

Q: Describe a director.
A: IMHO, someone very good but doesn't always get the big picture compared with everyone else.

Q: What are production people like?
A: Put whatever descriptors you can think of, and add 'plus a bit of mental instability' at the end.

Q: Does that matter?
A: Not at all. In fact, I have it too.

Q: So what's the department busy at the moment?
A: Primarily a 40 episode long Chinese drama which is set in the 60s and 70s. There are other stuff as well.

Q: And that makes you in a 60s mode eh?
A: Haha, literally so. In constant attention for anything Sixties.

Q: What about Channel [V]?
A: That's none of our business, really. They are the mysterious next floor neighbors.

Q: In short, your impression about your work and workplace.
A: Nice place with mostly nice people with a bit of mental instability [sic].

no-fark!

Who said donuts are just donuts?

2007-12-02T01:36:00.001+08:00

Last evening The Girlfriend returned home with half a dozen worth of Big Apple Donuts. Before this I've heard some rave reviews about this shop, so I was eager to try it although The Girlfriend made it pre-requisite that I bathe first. Now, throughout my eating life I came across some food that just by the first bite would turn your whole mouth into heaven. These donuts? Let me tell you that they are:

O-M-F-GOODNESS-DELICIOUSLY-SUPERB

And that is like ten levels above heaven! Its kind of hard to describe exactly where went right. I think the toppings were fantastic, but the best part is the dough. Moderately soft, they felt just right. I was also surprised that everything tasted almost perfect even though it was bought some one hour before we had the first bite. Its stuff like this that made me feel glad there's still some heaven on earth, at least where the mouth is.

Anyways, seven weeks of school has come to its end as fast as it has started. After a week, I'm officially beginning my industrial attachment. That's going to be 5 4 months worth of I-don't-know-what-to-expect. Whatever comes, I'm sure I could get a bit of solace from a dozen of little heavens.

no-fark!

Take my bread away...

2007-11-11T22:24:00.000+08:00

In the absence of this thing called money, the mind's performance actually improves to a certain degree. For instance, some people came out with cunning robbery plans. Nope, I'm not thinking of snatching some lady's bag. I'm just wondering how much has the price of things risen lately.

To make a point, I suddenly realized the changes bestowed on one of my (mouth's) favorite pastime; bread. There was a saying that the bread is the common man's food. It is available in abundance, comes in various flavors and guises, goes fine with other food and person and, was cheap. In my heydays (when i was a kid), bread is the food for any occasion on any day. You can survive just by eating those; its the End of Day must have. But sadly today, bread is starting to be something of a commodity. Suddenly, Gardenia is something you rarely see on a poor man's table and Gucci-wielding ladies go to BreadStory.

Okay, i might have exaggerated. But the fact is, prices of daily necessities are ever rising. They make it sound nicer that the economy is fine and its just a couple of cents increase, but they don't tell you that the couple of cents can amass into astronomical numbers when you multiply it by days and years. There is a huge difference between 1.80x365 and 2.10x365, you do the maths. The Bolehland Management (aka Government) always put the poor and needy as a talking issue, but hell, who's going to benefit when a few cents are going to be added to price tags every year? They'll make more poor people out of us!

The reality is, I'm still going to eat bread, drink milo and pour petrol into my vehicle. I'm unwillingly bowing to the capitalists of Bolehland and stick to my part; as a responsible coward of a country I'm fast losing touch with. What to do? Maybe one day I'll reaped enough cash and reputation to convince our southern neighbor to let me stay.

I watched The Simpsons Movie again yesterday and there is a lot of similarities I found out between the movie and my reality. To me, Bolehland is a lot like Homer; resourceful but stupid and ignorant. Like Homer, Bolehland is putting his family (us) in the way of the pig...

no-fark!

All about wasted time

2007-11-10T23:15:00.000+08:00

The insignificances of my life can be told by the number of days i didn't post on the blog. Not that i know the fact that not more than two or three people are going to read this, but really, life is boring lately.

Maybe because its part of the recovery/healing process from the fall, or that this new semester is all about classes come and go at the speed of light. Besides, being cash strapped really took a lot of fun away. No, I don't need a lot of money just to feel good, but having money does feel good. Well, in any case I just can ascertain that there's not much to be told. But wait, there's that mini trip to Ipoh. Or maybe I'll just post more pics from the trip, since they speak themselves better than words.

What can I say? I'm just glad to be done with a couple of speeches and a website report. And coming up are exams and couple more assignments to finish. Man...Blogging was suppose to be something meaningful, but I guess I'm just out of meanings for things I do these days. Whatever that is...

no-fark!

"OUCH!!!"

2007-10-20T22:49:00.000+08:00

As if weeks of bombardment from the "karaoke fest" happening at the Chinese temple below my apartment was not painful enough, me and The Girlfriend landed on the dirt with a thump this morning, thanks to a misjudged motorcycle turning maneuver en route to school.

Thank God though, all we took was a bit of flesh wound here and there, mostly on the arm and hand. The funny thing was i took the brunt on the left hand (me being a lefty) while she was hurt on her right. And the bike? Mr Blue (aka my Yamaha Sports 100) is spending a night at the nearby workshop, suffering from a twisted neck...er, fork.

So, as i am typing this post with my battered fingers, i can't stop to wonder why it always happen that your senses will tell you that something bad is going to happen a fraction of a second before it really happened?

Oh well, looks like the singing below just stopped. Hopefully they had enough fun and this is the last night.

no-fark!

Review: The Magic Gourd 宝葫芦的秘密

2007-10-18T19:04:00.000+08:00

Disney's answer to the Chinese market, albeit simplified.

In the US of A, The Magic Gourd, a collaboration between Disney and Centro Digital Pictures Ltd would be something direct-to-video. In its simplicity, its a simple story of a rather imaginative boy who's lazy in schoolwork. His life changes when he accidentally "fishes" a magic gourd who can help the boy to accomplish whatever he wants. The problem is, our Magic Gourd will do exactly as told, putting the boy in a lot of hilarious and embarrassing situation. And so the boy learns that there's no shortcut in life and he has to work his way if he was to become the person he imagines to be.

The story is straightforward and predictable, coming from a tried and true Disney formula. Its pacing is something like The Bridge to Terabithia, but it doesn't deliver the magic of the former. Maybe this works better at delivering the message to kids (it could be too that i haven't seen simple movies for quite some time). The captivating moments come from Lau Ching Wan's voice acting as the wacky Magic Gourd. His mature deep voice contradicts with the timid Gourd but Lau was flawless in his delivery of quirky lines, sometimes filled with a bit of sarcasm.

The Magic Gourd reminds me a lot of the relationship between Nobita and Doraemon, and i could only guess if the writers got a bit of idea from them too. But unlike Doraemon, The Magic Gourd lacks depth in characters as both the boy and his gourd seems detached at times. Anyhow, we see Doraemon hundreds of times so i guess its no fair comparison. So at the end, Disney's first Chinese foray was a regular simple one. Maybe they wasn't going to risk anything for the potential millions of viewers, a lot of them were already fans of the world's most beloved mouse.

no-fark!

Bukit Mertajam@Feminine Mag

2007-10-12T23:39:00.000+08:00

My little hometown of Bukit Mertajam was featured in the September edition of local variety mag Feminine (风采).

For those of you in the dark, Bukit Mertajam is a bustling little town on the mainland side of Penang. BM (as it's usually called) actually denotes the entire district as well as the town itself. The town proper itself is a small packed area of shoplots and some shopping complexes, more or less the size of Teluk Intan. Small but nevertheless busy, its a center of commerce, a little simple shopping, and most of all, food. In fact, food is the favorite pastime for most of the BM population. You can do all you like, but you can't live a day in BM without food (it's a boring life here, hehe).

Good feng-shui, both for the living and the deceased.

Heh, i didn't know Chong Wei is a BM kid.

Of course, there's the hawker food.

By the way, i strongly believe the Penang hawker food quality (taste) is in the decline, especially in the island part. BM remains one of the last frontiers of good food in Penang. Trust me, its all about the food.

no-fark!

Autocity Pics Up

2007-10-12T14:23:00.001+08:00

Ong's Ladies
Originally uploaded by nofark

Friends, the Autocity pics are up for grabs at my flickr. Simply click the image to go there.

no-fark!

Review: Russel Mulcahy's Resident Evil: Extinction

2007-10-09T15:52:00.000+08:00

It all ends with threes. Well, not quite.

Resident Evil: Extinction takes charge of the franchise from the previous two installations, chronicling the journey of Alice to save the world from badass Umbrella Corporation and a never ending onslaught of zombies.

As with the series of games and two movies that preceded it, RE:E follows the tried but true formula of the Resident Evil franchise: a protagonist (Alice) encounters a team of sidekicks, then join forces to trash zombie asses, until most of them gets killed, which at that point they will be confronted by the main monster, usually courtesy of Umbrella Corp. At the very brink of climatic defeat, our protagonists sums up their strength, and defeats our monster albeit clumsily sometimes. Story would’ve end there, but wait, somewhere somehow the executives of Umbrella (or Sony Pictures, or Capcom) pops out and decides to twist the story into a new direction. In this way, the corporation sustains the evolution, advancement, and multiplication of the T-Virus, plus the determination of our protagonists.

As too with the prior two cinema installations, RE:E is a easy to comprehend, smack it in your face zombie kick ass flick. Alice updates you on the beginning regarding the state of the planet (which Christ the Savior is nowhere yet to be seen, but every day is Judgment Day). Apart from the neat continuation from the ending of the last movie and a glimpse of a future sequel in the making, probably would be called Resident Evil: Multiplication, the rest of the story was as dull as the monotonous Nevada desert setting. You’ll get your usual dose of impromptu scares, gun and blade action, blood, and more blood. Oh, PETA wouldn’t be pleased yet: the franchise have so far tortured dogs, lizards, and this time they fried the entire population of crows from the Las Vegas area (digitally).

Those of us who watched RE:E probably knew there would inevitably be a fourth movie, but let me tell you why you don’t need to spend your money for the next RE installment. In Hollywood moviemaking formula, the good guys would surely win over the bad. This theory holds true for most movies targeting a worldwide audience. As such, be it the next RE or the next one after, rest assured that zombies’ heads will always end with a bullet hole or under a truck and the world would be saved someday. But true franchises never die, like McDonalds; they grow, multiply, and conquer the world. After all, apart from the one or two offbeat menus, every new branch offers the same great taste of Big Mac isn’t it?

No-fark!

Reporting From Penang (BM)

2007-10-03T16:14:00.000+08:00

After sitting duck for 2 days in my house, i'm out for a little banking business and a bit of online (my primitive house doesn't have broadband).

Penang, or rather Bukit Mertajam, hasn't change much since my last visit five months ago. Some subtle makeovers here and there, and of course, more cars. One little surprise was finding Rapid buses on the road here, aptly named Rapid Penang. Not to complain, i actually felt that's kind of a good thing for the transport business here. Hell, i hope Rapid would turn the other bus companies out of business and monopolize the scene.

Penang's transportation is awkward. There's too many companies vying for an already small piece of pie. Not just that, the service was terrible. For most of my life here, i never knew the exact time, destination and codes of the buses. So, the appearance of Rapid in Penang i truly hope is a relief for the transportation service here. Lets see if they can do the same for the taxi/cab business too.

I'll upload some pics later. The connection in Starbucks here in Autocity wasn't that great.

no-fark!

Review: Ang Lee's Lust, Caution

2007-09-30T20:00:00.000+08:00

Without lust, there's no caution.

First of all, congratulations again to the Bolehwood censors for doing such a great job to an otherwise fine movie so that young adults like myself would not have the opportunity to pull down our pants and jerk off at the cinema. Thank you.

That aside, Lust, Caution is an unpretentious foray into the human soul, faith and loyalty in times of national crises. I must admit that apart from watching halfway of Brokeback Mountain, I've never seen any of Lee's films before this one. So its one thing less that i don't need to compare this to his previous works. Suffice to say, i like this film a lot if it were not significantly censored.

Lust, Caution is a story set in World War II Shanghai where a female spy was reluctantly drafted by the Chungking Nationalist Movement to lure a Japanese collaborator in order to have him assassinated.

The highlight of this film surely goes to Tony Leung. His tormented personality in the Wong Kar Wai films and Internal Affairs is elevated to a new degree. This time, he's the baddest bad guy a bad guy could be. His character, Mr Yee, reminds me of the Qin Emperor in various movies. Cunning, suspicious, vicious, ultra sadistic, yet lonely and in need of love. Powered by some neat close shots, Leung drives his character like no other, putting the element of fear right in your face. Plus, Mr Yee is so unpredictable, the audience doesn't really know what's going in his mind, even the spy girl 'Mrs Mak' couldn't understand her target.

The spy girl, Wang Jiachi (played by Tang Wei) was as many ways as good as Leung's Mr Yee. I think she was underdeveloped at the first half of the movie, together with the rest of her university accomplices (Wang Leehom etc). It seemed their journey towards planning the assassination was rushy. But its the second half of the movie that Wang Jiachi, or Mrs Mak, shines through with some very emotional scenes. I just felt that i couldn't entirely pity her because i don't really see what hell she went through, thanks to the censors. I think the deleted sadism/masochism scenes really hurts the entire film. The end outcome was especially triggering though.

As i said, the deleted scenes makes this already difficult film even harder to comprehend. The sexual encounters are essential to understand the plight of Jiachi. First, you might not understand the struggle of the Chinese patriotic movement during the Japanese oppression. There's no Guy Hawkes fireworks nor spear wielding Spartans invoking your audiovisual senses. The resistance is really a secretive activity run in constant fear from people like Mr Yee. Secondly, the film feels bit like a stage play, its meaning is not always explicit. You must deduce. Lastly, the Shakespearean tragedy-like nature of this film might not suit everyone.

In all, this is not your typical fall blockbuster. So proceed with caution, and maybe you'll find some lust.

no-fark!

10 Years On: Revisiting James Cameron's Titanic

2007-09-30T02:11:00.000+08:00

The year was 1998, mention anything about Titanic, Jack, Rose, My Heart Will Go On, You Jump I Jump and probably you'd invite some menacing looks from your high school mates. But then, its hard to say that this film has not made an impact on anyone. Its as famous back then as George W. Bush is today.

I remember the first time i watched Titanic. It was a pirated copy vcd (so i get to see more, harharhar). Being an adolescent back then, you're always enticed by steamy stuff, but as i watched on, it wasn't Kate Winslet's fat boobs that caught my attention. It was three hours worth of pure exhilaration, joy, and sadness witnessing the disaster of the century. When the band strikes 'Nearer, My God to Thee', the tears started to accumulate.Now after almost ten years, I still regard this as one of the best movies ever. Here's why.

Historical and scientific inaccuracies aside, Titanic makes a perfect example of the three act structure. Make the beginning like how you'd end? You got that, Titanic started with a research team finding the wreck. Atto Uno begins with Rose recalling the events before boarding the ship. Meet her badass rich fiance, Calderon, who's the typical antagonist. Speaking of contrast, lets pit the rich with the very poor. At the other end of the dock, we see lowly Jack, winning a getaway low class ticket from a poker game. Walla! The steamer goes to the sea and to its doom, with our poor characters and in it. Of course, our two protagonist developes love ("You jump, I jump") amidst the social gap and the looming threat of the fiance.

Atto Due kicks off with a BANG, literary. Titanic hits the iceberg (THE, because its another antagonist). The ship starts to sink! Now, the sinking ship itself becomes the ultimate antagonist. Our protagonist barely escaped the humans, now are faced with the wrath of destiny. Here, main plot and subplots intervene and mixed perfectly for a juicy disaster. The lifeboat rush scene was particularly captivating. Arriving at the climax, the ship starts to dip violently, bow first into the water. Then, the ship cracks in half, with our lovers at the very end of the stern. Off it crashes into the freezing arctic water. Bringing the last of many survivors with it, including our lovers. That's where our oh-i'm-so-cold Jack speaks his cheesiest dialog in the entire movie, dies from hypothermia and sinks underwater, leaving poor Rose alive and living to her nineties, where she joins the researchers to revisit the sunken HMS Titanic. The whole thing is melodrama to its max.

Are there any character developments? You bet, or maybe not so detailed. But hey, most of them have a purpose to the entire story. We might have known or guessed the motives of the characters: the captain wants to speed up the ship, the fiance just wants Rose for himself, Jack and Rose wants each other, and at the sight of impending doom, most people wants to survive. There are ample contrasts shown throughout the movie. The lavishness of the upper class contradicts with the rags of the lower decks. The conflict of man versus disaster is contrasted with the struggle for lifeboats between the social class and the genders (to some degree). The band playing courageously while the ship sinks? Classic surrealism.

You may hate it for its cheesy dialogs or think its overrated, or, like me, enjoys it for what it is. Either ways, there is no denying that Titanic is memorable, if it isn't influential. I think there's not much movie after it that made such significant impact on viewers. Too bad, Cameron doesn't have any directorial roles after Titanic. But once in a while, Hollywood comes out with something close (ie. Gladiator, LOTR). So when's the next major blockbuster phenomenon?

Happy birthday Titanic!

no-fark!

Don't Be Stupid! Take Notes.

2007-09-30T01:25:00.000+08:00

Sheesh... Year 2 Semester Two, it's finally over.

I guess this is sadly my worst semester by far. Things felt like the speed of light, i don't even realize how fast it was until the very last project submission. Then i was like 'what?'. Personally, i felt that my biggest problem was my inability to keep time (time management, duh). That one aside, i also got the tendency not to take study notes, which i think contributes alot to the shvt situation i'm into now.

Like i said, i don't like taking notes in class. My self aligning arrogance tells me that notes are for the weak willed, kiasu minded kind (sorry if this offends y'all). Okay, i was dead wrong with that. It pays to note. For one thing, i guess its got to do with the mind's memorizing of patterns and the rate or efficiency it recalls data. Its kind of like why beginning musicians should practice over and over again on the basics: reinforcement of the memory, and the other thing called muscle memory. So jotting down those key points does help in some ways, ways that i'd blindly ignore in the past.

Hopefully, the coming semester might just be my turning point, BANG! Plot twist. Good guy defeats better good guys! Time to take out that scantly written notebook.

no-fark!

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Now playing: 佐橋俊彦 - 星への祈り.mp3
via FoxyTunes

600 Fishes Dies at Langkawi Underwater World

2007-09-26T14:36:00.000+08:00

The sad news is that 600 fishes in the hex and tunnel tanks of LUW died mysteriously on Monday evening. My recent visit to LUW was a few months ago and i probably seen and knew some of the dead fishes, mostly sharks and rays. Sobs...Rest in peace, my dear fishies...

Here are some memories:

Nurse Sharks

The Girlfriend in the tunnel

I hope this fella is ok...

The authorities did not rule out foul-play. Lets hope whoever that did this gets punished.

no-fark!

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, 中秋节快乐

2007-09-26T03:50:00.000+08:00

The Girlfriend excited with square mooncakes

Friends and family wherever you are, I sincerely wish you all a Happy Mid-Autumn!

Now, for those who are far away from home, go give your mom and dad a call, and give thanks to them (okay, i didn't do that, but i called. Alright, it was after that they tried to call, but i called). Even if your parents treated you the way you might not liked it, still, its them who brought you into this world, so be thankful, at least for your existence.

中秋节快乐！别燃烧太多树枝哦。

no-fark!

all jassed up

Your world?

Just thoughts

Jason on Azhar Rudin's Majidee

Sometimes

Cleaning the garden

Stuck with workin', no time bloggin'

The thing with guys singing

A Qwik-blog before cruising to work

Like I'm doing?

PeeJay I come again!

Ish....

Busy/Dizzy

April, and a fool

Going Home, and Being Political for Awhile

Smelling the pages

Shanghai on cold feet

Waiting Pt. 1

Bon année!

*Selamat Hari Krismas*

Bye bye lor...

3 years down the drain!

Time to move!

If you see this, sing it as well!

Boringness in the midst of exam (or sort of)

Happy December!

Almost there

Some due respect

What's cool lately

The coming, came, and gone

Be at peace with yourself and you'll see further

Call that Malaysia

When you had something in mind, think again!

My mind exists eslewhere

Recession

Hello from Penang

Wo wo wo Balik Kampung...

Pulau Ketam and Lenses

Crabs later, now for a bit of heritage lesson

Remember...

Call me a kid

We fucked up nicely

Showtime!

I'm not rich, just desperate

I am poisoned

Some heathy tips

New resolution

Imperialism: The Momma of All Fuck-ups

DAM(N)!

On the melting pot

Tammy Updated

Tammy Me

Goodbye Safari! Welcome back Firefox.

Some gratitude

Soak me please...

Feeling juicy so much that I self talk on my blog

Divine entertainment?

New home for my pictures

Updates: First day of new semester

Updates from college

Bye bye holiday

Big Mac, Glorified

Torn between cameras?

Penang: Life in the fast and slow lane

Pack Pack Pack

Desiree 陈诗莉 - 让世界听到 (Let The World Listen)

New Look, Same Shvt

情牵南苑 (Age of Glory) - Updating Myself

Helper, Driver, Deliverer, Passenger, Stuntman et al.

情牵南苑 - Age of Glory

Only fools rush in

Cofee, Tea, Oscar Nominee(s)

Another 20 Episodes of Madness

Cure for the Shutter Bug

One Stop Under

Age of Glory; DONE!

Fidelio, Freedom, and the sense of it

Every Era Must Pass

All in a day's work

Fuyooh Malaysia Buuleeh!!!

Selamat Hari Krismas