IGUDESMAN&JOO: A Little Nightmare Music

First of all,

RIP, little one..I was never sure of what to name you.

Not sure of its age but it’s been living with me since 2/2/09 – 18/11/09

It looked very skinny and weak for these few days, and he refused to eat too. Poor thing died because of either hunger (I left enough food for it ok), old age or sickness…I already did what I could

And I actually cried while I was cleaning its cage (my brother only cried soon after)
———————————–

On another happier note..

[be prepared; it’s going to be a long one!]

Yuxin, her friends and I went to witness IGUDESMAN&JOO in action at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (at KLCC) on the 17th

We weren’t allowed to take photos in the hall, but that’s okay. I get to concentrate on those guys. We sat all the way behind (ROW Z hahah) but surprisingly, the view was still clear and good.

”Gods.” That’s what I said once I looked at the free postcard on the left. Gidon Kremer didn’t perform though. He only joined them on the 16th, along with his strings gang, the Kremerata Baltica..but I THINK I saw him after the concert. Or it could just be some other guy.

Anyway,

Richard Hyung-Ki Joo and Aleksey Igudesman were BEYOND GOD-LIKE! The videos on YouTube wouldn’t suffice, seriously. I think I was smiling (with my mouth open) throughout the show. I have never clapped so hard before either. I was like a cymbals-playing monkey on steroids.

I’ll write about the bits which I can remember (quotes included). Quite a lot really but it might not be in the right order..but it’s also for my own good in case I want to reminisce this day. Heheh.

1. At the start of the performance, somebody’s phone rang to the tune of the Nokia theme song. Joo immediately played the exact motif on the piano, and so did Igudesman. Using his violin, ja. Then they started playing something based on the Nokia theme. The thing is, None of us were sure if that was improvised or it was already planned beforehand.

2. Both of them played Mozart’s infamous Turkish March. It was initially in A minor, and then Joo wanted to play it in A MAJOR. They’ve completely changed the mood of the song. And then Joo wanted more.

“We’re in KUALA LUMPUR! *audience cheers* We need to play something more oriental, Arabic, Chinese! Ying Yang Tai Chi [something something] Ping Pong!”

The Turkish March completely changed. Sounded very Arabic. To the extent that Igudesman played his violin while swaying his hips sideways, following the rhythm of the song and his legs also started moving in a funny way. Probably a variation of Mr Bean’s infamous pelvic thrust..nevertheless, IT WAS UNFORGETABLE

3. Igudesman was told not to move but at the same time, Joo needed his help to move the piano.
“DON’T MOVE!”
”But how am I supposed to help you push the piano when I can’t move?”

In the end, Joo did it himself. It did not move an inch, nevermind a milimeter

4. Igudesman played some solo violin piece which involved a lot more body movements and goofy facial expressions, especially when he bows the high note. A portion of this one can be seen somewhere in YouTube.

5. Joo was playing the piano and he somehow managed to lie down below the piano (while STILL playing!)
This one can be seen in YouTube too.
Igudesman narrated. “The concert pianist is the arrogant version of a house pianist.”
”Is this a Steinway? IS THIS A STEINWAY? I only play YAMAHA” – Joo

And then Joo narrated while Igudesman plays the violin as though it was a viola, with an awkward bowing arm position. “Many people say that the viola is bigger than the violin. This is not true – It’s only an optical illusion! It’s only the size head of the viola player which is small!”

I laughed like an idiot at that statement.

6. Joo wanted to play “Maria” from West Side Story but Joo wanted to play The Simpsons. It turned into a mash-up. Perfectly blended.
”Is there anybody in the audience with the name Maria?…Ah, you there, the man with the moustache!” – Joo

7. There was one part where the piano became something like an ATM. Igudesman provided the “voice” of the Steinway piano and it started off with Joo trying to open the piano’s keyboard lid/the fall board (it was “locked”)

“Welcome to Piano Forte by Steinway. Please insert your credit card.”
(Joo really borrowed a card from one of the audiences at the front)
”For English, press A.”
”Please enter your code! Please enter your code!”
”For the Beginner Level, please play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”
”For the Intermediate Level, please play The Simpsons.”
“For the Professional Level, please play the first part of Grieg’s Concert in A minor.”
”That was not quite correct. Please try harder next time.”
”For Western or Country music, please go home.”
”For heavy metal, please smash the piano.”
”*buzz* Your credit has expired. To add extra credit, please enter your code! Please enter your code!”
”Please play.”
(The last two process repeated so many times until Joo, who was annoyed, shouted “PLEASE PLAY” to the audience)

8. “Bessie, she’s my favourite cow!”
They stated that they “needed five minutes to rehearse it” but I believe that it was part of the plan. It was indeed a real performance, not a last-minute rehearsal. Igudesman could play a cow’s ‘moo’ on the violin D: He could even play a cat’s meow. The audience was invited to sing along In another separate act, he played other sounds such as a person snoring, a motorcycle on the highway, and eventually a police CHASING the motorcycle..while he himself ran away.

9. “Rachmaninov, big hands. I, Korea, small hands. But ONLY hands small!”
Just like the one in YouTube but there was an additional part…if you know what I mean (>_o)

10. At one point, they exchanged instruments and played another Mozart piece (it’s so famous, I still don’t know its title). They weren’t so bad but at times they were out of tune (especially Joo who was playing the violin)..They soon realized that it couldn’t work out and they got back to their own instruments.

11. Igudesman wanted to check his violin’s A with the piano’s A (as in the note).
”Play A!”
”Which A? *plays all A’s on the piano*”
”That one!”
And then they quarreled again. Joo gave THE finger.  Igudesman slammed the piano’s fall board onto Joo’s hands to shut him up. Apparently, Joo “lost” his right hand (it was just hidden in the sleeve). He screamed like a girl and ran away. Igudesman still needed to keep his violin in tune but he had difficulty pressing the A on the piano while bowing the A on his violin (not the open string one). He nearly wanted to use his um, “manhood” to depress the A key. Fortunately, for our eyes, he bowed the string while letting the other end of the bow depress the A on the piano. CLEVER HAHAHA.

12. Joo returned with his still-amputated right hand. This time, he played a piano piece using ONLY his left hand. A temporarily-disabled pro. Suddenly his right hand popped out and he immediately karate’d the piano by playing Beethoven’s Fur Elise. Sadly, there was no piano lesson. Igudesman didn’t appear in his funny short pants that night either.

13. They did the Riverdancing Violinist, minus the vacuum cleaner. The fact that Joo danced with a broom held above his head really amuses me haha..Czech it out on YouTube.

14. After all of that, both of them played a summary of everything. Igudesman actually played the first bit of “The Entertainer” on piano, PERFECTLY (after all that struggling in the Piano Lesson video..wow)

15. The guys left the stage and we thought that that was it. But no. They returned with something a lot more spookier. That’s when THE LITTLE NIGHTMARE MUSIC started.

16. The song I have been waiting for: I WILL SURVIVE. I thought that they weren’t going to play it, but they did! The sad bit is that Igudesman didn’t use the electric-whisk-thingy like he did in the YouTube video. Some of the horse hair from his bow snapped after a tremolo passage :O Anyway, Joo made the audience sing along again! I actually enjoyed it because there wasn’t even anything to worry about yeeeaah.

After the concert, I quickly went to get my camera bag since everything’s in there and I had high hopes of taking a photo with the two Gods (yes, I now call Joo my piano God and Igudesman my violin* God, but Nick McCarthy still remains as a major guitar God…polytheism haha.)

We queued up to get their autographs. The line was quite long but it became shorter pretty quickly in just a few minutes.

(Aiyo, upside-down. Igudesman’s face kena blocked some more.)

When it was my turn, I only said “Hello!” to Joo, who replied with a “Hi!” and that was it. Haha. I couldn’t think of anything to say to him. Right after Igudesman signed my, er, “postcard”…

Me: Cпасибо/Spasiba (it means thank you in Russian)
Igudesman: [shocked and says something probably in Russian]
Me: Uh?
Igudesman: *still shocked* Are you from Russia?
Me: Oh, no no no..
Igudesman: Is that the only Russian word you know how to say?
Me: Well, yes, kind of… (Of course I know some other small words but I didn’t want to start a whole conversation in Russian, hooo die lo like that)
Igudesman: Ah…[jokingly] So you’ve learnt one word just to impress me eh!
Me: HAHA..[tongue-tied] But er, actually, I have a uh, Russian pianist—
Igudesman: I’m sorry?
Me: I mean er, I have a Russian piano teacher..yeeeah.
Igudesman: Ah!

Dang, who knew that by just saying Thank You in someone else’s native language could end up into a little conversation? But it’s a smart move also lah. Rather than just saying normal stuff…which I may regret…Could’ve said han-yeong-ah-say-OH to Joo. By the way, Joo talks a lot, and I’ll get to that later

..But I must say, my tongue-tied-ness kinda spoilt the whole thing HAHAHA. Igudesman doesn’t really have a hint of the Russian accent and he sounds like a happy kid in real life.

Joo’s signature is the silver one. And you know which is Igudesman’s. Not many choices, eh.

We lingered around for a while and returned to the scene 10 minutes later, only to find that there’s a photography session with I&J. Luckily there weren’t many people too, and we decided to line up.

I remember seeing this girl in a tudung who did a fangirly scream infront of me after taking a photo with the men. Super random

I got a solo shot with the men. Yuxin helped me to take the photo Joo said, “That’s a verrry big camera.” (SB-900 attached to the D40 just so you know)

Richard Hyung-Ki Joo and Aleksey Igudesman
You’re looking at three musicians maaaan. The one in the middle wishes to play the piano like the one on the left. The one on the right is very adorable.

When it was Yuxin’s and Kelly’s turn to take a photo with them, it was my turn to take their photo and Joo said “That’s a verrry big camera” again. Which led to another dialogue.

Me: [ready to snap photo] One…
Joo: A verrryyy biiig camera.
Me: [nervous laughter] Um, one, tw–
Joo: I think I’ve seen the camera before, but I’m not so sure…
[everybody laughs]
Me: [still waiting to snap a photo] One, two, thr–
Igudesman: So stupid.** [directed at Joo] I think his level of stupidity is much higher than the Petronas Twin Towers..

Joo, Kelly (she wasn’t looking D:), Yuxin and Igudesman
And now you’re looking at four musicians!

“Last person in line gets a kiss from Aleksey!” – Joo

[* - Just a few months back, I borrowed my friend’s violin for a week just to see if it was possible to self-learn the violin. Actually, learning the notes and scales was possible. The technique was nearly impossible for me, take vibrato for example.]

[** – I showed one of their videos to my Russian piano teacher just last week. She pointed at Igudesman, who was wearing short pants, and asked if he’s Russian. I answered yes. She jokingly replied, “So stupid.” I think Russians enjoy saying that. ]

Although they’re pretty well-known, they’re definitely not snobbish towards people. I like these guys.

On my way home..
I looked back at the Petronas Twin Towers and I smiled to myself; Igudesman&Joo’s concert was the best RM120 I’ve spent on.

It’s too surreal. I can’t believe I first saw their video last year and I’ve actually met them. Once I meet Nick McCarthy, I think I can die happily already.

Say Goodbye To Those Who Knew Me

SPM’s next week hoooo, and I just got a new modem after frying one last week. I need to repel from the internet

More dark-sounding stuff from the Arctic Monkeys (Humbug is a tasty album, I must say)

The Jeweller’s Hands

The Fire and The Thud

Have I ever mentioned that I love Mulan? It has always been my most favourite Disney film ever.

Ah..Disney used to sound so good before the raid of Miley Cyrus and co.

Aggravate the ice-cream man

Something which I could listen to for a whole week:
Arctic Monkeys – Crying Lightning

Sounds kinda “dark” but I like it. Even bought their album because I know that these monkeys can create interesting chord progressions.

(+) Lady Gaga looked like a walking work of art at the Video Music Awards ‘09. I mean it in a good way. And “All The Single Ladies” as the Video Of The Year? Nonsense..

Where ART thou?

I have been away for to long and it’s August already (MegaSale month!). A summary of what I needed to talk about:

one I finished my Home Theatre model for Art (Paper 3) less than a month ago.

Absolutely not the final product!

When I received the question paper back in February (or was it March?), I remember telling myself “If can, I’m going to add a lighting system.”

And so I did.

This isn’t exactly the final product either. It’s just missing some speakers, that’s all.
If you are a fan of Monkey Island, you’d know that the drawing on the TV (yes, it’s a drawing) is based on the scene outside “Planet Threepwood”.

Also, the TV can swivel to the left or right.

You can jolly well bet that the whole model itself costs more than RM200.

To tell you the truth, the making of the circuit required 99% improvisation (the worst part is that I had no internet connection, and that means I have no where to refer to). In the end, I killed about 3-4 light bulbs.

Behold! The circuit.

Lightbox thingy! I didn’t glue the box properly, as you can see.

This be Yvonne’s model. The SpongeBob is hand-drawn, yes.

One of the decorative lamps she included

This is Farisha’s. Best model ever, hands down. FYI: Her dad is an architect.

two On the 22nd of July, I (and many others) missed the solar eclipse! They say that it was supposed to appear around 9-something in the morning. We had our Biology paper at 9.10AM. Aiyah, even if we didn’t have the exam, I don’t think it’ll be easy to spot the eclipse due to the cloudy Malaysian skies. The next night, however, I saw this:

Close enough lah.

three Went to play paintball on the 24th. Got shot at the neck and I felt so negative about life. Dementor’s Kiss hahaha. The mark even looked like a hickey that day! :O

four Malaysia will be hosting MTV World Stage somewhere this month (not that I’m a fan of MTV)…but I heard that FRANZ FERDINAND MIGHT BE COMING. Might be only lah — They’re touring around in the US at the moment, if I’m not mistaken.

…I guess there’s no chance of them coming, eh? Even if they are, my mother wouldn’t allow me to see them by using H1N1 as an excuse. If I get to see them [and at the same time if I actually have a high chance of dying], I get to die happy knowing the fact that I met them, right? Haha.

five It’s probably old news now but the saddest news since last week is: Yasmin Ahmad passed away on the 25th She was 51.
She was responsible for the Petronas ads we see on TV, and not to forget Sepet! She will always be remembered as the story teller; the best film maker Malaysia could ever have. Her films can really make you (or at least, me) do a lot of deep thinking. Although some of her films are considered “racially controversial”, it speaks a lot of truth. Like in Sepet, there was a line (spoken by a Malay character) which went like “All Malay men are lazy”.

Rest in peace, Kak Yasmin.

PS: I have never attended a funeral before.

Franz Ferdinand – Can’t Stop Feeling

One too many things for me to say about this video!
1. Finally, a Franz Ferdinand video which is back to what they used to be like years before– CREATIVE AND RANDOM! The presence of the jelly baffles me.
2. At the beginning, I sense that there’s a hidden message. Greeting people in Thai with that “Sawadeeka gesture”? Mosquito/fly-smacking in a certain rhythm is fun? Nyeh.
3. According to many, Nick’s wardrobe is a bizarre place. Proven @ 0:13, but I love the white cardigan (can be seen pretty often throughout the video)
4. Nevertheless, Nick is still awesome.
5. Nick is not only a guitar God, but he’s now a JUGGLING GOD as well. (I fail miserably at juggling three objects all at once)
6. Paul combing his hair, in-sync with the music = PERFECT
7. Bob has such a cherub-like face. See 0:57. Aww.
8. They’ve mentioned a lot about using the Doppler Effect in their new album. They achieved it by using a swinging microphone. Revelation @ 1:20.
9. Alex and his dancing @ 1:27 is pretty addictive to watch HAHAH. Fancy those kicks.
10. I think this is the first time I’m seeing a dancing Bob.
11. 2:16 = THE WOW FACTOR.
12. Hot iron, anybody? 2:41.

No You Girls

Here be a new Franz Ferdinand music video! No You Girls is their second single and bingo, it’s one of my favourite tracks. There’s a funky bass line in this song

(0:46! 0:46! 8O)

Ok lah, it may not be their best video, but I still love this song

Oops! Wrong ghost.

For one reason or another, horror films never seem to scare me much. Maybe if I were still a kid, there’s no doubt that I will be afraid. Now now, we’re talking about the present. I hardly watch horror films because I’m not easily amused by this genre; not because I’m a scaredy cat or anything (You can try to make me watch a horror film all by myself — It’s very unlikely that I will scream either )

Earlier today, I watched They Wait with some of my friends in a local cinema. (Hold it, wasn’t that film released in 2007?)
I was in between two of my friends who were covering their ears, almost throughout the whole film . That, I can understand lah…we all know how drastic the changes of music will become when a ghost appears out of nowhere in a flash.

My verdict?

It wasn’t scary at all. I failed to scream. Most of the time, I was telling Elena, who was shutting her ears so tight, that it was “Nothing one, laaah”. It also my first time seeing a wee bit of comical elements in a horror film. The only part which makes me feel uneasy was when a character started to vomit out bones — It’s not scary; it’s just sehr disgusting and sick! Things got worse when she started to vomit out a long one, and that’s when I covered my eyes in disgust for a few nanoseconds.

(Fact: The sound of a person throwing up is voted as one of the worst sounds ever)

In conclusion, you could say that ghosts are something which I don’t fear. What I am really afriad of are cockroaches, butterflies, getting robbed, and who could ever miss this out — Losing my loved ones.

 Whenever I watch a horror flick or enter a haunted house in some carnival, all that the voice in my head says is this: None of these are real. (That’s how my mind works. I’m such a non-believer.) Plus, did you know that the word gullible does not exist in the dictionary?

Another thing’s for sure: I have no trouble sleeping. No sir

Le Fantôme de l’Opéra

I caught the Phantom of the Opera fever (again!)

After basking in the goodness of the PotO music which was played by some children weekends ago, I had the urge to rewatch the 2004 film. And so I did. The first time I watched it was in school, and that was back in 2006. It was part of our Form Two English syllabus. As of now, The Phantom of the Opera has to be the best literature I’ve studied in school, hands down. Last year, we studied Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but honestly, I never finished reading the book

No point typing out the storyline right here as I assume that everybody knows the plot..

PASSPORT PHOTO HAHAHA.

Gerard Butler as The Phantom = Epic win. He was the first phantom I’ve seen in action. I’m not a fan of Mr. Butler himself, but I am a “phan” of his version of the character..although I do think that Mr. Butler looks better clean-shaven (*nudge* remember my personal theory about serious-looking British men?)

I’ve also learnt about Michael Crawford, the one who acted as The Phantom back in 1986. I managed to listen to some of his singing through the bonus features from my DVD.

Mr Crawford, the dude on our Form Two PotO text book cover

Butler and Crawford were very good and yet very different. Butler has a rich, smooth and flexible voice + a bonus Scottish accent. Gives me the goosebumps. His character looks a lot younger than Crawford’s. His mask looks better, too. Crawford, however, had a very different body figure, which made him look rather old. His voice made him sound young, as it was slightly higher than Butler’s. Nevertheless, Butler’s portrayal as The Phantom was my cup of tea

Interesting character, The Phantom is. He’s got the skills in just about everything, not to forget the usage of his signature weapon, the lasso. I don’t look at him as a cold, distorted murderer. The world didn’t show any compassion to him, that’s all. Have you ever wondered how he managed to get furnitures in his lair throughout the years in hiding? Thank goodness that The Phantom does not sparkle. His dignity is saved. Bob bless him.

“who knew King Leonidas could sing!” – A random YouTube-er’s comment

(Fact: It IS true that everybody sang their part by themselves, except for Minnie Driver who played La Carlotta)

I thought that Joel Schumacher (the director) made a very good decision: He wanted young actors. Mind you, the cast from the 1986 version looked old to me. Sarah Brightman (as Christine Daae) in her pre-cosmetic surgery days was scary. The dude who played Raoul had a mullet

Click!

I have been doing some Phantom PhanArt lately and after some time of studying his face, I came to realize that he can have two distinguished facial expressions at once, but this does not apply to the one above. His masked side of the face looks angry and yet seductive when he gives backward glances; His normal side of the face could be neutral, sad, or simply happy. It’s a cool thing, though. As long as his mask is on, we’re all happy. I never really understood why Christine took his mask off in front of everyone in the Opera House. Playing with his patience? Oh well, at least Mr. P was still alive in the end. His rose on her grave showed one great deal of an unrequited love. I would have cried after watching the film, but apparently I did not — Maybe we’ve studied the story way too much back then, which was a bit of a spoiler in disguise

“Yet in his eyes, all the sadness of the world…Those pleading eyes that both threaten and adore…”

Personally, this is one of my favourite scenes, which is really heart-breaking:

It feels like there’s a meaning to the part he climbed onto the statue of the angel. He, himself, is the Angel of Music after all.

Another favourite scene; I really liked the part when he starts singing “No doubt she’ll do her best…”:

As for the other characters…

Emmy Rossum, who played Christine, was about 16/17 years old when it was filmed and my God, her voice was amazing (the vibrato especially) Probably the first teenager [at that time] I’ve heard who could sing opera. Raoul was played by Patrick Wilson and his singing was excellent as well, but frankly speaking, he really looked like a woman with that hairdo.

I liked the Masquerade scene, the prelude to Act II. Monsieur Firmin’s and Monsieur Andre’s voices were harmonized nicely. The dancing was synchronized, although I nearly had to laugh because their dance moves were so prompt. Like dancing exclamation marks. The crashing of the chandelier + stage on fire scene [somewhere at the end of Act II] was indeed real.

“After all, we really do burn the opera house down and there aren’t many opera houses around the world that would allow us to do that”

Learnt that from the DVD’s bonus feature. That scene was rehearsed repeatedly before actually using the chandelier. No special effects were added by the magic of computers. Got to see how they build the sets as well, and it was beautifully done. Strange as it may sound, but I think that the cemetery scene looked fantastic. The faceless statues of winged angels and other human figures haunts me a little but I believe that they are supposed to depict serenity. Somewhat nice to look at but it’s not the kind of thing I’d like to have in my bedroom..

Once again, Andrew Lloyd Webber has done a great job at composing the music (not the lyrics) My favourite songs include All I Ask of You, Music of the Night (I had always thought that it was some disco music before listening to the song HAHA), Point of No Return, and of course, the infamous theme song. The funny thing about the theme song sung by The Phantom and Christine is that it sounds like it was from the 80’s. Nonetheless, good lyrics.

Some technology they had

The film was sad, indeed. Perhaps, meaningful. I just love these kind of films which keeps your mind occupied for weeks. And you know, I think that everything wouldn’t have happened if the former Opera House director, Monsieur Lefevre, did not resign/Raoul did not become the new patron of the Opera House. Heheh

What say you?

Send that coke bottle back to where it belongs

Yesterday night, I watched an old film named The Gods Must Be Crazy which dates back to 1980. It was recommended by my mother, and she said that it was a funny film which she watched back when she was the same age as I am.

The Gods Must Be Crazy did not even have a God featured in it. Nobody gets offended

Anyway, I thought that it was an innocent comedy film. It was basically two lines that intersect one another at a point: Line A and line B. The settings: Botswana and South Africa, I think.

Line A shows a bushman named Xi from Kalahari (where his fellow bushpeople have clicks in their language; think of Russell Peters). An empty coke bottle was magically dropped from the sky and landed right in front of Xi [pronounced 'Kee'] and he believed that it was a God-sent gift. Xi brought it back to his home and shows it to the rest of the clan. The bushpeople were very civilized; they knew the meaning of happiness, and they do not wish for anything more — for what they have, they have enough of it. They soon learnt that the magical bottle had many uses. Eventually, greed, anger and hatred existed among them since there was only one bottle and they did not wish to share it. Xi was not happy about that and he then believes that it is an evil thing.

He threw the bottle back up to the sky to send it back to the “Gods”. Innocent Xi did not know about gravity. What goes up must come down. The bottle nearly hit the poor guy. Apparently, the “Gods” did not want it back.

Line B was about a romantic scientist named Andrew Steyn, who was sent to fetch Kate Thompson, a village school teacher. Mr. Steyn encountered a lot of problems along the way, especially with his lousy Land Rover nicknamed The Anti-Christ, and he also claimed that he turns into an idiot and his brain simply turns off when he comes face-to-face with a lady. Clumsy and nervous, yes he is. An interesting psychological phenomenon

Line B meets with line A when Xi stumbled over Mr. Steyn, his accomplice M’pudi, and Ms. Thompson. Xi wanted to get rid of the evil thing and offered it to them. There was also another line, line C, which intersected the first two lines. Line C was mainly about terrorists that commit hostage-taking. With all of the three lines intersecting one another, the whole show became a comical twist.

There was a part where Xi immobilized a goat because he was hungry and he told the shepherd that everybody could share the meal. Not being able to understand the clicky language, the shepherd ran off in fear to inform some people about what happened and Xi thought that he went to call other people who could join in for a feast. As I said, he was innocent.

Another thing I liked about this film was its use of fast-forwarded frames an a comedy effect. This effect was used in parts when something goes wrong, or someone is just in a rush. The terrorists were sitting in a Jeep that stopped way too quickly that one of the terrorists actually rolled off the Jeep (ja, inertia)

Those who have watched the film (Coke-bottle sender/God knows if there’s any) might want to view this to recount the funny bits: Things I learned watching Gods Must Be Crazy

On a completely different note:
one Today is Nick McCarthy’s 34th birthday. Long live the guitar God

two Photos! (+4)

Light info: Study lamp on the right and handphone’s light on the left
(Nein, not the screen light. It’s the one that comes from the back of the phone which serves as a flash)

Ja, I really took this photo. With my trusty 18-200mm lenses.

There it is, Rekha. My did-not-get-to-use sandals/slippers

Used a circular polarizer to cut off a bit of Bob’s reflection on the left mug
(and yes, it’s supposed to form one picture, like a puzzle)

three The gold(s) of the month: Igudesman and Joo. They’re a brilliant musical-comedy duo. You must watch their videos below, or thou shalt regret for not doing so
Piano Lesson – Slapsticky

Rachmaninov had big Hands – Joo has an interesting invention which solves the problems of small hands

I Will Survive – Just when you thought that Igudesman is a noob who does nothing, look at what he can do. I like his jolly face, that Russian chubster

When November Comes..

First of all, Happy Halloween to those who celebrate this day of pumpkins, bats, witches, fancy costumes, buckets filled with sugary sweetness and booming tooth fairy business It’s not a very clever idea to go around trick-or-treating over here, and it’s not a major celebration either. Almost every house has a gate and strangers aren’t always welcome. With the existence of kiasu people (like most of us are), treats won’t be given out so easily. Heh.

[No, I did not make this gem]

one I have photic sneeze reflex, which means that I sneeze when I look at the sun or some really bright light.

“You’re allergic to the sun?” - Farisha

I already knew that I have this condition long time ago, but I didn’t know that there’s a name for it. About 17%-35% of humans have this condition, says Wikipedia. What about you?

two A few weeks ago, my piano teacher told me that her professor’s teacher’s teacher is…

Frederic Chopin! One of the most famous composers from the romantic period. The dude responsible for those lovely nocturnes, waltzes and etudes. I guess that I am an indirect student of him According to my teacher, Chopin attached bars to the arm of his students to keep their arms stay at a certain position so that their fingers can voice out the melody nicely. Yes, piano-playing is not only about how your song sounds like, but it’s also about the tone, touch and technique.

three A few random photos taken a few weeks back:
[Note: They are all not doctored by Photoshop!]

A very yellow afternoon with a touch of the spectrum

My nearly-successful shot of a lighting. Bulb mode. Was too lazy to go outside

Bench for two, beneath a tree

Spying from afar…a community gathering
(I woke up when I heard them playing “Help!” by the Beatles)

four Fun with Photoshop after a very long time:

Nick McCarthy, he is. I’ve never seen his eyes so blue like this before, and I was tempted to digitally paint his eyes. As you can see, I got lazy to continue the rest of the face The eyebrow isn’t exactly the same, but it’s quite a killer to do.

five J.K. Rowling vs. Stephenie Meyer. I don’t read the Twilight series but I read the summary instead. The thickness of the books, I heard, are filled with love, love and only love. Predictable. Edward Cullen was modeled as a perfect character, and he’s too perfect that I can’t be convinced. I just read a wonderful 1-star review of Twilight, recommended by my friend. Give me some time to discuss more of that in the next post.

Get your burning pitchforks ready.