Silenced

Will not be blogging in a very long time. Currently facing the mother of all unstable internet connections, and of course — Trials.

Don’t expect anything for now.

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.

Of sniping and old ladies

1. Tales from my mother..

When I was only two weeks old, I was overfed and I had to be rushed to a hospital — and I would have died.

Much later in life as an infant, I had bronchitis because I slept next to some fan with full power.

Who was behind all this?

It was my paternal grandmother.

She died of I-don’t-know-what just a few months ago. I did not attend her funeral. She wasn’t nice. She was very racist, especially towards my mother. Y’see..I don’t have respect for those who don’t respect..

When I was five, that old lady asked me if I wanted any of her pearls/gems/whatnot. I said “Tak nak!” (I don’t want!) and she muttered “Bodoh!” (Stupid!). My mother saw the whole thing.

..and that old lady dared to question me regarding marriage, last year.

“What race do you want to marry (if you had to choose)?”

“Uh…Chinese…” (Honestly folks, it really was the most sensible answer I could give. Why not Malay? I do not want to make the same mistake as my mother’s)

She laughed as though there’s a joke written across my face.

I swear that I will have the last laugh, but now’s not the time.

I just felt like sharing this. I think I am desensitized, heh.

2. There’s always a “phase” when I have the need to listen to something danceable.

Eg: Datarock, Daft Punk, Justice, Jamiroquai and of course..Franz Ferdinand.

The thing is: I can’t dance to save my life and yet I like songs that make you want to dance.

The most I could do is tap my feet or bob my head to the beat. HAHA.

Oh yeah and good chord progressions are colourful and they taste good. I am not synaesthetic, though.

If you are a pianist/guitarist, compare these chords:

a) Bm  F#  G  Em  F#  G  A  Bm

b) C  G  Am  F  C  G  F  C

3

one Tales from my mother..

When I was only two weeks old, I was overfed and I had to be rushed to a hospital — and I would have died.
Much later in life, still as an infant, I had bronchitis because I slept next to some fan with full power.

So, who was behind all this?

It was my paternal grandmother.

She died of I-don’t-know-what just a few months ago. I did not attend her funeral. She wasn’t nice. She was very racist, especially towards my mother. Y’see..I don’t have respect for those who don’t respect..

When I was five, that old lady asked me if I wanted any of her pearls/gems/whatnot. I said, “Tak nak!” (I don’t want!) and she muttered, “Bodoh!” (Stupid!). My mother observed the whole thing.

..and that old lady dared to question me regarding marriage, last year.

“What race do you want to marry (if you had to choose)?”
“Uh…Chinese…” (Honestly folks, it really was the most sensible answer I could give. Why not Malay? I do not want to make the same mistake as my mother’s)

She laughed as though there’s a joke written across my face.

I swear that I will have the last laugh, but now’s not the time.

I just felt like sharing this. I think I am desensitized, heh.

two There’s always a time when I have the need to listen to something danceable.

Eg: Datarock, Daft Punk, Justice, Jamiroquai and of course..Franz Ferdinand.

The thing is: I can’t dance to save my life and yet I like songs that make you want to dance.
The most I could do is tap my feet or bob my head to the beat. HAHA.

Oh yeah and good chord progressions are colourful and they taste good. I am not synaesthetic, though.

If you are a pianist/guitarist, compare these chords:

a) Bm  F#  G  Em  F#  G  A  Bm
b) C  G  Am  F  C  G  F  C

My choice would be a) lorrr.

three A compilation of photos of my Biology teacher, Mr Phuah. Much thanks to Elena, who took the photos, made some captions while we reviewed ‘em and also named my camera Sniper. A not-so-fast one

He told us about his experience in Tasmania, Australia, when he was about eighteen/nineteen.
It went like this:
“When I studied there, I lived with this old lady. I rented one of her rooms and one part of the deal was that I had to feed her beloved cat every morning at 5 AM.

Once, I slept at 2 AM because I had to study for a test; Otherwise my degree will go down the drain. Waking up at 5 for the sake of warming the milk for the cat made things worse. Once I was done heating up the milk, I called for the cat and then it came. It went to the milk, looked at it, and went off without even touching the milk.

I was so furious that I grabbed the cat by its tail, dragged it out of the house, swung it over my head in circles (like a lasso HAHAHA) and flung that cat. It went flying over the fence and to the neighbour’s garden. It never came back for 4 days. My landlord asked me “Have you seen my cat?” and I said “No…”

On the fifth day, it came back. I ran towards it and hugged it tightly. I was thankful that it returned. I never got to tell the old lady the truth. In fact, I acted like a hero and told her, “Mrs ____, I looked all over for your cat! I search high and low and I found it!…Here’s your cat.”

She treated me to a dinner at a fancy restaurant.

And she’s not around anymore. I never got to tell her the truth.”

He still hates cats. He also told us that he loves dogs and owns a beagle. An instant “Aww” factor.

Lame

1.
   (a) Moving with pain or difficulty on account of injury, defect, or temporary obstruction of a function; as, a lame leg, arm, or muscle.

Opera music + beautiful scenery + a brilliant guitarist + Tendonitis = ???

I unabashedly teared up after watching the first half of this:

That’s Nick McCarthy :’-)
He injured his foot a few weeks back, but that man can definitely stay strong.

Plus he still performs on stage..while sitting.

Hooked On [Zusak's] Books

Back in January, I attempted to read Cecilia Ahern’s PS: I love you. It took me nearly three months to finish. With a lot of force-meselves.

Verdict: Draggy storyline lah. So boring. How can I stand it? And I probably bought it because Gerard Butler was on the cover. Not clean shaven though. His mysterious, dark Phantom-look had always been nice to look at, but never better than Mr McCarthy of course

Conclusion: I don’t think I’d ever read chick-lits again. Definitely not my cup of tea.

When it comes to non-magical stuff and pure fiction, Markus Zusak does enough justice. He’s one of my favourite authors besides J.K. Rowling. I find his style of writing very interesting and not even once have I ever found his stories very tiresome.

It was last year when my pal, Farisha, introduced me to one of his books: I Am The Messenger

(Ja, I know, I’ve talked about it plenty of times before, but it’s worth mentioning.)

About I Am The Messenger:
Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He’s pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.
That’s when the first ace arrives in the mail.
That’s when Ed becomes the messenger.
Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when neccessary) until only one question remains: Who’s behind Ed’s mission?

Then there’s Fighting Ruben Wolfe, which I also read last year.

About Fighting Ruben Wolfe:
This stunning debut novel introduces Cameron and Ruben Wolfe, brothers from a working class family. To make money, the boys hook up with a sleazy fight promoter, who sees something marketable in the untrained brothers’ vulnerability. But the Wolfe brothers are fighting for more than tips and pay-off money–it soon becomes a fight for identity, for dignity, and for each other.

..aaaand just last week, I finished reading The Book Thief.

About The Book Thief:
Liesel Meminger is only nine years old when she is taken to live with the Hubermanns, a foster family, on Himmel Street in Molching, Germany, in the late 1930s. She arrives with few possessions, but among them is The Grave Digger’s Handbook, a book she stole from the brother’s burial place. During the years that Liesel lives with the Hubermanns, Hitler becomes more powerful, life on Himmel Street becomes more fearful, and Liesel becomes a full-fledged book thief. She rescues books from Nazi book-burnings and steals from the library of the mayor. Liesel is illiterate when she steals her first book, but Hans Hubermann uses her prized books to teacher her to read. This is a story of courage, friendship, love, survival, death and grief. This is Liesel’s life on Himmel Street, told from Death’s point of view.

This book made me weep silently in school (as far as I can remember, the last time I cried in school was when I was eight)
Good thing that I was reading it alone. Total isolation and oblivious to reality. Any story that makes me cry will surely enter my imaginary list of favourite films/books. Is it the same for you?

Also, it’s always a positive sign whenever I start to draw characters (or even scenes) from books which I just read.

Sidetracking: Farisha once said, “Hey, maybe I should try to write a book. It could be the next Harry Potter! And you’ll never know…Steven Spielberg might make a movie based on it.”

And I’ll never know…she might have the last laugh in the near future.

Morphing inkblots

This is my 104th post and there’s nothing special about it. I just failed to notice that I’ve reached the 100th mark. Why so little, you ask? I don’t blog on a daily basis, which isn’t very unnecessary. I don’t blog about what I did during a certain subject in school and such. I don’t blog about “how happy/sad life is”..

And so on and so forth.

Plus, I also realised that I’ve never actually shown how my completed drawings/painting/etc. look like BEFORE it is done. Managed to save a few scans of my latest deviation [as of today], Rorschach. An interesting-looking character from Watchmen, although I haven’t watched it yet. I just saw the making of the film and that was it. I fell in love with Rorschach’s mask which had morphing inkblots. Even though it’s digitally animated, it’s still awesome to look at.

Rorschach,  sketched:

Rorschach, outlined with pen:

Rorschach, completed — Done with paint and Copic markers (for the mask only)

(I omitted two buttons on his coat. I was probably too lazy There are also a lot of changes in the lines..that’s what happens when you use thick poster paint)

Check out this li’l video of him:

Oxymoron: Earth Hour’s a brief candle

I don’t believe that Earth Hour will change anything. I know, I know..I’m very anti-this and anti-that.

(I’m anti-mainstream music, anti-Twilight, anti-Daleks and now anti-Earth Hour.)

Why I think Earth Hour won’t make a change:
1. It’s done at 8:30PM LOCAL TIME. And how many countries are there in this game? It’s not done in unison.
2. Gimmick, laaaah…
3. Like I quoted in the previous post, you’re going to turn the lights back on anyway.

Then again, it’s my belief. Feel free to comment.

(Sidetracking: Then there’s Al Gore who claims that “global warming” is a threat, when some of us disagree that global warming exists, and he just wants attention and money. Later, the term “global warming” turned to “climate change” probably because  people say that the surrounding temperature has become cooler over the past years. Who knows, the sun actually goes through phases..)

I’ve read a whole lot of Anti-Earth Hour articles/comments and I’ve come across quite a number of nice ones:

First.

Earth Hour is a mere publicity stunt
I read with amazement and irony the efforts of WWF Malaysia to latch on to the Earth Hour event and all the celebrities, media and corporations that have come up in support.

It is amazing that people are so easily taken on by a mere publicity stunt that fails at the very essence. Turning off our lights for one hour on one designated day of the year to save our planet surely is a PR event at best.

It shames the thousands of devoted people, government bodies, scientists and environmentalists that have for years been working on finding real solutions to address this global concern. Malaysians should see past this gimmick by International NGOs and start changing their lifestyles. Surely we can be more proactive and not be fed by an agenda of international bodies.

Why don’t we implement power conservation programmes, ride public transport on certain days in a month, car pool, etc.?

It is also ironic that the organiser, WWF Malaysia, up until very recently, did not even have a climate change programme to begin with when all others (even local groups and individuals) have been persistent in their pleas for Malaysians to take action.

Remember, our leaders signed the Kyoto Protocol and there has been concerted movement towards reaching solutions. Please let us all be enlightened and move away from celebrations and gimmicks.

- The Star Newspaper, 25/3/09

Second.

Most people can’t see the point of Earth Hour. In fact, they can’t see a single thing, because all the lights are turned off.

- Someone’s comment in LiveJournal

Third.

Pave the earth!

- Forgotten source

And fourth. Also the best one.

Yes, while everyone else is walking into walls, I will be watching tv in my bright room. If they want to make an earth hour, do it at 3am while everyone is asleep, they’ll get 98% participation that way.

- Someone’s answer in Yahoo! Answers

So what DID I do during Earth Hour, or should I say, Anti-Earth Hour? I went to a karaoke box to celebrate my friends’ birthdays, and whatever happened to the light switches at home wasn’t any of my responsibility. Apparently, my mother turned off a few lights here and there (not that we have many)..At the same time, Audrey and Steffi are also Anti-Earth Hour. An anti never walks alone

I needed a break from all of that loud, thumping bass from the karaoke box. And so, I called out my neutral-about-Earth-Hour friend, Farisha, to go “sightseeing” around Sunway Pyramid’s main entrance.

Guess what outlet was on the bright side?

Taken at 8:22PM. I thought that Starbucks is a tree-hugging café! I still love their coffee, though.

Taken at 8:52PM

PS: Just so you know, I’m not insulting anyone who is pro-Earth Hour. It’s all based on the individual’s opinion, whether they think that it is worth participating or not

One more thing: Did you really want to “save the Earth” OR did you want to save your money?

60th deviation

For a friend who really deserves it.

Click!

A postlude to 2008

This is what appeared in my mailbox today:

A parcel from the UK! No, it did not randomly arrive just like that. Look at what’s in it and I will explain.

An OFFICIAL Franz Ferdinand merchandise! It’s a shirt with the 2nd album art. You can’t find any of those here in Malaysia. I was in a Franz Ferdinand forum and Cat from the UK was kind enough to help me get the merchandise (as I don’t have any credit card = unable to make online purchases). The packaging is pretty neat, too. She sent me a Christmas card + a Franz Ferdinand badge [right next to the card] as an apology for sending in the items late (I didn’t mind, actually)

 I’ve never done a deal like this before, so all I got to do is learn from the process Of course, I have to send a money order to Cat. The shirt itself costed about £9 and I know that I should pay for the shipping costs as well. Yeah, this is what happens when one does not have a credit card. In the end, it’s all worth it.

Also spent the last day of ‘08 in the school’s band room.
Note: Some of the photos were taken by Steffi. In fact, most of them

James, an ex-band member who keeps coming back to haunt us
(also a tenor saxophonist) 

Calvin the clarinettist; He has perfect pitch

Alastair the drummer; Playing Labyrinth on an iPod Touch. Neat stuff, it is.

Posers: Steffi the conductor and Heng Hau the trumpettist (James’ younger brother)

Posing again

Bass drum + vest carriers

 Rock to the max, Mr Sax

Calvin and Alastair

Mr Lim, the bandlord (haha)
Kena kacau [disturbed] by Heng Hau

Heng Hau strikes another pose

Why so happy?
I wasn’t giving a peace sign, by the way. My fingers were just resting on the trombone. 

Wide-angled lenses simply rock
The clarinettist, the drummer and the trumpettist 

Candid shot by Steffi
‘Tis Calvin and I — He was showing me some electric violins from his iPod Touché

“I SWEAR, IT WAS THIS BIG”
‘Twas very candid
(Hotdog added by yours truly) 

Steffi, of course, wants to have some fun by taking photos of herself
Syok sendiri heh

Right, on to some more serious matters with no chronological order, let me rewind my 2008.

IN 2008...

one I turned sixteen but I do not see the specialty in being 4² years old. Not that we can even get our driving licenses Silly American culture influencesness..

two I got a new camera lens; Nikkor 18-200mm VR.

three I learnt about an “author” named Stephenie Meyer, known for her Twilight series, also known as the new definition of typical and cheesy. Part of the world went crazy over Twilight and Edward Cullen, but I was just among the people from the dark side (It’s a shame that my best pals like that book, except for 3 good pals who knows what a good literature is ) Gads, that series is just too typical. This is what Bob Pattinson said:

“When I was reading them I didn’t know how to read it from a teenage girl- or really any kind of woman’s perspective, I guess. I don’t know why they like it. What I thought was weird about it was when I read it, it seemed like… I was convinced that Stephenie was convinced that she was Bella and that it was like a book that wasn’t supposed to be published. And you’re reading, like, her sort of sexual fantasy about some… especially when she says it was based on a dream and it’s like ‘Oh, I’ve met this–I’ve this dream about this sexy guy!’ and she just writes this book about it. And some things about Edward are so specific, I was just convinced… like ‘This woman is mad. She’s completely mad and she’s in love with her own fictional creation…’ And sometimes you feel uncomfortable reading this… And I think a lot of people feel that in the same way it’s kind of voyeuristic and it creates this kind of sick pleasure.”

Way to go, Mr. Pattinson. There’s a very thick line between him and Edwart Cluckin’ Cullen.

four I got this last-minute facsination towards Russian Reversals. It’s a type of joke and it’s something like:
“In America, you watch television.
In Soviet Russia, television watches YOU!!”

five I attended a band [barbeque] party.

Nagulan, Jay Jun, Hoe Quan, Anna, me, Edward and Grace
There are some major facial distortions here HAHA

The band party itself is a rare occurence and the last one we had was back in 2005, my first year. This year, we got to throw water balloons at Mr Lim. He was a good dodger. Just when you thought that he was some scary teacher..think again!

six I read quite a number of books: I Am The Messenger, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, The Five People You Meet In Heaven, Tuesdays With Morrie and For One More Day. Usually, I read one book per year, which was always a book from the Harry Potter series. School books don’t count.

seven I realised that my father is a cheat (and yet he’s so optimistic about it). It’s too bad that Islam permits polygamy — one of the saddest practices ever created (Its purpose is to help the women??! That’s just a load of ____!). Anyway, I want to thank my seniors Olivia and Yee Yan, for helping my mother, brother and I on that day in April. If they weren’t there to help out with the Green House props, my household would have turned into a wreck caused by a particular woman. (That bugger did leave a dent on our car’s door, stepped on our laundry and collapsed a pile of papers)

I owe them.

eight I learnt that “sneezing upon looking at the sun” is known as a photic sneeze reflex, which is what I have.

nine Steffi and I won Talentime ‘08, unexpectedly. We received RM300 and as civilised people, we split the money 50:50.

ten I won RM500 from a piano competition.

eleven I had cake on my face for the very first time. It’s not good. It’s a waste  

twelve I started to fancy two musical-comedy duos. First one being Flight of the Conchords; Second one being Igudesman & Joo.

thirteen I saw a double bass right in front of my eyes. Sans skills and assuming that it was like an upright fretless bass guitar, I plucked the strings. E A D G. It sounded good to my ears. I did not pick up any new instrument this year, though.

fourteen I did not fast at all during Ramadhan. I was incapable of doing so because I get hungry once in every three hours. I am not lying to anyone either. I hate to tell lies. *puts on a local accent* SAHMORE I weigh 42.xxkg wei, you wan me to become bones izzit?!

Liddat, can die  lo… </local accent>

fifteen I managed to recall a song from my childhood — Puff The Magic Dragon. I will find another time to listen to the song and cry.

sixteen I appeared on the front of a newspaper pullout section. Deity knows why. 

seventeen I contributed to Green House by designing the house shirt. My favourite part of the shirt is the back — The crocodile!

eighteen I revisited my obsession towards The Phantom of the Opera.

Click!

Click on this one too (although it doesn’t really focus on the Phantom)

ninteen I suffered a bad haircut in the first half of the year.

twenty I wore a dress for the first time in a decade.

twenty-one I was told by my English teacher that I am a sincere person. Which is true. I don’t know if people had been sincere towards me, because I never really felt it. There was once where I kinda felt it, though. It was one morning when I went down to talk to someone about my issues. The moment that I mentioned “My Thai grandfather passed away”, he responded by saying “I’m sorry.” In fact, out of all of my friends in school, he was the only one who said that Sure, it sounded sincere to me. How could I not resist a modest fellow like him?

twenty-two (Related to the above statement) It was pretty much one of the best days I had in school because I depended on my gut feeling and actually got to have a long conversation with a person whom I hardly speak to. Not just a Hi-Bye thing, ya know. And not to forget the unforgettable handshake of the year…

It’s been a great year. Well, almost. The flaws are inescapable.
——————————-

I think I should step out of the house tonight to shoot some photos of fireworks (should there be any). If I opt for the fireworks, I’m going to miss a 2-year-long sleep! My mother said, “If you sleep before 12 AM on New Year’s Eve, you will sleep for 2 years overnight” Clever, is it not?

 Plus the only new year-related song that I know is Auld Lang Syne. Learnt that from an episode of Mr Bean. Aren’t there any other songs?

Anyway, have an überfantastische year ahead, people.

Bang

Haven’t done any “greater-than-decent” art lately.

But here’s one which I just completed today.

Hohoho, it’s only a teaser. You have to click on it to see the fullview. Heh, I like to make people click, sometimes. But honestly, if I’m going to publish my original drawings here, why in the world would I have a deviantArt gallery?

On another random note, it seems that a friend of mine is trying to learn the guitar. Many months ago, before I found out that he was trying to play it, I thought of getting him one but at the same time, I also questioned myself: “What if he doesn’t have the interest?”. The interest is shown now and the plan does not go to waste. I like these kind of things. It looks settled and you wouldn’t have to worry much.

Unless the interest vanishes, of course.