What a view

Yesterday evening, all the way from Yokohama City at the Nogeyama City Zoo, I caught a glimpse of Fuji-san. That was the treat for the day on top of the zoo visit. It's a small little zoo about three stops and a 15 minute brisk walk away from the Yokohama Main Station. Spent a little time sketching the animals there, and boy did they look cold and sad. :O(

Today, I head back for Singapore. It's been a pleasant trip. A little cold at times because of the winds here. But the food was good!

Well, see you back home! Cheerios! :O)

Something smells

Yesterday, I woke up pretty early (yeah, what's new?) to head out for the famous Tsukiji Fish Market. Some of you may have seen on either Discovery Travel and Living or Japan Hour (Singapore TV programming) how auctioneers conduct early morning bids to local fish buyers.

I realized that the bidding area is closed to the public only because in the recent years, due to the influx of tourists in the area, it has create more of a distraction than business.

Great experience! Not was there sea food, also, fruit and vegetables! And everything fresh from the local farms! Had an authentic ramen breakfast within the area too! Yum yum... :O)

Siggraph starts today. More updates later!

Yokoso Japan!

That's a picture of my bed for the night.

Yes, I am in the land of the rising sun, only that the sun sets pretty darn early because of the winter solstice. I have my sketchbook ready to go... how to draw in the dark now? I guess it's Art History Term paper time right after this posting.

So what am I doing here in Japan? Siggraph Asia 09. It's some Annual Animation Conference held this year in Yokohama. A bunch of my classmates will join me tomorrow morning. I got here first because of the different timings Northwest Airlines (now merged with Delta) has with their mileage claims.

I arrived in Narita at 2pm today and will be spending a night at a neat cozy hostel. The host, Mr Yama, is extremely helpful! Do check this place out if you are in the vicinity!

Tomorrow I will meet my classmates back at the Airport before we head on down to Disneyland... or is it DisneySea? Oh the dilemma! :O) Just another day being a student.

And the winner is...

This past Monday was our last Still Life drawing class. (Yikes! So fast!) It's sad to know that this is the last time Philip will be teaching us as his contract expires soon. We'll definitely be missing his patience, warmth, humour and character - something I bet you don't get very much from Hollywood. He's very down to earth and humble about his skills.

We chanced on the opportunity to award our favourite instructor, Philip, with a couple of items: a tee that says, "Voted number one instructor by Cohort 6" with our signatures on the back, a picture of all of us at the zoo and an honorary scout's badge. :O)

Hip... hip... hooray!

Drawing to a close

I spent a good half hour plus running through my drawings with Philip yesterday. He guided me what to put in, what to leave out for the coming assessment on Dec 29. Everything is slowing snowballing to that date. So, the only thing is to start early whatever that can be cleared first.

Three more exciting, crazy weeks!!!

ipod this

Today we continued working on modelling the iPod. For me, some days are better at Maya. But all days are for being picked at by Serbian instructor, Borko. My nickname is Harry. He gave that to me after that wonderful magic trick that nearly burnt down the school. :P

I have been looking hard to find some more time to go beyond homework, because homework only gets me at the same level as everyone else. If I wanna be really good, I know I have to just go that extra mile. The trouble is that finding time for that extra mile. A hint I hear from other cohorts is that semester one is always the honeymoon period. Oh man! Sometimes I wished that work wasn't in the way. But that'd be the easy way out.

Did I mention that since many instructors are taking time off this Christmas, there have been quite a bit of make-up classes this the past week, stretching classes from 9am to 7pm past in the next few days. An art history presentation next week, a five-page Art History term paper, a flash animation, two slow moving digital art projects and one traditional animation short is on my plate right now. Keep moving forward as Walt Disney once said...

4 more weeks

The shoes outside The Stage from last Friday's assessment for Cohort 4 reminded me that I have only four weeks left to prepare for my end of term assessment. Not very much time actually to get my first semester's "portfolio" ready for the grading on Dec 29. Now is where term papers are dues, a couple more presentations, and of course projects... it's going to get a little wee bit bumpy.

Today will be week 3 of costume drawing. Our theme today will be oriental. :O)

That's a wrap!

These two are from a series of five from last week's costume still life session. Joked Philip, our instructor, and I totally agree, "We get sick of drawing naked bodies after awhile." It's refreshing to draw people in clothes again! :p

Today we continue session two. Male in Shakesperean, and female in a flowy Spanish dance dress. I think I know what to focus on - the blending of the shadow folds to pull out the volume of the characters. Because we only have 20 mins for each costume, I will draw a little smaller today. :O) There is a reason where I draw so big. I draw big so that my mistakes are enhanced. I see it better. This is a good tip from Philip for anyone who wants to improve in their drawing skills.

Soon, I will leave for the PA Wearhouse to pick up the costumes on the way to school!

That's a wrap!

This past Monday, the class pooled together some money to rent costumes for our drawing class. It began a series of four weeks of costume/ character drawing for our still life classes! I remembered clearly my classes some 13 years ago in L.A. with models in various costumes too! I'm glad that Philip, our lecturer, introduced this to the class!

These drawings take a little longer that usual, especially since we have to spend more time understanding folds and how material wraps around a person. Not only do we work on drapery, we begin to venture into character studies! Most of all, it is fun and am looking forward to the next three weeks! :O)

Since we're coughing out our own money to rent these outfits, no guesses where the models are from... they're none other than our very own classmates! What a class effort this is!

Body World

This was shot at around 6:01pm - one minute past closing time at the Body Works exhibition at the Singapore Science Centre. That was how much I maxed my time! What a blast!! An eye candy!! As usual, I took a long time on the pieces I did. Only managed to draw 5 pieces in 6 hours! Will host images soon.

Don't clay clay ah...

We're into week 12 and the focus around this point in time seems to be anatomy. This is the base of my sculpting piece, made with various sizes of aluminum wires, tape and foil. It will take me maybe 3 - 4 weeks (on and off) to get this piece done.

This coming Monday, Philip takes us to the Singapore Science Centre for Body Worlds. The exhibition showcases real human (and some animal) anatomies of various poses. Through the technique of plastination, the bodies are preserved so that people like us can wow and wonder about the intricacies of the delicate human body. And for art students, it's a great way to spend a whole day sketching and understanding anatomy!

Broom broom...

This is probably one of my favourite ideas to date. The incredible hovering broomstick. It was quite an evening at Egg Story. I it wasn't for the lack of music, the party would have been brought up a notch. But nonetheless, fun. :O) Food, games and fellowship lasted until 9.30pm. Some of the fingerfood got really creative too, like the cocktail sausages with press-on nails at its tips!

I was working on the 'incendio' incantation for the very first time last night. As a result, I almost set the school on fire! No kidding. Well, everyone should have one of these "I almost burnt down the school" stories to share... and now I have one!

Halloween Decor

The class is really excited about dressing up for tomorrow evening's halloween party! The decor crew is even more excited about dressing up the place. It's everybody's first time decorating for Halloween! (Well, except mine.) Imagine the energy! I find myself frequently saying. "Remember, less is more."

Now, finally, the cave on the ground floor of Eggstory has bats! :O)

The Zoo Review

Here's a sampling of my zoo field trip from my Kingdom: Animalia sketch book. The class met at 8:30am and spent 9 hours at the Singapore Zoological Gardens. I was wandering on my own 92% of the time... and like always, there was not enough of it. Spent a bit time reviewing my work with Philip after "school". Gotta work on speed, accuracy... and construction.

My first time drawing using ink, this method forces me to use cleaner and less lines. I was struggling for the first few pages trying to use that new medium! That's a long way to go and I definitely need to go back there again.

What a fun day! :O)

Kids stuff

I feel like a kid all over again.

Yes, that's an indemnity form. The kind you sign as a parent for your child's fieldtrip in very few words. Tomorrow is the zoo day. :O) I've gotten myself a set of watercolour pencils to accompany my sketches. May I be able to do wonders with it.

Yesterday, I accompanied Garcia to the PA Wearhouse to scout for some costumes. He wants us to practice drapery wrapping around the human body. What a brilliant idea!! Instead of drawing bottles and fruit or even just plain cloth pinched or resting on a table which are ultimately only assets (secondary items) in the 3D world, we will be drawing charcters (primary subjects) in a scene or period. We listed about 10 pieces we would want to rent over the next few weeks for our Life Drawing class. I may have to do the pick up and drop of of costumes??

Have been tasked to do decor for next Friday's Halloween gathering... am I looking forward to that or what?? ;p

Halfway there

Checking in.

It's nearly halfway pass the first semester and a trip to the zoo will mark that occasion this Saturday. How cool! I've been sketching any animal that comes my way since our first lecture in drawing animals. That class was a pain, but necessary to understand the skeletal structure of animals, especially the horse.

No complaints about school except for the timetable. But hey, it could be worse! :O) Tomorrow, I have two work-in-progress assignments due so I need to nail that down before my brain shuts down for the day! Let me know if you have been enjoying the progress reports from school!

Cheerios! ;oD

Anatomical Engineering

Updates! I'm nine weeks - nearly halfway - into my first semester and am progressing good. I sometimes wish I had more time for homework though. That's the secret to getting better at what you do! But duty calls at Imaginative, so an Imaginator has got to do what an Imaginator's got to do. There's a lot of careful balancing of school and work in these past nine weeks, figuring out when's the best time is for homework, whether to stay back at school to do it, whether to take it home. Whether to meet client or get stuff printed out during the breaks. Thank you God for Your guidance each day!

I can relate this to my anatomy class. As Philip, our instructor, always puts it, "You must know what's in front, what's behind, what's behind the behind. It's all about construction." The lead in the above drawing is fresh on the pad from yesterday's class, and this is one class I can see improvements every single week, picking up new techniques from Philip, other classmates and cohorts. And like everything else... there's always room for more improvements! :O)

Up, up and away!

Over in the Digital Arts world or class, we've begun posing our Stikfas figures for the next project. At this point, we've been working out thumbnails for what the final scene may be. What kind of a world will my figure be in? Find out real soon! ;p

Perspectives

Philip our still life instructor decided to take us out to the Boat Quay area for some exercises in perspectives even though there was a slight chance it might drizzle. It did for a while, but the weather cleared up quick and climate cooled to a comfortable 27 degree celcius. Awesome day to focus on vanishing points and horizon lines!

My subject was Cavanagh Bridge.

Face job

This is the first set of serious sculpting I've ever done. Can't wait for the next bust project.

Today started out beautiful... blue skies and puffy white clouds. It was due to the showers from the early morning. But strangely, as I headed back for school again in the late noon, I sensed a blanket of haze over the city! What a drastic change from just a couple of hours before. I chanced on the opportunity to study lighting as the haze provides a perfect setting for atmospheric lighting. :O)

And lastly... my school has a open house 1 to 3 Oct, and 8 to 10 Oct (10am to 4pm). Details are found here.

Nose job

This piece is the second of my facial series. All of which are due tomorrow before we begin the bust. One great thing I am picking up about sculpting is the ability to see and understand how different facial parts overlap each other, especially the nuances. The 3D is tough but fun at the same time. This helps me when I draw as I begin to notice the minute and slight contortions and curves of the human body!

How long did I take to do this? I remembered digging my nose all of last Sunday!! :O)

Will post all my facial parts when I am done!! Stay tuned...

Bouncing Ball 4

Today, I completed the bouncing ball down the stairs project. The shadows were not a requirement but I decided to see if I understand its concept. Obviously, I don't and there's much to learn.

On Wednesday, I had to hand in my primitives rendering. Not so well done, that's why it's not hosted up. Will do so when I feel it's good. For now it's more bouncing balls... boing... boing... boing...

Stik 'em up

Today, we spent nearly the entire Digi Arts class prepping for our next project featuring Stikfas® characters. Needless to say, we had to purchase our own individual models. Thank God, someone from class knew a toy shop at Suntec City selling it at very reasonable prices!! The shop's called The Toy Room at #03-26H. I got my G2 Alpha male for only S$3.

Our project prepares us for matte painting that traditionally incoporates some form of a real 3D object within the frame. During our shoot, we all had a wee bit of fun by snapping interesting poses of our characters. Here's mine! :O)

Sculpt this

Recently, I've been sculpting four different expressions of my mouth. I'm done for now. Can't move on until I get more input from my teacher on Tuesday.

In this fundamental sculpting class, we work with oil clay. Think of it as a very premium type of plasticine. We're using this as oppose to super sculpey (the kind concept artists use) because oil clay doesn't harden at all! But of course! The school is kind to us newbies! :O) In the first 10 weeks, we will be learning how to sculpt parts of our face - nose, eyes, ears and mouth. Sculpting helps us understand anatomy, specifically the folds of the different parts of our face we often take for granted. :O)

Ahhh... cheeeew!!

The inevitable happens.

While at the Digital Arts class today, the PC that I was using got infected by a virus. The best part is, I didn't even know that I was being infected. Oh, I guess this happens because I am a Mac user and have never experienced this form of technological warfare before - yes, virtually NO viruses on the Macs. There's always a first for everything!! I don't even have a clue to what a virus is. That's why I use a Mac. (Have I rubbed it in enough?) ;p

So I went on doing what I had to until I couldn't budge the cursor any more. Fortunately, one of my classmates knew how to contain the problem before helpdesk arrived to remedy the issue. So my files are still intact! Phew! Thank God! :O)

Principles of Animation

This is our Animation Lab and the module is taught by Philip Garcia. He worked as a layout artist on The Simpsons while living in Los Angeles.

The image above shows the portable animation table that we use to animate on. I've always seen animators using these in the featurettes of the Disney DVDs and I'm quite excited to be actually using one of these "turn tables" here in class.

We're studying the basics of Animation at this point. Learning about squash & stretch and understanding the Bouncing Ball. These are the building blocks that animation is based on, and just about anyone can TELL you this. The trick is in the animation itself, especially with the added elements of time and space!

Looking forward to completing my bounincg ball down the stairs project. Watch out for that! :O)

Bouncing ball 3D

Continuing on from the bouncing ball project, I used the extra class time I had to come up with a 3D feel of the project. It needs to be a little more foreshortened, but this should work for now.

There has been a swap of two of my classes to accommodate the anatomy drawing session which will now cater to three classes (two from cohorts 6 and one from cohort 5). So now two days in the week ends at 7pm.

In other news, my "jimmy" arrived today as twittered! I'm looking forward to smoother workflows for video projects. :O)

Bouncing Ball 2

Wow! What a weekend! Spent all of Saturday running a programme in Church called the East District Youth Day 09! It was an afternoon of reflection for 15 year olds culminating with Mass with the Archbishop at CHIJ Primary at Katong. The theme is Spera in Deo (Hope in God), and it helped remind the teens of God in their oh-so-busy lives! Oh how noisy and distracting our lives can be every second of the day! In fact, this reminder is useful for anyone at any age including myself.

Last Friday, I ended the school week with Principles of Animation. We spent the class reviewing our first round of the Bouncing Ball. While at it, I conveniently came up with two other pieces. Here's one where I added the element of 'live' action into it. This piece pays tribute to the Disney's Alice Comedies made popular even before Mickey Mouse and Snow White. :O)

New Cat in the Bag

Look at what breezed through the door today! Why it's none other than Apple's lastest OS or Operating System - Snow Leopard. Named so because it's mostly refinements from the last OS - Leopard (out in 2007), pushing Leopard to its best! :O) What a pleasant surprise to have received it earlier than expected through the mail!

I'm personally looking forward to the innovative chinese character input and the all new Quick Time X. We'll soon see if I get smoother workflows!

Growl...!

The Bouncing Ball

Today, I created my very first 2D animation! How egg-citing!! Titled the bouncing ball, this exercise teaches about time and space - how the spacing between each illustrated ball is so important to creating the illusion. I also practiced the concept of squash and stretch! Will continue to refine this piece next week!

On another note... I spotted two people within a 1 km radius who have the exact same Mickey Mouse ID lanyard as me! How interesting!! :O)


I don't know how to create a loop in Blogger, if you do, let me know...

One week

It's been a week at ESDAS!! I'm beginning to see trends.

Firstly, ALL classes complement each other - Maya class will remind us how important anatomy drawing is, Anatomy lessons points at the basic construction in Sculpting session, Art History is a prelude to Design Fundamentals and yet we can draw references from the past, etc. The clear fact that everything is so intertwined with one another makes learning more fun, knowing that you're doing it collectively! I so love it when I see connection to everything. :O)

Secondly, which is also similar to part one, but a more important discovery is that I might have taken all these classes before. They might not have been at the same professional level, but at some point growing up, I am beginning to remember what I did as a kid. From cartoon drawing classes at the local community centres (now known as community clubs), to clay sculpting, water colour painting (I see this as the precursor to the modern digital illustration on the drawing tablet), etc. Almost as if what I took back then was preparing me for now.

Instead on dwelling on this for too long, I shall just enjoy the unfolding of the next two years. Below is from the concept part of my aptitude test. A scene was staged and I was asked to add in 10 specific objects. Let this be the "before" image that will benchmark my progress, if any... :O)


The used car salesman's office

The Stage

It's been three days since lessons proper began and am absorbing the atmosphere and calculating and figuring out how to maximise the next 19 weeks. It's a little early to comment on the instructors and my fellow classmates, but I have a feeling it's gonna be one heck of a ride, especially when the projects start flowing in.

Tomorrow I will begin my drawing lessons, both still life and anatomy. It's great that I'm slowing getting into the routine of sketching again. Yes, that's been awhile!


This is The Stage. It is where most of my lecture base classes will be held at... and YES! We get to sit on the floor! :O)

RRRingggggggg...

Cohort 6 at Eggstory Digital Arts School with CEO, Nickson Fong

Lessons proper begins today! Last two days were spent on getting to know our way around the school, meeting our wacky instructors, crazy faculty, fellow mates on the journey.

This picture reminds me of the kids in A-113: Cal Arts Animation Class, 1976. We're no were near where they are now... but definitely aspire to get there! Recognise anyone in the picture?
Check this out! http://www.flipanimation.net/FLIPcoverissue16.htm

From mouse back to pencil

"All my bags are packed and I'm ready to go..."
It doesn't make sense to continue the song so I'll leave it as is.

In awhile, I begin my life as student of a craft. It was fitting that I just completed my last official project - photographing an 80 year old birthday party! It was indeed a very happening celebration with a jam-packed entertainment programme, from opera face mask changer, to an award-winning chinese flutist, a mobile caricaturist, watching a nine year old pianist play Allegro Assai... just to name a few of the not so common birthday or wedding performances.

What an honour to be able to get my caricature done! I've NEVER seen anyone sketch with two pencils simultaneously before! Not only that, the caricaturist did a silhouette cut-out for me! I think I was the only one who had the privilege of having that done! How neat! I've always admired the silhouette cut-outs at Disneyland Silhouette Studio at Main Street! :O)

And even more fitting is the notion of me going back to the basics in the next few months... literally back to the drawing board! :oP Tomorrow begins a new egg-citing chapter so keep me in your prayers!

Sketch by Welles

Big Toys for Big Boys

The Singapore Toy Convention 09 in on again at the Suntec Singapore! This year's star of the show would unmistakably be Brian Bolland, known for his famous Batman: Killing Joke! Maybe he did bigger things, but what do I know about comics? I was there to support my friend Dominique Fam. He has a couple of art pieces on display and is a fantastic illustrator!

If you have the time, go check it out this weekend!

Disney's Rapunzel

Last week, Walt Disney Animation Studios released these conceptual artwork of their Christmas 2010 release of their 50th animated feature. The style is based on Jean-Honoré Fragonard's The Swing and animators at Disney will be using CGI tools to create the traditional hand drawn look like how it once was in the 1950's.



In the Animation process, Conceptual Art is at the very beginning. This is where style, feel and look are brainstormed and anything from pencil sketches to full blown artwork are rendered for the rest of the crew and team to have a direction.

My days back at school will probably begin with the basics of animation: figure drawing, still life, sculpting, etc... all of which will allow me to create my very own conceptual art pieces some day!

T minus 5 more days and counting... :O)

Andy pee bunga api

This is my first time within a 1 km radius of the NDP fireworks!

Happy 44th!

What do you expect from the 2009 National Day Parade Song called "What Do You See?" Nothing more than our local brand of humour by Mr Brown and his band Electrician. :O) Thank you for the laughs! We need more laughter in our lives!! ;p

... And thank you Lord for this young but awesome country!!

Table Fellowship

The past few mornings began with beautiful sunrises! Today is no exception, and especially since it's the Feast of the Transfiguration! My my, lots of feast days to celebrate in the last week!!

On another note, I spotted a monkey roaming freely at the East Coast Parkway today. I mean what on earth is a monkey doing at the East Coast Parkway? Where did it come from? A stow away from the Mandai zoo maybe? Could it be someone's lost pet?? I was curious enough to detour from my regular bike route to trail it. How exciting! Wished I had a camera with me then! :P

Old School

This is the chapel at St Francis Institution in Malacca and it is by far one of the most beautiful chapels belonging to a mission school in South East Asia. This marks the last location shoot of the De La Salle documentary I've been working on for the past 10 months. More pictures of SFI at http://imaginativedarkroom.blogspot.com/.

On a separate note, I was blessed to be able to celebrate the feast of St John Mary Vianney with the Brothers, some Sisters and the locals at a smaller-than-chapel meeting hall at the nearby Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus School. I love being able to join the locals in whichever part of the world I am at to celebrate the Mass. This helps me look at different parts of the Mass from different angles and cultures.

Baba Charlie

No black sheep here. Just a big huge kitchen with a room next to it filled with only one of the finest nonya kuehs in Malacca. There were blue ones, round green ones, rice-stuffed ones, red layered ones... all of them mostly sweet ones... yes, even the fried ones! :O)

This was last monday on a random trip with the Cana gals! The journey there took a little longer than usual so there was only time for a Peranakan lunch, Baba Charlie and the Mall. Oh, the rain didn't help either. But I bonded so well with all the aunties, that when a bump swung my box of kuehs onto the ground of the van, all of them offered some of theirs! I wasn't paying attention, but in the end I got so much more than I what I had bought. Ah... Aunties! You've gotta love them! I had to share the kuehs with my friends because I was home alone and impossible to finish them within the day.

More to come! :O) Like tomorrow!

Feast of St Ignatius of Loyola

Anima Christi
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from the side of Christ, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Separated from Thee let me never be
From the malignant enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That with thy saints I may praise Thee
Forever and ever
Amen

The author of this traditional prayer from the Roman Missal is unknown. It has often been attributed to St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), for it was indeed a favorite of his and it appears at the beginning of his Spiritual Exercises. However, he could not have been its author for a copy of the prayer appears in a document from 1334, a good century and a half before St. Ignatius was born. Others have attributed it to Blessed Bernadine of Feltre (1439-1494), but again the prayer was around for at least a century before his time as well. The prayer is also known as the Prayer of St. Patrick and some scholars formerly placed the prayer's composition in seventh century Ireland. This too seems unlikely, since no copy that early is known to exist. The prayer carries a partial indulgence.

[An indulgence of 300 days. An indulgence of 7 years, if recited after Holy Communion]

copyrighted by Michael Martin.

Little Rock

This Wednesday evening begins five lectures by Fr. Ambrose Vaz in the letters of Paul to the Corinthians. What never fails to impress me is how fresh scripture is every time I glance over it... and even more when I study it. What it does for me is to remind me of how little I know and how small I am. And the really neat thing about it is the more I study, the more I realise how much I do not know! I use the word 'neat' because this keeps me thirsting... I know it's a good thing and I pray that it happens for the rest of my life! :O)

Only a few chapters into the session and I was already reflecting on how powerful and rich Paul's pastoral letters are! It got to a point where I almost teared because I knew the messages were written to speak to me. O how more personal can that get? ;P

One such verse that hit me hard is from 1 Cor 2:4-5:
"My speech and proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom, but on the power of God." As explained by Fr Vaz, I am reminded again of not carrying out tasks because of the good feelings it exudes, but because I know and believe it's God's wonderfully-never-go-wrong recipes! For example, I forgive so as not to be commended by others, but because God teaches so. Period. So what if I get negative responses from the person I forgave and the people around for thinking what a stupid thing to do? Do I still rely on God's recipes? Of course this can be verified over time, but when placed in a pressured situation, how will I act?

This is just one of the many verses from the evening's session.
Thank you, St Paul, pray for us!

Half-Blood Prince

What a fun movie! There were a couple of funny lines too! Ron to Harry "Did you both do it?" ;O) Silly! A visual eye-candy especially Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and now I wanna know what Butterbeer taste like! I wonder if it's similar to the butterscotch and buttergin from Charlie's Chocolate Factory! Ummmmmmm...

20 July 1969

Today, the world celebrates the 40th anniversary of Man landing on the moon. I once wrote a paper at school that began with "25 years ago when man first landed on the moon..." Time does really fly! And the strange thing is that I will be a full-time student... again. I guess learning is a lifelong experience... Definitely a giant leap for me, to make this one seemingly small step.

Excited and ready to roll were probably what Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin felt as the lunar module Eagle made contact with the moon's surface. I bet there was a tinge of uneasiness as they were locating for a smooth enough surface to land on, but it was probably the adrenaline from wanting to make history that pushed them to make their first moonwalk! For those of you younger readers who think that Michael Jackson invented the Moonwalk... sorry to burst your bubble! :O)

It's been four decades and we still enjoy watching footage of the landing! In a way, it keeps us dreaming and inspiring us to reach greater heights. But for now, it's time for me to take that first step...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMINSD7MmT4

Back to School

Today was simply fantastic! Everything from Mass, to Art Min, to the work at SPI, and friends I spoke too. Today I decide to go back to school! The homily was just too darn loud and clear! :O) Trusting in God's Providence. Period.

Just at the beginning of the week, I revisited going back to school because of the possibility of getting a full scholarship. It means nearly zero income for the next two years. The whole entire week was spent praying and discerning the pros and cons. Who's gonna foot all the other bills? Who's gonna provide the meals on the table? But hey, what makes me think I can actually control whether I breathe tomorrow? I have no control over that or with anything else. I would like to think that I can tell God "Wanna hear my plans for the next two years and then after that?" It'd probably crack Him up. :O)

Yes, it's another phase in my life. And I'm so excited to see it unfold! I'm more eager to see what will happen after 2 years, but let's focus on these 2 years first. Imaginative stays as long as I can find time and energy! Next up... Animation School!

I am glad that I am second.

Break fast

I was on a 5-day detox programme for the whole week. Just fruit. Nothing more. What was interesting and that it wasn't planned was that I was invited to a perankan dinner the evening before I went on the detox programme. At the end of the week long fast, it ended back at the same person's home for a peranakan laksa and popiah meal.


What a way to begin and end the week! The awesome chef behind the scene is Mrs June Koh Ai Geok. Thank you for sharing your special culinary gift!! Sedap siah! (deee-leee-cious!) :p

Chicken Rice Balls

So I popped by Malacca again last Saturday just for a day trip. Went there to capture some shots for some food contest. Morning breakfast stop was at Anthony's Fishball at Yong Peng. It's OK only, so don't bother stopping especially if your destination is Malacca.

I made it this time to Chop Chung Wah Chicken Rice Balls at the edge of Jonker Street. It was a crowded Saturday noon with herds of tourists and huge bus loads meandering around the little streets of historical Malacca.

Even though the line was long, I stood there patiently with the others in line for my turn... well worth the wait!! Not too oily, and super soft!! Yummilicous!

Thanks mom and dad for the company! :O)

Cool!

Blue Sky Studios has done it again! Thoroughly entertaining! :O)

A Night at the Museum... not!

Last Saturday's wacky weather conditions made it virtually impossible for me to head down to SMU's Campus Green for the 10.30pm Loop of Fortune programme. Was looking forward to the aerial performance involving pyrotechnics! The weather and I were like in a love-hate relationship!

9.50pm - Pouring rain.
10.08pm - Drizzle. So I thought "Great, let's go!"
10.23pm - Passing by Middle Road, it started to pour again.
10.30pm - Stuck in a jam at Middle Road.
10.40pm - Decided to head home.
10.47pm - Rain decided to slow down. I did contemplate briefly on turning around.
10.50pm - Arrived home. Rain started pouring again.

Krispy Kreme - Revisited

Did I ever mention the time while cruising at around 35,000 ft on one of those budget airplanes that scheduled itself to fly right around dinner time? Having an earlier dinner was not an option, because then I would have just had a full lunch. So I donned one of those paper hats from a 50's diner and whipped out my box of Kripsy Kreme and started selling them at black market prices. The result? I made a profit that covered the cost of the entire trip! :O) Yeah, it was a Krispy Kreme paper diner hat. ;p

Vhat're they?

I might set-up a food blog...?

So anyways, on Jalan Gasing, off Janlan Chantek in Petalling Jaya, is Restoran Sri Paandi. I had Thosai and Roti Chennai (background on the left) for breakfast. What a great way to start the day! :O) For those of you who have never had these before, this is better than the finger-licking good KFC. But what caught my sight was the Vadai man. Haven't seen one in ages! He even combed his hair and put on his cap for the shot! How sporting! :O)


Sedap!

Krispy Kreme - The whole story

Here's a sneak peek at the cafe at Times Square in Kuala Lumpur.


This particular cafe allows customers to see the preparation area through a huge window wall.


Some of the mouth-watering flavours including Hershey's Dark Chocolate and New York Cheesecake!


Hershey's Cookies and Cream goes well with Hot Chocolate, especially right before a night bus ride back to Singapore!

Why?

Why is Krispy Kreme not in Singapore yet? It's been around since 1937!! It's in Indonesia. It's in Malaysia. Why bother opening a dozen other doughnut brand companies? For those of you out there who have sampled Krispy Kreme, you know what I'm saying. Nuff said.

Truly Asia

Facade of St John's with the KL Tower in the background.

I got into Kuala Lumpur yesterday and spent the evening there before heading to Petalling Jaya, or as the locals call it, PJ. I'm here to present mainly a documentary that I've worked on the past eight months for the Christian Brothers of de La Salle to the Penang District Council. This project has taken me to several parts of Sabah, Hong Hong, and Ipoh. There's a possibilty I might visit the Malacca community.

Today's presentation was interrupted in the late morning as the head of the council was invited to the grand opening of an annual conference for mission schools at St John's (near the Cathedral of KL). But it was there where I briefly spoke to Archbishop Murphy Pakiam and documented Prime Minister Najib - an old boy of St John's. The hoard of media people were very aggressive as they shoved me aside just when the PM shook hands with the La Salle Brother. ;OS Ahhhhhhhhh! They probably need the shots more than I for tomorrow's front page of The Star and The New Straits Times!


As close as I could get without being hurt!

Strange Beauty

Last Sunday, while painting a wall at church, right around 4pm, I looked up and there it was... an aurora "light show" lasting probably 10 minutes. It couldn't have been the aurora lights because those happen only at or near the magnetic poles. Maybe it's Aurora Equatoris??

Padre Aloy replied and suggested that it could have been a rainbow circling above the clouds where some water vapour might have been interacting with the sunlight. The closest thing I could find on the internet is "Rainbow Clouds". That is what it is for now... for me... until someone sheds more light on this.

The Making of a Martabak (Indonesian style)

Too bad there's no such thing (yet) as teleportation or a scratch 'n sniff over the internet. My client's brother is actually thinking of setting up shop here in Singapore! Will keep you all posted!! Yum! Yum!

Catharina

From left to right: Uncle Boky, Theresa, Aunt Cheng, I and Liza.

This is my Indonesian crew of actors who is in the documentary tribute that I had just completed. They were all simply wonderful to work with and very accommodating. I wished I had more time to spend with them! The documentary is about the life of an 80-year old lady named Catharina who lived through World War II and the Jakarta Race Riots in '98. She lived in Spain, Brazil and the United States before finally settling back in Jakarta.

Salom!

Apa Ini? (What is this?)

Down below in the busy traffic is a taxi pick-up point opposite of Taman Anggrek. The frequency of passengers and the flow of cabs determined the image I took.