Joy To The World

It's my birthday!

Merry Christmas everybody! I sincerely hope all of you are able to celebrate with your loved ones today. Even if you are not, I wish that you and your dearest will be healthy and happy so you can celebrate next Christmas together :).

It's a nice cool day today, and I'm truly glad I can be with my family members for Christmas. I've been in campus for too long this year. But, hey, I got a 3.83 for the semester so that's a great present too ;). 

My wish may not have came true again this year, neither am I sure if I want to renew my hopes for the next 365 days. But I will remain contented with what I have now, and live in the gift of the present while it lasts. 

Happy Happy Christmas and New Year everybody! And yay to the 400th post of this 'ere blog!

Today's Special: Heal The World

It's here!!!

This is my final assignment for Illustration. We had to do an A3 marker rendering on the theme 

'Heal The World'. I chose to focus more on the result of the actions of global warming, such as melting polar ice caps and habitat destruction. The melting caps was useful to lead into my concept, which was a melting sundae. The ice cream scoops was juxtaposed with endangered animals to symbolize the creatures suffering from the destruction, and the sundae glass was built out of cramped houses and narrow streets, a nuclear plant and a train spewing black smoke. 

I was greatly inspired by Mattias Adolfsson, a fantastic fantastic artist I've been following on deviantart for many years. You know the kind of artwork that just pulls at your heartstrings and makes you want to cry? Mattias' works gets to me that way. His incredible detailed imaginative drawings are explosive. You'd wish for extra hours in the day just so you can sit and pore over his works and drink down every last detail. Do pay his site or dA page a visit, I assure you it is very much worth it :) .

I used coffee to paint the sundae glass! Started with a weak one, then added more coffee to get stronger, darker shades. The even darker shades I added with markers. Oh, the best wake up smell ever is an orgasmic cocktail of coffee and Copic ink! :D. One could get high on it, not like I did, but, yeah. Haha.

To update, I have aced the final presentation of the semester! Now there is a final group compilation project that will headache me for the next few days, and the semester will be utterly, completely completed! I can't say I didn't enjoy the semester, though I thought it dragged on for a tad too long. I'm glad I did all that I did, and I'm just as glad that it's soon to be over so I may concentrate on some personal work and self-reflection :).

TGIF everybody! And have a great great weekend! 

Sneak Preview!

Today (or yesterday...since it's been today for half an hour already), I made a new friend:

He is a useful friend, but probably a very formidable enemy. I'm surprised I never got one of these precision knives earlier in my 'artsy-designy' life. It isn't very cheap, though. But it's nice and heavy, and it feels reliable. And being new, the blade is gloriously sharp, so that I actually cut what needed cutting quickly and effortlessly. 

Here's a sneak preview of what I was cutting, more of it very very soon!

Two more blog posts till I celebrate the 400th post on this 'ere blog! Come around for the party, everybody! I shall unveil something pretty awesome then :D. It's the 25th right now, which marks exactly one month to Christmas and my birthday! So many things to do, so little time ><. 

Hope I'll be feeling better than I do now this time next month. Till then, have a happy happy Sunday!

Meant For Each Other

A few months ago, Esmond and I helped a good buddy out by being 'actors' to a short video clip assignment of his. It was a pretty interesting experience! I must say, it felt a bit odd at first, especially when we hit the day off with an argument scene and Esmond and I were far from angry. You can (and will) notice scenes of us with twitching lips, as if we were going to burst out laughing in the next frame.

Meant For Each Other from Abdul Shakir on Vimeo.

The day of the shoot was very nice weather, with a bit of cool showers in the early afternoon and clear evening. There wasn't much of a sunset, though, which was a shame because Shakir (the good buddy, producer, primary cameraman and director) was hoping for brilliant back-lighting. 

Despite all the little hiccups, I think it was enjoyable and the video came out fab! Check it out, and try not to squirm at all the cutesy 'romantic' scenes. I know I did ;) .

Check out the rest of Shakir's videos! He is a man of varied talents, and his animations and timelapse video is particularly interesting! Have a happy Saturday everybody! 

SMASHing Good Idea!

Stumbled upon this pretty awesome ad-vid of SMASH, and scrapbook-cum-journal-cum-sketchbook! I've always liked sketching and sticking and journalling, but SMASH apparently brings all three together and makes it all so much easier and fun :).

SMASH by K& Company

The glue stick/pen combo is incredibly interesting! I would love to have a few of those pens myself. I like how everything is just thrown in anyhow, and I think we could all come up with our own personalized idea books as presented here. It'd be more fun to collect our own favourite tapes and stickers and notepads to further personalize our books. 

Interesting video! I'll definitely keep this in mind for a holiday project. I haven't been journalling at all now since I've got this blog, but watching this has inspired me to do something traditional all over again :D.

A Paper Flour Fairytale

Hello hello! It's Friday and the lovely maftermoom is draped with a misty curtain of rain.

(Maftermoom: the time between 10.50-11.59, when it doesn't feel like morning, neither does it feel like lunchtime yet)

Because the last post looked a tad bit out of place in this pastel-hued blog, I would like to share something very pretty today! Emilie Guelpa is a French art director and culinary artist. Her blog Griottes (cherries! ^^) is a tasty feast of lovely travel photos and gorgeous crafts. Most posts are in French, but Google Translate does a fairly apt job of translating, but the photos also tend to speak for themselves :) .

In one of her posts in September, she shows off her latest projects, collaborating with a fellow creative to create beautiful collages. What is most interesting is that it is a combination of baked goods and paper crafts! The whole project revolves around fairy tales of the old, and each collage looks utterly divine.

All photo credits to Griottes

It's amazing how the simplest of ideas and give the most wondrous results. I love how well the detailed paper crafts match perfectly with the little meringues and biscuits. At times you can't even be sure what's edible and what's not ;).

I particularly like the Moby Dick collage, with the adorable biscuit ship and swirl of piped icing for the wave. It gives the rest of the collage that extra pop and twist to it.

Visit Griottes for more close-up shots and other wonderfully inspiring projects! TGIF everyone! :D

Revenge is Everything

 Dishonored

To all who have not played this game, fear not, there are no spoilers in here. Just generalities you will probably find elsewhere.

Anyway, I don't quite agree on the whole 'Revenge is Everything' motto of the game, but as I progressed through the game I thought, hell, with a life like this anyone would go rambo on revenge. Lol. And, yes. I've played Dishonored! I really only played it because I wanted to see if my tortured, overly-exploited slave of a laptop could withstand the game. It could have probably been a lot prettier, but I'm not a fussy gamer. I've completed games on full-speed lag. What I saw on my screen for Dishonored was considered pretty darn good. Of course, veterans and purists would scream 'hoshit you're killing the game what are you doing stahp look at it staaahp', but if you don't like it, go max out your settings on your badass machines while I totter happily away at mine. Not that there was any lag, but, you get what I mean.

pcgamer

So, Dishonored is basically a game where you play as Corvo Attano, man with greasy hair that you don't really see through most of the game because you're far too busy being him. You've just been framed for murdering the Empress and kidnapping the heir of a rat-plagued, corrupt-filled city, the world is against you, and you are armed with some swanky weapons and mystical powers given to you by some random floating man that just wants to watch the world burn. 

And, as casually as I'd summarized the whole game, it was good gameplay. I've only ever played Skyrim for five minutes. But in that five minutes I hacked at a few guards and ate things and collected things that were not mine. The awesome news is that I could do all that in Dishonored as well, with the even bigger plus that I could go all stealth and climb shyt, like in Assassin's Creed. And I could see through walls, which was like Splinter Cell. If ever you had a wish that you could have the best of all the games mentioned above and you haven't played Dishonored, well, hallelujah :D.

 Dishonored

It was a gloriously dark game, with so much things to do, so many people to kill, and (apparently) so many different paths to choose from. I believe I took the 'Revenge is Everything' motto a twee bit too seriously, because I chose the darkest of everything, and even opted for a 'if it ain't still, I kill' mindset. The result was dark lashing rain and gloomy skies and everything else to make the already emo game a whole lot rattier (pun wholely intended). I shall play the game again, and when I do I will probably do something more Buddha-zen. Lol.

The game was mostly dark, eerie, and, if you have a tendency to maneuver awkwardly like I do (and waltz into rooms without checking them out beforehand), you're probably going to have minor heart attacks every once in awhile. The atmosphere certainly has a way of drawing you into the whole world, and when you leave it you still have an unsettled, haunting feeling about you. Or maybe it's just me and I'm too darn emotional.  

I am not ashamed to say that I played the game on Easy mode. Because there is a first for everything and Dishonored is actually the first first-person game I've ever completed and enjoyed. The hours spent playing Minecraft has done wonders to my nausea-tolerance and motion-sickness! :D. 

Overall. the game was awesome, I enjoyed it, and I'm glad I wasn't *too* distracted with it (despite me playing it during the peak of my busy-ness). And it certainly answered my question: my exploited house-elf of a laptop will not entirely fuck up the game so that I will take revenge on all the world.

Assassin's Creed 3, I'm coming for thee. 

Live By The Creed

It's almost the middle of November, and I'm lost in the clouds. Self Motivation sat with me and worked so hard to stay by me whenever I needed him. He kept me working late nights, he woke me up before my alarm rang every morning. He kept me bright and cheery day after day. When I was down, he kindly invited his sibling Inspiration over and we three had so much fun I always felt better afterwards.

He kept at me all through the semester, but now I believe he has flown out of the window. 

Self Motivation is probably the only thing that keeps me alive, lol. Besides a few others, like Purpose Driven and Hope and Sleep (wait, how did he get into the picture), but Self Motivation is certainly the most important figure. Though right now quite a lot of it has been used up and I'm not quite sure how to replenish him.

On a plus side, Assassin's Creed 3 is coming out for PC in 5 days. Amongst other things. Like my final Advertising presentation and the final day for submitting some ideas and the second day of another busy busy week. It's almost as if all these activities are swarming about in red coats and tricornes and muskets and I'm the lone hooded fella armed to the teeth.

gamerswwag

I'll go a-swinging and a-swishing...

gamerswwag

And the cannons will explode at my dramatic finish.

We all have a creed we live by. Maybe not a Bible-full of rules and regulations; a simple phrase or saying could probably suffice to help some of us along our way. But I'm sure we all have some belief that sticks to us, something that makes us move on whether we know it or not. What's yours? I think one of mine would be best explained in a simple, neat sentence:

"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time"

the receiving end

It's Friday tomorrow and another weekend to be productive! Have a good one everybody :D.

100 Acre Bills

Poketo collaborated with five different artists to come up with five designs for their latest wallet collection. The theme? Winnie The Pooh!

I'm not actually a fan of Winnie The Pooh. I only ever read one book about the little honey coloured bear and his imaginary human friend...oh, sorry? Christopher Robin is the real boy with an imaginary honey coloured bear friend? My bad. Fan or not, I would buy all the wallets just because they are all so eye-catching and pretty!

 The designs are lovely, though. It's interesting to see how one theme can be explored in such different ways by artists. Vintage, pixel, and one that is rainbow-gummy-bear inspired, there seems to be one wallet for every kind of fan. And at the same time each artist managed to capture the childish, imaginary world of stories in his or her own way.

These two are my favourite designs. The first one is so bright and cheerful, almost as if it popped right out of a chidren's storybook. The other makes use of the colour palette of autumn leaves, incorporating it into shapes and textures to give and overall sensation of floating in a warm, woodsy sea of leaves :D.

What's your favourite childhood story? I think the Wind In The Willows has to be one of my favourites; I'd be incredibly excited if I could see the Mole and Rat and Badger and Toad gambolling over green meadows and sandy banks of wallets. I think Alice In Wonderland is nice, though just a tad bit overdone. What kind of storybook character would you like on your wallet?

The week is just beginning, but sooner than you think it'll be at an end. That is probably the case with most things in life. But let's hope our childhood innocence and carefreeness stay with us for a long while yet :) . 

All photo credits to Poketo

Jingly Snowbells

I should really be still dating posts as October, because I still haven't quite gotten over how quickly the month passed by. I feel as if nothing was done, and yet, oh so many assignments submitted, even more gained and are now in progress. Still a long way to go, though how do I intend to complete them all, I have no idea. 

And suddenly, it's November, and I am one step closer to being a twenty year old.

Lol, okay, that was a bit of overreacting right there. But yes, I am soon to be twenty...in another 52 days 14 hours 21 minutes. I found a little flash site that does a countdown to Christmas, so I don't actually have to add up numbers in my head :P.

Xmas Clock

Looking at the clock with my jingly blog bells certainly add some sort of festive spirit about the place.

I wonder, is it too tacky if I add some widgets to my blog? Say, like falling snow. Or more jingly bells. Or Santa flying across the screen on his sleigh yelling HO HO HO!!! Hm, maybe not that last one. But I do like the idea of falling snow. Makes you feel a bit more of the brrr that Malaysia constantly lacks.

Some of us may not be beginning November on too good a foot, but there's a silver lining in every cloud, and bad days can only come and go, never stay. So cheer on, people! We will all pull through hard times cheerfully, with maybe one or two little cries just to let things out along the way. That's always the best way to go about it.

G05 With Envy

Ohai everybody. Another week of busyness, followed by another and another and another. I'm looking forward to kicking my feet up and chilling, but for now I shall plump up my pillows and....put them behind my back as I work hard :D.

Anyway, I was just reading Marianne Walker's new Copic blog post and I think it's such a wonderful idea to use Copic codes in colour-related idioms. Awesome way to show off your Copic pride.

I Like Markers

I've read some really witty comments with all sorts of different idioms being Copic-fied. What do you think you can come up with?

A Comfy, Cosy Christmas

1. Lambswool sweater , Uniqlo
2. Chrome nail polish, Stargazer
3. Joy To The World, Pink Martini | North, Matchbox Twenty
4. Pewter glitter shoes,  Payless
5. Turquoise sparkle ankle socks, American Apparel

Hello everybody! Sorry for the mini hiatus. The month is passing by so quickly it's almost annoying, lol. I have been far too busy these past two weeks, trying to get everything perfect for the mid-semester submission fever. It's almost half-over, well the worst is over, anyway, so I have a bit of a breather right now. After sleeping at regular hours for months, it's a bit of a shock to start pulling late nights again. My face has gotten spotty and I've drunk far too much caffeine in the past weeks :P.

Anyway, the weather on average these days have just been magical. When you're not going out, of course. With all the cool wind and rain, it feels like everyday is stay-in-and-snuggle day :D. End of years are always so cool and nice, but then when Christmas comes the sun will pop out of its hiding place and scream "HERE I AM!!! :DDD".

The Christmas of my imagination is nice and cool, though. Perfect for cosy sweaters and blankets! And I somehow always imagine velvet to be one of the most wonderfully festive fabrics. And lots  of glitter to make up for no snow! Of course, chilling in won't be complete with good music. Right now I'm overly attached to Matchbox Twenty's new North album. Their songs just fit perfectly with the gray rain around me. It's so strange, since not two years ago I barely stepped out of the circle of rock music I jammed around myself :P. I'm mellowing, I'm telling you. Soon I will be pottering around in an oversized black sweater and velvet skirt with nineteen cats at my heels.

Oh, by the way, my dear friends made it to the next round in the Canon Legria competition! So if you voted and you're reading this, thank you so much for your help! Let's hope they win the regionals and do Malaysia proud :D.

Next update coming just round the corner. TGIF everybody ^_^.

Flight of Fancy

Hello everybody! It's the weekend for me again, and what's more, I have the whole of next week off! Really nothing much to that though, because the whole week shall be spent finishing assignments, overcoming frustrations and trying frugally to live on the last bits of food I have until Tuesday comes. But anyway, yes! A holiday! :D.

Something fun for everyone to do when they're feeling a bit down during the assignments-overload. I discovered this beautiful site called Fancy when I was looking for useful apps for my phone. Fancy is a website very like Pinterest, whereby you can browse tonloads of pretty and inspiring things. It's wonderful how there is just so many pretty things to find here!

The Fancy

What really sets Fancy apart is that it's not just a pool for pretty ideas and pictures. Almost all the items come with prices, or links to places that you can purchase them. And I think this is just fantastic because a lot of the time the most annoying thing about finding something beautiful online is the question "Omg, where can I get one? Where can I buy something like that?" With Fancy, you can even check the price out of the item before you even think about "hey...I should get that". 

Of course, most of everything is in USD, but it's still a simple, no-fuss website with a gorgeous array of delectables. And sometimes it's just nice to go window shopping and not buy anything =). 

There are hundreds and hundreds of things to look at, with more coming in every day. Here are some of the few I really fell in love with!

This is a USB Turntable. LOVE IT!! It reminds me of Simon's birthday gift to Cassandra in I Capture The Castle. I feel like crying with joy just at the sight of it. The colour is lovely, and it looks so beautifully made. To own something as beautiful as this! I even love the pretty bunch of flowers in the mason jar beside it! ^O^.

This wall of suitcase-shelves is such a quirky centrepiece! I especially love the turquoise one. It seems such a shame that all these pretty suitcases are being cut and mounted to a wall, but hey, it's pretty- AND functional! 

 Look at the gorgeous turquoise tiles! I'm falling in love over and over again. Maybe it's just a bit too much; I would probably prefer either a dark wood wall or table. Even so, this is just fantastical.

And look at this! Such a neat way to have some green on your desk when it's too cluttered for potted ferns of a vase of flowers. There's a tutorial here that shows you how to prepare your lightbulb to house little green thingies. I'd love a group of five or more hanging in a sunny corner of my patio. Ah!

That's all for tonight folks! You can sign up to Fancy for free, so why not whip yourself an account and start fancyin' things! You could share your favourites here too if you like =). Till next time!

Wedding Dress

 Aaaand it's October!

Hello everybody :D. Just to clear things up between you and me, no, I am not getting married. Neither is this post about Taeyang (sorry Kpop fans). I can, however, include a little gif of smexy Taeyang for your benefit anyways:

asiandreamgif

I liked his song a lot. And the whole album was entertaining. But Wedding Dress was a very nice song indeed. And his dancing! Hwhoah. Wait. I've already said that this post wasn't about Taeyang. I digress.

Anyway, I happened to just be browsing the Inturnetz and stumbled upon some very pretty wedding photography sites. And I think it's a shame, how in Malaysia a lot of wedding photographers are still very generic and, well, 'old-fashioned', if I may dare say. Note I say some. I did see a few pretty amazing photographs by people like Jon Low, Edmund Tham and Anna-Rina Photography. But somehow, I get a feeling of distance, between the photographer and the client. Is it just me? In some photos from Malaysian photographers, I feel as if the bride/bridegroom is a bit too conscious of the photographer, or the fact that they are being photographed. The photos look a bit too staged and unnatural. And then there are some photographers that are creative, to the point you ask the question: 'is that even a wedding photograph?!'. I mean, seriously. Some photographs look like the bride is lounging with stacks of newspapers- very well done, but wth why would a bride pose with paper bundles on her wedding? And then another gorgeous photograph- that looks like a car ad. I focused on the Ford way before I realized the bride and groom were on the other side of the photograph. I'm not giving names, I'm just saying, some photographers need to toe the line so that the wedding photographs look and feel gorgeous, not confusing.

Okay. Maybe it's just me. Who knows.

Arrow&Apple

These gorgeous wedding photographs are so professional, and yet they still possess and certain personal appeal, as if the photographer had managed to capture a bit of the bride's charm in each photograph. And I like how the makeup is kept to a minimum. In Malaysia it seems to be a long-lasting tradition of inch-thick makeup despite the weather being scorching. 

Another thing that caught my eye are the wedding dresses! Gone seem to be the days of long trains, miles of ivory lace and tulle. Short, flouncy numbers are doing the wedding march more often than not these days. Not that I'm complaining, haha. If I had to have a wedding, I'd love a gorjas knee-length dress with lots of poof and swish. So I can run around- in awesome HI-TOP SNEAKERS!!! 8D. Allow me to illustrate my ideal outfit. Lol.

(Note: Please remember, I am not getting married. I am just...fantasizing. Lol.)

1. diana chrome: railblazing | 2. short wedding dress:  wedding wire | 3. reebok x uslu airlines: sneakers actus

 It will be glittery, shimmery, and absolutely magical 8D.

A few other very dreamy dresses (for those of you who may just be planning a wedding and would like to beat the heat in a short summery number) :

favim

Don't you just love soft back lighting like this? It really enhances the soft fabric of the skirt.

ouma

Aha! Poofy-ness! Every fairy-princess-wedding girl's dream :D.

What kind of wedding do you dream of? The whole peacock-train, full veil and red roses kind? Or something completely wild and out of it, like a paintball party? Or how about a gold-and-white beach bikini theme? :D. Feel free to share your dreams, no matter how traditional or extraordinary.

It's time for me to take my leave. Thank you for your time. I shall leave you with another smexy Taeyang gif: 

asiandreamgif

Have a nice day everybody :D.

Mooncake, Coffee, or Festivities?

I just found out that today is the Mid Autumn Festival! Hope everyone celebrating is dancing themselves silly, matchmaking and stuffing themselves silly with mooncakes. Wait, I don't think you do the first two anymore. Not in this dynasty and this part of the world anyway, I think.

It is also Coffee Day again folks! The day we celebrate the aromatic beverage that keeps us awake when we least want to be. Go grab a cup of ol' joe to celebrate! I know I will :D.

Here's a quick marker-digital sketch I made for the occassion! Since the two celebrations coincide, this is a little bit of both worlds :).

So how's about sitting down to a cup of coffee and a mooncake today? A special coffee break for a very special day :). Happy Mid Autumn Festival and Coffee Day everybody! 

Loo | Me | AH!

Because I foresee this to be a long, detailed ramble, there will be the possibility of two or more posts on the same topic in succession. Feel free to walk away now, or grab some popcorn and a coke.

That being said, the announcement is this:

I am getting married. 

I got a new phone! And I'm sorry for giving you a mini heart attack. It was wholly intended, lol. 

Okay, so I got the Lumia 710 a good three weeks ago, but I put off blogging my joy out because I was too busy making sure I learnt all of its little functions and tested close to everything.

Readers will probably know that my previous phone  is (was? is? Oh grammar) a SE W508, swanked up to perfection. Or as close as it could get. I realize I only had it for over two years, and no doubt it served me very well. It braved many a fall, a thwack, and suffered greatly. It's had trouble charging and lately it was slower than a dead snail, so I knew it needed a rest...and a successor.

So far I am very very happy with this! :D. It has everything I really need in one pretty bundle, and even things I didn't know I'd need. The interface is beautiful, swiping through is super fast and touch-sensitive; I don't know, there's so much in here that just works for me. Right now I am using it mostly for communicating, entertainment, and organizer for my daily doings. I was surprised that most of the stuff that came in it is really good enough to get things going; no need for additional apps. Of course, I did get one or two (plus a lot of silly games!! XD) 

One of the biggest downsides is the battery, though I am told most smartphones live for a little over a day before it demands a charge, certainly less when you've been using a lot of apps. Windows Marketplace is a bit limited in apps, though most of the popular sites and games have apps. Not only that, there is only a non-expandable 8GB internal memory, which I think will be a bit of a problem in later years. But other than that, I feel a completely satisfied customer.

As you can see, I also got coloured cases to jazz up my phone. It's a bit hard to find casings for Lumias, as the market is very few and far between. However, these covers come in lovely solid colours of turquoise and coral- how lucky am I? =D. I also got an extra white case, for when the time comes for my phone to don some more colourful clothes ;D.

I meant to blog about some of the apps I have in the phone, but I'll make a separate post on that. Have a happy Sunday everybody! =D.

Shrimpy September Swallows

 This is one of the rare moments when I can really do nothing but sit, chew, and thank the gods for letting me come into this delicious world.

Today's lunch came straight out of my imagination (and whatever ingredients I happened to have, which isn't much, really). It is a spicy shrimp and bacon pasta! It's very orange, yes, but due to aforementioned circumstances, I don't actually have anything greeny to add in. Hence it is a lovely analogous palette of bright oranges, translucent pinks and blushing coral. And it's deliciously spicy!!!! ^O^. I can't begin to tell you how delicious this is. Perhaps to people who don't like spicy food, this will be something of a rocket bomb to the tongue. Perhaps the reason why I am sniffing right now is a mixture of the dish being oh-so-good and oh-so-spicy.

I didn't use any premade sauce, even though I do have some. But I relied on the salty bacon and juicy tomatoes to provide the liquids. And I helped it a bit by adding Tabasco. Bwahahaha.

I once watched Man Vs. Food and Mike was munching on something meaty and saying 'I don't ever want this mouthful to end'. That pretty much sums up all there is to know about this meal :D.

The bacon provides the right amount of saltiness, and the garlic and onion slivers give the fresh shrimp a lovely boost. You could most definitely make this yourself! It's so easy, and the bacon could be substituted with sausages or chicken ham if you want something halal. But the outcome will definitely be mouth-watering. 

Hope your lunch is as delicious as mine! Cheers to good food everybody! \ ^O^ /

Braidy Bunch

Hello Saturday! It's been pretty dull all day today. It's been dull for ages now, since I've been just holing up in front of the computer for countless weekends now. Can't even remember when I last went down into the city for window shopping. There is that one other reason I want to get down to the city centre, but that's a reason I shall further digress into in another post.

I got so bored I braided my hair over and over all day today. I started in the morning, trying to learn how to do a basic braid (which I managed after trying for half an hour). I continued practicing with little  sections, then one big fat one at the back that didn't quite turn out so well. It's so funny how just early this year I was deliriously happy over having no-fuss, relaxed hair. So easy to maintain! No faffing about with hair irons and pins and hair dryers. But now that my hair's growing out and returning to its wavy locks, the one thing I want to do right now is get the straight bottom to be wavy too so I don't look like a retard. I'm really trying to refrain myself from just attacking the bottom with a pair of scissors.

Though I think it grows a lot faster than most people's, I guess my hair is not quite long enough for the fanstastical hairstyles I see all over the net, even the simple ones. Have to keep waiting but it just feels slower now that I'm watching it and wishing it to grow faster. And what with it being thick, coarse and frizzy, taming my hair is one of my daily strifes. 

Because I don't want to leave this post as a wall of text, and because I don't want to go a-googling for a picture of a pointless potato, here is a picture of my two messy braids. Aren't I adorable? =P.

Happy Saturday night, everybody!

A Walk In The Park

Teehee. A very apt post title, I must say. Let's take a walk in the park! The park of memories. The park of nostalgia, of rock.

Rock? Yes. I said rock. I meant Linkin Park, actually.

red demon

It's not everyday one can remember how one comes about knowing something, be it a book, or music, or a movie. But somehow I remember quite well how I got to know Linkin Park. Back then I was a kid besotted with Westlife, and the closest thing I knew about rock was...Michael Learns To Rock. Which is not a very rock-ish thing, lol. Shaddap, I was young, I didn't know any better. And even then I thought real rock was noisy and scary (yeah, I was young =P). 

webkinzinsider

When Papercut first came out on tv, my sister and I used to quickly change channels everytime the MV came out, lol. Cause we knew it was going to be all noisy and freaky XD. And I remember after that the MV for Crawling came out and one fine day we decided to "hey, let's not change channels and sit through this." We sat through it, alright. I think we enjoyed it a bit, cause after that we started watching the One Step Closer MV, and later we even started watching Papercut. And then suddenly my sister got the Hybrid Theory album and we started listening to Linkin Park, like it or not. Lol.

red demon

I think Linkin Park made rock music accessible to n00bs who have the impression that all rock music involve dark, undecipherable screamo lyrics and crazy electric guitar and drum shyt, with being satanic thrown in to boot. Of course, there are so many different sub-genres of rock, but Linkin Park's music give new ears something wonderful. You listen to them, like them, then feel compelled to look for more awesome rock music. At least, it did for me. Haha.

Hybrid Theory has a special little place in my heart, the way Westlife's first album does XD. One of those albums I can listen to and sing along without realizing I actually memorized most of the lyrics. 

brokensuicide

They've gone so far with their music. And one of their best albums, for me, would be Minutes To Midnight. It's a different take on their original style, but what captured me was the lyrics. I never took much notice of the words when I first listened to the album. But then sudden unforseen circumstances occurred, and when they did I surprised myself by crying when I listened to songs like Shadow of The Day, and Valentine's Day. Perhaps the lyrics weren't even meant the way I interpreted them to be, but somehow I felt I could relate to them, that the words meant a lot more to me than they had in the past.

Anyway, their new album, Living Things, is very nice indeed! And most Medal of Honour fans are hyped up as anything for their upcoming MV for Castle of Glass. I even know some people who took great pains in doing a special photoshoot and making a short clip in style of it. Check it out! 

TGIF everyone! Have a rockin' weekend :D.

Hiatus in Huts

It's the middle of September, and I'm busy how most students will be when they've been thrown a whole felony of assignments all due at around the same time and demanding the same amount attention for each.

I'm not even sure if felony is an appropriate word to use here, though my subconscious tells me it is a very wrong word to use. However because I felt like it on the spur of the moment, and because I've already typed it and am not bothered to go back and change it to something else, I shall leave it as it is.

Please excuse me momentarily as I go about tending to the businesses of reality. Will be back soon.

Here is a fairly bad photo of a mother cat and her kittens to distract you while I'm away. The cats are not mine. Their fur is unbelievably soft though. Imagine yourself giving them imaginary pats.

Now no more mention of Christmas until the day actually arrives. Wait, how did that even come into the picture? Never mind, just don't bring that topic up again. 

*ArnoldSchwarzeevoice* I'll be back.

Multiply the Division

jmusicmaxcaz

Happy September everybody! Up above is the picture I have made a mental note of to work on for my next marker illustration assignment (and probably regret it later =P). And do you know where it came from? No hints. Here's the answer.

the Gazette's latest album: DIVISION.

Okay, I'm going to be honest that I didn't quite like their previous album, TOXIC. I can't even remember most songs, except of course RED (yes, Gazette have this tendency to overdo the caps lock a bit). But I've just procured DIVISION, and listening to it now, I think I'm walking down the nostalgic, lovey-dovey JRock road yet again \^O^/.

The first track just made me think, a la Gazette with caps lock on: D'ESPAIRSRAY. Maybe it's because of the dance-rock vibe of D'espa's Love Is Dead. But it rocked me in a very good way. Still progressing through the album, and may I proudly announce, I did not press the next button, the way I did in their previous album :D.

Their album+tour theme is pretty darn kewl too. All modern and abstract. Their recent single/album covers remind me of couture fashion spreads. With an odd, Japanesque twist to it.

One thing that still gets me, though. Seriously, no one should ever sing in a language they can't pronounce coherently. English on Japanese tongue is already alien on a usual basis, throw in screamo-random-phrases-fast-paced-action and you're bound to get something that rivals Skrillex's dubstep.

Anyway, Skrillex bashing aside, well done Gazette! Thank you for reminding me of the happiness JRock brings to the world. Unlike *some* other singers/artistes I wouldn't really like to mention aloud (*coughhackcoughgacktcoughhackcough*)

Busy busy weeks ahead! Stay cool and don't forget to divide your time wisely, so you may multiply your efficiency and fun times :D.

Redeeming Malaysia

Dear family and friends, 

It's that time of the year when we celebrate the birth of a great nation! We may not be blessed with an amazing government, but what we have is a nation teeming with diverse cultures and traditions, and yet in our hearts we are united.

Something is different today, though. Today, a couple of video enthusiasts are battling on the front line of the Canon Legria video competition, desperate to represent their nation, to prove that Malaysia has something to show the design and film industry. 

In one week, this ambitious men have attempted to prove themselves worthy by filming, acting, video-editing and music-composing. This video entry is completely, 100% original. 

Redemption

Do you think they deserve to win? I don't know, you'll have to watch the video and decide for yourself. But I know, I firmly believe that they do deserve to represent Malaysia. These are high words, but you may watch and see for yourself. In fact, go ahead and watch the other videos that are catching up to this one on votes. Go ahead, make a comparison. The answer will be clear to you.

Voting may just be a tad fussy: you have to register your email, and once verified, you have to log in before you can vote. But the entire process takes less than 5 minutes, probably just as much time for you to scroll down your facebook timeline and refresh for updates. 

If you like what you see, please, vote and share to your friends. Do this for glory to Malaysia! Let's all have one more thing to be proud of, for you to proudly declare, 'That is my country, and I am Malaysian!' :D

That said, happy Merdeka and happy Friday everybody :).

Click here to register, log-in and vote!

Longitude

Longitude

Just a random thingy I did the other week. I was bored and in the mood to draw something. It's weird, though. Back then I got all hyped up drawing and drawing without a care in the world. Whatever I wanted I just doodled down however I fancied. I didn't give a toss about things like composition and complimentary colours and linear weights and what-have-yous.

Of course, looking at it now there's good and bads to just drawing however you want. Of course you want to make it visually appealing, get the message across, evoke feelings and emotions from whoever is viewing it. For that to happen you need to follow some basic rules. 

But then I remember when I was doodling and messing about with my markers and paper and pencils, I was happy. Very happy indeed. Of course there were certain little hiccups here and there, but I felt a genuine sense of accomplishment when I'd completed some drowned-in-colour thing. It was kinda like me, my ideas, paper and music. Nothing in between, nothing that can create some sort of distraction.

Right now when I look back at my old works, I can find fault in every single one of them. Of course, every creator will do so. But at the same time, I can't seem to find that blind, mindless drive to just doodle down everything and anything. I'll start to think about all the rules, and how to break them or bend them in different ways. Not like that's a bad thing, but of course you can see for yourself just how unproductive I've been since I started uni. 

My theory is this: back when I was completely oblivious to the foundations of design and art, I was like some wild monkey with a pencil. I threw everything down without putting much thought into it. Could you say my artwork then was and is shallow? Most probably. Because there isn't a rationale or a reason for it. It exists because I wanted to create it. That's all. But now, with the metaphorical chains of knowledge, I know better than to just go gadding about. I suppose, with more hard work and effort I won't call the knowledge chains, and instead call them steps and ladders to creating more beautiful and meaningful artwork.

It's like the transition of child to adult. When the world was so innocent, and when you reach that certain age, you just look at the old things so, so differently.

Excuse me for the big big wall of text. That's enough rambles for one night I suppose.