When I dreamed up my “do it now” theme for this new year, never has it crossed my mind that I would turn into a shopaholic on steroid. Though, come to think of it, these are merely a cascaded list of delayed decisions over the years that sooner or later, someone – by that I mean either Cynthia or I, or realistically, by that I mean I need to make some decisions. Get it over and done with so as to speak.
I had lunch with my rather well-to-do friend. And I was lamenting on things at home that have broken down, or are at the verge of breaking down, badly in need of a replacement. Like my two air conditioning units. His response was: Things that we want to replace don’t break down (like his 3 years old panel TV, he said) while things that we don’t, they do.
Very true. Like my 12 years old bulky color television.
Last week, Cynthia still asked why there was a need to replace our television in working condition. Yesterday, the reasons were all written on her face as she was glued in front of our new “investment”. My new investment.
* * I * *
I am happy that my oven is now working. Even though it feels a tad expensive to get it repaired, replaced with new parts. I am moderately happy with my computer’s new graphic card and a slight increase in screen size by two inches. Because the setup that I have replaced is not that bad, even in today’s standard. Of course, Cynthia is ecstatic with my old setup, for her computer.
My shopping spree like the storm and the wind does not stop there. Finally, I have replaced the temperamental decade old rice cooker with a modern one. My mother has warned me before she left Singapore last year: You better buy a new rice cooker before the next time I arrive. And she is due to touch down at the airport this evening. What happens to the old rice cooker? Well, at times we get an electric shock in contact, at times the rice cooker refuses to get turned off and we don’t even notice until we realize that the kitchen is getting too warm. Nothing serious really. I put up with that for years.
And finally, I have replaced my old television with a flat panel one, replaced my hard disk recorder and the digital set-up box with the Hubstation HD, and I have replaced my Pioneer DVD with a Pioneer Blu-Ray player.
Oh happy day.
* * II * *
I must be amongst the last batch of viewers in Singapore who write about high definition (HD) contents delivered via the cable. The picture quality is stunning. I am not a TV kind of guy and I find myself unable to my eyes off the animals on the Discovery channel. I don’t even know what I was watching, captivated by the images mainly. I have predicted that Cynthia would be glued in front of the TV once I proudly unveiled our – or rather my – new investment.
And I was right.
Within minutes, Cynthia has figured out how to record the channels, set up her favorite list, and etc. I knew I wouldn’t need to read the manual. I have a TV addict living under the same roof.
Except, one friend of ours refuses to classify Cynthia as one. An hour a day in front of a TV is far from being qualified as a TV addict.
Cynthia was furious.
Not!
* * III * *
Now that I am happily settled down with my new setup, I have become more furious with SingTel spoiling the party by tearing the sport channels away from Starhub. How nice if I could watch F1 later this March with my current setup, and World Cup for Cynthia. I am uncertain how are we going to fit another setup box into our living room. This morning, switching on my computer triggered a power failure. And I have to reroute the power cable of my plasma TV to another mains.
Although, if I was SingTel, I would have probably done the same. Starhub’s Hubstation HD setup box comes with free phone line and free Internet. And that is the bread and butter of SingTel. Offering television broadcast is merely a counter tactical move by SingTel that happens to upset a lot of people, unfortunately. From a long term perspective, I reckon SingTel will excel and more channels will be switched from the green camp (Starhub) to the red camp (SingTel). From a short term perspective, I don’t think people on the ground like you and I are able to see any significant benefit.
Duh!
* * IV * *
I am planning to get the Gossip Girl’s complete season 1 and 2 on DVD today, something I have been wanting to do for months. And I am also planning to get a Blu-Ray disc today, to satisfy my curious mind.
I remember what school holiday was like. Or to describe my current sentiment more correctly: these two weeks of annual leave reminds me of what school holiday was like. In UK, the school holiday is long, very long. Six weeks of break in between terms (we call them Michaelmas, Hilary, and Trinity), more than three months of break in between the years. Maybe school holiday is long, everywhere in the world. Since staying in the college added extra strain to my student loan for my university education, I often opted to visit my relatives in Paris, just across the English Channel (note: today I learn that the same arm is called differently by the French and the Dutch … of course!). Or to stay with my friends in London, which till today, I am still thankful of their hospitality whenever I think of the good-old-days.
In retrospect, I suppose I could have made my school holiday more productive. Like doing an internship, finding an opportunity to help out the faculty or the graduates who may need an assistant, or even picking a voluntary work to do. Holiday in Paris was often more productive, comparatively. I would soak in the local culture familiarizing myself with every corner of the street, every significant piece of artwork inside a museum that caught my eyes. Holiday in London was often more – for lack of a better word – laid-back.
What does laid-back mean? Depending on which camp you are in, if you think that laid-back is a negative attribute, especially in the context of a work environment, the opposite of laid-back would be driven, motivated, all the wonderful descriptions that are likely to earn you a good bonus. But if laid-back is to mean relax, the opposite would be tense, edgy, and uptight. All the negative attributes you probably would not want to see in your partner, or your pet. Having said it, it is about the context, isn’t it?
Progress and mass expectation is extrinsic. It is always good to positively contribute to the community, even if it is in the expense of your internal happiness and well being. Society does not reward you on how happy you are. It does however have a multitude of goods and services that you can purchase to make you a happier person. Feeling relax and happy is intrinsic. Something you have to generate from within. The best of it all is to find someone as laid-back as you, when you want to be. Imagine the otherwise.
* * I * *
This holiday, I have done something unconventional. I am often someone who is loyal to brands and shops and spends a great deal of time researching on products and pricing before making a purchase. Since Cynthia is not as insistence on an overseas holiday as she is used to be and since my sister’s baby may pop out any time soon, I am happy to laid-back at home, for the entire two weeks.
I know in certainty that Cynthia and I would spend much time playing an online computer game. And I know for a long time that upgrading Cynthia’s computer would vastly enhance her gaming experience, visually speaking. So I took something from my computer and planted it into hers. That works great for that one computer game that Cynthia plays. But what about me? I got myself a pretty decent video card and an even larger wide screen monitor. Decision was made on the spot. It was a cash transaction so you could say that it was a premeditated move.
Funny if I think about how laid-back I had been in making that purchase decision and now in a laid-back holiday, I tacked the situation with motivation and drive, as oppose to the laid-back philosophy. What’s going on here?
* * II * *
I look forward to a day when economists write a book on the online game World of Warcraft. Its success story is much to be learned by other corporations. It is amazing to see how Blizzard – the producer of the game – is able to constantly evolve the game and motivate the millions of subscribers to keep playing a game that is now more than five years old. Premium contents are continuously commodified, made accessible by the mass players who may not have as much time to invest as the hardcore players, as new premium contents are produced. That way, there is always a chance for the laid-back players to catch up and at the same time, a strong motivation for the hardcore players to reach new heights. On paper, that is an easy thing to say. Blizzard executes this vision flawlessly by making changes on different aspects of the game simultaneously so as to bring forth a holistic experience that does not feel patchy. Putting customers with different aspirations at the center. So easy to say, so hard to do it right.
We know that we manage what we measure. That is the foundation of the management tool called balanced scorecard: measuring performance by key indicators. Cynthia and I are fortunate to have Mark – not sure if his wife would think the same – to immerse in this online game in this laid-back holiday of ours. Last night, we have re-installed a gaming component that enables us to view our in-game performance in real time. All of a sudden, I observed that Cynthia has turned insanely competitive. Against me, in a cooperative mission, with a team of 5 against our adversities.
Huh?! What’s going on here?
With real time meter, she has turned into a committed player dishing out insane amount of damage against our common targets. I could not help but to peep onto her screen during our cooperative battle to see how I was doing in comparison. Why? Because she is tracking performance battle-by-battle while I am tracking how well we do by the sum of all battles. Her hunter beat my mage in both counters – hers and mine. And I conclude that tracking near-term targets yields a higher performance than tracking targets over a longer duration. An analogy would be if you have to clock in 40 hours of learning a year in your work, more likely so, you would defer your learning till the end of the year, which you may or may not be able to spend all that 40 hours. Setting a quarterly cumulative target would have yielded a better result.
Because we manage what we measure.
Back to last evening, I think I was the laid-back one. 4 in the morning and I was sleepy.
* * III * *
In a normal day, racing games are the least of my favorite. Because I suck so badly in this genre. Maybe I am simply not a good gamer. Maybe I am simply a laid-back gamer. I play games to experience something quite honestly speaking, if you seldom or have not played any computer game, you are missing an unique experience in life. An analogy would be you as a regular user of the Internet (which I presume you are since you are reading this) wonders what those people who have little or no exposure to the Internet would have missed. Cynthia’s mother from Indonesia was so amazed when she was with us in Singapore as she witnessed how McDonald’s breakfast can appear at our doorstep with a click of a button. That, to her, was an experience.
The game DiRT 2 comes with the video card that I have recently purchased. The delivery of the game is via STEAM – a service provider that streams games that you own into your computer via the Internet. That alone is an experience worth mentioning. Imagine no more game boxes that take up space (did I hear Cynthia cheering in the background?). OK. The download takes long. But the good thing is that you can re-download games that you own any time in the future and all the patches can be applied via the one source. Now, that is STEAM. But what about “Games for Window”?
The Microsoft initiative “Games for Window” has been around for ages. To be frank, I had no idea what difference does it make if I am to compare games that do not have “Games for Window” stickers to those that have. DiRT 2 is the first “Games for Window” game I have that saves my game progress into Microsoft gaming server, online. Combine that with STEAM, this is what the future of PC gaming should be like. As and when I upgrade my computer, all I need to do is to install STEAM, re-download my games in their latest versions, and pick up from where I have left off. No game boxes, no need to search for latest patches online, and no need to manually back up my game progress. Life is not only good, but great.
DiRT 2 is not only good, but great. One of the few games that utilizes the latest DirectX 11 graphics standard. And I have one of the few video cards today that support this new standard. Visually, the game is stunning. The dust, the water splashes, the smoke, and the day and night scenes. I suck at playing racing game. But once in a while, I am able to put up a heroic performance that involves teeth grinding overtaking moments, beautiful drifting in spacious corners, picking up from my mistake and fight back to the top of the grid. If only DiRT 2 allows us to upload our replay – which by the way, is very visually satisfying, realistically made – to YouTube for sharing, that would have been a dream comes true. For now, below is a video clip featuring Ken Block. And yes, it is that real.
* * IV * *
Computer gaming often delivers what we fantasize. It would not be a good game if it involves reading and replying emails, organizing and attending conference calls, like my real job. Space traveling is a different kind of fantasy. Unlike dragons and trolls that we know they do not exist, cars that we know exist but highly unlikely that we would be behind those wheels any time soon, anything to do with a probable future that involves space traveling has a certain charm. And that is the main reason why I enjoy playing Mass Effect. Therefore, I have decided to start all the way from the beginning even though I have lost my previous game progress when my hard disk crashed. Now, that would not be a problem had my game progress was saved online, would it? And since its sequel is due to be released early next year, in my mode of ‘laid-back-ness’, I better finish the game fast.
When Cynthia peeped at my screen one fine day, she commented that the game is like a movie, with dialogs and story development. Indeed, Mass Effect to me is like an interactive movie. An experience that is hard to describe (imagine how difficult it is to describe what Internet is and can do to those who have little exposure to the technology). Almost like directing your very own movie in your own home.
Back to the game, I have no clue how gamers can finish a game in 20 to 40 hours. I have no clue how anyone can finish any game these days. So many hours have been sunken into this game and I have yet to see the ending. That shows how laid-back I am with my gaming career.
Want to know what I am playing for? Below is the trailer of the sequel. Mouth watering. No less.
* * V * *
I reckon I can be an ambassador for PC gaming. And if you have the patience to read thus far, I have a message for you. Have a great New Year Eve celebration. Thank you for being with my site all these while and have a productive 2010, in a laid-back style.
PS. Of course, in this 2 weeks of laid-back holiday, beside computer gaming, we have also enjoyed watching the movies and dinning out. Come to think of it, just like how I spent my school holiday in London. Woot! I made it. This post has a word count of 2009!
While we were queuing to enter the AMK Hub car park, out of nowhere, Cynthia asked what do people really mean when they say Merry Christmas to one another. Good question. I wonder how many of us genuinely ponder upon the good news of the birth of a savior – God in the flesh of a man – when delivering or upon receiving such a wish.
* * Ø * *
I have a theory. I think “Avatar” has some borrowed ideas from the game “World of Warcraft”. No spoilers here of course. And I bury my theory at the bottom of this entry.
* * I * *
The question is not whether you should watch “Avatar” or give it a miss. It is an experience not to be missed. If ticket price was to be pegged with the movie budget and if you are happy to pay S$10 for “He’s Just Not That Into You”, watching “Avatar” would have cost you S$100. So, what motivates the filmmakers to pour in $240 million – a budget is closed to what it took to create the “Lord of the Rings” film trilogy – to make a movie? I suppose pushing the film boundary with new technology (and hence money) so as to give the audience a never-seen-before experience often pays off. I remember how the first installment of “Lord of the Rings” wowed me to the core. And somehow, the next two installments did not seem to be as visually stimulating as the first one.
Now, the question is: Should you watch “Avatar” on 3D or not? We picked the 3D version. It was an unique experience. It works especially well with computer generated imaginary. It makes sense when you think about it. For real life objects, the 3D effect has already been take care of by the field of depth. Objects in the background are often blurred out. Using the current 3D technology on real life objects as seen in the film tends to make the image less sharp with washed down color, though it is without a doubt a wow factor to see a gun or grass bushes popping out of the screen – however blurry it seems. The same effect on the computer generated imaginary is absolutely stunning. Personally, I find the 3D goggles occasionally gave me a faint headache. It is like the discomfort I experience when an object is placed very close to that one point between my eyes. Cynthia finds the goggles keep slipping down and of course, you can wear the 3D goggles on top of your spectacles. Also, if I am to watch another 3D movie, I would bring along a cloth wiper to clean the goggles.
Back to the question. 3D format is for an unique cinematic experience and the non-3D format is for the visual effect in its full glory. Either way, you can’t be wrong.
After watching “Avatar”, I asked myself: What moves me a great deal when watching “Avatar” or “Bodyguards and Assassins“? I think it is bravery against formidable adversary.
* * II * *
Just before we entered into the movie theatre, my sister texted me and asked if we wanted to catch up in the evening. Did I have plan on the Christmas Eve? A Christmas Mass and my ‘date’ with Mark to show him how to joust in the World of Warcraft. I guess jousting would have to wait (sorry Mark!).
After the movie, TK asked what’s-for-dinner. Good question. In this two weeks holiday of ours, Cynthia and I have hardly put our heads together for any planning. So, why not invite our good buddy and my sister and her hubby for a home cook dinner? One minor logistic challenge though: we don’t have meat in our refrigerator ever since we have become vegetarians. TK volunteered to buy roasted duck and we boosted our menu to a 4-course meal: green salad, soup, pasta with roasted duck, and our dessert was a birthday cake for TK. So few stones, so many birds!
We had a lovely time. And it is good to spend Christmas Eve with family and friends.
* * III * *
We did not plan to attend the Midnight Mass for we planned to attend one of the earlier slots. Personally I prefer the one at midnight. It appears to be more authentic. Cynthia feels that Midnight Mass is a bit too late. It is true. The calling of my bed or the comfort of my home was hard to ignore especially when the Mass has passed the 1 am mark.
We arrived at the Church before 11 pm. Seats are hard to come by on Christmas. 11.30 pm the choir started singing the Christmas songs. Surprisingly, the quality of the choir this year was really good, at Christ the King. Even the priest commented that how nice if we are to have this level of standard for our Sunday Masses. The Church was full, our priest was exceptionally energetic, and the congregation was in high spirit. Personally, I would like to thank those who have made this Midnight Mass such a memorable experience. I think the nonstop rounds of applause said it all.
* * IV * *
I think this section may not make me the most popular guy in the planet, as everyone loves “Avatar”. While watching the show, I could not help but to associate some of the scenes to an online game that I live and breath for 5 years. If you have not watched “Avatar”, the following slideshow probably would not make sense to you (and it certainly would not spoil your “Avatar” enjoyment if you see it either). It is hard to explain in words so I took my avatar in World of Warcraft, traveled around the world, and took some screenshots for illustration’s sake.
Two unrelated stories to share here. One from Cynthia. One from me.
What is seat chopping? For those who live in Singapore, we all know what this means. For my overseas readers, no, we don’t literally chop seats here. We simply don’t chop anything in Singapore. Not even the trees. We move or relocate the trees along the highway when we have the need to add an extra lane or two.
So what does “chop” mean in Singapore? To be honest, I am not born and bred here. The word’s origin to me is fuzzy. I interpret the word or verb quote-unquote chop as “occupy or obtain ahead of one’s need while denying others of the resource or opportunity”. A clumsy interpretation I admit. But by now you should how clumsy I can be with words.
Monday afternoon, Cynthia met with her Indonesian girl friend from Bali and they have not met each other for more than a decade. Under a hot sun, they walked from point A to point B. The sun was so hot that it gave Cynthia a headache till the evening, as she recounted her afternoon story to me inside our car. I do not know where point A was. But point B was a food court at Tanjong Pagar, a location Cynthia seldom roams. Lunch time near the city center, we know how crowded the eateries can be. So while Cynthia queued up for food, her friend carrying tons of shopping bags was tasked to look for a table.
Cynthia’s friend has found a table in a nice and quiet area. As Cynthia placed the food onto the table, she noticed a package of tissue paper as well as a fold up newspaper. Too late to do anything now. In Singapore, white collar workers often “chop” the seats with packets of tissue paper put onto the empty seats or tables. After a seat is confirmed or reserved, they head out to look for food, queue up for food. Personally, I do not do that, unless I am with a group of seat choppers. I do not do that because by the time I look for food, queue up for food, get my food, one or two persons could have benefited from the seat. Especially so for some of the more crowded eateries like Amoy Street Food Court. The flip side is, by the time I get my food, I would be faced with a sea of tissue paper and empty seats reserved by the seat choppers.
Not long after Cynthia and her friend started eating their meal, a Singaporean woman came by the table taking back the package of tissue paper and the newspaper. And she said, “Did you know that these seats are chop? Are you new here?” Cynthia was about to leave the table while her friend was reluctant to do likewise, imagine having to carry her shopping bags and her meal. Cynthia’s friend replied with her Indonesian accent …
“No, I do not know. I am from Indonesia.” And she signaled to Cynthia and continued, “And she is not from Tanjong Pagar.”
Cynthia is not from Tanjong Pagar?!
I was laughing in tears when I heard Cynthia’s friend’s reply. And so was she.
The Singaporean woman – friendly as it seemed – said, “It’s OK. We have found another table. Just to let you know, this is the culture here [in Singapore].”
Singapore culture? Really?
PS. I have nothing against seat choppers. Just so to let you know that I am still your friend.
* * * * *
Monday morning, my sister dropped me a message in Facebook asking me to check out her comment on one of my blog entries. Lora had a phone conversation with our mom in Hong Kong. She ended the message with: It is quite funny and I hope you won’t faint.
Rewind to a week or so ago, my mom called me on my home phone. And she acted quite strange, repeatedly commenting on how expensive my lenses are. She even threw in some numbers and I was shocked that she knew the price of camera gears. The numbers did not seem right but I was not thinking much. In fact, I confess that I was not 100% with the phone call. I am a lousy person to have a meaningful phone conversation with. My attention simply drifts before the first minute is up.
So I replied, “Well, these are quality lenses and the photographs look great, no?” And my mother went on and on about how rich I have become.
Over the weekend, my mom called my sister and said, “You brother has bought a lens for S$20,000!” I can imagine my sister was as shocked as I would have been had I pay attention to what my mom had said over the phone. In my defence, my sister mentioned that it is not possible to spend that kind of money on camera gears. My mom insisted that she has read it in my website, together with dad as the witness.
Uh-oh. My parents are reading what I write here? How? They do not read English!
Apparently, technology is so advance these days that websites can be translated into another language on the fly. But not so advance to accurately translate the meaning of I wish I have that bazooka lens that costs S$20,000. This gives ‘lost in translation’ a whole new meaning. If I have that kind of money to blow, my photograph of the moon would certainly look better than this.
I woke up this morning and realized that nature has delivered a plant to me.
Last night, I had a great dream. Not the type that I could remember in detail. But one that has such great sense of freedom. Like nothing else matters. Cool wind on my face. In fact, I could breath the freshness. I could feel the freshness. The kind of tingling feeling that made the dream as real as it could get. A similar experience when I visited the 3D theater inside Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. Donald Duck and the splashing of water, towards the end of the show. Cool air blowing inside the theater. Water sprinkled onto the audience cued perfectly with the short clip. And in this great dream of mine, right before I woke up in the middle of the night, I felt that I was watching my dream, inside a theater, with all these props there to make my dream more realistic. But why?
I opened my eyes. Water dripping from my air-conditioner splashed onto my face. A splash of water on my wireless phone next to my bed, a splash of water on my library book, on my pillow, my bolster, and my face.
This morning, I examined the air-conditioner trying to see what has gone wrong. Is it something I can fix? My air-conditioner looks normal. Except, water dripping from within.
I traced the water exhaust pipe, from the blower, through the wall, to the condenser, outside my window. I opened my curtain …
… and got a shock! I saw a plant outside my window! Right inside the concrete tray that keeps my condenser in place. Feeding on the water coming from my air conditioner.
A plant! Not a tiny one. But a sizable one that defies all hostile conditions. Where does it come from? Was it there all these while? Or it exists after I have made an observation? Stardust. A baby appears at my doorstep. I thought of that movie when I saw this mysterious plant.
I do not have any plant or pet living in my home until now. This plant that comes from nowhere looks ugly. But I think I can live with it.
Last night before I went to bed, I was worried that I may momentarily run out of things to write. This morning I woke up and realized that nature has delivered a story to me.
Some readers shared with me that it is fun watching the slide show of the behind-the-scene footage on how I draw. Since we have already established the fact that each object of my recent drawings is formed with rationale, I shall focus on the story behind this drawing and showcase the behind-the-scene footage instead.
Some of you may recall my rather memorable experience in trying to sun dry my sport shoes. Three years have passed and I found myself in the same situation. Mid November, as I was near the Spanish school Las Lilas after work waiting for Cynthia to join me, there was a sudden heavy downpour. So heavy that it was impossible not to get totally soaking wet even with a huge golf umbrella like mine. So heavy that I have seldom seen something quite like this, even in a tropic island of ours. My sixth sense told me that Cynthia would not have an umbrella with her. So I braved the rain, walked all the way to the train station intending to fetch her with my golf umbrella.
Life is full of anti-climax scenes and renewed surprises. When Cynthia emerged from the station, the rain had subsided, obliterated what appeared as an heroic act with now only my pair of wet dark trousers that did not look that wet against the dark color and my shoes that oozed out water from the stitching on every step I take as subtle evidents of what I had endured. Those stitching that looks great as a design but is defenseless against heavy rain. My socks were soaking wet. So were my shoes. As we crossed the street and passed The Cathay – our favorite cinema – the rain gathered force and Cynthia turned to me and asked, “Shall we skip this lesson, have dinner and go home?”
Erm … no.
What I did not tell you is that in the making of the previous behind-the-scene footage, I nearly set my stack of drawing papers on fire. Candles are fire hazard. Also, setting up the scene takes at least an hour. But if you enjoy viewing these footage, I am happy making it.
Recently, I am reading more into Dalí’s work. I figure that my drawings so far lack perspectives and a frame. And I am intrigued by Dalí’s imagination and articulation. To create this drawing, I have made numerous practice on how to draw my shoes in different angles. I viewed them from close to the ground. Imagine the discomfort of drawing in that position. I could of course put my shoes on my dinning table and practice my drawing. But that would drive Cynthia mad for sure.
I used to think that making a surreal interpretation of an object is easy. But it is not. I have to be able to draw the object in realism first before transforming it into surrealism. As for the overall composition, I have also made quite a number of sketches in arriving to this final state.
This drawing took me three hours to complete (and many hours to compose and prepare). Initially I thought doodling takes much lesser time than oil painting. Maybe not.
Last evening, returned home from a lovely dinner gathering with Symantec, Cynthia was already in bed. I opened the window, cool air greeted my face. As I extended my vision from near to far, from the golf course on the other side of the reservoir to the pitch-dark sky, I saw a bright dot. It was the moon! Quickly I dashed to my dry cabinet, switched to my telephoto lens, set up the tripod, and started taking photos of our only natural satellite. The moon does rise up faster than I thought, so does the speed of rotation. And if I line up the photos I took in sequential order, I can see how the moon rotates.
Different photographers have different preferences on subject matter. Cynthia’s brother for instance loves to take pictures of insects found in around his Jakarta home at the macro level. He would proudly show me images of insect eyes and hairs and what not. I could faint looking at those. As for me, I enjoy taking pictures of the monuments, candid pictures of the moment, and celestial beauty like the moon.
Avid readers of my site may think: Wait a minute, is this a déjà vu? I have seen a photo just like this before. Indeed, that was last December. I think the photograph of the moon then was a little bit too bright. Also, no longer do I need to hand hold the camera now that I have a tripod. Hence a different setting that seems to make the moon looks a bit more 3D.
Last night’s moon reminds me of Italo Calvino’s “Cosmicomics (1965)”. The short story “The Distance of the Moon” is the most beautiful piece of literature I have read that is based upon our moon. Italo Calvino remains as one of my all-time-favorite authors. Some of his books I have read more than once. His work has made it to Harold Bloom’s “The Western Canon (1994)”. Unfortunately, my zest of writing book summaries did not quite take form until 2006. Perhaps in this upcoming 2010, I shall have a book marathon on all his works of fiction and have the book summaries posted here.
PS. No post-processing on this photo. It is as it is, cropped of course. Exposure setting: M mode, 1/800 second, f/8 and sensitivity: ISO 200. Now, I wish I have that 600mm lens (that costs nearly S$20,000!).
If you recall, a year ago, I was happily sharing the exciting news of my nephew and I sharing the same birthday. Decades apart, of course. Looking back at that blog entry, what a bizarre piece of write-up I produced! So much details then that I would have forgotten now. Like I often say, keep a diary and keep writing it. One form or another.
So I did get that dSLR camera. Towards the end of our holiday in Indonesia, when Cynthia one day in her home in Bandung after we have visited her brother Eric’s home in Jakarta looked at my bulky camera gears, she asked, “You brought all these gears all the way from Singapore just to take pictures of Felice and Nathan?” I nodded and replied, “Indeed.”
If the weather in Bandung was any better, I may have taken some dusk shots in around Cynthia’s house. Unlike my trip a year ago, I now have a tripod. But during our stay, Bandung rained and rained and rained. Non-stop, every evening, which is OK, for I have prepared tons of things to do while relaxing at Cynthia’s home.
During this trip, instead of taking tons of photos, I have jotted down tons of writing ideas, including one possible book idea. That book idea aside, I initially intended to start publishing the short stories inspired by my short trip to Indonesia starting today. But then, why the rush? Better rush the photos of my lovely nephew and niece instead, learned from experience.
I wonder if painters explain their works under normal circumstances, or let the viewers, big time critics to figure out what the artworks really mean, the inspiration that was behind the drawings. Like Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam”. Did he explain to the then media that the blob behind the painting of God is indeed a brain? Or someone simply figured it out? It would be so flattering if someone in the future ‘figures out’ my works. For now, back to reality, some of you may wonder how I compose the drawing “Bleeding Heart and the Thread of Fate”. If you have not seen the drawing, I hope you have a look at it before reading further.
Center to this drawing – both theme-wise and location-wise – is what you see above: a bleeding heart and a 8-shaped thread cut opened in two places. I deliberately leave the heart hollow, and broken. Like I wrote in the previous entry, the Chinese title is 《心中滴血紅線斷》. That is a big drop of dripping blood you are seeing. The thread, again, is the ‘red thread’. In Chinese, it is the thread that binds the married couple, a thread of fate that brings the couples together in the first place.
The main subject of this drawing is a girl, with a broken heart (please refer to original drawing). You can see a teardrop from her eye, her shoulders, and her upper body. There are two hands by her side (check out the palm lines). Some form of support, some form of care from her friends and family. There are two more hands side by side with opened palms right underneath the bleeding heart. Again, it is a form of support. What an abstract pair of hands you may ask. If you look closer, from the shoulders of the girl, tracing along her sides with patterns marked by the fingers, all the way to the finger patterns and the gap between the two palms at the bottom – this forms a butterfly. I wish to convey a sense of femininity to this drawing. Also to bring forth the concept of something so beautiful, yet temporal, time bound (butterflies don’t live long).
Previously, I mentioned that there are four faces revealed by rotation. To help you to visualize, I have extracted the bits for each face.
Face #1 should be obvious. That is our main subject. Face #2 requires a bit of imagination. Can you see the two lines of tear from the girl’s eye?
Face #3 and #4 look like distorted figures, which I have intended to in order to signify the pain of a broken heart. There is a face, shoulders, one eye (while another one hidden in the shadow), a nose, and an opened mouth with teeth.
OK. That is all I have. I hope you find this write-up interesting. Thanks for reading!
This, could be quite a significant piece of drawing. One that pivots my art direction. It is the first time I explore different perspectives by rotation. You should be able to see four faces (by rotation), and a subject with at least four different objects. Why ‘at least’? This kind of abstract art, I won’t be surprised if you see more than what I intended this drawing to be.
Believe it or not, the first title that came up to my mind while I was conceptualizing this drawing was a Chinese title I created called 《心中滴血紅線斷》. It is a combination of two concepts: the dripping blood inside a heart and the cutting of a red thread. The former is a graphical way to describe heartache. The latter, in Chinese, ‘red thread’ signifies the thread of fate that ties the couples into marriage. A broken one with a bleeding heart, I am sure you can figure out the rest.
From time to time, I have friends from either sexes – though more females than males – who confide in me their not-too-successful love stories. Loving someone, could be a painful process. Undeniably so. But I reckon it is better to feel what is love than not knowing what love is at all. Another common theme I have learned (and shared) is that relationship goes deeper than finding out if couples are right for each other. At times, when timing is not right, though a couple is compatible in all fronts, it is just not meant to be. It is hard to swallow, it is even harder to move on. Interestingly, all whom didn’t quite believe me when I said, “the right one could be just round the corner, and hence don’t give up!” The next moment, he or she found someone, some got married, and seldom contact me no more. I am happy for them of course. It is good to play a small role in someone’s life journey, however brief it is.
So tell me, how do you interpret this drawing? I may write about its composition in the next post.
