Tears for Affairs

Was at the Esplanade last night for Camera Obscura, all the way from Glasgow, Scotland. They were pretty good, although I felt the one hour set was rather short. Santa Lu had a surplus of tickets so it was Xmas come early for the sisters and winnie's new bf. We had empty seats just to stow our bags. I would write more but I'm not in the mood, my gf's angry with me because I teased her about wanting to go out while she's on MC, so I will just let the photos do the talking.

後。青春期的詩

It's out : D On his blog, Ah Shin leaves instructions ( translated from Mandarin):

Mayday has only one simple request,
“From the beginning to the end, without stopping, listen through it once!”
Even if you grab it off the internet, Mayday won’t blame you.

Mayday is Monster, Masa, Stone, Guanyou, Ashin and “You.”
So you see, “you” are important.
How you listen to this album is naturally very important.

Please first download all of the songs,
then organize them from track one through to track twelve,
including the length of the gaps between songs - Mayday has planned all of it for you.

I have just finished my English Assignment. 2500 words about materials evaluation and adaptation, non-teachers need not bother about what that means. My hands are cramping from being scrunched up too long over the mouse; that usually only happens after a long game of DOTA, so you can tell how long I have been at it. Before i go collapse in a heap on my bed, I thought I'd include another photography post. Heh.

A picture is well composed if it constituents - whether figures or apples or just shapes - form a harmony which pleases the eye when regarded as 2-dimensional shapes on a flat ground.
Pete Murray

Seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary
From photographs we can learn more about the world. Images not only inform us about the products we never knew we need, the events, people and places too distant or remote for us to see with our own eyes, but also tell us more about the things we thought we already knew.
Most of us are too preoccupied to stand and look at something for any great amount of time. We glance at something briefly and think we have seen it. Our conditioning or desires often tell us what we have seen or would like to see. When we look at a photograph of something ordinary however, it may show us the object like we had never seen it before. With a little creative imagination and a little photographic technique, it is possible to release the extraordinary from the ordinary.

Filling the frame
When the photographer moves closer, distracting background can be reduced or eliminated. There are less visual elements that have to be arranged and the photographer has much more control over the composition. Many amateurs are afraid of chopping off the top of someone's head, but that is permissible if your intention is to draw the viewer's attention to the face and the subject's features or expression. Eliminating a part of the background can bring the the attention of the viewer to the intended subject of the photo.

Diagonal Lines
I think I have this down in previous entries on photography, but I thought I'd add it anyway to reinforce - Diagonal lines are more dynamic than horizontal or vertical lines. They set up a dynamic tension or sense of movement within the picture.

Quality of light.
The smaller the light source, the harder the light appears. Hard light create dark shadows with well defined edges.
The larger the light source, the softer the light appears. Soft lights, eg sunlight diffused by clouds or light that has been reflected of a large bright surface, have less dark shadows and the edges are not clearly defined.

Saturday, the first day of the long weekend(Deepavali) was good. Make that "Very Good". 3rd SMMT Test in school in the morning, I thought I could handle most of the questions, but keeping my fingers crossed. With that out of the way, I was feeling light and ready for takeoff, although my shoulder was still sore. After the test, I dropped my lil sister off at church, came home and finished my dvd,"21"- the true story of a group of genius MIT students, who hit the Vegas casinos armed with their maths strategy and came away with bucket loads of cash. Jim Sturgess is fast becoming my new favorite leading man.

After that, I met Jaime to investigate the Alien landings at City Hall. This was what we saw:

The giant maggots chased us out, but it wasn't so bad because Jaime had to be home for dinner and I had to meet Uncle Ed to watch the Man Utd game - Felliani turned turned out to be the spoiler. And then after the game, it was a 5 minutes drive from my home to Toa Payoh for Lulu's housewarming, 'housewarming' was a misnomer, it was really a gathering of good friends.

There was beer and donuts and Jianhua brought his guitar and we did sing-along. It was chill, and it was all lovely.

Song's over. Time to get back into the grind. Assignment 2 due on Tuesday. Gonna stay in today to work on that. There's one thing to look forward to though, Mayday's new album will be out on Tuesday. Hip Hip Hooray!

They say an apple a day will keep the doctor away. If I keep eating apples, will it stop my shoulder from popping out? A forceful barge, commonplace in soccer games, 'take it like a man', was all it took on Tuesday. Maybe its time to give up competitive soccer.

In the twilight glow of the evening, I made my way to Pasir Ris to get my shoulder dislocated. The rain that had dominated most of the day had abated, but the roads were still slippery and traffic was cautiously slow. At the junction between Eunos and Ubi, I found I could hardly recognize the place. They had cut down the the venerable rain trees along the road which had stood like street markers ever since the days of my dad's Toyota Starlet, EK2421 Y; In the haze of memory, I can remember, before my brother was born, passing by this stretch of road, with my dad, on the way to East Coast Park, to feed the fishes in the oval pond, with discarded bread crumbs collected from Mr Pangkat's bakery, since closed down, and after that, after sandcastles and seashells by the seaside, travelling down the ECP to pick up my mum from GH. Red lights force a stop at the never-again-will-be-the-same junction. Highrise. The music from the CD player evokes in me the nostalgia of more recent days past, those Cafe Cosmo days. October evenings like this, with the yellow lights of street lamps reflecting off the glistening asphalt, our stomachs carl's jr-filled, we were care-free after a long day of mugging in the library and thirsting for the tune that would encapsulate our youth.

gone too soon, ever in our minds......

My wonderful girlfriend relented and agreed to accompany me to the National Museum for another round of Chen Chien Chi's 'Openness'. And so, we went on a rainy Sunday afternoon, to the National Museum at Stamford Road. I am glad to say she enjoyed herself thoroughly. she found the photo exhibition 'surprisingly' interesting and because NIE students get free admission, after 'Openness','we took a walk through the Singapore History gallery, that was good as well. History is cool! They were screening M&M's old election rallies in black & white, back then he was a young man and I must say he made an impression on both of us. He was logical, passionate, articulate and charismatic, equally fluent in Malay as well as Hokkien! , and in his speeches ever the pragmatist, although he seemed to use "Taxi-drivers' as a bugbear quite alot.

The point of this post, is that I am in school at 830am and feeling stupid because the 830 am class has been cancelled but I clean forgot all about it. Fortunately there's the 11am class, or it will really be a waste. 

Brought Jaime to the French Stall last night. I ordered a tray of Escargots and wanted her to try, but she wouldn't, not even the tiniest bite. "It's better than it looks, try it, if you don't like it, spit it out," I attempt to persuade. "There are some things in life, I'd rather pass on," she says, "Like slimy creatures in shells and smelly durians." At least that's 50% we have in common. I have never tried Singapore's national fruit either and I am not planning to. Does that make me less of a Singaporean?

It's Friday and I am feeling light headed because I have finally cleared the long list of assignments,  partly also because I am cold and hungry in the NIE library practising for the maths test next Sat while waiting for my gf to knock off so we can go for dinner and then after that wander the city. With in-ear earphones, i lapse into a moment of indiscretion and do a little jig to the music and then I realise where I am and quickly sit back down, red faced.

Bigma on the moon. How round it is tonight. 2 down, 2 to go for the week. I was so pissed off this morning by my absent project mates. Grrr. After being on MC for all the math lessons last week, her grandmother conveniently passed away this morning, but Jaime is right, no use getting all worked up. Been itching to go shoot the lights in Little India.

Monday. Assignment deadlines galore this week. *Groan.

Another photography post, unavoidable, considering I attended Magnum photographer, Chang Chien-Chi's talk at the national museum on Friday. For the uninformed, Chang Chien-Chi's is the only Asian in the elite Magnum Photo agency founded by legends Ropert Capa and Henri Cartier Bresson. 3 of his works, The Chain, Double Happiness, and China Town, some 130 photographs are now on exhibition at the national museum. Don't miss this one!

For the talk, I went with Cheeleong, and although I was troubled before the talk began( I thought I had lost my wallet together with all the important documents; it has since been recovered), I quickly forgot all about, with hindsight, my little problem, once we took our seats to await the great man. He was eccentric, but very witty. He started off talking about his work, but then his train of thought would wander, and it became very obvious that he hadn't come with any clear theme or message, rather he just spoke on whatever came to his mind as he looked at the stimulus of a slide show, probably prepared for him by the museum. But it was enlightening enough, as he talked about how he prefers one camera, one lens, thats all you need, keep it simple.


Keep it simple. Great advice.

Mayday back to old-school.

gonna write something very soon, but first this video. New album coming out, not long now!

My soundcard failed yesterday. So I had to go down to Sim Lim in the evening today, after a long day at school to get a new one. My intention was to replace the spoilt card with one of the same make, the Sound Blaster Audigy 2, and considering that it cost me $58 a year ago, I was expecting the price to have dropped as things are with computer parts, so I was looking at a price of around $40-50.

But when I got there, to my dismay, they no longer produced the Audigy, the only choices were the $38 Sound Blaster Live 5.1 which I remember buying 4 years ago, thats 2 computers before my current, or the latest high end SoundBlaster X-Fi series, with the tag "Experience your music beyond studio quality."

I was skeptical, I didn't think there would be any noticeable difference, I mean, soundcard technology has been with us for, it has got be at least 10 years. How big of an improvement could there be? Previously, I had gone from the Audigy to the Audigy 2 and unless my ears are faulty, I could not detect any difference or improvement between the 2. 5.1 seemed like the logical choice. But then a part of me was curious, and I didn't want to pay $38 for 5 year old technology. So in the end, I shelled out 80 dollars more, for the Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio, and I am glad I did. There actually IS a difference, and its pretty obvious, especially when I am playing mp3 files! The music is clearer and richer. If like me, you play alot of music on your computer, you should really consider making the switch!

Just a quick post before i head for the showers and after that, reluctantly to school for class and all the assignments deadlines.

Some learning points from the RSPB guide to Wildlife Photography that is also applicable to all the other genres.

Backgrounds and Lighting.

Backgrounds.
The background of a picture can make or break it. Distracting elements in the background of an image, can draw the viewer's eye away from the main subject, and impair its success. When your attention is devoted to the subject in your viewfinder, it is easy to miss distracting elements that will weaken a picture. When taking images, it is useful to scan your backgrounds first before releasing the shutter.

To overcome a bad background:
1. Move your position, sometimes, it is only by a few centimetres to the side or up.
2. Using Depth of field to throw out any distracting element. A Shallow depth of field is a great way to make your subject stand out from the background.
3.Using a long lens to isolate part of the subject, so the background doesn't matter.

Some points on lighting.
The direction and quality of light on your subject will give the image its mood, and will play a big part in the impact a picture has.

The best light of the day will always be in the early morning or in the evening, when light moves towards the the warm end of the colour spectrum. Colours are then intensified and a more 3 dimensional form to people, animals and things is created.


Front lighting
- with the sun coming from over your shoulder. Front lit objects will show greater detail and will lack shadows; colours will also be at their best. However without shadows the image looks flat s there is less contrast.

Side or Backlightiing provides a more moody feel and a more creative image, however the photographer needs to exercise greater control.

Rim lighting - with backlighting, the subject may be back lit against a dark background; the edges of a person or an aimal is lit up producing a beautiful effect - or glowing halo. Things to watch out for when shooting backlit scenes include lens flare, but using a good deep lens hood or holding your hand over the top of your lens should eliminate this.

Side lighting - 3 dimensional field, but harsh shadows may occur, therefore it is best to shoot side-lit subjects at the start or the end of a day. Side lit objects are often photographed best when low to the ground. The low angle accentuates the drama in the image.

The Online Citizen's tribute to JBJ

To read Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam’s history of speeches in Parliament is to marvel at the breadth of the task he took upon himself in 1981, when he entered Parliament as Singapore’s only opposition member. While championing the causes of free speech, the rule of law, and social justice, he unfailingly related them to the concerns of ordinary people.

His overarching philosophy was simple. In the Introduction to his book, Make it Right for Singapore, he affirmed the set of core principles he stood by:

‘That they (the people) should determine collectively the good of society and not have it determined for them by anyone above them, however benevolent…It follows that in every democratic society, the individual matters, however lowly he might be.’

This was not empty rhetoric. JBJ would unfailingly enter the arena of Parliament armed with the concerns of ordinary citizens. In one Parliamentary sitting typical of many of his speeches, he brought with him hospital bills of a ‘senior citizen, 68 years of age, unemployed, no income at all’ who could barely afford the consultation charge at a public hospital.

Upon his return to Parliament in 1997 as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP), he moved a motion for an All-Party Committee of Parliament to check on prices for basic necessities, service and conservancy fees, University fees and Class C wards.

In a signature issue that endeared him to taxi-drivers around the island, JBJ constantly inveighed against the diesel tax for taxis, and freeing up taxi ownership licenses from being oligopolized by a handful of companies.

To his mind, no issue was too small to be raised in Parliament, no Singaporean was to be left behind.

The personal toll

The arc of JBJ’s political career is a trajectory of remarkable resilience in the face of hardship.

In his writings, JBJ recalls his fervent support for the UK Labour Party during his university days in London. He held up Aneurin Bevan as his political idol, the coal miner turned Labour Minister responsible for the post-War introduction of the National Health Service (NHS).

While JBJ’s early life never resembled the economic hardship of Bevan’s coal mining days, the turmoil of his political career more than made up for it. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew once boasted that Jeyaretnam knew ‘that in my bag I have a hatchet, and a very sharp one. You take me on, I take my hatchet, we meet in the cul-de-sac’.

Time and again, that hatchet was used on JBJ. In 1986, he lost his parliamentary seat and was disbarred from legal practice after being fined for making a false declaration on the Worker’s Party (WP) accounts in 1982. His disbarment was appealed to the UK Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and was memorably described thus:

The appellant (JBJ) and his co-accused Wong, have suffered a grievous injustice. They have been fined, imprisoned and publicly disgraced for offences of which they are not guilty.

It was to be of no effect. An appeal to the President on the basis of the Privy Council judgment was rejected on the advice of Cabinet.

In 2001, JBJ was to suffer another hatcheting, losing his NCMP seat when he could not pay the damages in a defamation action brought by five People’s Action Party (PAP) MPs.

JBJ bore the blows stoically, selling his books outside Centrepoint in an attempt to discharge himself from bankruptcy. He was bloodied by the hatchet, but stood dignified and unbowed.

But JBJ’s greatest tragedy was personal: the loss of his wife, Margaret Cynthia Walker. They met when he was studying in England, and she had campaigned with him in four failed elections from 1972-1980. She never lived to see his breakthrough victory in Anson, succumbing to breast cancer in 1980. Her death affected him deeply, and might have been the only time in his political career he bordered on regret. In an interview JBJ gave a TOC contributor four months before his passing, he said:

She shared my ideals and then, she left me… for a time I thought why should I carry on? I should just give up,” he said. “But if I wanted to give up, I should have given it up before she died. Then, I don’t know. I might have saved her life.

In his footsteps

To hold JBJ up as a symbol is easy. He stood for those hard done by in a city of plenty of plenty. He stood for an instinctive and simple sense of social justice. He stood for a principled and unyielding position in a political culture that placed a premium on pragmatism.

But the highest honor any Singaporean can pay JBJ is to walk the path he began back in 1981. To live a life of courage, principles, and empathy with our fellow men. To speak truth to power, whoever the ruler may be, at whatever the cost. As JBJ in the interview said:

The strength is in the ordinary people.

Went to the Singapore Motorshow at Suntec yesterday with Cheeleong, and it was a real blast. Not because of the cars on display, this year there weren't many but because of the Subaru Impreza stunt driving performance and the fact that we got a chance to get in the stunt cars with the stunt drivers taking us on a exciting spin around the car park area, drifting around the corners. For $6 entry, it sure was a lot of exhilaration, although Chee Leong complained of giddiness afterwards.

It's getting really frustrating nowadays, driving home in the evening. With ERP on the CTE until 1030pm, traffic has simply been diverted to the PIE and the other roads. I could feel the anger rising, as I exhausted all the options, from the PIE, where the jam was from Eng Neo to Kallang, to Little India and then Geylang, everywhere it was a snail's pace.