miscommunication
what happens when you finally talk to a girl you've always been meaning to talk to? it was rather surreal, i don't even know if i was making coherent conversation.. but let's hope we made sense.

how to be a better person
i guess there has to first be an inherent dissatisfaction in your life, that you think "things could be better." nothing wrong with that, in fact it's a good tool to strive, or rather not lapse into stagnancy. combating stagnancy and being contented are not polar opposites, in fact i think they go together. one has to first learn to be content, so that he/she does not chase after fleeting things, and well.. combatting stagnancy is a natural part of our lives when we see that the world is always changing around us. if one chooses to live within society, one has to change with it or be left behind, but if one chooses to live on the periphery of society, then well.. nothing that society dictates should affect this person very much. so where has God called you to be today?

i do wish i was a better person, i do wished i made less mistake. the funny thing about this world, is that we bear so much weight on our mistakes. we can't lie and say they don't matter, but we can't lie and hold an unecessary grudge against ourselves for a mistake. hevaen knows the times we remember someone for more bad than good, and that translates into our own lives so much more. we can forgive others, but can we forgive ourselves? you don't need to have done something bad to want forgiveness.. the need for forgiveness is probably something so inherent and deep within us, that sometimes we just don't see it.

and sometimes only one God sees it, and the gift has already been given. so why not accept it? *cue sentimental music* -)

the world according to wikipedia
information takes the world by storm, and when in doubt we consult the body of knowledge. today, there is a great database known as www.wikipedia.org. an online encyclopedia run by netizens you and me, from various topics of popular culture and unchanging history.

perhaps in the future, this resource will have risen into a rank of authority on various subjects. truly, if you can find almost anything online then perhaps all this world is run on an information monopoly, and that is a rather scary thought.

i also just got my first roll of lomo snaps back. not as spectacular as i thought it would be, but it's firming my resolve to get better at this.

friend of a friend
you're a friend of friends.
wow, i can think of a personal lord and saviour that fits that description. -) and also my faithful breathren who've just been the most wonderful being yourselves and not anyone else.

chau is a fuck-tard
Great Swifty (Edmund) : director
le plastiq fantastiq : me

Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
yoo
le plastiq fatastiq says:
hey man
le plastiq fatastiq says:
any news?
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
chau
le plastiq fatastiq says:
out?
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
not
le plastiq fatastiq says:
oh
le plastiq fatastiq says:
so how now?
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
argh
le plastiq fatastiq says:
can we shoot everything in these 1.5 weeks?
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
my god
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
the guy's leaving on Tue
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
it's difficult
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
he doesn't want to drop out
le plastiq fatastiq says:
of course he doesn't want to lah
le plastiq fatastiq says:
but what's best for us?
le plastiq fatastiq says:
which tuesday?
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
3rd of oct lar
le plastiq fatastiq says:
when exactly is he leaving?
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
THIRD OF OCT!!
le plastiq fatastiq says:
its not his choice
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
omfg!!!
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
It's like, i was on the phone wiht him
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
and he said that he wanted to talk to Sarah
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
see what she can do
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
like in the end, if everything really doesn't work, then he'll drop out
le plastiq fatastiq says:
that's like freaking 9 more days
le plastiq fatastiq says:
7 days actually
le plastiq fatastiq says:
one more week
le plastiq fatastiq says:
ONE MORE WEEK
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
i know
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
but since it was so hard to convince him
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
we went into a shouting match
le plastiq fatastiq says:
so he's talking to Sarah now?
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
no, he wants to go for the shoot tomorrow and talk to sarah
le plastiq fatastiq says:
okay, so we are shooting tomorrow
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
yeah
le plastiq fatastiq says:
what time?
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
but if things don't work, then he'll drop out himself
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
11 for us
le plastiq fatastiq says:
he's damn selfish lah
le plastiq fatastiq says:
okay
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
he's like "come on, man, i've put so much into it"
le plastiq fatastiq says:
11.. we'll see what happens then
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
"i was the one who like, devised everything for the character, etc etc."
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
"i'm disappointed man."
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
me: how about doing the voice for Jaric?
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
him: no man!
le plastiq fatastiq says:
ah.. nmind lah
le plastiq fatastiq says:
dont need to tell me
le plastiq fatastiq says:
i got no sympathy at all
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
it's like, in the end i got so pissed off that
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
i started shouting
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
"you think this is easy for me?"
le plastiq fatastiq says:
he wants to come down tomorrow and waste everybody's time.. we come lah
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
he was saying that he compromised so much, take the whole week off for this
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
how come sarah cannot take wor
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
that's why i was like "dammit, do you KNOW how much this is KILLING me too?"
le plastiq fatastiq says:
*sigh*
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
"do you have any idea how much i was trying to keep everything from falling apart? do you think that i'm so fucking stupid that I don't even know that you've been contributing?"
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
i even tried to placate him, say that no matter what happens, his name will be in the credits
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
but he was like 'oh, but we wasted two weeks of not doing anything"
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
"how about getting a new maya"
le plastiq fatastiq says:
he's an ass lah
le plastiq fatastiq says:
'sif we were not doing anything
le plastiq fatastiq says:
'sif i take my own time out to have meetings with Mel
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
exaclt
le plastiq fatastiq says:
meet with you and everythinhg
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
exactly
le plastiq fatastiq says:
he thinks he's doing everything?
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
fucking hell
le plastiq fatastiq says:
you have been keepingf everythingtogether
le plastiq fatastiq says:
calling everybody
le plastiq fatastiq says:
getting the props, settling locations
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
yeah
le plastiq fatastiq says:
he's LEAVING IN 7 FUCKING DAYS!!!
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
i mean, even though justin was kinda reluctant, but he did say yes
le plastiq fatastiq says:
what does he want to do man? convince Sarah to take the whole week off
le plastiq fatastiq says:
settle all the locations?
le plastiq fatastiq says:
shoot everything himself>?
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
exactly
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
what the fuck, man
le plastiq fatastiq says:
he do my essays i will shoot for him damn sui sui lah
le plastiq fatastiq says:
no problem
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
he was like
le plastiq fatastiq says:
man.. he just sounds so ego--istical
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
"ask Sarah to bring her stuff onset to study!"
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
"If her exam is on the 2nd!"
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
primma donna
le plastiq fatastiq says:
wait.. so everybody is going down tomorrow just to placate him?
le plastiq fatastiq says:
haha.. sounds like he's gonna go down with a bang
le plastiq fatastiq says:
i don't mind coming just to give support to you man
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
i'm asking justin to go there to standby.
le plastiq fatastiq says:
in fact
le plastiq fatastiq says:
i will come down to give you support
le plastiq fatastiq says:
and whoever decides that he's being a jack-ass for calling down an entire cast and crew
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
yeah
le plastiq fatastiq says:
just so we can have a crack at it, and so that he can convince sarah to do everything within these 7 days
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
yeah, like tomorrow, when he tries to speak to sarah
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
we'll be subtly disapproving
le plastiq fatastiq says:
so does Sarah know she's coming down just for Chau?
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
No.
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
sigh
le plastiq fatastiq says:
okayy
le plastiq fatastiq says:
but realistically, do you think we can finish all of his scenes by the 2nd?
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
no
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
not at all
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
even i myself need like a day off
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
not just for me
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
but for you guys
le plastiq fatastiq says:
totally
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
I was like, "do you THINK that this is EASY for me?"
le plastiq fatastiq says:
*hai* i didnt expect him to be so difficult
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
"do you think that i would fucking call you and do this if this is NOT an emergency situation?"
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
me neither
le plastiq fatastiq says:
i actually thought he'd understand
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
i mean
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
at first
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
i thought he understand
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
he was like "what do you want to do?"
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
"what do you think you can do?"
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
i was like "fuck, man, i don't know, shit, i have to get a new wiler?"
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
he was like "yeah"
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
and i was like "fuck man, i don't want that, you know. like, you're supposed to be the real wiler!"

Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
"even if i get another fucking wiler, i'll put you in as casting consultant."
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
"acting consultant"
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
then all of a sudden, he went 'you know, i'm very disappointed,"
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
"i've put so much into it, and i have to go through this"
le plastiq fatastiq says:
*hai*
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
and more and more, he started pissing me off
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
until i lashed back lor
le plastiq fatastiq says:
yeah lah.. we can give him that.. that yes.. he put in effort and all that, but its also not just about him
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
he was like "come on, after all i've done, i even showed you East Perth!"
le plastiq fatastiq says:
yeah man, like you said.. you're not stupid, you kknow he's contributed
le plastiq fatastiq says:
everyone know's he took it seriously
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
exactly, that's what pissed me off
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
he made it seem as if i was HAPPY doing this
le plastiq fatastiq says:
well, let's try not to aggrevate it tomorrow
le plastiq fatastiq says:
whatever it is, if we have to drop him, its out of neccesity and not bad feelings
le plastiq fatastiq says:
tempting as it may be
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
exactly
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
it's like
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
when on the phone
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
i felt
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
"damn, you're making me feel less guilty"
le plastiq fatastiq says:
haha
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
"for dropping you."
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
i mean, if he were like "yeah, i understand, you do what you have to do"
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
i would've been devastated
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
and wrecked with guilt
le plastiq fatastiq says:
yeahh, kinda know what you mean
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
... i mean, he even asked me to get a new Maya instead.
le plastiq fatastiq says:
train a new maya in 7 days
le plastiq fatastiq says:
or rather
le plastiq fatastiq says:
BY TOMORROW!
le plastiq fatastiq says:
and what we shot last week GAM LAN!
le plastiq fatastiq says:
haha, he's damn funny sial
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
exactly
Great Swifty (Edmund) ??? says:
i was telling him

sow bravery, reap pain(t)balls
saturday 7:05am, the call to arms. actually i was late and shaun greeted me with a "where are you???" all i could do was mumble a weak apology and arrange for a pick up where we had to be in Baldivis by 8am. we made it with time to spare cuz our driver basically fanged it all the way down the freeway.

paintball is rather fun, painful but fun. frustrating but fun. tiring but fun. infuriating but fun. wearing a face mask that fogs up half the time, but fun. giving directions to your teammates but they're more interested in hunkering down than flanking an enemy position but fun.

you get the drift, i have the battle scars to prove it. i think i have some of the worst ones after a miscommunication. we were assaulting an enemy bunker and i was asking if it was clear to go to a new position, but when i heard "no! no!" for "go! go!" i was greeted by a flurry of little paint-balley death. smack on my shoulders and back. by some blind chance, taking the next tactical option falling to the ground with arms flailing screaming "i'm out! i'm out!" probably protected me from further damage to my nether regions.

but it was a great rush, getting into a prone position, sniping, flanking unsuspecting enemeies.. hell, i'd do it all over again.

only because you understand it


i started thinking of this, because if you click on the link above and it takes you to the youtube page. you'll see some guy make a reference to the nirvana bassist, krist novoselic. basically what radamanthys1982 said was that all these fusion jazz musicians were shite and that the bassist from nirvana pwned all.

and it makes me wonder abit, just where music is in our contemporary culture. you've got the more 'classical' or 'educated' forms of music such as the one featured above, and you also have the stuff put in the present limelight by popular culture. now, it could be as simple as saying that 'classical' music is close to 'real' music and that popular culture is a 'dumbed down', mass-culture version of what we had during the renaissance.

it's easier for the masses to follow because they don't need as much classical insight into understanding the theory and language of music. this argument is easily combated by seeminly complex forms of music such as blues and jazz which really found their birthplace within the slave ranks of early america, fusing the diaspora of african culture and western classical music, an entirely new form of music was birthed, which has further developed in both simplicity and complexity all at the same time.

popular culture need not necessarily be a total 'dumbing' down, because in today's contempory society, there are forms of music like neo-classical, progressive rock/metal which all rely heavily on classical theory. but they would never have become ideas for contention if it wasn't for the mass effect of rock 'n roll, or the motown which could find its roots in blues and jazz and even earlier.

music really is an interesting paradox, one that involves just as much classical discipline as much as an unbridled passion that breaks all the rules or heeds them no regard whatsoever. music is often at the heart of culture, for some reason we all find ourselves drawn to it, into the melody, the spaces in between intervals, the air between our fingers. it's both an art and a science, simple and complex, it functions regardless. as long as there is air and space between us, as long as there are lapses in communication, i think we will continue to find song there. the little nooks and cranies in what we call life.

some of the folks commenting in the link above might be slightly elitist, and radamanthys1982 might be slightly neanderthal, but it's good to see them communicating over something common.

peddling the doodle series


we can respond to this one-upmanship of paper by trying to similarly fold a computer screen with old-fashioned brute force. this would be an unfortunate mistake, preventing us from sensing the real material inside the computer - the program - that is continually folding, collapsing, growing, and evolving at unimaginable speeds.
- john maeda, maeda and media

using current computer technology, we can manipulate objects up to a 2 1/2 dimensional space. it's interesting, because we can fold a piece of paper in half thus manipulating it in 3 dimensions. a computer generated 3-d model, is not exactly 3 dimensional. for starters, it does not exist in a 3 dimensional space. i don't know if we'll forever be bound by that, afterall, it is only by our sense of depth that we accept there are 3 dimensions, or are able to percieve 3 dimensions. actually, our eyes are rather interesting organs. they don't percieve depth like the way a camera lens does. everything is in focus.. you don't see any depth of field or anything, but our eyes draw our attention to things. and for some reason, our brain is able to compute the relative depth between me and whatever my eyes have focused on. it really is astounding how our bodies react to the space around us.

anyway, now owning 3 analong cameras and having lost my digital camera.. i finally decided that if i'm going to make this blog a little more.. graphical.. i'll just work on 250 x 188 canvases.. and just manipulate whatever comes to mind within that pixel space. i guess it gives me something to do and sees whether i can actually manipulate photoshop. good practice too, because right now.. i think it's terrible.

i also downloaded the get democracy internet tv player. basically it's a video player than acts like a feedreeder as well. so you can subscribe to channels and have your player download everytime a new episode of whatever comes out. it's not downloading drama series's and all that, it's mainly a free, open source platform for independents to share their work, and have some sort of an alternative to public broadcasting and cable. much like this 'citizen journalism' thing with blogging, but i hate that term. anyway, some good stuff comes out on it.. and it is a refreshing change to consume other forms of media.

mooger foogin' waste of digital time
so i've been thinkin' a little about this whole digital revolution thing. not that there's much to think about or make a great deal of.. don't wanna be seen as some smart arse academic do we?

well, now that we've established where i stand in the intellectual food chain, the digital revolution is really quite something else. what is the digital revolution you might as? well, for me it really is the sharing of data that can be interpretated by computers.

slowly, many things around us get sampled or 'digitised' into 1's and 0's. say we were talking on the phone, usually the sound produced by our voices get converted into electrical impulses and find their way via telephone cables to the other party, or maybe converted to radio waves and then decoded on the recieving end. these days, it's not too hard to imagine that because of various microchips in telecommunications devices, such audio signals get sampled into a digital stream and is transfered from sender to reciever via fibre optics, decoded on the recieving end into a language that we all understand, be that an aural, visual and physical stimulant.

it really is nothing new, since our internal organs communicate with each other in much the same way, via electric impulses and a fantastic nervous system. all these different parts working together, integrating and communicating with each other to form one, which really is a multiple you.

i'll always remember asking a friend of mine, what the next level in computer gaming, and without even batting an eyelid, he said "virtual reality". and it really all came together then. i mean, once we can sample every aspect of 'this' reality, we can start to create a virtual one that interacts with all our five senses. once our minds start integrating with each other, we will all start to perform different functions for the same purpose.. thus our consciousness will all slowly become 'one' as well. we could share memories and experiences. not just by appealing to our five senses, but much like a computer shares data with each other, given the relevant cybernatics, shared memories and such virtual realities really isn't so hard to imagine.

when we think about how we share information on the internet today, it really is a taste of things to come. buying my lomo means i take things back a notch, i have to chemically process the film before i can develop a print, a physical print before i can share it with anyone. i can share it by making more prints and distributing it, or by putting it up on a common area where anyone can look at it. however, you can already see the physical limitations imposed. sharing such information is constrained by me actually physically giving you the file, and if it is displayed in a public place, how can you interact with it if you're not allowed to take it?

however, if i were to scan the picture, you could digitally manipulate it, or send exact digital replicas for others to enjoy. although perfect digital replica is a sort of oxymoron. the limit of the digital, is that it can only exist in the virtual, within the universe of a computer's processing power. what of an artificial intelligence then? i daren't think of the further possibilities.

video technology is going to be a big thing in the future. real time sharing of information.. based on what the video cameras can see, i can transmit images to you in real time for you to see what i see. it no longer needs to be developed, editied, put together. no.. with enough successful integration, video technology can lead the way into a much smaller world, a more integrated whole, or it can fracture as well.. based on the multitude of channels we're going to find in the future.

so all in all, thanks for hearing me out. we're all hopelessly plugged in.

the analog bastion of hope
after hopelessly selling out to lifestyle choices, my lomo lc-a came in the mail 2 days back. i only just decided to load it up with film, and i intend to shoot quite a fair bit of film just to see what it's like and how everything turns out. having a scrapbook or a data log of techniques should proove interesting, but i'm usually sucha lazy bastard i'll just breeze through it and reload the camera everytime i have some extra money in my pocket. and process them whenever i have extra money in the pocket. it's rather vicarious living, but heyy.. there's only one of me. if i can get a scanner, i'll probably post the good results up, if there are none, it means they were probably bad.

i hate the lomo website, it's like queensway shopping centre. meandering 'lil corners and you just get lost in it whilst surfing. it's a nice surprise every now and then, but i'm trying to look for a particular article and the chances of it turning up so far have been nil. i also detest that i bought a slice of lifestyle, but then again.. i also like to think i beat the system when i look back at my calculations and actually beat the average price of a camera on ebay. unfortunately i've cluttered myself with all this extra gear that just gets in the way of me, my camera and my subject. but it could be worse.. i'll try not to think too much about it.. and maybe for a change, live rather spontaneously. or more spontaneous than usual..

lately, i've also been rather scared of turning out like yuppie scum. having multiple client accouts and entertaining them in hip/happening places and further feed my material wants. i'm no saint, i have tonnes of material wants, maybe i wished i was more successful or popular. but i am still afraid of yuppie scum, i don't know if that could ever be real living for me. my friends here have a saying here called 'doing life', i probably liken it to 'keeping it real', staying true to yourself and the values that you have. however you can express yourself, do it, with whatever tools find their way into your hands. then again, idealism never really put much food on the table.

making friends with the prettiest girls
because it's a sure fire sign as to how attractive you are to the rest of society. i just want someone to love me for me, and to love her for her. and that's why i'm stoked that God loves me for me, and well.. how can we not love God who first loved us?

what happened to all the things you wanted to see?


when do the wonders ever cease? when will we just find some place of peace?

more simple goodness for t-shirts. i like t-shirts far and above anything, they're really like walking pieces of visual stimulation. you don't need electricity to run them, you can grafitise any public area with them without defacing any property. does that mean it loses its impact? maybe not, it's just a lot more subtle, and insidious.

the t-shirt has a certain form, sleeves, collars, the space in the front, back and even the sides. it's a unique canvas that is both 2 and 3 dimensional all at once. sometimes people break the form by tearing or 'deconstructing' the fabric. the fabric is a talking point too, comfort, style, statement, affodability all rolled into one unique often cotton fabric.

the only thing you can wear into a public place, piss everybody off but they cannot remove you if you have every right to be there, and just let whatever's displayed on your mobile installation scream out to the rest of the world, or let them just pass you by.

at least you did something about it. it's not so nice here anymore.

it's everywhere don't you see?
the media, we're all hopelessly plugged in. i should try not to sound intelligent and just let things speak for themselves. there is no master of communications, there is just and there just isn't. we're too smart for our own good, and sooner than later everybody's gonna have a story to tell and we're all just gonna be lost amongst the sea of people, just another face in the crowd.

would things be simpler if i just thought simpler?

keep your eye on that thing!
been watching a fair bit of Jonny Lang lately.


was one of the guitarists i listened to when i was 18 perhaps, and then he disappeared off the face of the earth after 2000 i think. well, before leaving, he left us with 3 marvelous albums, and i own one of them only. anyhow, my interest in him resurfaced when i heard the awesome collaboration between Joss Stone, Herbie Hancock and himself covering the classic "When Love Comes To Town". He's got a voice that supercedes his age and probably one of the most intense and passionate performers i've seen in awhile. hope you enjoy the video, the quality is lacking, but somehow the sheer rawness of his performance and gutsy guitar solo continue to shine through. -)

humungus

humungus


a fine snap by folkstar.

so i decided to try my hand at t-shirt ideas. employing the stupid trick of different font sizes and flushed symmetry with bad spelling, i guess i would present this as the flagship prototype for the new "t-shirt series". yes.. a t-shirt line that says 't-shirt'. tell me it hasn't been done before.. in your face conforming non-conformists!

maybe you heard it here first
if you hadn't already heard

Google's GBuy.

i would lawl, but that would just be plain rude.

and they come upon you like a mob of lynch
time's always a wastin', especially when there are deadlines to meet. i'm not that hot about university anymore.. i mean it's a great place to learn and all but i feel as though i've hit the spot where i wanna go out there and see the world, y'know.. work and stuff as opposed to reading theory after theory. shucks, i guess i just prefer the hands on approach. tried telling myself before that i would do my best, but sometimes your best gives way to a more convenient procrastination. anyway, i just hope for this to end soon, not in the sense of learning, but rather the whole paper chase. education i got nothing against, attaching status to a formal education.. that i kind of do.

are the pretty ones the bitchy ones?
hmmmm.. an interesting thought. probably half true and half false.

anyhow, i might have become fully disgusted with myself. i bought the lomo, but not the second hand ones on ebay, it was just distressing to find a camera that would cost less than USD120, so i did the next best thing. i recalculated all the expenses and arrived at a conclusion considering the fact that it would be difficult to find 2nd hand lomo accessories (the hipshot bag being my only experience), i based my calculations that i would be getting all my accessories from the lomo shop.

Basic Lomo Package: (200USD)
Camera
2 Rolls of film
Batteries
Book (20USD)
Hipshot Bag (35USD)

LC-A Upgrade: (165USD)
Tunnel Vision Lens (75USD)
Fisheye Adaptor (75USD)
Colorsplash Flash (35USD)
L-Case (40USD)
300 Photo Clips (25USD)

Based on the figures of grouping all the individual items together because i was originally thinking of getting each accessory seperately, the total cost of buying accessories would have amounted to a value of

220USD for the Tunnel Vision, Fisheye, Colorsplash and Hipshot. If i were to buy the camera individually.. a brand new one might go for 145USD (200-35-20) does, i would already have spent a total of 365USD.

However, by combining these two packages together, i have arrived at the same 365USD and included the extra book, L-Case and Photo Clips. i also save on shipping because they're not charging for anything 200USD and above. so instead of spending 365USD over X no. of years, i get everything brand spanking new at a shot plus with some extras as well.

i compared this against buying the standard package first (200USD and free shipping) and then getting the LC-A upgrade (165 + 45 shipping) or actually buying the deluxe LC-A package with everything except the photo clips (350USD), but if i were to add the photo clips in seperately, they would have cost me an additional 25USD (wtf?) and lets not forget if i decide to buy those clips seperately, then i would have to pay for shipping again.

i know i'm saying a lot just to justify this purchase, but it is a significant amount of money, but i think i've found one of the best options for what could easily be a 2 year endeavor and more. thus, if anyone is thinking of the lomo route, i've done some decent calculations to aid in your purchase as well.

considering that i can hardly get a camera off ebay for less than 120USD minus shipping. (15 to 46 USD) using these figures i got my camera for about.. 60USD with no shipping. that's a pretty sweet deal if you asked me!

so it was a blessing in disguise to get thwarted time after time on ebay!

more on the stars
by about 10 o'clock tomorrow i'll learn whether or not i'm going to bid for the lomo lc-a. currently it stands at 30USD with shipping at 50USD. i guess i'm trying not to go above 100USD (that's 10USD overbudget). i'll have another shot at an older (but more vintage looking one in about 24 hours time, the shipping on that one is 22USD but it's at 51USD currently. so yeah.. let's see what happens. i managed to find a hipshot bag for 10USD with shipping of 10USD as well, so hopefully i'll get it for less than 35USD, if not i might as well get it straight from the shop with the tunnel vision lens (75USD)and colorsplash flash (35USD).

so the breakdown is:
lc-a : 100USD
bag : <35USD
colorsplash : 35USD
total : 170USD
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tunnelvision lens : 75USD
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total : 170USD/245USD

not too shabby considering that the lomo package with all accesories that i want is 275USD. might grab the tunnel vision first since it comes with a free camera.. hehe.

oh well, now you know what i've been scouring online for.. ebay is so therapeutic!!! buying other peoples' crap!!!

if there was a city on a hill
i won't hide it, how could i hide it? i wouldn't have life any other way than knowing my God. y'know.. it really is us that have turned our backs on God, and everything i find that i do, whenever i don't do the things he has planned for me, i just find no purpose in it, no joy, no satisfaction, and you lapse into this rut of merely living.

nobody should need to live like this, without any sort of direction. i mean, most of us face the question soonder or later, as to what on earth are we here for? and what's the best answer we arrive at? i don't know.. is it to merely live life to the fullest, bless everyone around us and then leave a legacy? in the short time that we have here, just to do the best we can.

but what then? WHAT THEN? i don't believe, and i cannot believe that a person can sit back and just say "meh.. i'll just die and go back into the ground, into the cycle of life." or "well, i might be reincarnated.. and it won't really matter because i won't know the difference." or "well, if i end up in hell, how bad could it be?"

i cannot believe such statements, i suppose death isn't so bad if you just die and cease to exist, i mean, what's so scary about that? i mean, you won't even feel ANYTHING about your own demise. so.. that would be an argument that makes most sense, where karma or fate or consequence does not come back and nip you in the butt. but.. then you lose a reason for living, wouldn't you? you wouldn't value your life once things go wrong, i mean, suicide and death is just easily played out because your life means nothing.

but the fact is, that your life means something. if your loved one passed away, you would feel the loss, you can't just go.. "meh.. he/she was gonna go anyway, and he/she ceased to exist, no big deal. that's life."

so if your life means something, we can't just cease to exist. and that is another reason why i believe in God. because that just doesn't happen to us when we leave this physical plane.

when does the day end?
models burn models burn. wheee.. had a nice warm time for my birthday and i'm having trouble concentrating on my school work. well, if you really must know.

it's time for a rant
i picked up the women's edition of the weekly murdoch student newsletter, metior because well, they're usually interesting articles about the usually cliched lefty liberal topics. and i like to be kept up to date and on my toes, i think someone might've called it responsible citizenship.

being a christian, i still tend to be a bit wary about state controlled christian activities.. well, not that there's been much in recent times, but the crusades were a bad idea, and somehow i don't see the 'morality police' as a good step in terms of social democracy.

well, invariably.. with any feminist viewpoint comes the debate of pro-choice vs. pro-life. or anti-choice vs. anti-life. or anti-choice vs. pro-life. or as the metior likes to put it, pro-choice vs. anti-life. already you can see the stance where this is headed. but i'll try not to be as biased..

i'll admit, they do give some good points in their argument for pro-choice abortions. it is rather morally high-handed currently, and practically.. is the system really in place to allow unwilling mothers-to-be bring a child into our world? issues of poverty, or drug addictions, incapacity to parent a child, if your parent was mentally disabled and was raped.. would you still have the child? ethical questions no doubt, and my mere human mind doesn't have all the answers. what would God do? i daren't say sometimes, and sometimes i do dare say.. but a retarded kid being raped by a sexual predetor? i think that's a surefire human short-falling and reflective of the fallen nature that befalls mankind (when we take on theologies theory of how our world operates. the problem with sin if you will.)

however, for all the good points that pro-choicers have made in this issue.. with the not being prepared for parenthood, the unwillingness, how abortion was never meant to be a contraceptive, abortionists are being demonised, women who recieve abortions are being demonised (all this is true though, we have had a rather high handed morality display).. sometimes, do we really think that as christians when we say "love the sinner and not the sin" is any sort of comfort at all?

however, i would like to offer the flipside to all this.

for an unwanted pregnancy, we would call it an accident then. it is an accident when contraception fails, when we forget to take contraception.. what have you. pregnancy is the result of fertilisation, which occurs during sex. fertilisation isn't as easy as ejaculating into a female, the woman has to be fertile at that point as well, and your sperm must survive its way to fertilise the egg.. maybe its the media that made it sound so easy.

but, the direct consequence of sex, if you stripped away the spiritual or emotional components, it is purely physical. reproduction? it feels good, because your hormones fire you up in that way, and possibly due to endorphin releasing orgasms.

so my point is this, for all the fun-loving, thrill seeking 'mistakes' that have happened, it really just boils down to the irresponsibility of wanting to 'feel the goodness of sex' when one is not ready in society to bring up a child. some people should not be allowed to procreate, as some animals dont because they are not in an ideal situation.

and so, for all the arguments that a pro-choicer can put across to the pro-lifer, the pro-choicer has to acknowledge that having an 'unwanted pregnancy' is a mistake for he/she/both to decide on this version of the abortion. it may not have been your first choice of contraception, but it sure is a convenient way out of the 'mistake' that you indirectly confessed to.

so is sex before marriage wrong? biblically yes (being christian, this is enough for me). but practically speaking, if you don't subscribe to the same moral values, then perhaps it is worth a thought that HAVING SEX BEFORE EITHER OF YOU ARE READY TO SUPPORT A FAMILY should be seen as wrong too. think of it as being a responsible human being. because we could debate on days on end of when a fetus is considered alive, and whether or not it is considered murder.. i just want to provide this alternate viewpoint, that being pro-life isn't just about a conservative christian morality issue. it would do everyone well, to not think of everybody as idiots.

in closing, it's been awhile since i had a rant, but it feels good to get it off my chest.

more than you'll ever know
you'd think that after three years of blogging, i'd shut up. hmmmm.. if only i didn't live with the desire of being 'connected' then perhaps i would. alas, such peace has not befallen me yet.

less people stop by the blog according to the latest sitemeter report. but ah well.. i've never been one to be fazed by statistics.. this is afterall still a free and non-profit endeavour. but i do question a tad, what the purpose of this update is about then. perhaps its like 'the boy who cried wolf' and there really isn't any novelty in blogging anymore, and the only current novelty is really the net celebrities. some good and some bad, but i don't suppose i'm celebrity material. well, just so i don't get in over my head. i mean, i'm only the bass player of an indie rock band.

kinda miss playing with the guys, and it seems that more and more people are finding their way back to singapore. i wonder if jamie will still be around when i return, i wonder if my services as a bassist/guitarist will ever be in demand again. it's funny how we draw our worth from the things we can do.. but whilst it's only natural, it probably isn't the most effective way of going about life either.

i wanna see God do great things in our land and in our generation! i don't know about the rest of you, but i think i have a heart that's.. seen enough of what humanity is capable of, and i just want to rely on the promise that Jesus is the answer, the way the truth and the life, and i wanna see that truth IMPACT the passivity of our generation. damn, i guess i could say that because i'm passive, many times to my discredit.

but yeah, something new tomorrow?

slow down, idiot slow down
why the terminator series is just so cool.

the T101 has just tossed its fuel cell out of the moving pickup and it explodes sending a massive shockwave past them.

T101 (To John Conner): Relax, when the fuel cell is ruptured, it becomes unstable.

Kate Brewster (Locked in the trunk): Let me out of here!!!

T101: R.E.L.A.X

the T101 is explaining to John Conner how he killed him in the future

T101: my particular model was selected for the mission of infiltration because of John Conner's emotional attachment to me in his boyhood days.

John: wait, what do you mean?

T101: I killed you.

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oh how i wished my life could be that well scripted -)
well, i've just been running around doing things that my head hurts from all the multi-tasking. thinking about this whilst doing that. it's a nice thing to feel like what you're doing has a purpose and that people appreciate it, but it really is empty if that's all you're doing it for.

and well.. jade's finally gone off, it really is strange to see a friend leave for a different season. haha, perhaps this is how you my friends felt when i left for perth. but oh.. in the space when all of us were transiting as to jade's leaving, it really just made me think about this season that's ending soon for me in perth. i feel so disconnected from singapore in the sense that, i just haven't been keeping in touch with a whole lot of it that i don't know if it's going to be as awesome as it is here.

but y'know what? my faith isn't in singapore, it's in a God who i know will do many great things regardless of where we are, just as long as we let him, and that makes me so excited -)

just finding the time
well, i'm absolutely whacked out. just got back slightly before two in the morning.. but today was just an awesomely productive day. edited tomorrow's church news bulletin and jade's farewell video. also, just got back from her place after her smasher of a farewell party! real happy to see how much everybody loves her, just because she's great like that -) and so.. yes, i've come to tell you all this, and hopefully a few more things when i get the chance to share them, but for now.. g'night!