point form #2

Argh.. somehow i can't think of any better way to send life updates to the web except through point form. Too much Twitter? Anyway, i hope to be disciplined again and come back to long form posts. but here are some highlights from the past two weeks

1. Hosting another Open Room, this time more as our way of giving back to the community. Really glad people enjoyed it

2. Attended Blogout 2009 and met Joel Postman and Yongfook IRL! (in case you don't know, Yongfook was one of two original inspirations to start blogging.) Kudos to The Digital Movement for organising a great conference for social media practitioners and bloggers alike -)

3. Leeson appeared on Live n Loaded, Season 1 Episode 8. Great catching up with The Fire Fight

4. Leeson have also started sharing our music online, you can stream or download the Speed Dating EP tracks for free at our Bandcamp page. The banner was designed by Patlaw, so thanks and hearts for that!

5. I started working with a great team for publicity for my church's Easter celebration. We've put out two pieces of guerrilla content and one video. Also trying stuff online with our blog: 3 Days

6. Also trying to get church project management with the use of a wiki. Seems to be working out.

7. 23 Ogilvy-ians in Singapore we selected for Masterclass. It's a 360 Brand Stewardship training programme meant for juniors. We just went through week 1, so that's about six more weeks to go. I like it, and my group mates, so just hoping to have fun, learn lots and do our best.

8. Also accompanied Unfluff to SMU on Thursday who presented on research tools for social media students and had a fruitful QnA session that tackled what we do on a daily basis.

9. Getting up to speed with season 2 of The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Started loving a Shirley Manson song and have an uber crush on Summer Glau.

Things to love - let's start a movement!

so i tweeted just now, and i realised that my hashtag #thingstolove is pretty unique. No one's used it yet (me first!).. and i thought maybe i could start something with my online peers.

instead of complaining, let's create a Twitter repository of the things we love and hashtag them!



So here's the deal, every time you tweet about something you love, remember to add a #thingstolove behind it!

i think it'll be a rather healthy way to spread joy on teh internetz

point form.

1. attended Blogout 2009 on Friday. learned a lot.

2. coffee and shopping on Saturday. bought two new Muji shirts.

3. big family lunch and jamming with Leeson on Sunday.

the last place in the universe.

y'know what? i love my blog. it's not the best designed, nor does it come as the authority on any given situation. it's nothing like the blogs i recommend to clients that perhaps have a specific communications goal in mind, but at the end of the day, it's mine.

even if this blog does not take part in discussions that shake our industries, or enlighten readers with recommendations, this blog first and foremost, is me exercising my voice.

i don't expect you, the reader, if you happen to be passing by, to be influenced by my writing. there are other blogs for that, but this might not be the one. some days, it is, when i discuss pertinent issues, but on other days, this is my black text on white. it's me creating meaning from nothing but my personal take. my experiences that have shaped the day, week, month or years. this is simply me, attaching meaning to a portion of the internet, this is me renting a room from google. if google grants my existence, then i simply exist as a reflection of my physical self.

leaving footprints in this virtual world, finding a way home, leaving a mark, signs of life that i do exist, even if it's an avatar.

and that my friends, is what no one can take away from you. whether you have an audience of 6 billion, or just yourself, if you blog true to yourself, you'll always have something to blog about.

human beings make meaning, it's how we exist, for if the mind is naught, then save us for empty husks.

it's a mixed up journal

my light is still blown. i actually replaced the bulb, but it still won't light up. my guess is something to do with the circuits. probably ask my dad, he's the engineer in the house.

learned a bit about life while climbing the ladder fixing my light bulb. i actually have a fear of heights, and between the last rung and the final flat portion of the ladder, there was a psychological barrier preventing me from stepping on the top of the ladder. however, pragmatism forced me to step onto the last step, and.. while at the same time breaking past my fear, i also found that the highest point of the ladder had the largest base area to rest my body weight.

i guess some things in life, you just don't get a sense of. there's fear in the shaking, in the unknown, but only when you put yourself into that experience, in some cases, there was nothing to be fearful of in the first place.

my little vampiric crush (Review of "Let The Right One In")

few films leave a lasting impression on me. i love film and movies.. and by an impression, i mean i start to remember quotes, watch it multiple times and study a scene's lighting, mis-en-scene the film's post production quirks rather carefully that might boarder on maniacal.

Låt den rätte komma in (Let The Right One In dir. Alfredson, T, 2008) was one such film.

Overall the film was just what my heart needed, about a somewhat morbid, yet pure and fatalistic love between a 12 year old boy, Oskar, and a 12 year old looking girl, Eli, who's actually a 200 year old vampire.

innocent proposals by Oskar asking Eli to be his girlfriend, unknowing of the painful baggage carried by a being such as Eli. Eli, a creature fraught with a secret so terrifying that it's a miracle that she allows herself to actually love him too, despite the consequences of such selfishness.

in the end, what really stood out for me, is how vulnerable the two lead characters are. in a gripping scene where Oskar mocks Eli's vampiric limitations as a means of coping with the betrayal of not being told her dark heritage earlier, Eli demonstrates her own determination to make them work out, and quite literally exposes herself in such a vulnerable and imperfect manner, following their reconciliation.. only a master film maker like Alfredson could evoke this much emotion in the span of a three minute scene.



little nuances like playing on the vampire lore that these creatures are unable to enter a person's home uninvited, Alfredson uses such common knowledge to poetic effect by demonstrating the precarious glass wall that separates the two young lovers, only to tear it down and leave you gasping at the frail beauty that ultimately weaves this entire piece of filmic art together.

in a brief image of Eli, bleeding from her eyes and ears, a creature so powerful yet surrendered to the idea of loving a mortal boy, it was a moment when i fell in love with a character so fatally wounded by previous hurt and injustice and yet strong enough to try again. to me, this is what the film is ultimately about, not happily ever afters, not about having the right recipe for love to work. this film takes the worst of the human heart and what it's capable of, puts a frame around it and let's you find beauty in the brushstrokes.

Oskar and Eli are just two young lovers trying to figure it out for themselves. as their relationship grows through the film, you grow with them, laugh with them, cry with them.. and feel afraid with them. i cannot think of anything bad to say about this film. the gorgeous swedish winters, a soundtrack that is another piece of art by itself.. it's so profoundly beautiful that you get beautiful fan-made trailers like this:


3:16 - 3:22 was the moment i fell in love with Lina Leandersson, the eleven year old actress who played Eli.

five outta five.