31 May 2006

Oh No Not Venus!

5:51 am. The mobile vibrates with an incoming sms. Pray for Venus. She has high fever since yesterday and swollen eyes due to the drug allergy.

Oh no. It is just the start of the school vacation and next week is KIDS.Camp. Not to Venus. She will be devastated.

Knowing Venus - the vibrant happy go lucky gal. It is gonna be tough on her. There again not really cos she will be back on her feet in no time. She wouldn't let things distract her for enjoying herself.

Johanna and Venus (R)

30 May 2006

PodCast Broadcast

Summer vacation is here!. Summer? How I wish there are seasons in Singapore where we can enjoy the different moods throughout the year. Dancing hues of flowers as the season edges along, steamboat in winter, ice kacang in summer...

Podcasting is an in thing now and the craze started by ipod (I think) had sprouted a new culture and wave of media been delivered through the internet.

For parents, check out Bible Stories My Kids Love (http://biblestoriesmykidslove.blogspot.com/), get your Bible stories downloaded and entertain your kids this holiday.

And while you got time to spare (with the kids listening to Bible stories), try this http://i-speak.blogdrive.com/ You will be amazed at this an eighteen year old JC2 girl. You will be surprised.

29 May 2006

Exciting Time

A great week for me. Soaking in Ps Johnny Yeoh's exposition on Revelation. Actually, it is more of Daniel 9 and Matthew 24. The messages were captured on video. Check it out or you maybe left behind.

Sweet victory on Sunday as Nicholas joined the brotherhood as he gave his heart to the Lord.

Sunday worship was great. Terry’s new Ovation guitar was awesome, the resonance is simply amazing. With just two guitars, drums and the congregation singing – it was beautiful. It must be the angels rejoicing in anticipation of Nicholas’ decision.

Gonna get pretty busy the next two weeks. Has got to prepare three lessons for Champions for God children camp and get a host of things up for nothinless - Basic Vocal Competency Workshop and Foundation Studies. There is at least twenty-five items in my do list screaming for my attention.

One long overdue item is Block 13.
My history.
My story.
My humble beginning.
My childhoodIn Jalan Merpati – Block 13.

The draft is up but lacks a story telling approach. The grammar is atrocious. It is long overdue. The idea came up back in 2002 and four years later the draft is still sitting in the shelf.

I met Lawrence last Sunday at Marina Square Loft and he is one of the character in Block 13. Met his mum and boy does she looks great. She must be at least seventy-five. She lives alone and organise her own activities. Lawrence was my neighbour back in 1970s.

Looks like it is a reminder to get my Block 13 going.

I hope to finish it by June. Any illustrators out there? I’m looking for one to help me illustrate.

Watch out for the release.

Open air cinema - Photograph from National Archive.

25 May 2006

Awesome Amazing Animation

Animation is here to stay. Had the opportunity to visit polytechnics where schools are going into computer animation. In my work, we market a range of 3D scanners and it is amazing that these technology are used in Lord of The Rings and I heard that Tom Cruise has got his anatomy digitised. That means, Hollywood can make movies of Tom Cruise when he is long gone. 3D scanners and motion captures toos are widely used in Hollywood.

Heard that this amazing Citroen ad copy Justin Timberlake's choreographer, Marty Kudelka movement. What you need is a cool half a million Singapore dollars motive capture device and record the movement and then animate it. Of course you need the creative juices to do it.

Check out this Transformer Citroen.
http://www.theembassyvfx.com/citroen.html

Jesus Take The Wheel

The Billboard 200 #2 on December 03, 2005.

NASHVILLE, TN (Carrie Underwood Official Website) - It has been a great week for Carrie Underwood. Her debut album Some Hearts was just certified triple platinum and last night her 6-week No 1 single 'Jesus, Take The Wheel' won a Gospel Music Association Award as Country Recorded Song of The Year during the event held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. Underwood was unable to attend the GMA Awards as she was in Wilmington, North Carolina performing in concert. Upon learning of the news just before she hit the stage last night, Underwood said 'it's been amazing how this song has impacted so many people in so many ways. I am honored to have had the chance to be the singer to bring this song to people.'

The chorus seems so familiar. The desperate cry for help when I'm in trouble.

Watch the video. http://www2.fanscape.com/carrieunderwood/redirects/jesusvidwinmed.aspx

She was driving last Friday on her way to Cincinnati
On a snow white Christmas Eve
Going home to see her Mama and her Daddy with the baby in the backseat
Fifty miles to go and she was running low on faith and gasoline
It'd been a long hard year
She had a lot on her mind and she didn't pay attentionshe was going way too fast
Before she knew it she was spinning on a thin black sheet of glass
She saw both their lives flash before her eyes
She didn't even have time to cry
She was sooo scared
She threw her hands up in the air

Jesus take the wheel
Take it from my hands
Cause I can't do this on my own
I'm letting go
So give me one more chance
To save me from this road I'm on
Jesus take the wheel

It was still getting colder when she made it to the shoulder
And the car came to a stop
She cried when she saw that baby in the backseat sleeping like a rock
And for the first time in a long time
She bowed her head to pray
She said I'm sorry for the way
I've been living my lifeI know I've got to change
So from now on tonight

Jesus take the wheel
Take it from my hands
Cause I can't do this on my own
I'm letting go
So give me one more chance
To save me from this road I'm on

Oh, Jesus take the wheel
Oh, I'm letting go
So give me one more chance
Save me from this road I'm on
From this road I'm on
Jesus take the wheel
Oh, take it, take it from me
Oh, why, oh

Back Again

Got problems with blogger. Sometimes technology just go crazy. Can be a scary thing when our lives are so dependent on them now.

Remember I, Robot? The movie where robots went bad and got Will Smith screaming down alleys shooting them. And in Enemy of The State, Will got tracked through his credit cards, mobile phone calls and CCTV. Yes. CCTV, they are not for submission of forms only. They are now an in thing after 9/11. CCTV at Geylang (not trying to be funny), Clarke Quay, PIE, CTE, SLE, AYE, KJE and there are gonna be more to come. The movie is a fulfilling prophecy.

No....... what am I talking. It is only some html coding error only.

Back with a new skin (actually it is someone's template). Can you recognise the girl on the left?

By the way, there is a Father up above watching down with tender love. CCTV is in.

Smile you are on candid camera.

Cheers

23 May 2006

Autism Speaks

Don't pass this off. Let it helps you get some understanding of people with special needs.

Courtesy of Mei Leng.


View Autism Everyday video at http://www.autismspeaks.org/sponsoredevents/autism_every_day.php
_______________________________________________________

I think this is a great video clip of explaining to someone how autism is and how it affects a family's life as well. I thought they did a great job with this video.

This video made me cry because it is so close to heart. It reminded me of how much we had also been through when Joel was a baby and later a toddler. There was so much struggle in handling him and also bringing him out to public places. There was also so much time, energy as well as $$$ in trying to teach him how to communicate and making him talk and sit down. The stress of finding him a school since there was limited vacancy and waitlist was long too. There were also disagreements and arguments with my husband about how best to handle Joel and how to educate him etc.

Life was really tough at that point.

But the video also made me realise that Joel has come a long way now and that he has indeed improved a lot. He may never be a normal person or he may never be able to communicate with me other than his immediate needs or he may never be able to be fully independent and he still exhibit autism like traits like flickering of fingers, jumping or shrieking at times with public staring straight at our faces (which i am quite use to it already.. i too have developed a really thick skin..lol!), but on the whole he has indeed improved a lot. He is now more compliant with our instructions and he is a lot calmer and also understands a lot more too. Although his vocab is still limited to 2-3 words sentence structure, at least he still tries to communicate his immediate needs. His handwriting is atrocious but he is still improving. From not being able to hold a pencil properly 5 years ago to being able to write his name and A-Z 1-10, so to me I think he has indeed come a long way. I do not entirely buy into the idea that before 5 years old is the window of opportunity or for them to turn around, because i still see Joel improving everyday and learning new things as he grows older.

Now that Joel is 13+, i still see the years ahead as a challenge for us and but most importantly, even though he is autistic, he is still our son and we love him all the same, autism and all. :)

Peggy

22 May 2006

Limited Edition


Limited edition for You Are Special cast and crew. For those who wants a copy, download it from gilbert.tbh.googlepages.com. Special thanks to the Producer for getting it printed.

20 May 2006

Mirror Mirror On The Wall


Sent Joram to Temasek Polytechnic this morning and we went for a walk at Bedok Reservoir just beside TP. Pretty still morning without wind but lots of students doing a walk round the reservoir. A school event - some ran, most of them leisurely strolled along.

The still waters provided a great mirror image for the scenery. JZ will be familar here. This is where she does her DB - dragon boat. Wondered what makes her sign on this sport. Don't mess with her biceps.


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18 May 2006

Colour Be Wrong

This may change the way you blog. Colors are beautiful only if you use them correctly. Be creative in your colors and some understanding helps. A poor combination turns people off and nobody is gonna sit around and try to decipher your posts. You want eye balls right?

Rule #1. Two colors that contrast sharply against each another makes them more discernible.










Rule #2. Use colors of different lightness.










Rule #3. Avoid colors of similar hues.










Use these guidelines and see if it works on those sites that you enjoy reading.

By the way, forget tiny fonts unless you ain't attracting eyeballs. They are posts killers.

Happy Blogging

17 May 2006

Holy Pizza

Was in Bangkok for two days. I stayed in Novotel @ Siam Square. Nostalgic, as I stayed there fifteen years ago. The place had gone through a make over and it is pretty hip now. Siam Square is where the young Thais hang out. The place is always full of students and young working adults. Chulalongkorn University is right beside and the students are the brightest from all over Thailand. I had dinner at a cozy restaurant run by a former architectural student from Chula. He is from North East and the restaurant serves a variety of yums - papaya salads. Usually call papaya pop pop - a much loved spicy salad. Ask any oversea Thai, what is the first thing you will eat when you go home? The answer is a sure yum (no pun intended). Don't be fooled, you need to take a queue number and the wait is a long forty-five minutes. If you happen to be there, try the garlic fried chicken too. Don't forget to tell the service staff - mai ped when you order the yum. As you guessed, less spicy.

Paragon Siam. The new happening place in Siam Square is a huge upmarket mall. The management uses carts to move around. Ferrari and Lamborghini showrooms are in the second level and Bangkok Underwater Seaworld is in the basement! There are two Star Bucks store and plenty of food outlets. Bakerzin is there too and so is BreadTalk.

Rotiboy is in Siam Square and there are already copies around. Definitely have to bring the Pasir Ris kakis back to Bangkok for a shopping spree.

No pictures this time round cos my Sony K700i camera was set to a small resolution :((: and it is not worthy of the great pictures here :)) Saw a food outlet - HOLY PIZZA in Siam Square. The I in between PIZZA is a cross. And the menu has a Holy item. Wondered what they served in the pizzas. Must be a heavenly experience I think.

Sawadee

15 May 2006

Another Take

Another take from the bookshelf. Books to read to make you like Mrs Incredible.
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Take Picture Easy Ma!

Totally flat out!. Why are you so tired? Take picture very easy ma. Who said so? It looks simple but to take good pictures takes time to plan. In You Are Special, there were rehearsals where you can get familiar with the sequence and the lighting conditions and there is always a second or third show to go back and shoot those you missed or wants a retake. Not for Mothers' Day. You only got one chance. Missed it and it is gone.

To plan a shoot, some questions I usually ask - what theme do I want to capture?. What is the mood of the event and what's the program like? Who is coming and what is expected. Photography is a know-how. There are ISO (in digital camera - sensitivity), focal lens, speed, aperture, F stop, EV .................

ISO, the smaller the number, the finer the image
Aperture, the opening of the lens to let light in
Speed, how fast the shutter is open to allow light in
Lens, from wide angle to telephoto or a combination - zoom lens

In short, on a fixed ISO, there is a fixed amount of light to make an image. This amount of light is based on the aperture and speed. So it is a combination of ISO, Speed and Aperture. From here you create the image you want. Different setting of ISO, Aperture and Speed have it's pro and cons.

There are more, spot metering or overall, natural balance or white balanced to environment..........

Today's compact digital cameras comes with 'brain' inside the firmware and it takes the 'thinking' out of the user. Just point and shoot. But if you understand photography, you can get a lot of mileage out of your digital cameras. Read your manual and go to the library and get some books on this subject. It will change the way you take pictures. You will be amazed.

SLR are much fun though.

Cheese

Mission Impossible III

Got a surprise from DHL this morning. Wonderful thing in small package.

Joy in the Box.
The Box has Come.
It's Only A Carton Box.

Delightful moments.
Did you get yours?





14 May 2006

Soft Touch


Did you notice the recent soft focus pics? Got a 100mm soft focus lens. Neat for portrait shots. Soft focus can be tune to your preference.

Now, MP, Bodyguard or Waiter?

Tag your answer.

Ai Cheong

The hair designer is smart now. She catches the photographer to catalog her work. Belle and her hair creator.
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Friends

Some companions that watch over me when I sleep. Cute little stuff on the bed head.
Good nite.
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13 May 2006

She Deserves It

Mother's Day Menu.
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Mei Lan Mei Lan







Today, the Mandarin Service invited Mei Lan, one half of the well known ChopStick Sisters for Mother's Day celebration. The ChopStick Sisters were popular back in the 70s. Now in her fifties, she sang to the crowd and her 91 years old mum gave a testimony of her healing. How the grand dame preach. Her legs maybe weak, but she got the voice of thousand choir.

Pretty Little Thing Call Love

Happy Mother's Day.

Got a shoot today. For Mandarin Service Mother's Day. This pretty little basket was made by the ladies. Doris make the rose. It is edible and the basket full of Ferror Roche. Sorry guys, for mums only.

Mums out there. You are great. Posted by Picasa

12 May 2006

Saturday Night Out

Had to drive Ning for a wedding dinner at Furama Hotel @ Riverside. After dropping her off, went for Teochew porridge at Havelock and later to Tiong Bahru Plaza Burger King to kill time. Read Celebration of Disciplines by Richard Foster. Highly recommended. Here is a sample of the introduction - one of the discipline is fasting. Click on the book to get a brief.

Nice lighting at Furama Hotel and beside is a KTV lounge. Looks like it is out in the desert at Las Vegas.

The drive home through CTE tunnel. Beam me up Scott.

Beware The Baby Snatcher

Justus. Here is Rachel looking at ya.  Posted by Picasa

One For The Road

Happy Birthday big guy. Did you enjoy your first year?
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08 May 2006

Gordon - The Chicken Slayer II

Camp at Pulau Tekong back in 1978. Two of them are missionaries now.


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Bird Flu?

Gordon, The Chicken Slayer. Back in 1978 Posted by Picasa