my pHonE leNgzai d

I finally 're-skinned' my phone for RM50. It was in a terrible physical state after the accident.

TaDaaaaa~

i fiNaLLy lOvE sHoPpinG!

The title of this post is not relevant. I'm not talking about real shopping. I'm talking about working with images I shot almost every night in Photoshop! I looked and searched into my old picture folder and post-processed every potentially editable photographs.

You might ask, "Woi, siao ah? What the hell happen to you? Why suddenly so bersemangat, rajin edit picture plak?"

It all started when I accidentally crash into some Dave Hill’s work. His photos make me go, "Oh my God!! His works are really f*cking awesome!" Click on his name to go to his personal website. You need to see it for yourself to understand why I went nuts over his works. Then while Googling, I came across works by Kukubesi. Again I’m stunned in awe. I swear I must at least achieve 1% of their work. Yes, 1% will do.

So I start searching for tutorials, but most of them are skipping steps; making the readers lost halfway through their guide. In the end, I tried to experiment from where I got lost and referring to many other guides as well. Then I got real lost. Terpesong. Instead of achieving the minimalism of the painted photo feel, I went all out to make my photographs look like real paintings instead.

I shoot this lonely duckling using D80 and this is the result of my post processing.

I’m partially satisfied with some of the pictures myself (though I know it’s incomparable with Dave's and Kukubesi's). I plan to get a good rest, shoot more pictures (maybe, tengok mood), and work on them in Photoshop again (definitely!)

Check out more of my photography works at my Flickr page by clicking at the link below
http://www.flickr.com/photos/genecell/
(or you can also access my Flickr page through the badge I attached at this blog’s side bar).
All comments and critics are welcomed.

poSt pRocesSzZzZzzZing...

Recently i'd been pretty obsessed with post processing. I'd been experimenting a lot with photoshop and its filters. I was not satisfied until I make THIS!

Haha.. The bad news is; I'd use two midnights to figure out how to make a picture look like a painting. Now that it's done, i'm going to bed.

Good night...

TaLEnTiMe

Okay, I definitely understand if you say you have no confidence in our own Malaysian's local film. I'd my own bad experience. Remember the loud bragging of Kinta: the first Malaysian's martial art film? I haven’t stop cursing bout how that movie sucked even after months and months watching it. I don’t know what the hell the director wanted to portray. And frankly, I can’t even call it an action flick. It’s more like a comedy to me. Try imagining this scenario: one guy is trying very hard to beat his victim brutally, and the victim bleeds like Bugs Bunny cartoon. Yea, the CG blood looks like cartoon. God damn it, I rather see the actors spit tomato ketchup out of their mouth. Not just that, the film is filled with stupid flashbacks, forcing the audience to watch the same scene over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, until you lose count. And What the fuck was with the gawky romance?!

If you haven’t watch Kinta, DON’T. If you still insist on watching it against my suggestion, I hope you’ve prepare yourself beforehand. Pull yourself together and face the fact that it’s a comedy and NOT a martial art film. And be prepare, there’s NO conclusion to the plot in the film. The director, Mr. CL Hor blames the demand of western market by saying they only want to see actions and solid brutally choreographed kung fu. I blame him for his poor direction skills. I think no one (both western and local audience) will say this movie is worth watching. It’s a poorly edited movie with no strong storyline, and it sucked badly.

Seriously. Don't torture your eyes with this movie.
Like this remake poster of mine? ;-P

Eh, but now terbawa-bawa pulak. I didn't mean to criticize Kinta when I first started typing this entry. But now I say if you're a Malaysian, you should forget Kinta and support this new film by Yasmin Ahmad. Talentime is a must watch. Yasmin Ahmad is the same director that presents us with the touchy and catchy Petronas advertisements for every major celebration in Malaysia. She’s also the same director that gives us sepet. Her work is always so amazing. I’m a fan of her works. Still don’t believe me? Then watch this two Talentime’s trailer for yourself. =)

Although most of the stars of this movie is of newcomers of young stars, this film is truly amazing. Watch this film and learn from it, that we're not all so different anyway. This film is a tale in which I think every Malaysian can relate with. I really hope we can all put our difference apart and truly cherish each others like in this movie's conclusion. One true Malaysia!

I feel needless to comment on her direction because Yasmin have already proved to the world that she’s a great director/filmmaker. You must watch it yourself to experience her magic. And I must say, the soundtrack used in the movie is great! I fall in love with the song ‘O Re Piya’ which is featured in both the movie and the trailer. All the other tracks such as ‘I Go’ are very nice as well.
Well, what are you waiting for? Go watch Talentime, NOW!!!

haPpy BirtHdAy sUan

happy bday suan.
p/s: You all don't birthday so often can ar? My pocket kosong already ar!

HapPy BdaY duDu!

This might came in a little late, but Happy Birthday Dudu~!

Wishing you happy birthday lu~
Hope you happy happy selalu, and healthy healthy selalu k?
=D

anTi thefT sysTem

I've been hanging at home for the past 2 weeks. Only go outs occasionally, and most of the time, even if I do get out, I'm just driving my family around, or fetch my sister to her tuition class. Memang bosan la~ In a blink of an eye, there goes 2 weeks of my holiday!

But it's fine lah just hanging around at home. Not like I don't like it. Haha.. Can teman mummy, babysit Nana, watch movie, online like usual... It's fine really. After all, it's my home sweet home.

That's not the main topic yet. On Sunday, my sister bought a pair of jeans at Bintang. Well, we paid for the jeans and bungkus back home lo ryte? And guess what my mum discovered the next day when she wanted to wash the new bought jeans?

THIS!!
Yes, the anti theft system thing!!

The cashier did not remove this thing after we pay for it! But the thing is there's no alarm whatsoever when we moved away from the counter. maybe Bintang's security and anti theft system are all bullshits after all.

My mum said we should just get the pants back to Bintang, show them the receipt and have it removed for us. But I'm excited and I was eager to remove the thing myself! After some discussing, my mother allow me to have some fun, as long as I don't make any holes in the pants.

I saw a small metal material that connects the two plastic pieces. I try to bend that thing using my hand, but to no avail. I thought I need some kinda tools.

And so I start digging my dad's toolbox, and I tried to cut it using this plier.

My dad's pliers are weary and blunt, again, to no avail. If you zoom in, all you can see some tiny dents to the metal. Nothing more than that.

So, in my frustration, I resorted to 'violence'. I tried to use a hammer to break the plastic cover.

You know what? Wah-lao-eh!! The plastic cover must be made of some heavy duty plastic or some kinda super heavy duty material that looks like plastic! I tried to hammer it numerous time, and there's not even a dent on it.

After some time, I thought it's kinda useless trying to break the big piece of plastic cover. So I switched my attention to the smaller piece of semi sphere plastic on the other end. This is how I do it. Lol..

At last, some results can be seen! Hahaha.. In the end the plastic piece is torn in pieces. and it came off really easily. So much for the hammer and all. So next time if you steal a jeans from supermarket face a careless cashier who forget to remove this anti theft thingy from your jeans, break the smaller piece of the plastic using two pliers, dun hammer them. Lol!

Tadaaa... End of this post! I know it's kinda stupid posting this kinda shit and all, but I thought it could really be some kinda stupid and foolish blogging material. Haha.. After all, many friends said my blog are getting too emo. Lol.

I hope you enjoyed reading about this stupid post~
And yea... I forgot to mention, besides getting that thing off my sister's jeans, I also made a hole there. Hahaha..

Oh by the way, I would like to credit some individuals for making this blog entry possible. As you can see, I used both my hands in the process. All the pictures in this post is taken by my mum! And also, thanks to the careless cashier in Bintang.

sLamaT taHun baRu ciNa

My hard disc is a gone case. Can't even load the stupid Windows Vista. So, now I'm using my sister's desktop to wish all of you a happy golden bull's year. Harap-harap korang jangan berlagak macam lembu k?

I supposed everything is gonna be new. Shirts, pants, hats, lingeries. And I bet many would buy red ones.

Happy New Year again. =) Gong Xi Fa Cai

haPpY biRtHdaY pUa

It was reminiscing the old times when we’re all still young, I thought of all the stupid and crazy stuffs we did. I remember how life was easy back then, without having to think much about anything at all. PMR, SPM, oh heck... I never gave a damn about those major exams anyway. How carefree.

Then I thought of my old blog... Went back and read my own post, smiling at myself like I’m a stupid dude. Then I saw this post:

FriEnDsHiP

i knew this one guy 9 years ago. he was a small sized guy, with small eyes, and doesn't really talk much. how did i knew him? we both came from the same primary school, but we doesn't rily talk to each others, even we spent 4 years in the same class together.

out of 140 plus standard six students from st. francis primary school, only four boys transfered to smk gajah berang. so, both of us starts to talk to each others. we sat next to each other. go out with each other. soon, he became my closest friend. though we were not in the same class the year after that, we never lose contact. we still hang around together. and for three years; since form one till form 3, we'll go out every single friday. where we went? we went to Fajar supermarket! alwiz hang around micky trading to browse thru all those ps games folders.

when we enter form 4, both of us was sorted in 4Sc2, based on our PMR results. and again, we sat next to each others. makin noise in class each and evry single period till the teachers labeled us with all sort of names. but we din give a damn. whu cares what the teachers think?

things do get nasty sometimes. alrite, its not juz sometimes, it's lots of time. thru de years, we quarrel lots of time. damn, and i can say it's almost everytime my fault. but one thing i can say is, he always took the immediat action of using the word "sorry". in hundreds of times we got ourselves into fights, i only used that word once or twice.

he was always looking over my back. yea.. always. this are the words from the bottom of my heart, "wei Pua, kalau saya ada buat apa-apa silap, apa-apa yang buat engkau marah, saya nak pohon banyak-banyak ampun. minta maaf k? i'll never wanna lose a friend like u!

His birthday was yesterday, and he’d his birthday party on the Christmas night. I’m sorry I can’t attend his party due to my family’s gathering we had every Christmas. I did make a brief appearance there, and I wished I could’ve stayed longer. Happy Birthday Pua. I hope you have a fabulous year ahead of you!

NGV eXpLosiOn iN MeLaKa

I was hanging out with my friends when my sister sent me a SMS that sounds like this:

Dun go Taman Merdeka pump gas. Today dun pump. Taman Merdeka gas explode. Dad say de.

For your information, currently i’m driving my dad’s 1999 Proton Wira 1.5 that runs on NGV (and petrol, of course). NGV is good lah, since I can save more on fuel. If I pump full tank only RM7 or RM8 plus max. With a full tank, I can go around 120km, sometimes 130km. That’s approximately 6 cent per kilometre. However, refilling NGV can be a headache since 120km is actually very little if you travel a lot. Not to mention you have to wait behind the long queue line of cabs.

Eh, babbling away pulak. Back to the text message my sister sent me. When she said gas explode, I thought there were a technical error at the gas station that causes the explosion. But it was nothing like that. The next morning, my dad told me that the explosion was caused by irresponsible modification to a vehicle using a LPG gas tank (the ones we use for cooking). According to him, the owner of the exploded vehicle passed away in the accident, after the explosion ripped open his stomach. Due to my curiosity, I purposely drive by the Petronas station to peek at the accident spot (damn it, without my camera).

But what I saw there was only a cleared up scene. No more glasses or metals on the floor. But I did saw a white van that totally looked like the exploded vehicle. I went home, feeling even more curious. So I Googled ‘Taman Merdeka NGV accident’. This is what i found:

The white van that exploded while refuelling NGV.

That’s the white van I saw! After I found the pictures, I go on reading the text that accompanied the graphics. Let me summarize what I read:

• The incident happened at Petronas Taman Merdeka, Batu Berendam on 8.30pm Friday night (7th Nov).
• 3 people arrived with the van (Toyota Lite Ace).
• The vehicle was refilling NGV as usual, when the vehicle suddenly explode.

• One Two people is injured and two one people have died. (updated)

• A taxi driver got injured on his face.
• LPG cooking cylinder is found.
• A box with Pelmag NGV components are there, but never used.
• NO NGV cylinder was installed in the vehicle.
• The owner probably had personally install the LPG cooking cylinder under the seat of the van.

Aiyo, the main reason why we use NGV is to save on fuel mah! If we get to save but in return we have to sacrifice our life, what’s the point? Please! No NGV cylinder was found? That’s really very serious leh! How can one simply replace a high pressure NGV gas tank with a regular cooking gas tank? When refuelling NGV, the gas tank will heat up. If you’re using NGV gas tanks, you would not face any problems since the tanks were built to sustain the heat from the refilling heating. However, if you use cooking gas tanks, you risked to be barbecued. The regular LPG tanks cannot sustain heat.

The exploded LPG tank.

Think twice before installing tanks like this in your vehicle. It might go 'Kaboom!!'

The natural gas is a sensitive fuel, so if you planned to use it, you have to install the whole system correctly. Follow the safety regulations issued by JPJ. Go to an authorized and recognized NGV installer instead of D.I.Y. experimenting at home. Dangerous lah kawan. Even if you don’t appreciate your own life, think about others! Don’t put other people in danger. For heaven’s sake, the whole petrol station might blow up because of your stupidity creativity. Petrol stations are high risk areas lah!

Ingatlah orang yang tersayang.
Photos credits: http://www.ngvlocator.com/ngvlocator/menu/index.html

Let's pray for the deceased and hope no more accidents like this happen in the future.

mOtHeR's Day!

I went back to Melaka for a couple of days, on family purposes. I’d my grandfather’s birthday to catch, and a Mother’s Day celebration I can’t miss! The biggest headache that played in my mind for the previous week was “What to buy for mummy?”

After cracking my mind for quite some time, I ask Aj for her opinion. She thought of making something exclusively for my mum. She thought of making some ‘paper flowers’ for her. First thing that comes to my mind? “How do we make these paper flowers?” Aj then told me she’ll guide me through the process. If there’s someone who can teach, then it sounds perfectly fine to me.

We started out by getting the materials needed. We got almost everything from the florist’s shop Joo Ee used to work in. Only after that do we realize that we missed out the most important raw material of all: serviettes. Sold at a sundry shop at only RM1 per pack, I guess these ‘tissues’ are the most important yet the cheapest material used in the making of the flowers!

Well, I feel like I’m too old for handicrafts. My skills are putted into test. And the result is I failed miserably. The paper flowers are supposed to look like roses.. But no matter how hard I tried, what I make still looked like tissue paper. Thank god, after countless times of trial and error, I finally managed to make some nice ones.

The bouquet of fake flowers is finally perfected, all thanks to Aj’s brilliant idea and Joo Ee’s wonderful wrapping skills! Well, I hope mummy love it!

Here's how the paper flowers looked like.

Here’s my mummy, me and the little present we prepared for her!

All 3 pretty girls of my life!

I love this picture. Mummy's flowers make me look so gay. Haha..

A day before mother’s day, I went back to Sungai Rambai to celebrate my grandfather’s birthday. It’s actually a double celebration since we actually celebrated mother’s day as well. After all, my grandmother had so many children and grandchildren!

My sister and I did a lot of silly stuffs, even when we’re on the way. I had lots of laughs even though my headache is present at the moment. Took lots of crazy pictures! We laugh until we reach the restaurant.

This picture is taken in daddy's car!

Love this sampat little sister of mine!

The restaurant is somewhere near Merlimau, I guess. Seriously, I hate that restaurant. It actually seems like there’s no other restaurant at that area. Every celebration is held at that sole restaurant. But the thing is there’s nothing special with the food they prepare. The restaurant is boring, and the taste is getting worse from time to time. That place is also getting boring. I’ve been there since I was in primary school. I wonder if everyone’s feeling the same as me.

Anyway, the celebration is cool. My grandparents are smiling all the way!

My family with my grandparents.

To see all pictures dat we took during mother's day, click here!

Oh yea! I had my haircut again! I wanted to get it real short, but the barber suggested me not to, so in the end my hair looked spiky. Not that bad anyway, just not short enough. At least i don't look messy and sleepy like before.

Before the haircut, i looked sleepy and motionless..
Tadaa~ My new look! Looked more energetic?

So, anyone had any comments to drop here? This blog is boring. Not much comments. Oh God. It's getting real late! I'd class at 10a.m. tomorrow. I better get some sleep. Not enough rest lately.. Alright then, good night all! Happy Belated Mother's Day to every mums out there! You girls rocks!