Study and Movie

Went out with my mum in the morning to my relative's house and studied in NUS after that from 2.45 pm to 9 pm.

Went to watch Dreamgirls with Derrick at Causeway Point at 9.55 pm. The show is definitely above my expectations as i wasn't really that keen to watch the show in the first place (probably because of the cheesy movie title). Watched it mainly due to good reviews and i'm glad i did. I was shaking my leg for more than half the length of the movie as the songs in the movie are really good. The fact that there are professional singers in the show (Beyoncé Knowles & Jennifer Hudson) definitely helped. Jennifer Hudson showcased her powerhouse vocals while Beyoncé exuded her womanly charms through her sultry vocals.

The visuals are astounding as well; the lights are dazzling and the costumes are any woman's dream. The film editing is brisk and we get many different angles and shots of the singers performing on stage. The dance choreography is slick, sensual and well coordinated. Kudos to Bill Condon for being a first time musical director and doing such a good job at it. Frankly, i think everything about this movie is better than the winner of 2002 Oscar Best Motion Picture, Chicago.

The musical is about a trio of black singers who went from virtually unknowns to major sensations in United States after a music producer discovered their singing talents. Effie who used to be the lead singer was relegated to become the background singer as her voice was deemed too hefty and her roly poly figure didn't help at all. Feelings were hurt and turmoil among the group members ensued. The film also touched on the lack of copyright laws in the past which led to plagiarism of music and lyrics.

Jennifer Hudson (winner of Oscar Best Supporting Actress) brought the house down with not only her voice but her natural acting abilities as well. Beyoncé looks absolutely stunning after her superstar transformation and she, plus the rest of the cast, are a dynamic force to be reckoned with. A fabulous and energetic musical indeed.
****

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Letters From Iwo Jima

Went to Xingnan Pri Sch opposite NTU to meet my coursemates as we were supposed to conduct a survey for our tech comm project there. However, due to some communication problems between the admin clerk and the principal in the primary school, we were rejected to conduct the survey there even though the clerk had told us to come to the school.

We then headed back to NTU to find our tech comm professor who was not in her office. Sent an email requesting her to forward an email to the primary school so that we can conduct the survey.

We then headed to Orchard Cineleisure to watch Letters from Iwo Jima. It is without a doubt one of the best war films i have ever seen. Flags of our Fathers is the American twin while Letters from Iwo Jima is shot from the Japanese perspective. This Japanese film is definitely superior in terms of emotional resonance and storytelling. A fantastic achievement for Clint Eastwood for helming this entirely Japanese film and making it as authentic as possible in terms of their culture and the history.

World War II, 1945. United States invaded the Japanese island of Iwo Jima so that they can use the small island as a base to attack the main island of Japan. The Japanese who were assigned to defend the small island were cut off from reinforcements and supplies as the bulk of the military force were retreated to defend the main island. Fight until they die were the last orders from the Japanese Imperial Army.

Splattered blood, gunshot wounds, dismembered limbs, and burnt carcasses are rampant after the war started. We are reminded that war inherently is evil, the soldiers are mostly unwilling parties dragged into the action. Behind every dead soldier, every mother, every wife and every child will be weeping for them. What we feel is the terrible loss of lives that war causes; the innocent people who perish under the gunfire, the artillery bombing and the grenade attacks. The acting by Ken Watanabe is incredible while the rest of the cast does a fine job with depicting their increasing desperation, their waning determination, and their unspeakable sorrow for their fallen friends.

Letters from Iwo Jima is a wonderfully made, incredibly emotional, violent, and ultimately honourable film, saluting their Japanese counterparts who perished in the war that few people know about.
****1/2

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Complete List of Winners for 79th Academy Awards

Complete list of winners at the 79th annual
Academy Awards, presented Sunday night at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles:

Best Motion Picture: "The Departed"

Lead Actor: Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland"

Lead Actress: Helen Mirren, "The Queen"

Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"

Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"

Directing: Martin Scorsese, "The Departed"

Foreign Language Film: "The Lives of Others," Germany

Adapted Screenplay: William Monahan, "The Departed"

Original Screenplay: Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine"

Animated Feature Film: "Happy Feet"

Art Direction: "Pan's Labyrinth"

Cinematography: "Pan's Labyrinth"

Sound Mixing: "Dreamgirls"

Sound Editing: "Letters From Iwo Jima"

Original Score: "Babel," Gustavo Santaolalla

Original Song: "I Need to Wake Up" from "An Inconvenient Truth," Melissa Etheridge

Costume: "Marie Antoinette"

Documentary Feature: "An Inconvenient Truth"

Documentary Short Subject: "The Blood of Yingzhou District"

Film Editing: "The Departed"

Makeup: "Pan's Labyrinth"

Animated Short Film: "The Danish Poet"

Live Action Short Film: "West Bank Story"

Visual Effects: "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"

Jean Hersholt Award (Oscar statuette): Sherry Lansing

Honorary Academy Award (Oscar statuette): Ennio Morricone

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Photo Session & Movie

Went to Orchard to watch Protégé at Cineleisure with Daryl and the 3.15 pm show was sold out. We settled for a later timing at 5.30 pm instead. Headed to Marina City Park to shoot some photos in the meantime. I was keen to take photos of the legendary Chinese sculptures supposedly located there but upon arrival, they were nowhere to be found.

Took some photos here and there while being attacked by several ants and mosquitoes. Headed back to City Hall area for some quick snapshots before heading back to cine for the movie.

Protégé is an anti-drug movie that ironically shows us the process of preparing drugs; from mixing the ingredients, to heating and packaging the small slabs of 'US dollars'. There is even on site location shoot at a Thai opium field that shows us the harvesting process of opium. Don't be mistaken as the show is not a documentary.

The story is about a drug lord (Andy Lau) who controls much of the import and distribution of heroin in Hong Kong. His ailing health forces him into early retirement and he intends to pass the extensive underground drug business to his protégé Nick (Daniel Wu). Nick in fact is an undercover cop and he has been waiting for the chance to nab the drug lord for 7 years.

The pace of the movie is efficient and we get an inner glimpse of the drug dealing business as well as the individual characteristics of the leads. The director humanises the drug addicts, but yet condemns their actions, chastising them for having a choice but perpetually choosing the wrong one. Ultimately, the consequences are disastrous for addicts as well as the traffickers.

The acting is quite good with Daniel Wu as the smart and charismatic undercover cop who has a very kind heart, as well as Andy Lau who morphs into a daunting presence at work but becomes a loving father at home. Protégé is a very well-intentioned movie for anyone to watch. It is an entertaining movie with moral values to boost.
***1/2

Went City Hall area again to take some night photography after the movie and set up my tripod along Esplanade Drive to capture some fireworks shots for the Chinese New Year. It was a tiring shoot as i had to bend down to see through the camera viewfinder (the tripod not high enough) and shoot for a few minutes.

Some shots of fireworks using my digicam


People from Chinese Orchestra performing at Esplanade

A very tiring day as i had walked quite a lot lugging my heavy film camera, my bag and my tripod the entire day.

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More photos

Took some photos at Kranji War Memorial last Friday as many of us skipped the last 2 lectures. Developed some photos today after my lessons today. Feel that my new batch of photos is slightly off the mark. Gotta improve for my next few rolls.

I Will Remember You


Their Name Liveth For Evermore


Stairway of Light

1 more day before recess week!!! Yay, time to 'pia' most of the projects during the break.

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2nd Day of CNY

Slept at around 5 am yesterday and woke up at 12 noon today. Accompanied my sister to her boss's house to 'bai nian'. The house is rather big with a swimming pool at the back. We had buffet lunch and waited for a while for the lion dance troupe to arrive.

Arrival of the lion dance troupe


Entering the house

They performed their usual movements around the house before crouching down to peel oranges, spray confetti and throw vegetables out from the lion costume's head. We left soon after and headed back home to meet up with my parents.

Went to some of my relatives' houses next. Settled at my aunty's house for buffet dinner and the mahjong tiles and poker cards automatically appeared after consuming our food. Played mahjong for some time with my cousins and we all tried to teach Yl the basic techniques of mahjong.

A candid shot of my second cousin

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Chinese New Year

It's the first day of Chinese New Year and i have the important task of entertaining my younger cousins by letting them use my computer and laptop to play computer games. I do enjoy mingling with my younger cousins coz they are a fun loving bunch of children.

My father's side of my extended family mostly came in the afternoon and most of them either played mahjong, watched tv or played poker cards.

Mahjong'ing'


Blackjack'ing' (using chocolates as chips)

My mother's side of my extended family came in the evening and we had ordered buffet catering for everyone. We had quite a lot of food as my mum cooked some of her specialty dishes as well.

Me and my young cousins


My sister, my super cute second cousin and me


My cousins playing the confetti poppers

It is definitely a stress-free and joyful day for all of us. PS: The tagboard was vandalised by one of my cousins.

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Time to finally relax

An outing finally....... Went out with Edwin and Derrick for dinner at Ding Tai Fung at Wisma. It has been some time since i last went to an expensive restaurant.

Ed and i accompanied Derrick for his last minute CNY shopping but there wasn't sufficient time and the shops started closing after 9.30 pm. We settled down at lido 5th level and chatted all the way until 1.30 am.

Ahh........ Vented some of my frustration and stress in school.

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Super busy week is over!!!

Monday, returned home at 7.30 pm. Researched and did some prior work for my aero design project. Started doing my lab report from 11.30 pm until 3 am.

Tuesday, returned home from school at 9.15 pm. Continued doing my lab report until 3 am.

Wednesday, returned home at 8.15 pm. Wrapped up and completed my 36 page lab report at 3 am.

Thursday, returned home at 6 pm. Studied for thermodynamics test from 7.30 pm but was too tired and feel asleep for about 1.5 hrs. Continued studying for the test from 10.30 pm to 3 am.

Friday, thermo test. Should be able to pass but did not do well for it. Went Arts, Design, Media library to research on my elective report.

Horribly busy week and finally it's Chinese New Year. Happy holidays and Happy Chinese New Year to everyone! I definitely need this break. School's killing me.....

2 Aero design projects, 1 stupid technical communication project, 1 extra aerospace materials report, 1 elective report and presentation, and finally all the either tough or 'undoable' tutorials to go. Life sucks when it comes to engineering.

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More photos!

Three more photos included in my portfolio. High expectations from me has been set. I'm the one who 'spoil market' and it makes me a little awkward when i'm among my classmates. Probably won't s/u this module after all.

Get set..... FIGHT!


Nesting in the sky


Garuda

Hopefully no one in my class will replicate the photos that i took.

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Busy

I haven't done my lab report, and i haven't done any tutorials this week other than thermodynamics. All i've done is snap snap snap.....

I'm super lag with my schoolwork but i am definitely way ahead with my elective, Black & White Photography (took 6 rolls of film to date when i'm only supposed to shoot just 3). Went to Haw Par Villa on a mad rush to snap photos before going to NUS science library to study for thermodynamics.

Thermo quiz on friday! Still lots of stuff to be done. I do love my elective although it takes up so much of my time.

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Products

Had 4 hours of break today and headed to ADM building to develop my film and photos. It was a slower process as i have to deal with 3 rolls of film.

I only had time to develop 2 contact prints and left to attend my lecture at 3.30 pm. I continued developing the photos after the lecture. I'm rather pleased with the photos i've taken this time round as well.

The sky, the sun, the glass and the structure


The lonely sunset


The tree by the sea


Get up to the next window


CHJIMES

I developed the above photos until 8.15 pm and headed to Junhui's condo for bbq as he had invited some of his NZ friends who will be leaving Singapore soon. Helped to barbeque the food until around 11 pm and headed back home.

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Photographing

Spent almost the entire day today shooting pictures since i do not need to attend lab today. Shot a whopping 3 rolls of film! Yay, i can go camera/shutter free for the next 2 weeks coz we only need to shoot 1 roll every week.

Got my first parking summon after about 1 year of driving. $20 down the drain but considering the number of times i have not been caught by the traffic/parking wardens, i don't really feel the pain.

Can't wait to develop my photos tomorrow. Really like some of the sunset shots i've taken.

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Perfection

Our photography professor demands perfection. The church building is a little too dark, the dog picture looks quite flat, and the sky needs outlining for almost all my A4 sized photos. There is a technique to boost the outlines of the photo which is called 'burning' and it is done by shining the projected light through a hole on the edges of the photo.

Test prints were done and my 2nd attempt for the A4 print of the church photo. Aperture F11, exposure time 22 seconds. The building turns out fine and the sky needs to be outlined, the teacher says. 3rd attempt, same exposure settings but my first attempt with 'burning'. The sky looks disproportionate due to 'bad burning', says the teacher. After finding out the correct techniques to 'burn' the outlines, 4th attempt for the A4 print plus proper burning.

Finally, got what the teacher wanted after wasting 3 A4 prints and 4 test prints. A little difference makes a difference. A little difference also costs us our time and many pieces of photo paper in the rubbish bin.

Exasperated......

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Photography

Yuan Sheng and i stayed back after our solidworks session in school to develop our film and photos. This time, i did not screw up the loading of film into the container. We went to the completely dark film loading room to load our film and there is much more space for us to maneuver. The turning of the spool was much easier and smooth compared to my first attempt.

We then continued the procedure of adding the developer, stop bath & fixer, then putting the spool under running water for 30 minutes, putting in the wetting agent, and finally drying the film in a heater cabinet.

The photos were to be developed next and we did the test prints before making the contact print. Choosing the photos were not too difficult for me as i already had in mind some of my well taken photos.

I must say that i'm very glad to have some great shots for my second roll of film.

Symmetry @ Esplanade


The most famous church in Singapore

I can't help but take out my A4 sized photos from time to time and admire at the photos i've just taken on sunday. Ha.... I gotta admit the photography skills i have developed after taking tons and tons of photos with my old and new digicam.

Nice shots right? Haha......

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Movie finally

I have long wanted to catch some movies during this oscar season and i chosen Half Nelson which 8 Days and Straits Times gave 4.5 and 5 stars respectively. Ryan Gosling is nominated for Best Actor category in the Academy Awards.

It is the first time i went to the Picturehouse at The Cathay and it is also my first time sitting on such an expensive chair (reported at $10,000 per chair). It certainly looks quite expensive and classy but once i sat on it, it didn't feel very comfortable. The cushion is little too rigid and the arm rests feels too hard. Got a little headache after the show as well.

Anyway, back to the movie. The story is about a white teacher, Dan, teaching history in a predominantly black community. The irony is that he is actually a drug addict and he got caught strung out in a toilet by one of his students. They develop a friendship between each other as each one of them faces their own morality tests. The student, Drey, is close to a friend who is has dealings with drugs and Dan chastises Drey for being friends with bad company.

The story is simple and straightforward, not overblown or overtly dramatic to cater to mainstream audiences wishes. The acting is strong with Ryan Gosling totally believable as a junkie, as well as a teacher who is keen on educating and changing people's lives. Shareeka Epps also holds her own as the student who is very independent, but ocassionally falling for the dark side.

The film is a little too understated for me but it is nevertheless a great character study of two flawed human beings, with good acting to boost.

***1/2

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Night Prawning

My jc gang met up at Jurong Bird Park & Reptile Farm carpark on Friday night to go to a prawning farm just beside the carpark. We met up at 9 pm and waited for a few of the latecomers.

Jim had bought some worms which were supposed to be some food which prawns eat.

Little worms

We started prawning at 10 pm and gotten 3 prawning lines shared among the 7 of us. It costs $25 per 3 hours per rod. Terence, Jim and i shared 1 rod while the rest of the couples shared 1 rod per couple.

We set up rods and hooked bits of the chicken heart which they provided us. In beginning, we were not too sure of the whole process and consulted Ade and TH who had done prawning before. We started prawning soon after.

Prawning!

We were chatting throughout the whole activity as we have to wait for some time before some unlucky prawn gets greedy and eats the bait. Edwin and Shiqi was the first to catch a prawn after 20 minutes. We were all excited and keen to catch the next prawn after the initial catch.

Some of us were observing a man who catches prawns at quite a fast frequency. The prawns he caught were extremely huge as well. We followed around the area where he hangs the bait but to no avail. He left soon after catching a basketful of prawns.

1 hour had past and me, Terence and Jim had not any luck with getting any prawns. Ade and TH got a slightly bigger prawn after some time at the other end of the man-made pond.

We continued prawning and suddenly there was a commotion. Apparently, someone had caught a super duper huge prawn. I quickly rushed over to snap pictures of the gigantic and fierce looking prawn.

Look at the LONG pincers!!!!!!!!


A hand cannot fully cover the prawn

The man who had caught the gigantic prawn let us nosey people snap away and put it on the ground to let us snap more pictures.

King Prawn? I didn't know prawns got pincers before lor!

Wow, it was quite exhilarating to see such a big catch and we were pumped to go catch GIANT prawns.

Prawning, prawning, prawning..... Ade and TH caught another huge prawn and we quickly went over to help them with removing the hook from the prawn. The pincers looked rather fierce and we were a little apprehensive on how to prevent our hands from being caught in the nasty pincers while unhooking the prawn. Luckily, the guy who previously got the gigantic prawn came over to help us. He grabbed the prawn body as well as the pincers and unhooked it within seconds.

The first big catch!


Comparison of the size of the prawn to TH's slipper (darn big right?)


Group Photo

Jim left at around 12.15 am as he had to wake up very early the next day. We continued with prawning and Terence got the BIGGEST catch of the day. It was slightly bigger than the one ade & TH caught.

Me and the prawn Terence caught


My foot gently resting on the pincers of the prawn to prevent it from attacking, while using a borrowed pincers (tool) to help remove the hook

It was slightly nerve-wrecking to hold down the twitching and jumping prawns that splash some water everywhere.

At around 12.30 am, the owner refilled the tank with prawns and we were having a prawning frenzy. Edwin used his bare hands to grab those smaller prawns near the surface of the tank and it was quite amusing watching him grab the prawns.

Terence got another big prawn and that more or less sums up the entire catch of the night. 3 hours of prawning came to an end at 1 am and pulled up the basket that contains our prawns we caught.

Not a lot for the 7 of us but still a commendable effort


Me, Edwin, our catch and the prawning rod

We split the prawns among only 3 of us as the others did not want to bring the prawns back home. I got the smallers prawns and when i showed my mum the prawns when i got back home, she said 'How come the prawns so big?'. Maybe i should have brought back one of the super big prawns instead, ha......

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