Hey bijak pandai
Here's a question.Dhani and Dimas are identical twins. Both of them fell in love with Ella and Elly who are identical twins themselves. So let's say Dhani got married to Ella and Dimas tie the knot with Elly. What are the chances of them having kids that look identical?
Can someone who learn this kind of things clear things up for me. It sounds interesting and I can't stop thinking about it actually.
So yeah.. thanks in advance.
Posted on Friday, October 31, 2008 | 10 comments
Waiting
"Kapitalis"
"Safarina's not coming.."
"When deep space exploration ramps up, it'll be the corporations that name everything, the IBM Stellar Sphere, the Microsoft Galaxy, Planet Starbucks.."*
30 October 2008
Damansara Intan
Posted on Thursday, October 30, 2008 | 6 comments
MTV Music
MTV launched a website offering most, if not all of the music videos in their massive archive, all the way from the first video it played, Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles to whatever it is that those Pussycat Dolls are singing these days. Yeah sure, some videos aren't there but this site is kindof new so let's give MTV some time to dig through their dusty tapes collection m'kay?
On top of that, you'll get to see some exclusive interviews that was broadcasted before on MTV during and after there was music on that channel. And oh, those cool Unpluggeds too.
Yeah, yeah.. I know the quality is so so and many of these stuffs are on YouTube anyway. Still, there's always that warm and fuzzy feeling about watching music videos on MTV regardless whether it's on your TV or your brand spanking new LCD from Samsung.
So yeah.. as usual, click here to go to the website.
Oh, by the way to us all YouTube Generations.. don't worry. This is not your living room telly. You can comment, embed and rate the videos as you wish a-la 2008.
Enjoy.
Posted on Thursday, October 30, 2008 | 1 comments
Takziah
Takziah buat keluarga Iskandar Shah atas pemergian ayahanda mereka, saudara Safar. Semoga rohnya dicucuri rahmat dan ditempatkan bersama orang-orang yang beriman.Al-fatihah.
Posted on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 | 3 comments
Sunset thru' a cheap lens
The West Wing, MCKK, Kuala Kangsar
Photos by Amir 'Arif
*
Yeah, I didn't took these photos.. This is all my brother's work. He took these at about 6.30pm (Budak Koleq: lepas games hour) using his 1988 Lomo LC-A onto a roll of slide film. Later, it was cross processed using your everyday C41 chemicals creating very bizarre colours and contrast yang menggila.
Film photography is full of surprises kan?
So yeah, if you have nothing better to do why not check out some of his photos. Click here.
Oh, btw.. we have a very dusty scanner so sorry for the dusty scans.
Posted on Monday, October 27, 2008 | 7 comments
Ambitions
I've just watched the Petronas Deepavali ad on TV and it sure does pull the right strings in my heart. Hardwork, sacrifice.. all that good stuff.
If I remember it correctly, being a pilot is one of my earliest ambitions. My first ambition ever was to drive the mesin padi New Holland.. yeah, the harvester. Back then I live with my Tok Wan and our house was next to a paddy field. During the harvesting season these behemoth would come at nighttime with floodlights at the ready, sucking up all that paddy goodness into its belly. Awesome gile.
So yeah, the next one was to be a pilot lah. Quite typical actually for boys kan? I know this because all my male cousins too wanted to fly and airplane, the 747 to be exact. We didn't know anything about Airbus yet back then. I remember the first time I saw a picture of a MD DC10, the one with an engine on its sail.. Damn I was hooked. Imagination runs wild.
Next up the chart was to be an architect. I had a role model in the family, my Mak Lang. She's an architect and her husband is an art teacher. That was probably when I started getting interested in arts and designs. Sure enough, most of my cousins followed suit. So the family's future went from the skies down onto the canvas.. or so we thought then.
Now eventhough I'm 20 in two months time and pursuing my degree in broadcasting and journalism, I'm still frankly wondering what am I going to do in the future. Ambitions changed before, why can't it happen now? I kindof have a plan for the future as anyone should. Still, I love the randomness of life and the surprises it have in store for me.
Whatever it is, c'est la vie.
Posted on Sunday, October 26, 2008 | 0 comments
Available light
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25 October 2008
Bukit Bintang dan sekitarnya
*
I love available light.. the lights that are both natural and a part of the natural scene of where I shoot. Most of the time I used this as an excuse, to justify the fact that I don't actually have the money to buy myself flashes and whatnots.
Most of the time my shots are taken using my Nikon D40, through the 18-55mm kit lens. Some call it kid's lens.. I know. Still, there's always many things one can learn from a kid as much as one can learn from any adult.
I don't usually take pictures of humans though I love photojournalism. That is the main thing people comment about my photos.. too empty, no human, no story. I feel strange pointing the camera onto the face of a stranger, destroying whatever bits of privacy they have left out in this very public world. Maybe one day this thing will change. Maybe then more and more strands of light will bounce off the faces of people, diving straight into the bowels of my lens, creating beautiful images that will make you smile or perhaps cry..
Regardless, I love to take pictures more than I want to be in a persatuan. Yeah sure, I would love to have a few regulars to go around and shoot with but I don't like to be involved in a society, persatuan, project, group or whatever you want to call it. Don't call me an antisocial or anything as such. Call me Hadi, that's who I am.
So yeah.. maybe this few hundred words are just another vain attempt to make people symphatize me and forget for a while that the photos above are not that good.. I don't know. I don't really care actually. I just feel like talking to someone and I think that maybe you would want to spend a few minutes listening.
Sorry if this post cost you several irreplaceable minutes of your life. Regardless, thank you for being here. Even if you don't really say anything, that is already good enough for me.
Have a nice day and do take a look at how the lights illuminate you differently in every minute of everyday. You are really more beautiful than you think you are.
Posted on Sunday, October 26, 2008 | 5 comments
This and that and that one too.. and that one also
Warning. Dunia ini kecil. Jangan terpedaya.Petang tadi I just found out yang the guy that my aunt is getting married to is my housemate's senior back in high school.
My primary school friends from Rawang is now the roommate of my friend in MCKK. Both are now in Russia.
I just found out that one university friend of mine used to live one row behind my old house in Kelana Jaya.
Noah, someone I got to know from my friend Alep is actually the friend of another friend of mine, Rashiq.
Bla bla bla.. ada la lagi a few instances that I suddenly forgot when I started typing. Selalu jadi macam tu kan? It's like you woke up from this amazing dream and you ran downstairs to tell everyone about it only to forget everything by the time you open your mouth.
Oh well. Here's a fun fact. Without farming, the world's population could never have reached the 6 billion figure that it is at now. Instead, a research concluded that if humans didn't invent farming, the world's population right now should only be around 600,000.. roughly the size of Glasgow.
Go and think about that while I tuck into bed and have my good night sleep.
Oh, by the way.. here's another fun fact. If you grow up during the time when the TV broadcast was still in black and white, you are more likely to dream in monochrome. If you are like me, the children of the '90s and beyond.. we dream in technicolor y'all.
Okay, good night. Let's see if I really do dream in colour..
Owh owh owh.. next time you see a farmer, thank them aite? And urm, maybe you could tell them to slow down a bit. The population is booming too fast already. Deal?
Okay, good night.
Posted on Saturday, October 25, 2008 | 6 comments
The Girlfriend
Cat survival guide.
Befriend a healthy male cat that lives with a cat loving family, be that cat's baby's momma and you'll have free food and shelter for as long as you might live. You might not be getting into the house but the porch is a better place to be when its raining than any alley could.
So your kitten inherited your pneumonia? No problem. He's already at the vet. So what if your name is a simple 'Gopen'. The hand that feeds you are spending sleepless nights thinking of what to name your kids. Oh what a classic tale of a mother's sacrifice..
The last few months is probably the best months of your life.
Thank God we didn't put you to sleep. Remember that and please be grateful. Stop pooping on our lawn and learn to use the potty just like your kids and Ochin do.
As the old saying goes, you don't poop on the lawn of the lady who wakes up in the morning to feed you cat food.
Have a nice day Gopen.
Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 | 10 comments
End of semester blues..
This is already near the end of the semester. Next year is my final year. I still have my Media Studies essay to write, then I need to start working on the journals, the Journalism essay, the Documentary Theory presentation and essay as well as the film reviews and not forgetting I need to re-edit some part of my documentary on Melaka and start editing the second documentary.. Phewh..I'm trying not to be too panicky about the deadline.
So yeah.. that's probably why I can't upload the documentary yet. It's technically done but there are a few things presentationwise that need to be retouched.. so maybe later aite?
The second documentary that I'm working on is about a friend of mine, Nik Izni who is a cancer survivor. The story basically revolves around her and her family, concerning things that happen before, during and after the cancer, how the family coped with the who situation and those kind of things. It was supposed to be a tearjerker of sorts but after I went to Subang to interview the family, I think that would not happen.. her family is a strong bunch.
Another thing that kept crawling up my mid is how to spend my semester break. People close to me would know how long my year end semester breaks are. Last time it started at the end of November up until early February.
I was thinking of going back to do postproduction somewhere but last week my lecturer offered the class to do internship at newspaper companies, to be journalists-in-training. She works at The Sun but she could easily arrange for the gig at other places. As much as I don't believe in newspapers these days there's still a part of me that's curios about how things go down in there. I'm just worried about my personal skills.. I'm not really a people's person. I'm not really into asking question and walk around being extra nice to everyone.
Hurm..
Posted on Tuesday, October 21, 2008 | 1 comments
This is KL, Retro
5 October 2008
Jalan-jalan belakang yang gelap dan sunyi
Posted on Saturday, October 18, 2008 | 9 comments
Books
I was at a bookstore recently. Many months have passed since I finished reading my last book which I think was Mitch Albom's For One More Day. After that I purchased two or three more books which I stopped reading after a few dozen pages; I didn't like the story.. yet.So yeah, I was browsing through the New Arrivals and Best Selling shelves, looking at titles after titles.. some of which I have at home, a few more that I've read but never owned, quite a number that I've lost or misplaced as well as one or two that I've given away to people.
Apart from me and Neet, there was this presumably avid book reading family there too. The sister was pointing at this book and that book on the bestseller's shelf, telling the mother and brother how good the books are.
"Of course they are, that's why they're bestsellers kan?", the mom said.
The sister kept on going, pointing at Mitch Albom's books, Coelho's The Alchemist and a few others.
"Oh my god! Have you read The Alchemist?", said the sister."Yeah, it was fantastic kan? I cried you know?", answered another female sibling."Yeah I know! Have you read P.S I Love You? I cried reading that too!"
Then suddenly came the little brother.
"You guys can cry reading a book?"
Pfttt?
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Well good sir, feelings are there to be felt. Personally I've cried reading books.. Yes I did. It was Nick Sparks' A Walk to Remember. I was just happily reading, reading, reading the book and suddenly when I came to the part where Jamie told Landon that she have leukemia, I cried. I don't know why, it just did. It felt really good, flushing out all that emotions down the tear duct. Satisfying indeed.
It isn't only about crying actually. It's the feeling of panic when I read Don Corleone got ambushed while buying some fruits, it's the fun of following Christopher Boone and his witty wit around London town, it's the nervous feeling watching Winston Smith avoiding the thought police in his quest for freedom.. books, a few thousand word on some hundred pages can sometimes be much better than watching a well hyped, well financed and well produced film.
We are all individuals, I know. Not everyone can listen to Beethoven and see joy. Not everyone can watch V and see a romantic lover. Not everyone can see the Mona Lisa and understand what it's all about and there's definitely a lot of us who can't really see what's so emotional about Baroque architecture. Still, I think we need to keep an open mind to things and try to understand things more deeply.
If there's one thing this world need right now, it's understanding. Once people learn to understand each others, everything else will follow. Peace and all that hoopla.
*
So yeah kid, feelings are there to be felt. The moral story is don't talk too loud, nanti ada orang tulis dalam blog.
Posted on Saturday, October 18, 2008 | 5 comments
Dengar
Telescope Eyes
by Eisley
Room Noises
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Mawar Khayalan
Laila's Lounge
Soundtrack Kami
Posted on Friday, October 10, 2008 | 2 comments
The artist and his tools
Dulu waktu sekolah aku buat kerja pakai Photoshop 7 and Photoshop CS. Sekarang dalam laptop aku ada satu copy Photoshop CS2. Tadi kawan aku cakap dia baru beli Photoshop CS3. Tak lama dulu aku baca Adobe tengah ambil pre-order Photoshop CS4.Semua tu dalam jangka masa tambah tolak 4 tahun. Cepatkan?
Orang selalu guna benda ni sebagai alasan untuk tidak dapat menghasilkan karya yang terbaik. Masing-masing inferior dengan software yang mereka guna yang 3 bulan kebelakang daripada yang terbaru.
Semalam aku terjumpa link ni. Bob Staake, seorang graphic designer yang menghasilkan banyak karya terutamanya untuk majalan The New Yorker. Cantik karyanya..
Kan? Nak tau dia pakai software apa? Photoshop 3.0, published in 1995.
It's the artist, not the tools.
Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2008 | 2 comments
Put on the headphone and smile
Of Montreal
My British Tour Diary
Satanic Panic in the Attic
Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2008 | 0 comments
Postproduction
Currently busy cutting and assembling the group's documentary. Alone. Yeah, there's no I in a team, I know. Oh well.. Tired mind and body thinking how to get it done from 3 tapes into just 5 to 7 minutes.
At least it's not calculus or chemistry. Phewh!
From the footages shot, there's a whole bunch of issue but the most recurring ones are the young and how they perceive history, about conservation versus development, about educating the people as well as how economy and politics play an important role in dictating things.
Here are a few things I've started to work on.
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The Flor de la Mar.
Which reminds me. Back when I was studying French, the French equivalent to the word flor de la mar is fleur de la mer, translated literally back into English as the flower of the sea. But in French, the term fleur de la mer in general use meant the same thing as seafood.
Heh.. Flor de la Mar.. the seafood ship. Nice name for a seafood restaurant I think. A well needed change from the overused D'lazat, D'sedap, D'abang, D'anjung, D'ayu Seafood and D'mamak everywhere.
Mr. Edward Kennedy and his pet iguana.
Found him just in front of the A'Famosa gates. It'll cost you RM 3 to take photo with his 8 year old pet iguana using his Polaroid (woot!) camera. A Portuguese descendant, very fiery and opinionated about the heritages of Malacca.
*
I'm hoping to get the basic structure and direction done by tonight. There are a lot of audios that need to be tweeked, complementary from the damaged boom mic cable and I still haven't really figured out the intro for this video. So yeah.. Busy.
Deadline? Thursday, 12pm.
Posted on Tuesday, October 07, 2008 | 4 comments
23
Dia bangun pagi dengan perasaan yang membenci. Direnggang-renggangkan otot-ototnya yang kebas sambil tangannya mengelap hingus yang mengalir jernih dari hidungnya lalu berlabuh di sebalik misainya yang nipis."Aku dah kata jangan bukak air cond"
Dia mencapai tuala dan berlalu pergi. Bunyi air mengalir deras kedengaran dari sebalik pintu tandas.
Tiada kata seindah bahasa.
Posted on Sunday, October 05, 2008 | 0 comments
Aku, Kau, Dia, Kita
I'm close to being 20 and I feel awkward referring myself as a teenager anymore. Yet, I feel ill equipped to claim that I'm a full grown adult.*
I went to watch Kami last night with Neet, Arif and Hariri. If you might remember, I did a posting about Kami the series sometimes ago where I praised the show for being sorta fresh and interesting.
So yeah, my expectations were high indeed and I was really keen to see if the movie can be as good as the mini series.
Okay, here's the thing. The movie probably suffer a bit in the pacing department, especially during the first half and hour. It was kindof choppy and a bit draggy. It was only until about half way through the movie did I feel comfortable about everything. If this was HBO, I'll probably skip the channel.
Another thing that bothers me is the visual quality la. You know right, the TV series all the shots were superb, nice, clean, crispy colours and all. On the big screen however, the quality deteriorated somewhat, with some focussing problems and (gasp!) noise. I don't really know much about how they shot this movie but something tells me that it was not shot in film with budget as the obvious cost. Personally I have no trouble with digital videos but this is perhaps the first time I see them on the silver screen rather than on my 12 inch screen so yeah, I guess it's okay. After all this is an indie movie about the indie scene kan?
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Pengetahuan am sekejap. Kalau aku tak silap la, satu can film costs about RM 500 and would usually hold up to about 4 to 5 minutes of footage. Video tapes, such as MiniDV, DV or Beta costs about less than 50 bucks a piece (MiniDV is RM 15) and can hold up to 30 minutes of footage. This things vary from one type of tape to the other but you can see the difference in cost la.
*
Technicalities aside, the story is there and if I may say this without spoiling it, it is not a happy one. There's a lot of emotions involved, a lot of anger and all that rage that young people are usually associated with. It's more than a bunch of kids going to gigs every other weekend, it's more than just girl loves boy, boy oblivious story. This movie is not about any one person that is in the cast but about them all, thus the name Kami.
In a nutshell, this is a story about growing up, about life and about love. It is how we are all connected in this big scheme of things and like how Newton said it, our every actions have a reaction, equal and opposite. Kids make mistakes as much as adults do. At the end of the day, both need to learn from each other. No one is better than the other.
So yeah, the movie does have its share of flaws and plot holes. Technicalities and continuity gaps. Still, I guess it's a good movie for everyone to see, as long as you go in with an open mind and open heart.
But yeah, RedFilms.. I honestly think you guys could have done it better.
Posted on Saturday, October 04, 2008 | 3 comments
Jonker Walk, Melaka
I was in Melaka around the 26th till 28th September, shooting for my documentary. The group is doing on the over exaggeration of history and on certain fake things in Melaka that are promoted as history.
Yeah, I know. It's kindof hard to really mention what it's about actually. We too were lost a few times along the way about what are we actually looking for. Still, it was a nice experience.. although oh so tiring. Walking up and down Bandar Melaka with a heavy videocamera and a more heavier tripod while fasting.. yeap.
We interviewed a lot of people and went into so many places. At the end of the day, I have with me 3 tapes of about 2 and a half hours to edit and figure out how to fit it into a 5 minute time frame. Yeah.. things like this happens.
Anyway, Melaka was super nice. Come la let's go there one day.
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Here's a few photos I took of Jonker Walk by the way.
27 & 28 September 2008
Jonker Walk, Melaka
Posted on Saturday, October 04, 2008 | 4 comments
