Today is a meaningful day yet a restless day. I rented some vcds to clear my boredom as well as to distract me from hearing the renovation noise from my neighbour. My mum is amazed that I could watch my vcds in such an undisturbed mode, esp. Yesterday, I got to shout at her (Not that i mean to shout at her but it is too noisy :( ) to tell her that I will escape from the unexpected noise level.
I watched 3 movies: "Enchanted, I am Legend and PS. I love You" Out of the 3, I think I enjoyed "P.S. I love you" the most. It is about a young widow, starring Hilary Swank, who discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help to release the grief that she had for him. As the seasons pass, each new message fills her with encouragement and sends her on a new adventure, all ended off with "P.S. I Love You".
I think P.S. I Love You has a perfect blend of sadness, and little light-heartedness. This is not saying that that the light moments belittle the sadness; no, rather the opposite. It adds to it, because it mirrors real life. Real life is not all about sadness, but about the good moments mixed in.
P.S. I Love You is about the love that every woman (and probably the men too, but they just won't admit it :P) aspires to one day have in there life. It shows that no matter what, when you have that one special person, that one special love in your life, you can get into any manner of small or big fights, and even if you really don't appreciate what you have until it's gone, that person is always a part of you, and only wants your happiness.
I guess the big picture is cherish our love ones, before it is too late...
25 February, 2009
19 February, 2009
Inspirability
I just completed a great book, Inspirability. After reading it for 3 months. It is easy to read and why did I take such a long time to finish this book is because I do not want to rush through the process. I wanted to enjoy and understand what it takes for these influential designers to be successful.
Seriously, I never thought being a designer could achieve so much and have such a great influence on people. It is indeed an eye-opener for me. Just imagine how many little things we can do in our lives to 1) Maximize our creativity 2)To be good people.
These 40 top designers who talks about where did they get their inspirations. The idea of inspiring people really seemed to sum up what designers do. Inspiration is defined as any stimulus to thoughts or action, and put simply that’s what we do. We are in business of creating artwork that influences people’s thinking and behavior.
I think most of the designers never really think too much about ability to inspire others. Inspiration is a huge part of our lives but most designers are really only concerned with getting inspired.
One of the common grounds is that these designers simply love what they are doing. They will pay more attention to the things that just truly make them happy, the more success that they will have. They are curious people that constantly seeking for new ideas, new ways of doing things. Of course not all the time, they will get good results. What really, really inspired me most was they never give up on what they do.
Designers always like to put faces on things and we try to build meaning behind it. There are a lot of designers who create something that they love and they find a reason to sell to the client and that doesn’t really make sense to me. I found that recently – It is more than all that other stuff, more than the pretty office, more than making stuff that gets awards –
“I want meaning, I want meaning behind things. Because everything we do is going to be hard. If it is easy, we get bored.”
- Terry Marks
It is always been inspiring to see someone undertake an incredible challenge. I like it when people do something they feel they have to. Because it is right or because it is good or because it is rooted in and there is something more.
One of the good advises to get inspiration from Matt Pashkow is that there is a voice inside there somewhere, your genius. You have to have faith that it is going to speak up and when it does, you have got to listen.
Seriously, I never thought being a designer could achieve so much and have such a great influence on people. It is indeed an eye-opener for me. Just imagine how many little things we can do in our lives to 1) Maximize our creativity 2)To be good people.
These 40 top designers who talks about where did they get their inspirations. The idea of inspiring people really seemed to sum up what designers do. Inspiration is defined as any stimulus to thoughts or action, and put simply that’s what we do. We are in business of creating artwork that influences people’s thinking and behavior.
I think most of the designers never really think too much about ability to inspire others. Inspiration is a huge part of our lives but most designers are really only concerned with getting inspired.
One of the common grounds is that these designers simply love what they are doing. They will pay more attention to the things that just truly make them happy, the more success that they will have. They are curious people that constantly seeking for new ideas, new ways of doing things. Of course not all the time, they will get good results. What really, really inspired me most was they never give up on what they do.
Designers always like to put faces on things and we try to build meaning behind it. There are a lot of designers who create something that they love and they find a reason to sell to the client and that doesn’t really make sense to me. I found that recently – It is more than all that other stuff, more than the pretty office, more than making stuff that gets awards –
“I want meaning, I want meaning behind things. Because everything we do is going to be hard. If it is easy, we get bored.”
- Terry Marks
It is always been inspiring to see someone undertake an incredible challenge. I like it when people do something they feel they have to. Because it is right or because it is good or because it is rooted in and there is something more.
One of the good advises to get inspiration from Matt Pashkow is that there is a voice inside there somewhere, your genius. You have to have faith that it is going to speak up and when it does, you have got to listen.
18 February, 2009
翻跟斗
一户潘姓人家，长辈过世。
家祭时，请来了一位乡音很重的老先生来当司仪。
讣闻是这么写的：
孝 男：潘根科
孝 媳：池氏
孝孙女：潘良慈
孝 孙：潘道时
但这位老先生老眼昏花又发音不标准。
当他照著讣闻唱名时，凡是字面上有三点水的或左边部首都漏掉没看到。
于是就给他念成这样子：「孝男，翻……跟……斗……」
孝男一听，直觉得很奇怪，但又不敢问，于是就翻了一个跟斗。
接著又说：「孝媳，也……是……」
孝媳一听：「我也要翻啊？」于是孝媳也翻了一个跟斗。
再来：「孝孙女，翻两次。」
孝孙女一听，想想爸妈都翻了，我也翻吧！于是就翻了两个跟斗。
此时孝孙心想：「老爸、老妈都各翻一次，姐姐也翻两次，那么我要翻几次？」
心里想著想著就开始紧张了：「怎么办？」
只见老先生扯开喉咙，大声念出：
「孝孙……翻……到……死」
能忍住不笑算你厉害!
家祭时，请来了一位乡音很重的老先生来当司仪。
讣闻是这么写的：
孝 男：潘根科
孝 媳：池氏
孝孙女：潘良慈
孝 孙：潘道时
但这位老先生老眼昏花又发音不标准。
当他照著讣闻唱名时，凡是字面上有三点水的或左边部首都漏掉没看到。
于是就给他念成这样子：「孝男，翻……跟……斗……」
孝男一听，直觉得很奇怪，但又不敢问，于是就翻了一个跟斗。
接著又说：「孝媳，也……是……」
孝媳一听：「我也要翻啊？」于是孝媳也翻了一个跟斗。
再来：「孝孙女，翻两次。」
孝孙女一听，想想爸妈都翻了，我也翻吧！于是就翻了两个跟斗。
此时孝孙心想：「老爸、老妈都各翻一次，姐姐也翻两次，那么我要翻几次？」
心里想著想著就开始紧张了：「怎么办？」
只见老先生扯开喉咙，大声念出：
「孝孙……翻……到……死」
能忍住不笑算你厉害!
17 February, 2009
All you need is love
The most inspiring lyrics that i find today:
There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.
It's easy.
Nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.
It's easy.
Nothing you can know that isn't known.
Nothing you can see that isn't shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.
It's easy.
All you need is love. Love is all you need. - Beatles
The Beatles Background
The Beatles were a rock and pop band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). Although their initial musical style was rooted in 1950s rock and roll and skiffle, the group worked with different musical genres, ranging from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelic rock.
Their clothes, style and statements made them trend-setters, while their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s. After the band broke up in 1970, all four members embarked upon successful solo careers.
The Beatles are one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music, selling over one billion records internationally. According to Rolling Stone magazine, The Beatles' innovative music and cultural impact helped define the 1960s, and their influence on pop culture is still evident today. In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of top-selling Hot 100 artists to celebrate the chart's fiftieth anniversary; The Beatles topped it.
There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.
It's easy.
Nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.
It's easy.
Nothing you can know that isn't known.
Nothing you can see that isn't shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.
It's easy.
All you need is love. Love is all you need. - Beatles
The Beatles Background
The Beatles were a rock and pop band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). Although their initial musical style was rooted in 1950s rock and roll and skiffle, the group worked with different musical genres, ranging from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelic rock. Their clothes, style and statements made them trend-setters, while their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s. After the band broke up in 1970, all four members embarked upon successful solo careers.
The Beatles are one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music, selling over one billion records internationally. According to Rolling Stone magazine, The Beatles' innovative music and cultural impact helped define the 1960s, and their influence on pop culture is still evident today. In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of top-selling Hot 100 artists to celebrate the chart's fiftieth anniversary; The Beatles topped it.
16 February, 2009
3 Working Classes
Imagine 3 people are studying biochemistry, one in ITE, one in Poly and the 3rd in University. Upon completing their course, first one gets a Certicate, second gets person gets a diploma and third person gets a degree.
They found a job and happens to work together in a same lab.
The cert holder get the correct test tubes for the experiment, wash them clean dry them and put them on the study table - he earn abt 1000 - 1,200 a month
The diploma holder come in get all the correct chemicals and add them together in the respective test tubes - he earn abt 1800 - 2000 a month
He walks in look at the colour changes of the chemicals due to the reaction, tell the other two to wash the test tubes properly and walk out to write his analysis - he earn abt 2500 to 3500 a month
The worst part is, the cert holder salary and the dip holder salary will not be increasing much but the degree holder might be earning thousands more as his ability to look at the colours and write better anlysis improves and one fine day, he might just become a scientist who earns millions.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I remembered a lawyer friend tells me this story 1 year ago when I asked him if I should get my degree. I look at this story as just the interpretion of life at the various levels... Afterall, I always think most degree holders are nothing but a group of theorists that never apply their knowledge into working life.
He asked me to think through what I really want in life. After I thought through, it is not really applicable to creative industry, as they are looking at your strong porfolios and presentations.
The main motivation or reason that makes me apply for it because I want to gain more design knowledge. Ever since I took up my degree, it really does make an impact on me, on how I look at things right now. I tend to open to more ideas and perspectives, in a way not so narrow-minded like I used to be.
I took up a challenge of coming out with 30 creative ideas when we only need to come out with 1 best idea. With this project, I discovered that Ideas are endless if I allow them to come into my mind. I still continue to believe that education is just a stepping stone and applied knowledge is still the best practise to soar.
You gotta make a conscious decision where you wanna be in a few years time and the time to start thinking about it is NOW. Because by the time the better late than never comes, sometimes you will wish that since it happened so late that it is of not much use anymore... Maybe you would have missed to golden opportunity already and will start regretting it... Why haven't I done this?
They found a job and happens to work together in a same lab.
The cert holder get the correct test tubes for the experiment, wash them clean dry them and put them on the study table - he earn abt 1000 - 1,200 a month
The diploma holder come in get all the correct chemicals and add them together in the respective test tubes - he earn abt 1800 - 2000 a month
He walks in look at the colour changes of the chemicals due to the reaction, tell the other two to wash the test tubes properly and walk out to write his analysis - he earn abt 2500 to 3500 a month
The worst part is, the cert holder salary and the dip holder salary will not be increasing much but the degree holder might be earning thousands more as his ability to look at the colours and write better anlysis improves and one fine day, he might just become a scientist who earns millions.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I remembered a lawyer friend tells me this story 1 year ago when I asked him if I should get my degree. I look at this story as just the interpretion of life at the various levels... Afterall, I always think most degree holders are nothing but a group of theorists that never apply their knowledge into working life.
He asked me to think through what I really want in life. After I thought through, it is not really applicable to creative industry, as they are looking at your strong porfolios and presentations.
The main motivation or reason that makes me apply for it because I want to gain more design knowledge. Ever since I took up my degree, it really does make an impact on me, on how I look at things right now. I tend to open to more ideas and perspectives, in a way not so narrow-minded like I used to be.
I took up a challenge of coming out with 30 creative ideas when we only need to come out with 1 best idea. With this project, I discovered that Ideas are endless if I allow them to come into my mind. I still continue to believe that education is just a stepping stone and applied knowledge is still the best practise to soar.
You gotta make a conscious decision where you wanna be in a few years time and the time to start thinking about it is NOW. Because by the time the better late than never comes, sometimes you will wish that since it happened so late that it is of not much use anymore... Maybe you would have missed to golden opportunity already and will start regretting it... Why haven't I done this?
15 February, 2009
Post Valentines' Day
I watched "Look for a Star" with Siew today. It tells a beautiful metaphor that love is a crystal, it shatters onto the floor one day. Everyone is trying to pick up the crashed crystal. Some people get more and some people get less but nobody could get a complete one. We should give and take in relationships because there might be a chance where we cannot celebrate Valentines' Day with our love ones.
I do not mind that
You didn't spend time with me
because you are busy with your work.
I do not mind that
You didn't buy me any flowers
because you want to have a little nice surprise for me another day.
I do not mind that
You make me wait
because you are too far away.
Most couples think that Valentines' Day is a day where all couples must celebrate but I personally feel that Valentines' Day has become a commercialise day for love.
Do not feel any sadness if you can't spend your time with your love ones. We can also spend this day with our friends too.
Because EVERYDAY is a Valentines' Day.
12 February, 2009
Slumdog Millionaire
'Slumdog Millionaire' was norminated for 10 awards and has won the best cinematography award from the National Society of Film Critics, US. It is a pretty cool movie to watch. I have enjoyed every moment of it.
It is about the modern rags-to-riches fairytale. From a game show unlocking the childhood memories (or miseries) of a typical poor orphan who grew up in the slumps of mumbai india (aka 'slumpdog').
The film digs into the social troubles and cruelty that emerging economies face (india in this case) - childhood prostitution, gangsters, child beggars, poverty, religion conflicts and so on.
I think the entire script and the movie directions were carefully thought through except towards the later part of the film, u see skyscrapers replacing the slumps, I'm unsure about what the director is trying to deliver, probably to signify that India is shedding its past troubles and ready to be accepted as a new world.
This is my first time watching an indian movie in a cinema. The typical indian dance is incorporated at the end of the show, which I think that is the trademark of all indian movies. When I was a kid, I was totally put off by the typical indian dance on the TV. That's why I never thought I would watch it at all. Well, there is always the first time.
I personally think the moral of the story is the people that we meet will shape our life and reality doesn't lie.
Synopsis
Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?". But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating. Jamal proves his innocence by telling the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to each one of the game show's questions. When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out...
07 February, 2009
Will you be my Valentine?
It's been a month since i blogged. Yeah, 1 full month already. I had been busy with my art history during my CHINESE NEW YEAR... That is alot of hardwork. Sad that I didn't really celebrate it. Finally, get some time to relax a bit before going to dive into my next project real soon.
Valentine is around the corner. YUP, just 6 days away. Not to forget to change my blog wallpaper as usual. This year, I would say it's a slightly different year, I can sense a fruity smell of romance in the air.
A little chance that I may get into a relationship. Well, it's still too early to say anything but I'm working on it. I hope he does feel the same way. Romance can be coming too quickly and leaving too soon. That's the more I feel that I shouldn't let go of any good opportunity that comes along.
I start to question myself, "Am I being too desperate? Aren't I'm just like the rest of the people? Having a relationship, Get married and have kids? Is that what I really, really want?"
Well, I'm not trying to be hard on myself again but anyway, my gut feeling tells me that I should be in love :) It's really nice to be in love having someone to take care and to think of you everyday. Isn't sweet? But of course, that person must be someone in your favourable list. If not, you will think that he is such a nuisance, such a pest, can he stop irriating me any further...
Still searching.. still looking... "Will you be my Valentine?"
Valentine is around the corner. YUP, just 6 days away. Not to forget to change my blog wallpaper as usual. This year, I would say it's a slightly different year, I can sense a fruity smell of romance in the air.
A little chance that I may get into a relationship. Well, it's still too early to say anything but I'm working on it. I hope he does feel the same way. Romance can be coming too quickly and leaving too soon. That's the more I feel that I shouldn't let go of any good opportunity that comes along.
I start to question myself, "Am I being too desperate? Aren't I'm just like the rest of the people? Having a relationship, Get married and have kids? Is that what I really, really want?"
Well, I'm not trying to be hard on myself again but anyway, my gut feeling tells me that I should be in love :) It's really nice to be in love having someone to take care and to think of you everyday. Isn't sweet? But of course, that person must be someone in your favourable list. If not, you will think that he is such a nuisance, such a pest, can he stop irriating me any further...
Still searching.. still looking... "Will you be my Valentine?"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)