Archive | May, 2007

i mean THE SNAKES! – IMTS – Good Hipster/Indie Music

Posted May 31, 2007 at 10:16 am in General Nonsense

You might remember I was stationed in Brunei quite a few times and for an extended period, I did make some friends there and one of them had a band on and off.

i mean THE SNAKES

Indie new wave punk electro taking references from bands such as
Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Bloc Party, White Rose Movement, The Knife etc to more older music like Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, The Cure, The Clash and Joy Division.

The band promote hipster fashion wearing D.I.Y T-Shirts skinny jeans and really beat up converse and sometimes, if required eau de toilette on special occasion. Chix dig it! ha. So watch this space coz they are the first band to create a hipster scene in Brunei. They plan to create a wave of hipster culture and music. Irony is the key. The music is quirky, intelligent and approach from art school point of view and its really dance friendly

It seems he’s taking his band more seriously now and they are doing well, they recently played at Paula Malai Ali’s sisters wedding and have a few other gigs. You can find some pictures of their gigs here.

The first thing I would do is recommend listening to their songs! You can do so here:

i mean THE SNAKES (You can try here too – but it’s very slow for me)

Cats n Dogs is especially catchy!

i mean THE SNAKES

My friend is the second one from the right.

I’ll be trying to help them get some gigs in KL when they come over towards the end of the year.

i mean THE SNAKES – look forward to seeing them in KL Soon!

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Being in The Star – Brings 0 Traffic

Posted May 30, 2007 at 12:39 pm in Internet & Tech

Well it’s not the first time in my paper, so far I’ve been in The Star, NST and Malay Mail and all result in the same thing, no spikes, no big surge, no extra traffic.

Especially if the article is one from In-Tech, it definitely leads to no extra traffic.

Traffic from The Star

I got a bigger peak from talking about mamakspecial.com

I wonder why…?

Do all In-Tech readers already read my blog?

Do readers of The Star not use the Internet?

Does no one actually read In-Tech?

I know if you get in a paper in the UK like The Guardian or Daily Mail, you’ll easily get an extra 100,000 unique hits over 2-3 days.

Even if it’s just the smallest mention.

If you haven’t seen the article it’s here:

Blogging and big bucks

Not sure why they chose that picture of me either, but all in all it’s a good article and my face is HUGE in the paper.

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FRIM with Shutter Asia – May 26th

Posted May 29, 2007 at 1:28 pm in Photography

We headed over to FRIM again last Saturday with the Shutter Asia gang for some more crawling around in the jungle and getting all leeched up.

Don’t let the guards rip you off, it’s RM1 per person and RM5 per car. If you are doing commercial shoot such as bridal or wedding it’s RM88. Just drive in with your camera in it’s bag and you shouldn’t have any problems.

We found a good variety of stuff this time (spiders, flies, damselfly, dragonfly, centipede and even a scorpion!)

Caterpillar

Caterpillar

Spiny Spider AKA Jewel Spider Eating a MOTH!

Spiny or Jewel Spider

Orb Weaver (Not sure which kind)

Orb Weaver

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I’ve Sold My First Print – Come to Me – Black and White

Posted May 28, 2007 at 1:07 pm in Photography

Come to Me

This image makes me very happy..

Why you might ask?

Well for one I really like it, and for two a complete stranger from Pennsylvania in the USA messaged me and asked to buy a print.

John C in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania here. Would you care to sell a print of your Come To Me image, or perhaps sell me the use of the file so that I may print it? It’s a great image, in my view, and I’d like to display a print.

Do you have the means of printing monochrome?

Many thanks,

John-
412.999.9999
john_c@xxx.com

As I explained I can’t provide a print in Malaysia, I agreed to sell him the Jpegs for print for personal use.

He paid up front and I have sent him the files, he has said he will send me a picture of the print hanging in his house when he’s printed and framed it.

He seems very happy with the transaction.

This is my first real print sale, my first overseas sale, and my first real accolade.

I guess I can be proud now.

I hope this is the first of many to come, although I still don’t really believe anyone wants to buy my pictures..just a fluke!

Or perhaps not….a book one day? Haha.

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The Star and Their AllMalaysian Bloggers Project

Posted May 25, 2007 at 12:24 pm in Internet & Tech

Inviting all bloggers to the AllMalaysian Bloggers Project, on behalf of a friend I’d like to extend an invite to all Malaysian Bloggers to join this project.

AllMalaysian Bloggers Project

The AllMalaysian Bloggers Project (AMBP) is an undertaking of the folks behind the AllMalaysia.info website, all of whom believe strongly in the freedom of speech. The objective of this little project is to gather ALL Malaysian blogs under one umbrella site from which (potential) readers can find the various blogs by theme.

Basically, it’s a blog directory. No big deal, there’re plenty of them around, except this is probably the first time a rather large (albeit local) online media org is hosting it.

Hosting a directory is just one part of the whole thing, of course – although it is the core of their plans. It’s also expected that they will host blog gatherings, blogathons, and even possibly organise workshops (on writing, presentation, etc) for bloggers.

So what’s in it for us? Very simple – bloggers form a very powerful viral marketing voice. We hope to be able harness this voice to market/promote our services/products. It’s not compulsory, of course. There’re NO compulsions in doing anything for us – you’re even free to criticise us to your heart’s content!

Most importantly, they ensure that privacy will be maintained, your personal information will not be disclosed to third parties without your written consent. So no need to worry that any snooping politician and his men will be poking around The Star’s database trying to grab data – Privacy Policy

Finally, as a sweetener to invite blogger participation, they are holding a contest sponsored by Genting, where 20 shortlisted bloggers are voted by web visitors, with the winner winning some cool prizes! (Voters get to win too!)

What do I think of it? I don’t know, it’s too soon to say. But I support any local initiatives that may bring the blogosphere up a notch or two.

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Kharu – Sky Goddess II

Posted May 24, 2007 at 2:53 pm in Photography

The last few from the Sky Goddess series before moving onto the next set some of my favourites are contained within.

Yes You

Yes You

Dreaming

Dreaming

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Give a Dog or Cat a New Home Today – Save the Animals

Posted May 24, 2007 at 1:59 am in Serious Issues

A friend forwarded me some information about a group of people who need some help in fostering or just lending a hand in rescuing animals.

Dogs Rescued

These animals can’t fend for themselves…they need us! Independent Pet Rescuers (IPPERS) are an NGO who have been trying to fight animal abuse and prevent cruelty to animals. They work on volunteer basis and operate from all corners of KL. As always, funds are an issue. We need voices to speak up for this cause….we need to raise awareness…..

This is a wish list on behalf of Independent Pet Rescuers.

1. We need an urgent fosterer for the Jalan Ampang Case – 3 puppies one mother

2 We need cash donations for our animals. We currently have 16 puppies rescued and we are paying boarding for them. That’s RM 60 a day for 4 cages.

3. Our adult dogs are being boarded at a factory lot for RM 600 a month.

4. We need rice bags – the cheap ones will do, cos we are feeding 25 dogs at a church in Cheras, 16 dogs in old klang road and 12 dogs in shah alam.

5. We currently have one dog fighting for his life in the clinic, due to a speculated gun shot wound. He is healing but slowly – pray for him. His name is Valentine. We also money to pay the bill for him. I have personally put a RM 1000 deposit for him.

6. We have a 1 year old shitzu that is handicapped due negligence by the breeder. The dog cant use his bak two legs. He needs a fosterer that can massage and put him through some walk-a-about therapy. He’s a lovely and quiet fella. Apartments also can.

7. And the most important thing I need you to do is ‘HELP US GET OUR DOGS AND PUPPIES ADOPTED’. Once the cycle moves, we can address all these distress calls and help other dogs and puppies that need fostering. Tell your friends, in KL or outstation to come and adopt
from us. We are at HARTAMAS SHOPPING CENTRE we are on the same row as STARBUCKS closer to BT COMPUTERS every saturdays from 1pm onwards till 6pm. On weekdays we have adoptions in SS1 in a friends place.

ALL DONATION OF FOOD OR CASH CAN BE GIVEN TO US AT HARTAMAS SHOPPING CENTRE TOMORROW or YOU CAN MAKE OTHER ARRANGEMENTS WITH ME OVER THE WEEKEND. THOSE THAT NEED RECEIPTS FOR CASH DONATIONS WILL BE GIVEN THE VET BILLS AND BOARDING BILLS RESPECTIVELY.

You can find more details and pictures at their blog here:

https://www.rescue2rehome.blogspot.com/

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD – E-mail your friends and blog about it too.

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Kharu – Sky Goddess

Posted May 22, 2007 at 12:31 pm in Photography

Here’s a few more to keep you entertained, I haven’t had much time to convert the pics, so not many this time. Will try and do a few more soon.

Sky Goddess

Beauty Descends

Beauty Descends

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Movie Review – Spiderman 3 – Too long..

Posted May 21, 2007 at 2:19 pm in Movies

Spiderman 3 Poster

Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero. But there is a storm brewing on the horizon. When his suit suddenly changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his powers, it transforms Peter as well, bringing out the dark, vengeful side of his personality that he is struggling to control.

Oh dear, another lame Spiderman 3 review, well I just wanted to add my opinion, although I doubt it will differ greatly from anyone elses.

It’s done surprisingly well on IMDB with 7/10 and on Yahoo! Movies with B-.

It busted some takings records too, the superhero sequel grossed $151.1 million, per Sony, establishing a new opening-weekend record and earning more in 72 hours than recent hits such as Click, The Departed and Borat made during their entire runs.

There as good and bad in the movie, overall I went in with pretty low expectations as everyone that had seen it said it was pretty bad.

I tried really hard to enjoy it, I did…but after the first 45 minutes or so I just got tired of trying and gave in to the mediocrity that was Spiderman 3.

Why 3 villains? Why the stupid metro slapstick part in the middle? Why the convoluted love story? Why did the butler wait so long to tell Harry? It would have saved a hell of a lot of trouble in the second movie.

The action was great and the special effects phenomenal, especially the scenes with Sandman…really splendid.

But the rest was bleh, the movie dragged like hell, especially the middle part.

We already know Peter Parker and MJ, where’s the proper character development for Venom and Sandman?

I guess most people left the movie wondering what exactly had transpired and why as the storyline (if you could call it that) left a lot to your imagination.

Apparently Venom wasn’t supposed to be in the 3rd movie, he was penned for the 4th, but somehow they managed to squeeze him in.

There was some funny moments, great action sequences..but a lot of yawns, there’s no real reason to watch this movie for a second time unlike Spidey 1 & 2 which can be watched over and over as you really get to know Norman Osborn (Green Goblin) and Otto Octavius (Dr Octopus).

It has a big budget, and it’s fancy, but it leaves me feeling unsatisfied.

Let’s hope Pirates, Shrek 3 and Transformers are better.

I’d give it a barely tingling Spidey Sense of 6/10.

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Poor old Jeans and Stupid Shop Assistants

Posted May 18, 2007 at 11:07 am in General Nonsense

Ah my favourite jeans, have been wearing them for years, bought back in the UK before I came to Malaysia.

Finally time to retire them I think.

The button hole already koyak..

Jeans

The balls ventilation entry has grown too large..

Balls Vent

I guess that’s the problem with having genetic thunder-thighs, my jeans always wear out in the same place..

Jeans are an odd thing for guys…I guess most people are like me, they buy quite a number of pairs of jeans, but usually only end up wearing one or two.

One becomes the favourite, the rest just take up closet space and the second is used when the first is being washed.

I went out and bought a new pair from Bum…

Unfortunately the shop assistant decided to leave the security tag attached, hello…do they train you people? Surely this is the abc of selling something…take the money, remove the tag, bag it and say thankyou.

Security Tag

But no, somehow she managed to leave the tag on.

I tried breaking it with the hammer, but it was quite soft plastic…so it just deformed rather than shattering as I hoped

So I resorted to ripping it out, which left a small tear in the pocket on the jeans, but it’s better than walking around with a security tag on my ass.

Although on second thoughts, it could be quite a fashion statement…I think it might draw some of the wrong kind of attention….SHOP-LIFTER!!

I guess I could carry the receipt with me too.

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