Shooting the Gang

The gang came over to my apartment cum lil' studio last night. That was a great fun, havin some drinks and shoot my "models".

Too bad I can't show all here.

Some of the shots are quite nice, sexy and very provocative.

I have to respect the "model's" privacy.


It was great fun.

I feel like upgrading my equipment like more variety and bigger backdrops so that I can take full body shots. As at now the backdrop is a bit too small. Cannot accommodate red planet who is a six footer.

Any more volunteers?



By the way, thanks red planet, jd, tff,bs, mp, c, mo. You guys were great!

A Spot With A View..

Sometimes breezy too.

This is the view from my favorite spot of my apartment.

After 8pm, besides the view and the breeze, I could here the sound of water from the swimming pool and the fountains.

After 10pm, it is just quiet and peaceful. Total privacy.

I feel like I am far away from the city.

Tonight, a bunch of friends are coming and they will enjoy the balcony while I be shooting them one by one, with my Nikon.


If only THIS balcony have ears and could talk.......

Need (model) Volunteers!

I had 2 solid hours of private lesson, followed by a nice lunch as Isthmus by a photography guru, John Ishii (http://johnwishii.blogspot.com/) yesterday.

I am sure most of you (non photo junkie included) have seen his work. He was the only professional photographer in Phuket when Tsunami hit. The next day, papers throughout the world published his photos.

Last night I spent hours on my desktop practising how to enhance portraits using Photoshop and getting the hang of it. Of course in between I got stuck in the complex functions of Photoshop and called a couple of avid Photoshop users while they were having dinner. (Sorry Crew!)

Anybody wants to pose for portraits?

This offer doesn't last that long.....

If You Need Rain, Tell Me!

I send my car in for a wash this morning.

Is it law of the nature?

As usual, more OFTEN than NOT, it rains right after I get my car washed.

So, any of you need the rain, call me! Let me send my car in....

Tee Shirt

As I walked out from the bank this morning, I saw this guy wearing a t shirt printed:

WHO IS YOUR PADDY

PAK LAH is the BEST thing to happen to Malaysian Politics

I had a great breakfast on Sunday with my mentor DS.



Call it a fluke - so what if it is?

During Pak Lah tenure as the Prime Minister of Malaysia:

The Parliament enhances it check and balance mechanism.

The opposition has a stronger voice, which could keep the ruling party on their toes, do their job.

The power and independence of Judiciary will be reinstated (I hope this will be a reality soon)

ACA will be independent (i.b.i.d.)

The Palaces have spoken, supporting the Rakyat

The news papers are not as pro government as before, though there are still a lot of rooms for improvement

The oppositions are also being closely watched by the rakyat to ensure they are working for the interest of the rakyat - what is this "I forgot the dateline to submit my questions to the Parliament"? - Sounds like "the dog ate my homework" kinda excuse given by my 7 year old nephew!

Most importantly:

The rakyats are the boss. We are watching. We have now realized, more than ever, the fact that WE THE RAKYAT elect the leader (on both sides). If they don't deliver, WE THE RAKYAT can FIRE them in 5 years time.

Now I can be proud to say Malaysia Boleh while our kiasu cousin is still ruled by the same, almost monopolistic / SINGular in nature, political party.

The Torch is in Town!

pix: geekologie.com

Why politicizing the torch?

Please keep the Olympic neutral!

The United States has been very vocal about Chinese foreign policy in Sudan. The US also makes a lot of noise about Human Rights in Tibet.

Some hidden power is riding on the Olympic publicity to paint bad image on China in the global eyes.

Perhaps the United States should look at its own foreign policy. Why are they still pumping the crude oil out of Iraq when Saddam Hussein is already dead and not even a single weapon of mass destruction has been found.

And if the United States is so genuine about democracy bla bla bla... then why is China is still an important trading partner. Why does the US still buys Chinese products.

International politics, and our very own local politics, are full of hypocrisy.

Total two-way trade between China and the United States grew from $33 billion in 1992 to over $386 billion in 2007. The United States is China's second-largest trading partner, and China is now the third-largest trading partner for the United States (after Canada and Mexico). U.S. exports to China have been growing more rapidly than to any other market (up 21% in 2005, 32% in 2006, and 18% in 2007). U.S. imports from China grew 12% in 2007, bringing the U.S. trade deficit with China to $256 billion. - US Department of States

All these issues should be addressed in the United Nations, NOT the Olympics!

300

A thousand nations of the Persian Empire descend upon you!
Our arrows will blot out the sun!

Then we will fight in the shade!


Just awesome! Bloody awesome!

Too Much Info!

Someone just called me and s/he just had a bikini wax.

Bloody painful!

Now I am walking to the supermarket, feels like a 3 year old.....

Ad people

I stumbled upon this while browsing through archives in the external hard disk, dated November 2001. I haven't got a clue who sent this but I find it bloody hilarious!

I have dealt with ad agencies and still have friends in the industry.

How very true!

Speed trap - yeah, again!

After my last post on speeding and getting the tickets and got away, I was stopped again, twice, on the same Jalan Kiara stretch.

Lucky me, my charms worked – so I escaped both times.

I mean, look... how could you put an 80kmh limit on a straight downhill stretch of Jalan Kiara when in good days I can spin my road bike at 50kmh – on my bicycle!

It's a 3-lane road.

Hardly any accident – as far as I can remember. OK there was a high profile fatal accident but the guy was drunk, early morning.

I am against the regular speed trap on Jalan Kiara.

Cashing in on affluent Damansara Heights, Sri Hartamas and Mont Kiara areas, perhaps?

Pun intended!


p/s
perhaps they should put more cops at the departure hall of an international airport which is not equipped with surveillance cameras.

p/p/s

I cringe each time I see police cars with anti-rasuah stickers.

The guy had the cheek to ask me - "so, macamana nak selesai ni? ".

"Saya demam dan lapar. Nak pergi jumpa doktor lepas tu nak pergi beli makan."

"Err Encik kerja kat mana??"

You tell me.... what has that got to do with the price of fish in the market?

Barely won the GE, yet......

I had a breakfast appointment today with a newly re-elected, also a newly appointed member of an executive committee of a particular state. If you are choratchoret frequent flyer, you would know which state I am talking about.

I am just DISAPPOINTED with the attitude of someone who is responsible to bring in foreign direct investments into the state. Instead of promoting investments, this particular newbie threatened me, my project and my company.

I have dealt with 2 people in his position before and this one, at the moment, do not know what he is doing. His approach is totally WRONG! (Even his officers agree with me!) If this attitude continues, then all the effort done to promote the state (which cost the tax payers millions annually!) will go down the drain.

Throughout my professional life, I have been dealing with foreign companies. And now, I am representing one. They are very simple organizations. Very straight forward and commercial driven. They are not interested in local politics. Al they need is just a location with regional advantage, to be commercially competitive. My responsibility, among others, is to help them out with local issues. They bring in technology, job opportunities, trade balance and a lot of other benefits - I even pledged an allocation for corporate social responsibility purposes, to a local community.

Sometimes I get really frustrated in dealing with politicians who have authorities, but grossly lacked of corporate and trade knowledge. They miss the big picture, the future of the country. All they think about are the points to suck up to the respective Mentris Besar, and their seat for their own political survivals.

I guess some of us elected stupid leaders, and stupid tradition continues hence stupid leaders consequently appointed stupid people to be the care taker of an important portfolio of a particular state.

Enough already!

If BN does not want to lose more states in the next election, they have to be smart or else they will be left behind in their very own world – which is VERY SMALL!

I have a perfect shot for this particular post:

The Kiasu-land Got It Right!

What can I say?

I hate to admit it,

but if



Malaysia - Boleh!



The Kiasu-land - Been there, Done that! (and perhaps kept the tee shirt too! - quote unquote: DECKY)

I landed at Changi, picked up my hand luggage from the overhead compartment, crossed the aerobridge, put my hand luggage on the small trolley, well positioned signage lead me smoothly to the immigration counter, stamped my passport, proceed to the carrousel to pick up my luggage, walked through the green lane, hopped into a taxi, reached the hotel without machet, checked in and voilà! I was in my hotel room!

No waiting at all!

At least I had the time to try the wide-angle lens loaned by Mr. D70s before having drinks and dinner with my Aussie partners.








A little note:

I only like the efficiency of this city-state, just that.
The city lacks of spirit.
Everything is done for money and business.

A comment given by a foreigner:

Singapore perceives itself as a developed western city. But, I, as a foreigner do not think Singapore is a western city. It lacks spirit, everything is highly regulated and sterile.


I personally feel like living in a Big Boarding School!

Trekking Tingheddouine - 01

A cool, fresh and clean stream at the foot hill - the trail head.



Beast of burden carried our heavy camera bags.




Bumped into village folks in olive plantations on the way up.




And kampung boy stopped to pose - while playing football, we are equally curios, I think.



Little bambino having wild berry lunch on the slope of the steep hill. Now I can see the meaning to climb like a goat. They can climb!



When we reached the top, the tea-man greeted us with salam. Hot mint tea (tarik!) was served to rest, enjoy the view while waiting for lunch.



A tent, the original Berber tent set up just for the day to accommodate our nature escapade!




And lunch is served. Home made lamb and chicken tajine specially prepared by the village people. They use their very own ingredients from the village - spices, herb, lamb and chicken. I have never tasted better tajine before, I swear!



A pose before we attacked the food. Everybody used fingers to eat their meals - the traditional way.




And finally, after the huge sinful meal and full stomach, I could hardly move, they just nudged me, I fell on the carpet and took a nice nap under the warm sun facing this wonderful view of the Moroccan snow-capped Atlas mountain range. It was like... PARADISE!

So, You Want To Ride?

In response to "Anonymous" in Bike Buddies post:

I am not an authority in cycling but I can share with you my experience....

The most important thing is to develop an adequate fitness level first before you even think to jump into this sports. We are not talking commuting from point A to point B enroute flat terrain here! Without basic fitness level, I can assure you, you will hate the sports. You might just puke before reaching the summit of Genting Sempah. Not forgetting your bunch of friends are already on top of the hill and will make fun of you in their blogs on Monday.



A fair benchmark - if you can run about 2.5km in 30 minutes, then you are set to the next step: to get your ass accustomed to being on the saddle for a couple of hours - trust me, it's painful until you get used to it (unless you are a sadiest or fetish).

What bike to get?

Hold your horses!

Considering you are going to dent your wallet quite significantly by purchasing a good bike (I would not recommend anything less), please make sure you will enjoy cycling.

I borrowed my friend's Gary Fisher - Kaitai. It's a mountain bike and I love the frame. I love it so much, I bought it from him for RM1000. It's a cheap entry if you compare to diving! But then, after a while I got myself into trouble - I was a bike shop junkie and an upgrade addict and before I know it, I was no longer a monogamous. I now own several bikes and space is a constraint at home!



Oh well, one of my bike buddies once said to his wife when the wife got to know the cost of his bike(s):

Hey, at least it is cheaper than a coronary bypass!

(He obviously lied. If you add up the amount of money he spent on his bikes to date - a sports car is cheaper!)

So, Anonymous, if you are already fit and cute (hehehe), call me! Let me measure your inseam (for bike fit lah!) and take you to the bike shop ;-)

*pic: my Gary Fisher Super Calibre in Paris - a couple of days before exploring La vallée de la Loire with one of my best friends NS.

Weekend Home Theatre

I almost ditched Mr. D70s last Sunday because I couldn't stop watching the movie.

Luckily I was hungry and need to pick up the wide-angle lens from him.

I enjoyed the movie tremendously.

One of the lines from the movie, which I think worth keeping....

People:

It is what they do that makes them good or bad. A moment of love, even in a bad man can give meaning to life. Non of us knows which path will lead us to God.

Coincidently, I am currently in Singapore for Asia Mining Congress. I hope my industrial activities will not involve any conflicts. But then again, in the world where commodities are consumed far more rapidly than their extraction rate in a depleting reserve, and supply, human can do a lot of nasty things to ensure their availability.

Another interesting quote from Blood Diamond:

Something like this:

Because of diamonds, our people fight with each other. Luckily we do not have oil.

Family Weekend

The older I get, the more I feel the attachment to my family.

When we were growing up, we were not that close to each other because of the age different - generation gaps, perhaps - and because most of us (actually all of us) went to boarding school throughout our formation years.



This weekend one of my brothers and his family are in town. We went out for dinners and breakfast and spent hours talking and talking, and it was great. As we get older, the generation gap become smaller and we can relate to each other when we talk about politics or other things...




Being the youngest boy in the family, they always think I am still a little brother. Now things are different. They listen to my views and a great deal of times I managed to convince them my stands on certain issues, politics included.




Even more fun to pick on my nieces and nephews...

I Am So Blessed

Apart from good friends around me, I have been blessed with "senior" friends who I know through work and business, I might have mentioned some of them in my previous posts.

DZA is still one of my favorite "aunties", or perhaps the most favorite!

She helped me a lot in many aspects of my life. Work, business and personal - and we are not even related by blood - but that doesn't matter, does it?

I called her over the weekend because another "senior" friend would like to see her, for business purposes. I haven't called her in a while. The last time we spoke, she cried - because she was so touched with my Happy Birthday sms to her.

This woman is not typical. I admire her courage, I admire her great sense of humor, and I certainly admire her affection. She is very warm and extremely funny. But don't let that fool you. She is still one of the most high ranking women in Malaysia, was in the Public Sector, now sitting on the board of a prominent bank in Malaysia. But, that's not the most important point here!

She is also a grandmother.

She loves Sudoku - she said it's a good exercise for the brain - Alzheimer is in her family history.

She's very good with her hands. She still makes great wedding hantaran.

Today, she went for a minor surgery at Pantai Hospital. I sent her a bouquet of flowers, naturally.

Her husband just sms-ed me, she's ok.

Alhamdulillah!

I hope she will be blessed with great health, as much as I have been blessed with endless great friends like her.

I hope she will be my "auntie" for a long long time!

Speeding again.....

I spent half a day today at Bukit Aman to appeal and finally paid my summons. All 4 speeding tickets. without which I cannot renew my road tax....

Went to Sri Hartamas for dinner with BB and KL whom I haven' met since their recent Euro holidays and ate our favorite rosti with beef bacon and eggs, and pizza, and satay.....

Enak banget!

On the way home at Jalan Kiara, there was a road block. I got stopped for speeding, again!

Encik, encik laju la.

Sorry Encik, saya tak perasan sebab jalan ni turun bukit.

Ni kena saman ni.

Tapi Encik, saya baru tadi pergi Bukit Aman bayar 4 saman. Tak kan nak saman saya lagi kut. Ni ada resit nye.

Dah kena banyak saman, janganlah lah buat lagi!

Sorry Encik, saya tak tahu malam pun ada road block.

Hmmm ok lah. Jangan bawak laju sangat. Jalan! Jalan!

Terima kasih Encik.


I know I sound so stupid right? But, I managed to be a bit charming, and escape getting another speeding ticket.

Thank God!