Author: Wilfrid

Categories
Diary Photography

My Dog and My Family, One Day at a Park

My Dog and His Dog Tak Tak

I wonder if any of you remember precisely what you did during the New Year Day, or on that day, what has gone into your mind.  I didn’t.  As I processed my digital mountain worth of photo backlog, the timestamp of this particular photo collection tells me that on New Year Day, my family took our lovely dog to the park.  Ma joined late, it was a cold day, and there were moments when our beautiful white dog drew attention from the fellow park visitors, unintended attention from the dogs bigger than him, smaller than him.  Pa doesn’t like our dog to get bullied by other dogs, I get it.  To the extend of over-protectively keeping our dog inside the house most of the time, I don’t get it.  But then again, I don’t keep a pet, have no clue on what it’s like, and in the rare moment, during our stay in Hong Kong for my sister’s wedding, this is a photo album of my dog and my family, one day at a park.

I understand not everyone likes to go through others’ family photo albums.  And so, I have extracted 12 photos to share at the bottom of this blog entry.  For our family and friends and readers who are more or less in touch with my family life, I have added a new high resolution photo album (59 photos) to my online collection for sharing.  Inside, you will get to see a lot of pictures of our dog, my parents, my sister Lora and her husband Benny, and Cynthia and I.  I have included mostly spontaneous shots, may not necessary be the best shot for my subjects.  Nevertheless, I know how they look at their best, at their not-so-best.  I treasure those moments that I tend to forget more.

My dog’s name is Tak Tak.  The direct Chinese translation of his name would sound strange.  So I would say, he is named after the can-do attitude.  Tak Tak is an amazing dog.  So clever in so many ways, he is a gift from Heaven for my parents who are living thousands of miles away from my sister and I in Singapore.  When he was still a puppy, before my sister’s emigration, Tak Tak had an accident, at my home in Hong Kong, and broke a leg.  The operation would cost more than getting a new dog.  It was a hard decision to make because we have a humble family income, Pa has long retired.  My family has decided to go through the pain and the expense of an operation.  Deep inside, although I don’t know Tak Tak that well, I am sure he knows that he is loved by those around him.  And I can understand the tears in his eyes whenever my parents leave home for an overseas holiday.

Categories
I See I Write

A Preview of N97 – The New Nokia Flagship Mobile Device To Die For

Upcoming Nokia N97

As I was holding the beautiful pearl white Nokia N97 during the preview session held in Nokia’s Headquarter in Singapore, lost in words I was.  Researchers say that most car buyers make a decision within minutes of stepping into the cabin.  I say the same for the wireless phones.  Or shall I say, the world’s most advanced mobile computer a.k.a. Nokia’s upcoming flagship Nseries device has captivated me like no others.  No doubt the lovely, very attractive ladies from Nokia must have felt a bit jealousy that all the guys in the conference room were so engrossed with the phones and not, erm, them their presentation.  When they asked if we have questions, my immediate response was: When will N97 hit the stores?

Nokia products and I have gone way back.  One long decade.  Since November last year, I have upgraded my N95 to N96.  And I have finally converted Cynthia into a Nokia user, bought her the 5800 Comes With Music.  Needless to say, both of us are wonderfully happy with the products and services.  Despite some of the cautious messages from our friends on the product quality – touch wood – so far, so good, so lovely.  Today, we must have downloaded over hundreds of free music albums from the Nokia Music Store.  English, Chinese, Italian, French, instrumental, 80’s, latest releases – you name it, we have it.

So, let’s talk about the upcoming Nokia N97.  I am not a techie, so you won’t find the super long list of incomprehensible Symbian A, B, C, and D here.  I am a regular dude who likes my wireless phone to be elegant, stylish, and functional – a statement of *ahem* who I am (kidding!).  There are two colors available: classic black and pearl white.  My instinct took over and I grabbed the white one.  (Just curious, which color would you prefer?)

The phone doesn’t feel light, I must say.  But it just feels right, resting very comfortable onto my palm.  It is still compact compares to other brands in its class.  I was told that this phone is specially designed by Japanese.  I would associate the overall contour of the N97 with a top of the class luxury car (imagine you behind the wheel of a BMW or a Lexus).  It is hard to describe the feel of the pearl white material at the back of the phone.  You ought to try it out yourself.  It seems futuristic, and lasting.  When I slid the phone open, tilting the screen at an ergonomic viewing angle, the full QWERTY keyboard is breathtakingly impressive.  You know you can tell how expensive the car is by the feel of the car door?  The sound and feel of this phone’s opening and closing mechanism reminds me of just that.  I have seen quite a few phones of this sort during the recent phone shopping trips with my friends.  I have not quite seen something like a Nokia N97.  So much detail has gone into the design of the tiny keyboard, with the blue function keys lit up when the phone is in operation.  I thought the new Nokia E-series non-slip keyboard is impressive, this one is an art.

Like many of you (and some of my friends whom I have talked to), using the full QWERTY keyboard and the full touch screen input mechanism can be a brand new and at the same time, alien experience.  During the hands-on session, I have opened up some of my favorite websites and intuitively, I used my thumbs like a computer mouse and in just a short time, I was able to type out a message in Facebook like a pro!  I guess touch screen features such as photo flipping, webpage scrolling, and quick screen lock (imagine your boss appears out from nowhere while you are Facebook-flirting with that special someone) are standard functions and nothing to wow about.  The local edition of N97 does come with some unique widgets that worth a look.

What are widgets and why should you care?  Imagine this: latest headlines from The Strait Times and Bloomberg constantly streamed into your phone and displayed on the homepage, live stock quotes from SGX (believe me, I got some of my friends really excited by this feature), live feed from Facebook … live feed from Facebook?!  I often wonder how some of my friends manage to be so in touch with Facebook.  Now you too can!  And beyond the local contents, you can add new applications available from the Nokia OVI Store.

I am sure there are lots of other cool functionalities that I have not mentioned here, mainly because I have yet to experience them.  Towards the end of the session, I have transferred one of the songs from my N96 to the N97 via Bluetooth and tried out the sound quality.  It is just as lovely as its predecessor.  I was so engrossed that I have totally missed out the closing statements from the event organizer.  When I looked up, all the bloggers have already left the room and I was left with several pairs of eyes looking at me possibly wondered why I was not heading home in the late evening of a Wednesday.  I may not be driving a white 7-series (yet), but I can so see myself getting one of these pearl white beauties as my Christmas present.

Note: Nokia N97 should be out in Singapore some time in June, 2009, priced at the range of it predecessors, and will come with “Comes With Music”.

Related Link: Official Nokia N97 Singapore Site

Categories
Book Reviews Non-Fiction

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami – An Inspirational Read

Haruki Murakami's Running

Recently, I have started reading the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami’s works and I love them immensely.  The rather long short stories collection “Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman” and the rather short full length novel “After Dark”.  When I saw his [rather short] memoir on the book shelf using running as a central theme, as someone who enjoys jogging once in a blue moon, I bought the book thinking that I may like it.  In fact, more than so, I love “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running”.

I often wonder who this person Haruki Murakami is behind the books that are written with such mystery, dreamy abstraction, darkness, and loneliness.  The shocking revelation is that Murakami is someone whom I can relate to.  In his memoir, he talks about him being a workhorse and not a racehorse; on why he prefers sports and activities that he can set his own goals; on the good things derives from “life is not fair”; and amongst other life philosophy of his.  Besides a glimpse of what kind of music he listens to, what products he uses – all in relationship to jogging of course – at the age of 60 (which he did not even mention in his memoir), he has run and completed more marathons and triathlons than most people I know.  Majority of the contents evolve around how he prepares for all these races, mantras that he has derived, and some of the jogging journals – success or failure, official or unofficial (such as running from the Greece town Marathon to Athens – the original marathon in reverse direction as well as an ultramarathon) – all of which are inspirational even if you are not a runner.

“Running” is not your typical page turner.  Some parts on how much pain he suffered and overcame are rather painful to read.  In fact, reading “Running” reminds me of my own rather painful experience back in Mount Kinabalu trip whereby some are touched by my personal journal.  If you enjoy running and or writing, “Running” is a strong recommendation.  In his book, Murakami shares the quality and attributes a novelist should possess.  A humbly written memoir, this book certainly touches me.  I especially admire how he would like his gravestone to say.  And I won’t spoil your reading pleasant by sharing it here.

Categories
Photography Travel Blog

Photos of Taman Safari Taken During Our Trip to Bandung, Indonesia

An Owl at Taman Safari, Indonesia

I agree with Haruki Murakami: The older we get, the busier we become.  Maybe as I acquire wisdom and experience, more opportunities open up; maybe time is taking a chip off my efficiency, slowly but surely.  It is a good and a bad problem at the same time.  I enjoy writing pieces that are more personal.  But my life is not that exciting on a day-to-day basis.  And some pieces take time for a common theme to evolve.  So, in between, I fill my writing diary with my thoughts on the things that I consume, like music, books, movies, and etc; things that I am passionate in.  Reviews of these sorts usually generate a decent amount of web traffic but lack the readers’ interaction in the form of comments.  Google thinks that both are important measures for relevancy.  To me, I just wish to keep practicing my writing skill regardless of the topics of my choice, as often as I can.  Either outcome is a nice-to-have but certainly not something to-die-for.

I still have tons of photos sitting inside my computer waiting to be selected and processed.  To be honest, it doesn’t take long to compile and publish one photo album.  It is just tedious and I always seem to have something better to do.  I love Bandung and so does Cynthia (her birth town).  And because of the recent infrastructure upgrades – a new highway connecting with the capital as well as the availability of more direct flights into the city – Bandung has suddenly become an attractive tourist spot.  If you do visit Bandung one day, you should not miss the Taman Safari as one of your daily excursions.  Into the valley of the tea plantations, you literally drive into the Safari Park and are up close and personal with the animals.  If someone was crazy enough to get off the car and stroke the roaming tigers and lions, no one would care.

OK.  Someone may care.  Inside the confined area of the most ferocious animals on earth (beside us, humans, of course), there are guards watching over the visitors and the animals making sure that both us and them behave.  There was a big sign asking us not to wind down the window.  As I opened a tiny gap sticking my long camera lens out of the passenger seat window, I felt the guards intensively staring at me from their jeep.  And as these ferocious animals moved towards our car, everyone inside the car would scream and I would quickly retreat and wind up the window.  Everyone would laugh and the cycle continued.

Follow the link below if you wish to view a complete set of photos (50 in total) including my offbeat comments for each photo.  I don’t run the Animal Planet cable channel here so do excuse me if I can’t get the names of the animals correct.  Hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I risk my life making it.

CLICK HERE to view the complete photo album with captions (50 photos in high resolution)

Below is a sampler of my Taman Safari photo album (10 in total).

PS. Photos taken on December 13, 2008.

Related Tag: Bandung December 2008 Trip

Categories
For the Geeks

Use My Coupon and Get a Telltale Games Episode for US$5 Each (44% Discount)!

Get your game today!

You may recall in 2007 I was passionately writing the reviews for the Sam & Max Season One episodes that were released monthly.  Undeniably one of the best adventure games ever made and the episodes have consistently received positive rating from PC Gamer magazine and others.  In celebrating the 5th anniversary, Telltale Games is giving me a coupon to share with you all!  Use my coupon below and you can get any of their games for $5 per episode at their store.  That is a 44% discount.

COUPON CODE: GCP-AQE-RN3-TS6

To remind you how great Sam & Max is, below is one video I have contributed to YouTube.  A user rated 5-star video with a humble 15,873 views to date.  This genre of adventure games often involve solving puzzles by point-and-click in a 2D world of beautiful cartoon art.  In between the game, there are cut-scenes.

As you can see from the video, the game is hilarious.  For every title, Telltale Games releases the game by episodes.  That way, gamers get to receive a more frequent release and the developer gets to fine tune the game based on online feedback.  My personal experience with Telltale Games has been very positive.  The payment and delivery is seamless.  The download of each monthly episode has been fast.  And the collector’s edition in DVD format available at the end of the season was delivered to my home address as promised.  I did have a slight problem with the discount and they responded to my query posted at their forum almost instantaneously.

To start browsing for your favorite title, click on this link.  You shouldn’t need to type in the coupon code (see below).  All the episodes should come with a discounted price of US$5.  Depending on your appetite, you may wish to try out Sam & Max, Wallace & Gromit, Bone, Strong Bad, and more.  Feel free to download a trial version and see if it’s your cup of tea – free.

Shopping chart for Telltale Games

My coupon only works for per episode download and not for the bundle.  Spread the word!  Every time someone uses my coupon, I get a $1 credit to fund my future purchases.  Thanks!  You won’t regret it.  It’s fun.

Categories
Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Star Trek – Looking Through the Eyes of a Non-Trekkie

Star Trek

Here is one dark secret of mine: I was once imprisoned by a few brainwashed Trekkies insisted that I should watch and internalize the visual messages of Captain Kirk and his pointy ears companion.  Every evening, I was seated in front of the TV watching one of the 6 Star Trek films in random order.  VHS video tapes, I remember.  One day I was watching episode 6.  Another day, one of the previous episodes.  I protested that I wouldn’t be able to understand a thing watching the series that way.  These Trekkies laughed and said it was part of the training.  In time to come, I would be able to recite all the key dialogues, just like them.  Appreciate the wisdom within, just like them.

And just like them, I was [forcefully] glued in front of the TV during those long school holidays when I needed a place to stay in the capital of a country called UK.  The crazy days of going to bed when the sun came up, video gaming marathon, liquor and takeaways, and centered to that long gone good life as students, we had Star Trek.  They debated on the moral philosophy of a world according to Captain Kirk and his pointy ears companion; they discussed on the physic of the universe and the technology involved in the crafting of those spaceships.  Did-you-know, have-you-noticed, haven’t-you-noticed, these Trekkies would try to pull me into their highly encrypted conversations.  Years later, the only thing I can remember in this Star Trek franchise is that one scene when the Klingons quoted Hamlet.  I love Shakespeare’s works and hence, the Klingons talk to me.  Not Captain Kirk and his pointy ears companion, but the Klingons.  For those who are curious on these subtle connections between Star Trek and Shakespeare, click here for an article written by Dr. Delahoyde.

Year 2009, Star Trek returns to the big screen in digital 4k format.  This new movie is breathtaking in many ways.  I am a big fan of Zachary Quinto (who plays Kirk’s pointy ears companion).  He is my favorite actor from the TV series Heroes and he is just perfect for that role.  Sandwiched between the two Trekkies – Cynthia and TK – was me, compelled to watch yet another episode of Star Trek.  I constantly whispered to Cynthia during the show to fill in my knowledge gap.  As a non-Trekkie, “Star Trek” is undeniably an entertaining movie that has lived up to its expectation.  The effects are gorgeous, the science is current, and the friendship development of Kirk and Spock (I kept calling him Spark in front of Cynthia unintentionally) is perhaps the main focal point of this movie.  Secretly, deep inside, I still wish that “Star Trek” has a deeper reference to something more philosophical, generates deeper moral debates, and perhaps has a more logical plot.  However, compares this to yet another similar franchise that has gone back in time with newer and better filming technology, “Star Trek” has certainly done a much better job than the one that involves a Gungan named Jar Jar Binks.

TK was excited by the movie.  So was Cynthia.  As I listened to Cynthia reciting the final line of “Star Trek” together with Spark Spock word-by-word, I knew at that moment that I am still very far off from graduating as a Trekkie.  And hence, the brainwashing continues.

Categories
Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

Thai Arthouse Film “Ploy” Is Not Quite My Cup Of Tea

Ploy

I have a high level of tolerance when it comes to art-house type of movies but “Ploy” seems to be out of my league.  I don’t mind those long minutes of waiting for something to happen like that one foreign film with a boy and an old man watching the sunset, in real time.  So long as there is a reward in some forms after the wait.  Maybe it’s a subtle theme, maybe it’s to communicate a certain emotion, or maybe it’s just beautiful to watch.  Without rewards, I feel stupid spending time watching an art-house clip.

Some clips from “Ploy” are pretty brilliant.  I like the conversation between the husband (owner of a restaurant in US) and his wife (an ex-actress from Thailand) on why after 7 or 8 years of marriage, the guy doesn’t say “I love you” anymore.  And the subsequent conversation on the same topic with the husband and a little 19 years old girl (called Ploy whom they met in wee hours at a hotel bar).  The mixture of real and unreal clips within the movie at times adds interesting twists.  Some one-liners are bizarrely wicked.  Like before a date rape, the guy said [to the unconscious girl in bed], “Don’t worry, I will use a condom.”  Huh?!  Where does that come from?  We all chuckled.  And we chuckled when one of the actresses suddenly turned the film into a musical (pretty much like a French art-house movie).

Most clips are slow and excruciatingly painful to watch.  No, the sex scene between the bizarre side story of a bartender and a hotel maid is not at all sexy, way off the chart, and doesn’t contribute much to the main story.  It’s a shame though.  If the storyline was to be tighter and unfold a certain cohesive theme, that would have worked better.  During the interview, the director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang mentioned that the 12-hour long shooting on the sex scene was no fun to make.  I read that those sex scenes in “Lust, Caution” were hard to make too (took days).  But Ang Lee has made the scenes beautiful to watch, non-pornographic, and meaningful to the storyline.  If there was one suggestion I could offer to the “Ploy” team on those scenes, dim the light please.  OK make it two, change the casting.

The young girl, Apinya Sakuljaroensuk, who plays the character Ploy is perhaps one of the few rewards I can take home with.  The filmmakers should have exploited this advantage much more.  The film does leave me pondering on what is real, what is not.  And for better or worse, from a country that is famous in making horror and action movies, an art-house Thai film that was premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival could be special to some.  It’s just not my cup of tea.

Categories
Book Reviews Non-Fiction

Mission, Inc. by Kevin Lynch and Julius Walls, Jr. – Using Business for the Common Good, Yes We Can

Mission Inc

By the authors’ definition, social enterprises are businesses whose purpose is to change the world for the common good.  And “Mission, Inc.” is a practitioner’s guide of building and sustaining such businesses of unique nature.

Maybe you too share the same sentiment with me and wonder why our economy rewards businesses that do not bear the full cost of the products they sell, passing the true cost to our next generations or the indigenous peoples.  There are initiatives out there such as the Equator Principles (see Wikipedia) as guidelines for the institutions to finance with the environmental and social responsibilities in mind.  And there are social enterprises of various forms – for-profit or nonprofit – that compete with the traditional business.  As the authors rightfully put, to change the world, your business has to be successful.  To be successful as a social enterprise faces a different set of challenges.  “Mission, Inc.” tackles these challenges by unlocking the ten paradoxes of social enterprise interjects with lots of concise and relevant tips and formula.

Kevin Lynch is the president of Rebuild Resources and Julius Walls, Jr. is the president and CEO of Greyston Bakery.  Both come with solid credential in this topic.  I would describe their book collaboration as passionate, honest, packed with useful tools and real life stories from more than a dozen social enterprises.

Though I am not from the social enterprise background, there are quite a number of major takeaways for me.  I enjoy reading the various aspects of running a business condensed into something easy to absorb.  Like how to derive a business plan, how to read the company financials (I am hopeless when it comes to balance sheet and income statement), the practical ways to enhance the internal process within an organization, and more.  For those who are already in this business or planning to join one, “Mission, Inc.” is a strong recommendation.  For the rest, “Mission, Inc.” opens our eyes to the reality of using business for the common good.  I am very keen to see the day when social enterprise passes the tipping point.  What a world it would be.

Paperback: 187 pages
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (January 1, 2009)
ISBN-10: 1576754790
ISBN-13: 978-1576754795

You may wish to get the book from Amazon.com.

Categories
J Pop Music Reviews

Next Level by Ayumi Hamasaki – I Love It

Ayu's Next Level

I met my friend for lunch one day at Shokudo and told her that Ayumi Hamasaki has released a new album.  “Who’s [What’s] that?” she asked.  Maybe I am too naïve to think that everyone know who she is.  Japanese artist Ayu has been my inspiration for years.  Since 2000, she has been releasing one studio album, one video recording of her concert tour, and one video recording of her New Year countdown tour per year, non-stop.  She is involved in all aspects of production including the branding of her own image.  That makes her one of the most hardworking and successful artists I have seen.  Even with the loss of hearing on her left ear since 2008 amongst other distractions such as her failed love relationship, the show must go on.  This sort of spirit inspires.

At 30, onto the 10th year of her commercially success career, I thought the title “Next Level” is timely.  The sound is mostly electronic, the fashion is colorfully fresh, “Next Step” is a premium production that fans will love.  I do.  As seen in her previous productions, “Next Step” has songs of similar nature packaged in segments divided by the instrumental tracks.  The opening tracks are energetic, discotheque-like, and almost sound like a series of remixes.  Midway through the album, it is transited to be more rock and “Next Step” is closed with an acoustic track that she shot the video barefoot walking around the movie street set in what seems like a freezing evening (see below).  My favorite track is the non-single track “Rollin’”.  That reminds of “Startin’”, not sure why.

Comes with the package is a CD recording of her Premium Countdown Live 2008-2009 and a DVD consists of 6 videos from “Next Step” as well as the making clips.  That covers the entire spectrum of studio production to live recording to video production with a glimpse of her personality.  Would I prefer the Countdown Live in DVD format instead?  In a way, yes, because her live concerts are always so out-of-the-world.  However, without the visual impact, I tend to pay more attention to her vocals.  I have got to say, for someone who has partial hearing loss, that is one heck of a performance.

Below is the last track of the album – “Curtain Call”.

Categories
Diary Reflection

Into the Valley of Selegie

An area around Selegie

A few good friends of mine commented that I have come to a full circle when I told them that (1) I’ve moved to a “new” office that isn’t new and (2) year 2000 I worked at the same building for the same employer.  The difference is: I was a consultant to them back then and am one of their gazillion employees now.  I have no idea what a full circle means.  Year 2000 was perhaps a mini-peak of my career.  And then kind of crashed and burned for a while.  Recently, things started to look up and then I am working in the same building as I was nine years ago.  Now, is that a full circle?  What is a full circle?

Back in the beginning of this millennium, the surrounding area of my office was awesome.  Vast area of greenery right in the middle of the city.  And then the unthinkable happened: our government has decided to build a university that spans across adjacent plots of beautiful parks.  I was much saddened, kind of upset.  Today, Singapore Management University (SMU) looks pretty awesome, architect in a way that blends in well with the surrounding.  But I still prefer the parks to a set of buildings that mean nothing to me, personally.

I still prefer the newer looking old office to my older looking new office.  One friend at work said to me: Once it gets into your system, you’ll be fine with it.  My desk space has shrunk at least 4 times; I no longer have my own desk; there are junks, empty water bottles, half drank water bottles left behind from the previous occupants; dust everywhere; I now look up and see tons of faces staring at me; and there are even more staring at the back of my head.  These two days, I have this hallucination that I am working inside a cube farm.  I know what I am producing each day.  I wonder what everyone else are producing each passing moment.  Time to get plugged in.  I need a phone line.

I am a natural when it comes to making myself happy creatively and realistically.  So I took the opportunity to explore the area during my lunch hours.  It turned out so fun that I am going to set up a plan to explore this strange neighborhood systematically.  Day one after my brief lunch, I took a walk into the area of Selegie, discovered quite a number of eating places, old fashioned shops that sell interesting stuffs, new shops that are opening soon, quite a number of night clubs, and I came face-to-face with the awesome looking building called LASALLE College of the Arts.  I took some pictures with my phone.  I wish I had my dSLR with me.

I took a picture of LASALLE in year 1996 when the construction was started and another one in 1997 when it was completed (see my previous blog entry).  Perhaps life is as such: At times we go through changes in life and some are dusty, some are messy, and through all these unpleasantness, inconvenience, something good, something beautiful may blossom.

LASALLE College of Arts