>>> It's been a week...

... and I've been so goddamned unproductive.

Unfortunately, I don't have anything new to put up here since my latest art pieces are pretty much up on dA. *shrugs* And I haven't been working on any new pieces of late, not even a movie review. Hell, I don't even have any new photos! But why, you ask?

Could it be the lack of inspiration? Not quite, though it should be a straight 'no' in all honesty, my friends. And with all my crew and some very important muses like Xaila, a most wonderful muse, in so many ways. *smirks*

Is it due to a lack of ideas? Nope, not at all, I have ton loads. Seriously. TON loads. Just ask Deboahan, IF you don't believe me. That's probably 'coz I have a brain that travels at speeds beyond normal thought in way too many different directions. At least that explains why I'm usually so scattered, eh? *laughs wryly*

The possible inability or non-possession of skills required to put said ideas to paper? A small portion of the reason, but not the whole of it.

Or could it be due to some other, unstated technical difficulty? Like, say, artist's block? A straight, flat-out NO is in order as an answer to this one... NO.

The honest, simple truth is that I've been feeling rather, well, moodless when it comes to art in general. I just do not possess the inclination to even pick up my pencils to start sketching. However, I know that I didn't force myself to do up the last few pieces of mine, so this is a rather recent development. No idea how it will last, seriously. I just hope that it's a short spell 'coz I have loads of stuff to do.

I see someone in the back raising their hand to ask a question... go ahead, boy-o, ask away.

Oh, you want to know where I am? As in right now? Well, just to satisfy some's curiousity about that, I'm currently sitting in my store, semi-curled up on a couch and feeling rather comfortable. Yes, I am such a couch whore. I love sofas-slash-couches and I even have an old two-seater in my bedroom. I swear that when I finally get my own crib, I will have at least one couch in each room.

Oh, such dreams... seems pretty simplictic, really, doesn't it? But I am a simple person, I guess, with a somewhat complicated mind.

Oh, did I mention that I'm also "Corrupt 25/7", according to some of my friends? I kinda agree with that... so much so that I tagged it up on my wall, just above the foot of my bed. *laughs*

Anyways, I'm chatting with my wonderful muse Xaila at the moment, so I should give her my full attention before she decides to crawl into bed... without me, unfortunately. *laughs again*

Laterz, gaterz, see y'all the next time 'round.

DISMISSED!!!

*salutes*

>>> I finally got it...

... and it's aural bliss!!!

I downloaded PIA's Become Clear album thanks to someone who'd uploaded the whole thing to Rapidshare.

For those who may want it, click on the following words:

I!Want!PIA's!Album!

I'm gonna hook up a pair of speakers to Ikari so I can blast out some cool Korean alternative rock!!!

See y'all!

Larez, gaterz!

>>> Resistance is futile ver.3.0.AMV.kai

ver.3.0.3 : [5 Centimeters Per Second AMV] PIA's "Behind the Sun"

ver.3.0.4 : [Katekyo Hitman Reborn! AMV] PIA's "Behind the Sun"

Yup, more PIA madness with my current favourite song by them.

Go figure.

>>> A pleasant surprise...

... from California!


A great big shout out of thanks to Jawa for sending me not just one but FIVE of his high quality stickers, one of which is now affixed to inner casing of my li'l laptop, Ikari.

As Katie would say, "Cool shit of whaaaaat!?"

Hahahahaha!

Great stuff, yeah!

Laterz, gaterz!

>>> A tongue-twister...

... from out of nowhere.

"Dan Dan the Man, Twice the Man of the Other Dan."

Try saying that quick-like a dozen times!

Have fun!!

Hahaha!!!

Peace out.

>>> Project:DARKFATHER

Two of the three pieces completed for the memorial to a friend who passed on early this year.

Shun, ye ol' bastard, this is for you!



With Star Wars and Warhammer 40,000 flair. *grins*

The third piece hasn't been scanned yet, even though it's already been completed and is technically the first one that was completed.

It'll be up here when it's ready.

Until then...

... Laterz, gaterz!

>>> Resistance is futile ver.3.0.2

Renewed my love of the Korean alternative rock band PIA - I blame ChocFudge for the renewal of my love of all things Korean, except for the alleged dog eating, that I will never find acceptable - and managed to find their 2006/7 album Become Clear on iMeem, with many thanks to Lozzy for putting it up.

Ver.3.0.2 :: PIA's 2006/7 album, Become Clear, with photograph of the band

You can find the original playlist by Lozzy here: Pia - Become Clear album krock music playlist.

>>> Tales of the robotic kind...

... and of a most interesting store. *grin*

First up is the movie 'review' of the new animated feature film by Disney and Pixar, Wall-E.

On the whole, Wall-E was a totally different experience from most animated films that I've viewed.

First off, the whole film is based around the adventures of a lone surviving waste disposal 'bot, named WALL-E [which is an acronym for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class] that has a gained a form of sentience and has a grasp of emotions.

And he's such a sweet character, too. He has this aura of simplicity and innocence.

And the rest of the cast is amazing, with a hair-trigger-happy 'girl' 'bot, a cute li'l anti-biohazard one and a host of others.

The best part of the whole show?

There is next to no dialogue.

Yes, that's right. Most of the communication in this one is done via body language, expressions and sound effects. Amazing work.

Oh, and it manages to show the possible [worst-case] outcome if we keep up our current rate of waste production, along with the fallout of corporate privatization and dominance. The animators did a real fantastic job of portraying an Earth wracked by the result of over-pollution.

That, and what might happen if we rely overly much on technology.

So, you could say that there's a moral built into the movie.

All in all, this was a fantastic movie!

Cute, funny, touching and all together AWESOME.

The final rating?

A whooping outstandingly awesome TEN (10) out of ten (10), with more than enough "thumbs up" to make it worth not only watching in the cinemas, but adding it to your DVD collection, too.

Yeap, a perfect score.

You know what that means.

Yeap, yeap, I absolutely loved it!

And all of you - yes, YOU - should go watch this film!

And, now, moving on...

... it's been a helluva weekend at work.

And my last attachment for the week was at Tampines Mall, working the 9-5 stretch.

Yeah, yeah, like office hours, I know. But SB-TS was a cool place to work and I learnt some really cool stuff while I was over there. Hopefully, I don't forget what those things are, haha!

The partners were so welcoming, it was like finding a second home. Too bad that two of the partners I was in class with had quit from there. *sad shrug* Oh, well, I hope that whatever they're doing now is working out for them.

To Wandy, Iqah, Su "Flu" [previously from SB-NP], "Rainwoman" Connie, Martin, Alia, Faiz and "Face Doesn't Suit The Cap" Fahmi, thank you for a most wonderful and enjoyable shift in your store!

I'll try and drop by soon.

PROMISE!!!

^{Clockwise, from top left: Wandy, Iqah, Su "Flu", Connie & Faiz, Martin, "Rainwoman" Connie}

With that, I leave thee till the next post...

... for I have to send out a search party to aid my father's Quest for the Lost Nail-cutter.

What a life.

_{I need sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep~...}

>>> Like a quickie...

... in the bathroom.

Yes, yet again, there's no relation between the title and the post.

Well, not much.

I think only Snoppy would get the connection.

*laughs*

Anyways, just a quick update.

I'm done with three of the four pieces for Shun's memorial, the last one is gonna be a killer on my brain and hands.

I've taken up another collaborative effort, this time with the Goddess Mapal. I am an idiot and overloading myself with more projects.

Crap.

And I'm currently chatting with Xaila, K-Fire and Snoppy in the RCT, which is where I'm heading back to. I swear that Snopz and Xai are like the two of the most gorgeous women that I've ever met, electronically speaking. *grins*

Oh, and Terra just came in; it looks like the insanity's stepping up a notch, so I'm outta here and heading back there.

And just to plug my woman - as in my friend, nothing more, though a guy could wish for more :D - Snoppy's new tutorial, with cool music, I'm leaving y'all a copy to watch right here.

Now, I'm outtie.

GOOD MORNING!!!

*bounces*

>>> The conundrum of the physical manifestory existence...

... as defined by the emotional response in reaction to external stimuli.

Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean, 'ey?

*laughs*

Oh, and look, we created a new word. I mean, seriously, is there even such a word as manifestory? Oh, wait, there is. Crap. So, it does exist, but has no official definition that I can find. Truly, the strange does exist on the cyber-networks of the world.

And, in all honesty, the title of the day actually, loosely refers to the act of watching a film and reactions to said watched films, among other things. It's truly open to your own interpretation, my dear reader.

Go figure, eh?

However, moving on...

... up next are four movie reviews as viewed by the common man that I am. Yes, four. Not one or two, but four.

Yes, this is what happens when I take a break from updating things.

So, let's get down to it.

First up, The Dark Knight of Gotham.

This was a pretty good movie, all things said and done.

But I am not going to over-praise Heath [may his soul rest in piece] for his portrayal of The Joker. Yes, he made an amazing Joker, really carried the role and pretty much stole the show. BUT that made me stop and think about whether it was his real-time death that made this movie role stand out even more. *shrug*

I say kudos to the scriptwriters and wonderful work by them. Heath just took his part and made their work glow on-screen.

Poor Aaron and Christian. Their characters of Dent and Wayne were so overshadowed by the Joker. I mean, the Joker seems to have more screentime than the Batman, it's ridiculuous! Christian even said, "I have no problem with competing with someone else. And that's going to make a better movie."

Boy, was he somewhat right.

But they should've renamed it The Joker or something like that. Unless, the Dark Knight is somehow referring to The Joker as well... *shrug*

Aaron was good as Dent and then as Two-Face, though I believe that his downwards spiral into madness seems rather sudden. Anguish equals instant insanity? Holy crazies, Batman!?

I think that the best line that came out of this movie is the one that Harvey says when at dinner with Wayne and Rachel, and is something along the following line, "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain."

The rest of the cast, like Oldman as Gordon [who is so understated and displays real emotion as a distraught man] and Caine as Alfred along with the short-lived Rachel played by Maggie plus Mr Freeman as Lucius Fox [OMG! FREEMAN!!! Blood good actor as a bonus! *insert many fangirls squealing*], were bloody brilliant and really brought extra "Oomph!" to the whole film.

However, I have one gripe...

... why can't Batman just get a voice modulator to change his voice instead of gutturally growling the whole way??? Like wtf, dudes.

All in all, a damn fine film that deserves a fantastic nine.

Why?

Just because I believe that the Batman shouldn't have to growl and spit.

AND because too many people give the Joker way too much credit.

So, HA! Eat THAT, Joker freaks!

Lol.

On a sidenote, I took my mom, Pervalidus and his mother to this movie. Our mothers were relatively unimpressed due to the music and such drowning out the dialogue, according to them.

The final rating - with one being completely abysmal and ten being, in Harebell's words, "greater than great!" - is.... drumroll, pleeease...

*drum roll played by a HUGE percussion band in the background that cuts out after a couple of minutes*

NINE, which means "a definite must-see and you'll be surprised at how good it is". *looks askance at the percussion band* Guys, that was a bit long, yes? Try for a shorter one next time, but thank you!

Final rating: A whopping NINE (9) out of ten (10).

Oh, and nice interesting little tidbit of info: Check out The Killing Joke graphic novel that was published by DC Comics back in 1988 and reprinted in 2003. You'll be surprised by what you read, I reckon.

_{By the way, if anyone can tell me where I can find the original 1988 print, aside from ebay, I would be most appreciative.}

Next up, the third installment of the Mummy.

No, chaps, not YOUR mummy. The Mummy, as in the movie.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, to be exact.

Yes, The Mummy is back, but thankfully it's not the one from the previous two movies. However, it's an Asian one this time around that is kinda heavily borrowed from the continent's ancient history.

The Dragon Emperor and his terracotta army are found by Alex O'Connell, the son of Rick and Evy in the middle of some desert, while his parents are tasked to deliver an artifact to China. As usual, pure chaos ensues as a plot to revive the Dragon Emperor and have him conquer the world in order "to return it to a lawful state without corruption" [or some such ideal].

So, it's up to the O'Connells family and company to save the day.

The movie should be watched, really, but everything feels rather rushed, like the romance between the young Alex and Lin and the chase scene through the streets of Shanghai.

However, it is a nice trip away from the everyday if you're looking for a fantastical journey into adventure.

Oh, and Yetis play american football... we blame the wireless radio network back in the mid-40s for that, haha! Definitely a favourite part of the movie for me.

Overall, it deserves a rather high rating, but due to the unseemly rush inherent to the movie, it might suffer a bit in the score.

Final rating: an above average SIX AND A HALF (6.5) out of ten (10).

Moving on to the next movie in the line-up...

... is Death Race, the remake of an old 1975 movie entitled Death Race 2000.

Death Race has an interesting plot, with a couple of twists, which made for pretty cool viewing.

The amount of blood and gore didn't hurt, either.

And for once, there wasn't much sex and the like in it, though there was plenty of sex appeal.

The premise is a bit shaky if you ask me, though. I mean, the movie says that in four years, the US economy will collapse and that private corps will take over the running of most things, like the prisons. But that doesn't make sense, how the hell would they still have money to do?

And further more, will we be so stripped of humanity that we will actually watch people, even if they're incarcerated felons, fight to the death for pleasure?

Shows you what we'll eventually come to. No ca$h to survive with properly, but we'll spend a few bucks for entertainment.

Crap.

Jason Statham is pretty damn good in this movie, his facial expressions actually speaking volumes. And the way his character puts everything together to figure out how and who framed him is good, too. His character is also rather brilliant, especially with a little verbal help from Coach.

And the concept behind the races should be turned into a video game. In the first lap, drivers have to rely on their speed and skill; while in the second and third laps, their weapons can be armed, defences activated and traps activated. And all this by driving over these rather large, round metal tiles with the iconography of a sword, a shield and a skull. No prizes for guess what they activate, yeah?

Another cool thing is that the original Frankenstein from Death Race 2000, played by David Carradine, is reprised for the beginning of the movie as the Carradine Frankenstein drives the vehicle that gets blown up by "Machine Gun" Joe.

Natalie Martinez as Case was just pure hotness. And the only navigator to survive the whole Death Race. Go look her up, you hot-blooded lot, you won't regret it! :D

Anyways, this is another must watch, if just for the sheer simplicity and blatant action of it all.

However, the whole trailer pretty much gives away majority of the movie.

Final rating: another above average SIX AND A HALF (6.5) out of ten (10).

Ah, and finally the last of the four movies...

... the animated flick Star Wars: Clone Wars.

This is actually pretty good but is yet another movie that seems to end sooner than expected.

However, the style is fresh and the dialogue isn't as wooden as one would expect.

The way the clone troopers are depicted is also rather humanizing. In other words, they're pretty cool and not as retarded as you'd expect whole vatloads of them to be.

Generally, all round, it was a pretty dead cool flick and serves as a nice intro to the television series that'll be coming out this month Stateside.

However, one can't help but feel that it could've been better and that it lacked a certain flavour of some kind that one can't quite put his finger on.

That and the general feeling that spending ten bucks at the cinema to watch it was a waste, does NOT help it at all.

Final rating: a high percentile of SEVEN AND A HALF (7.5) out of ten (10).

Whew, now that's settled...

... I can move on to other things.

Work has been murder on my energy levels, and it doesn't help that my mom has me started on some weird Herbalife product that's supposed to help me lose weight. Unfortunately, I have to take double the normal amount 'coz it doesn't leave me filled and I get hungry after like a coupla hours.

Now, however, I'm kinda slacking on the Herbalife and I've finally got four days of blissful off.

Well, it would be blissful if I didn't have to do other stuff.

Like what stuff do I have to do, you ask?

Well, there are those pieces that I have to do for Shun's memorial [one and a half down, three and a half more to go; oh, crap.] which will be due in about 7 days or less. *choking sounds fade into the background*

Then, there's the hoodie that I'm working on. Have to get together all the designs for the patches, find a suitable 6 yards of cloth to use as the inner lining plus work on stenciling certain exterior panels.

And I have to perfect my Alien Organix style, sketch out my name since I haven't done it in ages, finalise some handstyles for Kawaiikunaii [which is not as easy as it sounds since I have not been able to produce anything that I actually like so far], finish up some other sketches that I've started, figure out what images to be used for my laptop Ikari's skin, get my next tattoo design settled and put down a few more t-shirt design concepts.

PLUS a half a dozen or more pieces to be done.

Not to mention the first chapter of Crossbones' Tales, my fanfic based in the Jovian Chronicles' universe, which is still lying fallow in my hard disk.

Along with having to plan either a new Exalted campaign or a Scion one while having to update the ol' Wolves of the Apocalpyse blog. OMG.

*shakes head* My head could go for a spin at this rate. Busy is not the word, innit?

At least I've finished a coupla pieces, like the ones below. Even if one of them wasn't really in the pending-job-queue...

The top one is a request by my shift supe Huda, who I rarely get to see and reminds me of a grumpy mother bear at times, haha! The t-shirt was a spontaneous design with a stencil ouuta a mag on a freshly purchased Giordano tee, done a couple of Sundays ago after treating Mach2 to homemade Bombay Toast. Doesn't he look oh-so pleased?

Haha!

Oh, yeah, just to let you lot know, I have a new second-hand laptop and it's been christened IKARI. Epic win! And, like I mentioned earlier, I'm hoping to get it skinned later this month.

That, and hopefully a new battery for poor Ikari-kun.

Cor.

But it also looks like it'll be backburned 'coz i've to help pay the utilities' bill. Cripes, there goes my expenditure plan right out the window. And I still have to save ca$h, too, for my second tattoo.

Oh, dear God.

Oh, and I found the alphabet that the Star Wars universe uses, and in true fanboy fashion, I want my real name done up in it as a tattoo. Like either along my forearm, around an ankle or along the base of my neck. Hahahahaha! I mean, it'd be freaking cool to have tattoo done in Aurebeshi, as it's called, I reckon. *grins*


Yes, I am nuts. Go figure, 'ey?

In my own personal life, my love life is a fecking mess. I accidentally proposed to one woman that I've known for eons, I'm in love with another that I've known for ages and basically watched grow up [relax, she's five years younger than me] but will never be able to get but we're kinda dating [I think], and there's a hopeless 16 year old after me. Amazing, non? Most guys would kinda kill to be wanted or somewhat involved with three women, but here I am wanting to be shot...

... like I say to my fellow Baristas, "Bar, I need to be shot!"

And I so need a full-time job that pays. But I've given up on finding one here in this godforsaken country.

*sigh*

Holy crap.

I'm screwed, aren't I?

Anyways, I've been meeting up peeps that I'ven't seen for a while as of late, like Candyman, Straight Arrow, Grimm, Ferret, Pervalidus, Da J-Meister, Ghoul and Reena. And all of 'em aren't doing too badly, which is good. And my sisters Flalicious and Sassin called me over the last two days, which was really sweet of them; hopefully, I get to see them both soon.

And work has been fun, meeting new peeps all the time. It's damnably fun working so many different oartners at so many different stores.

But I've only seen my store like 4 times out of the last fifteen days; I miss my base! I've been working at Shaw [ST], Bugis Junction [BG], Vivocity 2 [V2] and The Concourse [CS] over the remaining portion. Not to say that I had no off during those fifteen days, I did have some.

Three days of it.

*laughs*

Anyways, below are the few miserable pictures that I managed to get, with many declining to be remembered on digital film for all eternity due to various reasons; the leading reason being "I'm not pretty enough for this right now!", haha!

Amira and Affendi from Shaw Tower, Xiong with his damn cool shades from Thomson Plaza [Looking good, bro!], Santiago from Bugis, Myself with Yul and Pearly from Bugis [I love you two! ;)], Farrah and "Sharky" representing for Vivocity's two stores [Gorgeous ladies! *dreamy sigh* ;)] and Haffiz from Vivocity 2.

And that's pretty much it for this entry...

... so I'll leave you with something extra for your visual pleasure.

Resistance is Futile ver.3.0.1 :: Nightwish - Bye Bye Beautiful

What's there not like when the entire band has been transformed into beautiful ladies, 'ey?

Hahaha!

Laterz, gaterz!

>>> Hiatus...

... to be ended...

... sooner or later.

Keep a look out and watch this space for a MASSIVE update sometime in the very near future.

We hope.

With that, I leave you with something to watch that was recommended by a friend. Enjoy!

Resistance is Futile ver. 3.0.1 :: Charon - Colder

I'm crashing out for the night.

Peace out.