Hey hey, Livejournal folks, it's been a long time! :) I've been active elsewhere like Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, etc these days, and have been seriously neglecting my blogs. But since this is the last day of the year, I suppose what better moment to come back and say Hi, and to give myself a rough summary record of the goings-on throughout this past year? So, here's a quick list of things I am truly grateful for this year (in no particular order): * Joining the Urban Sketchers Singapore group and getting to know a whole bunch of talented artists, and sketching at different locations with them once (or twice) a month. They inspire me SO MUCH it's immeasurable, and I could even see improvement in my own random drawings! Kudos to them! * Getting myself a Canon 550D DSLR camera, and a Lomography Sprocket Rocket film camera, and losing myself in the fascinating worlds between these two photograph machines. * Travelling on a strict budget for 2 weeks around Taiwan (my first ever trip there) with my dear friend Clara, having huge misunderstandings and arguments along the way, but discovering that we much prefer having each others as friends instead. Speaking of friends, most of the lovely folks we met on this Taiwan trip truly made it a memorable one. * Postponing yet again my Japan trip to see sakura blossoms, but ended up at my absolute dream destinations instead: 2-week Greek Islands Hopping (with the Contiki group) and spending a few days at Istanbul on the way back. I have fallen deeply in love with Greece and would definitely return (maybe even retire there if possible!!)... * Having my first ever family trip with my siblings and nieces to Krabi, Thailand. It was short, but it was something we should definitely do more and sooner! * Visiting Pulau Ubin for the very first time in my life, on my 38th birthday no less, and taking videos and sketching there. I think I found a missing part of my soul on that trip... * Having hilariously fun roadtrips to Melaka and JB and Kota Tinggi Waterfalls with friends Eusri, Clara, Harry, Terry, William etc. * Creating a Facebook Public Page where I could post my work photos and videos and updates without cluttering my already overused Facebook profile wall. It's slowly taking shape, and I'm very pleasantly surprised to have 260 people liking it there already! Thank you folks!! * Landing more commercials, film and TV jobs, including print ads for Maybank Home Loan, Tiger Beer, Bedok Point Mall, and TVCs for The Laurels Condo, IDA's Next Gen Broadband, KFC Snackers, and corporate videos for Navy Open House, SMRT, TradeMentor (in Cantonese!!) etc. Also appeared in an SIA Inflight Video for Resorts World Sentosa, and getting a chance to visit the Universal Studios and hotels during the shoot. Some of these would only appear in 2011. * Being asked by The Reel Thing to assistant-direct two TV commercials for Subway Double Meat Italian BMT Sandwich, and receiving great feedback from it. * Getting intimate with actress Yeo Yann Yann in an NYU-Tisch student short film "Breakfast", and playing a stalkerish self-styled filmmaker-actor in Sean Cheong's short film "Diary". * Appearing in several Mediacorp Channel 8 shows like "Hong Bai Xi Shi", "Yong Chuang Qing Guan", "Mrs P.I." etc, and for Okto Channel's "The Specials" telemovie, as well as an educational video for MOE. * Participating in school assembly shows again, like "Zespri's Kiwi Magical Journey" and "Moneywise". * Last but not least, playing Santa Claus for City Square Mall's "Santa Bubbles Musical" show during the Christmas period. Phew! And who says freelancing is idling?? LOL 2011 will commence soon, and already in the works are another student short film "Allegiance" (tentative title), a Singtel corporate video shoot and an insurance ad shoot. Also to complete the remaining scenes for the MOE educational video. All that in the first two weeks on January! It's gonna be great, and the thought of my upcoming travels to Bangkok (Feb), Bali (May), Kuching (June) and hopefully Japan (December) is definitely a huge motivation. Gambatte ne!!!
Also, please do check out this rapid slideshow of events from this past year, based on photos I'd posted on my Facebook albums:
Edric's Facebook Pummelvision from Edricism on Vimeo. Have a great 2011 ahead, my friends!!! Cheers!!!
- Mood:cheerful
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Dearest folks,
Here's wishing EVERYONE here:
Have a Happy & Prosperous
Year of the Tiger!!!
Cheers!!!
With love & light,
Edric
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It's a brand new year, and there are plenty of exciting plans ahead! And most of them involved travelling! :) Speaking of which, I'll be embarking on yet another spur-of-the-moment, grab-the-best-deal-while-we-can, oversea adventure... This time, I'll be going with my Taiwanese-born friend, Clara, and we'll be spending two whole weeks in her homeland... Taiwan
 Brother and sister, Xiao Long & Xiao Ba, goes to Taiwan... Here's our rough itinerary: 15 Jan (Fri) - Depart SG, Arrive TPE
16 Jan (Sat) - Explore Taipei city and Danshui
17 Jan (Sun) - Yeliu, Jiufen and Jin Gua Shi etc
18 Jan (Mon) - Zhongli town, then from Taipei city to Yang Ming Shan for hotspring and Pingxi to light sky lantern
19 Jan (Tue) - Xinzhu, Neiwan, Taizhong (graffiti town), Fenglai Night Market
20 Jan (Wed) - Lugang, Sun Moon Lake, dinner at Traveller's Kitchen (Taizhong)
21 Jan (Thu) - Alishan
22 Jan (Fri) - Tainan, KTV at Cashbox, hotpot dinner
23 Jan (Sat) - Tainan old towns
24 Jan (Sun) - Gaoxiong
25 Jan (Mon) - Hengchun, Kending (stay at Afei Backpackers), Surfing
26 Jan (Tue) - Kending (stay at Hawaii Hostel), Surfing
27 Jan (Wed) - Hualian (stay at Zijijia Guesthouse)
28 Jan (Thu) - Hualian, Taroko Gorge, Qinjia
29 Jan (Fri) - Yilan cold spring, return to Taipei, Songshan Wufenpu, Raohe Night Market
30 Jan (Sat) - Breakfast and lunch at Taipei, afternoon return to SG, and arrive just before midnight It's gonna be a fully-packed 15 days of travelling and exploring all the sights and foods of Taiwan, but since it's my very first trip to the island country, I can't wait! I will most likely be uncontactable in the meantime, but I heard there are many cafes and places with free Wifi, so I might check messages and mail via my phone. But please do not call or sms me unless you have important things to tell me like my pay cheques are ready for collection... Anyway, here are some more of our pre-trip photos: See ya all when I'm back! | |
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Last night was a milestone of sorts, for it was the first time I ever watched a 3D movie! Ironic, considering the last short film I did was in 3D too, but perhaps it's because of that that I'm finally more interested and excited about this whole technology. Anyway, the director of the short film, Marcus, helped get tickets for some of us who were interested, and we headed over to GV Grand to watch... AVATAR (3D)  I had initial misgivings due to the fact that I had some eye condition since young that caused some misalignment (similar to lazy eye), and I was never able to view those 3D images or videos even with those cheap paper blue-red glasses. But I can finally say for sure that I'm now a fan not just of " Avatar" the movie, but also of the whole 3D movie experience thing! These were the Dolby 3D glasses we wore at the cinema:  They were heavy and uncomfortable to wear, but after a while I was so immersed in the movie that I barely remembered I was wearing them.   I'm not sure if I'm seeing it right, but the 3D effects seemed to flow seamlessly as if it were the most natural thing in the world, which it is supposed to be anyway, but once I got used to the glasses, I felt as if I was right in the scenes myself, and everything was so... REAL... As for the movie itself, I would not be writing any reviews of it, except to say that it is truly a work of genius and full of heart, and I love it so much I am planning to watch it in 3D again with my family members soon! :) Oh, and I secretly wished I could live in Pandora and be at one with nature. Of course, being 10 feet tall would be nice for a change too... :) | |
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Hey everyone, hope you all are enjoying yourselves over this holiday season! :) I can't believe it's the end of the year already, and I have been missing on Livejournal for most of it. I blame it totally on Facebook, Twitter, and my busy and erratic schedule. Before the new year commences, I am making a quick summary of the events and activities that had shaped this year for me, and here it goes: My 2009
Japanese Lessons * I took up basic Japanese lessons (Elementary Level 1) at Bunka Language School, but lessons were soon disrupted due to an overseas film shoot. I passed the test eventually, but after some thought, decided to wait till I've more time to self-study before taking on Elementary Level 2. At least I could decipher Hiragana now. :)  The Philanthropist * In many previous film productions I'd been involved in, I'd met countless actors and extras, and had seen how badly the latter were usually treated. I often wondered what makes them tick, and what really goes on a day in the live of an extra. I soon discovered that for myself, as I got cast as a featured extra (an extra but with dialogue) in the American NBC network series " The Philanthropist", starring James Purefoy, Neve Campbell etc, and the episode I was in featured a cast of Singapore actors to play Myanmar characters. They flew us all the way to South Africa's Durban, where they re-created the street scenes of Myanmar.  We were all well taken care of, and from the moment we arrived at South Africa, we were each given our entire week's allowance in local currency, a production mobile phone, as well as the contract, script and call sheets etc all in one package. Each of us were given a spacious hotel room with a splendid beach view. Heck, we even got our own individual trailers at the production base camp! Even though I'm playing TWO very minor characters that might or might not be seen on screen at the end, I'd never felt more treated like a star, or with more respect. More photos here: From South Africa to Myanmar (On the sets of "The Philanthropist")
South Africa
* At the start of the year, I'd been worry about not being able to travel much this year due to the initial lack of projects and work. But my last minute casting for " The Philanthropist" brought me to South Africa for the first time in my life. And what an eye opening experience!  Me with my fellow actors, Ros Pho, Shane Mardjuki and Zhou Quanxi, at the Hluluwe Safari Park
Out of the 7 days we were there, we were only needed to shoot one or two days. The rest of the time we fully utilised to explore this beautiful yet dangerous faraway city. Highlights of the trip included visits to two different safaris: PheZulu Safari Park and the Hluluwe Imfolozi Safari Park, and hearing the famous clicking dialects of the African locals! More photos here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 Robbed * One of the low points of the South African trip, although it was still quite an exciting turn of events, was that I had my bag stolen in broad daylight at the beachfront, from right under my nose! Thankfully, we hailed a passing police car and the officers got us on board their vehicle to survey and search the location.  And within 5-10mins, one of the officers found my bag in one of the nearby trash bins! Most of the contents were gone, including my local production phone and my own mobile phone, a crystal lucky charm that perhaps did help in the overall scheme of things, and my wallet containing my identity card, credit cards and bank cards etc. Thank goodness though, my passport was thrown back into the bin, and that I had not brought any cash with me in that bag! Losing my bag in such an incident is nothing compared to the hassles of making police reports and replacing all those bank cards etc, trust me. Even my camera, which never left my hands, got a terrible beating and almost died by the end of the trip. Also, just for the record, there were fatal gun shootings happening right near where we had dinner once! All in all, a once-in-a-lifetime experience (for once is more than enough)! Calefare-ing
* Having experienced such "star" treatment for " The Philanthropist", even as an extra, I knew it would spoil me when I return back to Singapore. And through veteran actor Zhou Quanxi's recommendation, I got cast in a couple more featured extra roles in Mediacorp's Channel 8 productions of " Xiang Wo Ni De Shou" and " Quan Jia Fu". I can tell you, over here, NOBODY cares about the calefares. Sketchbook * Inspired by Danny Gregory's " Everyday Matters" book, I decided to do a month or so's worth of daily sketches, to record the little details of everyday life.  I'd stopped drawing for a long while since then, but I fully intend to get back to this lovely hobby again soon. Nothing beats sitting down at a quiet cafe and sketching a part of your life down on paper. More Photos Here: My Everyday Matters Gallery Myanmar * After playing a Burmese ( Myanmar) soldier as well as a car-crash driver in " The Philanthropist", and having worked with a Burmese translator for the dialogues, I found myself terribly fascinated by this country that I had little prior knowledge of. So when a couple of fellow bloggers suggested a trip to Myanmar in September, I jumped at the chance!  It was a really great experience being in such a beautiful country that's so full of poverty and despair and grime, yet produced the most heartfelt smiles in her people. By contrast, our fellow Singaporeans seemed way too pampered, too demanding, and took too many things for granted. We travelled from Yangon to Mandalay, to Bagan, to Inle Lake, and then back to Yangon. We took bumpy rides on long bus routes and we flew domestic flights. I tried my best to sample as much of their local culture as I could, trying their betel nuts, thanaka paste, local cigarettes and food. It was exhausting, and dirty, and uncomfortable, etc. And I loved it! More Photos Here: My Myanmar Memories on Flickr Recordings * Back in Singapore again, I landed several recording gigs, most of them with John Tan of Johnues Media, and did voiceovers for Snow City Singapore and Science Centre Singapore etc.  John Tan, myself, and Caleb Wong
More photos of other recordings here: My Recordings Gallery Print Ads
* Earlier on, some of my Taiwanese friends have spotted my face in one of their Taiwan Shin Kong Commercial Bank's posters and print ads. The photos were among some stock images I'd taken with Asia Images, by photographer Cedric Lim. Here's another one that got selected by Singtel:  TV Commercials
* Late last year, I was cast by the Land Transport Authority as their new safety ambassador cum mascot, Mr. Buckle Up, to teach young kids to wear seat belts safely on private buses, in a musical video:  Click Here For Video * Toward the end of the year, I landed my latest TV commercial, for the new Lao Fo Ye Hair Care Centre! In it, I played a satisfied customer who introduced his friend with a receding hair pattern to the centre.  Danny Jow (actor), Wayne Wong (director), Ivy (owner of Lao Fo Ye), and myself Click Here For Video More Photos Here: My Ads Gallery "Lost In Transit" Musical
* After last year's exhilarating but very exhausting " Das Experiment: Black Box", I didn't expect to get back to theatre for quite a bit. But when I was asked by Dr. Kenneth Lyen and old friend Gavin Low to join the cast of Musical Theatre Limited's revamped version of Stella Kon's " Lost In Transit", I thought perhaps the time is right again.  I played the role of Robert, the owner of a sleazy cabaret club with underground dealings, and worked with some lovely new talents from the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore. I thought given the limited resources and venue constraints, we did a marvellous job of the show indeed. A big pat for everyone! More Photos Here: Lost In Transit Gallery Short Films * Before this year, I'd done several short films by student and indie filmmakers alike, but had stopped doing so for a while as there just wasn't enough good stories to tell, and budgets to spare. However things seemed to have change quite a bit, and I am very pleased to be cast in two new exciting short films that might eventually lead on to full length feature movies: The Gang
* On a last minute recommendation of my dear friend Eve Tan, with whom I'd worked with in several other theatre productions, I got cast in Kelvin Sng Production's new local Mandarin short film " The Gang", a prelude and trailer-of-sorts to a bigger grander movie project " More Than Words" next year.  Maia Lee, Edric Hsu, Wilson Ng, Adele Wong and Sunny Pang This is a monumental production about local gangsters and triads in 70s' Singapore, arguably the most expensive short film to be made in Singapore yet, and directed by the young but confident filmmaker-with-a-vision, Kelvin Sng, it stars Andie Chen, Louis Wu, Maia Lee, Sunny Pang, Wilson Ng, Adele Wong, Ckay Lim, Danny Jow, Emma Yong and myself, among many others. I'll post more about the film and it's official screening events soon! Meantime, check out the official website of " More Than Words" here: http://www.morethanwords.ksp.sg/ Also, here are some photos: Behind The Scenes of The Gang Outliers - World Without Heroes * It was while doing " Lost In Transit" and " The Gang" that I landed the final role of the year, and possibly my most action-packed one to date. Another young filmmaker friend, Marcus Lim, with whom I'd worked with in two other short film projects in 2005, " Screen" and " From Sunset to Sunrise", invited me to join his new production - Singapore's first 3-D action and science-fiction horror short film!  Me holding a 5.56mm cal. COLT XM177E Commando Assault Carbine Rifle. Tentatively named " Outliers", or " World Without Heroes", we also affectionately call it " The Zombie Film". For there were zombies galore! And that's beside the three main leads in the cast: Randall Tan, Melody Chen, and myself. This short film, just like " The Gang", both featured the use of stunts by local firearms expert Jimmy Low's The Stunt Production. As you could see from the above image, I got to handle and shoot an actual rifle (more than 15 years since my army days!). We wrapped the principle photography shoot right at midnight of Christmas Eve, and I am heading for the cast party at Marcus's place tonight. Can't wait! To I end this long belated entry, here's some other projects I was involved in throughout the year: * Illustrations and graphic designs for Bryan Gan's Omhealth workshops and I-Weekly magazine articles. * Graphics for London-based local fashion designer Ashley Isham's upcoming range of printed tee shirts. * Art direction for young Sri Lankan singer/DJ, Dhana ( D-Fault)'s " Time" music video with Johnues Media and partially shot at Nazt Bistro Lounge. Etc. I will be blogging again more often soon, and hope there will be even more exciting and fun events to report! :) In the meantime, have a lovely Christmas holiday and a wonderful 2010 ahead! - Mood:busy
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Hey folks! MUCH apologies for my extended absence on this blog, and my only excuse is... I have been posting it all on Facebook, and didn't have the spare energy (nor motivation) to split all the resources and post here too. And also, I'm not sure who's still reading this... But rest assured, I'm still well, alive and kicking in Singapore (for now anyways)... Here's a very brief summary of what transpired after I'd left for South Africa... I was there to shoot a US mini tv series called " The Philanthropist", and in it, I played two minor roles: a Burmese citizen as well as a Burmese soldier. I had the time of my life there, and enjoyed the shoot very much. We were all treated like stars and were given great care throughout the shoot, and we got to go on 2 safaris... And then of course, I had to get my bag stolen right under my nose. Lost my wallet and phone (as well as another production phone), but glad my passport was found with the empty bag in a nearby trash can. Who goes to South Africa to visit the police station? Me! Anyway, after I came back, life went back to normal, with my usual illustrations and graphic design gigs and the occasional voiceover recordings and film jobs, and pretty much nothing new to report... Until now! Perhaps inspired by having played Burmese characters in the above shoot (I learned to scold people in Burmese!), and when another two friends said they are planning a trip to Myanmar ( Burma) this year, I jumped at the chance to tag along! So, right now I'm packing my bags as I type this, and getting ready to hop onto the flight to Yangon ( Rangoon) the next morning (Saturday 7.30+am flight) with Darren and Michelle! But firstly, I wanna thank Eusri for kindly volunteering to bring us all three from the west to the airport, and to Patrick for lending me his Lonely Planet guide... I'll be in Burma from 5th to 12th September 2009, and will be offline and uncontactable in the meantime... And this time, I've made sure I got travel insurance! :) Photos of the trip will be posted on my Facebook and Flickr albums when I'm back (and I promise I'll blog regularly or more often again!), but I've already taken some in preparation of the trip. So here they are: ... On The Road To Mandalay ...  And please, leave no political jokes or comments whatsoever here, ok? :-) Thwa Ba Oun Meh (Bye)! | |
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Last week I went for a last minute casting for a minor role in a new foreign TV series, and the good news is...
I got the part!!!
Well, I can't say much about it as yet, as you know how such stuff tends to be pretty hush-hush...
But I can say this...
The shoot will be done at...
!!! South Africa !!!
 And so, in an hour's time, I'll be making my way over to Changi Airport, and will meet up with a few other local actors, before flying over together to Cape Town... To say it's a dream come true is an understatement, but this particular opportunity couldn't have arrived at a better time... I shall be back home next Saturday (2nd May) morning... In the meantime, I probably will be offline for the whole trip... I've still got an hour to pack, but my spirit is already on its way there! Wish me luck!!! :-) | |
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Once again, I have not been spending enough time on this blog and other similar sites. Facebook have now become my main means of keeping in touch with friends and for posting regular updates. But I am still rather reluctant to let go of this blog, for it has a good several years of my life in it, and it doesn't matter if anyone's reading it or not, it was still a big part of my life then...
I shall go with the flow and see how it goes... but please first accept my apologies if I have been very late in responding to your comments...
In the meantime, I finally have something worth blogging about...
Several weeks ago, my ex-classmate from secondary school roped me in to sign up for an elementary level Japanese course at Bunka Language School...
And today, well technically yesterday, was the first lesson!
The last time I'd learned Japanese was during my teens, and although I was pretty good at it while it lasted, I had given back all that stuff years ago. But it's all coming back to me now!
The class was taught by Takahashi Sensei, and there were 14 students altogether...
Out of this, only my friend, Chia Zyn, and myself, were guys. Aren't other guys interested in learning languages? What happened?
Anyway, the course was rather fast paced, as could be expected from this new system that's been touted as one of the fastest way to learn the language, and we were given many exercises and homework to do, covering conversations, writing and reading...
I love learning new languages, and I hope by the time I visit Japan again next year, I would be fluent and conversant enough to venture on my own without the help of any English! :-)
Last but not least, of course, here are the photos of my class:
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Do you love your loved ones because they are perfect?
Or because they are perfectly imperfect?
Check out Yasmin Ahmad's latest advert for MCYS...
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Support Earth Hour
Turn Off All Your Power Sources
Tonight
8.30pm to 9.30pm
*
It's all about creating the awareness
and showing you want to make the world a better place
And it's not that hard, really
You don't have to do it if you don't want to,
but if you do, do it with the right intentions.
Do it because you do care about
the ailing
Mother Earth
It WILL make a difference.
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Nobody
In The Office http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTZ7aGF_BRE | |
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Phew! Several weeks had passed already since I last blogged an entry here, but the truth is, it's not like I've been busy with much. Just the usual illustrating and voiceover jobs... I am kinda enjoying the lull, although it is slightly verging on slothfulness... But things are about to change, for in order to counteract my inertia, I have decided to get my act together and start learning again! So today, together with my former schoolmate Jiajun, I signed up at Bunka Language Pte School for their Elementary Japanese Course ( EL1)! The first and last time I took classes in Japanese was with my siblings back in the late 80s, at the nearby community centre, but although that was a rather good thing at that time, we didn't actually get to use what we'd learned... I'd always wanted to pursue that further, and what better time than now? The 8 x 3hr sessions of the EL1 course commence only in mid April, and I intend to carry on with EL2 etc and take it as far as I could muster and afford, to prepare for my Japan trip next April... I think there should be enough time, and fun to last a while! ;-) Ganbatte ne!!! | |
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...
情人节
是为了
正在恋爱中的人
所设计的
就像
母亲节是给母亲的
儿童节是给儿童的
教师节是给教师的
如果你
不是个妈妈
不是个小孩
也不是个老师
当这些日子到来时
难道你会因为
不是人家的妈
人家的娃娃
或人家的老师
而觉得郁闷?
那么
如果你并不在恋爱中
当情人节来到时
你又为何要
为自己的单身和自由
而感到惆怅?
反正
所谓的
情人节
根本就不关
单身人士
的事
反正
没有情人
总好过做
无情的人
... | |
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There's this thing being passed around on Facebook where everyone's starting to share 25 little tidbits about themselves and getting to know each other better. I won't tag anyone here since I'd already done it over at my Facebook notes, but do feel free to write 25 random stuff about yourself in your own blog too! I didn't expect to get so longwinded in my entry, but it ended up looking like a summary of my life story... oh well! LOL So anyway, for anyone who's interested in such things, here's... 25 Random Things About Edric Hsu
01] Some people still call me " Eddie", or " Ed" for short, and it's the name my Mum gave me when I was born. 02] I became " Edric" after secondary school, as I didn't like my old timid self before that, and I wanted to have a "different" future. (" Edric" apparently means "a rich king" in Olde English). 03] I was a talkative baby, so to shut me up during mealtimes, my late Granny would feed me little spoonfuls of her brandy. 04] I've always been fair, but as a kid, I also had brown eyes, fine brown hair and lots of freckles, and my neighbours would call me the "Angmoh Kia" ("Caucasian kid"). 05] I had my first kiss and puppy love in primary school, with a pretty talented girl from my class. We were too shy to do anything. Zzz... 06] I almost died in a high fever when I was about four, after being bitten by a huge red ant while taking photos at the Haw Par Villa (I was posing on top of a statue of a giant red ant, go figure). After that I started "seeing things"... 07] People thought I used to behave weirdly and talk to myself a lot as a kid, but I was actually having conversations with "spirits". I didn't even know they were "spirits" until later. 08] So yeah, I "could see dead people". Thankfully, not anymore. But I could still feel their presence sometimes. 09] It might also have something to do with my eyes, for after the fever incident, I started to develop these weird divergent eyes (also called the "lazy eye syndrome"), and had to undergo three separate surgeries to correct this. If not I would eventually go blind. 10] But because of my divergent eyes, I could see a wider peripheral vision than normal kids, giving me a huge advantage when playing hide-and-seek, or other such events. That's how I could see the weird spirit stuff that goes on from the corner of my eyes. 11] During one of my eye surgeries (I think I was in Sec 1), I actually slipped at the hospital's shower and hit my nose on the tap. As a result, I had a deviated nasal septum and a higher nose bridge! 12] I chose to "celebrate" my 21st birthday in hospital to correct the above-mentioned deviated nasal septum, so that I could breathe easier, and also to take a break from my army training. 13] All through my teenage years, I harboured thoughts of killing myself in different ways, but I'm still alive because I just couldn't decide on the best method. I think it's something to do with my being a Scorpio. 14] I was a terribly shy kid, but the only time I wasn't shy, was when I sing. So I joined school choirs, competed in and won various singing competitions as a way to get rid of my stage fright. 15] I also started working part-time, not only to earn extra cash for my studies, but to boost my own self confidence and courage. My first job was at Burger King, and I helped set up the outlet at the then new OUB Centre in 1986. I remember memorizing my schoolwork while packing burgers. My counter sales was excellent; my school results not so much... 16] I had a very wide vocal range during my school days, and I could sing all the parts from bass to second soprano. 17] But after all that shouting of commands during my Basic Military Training ( BMT), I became a baritone-tenor. I could still do a mean falsetto though. 18] During BMT, I also encountered another horrific incident with the supernatural world, and it gave me my second high fever and I had to be sent to the hospital via the army medical centre's mini-bus. 19] On the way to the hospital, the above mini-bus broke down while collecting blood samples at the Central Manpower Base ( CMPB), and I was asked to wait an hour while the driver repaired the punctured tyre. During that hour, I bumped into Babes Conde, who's the musical director of the SAF Music & Drama Company ( MDC), and she asked me to audition for her there and then. 20] Despite my high fever, I passed the audition by singing " Memory" from " Cats", although I was actually singing the Chyi Yu version. LOL 21] I only got posted into the MDC as a full time artiste a year later, after learning how to drive a three-tonner truck at the transport camp, and spending half a year as a service medic. 22] At the transport camp and medical centre, and even in MDC, I was asked to help design posters and create comic strips and illustrations for them. Those were generally well received, and it became my other passion. It's funny how Fate works, but that's how I "trained" to be doing what I'm doing right now. 23] After the army, I worked a couple of years at the Housing Development Board of Singapore as a draftsman, and singing at gigs on the side, and eventually saved up enough to get myself into Queensland University of Technology, in Brisbane, Australia. It was the best time of my life, and definitely a life-changing experience, and that's also when I got bitten by the travel bug. 24] For a decade, I'd paid my dues working day jobs in Architecture, and later on, an IT firm, all the while acting, singing and dancing in the nights and during weekends. 25] I wish to retire early, either in Australia, or in one of the lovely islands of Greece, such as Corfu. :-) | |
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Recently, my friend Ernest introduced this awesomely hilarious Australian comedy to us, and it's called " Summer Heights High"... We watched the first four episodes out of eight in the first season's specially-imported DVD, and already can't wait to get our hands on future seasons! Written, produced, directed and starring the amazingly talented, award-winning, Chris Lilley, this show pokes a lot of fun at life in a fictional Aussie public school... The main characters include a limp-wristed drama (queen) teacher Mr. G, a 12-year-old Polynesian troublemaking boy Jonah Takalua, and a 16-year-old popular private school girl Ja'mie King, who just got "downgraded" into this public school... who all just "happened" to look alike! ;-) And after reading ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=91.6) disjecta's entry on this show, I felt I should do my part as well, and share these videos available on Youtube to those who are not so um, privileged... Just kidding! :P Check these out... Warning: Don't watch if you're easily offended, close-minded, or too young for such stuff... :-P | |
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梦
我爱做梦
在我的梦境里
我也许是老鹰
无忧无虑，飞扬在天边云间
我也许是骏马
无拘无束，奔驰在辽阔原野
我也许是海豚
自由自在，游乐于浩瀚海底 我爱幻想 在我的想像中
我可以当歌手
弹着吉它，以歌声扣人心弦
我可以当画家
天马行空，绘画出心中所愿
或是旅游作家
相机与笔，陪伴到海角天涯 在我所有的梦境里
我都是一个独行侠
从来不曾有人相伴
可是我从不觉孤单
也不怕独自游走
只求有朝一日
能脱离尘土
找到自己
梦中的
天堂 | |
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26th January 2009 was a special day indeed, not just because it was the first day of the Chinese New Year, but also my sister Alain's birthday...
On top of that, we witnessed the partial solar eclipse that occured during the late afternoon!
Although this certainly wasn't the first solar eclipse in our lifetime, it was the first time we were able to see something...
I wasn't able to capture any photos of the actual eclipsed sun directly with just my usual camera equipment, but I had learned that by using the "Pinhole" projection method - using a piece of paper with a hole in it to "project" the image of the eclipse onto another piece of paper, we could view the eclipse safely without injuring our eyes in the process...
And here are the photos I took of my nieces, Sheryl and Shermaine, trying out this method, while my brother Eric held the "Pinholes"...
Partial Solar Eclipse 2009  Clouds obscuring the partial solar eclipse...  Sheryl and Shermaine with the four projected partial solar eclipses...  Four partial solar eclipses...  A closer look... The above photos were taken around 4.45pm to 4.50pm (Singapore time), which was a whole hour before the supposed full effect of the eclipse, by which time the sun was not only 72% covered by the moon, the whole thing was obscured by thick clouds...
Still, it was a lot of fun!
Will post more about the food we ate for the Chinese New Year in the upcoming posts, so do stay tuned... :-) | |
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Finally, the Happy Ox has arrived!!! I wish everyone reading this will enjoy... A
Happy
Blessed
Healthy
Creative
Beautiful
Abundant
Prosperous
& Wonderful
Year of the Ox!!!
 Edric Hsu ( More ) | |
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After having fun taking photos with the two Jelly Lenses I bought off the web, and having known that Action City is selling it too (cheaper!), I decided to add a couple more Jelly Lenses to my collection...
So when squido was out shopping for these cool little gadgets the other day, I asked him to help me buy too...
Here's what I got...
More Jelly Lenses
  Random Sights Through Jelly Eyes  #01  #02  #03  #04  #05  #06  #07  #08  #09 Above are shots taken with the 3 Image Mirage and Starburst Jelly Lenses, at the Church of Sacred Heart...
My verdict:
These ones bought from Action City seemed to be less "sticky" than the ones I got from grannysnaps. But still great for providing more fun options in photo-taking. Pretty cool effects despite the strong tunnel-like vignetting caused by the lenses' translucent plastic bodies... which could be cropped off or eliminated by zooming...
I like!!! | |
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To add on to my current crave for some slightly off-beat photography, and to my collection of plastic toy cameras, I have recently gotten hold of a couple of interesting lenses from grannysnaps to give my random snaps a quirky twist and some special effects...
These are called "Jelly Lenses", and they look like cute mobile phone accessories. But when you peel off the back cover from the sticky "jelly" adhesive pads, you could stick them onto the lenses of your mobile phones and digital compact cameras...
The special effects for the different lenses include: Wide Angle, Spark, Stretch, Mirage, Heart (with colour filter), Star (with colour filter), Starburst, etc...
For now, I have the Wide Angle and Spark lenses, and they look like this...
And here are the effects of both the Wide Angle and the Spark Jelly Lenses (see if you could tell them apart), taken over the past few days at various locations (image intensive)... The quality of images after applying the Jelly Lens might not be the best, but nonetheless, it's a lot of fun! And for S$6-15 each, depending on where you get it from, it's very affordable! | |
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