Gaia

I am Intimidated!

2008-09-18T22:58:00.003+08:00

Location: Sex Museum, Amsterdam!

My First Actual Day Assignment!

2008-09-18T22:30:00.002+08:00

My pay: A Speedlight SB600!

Kuching!

2008-08-30T22:17:00.005+08:00

Home sweet home!

Salvation

2008-06-23T05:35:00.004+08:00

Salvation Army's band playing at the Old Market Square.

22/6/2008

2008-06-22T00:15:00.004+08:00

I still can't figure out what that structure is for!!

The Ugly Duckling

2008-06-17T18:27:00.008+08:00

I went to look for the egg of the swan pair at the nest and found out that the egg has hatched. As I has expected, the cygnet was with its mother!

That's the male swan back there!

The male swan showing off!

The female swan feeding the cygnet with weeds from the lake bed.

The cygnet grabbing food brought up by the female swan!

Swan Lake - Dance of the 4 Small Swan

Highfield Park

2008-06-17T18:11:00.008+08:00

Focus!!

The late comer! That is one protective mother goose!

The ducklings from my previous post. They have grown quite a lot!

These ducks, the Mallards, are paired for life. The British estimates the number of these ducks in term of 'pair of ducks'!

BUDDHA BAR NATURE TRAILER BY ARNO ELIAS

Summer Research Internship

2008-06-09T21:38:00.008+08:00

It has been exactly 4 weeks since I started working on my Summer Research Internship and this is my workplace..I have been working on result produced with the equipment shown below for 2 semesters and now for another 10 weeks....zzz!!!
The first week in the lab was not a pleasant one..as there is a bucket of this in the lab and stink up the whole lab.....Chewed Grass From Cow Gut!!!
Long hours in the lab reminded me of one of the best song from Pet Shop Boys:

Pet Shop Boys - Se a vida e (That's the way life is)

WInter to Spring...

2008-05-19T02:54:00.014+08:00

View of Trent Building during Spring!

Flowers are blooming everywhere!

Squirrels start running around. They are never afraid of you. Not the usual 'rat-like' squirrel we see in Semenyih!

Mother duck with her ducklings! Such a heart-warming sight.

The sheer determination of the human race will overcome the harshness of nature! God bless the victims of Typhon Nargis and China's earthquake.

Contrast

2008-04-06T16:45:00.003+08:00

Tammie (my niece) with my 95 year-old grandma.

Just can't help noticing the age difference between them, about a century of difference. My grandma was born in China and most probably had a childhood in a poverty stricken environment. Yet, my niece is one of the luckiest baby I have known!

The status of animals in Asian's point-of-view!

2008-03-28T21:37:00.004+08:00

Cruelty of Whaling (Whales are mammal like us)

Cruelty of Bear Farming (Bears are mammal like us)

Cruelty of Shark Finning (Sharks just don't deserve this after all their hardwork in keeping the ocean healthy)

What's wrong with all asians???

Spanish Delight -- Seville!

2008-03-24T04:14:00.023+08:00

The Cathedral. Catholic churches are everywhere and Virgin Mary is has an equal or higher status than Jesus. Virgin Mary was depicted in almost every religious art work dated back the early stages of Christianity in Spain.

The Cathedral in Seville hold the tomb of Christopher Columbus. He was the Spanish who discover the new world and hold a high status in Spain till now.
Two of the 4 statues holding Columbus' tomb. Cool!

Panoramic view of the city from the top of the Cathedral.

From the other side!

Part of the old town of Seville. Cafes can be spotted everywhere. I saw 3 Starbucks in less than 1 km radius and more of other cafes.

The Alcázar of Seville (Spanish "Alcázares Reales de Sevilla" or "Royal Alcazars of Seville") is a royal palace in Seville. Originally a fort, the Alcazar (from the Arabic القصر, al-qasr, meaning "palace") has been expanded several times.
The palace is one of the best remaining examples of mudejar architecture, a style under Christian rule in Spain but using Islamic architectural influence. Impressive detail craftsmanship incorporating both Islamic and geometric design.

Seville arguably holds some of the most elaborate processions for Holy Week. A tradition that dates from Counterreformation times, or even earlier. The "Semana Santa en Sevilla" is notable for featuring the procession of "pasos", lifelike wood sculptures of individual scenes of the events that happened between Jesus' entry in Jerusalem his burial, or images of the Virgin Mary showing restained grief for the torture and killing of her son.

Due to bad weather, the procession of the Semana Santa (Holy Week) was canceled on our first night in Seville. The wooden sculpture of Jesus and Virgin Mary were hundreds of year-old and were too fragile to be exposed to rain. But we manage to visit one of the churches and had a glimpse of the paso of Jesus and Virgin Mary.

Noticed the vivid sad expression on the face of Virgin Mary?? Amazing!

Another figure of Virgin Mary behind hundreds of candles.

Chairs by the 1000s were set up during our first night in Seville but due to bad weather, the procession was cancelled. The procession was carried out the second night but we missed it as we had to catch a train to Barcelona. Damn!!!

The highlight of my trip -- Flamenco Show in La Caboneria! Can you see the intense expression on the lady's face? Wow!

Flamenco dance depicting the bull fight (famous in Seville). We missed the bull fight season by a few days. It starts after the Semanta Santa (Holy Week) festival.

Spainish Delight -- Madrid.

2008-03-23T23:56:00.020+08:00

XX-large flags are everywhere.

Somewhere in Madrid.

Scenic Retiro Park in Madrid.

Somewhere in Retiro Park.

Prado Museum, houses the art works of Goya, Valazeous and many great artist.

Goya, another great artist.

Velazouez, a great Spanish artist.

The classic symbol of Spain - the Bull.

Palacio Real de Madrid (Royal Palace, Madrid). Imposing and bold design!

Almudena Cathedral.

Almudena Cathedral in Madrid. It ook more than 100 years to complete. Amazing structural design!

Plaza Mayor

I have no idea why those instrument are there under the sun!

Laid back lifestyle of the Spanish. Terrace (terraza in Spanish) around Plaza Mayor are full with cafe serving coffee and Tapas (Spanish finger food).

Pass this head sculpture on the way to our hostel!

Crosshair!

2008-03-02T00:52:00.004+08:00

Finally, I have decided to buy the Oakley Crosshair.

Moleskine!

2008-02-09T07:10:00.000+08:00

I got a Moleskine notebook for a price that not much people would pay (in RM) for a 192 pages notebook. The notebook is handmade in Italy with a long history. It is sort of like a notebook for guys with midlife crisis. Its like, " I am using a Moleskine, what have u got??" type of notebook!

People buy these notebook because the company which produced these notebook claimed that Van Gogh had sketched on these type of notebook, Picasso had used it and Hemingway had written on one with similar design (elastic band to hold the notebook shut).

Moleskine had numerous type of notebook, sketchbook, etc. I think the one worth buying is the sketchbook and city notebook (for travelers to major city like Paris, London, Beijing, etc). If I do paint, I would definitely get the Moleskine water-colour notebook with 200gm papers (Shyang, go get 1).

But, I definitely wouldn't buy another one for everyday use. (The one I bought is for our travel log!)

Revisit the Stonehenge!

2008-01-30T21:41:00.000+08:00

Meeting friends, thousands of mile away from home is an amazing experience!

Cork, Kinsale & Blarney, Ireland

2008-01-30T20:50:00.001+08:00

Part of Cork, Ireland

Cork at sunset, silhouette of Holy Trinity Church.

Church X, can't remember its name!

Kinsale, one of the most picturesque, popular and fashionable resorts of the south-west coast of Ireland. One of its bay at low tide.

During high tide.

Fort Charles in Kinsale!

Part of Charles Fort.

The only attraction in Blarney, the Blarney Castle! According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery)! I did kiss the stone which is listed as one of the 100 things to do before you die by Lonely Planet.

Shadow of the castle!

The Irish Washerwomen - an Irish Folk Song!

Lincolnshire!

2007-12-22T05:50:00.000+08:00

Lincolnshire is a town full of history dating back to the Roman and the Medieval era.
Medieval era buildings was built onto the Roman buildings and structures, thus Lincoln is actually a city above a city! The present Lincolnshire is a vibrant town full of art galleries, museums and tea houses!

The majestic Lincoln Cathedral! Lincoln Cathedral is one of the finest
medieval buildings in Europe. High on the
hill overlooking the ancient city and dominating
the skyline for many miles, it has
a visual impact which is nothing less than
inspiring.

Lincoln Castle, constructed by William, the Conqueror in the 11th Century!

No Entry! Why?? Can't figure it out. There is no way a car can get into those cobblestone street!

Steep slope leading to the Castle. 20 Degree slope?? The building on the left was once the Jew's Court. This historic building is now the home of the Society for
Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. It is adjacent to Jew’s
House which dates from around 1158.

View of the Castle along the way!

YAK!

The messenger?? The building is the Guild Hall. It is the “official
home” of the Mayor and houses the Civic
Insignia Room in the old debtor's prison.
The present building was completed in
1520.

Reaching out!

Bath...

2007-11-18T19:15:00.000+08:00

Stonehenge

2007-10-28T16:39:00.001+08:00

More than 4,000 years ago, the people of the Neolithic period decided to build a massive monument using earth, timber and eventually, stones, placing it high on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England -- about 137 kilometres southwest of London. Why anyone ever decided to build Stonehenge remains a mystery, with theories ranging from religion to astronomy. Some of what was Stonehenge still stands today, as mysterious and sacred as it must have been to the hundreds of people who helped build the site.

3 photos stitched into 1. (poor quality)

The classic Stonehenge photo!

Sarsen stones formed the outer ring. Inner ring were made up of the bluestones. They are believed to have come from the Preseli Mountains in southwest Wales, nearly 385 kilometres away!

The horseshoe of Sarsen trilithon! Sarsen stones were from Marlborough Downs, 30 kilometres to the north of Stonehenge!

Present stonehenge functioned as a popular tourist destination!

Down the road towards Autumn, with Nokia 6300

2007-10-21T00:51:00.000+08:00

Will update photo on the progression of Autumn to Winter (just observed the trees)

One of the big Trees around campus

Gnarls Barkley-Crazy

Goose Fair, Nottingham

2007-10-06T20:26:00.000+08:00

With more than 700 years of history, Nottingham Goose Fair is one of Europe's most famous travelling fairs, and is still a fantastic event to delight all ages.

Over 500 attractions await fair-goers, from the latest white knuckle experiences, family rides and favourites including waltzers, carousels and Hook-a-Duck.

Adult riding the Carousel (Noticed the UK Flag)

Merry-Go-Round

This is the ride I took! Scary in the first turn but was hell of a ride!

Deep Forest-Deep Forest

Nottingham City

2007-10-01T21:59:00.000+08:00

Design outside the National Ice Skating Rink

Nottingham Castle with the Nottingham City Flag

Coffee house in the Castle Ground

Benches are Everywhere in the Castle Ground!!

A lot more benches!!

Tall tree in contrast with the benches!!

Cobblestone Street outside the Castle Ground!

Plain White Ts-Hey There Delilah!

Nottingham

2007-09-25T03:02:00.000+08:00

Nottingham Art Centre

Nottingham Train Station

Nottingham Market Square

Market Square

Balloon Seller near Market Square

The Great Escape-Patrick Watson

Matang Trip

2007-09-17T10:47:00.001+08:00

Emi Fujita

Seduku, Analisa, Sadam, Nora, Edwin, Murray, Baka, Ritchie, George, Roxane.......

2007-09-17T09:32:00.001+08:00

Seduku and Adam (mother and son!)

Product of Evolution!

Visited Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Orang-utans are gorgeous!

Full time residence of the Rehab??

Nessun Dorma, The Three Tenors

What would you do if you were given RM1,000,000?

2007-06-23T18:28:00.000+08:00

I read this one interview on primary and secondary school students in KL in The Star yesterday. Reporter was asking the students the question that we all have heard or been asked before: " What are you going to do if you were given 1,000,000?"

The article featured answer of around 10 students from KL and to my astonishment, there was only a girl with the answer "I want to help the poor and needy!". Only 1 out of 10 would use the money to help others.

The rest gave answers like " I would shop till I drop!", " I would buy a Ferrari!", "I would give some to my parents and get myself a PS3!" etc. etc.......

Where have all those noble thoughts in kids gone?

I am not sure if I were asked this question before when I was young, but I definitely thought about it before. My answer to it was and is : " I would help the needy, give some to charity, give some to NGOs, bla bla bla.... and buy a more decent camera(recently added)!" Sounds noble right? Still, when the real money comes in, no one knows for sure what one would do!

I am glad at least till now my answer to that question remain the same over the years!

What would you do?

--- The End---

Mika - Grace Kelly

One lucky Bird!!

2007-06-18T18:22:00.000+08:00

Process of saving a bird which fell into sludgy waste water:

1) Get the bird out using a net and bring it to shower!

2) Let it go?

3) Find it again and take a last snap shot!

----The End----

Souad Massi - Algerian Singer

Sharks: Predator or Prey?

2007-06-12T19:27:00.000+08:00

How many of you love shark fin soup? I don't blame you if you do as we are Chinese. Chinese loves exotic food! But other than the tasty soup that the shark fin was cooked in and get its taste, shark fin by itself doesn't really have any medicinal value and taste as most Chinese thought. We are actually eating cartilage (something similar found between your spinal cord or bone joint). What medicinal values do cartilage have other than a rich source of protein?

Other than the diminishing sharks population (38,000,000 sharks were killed each year), the way irresponsible fisherman obtained the shark fins made me sick! The process is called finning. Some of these photo might deter you from eating shark fin soup forever.

Finning process is simple but extremely cruel:

1. Catch the Sharks

2. Cut off the fins even when the sharks are alive

3. Throw the finless sharks back into the ocean let to drown

There are 400 species of shark, and many are used for their fins. Blue, hammerhead and silky sharks are the most highly traded in Hong Kong. Mako and thresher are also popular, great white and whale sharks are also used. These sharks are magnificent creature and keep the ocean's health in check. These sharks do not attack people deliberately and even if they do, I do not know of any report of sharks attack on Chinese (e.g westerner might get attacked once in a while during surfing, but they do not consume shark fin soup). Don't tell me we Chinese take revenge on the sharks on their behalf.Please let these magnificent sharks roam and live and they do us no harm. We are the generation that could do something to end excessive killing of wild animals and also ending the century-old belief on the goodness of shark fin soup. 'When the buying stop, the killing can too', WildAid.

To me, sharks are the prey, human are the predator! I prefer to see them in the Ocean then in a bowl and you can make a difference. Don't eat shark fin soup!

Whale Shark

Silky Shark

Scallop HammerHead

Blue Shark

Deep Forest - Pacifique