Turkish Sheepish Lessons

"Turkish shepherds look at dead sheep in the town of Gevas, near the city of Van, eastern Turkey, Thursday, July 7, 2005. First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, according to the Turkish media reported on Friday July 8, 2005. In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher. (AP Photo/Sukru Akyuz/IHA)"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few thoughts came into mind...

(i) If you are a follower, pick the right pack to follow... U won't want to follow a leader who doesn't know where he's heading...

(ii) If you are a leader, know where you are heading... U won't want to lead a bunch of lemmings to their deaths...

(iii) If you are unsure, don't crowd to the front of the herd... It doesn't pay to be the pioneers in every and any initiatives...

(iv) If you are unsure, it might just save your life if you do things slower and later than everybody else...

So That's What They Were Looking For...

The winning paintings and photographs are now on exhibit in the Esplanade and the underpass leading to the Esplanade...

I've seen them...

In a weird way, I'm rather glad that I didn't make it... (see prev entry http://masterchocoindryice.blogspot.com/2005/07/three-didnt-make-it.html)

How so? Why so?

Well, the winning photograph depicts a naked woman sitting cross legged on the floor in an industrial building with her back facing the viewer. Her head is lowered such that all the viewer sees is her back and her head is out of sight. What's most disturbing about the photograph is that right above this woman is a huge pile of suspended bricks... The bricks were flushed with her lowered head creating the illusion of the bricks crashing onto her hidden from view head...

It was extremely disturbing... The photographer was probably trying to show how suppressed and how much stress people generally are in this society which is continually undergoing re-construction...

The very conceptualisation of this photograph tells me a great deal about the artist who created it... Angst, suppression, dissatisfaction... Great expression, nevertheless... but a very unhappy artist he/she must be...

The same could be said for 90% of the other winning paintings and photographs... much anger, angst, helplessness, confusion... Very expressive but at the same time, unhappy people at work... Well at least, there's these like-minded judges who reward them by giving them such recognition and awards... So their unhappiness and displeasure with life did not go to waste...

How ironic... but that's the way it goes...

Hence, coming back to my entries, I'm pretty glad that I didn't make it... It probably just confirms that I'm NORMAL and I don't have such great displeasures to express in my work...

Heheh... I only know how to create nice and pleasant looking photographs... I'll probably continue to do so still... :)

Annapurna Base Camp

Way to ABC
I still can remember that morning on 30th Nov 2000... Woke up early at Machapuchare Base Camp (MBC)... Had a breathless night as the air was very thin at about 3700m in the mountains... Took our breakfast at the MBC inn... Set off to Annapurna Base Camp at 4130 metres...

I still can remember how happy I was... It wasn't the usual 'happy' happy... It was happiness right into my soul... It was a tiring climb... having spent 5 days up in the high mountains... but I was elated... elated from the fact that I am fortunate and priviledged enough to be near the roof of the world...

I still can remember how quiet and peaceful the mountain was... absolutely quiet... only the dragging sound of our tired feet and our deep breathing sounds could be heard... It was TRANQUILITY... I felt tranquility AROUND me... I felt tranquility WITHIN me... My soul felt free.. My soul felt at ease... I almost felt that I belonged there... I was with the mountains... In the arms of the majestic mountains...

I still can remember that I teared in the mountains... Teared because I felt grateful... Grateful for the fine weather... Grateful for reaching there safely... Grateful for having the chance to be in the mountains... Grateful for being able to see and feel the mountains...

I still can remember how reluctant I was when it was time to head back down to MBC... reluctant to part with the peace... reluctant to return to the chaotic world below...

I still can remember how much insights I have realised on my journey... How minute humans are... How immaterial are many of the material pursuits we chase after in our society... How vulnerable humans are at the mercy of the great forces of nature... How humble I felt and should continue feeling when I realised that Mother Nature could just shut me off the mountains by changing the weather pattern suddenly... How immature humans are capable of becoming by getting into conflicts over greed, ego and self-centeredness...

The mountains are capable of stripping off all complexities in Life and expose the absolute simplicity of our souls... I've come to realise that the needs of our souls will never be completely quenched simply because we are constantly feeding our souls with 'nourishments' that we do not need in our daily lives... It's perhaps another paradox that I could add to my list...

When faced with inexplicable meaninglessness over status, expectations and uncertainties, I sometimes wish that I could again embark on another pilgrimage into the heart of the mountains...

How Many Apostles Left???

On 3rd July 2005 (Sunday), the 2nd stack from the right collapsed...

Yes... the 12 Apostles along the Great Ocean Road at Down Under no longer have 12 limestone stacks... But then again, it didn't start off with 12 anyway... There were only 9 outcroppings when it was first named the 12 Apostles... Duh... why then did they name it as such???

I took this shot in 2001... seems like I have something special for keeps now that one of them has collapsed...

20 million years of natural architecture gone down into the ocean...

The very same force that created it, destroyed it too...

That's life, in general, too, isn't it?

Bondi Junction Guitarist

His name, I've forgotten... He's a basker in Sydney's Bondi Junction... Wonderful classical guitarist with great skills and showmanship.

What I'm impressed about Australia's baskers is that they are professionals in their own rights... Unlike the baskers we see here in S'pore, these Aussies take their basking very seriosly...

Take this guitarist for example... He didn't just sit there and play his guitar... He set up an amplifier, complete with amplifier stand and a little coffee table where he placed his home-made CDs for sale... Furthermore, the guitar he played wasn't the normal acoustic 6-string guitar... He's a 7-string guitarist!!! As far as I know (and I do know quite a fair bit from my 14 years of guitar playing), there aren't many guitarists in the world who could master a 7-string guitar... This guy here isn't any ordinary guitarist!!!

I was mesmerised by his music and after dazing around listening to him play for a while, I took out my camera and took shots of him... He wasn't put off by my photographing him... in fact, he even offered to give me his CD for free for taking photographs of him... (On hindsight, it must be my pro looking gears that made some Aussies think that I'm some kind of pro... kekekek)

Anyway, I've longed to be photographed while I play my guitar too... But I've yet to find a photographer who finds me photogenic enough to be even interested in shooting me playing my guitar... So till that happens, I'll continue to enjoy shooting guitarists...

NDP 2005

Yeah!!! My Sis managed to get me a ticket for the 2005 National Day Parade at the Padang...

She's bringing some of her beneficiaries for the event, and she requested for an additional ticket for me... That's what Sis are for... ; )

Been shooting fireworks from outside the NDP... this time I finally have the chance to capture some actions within the parade...

The last time I was in an NDP was back in 1988... My secondary school sent the entire level (11 classes) for the NDP to form part of the massive FLASHCARD Display... I still remember how our butts ached like mad from the long hours of sitting and flashing of the huge cards... But it was great fun and the atmosphere was unforgettable... Never thought I'd return for another one cos' no queue no tickets...

Anyway, I'll be bringing in my 70-200mm lens for the long shots (dun think it'll be long enough anyway for the far far away actions)... as well as my wide 17-40mm L lens to cover the wide angle shots... Will also keep my 135mm L handy to shoot portraits of patriotic Singaporeans...

The above is a shot of last year's NDP at the National Stadium... wonder how I should shoot the fireworks from inside the parade... Hmmmmm....

Simple Paradox...

Since my previous post about the race to fire up our blog, Bio Armor Craze has glamourised his and has proven that alien language like HTML codes are no hindrance to his drive for excellence... Kudus to his efforts : )

I've since scoured many blogs too... but I came to a certain conclusion and insight during this process...

That sometimes, in Life, there's beauty in simplicity...

And that brings me to some realisation that's been accumulating in my mind for quite a while... Life's littered with paradoxes... Big and small...

Here's some of them...

(i) That it's a struggle to remain simple in this complex (and perhaps crazy) world... (Just ask a Microsoft software engineer how many thousand lines of programme he has to write just so that a simple operation looks effortless)

(ii) That some people can live behind veils just so that others will continue to seem to be right,

(iii) That we can sometimes achieve more by doing less (go find out about the NASA gravity defying pen fluid vs the Russian pencil)

(iv) That parents are working their butts off working to sustain a quality lifestyle for the sake of their kids, when at the same time, can't spend quality time with their family,

(v) That sometimes the best help that we can ever offer is NO HELP... (just refer to story about the butterfly struggling to break out of its cocoon)...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And what has these realisations got to do with the race to create the most stunning blog?

Well, I've decided to keep my Blog simple... Will try to be a bit more Zen about it... Would rather let my entries do the talking than the visuals... It's more ME, cos' that's the way I am too... Nothing fanciful... Why be someone I am not? Why do some things that I don't believe in?

向左走，向右走

非常喜欢几米的《向左走，向右走》。。。 简单的字句中含带的意义是如此的深刻，如此的切身。。。

“他们彼此深信，
是瞬间并发的热情让他们相遇，
这样的确定是美丽的，但变换无常更为美丽。”


“但是，
人生总是有许多的巧合
两条平行线也可能会有交会的一天。”


“但是，
人生总有许多的意外
握在手中的风筝也会突然断了线。”


“她习惯向左走，
他习惯向右走，
他们始终不曾相遇。”

The Race Is On...

Okie... The race is officially on...

I'm now on a race with my colleague to create the most glamorous and fanciful blog amongst my colleagues...

Deadline is this Sunday, 17th Jul...

The stake is high... it's all about pride and survival... It's not child's play... It's darn serious... I must intensify my research doublefold and scour the net for elements to upgrade and improve this blog...

By Sunday it shall be... A different-look blog you shall see...

Three Didn't Make It...

These were the 3 photos which I submitted for the UOB Painting of the year competition...

Duh... Of course these aren't paintings... there's a sub category for photography in this competition...

Went all the way down to the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts to submit my photos last Saturday (I was driven there by an extremely kind person)... First time submission of my work for any competitions... Just did a simple mount for my 3 pieces of work enlarged to S8R...

To my horror... I saw some submissions framed up and blown up to god knows what ridiculous size they were... My 3 S8R seemed so minute in comparison...

Anyway, I was told that if I do not receive a call by today, I can return to NAFA to collect back my submissions...

I didn't receive any call today... i.e. I didn't make it... : (

What the heck is...?

Master Choco in Dry Ice??? What on earth is that?

To cut the long story short, a very nice person gave me a box of branded chocolate some time in May 2005... I was still recovering from my bout of flu and cough, so I left it in the bar fridge in my office...

Being a box of branded chocolate, it naturally attracted lots of drooling attention from my very inquisitive colleagues... As I wasn't aware that it indeed was branded, they told me that there's usually a pack of dry ice that comes with the chocolate to prevent the luxurious content from melting...

And hence, the birth of "Choco in Dry Ice"...

And who coined this phrase? It was another of my witty and childlike colleague who regarded me as a Jedi Master (the recent Star Wars craze elevated some of us at work to Master Jedis)....

Oh darn!!! The chocolate was supposed to expire in June!! And I still have it in my fridge at home even as I'm typing this!!! Wonder if anyone at home has secretly eaten a few pieces after it expired... Well, I guess it hadn't turned that bad since the poo-poo pills packaging at home hasn't been opened yet... It says "best before" anyway... after June, it's just good, I guess...