I was itching to do something crafty and at the same time wanted to go window shopping and also wanted to bake, so I did something in the middle.

I made flour beads!

OK...more like pendants.

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If you want to make them, it's easy.Here's the recipe which I found online, and made a few adjustments.

1) Mix 4 cups of flour with 1 cup of salt and 1 1/2 cup of water.

2) Knead together and then put in the fridge so that they are easier to form.

3) Form the dough into your preferred patterns. Poke a hole in them if you want to use as pendants or beads (I tried twisting a screw through one of them after baking, but that broke the pendant)

Also, I recommend only taking out a little dough at the time from the fridge, because the dough softens quickly in room temperature. If you want to make more complicated designs, coating the dough with flour makes it less sticky and coating it with water makes it more adhesive.

4) Put the finished designs on a baking tray. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius and bake for around 20 mins, or until they are hard.

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Here's how they look like after being baked. They look and smell like cookies. I was so tempted to eat them.

And here they are after being painted.
Closeup on a pair that I want to make into earrings, if I can find those sterling silver hooks. Unfortunately my ears are sensitive to the standard hooks (or else I would currently be owning a few dozen of those made-in-Korea dangly stuff).

I wrote the starting few lines of Little Red Riding Hood on this pair. Bad handwriting, I know.
Some that look nice, eventhough by accident. The grapes got that gradual shading because of uneven heat during baking. The heart is crackled because the wet paint warped the dough, so it cracked when it dried.
Mini doughnuts! These were fun to make. Made using gesso primer and gold dust.

This is news to me...

On a weathervane, North, south, east and west spells 'news' at an angle.

I'm so proud of myself !!

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OK, fine, that was pretty jakun.

BTW that texture's not finished yet.

Now these are what I call box toys!!

Incidentally you can download and build this Bumblebee model from here
This one is from Howl's Moving castle. Damn cool...the people who worked out how to build this stuff must be die-hard fans.

Looks like I won't be going to watch Gidon Kremer's performance tonight. Nevertheless I'm subconsciously counting down the time until his performance, damn MPO website for putting the countdown timer on their main page...makes me feel regretful for not going for the performance.

I kind of decided the show wouldn't be worth it with Igudesman and Joo distracting from the performance, I think it's more of their show...but Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica orchestra should have a solo show...they're here anyways. It's not that easy to find musicians of their standard performing in Malaysia you know. Perhaps the Kremer team realised that as well. Most Malaysians have a culture of 'junkfood music' so they might as well perform in the US or Europe where they certainly can get more audience and people are more willing to pay for the tickets.

Oh well...until we meet someday, goodbye, Mr. Kremer.

Nevermind...I'll keep track of the goings on at the orchestra halls in San Francisco when I go there. I'm hopeful that I can at least catch a performance by Itzhak Perlman sometime in the future.

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On a side note, my parents are surprised that I like classical music. I'm sure they think I just simply love junkfood music which is all we get on Malaysian radio.

Ah, at last i found a site where i can watch The Cell.

Now time for some sick twisted entertainment. I know a lot of people don't like this movie(people who have watched it will typically either give it a 10 or a 0, nothing in between), think it doesn't have a plot(what small brained idiot said this?) and is all about sadism, but I think differently. After all a movie that makes us sympathise with a serial killer is a rather refreshing take on the theme and not glorifying violence like what others would say. And as usual Tarsem elevates the show to an artistic level, which is the main reason why I like his works. Yes, Tarsem does get inspired by Marilyn Manson videoclips, but you gotta admit, disturbing as they are, they are actually kind of beautiful. Also, I kind of forgot that Jennifer Lopez is a surprisingly good actress.

BTW I found out that there's a sequel to this movie, but not directed by Tarsem Singh. Wonder whether it will be as good...

AAAAAAAAVuibhklnjmk;klokijhhcgvbjk;lvbhjnkl!!!!!!!
Gidon Kremer is coming to KL for a performance!! Siapa nak pergi with me?? Mari kita pergi!! The show's on Monday.

Only thing is it's too bad that he's not having another performance with only himself and the Kremerata Baltica. I know Igudesman and Joo are like famous as well, but all that humour distracts from Kremer's full potential, I would think. So should I go or not?? Dilemma...

Damn...so close but yet so far.

Anyways, here are 2 pieces performed by Kremer.





And one more from Being Gidon Kremer:

OK, here's another advertisement for my graduation batch. We are currently selling a collection of cute stack-able box toys designed by our graduating students of various majors.

Those are the designs that we are selling.(Lion dance heads, monsters, owls, Japanese warriors, Japanese girls, chibi expressions and a black and white sumo) Each toy is 8.5cm tall. We are selling them flat and you can enjoy assembling them yourselves ( but if you don't like assembling, I'll gladly do that for you, I like that kind of stuff in a weird way) Each pack consists of 3 toys of the same series, as above. Btw the black sumo next to the caption is for sale too, also in a pack of 3. Each pack is RM5. So please tell me if you want to buy any of them. As usual, proceeds from the sale will be going towards funding our graduation exhibitions (which we have to raise ourselves, all RM15,000 of it)

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Also, because our lecturer, Mr Caringman told us that the 2 most powerful words is sales are sex and free, I will be doing a bit of promotion of two delightful designers of the box toys. Pictures stolen/taken for promotional purposes from Facebook of course.

First up, Warner Wan, who is also our vice-president of the graduation committee. He designed the first batch of toys as seen in the above picture (the lion dance heads).In this picture, Warner seems to be promoting the Batch 71 logo against his shirt. Hidup semangat 71 ! Of friendly and outgoing nature, Warner is also currently single(i think).

"Lion dance head" box toy. RM5 per pack of 3.

Warner Wan is intended for illustration purposes only and is not included in pack.

Next, Tan Zi Hao, who is also our Art Director for the graduation committee. He came up with our concept of "Link" which is about keeping the arts relevant to the public. He designed the second set of box toys as seen in the first picture, which is a set of monsters. In this picture, Zi Hao is...er...eating something. Nvm. Hidup semangat 71 ! Of great intellectual and creative spirit, Zi Hao is also currently single (i think).

"Monsters" box toy. RM5 per pack of 3.

Tan Zi Hao is intended for illustration purposes only and is not included in pack.

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Well, goodnight. And let me know if you want to place an order. The students of Batch 71 greatly value your kind consideration.

Right...so now I'm a bit hooked on award winning animations that can be found on YouTube. It's all Yunzi's fault.

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This one is "My Love", which was nominated for an Academy Award last year. It's directed by Aleksandr Petrov, who previously won an Academy award for another of his works; "The old man and the sea". Check it out. His animations utilize a rare style of animation, which is acrylic paintings on glass, so his work looks very realistic and painterly. Seriously I think each frame of his animation can be considered a pretty kick-ass artwork by itself, but here he has to rub off and modify each painting to make things move. Look out for the dream-like transitions and the good acting (expression and body language). I like.

Here's like the shortest summary you've ever seen, courtesy of Wikipedia:
In nineteenth-century Russia, a teenage boy in search of love is drawn to two very different women



Btw the Japanese poster not withstanding, it's actually an animation made by a Russian crew.

It's around 1/2 hour long. And here's part 1.

Oh look...this is my 401st post

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OK, that's besides the point.

I thought of sharing this animation that I found out about in college. It's called La maison en petits cubes(The house of small cubes), which besides having a French title, is actually made by a Japanese team.I think it's pretty touching. It won the grand prize for short films at Annecy and an Academy Award for best short animation this year.

Here's the summary from Wikipedia:
As his town is flooded by water, an aged widower is forced to add additional levels onto his home with bricks (cubes) in order to stay dry. But when he accidentally drops his favorite smoking pipe into the lower submerged levels of his home, his search for the pipe eventually makes him relive scenes from his eventful life.

And here's part one.I think the entire animation is around 15 mins.

Listen to this

Oh yeah, skip the first 30 seconds tho, nothing much happens. And the clip is a bit old school, but the song is wonderful.



It's Cancao do mar by Dulce Pontes. I learnt about this song because actually Sarah Brightman covered it as Harem. Then I heard this version on a dance show. Must be something about that sharp strong vocals, but I like it.

Which naturally leads to a list of banned books in Malaysia, which is even more funny. Seriously. I don't think the censorship board even reads what's in the books, they just go by title. Taken from here.

9812320822 Beauty of Yixing Teapots(they thought YiXing is a Chinadoll's name and teapots is a codename for something else that is round)

0785368760 Read-Aloud Children's Classics

0716757230 Practice of Business Statistics(yes, I'm sure there's Propaganda in there)

1412735467 Sea Sale: SpongeBob

1412733820 Counting Adventures Sound Activity Book, by Disney

1412731755 Dora's Fiesta Adventure ActivePoint Book Set! (read wrongly as Dora's Feisty Adventure. And wth is an 'active point'?)

1412735297 MUSIC FOR SLEEPY BABIES(They didn't know the all important difference between 'babies' and 'babes'. And 'sleepy' versus 'sleeping with')

1412731747 Count On Me (Spongebob Square Pants(what's in his pants?)

1412735610 The Wiggles Shop Wiggly Jukebox(they imagined a few things that might be wiggly)

0572028806 Anatomy for the Artist: They Dynamics of Human Form (so our college is technically illegal)

009189753X Feel: Robbie Williams(but what as he feeling?)

1582380570 How to Talk to Your Child About Sex: It's Best to Start Early, But It's Never Too Late : a Step-by-Step Guide for Every Age(just never...NEVER. talk to your child about sex. Babies come from your elbows!Lalalalalala ican'thearyou! Lalalalalala)

0375701958 Breastfeeding Your Baby: Revised Edition(hum sup lou might buy it for some studies. There's no knowledge not worth knowing. Meanwhile expectant mothers can just poke around and hope for the best)

9812040978 Bali Style(they forgot prostitution happens in Indochina whereas Bali is in Indonesia)

Something to laugh...of cry...about. A list of banned movies in Malaysia. Taken from Wikipedia

Here are a few of the noteable ones:

Permanently banned:

1)Queen of the Damned. It's based on a novel by Anne Rice. Oh well...the movie sucked, so I don't really care.Oh yeah, I think I saw this one on Astro. Why ar? But then why is Twilight not banned then?

2)The Piano.It's even one of the Cannes Film Festival kakis. Remember this one? About the pianist who wouldn't speak. Christopher showed us part of it during class once, I don't think it would be offensive in any way. Btw that probably means that the dvd is being sold somewhere. Why ar?

3)South Park. That's alright, we've all watched it anyway. Ohohohohoho...

4)Pet Semetary. Based on a book by Stephen King. I read the book and it was really good. They prolly thought the part about bringing dead people back to life was demonic.But the story portrays that ritual as being not worth it's price. But then again I don't think Malaysian audience would be childish enough to actually believe it to be true. Except maybe the fake datukdatins who visit bomohs.

Now released on dvd(like wtf right, cannot see in cinema but later can buy n see at home? Or better still, buy /download illegal dvd. Oh thank you censorship board for encouraging piracy):

1) The Exorcist. OK, pretty obvious why they would want to ban it(but still a very petty reason), but it's one of the classic horror movies, so how can you ban it?

2) Schindler's List. Another classic. Seems it was banned for being too sympathetic towards Jews. Huh? So we are for the Nazis now?

3)Babe. Kerana ada babi dalamnya.

4)Babe, Pig in the city.

5) The Prince of Egypt. Because they think the Muslims in this country need to be protected from the outside world. Hello, they can think for themselves lah.

6)Saving Private Ryan

7)Austin Powers, the spy who shagged me. You can buy it and watch it at home and have all the obscene fun you want. Just not in the cinema.

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And don't forget that they are now pushing for a blanket ban on horror films.Because Malaysians might tend to believe that the scary boogieman on screen is real and we should worship him just in case he comes to haunt us. Or something like that. Well, at least that might put a stop to all the low budget lame locally made horror movies that are so abundent of late.

I want to watch this movie. Pretty please? Only question is, will it be shown in Malaysia?(our selection of movies sucks) The release date is Christmas Day, according to Apple.com. Hearsay this was the movie that Heath Ledger was acting in when he died halfway. I think Johnny Depp took over issit?

The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus

I just watched Hugh's Chicken Run yesterday, which is a show about a guy who's trying to turn British people away from eating battery farmed chickens to eating free range ones for humanitarian reasons. Which makes me start thinking about all the other horrors that go on in farms and slaughter houses before we get some meat to eat.

OK, first let's talk about chicken.According to my estimation, for every chicken you eat, 2 to 3 chickens have to die. Notice that all chickens that we eat are female?(Why, actually?) So they only keep a few roosters as studs and the rest they cull. According to YiLyn (who I think watched a documentary on it as well) they way they do that is to put newly hatched male chicks onto a machine that crushes them to death. Besides that, female chickens which to not meet the target weight are culled as well because it is not financially beneficial to keep feeding a chicken that will not be worth selling.(which, according to Hugh, is by twisting their neck by hand, although I'm sure there are much faster and more gruesome ways of culling in other chicken farms) So, back to our 1 out of 3 theory, 1 chicken died because...well...you ate it. The second chicken died because it was male, and the 3rd one died because it was either underweight or died of disease or natural causes at the farm.

So, let's say you swore off eating chicken and ate fish. Let's say it was caught from the sea (battery farming philosophy is to jam the animals' living space to the point of suffocation, so by definition is already inhumane) Fish die by suffocation, i presume, when they are pulled out of the water. Which is comparatively humane. Unless of course it was one of those that was kept in (jam packed) water to keep it fresh, then slaughtered at the fish market. This way it might or might not be killed humanely. That depends if it was bashed on the head hard enough. If if wasn't it would probably be still flopping around after it's body was cut cleanly in 2, I'm sure you've seen some like that in the fish market.

OK, so screw fish, let's eat crustaceans or shellfish instead. But then if they were fresh, most likely you'd be doing the killing yourself by boiling them alive to perfect tenderness. And with smaller seafood like anchovies or prawns, it's pretty sad that you need to cook a couple dozen of them at one go to even notice they are there, even sadder if they are just boiled for stock and later thrown away. At least if you ate them they could be used to build a sliver or two of muscles in your body that might come in handy.

Let's skip shark fin and whale meat, that's too obvious.

And try not to eat too much cuttlefish, the preservatives are not good for you.

Maybe they more humane types of meat would be pigs, sheep, goats and cows (though I dunno about battery farmed ones) But at least one dead animal would feed you for weeks. Although I still don't see the point of suckling piglets. It's kind of depressing when you go to Chinese weddings and there's there's this little baby pig, or at least the skin, cut up and displayed like a sad piece of pelt and you're supposed to eat it. There isn't even any meat there. And it's not like it tastes spectacular. Plus it's artery blocking food.

Oh well...time to grow some taugeh in the garden and learn how to make char siu out of soya bean then. Oh yeah, and eggs, I dunno if they are humane either. Hearsay that big eggs are inhumane because it causes pain to the hen like giving birth to an extra large baby (means they are genetically modified* I guess). So...err...having a pet hen or two wouldn't hurt either. Chickens are nice to cuddle if that's any consolation. I vouch for that one.

*=Chihuahuas are custom bred until it is actually impossible for them to give birth naturally, their pups would get stuck in their birth canal;they all have caesareans.