Jordine's Birthday Beach Party

Went to Muara Beach on Sunday. Naturally it's packed because the next day the schools reopen. So why not end the holidays with some fun! (Instead of sitting at home doing your homework which you were supposed to finish earlier.) The occasion? It's Jordine's 18th Birthday.

Took this photo from Facebook. Celebrating with two cakes from Sheraton.

Waiting to play American Football.

Zai with the Japanese Exchange students.
Little boy playing around with Faz's guitar while Mephistopheles lay beside.

And the birthday girl of the day! (And my handsome self hehehe)
A toast to Jordine, who like many others wonder what might happen now the 'legal' age has come. Does it mean more responsibilities? Or more freedom? Sometimes others might feel the Peter Pan syndrome, they want to stay as kids forever but soon they will inevitably become adults. I say don't be scared of the future! Fight it head on and race for that sunshine!

Urgh, sunburnt!

Stopmotion

A featured video in Youtube. A dream fight between Iron Man and the legendary Bruce Lee. How did he do it? Toy Stopmotion. This guy, Patrick Bolvin, knows how to make stopmotion very cinematic. You got Adobe and stuff so very much you know all you need are some tools you come up yourself, some clay, green screen, a bunch of toys you can pit up with and of course a camera. Ever wondered what it'll be like watching Iron Man fight Bruce Lee? Watch it!



Iron Man vs Bruce Lee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywu1DeqXTg4&feature=dir
Boy, this guy is clever! I mean, seriously, he knows his stuff. Watch the video below and see him pit two Transformer toys is the same style as the film. Awesome dude!



Transformers-Jazz with a General problem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r1WasN5JFQ&feature=channel

Saturday

Great outing today and had lots of fun. We watched Knowing in the cinema; me, Zani, Aira and our cousin Hafiz. Since it got into the Number 1 position in the Amrican Box Office I said why not watch it while we wait for Monsters vs Aliens?


The Knowing has strong writing and direction. One moment it is a family drama, next thing you know, BOOM! It's Cloverfield again. The film gets you thinking all the way until you reach the climax then it stretches to a bright ending, which is great because the whole movie is pretty dark. Your mind will wonder and wonder whether is it about ghost, aliens, or Divine Intervention. It's the kind of Thriller that equals to Eagle Eye, only the part that spoils the film doesn't happen in the middle. You might have different opinions about the ending but from my opinion, I can only praise the direction and the writing since it holds hand to hand on all of this. Great Job Mr. Proyas! *4 out of 5*

GH: Metallica is here!
We spent most of our time before the film at Rainforest Cyber Cafe and killed undead in Left 4 dead. It was intense and awesome, I think I got addicted to killing Tanks bwhahaha! And because it is two days until School reopens, most of Gading is packed. Just walking and I could see familiar faces everywhere.

Faz, Ezat, Wann, Ashraf, Yean, Nis, Izah James, Dye, Ayun, Wafi, Fina, Gmiee, Ariffin, some Rugby Rivals, a few classmates, Khairul Anuar, Wapy, Jess, Diana, Shirley, Wajidun, ugh.. the list goes on!

Beach day tomorrow. Happy Birthday Jordine!

Where The Wild Things Are

There is one in all of us. As soon as I saw the photo stills of the film in IMDB, I had to see the trailer. Years ago while I was living in Selayun I always went to the HuaHo close by and everytime, I went straight to the toys section. I usually skip a shelf with the creepy toys. The toys being models of monsters from Where The Wild Things Are. To my understanding then, they came from a children's book. They looked so weird, I thought they must be kidding. That was almost a decade ago. I look at them now and still feel a bit nostalgic.



Where The Wild Things Are Trailer (HD)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--N9klJXbjQ

This is the first time I saw a fantasy story depicted like an independent film. It's not like Harry Potter or Lord of The Rings. The main focus is the world and you can feel the width of it from just watching it. The mind of a child is definitely a powerful thing. Animatronics always intrigue me because they always make it feel realistic. CGI was used on the monsters expressions, or else it'll be just furry men in suits. In my opinion, this is how creatures should be portrayed in film. Magical but tangible. I have never felt so touched by a movie trailer since I saw Children of Men.

Valkyrie Sketches

I'm trying out a new way to sketch. Instead of using the pencil then outline with ink, I went straight with a drawing pen and drew anything that comes to mind. It's risky but I let myself go, forgetting the errors and pretend I am in Salvador Dali's painting. Sometimes I feel like Isaac Mendez when I feel the pin tip on white sheets of paper. I close my eyes and visualize.

"Einherjar"
I thought of Valkyries, I imagined an Einherjar being carried to the sky by two women the moment he dies. To Heaven or the Halls of Valhalla. I drew the women covered in white sheets instead of dressing them up in armor, which pretty much reflects how Angels are drawn in the old days. The cartoon does work when it comes to the Suspension of Belief.

"Warrior Woman"
I followed this train of thought with another drawing, this time with my calligraphy pen. A woman like the angels in the previous drawing in fictionalized body armor with a bit of Roman, English and Japanese inspired look. I'm currently experimenting with this straight forward drawing style which may help me out in understanding how French comic books work.

Contemplating:
I recall Nazreen and Aziz explaining that in Art there is a constant theme that works in every artwork. While walking around with Alif the Wiseman during the PTEB Art Exhibition, he thoroughly explained this in great detail like how each student artist has a particular theme that hits deep close to home. I remember Nazreen made a Fox themed artwork inspired by the 4 seasons. Then I wondered what my theme would be? I have been sketching alot and I think it may be related to War and Women.

Brunei Rugby Team First Win

Read some great news today. It's great to hear the boys doing well in the Asian 5 nations in Laos. I've been wondering about their situation for the past few days and looks like there is no need to worry, is there? Go for victory brothers!

Excerpt from Ranoadidas.com

Breaking news: Brunei beat Cambodia in rugby. Congrats to the Brunei Rugby team for finally registering their first win in the competition of the 2009 HSBC Asian 5 Nations Rugby as they beat Cambodia in a close match 25-18 at Laos. Last Sunday, Brunei lost to host Laos 28-5 in the tournament’s opener match. Brunei is pitted in the same group with Laos and Cambodia in the three-team event.

Before the Brunei Rugby team departed last week, Tareq Muhmood the CEO of HSBC Brunei sent the Brunei team at the Brunei International Airport. The Brunei team is made up of 24 of the best players from six local teams that were selected in November last year. Since the formation, the players have been training hard and have even competed in five training games against teams from Sabah and Sarawak in a run-up to the tournament.

The team, managed by Ainol Razman Ghazaly and coached by Mark Pyrgos with Ben Bourne as the assistant coach, will also face Cambodia at the 15,000 all-seater Savannakhet Stadium. The Asian Five-Nation Tournament is an annual international rugby union competition held between the top five Asian sides.

Now in its second year, the competition devised by the International Rugby Board (IRB) and sponsored by HSBC has been designed to help developed the sport in the Asian region.

Comic Book Exhibition

Comic Books are a great passion to me. Not just those superhero comics that grace the magazine stalls, I like to explore the other styles of comic books. Like Blankets, Craig Thompson is clearly American but from his drawing style, its clearly French. That is why I was excited to attend the Comic Book exhibition for Francophonie week.

Jo Lin, Izam, Christophe Batallion and Agnes Maupre.
Four Artists. Two Bruneian and Two French. Each with their own unique style clearly with influence from their culture. Jo Lin and Izam are working on their drawings with the traditional pencil and sharpie while the French illustrators went straight ahead with the ballpoint. No, it is not a question whether they are more experienced, it is about how comfortable we are when we sketch. Walking through all their drawings displayed, I can feel the ease of the pen and ink flow into frame. How do they do it, I wonder? Whatever it is, I am inspired to try out their style at home.

The highly talented Christophe Batallion and the extremely beautiful Agnes Maupre sketch with passion.

Our favourite editorial cartoonists creating their main characters.

Brunei Rugby National Team going to Laos

Everytime they leave there are always a few likable people left in the my team. Went to see them off on Thursday last week with Saffuan T-rex at the airport. You might have read this in this Bulletin and apparently my laziness in updating my blog slow my pace.


There goes our Rugby buddies. Knights, Pythons, Yauchties, Blacks, and other teams went to Laos for some Rugby Ass kicking action.

Apologies to my Readers

Sorry for the inconvenience. Whenever I stare at the screen I always feel the urge to type something up for the blog. But lately I've been contemplating about some change in my blog. I always wondered about professional blogging like Rano. I want to go around with a camera in hand and capture memories then talk about them, A picture is worth a thousand words. Maybe someday this year or next year. Maybe when I get a Macbook and a camera I can start with.

Something I came up to remind my students humorously.
In case not many people knew, I'm now working at Ring Rose tuition teaching English O level. I am also offering to teach English Literature A level and GP so if you would like some help, give me a call and I'll help you guys in. Hahaha, awrite.