Thursday, March 26, 2009

Cakes, bikes and gourds.

I really should be sleeping right now. I've got a meeting at Murdoch University tomorrow with Murdoch's PR people about a drama therapy programme that I'm working with the uni on.

Oh well, such is life isn't it? Sleep is a commodity I'm rarely able to catch. Thank goodness for caffiene.

Anyway, got a couple more snap shots from my Singapore trip to share with you. I'm knackered; have a good night all!

She's touring the facility.

petit cakes
Petit cakes, Sakura Buffet Restaurant, Marina Bay Shopping Centre

Don't fear the reaper (baby take my hand).

oysters
Raw oysters with lemon and tabasco, Sakura Buffet Restaurant, Marina Bay Shopping Centre

I want to ride my bicycle.

debris
Damaged bicycle, North Bridge Road underpass.


Follow the drinking gourd.

gourds
Gourds, Chinatown

Hard day's night (and he'll be sleeping like a log).

hard day's night
Catching a quick nap, Chinatown

(He's) in fashion.

colour him bad
Candid snapshot, Tangs Shopping Centre, Scotts Road

Monday, March 23, 2009

Monkey business

I know it's the Daily Mail (read: sensationalist tabloid trash) but this just seriously tickles my funny bone.

Pretty awesome, eh? More proof that our simian cousins are inherrently funny! (As if we didn't know that already)

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Coming Home: Singapore 10 - 16 Jan 2009

First off the bat, a big sorry to everyone who's come by here in the last couple months. Work's been really busy recently, and I've really been procrastinating with my blog updates.

Hell, I've been procrastinating so much that I only just downloaded my Singapore trip pictures off the camera a week ago! That's mighty scary eh? In my defence, I've been rather preoccupied with the PS3 I got myself over Chinese New Year. That counts for something, right?

Anyway, without any further ado, here's a little journey through the sunny land I still call home! (Now with running commentary! I've embraced my inner tour guide! Cringe in terror!)

Welcome to Singapore...

A land of green opportunity...

skyline
Singapore sky line, shot from the Esplanade

Where the characters are colourful...

colourful buskers
Street busker, Chinatown

The food is good...

portabello sandwich
Portabello sandwich, Brewerkz micro brewery, Clarke Quay (around 18 different boutique beers!)

wontons i think
Shanghainese Wontons in Chilli, Ding Tai Fung, Raffles Place


ytf!
Yong Tau Fu Bee Hoon, Lucky Plaza

Where faith and tradition endure...

prayer and respects
Worshippers at Buddist temple, Bugis

And old men never say die...

old chess men
Old men playing checkers, Chinatown Square, Chinatown

Where the crane is the national bird...

construction and road
Marina Bay Sky line, Shot from outside 'Love the World Soul Rock Bistro and Bar' (Hey Bernard and the band!)

And problem children are hard to find...

problem child
Mas Selamat graffiti (still not found!), Chinatown

Where a hard day's work is a full day's pay...

smoke, oil and mirrors
Food stall at a Pasar Malam (night market), Bishan Bus Interchange

Where you pimp more than just your ride...

modified bridge
Bridge, shot from New Bridge Road, Singapore River

And the nanny state reigns supreme.

bus belt
Only in Singapore! Bus seat belt, bus no. 410, somewhere on Upper Thomson Road

More pictures to come! Stay tuned!

Monday, January 5, 2009

I can has blow up doll?

Yes. You read right. Not only have I (temporarily) succumbed to the evils of lolspeak, but I have a blow up doll... and she even has a name!

No. Not that kind of blow up doll! Scrub your mind - I'm not that deviant! :p

Without further ado, I present... Anni!



Serious, that's what she's called -Anni - go figure.

Work sent me on a two-day senior first aid course. Hey, who am I to argue?

As you can tell, the course was shit boring. At least I got a nice certificate out of it though!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

I can make it to lunch.

Bees get an added buzz in cocaine-fuelled dance.

Sure we’ve done some very weird things in the name of science, but feeding crack to bees really takes the cake on ‘out there’! I’m seeing a line of crack honey next – forget the sugar high, we want to block us some dopamine and serotonin receptors too!

You are the dancing bee, strung out high on esctasy
Dancing bee, slipping crack into honey oh yeah
You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life
See that bee, high off his head, better not OD

Clearly I’m cranky. It’s Christmas Eve, I’ve not bought all my presents yet, I’m short on sleep, and I’m at work… and the next door office is blasting Abba. Blasting. Abba. That's a new one, eh?

I can make it to lunch… I can make it to lunch…

A morning.

Walked around Fremantle a bit after dropping Char off at work. I haven't really had much opportunity to shoot anything here since the middle of the year. And as most you you already know, I'm not the earliest of risers!

I like the mornings here in Perth, especially on the weekends - it just feels like a weekend, not just another day. You see people getting breakfast, people cycling, walking the dog... Sure we get all of that in Singapore too, but it's somehow different here. I'm inclined to think it's because people tend to take their time as opposed to the rush and bustle of Singapore life.



One of the signs that summer's upon us. Ice cream in the morning! That looks like a decent dollop of creamy goodness, eh? Makes me nostalgic for the roadside ice cream vendor with that weird multi-coloured blend of ice cream haphazardly piled into a slice of multi-coloured bread.

I have to eat that when I'm in Singapore. Please tell me it's still a dollar!



Sitting at the coffeeshop, watching the world go by. Arguably the province of artists, old people and Frenchmen. I've got this little vision of living in a place like Freo. I'd get up early and walk to the coffeeshop around the corner, grab a cuppa with the morning paper and watch the world go by for a little while, then whipping out my laptop and write a book while sipping coffee and occasionally waving hello to the familiar faces that go by.

Well, someday, eh?

I like the old fellow in this picture - there's something about him that makes me think of Winston Churchill... the squint maybe?



I really like this picture. It's the 'in the moment' capture of her expression and posture that really speak to me.



Took this shot just when I got out of the car. Seriously, you can't argue with that kind of blue in the sky. That's just beautiful. You can just see Freo starting to wake up and the shops just starting to open. There's a serene beauty in that calm solitude before the storm that will descend on Freo in a matter of hours. I rather enjoy it actually.



One of the many little churches in Freo. I really like these older churches with their old brick walls and architecture. They've got a certain character that understatedly screams peace and reverence that you don't get from some of these new glass and steel constructs that they're calling churches nowadays. A certain church in Singapore springs to mind.

Sure bricks and mortar don't make a church, but there's a certain reverence that comes through in many of these old church buildings. Glass, steel and concrete don't quite carry the same vibe of timelessness and dignity that some older churches have.

Even though we shouldn't overemphasise the building, the very nature of the building lends an unspoken affirmation of the building's purpose. Prisons are grey and foreboding, government buildings lend towards stately, museums strive for a certain gracefulness... and churches should ideally create an air of reverence that's inherrent in the building's design.

I for one don't find some of these new modern churches with their fancy office-buidling-like glass and concrete and lecture theatre-like church halls at all condusive to prayer and meditation.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Still no mini-village pics.

hall's head beach

I can never get over how beautiful the beaches are here, compared to the yellow-brown water and coarse sand we get back home. I doubt I'll ever head to a Singapore beach under my own volition after seeing these beaches in Australia. This is a beach at Hall's Head, just a couple minutes south from the Mandurah city centre.

secret garden through here

Shot this at the miniature village. It looks much like a doorway to some hidden garden, eh? Guess what's behind the door? You guessed it... the 'secret garden'. Seriously, the imagery might be apt, but there's only so many 'secert gardens' behind artfully overgrown wooden doors that my lame-o-meter can take.

Nice door though.

they look like nuts!

And beyond the door of lame secrecy we find... A random tree with some odd shaped fruit that looks suspiciously like macadamias... with star shaped spikes! Well, at least I think it's a fruit. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, after all I probably am! My intimate knowledge of horticulture begins and ends with what veggies I eat.

Still, it is a marvel of creation. I'm continually amazed at the sheer diversity of life that God has placed upon this earth.


bridge to picnic!

I like little wooden bridges like these. They remind me of the little red wooden bridge over the pond in the quadrangle of my primary school. I spent many recesses catching tadpoles in a little paper cup in that pond. Even contrived to fall into it once.

I've got a huge sentimentality for my childhood - things always seemed much simpler then. You were less jaded, didn't have responsibilities, and everyone was your friend. Things would be simpler if we all just got along hey? Well, we can only imagine.

my lunch! you no touch!

Note the little eski in Char's hand in the bridge pic? That carried our picnic lunch. Smoked salmon, olives, cheese, smoked oysters and crackers. Might not sound like much, but it gets really filling. Going for a picnic at the beach later today too. Hey, it's summer! Time to hit the beach and soak up the sun!

Note to self: put down camera and start eating when girlfriend gives you the 'feed me' glare!

Later all! I'm off to the beach!