I Heart My Olympus Pen

Piazza Della Signoria

2012-02-04T00:36:00.000+08:00

Fotoclub Firenze

2012-02-04T00:18:00.003+08:00

I happened to chance on Fotoclub Firenze on the way back to the hotel and they were having a small exhibition. What can I say? I have a thing for older men.

Sig. Giampiero Gori, photographer.

In Florence with no Baedeker

2012-02-04T00:05:00.000+08:00

No theme. No gameplan. And not the best of snaps this time.

But it was really good to be back and I felt really happy.

L'hotel

The Polanski-esque lift up to my pensione.

...Or was that Argento-esque? Took this as the lift was creeping up each storey.
Was just waiting for a blood-drenched harpie to pop out from the second floor.

But then, cosy inside...

...and a room with a view!

Buongiorno Firenze. View from my window.

"Here is where my heart sings! Here is where the sky is blue!"

Ponte Vecchio and the Arno. View from the Uffizi.

Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown

2011-12-24T03:08:00.000+08:00

Meanwhile, at the Charlie Brown Cafe, Hong Kong

Bapu

2011-12-17T12:23:00.002+08:00

Agra In The Morning

2011-12-17T12:19:00.000+08:00

The tower where Shah Jahan was imprisoned

J'aime Delhi

2011-12-14T22:33:00.000+08:00

I Heart Lana Del Rey

2011-12-14T22:12:00.000+08:00

I'm in love with the haunting, noir-ish strains of Video Games. The accompanying video featuring 8mm filmstock and a drunk Paz de la Huerta sent chills down my spine. David Lynch, James Ellroy, Patricia Highsmith and all the debauched personalities of Chateau Marmont would be very proud indeed.

Walkabout: Klang

2011-11-07T17:26:00.003+08:00

The black and white pictures gradually made way for super pop colour... D'abord, le kopitiam traditionale...

Bad weather. This is what I took while trapped at the train station.

At the temple... terrible backdrop thanks to the rain...

Like any colonial township in Malaysia,

all places of worship in Klang are located exceedingly close to each other...

Klang Boleh!

At a delapidated colonial coffeeshop that still had partitioned booths...

Dentsu Building, Tokyo

2011-10-07T19:53:00.000+08:00

Grandmaster Flash

2011-10-07T19:46:00.000+08:00

RIP Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T20:08:00.004+08:00

This speech has been on my fridge since the man made it--
'Stay hungry, stay foolish.'

J'aime art deco, Bruxelles

2011-09-12T22:03:00.000+08:00

If You're Only Watching One Movie This Year...

2011-09-04T05:38:00.003+08:00

...make it this one.

Meek's Cutoff

The making of the movie was a feat in itself--Kelly Reichardt was on such a tight budget, she had to reconfigure the ending because of it. Read all about it here

I've become a real fan of Michelle Williams--one of, if not the, best actress of her generation--and she gives a really solid performance here. Why Natalie Portman won the Oscar this year instead of her, I'll never know. I also love the (now) unconventional aspect ratio of the film as well, trapping everyone into a claustrophobic frame.

Without giving too much of the plot away, this ain't no Little House on the Prairie. Kelly Reichardt has married the gorgeous cinematography of Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven with Peter Weir's enigmatic Picnic At Hanging Rock--amazing. I hope they give another woman a best director Oscar next year.

Wiseguys, Sekinchan

2011-08-28T16:21:00.000+08:00

This guy is badass! Took me ages to try and catch him unawares. Think Dennis Hopper but Chinese.

Peeling prawns at the fishery.

Badlands: Sekinchan

2011-08-28T16:16:00.000+08:00

You want a creepy small town? I'll give you a creepy small town...

I keep expecting Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek to show up.

Terrence Malick, pay attention.

This swift house gives me the creeps. Looks like an abatoir.

Dog with skin disease. Thank god for long range lenses.

Where the swifts roost.

Quadrophenia

Incense

Let sleeping dogs lie

Fabienne, Bruxelles

2011-08-24T22:18:00.000+08:00

Can anyone tell me why even after colour adjustment, the picture still comes out in its original form?
No matter. Fabienne is still beautiful in this picture.

Chez Serge

2011-08-10T22:57:00.000+08:00

Nous allons a Chez Serge. Fabienne, je souhaite tu viens avec nous.

Shepard Fairey, c'est tu?

M. Gainsbourg

...moi non plus.

Charlotte Rules

Marty

The Best Damn Record Store In The World, Bruxelles

2011-07-04T20:37:00.000+08:00

The collection here is really unsurpassed and their speciality really is records.
Brussels is one of the few places left that hasn't succumbed to downloading madness.

The basement is a fire hazard of LPs waiting to happen... but what a treasure trove!

Le Pont et Le Jardin

2011-07-01T21:34:00.002+08:00

De Kooning

I saw the bride and her makeup lady at a completely different location. Hours later, I spotted her on the bridge--the gods had conspired that we meet again so I snapped this picture as quickly as I could while they were running towards their own photographer. Had the zoom on the cam with no time to change lenses--it was a real pain trying to maneuver distance at this close a range.

Father teaching his son how to draw the Arc du Triomphe.
It's times like these when I'm glad I bought the zoom.

Deco Gothic

2011-07-01T20:59:00.000+08:00

Le Gothique Wow

2011-07-01T09:11:00.000+08:00

Sacre Couer! Le gargouille!

Sous le pont

La Seine

J'aime Le Street Art

2011-07-01T06:47:00.005+08:00

Quoi de neuf?

Ici!

Voila!

Oui! No alternative!

Banksy, c'est toi?

J'aime M. Invader

Oh, c'est haute!

Cou! Cou!

J'oscille aussi mais je ne suis pas morte.

Cou! Cou!

The Death Will Not Be Televised--Goodbye Gil Scott-Heron

2011-05-29T22:07:00.006+08:00

One of America's true poets died yesterday in NYC. A courageous, gifted man who, nevertheless, had his own demons to battle. I used to play The Revolution Will Not Be Televised in my Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill! sets with the hopes that people will ask me who it was expressing this rage with so much passion and charisma. I play it often to remind myself to stay angry, stay hungry. Goodbye and thank you.

Here's the Guardian obit. As with most cult figures, he had always had more recognition out of his own country: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/may/28/gil-scott-heron-obituary?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

This is the funk version that I always play on my sets. I can't think of a more powerful message that made you want to dance at the same time:

Battling demons:

Where was I? Oh yeah, Istanbul

2011-05-23T23:22:00.000+08:00

Meat packer, Taksim

Early morning, Taksim

Aksemsudden Mahmed mosque--love the gothic mood