Priceless Memories...

Ghostbusters Red Carpet in Singapore at Marina Bay Sands !

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 15:03:00 +0000

Thanks to InCinemas.sg and Sony Pictures, I had a chance to be a part of the Ghostbusters Red Carpet event which happened on 12th June at Marina Bay Sands! Not only did I get a chance to be real close to the red carpet as Melissa McCarthy and director Paul Feig made their way, but I also had the opportunity to be a part of a record breaking attempt which will go into the Guinness Book of World Records! Not too shabby for a Sunday ;)

Here's the full vlog of what went down that day.
(More videos on my YouTube at youtube.com/prakhere)

Incoming shots from my Snapchat! (add me at moarpixels) :)

Registration for the event started at 4pm, but there were already people queueing up from as early as 12pm! I reached around 2pm and made my way to the Roselle-Simpor Ballroom on level 4 of the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. This was how the queue looked like when I finally got there.

After waiting in line for what seemed like a really, really long time, the registration booths finally opened and the queue got moving! The Guinness World Record attempt was for the largest gathering of people dressed as ghosts. At the registration table, I was tagged with a sticker band around my wrist and given a ghost costume to wear for the record attempt (and which was mine to keep after the event was over!).

After registering, all participants were ushered into the ballroom to have dinner and chill. Dinner was buffet-style and the food was good! I was too busy eating to stop and take photos, but after all that standing and waiting in-line for 2 plus hours, I definitely needed a good dose of re-energizing. With dinner out of the way, it was time to suit up into our ghost costumes!

I was wondering if there was something special on Snapchat for this event, and lo and behold,

this neat little geo-filter with the "Who You Gonna Call?" tagline complete with dripping green slime popped up and made it all the more rad!

This was the ghost mask all the participants had to wear.

After everyone had dressed up, an adjudicator from the Guinness Book of World Records briefed us on the rules we needed to follow to ensure that our record attempt would be valid. Basically, all of us had to stand together as a group within a cordoned off area near the back of the ballroom in full ghost gear (and carrying a big no-entry sign just like the ghost in the Ghostbusters logo) with our masks on for 5 minutes. That was it!

It was super tempting to take out my phone and film what went down for those 5 minutes, but I decided to save my phone's battery for the red carpet event instead which would happen later that evening. During those 5 minutes, the organisers played the Ghostbusters theme song and people who knew the lyrics enthusiastically chimed in. There were a bunch of photographers right in front of us (we were all behind a barrier) who were clicking away taking photos and gesturing to us to pose for them. Those 5 minutes went by in a flash and the record attempt was done! However, we had to wait until the red carpet event for an official announcement to be made confirming whether we had successfully set the record or not.

Here's a photo from Mashable showing how all of us looked like while we were in formation :)

That's a whole lot of ghosts!

IMAGE: DAVE MANGELS/GETTY IMAGES FOR SONY

While everyone was getting ready to head out to the red carpet, people started taking photos with two particular individuals who were in full Ghostbusters gear with their proton packs and wands. I had spotted one of them earlier that day (the guy on the right in the photo below) and he was already in full gear even before I got to reach the queue at 2pm! Much respect to you dude! Awesome costume!

It was about 7.30 pm or 8 pm before all of us were asked to line up and make our way to the plaza for the red carpet event. Can you imagine if you were just minding your own business when you turn a corner, and see a steady stream of people dressed as ghosts waving and walking by one after another? Seeing the bewilderment on the faces of some people as they fumbled between wondering what was going on and whether to reach for their phones to take photos was just hilarious! There was already a large growing crowd of onlookers gathered along the route we were walking by to the plaza, and I randomly stopped and gave a kid a high-five while in full costume with the mask!

This was our holding area on the red carpet at the plaza after we reached, where we were free to occupy any spot along the barrier. This was my spot! The people on the opposite side behind the barriers were the various representatives from the local and foreign media press groups who were covering the event. Someone promptly came by giving green light-sticks to all us ghosts to use for later! The Muttons (Justin Ang and Vernon A) along with Gerald and Joakim from 987FM handled hosting duties for the evening, keeping the banter and excitement up until Melissa McCarthy and Paul Feig finally arrived!

It was a pretty exciting experience overall. Good crowd, good vibes and a whole lot of jostling over one another to take selfies and groupfies with the celebrities on the red carpet. The night ended with the official announcement being made that a new Guinness Book of World Records was indeed set (yay!) and with more photo takings and autograph signings.

Amidst the chaos that ensued while everyone rushed to get the attention of the stars (and me taking a brief tumble to the floor after slipping on the partially wet floor), I did manage to get Paul Feig's signature on a little fan that the organisers had passed to everyone to help cool off!

And what event would be complete without some goodies?

All participants got an exclusive Ghostbusters gift pack consisting of the following:

1. Ghostbusters drawstring bag

2. Ghostbusters cap

3. Ghostbusters glow-in-the-dark decal

4. Ghostbusters travel cup

5. Ghostbusters glow-in-the-dark T-Shirt

Oh, and a little letter from

Walt Disney Studios Sony Pictures Releasing (Singapore) Pte Ltd to top it all off :)

It's awesome to see more and more red carpet events happening right here in Singapore. If there's even more on the way, I'm definitely signing up to be a part of the festivities! Although next time, I'm totally bringing along a powerbank. Trying to conserve what little battery life your phone has to balance between Snapchatting and YouTube vlogging is tricky business!! :)

Treasures of the World from the British Museum (in Singapore!)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Mar 2016 14:55:00 +0000

I had the chance to visit an exhibition at the National Museum called "Treasures of the World from The British Museum" a few months ago and it was pretty cool! There were lots of interesting artefacts and relics on display from around the world, from small trinkets which fit in the palm of your hand to really large human sized sculptures and even larger framed paintings. I took a bunch of photos on my phone and I now finally have the time to put them all up here. The exhibition runs until 29 May, and it is definitely worth checking out if you have an afternoon to spare.

One of the walls at the exhibit has this handy location map up on display, so ideally you start moving through the exhibition by starting at the entrance to the "Africa" area and moving from left to right and finally ending at "The Modern World" section.

The sponsors and supporters who helped to make this happen :)

The main area of the exhibition with all the various entrances leading to the different zones for you to explore!

Really dig these patterns and details! Even though these were made back in the old days, the level of craftsmanship involved is just mind-boggling!

Ah yes, this was in January, and I've finally had some time to post all of this up only now after holding these photos hostage on my phone for so long. This release feels good :)

Speaking of release, I've taken up vlogging (sorta) with my phone on YouTube so there's that. Somehow this act of recording stuff I see and hear feels like a form of therapy in some way. While I may not have the time to get my thoughts down on paper or in this virtual space with a keyboard, I can always count on taking a video with my phone since it's practically on me 24/7 these days. That way, I can get these captured moments out before perhaps revisiting them later on to reflect in a blog. Or with a Tweet.

Experience with REX Cinemas at Golden Mile Tower

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 17:42:00 +0000

Boy, it's December already! I should have posted this last month itself but hey, work happened. :)

The last time I had went to watch a Tamil movie at REX Cinemas was in 2009 at their MacKenzie Road branch. So when news broke that REX Cinemas was opening a second cinema at Golden Mile Tower last month, my parents and I were excited to go try it out. The opening of the cinema coincided with the release of "Vedalam", which was the next big new movie by Ajithkumar, a very popular Tamil actor. My mum wanted to go see it for the story and the songs, my dad wanted to go see it for the action sequences, but I was just really interested to watch a Tamil movie in the cinema after such a long time.

The movie my parents and I went to watch

Our movie tickets (front)

Our movie tickets (back)

The new cinema at Golden Mile Tower is a defnite marked improvement over the one at MacKenzie Road. The lobby area outside the cinema is big and spacious with big screens showing off upcoming trailers and big displays for movie posters. There is a proper marked area with barriers for patrons to queue up if there's a huge crowd (especially on the first day of a new release for a popular movie or during the weekends). Also, right at the counter where you order your tickets, you can also get your drinks and popcorn and what not to bring with you inside the cinema. I didn't buy any consumables that day so I can't comment on what kinds of finger food and snacks they were offering but everything looked really presentable and clean.

Once you enter the cinema, you'll need to walk up a small flight of steps before making your way to the seats. And boy is it big! (definitely miles bigger than the one at MacKenzie Road). The seats are nice and comfy with sufficient leg room. I distinctly remember just how hard the seats at their first outlet at MacKenzie Road were from when I watched a movie there a few years ago, and was immediately thankful that I won't end up with a sore bottom again after watching a movie at this new cinema. There was also a special VIP access area for patrons who wanted to pay a premium price, and this area is basically near the middle at back of the hall with little swing doors as the entrance and exit, with a bigger leg room area and also more space to keep your food and drinks. Also, the restrooms are right inside the cinema hall, hidden behind curtains (the gents restrooms located at the extreme right of the hall while the ladies restrooms were at the extreme left) so you don't have to practically exit and re-enter the cinema. Intermissions are considered normal and yes, they do have intermissions where the movie is stopped for about 5 minutes and the lights are turned back on so that the audience can choose to go out to buy food or use the toilets or just chill :) The movie I had went to see that day was about 2hrs and 30 plus mins long so this intermission break was much needed!

My view from where I was sitting. It was almost full before the movie started.

One more thing I really appreciated was that they actually played a trailer for an upcoming movie! I'm not sure if they have been playing trailers since at their first outlet as well, but back then when I went, the movie started immediately once the lights dimmed. I remember feeling a little robbed because one of the reasons I actually go out to the cinema to watch a movie is to get the full experience with the trailers. Also, since this new cinema at Golden Mile Tower was equipped with 7.1 surround sound, they also played that Dolby Digital "All Around You" 7.1 trailer as well! (the one with all the balls flying around in space).

Alrighty, now then...some things they could improve on. I just wish that REX Cinemas really ups their game when it comes to adopting a proper working online ticketing system. I tried booking tickets for the new branch at Golden Mile Tower through their website and when it came to the seat selection screen, I was unable to select any seats at all. After trying for an hour, in the end I resorted to just heading down to the cinema a half hour before screening time to book the tickets personally over the counter.

Also, somehow I found the audio in the cinema to be ...well...loud. Like really loud! Someone must have upped the dial on this 7.1 system to 11! I remember sitting in the cinema with my parents waiting for the lights to dim and the movie to start. When the first advertisement for a jewellery shop started playing on screen (I can't really remember if it was jewellery, but it was most definitely an ad for something), the audio was so loud that my mum, dad and me all got kinda shocked for a bit. I don't often go to cinemas a huge deal but I've been to Golden Village, The Cathay, Shaw and Eng Wah where when the audio kicks in in the cinema to show the trailers and all, it doesn't make you jump and scare the living crap out of you!

Other than that, my family and I enjoyed watching at REX Cinemas's newest cinema hall at Golden Mile Tower. My mum's already picked out the next movie she wants to watch there, probably sometime later this month. I'm probably going to have to brace myself and cover my ears so that the sound system doesn't end up freaking me out again. Or maybe I'm just getting old and my ears can't take it no more like they used to.

Mondays Fundays!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 08:19:00 +0000

Grabbed via prakhere.tumblr.com

Somehow people just seem to hate on Mondays. It just so happens to be one of those things that people almost immediately can relate to (and that gif above just about sums up my feelings when Monday comes around a-knockin' to end your weekend.) In other news, I've gotten around to setting up a Tumblr to crosspost my videos from YouTube, and also to maybe post random trivial things like the gif above as well. Just another avenue to vent :)

prakhere.tumblr.com

For now, back to reality and work!

ADM Animation Industry Screening 2015 + Office Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 12:02:00 +0000

I managed to get some time to drop by the ADM Industry Screening earlier this month together with some of my batch mates. It's already been a year since my batch graduated and here we've come full circle witnessing the graduation works of the next group of filmmakers. Definitely brought about lots of nostalgia for me, remembering the whole lead up to when my batch had to prepare for our screening. All the excitement and anxiety! Good days.

Email invite for the screening!

This time around, instead of being held in school, the screening was held at the Genexis Theatre at Fusionopolis. I had never been to that place before so this was a pretty good opportunity to record some videos! Also, one of my batchmates was actually working in that same building! Uber convenient! I, on the other hand, had to get through the 6pm crowd on the train in order to get there on time.

Programme Booklet for the screening

Here's two of my batchmates
giving their biggest smile for the camera! :)

Animators taking centrestage at the end of the screening!

It was really great to see this batch trying out new things in their works and taking risks. Hope they continue to make and innnovate well into the future!

After the screening was over, one of my batchmate who worked in that building offered to give a little tour of his workplace and office upstairs so that was a little extra treat at the end. My camera recording above doesn't do justice, but the view from the open roof on Fusionopolis was pretty awesome!

Fusionopolis Visitor Pass

Also, nothing says "Office Tour" unless you have a Visitor Pass of some sort, so there you go!

Plane Watching at Changi Airport

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 16:18:00 +0000

Found a roll of photos I had taken on January this year when I dropped by Changi Airport.

Fun fact #1: I have yet to step inside an airplane. Have not been on a plane. Like ever.
Fun Fact #2: That was the second time I had went to Changi Airport. The first time was sometime in December last year.

Also, apparently if one stands around in the airport long enough, the authorities would drop by to question what he or she was doing there. Atleast that's what I heard, even if someone was just plane watching. Luckily I didn't have to face that scenario, and I had hung around there for the most of the afternoon and into the early evening. It was interesting to be at the viewing galleries, especially when there were other people standing there watching and waving to their loved ones on the planes as they reversed out of the taxiways. Sometimes you could also see the people in the plane waving back (even the pilots) :) ! Somehow that got me thinking about going on an airplane to go sightseeing, and I just don't think I have it in me to do it alone. Nerves...

Aha! So that's where they hide out at! It was already 6pm when I saw this steadily growing stream of taxis snaking around the airport.

Rest area and foodcourt for passengers.

Le' snooze area. It is what it is ;)

Performance Documentation (Curio Cabinet of Self)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 17 May 2015 17:51:00 +0000

The following are photographs and videos I voluntarily took to document "Curio Cabinet of Self", which was a performance held at NTU ADM as part of a final year project by Diana Toh, a graduating student from the Interactive Media major.

The artist continued to hold the performance over the course of the whole week until the end of the ADM Grad Show (from 7th May - 17th May). Seeing a performance piece as a final year project was something that was very rare (atleast from what I had known so far at ADM), and that just made it all the more compelling to be there to witness the performance go underway first-hand. Due to the nature of the performance, having perfomance props breaking in two or having paint splatter flying towards to unsuspecting audience while the artist struck the canvas with all kinds of objects was all part of the experience.

The artist invited onlookers to tag the canvases on the wall, and I obliged by spraying her name.

One of the audience members having a moment with the artist's wall which is part of the installation encapsulating the performance space.

The artist taking a breather post-perfomance outside at the cafe at NTU ADM.

The artist in action during the performance which lasted for about 30mins.

Screencapture of the livestream feed pre-performance from the webcams installed in the artist's space.

I was lucky enough to follow the artist outside after one of her performances with my camera and record her conversation with a pair of audience members ala a casual Q and A (hence the video above). More documentation and details of her performance can be accessed here.

Star Wars Celebration Anaheim!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 18:57:00 +0000

Just finished watching the opening livestream for the Star Wars panel as the franchise gets set to release the next chapter in the saga!

The reveal of the BB8 droid being fully a prop (and not CGI fluff), getting some of the original cast members to grace the stage, and also the reveal of a brand new teaser trailer were the highlights of the hour long livestream as it marks the start of 4 days of Star Wars Celebration. 4 days of non-stop Star Wars goodness for fans to enjoy (with livestream coverage of all 4 days being broadcast right now on the official Star Wars YouTube channel). Here's a bunch of screenies taken from the YouTube livestream.

Now, the wait for December is going to feel awfully long! In the mean time, here's the newly released 2nd trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens! (with a pair of familiar faces finally making an appearance).

New Year, New Post

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 17:06:00 +0000

Well, it's been a while! (and it's already 2015, wow)

Things have been going along swimmingly. I've been pretty much occupied with work and personal projects since graduation, and that's been a good thing. The last thing I need is to end up being stagnant without having anything to do. While I'm busy with work during the weekdays, I've been equally busy during the weekends with indulging myself in small little experiments.

Like this one.

Head construction. Focused more on overlapping angles and shapes. More accidents. #design #art #glitch

A photo posted by Prakash Perumal Haridas (@prakashph) on Nov 11, 2014 at 12:39am PST

I've since started archiving my little experiments on a small corner on the Internet, which you can find here on my Tumblr. I never really had the time to explore newer things during my days in university, let alone during whatever vacation breaks I got during my time then. Right now, it's the best time to get myself to basically do stuff and keep doing stuff. I think it's becoming more of a habit now. Not too sure just where else my mucking about with glitch aesthetics will take me to, but I'm just going to enjoy the ride for now.

Sunday at the National Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 31 Aug 2014 14:32:00 +0000

Lately my mum's been the one actively looking for interesting things to go to or check out over the weekends. It just so happened that she came across news of the "WE: Defining Stories" exhibition which was happening at the National Museum. Being very much attracted to all things nostalgic, she wanted to go check out the photographs of old Singapore and since today was the very last day of the exhibition, we both went there to check it out.

Upon reaching the museum and making our way to the exhibition, we came across another exhibition showcasing the winners of the 5th CDL Singapore Young Photographer Award (some of whom were from my school!) It was great seeing them getting recognised for their hard work. Hope they continue getting into many more exhibitions to come in the future and letting their works receive some well-deserved exposure!

The "WE: Defining Stories" exhibition presented a whole mixture of documentation for visitors to peruse. From full front page headlines from select events, to film stills and negatives, visitors had the luxury of seeing all of them presented in a chronological order and split into various sections under different themes. This made for an almost seamless navigation of information when moving from one space to another. The very thing that caught my eye once I entered the exhibiton space was the presence of this really old bicycle and strapped onto it's back were a large bundle of newspapers dating back to the old days.

A close up view of the description of the exhibiton written on the wall.

As I walked through the exhibition space, I found myself stopping every few steps to take a look at an article pinned up on a panel, reading it and just trying to take in how much Singapore has changed and grown over the years. I enjoyed reading the articles the most, especially the ones which documented the political aura of yesteryear. Those must have been really interesting times...

Ah yes, these newspapers were super popular with the attendees!

The English and Tamil copies had already run out unfortunately.

There were also some QR code related interactive sections scattered about accompanying some of the exhibits on display. Should the curious visitor be inclined to know more, they'd just have to scan the code to access the extra interactive content on their phones.

One of my favourite photographs from the exhibit. I just found that gigantic warning sign telling patrons that it's an offence to litter inside the cinema hall strangely hilarious, especially when right next to it is the cinema screen showing an army mobilisation message.

This one seemed pretty popular, with lots of people stopping by to read through the article showing one of the election campaign results from yesteryear. Also, I couldn't help getting distracted by the advertisment sections in the article which were just beautiful in their own retro way.

There was a little corner with chairs for people to sit down and watch a slideshow showing a variety of colourful and memorable snaps from the old days to modern times.

Just as we finished exploring this exhibition, there was yet another one waiting to be discovered just literally right in the gallery next door. On display were the photographs by Sebastiao Salgado. A Brazilian social documentary photographer and photojournalist, Salgado's works seem interested in presenting Nature in all it's ethereal beauty. I really enjoyed looking at some of his landscape works featuring volcanoes and long winding valleys leading into paths unknown. My camera snaps below don't do his works justice.

Took me a while before I spotted the climber dwarfed by the trees around him.

Wonder how high up he must have been...

His book was also on sale at the National Museum, which just about covers all of the works exhibited together with writeups. There were also notebooks being sold bearing some of his photographs on the cover. Beautiful stuff.

This was one Sunday I didn't expect to run into 3 exhibitions in one day!

Here's some mandatory shots of the National Museum and it's interior.

Grad Shoot Hijinks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 17:30:00 +0000

I met up with the rest of the group to scour Marina Bay for some good spots to take photos. On hindsight, it was just a good excuse to flaunt the whole "I just graduated!" schtick to anybody and everybody passing by. I never really went to Marina Bay at all so this was a good chance to just explore together with the rest of the classmates. While they got up to their usual bouts of mischief, I coudln't resist capturing it all on video.

I was planning to edit them together nicely, but since I currently don't have the kind of time to do that, I just went with stringing them together in the order I shot them on my smartphone. This is pretty much unedited footage, and I think I kind of like it that way even more. I guess it just feels more..."authentic"?

Took some photos sporadically along the way.

Here's a bunch of 'em.

Ah yes, these two guys were pretty much enthusiastic to get straight to getting their photos taken.

Some soccer players were in town that day for a match against Singapore later in the evening. This apparently was their coach bus, which was already surrounded by fans along the yellow barricades.

Hadi sir checking his camera.

The rest of the group trying to decide what to do and where to go.

Much deciding and walking about while fully clad in the gowns.

Fabian must have noticed something meme-worthy while Hadi tries to get a good shot.

"Okay, so what do we do now guys?"

Doesn't matter if it's been done a million times before. This is just one of those "you need to do" poses in front of the Marina Bay Sands building. This would make more sense if you were looking at it from Hadi's perpective at the bottom left (the group would seem like they're holding up the gigantic boat smacked ontop of the Marina Bay Sands building).

Fabian taking a break and looking at the others.

Fabian's still looking...? Must be one of those "in deep thought" moments.

Passed by this area called "Movies By The Bay". They apparently have movie screenings every month. That week, they were screening "Ilo Ilo" and "Ah Boys to Men 2".

We went inside The Shoppes at Marina Bay. Crowds everywhere, and then there's this ice skating rink in the middle on the lower level.

We went to the roof to get some fresh air, scenic views and a much needed break after all that walking about.

My First Visit to the Singapore Blog Awards Ceremony 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 15:00:00 +0000

Event Invite

I had been aware of this annual event for quite a while, but I've never had the chance to acutally go down to one before until now. Being someone who's interested in the local blogging and social media scene, I was interested to know more about who are the most active bloggers here in Singapore, and also know just who the new rising major influencers are.

Registration Booth

This year's ceremony was held at *SCAPE Ground Theatre Auditorium. I managed to reach there just in time before 11am when they were setting up their booth to receive the guests. I hadn't been to *SCAPE at all so this was a good chance to drop by there and check things out. I promptly got tagged at the registration booth with a sticker. Don't ask why there's a big "SHERIFF" star on that, because I honestly have no clue.

Tagged with a sticker

I also received a little goodie bag at the door, courtesy of omy.sg which contained a handy collection of nice little things. A little programme booklet was given out at the door to all attendees, and since I had brought a friend along as a guest to the event, I passed it to her to have a look at what's in store for the event that day. There was a whole long list of nominees involved for a variety of categories, ranging from "Best New Blog" to "Favourite YouTube Channel" (I think I remember seeing NigaHiga being one of the nominees for the YouTube category when the host went through the nominee list)

My friend checking out who're the organisers behind SBA 2014

No surprise here :)

Shot of the stage before the crowd filled in

Just an idea of how crowded it got once everyone started filing in

The whole affair of the ceremony was a pretty brisk one. After the opening welcome and introductions by the emcee, the guest of honour (Ms Sim Ann, Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information, and Ministry of Education) came on stage to share a few words and thoughts with the audience which I promptly recorded on my camera.

The event then moved quickly into full swing with a whole array of awards being given out, and it was very clear that supporters of their favourite blogs and personalities were there in full force. Cheers often rang out from various clusters of fervent groups scattered about the area whenever those they were supporting won or were simply announced as having been nominated for an award. Here's a full list of all the awards given out and the winners!

There was a short segment in the middle which involved a group of dancers, the blog vlog trio of ladies from ninjagirls.sg who came dressed to the nines as jockeys, and a dude in a unicorn outfit. (Oh yes, the dress code for the event encouraged people to wear anything that's inspired by horses/derby fashion.)

(From left to right: Unicorn dude, dancers, and the three ladies from ninjagirls.sg in their horse jockey attire preparing to do an impromptu performance.)

The event came to a close with all the award winners taking a group photo or "WEFIE" on the stage, before dispersing to either mingle and dine on the free food catering provided or take photos at a photo booth with a wide range of props. There was a lot of people literally queueing up and waiting to have a go at the booth even during the event, which had the host ensuring everyone that there would be more than enough time to get a photo at the booth after the event was over.

Photo Booth with instant collection of photos.

In the midst of a sea of bloggers and social media evangelists, I was able to finally meet someone I had been following on Twitter for quite a while! Ena Teo (or Enabalista as she's called) was one of the nominees for an award in the "Best Beauty Blog" category and it came as a nice surprise to finally meet and talk to her (albeit even if it was only for a short while) in real life. I had known about her when she was in-charge of organising a Singapore Behance Creatives meetup a long time ago, but I wasn't able to make it to meet her or any of the other creatives that day due to school commitments. So yes, even if it was just saying "Hello" and introducing myself, it was great!

As far as the event goes, it is definitely commendable that new and upcoming bloggers and social media enthusiasts are being recognised and supported through such events. One suggestion I would like to make would be for the availability of chairs or seats for all attendees, or to host the event at an auditorium perhaps. Standing for about an hour and half to two hours through an awards ceremony can be quite taxing, especially when you're busy taking photos, selfies, recording videos of what's happening around, and all the while hoping that your knees don't end up buckling to the floor by the end of the event!

A trip to Alive Museum Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 15:47:00 +0000

I decided to bring my mum along to visit the newly opened Alive Museum Singapore at Suntec City. I had heard that there would be lots of opportunites to take photos inside the museum there, and that you can actually touch the artworks. That was pretty interesting and new, since most exhibitions often don't allow visitors to take photographs or touch anything inside. They even have free wifi, and it feels like they're encouraging people to Instagram or Facebook their photos! (which is pretty cool, especially for those who may not have a dedicated mobile data plan).

Admission Tickets for Alive Museum Singapore

My mum and I reached the Museum just a little under an hour before the last admissions closed at 9pm. We were informed by the counter staff that we will need to leave by 9.45pm so that they can start closing in time. So here's something people visiting should take note of: Don't end up going there at the very last minute! (even though they close at 10pm). Otherwise they might have to turn you down at the admission point. Luckily for my mum and I, the one and a half hours we had proved to be just right for us to traverse through the myriad of exhibited works.

The first thing that struck me as I entered through the curtains covering the entrance to the museum, was that people were not just walking by the artworks on display. Almost all of the visitors there were not being passive audiences. Inside the Alive Museum Singapore, people were actively participating and interacting with the exhibits and artworks. They were touching them, going up close to scrutinize the various optical illusions and visual trickery, taking selfies with the artworks, photographs, and spending more time than the average visitor usually would with each artwork and with each exhibit.

These arrow stickers are prominently placed on the floor near almost all the exhibits. So if you're trying to take a photo of your friend posing near an exhibit but you're not sure where's the best spot to be at, just look around for the aptly labelled "Photo Point" on the floor and position yourself there to take the perfect shot. The spaces within the museum can become cramped pretty quickly especially the ones near the entrance if there are lots of people, so it is best to be patient and wait for your turn to pose and take photos.

This was one of the exhibits one will encounter as they enter the museum, which was called "A Young Man Holding a Skull". One needs to stare at the black and white image of a head on the wall for about 30 seconds, and shift their gaze to the painting. If done correctly, you'll end up seeing the image of the head on the outstretched hand even though the figure in the painting is holding nothing. This is a classic example of an afterimage which is a type of optical illusion where the eye continues to see an image long after one has stopped looking at it. It's a simple yet effective trick, and one that visitors of all ages can easily follow.

Each of the exhibits in the museum are accompanied with a handy description of what visitors are supposed to do, just in case if there's any confusion. Just taking a photograph of some of the works on display wouldn't do them justice in terms of the kind of visual play they embody, so I took a few videos instead.

I enjoyed watching the one with the two Mona Lisas. It was a nice playful change from the standard portrait of Mona Lisa that everyone has seen over a million times over. Even Mona Lisa herself seemed content with blowing a piece of cloth in the wind ;)

This particular exhibit seemed to be pretty popular among the camera-trigger-happy patrons that day, and I decided to indulge in a bit of self-gratification. It's not everyday you get to sit on a mighty fine throne like that one.

I won't spoil the surprise of what all the various exhibits are in the Alive Museum Singapore, but I remember coming across this section of the museum and the first thought that came to my mind was, "How hard could it be?" It turned out that that section of the museum ahead was configured in a form of a maze, with doors which could lead you to another new area to explore and doors which bring you back to a different section. These doors weren't marked where they would lead yo uto and there was no other directions given, except the general idea of just having fun exploring! This particular area of the museum gets cramped super easily, so if you 're planning to wait and take photos with each exhibit housed in this area, be prepared to wait a while.

You'll also find signs like these on the doors as you navigate your way through. The last thing you want to do is injure yourself or someone else. As long as you mind your surroundings (and the other visitors), you should be fine.

The bulk of the exhibits here feature local and global icons and a boatload of familiar faces. I don't think I have to list all of them here, so I'll just leave you with a few photos.

My mum discovering one of those doors which doesn't exactly grant you an exit you can use. Perfect. :)

There was also this super random disco room playing music which was lined with mirrors all round (yes, even the floor is a mirror). I decided to do an impromptu photo of my mum and myself using the mirrors.

Speaking of mirrors, there was also this vertigo inducing work where you stood on a piece of glass and underneath you was a reflected pool of lights swishing around the walls. It was pretty hypnotic! There was also one wher it feels like you're standing atop rows of ladybirds in a sea of darkness.

And here's a bunch of photographs of yours truly doing the impossible made possible by the Alive Museum Singapore:

I quite like how this canoeing photo turned out. I actually look like I'm in pain (or maybe that's because my legs went numb while squished inside that hole while waiting for my mum to take the photo).

Here's another photo I'm happy with which just about suits my usual facial expression.

Even after leaving the museum, there was still some more fun to be had just outside.

The literal version of "Frozen". This friendly stranger popped her head in and was posing for a photo for her friend, and she was generous enough to stay for me to take a photo as well. Too bad I didn't take a video though. She started rocking her head in there. Guess refrigerators must be her thing.

This guy right here was one of the counter staff who was gracious enough to help take a photo of my mum and I once we came out of the museum. Couldn't resist asking to take a photo with him. Thanks Hafiz~!

My mum and I had a great time at the Alive Museum Singapore. So many things to do and so many things to explore! The more people you bring along with you, the more fun you'll definitely have! (and fans of all things Trompe-l'oeil will have a great kick out of it). There's still a whole bunch of stuff to have fun with at the Alive Museum Singapore besides the ones I've posted about here (including a naughty little one involving windmills and Marilyn Monroe, and a particular "Powder Room" which actually is the only one that has a PG13 age rating sticker slapped on it, just to name a few.)

There's also a Burger King promotion going on currently, where you simply have to buy a full-priced ticket and "Like" the Alive Museum Singapore on Facebook to redeem a free meal. Check out the following link for more information: http://alivemuseum.sg/news-events/promotions/

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 13:54:00 +0000

Caught an advanced 3D screening of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" on 6th Aug, thanks to UIP Singapore. Hardcore fans of the turtles may want to stay away from this movie. Kids on the other hand may enjoy this.

The plot and the general proceedings of the movie just feel like the usual standard fare that we have already seen a bazillion times over and you will already know how everything will pan out. The personalities of the turtles seem to be the one and only big plus point for this movie (even though their faces have been altered to look like something that is stuck in the unholy depths of the uncanny valley, so it was a good thing they kept their erm..."masks" on almost the entire time.) The set piece action sequences look kinda good. Not sure what they were thinking when they redesigned shredder. Sure he looks all big and menacing, but he just felt like some type of robot abandoned from the Transformers movies and someone decided it would be a good idea to chuck that design into this movie. Shredder unfortunately ends up feeling like just another one of those generic villains who spout cryptic one-liners and growl at the camera.

Speaking of one-liners, when you start to hear the turtles (or one turtle in particular) start spouting sexually suggestive lines which borderline on being just plain perverted, ...yup, right there in the childhood. -_- The attempts at humour come off as being one of those moments where you know you're supposed to laugh, but somehow you just don't feel like laughing.

This movie could have ended up being a whole lot worse, but it's just stuck halfway between "Oh no!" and "It won't be bad if we don't start analyzing it too much after watching it."

Verdict: 2/5

On the plus side, I did manage to get to go to GV Max for the first time ever and experience Dolby Atmos (which was pretty sweet, even though it ended up being having to go through 2 hours of this movie.)

Winding down

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 13:43:00 +0000

I haven't had much time to come back here to blog in quite a while. It's mainly been a busy period, what with finishing up final year projects and graduation and all. It's been an unforgettable experience, and now it's already time to move on to adapting to working life.
I stopped by the cubicles where most of us spent the last year working on our final year projects, and it's almost like an empty shell of what it used to be: filled with the cacophany of work, chatter, the random singing, people shouting across cubicles to ask if anyone wants to go for lunch/dinner, and the times when the door sensor would keep beeping because someone forgot to close the door or left it open. I'll also definitely miss seeing the rest of my classmates around. Hopefully we'll be able to bump into each other in the long run. Or maybe catch up together on weekends. We'll see.

Imagine Dragons rock out at Hong Kong premiere of Transformers: Age of Extinction

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 20:09:00 +0000

Grabbed via getmusicasia.com

Just like that, we're going to be hit with yet another Transformers film in cinemas which promises much more mayhem (bay-hem), more robot fights, more explosions and an overall increase in the amount of destruction to public property. Along with a new cast and some really cool new Dinobots, rock band Imagine Dragons has taken over music scoring duties for the newest installment in the Transformers series. The gala premiere of Transformers: Age of Extinction took place just about a day ago in Hong Kong, with Imagine Dragons tearing the roof down with their musical performance to a roaring crowd. I managed to catch the livestream of the event on Yahoo! and (as usual) took a bunch of screenies!

Here's a short snippet of Imagine Dragons rocking the stage at Hong Kong as they perform "Battle Cry" to an awesome crowd!

And here's some screenies taken from the livestream event:

"Indie Game: The Movie" Public Movie Screening at National Design Centre

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 07 Jun 2014 19:02:00 +0000

Facebook post by Shophouse & Co

While browsing through Facebook, I caught wind of there being a public screening of "Indie Game: The Movie" at the National Design Centre. Since it was on a weekend and I was free, I decided to go check it out and to also check out the National Design Centre as well, as I didn't even know about the place until then!

Grabbed via shophouseandco.com

Grabbed via indiegamethemovie.com

Spotted a swallowtail hanging out on a wall outside the entrance at National Design Centre

People coming in to watch the screening.

Large banners hanging from the ceiling!

Screening in progress! (and that's Phil Fish, creator of Fez, on screen)

Free flow of popcorn, courtesy of the Cornery!

Even though I had already watched "Indie Game: The Movie" on my Steam account about a year ago, watching it again still proved to be just as entertaining and engaging. The documentary follows Team Meat (Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes, creators of "Super Meat Boy"), Phil Fish (creator of "FEZ") and Jonathan Blow (creator of "Braid") on their indie-game journey. "Indie Game: The Movie" is definitely worth watching if you ever wanted to get a feel of the kind of pressure, pain and sacrifices that independent game developers go through in order to keep doing what they do. On hindsight, what they go through could very well apply to creatives working in almost any field as well. Speaking of which, wouldn't it be a swell idea if there was a documentary done on the local indie game scene here in Singapore? I'm pretty sure there must be some groups out here who are pretty active in developing games either for consoles or for mobile platforms.

"Indie Game: The Movie" is available on Steam and also on the following website: buy.indiegamethemovie.com

Goodbye Snow Leopard, Hello OS X Mavericks!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 07 Jun 2014 12:35:00 +0000

Mavericks!

I finally decided to take the dive and upgrade my Macbook OS from Snow Leopard to Mavericks. Yes, you heard that right. Snow Leopard. While OS X Yosemite is already available as a beta and a stable version will be released soon enough later in the year, I just couldn't see myself waiting till then. Also, Mavericks has already been updated to 10.9.3 which should have fixed most of the bugs and problems early adopters of the OS had faced initially.

One small little snag was the prompt for credit card details when I tried to download Mavericks from the App Store using an Apple ID I had created a while back. A quick Google and I found many other users had also faced the same problem where the "none" option under payment type was missing and they were forced to input credit card details when validating their Apple ID. Luckily, a quick search through the Apple forums brought up a straight-forward solution: Create a new Apple ID through iTunes and the "none" option would be available.

Screenshot from the Apple Forums

After that was settled, the install file took an hour to fully download through the App Store. I was more interested in making a clean install of Mavericks on my laptop to clear all the cruft that might have gathered up under the hood. I spent some time trying to make a bootable usb copy of Mavericks but for some reason, the Macbook would shut off by itself when attempting to boot from it. I then just decided to go with the easier method of just clicking "upgrade" and letting the installer do it's thing. I went to get some shut eye and woke up about 2 hours later to Mavericks already installed on my machine. The system was already running an indexing process in the background and that took about an hour to fully finish.

The bootable usb install attempt which didn't go through.

Preparing to install.

Installing.

Still Installing.

Had to update CCleaner to a newer version before it was able to work again under the new OS. Other installed apps are still working like they should. Just installing more updates as and when they're detected.

Running "Software Update" and installing updates via the App Store

So far so good.

Hopefully it stays that way!

Top 10 reactions to WWDC 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 07:35:00 +0000

I was up watching the livestream of Apple's WWDC last night and I just couldn't help checking out the reactions people were having on Twitter. Here's a list of my top 10 favourite reactions!

OSX YOSEMITE. If Apple was Singaporean we'd have OSX BUKIT TIMAH NATURE RESERVE #wwdc

— nicshields (@nicshields) June 2, 2014

We called Dr. Dre and got an Apple operator who wasn't amused http://t.co/Fj8Y1OTbGI pic.twitter.com/KPjkQ9N6N3

— Mashable (@mashable) June 2, 2014

Apple fans gonna be like “Wow!”. Android fans gonna be like “Old!”. Rest of world gonna be like “Look, a cat video!” #wwdc #wwdc14

— Andreas Sjostrom (@AndreasSjostrom) June 2, 2014

Uncle Tim telling scary stories about Android <shudder> #wwdc

— Tom Maes (@tmaes) June 2, 2014

Funny to see where http://t.co/XyJAw8DqSD goes to now. #WWDC14 #WWDC #apple

— Ian Mikutel (@IanMikutel) June 3, 2014

"Oh dear God" – @craig_apple HAHAHA pic.twitter.com/oo82GaK3k7

— Dan (@OhMDee) June 2, 2014

#WWDC Apple acknowledges weed culture in their presentation. Getting Dr. Dre on board makes total sense now. #WWDC14

— Ken Fager (@kenfagerdotcom) June 2, 2014

#WWDC a day where Apple haters tout that Android "already does that" allthewhile the next iPhone will still sell like gangbusters.

— Jeff Long (@Jeff_Long) June 2, 2014

Apple for the win with the duckface selfie #WWDC pic.twitter.com/uU5wRk2cd2

— Jake Warner (@jwarn123) June 2, 2014

"Check out that trash can - that's a gorgeous trash can" -#WWDC this is why people tease Apple. straight dweebs, lol

— GABBY iS ACTiVE (@GABBYiSACTiVE) June 2, 2014

X-Men: Days of Future Past Blue Carpet Premiere in Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 May 2014 14:41:00 +0000

I managed to tune in to the YouTube livestream of the blue carpet event of X-Men: Days of Future Past which ended just a few hours ago. So many people had been waiting and camping since the wee hours in the morning just to catch a glimpse of Hugh Jackman, Peter Dinklage and Fan Bingbing gracing the occasion.

Signing autographs and taking selfies were the order of business for the day, as the stars took their time to graciously oblige requests from their fans. The livestream went up on YouTube at 5.30pm, with local celebrities dropping by before the main stars of the show arrived at 7pm. They finally reached the stage an hour later after walking the blue carpet where they shot t-shirts into the crowd and shared their excitement for the movie with the fans. Pretty cool that they had this special premiere event right here in Singapore as part of the X-Men Experience!

Long ago

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 03:59:00 +0000

Grabbed via piyox22.tumblr.com

I still have my gba advance.

It's probably lying in a drawer somewhere, collecting fairy dust.

Converting bin and cue files to iso in OS X

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 05:19:00 +0000

I'll just leave *this here:

1. Xcode Developer Tools should be installed. (http://developer.apple.com/mac/) (Apple ID required)
2. Download bchunk from (just right click and download/save file): http://jamesnsears.com/code/bchunk.zip
3. If your Mac hasn’t unzipped the file automatically, extract the .zip file by double clicking it and copy it to your home folder: /Users/[your username]
4. Go to your Applications/Utilities folder, open Terminal and type (you can copy and paste):
sudo cp bchunk /usr/bin/ sudo chmod a+x /usr/bin/bchunk
After I did this, Terminal asked me for my administrator password, go ahead and type it in and hit Return/Enter.
5. Copy your .bin and .cue files to your home folder (where bchunk now also resides), and in Terminal type:
bchunk input.bin input.cue output.iso
In place of input.bin and input.cue type the names of the .bin and .cue files you want to convert)
6. You’ll see your .bin file convert to an .iso file in the Terminal window and you’re done. You can mount the .iso onto your Desktop now, or burn it in Disk Utility/iTunes or Toast depending upon what kind of files are enclosed.

*Reposted from renakatinas's blog.

Wow, Much Love, Such Feeling.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 16:55:00 +0000

Reposting this gem from imgur:

My girlfriend came to visit me while I was in Italy for work. I was pretending to take a picture of her in front of the Temple of Concord, but instead I proposed. This is her reaction.

Insidious: Chapter 2 review (Churpremiere)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 10:50:00 +0000

I had been meaning to get this posted for a while, so here goes...

Insidious: Chapter 2 #churpremiere @ Cathay Cineleisure Orchard
Big thanks to ChurpChurp SG for the tickets!

Registration ChurpChurp SG booth at Cathay Cineleisure

Thank you ChurpChurp SG for the ticket!

Check out the trailer!

Bunch of trailers shown before the movie:

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
- Man vs Man-eating food monsters/wildlife.
- Lots of screaming at the end.
- Lots of in-you-face funny stuff which were supposed to be funny, but nobody was laughing...

Battle of the Year
-Is that Chris Brown?
- And that's...Josh Peck from "All That"?
- Why are they in this?
- ... and that guy from "Lost"?
- Why??

Robocop
- It was my second time watching the trailer.
- I still don't see this being better.
- I still prefer the original silver suit.
- Alex Murphy getting blown up in a car explosion VS Alex Murphy getting mercilessly shot to pieces by a group of thugs.

Captain Philips
- In a nutshell, I'm guessing it's Tom Hanks vs sea pirates.
- The whole "based on a true story" tagline has already been so overused, that it just doesn't help in making an impact.

On to the show!

Grabbed via impawards.com

I have to confess: I DID NOT watch Part 1.
Yes, I didn't.
Yes, I did see the reviews for the first movie.
Yes, I was already anticipating the worst when walking into the premiere screening of Insidious: Chapter 2.
By "the worst", I meant leaving the cinema after movie feeling like I just shat my pants and going home to sleep in a fetal position for the next few days.

Patrick Wilson (left) and Ty Simpkins in Sony Pictures’ INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2.

The first half of Insidious: Chapter 2 was actually pretty intense, and the pacing was just right. It was only when things started moving into the second half that it felt like the tension being meticulously built up from the start was let loose a little. Jump scares are aplenty in this movie, and the sudden loud sound effects when you least expect them are guaranteed to make you want sink into your chair and hide.

If there was anything I wished they didn't have in the movie, it was the "dynamic duo" of Specs and Tucker. Whenever the film shifted focus on them and their bumbling antics, it almost felt as if the film was losing it's footing. If you ask me, the movie would have been much better had they avoided force feeding comedic elements into the story. There was a scene where these two guys are outside the house keeping watch, and when things go horribly wrong, they rush in and a big scuffle ensues. It's a tense scene, but yet we see these two stumble so badly (one accidentally injects himself, the other gets knocked out in an incredibly comedic fashion) that in my screening, the whole audience were howling with laughter.

There's a bunch of memorable scenes in this film. My immediate favourites?

- The scene where Renai comes face to face with the Mother in the living room, and the Mother suddenly turns around shouting "Don't you dare!" before knocking her out cold.
- The scene where Carl and Josh confront each other in the house, where Josh tempts Carl to roll his dice to find out what he is hiding behind his back. The way this whole scene played out was absolutely perfect, and that evil smirk on Josh's face was the cherry on top. (whoops*spoiler*whoops)
- Further along in the second half of the movie, where Josh is in a room surrounded by these individual covered in black cloth. Josh goes around to each one, pulling off the cloth, to try to find where the Mother is hiding.
- When Josh and Carl are in the Further, Carl says that he sees someone standing right in front of Josh talking to him but Josh doesn't see anyone. Josh asks Carl what that person is saying to him, and Carl starts saying "He's got your baby, he's got your baby, he's got your baby..." louder and louder and louder...until the camera suddenly reveals the invisible entity that was talking to Josh...

I can't say whether this is better than the original (since I haven't seen the original) but viewing this as a stand-alone supernatural horror flick, I'd say it was a decent one. It delievered the scares, and also managed to weave in a tight little story of a family trying their best to move on from what had happened. The whole idea of family is a very strong theme that runs through this film, and it is this conflict between family and the supernatural that is played out in Insidious: Chapter 2.

If you must know, the film does leave things wide open for a (possible) third movie. When dealing with something like the Further which plays a big role in the film, there is much left unsaid. Viewers are left to assume and play along as the characters tempt death while crossing over into (literally) uncharted territory. Perhaps this could open up a whole new dimension to the Insidious universe, although sometimes the more something is explained, the less mysterious it gets. Anyway, I guess we'll have to wait till 2015 to find out what territory this franchise expands into next.

Grabbed via imdb.com

The one with going back to school

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 18:17:00 +0000

Within the deep recesses of the ADM basement...

Got a cubicle.
Found someone's slippers inside a drawer.
It smells funny.

⊙﹏⊙

Rush hour still bites.