Ah Beng's World

Ah Beng Shows Off Talents: PART 3

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:09:00 +0000

Hey people. I know I haven't been posting & I'm guilty a hundred times over. But modesty is not my last name, for the skin on my face is as thick as the Great Wall of China. This Ah Beng knows no shame. I will not apologise, but on the contrary, I am going to show off some more.

I call this Dreaming in Red (Big). It measures about 4' X 5.5' thereabouts. Oops. Sorry. I checked. It's actually 4' 8" X 3'4". (Another gross exaggeration in true Ah Beng style)

Observe the myriad of colours & shades. (Actually there's only two - Red & White)

Let the colours inspire & move you deep down at the very core of your being. Surrender yourself to its random explosions & movements of feelings & emotions.

Come to think of it, it's either you're having a sensual orgasm right now, or a splitting headache.

Ah Beng Shows Off Talents: PART 2

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:56:00 +0000

Continuing my uncontrollable urge to show off, or to put it more nicely, to share my work of happiness with you, here are my Dreaming in Blue series:

Dreaming in Blue (small) approx. 18" X 18"

Dreaming in Blue (big) approx 4' 8" X 3'4"

These were all done sometime back in July.

Ah Beng Shows Off Amazing Talents: PART 1

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:44:00 +0000

Wow. I'm sitting here with my laptop in front of me, and I'm finding it really difficult to write. It's been a while since my last post, and once the momentum has stopped, it's hard to start the engine again.

I have been busy doing a lot of stuff. Most of it are work related, and some of it have got nothing to do with work. I've been doing a lot of painting and have been squeezing my artistic juices for the last 2-3 months. Fortunately, I've been able to make a bit of headway into this hobby. Otherwise I'd be juiceless-ly dry by now, like a dried prune, or maybe like salted fish, which smells.

And so, right now, right here, I'm going to shamelessly show-off my spectacular talents on this amazing blog of mine. (Why is my blog amazing? Because even when I don't update it for months, people still mysteriously drop by)

Oklah. Maybe my paintings are not so spectacular after all. These were just a few of the earlier ones that I did a while ago.

Ong Bak 2 Late

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:55:00 +0000

Tony Jaa basically leaped out of my TV screen when Ong Bak first came out in 2003.

This guy is not human. He kills people with his knees & elbows.

5 years after his debut, after a string of action films, Ong Bak 2 came out in December 2008. And guess what? Being slow as usual, I just finished watching the movie a couple of days ago. Still fresh from all that action, I still have the tendency to do the signature Tony Jaa quick-elbow-strike-combined-with-front-leg-stomp action when no one's watching.

The production of Ong Bak 2 wasn't without its problems. I think it was Tony Jaa's directorial debut, & production ran way off budget, running for 3 years, & Tony Jaa had to disappear into the jungle to meditate, literally, seriously. That's what I read in the news.

But lucky for us, the jungle boy re-emerged, & we've got a movie to watch.

Ong Bak 2 definitely had more action than its predecessors, partly cos Tony Jaa didn't have to talk. Dialogues were provided by the other actors. The only sound that came out of Tony's mouth was AARRGH & YAAAAAA. With the dialogues out of the way, it left a lot of room for more action.

Now, what I liked about this movie was Tony Jaa's demonstration of his mastery of the other martial arts like:

The Samurai Swordfight.

Strong Wind Down South Below.
No, I don't really know what that was but I think it's something like Iron Fist.

Snake Kungfu.

And I think there was also the eagle claws somewhere in there, which were all the usual traditional Chinese kungfu styles that you'd find in any 70s movie.

But then, out of nowhere came this black dude who proceeded to strip down to his panties in front of Tony Jaa.
And the fight was strange cos they would roll on the ground & the black dude would always attack from behind.

In a very strange way, it reminded me that fighting is actually very physically intimate. And there's a lot of physical contact & rubbing which I find to be worrying if your sparring partner is secretly gay, & he's taking advantage of the situation, like the black dude here.

Even in the end if you win, like Tony Jaa here, it makes you think twice about who's actually the real winner, who actually gets the most out of the fight.

I think in this case, in this particular lockdown position, it looks like the secret gay black dude guy who likes to attack from behind has the upper hand. It looks like Tony Jaa's modesty has been grossly violated & he doesn't even know it.

BeatBoxing: A True Artistic Pursuit - EDITED

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 07:42:00 +0000

It's often difficult to explain to people what I do. Especially when I meet up with the old aunties & grandmas. The conversation usually starts well when I explain to them that I teach at a university. But it gets complicated when they start asking what I teach. The conversation usually goes like this:

Grandmas & Aunties: So what do you do?
Ah Beng: I teach at a university.
Grandmas & Aunties: Wahhh. So clever.
Ah Beng: Nolah. Pien Chiak only. (This is a very modest answer in which you belittle yourself by saying that you are only able to pull a fast one on the innocent students in order for you to make a living to have enough to eat & survive. In Western understanding, this is ghastly.)

And then, even before they do it, you'd already know what they're going to ask next.
Grandmas & Aunties: So what do you teach?
At this point, you know they're expecting to hear something like Engineering or Accountancy or even Electric Brain (computers in Chinese).
Ah Beng: Ummm, it's like Art. It's like using computers to make art.
Grandmas & Aunties: Hah???!!! What it that? Can make money meh?! Got job opportunity meh?!

And at this final point, you realised that the whole inquiry was actually driven by one thing - money.

In the western concept, money is the root of all evil. In my understanding, money is the root of all Chinese.

So I really don't know how these people explain themselves to their aunties and grandmas about what they do.

beatboxer BEEHIVE

beatboxer Sophia

beatboxer Daichi from Japan

beatboxer Heartgrey from Hong Kong

Now I have a confession to make. I used to do a lot of beatboxing myself ... and other strange sound effects & voices. I thought I was making great music but my mom calls them noises. And now when I think back, I finally understood why I didn't have girlfriends until much later in life.

District B13

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:08:00 +0000

This is another one of those things that continually remind me of how behind I am of the what's hot & what's not. This is worrying. Everything points to a single dot. I am getting old, and uncool. I am entering the arena of the uncles.

District B13 is one of the coolest physical action movies ever made in the history of filmmaking, parallel only to Ong Bak. It celebrates Parkour & the superhuman feats that mere mortals like us can hope to achieve, by pushing our physical bodies to their limits.

Wait a minute. That sounded like the Olympics.

Anyway, I only came to know about this movie when my aggressive neighbourhood DVD peddler introduced it to my face. A quick check on YouTube confirmed that it'd be an awesome movie.

Watch this chase scene & tell me if Jackie Chan is still your hero or you're changing your fan club.

Wow. Anybody knows anyone teaching this thing? It sure makes Xtreme sports like rock climbing look like sports for sloths.

Ah Beng is Back ... Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:55:00 +0000

Hello People!

You guys never give up do you?

I thought that if I stopped writing, you'd slowly go away as the days go by. That was my evil plan. I was half-heartedly contemplating to stop this strenuous blogging activity which has been consistently sucking up my precious time like a bottomless black pit.

I was thinking if I stopped posting then people would stop dropping by, then there would REALLY be no reason for me to continue blogging - something like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

But then as the days became weeks, & the weeks became one whole month, the numbers never really dropped. People like you still came by for reasons which I fail to understand. There has been nothing happening in this blog for a month already. Maybe you guys are the type who like to watch paint dry. Or maybe you guys are really the zen-jedi types, you know, the ones who think that nothing is something & something is nothing.

But guess what? You win. I lose. And I'm back again.

But this is not the first time though that I have abandoned my dear faithful followers. I did it before, and God forbids, I may just do it again. But then again, maybe you guys enjoy it in a sort of fetish way, like SM.

But this time, it may be different. This time I came up with a super-duper monster schedule that will allow me to update consistently.

So yes folks! Ah Beng is Back in the Blogging Business!

p/s I bet people like Abdullah, who has nothing better to do, will be laughing until his teeth drops out.

Toyota Human Touch

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 23:28:00 +0000

This TVC really made me think carefully about my VIOS. It's funny, but creepy.

My wife is going to work in a VIOS tomorrow. In fact she has been doing that everyday for two years now. I don't think I can sleep well tonight.

K-POPPED: VOS

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 06:46:00 +0000

When I was younger & nerdier, I was able to recite to you the latest Hollywood gossip, the latest movies even before they were even released, who acted in which movie, who the director was, the Director of Photography, the Composer, and even who the waterboy was.

The me of today is a far cry from the me of yesteryears. Although not as nerdy anymore, I have lost my psychic ability. Today, I don't even have the time to watch a decent movie, let alone know the names of the actors. My familiarity with actors seemed to have stopped in time in the 90s with Arnold Schwarzeneggar as the Terminator.

Anyone new who appeared on screen since 2000 remained strangely unidentifiable to me.

It is a sign that I am getting old & I fear that I am starting to turn into an ignorant, arrogant, old fart.

This also happened to my love for music unfortunately. I slowly lost track of the new bands & the many manufactured popstars that popped up from nowhere. When you grow older, who sang what song doesn't seem to be as important as the leak in the ceiling that needs repairing or the weeds in the garden that needs weeding, or the family of lizards who's starting to make your house their home. And it is a silent killer. Without realising it, you will wake up one day suddenly as an uncool old dude who listens only to Kenny Rogers or Dolly Parton's Collection of Greatest Hits.

The Dolly Parton of today.

The Kenny Rogers of today.

But I will NOT let that happen to me!

Recently I have been scouring the internet in search of my youth. And I think I may have found it, in the form of K-POP. I have to admit that I'm a sucker for sentimental Korean R&B mushy love songs, in particular the ones sung by male artistes with voices that shudder with pain & so full of emotion.

This is just a random one that I found on YouTube which was exactly what I was looking for. VOS is an excellent 3-men A capella R&B group & I think you will agree with that.

P.S. I am not gay. I am happily married & I have happy fun time together with my wife.

Eulogy for Yasmin Ahmad

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 03:00:00 +0000

Being in Kuching, a distance away from KL, it takes time for certain news to reach here. This week, as I was driving to work, I finally had a brief moment of quiet time in my car, & this feeling of deep sadness finally settled in, along with the realisation that we have once again lost one of our greatest creative talents at the peak of their careers. There was once Sudirman, & now Yasmin Ahmad has left us before her time was up.

It's strange to be able to experience all these feelings when I've only met up & talked to her twice in a span a couple of years. But I think it's how she makes you feel, no matter how briefly you know her. Yasmin has, had, a way with people. She opened up to everyone, & she made you comfortable to be wearing slippers & shorts & to drink teh tarik with her in a shack somewhere in the alley. And that in turn reminded us to be grounded and in all sense humble when we're with her.

I do not have to talk about her creative work here. They speak for themselves. The PETRONAS ads, the trilogy of love.

With Yasmin's passing, we have lost not just a great filmmaker but a great human being who saw how a country with a multitude of cultures could once live together and were in love with each other, long before when there were questions about race & religion, long before when there were such politics.

She also foresaw the future that lies ahead for us. Ideal as her ideas may be, Yasmin's ever persistent positivism about how Malaysians can be real human beings again, to be able to care whole-heartedly, to be able to love unconditionally, reminds us that that is the saving path for the country, if it wants to survive, if it wants true unity, if it wants to grow as a nation.

Her passing is a great loss to the country, to the creative industry, to the arts community, and will be most greatly felt by our society. Yasmin showed us that as human beings, we have the capacity to love & care for each other, and that takes care of the other problems on its own. And it can be that simple.

Amazing Wall Projection: 555 Kubik

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Once in a while a crazy artist would produce a piece of work that would totally blow us away. This is one of them. It makes wall murals and graffiti look lame.

Production: www.urbanscreen.com
Art Direction: Daniel Rossa - www.rossarossa.de
3D Operator: David Starmann
Sound Design : Jonas Wiese

Your life will never be the same again.

JPOP 101: Utada Hikaru

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:22:00 +0000

I was a sucker for JPOP a long time ago back then when I was still a scrawny teen with bursting volcanic acne on my face and a voice that sounded like a goose. Now eons later, I am still suckered by JPOP, albeit a little bit wiser.

Most of the JPOP groups & pop idols that I fancied have long gone. Some faded away into obscurity like Shohjo-Tai.

While some left this world too early like Minako Honda.

Others stayed on as legends like Seiko Matsuda & still manages to look good.

I call these the first generation, which came out onto the scene about the same time as Robotech in the 80s.

Today, we have a whole new generation of JPOP idols.

Source: http://img113.imageshack.us/i/jpoplogo.jpg/

If you're new to this, don't worry. I'm just as lost as you are. However, there is one 2nd generation singer who came forth in the 90s worth knowing. Her name is Utada Hikaru, or otherwise know as Utada, or Hikaru, or Hikki.

Born from a set of super-famous & talented musician-singer parents, Utada came out of her mother's womb at childbirth yodelling, instead of screaming. My apologies. I made that up. Can't help it.

Hikaru has been around since the 90s. Truly a talented prodigy, she writes & composes her own songs. Maybe that explains for her long staying power. I could still remember when her music videos started appearing on MTV, & the radio started playing her songs - if you remember Automatic.

But it wasn't until Sakura Drops that I really felt that I had to buy her album. Cos that was when her music videos started going psychedelic, fusing music with art. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch this.

And then this one too - Travelling.

I like this one too. The single is called Hikari (Shine) & I thought the music video was a genius! Instead of more of the endless bombardment of psychedelic images & colours, this MV was a return to basics, to a more sanitised authentic Utada.

One of my favourite singles - Colors

And now she's back with a new Japanese doll look & a new album appropriately titled as This is The One.

This One (Crying Like a Child)

G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:44:00 +0000

I don't know about yours but my childhood leisure in the 70s was filled with playtime in my grandma's yard. And when I wasn't rolling on the grass, I climbed Guava trees and caught fishes in the drain.

Of course I had plastic toys too. They were mostly replicas of violent weapons like cowboy pistols, Native American bow & arrows set, & little green plastic toy soldiers in various states of war-like action. Mostly American & Nazi soldiers, they were cheap, really cheaply made in Taiwan/Hong Kong.Anyway, my point is that kids of my generation back then weren't that lucky. I mean we were fortunate enough to have plastic toys but compared to the kids in the 80s, their plastic toy soldiers were much more advanced.

I mean just look at G.I. Joe. They weren't even called plastic toy soldiers. They were called action figures, and each of the characters had their own names.

Now that was a big jump from the days of nameless green soldiers which looked all the same & it didn't even matter if you lose one of them.

But the kids in the 80s had it going for them. There was even a cartoon show on TV where their action figures come alive.

What?! Where did that come from? Were they really called American Terrorists at that time?!! It sure means a different thing in today's context.

Now kids in the new millennium are even more fortunate, on the brink of being spoilt brats. Today, plastic action figures are fundamental, TV animated series is expected, & there must be a video game version out there, plus a real life action movie!

This is so cool.Yo Joe!

The Things That Adults Can Do

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:16:00 +0000

Okay people. This will not be like the usual postings that I would put up here. Honestly, I wasn't really sure what I'd label it. Looking back at the contents, the closest that I could get to was Ah Beng Do Manly Things, although it turned out to be the opposite of manly.

I'm sorry if the first photo might shock you out of your socks. I know how it can look like - systematic Guantanamo-like torture & abuse of small, innocent children, who will be scarred for life by this experience. That's why I blacked out the identity of the adult perpetrators.

And then, there were adult prisoners as well. Do not succumb to your feelings of empathy for this one, for he fulfills the profile of an international terrorist. Look at his build. I was told by a an anonymous source, someone close to him, that he does push ups & sit ups after every meal. He IS dangerous.

The little unidentified girl in girly pink hovering around the prisoner adds to the torture with her cynical laughter which can humble any proud man, & in this case, a potential terrorist. It is a system that has similar effects as the use of continuous Sesame Street songs on the prisoners of Guantanamo.

The potential terrorists thought that they were being forced-fed cream from an ugly & disgusting toe, & thus broke down & confessed their crimes of the recent bombings in Jakarta. But unbeknownst to them, the cream on their lips were from my beautiful thumb. MUAHAHAHA.

And, to add to the pain, they were forced to make works of art from slimy chewed chewing gums.

Look at the blotted stains on the cardboard. Imagine the amount of saliva they had to deal with.

There's nothing like forcing dangerous grownup terrorists to make pretty, girly artworks in pink.

It can bring a grown man down to his knees.

I hope the Indonesian authorities sees this & make full use of these systematic processes on those responsible for the Jakarta bombings.

And I also hope that the Malaysian authorities DO NOT see this & use them for the ISA.

Evian Babies on Roller Skates Breakdancing

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:07:00 +0000

Ah Beng's World presents to you a little bit of entertainment break.

Here's the making of...

Now, who thinks that was cute, or was it the scariest thing you've ever seen in your life?

In the Footsteps of Jet Li

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:37:00 +0000

I'm struggling with time management now. So much to do but so little time. What keeps me going is this little thing that Jet Li said in one of his TV interviews. He was asked how he managed to do so much, dividing his time between movies & his One Foundation, he said something that sounded like this:

A person who has no time, has time, and a person who has time, has no time.

I know. It's confusing. If you heard it the first time, you'd have thought that he was trying to con you, bringing you on a merry-go-round, beating around the bush. It's almost like saying:

Black is not black and white is not white.

Yes is No, and No is Yes.

But I guess what he meant was something like:

A person who has no free time can accomplish much,

while a person who has a lot of free time can't accomplish anything.

Makes sense to you?

And with that, I shall prevail.

Ah Beng Paints Again

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:55:00 +0000

I was on a painting streak the whole week. That explains why I've been very quiet.

But then again, I have been quiet with or without the painting. Heheheh.

I don't really know yet what to call this piece. Maybe The Dream. It's an 18"X18" but will become smaller once it's framed. I'm a bit worried that it'll crack at the sides once it bends backwards onto the wooden frame behind. And I know it will. Maybe I can paint over the cracks again. Oh well, I'll know by Monday. Will keep you posted on the latest development.

Uhh, somehow I get the feeling that my post is sounding like watching paint dry.

BLU: Animated Graffitti on the Wall

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:05:00 +0000

In Malaysia and other parts of the world, graffitti is limited to non-intelligible scribbles under school desks & behind toilet doors. They're usually made-up advertisements that sound something like For gay & sexy time, call 012-XXX XXXX or they're just plain offensive obscenities with a lack of focus.

Graffitti in Malaysia is definitely not an artform. It is definitely not art, & it definitely doesn't have form. But then, because of artists like BLU, there is hope for our directionless teen toilet scribblers of Malaysia to become a socially responsible citizen of Malaysia.

Maybe I'm putting too much hope on them. Maybe it's good enough if they can make good graffitti.

BLU is an Italian graffitti artist. That's as much information about him as I can dig up from Google. If anyone knows more, please, say something in the comment box below.

Aside from making normal static graffitti on walls of buildings, which you can find on his site here, he has moved on a hundred steps further. With animation, he has been able to make his graffitti cross the traditional 2D space to interact with 3D space.

This one is called MUTO.

You must agree with me. This is simply mindblowing. I feel like that guy. My head just cracked open & my brains just spilled out after watching this.

Letter A

Walking

Fantoche

Michael Jackson: The Passing of a Pop Icon

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:59:00 +0000

I could remember still a little Michael Jackson singing on Malaysian TV back in the 70s when TV was still transmitted in black & white. All my aunts thought that he was cute.

I wondered if they wanted babies that looked like him. Well, maybe not to that extent.

That little bugger could not only sing, he could dance as well. And he danced like nobody's business. When he did, he danced like a twister & he made James Brown proud.

Now compare that with the real master James Brown doing his original thing.

The 80s was a formidable time for me as I was transforming into a monstrous, hormone-charged, voice-breaking teen with bouts of teen angst. Music was one of my escapes from the cruel world which didn't understood me.

An then in 1983, the Grammy awards arrived on Malaysian TV. And that came with a slew of never-ending music videos which filled up my head & made me think I was an American. And Michael Jackson was cool at that time. The way he danced, he seemed like he could fly.

The way he sang was like no one else. Everyone sang words at that time. But he sang DAHH. DAHH. SCCHH-MO. And that red jacket. Everyone wanted one.

Despite all the controversies that surrounded him - the surgery, the transformation from black into white, bubbles, sleeping in oxygen chambers, his kids & also other people's kids, he has, is & will always be the indisputable King of Pop.

Although I was never a die-hard fan, I've always thought that his moves & ground-breaking music videos were the coolest. And it was difficult to see him slowly slipping away, when he started losing his marbles. I've always wondered if he could have made a come back, collaborated with some cool producer, or something. But now, I'll never know. However, I guess the trail he left behind was bigger than himself.

May he rest in peace & find his happiness in the real Never Never Land.

BLOOD: The Last Vampire

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:14:00 +0000

The Japanese really has this thing for schoolgirls in uniform. And it's not just any schoolgirl. It's a schoolgirl who carries a sword & kills vampires in the subway. And she works for a secret organisation. And she looks like Angelina Jolie.

Look at those lips. They remind me of cream puffs. I didn't know animated characters also had to go for botox. See the resemblance? I knew someone once who had lips like that. She got stung by a bee.

As with any other anime in Japan, they're always based on manga. The original version came out in 2000 by Benkyo Tamaoki. This was the English reprint or something which came out later.

I looked it up, the art's not that great but it wasn't bad. And of course as with most manga, they have the luxury of having hundreds of pages to slowly build up the characters & the storyline layer upon layer, making it very engaging.

However, it was the animated movie that really rocked my world. Watch the clip if you haven't & tell me if your world is rocked.

When I first saw this trailer on YouTube, I knew I had to get the DVD.

Blood is an hour long of dark, gutsy, edgy, gratituitous violence, horror & lots of spewing blood. In other words, it's an excellent movie for beer-guzzling, pizza-eating, poker-playing, fly-fishing, game-hunting, backside-scratching real macho men.

And now, the producers of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon has made this little anime into a mega-budgeted Hollywood movie, starring a Korean actress, playing a Japanese, who speaks English.
Yes I know. It has already been playing in the cineplexes for some time now & you've probably watched it already.

But I just thought that I'd write about it anyway, cos it's one of those pop culture things that I really like. But I'm not so sure about the live-action movie. It looks too slick, too bright, too colourful & easily mistaken for a superhero/fantasy movie rather than horror.

I don't know. I haven't seen it. Have you?

When We Were Young

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:27:00 +0000

As a kid I didn't do much. Kids then were unlike the monsters that we have created today. If you take a good look at their daily calendar, their to do list can easily rival any CEO of any major international corporation.

But back then, my calendar of activities had only 4 things - Eat, Sleep, Play & Draw. I was a major underachiever. I mean you're talking about a kid who thought to be able to sit at the back of a lorry was an ambition.

However, there were other kids around my age who did a lot more.

I was playing with plastic toy soldiers. I threw a ball of paper at the row of toy soldiers & they were annihilated. And I thought I was a dang genius.

I collected Buah Sagas under the tree in school, challenged my schoolmates to a game, won lots more & I thought I was the King of the World.

I played in the drains & caught a lot of fish (Batok, longkang fishes) & I thought I had an indispensible skill.

Boy, looking at these clips make me feel so small.

Gwon Osang: Korean Sculptor of Wierdness

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 04:21:00 +0000

It's strange where you can find new art. I was on a flight from Seoul to Jeju a few weeks ago when the airline's inflight magazine caught my eye. On the cover were 3 figures who looked like they were mentally disturbed.

It looked like the three monkeys, except this one was like think all evil, hear all evil, see half evil.

When I took a closer look, the figures looked like they were made up of separate pieces of photographs patched together. And only then I realised it was art.

It was wierd art. But nevertheless good art.

It looks like there's some gay action going on here.

Ok. This one is beyond wierd. Doesn't it just remind you of something crawling out of the TV? Like in The Ring?

Now, let me ask you. Do you still want a Korean girlfriend?

Ah Beng Painting Again

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 06:51:00 +0000

I've never thought I'd be able to do this in a million years. But somehow I managed to whip up two paintings today.

I bought a huge piece of canvas a looong time ago. I had to tie it on top of the roof of my car to transport it home. After collecting algae, bacteria & mushrooms over that period of time, I finally painted something on it. I call this The First Circle. It's 4'x4'.

It may not look like much from far but upon closer inspection, I hope that you'll be able to appreciate the textured surface.

I like the other smaller piece (1.5'x1.5') as well but unfortunately it cracked cos I painted over another layer of painting. I'm still not sure what to call this one yet. Any ideas?

I'm excited now & will definitely be squeezing out more time (like squeezing for toothpaste) to do more of this!

Korea2Go on PDA

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:11:00 +0000

I spent 5 days in Seoul & another 5 in Jeju island. Now looking back, it's a wonder how I actually survived cos my earlier attempt to learn Korean was futile. I even cramped the Korean alphabet on the last day before I flew.

But knowing that I needed something else to really bridge the language gap, I found this on the internet.

Now, I can't remember where I found this, but you can easily Google it & download a demo version for free. Korea2Go is a PDA downloadable software that has ready made phrases for you to use in times of distress & duress.

An example of distress is during shopping. You can actually search for phrases by keywords. For example - buy. That will list out all phrases within the database with the word buy. Now at this point I think all my female readers will find this tool really useful.

And let's say you want to buy toilet paper, as that is also another form of distress.

The phrase comes with a Korean language translation & if you click on the speaker icon, it will read the Korean phrase for you out loud.

But unfortunately the sound function is only available for the Basic category. But of course, if you pay up, you can have all the sound you want.

All the same, I found this to be still useful without sound cos I could still show the selected phrases for the Koreans to read & so they'd know I was asking whether they accepted credit cards, whether they can ta-pau the food up, & what the hell is this on my plate?

Try it. You may find it useful as well.

The Becoming: Bae Yong Joon

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Wee) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000

I've been away for quite some time now. Away as in not really writing, and away as in holidaying in South Korea, the land of Kimchi, Ginseng, plastic surgery, pretty plastic girls & feminine men. It was an interesting experience as I immersed myself in their pop culture.

One of the first few things which really shocked me out of my socks was this.

Well, not exactly this. Bae Yong Joon was still fine & dandy when he was in Winter Sonata. I mean with him looking like this, you can understand why women would throw their undies at him. Even when he sported long hair, & cried like a girl, he still looked fine. It was still acceptable.

But but but when he became the face of The Face Shop sometime earlier this year, somehow he didn't look right. It seems like he went through a metamorphosis or something. I don't know about you (being a true fan & all that), but it worries me.

He looks so girl-girl.

He's probably picking his teeth here.

So flower.

So goose bumps.

So far, I haven't heard any complaints from the women. It seems to be working well for them. But I think it's a bit confusing for the men right now, truck drivers, wrestlers & cowboys included (although it's not something new for the latter).