WANG|CREATIVE - art, design and everything in between

World Destruction...Really?

2009-07-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

World Destruction is an anime based on a popular Sega video game called "Sands of Destruction". Their world is set in a reality where the oceans are made of sand and beastmen rule over humans. The storyline features Kyrie Illunis (a fairly useless young human), Morte Ashera (a vengeful female human fighter) and Toppi Topuran (a heroic teddy bear-like beastman) roaming around the wold in search of a way to activate the Destruct Code, which will "reset" their world and eliminate all the racism. This is probably the worse anime description I've ever written, but it's okay because I am trying to keep things brief. I'd also like to add that since this anime is based on a video game, don't expect much in terms of storyline. My favorite character? The dual-piston-wielding half-dragon Lia Dragonwell. She's wicked cool. LOL.

iPhone Wallpapers - Set 4

2009-07-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

Here's Set #4 of my iPhone Wallpapers! I know it's been a few months, but life's been rather hectic both at home and at work lately. I've been busy at work with some new websites for work; I've been busy with my RIDE with G blog; and I've been trying to catch up on my movies and anime. I have also been playing World of Warcraft's new Wrath of the Lich King since February 2009. It's an on-and-off thing, but it still sucks up a lot of time. I should have new pics to post on that subject later on.

I'll be heading over to the Anime Expo at the LA Convention Center this Fourth of July weekend. I've never been to one of those, so I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. I should have some interesting cosplay pics coming in the following weeks. In any case, feel free to download the iPhone Wallpapers if you like them. Just be sure to adhere to the copyright info below. Thanks!

Terms and conditions: You may use my work ONLY as a wallpaper for your iPhone. By downloading my works, you agree to NOT publish, distribute, sublicense, transfer, modify, alter, edit or sell my work with out prior written consent from me.

Right-Click on the image to Download.

iPhone Wallpapers - Set 3

2009-05-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, I lied. It has been more than a couple weeks before I got around posting more iPhone Wallpapers from my trip to Asia. LOL. Well, life's been "exciting" actually, so I couldn't really find the time to work on this blog. My RIDE with G blog has been doing extremely well and I have been investing much of my free time there. Poor WhiteCarrot.com has been ignore lately as well. I do have some big plans for it but just haven't found the time to execute them. Back in March, I did a major design overhaul of RIDE with G and WhiteCarrot so be sure to take a peek at them if you haven't. I'll put up a formal entry for each site soon (I use that term relatively loosely by the way) so you can get an idea of what I did to it. Now, the good news is that the third set of iPhone Wallpapers from my trip to Asia last January is here. Go ahead and to download them if you like them. Again, please adhere to the copyright info below. Thank you!

Terms and conditions: You may use my work ONLY as a wallpaper for your iPhone. By downloading my works, you agree to NOT publish, distribute, sublicense, transfer, modify, alter, edit or sell my work with out prior written consent from me.

Right-Click on the image to Download.

iPhone Wallpapers - Set 2

2009-03-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

Here's the second set of iPhone Wallpapers from my trip to Asia last January. Feel free to download them if you like them, just make sure to adhere to the copyright info below. Thank you!

In the coming weeks, I will be posting more wallpapers, 3D work I've done on AliasStudio and other projects. Stay tuned...

Terms and conditions: You may use my work ONLY as a wallpaper for your iPhone. By downloading my works, you agree to NOT publish, distribute, sublicense, transfer, modify, alter, edit or sell my work with out prior written consent from me.

Right-Click on the image to Download.

iPhone Wallpapers - Set 1

2009-03-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

Early this year, I traveled to Taiwan and Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Armed with my Canon Rebel XSi, I snapped my way to over 2000 images in a two-week span. Needless to say, I managed to get a handful of decent shots which I feel are worth sharing. Since I'm a big fan of Apple's iPhone (I picked one up back in Sept 2008), I've decided to share my work with the iPhone community by making them into wallpapers. Here is my first set of pictures.

Terms and conditions: You may use my work ONLY as a wallpaper for your iPhone. By downloading my works, you agree to NOT publish, distribute, sublicense, transfer, modify, alter, edit or sell my work with out prior written consent from me.

Right-Click on the image to Download.

White Carrot Food and Travel Bloggging Community

2009-02-04T11:22:00.001-08:00

WhiteCarrot.com went through a lot of change the past three-four years. It started as a media company, then it became a childcare directory/baby goods bargain hunting website. After the "difficulties" I encountered working on this project (I don't want to get into details), I concluded that this domain name served best as a food/travel blog. Funny how things work out in life...Let's just say that I learned a whole lot from this experience. It has taught me much about Web Design/Development, Project/Team Management and Online Marketing. It is one of the main reasons why RIDE with G even exists and is semi-successful in it's own right.

This site also runs under Wordpress and it's original theme (Limau 0.1) was created by Bob in PHP/CSS. I did some minor CSS and graphical modifications to match the White Carrot color scheme.

Like RIDE with G, a new original layout is currently in the works for WhiteCarrot.com. Stay tuned!

RIDE with G

2009-02-03T18:00:00.000-08:00

As the name of this site implies, RIDE with G is a site run and operated by yours truly. On this website, I share my auto leasing knowledge with seasoned leasing veterans and newbies alike. Since March 2008, I've helped countless lessees get in and out of cars for less. Think of me as an Auto Leasing Bargain Hunter. I look for the best leases every month and share them with potential lessees.

This website operates under Wordpress, a very popular blogging software. The original theme/layout was created in PHP/CSS by Arcsin, which I then modified extensively to fit my websites needs. The graphics were created in PhotoShop while the logo was created in Illustrator.

Why "RIDE with G"? Technically, the website is supposed to be called "RIDE", the "with G" part means "with your host, G". I'm not really asking you to "RIDE with Me"...but you can if the opportunity ever arises. :)

BUCKET LIST: The Lalu @ Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan

2009-02-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

This place isn't technically a "Bucket List" candidate since I didn't find out about it until last Summer, when I saw pictures of this place on my niece's digital camera. Despite that fact, I am still very glad (and fortunate) to have had the pleasure to spend 3 days there. The amazing views of Sun Moon Lake and the architectural design of the Lalu made it a very special treat for me. I believe that once you see the photos below, you'll agree. If you click here you can read the full review I wrote of the Lalu, Sun Moon Lake and the food served there. I don't see a point of rewriting the same review here since that isn't really the point of this blog.

Here's a quick except from The Lalu's website, about the history of this resort:

"The Lalu is located on Sun Moon Lake’s Lalu Peninsula. In the past, the building served as Chiang Kai Shek’s travel accommodation. With a base area of 10 hectares, the hotel is divided into three buildings: Building ‘A’ houses the guest rooms; Building ‘B’ houses recreation equipment, including the spa, gym, sauna and members club; and Building C houses the villa, meeting rooms, library and parking lot.

The Lalu’s total floor area is 26,690 square metres, or about 8,000 pings. With a total investment cost of NT$1.86 billion, Shining Group spent over five years to complete the reconstruction of The Lalu since purchasing it in 1997. Its new style and features were unveiled to the public on March 3rd, 2002.

The Lalu’s architectural design centres on the themes of utmost simplification of Zen style and is constructed with four major building materials of wood, stone, glass and iron. Its unique “Ongoing Style” of architecture has impressed the public and alread becomes a model imitated by restaurants, hotels and various personal and business establishments."

2008 Los Angeles Auto Show!

2009-01-21T18:32:00.000-08:00

The 2008 LA Auto Show pretty much came and went without much fanfare. I can't blame them, the economy has been terrible and the auto industry has been hit from all sides. Sales are down from past years and banks are simply not lending money for leases and purchases. Compared to the 2006 Auto Show, the 2008 show are very tame. There was a lack of concept cars and it seemed that most manufacturers stayed away from the flashy stuff. Nissan was probably the most fun to visit since they had the GTR and the new 370Z on display. Those two rockets are certainly fun to look at...I can only imagine how much fun the are to drive...
The best looking ride of the show was probably the Buick Riviera. That car just looked so sexy and sleek. I am going to stay away from the "sex on wheels" comment since I consider that ridiculous. Kudos goes to the Chevy Camaro in black (with those mean red eyes). I was a bit turned off at the fact that Hyundai Genesis coupe was practically a clone of my G37. Boo! to you Hyundai for being a leech! The Mustang looks upgraded, but I don't think it can compete with the Camaro in the looks department. I also decided to spare you the pain of having to look at a pic of the interior of a Dodge Challenger RT...it's pretty depressing.

Here is a slideshow of the 2008 LA Auto Show:

Reel Kreative Images

2009-01-18T09:09:00.001-08:00

Reel Kreative Images was a site I built in 2005 for an A/V firm located in Orange County, CA that does commercials and videos. Surprisingly, they don't do design, which is why their website was outsourced. The current site, which you can find at www.rkitv.com has changed somewhat from the original design I did for them. (original design). Site was built in PhotoShop, Flash, HTML and CSS. Which version do you think looks best? My original design or their newer one?

良品婦幼聯合診所

2009-01-15T13:45:00.000-08:00

良品婦幼聯合診所 is an OB|GYN private practice located in Banciao City, Taiwan. This business also happens to be owned and operated by my sister (a very talented and shrewd business woman) and her husband (a highly skilled and knowledgeable doctor with years of experience). This site provides a wealth of information relating to infants, children, birth, motherhood, etc...definitely worth the read if you are an expecting mother and can read Mandarin. The site and branding were designed in PhotoShop, Illustrator, HTML & CSS. You can visit www.liangpin.com.tw to visit their website.

BUCKET LIST: Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial

2009-01-12T15:19:00.000-08:00

In November of 2007, I paid a little visit to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial. Being Taiwanese and all, I felt that it would be important to visit this place and learn some history of my motherland. I was a bit disappointed at the renovation going on during my visit. This made it a bit difficult to go up the stairs of the Memorial building, not to mention the fact that the ladders and barricades were rather unappealing to photograph. Overall, it was fun place to visit. The gardens were covered with beautiful flowers and there was a fair going on near the entrance which was quite entertaining. Highly recommended to those who have never been to Taiwan and would like to do something "touristsy". You can read more about Chiang Kai-Shek's life on Wikipedia, interesting stuff.

Digital Velocity, LLC

2008-12-04T09:14:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, logo design. I can't say I love it, but I've never really had a passion for it. This logo was created for a friend of mine who is starting his own software development company here in So. Cal. Logo was creative in Illustrator.

Neverwinter Nights 2 - Final Battle

2008-11-23T13:38:00.001-08:00

I recently managed to finish Neverwinter Nights 2 and I have to say, I really enjoyed the story line. The end wasn't very gratifying, but it was done mainly because the story continues on the expansion set, "Mask of the Betrayer". My favorite part was Act 3, where you get to build up your Keep, train soldiers and you actually get to use them when your Keep is under siege by the forces of darkness. Lot of fun. Now if they could fix the silly bugs and performance issues that plague this game, I think they have a winner here. The 3rd expansion, which should be out by now seems to be very promising. However, I won't invest the time on it since my PC clearly cannot handle poorly programmed software.

BUCKET LIST: Lung-Shan Temple

2008-11-23T13:24:00.000-08:00

Last year, when I went back to visit Taiwan, I visited the Lung-Shan Temple. Despite the heavy rain, it was an enjoyable visit. The architecture was amazing! With a lot of Buddhist and Taoist influences. What is most amazing about this experience was how many tourists and locals would come to this temple, rain or shine. You can visit the Lung-Shan Temple website HERE, which is in Chinese.

BUCKET LIST: Hawaii (Oahu)

2008-11-10T18:26:00.000-08:00

Back in the summer of 2006, we had a family reunion in Honolulu, Hawaii. The weather was great and the beaches were pristine. Ahhh Hawaii...how I miss thee...Love the diversity there. Quick highlights of the trip include: Swimming in Waikiki Beach; Driving through North Shore; Visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center; Pinapple Ice Cream at the Dole Plantation; Snorkeling in Hanauma Bay; Pearl Harbor; Seeing view of Honolulu from Diamond Head; Visiting 'Iolani Palace; Swap-meet at the Stadium. Great place to visit, although it's a bit on the expensive side. Oh! Costco was great, a lot different than the ones we have on the mainland.

Innocent Venus...Yawn.

2008-11-07T20:16:00.000-08:00

The story here revolves around a girl named Sana who is often referred to by the baddies as "Venus" along with her protectors Jin and Jon (think Ying and Yang). What I didn't like about this anime is how slow things unravel. Technically speaking, I could have skipped the first 25% of the anime and still be understand the story. The story isn't very strong either, the characters aren't fleshed out properly and the ending was somewhat anti-climatic and predictable. This is yet another "mecha/military" anime which revolves around Sana and the mechas in a post-apocalyptic era. Not exactly a "must see" but if you want to, it is a fairly short series so it won't waste too much of your time. You'll notice that I don't like to get into too much detail on my "anime reviews" because I really don't want to spoil it for anyone out there. Time and time again, I've read blogs about animes that say a little too much, thus ruining the suspense and the thrill of experiencing the storyline first hand.

NP Sports Management

2008-11-06T20:00:00.000-08:00

Let it be known that I did not actually design this website. If you see this post's tag, you'll notice that it is filed under "animation". That's because I only designed the animation on their homepage. Nothing fancy, just some constant moving objects and such.
NP Sports Management is a full service sports management agency which provides a variety of services to athletes, teams and corporations both on and off the playing field (taken from their site). To find out more about NP Sports or if you are curious as to how my animation turned out, click here.

MPPG Digital Corrugated Printing

2008-11-05T21:09:00.000-08:00

MPPG Digital Corrugated Printing website was designed for my company's marketing department to promote digital corrugated printing at one of our container divisions. What is Digital Corrugated Printing? Basically you can print any imagery directed onto corrugated material, also know as cardboard for those who don't know. Folks in our industry shy away from using the word "cardboard" for some reason, I guess it's because it sounds "cheap". In any case, this website helps showcase the benefits and highlights of this service and offers many sample of existing clients who have printed using our company's Digital Corrugated Printer. For more information on this service or if you are just curious as to what the website I designed looks like, click here.

BUCKET LIST: Going to San Francisco, California

2008-11-04T21:04:00.000-08:00

I feel like this is cheating since I've been to San Francisco so many times that I can hardly call it a "Bucket List" destination. I mean, I got relatives living near there so we visit the City often enough. I'm no stranger to SF since this was the city I immigrated to back in 1988. Even so, SF is a gorgeous city and deserves to be listed just for the reason alone. There's are many things to do in the City including Coit Tower, Golden Gate Bride, Cable Cars, Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square and Chinatown. I'm not going to elaborate too much here on this post since I've blogged about my most recent SF trip over at White Carrot Food and Travel Blog. Don't miss The Stinking Rose, House of Prime Rib and if you are willing to make the drive, Napa Valley.

BUCKET LIST: Going to the Disney Concert Hall

2008-11-03T21:22:00.000-08:00

It is very easy for Los Angelinos to forget that there are some really awesome places in our very own backyard. That is the case with the Disney Concert Hall located in Downtown Los Angeles. I went with my family to watch "The Grapes of Wrath" (which happens to be the most depressing opera/musical I've EVER seen) and didn't like it too much. Small price to pay since I really want to get inside the concert hall and look around. I'm a sucker for architecture so I put this place in my Bucket List. I figure it'd be easy to accomplish since it's not far from home. The place did not disappoint, the design is beautiful inside and out, although the seating was not very comfortable.
Here are some pics of the inside and out. I kind of got in trouble for taking pictures inside the hall, so enjoy if you have seen been there before!

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

2008-11-02T09:14:00.001-08:00

I have a distinct dislike for "mecha" anime. The main reason being that most mecha animes revolve around the different mecha's each character rides and how "skilled" they are. In addition, the whole "I need to become stronger" theme is getting pretty old too (I'm looking at you Bleach!). Code Geass has all those elements, but does not try to focus on any of them in particular, which is why I found it so enjoyable. I don't really want to spoil it for anyone, so I'll just say that this is a "mecha" anime, but doesn't focus too much on them. It has a highly "political" overtone with lots of plot twists and a great ending. Couple of "tear-jerking" moments and great continuation from episode to episode. Some things I didn't quite "grasp" and felt they were a bit of a stretch, but this is a "fantasy" anime so it isn't unexpected. The core of the story is great and the ending did sort of catch me by surprise. Definitely one of my top 10 favorites of all-time.

BUCKET LIST: Getting a Sports Car

2008-10-30T21:20:00.000-07:00

Everyone has something they want to do before they "kick the bucket" so I decided to compile my own list and post my progress. I think of this as a way for me to "visualize" my dreams and aspirations. I'm not fixated on completing my entire list (I got way too many things to do), but I would like to put a sizable dent to that list, so when it comes time to reflect on my life, I can feel like I lived a "rich and fulfilling life". To kick off my first Bucket List post, I went straight to one of my dreams, driving a sports car. It is every little boy's dream to drive a sports car in he's lifetime, so that's what I did this time around. Sure, it's a lease, but I get to "play" with it for the next three years, so I can't complain. The Infiniti G37 isn't exactly a sports car, but it is by far the fastest car I've ever driven and my most favorite of the bunch. So far, I have owned a '07 Acura TSX, '04 Mazda 3, '03 Audi A4, '01 BMW 325i, '97 Mazda MX6 and a '80 Toyota Cressida.

2008-2009 NBA Season. It's FANtastic

2008-10-28T01:55:00.000-07:00

2008 NBA SEASON began last night which means one thing. Fantasy BBALL BABY! I've been playing Fantasy BBall since 2003. For the last 5 years, I've finished twice at #1 and 5 times at #2. Not a bad record if I do say so myself. This year looks promising, but the league had to shrink down from 14 to 12 teams, which will prove more difficult to win and more competitive than previous years. Not too worried right now, but that will depend on how long my boys are out. You will see four our my main guys pictured above. From left to right, we have my boy Deron Williams, Andre Iguodala, Jason Kidd and Al Jefferson. Below, you will see a complete list of the guys I drafted on Draft Night.

Deron Williams
Al Jefferson
Andre Iguodala
Jason Kidd
Manu Ginonili
Kevin Durant
Gerald Wallace
Troy Murphy
Tyrus Thomas
Spencer Hawes
Charlie Villanueva

So far, Manu is out until Mid-December & Deron is out indefinitely with a severe sprain. Charlie V is on my cut list at the moment since he's looking like a disappointment, playing only 8 minutes on opening night and going 1-5 from the field. I'm thinking of hanging on for the remainder of the week to see what happens, however, if he starts to set a downward trend I will need to start looking at another guy to pick up.

Wallpaper | Aeternus

2008-10-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

AETERNUS is a wallpaper I created back in 1999/2000 when I was building my multimedia portfolio. This logo was heavily influence by my interest in Luis Rojo's gothic artwork. The logo was designed in Illustrator and the 3D effects were created in PhotoShop. No 3D software was used in the creation of this wallpaper. You can download this wallpaper here.