年初一 Sungai Dua 02

we waiting the sunset here,
and we continue our next destination
at Bentong, i wish i can stay at
this place for one or two days.

and we have an invitation to come back
next year CNY again... looking forward on this,
:D



i take a walk on a
underdeveloped rural road,
during the evening time...



i can see all people here
are friendly, and the society
here really close by, share and
care with each other...

i seldom saw they apply lock or gate
surrounding their house.

this show the real peaceful on this place...

年初一 Sungai Dua 01

we sit down beside the house,
usually people here will having 2 houses
one for residential, one for workshop...
we stay under the big durian tree
chatting about 2-3 hours, without felt bored...



i love this kind of rural place
very rustic and bucolic...
large and isolated areas of Pahang,
often with low populations. mainly Chinese...



we plan to visit a friend
that stay in Sungai Dua, Pahang,
off the highway near Karak.
located about 45 minutes away from KL

年初一 outstation visit

the whole day, most of the time
we also inside the car,in the journey
to visit friends at Bentong & Sungai Dua
because we bring along "GiGi"...
so we stop at rest house often...

Sir Elton John & Laban Roomes Bring Us Blinged Out iPods That Benefit AIDS Awareness

Laban Roomes of Goldgenie and Sir Elton John have collaborated to bring us Swarovski Crystal Starburst studded iPods ( limited to 100 of each color) to raise awareness and funds for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.



Above: Laban Roomes of Goldgenie.

They are available not only in 8 gig, but also in 16 gig. There will be just 100 of each colour /color (black, blue, green, orange, pink, purple, red, silver and yellow) and are available from, Selfridges or directly from Goldgenie Laboratories. As an extra bonus, Goldgenie are including "Rocket Man: The Definitive Hits CD" with every order.





The original iconic players are individually set with over 250 colour-coordinated Swarovski crystals and laser engraved with Elton John’s signature on the rear harnessing the very latest technology. They are backed by a full year’s guarantee.



By purchasing one of these, you will also benefit the many HIV/AIDS programms across 15 countries and 4 continents funded by EJAF.



This non-profit organization will receive at least 12.5% of the purchase price (ex VAT) to help their many projects. The charity was established by Sir Elton John in 1993 to help those living with, affected by or at risk from HIV/AIDS. You can see further information on the charity and it’s work on their website at www.ejaf.com.

Pre-order yours now here.

年初一 visit temple

It’s worth visiting,
for us to make a wish in the
"First Day" of Ox Year.
may all our wish in the year of
2009 comes true :-)



we paid the temple in PJ Old Town a visit
in conjunction with the Chinese New Year day one,
Meng's Mum would love to visit this temple...

is good to visit here and be a
half day vegetarian, stay calm.

年初一 visit day

is a happy day,
very meaningful new year to me
Happy Happy Chinese New YEar!!!!!

:D

年三十 Petaling Street 09 v2

i don't know when is the next time
i pay a visit here again, maybe not so soon,
but for sure i will miss this place so much...



Today a "Green Dragon" covers Petaling Street.
Rows of shop behind the Green Dragon...



coming back here
feeling just like a deja vu,
i think when i am aged
i will miss this place more then
many other places...

年三十 Petaling Street 09 v1

but i still have some fun memory here,
from my college time and early working period..



long time did not walk through
this place, notice here was
having a big change,
first thing in my mind was
this China Town not much Chinese people
already, and we look like outsider
when on the way to Kota Raya...:D


also known as Chinatown
among tourists, we call it Chi-Cheong-Kai
in Cantonese :D

it is the centre of Kuala Lumpur.

25/01/2009 noon time
we going there have a walk
for some photo shooting and some cheap things,
so act like a tourists of that day...

年二十九 self annual dinnner

i going off for CNY at 24/01/2009,
after work both of us having
our own annual dinner, with
Meng's favorite food -
Chongqing Chicken Pot at Kuchai Lama.

* i like this place,

A Magical Villa For VilaSofa's Amsterdam Store

A Magical Villa for VilaSofa


Tjep. was commissioned to create a shop environment for a new furniture brand called VilaSofa in Amsterdam. The result is a large playful warehouse.



VilaSofa is positioned between a conventional furniture shop and IKEA in terms of delivery speed. It offers mid-range prices for a wide public and a 48 hour delivery guarantee for all displayed models. The 48 hour claim became the main theme for the shop. They used the idea of a warehouse as metaphor for speed: a place were goods are stored for the transition from the producer to the very personal environment of your home.





The conceptual solution was surprisingly simple and logic: a combination of warehouse aesthetics and home aesthetics. This resulted for example into materials such as plywood usually used for crates combined with high-end glossy finishes. The symbols used in transportation and packaging have been metamorphosed into decorative elements that form room dividers, arranged to organize the space and routing.



Finally there is a big wall suggesting the idea of a magical villa. Is the customer looking at a giant styrofoam packaging element, or is the construction itself the actual villa? They see cavities for a big chandelier, a diversity of playfully arranged windows, romantic balconies, paintings etc... In this space they placed big 'picnic' tables where clients can take their time to inform about the product, talk to the VilaSofa staff.





Design team:
Frank Tjepkema, Janneke Hooymans, Leonie Janssen, Tina Stieger, Bertrand Gravier, Camille Cortet

Production:
Kloosterboer

VilaSofa's site
Tjep site

Ox Year 2009

Yeah, now already 6th day of CNY,
Great holiday already pass...
receive a lot best wishes from friend & family.
Got plans & dreams on this years
so need to be hard work as ox this year,
Keep it UP !!! MOOOoooo...
:D

Monkeys And Dogs And Bears. Oh My! Jill Greenberg's Photos

Jill Greenberg's amazing animal portraits are so expressive, I simply had to share a few of her enormous series with you. I say 'enormous' because she literally has over 80 portraits of monkeys to her credit, 40 portraits of bears (Ursine) and tons of dog portraits. I wish I could have shared them all with you, but it'd take about an hour to download. So, instead, I've chosen a few of my favorites from her prolific series of work.

As you will see below, she gets more personality from the faces of animals than most photographers do from people.

Monkeys:







Dogs:





.. and this beautiful one is Jill's own dog, Scooter:


Bears:









If you love these shots as much as I do, you'll be happy to know that she has publications of both the Monkeys (available on Amazon) and The Bears (Ursine) available directly from the Clampart gallery which sells several of her stunning prints from the Ursine series as well.




Jill and friend:


How does she do it? Well, here you can read an interview with the photographer about her animal portraits by Rosecrans Baldwin for The Morning News

Jill is a hugely successful photographer who uses digital manipulation, illustration and more in her craft. She has shot a lot for the entertainment industry, fashion, celebrity portraits and more. She has won many industry awards and continues to expand her portfolio. Visit her website here.


Above: just some of Jill's work

Greenberg was born in 1967 in Montreal, Canada. She graduated in 1989 from the Rhode Island School of Design and moved to New York City, where she was based until 2000. She now lives in Los Angeles with her family.