A Picture Perfect Afternoon

Since there will be quite a few friends traveling during the holiday season, we've decided to celebrate it earlier this year. Naeem, Will, John Sims, Suba, Eric and I went to the recently opened restaurant on the Plaza -- Brio -- to have lunch. After the wonderful meal, we all went to Will's place to exchange gifts and for some hot cocoa and dessert. The cake was scrumptious and the gifts were fabulous. The best part of this gathering was the time being together, and the thoughts we had for each other especially during the holiday season. It just warmed my heart to be in the same room with my close friends. Will has a gorgeous apartment. It is so nicely decorated that it seems like an instant set for a photo shoot. There were an art director, a graphic designer and a photo stylist in the group, so needless to say, the afternoon had turned into a photo session. However, the pictures above were taken spontaneously, without any art direction or extra styling. Somehow, without trying, the palette and the visual elements just turned into a Burberryesque picture. So, I just had fun with it!

O Tanenbaum, O Tanenbaum

To all the readers of my blog, Happy Holidays to all of you.

As the Yuletide season is fast approaching, I was debating whether or not to have a tree this year. I had a terrible experience once with a fresh tree and that had shied me away from the idea for years. Somehow, I revisited it again this year, perhaps just to entertain myself since my brother will be spending the holidays with my family in Malaysia; my best friend, Suba, will be in Montreal to celebrate her nephew's first birthday; and my boyfriend is perhaps going to visit his relatives in Colorado. That leaves me alone, all by myself. So, I've made up my mind to bring back the tree this year. A small and much manageble one. Here's the outcome of a fun filled crafty afternoon. I had been shopping for the ornaments for the past few evenings but had no luck finding the right size tree. After much running around town and calling a few places, I finally got the right one from a florist. This tree is a 4 foot Cedar Top, sparsely decorated with only 25 one-inch frosted globe lights, different sizes and shapes of glass ornaments, many shimmering icicles, and lime green & cream ribbons. The whole tree stands in a silver ice bucket with reindeer handles. I love the fact that it is unconventional, yet it has a touch of retro -- simple, monochromatic yet elegant. But most of all, I love it because it will be here with me this Christmas.

Bravo, HMC!

Heartland Men's Chorus has done it again! Last night's holiday concert, With Bells On, was simply outstanding! Being part of the chorus, I was extremely proud of how high the level of their performance was. After GALA 2004 in Montreal, Canada, I decided to take a much needed break. I was glad that it allowed me to sit back and enjoy the full effects of the performance from the audience point of view. From the set design to the choralography, everything came together in perfect harmony. (No pun intended.) The balance of the religious and secular holiday songs, the juxtaposition of the serious and funny selections, and the contrast between the traditional and non-traditional pieces were meticulously crafted. I am not a music critic by any means but I know how to appreciate a stunning concert. Last nights performance was a total audio and visual treat for the audience and an emotional ride that pushed all the viewers' right buttons at the right moment. It was so hard for me to even pick a favorite piece because the performance came together so well as a complete concert. All the songs complimented each other and made every individual one unique. However, if I have to pick one, the Silent Night, Holy Night selection was by far the most powerful of all, something I've never seen or heard before. Just when you thought how many Silent NIghts can a chorus sing after 19 years of Holiday concerts, they totally surprised the audience by singing it in sign language. After the first verse, the chorus repeated the same verse. This time, in total silence. They continue signing, but no music nor singing. They sang in "silence". The audience just held their breath, awed by the haunting simulated "new" experience of being deaf and how we often take all our senses for granted. Some of us were moved to tears. Congratulations to the Chorus for all the hard-work and such a superb performance. Bravo! I can't wait to go back and sing with you guy for the next concert.

Wreath Sold

I'm glad that the wreath was sold before the end of the auction. It went for $100. The turn out was good so the store was packed. I wonder if the sale would have been better if they didn't look so blend-in with everything else at the Restoration Hardware. There was a little mix up in the beginning on the identity of my wreath. I had seperately brought in the wreath and the card which had the sponsor's name and a little dedication message. I told the person who took the card from me to attach it to the wreath that's made out of candy. She did, but to a different wreath that had fake candy ornaments over an evergreen wreath. Luckily, as I was browsing around, I stumbled upon it and saw that the card was on the wrong wreath! So I took it and stuck it on mine. A client of mine and his wife were there when I pulled the card off and he said, "I was thinking, I don't think Michael's work is this traditional."

Hope Sweet Hope

Thursday, December 2nd is Holidays By Design, organized by DIFFA/KC (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS). There will be a silent auction of about a hundred one-of-a-kind holiday wreaths designed and sponsored by various firms in the design industry, at the Restoration Hardware on the Plaza from 5:30pm - 9pm. Here's the wreath I created, sponsored by TakeTwo. It is made out of almost 5 pounds of candies, and hung over a frosted mirror. Entitled "Hope Sweet Hope", it is dedicated to all the 2.2 million children with AIDS in the world this holiday season. To whoever won the bid on this wreath, THANK YOU!
Let's not forget that December 1st is World AIDS Day. Let us ask ourselves, have I done anything to help fight this disease?

Stylish Buddha

This one came from Suba this morning. She took this picture of the statue in her garden. Looks like mink is back this season. This time with a full ensemble of high collar coat and furry hat. It is simply divine!

Still Snowing...

A total of 4 inches of snow is already on the ground at around 8am, and we're still getting more. This is taken from the entrance to my house, looking out to the street at my big tree. The snow is wet and heavy. I talked to Suba over the phone this morning and apparently, she had already gotten an e-mail invitation to go to a snowball fight! (I bet this type of snow is best for making snowball.) That's insane! I'm going back to bed.

First (Thunder)snow of the Season

This year's weather has been rather strange. I think we had the most the-weather-is-so-beautiful-I-wish-I-could-take-the-rest-of-the-day-off days this year. Very mild spring. Comfortable summer. And gorgeous and stretched out autumn. The foliage has never been so vibrant. Just last week, we had a balmy near 70 day in mid November! Of course, mother nature decided to surpise us with an early snow right before Thanksgiving. It was just rain earlier, but now the sound of rain is gone, and rain has totally changed into big white flakes. (Wow, I just heard the rumbling sound of thunder!) I think the snow and thunder combination is a rare phenomenon. Looks like the ground is not cold enough for any accumulation, but the grassy area has been blanketed already with snow. It is always fun to wake up in the morning and not knowing what to expect outside the window. It is even doubly fun, if you don't have to go to work that morning. Hurray!

Priceless Juxtaposition

While I was shopping at Costco today, I came across something rather amusing. As usual, I took my regular route, sweeping the big aisle anti-clockwise, and never fail to stop at the big stacks of DVDs. As I was scanning through the titles to see what's new and what's cheap, I found Showtime's female version of Queer As Folk, the first season of "The L Word". And there in front of my eyes, underneath the pink and the oh-so-lipstick boxsets, were the discs of "The Passion of the Christ!" Was it a coincident, or perhaps a joke?
I was glad that I had my newly acquired spy-cam (code name 007) handy, and got a shot of this funny picture. I guess, this is perhaps a simple illustration of the fact that, even though we're living in the middle of the "red state", there is still some "pink" among us. And they're not afraid to be on top.

Fanta Girls Video

This is the highlight video of the Fantanas at the 2004 TakeTwo Halloween party. Weren't they look fabulous? I'm sure Edna Mode would agree. They were all so giddy because of all the attentions they got from the fans and Paparazzi, especially Kiki. She did a Crouching Tiger move as she was getting off the stage which took the girls by surprise. (Notice how everyone stayed in character even during the moment of crisis. As long as thier wigs were on.)

Edna Mode, Dahling!

I thoroughly enjoyed the Incredibles, the new Pixar animation that opened last weekend, I saw it twice on the same day. Just like the rest of the Pixar creations, the movie has both great visuals and amazing story. This is the first time we get to see human characters play the lead roles, and they are absolutely fantastic and believable. One the characters that tickles me the most is Edna Mode, the 3'8" superhero fashion consultant. (Brilliantly voiced by the director, Brad Bird himself!) There is a list of names out there that most critics suggest the character was based upon. The most mentioned is Hollywood's legendary costume designer, Edith Head. (Left) However, I think Edna reminds me of the fashion editor, Regina Krumm, in Pret-a-Porte , played by Linda Hunt. (Right) And I'm sure those over-sized glasses are from the late fashionista Carrie Donovan. Who else, Dahling. Edna's character is further enhanced by her fabulous mid-century modern inspired futuristic home that's filled with sleek minimal furniture. I wonder how she cooks, since she's shorter than her kitchen counter top.

Class of 74

Was Fanta big in the 70s?

More Fantanas

The Real Deal

Here's the real girls in case you don't know who the heck are the
Fantanas. I think we have better legs.

Wanta Fanta?

So here you go, our Halloween costumes -- The fantastic Fantanas!
Sophia (John Ong), Lola (me), Capri (Will) and Kiki (John Sims). The
are more photos to come, I'm sure. This one is taken by a professional
photographer.

Trick or Treat?

Well, Halloween came and went, and it was one of the most memorable one because my parents were here experiencing it for the first time. There are probably less then 10 children on our blook, but somehow, kids from don't know where just appear every year during this time. I mean bus loads of them! We decided to go to the 6pm Mass at the Cathedral because none of us wanted to get up too early after the big party at TakeTwo on Saturday night, (which I will talk about it in the future posting). The first group of trickortreaters showed up as we were leaving at around 5:30pm. So, I said, "Tough luck. Go to the next door." Less then 2 hours later, as we were entering our block, there were cars parked on both sides of the street, and trickortreaters everywhere, in the chilly rainy evening. As I was getting into my house, my neighbor dashed out and said, "I'm turning my lights off. All my 200 pieces of candies are gone! You're taking over." So we did. Between 7:30pm to about 9pm, we gave out about 200 candies! In other words, about 400 kids showed up in less then 4 hours! I was glad that we didn't miss the crowd because it's a culture not to be missed if you're not from the US and I want my parents to have the chance to give out candies to the kids. They not only gave out candies, they alsio took quite a few pictures of the cute trickortreaters. And they also took some of their own, in costumes. They seemed to have a good time. I'm glad that their last night of their 2 month visit was a really special one. And for next year, I now know how many trickortreaters to expect. Or perhaps I'll go out of town...

Party Pics

Party Pics

After a few cosmos, Princess Leia has decided to become a Playboy Bunny and there's always lots of boys at Suba's party. How lucky!

Suba's Birthday @ Grand Street

Pink! Everything Pink! That's the theme for Suba's birthday. Of course, she didn't know about it, but if she did, she kept it pretty tight to herself. There were 12 of us at the table, eating desserts and drinking pink drinks. And Suba got to open those pretty pink presents of hers.

Audio Blog Second Attempt

Just to test it again, I called on my cell phone a few minutes later. It was quite hilarious that mom is in the backgroud, saying "Testing 1,2,3...". Of course, later that evening, after listening to it again on my computer, she said it's embarrasing and asked me to erase it.

Set Up Audio Blog On The Way To Wichita

It was a 3+ hour drive to Wichita from Kansas City. The sun had finally come out after a week long of gloominess. This was the first time my parents meet Bruce's parents. To entertain ourselves on the road, John got online through his cell phone and I asked him to sign up audioblogger so we could all blog in the car with my phone. We made mom say something in Hokkien like as if she's leavning a phone message for my sister and her family in Malaysia. FUN!

One More Week

It seems like ages ago when we first talked about the Halloween costume idea and now it's just days away! For those who would like to know what we're going to be, will have to wait until next Saturday. I'm glad that my mom is staying with me. She's helping me sew all outfit. Right now, John is here at my place working on his costume. There will be all together 4 of us as a team. Will and John Sims are busy tonight so we'll have to work on theirs on Monday evening. I'm beginning to feel a little nervous about not being able to finish our grand idea for TakeTwo's notorious Halloween Party, which has a crowd of a thousand, all from the advertising and creative industry. Anyone who has been to the party will tell you how elaborate most partiers' costumes were. I can only imagine how busy everyone's blogs are going to be come next weekend. There's going to be a sea of digital party pics of all kinds posted to be shared with the rest of the world.

A Funny Music Video

I stumbled upon this site http://www.ryantown.com/gayboyfriend/# and I
think the production quality and the special fx is pretty amazing. I'm
constantly surprised by how some low budget projects can still be so
good! Don't forget to check out "The Making Of" featurette.

Dinner at Blue Koi

Suba, Naeem, Will, John and I went to Blue Koi on 39th Street for dinner last night. Naeem is leaving for a 2-week vacation touring Italy. Seems like he just came back from Greece the other day. I wish I have the monitary capability to be so mobile and adventurous. Anyway, we were going to take some pics so I can blog it, but of course, we totally forgot to do so. Despite the odd combination of a square and a round table for five, and the randomness of our dinner converstation -- from Avon's Bust Lift cream to astrology, and everything in between, we had a nice time.

Boo!

My folks are like little kids again, enjoying this very foreign but fun
festival. This picture was taken on October 17, at Pome On The Range
Orchard in Williamsburg, Kansas. (About an hour south of Kansas City).
We picked over 20lbs of apples from the trees and five pumpkins!

Jack-O-Lanterns

My parents are here visiting from Malaysia and this is their first time
experiencing Fall. They are really fascinated by the dynamic palette of
the foliage, and Halloween is a brand new holiday to them. For a first
timer, my dad did a superb job in carving the pumpkin. He did the
"Flying Witch" and I did the "Spider". However, I don't think they're
going to last until the end of the month because one of them has become
rather moldy.

iPod Silhouettes

A hip Halloween costume idea: A tube of black face paint, black wigs
(or not if you have black hair or bald), black gloves, black outfit,
and an iPod. Make sure you stand close to a bright colored wall all the
time, and pretend that you're listening to some fun music even though
you've already run out of battery.
P.S. Don't get to drunk or someone might steal your iPod. You may need
some time to get the black paint off your clogged pore. Unless, of
course, if you have black sheet, then you can just go to bed without
taking off your makeup.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Blah Blah Blog is Born

Well, this is the virgin posting, so perhaps it's only appropriate to ask, what's with Madonna changing her mame to Esther?! Oye!