The Fall of the House of Usher Poster

Here's the poster I designed for Eric for his students' play The Fall fo the House of Usher. Thanks to Lauren for being my hand model. The rest are all Photoshop. (No finger nails are harmed in the making of this poster.)

Cooking With Suba

Suba is teaching how to cook a fabulous meals starting with weekend, August 27. She will using my kitchen to conduct her class - "A Gourmet Kitchen" as she put it. I helped her set up her own blog so she can post class schedules and pictures from the classes online. Of course, by helping her doing that, I get to be the food taster for all classes. Yum!

Nip/Tuck Season 4 Spoiler

For those of you Nip/Tuck fans, I'm sure you're eager to find out what to expect this season, starting on September 5. I would have thrown another season premiere party like last season, but I'll be in Juneau, Alaska that day. I wonder if we can get the FX Channel on the cruise ship? If not, I'll just have to depend on my DVR. I've gathered a few spoilers from various sources and publish them here for the convenience of other fans. First of all, there's a list of celebrities appearing as guest stars - Larry Hagman (a surgery on his private part), Brooke Shields Christian's psychiatrist, actually a sexual-compulsive shrink), Rosie O'Donnell, Kathleen Turner, Richard Chamberlain, Cybill Shepherd, Sanaa Lathan, Jaqueline Bisset, Peter Dinklage (McNamara's night nurse for the baby) and Catherine Deneuve (who wants her dead husbands ashes be implanted in her boobies!) Then I heard, Julia (Joely Richardson) is going to give birth to an abnormal baby in episode three. And she will be off for about five episodes and come back for the season finale. Christian will be questioning his sexuality? Interesting. According to TV Guide.com, McMahon said, "[Christian] will be exploring new aspects of his sexuality." Remember Matt shot a guy who tortured him in the season finale. Apparently he didn't die, and we get to see the resolution the story in episode two. And Kimber will be all about Matt?! And Matt will fall in love with Kimber. Yikes! So, there you go. Enjoy the Fourth Season!

Goodbye, Will.

Will recently relocated to Minneapolis. Suba and I decided to compile some old pictures and put together a slide show as part of his going away gift. He burst into tears when we played for him, and of course, we all cried along with him. It was great career move for him and we are all very happy for him. However, we know we’re going to miss him dearly because he made such a big impact in all of our lives here. Farewell, my friend!

Sometimes Three Available on iTunes

The album that I designed for Sometimes Three has been released on iTunes. That means the album cover will be exposed to a huge audience. I'm very excited for the band. Check them out and see what you think. Note that the picture that I posted on April 24 ended up being used for the back cover instead. I think it was a wise choice since they are a new band and it helps putting a face to the group. After all, they are VERY photogenic.

Flamingo Friday

It's Flamingo Friday every Friday on our block during Summer. Each home volunteers to host the pot luck party. Mine was in mid June, and I think it was one of the best! (Considering my house is the smallest one on the block, it was a smashing success.) The first picture was in front of my yard taken two months ago. The second one is the watermelon basket I carved to bring to my neighbor's Famingo Friday Party last weekend.

Birthday Thoughts

A year went by so quickly. One great benefit on keeping a blog - I went back and read my 2005 birthday thoughts with just a click of a button! Last year's thought summed up into one short sentence: Relationships are the true essence of happiness in life. A year later, that statement still means a lot to me. My friends are the fabric of my life. They connect moments and experiences through out the years that define my existence. I'm always thankful for knowing and keeping in contact with them, near and far.

Recently, I'm a little sadden by the fact that, a very dear friend of mine, Will, is relocating to Minneapolis. He is a great inspiration to me and his mild manner clams me down. We both sing in the Heartland Men's Chorus, and I still remember vividly the day we met on rehearsal in the summer of 1998. I guess people come and go in our lives. Just like me packing up and came to the United States 15 years ago, leaving behind my dearest group of friends from high school. The distance didn't keep us from being close to each other, and all of us are constantly making our best efforts to travel to see each other. This year, it's their turn to come visit, and I'm very excited to play host! Knowing that true friends can never be separated by distance, it gives me hope that the friendship between WIll and I is only mildly challenged by about 6 hours of distance.

It always amazes me to think how people cross path and meet each other amongst the sea of individuals in this world. Everyone we know in our lives, is through a chain reaction of and events or people, one person leading to the other. Some people stick around, and some people, you meet for a few hours next to you on a plain ride, and never again cross path. Either you choose to belief that this random path crossing is by design or it is just mere coincidences, we cannot deny that all these cross points effect the doors that lead us to many possibilities in life, just like the Butterfly Effect. This coming year will be an eventful one for me. My parents will be visiting in about a month, and together with my brother, we're going on an Alaskan cruise; followed by the visit of my best friends, Josh and Derrick, during Thanksgiving; and the biggest event ahead - taking the big step of sharing a home with Eric, a new one that we're building soon. Even thought, it is both exciting and a little daunting at times to go down this path that has been brought to me through many past possibilities, I choose to sit back and enjoy the adrenaline along the way. Isn't this what we call the taste of life, anyways?

My Ecological Footprint

Environmental issues are not news to many people, but recently, it has become a major topic in our daily conversation. Perhaps it's because gas price has climbed up to $3.00 a gallon now. Al Gore's movie An Incovenient Truth which came out at the right time opened many people's eyes, and Who Killed the Electric Car?, another interesting documentary is coming soon, which I'm sure will make people want to go out and get a hybrid car immediately. With all these eco-talk, I've decided to take the Ecological Footprint Quiz to test and see my lifestyle, as an individual, impacts the planet. Before I took the quiz, I thought my eco-footprint would be smaller than the average American, since I grew up in Asia, and I've learned not to be wasteful. To my surprise, I scored a whopping 33 points! An average American's Eco-footprint is 24 acres, and mine is 11 acres more! (The Ecological Footprint measures the amount of ecologically productive land and sea area it takes to sustain an individual in a year.) Yikes! My worst score is under "Shelter". I guess apparently, living alone is not environmental friendly. You can take the quiz at myfoorprint.org.

Second Week of Yoga

For me, one of the toughest thing going to Yoga is that the teachers likes to keep the room very warm. It was 96 degrees outside, and I was worried that the classroom is going to be as hot as outside. To my surprise, the A/C was on! It was no cool but at least it was bearable. Nicole's mom was in town and she didn't show up for the class. The second week is a much better week for me. I think things that I learned a few years ago are slowing coming back to me. And I believe that I have a little more confidence after the first class and so I pushed myself a little more this time. My body felt really great after the class because I felt like I pushed myself as much as I could and I was sweating like a pig! I don't know if it's the heat, or I'm working harder, or I'm doing the Ujjayi Breath (Victorious Breath) right, or the combination of all of the above, I was totally soaking wet, including my underwear. Today class was a great workout got me and I'm very much looking forward to the next class!

Back to Yoga

After a long break, I've finally decided to go back to practicing yoga again. Last Sunday was my first class after stopping for a couple of years. I used to go to the Yoga Gallery religiously to practice Ashtanga Yoga, a form of yoga that is popularly known as Power Yoga. The school closed down after a fire, and my routine got interrupted. After that, one of the teachers opened her own school, called Maya Yoga. I went on and off for a period of time and finally just quit totally. Maya Yoga is now right across the street from my new office. It is almost like a sign, calling me back. So, I made up my mind. Of course, I went back to the Intro class because I have a lot to catch up. I dragged Nicole, my coworker, with me, so at least I have someone to moan to after the class. During the class, I really felt like as if I've never done Yoga before. It was so hard to start after a long break. I could only do half of what I did before! And today, I am so sore, I could barely take off my t-shirt. However I feel great knowing that I've done something really good for my body, which I haven't pushed myself so much for a long time. I've been slacking on making myself fit and it long overdue. I'm looking forward to this coming Sunday for the next class, and I know it's going to get easier each time, because I've done it before.

Photo Shoot

Suba and I went to the West Bottom to shoot the album cover for a local band called Sometimes Three. Here's a sneak peek of one of the many great shots we got this afternoon. We used three cameras to shoot, and I'm still waiting on the other two groups of images. For a sample of their songs, go to sometimesthree.com. The CD is scheduled to release on May 30th, the night of their performance at the Grand Emporium.

Spring is Here

Here's a picture taken on the street where I live. Right now is one of the most beautiful seasons of the year, when the trees are blooming pretty pink and white... and the grass is finally green again. My mom would have gone crazy if she sees this. However, she and my dad will be visiting in Fall, which is another favorite season of mine. So, here's a Spring picture for you, mom.

San Francisco Photo Montage

Thanks to Eric, we do have some very wonderful pictures from our trip. Actually, there were one or two pictures in the video that came from my disposable camera. (i.e. the Alcatraz Lighthouse.) I quickly put together a little montage of some highlights of the trip in one evening. iMovie is just simply fabulous to play with! Anyway, I'll be making a few more videos so I get to include some other pictures of our friends we met there. Enjoy the video!

San Francisco Trip

I just came back from a one week vacation in San Francisco with Eric. The trip was fabulous and we did the very typical tourist stuff except I didn't have my camera with me! This is a first for me, going on a vacation without my digital camera. I found out about the absence of my camera in my bag on our way to the airport. That morning I had taken it out to clear up my memory card and must had forgotten to put it back. I was rather disappointed because I never leave home without my camera, but Eric has his with him so it was not the end of the world that I don't have mine with me. In fact, I convinced myself it would be a change for me because now I can truly experience my vacation and not trying to capture my memories through the view finder and miss out on the real deal at that moment "live!" I think it was the second day and I could not resist myself because I was itching to recording my experience with a camera, so I got myself a very low-tech disposable camera from Walgreens for $6.99. Of course, I had only 27 exposures and no zoom. I totally forgot how one has to conserve film because there's a limit to how many pictures one can take, and that one can't view the picture immediately after each click. It was certainly a refreshing experience because I vaguely remember the feeling of anticipation of each exposure and the excitement "risk taking" because of the uncertainty of the outcome. Later, I realized that I should not be complaining because at least I was using a 35mm film! Even though the camera is just a cheap plastic camera obscura with a flash, the medium itself was arguably more superior that digital. The first thing I walked into the door today was to look for my digital camera, to see where I so carelessly left behind. I looked around but it was nowhere to be found. I got panic and when back to my bag and ransacked the whole thing and sure enough, all these while, my digital camera was in my bag, which went with me to San Francisco and back, hidden between the torn lining, à la Carrie Bradshaw's signature necklace she thought she lost at the Dior store in Paris. Well, looks like I don't need my digital camera after all for me to remember this trip!

Bathroom Makeover

This long overdue project is finally completed! There were many plans and many changes, numerous quotes both high and low. But in the end, I chose to make just a small face-lift since I'm not sure how long I'll be living in this house. After a few coats of fresh paint, a brand new deluxe one-piece low profile Kohler toilet and Isaac Mizrahi's bathroom wall cabinets and armoire, the transformation is done. It may not be my dream bathroom, but I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Many thanks to John and Bruce for helping installing the wall cabinet. It was deceptively difficult to hang a relatively small piece of cabinet on the wall with just two screws. It took three big guys to complete the job!

Money Tree

I threw a Chinese New Year party last night. All my guests seemed to have a nice time...eat, drink, man, woman... except my best friend, Suba, missed the party because she's sick and was not well enough to show up.

I had ordered some flowers for the party a few days ago and they didn't turn out to be something I wanted when they arrived at the florist, so I just changed my plan and decided to go with a branch that looks like a bald bonzai tree. I stuck it into a pot filled with soil and covered it with some pebbles. It turn out to be pretty cool under my two paper lanterns. Half way into the party, Will suddenly remembered this tradition he learnt while he was in Hong Kong last year, and said, "I need a dollar note for the money tree." He got a buck and tied it into a bow on the branch. Apparently it's for prosperity.

Even though I'm Chinese and celebrate Chinese New Year all my life, my family never really follow closely to the tradition that has anything to do with prosperity or wealth because we're Catholics. To us, New Year celebration is thanksgiving and family reunion. Of course, after Will tied the first dollar bill on the tree, all my guests turned to me and asked me to explain about the tradition. I was puzzled but hey, it's money, so I guess I LIKE this tradition. Yes, everyone should tie money on the money tree for prosperity. In fact, next year I'll have an outdoor party. I have a bigger tree outside!

Everyone started pulling out money and made all kinds of origami to decorate the tree. It was hilarious! I haven't counted the total on the tree yet because I want to keep them up there for the whole fifteen days of the celebration. However, I did spot a few $5 notes and one $20 bill! Wow! Thank you, guys! It was quite a properous night for me. Thanks, Will. I'm definitely doing this again next year.

Little Shop of Horrors Poster

Here's another poster than I recently completed. It is another popular musical that audience are expecting to see the iconic image, in this case, a giant man-eating plant. David, the director, is staging the musical ala Film Noir style and that gives me a very distinct art direction for the poster. I requested David to provide me with a line or two of some kind of a "B-Movie-esque" poster tag lines to go with the campy retro movie posters, and he actually opened it up to the students to come up with something. They end up provided me with a long list of creative tag lines to pick from. I was just exciting that the kids get to participate in the creative process as well. In the illustration, I placed the plant behind a store window, which allowed me to position the title as the store sign on the glass window. Production Note: The illustration was done with a marker on paper and then scanned and traced in Illustrator. Colors were filled in later and a digital photo of a textured surface was overlaid onto the whole image to add a touch of organic and painterly effect.

Angels in America Poster

Here's the poster of Angels in America for the Jewish Community Center. Since HBO has popularized the play and the imagery of their promotional materials seem so familiar to the public, the challenge for me was to come up with something original; not to repeat something HBO had done. After meeting with Mark, the director, I've decided to take the conceptual route for the visual, as opposed to the approach of HBO which is pretty much a glorified still shot of a scene from the mini series. The final outcome was an image of a glint of hope amidst the destruction and darkness of Part One. Production Note: It was a bright sunny day on Sunday and I took a bunch of pictures at the construction site of my new office since they had just knocked down a brick wall a few days ago. The image on the poster is a composite of at least 6 still images. Of course the feather was also a separate image.

A Chorus Line Poster

Here'e the poster I designed and illustrated for A Chorus Line presented by the Jewish Community Center that's coming up in a few weeks. The posters are printed and delivered today and I can't wait to see them. Next in line is Angels in America.

Continuing Conversations: A Collaborative Painting Effort between Subashini Nadarajah and Michael Ong

Artist Statement
It takes chemistry, understanding, courage, selflessness, total faith and respect for two artists to share a canvas and come up with one final work of art. Obviously, that's the kind of relationship we have. Being best friends for 16 years, our careers and lives thrive on each other's inspirations, ideas, criticisms and encouragements.
The works in this show evoke memories of our friendship over the years and the many spontaneous conversations that we've shared...both happy and sad. This collection of twelve paintings is, in essence, a visual dialogue between the two of us.
In the making of these paintings, we would start a canvas, then send it on for the other to continue, without discussing what should be done next. We were often surprised by how far we pushed each other's envelopes. In the end, we both came to the realization that two in-sync creative minds are better than one. This is our first collaborative painting show, but it definitely won't be our last. After all, we enjoy our continued conversations.

Here's the complete collection of the 12 paintings of the show.