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Digital Tilt-Shift Photography

London Bridge Model, originally uploaded by CeeKay’s Pix.

I first read and saw a fake (or digital) tilt-shift photography in Wired Magazine. It is a technique that manipulates life-size locations or objects so that they look like miniature models.

I have a rough theoretical idea on how to do it but had never tried it as I was too lazy to find suitable shots that I can use to clearly demonstrate this technique.

So it was in one quiet Friday evening when I was diligently seated in front of my PC (while waiting for the 5GB Victoria Secret Fashion Show to be split and copied to my thumb drive) that I decided to give this a try.

I must say that I am quite pleased with the results.

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Outliers

Malcolm Gladwell: Outliers
Malcolm Gladwell: Outliers

 

 

Outliers: The Story of Success

Malcolm Gladwell

“No one who can rise before dawn three hundred and sixty days a year fails to make his family rich.”- Chinese Proverb

Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers is thin in terms of pages but not short on great and entertaining bits.  It explores the phenomenon of human outliers, i.e. individuals or groups that stand out significantly from the accepted norm. Ironically, at the end of the book, Gladwell hopes to have persuaded you that there are no such things as human outliers.

His premise is simple: great success comes to those who are born at the right time, brought up in the right environment and are hardworking. Having a high IQ or an innate talent helps but one just have to be smart or talented enough to be successful.

He weaves interesting tales about Canadian hockey players, Silicon Valley technoprenuers, The Beatles, Asian math whizzes, Korean Airlines, among others, to make his point quite convincingly. And he tells a pretty personal story at the end of the book on the journey of a hardworking Jamaican girl who was born at the right time and brought up in the right environment who eventually became his mother.

Maybe I was reading Outliers through a pair of slanty Chinese eyes because I find some of his conclusions as nothing more than common sense, or at least, common sense that I grew up with. It seems painlessly simple but every Asian that I know, knows that no success can come without hard work (and a little bit of luck) and the right roots.

Exerpts:-

The 10,000 hour rule

Harlan, Kentucky

Rice Paddies and Math Tests

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Perak Government Falls?

The political drama that is the state of Perak took an abrupt turn for the absurd when the BN claimed that it had enough assemblymen to form the state government, ousting the current Pakatan Rakyat alliance.

What started as a “victory” for the Pakatan Rakyat when Anwar Ibrahim appeared in a press conference together with an UMNO turncoat two weaks ago turned horribly wrong for the fledgling DAP-PAS-PKR alliance goverment. Not only did 2 missing-for-a-week PKR assemblymen defected to the other side, a disgruntled DAP assemblywoman did the same. And most dramatic of all, the Anwar hugging UMNO turncoat, turned again, this time back to UMNO. This gave the BN-led opposition enough seats to technically form the state government as it now has a simple, slim majority in the Perak state assembly.

This farcical turn of events unfolded at 4pm today when the turncoats turned up in Putrajaya for a press conference by Najib announcing that BN has enough seats to form the state goverment. At around the same time, the Menteri Besar of Perak, Nizar was with the Sultan of Perak, seeking his grace’s permission to dissolve the state assembly thus paving the way for a fresh state election.

At the end, the Sultan decided to sleep over it without making any decisions.

PKR needed people to field during the last general election. Not having enough candidates, they picked anyone who breathed. Meanwhile, DAP, who had been in the opposition for so long, cannot even work together to govern without opposing each other. Making things worse is that UMNO has the money to buy off anyone they liked. Would you take the RM 50 million if you were offered to jump?

If it wasn’t so tragic, it would be really funny.

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Historical Penang

 

Cheah Si Sek Tek Tong, originally uploaded by CeeKay’s Pix.

Georgetown is probably one of the most historically interesting city in Malaysia. Though I was born there, I had never truly visited the historical heart of the city, until lately.

On July 8, 2008 Penang and Melaka were given World Heritage Site status by UNESCO because of their “remarkable examples of historic colonial towns on the Straits of Malacca that demonstrate a succession of historical and cultural influences arising from their former function as trading ports linking East and West”.

When I was in Penang last week, I saw for myself why this island truly deserved this international recognition. I’ve tried to capture and reproduce the mood and atmosphere of the place through these pictures but nothing can really substitute the particular buzz of the place as much as being there in person.

Do check out the rest of the picture set at my Flickr page.

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Not your daddy’s Star Trek

I really can’t wait until May to watch J.J.Abram’s new rebooted Star Trek movie. In the meantime, the best that we can do is to drool over the latest trailer…

This superbowl spot contains previously unseen scenes from the theatrical trailer.

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Penang Botanical Gardens

mebeli

Red Ant, originally uploaded by CeeKay’s Pix.

I’ve visited the Penang Botanical Gardens this morning and took some really interesting shots. Nothing really drives home the existence of a parallel micro universe of insects going about their daily routines better than the view coming through the camera’s viewfinder.

As joggers jog and people walk, these critters were working very hard cutting down leaves, transporting food to their hives, eating and collecting flower syrup.

After this morning’s excursion, I shall never look at a tropical garden park quite the same anymore.