In conjunction with the 60th anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) will be organizing a concert at the MPCA Hall, Kuala Lumpur on 13th December. Bands performing are Komplot, Shock System, Couple, Dum Dum Tak and also singer-songwriter Mei Chern, Liyana of Estrella and Rozaimin of Gang Buster. There will also be screening of a short documentary, Mari Kita Beraktivism! Mark the date on your calendar and see you there!

Malaysian Social Research Institute (MSRI) will be organizing ‘The KL Film Fest & Art Exhibition on Palestine‘ this 27th till 29th November at The Annexe Gallery, Central Market in conjunction with the ‘International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People‘. The event is also to commemorate the 60th year of Al-Nakba or “The Catastrophe”, of the Zionist regime forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their land.

In solidarity with the Palestinians, the 3 day cultural event will be featuring 10 films and documentaries on Palestine such as Encounter Point by Ronit Avni, The Iron Wall by Muhammad Alatar, Arna’s Children by Juliano Mer Khamis, Visit Palestine by Katie Barlow among others.

There’ll also be presentation and selling of artworks of 20 Malaysian contemporary artistes such as Abroco, Ahmad Fuad Osman, Fathullah Luqman, Hishamuddin Rais, Kamal Sabran, Rahmat Haron, Rat and Saiful Razman. The main attraction is ‘The Brick’ exhibition that symbolizes Palestinians hope to return to their land and rebuild their lives, while for the Israelis it symbolizes the occupation of the West Bank for 40 years that denied Palestinians economic, social and cultural rights.

Proceeds from the sale of the artworks, exhibition and donations will be use to help and rebuild homes of hundreds of  thousands Palestinian refugees families in the Nahr al-Bared camp in Lebanon that was destroyed in 2007. The event is brought to the Malaysian public to show our solidarity and support for human rights in Palestine and the Right of Return for the refugees.

For detail schedule on the event, please go to MSRI official website.

Finally, KokoKaina now has an official website, Myspace, Facebook, imeem, iLike, and iTunes after having her YouTube page that introduced her beautiful soulful music to the world for so long. The website is still incomplete, but you could check out her Myspace page and listen to No Christmas For Me that will be released in a U.S. Christmas album, This Warm December: A Brushfire Holiday Vol.1 featuring Jack Johnson, G Love, among others. Chekkidout!

(Thanks to Wendy for the heads up!)

Another good ‘How To’ guide I came across today. Would make a great reference to maximize the artistic/philosophical/creative/etc. potential in all of us. From wikiHow;

How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was the ultimate multi-tasker: an accomplished scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer. If you want to be a Renaissance Man (or Renaissance Woman), you can learn a lot from how Leonardo da Vinci lived and thought. Based on studying the life and work of this famous polymath anyone can emulate da Vinci with the following steps:

1. Curiosità. Curiosità is an “insatiably curious approach to life and unrelenting quest for continuous learning”.

2. Dimostrazione. Dimostrazione is “a commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistake”.

3. Sensazione. Sensazione is “the continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience”.

4. Sfumato. Sfumato is “a willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty”.

5. Arte/scienza. Arte/scienza is “the development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination”.

6. Corporalità. Corporalità is “the cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness, and poise”.

7. Connessione. Connessione is “a recognition of and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena”.

Read more about the methods and its example here.

Protect your dream, and don’t let anyone take it away from you. ~ Will Smith to his son in The Pursuit Of Happyness

Come 25th November, Kanye West will be releasing his fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak. Two singles off the album, Love Lockdown and Heartless have already been circulating the airwaves and as any of his songs, sounds fresh.

Kanye has been generous posting the songs on his blog, so click here to download Love Lockdown and here for Heartless. Check out the awesome music video for both singles, directed by Hype Williams who also did his Gold Digger and Diamonds From Sierra Leone videos, below;

Love Lockdown

Heartless

Food Not Bombs Kuala Lumpur(FNBKL) will be organizing a two-days workshop on ‘Organic Gardening’ on the 15th and 16th of November at the FNBKL House in Petaling Jaya. The D.I.Y. workshop will be conducted by Mr. Ong from SOS Penang who has 10 years of organic farming experience in Penang.

The workshop modules include Talk, Practical, D.I.Y. Cooking and Film Screenings. Those who’re interested can e-mail their contact details to free_foods@yahoo.com or call 03-79550941 and talk to Poodien before 12th November. A minimal fee of RM30 is required but free for students or unemployed.

Details on program schedule at their official blog here.

Projek: 2008ku Updates

Below is the photo archive of past October entries. Click on each thumbnails to read individual post. 305 down, 61 more to go!

October

Past months’ archive:

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September

CONGRATULATIONS UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, YOU DID IT!

It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America. ~ U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama speaking in home city Chicago on Election Night ‘08

Read the rest of the full speech here. What the rest of the world are saying here. And what’s next for the new U.S. Commander-in-chief here.

Now that change has come to America, when will it happen in Malaysia?

Here’s a quick and funny way, though not at all hygienic, to “vote” which U.S. Presidential Candidate “that sucks the most” with your chewing gum, initiated by Gum Election 2008;

Gum Election is a guerilla art project which started in New York City in October 2008. It should encourage people to vote on November 04th and also not to spit out their chewing gums carelessly on New York Cities already dirty streets.

Guess who gets the most votes?

São Paulo, Brazil

St. Louis, MO

Berlin, Germany

Boulder, CO

Times Square, New York

More sticky posts here!

(via NewWork)

Here’s a video from Steven Spielberg and friends for everyone in the U.S. who’s electing their next President tomorrow. Godspeed!

DON’T LET ANYONE DENY YOU YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE!

More videos here.

(via KanyeUniversecity)

Today it strucked me when Futuna asked whether I’ll be continuing posting everyday photos and posts on this blog come 2009 which is just around the corner. Well actually, I never thought of it hehehe! We’ll see how things go lah, or what do you guys think?

I was contemplating on being either He-Man or Optimus Prime for tonight’s Bangi gang inaugural costume/Halloween party. While considering all the statistics of people running away from seeing my flappy tummy(not like He-Man’s six pack), or the time consuming of cardboard box cutting for Optimus’ suit, I remember reading somewhere sometime ago about a guy wearing a LEGO Minifig costume. Then I searched and found it a couple of days ago and decided to build one!

So yesterday after work I went straight to the art store to get me some polystyrene and yellow paint, I started following the online instruction by Laurance Gonsalvez since 12am to 3am last night then continue from 12pm till 6pm today. After some modifications and improvisation from Laurance’s original plan to suit my head (and pocket) size, and tediously trying to sand the polystyrene into perfect round shapes, and swallowing maybe a tonne of polystyrene dust, whaddaya know, I have my own LEGO Minifig costume for the night! YAY! Now if only I could have another day to build the body and leg…

Here are some pics of LEGOMAN, his iPhone Chick and friends in action from tonight’s party;

Kudos to everyone who came dressed up and wore costume as their own characters and brought those delicious food. You guys are so creative and cool! Thanks to everyone who helped preparing the party with the awesome deco especially to Ms. Zombie Shaz and Mr. SpiderWan for coming up with the fun idea and be the host. EXCELLENT!

On another note, on 25th August LEGO Minifig celebrated their 30th birthday. Check out their history and timeline evolution photos of every minifig that were produced!

(Party photos courtesy of Mickie Firdaus)

Apparently there’s a Flickr photo pool group of still screen shots from films’ ending credit. You know, the “THE END” title? Pretty comprehensive collection of classic black and white to colored Hollywood and foreign movies. Would make a good typography and design reference!

See more at ‘The The End Pool’ here.

(via MakeZine)

Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans. Aim high in hope and work. Remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die. ~ Daniel H. Burnham

MTV have just released an online archive featuring every single music video that has ever played on their TV channel called MTVMusic.com. From oldies to the latest hit video, the website has a simple minimal design and easy navigation. Check it out and search for that Bonnie Tyler or Rick Astley hit that you missed so much!

(via NewWork)

“Tu lah Zam oi… Tuhan dah bagi macam-macam akai kat depa. Orang yang beratuih ribu batu jauh pun kita buleh tengok, dengaq, sembang macam kat sebelah ja”, Tok said this morning when Mama was having a Skype session with Kak W.

True, what she said about God giving men the akal or mind to use for the goodness of its kind. That’s what separates us from the animal, that we have the ability to think for ourselves and knowing what’s good or bad for us. But it seemed like men are doing most of the damages around today.

Or are we the animal?

If you’re familiar with Budweiser’s Wassup! commercial a couple of years ago, you’d recognize and love this parody featuring the original casts bringing up important current issues dedicated to those who’re voting on the U.S. Election ‘08. After all those mishaps, there’s still hope for change. True true…

Original Wassup

Wassup 2008

Try playing both videos simultaneously for more “Wassup effect” hahaha!

(via BoingBoing)

To all Hindus who’re celebrating Diwali today, have a good one! Happy Deepavali!

From KLSpas, Hammam means;

“Spreader of warmth” in Arabic and has its roots in Ancient Greek Roman bathhouse culture. It’s a practise which has charmed thousands from different cultures throughout history. It has always been about beauty and well being, purifying the body and spirit, nourishing the precious relationship between people and water, and our instinctual need to connect with others.

And yes, Hammam was beautiful in every sense of the word. Our eyes scattered over the glorious and detailed Mid Eastern deco which aromatic scent-filled rooms gives a pleasing ambient and calms the mind and body of any soul who would walk in. At one point we forgot we were actually on the top floor of a shopping mall!

From the relaxing hot sauna(heated marbled-room with soothing water sound) to the eye brow raising cleansing bath scrub(dead dirty skins came out looking like tiny leeches!) that ended with an even more relieving massage(the masseuse was so good, it felt like he had 4 hands rubbing my back!), we were really spoiled like royalties today!

To whoever wants to release all those stress, Moroccan-style, come here and give it a try. Definitely worth every penny of it(would make a good birthday or anniversary present for your other half too!)

Read the rest of KLSpas review and the pampering process in brief detail here. For reservation, photos and price info, visit Hammam’s official website here.

(Thanks to colleague Jackie for recommending!)

Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan or Federal Territory Mosque is one of, if not the, local most beautiful Islamic structures, along with the Islamic Art Museum. The mosque has a wonderful grandeur design of architecture influenced by the Ottoman Empire and traditional Malay elements. It has 22 blue domes that really does resemble one of the buildings on Planet Naboo in Star Wars!

The mosque can acommodate up to 17,000 devotees at a time and aside from being a place for worshipping, it has become an institution for Islamic studies with library and classrooms, social activities with hall for events, meetings, even hostel for people to sleep over. And I like the effect from the surrounding pond/pool that made the 4 stories mosque look as if it’s floating on water!

More info on the mosque here and here.

With the availability of hassle-free image editing software today, free download or purchase, pirate or legal, more people have the power to manipulate and improve their visual work; image, photo or illustration. Whether it be adjusting the contrast, adding a colour, cropping the size, or simple special effect like super-impose, the work of an visual editor is eased with an evolving, simpler user-friendly options and tool.

Though there are others who tend to take this privilege for granted and produce less than average quality work with carelessness and not QC-ing before they submit for print or upload. Here are some good, or more like bad, ones from Photoshop Disasters, a blog features a compilation of image manipulation gone wrong from various sources. Feast your eyes!

Marie Claire: On reflection, perhaps not.

90210: Ouch!

DenShield: Grit Your Teeth!

More image manipulation badness galore here!

…Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get ~ Forrest Gump

London-based Norwegian fashion photographer, Sølve Sundsbø had just completed a beautiful project called ‘Perroquet’(the small, slender, long-tailed parrot), inspired by science photography and nature documentaries. From the website;

It was always Sundsbø’s chief intention to document the parroquet using photography and film; both mediums enabling him to steal moments that would normally be missed. Shot in a controlled studio environment using high-speed cameras, the slow-motion shorts show the bird mid-flight. The distinct physical characteristics of the parroquet –its strong curved bill, and its clawed feet– are all visible, but it is the bird’s feathers that are the central focus.

Check out the vibrant sample photos!

Watch the slow-mo film shorts and the complete photo works on the official website here.

(via BoingBoing)

I’m pretty sure some of you may have received and heard this audio clip of a complaint call of a very upset customer to a local satellite TV company with its operator. I don’t know if this happens on a daily basis at the customer support centre, but I pity those who had to put up with this type of people who wouldn’t take no for an answer. It amuses me when the girl could actually wait for nearly 15 mins for operator to get his unavailable supervisor while at the same time demanded his apology for a miscommunication fault they had earlier. Big up to the unfortunate guy for his patience. But after all those shenanigans I realized that there wasn’t a single F word used in the whole heated (pretty much one way) conversation! Amazing hahaha!

Somehow, this song by Jason Mraz really caught me off guard after I found his latest album, We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things on the office’s server. Maybe the infectious melody, or simple yet technical chords, or the beautiful words, or the perfect fusion of harmony of all those things that made this song perfect, IMHO. It’s now added to my all time favorite playlist and what more is that I’m not really into his music in the first place hah! Strange how some songs work in mysterious ways to get you.

Details In The Fabric