By the time I finish writing this, the 4th of July will have just about come to a close.  The large fireworks displays have ended and people are preparing for bed, though I'm guaranteed to hear the stray explosions of fireworks throughout the night as always.  I wasn't originally planning on writing anything tonight, or at least not on the topic of the 4th of July, but after going outside for an hour or so to take in the sight of all of the fireworks, I thought it would be appropriate.

I made sure to go outside after it was dark so I could see some of the fireworks displays around town.  I took a seat in the wooden swing in the back yard and proceeded to watch the sky.  Our house is situated near the middle of town with no large buildings or trees obstructing the view, so I could see fireworks being let off in just about every direction.  As always the displays were essentially the same; yet still uniquely beautiful.  I spent probably about an hour just sitting there just watching the lights.  This had become a regular habit for me.  When I was slightly younger my parents and I would buy fireworks of our own from the local dollar store.  We never bought too many, being as we didn't have much money, but just the rare togetherness of my family was enough to make the experience special.  Afterwards, I would do just as I had tonight and watch the other fantastics displays in the night sky from that same old swing.

But anyway, tonight after I had had enough of the fireworks, I got in my car and took a trip to Wal-Mart as I had to pick up some supplies so I could send a package tomorrow.  Well, when I finally got there, I was shocked to see the amount of kids in the store.  I fully expected to see a fair amount of people in the store carrying on their lives as usual, but I never expected to see that many kids...I mean it's the 4th of July, shouldn't every kid be outside watching and/or playing with fireworks?  It made me sad to see these kids having to tag around with their parents as they went late-night grocery shopping.  The 4th of July was always a family-bonding experience, but never did family shopping take the place of gathering to watch the fireworks.  Can't these people take just a few hours out of one night of the year to spend quality time with their kids?  The 4th of July was one of the highlights of my childhood because I got to watch the fireworks while relaxing and spending time with my parents, not because my parents were out bargain hunting at Wal-Mart.  I only wish these kids could have the same experience.

Tables at the Science Museum. They make me feel like raving! =P

My brother is showing off his new XDi? lamps.

.

i n d e p e n d e n c e

is your soul`s natural state,
and freedom is another name for the universe in which we reside

nature is that which is totally free, all the time.

.

nothing constricts,

nothing limits,

nothing stops

or prohibits

or denies

in any way.

.

we all are exactly the same. you. everyone. i.

your soul is nothing more than

an individuation of divinity.

and it is absolutely nothing less.

.

act as if you are divinely free

- and watch your life change.

.

love & lights !

.

amaij

.

.

.

.

foto: eternity - on the way to homer, alaska in july 2007 by amaij.

.

]]> http://mypixelpost.wordpress.com/?p=11 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 07:07:34 +0000 mypixelpost http://mypixelpost.wordpress.com/?p=11

I'm annoyed. I went golfing today and wore a hat for about 5 hours straight and I'm sitting here 8 hours later and it still feels like I'm wearing it.

Yours truly is back from the hell hole they call Haifa Air Force Base =].

Since I experienced a lot this week, I have a very important lesson for you my friends!

Appreciate Every Little Thing You Have In Your Life!!

I mean every little god given thing you have in your life. As simple as a clean toilet, where you can sit in piece and do your “business” in piece. Bed to sleep on, light to read with, friends to talk with, food to eat and water to drink.

I personally experienced the need in the last 2. I literally starved to sleep while I was thirsty as marathon runner on the 36^th kilometer of the way. I showered in a shower with no head, just a pipe coming out from the wall…

So listen when I tell you, APPRICIATE EVERY LITTLE THING IN YOUR LIFE!

I am thankful for this experience because I did have a hard time with saying thanks for everything I have and personally I think I stopped appreciating a lot of things in my life. But now I can honestly tell you I am back on track and please don’t make the same mistake as I did.

We create our contrasts in life, my friends. So next time when you get in uncomfortable satiation, don’t just curse and be angry at something or somebody, stop for a second and think why could you attract this into your life. What lesson life is trying to teach you here? Because inevitably we create those contrasts in life to serve us well, and There Are No Failures Only Lessons In Success!!

Take care!

Welcome to the first edition of PhotoMagic! This photo was taken on Astro Orbiter in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom. This is just a great shot. The background in motion and the rocket in focus is just great. This is a perfect example of a photo I'm looking for in the PhotoMagic series. Here is the description the poster gives us: "In Walt Disney World's Tomorrowland, my five year old son's favorite ride. Works for both of us, he's the pilot and I record the mission!" Taken by Damgaard. For more info, click the links below the picture! Thanks for reading, and enjoy future PhotoMagic posts!

5 Artists You Should Know

1. The Zutons
2. Muse
3. Embrace
4. Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
5. Joshua Radin

5 Random Songs You Should Know

1. "Hollywood's Not America" by Ferras
2. "Whatever Happened to Corey Haim" by The Thrills
3. "Lightning Blue Eyes" by Secret Machines
4. "I've Just Seen a Face" by Tyler Hilton
5. "Valerie" by The Zutons

5 Songs You've Always Wanted to Know the Name of

1. "Teardrop" by Massive Attack [House MD theme song]
2. "One Disaster Less" by Lights [Old Navy commercial]
3. "Coffee Shop" by Landon Pigg [A Diamond Is Forever commercial]
4. "Shut Up and Let Me Go" by The Ting Tings [ipod commercial]
5. "New Soul" by Yael Naim [ipod touch commercial]

5 *Romantic* Songs You Should Hear

1. "Brighter than Sunshine" by Aqualung
2. "The Feat You Won't Fall" by Joshua Radin
3. "Anyone Else But You" by Moldy Peaches [better performed by Michael Cera and Ellen Paige in Juno]
4. "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" by Andy Gibb
5. "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie

5 *Easy-Going* Songs You Should Relax to

1. "Tire Swing" by Kimya Dawson
2. "My Hero" by Paramore
3. "Trouble" by Ray Lamontagne
4. "Letter Song" by Tyler Hilton
5. "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

5 *Energetic/Hyper* Songs You Should Dance to

1. "I Thought it Was Over" by The Feeling
2. "Why Won't You Give Me Your Love" by The Zutons
3. "Love It When You Call" by The Feeling
4. "So Much Love" by The Rocket Summer
5. "Big Sur" by The Thrills

5 *Sad* Songs You Can Be Still with

1. "I Can't Come Down" by Embrace
2. "Girlfriend in a Coma" by Joshua Radin
3. "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap
4. "All We Are" by One Republic
5. "10,000 Miles" by Mary Chapin Carter

5 *Angry* Songs to Rock Out to

1. "Four Kicks" by Kings of Leon
2. "Hysteria" by Muse
3. "Pressure Point" by The Zutons
4. "Misery Business" by Paramore
5. "Talking Heads" by People in Planes

Songs in my head at the current moment:

• "I Love You Cause I Have To" by Dogs Die in Hot Cars
• "We Used To Be Friends" by The Dandy Warhols

This list is much bigger than they will be in the future if I can keep it up. Next time I'll prolly have just one list of five, heh. Anyway. I hope you check out some of these songs/artists and enjoy them.

Have a GREAT Fourth of July weekend!

To start off this shindig, I'm going to share some pictures I took this evening (just two of about 40, actually) of a set of candles my mother put out for reasons unbeknownst to myself.

DEDICATION to WORLDWIDE ORPHANS

 "The World promise protection, let's keep that promise"

[dailymotion id=xl99h]

Shakira "NO"

Tonight is the official opening of my good friend's, Razwan, ikan bakar(grilled/bbq fish) stall, 'Jeti Sg. Ramal' at the Ramal Junction Foodcourt in Kajang.

Me and Futuna had a lovely dinner of keli bakar(grilled cat fish) and talapia bakar with pecal lele(deep fried catfish served with tempe(soybeans cake) and raw veggies with sambal(spicy peanut sauce)).

Other than the delicious meal, they have the "open-kitchen" concept where customers can go in and see how clean it is and how they cook after choosing their own set of fish to eat.

More menus available soon are bubur nasi(rice porridge), pecal ayam(like pecal lele, but with chicken) and fried mushroom.

If you're around the Kajang/Bangi/Putrajaya area and craving for some fresh and tasty grilled seafood, do head over here and give it a try!

This is Wan's first venture into the food business after successfully running a fresh water fish lake in Dengkil. Couldn't be more than happy for him!

Updated 3/7/2008: Here's the map to Jeti Sg. Ramal. Click for larger view.

Now on another note.

From antilabelblog.com, one of the best news I've heard in 8 long years;

One Day As A Lion are:
Zack de la Rocha (vocals / keyboards)
Jon Theodore (drums)

Anti- Records is pleased to announce the signing of One Day As A Lion. An on-going creative collaboration between two like-conscioused individuals, One Day As A Lion will release their eponymous debut EP worldwide on July 22nd.

The band writes:

“One Day As A Lion is both a warning delivered and a promise kept.”

“A defiant affirmation of the possibilities that exist in the space between kick and snare. It’s a sonic reflection of the visceral tension between a picturesque fabricated cultural landscape, and the brutal socioeconomic realities it attempts to mask. One Day As A Lion is a recorded interaction between Zack de la Rocha and Jon Theodore from Los Angeles, California.”

“The name taken from the infamous 1970 black and white, captured by legendary Chicano photographer George Rodriguez featuring a center framed tag on a white wall in an unspecified section of Boyle Heights. It reads: ‘It’s better to live one day as a lion, than a thousand years as a lamb.’ This record is a stripped down attempt to realize this sentiment in sound.”

The songs:
01 - Wild International
02 – Ocean View
03 – Last Letter
04 – If You Fear Dying
05 – One Day As A Lion

The details:
Recorded by Robert Carranza at Ocean Way Recording
Mixed by Mario C at MCJ Studio

Links:
One Day As A Lion website
One Day As A Lion on Myspace

(via zdlr.net)

DAYUMN! This is one helluva GREAT news since last year's reunion! Two greatest creative minds of our generation joining forces to make music! I'm sure it's gonna be one ballistic sonic assault masterpiece Can't wait for it!

http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/tutorials/maya/understanding_lights/part4.html

float... float... float. i've got you on my mind.

I would and still do, take my camera out at lunch time and on the way home and take a few shots. The challenge was to find new and interesting places to capture the city from, so particularly in 2006,  height was definatly my thing. 

This was taken on the 13th February 2006, by my Kodak Z740. This shot captures two of the landmark towers in Manchester. The foreground being the Arndale Centre's tower, which stands over one of Britains largest shopping centres, and in the distance, on of my favoured subjects, Beetham Tower, duing in it's construction.

This shot, taken a few months earlier, at Christmas 2005, shows one of the wheels which has graced the city over the years. This stood, as does one today, in what is known as Exchange Square, at centrepeice of the city centre used for events.

This was a lucky shot to be honest. Taken after a few drinks at about 11:00pm, again with the Kodak, the fact that is came out at all was great! This is still one of my favourites.

This was taken earlier one in the afternoon of  the 13th February 2006. This to me, sums up modern Manchester. Is this reletively small area in the heart of the city, we can see various decades of architectural designs, such as the 50's/60's on the bottom left, and what I suspect is a late 1970's tower in the top right.

Now back a little earlier, November 2005. This shot was taken with my Vivitar compact. This builing, which faces the historic Piccadilly Gardens in the city centre, had just been completed at the the time and almost every floor was empty.

I forget what it became, but besides offices, but the ground floor became shops; Rather expensive ones, too!

And to finish with a more recent shot. This was only taken this year, 15th April,  with my camera to hand, which was my trusty IPAQ rx3000. The shot obviously suffers for the low resolution, but with a small amount of 'photoshopping', I tried to create a more artistic image.

In the foreground with have the ond Manchester Central train station, which for many years now has been known as the GMEX Exhibition Centre. It has just recently, changes it's name back to Manchester Central, though to my knowledge, no rail services are planned!

In the background, the faded image of Beetham Tower is barly visable, in an attempt to highlight the changes this city has gone through over the pasted hundred years or so.

© nEoPOL 2005 - 2008 All rights reserved

Visit my Flckr Profile @ http://www.flickr.com/people/neopol/

Name: Red Lightning Storm

Author: J . W . A (16 August 2007)

Comment: Fancy colours, checked; destructive forces, checked; reasonable resolution, check! There we go, a new wallpaper!

Extraction Site

My friends got scared when I took her photo.

The phone was going nowhere.

An interior view of The Park restaurant located at 118 10th Ave.

Night nerds,
antwan.

Flashing Lights, originally uploaded by William WM.

]]> http://pasembur.wordpress.com/?p=486 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:18:47 +0000 xumb http://pasembur.wordpress.com/?p=486

By this time I'm sure some of you might have heard, read, and watched the latest "heights" in our country's political climate. IMHO, I think it's another mindless attempt by some individuals to distract our attention from the petrol price hike issue and the "high profile" murder case.

I mean seriously, sodomy? Is that the best they could come up with? An age old method used by our past premier to silence our voices and hope for a better Malaysia? Some people are just too desperate to stay in power aren't they? Our beloved country are definitely at its lowest times.

May God help us all.

Here's an excerpt of a public's response from Malaysiakini about the matter;

The rakyat continues to suffer under the yoke of all the political battles being fought by individuals and parties who are bent on power, greed and self-interest. Collaboration since the close of the general elections is out while counter-tactics seems to be the preferred mode of attack.

Read more here.