Tuesday, May 24, 2011

random post


Ahhh... It's a lazy Tuesday afternoon...

Life is as usual

Doing assignments and watching Youtube videos at the same time is an unchanged routine for the past 4 years..

Sometimes when assignment gets really boring and stressful, I'd start to think if all of these are worth it...


Saturday, April 16, 2011

art passion



I'm actually a big fan of anime and manga:) Here are some of my art works that I produced during free time^^ no matter how busy I am, I can always find some time to practice my drawing skills. But as you can see my skills are still very immature. I wonder how far I could have gone if I took design course rather than engineering 5 years ago...

Sometimes it really made me down. I'm not at all a bright student, I know my own capabilities. It was mere self ego that pushed me forward. That half-hearted effort made me an incompetent engineering student and a poor artist. I believe every success comes with a true passion and 100% commitment. And the saddest thing in the world, is to give up your true passion for other people's passion.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Fukushima Daiichi plant latest news

Following the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, more than 400 major aftershocks stronger than 5.0 magnitude occurred, taking away 13,219 lives in the prefecture, with more than 14,000 more still unaccounted for. This disaster has left 150,000 homeless (AFP).

The catastrophe also knocked out the cooling system of the Fukushima Daiichi plant that has since spurred anxiety of nuclear widespread. Despite weeks of efforts to cool down the plant reactor using sea water, the plant still experienced continuous episodes of explosions and eventually released nuclear radiation to the vicinity.

Fukushima on par with Chernobyl

On 12 April, Japan upgraded its nuclear emergency to the highest level of 7 in the international scale of atomic crisis, putting it on par with the Chernobyl nuclear disaster that took place in 1986. Level 7 in the UN's International Events Scale (INES) is rated as a major accident that related to:
a ''Major release of radioactive materials with widespread health and environmental effects, requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures.''

The significance of INES scale from zero to Level 7 are shown below:

Zero: Events known as 'deviations' that have no safety significance
Level 1: Anomaly. Minor problem with safety components at a nuclear plant, but significant safety margin remaining.

Level 2: Incident. Radiation levels of more than 50 millisieverts (mSv) per hour.

Level 3: Serious Incident. Severe contamination within facility with non-lethal injuries. Low probability of public exposure.

Level 4: Accident with local consequences. Partial meltdown to fuel and release of significant amount of radioactive particles within facility but no countermeasures needed.

Level 5: Accident with wider consequences. Severe damage to reactor core, large quantity of radioactive material released. Requires some planned countermeasures.

Level 6: Serious accident. Significant release of radioactive material requiring planned countermeasures.

Level 7: Major accident. Major release of radioactive materials with widespread health and environmental effects, requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures.

----Borneo Post, 13/4/2011.

Plans to dismantle plant

Every increment in the scale would mean 10-fold increase in severity. Now, the options left are very limited. One of them would be to dismantle the plant for good. However, this is no ordinary dismantling, claimed Tokyo-based analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co.. The decommissioning of a nuclear plant would take not 3 years, but 3 decades to complete, consuming up to 1 trillion yen ($12 billion) in the process. (Bloomberg) The companies that have submitted the proposal include:

2. Toshiba’s group, which includes Babcock & Wilcox Co. (BWC) and Shaw Group Inc. (SHAW)
3. Areva, the world’s biggest maker of nuclear reactors.

----(Bloomberg)


References:
Borneo Post, 13/4/2011.


Thursday, April 7, 2011

Nero - Act Like You Know (Dubstep Mix)


OMG! I never know this kind of song exist! It makes you feel like you're on drug... :S
In case you didn't know what Dubstep is:

Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South East London. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals".[1]
---Wikipedia


Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Sucker Punch movie review

Although many people say that Sucker Punch is for guys, being a female audience, I have to say: ''The movie is pure awesomeness!''

Do expect lots of kick-ass fighting scenes with fabulous graphics and cool background music. Do expect hot chicks. Do also expect 'echi' costumes, guys would definitely like it ;D. If you are an otaku, you would also find some mild 'yuri' scenes throughout the movie. Basically I think the movie has a lot of Japanese anime essence in it. If it were to be an anime, one would classify it under 'action', 'mecha', 'echi', and 'psycho'.

However, I would not recommend the movie to those expecting storyline. The story is not well elaborated. There are loose ends here and there and it is hard to make sense out of the movie if you don't read the synopsis beforehand. The character development is also kind of limited. I would give 3.5 out of 5 for the storyline.

But then again, I would say the story is very unique, it is just like what the trailer emphasized, '' you will be unprepared''! And what I like most about this movie is that 'hot chicks fighting in sexy costumes' actually make sense in this movie! *spoiler ahead* Because the fighting scenes are the character's fantasies, so anything unrealistic about the fights automatically becomes acceptable. No one can actually say something like 'It's impossible throw that thing so high!' or 'how can she be so strong she doesn't even have biceps!' and so on... Those are her fantasies after all! And that's what so clever about the whole idea.

Now check out the trailer and one of my favourite songs from the soundtrack :) Enjoy.




Sunday, March 27, 2011

Top 5 LGBT movies

Here goes my top 5 LGBT movies!

No.5: 15 (Singapore)
Fast, frenetic, and furious, 15 is the story of five Singaporian teenagers who, abandoned by the system and estranged from their parents and life in general, build their own world in which gangs, drugs, fighting, piercing, self-harm and suicide are common and brotherhood is important above all else. Presents the chaotic lives of these boys, living in the shadows of a sprawling metropolis and with only each other to rely on.





No.4: Alexander (US)
Alexander, the King of Macedonia, leads his legions against the giant Persian Empire. After defeating the Persians he leads his Army across the then known world venturing further than any Westerner had ever gone all the way to India.




No.3: Eternal Summer (Taiwan)

As a child living in a seaside town in southern Taiwan, studious Jonathan was asked by his concerned teacher to look after rebellious classmate Shane. Ten years later, what was once a good-natured obligation has since blossomed into a warm friendship, with Jonathan still on the academic track and Shane now finding his calling on the basketball court.

Taiwan-born schoolgirl Carrie from Hong Kong befriends Jonathan and convinces him to join her on a secret day-trip to Taipei and in the evening she seduces him in a sleazy hotel but Jonathan backs down clearly distraught. Eventually, her observations of his and Shane's friendship leads her to believe that he is homosexual and in love with his best friend.Carrie then meets Shane through Jonathan after a school day where Shane develops an interest in Carrie. She accepts his offer to become his girlfriend on the condition that he manages to enter university.

Shane does his best to keep his feelings for Carrie secret in order to protect the feelings of his lifelong friend. Despite all their best efforts to keep their personal feelings secret, the truth eventually emerges, forcing all three to view their relationships in an entirely new light. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Summer)





No.2: Brokeback Mountain (US)
A raw, powerful story of two young men, a Wyoming ranch hand and a rodeo cowboy, who meet in the summer of 1963 sheepherding in the harsh, high grasslands of contemporary Wyoming and form an unorthodox yet life-long bond--by turns ecstatic, bitter and conflicted.




No.1: C.R.A.Z.Y. (Italy)
Born Christmas Day 1960, Zac Beaulieu is the fourth of five sons of Gervais and Laurianne Beaulieu. Zac feels somewhat disconnected to his brothers, all of whom are different from each other. They include the bookworm Christian who is the eldest, the dumb jock Antoine who is third, and the youngest Yvan. But Zac has the most contempt for his second eldest brother, the shiftless druggie Raymond. To his devout Catholic mother, Zac is her miracle son, both for being born the same day as Jesus Christ (a fact which Zac has always hated), and because a Tupperware-selling mystic once told her that he has the power to heal. Laurianne has always coddled Zac, the two who have a special if unspoken bond. But Zac wants more to please his father, who wants more than anything in his sons that they grow up to be man's men and not sissies. As Zac goes through his mid-teens to early twenties, Zac isn't sure if he can live up to the ideals of either his mother or especially his father...

Monday, March 21, 2011

Japanese spirit

Following the catastrophe that hit Japan on 11 March this year, the nuclear plant located at the Fukushima prefecture underwent a series of explosions which led to serious leaking of nuclear radiation. Tens of thousands died and went missing due to the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami attack. People living within 30km radius from the plant were evacuated. Raw spinach and milk from the vicinity have been tested positive for nuclear radiation. Nuclear crisis has become an international concern now and people could not help but feel helpless and miserable at moment like this. In fact, many wonder if this is the end that we've been reading and hearing all this while.

Nevertheless, it definitely is not the end for Japan. Being a country that created dozens of superhero characters that give so much fantasies and hopes to so many people around the world, Japan never stop giving hope and comfort to us even after experiencing such catastrophe. I was truly astonished by how optimistic and how organised they are while handling the aftermath of the disasters. The video below for example, is enough to show how amazing the Japanese are.



Once again, lets hope Japan recuperates soon.