bigstick-freshturd-hotday

A letter to my students

2009-07-17T13:28:00.005+09:30

picture by "Adrian Koh"

I was talking to a friend the other day. She was in a bit of strife as she had just been "laid" off and she couldnt seem to find another job. She had been working as a data entry proccessor in a big international firm. I asked her if she really wanted to work in data-entry for the rest of her life. She said "no" She had studied international commerce at university. So i asked her why she didn't get a job related to her studies? Apparently she was never really interested in international studies. So why did she study a course that she had no interest in? What did she really want to do?
"I really wanted to study jewellry design, but the entry requirements were to difficult so I chose international commerce" was her reply.

How often and how many of us have so easily given up on our dreams? That is, the few of us who are lucky enough to have dreams.

I know a sad few that don't even know what they want in life.
Those that go through life day-by-day going to work, earning-a-buck, going home, eat, sleep, shit...maybe go on the occasional holiday...is this life?

Granted, it takes a certain amount of courage to decide to live this kind of exsistance...but think about this...
dont we all owe to ourselves to live out our life to it's fullest? To be the best at something we love to do?

Life is like a game...there are players and there are spectators.

Spectators, dont have much to lose. they risk nothing, sit in the stands they cheer, criticise and all-in-all they just make alot of noise without contributing much to the game. Many times in life we will encounter spectators who will either try to put us down or cheer us on...but never willing to really really show up when the time comes...we all know spectators in our life. They may be the ones we work with, family members, friends...etc

Players, work hard and train themselves for the big game. They dedicate themselves for that one moment, that one game so they can have the oppurtunity to have their team win. They are willing to risk everything for that one moment.
Yes , there will always b one team that wins and one that doesn't...but im sure all players on both teams will have worked hard and given their 100%. For many a player it is just a question of how badly they want to win and if they are willing to face the many obstacles in their way. Did they let the "bullshit" excuses of life get in their way of their goal?

I was once a teacher. I have to admit I was probably not a very good teacher. I was never trained to be a teacher and the college that hired me probably wanted me more for my "piece of paper" than for my skills or lack thereof. I dont know what contribution I ever made to my students but this is the contribution that I can make to them now.

" Find your dream and go for it with everything you got. Sure , you need to do the stuff you hate to survive but you do it because you know it will bring you closer to what you really want to do. Life's short, be player in your own life, not someone elses life. Don't give up"

Dearest students,

if i ever offended or hurt any of you during my time as your teacher I sincerely, from the bottom of my heart apologise to you and humbly beg your forgiveness.

your ex-teacher, now filmaker

JH

It's a long way to the top (if u want to Rock and Roll)

2009-07-04T17:37:00.008+09:30

Dear readers pls GUESS the SCENARIO that accompanies the following pics:

The truth will b revealed soon...

A time to give thanks

2009-06-09T16:04:00.005+09:30

OMFG!!!! Modern Warfare 2

2009-05-26T06:58:00.008+09:30

christmas has come early for me this year.

http://modernwarfare2.infinityward.com/

MSY technology - Would sir care for some lemons...?

2009-05-20T14:41:00.015+09:30

it's sad sometimes when one loses a friend/acquantance. Just imagine...you knew this person...and though sometimes they were rude and couldnt really careless about you unless it was of benefit to them you still dealt with them as you also gained some benefit from dealing with them....such is the case today.

I love computers. I love building and upgrading computers. Not only my own beloved machines but i love helping friends build and upgrade their machines....that being said i buy alot of computer components, which sadly brings me to todays events...

...which can be read in this letter of complaint.

the damaged heatsink

...and warped...clearly this item has been used before i bought it...

proof of purchase

what can i say...but y the hell would i want to damage merchandise that i bought for my own use and then waste time driving back and forth from my residence to the store just to get a refund or replacement?... it's a sorry state of affairs when we live in a developed nation and we have to deal with third-world mentality...we should should b more careful...and i definitely won't be going to MSY technology in north Plympton ever again.

update 21-05-09

looks like im not alone. I just found out about this review website. You read more about MSY technology here

Thats no moon...its a space station

2009-05-13T18:18:00.004+09:30

It's that time of the year for computer upgrades. Though the time of the yr doesnt really stop me from a pc upgrade i picked up this Gigabyte gtx 275 yesterday on the back of the new "modern warfare 2" video.

This excellent card replaces my trusty XfX 8800gt xxx edition that has served me well for the last 2 years and which will be serving its remaining yrs in my new edit suite which i will be building in the next few days.

The gtx 275 is supposed to give near performance levels to the gtx 285, even more so if u overclock. But look at the size of this beast when compared to the 8800gt.

Gtx 275 on top is slightly longer than the and 8800gt at the bottom

Gtx 275 on the left and 8800gt on the right. 8800gt looks kinda anorexic in comparison. Cant wait for modern warfare 2...run nOObs

Malice and Stupidity

2009-03-27T15:09:00.003+10:30

Was in K-mart Kurralta park today.

When proceeded to chk out were 3 counters open. 1 counter was a express lane and had the longest queue. The other 2 counters had no-organised queue. Just a herd of people waiting so i went up and asked a plump, caucassion, bogan female at the front of the herd, which counter she was queuing for, her reply...."i'm in both queues" ... at that time i remembered an appropriate saying

"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity."

i joined the express lane.

Toilets of the world unite...

2009-02-23T19:08:00.005+10:30

Came across this quirky little article whilst on holiday.

On the very same day in a public toilet in Kuala Lumpur, i came across another quirky little article.

I don't know what he means by a "world-class" city or what world he is refering to. Maybe it is "The Planet of the apes"

The Standby Assassin Ep1

2009-02-21T14:27:00.007+10:30

My finger on the trigger I whisper to myself

a. Stumpy
b. Malaysian-Taxi driver
c. Nigerian internet scammer
d. Gold Digging Whore
e. All of the above

disclaimer : "the standby assassin" is a work of fiction. All characters and persons mentioned are works of fiction. Any resembelence to persons living or deceased is purely coincidental.

My worst game ever

2008-12-07T15:28:00.004+10:30

6:1 KDR (kill death ratio)

This probably means nothing to the general public and only really concerns the 103 that died by my hands. To them this might sound familiar :

"OMG my worst game ever"

Little Tokyo

2008-11-25T15:04:00.005+10:30

Modified some of the pictures i took whilst in Tokyo so that they look liek little models. Do they look like models that Godzilla would trash?

click on pics to enlarge

Free-Binta film company

2008-11-02T15:16:00.004+10:30

its official...im finally a registered business in australia. with the gearing up of my 1st feature film to start production next yr. i have registered a business so that all expenses, profits and so-on can be handled with the minimum of fuss....like i said to my producer, im becoming more so a business person than artist.

I got the name free-binta from the good ole "tokyo Milk babys" (see below) of which the lead singer is always holding a free-binta sign.

what does "free-binta" mean?

binta : slap in the face
free: i'll give to you for absolutely no monotary cost

"Free-Binta" anyone want one? take a number, get to the back of the queue.

tokyo milk babys

2008-11-02T14:25:00.003+10:30

sometime early this yr (which seems like such a long time ago) whilst wondering aimlessly in shinjuku i came across this public performance by the "tokyo milk babys"
If i wasnt such a gaijin i'd understand what they were actually singing about, but they say say music transcends all and the energy and fun of the "tokyo milk babys" certainly did just that. A mixture between performance art and rock+roll the underlying subversivness of the whole spectacle is one not to be missed.

you can find out more about "tokyo milk babys" here http://sound.jp/0720/

The death of excellence

2008-09-22T19:01:00.004+09:30

When we settle for poor service and an equally poor product, we give others the permission to perform below excellence.

Which brings me to the review if Bazu Szechuan Chinese Restaurant.
On arrival i was "welcomed" by the rudest and most arrogant manager i have ever met. A few grunts were that he could muster on arrival. The staff were equally grumpy and unprofessional.

The food was very very average. the vegetarian dumpling was mostly dough with little inside.

Pumpkin porridge...featuring the new genetic-enhanced-invisible-pumpkin from china

All i can say is that i will definitely NOT b recommending this place to any1. I can understand that folks from china would frequent this place if they were homesick for being treated like shit. Frankly, if u want to run a business in a service orientated economy then learn how to serve or face going out of business.

You can find Bazu restaurant somewhere in adelaide...

Dummies and Idiots ptII

2008-08-24T00:30:00.003+09:30

this is the "almost-final" piece for "dummies and idiots" there's no audio yet and i'd like to put in more 3d stuff in 1 scene (i wont say which scene) But other than that, thats how most of the short film goes. I originally posted this up onto youtube to see if increasing the bit-rate would improve the picture quality...seems to b a bit better from the last video i uploaded....what do u think?

Dummies and Idiots

2008-08-14T18:56:00.005+09:30

Havnt been posting much as ive been focusing on my short film "Dummies and Idiots"
After a slew of pre-production and production issues (way to many for such a short film) production is over and i'm almost done with post-production. Here are some stills. Stay tuned for more.

Do it at home...pt2

2008-08-04T16:20:00.004+09:30

new game..."Guess where the above pics were taken"...no-prizes for the right answer.

Anatomy of otaku pt2

2008-07-10T17:28:00.006+09:30

Not really, this is a set ive been building for a short film that starts production tomorrow.
Will post more of the production stills etc in the comming days. I am now writer, producer, director, and set dresser... i really dont like having to do everything but luckily its only for a short film and not a full feature...stay tuned

Who is I....?

2008-07-02T11:00:00.007+09:30

hello dear reader(s). well, it's been a long time since my last post. There's been so much going on in the last 3 weeks or so. First of all, after many years of procrastination I have finally taken a step to bcoming a true brown aussie otaku....yes, much to the despair of some, ive taken the "dreaded" and "controversial" citizenship test.

This is the book that they sent out to me to help me familiarise myself with Australian "values" and "culture".

Needless to say, i really dont know what all the fuss was about. They give 45min to do 20 multiple choice questions. Took me 4min and 37secs. Yes, they have a timer to time you as you do the test. I can understand how folks who dont speak "the England talk good" might find it a bit difficult, but there was a Scottish family of 3 who went in b4 me and all 3 of them failed....but all-in-all it was a good day and fun was had by all.

After the test, which incedently upon questioning is valid forever, you can apply to be an Australian citizen simply by filling in the following form, where they will ask you various question for the sercurity of the nation.

Here's an interesting little footnote i found at the bottom of the page. I'm on my way to being a Australian citizen. Though I always belived I was a man(otaku) with no-home...a citizen of the world etc all i can say is "I still call Australia home."

This one always brings me to tears...

I love Tokyo...Otaku tour 07/08 video

2008-05-31T19:04:00.016+09:30

GIVEAWAY UPDATE

2008-05-29T15:38:00.006+09:30

And the lucky winner is...no-one. Since nobody bothered to put in that 1 last comment the toy goes on ebay and ill donate the proceeds to charity.

Here is what the giveaway actually was. Yes it looks nothing like the blured pic, but that was just to throw you off. Youd have received this excellent "Major Kusunagi" figure from "Ghost in the Shell" which is now highly sought after.
Well, dear readers...you've done a good thing as the proceeds will go to charity.

GIVEAWAY UPDATE

2008-05-29T15:38:00.005+09:30

Japanese Toy Giveaway

2008-05-21T15:13:00.009+09:30

Last years Otaku tour 07 was all about me and consumerism in Japan. This year I made Otaku 08 to b all about others. So 90% of my purchases in Japan this year were for friends and family. Of course I cant force anyone to accept the gifts that I had bought or obtained for them and therefore the start of this giveaway. So today is the first of possibly many giveaways that ill b holding.
It's a little toy/figure that i have purposely blured so as to keep it a surprise for the winner. It is brand new and still in its plastic wrap.

Winner u say...? Yes I will send the toy to the person who submits the 5th comment to this post. The comment can be on anything, but hatemail etc will b deleted. Reader(s) can post multiple times but not in a row.
The reader who submits the 5th comment can email their postal address to me at jonhohx@yahoo.com and I will send the item at no cost to them. The readers address will b kept in strict confidentiality and will b discarded immidiatly after the item has been sent. Giveaway will end a week from posting ie 28-05-08 then i will give it to charity.

Japanese wanted posters...then and now

2008-05-19T19:40:00.002+09:30

then...

and now...

Japanese schoolgirls and crepes

2008-05-18T00:44:00.003+09:30

What more can one ask for? Maybe Maids serving crepes.
:)