Coast to coast

New job tomorrow

2007-03-04T15:52:00.000-08:00

Shoot, I just about never post here anymore huh? Just a quick update to any that still check up here, I'm going to be starting my new job as an institutional bond trader tomorrow. I'll try my best to continue updating.

My new baby

2006-10-20T00:51:00.000-07:00

Leaks a bit of oil but she loves me nonetheless...

Blogging

2006-10-02T01:08:00.000-07:00

It's fallen by the wayside with the other things going on in my life. I might continue later on as I do get more time but there are priorities...

I just can't stop laughing

2006-07-17T15:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlM-EtZDrcU

I love Family Guy.

The Note

2006-07-05T00:26:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've been working on a short film with my friends Bryan (Hollywood name: "Aiden Dax") and my roommate Rishi (Hollywood name: "Richie Kay") called The Note. It will be a romantic comedy about a hotel clerk who possibly finds new meaning in life when a beautiful guest checks in. We are in the process of casting for the film on nowcasting.com (the link may not work), and have had dozens of applications already. I'm quite excited about the project (I'm an actual Hollywood producer, and will get my own entry on ImDB!) and will definitely post links when we do complete the project. For this project I will be the director of photography - AKA cinematographer - and will be helping with production elements as well.

In case you were wondering, no I do not have a Hollywood name. I think Tao is a great name as it is.

Low energy levels

2006-06-05T23:30:00.000-07:00

I feel that the level of posting in my blog is a fair guide to my general energy level. Yeah, low. Creative energy, joie de vivre, Chi - I'm missing whatever it is that drives talent and focuses the mind. It hit a low just before my trip to Europe, and I hope that I can pick up a new creative lease on life in the following weeks. When I step back and take a look at what my self-publishing work could be, the one thing I want to avoid is the kind of self-centered belly-button gazing that most people's blogs are. I know that having a theme is the ultimate goal, but unfortunately the easiest thing to do after clicking "sign on" is to start a stream of dear diary bullshit that would only interest a mother or a dedicated stalker. So, the new law will be themes and topics. Stream of consciousness might work for Hunter S. Thompson, but that's not how I roll, baby.

I'm gonna wake up my muse and slap that bitch into action.

Photos from Paris

2006-06-01T09:51:00.000-07:00

Back home

2006-05-30T18:24:00.000-07:00

I just got back from 12 days in Europe - Paris, Amsterdam and London. Boy is it great to be back home at last. I have plenty of photos to post, and they'll be posted shortly.

Where is my muse?

2006-05-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

At 150 posts, my blog updating has stalled. Whatever my initial motivations for writing were, they have evaporated in a cloud of ennui. This Friday, I'm off for 12 days in Europe, a part of the world that I've never been. The trip will cover Paris, London and Amsterdam - two great pillars of Europe and the New Orleans of the Old World.

I'm hoping that a good break like this will restore some of my former joie de vivre. Good humor is essential to the creative spirit. Pictures shall be forthcoming.

My space on myspace

2006-05-02T19:46:00.000-07:00

A phenomenon in its own right, myspace is part of almost everyone's lives over here. I have finally decided to join the crowd and jump on board. I've also took the opportunity to do some self portraits, for my myspace profile.

Photography is fun

2006-03-09T13:26:00.000-08:00

After borrowing a ton of lighting equipment from my friend Bryan, I did a couple of photo shoots last weekend with my friend Ivana, and I thought that the results were pretty good. She was kind enough to pass them on to friends of hers and stir me up some business. Much appreciated! Click here for more pictures.

Follow the link and read the title

2006-02-21T16:56:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry for posting this, but I absolutely loved the title of this one. Quite honestly, short of joining Al-Qaeda, nothing Paris Hilton does these days is really all that newsworthy.

The Superficial gives me an ounce of mirth daily.

Pray for Mojo

2006-02-17T09:24:00.000-08:00

I just had such a wonderful night. On the way home for dinner, I had a wave of nausea hit so bad I had to pull over by the side of the street to throw up. It was just about the first time I've ever experienced the thought "am I gonna make it?" as a driver. Good thing there were no cops around to give me a hard time - it would have a pretty interesting way to get out of being taken in for DUI: "Officer, I have the stomach flu, really!". After I got home I was essentially sleeping next to the toilet, as I spent the entire night either bringing up projectile vomit or explosive diahrrea. I did, however manage to get up at a record time this morning - 6am, a new personal record on a weekday. Anyway, here's hoping I don't infect anyone else.

PS, extra points if you can identify the source of the title.

Too cool.

2006-02-13T00:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.sketchswap.com/

You sketch something on a digital whiteboard, and the site sends it to an anonymous stranger, as well as getting one in return! How cool is that?

I didn't wear a tie today

2006-02-07T18:29:00.000-08:00

I was both busy and tired at the office today... busy from actual work, and tired from staying up way too late last night trying to learn to play a new song on my guitar - Freshmen by Verve Pipe. So, for the first time in months, I didn't wear a tie the whole day at work.

I'm such a rebel.

New Gear

2006-02-03T12:13:00.000-08:00

I'm celebrating my new lowered rent by buying a new lens for my camera. It's a Sigma 10-20 mm ultra-wide zoom lens. I'll be getting it shipped by Wednesday so hopefully I can post some photos by next weekend.

Gong xi fa tsai

2006-01-29T21:32:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all, happy Chinese new year!

Woof woof woof!

I'm moving

2006-01-17T14:25:00.000-08:00

Well, after one year of living with my current roommate, I'm moving... from West Los Angeles to Santa Monica (actually, about 3 miles closer to my office). The reasons behind the move are a little complicated, but suffice it to say, it involves a fair bit of drama in other people's lives. Since I'm not involved in said drama, I am happy to take my fortunes where fate may guide me. Last day at my current place is on Feb 4, so I have about 3 weeks left at my place.

More updates to come!

Drawrings

2006-01-02T22:21:00.000-08:00

I did some very quick sketches this weekend, thought you may enjoy. FYI, they do contain some nudity.

Happy Xmas and New Year!

2006-01-01T14:26:00.000-08:00

Blogger is mucking up my posts for some reason... new posts soon!

Ballpoint Art

2005-12-22T22:44:00.000-08:00

I found this link while browsing through the internets. I like doodling with ballpoints, but this is ridiculous.

On an unrelated note, I'm off to go snowboard at Lake Tahoe tomorrow - it'll be an 8 hour drive and we will be leaving at around midnight and driving overnight. Pictures will be forthcoming.

First. Celebrity. Ever.

2005-12-21T13:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally had my first celebrity sighting in Santa Monica over lunch just now. After complaining that I have been here an entire year without seeing a celebrity, I saw Damon Wayans walking down Ocean Avenue with a short accountant-looking guy.

That is all.

Deal or no deal

2005-12-19T21:10:00.000-08:00

First of all, sorry that I couldn't make any updates for the last two weeks; I had been quite tardy with these posts and haven't been able to bring myself to make a few minutes' time to type up an entry.

I was watching the new game show on NBC - "Deal or no deal," starring Howie Mandel, and the statistical nature of the game piqued my interest, and I felt compelled to comment. It was set up thusly: There are 26 identical cases, containing prizes ranging from $0.01 to $1,000,000. A contestant chooses a single case which is "their case" for the duration of the game. At various points, the contestant must eliminate a number of cases from the 26, at which point their contents are revealed. Using this information a "banker" - a producer of the show - will offer the contestant a deal where they can accept a set amount of money, or continue to select cases to remove, and revealing further information. The first few stages are marked by very low expected values of deals offered by the bank: the offer would be $12,000, where the average value of the contents of the remaining cases was well over $50,000. The pivotal moment of the show, however, was later on in the game...

The contestant was down to four cases remaining, each containing one of these sums:

$75
$300
$50,000
$500,000

A deal was offered where she could walk away with a lump sum of $130,000, or must choose one more case to open and thereby eliminate; and be offered another deal.

Given that the average or expected value of the remaining cases was
(75+300+50000+500000) / 4 = $137,593.75

This meant that the producer offered nearly even odds as a deal; the perfect gambler at this point may think that since the expected value of the remaining prize was greater than the deal offered, the contestant should decline the offer and continue to play. In fact, this was what she did, and unfortunately, she opened the $500,000 case and her expected value dropped to $16,791. Predictably, the next deal offered was for $17,000.

Quite interesting to see how people react in the face of even odds. Basic economics states that risk seekers would always choose to take the next gamble, and risk averse players would take a deal that would be slightly less than the expected value of the gamble.
How would you play?

It's been a while

2005-12-01T14:07:00.000-08:00

Two weeks, to be exact, since my last post. Not that I have been involved in some momentous undertaking, just a mountain of miscellany in the meantime. Some errata that may be of interest:

I will be coming back to Toronto from December 10th through the 18th
The CA DMV is making me go through some extreme hoops with the feds to get my car locally registered. I am considering shipping my car back to Toronto, selling it, and buying something new... I am thinking Honda S2000, or perhaps something more utilitarian like a Nissan Xterra.
I have a new goal for my online poker at PartyPoker.com - to turn my initial $50 deposit into $1000 by the end of February. After about a month and a half of consistent play, I am about 1/3 of the way there. If by some stroke of luck I manage to win a big multilevel tournament, I will buy myself a new bike.
In live competition, I'll have to start tracking win/loss. I'll probably end up withdrawing $1000 cash at the beginning of the year, and set that aside as my annual bankroll. No bankroll, no poker. I'll define good progress as doubling up the bankroll within 1 year. If God forbid I lose my entire bankroll six months into the year, I'll have to pick up a new hobby.

Till next time... May all your cards be live, and all your pots monsters.

Frank Miller's Sin City

2005-11-14T22:57:00.000-08:00

Skinny little Nancy Callahan. She grew up. She filled out.

Lately, I have not been the most up to date with the newest films. In fact, I've been so behind that I saw Frank Miller's Sin City on DVD for the first time tonight. The film struck quite a nerve on the right side of my brain with its stunning cinematography and poignant use of color. In fact, the character and set design triggered a sudden flash of memory. - several years back I had come across a single panel of Frank Miller's work - copied without reference - on the Internet, and the style piqued my interest so much that I had to break out my book for a quick sketch (captured above). I quickly went upstairs after finishing the movie and flipped through a couple of sketchbooks to find the doodle I put together. At the time I found the original, I had no idea who Frank Miller was nor had I ever read through any of his comics. Needless to say, I will go by Barnes and Noble tomorrow to check out the "graphic novel" section.

If you look closely, you'll notice that for this particular sketch, I didn't have my favorite #3B pencil available so I had to make a very rare use of a black ballpoint pen. I feel somewhat compelled to give it another go, but I think that pencil sketches don't do Frank Miller's heavy use of ink washes nearly the justice he deserves. I'll post up a finished drawing if I ever get one done with my tablet.