Everything is framed, isn’t it.

From top left, clockwise.
Popart Poster of The Beatles (my sister got it from London, it is huge and shiny and I love it), Campbell’s non-silkscreen Soup Can, prints from Jordi Labanda, Miss Van, Bansky, Audrey Kawasaki and Fafi, view of my old room, framed by camera and of me taking the picture, I’m framed by the mirror.

We frame the world by holding our own perspectives of it.

I must know how to get colours like these.

Anyway, I found pictures from Miss Van’s latest exhibition. I don’t really dig the hair theme. Bring the bunnies back!

Exams are over. I’ve got 5 days of MC. Because I’m down with Shingles. Seriously! What the hell right?

A little information. Shingles is painful and ugly. It burns, it blisters, it scars and it eats small children.

For a more objective point of view, you can read this.

Anyway, condolences to the five Singaporeans who died in the dragon boat accident. My good friend is upset because he knows two of them. My mum is upset because she knows the mother of one. C’est la vie… but it reminds us to not take things for granted.

I’m done with my exams, I’m done with the semester. If everything goes well, I’ll be graduating in 6 months!!!

I’ll miss school, it reveals things you will never have noticed yourself. For example, you will never know how interesting Mediacorp programs really are until you are faced with The Technology Adoption and Diffusion Theory. On second thought, they are quite comparable. Especially when you’re comparing the ability to elicit positive responses. I don’t know what point I’m making anymore.

Anyway, exams are over! I’ll be busy with doing things I’ve been doing. But now, there is no guilt! Such liberation!

First up. Gregory House.

The things people do when they ought to be studying.
Intelligence Test Part 5

Here are the questions. The solutions are under the cut.

1 5 P of I T
2 10 is 2 in B
3 X 360 – Xbox 360
4 800×600 S R
5 A B and the 40 T
6 6 Z in a M
7 22 P on a F F
8 54 S on a R C
9 21 D on a S D
10 4 W in a M
11 The 9 M
12 12 D of J
13 The D to A C is A 4 L Y
14 122 S in a C C B
15 9/11 A
16 J has 62 M
17 4 L on a T
18 2 B on a P of S
19 9 C of H in D I
20 7 L in the W L

[More]

A List Apart has a good article by Jeffrey Zeldman on understanding Web Design.

Web design is the creation of digital environments that facilitate and encourage human activity; reflect or adapt to individual voices and content; and change gracefully over time while always retaining their identity.

Great web designs are like great typefaces: some, like Rosewood, impose a personality on whatever content is applied to them. Others, like Helvetica, fade into the background (or try to), magically supporting whatever tone the content provides. (We can argue tomorrow whether Helvetica is really as neutral as water.)

Read the full article here.

I’m guilty of approaching Web Design from a graphics designer mindset. I love how he compared web design and typography. Never saw the link but now that he mentioned, how very true.

Penny People Designs

Speaking of charming, I’m in love with her apartment. It’s full of winsome trinkets and amazing finds from flea markets.

I’ve never been a fan of resort minimalist zen furnishings. I love colors, eccentricity, old world charm etc. Problem is, I don’t know how to put them all together. I might do better if there’s a way to do interior design on the computer. Wait, I think they call that The Sims. Ah never mind, gawking at pictures will suffice for now.

Weekend Summary
- Lonely Friday night. Cheap and yummy buffet dinner at Sakura. Grandpa’s birthday. Funky Mag from Aussie. A for Andy exhibition. Second Season of 24. Salmon and Dory Overload. Potent Herbal Soup. Cold nights. Lazy Sunday.

Nothing much since I’m supposed to study. Joelle graduated from SIM on Saturday, I tried to attend her commencement but she didn’t pick up her phone even though my presence was already in the vicinity, and I can’t muck around because I’ve got elsewhere to go. So in the end, I didn’t get to hurt her real bad. But time is abundant and chances plentiful, we can always try again.

Seriously, Congratulations! She’s always bitching about school. Now I don’t have to hear them no more!

Anyway, more Christmas Gift ideas. Do you know that by writing about them, the author is immune to giving them? It proves that the author already has such thoughts and there is no longer a need to execute them. It’s the thoughts that count, haven’t you learn? No? Then someone ought to teach you some social skills. Tsk.

Scans and full article from notcot.org.

I told Baby I’m gonna give him virtual presents via Facebook, and that is all he should expect with regards to Christmas gifts. He said, “Don’t be a Cheapo.”

The Annual Victoria Secret’s Fashion Show! Christmas came early for some of us eh? I love Adrianna Lima, have I ever told you that?

About the frames, I’ve decided that the artists I absolutely love and cannot do without are (in order of preference), Miss Van, Banksy, Audrey Kawasaki, Fafi and Jordi Labanda. I’ve chosen my favorite prints from each of them but they don’t really go well together. This needs more time.

Anyway. I’ve got bangs now! I’ve been wanting to have bangs since Halloween.

So I went snipping away! Spontaneous but not unexpected, people do the most random things when they are ought to be studying. Ain’t that right.

Ok one last thing before I go back to my readings, there is an Andy Warhol Exhibition going on. Admission is free. I might go. Pop art is my favorite art movement, so I think I should take a look if I want to continue claiming that. Terrible logic but it makes sense if you’re a lazy person.

Got this from Ikea.

I’m gonna fill them with illustrations by my favorite artists. Only five frames! How do I choose!

I must have Miss Van, Audrey Kawasaki and Banksy. Then it’s a fight between fafi, bibi and Jordi Labanda. I’m thinking Mark Ryden too because there are specific paintings that I truly adore. Same for Pinkytoast.

So far, I can only afford prints by Banksy, simply because they are free (sadly, his infamous stencils are not available). As for the remaining frames, I’m thinking of trolling the web for high resolution images to print. I know… very shameful. But paying 3000 Euros for a Fafi painting? Nah, not now anyway.

Adrianna of popagandhi.com has a reservation at El Bulli. She’s going to Spain for dinner.

The restaurant has a limited season from April to September; bookings are taken on a single day in the previous October. It accommodates only 8,000 diners a season, with 800,000 people calling to try and book places – around 400 requests for every table. The average cost of a meal is €250; the restaurant itself has operated at a loss since 2000, with operating profit coming from El Bulli-related books, and lectures from Adrià. -wikipedia

You can read about other Michelin 3 Star Restaurants here.

Grunt. *munches on my humble pineapple tart*

• Examination starts. I’ve got 2 papers, one tomorrow and one later on the 23rd. I haven’t begin my revision for tomorrow’s paper. Hmm.. I shouldn’t call it revision, not when I didn’t attend half the lessons. I wish I can tell you that my nonchalant behavior is backed by high IQ and boundless prior knowledge on the subject. But that’ll be lying. Guess who is not sleeping tonight? Baby. He’ll be busy with making the girlfriend study.
• I hate #0000FF. Try guessing what that is.
• I’m gonna speak at some web conference. I saw some posters. I was asked to write my speaker’s profile and submit a picture for further publicity. As much as I would like to appear Gung Ho about it. I have to admit, this is quite scary.
• I love the layout and typography of this website.

More gift ideas!

Pop Ink French Paper: Check out the lovely gift wraps and napkins.

Poketo: New wallets by Eva Mastrogiulio, Sigrid Astrup, Page Tsou, Maki, and Laura Varsky. Also, I saw this 54-week My Wonderland Planner by Leah Chun. Funky and cute!

Kinda busy rushing my term papers and presentations. I completed a 40-page project report last Friday night and did an impromptu project presentation the following day. No bullshit, my boyfriend saw how the whole drama unfolds. He witnessed rare displays of “I’m dead! I’m dead!” panic and the most impressive demonstration of concentration ever seen, of me typing furiously on the keyboard with undivided attention.

Just completed my last paper. It’s funny how the prof asks for bivariate analysis and hypothesis testing like that’s the most natural thing to do? I’ve not learn them in school. *throws NUS a dirty look* I had to take off from work and spend the whole morning figuring out what they are. Disgusting. That’s what they are.

PS: Baby is super sweet! Accompanying me throughout and giving me occasional treats of hugs and kisses. There’s something I can’t figure out, why does he smell so damn scrumptious all the time?

Finding beauty in the weirdest places. Spam Subject Lines.

I want a Sun Jar! Absolutely adorable.

And if you’re looking for a practical Christmas present, the crackpot calendar is perfect!

Our Crackpot Calendar for 2008 features a fresh selection of attention-grabbing characters and illustrations from around the world. Each new calendar page provides for a new companion – one per week from a total of fifty-six diverse contemporary images. Whether hung from the wall of a child’s room or propped on an office desk, the Crackpot Calendar is sure to provide for fun and inspiration throughout the year.

A new illustration to look at every week!? Kill me already!

They don’t provide shipping to Singapore, so you’ll probably have to get it via vpost or a very lovely friend.

You were sweet, lovely and wonderful. And you tried so hard to make my birthday a memorable one. In the end, October was nothing less than magical. I look forward to so much more with you.

“So yes, I know that love is unconditional. But I also know that it can be unpredictable, unexpected, uncontrollable, unbearable and strangely easy to mistake for loathing, and… What I’m trying to say, Tristan is… I think I love you. Is this love, Tristan? I never imagined I’d know it for myself. My heart… It feels like my chest can barely contain it. Like it’s trying to escape because it doesn’t belong to me any more. It belongs to you. And if you wanted it, I’d wish for nothing in exchange – no fits. No goods. No demonstrations of devotion. Nothing but knowing you loved me too. Just your heart, in exchange for mine.”

From the movie, Stardust. I think we both awwed and nuzzled at this.

Twittered this earlier this year.

“Anticipating a superhero, a pirate, a wizard, an ogre, a few robots and most of all, a fallen star.”

I was talking about Summer blockbusters. Spiderman, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Shrek III, Transformers and Stardust respectively. Watched the last of it, Stardust, over the weekend. It was the best movie of the lot. In fact, it was the best movie I’ve watched this year.

I love Neil Gaiman!

I know this is not as over the top and colorful as the designs I used to make. But this is gonna be part of a school project, which is all about proper CSS coding and usability and serious stuff that never bothered me in the past. I apologize for the uncanny neatness and clean codes.

You know, I’m not very keen about using my domain for class presentation. Mainly because of the following frivolous stuff I’m going to write about.

I had a lot of fun during the Halloween weekend. I wanted to be Cyborg when I bought this pink shiny wig which I thought was pretty futuristic.

One Caucasian went “Are you Bobby?” I was all “Who the hell is Bobby?” In the end we realized he meant Barbie. From then on, Aileen decided to introduce me as Barbie to everyone we met thereafter. No one puked. Impressive display of grace and courtesy. Thanks.

We dropped by a new club where my friend’s working as a DJ and we won a bottle of Absolute Vodka for being the “best dressed”. Not too shabby for a costume we put together at the very last minute eh?

PS: The tiara is a present from Aileen Baby. Thanks!