Thursday, February 28, 2008

Mona Lisa smile



Copyright ©2008 Truasian (hiddenstream.blogspot.com)

Stock images from sxc.hu and stockvault.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Change for the better

Even as the election fever spreads, for those fence sitters or those who are simply not interested in the changing political climate around them, may I suggest that you vote for Barrack Obama. After reading about him and watching his fiery and inspirational speeches on Youtube, I'm more and more convinced that Obama, his personality and ideology, really represents the commoner in America. I gather he is more awe-inspiring than Martin Luther King.

While Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion and Russian presidential candidate hopeful, talked vehemently about the imperialistic policies of President Putin and his corrupted and crony officials, Obama focuses on great and humble matters such as love, faith and hope. He talked about America's deficit, not of trade and economy, but of moral high living - the empathy deficit. He talked about the simple and shining examples of his work with the underprivileged - the bright young girl who could not afford higher education, the backstreet boys who were neglected or abandoned by their parents, the elderly woman who became a victim of the insurance healthcare policy. He talked about his background. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His father, a Kenyan, had abandoned his family. His single working mother has struggled to make ends meet. Criticising his opponents who say he is only a hope-monger, he said that without that little hope to believe in during his formative years, he would not have stood amongst the crowd today and talked about his hope for the people of America.

He talked about how we could pray together, work together and march together. Nobody could fight inequality alone. There is a need for unity and it is not without hard work and sacrifices. This political meteor himself is the change that America can believe in. One day, I trust, America can look back and be proud that they had a black president serving them. And if this can happen in America, it can also happen anywhere in the world, most certainly in Malaysia. Vote for change.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Chap Goh Meh


Copyright ©2008 Truasian (hiddenstream.blogspot.com)
All stock images from sxc.hu

It's time to open a bottle of champagne to celebrate the last day of the Lunar New Year. In Penang especially, the people are fully aware that after this celebration, they have the Battle of the Century as they ready themselves to vote for the next general election. As politicians are busy campaigning, we should constantly remind ourselves that true power really lies with the rakyat.

Politicians are good in the sense that they are able to negotiate and form alliances. However, when it comes to matters such as corruption and injustice, there should be no compromise. I hope all politicians will be truthful and fight for justice and equal rights. All elected politicians must prove themselves to be objective in their approach. It is like a game of chess where the best defence is to be aggresive in finding new ideas to reach their objectives. Many politicians have gone into that win-win situation (read: compromising) which appeal mainly to business people. In chess (here I go again!) as in real life, it is a zero-sum game where one has to be mobile and dynamic in finding new resources instead of remaining stagnant and rely on one's 'secure' position, title or even worse, wealth. Also, as in chess, one has to abide by the rules of the game, which sadly is not what is seen to be happening here. Anyway, life is not always about campaigns.

For those who have a good time during this 15-day period, its going to be the Battle of the Bulge as a form of damage control for the weight gained. May I recommend going to an established gym such as Jacky Chan's California Fitness which is actually a happening place with lots of group exercise activities. However, if you can find one that is nearby and suited to your needs, than I think it is preferable to the hassle of traveling especially to jam-packed areas. Better yet, if you have the selfdiscipline, do your own exercise program, whether indoor or outdoor. Dancing is also a healthy cardio-pumping form of exercise. Fyi, even some of the lucky convicts are privileged enough to dance/exercise during their assemblies.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Chimera




Creative Commons License


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.5 Malaysia License.

Stock images from sxc.hu and morguefile.

Since some of us are still in CNY's mood, I thought it would be approaprite to do a photo-morphing of 2 creatures, signifying the passing of the Year of the Pig and welcoming the Year of the Rat. I thought it would be 'kewl' to extend and add in the fur of the rat to cover the entire body of the pig. Put a little glow to the backdrop and looks like I've just created a monster! Not for the fainthearted!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

I Believe I Can Fly





Copyright ©2008 Truasian (hiddenstream.blogspot.com)

Stock images from sxc.hu and morguefile.

The ship as saltshaker? Don't ever try this at home (or at sea)!

Happy Valentine's Day to all. This montage is inspired by:



...and also from this quote from the movie Atonement, 'You can only imagine the truth'.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

CNY: Homecoming



Its approaching dusk and the group is on its way to celebrate Chinese New Year with their families and friends. However, at the last stepping stone, fear creeps into the mind of the little mouse. Her friends continue to persuade her to make that final leap while the giant rodent is seen prodding her from behind. It seems that she has no choice - she must take that leap or be swept away by the strong current.

How can we help her get out of the predicament?




By a simple and neat trick of extending the boulder. Hooray, thanks to Truasian's photomanipulation technique, we won't be late for dinner!

Btw, *sniff* Happy Chinese New Year! *sniff sniff*

Copyright ©2008 Truasian (hiddenstream.blogspot.com)

Stock images from sxc.hu and morguefile