Photo Essay : "And the gold fell all over the field of snowy swirls; And the ducks came out to play!"

Well, since I got TWO comments from the previous photo, which, if you ask me is a really BIG thing for me considering it's been ghost town around here for a while, I thought I would reward you guys with another of my food experiments! Presenting to you, "And the gold fell all over the field of snowy swirls; And the ducks came out to play!"

Hmmm. Hungry again? Well, I was trying to remember what went into this dish by picking out the different ingredients I could spot in the photo. I usually make use of what's available in the fridge but sometimes, I do get inspired at the supermarket and buy what I think will work. In this case, it's fried flat noodles with shredded roast duck, ham and white button mushrooms topped with a generous sprinkling of scrambled eggs and lightly seasoned with salt, light soya sauce, white pepper, black pepper, and the all important Italian seasoning.

The italian seasoning is really great as it adds a very unique blend to an otherwise rather Chinese dish. I use it all the time I cook. It's really a mix of oregano, rosemary, basil and sage and comes in a pre-packaged bottle from McCormick. Oh yes, and this is really just to prove that I can cook other things besides burgers. Not that anyone said anything... Ha!

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Photo Essay : "Hungry in Shanghai"

What's a man to do in Shanghai when he is cold, hungry and itching for some hand's on stuff to do? COOK! Haha. That's what I did. Well, from the looks of the photo, it doesn't look a bit Chinese at all huh! It was one of the easiest things to prepare though. Sesame bun from the confectionery downstairs, bacon, white button mushrooms and minced pork from the supermarket nearby and freshly boiled and seasoned mashed potatoes. Oh, by the way, I seasoned the minced pork on my own with sesame oil, salt, pepper, soya sauce, black pepper and some italian seasoning too! Great fun, great taste!

I used my table lamp as a light source and snapped away a few shots before tucking in. You can take my word for it that it tasted as good as it looked. SEDAP!

Anyway, I really relished the time I had in Shanghai when I was there for 6 months on a study exchange. The memories, the stuff I got to explore on my own, the crazy things I did with my 2 other flatmates. I guess you could say it was an education that you would not typically get in school. The world is a lot bigger than what Singapore is. Let's get out of our small little foxholes and live a little!

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A lecture in humour

I think many of you might have seen this before but I thought it was worth a post still. A lecturer at NUS NTU takes time to humour his students by showing them examples of surveys that previous students had filled in. A lot of them seem very fascinated with his mustache! Ha ha, now why don't we have lecturers like this in Archi? Or perhaps archi students just aren't creative enough with their comments! Ha ha. The unexpected joys of being a lecturer. Watch and don't peng san. :)

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A whole new world

I came across this website of a designer called Marie Louise. She graduated with a masters degree in product design from the Royal College of Art, London and now works as a freelance designer who does solo projects and commissioned work. I think her work is very interesting and wacky in a way which is something I always appreciate in a good design work - the humour. Here are some of her projects that brought a smile to my face. Oh and did I mention her products have really cool names toO?

MOP FLIP FLOP (2002)
A fun way to clean!
Material: Slippers with cotton scouring-cloth.
Dimensions (mm): size 35.

MR BRUSHY (2004)
Sit down while clean your shoes.
Material: Lacquered wood with a red brush.
Dimensions (mm): W350, D350, H520.

NÄVER AGAIN (2005)
A stool made of plaited woolen felt.
The technique is traditionally used in Sweden to
plait birch bark but applied here at a different
scale on a different material.
Material: Lacquered plywood with felt in 100% wool.
Dimensions (mm): W700, D700, H320.

SLACKER CHAIR (2006)
‘Slacker’ adds a new flexible sitting experience
as its users have to find their own sitting position.
Material: Cast aluminium frame with a seat
made of polythene pellets in a sack of imitation leather.
Dimensions (mm): W650, D650, H900(flexible).

TABLE OF TRASH (2006)
(one of my favourites.)
A desk literally throwing itself into the waste basket.
I like the idea of visualizing the cycle of trash
and the possibility reusing trash in a constructive way.
Material: Recycled paper reused in the material
‘wellboard’consisting of a craft liner and a
corrugated cardboard in between.
The material is strong, recyclable and very light weight.
The whole table weighs only 4kg.
Dimensions (mm): W1200, D540, H750.

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Photo Essay :"The Art of Reflection"

I think people spend far too little time reflecting these days. Taking time to reflect on our lives allows us to see our lives in clearer perspective and hence tutors us in living out lives intentionally.

My guess is, in today's world where many things have become increasingly subjective, even moral and ethical values, reflection has lost it's meaning. The foundation for reflection to take place - moral principles of what is good, right, worthy and honourable is often seen as conservative and is increasingly being replaced by calls to live life freely (there is no right or wrong, just alternative ways of doing things or living life). Many times too, in the name of progress, whether economically, socially or philosophically.

Yet, it is precisely because we live in such a time that reflection is all the more important. Are you living your life intentionally? Start today.

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