Christ, the Risen

Bearing the sins of all men,
The treacherous deeds of thoughts, mouth and pen,
Your glory filled the Earth,
Yet blinded, people question your worth,
Not understanding the hand behind the science,
This world lacking in conscience,
Worshipped your creation,
And stamped on you who had Risen,
Even your followers used your name in vain,
Your loved ones adding more to your pain,
Yet they ask, why not me? why always me?
Me, me, me, that’s all they see,
And yet we wonder, the signs of dust and everything dying away,
Shows we are far away from the way,
Of the one who has raised,
All creations that lived.

Fallen Guardian

You were supposed to protect me,
But why does your beauty take priority?
I thought I knew you,
Less it seems as time flew,
Your weaknesses pushed everyone through the edge,
One by one they jumped over the hedge,
To flee what may be lost,
Desperation held on the most,
I stopped running to turn around,
To listen to the agonising sound,
Perhaps we should turn back,
Perhaps we should cut the guardian some slack,
For the qualities the guardian lack,
For in the fire, metal is forged,
Perhaps Guardians too, maybe not all is lost.

The Irrational Dictator

You said up to you,
but lose your cool,
How is this up to me?
When your logic is off to all who can see?
Chaos after chaos you stir,
Trouble and trauma we concur,
Dictate our living is your hobby,
Your false reputation all you lobby,
Help, why are most blinded?
My love to you, I now rescinded.
Lost I am, lost are you,
My beloved who took me for a fool.
No more I said,
Independence, we now made.

“Friends”

Friends that we are,
They tell you they care,
Yet no feelings or actions they bare,
Not a word, not a sound,
How will connections be bound?
Drop after drop, they disappear,
And years after when they reappear,
How very awkward,
We are towards,
The friends we said we care,
Perhaps this is very much the expected scare.
Troubles filled you, they run,
Only when you are a clown, they bathe under you like the sun,
Then we’ll know if we are friends,
When it ends.

Quick Job Question!

Hey guys! Quick question for you all!

Would you rather take a much higher mundane paying job or a lesser paying job that you’re passionate about? And why?

Kingfisher, ICL surgery and Independence Day Updates

Happy Independence Day, Malaysia! Gracing this blog with a Kingfisher photo that I took with my Fujifilm XT-30 camera.

I took this shot while I was still recovering from ICL – my first photo since the op. My vision is unfortunately still blurry and not as sharp as it was before the surgery. It has been over a month, hopefully it wouldn’t continue for too long without full recovery.

This year has been full of bad news, so I would like to share a photo of this cute magnificent bird. I also decided to share this photo because the red, white and blue colours reminded me of Malaysia’s flag.

For those wondering what ICL is, it is a surgery similar to LASIK, but with newer tech and is non-invasive. It is called Implantable Contact Lens. The operation is generally safe but recovery rate depends on the individual. I did both eyes at the same time.

That’s it for now, enjoy your day 🙂

Work End Greetings’ Hidden Meaning

Here’s a list of hidden meaning for work end greetings!

Before I continue, I say this in jest (disclaimer for woke keyboard warriors, you never know with the amount of triggered people today) No offense! 😛

1. Yours truly – I don’t know you well and it’s done unwillingly
2. Yours sincerely – because it’s never sincere
3. Best regards – default face
4. Warmest regards – I want you to know that I like you or that I’m the friendliest person on Earth
5. Warm regards – because I like you but not enough for the next level
6. Kind regards – same as warm regards but an attempt to sound friendlier
7. Regards – getting chilly here
8. Cheers – it means chill, nitwit!
9. With appreciation – at least I have manners
10. Yours respectfully – I’m traditional
11. Cordially – I’m warm but pompous
12. Best wishes – I hate formality
13. Thanks – another default face
14. Looking forward to hearing from you – don’t waste my time
15. All the best – more sincere than yours sincerely
16. With gratitude – I’m old-fashioned
17. Faithfully – used when dealing with unknown strangers

Cheers.

Found my spirit animals in Melbourne

Throwback to 2013 when I went on a road trip in Melbourne. I missed the beautiful nature and lovely air there!

Right now, it’s haze season in Malaysia, courtesy of Indonesia.

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Total number of hotspots recorded by ASEAN Specialized Metrological Center (ASMC):

Kalimantan (474), Sumatera (387) vs Malaysia (7).

Been sneezing almost everyday 🙂

The Herd Mentality (In the Art Industry)

It’s not just the art industry that falls into the trap of the ‘Herd Mentality’, it’s basically what plagues Mankind. We are more sheep than shepherd. Fear has a strong hold in our lives whether we deny it or not. People are afraid to explore because of the fear of the unknown or perceived failures. Yes, some of you may argue that it has been tried and tested, which is why we remain in the comfort zone. But only by going against the social norms and comfort zones do breakthroughs happen. Often, common issues get dismissed and overlooked.

In the art industry, we have what we call the ‘Popular Vote’. This may seem normal but in its essence, it is encouraging the herd mentality. Say for example, would you vote for something that you like (e.g. a favourite character) over something that is better in art execution and originality?  To expand on this, let’s say both are your favourite characters. One looks more realistic but is copied from a reference and has sloppy colours. The other is not as realistic but is created from scratch with nice colours. Most people tend to go for the more realistic one. This is a classic trap of ‘Style Over Substance’. This is why ‘hot air’ continues to exist and fool many. The ‘eye candy’ without any substance.

Many artists face this dilemma of drawing something original over copying a popular reference in order to get recognition by the hoi polloi, the majority with no artistic background. I may or may not be broaching a taboo subject but this is a brutal industry. Even people with artistic background can fall into the trap of voting their favourite. However, it’s not unusual to see a disagreement between the art critics and the general masses.

So how do we resolve this? Observe and learn, resist the ancestors of Man’s instincts of fight or flight. It may be useful in the past but not in this case. In this day and age, thinking things through are often more rewarding.

Have a sheep:

Archaeopteryx Hybrid (1hr 31mins Sketch) WIP

This is a continuation of the sketch from this post: 16mins Sketch

After further brainstorming, I decided to change the gender, age and species to a clumsy female youngling. I wanted a challenge. Neither acknowledged by humans nor Archaeopteryx, it has to learn how to live in the dangerous world.

I guess this falls into the survival genre.

It is not easy combining two species that have anatomies from both extreme ends. The way the human joints bend are the exact opposite of how the Archaeopteryx’s joints work in various areas.

More to come…