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Monday 25 January 2010

Ambigrams! 2

Note: High resolution images of some of the following photos are available. These photos are marked with [HiRes] tags in their captions. Click on the photos to view their higher resolution images.

I designed a few ambigrams when I first came to UK.

I no longer create ambigrams, but there happened to be one more ambigram I'm particularly fond of which was designed after the Ambigrams post in September 2009.

Angels - First Draft
[HiRes] The first draft. The bottom half is the flipped image of the top.

This is the first draft of the ambigram. I was very satisfied with it, despite the fact that, being hand-drawn, the left and right halves aren't exactly mirror-match of each other.

I then drew another one, featured on the letter I sent home to mum.

Angels - Second Draft
Second draft. This appeared on the letter I sent home to mum in October. Notice the grid lines I drew to help achieve better match between the two halves.

This photo was taken before it was done. However, I never got to finish my work -- my marker pen inconveniently ran out of ink. In the end, mum had to get my unevenly shaded version of the ambigram, which is worse than the second draft.

Then I took the second draft and edited it in GIMP, the open-source photo-editing software.

Angels - Final
[HiRes] Final version of the ambigram. Derived from the second draft. Slightly shorter and fatter, however, to make horizontal strokes thinner.

I assure you that this version is completely symmetrical -- I only redid the left half, which is then copied, flipped, and overlapped with the right. Only the words "FLIP" and the big red seal weren't mirrored.

Funnily enough, editing the ambigram with GIMP took much more time than designing the ambigram itself. And, Beyonce's Halo was playing when I was tinting the golden circlet.

Whether you like (or even able to see what word it is at all) the ambigram, I don't care. It is my favourite so far, and I've rarely spent this much time with any single piece of artwork other than Chinese calligraphy.

If you do like it, thanks very much! If you don't, well, at least you know you can expect few more (if at all) from me anymore.

PS. This image is currently my desktop background.

Saturday 16 January 2010

Sights of UK: Guy Fawkes Night

Note: High resolution images of some of the following photos are available. These photos are marked with [HiRes] tags in their captions. Click on the photos to view their higher resolution images.

When I departed Malaysia, I knew I'd leave all sorts of colourful festivals behind me. Hari Raya was like two weeks away, and despite the inappropriate timing, my craving for Chinese Rice Dumplings ("ba zang") got incredibly strong recently.

However, being in a new country also means embracing new exciting celebrations. Hallowe'en and Christmas are surely at the top of the list of anybody going to an English-speaking country.

Fun with flame
[HiRes] Guy Fawkes Night, Nottingham, 5th November.

This post, however, is about neither. At the 5th of November, the Brits celebrate a festival called the Guy Fawkes Night. You may be familiar with its alternative name Bonfire Night.

Bonfire
[HiRes] Bonfire.

Apparently, this celebration rooted in the 17th century, when Guy Fawkes and a number of people made a fruitless attempt at removing the UK's Houses of Parliament from the face of Earth.

Fire-lit Crowd
The crowd in Battersea Park, London, gathering around a large bonfire.

The evening of the Night sees people gather around in specific locations for a large bonfire, symbolising the burning of Guy Fawkes. Some actually build scarecrow-like figures just for the sake of burning.

Catching Fire
[HiRes] I'm catching fire. Literally. With a camera.

Fireworks are also part of the celebration, usually after the fire.

Fireworks 0
[HiRes] Recycled photo from Start the Year With A Bang

Fireworks 7

Fireworks 1
[HiRes]

I attended two such events, one in Nottingham on the 5th of November, and another one in Battersea Park, London, on the 7th.

Fireworks 3

And in case you don't know, festivals like Hallowe'en and Guy Fawkes Night do not mean holiday for schoolgoers, not here in the UK.

Fireworks 2

Geez, I never knew you could get a festival named after you by attempting to blow up the Parliament.

Wednesday 13 January 2010

Cmc: OWL©

Disclaimer. This post is written purely for entertainment and does not reflect the author’s true opinion in any way. The author did not, does not, and will not have any other intention with the publishing of this post, whether political or personal. Re-publishing of this post by anyone other than the author without prior permission is strictly forbidden.

OWL©
Boy, I never knew you could copyright words.

So now you know you can't just use the word "Owl" whenever you want. Don't say I didn't warn you.

So next time you get kicked in the nuts, don't say "Owl ch".

Boy, I never knew you could copyright single words! It makes life so much fun.

Friday 8 January 2010

Cmc: I Want Say Pikachu!!!

I know I said the next post would be mid-January, but a little bird flew by and dropped me a sheet of comic earlier today.

It came with a note.
"Sorry for the bad drawing of the babies (yes they're babies not boxers, drawn in like 10 minutes) but I would appreciate it if you put it up to your blog -- I'm sure your readers will like it."

Cmc: I Want Say Pikachu!!!
[HiRes] High-resolution version available by clicking on the image.

Those baby bickers sure remind me of something... And oh boy, aren't those babies just plain evil!!!

Thanks to whoever sent me this!!!

Tuesday 5 January 2010

Start the Year With A Bang

Yeah right. 2009 and 2010 New Year Days are the most depressing New Year Days for me ever. With exams placed so close to Christmas, pimples are popping on my head as quickly and as scattered as the New Year fireworks. The only difference is that pimples don't go away in 3 seconds.

Fireworks 0
Fireworks displayed for Guy Fawkes Night at Battersea Park, London. Click on image for high-resolution version.


For the first time since June 2008, this month may see me posting less than 7 posts. Sorry to disappoint, but some posts (especially photo posts) take a lot of time to prepare and how I spend the next 10 days determines whether I pass my exams or die in hell.

My next post should be around mid-January. Until then, good luck for those who are facing the music exams, and happy new decade for those who aren't.