Mystical Steppes, Dance from Xinjiang region

Me & my mom went to watch the show last Sat, 27/01/07. We were snubbed by the male species, (I guess they would rather watch Top Gear huh, than a culturally diverse, eye-opening dance show) so we decided to go ahead, just the both of us.

Highly entertaining!! Mahmud the compere (together with Angeline) were really funny!! Do read about it in The Star 26 & 27 Jan. I'll just put the pics here.. Not really clear though. Ahem.. we were not supposed to take any photos/videos, but I couldn't resist myself. I've got a couple of videos which I'm thinking of putting on Youtube, but I may infringe some copyrighted intellectual properties..so I may not. Ok, if i put it there, pls don't sue me! They're just excerpts of the show (a few seconds).

Ahh..til the next cultural experience (okay,you wouldn't call it cultural..rawk rather) from Devon, England on 25 Feb, in the shape of the brilliant band Muse !! Watch this space.

The camera is playing tricks on you!!

I think I know why there are people who are photogenic in pictures, and those who actually look better when one see him/her in person. (Probably you know already?)

Based on my observation, photogenic people have symmetrical face, i.e. the right part of the face is proportionate to the left part of the face.

When you take a picture of your face, the image captured is the opposite of the actual, i.e. say we take your eyes as a reference: In the picture (camera image), your right eye is actually your left eye, and your left eye is actually your right eye. Confused?

Let’s put it this way: your right eye is pictured by the camera as your left eye, and your left eye is pictured by the camera as your right eye.

Try this: Close your right eye only. Then take a picture of yourself with only the right eye closed. Now look at the image on the camera screen. The CLOSED RIGHT EYE is on your LEFT HAND SIDE correct? But that closed eye is your right eye, not your left!! To convince you further, compare this with a mirror image. Close your right eye in front of the mirror. What do you see? The closed eye is on your right hand sight correct?

So, the mirror image is the one conveying the correct side of your actual face (and also other body parts, of course, but I’m talking about the face here), not the camera image.

See the difference: Mirror image VS Camera image

When you take a picture of a book with a camera, the image you see is correct, i.e. the same arrangement as it is printed. But when you put a book in front of the mirror, the alphabets are opposite of what is printed.

So, what makes me say that the mirror image conveys the correct side of you when the alphabets image is in the opposite direction?

OK, tell me, when you read a book, what direction is the book facing you, in comparison to your face? I’ll make it simpler, say you are facing North, now take a book, say you want to read what’s printed on the front cover, you’ll put the book facing towards you, i.e. facing South, correct? If you put the front cover facing North (the same way you are facing), you won’t be able to read it.

Conclusion:

So, when you put the book in front of the mirror, you are not able to read it (alphabet in opposite direction to what is printed) because THE BOOK IS FACING THE SAME DIRECTION AS YOU ARE FACING! i.e. book front cover = facing North, you = facing North.

What I’m trying to say is that the image you see in the MIRROR IS IN THE SAME DIRECTION as you are facing.

The image you see in the CAMERA IS IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION to where you are facing.

Hence, this proves my earlier argument: your right eye is pictured by the camera as your left eye and vice versa i.e. the opposite direction to your actual eye position!

That’s why there are people who are not so photogenic: the right side of his/her face is not proportionate to the left side of his/her face. So, when the disproportionate parts are switched position (camera image), his/her facial parts are “distorted” / pictured in the wrong positions (as opposed to how the person actually looks like in person). However, there may be people with asymmetrical faces who look better in the opposite direction, than in their actual, who have the camera to thank for ! (being better looking in the camera, than in person).

So, for not-so-photogenic people, don’t despair! It’s the camera’s fault, you look better in person; you are as beautiful as God has made you to be!

Maybe someone will invent a camera that will capture MIRROR IMAGE FACES one day?

And don’t you think it’s ironic that you will never be able to see your own face in person and have to depend on the mirror/ other people to know how you look like for the rest of your life?

So my dear friends, I hope we (myself included) will be less obsessed with vanity, (and focus on more important things) because it is merely a superficial interpretation of OTHER PEOPLE on you. It’s your self confidence which is important! (I’m trying). Of course, you should dress smartly and be presentable, but just don’t be driven by vanity, don’t try to be like the models/artistes on glossy magazines because they are all dolled up and airbrushed ! (plus nip/tuck, botoxed etc)

Brains hibernate in December

December is the least productive month of the year. It’s the school holidays, so travel agents charge extra for everything they can think of – fuel surcharge, weekend surcharge, school holiday surcharge, tax, etc etc. So, I don’t prefer to travel, although I’m on a month break.

I guess I’ll get a head start on my Individual Project (IP) since there’s no class. IP is only scheduled to start in March next year. But I couldn’t get hold of the people who I need to work with on my IP because of the school holidays and the end of the year: they are taking leave to get a break with their children (really, or is it to take a break FROM their children? I thought they would kill just to escape from their brood ). There goes another of my grand plan into the monsoon drain (together with the rain).

Speaking of monsoon drains, it’s also the monsoon season, raining everyday, so I can’t really do outdoorsy activities (or travel), plus, we’ve been hit by the worst ever flood in recent years. Anyway, I’m thankful that I’m not affected, but 2 of my friends were: Yani’s (uni mate) and Yuz ‘s (Kerteh friend) hometown in Muar. Hatim’s house (Hatim = Dr House, heheh), although also in Muar, was not affected. He said that Noi’s house might be affected, but I wouldn’t know until I ask him after he returns from Mecca. Azlan’s, Ita’s and K Faizaa’s house in JB are thankfully safe. I hope Chee Hoe’s house (Batu Pahat) is OK, I don’t have his number. Rohani’s house in BP is also OK.

My sympathies for them, and to all the flood victims (and to anyone who are victims of any kind of nature’s wrath or human atrocities). On another note, I’ll make sure I volunteer for a cause (doesn’t matter which one, the ongoing flood is in urgent need for volunteers, but I’ll be tied up with FDP, such a shame for me not to be able to lend a hand, but you can! ) so that I can help ease the pain of those who’s suffering. It’s not enough to just sympathise and not do anything about it.

I thought about Saddam’s hanging, I have to agree with Robert Fisk, who wrote in The Independent of London (excerpt from The Star, 8 Jan) Quote : “History will record that the Arabs and other Muslims, and indeed many millions in the West, will ask a question not posed in other Western newspapers – what about the other guilty men?
No, Tony Blair is not Saddam. We don’t gas our enemies. George W Bush is not Saddam. He didn’t invade Iran or Kuwait.

He only invaded Iraq. But hundred of thousands of Iraqi civilians are dead because Messrs Bush and Blair and the prime ministers of Spain, Australia and Italy went to war in 2003 on a potage of lies and mendacity and with great brutality.

We have tortured, murdered, brutalized and killed the innocent. Yet we are supposed to forget these terrible crimes as we applaud the swinging corpse of the dictator we created” Unquote. Plus, it was done on Aidiladha, quite improper.

Back to low productivity, another example: I couldn’t even strike a decent conversation with K Lina when I met her on a day in December although I haven’t seen her in 2 months (that’s quite a long time, so I should have some topics to discuss, but I didn’t). I bored her to sleep (actually I didn’t talk, I just looked at her, and she did the talking). She asked me on the latest gossips, - I had none. She asked me what I’m up to – nothing of great importance. She asked me have I watched “Cinta” (she said it was good) – no, it’s not my cup of tea ( for the record, the reviews say it’s good). With that, she took a nap at her workstation, and I took it as a sign to leave. I appologised and told her I’ll contact her when I have something interesting to say, otherwise I won’t. I told her that jokingly though, but still, I shouldn’t have said the last part. My brain is definitely hibernating already.

Anyway, all is not lost in December. I did manage to catch up with old school mates and uni mates at 2 of the ex-school mates’ weddings. It was really nice to see them after all these years. We planned for a reunion dinner some time next year, hope it happens! I also met up with a good uni mate of mine, in fact I stayed at her house for a night. There are so many places in Cheras and Sentul that I didn’t know of that she took me to. Thanks K Faizaa!