Chloe & Dylan ~ Good Morning.

My 2 precious tends to wake up really early in the morning. Dylan would often wake up around 3am for quick fix of milk to quench his hunger, then continue his sleeps until about 6.30am. Chloe would wake up at about 7.00am. Sometimes I could not sleep until about 5am, so when I woke up at about an hour later, my face would have that "hung dog, 6am look" which is just terrible...

Photos Session For Chloe and Dylan.

Esther and I brought Chloe and Dylan to a photo studio opposite Asia Cafe, SS15, SJ today. Like our wedding photo session, it is tiring. Both precious refuse to co-operate, understandably so as the environment in the studio is dark and the flashes of the camera spook them out a little. At the end of the day, we managed to get them to "pose" abit, after much persuasion. We shall see the result tomorrow when we have a preview session.

The Flathead Western Shirts and T-Shirts.

The Flathead Western Shirt (CW-44H) with "pearl" snap on buttons arrives today with the t-shirt (THC-52W "Kamikaze"). Ordered it via a proxy from 2nd, which, as usual threw in a couple of nice freebies for the purchase. Interesting how my denim obsession "influence" my choice of other wardrobe as well. Have been wanting a "Wrigley" green and great that TFH finally produce one within the CW-44H range. One thing I like about TFH shirt and t-shirt is that the sizing and fit are exactly what I look for, not too long nor too tight, which compliment my short and fat-ish stature nicely... Quality and authenticity are another important aspect and The Flathead does not disappoint. The tees are supposely weaved on a vintage loopwheeling machine. The loopwheel machine can only knit one yard of fabric per hour. It is slow and labour intensive as compared to today's modern machine. The attractiveness of this style of weaving process, apart from capturing the vintage "spirit", it would produce a weave with very little tension. Thus the fabric created is soft yet extremely durable. Esther remarked that I am on the verge of being "molded" into the 50s greaser wannabe look...thick black spec frame, cuffed jeans, boots, chain wallet, t-shirt and cowboy shirt etc..only the quiff is missing...well, I am "cultivating" that, sans the pomade/brylcreem of course...can't stand the smell..

Mamoru Oshii's Avalon.

Watched this 2001 movie last year. Reminded me of The Matrix. Typical of award winning filmmaker and writer Mamoru Oshii (押井守) movie, anime or otherwise, thus far. Deal with reality ie what's real and so forth. The story took place in this stylish but depressive feeling sepia tone world whereby the population seeks escape from reality by playing this ultra addictive illegal online game call Avalon. The gamers basically hardwired themselves directly into the game world, much like The Matrix. It started promisingly until the very end which left me confuse as *&^%, again very much like The Matrix trilogy as well as Mamoru's Ghost In The Shell anime movies.It seems to me Mamoru very much like us to question our "self" and "perception". Unfortunately, it left me feeling lobotomise. And I thought Blade Runner is deep. Visually, it is stunning with some of the battle scenes incorporating this technology called "superliveanimation". And of course the movie contain all his trademarks - stare at empty spaces shots, minimal dialog or just scenes showing the tram moving or people walking about while a depressing song is being played in the background. As well as that basset hound. Consist entirely of Polish actors and actresses, protagonist cool loner Ash (Małgorzata Foremniak) curiously reminded me of Grey Death (Grey~Yoshihisa Tagami). Like most of Mamoru movies, I would watch it again for the visual, although the storyline is best reserve for those willing to delve further into "who am I" "are you real" cyberpunk sort of philosophical babbling mess...

Billie Holiday.

Lady Day as she is also known as, led a tumultous personal live and died with just couple of hundreds of dollars with her. Her painful and bitter life experience are interpreted into most of her songs, couple which by now have been considered as one of the jazz standards to be measured against. Her distinctive delivery of each songs, through manipulation of phrasing and tempo, as well as a voice which is instantly recognisable (due to lack of range and subsequent years of substance abuse) give rise to some of the most emotionally imbued and profound songs I have heard from that era.

The Dark Knight Returns Limited Edition Hardcover.

After searching for this book since 1986, I finally obtained a copy from eBay online last January 2009. Honestly I am not too happy about the condition as it is definitely not near mint as claimed . Reckoned that due to the wear and tear, it may be somewhere between fine and good (if I am not mistaken about the "standard" comic traders/collectors use for grading). The dust jacket has fingerprint marks, worn and scuffs. There is also brown staining on the first few pages. The ex owner got it second hand way back then. I believe the original owner doesn't realise the value of this book! Nevertheless, I reckon the price I paid is still way below the market demand, even with all the above "defects". Also, I buy to keep, not for trade. With this version, my personal "classic" series of Bats late 80s comic/graphic novel releases are now complete. Here's a list of what I reckon to be the best of Bats by DC (not chronologically or preference).

a) The Killing Jokes.
b) Arkham Asylum : A Serious House On A Serious Earth.

c) Batman : Year One.

d) The Dark Knight Returns.

A Nice Bath For Leo.

Gave Leo a nice scrubbing on its shell and legs, but Leo kept moving about. I have to press him down gently of which Leo hisses at me. I use the aquarium brush which is large enough to cover greater surface. Leo is getting bigger, so I no longer use toothbrush. Tomorrow I may get some tortoise polish/lotion (?) to add extra protection on his shell.

Income Tax Submission.

The annual income tax submission process is quite tedious for me. First, I have to go all the way to Shah Alam Plaza Perangsang enduring the traffic. Then, I would have to go in loop searching for a place to park. Finally, parking at the nearby mall, I would have to walk abit. At the income tax office, I would have to wait for about an hour. This year, I decided to follow the rest of the population to submit directly to their website. They gave me the PIN and it is way easier. I could quickly amend the numbers if I leave something out. The staffs are stern looking but ok, at least they try to help and provide as much infos as possible. The only problem is that when I called to confirm the location of the office, it is always on hold and busy.