NERD-day!

there is two quizzes tomorrow and i really should be studying! but procrastination, it is dangerous! haha!

I was surprised to find out how important the letter "x" is for typography. I mean this letter probably one of the least used in english words (remember groaning whenever you drew out an "x" from the bag in scrabble?), but its function in typography is surprising paramount! when typographers or font designers come up with their typeface, the lowercase "x" is probably the first letter they pen down. why? it determines the "x-height" which determines the character of the entire font! strange fact?

forensic science class also got me interested afterall it is one of my favourite topics: DNA! 😀 with added bonus the lecturer touched on the Russian History of the Tsar’s families remains (another topic i enjoyed in sec school history class.) and answered my unasked question of DNA of identical twins. yes, they have the same DNA and there are cases where there is not enough evidence to pinpoint a particular identical twin and both were let off. hmm. fingerprint then?

on a more serious note, i have realised that i am very defensive and loyal to my schools (maybe it the innate nature of humans to seek a strong sense of belonging?).

I was very happy to read Su Guaning’s, NTU’s president, editorial in Straits Times on Monday which clarified the reports of the sudden drop in the University’s ranking. It was very well-written and did state clearly what had happened and i liked how it ended which i wouldn’t put in my own words because it was really well-said:

"Not many Singaporeans realised that in the more established QS World University Rankings, Singapore has two universities (NTU and NUS) in the Top 100 universities worldwide. Aside from Switzerland, Singapore is the only other small country to have achieved this feat.We should be proud of Singaporean Universities and cheer them on."

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laughter comes from the extraordinary found in the everyday or… monkeys!

Today was a little disappointing.

Background: we were given a list of graphic designers to select from to design a poster about. That was 2 weeks back. In the past 2 weeks I have sieve through the list and gone through the few I have shortlisted again and again. I have asked my friends who they chose just so I wouldn’t repeat (and also to help me eliminate.. heh!).

The lesson: and so when I finally decided on Ed Fella and read through him I found his work very in line with what I admired. Great right? But well… today’s lesson showed that one quarter of the class is also doing their poster on him!!!

Now what? I am torn between risking comparison and risking going back to square 1 (which would also mean risking not knowing enough about my newly chosen designer and not having enough time).

HMMPF!

(what were the odds really with a long list of designers to select from??!)

I think it was not just my teacher who was a bit sick of Ed Fella after that but even I felt I had too much of an overdose of him… 😦

I had been moping after lesson till something made me laugh at art in the age of colonialism. No it wasn’t the content of the lesson but his re-telling of his experience with being attacked by a monkey.

Oh… how funny, I truly laughed so hard.

I have been warned time and time again about how aggressive monkeys can be before every cca trip to bukit timah hill but it is only recently that I have heard actual accounts of them attacking people. The bottom-line. One: they will wrestle you for food and two: a hungry monkey is an angry monkey.

our little acrobatic friends should be only watched from afar… 😀

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commuting in the in between space

train-rides are strange occurrences.

you have other people’s life stories thrust into your personal space. and there is no personal space to speak of, everybodies’ get inter-mingled and mixed up. if you keep really quiet you get to hear little tidbits of these people’s joys, problems, and other day-to-day occurrences that they found excitingly important to share with their friends. i wonder what other commuters have found out about me as i chat away with my friends?

maybe they have noticed how i love to sleep the train ride away to suddenly wake up wondering if i have missed my stop. 🙂

these rides can be restful and a good excuse to do nothing but be receptive to my surroundings.

(the photo was from my Tokyo trip not a typical Singaporean MRT but Japanese i was told similarly try to do everything on the train. as always an interesting way to travel like a local and observe their day-to-day commuting routine.)

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partly only.

there was that cat sleeping under the bench, partly sheltered and at the same time partly exposed to the falling rain…

I love that time before/after the rain when the air is cool but the rain water wouldn’t get in where i can open the windows wide and feel that breeze floating in… i guess that cat loved it too. 😀

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the old and new of type.

relief, relief after i managed to come up with my type poster yesterday. and my, my is the standard of the posters in my class high! everyone’s work is amazing and i really take my hats off those who fully hand-rendered their entire poster. extra credit says our tutor for that effort and well, they deserve it really! i am all for handmade but this time i really did not have the luxury of time for that so back to my computer it was even though i am hardly the master of digital technology.

i would like to try my hand (pun intended) at some old-fashioned hand-rendering one day though!

hoho! here’s a little typography tidbit to chew on:

typographers are now leaping out of 2D paper into the 3D space! here is Clotilde Olyff’s pebble typography. 😀

(another typography exercise to try one day)

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and the little naggy feeling is poking me.

Monday is almost over and this one had been especially draining.

maybe it was the constant buzz of work in my tiny head or the naggy feeling that kept up with me reminding me that i have yet to start on wed’s assignment.

whatever it is, it most definitely had to do with the two lessons for today too.

graphic design in the morning. i always come into class thinking "woots! i am ready." then class critique comes, and after all that i start to feel a little in-adequate once again. there is just so much to learn! and i am trying to absorb and apply these in future projects. we had a fun little exercise of drawing posters we recalled from the lecture and another assignment which looked like designing stamps. hahaha! 😀 (i might change my mind next week..) but i think i am enjoying GD lessons afterall! maybe just the lesson itself, not so much the heap of work to be completed before each session.

then i had that major presentation for art in the age of colonialism. it went ok. or so i thought but the lecturer had a list of questions after it so i guess it did not go as well as i thought it did? but they were all really thought-provoking and very interesting too to see another side to everything. hmm…!

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toy robberies.

ahh.. busy week. (and i realised i have started to blog less often as compared to year 1, mostly because i am no longer staying in hall and i have my friend the television here to take over the place of Mr. Internet.) i have said this in the previous year and it is the only thing that has not changed this year, weekdays seem more relaxed than weekends and times spent at home thinking up fancy concepts.

some snapshots of this week:

the first time i have seen a moon and a star shining so brightly side-by-side. it reminded me of the Islamic symbol! and though this comes late: Selamat Hari Raya to all the Muslims!

every morning i walk pass and wished i was this cat! ZZzzz…

Assignment critiques with kaleidoscopic results.

And… just when i thought our environment is devoid of play and colour…

what happened here?! a Toy Robbery on the overhead bridge!

I am personally hoping the cleaners do not remove those anytime soon!

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Love Your Ride~! :D

i have been taking the public transport to school and you know they have just brought down Phua Chu Kang and up now is the Dim Sum Dollies.

before the train comes there is even a little jingle "Train is Coming…." but i did not expect anything less from this popular local theatre act!

i took a shot of the poster that now replaces PCK on the bus:

and the video is so singaporean-ly funny too! don’t know what i mean? watch below:

(and i must say they really captured the essence of riding on public transport in singapore from the sour faces i meet in the early morning trains to the blasting music of people’s earphones plugged into ipods so much so i can hum along if i recognise the tune. hmm… haha. worth a watch!)

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DIY typography.

my Graphic Design teacher has been raving about Stefan Sagmeister, a famous graphic designer.

and really, this series of "things i have learnt in my life so far" is quite interesting and seem to apply to many situations in life.

"worrying solves nothing"

"complaining is silly. either act or forget."

check out also this video that he made for Singapore’s MDA:

"Keeping a Dairy Supports Personal Development"

(it is filmed in Singapore though i have trouble identifying the locations!)

he set up a site for others to input their ‘life lessons’ too at http://thingsihavelearnedinmylife.com/

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the difference between happiness and laughter?

>need to start thinking of how to represent happiness AND laughter in shapes and colours. that reminded me of this blog by a photographer and street artist named Katie Sokoler.

http://colormekatie.blogspot.com/ <–many go to her blog for happiness. 😀

i am still trying to figure out why her pictures have that effect on people so that i can apply the same in my final compositions. hmm… love her photography and the cute things she do. 😀

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