tuhan punya mata

Got this today. I’m quite liking it so far. I can use it in pretty conventional ways with my Ibanez DE7 (I love the light-sensitive photo eye and how I can use it to make the delay feedback + volume swell to obscene levels) or to turn either of my distortion pedals into oscillating, fuzz-esque annoyances, complete with the requisite videogame sounds. And I haven’t even tried making noise with it.

I’ve been really enjoying listening/watching video demos of some of Devi Ever’s fuzzes. I forsee one entering my life… someday. Damn.

Based on my taste in pedals you wouldn’t expect me to be playing an Ibanez with EMGs, but I do. Relic from my more… metal days. I really like the guitar, I do, but yeah.

i’ll probably never be able to use this stuff in a band context

But I WANT, regardless.

These might be pretty sick for noise work, though. But yeah, the TBD costs… RM850-ish and, well, that’s expensive. Really expensive. I-wouldn’t-pay-that-much-for-a-guitar-pedal expensive.

I’d get a feedback loop of some sort first. Which reminds me, there’s this Devi Ever Eye of God up for sale…

righteous mess

This is what you call a mess, no?

This is also what I use in making my amateurish attempts at noise.

I should upload some of that shit on the ‘Net.

mr. wilson

I really want to get some sort of MIDI controller this year. I’m lusting for a Korg padKontrol but I’d probably be better off looking for a used Korg microKontrol or something of the sort. I’m not looking for a 49-key keyboard, that’s for sure, but I’m pretty sure I want them trigger pads/control pads/whatever. I don’t think getting a padKontrol and, say, an M-Audio Oxygen8 would be within my budget, though, which is a bit of a problem.

I’m pretty sure, though, that laying down beats using the padKontrol would be much more comfortable than using the pads on the microKontrol. And the padKontrol, it looks so… good. I saw one in the flesh the other day, with all the flashy lights and all and I think I damn near fell in love with it.

Augh.

new toy

Finally picked this baby up today. Once I get a battery for it I’ll load up one of those expired rolls of Centuria 400 and get shooting. New stuff always gets me excited about shooting again.

For the record, I really desire a Canonet and/or a Yashica GX, but hey, the GSN’s good enough. Wish it was smaller, though, which is most probably the main reason why I desire the previously-mentioned cameras: their smaller size. Could probably get a Canonet for cheapish, but the GX . . . whoa.

Spotted some rolls of Ilford 400, too. Would have bought a few, but I don’t know where to get the rolls developed. C-41 process black and white film doesn’t pose much of a problem (or, as Malaysians say, takde hal), it’s the ones that need to be developed by hand that pose a problem. I’d love to give developing a shot if I knew where to get the proper chemicals locally.

Anyone?

freedom is the freedom to say two plus two make four

Minolta 28mm f/2.8 arrived today. It’s quite nice. Minolta 3000i film SLR also arrived today. Funny how the 6-volt battery needed to power it costs nearly a third of the price of the camera. The Sony 18-70 kit lens seems quite nice on the 3000i, even if there’s significant vignetting (I guess that’s what you’d call it) at 18mm. I actually like it that way. I’m unsure what roll of film I want to use first: the roll of Lucky b&w film (ISO100) I got on Saturday or an old-ish roll of Kodak Gold colour film (ISO200). Hm.

Recent photos:

That first photo is using the new 28mm lens, the others are all using my trusty/typical 50mm. Of course, having two lenses I quite like leads to some confusion in regards to which one I want to have on the camera. I’ve always had this sort of problem, you know, but I guess it’s all down to which one I feel like using. And even that poses problems sometimes. At least, though, there’s a significant difference between the two, which helps. I think the 50mm will remain my walkabout lens, though, since for my style, 75mm (1.5x crop factor, remember) is just about nice.

42mm isn’t bad either, though. Heh.

i did not sign up for this!

Today was supposed to be a simple case of “go to event, take photos, eat, have fun, and leave.” But me and my friend showed up to the event at 9.15-ish in the morning, expecting to see at least the tables all set up, and what do we see? Jack shit, basically. Yeah. I know. Awesome. You know what’s the best part? We both had to lift some heavy-ass tables. My biceps were burning, we were dripping with sweat, and basically I was kinda pissed because I did not sign up for that shit. I’m not even a member, not even one of the behind-the-scenes people, and yet, well…

Nevermind. Not much I can say about it, really. It was fun, again, being with friends and all.

Needless to say, my biceps hurt like hell right now. I am so not looking forward to tomorrow. Ugh. I’m willing to bet that I won’t even be able to lift a glass to my lips to drink. And I’ll have to take more photos tomorrow, too. Helping friends, again. Although I may get a free, kinda-expensive lunch, so yeah. Nice. =]

(Yes, I like to abuse mirrors sometimes. And no, nothing to do with this entry.)

Had a friend over today, and while I was goofing about with my guitar and my delay pedal I discovered the joys of setting the delay time to the max it’ll go (2600ms), having the “repeat” knob cranked to the max and the delay volume somewhere around 12 o’clock, and on “echo” mode. Yeah. Play a phrase, listen to the (really late) delays, add some more noises, and some more, and some more, and let it all deteriorate into a kinda-rhythmic mess of noise. The best part is that the self-oscillation repeats the early notes/noises nearly ad infinitum but not the later notes. So I can basically provide a nice rhythmic background for myself while I noodle about. Kinda. I’m sure I screwed up the explaination. Maybe I’ll try putting the Tri-Metal after the DE7 and see if I can make a bit of noise.

Maybe I’ll upload an audio clip sometime soon.

You know how people say girls like guys who play guitar? I’m not entirely sure that’s true. But, haha, it’s not like I make a big fuss of the fact that I play guitar and all. Heh. I’ve only ever performed in public… once? Maybe I should try and “show off” my abilities a bit more. HAHAHA. I may or may not be entirely serious about this, just for your information. Really though, it’d be nice to be known as the kid who takes decent photos and plays guitar decently enough.

I’m sure lots of people recognize me as the former (in a sense, at least, as I think I’m quite known as the kid who carries his camera around everywhere… which may or may not be a good thing, come to think of it), but only a handful of people know I play guitar, and even fewer are the ones that’ve actually seen me play. Should change that fact.

Regardless, though, I still like chicks who play guitar, or, hell, any sort of instrument.

And I’m sure everyone can think of that “instrument,” so I won’t mention it. Haha. And, if you don’t, I guess it’s best you not know.

I really think I should decorate my room more. Four posters aren’t good enough. Shall try and get going on that whole photo-printing thing. At the very least, pick out some nifty frames and all. Which means I’ll probably find myself at IKEA sometime. Or anywhere. Just as long as they have those nice large photo frames with those thick white borders around the photo. Haha. 12×12″ frame for a 5×5″ photo? Niiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

Also, damn one of my guitarist friends for making me have this irrational lust for an Electro-Harmonix Metal Muff.

The downside, of course, to my two hobbies is that they eat up money like people eat up food, and that the chances of getting gear lust are probably much, much higher than other hobbies. And much more expensive to cure. I’m sure it wouldn’t be as bad to go “fuck, I want that” about, say Magic (The Gathering, yes) cards as it would be to go “fuck, I want that” about guitar pedals or camera lenses. Whee~

But, so, yeah. Bring on tomorrow! I’ll be suffering from lots of pain (at least I won’t be alone, I’m sure one of my friends will be hurting too) ,will be attending probably my only fun (kinda) class, be seeing great friends and (hopefully) having a free lunch. Good enough, perhaps.

delay the rain, please

My literature class today was, I guess, as usual, slightly boring, although we did get to see a group presentation (first group out of five, corresponding with the five acts of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”). Now, maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see how we can match them. Hell, my group haven’t even bloody discussed anything. And we’re doing act 3. We’ve got two weeks, yeah, but I have a feeling that those two weeks are going to just fly by without us doing anything.

Watched a bit of the movie “Hamlet” as well, the one with Mel Gibson, and while I wish I could’ve stayed to watch, I decided I should jet off to KL earlier before the rain started pissing down in Kelana Jaya. The skies all around were getting very dark too, which only heightened the feeling of tension and urgency I felt.

The weather didn’t look too bad in the train, but when we reached the Bangsar stop it was already pissing down cats and dogs and I’m pretty sure I went “daaaaamn.” Heavy, heavy rain.

I alighted at KL Sentral and managed to get to the other end of that covered walkway leading towards the Monorail without getting too badly soaked. There was a mass of people there, all waiting for something, perhaps for the rain to lighten up a bit. I, of course, waited a bit but then decided I’d just wing it and run across. Waited till the lights were green (for the pedestrians, of course), then ran across. Mind you, this is with my camera bag, really baggy jeans and a pair of shoes that aren’t exactly made for running. Hell, my body isn’t made for running.

But I got across. And got quite wet in the process.

I was soaked even more in my effort to get to MCPA Hall from the Maharajalela Monorail station. And I had to run even more. Needless to say, that mix of sweat and rainwater-soaked clothes isn’t a very nice mix. I’m out of shape, okay. Fuck running, man. But, hey, since I didn’t want to get soaked to the motherfucking bone, I ran.

Once I parted with the cash and got the Ibanez DE7 I decided I would head back instead of heading to Bukit Bintang to buy a daisy chain and some patch cables. It was raining, I was tired and I was bloody bloody hungry. So I headed back.

And managed to snap this, among other photos:

I really really like it, yeah. Things just, I guess, fell in together perfectly. The girl with the umbrella, the way she was looking ahead, the other person with the purplish umbrella up ahead. It all just . . . fit. And I’m glad I managed to compose it nicely.

Anyway, back to gear talk. I decided that I’d survive for a while with using my brother’s long-ass Ibanez cable (which used to be mine, fyi) to go from my guitar to my Tri-Metal, and to use one of the cables I’d been using to go from the Tri-Metal to the DE7. Also bought a 9v battery to stick in my Tri-Metal and use my power adaptor to power the DE7.

I’ll snap a better photo someday, but yeah, that’s how my setup looks, crappy cables and all. I might end up using my RAT 2 clone as well, putting it first in the chain and using it as a light overdrive to add a bit of grit to my clean sound maybe. But the RAT loses nearly all of its measly bottom end when I use it like that though, which kinda sucks.

Maybe I’ll go for a Digitech Bad Monkey, and try and sell off the RAT. Or, uh, do a Bad Monkey -> RAT -> Tri-Metal -> DE7 setup. Haha. I may just do that! Although I guess I’d be able to justify a Bad Monkey to my parents better if I sell off my RAT first.

Tomorrow’s that event-thingy. My dad agrees with me that it’d probably be better to go with a zoom lens for that kind of event photography. Yeah. That’s what I’ll use, then.

maaf dipinta seribu bahasa

As I expected, the photos I took during Tuesday’s Toastmasters-event-thingy have appeared on the Internet somewhere! Yes! Reliable. Clicky clicky. I don’t think they’re that good, but I guess they serve the purpose well. And, of course, I didn’t take that photo of me. Nor am I a “Professional Photographer,” as the caption for that image says. Far from it. Not good enough to be one, probably, when it comes to events.

I downloaded and watched the movie “Six-String Samurai” today. Quite an enjoyable film, that one. Wikipedia says it’s a “comedy,” but, really, it’s more of a light-hearted, not-too-serious action flick than a real comedy. Although there are some nice, funny parts in it. I like the whole concept and story, and the fight scenes were quite well-done too. While I could see the end bits coming a mile away, it was still nice to see whe whole thing come together. Loved the rockabilly-ish soundtrack, too. Can’t say much ’cause I suck at this shit, but yeah, I recommend it quite a bit. Very nice.

The premise of the movie is something like this: in 1957, the Russians dropped the bomb on America and took over, save for Lost Vegas [sic], where Elvis became King. Now, Elvis is dead, and people from all across the wastelands, toting swords and guitars, attempt to head to Lost Vegas to become the new King.

Or something like that.

Haha, what with talking about “Six-String Samurai” and having a photo of my guitar, I guess it’d be proper to mention that tomorrow I’ll finally be getting my hands on a delay pedal. And, yes, it is an Ibanez DE7. Getting it secondhand for around 200 bucks, which leaves me with a bit of extra cash. Will probably have to head to Bentley or Chambers or CK or whatever as long as I’m in the area, as I’d need a daisy cable to power the thing.

I’m excited. And I feel guilty for being able to spend so much on stuff. I should be thankful, and I am, really, but I guess I feel guilty too.

I have a feeling that I won’t be so much in class as waiting desperately for it to finish so I can head over to MCPA hall and meet up with the guy. And, while I’m at it, maybe I’ll do a bit of traipsing around Bukit Bintang. Maybe.

This is totally unrelated, but I still remember something that friend of mine said when I last talked to her, something about how the whole thing between me and her helped me learn more about myself, what I like and shit like that. I’m still wondering why she said that, and I’m not sure it has (hm, maybe I’d say “I’m sure it has not,” even,) but yeah, it got me thinking.

About what, I’m not sure. Hell, maybe even about her. Which is something I hardly need right now.

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt, though, it’s that I need to settle myself out first and learn to at the very least appreciate myself before I begin to even think about liking, appreciating and, hell, even loving someone else. And, in my more depressed moments, I still wonder why anyone would like me.

Silly, sad and pathetic, I know. But that’s me.

And, you know, it’s funny how I always end up falling for the people I (and my friends) least expect me to fall for.

minolta 50mm f/1.7 GET!

It arrived today, yes! After spending the morning pretty much emo-ing and after talking a bit on the phone with a friend (time does fly by when you’re having a nice conversation, you know,) I went outside to bring in the washing from yesterday (which is something I should’ve done yesterday, but, hey, since my mom isn’t around and I knew that nothing would get washed this morning I decided to put it off until today,) right, and lo and behold, what do I see?

A box near the doorstep. Which I didn’t actually pay much attention to first time ’round. But when I was just about to head into the house, things clicked and I went “oh wait no shit!”

Yes. It was the lens. Fortunately it was nicely packed and survived being thrown across the gate. Had me worried for a bit.

The lens is quality. Awesome. The focus ring is a bitch to operate, though, but it does autofocus nicely, so it’s not that huge of a problem. The lens feels quite sturdy and well-built, too. Although I haven’t experienced enough lenses to truly comment on that.

It didn’t come with a back cover, but since I’ll always have one lens on the camera I guess I’ll just share the one back cover I have between the two lenses. Good enough. The lens’ condition is quite good too, I might add. Seems to have been well taken care of.

Still not exactly a happy camper today (material goods only help so much,) but I guess at least two good things happened today. This lens, and another enjoyable conversation with a friend of mine, which helped me get over the odd loneliness I felt this morning.

Needless to say, it’s days like these when you begin to appreciate having other people in the house, even if you never really talk to them. At least they’re there.