Sinusitis

150 bucks of pills can't beat the instant relief of eucalyptus oil.

Sinusitis has confined me to bed for the past few days. What started out as a suspected prolonged and aggrevated hangover turned into a sinus and middle ear infection when my head started spinning and I started puking. Sinusitis is probably one of the worst pains you'll ever experience. Its like as if someone is drilling spikes into your forehead and cheeks. I would almost dare say that a sinus infection is worse than childbirth pains but at least a sinus infection clears up within a couple of days unlike childbirth where you are stuck with the by-product for life. The doc said that lack of sleep and too much dehydrating (sports and alcohol) could have contributed to the infection but I swear its the air and the construction dust from school. Anyway, now that I am up on my feet albeit wobbly feet, I have to deal with the goddamn IP paper that is due next week and research for the IT law project.
So much for my mid-term break.

Rose Garden

In garden where so many roses abound,
to pick even one is to learn where thorns grow.
~Hafez

Je ne sais quoi

Oslo in the fall.

There is something about this photo that really reminds me of Autumn. I have countless photos of the fall but this one seems to capture the essence of the season best. Yes, autumn should have arrived in the northern hemisphere by now. I was told by my French friend that a true indicator of autumn is not the shedding of leaves but the shedding of skirts in favour of jeans that offer more warmth. For me, it will always be the orange golden leaves scattered across the ground, clear crisp blue skies and mellow sun light. When it is cold but not too cold that you need a heavy jacket. When soccer is still played in t-shirt and shorts. When the sun sets at a normal time. I miss the seasons. I miss the first flowers of spring, I miss the long lazy summer days, I miss the golden leaves that autumn brings, I miss the white winter countryside.
The spirit is restless again.

Liz

A Dog's Life.

Shot this with my TLR. I think TLRs are perfect for shooting portraits especially of fidgety subjects like Liz. Liz seems to be more comfortable in front of a TLR then a normal viewfinder camera, largely due to the fact that she does not have a massive camera being shoved in her face. I have not touched my Digital SLR after shooting for Law IV. Excessive use of the digital SLR for recording purposes can make you feel somewhat mechanical. For the past 2 weeks it has been all film and all 120mm. Using a flim camera is like going back to basics. Every shot is precious(expensive) and thus you are forced to be more conscious of lighting, focus, framing and depth of field. Having only 12 shots per roll, every shot counts and you tend to choose your subjects more wisely.
*Disclaimer: No animals were harmed or injured in the taking of this photograph. All animals involved were treated to a big hug and doggy treats after the shoot.

Sight

Foresight? Looking forward to the certainty of death and taxes.

Happy 24th. Many Thanks to all those who remembered and conveyed their wishes. Many Thanks to the guys for the KTV night. Many Thanks to Swindle LLC & Associates for lunch. I think this year's birthday mood has been dampened by school, exchange withdrawal syndrome and relationship woes. C'est la vie. I guess I am only human. More human than I like to admit. So today is a new start? A new change? A new future? Perhaps like Matisse I will find a new life.

Connected

Minimum clutter craetes maximum attention.
There is a curious connection between maximum clarity and the same uncluttered image to foster individual interpretation.
Empty can be uplifting. It can also be a big yawn.

I found the road to nowhere

I'm looking down, now that its all over
Reflecting on all of my mistakes
I thought I found the road to somewhere.

Law IV

Coming together, this is what Law IV is all about.

Still suffering form Law IV hangover, not from Law IV party hangover. What I mean is that the songs are still playing in my head. I hope they do make a record. Kudos to all who have worked so hard on the production.
I've finally edited and uploaded the photos on Flickr. I know there are a lot of photos but I didn't want to leave out anybody. I think I managed to get at least one photo of everyone I saw. If you're not in, my deepest apologies.

Photos from the production proper Here

Photos from Behind the Scenes Here

Paparazzi Photos Here

The Paparazzi photos are still in the process of being uploaded. Flickr has been very uncooperative.
Please feel free to leave comments. That is what the comment function is for.

September 11

My Bedouin guide, lighted by fire, in the darkness of the Sahara.

It is not difficult to see why the early Zoroastrian used fire as their symbol. Enlightening light.
Today is the 5th Anniversary of September 11. A day that would live in infamy as many would say. I think it is a day to reflect and remember. We must remember that not everyone with a scarf on his head or who looks remotely arabic carries a bomb. We must remember that not everyone who worships in a mosque belongs to a terror organisation. We must remember that in the war on terror we should not blur the line that seperates us from the 'enemy'.
Narrow mindedness, that is what we are fighting against.

Futility

We reflect on the reflections of our reflections,
until our minds are filled with spiraling chains of self-generated images, each carrying its own sensory reactions; including emotions.

Consciousness

A reflection of memory.

Got back from my drive at about 3 this morning and have been awake till now. Exhausted but not able to sleep. Welcome to the land of the walking dead.
Memories are no more than images, words and number captured in time. Binaries to produce information that transcends distance, letters to form words that mean so much and count for so little. They all exist in time. Time that can be unwound? Time that is relative; relative to the self. Unwavering standards cannot withstand the onslaught of time and fail as protectors. The journey through memory is one of solitude and burdened with baggage. Between the spheres of Black and White exists the varying shades of grey; the place where we too find our existence.

S.P.Q.R.

Senatus Populusque Romanus; the mark of the Legion.

Finally loaded the photos from Bath up on Flickr. Click here.
The Roman baths are without a dobut the central attraction, especially if you're a sucker for Roman history. But the surrounding town proved to be equally charming and welcoming too. The weather helped tremendously as the sun was on its best behaviour.

Alrighty back to the present, back to reality. The nose is running rampage again, proabably due to increased exposure to the dusty school. Been having throbbing sinus headaches and a leaky nose for the past few days. Now here's a bona fide reason not to go to school. Tutorials have started and I suppose this means more work and readings.
Ain't life swell.

Cheap Surrealism

Those who do not want to imitate anything produce nothing.
~ Salvador Dali

Cheap imitation of surrealism without any irrational juxtapositions.
Melting faces are not quite the same as melting clock faces. I have been thinking about an adaptation of the "The Persistence of Memory". Thrashing out ideas in my head for that has been highly therapeutic.
Shot some photos of the Law IV production last night. It felt weird shooting from a distance and the lighting was really much more tricky than natural light shooting. I highly doubt that I will venture far into this area of photography and if I do, I'll need a much better telephoto zoom lens then the 75-300. Preferably something with L, IS, USM and 2.8f. I've added some new links to the blog, one for your viewing pleasure and the other for my convenience. Oh yeah and any suggestion on how to get a tune out of one's head? Whooooo I want to be...

Preview

And I Choose... the lady in red.

Went down for the Law IV rehearsals yesterday to snap some photos. Although I only saw the cue to cue and the first half of the full run, I already think that the production is a success. I think that it is a success because as I speak, the whole lot of them are in school preparing for tonight's preview show. I think it is a success beause all the offstage people have put in time, sweat, effort, blood and even tears for the production. I think it is a success because I laughed so hard when I saw my friends on stage. Being biased you say? Well, it is My friends that are working hard for the show and it is My class that is presenting the show. Besides, it is My blog and in this llittle world of mine, what I say is the absolute truth.
Bearing in mind the last sentence, I think that the Law IV production is more than just putting on a stunning musical. We are law students not theater students, even though the defining line is not always clear, especially during moots or advo. For me, Law IV is about working with our friends to produce the best that we can collectively, for one last time before we go our separate ways; before we pledge allegiances to different firms or to different professions even. The money raised for charity, that is just a close secondary objective.