Vloggercon With JD Lasica

Read The Full Transcript,
originally uploaded by joashpbook.

Didn't manage to stay up for the whole chat session, but I left my IRC client on to capture the full transcript. So for those of you that missed it, just click on the link to read a plaintext dump. (Sorry I didn't have the time or know-how to beautify it with markup language :P)

Hello Kitty! My Wedding Funds Please

Watch Hello Kitty! My Wedding Funds Please,
originally uploaded by joashpbook.

Kris has been saving her coins in several 'piggy' banks in her room and today, we take them out to count just how much padding it's going to add to our growing wedding funds.

I thought to try to make this vlog entry somewhat interactive, and so for some cheap thrill, give a guess as to how much in total we actually found in the banks. Leave your answer as a comment and I'll post the right answer in a couple of days. :P

Red Door by Paul Seow

Red Door,
originally uploaded by joashpbook.

Paul writes:

Series : N/A

Technical details : 6x6cm single lens reflex, 80mm lens, Fujicolor NPH 400

Background : We were walking our way back from a photo shoot when we rounded a corner and the sun was just setting and losing its last bit of light.

Thinking : This series of 'grab' shots were taken in less that 2 minutes. We were walking back from a location photo shoot just around the corner when I saw this lovely textured door being lit by the rapidly setting sun hitting the clouds and creating a huge source of soft light over the area.

It literally was quick! Stand here. Pull out camera, meter, snap, snap, snap, meter, reflector, snap, meter. "That's it folks we lost the light." 4 frames was all I got. I didn't even have the time to set up my tripod. This was my 'Ansel Adam's Moonrise Hernandez(1941)' moment.

Anticipating the moment and scrambling to capturing the light.

The actual print is lovely. You have texture in the darkest shadows of the suit and in the burnt out patches of the door. Until I can afford the lovely Nikon LS9000 you'll have to put up with my dodgy scans from a flatbed.

Joash writes:

Somehow, it makes me want to jump to my feet and do a broadway! :P

Nikon Portraiture Outing 2005

Today i went to assist in covering event for Nikon Portraiture Shoot at Singapore Chinese Garden. Here are the models and I've learnt quite alot about model photography today.

Model #1. 


Model #2. 


Model #3. 


More photos of this event can be found at HERE

That's My McDonald's, What's Yours?

That's My McDonald's, What's Your's?,
originally uploaded by joashpbook.

Had a great time exercising with Kris at the Kallange Tennis Centre this morning, and decided to hop down to Queensway Shopping Centre to buy Kris a new cross-trainer. After not eating McDonald's since the beginning of this year, we decided to check them out.

We just watched 'Supersize Me' last week. :P

(Click on the blog title to watch the video)

Back Online

Finally got my office PC fixed after "ripping" it apart piece by piece to diagnose the fault. Now the blogging continues... 

Just ain't my day

Just got home, in fact i am glad to be home. Didn't manage to put any entries in my blog becoz of a series of unfortunate events.

1. Office PC just "died" on me in the late morning as i was doing my work.
2. One of my lens from my glasses came off as i went to buy lunch.
3. Accidentally prick my finger with a screw driver, trying to repair my specs.
4. My Powerbook has not arrived yet.

Well, at the end of the day, i am just glad to be out of office and have dinner with my girlfriend at Crystal Jade Restaurant at Holland Village. 

IT Show 2005 (Singapore)

IT Show 2005 (Singapore),
originally uploaded by joashpbook.

Went down on the first day to check it out. Nothing really new or worth reporting, so I just did a quick stitch of a video log, cut to some music. Enjoy!

Countdown To The Wedding Begins

A Couple Shot,
originally uploaded by joashpbook.

304 days, 12 hours, 50 mins as of this post to The Day.

Last sunday, 6 March 2005, I finally worked up the courage to ask Kris' father for her hand in marriage. He wasn't altogether surprised and had a big smile on his face.

I'm told that the whole extended family is now abuzz with this bit of juicy news. :P

It's really great that Kris shares some common interests and one of them's photography. I hope she gets more involved in mediacasting. Do look out to see more of us vlogging about stuff leading up to our (singaporean) wedding.

Sometime this weekend, we'll be putting up a vlog about our engagement and her ring. :P

Running Out Of Battery While Running Long Distance

So I'm thinking to myself... "Will I ever run long enough to run out of charge? Oh! I could do something with gyros and a bicycle too..." :P

Check out the neat gadgety site that talks about a hand-powered iPod Shuffle here.

Jill 2 by Paul Seow

Jill 2 by Paul Seow,
originally uploaded by joashpbook.

As promised, here's the 1st of many in a regular photo feature from my photojournalistic friend, Paul Seow.

Paul writes:

Series : Strangers. (work in progress) An book of international students and their lives in a new land.

Technical details : 6x6cm single lens reflex, 80mm lens, Kodak Portra 400 VC

Background : Jill is a graphic designer who is also a nature lover, vegetarian and a yoga enthusiast.

Thinking : I wanted to make a portrait of her showing her aspects of healthy/natural living. I choose a 400 iso film as I wanted to shoot in available light and avoid the use of any artificial lights. Why apples? Apples have always been a sign or health etc an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

I wanted a contemplative/serene look from her while keeping the shoot simple and clean. The initial idea was to shoot her buried under a mound of apples, with her arms and legs sticking out of the mound. However, this proved to be logistically and financially impossible. The compromise was made when I found a lovely rustic bathroom.

The tub was filled with warm water and a box of apples was put in after she got into the tub.

Light meter readings were made to balance off the main light coming in from and open window and the first fill which was provided with a white side of a reflector. A second fill provided a little more kick of light into the face by a silver sided reflector placed on the shower head situated directly behind the camera. Scrims were used to control the amount of main light flowing into the room from the window.

The camera was suspended 90 degrees over the bath and was triggered via a release cable. A good heavy tripod cannot be overstated especially one that allows you to counterweight your camera.

Joash writes:

I think Jill looks just as rosy as them apples :P

Major Panic As GarageBand Kernel Panics

Working Guy,
originally uploaded by joashpbook.

(Posting from the live location)

Today, during a live performance in which I'm using GarageBand 2's Software Instruments to play a live lead guitar, it crashes majorly on me, locking up the whole Powerbook. Thankfully, the the lead keyboardist covered for me, allowing me time to reboot the whole system.

Perhaps I should be looking at other virtual synth solutions. But, I'm really on a tight budget. :P

Lazy Bum Battles Inertia, And Wins

Hunk,
originally uploaded by joashpbook.

Finally got round to doing my first workout with podcasted material. I used the highly inspirational "Take It Off Baby" by Salme Dahlstrom for my warm-up and cool-down routine and I really liked it. Here's the disco on what I used today:

Warm-Up
1. Take It Off Baby - Salme Dahlstrom

Distance Running
2. mymac podcast 3rd March 2005 - mymac.com

Static Exercises
3. Don't Let Us Get Sick - Jill Sobule
4. Vegetarian Restaurant - Aberfeldy

Cool-down
5. Bluefish - UWAWA
6. Take It Off Baby - Salme Dahlstrom

I actually recorded a vlog which said basically the same thing and am wondering if I should put it up. If I do, clicking on this entry's title should show it. :P

I just want to thank the guys at mymac.com for talking me thru my distance running. You guys kept me on the track!

I'll be writing to the various artistes for permission to remix their tracks into the podcast segments that I hope to use (and reuse) for the shuffling podcast training eventually.

Meantime, it's recovery time for me... Urgh... feel the strain... :P

Salme Dahlstrom, You Rock! :P

Salme Dahlstrom,
originally uploaded by joashpbook.

"Make me proud...:-)" - Salme Dahlstrom in an e-mail reply to me to a mail asking for permission to use her song

After hearing "Take It Off Baby" from Podsafe NYC, I immediately wrote to Salme for permission to use her track in my podcasts and physical training remixes. She surprised me with a very prompt, personal, and most encouraging mail.

For such a successful person to support an unknown (budding) mediacaster (with only a handful of readers) like me with such comfortable ease, I'm just totally blown away. :P

So here's a plug for the very first artiste who so willingly agree to be featured on mediacasting...

Check out her website and her music at garageband.com ... A big congrats to you, Salme, for winning such acclaim with your pieces on garageband.com and here's wishing you the very best in your future endeavours! :P

Look forward to hearing "Take It Off Baby" in a podcasted training remix when I get around to it.

See Me In The Morning

Helllo everyone! Here's my very first vlog with me in front of the camera. Did my 40 crunches first thing after I woke and went straight to the camera. :P

In case you didn't guess it, all the mediacasts can be found by clicking on the post topic header. That always links you up with the media featured.

Marina's High-nrg Fitness

Marina's High-nrg Fitness,
originally uploaded by joashpbook.

Whoa! Check this out... I guess the idea I had about having a personal podcasted trainer wasn't so unique after all. But, boy am I glad that someone's doing it. I'll be signing myself up for these Workout Podcasts and I'll write about how far it's taking me.

I've also written to them to ask if they'd like to be featured regularly on mediacasting.blogspot.com and I'm hoping that perhaps they might even consider doing the special *shuffle* clips that makes up the idea I have for *randomized* daily workouts. :P

New Contributor To Mediacasting

Hunk,
originally uploaded by joashpbook.

Many thanks to Paul Seow, a good friend of mine that's really into photography, for allowing me to use his photos for mediacasting.blogspot.com. Looks like I have a new thumbnail for all my physical training blogposts.

Paul will be 'casting more of his works here at mediacasting.blogspot.com so do watch for it!

[VID] Let Us Meet Again (click to watch)

Let Us Meet Again,
originally uploaded by joashpbook.

Finally found a place to host my videos, and since I'm already on the topic of *cosplay*, here's a teaser clip I composed and directed for my local anime club.

Composed the simple piano piece to fit the mood and got the whole MAC Cosplay 2000 Sakura Taisen team to my home to film in a day. It was quite fun, the bunch of girls being really nice and open despite not really knowing me, at that time.

I'll probably podcast the music piece later, when I find it and get it loaded and approved on www.archive.org (It rocks! mediacasting can really take off now! :P )


- vlogcast results -

ANT (www.antnottv.org) ... passed

[PIC] Kill The Photographer

Kill The Photographer,
originally uploaded by joashpbook.

Since I did promise mixed media with mediacasting @ blogspot.com, I've linked up my flickr.com account and have decided to trial post using flickr's "Blog It!" feature.

I'm an easy-going kind of photographer that prefers to shoot candid situations. Fortunately, some of my friends really love to dress up in costumes and play (thus also known as *cosplay*) and they don't mind me snapping away.

So it's probably only natural that my first photocast would be a cosplay shot. But I decided to throw myself into the picture too, so yes, that's me right there... :P <-- Now you see why this particular emoticon figures in most of my posts.

[IPPT] Tummy Toning

I was hoping to get my first Personal Podcasted Training session out this morning, but decided not to rush it in favour of better preparations on the podcast segments. So instead, I started this morning with a simple routine that was suggested to me during my stint of *remedial training* in the Army:

50 Crunches On Your Bed The Moment You Wake

I must admit that I don't normally score well in Sit-Up, so I tried to go for my 50 this morning. I succeeded in doing only 40. I'll try to improve on that tomorrow. In the meantime, if you're following this blog to get some motivation to exercise, why don't you drop whatever you're doing right now, find a comfy spot, and do some crunches? :P

The Creative Process Thus Far

So much for having my voice out on the internet. :P

I don't actually think too much about my voice, and it does feel weird hearing yourself speak, sometimes. In any case, here's what I'm using to put together the Podcast Training audio segments:

1. Apple's iLife Garageband 2 for music
2. Apple 12" Powerbook for editing

AND! The worst of the lot...

3. Apple Powerbook built-in microphone for voice recording

The mic does pick up all sorts of noise/hum, and I hope to improve on this with some other kits I have lying around. Would you believe it? I actually have a digidesign MBox sitting around someplace, collecting dust.

Time to next IPPT 'cast: probably a day or two, due to some self-imposed quality control :P

Testing The Podcast (Click Here To Listen)

Here's the inaugural podcast! Hope it works for you! :P

-- Test Results with Feedburner --

ipodderX ... passed
NewsTicker ... passed
RSS Menu ... passed

[IPPT] What, Exactly, Is IPPT?

"...when the answer is in the question." - When deciding on a good project name

(Click on blog topic to find out more...)

Here's the deal... Every year, guys like me have to take this physical test, called the Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT), that consists of five different tests: Sit-Up, Standing Broad Jump, Chin-Up, 4x10m Shuttle Run, and a 2.4Km Run. If you pass with very good results, you actually get paid money (SGD$200 to $400). If you fail, you have to sign-up for compulsory physical training for at least one month (and at most two months).

Every year, since many years back, I've been failing. :P

BUT! This year, something's changed. Without going into great (juicy) detail, I am now *highly* motivated to do something about my inability to pass and an inspiration hit me right between my brain and my brand new iPod Shuffle...

"How about making use of the concept of Podcasting to assist in physical fitness?!"

That's right, you heard me. I'm not sure if anyone's been credited with such an idea so far, but this is the gist of my 1st attempt at podcasting, and I call it:

Individual Physical PODCASTED Training (or IPPT for short :P)

So what's this all about? Well I figured that I'm largely unmotivated to do my own exercising and have always relied on the Army to *force* me to workout. I think that my problem is that I need an *external* voice to tell me what to do before I do it, at least when it comes to doing the exercises.

Therefore, this is my IPPT grand plan.

01. To record Physical Training (PT) instructions in segments (podcast-friendly sizes)
02. To mix in inspirational music for pacing and to keep the general exercise mood from getting monotonous
03. To come up with a decent system by which the segments can be then 'shuffled' together to form a tailored exercise programme for each day
04. To constantly update these segments for variety as well as improvements
05. TO ACTUALLY MOVE MY BUM AND EXERCISE! :P

The thing that would probably qualify this as a podcast experience is the fact that I intend to share these training clips with you all that are following mediacasting.blogspot.com and to also post what my particular 'shuffle' was for the day, and how effective the exercise was. Eventually, my goal is to not only pass my IPPT but to earn some money too. :D

So! I'm no Jane Fonda, but if you're ok with my singaporean english accent and you think an Individual Physical Podcasted Training is going to get your butt moving too, please feel free to use whatever I 'cast and DO DO tell me how it works out for you.

Time to next IPPT 'cast: 6 hours (hopefully)

Genesis: Let There Be Media

"...and it suddenly occured to me. Blog it." - Walking along chinatown, contemplating the larger picture

Many people keep diaries and blogs, storing away their thoughts of that special or significant moment, or a relatively safe outlet to vent their frustrations and misgivings. Some others use them for even more creative purposes. Beyond just writing about stuff, they record their voices and make irreverent videos and pump it all out to the waiting world with a voracious appetite for just about anything under the sun.

And so was I inducted into the world of RSS, podcasting and vlogging.

It is with great hope that my current eagerness to do some mediacasting doesn't wane with time. In fact, I'm actually hoping that it will not only help me achieve some other goals (which I will detail elsewhere), but maybe even be of some use to those of you that choose to follow my mediacasting.

Hope you enjoy!