LIKE mentioned in my blog entry, I have never thought of producing any forms of publication. This production, the finale of NM2208 is a form of dream come true.

From the presentation held in lecture this time round, I could see the same kind of pride, satisfaction and elation on everyone’s faces. It is as though the 1100 bid points I have invested right in the beginning of this module proved so much worthwhile. This time round, no one has qualms over presenting their beautiful piece to the entire class of a hundred students. Everyone enjoyed saying their stories as though there was an audience of hundred little children.

In my own opinion, the gratification that derives from this project is akin to a child receiving his Christmas present this holiday season. I think this gratification gives Julian the same amount of motivation and satisfaction in teaching and imparting his valuable experience. It will be an amazing experience to see your work in tangible form, in its full glory.

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Ref: See portfolio here.

And so the story book was completed. Four copies of the book cost us a huge bomb. Each book was ridiculously priced at $77. I heard some groups were given different quotations though, so I think we were still better off considered we sent it for printing only on Monday.

I’ve never imagined myself producing a book that I can considered my own. A novel is perhaps off limits, judging from the extremely finite vocabulary I have. I wouldn’t do a computer-topic-related manual, I want to get out of this image that’s stone casted ever since I expressed interest in computers. I ain’t a nerd.

Seriously speaking, I feel writing a children’s story book will initially elicit negative stereotypes. Just like the past where people feel making movies was far more superior than making plays and writing books (I remember reading such a stereotype off one of the assignment readings).

I thought people might laugh. But unless you tried making one, you realize that kiddo stories aren’t as simple as perceived by many. Choices of words are limited, who the hell comprehend profound concepts like genetic mutation at the age of six? I don’t know about you, but I need a dictionary to know that pristine actually meant clean. And which average kid understands the twist if you attempt to use the flashback technique. Adding more than three characters in the story will effectively overwhelm the child and he’ll just put down the book and goes to sleep (no wonder most stories are bedtime stories). You get the idea.

I’m just trying to illustrate the difficulties encountered during the book’s production. We worked on a tight schedule, tight because I have to rush the drawings out before Weiliang can have them colored. And coloring takes up a tremendous amount of time. Apart from this, we still have the text in. Winnie did a great job I think, given her flair for English. Arts students can write, science students are great at Math. And so were the Engineering students. I’m considered half of each. No wonder I didn’t score in either my papers or my calculations.

Just in case you are interested in reading the completed story, you can find the PDF version here.

When Jay Chou’s latest single makes its debut months ago, critics from the netizen community as well as part of Jay’s fans started to express their disdain for Jay’s new approach to his latest music creation. His latest and 8th album (On the Run!) sparks a refreshing new cowboy flavour. His fans can still check out the other songs which still retain the good old Jay-style music.

I don’t know much about the music industry. But in my opinion, his fans base, or rather the music listeners majority (even 9.33 DJs) are quick on passing the life imprisonment sentence (if not the death sentence) on his new creation. Perhaps, if we look at this issue from a monetary perspective, this album may not be as commercial viable as his former albums.

Music like other forms of entertainment can (and is recommended to) be viewed as art. And if we do understand a little about arts, we will realise there are always more than what we are able to see - that is, underlying messages within each work. And for music, it may take more than mere listening to be able to appreciate what the song is attempting to bring forth to the listener. It may also well be beyond comprehension.

What has painted this picture a dull and crest-fallen scene are the negativity that are thriving in the camps of Jay’s fans. Instead of supporting for their favourite idol, they choose to destroy what has taken him months of work to achieve by passing nonconstructive remarks such as it’s sucks and it sounds bad. Instead of understanding what the composer is trying to express in his new song, they deride his composition such that it tantamount to a waste of money.

No wonder arts is not considered as a stable pay-the-rent career. Sad eh?

I’m not a crazy Jay fan. But I’m just uneasy with the fact that people rattle just because they needed to get something out of their uncontrolled tongues.

Just like when Julian requested us to comment on designs and art pieces, I felt uneasy to talk because it is nearly impossible to comprehend the artwork within seconds shown to us. It takes time.