I went to Pavillion, with my dslr to shoot Miss Tourism contestant. When I arrived, there was already more than 20 people waiting outside the Canon concept store with their big camera bag. I was thinking “shoot, I only have kit lense,” I can count with my right hand how many females were there. Most of them are guys that I can call uncle.

And while I’m having a monologue with myself, an uncle say hi. At first it never come in my thought somebody will know me. Then only I realize, that was one of the canon photo marathon  participant. He sure have a sharp memory. Had a light conversation with him before the ladies arrived.

I don’t have neither zoom lense nor speedlight. And all the people was higher than me that it was really hard for me to take their pictures. Lucky for me, because I’m quite small, I squeeze myself and finally manage to stand in front of the crowd.Hahahaha….

Sorry there wasn’t so much pictures of the ladies. Not really satisfied with it. But along the way, I did shoot a few pictures.

There is now left 135 days before the world third largest international event begins, the Shanghai 2010 World Expo, themed ‘Better City, Better Life’. I’m happy to look at the masterplan of the whole area dedicated to the event, which is of course, related to urban planning and architecture. The area is so large and strategic that it could occupy so many pavillions and expo-related buildings.

Many countries have decided to build their own pavillions to promote their nations through their cultures, people, landmark, technology, etc. My country, Malaysia has own pavillion this time too, as being explained in my post earlier. Do check it out.

Here are the pictures of pavillions set up for the global event:

Nations’ Own Pavillions (40 international, 3 domestic)

Pakistan

Australia

Belgium

Brazil

Canada

Chile

Venezuela

Nepal

Austria

Italy

Luxembourg

Czech Republic

Danish

Saudi Arabia

Finland

Norway

France

Germany

India

Irish

Israel

Japan

Kazakhstan

Malaysia

Mexico

New Zealand

Russia

Poland

Romania

Singapore

Spain

Sweden

Swiss

Thailand

Turkey

Republic of Korea

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

United States of America

Dutch

Macau

Hong Kong

China

Corporate-based Pavillions: (13)

Aviation

Shanghai Corporate

Cisco

Oil

Shanghai Automotive Industry

MeteoWorld (United Nations)

Information and Communication

Aurora Group

Japanese Corporate

Space

Republic of Korea Joint Corporate

Shipping

State Grid

Other notable buildings/places: (7)

Theme Pavillion

Nanshi Power Plant

Expo Axis

Expo Center

Expo Performance Center

Expo Sample Sector

Urban Best Practices Area

Would be the largest and grandest World Expo in history…

Want to know more on each of the pavillions and structures, site, and regarding the whole event?

Go to http://en.expo2010.cn/index.htm

and find out more. The pictures in this post are obtained from there too, and are not of my own.

Get your Euro on with this ridiculous helmet for your moped or motorcycle. You’ll probably cause more accidents than prevent with this helmet on, but you’ll have your eyes glued intently on the road ahead as other people stare. This is to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of SpongeBob and is a very limited release of only 200 available at where else Colette.

Festive season comes again, Christmas and New Year are just around the corner! Wishing all Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, in advance!

As usual, those giant and famous malls will have their festive decorations, mainly at the main court. Those similar things to be displayed, christmas trees, santa claus, christmas presents, cottage, snowball, snowman, fairy tale, etc.

I have visited few malls, in Bukit Bintang area, the Golden Triangle of Kuala Lumpur, where a lot of malls and streets are there, the busiest place in KL. I have visited Berjaya Times Square, Sungei Wang Plaza, BB Plaza, Lot 10 and Pavillion KL, all in one day, in 3 hours ++. I have also obtained pictures of christmas decoration in Mid Valley Megamall. In previous week, I have also visited IOI Mall and Leisure Mall.

The only other giant malls in KL and Selangor area that I have not visited are The Curve, Sunway Pyramid, Suria KLCC, Starhill Plaza, SOGO, etc. (can’t remember much)

I like the creativity in the design of christmas decoration in Times Square, Pavillion and Sungei Wang Plaza. Others, are simple decorations, not in grand scale, and nothing much to surprise and nothing much to provide x’mas atmosphere.

The top three malls (not in order) with christmas decoration are:

Berjaya Times Square:

The theme for Christmas decoration in Times Square is winter cottage. After entering the main entrance, a giant christmas tree which is rotating is in the middle of the court, surrounded by some cottages selling merchandise, and snowmans. Then, proceeding to the inner court, the ceiling is overwhelmed by white balls (snow-like) hanging, giving a feeling of snow falling over the cottages area (town with cottages, houses, well, christmas trees, stage and a clock tower).

Pavillion KL:

I am not really sure on the theme for Pavillion KL, but the title on the stage board showing ‘Royale Christmas’. Hence, I believed that the christmas decoration should be grand, in large scale, and formal. Yes, they made it. Not even entering the mall yet, the outer empty area is filled with christmas decoration already. The ‘already-there’ large fountain added up the atmosphere. In the main court area, large red curtains are seen, a feeling of welcoming visitors to the place of beyond imagination through series of steps down into the main court area. Christmas trees are of different height, playing with hierarchy, and the stage seems to be formal, but in creative shape. Decorated kiosks are seen around the main court area. Strategic placement and layout.

Sungei Wang Plaza:

Nice decoration, eventhough it is in simple mode. There is nothing grand on the decoration, but it achieved the objective of providing the x’mas atmosphere in the always-crowded mall. The main court area is small, hence it restricted the scale of the decoration. A stage, beautifully lighted up with warm blue colour, decorated with christmas tree’ outline, and swans. The usage of swans in decoration is really unique, some are seen hanging above main court area, and some are seen moving by electricity aid. The lighting is quite dim, but good enough to show everything it intends to show.

Other malls’ decorations, way too simple, did not achieve the objective of providing christmas atmosphere to visitors…maybe they focused more on the budget and financial status, rather than trying to promote their malls by wasteful christmas decorations.

Ultraportables seem to have been overshadowed by netbooks in a big way. This has not only to do with the smaller size of netbooks but also the price factor. HP Pavilion dv2 aims to reduce the price gap between netbooks and ultraportables without compromising on performance. The laptop first made its appearance at CES 2009 and attracted a lot of potential buyers. HP has kept an attractive base price that will give touch competition to netbooks which lack the same level of performance that it has to offer.

HP Pavilion dv2 specifications :

• Processor : AMD Athlon Neo / 1.6 GHz
• Display : 12.1″ TFT HP BrightView
• Display resolution : 1280 x 800
• Memory : 3GB DDR2
• Hard Disk : 160GB SATA-150 5400 rpm
• Graphics : ATI Radeon HD 3419
• Graphics memory : 256MB
• Optical Drive : External Blu-ray drive with DL support
• OS : Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
• Battery : 4-cell Li-ion
• Approx. price : $699

The base price of the HP pavilion d2 starts at $699. The external Blu-ray drives is not included in the base price and you have to shell out extra for it. However, you do get a good configuration in the base price sans the graphics card and some other goodies.

The design of the HP Pavilion dv2 is stylish and looks stunning in all black look. The laptop is not only ultra thin but also light weight at just 3.8 pounds. The usual imprint finish can be found all over the laptop. Portability was one of the top priorities for HP while designing this laptop and you can make that out by looking at its dimensions and weight. The lid of the laptop is sturdy and does not make any funny noises while opening or closing.

The body is made of high-quality plastic and it does not show scratched easily which can make a black notebook look messy. The edges of the notebook are smooth and round as has been the case with HP Pavilion notebooks. The lid does not have a latch to keep it secure while closed but it hinges manage to keep it in place without it too. Overall the build quality of the dv2 is excellent.

The 12.1″ display on the laptop is as good as it gets for HP laptops. Having a bigger display when compared to netbook never hurts. The display has good contrast and the colors appear rich. The depth in colors is its strong point along with uniform backlighting across the screen. Viewing angles are good but the glossy screen produces reflections in bright light. The 1280 x 800 resolution is fine for a 12″ screen and you can enjoy movies in full glory.

The keyboard has finally got a refresh on the HP Pavilion series laptop and is much improved, hopefully HP will implement the change for all future Pavilion laptops. The keyboard is rigid and keys offer good tactile feedback with minimal sound. The keys have are slightly glossy but that does not affect typing. The palm area has enough space to accommodate palms. We definitely like the new keyboard on the HP Pavilion line which supposedly is the same the HP tx series flaunts.

The touchpad however has remained unchanged, disappointing. The touchpad has a big area for an ultraportable but the surface is slippery that makes it hard to use especially with oily hands. The keys too are shallow and do not give enough tactile feedback for our satisfaction. The On/Off button on the touchpad is the best part that allows to turn the touchpad on/off one the fly as it can interfere while typing. We are still waiting for HP to improve their touchpads, till then we are going to have to do with a mouse.

Ports get the axe in ultraportables and especially when they are ultra-thin too. HP seems to have taken good care of that by including a good number of ports in its ultra-thin body. One can find three USB 2.0 ports that are standard for many mainstream notebooks too. Apart from that it has a  HDMI 1.3 connector to connect external display. A card reader, LAN port, VGA port and a Kensington lock port have been squeezed in as well. That surely is a nice list of ports to have on the move!

The laptop does not come with a internal optical drive due to space constraints but you have the option of going in with either a normal DVD burner or a Blu-ray one both of which are available as external drives. They are powered and driven by a single USB port and do not require any external power. The external drive has similar design as the notebook and gels with it completely.

The laptop has the latest AMD Athlon Neo processor under its hood. The processor is designed to run cooler and consume less power. A cooler processor takes care of the heating problem with ultra-thin notebooks and the dv2 does indeed run much cooler. The performance of the processor is almost twice when comapred to Intel Atom. The dedicated graphics card on the laptop offers flawless full HD video playback and also allows for casual gaming. Overall the dv2 is a good performing notebook. The netbooks simply do not offer the similar performance level.

Pros :

• Good display
• Dedicated graphics
• Good performance
• All major ports present
• Great design

Cons :

• Average touchpad
• No internal optical drive
• Low battery life

Final Thoughts

The HP Pavilion dv2 is a nice offering from HP that puts in a lot of features in to the ultra slim ultraportables while keeping the price at a reasonable level. The design of the notebook is cool and Imprint finish lends a sexy look. Although there isn’t an internal optical drive but you can go for an external one. Dedicated graphics is its biggest advantage over netbooks that make it more performance oriented rather than just portability. The keyboard is great but same isn’t the case with touchpad. There isn’t much negative to write about this notebook and one should seriously look consider it over netbooks if performance is top priority.

Rating : 4/5

Source : http://www.digitgeek.com/hp-pavilion-dv2-review/

The front entrance of Pavillion is decorated with really tall curtains on the sides which opens up to the main foyer area where christmas trees are lighted up. It was really a breathtaking view and I quickly took a shot of it.

I have heard so much about Food Republic before this but never got a chance to try it until today. Apparently, Food Republic is a modern food court concept originated from Singapore. I guess we are lucky to have the similar one here as well at Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur. There were many stalls available and I must say all of them look pretty appetizing.

I decided to try out Thye Hong’s famous fried prawn noodles (RM 7++) which came highly recommended by one of their staff there. The first thing I noticed was the texture of the noodles which is similar to those used in Asam Laksa. There were some gravy too which tasted quite alright. The prawns were fresh and flavoursome. After reading some Internet reviews, I just came to know that it is quite a well known in Singapore.

We also tried their Char Kuey Teow (RM 7++) . I have tasted numerous version of this famous dish and I must say this one is pretty good too. The cockles were pretty fresh and there was slight spicy taste to it.

I am also a big fan of chicken rice and when I stumbled across Sargent Singapore Chicken Rice, I knew I had to give this a try. The steam chicken was really smooth and soft. I must say that it is very well prepared and ranks among the best chicken rice I have tried so far.For RM 8, it is really worth the money.

Here are some quick snaps of the stalls…

Food Republic
Pavilion
Jalan Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur

These pictures of Cape Town landed in my inbox and it was a no-brainer to share it with you lovely people.

Not entirely sure when exactly they were taken (anyone?) or the process involved in restoring the rich colours (yes i know im useless and thats where you come in) , but they are pretty awesome don’t you think.

Even back then Table Mountain was magic.

Adderly Street pumping and some of those Beetles are still on the road today i’m sure.

Sea Point pavillion looking outstanding.

How was that for some nostalgia hey. Find the oldest person in your office and watch them light up when you show them those.

Good times.

[Thanks Jeannie]

Last Sunday, the 22nd, I went to a show to see the illustrious PK. They are a true presence in the Central Coast music scene with an ever growing influence. Seems like everywhere I go, I hear people talking about PK. Everyone knows their music and everyone knows the members. They are awesome musicians and possibly even better guys.

So, I was not able to make it to the show as early as I would have liked. I arrived about halfway through The Mighty Fine’s set. They surely lived up to their name, I must say.

Then on came PK. They put on a great live show. For any music enthusiast living in SLO they are truly a must see.

Their music is fun and accessible. I honestly can’t imagine anyone not being able to appreciate their sound. When combined with their amazing stage presence, you’ve got a pretty cohesively awesome live show.

Also, PK has an album in the works right now. It should be released very early in 2010.

SO: Keep your eyes on their page for show dates and please try to make it out. I promise you won’t regret it. They are a true standout in a local scene rife with talent.

Photos courtesy of the extraordinary Lauren Gan.

I hit it off with Tiffani and AJ the first time we met at their house – we ended up talking for hours about all sorts of things, some of them wedding related. Anyway, fast forward to October, and they had planned a joyous high-energy celebration. Their reception was in the Harriet Island Pavillion, a stone art deco boat house overlooking the St Paul Skyline, there was lots of dancing, and a whole mound of mashed potatoes (which I especially loved!). Tiffani and AJs friends and family all pitched in to help with the decorating and little details, including a “HE MAN” themed grooms cake! Thanks for letting me be a part of your wedding, I am so happy for you two and your future together!

Ok! Now we’re getting to part 4. Hmm.. I guess the sequence is not proper, please pardon me about that.

Who don’t know Guess and Hush Puppies brand? Well, only people who don’t like branded stuff don’t know. These 2 names are widely known and people are waiting for the sales. And if that happen, you don’t even know where to start shopping because everything is so cool and too many people in the shop. So, don’t waste your time and start ‘f1ing’ your way to the shops.

There are so many of them in KL, and you can find them in the map below.

1. Guess 50% off Sale

Sale : 26-Nov-2009  To 30-Nov-2009

Enjoy 50% off every 2nd item at GUESS. (Additional 10% off nee purchase if you’re a HSBC Credit Cardmember.)

Location:

1. Weld shopping centre

2. Mid Valley City & Megamall

3. Suria KLCC

4. Bangsar Village II

5. Pavillion, KL

6. The Gardens, Mid valley

2. Hush Puppies Warehouse Sale

Sale : 27-Nov-2009  To 06-Dec-2009

Sale in section: Apparel, Footwear, Bedlinen and Luggage

Location:

1. The Gardens, Mid Valley

2. Bangsar Shopping Centre

3. Suria KLCC

4. Lot10

5. Mid Valley Megamall

Hope you enjoy the shopping! Or, enjoy your window shopping! ^_^

End of the year will come again. So, what will most of Malaysian thinking about? Of course Big Sales! Here is the information that I gathered about big sales in KL and Putrajaya, so that we won’t waste our time to find where the big sales are.

1. Times Bookstore Christmas Promotion

Sale: 13-Nov-2009 To 03-Jan-2010

Look out for 20% off sticker.

Location:

1. Bangsar Shopping Centre

2. KLCC

3. Hartamas Shopping Centre

4. CapSquare Centre

times bookstore @ Capsquare centre

2. Pedro Shoes End of Season SALE

Sale : 21-Nov-2009  To 30-Nov-2009

Save up to 50%

Location: KLCC only

3. Sasa year end Sale

Sale : 21-Nov-2009  To 03-Jan-2010

Click the image to enlarge the image

Location:

1. Sungei Wang Plaza

2. Suria KLCC

3. Cheras Leisure Mall

4. MidValley Megamall

5. Berjaya Times Square

6. Pavillion

7. Alamanda Shopping Centre

最近比较懒, 上两个星期的聚餐现在才有心情写..

本来约了朋友到PEPPER LUNCH吃晚餐的, 走走一下, 改变注意, 就跑进了ICHIBAN BOSHI吃日本餐..

很现代化的装煌.. 晚餐时分,高朋满座, 生意蛮好的..

这是我点的Black Pepper Chicken Don, RM15.90, 超大份..

鸡肉嫩嫩的, 吃不到黑胡椒的味道, 甜甜的, 不错吃..

份量很多, 我吃一半就饱了..

这是陈点的Don-Don Wazen (RM32.90), 超大份的..

味道应该是不错吧.. 因为陈竟然可以一下子把它吃光光..

这是文的Tokusen Chirashi Wazen (RM32.90),他竟然说小份.. 哇.. 恐怖..

这间店的SET真的很大份, 如果食量小的人, 点一份SET, 两个人分吃会比较理想..

他的SUSHI好像都不错, 改次可以试试..

Near the Thames River (London, Ont)

A HP fechou o pacote de lançamentos para o Natal brasileiro e mostrou tudo hoje, com destaque para o computador tudo-em-um Pavilion MS200.

A versão do micro que está nas lojas tem 18,5 polegadas e aquele software MediaSmart, para comandar o acervo multimídia de um jeito legal, escolhendo discos pelas capinhas e tal. Infelizmente, ele não é touchscreen, mas tem explicação: a configuração básica custa 1.999 reais (pois é, Lenovo, aquele papo de tudo-em-um mais barato de todos durou poucas horas).

A configuração é a seguinte: processador AMD Athlon X2 3250, 4 GB de memória RAM e disco rígido de 320 GB. O micro vem com Windows 7 de 64 bits.

Outra novidade arranca suspiros da mulherada. É o netbook Mini 110, com desenho do estilista holandês Tord Boontje. A textura da tampa mostra flores em terceira dimensão, mas nada escalafobético como aquele Vivienne Tam. Com Windows 7 Starter, a máquina recebeu 2 GB de memória, processador Atom de 1,6 GHz e 250 GB de disco. A tela de 10,1 polegadas usa tecnologia LED. Custa salgados 1.999 reais.

Com tela de 13,3 polegadas LED, o Pavilion dm3 é um notebook com belo acabamento em alumínio escovado. Destaca-se também pela leveza: tem 2,5 centímetros de espessura e pesa 1,9 quilo. Também vem com processador AMD, mas o modelo é o Turion Neo X2 Dual-Core, 3 GB de memória e disco de 320 GB. Custa 2.799 reais.

O último destaque vai para o laptop corporativo ProBook 4310s. E o cara até que é bem bonito: está disponível nas cores preta e vermelha e tem aquele teclado com botões vazados, no estilo MacBook. Seu chip é Core 2 Duo, que vem acompanhado por memória de 2 GB e disco de 250 GB. Roda o Windows 7 Pro e custa a partir de 2.799 reais.

Plantão INFO

Ivan Navarro at the Venice Biennale

Nun es ist Regenzeit und da krame ich in meinen Erinnerungen und Fotos. In diesem Jahre waren wir mehrmals in Bad Doberan und im nächsten Jahr 2010 wollen wir dort ausstellen. Also was liegt näher als sich mit Motiven von dort zu beschäftigen. Erst einmal viel Architektur oft Backstein wie das Doberaner Münster, der Kamp mit seinen Pavillons, der Molli, die Villen…..und die Wälder und Felder der Umgebung.
Nun ich werde es wohl mit dem Münster probieren. Ich habe lange keine Bilder gemalt, wo die Kirchen das Bild stark dominieren. Wie sehen meine älteren Kirchen Bilder aus? Ich werde Ihnen in den nächsten Tagen ein paar Bilder mit diesen Motiven zeigen.

Hier noch einmal ein Rückblick auf bereits im Block veröffentlichte Bilder in diesem Blog.

Rostocker Altstadt bei Nacht

Stadtmauer bei der Nikolaikirche

Hanse-Wahrzeichen bei Nacht

Jason and Steph contacted me to take some photos of the two of them, just for fun. We chose Como Park as a fabulous backdrop, and they even brought their amazing dog for more fun!

‘Ello, ello! I’m back from glaringly hot and sunny Kota Kinabalu, where Mr. Panda & I had a short weekend and a long day of pre-wedding photography. Didn’t bring my Mac with me, so quite malas to blog on the weekend. Not that there was any time. We literally landed at midnight, got settled, woke up with the birds the next day and had a full day of shooting, followed by some private sister time with the youngest Panda princess, Ning, at City Mall (where I also managed to select and pay for my “Guo Da Li” package. More on that later.)

We were supposed to leave at 6.40pm the next day, and before that, meet with the pastor, attend church etc. But Airasia retimed the flights early which meant we had to cancel the church plans and go off to the airport really early instead.

So anyway, back to the photography. We picked Aru Bridal, mostly because of Babyduck’s recommendation, and also because they were housed in a beautiful colonial bungalow with a pretty garden, and located right across the beach. I like that we won’t have to waste any time traveling too far from one scenic venue to the next. More bang for the buck, if you ask me. Less time spent traveling = more shots = higher possibility of picking something you really like from the pile. Considering Mr. Panda & myself (not exactly the poster bride & groom you’d find on top of a cake), we’ll need all the help we can get. So picking a bridal house with such outstanding readily accessible snap-points is a huge plus. And you know what, it wasn’t expensive either!

We got there by 9 am, and I got into hair & makeup for the first shots, and it just went on from there until lunchtime. Mr. Panda & I snuck back home to grab a bite & to chat with Mom. He took some snaps of me in my “supermodel makeup & hair”.

I had temporary human hair extensions clipped on, courtesy of my darling Babyduck, who had left them at the bridal studio. Makeup was by a nice lady called Hong, from Aru Bridal. The diamante “BRIDE” tank-top is from Victoria’s Secret. I couldn’t resist the kitsch factor. Jeans are old, by MANGO. Makeup here is a bit garish for day-to-day but works beautifully in photos.

I wasn’t trying for the Hooter-girl pout here. Honest! It just happened to look that way! Mr. Panda brings out the “miaowwww” in me, I guess.

Here’s a close-up of Bridezilla, as you’ve never seen her before. The makeup artist was raving about Babyduck’s hair extensions, since I didn’t have any volume or sheen in my own pathetic undernourished crowning glory. So we determined that for my actual wedding day, I had to have proper extensions ready so she can do her magic! I desaturated the colour in this picture because the bright makeup was a bit much for me.

I made this sepia-toned to cover the fact that Mr. Panda took a blurry picture!

The Shoot

The weather on the morning of the shoot was perfect. Blue skies, the sun was shining, everything we needed for a perfect day of shooting. Mr. Panda was as stiff as a board of course. At one point, the photographer Lotty (poor woman) took me aside and asked me to “please make him smile”. I did my best, nothing worked, until I glared into his eyes (I’m sure it must’ve looked loving and intimate in the photos, but trust me, it wasn’t a loving kinda glare). And I said, “Darling. Smile. Now.” He seemed to think it was funny, and burst out laughing. *bemused* Well, whatever works. As for the results, (will post them later when we get the soft copies), well, my mother laughed out loud and commented on Mr. Panda’s apparent inability to smile. He looked like he was suffering throughout. I shoulda made him do some kungfu moves.

Bridezilla’s Tips on Pre-wedding Photo Engagements, based on experience:

1. The photographer was nice to work with, and took really pretty scenic shots, but provided little posing guidance, preferring to let the clients be natural. However, when working with non-professional models who collectively have about 40kg to lose, there should have been more direction on posing in such a way as to be flattering. Most photographers revert to the old fomulaic poses; face the camera with your back, and then turn back to look at the camera, for eg. Now when we did that, my back-fat and the underarm flab looked obscenely huge, and Mr. Panda suddenly developed a third chin!

Solution? Trust your instincts, and ask the photographer to show you on the little screen after a doubtful shot. If you look awful there, you can put your foot down and say no, when they request certain other shots. Remember, you’re the director here.

You and hubby should do your homework beforehand, and pose in front of the mirror or get hubby to take pictures of you posing, and then swap. Read websites, magazines, close your eyes and think up creative ways to present yourselves in a way that fits your personalities. But ultimately, you should be the one to know which poses flatter you best, what’s your best side, etc. Be more proactive. You’ll reap the benefits later.

2. The makeup was fine, but the updo for my bridal shoot wasn’t the look I was after. I should’ve brought pictures of the hairstyle I wanted, just to give her a visual reference. Remember: there’s no such thing as being TOO prepared. 

3. I’m particular about accessories, and the generic rhinestone stuff they have in most studios really don’t turn me on. I should’ve brought my own accessories. In fact, I should’ve had a clearer concept of the entire shoot instead of leaving it to the photographer who does not know my taste nor should she be expected to. Bridezilla dropped the ball there.

4. Make sure that your hubby removes all keys and mobile-phones etc from his pockets. It distorts the shape of his silhouette and can ruin an otherwise pretty picture. Mr. Panda’s Nokia was clearly outlined in one of my all-time favourite shots, and now we can’t enlarge it. I’m still miffed with him. WHO BRINGS A MOBILE PHONE IN HIS PANT POCKET WHEN TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS???!!

5. Make sure that hubby keeps his jacket buttoned during formal portraits. An unbuttoned jacket gives a sloppy unkempt appearance and can spoil the picture. The problem is, most photographers concentrated on the bride to make sure she looks great in the photos, and not so much on the man. Hey. Who wants to LOOK like they’re married to a sloppy, pudgy idiot with three chins??

6. Little things matter. When he is seated, is the gap between his hem and the top of his socks showing? TACKY. Is his tie crooked? BAD. Is he sweating? What about his fingers? His teeth? And the bride…are her boobs looking like they’re about to fall out of the bustier? Is the ‘lean forward cross your arms’ pose too obscene? I had to call a stop to the ‘lean forward, hubby please stand behind her and put your hands on her waist’ poses the photographer was so keen on doing. Looked a bit x-rated to me. Also, be aware of your surroundings. Our absolute fave shot couldn’t be used because the photographer’s assistant decided to position us next to a giant light bulb that added nothing to the ‘framing’ of the picture.

I must say though, we had a lot of fun doing this shoot. The people are great, the photographer was really dedicated, and the price is good, and with a bit of proactivity on our part and experience on theirs, this might be an outstanding adventure! Mr. Panda & I are already planning to take more pictures after the wedding. We like pictures, and once we’ve lost all the weight we’re supposed to, this might be a good way to celebrate. 

Props to Lotty, for being so dedicated and staying till 1.30am to rush the proofs for us before we had to depart the next day. We asked for about 6 pictures to be edited first, for our wedding website, and another 1 for Mom to put in the wedding announcement and the reception invitations. We’ll be getting the fully edited soft copies next week. I can’t wait!

Once they’re uploaded in our wedding website, it will be time to announce our engagement to our friends.

Stay tuned for more updates!

I’ve been waiting for this moment for a while now; it’s time to review my own computer. I’ve had it for 2 years now, so everything I say is from experience.

The Good: Large screen, relatively fast graphics, turn-off track-pad, 2 headphone  jacks (one SPDIF), express-card slot, FireWire, Expansion Port 3, S-Vid in, LightScribe, number pad (note: the model in the picture has no number-pad, but mine does ), multi-card reader, Altec Lansing speakers.

The Bad: Wireless G, 2gb RAM limit, no Bluetooth, touch-sensitive volume control, Quickplay.

The Ugly: Screen locks closed, too much shiny crap that my OCD brain must keep spotless.

Overview: When I bought this Laptop, it was top-of-the-line, but now, two years and a reformat later it’s beginning to feel old. It can still handle games like Halo 1, and barely Halo 2 (which I stupidly bought without reading the label). Overall, it’s only needed two repairs, one for the WLAN cars and one for the battery. One great feature is that it has an IR-in port, and comes with a IR remote (now note that the only programs that have ever worked with this remote are Quickplay and Foobar2000, and only whan they are the active window). The volume controls are where it gets a little messy. The make a sharp clicking sound whenever they are touched. It really interrupts music and video playback. The touch sensitive playback controls also only work with Quickplay or Foobar200, but only when they are the active window. The Pavilions have been known to have an abundance of media ports. I personally have 10 different types. Other models have an HDMI-out, but have to sacrifice LightScribe. The Altec Lansing speakers are amazing. The sound quality really equal to that of external speakers! It’s a bit annoying that a notebook of this caliber doesn’t have built-in Bluetooth. I already mentioned how much I hate Bluetooth mice, but I still need it to sync my phone right? A while ago I wanted to jump to the 32-bit limit of 3gb of RAM. I ran a Crucial.com scan and found that I was physically limited to 2gb because my card-maker only makes 1gb sticks. I have 64mb integrated graphics. Not great for in general, but pretty good for a laptop. HP has this thing with shiny stuff that I really don’t get. the screen frame is shiny, the track-pad border is shiny, the USB ports are shiny. Get this HP: OVERKILL. There are always fingerprints on this thing, no matter what I do!

Overall, this is a great laptop. If I could go back in time, I would have recommended it to you in 2007. But still, just staying competent today is quite a feat. I’m going to be doing a lot more reviews, so stay tuned!

For the record, I don’t actually have OCD.

Antecedentes

A HP anunciou ontem suas novas máquinas que desembarcarão em terras brasileiras, entre eles o HP Mini 110 Fashion e os novos notebooks da linha Envy, que por sinal são muito bonitos. Confira abaixo algumas fotos (clique para ampliá-las):

HP Mini 110

HP Envy

HP Envy - fechado

HP MS200, All-in-One com Windows 7

Novo HP Pavillion

A HP parece ter se esmerado muito com esses novos computadores. O problema, na minha opinião, é o que eles rodam. Sim, o Windows…