Thursday, 24 April 2008

themonkeylife: coming soon...

coming soon...
well, just got myself a couple of neat gadgets (& accessories) over the few weeks and as you would have guessed, i'm busy fiddling with them. so in the coming weeks, do watch out my take on the samsung sch-i780 smart phone (or rather a pocket pc phone), the BOSE around-ear headphones and also a lesser known but excellent ipod accessory from KNOMO UK. so keep checking back for regular updates on themonkeylife.com!

Friday, 18 April 2008

themonkeylife.com: welcome!

themonkeylife.com: ratings
new name, new ratings... as introduced below from 5 stars to 1 star rating. cheers!
5-STARS4-STARS
3-STARS2-STARS
1-STAR


themonkeylife.com: its alive!
just switched to my own domain today (hurray!) - themonkeylife.com. why 'the monkey life'? well, i figured since this is an online blogazine looking towards the 'cool lifestyle factor' direction, thus a 'cool & fun' name would be appropriate and plus, monkey protrays the image of fun, playfulness & energy - which is what this blogazine is all about. so there you have it, 15th April 2008 will be the beginning of 'the MONKEY life' culture!

anyhow, since it is the day-one of themonkeylife.com i thought i will just do a temporary title banner for a start before i get myself busy putting together some new ideas for this blogazine of mine... so just hang-on there & do check back for updates. cheers!

ps: so how do'ya like my monkey? lol. 100% hand-sketched on plain A4 paper with a little 'clean-up' on photoshop.

gadgets: reviewed

JBL Radial - ipod speaker
i have just acquired a iPod speaker, the JBL radial (white). first off, i need to clarify, this piece of gadget is without doubt an 'extra' in my life. i mean, i hardly listen to music unless i m glued to the comp. anyway, i thought i did gave it a try. upon opening the package, my first impression was the quality is top notch but ain't perfect. on the physical aspect, the Radial is round and when it had a 'radial' shape grill, it ain't going to be perfect. trust me. under the shade of the light, you can actually detect some 'wave' here & there over the speaker grill but i certainly don't have an issue with that. how often do i stare at it? i bet i will be listening more than appreciating its physical beauty. i wasn't intending to get a white-colour set but i guess i have too much of black amongst my gadgets & furniture. you know, black HD-DVD player, black PS3, black CPU, dark wood cabinet et cetera. also considering the fact that i will be placing the Radial on a dark wood bench, i thought white was the way to go. well what can i say, as far as colour goes, no regrets. partly due to the fact my Ipod Classic is silver in colour, kinda of matched up between the two of them.



the package comes with the speaker cum docking station which charges your iPod as well. i think most of us knew that part already. now comes the thought part: the package comes with several iPod dock adapters to cater for the different iPods and it came with 2 sets of wire, one with 2 pin plug and another 3 pin plug. though its a small detail, but hey, at least you got a choice. isn't it? setting up was pretty straight forward and could be easily done in a couple of minutes. once set up, i proceed to dock my iPod Classic onto the JBL Radial and fired up the Radial. I tested with music from SHINE - The Complete Classics. Its a classical collections with mixed of classic opera vocals. i am no audiophile freak, and i don't have superhuman ears either but frankly speaking, what comes out from the under that curved grill, was music to my ears. the music was clear and wide, easily filling up my 25 square.metre living room with well-balanced classical music. i guess it could be better, in terms of placement of the Radial. i placed my Radial on a dark wood overhanging beach, bench material is laminated wood chipboards. the Radial is placed approximately 100mm to 120mm away from the concrete wall. No corners except for the length where the bench hangs on the wall. i had the Radial tilted about 20DEG clockwise, facing the sofa where i would normally sit when i read, and of course now, savouring the music churned out by my lovely iPod via the Radial.



did i forgot to mention that it came with a 2-way remote? its just a simple 6-buttons remote and of the 6 button, in which 4 of the buttons are dual functions, depending on what mode the remote is on. the mode-button switch the volume and skip-track buttons to menu mode where you can scroll through your iPod menu and make the desired selection. i m not sure of remote range, but good range is only good for volume control, or maybe skipping of tracks. if you are thinking of scrolling thru the menu from a distance, sure no probs... just make sure you can see what you are scrolling from a distance. ok, i admit, not only do i not have superhuman ears, i don't have bionic eyes either. the Radial is about 5 feet away from where i sitted and i can't see what's on the screen on the iPod when i attempt to scroll to the playlist. but of course that's not a big issue either, but just some observation.




i am satisfied with my new acquisition, no regrets. in fact, the JBL Radial didn't came up as my first choice for iPod speaker. it was the BOSE Sounddock Digital Music System but after doing some 'research' i decided to go for the Radial. it may not appeal to audiophile buff, but for something with such a tiny footprint, and size for that matter, it has more than proven itself to me. price aside. this is definitely worth considering if you are out looking for an iPod speaker.

arts: recent works

latest work: 'wonder'

i call this piece 'wonder'. wonder because this is exactly how i feel now. wonder what will become of me after my impending case, wonder what will happen to my career, wonder what's going on with my life. looking up with muddled, confused head into the sky which was as confused. hopeful that the peeking sun will shed some hope. the flower is the one-person that always stood-by me all this time - my wife. this piece was drawn on B4 sketch book, added the color with Faber-Castell 'watercolour pencils'. with a brush & some water, i got myself a water-color painting. did some minor touch-up over the photoshop.


some previous works: 'portrait of wife' & 'men with t.v. heads'

did these two pieces back in 2006. 'portrait of wife' was sketch on A4-size sketch book in just a couple of minutes. very impromptu. as with the 'wonder', color was added using Faber-Castell 'watercolour pencils', ran it with brush with some water and did some touching up (for the vintage look) over in photoshop. 'men with t.v. heads' - an act of hyprocrisy amongst us. double standards, insincerity. ever similar to switching tv channel. in the fight to climb the corporate ladder, do we not be hypocritical at times? i used photoshop add some dark appearance over the background - cos' in the world of viciousness and hypocrisy, the world seems rather gloomy.

gadget accessories: reviewed

Moshi ClearGuard Keyboard Protector
with a lifestyle computing product introduced, there are bound to have tons of accessories flooding in. accessories ranging from protection for your gadgets to customization for an unique look.

i am MacBook user now (damn! the iPhone really converted me! well, partially - cos' i'm still waiting eagerly for Windows 7), so naturally i will be out hunting for accessories to protect my investment. hitting our local forums, i chanced upon a thread about the Moshi ClearGuard Keyboard Protector (U$20). it was another love at the first sight - yes, i know. i have many love-at-first-sight encounters. the specs, and the pics where simply tantalizing. i have to have one! not just yet, as it was a 'coming soon' product (er, that was last month) and i waited patiently, like a hungry lion waiting to pound on its prey. anyway, i jumped at it once it was available last month. i made order via AEVOE UNIVERSE, which carries Moshi products. it took a while for it reach Singapore and it sure did today - i was thrilled. trembling while i opened the package to reveal the what-could-be the elite of keyboard protector.



the package arrived neatly and extremely safely packed. the product packaging is a standard flair from Moshi and detail to the inner packaging is excellent. i'll just cut to the chase, because i can't wait to talk about this wonderful new product!





the ClearGuard make is really nice and has a good feel to it. the ClearGuard is made of durable, non-toxic engineering-grade thermoplastic urethane of only 0.1mm in thickness. when fitted to the macbook, you bearly feel it is there. while that's a good thing, the ClearGuard doesn't 'stick' or 'stay down' to the keyboard like most silicon protector does (mind you, the silicon stuff are heavier), which some user may accidentally "pull off" while typing furiously, i know it, cos' i did!

unlike the commonly available heavier (read: thicker) silicon protector in the market right now, the super light weight of the ClearGuard could be potential downside as it could be easily blown away if use under strong wind condition. i am an outdoor person, therefore i often use the macbook outdoor and i simply cannot leave the macbook with the ClearGuard on without watching over it, or should 'without my hands on it'? strong wind will threaten to sweep it away from the MacBook. i guess this scenario will be same under artificial wind condition such as fans. one of the 'key feature' of this product is the transparency of the material. if you have a backlit keyboard, the clarity of the ClearGuard allows the backlit to show-off its full glory, which you won't get see with the typical silicon keyboard protector (which are normally translucent)





typing with the ClearGuard is without any hindrance, i am more 'in touch' with my keys now as compared to my former silicon item. being new, i do noticed a faint odor from ClearGuard, a kind of 'plasticky smell'. i wonder if it is normal? could it be due to the reaction to the heat generated from the MacBook? or is it because its new? that brings me to another concern: will this thin film able to withstand the heat generated by the MacBook after prolong use? keeping in mind that part of the heat generated from the macbook 'escapes' via the gaps under these keys. attention to details are what Moshi product is about. the small and discrete Moshi brand name/logo imprinted on the space bar part of the ClearGuard is certainly a nice touch. sweet.

as for durability, we will have to wait and see. we shall let the time and usage be the judge. my former silicon-type was a pure dust magnet, and really sucky after a couple of months of use. i certainly hope this ClearGuard will perform better.

Overall, the finishes and quality of the Moshi ClearGuard is befitting for the cool MacBook!



gelaskins - art skins for ipod classic
i came across this item in April 08 issue of STUFF Singapore and wasted no time in getting one from gelaskins online store (http://www.gelaskins.com/). the item was shipped from canada after a few days after my order confirmation, which took only 5 days to reach singapore - in standard airmail. which is about the only option for international shipping.



the skins came in a hard envelope with 'do not bend' indicated on the package - which hopefully, the postal people will heed and not delibrately bend the package. luckily, mine arrived without damages or bends. the skins is packaged in a clear plastic sleeves - which on the surface looks rather harmless but it is not. the clear sleeves has an adhesive opening on its lip and thus pose quite a problem for me when i was retrieving the skins out of it. the adhesive tends to stick to the skin if you're not careful enough and thus leaving a little stain on the beautiful skins. luckily, the stain is removable after some patience cleaning with soft tissue paper.




i am impressed by the quality of the skins. the material used feels a little rubber-like and of reasonable thickness. i wasted no time and get it to apply on my ipod classic right away. needless to say, the first step is to clean the ipod with a soft cloth. i use a brand new lcd screen cloth for this job. i proceed with the application of the back skin first. it took quite a while for me to finally got the skin to sit perfectly. the gelaskins can be reposition until you are satisfied so there's little worry that you will not get it right. there's always a second chance. the back application was less pain as compared to the front which requires extreme patience in for the application mainly due to the precise screen opening and the click wheel part. first left the click wheel part for the last and proceed with the application of the main front screen which took me more than 10 mins. it was a pain to align the screen and desperately trying keep the application as perfect as possible.




when i finally done with the application, i notice that the front skin is not as perfect in terms of fitting. as you can see from the photos, there are some visible silver from my ipod at the edge of the screen. i guess it will be less obvious if my ipod is black instead of silver. the skin does not sacrifice the click wheel sensitiveness. in fact, it felt better compared to my former skin jacket. i also tested the fit on the JBL radial to make sure there isn't any issue of fit after applying the skin. i guess for approximately USD15 excluding shipping, it is not exactly cheap to accessorize your ipod but i like the fact that it let's you individualized your ipods. not only that, gelaskins also have skins for other range of ipods, portable gaming device and laptops.






beyza slimline leather case
first impression: sleek look and high-quality look. a feel-good small leather goods for your precious samsung SCH-i780 or blackjack II.

just got the beyza slimline leather case last saturday from our local retailer. i must say it is a purchase that i feel particularly good. this beyza product is made of full grain cowhide and color was introduced via the drum-dyed process. i won't regurgitate what beyza has claimed about their products which you can read here.

beyza leather case for samsung SCH-i780

the interior of the leather case is made with suede materials which gives the phone some protection against scratches. As with all leather product, the case feels a little 'stiff' and hard to insert the phone in. gosh, i thought i bought the wrong case! but after a few days of usage, the phone fit snugly, easily insert and retrieve. one worthly note is the case doesn't really cover phone entirely (as you can see from the photo - the phone protrudes about an millimeter out. Due to the snug fit and internal suede material, it gives the phone a wiping effect i.e. its cleans the phone! no 100% but it does make the phone look cleaner whenever i take out the phone from the case.

i m no leather goods expert or specialist, but as far as i am concerned, the craftsmanship - in terms of cuts and stitching are reasonably good. definitely not those hand-stitch quality though.

overall, this a neat, quality leather case for the i780. however, price-wise, this case is on a the high-side. the beyza slimline leather case cost SGD59.95 but you certainly get what you pay for.

arts: past works

quick sketches
from 2005 to 2007 on typical A4 printing papers with some editing on photoshop (mouse-over pics to read description*) - copyright 2005, 2006, 2007. mike chua.
a cartoonized self-portraitmy rendition of an anime character
oil-based black in sketch part 1oil-based black in sketch part 2
my rendition of a digital image...


concept sketches
from 1995 & 2006 (yellowing of paper is a true testament to their ages)

copyright 1995, 2008. mike chua.
(above) original comic concept sketch c. 1995

copyright 2006, 2008. mike chua.
(above) original concept art of 'men with tv head'

books: read

books: how starbucks saved my life \ the pusuit of happyness \ mao: the unknown story \ losing my virginity: the autobiography



How Starbucks Saved My Life
title: How Starbucks Saved My Life (Paperback)

paperback: 272 pages

publisher: Gotham; Reprint Edition (Sep 2008)

language: English

ISBN: 978-1-592-40404-9

category/sub-cat: non-friction/autobiography

first impression: heart warming & philosophical. i simply can put down this book!

i didn’t know about this man - i mean, who on earth is Michael Gates Gill? i have not heard or read reviews about this book before i picked it up from our local bookstore last week. as with life, often the least expected turns out to be a blessing, isn't it so? this book is management, life journey, self-improvement guide and philosophy lumped into one. i have read numerous real life stories i.e. biographies, but never have i read a book from someone who spoke about his ‘failures’. this book is different. it details the success and the lesson learn in a different perspective. this isn’t some rags-to-riches story. oh wait; maybe it is, but riches as in value of life, not so much of monetary or material aspects. before Michael ‘unintentionally’ joined starbucks as a working staff, and before he fallen from his grace, he was a high flying executive who commanded a six figures salary package in the advertising industry. then one day in his sixties, his world came crashing down when he was fired from his high paying job. out of job and almost broke, and with an estranged family relation didn’t make it any better. then by chance, he landed a job with starbucks, where he learns the renewed meaning of his life and what it means to be truly happy. this ain’t a story about how he became a high flying executive in the ad industry.

it’s an amazingly simple story that will touches our heart. it is an inspiring book on how one can get past one history and move on. Michael lamented a lot about his past. however he struggled and fought with his inner self to cope with his new found life, learn to respect diversity, respects the people that he works with and most importantly, realize the true meaning of his life. tt is not easy for a man in the sixties to pick it up again and gain the respect from the people around him in his new work environment. overall, i had a satisfying read and this book certainly is an inspirational book, a guide book of life. if you find you can’t move on after some setbacks, read how Michael did it.








the pursuit of happyness
title: the pursuit of happyness (paperback)

paperback: 320 pages

publisher: Amistad (Oct 2006)

language: English

ISBN-10: 0-06-074487-1 ISBN-13: 978-0-06-074487-8

category/sub-cat: non-friction/autobiography


first impression: an autobiography that bares it all, conveyed through the author's own slang and amazingly simple. there are many rags-to-riches stories and this is one story that will capture the reader's heart. totally inspirational! for a moment i thought i was reading a self-improvement book!

the pursuit of happyness is probably one of the thinnest autobiography that i have came across besides the dalai lama's which i have read years ago. the book literally bring its reader through the life of chris gardner, the founder of the gardner rich & company - a multimillion-dollar brokeage firm. just like richard branson's autobiography, in this self-authored biography, the reader gets the most from the author's thought from the horses mouth. unlike, mao: the unknown story by jung chang & jon hilliday, which is more like assumptions based on assumed facts.

being a rather thin book, i certainly do not expect myself to read about details of what chris has went through and i am almost certain he could not recall every single detail even if he wanted to put it down. the author described his childhood vividly, so much so that i could almost felt what he had felt back then. you know, those dream-like moments of your childhood?
it is a book that give readers hope and inspires people. if you think your luck has juiced out in life, read about how a person's life can get and how that person can turn it around if he/she sets his/her mind to it. thoughout the book, i was almost lost and certain that i was reading a self-help book or some inspirational book. totally awesome!




mao: the unknown story
title: mao: the unknown story (paperback)

paperback: 971 pages

publisher: Vintage (Jun 2006)

language: English

ISBN: 0-099-49924-X

category/sub-cat: non-friction/biography-history


first impression: a whole new perspective on the infamous dictator of the world biggest nation in mankind history, but not without a hint of biasness against mao. this book is more than just about mao tse tung, it is the history of communism, it is the history of modern China up till 1976, abeit a brief one.

i have read one dual biography of mao tse tung and deng xiao ping previously, called 'The New Emperors' by Harrison E. Salisbury (1993). While the Harrison's work was widely aclaimed, it did what a typical biography does - i.e. basically, chronicles a person's life through publicly available materials or information that the subject wants the author to convey in his or her book. i guess it was due to the fact that when Harrison's work were formulated, China wasn't all that open about their 'internal affairs', especially on their 'revered' leader. i wouldn't say 'MAO: The Unknown Story' is a better read or neither would i say it is an accurate read, but rather this book is a league on its own. the book gives the reader a whole new insight into the world of the famous dictator - a person who managed to unite the world biggest nation through false pretext, fear and anxiety. instead of an age by age detail chronicle of mao's life from what we already known, this book dig deep into the unknown through extensive interviews from the surviving people in and around mao's circle, and those whom are closely involved in the mao's political maneuver during his 29 years in power. the book dwells into what made the man ticked.

reading the book, is like walking through part of China's modern history. it takes reader through mao's political journey (i.e. scheming and ego-driven personal vendettas) and exposed the myth about what really happened then. granted, the book may 'sounded' a little too biased against mao. all blames such the extreme poverty and famine, was on him but then again, he has been dead for decades and only mao himself knew why he did what he has done (or did not?). the authors dwell into mao's inner most thought rather vividly, as though they were there before. personally, i thought it was rather unfair. therefore i thought it was more of an 'assumed thoughts' by the author(s). there is no deny that China had suffered through unstable political situations when the dynasty was overturned, plagued by corruptions, civil wars, sino-japan war, then civil again. it is also no deny that extreme poverty and famine had befell on China through the earlier time of the start of the modern China. but to say that it was the doing of one man, i will take it with a pinch of salt. i wasn't there to experience it, thus it is beyond my comprehension that one man could held such an influence and cult following during that era, therefore i could not say if this book really chronicles the true life of mao. however it does provide an interesting, fast pace reading that gives me an better understanding of this country.

all in all this book do provide an interesting perspective to an intriguing character and a good book on history of the becoming of a modern China.







title: losing my virginity: the autobiography (paperback)

paperback: 624 pages

publisher: Virgin Books (Aug 2007)

language: English

ISBN: 978-0-7535-1300-2

category/sub-cat: non-friction/autobiography

just completed (about a couple of months ago) richard branson's updated edition of the autobiography published by fittingly, the virgin books. i have this [deep-rooted] stereotyping of any biography - that is, the autobiography has to be always told in the perspective of another writer, writing about some prolific, or famous people. this is partly due to the fact that the past bio that i had read in the past were people of history or of sort. therefore its kinda of strange when i started off reading from the mouth of the people themselves, so to speak.

nevertheless, richard branson's autobiography is a highly entertaining book which unravels the mystery surrounding this high profile billionaire and adventurer. the earlier chapters were clear classic of most autobiographies, where branson detailed his beginning (i.e childhood and his first business plan) and how 'the student' has paved the way for the beginning of virgin brand, and from there on things began to move ever faster. i guess his success story wasn't meant to be told in a single book but reading through, the reader will know how fast things were going in his life, and together how strong his drive was - even for writing this autobiography.

on the better part of the book, branson dwelve more into the beginning of his virgin brand, the contributions by the different people he met along the way, his boat house and branson even bared it out about his love life. i say it is a honest and straight-to-the-point autobiography with no trail of hypocrisy in it. this book is not about branson, it is a book of inspirations, it is about branson's entrepreneurial spirit, his adventures and his tenacity to succeed. reading through, you might get all lost and thought you are reading a 500+ pages business guide book! in the book, branson also touched on the biggest 'saga' that plagued Virgin Atlantic with British Airway - which i read about it as a case study during my uni days. it is good to read in more details from branson's side of the story on what really happened and how Virgin Atlantic won hands down eventually.

i can't write or review much about this book, as i thought this book is truly amazing and it is the book that once you started, you will not want to put it down. it is totally 100% inspirational, provides a good know-sir-richard-branson book and let the reader share branson's exciting life. branson share his philosophy in business, relationships and life with the reader. it is really amazing! a must read for all would-be entrepreneur, businessman, executive and everyone else would are hungry for knowledge.