Image: The Gates Beyond Time

Portal Gates.

Believe it, you can't swing a cat without hitting two fellas with their nametag that reads 'Gatekeeper' or 'Keymaster' or one each with both. I think the awe about gates is that they represent an entry larger than a window, an option, should they choose to accept, to cross over from one place in the universe into another.

As a fantasy-fag***, I was not immune. In fact, I upped the stakes on my vision on what portal gates are and should be. That's this week's amazing images, found in CGSociety website. I present two of them with the theme, Overly-Ridiculous-Gianormous-Gates.

Hey, as Mythbusters would say; if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing...

Old Gate

I loved this image immensely because it fits perfectly of the imagination I had of a fire-ridden continent (not Hell, though. Hell is too cliche'). The red robbed fellows are not guardians of the gates or magical disciples of some long-lost civilisation or vanguard knights preparing for the arrival of an exhaulted master. They just peasant folks in maintenace.

You see, the gate is so big, it take a whole village to maintain it. Every evening, several men wear red robes that protects them from the dust and clean up the large magic circle on the floor. And this isn't the main gate either, just one of the energy fields use to maintain the gates.

This is the Main Gate.


Lost Gate

Well, at least, ah, what's left of it. This image is for an idea I had about the same Gate, but about saaaay... 5000 years in the future. Yeah, those are guys in hazard suits inspecting the structure. The region of which this gate had been built had shifted and changed and gone through some major climate changes but the portal gate (what's left of it) still stands.

It will be this image which how I'm going to describe the portal gate in my private book project. Wishful I maybe but hey, when don't you wish that when you have an idea and built the story, wouldn't you want a Tolkien worthy backdrop to go with it?

Intestine in the Sky!

Lil’ bro Genius was around last week. Since my PC is faster than his laptop, it’s only natural that he takes over my room (unlike most guys, he doesn’t mind being surrounded by girly wall posters).

I tolerated him as long as he pays the fees (one Santana ft. Chad Kroeger’s Into The Night mp3 for 3 hours, yes? If you want to use my cellphone internet, that’ll be the entire Torrent movie of The Last Mimzy from your UMalaya WiFi).

Mostly it’s games that Genius plays. Unlike my role-playing-storyline-intense, he prefers arcades and dash-time stuff. He SMS’d me what he likes, I download and crack for him and he plays for up to 5 hours when he comes home during the weekends, while I’m at weekend class.

But here’s something we both like.

My PC desk. Usually the dark-haired skinny kid isn’t supposed to be here.

And right out from the cereal box too!

I think Genius purposely choose Milo cereal because he knows that if he takes the Honey-Waffles cereal (really great!), his sister would chomp it to milk-and-dust before he even re-packs his laundry bag.

When it comes to cereals, me and Genius make Cain and Abel look tame.
Mine! My preeeeeeciioussssss...

But enough about sibling eating habits. Nestle’s Milo had upgraded from being choke-able plastic toys (Made in China lagi...) to throw-able plastic disc (still Made in China!). This is a simplistic, Flash-type game called Microsoft Flight Simulator Demo.


Does it come with complementary soft drinks?

It’s like an eeny-meeny-mynie-tiny version of the actual game Microsoft is making to distribute to the terrorist market-, er, help future pilots experience realism. It’s a cheap toy really; targeted for the middle-class who wants to keep their kids out of their Astro Cable TV (low income kids can still play Frisbee).


Take off!

This game apparently comes with a warning label; may cause seizures. And it wasn’t long for us to realize why. Trying to steer this plane is like trying to manoeuvre a school of fish.

Steer too soft, you don’t turn at all. If you steer too hard, you start to make loops and spins to such a dizzying degree that you can actually feel your stomach making flip-flop (urg... sick... barf-bag-barf-bag-barf-bag-bag-bag-bag...).


Accck! Hard left! Hard left!

There are 4 versions of this game (I forgot what the first was, me bad); a cruise through the Grand Canyon, a helicopter emergency through New York and the one me and my lil’ brother had was something you make smoke to write letters in the sky with.

Like I said, steering this damn hell of a machine (virtual machine, what’s more!) is nothing like making donuts on the grass with your car. I was trying to make an ‘A’, which either ended up as ‘O’s or swiggly lines that showed nothing but chart my fail attempts as an ‘A’.

So if you’re thinking of going for that Milo cereal with the CD airplane in it, you don’t expect some easy how-to-fly manual (I swear this thing needs a real lessen terbang).

So just enjoy yourself and might as well bring out your artistic creations. Soft of...


Look! I made a tapeworm!


Look! I made a large intestine!


Look! This is tapeworm going through large intestine!

(eew...barf-bag-barf-bag-barf-bag-bag-bag-bag...)

Random Jumble from My Photo File

Gosh, how long have I been in school? I starting to forget, (actually, I rather forget) just really need to get the work done and stop think of how hard it was to do them. Kind of a 3rd world mentality but no matter how tall we can make our twin towers or how far out of space we can wave our flag, we still need to do a lot to improve the more basic aspects like roadways, medical facilities and stop-giving-free-water-to-Singapore.

Sorry, election jitters ran over me like a truck. It’ll be my first time voting and I have no idea how to start, where to start, to decide the right choice. Personally, I’m not too picky; just get someone to reduce petrol prices.

Bah, the country’s not the only one trying to pimp-their-infrastructure. My school’s riding on the wave of change as well.

This big room used to be the library.

Well at least on the wave of food aroma. Yup, now we have a Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management. As if the deans here need to be fed any more. I’m not sure what they cook in there but me guessing it has something to do with the littlest café that opened just next door (serving coffee and cakes, I’ll check it out later).


FHTM students have to wear UNIFORMS?

So now on one side of the building is the well-dressed, white-coated, clean-looking FHTM students while on the other side of the building (and I kid you not) are the sloppy, torn jeans, ripped bags, dark-eyed, messy-haired FIT students.

Gosh, this is going to be a fun 2008. *evil wink*


Dark, dark road.

I wasn’t kidding back in my entry Maybe a Flashlight to Get to My Car? that I go home late at night. Granted, it’s not as deep a darkness as some city alleyways but this route give a clear shot right towards the LDP road. I’m always careful here and as you can see, any of these dark parked cars can be the (as read in SMS!) ‘Girls! Pls watch out 4 a grey wira aeroback. Btwin 2-5 malay guys, age late 20s-early 30s. Kes samun & pukul around ampang, pj, dsara & bngsr. Aim & attack wmen driving alone @ nite. 2 cases reported oready. PLS TAKE CARE!’

Just because SMS aren’t always accurate doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be wary when walking at night.


This guy will have trouble if he wants to turn right!

Other than bullies, Malaysian roads have quite an interesting array of road monkeys. I’ve captured this one on the Kota Damansara road last year (forgot to put it in older post-lar...). Possibly going to a recycling centre, me thinks.


Hairy, peeping Tom!

Speaking of monkeys, heh. This was also in the last-year folder. Some primate left the jungle and never went back in it. His fellow ate all the curry leaves on my Mom’s curry tree and practically pooped on the neighbour’s windows. But as you can see the neighbourhood kids adored him.


Tiny thing, isn’t he?

See how he charms the kids? Our local politicians could learn a thing or two from him in the coming elections. Or maybe he was just around the neighbourhood because Mak was experimenting in the kitchen again... Maybe I could recommeded her an FHTM healthy-cooking course for a semester?


I don't know what this is (fried chicken, potatoes, spinach and carrots) and it taste only as ... good... as it looks.