Thursday, November 2, 2017
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Be A Jenius: DIY Homemade Fishing Rod Holder for Electric Scooter
What's next?
Saturday, June 17, 2017
I wonder about women, sheep and wolves.
My personal knowledge about superheroes goes as far as my understanding of politics which is roughly around the same as the number of miles I have ran this year, approximately zero.
To appreciate the following, you should already have watched Wonder Women (2017), Gone Girl (2014) or at least have wiki-ed the lot. No seriously, go.
So this past week, the little red dot made international news with a small famiLEE matter of sorts. I won't go into the grisly details as I'd only come up with flawed arguments and perspective on the whole issue. There are, however, various similar cross-references which came to mind as I pondered on the various factors given the construct of the events.
Wonder Woman was honestly a sub-par movie which had its few moments to me. The action sequence was pleasing and no doubt Gal Gadot made it all that much better. It did irked me that most modern day films had to have a love element which seemed forced like the emergence of all the "Instagram-worthy" foods at the Geylang Bazaar. Script writers and food creators alike should really chill on the love and food coloring respectively. The love aspect in Wonder Woman was evidently less excruciating to watch than the one in Salazar's Revenge but that's just comparing 2 different kinds of fecal material.
A friend of my recommended Gone Girl as an alternative love movie and man, if you haven't already watched the film, please do. What intrigued me about this story was not just the main characters and their dynamics but more importantly how they manipulated society and the mass media to gain traction for their individual causes. Fascinating was it to see how group-think and fed information could alter the final outcome of schemes.
Pardon the haphazardness of my writing. Okay, so what really spurred me on to pen down my thoughts was a post on a "tall tree basking in the golden hour". The groupie syndrome in the comment section of that post was for me akin to idolizing Wonder Woman as a figure of empowerment for women. Of course I won't take that away from little girls but if you look deeper, Diana was more god than human and for that same reason is why I would not put Superman as the male equivalent of said figure. Gods just do not fully understand the fears of normal men. If you asked me, I'd put Black Widow above Diana as a candidate for empowering women (at least she was not made from clay). Just FYI, I'd put Bruce Wayne as the male counterpart (RIP Adam West). If you really need a female figure to look up to, try Amazing Amy. Amazing Amy was remarkable in her understanding of people and various subjects (heard she's more amazing in the book though).
Speaking of books, the saga this past week as with all issues with any tint of local politics always brings back history lessons taught by a science relief teacher when I was 8 or 9. A man of big stature with a wizened look hovered over us with first hand accounts of tales from the past. He talked of events which would be deemed brutal and immoral in present day. Events that could have been easily covered up with propaganda and "new syllabuses" in the books planted in schools. Such tales could easily rip holes in the fabric of society but it is this same fabric that has been painstakingly woven for generations that we now draw comfort from. All in all, taking things for face value just would not be wise.
If you understood nothing of the above, it's okay, neither did I when I was reading through it for errors. Anyhoo, I've also had the privilege to watch Grave of the Fireflies (1988) which I feel definitely portrayed a more accurate depiction of war than Wonder Woman. And if you really need a breather from all the nonsense of the world, catch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. Cloudy2 was honestly a movie made for me I KID YOU NOT. It had food, cute things and the intelligence in the wordplay throughout the whole movie was just brilliant.
Till next time! :)
Monday, June 12, 2017
Jungle Fishing - Return of DaBomb?
What do you find solace in?
Monday, March 13, 2017
My First KDrama - Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo :D
Hello again internet. It's been awhile since I've put my heart into writing. It has been an interesting and event-filled start for the year with a boatload of emotions, stress and general life issues but all is well with me. My new job has disrupted life as I knew but the sense of maturity and adulthood that comes with it does provide new perspective to life. I do, however, have to warn that the text ahead do contain plot details and my thoughts which may spoil the show for you if you have not already watched it yourself.
I lied. Weightlifting Kim Bok Joo isn't the first KDrama I've watched. On the topic of lying, Weightlifting Fairy has based most of its drama complications on withholding of truths and well, blatant lying. My virgin experience with KDrama was more than 10 years ago and went to the iconic show Dae Jang Geum (or Da Chang Jin for us Chinese folks). Since then, K-Culture has spread like wild fire with Korean influence inseminating its influence in all facets of modern media. The sudden influx of K-Culture was slightly off-putting to me as the Kraze went slightly absurd at some points. My true distaste for everything K came after a few episodes of Running Man as while it was entertaining, the overly staged and (presumed) scripted scenes felt like the directors were testing the intelligence of its viewers. There were shows that I felt were slightly more positive in vibe such as "Law of the Jungle" but mainly because I bask in watching shows which hold educational notions that enrich the mind. That aside, I decided to take a step out of my comfort zone and revisit the world of K.
ok? K.
The overall plot of the show revolves around the main protagonist Kim Bok Joo and her life and relationships with her family, friends, passion and of course, love interests. The show starts with showing how circumstance and environment had molded the tall weightlifter into the tough and masculine figure whilst hiding the insecurities of a young adult female in her hard exterior. They then proceeded to slowly break down her shell with introduction of male characters to the point that her character was viewed only as just another coming of age female who had a passion for weightlifting. I really liked this aspect of the show as it reminded audiences to not judge people based on their exterior or circumstances and really to just look deeper. The whole journey of self-discovery could also be viewed as empowering for young females.
Now what's a story without a handsome male lead? With a backstory filled with early childhood trauma and a miraculous near-death experience which defied the laws of physics, the male protagonist certainly had enough reason for his happy ending given the laws of drama. Personally, I grew a keen liking for this male lead as our similarities are uncanny. We're both blessed with amazing good looks, immature (yet sweet) tendencies and are both suckers for cute girls who boast tough exteriors. Hell, even our initials are similar (J-H) :3 However, it is crucial to point out that we do have some incredibly stark differences though - the Korean is taller and I am fatter so that pretty much puts us on par. :D I do find it such an amazing coincidence that JH grew to be a socially adequate height for his female counterpart though, like what are the odds that 2 giants just happen to have a common back story and ended up in the same storyline - FATE?
Love
What is love? A variety of ideas were explored in the film regarding love. There was the love for the sport which the respective athletes indulged in, a safe haven of sorts for some. There was the intial young love (or crush) of the female lead. There was the love which was filled with acute resilience. There was the love brought forward by sacrifices and by choice. There was of course the love of family as portrayed by the parents of both leads.
Of course everything ends well in KDrama-world as long as love prevailed but it is keen to note that maybe real life isn't that much different.
Why Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo was SSS-WAGG
Honestly, the plot of the show was horrendously simple and easy to figure out. There were no amazing plot twists or incredible revelations. It was what it was. However, I do have to give credit to the backstories of most of the characters and believe that if there were more episodes, the layers of each characters could have definitely been explored further. To me, this show was truly catered for an audience of teenage girls. In spite of all these, I still loved the show (because I'm secretly a teenage girl on the inside). The reason is 'simple'. <-- SEE WHAT I DID THERE :3 In its simplicity, the show managed to pull me to its side with the idea of relatability (not sure if I spelt it right here). The show portrayed characters who took on different roles given different situations and somehow reflected to many of my own life's emotions and thoughts.
This was relevant in scenes of love, jealousy, friendship, happiness and depression and all the likes (Man, that depressed scene truly hit home). It felt so easy to imagine oneself in the shoes of the characters (every single one of them) and that truly was the winner for me.
Final Thoughts
Well, this KDrama was enjoyable for me and I did bask in being a sweet teenage girl whilst watching all the cheesy scenes of affection. At only 16 episodes short, I would definitely say its worth the watch and I definitely did not regret watching it. Personally I don't think I'll move on to another KDrama too soon whilst I am still savoring the scenes in my memories. Am I a convert? Maybe.
Till next time and may Love prevail. SSSSSS-WAAGGGG
Monday, January 30, 2017
Thursday, January 5, 2017
DIY Telescopic Fishing Gaff Tutorial
This is a quick tutorial on how to make a telescopic gaff using an old or spoiled telescopic fishing rod. A gaff would be useful if you finally hooked up to that big catch and would like to secure it. Of course if you're on a pier of a jetty, sometimes using a rope gaff would make more sense as there are limitations to the length of such a telescopic gaff. This build took me at most 2 hours.
OK, let's get to it.
WHAT YOU NEED
Okay, the things I used were:
1) A telescopic rod which i broke
2) Gaff Hook (bought from TCE Tackles at around 6SGD)
3) Some leftover braided line
5) 2-part epoxy
6) Nail polish (Optional)
7) Masking Tape
Tools:
1) Pen knife
2) Hand saw
3) Rotating saw
4) Hammer
5) Brush
Step 1 - Removing the top guide
Use the pen knife to slowly cut away the guide wraps to remove the guide, epoxy and wrapping thread.
Step 2 - Cutting the blank
For this step, measure around 2 inches from the tip (or however much you feel is necessary) and saw mid-way through the blank. This cut would be where the base of your gaff would finally sit at.
Next, using the rotating saw, score the blank from the mid-way cut to the tip. Honestly though, looking back, I think this step might not be necessary. I also used the rotating saw to saw the tip of the rod blank to create a groove for the next step. Thinking back, this step could also be completed using just a hand saw.
Put the pen knife blade in the groove created and slowly hammer down the pen knife to the mid-way cut. The blank should split nicely. As I am writing this, I realize that this might not be possible for certain blanks.
AND YAY. SPLIT!
Step 3 - Fixing on the Gaff
Put the gaff in the blank and check if it fits nicely. Mine did not sit perfectly but it was close to what I wanted.
Tape up the gaff to the blank. Once you're satisfied with the position of how the gaff sits, go CRAZY with the thread wrapping. I was using leftover Fins Windtamer 4lbs line. I'm pretty sure you can use any other kinds of threads but at least use something sufficiently thick and strong.
Step 4 - EPOXY
Get some 2-part epoxy. I would advise you to use the 5 minutes variation as it would have chance of unwanted flows during the drying process. I used the 90 minutes variation and had to constantly rotate the gaff during drying. Learn from my mistakes.
Mix up the 2-part epoxy and spread it all over the thread wrapping. Aim to cover up any visible gaps between the gaff and the blank. A brush would be useful for this step.
FINAL STEP - NAIL POLISH
Well, if you're terrible with proportions and as a result of lousy estimations you end up with an epoxy that's stick on the surface, you might need to do this step as I have. Get some nail polish ( I went with Murder Blood Red) and paint over the epoxy. Wait for the lacquer to cure and what you have left is a pretty decent telescopic fishing gaff.
Additional tip (for the tip): The tip of the gaff is sharp and it is meant to be that way. To protect yourself, and the tip, you could create a simple tip cover using some hot glue sticks. Just heat the glue stick and coat the gaff tip until you create a pretty decent cover. The one I made could be refitted when removed so I deserve a pat on my back.
Hope this helped you in finding purpose for an old rod or as a solution for a cheap gaff.
Tight lines and Smile face :D
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