Wake up & smell the palm oil

Three nights ago, after a failed attempt to watch Dead Man's Shoes on my laptop, I managed to get What Rainforest: Wake Up and Smell The Palm Oil? running on DivX Movies. It wouldn't be a fair comparison to put the psychological thriller and the 36-minutes documentary side by side but I watched the latter with great interest nonetheless.

Hilary Chiew & chi too highlighted the fight of an Iban native, Segan Anak Degon of his land against the oil palm plantation in Kampung Lebor, a village near Kuching. The man is the only person out of 101 families affected who stood his ground and left unaffected by the oil palm plantation. The documentary tells the plight and the fight of a native and his family and what the government (and public) are unaware of when it comes to 'developing' a nation.

I am not going to defend my ignorance when it comes to native customary rights (NCR), so my hope is that the film has justify what needed to be said although not yet done. Credits to Chiew & co. for making that wake-up call for a Sarawak native like me, and hopefully many others, of what this land is made of and not take it for granted. Oh, and to Steven Lee & Benjamin Ujang for making the DVD available for an Iban in Scotland. :-) Cheers, guys. Keep them coming!

A long December

Sorry for being away for way too long!

After handing back the DSLRs to their respective owners, I was occupied with too many things nearing the holiday season. Work loads were unbelievable and 'free time' after work were spent catching up with friends over tea and/or dinner - hence not much time spent in front of Mr.Beckford, the laptop. And if I had to write about the ordeals I had to go through right before flying back to Malaysia a week ago, I would need sequels and sequels of posts.

Did I tell you that I am finally back at my parents'? After the longest journey home (62 hours to be exact, including flight cancellations, delays, transits and more transits) I have ever had to take? A big thank you to British Airways and Heathrow (Terminal 5). I have heard so much but it's nothing compared to the experience. Moving on!

I have been spending the last 5 days in Kota Kinabalu (KK) in Sabah, the most eastern state in Malaysia at the northerly part of Borneo Island. A dear friend - one of my best friends in fact, got married and since my family and I were invited, we took part in the colourful affair joined by my old friends from university who literally flew from every corner of Malaysia to KK. What a wonderful reunion it was for everyone and as I am dying to load some photos, I had just realized that I have left the camera cable back in Aberdeen. AND the memory card is not compatible with Mr.Beckford. Now. If any Sony DSC owners from Bintulu are reading this post currently, please do contact me as soon as possible. :-)

As I have no pictures (yet) to talk about, I will leave this post as it is for now. Sony is still serving - on and off. Every now and then, he joins me in some unexpected adventure around my hometown, braving the heat. I have yet to look around for a replacement. Bintulu is not really a place to get a DSLR.

And I know it's supposed to be monsoon right now, but I have yet to see a single drop of rain. My skin is slowly gaining its colour, I have been wearing T-shirts and flip-flops night and day and my head is screaming 'I don't want to go back to the UK!'. Of course it's a holiday, but this is also home. Right. Before I am at it again, I better get some rest after a whole day of traveling.

Merry Belated Christmas to everyone and have a great start to the new year. 2010!!!

London, London!

London.
May 2008.
Title: London, London!

Leica was very good but looking back at the photos (above) that I used to take with my digital Sony, they're not too bad at all eh? Special thanks to Steven Lee who has been very generous and kind in lending me Leica Digilux 2. This post is for you!

Edinburgh In The Winter (II)

Edinburgh photo series of day two.

High Street, Royal Mile and Edinburgh's Camera Obscura & World of Illusions.
November 2009.
Title: Edinburgh Photo Series of Day Two.

Edinburgh In The Winter (I)

Edinburgh photo series of day one.

Leith Street and Princes Street.
November 2009.
Title: Edinburgh Photo Series of Day One.