Now Showing : vinceli.com
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31 Aug 2004, Tuesday
Episode VI : Interview with a "Vampire"
Today I got my first public interview (sorta). Before you guys go "oohing and aahhing", don't. Its not like it was an interview done for an entertainment magazine, it was actually an interview done for Computer Times. Oh yeah, and the journalist told me there's no guarantee it will come out either. So, I guess I am kinda counting my chickens before they hatched; only I don't have any eggs right now coz they are so freaking expensive and I have already eaten all my eggs last week and so technically I can't count those chickens if there is no egg right?
Anyway, before I got this yet-to-be-perhaps-maybe-not-published interview, I was already toying with the idea of doing a self-interview, instead of writing an "about me" section. Just trying to be different, you see. Or maybe I should do an "about me" section instead, coz a self-interview may lead people to think that I like talking to myself and that I'm schizo or something. Or then again, maybe not. Tell you what. Let me think about it somemore.
Some of you may have noticed that the title of this episode is "Interview with a "Vampire"", and are wondering why got vampire wan leh. The "vampire" is actually me lar. Why you ask? You don't really want to know. If you really want to know, then stay tune for my self-interview entry (hehehe, looks like I have decided).
Some of you may also have noticed the changes to the website, most notably the front page. Yeah I changed it coz one of my friends told me that my current design sucks and is horrible. She say, "Why so not professional one?!!" Wadun, I think she must have not read episode 2 :P So because there is a possibility that even more people will check out this site should my interview get published, I thought I'd better change it to look more professional (hopefully). With this new design, I also hope that it will be clearer to peeps which are my blog pages and which are my shameless plug ones (she also say she cannot find my video clips wor). Errm, if its not, please, please tell me about it, ok?
She hor, also commented hor, that I sound like a perverted self-centred guy in the entry below....(which I am not hor). Hmm, I thought I was merely reflecting the fact that I am a true hot-blooded male that gets very hot and bothered by beautiful women in sexy underwear. For the life of me, I don't think I can ever figure out women. I mean, gee, am I supposed to act like these women don't excite me? Sheesh. (In case you're wondering, no she's not my girlfriend either).
Shouldn't guys get excited over hawt women in hawt underwear??? » |
29 Aug 2004, Sunday
Episode V : Who is Victoria and what is her secret?
Just came out of a much needed long cold shower. Wait, make that two long cold showers. I feel like taking a third one; thats how hot I feel after seeing Adrienne in hot sexy underwear.
And its not just her; its also all these hot women in hot lingerie!
And yeah, the music's pretty hot too. In fact, its so hot, when they played "Fever", I swear I felt my temperature rising. And pretty soon, I was feeling so hot I wanted to take my clothes off. (Ok, ok. You are right, it probably was the ladies, not the music.)If it was due to the ladies, then I think it mostly came from one - Adrienne Lima. I actually noticed her doing some lipstick ad before, but had no idea who she was. After tonight, I finally have a name to match that face! And what a pretty face. :)
Adrienne definitely have that X factor. The way she kept winking at me, errm, I mean the camera, (Well, it really looked like she was winking at me. Maybe I am really having a fever) she was so cute! And hawt! I seriously think this char bor can go far man.
Talking about names and faces, I have yet to discover the name of this babe :
I think I have been having a crush on her ever since I saw the m1 ad outside Raffles Place on that big billboard. I remember being so mesmerised that I almost knocked over one of those flyer-handlers desperately trying to get my attention. If any of you know who she is, please, please tell me so that I could at least have a name to that face. In the meantime, I'll go take that third shower now.
How many showers did you take? » |
25 Aug 2004, Wednesday
Episode IV : Face Off
A few days ago, a visitor (who will be nameless since I didn't get his permission to reveal his name) emailed me and claimed that we look alike. He even attached a few photos (actually, its 3 photos) of himself so that I can make a comparison. I find only one photo that bears some resemblance but the other two really don't look like me at all so I had to conclude that no, I do not have a long-lost twin somewhere out there.
The Nameless one did not give permission to use his photos, so I would not be putting it up for comparison.
I am glad that I don't have a long lost twin somewhere out there, or else my parents will really have a lot of explaining to do. You must be wondering why I would have this train of thought; well its because I don't think I look like any of my parents. I also don't look like my brother. And, coupled with a traumatic childhood experience of a nasty uncle claiming that I was actually picked up from a dustbin, you gotta forgive me for having some insecurities.
Commercial break : Go vote for my soon to be certified celeb friend, the wild funky spear-wielding Serena! More details here ....
This is not the first time that I have received comments that I look like so-and-so (ahem, not referring to you, Sonso). I have been told that I look like my cousin who is currently in Down Under (Hi Cuz!). From certain angles, I would have to say the resemblance is uncanny. But I haven't seen him for like almost a decade, so I don't know if his facial features have changed.
There was a time while I was in EY, my colleagues then remarked that I look like Tao DaYu, a Hong kong actor.
If you ask me, I really don't think I do. But I saw this shot of him kissing hot babe Kenix...
I can totally picture myself in his shoes :)
I have an aunt who insist I look like Ken Tong Chun Yip, the rumored guy who broke Barbara Yung's heart and cause her suicide...
Well, I guess I do look like, just a wee bit :P
The next celebrity which I have been told I look like is Julian Cheung. This was actually told to me by some of my clients...
Nah, I don't think so either.
Then there was a time when Huang Bingjie and I were sporting the same short hair cut and I got mistaken for him.....
Some of my friends even ask me how was Australia (He was hosting some game variety show segment in Australia) and was it fun. I had to keep telling them it wasn't me. :P
And just when you think it couldn't get any worse, I got mistaken for the DJ Daniel Ong by autograph hunters outside TCS Radio Gate. Daniel, if you had gotten some hate mail because of this, I have to apologise. I was really having a bad week.
The bottomline is : I think all these people don't look like me at all because they don't have my trademark symmetrical facial moles near my lips. Sheesh. I just wish I knew how people end up thinking I look like these people when the difference (to me) is like night and day. I mean I am flattered of course. But it just boggles the mind.
So who do I really want to look like? I want to look like ME with beefcake-like chest and biceps and six-packs! Which reminds me, I need to go to the gym now.
Kuah si mi? » |
19 Aug 2004, Thursday
Episode Three : Is Blogging the new IRC?
As I was doing up my website, I happened to chance upon quite a number of blogs.... and was frankly quite amazed at the number of blogs that are out there and that the number is still growing. I mean even though my website was not up yet, I already feel like I am late for the party. (What am I saying, I am very late for the party!)
Years ago, before perverts stalk chat rooms and 33.3K modems were the rage (ok, now you know I am actually an ancient dinosaur :P), a similar phenomenon was happening - that phenomenon was IRC. As soon as one got internet savvy enough, he or she would be into IRC. It was cool, it was fun, and it can even be a blast! I still remember using "Tarzan" as my nick in IRC way back then and my favorite "pick-up" line would be "Me Tarzan!! U Jane???" And more often than not, it will break the ice. And, now that I think about it, it also lead to, errm, many wild situations as well.......
Ahem, ok, enough of my reminiscing. What I feel is happening here is that blogs seem to be an evolution from IRC. I mean you still get to interact with the blogger, though its not really like a "chat". But look at what you get in return : A chance to know the blogger better, a chance to laugh, cry and pull your hair out with the blogger, and who knows, maybe even make a new friend! Quite a good trade-off I would say. On top of that, you don't need to worry that you are actually being stalked by a pervert in a chat room, or worse, a fat guy claiming himself to be 16/f Japanese schoolgirl. (No, no, it had never happened to me before. I hear and I say one)
Blogs allow the blogger (incidentally if you say "blogger" very fast, you may end up saying "bugger" instead) to be heard, to be understood and in my case, to show off a bit. (Told you I very ego one) I think deep down inside, all of us need that - to be heard, to be understood and if you are like me, to show off a bit also.Intrigued? Well, its not too late to do the S'porean thing and jump on the bandwagon. Better late for the party then never and miss all the liquor. And the best thing is, you don't need an invite. So what are you waiting for? Who knows, maybe one day I'll be reading your blog too.
Me Tarzan! U Jane?? » |
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18 Aug 2004, Wednesday
Episode Two : The Making of vinceli.com
Prologue :
Initially, I did not think that I would chronicle this, as I thought it will be pretty boring. But since this website is really a product of a lot of my blood and tears ( due to a particularly emotional session of listening to Joan Armatrading's "The Weakness In Me" while working on this site) I figured, what the heck. I'm sure if I put in a few anecdotes here and bad puns there I would prolly be able to catch hold of your attention. (Hopefully)
"Everything that has a beginning....."
This website has been a work-in-progress ever since I started my lan gaming business. Lets see now, that should be all the way back in 1999. Of course, I didn't plan the way my website is now back then. Back then, all I wanted to do is know what the heck are websites and how and why people are supposedly making truckloads of money off them. Those of you that has been around will probably remember that as the dot com bubble.
Anyway, I remember thinking that by being my own boss I would actually have the free time to go and pick up some html skills. Ah, the blissful ignorance of youth. Whatever was I thinking? Needless to say, I never found the time and even though I wasn't a dot com entrepreneur, my business did eventually fail. Fortunately, I managed to find some work in a short time. However, that also meant that I had to shelve my website plans further.
"will errm, have a middle, of course...."
And further will meant a good few years later to 2004, where the inspiration for doing a blog site came from Serena, an actress friend of mine. (Go check out her website and see why I was so inspired!) She and her blogs reminded me that I have strayed from my intentions for far too long. Not that I was doing nothing in between these few years, ok. I have actually tried to kick start the project quite a few times and I even bought "Teach Yourself Dreamweaver 2". I soon had to buy "Teach Yourself Dreamweaver 3" and am now a, errm, proud owner of "Teach Yourself Dreamweaver MX". So there. All this just goes to show that I was really really tied up. Really.
Anyway, as soon as I was bowled over by her wit and charm in her blogs, I told her I wanted to do it. (Hmm... when I put it across this way, it does sound like I am making a pass at her.) (Not that its weird to want to make a pass at Serena, I mean, just check out her photos man!) Oops, I digress...where was I again? Right, I wanted to do it. "It" as in doing a blog site. (get your minds out of the gutter you peeps) Being the lovely girl she is, she encouraged me. Never underestimate the power of what a pretty girl's encouragement can do to you!
Three months later I emailed her and told her that I have stayed on my royal butt for far too long and will really really do it, as soon as she answers my 101 questions on Dreamweaver and web hosting. Being the sweet and wonderful girl she is, she answered two of my 101 questions. (Ok, I admit I only asked her two questions. What, You think I'm nuts? Only a total idiot will ask a babe 101 questions on Dreamweaver and stuff)
So another two months later, ta-da!! vinceli.com is born! Before you guys really start thinking that I am either a super procrastinator or that I am really incredibly stupid to take such a long time to make this website, in my defense I will have to say that I really was very busy. You see, I really wanted to have this website up by June, but I suddenly got flooded by lots of projects (sadly, not acting projects though). Which really is a good thing coz that means I can finally afford the ipod that I wanted. But the downside is of course I had to shelve my website plans. Again. But I was still trying very hard.
With the little free time I had, like waiting for the MRT and getting squished on the MRT, I brandished my guide book and act like I was some evil villain planning to rule the world by re-creating the dot com bubble. What my thick head couldn't comprehend from the guide book I will badger it out of my more knowledgeable friends. Soon I had learnt enough to design my own site, (and my friends had learnt to stay away from the mad one) and by that time, it was already the end of July.
"...will have an end." (The Matrix Revolutions, words in the middle by Urs Truly)
With all my major projects ended, I can finally do up my website properly. But the next big hurdle was to figure out how to encode my video clips and put them on my website. My National Day long weekend was spent experimenting with countless video formats (ok, actually just 3 :P) and countless bit rates and frame sizes, just to try and find the most optimal image quality with the smallest file size possible. Sadly, I don't think I managed to find it, but I really don't think I can stomach the experimenting process any longer. I now know that video editing and encoding is truly a thankless boring job. I mean, I see so much of me until I don't dare to face myself in the mirror anymore, for fear of puking at my own image. I really had to look at lots and lots of pictures of Joanne (a very pretty local actress) to really pull myself out of that mess.
As a side note, I really want to say that editing the clips to form my showreel was the hardest. When you have an ego as big as mine, then and only then will you begin to understand the painful process of streamlining hours of great footage of yourself to showcase only the best. Especially when you feel all your scenes are already the best and to cut them out is like denying your audience the chance to witness a truly breath-taking performance. Very, very painful man. (Told you I had a very big ego.)
The last thing that floored me was making sense of the javascript that will allow the comments function. Actually, I still don't know exactly how it works, coz I kinda got it to work through some frustrated trial and error tweaking. I am just real glad that it works. Hopefully, at the end of this entry, I can get it to work again.
So you can imagine how relieved I was when this website was finally out. And the great sense of accomplishment that I had. If theres one thing I learnt from all this, it is that learning new things makes you younger. And learning all this new stuff have certainly made me feel younger. Why, just today, one of my clients told me I looked 4 years younger! How about that?! So do yourself a favor. Go and learn something new today. And Everyday.
So what have you learnt today? » |
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17 Aug 2004, Tuesday
Episode One : So and so, Are you ok or not?
Hello and welcome to the first episode of vinceli.com! My name is Vincent, also known as Ruok or Sonso in some circles. This site would have been called ruok.com or sonso.com, but sadly, these names were already taken. So while eating spaghetti with sashimi one day, I thought why not go the fusion route and use my English name and Chinese surname?! Ergo, "vinceli" is borne.... cool huh? (In case you are wondering, no, it does not have a meaning in italian, and yes I have already checked it out)
But you can say that I am still pretty miffed about not able to use my nick as domain names, and hence the feeble attempt to thinly disguise it as a cool title for this episode. Actually, come to think of it, I feel the title is very apt, coz this whole episode and the website is really about me! Maybe I should change the title of the page to "Now Showing : So n so, R u ok or not?" instead.... hmm.....So there you go. This site is all about me. Its about my rants, my musings, my complaints, my work portfolio, my spiritual journey, my art and passion . You probably won't see all of it at once, but it will come. Remember, good things come to all those who wait. And while you are waiting for good things to happen to you, please check out my "The Actor" link. And while you are there, buy popcorns. Switch off your handphone or put it to silent mode. Dim the lights. Make out with the person next to you. And lastly, enjoy the show!
So how many "popcorns" do I get for this episode? » |