Month: April 2015

Too many friends

Technology has helped to connect people from around the world, but at the same time it has also made people more distant from each other. How many times have we seen people eating at the same table but engrossed by the screens of their phones rather than talking to the person sitting across from them?

Look around you once in awhile – the world is actually a beautiful place.

A dolly makeover

I remember playing with Barbie dolls as a kid with my sister. Actually, it was mostly she who wanted to play; I just went along and had fun designing and making new clothes for the dolls. I never thought about redoing their faces though!

I recently came across “Tree Change Dolls”. What are Tree Change Dolls you may ask? Well, they are basically second-hand Bratz dolls that have been given a makeover. The result: make-up free faces, with handmade clothing – 1000 times better than the originals! (read more about them here) Personally, I have never liked Bratz dolls; they are as unrealistic as Barbie, but worse.

Maybe now that Tree Change Dolls have become popular, toy manufacturers will start coming out with more realistic-looking dolls! Who says that girls need make-up to look beautiful? These dolls certainly don’t.


Running down to the riptide

Currently on replay – Vance Joy’s “Riptide”.

The music video is artistically depicted word-for-word (with the ocean shown when the song gets to the word “riptide” and left hands shown when the song is “left-hand man”, etc.), ending with a video that is eerie and random at the same time. The woman continues to fall apart as the song progresses, with her make-up running and getting more and more of the lyrics wrong. The song is quite open to interpretation since “riptide” refers to either the ocean or to the motel that Vance and his family used to stay at when he was younger (read the interview here). Overall, it is an intriguing song accompanied by an equally intriguing video.

Taylor Swift also covered a wonderful ballad version of this song for BBC’s Live Lounge:

A 3D printer… to do your make-up?!

3D printing is not just limited to applications in medical and dental industries. How would you like to have make-up printed on your face? The make-up can be customized to match the looks of your favourite stars; just a few taps on your smartphone and the printer will do all the work for you, complete with primer, foundation, and colour.

30 seconds, and you can be out the door – how’s that for efficiency?

BBC’s Syrian Journey – A different presentation in news

There has been a lot of backlash around BBC’s “Syrian Journey“, which is an interactive news article presented by BBC as part of their digital project exploring migration from Syria. Mostly presented in the form of words, it allows users to explore the choices faced by migrants by becoming a refugee.

BBC’s Syrian Journey

I personally don’t see anything wrong with this form of presentation. Some may see it as a “children’s game” but as it is based on real stories from migrants of the Syrian conflict, I find it to be quite educational and really gives you a feel for what choices are faced by those fleeing a war-torn country. It is merely a different type of news presentation that could make the topic more relatable to its viewers and should not be labelled as a “children’s game”. I believe that we will see more of this type of news in the near future.

My Syrian journey took me to Manchester where I will seek asylum. Where will your escape route take you?

We are the future.

This past weekend, I attended an event held by The News Lens called “Becoming Aces” where 30 Taiwanese under 30 shared their stories and experiences: from how they got started to their plans for the future. This event came at a good time because I was losing hope in Taiwan (from the rising cost of living to wages that remain relatively unchanged, among many other things), but like Woody said: “it’s always easier to complain rather than getting to the root of the problem, so if you’re unhappy about your current situation, then do something to change the world“.

What I learned from Becoming Aces:

  • On jobs: You don’t need to work for a “great” company – work for a place that has similar values to yours.
  • On startups: Sometimes “good enough” is enough, give up the things that aren’t important to your core value, the start is always the hardest – remember the reason for doing what you do, and everything will become possible.
  • On crowd-funding: The majority of people in Taiwan don’t believe in crowd-funding, so entrepreneurs who want their projects to do well require really good marketing. These promotions are to let others know about you; not everyone will support what you want to do, but at least those who want to now have a chance – because now they know about your existence.
  • On having more faith in others: Don’t try to take over and do all the work, because by doing that, you are taking away other people’s opportunity to learn.
  • On grey areas: Sometimes there are no perfect solutions, but the best solutions. E.g. building a dam would bring economic value to a country, but also destroy an aboriginal tribe’s way of life.
  • On being ready: If you have a plan or an idea, don’t wait until you are “ready” before you start, because by the time that you’re ready, it will be too late.

Be the change that you want to see in this world.