Hobbies

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On this page I would detail the interests that I have. A funny thing is my mind is always fixed on the things I need to do (assignments and projects like this one), that I lose sight of what I enjoyed doing before. Not to worry, I still have a life and here is some proof (or 'dis-proof').

Photography

A favorite photo of mine, taken in Scotts Road, Singapore

Some in college may have seen me lugging around a black bag with a black camera in it. I am not part of the photography club, and more of a freeelancer. I started taking pictures regularly since the start of this year, starting off with cameras used by my elder brother.

Usually, I would take pictures at special events, such as Church services, outings, or birthday parties. After capturing the photos, I would edit them using Adobe Lightroom (with amateur skill), and post them up on Facebook. Also, I updated my church's youth group blog with the pcitures taken over the weekend.

Just like to share 2 things about photography that made a huge difference in my life. First, good cameras do not take good photos, people do. Once we have people in their crazy-mode or in their natural self, they make good photos. Just have an eye to spot that. And second, use a flash in broad-day light. Why? Details are lost in the shadows (especially faces) cast due to the Sun, and are obscured from us. So, do what the professionals do, use a flash in the day.

Again, I have to say I only take photos, and not art yet. Those are for the real professionals. If you would like to see some of my photos, add me as a friend on Facebook.

Star Wars

Don't I look like a good dark Jedi?

I love Star Wars. After putting some thought into it, it amazes me why so many people become Star Wars fans. It is safe to wager that a scholar can write a paper on the Star Wars fan phenomenon. Perhaps it allowed us to imagine a world out there, whose bounds are only known to us. John Williams gave us mesmerizing pieces and George Lucas gave us a new universe, with 2 sides to choose from. The modellers and graphic artists expanded our imagination. Due to my affinity for balance, I support the bad guys: The Empire. Rebels just have it easy because they are 'good guys'.

Other than watching the old episodes over again (not the new prequels), I like browsing over Star Wars toys and figurines, played a few Star Wars computer games (notoriously infamous for fluctuating quality), and dream of owning a set of Stormtrooper armor. I did some reading about Star Wars in starwars.com and even Wikipedia. Occasionally you might spot me looking up Star Wars stuff.

Warhammer and Modelling

A shot of Jiaqi's Arwen figure.

Yes, Mark of a Geek: The Warhammer Tabletop Game. Although I didn't seriously go into it, I played with my friends and painted a few figures. It is a game like chess, except there are no grids, and there are dice. I picked Empire as it represented a human race that was real: A bit of idealism in some heroes, and wanton corruption within.

Also, we played a scenario campaign, whereby we play individual characters or a few units, in a situation designed by our 'dungeon-master' Lim Jiaqi. We would argue with him when our people die, and cheat him to win (it's very funny). In the end, we had loads of fun, and I do miss the times we had.

I have not painted my figures extensively, which is a fault of mine. People who really paint their figures have my full respect. It is a painstaking process and requires focus and patience. I did bring a couple of figures to attempt to paint in college.

If you would like to talk about Warhammer with me, I should be able to entertain you.

Jiaqi, a great friend of mine, actually has hobby websites dedicated to both Warhammer and modern military models. The addresses to both blogs can be found below. Jiaqi likes to take photos of his figures and models, using sky backdrops to add realism to his pictures. I have helped him hold up the 'sky' to take the pictures. Some of them are quite good and I suggest you to take a look if you have the time.

• Warhammer Blog

• Modern Military Modelling

Computer Games

Much to my detriment or benefit, I loved to play computer games. Of course, the graphics of the yester-year are no match to the current generation. The storylines, great gameplay and imagination of acting out the game in real life were some of the drivers I had in computer games. However, I am using a Mac now and barely have the time to set it up to play windows games. So I have been starved off games for quite some time.

Below I will try to list the games I loved playing, and most probably I would be able to have a discussion about it. I'm not that hardcore, but I am passionate about the games I have played.

First Person Shooters:

Tom Clancy's Rogue Spear

Call of Duty

Battlefield 1942

America's Army

Republic Commando

Alien vs. Predator (I only played Colonial Marine)

Battlefield 2 - I have stats on a webpage. You can view them here. I am rather lousy

Role-Playing Games

Fallout 1 and 2

Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn

Icewind Dale

World of Warcraft (retired)

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic

Simulation:

X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter

Mechwarrior 2, Ghost Bear's Legacy and Mercenaries

Heavy Gear II

Jane's: Longbow Gold

Jane's Fighters Antology

Panzer Elite

Strategy:

Starcraft and Brood War

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 1 and 2

Battlezone (part simulation, which was quite cool)

Racing Games:

Need for Speed 2

Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed

Sega 16-Bit

Golden Axe 1, 2, 3

Bare Knuckles 1 and 2

Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist

Street Fighter 2: Special Edition

Dragonlords (play by email)

Also, I played 'Dragonlords', which is a email based board game. Players are given individual kingdoms and they are supposed to amass the largest kingdom to claim victory. With email, we can correspond to plot, or conquer lands in coordinated attacks. Turns are a weekly basis, as the players send in their turns, and receive their new turns from the administrator a few days later. It was really fun as I met different people (and some take it very seriously) from a wide-sepctrum of personalities, a Spainard, an Englishman and even a doctor from California.

I managed to make the correct allies and survived one game. My side had the overall victory, but I was a small player in it. Visit the site below and you can find 'Joshua' under game 'dhq'.

• Dragonlords Webpage

Soccer

Receiving an Arsenal jersey from NLYM. It was great.

Soccer is more widely known as football in Singapore. I am not much of an athlete myself, but I do have an interest in soccer. As long as there is a game, I am game. Of course I am not able to play well as I have no formal training, but I do enjoy running around chasing a ball, and playing in a team to get that ball in the net (with feet).

Singapore does have a local league, and I do not follow it. It is not much of a league, and I have grown up with the EPL (English Premier League). Although I know that the English are not the best in the game, I still follow them as it is league I am familiar with (and perhaps one might add due to colonial influences). I support Arsenal FC, and it is not because they are winners and win trophies. They are a team dedicated to playing the 'beautiful game', and they play spectecularly without splurging millions of pounds. Kudos to Arsene Wenger, their manager.

Once in a while you might see me wearing an Arsenal jersey. Does not really matter when I wear it (even if the team lost horrendously), I wear it because I support them. Also, I would regularly read up on Soccernet on the Internet to catch up on news about soccer. Arsenal FC's website and the link to Soccernet can be found below.

• Arsenal FC

• Soccernet