My Fluffy Pillows

 

Lake Tahoe

It took us close to a 3 hour drive up the winding mountains to Lake Tahoe: a lake above sea level, encircled by a ring mountains. But the view was worth the tedious drive.

Anyway, I gave up after a few a-winding turns while taking the wheel because I have this compulsive unexplainable urge to drive down the ridge of the road. Plus, I'm afraid of heights and it's scary when you do a sharp corner without the safety barricades. I know this is a little contradictory to the previous post, but yes, I am afraid of falling.



Against the magnificent view.





The gorgeous background (ahem, and foreground :P)




Here's a short series titled 'ePoser @ Tahoe'


No obstacle is too tough for me to overcome.





Set your sights afar and reach out for the skies.





You can achieve if you believe.



I know some of the 'inspiring' captions don't really match the photo capture. But that was not my point :P
Anyway, I must confess that I am a really lousy photographer. ePoser positions most of his shots my himself. I was basically a human tripod which held the device and pushed the button when he morphed into his various poses.

Next up is the 'I-am-falling-off-the-Cliff competition'.

In third place, ePoser!



Too much body + fake expression + bad photographer (the human tripod)



In second place, eLard!


Nice angle, but wrong expression (you are not supposed to be smiling when you are falling off a cliff)



In first place, is myfluffypillows!


Beautiful angle + convincing expression + unglamm model = winning photograph






There are no physical prizes for the champion. But the joy of winning: priceless~

 
 

15000 Feet Above Sea Level (convert to meters/kilometers yourself)

We officially kicked off our trip with an exhilarating skydive!


Harness - Checked; Smiles - Checked; Parachute - Don't have



Of cause we don't have the parachute on our backs, the jumpers are strapped with the parachutes, not the inexperienced novice.


All set and ready to go!




There is no turning back once you board the plane. Plus, I wanted photos for the jump. That means that my photographer has to exit the plane before I do. If I hesitate, he would have fallen way ahead and I will look like I am too far away for a good capture.

Anyway the first few seconds were a blur. I was like wow!!! and I didn't really care about how my arms and legs should be positioned.
I was looking for my photographer! But I can't seem to locate his presence.

I felt something tugging really hard on my right hand. I didn't really bother about it because I thought it was the harness or something.

Only when the pain was released, I realised that my photographer was holding on to me the entire time!

Damn! I could have got a really good close up shot!



Sometimes, you don't have to look very far.



And my jumper decided to cover my face when I paid USD$35 for the photographer.


Get off me! (just the hands, i don't intend to free fall all the way)



I have my way of getting back at him of cause.


Revenge is sweet :P



Ok. I'm kidding. I only realised that this was what happened up in the air after viewing the photos.


Free falling



It was fun fun fun!


Post-jump expressions



To do it again means throwing USD$100 from the skies.

This is the most expensive 5 minutes of our lives.

 
 

airport announcement

"Parents with young children elephants please proceed to the boarding gate...."

Ok. I'm kidding. It should be "parents with young children and infants..."

But I really heard elephants. :P

 
 

The things people go through to look 'good'

Pain. Discomfort. Bruising. Swelling. Infection. Bleeding. Unlicensed parlours. HIV.



It actually looks kinda cool :X



Check out the not-so-fresh wounds holding up the metallic clips.



Stringing it all together.


Getting them when you are young with a well toned bod is one thing.

Removing all of them when you are old and saggy is another issue altogether. (Pulling the string forcefully will possible remove the clips. But that's just my guess.)

Can you imagine. What if she was was putting on her bra and accidentally clipped it to the wrong buckle?

Somebody call the interns from Grey's! Greg House won't bat an eyelid on this case cause its not meningitis or some other abbreviated medical shit term.

I wonder how this will look like on guy. He won't have the bra buckle problem at least. Even if he has moobs.

OK, that's another issue all together.

 
 

Fish & Chips

An ordinary looking plate of fish and chips.



With a manual lemon holder/clip/squeezer.

Nah, not the greatest invention in the world, but I just thought it's quite interesting.

Here's a close up.




Anyway I still gotta use my fingers in the end cause it's not very ergonomically designed for drying out the lemon. Hehe.

 
 

The Fashion Side

I stumbled upon this website called Feminine Beauty, which aims to promote femininity in the female being.

I thought it was quite interesting because the author believed that most runway high fashion models had very unfeminine qualities such as – high cheekbones, a chiseled jaw, a tall and slim stature, a flat chest and a flat rear. These masculine features, as associated by the site author, are similar traits one will find in adolescent boys.

Which brings him/her to the question. Why do fashion designers hire models with masculine proportions to sell their clothes to women? One of the reasons he cited was because most men in fashion are homosexual, therefore the preference for such body type. Apparently, gays are supposed to find the physique of adolescent boys aesthetically pleasing.

And he/she accused many top high paying models to exhibit such unfeminine qualities.

Amongst the many that he/she listed on his site, I decided to single out a few of the more prominent, well-known faces in the fashion industry that were criticized. They are listed according to the ‘The Top Earning Models in the World’ list complied by Forbes.

First up on the list is Gisele Bundchen.






Secound, Kate Moss.






Followed by Heidi Klum.






Then Adriana Lima.






Rounding up the top 5 is Alessandra Ambrosio.




Apparently, they are all guilty of exhibiting manly traits.

And can I add that the site author actually compared them to other females whom he/she considers to embody the spirit of feminine qualities, he/she called them ‘glamour models’. In actual fact, they are porn stars with fake breasts and rears taken at rather ‘compromising’ angles in cheap outfits (if any) in cheesy photographic settings. How can you compare Alessandra Ambrosio to some nameless porn star? (Alessandra Ambrosio is my personal fav amongst the 5 btw)

In my opinion, there are reasons why high fashion models possess these traits.

High cheekbones and a chiseled jaw makes you look polished and works out great in photography because they can capture the lights well if you are properly angled.

And admit it, having a tall and slim stature usually makes one look better in clothes. Long legs shows off a short garment and compliments a long dress the right way. Comparatively, a shorter stature makes one look fumpy when dressed with a full skirt, and out of proportion when the dress has a long flowing train and overwhelmed when an elaborate couture outfit is worn.

Having a flat chest is quite necessary for runway models because most high fashion outfits have plunging necklines, which means they cannot afford to have support. Also, fully endowed female can look a little vulgar if she spots a low neckline gown.

As for the flat rear, aren’t you sick of most girls going “does my butt look big in this?”. Having a flat rear solves this issue.

In conclusion, I do not condone the site author’s thoughts, and many other people don’t as well. Or they will not be the world’s top earning models.

But, there is this important point that the author mentioned which I have to agree with, it is the image and impact the fashion world has on regular individuals. A lot has been said about that and I believe many of us can relate to it, so I shall not venture further :)

Man, is this one of my longest posts?

 
 

I was waiting for the MRT when i saw it. Check this out.




Did you notice it too?

Nope, you don't have a clue about what I am referring to.

She looked like she was dress up for work or something, in a simple black skirt and quite a casual looking top. But she was wearing her bedroom slippers!

Here's a close up.




Well as you can see, I was bored stiff.

And I really should stop taking photos of others when I'm on the train.