Amazing Cityscape Artworks

Most of us played with building blocks to create our own make believe buildings and cities. Fortunately, not all of us outgrew this habit. Here are some cityscape artworks made from unusual objects.


Unreal Scene of Shanghai by Liu Jianhua

Chinese artist Liu Jianhua created this cityscape of Shanghai out of poker chips and dice. You can fill in the part about the metaphor of a city's growth and economic development all by yourself.


The City of San Francisco by Liz Hickok

San Francisco may be prone to earthquakes, but things never seem so jiggly as when artist Liz Hickok made a cityscape of Baghdad-by-the-Bay out of ... Jell-O!

On Gold Mountain: Sculptures from the Sierra by Zhang Wang

What is it about San Francisco that inspired so many artists? Here's one by Zhang Wang, who used stainless steel pots and pans, as well as silverware to create his cityscape.

Egg City

I don't know much about the background of this Egg City, but it's doubly eggscellent because it's also the image of a RMB 50 bill!


Eating the City by Sang Dong

In his installation titled "Eating the City", Chinese artist Sang Dong used about 72,000 biscuits, including "digestives, chocolate digestives, rich tea, hobnobs, caramels and fruit shortcake".


The Lost City of Atlantis by Gayle Chong Kuan

Artist Gayle Chong Kwan used hundreds of old plastic bottles and food packagings to create a cityscape of the lost city of Atlantis.


Colour Reading and Contexture by Jacob Dahlgren

At first I thought Jacob Dahlgren used books to create this virtual cityscape installation called "Colour Reading and Contexture", but those are actually colored tiles and wooden blocks. Still it's pretty cool!


Uncharted Terrain by Grace Grothous

For her exhibition titled "Uncharted Terrain", Grace Grothous made an imaginary topographic landscale out of discarded circuit boards. The little buildings are the circuitries that are part of the boards!


Jerusalem Sphere by Frank Meisler

Inspired by ancient maps showing Jerusalem as a circular city, Frank Meisler created this sculpture of the city in the form of a sphere. It is a replica of the Jerusalem Fountain, commissioned by the King Solomon Hotel.

"Junk City" by Enoki Chu

Japanese artist Enoki Chu created his futuristic cityscape out of polished old drill bits and machine parts.

Fight Against Leukaemia

Last year, two person whom I knew were diagnosed with Leukaemia. One of whom was the mother of my primary school ex-classmate, VC. Her mother was diagnosed with Leukaemia in March 2008 and subsequently died in June 2008. I only came to know about VC's mother death when another ex-classmate of mine informed me of the news.

Being in lost contact, you can imagine my awkwardness of breaking the silence after so many years with this kind of news as opening para. I gave VC a call after her mother's funeral. I want to let her calm down a bit before I can talk to her. I want to let her know that no matter how many miles or years separate us, I do think of her as one of my dearest friend.

She seemed to be calm. We chat a lot over the phone, from my life to her life. At first, I do worry that it will sound as if I am basking in a peaceful life while she goes through hell. However, it turns out that she seems to be glad to know about what is going well for me.

Yet, there are times that things are not going well for me. I didn't lie to her, but i did try to focus on the positive. I just thought that any glimpse of "normal" is good. At the end, I am glad that I did made the call and had keep in touch with her since then.

Another friend of mine, KV, was also diagnosed with Leukaemia. KV and I have never been classmate. We were in the same form but different class all the while. But he is a nice gentleman in which everyone can easily relate to. It was sad to know that Leukaemia has befallen on such a kind person.

I came to know about KV's news through my secondary school ex-classmate. She informed me of KV's blog and relates a brief account of his present situation then. KV undergone a series of chemotherapy treatment which lasted for one year and only finished the whole treatment last week.

Life was never easy, especially if you were ill. Throughout the whole chemotherapy treatment, KV displayed courage and dare devil-esque qualities. The boy who did this surely grew into a man who will do everything in his power to get well.

KV has showed us what he can bring to the fight for his life. The writings below are specially dedicated to KV, may it bring hope, comfort and inspiration to his road to recovery...

" Until you are well

Be patient and wait,

For patience is truly

A wonderful trait...

For most of the battles

Of life are won

By looking beyond

The clouds to the sun,

And having the patience

To wait for the day

When the sun comes out

And the clouds float away! "

Helen Steiner Rice

Clan Restaurant @ Sri Petaling

I had Dim Sum for breakfast last Sunday. Went to Clan Restaurant in Sri Petaling.

The restaurant’s signature dish is a creation of its own… the Gai Wo Bao (鸡窝包 - literally translated as "Chicken Nest Bun") which is basically a combination of two popular Dim Sum dishes i.e. the Loh Mai Gai (chicken glutinous rice) and Gai Pao (chicken bun). It was priced at RM4.80 per plate.

The Chicken Nest Bun was already sliced into six pieces when served for easy consumption. The outer layer is soft and fluffy and goes very well with the filling. The filing contained chicken cooked in a starchy gravy of onions and mushrooms. And a salted egg yolk thrown in for good measure.

However, their Dim Sum was not that nice though... some of them even taste a bit weird. But i guess the fact that they have one very popular dish is enough to draw the crowd. Judging from their business, a lot of people seems to enjoy the Chicken Nest Bun more than anything else.

People still go to Clan Restaurant even though one can find the Chicken Nest Bun elsewhere. Well... originality still matters obviously.

Add: No. 140, Jalan Radin Anum, Sri Petaling, 57000 Kuala Lumpur.
Opening Hours: 8pm - 2pm.


[Disclaimer: The opinion expressed here are based on personal view and preference and may vary from others.]

Galesnjak - The Heart-Shaped Island

The 130,000 square yard islet of Galesnjak came to prominence for its unusual shape. Even the owner of the uninhabited island - now known as Lovers' Island - didn't realise how perfectly heart-shaped the island off the Croatian coast was until he was swamped with requests from couples to stay there.

It seems many lovers from around the world consider it the ideal spot for a romantic Valentine's Day break.

The island is located in Zadarski Kanal between Zadar and the Island of Pasman.

一個罐子跟兩杯咖啡的故事

致親愛的朋友:想跟你分享一個關於生活道理的小故事……


這一天的哲學課，教授站上了講台。他卻不發一語，只是從講桌底下拿出了一個空的美乃滋瓶罐。接著他拿出了一袋高爾夫球。他把整袋的高爾夫球塞進了美乃滋空罐裡。然後，教授就問學生：”同不同意這個罐子已經是滿的了？“學生們當然是同意。

接著，教授又從桌子下拿出了一杯小小的鵝卵石。他慢慢地把鵝卵石往罐子倒邊倒邊搖，不一會兒所有的高爾夫球間的縫隙竟也都填滿了鵝卵石。這時，教授又問學生：“同不同意這個美乃滋罐子已經是滿了？“學生當然是同意。

可是，話才剛說完教授又從講桌底下拿出了一杯細沙子。教授又用同樣的方法邊倒邊搖的把沙子填滿了鵝卵石之間的小縫隙。教授又問了大家：“同不同意這回罐子是真正的滿了？“同學說應該是全滿了，沒有空間了。

想不到同學才剛答完話，教授又從講桌下拿出了兩杯咖啡來開始徐徐地往美乃滋罐子裡倒，直到兩杯咖啡全部到進罐子裡，一滴也不剩。倒完咖啡後，教授笑著對同學們說：『現在的美乃滋罐子才是真正的滿了啦。』同學們也跟著笑了起來。

就在整個教室的歡笑聲裡，教授說話了：『你們知道我今天做這個表演，是要告訴你們什麼嗎？我是要用這個美乃滋罐來告訴你們一個道理，一個關於我們一生的哲理。這個美乃滋空罐，就是我們的人生。高爾夫球，就是我們生命中的一些大事情。例如：上帝，家庭，小孩，朋友，健康，還有你的摯愛。生命裡沒有那些小鵝卵石或沙子是沒關係的。可是要是缺了這些大事情，我們的生命根本沒有意義。

小小的鵝卵石就是我們生命中的其他的事情。例如：工作，房子，車子等等東西。至於那細沙子，就是我們生命中的小事情，那些細微不重要的瑣事。今天我的表演....如果是一開始就先把細沙子灌滿美乃滋罐子，那就根本沒有空間好放入高爾夫球跟鵝卵石。同樣地，如果我是先倒鵝卵石，那也是會沒有空間好給高爾夫球。

我們的生命就是這樣的。如果你儘是把寶貴的時間花在細微的瑣事上，你就不可能有時間去處裡重要的事情。所以，我們該多花時間去注意那些會關係到我們快樂與幸福的事情。多跟我們的小孩一起，多去陪陪我們的父母、祖父母，多些時間給家人。

多注意自己的身體健康。不要擔心家事做不完，不用擔心房子還沒粉刷，不要擔心花園還沒整理。我們會找到時間來做這些事情的。先多花些心思在那些重要的大事情上吧!!

生命只有一回。我們把事情的輕重緩急跟優先順序弄清楚，生命才會有意義。教授說到這裡有個同學舉手了....：“教授，那兩杯咖啡又代表著什麼呢？“『我很高興你問這個，』教授回答道。“這兩杯咖啡就是要告訴我們不管我們的美乃滋罐看起來是裝得多滿，我們總是可以有空間跟朋友一起享受杯咖啡的！“

我們的一生似乎總是這麼的忙，有這麼多的事情要處裡。似乎是一天的 24 小時總是不夠用？如果你還是這麼想的話，想想『一個美乃滋罐子跟兩杯咖啡』的故事吧！

Spectacular Rainbow

Legend has it that at the end of every rainbow sits a leprechaun, hammering on a shoe, who will reveal the whereabouts of a crock of gold.

Just as well, then, that it's only a legend - otherwise the little imp at the end of this rainbow would have found himself squashed by a 4x4 on a busy motorway.

While many of us have seen a rainbow, few have been lucky enough to witness where it actually ends.

Even fewer have caught the moment on camera. Kudos to amateur photographer Jason Erdkamp for this rare picture!

MiZi Shabu-Shabu Restaurant @ Bandar Puteri, Puchong

I went to MiZi Shabu-Shabu Restaurant last Sunday. I was there around 7 pm and it was already packed with people. Shabu-Shabu is what one might call Japanese steamboat. Basically you are served with some thinly sliced meat. Then, you pick up the meat by using your chopsticks and dabble the meat in boiling broth.

The air-conditioned restaurant is very neat and clean. Each diner gets their own individual steamboat pot. This means that you have your own pot and you can mix and make your own steamboat soup. Therefore, it is more hygienic. Further, they use electricity to heat up the pot and the soup in it. The soup tends to boil very fast as it is only meant for one person.

I ordered Chicken Meat Set @ RM19.90 per set.

My friend ordered Pork Slice Set @ RM18.90 per set.

We also ordered Tempura Squid @ RM5.00 per plate.

All in all, this restaurant is recommendable especially if you are a steamboat lover.

Add: No. 17, Jln Puteri 2/5, Bandar Puteri, 47100 Puchong, Selangor.

Tel: 03-8060 3221

Opening Hours: Mon - Sat (11.30am - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm) & Sun (11.30am - 3pm, 5.30pm - 11pm).

[Disclaimer: The opinion expressed here are based on personal view and preference and may vary from others.]