The Comic With Hainanese Dialogue 3 Singlish subtitles provided as usual. Added Chinese translations as the Hainanese lingo can almost be translated word-for-word. Have fun :)Editor: Ay, what're you doing?编辑: 喂, 你在做什么?Woman: I'm following the 'big kid' to buy toys.女: 我跟这'大小孩'买玩具.Editor: Orh...hehe.编辑: 哦...嘻嘻Woman: Ay, but if you say 'toys' hor, he don't like one. Must say 'COLLECTIBLE', you know or not.女: 哎, 但假如你讲'玩具'hor, 他不喜欢的. 要讲'收集品', 懂吗.Editor: Heh! Understood. Understood.编辑: 哈! 了解. 了解.Woman: I tell you ah, this type of soldier is his favourite. Aiyah, got machine gun he will like one.女: 跟你讲啊, 这种军人他最喜欢的. Aiyah, 只要有机关枪他就喜欢.Woman: This black black bad guy is his favourite too. He loves watching STAR WARS. Watch dozens of times also won't get tired of it one. Faintz ah.女: 这位黑黑的坏人他也喜欢. 他最喜欢看STAR WARS了. 看几十次也不腻. 晕啊.Editor: HEH! You're not buying any toys ah?编辑: 哈! 您不买玩具吗?Woman: Hello, excuse me? Me buying toys? I big already I stop buying toys liao, OK?女: Hello, excuse me? 我买玩具? 我长大了不买玩具的, OK?Woman: Aiiiyoooh, this one is really cute lah! I'm buying this!女: 哎哟, 这个太可爱了! 我要买下来!Editor: Eh? Just now you said you big already so don't buy toys already?编辑: 啊? 刚才你不是说你长大了不买玩具的?Woman: Aiyah, I like then I buy loh...女: 哎呀, 喜欢就买咯...Editor: Heh!编辑: 哈!Woman: Ask him to pay, heehee! Ay, I damn bad one, hor?女: 叫他付钱, 嘻嘻! 哎, 我真坏, hor?Editor: HAHA!编辑: 哈哈!:P Happy National Day 2008 BOUNCE BACK TO LIFE reached a modest 200,000 page views recently after four years. Ol'Dan would like to take this opportunity to thank all for reading his boh-liao comics. Happy National Day 2008 to one and all.:) The Mummy Returns * Refer to the 'Mobilisation' entrySwedish policy explainedFor those unacquainted with 'Mister Powers', watch this clip at YouTube.:P Singapore Toy & Comic Convention 2008 Ol'Dan was at the 501st Legion - Singapore Garrison booth (B15) over the weekend (28-29 June) and 'trooped' as an Imperial Officer, Death Star Gunner and AT-AT Driver from the Star Wars movies.I don't know if I bumped into readers (other than Ah-9 and Natsu) of my comic blog there but here're some pics of me in costume (photos copyright of their respective owners):Ol'Dan as an Imperial Officer (Right)Ol'Dan as a Death Star Gunner (Right)Ol'Dan as an AT-AT Driver (Left) - Btw, I love that little girl's facial expression. Hehe.Thanks for the polaroid, Ah-9 and Natsu. Good to see you again :) The Great Singapore Toy Fair In anticipation of the Singapore Toy & Comic Convention this weekend, Ol'Dan lets his imagination run wild...:Pang Sai = take a dump:) Lunch Time Story Inspired by an actual incident.:) Eye Of The Beholder Sorry for the slow update. Been busy.:) Draw Finally found time to churn out a new comic :)I bought a Wacom Bamboo Fun and decided to do this entry entirely in Flash and export the drawings to JPEG. Took longer than expected. I experienced a new-found freedom in illustrating but at the same time, I also discovered it wasn't as easy to colour the drawings in Flash compared to Photoshop. I missed the flexibility of drawing on paper and being able to flip the paper around to tackle those odd angles. I pressed Ctrl+Z (undo) so many times while drawing that I lost count. Heh. Dry Spell Apologies for the slow updates. Been occupied with some things and Ol' Dan's brain juice needs a top-up too, heh. To the regular readers, Pai-seh ah. :) STAR WARS & Me - 501st Legion By now some of you would have known I'm a Star Wars costumer via my entry on the Chingay Parade. But what you may not know is that I'm part of an international costuming organisation known as the 501st Legion, which specialises in costuming as the Imperial forces from the Star Wars movies. Singapore has its own 'garrison' with 34 members.Today's Straits Times LIFE! features our garrison as part of their write-up on the subculture of hardcore fans. Ol'Dan can be spotted in the photos (see below): Japanese Drama - Blast From The Past 2 Here's a sequel to my previous 'Japanese Drama - Blast From The Past' entry (which seems rather popular according to my web stats).Back in the late 70s and early 80s, Singapore Broadcasting Corporation's (SBC - presently MediaCorp) Channel 8 also televised its fair share of sci-fi, period (samurai/ninja action), romance and detective dramas. Once again, Ol'Dan has done some research and YouTube also yielded some gems:Drama 01Title: 柳生一族の陰謀, Yagyu Ichizoku no Inbo, Yagyu Clan Conspiracy (1978)Title during SBC broadcast: Samurai From Edo CityGenre: Period (Jidaigeki, aka 時代劇)Episodes: 39Cast:Shinichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba (千葉真一) as Yagyu Jubei (柳生十兵衛)Yuki Meguro (目黒祐樹) as Yagyu Samon (柳生左門)Etsuko Shiomi (志穂美悦子) as Yagyu Akane (柳生茜)Etsuo Shima (島英津夫) as Yagyu Matajuro (柳生又十郎)So Yamamura (山村聰) as Yagyu Tajima (柳生宗矩)Mikio Narita (成田三樹夫) as Ayamaro Karasumaru (鳥丸文麿)Synopsis:A close ally of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Yagyu clan thwarts schemes by those seeking to undermine and topple the Shogunate, chiefly the courtiers/nobles loyal to the Emperor.Dan's thoughts on this drama:This drama kicks total ass with action choreographed by the JAC (Japan Action Club). As a kid, I remember the eye-patch worn by Yagyu Jubei most followed by that seemingly sissy courtier (Ayamaro Karasumaru) with painted eyebrows who's actually a master swordsman/Class 'A' villain.Music by: Toshiaki Tsushima (津島利章)Drama 02Title: 服部半蔵 - 影の軍団, Hattori Hanzo: Kage No Gundan, Shadow Warriors (1980)Title during SBC broadcast: Shadow CorpsGenre: Period (Jidaigeki, aka 時代劇)Episodes: 27Cast:Shinichi 'Sonny' Chiba (千葉真一) as Hattori Hanzo (服部半蔵)Synopsis:Masquerading as the owner of a bathhouse, master ninja Hattori Hanzo and his spy network eliminate those who undermine the power of the Tokugawa Shogunate from the shadows.Music by: 渡辺茂樹 (Shigeki Watanabe)Now you know where Sega got their SHINOBI from...Trivia: Sonny Chiba reprised his role as Hattori Hanzo (masquerading as a sushi chef) in KILL BILL Volume 1.Drama 03Title: 赤い疑惑, Akai Giwaku, Red Suspicion (1975)Genre: Junai (Pure Love, 純愛), Tragic RomanceEpisodes: 29Cast:Momoe Yamaguchi (山口百恵) as Sachiko Oshima (大島幸子)Tomokazu Miura (三浦友和) as Teruo Sagara(?) (相良光夫)Synopsis from wiki.d-addicts.com:Sachiko is the 17-year old daughter of radiotherapist Professor Oshima. After exposure to radiation in the hospital, she develops leukemia. As if that was not enough trouble for one lifetime, discovers that Oshima is not her real father, and that her boyfriend is really her half brother.Song title: ありがとう　あなた (Thank You)Singer: 山口百恵 (Momoe Yamaguchi)There're snippets from the show (Mandarin dubbed though, but better than nothing) after the opening credits song below:Trivia:There's a remake of this drama starring Satomi Ishihara and Tatsuya Fujiwara.Drama 04Title: 日本沈没, Nihon Chinbotsu, Submersion of Japan (1974)Title during SBC broadcast: SubmergenceGenre: Sci-fi/DisasterEpisodes: 26Cast:Takenori Murano (村野武範) as 小野寺俊夫Kaoru Yumi (由美かおる) as 阿部玲子Keiki Kobayashi (小林桂樹) as 田所雄介博士Toshio Kurosawa (黒沢年男) as 中田一成秘書官Photos copyright © TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System)Synopsis:When a series of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions rock Japan, a scientist is convinced the events will lead to Japan's submersion. However, the government is sceptical and the scientist risks his life to pilot a mini-submarine to obtain facts to support his claim. Adapted from a novel by Sakyo Komatsu.Song title: 明日の愛 (Love of Tomorrow)Singer: 五木ひろし (Hiroshi Itsuki)Trivia:Made into a movie (2nd actually, first movie was made in 1973) in 2006 starring Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and Kou Shibasaki.Drama 05Title: Gメン'75 , GMEN'75Genre: Detective DramaCast:Tetsuro Tamba (丹波哲郎)Yasuaki Kurata (倉田保昭)Daijiro Harada (原田大二郎)Fujita Okamoto (岡本富士太)Mihoko Fujita (藤田美保子)Yu Fujiki (藤木悠)Yosuke Natsuki (夏木陽介)Read the previous JAPANESE DRAMA - BLAST FROM THE PAST entry.YouTube banzai! Banzai! Banzai! Hard To Find Evasive Action An 'A.O. fansubs' presentation::) Sleepyhead The basic idea for this comic surfaced during idle banter between my brother and I. Have fun::) Chingay 2008 - Star Wars & Me I participated in (my first ever) Chingay Parade 2008 over 15 and 16 February along with friends from the Star Wars costuming community. Came across some pics (big thanks to the respective photographers) from other sites with me in it:Above: Ol'Dan looking sinister as an Imperial Officer on the far right. (Click the pic above to view more pics of the Star Wars costumers contingent)Above: Ol'Dan (far left) marching along with Lord Vader, Emperor Palpatine and other troopers. (Click the pic above to view a larger image)Our contingent marched into the center of the parade ground at City Hall from the junction between Coleman Street and Saint Andrew's Road but that was minutes before the parade went 'live' at 8pm on Channel 8. Exhausting but fun.:D(All photos copyright by their respective owners) Lunar New Year 2008 - Day 2 special Happy Lunar New Year one and all :)I had an idea on Lunar New Year's eve and drew this comic but didn't have time to colour it until Day 1 festivities were over. Hope you like what you see::) Happy Lunar New Year 2008 Here's me wishing all my readers a Happy and Prosperous Lunar New Year. Please view my animated greeting below. Have fun :):D FAQ 2 I've been asked occasionally how I produced my web comics, so I feel it's time I addressed it :)1) Nearly all my comics begin life as a sketch and giving some thought about the script as well. I was tempted to go the easy route and use one of my sketches from a previous comic to do this FAQ. But I've decided to do a new one-frame comic just for this FAQ. In this case, it's a lady observing something. Read on and you'll find out eventually what Ol' Dan has in mind.2) I normally print out square panels on A4 paper for drawing. This helps me to frame the subject and also gauge how much space I should leave for the dialogue. Based on the sketch, I then draw in pencil.3) The pencil artwork serves as my 'master copy'. I then place tracing paper over it to trace it in ink.4) The tracing is done.5) The traced artwork with the master copy.6) The traced artwork is scanned (at 300dpi resolution so that I can also print my comics out) into Adobe Photoshop (one of my 'rice bowls'). As you can see above, the scanned image contains the texture of the tracing paper as well as dot specks captured from the surface of the scanner. It's time to 'clean up' the image.7) Clean up done! Next, colouring.8) In Adobe Photoshop, I can have numerous layers in a single canvas. The artwork is always right on top with the other layers for different elements (skin colour, hair colour, etc) beneath it. In the artwork layer, I can specify white to become transparent by using one of the application's features, allowing other elements beneath the artwork to show. Each of the coloured circle above represents a layer.9) Filling in colours for different elements of the subject, e.g. face colour, clothing colour, etc .10) There, 'Nice Girl' is all dolled-up.11) The background is coloured last. Next comes the final bit of producing a web comic, adding the dialogue and 'word balloons'. Now we shall find out what 'Nice Girl' is up to ;-)ORH...And here's a bonus comic for reading all the way to the end:And for new readers who might be wondering what "Hutdugaikarsui" means, be sure to click the 'FAQ' tag below for the previous FAQ.:) Happy New Year 2008 Happy New Year to one and all :) Free Gift To all my readers, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!:D The Comic With Hainanese Dialogue 2 Back by 'popular demand'. I was pleasantly surprised by the encouraging comments by my Hainanese readers in the previous 'Comic With Hainanese Dialogue'. As a disclaimer, my Hainanese is hardly anywhere near perfect and do correct me if I'm wrong. Oh yes, the 'fan-subs' are switched on by default this time. Have fun ;)Editor: Ay, what're you doing?Woman: I'm filling out my appraisal form. *Sigh..* Very Boring.Editor: Why is it boring?Woman: It's the same questions every year, I don't know what to write.Editor: HEH! Write down you hope the company will promote you.Woman: Promotion? Promotion my backside! The company increased our workload without raising our salary. So angry!Editor: Don't be angry. If you're often angry, you'll age sooner.Woman: Hmm...correct, correct. I'm not afraid of anything except ageing.Editor: Hehe. Er...Woman: What's the matter?Editor: Look what's behind you.Woman: AHH! Smash it quickly! Ee-Yer!!Editor: Er...I'm also afraid of cockroaches.Woman: Hiyah! So angry! The Lad Is A Lady! I'm back with a bumper issue, something 'old-school'. Hope you have fun reading it :):) Tales Of A Lone Adventurer 03 Some weeks back, I watched a couple board the bus with their baby in a stroller. The couple didn't fold the stroller and just wheeled it down the aisle to the rear seats. The man sat in front of me and his wife diagonally opposite. I had a clear view of the baby. The man asked his wife in Mandarin where she wanted to alight. She replied "At the next MRT station".A few minutes later, the man pressed the buzzer to stop the bus. Immediately his wife told him off "Not this bus stop! The next one!". The man replied "Correct what...you wanted to stop at the MRT station, right?" His wife replied "The next bus stop is nearer to the MRT station!"Here comes the amusing part.Woman to baby: "You see lah, daddy can't even follow simple instructions."Man to baby: "Your mother is unreasonable, I tell you. Just now that bus stop also can one."Woman to baby: "Don't listen to him."I wonder what the baby was thinking at that time:The couple alighted at the next bus stop and in my opinion, it was equidistant to the MRT station as the previous stop. Nemesis So Near Yet So Far Digividuality - Update Just an update on the NETS cashcard design contest. The results are out and Ol' Dan's design:won a consolation prize, a smartcard reader:Thanks for voting :Dp.s. Oops, I forgot to include a link to all the winning entries earlier. View them here. Mobilisation >> ONDEH ONDEH demystifiedMiss Long Hair speaking Hainanese: Ondeh, Ondeh, my favourite!Miss Short Hair speaking Hainanese: Hey, don't choke (to death) on your food.Bpong Kgang = Stupid Enlightenment :) Digividuality Ol' Dan is participating in the NETS CashCard design contest under the theme of 'Digividuality'. My entry is none other than my favourite blog masthead graphic:Head down to the NETS website and vote (from 18 -31 July, max 5 votes per person) for Bounce Back To Life :D Miss Galaxy Ol' Dan's 'summer blogbuster' :PNote: Any resemblance to person(s) living or otherwise is purely coincidental.Sianz = BoringYazid: When we were told to submit designs for the National Costume, I knew we were in for onehelluva ride. Initially we were stuck with the cliched 'east-meets-west' concept, pandering to the taste of foreigners and ended up with pretty much the same shit. With four major races in Singapore, you can't place too much emphasis on a particular race without drawing criticism. Then I said, THE HELL WITH IT.Yazid: I trashed my crap designs. Staring at the blank white canvas, I had a BRAINWAVE. I finally came up with the perfect solution to please everyone. We're going back to basics, people.Ulu = RemoteAgent Curtis: "Dude, what do I gain from lying to you? We're running out of time, let's hurry along."Editor: Go get'em, Miss Singapore!:D