August Theme Day - Metal

I know the tools behind are called spanners. What about the ones in front? I took this shot from a car workshop. Sometimes I think the mechanics are like Inspector Gadget. They seem to have all the tools to reach and fix any part of the car.

There are 184 blogs participating in this month's theme day.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Long Shot

Look at the left corner and you will see the head of a lady. She was 'watering' or spraying the plants from 1 level up. How much of the water that eventually reached the plants is a puzzle.
Guess it's either because she couldn't find a nearer water point or it was simply too hot to stand under the sun to water plants, that she resort to this.
I find it amusing watching her :)

Purple Cupcakes

These cupcakes were specially made for an occasion where the theme color was purple. They look unique, don't they?
Besides brinjal, what was the last purple food you consumed?

The Shoe Doctor

This a mobile Klinik Kasut or Shoe Clinic. The 'doctor' sits patiently waiting for his 'patients' to arrive.
He works fast, to fix a broken heel, all he needs is 5 minutes and he only charges RM 3 for it. It's a one-man show.
Having your heels broke while you were walking or stepping on a nail is a modern hazard. While you are in these situations, it certainly helps when the friendly 'doctor' is near.

Cooks United

There are a few Shanghainese and Chinese restaurants that currently have such interesting 'window diplay'. Instead of showcasing the finished food or the menu, they present the stars behind the scene - the cooks.
I guess it's to showcase how clean the kitchen and utensils are and how skilful the chefs are. The chefs are normally seen making those delicate dim sums, chinese noodles or other pastries.
Looking at how these people work simply fascinates me. The details, the concentration that goes into every dumpling is mesmerising. These chefs, obviously used to the attention, do not turn an eye on the bystanders. They don't even smile when they look up occasionally. Well I guess when you are in a fish-tank kinda evironment, you just wanna finish your work and get out asap.

Outdoor Buffet

There is nothing more that can attract Malaysians, especially the Chinese, than buffets. Whether it's a RM 88++ per person buffet dinner at a 5star hotel or this RM 10 durian buffet.
Complaints about price increase in food, fuel hike are rampant currently. Some innovative entrepreneurs took the opportunity to combine value with public sentiments and ta-da...ALL YOU CAN EAT DURIAN BUFFET!!!
Durians is one of the unique fruits in our country. It is an acquired taste. They have always come in grades, as usual the higher the grade, the more expensive it is. Prices range from RM3 - above RM 18 per kg. Patrons of this buffet probably realise that with the different grades, they probably won't get the best ones by just paying RM 10.. but what the heck..RM 10 for buffet is quite irresistable. Besides, you don't have to take the trouble to open the fruit and throw away the shells later on.
There are tonnes of Malaysians who are willing to take the trouble and pay a high price to savour good food. Therefore there are some durian-lovers who organised trips to orchards to enjoy the best durians. The last I heard, one such visitor paid RM150++ for this.
Phew..how much are you willing to pay for fruits?

Eating on my own

Eating on your own is one of the first few journeys one takes towards independence.
Once I can eat on my own, haha, watch out Ma, there are a couple of items on the menu which I hope to discuss with you.
For instance, I like soupy stuff - splishing and splashing out of the bath tub is quite fun, I discovered.
I also like cute little colorful stuff - bits, M&Ms, jelly beans, boy are they fun to play with on the table as well.
And Ma, lastly, if I can eat on my own, it means I am in charge now. No more feeding, no more 'open your mouth, sweetie, and eat this for mummy'. I will choose what I want to eat.
Yours sincerely, Junior.

Green Lung

A nice pond within office buildings. It's soothing to look at, especially from the top. There are japanese carps swimming in the pond. Believe this is maintained by the building management.
Not many of the office workers drop by to relax, probably due to the hot weather and the lack of chairs or benches.
Maybe the purpose of having this feature is to enhance Feng Shui rather than recreational. According to Feng Shui, water is wealth. By pooling the water, I guess the purpose is to accumulate wealth.
Have you done any changes to your home with accordance to Feng Shui?

Congestion

This is an area close to PJ. It amazes me the number of cars and houses one can see from here. With almost every working citizen having their own car, we can't blame traffic for becoming slow. What about houses, after we encroach every piece of land, we move uphill, if there is not enough still, we move up to build higher buildings.
I wish I could tell our children of the future that they would grow up in a beautiful environment where they could get all the green fields, trees, flowers and fresh water and air they liked. Sadly it's impossible.

Nice Ceiling

This was constructed on top of the platform at KL Sentral LRT station.
It shows some graphics which are normally seen at mosque. Some islamic elements I think.

Wires at dusk

What do you call these wire structures? Electric towers? I thought they look like nice wire sculptures. The colors of the evening sky adds a little variety to the composition.
Some say that living close to these is harmful since there is some level of radiation or whatever dangerous elements they call it. I know if King Kong chose these instead of the high rise building, he probably wouldn't manage to get to the top without being fried first. LOL.

Rings of color

There are no limits when it comes to jewelleries, fashion and shoes to women. The universal mystery to men is why do women buy the same design of things only to be told : But they are in different colors, honey!
LOL.
And yet we often say men are visual-driven animals, if women don't always come up with different things for men to look at, they are bound to get bored. At least this is what some women are telling me.
Whether it's to attract the opposite or to mix the new bag you bought, I believe colors bring out the excitement and fun in you. Having said that, you don't have to dress like a rainbow to be happy. Guess a little change will do the trick.
What's the color that will cheer you up?

Keeping money the colourful way

Spotted this stall which sells colourful coinboxes and toys in a weekend bazaar at The Curve.
Having one of these will make saving something interesting for kids.

Fruits

The mixed fruits sold n this shop are more pricey that those of street vendors. However the variety wins hands down. There are the usual watermelon, papaya, guava, pineapple, mango..and some different variants of the same kind i.e green kiwi and golden kiwi, red dragon fruit and white dragon fruit. Other fruits which you normally don't find it in normal street stalls are apples, grapes, and buah delima - which is pomegranate. All the fruits are cut and packed. Even the pomegranate are painstakingly removed bit by bit from the hard crust.
Convenience sells.

Empty Parking

Getting a parking space is another problem faced by drivers beside traffic jam. When it comes to shopping malls during the weekends, it is not usual to spend 10 minutes just going round and round waiting for someone to vacant the space.
This parking lot is empty only during weekends. Or when there is a major traffic jam somewhere.
Public transport is not a favourite option. I hope public transport especially subways will improve soon. We can travel faster, without traffic jam, no pollution and the fuel hike won't affect us that much.

Thank you and hope you will pass it on

Marley gave me the Arte y Pico award. Thank you very much! :) It's encouraging indeed :)

I have decided to pass it on to my fellow bloggers below :

Eki at Bandung Daily Photo

Jilly at Menton Daily Photo

Phil at Seoul Daily Photo

Giselle at Vienna Daily Photo

Fenix at Boston Daily Photo

Here are the rules of this award :
1. You have to pick five blogs that you consider 'deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material and which contributes to the blogging community, no matter what language they are in.'

2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.

3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given him/her the award itself.

4. The award winner and the one who has given the prize has to show the Arte y Pico blog so that everyone will know the origin of the award.

5. Each award winner has to post these rules.Just copy and paste the rules above. Copy, save, and paste the Arte y Pico award on the right and pick your deserving five!

Old School Hair Styles

Continuation from yesterday's entry. This poster was hung on the wall of the old barber shop. I don't think the customers use this for selection or instructions to the barber.
This however taught me on the names of the various hairstyles for gentlement. Before this, the only name of style I know was only crew cut. :)
Which style would you choose?

Old School Hair Style

Barber shops like this are getting lesser as stylish and modern hair saloons mushroom around the city.
Customers who frequent this shop are mainly looking for a hair cut. Nothing flashy, nothing fashion-y, just make my shorter. Period.
The price is at RM10 per hair cut. With RM 5 more, you get shaving. The barber normally ends their routine by giving pats on the customer's shoulder and a twist on their neck. I am always afraid to see they way they twist people's head, for fear that the head will end up rolling on the ground.
Besides all these no-nonsense regular, there are mums who bring their boys over for a hair cut. I can imagine one mother telling the son : "Well, when you are old enough to earn a living, you can choose where you want your hair done. While you are still in school, you should look like a student."
Lol..I guess trendier hairstyles for these young boys are perhaps something to look forward to.

Assam Laksa

Laksa is a common food here..there are variation according to the different states. There are Sarawak Laksa, Johor Laksa and the most popular Penang Laksa or commonly known as Assam Laksa.
Laksa in general is spicy soup with noodle or meehoon (vermicelli). Different ingredients are added according to different states. For assam laksa, pineapple, mint leaves, onions and fish is added. And of course not forgetting the most important prawn paste which add to the sweetness of the soup.
They say the best assam laksa can only be found in Penang. The price is cheaper over there as well.

Pig-Intestine-Noodle

Another foodie weekend. This is called Chee-Cheong-Fun. Literally it means pig intestine noodles :)
Guess the name came from the shape of the it that is similar to pig's intestines - long, white and circular.
I think it's made up of rice powder and flour. The noodle is steam before serving with sweet sauce and chilli. Spring onions and fried shallots are added as garnishing.
At my hometown down south, the sauce is sweet and thick. However I realise in Klang Valley, they have subsitute it with the Penang version - the sweet prawn paste. Well I still prefer the taste I grew up with.
Chee-Cheong-Fun is normally eaten in the morning. You can find them in most dim sum shops which are crowded during the weekend mornings. Another variation will be putting in prawns or char-siew (roast pork) in between the layers of noodles.
Oh..ya.. another variation is eating with the ingredients of yeong-tau-foo. Yeong-tau-foo is made up of bitter gourd, lady's finger, chili which are stuffed with fish paste.
Like I always said, remember to try this when you are in Malaysia ya.

Morning Coffee

Every meal is important to Malaysians. In fact, when 3 meals are not enough, we create other opportunities or occasions to eat : morning tea, brunch, afternoon tea, supper etc..
This is a cafe selling Malay food. It was taken during breakfast time. All races, all walks of life frequent here.
I love the lontong here. The nasi lemak is the most popular dish in the cafe.
Food in Malaysia, is always a 24 hour affair.

Out of Home Wedding

Not sure if this is a real-life wedding poster. But the whole bus stop is covered with pictures of this couple. Maybe they sponsored it. Or the owner of the bustop persuaded them to feature their photo to attract attention. This will maybe lead to pulling in advertisers.
Proposals and weddings have somemore become more public in the Klang Valley. We have billboards featuring a real proposal and real wedding announcement. Malaysians are becoming more open?

Goallll............

One of the creative outdoor structure near a mall, by Nike. Quite eye-catchy. The 3d ball is huge. The whole structure should be around 4 stories high.. Talk about scoring BIG..LOL..

Horizontally Challenged

This is the last of the sculpture pictures taken at Urbanscapes. It's amazing how the artist made the Jenga blocks all sticking together nicely without any support from below. There must be some physics or balancing science in this. Playing Jenga is difficult sometimes, imagine having to lift 1 block out of this structure without the whole thing tumbling down.
Some artists are scientists too..don't you think?

Polystrene Robot

This is another structure exhibited at Urbanscapes. The robot is made entirely out of polystrene boxes, the ones used for packed food. There are strings for visitors to pull to animate the robot.
Can we call this green-friendly / recycle art?

Ultra Stuck

Part of a sculpture exhibited at the recent Urbanscapes. Work of a local artist.
I like the interesting idea of the powerful Ultraman actually being stuck, held by strings. Suddenly the once SuperHero becomes a puppet. Not sure what was in the artist mind when this was created. Probably to show all humans, even SuperHumans have their limits? :)