The beauty of Kuala Lumpur

I had a one-day trip to Kuala Lumpur yesterday with a university friend. It's been so long since I last visited KL. It was actually an assignment based trip, finding street art and capturing it. My friend, bless her, knows KL so well and we had such a fantastic time looking not only at street arts but other beauties of KL. I am going to show you some photos that I captured using a DSLR (Cannon 550). It was my first time using a DSLR and, of course, when you have a camera in your hands, what do you do with it? You take photos! (duh.. xP) I am just an amateur and all these photos you are going to see are really amateur work. Still learning the art of photography. =D

Street art
Went around KL and found some really interesting and awesome street art. I picked out some better looking ones. =)

Some might think that this is an act of vandalism. But when you take a closer look at it, you start to see the beauty of it. Art comes in different forms and style. This is one of them. =)

The city

So, my friend and I walked around KL. The following photos are shots of our famous Petronas Twin Towers. Tried my best to capture the majestic building. =)

The view of the city is so beautiful. Yes, it may be made out of concrete, but can you feel the majestic feeling of those buildings? Standing tall and strong there. I wished I was able to take more shots of the city but that was not to be.

Nature

Last but not least, the nature. You may not believe it, but nature can also be found in the city. I had a little time to talk around the park outside KLCC. It was really beautiful, believe me. I hope the photos below are able to let you see how beautiful mother nature is.

See how the sunlight trying to pour in between the leaves? Spot the birds at the last photo? The natural braid of a tree's root. The natural umbrella. These are all things that we don't take the time to see in our daily busy lives. All these little beauties pass us by and we miss it all.

Really encourage you all to take time off and just slowly appreciate your surroundings. Look around you and see the beauty of this world we are living in. =) 

Movie review: How to train your dragon 2

The dragons are back! So is Hiccup, the awkward boy who was a total klutz that became the hero of his village and the best friend of dragons. His personal and totally cute dragon, Toothless, is as adorable as before. So, in this sequence to "How To Train Your Dragon", what sort of adventure awaits Hiccup and Toothless? Read on to find out!

Hiccup and Toothless exploring new lands

Hiccup and Toothless playing around

The village, Berk, was prospering and the dragons stayed with them. Hiccup was a 20-year-old young adult, flying around, exploring and discovering new unknown land with his loyal best friend, Toothless. In this sequence, Hiccup met his mother, Valka, who was believed to be dead. A battle with an insane wannabe conquerer, Drago Bludvist had his father, Stoick, killed. At the end of the movie, Hiccup became the new chief of Berk and Toothless was the new king of the dragon, after challenging the natural king of the dragons, a Bewilderbeast that was controlled by Drago, and defeating it.

Hiccup and Astrid

Stoick, father (left), Valka, mother (centre), Hiccup (right)

When Stoick wanted to retire and pass his position to Hiccup, it can be seen very clearly that Hiccup was not happy about it. In his conversation with Astrid, his girlfriend, he expressed his doubts and worries about being the chief. I suppose we can all relate to this. The uncertainty of things and even towards ourselves. Whether we can do a good job or not or whether we are cut out for this kind of job. Many a times in our lives, we are rock by uncertainties and worries, coming to a point where we will start to doubt ourselves and our abilities.

One of Toothless' adorable moments

Towards the end of the movie, it can be seen that Hiccup took up the responsibilities and position as chief. He had to take the step out when his father died and he started to believe in himself. Of course he had the support and help from his mother, Astrid and all his other friends. A lot of times, it was our loved ones that encourage and support us throughout our lives. Good, close relationship and love are the key point here.

Drago Bludvist, the insane wannabe conquerer

It's amazing to see how Hiccup brought out his courage and strength and defeated Drago after his father's death and not willow in self-pity and regret. He was angry and down after Toothless was taken away by Drago and his father died. But he shook it off soon enough and stood up again. This is the kind of attitude we should have when we face whatever adversary in life. Yes, we can be depressed, sad, down, self-pity but never willow in all these for too long. Courage is the key point here. Take out the courage and stand up to face our trouble. Just believe in yourself and you will be a conquerer.

Toothless on defensive mode, protecting Hiccup

Toothless was also amazing in this movie. There were a lot of parts where it was playful, adorable and funny. A real sweetheart and cutie pie. But note it's loyalty and protectiveness towards Hiccup. How it would always be by his side no matter what happens and how quickly it became defensive and fierce when it thought his master and friend might be in trouble. A mere hint of trouble and it will be on it's defensive mode. Almost at the end of the movie, it challenged the Bewilderbeast not for the position of king but to protect it's master and best friend, Hiccup. Also, the love and strong bond between Hiccup and Toothless were able to break the control of the Bewilderbeast.

(Above) Toothless in a playful mode

(Below) Toothless challenging the king of the dragon, the Bewilderbeast

Don't we also have many "Toothless" in our lives? Our parents, family. Our close friends too. It was always love and loyalty that held us up and helped us through the difficult time in our lives. Our parents' protectiveness towards us and their love. How they would willingly shield us from the wind and rain all because they love us. Hiccup and Toothless were strong and united in love and loyalty. So should we towards our friends and family.

I love this movie and how it brings out the message of life. It might just be a cartoon but the message behind it is meaningful. It taught me to be more appreciative towards the people around me, my friends and family. How they love me, encourage and support me and willingly sacrifice themselves for me. The subtle way this movie brings out all these messages is really awesome. I would totally recommend you all to go watch this movie when you can. Totally worth it! =)

Movie review: Maleficent

It's amazing how true love can be defined in so many ways and the movie "Maleficent" was able to wake us all up with a different but equally touching and sweet ending. It has again captured the hearts of audiences with its classic yet twisted story of the famous fairytale "Sleeping Beauty". Only this time, the "evil" fairy Maleficent takes the spotlight instead of the fair Princess Aurora.

Maleficent, as everyone knows, was the evil fairy that cursed Princess Aurora, that on her 16th birthday, she will prick her finger on a spindle wheel and fall into an eternal sleep. Only a true love's kiss can break the curse and wake her up. In this movie "Maleficent", Stefan, Aurora's father, started out as a peasant boy and met with the magical creature Maleficent. The human kingdom where Stefan lived and the magical kingdom where Maleficent lived were not on peaceful terms. Stefan and Maleficent became best of friends and as time goes by, Maleficent's heart was stolen by this human. On Maleficent's 16th birthday, Stefan kissed Maleficent and claimed it to be a true love's kiss. But that was not to be as greed and ambition took over Stefan.

To be the successor to the throne, Stefan has to bring the head of Maleficent to the king. But he was not able to kill Maleficent. Instead, he stole her mighty wings and this was the beginning of bitterness, betrayal, hatred and revenge. Stefan became king and had a daughter who we all know as Aurora and Maleficent cursed her to avenged for herself. Stefan then handed over Aurora to the 3 good fairies to look after and Maleficent watched her grow from a distance. In the end, it was Maleficent's kiss, not Prince Philip's that woke Aurora. Thus, we can all see that true love is portrayed different in this movie. It was Aurora's daughterly love for her "fairy Godmother" Maleficent and Maleficent's motherly fondness of Aurora that broke the curse.

Angelina Jolie did an amazing job in portraying Maleficent. In the beginning, Maleficent was a sweet, young and innocent fairy. Her beauty and strength gave her the air of confidence and grace. Her eyes were soft and pure and full of joy and life. But after Stefan's betrayal, her eyes became hard and cold. Many a times, it was the look in her eyes that convey to us the story and her true feelings deep down inside of her. Her eyes, though hard and cold, still gave her the air of grace and power but this time towards the darker side.

Maleficent before Stefan's betrayal. Protecting her kingdom from King Henry, the king before Stefan.

When Maleficent arrived at baby Aurora's christening uninvited and face Stefan, though her eyes were mostly full of hatred and vengeance, there were a subtleness of hurt, betrayal and pain in them; a girl with a broken heart. As Aurora grew up, Maleficent look after her from afar. The hatred, bitterness and coldness remains but a change was beginning as the story moves on. A certain look of fondness and long forgotten love and joy was slowly creeping in. But it was still subtle until the end of the story.

Maleficent looking at Aurora from afar.

At the time when Aurora was 15 and came in full contact in Maleficent and Maleficent allowed herself to come in contact with Aurora, even though her manner was still cold, distant and hard, it can be seen in her eyes that Aurora brought back the joy and life into her dark world, melting her harden heart and restoring her broken soul. Aurora became that ray of sunshine in her dark world, slowly bringing back the softness from her youth into her eyes. Regret and lost was felt when Maleficent found out she could not revoke the curse.

Maleficent talking to Aurora.

The curse took hold of Aurora and the pain of losing yet another person that she loved so much and this time it was her own doing can be seen full blast on her manner and her eyes. The tears signify how much she cared for Aurora and her fondness and love for her. She lost the sunshine of her life. Behind that cold and hard manner, there was a vulnerable side of Maleficent. The regret, pain and lost was felt so deeply. But joy, fondness and love leapt into her eyes as soon as Aurora opened her eyes and said "hello, Godmother". The hope and joy can be seen in her manner and her eyes. She believed in true love again.

At the end, though her manner was still somewhat lacking the initial eagerness of life and was more towards a dignified quietness, but the look of contentment was there. Her world was no longer dark and her broken heart and soul was restored by this bright ray of sunshine. The softness and joy was back but a certain subtleness of lost and pain can still be seen. Was it because of the death of Stefan? Who knows. When she sore high into the sky with her mighty wings, the freedom and strength was restored.

At the end when Maleficent's wings were restored, soaring high up it the sky.

Again, true love is not limited between a man and a woman. It comes in many forms. In the movie "Frozen", the true love between sisters was portrayed. "Maleficent" portrayed the true love between a mother and a daughter. Society and media nowadays have limited our understanding of true love. Now it is time for us to breakthrough the traditional thinking and bondage we have tied ourselves in and understand the real meaning of true love. "Maleficent" has properly portrayed one of the many sides of true love. I think it is a movie worth watching.    

WHO? WHAT?

“WHO? WHAT?” “There… It’s that new blogger. I came across her blog online. What’s her name again? Uh… Oh, yes! Ethel, um, Khoo, I think. I remember her web name though. It’s her blog’s URL. It’s Chocosunny15. Pretty unique, I think.”

Most of you probably have those questions “WHO? WHAT?” in your mind. Maybe you stumbled on my blog yourself. Or maybe someone told you about my blog. First of all, welcome to my blog. This is a platform where I write about the happenings of my life and my opinions on things. I don’t mind you readers leaving comments stating your opinions on my post. I like discussions. But, please, PEACEFUL discussions. It ISN'T a win or lose situation. It’s just simply a place for you to state your views and discuss about it. THAT’S ALL.

So, who am I? I am currently a university student. I am an aspiring journalist, photographer, videographer and video editor. This blog is also a platform for me to share my latest works. Yes, I am planning to go into the media field when I graduate.

My active social network accounts are Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. My not-so-active social network accounts are Youtube, Google+ and… is there anymore? I don’t remember. Anyways, you all know my web name. So it’s pretty easy to find me on Twitter and Instagram. My Facebook is my real name.

The content of this blog, as I have said, will be about the happenings of my life, my opinions on things, fictional short stories, real life stories, my latest work, etc. Thus, the title of my blog: Anything, Anyone, Anywhere. I will be writing about anything, anyone and the happenings could be in anywhere. So, no, it will NOT be a boring blog. (I hope... =P)

What else to introduce? You know, introductions can be such a boring thing but also very crucial. It’s how people get to know you, first impressions and all that. Well, I am not going to talk about myself a lot in this first post. You will get to know me better along the way if you constantly visit my blog. This first post is mostly to introduce my blog and a little bit about myself.

Now, I hereby officially launch my new blog! Please, do come and visit it. I hope the content of my blog will help, inspire and encourage you in some ways. Thank you!