The Art of Biàn Liān 变脸 (Face-Changing)

by Daniel Chiam

I was fascinated by the ancient art of Biàn Liān or literally mean face-changing, when I first saw the movie “The King of Masks (1996)” many years ago. I was dumbfounded by how fast the skillful master of Biàn Liān can changes its masks in just split seconds, and I was wondering where he kept all his masks. To me back then, that was pure magic that’s way better than Siegfried and Roy with all their big props and white lion (and white tigers). We don’t have internet back then nor we knew what YouTube is and as the time goes by, my interest in finding out more about the art of Biàn Liān slowly faded. 

Photo Source

I was extremely excited when I heard that Biàn Liān will be perform during the SM Ken Hwa’s Chap Goh Meh celebration (which I have the privilege to cover for the event) and my expectation sky rocketed cause I finally get to see this art of “magic” from the east to be perform right in front of my eyes. My brains quickly travel back to the moment when I first watched the movie and how mesmerized I was when I first saw it back then. 

The ancient art of Biàn Liān which originated from China, was like a family’s most valuable treasure. A skills and techniques that its secrets can only be known by the sons in the family and never to be told nor to be pass down to others outside of the family. Of course with time passes, human’s flaw and what’s not, the art of Biàn Liān has finally been leaked out and learned not only by the other people from the oriental world but also by the people from the west.

It was really a privilege for me to be able to witness a local magician and performer, Mr. Kevin Lee, performing the ancient art of Biàn Liān that is a great pride of the Sichuan opera from China. I really hope that I could do a story on this amazing art with Mr. Kevin in the future, and hopefully do my part to spread the art to the younger generation, especially to the Sabahan community, and to make sure that it would not be forgotten as the times goes by.

"Seize the day, Caper Diem"

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Making Promo Video with FoodSocial Malaysia

by Daniel Chiam

Working on a scene

The lovely Amanda

The awesome director

Hot and sunny day (too hot and too sunny if I may add)

Amanda having a break

FoodSocial Malaysia is something new for Malaysia's foodie that just started invading all over the social media recently. I happened to know someone that knows someone from FoodSocial Malaysia, and landed myself a chance to actually appear in one of their promo video. The idea was simple, funny and most of all, it really delivers the message. Kay Kastum was the director, in fact he was the one that came up with the whole thing, and made the whole thing happened. 

It’s the first time that I get to act beside a beautiful young lady for a video and too bad for her that I’m no Daniel Craig nor Daniel Wu but its all hallelujah for me that I get to act with an angel for a change. When you are watching the video, noted that it's the best 27 seconds of video intro in my acting career so far, haha.

So do checkout the video, give it a thumb up, comment for support and most importantly share it on your social network if you enjoyed it. Do also checkout FoodSocial Malaysia on Facebook and find out what they are all about, or you’ll missed out all the good deals on your favorite eat out!

Rest In Peace Grandpa

by Daniel Chiam

Michael Tambiliu bin Luminggan (05/05/1938 - 01/02/2014) - Gone but never forgotten. You have lived a great life, a life that so many have loved you and cared for you. May you now rest in peace with our Father in heaven. Sincere love from all your family and friends.

"The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” 

― Mark Twain

Kick Starting CNY with Keningau Mall

by Daniel Chiam 

I think I'm starting to be more involved with the community as Keningau-ian again, and mostly thanks to my part time job with My Sound & Lighting Channel who seems to be the main sound and lighting provider for most events and functions in Keningau that I get to attend weddings, singing competitions, organization's evening dinner and hopefully more to come.

Recently I get to be involved with Keningau Mall's Chinese New Year 2014's event. The first was on the 14th; coloring and drawing contest and also the Chinese Calligraphy contest. The second was on the 18th; CNY singing competition. Now that's one way to kick start the CNY mood :D

It's been a long while also since I get to use my camera for any good use, and since I was allowed to take photos and videos, I guess I really did made it into a good use for practice with all the photos and videos that I made. I even get to use Lightroom (like finally) to edit the photos, haha. It's a big deal for me because previously my laptop was unable to handle Lightroom and I had to depend on online tools to edit all my photos. Now I know its a bit greenish and blueish for now but I'm getting there soon :D

I think my videos are a bit more epic since 90% of the footage are recorded using my Intova Sport HD II, which is an action cam like GoPro and it suppose to work really badly under low light but I don't know why I still wanted to give it a try... Okay, mainly its because it can record footage at 60fps which is very cool when editing :D

Here's the first video that I managed to upload so far, I hope its still do justice but I don't think I wanted to risk it again the next time for better quality sake xD

Making highlights video is not really my preference but I guess it's something for practice sake. It's been awhile since I last did any video editing also. So I guess it will do it for now and if I'm persistence enough, more videos will be uploaded in the future :D

Anyway, I already got my first ang pau of the year from Keningau Mall's own beautiful lady boss, haha. So it's a great start for me so far in 2014 and hopefully I can do more to improve myself and be a much better me to serve even more people out there!

I hope you all have a great new year ahead too!

For more photos visit: HERE

"Seize the day, Caper Diem"

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5 Tips to Instantly Improve Your Look

by Max Law from MaxMayo.com 

Everybody has crazy daily schedule to a certain extend. Dressing well on a daily basis may seems like a rather resource-consuming task and that is why many men would take it for granted.

In a nutshell, it's the details that affects the overall look of a man. I personally follow 5 tricks on a daily basis, and I think one can improve his look simply by following them as well. It may not give you a dramatic effect, but it helps enhancing your presentability, and somehow makes you appear more reliable indirectly as people can notice the little advantage from these simple effort .

1. Style Your Hair

Yes, your hair may be short, or you may have an ordinary hair cut that doesn't really require any further styling after getting out of the shower. In fact, styling hair doesn't necessarily mean to give a new "shape" to your hair (e.g. mohawk) but to make sure your hair goes in the right direction, not greasy and not wet. Even the infamous "bed-head" style requires certain level of styling.

The truth is, people know whether you style your hair or not, although unsaid.

2. Smell

Smell is one of the elements that make up a person's first impression. You may not be the best-dressed person in a group, but a good scent always leave a positive and long lasting image in anyone that you met. People prefer men who smell good, rather than just looking good. It's science.


3. Shave Them Off

Not all men can grow full stubble. Some men grow in a very sporadic and patchy pattern, and it won't look any better even if you've trimmed them down to a few millimeters, as they'll make you appear sloppy and less polished. The best way is to shave them off completely.

4. No Over-sized

This is a proven tip: no over-sized clothes! (Unless it's a jumper, or you're embracing the oversize trend.)

Sometimes we compromise the sizing because of sales, and sometimes we receive clothes as gifts from our loved ones but they're a size too big and we don't want to waste them. This normally happens to T-shirts, formal shirts and trousers.

So this tip lies heavily in making choices: avoid wearing anything that's too big / too long for you. If the pieces you have currently are mostly over-sized, try wearing those that fits you better, and it's time to start planning for a shopping mission.

Over-sized works better for women, but not for men in most cases because menswear is more about the fit and size.

5. Oil-control film

Having a shiny face is like owning a Ferrari with a horrible paint work.

If you have an oily face (e.g. like me) you'll know it's not an easy job maintaining an oil free face while running around, from places to places. However, it's not impossible. The easiest way to maintain a fresh face is by using oil-control film. It definitely works better than using tissue papers. It is one of my must-have daily grooming items.

Keep a package of oil-control film with you and clean your face whenever it's necessary.

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Hope these tips will be useful to you.

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Regards,

Max Law

Menswear Fashion Blogger

Checkout Max at MaxMayo.com and follow him on twitter @maxmayo for more updates and fashion tips!
Max Law is also Nuffnang's Blogger of the month for September 2013!

"Seize the day, Caper Diem"

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