• Home
  • About
    Don't Panik - Eugene's little blog
    Travel

    A week at the Marina Bay Sands

    Posted by Eugene KhooOn June 18, 2011
    Travel

    Legend International Water Homes

    Posted by Eugene KhooOn October 15, 2010
    Travel

    The Koloi 4×4 Road

    Posted by Eugene KhooOn September 1, 2010
    Travel

    Off-road prepping

    Posted by Eugene KhooOn August 27, 2010
    Travel

    Olé! – Spanish bullfight! (blast from the past)

    Posted by Eugene KhooOn August 17, 2010

    Back in 2001, I had the opportunity to travel to this fantastic country where breakfast would be cerveza (beer) and jamón (dry-cured Spanish ham) and where many restaurants don’t even open for dinner till 8pm.

    The story has been recycled and slightly tweaked from a long time write-up posted on my photo-sharing site (webaperture) which I’m closing end of this year. I figured it was a good time again to dig through my old scanned archives, process them a bit differently and in Photoshop CS4 — I was using Photoshop 6.0 then! I shot about 6 rolls of film (gasp!) within the hour-long event. I would have shot more but light levels were dropping and I only had ISO100 left after exhausting all my ISO400 film! Shooting digital, I would have just jacked the ISO up! Film was Kodak Supra 100 and Supra 400 (I later switched to Kodak Portra series). Cameras & Lenses: EOS-30 with 70-200 f/2.8 with 2X teleconverter, resulting in a 140-400 f/5.6 lens and an EOS-50E with a 24-85 f/3.5-4.5 lens. This was before my big shift to transparency film (aka slides) such as Fuji’s super-saturated Velvia 50 and Kodakchromes (along with ekta and elitechromes).

    The bull ring at Madrid

    The Iberian Peninsula forms a link of sorts between Europe and Africa and that makes it not only an interestingly unique country among Europe but one of the most culturally rich as well. Strategically located, it was invaded and visited by many, the Celts, the Phoenicans, the Greeks, the Romans, the Visigoths, and the Moors. It is also the home of the fierce Iberian bull. This also makes Spain such a historically rich country that one can be really confused where to start. I mean look at the depth of this country’s history and cultural roots. Many consider bullfighting as such an essential part to Spanish machismo. So one day, while we were stuffing ourselves with tapas and beer in Madrid, we decided that we’d watch a bullfight. Bullfighting would be quite an exciting start to our cultural tour of Spain since it is so much a part of Spain that almost everyone you meet will associate it with Spain although some Latin American countries also do it. Famous Spanish painters like Goya or Picasso have glorified it. If you drive around Spain, it’s unlikely that you’d miss these huge billboards in the shape of a bull.

    The bull ring at Malaga

    Now, don’t get me wrong. Even if you’re against this event, I still think you should go watch one. The problem is, how do you go about watching a bullfight. I mean most Spanish cities have these huge bullfighting stadiums called Bull Rings, all of which probably hearkens back to the decadent days of the Roman Empire where slaves and gladiators fought each other and animals in such arenas. When I approached the first bull ring I saw in Seville, I saw this long winding line of people. What they were queuing up for was never apparent to me despite walking around the entire ring and looking lost. The signs were all in Spanish and I gave up — hey, these were the days before google, mobile internet! Now, you’d just pull up your iPhone and google translate it. Anyways, call me lucky or whatever but it just so happens that my Uncle was posted to Spain as an ambassador. I figure he’d we able to get me some tickets. What’s the use of being an ambassador if you can’t get tickets to a bullfight. Again, I was fortunate to be in Spain in April since the bullfighting seasons starts after Holy Week which ends with Easter Sunday in April and continues until August. Any other time, and it doesn’t matter who you know because you probably won’t get tickets. Anyhow, so I got my tickets.

    A good friend of my Uncle’s, who is a true-blooded Spaniard commented:
    “The bullfight is the essence of Spanish-ness and it’s good for you to see one.”
    His lovely wife, with a not-so-strong-but-you-can-recognize-it welsh accent replied:
    “Ghastly. Cruel.”
    Obviously, she wasn’t Spanish by birth. He continued:
    “It defines Spanish culture and who we are!”
    But she wasn’t finished:
    “Atrocious”

    Oh well. I have a fight to catch. Click on the Entry to read more…

    Travel

    A Rancho upgrade

    Posted by Eugene KhooOn August 3, 2010
    Newer postsOlder posts

    ekh00

    Better eat more brownies from @cakesmooch before s Better eat more brownies from @cakesmooch before someone eats them all! #brownies #coffee #espresso #cappuccino
    Packed Thursday means lunch at 3pm. #sushi #japane Packed Thursday means lunch at 3pm. #sushi #japanesefood #coffee #cappucino
    Friday #coffee restock thanks to @commonmancoffee Friday #coffee restock thanks to @commonmancoffee and loving the new bag colors. #gaitania #columbia
    For a packed Thursday with almost no break in betw For a packed Thursday with almost no break in between, fuel up with #uncommon #hambelawamena #commonmancoffeeroasters #homebarista #wfh
    Saturday’s start with a 3km run followed by #unc Saturday’s start with a 3km run followed by #uncommon #coffee #hambelawamena #commonmancoffeeroasters #homebarista
    #uncommon #coffee #hambelawamena #tgif #commonmanc #uncommon #coffee #hambelawamena #tgif #commonmancoffeeroasters I can drink this all day! #homebarista
    Everyone needs a little “Uncommon” in life oth Everyone needs a little “Uncommon” in life otherwise it’s going to be boring. #uncommon #commonmancoffeeroasters #ethopiacoffee #hambelawamena #espresso #rocketathome #rocketappartamento #cappuccino #jibbijug
    Tuesday #coffee #espresso #cappuccino #gaitanacolu Tuesday #coffee #espresso #cappuccino #gaitanacolumbia #singleorigincoffee by #commonmancoffeeroasters supporting the growers in Gaitania, Tolima, where 70% is grown by the indigenous Nasa Wesx.
    Load More... Follow on Instagram

    Recent

    • Shooting T
      I always believe in the power of the still image. An experienced photojournalist can capture a
    • Current Production Disks
      As a follow on to this post here, the list below is what I have in
    • WD and Seagate RMA Experience Part 2
      Ok, I’ve gotten the disks all shipped out and the RMA status finally was updated to

    Eugene Khoo

    Eugene Khoo
    Founder's Run (Virtual)
    YouTube Video UCoR_sfpw8_rG2XXnEfQIPDQ_8XN4SlZBmXQ
    First random try of MCD ancient hunt
    YouTube Video UCoR_sfpw8_rG2XXnEfQIPDQ_xKLM6BxTQDw
    The daily grind.
    Coffee Morning
    YouTube Video UCoR_sfpw8_rG2XXnEfQIPDQ_l2AdjMb_WwI
    Load More... Subscribe