Squirrels!

A friend of mine once told me that my blog "needed more squirrels". So here they are, in their full squirrely glory! Behold, the plantain squirrel (Callosciurus notatus), scurrying around in the trees outside the garden. At least I think that's a plantain squirrel.

Bug Eyes

Also out and about in the morning was this praying mantis. It looked me right in the lens as I took its photo.

Urban Monkeys

I was in Kuala Lumpur for the weekend, and I spent independence day at my friend's house in Damansara. In the mornings, monkeys climb all over his backyard.

They have Spock ears!

I am no good at identifying monkeys. Can anyone tell me what species they are? Are they the same as these Penang monkeys? I'm guessing they're Macaca fascicularis but then again I'm no Jane Goodall.

Wall-E

Pixar can't seem to make a bad movie (so far). Once again they've come up with a moving and delightfully cute tale; this time with a trash-collecting robot. Wall-E is the movie's titular protagonist, one of a series of garbage-disposal robots that's been doing his job for over 700 years. The story takes place in the future where Earth has been overrun by garbage, and all the humans have long since left in spaceships.

Wall-E seems to be the only robot left still running, patiently cleaning up the mountains of garbage. He looks like a little worn-down cube with cutesy eyes and treads, and bears an uncanny resemblance to Johnny 5 from Short Circuit. He gets his power from solar panels which charges him up daily, and he gets replacement parts from other Wall-E units long since shut down across the trash-filed landscape of Earth.

Over the centuries Wall-E has developed a personality, and a sense of curiosity. During his garbage-collection duties, he sometimes finds trinkets which he likes, and he takes them back to his little hideout where he keeps his little treasures. His only companion is a little roach sidekick who lives with him and accompanies him to work. One day, a probe robot lands on Earth, a girl bot named EVE whom Wall-E takes a liking to immediately. EVE looks like a shiny Apple product, with a badass arm-cannon that looks kind of like a USB stick. EVE and Wall-E strike up a friendship, and one of his treasures hold the key to EVE's quest and to humankind's return to Earth.

The first part of the movie is done almost entirely without dialogue. In fact, the robot protagonists hardly speak at all. It's great storytelling by Andrew Stanton, and this part of the film has been praised by every film critic. Wall-E's misadventures lead him into space along with EVE, and we get to see what humanity has turned into during the long voyage out in space. The humans have become bloated, helpless baby-like creatures entirely dependent on the spaceship's automation system to survive. Wall-E, EVE and the captain of the human starship must steer the spaceship back to Earth, and free humanity from the shackles of automation. It's harder than it sounds; the spaceship is run by an intelligent robot AI that has plans of its own.

The movie has an obvious (although not heavy-handed) ecological message, and warns us of the pitfalls of the excesses of consumerism. Wall-E is an intelligent, charming and thought-provoking movie that I'd highly recommend viewing.

A Dedicated Batman Fan Builds His Own Tumbler

A guy named Bob Dullam has built his very own Tumbler, the Batmobile from Chris Nolan's Batman movies. The estimated cost is around $50,000 to $70,000. He sure has a lot of time and patience. I wonder if the rocket booster works or if the cops will let him drive it on the roads of wherever he lives.

Fans without that kind of money to spend on a custom Batvehicle can always attempt something like this.

Introducing Schröder's Family

Schröder is a kitty that adopted me (people don't adopt cats, cats adopt people). Not just him, his whole family. His siblings, Frankie and Sally, have taken up residence in my yard. Together with Pepper and Linus, I have a bigger family now.

Schröder, my little buddy.

The sleepy kitty.

Schröder's brother, Frankie.

Sally, the prettiest cat in the neighbourhood.

Schröder and Sally having a brawl.

Pepper (on the left) and Linus (on the right), who are Riffraff's little siblings. Schröder's family and Linus and Pepper are from different mothers. However they all eat and play together. Five cats are a handful.

Giant Reptiles In The Lake

USM's lakes are home to many reptiles. I've posted numerous pictures of monitor lizards and turtles. The water monitors are a common sight, basking on the bank.

However there's also another type of large reptile in the lake. I've seen large shadowy shapes in the water but I've never seen it emerge from the depths until now. I was determined to catch them on camera; they were my own personal Loch Ness monster. Elusive and shy, I finally got a glimpse on Saturday. They are huge turtles.

See, it's smiling to the camera, as if it's saying "why so serious?". I couldn't get a full shot because I had my zoom lens attached, and by the time I unscrewed the lens the turtle had disappeared. I don't know how people with DSLRs take nature photos with equipment even more cumbersome than my compact. Fiddling with things just makes you lose the shot.

Return Of The Stork-Billed Kingfisher

For many months, William the stork-billed kingfisher that lived near the USM lakes was missing. I figured he left for greener pastures (or less green waters, considering what the USM lakes look like) but now he's back (or another one that looks just like it). Strangely, his return coincides a bit with the new semester. Could it be that this bird is a registered student?

I also found a bird I've never photographed before; a common tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius). Thanks to Sandeep for helping me identify it.

Here it is looking for bugs to eat.

You can't really see the rufous crown on this birdy yet, and the tail is a bit short. However as it matures it'll look something like this.

These photos where taken with my brand new zoom attachment lens for the Sony H2. That, plus a tripod really help in taking birdy shots.