Ever since I came back from my trip to Japan, I have to admit I'm a little One Piece crazy.
I mean... imagine I watch 620 plus 1/2 hour episodes, and 12 full length animated specials, each about an hour or more to catch up - in just under two months since returning from Osaka.
Now... I still hold fast that manga does't do anything for me... neither does anime, really.
One Piece however is... different. It's like an Asian Harry Potter where this whole world is created.
The plots and story arcs are interesting to say the least and the characters are well developed. Even the most minor role ends up having a significant impact on the storyline when you least expect it. Drama... those moments that tug at your heartstrings... action... One Piece - is - IT!
So earlier today - went to my first ever comic con at the annual Comic Fiesta in KLCC. Even semi-cosplayed. Semi as in I didn't plan on cosplaying - but went in jeans and a jacket, and did my FX make up as a tribute to Aleessa Gillespie from Silent Hill.
It was amazing... the energy. Yes I'm a noob... but doing DIY FX for Halloween, I become very judgmental of people's costumes. I hat store bought costumes - shows you lack effort.
But that's not what cosplaying is about - it's about loving a character or world created so much, you realise it in person. That feel good factor. And it was good to see so many One Piece characters running around (a lot of Luffys and Sanjis).
Here are some of the snaps I took.
Of course... I got sucked into buying stuff.
Bought three swords. These are cosplay swords (which means they can't be made out of anything dangerous, and there are craved in wood).
The first is Trafalgar Law's Kikoku sword. Of course Law being one of the more interesting characters that has recently been spotlighted in the series as he gangs up with Luffy and everyone loves him.
Then there's the Shusui and the Was Ichimonji katanas used by Roronoa Zoro. Damn missed missed out on the Sandai Kintetsu. But I guess getting it for half the price... by waiting till the shops were closing... there'd be that risk. Got these two for cheap.
Oh goodness... I think I'm seriously going to start cosplaying very, very... soon.
Remember that May first event I was telling you guys about?
Ok... time for more info.
Since we did this in KLCC in August of last year...
... a LOT of people have tried their hand, successfully or unsuccessfully, at bringing flash mobs into mainstream culture in Malaysia.
Yerlah... orang Malaysia semua pemalu. Sanggup ke nak menari ke haper di khalayak ramai. I have to give props to the organizers of KL Freeze for opening the doors to many of us, flash mob organizers - whether commercial or otherwise for even attempting it.
Trust me... it's not easy. Many try, but bomb out. I've seen some really bad ones online... still mad love to them for even trying. Keep it up, guys! Let's make it a culture of street performances - amateurs or pros.
The challenge of freezing is not so hard, but being the first was the gamble here... you had to have wondered would Malaysians take part.
Evolusi flash mob kat Malaysia, memang slow. This of course in large part due to how you CAN really get in trouble for being too random in large numbers.
Lagikpon, remember, in Malaysia, a gathering of THREE people or more immediately can be constituted an illegal gathering... so ouch! That apart from endless shit that can get you in trouble for doing something like this in public even though you're not harming, or hurting, or even mildly inconveniencing anyone.
After out first effort at tackling dance as a theme in the KLCC flash mob, thanks to Maxis for tying in with us on that - we have Hotlink to thank for our second huge attempt for the largest dance flash mob in Malaysia. Which was supposed to be at the Beyonce concert (yang kita semua tau was 'postponed' indefinitely).
At least we got to do the pre-party where about 50 of the 250 dancers listed, kicked it up at Zouk to give everyone a taste of the surprise we were going to give Beyonce.
So... in 2010, I am pleased to introduce you guys again.. to J Squared - we sell creativity! I know that sounds wrong (heh!) but as creative director, aku plan to incorporate any form of the arts (especially performing arts) into the medium of presentation.
So for May, get ready for a flash mob that is HUGE and a FIRST. We are combining... singers, percussionists and a live band into a multi-device flash mob... numbering in... well let's say it's bigger than even KLCC.
There have been attempts at singing flash mobs, but most have failed badly.
Like with dance, inspired more by dance company Bounce from Sweden who posts some really kick ass videos on their flash mob performances, we want to come up with events like this that will inspire everyone to just sing and dance.
So this time, we are focusing on the singing part.
Ramai ingat kita ni sell-out because we tie in with corporate entities, but I laugh at that. You know why?
Because I get the performers paid, we have fun, and with logistics and all taken care of with no risks to our personal selves who do it for fun, and with no expense to our daily commitments, it is nothing but a chance to perform.
We tie-in with those we believe and we do what we can to bring the best out.
So this May... watch out for something really big.
By the way.. was surfing Youtube. I found a job I was offered, which I was unwilling to negotiate. The Lotus F1 event, which was to have a 'flash mob'. We declined to do it for our own reasons, and I just caught this video. Erm.. not too flash mob-esque if you ask me. Oh well... I guess at least the 15 or so guys doing it can dance...
Apapon... expect to be surprised. All I'm saying is, first of May, if you're in the city - get ready to see how a real, live musical will take the streets.
Letih dowh merancang benda nih. Doakan segalanya berjalan dengan sempurna. Can't wait for it. Rehearsals have begun and it's going to be AMAZING!
Owh... and we have another discussion with some organizers. We may be breaking our own biggest dance flash mob record of KLCC soon. Tak sabar nak confirm... tengah doa segalanya berjalan dengan lancar.
Time to get creative! Here's one up for the realists who dare dream, and the dreamers who dare be real!
Robert Alain aka 'Spiderman' came back. After trying to climb the KLCC twin towers twice - in 1997 and 2007, he finally managed to make the ascent.
Google about it in news, and you can see it's reported around the world how the Frenchman's success of reaching the peak of the 88 storey tower with his bare hands in the pre-dawn hours.
Two hours later, he reached the top of the tower, and police detained the 46 year-old to 'facilitate investigations for trespassing without a permit'.
Robert has scaled over 80 buildings around the world, including the Eiffel Tower, London's Canary Wharf building, New York's Empire State Building, Chicago's Sear's Tower and the world's tallest building, Taipei 101, in Taiwan.
My question is... this man has done more for Malaysia in a day by putting us on the map with his feat. And he's getting arrested? Oh well... maybe Melaka boleh bagi dia Datukship. I bet he's generated more headlines for our country more than Shah Rukh Khan has...
PS - It's strange that a Frenchman has given me something to celebrate with our country's National Day more than anything closer to home. France boleh?
PPS - Siap kibarkan Jalur Gemilang tuh bila sampai puncak...
I know some people tried with a handful. We had over a hundred. And there's going to be more soon.
I know a lot of you have been waiting for the official video. Well here it is. If you have a Youtube account, rate it please and support us for more in the future.
Pas berejam editing semalam, this is something we're definitely proud of!
The whole thing starts with a stage show of six dancers at the KLCC Center Court, before it's 'invaded' by over 100 dancers.
The video took over 8 hours to upload because I made sure it was the best quality. The file was over 1 GB. Damn... hope you guys like it. Now on to Monday....
PS - If you guys have a blog, share this video ok! Spread the word on Facebook, Myspace or Friendster or whatever applications you have and let's show everyone KL's first real dance flash mob rocked KLCC.
Since I'm back early tonight.... ni nak clear sikit a little entry cause things have been so hectic I've been doing really short postings.
So here's kind of like a trackback recollection of the last three days - to what exactly took place. On Thursday pas final rehearsal, went for the BMW Shorties. The third year, the short film fest memang best gila - and this year Ma Chai, by Shanjhey Kumar Perumal, and Conversation with a Mad Man, by Brandon Loh Ming Kwang won the top prizes in a draw.
Korang kalao nak tengok some upcoming talents, CLICK HERE for the BMW Shorties site and check out the finalists, and of course the winners' work. Baguih gila. And I'm not just saying that. I remember the first year - I was blown away by most of the work of these newcomers. Masa tu kak Min jadik judge along with the likes of James Lee.
And quality has been increasing with every year of competition.
Anyway, malam tu abih je, balik terus KO.
Friday, got to KLCC early, standby da. A lot of last minute preparations for the flash mob.
Biasala... when something can go wrong, usually it does.
Dari CD lagu entah ke mana, sampai last minute problems with Suria for not allowing our videographers officially to go on with their recording, macam-macam.
But everything got worked out with teamwork, and I thank the team for that. The whole team from Maxis and also Mindshare. And of course, especially to my team J² - , Floor Fever my head crew - as well as the other dance crews involved and also ALL the dancers who did their best, my videographers, team View Image and my team of photographers.
We all panicked at some point or another... I'll give you that, but things went VERY smoothly - except when the middle part of the center court was taken up by curious onlookers who were too busy recording the event sampai meka block the positioning of the dancers. Biasalah event camni kena on the spot ubah... so tak pe.
Yes, the event was at the center court, right smack in the middle of KLCC - done as part of the performances for the Maxis iPhone 3GS roadshow. Didn't I give you guys enough clues to guess that? By the way, I know I promised to give Twitter updates, but something was wrong that evening and I couldn't log on to Twitter from my phone. Benci tol!
Thank you to Maxis for believing in J² and the crazy idea, and berita baiknya, thanks to this first successful attempt, there will be MORE!
So if you want to join, bersedia ok! Will let you guys know more about the recruitment when dekat da.
All in all, it was good for the company Juan and I share, which is J², because being just over a month old, it's amazing to have someone as big as Maxis as a client - and to have such positive feedback from a first project of this scale. And of course, to also, from this point - to be part of their 'family'.
Also it was good for the dance community - so all in all, here's hoping more people will get the idea of what dance flash mobs are so next time nak menggila lagik, kurang halangan.
Check my previous entry a video by one of the 'eyewitnesses' and I will update the official video late tomorrow after we finish editing it. Meanwhile looking out for more cause I saw A LOT of people recording the event. Cuma kat Youtube so far ada satu.
Here's one more I found on the Net. Some dude recorded it with fish eye lens on the ground floor. It's not on Youtube, but Vimeo, so loads pretty darn slow. But worth a watch!
Can't tell you the location of the next flash mob - but it will be in a very high traffic area in the Golden Triangle! More people are going to be part of it, so it's going to be BIGGER. My ultimate goal when it comes to dance flash mobs is to have 1000 over dancers smack center of KL dancing to stop traffic. So working towards it.
Anyway, abih je flash mob, gi Cineleisure for the preview of Jin Notti.
Erm... malas komen lebih. All I can say is - if you have RM10 to watch a movie - watch anything BUT Jin Notti. But if you still want to watch it to see what I mean, be my guest - so I can say, I told you so!
Ni some pics at the event.
Part of the cast
Fara
Mawi - not too bad la acting dia. Boleh tahan
Cantik jacket si botak
Extreme close up! Heh... saja menggila ngan botak sebab lama tak jumpa
Fara's extreme close up!
Pas abih, continued on to Pelita for supper with Juan, Fendy and Syahir. Lepak borak tak sedar, tengok jam da 5 lebih pagik. Aduh....
Yang pentingnya, korang kan tau, aku penah ada siri gambar-gambar yang dipanggil Siri Perosak Selera. You know the pics where masa makan, tetiba ada orang tayang lobang tabung dia ke arah aku. This is the latest in the series. Ladies, especially more erm... 'voluptuous' ones, please wear jeans that are more appropriate to prevent this from happening.
Eewwwwww!!!!!
Memang perosak selera. Adoi!
Anyway headed home, tidur pun da about 6.30am, and woke up by 12 and shot straight to Sunway Lagoon Resort hotel for the press conference of the MTV World Stage.
All the performers for the MTV World Stage. Can you spot who? Left to right, more or less - is Hoobastank, Boys Like Girls, Pixie Lott, Kasabian and Raygun dan depan sekali is our own Estranged
Kelam kabut la.. benci organisation meka. Pastu interviews, aku ada All American Rejects -w ith two of them - Mike and Tyson. Sambil nak tunggu dua jam, malas ke mana, so nak lepak isap rokok je ngan geng media lain.
Nak isap rokok lak - hotel ni 'smoke free zone'. Matilah! Smoking corner dia kat carpark.
Aiyo.. hinanya!
Abih je plan lepak dalam. Bumped into Pixie Lott. Supposed to interview her tomorrow, but since I'm doing the Rejects today, esok aku takyah nak rush interview dia lak. Sempat la camwhore ngan Pixie.
By the way, she's got pretty feet - despite her telling me she's got ugly feet - because she goes about barefoot with a very nice pedicure. Er... so benda ni bukan 'trend' artis tempatan ok. So many artistes da memang wat camni lama da.
Camwhoring with Pixie
Pixie's pretty feet
Mike and Tyson from the All American Rejects
Lepaked some more, lost my temper at the stupidity of crap management by people handling the whole thing, and finally got my interview with Mike and Tyson. Love these dudes! They be real rockers!
The best quotes I got from them?
"Fuck the Jonas brothers!"
The second best quote I got from them?
"Fuck Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus!"
I love them! Heh... tak sabar nak finish up my article to be published! They are the type of interviews that are so much fun to do. To the point I almost forgot how pissed off I was to even be there because of the whole crap organisation of the event.
Pastu gerak gi Sunway Pyramid ngan Michelle and Zuan of Melodi. Lepak Gloria Jeans makan minum jap, then moved in.
The view from Sunway Pyramid at 6.30pm
We were out of the concert by half an hour. Memang macam sial cara meka organise the whole thing. MTV is the worst organiser of events. Every year at the MTV Awards - this happens (and I've attended every MTV Asia, except the recent Genting Highlands one) they screw up - and this seems to be business as usual for them. I guess at least I can say they're consistent.
There were so many things wrong I don't even know where to begin. Let's put it this way. Masuk masuk je, overheard some kids telling organisers how they were crushed against the metal barriers and how the security did nothing to help.
Dari tengahari da meradang, I decided it wasn't worth staying for, so decided to leave. Even gave my post party invites at Euphoria away. Not interested. Besides, I've been out since noon - am sticky and sweaty after a concert. I wonder what possessed the organisers to think that a post party would be the best thing to follow up with?
Apapon, event tu memang syok sendiri and I have no clue why Tourism Malaysia worked closely to co-sponsor the show.
Konsert Search pon ramai kata better... walaopon...
So that's my three hectic days. And since I've related all that... now I think I'm entitled to some sleep. Goodnight all.. be posting the official flash mob video tomorrow. Until then...ta.
The first of some random people who caught the flash mob has uploaded a video of it. Aiyo... I haven't even done it. Korang layan part of it dulu... this is what we had yesterday evening.
On the way to a whole bunch of assignments. Will be back to update later tonight. Enjoy the video... and thanks to the person who uploaded it. Not the best angle and he missed out a lot of stuff... but still kinda cool.
Semalam lazing around, thinking about what to do. All my friends still sibuk beraya, while me, myself and I leh bangun at 7am sebab oversleep the day before.
Went a little crazy, plan nak gi kampung Juan kat Bentong with some friends kat sini. Then changed my mind and thought... a small expedition with mates to Genting Highlands or Port Dickson was in order. Nak merasa udara sedar ke, nak sun tan ke... anything better than ngadap laptop je keja.
So while was making up my mind, started fiddling around with my cigarette box collection. What, you say? Yes, my cigarette box collection. I collect, among many things, various types of erm.. Marlboro boxes locally produced and also from around the world.
Anyway, baru aku perasan why rokok luar negara tak sedap. Heh! I actually knew it before masa working at my old place and my Australian bosses got stoned with my Reds when they were smoking Marlboro Lights. But ni kali ni baru aku perasan, rokok kita yang paling power.
Tuh dia! From top to bottom. Indonesian, Malaysian and Thai produced Marlboro cigarettes! In comparison, Indo Marlboro Red contain 1.3 mg tar, while ours lak no less than 20mg katanya. Nicotine content pun jauh beza between 1.0mg and 1.5mg a stick. The Thai produced Marlboro? No freaking Idea... tak reti baca.
Yeay! Malaysian die faster from lung cancer! Erm... no it does not in any way make me want to quit, as I'm still fine, thank you *bursts out in coughing fits*
Ni just some pics I took out of boredom of a small piece of my collection.
You have to love the warning on the dangers of smoking from the Thais
The left one is Swiss I think.. or Australian (but I don't think it's Ozzie). Member bagi tak ingat lak. And Indonesian one again on right. Heh...
Malas nakamik pic bebanyak lagik. Actually saja posting bab ni sebab sis bought like a carton worth of Reds from Jakarta for me.
Murah gila ok in comparison rokok sana ngan sini. Sana a box of 20s costs about RM4 kalau tak silap. As opposed to our RM9!!! Daylight robbery! Thank you, sin taxes! Alcohol tanak naikkan lak? Rokok lak pepandai naik je keja.
I think we rank up there with expensive fags actually. I know in the States, a box of 20s is about RM12 to RM22 (depending on state and varying taxes), Singapore lak about RM27. UK tak ingat. But RM20 lebih gak rasanya. Tak ingat. India - RM5.90 and Laos - RM4.30. Cam isap rokok emas je skang. Heh...
Anyway, pas aku da bosan gaban, abih this part of the entry, finally decided, it was a me day.
So naik ler KL. On the way singgah Puchong jumpa minum ngan abang Bad, sebab Raya tak jenguk dia. Actually hadn't met him the whole of the fasting month. Borak borak... da masuk dua tiga jam da.
Pas settle, gerak ke KLCC. In the freaking storm!!! Argh! Ujan cam horror movie tau! Da la jalan tak heavy traffic, which is of course unusual by KL standards... which gave it a creepier effect. Just me getting paranoid out of boredom and setting my imagination loose to amuse myself actually.
But indeed it was raining pussies and bitches (more extreme version of raining cats and dogs la).
Mak aih! Ramainya manusia kat KLCC! Rasa cam da kat Dubai lak ngan Arab tourists berlambak. By the way, they remind me of Taiwanese tourists. Loud and rude. Erm... nuff said.
Went up and bought movie tickets. Initially nak tengok Mamma Mia! je, tapi last last opted for the 11.20pm show of that, and also bought the 9.50pm show of Flight Of The Livind Dead - Outbreak On A Plane.
Ok with a title like that, mesti da dapat tangkap, B grade horror. But what can I say. I love horror movies. I know some people walking around being a whole production on their own! Minus the make up effects - though with just as much work done. Matilah...Anyway grabbed some sushi before the show... and got a lot of funny stares for my red mohawk which has turned almost fluorescent pink thanks to being bored and fiddling with more peroxide.
Lantak la. But the service I have to say kat Sushi King KLCC ni cam pantat sikit. Horror tol nak amik order from the ala carte menu. Last last makan off the line je. With five minutes to spare, went up to the cinemas for movie number one.
I am so not going to really review this movie.
All i can say is to give you an indication how it is, if you've seen Snakes On a Plane, I think that was the title, starring Nicholas Cage... now imagine the whole movie, shot on what looks like the same set, with the same effects, but instead of snakes, with zombies and a similar plotline of of the freaky cargo escaping and running rampage among the passenger, and you have Flight of the Living Dead.
Still, I have to say, it was typical camp horror. Funny without being stupid. Jumped a few times, but not enough to make it amazingly horrific by my standards. Worth a watch, because the director made an effort to change the potrayal of zombies with obvious influences to the Japanese school of horror applications to all things freaky.
Is it worth a movie ticket? Considering my other choices were Senario the Movie - Episode 1, and Kami the Movie, and also I had a few scares (more than Susuk) and more than a few laughs (more than Congkak), yes it was worth it.
It'll put a smile on your face!
Movie was supposed to end five minutes after Mamma Mia! started, which would have been just nice once you take away the intro ads. But because my zombie fest started 10 minutes late (sampai aku ingat salah panggung da aku masuk), I went into Mamma Mia a little late.
Missed out one song, which I think was I Have A Dream cause I heard the tail end of it.
All I can say about Mamma Mia is -Abba is so f**king gay, you have to love it! Sang along to every bloody song... seb baik panggung tak penuh sangat. So I could sing a long without someone in the next seat cursing me and my family.
I had so many favourite songs in the show that it was like a concert! Tak sabar nak tengok the musical when it comes to Istana Budaya in December. Let's see, my favourite karaoke like moments - thanks to the lyrics at the bottom of the screen to help me out when I forgot a line were Money, Money, Money, Mamma Mia, Chiquitita, Dancing Queen, Our Last Summer, Super Trouper, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, Voulez-Vous, SOS, The Winner Takes It All, When All is Said and Done, Take a Chance on Me and Waterloo as well as Than You For The Music right at the end. Yes, watch until way into the credits cause lagu non stop! Aku sampai kena jeling mamat Bangla keja sana tuh sebab dia nak tutup the hall da but I was still watching the credits singing along.
Cuma sentap sikit cause Knowing Me Knowing You didn't really make the soundtrack, apart from the instrumental backdrop.
The movie itself was just FUN! Meryl Streep was AMAZING (give that woman an Oscar for this!) while Pierce Brosnan was just a right bore who sounded like he had a Greek midget up his ass. That man can't sing! Meryl did so well but Pierce just screwed up totally! I don't expect amazing vocals - but dude sounded seriously like a karaoke reject from Hell who would have been right at home is he showed up on America's Got Talent in a thong and cape.
Julie Walters as Rosie and Christine Baranski as Tanya were the life of the movie making up Donna And The Dynamos (matilah nama!)
The acting was not as rigid, and flowed throughout the musical. In fact they made it seem like a one off shoot without much rehearsal - not in a bad way, cause everything just seemed so quirkily free spirited.
Not exactly movie of the year material. But hey, when you have Meryl Streep and Abba, who cares about everything else. Worth it for those who remember the beautiful songs of Abba - or those who want to discover the campy tunes us oldies grew up on.
Oh yeah, by the way. Don't be like this minah yang dok depan aku kata, "eh... sedap kan lagu lagu dia.... pandai meka tulis semua lagu sedap tuk movie ni". Arghhh!!!!
Eh.. panjangnya aku melalut entry ni. Balas dendam. Anyway, things are slowly returning to normal I hope, and hopefully friends and extended family back to KL soon. Be updating soon...
