Pandarific!!

Remember the Sherlock Holmes movie in 2009 starring Robert Downey Jr? Well this series (3 episodes per season, 1 season so far) is something of that sort. I found it by accident as i was trolling the web for something cosplay related, odd, i have no idea how that connects. Anyway, i just love this series as much as i loved the movie. Of course they have no connection to each other, other than the fact that they're both about Sherlock Holmes. This version stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Watson.

There are some notable differences at first, like the relationship between holmes and Watson, in the movie, Watson is in his own way independant of thought and can decipher things on his own. A change from the sidekick who knows nothing version always portrayed. Here, in the series watson can't figure out how holmes came to a certain conclusion. Why? Because in the series the first episode they just met each other. In the movie, they've been friends for years. On the series, watson is still trying to get used to Holmes, dashing off here and there, so he does get a bit irritated with Holmes. Holmes here is, from what i've seen so far, as ingenius as ever, with a touch of arrogance. He often insults the people around him for their lack of intelligence. Here's one, "Dear God, what is it like in your funny little brains? It must be boring" And another one where he insults the police detective.

S: Shut up
D: I didn’t say anything
S: No, you were thinking, it’s annoying.

Ok i'm just loving his character! The sarcasm is hillarious! Owh and i forgot to mention, it's set in modern London, so you have the updated version of everything. The ever famous address 221b Baker Street

I finally get to see the places that i "buy" in monopoly, 75 years after the game was created, many things have changed. Too bad they don't cover all the places on the board.

After an exhausting Day 1, I made my way to see what was installed for the next day. People were crowding outside the hall, waiting for the doors to open, before that everyone did a countdown full of enthusiasm. Since I had already gone through all the Doujin booths the day before, I made my way to the stage to book a nice spot. And it was a good thing I did because the screening of Danny Choo’s Culture: Japan episode 1 and 2 was shown. I really liked it as it was easy going yet informative. I learnt a lot about Japan just from the two episodes, for example, in Japan they have this “Itasha” where they put anime character stickers on their car. Not the small little ones you buy in the pasar malam but the big ones where you have to customize it. They even have a competition to see who has the best “Itasha”. He also covered a few things like Anime Figures, how they’re made, clone figurines from Good Smile, Maid cafes (wow the maids are really energetic and cute), doll customisation shop, Japanese culture festival in a school and the Edo wonderland. I liked the Edo wonderland one as the people there all dress up in traditional costumes and you can even learn how to be a ninja, just like Danny did. The voice stress Shiori Mikami also guest starred in both episodes, in the second episode, Danny tried to do voice acting with 4 other voice actresses. Not to forget the bicycle thing, in Japan they have this service where they store your bicycles for you underground!! That is so sci-fi- ish (For me), I wish they had something like this in Malaysia for motorbikes perhaps. Ok, I think i’ve gone too far about this, but I just really liked the episodes so much, Japan is so cool I need to go visit it one day. So if you want to find out more you can go to This Website. The show will be broadcasted on Animax every Friday 8pm. 

After that, the Malaysian Lolita Club had a fashion runway show. Here everyone got to see a variety of Lolita dresses and fashion, the girls were cute and very loli-like as they posed for the camera’s.

Then it was another stage performance, this time an exercise routine, although no one could understand a thing they were saying because it was in Japanese, it was funny to see their actions and facial expression. Very serious, very exercise routine. 

Finally it came the time for the solo cosplay competition, this year it was different as they had more rules that restricted the participants, for example, they couldn’t interact with the judges or the emcees (many had done that last year). The participants were very creative with the way they portrayed their character, others got nervous in front of the crowd and some had really, really good cosplays. Like this cosplayer who had a sword that was bigger than her, very cool. For those who made it to the finals, they were paired up and had to do a skit with each other.

Since it was the last day, the emcees were throwing free posters at the crowd (I got one yay!) and loads of prizes that people had to do something for. It’s amazing what people would do just for a Nips poster, they willingly put themselves up to whatever the emcees could think of. They also showed a video of what Alfred had been doing for the past year. A surprise for me because i’ve watched the video before but never knew it was him!

Gempak had an autograph session again, this time the artists were Keith, Kaoru, Joe and Nishiki. After the prizes were given out to the cosplayers, in the tradition of comic fiesta, the final dance was held. This is where everyone goes crazy even though their energy levels are near zero. And that people, marks the end of comic fiesta 2010.

Personal Comments:

I was very excited to do the side quests but unfortunately, the friends I came with on day 1 couldn’t make it for Day 2, so I decided not to try. But I did see the card you got when you unlocked the quest; it looked like the World of Warcraft Quest unlocked image, nice.

Didn’t get to go for the industry seminars because it was held simultaneously with the events in the hall, and opportunity cost you know (oh darn, economics). Due to the lack of space they had to have them in separate rooms, just wish I could have sat for at least one.

Wish they could have used the big screen at the stage area to project what was going on on stage. This would allow people at the back to see what’s going on and everyone wouldn’t need to crowd at the stage area.

Lastly, here's a video by Young News Network on Comic Fiesta and Cosplayers:

The 18^th of December, many events were going on around the klang valley but 9000 plus people choose to be in one place; Comic Fiesta 2010. This year comic fiesta has hit the 9000 attendees target without a sweat, when I got there, the lifts were full every time the doors opened, the line was so long (those who pre-booked their tickets sighed with relief) and the toilet full of cosplayers getting ready. Despite all this, which would normally scare me, I eagerly waited for the doors to open into the hall. While waiting I watched my friend get ready for her cosplay, the interesting part is watching everyone else get ready and helping their friends out, not to mention you get to see your favourite characters there and then. A good improvement this year was the toilets. In Sunway, the cosplayers and everyone else were fighting for space in the scarce basin area. But this year, there was more make up space and it didn’t feel as crowded as it was before.

 As everyone flooded into the hall, the people from horizon were asking people to fill out forms to enter the lucky draw contest, the prize was an I-pad and 2 I-pod nano’s each day. Unfortunately, I was not lucky enough to win the I-pad which I was personally eyeing on. On the left there was the Nips copic challenge, where normally it would be illegal to destroy public property by doing graffiti on the wall, here you could do as much as you liked and make a mark on the wall. Free Nips candy (peanut and raisins) were given out, this became my personal fuel as I went for hours without food because there was just so much going on. Every year during comic fiesta (I don’t know if it’s just me or others feel the same way) my body would magically be able to function without breakfast or lunch. Another thing would be my body functioning with low levels of energy, all thanks to the lack of sleep. This is what comic fiesta does alright.

 If you wanted to get the feeling of being a toy in a box (something like toy story) there was a live size figurine box that one could go into and take pictures. The Lim Kok Wing booth had a DOTA competition on going throughout the event, many guys and their teams went there to show off their skills as they tried to beat the other team.

On the main stage Shaun and Alfred were back as Emcee’s, while Alfred was on his way to comic fiesta, he had a substitute, Edo, the stoner emcee. The best part was when a person was asked to do the “dandut” and the guy had to follow Edo’s moves, the lack of expression and the dance moves combined made it hilarious. This is what the crowd would do for free stuff, among the things done were proposing and rejecting someone, jumping and the limbo, but that’s another story. Comic Fiesta was Officiated with this video:

 At the other end of the hall were the Doujin booths. This is where you can see artists love for art and anime combined. Loads of Hetalia, Vocaloid and Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) artwork were on sale, along with the long time favourite’s naruto and final fantasy. There weren’t just drawings, but little clay artworks of tiny cakes and desserts that looked good enough to eat, t-shirts, cups, hats (just adorable) and doll clothes. Fans of certain artists also take this chance to finally meet their favourite artists in person, giving compliments and getting signatures. The place was full of activity as people tried to get the goods before it was all sold out. Certain booths were so popular that in a matter of hours all their goods were sold off. I personally could not get my hands on the naruto artwork and due to indecision; this beautiful postcard which I contemplated my purchase on was sold out. Lesson learnt; buy it when you see it. 

Because I was caught up in the Doujin area, I almost missed the time for the group cosplay competition. Others were fast and got a nice spot to sit at. Unfortunately for me I had to rough my way through the crowd to get a spot where I still had to stand. It would have been good if the stage area were bigger so that more people could watch the performances. The group cosplays were good as they were creative in the use of props, music and the characters themselves. I personally liked the chrono cross cosplay where they had the whole “How to deal with women” theme:
the Kuroshitsuji group was entertaining too as it revolved around mobile phones and music to convey the “words” they were saying.
Other cosplay groups involved characters like the Joker and Harley Quinn, Mario, Final Fantasy, resident evil and a mix of characters from different anime/games. (Not in order of appearance)
At 5.30, fans of Gempak comic artists got to get their signatures, there was Keith, Kaoru, Neko and little, there another long line formed as there were so many fans.

Outside the hall there were loads of things going on, firstly, the art competition which was held in a separate room, they also had some industry seminars. The speakers included Ivon Smith from Codemasters, Kelvin Hii also from Codemasters, Michael Chua a comic artist and Phil Yeh and Ohil Ortiz who are cartoonists and animators respectively. Other than that, since photographers weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the hall, cosplayers and photographers were outside busy posing and taking pictures. There was this cosplayer from Sabah who had such huge wings that she needed helpers to hold it up for her. She took the spotlight as everyone was in awe of the detail and massiveness of her cosplay. It is here that one gets to admire all the hard work and dedication put into making the costumes, these people take their passion seriously and it all pays off in Comic Fiesta.

You would have seen this:

What is this? From the combination of the words mobil and comic you would think it's just another mobil comic. But no, “CHILL is not just a comic, it is a new medium that will change the experience of comic book reading. From one of a kind illustrations designed by Malaysia’s finest, we will be featuring renowned cartoonist and illustrator, Aie G for the very first issue,” says Low Huoi Seong, CEO of Vision Interactive Broadband Services Sdn. Bhd. (VIBS) and Redberry Digital.

With Chill Mobil Comic, we won't have to run to the bookstore for the latest comic volumes and end up disappointed that they have not brought it in yet. CHILL is a weekly magazine where you get to experience full color comic strips, comic stories, and quizzes all on their mobile phones. Additionally, the mobile comic has features to browse the CHILL store and download mobile wallpapers. Readers can now carry all CHILL issues in their pocket and enjoy comic reading whenever and wherever.

Watch out for this date people! On 19 November 2010, readers can download and experience the 1st CHILL issue for FREE* at www.lepakchill.com. Plus, cartoonist Aie G will be making a special appearance with the CHILL Crew at the 2010 Comic Fiesta to be held in Berjaya Times Square from 18-19 December 2010.

There will be many activities going on like an Illustration contest, the best work will be published in CHILL. The team will also be giving away exclusive CHILL merchandise and exciting prizes during the 2-day event. More details on the contest rules and guidelines will be released closer to the date. Comic fans can also follow CHILL on Facebook, DeviantArt and Twitter for the latest news in the comic scene.

The official launch of CHILL will be on 3 December 2010. Chill Mobile Comic is only available for

JAVA enabled mobile phones at the start but VIBS has future plans of putting CHILL onto iPads,

iPhones and Android models. So get ready to chill! --CHILL powered by VIBS.

This event is a whole new thing for CF, for the first time, attendees get to do compete against each other. Here's a brief description about the event:

CF has been invaded by a mysterious force! (which we somehow know is evil)

We need able arms to fend off this mysterious force! (which we somehow know is evil) So we are calling
YOU! Gather your friends, or if you like to prove your sole might, go solo and complete the achievements through the two days of CF2010!

You and your friends only need to be an attendee of CF to play. Once you’ve got your tickets, register your team with the CF Quest Counter begin unlocking Achievements and gain Achievement Points!

I hyped up about it because it is something like a treasure hunt with the whole mysterious force thing put in. For more information go to http://forums.comicfiesta.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6437

So anyone wanna team up with me?

There's also the Activities Master List, when i first looked at it, i'm thinking to myself, this years CF is going to be EXCITING! So many activities, so many competitions going on i may have to plan out my route to cover everything. oh yeah.

Here's a overview of the activities planned out:

1. CF Digital Art Competition
   
2. CF Cosplay Competition
3. National Manga competition submission
4. NIPS Copic Challenge- use your creativity to modify the NIPS logo using COPIC markers
5. Chill Mobil Illustration Competition
6. Gempak Autograph Session- Saturday: Kaoru, Keith, Neko, Little
                                                      Sunday: Kaoru, Keith, Nishiki, Joe
   
7. MEET PHIL YEH & PHIL ORTIZ ( won 5 emmy and he is one the guys who helped in the animation of The Simpsons.)
   
8. INDUSTRY SEMINARS: CODEMASTERS, MICHAEL CHUAH (a.k.a C2V) and JACK LIM (Ah Beng)
9. PORTFOLIO PAVILION

For more details, click the link. CF ACTIVITIES MASTER LIST:http://forums.comicfiesta.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6566&start=0

Aren't they just fabulous? Click on it for a larger view and a better look at the details or just go to www.comicfiesta.org

The story is not unfamiliar to us fairytale lovers. Rapunzel a girl with uncommonly long hair is locked up in a tower, the only way up is when she lets down her hair. Prince comes, rescues her. That is the story in a nutshell; Disney has finally taken up this classic tale and given it its Disney twist. Rapunzel is still Rapunzel with the long golden hair. Kidnapped at birth, check, locked in tower, check. What’s different now is the prince, he’s not a prince, no in fact he’s a wanted thief. This reminds me of mother Gothel’s line when Rapunzel says “I met someone” and she replies “Yes, the wanted thief....I’m so proud.” As evil a character as mother gothel is, she has been given the most sarcastic lines in the movie, contending with her would be Flynn.  Back to the story, mother Gothel locks Rapunzel up in the tower because, drum roll, Rapunzel’s hair has magical powers of healing and rejuvenation when you sing a certain tune to it. It was one a drop of sunshine that grew into a magical flower you see. Then one night, when the queen almost died of childbirth, the villager/soldiers found that flower that mother Gothel tried so hard to hide, the queen was saved and thus rapunzel had blonde hair. Mother gothel tried to snip a lock of hair but found out that by doing so, the power vanished, so she kidnapped the girl and raised her as her own. The King and Queen were so heartbroken that every year they would light lanterns just like the one they did when Rapunzel was born in hope that Rapunzel would see it and return to them. I know it sounds so magical and all. 18 years later, Rapunzel is bored doing the same old things in the tower. She wants to get out and see the magical lights. She tries to ask mother Gothel but is rejected. On to Flynn, he’s on the castle and on a mission to steal the crown (rapunzel’s). He and his accomplices manage to do the job but they get chased by soldier. After abandoning his accomplices he is pursued by Maximus, the very human like horse in my opinion. He stumbles across the secret passageway leading to Rapunzel’s tower. Seeing it as a perfect hideout, he climbs the tower and meets Rapunzel in the most painful way, a hit on the head by a frying pan (a very prominent weapon in this show).  Rapunzel manages to hide/lock him in the cupboard and before she can show him to mother Gothel, she is dissuaded. Now she comes up with an idea to use Flynn to take her to see the lights blackmailing him using the crown. He agrees and there begins their adventure. I don’t want to give out too much information, it’ll be better for you to watch it yourself, it is really worth it, i plan to rewatch it very soon! Comments on the characters, i like Rapunzel, she’s pretty, funny, smart, somewhat brave and it’s so fun to see her reactions to everything. Flynn is supposed to be the most handsome prince Disney has ever come up with, I AGREE!! He went through the hot guy screening and it’s a pass! I like his sarcastic remarks to Rapunzel’s never ending eagerness. Take this line for example. Rapunzel :Some this brought you here, fate, destiny.. Flynn: A horse. And the nice stuff he does for her, like the lanterns. He acts all tough and bad but deep down inside he’s so sweet and has this little dream in his heart. Pascal is just so cute, and the perfect sidekick to have. Maximus, like i said before, is very humanlike for a horse. He’s smarter than the guards and when Flynn and him fight, it’s hilarious. 

Storyline/plot: Seeing that it’s a fairytale, you’d expect certain things like a Prince and Princess, evil charatcter and a happy ending. Some parts were very predictable, but i’d excuse them as firstly, the movie was made for little kids, not teenagers who have seen/read too many fairytales to know what’s going to happen. And secondly, i think it’s that whole basic plotline that they must follow that makes it a Princess movie.

Animation/Art: WONDERFUL, i love the artwork, how it’s 3D and yet you get to see the old style of hand painting (looks like it). Since i’ve watched almost every promo video that Disney has released for Tangled i know that they used Disneyland as an inspiration for the town. I could really see and feel that in the movie, it was just magical. Two thumbs up to the animators/artists for all wonderful work on the art, loved the tower, the palace, the snugly duckling, oh, just the whole movie!

Favourite scene: The lantern scene. Especially the part where the King and Queen light up the first lantern and everyone else slowly follows. That was the most magical/ cool part of the whole movie.

Songs: The most memorable song for me would be “Now i see the light”, again the lantern scene. Other songs weren’t that impactful. The songs had a link to what was happening of course, but the lyrics weren’t so catchy or the tune was just so so. Or maybe i’m just not a fan of the whole bursting out in song when i feel so very happy in movies. (ok.ok Pascal) 

I would really really recommend this movie to everyone. Good job to Zachary Levi (Flynn) and Mandy Moore (Rapunzel) for a great job with the voices. Disney, you hit the target on the whole Disney Princess thing again. The last two, Giselle and Tiana, didn’t really look like they’d fit in with the rest of the gang, (the usuals you know, Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, etc). I am still so hyped up with the movie that i’m collecting every piece and scrap of artwork there is on the internet related to this movie!! I will upload more stuff on Flynn soon, since very much obsessed with him.

Taken from this blog: http://lucialai.org/2007/03/19/tale-of-a-malaysian-diaspora-discrimination-abound/#/

Here's a qoute "If you want to say discrimination is here in the US, yes, of course it is. Can you name a country where it doesn’t happen? But let me tell you one thing – if you go looking for it, you will find it. But in Malaysia, you don’t have to go look for it because it seeks you out, slaps you in your face every which way you turn, and is sanctioned by law!"

I know it's from 2007 but the issues are still the same, still the same problem. 

As of today there is only 44 days left till CF is here! Here's a random fact for you!

The ending theme of Cowboy Bebop, The Real Folk Blues, has been played in every single CF since 2005.

This years CF will be in Berjaya Times Square Hotel Manhattan Ballroom. So take note and don't go into the mall! 

Here's the facebook page if you're interested: this is their FACEBOOK PAGE become a fan and get all the latest updates! Everyday, there will be the Comic Fiesta featured artwork and it'll tell you how many days are left to CF, so enjoy the nice artwork and get a live countdown too, (It's helping me keep track haha) 

or you could just go to the main site www.comicfiesta.org.

I have no idea if i'm going to cosplay this year, keeping my fingers crossed XD

Because i am so loving it all right now! All the Wanted, Found and Lost video's i could find related to Tangled or better known in this part of the world as Rapunzle because they had to change the movie title for us....

I was googling KFC colonel Japan and came upon this article in wikipedia:

Curse of the Colonel

Yes, there is such a thing, what's it about? 

Curse of the Colonel (カーネルサンダースの呪い Kāneru Sandāsu no noroi?) refers to an urban legend regarding a reputed curse placed on the Japanese Kansai-based Hanshin Tigers baseball team by deceased KFC founder and mascot Colonel Harland Sanders. The curse was said to be placed on the team because of the Colonel's anger over treatment of one of his store-front statues.[1]

The Hanshin Tigers are located in Kansai, the second largest metropolitan area in Japan. They are considered the eternal underdogs of Nippon Professional Baseball, in opposition to the Yomiuri Giants of Tokyo, who are considered the kings of Japanese baseball.[2] The devoted fans flock to the stadium no matter how badly the Tigers play in the league.[3]

As is common with sports-related curses, the Curse of the Colonel is used to explain the Japan Championship Series drought that the Hanshin Tigers have had to endure since their first and only victory in the 1985 Japan Championship.[4] The curse is said to have happened when Hanshin fans, excited over winning the 1985 championship series, tossed the statue of Colonel Sanders into the Dōtonbori River.[4]

Since then, fans have said they would never win another Japan Series until the statue was recovered.[5] Comparisons are often made between the Hanshin Tigers and the Boston Red Sox, who were also said to be under a curse, the Curse of the Bambino, until they won the World Series in 2004.[4] The "Curse of the Colonel" has also been used as a boogeyman threat to those who would divulge the secret recipe of eleven herbs and spices that makes the unique taste of KFC chicken.[6] 

[Taken from Wikipedia]

To read the full article here's the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_Colonel

Since we're on this topic, here are some pics of the colonel dressed up in Japan!

And this is the statue that caused the start of this whole curse thing in the first place

So next time you feel like doing something to public/private property, think twice lah.