I’m glad that comedy is bringing the family close again. Although I think my Dad’s going to compare all comedians now with Russell Peters. LOL! I mean I’m not saying when Russell Peters did a show in Malaysia, it set the bar too high, but y’ know, it’s Russell Peters.
Getting on with the show
TicketPro were the same event company managing the Russell Peters show. However, in Kumar’s show I noticed they were very lax. During the Russell Peters show, I wrote about how they had so many guards aiming their light strobing seizure inducing flashlights at you if you tried to take a picture. However, it was a 360 during Kumar’s show.
The other thing me and a friend whom I bumped into said was, booking for this show was not very well done. Unlike Russell Peter’s where you could see the row and if I recall, whether it’s a higher level, we couldn’t tell from the Kumar seating plan. What’s up with that?!
Stage set looks awfully familiar, no?
Thankfully, though seated on the higher level, we got seats near the balcony. Plus, sound system was well done that you could hear the jokes clearly.
Malaysia versus Singapore
Emceeing was JD from MixFM and it was very noticeable when you’re at an event and sponsors have said, “you must tell everyone who brought this event to them”. Phbt.
So anyway, we had 2 Malaysian comedians warm up the crowd. Both of which, me and Ariel had seen them in action during the Ministry of Humour – Kavin Jay and Dr.Jason Leong. This time, their acts seemed much better than when we first saw them. *shrug*
Then, when the big kahuna, of course not in size, came onto the stage, Kumar wasted no time hitting off the jokes. He banged everyone from JD, Kavin, Jason and even, the DJ. LOL!
JD, Kavin Jay, Kumar and Dr.Jason Leong
She should’ve stayed at home
In front of us, I noticed a couple. The guy seemed entertained with the jokes thrown by the comedians. However, little could be said about his girl friend. It looked like she didn’t have a sense of humour or she had too much trouble following the jokes. Simply because she kept leaning and whispering into his ear, like “dear, what does he mean ar?” “dear, bla bla bla bla…” -_-!!!
Anyway, let’s wrap this up. Kumar’s jokes to me were made from the experiences he encountered mixed with research done. Although my Dad said Russell Peters was better, I found Kumar’s jokes equally entertaining. On the other hand, when Kumar injects Tamil, I’m temporarily idle. LOL!
But like he said, if you don’t get it, just forget it.
So much to talk about, so little time. Especially when you’ve selected your photos, edited them then by that time, it’s already late and you just had to go to bed. Thought to self; the things I do when I write a blog post.
Anime Festival Asia in Malaysia
After much commitment from Malaysians heading down to Singapore yearly for the Anime Festival Asia convention, it has finally crossed our (and Indonesia’s) borders. Held in the old Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), where PC Fair used to be until there was too many complaints of stuffiness and disgusting BO stories, I couldn’t help but ask; why there?!
Busy ticketing counters
The ticket counters had long queues. Long enough that it worried the PWTC officers monitoring the situation. This was because there was some other AGM or something going on. Plus, PWTC is located next to a political party’s tower. So yeay.
And like our Malaysian road signs – not knowing it’s there until it’s too late, I heard from goldfries that apparently, there was an exclusive counter opened if you were a Canon user. Well, thankfully I got my tickets the previous day. By the way, speaking of bad signages, PWTC should look at themselves too because I didn’t notice any sign saying where was hall 1 and 2. The only hall I saw from the parking lot was Dewan Tun Razak 1 & 2. How’s everyone suppose to know THAT is hall 1 and 2?! *facepalm* Don’t get me started of having to walk across a bridge to the place. *sweats*
Once inside, we started patrolling the booths to see what goodies which interest us. We walked end to end within 15 minutes. It was very obvious which booth were real crowd pullers; maid cafe, butler cafe and KKNM (together with littleAkiba – friend of mine).
Ladies queuing to the butler cafe
Guys trump ladies with longer line to maid cafe
The queue goes around the KKNM booth
The other booths which were open (if I recall) were:
Danny Choo
GoodSmile company
Bushiroad
Macross Malaysia club
Online gaming
Sony Music
Canon
AFA shop
Event organizer
Malaysia Hatsune Miku party booth
Some other booths selling anime merchandise and cosplay items.
Danny Choo was not only hosting the festival shows but also promoting his Moekana Japanese language cards. And of course, he brought the lovely Mirai Suenaga with him to the AFA Malaysia edition.
Danny Choo figurine in his iconic storm trooper uniform
Mirai Suenaga figams
Mirai greeting people in her ride
Well, hello Mir...wait a minute...who are you?!
Hmm, I read quite a bit of chatter on Twitter about the Ultimate Madoka figure. Though I’m sure there’s a very good reason, please do tell me about it. However, I believe this was the model they were oogling.
Ultimate Madoka
When it got really crowded, making for little room to move *cough – PC Fair history* we mozied over to the next hall. This was where the stage activities were held along with the concert in the evening.
Ah memories
I must say though, using this hall for the concert was definitely a good move. It’s spacious just like AFA Singapore.
Making our way to the stage
The first show of Day 1 hosted by Danny Choo was with Tomohiko Ishii introducing the upcoming anime film; Re:Cyborg 009.
Tomohiko Ishii (left) and Danny Choo (right)
The Cyborg 009 production dates back to the 1960s for manga and the latest anime production was in 2001. I don’t recall watching the anime but I must say after watching the upcoming movie trailer, I’m going to hunt for the recent anime.
After Ishii-san’s segment, I noticed camera bearing guys moving to the front of the barricade. I pondered staying in my seat in the 3rd row then later standing on the chair, but I didn’t want to risk it. So I secured a seat in the front row.
Sitting beside me was a girl taking notes while her girl friend was snapping photos. They looked like journalist but my bet is they were real hardworking bloggers.
Spiral Cats (SP Cats) cosplayers
The reason for this camera horde was because professional cosplayers were coming on stage. Plus, both of them were Korean girls to boot.
The horde
Other than Danny Choo, he had a sweet lady co-host with him. Don’t remember her name.
Ohayou~
The SP Cats are a Korean group of cosplayers who are rather serious in the hobby. It takes them awhile to produce the gear and costumes. The pair who came down for AFA was the group leader; Tasha, and youngest member; Miyuko. Okay, I will shut up now and just post the pictars.
Q&A with SP Cats - Tasha and Miyuko
Tasha and Miyuko
Kuroneko and Black Rock Shooter
Tasha was looking at me!
She was doing it again!
Sweet Miyuko
Miyuko in what I call the Hmph pose
Surprising how a small change in pose makes a difference
Classic innocent skirt holding post
By the way, here’s a picture of the crowd seated during the morning show.
Don't think I'm in there
We had to leave AFA earlier because of lunch plans. And I found out later I missed the opportunity to snap some artistes on stage because they came out to wish the crowd. Oh well.
My only plunder of this event was the latest SCANDAL album. Primary reason being I didn’t have enough cash on me. From another perspective, that sounds like a good thing.
SCANDAL japanese band album
Overall, AFA Malaysia was alright. I’m hoping to see more booths open next year and that time, I’ll make sure to bring more cash. Also to the organizer, please bring down more Japanese acts!
And if you could, please give me a media pass next time. Pretty please. ROFL!
P.S.: When Joshua shared this photo, I couldn’t believe it.
Oh Em Gee I tell ya
Come to think of it, this isn’t Sheryl Nome from Macross right? Or, is it?
It was my very first time walking and witnessing a golf tournament as it was ongoing. And this was particularly special because it was an official PGA Tour challenge hosted in The Mines, Malaysia. Of course, this happened thanks to my friend; Philip, for the invitation and tickets.
All visitors had to go through an entrance where most sponsors are given booths to sell their products. Once you reach that exit, you’re given a free umbrella, stress ball and even a pair of disposable binoculars.
This experienced was definitely the closest I ever got to a PGA golf professional. Watching it on the television is one thing, but being able to stand only few feet away from them was just another feeling.
Practice range and Leaderboard
Patrons whipped out DSLR cameras and even video cameras to record some professionals warming up on the range. It was a beautiful morning with lots of sun as you can see.
Walk walk
Philip’s attended the event before so he had much tips to share for this event. Like instead of trailing the top players which plenty of others will trail, we opted to follow a different pair – Rory Sabbertini and Lucas Glover.
PGA professionals have it rough too
If you play golf, landing in the rough is one of the most dreadful things. In the above situation, looking for a ball approximately 1 inch big in that mess of knee deep rough would be a nightmare. Plus, Philip told me apparently you’ve only a limited amount of time to spot it, otherwise you’ll have to play on with a penalty stroke. They did find the ball in the end.
Quiet please
One of the things I wish I could’ve taken back were the volunteer’s sign. The one you see printed “Quiet”. LOL! It would’ve been a sweet souvenier. Too bad none of it were for sale – I just might make my own.
This was a collection of short videos from the event. It’s just to give a rough summary of what was experienced when you walk with the pros. But from this experience, I may not walk the event every year. The heat was really much and visitors are required to walk a longer route – sometimes making you miss tee offs.
Hence, sitting in the comforts of your home, watching the game under much shade may be a better option when the PGA is in town.
Me and Ariel attended the wedding planning party organized by Doubletree Hilton Kuala Lumpur. Purpose of me visiting is to learn where I can, at the same time meet up with my friend who I thought would be there. Unfortunately, she had an emergency.
Like a wedding but not a wedding
Nonetheless, I happened to bump into my friend’s sister with her parents and even a Webcamper! Lol. So small is the world we live in.
The first part of the party was kicked off with a fashion show by wedding couture designers – Carven Ong and Eric Choong.
Gown designs by Eric Choong
And emceeing the event was William who’s a radio host, from which station I do not know.
Emcee William - Can't touch this?
By the end of Carven’s show, me and Ariel were pretty hungry since we didn’t really have breakfast and not grab a light snack before heading over. I was hungers till my tummy started growling.
Never be misled by tasting portions
When the show continued, we listened to both master photographers; Jim Liaw and Zung talk about their work and what couples should be doing when wanting to engage a photographer. There was a real difference in presentation and style from the works of both photographers.
Beyond the memories is the ka-ching machine
But we’ve already found our master photographer – you’ll know soon enough.
Nearing the end of the event, I was looking out for people from Wishing Tree because I wanted to touch base with them on decoration ideas we had. At the same time, have a better idea of the budget we should be allocating. It so happened we bumped into them when I was just thinking about it – the universe is amazing.
We didn’t stay until the end but congratulations to the couple who walked away with the Conrad Bangkok package. And thanks to Doubletree for inviting us.
Without doubt, I’m putting this recent Malaysia rally; Bersih 2.0, as the historical event of our country for 2011.
It was a peaceful rally - honest
Apparently this is the 2nd rendition of a campaign run, hence the two-point-zero since 2007. Its purpose still remains the same – raise the awareness and demand for a fair electoral system independent of third parties.
I’m not a person likely to discuss politics and I prefer avoiding any of conflicts whatsoever. I love living a fruitful and un-stressful life with loved ones while doing what I love doing. Thus, I’m only going to write about the noticeable affects to this event.
Unnecessary traffic congestion due to roadblocks
Days leading up to this day, some of my friends have complained roadblocks on highways causing congestion. And a day before today, another friend on Facebook shared that some roadblocks made congestion last until 2:15AM into the morning.
Hope there were rest stops
I seriously wouldn’t want to be caught in that situation. Imagine if you had to pee! OMG!!!
Nationwide curfew rumor caused concern
It did make me worry. Not because whether I’d bump into rally members. More so because of police roadblocks and being unnecessarily questioned. Plus, the whole idea of curfew was plain dumb – Malaysians mamak and clubbing hours is part of our culture. But yeah, I don’t like being in cumbersome situations.
Escalating news coverage
In the morning, news of the rally had begun coming in. By the late afternoon, its flooded my Twitter timeline. But it was good to know what was happening, despite my neutrality.
1st time I've seen them use this
Especially by being an outsider, you’ve the benefit to observe both sides.
Acts affecting businesses
Hear say some people got hurt in the rally by authorities. But I’ll leave that to be clarified by the news publishers unswayed by third parties. Instead, after watching a video of the authorities having to use tear gas, I thought to myself, “wouldn’t business traders nearby be affected too?”
Plus, they fired more than 1 tear gas canister into the area. -_-|||
We (Malaysians) are really intuitive people
Friend of mine actually took this opportunity and came up with a pet project of his own to aggregate information of the event. Let me highlight one of the geeky things about the project.
Malaysians sharing the burden
That’s a map showing the Twitter conversations happening in areas co-relating to this event. If you zoom out, you’ll even notice the event affecting Malaysia across the world from the US to down under Australia.
The wonders of technology. And Malaysia’s historical event of 2011.
