I was walking the other day, mid-afternoon, somewhere down the crowded streets of Hong Kong feeling confident with the spiky styling I pulled off in the morning with some Gatsby. I took a glimpse of my reflection off a glass from a windowpane, only to find a dump of drenched seaweed on my head.
I swear Hong Kong’s got to be one of the most humid cities in Asia. Located at the center (near the equator) of the humid subtropical climate zone, there aren’t many days where you can enjoy cool breezes on a dry atmosphere. When I first arrived in Hong Kong, I’ve always been wondering how the Japanese keep their hair up for such a long time and why most of the people in Hong Kong have drenched hair stuck on their foreheads. Wax/gel made in China? They don’t give a damn? My hair grows fast and is relatively thick but that was far from the main reason (I read somewhere in Japan it has something to do with “horny hormones”…can’t deny). After experiencing about half a month in Hong Kong, it didn’t take me long to find out.
Last night I stepped out into the balcony to take a look at the nice view of Hong Kong I was fortunate enough to have for such a reasonable rent. Stretching my arms while yawning, I looked out and just paused. Wait a minute. What the hell happened. I couldn’t even see the damn silhouette’s of skyscrapers! I saw nothing but fog, and barely the first building in front of me. Eventually I couldn’t see a thing outside. The stickiness is very irritating, but I do enjoy the mystic view of the skyscrapers barely visible on the horizon. Mysterious. Feels like another world out there.
Watchmen ★★★★★★★★★☆(9/10) Gotta say I was pretty neutral when I walked into iMax. Was expecting the usual hero flick with red undies, kickass masks, kickass action and a hot chic. Instead I got blue cocks, cheesy costumes, a couple actions and a hot chic. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed EVERY minute of the movie. I was never bored through the whole 165 minutes, except near the end when I felt my ass was starting to soar and I wanted to stand up.
The reviews in Hong Kong were pretty 50/50. If you walk into the theater expecting X-men-like plots and action, you may be turned down. Way down, and I think that's the case for most of the negative reviews. There's a type of urge when watching a hero movie where you can't wait till the action starts, and let me warn you in Watchmen it is REALLY long. Considering the people in Hong Kong are typically impatient, it just won't work.
It worked perfectly fine for me because the art, visuals, design, production, editing, everything you see was made to near perfection in every minute. The approach to project "peace" was very unique for a hero flick and I have to admit I was betrayed many times (in a good way), which makes it that much more interesting to look forward to what's coming up next. If visuals and impact (and a twisted perspective) is a thing for you, I highly recommend to watch this in iMax.
That being said, I'm pretty sure there are a lot of Lovers out there too. Marc "I'm a fanboy like the others and I can't analyze shit" Stein, the Anti-Hollinger Society, citizens from the city of angels and a lot more that are hypnotized. Yes he's talented in some areas and yes his style is a bit like Jordan if not Johnson so there are a lot of comparisons, and yes he's in the best team in the league coached by Phil "i only coach legends with a Pippen" Jackson.
Aside from all that, coz this debate is endless, here's why I hate Kobe. (Click to ENLARGE, at your own risk)
5. Whiner: The pinky surgery sure did win a lot of sympathy votes for his MVP last year. He's doing it again this year but we ain't stupid. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Weasel: Just look. If it doesn't make you want to smash it in, you've got issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Cocky: Famous for his finger pointing (other than someones @crack), some of his gestures remind us of MJ also and that's just rubbing the salt in deeper. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Rapist: Nuf said ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Fag: Just gay (Click to ENLARGE, at your own risk, but I recommend this one)
Honestly I don't have anything against his ability except for the girly baseline dunk he does all the time and I do agree he is one of the best players in the league. Maybe it's just his fagface or whatever it is but I just don't dig. Maybe his sidekick elf Fisher rubs it in too. There's something about Fisher that makes me hate Kobe even more and I hope he pulls a bynum (Pau Gasols cool though, with all my respect). I'm not saying he sucks. Haven't mentioned that once. He just gets on my nerves and I'm sure there are a lot out there that feel the same way.
Japanese marketing strategies never fail to impress me. The campaigns, genius packaging, off the hook ideas, etc. The thing is it never stops and ideas keep popping up. Brilliant ideas.
This Mr.Namacha Panda campaign from キリン(Kirin) has been the buzz lately. Their slogan is 「出た！生茶パンダせんせい！」 (Deta! Namacha Panda Sensei!) or "It's Out! Mr. Namacha Panda!", which probably comes from this campaign where a skinny green panda plushy stuffed in a pet bottle rolls out of the vending machine when you purchase the 生茶(Namacha) Drink. A lot of noise on this character lately and the realism in Mr.Namacha's personality is well received by many consumers.
I haven't purchased one yet so I'm not sure how it feels. But from first impression, there's Pros and Cons. I can imagine myself feeling very thirsty, in desperate need of some chillin tea to drench the cotton in my throat, chipping in chump change I have leftover from the month. The buttons light up and I choose the drink I want. This time it happens to be ice cold tea. With a release of the button I expect to hear a heavy mass gushing through the metal container landing in hastiness. Instead I hear something feathery.
Only to find this skinny panda rolling out, stuffed in the bottle. I imagined how it would feel to see that smile on his face and what would happen. Here's what I got:
1. I'd smash the bottle on the floor 2. I'm gonna have to find some more chump change 3. If I happen to get the change, I'm gonna have to purchase another bottle 4. Now that I have my drink, I'm gonna have to carry this panda too, which I am not really interested in keeping, honestly 5. Should I even consider buying that drink again? What if I get another one?
Lets think on the brighter side then. Maybe I can sell it with a premium price later when the campaigns over. Either way I'm gonna buy a drink from a vending machine when I'm desperate. I'll go find a panda at a gift store.
Do note these are just exaggerations of what I may think when I really bought it in that situation. Overall I think the campaign is cool and I don't think the Japanese mind to spend an extra 150yen for another drink. It's kind of an small "atari" for them and they love it. In Hong Kong, I don't know. But I do wish to see more of these ideas coz it's getting really boring with the 'mini me bottle' straps on the bottle cap thing.
(UPDATE: My good friend in Japan -->щ(ﾟДﾟщ) confirmed the money comes with the bottle so you won't be left thirsty, which just perfected this campaign with no flaws. Perfect.)
Thanks щ(ﾟДﾟщ). No way I thought they'd be giving away money, I mean it's cash. Makes sense though now that you've mentioned it.
When the word "cook" comes across your mind, I assume MOST people think of a lady in a apron (let's exclude Chefs). Especially domestically (let's exclude the celebrity reality shows). In Japan, I'm pretty sure "lady in a apron" is almost a 90% rate. In Hong Kong, alot of families have full-time domestic helpers, and yes they are Women in a 100% rate (which I honestly disagree with having because the kids are seriously spoiled). Maybe somewhere out of the east as well, before the year 2000.
In a world like this, the year 2000, men have to learn how to cook to survive. Seriously. The Gender Level's been shifting quite a bit recently, if you know what I mean. Women are overpowering Men. I read somewhere in a article that science is at a point where Women can have babies individually. That time can be coming really soon. Which mean Men will be one useless piece of crap one day. No value means a toss to the bin. Hell, in the future there will probably only be one gender. Anyways, men on earth, we need to fight. To give yourself some value, cooking may be one of the many steps.
....So I decided it was time to learn. I mean really cook. Not instants.
So I went with an easy one for my debut. Hamburger Steak. Through this process I learned how to cut onions to shreds! The rest is just pounding meat, mixing some eggs and bread crumbs and putting it to shape.
Yes Man ★★★★★★★★★☆(9/10) One of Jim Carrey's best in a long time. Gotta give props to him. He still has it and it never gets old. Zooey Deschanel was very cute in the movie, which was a blind spot for me because I wasn't expecting anything from her at all. The CG was great actually, even if it doesn't look like any type of CG film. Really subtle and effective. Those are the ones that should be most credited for. I believe a lot of people don't even notice the CG that was used in certain scenes. Anyways, overall a unique and positive message to a majority of the spoiled world today, and I recommend it (on DVD, now..) to anyone, even if you don't like Jim Carrey.
Slumdog Millionaire ★★★★★★★★☆☆(8/10) Like always, the people of Hong Kong order tickets, queue an unbelievably long line to save a seat for the current show, all hyped up for the film.
Because it swept the Academy Awards.
I have to say it was a very good film. Portraying a characters life through the Millionaire game isn't exactly genius but the background (India) and clever plot structuring really lit the whole movie out of the dark. It wouldn't be half as good if it was a story about a bloke in Japan, or Hong Kong, or New York I think you get it. The environment, casts, music, atmosphere, color themes and clever production all matched really well, creating a chemical reaction that will pull you in through out the whole movie, hell even after the movie. Just one thing I was concerned about is the "I can see you from a mile away" pattern through out the movie (I won't point out anything) but that may be a minor issue considering you may be deeply sucked into the movie by the time you realize it.
