Due to a stroke of unforeseen luck, I had the opportunity to attend this year’s Hennessy Artistry thanks to invites by Vince and Spinzer Tock. Hennessy Artistry boast one of the best music events featuring artist from all over the world(which yes does include our very own Malaysia as well). This year’s guest performance was by Spinderella, Vandalism and our very own Kyoto Protocol. Set this time at Opera in front of Sunway Pyramid the glitz and glamor can be seen from the impressive display of well…interactive showcases at the entrance. After checking in the registration counter, guests who registered themselves on the Hennessy Artistry Facebook page were given a special RFID tag that they could use to update their Facebook page with contents during the event itself.

I have to admit. Being the country with the most Facebook friends in the world, the ideas was BRILLIANT. Guest were invited to play a ‘Fruit Ninja’ like game on an iPad, take photo in front of a green screen and edit it Ala Purikura and also mix their own 60 second music by placing colored giant hockey puck like objects onto an interactive table and then upload the said music or picture onto their Facebook wall. The top five high scores on the ‘Fruit Ninja’ like game will even be given a limited special edition 70 oz Hennessy to boot!

I’ve only been to The Opera just once and it was more than enough to know that the place is small and cramped with pretty bad air flow in the middle. Although I thought that this time it will be different as being an invitation only kinda event that crowd control wouldn’t be a problem but oh was I wrong. It became packed. So pack that it looks like The Opera on a weekend and it isn’t a complement. Everyone felt so hot it wasn’t even sexy anymore.

Being a once-in-a-year event I was expecting to see a free flow of Hennessy being served. Pure or cocktail’ed. WE(as in everyone) were ridiculously disappointed. At the Johnny Walker’s Black Circuit event a few weeks back free flow was NEVER an issue and boy was it awesome. Hennessy however stooped to the level of being a scrooge on it and even opened its doors to outsiders who may enter if they open a bottle. What??? An ‘EXCLUSIVE’ event that serves limited amounts of alcohol and allows uninvited guest to attend? Yes. It just lost its exclusiveness. The event was supposed to highlight four new types of cocktails made by using Hennessy. Too bad at the end I had more non-alchoholic cocktail than what I’m suppose to be trying. In light of all this I really REALLY like that lemon-lime concoction. Damn it was refreshing.

On a high note, the music performance was incredible. All the bands were amazing in their own rights. Vandalism especially in my opinion or maybe its because I just prefer their genre of music. Anyways, it was kinda disappointing to see us Malaysian not getting into the mood of the performance though. When stuff like “Put your hands in the air!” was screamed/sung/mentioned 90% of the crowd went “Is she talking to me ah? Eh, I think she’s calling you lah!”. I mean seriously guys?

In the end, we left early since we had nothing else better to do there and in desperation for some booze we even chipped in to get a bottle of a Limited Edition bottle of Hennessy to drink. Golden bottle looks damn GOOD though. It seems that, right after we left part of the plaster ceiling collapse bringing the event to an early end. I actually had more fun eating at the nearby Chinese food stalls that standing at the overcrowded venue.

Overall, although its my very first(and maybe last) Hennessy Artistry event I would have to give it an equivalent of a 3 out of  5 stars. Assuming I gave start ratings in the first place la. The music was good. The drink was good but the amount was not. The venue was disappointing and the service? Well, it was bad. No exclusiveness for a supposed exclusive event. The money used for the additional attractions outside was actually really insignificant to the overall reason to have the event itself. Better take the money for a better venue and more booze. I may not be a VIP at the VIP lounge but then again if a rival company can do it then I don’t see why not.

And no, I’m not still kinda pissed for not being able to place at the top 5 for the “Fruit Ninja” game. I got kicked down to 6th place by some guy in front of me and I was not allowed to replay even after waiting stating that the game ends at 1am even though it wasn’t mentioned anywhere. Damn. Okay lah. Maybe I am, just a little…maybe.

P/s: Due to me being as blur as usual. I totally forgotten to bring my camera to the event. So all picture credits go to Denise with the Olympus E-PL1.

Full review after the jump.

A(sa)-side

I took the liberty to sneak in at the end of the day event since I had no intention to pay for another ACG event not to mentioned it wasn’t worth going in after reaching at 4.30 in the bloody hot afternoon. From what I can tell and also from listening to opinions of quite a number of con goers all I can say is that it was done better than last year but not to the extend of it being completely different. It had a problem what one con goer said as ‘the Daicon syndrome’ in which the seating in front of the stage was hardly occupied when the competition was going on.

For me, I feel the arrangement of the booths and such can be arranged much better. Even though the day event was somewhat over I had to maneuver myself from one point to another between masses of tables and chairs. As usual, The Figure Mall who was present had the largest booth at the event displaying their numerous figurines. Other than the standard ACG stuff like Doujin Booths and Figurines they also had a section for cosplay photography which I greatly approve of and also a Cosplay Cafe. Although I have to admit that the cosplay photography corner was a great idea the theme, props and backdrop for certain cosplayers is just out of place. No comments for the cosplay cafe since it was already closed by the time I was there. From what I’ve heard it was so-so.

The bands who performed like Zeolite were a great addition to liven up the mood and is definitely a plus point. The air-conditioning to me was good but I can’t say the same for the sound system though. Didn’t take any pictures from the inside. Was too tired and lazy to.

B(an)-side

The night event. Oh, the night event. This was my only intention of initially showing up for TAF. With the TAF PR guy promising a spectacular event I just had to give it the benefit of the doubt. It was actually quite fun. The whole mini bon odori dance around the stage, band performances, and a stall with authentic Japanese food for sale was top points for me. Sadly, the lack of omatsuri games, stalls, and bad sound system was a minus.

HOWEVER, (yes, its in caps on purpose) for visitors to buy a RM20 coupon to purchase food and stuff from the stalls is just too much and I mean in both a figurative and literal way. Not to mentioned that not informing visitors about the coupon price earlier really pissed me off as I did not bring enough for it. Its just too pricey.

The kimono wearing slot was interesting and the mini Bon Odori was really fun. Too bad there wasn’t enough people to complete the circle around the stage though.

Small goldfishes are small...

Conclusion

I do not know the name of this band. OTL

Pros: Band performance, mini bon odori, good air conditioning, some Japanese food albeit limited, good sound system at night.

Cons: walking 3 floors up to the hall, messy hall arrangement, lack of stalls and games at night, wtf expensive coupons, NO MORE DANGOS!!!, not really good sound system in the hall, lack of signage to toilet.

Overall, other than the usual ACG convention problems it was done rather well with both ups and downs although with major improvements from last year. Hopefully, next year would be much much better.

Me and ma girls yo!!! XD

If K-ON! was ever injected with tons of manly testosterone and GAR I believe it will no longer be the moe blob that millions love and something like the about poster raising the sales of puke buckets worldwide.

Via Sankaku-Complex.

Some say love it is a hunger
an endless aching need
I say love it is a flower
and you it’s only seed

It’s the heart afraid of breaking
that never learns to dance
It’s the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance
It’s the one who won’t be taken
who cannot seem to give
and the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live

When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been too long
and you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed
that with the sun’s love
in the spring
becomes the rose.

———-
by Bette Midler

The Rose (Piano version by Yiruma):

I listen to oldies and this is a beautiful example on why I prefer this to the kind of crap we usually get on the radio nowadays. It was during the production of Rose Rose I Love You that I first heard this song and it really did struck a chord with me. I’m a sentimental fool and I’m proud of it.

I’ll put a youtube version of the song once I get out of this firewalled office.

SHE’S COMING!!! SHE’S REALLY COMING!!! *fanboi/gurl screams*

So with the end of that major ‘capslock’ spamming lets get down to the juicy details shall we? Well, if you have been following my blog you might have noticed a few hints i left along the way on who’s coming *cough*YUKI*cough* to DaiCon. If you haven’t then it only means that you have not been following closely enough. Muahahaha…

Ehem…so anyways, she will be performing LIVE for you guys at DaiCon for the first time in South East Asia. Its gonna be quite a number of ‘first times’ and probably a historic moment in the local ACG scene. Well, I DID mention that ’something BIG is coming’ right?

She’ll also be having an autograph session and also a Q&A panel as well. Woot!!!

I’m so gonna be there for this. So hope that this helps to make up your mind up on going or not. Hope to see you there!!!

You can see her video and profile at www.daiconnews.com. Seriously, you should watch the video she sound so cute! XD

*UPDATE*

There will be special event tickets. Details below:

AWSM Tickets = RM 250
- Specially numbered AWSM seats for Miss Chihara Minori’s Q&A Panel on Day 1 and Mini-Concert on Day 2
- ONE Autograph Pass for Miss Chihara Minori’s Autograph Session.

ELITE Tickets = RM 150
- Specially numbers ELITE seats for Miss Chihara Minori’s Q&A Panel on Day 1 and Mini-Concert on Day 2.
- Lucky Draw chance to be upgraded in to AWSM tickets. (limited to 15 people only).

Note: AWSM ticket seating is front of stage while ELITE’s seating is (somewhat)behind AWSM. The Q&A panel session is only for ticket holders.

Early sales will begin at the 1Utama roadshow on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd May at the new-wing.

If you’ve had not heard it yet then you’ve heard it first at Clowonline.com. Since he’s such a big star his manager only allow us to give away 10 autographs. So because of that we will be having a Royal Rumble Deathmatch ala World Wrestling Entertainment (previously known as WWF, then non panda kind). Potential autograph recipients must battle it out in a arena till death there is only 10 left standing. Should there be only ONE left standing that person will receive a special invitation 1-on-1 dinner with our superstar himself.

Yes, yes. I know its cruel to enjoy such spectacle but if the ancient Romans can do it then why not us? Malaysia Boleh!!!

Oh, but that’s not all. The multi-talented Minoru Shiraishi will be performing his greatest hits for us LIVE and ON STAGE at our grand hall. Hits such as ‘Koi no Minoru Densetsu – Kazenban’ and ‘Otoko no Iki-Sama’ will be performed for you. See how much trouble we go for you people. Sigh….

Well? So what are you waiting for? Come on down(or up) for a fun filled experience for the whole family. Who knows? He might not be traveling alone.

More info at daiconnews.com.

p/s: Yes, we have an arena in MMU. What do you think we do? Studying about astrophysics and Heisenberg’s theory oni meh? We also race chariots, learn how to work together in a phalanx line and also fighting wild bears and lions(sometimes tigers too but they’re really rare). We’re a well equipped uni mah.

If you take a look through you’ll see a wide variety of people, though it’d be interesting to see people’s reactions to these costumes in a non-con environment – playing online bingo, for example, or just sitting around in MacDonalds. The shoot didn’t take too long, and it was enjoyable to work with people whose passions for costume design were at a similar level to my own.

Though I didn’t stay all the way through the photoshoot due to rushing to my sister’s birthday party I did had a good haul if I can say so myself. It was unfortunate that we can’t use the rooftop location as we had planned thanks to the stupid bowling alley having a party over there. The bastards.

Here’s a few samples of what I have taken the other day. Hmm…this is giving me an idea.

I like this jumping pic. I still need more practice if what I can say at the end of the day. I bet Aoshi and the rest of the photographers had taken tons of better pictures than me. Oh well.

For the rest of the ‘pictars’ you can grab it from my bucket of photos here.

Macross Plus has everything you’ll ever need in an anime. Love, suspense, action, drama, music plus maybe including a little bit of comedy (if you call exploding eyes funny that is). I won’t go into details on what it is about because since I do not like spoilers I’m sure most of you don’t too but it does however maintain the standard ‘Macross Requirements Points’ which consist mainly of:

1. Transformable mecha (preferably planes)
2. A love triangle
3. Epic final battle
4. A death of a main/supporting character

With each attributing to 25% each by the way. XD But other than having an interesting plot line, it has (maybe for me at least) something else that just makes it even more better which is an entire soundtrack by Yoko Kanno. Speaking of which not that I think about it, Macross Plus was one of the first fansubbed works that I’ve watch and also the first time I’ve heard anything Yoko Kanno too. The funky futuristic trance-like style really sets the stage for the plot. Not the mention that the mecha designs by Shoji Kawamori are simply amazing.

Anyway, this is really a great title to recommend to anyone if they’re looking for something to watch. In the meantime, this is some candy musical inspiration to wet your Macross appetites. Enjoy!

Voices:
Myung’s Theme:

When it was first sung by Iijima Mari I considered it to be one of my favorite songs ever. Its simple, straightforward, has a beautiful melody and it ended an interstellar war too. How epic can it get? Still, the current reworked version by Yoko Kanno still maintains its ‘epicness’ even though its about 20 years old giving it a more modern sound at the same time. Yes, I’m such a romantic person aren’t I? XD

Iijima Mari:

Nakajima Megumi:

So what’s your favorite version?

Due to the recent conclusion of Macross Frontier and the fact that May’N will be coming to AFA this month I hereby proclaim this month to me Macross Awareness Month. *works on special Macross project* >_<