Josh Lim Visits Zombieland!

Advertlets, Movies, Sharing, Zombies December 17th, 2009

As per the title above, someone asked me once why I refer to myself in third person. I replied, “well, sometimes Josh Lim does that”. But that’s besides the point.

Ahem. One thing that you might not know about me…is that I am a big zombie movie fan.
Here are some that I’ve seen/played (and this is just the ones I can remember off the top of my head)

Zombie Movies: 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, Dawn Of The Dead (2005), Day Of the Dead (2008), Slither, The Signal, G.P 506 (Korean zombie movie), I Am Legend (which I did not really enjoy), Resident Evil 1, 2 & 3 & Sunshine (oops this is a spoiler if you haven’t watched the movie).

Zombie Movies with Shaky Camera Action (ala Cloverfield): REC (Spanish zombie movie), Quarantine (Hollywood remake of REC), Diary Of The Dead (this is one of the creepiest zombie movies I’ve seen).

Zombie Comedies: Black Sheep, Doghouse, Shaun Of The Dead and now…Zombieland!

Zombie Video Games: Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles, Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles, and of course, Left 4 Dead.

FYI: The zombie comedy is a subgenre of a subgenre. Horror > Zombie Movies > Zombie Comedies. You can also call it…a Zomedy!

Here’s a video of the Advertlets screening for Zombieland at Cineleisure Damansara, featuring a few Advertlets bloggers including myself:

I was very happy when Advertlets was given a chance to do a screening for Zombieland recently. Particularly I enjoy zombie movies because of one simple thing. whenever things get bad or I have a down point in life, I think about zombies…and imagine…it could be worse!

Zombieland movie poster

It’s also said that zombies are a reflection of society’s real world fears: overpopulation and fear of crowds.

I was particularly excited about seeing Zombieland due to the high Rottentomatoes.com score (a stunning 89%!). To give you an indicator, The Dark Knight scores about 94%, Star Trek (JJ Abrams remake) scores about 95%, District 9 scores 90% - which puts Zombieland in very good company. FYI, Rottentomatoes.com is a site that aggregates film critic commentary and ratings about movies.

I find myself agreeing with it about 70% of the time…most of the films I enjoy have high scores, though some (less than 10) that I thought were awesome had low scores. Either way it’s a good ‘filter’ for me to decide whether to watch a particular movie.

First off, if you’re a zombie movie aficionado…does it follow the “Zombie Rules” which were established by “The Father Of Zombie Movies, George Romero”? Yes it does! From (here)

1. Undead (meaning the zombie was at one point dead) (Check!)

2. Hunger for human flesh (Check!)

3. Impervious to non-lethal harm (Check!)

4. Killed only by destroying the brain (Even after severing the spinal column, Romero zombies’ heads still live. This rule has been broken by the “Return of the Living Dead” movies, which have terrible zombie ‘rules’ but are fun to watch.) (Check!)

5. Minimal mental processes (This rule seems to be the most malleable within the genre. The classic Romero-style zombies seem to be able to process only the information necessary for following and consuming live flesh, driven mostly on instinct alone, and are incapable of speech or complex thoughts. Outside of the Romero movies, it is not unusual to see this idea bent or broken for the sake of creating a more interesting monster. Still, ’smart’ zombies are very rare.) (Check!)

Rules are important. Because if you don’t somehow attempt to stick to the rules, you end up with films like Twilight, where sunlight makes vampires *sparkle* instead of die. Sigh. Makes them less creatures of the undead, and more My Little Pony than anything.

Btw I am with Team Edward, but I want to have Jacob’s body. lol.

Zombieland also introduces a set of rules (narrated by the main character) throughout the film and in the first 5 minutes of it for zombie survival.

Zombies in the back: "We want a ride too, rawr!"

I won’t spoil it all for you, but one of the rules is “Cardio” (Stay fit! The fatties will die first due to lack of speed), and also “Double Tap” (Make sure the zombie is dead for sure, don’t save your ammo as it could save your life!).

Story wise, the closest in terms of synopsis/story for Zombieland will most likely be Shaun of The Dead, one of the more recent zombie comedies. But Zombieland succeeds where Shaun of the Dead fails, namely:

- The romance in the story is not overplayed
- Genuine tension, zombies are actually menacing
- Comedy is sharp, doesn’t rely too much on uncomfortable moments
- Scale: With a budget of $24 million, Zombieland covers enough locations (from living room, to Hollywood, to a carnival, to grocery stores) to be very enjoyable. This could have made a great video game.
- Emotional scenes are used to good effect
- Zombieland is educational! Some of the tips are really useful should there ever be a zombie outbreak in Kuala Lumpur
- Awesome zombie killing action!

Which means - if you enjoyed Shaun of the Dead, you’ll probably enjoy Zombieland as well. If you didn’t enjoy Shaun Of The Dead, you’ll probably enjoy Zombieland instead.

A scene from Zombieland which you will not see in Malaysian cinemas. ZOMBIE STRIPPERS!

Plot-wise, it’s relatively simple : Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg, who also starred in a movie called Adventureland [seriously!]) is a loner who has managed to survive the zombie apocalypse, who meets Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), who meets other survivors : Wichita (Emma Stone from ‘Superbad’) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). They team up, and fight zombies! (Don’t let this put you off - it’s the character interactions and zombie action that make such a thin plot workable).

Emma Stone is a hot chick, and a good reason to watch Zombieland too!

Despite being starred by relative unknowns, you get the feeling that they are very well casted in their respective well-written roles, and all four of them seem “necessary” to the movie. There’s also a cameo role by a certain Hollywood actor (playing himself), that fits perfectly into the movie.
Pace-wise, the film is tightly paced at about an hour and 20 minutes (at most, I think 10 minutes could have been edited) and it is consistently funny - which is good, because some zombie movies fall into the trap of having lots of action then long, slow periods of emotional stuff.

Above all, the movie is fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously while remaining respectful of zombie movie “rules”. The ending sets itself up for a good sequel, AND YES! (I just Googled this) A sequel to Zombieland HAS BEEN CONFIRMED and it’s GOING TO BE in 3D!

ZOMBIELAND ZOMEDY ZUMMARY:

Pros:
- Good use of text overlays for the opening credits and throughout the movie (the text is a star in it’s own right).
- A first for zombie movies: offing a zombie with a banjo.
- Well casted actors that fit their roles
- Cameo appearance by surprise actor
- Stands up to repeat viewings (I watched it twice, and still laughed at the funny parts).

Cons:
- No chainsaw usage in the film (but there’s one in the movie poster!)
- No video game to accompany the movie (seriously, I would play a Zombieland game!)

If you like this, you’ll probably enjoy Zombieland: Playing Left 4 Dead, watching Zombie movies in general, or can stomach horror and enjoy American comedies. (Or if you enjoyed the Jason Statham film, Crank, or Jason Statham films in general).
Watch? Should you watch it? A definite yes. This is probably one of the best zombie movies for 2009. I’m looking forward to World War Z and Jonah Hex in 2010 though!

7 Comments

JOSH LIM, BUDAK CINA YANG HIDUP BERANI UNTUK GAGAL!

Advertlets, Bahasa MALAYSIA, General, Sharing December 4th, 2009

Wah, ada peraduan kot. Boleh menang RM500 wei! Sebagai seorang Cina yang lebih fasih bertutur dalam Bahasa Malaysia daripada Bahasa Cina (saya tahu, teruk betul, pengkhianat bangsa,kacang lupakan kulit, dll), saya mengambil peluang untuk menyertai peraduan ini untuk meningkatkan kemahiran menulis dalam BM dan juga kegagahan ilmu sihir SEO saya. Saya mendapat tahu contest “HIDUP BERANI UNTUK GAGAL” ini dari Zul’s Blog (http://zulseffort.blogspot.com). Btw Zul, terima kasih kerana menyokong Advertlets! Peraduan ini dianjurkan oleh DenaiHati.

Contest ini berjaya dianjurkan atas sokongan sponsor yang sentiasa bermurah hati iaitu DSGClicks, Berani Gagal Network, One Malaysia Blogshops, Anisha Online Mall dan Saudacare.

(Kalau you dapat tahu peraduan ini dari blog saya, dan nak sertai, sila letak “Josh Lim (josh.my), itu budak yang hemsem sekali yang beritahu saya tentang peraduan HIDUP BERANI UNTUK GAGAL ini” dalam entri blog anda!)

(Saya tak tahu jika saya layak untuk menyertai peraduan ini kerana dibuka kepada “Satu Dunia Melayu”. Saya bukan berbangsa Melayu. Saya 1JoshLim, 1BudakCina dari 1Malaysia. Tapi saya Google-kan “Satu Dunia Melayu”, dan nampaknya ia ialah “satu dunia agung yang meliputi Indonesia, Brunei, Filipina”. Wadefak! Tak tahu wei…)

Image from voidboi on Flickr. Creative Commons image.

ANYWAYS, untuk entri saya: Walaupun telah mengasaskan Advertlets yang kini akan menjadi 3 tahun pada March 2010, dan saya telah bekerja dalam bidang web untuk lebih dari 8 tahun dan telah membuat projek dan kempen periklanan untuk pelanggan tempatan dan seluruh dunia, saya tidak menggelar diri sebagai seorang yang telah berjaya dalam kehidupan. Tunggu 4 tahun lagi la (at least, untuk Phase 1 complete, masih ada Phase 2, Phase 3…) Perjuangan saya masih belum selesai. Dan, saya telah gagal beberapa kali dalam kehidupan - tapi, tak putus asa. Tahu tak, bila saya seorang belia muda, saya cuba mendapat pekerjaan di McDonald’s? McDonald’s pun tak mahu saya! FAIL betul.

Namun, kerap kali saya ditanya oleh belia muda…apakah yang penting untuk berjaya dalam kehidupan? Saya kerap kata: “Selagi anda belum mati, selagi anda tidak terperangkap dalam najis dadah, selagi anda tidak hamil luar nikah dan terpaksa tamat pekerjaan untuk mengasuh anak, tak ada banyak-banyak yang boleh menghalang anda! Dan juga, kalau kamu belum 25 tahun lagi jangan risau terlalu banyak! Masih ada banyak peluang untuk anda.”

Saya ada cerita yang berinspirasi untuk dikongsi berdasarkan “HIDUP BERANI UNTUK GAGAL“.

Adakah kamu Mat Rempit? Okay, you lihat kat kamu punya kapchai - adalah ia berjenama Honda? Ada tak perkataan “Boon Siew Motor / Boon Siew Honda” di sana? Tahu tak anda siapa Boon Siew? Si Boon Siew adalah imigren/pendatang dari Negara China yang datang ke Penang, Malaysia untuk mencari pendapatan. Bila dia mula berkerja, dia seorang mekanik yang hanya menjana pendapatan $3 sebulan. Betul! Adalah dikataka bahawa sifu dia mengetuk kepala dia apabila dia buat salah. Pada umur 18, Boon Siew membeli 11 buah bas menggunakan $2,000. Selepas tu, dia memperbaiki bas itu, dan menjual ia untuk harga $12,000! Pandai giler.

Tapi, pada 1942 orang Jepun curi dia punya wang! Namun begitu, dia tak putus asa. Selepas Perang Dunia Kedua, dan orang Jepun telah dibelasah teruk dan telah dikalah, dia bermula menjual basikal, tayar dan aksesori motorsikal, dan selepas itu, dia menjual kereta terpakai, transportasi dan bas. Dan dalam 1950, dia bermula penerokaan dalam bidang hartanah di Penang. Boon Siew meninggal dunia pada 1995, tetapi empayar dia makin membesar.

Jika seorang pendatang kuli dari Cina yang tidak berpengalaman boleh jadi tauke kaya dan orang besar dari titis peluh dia sendiri, apa lagi anda, yang telah diasuh dalam rumah yang ada internet, yang ada makanan cukup dan tidak diketuk di kepala kerap-kerap? Selain itu, Jepun takkan menyerang Malaysia lagi, oleh itu jangan risau wang yang anda susah payah bekerja untuk dapat anda dicuri oleh orang Jepun! Kerja keras, jadilah orang berguna kepada bangsa dan negara, berusaha, dan anda akan berjaya! (Kalau tak berjaya pun, tak susah untuk menjana pendapatan RM1500-RM2000 sebulan la).

Post ini ditulis oleh Josh Lim pada lewat malam menggunakan keyboard Apple yang seksi, sistem komputer PC lama yang menggunakan Windows XP, dan menggunakan broadband Streamyx yang pantas sekali! Sekian, terima kasih banyak-banyak, kawan-kawan kecil!

41 Comments

Does the ability to appreciate decrease with experience?

Sharing November 20th, 2009

So I figure: my brain works, I eat food, watch films, have an opinion on them, and I have a blog and I can write on it!

Not much to do with the post, but it's a nice picture, isn't it? :)

Recently, I had an experience that made me think, I should blog more about food. After all, I do know some decent places (and some bad ones), so it’ll probably be good to share. More posts on this topic soon

And also, something that brought up the point of this post. I’m usually not very fussy about food - there are only about 2-3 things that I specifically hate eating. And back in my college days, I ate chicken rice everyday for 3 months. I still can eat chicken rice (or Yoshinoya) if it’s still around everyday. But recently I’ve been visiting some interesting food places, and developing my food palate (thanks in part to Rebecca) and came to the stunning realization that was I was having, sucks. It’s been a while since I found something I didn’t like.

However I’ll like to ask you what you think of this - I have a feeling that the more you experience something and start to dissect it critically (whether good or bad), it becomes harder to appreciate things that aren’t “high level” or “top quality” according to your developed taste? When you start to evaluate things so critically, does it become much harder to find things that you enjoy?

Like for example, a film critic who can’t watch and enjoy teen comedies.

(Btw some good recent ones - Harold & Kumar Go To Guantanamo Bay, Sex Drive, I Love You Beth Cooper)

Or a food blogger who can’t enjoy eating McDonald’s or fast food outlets.

(Btw fast food wise, best fries are McDonald’s the best burgers are from Burger King, and the best chicken is from KFC, best mashed potatoes from Popeye’s).

Ideally, I’ll probably like to be able to appreciate finer things without losing touch with the pedestrian and the normal.

It’s a weird thing to think about, but it’s something I do think about often.

Some thoughts at 3:48 am. Signing off, Josh Lim.

5 Comments

I met Hannah Tan for dinner and she told me that…

Advertlets, General, Parties & Events, Sharing November 16th, 2009

Josh Lim, Hannah Tan. I'm the one on the left that's not a cute celebrity.

So recently I met Hannah Tan for dinner in Bangsar…yeah I know what you’re going to say “pics or it didn’t happen!”. Got pics. Here. Nah. Pics from Hannah’s blog actually

So anyway for those of you that don’t know who Hannah Tan is - she’s a model, emcee, and artiste. Also, Malaysia’s Sexiest Woman 2006 with brains to boot - she has a degree in Computer Science. She’s also recently invaded Japan, being one of the first few (if not the first) Malaysian to produce and debut an album in Japan. RM6 mil deal wei!

She’s also the driving force behind the H-Factor Creative Youth Workshops that were held last year. Advertlets was a media sponsor for the event, and I must say that personally I think the event turned out very well.

So, here’s what Hannah told me…

ht-107768_fullsizeimage_maarja-vahi-estonia-3

Hannah Tan. Pics from FHM Singapore

She’s Having A Christmas Concert!

She’s having a special charity concert together with other local artistes to benefit disadvantaged children this December 20th in Genting Highlands. Keep that date free, because Hannah Tan asked you to! We’ll be working out an arrangement for you bloggers to get to go, perhaps even arrange a bus to all go up together!

PS: This concert hasn’t been announced yet officially, but she says it’s okay for me to post this up

She’s starring in a new movie, coming out soon!

From left: Carmen Soo, Hannah Tan, Daphne Iking. Pic from Rebecca

Also, Hannah has a new movie coming out called “My Spy“, where she plays the lead. It also stars super-celebrity Advertlets blogger Daphne Iking, as well as Carmen Soo, AC Mizal and Maria Farida.

You can check out some exclusive behind the scenes pictures over at Rebecca’s blog. And yup, we’re going to get tickets for you to watch when the time comes, of course.

So that’s it for now. Stay tuned here and this other blog for details over the next few weeks!

6 Comments

Lady Gaga’s New ‘Bad Romance’ Video Is Weird, Has Lots Of Product Placements…

Sharing November 11th, 2009

Lady Gaga’s new video is out, and no surprise, it’s effing weird.

According to Lady Gaga: “There’s this one shot in the video where I get kidnapped by supermodels. I’m washing away my sins and they shove vodka down my throat to drug me up before they sell me off to the Russian mafia.”

The funny thing - when you view the video, it’s actually weirder than her description.

As a song though, the ‘ohhh’ and ‘rarara’ bits at the beginning are more than a bit stupid, but it gives way to a nice 80’s beat and vocal style remniscent of ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’. But probably closer to the Marilyn Manson version than the Eurythmics version.

But either way, this isn’t about Lady Gaga’s music, or her career. Though I would say I enjoyed about 68% of the song and video.

Nope, this is about…product placements! Can you guess how many product placements were squeezed into one video? For fun, watch the video first before reading the rest of the post…

Watch it below:

Anyway, here they are, I had fun spotting them!

Product placements in ‘Bad Romance’ by Lady Gaga:

Parrot by Starck ($1600)
(0:11)

Nemiroff Vodka ($50)
(0:16, 02:28, implied throughout video in glasses)

Heartbeats by Lady Gaga ($99.95)
(0:24, 0:30, 0:34, 1:12, various times in video)

Carerra ‘Safari’ Sunglasses ($ unknown)
(03:56)

HP Envy ‘Beats Limited Edition’ by Monster ($2,299)
(2:44)

(There’s also a Nintendo Wii controller at (02.43), but it’s probably not a paid placement.)

In total, there are about 8 placements for 5 products, each between 1-4 seconds in a 5-minute video!

You’ll probably see a lot more of this as record sales continue to drop and artistes continue to find other ways to make money around their music, instead of directly from the music. Am I against product placement? Not as long as it’s not too intrusive and it’s interesting (I might consider buying the headphones in the vid) - the format of a music video usually only allows for 1-3 seconds at a time anyway, but the scary thought you have to think is this - will there be a future where all music videos will be this weird, so as to accomodate product placements more easily? As brands can’t fit as smoothly in grassy fields, normal-looking living rooms or plain white backgrounds. Everything will look like weird stuff from Japan!

Oh, and look out for the surprise ending of Lady Gaga sitting on a bed a burnt out skeleton! Really.

12 Comments

Food poisoning seriously sucks (and a remedy)

Ask Josh!, Sharing November 11th, 2009

My mummy told me once before that food poisoning is the second worst thing than the feeling of bloatedness and morning sickness from pregnancy. As I blog this, I am suffering from food poisoning, this would be the second day so far.

Friends: I feel much better than I did yesterday, but running to the toilet several times a day is not a good thing.

Bloggers: You’ll be pleased to know I somehow managed to attend 2 meetings over the past 2 days without puking on any clients. Not the best thing for me to be out and about with food poisoning, but this few days have been pretty good for sales (broke the Advertlets sales record recently), so felt I just had to keep it up.

I remember the last time I was down with food poisoning. I was probably down for about 3 days in total. Couldn’t drive, couldn’t get up, couldn’t even use a computer and could hardly talk on the phone. And guess what, I got food poisoning from McDonald’s of all places. Confirmed case - the other person I had breakfast with (a pretty girl, though that detail is not necessary to the story) also had food poisoning. After that I stopped taking the McD’s breakfast for a year. Then I started again la, since it’s hard to resist…

But recovery seems much much faster this time - couldn’t eat solid food for the first day, but today I had solid food and my appetite is back. Attended meetings, did up proposals, answered some e-mails and calls. And the other half of the time when I feeling too sick to get up, managed to lie down with my netbook to download clips on Youtube, check out some TV series, and look at funny cat pictures on on my Streamyx connection. (Which is pretty fast in my area actually - check out this speed test I ran).

Oh, and best part I seem to have lost 1KG in just a day. Haha!

Anyway, thought I’ll share this with you - largely I think a faster recovery this time around is because I think I’ve found a combination of stuff that works, so you might want to give this a try…

First tip: Don’t vomit in the sink. Vomit in the toilet bowl. You don’t wait to block up your sink.

Now, on to the medicines!

This picture below reminds me of what a certain blogger used to blog about before appearing in a certain Malay paper Nah, these are just normal prescription medications, you can get them from any clinic.

medicine

All of these work together to make you less dehydrated, and not feel so nauseous. That’s it for the Western medicine.

On to the Chinese medicine!

These are ‘Poh Chai’ pills. I’m not sure if this is their intended function, but they make me puke instantly - like 1-3 seconds afterwards. I had four of them over 5 hours, and felt much better. They come in ‘buckshot’ like containers, each little pellet dissolves quickly when you drink it with water. Suggest you take this in the bathroom, if you’re going to have a reaction like me.

pohchai1

This is…Ya-Hom Powder Five Pagodas Brand. A friend brought this over to me, together with a few cans of 100plus. Felt much better after that. He said usually one is enough. It really works.

yahom

Here’s a close up of how the paper looks when unwrapped (also, in case you need to ask for it in Thai or Chinese)

I also have no idea why they are packaged to resemble ammunition.

yahom-closeup

Hopefully you never have to get food poisoning, but if you do, try this combination and let me know if it works!

Lastly, if you are currently suffering from food poisoning, here’s something to cheer you up…

Q: What’s worse than puking from your mouth and diarrhea from your ass all day long?
A: Imagine if you had diarrhea from your mouth instead…

Eat safe!

7 Comments

The truth behind the #everyoneconnects / #throughmywindow song revealed!

Sharing October 23rd, 2009

The everyoneconnects.net website

Image from The Star from the article "Song causes a buzz"

At a press conference earlier today in JW Marriott, Kuala Lumpur, the singer was revealed from behind an orange curtain…to a chorus of groans, cheers and “whatttt??”, and “seriously?”

The song has gotten lots of interest on Twitter, and even in the mainstream media - The Star mentioned that it “caused quite a buzz“, and “everyone wanted to know who was behind it”.

The singer was revealed to be non other than Asmawi bin Ani, better known as Mawi - the winner of Season 3 of Akademi Fantasia. It was revealed that this song “Through My Window”, was the start of what would be a side project for him. And that he would be playing with a band, which explains the pixelated images of four people being credited with a song on the official site.

Mawi, lead singer of "Tsu-Mawi And The World" showing off his new indie rock look at the press conference earlier today.

During the 1 hour press conference, where coffee, sirap bandung and “kuih Mawi” was served, the band name was revealed to be “Tsu-Mawi & The World”.

The sponsor behind this effort was also revealed to be non other than TM (formerly known as Telekom Malaysia). This is not Mawi and TM’s first collaboration, as TM was a major sponsor of Mawi’s latest film, Jin Notti.

Said Aziz A. Hadi, TM vice-president and product manager explains that TM is not restricting its involvement to only education and sports events.He adds: “TM is now expanding into the art and entertainment industry and has made the decision to support Mawi so that the local music industry keeps growing. Mawi is a succesful artiste, and has proven himself and we fully support Mawi’s move into the burgeoning indie rock scene.”

Mawi also explained his choices on why he launched a new band:

Said Mawi “Saya dah cuba banyak ‘genre’ musik bertahun-tahun ni. Lagi pop, lagu r&b, lagu dangdut dan juga nasyid”.

“Tapi, satu jenis musik yang saya belum cuba adalah apa tu orang putih panggil ‘alternative rock’ atau ‘indie rock’. Stail musik ini telah dipopularasikan oleh kugiran dari negeri Barat seperti ‘All American Rejects’, ‘Simple Plan’, Fall Out Boy’ ‘Boys Like Girls’, ‘Michael Learns to Rock’ dan juga kugiran tempatan seperi ‘Hujan’ dan ‘Bunkface’.

Mawi continued explaining his decision to go into the alternative rock scene: “Album sales…saya dah jual banyak giler. Diestimasikan bahawa 55% dari populasi Malaysia sudah beli album saya. Dan, kami tahu bahawa populasi Malaysia yang berbangsa Melayu adalah 60%. Dari segi bisnes, dengan menyanyi lagu indie rock dalam Bahasa Inggeris saya dapat mencapai market baru! Dari research kami, dilihat bahawa orang Cina dan orang India tak banyak mendengar lagu tempatan dalam Bahasa Malaysia”.

“Sebagai artis, saya mesti terus berinovasi, oleh sebab itu saya cuba genre music baru. Lihat macam mana si Madonna telah cuba menginovasi imej dia. Walaupun dia sama tua seperti nenek saya, dia masih ada imej yang seksi dan banyak kostum yang menarik”.

A picture from the recording session of "Through My Window" with "Tsu-Mawi & The World"

Mawi stated he had big aspirations for the song, and the upcoming album: “Dengan menyanyi dalam Bahasa Inggeris, kugiran saya boleh juga target market eksport - ke negeri Barat dan negeri Asia Timur Selatan. Market di luar negara best tau - you tahu tak itu band Pop Shuvit? Mereka menjual lebih album di Jepun daripada Malaysia! Tak baik jadi jaguh kampung sahaja, saya nak mengemukakan 1Mawi untuk 1Dunia.“

Then, quipped Mawi: “Macam tu baru WORLD!”. The press and audience at the event went wild with laughter after he said that. After the 35 minute interview, the press conference was ended with a stunning performance by the newly revealed “Tsu-Mawi & The World”. Mawi in particular gave a particularly energetic performance - and indicative of his new style, he smashed his guitar stylistically at the end.

By the way: Here’s the video to the song, now with visuals! Okay, it’s a leaked one, so it’s incomplete:

So, what do you think? Will Mawi succeed in his indie rock flirtation? The viral campaign has been unprecedented, and response to his debut single has been amazing, but will he be a one hit wonder or continue to pump out strong, catchy indie rock tracks?

Share this!

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Beyonce Concert in Malaysia Cancelled (Or Postphoned?)

Ask Josh!, Parties & Events, Sharing, Stuff October 19th, 2009

Update: (6:37PM): Official statement from Marctensia regarding the Beyonce concert is here. Summary: It is postponed. No future date announced. But it won’t be anytime from today till 14 November 2009 (because you can get refunds from 26th Oct 2009 till then). You wonder though, whether this will be postponed the same way Rihanna was “postponed?” (btw, understandably, Rihanna was organized by Pineapple Concerts, not Marctensia). My sympathies go out to Marctensia. It doesn’t seem like they were the ones that didn’t want this to happen.

Update: (6:08PM): Got off the phone with someone in Maxis. It is postponed indefinitely, and it doesn’t seem anytime too soon.

Update: (6:05PM): An official tweet from @maxiscomms says that: “Beyonce concert is postponed and NOT cancelled. We are getting a response from the Event Organizer right now to have an official statement.”

Update (3:39PM): Malaysia is not listed on the tour dates of Beyonce’s official site. But her album did go platinum in Malaysia, lol.

Breaking news. Beyonce’s concert in Malaysia has been postphoned. According to 3 different sources, “a Maxis marketing officer has said that it is postphoned, an an announcement will be made tomorrow.”

My sources are: Two people in Twitter, and several that I know in real life (involved as a sponsors/associates) who spoke on the phone with people from Maxis. This seems pretty final.

Honestly, this does not bode well for Malaysia. Although I’m not a big Beyonce fan, she is Beyonce, a top international act - and I would have gladly paid to go. Stuff like this that just keeps happening makes international artistes skip Malaysia as a concert venue to go to Indonesia & Singapore instead. Tourism Malaysia HOWWW. Future of Malaysia HOWWW.

Follow @joshlim on Twitter to be updated when this story develops (or if you want to listen to my tweets la). It’s lots of fun one.

If you want to share the sad news, retweet & weep using links below:

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We Men Are Pretty Damn Easy, Seriously (Or How to Steal A Man)

Ask Josh!, Sharing October 15th, 2009

So yeah. This is a rather “special edition” of Ask Josh. Seeing that I’m high on champagne, and I was just asked this less than 3 hours ago.

Anyway, some background: The setting is a club in KL. A clubbing friend of mine that I haven’t seen in a while was lying on a sofa, flat. She was somewhat conscious, and got up as I approached, to my surprise.

Image from "alexsk" on Flickr

Let’s say that she’s hot, curvy, dressed in a shining dress, and looking better than I’ve ever seen her before.

Anything else would reveal who it is. Which isn’t my intent.

We talked a while earlier. I asked her about her impending marriage. And well, apparently her fiancee wasn’t her fiancee anymore for good reason.

I haven’t seen her in about a year, the last I heard was that she was about to get married. Guess I’ve been pretty outdated.

And well, it seemed that she had moved on, which was good - but well, it wasn’t exactly reciprocal.

She seemed pretty upset. Maybe tipsy. Maybe both. And, uninitiated, she said: “Josh, sit down.”

I sat down beside her on the maroon couch.

“I got something to say. You know Josh, I’ve known you for a while. And I don’t know why, but I have to tell you something. I’m pretty upset, and there’s this guy I like”.

And apparently, the guy was there earlier on at the club.

“I really like him. And we’re good friends. But he’s with someone. And she really doesn’t deserve him!”.

I asked why.

“She’s pretty possessive. And, you know, the worst part is I know the girl. And I was taking care of her as she was drunk”.

“And, she treats him like shit. I was in the toilet with her, and she was slapping him, raising all sorts of fuss….and he even had to apologize to me, saying ‘I’m sorry you had to see that’.”

What I said to her next is probably one of the best, and in a way, worst advice that I’ve given before. Let’s keep in mind that I have never drank this much champagne in one night before. And I am feeling the effects still, as I write this.

This was what I said.

If you’re a woman, pay special attention. If you’re a man, nod your head silently as you acknowledge the simple truth. Either way, leave a comment if you think this is true.

I decided to reveal to her the secret of men:

“We’re pretty damn simple, seriously. ”

Since the lady sounded like quite the bitch, oh well. Let’s help her steal him, shall we? Said I to myself.

So I told her: You know what? Let me tell you something.

Men are not complex creatures. We do not necessarily dwell on emotions, and to tell the truth, we can be very easily confused.

Take him out, have a night out. You’re good friends, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Put it this way. He’s probably been with her for a while. And you know what? She’s the nagging “wife”. You’re the available and attractive “mistress”. You’re the friend he’s going to complain to about her. And as long as you’re simply there, you have the advantage of being the one that he can approach without stress, to be understood, to be there for him.

Here’s the evil part.

Get him out. Get him tipsy. Get him to down a few shots.

And when you’re dancing on the floor, or lounging next to each other, as you’re whispering in his ear…blow into it. Grab him. Lick. Kiss him. Have your way with him. Anything after that is up to your imagination, and accommodation available to do whatever you have in mind.

And whether in the next few seconds, or the morning after, the sheer physical sensation of something, pleasant, new and unexpected is going to leave him confused about his feelings for her - and a little more sure about his feelings for you.

Remember you’re the “mistress”, not the “wife.” You have the advantage.

And, well, we’re men. We don’t need fucking flowers. Or a heartfelt confession or a love note. It’s really easier than that. Have your way with him, and he’s not going to push you away. Because you’re not ugly, and he’s not complex.

So, I left it at that, for the time being. She had to go over to the next club with her friends. I wonder if she’s going to win. Now that she knows the secret, I think she can. And well, loyal readers - I’ll keep you updated if she does.

Meantime, female readers, feel free to use this insight to have your way with someone you want.

It’s 2009. It’s okay for you to be that into him, or make the first move.

If you’re a feminist, think about it as equal rights. If you’re a classic passive type, think of it as trying something different that just might work.

It’s prime time for new relationships. It is October after all. The period before Christmas, before New Year, before Valentine’s, before Chinese New Year. It’s hookup season. Breakup season starts in March - quarter 2, after the novelty and pressure of Valentine’s is gone, after the festivities have passed.

Happy hunting, females of Kuala Lumpur. Displace some bitches for me, will ya? Cheers!

31 Comments

Faizal needs a girlfriend. And a life.

Sharing September 16th, 2009

Oh my. So I was having a drink at Starbucks, and I logged in to check my blog comments. Over on the other table behind, there was a girl wearing a tight fitting green shirt that had the words “Stop looking at me, I know that I am pretty” printed on it. She was pretty, and I spent some time looking at her despite the message on her shirt.

But that’s not the story.

I came across some comments from a certain “Faizal” on my old post, “Ask Josh!: I no longer find my girlfriend sexy. How like this?”

It’s kind of like a poem, but a closer look reveals that this guy is batshit insane and or delusional. And he left the same comment (with slight variations) three times.

From blog commentator "Faizal" on this post.

I am looking
A girl friend

Who can wrestle with me and win me….
Who I can talk about anything…..
Who want to use my arms as a pillow…
Who want to kiss me in rain,..Sunshine..and in snow…
Who can tell me her problems. …and let me help..
Who can kiss me and tell me Its sweet… I want more..
Who simply be mine and give me company….
0146624313

(Yes, he left his handphone number.)

So I decided to do some more research.

Searching through Google for “Faizal’s” handphone number, I came across this message board (his username is ‘jawad’ where he describes himself as a “strong mail having big dick”. He joins a proud bunch of Malaysian Gigolos…with prices that range from as cheap as RM35 - RM5000.

And according to his Yahoo profile (from the e-mail he left), he is a Male, in Petaling Jaya. It is troubling to know that he is in the same state as me. And an IP lookup suggest that he is in Kelana Jaya, just a few KM from my place. ARGH!

Various WTFs:

- Why would you want a girl which is physically stronger than you? Who can “wrestle with you and win you?”. Scenario A: You are so physically weak that a girl can wrestle you. Scenario B: Your girl is much larger than you and a champion bodybuilder. Both options are unfavourable.

- Why are you advertising yourself here on josh.my? There are many other blogs you can do this on!

- Malaysia has only one climate. A girl that will kiss you in rain, sunshine and snow…is not here.

- You want this girl to ‘give you company’? A Sdn Bhd? Surely you mean ‘keep you company’.

- When you find this girl, and if you do… don’t you think she would have a big problem with your side job as a gigolo?

Oh man. This is terrible.

Faizal the wannabe gigolo from Kelana Jaya can be contacted at redrose6624313@yahoo.com or 0146624313.

If you are a desperate male gigolo, I would like to request that you please don’t read or comment on this blog. Thank you.

2 Comments

These are a few of my favourite OM NOM NOMS!

General, Sharing September 8th, 2009

So yeah. I made a list of what I like to eat, off the top of my head. Not to actually eat off the top of my head (I prefer to use a plate). What’s yours? Let me know if you share some of my favourites! Check it out below:

joshmy_liketoeat

I’m doing this to work out a monthly menu for myself - I’m trying to eat out less OR eat better, and looking into a way to have “home cooked” or “catered” food prepared each month. It dawned upon me there’s no catering service in where you can request a custom menu, so it got me thinking - let’s make a list of what I like, and see if I can get it sorted. And no, of course I’m not at the level to afford a personal chef. Haha.

Why don’t you make a list of what you like to eat (this could be a new blog meme, lol)…it tells you something about yourself! Here’s what I’ve learnt:

So far its good to note that most of the things I like are somewhat healthful. Tip of the day (use this to impress your friends) - it is incorrect English to say “healthy breakfast”. The correct term is “healthful”, as in “healthful breakfast”.
I’m not a big fish eater, and when I do eat it, I usually eat it raw (sashimi).
I’m not adverse to vegetables.
I could probably adapt to a Mediterranean or Japanese diet.
Seeing this list, I could probably cut down on sugar quite a bit seeing there aren’t many sweet items here. My main sugar intake seems to be from caffeinated or carbonated drinks.

To do: Create a more comprehensive list that includes breakfast, snack and dessert items. Thanks to Rebecca for the scan!

Oh and btw I would like to welcome myself back to blogging, after about 2 weeks of not doing so. A lot has been going on, including the recent The Ugly Truth movie screening, various parties and…and…a new Advertlets partnership that I will be announcing soon. Stay tuned

2 Comments