This is why Arcade Fire is one of the best bands in the world.

I saw this earlier this year and just had to post it here. Documented by Take Away Shows, a Paris based collective.

The Super Art And Music Festival

Don't mind the cheesy title. With big guns sponsorships and support by Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia, and organized by The Super Sunday, the event will be a blend of young creative minds from the likes of 84cube to crowd favs Hujan.

The only catch, an "explosive" opening by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Youth and Sports Malaysia at 8pm.

PS - Theres this new trend in Kuala Lumpur to bundle up music and arts together. Lets just see how far they can stretch this idea.
PSS - Someone is getting a head start for the next G.E

Onitsuka Tiger X Mini

Checkout them kicks by Onitsuka Tiger to commemorate the release of the new Mini Clubman! Little Mini badges at the heel. Wicked~

Via notcot

Calculating Made Easy

Sung by Devendra Banhart

Guess the name of this song

Bzzt! Recommends: Duke Special

Duke Special

The Whale Hunt - A Storytelling Experiment

Jonathan Harris, documents his journey of witnessing a 1000 year old ritual of whale hunting. He shoots beautiful photos at 5-minute intervals and faster when his heart rate sped up as he witnessed a traditional whale hunt.

The organization of content and the flash website caught my attention. Not the whale slaughtering.

You can check it out at The Whale Hunt.

Via joshspear

How the Grinch Stole Christmas SYNCED by Rich Aucoin

Canadian Rich Aucoin, wrote his debut album, Personal Publication, which was written to sync up with the 1966 Dr. Seuss classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Garth Jennings x Adam Buxton x Radiohead

One


Two


Three



Via designiskinky

Feeling Lucky, Punk?

Woot woot

Courtesy of our new Art Director at Bright Lights At Midnight (website still in progress!), I was introduced to the works of Faizal Reza, a wonderful Malaysian art director and designer. Check out the origami-inspired Capital Corporate Communications website that he made (pic below), which won a slew of awards in Malaysia and beyond.

Conscientiously Wiping

Something that would be quite interesting to design for Malaysian toilets. I wonder if we Malaysians don't think about Earth issues because we don't care or we just don't put aside the time or what...

Yowza!

Check out this really cool interactive music video of Arcade Fire's 'Neon Bible'.

Via notcot.

A Design of Immortal Proportions

"I deliberately designed it to breed like rabbits," says Jim Fitzpatrick, who produced the ubiquitous high-contrast drawing in the late 1960s as a young graphic artist.

"The way they killed him, there was to be no memorial, no place of pilgrimage, nothing. I was determined that the image should receive the broadest possible circulation," he adds.

Read on about how Alberto Korda, Fidel Castro's official photographer, captured the iconic image here.

Via the BBC.

Damned Seat Belt

Remember to be safe, kids. Selamat Hari Raya!

I think my friend did this TVC :)

10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka (Free Download!)

Courtesy of the director himself, Fahmi Reza, now 10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka is available for downloads! ("Hadiah hari raya untuk rakyat Malaysia").

You can download 10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka torrent via this link.

Extraction from his blog:

Aku dah mula seed sekarang sampai Jumaat 5/10. Akan berhenti seed hujung minggu ni untuk ke Penang. Akan sambung semula mulai Selasa 9/10 sampai Raya. Enjoy dan tolong seed lepas kamu siap download!

More information at 10tahun.blogspot.com.

Here's to the Young Go Getters

“The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible — and achieve it, generation after generation.” - Pearl S. Buck

Culturecite 2007

Come one come all to an independent clothing company gathering this Saturday (6th Oct) from 12pm - 10pm at The Annexe (Central Market).

One whole day of:

1) Fashion (I'm assuming that there'll be stuff for sale)

2) Music - Acoustic sessions with The Dearly Missed, Meet Uncled Hussain, Decma and The Could Have Been, Eleanor Shotgun Affair (!), Mohd Jayzuan and Harmacy

3) And also a marathon screening of redcomm's latest TV series - KAMI.

Good Driving Vs. Not So Good Driving

Good Driving



Not So Good Driving

Kanye West has a blog

Frankly, the idea of rhyming about ho's and bling don't appeal to me that much. But somehow, everything changes when Kanye West is checkin the mic yo.

Mr. West has recently started his own blog, posting interesting things about his interests (and also some youtube videos - theres also a video of an interview with Takashi Murakami - nippon pop art samurai).

Fo shizzle.

Radiohead's New Album - In Rainbows

I'm not too sure what to make of this.

Radiohead is pre-releasing their upcoming album, In Rainbows, exclusively on their website.

You can either pre-order the discbox - 40 pounds (includes cd, 2 x 12 inch vinyl, enhanced cd, photographs and artwork, lyric booklet, encased in hardback book and slipcase - with the downloadable version) which will be shipped by 3rd of December

OR

Donate (any amount. Seriously.) and download the entire album (from 10th October).

I am so tempted to get the discbox. Or should I wait for the censored, low quality printing "Malaysian Edition"?

Gotta Get It

If you haven't bought this book yet, or visited the writer/illustrator's blog, then I suggest doing both! Currently available at most reputable Malaysian bookstores, or you might try asking for a copy from the shy man himself.

And while you're at the blog, do check out his fantastic illustrations, like this one:














The detail!

Wayang Rakyat In A Mall

Projek Wayang is back on track for the year and beyond, with our latest series of public performances in conjunction with Hari Raya celebrations!

Come join us as we present the short stories of the mischievous Sang Kancil and the bumbling Pak Pandir, as told through the wayang kulit form. Featuring Aziz Ali, Azmyl Yunor, and Fahmi Fadzil, with puppet designs by Fahmi Reza.

Venue: Center Court, The Curve, Mutiara Damansara
Dates, Times, Shows:
Sunday, 30 Sept - 4.30pm: Sang Kancil and Sang Buaya
Sunday, 7 October - 4.30pm: Pak Pandir and the Pot of Honey
Saturday, 20 October - 2.30pm: Sang Kancil and Sang Buaya
Sunday, 21 October - 2.30pm: Pak Pandir and the Pot of Honey

For more information on this event as well as Project Wayang in general, you can visit their blog,

Millionaire Threads

I recently bought a tee from Threadless.com (that time sale lah, $10 only!) and surprisingly found this little fact about them,

The founders of Threadless.com (Jacob DeHart, 25, and Jake Nickell, 27), have just made it on the Young Millionaires list in the Entrepreneur Magazine in USA with the projected sales of $25 million to $30 million for 2007!!! ZOMG!

Read about it here.


Oh and one of the founders is a friend of Fahmi's college mate! ZOMG.

Less waiting!

If you haven't been to this site before, well, you should. A font of useful and practical solutions to speeding up your life past the boring bits. Particularly interesting are the Instant baby soothe and Turbo parking. Boy, I'd love to turbo park.

Uncle!

Meet Uncle Hussain. No, it's the name of the very cool Malaysian indie band. Also, Lagu Untuk Mu is the title track for the show, KAMI, playing on Malaysia's mainstream 8TV.

Big up the 1-1-8

Swiss firefighters sure know how to break a beat :)

First spotted via news.bbc.co.uk

10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka (Rescreen)

Award winning documentary, 10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka, rescreening at Annexe, Central Market tomorrow night (25/9) at 9PM.

More info

dinosore

You guys have to check this out. Another nail hit right on the head. Yasmin Ahmad does it good. All six Merdeka TVCs on one site. Enjois.

cool covers

I love what FWIS is doing with these compilation CDs of theirs. Crisp illustration, minimal treatment, aaahhh.

Radio Drama

I have no idea what's going on, but this is hilarious! Another score for Petronas :)

ps - this reminds me of 'Welcome Back Mr McDonald'!

My Country

Just a couple of days ago a set of greeting cards celebrating 50 years of Malaysian arts was launched. Designed by the wonderful studio of William-Harald Wong, 25 cards of Malaysian arts practitioners are distributed throughout 5 beautifully packaged boxes. Check out the website to see the images that appear on the cards for yourself, and to order them. I bought a whole set - it's well worth it!

A Prediction of the Home Computer in 1999

Found this video (made in 1966) showing a prediction of the home computer in 1999. If only it were true with flying cars...

Take the power back! (10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka)

Directed by graphic designer turned filmmaker, Fahmi Reza.

Extract from his blog " Filem dokumentari pendek ini menceritakan pengalaman yang dilalui oleh 5 individu yang turut serta dalam perjuangan politik kiri untuk membentuk sebuah gerakan kemerdekaan rakyat di Malaya, sepuluh tahun sebelum merdeka "

Catch it this Friday at The Annexe in Central Market on the 14th of Sept at 8pm, in conjunction with Freedom Film Festival 2007. It's by invitation only, so get your invitations here.

Fahmi Reza has also documented his findings in his blog.

Bunga Manggar Bunga Raya

Bunga Manggar Bunga Raya is the first full-length project in eight years by controversial choreographer and pioneering ‘dance terrorist’ Marion D’Cruz.

The motley crew of performers featured in this project include diverse, award-wining individuals such as:

* Contemporary dancer-choreographers Elaine Pedley & Gan Chih Pei;
* Actors Anne James, Edwin Sumun, Vernon Adrian Emuang, Fahmi Fadzil, Neo Swee Lin & Karen Tan (SECOND LINK);
* Playwright Leow Puay Tin;
Directors Janet Pillai & Mark Teh;
* Filmmaker James Lee;
* Visual artist Liew Kung Yu;
* Lighting designer Mac Chan;
* Journalists Jacqueline Ann Surin & Hari Azizan;
* Producers, and production/stage managers June Tan & Wyn Hee;
* Recent ASWARA graduates Ezdianie Hayatie Omar, Janet Moo Tein Ni & Ahmad Firdaus Che Yahaya.

Venue: The Actors Studio Bangsar, Bangsar Shopping Centre.
Dates: 8.30pm, 6-8 September 2007 & 3.00pm, 9 September 2007
Tickets: RM40 and RM20 student/senior citizens.

Tread Lightly on the Land

From one of my favorite small-time 'big boys (and girls)' of landscape design comes Sekeping Serendah, an absolutely beautiful retreat designed completely with a focus on the environment, located about half an hour from the Kuala Lumpur city center.

Come on, touch it, we know you want to...

The latest Apple toy from Uncle Steve: the iPodtouch. With Wi-Fi web-browsing capabilities. Woot.

how home shapes you

For lovers of their music, it's definitely worth watching. The trailer (beautifully shot by Alan Calzatti) shows the stunning visual geography of Iceland, and you can only begin to see where Sigur Ros' sound originates from.

I am so lonely...

A very interesting take on personifying The Wind, and how it feels it can exist in society :)

Spotted via NotCot.

Tan Hong Ming In Love

You've got to hand it to Yasmin Ahmad, her works touch the nerve and the heart. Her most moving piece yet. Amazing what one can say in 1:26.

Want or not?

Malaysia is celebrating 50 years of independence this 31st August. People make the slip of saying that it's 50 years of Malaysia's independence (Malaysia was only formed in 1963, or 6 years after the Federation of Malaya's independence from British colonial rule). Much of this has to do, of course, with the historical amnesia that systematically afflicts the populace via the education system.

But this time round, as Malaysia lies months away from the next major General Elections, some people will not let these slippages occur without a fight. You've already read about the ballsy RPK. Now check out Nak Tak - a blog dedicated to making Malaysians think seriously about voting, and to think twice before they vote.

Y.A.C.H.T.

Y.A.C.H.T. (or Jona Bechtolt) makes music on his machine and then makes music with that music on stage. Laptop rockers are great.

Heavy metal design

Just make it bigger. (Check out the song, of course)

Break out your monocles

As we wait for the third edition of Monocle, that stylish, high-end newsmagazine from the guy who brought you Wallpaper*, have a read at what makes the man - and his magazine - tick.

One-upping Damien Hirst

Xu Zhen, a Chinese conceptual artist, has re-created a bisected brontosaurus for an art exhibition in Beijing entitled 'NONO', a show without explanations or preconceptions.

Check out this article for more views.

Warm Fuzzy Lights

Saw this on coolhunting, and thought it would be interesting to share with you light freaks out there. A hollow steel-framed stand holds the three pair-shaped LED lights. You pluck them out, use 'em for about an hour, then just stick 'em back on the tree to kick back some juice. Nice.

Designed by Nick Foley.

Big Balls

You've got to hand it to Raja Petra, he's really upping the ante on a certain Malaysian political figure's attempts for a political comeback.

For those of us who don't already know it, blogging in Malaysia can be a rather dainty occupation - some factions have called bloggers 'pondan' (or effeminate men) and 'pengecut' (or possessing shrunken testicles) - so for a quick looksy at what's gonna go down in Malaysian politics, check out the most recent article by Mr maverick himself, Raja Petra Kamaruddin.

Mental check: Malaysian general elections on the horizon, so all the skeletons are being thrown out by the closetfuls.

I'm Muslim Too

As you can see, much of today's postings are dedicated to the work of Malaysian indie filmmakers :)

Zan Azlee, the quintessential quizzical filmmaker, has embarked on an interesting project of videoing voices and stories of Muslims in the Middle East. Armed with a camera and a sack full of instant noodles, the film is his take on what it means to be a Muslim (and a Malaysian Malay at that) in a world that is full of all sorts of Muslims.

Check out his blog for more updates of his travels, which includes swimming in the Dead Sea, flirting with hot Lebanese chicks, swimming in semen, flirting with hot Syrian chicks, visiting religious sites, and of course, more flirting with hot Iranian chicks. Ah, the Middle East...

Waiting

James Lee, one of Malaysia's pioneer DV filmmakers, is completing his Betrayal Trilogy (comprised of Before We Fall In Love Again, Things We Do When We Fall In Love, and the final installment Waiting For Love).

You'll be surprised that while mainstream Malaysian cinema has thus far distanced itself from much of Lee's works (for numerous, although not all of them cogent, reasons), the international community has been generous in their recognition of his cinematic oeuvre, although some might contend that Lee's aesthetic trajectories and storytelling structures could be further developed.

All in all, 2007 is a most productive year for Lee, with 2 films screened thus far (the first two parts of the trilogy above) with this final chapter to be released soon after.

Manifesto

50 influential designers and architects share their thoughts on the world of their design. Part of ICON magazine's 50th issue. Makes for reflective reading.

Doovde

Hahaha, this is great. Talk about being mis-synced with technology.

Mind the Map

Check out what Information Architects Japan has done with their research on 200 of the most successful websites online today! Trust the Japanese to be so orderly about these things. Makes for very instructive reading.

You can purchase the map, download it as a wallpaper/for printing, or even peruse a navigable online version of it. Oh so functional!

Big Brother

If you've ever wondered why KL has so many cameras - some of them are so insidiously hidden, they almost look like the street lamp heads themselves... until you look oh ever so closer - it's because they all feed into the Integrated Traffic Information System (ITIS). Part of the Kuala Lumpur Structural Plan for 2020, ITIS is supposed to be the KL City Hall's attempt at making traffic in this burgeoning city of 3 million that little bit better.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. Mostly because in KL if you want to go from Point A (say, Damansara Utama) to Point B (say, KLCC), there are only so many roads to take. Chances are, on a Friday afternoon (or any other afternoon/evening, for that matter), almost all of the major roads are going to be clogged. The only alternative is to not be in the city, yet what kind of alternative is that, actually?

But do check it out, anyways. One step closer to being transparent about how the city's run, I suppose, although ITIS should make available the images from all their cameras. (Check out the Archive to read the previous KL Mayor's thoughts on cameras and crime - ha!)

If you happened to be at your desktop, and want to see just how bad the KL traffic is going to be, check out the Traffic Info page.

Free Time

"Five to Nine is a PDF magazine that explores what designers & artists do in their free time, and is published by skwiot/smith, a small graphic art & design firm based in Saint Paul Minnesota. Issue are curated&designed by Peter Skwiot Smith."

The current issue, entitled Oui ou Non, shares with us how graphic designers interpret the idea of opposites, in black and white.

You can download these nifty magazines from their website.

The Business of Theatre

The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (or KLPac), with its anchor tenant The Actors Studio (not linked to the other Actors Studio in the US), has been getting much flak over the past couple of years, mostly because they are quite a behemoth in the KL performing arts scene.

Check out this frank conversation about running a theatre space between two co-founders of their respective establishments: Joe Hasham of TAS and KLPac, Jenny Daneels of Kakiseni. Mmm, the smell of money...

patriotism of a very high order

Also check out this entry on the history of the Negaraku by the swashbuckling Isham Rais, to contextualize some of this (in BM).

girly man

Slapping Game

This game is so much fun! If only they had it on wii (not that I have one, but would be awesome either way!)

Play the game here