Carlsberg Where's The Party

Guinness: "Rawr... Arthur's Day is the party of the year!"

"Ya right..." The crowd half-booed. As if their energy dries off. Perhaps drained by the intolerable and suffering massive jam.

Guinness: "6 million pints of Guinness is consumed daily worldwide. Here's to Arthur!"

"To Arthurrrrrr..." Again... the crowd said with a drowning rrrrr. Half raising their glasses to cheers, if only they have one in their hands.

Carlsberg: "Step aside! Come with me if you wanna know Where's The Partyyyyy!"

A robotic voice pierced through the night air! I thought it sounded almost like Optimus Prime. In no time, the air above swirled, winds beating on our faces and oh my hair! And o.m.g... is that a... wait I don't know what it is called. A helicopter? A spaceship? Hell I don't care... It's coming for us. I don't know how but I just knew it! I reach out my hands to it. Hoping for some miracle to happen, like being sucked into it and transported to wherever the party is. Soon enough at a blink of an eye, I'm there!

Ftw! I just telepathed!

And oops... Carlsberg just kicked Guinness on the ass!

_______________________________________________

First thing first, don't get me wrong. I love the Guinness brand, thought it looks cool with all the black and gold colors combination. I love drinking Guinness too, especially from the bottle, the draught one tastes a little bit more bitter though.

But put aside my love for Guinness, Guinness Arthur's Day 2011 sucks. And that's a fact, at least to me. If the Guinness team wants to brand their party as the party of the year, they better put in 120% more effort the next time.

Okay, enough about Guinness. Let's talk about Carlsberg's "Where's The Party". If I'm not wrong, this is the second installation of such themed event organized by Carlsberg. From a consumer point of view, I think it is really an interesting, out of the box branding idea. The alcoholic beverages industry in Malaysia is a semi-dark industry. With so many restriction imposed on the industry, marketing has become very challenging. I applause for the ones who thought about this. It manages to significantly differentiate itself and stand out from its competitors of which I will not name; instead of creating the usual buzz about a party/event of the scale as big as this, the title and mystery in itself creates wonders. The way the Carlsberg's marketing team made it so secretive is actually kind of alluring to many party peeps out there. Whether you like it or not, we people always are being pulled into some secretive and forbidden agenda, and that's why the Twilight Saga made such a big hoo-hah. And Carlsberg manage to bank on this dark side of human.

So, where's the party this year? I heard babe said the party was at Sepang Gold Coast last year and there were so many interesting games to play. I really am anticipating somewhere some place like beach side... until we were brought to... Carlsberg's factory. What a surprise *duh*.

Arriving at Shah Alam Stadium for registration

Met someone there

After registering ourself, each of us have one of this

The RFID tag which is linked to your Facebook account. 

Now this is cool!

Us in the bus waiting to be ferried to the party's site

which the ambassador still remained very secretive of it at this point of time

It's raining heavily out there

But it doesn't stop the people from attending this awesome party

Finally we arrived to the secret destination
Carlsbery Brewery
My heart sinks a little, honestly

We were approached with a very warm welcoming

with pretty chicks and drum beats

See the foods stalls and beer booths?

Everything FREE FLOW all day long

See... Babe was so happy seeing all the free satayyyy that he can have

It's best to eat some ice creams when it's chilly

Met my colleagues - Jimmy & JenQ

Alex finally arrived

It looks like they have moved the entire fun fair here to this factory site of Carlsberg. I was quite taken aback, in a pleasant way, when I discovered that games are prepared for us to explore. There were also prizes to be won by playing and winning over the simple criteria of the games.

The magnificent Ferris Wheel :) 

The Pirate Ship... Probably the scariest of all that I've ride because there was no safety belt for you to buckle yourself up!

Didn't manage to ride this because the queue is crazy.

Should be fun!

There were so many mini games we couldn't care less to take any photos but just to enjoy them... Here are some of the photos show casing the some of mini games available. Taken from Carlsberg's albums @ Facebook.

Night befall upon us and hey, the party still keep on going because the night is still young! It's time for the concert now! Let's rock!

What makes this party even more awesome was when Soren, the managing director of Carlsberg Malaysia, came on stage and did some rapping! He totally rocked the stage. Seriously, I salute him. How many managing director would actually do or can do that? Greattt... Just greattt!

The crowd

We left earlier before the party end, catching the first bus back to Shah Alam stadium where our cars rest.

There are some rooms for improvement though, like better location and giving us a list of the mini games available for enjoyment so we wouldn't miss any bit of them. But, in conclusion, this party totally rocks!

Carlsberg, totally the party rocker! Yeah!

A Magical Night Out

A whole new world

A dazzling place I never knew

But now from way up here

It's crystal clear

That now I'm in a whole new world with you

That's right. If you manage to hum the above lyrics to the tune of "A Whole New World", a ballad sung originally by Brad Kane and Lea Salonga, then you are no stranger to the 1992 animated Disney tale, Aladdin.

Almost 18 years later, in present time - 2011, Aladdin flew (I still want to believe, in his magic carpet) to Malaysia, granting us Disney's lovers our wishes, by performing live in Sunway Lagoon. (You bet. I always wanted them, and all Disney's fairy tales to come alive, when I was young. A brain spoiled by fantasy huh...).

So, here I was, sitting at the bench of the Amphitheatre of Sunway Lagoon, eagerly waiting for the Musical to start. But firstly, I would like to extend my thanks to Feeq for presenting me with this chance, and Pat from Avante, the organizer, who saved me two tix so I could attend this magical musical with my love one. If not for them, I wouldn't be able to be here warming the bench with my a**. xD

If you think this musical spells geeks and nerds, or that it is only for children and hence you worry it would be boring and dull, fret not! Because this is not your typical Disney musical. First thing first, as all live musical would have, the production brings us special stage effects such as flying carpet, pyrotechnics, some real living livestock running wild on the stage, and snow or I should say bubble snow! Snow in Malaysia? Just you wait and see! Should you ever decide to see the performance for yourself, do anticipate the entrance of Aladdin. It's extraordinary! 

As for the numbers, they are a mixture of classical songs and contemporary ones that you are so very familiar with, I bet you won't be able to contain your giggling and laughter. The plus point of all, do anticipate the crème de la crème of the musical, a rapping genie, who dresses in sparkling gold outfit. How about that for a musical, huh! 


On top of that, just when I thought the cast will be lips-sync-ing, they actually sang throughout the entire stage performance, like for real. And they don't sound a bit awful, at all. The octaves Aladdin and Princess Jasmine can hit and the stability of their voices singing while dancing are just great. How cool is that! Considering this point alone, your time and money spent are already worth it for sure.


All are perfect, except for one things that is missing. Where is Abu, Aladdin's kleptomaniac sidekick pet monkey and best friend? Still remember this cute little creature? How could this cute little friend not being cast in this musical? Well... guess the troubles it takes to train a monkey may be too much. Haha.

If there is only 1 thing that I would complain, it is with regards to timeliness. If I'm not mistaken, the musical is supposed to be starting at 7:45pm, or so it is stated in the tix, but it did not begin until it was 8:15pm. So that was a half an hour wait, and the 2-hour performance ended more than half an hour later than it was supposed to be. After which we were caught up in the after-shopping-hour massive jam. Thanks to the rain as well. Speaking of which, kind of ruined the supposed-to-be fun train ride. 

Oh did I mention there were these toot-toot-trains prepared for us, bringing us back and forth from the Surf Beach entrance to the Amphitheater? How thoughtful! But the rain made me asking for more, and I wished that they could provide umbrellas or shaded walkways as well. How unappreciative I was back then huh... But seriously, the wet jeans and shoes kind of drown the mood a bit. I do appreciate the thoughtfulness though.

For those of you who plan to get tix to this musical, don't bother to pack any foods or beverages because they will be confiscated at the entrance. But don't freak out on not having anything to bite on during the show as they have this concession booth selling a numbers of snacks and drinks. Nonetheless, I seriously hate that they mark-up the prices. RM5 each for a cup of sweet corn, a bagful of popcorn, a bottle of 500ml mineral water, etc.? Thanks but no thanks, I rather eat air.

Lol, so, that's not 1 but 3 things I complained about. Anyways, all of these are no big deal when you really enjoy the show. And trust me, by the end of the show, you will find yourself standing up on your feet, dance and shake and sing along with the cast!

If you are a big fan of musical, and especially a Disney's tale musical, or if you want to take a date for a memorable night out, or if you just want to spend a fun weekend with your family and kids, why not check out Aladdin The Musical! It is ready to bring you to a whole new world from 25 Nov 2011 - 2 Jan 2012. Plan which show time to go from this chart:

Note from the chart that the musical will be staged once a day at 8:00pm, and twice on Saturdays at 7:15pm and 9:15pm. Bear in mind that there will be no show on Tuesday though. Good news for you peeps who are looking forward to have a memorable Christmas and New Year celebrations, as Aladdin The Musical is putting on an extra show on the 25th of Dec and 1st of Jan (both Sundays)! Yay!

Below showed the price of tic for adults and children:

So, remember to book a tix today! :)

Me & Mr. Darcy

Did you ever have a crush on any particular actor, singer, dance, or any kind of artists, or even fictional hero, so much that you wish that they are there in your reality? And that you dream of being with him/her? Ahem.. Admit it or not, we all have that sort of fantasy. It would be great if that wish or dream comes true, wouldn't it? *wink*

In Me & Mr. Darcy, the modern retelling of Pride & Prejudice by Alexandra Potter, such wish comes true to one lucky Emily Albright. Emily is a bookstore manager of a family-owned bookstore in New York. She is a die-hard romantics and has read Pride & Prejudice for the umpteenth times since young. After a string of bad dates and feeling hopeless towards modern day gentlemen, if they can even be called as such, she decides to go on a book tour to Jane Austen's country, instead of running off to Mexico for a wild week of men and margaritas for the New Year with Stella, her BFF.

Her excitement is a bit dashed when she discovers that the book tour group consist mainly of older women, except for one Spike Hargreaves, a journalist who is sent by his paper, The Daily Times to write an article on why the fictional Mr. Darcy has earned the title of Man Most Women Would Love to Date. Spike is a total antithesis of Mr. Darcy; unkempt with a slight belly which can be caught on sight here and now, foul mouthed and certainly unchivalrous. Compared to the literacy perfection of Mr. Darcy, Spike has no chance of capturing the heart of  the heroin, though Emily thought he is cute, before they got off in the wrong footing.

Just when Emily thought this is gonna be a dull and boring tour she embarked on, something great yet mysterious happened... She comes face-to-face with Mr. Darcy. Yup, it's Mr. Darcy, for real...

What would you do if your fantasy dream date is there in your reality?

Believe it or not, I finished this novel in a mere 3 days. Could be shorter if I'm not working for the most part of the days. I think it is quite a clever mashing of the most classic ever love story and modern day ones. It is also highly entertaining; you will find yourself giggling as you flip through the pages. And I couldn't help but felt warm on some part of the stories. Some parts, however, could have been better. But, for the sake of just wanting to read a light and entertaining novel, these can be discounted.

So, back to the question, what would you do if your fantasy dream date is there in your reality? Reading this novel got me thinking about this question for quite some time. Maybe I should start drafting a short story about it. ;)

The Greatest Love Stor(ies) of All Times

If you have not heard of Jane Austen, then at least you must have heard of Pride and Prejudice. Nope? Because you don't fancy reading? Then look up for the movie or BBC adaptations. If you are a drool for romantic stories, Pride and Prejudice is one that must not be missed. Read it, watch it.

I have yet to read the classic myself, swear to do it soon. But for you metropolitan busy bees, if reading a more than 100 pages of paperback puts you off, go first for the movie adaptation directed by Joe Wright (known for directing the more well known movies, Atonement and Hanna), starred Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. Then, you can at least get an idea of why it is known as the greatest love story in English literature of all times.

Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. It is a novel of the genre of manners and satire. It is more than just a story of romance between two individuals. It shows how pride and prejudice can impact and sometimes cloud our judgements and decisions.

Having the book compressed into a two hours and nine minutes of screen time, I have a feeling that the movie might not be able to capture the depth and complexity of the entire story though. Hence the determination to read the paperback, as it allows for spaces for my own imagination. And for those who fancy the thrill of some actions, this movie could be a quite a bore. And here, Mr. Darcy, this tall, dark, insanely handsome, intelligent, and wealthy character who is supposedly the dream date and as Alexandra Potter puts it, the wet dream, of ladies of all ages, did not live up to the expectation. All Macfadyen did was just putting up a sad and solemn face. He is not dashing at all.

And speaking of a dashing young chap, there is another movie that I would highly recommend for you to see, and probably a good excuse to chew on some sweet, caramel-ed popcorns in the mean time. Look up for Becoming Jane, a movie inspired by the early live of our beloved author of all times - Jane Austen, which was directed by Julian Jarrold, starring Anne Hathaway and my favorite Scottish actor, James McAvoy.

The movie might not have accurately portray the bits of life of the young Jane Austen as this movie is not a biopic. But from the movie you could find out, finally, how a woman from the 19th century, where being knowledgeable, let alone writing a book, was considered a misfortune and damned, produced the greatest love story of all times in English literature. Her love story is the very inspiration for Pride and Prejudice.

Hathaway and McAvoy were lauded for the chemistry between their characters by movie critics, and I could not be more agreeable to the praise. Furthermore, I would say it is not as dull as the movie adaptation of Pride and Pride. At least you will find some humors here and there that will make you giggle through the entire movie. And, Tom Lefroy is cute!

So, here you go, two lovey-dovey movies you can look forward to see if you want to have a good time cuddling with your love one. =D

Just IN TIME

I've been to moons and back. This explains the absent of blog entries *wink*. I would really much want to tell you what I were doing in the past 9 months or more since February. But I shall put them aside first, because, some things can't wait to be unleash from within me!

I hate Justin Timberlake. I adore his abs (which he keeps showing off since Friends for Benefits). But I hate him. Perhaps it's his look. Perhaps it's his voice. Perhaps I don't know why. Hence, I don't intend to spend my bucks, confined to space limited only to my butt for 2 hours, watching a movie played by J. Timberlake. But babe persuaded me to it. It's for his birthday. And Amanda Seyfried looks so sophisticated yet cute in her pixie-cut hair.

But boy I tell you, as soon as the movie starts, I fell in love with the story! It's so sarcastic in a way that what is played reflects the reality of the world that we are all living in. It displays the conspiracy of the rich!

In Time, a sci-fi action thriller, is set in a world where time is the ultimate currency. Human are genetically engineered to stop aging when they hit 25 (oh I know you hope it's true in reality), and the bright fluorescence  green timer on their arms will start ticking with a year left to live on. Unless you can buy your way out of it. The rich "earns" decades at a time, and hence become essentially immortal, while the rest have to work, beg, borrow, or steal enough hours to make it through a day. When a poor young man suddenly comes into a fortune of time, a series of misfortunes bestowed upon him instead - he is too late to prevent his mother from dying and he was accused for the murder of a billionaire. Angered, he is off to set things right, his way.

I do not intend to tell you the entire storyline, you need to watch it for yourself. But I would like to highlight a few of my observations and understanding of the messages the story is portraying, or so I thought it is.

The rich has developed a system that put the world in order. With this system, people from poorer time zone will never have the time to make it to the richer time zone. They were made to work for them in factories, etc. and earn only enough time, and sometimes lesser than what they deserve, to live day to day. In the mean time, the time to buy a cup of coffee, for instant, sky-rocketed just overnight. The rich sickly believes that for a few to live on forever, many must die. Hence, they created time banks to loan time to needy, with superbly high interest that you might have to pay for with all the time in your life! - and the time earned through the interest flows to the rich. Imagine the wealth of time they have to live on for centuries!

Doesn't this sound familiar to you? Reflect what are written above on the reality that we are living in. I mean, 90% of the people that constitute the lower and middle income classes of our society are working in jobs for the 10% of the super rich who create those jobs. We (I assume most of us are still categorized under the 90%) earn a living by being paid peanuts on those jobs that we work on day to day. It's a never-ending rat race. In the mean time, prices of goods never seems to be decreasing and we could afford them lesser. It's called inflation. The super rich wants to be rich forever (if everyone starts earning more money, they will no longer be regarded as the super rich anymore), and hence they need to keep us poor, and thus they created/ controlled banks. The banks nowadays are like modern day loan sharks, except that they are legitimate ones. They loan money to people who can barely even repay the sky-high interests. 

There are many more scenes in the movie that you can relate to our reality. In fact, every pieces of the movie reflect many things in our lives. But you have got to watch it yourself and have fun debating/ discussing among your mates.

Robert T. Kiyosaki's Conspiracy of the Rich is all coming back to me. Of course, no one wants to die, we all wish to live on forever. If you want to change your reality, go grab this book and read it. It reveals the conspiracy of the super rich in the world - people who controlled the world's banks/ the flow of currencies. It tells the simple fact that to be rich, we need to play their game (but less ruthlessly). For instant, we can either be the ones creating jobs and/or be a legitimate (or illegitimate *kidding*) loan shark. This book, to me, is more practical than the rest of the Rich Dad series as the author himself tells us the ways he has used throughout the years to be in the 10% today, which can definitely be copied and you won't be branded a plagiariser. 

Okay, a movie review is now turning into a book review. I don't want to bore you, so I'll quicky wrap things up. I still dislike J. Timberlake. Notice hatred has now turned into only dislike? Haha. But he certainly needs some, or more brushing up in being the lead hero, who should be guiding us through an unfamiliar world. Amanda Seyfried is all grown-up and chicly sexy in this movie.. long gone were the days when she played Sophie Sheridan in Mamma Mia! But sadly, there is still no breakthrough in this role.

Anyway, if there is only one thing you can register in your overly occupied mind after reading this long entry, remember this - TIME IS MONEY. TIME IS POWER.

My Everyday Valentine

It was February 14th and the air must be filled with nothing but the scent of sweetness. Flowers bloom brighter, chocolates taste sweeter, and restaurants' owner smiles wider as love birds swamp in for the celebration of this special day with their love ones.

It was February 14th and we were sitting at home, burying ourselves with never-ending assignments. Pity...

Then yesterday, babe got a surprise for me! I thought we were not celebrating Valentine's this year! Well, technically we were not celebrating, yet. Babe got me a few presents first! I'm so over the moon...

Rose is a MUST! And pink is my favorite! :)

A Paris Hilton's purse. And it's pinkish in color too! :)

And this is how the inside looks like. It would be better if the compartments contain cash. Lol.. joking!

And the one that touches me the most is a photo frame. I was the one who always presented babe with handmade photo frame, but this time, I got one in return. And a pretty one too.

The photo frame is princess chair in brown color. It look delicious, like chocolate, that I wanna bite on it!

Tada! Me on a red chair, on a chocolate chair :)

Thanks my precious one. It doesn't matter if we don't celebrate Valentine's, as you are my EverydayValentine  ♥

Permission Slips

The finale of all final exam is just around the corner. This means only a few things to me ... tons of stress, lots of nights staying up late to burn the midnight oil, and even goddamn insomnia! But, but, things have changed a little. At least, in my opinion, I find myself more calm and relax this time. The muscles tense down a little. Babe and I are heading toward the cinema for a movie later. Can't believe I agreed to it! Perhaps, it's the influence of my babe. He is usually the 'tidak-apa' kind (or in a more harsh Chinese words called - ahem... MT), full of confidence and always relax. I wish I have more of these traits.

Nonetheless, as I said, the final exam is just around the corner. 4 days to be exact. When it gets nearer, says, a night before, maybe I'll explode. Who knows. LOL. I certainly hope everything will be okay. Good luck to all that are sitting for their final exam next week. All the best and best of luck to babe and myself! Luck fairy, I really need you to be on my side! :)

Laughter is the best medicine... and it's also good for one to calm down and relax! I could use to have some of it! Haha...

So hey dudes and dudettes, here is something for you all to giggle upon! Found these while browsing thru the net. Have a laugh!

The Boyfriend's Permission Slip

(click to enlarge)

The Girlfriend's Permission Slip

(click to enlarge)

That's relationship! And I'm gonna print plenty of these slips for babe! LOL... just kidding! :D

The Chronicles of Narnia

Part of my CNY was spent burying myself in novel. I'm so glad that I could spare some time allowing myself to drift into some fictional world (sometimes I wish there is one exists). I ♥ semester break! During schooling day, I could hardly touch any novel let alone reading one. Time is too tight!

Seeing this picture above, you might have guessed what novel I had been reading. Yup, The Chronicles of Narnia. I bought it a very long time ago, I can't remember when. But I never get to finish it. Started by flipping through a few pages, and then snoozing off! Why? I never have to snooze off whenever I'm enjoying a novel. But The Chronicles of Narnia, a classic children literature written during the late 1940s - 1950s by C.S. Lewis, has some really old fashioned way of writing, and sometimes, tough English too. Well, I can't really describe the actual way of Lewis story-telling. But if you ever grab a hold onto the Sherlock Holmes fictional detective series (which dated way even earlier, around 1880s), you will know what I meant.

Anyhow, I managed to finish the entire 7 series of the novel this time! Maybe because I was too bored and so I had the patient to slowly digest the words. Or perhaps, I was itched to read some novels an drift into some fantasy again. But for sure, I wanted to read the novel because of the recent release of the movie (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader). Have to been to the cinema for this movie? Don't hesitate, just go for it! It was really worth seeing in big screen. Though I like Harry Potter's series more, I hate their movie adaption. The Chronicles of Narnia's movie adaption is way way way much better!

7 series in total, and I finish them in an approximate of 3 days! Muahaha! I'm great!

Here is the order of the series that you should follow, if you ever are interested in reading:
1. The Magician Nephew
2. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
3. The Horse and His Boy
4. Prince Caspian
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
6. The Silver Chair
7. The Last Battle

Honestly, I salute C.S. Lewis. The Chronicles of Narnia really redefine the entire fantasy of the fiction novels. It sometimes could really put other fiction novels to shame. Reading them would really make you wanna be in this Narnian universe. At least it does for me. How nice if there is other this nice other world beside the one we are living in now. Anyways, if you are really into it, the series could really serve as an escape for reality, at least for awhile. Haha. Lock yourself up, and enjoy travelling in the land of Narnia. :)