Cool use of OMFG I'M GOING APESHIT THIS IS TOTALLY MINDF!@K by ART+COM, germany for BMW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVhVClFMg6Y

I couldn't sleep very well

decided to make myself a hot drink and saw on Twitter that the D&AD nominations were finally out.

Consistently throughout the years, the British D&AD award nomination for me has been the benchmark for creative excellence - Except for the awards they give to Harvey Nichols every year.

One judge from Malaysia recently claimed that the D&AD was actually a 'british award show'. Oh! There are only 5 nominations from Malaysia, and yours isn't one of them. I can see why it's a british award show now. 

Enough about that and onto the work.

This blog is meant to be the silo for all things inspiring to me in the advertising world

I love it that after all these years, i still retain my child-like wonder when i see something that renders me totally speechless

of course, it's been seven long years in the industry, it's easy to get jaded and have that 'i've seen it before' feeling

the trick is to keep looking. 

If 'you've seen it before' it's because you've been hanging around way too often looking out the same window in the same house (for the literal, please, it's a metaphor)

A true gauge of creativity is the level of 'OMG HOW DID THEY DO THAT' you can squeeze out of your audience

kinda like a magic show

and in terms of sheer entertainment, and design as a communication language

nothing can come close to what i've seen from BMW

This design sculpture is done by ART+COM for the BMW Museum in Munich

If the still frames above look mesmerising

you're in for a treat when you click on the actual 'performance'

according to Joshua Topolsky of endgadget.com (thanks for the above still frames)

it's 'a wave of undulating orbs that appear to weightlessly float'' 

Thanks Josh for that really cerebral description, but i think it's better we sit back and watch the video, and say outloud now... "OMFG! THIS IS TOTALLY MINDF@!K"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVhVClFMg6Y

Cool Use of DAMN WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT BEFORE! by Vitruvio Leo Burnett, Spain

Smart use of ambient media

usually the domain of JWT KL

They've been building a steady reputation throughout the years with some mind-fuck style creatives at the award shows - Missile car for one and last year's optical illusion-esque Scott's tissue poster campaign. 

Publicis also has a 'tear in reality' ambient which I thought was totally mind-fuck and deserved a little more than a coupla shortlists

Vitruvio Leo Burnett in Spain aren't pushovers too

with this campaign for Leica. Proposition's pretty obvious - Optical Zoom.

Definitely a great use of the ambient. And so campaignable as well. The above are just 3 of a many incarnations of it.

Gold at the Art Director's Club of Europe Awards

nuff said.

day 9. well rested. bantus 5th anniversary roda

Yep. That's us. 5 years after all the blood, sweat and tears

and we're still here

better and stronger

thanks to each and every one of you who've made Bantus so much stronger

Quek opened with a very 'emo' thank you to all the seniors who've been through the thick and thin with us

My hamstrings ain't hurting no more.

all those stretching outs while in the lift (when nobody's looking) definitely helped recovery

also, the overwork at the office balances out the times when i train hard

Weirdly enough i had 8 hours of sleep beforehand

Games in the roda feels tight

no fancy moves from anyone

straight up, pure jogo capoeira

i like

nearly got my head shaved off by rafael

(what else is new)

i think maybe cause my head's shaved that i feel the breeze a little more

point is, reflexes are still there

but alas, rafa knows my game inside out

ownage as usual

got him back with a headbutt at an impromptu angola game

definitely will be up there in my highlights in my capo life

great energy at the roda

good to see everyone from every class converge 

i was absolutely buzzing

in fact, felt that the roda ended a bit prematurely

feeling pent up, quek and i decided to jump straight into some informal angola game

i think we've got a real understanding to have a 'showmanship' esque angole 'performance'

as one angolero capoeirista told me

angola, is malandragem, and it's also a performance... almost poetically theatrical

to the untrained eye, it's slow and meandering

to a true capoeirista

that's what the game is truly about

a dialogue

a banter

a joke

an exchange of opinions through every twist, turn, fake, smile, trick up your sleeve

that's what friends do with each other when they meet up don't they?

catch up and talk cock

manifested in the roda

it's funny how chemistry between two capoeiristas place a very big role in angola

with rafael and quek

we have a conversation

i guess it's a matter of getting to know more about other people

terry, durim and perereka are still playing

but they're not ... how should i put it

creating a dialogue with your opponent 

and that is a beauty, and subtlety of angola games

i'm feeling a lil sore

must've been the rare knocks and kicks i got in between

adrenaline numbed the pain till now

but it's all good.

all in all. simple games, filled with lots of improvised malandragem

i'm happy with my jogo for Day 9

even happier that we're stronger and bigger than ever, 5 years after

here's to many years of jogo bonito to come bantulinos

i will be there for you all

as i'm sure you'll be there for me

in the meantime

see y'all at the next roda.

much love and respect to all.

ps. riz uploaded some sick pics on facebook. go check em out. anyone else got photos? feel free to spread em around on facebook.

value napaz,

coelho.

Po Po...

Po Po

it's been a morbid look at mortality for me
i guess it is one of popo's many gifts to me
growing up, i've learnt many lessons through her
mostly just by being around her
this time is no different

she held my hand
i swore she knew i was there
she slept, but didn't want to let go
when finally i left
she couldn't remember i was there when mom asked

in a day
i experienced the fleeting impermanence of life
we can choose to think it never happened, because she didn't remember
or we can choose to think that she did, at that moment.

i choose the latter
and i choose to help her live that moment as often as i can

Day 8. The lethargydargy continues

We had a repeat roda on sunday.
Was lookin forward to some good ol' fun filled roda
Roda's always good no matter what
puts the ol' smile to good use.

This roda was a bit lacklustre
coupla basic games
Kicks are still going good
vision is still definitive
benguela-esque ground moves
Surprised to see Durim play a more tactical benguela game with me
Good to see Perereka back in the fray, gotta say i miss him
Good recap i guess
didn't pull off any fancy moves compared to the last one
me hamstrings are hamming up the moves
Quek's also lethargydargy
but still manage to pwn Malcolm with a workman-like rasteida

Music was a little lacklustre
The group still needs to learn that the roda happens whether you're in a jogo or not
when you're in a roda, you are in the roda
whether you're in the bataria, or as part of the circle
never underestimate the energy you emit
and the power of a voice
and the strength of a group as a whole

in the meantime
i shall nurse my hamstring by cross-training some weights in between
quek's schedule and mine permitting
i can never bring myself to gym on my own
i still prefer playing...
ouch...
hamstring...
good night.

Cool Use of Love/Sex - Sagami 0.2mm Condoms by GT Tokyo

Love knows no distance.
Condoms do, however.

0.2 mm to be exact.

Another example of the beauty of Japanese advertising

The use of an emotion to convey a very factual and insightful selling proposition

And an ingenious feat of storytelling that strategically loopholes the law of condom advertising in Japan

If this campaign was done in the west, like many seen-in-award-show condom ads, you know you're walking into Girls can't resist me Axe territory, or I-can-go-all-night-honey positioning.

But it's Japan

GT Japan has positioned Sagami condoms up a rung from the usual filth

Condom = making love responsibly

And trust me, they should up the brand positioning, because i've seen Sagami condoms in Bali, and they cost 10 times as much as the usual rubber. Shouldn't it stand for something more than a trivial tryst?

Back to the campaign.

2 Real lovers

having a 1000km long distance relationship

GT Japan built a story of how the two gravitate towards each other (by running)

all month long

readers can follow their story via their correspondence, hosted on the lovedistance.jp website

because of strict laws with condom advertising in japan, the campaign was only branded as Love Distance

But as the month-long journey of two lovers reach its climax

they revealed the Sagami brand

and the twist

love knows no distance

that's why we've kept it as close as possible, with Sagami's 2mm ultra-thin condoms

not that it needed copy

because they're japanese

and that's why it's the winner of the Cool Use of Love/Sex Award.

View the case study

http://sagami.non-grid.jp/award/video/video-en.html

View the website

http://www.lovedistance.jp/

View the agency

http://gtinc.jp/

ps. the campaign was created by one-man-army creative director/art director/copywriter/planner Naoki Ito! kinda reminds me of Sonal, but more convincing because it's not an initiative but real work.

day 7. i found the root of the hamstring

there really is nothing much to blog about, capoeira-wise for day-7 of training

both quek and i are suffering from fatigue

i went out to the park 10 minutes before... i was only warmed after 50 minutes

it's fatigue

between late nighters at work

training at night

and the super-resting powers of the Geo Mineral and Memory Pillows combined

it's pretty obvious the 20 year-old mind is willing, but the 30+ old body needs a little convincing

Hamstring strains

are nature's little alarm bells to chill and take a break

well i couldn't have done anything even if i wanted to

Even training simple take-down drills

the mental alertness was down

hence quek stomping and spraining my right toes

and durim stomping on my feet the training before

Quek and Durim

Also nature's way of forcing your body to rest, if you don't listen to hamstring

damn you nature! You win, this time!

zzZZzz

Cool Use of a super small insignificant Web Banner Space - Collapse Window, Burger King by CP+B

http://www.cpbgroup.com/awards/2009/ca/banners/collapse.html

You people better appreciate the image above

it was cut from a link, pasted onto microsoft PAINT, and cropped after 30 minutes of correspondence with Rudy (thanks rudy!) over MSN messenger on how to crop away the white background.

This was after an hour researching about the alleged Snipping Tool function available on Vista. Apparently you can 'unlock' this function via the Control Panel. I didn't find it.

Which led to another hour googling 'WHERE IS MY SNIPPING TOOL'.

Anyway, back to today's Ad of the day.

The good people at Crispon, Porter + Bogusky are definitely another buncha dudes who know how to show a brand a good time. Their subject? Burger King. From massive integrated campaigns (Burger King PS2 Games?), to cutting edge websites (anyone remember the Subservient Chicken? Shame on you! Google it), to creating random ideas that're relevant to the product - a Whopper perfume for example, and a worldwide taste test for Whopper vs a Big Mac featuring people from parts of the world who've never seen or tasted a burger in their life!... they definitely are the cooler cousin of McDonald's.

So cool that in fact, not even the smallest of ad spaces or the most restrictive of advertising (movie tie-ups) can stop them! I don't need to say much, except, yeah the fake article on this link is also quite entertaining.

Click on this link. And remember... DO NOT GRAB THE BURGER!

http://www.cpbgroup.com/awards/2009/ca/banners/collapse.html

day 6. still no ponche. stamina rising. hamstring falling apart.

Twas nice to have andrew back in training.

well he's been training ler, what i mean is twas nice to be in the same class as him

it's been a while

Man my hamstring is really fuckin tight

i worry i've torn something

but according to quek, if i can still walk, it ain't broken

according to rafa, it's my muscles loosening up and the only solution is biting the bullet with more training

fuckin jocks...

GINGA DRILL

yeay

as always, durim and i get overzealous on practicing takedowns and such

i swear one day we're just gonna headbutt each other and have a double KO in the roda

COMPASSO, Qaeshada BASHU

This move works the core muscles

the trick is to think that you're going into 2 compassos

it's good for a fake

twist your trunk till you face the opponent for optimal maladro effect

and snap, crackle and pop the other way

heel, meet face.

COMPASSO, COMPASSO SOLTA

this is turning into a rather pleasant move

the torque you get from the first compasso really adds to the potency of the compasso solta

2 things to take note of

1. the momentum can get out of control on your second move, the compasso solta. You really need to remember the basics of all kicks, the ginga position really helps with keeping you centred after your kick. We discovered that if you yank your hand and be concious about getting into the ginga position, it prevents the momentum from carrying the rest of your body into an exposed position... which can be dangerous if someone counters with a chapa. bottom line, kick... kick again... protect your face.

2. it's easy to get disorientated after the first compasso. Specially with the speed of the second kick. Therefore it's muito importante to look at your target before each kick. Easy to forget, because we're just obsessed with getting through with the drill. Quality... not quantity!

CHAPIADO into your opponent's ARMADA

Deadly when timed right.

timing is everything.

most of the time, in drills, in the roda, the ginga's dynamic, but chances are you'll be on opposite gingas.

when the opponent does an armada, we noticed that you will fall into a half-way position, cause you're shifting your weight to the next ginga

it's important to practice the speed of your negativa dentru

this can work to your advantage, cause the opponent might think you're doing a compasso, or something else

bear in mind, chapiados are strong, but very wild kicks if you don't have a target

apply the armada look over your shoulder technique

bottom line - look and aim at a target before you kick

ARMADA, opponent CHAPIADO, counter with a TRAVA DE OMBRO

Sneaky.

Pulling it off almost feels like you've just successfully entered 'bullet time' ala matrix

feels good

not sure about pulling it off in the roda

but stepping into a CHAPIADO - IS ALWAYS THE BEST THING TO DO

you block the impact of his kick

back to the sequence

armadas, like meialuas are good as 'sucker' kicks

meaning it's good for baiting opponents

the trick to being faster than a CHAPIADO once you commit to your armada

paralella dentro!

that means drop whatever you're doing, step diagonally towards the opponent

with enough practice on timing

just perfecting this move alone guarantees pwnage for any foolhardy capoeirista thinking of taking your head off.

control of your armada's important

and it's a timing thing as well

this is best pulled off when you know the opponent is committing the chapiado late

when is 'late' depends on your armada, when you read the move, and how fast can you physically move

in other words. practice.

SAMBA was a nice touch

i'm a bit out of practice

but i think we had a very sweet session

we're really feeling it as a unit

ok so i messed up a few lines

recovered quick enough

just have to clock in the hours to remember the sequences i guess.

that's it for today.

i shall leave you with the ultimate malandro move of the day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAGCrg3UCh8

watch how lepra (the white guy) gets taken down in a chamada

watch it again

notice how eduardo (the black guy, can't remember his name, but it's close enough) catches the moving leg as lepra as he shifts his weight.

masterclass malandro.

Cool Use of Evil Villains Award - NO EVIL by Droga5

Gotta love the people at Droga5

They really know how to have fun

This is a campaign for what i presume is a prepaid telco provider called NET10.

You can check out their super-funny cartoon webisodes featuring a League of Evil here -

http://www.no-evil.net

What's more Evil than the most dangerously hilarious collection of evil-doers?

Your evil cellphone company of course!

On the flipside

They have a documentary-like campaign featuring a bunch of the most lifeless i mean selfless individuals on earth

who would harm these gentle folk with noble intentions?

Your evil cellphone company of course!

Droga once said in an interview that he loved to deal with the darker side of humanity

the frailties and weaknesses

it's by exposing these emotional truths that you open yourself (your brand) up to the public

Also.

Not many brands are ballsy enough to embrace that fact

making the brands who do (the ones Droga5 work on), stand out all the better

Imagine selling a local telco client that line... NO EVIL

chances are, they'll probably say 'don't la use the word evil... let's say... ALL GOOD'

okay... so you might have the Justice League of America, a buncha do gooders... and the only thing that can do GOODER is.... YOUR CELLPHONE COMPANY...

see how that might've turned out?

chest thumping. and totally unconvincing.

Droga's right. We've got to explore our own fears, frailties and humanity

and by finding the strength to be weak, open ourselves up for our customers to embrace the poor weeping child of a brand that we have

(please buy me... please... )

so check it out... the winner of the Cool Use of Evil Villains Award, NO EVIL by Droga5

http://www.no-evil.net/

day 5. hot iranians. pretty politias. hamstring unstrung. left knee slightly sprained.

If there's one thing i learnt

it's that if you wanna grab some grub before class

it better not be heavy protein-based stuff

complex food, like pork balls, beef, chicken.. anything that needs your digestive juices to get going

don't even go near there

more blood gushes through the gut to get to work

meaning less blood circulating through the rest of your soon-to-be-abused muscles

post class discussion concludes according to Terry that light protein like eggs are fine (i agree)

i usually drop in two bricks of weetabix and some milk

i fart a bit in class

though nobody notices (cept when we do sit ups... they can get quite taxing on the abdominal muscles... all those clenching motion has to go somewhere)

GINGA DRILLS

i always liked ginga drills

it's amazing what you can learn from your partner just by the way they move

also.

tempo rasteida. nuff said.

tried. tested. now gonna train it.

ARMADA into COMPASSO SOLTA

i deceptively simple move to execute

you lack the pizzaz of the more intimidating and obvious tempo version

but the slight shift in position into an opposite side compasso can mean destruction to someone's face (just ask durim's hands... thanks durim)

it's also the most deceptively simple yet tiring drill

you need to plant your foot back into the ginga after the armada and then shift your weight the other way.

sneaky. do it right. you also train negativa dentro, vengativa and an entrada to a rasteida.

hamstring was so tight i let off a girly 'eeep' on my first compasso

damn you hamstring

ARMADA tempo COMPASSO

very nice alternative for regional games

just a change in pace timed right will throw the opponent off

specially when you're doing 3, 4 kicks in the same direction

flashy too

so you can actually use the tempo to fake the compasso to move in for a tesoura or whatever

PONCHE WALK

still no ponche walk

but thanks terry and catatao for helping me out with the drill

also very tiring

i don't know, i think the memory pillow i bought actually saps your strength because it WANTS you to sleep on it

evil pillow!

VENGATIVA INTO SOMEONE'S CAESHADA

ok

i just realised i don't know how to spell qaeshada... anyone?

An interesting drill, we've done it a hundred times

yet it's in the little details before you step into the vengativa that's important

one small lil step

if you're committed, step into negativa front and shift your weight

a sneakier option is practicing the ginga... take a small step in front instead of stepping to the side when gingaing

he'll never know what hit him

... TESOURA COUNTER FROM A VENGATIVA

the holy grail

well quek's been pulling it off a coupla times

i suspect it's a body mass issue here

for smaller framed people, i seriously think tesoura frenche's a more practical/elegant option

just looking at Durim and Catatao dry humping each other is enough to make me reconsider attempting so freudian in the roda

Durim - 60kgs. Me - 58kgs. Catatao - 85 mother-lovin kgs.

Catatao tesouraed me and my leg got caught in the process, semi spraining my knee from the sheer can-opener movement and 85kg leverage

with Durim it's a little more different, i catch him early, he falls forward... a nastier tesoura is to catch his hand instead, judo-style (ouch)

will try this with quek another day

ok well that's it for day 5.

iranian. please join class.

politia. thanks for the water and entertaining chat.

hamstring. man the fuck up.

left knee. i have a desk job, so you've got no excuse either.

Cool use of integration award - UN Voices by Saatchis Sydney

Okay

So everyone in the world has started an award show

Why not me.

So there's always a 'best of...' category

But I think so many interesting entries get lost in the finalists page 

I like to start scrutinising work via the shortlists before the winners are announced

And of course, there can never be a 'best of...' because that makes everyone else bitter

'who the hell are you to decide if it's the best! Oh of course, you're the judge! Well MINE'S the best and if it ain't then you're just biased because of....'

sorry the ghost of Neil French took over for a bit... down! DOWN you selfish self-serving devil!

Onto the review

Tonight's insomniacal award, cool use of integration goes to 'UN Voices' by Saatchis Sydney!

even found their award entry page, which deserves an art direction award for simplicity and clarity itself - 

http://www.ourentries.com/2008/unvoices/campaign/

Refreshing, coming from a region and a network that's known for fantastically fraudulent creative work... 

UN Voices is a campaign that combines the integration of mobile phone and poster. You take a photo of the subject's mouth, send UN Nations an MMS and you get to hear their story. Beyond that i'm not sure what the action phase would be for the consumer, but the experience in itself is genuinely novel. At least it's pushing boundries of media, rather than winning through their conventional 'poster & print' domination. 

Saatchi. I'm scared of you guys again. Not because of Poster best of shows. But because of the above. And that's why tonight's insomniacal award goes to you guys for UN Voices. Good job... good job.

day 4. we roda at the curve

twas a wet afternoon

as always

me hamstrings are still raw and tender

we're supposed to do a roda and a workshop

so off we went

the acoustics of the centre court at the curve is pretty good i must say

we didn't need mikes and the berimbaus travelled very well

so did our axe (anyone knows how to put the squiggly thing at the top of the 'e'?)

durim went flying, and then he changed his mind while upside down

not bad i must say

at least he's got the presence of mind to know which way the floor is

park sessions are paying off

did a couple of combi-seu-maus in the roda

(hamstring... ouch)

and also the new animal move

great success

i feel that i've got better awareness now

can work the roda a little more, and definitely throwing more kicks in the game

i think it's training without glasses

things look slower when you do have perfect 20/20 vision

it's a little like training blindfolded, it's not hard when your eyes are that small, combined with -450 short-sightedness.

quek's working it

game's lookin ahem... 'matured'... 

even pulled off a long-range tesoura

bet his hamstrings are fine.

it was  a little nervous for a few of the newbies

i think it showed specially when they bought the games in the roda

messy

nothing a few more public rodas and performances can't fix

it's always nerve-wrecking playing capoeira in front of people

the trick's to just smile and have fun

play for yourself

not to the crowd

every chance in the roda is a chance to jogo... play!

let's put it this way

you're going through the drills in class

you're being put through a can of whoop-ass by rafa

and you're not gonna have a big smile on your face to be able to run rampant in the roda?

just like gambling

if you ain't having fun, walk away...

but that's a bit harsh. 

i think everyone gave their 110% as always

it was a tough crowd though

what the hell is wrong with chinese kids anyway?!

so protective their parents are

and so unsociable and introverted our next generation

so, we gave a 'workshop demonstration'

quite refreshing

it was like a condensed version of class at celebrity fitness

of course, everyone's still got plenty of juice to spare

so it ended up in a b-boy style one-upmanship, who's-got-the-best-whatever-move session

i think we're gonna be doing another session here again next week

i say, the more the merrier

i wrote this a while back on a now-defunct blog that started out as a idealists playground of copywriters trying to change the world. Gone. Now i just try write for writing's sake. As it should be, in a diary. Here goes, hope it helps someone...

i wrote this a while back on a now-defunct blog that started out as a idealists playground of copywriters trying to change the world. Gone. Now i just try write for writing's sake. As it should be, in a diary. Here goes, hope it helps someone...

The Copywriter’s Guide to becoming one with advertising or,

How I hate the ipod.
(by Woei Hern)

My boss writes a column in this small box about the way the world of advertising is moving. Among other things. He’s a reservoir of information when it comes to marketing, strategy, public relations and French women.

His battlecry is “integration”. He prides himself in the fact that our venerable, respected and pretty intimidating (well in Japan anyway, we’re like the Alamo down here) agency is at the forefront of this re-revolution.

Of course, every other month we see some agency or another try to come up with their own terms of what integration means. And flout their new “direction”. That’s the other thing that irks me about agencies.

Why on earth do agencies who’ve established one of the best brands in the world always come up with the worst, tackiest, most pretentious and nebulous “proprietary” tools for what basically is “common sense”?

But I’m not here to talk about that. The paragraphs above would’ve already guaranteed a semi-blacklist amongst said agencies. I’m here to talk about how a copywriter can learn “integration” away from the micro-ecosystem of advertising.

Integration in its purest sense, is almost zen-like. Long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, the copywriter writes what is called a “copy strategy”. Which is the birth of many above mentioned “proprietary” tools currently the domain of strat planners.

Copywriters did “type-setting”. Something that Adobe and Art Directors hijacked for themselves. Even if they don’t ever read any bodycopy to start with.

Copywriters did “research”. Which means taking a month off work to work in the manufacturing plant, mingling with factory workers. Or even spending a whole year being homeless just to write an ad for them.

Heck, we even went to take the “brief” before sitting down with the account managers to write it. In the good old days, this meant great “single-minded propositions” that could’ve already been the “big idea”.

Integration is about bringing all the various fragmented disciplines of advertising together - above-the-line, below-the-line, through-the-line and on-the-line becoming just well, “the line”. (I should copyright and trademark that as the next proprietary tool)

But before we start doing that, let’s take a look at our lives and how by living an “integrated” lifestyle can help us become uber-copywriters.

Let’s start with the laptop that I’m writing this on. As I am typing this will-be-scoffed-at-till-i-die-upon-which-will-become-the-stuff-of-legends article, I have hooked up my Altecs to the tunes of Thief – Sunchild.mp3. I am also online, checking my emails, downloading stuff, watching youtube and chatting with my friends. With a little help from wifi of course.

A quick recap. Laptop and mobile phone = all you need. Integrated.

Everybody loves the ipod. But the ipod is the ultimate Chernobyl of integration. Of course they would beg to differ. “It’s all you need to listen to music”, said my 23-year-old junior. “I like it. It’s nice. And it’s an apple”, said my 40+ year old boss.

“I can carry my music with me everywhere”, said a fellow copywriter who obviously plagiarised that from the brochure.

Integrated? I think not. Because of the ipod, you need “ipod speakers”. Tiny, tin-canned players that function only if you drop the pod into it. It can’t play CDs, music from thumb drives or the internet.

To upload your playlist, you need “iTunes”. A RAM-devouring programme with Nazi-like traits – it makes itself the designated player, and ensures that you have to upload everything it wants to, and not you.

You also need an i-something to plug your pod into your car player. You need jeans and running shoes that are called i-something-else.

You watch “movies” through a screen so small, you’d think you’re watching Hero instead of Heroes. Of course, you can now plug it into an “apple server” (I forgot the name, there’re already too many i-somethings. I think it’s called iforgot) that links itself to your TV, sound system, blablabla.

By making itself the one, absolute source of everything that’s cool and I guess, music, the ipod has convinced you to buy 20-million more accessories. The only thing integrated about it, is Apple’s profit margins.

You want to learn what integration is all about? Stop reading articles. Stop asking the so-called ipod-carrying experts. All you need to do is give your 15-year-old nephew a surprise and let him inherit your disintegration.

Living without an ipod, means plugging fat speakers to your laptop. It means playing loud music while you type “dengki” articles like this one. It means skyping and video conferencing people on messenger free of charge. It means so much more, including being integrated, and in about 2 weeks, a better copywriter.

day 3. the mortal returns

It was raining at 3pm.
Quek still insisted on going to the park.
I was happy to just veg out at the gym.
Quek is persistent in his insistence.
So i go out at 5pm to check the grass. Damp. But firm. ok.

Kicked off at 6pm.
A little stretching... ouch... fuckin hamstring's tight like a tiger!
quek says it's a good thing
could be the reason why me kicks are suddenly a little longer and straighter
quek says my muscles are breaking and regenerating and getting more flexible
well he wasn't that articulate, it was more like, 'okla... i also got... should be better...'

worked on my little animal move
shall try it at the roda tomorrow
worked on a few kicks-to-seu-mao sequencias
ouch more hamstring... maybe it's the whipping motion
trying it in a more circular format so that i can implement it in the roda

quek's working on some nice ground moves too
i try working a more benguela version of it

meialua to rais is back
it's getting the courage to jump off that standing leg that gives it the torque
tried it facing a target just to gauge where i'll end up
shall try it with Durim in the roda since he knows me best (meaning - we're both paranoid about taking each other down to ever end up doing anything to each other, so we can actually do stupid floreios in between)

wrist still stiff from when Claudinho sat on me
can't pull off my flipetty-flop move that well yet
i don't know the name for it... maybe i should call it the coelho.

did a few trial runs into a mortal
got heckled by quek
i stall by walking back for a glass of water

we're trying to be disciplined about training
so was about to go into drills

rain drops
knew we should've headed to the gym.

one last chance
a bunch of tudung'ed ladies were attempting to play football for the first time
stray balls fly our way
and they're taking our favourite launching spot

i try a few more test jumps
a little too close to cement for comfort
shift position

more raindrops

it's now or fuckin never!
au
jump
tuck
ouch
forgot the untuck part

over-rotated my ass to the grass
i think it's a good thing cause previously i was too pre-occupied with tucking out to make a clean rotation
i call it a good day, first mortal of the year

quek's a little angsty cause we only clocked in half an hour
oh well
i'm happy

oh yes...
youtube clip of the day goes to...
Contra Mestre Torneiro Capoeira Paris
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZf7AQKCJaA

Check out the sick vengativa counter with a tesoura
then check it out again
and again
and again in slo mo
bring on the vengativa Durim!

Good Friday Indeed

More random learnings for the day:

According to Janet, it rains at 3pm every Good Friday
AROUND THE WORLD
except for the antarctic

I wasn't really paying attention
but Jesus made it the Bethlehem before being betrayed by some Jews
and because he's been walking in the desert for 40 days without food or water
he needed lots of it when he arrived.

The morning email was a refreshing one
it's always a kick looking out for your agency name when a shortlist comes out
it's a little like checking the lottery
you know how that excitement usually ends up...
sick, disgusted, and ashamed at your initial enthusiasm at something so obvious a longshot
a little like jerking off when you're bored
(why did i do it? poor lil fellas... )

well we made it to the finalist for Canon Goes Green interactive
I harbour no hope for integrated
Malaysia's got a long way to go
the sooner we stop scamming and winning posters
the more time we have prepping for some real work
i mean, CGG took 9 months preparation + execution
looking at them titanium winners at Cannes
that's gotta take just as long, judging by the magnitude of the execution and idea

Well, fingers crossed.
Would make a nice paperweight, that One Show pencil.

Lunchtime was just as entertaining
I did the 'pop-the-question' tour of duty
after much procrastination and work in between
suet volunteered
couldn't have chosen a better person

i've got some shortlists...
it's a little inconvenient to post this now with the human traffic around the house
i'll fill you in later.

got some work sorted
some interesting projects that definitely makes it all worthwhile
as always
fingers crossed we're going in guns blazing with all our dentsu GROs/creatives this coming week

best of all... continuing one of the reasons i started this blog...
Day 3 of louhung capoeira training at the park!

326pm Thu Mornin April 8

If you make pancakes, would you eat your own?
If you sell chicken rice, would you look forward to, well, chicken rice every day?
Likewise, if you're a copywriter by trade, would you write your own blog?

There are a few reasons why i went ahead with this rant
so let me see if i can list it down to start with
1. i have trouble sleeping, well i don't, i just don't like it much
2. i've been posting capoeira training progress logs on my facebook notify list, and due to popular demand (5 people) i've started a blog to log progress, or rather, the attempt at not regressing at capoeira. We're on Day 2, so stay tuned.
3. twitter's getting me addicted to the net again. i still don't know why.
4. ever since taking on the role of associate creative director, i don't write all that much no more, so i guess this is a good place to start. (Who's listening? )

Is there a template to the things you want to write about? Only if you're after hits i guess. So where do i start with this rant.

The day started well. It's always good when you wake up before your drill-sargeant of a girlfriend. Meeting at TM went well. The good pimps at dentsu were at it again. Charmin' the hightops and having mind-sex with clients. Stroking their egos with our charm, and arousing their shiver-me-timbers with our creatives.

We've got a good radio that i really want to see born. Once again, the tempting 'I don't care which radio we sell we're gonna record this one for sure cause it's good for my folio and maybe for a metal' feelin rears its ugly head. No. No. We shall sell it the honourable way. They bought it anyway so we'll just have to pimp it that much harder in the 2nd round with them bosses.

It's great to go for shoots. Therapeautic. And good to see the team enthusiastic about a Testimonial TVC campaign. How many creative teams would scrutinise every word, (we had a teleprompter) every second and every twitch of a twitchy eyelid from our rag-tag bunch of SME talents? Ok i'm sure you're out there... i'm just proud of the crew is all.

What you don't believe us? Well then. How many creatives would do a 'Client Award Night' video just for kicks, and not because it's a chance to do a scam for the awards? Here's proof:

.
.
.

okay i'll upload the video eventually when i figure this blog thingy out.

ooh. writer's blog. i mean block.

oh yes. blogs should be a little educational no?

learnt more super-useless mac/internet facts from rudy

if you've spent too much time in front of your mac
the good people at apple have devised a shortcut to make sure you... well spend more time in front of it i guess. And reduce eye fatigue.
Not sure about that, but it does look cool.
If you hold CTRL + ALT + APPLE + 8
your screen will turn negative like the film
apparently this change is better than eyemo
i think i'll just use it as a cheap prank on colleagues
anyone knows if Vista has this function?

Blogs also need to have photos right?
I'll see if i can figure the bluetooth + razr (archaic, i'm old school ok!) connection
see if i can drop in some pics of the day i suppose
i have a collection of car parking bay numbers that one day might look cool in an exhibition

344pm - i've scheduled myself to sleep. i still need to work in a few hours. or get through it at least. Gotta pimp gbum's SME logos among other things. The weekend couldn't have come sooner. Monday already felt like Thursday.