The Beijing Olympics: 08-08-08

I ain’t gonna front, I’m pretty stoked about the upcoming Beijing Olympics. It’s great cause we’re getting pay per view, so I’m going to get a chance to watch a lot of games.

I guess there’s something about the Olympics that appeals to me. Even back in the day, from the ‘92 Olympics onwards, I’ve always looked forward to it. I guess there’s something about it being such a big sporting event, that it gathers so many people of diverse backgrounds and cultures. Another thing that draws me to sports is that sense of camaraderie, and most especially that sense of pride, most especially if you are representing an institution or even an ideal and in the case of the Olympics, your country.

I’ll be intently watching the basketball matches but during the Olympics, I tend to be drawn into the other sports that I don’t usually watch such as gymnastics, track and swimming events. This year should be as, if not even more, exciting as the previous years.

One World, One Dream

Kit Kat In Japan: The Lucky Charm

We are all familiar with the tag line of Nestle’s Kit Kat asking us to “take a break, have a Kit Kat.”, but in Japan, Kit Kat is on a whole other level. Boasting of more than 40 different flavors, many of them exclusive to Japan. From the fruity ones such as Apple or Melon to the sophisticated ones such as Orange & Brandy. And how about absurdly weird flavors such as Soy Sauce or Pumpkin?

After years of sluggish performance in the Japanese market, the Nestle Confectionery team in Japan turned it around a few years back. How? Well, in Japan, when you read Kit Kat it sounds like “Kitto Katsu” which just happens to be the same way you say ‘to definitely win’. Since that time many students as well as their parents regarded Kit Kats as a good luck charm, especially during examination periods.  It has become a part of the educational system and parents also frequently ‘gift’ their children with Kit Kat before a big exam. Whether this is the work of the marketing geniuses of Nestle or just pure linguistic luck that the Swiss MNC chanced upon, we can only guess the real reason behind this phenomenon.

Now, will Nestle Philippines ever bring these in? Hmmmm…*

*hint, hint Nestle friends

Below are some more of the interesting flavors that I found:

Weird batch: Pumpkin, Soy Sauce & Kinako/Mochi

Fruity batch: Cherry, Melon & Peach

Exotic and unknown batch: Wine & Exotic Hokkaido (I have no idea what this tastes like)

Thanks to Japan Marketing News, TummyRumbles, The Kit Kat Palace & Mike’s Blender for the pics and some of the info.

Nike Pulls Out Hyperdunk Ads

Nike decides to pull out their Hyperdunk ads after receiving criticism that they promoted homophobic views. The ads for the Hyperdunk were designed by Nike’s primary ad agency, Wieden+Kennedy. One of the ads depicts a man dunking over his opponent with his crotch slamming into the opponent’s face with the tag line, “Say Hello”.

CNN reports that Nike had said the ads were “based purely upon a common insight from within the game of basketball — the athletic feat of dunking on the opposition, and is not intended to be offensive.”

Rob Heppler from W+K & Weekly Drop mentions in his blog post that “anyone that has been offended has clearly never played sports or had a bloody nose. Its about being disrespected by your opponent. Its about your athletic abilities being far superior so you can defeat them psychically and mentally.”

I agree with Rob Heppler on this matter, I think people are overly sensitive about the whole thing. Competitive sports, particularly in professional basketball in the US, has been all about playful swagger, taunting your opponent to get that mental edge. I’m sure it’s applicable as well in a number of countries that play basketball with a serious passion. W+K has always been coming correct on the ads they have done for NIke throughout the 2 decades and this is no exception. I hope that this incident won’t deter them from continually coming up with fresh and creative ads.

News and excerpts via CNN and Weekly Drop. Thanks!

San Diego Comic-Con

The San Diego Comic-Con is one of my dream events to attend! A 4-day event where all comics, toys, movie, anime and other related genre geeks and nerds converge to basically “geek out”. From selling and buying memorabilia and books to meeting creators, and for companies to launch their products to it’s hardcore fans.

Ever since the comic book movie genre and anime boomed in America, there have been more and more people who are attending this event. In fact, there were so many people the past 2 years that many people have complained about the overcrowding and this year is the first time that they did not do any on-site ticket selling. And guess what? The pre-selling tickets that was done online sold out fast!

I think I want to attend this before I reach the age of 30, I am thinking of going maybe next year or the year after next the latest. I really have to work hard and try to save up as much as I can. I was also planning some backpacking trips around the Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia area as well as a trip up to Tibet, I guess one of those I have to scrap for the meantime. Let’s go SDCC!

BBC: Journey To The East Animation

Produced by Gorillaz’s Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett for BBC in celebration of the upcoming Beijing Olympics. This is their take on the Chinese folk tale, Journey of the West, which was recently notably referenced in that god-awful movie, The Forbidden Kingdom with Jacky Chan and Jet Li.

Enjoy! August 08, 2008 is coming!

Batman: The Dark Knight

I know what you are thinking, “Oh great! Another movie review.”

Far from it actually, I’m sure you’ve heard how awesome and kickass The Dark Knight was.

I spent my Saturday night re-reading one of my most favorite comics in my collection, Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween. The Long Halloween is a 13-issue series written by Jeph Loeb with art by Tim Sale from 1996-1997. Most people know Jeph Loeb as one of the writers/contributors for the popular tv series. Smallville and Heroes, while Tim Sale is also part of Heroes. Tim is, in essence, ‘Isaac Mendez’. He is responsible for the paintings that Isaac Mendez does on the show, from his premonitions about explosions to his own death, all those portraits were done by Tim.

The Long Halloween, basically, is about a murderer named Holiday that strikes on, well, holidays. Sounds simple enough? Not really, behind this simple plot is a complex series of interactions between key characters, from Batman himself to mob bosses Carmine Falcone and Sal Maroni. It also features a slew of villains such as the Joker, Riddler, Poison Ivy and others. Mostly notably, it is also the re-telling of the origins of one Two-Face.

This series was actually one of the main inspirations for Christopher Nolan and the screenwriters for the second film. And while I was re-reading it today, it just came together. I was seeing a lot of the panels that were translated into the film. Not just the panels but even the interactions of characters, plots and even lines such as “I believe in Harvey Dent.” were inspired by the comic.

I highly recommend this comic to anybody who enjoyed The Dark Knight. Tim Sale’s art is superb, I really like his work and The Long Halloween was no exception with his great play on shadows coupled with a grim color palette. It really brings a dark and gloomy feel that’s fitting for the story. You can also check out the sequel, Batman: Dark VIctory, which was done by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale as well.

The Twin-Bricks House

In continuing my interest in modern Japanese architecture and design. I would like the present the following design by Atelier Tekuto.

This is the Twin-Bricks House located in Saitama, Japan. I like how it’s like two different spaces yet it blends seamlessly together. Another plus for me has been the use of natural light and wide spaces. I really like to have a place to live and work at that has tons of natural lighting. I guess it feels more relaxing and inspiring that way.

Found this through Jeansnow and Dezeen. Thanks!

Kaws Vs. PIPO!

I’ve always been a big Kaws fan, although I couldn’t afford the vinyl toys he makes with Medicom, I recently had a chance to purchase a book he released in a small show he did in Japan a few years back.

Here is his latest work, inspired by Pipo, the mascot of the Japanese police.  Spot the difference.

The Original

The Kaws Version

93 ‘Til Infinity

Nothing much to report about these days, lots of background chatter, something might happen soon. But for now, I’ll leave you guys with some 90’s hip-hop from the Souls Of Mischief, the track is called 93 ‘Til Infinity.

Think About It

A thought came to mind while I was at the office earlier.  Why am I so insistent in trying to become an active part of the art, design and music culture?

I’m not really sure what to say, but this idea came to me while thinking about it. I think partly it’s because it allows me to make my mark in this world. In today’s current age where products and ideas are pushed by multinationals, being involved in culture is one of the things that I feel is something that’s achievable by an ordinary citizen like me. It’s one of the things that you can still try to grasp and feel with your own hands, not just something mass produced by or built up by factory or marketing machines just to sell. Something like a song, when written honestly can feel like the artist or the band is sharing part of their soul or their personality to the listen. It feels genuine.

But these days, even that isn’t safe from the prying hands of the big players. It’s funny though, because even before some of these subcultures have already crossed bounderies to mainstream markets. However I feel that these days, what’s happening is that companies are integrating into the culture and making it seem that they are supporting it’s ideals and history.  But the truth is they are bastardizing it and making it fit into their mold, while still selling it to people who don’t know better. And as you see more and more people are getting into these cultures or subcultures under the assumption that it is real, when in reality this just the same machine under a different guise.

I hope I made sense. Think about it.