Cosplay at Taylor’s Anime Fest

I am no fan of cosplay but I just love to see the fans dressed up in costumes of their favourite characters (from video games, animated films, Japanese graphic novels) acting out their roles and assuming their personalities for the day.

So this is the place at Taylor’s Anime Fest 2008, the place to see the talents of our young people, something that probably the government should be looking at. Here the place is full of cute young girls and boys dressing up to be lookalike of anime, manga, video games characters and acting out their fantasies. There's no harm dressing up which I think is good clean fun that encourages creativity.

I don't know some of those manga characters they're dressed as. But I'm sure I would like pictures taken of them.

The event held on Saturday 26th July 2008 was organised by Taylor’s Anime Society of Taylor’s University College in Subang Jaya. It attracted quite a crowd and entrance was RM5.00 per head.

Besides stalls selling figurines and food; the events lined-up included stepmania, fan art competition, painting competition, computer games challenge and lucky draw but the main attraction was the Cosplay Competition where cosplayers demonstrated their skills in creating costumes, putting on skits, and techinical skills.

Note:
Cosplay is short for “Costume Play”. It’s an act of dressing up to be lookalike of anime, manga and video games character. It's cosplay is called Cosplayer. Cosplay originate from Japan and is popular outside Japan because of Japanese animation, movies, and pop culture influence in those countries.

Famous Jalan 223 nasi lemak

It was 10.30 pm tonight and the big crowd at the Selera Jaya 223 food court at Jalan 223, Petaling Jaya was considered normal. It is open 24 hours and packed most of the time as the place serves as a food court for factory workers working at the surrounding factories.

Although there were 60 stalls selling different types of food, not all of them open at the same time. Some stalls open only in the daytime and others at night. in fact, the main attraction at this food court is the nasi lemak.
So me and my friends were lucky enough to find a place to seat. A stall helper quickly placed on our table a plate filled with nasi lemak packed in banana leaf.

It was hot nasi lemak fresh from the cooking pot! The rice was soft and easy to digest. The taste was real good. The big crowd who came for the nasi lemak is a testimony to it.

There was only the rice, spicy sambal (chilli) and a half hard boiled egg. No cucumber slices, no small dried ikan bilis and no roasted peanuts. Well, what do you expect for RM1.20 a packet, just up from original RM1.00 due to recent petrol price hike. 

There were also two other nasi lemak stalls open but Stall No.6 known as Gerai Yati No.6 seems to be the favourite of the patrons there.

If you are for tasty nasi lemak panas (hot) with no fuss and no frill at low cost, this is the right place.

Note:Nasi lemak is a Malay word that means 'rice in cream'. The name is derived from the cooking process whereby rice is soaked in rich coconut cream and then the mixture steamed. Traditionally, this comes as a platter with cucumber slices, small dried anchovies (ikan bilis), roasted peanuts, hard boiled egg and hot spicy sauce (sambal). It is often sold packed in brown paper or banana leaf.

The Gerai Yati stall No.6 is the favourite of patrons at the food court.

Yati (foreground) and her two workers packing the nasi lemak hot from the cooking pot.

The Selera Jaya 223 food court is always packed with people.

The nasi lemak packed in banana leaf.

Crowne Plaza Hotel workers picket

Last Friday July 18,2008 as I was walking along Jalan Sultan Ismail near the Raja Chulan Monorail station, I heard the sound of beating drums and honking which caught my attention. As I scanned the area around me, I saw a group of about 80 Crowne Plaza hotel workers picketing noisily outside the hotel.

The hotel workers are members of the National Union of Hotel, Bar & Restaurant Workers, Peninsular Malaysia (NUHW) and they carry out the picket twice a week for three hours from 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm.

The picket came in the aftermatch of a failed negotiation for a new Collective Agreement (CA) to replace the old one which had expired last December 2007. The workers returned to work but pledged to continue the picket against Crowne Plaza until they win a fair CA that will ensure them decent wages, benefits and working conditions.

Officials of NUHW were also present to lend support and to ensure the picket was carried out smoothly.

Two policmen stood outside their patrol car which was parked a distant away but within sight of the picketers to ensure there was no untoward incident.

Given the recent petrol price hike of 40.6% (a big jump from RM1.92 per litre to RM2.70 per litre) and sharp increase in prices of food which are affecting the livelihood of many wage earners like the hotel workers, it is hope that the hotel management would take a re-look into the stalemate which is doing no good to the industry. Let common sense prevails.

Picketers beating the drum (plastic container) to attract attention.

Disgruntled workers carrying placards expressing their unhappiness with the management.


A placard reads "Crowne Plaza, Stop Being Greedy"

Another reads "We want better pay not peanuts"

"Minyak naik, gaji dan bonus bila nak naik? Banyak $$$"

Jalan SS2 in Malacca?

 

Yep! That’s right. There is a street in Malacca named after the famous SS2 in Petaling Jaya. its simply called Jalan SS2.

SS2 is a charming middle class neighbourhood which nestles in the heart of Petaling Jaya. Mention SS2 to most people and they will you that this place is a gem! Apart from residential units which comprised good quality bungalows and link houses, the commercial centre of SS2 offers a great variety of shopping, eating and business choices.

SS2 is also a financial centre and a pasar malam (night market) is held there every Monday and Thursday. However, the good selection of many restaurants and stalls serving all sorts of Asian and Western cuisine catering to almost all sorts of budgets is an attraction.

Hot day noon bazaar at Kuala Lumpur's Jalan Tengah

Jalan Tengah in KL City resembles the streets around Masjid India area come every Friday afternoon between 12.00 noon to 2.00 pm as the street suddenly comes alive with many roadside stalls that sprung out selling mostly foodstuff and clothes. A bargain paradise for shoppers in a bazaar atmosphere.

Jalan Tengah is located behind the office buildings of Menara Weld, Menara Affin, Menara MIDF, Wisma Lim Foo Yong and The Lodge Hotel which are facing Jalan Raja Chulan. 

There are more than 50 stalls that lined on both sides of the street from end to end.

The bustling noon market see mostly vendors displayed their wares on stalls, while others just spread them out on the pavement. 

The street is usually crowded and motorists had to inch their way through slowly least they knocked into them. 

It would be good if the authority could close the street to vehicles during the "business" hours to avoid any mishap.

Office workers formed the bulk of the lunch-hour shoppers.

Tourists had even made their way here. I had seen them with camcorders and cameras on their hands.

Motorists passing through the street had to drive slowly to avoid hitting into the crowd of shoppers.

New pipes to improve water quality

SYABAS work crew came to replace communication pipes in SEA Park last June 2008 and the residents were excited because this will mean getting better quality water and greater water pressure as the present galvanised iron pipes are more than 30 years old and rusting.

The communication pipe is the pipe which links the main pipe to the house meter and would be replaced with new black color High-Density Polyethene (HDPE) pipes and stainless steel Metre Stand Pipe. The new pipes can last up to 30 to 50 years.

The work crew started work on the first street at Jalan 21/30 before moving to the next street. Before the work crew moves into the street where I stay, the residents had received notice cards in their letterboxes notifying them to remove their motor vehicles from the affected street.

Work started in the morning and unsually stretched into the morning wee hours, sometimes up to 4 am the next morning. In my street alone there were 47 terrace houses and work started on 25th June 2008. For three days they worked right up to 2 am the next morning. However, the residents were not complaining of not getting enough sleep because they knew its for their own good.

After the new pipes had been laid and water interruption resumed, I noticed that the water pressure coming from the taps in my kitchen sink and bathrooms is now greater as compared previously with the old pipes.

As for water quality, its hard to tell now as the pipes replacement work is still continuing in other parts of SEA Park. Hopefully, when all is completed, we will see the improvement.

Trenches are dug using tractor to lay the new black colour HDPE pipes


Seen here is the distribution main pipe which is made of asbestos cement and will not be replaced.


Each of the four new black colour HDPE pipes connects the main pipe to the stainless steel metre stand pipe on each house.


Tractors covering up the trenches after laying the new HDPE pipes


Working late into the nights to get the job done quickly to minimize inconveniences to residents.


After the new HDPE pipes had been laid, the trench is refilled with gravels and sands and resurfaced with tar for smoothness.

Benefits of the Communication Pipe Replacement programme
1. Improves the quality of water that reaches the consumer;
2. Reduces the loss of Non-Revenue Water;
3. Reduces the interruption of water supply to the consumer as a result of pipe leakages;
4. Avoids damage to the roads due to leaking or burst pipes located underground;
5. Increases the water pressure which goes to the house; and
6. Reduces the cost of repair to pipes and roads.

Info :
SYABAS is the concessionaire for water distribution services in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. It has been tasked by the Federal Government to replace 6,000km of old pipes in these areas to improve water quality. The pipe replacement programme started in June 2006 with a completion target of 2010.

Installation of HDPE service pipes
A service pipe is that part of the water supply system which conveys water from the distribution main to the consumer’s premises and is subjected to water pressure from that main. It is considered to comprise two sections:

• The COMMUNICATION PIPE is that part of the service pipes from the main up to the and including the consumer’s meter situated at the boundary of the consumer’s property. The water supply authority is responsible for the installation and maintenance of the communication pipe.

• The SUPPLY PIPE is that part of the service pipe from the consumer’s meter into the premises up to the storage cistern. The customer is responsible for the installation and maintenance of the supply pipe.

Chinese New Year Celebration event

I was told that SEA Park had never seen a Chinese New Year celebration on such a big scale and magnitude since its formation in the 1960s.

So I was not really surprised when more than 2,000 people, young, old and the handicap jam-packed the open air car park to witness the historical event and of course to enjoy the non-stop fun and entertainment. Organized by the SEA Park Residents Association, it was held on Sunday 23.2.2008 from 6.00 pm to 11.00 pm.

There were acrobatic Lion Dance performance by World Champion Troupe from Muar and acrobatic Dragon Dance performance.

Three Gods of Prosperity made their appearance to give ang-pows packets to everyone.

Other spectacular highlights performed on stage were :-

Face-Changing Performance by an artiste from China
Black Cat Dance Performance
Children Performance
Harmonica Performance
F&N Teh-Tarik Demo by National Champion
Hip-Hop Dance
Break Dance
Line Dance
Aerobic Dance

Finally, the spectacular fireworks display which everyone was waiting for exploded at 10.30 pm. Eight minutes later after the explosion died down, the Black Cat performers continued their energetic dances on stage until 11.00 pm when everyone called it a day!

I can see the smiles, happiness and satisfactions on everyone’s face that they had a wonderful evening well spent.

Part of the 2,000 strong crowd at the event.

A Dragon Dance troupe performing to welcome visitors.


Two lions went around the main streets of SEA Park to announce the start of event.

The three Gods of Prosperity representing three major races; a Chinese, an Indian and a Malay.


The wheel-chair bound also join in the celebration.


The balloon-making man entertaining the children.


The face-changing performer thrilled the crowd with her tricks.


Sexy dancers entertained the crowd.


The Teh-Tarik champion with his many antics.


The fireworks display everyone was waiting for.