Sincerity is not necessarily what you'd expect from the executive producers of a comedic riff on "21 Jump Street." The late-1980s hit TV series famously featured Johnny Depp, Richard Grieco and Holly Robinson as cops working undercover in the harrowing teen environs of high schools and colleges.
Earnestness is also not what you'd expect from those same producer-stars who greet you in a downtown Denver hotel suite wearing bicycle patrol uniforms.
On one heckuva blustery day recently, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum were clad in short sleeves, black bike shorts and short-fingered gloves, just like their characters Schmidt and Jenko before the underachieving rookies are drafted for an undercover assignment in a high school.
"We're just doing a little work here. Keeping you safe," Tatum intoned as he entered the room. "If we could have brought our bikes, we would have."
Funning aside, the duo proved rather serious about their unexpected partnership, their careers, their adventure in producing.
Cracking wise isn't the norm for Tatum. Which is why Hill — the nudger in this undertaking — approached the former stripper turned model turned gainfully employed, endearingly committed actor in the first place.
"I knew I didn't want the other person to be known as a comedic persona. I wanted it to be myself and an action star who hadn't done a lot of comedy," said Hill, sipping a soda and ignoring a saucer of brownies and cookies a publicist set down.
"Channing has this great metaphor. It's like the eighth bite of steak — if it were me and another comedy guy. You've seen that before. You know what it tastes like. It's good. But it's steak. We wanted to have a combination that felt really fresh."
So Hill cold-called Tatum, best known for action and tear-streaked romance .
"I loved 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,' " said Hill of the Sundance award-winning drama that reaped Tatum breakout recognition in 2006. "It's one of my favorite performances, ever. It felt to me — and I'm not just saying this because he's sitting here — it felt like a 'Mean Streets' type of performance. One of the rawest performances I've ever seen."
Tatum still credits writer-director Dito Montiel — for whom he also did "Fighting" and "The Son of No One" — with his love of acting.
"He ushered me in. He made me really care, made me dare myself. His honesty level is brutal," he said.
It was important to Hill that someone have his back, "who was protecting what I was really going after from the get- go," said Hill, who conceived the story with screenwriter Michael Bacall ("Project X"). "We could put a bubble over what we were trying to make, which was an R-rated 'Bad Boys' meets John Hughes movie."
Hill admitted having misgivings. It was his agent who suggested the project.
"I rolled my eyes like anyone would about turning a television show into a film. It wasn't something I aspired to or was interested in."
The idea of making a film "about guys who got to relive the most important and affecting period of their youth," Hill offered. "Thinking you have all the answers but going back and realizing you have none of the answers. And all your insecurities immediately revert back to when you were 17. That's a fun, fascinating and ripe idea for a film. "
Last year Hill developed quite an appreciation of the power of the unexpected. In a departure from the raunchy shenanigans of "Superbad" and "Get Him to the Greek," he portrayed statistical whiz Peter Brand in the Brad Pitt-championed baseball drama "Moneyball."
Hill and Pitt were nominated for Oscars for their work.
In light of that success, "21 Jump Street" might seem like a reverting to type for Hill.
Don't be fooled. The day after the Oscars, it was announced he'd signed on for the drama "True Story." Based on disgraced New York Times Magazine writer Michael Finkel's memoir about meeting Christian Longo, his imposter — and a murderer. The film co-stars James Franco. Pitt is producing.
As for Tatum, next up is director Steven Soderbergh's comedy "Magic Mike," slated for summer, in which Tatum plays mentor to a fellow stripper .
Then in a bit of director-swapping, he hopes to team up with "Moneyball" filmmaker Bennett Miller for a drama about brother Olympian wrestlers Dave and Mark Schultz. The former was murdered in 1996 by heir John E. du Pont.
2012年3月11日星期日
2012年2月28日星期二
Nine-year-old can solve Rubik’s puzzle in seconds
IT’S a puzzle which has left most people stumped for almost 40 years.
But nine-year-old Darrin McDonald can solve the Rubik’s Cube no problem – and it only takes him around 90 seconds.
The youngster is such a natural at the puzzle that he has also solved a larger version – which has five squares down each side rather than three – though that takes him around an hour.
He’s also mastered a 15-sided pentagonal version and is now working on the seven-square cube.
Darrin, from Chesser, said he had started out with the regular cube.
“I got that about a year ago,” he said. “It was a present from my mum’s boyfriend. For the first one I used YouTube to work it out, but after that I started trying to figure them out myself and I moved on to the next one and the next one.
“I don’t know why I’m good at it. Everyone was really surprised when I brought it into school and I showed them, I felt nervous, but proud too.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, Darrin’s favourite subject at school is maths – but he’s not your archetypal studious puzzler and is more likely to be found getting up to mischief than asking for extra homework, according to class teacher, Chris Kelly.
He said: “It’s great, it’s absolutely terrific. I was just blown away, particularly with the 15-sided one. It’s particularly good with Darrin because he sometimes gets in a bit of trouble but it’s brilliant to recognise his talents – all children have talents in a range of different ways and this is one particular area where his talents are really shining.”
Darrin showed off his incredible skill to fellow pupils at Balgreen Primary in assembly, and has now become a tutor for classmates who want to follow in his footsteps.
“We have problem-solving hours on Tuesday and I teach a group of people, but they find it quite hard,” the youngster said.
His record for completing a standard cube from scratch is one minute and 39 seconds, achieved in school assembly, which puts him just a shade behind Labour leader Ed Milliband, who famously boasted that he could solve the cube in 90 seconds.
He still needs a little practice until he can challenge the world record holder, however, after 17-year-old Feliks Zemdegs completed the cube in just 5.66 seconds at the Australia Melbourne Winter Open competition last year.
Mr Kelly said: “In class we’ve been focusing on problem-solving and thinking skills and how to apply that in lots of other areas.
“So then Darrin brought in his Rubik’s cube and showed it to us, so we started to celebrate that and it’s grown from that.
“He’s got a real talent for maths – a lot of kids don’t recognise they do have talents. Since we started celebrating his talents, his self-esteem has risen, and his ability to be more self-reflective on areas that he’s good at.”
But nine-year-old Darrin McDonald can solve the Rubik’s Cube no problem – and it only takes him around 90 seconds.
The youngster is such a natural at the puzzle that he has also solved a larger version – which has five squares down each side rather than three – though that takes him around an hour.
He’s also mastered a 15-sided pentagonal version and is now working on the seven-square cube.
Darrin, from Chesser, said he had started out with the regular cube.
“I got that about a year ago,” he said. “It was a present from my mum’s boyfriend. For the first one I used YouTube to work it out, but after that I started trying to figure them out myself and I moved on to the next one and the next one.
“I don’t know why I’m good at it. Everyone was really surprised when I brought it into school and I showed them, I felt nervous, but proud too.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, Darrin’s favourite subject at school is maths – but he’s not your archetypal studious puzzler and is more likely to be found getting up to mischief than asking for extra homework, according to class teacher, Chris Kelly.
He said: “It’s great, it’s absolutely terrific. I was just blown away, particularly with the 15-sided one. It’s particularly good with Darrin because he sometimes gets in a bit of trouble but it’s brilliant to recognise his talents – all children have talents in a range of different ways and this is one particular area where his talents are really shining.”
Darrin showed off his incredible skill to fellow pupils at Balgreen Primary in assembly, and has now become a tutor for classmates who want to follow in his footsteps.
“We have problem-solving hours on Tuesday and I teach a group of people, but they find it quite hard,” the youngster said.
His record for completing a standard cube from scratch is one minute and 39 seconds, achieved in school assembly, which puts him just a shade behind Labour leader Ed Milliband, who famously boasted that he could solve the cube in 90 seconds.
He still needs a little practice until he can challenge the world record holder, however, after 17-year-old Feliks Zemdegs completed the cube in just 5.66 seconds at the Australia Melbourne Winter Open competition last year.
Mr Kelly said: “In class we’ve been focusing on problem-solving and thinking skills and how to apply that in lots of other areas.
“So then Darrin brought in his Rubik’s cube and showed it to us, so we started to celebrate that and it’s grown from that.
“He’s got a real talent for maths – a lot of kids don’t recognise they do have talents. Since we started celebrating his talents, his self-esteem has risen, and his ability to be more self-reflective on areas that he’s good at.”
2012年2月5日星期日
SF's Dogpatch pier district braces for renewal
There's a hidden corner of the City by the Bay where rusted cranes used to build WWII battleships loom over dilapidated artist studios, where working-class fishermen bob up against first-class ocean liners docked for repair.
Residents of San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood overlook the rough-and-tumble Pier 70 waterfront and bask in the smell of fresh fish, the cacophony of fog horns and Canadian geese, the jumble of Victorian cottages tucked between corrugated barns and industrial brick icons of the late 1800s.
It's a nautical nugget where few tourists have ventured. A secret stash of cheap artist studios in old clapboard pier offices commands a view of the rusted bones of crumbling canneries, metal scrapyards and silent smokestacks. And it has one of the only working boat yards in San Francisco, where boaters can dry dock for repairs and grab a beer at The Ramp.
The city plans to redevelop Pier 70, hoping to capitalize on its historic charms while providing badly needed jobs, commercial and residential space _ all while maintaining the neighborhood essence that dates back to the mid-1800s when the Union Iron Works, Bethlehem Steel, Pacific Rolling Mills and the Spreckels Sugar refinery dominated the waterfront.
"The winds of change are blowing south and it's time to get Pier 70 and this area back into economic use," said Kathleen Diohep, project manager at the Port of San Francisco for the redevelopment plan. "We want to have the capacity for companies to grow and we think that Pier 70 offers opportunities that are unlike anything else."
The Port is tasked with restoring the two dozen buildings from what's been described as the most intact 19th century industrial complex west of the Mississippi River. Diohep insisted most of the historic buildings would not be razed and that new structures would integrate nicely. The Port is working with developers who will present their proposals to a citizens' advisory group Wednesday.
The roughly 1,000 residents, artists and small business owners, shipyard workers, fishermen and boat builders are passionate that their historic surroundings and lifestyle not be harmed.
"I don't think the people in the city staff positions understand the nuances of what happens down here," said Allen Gross, a retired San Francisco Opera set carpenter who is restoring the Folly, a wooden cutter built in 1889.
Gross, 63, has been working on the Folly for more than five years and hopes to race the boat in the spring, launching from the San Francisco Boatworks just down the street from Pier 70. Wearing canvas overalls filled with rags and tools, the gray-bearded Gross shouts out greetings to others washing, scraping and painting their boats. They all express anxiety about losing this lifestyle.
"I think the folks at the port are seeing the slick, upscale stuff like what they've done out on the Embarcadero," Gross said. The restored piers along the Embarcadero waterfront from the stadium where the Giants play baseball, under the Bay Bridge and up to the historic Ferry Building are now filled with tony restaurants, bakeries, coffee sellers and pricey artisan cheese and chocolate shops.
"They're going to have all this kind of frou-frou upscale stuff, and what they're going to lose in all of that are some of the things that are part of the fabric of this city," Gross said.
The gritty neighborhood at the foot of Potrero Hill on the eastern side of the city peninsula once manufactured supplies for the California Gold Rush and the Transcontinental Railway.
Ships built at Pier 70 supported U.S. military engagements from the Spanish American War to the two world wars, including Admiral George Dewey's flagship, Olympia, and the battleships USS Oregon and USS California.
Hundreds of steamboats, ferries and freighters were assembled by the men whose families resided in Dogpatch, named for the wild dogs that sniffed around the butchers and slaughterhouses of the 1800s. The families were mostly Irish, Italian and Russian immigrants as well as African-Americans who came up from the South during the maritime boom of World War I.
The shipyard today has the largest floating dry dock on this side of the Pacific, where massive cruise liners come in for inspections and repairs and tiny tugs get their underbellies scrubbed free of barnacles.
The artists, filmmakers, architects and designers in the three-story, wood-frame Noonan Building at Pier 70, built in 1941 by the government as war production offices, overlook an auto impound yard and a rusted-out warehouse. On a clear day, they can see across the San Francisco Bay to the massive Oakland cargo port.
They are besotted with the ambience and the rental rates.
"This is the only place that artists can actually afford," said Jason Sussberg, a filmmaker with Dogpatch Films. "San Francisco is a place that values its artists and innovators; that has to be more than just a slogan."
Sussberg and his three colleagues pay about $800 a month for their 1,300 square feet of open space on the second floor of the Noonan. Natural light pours in off the bay.
"Even if they do tear down the Noonan Building, or they upgrade it, they should at least have subsidized rent or something that makes it so that we're not priced out," he said.
At the same time, the 29-year-old filmmaker called it "kid of tragic" to see so much architectural glory boarded up.
"I'm kind of torn," he said. "It's gorgeous and I love to see the smashed windows, the wild cats running around and the graffiti. It's totally fantastic and bizarre, but at the cost of all this wasted space, it's just not worth it."
Janet Carpinelli, a graphic designer and Dogpatch resident for 30 years, said most residents would agree. They are eager to see those beloved buildings restored to their glory after so many years of neglect.
"We have the bones of a really fantastic area here and we just want to see it enhanced," said Carpinelli, president of the Dogpatch neighborhood association. "But we don't want to see it developed in spite of the historic buildings; everything has to be done in this organic way to encompass the history. We don't want the new buildings to obscure or overpower the historic ones."
The historic ones include rare examples of modified Renaissance Revival in red brick that withstood the catastrophic 1906 earthquake, as well as rusticated stucco, granite staircases and fluted Doric pilasters alongside warehouses made of corrugated iron.
People here don't want the revival to follow the path of Mission Bay, the waterfront just north of Pier 70. The old Southern Pacific Railroad Company yard is now a biotechnology hub of tall glass structures and shiny new hospital and research facilities for the University of California San Francisco. Its detractors say that while the development has been an economic success, the San Francisco soul is missing.
Diohep insists that won't happen at Pier 70. She said most of the buildings within the 70-acre district are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as being under consideration for preservation.
While the Noonan Building might be moved to make way for development, the more architecturally significant structures should remain. Even the two rusted, graffiti-laden mobile gantry cranes will stand tall at Slip 4 for a public park to be called Crane Cove.
The company bidding to do the bulk of work on the most prized buildings believes the area can be revitalized without compromising character.
"It's a challenging Rubik's Cube of opportunity," said Loring Sagan, head of design at Build Inc., a boutique firm partnering with historic preservation specialists, Equity Community Builders.
They will recommend several cornerstone tenants to jumpstart activity. Those include headquarters for the Burning Man festival; incubator space for the life sciences firm Prescience International; and Conxtech, a company that builds sustainable steel structures.
The Union Iron Works powerhouse with its massive pneumatic compressors still intact might make a great gathering site for entertainment, restaurant and bars, he said.
But the start-ups and artists won't be forgotten, said Sagan, himself a sculptor. He plans to call on bigger tenants to provide subsidized space for artists in the new historic zone.
"It's a fertile ground for creativity down there," Sagan said. "And we see that type of fertility as a necessary ingredient for our project to be successful."
Residents of San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood overlook the rough-and-tumble Pier 70 waterfront and bask in the smell of fresh fish, the cacophony of fog horns and Canadian geese, the jumble of Victorian cottages tucked between corrugated barns and industrial brick icons of the late 1800s.
It's a nautical nugget where few tourists have ventured. A secret stash of cheap artist studios in old clapboard pier offices commands a view of the rusted bones of crumbling canneries, metal scrapyards and silent smokestacks. And it has one of the only working boat yards in San Francisco, where boaters can dry dock for repairs and grab a beer at The Ramp.
The city plans to redevelop Pier 70, hoping to capitalize on its historic charms while providing badly needed jobs, commercial and residential space _ all while maintaining the neighborhood essence that dates back to the mid-1800s when the Union Iron Works, Bethlehem Steel, Pacific Rolling Mills and the Spreckels Sugar refinery dominated the waterfront.
"The winds of change are blowing south and it's time to get Pier 70 and this area back into economic use," said Kathleen Diohep, project manager at the Port of San Francisco for the redevelopment plan. "We want to have the capacity for companies to grow and we think that Pier 70 offers opportunities that are unlike anything else."
The Port is tasked with restoring the two dozen buildings from what's been described as the most intact 19th century industrial complex west of the Mississippi River. Diohep insisted most of the historic buildings would not be razed and that new structures would integrate nicely. The Port is working with developers who will present their proposals to a citizens' advisory group Wednesday.
The roughly 1,000 residents, artists and small business owners, shipyard workers, fishermen and boat builders are passionate that their historic surroundings and lifestyle not be harmed.
"I don't think the people in the city staff positions understand the nuances of what happens down here," said Allen Gross, a retired San Francisco Opera set carpenter who is restoring the Folly, a wooden cutter built in 1889.
Gross, 63, has been working on the Folly for more than five years and hopes to race the boat in the spring, launching from the San Francisco Boatworks just down the street from Pier 70. Wearing canvas overalls filled with rags and tools, the gray-bearded Gross shouts out greetings to others washing, scraping and painting their boats. They all express anxiety about losing this lifestyle.
"I think the folks at the port are seeing the slick, upscale stuff like what they've done out on the Embarcadero," Gross said. The restored piers along the Embarcadero waterfront from the stadium where the Giants play baseball, under the Bay Bridge and up to the historic Ferry Building are now filled with tony restaurants, bakeries, coffee sellers and pricey artisan cheese and chocolate shops.
"They're going to have all this kind of frou-frou upscale stuff, and what they're going to lose in all of that are some of the things that are part of the fabric of this city," Gross said.
The gritty neighborhood at the foot of Potrero Hill on the eastern side of the city peninsula once manufactured supplies for the California Gold Rush and the Transcontinental Railway.
Ships built at Pier 70 supported U.S. military engagements from the Spanish American War to the two world wars, including Admiral George Dewey's flagship, Olympia, and the battleships USS Oregon and USS California.
Hundreds of steamboats, ferries and freighters were assembled by the men whose families resided in Dogpatch, named for the wild dogs that sniffed around the butchers and slaughterhouses of the 1800s. The families were mostly Irish, Italian and Russian immigrants as well as African-Americans who came up from the South during the maritime boom of World War I.
The shipyard today has the largest floating dry dock on this side of the Pacific, where massive cruise liners come in for inspections and repairs and tiny tugs get their underbellies scrubbed free of barnacles.
The artists, filmmakers, architects and designers in the three-story, wood-frame Noonan Building at Pier 70, built in 1941 by the government as war production offices, overlook an auto impound yard and a rusted-out warehouse. On a clear day, they can see across the San Francisco Bay to the massive Oakland cargo port.
They are besotted with the ambience and the rental rates.
"This is the only place that artists can actually afford," said Jason Sussberg, a filmmaker with Dogpatch Films. "San Francisco is a place that values its artists and innovators; that has to be more than just a slogan."
Sussberg and his three colleagues pay about $800 a month for their 1,300 square feet of open space on the second floor of the Noonan. Natural light pours in off the bay.
"Even if they do tear down the Noonan Building, or they upgrade it, they should at least have subsidized rent or something that makes it so that we're not priced out," he said.
At the same time, the 29-year-old filmmaker called it "kid of tragic" to see so much architectural glory boarded up.
"I'm kind of torn," he said. "It's gorgeous and I love to see the smashed windows, the wild cats running around and the graffiti. It's totally fantastic and bizarre, but at the cost of all this wasted space, it's just not worth it."
Janet Carpinelli, a graphic designer and Dogpatch resident for 30 years, said most residents would agree. They are eager to see those beloved buildings restored to their glory after so many years of neglect.
"We have the bones of a really fantastic area here and we just want to see it enhanced," said Carpinelli, president of the Dogpatch neighborhood association. "But we don't want to see it developed in spite of the historic buildings; everything has to be done in this organic way to encompass the history. We don't want the new buildings to obscure or overpower the historic ones."
The historic ones include rare examples of modified Renaissance Revival in red brick that withstood the catastrophic 1906 earthquake, as well as rusticated stucco, granite staircases and fluted Doric pilasters alongside warehouses made of corrugated iron.
People here don't want the revival to follow the path of Mission Bay, the waterfront just north of Pier 70. The old Southern Pacific Railroad Company yard is now a biotechnology hub of tall glass structures and shiny new hospital and research facilities for the University of California San Francisco. Its detractors say that while the development has been an economic success, the San Francisco soul is missing.
Diohep insists that won't happen at Pier 70. She said most of the buildings within the 70-acre district are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as being under consideration for preservation.
While the Noonan Building might be moved to make way for development, the more architecturally significant structures should remain. Even the two rusted, graffiti-laden mobile gantry cranes will stand tall at Slip 4 for a public park to be called Crane Cove.
The company bidding to do the bulk of work on the most prized buildings believes the area can be revitalized without compromising character.
"It's a challenging Rubik's Cube of opportunity," said Loring Sagan, head of design at Build Inc., a boutique firm partnering with historic preservation specialists, Equity Community Builders.
They will recommend several cornerstone tenants to jumpstart activity. Those include headquarters for the Burning Man festival; incubator space for the life sciences firm Prescience International; and Conxtech, a company that builds sustainable steel structures.
The Union Iron Works powerhouse with its massive pneumatic compressors still intact might make a great gathering site for entertainment, restaurant and bars, he said.
But the start-ups and artists won't be forgotten, said Sagan, himself a sculptor. He plans to call on bigger tenants to provide subsidized space for artists in the new historic zone.
"It's a fertile ground for creativity down there," Sagan said. "And we see that type of fertility as a necessary ingredient for our project to be successful."
2011年12月11日星期日
Exciting day for Sabah fans at alternative hobby convention
It was an exciting day for Japanese Manga and Anime and costume play (cosplay) fans in the State when the Hobbycon 2011, the State's arguably biggest alternative hobby convention, kicked off in Suria Sabah, Saturday.
The first day of the two-day event, which ends today (Sunday), saw various Anime-related activities such as singing, dancing and individual cosplay competition performances.
In addition, many booths were set up showcasing various types of Anime and related items and activities such as games, toys, artworks, fortune-telling, comics, wall art, demos and many more. Judging from the first day, an increasingly large number of the cosplayers appear to be of the fairer sex.
"Gurren Lagan" cosplayers Becky as Yoko Littner and Leone as Kamina said they did the costumes themselves and that both their outfits and props cost each of them under RM200.
"We took about a month or two to do our costumes and props and yes, we are big fans of the Anime and Manga," said Becky.
Another Cosplayer was Cassandra whose character was Mortred the Phantom Assassin of DOTA fame. "I spent less than RM150 on my costume which I made by myself from items including a hula hoop, cardboard, paint and paper," she said.
The occasion also saw some rather offbeat characters including a cosplayer named Massy who cosplayed as an "evil" Ronald McDonald character along the lines of the "Joker" of Batman Movies.
"I spent about RM200 on my outfit which was tailored, she said, adding that she thought the theme was unique.
Another cosplayer Jnalee, who was cosplaying as a Repentia Battle Sister character, said she did her outfit which cost less than RM200 from various bits and pieces and also with some help from her friend Nex who was also good in making props.
According to Hobbycon 2011 event organiser Julian Lee, there was a few "firsts" in store for this year's convention as compared to previous years.
"The highlights of this year's event include bringing in a special guest in the form of Japanese 'Seiiyu' (voice actress) from Japan, Aimi Terakawa, who is the voice of 'Suiko' in 'Cardfight!! Vanguard' who will be performing and also having autograph sessions for her fans both on Saturday and today (Sunday).
"Also we are having probably the first in Malaysia an 'All Star' march where cosplayers do a march in for the opening ceremony.
"We are also going to have a anime quiz and rubics cube competition in addition to Earth Realms Mortal Combat PS3 competition, Magic the Gathering competition and Warhammer 40K and Fantasy Demo, Rigzone computer and console demo, Engetsu Character Design game and Japan TCG Card Board Game.
"We also have 12-15 friends from Sarawak coming to support us which is coming from 'Gunpla' - a Gundam Modeling Group who are here to showcase their hobbies.
Julian said members of the public are invited to come over to enjoy themselves at the event which starts at 9.30am till 5.30pm on Sunday.
The first day of the two-day event, which ends today (Sunday), saw various Anime-related activities such as singing, dancing and individual cosplay competition performances.
In addition, many booths were set up showcasing various types of Anime and related items and activities such as games, toys, artworks, fortune-telling, comics, wall art, demos and many more. Judging from the first day, an increasingly large number of the cosplayers appear to be of the fairer sex.
"Gurren Lagan" cosplayers Becky as Yoko Littner and Leone as Kamina said they did the costumes themselves and that both their outfits and props cost each of them under RM200.
"We took about a month or two to do our costumes and props and yes, we are big fans of the Anime and Manga," said Becky.
Another Cosplayer was Cassandra whose character was Mortred the Phantom Assassin of DOTA fame. "I spent less than RM150 on my costume which I made by myself from items including a hula hoop, cardboard, paint and paper," she said.
The occasion also saw some rather offbeat characters including a cosplayer named Massy who cosplayed as an "evil" Ronald McDonald character along the lines of the "Joker" of Batman Movies.
"I spent about RM200 on my outfit which was tailored, she said, adding that she thought the theme was unique.
Another cosplayer Jnalee, who was cosplaying as a Repentia Battle Sister character, said she did her outfit which cost less than RM200 from various bits and pieces and also with some help from her friend Nex who was also good in making props.
According to Hobbycon 2011 event organiser Julian Lee, there was a few "firsts" in store for this year's convention as compared to previous years.
"The highlights of this year's event include bringing in a special guest in the form of Japanese 'Seiiyu' (voice actress) from Japan, Aimi Terakawa, who is the voice of 'Suiko' in 'Cardfight!! Vanguard' who will be performing and also having autograph sessions for her fans both on Saturday and today (Sunday).
"Also we are having probably the first in Malaysia an 'All Star' march where cosplayers do a march in for the opening ceremony.
"We are also going to have a anime quiz and rubics cube competition in addition to Earth Realms Mortal Combat PS3 competition, Magic the Gathering competition and Warhammer 40K and Fantasy Demo, Rigzone computer and console demo, Engetsu Character Design game and Japan TCG Card Board Game.
"We also have 12-15 friends from Sarawak coming to support us which is coming from 'Gunpla' - a Gundam Modeling Group who are here to showcase their hobbies.
Julian said members of the public are invited to come over to enjoy themselves at the event which starts at 9.30am till 5.30pm on Sunday.
2011年11月24日星期四
Local massage therapist has magic in her fingers
"It started about 10 years ago. My husband Mark owns his own business. He came home stressed and very tight in his neck, shoulders and back. I gave him massages to help relieve his stress,” says Terri LaBell. “Amazingly, giving the massage was a release for me as well. I went into a zone and could relax doing the work. I found it very rewarding.”
For eight years Terri, who lives in Avon, worked on her husband at home. As she put it, “I pretended I was a real massage therapist.” During the day she worked as a purchasing agent for one of the area’s biggest design and automation companies. This was 2006 and she had spent the last 23 years working in a cubicle and decided she needed a change. A drastic change.
Terri spent the next two years attending professional massage school after work at the Onondaga Massage School here in Rochester. In 2008 she shut down her cubicle once and for all and began her new career as a licensed massage therapist.
“It’s so rewarding when people email or text me the next day to tell me they are pain free. It makes up for the 23 years I spent in a cube and it’s a great affirmation that I’ve made the right decision. I’m helping people every day, and that feels great.”
Earlier this year the former owner of Massage on University decided to sell the business when she moved to Vermont. Her hope was to sell the business to someone who would run it with as much care as she had for the past 10 years.
Having spent two years learning the ropes, Terri jumped at the opportunity to own the full-service relaxation center that offers more than a half dozen services from scrubs to facials, waxing, manicures, pedicures and, of course, full-body massage. On Oct. 1 Terri officially became the owner of Massage on University, the same place where she worked for the last two years.
“Human touch is so important. I’ve read studies of monkeys who were deprived of social interaction and touch. Ones that were touched, they thrived. The isolated monkeys did far worse,” Terri says, speaking of the famous Harlow experiments performed by American psychologist Harry Harlow.
“I think humans are the same way. It’s a disservice that massage is not readily covered by health insurance. Pills are prescribed freely but massage is held in a different regard when in all actuality many pain sufferers need therapy once a week but just can’t afford it,” she continues.
For eight years Terri, who lives in Avon, worked on her husband at home. As she put it, “I pretended I was a real massage therapist.” During the day she worked as a purchasing agent for one of the area’s biggest design and automation companies. This was 2006 and she had spent the last 23 years working in a cubicle and decided she needed a change. A drastic change.
Terri spent the next two years attending professional massage school after work at the Onondaga Massage School here in Rochester. In 2008 she shut down her cubicle once and for all and began her new career as a licensed massage therapist.
“It’s so rewarding when people email or text me the next day to tell me they are pain free. It makes up for the 23 years I spent in a cube and it’s a great affirmation that I’ve made the right decision. I’m helping people every day, and that feels great.”
Earlier this year the former owner of Massage on University decided to sell the business when she moved to Vermont. Her hope was to sell the business to someone who would run it with as much care as she had for the past 10 years.
Having spent two years learning the ropes, Terri jumped at the opportunity to own the full-service relaxation center that offers more than a half dozen services from scrubs to facials, waxing, manicures, pedicures and, of course, full-body massage. On Oct. 1 Terri officially became the owner of Massage on University, the same place where she worked for the last two years.
“Human touch is so important. I’ve read studies of monkeys who were deprived of social interaction and touch. Ones that were touched, they thrived. The isolated monkeys did far worse,” Terri says, speaking of the famous Harlow experiments performed by American psychologist Harry Harlow.
“I think humans are the same way. It’s a disservice that massage is not readily covered by health insurance. Pills are prescribed freely but massage is held in a different regard when in all actuality many pain sufferers need therapy once a week but just can’t afford it,” she continues.
2011年11月8日星期二
Ian Thorpe's comeback on track despite failing
Thorpe had just about missed the start, but with the same methodical stroke that has brought him five Olympic gold medals, he caught and then passed his younger rivals in his heat of the 100m freestyle.
In the closing lap, Thorpe faded badly and finished sixth in 50.21sec. But the swimmer himself saw hope from yesterday's failure.
"Literally, if I went 22 one-hundredths faster I would have been really happy with it, it's kind of the psychological barrier around 50 seconds," Thorpe said.
"It's nice to see the glimmers of possibility in what I can do but they are usually taken away pretty quickly when lactate sets in or whatever else."
Just over an hour later he swam in the 100m individual medley heats.
He missed out on that final, too, with a 56.70sec performance, ranking him ninth overall. It was, however, .04sec faster than his 100m individual medley in Singapore.
It is clear there is much work for the champion to do with just under five months until the Olympic trials.
Yet Thorpe was never going to produce magic in this World Cup series in Asia, said head coach Leigh Nugent.
Yesterday Thorpe was almost three seconds slower than he was at his peak in 2003 when he swam 47.82.
Nugent dubbed Thorpe's first freestyle of his comeback as "pretty solid".
"I don't think it was ever purported for Ian to come here and make some massive breakthrough, but fairytales are written and are usually not performed," Nugent said.
"We are in the reality of sport here and progression back can be an exponential thing. So as time moves on I would expect him to improve with a more rapid progress later on."
Thorpe will swim in the 100m butterfly heats today.
He admits he is struggling in the transition from intense training sessions to racing but quickly replied "ah yes" when asked if he was still aiming for the Olympics.
In the closing lap, Thorpe faded badly and finished sixth in 50.21sec. But the swimmer himself saw hope from yesterday's failure.
"Literally, if I went 22 one-hundredths faster I would have been really happy with it, it's kind of the psychological barrier around 50 seconds," Thorpe said.
"It's nice to see the glimmers of possibility in what I can do but they are usually taken away pretty quickly when lactate sets in or whatever else."
Just over an hour later he swam in the 100m individual medley heats.
He missed out on that final, too, with a 56.70sec performance, ranking him ninth overall. It was, however, .04sec faster than his 100m individual medley in Singapore.
It is clear there is much work for the champion to do with just under five months until the Olympic trials.
Yet Thorpe was never going to produce magic in this World Cup series in Asia, said head coach Leigh Nugent.
Yesterday Thorpe was almost three seconds slower than he was at his peak in 2003 when he swam 47.82.
Nugent dubbed Thorpe's first freestyle of his comeback as "pretty solid".
"I don't think it was ever purported for Ian to come here and make some massive breakthrough, but fairytales are written and are usually not performed," Nugent said.
"We are in the reality of sport here and progression back can be an exponential thing. So as time moves on I would expect him to improve with a more rapid progress later on."
Thorpe will swim in the 100m butterfly heats today.
He admits he is struggling in the transition from intense training sessions to racing but quickly replied "ah yes" when asked if he was still aiming for the Olympics.
2011年6月8日星期三
Whiz Kid: Caleb Summerhays
“I started doing magic when I was only 3 or 4,” said Danbury High School junior, Caleb Summerhays. “When I was around 7 years old, we went to New York City and my parents got me a magic kit from Toys R Us, and then we went to the Star Dust Diner. I remember figuring out how to open the box and there was nothing in it, then I did it again, and the object reappeared. I went from table to table showing people this trick.”
“He did a magic trick for the waitress, and before we knew it, she had him doing the trick in front of everyone,” said Holly Summerhays, Caleb's mother. “He has never been afraid to be on stage. He likes to play the piano, and he loves to entertain people, and make them happy.”
Caleb Summerhays has many talents. He is good at math, earns good grades and is in the National Honor Society. He also loves golf, which is something he and his father enjoy together. His father also has a soft spot for magic and according to Mrs. Summerhays, performing is a Summerhays specialty, and runs in the family.
Caleb appeared in the recent production of Urinetown and was also involved in a mock trial at Danbury High School. He is almost an Eagle Scout and can solve a Rubik's Cube in under a minute. Lest he have any spare time, Caleb can often be seen working in the school office, which he enjoys.
“I am also studying Chinese,” he said, “ and I love it. Speaking is easier than reading, because there are just so many characters.”
Caleb Summerhays has a lot going for himself, however, he confesses that magic is his passion, and he knows people who have put themselves through college with it. He has done some New Years Eve parties and kids birthday parties, and is always looking for more opportunities to perform his talent.
His expertise is close up, sleight of hand, but he also does stage magic for kids. Caleb Summerhays attended Pannen's Magic Camp, where many famous magicians, including David Copperfield, learned their craft. Caleb Summerhays is a member of the American Society of Young Magicians.
“His dad has a lot of family in the performing arts, so it's in his blood,” said Holly Summerhays. “We support him in his passion. He goes to the classes and conventions, and it is something he and his dad do together.”
Lauren Miller, Danbury High School's main office secretary said, “Caleb has everything he needs to be a successful magician. He can turn anything into magic, and has the charm to go along with it.”
If you want to judge for yourself just how convincing a magician he is, check out our video, which leaves his subject literally scratching her head in wonder.
“He did a magic trick for the waitress, and before we knew it, she had him doing the trick in front of everyone,” said Holly Summerhays, Caleb's mother. “He has never been afraid to be on stage. He likes to play the piano, and he loves to entertain people, and make them happy.”
Caleb Summerhays has many talents. He is good at math, earns good grades and is in the National Honor Society. He also loves golf, which is something he and his father enjoy together. His father also has a soft spot for magic and according to Mrs. Summerhays, performing is a Summerhays specialty, and runs in the family.
Caleb appeared in the recent production of Urinetown and was also involved in a mock trial at Danbury High School. He is almost an Eagle Scout and can solve a Rubik's Cube in under a minute. Lest he have any spare time, Caleb can often be seen working in the school office, which he enjoys.
“I am also studying Chinese,” he said, “ and I love it. Speaking is easier than reading, because there are just so many characters.”
Caleb Summerhays has a lot going for himself, however, he confesses that magic is his passion, and he knows people who have put themselves through college with it. He has done some New Years Eve parties and kids birthday parties, and is always looking for more opportunities to perform his talent.
His expertise is close up, sleight of hand, but he also does stage magic for kids. Caleb Summerhays attended Pannen's Magic Camp, where many famous magicians, including David Copperfield, learned their craft. Caleb Summerhays is a member of the American Society of Young Magicians.
“His dad has a lot of family in the performing arts, so it's in his blood,” said Holly Summerhays. “We support him in his passion. He goes to the classes and conventions, and it is something he and his dad do together.”
Lauren Miller, Danbury High School's main office secretary said, “Caleb has everything he needs to be a successful magician. He can turn anything into magic, and has the charm to go along with it.”
If you want to judge for yourself just how convincing a magician he is, check out our video, which leaves his subject literally scratching her head in wonder.
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