Lantern at KLCC

It was a Xmas tree barely a couple of weeks ago, and now the same spot was occupied by a tall column of lantern. I guess they saved a fair bit on the foundation and just switch the decor from one to another. But it worked.

After hearing about it from friends, I decided to have a look. And I got there just after Maghrib when the lights were about to be turned on with a hint of the blue hour still lingering.

It was actually rather nice. And there were plenty of people around there, surprisingly the majority being Arabs. There were throng of them there, all anticipating the fountains and their dancing water sprouts to be turned on.

The interior of Suria KLCC was rather more conventional with a big stage in the middle of the foyer with a few stalls littered around. No doubt there would be shows on the stage. There were nothing much going on there yesterday evening. Pretty average compared to other places I would've thought.

Happy Long Weekend

For some, this was going to be a three day weekend. Luckily for me, apart from the clinic tomorrow morning, I would not be on duty. I may have some free time to enjoy during the weekend. Monday would be Thaipusam, but this time around there was no plans to go out photographing. I guess the uncertainty about security and the threat of a riot in town made everybody jittery.

I expected the city would be empty with plenty of the dwellers driving home or on holidays. I was planning to spend the weekend in town and possibly play a game of football or two with Idlan.

KLCC was packedIt was jammed up all the wayWe were at KLCC earlier. And the traffic out and back was rather heavy. Plus KLCC was full as well. We did some shopping there, but we ended spending more time on the road than we thought.

Slidevideo for the Lagi-Lagi Gila-Gila Exhibit

The main write-ups were down in two parts, here and here.

Lagi-Lagi Gila-Gila Part II

Last month, I learned that Galeri Petronas was preparing for an exhibition to celebrate Gila Gila. As usual, they did a great job - I'm being sarcastic here - at announcing the project. I waiting a few weeks as there no need to be heard. And finally it was launched.

Anita and I didn't wait long to join along. And it was a trip down memory lane. We thoroughly enjoyed the fare. There were many original drawing with colourful inking on display. Some of them were quite magnificent. The curation was also pretty decent although they could've done a better job in making sure that the artwork were hanged properly with more background stories to read.

The artwork could have been displayed in a better layout

The unmistakeable Ujang. The boy-next-door everybody can relate to.Lipat-lepat! Some origami skill needed!

The old coverMost of the exhibits were just practically glued to the wall of the gallery. The lighting were also pretty haphazard with too many empty spaces. I learned that in a couple of weeks, one of the former cartoonist would be present at the exhibition. But I doubt if he could offer any real I sight into the early operations of Gila Gila, something I wouldn't mind paying money for to hear. I felt that the a ole exhibition didn't receive much input from the original artists. Too many gaps in the exhibit to make the whole thing flow.

But all in all, a commandable effort from all patties involved. I highly recommend everyone to attend this exhibition and hopefully in the future, there would be many more of such shows.

Another character, Matt Romeo. Check out the hair!Tiga Dara Pingitan. Sabotaged by my boys!Those little titbits!More food for thoughts!Wise wordsAt the exit, you could put in your personal touch to the magazine coverGaleri Petronas is located on the third floor of Suria KLCC. Admission to the Lagi Lagi Gila Gila was free and photography was allowed. Patron were even encouraged to post their photos on social media. Great work!

Click here for Part I of this write-up. More information about Galeri Petronas and their other activities here. Some great commentary on GIla-GIla here at Naskah Percuma blog.The slidevideo for the visit here.

Lagi-lagi Gila-Gila Part I

I was in my formative school years in the 80s. And that was when Gila Gila become the mainstream comic at the time. At least in Malay, and one which I could read and understood. It basically served the untapped market of local satire.

With anything else in Malaysia, there were never free speech - at least until the advent of Internet. So, there were plenty of metaphors and commentary of local events which at the time was pretty radical. It was half entertaining comic, but the satirical undertone was what that caught my eyes.

If I remember correctly, this was from Perwira Mat GilaSure, we also had Lat at the time who also communicated in an almost similar vein. But Gila Gila seemed to be sharper, of course helped by the fact that is was published twice a month. I can still fondly remember the trips into Kepala Batas town, cash in hand to pick up the latest issue. Not to mention being disappointed on numerous occasions learning that it had sold out.

This first thing I asked my parents after my bersunat was for the latest copy of Gila Gila right after I got home. I loved it that much.

The famous opening commentaryMy boys sure got plenty of questions to askSome words of wisdomFrom Taiping with Love ...I lost touch with the comic when I entered MRSM Terendak in 1985, but many of the characters were still famous. I still followed Matt Romeo, From Taiping With Love and of course, my facilities the Ujang series when I returned for holidays. Often binge reading them back home - there were no bit torrent or fake DVDs back then to catch on the latest TV series.

Then I went to the UK. I lost track. An on the odd occasion a copy landed on my lap, Gila Gila never had the same appeal again. Ujang was then a separate comic having left Gila Gila, and the magic was gone.

Follow this link for Part II of this write-up. A slidevideo for the visit here.