K-POP Music Fest in Sydney!

Any K-POP fans in Sydney?  

“2011 K-Pop Music Fest.” will be held on Saturday, 12th of November, 2011. This phenomenal music festival is to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Australia, also known as the “Year of Korea in Australia”. The fundamental focus of this event is to promote a range of cultural artistic activities by bringing some popular K-Pop musicians and culture to Australia, superintended by JK Entertainment is a Sydney based Event & Production Company. Some highlights of JK Entertainment works include Jay Chao Sydney Live Concert, 2010 JYP Australia Audition, 2010 Korea Festival, Super Kpop Concert and many more.

To commemorate the significant ties between Korea and Australia, JK Entertainment has joined forces with MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation) in Korea to bring 12 of the most popular K-Pop groups down under! This exciting concert will take place in the ANZ Stadium at Olympic Park, Sydney. This highly anticipated concert will be the first ever K-pop Music Festival in Australian history and marks the beginning of the Kpop culture in the Southern Hemisphere. It is expected to draw some 30,000 Australians from around the country as well as overseas fans. This concert is scheduled to be aired on MBC TV Program in Korea which will further expose the popularity of the Kpop internationally.

The musicians selected for this event are popular and highly successful in Korea and internationally. Their popularity has been proved through a series of popular polls, online surveys, interviews with the public, extensive media coverage as well as an ever growing fan base across the world.

JK Entertainment together with MBC Korea are excited and proud to present SNSD (Girls’ Generation), Miss A, TVXQ (aka DBSK), KARA, SHINee, 4 Minute, 2AM, CN Blue, Beast (B2ST), Secret, MBLAQ andSistar to perform for this concert.

More details can be found here.  [source]

PRE-SALE TICKETS ON-GOING!

The official sale of tickets will be on 1 September but if you are an eager-beaver like me, you can email info@jkent.com.au and they will reply a link back to you so you can purchase tickets between 28-30 August.  Simply email the following details:

• Your name, contact number and email address
• Number of tickets required
• Section where you want to sit (VIP standing $289/VIP seating $289/Gold $189/Silver $139/ Bronze $89)
• Fan group you would like to sit with

The pre-sale started at 9:00 this morning and I had to get up early just to get tickets for me and the Husband.  Yes! We are giving this a go even if we're not really fond of going to concerts.  Can't wait to watch this on 12 November.

Things I Love: The Latest Lotte Duty Free Video

Just saw the latest version of the Lotte Duty Free music video and I'm screaming my head off because it's just so pretty!!!  

It now includes Hyun Bin (from the drama Secret Garden), Jang Geun Suk (of You're Beautiful and Mary Stayed Out All Night) and Kim Hyun Joong (of Boys Over Flowers and Playful Kiss).  It also includes the only woman in the video, Choi Ji Woo (from Winter Sonata and Can't Lose).  The K-POP groups looked awesome: 2PM, JYJ and Big Bang.

I love love love it!!!!  The video had a whimsical storybook theme.  Watch and enjoy it!

{Source}

Movie Date with My Girls: Eat Pray Love

From organizing get-togethers, dinners and coffee dates, my girlfriends and I watch chick flicks together too. At this point of our lives, it's a blessing to find time to do this activity.  The tricky part is always with the movie schedule wherein we really have to be there on time so we had to work our schedules around it.

We've seen Sex & the City 2 a couple of months ago and then last month, EAT PRAY LOVE was finally shown so we trooped to the cinemas and watched it together.  Some of us have read the book and for the others who haven't, they just looked forward to seeing it.  

We all enjoyed it.  It's not spectacular or anything but it was a "feel good" movie where possibly a lot of women are able to relate to Elizabeth's story.   We walked out of the cinema feeling happy and relaxed--it's as if we all had our "me" time only we shared the moment together.

And when we have get-togethers such as these, My Husband and little Jiona (our friends' daughter) will always have their play time.  After hanging out, my Husband will always have some photographs of them like these....

Isn't it cute???? I just want to share these because I was so amused when I saw them.  Jiona is at that stage where she can already mimic what you are doing, she's so smart and cute in front of the camera. 

Seeing this movie come to life on the big screen is a dream come true for me.  Although the movie never showed some important bits and more substantial parts of Liz Gilbert's book I'm glad that somehow the movie showed her journey to finding herself, balance and love.  I love her Italy trip the best from all the three countries that she visited. 

Some quotes from the movie that I like:

"Balance is not letting anyone love you less than you love yourself.”

"I want to go some place where I can marvel at something."

Liz Gilbert: I’m sick of people telling me that I need a man.
Felipe: You don’t need a man, Liz. You need a champion.

"We call it “dolce far niente”, the sweetness of doing nothing.”

‎"The resting place of the mind is the heart. The only thing the mind hears all day is clanging bells and noise and argument, and all it wants is quietude. The only place the mind will ever find peace is inside the silence of the heart. That's where you need to go."

 

“Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation.”

After the book "Eat Pray Love", Elizabeth Gilbert wrote another book entitled "Committed" which tells the dramatic journey of Liz and Felipe to saying "I do."

Ben Hur (The Stadium Spectacular)

BEN HUR is a dramatic story set in biblical times told by majestic costumed actors in a Roman Amphitheatre with a spectacular full-scale chariot race and gladiator battles.

Academy Award® winning actor Russell Crowe is the Narrator of this lavish production, providing the historical context, character background and the storyline links between the 10 scenes.

The rich dialogue of the actors tells the compelling story of one man’s fight for freedom, while a powerful musical soundtrack and stunning light show makes this show a major event extravaganza.

Direct from Europe, the stadium-scaled show will be the biggest theatrical event ever seen in Australia! This world tour premiere of BEN HUR in Sydney brings to life the legend made famous by the Academy Award® winning Hollywood movie ‘Ben Hur’, starring Charlton Heston.

Crafted by renowned French director Robert Hossein, BEN HUR was watched by over 300,000 people in its Paris debut. This major event theatrical presentation features a cast of hundreds, a full-scale chariot race with 24 horses, a giant Roman galleon and audience participation for young and old alike.

The monumental $15 million stadium adaptation combines the scale of the Sydney Olympic Games Opening Ceremony with the drama of the slave who dared defy the Roman Empire.  {source}





I didn't have any interest to watch Ben Hur but the Husband wanted to experience a once in a lifetime stadium spectacular so I bought us tickets as my birthday gift to him in September.  

For a theatre enthusiast like me, I'm glad we watched this play because it was really an awesome experience.  My Husband and I brought a few of our gears with us to take photos of the play.  Here's a few photos we'd like to share with you.
 

"Roman musicians" welcomed us infront of ANZ Stadium.

I looked like a tiny schoolgirl with these Roman soldiers.  Since this was an outdoor event, The Husband and I decided to be in our most casual clothes.  When we left home, we felt like we were going camping with our backpacks in tow.

ANZ gave out these seat covers made of foam to everyone watching the show.  Such a very useful giveaway.  We can use these when we go to beaches and picnics.

Where we sat.  Not a bad view.  I hated the big statues though.  It got in the way, an eyesore to our photographs.

The Roman Army paying homage to the Emperor of Tiberius.  Numbers to remember:  15,000 sqm performance area; 200 actors; 24 horses for the full scale chariot race.  One word to describe Ben Hur's production: Enormous.

The scene in the Aegean Sea where Ben Hur fought with the Romans and saved Quintus Arius, commander of the Emperor's boat, twice.

The Gladiator's combat to celebrate Quintus' return to Rome.

This was one of the best parts of the play as the audience were asked to participate by cheering for the either the Yellow Gladiators or the Red Gladiators.  When we entered the ANZ Stadium, we were given white handkerchiefs to cheer for the Gladiators in Yellow tunic.

The last two men standing.

Our Yellow Gladiator won!

Christ preaches to his disciples.  Jesus played a big role in the life of Ben Hur.

Ben Hur at the camp of Sheik Ilderim who offered Ben Hur to defend his colours at the next chariot race.

The Chariot Race, another exciting part of the play.

Messala, Ben Hur's rival, broke his axle and fell to the ground, resulting to him losing the race.  Ben Hur won!

The last scene.  Ben Hur in Jerusalem at the valley of the lepers where he found his mother and sister.  As soon as he found them, Jesus appeared carrying his cross and fell to the ground.  Ben Hur helped him and gave him water to drink.  The lepers gathered around Jesus, then suddenly thunder and lightning struck and the lepers were healed. 

Ben Hur only ran for two days at the ANZ Stadium on 22-23 October 2010.  To see our photographs in bigger resolution, just click on any of the photos and it will link you to my flickr account.

Tim Burton: The Exhibition (Melbourne, Australia)

Australian Centre for the Moving Image presents "Tim Burton: The Exhibition", an outstanding international exhibition in Australia under the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces banner.

Until October 2010, ACMI hosts a unique exhibition direct from The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York.  An Australian exclusive, Tim Burton: The Exhibition is a landmark exhibition charting Tim Burton's creative vision and process from his earliest work to the spectacular Alice in Wonderland. {source}

The exhibition is currently being held at Federation Square, Melbourne.  Open daily from 10am-6pm with special late night viewing on Thursdays until 10pm. 


Outside Federation Square...

Near the entrance (inside Federation Square), you'll see the Bat Mobile from the movie "Batman".

There are no taking of photographs inside the exhibition venue, the staff are very strict and roam around to make sure that no one is taking photographs.

The exhibition was fascinating.  I learned so many things about Tim Burton and his work, plus I got to somehow see his "human side" as they showed some of his letters written to friends and people he's worked with.  For example, I saw a letter he wrote to Johnny Depp asking if a certain dialogue for "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory" is appropriate enough to be added to the movie's script. 

Tim Burton is a gifted artist.  He draws, paints, photographs.  He is a story teller and a poet.  He is a writer and a director.  His creations are uncanny, unique and creatively captivating.  This exhibition showed how Tim Burton started out in his career, how he develops a story, the story behind the films he's made and his unpublished works.

He also created maquettes from his film and non-film projects.

One of my favorite films was of his, Edward Scissorhands.  When we entered the exhibition, we heard the magical music from the film and saw the costume of Edward Scissorhands.  I swear, I almost brought out my camera to take a photo of it.  *sigh*  It felt surreal to see it.

His latest film, "Alice in Wonderland" was a fabulous part of the exhibition as we saw the costumes used by the lead characters of the movie.  The three dresses worn by Alice in the movie were all there.  I wanted to feel the fabric of all Alice's dresses but touching the exhibits weren't allowed too.  I'm truly fascinated seeing the costumes from his movies. 

Each film he made was featured in the exhibition, even the old ones like Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Batman, Batman Returns, Planet of the Apes, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

One of his creations I love the most were his poems: funny, straightforward, easy to read and sometimes poignant. 

Viewing and being engrossed with his collection took us more than an hour and a half.  If you were to visit, I suggest you allot at least two hours to truly appreciate his work.   We left at nearly closing time spending about 15 minutes at the ACMI Store (can be found inside Federation Square) where you can buy a range of Burton Merchandise.

My Husband and I bought the the Tim Burton The Exhibition Catalogue (AUD$24.95) and a few pieces of his artworks produced in postcards.

Featuring over 70 pages of informative essays, glorious full-colour images and a chronology of Burton's career, this publication was the perfect complement to our exhibition experience. 

If you're ever in Melbourne, catch this very special exhibition.  I highly recommend this to art and film enthusiasts and to anyone who loves his films.

Tim Burton: The Exhibition
Federation Square
Thursday 24 June - Sunday 10 October 2010 
Open daily 10am-6pm. 
Special late night Thursdays until 10pm
Open until midnight on 7-9 October!
 
Full $19 Concession $14 ACMI Members $13
Child $10 (5-15 years) Family $55 (2 adults, 3 children)

 

SATC2 With My Girls

Two years after the first SATC movie and the girls are back! Fun, fashion and friendship all in one movie. If you want to be entertained, you will be entertained. If you want substance, please lower your expectations. This movie has a thin plot with a long running time of 2.5 hours.

There's not much storyline but if you are a married woman, some scenes might be relatable to you. I remember an unmarried friend of mine from the Philippines tweeted me a week ago with "You really have to watch it, Ibyang. This movie is more for married people." And she was right. SATC 2 touched on issues about married life, parenthood, menopause blues, being a woman of today and knowing when to have a break.

The hits. I have enjoyed some heartwarming and funny moments in the film. My friends and I oohh'd and ahhh'd when we saw some of their outfits and accessories. The kind of friendship they have is still the same inspiring kind of relationship any woman would be lucky to have.

Their trip to Abu Dhabi was a miss for me. First of all, their shoot really took place in Morocco. The make-believe Abu Dhabi hotel they stayed at was an insult to the real luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi. 

So was it worth our time? Yes. As followers of the tv series, it's still nice to see their stories unfold for the second time around. My girlfriends and I have watched the series and the first movie and it's so easy to get the jokes of the SATC girls because we've known them for a decade already. No matter how lame some scenes may be, we found them funny because we understand where each character's humour or eccentricities are coming from.

Two years ago, we watched SATC together so we made a pact to watch SATC2 when it comes out of the cinemas. And that's what we did last Saturday. Me and my girls Rache, Hilda, Ara and Yyoni met up on Saturday and saw SATC2. We had so much fun inside the cinema.

We met up at McDonald's for a quick lunch (parang college lang kami uli!!!). It was the nearest fastfood to the cinema and we were due to watch the movie in less than 30 minutes.

 

After the movie, we had a bit of catch up, shopped for some hair accessories and had hot chocolate at Max Brenner. A perfect day with my girls.

Organizing an all-girls day-out is not as easy. So we are very grateful for our husbands who make it easy for us to have our "me" times. The five of us are very lucky to have husbands who would gladly drive for us, wait for us and take care of the kids for us.

My Husband, other than tag along with me to the mall, babysat Jiona (Yyoni's daughter) for awhile. 

  

Somehow, the friendship of the SATC2 girls reminds me so much of my friendship with my girls. Like them, our friendship goes way beyond being just friends. We treat each other as sisters....as family. Their presence in my life are food to my soul.

Musical: CATS (Sydney, May 2010)

Everytime I think about "Cats" The Musical, I'd automatically hear the song in my head:

Memory
All alone in the moonlight
I can smile at the old days
I was beautiful then
I remember the time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again

- from the song "Memory" as sung by the character Grizabella (the glamour cat) -

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Inspired by the poems from "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" by T.S. Elliot, Andrew Lloyd Webber created the melody of "Cats" in late 1977. Together with director Trevor Nunn, choreographer Gillian Lynne and designer John Napier, they first opened in London in 1981. It holds the record of one of the longest running musicals in West End history.

 
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The plot is very simple and yet at first it was hard to figure out what was really happening. If you're looking for substance in the story, there really isn't much.

 
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It is about a tribe of cats called "Jellicle Cats" when once a year they get together for a Jellicle Ball. During the Jellicle Ball, their leader, Old Deuteronomy, would make a Jellicle Choice and decide which cat will be reborn into a new Jellicle life.

 
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Other than the thin plot, it was all about each cat telling the story of their lives as told thru their songs and dances.

It was a brilliant and creative production, not like any production I've ever seen. This musical is a feast for those who like dance A LOT. Each sequence is like one big production number. The cast were great! I loved how feline their movements were and how graceful they were when they walk and dance.

A little word of caution though, some "dance numbers" took more than it should be that it was dragging already. My Husband and I almost dozed off at one point.

The songs were a bit of a disappointment. *sigh* Yes, I had to *sigh* because it was a musical in the first place but only two or three songs were really good enough for me. Although I had to commend Delia Hannah (Grizabella) for her rendition of "Memory". For me, she delivered well.

 
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Nevertheless, I enjoyed it and it was entertaining enough. I still believe it was worth seeing it even once to know what kind of production it is. It may have it's not-so-good parts but I believe it is a great production. Seeing the cats in their colorful hair, make-up and costumes (I wonder how long it takes them to put on and get rid off) were a delight to the eyes. Set and light design are two things that won't disappoint too.

We had a triple couple date when we watched last Saturday (29 May 2010) and we had a great time. Chris brought our camera and it was fortunate that we got great seats up front so we were able to take really good shots of the cast.

Cats The Musical in Sydney till 13 June 2010 at the Lyric Theatre, Star City.




All photos by Chris & Ibyang Sanchez, copyright 2010.
Canon 7D, 17-85mm IS USM Lens.