Improv Everwhere Hit(s) Taipei

Improv Everwhere had their first event last weekend with moderate success. Catch the photos and videos here.

http://picasaweb.google.com/raquelwu/ImprovEverywhereTaipeiSep122010# (PHOTOS)

There will be a second Freeze activity held Sep 14 at 16:30 in front of the Taiwan Museum on the north side of 228 Park. Details here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=104204362973765&ref=mf
I assume it will be much like this:
http://improveverywhere.com/2008/01/31/frozen-grand-central/







More cool social experiments at: http://www.improveverywhere.com

Spot that Flag?

The Simpsons 2010 Winter Olympics episode featured a flag in the background that we all recognize if only for a few fleeting instances. Was it on purpose to piss off China? Was it a jab? Who knows?

Did Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) have anyone representing them in the Winter Olympics anyhow?

Golden Horse Rides Again

From 2008_11_16 Good Citizen

I never see this festival coming but thanks to my Japanese friend, Koizumi, we managed to catch it this year.

Saw a great film called 'Shine a Light' starring the Rolling Stones and directed by Martin Scorsese. It ran about 122min and had the Stones in concert in New York in a small auditorium for a Bill Clinton organization event. It was great. Pure escapism and the energy of the concert really started me up. Get it?

From 2008_11_16 Good Citizen

Taking a cue from the posters outside, Koizumi and I drank a cold beer in the theater while watching. A perfect match for a rock concert and testament to the openness of living in Taiwan (drinking virtually anywhere, even in cars as long as you are not the driver!).

The end of the movie featured an acoustic version of 'Wild Horses'... Wild Golden Horses indeed!

You still have time to catch other films. The festival ends Nov. 21.

Cosplay is a little freaky

From 2008_10_26 Petit Fancy

I went to Petit Fancy this weekend (for research purposes). This is Taipei's COSPLAY central.

First, I met a colleague of mine who is an all-things-Japanese aficionado. In the two hours we spent there, he guided me through the event which approximates a comic book or sci-fi convention.

What made it different though was the darker undercurrent, a mixture of cuteness, youth and porn. And to think it was held on the grounds of Taiwan's foremost university.

I will be asking my colleague to sort through what we saw and will present it as a series of further posts.

From 2008_10_26 Petit Fancy

Taiwan is a Monopoly!

Monopoly is one of the best selling board games of all time with a 'rich' history

monopoly
Rich Uncle Pennybags

When I was back home recently I was surprised to see that it now has hundreds of incarnations from global monopoly to even Family Guy monopoly.

world edition

I was at Carrefour the other day and noticed that there is even a Taiwan edition (see pictures).

for sale

I mentioned it to people in the office and one person asked what the equivalent of Park Place was. He guessed it would be Renai Road in Taipei. But no, what is it? TaiPing Shan! What the %@#^#$?

Anyhow, just wondering if anyone has bought or played the Taiwan version and would be willing to tell us what other little changes they have made. Or what changes you would make to make it more reflective of Taiwan today?

A funny thing is that the World Edition actually has Taipei as a city on it, right up there with Riga (yes, Riga in Latvia!). What's more, the most expensive city on the board apparently is Montreal. Are Parker Brothers smoking crack or what?

Corny foreigner ads in Taiwan... What a bunch of sell-outs!

It has come up in conversation recently that there are truly corny ads here using foreigners.

The first one that comes to mind is that Tarzan guy for the insurance company. He looks like some guy they picked off the street and his acting is less than stellar.

However, the Orlando Bloom ads for Toyota have just started running which might be comparable. They are amazing to the extent of how bad he acts in them. Not much effort was put into them. Oh well, Orlando is still cashing that check!

By the way, the choice of Orlando for an Asian ad is a pretty good idea since most Asian girls go gaga over him due to his Lord of the Rings performance as an elf... yes, a freakin' elf! It seems girls kind of go for that pseudo-gay elfen type for a sex-symbol.

If you want to see even worse Hollywood sell-out ads, look for Lux soap. Liz Tyler and Chalize Theron are my favorites although Rachel Weisz as a mermaid also crack me up. Maybe you can also find sell-out Claire Forlani, Catherine Zeta Jones for Visa or even Brad Pitt's Toyota ads as well...

Luxy on a Sunday night

Linkin Park Taipei November 16, 2007

聯合公園2007亞洲巡迴演唱會
Linkin Park 2007 Asia Tour




tickets on sale 8/25
8月25日（六）門票首賣會
地點：中山足球場 Chung Shan Soccer Stadium
time 時間：11:00-18:00
ticket prices 票價：4000/3000/2000/1000

concert Nov. 16
11月16日（五）台北演唱會
地點：中山足球場 Chung Shan Soccer Stadium
performance time 演出時間：20:00
禁止攜帶危險物品(如玻璃瓶.鋁罐.鐵罐等)、食物飲料、雷射筆、錄影錄音器材入場 no drugs, dangerous items, food or drinks, recording devices etc.



















http://www.ticket.com.tw/dm.asp?P1=0000007947

FORMOZ Music Festival 2007

This is it! Formoz is nearly here. July 27, 28, 29.

"Once a strictly heavy rock affair, the Formoz Festival has [...] morphed into one of the nation's most musically wide-ranging weekend festivals.

Now, along with large doses of heavy rock and punk, Formoz features every conceivable genre of music from ambient to ska and from psychobilly to more mainstream oriented pop.

[...] the event's gradual expansion over the past decade, from one-day campus gig to fully-fledged weekend long festival, has not only enabled Formoz to attract a greater number of festivalgoers, but it has also meant that more international acts are now applying to perform at the annual event."

The event takes place at the Children's Recreation Center but it certainly isn't a child's affair. Last year you could buy shots of absinthe. But don't worry. They have... gulp... Taiwan beer too.

The recreation center is on a beautiful lush hill with stages set up all over it. There is a great view from the top. You can also watch planes making their approach to Sungshan airport.

Get off at Yuanshan station and head towards the side with the stadium. It ain't cheap either. Day passes go for $1600 so make the best of it!

Street Entertainment

Here was a freaky looking fella performing in Xi Men Ding.

I've noticed that street entertainers are really starting to happen here with musicians and sometimes even a little drama.

Around Warner Village (or whatever it's called now) you can see entertainers along the lines of what you can see in Barcelona, Spain on La Rambla.