Video and photos from Corntoz Pillow Fight, Kuala Lumpur!

Thank you!

To view all the photos, click Gallery. There’s a writeup in the papers, 8 April. There are two videos. One by RA, one by The Star Newspaper. Scroll down to watch them.

To view the post that promoted this event prior to 4 April 2009, click here. If you would like to be notified for our next project, join the R A group on Facebook. No spam.

RA avoid asking for donations to support its operations and costs. If you’d like to see more of our initiatives, contribute by purchasing our t-shirts, and of course participating in our projects. :)

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*New t-shirt design coming soon. Place your order, just email, no deposit.

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Thank you to the organising team (names below, scroll down).  Germ from French For Incredible for his artwork, Yani Mustapa & Jazmi Kamarudin from Cineleisure Damansara, Diyana Shahrum, Joseph Dhevan & Pierre Pang from Corntoz, and of course to all Pillow Fighters who participated and made it a blast!

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Corntoz Pillow Fight Kuala Lumpur from RandomAlphabets on Vimeo. Music by Butterfingers.

The video we made

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The video by The Star

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Photography team were made of :

• Haikal Shaharuddin
• Hariz Kamal
• Khalil Makata
• Chin Ren Yi
• Dhuha Johari
• Zulhelmi Misran
• Syamim Sharum

Videographers were :

• Khairah Makata
• Juria Toramae
• Ian Kirk

Pillow Fight Police :

• Juliana Tang
• Neena Sufian
• Amelia Anuar
• Sarah Fathallah
• Chris Tock
• Akhmal Wahab
• Liyana Ferdaus
• Khad Lubis
• Amin Abdul Rahman
• Eryl Erlyna
• Zaza Fathy
• Jennie Yang
• Nina Alyani
• Athirah Naim
• Munir Shah
• Nawar
• Maria Ghani
• Salini Zaini

Other team members :

• Hashim Abdullah
• Firdus Ahmad
• Niki Cheong
• Hassan Ali
• Nasir Ahmad

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Corntoz Pillow Fight – Gathering Point revealed!

*This event has passed. Click here to have a look at the video and pictures taken on 4 April 2009.

There are over 75 cities around the world participating-  http://www.pillowfightday.com/

Scroll down to find out the secret location of the Gathering Point!

Things you must know :

1. The location of the Pillow Fight Point, will only be revealed at the Gathering Point.
2. The Pillow Fight Point, will not be at the Gathering Point. It will be a different place altogether. They are two different places.
3. The Pillow Fight Police, will be clearly marked and you will know them, when you see them.
4. Members of the Blue team, and the White team, will be distinctive and clearly marked as well. The Pillow Fight Police will help you with this, on the day itself.
5. Bring your own pillow.
6. Do not carry them around. Keep it in a bag, until it is time to ‘Pillow Fight’.
7. Only ‘Pillow Fight’ with someone who has a pillow.
8. Keep your cameras and spectacles safe. There will be a team of official photographers, and photo will be uploaded and available for all.
9. Have fun!

Avoid wearing shoes as you will have to take it off. No footwear allowed during Pillow Fight. Bring a carrier bag to keep it if you like.

This event, is also on Facebook. Click here.

Watch the video below :)

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Corntoz Pillow Fight 4 April 2009 from RandomAlphabets on Vimeo.
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The Game Plan

4.00pm : Pillow Fighters come to the Gathering Point

4.20pm : Pillow Fighters will be split into two groups. White and Blue. The appointed Pillow Fight Police, will help with the split.

4.25pm : One team will go first to the Pillow Fight Point, escorted by the Pillow Fight Police.

4.30pm : Second team will go to the Pillow Fight Point, escorted by the Pillow Fight Police.

4.45pm : Both teams in position…

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Gathering Point revealed! It is not at Cineleisure

Watch the video below to find out.

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Music by Butterfingers ‘Chemistry’. Artwork by Germ. Video by Zain HD.

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Corntoz Pillow Fight Laws of War.

1. Only Pillow Fight with someone who has a pillow.
2. Swing lightly.
3. We are not there cause trouble or be a nuisance.
4. We are only there to gather, before going to the Pillow Fight Point.
5. While waiting, feel free to support the economy via the shops around you.
6. Don’t worry, you won’t get left behind.
7. Unless you’re fashionably punctual and it’s always the traffic, never you.
8. Finally, don’t kancheong spider (get overly excited, menggelabah).
9. Just wait for the cue to split teams to rock and roll.

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Shave for leukemia

The boy on my right, is Ashaari Rahmat. On my left, Afiq. Note Afiq’s hair.

Last week Afiq messaged me about him participating in the World’s Greatest Shave in support for the Leukemia Foundation. His hair, horribly long if you ask me, is two and a half years old. This is indeed two blessings in a shave. By doing so, Afiq is also raising funds for the cause. Click here to learn more about the project and how to donate.

He also created a Facebook Event page for this. Even if you can’t actually attend, by clicking Attending, you will help generate awareness for such a cause. He can be contacted at afiqrahmat [at] gmail [dot] com

One commendable thought that crossed me was that, it’s a project/cause started by Australians for Australians. This Malaysian boy studying in Melbourne decided to take part and invested quite a sum of effort to contribute.

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On the ship on the night we had to dress up. Simba here did it effortlessly.

Martin khor’s climate trade import duties

Thus making them, collectively achieving a pseudo critical analytical consensus derived from a council that merely groped the elephant in the dark. Separately declaring the trunk, tusk, tail, torso as the negative, blindly thinking it all as one and the same thing.

*This post was originally written on Tuesday 27th August. Part of this post was published on RA 7 days ago with the title ‘Elephant Analysis’.

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Last Monday over breakfast I read a rather simple yet good (to my lowly standards) piece written by Martin Khor. No. Not Michael Kors. Khor is an economist and Director of the Third World Network. He has been critical regarding the negative effects of globalisation for third world countries. Excerpt from ‘Climate to be used for trade protection’,

He (Sarkozy) indicated that when France takes over the presidency of the European Union (it did so in July), he would advocate the use of higher duties on imports that contain higher carbon content.

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This can be taken to mean that if the amount of carbon dioxide emissions exceeds a certain level in producing one unit of a product, then extra duties may be placed on that product, thus raising its cost and discouraging imports.

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Developing countries, consider this unfair. Firstly, developed countries have historically been responsible for much of the carbon dioxide that has built up in the atmosphere, giving rise to global warming. There were then no punitive measures against their high emission-products.

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Secondly, they have superior technology and can produce goods with lower carbon content than developing countries and thirdly, they have so far refused to transfer these technologies to developing countries at affordable prices.

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The use of trade measures is thus unfair to developing countries. They are also against the spirit and principle of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which mandate that developed countries must finance the costs of actions dealing with climate change in developing countries and that discriminatory trade measures should not be taken.

A few things you can note from the piece above.

Capitalism, democracy, globalisation or a combination of either could in fact makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. While I agree that (the overrated) democracy is the best system we have available, that does not make it great. The excerpt above is a reflection of one of the many loopholes that democracy offers.

In fact, present day no country has adopted the doctrine of democracy wholly a 100%.

Being in the generation that went to school in the post-cold war era being told that democracy is great, and communism is shite (without ever being told what either of them actually works or stand for), I’ve come to note that due to peer pressure most have a tendency to want to appear to be politically correct and politically conscious. Thus making them, collectively achieving a pseudo critical analytical consensus derived from a council that merely groped the elephant in the dark. Separately declaring the trunk, tusk, tail, torso as the negative, blindly thinking it all as one and the same thing.

Going back to the article, I suppose to some extent, this is somewhat in congruent with Marx’s view that capitalism breeds war. If we share the same foresight, that is.

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*The writer is not an economist, nor a graduate in economics. Or political science. His view is, the elephant tastes like chicken.

Elephant analysis

Few weeks ago I read an article by Martin Khor. I took an excerpt of it & wrote something which was ready to be published here.

Because all the slots on RA were ‘booked’ by other writers, I uploaded part of that post on FB Notes. To my surprise, it generated unexpected attention & comments. Or perhaps that’s just how Notes work & I’m ‘uncharacteristically’ oblivious.I’ll share the original content of that original post here some other time. Meanwhile I’ll publish here what I did on Notes.

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The Note, titled Quasi critics and analysts, read,

“People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid.”
-Soren Kierkegaard

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Being in the generation that went to school in the post-cold war era being told that democracy is great, and communism is shite (without ever being told what either of them actually works or stand for), I’ve come to note that due to peer pressure most have a tendency to want to appear to be politically correct, conscious and active.

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Thus making them, collectively achieving a pseudo critical analytical consensus derived from a council that merely groped the elephant in the dark. Separately declaring the trunk, tusk, tail and torso as the negative, blindly thinking it all as one and the same thing.

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The first comment came from MM. “And what prompted this, Zain?“

The ‘note’ above is actually an excerpt from a (soon to be published) post I wrote for RandomAlphabets.com, regarding Martin Khor’s article.

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It’s meant primarily for those with a few pebbles and an empty tin can that have exhausted my ears, and my (so far) patient listening skills.

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I suppose it would be splendid to hear more constructive criticism towards anything and everything.

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On the democracy/communism note, I do feel like a significant amount of my peers point, relentlessly, at pointless things. It would be more respectable, to themselves and their thoughts, if they could seek to understand, rather than have their enthusiasm transmitted aimlessly.

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Young hearts, run free.
In mind, not stupidity.

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Pictures: rwp wellington, eindhoven, kuala lumpur, melbourne, singapore

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In Civic Square, Wellington. Photo by Alastair Smith

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Read while Waiting Project

“To think that it was just an idea you had some 3 months ago to where it is now. You’ve done so much, am proud of you.”
- Miss Not Ascertainable

RWP first crossed my mind in early May 2008. While I was pushing my bike on the highway after it ran out of petrol. It was one of the best times of my life.

I’ve been a law graduate since December 2007, and could be earning perhaps RM2000 a month for an employer silly enough to pay me that kind of money. But I’m not.

Instead I’m a self-employed unpaid pseudo activist doing what I feel like doing and persuading as many people as I can reach, convincing them why they should listen to this madman.

Whether you commend or criticise the Read while Waiting Project, but henceforth at some point in your life, it has (even) subconsciously moved you to read as oppose to not doing anything productive with that time, I then, have achieved what I set out to do.

*All pictures you see here are also available on Facebook.

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Melbourne

“I just left the place. Although tak ramai, I’m really happy with it. Ada dalam 6, 7 orang, and they are all totally strangers, grouped together to read books. Best douh. Thanks a lot bro. You taught me something there and I felt it.”
- Izhar Moslim

To promote the participation and awareness of RWP, RA has done 3 things (1st video, 2nd video & 23rd August flashmob) and have 1 more remaining. That is, the BookCrossing gathering.

It is where people, strangers and friends, would meet up to either loan or give away books. This gathering will be done in a few months time.

Below are pictures from Melbourne. It was coordinated by Izhar Moslim, who arranged for 400 RWP Pay It Forward Bookmarks to be delivered to Melbourne at the last minute via Afiah Hafiz.

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Eindhoven

“P.S. = it was .. niceeee !!!”
- Chiara Mafucci

RWP has 2 main objectives
1. To see more people reading (any form of literature) whenever they wait
2. To make people more conscious of whenever they are about to go somewhere and know that some waiting will be involved, then bring something to read

Below are pictures from Eindhoven. It was coordinated by Chiara Mafucci. Chiara is from the south of Italy and works in Eindhoven. Zain HD had dinner with her in when he was in Eindhoven for one night (November 2007).

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Singapore

“Hmmm..it’s raining here.”
- Sofiah Jamil

The reason why RA picked the ‘waiting’ element is because of the baby steps approach.

Don’t try to get someone who does not even read to start the habit, buying literature and/or set an over optimistic goal.

Below are pictures from Singapore. It was coordinated by Sofiah Jamil. She is researcher at the NTU Rajaratnam School of International Studies and co-founder of Itchy Traveller.

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Kuala Lumpur

“Zain, great fun meeting you yesterday. Enjoyed the RWP. Let’s think of something fun for World AIDS Day please!”
- Marina Mahathir

The idea was to get a person comfortable with the idea of reading in the first place, and then what that person does subsequently, is up to them.

And the simplest way to do it, is to get them to not allocate a time of the day specially for reading, but to fill it in between things they already are doing.

Below are pictures from Kuala Lumpur (taken by Joshua Ong). It was coordinated by Zain HD of RA. He needs a break.

RWP also got picked up in New Zealand by two influential bloggers. Social commentator Paul Reynolds and former managing director & publisher of Penguin NZ, Graham Beattie. With the help from Paul, RWP was promoted on the Christchurch City Council Library Official Blog and the National Radio of New Zealand.

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RWP is one of RA’s pro bono projects. Support our projects by donning these t-shirts.

In spite of an olympian refugee

Am I the only who noticed the spiteful act of USA by appointing a Sudanese refugee to be their flag bearer during the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony?

China should have asked an Iraqi refugee to the same for their contigent.

RWP bookmark

“You’re a workaholic. And if you’re not careful, it’s something that will always be. xxx”
-N/A

For the moment:
The Ultimate (Live)- The Roots

*This post was originally written on 28 June.

If you are visiting this website today, because you received the RWP bookmark, then you have made RA and it’s efforts happy. And a step closer to making RWP a success.

Read the main posting on RWP, that explains the whole project, here.

Join RWP on Facebook.

*If you really support and believe in this project, then take those bookmarks, pass it to someone you know. Leave it on your colleagues desk, in your classmates pencil box or next to your relative’s jamban. Whatever. As long as it gets the message around and delivered. Baby steps.

*If you want some more bookmarks/cards, let us know. We’ll meet up and pass it to you. We distributed more than 750 at KLue Urbanscapes and will be printing more.

One of the main basis of RWP is that it carries the Pay It Forward approach. So what we have done is that to make bookmarks that look like this.

We ordered 1000 of it.

And decided that we should distributed in batches of 3 so that the recipient can share it to more than 1 person.

Last night it arrived at my house and I sat down alone for almost 4 full hours, wrapping 999 RWP bookmarks with 333 black rubber bands.

Multiplies of 3 will get you 333 batches with one extra odd card out. The blue dot on the W, is that extra 1.

Because I’m just that gatal, I decided to use more rubber bands to put everything together.

The quote above, was an sms from someone who knows me only too well. My first time being told so. Something I didn’t notice for myself. Something I needed to hear for myself.

Again, if you are visiting this website today, because you received the RWP bookmark, then you have made RA and it’s efforts happy. And a step closer to making RWP a success.

Thank you. :)

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