Remember the Chinese artist Li Wei who did all those seemingly impossible art - hanging in mid-air or with his head buried in the ground? Over at the crazy dude's website, you can view photos of all his performances from 1999 to present and watch videos too. Also, check out some photos that revealed how he did it.
Previously: The impossible art of Li Wei
Japanese box art is weirder, happier, has fewer floating heads, keeps priorities straight, more artistic, more romantic, subtler, simpler and just plain different! That's according to the folks at Games Radar who compared Japanese video games and their US cousins and found that the Japanese have the coolest and most creative video game box art in the world.
If men edited the Cosmopolitan magazine, then their style manual on how much cleavage should women show off when they are at work, on a first date or on other occasions would be something like this. Ahem. More cleavage please.
(Thanks Shy)
We already have websites that pirate movies and music and now there's one that pirates magazines. Mygazines is a site where you can browse, share, archive and customize unlimited magazine articles. Popular titles such as Popular Science, Business Week and TIME are all there, uploaded by users. Let's see how long Mygazines can stay online before the magazines shut them down. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the May 2008 issue of Popular Science. Yay!
If you are a student in NUS, NTU, SMU or one of the polytechnics in Singapore and are looking to buy a laptop under the campus purchase scheme, do check out Cnet's excellent tertiary campus notebook deals coverage and see how much you can save compared to buying at retail stores.
(Thanks Rickie)
The organisers of the first ever Youth Olympic Games in 2010 to held in Singapore are inviting everyone to submit a design for the Singapore 2010 logo. Prizes include a chance to be one of the Torchbearers during the torch relay and tickets to the opening and closing ceremony of the games.
Interesting figures from a press release issued by Friendster which claims that it is the number one social networking website in Singapore and twice as big as Facebook:
• For users from 15-24 years old, Friendster is 2.2 times larger than Facebook and over 8 times larger than MySpace. Friendster has 313,000 unique visitors while Facebook has 141,000 and MySpace has 38,000.If you look at the 25-34 yrs old and the 35-44 yrs old categories (the demographics highly attractive to most advertisers), Friendster is only leading by a small margin and I think the results may not be that significant. We all know that the age group of Facebook users is a lot more mature than those using Friendster and this shows in the figures above. And judging from the increasing number of Friendster users migrating to Facebook, I think it's just a matter of time before Facebook takes the number 1 spot away from Friendster in Singapore. In fact, I won't be surprised that it already has.
• For users from 25-34 years old, Friendster is 1.5 times larger than Facebook and over 8 times larger than MySpace. Friendster has 248,000 unique visitors while Facebook has 164,000 and MySpace has 30,000.
• For users from 35-44 years old, Friendster is 1.6 times larger than Facebook and 5 times larger than MySpace. Friendster has 149,000 unique visitors while Facebook has 92,000 and MySpace has 30,000.
• For users from 45-54 years old, Friendster is 37% larger than Facebook and over 6 times larger than MySpace. Friendster has 100,000 unique visitors while Facebook has 73,000 and MySpace has 15,000.
This creepy film from the late 40's documents several animal reanimation experiments done by scientists from Soviet Union, beginning with individual organs and moving on to body parts and eventually a dead dog. What's creepier is that it has similarities to the plot behind the new X-Files film, The X-Files: I Want To Believe, now showing in theatres. Ooops. There goes another spoiler. Check out my review of The X-Files: I Want To Believe here.
(Thanks Kevin via his Twitter)
Reader Charlotte sends me this seemingly impossible challenge that has been floating around the cyberspace. I couldn't do it after trying it a couple of times but just when I was about to give up, I found a way to draw the "6" without my right foot changing direction: draw the "6" from the inside!
Guy Robots are robot sculptures handmade from industrial parts that are destined for final disposal. Each Guy Robot is mixed and matched with different parts until each has its own unique character.
(Thanks Spiller)
It's the good old 1975 and this man is about to show you the future. More of the 1975 IBM slides here.
(Thanks GeekGod)
This two minute animation made by the team behind Gorillaz is part of BBC Sport's marketing campaign for its Olympics coverage. It twists the story of Journey to the West, the popular classical Chinese novel and turns it into a "Journey to the East" and the Beijing Olympics. Not contend with just being the face of BBC's Olympic coverage, Monkey and friends even have their own album and opera!
The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.
-New water & environment scholarship: Financial help will soon be available for students wanting to pursue degrees in the environment and water sectors.
-Singapore's Olympic hopes rest on reluctant Li: After nearly 50 years without a medal, Singapore is pinning its Olympic dreams on a China-born table tennis player who says she loves playing the piano more than her sport.
-Nationwide call for ideas on sustainable development: Singapore has launched a nationwide call for ideas to make the country more eco-friendly and to ensure more efficient use of its resources.
-Increasing demands take toll on men in blue: The demands on the Singapore police force have gone up but the numbers have not. There were 12,516 full-time officers in service last year, a slight drop compared to the 13,377 in 2004.
-Worker loses appendage in Singapore every three days: A worker in Singapore loses a hand or finger every three days, a startling statistic revealed at a forum on protecting limbs at the workplace.
-Sungei Road is now a pirate's market: In the last couple of months, the flea market at Sungei Road has emerged as the new haven for hawkers of illegal video discs.
-Record high older people working last year: More older Singaporeans were working last year, compared to the past 16 years.
-Singapore charities under greater scrutiny: The Commissioner of Charities and six Government agencies made 44 field visits to charities, compared to 11 in 2006, to promote good governance and best practices.
-ICA officers are overworked and understaffed: Overtime hours pile up and the number of unclaimed leave days is mounting among officers of the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA).
-Singapore's charities received S$5.45b in 2006: Charities received S$5.45 billion in income, which includes donations, services rendered and government grants in 2006.
Advertlets is offering 80 sponsored post opportunities to Singapore bloggers to write about ST701, the Singapore e-marketplace for jobs, property, cars, products and services. Bloggers must be with Advertlets and have at least 30 unique visitors a day. More here.
(Disclosure: I'm a Blog Ambassador for Advertlets and this blog is an Advertlets Partner Blog.)
Spotted this giant Marilyn Monroe garden wall installation yesterday at the Singapore Garden Festival held at Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre. The Singapore Garden Festival ends on 1 August. You should check it out if you love flowers and beautiful gardens. There is a lot of photo taking opportunities too. Adult tickets are at $6.
Crazy Japanese DVD from Avex called Just Looking, features various models/idols doing nothing but staring expressionlessly into the camera. The DVD hopes to cure those afflicted with shyness so that they may rejoin society.
I never thought I would see a steampunked version of Yoda to look something like this. Silof, the dude behind the Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Steampunk figurines writes, "Yoda was the most challenging figure in this line. He had to be Yoda-esque but not too much. I did not want to do robes, as the line is more urban European then ancient Asian."
(Thanks Mr Big)
J. Perthold mounts a little camera around the neck of his cat, Mr Lee. The cam takes a picture every few minutes and will show what Mr Lee does each day.
Museum of Notebooks is an ongoing project to collect the best and brightest notebooks in the world. This one was found at some market in southwest China.
(Thanks Charlotte)
The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.
-Singapore's business model under threat: According to the Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore's business model has always been under threat and now it has a number of hungry, growing cities breathing down its neck as viable financial hubs.
-Trio quit jobs to hunt for Mas Selamat: Three Singaporeans have quit their jobs to search for Mas Selamat in Indonesia hoping to claim the one million dollar bounty.
-Drop in pump prices is biggest cut since Aug 2003: Pump prices fell 10 cents on Monday morning - the biggest cut since August 2003.
-New Aids prevention scheme to target ‘high-risk’ students: A new programme to stop the spread of Aids and other sexually-transmitted infections (STI) among youth here is being drawn up by the authorities to target students in the Normal stream.
-KKH is 150 years old: Despite bearing witness to a shrinking number of births over the decades, KK Women's and Children's Hospital did not settle for becoming a smaller maternity hospital.
-Singapore parking less expensive than many cities: Parking in Singapore's prime area is not cheap but less expensive than in many other cities worldwide, ranking 52nd out of 138.
-Energy resources critical for Spore's sustained development: If Singapore spends the same amount of effort on building energy efficiency as it did for water management, the country will enjoy benefits in the long run.
-Top up your kids' ez-link cards using cellphone: Top & Tap is the new remote top-up service that allows OCBC Mobile Banking customers to draw funds from their OCBC bank accounts for their ez-link card needs.
-Singapore devours first eating contest: A small but enthusiastic Singapore crowd got its first taste of professional eating as the sports' two titans - Takeru Kobayashi and Joey 'Jaws' Chestnut - made their debut in the city-state.
-Singapore set for summer movie crunch: It is going to be a hot summer in Singapore especially for local films as the releases of four Singapore-made movies are packed into the space of the next three weeks.
At Comic-Con 2008, visitors were showed a 4 minute clip of the upcoming Stars Wars animated movie, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The clip shows Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker leading the Clone troops against the Droid army. It looks awesome and I'm really looking forward to watching this when it's out in the theaters.
My previous post on the Adult Swim X-Files: I Want To Believe trailer has just made it to the front page of Technorati and its Entertainment page. I'm not sure how long it will last so here are two screen captures. Above is a screencap of Technorati's Entertainment page and you can click here to view a screencap of the front page of Technorati - both taken just a couple of minutes ago. The last time I was on Technorati's front page was in 2005 as its Featured Blogger! Gosh, that was so long ago.
This is the specially made trailer for The X-Files: I Want To Believe that was shown on Adult Swim (video above), an adult-oriented television network in the US. The X-Files: I Want To Believe is now showing in a cinema near you. No, you won't see Mulder in a red speedo in the movie but you'll get to see Scully in a bikini. Really! Go watch it and don't forget to watch right until the credits end.
Previously:
Review: The X-Files: I Want To Believe
AXN Beyond's Premiere of The X-Files: I Want To Believe
Highlights from the L.A. Premiere of The X-Files: I Want To Believe
Acidflask writes a thought provoking piece about why Singaporeans shouldn't harass and mock scholars who break their bonds if they want Singapore to grow ahead of other economies. From Acidflask:
Why would people want to get stuck with staid, stolid government careers when they think other people can offer them more challenging, more exciting, better-paid jobs? The proletariat classes have found job security to be based on nothing more than empty promises. Six years of indentured labor is not an asset, it is a fatal liability, a sign that they don’t trust their recipients to do the right thing. Is it any surprise that the recipients chafe under this paternalistic, supercilious arrogance?
The government agencies handing out scholarships have the power to tilt the balance. They set the rates, they set the agenda. They can make better deals than the ones that have served our country so well in the twentieth century. The government makes a big deal about maintaining Singapore’s competitiveness, and not being complacent. Yet it seems to turn its blind spot on its immense complacence regarding Singapore’s competitiveness in the top-echelon labor markets.
The Creature Discomforts commercials were specially commissioned by Leonard Cheshire Disability from award-winning studio Aardman Animations to change the way people think about and respond to disability. The commercials feature cute animal characters voiced by real people with disabilities. Watch all the ads here.
I've added Cake Wrecks to my bookmarks. It is a cool blog featuring photos and commentary of professional cakes go horribly and hilariously wrong such as this one made for a new mummy.
Hitoki is an online literary project collecting stories of singular experiences tied to locations in cities worldwide. The site is currently looking for short narratives describing pivotal moments of elation, confusion, absurdity, love or grief — or anything in between — inseparably tied to a specific place in Tokyo, New York, Shanghai, Paris, London, New York or Sofia.
This art installation (bigger pic here) featuring a very helpless Winnie the Pooh stuffed bear attacked by small figurines of Mario, Charlie Brown, Bart Simpson and friends, is part of It's always six o'clock, an exhibition where ordinary things become mysterious by Eva and Franco Mattes aka 0100101110101101.ORG.
British artist Ian Cook is no ordinary artist. Instead of using brushes to paint, he soaks the wheels of remote controlled cars in paint and then painstakingly driving them around on his canvas to create his masterpieces.
One of my favourite music videos of all time, November Rain by Guns N Roses, gets dissected minute by mind blowing minute by Guardian's Anna Pickard. From Guardian:
Minute one: In a darkened bedroom, Axl Rose, lead singer of the enormous Guns N' Roses, is taking tablets.
Sleeping tablets, we imagine, but we don't know how many. We could therefore assume that everything following this is either a drug-induced dream or a memory of events that might have led up to a sleepless/possibly suicidal state. We cut to a large G N' R concert filled with screaming fans, and then, in contrast, to Axl playing the piano alone in a deserted chapel and, for some reason, a desert.
Minute two: Axl tosses and turns in the large lonely bed. We cut to a cathedral, with cute flowergirls throwing rose petals and a statue of the crucified Christ that appears to be weeping blood. Down the aisle walks a beautiful bride who, though she has remembered her corset and train, seems to have succumbed to general memory failure when it came to the lower half of her dress.
"I can hear her.
What is she saying?
She's calling out my name, over and over again. She's crying out for help but I can't help her. I can't move.
Are you scared?
I know I should be but I'm not.
Do you know why?
Because of the voice in my head. It's telling me no harm will come to her, and that one day she'll return.
Do you believe the voice?
I want to believe."
That's the end scene in the episode Conduit of Season 1 of The X-Files in which Mulder was asked under hypnotic regression therapy about witnessing his sister's abduction by aliens. The four words, "I want to believe" sum up the quest of Mulder and his fellow FBI partner Dana Scully to find out the truth in the 9 seasons of The X-Files from 1993 to 2002.
Now 6 years later in the return of Mulder and Scully to the big screen, those four words make it into the title of the new X-Files movie, The X-Files: I Want To Believe. There are no aliens this time. No werewolves. No monsters even. And Mulder and Scully are still wanting to believe.
Yesterday, I watched The X-Files: I Want To Believe at the premiere held by AXN Beyond, a new Sci-fi cable channel. They are also showing the old X-Files every Thursday. So do check them out aye. It's on Channel 100 on Starhub. Before the movie started, the folks from AXN showed a cool clip of what their new channel is about. Once that was done and all the customary ads were over, the audience could finally sit back, relax and watch Mulder and Scully in their new adventure.
In The X-Files: I Want To Believe, both Mulder and Scully are no longer agents for the FBI. Scully works in a Catholic hospital as a doctor while Mulder isolates himself in his little room in his house shared with Scully. Yup, they are living and sleeping together! While at work, Scully gets a visit from an FBI Agent who needs to locate Fox Mulder. The FBI wants their help to assist in the search of a missing FBI Agent. Mulder is hesitant but Scully says that all his sins will be forgiven by the FBI. A priest, Father Joe who is also a convicted pedophile and has mysterious visions and claims psychic connections to the missing agent gets Mulder interested in the case and he decides to go back to the FBI and assists them.
Soon more women are being abducted in the wintry hills of rural Virginia. The only clues to their disappearance are the grotesque human remains that begin to turn up. With officials desperate for any lead, Father Joe's questionable visions send Mulder, Scully and the FBI on a wild goose chase and straight to a bizarre secret medical experiment. Who's behind this experiment? Who took all these women? And what are they doing with them? You got to watch the movie to find out yourself.
The plot of The X-Files: I Want To Believe was so tightly guarded that no one really knows what it was about before the film's opening. But after watching the movie last night, I can't help but noticed that the plot was actually revealed way back in April in a photo that was released by the producers. So for those of you who really want to know...
Here's the photo. Now look closely at the newspaper cutting to the right of Mulder.
I enlarged it. "FBI arrests modern day Frakenstein doctor" is the headline. Yup. That's it! Frankenstein!!
The X-Files: I Want To Believe is nothing like the blockbuster movies that you have watched so far this year. It has no CGI, no special effects, no monsters, not even sex. Darn! And I thought I could see Mulder and Scully doing it in bed. It's basically a Mulder and Scully movie and a good old fashion thriller. Gillian Anderson who plays Scully is superb in her role and so is David Duchovny as Mulder. Their chemistry is unbelievable and they get pretty intense dialouges in the film. I also like the Father Joe character played by Billy Connolly. I kinda pity him as the priest that no one really believes because he was a convicted pedophile. He really thinks that his visions are god's way of giving him a chance to make up for his past sins. But is he for real?
I think this movie is definitely for the fans although I'm pretty sure those who do not watch The X-Files on TV can follow what is going on in the movie pretty easily. But yup, fans will love this because of the many references made to the old TV series. Do watch out for a cameo by Chris Carter (director, writer, creator of The X-Files) in a scene in the Catholic hospital. I also spotted the girl who played the young Samantha Mulder (Mulder's sister) in the TV series, wandering in the hall of the FBI. Oh and not forgetting FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner who also makes an appearance. Yay Skinner! Lastly, don't forget to watch right until the end credits are over. Trust me. You do not want to miss it!
Overall, I enjoyed The X-Files: I Want To Believe. It could have been much better and exciting but yes, I was smiling, screaming, shouting and clapping to the various scenes of the film. I think some of the audience found that funny. I could hear their giggles and laughter and some even joined me in my fanboy moments. Phew. Thankfully I didn't get thrown out of the theater for being noisy. The X-Files: I Want To Believe will not make all of you into believers but it might just make you want to re-watch the old X-Files again and again.
I can't recall the last time I was this excited and nervous to watch a movie. Tonight, I will be attending the premiere of The X-Files: I Want To Believe by AXN Beyond, a new cable channel for sci-fi lovers. And I'm really nervous because as an X-phile, I really want the movie to be great and I hope it will do well. I've been reading all the initial reviews coming from the US and Australia over the past day and they have been mixed. It seems that you either love it or you hate it. Crikey! But whatever it is, I'll definitely be there at Cineleisure tonight to catch my heroes, Mulder and Scully on the big screen. I just hope the audience tonight won't mind my fanboy shouts and screams. I'll post a review tomorrow. Believe it.
The live webcast of the L.A. Premiere of The X-Files: I Want to Believe is now over but for those who missed it, here are some highlights:
David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Frank Spotnitz and Chris Carter took the stage to answer some questions from the fans at the premiere. Gillian said it's nice to work together with the entire X-Files team after so long. Frank said it's a revelation to see so many people still loving Mulder and Scully. Gillian agreed and said it's really awesome that all the fans are showing up and supporting them this way. Someone asked about David's and Gillian's favourite X-Files episodes. Gillan's favourite X-Files is Bad Blood while David says his is Post Modern Promotheus. Another fan asked them if they can provide one word each to sum up the new X-Files movie. Frank: Gross. Chris: Sweet. Gillian: Hot. David: Loyal. Chris Carter said this is the 17th year that he has been involved with the Mulder and Scully characters and that it's time for a hookup. Woohoo!
During the one on one live interviews where the stars answered questions from fans online, Chris revealed that The X-Files: I Want To Believe is based on current time and if you're an X-Files fan, you will not be dissatisfied. He also added that the best thing about this movie is that it is refreshing. He also said that his favourite X-files episode is Beyond The Sea and confirmed that the Lone Gunmen are really dead and another X-files movie may be on the horizon but there will be no more TV series. When asked about Mulder in the new movie, Chris replied that Mulder who has become reclusive in the new movie, looks trimmer and hinted that we may see Mulder's naked bod.
Frank Spotnitz who co-wrote the script with Chris Carter, said that he hoped fans will embrace The X-Files: I Want To Believe. He said it gives him great pleasure to be giving fans this new movie. Frank's favourite X-files episodes are the ones written by Darin Morgan and revealed he got some ideas for his own X-Files episodes from the most unlikely of sources - cookbooks! He also said that the X-files can always go on forever.
David Duchovny said one of his most disturbing moments doing the X-files TV show was him hurting his shoulder while shooting Jersey Devil. When asked if there will be a X-Files movie trilogy, he said yes but it all depends on the fans. David said his most memorable moment while doing the new movie is watching a fan compilation video with Gillian Anderson on YouTube.
Gillian Anderson said that you can feel it while watching the movie that the characters of Mulder and Scully have moved on. She always thought the idea of both her and David coming back together for a movie was very exciting. Gillian also revealed that she did know how many of her own character traits that she might not have today if she did not play Scully. Regarding the tight security of the script during filming, she said that was a real challenge for her while doing the new movie.
Ryan Thomson who played the Alien Bounty Hunter in the X-files TV series was also at the Red Carpet event. He was asked about his role as the Alien Bounty Hunter and after describing it, added that David dubbed him the Booty Hunter. He also said that he missed seeing and working with the old cast from the X-files.
Mark Snow, the X-files composer said it's great doing the music for the X-files again and that this time there were so many different moods and styles that he could work with. He said his favourite scene in the new movie is towards the end and hopes that the next X-files movie will be filmed in Hawaii!
Lastly, here are some screencaps that I took from the live webcast. More here.
The Los Angeles Premiere of The X-Files: I Want to Believe will be broadcast live online from 8.55 am Singapore time today! Watch the Q&A with fans at the premiere and X-Files stars Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny and others as they walk the Red Carpet.
Update: I'm live blogging this on my Twitter. Also check out the highlights and screencaps of the webcast here.
This creepy looking Mickey Mouse is drawn by illustrator Mike Mitchell who has a deep affection and utter hate for the world's famous mouse. Ah no wonder. Check out his other illustrations here including his versions of Mario and dinosaur from Super Mario World and Batman!
Just give Cyndi your front and side profile photos and she will immortalize you in a doll! Cyndi is a doll artist and she hand sculptures each doll head from photos. The head is then sculpted onto a vinyl doll or action figure and dressed in the clothing of your choice. I want an I.Z. action figure!
10,000 Pages is a colouring book of abstract line art by Pixohammer. All 10,000 pages of the book will be made available at the 10,000 Pages blog. It's at page 9,367 now. Even if you're not into colouring, just looking at the abstract line drawings is fascinating.
Remember the He-Man minisodes that I blogged last week? Well, here's another YouTube channel called RetroHeroes that has all your favorite cartoons from the 60s, 70s and 80s in minisode format. Enjoy.
Fan made Masters of the Universe trailer (video above) starring Brad Pitt as He-Man/Prince Adam will make you laugh. Here's another trailer (less funny but much more awesome) to whet your appetite for the new He-Man movie which I heard is going to be awesome. I just hope they choose the right guy to play He-Man/Adam. From The Geek Files:
A script has now been completed and one sneak preview of the screenplay has called it a "fanboy masterpiece" in which "Lord of the Rings meets Matrix and a little Batman Begins thrown in for good measure."Update: Here's the Grayskull: Masters Of The Universe script review. (Thanks GeekGod)
Marks also co-wrote the screenplay for the exciting superhero movie project Green Arrow: Escape from Supermax. His live-action adaptation of He-Man is titled Grayskull: The Masters of the Universe.
Information on Marks' first draft came out from movie site Latino Review but has gone largely under the radar, perhaps because it is at such an early stage with no director or actors attached to the project.
In the story, Prince Adam of Eternia is able to transform into the superstrong He-Man by raising his sword; at the same time, his cowardly tiger Cringer becomes Battle Cat. They and several companions defend Castle Grayskull from the evil sorcerer Skeletor.
It's confirmed. Our government does read Wall Street Journal but I bet the paper isn't one of its most loved publications. Last month, the Press Secretary to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew wrote to the Wall Street Journal criticizing an editorial. This time, it's the Press Secretary to the Minister for Law's turn to write to the Wall Street Journal to rebut a recent editorial about Singapore's judiciary. From WSJ:
Western newspapers, NGOs and human rights groups like the IBA's Human Rights Institute prescribe Western norms as the way for other countries to "join the ranks of modern democracies." But not every Western norm is suitable to all countries in the world. Singapore cannot allow those who carry no responsibility for Singapore's future to dictate its political and legal systems. Singaporeans know that they have a noncorrupt government and an independent judiciary. They live in one of the top five most transparent countries in the world, with the freedom to express their views, oppose the government and take part in free and fair elections. Singaporeans will choose for themselves the shape and norms for their society.Previously: Press Secretary to MM Lee responds to Wall Street Journal
The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.
-Singapore claims waters around Pedra Branca: Singapore wants to claim a territorial sea and an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around Pedra Branca.
-Arts Fest not a flop: Fewer tickets were sold at this year's Singapore Arts Festival but the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts does not think it was a failure.
-No change to Section 377A enforcement: Police do not actively enforce against consensual gay sex and this “basic approach” has not changed.
-Night race, no problems so far: Singapore Grand Prix officials are confident driver safety concerns such as glare on the track for Formula One's first night race have been adequately addressed.
-Most GPs able to perform liposuction under new rules: Most GPs would clear what many see as the main new hurdle - having one year of surgical training in fields ranging from urology to paediatric surgery.
-More petrol theft in Singapore: There were 41 cases of petrol theft in the first half of this year, compared to 27 cases for the whole of last year.
-Labour pains for the Singapore bosses: Some employers, especially the smaller ones, lamented about the extra costs and manpower problems they would incur if Singapore adopts the Swedish system to solve our baby blues.
-Bus-lane offences down 40%: The number of motorists straying into bus lanes has dived since cameras were mounted on buses to catch errant drivers in the act.
-Singapore delays more building projects: Singapore announced deferments Tuesday on more public construction projects worth 1.7 billion Singapore dollars in a bid to ease cost pressures within the industry.
-Bounty for Mas Selamat's capture a good idea: Many in Singapore say the S$1 million bounty for Jemaah Islamiyah fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari is a good idea.
The folks at Gizmodo (those lucky b@st@rds!) visited the Lego Factory recently and filmed every step in the creation of the Lego brick including the most guarded secret of the company. Go watch all the 3 videos.
Couple decided that for their wedding, they will have a Super Mario Kart wedding cake! The groom says, "We were looking for ideas to make our wedding different and our own. My wife suggested the idea of having a video game cake after we saw one online. Coincidentally, the latest Mario Kart game was released on the same weekend of our wedding. This cake was designed with elements from multiple Mario Kart games, as well as a few aspects from other Super Mario Bros. games." Here's a preliminary sketch of the cake.
Some of the popular classic Chinese tales such as Monkey King, Three Kingdoms, Red Chamber and Golden Lotus in easy to read comic form.
(Thanks ANG)
I've been following Mike Brown's Planets, an astronomy blog started by Mike Brown who is an astronomer at Caltech. For those of you who don't know him, he is the dude whose discovery of Eris led to the demotion of Pluto from a real planet to a dwarf planet. Yup, Pluto fans, go ahead and send him your hate mails. In one of his entries, he talks about how astronomers give their new discoveries a name. From Mike Brown's Planets:
We take naming objects in the solar system very carefully. We’ve picked out the names for Quaoar (creation force of the Tongva tribe who live in Los Angeles), Orcus (the earlier Etruscan counterpart to Pluto, for an object that appears much like a twin of Pluto), Sedna (the Inuit goddess of the sea, for the coldest most distant Kuiper belt object at the time), and Eris (the greek goddess of discord and strife, for the object that finally led to the demotion of Pluto). Each of these names came after considerable thought and debate, and each of them fit some characteristic of the body that made us feel that it was appropriate.
Coming up with a new permanent name for Easterbunny was the hardest of all of these. Orcus and Sedna fit the character of the orbit of the body. Eris was so appropriate it is enough to make me almost start believing in astrology. Quaoar was, we felt, a nice tribute to the fact that all mythological deities are not Greek or Roman.
But what for Easterbuuny? It’s orbit is not particularly strange, but it is big. Probably about 2/3 the size of Pluto. And it is bright. It is the brightest object in the Kuiper belt other than Pluto itself. Unlike, say 2003 EL61, which has so many interesting characteristics that it was hard choosing from so many different appropriate name (more on this later), Easterbunny has no obvious hook. Its surface is covered with large amounts of almost pure methane ice, which is scientifically fascinating, but really not easily relatable to terrestrial mythology. (For a while I was working on coming up with a name related to the oracles at Delphi: some people interpret the reported trance-like state of the oracles to be related to natural gas [methane] seeping out of the earth there. After some thought I decided this theme was just dumb.) Strike one.
The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.
-Petrol prices drop third time in two weeks: Shell cut 4 cents per litre off its main grade, 3 cents off V-Power and 2 cents off its diesel prices on Monday.
-NAC to review S'pore Arts Fest: The National Arts Council will review the organisation and form of the Singapore Arts Festival to improve its programming and delivery.
-Singapore plans new measures to boost birth rate: The new measures will include more financial support for parents and policies to encourage a pro-family environment in the workplace.
-About 1,000 Singaporeans give up their citizenship each year: In the last three years, an average of 1,000 Singaporeans gave up their citizenship each year because of reasons from marriage to foreigners, to yearning for a different environment.
-Customers complained of overcharging of electricity bills: A record number of complaints about overcharging for electricity were investigated by Singapore Power last month.
-$1 million bounty for Mas Selamat: Singapore on Monday offered a reward of one million dollars for information leading to the recapture of an alleged extremist leader whose escape in February stunned the city-state.
-Free durians in Singapore: Wild durians in Singapore are less fleshy than those for sale, but pickers say some of the breeds are XO or red-fleshed varieties, which are purportedly of better quality.
-HOTA to be amended to increase donors: Changes will include removing the age limit on cadaveric donors, and could also allow financial compensation by third-parties to altruistic donors.
-Govt property vacant for years: Government chalets left to go to seed and unleased for over 14 years and other buildings and tracts of land left empty for years on end.
- Singaporean girls - hot or not?: Matador Nights, an Internet travel magazine that claims to explore 'the world's best nightlife', has ranked Singapore among the top 10 cities in the world with the hottest girls.
I think the person writing the subheadline for this AP story carried by MSNBC either failed his biology or he's a complete buffoon. Penguins are not mammals, you dumbass! They are birds! And it's apparent that he's not too good with his spelling too. Babes? What babes? Babies, you mean.
Update: I guess someone in MSNBC doesn't like me calling their editor a buffoon so they have corrected the error. It's now birds! (Thanks Shy, GeekGod)
I've just downloaded a mashup of Bon Jovi's You Give Love A Bad Name vs The Hives' Main Offender by Divide & Kreate. Surprising, it's really good. Divide & Kreate - yup, that's really his name - has a few interesting tracks that you can download here. All mashups and remixes.
Those of you with pet birds can now bring your flying friends out for a walk in the park or even the shopping mall thanks to the PetPocket Bird Carrier. It is a vest-style pet carrier that keeps your bird close and hands free. Durable mesh fabric allows good airflow and visibility for your bird. Zippered opening at top and bottom allows access. Your bird will love it, I think and so will you.
Ann Smith makes little robotic like figurines from broken electronics and machine parts. Her robot sculptures are sold in stores and galleries throughout the US and have been published as illustrations in magazines and brochures. Her clients include Chevron which commissioned her to do a T-Rex robot! Some of her sculptures are for sale on her Etsy site.
I love the Looks Like A Robot Flickr group. It has a collection of pics of everyday objects that look like robots. I think I may have a few photos to contribute.
(Thanks GeekGod)
Andrew Goldenberg sings along to famous film scores from Batman (video above), Superman and Indiana Jones. He's planning to do Star Wars next. I can't wait!
(via BoingBoing)
Amoebaboy recently just finished making this beautiful steampunk R2-D2. Its head is made of brass and it has a steel tube boiler body with wooden lagging, brass and copper gauges and front panel and lots of other steampunk goodies! More of the making process here, here and here.
IGN is now showing the He-Man minisode, The Shaping Staff. The new He-Man minisodes are a part of a series of minisodes produced by Sony's The Minisode Network which takes classic TV shows and pack a whole lot of story and action into just a few minutes. Unfortunately only those in the US can watch the minisodes on The Minisode Network's YouTube channel. The unlucky ones like me have to resort to using sites like Zamzar to download and convert the YouTube videos in order to watch them.
Over at Nokia Singapore's Dark Knight website, you can watch all four parts of an original Batman motion comic produced exclusively by DC Comics for Nokia. Just click on "Motion Comic" once you enter the flash website. You can also download it!
I'm beginning to think that people in China really have a lot of free time. There's the dude who makes and flies his homemade helicopter. Then there's the Chinese farmer who builds his own airplane. And now, a Chinese labourer makes his own submarine at home using mainly metal barrels. What's next? A Chinese homemade spaceship?
The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.
-Singapore ticks off British writer over article: Singapore has taken to task a British writer who disparaged the Republic as a modern, undemocratic form of authoritarianism.
-Singapore's first TCM scholarship awarded: Global healthcare company Eu Yan Sang International awarded Singapore's TCM scholarship to two outstanding undergraduates.
-Sabah youths forced to work as sex slaves in Singapore: Sabah has called for an investigation into reports that youths hired by employment agents to work in Singapore were forced to do menial work and the girls turned into sex slaves.
-Pump prices down again, but CNG costs up: Pump prices fell for just the second time in 18 months yesterday, following a slip in crude oil prices.
-A new solution to empty cabs problem: Why not allow taxis, which now cruise empty past bus stops, to pick up those waiting for feeder buses and drive them to the nearest hub for a flat charge of $1 or less?
-Business as usual for taxis despite diesel surcharge: There was comparatively little angst when the 30-cent diesel surcharge for ComfortDelGro cabs kicked in yesterday.
-Survey shows more S'poreans going for HIV tests: The number of Singaporeans getting anonymous HIV testing has more than doubled in the past 12 months.
-Singapore circuit takes shape as race nears: Singapore is two months away from hosting its first Formula One grand prix and its ambitious street circuit is slowly taking shape.
-Ren Ci suffers sharp drop in donations: Donations to the troubled Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre have plunged. It collected just $1.1 million in the last seven months.
-Singapore Dragon Boat Association apologises to families: SBA has apologised to families of the five national dragon boaters who drowned in Cambodia but it stopped short of taking responsibility for factors that contributed to the accident.
This amazing flying car (watch the video above) is actually an advertising blimp created by Gear Factor. The Hong Kong based company makes remote controlled ultra light blimps of almost any shape and size. Just give them the CAD data of your product and they will build you a blimp that is shaped accurately like your product - so accurate that your audience may think that it is the actual thing that is flying! Here's a pictorial tour of their factory.
Sequels. You either love them or hate them. Director Christopher Nolan said recently in an interview that there are very, very few good sequels that are made. He named The Godfather II and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back as the two good ones he had in mind. After watching the Dark Knight, I think he can now put this sequel to Batman Begins on top of his list of very good sequels.
I attended the Star World VIP Access exclusive preview screening of The Dark Knight last evening at Lido. The Dark Knight tells the story of Batman a few years after the events in Batman Begins. Gotham City's evil goons are slowly being wiped out by Batman, this time with the help of Lieutenant James Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, who is the dude that is dating Bruce Wayne's (aka Batman) childhood sweetheart Rachel Dawes. Oh yes, there's a love triangle in this film which unfortunately leads to a tragic end for two of them. Since this is a no spoiler review -hey, the film will only be officially out in Singapore today - I will not reveal who. Ha! But it's obvious isn't it?
Anyway, the film opens with a bank robbery scene and we get the first glimpse of the Joker who later on would demand that Batman reveal his true identity to the world or else more and more people in Gotham City will die. Batman together with Lt Gordon and Harvey Dent teamed up to try to stop Joker's campaign of destruction.
There are several things worth noting in The Dark Knight. The Scarecrow whom we last saw in Batman Begins, also appears in this sequel, albeit just a short while. Rachel Dawes who is one of the few people who knows Batman's secret is played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Katie Holmes played the same character in Batman Begins. There's also a new Batsuit designed to give Batman more "ummmph" and we also get to see the Batpod which is Batman's "escape pod" when his Batmobile was destroyed in the later part of the movie. Ooops. Did I give that away?
The Dark Knight is a great movie. It is better than Batman Begins and it has to be the best Batman movie ever made. Much of this has got to do with Chris Nolan who directs and also pens the script. He really has created a movie that will make all the Batman fanboys very happy and the casual movie goer captivated with his intense storyline and action scenes. But I think the true gems of The Dark Knight are its stars, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale and Aaron Eckhart who plays the Joker, Batman and Harvey (Two Face) Dent respectively.
Much publicity has been given to Heath Legder, no thanks to the fact he died recently because of a drug overdose. I admit that I was never a fan of Heath Ledger but he is very impressive in his role as the Joker - by far the best portrayal of the maniacal Batman archenemy I have ever seen. Should he be given an Oscar for this? I don't know. Maybe a nomination looks pretty sure but knowing the Academy's distaste for this kinda films, I doubt they will give him an Oscar. But to say that he steals the show in The Dark Knight is not quite right.
I thought Christian Bale and Aaron Eckhart both gave equally strong performances. Hey this is a Batman film after all, and no one plays the role of Batman better than Bale. But back to Heath Ledger. It's a real pity that he is no longer around because I would definitely like to watch more of his Joker in future Batman films. You know after I watched The Dark Knight and I came out of the cinema, I was thinking wouldn't it be better if Christoper Nolan kill off the Joker in the film? Because after seeing Heath Ledger's Joker I cannot see anyone else playing the role in future Batman sequels, that is in itself a testimony to the outstanding work put in by Heath Ledger. And I'm very sure even he will agree to it.
(Thanks Chen Weiyun/Star World)
Also read:
5 reasons why you should watch Wanted
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
Singapore Gala Premiere of Transformers
Jillian McDonald gets to kiss Daniel Day Lewis, Vincent Gallo, Johnny Depp and even Angelina Jolie in her video project called Screen Kiss. Using clever video editing, she inserts herself into existing film scenes as stand-in for the actresses (or actor) being kissed by these stars.
Henry says of his Tell a Lie project, "The most controversial lies told with photography today are those told by news photographers who manipulate their work photographs to tell a different story. Working with my friend Ed Cornish, we decided to flip this lie on its head and use a camera to mimic common Photoshop effects."
Some crazy dude has created an online game based on the arcade game Defender. He calls it Defender of the Favicon. The game resides in the 16×16 pixels of the favicon that is displayed on the top left of your Firefox browser! Damn, I need a magnifying glass.
(via Mefi)
You would probably have noticed that there is a change to my latest Today's Singapore News postings. Before, it's like this. I've decided to expand it with a short summary of each story that make the headlines over at Topix, a news site that I edit. Also, this change is made specially to cater to readers who are reading my Today's Singapore News posts on Reuters. Yup, they're on Reuters! I thought it would be better than reading this.
The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.
-Singapore swimmer uses hi-tech method to dazzle: A Singapore swimmer is using NASA-style technology to help the city-state shine in Beijing's Olympic pool. China-born Tao Li is undergoing bright light therapy to adjust her bodyclock to the morning race times at next month's Games.
-S'poreans want more help to have babies: Singaporeans want affordable childcare, a better work-life balance, and more financial support when asked what can be done to encourage them to get married and have children.
-Democracy the Singapore way: The end of the cold war seemed to augur a new era of global convergence. In the battle of ideas and political systems, western liberal democracy had triumphed. But the reality is different, especially in Asia.
-Singapore to host World Cyber Games Asian Championships: Elite gamers from the region will be in Singapore next month for the World Cyber Games 2008 Asian Championship.
-Singapore 'very concerned' as visitor arrival growth eases: Singapore is "very concerned" that the growth in visitor arrivals is slowing and is keeping a close watch on how it may affect the government's target for travellers to the island-state this year.
-One common number for taxi bookings: From next Monday, taxi commuters will just have to call one common number - 6342 5222 - or remember 6-DIAL CAB.
-Polytechnics will not force physical fitness on their pupils: Seven in 10 students at polytechnics lived a physically inactive lifestyle. The Education Ministry said the polytechnics are statutory boards and 'have the autonomy to decide on their curriculum to best cater to their students' needs and abilities'.
-Singapore to host world's first 3D festival: Singapore will host the world's first festival dedicated to 3D movies and technologies in November. The festival will showcase a wide variety of 3D movies, documentaries and animation.
-12 MRT stations for Bukit Timah: 12 new MRT stations will come up in the Bukit Timah area by 2015 as part of Stage 2 of the Downtown Line.
-Singapore number portability off to sluggish start: The introduction of mobile number portability in Singapore has proved a damp squib with a burst of carrier promotional activity met by consumer indifference.
Yesterday, I mentioned that you can listen to a short preview of The X-Files: I Want To Believe soundtrack. Today, here's the full song Broken (video above with lyrics) by UNKLE. From Exclaim:
"There was something I was looking for at the end credit of the movie, and it needed to be a really specific beat," Carter recently told Billboard. "I had gone to see the Police over the summer. They opened the show with 'Reggatta De Blanc,' which is one of my favourite Police songs. I love that song, and it was in my head as I was writing the movie. Then [20th Century Fox music supervisor] Danielle Diego gave me this UNKLE piece, and I realized that was really what I was looking for. Immediately I called her and I said, 'I think I've got my end-credit piece.'"They also did the remix for the new X-Files theme.
The UNKLE song Carter is referring to is "Broken" from the group's 2007 effort War Stories, whose lyrics and beat fit the flick to a tee, according to Carter. "It's funny, because the lyrics ended up working unexpectedly," Carter said. "It's really the beat that's the perfect fit for the end of the film."
Dr Robert Sparrow thinks that men are on the verge of extinction and the world will then be ruled by female hermaphrodites without the biological use of men. Ok ladies, time to freeze the truckloads of sperm. You'll need them! From The Age:
With the help of some frozen sperm at first, females could procreate on their own until stem-cell technology meant bone marrow and other human tissue could be converted into sperm, the senior lecturer at Monash University's Centre for Human Bioethics said.
To reach this post-sex world, Dr Sparrow said parents wanting the best for their children should start choosing baby girls through IVF because they live longer and have more opportunities in life.
"There are significant restrictions on the opportunities available to men around gestation, childbirth, and breastfeeding, which will be extremely difficult to overcome via social or technological mechanisms in the foreseeable future. Women also have longer life expectancies than men," he said.
Nat-2 is a label based in Germany that designs unique 2-in-1 shoes that allow the wearer to experience 2 shoes in 1 single shoe creation. Each pair of shoes uses interchangeable shoe sections and zippers. Just unzip the top part of the shoe and you'll get a sandal! You can also create endless shoe combinations by mixing and matching various designs. Check out the video here.
Joshua takes old digitized photographs (stereographs) from the archives of the New York Public Library and converts them into animated GIFs to give them a 3D bouncing effect.
(Thanks Al)
You can now listen to some of the tracks from The X-Files: I Want To Believe Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Each of the preview tracks is roughly 20 secs long. I'm digging the new X-Files theme and the song Broken by UNKLE.
Remember the photo of the Iranian missile test that was photoshopped by the Iranian government? Maybe they should have hired this dude to do the photo editing for them.
The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.
-Fares may rise by no more than 1 per cent: Bus and train fares may rise by no more than 1 per cent even though this year's fare adjustment formula allows for a jump of up to 3 per cent.
-Traffic down 40%, speeds up 38% due to new ERP gantries: The five new gantries along the Singapore River have cut traffic volume by up to 40 per cent — higher than the 38 per cent projected.
-S$500 fine per packet of duty-unpaid cigarettes: First-time offenders caught in possession of contraband cigarettes will have to pay a fine of S$500 per packet.
-Judging Singapore's Judiciary: Singapore is unlikely to reform its political or judicial system anytime soon. But when the country is ready to join the ranks of modern democracies, the IBA's recommendations provide a good checklist of how to do so.
-New IU promises smoother ERP rides: Motorists won't have to fret about being caught again with insufficient funds in their CashCards while passing under Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries thanks to a smarter ERP in-vehicle unit (IU) that can automatically top up a card that has insufficient funds.
-Singapore teens are sexting: "Sexting" is catching on with teenagers in Singapore. It refers to the sending of sexually explicit text or photographs through one's mobile phone to friends or potential suitors.
-Head of Ren Ci Hospital charged: Head of Ren Ci Hospital, the Venerable Shi Ming Yi has been charged with alleged forgery, conspiracy and misuse of funds.
-Increase in school bus fares is anti-competitive: Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) executive director Seah Seng Choon said yesterday that the move to increase school bus fares could breach competition laws, which forbid practices like price-fixing.
-Malaysia does not give in to Singapore: Malaysia does not give in to Singapore to the extent of sacrificing national interests when dealing with the island republic. Instead, it prefers negotiations and referring to the law to resolve issues or disputes with Singapore.
-Outlook bright for Singapore economy: Singapore's transformation into an international cosmopolitan city will help keep the economy buzzing in the medium to long term but analysts warned that the good times may be some time coming.
Last Friday, I mentioned that my review of the LG 42LB7RF HDTV has been used by Reuters and Computer Shopper. Now you can read my review of the LG Secret, LG's latest Black Label Series mobile phone on Computer Shopper too.
I found this awesome 8 minute trailer of the movie Red Cliff on YouTube. From 6:25 onwards, the trailer shows scenes that are not in the movie so I reckon they have to be from the sequel. Yup, there's a sequel and let me warn you of the dreaded "to be continued" words at the end of the movie so don't expect any conclusion. The sequel to Red Cliff will be shown in December. I can't wait.
I watched Red Cliff last night and from what I've been told it's been packing in audiences in every cinema in Singapore. Not surprising. It's a superb epic movie that everyone will enjoy watching from the very start to the finish. Watch out for Takeshi Kaneshiro and Vicki Zhao who in my opinion both stole the show and of course hats off to director John Woo for helming such a great movie.
"It is not just about sex. Swinging is a great way to make new friends. Some of our closest friends are the ones we met at swinging parties," say George and Tina, a married couple who has been practicing swinging, a new trend developing in Malaysia. Both George and Tina are part of a secret society of swinger clubs that are sprouting all over Malaysia and these clubs are looking for new members. Married couples in Malaysia who are looking to make new friends (forget about Friendster, Facebook) can go apply.
(Thanks xXx)
The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.
-Singapore Flyer is ghost town on weekdays: Shops and restaurants around the Singapore Flyer say they are losing money because most visitors head straight for the newly minted ride and skip their businesses.
-LKY cites conspiracy 'to do us in': Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew dismissed criticism from human rights organizations over Singapore's style of government and said they were trying to "do us in."
-Reform Party calls for end to 'elite' rule: A new political party has called for an end to rule by an elite minority in Singapore, and rejected accusations the opposition would quickly ruin the country if it took power.
-SMA says no to legalising human organ trade: The Singapore Medical Association (SMA), after much internal discussion, has come to a collective stand that it does not support legalised organ trading.
-Singapore should not rule out organ selling yet: Singapore is not ruling out legalizing organ trading amid the stark reality of shortages for transplants and a black market in the Asian region says Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan.
-Changi's T3 offers choice of 'body scanner' or physical searches: Changi Airport is testing a new screening machine which can better detect weapons, explosives, drugs and other contraband items concealed on the body.
-Chicken rice fan ate record 10 and a quarter bowls of chicken rice: Guy ate 10 bowls plus a-quarter more of chicken rice to break last year's record of eight and a half bowls achieved in the inaugural Singapore's Chicken Rice Eating Competition which began last year.
-Singapore children get less sleep than those in Western countries: Nearly 45 per cent of parents in Singapore believe their children are not getting enough sleep, far higher than the estimated 26 per cent of parents in Western countries.
-New e-payment system and IU units for road-users: Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced Monday that a second generation In-vehicle Unit (IU) will be introduced from August starting with motorcycles.
-Lack of hostel space driving up rentals: More university students are turning to nearby HDB estates such as Clementi and Jurong West for accommodation thus driving up rents there, say some property agents.
Crazy dude screencaps the entire X-Files: Fight For The Future movie and he is planning to do it again for the second X-Files film (The X-Files: I Want To Believe) when it's out later this month.
Slowloris was hanging out of her window filming a storm and all of the sudden, a lightning struck her. She said, "From what I understand, it went through my left hand holding the camera, crossed my back and exited out of my right hand holding onto the metal railing." She captured the scary moment on video. Watch it here.
Recycle your old newspapers into furniture! This Newspaper Furniture project by Yasmin explored ways in which easily available materials could be recycled and reused in interesting ways. She made a chair with backrest out of tightly rolled newspapers that have been bound together and also added a table by folding the sheets of a newspaper to make a petal shape.
Dude uses sound generated from old computer equipment to create this remix of Funkytown (video above). No synthesizer or audio effects were used at all. Here's the original Funkytown. Groovy!
Sorry I didn't blog about this sooner but my review of the LG 42LB7RF HDTV has been used by both Reuters and Computer Shopper. Cool!
Ice Cream Ramen anyone? Crikey! I think my mum once told me not to mix my ice cream with my ramen so I'm going to listen to her but I guess some Japanese would love this kinda stuff.
Kev Speck on his Blind Drawings, "I'd get critical of myself for not achieving perfection on my pages, so I stop being so judgmental, close my disapproving eyes, think out a loud thought, push pencil on paper and draw. These aren't masterpieces, these are merely me at my rawest."
EW.com has an exclusive preview of the new X-Files comic book that will be on sale two days before the July 25 theatrical release of The X-Files: I Want To Believe. Unfortunately, the comic book isn't based on the movie.
The following are stories that are making the news in Singapore today. You can also read all the news at Topix Singapore News, edited by yours truly.
-Singers come together for NDP: A music concert will be part of the official National Day celebrations — and it is one of the main highlights of a variety of events that will run through to Aug 24.
-Singapore's F1 Pit Building completed: The nerve centre of the Singapore Formula One race - the Pit Building at Republic Boulevard - has been completed in 10 months.
-Spas flourish: Spas and massage parlors in Singapore flourish as more seek to pamper themselves according to a MasterCard report.
-Night Festival set to entertain music fans: Singapore's arts and heritage district will burst into life with National Museum’s first Night Festival
-CK Tang chairman charged: CK Tang chairman Tang Wee Sung was slapped with three charges in court on Thursday for his role in the kidney-for-sale case.
-Singapore hit by global slowdown: Singapore's economy shrank at an annualised rate of 6.6% in the three months to June.
-Analysts favour new fare formula: Transport analysts favour the new fare formula that was announced by the Public Transport Council (PTC).
-Cheaper travel soon for commuters: Travel expenses will shrink from the fourth quarter thanks to a new system that calculates fares according to distance.
-A Swede way to boost Singapore's birth rate: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew hinted at a dialogue on Wednesday that Singapore is reviewing its procreation policies and could be looking to the Swedish model.
-Li Jiawei is Singapore's Olympic flag bearer: Singapore on Thursday night presented a flag to its national Olympic delegation, and table tennis player Li Jiawei will be its flag-bearer.
Dude made a 17' tall Gandhi statue using cardboard! He spent a total of 4 weeks (6 days a week, 9-11 hour days) with the help of an intern for two-three days of each week to construct the statue. I think Gandhi would be very proud to see this if he's still living today.
(via BoingBoing)
Say you are the leader of a rogue country and you decide to show off to the world and to your most hatred neighbour that you have the might to scare them shitless. So what do you do? Arrange some long range missile tests and then photoshop the pic to make it more awesome and hope that no one can spot your digital editing work.
(via MeFi)
Flooded London is an exhibition depicting a series of images of London and how its population has adapted to raised sea levels 80 years in the future, no thanks to global warming. Photography, 3D modeling and digital manipulation were all used to imitate some of the techniques of the super-idealistic Victorian landscape painters.
(via Inhabitat)
A group of X-Files fans aka X-philes in Chile made a replica of Fox Mulder's office as part of a convention. "Mulder’s office is in a basement, so we tried to give it that atmosphere: damp, cold, dim lights and pipes on the ceiling," says Jorge one of the fans that helped to build the replica office. Would be interesting to find out what Mulder thinks of it.
Akihabara News has a video of the R2D2 Usb Hub in action. It's so damn cool! The little R2D2 goes into action - moving its head, blinking its light and yes, even speaking like the real R2D2 itself - every three minutes or when you insert a USB device into one of its four USB ports. I so badly want one!
The objective of Show Us Your Desktop is to learn how computer users use their desktops. The folks behind the study want you to capture an image of your desktop (don't clean it up!) and send it to them. So far, they have received more than 1000 desktop images which they've uploaded to their Flickr set here.
(Thanks urbanimp)
Japanese artist Yosuke Ueno says, "When I paint, I'm making much of one thing. That is a feeling to try things what I couldn't handle with my mind." You can view the paintings from his Scissors & Butterfly art show on his website. Beautiful stuff!
The International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute issued a report yesterday about Singapore's failure to meet international standards for political and human rights and it also highlighted its concerns about the independence of the country's judiciary. From IBA:
As one of the world’s most successful economies, Singapore should be a leader in human rights and the rule of law, and should now have the confidence and maturity to recognise that this would be complementary, not contradictory, to its future prosperity,’ said Mark Ellis, Executive Director of the International Bar Association (IBA). ‘The IBAHRI has identified a number of areas in which Singapore falls far short of international standards. In particular, democratic debate and media comment are extremely restricted and government officials have initiated numerous successful defamation suits against both political and media critics.’The full report titled, "Prosperity versus individual rights? Human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Singapore" can be downloaded here (PDF).
The IBAHRI report examines Singapore’s record on a range of human rights issues identified by the IBAHRI as a priority. This includes freedom of expression (for example, the use of defamation legislation to hinder opposition activities, and restrictions on freedom of the press and the internet), the independence of the judiciary (there have been allegations of executive influence), and freedom of assembly.
5. The IBAHRI Report did acknowledge that "Singapore has a good international reputation for the integrity of their judgments when adjudicating commercial cases", but it alleged that for cases that involve "the interests of PAP members or their associates", there were "concerns about an actual or apparent lack of impartiality and/or independence". Instead of substantiating this grave allegation with evidence, the Report argued that "regardless of any actual interference, the reasonable suspicion of interference is sufficient". This is a feeble justification.
6. The cases brought by PAP members usually relate to scurrilous and completely untrue allegations of corruption made against them. Providing clean and efficient governance is a longstanding cornerstone of the PAP Government's policy. Thus defamatory allegations cannot be allowed to rest. The accuser has to prove his allegations. The decisions of the Courts in these cases are matters of public record, and can be analysed. Anyone questioning these verdicts should try to do so by examining these decisions properly, rather than making vague unsubstantiated allegations. What the western media continually criticise is that Singapore does not adopt Western, i.e. American, defamation laws that give the media freedom to report libellous untruths without liability to pay damages. It is also absurd to suggest that honourable and upright judges in commercial cases become compliant and dishonourable when dealing with defamation cases involving government ministers.
I turned on my PC at around 2 in the morning and I found out that I couldn't get online. I tried every trick in the book to get my connection back on again but it just didn't work. I thought it was bloody Starhub so I decided to try again when I wake up. Maybe they were fixing their network or something. Awhile ago, I still couldn't connect to the internet and I was farking pissed! Just when I was about to pick up the phone and vent my anger on the Starhub folks, I decided to close my ZoneAlarm firewall. It worked! So it's a problem with my firewall? I've been using ZoneAlarm firewall for a very long time. It's a great free software and I never had any problems with it. With my internet connection back on, the first thing I did was to head to ZoneAlarm's website and I saw this:
So it's the bloody Microsoft Update which my PC downloaded automatically last night that is the problem! ZoneAlarm says that the Microsoft Update KB951748 is known to cause loss of internet access for ZoneAlarm users on Windows XP/2000. Windows Vista users are not affected. In its security advisory, it listed several fixes, one of them is to download the latest version of ZoneAlarm firewall. I just did that and everything seems to be fine now. Phew.
Someone did a wonderful photoshop job on Joi's photo of George Lucas and JJ Abrams. You can view Joi's original pic of both George and JJ here. JJ Abrams is the director of the latest Star Trek movie and we all know George Lucas is the King of Star Wars. This photoshopped pic of both of them together with George carrying a light saber and JJ holding one of those Star Trek guns, depicts the rivalry between Star Wars and Star Trek in a rather humorous way. Who will win? I reckon George with the light saber will be too strong for JJ with the Trek gun. Besides, I think the force is strong with George.
Shit Box is a lightweight portable cardboard toilet, made specifically for outdoor use. Here's how it works: The box pops up from its convenient 14” flat pack to a rigid reusable box, you then insert the degradable poo bag, do your business, then seal and dispose the bag and off you go.
I've been following Concept Ships for sometime now and it has become one of my favourite blogs of all time! It is a concept spaceship blog where you'll find weekly news, links, pictures and video of the best concept spaceships relating to video game art, movies, television series, etc. The author of the blog also posts his own personal concept ship sketches and those made by other artists.
These colourful glass rayguns are the work of Joe Blow Glassworks. Jeff who runs the glass blowing facility says, "These are blown and manipulated hot glass objects. A transparent colour is picked up on the pipe, then clear glass is gathered on top. The piece is then blown out and shaped to the desired form. Coloured bits are added. Once the bits are in place, the handle and trigger are applied to the piece, the Raygun is then knocked off the blowpipe into the annealer to cool over a fifteen-hour cycle. Once cooled, the piece is ground and sent out for silvering or completed."
Tim Goddard's custom made this awesome Lego Imperial Base to house a bunch of AT-ATs, TIE Fighters and so much more. He also created a mini battle scene out of Lego complete with smoke, lasers and lava! Darth Vader would be so pleased.
(via Slashfilm)
1) Boom in CNG car sales seen in Singapore
2) Govt agency's Facebook page breaks the rules
3) Workers' Party turning to cyberspace to engage voters
4) Brunch in your pajamas at novelty Singapore cafe
5) More premium bus services offered to meet rising ridership
6) More dengue cases cropping up in the west
7) S'pore Q2 GDP may shrink, but F1 to prevent recession
8) S'pore wants to buy 100 of world's most advanced fighter plane
9) LTA says travel speeds, traffic flow improve with new gantries
10) Great Singapore Sale spending climbs 27% in first month
Read them all at Topix Singapore News, edited by yours truly.
Last month, I attended the LG press conference held at CommunicAsia 2008 where they launched their latest Black Label Series phone, the LG Secret. I received my LG Secret at CommunicAsia and I've been putting it through its paces to find out for myself how good the phone really is. Here's a review.
The LG Secret is a slim phone, measuring only 11.8 mm in thickness - not bad for a mobile phone power packed with features. It fits nicely in the palm of my hand and on first impression, it looks like it's a beautifully crafted phone. LG has gone all out to dress up the LG Secret. Tempered glass, faux leather, shiny metal parts and even carbon fibre have been used to make the phone into the beauty that it is.
The phone's LCD screen is made of tempered glass which is great because it prevents scratches and it won't crack if you drop the phone. I haven't tested that out but er, I believe them! Slide the screen upwards and the phone reveals its keypad. The LG Secret's touch pad located just below the screen uses Neon Touch Navigation buttons which sensitively respond to commands with a luminous blue light.
The LG Secret uses the same battery that its predecessor the LG Shine uses. The battery performance is surprisingly pretty good for the LG Secret considering that the phone has more power draining features than the LG Shine. If you are an average phone user, the LG Secret's battery can last you around 2 days. Remove the phone's battery cover and you'll find the battery sitting together with the slots for the SIM card and a memory card. LG Secret supports up to 4GB Micro SD memory card. It has 100 MB of internal memory.
The phone reception of the LG Secret is pretty good. I've read several reports online saying that some users have problems with the phone's signal strength but I have experienced no such problems so far. The LG Secret's antennae area is at the bottom of the handset so if you want to have the best signal, make sure that your palm or fingers do not cover the antennae area.
The LG Secret has a 5MP autofocus camera which according to my test shots are as good as Sony's 5MP Cybershot phones. In fact, the photos from the LG Secret has a truer colour as compared to the Cybershots. You can choose from 5 different options: Normal Shot, Continuous Shot which allow you to shoot up to 9 shots automatically in quick succession, Frame Shot, Panorama Shot and Music Video Shot which allows you to take a shot with a music or your voice. The camera also comes with a lot of advanced settings such as ISO change, scene modes, effects, etc. You can also take very good close-up shots thanks to the camera's macro lens. Besides taking photos, the camera also does a good job on videos. You can shoot a video at 120 frames per second and with DivX certified recording!
One of the most talked about feature of the LG Secret is its Touch Media which allows you to use the phone's LCD screen as a full function touchpad! But too bad LG decided that the Touch Media function is only for accessing photos and documents, listening to the radio and playing music and games.
Talking about games, I never had so much fun playing games on a mobile phone before. The LG Secret has several motion sensor games. What's so cool about these games is that you just have to swing, shift, tilt or flick the phone to play the games. My favourites are the Dart and the Fishing games. These games are really so much fun to play.
The LG Secret is also loaded with popular Google apps like Google Search, Gmail, Google Map, YouTube and Blogger! Other features of the phone include the Mp3 player, office document reader, Internet Browser, FM radio, Auto Luminance Control, Auto Rotating Display, Bluetooth and Voice Clarity.
Overall, the LG Secret is a great phone that has the good looks and cool features but I can't help thinking that it could have been a greater phone if it comes with Wifi. Come on LG, what's so hard about putting Wifi into this phone? Argh!
Previously:
Live @ CommunicAsia 2008: LG Press Conference
CommunicAsia 2008: LG Secret Launch Videos
Live @ CommunicAsia 2008: First pics of LG Secret!
Unboxing the new LG Secret mobile phone
In 1969, 14-year-old Jerry Levitan snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview about peace. 38 years later, Jerry produced a short film about it called I Met The Walrus.
Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, Jerry hired director Josh Raskin to weave a visual narrative that tenderly romances Lennon's every word in a cascading flood of multipronged animation. Raskin marries the terrifyingly genius pen work of James Braithwaite with masterful digital illustration by Alex Kurina, resulting in a spell-binding vessel for Lennon's boundless wit, and timeless message.
I Met The Walrus was nominated for an Oscar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. You can watch the entire film above.
When I was at Ikea on Sunday for its sale, as I was walking around its giant store, I couldn't help but wonder how they designed all their cool products. Ikea has almost everything that a homeowner needs and everyone I know has an Ikea product at home but do you know what's behind the Swedish company's design process? So I did some searching and came across this enlightening post. From Crave:
"When we decide about a product, we always start with the price," Deboehmler said. "Then, what is the consumer need?"
For example, the product designers might begin thinking about designing a new flat-screen-television stand. Assuming that there's evidence such a product is needed--like a trend of many people buying flat-screen TVs--Ikea will set out to design it.
"When we start in the development process, we say we'd like to have a cabinet to hold a large screen TV that's 42 inches, and priced out to come in at X dollars," Marston said. "OK, now we've said we want it to retail at $500, arbitrarily. What can you make, what can you design, to make it at that price?"
From the beginning of the process, a variety of people get involved. Those include field technicians who are able to see what's needed in the creation of a new product and determine if Ikea has already designed something similar that can be mined for parts or design inspiration.
Above is a chart listing the breakdown of duties and responsibilities for couples in a traditional relationship as compared to those who are in the "friends with benefits" category aka fark buddies. More benefits listed in this summary prospectus here.
(Thanks xXx)
The main crowd puller at this year's Cosfest which was held over the weekend at Downtown East was this huge and highly detailed Gundam Exia costume - probably the most awesome cosplay display in Singapore ever! For more pics taken at Cosfest VII, check out this post by Alvinology.
Open your eyes, look around you and with a bit of imagination and luck, you'll find things that look like Pac-Man.
(Thanks Mr Big)
Here's a gallery of memorable scenes captured in famous photographs recreated using Lego. This is Argentina's Maradona doing the "Hand of God" against England in the 1986 World Cup.
(Thanks Daniel)
Fresh from his holiday in Japan, Agagooga blogs about his adventure in Tokyo's Kabuki cho (Red Light District). Lots of pics and videos including a Japanese spinning vibrator! And I thought I've seen everything. Next time, must ask him to do a review.
My friend Isabell read my post about Jeju Loveland few days ago and told me last night that she's been there! She also kindly provided me with 38 photos taken at the sex park during a recent trip to Korea.
More sexciting pics here.
Gacha=Gacha is a locally produced anime that tells the story of 4 girls in Singapore and the trials, tribulations, joys and events of their daily lives. Watch the episodes on their website or over at their YouTube channel.
(via Lancerlord)
If you're interested in the evolution of everyone's favourite water gun, the Super Soaker, then check out this awesome visual tree of all air, CPS, and piston-pressure-based Super Soaker blasters released from 1989 to 2008.
(Thanks Johnny Q)
Kristen from the X-Files Livejournal Community got a transcript of the David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson interview by EMPIRE magazine. From X-Files Community:
EMPIRE: As Mulder and Scully, you’re pretty much fearless. Are you scared of anything in real life?
DUCHOVNY: I’m not a big fan of the clown. And I don’t like the idea of being eaten by a shark. I like to swim in the ocean and I think much more about sharks than anyone should. I really resent the fact that my oceangoing experiences are ruined by Jaws.
ANDERSON: I’m actually very scared of sharks too. I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was young, which may not have been compatible with that fear.
DUCHOVNY: Really? I wanted to be an archaeologist.
ANDERSON: Me too! I didn’t know that about you. Except I wanted to do underwater excavation. I probably saw Indiana Jones and then some sea anemones, and wanted the best of both worlds. (Pauses) There’s a big part of me that would love to be a secret agent. But if I showed up to do an investigation and interrogate someone now, they wouldn’t be able to take me seriously. I’ve ruined that for myself.
These Mario wall decals are great for decorating any kid's room or your gaming room. These are movable and reusable decals that are based on the same 8-bit graphics from the original Super Mario Bros game. There are 36 total decals in each package.
Totemobile is a mind blowing robotic sculpture by Chico MacMurtie that initially appears as a life-sized representation of the culturally iconic 1965 Citroën DS automobile. In performance, the car slowly transforms, opens and rises into an organic 18-meter-tall totem pole.
Misty takes classic paintings and then adds rubber ducks to them with the aid of Photoshop. The trouble is now she can't stop. So if you know of a painting that can do with an extra duckage, do let her know.
COLOURlovers scour through the 191 currently circulating currencies of the 192 member states of the United Nations to find some of the most colorful, unique and dramatic bank notes.
(Thanks Mr Big)
On Wednesday, I blogged about the cool online simulator to build your own star. Today, here's an incredible software called Universe Sandbox that can run scale simulations of our solar system while giving you the power to control gravity, time and everything in it.
Watch this video compilation of the best kissing scenes taken from various Korean dramas. The song used in the video is Kiss Me (how appropriate!) by Sixpence None The Richer.
It seems that taking over the world is not the only thing in Hello Kitty's mind. It now wants to invade our computers too with the Hello Kitty antivirus and firewall software. Crikey! Would you trust this cat to protect your computer? I don't think so.
Here's how you can make a Mushroom Burger (completely vegetarian!) inspired by the 1UP Mushrooms in the Super Mario games. 1UP Mushrooms are common items in the Mario games that give Mario an extra life when he picks one up. This 1UP Mushroom Burger won't give you an extra life but it sure is cute.
(Thanks GeekGod)
Michael Salter spent one whole winter to make this giant robot standing at 22 feet high! The robot is made of many pieces of Styrofoam cut into various shapes and sizes and then glued together and supported by a wooden, skeletal armature.
Jeju Loveland is like Disneyland for sex lovers! The park located in Korea, showcases 140 works of sexually oriented art created by graduates of a Korean university. View some of the sculptures here (NSFW) and for those of you who don't believe such a place exists, here's a satellite view of the area on Google Maps.
Update: Just for you guys and gals, more pics!
Last night, Advertlets launched its new TITAN Widget. You can see how it works on the right side of this blog. Go ahead. Play with it. It's really very cool. You can also see it in action on Felicia Chin's blog, another Advertlets Partner Blog.
Yup, that's Felicia the Mediacorp actress! She has the smaller TITAN widget in pink (for girls). From Advertlets:
How will I place the widget on my blog?Disclosure: I'm a Blog Ambassador for Advertlets and this blog is an Advertlets Partner Blog.
The widget runs rotated across the Advertlets network in our Advertlets Ad Unit and for longer/fixed durations on Partner Blogs. We are planning to release a standalone version of the code very soon for those who wish the widget to run permanently on their blog.
What kind of content will run on the widget?
The widget will mostly feature Advertlets bloggers, but will also incorporate news on Advertlets Events, post event pics, gatherings, fun happenings, contest and more. In addition, sponsors can also have their content included in the widget as well!
What are future new features planned for the widget?
Future features include the ability to show more blogs and match blogs more specifically to viewer’s interest, as well as more ways to discover relevant new blogs. It’s going to be very interesting and we are planning for a rollout of even more features in weeks.
I am listening to 98.7 fm and they were just asking a lady calling in to participate in a contest called "Are You Stupid?". It's similar to the TV show "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" where they ask questions that most primary school students would know. So the question was, "Name the country north of Malaysia?" The lady answered, "Malacca!" I'm sorry gal. I don't really like to question the intelligence of others but seriously, how stupid is that?! Malacca is in bloody Malaysia duh.
Dude attempts to eat all 12 McDonald's Value Meals in one sitting, starting with the Big Mac and ending with the Filet-o-Fish. He has to eat all the burgers, fries, etc that come with the various value meals but he can choose not to finish the drinks. It's a crazy attempt alright. Watch the video above to see if he succeeds. Kids don't try this at home.
(via So Good)
Use this star simulator to build your own star. You determine the fate of your star by setting initial characteristics - the mass of the star and the metal properties in it. Then watch as its life story unfolds before your eyes. I like my stars big because I love them to go out with a bang.
I have doubts that this video of a Chinese guy flying his DIY helicopter is real. According to Gizmodo, the man who is from Guangdong Province in eastern China, took 10 years to perfect his sub-$3000 home-built helicopter. It's one thing building your own helicopter but flying it is another thing. I've heard that piloting helicopters is no easy task. You need exceptional skills to be a helicopter pilot.
Previously: Chinese dude flies homemade airplane
I watched Wanted last night and it's such a damn good movie that I thought I should come up with 5 good reasons why you too should go watch it. Wanted stars James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie. Yup, that's her (pic above) holding the cool gun. She can hold my gun anytime. Ahem. Alright. Here are the 5 reasons why you should watch Wanted:
1) Angelina Jolie!!!
2) Angelina Jolie!!!
3) Angelina Jolie!!!
4) Angelina Jolie!!!
5) Angelina Jolie!!!
Ok, serious now.
1) Angelina Jolie! What else do I have to say about Mrs Pitt? She's a babe and that Brad is one farkin' lucky dude. She's so hot in the movie that even a straight girl would want to become lesbian after watching her. Sizzling.
2) James McAvoy! This dude is a rising star. I first saw him on Jay Leno on TV and I was wondering who the hell is he? Then I realised that hey, he's that dude who played Mr Tumnus in Chronicles of Narnia. Ok, thank god he doesn't have horns on his forehead, cloven hooves, shiny black goat legs, and a long goat's tail in Wanted. James kinda reminds me of Shia LaBeouf because of the similarities in their appearances. Both are destined for greatness. Shia has big farking robots on his side but I bet he can't shoot a gun the way James does.
3) Timur Bekmambetov! Timur who? If you haven't heard of him, then where have you been? This Russian dude is the director of Day Watch and Night Watch, two very popular Russian fantasy films. This time, he brings his mind blowing directorial skills to Wanted. This guy is so good that I hope every action movie made in Hollywood would have him as director - even Transformers 2. I'm sorry Michael Bay, but I still love you.
4) The car chase scenes! The first one which takes place around 10 minutes or so after the film begins, will just blow you away and set you up nicely for the rest of the film. It's one hell of a ride, I tell you.
5) The shooting scenes! Wanted revels in its shooting and fighting scenes. If you think Matrix is good, Wanted is 10x better. Bullets bending while in their trajectory. Enough said. Really crazy stuff.
I have just kept myself up to date with all the latest news about our neighbouring country, Malaysia. So happening man! Damn, why isn't politics in Singapore as exciting? From Straits Times:
Blogs were abuzz yesterday with rumours that several sources, including the intelligence unit of an unidentified neighbouring country, had told Mr Anwar's party of plans to assassinate him and that several hired killers had been brought into the country.I'm just wondering if the unidentified neighbouring country is Singapore. Hmm, but then again, our intel can't even find out where Mas Selamat is, so what do they know about hired killers aye?
When asked about the source of the information, Mr Anwar declined to say more. 'I wouldn't dwell on that...the thing is that Azizah and the children and the leadership are concerned about my personal safety.'
I.Z. Reloaded is one of the top ten finalists in the Most Entertaining category of omy's Singapore Blog Awards 2008! Throughout the four years of this blog's existence, it has been selected for several blog awards, but this one is a real honour and thanks to Sabrina and Alvin for the nomination.
The top blogger in each category will walk away with a laptop and a trophy designed by Singapore's multi-disciplinary artist Tan Swie Hian. In addition, the top three most voted bloggers across all categories will also win a LG mobile phone each.
The winner in each category will be determined by 30% public votes and 70% scorings by our panel of professional judges - media industry veteran, Man Shu Sum; The Theatre Practice Co-Artistic Director, Kuo Jian Hong; and acclaimed movie director, Kelvin Tong.
Public voting begins now and it will end on 31/07/2008. Voters also stand to win travel packages to Bangkok, Vietnam and a luxurious resort accommodation package in Phuket. So do your part and vote in the S'pore Blog Awards and check out some of the cool blogs in the various categories.
If you think this blog is the most entertaining blog in Singapore please vote here. You will need to enter your email address and a password to begin voting. Thanks!
Yeong Yoon Ying, the Press Secretary to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has written to the Wall Street Journal rebutting an editorial written last month about democracy, freedom of speech and law in Singapore. From WSJ:
Many opposition politicians routinely criticize government leaders, but are not sued because they have not uttered slanderous falsehoods. Contrary to your editorial, Singapore upholds free speech and the right to disagree, subject to the law.
Singapore's laws must be decided by Singaporeans, not by foreigners like Gopalan Nair, who is a U.S. citizen, or by the foreign media. Foreign media are entitled to report and comment on what is happening in Singapore, but they circulate here subject to Singapore law. They have no right to defame, to give a skewed account of court proceedings, or to engage in Singapore politics, for example, by campaigning for their version of Western style "democracy" for Singapore.
Hil made this cute little sculpture of the Twitter Fail Whale based on the image that is used by Twitter when its servers are overloaded.
Katsushika Hokusai illustrated 100 poems written by noble members (Emperors, princesses) and high functionaries at the Imperial courts between 800 and 1200 AC. The poems are about love, forbidden affairs, young age and old age (related to spring and autumn) and death, and represent the centre of the culture of Japan.
(via Mefi)
Indian fashion label Satya Paul designed a sari called Oogle inspired by everybody's favourite search engine Google, for its Pop Art Inspirational Series line of saris. It even has Google Adsense at the bottom!
(via BoingBoing)
It's things like this that get me all so excited. Over at director Michael Bay's website, he has put up a cool countdown with a Decepticon logo and the words "Revenge Is Coming". It's the new Transformers movie! They are currently shooting it. It also has a title Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen and judging from it, I bet it's about the return of Megatron. Damn, I love you Michael Bay!
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