IZ Reloaded on Reuters: Singapore Grand Prix Reports

My 3 day report of the recently concluded Singapore F1 Grand Prix can also be read on Reuters: Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3. My original blog posts here, here and here.

Architectural Furniture: Furnitures for the space conscious

These Architectural Furnitures (video above) designed by Toshihiko Suzuki are so cutel! There's a Mobile Kitchen, a Foldaway Guest Room and a Foldaway Office. When they're not being used, you can fold them back into their original compact forms. I think they are great for homes that are tight on space.

Inside a North Korean arcade

It really sucks to be a gamer in North Korea. Those poor guys. Take a look at these sombre pics taken inside an arcade located in Pyongyang and you will definitely be more appreciative of your friendly neighbourhood arcade from now on.

New Obama and McCain comics

Presidential Material: Barack Obama and John McCain is a pair of graphic biographies featuring the two Presidential candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties in the US. Preview the comics here.

(Thanks Greg)

Transformers Mosaic

Transformers Mosaic is a collaboration of many talented artists and writers in the Transformers fandom. Each Mosaic is a one page webcomic set in the Transformers universe. I love the artwork in these comics!

The Observable Universe

How big is the universe really? For his latest xkcd webcomic, Randall attempts to answer that question by drawing the observable universe from top to bottom on a log scale.

(Thanks Andrew Long)

Policing Flickr

Here's an interesting inside look at how the folks at Flickr maintain "law and order" among its 30 million members. A must read for those of you who are interested in getting a job as a Community Manager at any internet company. From SF Gate:

The essence of Champ's job, she says, boils down to defending this imprecise but holy "spirit of Flickr." Indeed, imprecision is an art here. The list of community guidelines is an assortment of lawyer-vexing instructions like "Don't be creepy. You know the guy. Don't be that guy," and "Don't forget the children." If you've spent any time online, you instantly recognize these to be meaningful and clear edicts. Champ is only half joking when she says her is responsibility is to keep things from "encroaching on Flickr's serenity."

"The job always comes down to finding the fulcrum in the teeter-totter, the balance that benefits both the individual and the community," she explains.

Indeed, for all its color, the site is governed by gray. Take, for example, what I call the penis quandary, endemic to any operation like this: A photo of a penis will be flagged on Flickr as offensive and relegated to the site's version of an adults-only zone. But what about a photo of the word "penis"? What about a cloud that looks like a penis? What about a penis on a Greek statue?

Today's Singapore News

The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.

-Rise in number of beggars: The number of beggars and vagrants rounded up by the authorities rose sharply in the first six months of this year, with many being foreigners.
-Singapore opposition head Jeyaretnam dies: Joshua B. Jeyaretnam, Singapore's best known and most dogged opposition leader who fought a lone battle against the powerful ruling establishment despite being driven to bankruptcy, died at a local hospital of heart failure.
-Bills to go up 21%: Electricity bills will go up about 21 per cent tomorrow, the highest one-time increase in about seven years, according to the Energy Market Authority (EMA).
-National Heritage Board to Spend $8 Million on Art Projects: The National Heritage Board of Singapore plans to spend $8 million (U.S. $5.6 million) over the next five years to help fund commercial cultural projects in the city-state.
-Singapore GP can be improved: After the dust settles and looking back at the first ever night race, could things have been better? Or should the organizers sit back and rest on their laurels?
-Most travellers not extending stay after F1: A dramatic Formula 1 night race yesterday capped Singapore's praiseworthy hosting of the Grand Prix. But the Republic doesn't seem quite as successful in getting visitors to extend their stay beyond the weekend.
-Singapore hopes F1 will rev up economy: The first ever F1 night race disrupted traffic and will cost taxpayers millions of dollars but Singapore hopes the F1 glitz will give businesses a much-needed boost and help the city state promote itself as more than a staid financial centre.
-Nightlife industry benefited most during F1 weekend: Nightspots in the city benefited the most from the F1 weekend, with customer numbers boosted by some 40,000 tourists in Singapore for the race.
-Gradual reopening of roads around F1 circuit: There were still reports of slight traffic jams around the Beach Road and Suntec City area during Monday morning's rush hour.
-Radical structural separation in Singapore: Singapore is proceeding with what some have called "the most radical structural separation of fixed telecoms in the world" after awarding its National Broadband Network passive network contract to the OpenNet consortium.
-Flats in great demand: The 50-storey Pinnacle@Duxton in Tanjong Pagar has attracted 1,467 applications for the 428 four- and five-roomers on offer - that is about 3.5 hopefuls for each unit.

2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day Three Report with Videos

It was a race full of drama for the first ever Singapore Grand Prix last night. Singapore's F1 night race was spectacular but it will not be remembered too fondly by the those in Team Ferrari for sure. They had a disaster of a night! Ferrari's Fernando Massa who took the pole position at the start of the race ended the race at 14th after a pit stop gaffe and to add insult to injury, his teammate Kimmi Raikkonen did not even complete the race!

It began so well for Ferrari. They had Massa leading the pack and everybody including me thought for certain he will dominate the race. But it all went bad when Nelson Piquet Jr crashed his Renault (video here) and the safety car had to come out. The race went into chaos. Williams's Nico Rosberg and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica went into the pitstop when it was closed during the safety car period and had to serve stop-go penalties. Then when it's Massa's turn to pit, his pit crew could not pull the fuel hose out in time when Massa hit the pedal (video below).



The fuel hose snapped and Massa with the fuel hose still attached to his Ferrari, had to stop 100m ahead while his pitcrew still in shocked, then ran frantically towards his car to pull the hose out. Incredible scenes! The pitstop howler slowed down Massa considerably and in addition, he was also given a drive-through penalty.



With Massa seemingly out of the running, Ferrari had to depend on defending champion Raikkonen to finish the race and get some points for them but he stupidly crashed his car (video above) towards the later part of the race. He was driving in fifth position during the crash.

The race was then won amazingly by Fernando Alonso of Renault who started at 15th position! But the biggest of smiles were reserved for Lewis Hamilton who finished third. He and his McLaren team must be happy that both Massa and Raikkonen did not get any points in Singapore - justice done, perhaps - as they look to win both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championship this year.

You can read all the drivers' comments after the race here and the full results here.

Previously:
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day Two
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day One Report with Videos

Samsung's Nabee connects cameras to PCs wirelessly but not to your father

I wonder just how well will Samsung's Nabee sell in Singapore since it does sound like Nabeh which is a rude word that is used by some Singaporeans. Nabeh, oops I mean Nabee, allows for a simple, high-speed wireless communication between a digital still camera and PC. Plug the miniature dongle into the camera USB connector, and its matching dongle into the PC and it connects just like a standard USB cable.

Intel's Core 2 Duo as explained by Sony's weird elves

Sony's Vaio Sytle website uses two odd looking elves to explain how the Intel Core 2 Duo chip in your Vaio notebook helps you multitask. It's in Japanese but you can get a hilarious English translation here.

Also read: Sony unveils new VAIO direction with 3 new notebook models

Wikipedia Comics

WikiWorld is a series of comic strips based on various articles found in Wikipedia. The comics summarise and highlight some of the fascinating but little-known articles in Wikipedia's vast archives and represent the artist's visual interpretations of them.

Solar Light Cap harnesses sunlight to light up the night

You don't need a torchlight when you are wearing the Solar Light Cap. It is a baseball style cap featuring an integrated solar panel that charges up when there's sunlight. And at night when you need some light, just a push a button on your cap and it will use the stored solar energy to power its two LED spotlights.

PETA wants Ben & Jerry's to use breast milk for its ice cream

I always thought those folks from PETA are mad. This time, they have gone even crazier by insisting that Ben & Jerry's, my favourite ice cream maker, replace cow's milk in its products with human breast milk! From PETA:

On behalf of PETA and our more than 2 million members and supporters, I'd like to bring your attention to an innovative new idea from Switzerland that would bring a unique twist to Ben and Jerry's. Storchen restaurant is set to unveil a menu that includes soups, stews, and sauces made with at least 75 percent breast milk procured from human donors who are paid in exchange for their milk. If Ben and Jerry's replaced the cow's milk in its ice cream with breast milk, your customers--and cows--would reap the benefits.

Using cow's milk for your ice cream is a hazard to your customer's health. Dairy products have been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies, constipation, obesity, and prostate and ovarian cancer. The late Dr. Benjamin Spock, America's leading authority on child care, spoke out against feeding cow's milk to children, saying it may play a role in anemia, allergies, and juvenile diabetes and in the long term, will set kids up for obesity and heart disease--America's number one cause of death.

Chinese takes first steps in space

Zhai Zhigang became the first man from China to walk in space! He spent about 20 minutes outside his spacecraft as his fellow countrymen and the world watched him solidify China's status as a space power. You can watch Zhai as he climbs out of his spacecraft in this video (above, with English subs) which was broadcast live. He and his fellow taikonauts Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng returned to Earth safely yesterday. Let's see if the Chinese can take on the moon next.

2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day Two

Felipe Massa drove a perfect race in his Ferrari last night on Day Two of the Singapore F1 Grand Prix. He had the fastest time during the qualifying session and will start the race tonight in pole position ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and fellow driver Kimi Raikkonen. From BBC:

With overtaking difficult on the Marina Bay street circuit, grid positions are likely to be crucial - and Massa was understandably delighted to have pipped Hamilton at the death.

"The car was so nice to drive and it is so great that I managed to do a perfect lap," said the 27-year-old after his lap of one minute, 44:519 seconds.

"It was a great achievement. I made the corners perfect, so it is fantastic and one of the most incredible feelings a driver can have."

Hamilton insisted he was happy with second after he almost missed out on the pole position shoot-out, sneaking through in 10th, but warned that overtaking in the race will be almost impossible.

You can read more reactions from the top three drivers given during the post qualifying press conference here. The race tonight will start from 7.30pm and it is live on Channel 5. Massa for the win! Go Ferrari!

Update: 2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day Three Report with Videos

Previously:
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day One Report with Videos
Inside the Williams F1 Simulator
Singapore Grand Prix Preview Video
1966 Singapore Grand Prix
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix Road Closure and Public Transportation Guide

Bumblebee Birthday Cake

Sugar Lust made this Bumblebee birthday cake. Standing at 15" high and made of chocolate, it really looks like the Autobot Bumblebee from the Transformers movie. I so want this for my birthday! And I'm not sharing.

(Thanks mac96)

Japanese Steampunk Watchmaker

PingMag interviews Haruo Suekichi, Tokyo’s very own Steampunk poster boy about his incredible steampunk watches. Haruo is an expert in steampunk watch making with more than 13 years of experience. He has made 6,000 to 7,000 watches in his career!

Best Science Images of 2008 Announced

National Geographic has a gallery of the best science images of 2008. The awards are announced annually by the National Science Foundation and the journal Science for images that employ modern technology to visualize complex scientific topics. More on the 2008 International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge here.

(Thanks Marilyn)

2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day One Report with Videos

The first ever Formula One night race kicked off in spectacular fashion in Singapore yesterday evening as the teams tested the Singapore street circuit for the first time during their practice sessions. "Atmospherically probably the best pictures ever seen in F1. The scenery - it's unreal, it's like in a movie. It's a big, big step forward for Formula One," says Mercedes motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug. He wasn't the only one who gave the Singapore F1 Grand Prix a glowing review. Teams and drivers were also full of praise for the Singapore night street circuit.

None of the drivers reported any visibility problems at all under the bright lights that lit up the circuit but some said that coping with the numerous bumps on the circuit was the most serious challenge for them. A team-by-team look at the early progress here.

Lewis Hamilton from McLaren-Mercedes should be pretty pleased with his performance last night as he topped the time during the first practice session. The two Ferraris came in second (Felipe Massa) and third (Kimi Raikkonen) respectively. For the second practice session, Lewis Hamilton looked set to set the fastest time again but he was pipped by Renault's Fernando Alonso. Massa came in at third. Full results here.

A report of the historic first day of the Singapore Grand Prix will not be complete without videos of the F1 cars in action so here are some clips from YouTube for those of you who were not there yesterday.



Watch the F1 cars in action here (video above), here, here, here and here.

It will get more serious tonight with the qualifying sessions set to start at 10pm.

Update:
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day Three Report with Videos
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day Two

Previously:
Inside the Williams F1 Simulator
Singapore Grand Prix Preview Video
1966 Singapore Grand Prix
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix Road Closure and Public Transportation Guide

Inside the Williams F1 Simulator

AT&T Williams has released a video of Nico Rosberg driving on the F1 track in Singapore using the team’s highly guarded state-of-the-art simulator. Keep a close look at Nico's right hand on the steering wheel as he shifts his gears up. The Singapore Grand Prix begins tonight with the first practice sessions. Tomorrow is the qualifying session while the actual night race is on Sunday.
Previously:
Singapore Grand Prix Preview Video
1966 Singapore Grand Prix
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix Road Closure and Public Transportation Guide

My Little Stormtrooper Pony

This has got to be one of the cutest things I've seen this week - a Stormtrooper Pony! It is the brilliant work of Mari Kasurinen who also makes other My Little Pony variations such as My Little Pony Superman, My Little Pony Predator and more.

(Thanks Suzy)

How to defend yourself against men: A Japanese Manual for Girls

Pictures of what looks like a Japanese manual written for women to help them defend themselves against men. Love the headbutt to the chest and the knee kick to the groin! Ouch!! That sure hurts.

(Thanks Rickie)

BigDog is the most advanced quadruped robot on Earth

It runs at 4 mph, climbs slopes up to 35 degrees, walks across rubble, carries a 340 lb load and looks like a mean dog. Introducing the BigDog, a quadruped robot developed by Boston Dynamics and funded by the US Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA). Watch the video of it in action. I'm impressed but I think they need to do something about the noise. Don't want your enemies to hear that you have a robotic dog walking your way aye.

Also read:
Videos of military bots in action at the Singapore Tech X Challenge
Singapore's Military Robot Contest

Which is the best Asian film ever?

CNN's The Screening Room is asking its audience to help pick the best Asian film ever. They have come up with a provisional list which not surprisingly has fueled debate among fans of Asian film. From Screening Room:

'Infernal Affairs' ('Mou gaan dou') Hong Kong/China
(Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, Alan Mak Siu-Fai, 2002)
Hong Kong cop thriller following the parallel lives of an undercover officer who infiltrates a Triad gang and policeman who secretly reports to a ruthless gang boss. "Infernal Affairs" breaks the mould of much of contemporary Hong Kong cinema by steering clear of over-the-top-action in favor of a slow-burning build up of psychological tension. Engrossing.

'Mandala' South Korea
(Kwon-Taek Im, 1981)
In the film that is considered to be his breakthrough as a cinematic artist, Im follows the lives and interactions of two Buddhist monks in Korea, and takes a contemplative look at the nature of individualism, religious belief and enlightenment.

'To Live' ('Huozhe') China
(Zhang Yimou, 1994)
Much lauded but banned in Mainland China because of its satirical portrayal of the Communist government, this epic, sumptuous film traces the personal fortunes of Fugui and Jiazhen as they fall from wealthy landownership to peasantry over 30 turbulent years.

A Car's Life: First ever YouTube Game

Indian mobile entertainment company Hexolabs has found a clever way to use YouTube's Video Annotations as part of the gameplay for its YouTube interactive game called A Car's Life. Click on the Annotations (the click button) that appears in the video to move to the next stage. Don't let the car crash! From Hexolabs:

Our research shows the branding videos with interactive story telling features retains user's interest for a longer duration. The interactive features in the videos gives immersive branding value. We are currently engaged in a research on this new advertising media which levarages youtube as a gaming medium. Advertising through this medium guarantees more relevant brand experiences for the consumers.

China's Massive Earthquake: A Commemorative Exhibition

China's New Graphic Magazine organised a commemorative exhibition featuring the works of more than 200 artists, designers, film makers and musicians from across the world to to raise funds for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake.

(via Walter Vasconcelos)

T-Mobile G1 Press Conference

Watch the T-Mobile G1 press conference held in New York earlier this week. The T-Mobile G1 is the new mobile phone launched by T-Mobile together with Google and HTC. It is the first mobile phone to be powered by Google's Android. It looks great but I don't think it's going to be an iPhone killer.

Miniature War Scenes

I'm totally blown away by these pictures of war scenes recreated using models and figurines. Even the water, clouds and smoke look so real.

(via Neatorama)

Embroidered text messages

Ginger made 20 embroideries of love text messages that she received on her mobile phone from 02/06 to 04/07. What a neat idea!

(via Make)

Motorola ROKR E6 transforms into a robot

A Taiwanese modder has successfully reconstructed his Motorola ROKR E6 mobile phone so that it can transform into a robot like one of those Transformers. I'm not sure how real this is but if he really did it, then I would want him to transform my LG Secret too.

Music from the Soviet era

Dude has assembled a collection of songs from the old Soviet era. Check out his top 20, including my personal favourite, The Saint War, a song first appeared when Hitler attacked USSR in 1941. You can also download the MP3s. From SovMusic:

The music submitted on this site - is an evident sample of a totally new culture, which completely differs from all that, with what Hollywood and MTV supply us so much. This culture, being free from the cult of money , platitude, violence and sex, was urged to not indulge low bents of a human soul but to help the person to become culturally enriched and to grow above himself.

Cheerful and optimistically by its nature, the Soviet music was spreading a cult of friendship, collectivism, mutual assistance and respect to the working people. Not all songs appeared to be praiseworthy; also some unsuccessful things came alone. But nevertheless it is possible to tell with confidence, that the purposes, which were set upon the Soviet culture, namely spiritual education of the new, Soviet person, were achieved in much ways.

Sony's 24.6-megapixel DSLR for megapixel hungry shooters

Sony's latest high-performance digital SLR, the α900 will be available in Singapore from end October 2008. Equipped with a 24.6-megapixel 35mm full-frame size CMOS sensor Exmor, the α900 is the world’s highest resolution full-frame DSLR.

Other notable features of the α900 include the SteadyShot INSIDE and the new dual BIONZ image processing engines.

SteadyShot INSIDE is a body-integrated anti-shake system which will allow photographers to capture sharp images with shutter speeds up to 2.5 to 4 stops slower than would otherwise be possible despite the larger and heavier sensor.

The BIONZ image processing engines enable the α900 to deliver the fastest image processing possible as both processing engines work in parallel to process the high amount of image data delivered from the 24.6-megapixel sensor.

The α900 also sports a full-size optical viewfinder, a dual-cross 9-point AF Sensor System and Intelligent Preview function, which allows users to capture a shot into the internal camera memory, and simulate the effect of various camera settings on it, such as exposure, white balance and D-Range Optimizer.


Also read: Sony unveils new VAIO direction with 3 new notebook models

Today's Singapore News

The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.

-Good business and bad business for shops during F1 season: Unlike other less lucky tenants in the Marina/Suntec area, retailers and food and beverage outlets at the underground CityLink mall have been savouring a boom in customers.
-Singapore escort girls cash in on Grand Prix traffic: Big spenders in Singapore for the city state's first ever Formula One Grand Prix this weekend have boosted business for high-end social escort agencies by a fifth.
-Only 3 of 11 trackside hotels booked fully: Just days before the Formula One race kicks off, a majority of the 11 trackside hotels are still not fully booked.
-F1 tickets sold online buck high price trend: People fishing for a quick buck are trying to sell their F1 tickets on popular auction websites such as Ebay just days before the race is flagged off this Sunday.
-Singapore firms get lucrative contracts for F1: At least 12 companies - including many small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) - have snagged lucrative contracts to help race organisers make this weekend's mega-event a success.
-Singapore says WSJ waging campaign against judges: Singapore's attorney general accused the Wall Street Journal of waging a campaign to tarnish the country's judiciary, but said he is not pushing for the harshest sentence in contempt proceedings against the newspaper.
-Tiger offers 50,000 free seats: Tiger Airways announced that it has received the all-clear to operate five daily flights between KL and Singapore. To celebrate, it is offering 50,000 free seats.
-Queues formed outside BEA: Queues have formed outside the Bank of East Asia building at Market Street. Some 80 to 100 people concerned about their deposits have made their way to the bank.
-Case and NTUC Income not anti-competitive: A regulatory agency has thrown out complaints by a private school group that the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) and NTUC Income were being anti-competitive.
-5 more China-made products found tainted with melamine: Five more China-made food products sold in Singapore have been detected to contain the industrial chemical melamine.
-Parents and students pay respect to Confucius: Thousands of students and parents flocked to temples yesterday to pay their respects to the Chinese thinker-philosopher Confucius, ahead of his birthday on Friday.

Singapore girls show off their bums (and more) for contest

Check out the Singapore contestants in this year's Show Me Your Sloggi contest. Here are the top bums that have been voted by online users. The winner has already been chosen to represent Singapore in the Show Me Your Sloggi Worldwide contest. She will vie for the title of the World's Best Bum. You can watch videos of the Singapore finalists and their bums in action here, here, here and here. Enjoy!

Smart alarm clock for mobile phones

HappyWakeUp ArousalClock is a smart alarm clock for your mobile phone. The alarm time is set normally with the mobile phone. You put your phone beneath the pillow or the bed linen or near you while you sleep. It then actively monitors your sleep using the microphone of the mobile phone by listening to your movements in bed. It then looks for the appropriate almost-awake moments. During the last 20 minutes before the ultimate alarm time, the analysis is activated to give a soft alarm signal, if there are movements indicating that the you are awake or "almost awake". If you are sleeping calmly, no alarm signal is given before the ultimate alarm time.

Metal for Monsters

To raise money for Unicef, Blend Creations has collaborated with various artists to create a special line of limited-edition stainless steel pendants featuring illustrations of cute monsters and creepy creatures.

(via Drawn)

Pinhole Skull Camera

This has to be the strangest (and creepiest) looking pinhole camera ever! The Third Eye Camera is made from aluminium, titanium, brass, silver, gem stones and a 150 year old skull of a 13 year old girl. Light and time enters at the third eye, exposing the film in the middle of the skull. Here's another one made of a blessed Tibetan skull!

(via Nerdcore)

Today's Singapore News

The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.

-Singapore still least corrupt in Asia: Just like last year, Singapore has been ranked the fourth least corrupt country in a global corruption survey.
-Carpark abusers deny genuine park visitors of parking lots: Car owners are exploiting the free parking services at public parks by leaving their weekend cars at the parks over the course of the day.
-Editor 'defamed' Singapore leader: Singapore's High Court has ruled that the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) magazine defamed Singapore's leaders.
-Security tight at Singapore's F1 Race: Almost 1,000 armed and unarmed security guards will patrol the Singapore Grand Prix circuit this week and the message is, leave bags at home.
-Budget hotel occupancy during F1 week disappointing: Budget hotels aren't doing any better than their high end counterparts when it comes to occupancy rates for the F1 weekend.
-Road closures due to F1 lead to traffic jams in some areas: The first day of F1-related road closures in the Marina Bay area has turned into a traffic nightmare for some, with road users stuck in traffic jams for up to an hour during the morning rush hour.
-Ensuring the safety of F1 racers: Close to 400 medical professionals and volunteers will be on standby to respond to any emergencies that may happen during the F1 night race in Singapore.
-Singapore unlikely to meet tourism target: Singapore - due to host tens of thousands of foreign visitors for its first Formula One Grand Prix this weekend - said Tuesday it is unlikely to meet its annual target for tourist arrivals.
-AVA allays melamine concerns: Singaporeans who may have eaten three tainted Chinese dairy products recently yanked from stores have little risk of falling ill.
-Singapore GIC earns 4.5pct real return: The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), one of the world's biggest sovereign funds, said it achieved a real return of 4.5 percent over 20 years to March but saw a tougher environment ahead.

Eric visits North Korea

French photographer Eric Lafforgue visited North Korea in April 2008. He stayed there for two weeks. Accompanied by two North Korean guides, he travelled around the country, taking beautiful photos of the people and places there. These are his photos.

(Thanks Sir Thomas)

Mini Guitar MP3 Player

In a world dominated by iPods, it's nice to know that there are still companies out there making interesting portable media players such as this 1GB Mini Guitar MP3 Player. It looks like an electric guitar - complete with strings and volume knobs - and also comes with its own speaker styled like a little Amp!

Sculpted Beastlies

Leslie Levings makes cute miniature sculptures of beasts using polymer clay. Check out her Sculpted Beastlies Flickr photoset. She also does a live broadcast of her beastlie making over at Ustream on Mondays.

(via Mefi)

It's confirmed! Asian bloggers love advertising.

According to Day 1 of the State of the Blogosphere 2008 report, which will be released in five consecutive daily segments by Technorati, 60% of Asian blogs carry advertisements and these blogs have a median annual revenue of US$120. Asian bloggers are twice as likely to sell advertising through online ad network such as Adverlets and are three times as likely to have paid postings on their blog. Interesting.

Videos of military bots in action at the Singapore Tech X Challenge

Results of the Tech X Challenge organised by Singapore's Defense Science & Technology Agency (DSTA) are out. Surprise, surprise! No winner was announced so everyone shares a bit of the prize money. Looks like navigating around obstacles, climbing stairs, finding a lift and pushing a button are just too difficult for the robots. I guess we have to wait a little longer for Singapore to have its own Terminator to join our NS boys in battle. Videos of some of the bots in action and a report of the Tech X Challenge here.

Previously: Singapore's Military Robot Contest

Today's Singapore News

The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.

-Shoppers switch to non-China milk: Shoppers are already switching to milk products from Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Japan, said a spokesman for Giant hypermarket.
-Milk scandal sparks confidence loss but effects temporary: China's tainted milk scandal has sparked further confidence losses in products made in the country. But businesses 938 LIVE spoke with feel it's temporary and given the products involved, isn't likely to affect sales too much.
-Major supermarkets recall over 15 brands of China-made food products: Over 15 brands of China-made products have been taken off the shelves, amid growing consumer concern in Singapore over the tainted milk scandal.
-Big brands ride on S'pore GP: The world's attention will be centred on the inaugural SingTel Singapore Grand Prix (SGP) this weekend, and many companies have jumped on the Formula One bandwagon for more eyeballs and branding mileage.
-Singapore GP book flying off shelves: Barely nine days after its launch, the first run of some 5,000 copies of "The Singapore Grand Prix: 50 Years in the Making" is almost sold out.
-Smooth traffic on KPE: Singapore's newest expressway handled morning peak-hour traffic for the first time yesterday, carrying about 5,100 cars from the north-east to the city.
-Smooth parking at Holland Village: The next time you drive into Holland Village, you will be greeted by marshals who will direct you to the nearest parking lot.
-5,000 policyholders terminated AIA contracts: Just under 5,000 policyholders have terminated their insurance contracts with the American International Assurance (AIA) so far, a small percentage of the over two million policies that AIA has in force in Singapore.
-Singapore Exchange tightens rules on short-selling: Singapore Exchange said late on Monday that it would tighten rules to discourage "naked" short-selling as part of a global move to stem the selling of shares by speculators who do not own the securities.
-Singapore wage growth to halve if recession hits-union: Wage growth in Singapore will probably halve to 2-2.5 percent in 2009 from around 4-5 percent this year if the country slides into a recession.
-Singapore's economic growth slows to below 4%: The Singapore government on Monday said that the country's full-year economic growth may dip below its earlier forecast of between 4 and 5 per cent

Star Wars Rebel Attack in Lego

Tim Goddard has outdone himself this time with this incredible Lego re-creation of a Rebel attack on an Imperial base and mining installation. About a year in the making, his Lego installation is 75 by 125cm and is built in 1:200 scale.

Previously: Tim's Lego Star Wars Imperial Base

Takaratomy Air Guitar

I have to get myself one of these Air Guitars by Takaratomy. They have a Pro Electric version and an Acoustic one. Each Air Guitar consists of the upper neck of a guitar with infrared ray strings that make the sound as your fingers hit the fretboard. The controller has seven buttons on the front to press to hold down chords and also buttons on the side to identify the chords as major, minor, augmented or diminished. Video of the Air Guitar in action here and a demo here.

Cleaning Instructions for the Boyfriend

Chimes made this quick little guide for her boyfriend so that he can learn how to clean his dirty kitchen and toilet. She writes: "He needs to learn so he can help out next time we move in together. I'm not going to clean our place forever. Also, I'm super picky about how stuff is cleaned, so I figured he should get trained at some point."

Singapore's Military Robot Contest

Popular Mechanics gets a sneak peak at the robot showdown contest organised by Singapore's Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA). From Popular Mechanics:

The six teams participating on Sunday are sponsored mainly by Singapore universities, and half of them plan to compete with off-the-shelf robots developed by iRobot. Evolution's Uni-Seeker is based on ATRV Junior, a small robot designed in the early 1990s for research purposes. Ge's X-1 team, which consists of students and staff from the National University of Singapore and the Institute for Infocomm Research, and FANTASTICFOUR, another team from NTU, will both enter modified versions of PackBot, which has been successfully deployed in places like Afghanistan, where it clears caves, searches bunkers and crosses minefields. SP Freiburg, a joint effort by Singapore Polytechnic and the University of Freiburg in Germany, uses a modified German-built teleMAX robot, which is normally a remote-controlled machine that disables explosives. But Toh's AZROBOWAR team built its bot from scratch. The team is not affiliated with a university and is composed of friends who worked on the project in their spare time. TP Robotics, from Temasek Polytechnic, also built its robot from the ground up.

Although not a guarantee, it's a distinct possibility that one of the teams will be able to emerge from Sunday's contest with a lucrative government contract. "We've already identified certain technologies we want to explore with some of the teams," says DSTA spokeswoman Isabelle Lee.

GoateeSaver: Real men wear goatees

I think I'll look silly with the GoateeSaver but real men who wear goatees swear by it. Really! GoateeSaver revolutionizes the way you shave and trim your goatee. The top, middle, and bottom of the GoateeSaver can be adjusted to the shape that makes a perfect goatee for you. Bite its mouthpiece and then safely shave away with your razor.

I Love You Mouse

This could easily be one of those unnecessary gadgets that come out of Japan but then I realised that the USB I Love You Mouse - which cries out the words "I Love You" whenever you click it - may be the perfect companion for those of you who are longing for some cyber love in the middle of the night while surfing through all those online dating sites.

Giant Subbuteo Inflatable Football Pitch

The Subbuteo Giant Inflatable Football Pitch is a cross between Subbuteo and five-a-side football. It looks fun but I don't think you would want to carry it around. It definitely weighs quite a bit especially with the massive electric blower that is needed to inflate the pitch.

Singapore Grand Prix Preview Video

With the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix just four days away, Mark Webber of Red Bull Racing takes us on a computerized practice session (video above) around the street circuit of the first ever night race in Formula 1 history. Awesome video and great commentary by Webber! You can also watch it on the Red Bull Racing website here.

(via Autoblog)

Previously:
1966 Singapore Grand Prix
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix Road Closure and Public Transportation Guide

Today's Singapore News

The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.

-High-rise littering on the rise: The National Environment Agency (NEA) saw a 12 percent increase in the number of complaints on high-rise littering from January to June this year as compared to the same time period last year.
-Singapore's financial institutions stable: Singapore's financial institutions are well capitalised and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), says Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
-3,821 jaywalkers caught: In the first half of the year, 3,821 people were caught jaywalking, up from 2,070 in the same period last year.
-For Indian students, Singapore is much more than a second home: It is the cost factor that first attracted them to Singapore for education, with the fee structure about one-third of that in the US or UK. But for Indian students, enrolled in educational institutes here, this cosmopolitan city state has become more than a second home.
-Drawn to the bright lights of Singapore: Talented academics from the US cite Asia's growing influence, coupled with the possibility of conducting highly innovative research and other factors make Singapore a compelling destination.
-New way of teaching math comes from Singapore: Chase Nielsen goes to school at St. Andrew's Academy in Mahtomedi and he said, "I'm doing pretty good with the Singapore math. It's kind of new, but I'm doing pretty well."
-Neighbourhood schools doing well: Schools that have done well in the new MOE Achievement Tables include neighbourhood ones like Yishun Town Secondary, Kranji Secondary and Hai Sing Catholic School.
-Singapore Biennale volunteers get trained: There are over 400 volunteers participating in this year’s Biennale, with nearly a hundred of them lending their time as tour guides.
-F1 volunteer race officials go through paces before race: Exactly a week before the world's first Formula 1 night race kicks off in Singapore, almost 1,000 volunteer race officials went through some of their final paces on Sunday.
-Tainted milk items in S'pore: White Rabbit Creamy Candy, a milk-based treat popular with children and adults here, has been found to be contaminated with melamine.

Star Wars R2-D2 Backpack

The R2-D2 Backpack just oozes cuteness! Similar to the Yoda Plush Backpack which I blogged some 2 years ago, the R2-D2 Backpack is big enough for you to put all your books and other stuff. Just carry it on your back and you'll have the trusted R2-D2 droid close to you at all times.

Previously: Yoda Plush Backpack

USB Rechargable Batteries

Usbcell looks like your average battery but the way you recharge it makes it revolutionary. Simply plug it into any USB port to recharge! There's no need to carry chargers, cables, adaptors or travel plugs ever again. Yay!

Xylish Wacky Boxer Briefs

To promote its popular Xylish chewing gum in Japan, Meiji is giving away specially designed wild and wacky boxer briefs to 10,000 lucky Japanese who buy the gum. Check out the commercials here.

(Thanks Rakuboy)

Star Wars condoms not for the Jedi in you

I know some of you Star Wars geeks may be excited to see this pack of Star Condoms - yup, it's a rip-off of Star Wars alright - but it's wise not to trust condoms with such bad English like: "A long time ago, in a galaxy for, for away". I'm sure even the great Yoda will not approve this.

Dating Escort Girls

Dude dates several escort gals/hookers but not for sex, instead he takes them out for golf, bowling and ice cream. How sweet! From New Times:

The first place I turned, naturally, was to the back pages of this very publication. I started dialing numbers from ads with photos of women who, for whatever reason at the time, I felt might be more likely to indulge their intellectual inquisitiveness — or at least humor me. I called girls with ads that said: "New to town! Show me around!" "Because I'm worth it!" "Just broke up with my boyfriend!"

I got turned down. Cold. Every time. "Hi. I'm a reporter working on a story about dating local escorts. There wouldn't be anything sexual, just a game or two of miniature golf. And I'll pay for this date, of course, but I really don't have any money to give you for — hello? Hello?"

After two days of ego-smashing rejections from prostitutes up and down the tricounty area, I decided to ditch the idea of enticing hookers to date me for free. My new pitch: "I've got $100, and I want to play miniature golf with an escort."

Also read:
Singapore Escort Ads on Yellow Pages
Invisible Trade II: Secret lives and sexual intrigue in Singapore
A Gallery of Phone Sex Operators
The day I joined a website looking for no strings sex

What happens when we die?

Time interviews Dr. Sam Parnia, one of the world's leading experts on the scientific study of death about his Near Death Experience project. From Time:

What sort of methods will this project use to try and verify people's claims of "near-death" experience?

When your heart stops beating, there is no blood getting to your brain. And so what happens is that within about ten seconds, brain activity ceases —as you would imagine. Yet paradoxically, ten or 20 percent of people who are then brought back to life from that period, which may be a few minutes or over an hour, will report having consciousness. So the key thing here is, are these real, or is it some sort of illusion? So the only way to tell is to have pictures only visible from the ceiling and nowhere else, because they claim they can see everything from the ceiling. So if we then get a series of 200 or 300 people who all were clinically dead, and yet they're able to come back and tell us what we were doing and were able see those pictures, that confirms consciousness really was continuing even though the brain wasn't functioning.

Wolverine vs Zombies comic

Jeffrey Brown writes and illustrates a non-commissioned, 20-page story called Wolverine: Dying Time. In the comic, Wolverine from The X-Men has to face a group of zombies. An interview with Jeffrey can be read here.

Wargaming with Plastic Army Men

Combat Storm is a strategic a table-top war game where players use green and tan plastic army men as their game pieces and a large playing area, such as a large table or living room floor as their battlefield! Players deploy their squads of soldiers and vehicles into battle to fight against one another. Dice are used to calculate outcomes and tape measures/rulers are used to measure distances. I've played with plastic toy soldiers when I was a kid so this looks really fun but it's a pity that you need to buy their rulebook in order to play this game with your plastic soldiers.

Are you a good pussy shaver?

You have a choice of several gels and creams, a razor, a comb and a pair of scissors. Start shaving the pussy! Here's a tip. Remember to use the Easy Shavin' gel before shaving the pussy. It lubricates.

(via Nerdcore)

My Sketchbook

Singapore illustrator Rakugaki has been drawing cartoons regularly on his blog My Sketchbook for the past 2 years. His cartoon sketches are based on daily local news and politics. He has a lot of good stuff there. Do check him out aye.

Chinese Kampongs in Singapore

Lam Chun See writes about the difference between the Malay and Chinese kampongs that used to exist in Singapore. From Good Morning Yesterday:

There were also a number of things in a Chinese kampong that you would not find in a Malay kampong. These were usually related to the difference in religious faiths; Malays being mostly Muslims. For example, in a Chinese kampong like Lorong Kinchir which I grew up in, pigs roaming freely was a common sight. Another thing which was mandatory in a Chinese kampong was the Tua Pek Kong temple and wayang stage. Depending on the size of the kampong, the size of these two features also tended to be different. During the Lunar 7th Month, opera shows would be performed. Another thing we had was the Chinese Medicine Shop. Practically all Chinese kampongs had one of these. Today, they are still a common sight in our HDB heartlands.

(via Oceanskies 79)

Robots expressing themselves

Yesterday, I blogged about Nexi, the cute Mobile, Dextrous, Social robot by MIT Media Lab. You can watch Nexi and other social robots talk and mimic human emotions in realistic ways in this 3 minute video taken at the recent conference in LA called the Special Interest Group in Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques.

(Thanks Marilyn)

Microsoft's weird press kit for Internet Explorer 8 Beta

Microsoft sends out this Emergency Accident Kit containing a pair of scissors, several dressings, bandages, tapes, etc to members of the media in the U.S. to promote its Internet Explorer 8 beta 2 browser.

(Thanks NYker61)

Backflow the mobile game

I've just played Backflow, a fun mobile game developed by the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab. The game is a finalist at the Independent Games Festival Mobile 2008 for Innovation in Mobile Game Design category and the IGF Mobile Best Game. In the game, you take control of the waste disposal infrastructure for a city. You have to make sure each type of waste goes to the right place. Try it on your PC for free. The actual mobile game for certain Nokia and Sony Ericsson handsets is available for download at US$2.99.

1000km across the roof of the world to Everest on a Unicycle

Dude is going to ride his unicycle 1000km across the Roof of the World, from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal to raise money to help improve the educational facilities and amenities in a remote village in the Himalayas. All the best to him!

Malaysia has the world's worst taxis

Next time before any of you decide to complain about taxi drivers in Singapore, please spare a thought for our Malaysian friends. The Expat magazine surveyed some 200 foreigners from 30 countries and finds that the country with the worst taxis is none other than Malaysia. From AFP:

Abdul Razak, operations manager for Dubai-based Citicab which launched here (Malaysia) in January, said that even in poorer nations such as Thailand and Indonesia, taxis are smarter and the drivers far more courteous.

"I would say it is the worst in this region, undoubtedly. I have travelled to all countries in this region and our company operates taxis in many parts of the world. The situation here is the worst I have seen," he told AFP.

"The vehicles are in shabby condition, the driver will take you if he likes your face -- that is, if he agrees with where you want to go for the price he insists on."

The Malaysian Bigfoot Enigma

In 2006, a team from Asia Paranormal Investigators (API), a paranormal research group based in Singapore, travelled up to Malaysia to investigate several sightings of the Malaysian Bigfoot. They then published an online research article titled "The Malaysian Bigfoot Enigma". It's an interesting read. From API:

From Event 10 of Section 7 , we learnt from Alan (Kampung Punjut Shaman) that there was one encounter with a Bigfoot creature some 30km from his village at Batu 25, which involved allegedly three individuals (we realized later that the 'three' referred to by Alan actually meant a group, not necessary three.), who went there together. Among them was an Orang Asli named Herman Deraman, whom Alan and the press article called Along. The article by Bernama News cited Alan's account of his brother-in-law's (Along) encounter with a Bigfoot while driving along a logging track in Lenggor Forest. In an article by The Star, Amir Md Ali was reported to have met his Bigfoot while on his way to the Gunung Panti jungles. The same report also recounted Along's encounter with the Bigfoot at the usual place where he collected bamboo. In a Reuters' article, Hashim Yusoff, the Director of Johor National Parks Corporation had driven into Sungai Madek Forest Reserve to ask indigenous people of reported sightings of a 10 feet tall ape standing on two legs besides a river in a heavy rainforest in Johor State.

1966 Singapore Grand Prix

Everyone is excited about the first F1 night race which will be held in Singapore later this month but do you know that back in the 60s, there was already a Grand Prix in Singapore? Yup, back then Singapore hosted races for the Formula Libre and the Australian AF2 at its Thomson Road Grand Prix circuit which was located at Thomson Road encompassing Old Upper Thomson Road. You can relive the excitement of the old races by watching this video of the 1966 Singapore Grand Prix which was the motorsport event to watch in South East Asia during those years.

Celebrity Dolls by Noel Cruz

Noel Cruz started out as a portrait artist but now does full facial repaints on dolls. His celebrity dolls are completely precision hand painted featuring three dimensional repaint/shading/highlighting on eyes, eyebrows, and lips, and feature realistic hair styles and outfits. Noel has made dolls based on actors Daniel Craig, Orlando Bloom, Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie.

Weekly World News is back!

Back in July last year, I wrote that my favourite wacky tabloid Weekly World News is shutting down. I just found out today that it is back! So for those of you who love headlines like "Rat Girl Discovered" or "Kim Jong Il Sighted At Chattanooga BK", then you should check out the new Weekly World News.

Previously: The end of Weekly World News

Put your tweets on t-shirts

ChoiceTweets lets you put your favourite tweets on t-shirts. As a Twitter user, I thought this is a good idea. I've already started looking at my past tweets to see which one is good enough to be printed on a t-shirt. Maybe this, this and this.

(Thanks Adri)

iPhone Icon Cupcakes

Nick and Danielle made these cute cupcakes decorated with popular iPhone icons for the NYC Cupcake Decorating Championship. The cupcakes are made of chocolate cake with a grey butter cream and fondant is used for the icons.

Waking Up: The difference between a boy and girl

Cute comic shows just how long a typical girl or woman takes when she wakes up in the morning to prepare to go to work or school as compared to men. All we guys need is just a couple of minutes and off we go. Chop Chop!

The Camera Detector

The Camera Detector is the perfect gadget for those of you who always have this strange feeling of being watched by a hidden camera. It is able to detect the electronic frequencies emitted by any wireless remote camera nearby. When it discovers one, its LED light will flash and then the alarm will sound to warn you that you are being watched. Pretty cool aye.

Meet Nexi, a Mobile, Dexterous, Social Robot

The folks from the Personal Robots Group at MIT Media Lab are developing a team of 4 small mobile humanoid robots known as MDS (Mobile/Dexterous/Social) that possess a novel combination of mobility, moderate dexterity, and human-centric communication and interaction abilities.

Building Singapore

Malakins writes: "My grandfather worked for the Public Works Department (Roads, Works & Buildings) from the mid-30s till the late-70s, from Colonial rule to post-Independence. These are from his photo albums." Check out all her family archive photosets here.

(via Yesterday)

Today's Singapore News

The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.

-Orchard Rd sales up: Retail sales in Orchard Road went up, not down, after the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) network in the shopping belt was expanded.
-Singapore bikes easy targets for Malaysian thieves: Malaysian bike-theft gang has apparently been going to the parking lots of some popular shopping malls there to look for two-wheelers of Singaporeans.
-Military relations between Malaysia and Singapore remain strong: Even though both countries were seen now and then at loggerheads, the two armies were quietly conducting bilateral military exercises somewhere in Malaysia.
-CPF scheme refined to help citizens better prepare for retirement: The changes include allowing extended family members and employers to top up a CPF member's Special or Retirement account with cash.
-Filmmaker Oliver Stone to teach classes in Singapore: Singapore students in film and media may soon be able to attend a class taught by three-time Academy Award filmmaker Oliver Stone.
-Tray return system to be revived at some hawker centres: The National Environment Agency (NEA) and Singapore Kindness Movement are looking to reintroduce the tray return scheme at Zion Riverside food centre or Bedok food centre by the end of this year.
-Free sports channel not viable in Singapore: Sportscity, a free-to-air sports channel launched in 2000, was not viable and had to be shut down within two years.
-Top marks for S'pore's IT industry: Singapore is second only to the United States when it comes to training and nurturing information technology talents.
-Don't terminate your policies: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has urged AIA policyholders not to act hastily to terminate their insurance policies, as queues formed outside AIA's offices on Tuesday.
-AIA clients in Singapore terminating insurance policies: Despite officials assuring that AIA's in the clear, anxious customers in Singapore have begun terminating their policies.

Interactive Map of Springfield

Dude makes an interactive map of Springfield, the town that is depicted in the Simpsons cartoon. You can roll over the places to discover a picture of it. This interactive map is based on the Guide to Springfield USA.

All-Star Batman and Robin comic contains curse words

Holy shit Batman! DC Comics is asking stores in the US to destroy tens of thousands of copies of a new All-Star Batman and Robin comic book because of a printing gaffe that revealed a series of S-, C- and F-words. View scans of the comic here.

Japanese babe shows you how to fart using yoga

This pretty Japanese girl shows us all how to control and release our foul inner wind using several yoga techniques. Watch the video and learn how to push it out. I so want her to be my yoga teacher!

How to make a werewolf costume

Halloween is coming so here's how you can make a werewolf costume that is so realistic, it will scare the shit out of your friends and neighbours. Go get busy.

Lego Skateboard

Lego artist Nathan Sawaya writes about his Lego skateboard: "My friend recently bought a new deck and it only took me a few seconds of staring at it before I realized what my next project would be. I didn't want to imitate any particular design, so I came up with my own. I call it my NATEboard."

(Thanks Gan)

The Eco Zoo

The Eco Zoo. If you take a close look at the animals there, you might be able to get some tips to live in a more environmentally friendly way. Move your mouse around and explore. Also check out the Pop-Up Book for each creature. I think this is the most brilliant 3D Flash work that I've seen in a long time. Masayuki Kido did the planning, design and the flash using his original 3D engine Sharikura. He's just brilliant!

(vie MeFi)

Today's Singapore News

The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.

-Market turmoil, ghosts scare Singapore home buyers: Private home sales in Singapore slumped 81 percent in August from a year ago, to the lowest level since March as a combination of global financial turmoil and a traditionally unlucky month spooked buyers.
-More youths contract sexually-transmitted infections: The number of STIs among youths in Singapore has nearly doubled in the past ten years.
-Rush for Park & Ride sets: Some motorists rush to beat the queue that starts every 15th of the month for a chance at snagging a season parking ticket for a lot at popular carparks outside the city limits.
-Singaporeans don’t read food labels: Almost one in 10 Singaporeans (8 per cent) never check the nutritional label on the food he buys, while one in five (20 per cent) does so only “when they have the time”.
-Singapore GP rain brings oppertunity for charities: To make the race an enjoyable experience for all, Singapore GP is making available for sale its Survival Kits which will each contain a pair of earplugs and a single-use rain poncho.
-The shipping of F1 logistic starts this weekend: Nearly 300 tonnes, fifty containers and three airplanes. That's the logistics behind the inaugural Singapore Formula One Grand Prix happening in less than two weeks.
-S'pore to amend Constitution to draw more income from reserves: The government wants to increase the amount of income it can spend from investing Singapore's reserves because of Singapore's aging population.
-Sparks fly for Singapore toon house: Singapore's Sparky Animation has pacted with the U.S.'s Porchlight Entertainment and Scotland's Grimply Films to co-produce a $22 million, 3D CGI, animated movie.
-Singapore releases five JI members: Five Singaporean members of the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) network, who were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), have been released on restriction orders by the Singapore Government.
-New promenade at Marina: By end of next year year, visitors to Marina Bay will be able to enjoy an uninterrupted stroll along the 3.5km promenade, linking up the necklace of attractions around the bay.
-New law allows Singaporeans to appoint proxy decision makers: A law has been passed to allow Singaporeans to appoint proxy decision makers before they become mentally incapacitated by illnesses like dementia or brain damage.
-Singapore's 1st Gold Paralympian: Yip Pin Xiu won the Republic's first Paralympic gold in emphatic style, winning by a staggering 7.32sec over second-placed Fran Williamson of Britain in the 50m backstroke final.

Shackler's Revenge Video and Review

Rock Band 2 is finally out in stores now and for those of you who can't wait to play the game and test your guitar, vocal or drum skills on the new Guns N' Roses track Shackler's Revenge, go read the review first and watch the gameplay video. From IGN:

Everyone wants to know if the new GNR song is any good. I would say that it's an acquired taste, and that the opening half-minute feels a tad self-indulgent. But the song gets better from that point. The more I listen (and play) "Shackler's Revenge" the more it grows on me. Plenty will be turned off by the fact that this doesn't sound at all like classic GNR, but if you want a classic, just go buy Appetite for Destruction. This is the new Guns N' Roses, deal with it or get off the planet.

Of course, this is a music game we're talking about, so our real concern is what it's like playing "Shackler's Revenge." A word of warning: amateurs need not enter. While GNR's latest won't put you to the test to the excruciating level of Judas Priest's "Painkiller" or Dream Theatre's "Panic Attack," it is a definite challenge on Expert difficulty. You need your A-game here from all parties.

Update: Here's the ultra cool drums gameplay for Shackler's Revenge!

Previously: Rock Band 2 gameplay with Shackler's Revenge by Guns N' Roses leaked!

The Curse of the Chinese Olympic Mascots

Some Chinese are saying that their cute Olympic mascots may be responsible for a string of tragedies that happened in China. From Fortean Times:

Each Olympic showdown has its own mascot. This year the Chinese government chose a total of five Fuwa, as they are affectionately known, and a lot of time and effort went into designing these playful cartoony mascots. Each was supposed to represent an intrinsic element of Chinese culture, and when arranged in the right order they spell out ‘Beijing welcomes you’ in Chinese characters. Cute. But look beneath the surface, as many have, and a worrying trend is clearly visible. To the dismay of the authorities (who are allegedly removing items as quickly as they spring up) users of Chinese message boards and networking sites such as Baidu and QQ are talking about the ‘Curse of the Fuwas’. From the evidence, it seems they might be on to something …

One Fuwa, christened Jingjing, is in the image of a panda, one of China’s best-loved animals and national treasures. However, many of China’s pandas live in Sichuan province, the scene of this year’s devastating earthquake that killed almost 80,000 people. Huanhuan resembles an Olympic torch, a symbol which will forever remind the Chinese of the many violent protests and security threats that marked the worldwide torch relay. Yingying resembles a Tibetan antelope, and so is said to represent the ongoing Tibetan unrest. Beibei is a fish, usually considered lucky but this year linked to the widespread flooding that decimated the southern regions in June and July, when rainy season hit.

2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix Road Closure and Public Transportation Guide

The first ever Formula 1 night race will be held in Singapore from 26 to 28 September 2008. To facilitate the setting up and removing of the temporary race infrastructure, a series of gradual road closures in the Marina Centre area will take place from 20 September to 2 October 2008. From LTA:

19. During the race weekend (25 Sept to 28 Sept), race goers are strongly encouraged to make use of public transport to get to the Circuit Park.

20. Free shuttle bus services from Outram Park, Clarke Quay, Kallang and Lavender MRT stations are available to ferry race ticket holders to the vicinity of the Circuit Park. At the end of the race, these shuttle bus services will also be available to ferry race goers back to the respective MRT stations. Please refer to Annex E for details on how race-goers can go to their respective gates via public transport.

21. Over the race weekend, from 26 September to 28 September, all MRT services will run till 1.30am, while the free shuttle bus services for ticket holders will run till 1.00am.

22. Given the expected 100,000 strong crowd over the race weekend, especially on race day, race goers are advised to stagger their dispersal times to avoid being caught in the surge of human traffic at the MRT stations. Dispersal time from the Circuit Park is expected to take up to 1.5 to 2 hours. Race goers may want to patronise the various fringe events after the race instead of rushing off.

Download the Road Closure & Public Transport Guide here (PDF).

Also read: Singapore Grand Prix Preview Video

Married but sleeping separately

A worrying trend? A study in the US finds that 23 percent of married couples are sleeping alone and this could spell trouble warns a psychologist. From CNN:

Although many couples say separate rooms have been a blessing (Barr says her friends are jealous of her sleeping arrangement), Minnesota clinical psychologist and marriage counselor William F. Harley Jr. warns sleeping separately could spell trouble.

"Whenever I see a couple wanting private time -- they want to be alone, they want their own friends, they don't want to feel like they're joined at the hip -- my immediate question is, 'What is it about being together that bothers you?'" says Harley, author of "Love Busters: Overcoming the Habits that Destroy Romantic Love." "My feeling is that sleeping together is a very, very important part of being integrated with each other."

Jason Holloway, 29, an estimator from Greenwood, Indiana, who slept on the couch for about six months while his wife, Rebecca, was pregnant, agrees that separate beds have a downside.

"I had the TV, I had the dogs with me," he says. "But I didn't feel 100 percent like I was part of the loop. I felt removed from the whole situation."

Risa Niigaki gives me a nose bleed

Thanks to reader Abe for sending me these solo shot videos of my favourite girl Risa Niigaki on YouTube. Links here (video above), here and here. I can watch these all day but I better stop. Nose bleeding! May need blood transfusion.

Related:
When Risa Niigaki and I.Z. make babies
Morning Musume on Taiwan show
I dreamt of Morning Musume
Last Kiss

Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide

Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide is a cool book written by the husband and wife team of Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt and illustrated by Tatsuya Morino, one of Japan's top specialists in yokai themes.

Yokai are Japan's traditional mythical creepy-crawlies. Authors Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt collected tons of data and descriptions from a variety of sources, including first-hand accounts and microfilms of 18th-century publications stored in the National Diet Library in Tokyo, in order to produce this very first English-language guide to Japan's yokai monsters.

Original illustrations, created by Tatsuya Morino, detail the potential visible appearance of each yokai. And alongside each and every one are data points allowing you to take in each yokai's characteristics at a glance.

The publisher of Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide has kindly provided me with two pages of the book that you can see here.





Original sizes of the images can be viewed here and here. Lovely aye? The book is available at Kinokuniya Singapore at only SGD24.50. It is also available on Amazon.

Papercrafts of famous disasters

Now you can have papercraft models of the Titanic and Hinderburg disasters on your desk, starring at you while you do your work - if that's your thing. Download them here.

If Star Wars Was Real

If Star Wars Was Real attempts to compile any evidence to prove that Star Wars is real. One of the evidences is this photo of a U.S. Naval shipman posing with an R2-type astromech droidtaken in 1942 during the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor. See! I told you Star Wars is real.

Sexy Bikini Jeans

Japanese clothing company Sanna's makes this outrageously sexy Bikini Jeans that combines two of my favourites things I like to see on a woman: a string bikini and low-riding jeans. Hell yeah!

(Thanks Mr Big)

The Gentleman’s Guide to the Calling Card

The calling card was the common "tool" used in the 19th and early 20th century to facilitate social interaction which back then was a richly cultivated and well-mannered affair. This article proposes that we bring back the calling card for our socialising purposes. From The Art Of Manliness:

# Parties. If you’re planning an informal party or get together, write down your address and the time of the party on the back. When you run into people you’d like to see there, give them one of your cards and invite them over. Sometimes calling cards also come with small envelopes, sized to fit your card. You can therefore always use your calling cards as traditional invitations sent through the mail. Also, if your calling card comes with an envelope, you can use them as gift cards.

# The classroom. It’s often hard to make the leap from being “in-class” friends to “outside of class” friends. Give someone you enjoy chatting with in class your calling card. They’ll probably start posting on your Facebook page and your friendship will take off from there. Or use the card to set up a study group.

# Dating. When trying to meet a lady, it’s nerve racking to ask for her number, and if you foist yours upon her, she may not call you. Giving a potential lady friend your calling card is a great third option. First of all, it’s non-threatening. She may be too shy to call you outright. She may rather start off with a casual email. And she may not be sure about what she thinks of you. Giving her your calling card lets her peruse your blog or Facebook page first. Second, giving her your calling card gives you a chance to give a two minute blurb about the history of the tradition. You’ll immediately be set apart in her mind from the usual cads she meets and she’ll think you a true gentleman. Finally, when she takes home your calling card, it’s something tangible that will remind her of you and make it more likely that she’ll reach out and contact you.

Living Oprah

35 year old writer, performer and artist is living her life the way Oprah advises on her TV show, website and magazines for one year and she's blogging it. From Living Oprah:

My friends and colleagues have voiced concern over whether or not there are enough hours in the day to live under Oprah's advice. Frankly, that's one of the reasons I am doing this project. If it runs me ragged, then so be it. There are many women in my life who look up to Oprah and feel inadequate in comparison to her. Oprah likes clean sheets on her bed every couple of days I'm told, she thinks we should have our jeans tailored, etc. Is all of this possible for a woman who doesn't have domestic help or the financial means to easily have these tasks performed? I have a job, I am finishing my graduate school thesis. I am nervous about how much time 'living my best life' per Oprah will take.

But I feel strongly at least one of us (women!) needs to try this out in a transparent manner to be an example to other women who feel deficient in comparison to Oprah.

Remember - I'll be tracking the time all of this takes and the money it costs. While I will be applying for grants to complete this project, I am planning on having to do this out of pocket. I'm not taking the project lightly. Neither is my husband. We're entering into this well informed, knowing the project is not without risk or vigor.

Listen to Radiohead Live in Concert

The kind folks at NPR have made available online the entire 2hr 15 min Radiohead Live at the Santa Barbara Bowl concert which was held on August 28, 2008. Worth every second of your time to listen to this. One of the best concerts ever according to Bob Boilen. Photos of the concert here. You can also download the individual mp3s and view the setlist here.

Gin & Titonic Ice Tray

Gin & Titonic Ice Tray makes 4 ocean liners and 4 icebergs that fit nicely in your glass. Just add gin, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet for a perfect party.

(Thanks Julian Wong)

SKYplay

This is a nice idea by photographer Hoth. He uses mostly his hand - and sometimes everyday objects such as a bottle or a soda can - in the foreground and real clouds in the sky to create rather unique photo compositions. He calls his work SKYplay.

Hand Painting Art by Mario Mariotti

Famous Italian artist Mario Mariotti created these wonderful hand art paintings that reminded me of the hand art advertisements by AT&T which I posted last month.

(Thanks fhayes)

Buy your very own fan club

For those of you who are not blessed with fans worshiping you night and day, then you might want to consider bidding for this on eBay. I like the part where they say each fan will have a poster of you in their bedroom and sleep on a pillow with your picture on it. Nice! From eBay:

The item for sale is your very own fan club, based in Europe. We have only one fan club for sale. 100 dedicated fans are waiting for you. You will be our hero, our idol, our example. It wil be a pretty big organization, all for you.

Your personal fanclub will include:

- 100 dedicated members
- a monthly fan club magazine about you
- an official fan club website about you
- your own fan merchandise webshop: t-shirts, posters and underwear with your picture on
- 1000 fan mail letters (some very naughty)
- 1 meet & greet with your 3 biggest fans
- all 100 fans will have a poster from you in their bedroom and sleep on a pillow with your picture on it
- all 100 fans will love you, no matter what you do

All of this for one full year. After one year, we will still love you, but the fanclub will cease to exist.

Transformers The Movie Soundbites

You can listen to the various soundbites from the 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD of Transformers: The Movie here. Pretty cool stuff. There's one section for the Autobots and another for Decepticons. If you like these, then do check out my "Autobots, transform and roll out!" voice file that you can download and use on your mobile phone.


Also read: Singapore Gala Premiere of Transformers

Top Trumps Horror Cards

Top Trumps Horror card game features some of the most grotesque, chilling, fierce and eerie beasts you've ever seen. Each card contains a list of numerical data such as the physical strength of the monster and the fear factor. The game is played by comparing these numbers. More on the gameplay here.

Today's Singapore News

The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.

-SMRT to increase train trips during F1 week: A total of 36 train trips will be added on the north, east and westbound schedules in the evenings from September 23 to 25, and on September 29.
-15 groups join hands to promote sports safety: Recent accidents in the water have prompted the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) to initiate a multi-prong plan to promote sports safety in Singapore.
-Foreign workers prefer to stay away from residential estates: The idea of a self-contained township for foreign workers has been given a thumbs-up by foreign workers themselves. But foreign worker advocates said more should be done to help these workers integrate with the wider community.
-Singapore seeks contempt proceedings vs Dow Jones: Singapore's attorney general is seeking contempt proceedings against the publisher of the Asian edition of the Wall Street Journal and two of its editors, saying their editorials "impugn the impartiality, integrity and independence of the Singapore Judiciary."
-Mobile phone talk is not cheap in Singapore: For 15 minutes at the Speakers’ Corner at Hong Lim Park, two young men with a passionate belief that mobile phone charges should be lowered or even free, made a short speech promoting their cause and sang an original ditty to the tune of Abba’s Money Money Money.
-iPhone not so hot anymore in Singapore: Three weeks after its much-hyped official Singapore launch, demand for the Apple iPhone 3G appears to be cooling.
-F1 for the rich and famous?: Want to watch the first F1 night race with Singapore's glitterati? No problem. That's if you're willing to shell out some $700 for VIP tickets to the Singapore Flyer's Bubble Lounge.
-Train and bus fares to increase: Most train and bus rides will cost commuters four cents more from Oct 1 onwards.
-Singapore to mark cigarettes to snuff out illegal sales: Singapore will put special markings on every cigarette sold legally starting next year as the city-state steps up the fight against contraband sales.
-Singapore introduces ‘unfriendly’ restrictions to Malaysian VIPs: Singapore has imposed a new ruling which has been described as “unfriendly” — including introducing restrictions against Ma­laysian VIPs and High Commission staff ve­hicles entering or leaving the island republic.

Swimsuit Girls of Old Japan

Here's a wonderful Flickr photoset of geishas posing as bathing beauties during the Meiji and Taisho eras of Old Japan. Check out the swimsuit fashion back then. I doubt you girls would want to wear one of these to the beach today. Thank god for the bikini!

iPhone controlled RC car

Josef Prusa used his new iPhone 3G to control a RC car! He writes: " The iPhone with its accelerometer and multitouch display is ideal for making gadgets. When I got it home, we started thinking about some cool demos which we could make. Incidentally we found an old RC model car."

Make your own paper guitar

I love guitars! And if you're like me, you'll definitely love this site. Paper Guitar currently has 26 papercraft models of Gibson, Gretsch and other guitars! Just download them from the site and have fun assembling your own paper guitar. Please note that the password for the PDFs is paperguitar.

Huge collection of Star Wars minifigs up for grabs on eBay

Dude is selling his huge collection of Star Wars Lego minifigures on eBay. There's a total of 504 of them - just about all the known Star Wars minifigs and a few customs as well. He is letting them go for a cool US$4k. You have 5 days till the auction closes. Good luck.

Rock Band 2 gameplay with Shackler's Revenge by Guns N' Roses leaked!

Someone has uploaded a couple of Rock Band 2 gameplay videos on YouTube. The game is expected to be on sale on September 14 for the Xbox so most likely the person has got hold of a preview version. One of the videos has the person playing to the much anticipated new track by Guns N' Roses called Shackler's Revenge (see update below) which will also be in the band's upcoming album Chinese Democracy. Screenshots here (and below) just in case the Shackler's clip gets pulled off from YouTube.

Update: Here's a quick review of the Rock Band 2 game interface. (Thanks GeekGod)
Update: Unfortunately the person's Shackler's Revenge clip was taken down.
Update: Shackler's Revenge Video and Review

Live blogging the World Cup Qualifiers on my Twitter

I'm live blogging the Russia vs Wales World Cup Qualifying game now and the Croatia vs England game after that. It's half time now at Moscow with Russia leading Wales 1-0. Follow me on my Twitter!

Rope skipping is the key to our Olympic Games glory

Forget table tennis! I think the only way for Singapore to win a gold medal at the Olympics is through... rope skipping! That's right. Why bother spending so much money to get imports from China to do us proud when we have our very own kids who can skip their way to Olympic Games glory? Now let's just hope those people behind London 2012 will include rope skipping as one of the sports. China and the rest of the world better watch out. From Channel NewsAsia:

The Olympic fever may be over but some kids here have a reason to jump for joy. That is because they have helped Singapore bag two golds in rope skipping at the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympic Games held in the United States in August.

10-year-old Ben Ong and his team-mates can clock up to 300 jumps per minute. The team from Rulang Primary and Paya Lebar Methodist Primary was the first and only Asian team competing in the rope skipping event.

They beat 39 other teams to clinch gold in the individual freestyle for the 10-year-old category and the double dutch relay team event. This was an achievement for the niche sport, which took off here in 2004.

Edamame Soybean Pod Keychain

This Edamame Toy Key Chain from Bandai is really cute. It looks like the real thing but the beans are inedible of course. It supposedly is one of the hottest thing right now in Japan. God knows why. Maybe the Japanese find popping them continuously very therapeutic.

(Thanks Kisu)

Car pasted all over with stamps

A stamp dealer in Berlin pasted thousands of stamps on his vintage Trabant. He must have been one hell of a stamp collector.

(Thanks Nessie)

Six Days to South Park

Here is a day-by-day behind the scenes look at an episode of South Park called "Super Fun Time". Six days is all it took for the episode to be produced from script to broadcast. Each day's video represents the actual progress of the episode for one day of production.

National Heritage Board Blogging Competition

The National Heritage Board is giving away a Nintendo Wii and other cool prizes to the lucky winners of its first heritage star blogging competition. Just visit one of the many beautiful museums in Singapore, take lots of photos and blog about your museum experience or your thoughts on a heritage related topic.

Previously: George Yeo "When I Grow Up" Blogging Competition

Today's Singapore News

The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.

-A*Star not short of scholars: Some netizens have suggested that A*Star might have implemented the scholarship referral scheme due to a lack of A*Star scholars but when contacted, however, an A*Star spokesman says the agency's scholarship figures were well on target.
-New cash-processing rooms of Cisco among best-guarded places: The new cash-processing rooms of Certis Cisco which handles money from ATMs, banks and more than 3,000 retail outlets are built from reinforced concrete and brimming with 300 security cameras.
-F1 walkabout tickets completely sold out: Singapore GP, the organiser of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix , taking place later this month, says there are no more walkabout tickets for sale.
-Singapore hotel dedicates floor to women: A luxury boutique hotel in Singapore has set aside a whole floor for women, decking it out with designer amenities and female-only staff.
-Changi boosts passenger fees: The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore is revising the Passenger Service Charge (PSC) and Passenger Security Service Charge (PSSC) at Changi Airport and Seletar Airport from January 1.
-Singapore wins first-ever Paralympics medal: Singapore's Laurentia Tan has won a bronze medal in an Equestrian event on Tuesday, giving the country its first-ever medal at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.
-Singapore tops in making doing business easy: Singapore kept its top ranking for the third year in a row as the easiest place in the world to do business, the World Bank said in a report Wednesday.
-Rates at cheaper hotels soar up to 50% due to F1 fever: Backpacker hostels and budget hotels here have seen a surge in bookings, thanks to the first Formula One night race later this month.
-New mobile party concept cashes in on F1 buzz: Singapore's inaugural F1 race takes off at the end of September, and cashing in on the buzz is one party organiser who is launching a unique mobile party spot, Aqua, along the Clarke Quay riverside.
-Public trust in charities rebounds: Public confidence in charities has increased this year, despite the high-profile scandals at the Ren Ci Hospital & Medicare Centre.
-Holland V valets not leaving: The valets at Holland Village have been operating without a licence for more than a year now, continued flouting the rules despite the presence of wardens who warned them to stop.

When your first date turns bloody

Shocking horror clay animation (video above) with spooky soundtrack about a girl who had a nightmarish first date. Watch out for the creepy goat monster at the end. Aren't we all glad that our first date didn't turn out to be this bloody? Phew. More blood spilling clay animation here.

Apple's Steve Jobs: I'm alive!

To dispel rumours of his death, Steve Jobs took center stage at Apple's Let Rock event, appearing in front of this cheeky first slide: "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." He is a funny man, this Steve Jobs.

Update: You can also read my Steve Jobs obit post on Reuters here.

Free online PMS reminder

PMS. Guys dread it. Girls hate it. So thank god for PMS Buddy. The site allows guys to track when their wives, girlfriends or any other women in their life are closing in on that difficult time of the month aka the PMS. Just fill in the date of the last cycle and the site can remind you 1 or 3 or 5 days before her PMS begins. Don't you just love the internet?

Monster Slurpee Cups

Dan Goodsell, creator of Mr Toast and author of the delightful blog A Sampler of Things, shows off his 1970's Monster Slurpee cup collection from 7-Eleven.

Put-In-Cups

Put-In-Cups are polypropylene plastic widgets that snap into the spaces in most chain link fences. You can arrange and rearrange them to create any number of displays including logos, mascots, art and messages.

(Thanks Weiyun)

Play with pixels, play with jewelleries!

Team Tentakulus, an interior and industrial design agency designed these Pretty Pixels for a contest. They've created PacMan, Tetris and Space Invaders themed jewelleries using beautiful new crystals from Swarovski.

The Sex Lives of Animals Exhibition

The Sex Lives of Animals (video above) is an exhibit in New York's Museum of Sex that explores animal sexuality. It features life-sized animal sculptures custom-made by Rune Olsen. To create the amazing sculptures for the exhibition, Rune uses a combination of graphite, masking tape, blue mannequin eyes, newspaper, wire, steel and UV-Resistant acrylic. You can view some of Rune's animal sex sculptures here.

Also read: Inside Jeju Loveland, Korea's Sex Park

George Yeo "When I Grow Up" Blogging Competition

Singapore's first blogging minister George Yeo's blogging contest to encourage young Singaporeans to express their individual vision of what Singapore should be when they grow up, has received plenty of entries. I've been reading some of them and here's one by Ooi Min Hui of Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School:

In schools, every pupil carries a light bag, teachers never give more than two worksheets and the walls are decorated beautifully. All schools are big so that every class do not need to share classrooms. Every pupil will also get his/her own locker to store things that are not needed to be brought home. Pupils will be allowed to wear home clothes to school. Pupils will be able to choose the colour of the table and be able to choose where they want to seat.

Hotels have different types of rooms that both children and adult like. Playgrounds are provided next to the hotel. Football fields and basketball courts are just behind every hotel. Breakfasts will be provided for every two rooms booked by one family at the same time. They will allow tour guides to guide first time people in Singapore. Tour guides will also recommend some beaches to them.

Police station will be built at every neighbourhood so that it is safe everywhere. Policemen will answer questions without needing to think a second. They will give a chance to everyone who does wrong things. If one does wrong things more than two times, he/she will be given a light punishment. But if he/she does something wrong more than five times, he/she will really get it from the police.

Today's Singapore News

The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.

-Fewer Jobs in Q4 but govt optimistic about hiring: A poll of about 630 employers across 7 industries here found that few will be actively hiring in the next three months.
-Service professionals wanted in Singapore: Employers in the Food & Beverage, Retail as well as Hotel and Accommodations sectors are recruiting local workers with a passion for service and the right service skills.
-More bosses offer jobs to ex-cons: The number of employers willing to hire them under the Yellow Ribbon project has jumped by nearly a third.
-Many kids not vaccinated against chickenpox: The number of chickenpox cases increased by more than 25 per cent in just one year.
-Holland V valets to close: The two carpark valet services in Holland Village, there for years, were told yesterday that they have to cease operations from today.
-Researchers in Singapore identify another gene linked to colon cancer: Researchers at the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, A* STAR and the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology have identified another gene linked to colon cancer which could pave the way for new forms of therapy and screening processes.
-Singaporean men are lonely and shy: Lack of confidence, according to a recent survey, is one of the top reasons for Singaporean men being unsuccessful in love.
-PM Lee confident ISD will prove itself: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is confident the country's Internal Security Department (ISD) will prove itself again, especially in light of new security challenges.
-Transsexuals in Singapore: Transsexuals in Singapore have Bugis Street to blame for this albatross hanging around their necks.
-Residents not happy with having pubs, eateries nearby: A proposal to tweak the rules to make it easier for restaurants, pubs and shops to offer live entertainment and do on-site cooking is making residents of private housing estates nervous.
-US blogger pleads innocent, to stand trial in Singapore: An American blogger charged with insulting a Singapore judge pleaded innocent in court Monday and vowed to contest the allegation.

Singaporean Chinese peasant seeking white guy

If you're a white dude looking for an Asian chick, please contact this poor Singaporean Chinese girl (check out her pic!) to save her from her misery. From Craigslist:

Well, about me, I have really small eyes, crooked teeth and my favorite food is fried noodles and chicken feet. I never hold the door for people behind me and I rush into the subway car without waiting for people to get out. This is the way I was brought up by my peasant parents. My dad sweeps the floors at Lau Pa Sat and my mom works as a happy ending masseuse. Neither of them speak english and my dad eats with his mouth open and pants unzipped.

I really want a Caucasian guy because it will help me forget that I come from Chinese peasant stock and I am 1 generation away from life in a fishing village. If there are any Caucasian guys out there as desperate as I am, please email me and yo can pretend that I am a Chinese hooker and I can pretend like I am Caucasian myself..that is my dream, to one day be Caucasian. I wish I was Caucasian and not the daughter of Chinese peasants. We can go visit my dad at Lau Pa Sat and eat fired noodles off of dirty plastic plates, a high class peasant dinner.

(Thanks Mr Big)

The many versions of He-Man

Pixel Dan takes a look at the many different versions of my favourite toy, He-Man! Here are Part 1 (above), Part 2 and Part 3. Like Dan, He-Man played a pretty big role in my childhood and watching these videos does bring back good old memories. I sure do miss my old He-Man toys alright.

Fat Darth Vader wants to run 10K for charity

Dan writes to me about The Fat Force Fund: "The plan was to post a hugely embarrassing fat photo of myself which forces me to run 10K and raise £100 for charity - but I’m now hoping to ramp this up a little - perhaps even to £1000. The sky's the limit as it's for charity, but I'm probably going to regret this picture for ever more."

Tarot of Durer

I'm not a fan of tarot cards but this tarot deck inspired by German engraver Albrecht Dürer caught my eye. The cards are beautifully illustrated by celebrated Italian illustrator Giacinto Gaudenzi.

Cool carpark in Melbourne

Axel Peemöller developed this cool way-finding-system for the Eureka Tower Carpark in Melbourne. The distored letters on the wall can be read perfectly when standing at the right position and they make finding your way (in, out, up or down) around the carpark a lot easier.

(Thanks Yanni)

Hidden Radio

Australian designer John Van Den Niewenhuizen's Hidden Radio unites both form and function into a piece that invites the user to interact though a poetic simplicity of use. Simply lift the lid to hear and rotate to tune the radio.

Fujitsu Launch Party at Velvet Underground

On Thursday evening, I was invited together with other bloggers to the Fujitsu Launch party at Velvet Underground. That's DK, Samantha, myself, Sabrina and Pris in the group pic above, looking so happy after drinking all the free booze. At the party, Fujitsu premiered its latest computing collection that targets the corporate style-seekers and Generation Y-ers who need to transit effortlessly from work to play and play to work in vivacious style. Check out the new Fujitsu L1010, LifeBook U2010, LifeBook S6420, LifeBook S6520, LifeBook T1010, LifeBook T5010 and LifeBook E8420. More pics taken at the party by DK, Sabrina and myself can be viewed here.

Download Red Alert game for free!

To mark the 13th anniversary of the Command & Conquer franchise, Electronic Arts is giving away the original Red Alert game for free! Happy downloading.

(via DK)

Hello Kitty Action DJ Speaker

This made in Japan Hello Kitty Speaker features a DJ style Hello Kitty who bops her head back and forth to the music when you plug it into your iPod. I'm not a big fan of all those unnecessary Hello Kitty products but this one is dangerously cute.

How Star Wars changed the world

A flash chart by Wired shows how the Star Wars empire grew into one of the most fertile incubators of talent in the worlds of movies, visual effects, sound and videogames. Here's a graphic image of the chart for those of you who hate flash.

A blog about Sexy People

Sexy People is a celebration of the perfect portrait. It is a fun blog where you can view "sexy" portraits of people taken in the good old 80s and 90s. Maybe I should send them some of my yearbook photos. Mine should surely qualify.

(Thanks samrocks)

100 yen to squeeze this Japanese AV Idol's boobs

As part of the annual “24-Hour TV: Eroticism Saves the Earth” fund drive to raise money for the prevention of AIDS, two Japanese Adult Video (AV) Idols are offering men the chance to squeeze their boobs or bums for 100 yen. What a great way to raise funds! Story contains pictures that are not safe for work.

(Thanks Clair)

Look who's losing the browser market share after Google Chrome launched

Surprise, surprise! A day after Google Chrome was made available for download, data provided by Statcounter shows that both Firefox and Safari browsers are losing their market share. And more surprisingly, Internet Explorer has increased 3%!

Previously: Google Chrome Shocker: No RSS Bookmarks!

How to cook a whale found dead

Here's an old Kwakuitl Indian recipe of how to cook a whale that is found dead. Interesting. From Hallman:

Most importantly, you cannot eat it all by yourself! So the first step is to call for a party and invite all your friends, relatives, and local dignitaries...

Once everybody is ready, you bring tools, and the hunter who found the whale leads everybody in their canoes to the spot where he found it. The father of the hunter has the honor of speaking for the daughter of the hunter to "make a toast" for the occasion. It is customary to first declare how wonderful the whale is, being full of delicious blubber, etc.. Then you should give the choicest piece (the dorsal fin) to the ranking dignitary, who is typically the chief of the village.

Today's Singapore News

The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.

-A family-friendly city? There’s still room for improvement: The latest Marriage and Parenthood package to boost the birth rate might address some of the concerns couples have but a survey shows that other issues may still linger.
-Top condo units vie for F1 pie: The Hotel Alternatives has 50 fully-furnished apartments with en-suite bedrooms nestled in various condominium estates to target tourists who can't get hotel rooms during the F1 season.
-Organ trading debate continues: There are renewed calls for authorities here to do more to increase the number of living donors.
-NTU group to conduct five year study on cat cafes: A group of NTU researchers will embark on a project to study the management of stray cats in the community - the first such academic study to be initiated in Singapore.
-Singapore aims to fight the cartels: To step up its action against cartels, the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) plans to introduce two new measures to enhance its leniency programme for cooperative offenders.
-Singapore Airlines scores with reputation for service: There are few surprises from Singapore in this year's Asia 200 survey of readers of The Wall Street Journal Asia as Singapore Airlines finished as the island-state's most-admired company overall.
-$10 CashCard for those charged wrongly at KPE gantry: A total of 538 motorists were taken by surprise on Tuesday when they went through an Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantry at the new Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE).
-Researchers in new media industry get funding: Researchers in the new media industry got an S$18 million funding boost from the government on Thursday.
-Singapore has nice toilets but bad habits by users dirty them: Filth in utilitarian toilets at hawker centres and bus interchanges is nothing new, but a Straits Times check showed that even the plants, gleaming counter tops and shiny mirrors in more upscale loos do little to inspire better toilet habits.
-Costlier mooncakes this year: Price tags on mooncakes sold in hotels, heartland shops and supermarkets have swelled by between 5 and 20 per cent, following jumps in the cost of ingredients like flour and lotus paste.

When Risa Niigaki and I.Z. make babies

Make Me Babies will show you what your future child with another person will look like! Just upload two photos, let the site do some magic calculations, and congratulations... you have a new baby! This is what my baby girl looks like when I mate with my favourite girl Risa Niigaki. I'm sure we both can do much better than this. Ahem.

Creative Garbage Bags

Tokyo-based creative group MAQ Inc. designs plastic thrash bags that inspire a more responsible attitude towards waste by providing a cute and stylish way for people to carry their trash home after a day outdoors. I like the Oscar one!

Virtual Bubble Wrap Pop!

I want to admit something. Whenever I see a bubble wrap, I just want start popping it. And once I pop, I can't stop. So for those of you who can't get enough of popping those bubble wraps, here's a virtual one to satisfy your popping cravings. Go pop them! Go!

(Thanks Samantha)

Discovery Boom De Ah Dah

I love Discovery Channel's new ad called Boom De Ah Dah (video above) featuring some of my favourite Discovery Channel stars like Bear Grylls from Man Vs Wild, Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs and Adam and Jamie from Mythbusters. The tune is so catchy that I cannot resist singing to it.

Discovery Channel has been inviting people around the world to create their own versions of the 'Boom De Ah Dah' commercial and upload them to YouTube. You can view all the different Boom De Ah Dan creations here. You can also download the mp3 here. Everybody now... Boom De Ah Dah! Boom De Ah Dah! Boom De Ah Dah!

Our mates look like mum and dad

I find this real creepy. A study has found that men like women who resemble their mothers, and women like men who look like their fathers! Note to self: Must always find girlfriends who don't look like mummy. From Live Science:

Scientists in Hungary investigated 52 university students and their parents. They also looked at the significant others of the volunteers and the parents of these significant others, for 312 faces total.

The computer analysis of the volunteers' faces revealed that women often resembled their male partner's mother, a finding echoing psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud's legendary "Oedipus complex." This proved especially true when it came to aspects of the lower face, such as lips and jaws.

"Freud may be right in that a strong emotional relationship between mother and son have a strong effect on later life," said researcher Tamas Bereczkei, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Pécs in Hungary.

There were also significant resemblances between men and their female partner's father, echoing the "Electra complex." This was especially true when it came to proportions of the center of the face, such as how far apart the eyes were or the size of the nose.

Young Stormtroopers In Love

Red and Jonny say, "While on our Honeymoon, we bought our first Stormtrooper helmet and we've been taking it with us ever since. So in a way these Young Stormtroopers in Love photo's are really a chronicle of our marriage."

Design your own shoes

Zazzle's custom shoes are the first shoes that you can design from the soles up using your own photos, designs, text and more! It's a pity you can only choose ladies and kids shoes. None for guys! Oh well, I just tried designing one myself. Presenting the I.Z. Reloaded ladies slip on shoe! Not too bad aye.

Robots Bra and Thong for the robotic woman in you

These Robots Bra and Thong by Tilly's are so cute that I would wear them if I have boobs. Oh and I think they are perfect to be worn under this top.

(Thanks Shy)

Omodaka remixes Japan's oldest song

This is a remix of Kokiriko Bushi, Japan's oldest song, done by Far East Recording's Omodaka. Watch and listen to the original Kokiriko Bushi here. According to their website, Omodaka is the name of the project "developed through a trial and error process of mutational fusion of music and motion graphics. It will knock over your existing image toward a music video by a beautiful trajectory." You can listen to mp3s of their songs here.

Japan's new professional seducers

In Japan, embittered spouses are hiring a new breed of professional seducers to entrap their straying partners. Japanese guys, beware! From Times:

They head for north Ikebukuro, an area of love hotels with velvet-covered walls, mirrored ceilings and sexy videos that rent rooms for two-hour periods. At 4.45 they go into one. They take a picture of the two of them on her mobile. At 6.07 they leave. At the station Mr A gives Kyoko a furtive goodbye kiss. Next time, he says, he’ll take her somewhere nice – a hot-spring resort maybe, or Tokyo Disneyland. Then he goes back to the office and, later, home to his wife.

Mr A doesn’t know that a team of private investigators is recording his every move. The boss, the ebullient Mr Tomiya, lurks behind a lamppost on the other side of the road and takes photographs as Kyoko meets Mr A. Tomiya’s equipment includes a packet of cigarettes and a pen, both of which are actually cameras. Shimizu, a heavy-set man with a bullet head and cropped hair, carries a black bag. It contains a camera with which he films continuously through a tiny hole in the bag. A third man acts as a lookout. They follow the couple down the street, dodging the crowds and sprinting across red lights, keeping far enough behind so as not to arouse suspicion but close enough so that Shimizu can film.

Google Chrome Shocker: No RSS Bookmarks!

I was about to say goodbye to my Firefox after using Google Chrome for about 10 minutes when I realised that the new browser from Google doesn't allow me to save any RSS bookmark. And when I looked at my Google Chrome Bookmarks, I found out that the browser did not import the RSS bookmarks from Firefox. Argh! You can't search your bookmarks on Google Chrome either. So until Google does something about its bookmark feature, looks like I won't say goodbye to my Firefox yet. But if you don't mind those, I think Google Chrome is a very, very good browser. It's super fast - faster than my Firefox and IE, of course - and it doesn't take up as much memory. The tab feature is cool. Everytime you click a new tab it shows you your most visited sites, recent bookmarks and searches. Go download Google Chrome here.

Previously: Google to launch its open source browser

Exclusive National Geographic's Green Sahara Pics!

Last month, I blogged about Peter Gwin's latest piece for National Geographic Magazine titled Green Sahara. The story is about how a dinosaur hunter uncovered the Sahara's strangest Stone Age graveyard. I've just received exclusive photos from the photographer of Green Sahara, Mike Hettwer. Check them out. Mike's work has appeared in over 1500 magazines, newspapers, books and websites. He has photographed dinosaur and archaeology expeditions to the Sahara and Gobi deserts. You can view more photos of Green Sahara and others on his website.

Previously:
Peter Gwin's Green Sahara
Interview with National Geographic's Peter Gwin

Today's Singapore News

The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.

-Singapore pilots take first flight in Strike Eagles: Singapore Air Force pilots currently in training with the US Air Force 4th Fighter Wing's 333rd Fighter Squadron somewhere in the skies over Wayne County, take their first flight in their F-15E Strike Eagle fighter planes.
-Whale sharks at IR is a bad move: Nature and animal welfare groups in Singapore have banded together again to oppose the move by the integrated resort on Sentosa to bring in whale sharks for its oceanarium.
-Singapore researchers develop new stem cell therapy for heart disease: Researchers at Singapore's National Heart Centre have successfully used adult stem cells to treat cardiac disease in lab rats by changing the stem cells into heart-like cells.
-Singapore mall goes green: Come 2009, shoppers can look forward to Singapore´s first eco-friendly mall.
-Women trafficked to Singapore lured into prostitution: A growing number of Filipina women are being lured by human trafficking syndicates to Singapore. Promised jobs as "entertainers" in pubs and restaurants, many instead find themselves virtually indentured as prostitutes, working to pay back the cost of getting here.
-Speakers’ Corner gets its first public demonstrations: At about 9am yesterday, 52-year-old businessman Teng Liang Huat registered to put up an exhibition that afternoon. And at the last minute, non-profit group Hearers of Cries, which had earlier registered its evening event as a speech, decided to change this into a demonstration instead, complete with banners.
-Singapore universities organising lewd and improper orientation activities: When National University of Singapore (NUS) freshman Rachel Lee turned up at an orientation camp in campus last month, she got a rude shock. During one of the games, she was made to do a forfeit where the 'girls had to lie down and the guys had to do push-ups over them.
-Many who request heavily subsidised rental flats are not really needy: Just who are 'really needy' among those living in heavily subsidised rental flats? Should those who own a car or plasma TV set, employ a maid or install air-conditioners be ineligible?
-Singaporeans advised to postpone travel to Bangkok: Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) says Singaporeans who do not have a pressing need to travel to Bangkok are advised to postpone their travel plans to a later date.
-Gong Li: Now a Singaporean?: The Singapore media is abuzz with rumours that screen goddess Gong Li has taken up Singaporean citizenship. It all started at a National Citizenship Ceremony last Saturday where about 150 new Singapore citizens were to take their oaths and receive their citizenship certificates.

Sony's The Last Guy Everywhere

The Last Guy is a PlayStation 3 game by Sony in which the eponymous player character must guide civilians to escape from monster-infested cities. You can also play a version of the game online called Last Guy Everywhere. Just type any url and play. Try playing it on my blog and see how many you can rescue.

The musical version of The War of The Worlds: The first 30 years

Read this 283 page interactive detailing the first 30 years of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of The Worlds which will be going back on tour next year in the UK. The War of The Worlds Musical website also has a small archive of historic documents that is worth a look.

Google to launch its open source browser today!

Do we really need another browser? Well, Google thinks so. Sometime today, Google will launch its open source browser called Google Chrome. Google says that its Google Chrome will be clean and fast and runs today's complex web applications much better. Two features to look out for: the "sandbox" which will prevent tabs from crashing and a more powerful JavaScript engine. Check out this 38 page comic that explains more about Google Chrome.

(Thanks Daniel Richard)

Making sucking pleasurable since 1958

While on the road last night, I spotted this SBS bus with an ad celebrating Chupa Chups 50th anniversary. Check out the hard to miss tagline: "Making Sucking Pleasurable Since 1958". More pics below. This isn't the first time that Chupa Chups have used the word "sucking" in a suggestive manner in their ads. Last time, they had this tagline: "The Pleasure Of Sucking" which I heard didn't go too well with parents worldwide. Oh well, this time you can email your displeasure or shock to the folks at BBH Singapore who are the brains behind the latest Chupa Chups ad campaign in Europe and Asia. I'm off to suck my Chups.

SMRT to install platform screen doors... finally!

I've just been informed that SMRT will install half height screen doors at all above ground MRT stations soon. I've written before in the past that platform screen doors such as the ones in Hong Kong (see picture above) could be the answer to Singapore's MRT suicide problem. I'm waiting to get some official news confirmation regarding this. Will update.

Update: The $112 million contract for the job went to Singapore Technologies Electronics and will be done by 2012. ST Electronics have previously installed platform screen doors for Taiwan's Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation and they also did the platform gate doors for Sentosa Express.

Sentosa's Songs of the Sea

I didn't know this before, but the Songs of the Sea at Sentosa was actually created by Yves Pepin! His company ECA2, is world reknown for creating multimedia shows. Yves was also one of the artistic advisers for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Ceremonies. Watch the video of Songs of The Sea above. You can catch Songs of The Sea every night (7.40pm or 8.40pm) at Siloso Beach just by the Sentosa Express Beach Station. It's really fun and I enjoyed it!

War Of The Worlds eComic

All 125 pages of the Dark Horse War Of The Worlds eComic based on the original story by HG Wells can be read here. I'm at page 66. One of the Tripods just got hold of a female and is about to devour her. This is getting exciting.

DJ Mobile

If you want a car with a good sound system, I think Olaf Mooij has the perfect car for you. He says of his DJ Mobile: "The idea for the DJ Mobile is inspired by the song God is a DJ and the car of our HOLY-POPE. It is a functional artwork with a PA System built in."

Boba Fett Cardboard Costume

Dude makes his own Boba Fett costume using a couple of sheets of cardboard, some blue foam, plastic sheet, some brown vinyl and lots of various colors of spray paint. It looks awesome!