This will be my last post for 2009 cos I will be going away for awhile. And what a hectic year it has been. Looking back, the first half of the year was a crazy jolt back from a honey-moon period of 2008 to more lectures, FYP, design and RT. And with that completed, it marks an end to about 2 decades of schooling life and a step into working life. Huge change right there. Though at times I am unsure about my identity and my role in the events to come, hopefully I would have the strength to face whatever challenges that may come. Taking this long break to let my mind wander for a bit...
I wonder what awaits in 2010...
Regardless, here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See ya all next year!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
While people were running Stan Chart....
Just took some photos of the SG cityscape as viewed from the Equinox. It's kinda amazing how so much has changed and developed over this location. Wonder what 2010 will hold when the IRs open....Anw the Padang also displays the aftermath of the Stan Chart marathon...so while ppl were running, I was gorging myself on a buffet with a view above. Wow damn now I am deriving guilty pleasure out of myself... :p
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Body Awareness
Body Worlds is an intriguing exhibition. Well, perhaps because the idea of seeing dead people up close is intriguing. Dead people? Hmm...maybe the term medical cadavers would be more respectful. For the uninformed, Body Worlds is this travelling exhibition of preserved human and body parts...somehow the list has somewhat expanded and they have on display preserved animal parts too.
Some interesting new bits I saw and learnt at the Science Centre today...something they did not teach us during biology lessons:
1) New word called plastination. It's the technique they use for preservation. Basically suck out the water and fats and replace with plastics then harden. Then they can manipulate and position the bodies at will.
2) We have all heard that smoking is unhealthy and numerous ads always seem to scare people by showing grotesque images of blackened lungs. Well this fact is even more reinforced in Body Worlds. Even after plastination, the blackened lungs stand out so prominently. Labels on the exhibit description never fail to point out the fact that the deceased is a smoker. Oh and it seems Santa Claus is a smoker too! (Blackened lungs for the cadaver riding the reindeer sleigh exhibit)
3) Drinking too much alcohol also leads to black spots in the liver. It's called cirrhosis and basically fucks up the liver, leaving behind those blackish dots. Time to cut down on the drinking...
4) The effect of haemorrhage and dementia in the brain looks pretty disturbing. Blood filling spaces in the brain for haemorrhage and the brain becomes more spongy and loose with the onset of dementia.
5) Blood vessels and capillaries when isolated and made into an exhibit looks very much like...floss! Yep...think pork floss on your favourite Breadtalk pork floss bun. Well, make that a blood floss bun then. (I will never look at a pork floss bun the same way again...)
6) Formaldehyde stinks.....real bad.
7) Very certain the cadavers were ang mohs. Larger body mass and those blue eyes staring back.
8) Muscles-wise we aren't that much different from giraffes or horses or a reindeer. Just that maybe certain muscle sets are more pronounced in one species compared to the other.
9) I have a normal blood pressure! 123/82 as compared to the 120/80 norm. Let's keep it that way! Hope I don't have that much LDL (aka bad cholesterol) in me though.
10) Squids and other weird deep sea creatures creep the shit out of me. There's a preserved squid at the exhibition. Freaky...give me a plate of calamari and I would gladly devour it...just don't dangle the live thing in front of me. They seriously look like some kinda parasitic alien from a sci-fi movie.
11) There's a magnetic resonance imaging technique that shows the act of sexual intercourse in MR images. A friend of mine said it was kinky but I don't think there was anything kinky about it. It sure was informative though. Perfect material for the parents explaining the birds and bees to their children. And it sure was funny trying to hear them explain to the children on the spot. In fact, I hear there was supposed to be an exhibit where the cadavers were displayed in a sex position. However, it was not available for this exhibition. How disappointing! Anw from the imaging, it seemed to be hinting to me that perhaps the doggy position would be more suitable for me as compared to the missionary. Hmmmm... :p
Some interesting new bits I saw and learnt at the Science Centre today...something they did not teach us during biology lessons:
1) New word called plastination. It's the technique they use for preservation. Basically suck out the water and fats and replace with plastics then harden. Then they can manipulate and position the bodies at will.
2) We have all heard that smoking is unhealthy and numerous ads always seem to scare people by showing grotesque images of blackened lungs. Well this fact is even more reinforced in Body Worlds. Even after plastination, the blackened lungs stand out so prominently. Labels on the exhibit description never fail to point out the fact that the deceased is a smoker. Oh and it seems Santa Claus is a smoker too! (Blackened lungs for the cadaver riding the reindeer sleigh exhibit)
3) Drinking too much alcohol also leads to black spots in the liver. It's called cirrhosis and basically fucks up the liver, leaving behind those blackish dots. Time to cut down on the drinking...
4) The effect of haemorrhage and dementia in the brain looks pretty disturbing. Blood filling spaces in the brain for haemorrhage and the brain becomes more spongy and loose with the onset of dementia.
5) Blood vessels and capillaries when isolated and made into an exhibit looks very much like...floss! Yep...think pork floss on your favourite Breadtalk pork floss bun. Well, make that a blood floss bun then. (I will never look at a pork floss bun the same way again...)
6) Formaldehyde stinks.....real bad.
7) Very certain the cadavers were ang mohs. Larger body mass and those blue eyes staring back.
8) Muscles-wise we aren't that much different from giraffes or horses or a reindeer. Just that maybe certain muscle sets are more pronounced in one species compared to the other.
9) I have a normal blood pressure! 123/82 as compared to the 120/80 norm. Let's keep it that way! Hope I don't have that much LDL (aka bad cholesterol) in me though.
10) Squids and other weird deep sea creatures creep the shit out of me. There's a preserved squid at the exhibition. Freaky...give me a plate of calamari and I would gladly devour it...just don't dangle the live thing in front of me. They seriously look like some kinda parasitic alien from a sci-fi movie.
11) There's a magnetic resonance imaging technique that shows the act of sexual intercourse in MR images. A friend of mine said it was kinky but I don't think there was anything kinky about it. It sure was informative though. Perfect material for the parents explaining the birds and bees to their children. And it sure was funny trying to hear them explain to the children on the spot. In fact, I hear there was supposed to be an exhibit where the cadavers were displayed in a sex position. However, it was not available for this exhibition. How disappointing! Anw from the imaging, it seemed to be hinting to me that perhaps the doggy position would be more suitable for me as compared to the missionary. Hmmmm... :p
Friday, November 20, 2009
Cheaper, better....faster! Whee!
If you thought the SG MDA rap last year was a classic, then check this out! How typically Singaporean...
Monday, November 16, 2009
I believe in Ammunition!
This is one American drama series that I am looking forward to. Created by the same guys behind Band of Brothers, let's hope this series will live up to its predecessor. Finally, a drama series of the war genre with hopefully inspirational stories to be told instead of the decadence and atas lifestyles portrayed in Gossip Girls and Privileged or the incredulous "wtf just happened" plot-lines and "cheem-ness" of Lost, Flashforward and Fringe.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Crow shit on the Fri 13th
The canteen at my workplace...ah...mixed feelings on it. Though it has rather decent western food and duck rice and in general, passable food quality and affordable prices, I think the hygiene is alot left to be desired. No, it certainly does not help that crows will perform shitting parades high up on the ceilings or do a kamikaze zoom fly-by. And perhaps today since it's Fri the 13th, I seem to have been bombarded by 2 landing bombs which narrowly missed me. One went splat on the floor and the other on my table. The last straw came when crow feathers started dropping down, an amazing feat as I really wonder just wtf the crows were up to above me.
Add in the crazy rain that has been pouring non-stop since this month, the skies have fallen on our heads truly!
Add in the crazy rain that has been pouring non-stop since this month, the skies have fallen on our heads truly!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Let's squish some fruits!
I flipped in laughter when I saw this. Anyone wanna try this in NTUC someday? Most likely we have to sing opera for our SG folks to understand.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
About console gaming
A friend asked me on recommendations to buy a console. Would it be a PS3, an XBox or a Wii? I have never had much experience on console gaming. The closest I got was having a SEGA MegaDrive back in the primary school days and playing Sonic the Hedgehog or spamming the buttons on Double Fury with my bro as we kicked some punk ass.
My personal opinion on purchase as follows:
PS3: Less gaming titles available, so unless you really wanna play specific games limited to the PS3 only (Metal Gear Solid 4 comes to mind), go for it! Also doubles up as the next gen DVD player...aka the Blu-Ray player
XBox: Definitely way more games on this console. It's by Microsoft, wat ya expect? Goes hand in hand with the Windows Live feature where there's quite a bit of exclusive online content to download
Wii: Ultimate family and party gaming console. Most of the games are kid friendly and a favourite for very casual gamers. Having a gathering with friends at a chalet or house party or trying to impress your date for an evening of clean gaming entertainment? Bring on the Wii!
Failing which, there is always another alternative as demonstrated in the video...
My personal opinion on purchase as follows:
PS3: Less gaming titles available, so unless you really wanna play specific games limited to the PS3 only (Metal Gear Solid 4 comes to mind), go for it! Also doubles up as the next gen DVD player...aka the Blu-Ray player
XBox: Definitely way more games on this console. It's by Microsoft, wat ya expect? Goes hand in hand with the Windows Live feature where there's quite a bit of exclusive online content to download
Wii: Ultimate family and party gaming console. Most of the games are kid friendly and a favourite for very casual gamers. Having a gathering with friends at a chalet or house party or trying to impress your date for an evening of clean gaming entertainment? Bring on the Wii!
Failing which, there is always another alternative as demonstrated in the video...
Friday, October 16, 2009
WWII renewed interest
Tried this game called Company of Heroes out of curiosity during one of the LAN parties as the guys wanted to try something new. And whenever we mean something new, it always has to be a game that all of us would be unfamiliar with, so that there would be no unfair advantage. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this RTS game which is so heavily based on military tactics. All of a sudden, terms like suppressive fire, flanking manoeuvres, artillery barrages and kill zones made more sense than it did in the army. Compared to the RTS of old where a popular strategy would be to amass large numbers of tanks to steam-roll over another player or large numbers of cheap early units to "rush" an opponent, COH limits this with different counters and limited resources. Totally satisfying to see a mediocre infantry man, armed with a Panzerschreck (big bad Nazi bazooka) and a good cover, giving hell to a bad-ass tank / tanks without infantry support. And have you ever wondered just how ridiculous it is in some RTS games for a vehicle to get blown apart only after numerous tank shots? Over here, all it takes is a well-placed anti-tank cannon to ruin your armoured forces. And best of all, it just takes a 3 man infantry crew to man it! Hurray infantry! (If you haven't guessed by now, my support for these mobile guys stems from me being in the infantry division previously) :p
Anw the game led to a renewed interest in the WWII genre as I read up further on the history and battles. (yep, I totally love history classes and particularly the WWII history back in secondary school. Always looked forward to one of those black and white war documentaries shown during lessons.) Re-watched Band of Brothers as I did not fully grasp alot of things back then when I first watched it. (For example, I did not know that episode 9 was, in a small way, a depiction of the Holocaust when the soldiers liberated a concentration camp. Always merely thought of it as an episode lacking in action, yet it was so full of emotion when I re-watched it. Must have been that visit to Auschwitz in Poland that made me appreciate it better now) My best memories of BoB when it first aired in Singapore was its coincidental showing on the weekends right before booking in to Tekong. Oh the noob recruit days 6 years ago! And so the show served as an adrenaline and morale boost before it was back to "chiong suah" in camp, well actually it was more of the action in the show. However, re-watching the series brought about greater curiosity in the battles and operations, and of course ideas of the balance between heroism in the common man with the violence and terror of a war, and eventually the Holocaust. What was refreshing was watching the view points of soldiers in the movie and eventually the actual veterans themselves in the aptly named documentary "We Stand Alone Together" that was never shown on TV.
Speaking of the Holocaust, also watched the Pianist and Schindler's List. Interestingly, these are movies I have heard that were great or won some award during the time they were made, but somehow never bothered or found the time to sit down and watch. Both tell a great and moving story, though I tend to empathise more with the lead in the Pianist as it is more of his personal story through those troubled times and thus more focused on the individual.
To end off, decided to put up some photos that I took in black and white during my summer trip to Auschwitz in Poland last year. Though I felt the impact would have been bigger if the camp was visited in the cold harsh winter, it was nevertheless a sobering and moving experience. To all the Holocaust deniers, I mean seriously...wtf?!? There's no way millions of Jews disappear without a trace of evidence and there's so much of it remaining despite efforts by the S.S to conceal their crimes. Whatever that goes on in their minds is beyond me. It is pure racism, simple as that.
Speaking of the Holocaust, also watched the Pianist and Schindler's List. Interestingly, these are movies I have heard that were great or won some award during the time they were made, but somehow never bothered or found the time to sit down and watch. Both tell a great and moving story, though I tend to empathise more with the lead in the Pianist as it is more of his personal story through those troubled times and thus more focused on the individual.
To end off, decided to put up some photos that I took in black and white during my summer trip to Auschwitz in Poland last year. Though I felt the impact would have been bigger if the camp was visited in the cold harsh winter, it was nevertheless a sobering and moving experience. To all the Holocaust deniers, I mean seriously...wtf?!? There's no way millions of Jews disappear without a trace of evidence and there's so much of it remaining despite efforts by the S.S to conceal their crimes. Whatever that goes on in their minds is beyond me. It is pure racism, simple as that.
Iron gate at the entrance of Auschwitz I with the motto Arbeit macht frei (Work brings freedom)...an ironic one for those imprisoned are doomed to a horrific fate
Beyond this lies the death wall where countless were lined up against the wall and shot
Electric perimeter fences
Fences lining the exterior of the much larger Auschwitz II (Birkenau) complex
Prisoners would arrive by rail through here and then either marked for extermination or forced labour
Remnants of a gas chamber. German forces in retreat tried to destroy and cover up any incriminating evidence
Beyond this lies the death wall where countless were lined up against the wall and shot
Electric perimeter fences
Fences lining the exterior of the much larger Auschwitz II (Birkenau) complex
Prisoners would arrive by rail through here and then either marked for extermination or forced labour
Remnants of a gas chamber. German forces in retreat tried to destroy and cover up any incriminating evidence
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Periodic table
Amazing commercial. They sure did not make learning the periodic table that fun back in JC! Totally convinced I am a noble gas!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Come little piggies!
Interesting article. So this is the new fad in the UK? Little piggies that look like hamsters to me. How do they even breed them? Read the whole pet craze over here.
Friday, October 9, 2009
SP Season 13 lives on..
Just another good reason to look forward to every Thursdays. Even in death, SP still won't let MJ and other dead celebrities go in peace, wun they? :p Not to forget all the fuss about child pageants or pageants in general (sounds like our very own "boomz" hooha), so check out the clip below.
Anw, there's this contest ongoing where the winner will get to have his / her likeness as a South Park character appear in the season 14 premiere next year. Wow...a chance to appear on the show!! Maybe an inclusion of a new character or somebody extra to kill off!! Details at this link. Pity I can't join, but for fun's sake, just posted my Southpark avatar, of what I would be like in the show, 4th grader style of cos. :p
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Drive...whee!
Totally glad that nowadays I have more chances to use the car as I am driving to work almost everyday. That should help make up for the lack of driving opportunities for the past 4 years since I got my licence. Still reluctant to drive unless necessary though...still firmly believe in taking the public transport especially to town or walking 3 bus stops home from the MRT station...bloody expensive to maintain a car these days and I'm the one repaying the loan. (Must constantly remind myself not to drive the way I did in the GTA games though...)
GTA driving
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sept updates thus far
Back on cyberspace after a break from the internet and numerous exchanges with the darn telco service to fight for the rights to a new modem. Ain't pretty and lasted for a good 3 weeks. Totally convinced that there's some sorta conspiracy involved in tweaking of phone lines and compatability issues with other brands of modems / routers.
"Hence always use the modem we assign to you!" claimed the service operator. You hear that, Linksys, Belkin and D-Link?!?
Moving along, now in the realm of working space, totally sinking in the working crowd lifestyle. Seems kinda mono except for some of the weekly gatherings with various ppl etc etc...well but even that can get a bit.....mono cos the polite thing is to ask "how's work?" And hence a whole re-ietration of "where you do, what you do, how you do" to everyone on the table.
So that's why we need some random shit and sometimes some of the weird stuff that happens around us to talk abt. Take the Ris Low case...every gathering I go everyone talks about her. Or the NUS dude that has premature ejac or some shit and got charged for harassment for leaving stains on some gal in the bus? Oh and did I mention witnessing 2 grown up adults fighting in the MRT station near the tracks (ala Street Fighter style) after a long day of work somehow perks me up? Just figuring who's gonna fall into the tracks next (KO!!!!)...and what about almost getting stuck in the lift in my own block? Man....can't help but feel thoroughly amused that the lights went out and the door got half jammed so I squeezed and smashed my way out.
Growing more and more cynical and taking glee in such sadism and randomness as it comes along....(patiently awaits the second half of season 13 of South Park to start airing so as to feed my dose of wackiness!)
"Hence always use the modem we assign to you!" claimed the service operator. You hear that, Linksys, Belkin and D-Link?!?
Moving along, now in the realm of working space, totally sinking in the working crowd lifestyle. Seems kinda mono except for some of the weekly gatherings with various ppl etc etc...well but even that can get a bit.....mono cos the polite thing is to ask "how's work?" And hence a whole re-ietration of "where you do, what you do, how you do" to everyone on the table.
So that's why we need some random shit and sometimes some of the weird stuff that happens around us to talk abt. Take the Ris Low case...every gathering I go everyone talks about her. Or the NUS dude that has premature ejac or some shit and got charged for harassment for leaving stains on some gal in the bus? Oh and did I mention witnessing 2 grown up adults fighting in the MRT station near the tracks (ala Street Fighter style) after a long day of work somehow perks me up? Just figuring who's gonna fall into the tracks next (KO!!!!)...and what about almost getting stuck in the lift in my own block? Man....can't help but feel thoroughly amused that the lights went out and the door got half jammed so I squeezed and smashed my way out.
Growing more and more cynical and taking glee in such sadism and randomness as it comes along....(patiently awaits the second half of season 13 of South Park to start airing so as to feed my dose of wackiness!)
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Internet died on me again...
Frustrated that my router keeps getting messed up at home. Sucky internet connection. Using the connection in office for the past week or so...shhh! Would have somehow considered going back to school to use the wireless service but after getting my card denied at 6pm back in E2 when I went to the com lab to print stuff (ya my printer died on me too), it's time I realised my matric card is of no use le!!! Well of course other than the occasional passing off as a student when getting student deals or student movie tickets.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Disney and Marvel?
The announcement of Disney buying over Marvel surfaced recently. The article can be found here at IGN. Main point of interest as quoted: In a deal that combines two of entertainment's most popular brands, The Walt Disney Company announced its agreement to acquire Marvel Entertainment and its over 5000 characters in a stock and cash transaction. Marvel shareholders will receive $30 and 0.745 Disney shares for each share of stock they own. This brings the total price per share to approximately $50, making the total value of the deal around $4 billion.
Right.....so now am I expecting to see Spiderman swinging around in Disneyland? Or watch all the X-Men characters get involved in some gay-ish High School Musical concert? This is the end of Marvel seriously.
Right.....so now am I expecting to see Spiderman swinging around in Disneyland? Or watch all the X-Men characters get involved in some gay-ish High School Musical concert? This is the end of Marvel seriously.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Bruno is SO gay
This admittedly has to be the outrageously gayest movie I have ever watched in my entire life. Nobody pulls these ambush shock humour as well as Sacha Baron Cohen. But I still prefer Borat as it tackles more issues whereas Bruno tends to play around more with the "gayness" card.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Prawns never seem to look that good
District 9 is a surprisingly refreshing sci-fi flick with an intriguing plot. The style of presentation by using short sequences of interviews and news reports to help describe the background story was interesting but sometimes a little messy. It depicts prawn like aliens as refugees stranded on Earth and being housed and isolated in the slums. Perhaps a direct reference to the refugee problem in Africa? Anw the film highlights the cruelty and selfishness of Man such that in the end, it makes the audience root for the ill-fated lead as well as his alien partner. Action scenes were generally ok, with the inclusion of alien weaponry controlled by alien DNA and a mechanised walker reminiscent of that in Bioshock and Starcraft respectively, which were able to please sci-fi enthusiasts, though I still dislike the shaky camera action ala Cloverfield.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Door : 1 Student : 0
Posted this here after hearing that one of my friends actually smashed through a glass door after a drunken bout. This one is different, the guy literally smashes through as he's not sure how the door opens!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Da Vinci Genius
Went for the Da Vinci exhibition at the Science Centre. Since it was just an extra one buck top-up to tour the exhibition AND the Science centre, me and my friends took a trip down memory lane whizzing through and "fighting" with school-children for the exhibits just like the primary school days. Anw the exhibition was an eye-opener. How the heck could there be someone who is so damn smart? This guy dabbles in art, inventions, military engineering and medicine.
Although Mona Lisa and the Last Supper were interesting pieces on their own right, the part on military engineering captured my attention, especially the bit on the UFO-like tank. A short documentary as shown below on what could be known as the grand-daddy of all tanks.
Although Mona Lisa and the Last Supper were interesting pieces on their own right, the part on military engineering captured my attention, especially the bit on the UFO-like tank. A short documentary as shown below on what could be known as the grand-daddy of all tanks.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Comic Con 09
Visited Hort Park in the morning for a green exhibition. It seems nowadays the rage is all about green and clean technology, that plus checking out plants being grown vertically scaled upon a wall, and mixing a bit with plant lovers and gardeners.
Next up was the Toys, Games and Comics Convention at Suntec with loads of Wii entertainment, toys, displays, animation and bringing figureheads of the industry under one roof. Wonder when I will ever get to go to a US convention for it...
Brian Bolland personally drew the Joker face up there and he's one of the several artists that came down for an autograph signing session..
Blythe dolls
And an expensive Barbie one too
WoW minis
Yos and Joes
And finally a whole section dedicated to Transformers. The 2 leaders in various incarnations destined to fight against each other across the different generation line...some of these figures are worth hundreds
Blythe dolls
And an expensive Barbie one too
WoW minis
Yos and Joes
And finally a whole section dedicated to Transformers. The 2 leaders in various incarnations destined to fight against each other across the different generation line...some of these figures are worth hundreds
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
And 6 years on...
How odd...I swore 6 years ago I would never ever have the need to even step close to that very traffic crossing where I narrowly threw my life away. Yet here I was on one morning, I was back at the very same spot in that god forsaken place. Still ever thankful and bloody lucky that I got out of that accident miraculously unscathed.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
A Yo Joe or Oh No!!
Just caught GI Joe recently and I have to admit I somehow enjoyed this loud trashy flick even more than Transformers. If Transformers was way overboard with military porn (still don't understand why all the military shit is needed in Transformers, but for GI Joe it is completely justified), GI Joe is even wayyyy overboard and absurd in terms of the military technology involved. But still it was all good fun. After all, what's not to like about a classic cartoon series in the 80s coming to the big screen and getting a bit of a revamp?
Some points of interest to me:
1) We used to have nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, biological weapons but now nanomite weapons as a WMD? Crazy...but fascinating from an engineering point of view
2) It seems the Joes have gone truly international in our age. While GI Joe has always been an all-American army or America's finest, it seems that the forces of globalisation have won this time. I know diehard fans are gonna make noise over this, especially the Americans.
3) Snake Eyes = Ray Park = Darth Maul from Star Wars. This guy has always been a favourite. I remember always using Snake Eyes in the GI Joe game on the Nintendo console over at my cousin's place when we were kids. He's still one of my favourite and cooler characters around.
4) Baroness is hot! But I want her glasses even more! Functions as a scanner and automatically becomes a pair of sunglasses. Cool!
5) The Doctor / aka spoilers ahead Cobra Commander (read: the big bad guy) resembles sooooo much like Darth Vader! Only Darth Vader without the loud heavy breathing noise! His grand schemes make him the overall mastermind though, so I suppose he could also be the Emperor in Star Wars too! Both look dead ugly to me!
An interesting feature for those who have never heard of GI Joe
Some points of interest to me:
1) We used to have nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, biological weapons but now nanomite weapons as a WMD? Crazy...but fascinating from an engineering point of view
2) It seems the Joes have gone truly international in our age. While GI Joe has always been an all-American army or America's finest, it seems that the forces of globalisation have won this time. I know diehard fans are gonna make noise over this, especially the Americans.
3) Snake Eyes = Ray Park = Darth Maul from Star Wars. This guy has always been a favourite. I remember always using Snake Eyes in the GI Joe game on the Nintendo console over at my cousin's place when we were kids. He's still one of my favourite and cooler characters around.
4) Baroness is hot! But I want her glasses even more! Functions as a scanner and automatically becomes a pair of sunglasses. Cool!
5) The Doctor / aka spoilers ahead Cobra Commander (read: the big bad guy) resembles sooooo much like Darth Vader! Only Darth Vader without the loud heavy breathing noise! His grand schemes make him the overall mastermind though, so I suppose he could also be the Emperor in Star Wars too! Both look dead ugly to me!
An interesting feature for those who have never heard of GI Joe
Monday, August 3, 2009
NDP song 2009
Some ridiculously WTF song by mr brown and gang based on this year's NDP song. The first one is the original "What do you see", the other well....the ah beng version of it. NDP songs nowadays seriously more and more very pop culture sia...
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Robo dance to Nobody
Omg...remember my previous post on Wondergirls Nobody dance? It seems that even robots have caught on with the trend!!
Friday, July 31, 2009
The Return to Tokyo
We arrived back in Tokyo in the late morning and had plans to deposit our luggage at the train station before heading down to Nikko. But little did we know that we faced a whole lot of problems. I wrote this previously in one entry, so I will just reproduce it here again...
Have you ever had the feeling of getting "Lost in Translation"? I'm pretty sure everyone who comes to Japan would surely experience it at least once. And this is one of the more memorable experiences that would make it into my OMFG travel entry. Suffice to say, it was a pretty messed up day cos it was a simple form of miscommunication.
What happened was that we accidentally refunded this Suica card which was an EZ-link card and also used to store luggages. Our original intention was not to refund the card but to actually top up 500 yen into it, so I picked the calculator, pressed 0 to signal that the card had no value, den I pressed 500 yen to show that I wanted to top up an amount of 500 yen. Sounds simple? Apparently, the station attendant was so enlightened that he took our empty card, and refunded us 500 yen for the card! Now we have no card to retrieve our luggages and when we tried to explain to him that we wanted the card back, he kept flashing his "X" sign posture with a "dame ni" meaning "cannot!!!"
What happened next was a series of events leading to us leaving and entering the station multiple times until i think the officer there see us until sian liaoz, getting a lady to write a message in Japanese to communicate our intentions, and waiting for the very nice locker uncle to help us. We screwed their locker system btw...
The whole thing took 2 hours, screwed our plans for the day a little, so I officially term it the day we got SUICA-ed. Yet I was totally thoroughly amused about the whole experience though I was pretty sure my companions were pissed!
Uncle to the rescue!
Rainy weather again...even Doreamon near our hostel has to be taken care of!
This set meal consisted of both the don and soba which was really value for $$
Wasabi grated by ourselves
My dessert and yoghurt from the convenience store
What happened was that we accidentally refunded this Suica card which was an EZ-link card and also used to store luggages. Our original intention was not to refund the card but to actually top up 500 yen into it, so I picked the calculator, pressed 0 to signal that the card had no value, den I pressed 500 yen to show that I wanted to top up an amount of 500 yen. Sounds simple? Apparently, the station attendant was so enlightened that he took our empty card, and refunded us 500 yen for the card! Now we have no card to retrieve our luggages and when we tried to explain to him that we wanted the card back, he kept flashing his "X" sign posture with a "dame ni" meaning "cannot!!!"
What happened next was a series of events leading to us leaving and entering the station multiple times until i think the officer there see us until sian liaoz, getting a lady to write a message in Japanese to communicate our intentions, and waiting for the very nice locker uncle to help us. We screwed their locker system btw...
The whole thing took 2 hours, screwed our plans for the day a little, so I officially term it the day we got SUICA-ed. Yet I was totally thoroughly amused about the whole experience though I was pretty sure my companions were pissed!
Uncle to the rescue!
Rainy weather again...even Doreamon near our hostel has to be taken care of!
This set meal consisted of both the don and soba which was really value for $$
Wasabi grated by ourselves
My dessert and yoghurt from the convenience store
With our plans ruined and poor weather, we were pretty much stuck in Tokyo, but hey, there's always aplenty to do in Tokyo and I suggested going to Akihabara (秋葉原), the Electric Town and mecca of all Japanese anime, manga, cosplay, toys, figurines, AV and land of the otakus!! It is indeed a place loud, flashy and colourful. Oh, and it was a place where we randomly strolled into the display corner and used the computer to check our NUS exam results!
We reached this M Pop place which was a 5 level sex shop and mainly sold sex toys and all sorts of costumes. They even sold weird stuff like girls' used panties and a man-bra. Overheard the other guys back in the hostel about searching for this and they actually bought one to wear in the hostel. Crazy people! Seems like Japanese girls are not an inhibited lot, the majority of them were hanging out around the upper levels, trying costumes and browsing the sex toys. Heck I was even standing beside a lady in the S&M section who was examining a whip for purchase, and then checking me out. No I assure you I'm not into that S&M shit! The guys seem to prefer the basement levels with all the Japanese AV.
Disturbing pic..but I tell ya, I saw this guy actually dressed in a French maid costume walking in Akihabara...that was even bloody more disturbing!
All sorts of costumes...you name it..they have it
All sorts of costumes...you name it..they have it
As one of the guys back in the hostel describes, he was rather confused over the Japanese obsession over schoolgirls and the borderline pornography that is portrayed in their manga and anime. I'm equally stumped too.
Otakus in action! Being curious Singaporeans who's always interested in a queue, went to check it out!
Seems like it's a launch of some new anime series with free CDs and posters
Another 5 level sex shop, but only this time dedicated entirely to porno DVDs. The famous AV factory!
Otakus in action! Being curious Singaporeans who's always interested in a queue, went to check it out!
Seems like it's a launch of some new anime series with free CDs and posters
Another 5 level sex shop, but only this time dedicated entirely to porno DVDs. The famous AV factory!
There were lots of promoters dressed in various costumes handing out brochures. Likewise, lots of Japanese girls dressed as maids handing out leaflets to promote their maid cafe, another trendy thing in Akihabara. While I heard some of them were not allowed to take photos with passer-bys, I tried my luck and landed a cute one! :p
I'm not exactly sure what happens in a maid cafe, but here's one example
I'm not exactly sure what happens in a maid cafe, but here's one example
Nikkō (日光)
Not to be confused with my arrangement here in my blog, Nikko is in the Kanto region like in Tokyo but a 2 and a half hours train ride out. While it's more shrines and temples, Nikko is significant as it is the site of the mausoleums of the Tokugawa Shoguns. And to honour these shoguns, the shrines and temples are very much more elaborately decorated and flashy as if to show off their grandeur. Add in the mysterious forest setting of tall cedar trees the shrines are situated in, it makes a worthy side-trip from Tokyo.
Rinnō-ji Temple (輪王寺)
Sorin-to, where Buddhist sutras were stored in it and is regarded as a treasure
Forest way into Tōshōgū (東照宮). I would imagine it would look even better in fall.
Elaborately carved sacred animals, most notably; the elephant
The famous "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" monkeys
Yomei-mon Gate (陽明門) in the distance
Note the lavish ornate carvings on the Yomei-mon Gate
The Sleeping Cat, one of the sacred animals in carving in the Temple.
On the way to the mausoleum
The resting place of dynasty founder Tokugawa Ieyasu
Not to be confused with my arrangement here in my blog, Nikko is in the Kanto region like in Tokyo but a 2 and a half hours train ride out. While it's more shrines and temples, Nikko is significant as it is the site of the mausoleums of the Tokugawa Shoguns. And to honour these shoguns, the shrines and temples are very much more elaborately decorated and flashy as if to show off their grandeur. Add in the mysterious forest setting of tall cedar trees the shrines are situated in, it makes a worthy side-trip from Tokyo.
Rinnō-ji Temple (輪王寺)
Sorin-to, where Buddhist sutras were stored in it and is regarded as a treasure
Forest way into Tōshōgū (東照宮). I would imagine it would look even better in fall.
Elaborately carved sacred animals, most notably; the elephant
The famous "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" monkeys
Yomei-mon Gate (陽明門) in the distance
Note the lavish ornate carvings on the Yomei-mon Gate
The Sleeping Cat, one of the sacred animals in carving in the Temple.
On the way to the mausoleum
The resting place of dynasty founder Tokugawa Ieyasu
Bad weather caught up with us again and plans to head down to Lake Chuzenji were scrapped. Some random food encountered along the way...
Yakult packaged in a different way
Refreshing Nikko beer!
Fried red bean dough...it's pretty famous here in Nikko
It's salty yet sweet at the same time with the red bean filling in it
Smiley orange juice
MOS burger
Refreshing Nikko beer!
Fried red bean dough...it's pretty famous here in Nikko
It's salty yet sweet at the same time with the red bean filling in it
Smiley orange juice
MOS burger
Kuramae Shrine Festival
On our final day in Japan, we were very fortunate to catch a festival at the Kuramae Shrine next to our hostel, and it was close to our departure for the airport! While we missed the Sanja Matsuri (三社祭, this huge festival held at Asakusa) by a week, this event kinda made up for it. Although it was not as huge in scale, it was exciting to see the kids from the neighbourhood jostling and dressed up as the adults pull the portable shrine (mikoshi). We even met into a friendly Japanese uncle sipping on his Asahi beer and recognising us as Singaporeans. He even has friends in Jurong. Wows!
A fitting goodbye to the land of the rising sun!
On our final day in Japan, we were very fortunate to catch a festival at the Kuramae Shrine next to our hostel, and it was close to our departure for the airport! While we missed the Sanja Matsuri (三社祭, this huge festival held at Asakusa) by a week, this event kinda made up for it. Although it was not as huge in scale, it was exciting to see the kids from the neighbourhood jostling and dressed up as the adults pull the portable shrine (mikoshi). We even met into a friendly Japanese uncle sipping on his Asahi beer and recognising us as Singaporeans. He even has friends in Jurong. Wows!
A fitting goodbye to the land of the rising sun!
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