sgBlogs - Singapore's Blogosphere :: Latest 3 Entries From the Top 200 Singapore Blogs

Fortress of Testicular Fortitude :: 1:6 Hot Toys Iron Man 2 War Machine

Hot Toys is proud to present the 1/6th scale War Machine collectible figure from the Iron Man 2 movie. The movie-accurate War Machine collectible is highly detailed and fully deployed, specially crafted based on the image of Don Cheadle as the well-received character War Machine in the movie, highlighting the well equipped armor, light-up functions and weapons.

The 1/6th scale War Machine

Fortress of Testicular Fortitude :: Hot Toys Iron Man 2 Mark IV Collectible Bust

Random Inscriptions :: romance novels and women

I saw this image from here recently.

Reaching out and touching lives

Reading the copy at the bottom, you will realise that it is an advertisement for the postal service in Australia.

But I had a different interpretation of the image when I first looked at it.

I thought it was some advertisement for a library or something like that. Like how much impact books and stories can have on us.

And then I thought of how women are somehow just drawn to reading romance novel, chick flicks etc etc.

I mean, just one morning on the public transport and you would see all kinds of books people are reading. Very often, I realise that the women would be reading some sort of a novel, while the men will be reading newspaper or some guide books (how to be rich etc etc).

The Chinese love novels are the easiest to identify - the cover is usually a illustration of a pretty girl and then some sappy title (爱君无反顾 or 情潦冰心 and the like). Those reading these novels are generally ladies in their 30s to 40s. I think, quite obvious why, as they are probably more well versed in mandarin as compared to those in the 20s, who grew up in a more ang mo environment.

The English love novels are quite easy to identify too - they also have drawings of women in a caricature style or images of women sans the face (like focus on the legs or torso or back or something like that). These days, you also see novels that are made as movies such as Dear John or the Notebook.. And women of all ages read these books. Or at least I have seen women of all race and ages reading them.

I have been downloading several of such novels for free via Stanza and reading them off my ipod touch. It makes me wonder, what is the draw of such stories?

I mean, they are unrealistic, always involving a very pretty woman who seem to also have the best assets with a perfect career, a very handsome but cold man who can resist all other women but not the main character, they have the coolest jobs and it does not hurt that they are somewhat rich because of some inheritance.

Or, the main character is down and out, she is gorgeous but she has bad luck with men and has a terrible job and then fell in love with her boss while all the time, there is another alpha male who is her best friend and been there for her but she didnt realise it until she is dumped by her boss.

And don’t get me started on those run-away brides.

Ha, yet time and time again, we get hooked.

I think it is because, women like to think that there is such fantasy love in the world. And we would all liked to be swept off our feet by some dashing stranger and spend the rest of our lives in bliss.

In real life, being in love is just being in love. A simple relationship with another average person and both of you lead an average life. Probably, we all yearn for a little risk and trouble in our lives. Yet, deep in our hearts, we know that we value stability more than anything else.

So, since we can’t have it in real life, those romance novels are the perfect fix.

Men have their porn, women have their romance novels.

This is indeed a balanced world.

Singabloodypore :: Singapore’s Court of Appeal reserves judgment in Vui Kong’s appeal hearing

BREAKING: The Court of Appeal has heard Yong Vui Kong’s appeal. After hearing submissions from Mr M Ravi, representing Yong, and the response from Attorney-General Walter Woon for the prosecution, the Court has reserved judgement for a later date.

From Jacob 69er

The appeal hearing for Yong Vui Kong ended a couple of minutes ago.

After two stays of execution, the 3-judge Court of Appeal has reserved its judgment after hearing the arguments put forth by Vui Kong’s lawyer, M Ravi. The judges thanked M Ravi for updating them on the current international practice with regards to the death penalty. [My thanks to Seelan for this update]

I was at the hearing today which began at 10am. The Court of Appeals chambers was as cold as the mandatory death penalty which the Singapore government so efficiently practices. Over 50 people were squeezed into the small public gallery. I saw Vui Kong escorted into the chambers by four police officers. He followed the proceedings via the mandarin translation by a court interpreter. He seemed just like any other 21 year old with his spiky hair and the sides shaved. But unlike any other 21 year old, he’s facing the hangman’s noose.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay longer. When I left about an hour into the proceedings, i looked at Vui Kong who was seated behind a glass partition with two police officers on his left and right. I wondered what was going through his mind knowing this hearing was all about, to put it bluntly, to hang or not to hang and if it’ll be the last time i’ll be seeing him….alive.

Here are two flyers on Vui Kong. Thanks to Rachel and Seelan for uploading them here and here.

Natsu no Umi ~ My semi-daily ramblings :: Moving on

I had disappeared. Like Cheshire Cat, appearing only for a reason. I had tied the knot. Moved on into the next chapter of my life. Life is still as boring yet filled with unexpected news/stuff. Yesh, it’s ironic. I thought of closing this blog. Coz I am to busy with my boring life. But I still wanna [...]

My Singapore News :: The ultimate test of leadership - Thaksin

A few hundred red shirt protestors are on the streets of Bangkok in support of their democratically elected leader who was robbed of his titled as the PM of Thailand. Several years after being ousted, in exile, found guilty in court, half of his fortune confiscated, Thaksin is still the leader of the rural Thais.Can anyone doubt that he is a leader of the people, by the people and for the people

The Gal - Nicole :: Don’t call my name… Alejandro

Another of Lady Gaga’s song – Alejandro.

Yet another catchy tune that’s been spinning quite frequently on the radio airwaves.

Nicole

mrbrown: L'infantile terrible of Singapore :: Insing column: mrbrown and the magic

Latest weekly Insing column is "mrbrown and the magic"

Excerpt:

My wife has recently developed an interest in magic. Not just any old magic, but the street magic of a certain Cyril Takayama.
The dashing illusionist of Ryukyuan and French descent has been seen on cable TV doing his street magic in cities like Taipei.

The man would cook instant noodles with just cold water in front of young people at Xi Men Ding shopping district, or do some coin thing in a fancy club with some sexy woman as his ooh-ahh target.

The wife was so fascinated with his brand of magic that she went online to hunt down his YouTube videos, most of which were from his programs in Japan.

"No, lah, I like him for his magic only," my wife said to me when I came home one evening and caught her transfixed on the television. (cont'd)

Singapore News Alternative :: Singapore’s January Retail Sales Increase More Than Forecast

BusinessWeek, 15 Mar 2010 March 15 (Bloomberg) -- Singapore’s retail sales rose for the first time in 16 months in January as motor-vehicle purchases climbed and consumers bought furniture and household goods ahead of the Lunar New Year festival.The improvement came as “we headed into Chinese New Year which was in early February,” Alvin Liew, an economist at Standard Chartered Plc in Singapore,

ReTRIeVIA :: Page 67

Chinese Heritage Centre

Located in the Nanyang Technology University campus, the Chinese Heritage Centre building was built in 1953. It was originally the Administration Block of the former Nanyang University, the first Chinese university outside China.

This historical four-storey building is a living remnant of the contributions of the overseas Chinese to tertiary education in Singapore. Its distinctive Chinese architecture features a green-tiled roof and red bricked walls. The building overlooks a beautiful Chinese-style pond and garden.

On 17 May 1995, this building found a new lease of life when it was officially opened as the Chinese Heritage Centre (CHC). This National Monument also houses the Wang Gungwu library which contains various materials and resources related to overseas Chinese communities. The CHC is the first centre to focus on the research of Chinese communities outside China.

The Chinese Heritage Centre building was gazetted as a National Monument on 18 December 1998.