Rewrite of Padme-Anakin love scene

Disappointed in the sappy lovey dialogue between Padme and Anakin in Revenge of the Sith? Do your own version then! In fact Cinematical did just that and has a contest asking for submissions to rewrite the scene. Here's the winning script... still quite sappy though, but for goodness sake, it's after all a love scene!

INT. CORUSCANT-PADME'S APARTMENT-TWILIGHT

PADME stands in the balcony brushing her hair. ANAKIN leans against
the wall, watching her lovingly.

PADME
---and I want to have our baby on Naboo, where our family can live in
peace. Why are you staring?

ANAKIN
I'm making up for lost time. Those unbearably long days protecting
the Outer Rim---I missed you.

PADME
And? Do I look different?

ANAKIN
(protesting)
Oh, no, Senator. You're too good with words. I'm a Jedi---I know
when I'm walking into a trap.

PADME
Serves you right for falling in love with a politician.

Anakin shakes his head in disbelief.

ANAKIN
Who would believe it? You're a Senator and I'm---

He falters.

PADME
What? Annie?

ANAKIN
(serious)
I'm yours.

PADME
Mine? You're not worried about enslaving yourself to a public
servant, my Jedi knight?

ANAKIN
It's only to you, Padme. Only to you.

END SCENE

Steve Jobs' WWDC 2005 keynote address

Apple has posted Steve Jobs' WWDC 2005 keynote address on their site. So if you want to witness the possibly historical announcement of Apple's switch to Intel, head there.

Surfing the web anonymously

I posted previously a way of getting around the proxy blocks that prevents Singapore Net users from accessing the 100 "symbollically blocked" sites.

A friend has actually pointed out an even easier way to bypass that. Use an anonymous proxy/encrypted gateway! Why didn't I think of that! I bet there are also other ways. So if you want to bypass the "blocks", try out the link.

(Thanks, Evil!)

Free downloadable computer pranks

Want to play a prank on someone? Here's a collection of software you can install on your friends' PCs and see their shocked expression. Some of the software listed include software that make them think their monitor is ruined, make their mouse drop little brown poops across their screen, and lots more. Be forewarned that after you install these on your friend's computer, they may not be your friend for long.

Online petition for Star Wars Ep 7-9

My cynical-self is telling me that online petitions are just a waste of time. But hey, perhaps signing such a petition is more a symbolic gesture than anything. So, for Star Wars fans who are keeping the faith for more Star Wars movies, especially Ep 7-9, here's an online petition that you can sign. Hopefully, this works and we may see more Star Wars movies on the silver screen. May the Force be with this petition...

Apple-a "switcher" to Intel

The biggest news for the Mac community these days is Steve Jobs' announcement at the WWDC that Apple will switch over to using Intel chips from their current IBM chips. Almost every tech website and every other major news site reported on this, and many are offering reasons why this is a good move, a bad move, a smart move, and many more.

For me? Well, since I just started becoming a Mac user (my days in the Uni can count but I didn't have my own Mac then and it was still using the Mac Classic OS), this switch doesn't really mean much, other than perhaps that my next Mac will may carry the "Intel Inside" branding. The truth is that it doesn't matter to me whether the chip is a IBM chip, an Intel chip, or even a potato chip. As long as it can run my applications, run the Mac OS (which I am quite fond of now), and do my tasks, I'll be happy. And if switching to Intel means that future Mac hardware will be faster, better, and perhaps cheaper, well, then I'd say it's a great move.

Oh, and thank goodness I didn't wait an update for the iBook to be announced, and went ahead to buy my current PowerBook. With this announcement, it seems like there may not be new notebooks on the horizon until the Intel-powered models are ready. I could be wrong, but we'll see.

HowTo: Bypassing local Net blocks aka censorship

This article teaches you how to route around the road blocks set up to prevent folks in the island Republic from accessing the 100 "high impact" websites blocked as a symbolic gesture.

Is it worth the trouble? Maybe not, but it could be a way to read those interesting interviews on Playboy. Nah... we're not interested in the pictures, but the articles, alright? I remembered when Google went IPO, there was an article on its founder published in Playboy that I wanted to read and couldn't get to it. Eventually got to read a reproduced copy on another site.

Lady Boba and other unfortunate Star Wars costume

The Cap'n' Wacky's website has a collection of pictures of Star Wars costumes gone wrong. The most interesting, or perhaps arousing is probably that of Miss Boba Fett. Is this suppose to be Boba's girlfriend? Boba's mum? Boba's sister? Perhaps the caption that comes with the photo best sums it up for most hot blooded male Star Wars bounty hunter fans.

Words I never, ever wanted to go through my brain: "This picture is making me feel a bit aroused by Boba Fett."

This disturbing costume aside, there're plenty of funny and quite amusing costumes there for your viewing pleasure. Do check out the link.

Will sex in games ever actually be sexy?

Gamesblog on Guardian Unlimited has an article asking the question "Will sex in games ever actually be sexy?" Given advances in graphics and A.I., will sex in games come close to the real thing? For some gamers who don't have a life... maybe. But it's an interesting thing that developers are trying to recreate almost every human activity in games.

...the next generation consoles courting a wider social demographic and promising (I almost dread writing this) photo-realistic graphics (there, I did it), perhaps things will change. There's a chance we will begin to see Japanese dating games that graduate from high school. Or an evolution of the social gaming introduced by The Sims. I visited Lionhead on Thursday where Peter Molyneux chatted briefly about his latest ridiculously ambitious project, Dimitri, in which players will get to re-live their own teenage years in intricate detail with all the sexual angst that will inevitably include.

Course on how to write Technology Reviews?

You can earn money from teaching anything these days. For US$65, you can learn how to write a tech review here. Is it really necessary? I didn't need such a course when I wrote for CNetAsia and other publications. I bet the instructor didn't need one when he started out either. Anyway, Gizmondo has a list of humourous, and perhaps more practical, Insider's Tips on each of the items that the course is suppose to teach you.

TIE Fighter PC Case mod

ExtremeTech has a weekly case mod competition and they have a winner who has made a case mod that is a scale model of a Star Wars TIE Fighter. Wow... using a PC with the case mod must sure make you feel like you're a pilot of the Empire.

PCWorld's 100 Best Products of 2005

We all like lists, especially those Top 100 lists of things. PCWorld has a list of the 100 best products of 2005. The Product of the Year is FireFox... well, who cares if we're only halfway through 2005, eh?
Link

Yahoo! looks at 10 years, 100 moments of the Web

On Yahoo!, there's a flash thingy that is called "Netrospective: 10 years, 100 moments of the Web". It's an interesting look at the 100 important moments of the Web. Some of the things that made it to the list include Fanfiction, Napster, Wikipedia, and of course, Weblog. It's a little Yahoo!-biased but it's interesting anyway. Check it out.
Link

LEGO creator show @ Raffles City, Singapore

Went down to the LEGO creator show yesterday. The highlight of the show is the exhibit of famous landmarks in Asia, including Singapore's Merlion, China's Great Wall, and Sydney's Opera House. For those who're interested in the history of LEGO, there're also old LEGO sets and boxes on display.


No LEGO show would be complete, especially with the Star Wars movie out, without exhibits of Star Wars-related LEGO stuff. The highlight for me personally, is the Hoth battle scene from ESB, with Luke scaling up the AT-AT. Also, there's a life-size Jango Fett, for those who wants a photo opportunity, like me.


For more pictures, check out the link below for more pictures of the show. For my own souvenir, I bought a LEGO minifig soft toy, with his own removable cap, and a set of LEGO bricks magnet.


Link

Star Wars-spurned Bai Ling on Playboy

Bai Ling is the attention-seeking, media whoring Chinese actress whose appearance on Star Wars Ep 3 was left on the cutting room floor. She claims that it was because she appeared on the adult rag Playboy. George Lucas of course denied it claiming that his own daughter was also in that deleted scene. Now, the Playboy issue is now on the shelves in the US. Well, of course we can't get it here in Singapore. That's where the Internet comes in. No, we don't mean that you can get this sure-to-be-collectors-item on ebay, well, I'm sure yoyu can. But if you're curious, you can see Bai Ling in her naked glory in the link below. Oh, it's not work safe... obviously.


Link

Consistency in the Star Wars universe

The Star Wars universe is so vast that consistency is a real issue for the many folks who create content for it, ranging from novels to comics to video games. This article looks at the fictional universe and how complexity emerges from the creation of the fictional universe. It is certainly an interesting read for the hardcore fans who constantly look for plot contradictions.

Still, some of the tinier details of the plot might easily enough lead to contradictions. Luke Skywalker’s mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, seemed unaware of the existence of Luke’s sister Leia in 1980’s Episode V. But Kenobi, played by Ewan McGregor in Episodes I–III, is likely to be quite actively involved in the whole plot about Vader and his estranged children. Will Kenobi indeed be kept in the dark about Leia’s existence, or will a contradiction be introduced? Will the loyal droids C-3PO and R2-D2 witness all of these events unfolding—despite appearing to have no prior knowledge of Kenobi or Vader in Episodes IV–VI? Or, since 1999’s Episode I introduced the strange idea that C-3PO was actually built by the child Anakin Skywalker (long before he became the armored villain Vader), how can C-3PO be ignorant in Episodes IV–VI about Vader being Anakin and thus being Luke Skywalker’s father? (And will there be a moment of revelation in Episode III in which Vader tells C-3PO: “I created you—I am your father”?)

Official porn for the PSP

This is why Sony does not consider the PSP as a gaming system for kids.

Adult movies in the PSP-friendly Universal Media Disc format will be released in Japan this summer. Two publishers will offer a total of eight movies specifically for the PSP. Adult-content publisher Glay'z will release five titles starting on July 8, while fellow publisher H.M.P. will release three additional titles on July 16.
...
Some consumers are questioning Sony's decision to accept material from adult-content publishers, while others surmise that the company has learned from the war between Betamax and VHS that adult-oriented movies can significantly affect the expansion of a new media format. One of the reasons for the failure of the Betamax format was the explosion of VHS adult movies, since this genre was not given production clearance in Sony's Betamax format.

With titles like "The Nurse Of A Big Breast", the PSP is certainly getting its porn fix.

Attack of the Famicom Clones

Many folks have fond memories of the Famicom, otherwise known as the NES. This console is the one that made many folk's childhood a joy with things like Mario and Zelda. This site actually contains pictures of Famicon clones. For those who didn't actually get to play the games on the original NES, maybe these are the subsitutes. To date there are 316 clones available on the site.

No more film censorship for Ontario

While countries like Singapore are moving away from film censorship to film classification, other places, in particular the Canadian province Ontario has chosen to do away with film censorship.

Movies will not now have to be classified before they are shown in cinemas, after the regional government yesterday passed a bill that stopped the practice. The act comes after Ontario's supreme court ruled last year that the law was flawed.

Link

Twins? Not those twins!

Something silly happened when I bought my copy of the soundtrack to Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, which comes with a free DVD of 70 mins worth of Star Wars scenes set to the soundtrack, MTV-styled. The sticker on the CD cover said that there will be a free pull-out poster free. So when the salesperson gave me a poster, I thought to myself, "Hey, that's pretty cool." Since I didn't expect to get the poster anyway, it also came as a surprise.

I didn't open the poster when I got it. When I was ready to open it, I saw a handwritten "TWINS" scribbled on the corner of the poster, as seen in the picture below. The picture's a bit blur, but trust me, it's the word "TWINS".


Well, knowing that the poster came with my Star Wars CD, I was thinking that maybe the "TWINS" it was referring to was the famous twins in Star Wars. Every Star Wars geek would know who the twins were... Luke and Leia, if you still can't figure it out. Hence, in my blissful ignorant state, I was thinking that I am getting a poster of Luke and Leia, something like the picture shown below.


To my surprise, and horror, when I opened the poster, it was not a picture of Luke and Leia. It was the Chinese pop duo called Twins from Taiwan (I think, as I'm no expert on Mando-pop and its variants)!


Well, you can imagine my disappointment. When I open up the CD, it seems that the free poster is on the flip side of the liner notes. Since, I'm too lazy to go back to the CD shop to complain, guess I'll just have to laugh it off as a silly thing that happened to me. Although, I'd say that the Twins on the posters are not too shabby, but they were just not what I wanted.

Anyone wants a free poster of two attractive ladies?

A Gamers' Manifesto

The Pointlesswasteoftime.com site has posted a Gamers' Manifesto detailing 20 things gamers want from the next-gen consoles. It's actually pretty insightful and funny at the same time. Some of things mentioned are things that many veteran gamers would have highlighted and wanted change for a long time, such as wanting consoles to give us better A.I. and taking away jumping puzzles in FPS games. Of course, there's the most oft complaint by gamers... crates!

The crate has long been held up as a symbol of lazy game art design, a crutch that game level decorators have been falling back on for fifteen damned years. Come to think of it, have you ever actually seen one of those wooden crates in real life? And did you smash it to see if there were bullets and medicine inside?

If the next-gen consoles actually delivered on even half of the points raised, I bet I'll be a happy gamer.

2005 Risks In Global Filmmaking Map

Planning to make a film in a foreign country? You may just want to take a look at this map provided by insurance broker Aon.

For example, if you want to shoot in Hong Kong, in terms of political risks, it is considered low, but risk drivers will include border and transit delays. Our neighbouring country Malaysia has terrorism and regulatory risk as its risk drivers. Malaysia is also considered medium risk in crime, corruption, kidnap & ransom, disease, and medical care.

Singapore? Well, it doesn't quite figure on the map, except that it is marked by a blue dot. Blue is suppose to be moderate risk. If that's not true, it could be that Singapore is risk free, or that Singapore is too insignificant as a filming location. Let's hope it's not the latter.

11-year-old girl in bikini eases anti-Jap tensions

This is hard to believe but true. Or rather, it actually happened, but don't know if she really did ease the anti-Jap sentiments. Okay, here goes... Seems like an 11-year-old F-cup beauty has done her part to ease anti-Jap tensions among the Chinese on a Chinese bulletin board. Well, the news worthy thing here is probably less that she has done her part in easing tensions, but that she is rather well-endowed at her age. Curious to see what she looks like? Follow the link... and drool.

IGN's Games we'd like to see

Gaming site IGN has posted an interesting article on games that they'd like to see. ALthough only Part I of the article is posted, there're some pretty interesting ideas there. Some of the games based on books and TV series they've mentioned included games based on Ender's Game and The A-Team. Ender's Game? Wow... if there's such a game, I'll be eagerly waiting for it. With a movie of Orson Scott Card's classic in the works, maybe we'll get to participate in Ender's Game pretty soon.

A thong for your phone

How about that? A thong for your phone! This interesting phone carrier called the "Phone Thong" is sure to raise some eyebrows. It is also marketed at ladies. Sure to attract some undergarments joke if you're brave enough to use it.

Deformed Xian Long Bao

The quality of Xiao Long Baos differs from place to place, as this picture shows. For those who don't know, Xiao Long Bao is some sort of dumpling with a bit of soup inside the flour-based skin. This Xiao Long Bao that was ordered at a Food Court defies comments. It looks like some form of mutated creature, or perhaps some sort of plastic surgery gone wrong. Also, there is an absence of soup in these Xiao Long Baos.

The lesson? Only order these things at a proper restaurant, not some food court outlet.

"Deformed Xian Long Bao" by Gremlink

Han Nee's Wedding in Botanic Gardens

My good friend Han Nee finally tied the knot yesterday with a wedding ceremony-cum-dinner at Burkhill Hall in Botanic Gardens. Here's wishing both Han Nee and Nick a wonderful future together.

The power of the deep fried

Darth Tater is a potato head inspired toy of the Dark Lord. Interestingly, a school in the US is making use of this toy for educational purpose. The teacher has asked his students to come up with Star Wars related puns for Darth Tater. They're really funny. Check out the link for more puns.

"Use the fork, Luke" by Corey

"If only you knew the power of the deep fried" by Mr. Miller

"Trust your peelings" by Emily

Link

Lightsabers for Windows users too

Previously, I highlighted Crimson FX, a software that will add lightsaber effect to your movies. But that is only for Mac users.

Now, there's also something similar for Windows users. This tool is called LSMaker. With it, you can create your own lightsaber battles on your trusty PC!

Link

Star Wars gear for the rainy day

What does a Jedi or Sith do when it rains? Use their Rain Lightsaber of course! Japanese manufacturer Happinet has come up with an umbrella with the handle crafted like a lightsaber. So when the Force is not enough in rainy weather, this device can sure come in handy.

Link

Why DRM is bad

This is why DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology may not be such a good thing. This guy has posted on his blog that his friend spent US$172 (woo!!) on an Adobe Acrobat book, and when he upgraded his Acrobat Reader, he now can't read his book. A useless file costing him US$172 now sits on his hard disk. Seems like contacting the publishers is all in vain too. Here's his conclusion:

If copyright issues regarding ebooks are so complicated that honest customers cannot access their books, I don't think ebooks will have any success among scholars or students in Norway.

Maybe it's time someone wise up to the fact that DRM may not be the best way.

Ah Beng's Revenge of the Sith

On the Mystery Tan Lines blog, there is an Ah Beng reinterpretation of Star Wars Ep 3. It's actually from the same guy who wrote the Ah Beng version of Matrix. Hmmm... I think I know who the author of this funny piece is... but I'm not telling. Anyway, here's a sample of it... and please put on your Ah Beng thinking cap when you read it.

The separatists (Chope for trivia: Last time Singapore also separatist leh) with the lobot ahmy fight against the clone war. Clone means all the army one kind one (Chope: SAF also dem one kind one). So fight lor. All mobilize. Open mob, silent mob, simi gui ya mob. Golden banana, flying shoe, all mob mob mob. Even the navy ship mob until become robot and fight on land. Who fight at water after that I also dun know.

So head on to the link for the full text.
Link

Hokkien gangsters flash movie

I received this flash movie via an email and it's low-fi in terms of the artwork, but pretty funny. It features a couple of stick figures challenging each other to some sort of fight or something. Since my Hokkien is not exactly great, I can't really understand fully what they're singing, but just listening to it is funny enough.
Link

A prequel to The Phantom Menace?

Everybody's guessing if there will be any movies after Return of the Jedi. But it seems that the man himself, i.e. George Lucas, has told a scooper for Cinescape that he actually has an idea for the prequel to The Phantom Menace.

Nope, not the adventures of young Jar Jar Binks building an underwater haven - but the tales of the Jedi regaining control of the universe from the many Dark Lords some 88 years before Anakin Skywalker's bowl cut ever graced the earth.

Yoda - who was instrumental in the effort - would apparently have a headlining role.

How about that? Of course, he has also mentioned that he won't be helming it, if it happens.

So will this be called Star Wars Episode 0?

Stupid Jedi-wannabes

This belongs to the "I can't believe how stupid they are" category. Two Star Wars fans wanted to have a lightsaber duel and made lightsabers by filling fluorescent light tubes with petrol for their mock fight. Of couse, during their play, one of the devices exploded.

How stupid can these folks get? Well, for all you folks reading, don't try this at home!

Properly blogging from a Palm, finally

The search for a blogging client for the Palm may be over. I've been searching for a freeware client for me to do blogging from my Treo, and the solution seems to come in the form of this software called u*Blog. Since I'm running out of space on my Treo, I've decided not to try this until PalmOne releases the patch for the Treo that will free up some RAM for me.

Still, this freeware is promising. I can use it with Blogger, has a built-in HTML editor, and allows for basic posting and editing of posts. It also supports multiple blogs, if i decide to expand my blogging activities.

Link

Web browsers compared

Ever since Internet Explorer put Netscape out of business, the web browser scene has been a little boring. However, with the entry of Firefox that is based on the Mozilla code, the browser war is heating up once again.

Most folks using Windows will tend to be IE users. For those using the Mac, Safari is the one that comes preinstalled. Now, Firefox has entered the fray and allows its users the freedom to use extensions to make their surfing experience as bland or as powerful as they want.

With other browsers gaining ground, it's no wonder CNET is doing a comparison between IE and other browsers. It's a good read and a nice quick way to find out the similarities and differences between the browsers.

Link

Trying out another blogging tool

This time, I'm trying out ecto for my Mac. It is a blogging client and seems to have a number of interesting features. Will play with it for the next few days and maybe if it's good, it could be something I'll use. Maybe more on this later.

Add a Lightsaber to your movie

Seems like with the release of Star Wars Ep 3, I've followed suit with a number of Star Wars-related postings. Here's another one, and it's one for those who dream of having their own lightsaber and being able to swing one around. There's now this software for Mac OS X called Crimson FX that makes it easy to add the lightsaber effects to any Quicktime movies or DV streams. I don't know if the software is easy or difficult to use, but if you want to make a movie starring yourself as a Jedi Knight or Sith Lord, do check this out.

Bible Study based on Star Wars

A church in the US is actually using Star Wars as materials for their Bible Study. It is titled "Gospel According to Star Wars."

In the first session, for example, class members discussed the urgency and need to share their faith with others. The class discussed how every action R2-D2 takes in the first 30 minutes is motivated by his need to share his message from Princess Leia to Obi-Wan Kenobi, including going into the desert on his own.

Adams likens that to Matthew 28:19: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

For the spiritually-minded Star Wars fans, the article has a link to the church's website which contains a PDF of the Bible Study material.

Fans of Leia in Metal Bikini

Seems like fanboys and girls alike love the image of Leia in her bikini costume in Return of The Jedi. If you think it's only the guys who have a lusty desire of the Princess in a skimpy costume, think again. On the site, there are plenty of photos of females dressing up as Leia, and yes, in those metal bikini that Jabba the Hutt made her wear. So, if you've the fetish for this sort of thing, you can check out the link.

Is there going to be more Star Wars?

We now know that there'll be a TV series and an animated series set in the Star Wars universe. But is Revenge of the Sith the last ever SW film? The Houston Chronicle has an article examining this.

Before Lucas wrote the script for 1977's Star Wars, he put together a novel-length treatment tracing the intergalactic exploits of Skywalker and son. In the blueprint, the plot spanned beyond Luke's young-adult years to portray him as an elder Jedi.
...
According to Kurtz, the possibility of a third trilogy diminished when Lucas veered from his treatment to create Return of the Jedi. The original tale he mapped out didn't feature Ewoks or a second Death Star, and it culminated with the death of Han Solo. Princess Leia parts ways with Luke to lead those who survived her home planet's destruction.

So can we expect to see more movies on the big screen? Who knows? The Force is strong with this franchise...

The Politics of Star Wars

Someone at Blogcritics.org has done up an interesting piece on Star Wars. This one looks at the saga from a political point of view. If you're interested in the film's themes of how a Republic becomes a totalitarian state, then this is an interesting read.

The Star Wars saga ends. The first three parts of the Star Wars saga had a more complicated tale to tell- namely how a Republic becomes a totalitarian state. Telling the tale of the collapse of the Republic is a more challenging tale to convey than the more simple story of good vs. evil that permeated chapter four through six.

Yoda has a blog too!

Previously, I highlighted that the Sith lord Darth Vader takes time off his Force Choking activities to blog. Well, if the most powerful guy on the Dark Side blogs, I guess the most senior Jedi shouldn't lose out, eh? True enough, our fave little green guy Master Yoda blogs too! Here's an excerpt

Last night a call I got. Jar Jar Binks it was. Irritated I was to get his call at that time. Like being interrupted during Gilmore Girls I do not. Well aware of this he is. Locked his keys in his airspeeder again he had. The fifth time this week it was.

Is William Gibson's mention of Singapore really hip?

In The Sunday Times, 15 May 2005, there is a huge feature story on Singapore being hip called Singapore Swings. Under the heading of "Singapore in Literature", the article said

Count Zero
What: In this 1986 sci-fi novel, American cyberpunk pioneer William Gibson weaves a tale of industrial espionage.
It's hip because: Gibson foresaw Singapore as a premier biomedical hub. An hour after he gets blown up in an assassination attempt, Turner, the novel's protagonist, arrives in the island-state. He is then reassembled by Dutch doctor over three months, with missing body parts "bought on the open market".

Well, when the papers used this example as a mention that Singapore is "hip", I really wonder if they realise the irony of what they have printed.

The papers may think that Gibson's mention points to the fact that Singapore is a happening place, but did they realise that Gibson, in his piece on Singapore in Sept/Oct 1993 Issue 1.04 of Wired magazine, the sci-fi writer actually did a piece calling Singapore "Disneyland with the Death Penalty"? So linking the two ideas together, does it mean that Singapore is the "hip place with a death penalty"?

Guess the good folks in Straits Times didn't want you to know that.

Vibrating undies knocks out woman

Okay, this one is so funny that I have to mention it. A women fainted in a UK shopping mall because she was so aroused by this vibrator called Ann Summers vibrating Passion Pants, a device a female would slip in her knickers for... you know what.

According to UK tabloid the Sun, a 33-year-old Welsh housewife ended up in hospital after wearing Ann Summers vibrating Passion Pants to her local Asda supermarket in Swansea.

Unfortunately, she became "so aroused by the 2½-inch vibrating bullet inside that she fainted" then "fell against shelves and banged her head". This prompted the attendance of the paramedics who "found the black leatherette panties still buzzing".

A warning for those who even remotely has such a thought.

Protection for my Powerbook

Although I don't carry my Powerbook around that often, it's nice o know that you have a case to protect it when you do. Unlike if you buy Windows notebook, where they tend to throw in some sort of case, Apple doesn't do that, at least not for me. So, I'll have to search around for a case.

Since I don't want a typical laptop bag, and I already have a Crumpler messenger bag, I decided to go with a sleeve-type case where I can slip in the PB, and then put in in my bag. After some research and scounting around, I narrowed down to two choices. First is the Zero Shock shown here. What's so special about this case is that it is made of polyurethane and apparently will absorb shocks. When you press down on it, it will become deformed before slowly reforming back to it's original shape. It's quite a cool idea and the case also has a wireframe at the sides.

The other case I considered is the STM glove case made of neoprene. After considering the final size of the case with the PB fitted inside, I decided to go with the latter as it seems to give me the smallest form factor. So, I decided to plonk down my money for it.



The PB fits nicely into it, but you do need to pull the sides when you place the PB in such that the edges of the PB are covered by the material under the zipper.



Quite satisfied with the case, and I actually can't wait to actually try it out. To bad I don't carry my PB out that often. As for the Zero Shock case, I'm still pretty intrigued by it. Maybe I'll give it a try another time.

The Star Wars Last Supper

Giantmag.com has done a parody of the famous Last Supper painting, but
with Star Wars characters. It looks quite creepy actually.

Review of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

Okay, I've seen the final film for Star Wars. As a fan, I would say that it's quite good, but not to get into the hype and looking at it critically, there are some flaws. I've done up a review at SG_Starwars site. Check out the review with the link below. Here's a snippet:

If lightsaber battles are what makes the Star Wars universe so unique, then you get plenty of it here. Obi-wan and Anakin duke it out with Count Dooku. Mace Windu crosses sabers with Darth Sidious. Obi-wan takes on General Grevious. Yoda gives Darth Sidious a lesson in how not to judge a lightsaber by its size. And of course, the life-changing battle between two friends. All these saber-waving antics may be overkill, but they are without a doubt highlights of the movie.

It's also a good opportunity to introduce the SG_Starwars website. I've been with this Yahoo! group for many years now. Some folks on the group have got together to design a website and also a forum. It is great and if you're a Star Wars fan in Singapore, I encourage you to check it out and join in the Star Wars community. Feel free to join the forums and contribute in Star Wars discourse.

Oh... if you look at the URL, it's actually starwars.sg! How cool is it to manage to get that domain name address!

Note: The picture used above is an actual shot of the screen during the screening.

Posting from Dash Blog

There are so many ways you can post to a blog. With my new Powerbook running Tiger OS, I can post from the Dashboard using this widget called Dash Blog. This is a test posting from there.

The PSP is here in Singapore

The good: The Sony PSP is finally here!
The bad: It is launched with a small library of games and most are in Japanese.



OK, so the PSP is finally here. Granted that the system is quite a wonder to behold and the graphics are great, the Singapore launch is actually a bit of a letdown.

First, there are only a small number of launch titles... Ridge Racer, Ape Escape, Tales of Eternia... where is Total World Soccer? Where is the fighting game Darkstalkers Chronicles? Where is Lumines? The launch titles are so disappointing that it is not worth getting the PSP at launch. That is unless you're willing to cough up more for imported titles.



Next is the lack of English titles. Most of us speak English but why does Sony has to release the Jap versions of the games? Ape Escape is in Jap. Hotshots Golf is in Jap. And worst of all, the RPG Tales of Eternia is in Jap (see picture above)! Come on, it's a RPG title and if it's in Jap, how do you except me to understand the story? Granted that the graphics and artwork of the game is nice, but not being able to understand the story takes the whole fun out of the game.

Let's hope more titles will be made available in the near future, and English ones, please.

Directory of local bands

If you don't know, Singapore does have a pretty active local music scene. Most of the bands are not household names, but some have done pretty well. Others are just outfits made up of friends. This website (http://localmusichere.blogspot.com/) is a directory of the sites of some local bands in Singapore. Great resource if you want to check out local music.

My new Powerbook 12" and my first Mac

I've got my new toy and it's called the Powerbook. I've plonked down some cash to replace my old Fujitsu notebook which has gone to notebook heaven. If I still can get Linux to install on it, I'll really have to sell it to the garang guni (rags n bones man).

So, this is the PB still in the box. Okay, it has been opened since I've asked the shop that I purchase it from to add some RAM giving my device a whooping 1.25GB of RAM. That, and the whole Powerbook, should serve me well for at least another 4 years.

This is the PB freshly unpacked out of the box. I've not even configured the device. In the background to the left if you can make it out is actually my old Fujitsu and its CD-ROM drive.

I'm quite impressed by the construction of the PB. The anodised aluminum case is nice to touch and the whole thing just feels solid. It is heavier and thicker than my old Fujitsu but you have to factor in that this baby has a Superdrive included. I've plans to burn a number of DVDs, if you know what I mean.

Although I've used a Mac back during Uni days, this is actually my first personal Mac, and also my first personal brand new notebook. The Fujitsu one is a second-hand I bought when I was in CNET.

Anyway, setting up this device is quite simple. Mac OS X Tiger is preinstalled and it didn't take me long before I could connect to my wireless network and start surfing the Net. I didn't expect it to be that simple! It also didn't take me long to connect to the shared folders on my WinXP desktop-cum-server.

Next up is trying to get VNC to work so that I can control the WinXP box remotely from my living room. Also have to learn other functions, and provide more photos in the near future.

SF Gate on Asian blogs

SF Gate has an article on blogs in Asia. Mentioned include the Mrbrown blog and also the famous (infamous) Xiaxue blog. Interesting read of how the ang mohs look at blogging in Asia.

In Asia, where government restrictions and cultural mores have traditionally been strict, this testing of sexual, political and cultural borders is becoming more common. But blogs level the publishing landscape; they're the new vanity press. If you want to see your writing in print, you simply publish yourself.

Music-makers, say you support filesharing

Musician and artist Halsey Burgund is asking musicians to participate in the battle for filesharing.

It is imperative that we as musicians become involved in educating the public that filesharing can be beneficial to us as well as society as a whole. Thank you for your interest in spreading this important message in a way that we, as musicians, excel: communicating through music.

All I need you to do is record yourself saying the below text and send the results to me. Please note that I do not want you to say anything you are uncomfortable saying. It is very important that everything I use in this song is genuinely felt by the speaker. Otherwise, it loses its efficacy entirely.

Hope this works well for the community.

LEGO jewellery

Jewellery designer Jacqueline Sanchez is designing a range of fashion items using, or is it inspired by, LEGO. The range is titled "Forever Young". Appropriate and nice.

Widgets can be dangerous?

If you may have noticed, I've started posting links to Mac-related stuff. This is because I'm considering buying an iBook or Powerbook. Yep, I'm planning on getting a Mac. I'm not "switching" totally of course, since my main desktop will still be a Windoze machine.

On to this post then. The Dashboard widgets on Mas's Tiger OS is a cool piece of work and can be really useful as it allows you to quickly access useful apps. However, the way it is implemented may be a cause for worry. Read the link to find out more... seems like the autoinstall system may cause things that are undesirable to be added into your Mac. Now, who says Macs are not vunerable?

Photoshop a Tiger user

Fark.com has asked their readers to apply Photoshop effects on a
picture that shows a happy Mac user who bought the new Mac Tiger OS X.
Of course, it seems like most of those who are participating are not
Mac users, and probably are Mac bashers. Lets hope that none of these
are created using a Mac.

How Lightsabers Work

Lightsabers are cool! If you've seen Star Wars, you'd want a lightsaber. This article on Howstuffworks.com will tell you how this weapon used by Jedi knights and masters work. The section on how to use the lightsaber at home states that

Although a lightsaber is typically used as a defensive weapon by Jedi knights, the availability of lightsabers on consumer sites such as eBay is growing. It is a sad fact of life, but if a Jedi knight falls on hard times, his lightsaber is one source of quick cash. He can always build another one.

The site also highlighted other uses for the lightsaber, such as "reheating coffee" and "lighting a cigarette". How about using it as a toothpick? Probably not so advisable.

How to live longer

MSNBC has an article from Forbes on 10 ways for you to extend your life. Some of them seems quite fun to do, like "Have more sex". Others are quite sensible, like "Stop smoking". These are supposedly based on research and I've reproduced them here if you decide to try them out.

1. Don't oversleep
2. Be optimistic
3. Have more sex
4. Get a pet
5. Get a VAP
6. Be rich
7. Stop smoking
8. Chill out
9. Eat your antioxidants
10. Marry well

Singapore blog locator

Want to know where the bloggers are in Singapore? Here's a map where you can add your blog to this Singapore map. At the time of publishing, it seems like the concentration of bloggers are from Bukit Timah and Serangoon area. There's also one in the sea. That fellow sure has a wet sense of humour.

Comic blog by single Asian male

This blog titled SquareBrain.Net is unusual as it is one of those that not only uses words, but also a comic strip to make a point. Actually, comic blogs are definitely easier to read than a normal blog, but not everyone has the talent to do one. This one is pretty nice.

Anime-inspired makeup

Anime is hot. In the US, even cosmetic makers are getting into this style. Check out the crazy stuff that are suppose to make you look kawaii, like the chicks on Sailor Moon.

Japanese brands like Shu Uemura, plus such trendy Americans as Stila and Goldie, are jumping aboard the sweet-seeking trend to produce Sailor Moon-ish products and accoutrements—from cleansers in adorable packaging to cosmetics with cartoon-inspired pigments to ice-cream-flavor lip gloss.

Mindef goes blogging

Everyone is getting into the blogging game. Who would have imagined that the Ministry of Defence will set up a blog on their MIW site. This site serves all military personnals in Singapore and also all those serving their National Service either as full-time or reservist. Is this just an attempt for the military service to get in with the times, to get hip? Or is it just propagenda? You decide. Anyway, it seems like these days, NS boys sure have time on their hands to blog. I remember the good ole days when time outside training is just too precious to waste.

Build your own DVR

It's not something new that DVR will change the way you watch television. However, if you are not willing to plonk down cash buy one, or if the TiVo service is not available, what are you gonna do to join the ranks who can watch TV at their own time? Well, it's really easy. Just build your own DVR! The do-it-yourself magazine has posted a guide on their site to help you build your own digital video recorder. Join the revolution, record your TV... digitally.

Blog on army days

Miss your army days? Hate your NS moments? This blog titled "Days Were The Those" has folks posting their days during National Service and for regulars, their days serving in uniform. In the words of the blog this is on "Stories of National Service in Singapore. Contributors welcome. Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Civil Defence also can." Fun read, especially for those who has been through life in green.

Selling on ebay with babes

Gizmondo is reporting that folks are now selling items on ebay with photos of sexy Asian babes. Kudos to the guy who first thought of the idea and it's a wonder why no one of of it in the first place, considering that magazines like Stuff have been using this strategy for some time.

"I believe you"-a novella

This guy called Low Kay Hwa has written a short novel and it is on the Net for your reading pleasure. I've not read it yet but it's suppose to be a"romantic and bittersweet story about two Singapore Junior College students trying to find their meanings in life." Can't vouch for the quality of it though. Still, without the Internet, this guy would have to look for a publisher, but now, you can self-publish and get an audience. Hey, if you've some time, do support Singapore writing and give it a read. You can even post your views in the forums created for it.

Vader has a blog

Everyone has a blog these days. Hulk has one, and so does the Dark Lord Darth Vader. On the blog titled The Darth Side: Memoirs of a Monster, Vader himself, or someone controlled by Vader pens his daily musings and what he does daily running the Empire. Real funny stuff.

It can be challenging to maintain your dignity as a dark tyrannical overlord when the circuitry in your left leg constantly misfires, threatening to send you off on a mad pirouette without notice. It requires a serious effort of will to maintain my poise, the tendrils of my connection to the Force reaching deep into space to feel out my distant quarry and at the same time wrapped around the mechanisms of my own body to keep them working.

Star Wars Revelations

Star Wars fans are a fanatical bunch. So mad about it that they have
went all out to make fan films with the galaxy far, far, away as the
backdrop. Even Lucas the man himself has endorsed these films. Here is
one totally professional looking production that runs at more than 45
mins. Titled Star Wars Revelations, it is set between Episode 3 and 4
where Jedis are hunted fugitives. If you're a Star Wars fan
interested in anything even remotely related to Star Wars, you should
check this out. If you're not a fan, look at it too, to see how good
the production is.

Civ for free

Civilization by Microprose is a classic game. In the spirit of open source freeware, these folks have developed a free version of the game called Freeciv using the same addictive turn-based gameplay and it is multiplayer for those who wants to play against something more challenging than the computer AI.

The video game pianist

This guy is talented! He can play themes from video games on the piano and became an internet celebrity when the video of his performance, blindfolded no less, was circulated on the net with him playing the Super Mario World Intro theme. The website has media files of his performances and also links to the VG Sheet Music Club, for those who want to print out the scores and play the music on the piano.

Cartoon Hindu gods

Pixar animator Sanjay Patel has done up a children's book of Hindu gods. Cute. But will Hindus be offended? Hopefully not! You can purchase it on the website.

Games + Comics = Gamics

Ever seen video games and comics combine into a happy medium? This web site stores a collection of comics that is done by taking screenshots from games, and weaving in a story using comics bubbles on the shots. It's really cool and amazing that folks are combining different media forms in creative ways. For Half-Life fans, there's also a comic called "Apostasy" using screenies from HL2 and it can be found on BrashFink's WebWerx.

Cardboard cows

These cardboard (?) cartoon cows are appearing all over grass patches in Singapore. So far, Ilve seen then at Fort Canning, Orchard MRT, and the park across the Istana. They are actually quite cute and is a refreshing change to see fake cows grazing in the fields. Oh, they are suppose to be some promo stunt for a new ad agency. Nice way to get attention, only thing is not many people know what they are for. Alien cows?

Revenge of the Bricks!

We've seen fan-made LEGO films. But this one is offical and will be
shown on the Cartoon Network! "Revenge of the Bricks" is a computer
animated mini-movie featuring LEGO Star Wars mini-figs. In it, you'll
see "good and evil clash, imagination explodes, and creativity saves
the day when the heroic Jedi Knights battle the villainous Sith for
control of the galaxy". I can't wait to see it.

Google + Yahoo! = ???

Yagoohoogle!!! Someone has combined the two search engines together. Using this website, you can query for stuff on the two search engines and get two different results. For those who can't get enough of results, go to Yagoohoogle. Only problem is that the name is a bit hard to remember.

Blogging in Hokkien

Oh my... if you can read this blog, you must be really proficient in the Hokkien dialect... Here's a sampler of what is on the Wa Si Hokkien Lang blog about Internet Relay Chat...

IRC angmoh ji si Internet Relay Chat. Hokkien wueh kio ai-ah-Si. Wa mm zai ai ah Si lai chor simik.

SIN CITY Film-Comics comparisons

The adaptation of Frank Millar's Sin City is now a movie. I've not seen it yet but from the net, the resemblence to the comic book is striking. The shots look amazing and I'll certainly be in-line to watch this when it reaches our shores.

Life after Star Wars

There's life after "Revenge of the Sith", it seems.

Lucasfilm.com recently posted job hirings for new animated Star Wars TV shows and possibly the live action series. Lucasfilm's Jim Ward confirmed that a live action Star Wars television series is on the way, and likely to come out in 2006.

Should we get excited over this? Maybe. Let's see how Ep III thurns out before we all go crazy.

Use iPod shuffle without iTunes

This should interest those who want to just drag and drop their MP3 files into the iPod Shuffle without having to go through the hassle of managing things in iTunes. The iPod shuffle Database Builder allows you to do that and dump your music anywhere on the Shuffle.

The Database Builder comes in two flavors: A plain C Win32 console application, and a platform-independent Python script. The Win32 version is for Windows users (obviously), and requires no additional installed software to work. The other version requires some recent version of Python (tested with 2.3.5 and 2.4) and should work on any platform Python supports. This includes Linux, Windows, MacOS X (tested) and a large amount of other Unix-like systems.

25 great Sesame Street memories

Still on Sesame Street. The Progressive Boink website has a list of the writer's fave Sesame Street memories. Looking through the list, I sure remember some of them, especially the one Grover goes "near" and "far". Of course, not in that list but would be my personal favourite will be Ernie singing "Rubber Duckie" in the tubby.

Cookie Monster going healthy

Eating healthy. You may think that it may not apply to the monsters on Sesame Street but it does. CNN is reporting that the PBS kid's series is advocating eating healthy food. That's not really a bad thing but it's certainly different from the Sesame Street of my youth. Even the CNN journo reporting this thinks so.

My beloved blue, furry monster -- who sang "C is for cookie, that's good enough for me" -- is now advocating eating healthy. There's even a new song -- "A Cookie Is a Sometimes Food," where Cookie Monster learns there are "anytime" foods and "sometimes" foods.

"Sacrilege!" I cried. "That's akin to Oscar the Grouch being nice and clean." (Co-workers gave me strange looks. But I didn't care.)

Clothing for the Treo

My quest for something to protect my Treo 650 has led me to these two options here-the Boxwave Silicone Skin and the egrips. The best option is to have a case that both protects and won't add too much bulk to the phone. The Silicone Skin (pict left) protects quite well but adds a little bulk. Plus it picks up lint from my pants after a while. I was quite satisfied with this case until I began to dislike the feel of the case with lint. After some looking around, I found the egrips. It's not so much a case than something that allows you to have good grip of your device. After using it for a while, I am happy to say that I like it. Although it doesn't fully protect the Treo, it gives me good grip on the phone with its grippy qualities. Since this will help prevent slipping and sliding, it gives me the assurance that as long as I am careful, I won't drop it. Since it is a stick on, I hope it will last. Am I still looking for other options? Maybe the magnesium Innopocket hard case can be a contender. For now, I'm a happy guppy with egrips.

Seems to be working

After changing the Blogger email, posting to the blog using email on my Treo seems to be working.

Still trying to post via email

Posting via email is still a problem. Does it work properly?

Hitting 1000 page views!!!

Wow, I've hit 1000 page views. Thanks to myself, and probably one or two little kittens who occassionally view my blog. Well, this blog is not one of those uber-popular first-class blog. So I never expect it to have millions of page views such that the server goes belly up. On to the next milestone then... 2000 page views!

Test post to blog

This is another test post to Blogger. Posting via email seems a little flaky.

Football movie made in Singapore

Who says Singapore movie is just Raintree or Jack Neo or Royston? These guys have put together a 15 mins short film about

the journey of 3 soccer-crazy boys. Having taking up the challenge of a friendly soccer match, the boys realize that it is not easy to find a good, free public soccer field in Singapore?..if there's any at all. Through their journey they encounter obnoxious care-takers, locked-up fences, deterring weather and a persistent policeman. Will they be able to find their dream soccer pitch?

Titled Tak Giu, which means kicking football, this is way way better than anything you see on MediaCorp these days. It is even better than the Gurmit Singh-starred One Leg Kicking.

Live-action Transformers in the works

How about that? CNN has news that we may be seeing live-action robots in disguise on the silver screens in 2006! Bad Boys director Michael Bay is slated to be in talks to direct this movie. Wow, it'll be fun to see real humans acting next to computer generated Optimus Prime.

Creative commons in the UK

This is an interesting and insightful piece on UK's, or rather BBC's, attempt to introduce the idea of Creative Common licenses. Anyone interested in the future of media should take a look at this.

The U.K. has a great tradition in providing quality public service to the citizen... I find absolutely fascinating the way the public sector has been engaged with the CC project" says Prodromos Tsiavos, the legal lead at Oxford. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the most influential public service content provider in the world, has been behind the project from the start and is using the Creative Commons ideology as a lynchpin for its core digital project, the Creative Archive.
...
By contrast, the commercial creative industries have raised the kind of misinformed objections to Creative Commons that will be tiresomely familiar to those engaged in the IP debate in the States.

Here's to hoping that this initiative works out and be the model for many other countries to follow.

Posting straight to Blogger from email

Although I've posted pictures to Blogger with the pictures stored on
Flickr, that is a service provided by Flickr. So, this will be my
first post via email using the tools that Blogger provides. Here's to
more ways of posting!

Disneyland LEGO

This is a reconstruction of Disneyland using LEGO bricks. It is posted
on Brickshelf, a site for folks to share their LEGO collection. This
construction is simply jawdropping!

ACS on Wikipedia

Wikipedia is the online encyclopedia where everyone can contributes. And guess what? You can actually find an entry to ACS on it. Not entirely surprising if you really think about it. Considering the number of students that has past through its gates, and old boys include famous criminals to famous statesman. Anyway, it is quite comprehensive and no mention of the school is complete without mention of the "snob" image that was perpetuated by others.

The school's students have also been accused of being arrogant and snobbish, and ACS itself has often been charged as being a school only for children of the rich and elite. In the 1970s, there was a minor flap in the local press about ACS students flaunting their wealth to other, less privileged students and the world at large, and the term "snob" began being applied to them. As a result, the school initiated strict policies on how much money a student was allowed to bring to school, and even what kinds of watches or shoes would be permitted to be worn.

What can I say? It's part of the school's history.

More board game recommendations

Just found this article that recommends some of the best games of 2004. Can't really say if they are really good since it's hard to find these games in Singapore, let alone find people who have heard of them. I have the original Carcassonne and Carcassonne: The City looks similar. Anyway, good luck finding them. Best to import them or get it when you are overseas.

Giant ewoks invade Star Wars Galaxies

Ewoks. Love or hate them, they fought on the side of the good guys in
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. On April Fool's day, the developers of
Star Wars Galaxies unleashed extremely aggressive and unusually large
Ewoks and set them on cantina patrons and innocent bystanders. Ewoks
are cute? Not when they're this size and when they are attacking you!

iTreoPod? It's April's Fool

Yesterday was April's fool and there must be tons of fake, funny news
reports circulating the web. I read one that Steve Jobs is going to
join IKEA (think it is on The Register) and almost feel for it until I
remembered the date. One of the best that I saw has to be the one on
CNET. They have the iTreoPod, a slap-together device that combines the
best smartphone and the popular MP3 player. But who really needs that?
My Treo acts as a perfectly fine MP3 player too.

LEGO Grand Theft Auto

LEGO is a toy that's safe for kids. But what if it's Grand Theft Auto
using LEGO? Brick Flick presents Grand Theft Auto: LEGO City and has
the minigifs running around in LEGO City doing GTA stuff. Check out the video clips. It's sweet.

Hilarious Teochew ringtone

Just found out that Singapore blogger Mr. Brown has started podcasting. A few days back, he did one which features a number of funny ringtones. The funniest one is this Teochew ringtone which asks you to pick up your phone. The featured link has extracted the ringtone so you can download it if your phone supports MP3.

EPIC 2014-possible future of the mediascape?

This is a 8 mins flash presentation of the future of media. The scenario presented sees Google and Amazon merging and the mainstream media going offline in response to EPIC, otherwise known as the "Evolving Personalized Information Construct". EPIC will customise news and media for you and is way more advance than anything we have today. Although the presented future may not come to pass, it has more than a hint of truth in it, considering the way trends are heading today. If you're even remoteing interested in how you will consume media in the future, this is an awesome piece that you must watch. For those working in the media, it is absolutely essential.