All Hallow's Eve

Absolute Newater

Stumbled upon this nifty pic from the BigO site.

Mister Miracle's Greatest Escape!

Mister Miracle's greatest stunt : Escape from a comic book! But for those who, like me, bought "Mister Miracle#1", written by Grant Morrison, won't get to see the hands holding the book as it was left on the editing table, due to unknown reasons. Gotten this nifty little piece of info from the very resourceful Comics Should Be Good site and what an absolute pity this is. I trust this couldn't be a hoax, but really can't figure out why this kickass concept was left out by the final editing and why Morrison actually allowed the unreasonable cut. Just a simple touch and an old concept comes alive, literally. That's really vintage Morrison. Personally, Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's "WE3" are the frontrunner for the best comic of the year on my list. Anyway, as I did mentioned, Comics Should Be Good has been an exceptionally great site for comic geeks like myself, with their excellent reviews and behind-the-scene informations about the industry. Just check out their "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed History" article for starters.

The World 0 - 619 Me

Question : How good are you at certain things? Answer : Of course, I'm the best there is at what I does. Silly quiz. How Good are you at Certain Things? Name Age Favorite Color Nickname Sex - 77% Romance - 100% Self - Control - 94% Kissing - 48% Cuddling - 27% Kinkiness - 4% This QuickKwiz by KillianO - Taken 2864944 Times. New - How do you get a guy to like you? Scored terribly high for the first three, and extremely horrendous for the last three. Sex at 77%. Romance at 100%. Self Control at 94%. Kinkiness at 4%? What kinda Sick Freak scores high for kinkiness? Just try the test yourself to see why I rule all time.

Been Caught Stealing

You need neither a sharp eye nor some basic aesthetic foundation to figure this out. It is that obvious. However I do sympathize with the mentioned Shojo Artist for being the one getting caught, what with the enormous numbers of cases all over the market, and she's the 1,001 luck-out one. It was said that the Fans pointed out the similarities online, leading to the crackdown. Bah, the power of the internet manifest yet again. Read on. Kodansha has pulled 25 works by cartoonist Yuki Suetsugu out of print and is withdrawing the remaining copies, over allegations that she stole images from the popular "Slam Dunk" comic books by Takehiko Inoue. Kodansha officials said Suetsugu had used images from "Slam Dunk" in her 12-part comic-book series "Eden no Hana." In addition to taking all 25 of her works out of print, it has decided to halt publication of the series "Silver" appearing in monthly publication "Bessatsu Friend." Officials said the stolen images were used in a basketball scene, and bore a close resemblance to those in "Slam Dunk." Suetsugu has admitted having copied the images. On the following day, both Kodansha and Suetsugu apologised publicly on the Kodansha site. 末次由紀氏の描写盗用問題については、詳細を調査中ですが、 多くについては事実が確認されました。末次氏もこれを認めております。 「別冊フレンド」の連載の即刻中止を決め、末次氏のすべての単行本も 出荷停止・絶版・回収の措置をとりました。 編集部としても盗用に気づかなかったことを深く反省するとともに、 著作権者の方、そして読者の皆様にお詫び申し上げます。 講談社　広報室 今回このような事態を招いてしまって本当に申し訳ありません。 自分のモラルの低さと認識の甘さにより、多大なるご迷惑をおかけしてしまった 著作権者の皆様、関係者の皆様、そしてなにより読者の皆様に深く謝罪申し上げます。 末次由紀 In good ol'English : From Kodansha: We are still looking into the plagiarism case regarding Suetsugu Yuki, but we can already confirm that much of it is true. Suetsugu has also admitted to it. Serialization in 'Bessatsu Friend' has immediately been stopped, as well as the shipping of all of Suetsugu's tankoubon. They will no longer be printed and steps for a recall have been taken. We deeply regret that the plagiarism went unnoticed by our editorial department, and we apologize to the copyright holders as well as all our readers. Kodansha PR department From Suetsugu: I am really sorry for having invited this situation. I have caused much trouble, due to my low morals and lack of foresight and deeply apologize to all copyright holders, all people involved and above all to all readers. Suetsugu Yuki Low morals, eh? I do vaguely remember a certain renowned American Comic Artist (Hint hint : This guy got an equally famous comic artist sibling, and his old man's one hell of an iconic figure in the comic industry) resorting to similar antics back in his early days, and was spotted by some eagle-eyed reader who in turns exposed the incident on one of the early issues of Wizard. Not much of an issue back then despite the blatantly obvious swipes (And I thought the Americans are supposedly the front-runner in terms of copyright matters). And sadly, the swiping techniques had been evidently in fashion for like, almost forever. If only such antics were better enforced in America, the sheer volume of books to be recall are, well I can almost see the big fat grin on the face of the shredding service provider's face. Anyway, as I was saying, the power of the internet, indeed. As expected, uproars and backlash came hand in hand after the incident. Similarities to Bastard!, Real (also by Takehiko Inoue), and other mangas were exposed as well. A parting shot for you.

Out-Of-This-World Sex : The Bane Of Future Space Missions

Sex and romantic entanglements among astronauts could derail missions to Mars and should therefore be studied by NASA, warns a top-level panel of US researchers. NASA plans to return astronauts to the Moon by 2018 and later on to Mars. But a round-trip mission to the Red Planet would probably last at least 30 months and carry six to eight people. That would be a hotbed for intense crew relationships, says a report by the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS). "With the prospect of a very long-term mission, it's hard to ignore the question of sexuality," says Lawrence Palinkas, a medical anthropologist at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, an author of the report. It reviewed NASA's plans for research to keep astronauts safe and healthy in space – but the plans make no mention of sexual issues in spaceflight. "Breakups can lead to violence and all kinds of things," agrees Carol Rinkleib Ellison, a psychologist specialising in sexuality and intimacy based in Oakland, California, US, who was not part of the NAS panel. "People are very primitive in their emotions around partnering and sex." Sexual harassment may also endanger a mission. In an 8-month space station simulation on Earth in 2000, a Russian man twice tried to kiss a Canadian woman researcher just after two other Russians had gotten into a bloody brawl. As a result, locks were installed between the Russian and international crews' compartments. Palinkas says such problems may be minimised by training astronauts ahead of time in how to deal with stressful situations or by having them speak with psychologists on the ground in group therapy sessions. "You'd deal with it basically the same way you would with any potential crew tension and conflict," he says. But he says sex may also benefit missions by creating "a sense of stability or normalisation". Ellison agrees, saying sex or masturbation could help alleviate boredom and anxiety on the long, lonely journeys through space. "It could help or hinder, depending on how many people you've got, their relationship, and what it means to them," she told New Scientist. Well, at least China can send some Shaolin Monks for space missions.

Chinese Literary Icon And Renowned Anarchist Ba Jin Dies

Quite possibly the last survivor of last century's greatest writers, and quite remarkably a devoted anarchist (so much so that his pen name was chosen from the Chinese transliterations of the first syllable of the name Bakunin and of the last syllable of the name Kropotkin, two Russian anarchists that he liked), Ba Jin has died at the age of 101 due to a prolonged battle with cancer. Ba Jin was seen as a literary icon who symbolised the quest for identity by 20th Century Chinese intellectuals. His best known novels, published in the 1930s, described traditional pre-Communist family hierarchies. Hailed by the new government in 1949, he fell from favour during the Cultural Revolution but in his later years was rehabilitated and became famous. Ba Jin was born in 1904 in the western city of Chengdu. He became an anarchist and democracy campaigner and lived in Paris, returning to China in 1928. In 1931 he wrote his most famous novel, Family, describing the oppression of growing up in a feudal household. As an opponent of the old regime, he was praised by Chairman Mao Zedong's Communists. But in the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution he suffered the same fate as many intellectuals, branded a counter-revolutionary, publicly humiliated and imprisoned. He was rehabilitated in 1977 and given several honorary posts such as chairman of the Chinese Writers' Association, which he held for more than 20 years. But despite Ba Jin's fame, the authorities never heeded his calls to build a museum memorialising the cultural revolution's atrocities. In his last years he was confined in a hospital in Shanghai, unable to speak or move.

The Connections Between Hobbits And Indonesians?

Scientists digging in a remote Indonesian cave have uncovered a jaw bone that they say adds more evidence that a tiny prehistoric Hobbit-like species once existed. That is the conclusion of scientists who announced the discovery of the remains of more of the tiny prehistoric humans nicknamed for the diminutive stars of the 'Lord of the Rings' saga. The jaw is from the ninth individual believed to have lived as recently as 12,000 years ago. The research team strongly believes that the skeletons belong to a separate species of early human that shared Earth with modern humans far more recently than anyone thought.

Before I Get Old

Shades of The Propaganda Remix Project recollected, but nonetheless thought this poster is blatantly appropriate now. Anyway it was taken from the ever intriguing BigO site. Speaking of BigO...here goes...Inaugurated since September 1985, the locally-based music magazine known as BigO (acronym for "Before I Get Old")is one of Asia's most respected and influential rock magazine. But should my sources not fail me, BigO had ceased publication and are now an online magazine. Not complaining though, it's still packing the punch. Ever the political incorrect rock mag that also includes social commentaries on the world at large (which is considerably quite a feat in itself, mind you, this is SINgapore), complete with the regular previews and reviews stuffs in regular rock mags. Check the site out.

The Most Dreaded Local Film. And No, It's Not Directed By Jack Neo.

The recent "Singaporean-Doing-Hard-Time-For-Blogging" incident, despite casting a dark and gloomy cloud over the local blogosphere, was actually rather gratifying to me in some extent that it brought up some intriguing issues and cases that I never noticed earlier on, and that it has without a shadow of a doubt, raised some much needed awareness on both the blogging community and the Government stance on freedom of speech. For example, while browsing down the related stories, I stumbled upon an article on a film that I have only heard of earlier on (pros for being a devoted follower of Singapore International Film Festival (SIFF) since 1998), "Singapore Rebel". Come to think of it, it's rather funny that while the Censor Board's idea behind banning the documentary was to eliminate any chances of it reaching Singaporeans and the international community(the Censor Board told SIFF organisers that Martyn See, the producer of Singapore Rebel, must withdraw the film from the SIFF within a few hours, or else they would report him to the police and have him charged), all it succeed in achieving is blowing the trumpet out loud now that its existence has reach puny locals like myself. And now, the most dreaded local film has been screened in Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Sweden and the US, and has sparked petitions for its release from global entities such as SEAPA (Southeast Asian Press Alliance) and Amnesty International. Worth the ticket price just for its notoriety. Sorry, Jack Neo. The most dreaded local film is not "I Do I Do". Not "Money No Enough". And hell no, not even your latest magnum opus, "One More Chance" despite the fact that it remains as my single most 'skull-fuck-me-to-death-please' cinematic moment ever. And please don't ask me why I go in the first place. IT is that traumatic. But I'll be more than delighted to attend the screening of "Singapore Rebel".

Grey In South Park

This will be how I will look like if I am a South Park character. Bloodcurdlingly cute, isn't it? Try out the very handy South Park Character Generator.

Sympathy For Lady Vengeance

No more Miss Nice "Lady" in "Jewel In The Palace", the Korean drama that took Asia by storm recently, Yeong-ae Lee will be playing the role of the title character "Lady Vengeance" in the finale of Chan-wook Park's excellent Revenge trilogy, "Chinjeolhan geumjassi" ('kind Ms. Geum-Ja' in Korean), AKA Sympathy For Lady Vengeance. "Sympathy For Mr Vengeance" was good, "Oldboy" was epic(and my movie of the year for 2004), just so that you can understand my anticipation. For starters, the plot summary from IMDB as follows: Lee Geum-Ja, at the age of 19, goes to prison for the murder and abduction of a child on behalf of her accomplice Mr. Baek, only to find out that she is betrayed. While in prison, she carefully prepares for her revenge by winning the hearts of her fellow inmates with her kindness, thus earning herself the nickname 'kind Ms. Geum-Ja'. Upon her release from prison after 13 years, she finally sets out to seek revenge on Baek, with the help of her former prison mates.

Heads Will Roll

Chipping in my puny effort in fighting terrorism(while showcasing some gratuitous gore).

My Son...Superman!

Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage is a new father. His wife, Alice Kim Cage, gave birth Monday to a boy, Kal-el Coppola Cage. As we are all without a doubt relieved from the fact that the ultimate disaster movie featuring Nic Cage as the Man of Steel are in Limbo now, Nicholas Cage must be feeling sore, so much so that he had name his son Kal-el, the birth name of Superman. Nicholas Cage, whose original name was Nicholas Coppola, reportedly changed his name so that his acting career would not be influenced by the fame and powers of his Uncle Francis Ford. The earlier explaination behind why he chose Cage was out of tribute to comic book superhero Luke Cage. However, the later explaination was that it was out of admiration for avant-garde musician John Cage (or perhaps it's just ol' Nic trying to leave his comic geek past behind). Anyway, Nic Cage is set to destroy more comic book history as Johnny Blaze, the alter ego of one of the coolest looking superhero ever, Ghost Rider, the Ghost Rider movie. Luckily all we gonna see is his head in flames.