Demise of Michael Jackson

Woke up hearing a shocking news of the death of one of my favourite singers, King of PoP, Michael Jackson. He died at the age of 50 from cardiac arrest at his home. I really love his dance and songs. His moonwalk and gravity defying lean and crotching grabbing moves. His best record selling album Thriller, even till today, along with Billie Jean and Beat It are my MJ's favourite songs. His life has revolved around his surgeries, his childhood, his law suits with the kids other than his dance and music. Another thing is his Neverland Ranch from Peter Pan's island which MJ says he is like Peter Pan who never grows up. Among all of his costumes my favourite is his military inspired costume, History. The gold and black looks really classy and stylish and i clearly remember it for his History World Tour with the costume. On a sidenote his more than 45 degrees lean in Smooth Criminal is with the use of a device with the shoe which he patented.

History costume


Well some of MJ's toys which I guess has appreciated now, regret not getting the cosbaby set. Really liked some of it. Didnt get the Hot Toys Michael Jackson as I think it dont really look like him. Well will wait for a better looking version which Im sure will come out soon.

MJ Cosbaby


Hot Toys Michael Jackson

Well a sad loss of a talented musician/artist. This post is to mourn for King of Pop, Michael Jackson. RIP

A Better Tommorow

It has been a very unpleasant period of time since start of year. Filled with a mixture of negative feelings, from disappointment to anguish to a stench of foul betrayal.. It has really been a crappy period of time. Though think I still haven gotten out of everything but felt better over encouragement from friends and family, through durians, coffee and the companionship. One word, thanks. Trying to stop thinking about some things which I have no control and spend time considering things I should be doing. A new direction, goal and drive to prove to myself and others. Guess its inevitable to not think back at times but like my friends keep saying "Move on", gotta brace myself together.

Had quite an eventful day last Saturday, starting with lunch at Yam Cha then followed by a toy hunt session with a friend. Started with a fruitless trip to Sunshine, missing the Gurren Laggen Kuji event. Then made way to Plaza Singapura, which now having quite a few toy shops, from Basement 1's Action City all the way to the top with Comics Connection, some Jap merchandise shop and Simply Toys along with the others. Then made way to Latendo, which I haven been to since it moved over to Leisure Park. Bad choice of location I must say, though there are many facilities like cinema, ice skating rink and all, there wasnt really much crowd on a Saturday. Well nevertheless the overall visit wasnt too bad, as Latendo's dispaly seem to have increased. You can always get to see alot of interesting stuff over there. And well 'managed' to get a tikam which we wanted lol.

Well decided to catch a movie there and decided to watch Drag Me to Hell. Actually didnt sleep through the night and was pretty tired but the show was not bad, with quite a original and interesting story ha and didnt doze off throughout the show. Quite a few scary scenes along with much gore n gruesome parts though the last part was kinda predictable. Basically its about the female lead, Christine Brown, a loan officer getting cursed by an old gypsy woman after rejecting her appeal for an extension on her loan and how she gets haunted and tries to fight the curse. Before the show started went to the arcade and played games which I haven't played for a long time or have never tried before. Oh played the basketball shooting game at the Zone X arcade at Dhoby Ghaut MRT for the 1st time before going over to Latendo, always thought it should not be that hard but well I was wrong! Pretty tiring and different from the actual rim and its addictive man ha. Anyways played Bishy Bashy, Mario Go-kart and the Air Hockey over at the arcade and it was fun ha. It was overall quite a fun day with good activities and companionship, haven had such fun for quite some time. Should do it more often, well TF2 time then.. Ah didnt expect to be a goer for horror shows ha. Yeah thanks for the fun day.

Well since you mentioned, this is for you, Carue under POP One Piece line. Its called 跑得快 and is Princess Vivi's rider in the story and like its chinese name, it runs really fast ha though it looks kinda clumsy. The action it makes is when it obeys and understand the order given cute right? haha.. It actually belongs to a clan of duckies lol..

And since the last post was on Red Hulk decided to take some pics of my Red Hulk figures.

The small 3.75" Marvel Fury Files

Exclusive Marvel Select Red Hulk

Marvel Legends BAF Red Hulk

The yellow Wolverine with variant black

Well newly gotten 3.75" Union Jack as comparison to the 7" one

Already sold out my extra loose Marvel Legends Red Hulk so only got old blur pics to make do with till i opened up mine

Romance

A late outing at night hours ago on the topic of romantic movies made type this post 4am rather than sleeping. I must say I love romance shows like many women do. My Sassy Girl, Kate and Leopold, Love Actually, Jerry Maguire, Top Gun and many more. I think many people have different definitions of romance, a typical candle light dinner or the moment of the beautiful sunset.. Well I think one only live once and in this one lifetime we chase and pursue after the sweetest romance. To me its everything that plays a part, from one's movements, gestures and speeches to the place, enviroment and ambience and most importantly the person and the feeling from deep within your heart. A candle light dinner with your best guy buddy isnt romantic I would say and on the other hand, a simple fare with your loved one can also be the most romantic meal one can have.

Everyone or should I say many long for a love so romantic, that it can be a story that can be passed on like Romeo and Juliet. I had thought romance was short lived, it cannot be too long as it feels so sweet within the limited time, making it more memorable and treasuring it more at that very moment. Stars, flowers and passion was something I think romance cant lack of. To me flowers, especially roses are beautiful as at that moment it lives and blooms most beautifully before it withers, something artificial flowers cant give no matter how beautiful it is. Over time my definition of it has changed although almost a bulk of it has remained. Can money bring about romance? I believe with it you can create a romantic and beautiful scene easily but even without you can create a less extravagant one. The ambience and feeling must connect with the right person ultimately.

A lover gives the most romantic and sweetest moments but a life partner gives the greatest security and faith. Can that come together? I do not know but chances are low I suppose, a good lover do not necessary make a good life partner. The romantic moments perhaps are to be reminisced. Perhaps we love romance movies as we hardly get them in real life and if gotten, its short lived and never a happy ending. A smooth sailing and stable relationship is far from a romantic relationship but a short lived one, with lots of outbursts of emotions and feelings comprising of tears of both happiness and sadness brings about one I guess.. As stability and routine may not only be the death of love but also the death of romance. For I thought the most romantic moment for one is when the guy asks for the hand of the gal, with a simple "Will you marry me?" like what we see in stories and movies. Different ways, settings and languages but the same objective.

自古多情空余恨，此恨绵绵无绝期. As perhaps those full of emotions and commit and give in alot into relationsips alway leave behind lots of regrets.. and these regrets continue and last for a long time.. disturbing the person eternally perhaps.. As the touches of your fingers and the dampness of your kisses slip through like the wind, he opens his palm and let the memories trickle through and hope that someday somewhere something will fill the empty and hollow hole..
I ask what is the path we seek over the 5.5 years, is the romance not suffice or is it the security cannot be felt, only to leave behind a trail of questions which may never be answered..

Adding on to my misc purchases are DCUC's Gentleman Ghost. Gotten the figure alone, loose without its BAF Giaganta part. Its unique design without a head and white suit really attracts me. I love the classic tuxedo design with the cloak and hat along with the cane and gun not forgetting the transparent bottom half of the figure.



Another is the Marvel Fury Files 3.75" latest wave, Red Hulk. Check out the sheer size of it wanting to burst out of the packaging, filling almost the whole of the packaging. The kind which you call value for money lol. This is a rare piece with almost everyone looking for it and I gotten one of it.

Losing our competitiveness

Recently there has been alot of discussions about foreign talent, well almost in all industries there is a huge number of foreign workers especially Filipinos and Chinese Nationals. No doubt in certain aspects or sectors perhaps we are not as developed and may require certain specialties of the foreign talent but how much is sufficient? The recent badminton saga of JJC and RJC, having a full squad 7 Chinese nationals for female team. Well a few perhaps 2 to 3 would be good but having a full team of 7 what our own locals? No doubt many would have been poached to the top sports school, but wouldnt the school alone have other talents as well? Same as some of the industries, we spend hefty sums to hire foreign talent, cant part of the amount be used to nuture or scout for similar talents locally? There seems to be an over reliance on the usage on foreign workers, apart from your Maria maids, Filipinos can be all over especially in service sectors like telemarketing, customer service and retail line as well as healthcare sectors. Chinese Nationals are all around in food and service line as well.
Then again at times I feel some times we only have ourselves to blame for not being competitive giving people or employers reasons to hire foreigners than locals. Was at Action City the other day and asked for an item and the staff, a Filipino greeted with zest "Hello sir, welcome to Action City! Is there anything that I can help you with?" along with a smile. When the item I was looking for was not available she replied "Sorry Sir all our stuff for that series is all displayed there at the display cabinet", walking over and showing the display shelf. It was then followed by "Sir are you a collector of Star Wars stuff? If so if you want you can leave down your number so if there is any Star Wars stuff that arrives we will give you a call". This kind of service offered is excellent, compared to many of the people who just give you the blatant answer "You see do on the shelf have? No means no more" and dont even bother to check for you and many times many staff have poor product knowledge and they do not smile. I enjoy good service and having bad encounters of service seems common at many stores.
I must say foreigners are more passionate in what they do overall as compared to locals, although not all. Greater passion, more hardworking, less or equivalent pay, better attitude and less family commitments all give employers a good reason to hire them than us. If we remain as such, not suprised one day we get eliminated, though overall service has been better I must admit. A simple smile or thank you will give great encouragement or a letter of compliment can be given rather than the usual complains that we Singaporeans love.

Well time for some toys. One of my favourite anime or manga -- One Piece! This is a pirate adventure story highly recommended! The author puts in great effort in his drawings, story and thoughts. One of the best figures for One Piece is the Portrait of Pirates (P.O.P.) series. I have almost all the figures and adding two of my latest acquisitions -- Mihawk and Aokiji. Both are really big and tall and looks really good especially Mihawk. Check out the sword man!

Divination

Today's post is about Fate. Fate is like Destiny which there are people who believe that Fate is predestined and an equal half which believes that you work for your own Destiny. Disregard on which is right or wrong, or the choice that one makes to believe in. If perhaps one day a 'higher being' comes and tell you that your Fate is to be poor man for your life, would you accept as it is without fighting for a better life? If somone tells you that you are not fated to be with the one you love, would you fight to be your loved one or would you leave it as it is? Regardless of what your path leads to I think a struggle and fight is needed, as even an ant put up resistance when you try to trample on it. Rather die fighting than die without trying. Things may be meant to be but it still requires some minimal effort to conclude it. If a $50 note falls from the sky, you still need the effort of bending down to pick up the money. Thus i say fight at least if you are unhappy and preserve or improve current state if you find it comfortable.

Did something for the first time in my life the other day, went down to Waterloo Street with my parents and accompanied them to the Guan Yin Temple for some prayers. I am not really a religion guy but I just accompanied my parents. My mum then asked to go pray and ask for a divination on an issue which has been troubling me. Decided that since was there and nothing much to do, half heartedly decided to give it a try as the temple was pretty famous for its divination. You actually shake this holder of bamboo sticks while praying the question or query in your mind till 1 of the sticks falls out and then you throw these 2 slabs of concaved wood to see if its the one you are supposed to receive. How to judge? By having 1 rounded side face up and a flat side face up. 2 half hearted attempts gave me 2 failed attempts by having either 2 rounded sides or 2 flats sides of the wooden slab. On the 3rd try I thinking since I was doing it might as well give it more sincerity and thought and wala it gotten me the right stick with a rounded and flat side each. Well these sticks individually has different markings and writing on it, I do not know how many sticks there are but after returning the stuff, the attendant will give you a slip like in the pic based on the stick, which is the answer to your prayer. You can then refer to a book which sorta helps you decipher it. To my suprise it was a good lot and it was answering to what i asked. Whether it was just sheer coincidence I do not know and whether if things will turn out like what it say I do not know as well but it has provided me some strength I supposed to seek the answer.

The slip I gotten

Bought some Star Wars toys, though we always complain and bitch about repaints I have to admit we are suckers for them. Well got a different Boba Fett under RAH series. quite nice can attached all the parts onto his body.

The 2 3.75" figures, Blue Arc Trooper and Clone Pilot

Wedding Dinner again

Respecting the title or respecting the person?
I have never believed in respecting someone because of his title like "Teacher", "Boss" or whatever so. Why should we respect someone just because of his title when he has no substance? I feel respect has to be earned not just because the person carries the title. When I was in school then, my Physcics teach can tell the class " I like Physics but I don't like teaching you all Physics. Teaching you all Physics is a hard thing." Im like WTF.. Why teach then? Go be a researcher or something. Best was in secondary school, an ex-HOD passed a statement "I'm a very practical person, I can call you Dad if have the money, don't believe you take out now I show you". What values to impart to a upgrowing teenager. Sighs.. Well hard to not respect your boss as he/she would be directly or indirectly be the one who is going to give you your pay check at the end of the day. Along with the title also comes along with power inevitably you have to give the minimal respect whether one likes it or not, unless you do not want job. There are many which do not have titles but their actions and great doings have gained respect. Teachers which go beyond their usual duties to teach and help students, people who take time out out to fight for a good cause or to help the aged and weak. These people really deserve respect from the bottom of my heart.

Attended another wedding dinner on Mon again.. This time round was at St Regis, located beside Tanglin Mall. Well supposedly it is the most expensive place where one can hold their wedding dinner. Arrived quite late but usual traditions of late start of wedding dinners remained. Table was filled with people whom I knew except for 2. It has been ages since some of us have met. Different commitments like the very common reasons of work and family have turned friends which were once your close listening pal to one which seemed so distant due perhaps to different beliefs or perhaps to the wide barrier created over time which seemed hard to close. Well despite so, there are still friends which you know from the bottom of the heart you treasure the friendship. Some things are hard to express but little gestures i believe means alot from simple wishes to simple words of encouragement. Must really thank one of my friend for her yearly birthday sms-es, never has she forgotten or mixed up the date ha.. Well the dinner was pretty nice, took some photos of it. Food was served in plates in reasonable small portions and fanciful chocolate and sugar coatings designs.

The ballroom

Flowers on the table

The food, forgot to take the 1st 2 dishes though..

The empty slot is nuts which i finished lol..

Venison (deer meat) with Fried prawn

Cod fish with roasted chicken

Fried rice with vege, mushroom and sea cucumber

Fav: dessert! Mango saga and chocolate cake

Bought some cute toys recently. Ha for you my friend who I know loves cute stuff.. Poison you.. Mini Vinyl Collectible Doll (VCD) Darth Vader. Looks really nice and cute ha. Sad to say I wanted to get Darth Maul end up gotten wrong thing and ended with Vader argh..



The Chogokin To-Fu family. Saw this very long ago and didnt purchase it due to some issues end up saw it again and bought it. Its really cute as you can open the head and put the mini ones in. Well the intention of buying it was for a feeling more than wanting to really own it but well..