A Peek at Batman/Dark Knight 3

Gosh. But from another prespective; at least he might be able to score some chicks as Batman.

I have been mugged!

Right click on image to download/save as wallpaper (1680 x 1050px)

Call me a freak if you need to. I'm addicted to muggs. This visual list was created to keep myself in check.

What you see here is the 64 figures that have been launched so far with largely (almost half) of them are Star Wars Muggs. Check out this list, believe me, there's alot more to play with, some notable absentees are R2D2, Jar Jar Binks, Count Dooku or even that iritating Watto. *I bet they're having trouble recreating characters with small or no feet.

Myself on the other hand, would like to see more of Marvel characters being parodized into Muggs, however, I hate when these opportunists trying to rip us off! Bugger. Despite all that, a good news for those interested! Hold on to your breath! Launching soon will be the Transformers Mighty Muggs Wave One with Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron and.....Soundwave!

Yay! I guess sooner or later I'm gonna need more space to store all my muggs. Check out my collection now..and yes, it's growing... :)

Self-help helps

Here’s 7 powerful ways to make sure you’re going to get the most of out any situation in life:

1. In every situation, ask yourself “What do I want to get out of this?”.
   You need to know what your aim is. Ever get into an argument where you forgot what you were arguing about, but you knew you had to be right? Know what you’re going to try and end up with in any given situation, and you’ll be able to achieve it far more easily, with far less stress and friction.
   
   
2. Don’t assume the worse in people.
   There’s an old saying, “If a man thinks he’ll die tomorrow, he’ll probably find a way to make it happen.” If you look for faults in your partner, or expect them to cheat, you’ll push them away and only make it more likely. If you expect friends to fail you, you’ll set them up to do it. Try and look for the good in people, and treat them how you want to be treated yourself.
   
   
3. Respect everyone.
   Not just the people you like, or the people you get along with, but everyone. Forgive the people who do you wrong. Take time to help those who wouldn’t help you. Reach out to people who would harm you. If you see someone sitting alone, take a walk across the room and say hi. Make time for people in your life. You’d be amazed at the difference it makes in your attitude to life.
   
   
4. Walk away when you’re angry.
   If you’ve got a hot head, you’re not going to be thinking straight. Take some time to cool off, then come back and look at why you got upset, remember that the other person is probably upset too, and then try and see it from their point of view. Always remember, if you believed as they do, you’d probably argue just as hard. Respect their point of view, and let them voice their opinion. That way, they’ll be more likely to do the same for you.
   
   
5. Slow down.
   We live in a world where we’re used to instant gratification of every desire. However, there’s something to be said for perseverance. Like Guinness say, it takes 119.5 seconds to pour the perfect pint. Some things take time, but that’s OK. Let it come when it’s ready. And while you’re waiting, you can look at whether what you’re waiting for is really what you want.
   
   
6. Tell others what you’re aiming for.
   If other people know what you’re trying to do, what you’re focusing on, then firstly they might be able to help, and second they’ll be able to hold you accountable. Making excuses to yourself is pretty easy.
   
   
7. Own your actions.
   If you screw up, admit it to yourself. Taking your eye off the ball is OK, as long as you re-focus, and get back on track. A boat is off course most of the time its en route to its destination. But it still gets there. How? Because the navigator makes tiny adjustments contently, to get it where it’s meant to go. Do the same with your life. It’s not about making one big leap to perfection, but tiny little changes every day, until you get there.

Lui Liu's political paiting

Artist Lui Liu mixes superb painterly techniques, with a unique language that finds a wide range of audience around world. Growing up in China and living in the west ( Toronto, Canada) make Lui Liu a keen observer as both an insider and outsider of the two worlds. Through extraordinary awareness and compelling techniques, he creates a surreal world that transcends cultures, spaces and races. A note of parody is most noticeable in almost all his works.

It’s the ambivalence, the tensions between the poles, according to Barry Callaghan, a renowned Canadian writer, that free Lui Liu so that he can stand alone facing east or west, as he chooses.

Explanation from a Flickr member - Trangcon : Everybody knows that 2008 Beijing is where the Olympics will be. Westerners call it the Olympic Games. There is a game in this oil painting, but it is the traditional Chinese game of mahjong. On the top left corner of "2008-Beijing," there is a standard head portrait of a man. He seems familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. He has Sun Yat-sen's beard, Chiang Kai-shek's bald head and Mao Zedong's facial features. He symbolizes the one hundred years' of Chinese history and the sum total of the old and new democracies. To the left of the painting, there is a innocent and focused girl who is probably celebrating because she has a good hand. The girl in the middle with her back turned to the observer has three "east" tiles, symbolizing the unignorable reality -- the emergence of China. But the girl is also trying to cheat with the tiles hidden behind her foot. The girl in the middle facing the observer seems to be of mixed blood. As she plays the games, she is looking at the source of the light (that is, the future). She is nicely dressed, and she has a slightly worried look. Then there is that foreign girl. She is playing a Chinese game in which she has no confidence. She is lying there, because she has one tile less than required. She has lost already. On the right hand side, there is a peasant girl who came to work in the city. She is the fresh labor force that allowed China to rise. On her face, there is a little bit of incomprehension and dissatisfaction. She holds a shining fruit knife in her hand, indicating a resentment against wealthy people and a certain danger. On the right of the painting, in front of the rundown building, there is a river and some rocks. This symbolizes the uncertain future by which one can only cross the river by stepping on one rock at a time.

Another explanation from an anonymous: The dresses they're wearing stand for their countries' political situation (Strip poker; who loses will have to take off their clothes). Japan on the left, China is the girl wearing only bottom with black hair and tattoo; US is the girl wearing top and looking at Taiwan (the red shirt girl), and the last one is Russia, who is lying down. Japan seems to be losing/or lost because she is wearing nothing but feels satisfy with the game, and China seems like a winner even she is topless (she turns her back, doesnt show her face, but she looks to be concentrated in this game. Here, they mention that China is wearing western clothes style even she has Chinese tattoo, this point shows that China is very much westernized - not very China anymore. US looks like has more clothes, but actualy she doesnt wear bottom (It shows that US is just pretending they can handle the situation but actually they have nothing underneath). Russia seems to be on US side (her leg puts on US's leg), but on the other hand, she is cheating with China (She also looks tired, look as if she doesn't want to play the game anymore). Taiwan stands outside and has an overall view of this game, but she doesn't join them and she knows exactly what is going on, and she is wearing Chinese traditional underwear (shows that Taiwan is a real soul of China), she doesn't wear any bottom,which means she's on US side as well but she (Taiwan) is holding a knife, mean that she is protecting herself and her belongings (Fruits). The greyish sky and lukewarm water outside shows that this is a tough time for countries around Pacific Ocean (in political way).

Very interesting indeed. What do you think?

Marvel Mighty Muggs - Wave 3

Latest designer vinyl figures for Marvel Mighty Muggs (environmental friendly; 100% recycled awesome, claimed them) by Hasbro. What we have here is Dr. Ock, Thor, Ghostrider and The Nemesis Spiderman (I guess..). These batch is coming out soon here but as usual, had been launched in Singapore and we Malaysian, shall just wait, retail price should be around RM45 each, available in all major department stores and Toy R' Us, be quick, these are some hot cakes! (*see short story). Or else pay double at ebay or online stores if you would. Go check out the rest of the cool and good looking Marvel collections together with Indiana Jones and Star Wars waves. As the tagline says... "we look good in tights", they do.

For me, I intent to collect them all. Really dig the packaging as well, it's an art by itself, every one of them has their own beautiful vector art on top and at the side of the box, lining them up nicely makes a great poster. Twelve I have now...more to come.



* Rumours has it that during any major stocks arrival at Toy R Us, some of the staff hide/keep/ 'however-you-wanna-say-it' all potential money-making or best-selling toys (such as transformers, star wars etc.) for their personal contacts in return of a fees or worse, getting it themselves and sell it off at a marked-up price. Bad. No wonder the country is in turmoil, even children (ok, adult's too) playground are exploited.

Did you know…

Malaysians are SMS crazy!

• Malaysia recorded the 3rd highest numbers of SMS sent in APAC during 2007/08 new-year period, after Phillipines and Indonesia (first and second most numbers of SMSes sent respectively).
• Malaysia has a high mobile phone penetration rate of 86% at the end of 07. Mobile phone penetration rates are predicted to increase to 92% in 08. (Source: Q4, 2007, MCMC; Frost and Sullivan )
• Pre-paid call packages are used by approximately 80% of cellphone users.
• Search engines are providing search packages for Malaysian SMEs. Yahoo! has launched an advertising service that allows Small and Medium Enterprises to reach customers on the Internet for as little as 3.3sen each.
  

Some interesting results from Google Malaysia's Year-End Zeitgeist:

• Siti Nurhaliza was the most searched personality in 2007 by Malaysians
• Friendster.com was the top search of 2007
• Most searched movie in 2007 was Transformers