KEEP CALM no more, it's the weekend!

ever wondered how and why the "KEEP CALM" posters suddenly began popping up all over the place in recent years, and what's the real story/origin behind its widespread popularity?

now here it is, and a very interesting one too :)
the keep calm-o-matic

and while at it, you can create your own personalised "KEEP CALM" posters too!
enjoy!

watch Olympics 2012 sporting events - LEGO style! ;)

don't miss these amazing stop-motion videos of the Olympics 2012 events by designer Fabian Moritz... love them all! :) commissioned by The Guardian.

"animated reconstructions of the best moments of the global sport event taking place in the UK from 27 july to 12 august 2012."

women's gymnastics final

men's swimming 200 individual medley final

they even included a funny bit about Michael Phelps' 12,000 calorie diet! lol!

Usain Bolt wins gold in 100m run final

click here for the complete series (more videos).

die-die-must-have: tokidoki Barbie! *heart*

here's my "die-die-must-have"....
the tokidoki Barbie doll!! OMG! 110% tokidoki-ness! *silent shriek* :)

 

isn't she pretty? so edgy, so chic, so top-to-toe tokidoki... i love!!

fellow fans will notice that this Barbie girl is truly authentically tokidoki - tattooed punk rock, chic and sexy, signature pink hair and pouty lips, sporting the tokidoki skull-heart-and-bones t-shirt and leopard-print tights, carrying a real tokidoki miniature purse in hand, walking her cute Bastardino cactus pup... all that attention to these tiny little details, oh wow, i'm impressed!

well, you may be shaking your head and clucking your tongue, thinking i'm no longer 16... but if tokidoki could get me acting like one, then why shouldn't i indulge and just give in to my occasional insane little fancies *grin*.

available from Sep/Oct at selected collectible stores, i am so going to pre-order this right away! if this arrives in October, then just a perfect little birthday gift for myself ;) 

references: Lovetokidoki; Hong Kong magazine

absolutely tokidoki-fied! :)

i was at the STGCC (Singapore comic con) over the weekend, and so thrilled to be able to meet my idol Simone Legno again (4th year in a row!) - got his autographs on a couple more of my tokidoki items, and of course, a photograph together :) my friends said i looked like a starstruck teenager with a schoolgirl crush in my photo... LOL.. well, i have to admit i did feel quite like a 16 year old that day... hehehe.

so for the comic con, my colleague - who's well aware of my love for all things tokidoki, promised to make me some tokidoki cupcakes (one-of-a-kind) specially to commemorate the event! they turned out super duper adorable! i kept the Timidina cactus pup and the chilli ones (because i love all things spicy!) and gave the cute Adios and Ciao Ciao pair to Simone Legno when i met him at the autograph session *grin*.

so yeah.. i did the schoolgirl crush thing. LOL! ;P

 

all this tokidoki excitement has gotten me catching up on the recent tokidoki news and happenings, and... OMG! i found something that i am sooooooo definitely getting! (perhaps as an early birthday gift for myself) :)

check out the next blog entry (above) for more...

ps: while at this, be marvelled by the way awesome tokidoki art installation at K11 mall (hong kong)! how i wish i was going there sometime soon...

the voyage night festival 2011 is here!

the museum night festival is here again!

renamed the Voyage Night Festival 2011 this year, i'm looking forward to some spectacular outdoor performances, beautiful art installations, fires, lights and all... as good as the previous years! what's more, you get free admission to selected museums through the night (till 2:00am)... what's not to love about it?

so don't miss this chance, gather your friends, block your calendar today! :)

participating museums and locations include:

• national museum of singapore
• singapore art museum
• peranakan museum
• the substation
• stamford green
• singapore management university campus green

recap: night festival 2009; night festival 2008

my office became a 'crime scene' this morning...

lol.

oh my, i so love the crazy bunch sometimes. i mean, where else would you find people who play pranks like these on... their boss? (he actually thought it's very cool and even posed as CSI Horatio with a 'live victim' lol).

my colleagues are really good with 'art installations' around the office... hehe ;)
take a look at what they had done to me sometime back.

this is how a McDonald's Happy Meal looks like after 180 days...

let's take a look at an interesting photography project - the McDonald's Happy Meal Project, or view the original photos posted on Flickr by Sally Davies.

granted this 'Happy Meal Art Exhibit' was created and photographed in New York City, where weather conditions are generally cooler and less humid than it is here, it is still quite scary to imagine how the 'meal' could withstand decomposition for that long.. 180 days, that's 6 whole months!

and if you think the insane amount of preservatives in the food is the sole reason protecting it from decomposition, read this...

"But scientists say preservatives aren't the main reason why the Golden Arches' food won't break down -- it's fat. Fries and burgers sold by McDonald's are high in fat -- more than 50 percent of the calories found in McDonald's french fries come from fat, the same amount as in the restaurant chain's burgers.

"Anything that is high in fat will be low in moisture," Washington State University Professor Barry Swanson said. Low moisture on a surface means mold can't grow, which means the food can't decay. And don't forget the salt." (Source: ThirdAge.com)

i really can't decide which is worse :P

i've got swings on my wall :)

i like whimsical items, and that shows in the things i have around me - personal items, cosmetics packaging, notebooks, pouches, desktop decorations, outfits etc.

now i even have whim on my bedroom wall.. hehe.
check it out...

isn't this just so adorable and sweeeeeeeet? :)
it was love at first sight, i like how carefree the kids look, the simple colours, the silhouettes. i didn't plan on getting this but when i saw it, i could immediately picture it in my bedroom, exactly where i wanted it to be.

i chanced upon this tiny corner booth at Plaza Singapura on saturday, and saw this in their catalogue. i had previously seen wall decals/stickers at friends' homes, mostly in their nursery or baby rooms, and knew there were plenty of designs and styles for different preferences and surfaces, but just never quite paid much attention to them until i found the perfect one for myself. the prices were quite reasonable, between S$10 - S$50 for most designs/sizes, and they're reusable too. i got mine at S$20 (approx. 1m x 1m size).

the entire picture came in over 20 separate parts, took me about 20 mins. to carefully peel off and transfer them piece by piece onto the wall next to my bed. i had to pause and take a few steps back to survey the entire view a few times, to make sure everything fits correctly and nicely in place, not too low, not too high. it's fairly simple and easy to do it yourself, a very fun mini bedroom makeover project too. i really enjoyed putting it together and seeing the whole picture come together at the end, it's simple fun and somewhat fulfilling too :)

last night, i went to bed smiling as i admired the image on my wall. even as i laid in bed, i couldn't stop staring up at the wall until i drifted off to sleep....

check out other designs here.

the Yoshimoto cube

i have no idea what is the purpose of this Yoshimoto cube.. but it sure has mega wow factor.
it may look ordinary at first glance, but wait till you watch the short youtube clip below..

whoa.. impressive :)
geeky too.. lol.

and i kinda lost him when he mentioned the engineering technical term for this.. "the transformation of two stellated rhombic.... " :P

(Stedwick on youtube)

btw, if you have a lot of extra time on hand this weekend (coupled with incredulous patience), you might want to try create a DIY version yourself ;)

source: make: online

small living spaces

take a look at these 2 tiny but very innovative living spaces...
could these indicate the future of our living conditions?

1) roll it

"Roll It, a cool experimental house, resulted from the collaboration among different institutes within the University of Karlsruhe. This cyclindrical design is a modular protype that provides flexible space within a minimum housing unit. Three different sections are dedicated to different functional needs: there’s a bed and table in section, an exercise cylinder, and a kitchen with a sink." (read more on www.archdaily.com)

hmm.. does this remind anyone of the hamster rings in a cage? :P

2) cool transformations in a tiny apartment

(JellyWoo1014 on youtube)

the second idea is very cool, it's like 'transformers for houses'!
but it made me wonder... the amount of money that went into the renovations of that apartment, could it have been enough to buy another unit next door? :P

Leandro Erlich's 'swimming pool'

i wanna thank a good friend for often sharing ideas and cool stuff for me to post up on my blog :)

last week, i saw Leandro Erlich's 'swimming pool' installation in an article, and got really interested in his works. upon some googling, i found more of his very interesting and unconventional installations. love them all!

Leandro Erlich uses a lot of mirrors, reflections - real and fake, illusions.. keeps you wondering where are the 'tricks' in each installation :)

here are some of my favourites, they make me smile:

'swimming pool'

'bâtiment'

'window and ladder'

'la torre'

'le cabinet du psy'

see more on www.leandroerlich.com.ar (scroll up and down the 'works' section to explore)

running from camera

sometimes, you see something, perhaps an idea so simple yet so innovative... that just makes you smile.

this made me smile today.
see the pictures below: all taken at different times, different locations.. but did you notice the one common thing about them? :)

check out his blog: running from camera.
no words, just pictures, and i really like it.

ps: i wonder as he was running away from his camera, had anyone ever ran away with it? :)

i fell in love with this song recently..

i recently purchased a light jazz double-disc CD set, and i've been playing it every morning when I dress for work (and sometimes before bed). i've only realised now it's so nice and relaxing to sway a little to the off-beats of jazz music, lifts your spirits, lightens the mood... no wonder those fashion retail stores always play jazz instore - attempt to make you shop more :)

from the album, i've found a couple of favourites that i just have to listen to over and over again (until i get sick of it lol). here's one that i'm loving a lot at the moment - "a love that will last" by renee olstead.

a love that will last songs
free Music downloads | Free Mp3 downloads!

to be honest, i never heard of renee olstead until i googled for information/lyrics to the song. then i read from comments that she's that young neighbour character in movie "13 going 30" starring jennifer garner. oh wow! and if i didn't tell you, i bet you wouldn't believe she sang this beautiful jazz piece when she's only 15 years old! incredible huh? such an old soul voice on a young person... and she sang it very well :) i like it.

night at the museum...

the inaugural night festival - presented by the national museum of singapore - launches this weekend (18/19 july). don't miss the two-weekend line-up of dazzling "theatrical performances, music, open air cinema and fun interactive activities".

highlights for this weekend include "the dancing sky", an aerial ballet performance that sounds promising. ok... i must brush up on my night-photography skills and hopefully be able to take some nice pictures then :)

"The Night Festival opens on 18 July with internationally acclaimed Studio Festi from Italy. Known for their extraordinary staging of large-scale outdoor theatrical performances, including the recent 100-Day Countdown to the Beijing Olympics at Macau, Studio Festi will enthrall with The Dancing Sky. The Museum garden and premises will be transformed into a surreal and magical playground with its site-specific masterpiece." (highlights from National Museum website)

in conjunction with the night festival, 5 leading museums managed by the national heritage board will offer free night admission on 25 july (friday), from 6:00pm - 2:00am:

• asian civilisations museum (ACM)
• national museum of singapore (NMS)
• peranakan museum
• singapore art museum (SAM)
• singapore philatelic museum (SPM)
  

for more information and programme schedule, visit the national museum website.