Purchases thus far

With the holidays having just begun, comes along the opportunity to show what i've been doing thus far.

While this may seem like alot, the purchases above are separate between what i've bought and completed since the start of the year, (the left) and those i've just bought today. (Right)

I don't quite need to explain the Hurt Locker, hearing rave reviews about it from friends and family alike and having won the Oscar for best picture, its pretty clear i had to have it.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 was a good distraction for the start of the year but i've since moved on to Splinter Cell Conviction since i've been anticipating its release for a good 3 years. Though i can't quite say the same for AVP.

And ever since the PC's release of SCC, its been pretty much devoured, yes devoured my leisure time but the time has come for me to take off the gloves, put back those tri-focal-splinter-cell goggles and put this game down. Its been a blast, and i'd say i'd be damn if you're a gamer and haven't played it, but having unlocked all the PEC challenges and juiced all the fun i could with it through coop, its time to move on.

The purchases to the left were done today. Couldn't get my eyes off from the latest Green Day album, the original broadway cast recordings and what nots....got a few badges to ornate my guitar strap whilst waiting for it to be serviced and have its pickups changed.

Yep the Pickups I picked out to upgrade my guitar with. Quite a hefty sum, but a long overdued overhaul for my guitar.

And laugh all you want, i know its a little late to pick up GTA IV since its end 2008 release, but i've got both GTA IV and its Episodes from liberty city to keep me preoccupied during this video game dry spell till the release of THE FORCE UNLEASHED II, scheduled for a 26th October release.

oh, and that little can named ''buff'' is actually a nice stretchy scarf/mask/bandanna, commonly known from survivor, though in a different print. Will come in handy when i hit the road on my bike.(mud splatters and drizzle do get in the way)

STGCC 2009 Exclusive Media Coverage: Opening Ceremony

And yes, i am finally back with an Exclusive Media Coverage of the Official Opening Ceremony of Singapore's very own Toy, Games and Comic Convention, STGCC. This annual event, is now ongoing on its sophomore endeavor to cement its reputation as an event not to miss for everyone.

This following post will be the first of several that i will be posting, with the posts coming up in these formats:

1. Opening Ceremony
2. Booths and Exhibitions
3. Meet the Artists!
4. The Stormtrooper Hunt!
5. The faces behind the posts ( Sg's toy collecting blogger community )
6. My Hauls!


First and foremost i would like to take this opportunity to thank both Leon Chen and STGCC commitee for giving me and my fellow bloggers this wonderful opportunity to experience this celebration of Pop Culture firsthand, and exclusively.

My Exclusive Media Coverage Pass to STGCC 2009!

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The kickoff for this event would namely be, the opening ceremony, and considering this opening was done privately for the media, VIPs and organisers, and not open to the public, allow me this chance to it share with you.


It begins with the VIPs, and guests escorted into the hall to their seats by the stage. And what other escorts can you choose to reinforce yourselves with than the fearsome 501st Stormtrooper Legion also notoriously known as Vader's Fist?


With the grand march past, invited media and guests are then called to gather round the stage for the ceremony.




The opening speeches were heart rendering at parts, with hopes that this STGCC event would be rallying cry to stand strong against the falling economy and to be merry and celebrate pop culture despite these dark and desperate times.



A stormtrooper standing guard over the speaker.



Guest of Honor Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoun, Minister of State, Ministry of Community development, Youth and sports ( in red ). Ushered to the stage.


all under the watchful eyes and protection of Vader's Fist


The lauching of STGCC 2009 by a push of a button. 5-4-3-2-1.


STGCC 2009 HAS OFFICIALLY OPENED!








You see the details, NOW head on down!




Steadfast and Ready, these troopers will never falter in the line of duty to serve the Emperor. Their current mission? Ensuring the safety of the Guest of Honor.


Till someone sneaks up from behind them!


TADA! they didn't notice me doing that. They just though they're gonna be in for pictures. Kudos to Leon Chen of Open The Toy for the shot. Adrian of Little Plastic Man can be seen to the left.



Dang! I'm compromised, spotted by the trooper to the right!


Behold the power of the FORCE!

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I would strongly encourage everyone to make time for this event, for this event is not limited to gamers, toy collectors, hobbyists or even cosplayers. This event is an annual celebration of pop culture, and i can say with definite certainty that pop culture has in some way or another, affected, influence and even inspired us.

This article will be followed by 5 other posts as mentioned early on my Exclusive Media Coverage of STGCC 2009!

You can also read up on the Opening Ceremony of STGCC from my fellow bloggers at these links

Adrian of Little Plastic Man
Leon Chen of Open The Toy
Juliana Heng of Juliana's Toy Collecting Tips
Dennis of Collect em' All
Bayu aka KazeTora

Haul of the Month...(Great Singapore Sale)

As promised, here goes my Hauls thus far. The Great Singapore sale truly encourages consumers to spend and keeping the cycle of cashflow in the economy moving. With that, i've taken the liberty to actually SPEND! SPEND! SPEND! broke!!!!

Be it toys, accessories, fashion here they all go!

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on the top of the shelve, yet to be reviewed and opened....

zooming in....the T-700 Endoskeleton

The Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown Official T-shirt i bought off HMV @ $39.90

Love the whole design and graffiti feel.

My midnight haul from Toys R Us @ Forum Gallery..

its pretty awesome to tilt his head back and hear him go ''I AM OPTIMUS PRIME!!!'' lights up too!!!

Ironhide

ELECTRIC shades that i hauled for $239. Pretty good coverage from the sun considering its wide lens, shielding the harmful rays and enclosing the sides and cheeks. The model's Killowatt. And its polarized too! helps block off not only direct UV rays but also rays from reflected surfaces!

And after much researching, considering, price hunting, model hunting and patience...i got myself a digital watch from G-Shock. A new change from my usual dress watches from Omega, Longines, or the functional and yet durable Swiss Army.

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I had always wanted a digital watch since i was young, as i only had analog watches all my life. And with the sports that i take up and rough tough tumbling that my previous watches had endured through my biking trips, snowboarding trips, etc the logical option now was to find something tough, durable and one that packed as much functions as possible.

Be it rain or shine, mud, dirt or swimming by the east coast, fishing to snowboard, i needn't fret about dirting my watch's strap or causing it to rot ( previous watches had leather straps which stank after drenching, was a pain to clean, cost alot to replace) And now i needn't worry about battery replacement either.

Packed in a flashy box, encased in a metal tin, and surrounded with foam. Sweet.

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Inspired by those who challenge high altitudes, the G-Shock RISEMAN features a unique three-layer structured twin sensor to measure altitude, barometric pressure as well as temperature. Add in solar power and atomic timekeeping technology and you’ve got non-stop, self-adjusting performance that is the RISEMAN.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Hourly Time Signal
Auto-Calendar (pre-programmed until the year 2099)
Daily Alarm 5 (1 with snooze)
Thermometer
Module 3147
Memory 20 records
Atomic Timekeeping (US, UK, Germany, Japan, China)
Battery 9 months on full charge (without further exposure to light)
Power Saving Function
Countdown Timer
Shock Resist
Backlight Auto EL Backlight with Afterglow
Water Resistant Up to 200M
12/24-Hour Formats
Accuracy +/-15 seconds per month (with no signal calibration)
Time Zone 29 times zones (33 cities), city code display, daylight saving on/off
World Time
Battery Power Indicator
Stopwatch 1/100 second
Atomic Timekeeping (US, UK, Germany, Japan, China)
Altimeter
Thermometer
Water Resistant Up to 200M
Backlight Auto EL Backlight with Afterglow
Countdown Timer
Stopwatch 1/100 second
Auto-Calendar (pre-programmed until the year 2099)
Daily Alarm 5 (1 with snooze)
Module 3147
Battery 9 months on full charge (without further exposure to light)
Power Saving Function
Solar Powered
Shock Resist
12/24-Hour Formats
Accuracy +/-15 seconds per month (with no signal calibration)
Time Zone 29 times zones (33 cities), city code display, daylight saving on/off
World Time
Battery Power Indicator

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I tried to write out its functions but it was way too many so i just nicked this all right off the official G-shock site.

looks pretty good worn and i simply love it. though i have yet to learn how to use all of its functions. Was originally going for $289. The Great Singapore Sale has helped alleviate the burn on my pocket for this watch, got to check my NETS receipt to check the final price.

Got RISK: Reinvention from Takashimaya today. Was going for $49.90 after its 20% discount and came with a promotional gift of Game of Life Express, only @ Taka. Was going round toys r us and paragon to find the best deals before settling to purchase from Taka. The Great Singapore Sale truly gives consumers a good chance to haul in stuff at a good price.

had been hooked to this game since playing it at the Library's Pavillion with my friends. World domination never was this fun before.

Game of life set inculdes: Dice, score sheets, and a rulebook all in a nicely packed container

Haul of the Day: Hot Toys Men's Suits

Been so busy of late and could only collect this on tuesday night. Will bash Tony when the narrowed shoulders come around!

Haul of the Day: Green Day's Official Merchandise

My latest haul @ HMV citylink mall.

Hauled it in at $39.95 as it just hit shelves today. Green Day's Official Merhandised Shirt. Featuring the artwork off Know Your Enemy, the first single off Green Day's latest album 21st Century Breakdown.

Will update with pictures of the shirt when it gets out from washing...

Sunday's Haul

Watchmen Graphic Novel and two SUPER BATTLE DROIDS!

With all my hype still going up despite watching the film about a month back, i must confess, that upon reading the Graphic Novel in detail is when i realise why diehard fans complained that film was not the best medium to convey the story. Most of the narrative indeed was lost and what happened to the giant squid?

that aside, i hauled in two super battle droids from the clone wars line. i must say that the clone wars animated style has grown on me for a long time. Somehow the paint applications and sculpt for the animated line are much more accurate to their screen counterparts as opposed to the legacy series. Hauled ' em in at $25 for 2 at metro paragon. Considering that most department stores are not clearing up their leftover stocks of the season 1 animated clone wars toys, i'd say its a very good opportunity to haul stuff for army building.

Haul of the Day: Resident Evil 5 PS3: First Look

With over the top prices that most video gamers on PS3 platform pay, i was pretty much reluctant to get this game. Yes, i am aware of the high praise and fantastic reviews but i just wasn't in the mood to splurge on a video game, with so many 12' inch hot toys preorder and especially when i do not follow up the hype and pre-production enthusiasm till its eventual release.

Normally when i actualy do get video games, i'd read up on its previous titles, series, or backstory, just to build up the excitement etc. Resident Evil 5 was a first where i didn't follow up on the hype and just got it based on interest.

Although i didn't follow up the hype at first, i must say that i was since a kid, interested in Resident Evil ( video games). I still remember fondly the days where i struggle as a child of 7, fumbling the buttons, desperately trying to aim and put a bullet or two into a staggering zombie and fail desperately as more surround me and eventually munched me to death.

i would still recall how i couldn't even open the first door to get out of the alley of the very first scene, first level, first scenario. Pathetic really...but it does etch much memories....of a painful death and terrible nightmares with walking corpses.

Resident evil had and has always been the platform for my interest in a zombie apocalypse though i feel that the RE movies on silver screen, though interesting to watch for the pure zombie-come-to-life makeup , is a flop to its video game origins, hence i never was a fan of it but did watch it just to visualize how fun a zombie apocalyspe could be. ( Alice's godlikeness is retarded really...) hate those gungho over the top movies of late... old school yipee-ki-yayness of Bruce willis in Die hard is believeable as opposed to films nowadays, ultraviolet, RE's alice, and the whole untouchable effect on the main characters.

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Small talk aside, Resident Evil 5 truly satiates my thirst and hunger for a solid ''oh what the f**k he ain't dead YET?'' zombie game. With the next generation graphics of the PS3, though some slight tearing can be visible from time to time in cutscenes, the graphics are otherwise smooth and easy on the eye. Most of all, Sheva Alomar, your skimpy clevage revealing partner who stands by your side. Yes gentlemen, she is hawt!

Whilst the A.I is pretty good considering RE5's shift from a solo horror puzzle solving genre to a coop action, most mainly use their ai partner, Sheva either as a pack mule to carry all the equipment, herbs, and grenades, or as bait as she runs towards hordes blazing to kill them whilst you chill at the back taking cheap pot shots.

Capcom's cheesy and somewhat campy dialogue returns, as expected though it narrates the storyline well.

that'd be all for now, and i'd resume gaming further to bring all you readers a full review sometime in the following week.

till then i'd keep my sights lined down to the humongous zombie with the axe, and Sheva's svelte figure at the corner of my mind...

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i must add, that no thanks to my decision of getting the game, i am now hooked, and most definitely WILL be getting RE5's Hot Toys line, ( Chris Redfield seems to be high on steroids or some form of Marcus Fenix hormone treatments.)

First watching 24 to get hooked to enterbay's jack bauer, now RE5...i'm so gonna be broke, period.

Haul of the Day

with the economy down in the dumps, and stores slashing prices down to clear of excessive stock and to gather enough cash to tide the recession. It is indeed an ideal time for consumers to turn in for the kill and go on a shopping spree!

to those who'd feel guilty afterwords. one guilt free pass-phrase is : IT HELPS THE ECONOMY!

Converse Chuck Taylor Sneakers baby!
Mizuno!

The disappointing thing though is whilst most stores do participate in clearance sales or 50% off ..converse however remains aloof and holds their standard price...

otherwise i'd be stockpile converse shoes for a nuclear fallout =D chuck taylors chuck taylors and more chuck taylors. what more can you say for a shoe which is the representation of pop culture, rock & roll and more?

in addition i got a shoebag too which i convienently forgot to take a picture of.

headed down to bakerzin and starbucks for cakes and coffee soon after though pictures are too bad to be posted...

Week's Haul: Fight Club & Die Hard DVD + Hasbro's Arc Trooper

In Tyler we trust & Yipee-ki-yay Mother f*cker

what more can i say?

Removable pauldron and wrist guard with kama

Hauled the Dvd's on wednesday at jurong point's Ntuc Xtra. It was going at a sale of 10.90 each. pretty worthwhile considering how old it is and also for how much a pop culture influence it is.

Hasbro's Star Wars Saga legends' ARC trooper was purchased on my behalf from hongkong. Kudos to Mirrornoob!

had the opportunity to kitbash the figure with parts off other clone trooper to make him look like a clone commander.

pretty awesome IMHO.

Haul of the day

Got this Adidas Originals cap from cathay shopping centre today. At SGD $32. It's pretty decent. I have been looking for one but none have yet appeal to me till now.


And a shoutout to a bro' of mine, CH, Happy birthday!!