A Reuters report on Singapore Tattoo Show 2009 (Jan 9-11); the video caption seems a bit explicit, but no worries, there’s nothing inappropriate in the video…
The inaugural Anime Festival Asia (AFA) was held last weekend (Nov 22-23) at Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Singapore. Was planning to travel south for the event but couldn’t make it; had to attend a wedding dinner in the northern Ipoh city instead.
Besides some minor hiccups, AFA08 seems to be a successful one. Sharing some pictures by Singaporean blogger Parka [complete Flickr set with 200+ photos]…
Chinese actress Gong Li is officially a Singaporean after taking an oath and collected her Singapore identity card last Saturday (Nov 8).
The 43-year-old actress was supposed to collect her identity card on August 23, but failed to show up because she was filming a movie overseas. Her no show irked some Singaporeans who felt that she was disrespecting her new country… but it’s all history now.
Gong Li is married to a Singaporean businessman since 1996, so the switch of citizenship is not entirely surprising. Both China and Singapore do not recognise dual nationality, which literally means that she would have to renounce her Chinese citizenship.
Chinese netizens are generally unhappy about the news… lots of them are criticising Gong Li’s decision, while some are sharing concerns that this would become a trend among popular artists and younger generations.
Some netizens are showing support Gong Li though, stating that it’s her freedom to choose her own path; a few also stated that they would also like to migrate out of China if given the chances.
Chinese MV of “Not Mature Enough” (不够成熟 – Bu Gou Cheng Shu) by 16-year-old twins group BY2. The song is featured in their debut album “16 Under Age” (16 未成年) which was released a couple of months ago…
The public responses seem pretty encouraging for the Singapore born sisters, Miko and Yumi Peh… but it’s still too early to tell how popular they could be.
Their vocals still need some brush up, but I think they are already singing better than lots of the pop idols these days; and apparently they can dance a bit as well.
Singapore’s Iggy’s is Asia’s best restaurant according to the Miele Guide which made its grand debut last week. The guide is claimed to be Asia’s first truly independent regional restaurant guide.
The Miele Guide 2008/2009 edition evaluates restaurants in 16 Asian countries… Brunei, Cambodia, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
The top 20 restaurants according to the Miele Guide 2008/2009…
Japanese pop starlet May’n will be performing live in Singapore at the Anime Festival Asia (AFA) 2008 on November 23 [more on AFA and Darkmirage]
The 19-year-old singer is one of Japan’s hottest rising star. She made her professional debut in 2005, and her breakthrough came in 2008 as the singing voice for Sheryl Nome in hit anime “Macross Frontier”. Her two latest singles have both made it to the top 3 spots at Japanese Oricon chart… quite an achievement for a young talent.
While not exactly the same class (yet) with the likes of J-pop divas Ayumi Hamasaki and Namie Amuro etc… May’n’s performance is quite anticipated in this region that is so deprived of J-pop act. Besides, Japanese anime is getting huge in South East Asia these days; and Macross Frontier happens to be one of the most popular animes of the year. Plenty of otakus are awaiting her arrival for sure.
A star-studded K-pop concert will be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on November 4 as part of the Korea Festival 2008 (Nov 1-18) organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.
The concert will feature some of the hottest K-pop stars, including the Wonder Girls, Shinhwa’s Andy & Junjin, Jewelry, Chae Yeon, and V.O.S etc.
The concert tickets will not be sold through the usual outlets, but will be given away over the next few weeks through the key sponsors [more on Coolsmurf]
Other events during the festival are food fiesta, traditional dance performances, taekwondo demonstrations, film festival and contemporary art exhibition etc. Check out the event website for details and updates.
Sounds like a fun event; too bad that the concert tickets are not for sale.
Extra note – for those who are buying/selling tickets via the comment section; kindly trade at your own risk.