"Star Wars Rebels" Brings A New Hope to The Galaxy!

Things cannot get any geekier than this for Red Dot Diva.

A few days ago, she was invited to watch a special screening of new animated series, "Star Wars Rebels" at The Sandcrawler - the regional headquarters of Lucasfilm's campus on the Red Dot Island.

The Sandcrawler has the familiar shape of those giant vehicular fortresses manned by Jawas for transportation and shelter in the desertlands of Tatooine. Earlier this year, George Lucas himself was here in the building, together with Kathleen Kennedy and Red Dot Island's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for its unveiling. (Check out the article of their visit here.)

It was Red Dot Diva's first time visiting The Sandcrawler and she was very excited to be able to step into the hallowed grounds of Lucasfilm, and walked where George Lucas walked. After all, "Star Wars" was the first scifi movie that captured her childhood imagination, and it was also her very first major fandom. That love for "Star Wars" has never died, enduring even those last 3 disappointing movies that older die-hard fans want to mostly forget ever existed.

The Geek Invasion Is Set To Begin In Jakarta At ITGCC!

The success of STGCC has spurred its organizer Reed Exhibitions to extend a similar blend of geeky fun and excitement to Jakarta later this year.

Reed Panorama Exhibitions (RPE) will be launching Indonesia Toy, Games and Comic Convention (ITGCC) at Hall C, JIExpo on 22-23 November 2014. This is the chance for Indonesian fans to get together and celebrate the love of manga, toys, comics, exclusives and collectibles! As in the case in Red Dot Island, the show will give local Indonesian creative folks an avenue to showcase their talent and product. Familiar segments of the show like panels, Walk of Fame and cosplay runways will also be held at ITGCC.

“The launch of ITGCC is our next step to unite pop culture fans in Southeast Asia. After seven amazing editions in Singapore, we are glad to be able to bring the same excitement to Indonesia where all of loyal fans will have an opportunity to unite and enjoy the vibrant international content from the East and West,” said Ms Rita Magnus, Senior Manager, Project and Content, Pop Culture Cluster.

Spot Red in Singapore as "The Blacklist" Season 2 Premieres on AXN Asia, September 23rd!

Hit TV Series "The Blacklist" may seem like the run-of-the-mill good guy vs bad guy investigative show. But there are a few things that set it apart from other FBI or cop shows out there.

For starters, there's Emmy Award-winning actor James Spader, who is superb in the main role of Red "Reddington", the manipulative resident baddie with a well-mannered, cultured demeanor but mysterious background.

Parading around in his trademark fedora and black trench coat, and enunciating his lines in clipped tones that more often than not are dripping with sarcasm, one simply cannot keep one's eyes off him on screen! James Spader makes egoistical and scheming Red's almost Hannibal-Clarisse-like relationship with FBI agent rookie profiler Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone) seem creepy but believable.

Secondly, the show is full of characters that have intriguing backgrounds and nefarious motives. In Season 1, every episode was based on a target with an over-the-top codename like "The Stewmaker" or "The Pavlovich Brothers". Each target on Red's list provided clues to the intricate web that he had been weaving, and continues to weave.

There were more twists and kinks than one could count, making the series such a watchable guilty-pleasure. Red Dot Diva got seriously hooked to it after the first couple of episodes of Season 1!

STGCC 2014 Recap: The Adventures of Diva the Biceps Hunter - Day 1

There's simply no rest for the Dedicated Biceps Hunter.

After the glorious adulation of bicepstuous guests present at the STGCC Media Preview on Thursday (4 September), it was straight on to convention weekend for Red Dot Diva. (Check out the run-down of the Media Preview here.)

There were murmurings of some changes made to STGCC this year, but Red Dot Diva was still caught by surprise at how different the show felt compared to 2013's. To the organizer's credit, most of the tweaks made were favourable ones:

1. No Longer An Iron-Man Show
Last year's show was nicknamed "The Iron-Man" show. Undoubtedly, Iron-Man was very popular with the crowd but it was "too much" Iron-Man! Everywhere one turned, there he was. The similar kind of one-note branding was noticeably absent this year. Yes, there was a bit more "Guardians of the Galaxy" but there were almost equally as much "Avengers", "Spider-man" and "Star Wars"!

RUN! It's The Walking Dead Terminus Escape Game!

... and it's coming to the shores of our Red Dot Island on 11 and 12 October!

Now is the best time to train for a zombie apocalypse because at a very secret location (that will only be revealed on the day itself), those with special passes will have to to use their wits and whatever tools available to escape from the locked environment within a certain time. (Note: Pass-holders will be transported to Terminus, and will be put together with a few group members for the game.)

And what if the attempt to escape ends up being unsuccessful? Then, *Chomp!*.. it's agrrgggghrrr BRAINSssssss Time.

TV Series "Gotham" Premieres in Singapore 25th September! Get Ready To Hunt Down A Villain!

Red Dot Islanders! Get ready to hunt down a nasty Gotham Villain real soon!

According to Warner TV Asia, the widely-anticipated origin TV series "Gotham" will premiere barely two weeks from now, on 25th September, and fans will get a chance to do some crime-busting!

First, for those who do not yet know of this upcoming TV series, "Gotham" in based on the adventures of a young Detective James Gordon's (Benjamin McKenzie) and his rise to the position of Commissioner in the Gotham City Police Department, as he investigates cases in one of the most dangerous and violent cities in the DC Comics universe. What does it take for Gordon to battle the ever-rising spiral of corruption and crime as he strives to protect the people in his beloved city?

STGCCBiceps Instagram Photo Contest - Winners Announced!

During this year's STGCC, the Glam Bloggers Alliance (GBA) held an Instagram photo contest with the topic on STGCCBiceps.

There were some really fun ones posted by attendees, and the GBA thanks those who participating and joining in the fun!

Congratulations to the three winners of the contest showing off their glorious STGCCBiceps!!

Noise Singapore 2014 Showcase: Eclectic Expressions of the Whimsical and Weird at ION Basement 4

For those who are not aware, the art showcase for Noise Singapore is currently going on at ION Basement 4 this year!

There are only a few days left as the exhibition wraps up on 14 September. So, if one has time this week, do head down to the open area near Muji/ Jason's supermarket, any time from 10 AM to 9 PM, to admire some visually interesting works of art.

Noise Singapore, an initiative set up by the National Arts Council, aims to promote young artists, which include photographers, film-makers and musicians as well. Throughout most parts of the year, Noise Singapore had held workshops and concerts held to help create more buzz for these new artists. They could, after all, one day create something that might make the world sit up and take notice.

STGCC 2014: Media Preview at The Vault - Geek Casual is In!

Geeky-casual is how Red Dot Diva would sum up the Media Preview for STGCC 2014, held at the Vault on 4 September Thursday morning.

This year, the venue for the Media Preview had changed from the stiff swanky upper-class poshness of MBS' meeting rooms to a pub known for geeky drink gatherings at historic Boat Quay. In fact, there were Harry Potter and Middle Earth posters placed in some corners of the room.

Humberto Ramos, Alex Solis, Matt "Sekure" Fabris and cosplayer Lenneth XVII were the special convention guests ready to meet the bunch of media at the preview. It was with great fortune that Red Dot Diva got introduced to the master artist Humberto Ramos as he got of his transport outside the Vault.

Inside the Vault, the convention exclusives were displayed for everyone to have a look at, including those from Hot Toys, Mighty Jaxx and all the others.

Both Ed from toys-etc.com and Agent W were hauled for official photographer duties during the Media Preview, and Red Dot Dude had helped ferry a couple of the guests from their hotel to the Vault, so it was up to Red Dot Diva to do her glam social media thing.

Here's Ed's quickie write-up about the couple of hours that happened that day:

Hanging Out All Casual and Threadless at Lowercase Cafe with Alex Solis

When one of e-commerce site Threadless' most popular artist is in town, how can there not be a drink-and-draw party to battle pencil strokes with?

On 4 September Thursday nite, Threadless dude Jeff Guerrero and Chunkies-meister Alex Solis (who is absolutely not chunky at all, mind you) together with their pal "King Genius" Jarius, hosted a casual hangout at Lowercase Cafe. The cool-hip bistro-cafe was cozily situated within the belly of LaSalle College of the Arts.

The three adorable charmers kept fans, geeks, art/ design students and fellow artists warmly entertained with a free-flow of beer, freebies (stashes of Threadless pins and mini sketchbooks) and a whole lot of fun conversation.

Red Dot Diva, Ed, Agent W and Jas were all there at the party to wind down for the day. Not long after, IDW artist Mark Torres (who just hopped off from his plane ride!) joined the gang together with pals, Kim and Fripside. There were other Threadless fans from Philippines and Malaysia, who came and hung out at Lowercase too.

STGCC 2014: Spotlight on Gene Whitlock - Diva Uncovers the Shady Background About "The Unsavoury Alphabet"

Aussie illustrator Gene Whitlock aka Danger Gene is a very well-known acquaintance of Red Dot Diva. For one thing, they keep bumping into each other in the same geek circles and locations. Not literally, of course. Gene's wondrous beard and hair (*flick*) does not allow that to happen.

What does happen though, is that their encounters are always fun and full of laughter. So it is with much immorally ambiguous pleasure to throw the Red Dot Diva pre-STGCC spotlight on Gene, who will be launching his book "The Unsavoury Alphabet" at BookActually's booth called "The Comic Strip".

(For more details on BookActually's first foray in STGCC, do read this previous article!)

Here's the (VERY) lowdown from Gene Whitlock about "The Unsavoury Alphabet":

STGCC 2014: Flex Some Muscles and Take Part in the STGCC Biceps Instagram Photo Contest!

The Glam Bloggers Alliance has added one more level of fun to the STGCC experience this weekend!

Attendees of the convention can take part in a special STGCC Biceps Instagram Photo Contest! and win stand a chance to win a stash of geeky goodies!

Here is how one can join in the fun and contest:

Terms & Conditions: Glam Blog Alliance (GBA) STGCC Biceps Instagram Photo Contest
Pose a selfie or pose with a friend or STGCC guest showing at least one arm’s biceps in the photo. Three of the most creative interesting posed photos with caption wins.

Note: If you are posing the photo with someone or having someone to pose in the pic, please do remember to ask the person for permission to be included in the photo. Stalker pics will not be accepted as a contest entry.


For reference, the photo below might make a good entry for the STGCC Biceps Instagram Photo Contest:

STGCC 2014: Bicepstuous Booths #5 - Writer Kelly Bender Is All Set To Give You Some "Starburn"

Oof. Ouch. Ow-Ow-Owwww. *sizzle*

Is that some serious "Starburn" happening this close to STGCC?

Red Dot Diva blames Kelly Bender for this. She is sure he'll be very amiable about the ruckus she is putting him through right now though. 'Coz..... He's Canadian. They so nice. *g*

But hey... if one is a scifi-nerd who likes cosmic Starburns like Valley girls like tanning machines then... do head right to Bicepstuous Booth #AA96 at the show floor this weekend. Kelly Bender will also be appearing on stage as a guest panelists in the Comics Artist Panel together with Humberto Ramos, Cameron Stewart and David Mack on Sunday, 2-3PM. Although, Kelly is not an artist, and the panel is pitched more as one about creator-owned works.

Even as Kelly is currently having a holiday with his family in Vietnam, the Glam Bloggers' Alliance managed to zero in on him, and gleefully ensnared him in a web of questions: