Asiapac Books' Reunion: Timeless Love and Art in Return of the Condor Heroes Exhibition

Back in 1995, Chinese manhua paperbacks of reknown novelist Louis Cha (Jin Yong)'s wuxia tale, RETURN OF THE CONDOR HEROES, was illustrated by local award-winning artist Wee Tian Beng. The comic books, published in 18 volumes, have been out of print for more than two decades. So, it is with much excitement that Asiapac Books has launched the graphic novel series compiled into one complete omnibus-hardback boxset in two language versions - simplified Chinese and English!

To commemorate the launch of the RETURN OF THE CONDOR HEROES 2021 Collector's Edition Comic Book Boxset, an exhibition was held at the zall bookstore, a Chinese language book shop located at Wheelock Place. The Reunion: Timeless Love and Art in Return of the Condor Heroes exhibition wraps up tomorrow (17 October 2021), so it will be your last chance to get to know, or in the case of long time fans, to re-acquaint yourself with the epic love story of Yang Guo and Dragon Girl!

Gamescom Asia 2021 Presents The Heart of Gaming From 14 to 17 October

Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic struck, it has been awhile since a major entertainment-related convention is taking place in Red Dot Island. So, it is a wonderful feeling to have colour and excitement back in town with gamescom asia's first Asian version from 14 to 17 October 2021.

“We’re excited to finally launch the gamescom brand to the Asian market with gamescom asia 2021. We could have waited for 2022 to kick things off but the industry was craving for a place for interaction this year, and we wanted to provide gamers a glimpse of what the region had in store for them in the near future,” says Mathias Kuepper, Managing Director of Koelnmesse Singapore, the organisers of gamescom asia.

“For those who can make it to Suntec on 14-15 October for the event in Singapore, we are creating an extremely safe environment for in-person business interaction. All attendees will go through a non-invasive and highly accurate test before entering the event, which is a first for any event in Singapore. gamescom asia is proud to lead the way as a demo event and to help pave the path for other events to open in a safe manner in the very near future.”

The region's most anticipated gaming convention has a hybrid programme that consists of two zones - Trade and Entertainment. The Trade Zone has an in-person conference at Suntec Convention Centre from 14 to 16 October, with industry guests appearing live as well as online via the virtual platform Hubilo. There are segments called Games360, Mobile Gaming Summit, and UNconference featuring panels and technical dialogues featuring prominent industry guests from Riot Games, Microsoft Xbox Asia, Nintendo, Bandai Namco, Square Enix and more. The virtual conference on Hubilo also offers attendees networking opportunities and an exhibitor's area.

In addition, Mr. Alvin Tan, Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry, will be gracing the event and giving an opening address at the Mobile Gaming Summit on 15 October 2021.

Star Wars: Visions - Stunning Visuals and Unique Stories In Anime Form

STAR WARS: VISIONS, an anthology of nine anime shorts, is wonderfully creative and goes right into the emotional core of what the Star Wars is all about. Even though it is not canon, the series offers a thrilling alternate universe, while taking you back to the mega franchise's Japanese roots.

Star Wars has always drew ideas heavily from Japanese culture. In interviews, George Lucas mentioned that he is a huge fan of Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa. When you watch Kurosawa's 1958 black and white movie THE HIDDEN FORTRESS side by side with the original 1977 Star Wars movie, you will see the same story beats about a princess, a general, a pair of comedic peasants and the fight against a feudal lord.

Samurai lore and visual traditional Japanese aesthetic, like the ronin, lightsaber, Darth Vader's helmet and kabuki, are also embedded in Star Wars. Even in the sequels, you will find that the Japanese influences remain strong. In THE LAST JEDI, Rian Johnson paid homage to Kurosawa's RASHOMON by portraying the re-telling of young Ben Solo and Luke Skywalker's fateful incident at the training temple in three different versions. Also, Kylo Ren's repaired helmet in the last movie of the Skywalker saga is influenced by kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery.

The anime studios involved with STAR WARS: VISIONS are Kamikaze Douga, Geno Studio (Twin Engine), Studio Colorido (Twin Engine), TRIGGER, Kinema Citrus, Science Saru, and Production I.G. When Red Dot Diva was binge-watching the series, it was evident that the production teams adored the Star Wars franchise, and threw their hearts into it by putting their own unique spin to their animated shorts.

ArtScience Museum's Orchestral Manoeuvres Exhibition - An Eclectic Ear-Opening Aural Adventure

For most of us, it is easier to grasp an idea or imagine a subject through pictures. After all, humans beings are highly visual creatures, and we process faster based on what we see. So, to be able to explore sound through different visual and mixed media ways, is what makes ArtScience Museum's current exhibition called ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES: SEE SOUND. FEEL SOUND. BE SOUND particularly intriguing.

Curated by Adrian George, Director of Exhibitions at ArtScience Museum, with Amita Kirpalani, Curator at ArtScience Museum, the exhibition is presented over nine galleries. They consist of noise-making sculptures, paintings, videos, music, and works by over 32 artists and composers from eight countries.

To take you on an aural adventure and give you a few notes of the exhibitions varying soundscapes, Red Dot Diva has included links to a few videos that she has uploaded to her Instagram account.