Sonny Liew and Dr. Hsu Li Yang Explains The Science Behind Covid-19

What a discombobulating year this has been.

2020's Covid-19 pandemic threw everyone's lives out of whack, and here we are, on the last day of an unforgettable year.

The Covid-19 vaccines arrived in Red Dot Island more than a week ago, and vaccinations have already begun for frontline healthcare workers yesterday. Yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel, but it still feels as if we are treading on thin ice, as the virus is still raging on in other parts of the world.

Red Dot Diva thought that that best way to end 2020 would be a cautious yet positive blog piece about a new webcomic entitled THE SCIENCE BEHIND COVID-19 by local Eisner Award-winning writer/ artist Sonny Liew (The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, Dr. Fate, Malinky Robot, Eternity Girl) and Dr. Hsu Li Yang, Vice Dean of Global Health and Programme Leader of Infectious Diseases at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. The comic was published on 28 December in both the printed and digital versions of the local English-language daily, The Straits Times.

Click on this link to read the web comic - https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/the-science-behind-covid-19-1

Kanme Studio's Boom Shaka Webcomic Is A Refreshing Read

The realm of webcomics is like an unfiltered pool of digital creativity. Ever since the medium's boom in the 2000's, there has been a growing number of formats and titles published. Readers can decide if they prefer the snappy one panel web comics, or those that are written as an on-going series, like those Hong Kong TV serials you grew up with. Since most webcomics are published independently, there is a wide range of genres out there to cater to a smorgasbord of tastes, especially if you are looking for something really niche.

Kanme Studio is one of those creative collectives who have started publishing webcomics. The studio is founded about 3 years ago by American writer named Yam. The collective's core includes usogami, who mainly takes care of the web-related aspects, and local freelance artist Alan Bay whom Red Dot Diva has gotten to know in recent years. Alan Bay has also done worked in the games industry, and drawn for a number of books including the recently published SACRED GUARDIANS comic (Asiapac Books) and ONCE UPON A SINGAPORE... TRADERS, a finalist for Book of the Year at the Singapore Book Awards 2019.

BOOM SHAKA is the latest web comic published by the Kanme Studio team, and it is off to a promising start. As of now, there is a Prologue, Chapter 1 and a few pages of Chapter 2 available at a very reasonable price on their website, via Gumroad.

Pennyworth Season 2 Premieres on Warner TV Asia on 14 December

Season 2 of the series PENNYWORTH will be back on Warner TV Asia on 14 December, with the first episode premiering at 9 PM Singapore time. This time, there is hardly a delay as Warner TV Asia decides to air the new season on the same day as the U.S. telecast. There will be 10 episodes in this season.

The series is an alternate universe about ex British SAS soldier Alfred Pennyworth (Jack Bannon) set in a more violent version of 60's London. In the show, Alfred, or Alfie as he is affectionately known, is not yet the famous DC comics butler of the Wayne household whom we are familiar with. When we meet him in Season 1, he worked as a bouncer at a nightclub and then started a security company, together with his SAS pals, “Bazza” (Hainsley Lloyd Bennett) and “Daveboy” (Ryan Fletcher), of which, their contract work includes working for Thomas Wayne (Ben Aldridge).

Cartoons Underground Returns With An Online Edition from 9 to 13 December 2020

So what if COVID-19 a.k.a. the Big Bad of 2020 is still lurking in the corners of Red Dot Island, and has prevented festivals and events from taking place? Cartoons Underground 2020, the island's very own animation festival, has in fact expanded from a 1-day evening festival to an exciting 5-day online event from 9 to 13 December 2020.

Of course, the festival, which is also South-East Asia's largest, will not be happening in their usual physical venue. Instead, attendees will step into an interactive and vibrant 360° virtual world created by CG lead Enrique Caballero.

Love is in the air

Within this immersive neon-lit cyberpunk 'hood, festival goers will be able to hunt for easter eggs, view films and behind the scene footages, and attend Q&A sessions with directors. Red Dot Diva had a sneak peek of the 360° world, which had tributes to Lady & The Tramp as well as the chef couple from the movie, Ratatouille. According to Enrique Caballero, he felt that during this difficult year, we all needed more love. Since the locals love shopping online, there will also be an art market where you can buy unique items for your own collection or as presents.

While the pandemic continues to rage on in several parts of the world, live action TV and movie productions have either halted or have been delayed. But as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. Seemingly pandemic-proof, the animation industry is set to boom in the next 5 years due to market demand, and for the practical reason that most of the work can be performed remotely.

Red Dot Diva welcomes the rise of animation movies. They are not just for kids and children. There are the cookie-cutter Disneys, Pixars, Dreamworks and well-loved Studio Ghibli films, and then there are so many others that fall in between or out of those familiar lines that are as beautiful and moving.

Diva's Interview with Actor Benjamin Chow about SRT's Tuesdays With Morrie

Actor Benjamin Chow has landed roles in several local theatre productions like “Forbidden City: Portrait of an Emperor”, “RENT” the musical and “Peter and the Starcatcher”, but the one that really caught Red Dot Diva's eye was his take as Lim Chin Siong in “The LKY Musical”. His performance of the leftwing politician was fiery, powerful and as charismatic as the actual man himself. Benjamin has received Best Supporting Actor at the Life! Theatre Awards twice - one for “The LKY Musical” and the other as Prince Tun in “Forbidden City: Portrait of an Emperor”.

He is currently performing as Mitch Albom in SRT's production of TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE, a play that marks the theatre company's return to live audience performances after several months of closure due to COVID-19. Remesh Panicker takes on the role as Morrie Schwartz in this two-man play.

It was nice to be able to grab a few minutes of Benjamin's time to ask how he had coped during Circuit Breaker and discuss a little bit more about his role in TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE.

Red Dot Diva: Hi Benjamin. I have been a fan of your work and have enjoyed your performances in several theatre productions. This year has been really tough for so many of us, with the arts community being heavily impacted by the curb on most social interactions. In both good and bad ways, the pandemic exposed a lot of underlying issues within ourselves, with our family members, in the workplace, and revealed socio-economic issues amongst several other things. How did you fare during these unprecedented times, especially during the Circuit Breaker?
Benjamin: I’m sure all of us feel like we’ve lost the year! My personal struggle was mostly over how to pay rent. When lockdown started to take effect, I lost pretty much all my shows, so I went to work at Fairprice for most of the middle of the year. I figured why not lean into what was undoubtedly an essential service! I’m just grateful that we as a country have been able to handle this crisis considerably well, so much so that I’m now able to find work in the arts once again! It’s really a blessing and a privilege.

Red Dot Diva Kicks Off The Very Small Geek Fest 2020 - 5 & 6 December 2020

Red Dot Diva is excited to launch THE VERY SMALL GEEK FEST, an inaugural virtual pop-culture fan festival that will take place on 5 and 6 December 2020 (Sat / Sun) at the Red Dot Diva Facebook Page.

This is the same weekend that Singapore Comic Con (SGCC) would have been held. Sadly, SGCC 2020 has been cancelled due to safety measures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is definitely not the same as lining up to meet your favourite artists, or discovering creative gems at the artist alley, but THE VERY SMALL GEEK FEST aims to keep the pop-culture geek spirit alive until we can all safely together for a large-scale event once more.

The virtual event may be “very small” - with just 3 Facebook livestreams held on each day - but the programming will pack a punch for those who enjoy comics and pop-culture.

Here are the list of the confirmed guests, who are based in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines:

* ROD ESPINOSA - Eisner Award-nominated comic book creator, writer, artist
* KELVIN CHAN - Art Director at Kinetiquettes, artist, comic book creator 
* KASIMIR POH CIESLAK - Actor, stunt performer
* PEPS GOH - Actor, fight coordinator
* SHIAN WEN - Videographer, editor, producer
* SAMARASKETCH - Illustrator, comic book artist, entrepreneur
* ILI ISA - Game concept artist, illustrator, cosplayer
* ATTY - Blogger, gamer, pop-culture geek

In addition, local movie reviewer JEDD JONG and author WAYNE RÉE will be take on the role as moderator for a couple of sessions.

More details on THE VERY SMALL GEEK FEST's event schedule, guests' profiles, and giveaways, will roll out on the Red Dot Diva Facebook Page or Twitter feed. Keep an eye out for more information in the coming weeks, and save the dates so you can join us for a rush of endorphins on 5 and 6 December.


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Facebook Event Page - https://www.facebook.com/events/1597131070493927

Soft Toy Hospital Helped Stan Lee Plushie Get His Voice Back

Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee passed away 2 years ago on 12 November 2020. In remembrance of him, Red Dot Diva wants to share a sweet story about one of her prized possessions.

Back in 2014, she had purchased a limited edition toy talking Stan Lee plush doll from Factory Entertainment as a San Diego Comic-Con 2014 exclusive. Ever since, she brought Stan Lee Plushie home, the toy had been sitting on a self amongst a collection of Marvel comics. Occasionally, she brought him along to events and conventions, and people are usually so amused with the rare Stan Lee doll that talks! He is such an integral part of her collection of pop-culture knick knacks.

On the day Stan Lee died, Red Dot Diva posted an Instagram video message with the toy, in tribute to the man's extraordinary life:

View this post on Instagram

Dear Sir, you will so sooo missed! ❤️ But I can always hear your voice over and over again, and be continually inspired to live life with meaning and passion. Thank you 🙏🏻 for all that you have contributed in the world of pop-culture for us. #StanLee #Marvel #collectible #popculture #comics #Spiderman #superheroes

A post shared by Red Dot Diva (@reddotdiva) on Nov 12, 2018 at 5:52pm PST

It was one of the last few times she remembered hearing Stan Lee Plushie's voice from the plush toy.

Recently, she wanted to hear the toy speak again, but it did not work. She thought it could have been the batteries, so she tried changing them. Nope, that didn't work either. Boo hoo. There has to be something that can be done about this.

She recalled reading about a toy repair company in Japan, and wondered if there was a similar thing in Red Dot Island. Upon Googling the key words, Soft Toy Hospital's profile came up immediately. The hospital had a Facebook page as well, with photos of the surgeries that they have done. Some of the repairs they performed on old and broken toys were amazing, and they have received positive comments from their customers.

Soft Toy Hospital is founded by husband and wife team, Isaac Kong and Pamela Theng. They were esteemed teddy bear artists, and in 2016, decided to offer toy restoration, repair and cleaning services to collectors and owners. With such a track record, Red Dot Diva had a good feeling that these wonderful toy doctors would be able to help recover Stan Lee Plushie's voice.

She emailed Soft Toy Hospital with a few photos of Stan Lee Plushie and the battery pack.

Dr. Isaac replied to her email within a couple of days. He told Red Dot Diva that it was difficult to see what was wrong (the mechanics were all hidden deep within the toy's body), and advised that Stan Lee Plushie be hospitalised so that they can have a better look. He even offered to collect the toy (via toy ambulance?) from her home!

Stan Lee Plushie was then warded at Soft Toy Hospital for about 5 days, and placed under the loving care of Dr. Isaac. Red Dot Diva hoped he was a good patient. Using Whatsapp, Dr. Isaac provided the diagnosis of Stan Lee Plushie's voice box. The contact plate within the toy has rusted and some wiring have been damaged. However, Dr. Isaac could operate on Stan Lee Plushie and get him fixed within a few hours at a cost of SGD 40.

OMG. Hooray! OF COURSE, YES. Please fix him!



That very same evening, Dr. Isaac brought Stan Lee Plushie back home, who was looking none the worse for wear. In fact, Stan Lee Plushie could talk again! It was an amazing superhero feat by Dr. Isaac indeed. Red Dot Diva couldn't be any happier and relieved. Thank you so much, Dr. Isaac!

View this post on Instagram

My Stan Lee plushie lost his voice recently. I thought a set of new batteries could perk him up again, but that didn’t work. I was a little sad about that. Luckily, I managed to find @softtoyhospitalsg, and Dr Isaac took Stan Lee Plushie to the hospital via a toy ambulance, and after a short surgery, the skillful toy doctor managed to recover Stan Lee’s voice! Amazing work with lots of TLV given. Thank you, Dr. Isaac! I have written about my experience in my latest blog post - link in profile. If you need your beloved toy or collectible to be repaired, go look for Soft Toy Hospital! ———— #stanlee #stanleetoy #stanleeplush #marvel #toyrepair #singapore #softtoyhospitalsg

A post shared by Red Dot Diva (@reddotdiva) on Nov 12, 2020 at 9:49am PST

Stan Lee Plushie now sits together with lots of other toy friends, and he still talks from time to time. Red Dot Diva hopes he continues to spout those heartwarming Stan Lee-isms for many more years!

So, if you ever need your precious soft toy or collectible to be repaired, do drop an email, Whatsapp (98820388) or Facebook message to Soft Toy Hospital. The toy doctors offer such skillful and affordable service. Best of all, it is all wrapped up with an awesome amount of TLC for the toys and their owners.