SDCC 2012: The Battle For Hotel Rooms - Round 2 Is Coming

When SDCC hotel bookings became centralized via Travel Planners (TP) last year, there was already a sense of panic about the limited available rooms for that one weekend in July.

And things didn't let up this year either.

Even though Red Dot Diva and her frenemy @eserei27 managed to get SDCC passes last year, they were not able to secure a room even as early as August 2011. None of the downtown hotels would entertain any advanced booking request!

In order to get a hotel downtown or somewhere nearby a trolley or shuttle route, one had little choice but to be ridiculously famous, able to hack into a downtown hotel computer system, or wait for SDCC hotel bookings to open up on 29 March at 9am PST.  Reading the booking instructions which were sent a few days before and waiting for registrations to open were almost causing Red Dot Diva a minor nervous breakdown.

Game of Thrones Special: Interview With The Affable Kristian Nairn

The HBO fantasy TV series "Game of Thrones", based on the novels by esteemed author George R. R. Martin, has a sea of characters.

Some are very short-lived; many suffered horrible fates and quite a few seem to grow in the hearts of the series' fans.

One such character is the loyal and humble servant Hodor from the noble House of Stark. Towering over many and slow in wit, he can only utter one word "Hodor" and carries crippled Bran Stark around in a kind of basket or harness.

Hodor did not have many scenes in Season 1 but Red Dot Diva is certain that many viewers of the TV series would have found it difficult forget the famous nekkid-Hodor episode. ;)

Irish actor Kristian Nairn, who plays Hodor on screen is actually a giant in real life too. Standing almost at 7 feet tall, Kristian is not only an actor, he is also a well-known DJ and electronic music producer in his own right! Kristian has DJ-ed and performed in many music festivals and shows internationally. Now, that's what you call Groovin' Large.

Three Squeeworthy Movie Trailers: Tim Burton-esque Films Galore!

Tim Burton fans, you're in for a treat this year!

There will be three.... THREE movies which would have the touch of the talented twisted-meister Tim Burton.

Red Dot Diva is a huge fan of Tim Burton's strangely beautiful and macabre works of art and she counted herself fortunate to be able to visit the Tim Burton Exhibit held at LACMA last year.

The exhibit was quite small but had a comprehensive display of Tim Burton's works from his childhood days till the present. There were many letters, paintings, doodles, poems, rare footage, puppets, props, costumes, even the screening of "Hansel and Gretel" - a film that actually ran on the Disney Channel during Halloween of 1983.

The experience was like taking a surrealistic journey inside Tim Burton's mind, catching wondrous glimpses of the disturbing artistic influences and ideas which have been brought to life in several movies on the big screen.

And to know that there are more Tim Burton movies coming soon... well... SQUEEEE!

The Interactive and Illuminating i Light 2012 at Marina Bay

The Marina Bay Waterfront area is one of the prettiest places to visit at night on Red Dot Island, and one of Red Dot Diva's favourite people-watching spots.

Without a doubt, it is the perfect arena for the i Light Marina Bay - an outdoor light art festival on sustainable energy presented by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and organised by Smart Light Singapore (SLS). It is the first and only one held in Asia!

Last year, Red Dot Diva went for the first i Light Marina Bay festival with some of her friends. It was a muggy night but she remembered that it was moderately enjoyable, because it was the first time she was walking along the Promenade.

For this year's i Light, Red Dot Diva's hardy 68-year-old momma joined her as walking companion. It turned out to be a cool and beautiful night - great weather for a good leisurely walk around the bay.

Cybertron Convention 2012: Mostly Nostalgia and A Buying Frenzy

The only version of Transfomers Red Dot Diva remembers well was the animated series, "Beast Wars", and those noisy Michael Bay movies. "Beast Wars" was particularly memorable maybe because it was not anime-style and had a very entertaining script with several interesting characters.

Still, as unfamiliar with much of the Transformers world as she was, she crawled out of bed early Sunday morning to be at RWS Sentosa the opening of the Cybertron Convention 2012 mainly because of:

1. a press pass (she has already mentioned that she's a nosy person, ya?)
2. the opportunity to hang out with her cool geek buddies
3. to see and gauge what kind of crowds were coming for the convention

Filipino comics artist Mark Torres and companion Punky happened to be in town. And since there were spare passes available and it was their last day in Singapore, Red Dot Diva invited them to come long to the Cybertron Convention with the rest of the gang.

Cybertron Convention 2012: Going Behind The Scenes - A Media Preview

Panels at the ballroom entrance (click for bigger pic)

Most of you should be well acquainted with the fact that Red Dot Diva is very inquisitive.

So she could not pass up the chance when she was invited for a special media preview to check out what's happening behind the scenes just a day before the Transformers Cybertron Convention 2012 opens.

There was one thing that she decided to do a little differently for the Cybertron Convention. It was to rope in a Red Dot Dude aka Andre aka Million Dollar Smile to help her cover the event. An extra pair of hands is always very useful when one needs more photo coverage or watch out for other stuff happening at the same time!

Noise Singapore 2012: A Showcase For Local Art Noise

Say what you may about the "lack of art expression" in Red Dot Island, and Red Dot Diva has found herself more willing to beg to differ. Especially in the last 2-3 years.

The art scene has been visibly flourishing in recent years. More commercial art galleries have been setting up shop here. And undoubtedly, the current generation - who have been exposed to a wider level of international influences - are more willing to break free from the shackles and expectations of the usual progression of stable career = success.

Even if more arts-liberal folks may deem the local platforms of art expression to be "government-funded" (or, in another words - censored), Red Dot Diva feels that the amount of promotion and support available in our small island-city is quite substantial. And to have any amount of support for art expression is far better than none. There are worse places to be in where one cannot even get on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or speak one's mind in at least - a humanely responsible manner.

It was during one bland, run-of-the-mill lunch hour, when Red Dot Diva somehow stumbled upon a mini art exhibition at B4 of ION by accident. "Ooh! Pretty Colours!", she first thought. A quick check around and she found out that it was part of the Noise Singapore 2012 Showcase.