Happy Halloween, Tim.

Photos: Tim Walker

Seen on Harper's Bazaar, in anticipation of Tim Burton's retrospective at New York's Museum of Modern Art. Photographs by Tim Walker. Who else can do Halloween fashion better than Tim Burton? ;-)

Have a fabulous Halloween, everybody!

Let's talk about reality show.. HP SPACE

HP SPACE seems to have all the right ingredients of a good reality show. Its Executive Producer, David Searl, is best known for adapting international reality programmes, such as Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader and America's Next Top Model, for local TV audiences. And has created original reality series The Arsenal Dream and M-Thailand. So we have expertise, checked.

David Searl (left), Paula Malai Ali (right)

Then, they have one of Asia's most popular TV personalities, Paula Malai Ali, to host the show. Paula, formerly a veejay for Channel[V], she is now a presenter for ESPN Star Sports. She has also been the face of many international brands such as Longines, Redken, Nescafe and cosmetics line Silky Girl. Plus, she was featured in a special episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show that profiled successful women in their thirties. impressive!

For HP SPACE China and Taiwan, Channel[V] veejay Li Chen will co-host the show. So good looking hosts, checked.

Li Chen (left), Ban Yih Jheow (right)

Two judges for the show are Ban Yinh Jheow and Sean Cummins. Everybody in Singapore must've known who Ban Yinh Jheow is. To me, he is like the man who put Singapore in the global toy industry with his revolutionary STIKFAS(tm) action figure. Uhuh, remember that. And Sean Cummins is known for his "The Best Job in the World" campaign, which entitled him to 3 Grand prix and 5 Gold Lions at the Cannes Lions 2009. These two judges definitely have a say in a creativity competition like HP SPACE. Qualified judges, checked.


As for the contestants, they come from various creative fields, from graphic designers, illustrator, architect, photographer, theatre artiste, to music video directors, and all with different levels of expertise. Some have limited experiences, while others come with many years of productions in their books. A perfect imbalance of contestants, checked.

So let's see if they'd cook all the ingredients right, and dish out some good episodes for us to watch. And yes, please.. with some drama on the side, it'd be one. perfect. meal. ;-) Meals to be served on November 10. Enjoy, folks!

Asia's first original reality TV show. For Real.

It's called HP SPACE. Asia's first original reality TV show that celebrates creativity and innovation, encourages aspiring talents to discover their talents. The show received more than 2,000 digital auditions, with close to 14,000 registered users on hpspace.com.

The 16 finalists were announced today. They are Admira Pustika (Indonesia), Adrienne Vergara (Philippines), Brandon Liu (Australia, works and lives in Singapore), David Tang (Australia, works and lives in Singapore), Daniel Tran (Australia, works and lives in Vietnam), Eric Zhang Hailin (China), Kaz Chai (Singapore), Liu Ming-Chun (Taiwan), Lora Lee (China), Note Pongsuang Kunprasop (Thailand), Phan Huynh Trung (Vietnam), Rafael N. Francisco (Philippines), Rohit Ferreira (India), Sawan (India), Tan Chung Han (Malaysia), Uni Lee (Korea).

Only one winner to win the grand prize of USD 50,000 and a fully-paid job on the live-action remake of cult anime classic, Bubblegum Crisis, in Australia. *yum!*

HP SPACE will telecast as follows:

China
Channel [V], Tuesday at 10pm from 10 Nov.

India
Channel [V], Tuesday at 6pm from 10 Nov.
STAR World, Tuesday at 9pm from 10 Nov.

Malaysia
Channel [V], Tuesday at 8pm from 10 Nov.

Middle East
STAR World, Wednesday at 10pm (UAE Time) from 11 Nov.

Philippines
STAR World, Wednesday at 9pm from 11 Nov.

Southeast Asia and Hong Kong
Channel[V], Tuesday at 7pm (HK Time) from 10 Nov.
STAR World, Wednesday at 10pm (HK Time) from 11 Nov.

South Korea
www.naver.co.kr, Wednesday at 9pm from 10 Nov.

Taiwan
Channel[V], Thursday at 7pm from 12 Nov.





I've uploaded some pics from HP SPACE press conference to my flickr, you can see them here. I'll talk more about the show tomorrow. Stay tuned. ;-)

HP TouchSmart 600 PC

I've never really talked about any technology products before, and most likely, I would rarely do so. But there's always a place in this blog for the good looking ones, like HP TouchSmart 600 PC. ;-)


I won't go into its technical specs and reviews, which you can easily find them here, or here. Remember, it's always important to read the specs and(!) reviews to find which PC suits your requirements and lifestyle. As for me, it's equally important to acknowledge products with good and smart(!) design. HP TouchSmart 600 PC is one them. And yes, it's a PC with touch screen technology. Changing the way you interact with your PC. Smart, huh?


Thanks, Amelia!

LAUDesign, China

I stumbled upon Kian Lau's blog, LAUDesign, where he shares his product designs along with their analogies. So I emailed him for permission to blog about his Tissues House. And he said yes! :) *thanks, Lau!* But how could you just blog about one great item, while he has plenty good stuffs to show?? Oh btw, his blog is in Chinese. You could use Google translator here.




Forkmen, Tissues House, Bookshelf-annotation, and Dish Time are among my favorites. But the one that really caught me off guard is his Psychologic Design on chocolates. It plays with our mind and emotions by incorporating fearful objects, like bullets and nails, into delicacies, like chocolates. Fear vs. Craving. Would you, or would you not.. indulge?? :) I think I'd scream first if I saw my daughter biting on any "nails/bullets"-shaped objects, like the boy pictured above. Anyhow, I loved it. Perfect for those little vampires knocking on the door. Trick or Treat? Well, these chocolates are both.

Kenya Hara Lecture: Nothing, Yet Everything

Kenya Hara is Japan’s most respected thinker and prolific designer. As the Art Director in communication and Board Member of MUJI, Kenya Hara is synonymous with its acclaimed art direction. He is devoted to developing design deeply rooted in Japanese culture and philosophy.

Come spend a day with Kenya Hara and all his greatest works: HAPTIC, SENSEWARE, MUJI, and Emptiness, in his inaugural lecture in Singapore.

Venue : The Singapore Airlines Theatre, LASALLE College of the Arts, 1 McNally Street, Singapore 187940

Date : 12 Nov 2009

Time : 9am

Ticketing by SISTIC

Info at www.autumnschool.asia

Contact at contact@autumnschool.asia



I'd say, save the date, book the event, and plan your travel dates early. Drop everything else. This is MUJI speaking.

And pssst.., there'll be book signing by Kenya Hara. Books by Kenya Hara: Designing Design, Haptic, White, MUJI etc, will be on sale on site at special promotional prices in conjunction with this Lecture. ;-)



Thanks, Adrian!