tigrrrrrrrrrr!

"The tiger of the mind is more fierce than the tiger of the jungle."
– Spanish saying

When you are soooo mad at someone that you want to plunge a knife down his heart or use a fork to gouge out his eyes, remember these 3 useful tips:


1. When discussing the issue or problem, use "I feel" sentences. Example: Say "I feel upset that you lied to me" instead of "You're a f*cking liar!" To do otherwise will surely draw a negative reaction from the other party that will only make you angrier.

2. Find a quiet spot where you can vent your rage. Lock yourself in the toilet and scream your head off! Take a (cheap) figurine to your basement and throw it on the floor. Remember to sweep up.

3. “When angry, count to ten before you speak; if very angry, count to one hundred,” according to Thomas Jefferson. The more you delay your reaction, the more sane it's bound to be.

The next time someone makes your blood boil, be warned: 'Anger is one letter short of DANGER.'

(Top, right) The Tiger 'Animal' Bearbrick from Series 6, the most calm-looking tiger I've seen.

Tips from angermanagementtips.com and mayoclinic.com / Angry baby pic from lonestartimes.com

the asuka be@rbrick & other anime babes

This Series 13 Be@rbrick on the left was based on the character of Asuka Langley Soryu, an emotionally scarred child prodigy who became the pilot of the giant robot '02' in the anime and manga series entitled Evangelion.

With a curvaceous figure, fiery red hair and a temper to match, Asuka's popularity brought the character to sex symbol status. She has been portrayed as a sex object in several media – photos, illustrations, toys, and collectible figurines. Check out her provocative poses and outfits below!






















Fans of anime and manga are not limited to kids. In fact, many of them are teenage and adult males. That's why in countries like Japan, sexy anime figurines – plaster or plastic playmates with sweet faces, swinging hair, and cup D breasts (below) – sell like anything!

I guess men like to play with dolls, too. LOL














(Sexy figurines available at tokyotoys.com)

suckers for shine

What's in a flashy silver bag that drives women to obsession?

When Louis Vuitton launched the Miroir Line, bag lovers went crazy. Below are some of the things they said about it in a discussion board. (Note that the average price of such a bag is US$1,000+.)

"Love them all! I have three and they're compliment magnets for sure."

"I love this bag!! Everyone tries to buy it from me on the streets!"

"I adore this bag. (Love the idea of using it to touch up my lipstick!!)"

"I have to have one of these. Now, I need to figure out how to buy it without my husband knowing..."

"I called LV... the waiting list was closed..."

"When I got home today I picked up the phone and called all over the United States and actually found one! A store in Colorado is shipping my silver Inventeur Pochette on Tuesday. I CAN'T WAIT!"

Funny, but come to think of it, toy collectors like myself are not any different. Visit any toy forum on the Net and you're bound to read comments as fascinatingly shallow and fanatical as the ones you've just read. Non-collectors will never understand us. But do we care what anyone thinks? Nah.

As one of those Louis Vuitton addicts might say, 'Life's too short – give me one of those silver thingies, please!"

(Above, left) The Silver BWWT Bearbrick was conceptualized by Hajime Sorayama, an award-winning Japanese artist who is well-known for his hyper-realistic illustrations of 'sexy robots' (right). He started out as a visualizer in an ad agency and to date has published numerous books, worked on several movies, and designed the famous Sony AIBO pet dog robot.

(LV bag pic & commentaries from forum.purseblog.com)

when superheroes fall

In the Philippine entertainment scene, scandals involving superstar celebrities have become daily fare.

Not too long ago, the country's most popular tv show host became tabloid material – when her basketball hero husband got involved with a sexy receptionist. It was followed by the bloody estrangement of a beauty queen and her rich husband, the son of an alleged crime lord. The latest shock surfaced on the Internet: incriminating pictures of a hunky actor kissing the actress wife of one of the country's richest men.

The public was shocked, to say the least. Judgment was passed easily from one gossip blog to another. After all, these were people of extraordinary lives and status – supermen and superwomen in their own rights.

There was only one thought in everyone's mind: How the hell could they ruin their lives like that?

Think Superman, and then think kryptonite.

Like the rest of us, these so-called super beings are only human, and deep in their minds and hearts lie weaknesses that surface even with just a minuscule amount of kryptonite.

Money, beauty, love, sex, pride, power... What's your kryptonite?

(Top, right: Superman Returns Be@rbrick. Comes with a 400% size version. The red cape is printed at the back. Original Superman costume created by Joe Shuster.)

(Pic of Hot Toys' Superman Returns / Clark Kent 12-inch figure from Toy Square Canada. Pic of Lex Luthor holding green kryptonite from Action Comics Annual #10, 2007. Info from Wikipedia.)

op art be@rbrick

Have you ever felt nauseous just by looking at art?

Like a sudden attack of vertigo, a long hard look at op art can certainly make your head spin.

Op art, also known as optical art, is a form of abstract art that produces optical illusions of movement and perspective by the use of cleverly arranged patterns.

British artist Bridget Riley was one of the foremost exponents of op art, which emerged in the mid-60's (around the same time the closely-related 'psychedelic look' also began to gain popularity in fashion and design).

The black and white insets that you see here are some of her paintings. If you stare at them for a minute, you will see the sense of movement – vibrating, flashing, throbbing – and perceive illusions of perspective or 3-dimensional space. The effect is mesmerizing, illuminating... but dizzying!

The spell may cause you to throw up. Go ahead. But after you've wiped your mouth with a towel, you may realize that your stomach is empty and that you're hungry for more – more fascinating and thought-provoking op art that explores and celebrates not just the beauty of subjects or scenes, but also the wonders of sight, the delight of seeing.

(Top left: This BWWT 3 Be@rbrick was designed by Boris Tellegen a.k.a. Delta, a Netherlands native who started out as a graffiti artist in the 80s. He is now an established sculptor, painter, illustrator, toy and graphic designer.)

(Info from Wikipedia, nadav.harel.org, wind.com.my. Pics of Riley's work from www.mishabittleston.com)

jailbe@rs

What would drive a law abiding citizen to commit a crime?

Let's see. Keanu Reeves was arrested for DUI (driving under the influence), Hugh Grant for lewd behavior, Larry King for grand larceny, Al Pacino for carrying a concealed weapon, and Winona Ryder for shoflifting and illegal drug possession. The list could go on.

Was it a subconscious rebellion against the tightening grip of stardom? Or simply an outing of their seamy side?

In the TV series 'Prison Break', Michael Scofield (played by Wentworth Miller, left) was a successful structural engineer who robbed a bank in order to land in jail. His motive? To free his half brother, Lincoln Burrows, who was falsely accused of murdering the American president's embezzler sibling. While most of us would prefer to simply visit an incarcerated relative once a week, Michael gave up everything he had to help his innocent brother escape death row.

Yes, Michael was one rare jailbird. Unlike the celebrities I mentioned earlier, he had an entirely selfless motive for his crime. But then, you might say he wasn't real – and that his story was pure fiction.

Then consider this list of former real life prisoners: Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Voltaire, Aung San Suk Yi, Winston Churchill, Galileo, Mahatma Ghandi, John Milton, Marco Polo, the Philippines' Ninoy Aquino, Apolinario Mabini, and Jose Rizal.

For people's rights, for the good of many, for the love of country – I can't think of better reasons to go to jail.

– In celebration of Philippine Independence Day, June 12, 1898.

(Top, right: My 'No Plan' Be@rbrick Number 5, released in 2004)

(Info from www.microsoft.com, mugshots.org and Wikipedia. Miller pic from Wikipedia)

the be@rbrick behind the mask

Everything about the Seremetis Be@rbrick (right) is intriguing: the white suit that mimics a superhero's garb, the fierce-looking eyes with no pupils, the bat symbol which signals a darkness of character, and the single black glove that hints at a secret physical aberration.

But who in heaven's name – or what the hell– is it?

The designer, Kostas Seremetis (left), is a New York-based painter who is known for his graphic portrayals of comic superheroes and villains... artworks that iconize the eternal battle between good and evil.

Samples of his work depicting what appears to be the Kostas Assassin, a masked samurai character of his own creation, are shown below.

I imagine Seremetis' Be@rbrick to be some sort of cult superhero... or its evil adversary. But which is which – don't ask. It's hard to tell what lies behind a mask.

(The Seremetis Be@rbrick is part of Series 7. Seremetis/Artwork pics from evilmonito.com)

creatures of the night

Before you sleep, turn off the lights and stare into the darkness. Chances are, you will see nothing. Yet, you may feel that you're not alone – that unseen beings
watch you as you lie awake in bed.

Prada's recent print ads tried to capture the mysterious allure of night creatures. (Below) Models perched on tree branches, half-hidden in the shadows of the urban jungle. Like owls and other predators – they looked ready to pounce on innocent prey.

Let me tell you a chilling story about one such creature.

One night, my driver, Guido, and his wife, who was then pregnant with their second child, were preparing to go to bed. Suddenly, they heard frantic voices from outside. He rushed to the wide open window and saw his sister and brother-in-law (who lived directly across them in old San Juan) on the ground, their arms pointing wildly towards the roof of their house.

Guido promptly looked up and froze. His face turned white, and his skin crawled as he stared into the glowing red eyes of a tall shadowy figure. It glided over the tin roof towards him, arms outstretched like a skilled tightrope walker. After three horrific seconds of eye contact, the dark figure suddenly leaped off the roof.

No one saw it hit the ground, and certainly no one heard it crash on the pavement. But where did it go? Was it an 'aswang', a bloodthirsty ghoul in Philippine folklore which fed on the innards of unborn babies?

From time to time, Filipino urban legends such as this would surface like night creatures and strike terror in the hearts of believers. Often, they would spread through cheap tabloids, eclipsing public scandals that involved corrupt politicians and other dubious people in power.

Did I believe Guido? Yes. It wasn't hard to imagine that such a creature existed. After all, there are other monsters – humans all – far more evil, destructive, and terrifying. And they walk among us everyday. :-)

(Top left: My Robot Owl Be@rbrick from Series 8.)