Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
On love letters he’s received: “My thinking is that when I’m 80 years old and in my rocking chair, I’ll pick them up and start reading them and think (to myself) ‘wow life was pretty good then!’” said Kim with a laugh. Read a little more about Daniel Dae Kim. (CNA – DDK)
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They’re 25-50 meters tall, solar powered, will collect rainwater, provide shade (obviously), will have plants growing on it, will be a temperature gauge (need more than 1?) and will look cool. They’re part of a development called Gardens by the Bay. There’ll be more including a plant conservatory that will cost admission, and if it’s anything like the Singapore we know, they’re going to be plenty of food. Does eco tourism really work? (CNN – Singapore Gardens by the Bay)
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Since the March 11th earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan, there have been a number of charity projects targeted specifically at raising much-needed funds and support for disaster survivors. Giant Robot has written about one of the most notable, 2:46: Aftershocks (Quakebook), and one of the newest, Kizuna: Fiction for Japan. And you are strongly encouraged to support these projects and their worthy causes by buying a copy of both Quakebook and Kizuna. Both books are quite different and remarkable. But if you want to donate to Japan disaster relief in a way that appeals to your inner (or outer) child’s love of toys, there’s another way you can help: click on over to Singapore toy company Play Imaginative’s website and buy yourself a Supporto-fu figure. Designed by Japanese toy designers Devilrobots and manufactured by Play Imaginative, Supporto-fu is a happy little four-inch figure whose message is “Little help from everyone can put smile on everyone’s face”. Supporto-fu will cost you U.S. $16 (excluding shipping), and all the proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Singapore Red Cross for the 2011 Japan Disaster Relief Fund. The figure is limited to 1,000 pieces, but Play Imaginative spokesman Jacky Teo estimates around 450 of the figures remain in stock. Supporto-fu is a marvelous little toy figure (this writer’s is pictured above) that really will put a smile on your face. And he’s a must for Devilrobots fans. But the really wonderful thing about Supporto-fu is every time you look at him or play with him, you’ll know you did something to help “put smile on everyone’s face”. Play Imaginative’s Supporto-fu page, which includes figure artwork and ordering information, is here.
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“Now more than a year old, the two integrated resorts in Singapore have exceeded all expectations and turned the nation into Asia’s second global gaming superpower.” Talk about fast. There are two casinos in Singapore, in operation for just over a year, and already they are on the verge of generating combined revenues that will surpass those of American gambling mecca Las Vegas. Is Vegas getting slow, or old, or both? In 2006, the Chinese city of Macau, with over three dozen casinos, surpassed Las Vegas to become the world’s largest gaming destination in terms of revenue. According to research, partly conducted by the Royal Bank of Scotland, gambling revenues this year in Singapore will exceed those in Las Vegas by about $200 million. We’re not sure if it should be a point of national pride, at least in America, to be the best at getting folks to indulge in a vice such as gambling; but it is one area in which it is getting harder to honestly say “We’re Number One.” (Jakarta Globe – Singapore Gambles and Wins)
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