Sometimes, you just want to grab some popcorn and watch a great one-and-done adventure. Movies, after all, bring people together as you're transported to another place and time for the ride of your life. But for those who don't want to commit to binging an entire television series but aren't simply satisfied with a standalone film entry, look no further than the best movie trilogies around.
SINGAPORE: In this economy, it is really a treasure to save up to buy your dream shoes. This is what a maid has done for seven months in order to buy a pair of trendy brand sneakers, amounting to more than $100. Unfortunately, some people also have a knack for stealing good items, and after the maid placed the shoes outside the house, a stranger stole them.
As reported by Shin Min Daily News, the pair of sneakers was placed on the shoe rack outside the house’s door, and after reviewing the surveillance footage, the homeowner discovered that a strange woman had stolen the shoes at around 6:30 in the morning on May 17.
Case details showed that a long-haired woman wearing a black long-sleeved top and a white skirt walked towards the shoe cabinet, somehow covering her face with her right hand as she went. She then squatted down in front of the shoe cabinet, and after quite some time, took the pair of sneakers and left. The entire process took about 30 seconds.
According to the homeowner, this was the first time this had happened, and the suspect was not a familiar face. He also claimed that his maid saved up $10 to $15 a month from her living expenses to be able to buy the branded pair.
“She only wears them on her days off each month. She cherishes them very much and takes good care of them. The shoes are practically new,” the homeowner declared.
Moreover, the woman accused of stealing was suspected of multiple crimes in the Hougang area. The homeowner also revealed that he saw several reports wherein a strange woman was caught stealing residents’ clothes and shoes, and after reviewing the CCTV footage, he found that one of the women resembled the suspect who stole his maid’s shoes.
He stated: “I feel like she’s a repeat offender who frequents HDB flats in the Hougang area and targets branded clothing and shoes.”
The police confirmed that they had received the report and that the case is under investigation.
Other related news
In similar news related to stealing, there was a report where a man stole underwear from an HDB unit corridor twice in four days
The man was wearing gloves, a mask, and a baseball cap, and his unusual actions were captured on surveillance camera.
Read more about the story here.
This article (Maid saves for seven months to buy sneakers, only to have them stolen) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.
KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 — For most actors, a role is simply a chapter in a career—a costume worn for a season and then tucked away. But for Japanese star Masahiro Inoue, one particular genre became more than a job; it became a lifelong creative compass.
Long before streaming services redefined global entertainment, Inoue was thrust into the heart of one of tokusatsu’s most ambitious undertakings. In 2009, he donned the mantle of Tsukasa Kadoya, the enigmatic protagonist of Kamen Rider Decade.
As the face of the Heisei series' 10th anniversary, Inoue didn't just play a hero; he portrayed an unconventional anti-hero—a traveller between parallel worlds whose motives remained as elusive as the dimensions he traversed.
“I was able to play the role of Decade, and it was a great honour,” Inoue told Malay Mail.
“Through that experience, I learned how wonderful the tokusatsu genre is and cultivated a deeper appreciation for the craft.”
While many stars use tokusatsu as a springboard to mainstream fame before distancing themselves from their "masked" beginnings, Inoue’s bond with the genre has only deepened.
He transitioned from the heroism of Decade to the darker complexities of Garo, portraying the character Jinga in Gold Storm Sho (2015) and later serving as the primary antagonist in Garo: Kami no Kiba (2018). The character's magnetic pull was so strong it spawned its own spin-off, Kami no Kiba: Jinga, further cementing Inoue's status as a titan of the genre.
By 2023, Inoue decided to move from performer to pioneer. He launched Sentika F8ABA6 Jisariz, an independent tokusatsu series on YouTube where he stars as the titular hero. Mirroring the "world-hopper" essence of Decade and the aesthetic grit of Garo, Jisariz was a personal gamble.
“I wanted to create a tokusatsu production that people around the world could watch,” he explained, citing YouTube’s accessibility as the primary driver.
“After my experiences with Kamen Rider Decade and GARO, I wanted to try creating a project entirely on my own. It was very difficult, but it was also a lot of fun.”
For Inoue, the enduring relevance of tokusatsu lies in its tactile nature. While anime offers a stylized escape, tokusatsu provides a visceral connection.
“With anime, there can sometimes be a sense of unreality,” he notes. “But in tokusatsu, real people transform into heroes. Fans and cosplayers can imitate those characters in real life. That realism is one of its biggest attractions.”
Malaysian bond
This belief in the "tangible hero" is perhaps why Inoue has developed such a profound bond with his Malaysian fans. Over the last few years, Malaysia has become a recurring destination in his own journey between worlds, with visits to Penang in 2022 and the Klang Valley in 2023.
Most recently, he returned as a special guest at the ‘Let's Anime Cosplay Event × Tourism Selangor: Welcome to Parallel World’ at the Klang Commercial Convention Centre (KCCC) on June 6 and 7.
Despite previous logistical hurdles with past organisers that had made returning difficult, this latest visit felt like a homecoming. “I love Malaysia,” he shared. “Through social media, I often see comments from Malaysian fans. Their support makes me very happy.”
As he reflects on nearly two decades in the industry, Inoue remains a rare breed of artist, one who champions the genre that first gave him a voice. Whether as the dimension-hopping Decade, the formidable Jinga, or the independent Jisariz, he continues to bridge the gap between fantasy and reality.
Much like the characters he portrays, Masahiro Inoue continues to travel across borders, ensuring that the spirit of tokusatsu evolves for a new generation of dreamers.
“My process is a constant negotiation with gravity,” says Soojin Choi. The artist creates intimate ceramic sculptures depicting a pair entwined in an unknottable embrace, their limbs a seemingly endless tangle. With pockets of negative space peeking through, the characters pose in a precarious balance. “I intentionally minimize ground contact to prioritize the specific gestures and the psychological tension between the two figures, giving the work a sense of lightness and emotional presence,” the artist adds.
A long-time resident artist at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Choi is formally trained as a painter, a background that informs the sweeping, gestural marks of her pieces. The figures are depicted as three-dimensional line drawings with the quick outlines in a darker hue, while visible brushstrokes and drips layer atop a coat of white slip. “I prefer surface finishes that feel active and tactile, allowing the traces of my hand and the movement of the material to remain visible on the final sculpture,” she says.
Choi begins with an idea of how the two figures will interact and what ambiguous moment they might create. As she carves their forms from stoneware slabs and strengthens them with nylon strands, the initial plan often veers in another direction. “What I find most exciting is that the figures’ gestures often evolve and shift during the construction process,” she says, adding that the “gray area” of human emotion is where she strives to end up.
Currently, Choi is exploring the unpredictability of glazes and how they can offer a dynamic quality. “What fascinates me about glaze—unlike the more direct application of paint—is how subtle shifts in chemical ratios and kiln heat produce radically different, often unpredictable outcomes,” she says.
Johansson Projects will present the artist’s work in a duo show next month, and she has another group show slated for September at Mesa Contemporary Art Museum. Head to Instagram to see more of her process.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Painterly Figures Entwine in Soojin Choi’s Ceramic Sculptures appeared first on Colossal.
TAIPEI, June 4 — Foxconn said today it will work with US chipmaker Intel to jointly develop and deploy next-generation AI infrastructure and intelligent computing platforms in a move to capture booming demand for AI computing systems.
Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, said in a statement that the partnership would combine Intel’s chip technology with Foxconn’s manufacturing and system-building expertise.
The companies plan to work on equipment used in AI data centres, including server racks powered by Intel Xeon processors and AI accelerator chips. They will also focus on high-speed interconnect technologies, cooling designs and energy efficiency solutions in AI systems.
Foxconn and Intel also aim to develop AI systems for use outside traditional data centres, including in factories, smart cities and robots.
“Our collaboration with Intel will combine the strengths of both companies across computing platforms, system integration, and global supply chain capabilities,” Foxconn Chairman and CEO Young Liu said in the statement.
The companies also said they would explore work on custom chips and system integration solutions.
Foxconn and Intel did not give details on the financial value of the collaboration, name any customers or offer a launch timeline. — Reuters
Over the course of two decades, Queens resident Joe Macken meticulously built an entire city from the ground up. In fact, he built New York City—the whole thing—one building, house, and bridge at a time. Now, his expansive scale construction is on view in He Built This City: Joe Macken’s Model at the Museum of the City of New York.
Macken began working on the 50-by-27-foot model in 2004, first in Middle Village, Queens, before moving to Clifton Park, New York. It comprises 340 individual sections, each built from everyday materials like cardboard and glue, with many of the buildings constructed of balsa wood and detailed with pencil and paint. He completed the structure in 2025, and it’s now on long-term view at the museum, where visitors can walk around it and are encouraged to use binoculars to find familiar buildings and neighborhoods.
You may also enjoy the “Panorama of the City of New York” at the Queens Museum, which was completed in 1964 and took a team of more than 100 people about three years to complete.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Joe Macken Spent 21 Years Hand-Assembling a Vast Model of New York City appeared first on Colossal.
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