Lego 2824 - City Advent Calendar 2010

Following from the Lego Kingdoms Advent Calendar 2010, I've also had the pleasure of ripping open this companion set - the City Advent Calendar 2010. This was due in greater part to spring cleaning for the Chinese New Year period than an actual desire to view the toys contained within. So the box had to go and the Lego pieces went straight into storage after the pictures were taken for this post.

On the whole, I prefer this set to the Kingdoms Advent Calendar. Despite containing only six mini-figures compared to the nine in the Kingdoms set, the various little compartments contained little toys that were more fun to build. They also hold their own if you desired to distribute the contents as separate gifts, unlike the Kingdoms set where the little gifts were better off paired with each other (e.g. blacksmith with his anvil or barmaid with the cask). Here, you get a few mini-vehicles, two Santa figures and a little toy train to go along with the other pieces of furniture. Furthermore, they fit easily into any Lego Town or City that you build, especially the great series of modular buildings that Lego has been releasing over the past couple of years.


Box (front)


Box (rear)


Inside flap shows a Lego City background and a base featuring a railway track (you'll see why later)


Plastic tray containing all 24 packs


Day 1 - Snowman


Day 2 - Boy with toy sword


Day 3 - Skate ramp, helmet and skateboard


Day 4 - Mini crane


Day 5 - Drum kit


Day 6 - Girl with cat


Day 7 - Keyboard


Day 8 - Dog with sausage


Day 9 - Mini plane


Day 10 - Man with briefcase


Day 11 - Fireplace


Day 12 - Logs, axe and wagon


Day 13 - Mini fire engine


Day 14 - Woman with loaf of bread


Day 15 - Table, lamp and chairs


Day 16 - Bench


Day 17 - Shower


Day 18 - Santa taking a shower


Day 19 - Red train carriage


Day 20 - Mini bulldozer


Day 21 - Yellow train carriage


Day 22 - Mini helicopter


Day 23 - Christmas tree


Day 24 - Santa with locomotive


Lots of spares in this set


Santa taking a shower


Santa train (goes with the train tracks on the box flap)

Sergio Aragones - Five decades of his finest works

This huge volume has been keeping me occupied for the past two weeks or so - a compendium of Mad Magazine cartoons by Sergio Aragones, long-time contributor to Mad Magazine, part of the "usual gang of idiots", also known among his peers as the world's fastest cartoonist.

I had grown up squinting and laughing out loud at his Mad Marginals - the steady stream of cartoons which filled the margins around the pages and between panels of Mad Magazine. He also has a feature in every issue called "A Mad Look at ..." which consist of two to four pages of comic strips around a common subject.

I've never met Sergio personally but I hope to some day. His work brings me much mirth and laughter, through sheer simplicity and almost always in pantomine - proof that cartooning is indeed the universal language. So half a century on, I look forward to another half century of cartoons...because Sergio is THAT fast.


Front cover


Back cover; I found myself nodding in agreement at the blurb by Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons and Futurama


Inside cover features some of his marginals


There you have it... 5 glorious decades


Foreword by Patrick McDonnell, creator of Mutts


Interview by Nick Meglin, friend and former editor of Mad Magazine


Standout piece for me - A cartoon guide to the United States


Sergio's first contribution to Mad Magazine, from issue #76.


One of Sergio's "Mad Look at ..." features (in colour from the 2000's decade).


New self-portrait created for this volume


Includes a fold out poster of 500 (out of literally thousands) of Sergio's favourite marginals

StayReal x Doraemon; StayReal x Levi's; StayReal "Batman" Mousey

These three latest additions to the wardrobe were bought during a recent holiday trip to Taipei.

Following from successful collaborations with Sanrio Hello Kitty (here and here) and Snoopy, StayReal produces a cross-over with Doraemon. According to its Wiki page, Doraemon is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio (the pen name of Hiroshi Fujimoto) and Fujiko A. Fujio (the pen name of Motō Abiko) which later became an anime series and an Asian franchise. The series is about a robotic cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a schoolboy, Nobita Nobi. Cost NT 1280.

The second is a cross-over with jeans label Levi's featuring a StayReal Mousey in Mario (of Nintendo fame) costume. It features a "Be Elvis!" slogan on the front, with Elvis being an obvious anagram of Levi's. This is the long female T-shirt for the significant other. Cost NT 1280.

Last but not least is a Batman inspired design, though it is not licensed from DC Comics. The Bat-insignia in the front is altered by the StayReal Mousey head to the famous silhouette. NT 980.

All StayReal apparel are designed by Ashin of Mayday and No2Good.


StayReal x Doraemon (front)


StayReal x Doraemon (back)


StayReal x Doraemon (sleeve tag)


StayReal x Levi's (front)


StayReal x Levi's (back)


StayReal "Batman" (front)


StayReal "Batman" (back)


StayReal "Batman" (sleeve)