That's what friends are for? And the eyes have it!

Both ST and TODAY have been providing their readers with commentaries on the troubling geopolitical developments in East Asia, a strategic region involving major powers that cast their shadow on the small countries that make up ASEAN. But, on balance, I find -- on this issue -- a more consistent thread in the articles published in TODAY, ie, the Realist approach is not underplayed. In recent days, I have put on this blog such articles. This third one, below, which also appeared in TODAY (Jan 23) and is written by the Financial Times' Gideon Rachman, makes for sobering reading:

http://www.todayonline.com/commentary/obama-looks-inward-americas-allies-worry

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Moving away from serious stuff, I found this "space theme" ad for a coming rock music event here amusing. It reminds me of the 1950s/1960s-era DC comics and Tim Burton's 1996 movie Mars Attack!...

But why "Vampire Weekend"? Where are the vampires? (Haha, I have since found out there are three bands involved in the gig: Yeah, Yeah Yeahs; Vampire Weekend; and Band of Horses.)

Also amusing is this ad:

I don't get it. Pandas are cute... so people with "panda eyes" should look cute, no? But it seems that, once upon a time, cavemen did not find pandas cute. They found them yummy!...