I know that this weather of ours has been spotty lately with all of this on-and-off sunshine; however, we cannot let such a meagre obstacle stop us from preparing for what’s really important: the upcoming summer season! While having fun in the sun and sand is a crucial element to creating wonderful summertime memories, one must always remember to stay both stylish and healthy. Sunblock and hats are must-haves for staying skin-cancer-free; while you may think that a good tan is the most important thing to obtain from being outdoors on a hot day, you don’t want to come away with a much less pleasant gift from those UV rays! Now, before this post becomes a lecture on the dangers of the sun and on skin cancer prevention, let’s get to the cute hats!

In the picture below, I was enjoying that interesting bout of hot weather and sunshine that we had a few weeks back- English Bay was spectacular on that particular day. While I bought this hat for $10 in San Francisco at H&M, it is readily available for an equally affordable price at local H&M stores. And though I also possess several other hats in other materials and in darker colours, I feel like nothing spells out summer more than a straw hat. What do you think?

Check out the collage below for some summer hat inspirations:

1. (H&M) This straw bowler hat trimmed with a cute black ribbon is an adorable twist to the usual straw fedora hats that usually adorn the heads of many a female during the summertime.

2. (H&M) With a brim that is a tad wider than the typical fedora, this particular style will provide that extra bit of style and shade that will have you being both effortlessly fashionable and skin-cancer-free.

3. (Forever 21) Want to try out the baseball cap trend that has been running rampant lately (although it has been vastly popular among many Asian females for a long time)? Why not go big and wear this piece featuring an exotic tropical flower print that will have you in vacation mood for summer.

4. (Forever 21) A beach side necessity: straw floppy hats with a bright, bold scarf to add some flavour to the equation while keeping you safe from excessive lobster burn.  While the floppiness may not allow for this hat to be worn while walking around town, its droopy design will give you an alluring air of mystery.

5. (H&M) Another type of hat that may be a valuable asset to your closet: a slightly more structured version of the floppy hat that is the perfect way to attain a look of classic glamour while staying cool in the warm rays of the sun. Think of wearing this piece while dressed in white and sipping a happy hour drink on the patio.

6. (Yesstyle.com) This two-tone fedora with a striped band gives a little edge to the usual design.

Thank you for reading this week’s Trendy Tuesday, I hope that you all think of incorporating some head-wear into your ensembles this summer. Not only will such items add an extra element of style to your outfits, they are invaluable ways with which to keep you healthy and happy.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

The post Trendy Tuesday: The Top 6 Hats You Need for Summer appeared first on AX3 Battery | Asian Entertainment and Lifestyle Online Magazine.

It’s like something straight from the aftermath of a horror movie! After being defeated, the giant white creature dissolved into a steaming pile of white ooze. There’s definitely a Ghostbusters II reference in there somewhere.

Last week, a large amount of an unidentified, white substance began emerging from the ground at an intersection in the Pukou district of Nanjing, China. Reports indicated that the white, foamy stuff didn’t exactly smell pleasant.

Residents initially believed it was the result of a recent large-scale road construction, but authorities later revealed it to be a substance used to soften soil for subway construction.

The incident caught the attention of Weibo users who had comments like “It’s like a pancake,” “It’s Magic!” and “Looks like some kind of alien.”

As disappointed as everyone is that this isn’t proof of any paranormal activity, there’s always the chance that this is still a government cover-up.

Sources: 1, 2

The post Mind-Blown Mondays: Mysterious White Substance Emerges On Nanjing Street appeared first on AX3 Battery | Asian Entertainment and Lifestyle Online Magazine.

The add-on works by allowing you to load a liquid tank into the device, which is mixed and dispersed into the air with the command of the Scentee app. The device is currently only running on the iPhone 4S via the bottom connector but will soon branch out to Android devices by connecting through the headphone jack.

Some uses that the developers explained included waking up your friends, using it with games (a shooting game accompanied with the smell of gunpowder), giving a nice scented atmosphere for yoga.

Check out a video of a demo of the device below! So this seems like a cool idea and all, but the big question is will the use of scents in mobile communication catch on? What do you think?

Sources: 1,2

The post Send A Smell With Your Message With Scentee Smartphone Add-On appeared first on AX3 Battery | Asian Entertainment and Lifestyle Online Magazine.

He has been working on this since 2011, where 4D technology was also present in his 2010 world tour, New Era World Tour (超時代演唱會). It had a similar theme of an opening video that recorded himself in 360 degree view. That opening scene had “displayed a pre-recorded image of Jay Chou in a transparent triangular pyramid in midair, play[ing] a white feathered guitar, [where] suddenly he turns into flames, [and] his real self appears”. Talk about epic in its truest definition, huh? For those effects, this whopping price tag was $40 million NTD (over a million dollars in CAD)!

The 4D effects uses the same technology as holograms. The theatrics reportedly involved “lifelike, animated 3D effects that gave the impression of physical movement on stage” where Chou was allowed to “fly onto stage in an aircraft, landing it in the ruins of a city”. 3D screens with mapping technology were used to aid in this effect. In addition, almost 100 cameras were used just for the opening video which is only a minute and a half long. The cost for the creation of the video was about $8 million NTD ($270,000 CAD), one of the most expensive costs Chou has had. He states:

 The choreography must have a knock-out effect. I want the audience to feel like every time they blink their eyes, they’re missing something.

Have you attended a Jay Chou concert before? Do you think this will live up to his previous tours or will surpass it? Let me know about your experiences in the comments below!

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

The post Jay Chou Incorporates 4D In World Tour appeared first on AX3 Battery | Asian Entertainment and Lifestyle Online Magazine.

1) Mamee Noodles

The guy who came up with this snack idea was an absolute genius: dry noodles with soup powder. Simply crush up the noodles, add the powder, shake the packet to mix, and voila!

2) Koalas March

If you’re a chocolate fan, you can’t go wrong with these little guys! These bite-sized, chocolate-filled morsels come in either chocolate or strawberry flavours, with a crunchy Koala shaped biscuit on the outside and chocolate/strawberry filling on the inside. What’s not to like?

3) Pocky

You can’t go through childhood without experiencing the joy of Pocky. Most people are familiar with the basic chocolate and strawberry variety, but they also come in exotic flavours including Brazilian pudding, Pineapple Cream and even Apple Cream Custard! Check out this link to see more of the available pocky flavours!

4) Yuki no yado Senbei Rice Crackers Cream Frosted Senbei (Japanese Rice Cracker)

When your mom came home with groceries and pulled out a pack of these babies, your life was literally complete. The crunchy rice crackers are lightly glazed with cream frosting and make for the perfect work companion.

5) Hi Chew

If you were that kid who always wanted to swallow their bubble gum, then this would have been the best alternative for you. Hi-Chews are already popular around Asia and also have a wide variety of flavours, including favourites like apple, grape, melon to more extravagant ones like strawberry cheesecake, yogurt and cotton candy!

6) Baby Star Ramen

If you were lucky enough to bring a pack of these in for a snack at school, you were the most popular kid around. Everyone sticking their hands out asking for a few noodles; you had the power. Baby Star Ramen usually comes in chicken flavour but yakisoba was an alternative, along with many other unique Japanese flavours too! They also came in different forms, like stuck together as strips or in the shape of crunchy stars.

7) Meiji Gummy Chocolate Tube – Green Grape, strawberry or apple

The combination of chocolate and fruit jelly surprisingly goes well in the case of these gummy chocolates. They come in green grape, strawberry or apple.

8) Any Calbee potato chips

You literally can’t go to any supermarket or convenience store that won’t have these in Hong Kong. Whether it’s BBQ, spicy or pizza, you certainly can’t go wrong! Perfect for nearly any occasion!

9) Mochi Ice Cream

The perfect after-dinner treat! These mochi’s are glutinous rice cake wrapped around ice cream and served cold for a nice Summer dessert. They come in packs of two, dusted in flour. Flavours typically include vanilla and taro, but there are some other flavours out there like almond and lychee.

10) Roasted Seaweed

Every Asian kid will have at one point encountered roasted seaweed in their childhood. Whenever your mother would place a package in your lunchbox, snack time was to be glorious. Perfect for munching on a lazy day, they typically come in the plain seaweed flavour, but there are varieties such as wasabi or kimchi out there.

Hopefully these will bring back some memories of simpler times when these snacks were a much bigger concern in your life! Hopefully most of these are still available today! Anyone care to add to the list? Any other Asian snacks that you remember from your childhood? Let us know!

Sources: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

The post Throwback Thursdays: Ten Supermarket Snacks You Grew Up With In Hong Kong appeared first on AX3 Battery | Asian Entertainment and Lifestyle Online Magazine.

Wilber Pan (潘瑋柏):

At the current age of 32, this American-born Mandopop singer-songwriter and actor, took home the big awards at the 3rd Global Chinese Golden Chart Awards with “Most Popular Male Singer of the Year” and “Best Stage Performer of the Year”. He is also talented in another field of interest, the mobile gaming industry, with his software company Camigo Media which developed popular games like ”Fish Off”, and “Pig Rockets”, which achieved great success to date. In terms of his eye-candy goodness, he gives off a more ‘badass’ feel in his image, showing off a reckless, beyond the boundaries attitude in his photos.

And here’s Aaron Yan (炎亞綸):

Aaron Yan embarked on a new direction for his solo career from the ever-so popular Taiwanese boy-band Fahrenheit He dropped the “cute” look to adopt a more mature image coupled with a new musical direction. He’s a multi-lingual expert (Mandarin, Taiwanese, English, Japanese, & Cantonese), so we can see him reaching further limits into other Asian markets. His acting career is also achieving great heights with many of his television series doing very well across Asia. In terms of eye-candy, he sort of rides on the style of Japanese artists, with a more classy, gentle, “flower-boy” image.

Who do you like more and who do you think should be the eye-candy King of this week? Drop your comments below!

Source: 1, 2

The post Airplane Wednesdays: Wilber Pan vs. Aaron Yan appeared first on AX3 Battery | Asian Entertainment and Lifestyle Online Magazine.