Countdown #46- After the massive 52, there was always a danger that DC will cash in and just dish out a run-of-the-mill story to keep the weekly formula going. Thus far, Countdown is not run-of-the-mill but it is going downhill. Case in point, this week we see Jason Todd and Donna Troy got the shit beaten out of them and I do not care. It doesn't help that we still have no idea why they are so dangerous to the world. What's worse is the fact that I thick the Forerunner is a stupid idea in the first place. The rogue Monitor need a secret weapon...FOR WHAT? He is as powerful as Superman, why can't he kill Jason Todd (a second-rate Batman) and Donna Troy (a third-rate Wonder Woman) on his own? Holly Robinson, the Flash Rogues, and Jimmy Olsen are just coasting along with their own stories. The saving grace is Mary Marvel, or to be more exact Pharyngula, the Harvester of Stillborn Souls. This creepy villain is the coolest character to appear in Countdown so far, one of the best new characters I've seen in a long time. I mean when Mary punches him, dead baby fetuses fall off his body. That was just so sick! But one cool (short) section is not enough to save this issue. Countdown isn't a bad series, but it is in 52's shadow and thus far, it has not measured up.
Nova #3- The inevitable confrontation between Nova and the man who was once Speedball. Great idea on paper, but way too short. This issue is taken up by a clash between Nova and The Thunderbolts. At the end of it all, Nova got his ass back to space. Hopefully, he will stay there. I'm not too taken with this trip back home storyline. It's interesting and does have its moments, but it was much more fun seeing Nova in space during Annihilation. With Conquest coming up, it looks like Nova will be staying in space for a while. Good news for this series.
Stormwatch PHD #8- The Wildstorm relaunch has been terrible. Some books are late, others have just disappeared from the shelves. Only 2 books have come out regularly, the terrible 'Midnighter' and the good 'Stormwatch PHD'. A fan of the first Stormwatch series, I gave the series a try and was surprised. It is actually quite good. But the problem was that it seems that we were watching the Stormwatch B-Team (we were). This issue addressed this by showing Winter, Fuji and gang, but the focus was still on PHD. That's a good thing and I like that Dr.Shaw finally have something to do outside showing fear and wetting his pants. Now if only WildCATS #2 will show up.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
A member of my family has went insane
My sister is getting married in July and my mother has offically went insane. Outside wanting to invite everyone she has ever met (some of whom she has not met in years) she is getting the house painted!
Now as the house is filled with the smell of drying paint, I have to wonder what it is about weddings that make most women take a leave of their senses. Painting a house for that small short time when people comes? Why? Must be a chick thing because I can't even begin to understand it.
Must go now, the paint is making me dizzy.
Now as the house is filled with the smell of drying paint, I have to wonder what it is about weddings that make most women take a leave of their senses. Painting a house for that small short time when people comes? Why? Must be a chick thing because I can't even begin to understand it.
Must go now, the paint is making me dizzy.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan
Knife of Dreams is the eleventh book in the The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. Now for those of you with no idea what the Wheel of Time is, it is a fantasy series that speaks of a never-ending battle between good (the Light) and evil (Shai'tan).
About 3000 years have passed since the last war between Shai'tan and the Light. That war ended when Lews Therin Telamon also called the Dragon, led a daring raid and imprison the Dark One with the help of a group of male channelers (wizards) known as the Hundred Companions. Female channelers had refused to assist, believing the risk of backfire too great to chance. Though the Dark One was finally imprisoned, he managed to spread a taint on saidin, the male source of magic in the world, bringing madness to any who channeled it. The taint quickly overcame every male channeler in the world, including Lews Therin and his companions, with catastrophic results that changed the world- known as the 'Breaking of the World'. From then onwards, Lews Therin was also called the "Kinslayer", as one of the first results of his madness was to destroy everyone close to him - family, friends, aquiantances.
3000 years have passed, and the Dark One is breaking out of his prison. The Dragon Reborn, who is Lews reborn, is the only person capable of defeating Shai'tan, on the other, the Dragon Reborn will still be prey to the madness caused by the taint of evil in saidin. The only man who can save the world is also the man to destroy it. That man is Rand al'Thor.
First off, Knife of Dreams is 784 pages long, so be ready for a long read. It is also the 11th book in the Wheel of Time, so there is a lot story you will need to catch up on. In short, don't read this if you have never read the Wheel of Time before.
For those of you who have read the Wheel of Time before, Knife of Dreams is a return to form for Robert Jordan. After the confusing detour that was The Path of Daggers (Book 8), Winter's Heart (Book 9) and Crossroads of Twilight (Book 9), Knife of Dreams get back to the meat of the story; Rand al'Thor, Mat Cauthon and Perrin Aybara. The series started with these 3 and the books work whenever the story stay with these 3. I don't care who gained the throne of Andor or who control the White Tower, as long as Robert Jordan keep the story on Rand, Mat and Perrin, the book work. Good news; they are in 3 quarters of the book!
Knife of Dreams ties up a number of loose ends exposed during the course of the series, and there were a mighty lot of them. Rand loses his left hand, Mat finally marry and Perrin defeats the Shaido in Malden with the help of the Seanchan. The Last Battle is close at hand and Rand begins moving all of the armies of the world to the north to prepare for the Last Battle.
Reading this book, you get a sense of urgency that was never there in the earlier 3 books. This might not be a good thing to say, but Jordan's illness might be a good thing for the series as the series was getting bogged down in some truly minor details. Knife of Dreams isn't as good as the first 5 books in the series that made Jordan his name, but it is a good read. And if you had lasted this long, why not finish it. The Wheel is still a great series and the Knife of Dreams is bringing the series to a good close.
About 3000 years have passed since the last war between Shai'tan and the Light. That war ended when Lews Therin Telamon also called the Dragon, led a daring raid and imprison the Dark One with the help of a group of male channelers (wizards) known as the Hundred Companions. Female channelers had refused to assist, believing the risk of backfire too great to chance. Though the Dark One was finally imprisoned, he managed to spread a taint on saidin, the male source of magic in the world, bringing madness to any who channeled it. The taint quickly overcame every male channeler in the world, including Lews Therin and his companions, with catastrophic results that changed the world- known as the 'Breaking of the World'. From then onwards, Lews Therin was also called the "Kinslayer", as one of the first results of his madness was to destroy everyone close to him - family, friends, aquiantances.
3000 years have passed, and the Dark One is breaking out of his prison. The Dragon Reborn, who is Lews reborn, is the only person capable of defeating Shai'tan, on the other, the Dragon Reborn will still be prey to the madness caused by the taint of evil in saidin. The only man who can save the world is also the man to destroy it. That man is Rand al'Thor.
First off, Knife of Dreams is 784 pages long, so be ready for a long read. It is also the 11th book in the Wheel of Time, so there is a lot story you will need to catch up on. In short, don't read this if you have never read the Wheel of Time before.
For those of you who have read the Wheel of Time before, Knife of Dreams is a return to form for Robert Jordan. After the confusing detour that was The Path of Daggers (Book 8), Winter's Heart (Book 9) and Crossroads of Twilight (Book 9), Knife of Dreams get back to the meat of the story; Rand al'Thor, Mat Cauthon and Perrin Aybara. The series started with these 3 and the books work whenever the story stay with these 3. I don't care who gained the throne of Andor or who control the White Tower, as long as Robert Jordan keep the story on Rand, Mat and Perrin, the book work. Good news; they are in 3 quarters of the book!
Knife of Dreams ties up a number of loose ends exposed during the course of the series, and there were a mighty lot of them. Rand loses his left hand, Mat finally marry and Perrin defeats the Shaido in Malden with the help of the Seanchan. The Last Battle is close at hand and Rand begins moving all of the armies of the world to the north to prepare for the Last Battle.
Reading this book, you get a sense of urgency that was never there in the earlier 3 books. This might not be a good thing to say, but Jordan's illness might be a good thing for the series as the series was getting bogged down in some truly minor details. Knife of Dreams isn't as good as the first 5 books in the series that made Jordan his name, but it is a good read. And if you had lasted this long, why not finish it. The Wheel is still a great series and the Knife of Dreams is bringing the series to a good close.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
More trouble at Froebel
A week after several students filed a complaint againest Froebel Academy for not giving them their course certificates, now several teachers from embattled private school have filed claims with the Manpower Ministry (MOM) for alleged salary arrears.
One of the teachers is an former part-time Mandarin teacher who said that the school owes her about S$24,000 which had not been paid her since November. MOM says that it is looking into the allegations.
Here's a suggestion: Look faster.
Frobel Academy is already under investigation by the Education Ministry following the complaints from the students, and now this. Something is wrong with the school, and in light of the UNSW nonsense a month ago, it will be better for Singapore if the MOM get to the bottem of this ASAP. If not, it might/will be the death keel of the Singapore eduaction hub plan.
One of the teachers is an former part-time Mandarin teacher who said that the school owes her about S$24,000 which had not been paid her since November. MOM says that it is looking into the allegations.
Here's a suggestion: Look faster.
Frobel Academy is already under investigation by the Education Ministry following the complaints from the students, and now this. Something is wrong with the school, and in light of the UNSW nonsense a month ago, it will be better for Singapore if the MOM get to the bottem of this ASAP. If not, it might/will be the death keel of the Singapore eduaction hub plan.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
After the unexpected success of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Walt Disney wasted no time to put together a trilogy. The sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, proved to be a success also. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is the last film in the trilogy. So how is it? How does it stack up againest the first 2 films?
The movie starts with anyone associated with piracy begin hanged by the East Indian Company. Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman are also under their control, begin used to destroy all pirate ships on the seven seas. Captain Barbossa lead Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann and the crew of the Black Pearl to Sao Feng, pirate lord of Singapore. They need the navigational chart leading to World's End, the gateway to the Davy Jones' Locker to get the late Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirate Lord of the Caribbean. Barbossa's plan is to convene the Brethren Court to release the sea goddess, Calypso. After a couple of double-cross and a few triple-cross, Calypso is released and the Pearl and Dutchman faced off in the famous malstorm scene.
First off, World's End is slightly better than Dead Man's Chest, but far below Curse of the Black Pearl. It's not a bad movie but it too long and filled with several scenes that deserved to be on the cutting floor of the editing room. (Jack Sparrow death scene in the Locker, I talking to you.) Also the final battle was disappointing. Only the Pearl and Dutchman fought in the last battle, not a other single ship fought, even though you could see 2 huge fleet facing off againest each other. The malstorm scene was CGI madness, aka see it with your brain switch off, because it will make no sense.
Some part of the movie works like a charm. The scenes between Sparrow and Barbossa were good, and I liked the part where it's Barbossa's plan that saved the day. That was a nice twist. Also, wait to watch the post-credits scene at the very end. Most post-credit scenes are useless, but I liked this one. It actually closes the Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner story.
Overall, World's End is a fun ride that close the trilogy. The director left room for a fourth film and given the success of World's End, I bet money that it will be made. Fountain of Youth, here come Jack Sparrow.
The movie starts with anyone associated with piracy begin hanged by the East Indian Company. Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman are also under their control, begin used to destroy all pirate ships on the seven seas. Captain Barbossa lead Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann and the crew of the Black Pearl to Sao Feng, pirate lord of Singapore. They need the navigational chart leading to World's End, the gateway to the Davy Jones' Locker to get the late Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirate Lord of the Caribbean. Barbossa's plan is to convene the Brethren Court to release the sea goddess, Calypso. After a couple of double-cross and a few triple-cross, Calypso is released and the Pearl and Dutchman faced off in the famous malstorm scene.
First off, World's End is slightly better than Dead Man's Chest, but far below Curse of the Black Pearl. It's not a bad movie but it too long and filled with several scenes that deserved to be on the cutting floor of the editing room. (Jack Sparrow death scene in the Locker, I talking to you.) Also the final battle was disappointing. Only the Pearl and Dutchman fought in the last battle, not a other single ship fought, even though you could see 2 huge fleet facing off againest each other. The malstorm scene was CGI madness, aka see it with your brain switch off, because it will make no sense.
Some part of the movie works like a charm. The scenes between Sparrow and Barbossa were good, and I liked the part where it's Barbossa's plan that saved the day. That was a nice twist. Also, wait to watch the post-credits scene at the very end. Most post-credit scenes are useless, but I liked this one. It actually closes the Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner story.
Overall, World's End is a fun ride that close the trilogy. The director left room for a fourth film and given the success of World's End, I bet money that it will be made. Fountain of Youth, here come Jack Sparrow.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Comics this week
Countdown 47- As far as I can tell, Paul Dini is a very good comic book writer. He's not Alan Moore, but then most writers aren't. But what the hell was he thinking of here? Black Adam, the man who almost destroyed the world...gave up his powers? Gave them up! It's almost as bad as Captain America just giving up at the end of Civil War. What utter nonsense! It's Black Adam for god sake! BLACK ADAM! The rest of the storylines seem to be progresing at a relatively satisfying rate, but this Black Adam is so out-of-character it's not even funny. What were you thinking of Paul?
New Warriors #1- I like to give new books a chance to impress me before giving them up. Even books with lame set-up like the New Warriors. This issue was surprising quite good. The lead character, Sofia, was one of the New X-Men who lost her powers on M-day, and recuited into the New Warriors. I like this part where they didn't give you any idea of who the New Warriors were until the very, very end. Very well put together, I'll be here for issue two.
Avengers: The Initiative #3- Dan Slott still haven't figured out how to get this book out of the biggest problem I think he faced so far. The Initiative is the Avengers C-Team (maybe E-Team). They are raw recuits and the Initiative had to bring in "trainers" like the Thing and Black Widow to train them. In this context, if SHIELD had the chance to take down Spiderman, would they send in Komodo? Of course not! Spidey didn't even know who she was. I mean he was right, he faced up to Iron Man before and SHIELD send this grade C Lizard to take him down? This problem need to be address ASAP because it is bringing down an otherwise impressive book.
New Warriors #1- I like to give new books a chance to impress me before giving them up. Even books with lame set-up like the New Warriors. This issue was surprising quite good. The lead character, Sofia, was one of the New X-Men who lost her powers on M-day, and recuited into the New Warriors. I like this part where they didn't give you any idea of who the New Warriors were until the very, very end. Very well put together, I'll be here for issue two.
Avengers: The Initiative #3- Dan Slott still haven't figured out how to get this book out of the biggest problem I think he faced so far. The Initiative is the Avengers C-Team (maybe E-Team). They are raw recuits and the Initiative had to bring in "trainers" like the Thing and Black Widow to train them. In this context, if SHIELD had the chance to take down Spiderman, would they send in Komodo? Of course not! Spidey didn't even know who she was. I mean he was right, he faced up to Iron Man before and SHIELD send this grade C Lizard to take him down? This problem need to be address ASAP because it is bringing down an otherwise impressive book.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
NBA Finals: Game 1
I blogged earlier that the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the San Antonio Spurs will be one ugly series. Boy, was I right or what!
The Spurs got an easy 85-76 victory over the Cavaliers in Game 1, mainly due to good defence on their part and a bad show on the part of LeBron James. The Spurs kept the Cleveland superstar under total control and they held James to just 14 points. In contrast, Tim Duncan finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. One word; big stage experience. Okay, that's 3 words but you get the picture.
Bruce Bowen was on LeBron, but it was a team effort. 2-3 guys on him whether LeBron even tried to get to the rim. LeBron just couldn't solve the Spur's puzzle. But the biggest problem Cavs had was Tony Parker. He got whatever he wanted yesterday and the Cavs got no one who even looked like they could slow him down.
He and Duncan was the brightest lights in a otherwise terrible game. I can understand if the game was boring due to great defence but there was good defence, not great. People was just missing shots (lay-ups, put-backs you name it) left, right and centre. The Cavs top scorer was Daniel Gibson with 16 miserable points. Only 3 Spurs players got more than 10.
I heard that the game drew the lowest rating ever in America for an opening NBA Finals game in prime time; guys the only thing you missed was a bad game. If the Cavs and Spurs keep this up, even I might miss the rest of the series. That was how bad it was. Terrible!
The Spurs got an easy 85-76 victory over the Cavaliers in Game 1, mainly due to good defence on their part and a bad show on the part of LeBron James. The Spurs kept the Cleveland superstar under total control and they held James to just 14 points. In contrast, Tim Duncan finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. One word; big stage experience. Okay, that's 3 words but you get the picture.
Bruce Bowen was on LeBron, but it was a team effort. 2-3 guys on him whether LeBron even tried to get to the rim. LeBron just couldn't solve the Spur's puzzle. But the biggest problem Cavs had was Tony Parker. He got whatever he wanted yesterday and the Cavs got no one who even looked like they could slow him down.
He and Duncan was the brightest lights in a otherwise terrible game. I can understand if the game was boring due to great defence but there was good defence, not great. People was just missing shots (lay-ups, put-backs you name it) left, right and centre. The Cavs top scorer was Daniel Gibson with 16 miserable points. Only 3 Spurs players got more than 10.
I heard that the game drew the lowest rating ever in America for an opening NBA Finals game in prime time; guys the only thing you missed was a bad game. If the Cavs and Spurs keep this up, even I might miss the rest of the series. That was how bad it was. Terrible!
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