Artifacts #5- Top Cow marketed this issue as Act 2 of the miniseries. After reading it, I can see why. It’s not a case of false marketing as the issue start with Cyberforce and Hunter-Killer who had not shown up yet. When the Top Cow U first started out, they were known for series like Cyberforce, Ripclaw and Strykforce. As the years pass, they moved away from series with a sci-fi bend and more on series with a supernatural feel to it like the Darkness. I guess we can call Cyberforce introduction as a return to the Top Cow U. Their introduction by writer Ron Marz also made sense. As the battle lines were drawn last issue, it seem only natural that a team like Cyberforce would be involved in a crisis that threaten the world. This issue also mark a return to form for Whilce Portacio. I haven’t been that impressive with his work in the past few years but the artist did great here. I don’t know why but the artist seen to be enjoying his work again here. If this issue is any indication, Act 2 will to be even better than Act 1.
X-23 #5- Thus far, writer Marjorie Liu had been making X-23 into an interesting character. In truth, far more interesting than I thought she would be. This issue, she decided to move the action away from Laura and focus on the supporting cast. Gambit and Ms. Sinister are two characters which had been out of the spotlight for awhile and Liu made the most of it by throwing new things at us. Ms. Sinister especially got good treatment as the emphasis on how similar Ms. Sinister and X-23 are was great. Both are clones, female clones of men, and both have little choice in the matter. Another solid issue in a surprisingly promising series.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Stupid Ruling
Cyclists getting a positive drugs test are so common no one with even a passing interest in the sport is surprised anymore. So when Tour de France champion Alberto Contador received a one-year ban after a positive drugs test, most would expect nothing but a shake of the head right?
Wrong! I feel the ban on Contador is unjust. Now I only have a passing interest in the sport but everything I read so far seem to indicate that he did not take the drug. Contador tested positive for the banned drug clenbuterol, however at an amount that is 400 times below what is needed for him to get an advantage from it.
Would you knowing take a performance enhancing drug if it didn’t enhance your performance? Contador says the drug came from contaminated meat, which is deemed possible by experts as clenbuterol is used on animals. The experts also agree that there was no way the trace amount found in Contador has any gave him an advantage when he won the 2010 Tour de France.
Unfortunately for Contador, the rules state that NO drugs must be found within his body so he is going to be stripped of his 2010 Tour de France and face a 2 year ban from the sport. In a comprise (due the amount found), Contador will only face a 1 year ban instead of the regular 2 years.
Now I know the cycling World Cycling's governing body (UCI) is trying to stamp out drug cheats but I can’t understand why they are banning Contandor when even their own experts agree that the man did not gain any advantage from the drugs in his system.
Contador say this was an error, the clenbuterol went into his system by accident, and all evidence so far seen to indicate he is telling the truth. So why is he facing a 1 year ban? A man is innocent till proved guilty right? Why is the UCI and and the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) trying to ban the man and take away his title when even they don’t believe he got any advantage from the clenbuterol? That is just stupid.
Wrong! I feel the ban on Contador is unjust. Now I only have a passing interest in the sport but everything I read so far seem to indicate that he did not take the drug. Contador tested positive for the banned drug clenbuterol, however at an amount that is 400 times below what is needed for him to get an advantage from it.
Would you knowing take a performance enhancing drug if it didn’t enhance your performance? Contador says the drug came from contaminated meat, which is deemed possible by experts as clenbuterol is used on animals. The experts also agree that there was no way the trace amount found in Contador has any gave him an advantage when he won the 2010 Tour de France.
Unfortunately for Contador, the rules state that NO drugs must be found within his body so he is going to be stripped of his 2010 Tour de France and face a 2 year ban from the sport. In a comprise (due the amount found), Contador will only face a 1 year ban instead of the regular 2 years.
Now I know the cycling World Cycling's governing body (UCI) is trying to stamp out drug cheats but I can’t understand why they are banning Contandor when even their own experts agree that the man did not gain any advantage from the drugs in his system.
Contador say this was an error, the clenbuterol went into his system by accident, and all evidence so far seen to indicate he is telling the truth. So why is he facing a 1 year ban? A man is innocent till proved guilty right? Why is the UCI and and the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) trying to ban the man and take away his title when even they don’t believe he got any advantage from the clenbuterol? That is just stupid.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Going Overboard
Despite what Americans feel about the game, football has always been known as a man’s game. Sexism and chauvinism has always been in the game so it’s no surprise that some players from the older generation believe that women have no place on a football pitch.
Unfortunately for Andy Gray and Richard Keys, they were caught joking about it. Both Gray, a former Scotland international striker, and Keys are presenters on Sky Sports and were off the air when they joked about Sian Massey, a female linesman who was in-charge of the game between Wolves and Liverpool last week.
The jokes were crude, tasteless and frankly, not even funny. Unfortunately for both of them, even though they were off the air, their microphones were still on and what they said was caught on record. The backlash cost Andy Gray his job on Sky Sports while Richard Keys has been suspended.
Now I heard what was said by both of them, and while they were crude and tasteless, I feel firing and suspending them is going overboard. They were joking off the air! Even if you think they weren’t joking, I don’t think it matters. They were off the air. Getting fired for remarks you make privately to a friend is nonsensical. They are football presenters, not politicians!
Despite the bad jokes they made, Andy Gray and Richard Keys should not be fired or suspended from their jobs. They made their jokes (or comments if you want) privately, not to the public.
Unfortunately for Andy Gray and Richard Keys, they were caught joking about it. Both Gray, a former Scotland international striker, and Keys are presenters on Sky Sports and were off the air when they joked about Sian Massey, a female linesman who was in-charge of the game between Wolves and Liverpool last week.
The jokes were crude, tasteless and frankly, not even funny. Unfortunately for both of them, even though they were off the air, their microphones were still on and what they said was caught on record. The backlash cost Andy Gray his job on Sky Sports while Richard Keys has been suspended.
Now I heard what was said by both of them, and while they were crude and tasteless, I feel firing and suspending them is going overboard. They were joking off the air! Even if you think they weren’t joking, I don’t think it matters. They were off the air. Getting fired for remarks you make privately to a friend is nonsensical. They are football presenters, not politicians!
Despite the bad jokes they made, Andy Gray and Richard Keys should not be fired or suspended from their jobs. They made their jokes (or comments if you want) privately, not to the public.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Too Many Nominations
Looking at the Oscar nominations today, and I have to say one thing; there’s too many Best Picture nominations. Now this is this year’s list for Best Picture:
- Black Swan
- The Fighter
- Inception
- The Kids Are All Right
- The King's Speech
- 127 Hours
- The Social Network
- Toy Story 3
- True Grit
- Winter's Bone
Now out of the 10, I have only watched The Fighter and Inception so I can’t comment on the quality of the rest but having 10 nominations for Best Picture is just too many. I know the Academy did this because for some reason the “Dark Knight” was not nominated for Best Picture last year but having 10 nominations is ridiculous.
This year Christopher Nolan was not nominated in the Best Director category even though “Inception” is up for Best Picture. And how was Melissa Leo not nominated for “The Fighter”? She was great in the movie and even won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.
In short there’s no need for more nominations, but a way to ensure people who should be nominated have a nomination.
- Black Swan
- The Fighter
- Inception
- The Kids Are All Right
- The King's Speech
- 127 Hours
- The Social Network
- Toy Story 3
- True Grit
- Winter's Bone
Now out of the 10, I have only watched The Fighter and Inception so I can’t comment on the quality of the rest but having 10 nominations for Best Picture is just too many. I know the Academy did this because for some reason the “Dark Knight” was not nominated for Best Picture last year but having 10 nominations is ridiculous.
This year Christopher Nolan was not nominated in the Best Director category even though “Inception” is up for Best Picture. And how was Melissa Leo not nominated for “The Fighter”? She was great in the movie and even won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.
In short there’s no need for more nominations, but a way to ensure people who should be nominated have a nomination.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The Impossible Peace
If there is any doubt in anyone’s minds that peace in the Middle East is impossible, this week put those doubts to rest. Peace in the Middle East is impossible.
Leaked documents obtained by the Al Jazeera television channel showed that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2008 offered Israel most of East Jerusalem in return for a peace deal. The leaked documents then went further stating that the Palestinian also offered major concessions on the sensitive issue of Palestinian refugees.
The Palestinian Authority has loudly condemned the leaks, saying they are nothing but a pack of lies. Unfortunately they are not help by a few things; 1) both the Americans and the Israelis have thus far refused to say the leaks were false, 2) the British Guardian newspaper had said it had access to the documents and had verified most of them, and 3) Al Jazeera said it had obtained the leaks from a variety of sources and one of the sources is almost certainly WikiLeaks.
What is truly surprising about the whole thing is Israel’s reaction to the proposals. Then Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, rejected it saying it doesn’t go far enough! You get most of Jerusalem, concessions on right of return, and peace with your most troublesome neighbor which you had been in conflict with for the past 40 years. In return you give away nothing but a signature on a peace deal which is what you want in the first place.
And still they can’t get it done! That’s it. Peace in the Middle East is impossible.
Leaked documents obtained by the Al Jazeera television channel showed that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2008 offered Israel most of East Jerusalem in return for a peace deal. The leaked documents then went further stating that the Palestinian also offered major concessions on the sensitive issue of Palestinian refugees.
The Palestinian Authority has loudly condemned the leaks, saying they are nothing but a pack of lies. Unfortunately they are not help by a few things; 1) both the Americans and the Israelis have thus far refused to say the leaks were false, 2) the British Guardian newspaper had said it had access to the documents and had verified most of them, and 3) Al Jazeera said it had obtained the leaks from a variety of sources and one of the sources is almost certainly WikiLeaks.
What is truly surprising about the whole thing is Israel’s reaction to the proposals. Then Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, rejected it saying it doesn’t go far enough! You get most of Jerusalem, concessions on right of return, and peace with your most troublesome neighbor which you had been in conflict with for the past 40 years. In return you give away nothing but a signature on a peace deal which is what you want in the first place.
And still they can’t get it done! That’s it. Peace in the Middle East is impossible.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Singapore is NOT a country! (Part 2)
Last month I spit venom at the assertion that Singapore is not a country. Some ministers in the PAP (People’s Action Party) are using this tack to counter complains from Singaporeans on the foreign immigration issue.
At the launch of his latest book ”Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going,” our own Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said the same thing again. That Singapore is NOT a country yet. Now I know this time, he put a “yet” at the back to lessen the impact but you get the message. Singapore is NOT a country.
The funny thing is I just got a notice telling me to go for reservist! So now I have to go for reservist, to put on an army uniform and defend a non-country! How do I feel about it?
Take a wild guess!
At the launch of his latest book ”Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going,” our own Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said the same thing again. That Singapore is NOT a country yet. Now I know this time, he put a “yet” at the back to lessen the impact but you get the message. Singapore is NOT a country.
The funny thing is I just got a notice telling me to go for reservist! So now I have to go for reservist, to put on an army uniform and defend a non-country! How do I feel about it?
Take a wild guess!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Comics this week
Brightest Day #18- Last issue, we returned to Hawkman and Hawkwoman and their battle on Zamaron to break their curse. With their story of true love, I guess it was fitting. I won’t spoilt the ending but writers Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi truly ramp up the Hawks’ story in the last two issues. The developments, especially at the end, were very interesting but I’m afraid they took too long to get to this point. They finished the story in 2 issues but it was on idle for about 10 issues beforehand. Most readers, like me, would at this point just want the Hawks’ story to be over with.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Bury This
As I posted a few days ago, with a general elections (GE) coming up, Singaporeans has been flooded with “good news” from government agencies and the government-owned papers. The latest of these news is that according to the World Bank’s Migration and Remittances Factbook 2011, the number of immigrants in Singapore fell from 42.6% of the population in 2005, to 40.7% in 2010.
This is another “fact” to show that the foreign immigration issue isn’t as bad as most Singaporeans believe. That the number of foreign-born Singapore residents had actually dropped in the last five years. I look at the figures and can’t help but shake my head.
This is the kind of numbers the government should NOT talk about! Forgot about the little drop in the number of foreigners, the figures show that over 40% of the population are foreigners. That’s 2 in 5 and that’s a number that piss Singaporeans off. I mean who cares about that small drop in a bucket of 1.9% when there are over 40% still in Singapore?
This is not “good news” for the Singapore government, it’s a figure that actually show that Singaporeans were right in complaining about the number of foreigners in the country. If I was a member of the Singapore government, I’ll bury this piece of news in a hurry.
This is another “fact” to show that the foreign immigration issue isn’t as bad as most Singaporeans believe. That the number of foreign-born Singapore residents had actually dropped in the last five years. I look at the figures and can’t help but shake my head.
This is the kind of numbers the government should NOT talk about! Forgot about the little drop in the number of foreigners, the figures show that over 40% of the population are foreigners. That’s 2 in 5 and that’s a number that piss Singaporeans off. I mean who cares about that small drop in a bucket of 1.9% when there are over 40% still in Singapore?
This is not “good news” for the Singapore government, it’s a figure that actually show that Singaporeans were right in complaining about the number of foreigners in the country. If I was a member of the Singapore government, I’ll bury this piece of news in a hurry.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The Octopus Statue
Even none football fans now know who Paul the octopus is. The departed Paul gained fame in the last World Cup by correctly tipping eight straight matches, including Spain's 1-0 win against Holland in the final.
If there is still anyone who still wondered about the fame of Paul, the psychic octopus, this will end your doubts. In memory of Paul, a memorial will be built in Germany. Paul will have his own "Paul Corner" at the aquarium that was his former home, along with a 1.8m statue of Paul on top of a football.
Who would have thought of this during the World Cup last year? The first person to get a statue because of the World Cup is not a person but an octopus!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Smell Like Desperation
Last year, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) mooted a proposal to do away with the 90min lunch hour. I said then that it was a stupid idea that no one is asking for. In fact, it smells of desperation.
I still think it is a stupid idea but as they usually are, once an idea is mooted, they will implant it. So from March 1, the lunch hour is gone, all 90mins of it. The SGX proudly says that this will make Singapore the market with the longest trading hours in Asia.
Who cares? So what if Singapore has the longest trading hours in Asia? I mean what has changed? No one asked for it last year and no one is asking for it now!
I still think it is a stupid idea but as they usually are, once an idea is mooted, they will implant it. So from March 1, the lunch hour is gone, all 90mins of it. The SGX proudly says that this will make Singapore the market with the longest trading hours in Asia.
Who cares? So what if Singapore has the longest trading hours in Asia? I mean what has changed? No one asked for it last year and no one is asking for it now!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Good News Only!
With a general election (GE) coming up, the Strait Times has been busy for the past few weeks putting out good news for public consumption. One of the latest today is the slowing down of permanent residency (PR) being granted to foreigners.
This is in line with what Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said last year in that the Singapore government would limit the number of foreigners entering Singapore this year to 80,000. As I had said before, foreign immigration is one of the most contentious issues in Singapore today and the issue is one of the reasons why the opposition is widely expected to gain some seats in the GE. So it’s not surprising that the Strait Times is helping the Singapore government on this issue.
Don’t bother because it’s too late for that. From 2007, about 150,000 foreign workers have entered Singapore each year and public complains about the issue had been ignored for years. A GE is coming up and suddenly the government cares? Sorry but no one will be fooled by this.
This is in line with what Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said last year in that the Singapore government would limit the number of foreigners entering Singapore this year to 80,000. As I had said before, foreign immigration is one of the most contentious issues in Singapore today and the issue is one of the reasons why the opposition is widely expected to gain some seats in the GE. So it’s not surprising that the Strait Times is helping the Singapore government on this issue.
Don’t bother because it’s too late for that. From 2007, about 150,000 foreign workers have entered Singapore each year and public complains about the issue had been ignored for years. A GE is coming up and suddenly the government cares? Sorry but no one will be fooled by this.
Monday, January 17, 2011
The Great Underfox Story
Everyone loves a great underdog story. Great movies have been made about guys who beat the odds and found success despite having almost no right to expect it. “The Fighter”, currently showing in theaters now, is one of these movies.
A true underdog story happened in Belarus. Fox-hunting is a popular sport in Belarus, and a hunter was out hunting. He managed to shoot a fox and tried to finish the animal off with the butt of his rifle. As he close in for the kill, the fox jumped up, pulled the trigger on the gun, and gave the hunter a gun wound.
The hunter went to the hospital, while the fox limped its way to safety. They should make a movie about this!
A true underdog story happened in Belarus. Fox-hunting is a popular sport in Belarus, and a hunter was out hunting. He managed to shoot a fox and tried to finish the animal off with the butt of his rifle. As he close in for the kill, the fox jumped up, pulled the trigger on the gun, and gave the hunter a gun wound.
The hunter went to the hospital, while the fox limped its way to safety. They should make a movie about this!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Ban the Soundbite
After the Brisbane River overflowed and flooded the city of Brisbane, an Australian official said that the flood is a "one in a hundred years" event. Singaporeans would probably have heard of the soundbite before. I wish people would stop saying this "one in a hundred years" stuff.
The reason is because it will NOT be a "one in a hundred years". Climate change scientists has warned the flood that Australia suffered will happen again...and soon. Probably not next year when La Nina ends but will it return in a few years, so will the floods.
So the "one in a hundred years" soundbite; it should be banned from use! The way climate change has messed with the weather, it may be less than a decade before we see the floods again.
Let it not be said the Aussies don't have a sense of humor
Friday, January 14, 2011
Comics this week
Secret Six #29- this issue is the second part of a crossover between Secret Six and Action Comics. I didn't read the first part but that's no problem as writer Gail Simone nicely spell out what was happening pretty quickly. Lex Luthor had hired the Six to protect him from Vandal Savage, who we all knows is the father of Scandal. As with most crossovers, not much happen here that was important for the Six. However we were treated to Scandal's family history which blew the rest of the Six away by how demented it all was. An enjoyable read but that's all.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
WIS Scheme Does Not Work
After 5 hours of debate, it was proudly reported in the Strait Times papers today that almost all MPs who debated about the minimum wage in parliament yesterday argued that implanting a minimum wage in Singapore would do more harm than good.
Seeing that the Strait Times papers is a government-owned paper, this is not surprising. However if you read between the lines, it also tell you something else. Simply, what Singapore has in place right now does not work!
Instead of a minimum wage, Singapore currently has something called Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme. The WIS is a regular payout given to encourage low-wage workers to stay employed. On paper it sound like a good scheme, but unfortunately the Singapore government shot itself in the foot by putting a large part of the Workfare funds into the worker’s Central Provident Fund (CPF).
Considering that the average worker gets about $80 a month in cash from Workfare, it’s no wonder most people (including it seems some PAP MPs in parliament) feel that Workfare doesn’t help low-income workers. Think of it this way; if the Workfare (as it is) works, why is there a need for a 5 hours debate in parliament?
The Singapore government can argue all it wants about NOT implanting a minimum wage in Singapore, but there’s one thing they can’t get away from. The WIS scheme as it is does not work.
Seeing that the Strait Times papers is a government-owned paper, this is not surprising. However if you read between the lines, it also tell you something else. Simply, what Singapore has in place right now does not work!
Instead of a minimum wage, Singapore currently has something called Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme. The WIS is a regular payout given to encourage low-wage workers to stay employed. On paper it sound like a good scheme, but unfortunately the Singapore government shot itself in the foot by putting a large part of the Workfare funds into the worker’s Central Provident Fund (CPF).
Considering that the average worker gets about $80 a month in cash from Workfare, it’s no wonder most people (including it seems some PAP MPs in parliament) feel that Workfare doesn’t help low-income workers. Think of it this way; if the Workfare (as it is) works, why is there a need for a 5 hours debate in parliament?
The Singapore government can argue all it wants about NOT implanting a minimum wage in Singapore, but there’s one thing they can’t get away from. The WIS scheme as it is does not work.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Global Warming & Weird Weather- Part 2
Just 2 weeks ago, I posted about the weird weather the world had been having (global-warming-weird-weather). I talked about the travel chaos of Europe and America due to heavy snowfall and the weather is what is happening in Australia.
It is supposed to be summer now in Australia but try telling that to the residents of Tasmania (which has been hit by snow) and Queensland (which has been hit by massive floods). The floods in Queensland are so serious that 16 people had been killed so far and about 67 more are missing. However in Western Australia, instead of water, authorities there are battling huge bushfires!
Snow, flood and bushfires; all in the same country! Now is that weird or what?
It is supposed to be summer now in Australia but try telling that to the residents of Tasmania (which has been hit by snow) and Queensland (which has been hit by massive floods). The floods in Queensland are so serious that 16 people had been killed so far and about 67 more are missing. However in Western Australia, instead of water, authorities there are battling huge bushfires!
Snow, flood and bushfires; all in the same country! Now is that weird or what?
Monday, January 10, 2011
Falling Music Sales
To no one's surprise, music sales in 2010 fell again. Music sales had been falling for years, and this year was no exception. What's surprising is that the internet is no longer been blamed for it.
In the past, decline in music sales has been blamed on the internet. The reasoning is that young people who rather download music from the internet rather than go to a store and buy an album. This year, the music industry changed their tune.
They are finally waking up to the fact that digital sales of music are not to blame for decline of the industry. The reason I think for the decline is far simpler; it's just the poor music of today.
Take example the top song in Singapore in 2010. Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" spend the most time on the charts last year in Singapore and was ranked #1 in the year-end chart show on the Power 98 radio station. Now the chorus of the song goes like this;
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance
Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma-roma-mamaa!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!
Want your bad romance
Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma-roma-mamaa!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!
Want your bad romance
That's it! That's the chorus of the top song in 2010. Nothing but "ohh", "la", "rah"! Now I have nothing against Laga Gaga but this is the top song of 2010?
That's why the music industry is in the toilet.
In the past, decline in music sales has been blamed on the internet. The reasoning is that young people who rather download music from the internet rather than go to a store and buy an album. This year, the music industry changed their tune.
They are finally waking up to the fact that digital sales of music are not to blame for decline of the industry. The reason I think for the decline is far simpler; it's just the poor music of today.
Take example the top song in Singapore in 2010. Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" spend the most time on the charts last year in Singapore and was ranked #1 in the year-end chart show on the Power 98 radio station. Now the chorus of the song goes like this;
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance
Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma-roma-mamaa!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!
Want your bad romance
Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma-roma-mamaa!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!
Want your bad romance
That's it! That's the chorus of the top song in 2010. Nothing but "ohh", "la", "rah"! Now I have nothing against Laga Gaga but this is the top song of 2010?
That's why the music industry is in the toilet.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Comics this week
Brightest Day #17- One of the problems in Brightest Day is how the story skipped from one character to another. Usually I have no problem with this. It worked well in 52, so there’s no reason why it can’t work well in Brightest Day. Unfortunately, writers Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi do not seem to have gotten the pacing down for this. After an absence of about a month, the action returned to Hawkman and Hawkwoman. The big problem is that the story picked up immediately where we left off. They are still struck on the arch of the magic portal which means the story never moved an inch while we were away. However after 3-4 issues of Brightest Day, most readers would be hard pressed to remember what is happening. That is disappointing because the action and story exactly pick up in this issue. The Deadman/Dove development was sweet and even the Firestorm story seem to be getting somewhere. Too bad about the pacing.
The Thanos Imperative: Devastation #1- After the Thanos Imperative ended with heavy losses for the universe, I guess it’s only right that writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning had to go back for this much needed epilogue. With both the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Nova Corps losing their leaders in the war, Cosmo decided to follow Starlord’s last wish and set up a new team to protect the universe. At the end of the war, the biggest guns in our universe formed a strike-force to take the fight to Lord Mar-Vell. The surprise attack failed but the power of the strike-force was impressive and Cosmo go about reforming the team. More than anything, this epilogue is #0 of the team and that’s great. After the golden Thanos Imperative, we need more cosmic goodness.
The Thanos Imperative: Devastation #1- After the Thanos Imperative ended with heavy losses for the universe, I guess it’s only right that writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning had to go back for this much needed epilogue. With both the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Nova Corps losing their leaders in the war, Cosmo decided to follow Starlord’s last wish and set up a new team to protect the universe. At the end of the war, the biggest guns in our universe formed a strike-force to take the fight to Lord Mar-Vell. The surprise attack failed but the power of the strike-force was impressive and Cosmo go about reforming the team. More than anything, this epilogue is #0 of the team and that’s great. After the golden Thanos Imperative, we need more cosmic goodness.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Vaccine Against Alcoholism?
Chile made news last year for the heroic rescue of trapped miners. Now they intend to make news again by developing a vaccine against alcoholism. Chilean researchers said that they have developed a vaccine against alcoholism and would being human testing in the coming year.
Now I know alcoholism is a problem for many. Throughout the world, many people are affected by it but do we really need a vaccine against alcoholism? Instead of spending money to make a vaccine that neutralize the enzyme that metabolizes alcohol, how about doing it the old fashion way; just stop drinking!
It’s not impossible. I know of a family member who was drinking 3-4 bottles of beer per day, 7 days a week for years. Perhaps not surprising he got liver problems and was ordered by the doctor to stop drinking. It wasn’t easy but he did stop and now his liver is okay.
No vaccine needed, just plain old fashion willpower. How about researchers just stop making vaccines for these problems which don’t need vaccines? We have things like HIV, AIDS, various types of cancer; make vaccines for these diseases. Alcoholism? Come on.
Now I know alcoholism is a problem for many. Throughout the world, many people are affected by it but do we really need a vaccine against alcoholism? Instead of spending money to make a vaccine that neutralize the enzyme that metabolizes alcohol, how about doing it the old fashion way; just stop drinking!
It’s not impossible. I know of a family member who was drinking 3-4 bottles of beer per day, 7 days a week for years. Perhaps not surprising he got liver problems and was ordered by the doctor to stop drinking. It wasn’t easy but he did stop and now his liver is okay.
No vaccine needed, just plain old fashion willpower. How about researchers just stop making vaccines for these problems which don’t need vaccines? We have things like HIV, AIDS, various types of cancer; make vaccines for these diseases. Alcoholism? Come on.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Games of Thrones
Of the new television shows coming out, the one I’m most looking forward to is HBO’s Games of Thrones. Based on the excellent fantasy book by George R. R. Martin, Games of Thrones is one of the 2 best books I have ever read (the other being Jean M. Auel’s Clan of the Cave Bear).
However, despite looking forward to the TV series, I’m also slightly worried about it. Basically, how close will the TV series follow the book? When material is moved from one mode of entertainment to another, almost inevitably producers has to change thing.
This is not always a bad thing. When Cryptic made an online game for Star Trek (Star Trek Online), they kept things close to the source material. Players can only play as captains of The Federation, and not as captains of The Klingon Empire. Players complained loudly. Of course we have producers who go to the other extreme and their shows and games have almost nothing to do with the source material (TV series like Dexter & Justified have almost nothing to do with the books).
How close should adaptations be from their source materials? The right answer I guess is that as long as it is entertaining, then it would be okay. As long as it doesn’t suck, right? However the Game of Thrones is such a favorite of mine, any change could be a problem for me. Oh well, I guess I’ll find out sooner or later.
However, despite looking forward to the TV series, I’m also slightly worried about it. Basically, how close will the TV series follow the book? When material is moved from one mode of entertainment to another, almost inevitably producers has to change thing.
This is not always a bad thing. When Cryptic made an online game for Star Trek (Star Trek Online), they kept things close to the source material. Players can only play as captains of The Federation, and not as captains of The Klingon Empire. Players complained loudly. Of course we have producers who go to the other extreme and their shows and games have almost nothing to do with the source material (TV series like Dexter & Justified have almost nothing to do with the books).
How close should adaptations be from their source materials? The right answer I guess is that as long as it is entertaining, then it would be okay. As long as it doesn’t suck, right? However the Game of Thrones is such a favorite of mine, any change could be a problem for me. Oh well, I guess I’ll find out sooner or later.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The Asian Cup
People are still in shock that Qatar managed to get the 2022 World Cup, but when the results were first announced, my biggest problem with it was the fact that Qatar has a terrible national team. When that in mind, I’m very interested to see how well/badly they done in the Asian Cup.
16 of the best national teams in Asia are completing in Qatar for the Asian Cup and frankly, the host need a bloody miracle to win the competition. Qatar is ranked 114th in the FIFA world ranking, and smart money are on the usual suspects South Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia to win the Cup.
Qatar? They’ll be lucky to get past the first round.
16 of the best national teams in Asia are completing in Qatar for the Asian Cup and frankly, the host need a bloody miracle to win the competition. Qatar is ranked 114th in the FIFA world ranking, and smart money are on the usual suspects South Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia to win the Cup.
Qatar? They’ll be lucky to get past the first round.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Get Real
Now people know I’m no fan of Singapore’s immigration policy and yesterday on an episode of Get Real, it showed us a prime reason of why. Now with foreign workers and PRs flooding Singapore, this may come as a shock to some people but there are some foreigners who are unable to get PR status.
The episode of Get Real showed 3 cases of foreign brides of Singaporeans who were unable to get PR status despite numerous applications and appeals from their husbands. The most heartbreaking case is an old woman who had been married to a Singaporean for 30 years but still unable to get PR status. Worse is that her husband died last year and as the old woman does not have PR, she is going to be deported back to Malaysia.
Now Get Real hinted around the reason why PR was not given to the women but everyone in Singapore knows the reason. The women and their husbands are not rich! It’s that simple. A simple case of the rich-poor divide in Singapore.
Now we have all heard stories of rich foreigners who buy a house in Singapore, get PR, and then disappear from our island for months. Here we have a woman who had stayed in Singapore for 30 years but still unable to get PR status. Why is that the case if not for money?
There was a law professor who came on the show and defended Singapore’s immigration policy, saying that some cases may be due to the Singapore government tightening the immigration policy as in the past 1-2 years ordinary Singaporeans had been against the number of foreigners in Singapore. What total nonsense!
Take the case of the old woman in point. She had been in Singapore for 30 years; the government has tighten policy for the past what…6-9 months? What happened to the rest of the time, a period of over 29 years?
Answer: She was never rich. In Singapore, that’s the most important thing. Far more important than a 30 residency in Singapore, doing National Service for the country, or having Singaporean husbands and children. In Singapore, money talks.
The episode of Get Real showed 3 cases of foreign brides of Singaporeans who were unable to get PR status despite numerous applications and appeals from their husbands. The most heartbreaking case is an old woman who had been married to a Singaporean for 30 years but still unable to get PR status. Worse is that her husband died last year and as the old woman does not have PR, she is going to be deported back to Malaysia.
Now Get Real hinted around the reason why PR was not given to the women but everyone in Singapore knows the reason. The women and their husbands are not rich! It’s that simple. A simple case of the rich-poor divide in Singapore.
Now we have all heard stories of rich foreigners who buy a house in Singapore, get PR, and then disappear from our island for months. Here we have a woman who had stayed in Singapore for 30 years but still unable to get PR status. Why is that the case if not for money?
There was a law professor who came on the show and defended Singapore’s immigration policy, saying that some cases may be due to the Singapore government tightening the immigration policy as in the past 1-2 years ordinary Singaporeans had been against the number of foreigners in Singapore. What total nonsense!
Take the case of the old woman in point. She had been in Singapore for 30 years; the government has tighten policy for the past what…6-9 months? What happened to the rest of the time, a period of over 29 years?
Answer: She was never rich. In Singapore, that’s the most important thing. Far more important than a 30 residency in Singapore, doing National Service for the country, or having Singaporean husbands and children. In Singapore, money talks.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Towers of Midnight by Brandon Sanderson
13 books down, 1 more to go! The penultimate novel in The “Wheel of Time” series is upon us and not a moment too soon as THE SERIES SHOULD HAVE ENDED ALREADY! They should never have spilt the final book into 3 novels!
I know I sound like a broken record but I have to get that out of the way. Now that’s done, on with the review.
I was looking forward to “Towers of Midnight” as this is the first book in the series that is mostly written by Brandon Sanderson. Book 12, The Gathering Storm, was partially written by Robert Jordan and Sanderson finished the book. So I was looking forward to seeing how he does on his own.
He starts off with a bang. The prologue has Rand al’Thor walking straight into The White Tower and telling the new Amyrlin Seat, Egwene, that he’s going to break the remaining 2 seals at Shayol Ghul. Then he walked straight out. Needless to say, Egwene blew her head at this and began calling on all the leaders of the world to convince Rand to stop his plan. It was intense and dramatic. In short bloody brilliant!
Despite the good start between the two, the “Towers of Midnight” was mostly about Perrin Aybara and Mat Cauthon. A good thing as I always felt that the series was good when the focus stayed on Rand, Mat or Perrin. Once the attention started on all the other side characters, the series suffered.
The novel spilt the action between Mat and Perrin but the results in “Towers of Midnight” were mixed. Of the two, I thought Perrin’s story was by far the better one. Perrin was taking his army back to Rand to prepare for the final battle but on the road, he met up with the Whitecloaks army under the command of Galad. Old wounds between Perrin and the Whitecloaks surfaced and he has to try his best to prevent a battle between the 2 armies. All the while, Slayer is hunting the wolves in the dreamworld as The Last Hunt has finally started.
Basically this part is how Perrin shadowed Rand. In the earlier books, Rand went from farmer to king and now Perrin is following the same road as his friend. It took awhile for him to get to the point where he knew there’s no escaping destiny, but at least it didn’t take him a few books to get there like Rand did.
Compare to the story of Perrin, Mat’s story was far more straightforward. He’s struck in Caemlyn due to his promise to Verin, alternating between trying to meet Elayne, now Queen of Andor, and escaping the gholam assassin. The big problem I have with his story is the amount of time he was struck in Caemlyn. It was a serious bore reading how he was planning to go to the Tower of Ghenjei and put into motion his plans to rescue Moiraine but before that, he had to meet with Elayne and kill the assassin. It took way too long for it to happen, just go already! Once he actually got to the tower, the action picked up considerably (the part where Noal was revealed as Jain Farstrider was cute) but the process of getting there was excessively stretched by Sanderson.
The good point of this book is that Sanderson seriously went about closing up all the side-stories. Rodel Ituralde makes a welcome return and showed why he’s one of the Great Captains of the world defending the besieged city of Maradon from overwhelming odds. I always preferred Galad to his 2 annoying siblings and this book showed why. His scenes with Perrin were some of the best moments in this book. Nynaeve and Lan also had their moments.
Despite not showing up often, Rand stole every scene he was in. Now fully mad with the memories of Lews Therin, the way he now speaks give chills to even his closest advisors (even Cadsuane which take some doing). However there is a method to his madness. If a guy knows he will fight a dark god, die in the process, and (win or lose) destroy the world killing millions of people; well, the guy has to be mad to even show up for the fight right? Sanderson has a great feel for Rand and it showed in this novel.
However I will have to say the bad points outweigh the good in this book. One of the stated reasons why they decided to extend the series was to let Sanderson have time (and pages) to finish all the story arcs. He did not do that. At 864 pages, he should have done a lot better at that. By the end of this book, there were still a lot of arcs that were opened and some new arcs were even opened. The parts of Aviendha especially were a sore point for me. (Hint: I foresee more books set in the world once The Wheel of Time is over.)
I said earlier about how Mat’s story was excessively stretched by Sanderson. Well, his were not the only parts that were stretched. The parts involving Elayne suffered even worse from the same problem. The production of the dragons devised by Aludra, Elayne’s hunt for Darkfiends, her plans to take the Sun Throne; okay I never liked her in the first place but it all stretched my patience.
However the biggest problem I noticed is the timeline. It was a huge problem for me. At the start, Tam al’Thor was with Rand, then he was suddenly with Perrin. What happened? Worse, a few hundred pages later he told Perrin he had to leave for somewhere. I fear this was the part where Nynaeve and Cadsuane came for him to meet up with Rand because Tam was very secretive about where he was going. If that is the case, then the prologue happened before the exact story in the “Towers of Midnight,” which throw the entire timeline of the book into question. I hope I'm wrong because this is a significant problem Sanderson need to address.
In the end, I can’t say Towers of Midnight is a bad book. It wasn’t great, but it was serviceable. It was the setup book to the finale and in that aspect, I have to say Brandon Sanderson did a good job of it.
Like I said in my review for The Gathering Storm; Bring on Tarmon Gai’don!
I know I sound like a broken record but I have to get that out of the way. Now that’s done, on with the review.
I was looking forward to “Towers of Midnight” as this is the first book in the series that is mostly written by Brandon Sanderson. Book 12, The Gathering Storm, was partially written by Robert Jordan and Sanderson finished the book. So I was looking forward to seeing how he does on his own.
He starts off with a bang. The prologue has Rand al’Thor walking straight into The White Tower and telling the new Amyrlin Seat, Egwene, that he’s going to break the remaining 2 seals at Shayol Ghul. Then he walked straight out. Needless to say, Egwene blew her head at this and began calling on all the leaders of the world to convince Rand to stop his plan. It was intense and dramatic. In short bloody brilliant!
Despite the good start between the two, the “Towers of Midnight” was mostly about Perrin Aybara and Mat Cauthon. A good thing as I always felt that the series was good when the focus stayed on Rand, Mat or Perrin. Once the attention started on all the other side characters, the series suffered.
The novel spilt the action between Mat and Perrin but the results in “Towers of Midnight” were mixed. Of the two, I thought Perrin’s story was by far the better one. Perrin was taking his army back to Rand to prepare for the final battle but on the road, he met up with the Whitecloaks army under the command of Galad. Old wounds between Perrin and the Whitecloaks surfaced and he has to try his best to prevent a battle between the 2 armies. All the while, Slayer is hunting the wolves in the dreamworld as The Last Hunt has finally started.
Basically this part is how Perrin shadowed Rand. In the earlier books, Rand went from farmer to king and now Perrin is following the same road as his friend. It took awhile for him to get to the point where he knew there’s no escaping destiny, but at least it didn’t take him a few books to get there like Rand did.
Compare to the story of Perrin, Mat’s story was far more straightforward. He’s struck in Caemlyn due to his promise to Verin, alternating between trying to meet Elayne, now Queen of Andor, and escaping the gholam assassin. The big problem I have with his story is the amount of time he was struck in Caemlyn. It was a serious bore reading how he was planning to go to the Tower of Ghenjei and put into motion his plans to rescue Moiraine but before that, he had to meet with Elayne and kill the assassin. It took way too long for it to happen, just go already! Once he actually got to the tower, the action picked up considerably (the part where Noal was revealed as Jain Farstrider was cute) but the process of getting there was excessively stretched by Sanderson.
The good point of this book is that Sanderson seriously went about closing up all the side-stories. Rodel Ituralde makes a welcome return and showed why he’s one of the Great Captains of the world defending the besieged city of Maradon from overwhelming odds. I always preferred Galad to his 2 annoying siblings and this book showed why. His scenes with Perrin were some of the best moments in this book. Nynaeve and Lan also had their moments.
Despite not showing up often, Rand stole every scene he was in. Now fully mad with the memories of Lews Therin, the way he now speaks give chills to even his closest advisors (even Cadsuane which take some doing). However there is a method to his madness. If a guy knows he will fight a dark god, die in the process, and (win or lose) destroy the world killing millions of people; well, the guy has to be mad to even show up for the fight right? Sanderson has a great feel for Rand and it showed in this novel.
However I will have to say the bad points outweigh the good in this book. One of the stated reasons why they decided to extend the series was to let Sanderson have time (and pages) to finish all the story arcs. He did not do that. At 864 pages, he should have done a lot better at that. By the end of this book, there were still a lot of arcs that were opened and some new arcs were even opened. The parts of Aviendha especially were a sore point for me. (Hint: I foresee more books set in the world once The Wheel of Time is over.)
I said earlier about how Mat’s story was excessively stretched by Sanderson. Well, his were not the only parts that were stretched. The parts involving Elayne suffered even worse from the same problem. The production of the dragons devised by Aludra, Elayne’s hunt for Darkfiends, her plans to take the Sun Throne; okay I never liked her in the first place but it all stretched my patience.
However the biggest problem I noticed is the timeline. It was a huge problem for me. At the start, Tam al’Thor was with Rand, then he was suddenly with Perrin. What happened? Worse, a few hundred pages later he told Perrin he had to leave for somewhere. I fear this was the part where Nynaeve and Cadsuane came for him to meet up with Rand because Tam was very secretive about where he was going. If that is the case, then the prologue happened before the exact story in the “Towers of Midnight,” which throw the entire timeline of the book into question. I hope I'm wrong because this is a significant problem Sanderson need to address.
In the end, I can’t say Towers of Midnight is a bad book. It wasn’t great, but it was serviceable. It was the setup book to the finale and in that aspect, I have to say Brandon Sanderson did a good job of it.
Like I said in my review for The Gathering Storm; Bring on Tarmon Gai’don!
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