Another interesting piece of info:

In the recent X-men movies (I've watched all three), Wolverine is portrayed as a cigar-smoker. In particular, when I watched X-men III, I was struck by how Wolverine seemed to remind me of some other character I knew... However, in the X-men comics I've read so far (and I've perused quite a few of them), Wolverine is not a smoker. So what gives?

I watched the first X-men movie again this weekend. The screenplay is written by David Hayter.

Anyone who knows/plays Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid series will know that Hayter is the voice actor for Naked Snake (aka Big Boss). Incidentally, Snake LOVES cigars to death.

Coincidence? I think not!

Forgive me, you comic-book lovers and video game players who might have already realized this, and all I'm doing is repeating what is already common fact.

The Truth of Nature (written around 2001 after watching a BBC show about the African savanna, I think)

The grey wolf bays at the tarnished moon.
The cheetah races across the sandy plains
The vulture circles the empty skies
The mermaid swims the deep, silent oceans.

Across the world, through the universe
Nature calls and Nature kills
The hunter preys on the hunted
The strong overcome the weak
Which one are you?

A city wakes at the crack of dawn
A soldier marches in the dying sun
A mother weeps for her ailing child
A battle rages amongst the living hordes.

Across all time, through the ages past
Nature calls and Nature kills
No remorse nor mercy
Nature is careless about its choices
Survive, if you will.

Truth be told, we are really all alone.
Let it be said, to live we must raise arms.
Struggle day and night
We fight each other for survival
Selfishly we face all battle
We are warriors
We are hunters
We conquer the conquered
We prey on the hunted
We run from the unseen enemies and
faceless adversaries, strangers
We become the hunted.

Through the years, centuries and ages untold,
Nature calls upon the weak and strong
Nature chooses indiscriminately its kill
Nature cruel and Nature kind
Don't be fooled up in your mind
Deceiving is Nature's truth.

The hunters hunt the hunted
The weak are prey of the strong
Which one are you?
Which ones are we?

Copyright © 2006

Melodrama

Drops of sweat glistened on the back of his head, amidst the foliage of his ebony black hair, like tiny fragile crystals of ice. Precariously hanging on to the tips of each strang, a simple flick of his head breaks the hold of each droplet, and they fall to the ground, shattering into irretrievable fragments, having lost their hold forever.

Written during JC2 one day in class, as I sat behind one of my classmates after lunch. Thanks, Shiyi!

copyright © 2006

One of the hardest questions I had to deal with was: "What is your most significant vulnerability?"

It's not asking about my weakness (and I have many), nor is it really asking about my bad quirks (of which I have a few). I have considered an appropriate re-phrase of the question: "What emotional/physical aspect of your life has the potential to hold you hostage?"

Ell had a great answer, better than what I could come up with. Thanks!

Oh, and Stargate SG-1 is over, after 9 years. Well, there's still Atlantis.

This is what it was like for me when I volunteered at the "happiest" ward in the hospital:

"During the morning shift, at half-past ten, I would direct 6-10 new moms (and some new dads) to a breast-feeding class. The patients would vacate their rooms, each carefully pushing a cot with the infants inside. Some of the infants would be peacefully sleeping as we headed to class. More often than not, they would join the rest of the ward's "Baby Chorus" in a boisterous song of "Wail Your Lungs Out". - excerpt from one of my numerous secondary essays.

I'm probably not the first, but has anyone ever noticed how similar Mr. Mxyzptlk of the DC Universe is to John de Lancie's "Q" of the "Q Continuum"? Sure they don't look alike, but is you wiki them both, there are similarities...Hmm...Intruiging...

Majulah Singapura.

Happy Birthday, my home. Live strong and free, and be your own. Someday I will join the ranks of those who have helped to build and to strengthen you.

I read a lot of books, especially of the science-fiction, medical/scientific thriller, and fantasy genres. Every time I go to the neighborhood library, I make a beeline for the kid's section and have to avoid the stares of the librarian, the parents, and other tiny tots in there, because I'm kid-less and am making out with a pile of comic books (typically of the Superman/Batman/X-men/Tintin/ Asterix titles). Yes, I'm an overgrown kid in some senses. Aren't we all?

People here know very little about Tintin and Asterix. Probably because the comics are European in origin. But these, and the comics of DC and Marvel, are what I grew up with. I loved them as a kid, I love them still. My dad tells me he got those Superman and Batman comics in (surprisingly) an airport in Sydney (way way away from the USA), and I've told him to treasure those comics. They will make valuable antiques.

If I read any interesting books, or find any interesting quotes, I'll put them here.

Currently, I am reading "Wicked" by Gregory MacGuire, a re-telling of the Wizard of Oz from the POV of the Wicked Witch of the West. She may not be that wicked after all. And isn't that always the case in history, in stories, in myths and legends? The media/history books tell us (often) one side of the story. History is told by the victors, who become the heroes. It is one of the first things I learned in History class in Sec. 1: objectivity is an ideal, biasness is the reality.

But...people and society, cultures and story-tellers, all need their heroes. Those who epitomizes everything that the audience will love and adore. Then, there are the anti-heroes. Just like Jean Gerard of Talladega Nights is portrayed. He is in NASCAR-land, chief opponent. But he is 1) French, 2) of the Middle-Eastern phenotype, 3) Married with a husband.

Well. I suppose the anti-heroes also say something about the times, don't they? Perhaps the heroes are more eternal in their representation of good, but the anti-heroes are fluid, dynamic, reflecting what contemporaries fears and apprehensions are.

I digress and have gone on a terrible tangent.

My point is, I like sci-fi, fantasy, and comics. So there.