Daredevil the movie is a credible adaptation from the comic book. Looking at the hordes who packed Lido on Wednesday, I dare say that 90% of them have never touched a Daredevil comic.
Daredevil is one of the more obscure superheroes, and the idea of a blind man fighting crime had always fascinated me. What I liked about the movie is how vulnerable it portrayed Daredevil-- this superhero has scars on his back and plucks out a tooth (knocked off during a fight) in the shower; he feels pain like you and me. One of the things the movie did not portray from the comic is how DD fights using his billy-club-- the billy-club is supposed to be a perfectly balanced object which DD can throw at walls, and bounce back at accurate angles into enemies, making it an effective weapon.

Long time no update. Paul Yap (Mr Handphone no.) drowned at Pasir Ris beach on Monday 24 Feb. I came across the shocking news on IRC, togoparts channel. Feeling very sorry for Caspar, cos he saw Paul drown in front of him and he could not do anything about it.
Super-Bready has resigned from teaching as a career. If she's happier that way, I'd say it is a good and courageous move. Now she can really go all out and bitch about the teaching line... not that she held back in her blog :)
The school has been made to sing and re-sing the National anthem for the past few days, in order to train them to sing at an audible volume. Problem is, hearing Jian Shun from 306 (which is just behind my form class) sing makes me want to laugh, and I have to try my best to keep a straight face. And he is not even trying to be funny there... he's just his own weird normal self. He has a habit of dragging the last syllable of every line even when the rest have finished that line, for e.g. 'Marilah kita bersatooooooooooooooo; Dengan semangat yang baroooooooooooooooo...' The effect is that his voice sticks out like a sore thumb, and it kills me. I could tell that the kids around him have trouble keeping their faces straight too, which is a bigger problem for them, since they're liable to be pulled out for not taking the anthem seriously.

Joke of the Week:

Q: What does BMW stand for?

A: Bus, MRT, Walk

Isn't that a hoot?

Brought class 406 to Temasek Polytechnic Open House on Friday. They had the usual corporate video screenings, displays and exhibits by the various Schools and fairground sideshows like the 'Striking with the sledgehammer to make the puck hit the bell at the top' and 'Jousting your opponent off the bridge American-Gladiator-style'. A free treat (teachers only) at Saffron Cafe, free gifts, retina-pleasing girls in abundance... what more can one ask for at an Open House? The Saffron Cafe is the equivalent of what The Rosette is to SHATEC, a testing ground for the students in the Hospitality Management Course. All aspects of the cafe are run by students-- waitressing, P.R, cooking, etc. Naturally, when I went there with Yi-Tinn and Mr Tan Chin Hong (after dumping our students in the good hands of the Open House guides), we were treated very nicely and served a pleasant light lunch, without having to foot any bill.
Lunch items: salmon quiche (a quiche is simply an egg-like thing that contains a filling), smoked chicken sandwich, almond tofu with strawberry, and choice of coffee, tea or mocktail (mocktail is a concoction of Qoo drinks plus fruit juices). Surprisingly, Yi-Tinn pushed aside the dessert (same as me), because she also couldn't stand the awful taste of almond essence.
Went for FENR on Friday night. Spent half an hour wiping and cleaning my chain with a wet cloth and toothbrush, brought it to the bikeshop for a light dash of lubricant, and voila-- I felt more confident and smooth on my bike than I had ever been. Route: Tiong Hin - Upper Serangoon - Lornie Rd - Holland Rd - South Buona Vista Rd? (very winding) - West Coast Rd - top of Mt Faber - after coming down, some of the group decided to go west all the way to Jln Buloh/Buroh? to meet a night-cycling group from NTU (ride organised by Hall 13); I believe main purpose was to check out the retina-pleasing girls who usually turn up in this kind of mass-ride. Then it was all the way to Lau Pa Sat (for satay courtesy of Cannoncal), and back to the far East with Melody, Johnson and Ian. Definitely an above-average FENR (thanks to chain lube); total distance covered was around 70-80 km.

You live and learn by surfing. This procedure actually exists-- tongue bifurcation. The above example was done by an oral surgeon using an argon laser. I admire this unique individual, not so much for his high threshold of pain, but for his single-mindedness in his quest for body-modification (yes, to look as much like a lizard as possible).

In line with the P's initiative to have more sharing sessions by various departments during staff contact time rather than just dissemination of admin information, a Life Science Workshop was conducted by Johari and I for the staff. Participants got to scrape their inner cheeks for their cheek cells, and carry out DNA extraction procedure so as to transfer their visible DNA into heart-shaped glass vials cum pendants.
A possible job that Mathia (BioRad consultant) could take on if she quits BioRad would be modelling for *insert reputable brand name* shampoo/conditioner commercials.

'Alive' by P.O.D (with its adrenalin-charged "I.... I feel so alive" chorus) now seems to be the de rigueur tune for extreme sports programmes, ever since it was featured in the movie Blue Crush. And it's actually Christian rock, cool huh. Managed to catch P.O.D when they performed at Youth Park last year; must now sample their Satellite LP!

Everyday is a new day
I’m thankful for every breath I take
I won’t take it for granted
So I learn from my mistakes
It’s beyond my control, sometimes it’s best to let go
Whatever happens in this lifetime
So I trust in love
You have given me peace of mind
- P.O.D, Alive

Yesterday at HMV, was sore that the last copy of Manic Street Preachers' Forever Delayed DVD had disappeared from the shelf, so imagine my delight today when I found a copy in none other than Sembawang at Century Square. And I thought I had to travel to town to get it! Can't stop myself from whooping when I saw the moving images of James, Nicky and Sean, when all along, I had to be satisfied with only my CDs. Mag is right lah, the DVD is worth coughing out $39.90 for it-- all their MTVs plus 14 more to accompany the remixes, in glorious DVD quality! If it wasn't for her blog, I would not have considered getting it. I had to watch it on the DVD player in the hall, but hearing the anthemic strains of A Design For Life through those big speakers was worth it.
Quote-homage to the Manics: WHEN FREEDOM EXISTS, THERE WILL BE NO STATE

On another note, the 5Cs that can be derived from the lesson of Moses' life are (before I forget): Compassion, Commitment, Commandments, Cooperation, Compliance.

After a hiatus, finally joined my first FENR of 2003. Took scary Old Tampines Rd to Hougang; a steady drizzle came along the way, but luckily the weather held. Turned out that Melody was one of the instructors for my school's Sec 2 Camp last year, during which I was Camp Commandant-- what a small world. Her icq nick is such a misnomer, the **t part, I mean, haha.
Ian has gotten a Fondriest and John has built up a nice capable Scott bike with SID fork and Deore parts *envy*

Watched Shanghai Knights yesterday. I recall a headline in Life! newspaper a week ago: 'Zoe Tay in PCK; Fann Wong in Hollywood'. The article was actually about how these 2 actresses have crossed over to English-speaking roles despite being more comfortable with Mandarin, but no one would have missed the painful contrast between the achievements of Zoe and Fann. Fann looks gorgeous in the movie.

Am kinda hooked onto The Oddfellows' song, 'She's So Innocent'. I've heard the studio version a long time ago, but this is an acoustic version taken from their Bugs And Hisses LP; simple, stark, and wistful. Listening to it brings back memories of love lost, of the girl whom you can only admire from a distance and will never ever have a chance to know her cos you were too shy...
For those of you who are either too young to remember or too ignorant (because you were weaned on a steady musical diet of all things foreign and American), The Oddfellows are a Singaporean band that managed to crack into the local charts in 1991 and 1992; it all started with their seminal single 'So Happy'.
Of course, Grace as usual, dismissed 'She's So Innocent' as a "song which you can tell straightaway it's from a local band" because of the sound quality and "low-class singing". But that's not the point here. Music is universal, and if Patrick Chng could convey such wistful feelings through his singing and guitar-playing, that's genius to me.
While I'm typing this, I'm also downloading Tokyo Square's 'Within You'll Remain' from Kazaa! What a gem of a song! Never imagined it's still sitting around. I still remember the lead vocalist with his moustache and top-hat, his name is Max Zurin... man, that was ages ago! Come on, everyone sing: Wo ai ni, I love you... wo ai ni, I need you...
Oh, 'She's So Innocent' can be downloaded from BigO's website for a limited time only. Hurry.

Uncle Herman and Auntie Serene came for dinner with Brittany (pronounced Brit-nee) and Jay-En in tow. After hearing from Grace's cousin yesterday that there is a Mindsports Club in Nanyang Girls School which promotes Scrabble, Boggle, Weiqi, International Chess and Chinese Chess, I encouraged Britanny (who is also in Nanyang, that smart gal!) to take up Scrabble in Nanyang. Hope she gives it due consideration. I'm sure with my coaching and resources, she will have the potential to be a great Scrabble player, hehe. Auntie Serene is suitably impressed with my Dell purchase, and hopes to get one too.

Saturday (1st day of Lunar New Year) was the day that the 7 crew members of the US space shuttle Columbia lost their lives. Today's front page news of ST said that officials clarified early that there was no sign of terrorism.

The good thing about the Chinese Lunar New Year Festival is that you can indulge yourself silly and revel amidst all that crass commercialism without the kind of guilt usually associated with feasting and consumerism during the Christmas season. Jesus is not the reason for the season this time; being Chinese is, so go ahead and stuff yourself silly.
The hallmarks of my Chinese New Year that I can't do without: 1) Bak Kwa 2) Pistachios 3) The Great Beef-Steamboat Feast 4) Bak Kwa
More about the GBSF. Luckily, it's a yearly tradition that runs in my father's side. As you can see from the pic above, the description is pretty self-explanatory. The red stuff you see on the plates are beef, painstakingly and lovingly sliced and seasoned (a total of 6 kg) by my dear 4th Grandaunt (Si Por). The beef, with her chilli-dip, makes for a heavenly combination. Imagine, all the beef you can eat. The only other accessory dishes are veggies and beehoon, which of course, won't be touched by me. Good 'ol traditions!