Well, my laptop for the last 2 years or so is now dead and buried and I am left without an item that has become rather crucial to both my work life and leisurely activities.
I do still possess of that old Compaq Presario piece of junk that I keep referring to as my HP wannabe. And it still does run, sort of. If you call taking an hour to boot up and lasting around another hour before it goes into a coma from overheating, running. Mostly down to my torturing it from opening too many tabs I guess :P Anyway, there is a reason why this backup laptop was designated as a backup. Come to think of it, it isn't a very good backup at all ...
So with my main laptop's demise, I went online with some cautious optimism of being able to acquire a new notebook for a reasonable price. And by reasonable, I mean dirt cheap because I'm dirt broke what with most of my finances being funneled to other more critical needs. My son's sustenance, diapers, me and my wife's sustenance, bills and some savings and insurance for my son and our future home, etc, etc.
After detailed browsing of 2 web stores that I know of which serves consumers in Singapore it seems that there was no such luck, not that I was hoping for any to begin with. For starters, the cheapest of such devices start from SG$600; give or take a dollar or two. And they aren't even your prime notebooks but would certainly get the job done running MS Word and Excel that I need for work purposes (Yes, I know you can use Google Drive but it is still a bit clunky and doesnt' format as nice) the running of flash or javascript in browser for some of my leisurely activities. The following are the two laptops in question (tossing in pics for good measure):
Thing is as I alluded to before, I'm dead broke. And I do mean dead broke. Only have enough in my Ezlink for my needed commuting and some spare change for those occasions when I need to purchase food while out. I'm running on fumes as it is. And come next payday and around 7 days after it, I'll be in the same situation again. So it makes the whole argument of saving up for one of the above devices kind of moot. The only way I figured I'd be able to get a proper replacement laptop is if I were to blow a part of my end year bonus and extras on it. But that's the end of the year and some 6 months too late. I need the replacement laptop now .........
Why? Well because there are some work related backlog stuff that I haven't quite done yet. Shouldn't have procrastinated I know but then again where's the fun in that? Then there's that whole scouting task for Singapore's National Team and U20s that I need to get to on Hattrick - not as important but certainly as urgent. More importantly though, there'll be these 2 weeks of precious free time courtesy of the school holidays which by virtue of me working as an educator gets to enjoy. The perfect time for me to work on my manuscripts, update my blogs, create or edit some media. Basically just unleash my creativity that usually gets suppressed during school terms. Not to mention the fact that I intend to restart my Psych modules in July and to do so without such a device would be the greatest folly known to modern man. Well that's a bit of an exaggeration but you catch my drift.
The consequences of me not being able to indulge in all those stuff, inclusive of my studies? Let's just say that this F.U.B.A.R. that I had today is going to creep into every crevice of my known existence that will definitely impact my work and social life at the same time. Yes, it will get that bad. What's F.U.B.A.R.? Seriously, look it up.
Of course if some kind soul (or souls) would see it fit to present me with an early birthday present (my birthday is in October by the way, so it isn't that far off) or an early Christmas present (not that I actively celebrate Xmas) with oh I don't know some mystery gift *cough*one-of*cough*the-above*cough*laptops*cough* it would not only make my day but my whole year. Inclusive of some months in 2014.
However, seeing as this is real life and how such kind souls tend to exist only in TV shows, movies and hallucinogenic induced dreams, I'd settle for someone to spot me the funds I'd need to get one of those devices listed above. I'd make repayment but not on a monthly basis due to my situation. But rather when my year end extras come in. And perhaps some months into 2014 as well if it doesn't suffice. And most certainly without any interest otherwise I might as well just take out a personal loan ....
So, any takers for either of those two options? Please, please, please say yes :P And if you do .... well you know where to find me :D
PS: In case you were wondering how I typed this .... Let's just say that doing all this up on your smartphone seriously feels like one is getting screwed where the sun don't normally shine.
It has been roughly a week since I've seen the Doctor Who Series 7 finale and to be honest, I'm still trying to wrap my head around that cliffhanger of an ending. Having to wait till November of this year for any semblance of a resolution to a yet unknown story is quite unbearable, to say the least. Should you have not seen the finale 'The Name of The Doctor' you may wish to catch it in the embedded video below as some of what I will be writing here will be based on the ending there. Read on if you don't mind spoilers but best to catch the episode quick before Youtube decides to block it again.
By now you should already know that there's a new (or maybe old) Doctor in the works. The capture of John Hurt to be cast as The Doctor is absolutely amazing; then again that might not need saying at all. The question on all Whovian's lips is just who (yes it's a pun, I know) will John Hurt be playing. We know that he is one of the regenerations of The Doctor and apparently one that was kept secret but which? Guess this is as good a place as any to start off the theorizing and rumour mongering for the 50th anniversary special.
The real 9th Doctor
The 8th Doctor played by Paul McGann
This seems to be the most popular theory that is floating around. When the show restarted there was a huge gap in the storyline between the 8th Doctor (Paul McGann) and the 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and with it, no explanations on how the 8th regenerated into the 9th. The only thing that was somewhat explained throughout the series was that there occurred The Last Great Time War between the Time Lords and the Daleks for the sake of all creation and this seemed to fall somewhere between the period of the end of the time of the Paul McGann Doctor and the beginning of the Christopher Eccleston Doctor. Which makes it the perfect fit for John Hurt's Doctor to be the real 9th incarnation that took part in that Time War.
The 9th Doctor played by Christopher Eccleston
This assumption makes sense as The Doctor in all his recent incarnations has stated that he has done 'unspeakable things' during the Time War and claimed to have been the destroyer of the Time Lords' mortal enemy, the Daleks. Such are things that one with the name of The Doctor would not ever do as it has been recounted over and over again throughout the most recent number of series. John Hurt's Doctor however has done these unspeakable things for which he has been 'disowned' by all the other incarnations of The Doctor makes this character a perfect fit as the real 9th Doctor that was involved in the Time War. The picture of John Hurt in his Doctor costume also resembles both the 8th and 9th Doctor's in parts lending further credence to this particular theory.
A mix of the 8th & 9th Doctor's attire sans blue jacket and cap
The Valeyard during the 6th Doctor's (Colin Baker) run
The Valeyard
Another somewhat popular rumour is that John Hurt's Doctor is The Valeyard or a precursor to him. It's definitely an interesting thought but there are some issues with this particular notion. For one, The Valeyard is possibly one or more of a series of incarnations of The Doctor between his 12th and 13th incarnations (or regenerations, I forgot which) at which time The Doctor had supposedly turned evil and seeks to prolong his own life through immoral and unethical means by Time Lord standards. And since that means that he is probably set to be in the future in the Doctor's timeline, how could it be that all his current incarnations 'disown' him? Also, how could The Doctor recognize his future self with them having met for the first time? And also, for all intents and purposes, John Hurt doesn't look anything like Michael Jayston who played The Valeyard. And if John Hurt's character were to be a precursor to The Valeyard, again it would have to come after the 11th Doctor's time which again brings the question of how would they even know him to 'disown' him? Although I am quite intrigued by this particular rumour, especially seeing as The Valeyard was such a cool villain who just happen to supposedly be The Doctor's future self, there's just too many black hole sized plot holes for this one to stand on it's own.
Doctor Zero
The 1st Doctor (William Hartnell)
This is another interesting theory which posits that John Hurt's Doctor is the incarnation from before the 1st Doctor (William Hartnell). This makes some sense as there has been speculation, at least in the books, that The Doctor was part of the trinity of founders of Time Lord society in his previous life, before he was re-loomed. Namely, Rassilon, Omega and The Other, with The Other being the one most commonly associated with The Doctor. It would certainly be interesting if John Hurt's Doctor was indeed The Other as there were many unspeakable acts that occurred before the founding of Time Lord society. And the use of the name, The Other certainly does not make him one of The Doctors and the odd one out so to speak and would certainly tie in with what was said in the finale. However it doesn't tie in with John Hurt's costume nor does it resolve that huge hole between the 8th and the 9th Doctor.
11th Doctor or is it 12th?
Of course all these (apart from the Doctor Zero theory) would mean that The Doctor's regeneration would be bumped up a place and seeing as a Time Lord only has 12 regenerations and we would be on the 12th Doctor now (bumped up from 11th (Matt Smith)) which would mean that there's only 1 regeneration left, I personally feel that something else would be in the works to circumvent this.
Perhaps what John Hurt's Doctor did or at least one of the things he did already circumvented this? Perhaps that was the unspeakable things that made the others refuse to accept him?
Three Doctors revisited?
David Tennant (l) & Matt Smith (r) reading their scripts for the 50th Anniversary
One of the rumoured occurrences in the 50th Anniversary is that there will be three Doctors in it. Matt Smith's Doctor, John Hurt's Doctor and my favourite, David Tennant's Doctor. John Hurt has pretty much confirmed this as he said that he will be "....playing a role as part of a trinity which would include Matt Smith, David Tennant and myself." Though how John Hurt's Doctor gets to 'escape' from the time stream that both he and Matt Smith's Doctor are in would prove to be an interesting one to ponder. Also seeing as how David Tennant's Doctor would escape from the time stream as well due to it collapsing? Or perhaps he'd likely be the Doctor that was created from the meta-crisis with Donna Noble which may also open the door for Rose Tyler's return. Given Moffat's fondness for The Three Doctors episode, this one may be more than just a rumour.
Omega returns?
The known faces of Omega
Not really one of the more prominent of rumours but it is certainly in the grapevine. One of the founders of Time Lord society and also likely the original big bad, Omega. Not much of a surprise that this rumour came up seeing as how fond Moffat is with The Three Doctors episode and how central of a role Omega plays in that episode. So a reintroduction of this character for the 50th would be an interesting one seeing as for all intents and purposes, Omega is still alive and well in the anti-matter universe.
The Time War unveiled?
Gallifrey left in ruins during the Time War
Another rumour that seems to permeate the internet is that due to John Hurt's Doctor, which is assumed to be the real 9th Doctor that was involved in the Time War that the Time War itself or aspects of it would be revealed come the 50th. Though I can possibly imagine that there may be flashbacks on the critical aspects of what John Hurt's Doctor did during the time war, I doubt that it would be the main storyline for this special. Seems a more fitting story for a series of books or comic than a TV special due to the sheer number of events that would be happening in said war.
A 2 or more parter 50th Anniversary special?
This is another of such rumours which is somewhat plausible. The 50th Anniversary would try to incorporate as many of the show's more recent characters into it with a storyline that may just be too big for it to be encased within a single 1 hour episode. I'd expect the 50th to be spread to a 2 or 3 parter which would also use up the usual Christmas special as the end point of this story. Not that unlikely if you really think about it as Moffat does have a tendency to like coming up with such cliffhangers and what better cliffhanger than to leave the resolution of the 50th's storyline hanging and only to be concluded come Christmas?
Then again, these are all just rumours and nothing concrete has come out of the studios or Moffat himself. There are also 5 more months till the 50th will air and though filming has begun, I'm quite sure the writers, producers and directors are quite open to changing things if need be.
Regardless though, I'm still psyched by the prospect of watching Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary, just a bit annoyed that I have to wait so long to see it.
If for some reason one hasn't seen the trailers for this highly anticipated movie yet then perhaps it would be wise to have a gander at two of the latest trailers embedded below before reading any further.
Both are kickass trailers in my most humble opinion that attempts to give you a peak into a storyline that is as different from what we have come to know as it is intriguing. One would expect nothing less from the collaboration between Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer with regards to the story aspects of it. Yes, it's the very same duo that produced the highly successful Dark Knight trilogy to reboot Batman into a more modern and realistic story.. I guess the same could be said of this massive reboot of the Superman franchise. Throw in Zac Snyder to direct and we've got a visual feast as well.
It goes without saying that Superman has been in dire need of a reboot since like, forever. And though Bryan Singer did a somewhat tolerable task in creating the homage to Richard Donner's Superman in Superman Returns, it wasn't quite what the public wanted. I mean seeing the whole opening credits along with casts, sets and general themes made to look like the Superman that had the late Christopher Reeves in it was cool at all but hardly bearable for something that felt 30 years too late. What Superman needed was not only a reboot but a rework in the very foundations of the character's story to make it more current and most importantly, in today's cinematic experience, real. Who better than Nolan and Goyer to take on the task?
The Reboot that isn't just a Reboot
For starters there is no Kryptonite, which is surely a good thing. The planet Krypton did not explode/ implode due to some natural catastrophe and shards of the planet, which for some reason were crystallized did not reach Earth. Events which stretched the imagination 3 decades ago feels a bit difficult to swallow in today's times. So yeah, something else occurred on a massive scale on Krypton that required Jor-El to catapult his son into deep space towards Earth. If one can gather from the scenes in Trailer #3, perhaps a full scale civil war or revolution might be said reason.
For the first time (at least as far as I can remember) there will be no mild-mannered reporter named Clark Kent. Just a guy named Clark Kent who seeks to find his real self and purpose in the world which in itself is something that almost everyone can relate to. Personally, I think almost everyone has grown out of that whole 'with specs = Clark Kent', 'without specs = Superman' alter-ego masquerade thing. The way that this has been set up may lead to a more realistic story with regards to character development. Added to the fact that he finds out he is an alien and the whole how society would react to having an alien amongst them (or rather us) is a very deep and provoking subject matter to explore.
L- The iconic Superman suit, R-Man of Steel suit.
'It's not an S. On my planet, it means Hope.'
Just love the idea of it. At the same time as well, it leads to the possibility that he may never be called Superman in this movie, which I'm fine with. I mean seriously, if society is to accept an outsider into their midst, then the apt thing for them to do is to address said person by their name and not to give them a name.
Overall, I think the suit is a huge improvement over the old ones. I personally like it and am very sure that there's a story behind why it is how it is as well. Looks more like battle armour than a cloth based thing. And given what we've seen from the trailers perhaps the reason it looks as such is because it is some form of armour, battle or otherwise.
"I will find him!" - Zod The return of this iconic character, not as a prisoner released from the Phantom Zone but as a Commander of a fleet of Kryptonian warships hell bent on finding and possibly killing Kal-El makes for a nice twist in the seemingly daunting and insurmountable task that stands before the Man of Steel. Although it has some elements that were no doubt borrowed from the War of The Supermen comic storyline, there are major aspects that are significantly different. For one, there is no New Krypton and Superman does not have Kon-El (Superboy) or Power Girl/ Super Girl or the rest of the Justice League to back him up. It's just him alone against an armada (or maybe just a few space ships?) of Krypton's elite soldiers who I would assume would also gain the same powers as the Man of Steel upon their exposure to the Earth's sun. A battle that cannot be won by sheer might alone is most certainly a fitting setting for this final confrontation in the movie. What with the whole premise being based on hope. Certainly ties in with the title track for the movie, for which a link can be found below.
The Justice League?
Just rumours of course but with the Dark Knight trilogy all set and done and with this one seemingly going to be just as successful (if not more so), along with the Green Lantern movie, which I felt wasn't done well enough along with the rumoured sequel and a Flash movie in the works, it is certainly an idea worth entertaining. Though of course if such plans were in the works, it certainly won't come to fruition any time within the next three years, at least from my estimates.
First thing's first though, can't wait for the Man of Steel to be out so that it can be enjoyed for the great movie that it is.
It's been some time since I've done this or even wrote anything for that matter. So here, goes nothing ...
Promo Poster
It's a film directed by Quentin Tarantino. That usually is enough to describe a movie for me. In this case however, given that the storyline was devised by RZA a member of the Wu-Tang Clan, there were a number of parts in the film that felt un-Tarantino like and stung like a slightly bruised thumb. For those who are uninitiated in what the Wu-Tang Clan is, they are basically African-American rappers with a clear and near obsession with oriental culture. This was evident by some of the spin-off products that came from this rap group, one of which was the Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style Playstation game that was released in 2000. One that I've admitted played myself back then. Anyway, although the name Tarantino is usually associated with an anything goes artsy-fartsy, avant-gardish approach to directing; though to be fair you do get this sense in the movie as well, there also appears to be a strong insistence on this Blackinese approach towards it. Or would you prefer Chlack because African-American protagonist with strong Oriental influence is too long of a term to write here despite it's accuracy.
RZA as the main protagonist
The movie was shot in the style of the kung-fu movies of old but with that off beat Tarantino feel to it - English speaking Chinese folks in what is supposedly classical 'China', guns and gatling guns, etc. It's like a steam punk kung fu movie without the steam or the punk and Tarantino held it all together well. Honestly I found that most of the characters were right on cue, though the storyline did feel somewhat rushed through (except for that long ass flashback) but it was enjoyable for the most part. My one main complaint though was the 'hero' of the movie. I mean come on, just because the guy wrote the whole thing, doesn't mean he's the best guy to play that role. I found RZA's portrayal of Thaddeus (yes, that's the main character's name) to be too lacklustre that it hurt the movie more often than not. Perhaps casting a veteran actor for such an important role in the movie would've made the role appear more alive. I've got no qualms with the other casts. And it was nice to see WWE wrestler Batista get his shot on the big screen even though it was as a guy who had Colossus-like abilities to turn his entire body to brass (see pictures below).
There was also little to say about Lucy Liu, Russel Crowe or Daniel Wu's performances in this movie as all of them performed as expected. The storyline too has a nice kung-fu like flow to it, if you do follow the kung fu movies of the 80s then it shouldn't be too hard for you to follow.
All in all, I would say that it's a movie that one can appreciate if you can appreciate something by Tarantino and the Blackinese approach that RZA and his Wu-Tang clan members prefer. Or of course if you just like to watch kung-fu and lots of artistically presented violence and death. I know I enjoyed it but at the same time wouldn't recommend it to just anyone.
To end it and just because Batista's appearance had me reminiscing, here's a video to his slightly older entrance theme song on WWE:
After a full month of staving off hunger, thirst; for smokers, the need to placate the brain's reward systems with the input of nicotine and various other desires of the fleshly kind, all Muslims in the world are geared to celebrate their victory on dominating these aspects of their lives while at the same time acquiring an improved level of self-control. The day in which Adil-Fitri or Eidul Fitri, depending on which nationality you ask is celebrated differs simply due to the different time zones in which the world is segregated into. Which also pretty much means that it would be celebrated for each respective zone of when the sun sets on the last day of Ramadhan, creating a continuous series of celebrations across the globe till when the sun begins to set on the first day of Syawal.
Far from my usual overtures of how such events have been cannibalized by consumerism via capitalists' desire in turning such spiritual, self-reflecting periods within all if not most religions into a profit machine, Aidil Fitri this year has brought about a more inward, retrospective as well as prospective take on my life as a whole. It represents, at least to me, a chance for a new start, devoid of the superfluous baggage in previous moments in my existence that has done nothing but impede my progress in attempting to be the best possible human that I can be.
That is in essence what religion, be it practised spiritually, doctrinally or haphazardly is about anyway. And this is regardless of whatever religion you might have been born into or adopted. Meandering and conflicting between the various belief systems though one of the main side effects of using such means to uphold the religion itself without the improvement of oneself.
This seemingly sudden need to dispose or reduce undesired traits within myself and improve is not due to any epiphany of a self-serving nature but more for the benefit of the next generation.
You see, I'm going to be a father soon, somewhere within the next 4 weeks to be exact without having the capacity to be all that accurate. And in order for my child to be able to receive the best possible options at being successful in life, I have to be one of those options. This coupled with the scare of my life in the last 24 hours that would have involved such a thing not having the possibility of occurring at all, I am now both grateful and gearing myself up for this role that has been entrusted upon me.
And so it is with a deep sense of humility, gratefulness, purpose, responsibility and a general sense of being blessed that I recite the takbir for this Aidil Fitri:
