Monday, June 8, 2009
Better late than never!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
aches and pains, but satisfaction!
"My nerd is all natural"
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Scanned the cover of the Life section of the Straits Times - sorry that it's a poor scan! I was intrigued by the use of the title 'Hitman' because although it may seem out of the blue, unrelated, and an odd choice for a title (it doesn't seem to have much to do with the brief summary of the article - At the grand old age of...), it actually makes sense once you consider who it is being used to describe (or put another way, once we consider the context).
Clint Eastwood is a veteran actor who starred in many 'tough-guy' films where he was the lone gunslinger or trigger-happy cop. Hence the term 'hitman' is appropriate when we take into account his acting history and his roles in those films.
In his later years, he started to direct films, which have done very well at the box office, winning awards and critical acclaim. Therefore, his films were 'hits', making him the 'hitman'!
The play on the word 'hit' is what makes the title work - it takes advantage of the two possible meanings of 'hit' - an act of violence, or a succesful project, product or venture.
Just thought I'd share this for fun! Are there any hidden layers of meaning you've spotted and would like to point out?
Friday, November 7, 2008
Whale in the sky
Friday, October 31, 2008
1. How To Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
Worms? Interesting. Fried worms? Irresistible! Harassed by the other boys in his school, the protagonist makes a bet that he can wolf down a set number of worms in a given amount of time. And this he does, in gloriously icky and surprisingly appetizing ways...pure storytelling genius.
2. Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy Gamebook series
These are the same authors who created the Lone Wolf series of gamebooks I enjoyed as a boy. The stories are of the 'choose-your-own-adventure' variety, where you may make choices along the way that lead your character to different outcomes. It's fun to see where different choices bring you, and often a simple combat system (involving dice or some other random number generator) is used to resolve encounters with hostile creatures. Adventure, monsters, a combat system, and the chance to determine the character's fate...what's there not to love? Of course, the same experience is now recreated in computer role-playing games, but nothing quite replicates the smell and feel of paper, and the appeal of black and white pen illustrations that are scattered throughout the books.
3. Snakehead (Alex Rider) by Anthony Horowitz
This is a book about a reluctant teenage spy who has to deal with Southeast Asian gangs, and is one of a series of books starring protagonist Alex Rider . I haven't read any of these books yet, but it's certainly got good reviews on Amazon.com. I've seen a lot of the books in Popular Bookshop but never felt compelled to buy one. After reading the reviews, I just might pick one up.
4. Another recent favourite with young boys is the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. The star of the book is a 14-year old criminal mastermind, Artemis Fowl, who aims to rebuild his family fortune after the mysterious disappearance of his father. It isn't often the hero of a book turns out to be a criminal mastermind!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
"Shakespeare On Toast"
I was at Borders (Wheelock Place) recently and I was blissfully browsing when I came across a delightful book, "Shakespeare On Toast - Getting A Taste For The Bard" written by Ben Crystal. The size of the book, the paper stock and texture, and the irreverent cover design somehow reminded me of Stephen Fry's book, "The Ode Less Travelled", which had the noble intention of making poetry more accessible (such a short description doesn't really do the book justice! I'll try to review the book one day soon). "Shakespeare On Toast has a similar purpose, that of making the study of Shakespeare's works more accessible and appealing to audiences who might otherwise be intimidated by the Literary God-like status of the bard. After 3 days of perusing its pages while walking out of school to the bus-stop and while traveling on the MRT, I think the book has certainly fulfilled its objectives.