Monday, March 14, 2011

Go ahead and drop out of school ...


... but only if you are an amazing warlord with charisma to inspire the golden horde.

Otherwise, hit the books.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Happy International Women's Day!

Eye candy and an emphatic message for women = FTW!




For those who are wondering, the answer is "Yes. I have a thing for Daniel Craig." Silent or otherwise.

Not shooting blanks


Measuring fertility in men often seems to involve a porn magazine, a sterile container and a microscope. However, it appears that there is a less "invasive" way to find out whether your swimmers can actually hit the target.

Gentlemen, time to whip out the measuring tapes!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Frustration ...

I has it.

 
Philosophy to live by, y/y?


What really occurs between Batman & Robin is a mystery...

... I don't think I want to solve it.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Friday, March 4, 2011

The scariest book I ever read

No, it was not Twilight. Nor did it feature any of the usual monsters of the week hunted by the Winchester brothers *dreamy eyes* (even though reading it may scare the crap out of Dean).

Did not feature these darlings.


Eric Schlosser wrote a frank and engaging examination of one of the biggest icons of Americana: Fast Food. Its history unfolds in early 20th century and helped produce some of the biggest self made men in the US, the perfect embodiment of the American dream.

This book exposed the nightmarish side to these success stories.  From unfair business practices that ruins small businesses, fatal food contamination,  hideous and slave-like working conditions, to the globalisation of obesity via fast food and even exploitation of children through advertisement, Schlosser exposed any number of issues that we do not think about when we unwrapped our burgers. Although most of the companies featured in the book refused to officially cooperate in his research, Schlosser was able to persuade a number of the employees of those companies to speak to him; giving him first hand accounts of what lay behind the shiny facade of the big corporations that made the fast food machinery what it is.

Naturally the corporations featured in the book did not take it lying downand fought back with threats of lawsuits and such. Boldly, Schlosser invited them to conduct fact checking and prove any of the allegations in his book as untrue. Although there was much blustering and threats, none of the corporations named in the book took legal action against him. Instead, they launched an online campaign that petered out like a deflated balloon.

What I find most interesting in the book is that even though the successes of the individuals that built these giant corporations underscore the possibilities promised by the American Dream, it came at the expense of the iconic Western cowboys and the freedom promised in the frontiers. As small and medium sized ranches disappear to the pressures of economy, it also diminished the mythical tough men of the West: suicide rate of the American cattle ranchers and farmers are three times the average in the country (refer to page 146). The legendary West featured in films and dime novels are now lost in the mist of history.

Books like Fast Food Nation makes one pause and contemplate one's decisions over things that were previously taken for granted. I don't think a reader of the book would immediately swear off McDonalds and KFC. But perhaps you would scrutinise the fine print even more after reading this. After all, caveat emptor.


Like Dean Winchester often said; it is people who are the worst monsters, not the demons and ghouls and beasties that stalk in the night.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Brains and beauty

What do Hedy Lamarr and Werner von Braun



vs

have in common apart from near-Alpian ancestry?

They were both rocket scientists.

Did you know that Natalie Portman, winner of this year's Oscars for Best Actress, was a straight A student who competed in the Intel Science Talent Search and has a degree in neuroscience? There is a long history of women who made it big (or even modestly impressive) in Hollywood who are also brainy thinkers and does work in the fields of mathematics, engineering and science.

Here's to beautiful and intelligent women the world over!

Monday, February 28, 2011

Amazing Diamond

I have always had a thing for Shara Worden's (aka My Brightest Diamond) voice. She is a trained opera singer with an amazing range and depth as well as texture, though I do not know if she's a coloratura soprano. I first fell in love with Gone Away, one of the best songs to slash your wrist by when pining for a former lover. But what she executed in this video is both cute and awesome and I think you will agree with me that it takes amazing lungs to sing this flawlessly while stamping as hard as she did.



*chin-hands in admiration*

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Life is unfair ...

... kill yourself or get over it.

Oh dear ...

Sadly, the truth hurts.

Priorities ... I has 'em.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Word of the Day

bumbaste (v.)
(1) To beat on the posteriors; hence, to flog, beat soundly, thrash.
(2) ? To finish off, ‘dispose of’ (a can of liquor).

1) I would like to bumbaste him soundly for his penchant of using bombastic terms.

2) Defeated, Ed gazed impotently at the beer he longed to bumbaste.