Sweet Child - Acoustic

Inception

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zOMG

I'm not a fan of popular culture. You'll never catch me saying OMGWTFBBQ ( good lord what the hell is barbeque doing there ), or LMAO or, in this case, zOMG.

So Khalid and I were having a conversation and he used the term zOMG. and I, though I see it pretty often, never got to know the exact definition of the acronym. Was it a variation on the term OMG? Was it, by any chance, an animal of the reptile variety? Was it a noun, a verb or some form of punctuation? So, like any modern-day Einstein would do, I looked it up in urban dictionary.com

zOMG is a varient of the all-too-popular acronym "OMG", meaning "Oh My God". The "z" was originally a mistake while attempting to hit the shift key with the left hand, and type "OMG" Also used in all-caps, 'ZOMG' is generally used in a sarcastic manner, more often than not a humiliating fasion. It is also used as a device for stating the obvious.

Interesting. The frickin adjective was (popularised by Omar's status update but originally coined by me), a lovechild of a lousy keyboard and poor spelling. No.

Someone's fricking spelling mistake is used as a popular adjective internationally.

And you wonder why I'm not a fan of modern vocabulary. But I do like this definition!

ZOMG was the ruler of the planet XYRZON until 2451 AD, when he was overthrown by KFOP after the battle of SHMUR. the battle marked the violent end to ZOMG'S noble reign as ultra-lord. KFOP soon proved to be an incapable ruler of XYRZON, and the planet collapsed into chaos in 2453. Since that day, the residents of XYRZON have used ZOMG as a declaration, nay, an exclaimation of hope. Hope that one day peace shall return to XYRZON, on the shoulders of a truly worthy king.

Hasta La Vista Baby.

Crimson Tide - A review

Posting here before Ning because only within this pallid box can I find the vigor and spark of inspiration that drives me to write something great.

Leaders are not born, they're made. They define what society turns out to be. I really do feel that the role of leaders is to make decisions. As simple as that sounds in words, it is an ultimately complex and potentially traumatising role. Their job is to make decisions in place of the people under their charge (because they have proven themselves to be the most competent to do so) and these decisions will irrevocably discern the fate of these people and - in the case of Crimson Tide - the fate of mankind as we know it.

Decisions, decisions. I believe that that is what Crimson Tide is trying to bring across. The underlying power and emotional influence of decisions, determined by the extent of the repercussions. The movie is practically littered with decisions, from the most mundane like whether or not to tell Cobs to cut down on the cheeseburgers, to shooting a couple of rockets to end the world in a nuclear Armageddon, with trillions of lives at stake.

We, ourselves, were faced with our very own Sophie's Choice. Team Ramsey or Team Hunter (Damn it I hate the Twilight reference!) ? In my humble opinion, both Ramsey and Hunter were well-matched. Both characters had equally credible arguments, and although my sympathies were with Hunter (faced with the prospect of billions of deaths, it is best to err on the side of caution), I could understand the logic of the more senior officer. Ramsey, despite common opinion, is not a warmonger nor a mad dog. He is an officer, with the greatest amount of love for his country, so obsessed with protecting it that even an incomplete message meant something, just for him. I really could sympathise with him although in the end all roads led back to XO Hunter. It was my tough decision.

Personally, what I felt was the most compelling and heart-wrenching decision was not to send any missiles, but rather XO Hunter's decision to lock those 3 servicemen in the bridge. Objectively, it was either to send those three men to the gallows or risk endangering the entire submarine. When weighing the fate of 3 men, to the rest of the boat and potentially the world, the decision was absolutely obvious. Yet, we were forced to see one of the servicemen pleading at the top of his lungs for his friends to climb out of the bridge. He was begging them to save themselves. "PLEASE just climb out", he screamed coarsely.

Imagine what Hunter must have felt as he heard the difficult pleas of those men over the conn. It is inherently at these moments, when we actually see for ourselves the consequences of the XO's decision, when we look into the prayerful eyes servicemen and his doomed friends, that we realise how powerful decisions can be. Even deep in my heart, I too, was pleading Hunter not to seal them in.

That is exactly what define leaders. Their role is to make the right decisions with clearness and intelligibillity, and to sustain that clarity of thought regardless of what he himself feels. To know that despite killing 3 young men now, he saved countless of others in the future. They also have the added responsibility to inspire.

The idea of inspiration is embodied in both Hunter and Captain Ramsey.

Captain Ramsey is an advocate of inspiration in a more traditional sense. Through the use of profanity-laden speeches, he can pump adrenaline through the veins of thousands of men with mere words alone. He acts as the patriarch aboard the U.S.S Alabama, making the choices for everybody and coordinating efforts.

Hunter, on the other hand, is an inspiration in a much more personal sense. He looks into the eyes of his subordinates and tells them to do things they never thought they could do in a thousand years.

This is demonstrated in the "Captain Kirk-Scotty" scene aboard the Alabama where he demands the metaphorical Scotty to fix the damned radio or risk sparking of a "nuclear holocaust". ( "Use the Force, Luke! " - Obi-Wan Kenobi, Episode IV) Immediately, the communications engineer loses his despair and begins on the radio. That is the power of leaders: to motivate their people to do things beyond their wildest imaginations and in the case of failure or hopelessness, to drive them back on the right path.

A leader encompasses many things. In the words of Uncle Ben, "With great power, comes great responsibility". Leaders are the people with the greatest amount of power in the world. And henceforth, their responsibility is equally immense.

So who exactly did I find to have the most stressful job in the movie?

It wasn't Hunter, or Ramsey or even Cobs but Aragorn Lt. Weps as well as "Scotty" (I'm not sure of his real name! Besides, "Scotty" is so catchy! ) I feel that these two guys had the greatest pressure because at one point or another, these two brave men had the weight if the world on their tired shoulders. Their decision alone, would put a full stop on the fate of the world.

Weps' emotional and moral dilemma was expertly captured in the face of Viggo Mortensen a.k.a Aragorn from Lord Of The Rings, in the scene where Hunter pleaded for him not to aid the distraught Ramsey on his warpath. Again, a perfect example of a tough decision. Was he to listen to his long-time friend and sabotage Ramsey's efforts at launching nuclear missiles or dismiss Hunter's ridiculous claims and actually lock in those keys and at the same time lock those missiles onto Moscow? Either decision would decide the destiny of the Earth, the latter equivalent to death in the trillions. Trillions. When one is faced with deciding the fate of his world, with a gun pointed at his head, forcing him to choose within 3 counts, I'd imagine that would be pretty stressful.

After answering Mr.Kamal's questions, I would like to add on about why I fancy the movie myself.

Crimson Tide intrigues and compels me exceptionally. The thought of a nuclear holocaust sparked off by a single man's decision is dreadfully ominous. A nuclear holocaust. Words alone cannot fully cover the unbelievable repercussions of such an Armageddon. Mr.Kamal himself describes how we can all be obliterated ... at the speed of light. The sheer idea of such a possibility is disturbing and yet highly intriguing. Crimson Tide sheds light on the reality behind such a possibility. It's more realistic than we know.

I, personally, find bits of ecstasy in the minor references in the movie. I'm really just a geek beyond measure. The mere mention of Jack Kirby and the Silver Surfer is enough to ignite a nerdy "Marvel Comics" flame in me. Add that to Star Trek references to Captain James.T.Kirk, Montgomery Scott (Scotty), and special appearances by Aragorn from LOTR and HRG from Heroes, and I'm blown away like the Death Star in A New Hope.

That said, the movie, in general, is wonderfully striking. The mutiny-themed story is thrilling and absolutely palatable. It shows how adrenaline and intelligence can work seamlessly together. The film is also aesthetically fine, if only via its depiction of submarine containment as a rat's maze navigated only by the best and brightest U.S. soldiers. The camera pirouettes through the ship's bulkheads flawlessly.

There is an added luster of an amazing cast. Denzel Washington's silent, brooding yet riveting depiction of XO Hunter explains why Mr.Kamal constantly refers to him as the Alpha Male actor. In fact, my favourite character from Crimson Tide was actually General Ramsey. He is a wonderful creation - a genial, smiling fellow with more than a hint of menace in his eyes. He makes the air itself tense with his never-ending flow of implicit threats.

We sense a deeper more complex person through his subtle statements, "We are here to preserve democracy, not practice it". A coded EAM is received in our brains.

Overall, I generally like Crimson Tide but don't particularly love it. Partially due to personal reasons. (I gave "Kick-Ass" 5 stars) But it was indeed a good movie and really gave me an 1800 ft.-deep understanding of the Cold War and its dangers. Upon reflection, there are greater messages about leadership and decisions that Mr.Kamal made us look at. So ... a big thanks to Mr.Kamal !

So that's where my "Ning" stuff ends. Truthfully, if I were writing a real review, the paragraph on geekiness would be 22 times its size, and I would make petty insults at Jerome's narcissism hahaha. Gonna write a article on "Will video games ever be treated seriously?" later on. Hasta la vista baby.

The song with the blood

EDIT: I started on this last night, then inconspicuously fell asleep while watching Family Guy , so the continuity in the Lord of the Nic might be erroneous here and there

Good mother of the lord, I have been dying the blog for the past week. But I mean, who talks about the virtues of only using the computer on weekends, and fails to do so every Wednesday. Pfft, what a loser.

A woman of Indian origin made a a sinfully dreadful remark just today, as I returned from the opposite coffee shop after lunch. I believe she was a teacher in the school, in fact, the one whom Pooven hit on one fine History Elective Timed Practice, at which she replied with a comment about the existence of a certain. more attractive boyfriend. Oh what rapier sharp wit!

However, it does not bode well when she uses that fricking rapier to jab at my belief system. So Jerome, Adriel, Arvin and the other 4/1 dudes were attempting to cross the road ( the one in the school ), and a car was approaching. Instinctively, the rather ambiguous teacher exclaimed, "Hey, get off the road you sons of bitches ( or something along that line ) ". Then from her armpits emerged ten other arms and she grabbed all 6 boys and flung them into Nanyang Polytechnic. (Or something like that). Upon realisation that the 16-year-old young adults were relatively safe from an imminent car crash, she said, in direct reference to their class T-shirt, ...

"Hey, I know your T-shirt says your'e not geeks but don't behave like one"

So discriminatory! Totally crossed the line. The line is a dot to her.

EDIT: At this point, I wake up on a Saturday Afternoon, and seamlessly transit into the next part of General News.

In other news, The Things We Can Learn From Facebook.

Lesson Number One: Acronyms such as "jkjk", peppered with "XD" (apparently some depiction of a deceased male who is inexplicably smiling with the utmost glee ) ... do not, in fact, help to make nasty comments more palatable to the reader.

Example.

"I'm sorry Mr.Lim. The surgery was a complete failure. Your wife is now a vegetable and you have to take care of her for the rest of your life, with no real hope of her ever waking up.

Jkjk XD

She's actually dead. "

Nic's Non Sequitur Corner

So one day, a broccoli was sitting on a friendly armchair. And the broccoli asks the affable armchair, "If I'm here, and you're there, and Istanbul is somewhere in this general area,

Where is Deepak? "

Boomz

I'm telling you. Kristen Bell just blows my mind. Like *shapes his hand into a semi-automatic gun and promptly fires the hand-weapon into his brain, causing bits of his cranium and grey-white matter to spatter messily on his Chemistry textbook,

How ... in the name of fanboys ... can a woman be this hot ...

and be an advocate of fanboy-ism at the same time. It's seemingly and humanely impossible. and yet somehow ...

It's true.

Miracles do exist people. Believe.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Teaser

Damn, I actually posted this yesterday and it appeared on the Anderson NCC blog! I even added ultimate fanboyish comments i.e. "I had to be forcibly sedated after watching this".

Man! But I suppose even Mrs Poh or Mr Esfan would find this awesome. I suppose "awesome" is too mild a word to describe Ezio. At these moments, I'm really tempted to use profanities to describe the exceptionally explosive and awe-esque emotions that are sizzling in my blood right now. But after all, this is a family blog. Think of the kids!

Enjoy!