Great idea, will it work?

Following the example set by Germany, Singapore now has its own BYOBD (Bring Your Own Bag Day). Singapore's very own NEA (National Environment Agency) is trying to encourage people to bring their own bag when doing their shopping.

Great idea, but it will not work. The reason is simple; Singaporeans don't give a damm about the environment. Already the campaign was greeted with a lukewarm reception today, with many of the shoppers unaware that it was BYOBD. When told they had to pay 10 cents for a plastic bag, they were screaming bloody murder. Unreasonable was the most common reaction to BYOBD.

Singapore may consumes 2.5 billion plastic bags a year but Singaporeans do not care. Reducing the waste of plastic bags is a great idea but for it to work, NEA need to first increase awareness for the environment. Or else BYOBD will be just another campaign that Singaporeans will ignore.

Review of TMNT

Just saw the new TMNT, aka Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, movie and I must say...Cowabunga! When I heard that it will be full CGI, I was hopeful. I was RIGHT! It rocks!

The movie takes place after Shredder's defeat/death, with the team essentially broken as Leonardo is training in Central America (how did a man-sized turtle reached there was never told), Donatello and Michelangelo have jobs, and Raphael spends his time as a vigilante 'Nightwatcher'. The story focuses on Max Winters, an immortal warrior who tried to take over the world 3,000 years ago. Due to a mistakes of his 3,000 years ago, 13 demonic beasts were let loose into the world and Winter's 4 generals were turned into stone. Leonardo returns and tensions begin to rise between him and Raphael over the leadership of the team. The Foot Clan also made a small appearance (as expected), with Karai leading them. The story was full of holes. April O'Neil is now a ninja, worse she is now good enough to kick Karai's butt. Yes, that's Karai, leader of the Foot. How is it that only Casey Jones (a moron) could tell that Raphael was the Nightwatcher? The final fight was way too short. The ending was terrible, it was as if the director just wanted to end the movie ASAP.

But who cares about the story! Who go watch TMNT for the story? We go to see the action and the wacky humour. The action was solid (the roof-top fight between Raphael and Leonardo was great) and the CGI was almost flawless. The wackiness was toned down however as the tone of the movie was far grittier than before (more in line with the comics) and there was a hint of a sequel at the end.

23 years after appearing forthe first time, TMNT is still going strong. Not bad for a parody of Daredevil huh.

Sacrifice of the Widow by Lisa Smedman

Just finished a new Forgotten Realms book, Sacrifice of the Widow by Lisa Smedman. Now, this is what the War of the Spider Queen should have been. Smedmen again show why she is one of the more under-rated writers around as the book has a bit of everything. Tension, fighting, high magic, plots, betrayal, everything is here.

The book start slowly with Eilistraee and Lolth playing over a sava board. Of course being gods, the pieces are mortals. Halisstra Melarn, who was turned into the Lady Pentinent in the last book of the War of the Spider Queen, is busy killing priestesses of the Dark Maiden under the orders of Lolth. Seems that after her long Silence, Lolth is trying take out the Dark Maiden. Being drow, the other gods of the Dark Seldarine (Selvetarm and Vhaeraun to be exact) are trying to take sides and gain advantage in the war between the 2 goddesses.

Eilistraee's forces take a beating throughout the book and her top gun, Qilue of The Seven Sisters is doing a lot of fighting. The ending was great. 2 gods dead, 1 god wavering between good and evil. Yes, things are exactly (finally) happening in the Forgotten Realms. Now, if only the same thing can happen in the upcoming Orc King.

Water in Outer Space

On Earth, water is considered by many to be vital for life to begin. Now water vapour has been detected for the first time in the atmosphere of a planet outside our Solar System. The planet, HD 209458b (why can't scientist come out with some better names), is a Jupiter-like gas giant located 150 light-years from Earth.

Question is why they are so surprised to find water or water vapour on other planets? I mean there are billions of planets out there, surely at least one other planet out there have a lifeform or at least water. I mean what are the odds of we being the only planet that have life? I think I have a better chance of hitting TOTO!

Dragon Champion by E. E. Knight

Dragon Champion is the first book in the The Age of Fire series by E. E. Knight. This book follow the new trend of fantasy writing, writing views from the other side of the fantasy world (aka the bad guys). There have been books told from the view of dark elves, orcs and now dragons. Being a sucker for this kind of books, I just have to pick it up.

The book is told by Auron, a rare, defenseless gray dragon. Early in the story, the young dragon's parents were killed by dwarves and Auron sets off in search of his kind. He faced elves, humans and a particlar dragon-slayer (who usually would be the hero of the story). I love the way Knight spilted the book. It is told in 3 parts, hatchling, drake and dragon. It showed Auron in the 3 phase of his life; when he was a hatchling and depended on his parents for everything; when he was a drake, a young dragon without wings; and when he was a full-blooded dragon and became a champion for his kind. It was almost like reading 3 different books.

The world building was very good. Knight sets several varied histories of the world, you get the views of history from the elves, dwarves, and dragon, depending on who is doing the telling. I also liked the fact that Knight did not sugarcoat the fantasy world. There is plenty of violence including a savage survival of the fittest birth ritual (the book started with a bang). And the lessons the young hatchlings learned from their parents was great. It made the loss felt by Auron later on more real and painful.

However, the book is not without some problems. First; Knight ram into you the view that Auron is 'special'. A rare grey dragon, he is without scales but faster than most other dragons. He is also very resourceful, smart and has boundless determination. He is the Batman of dragonkind. Second; some of the fight scenes are very confusing. Maybe Knight wanted to show that dragon fighting is different from a fight from a human, elf or even an orc because the fight scenes do 'jumped'. You are in a cave, next thing you know you are flying in the air. Confusing to say the least. Lastly; for a book that is so different from other fantasy books, the ending was a little disappointing. I won't say what it is to prevent a spoiler but it is a happy, very happy ending. A very fantasy ending.

Overall, the book is great. Auron is a captivating character and the world is very well made. I liked the strange and different allies Auron made and the pace of the book was very good (especially in the drake section). Besides, how often do you get a book told from a dragon's point of view! Pick this up.