Year of the Italians

When Liverpool had their miracle in Istanbul 2 years ago, Pippo Inzaghi was sitting in the stands. In Athens, he was in AC Milan's starting line-up, and became a hero as he scored twice to give Milan a 2-1 victory over Liverpool to secure the Champions League.

From a free-kick, Andrea Pirlo's shot was deflected in off Inzaghi's shoulder. Let's admit it. Liverpool was very lucky in Istanbul 2 years ago. What goes around comes around I guess because I don't care what Inzaghi says, that first goal was a total fluke. And it came in first-half injury time!

The first Milan goal was lucky, the second was just a piece of skill and great timing. Chasing the game, Liverpool took out Javier Mascherano for Peter Crouch. That left Liverpool without a marker for Kaka. The Milan wizard then delivered a pass through the Liverpool defence for Inzaghi. Credit to Inzaghi because that run of his was beautiful. Perfect timing, no chance of offside. Round the keeper, Pepe Reina and it was 2-0. Dirk Kuyt pulled a goal back with a header with a minute left, but it was too little too late.

Unlike most people in Singapore, I thought Milan deserved the victory. For all of Liverpool's passion and commitment, they never looked dangerous. Even in the first half when Liverpool had 60-70% of the possession, Milan never looked in trouble. Rafael Benitez may have his tactics right, but upfront they were just short of class. Crouch is Liverpool's most dangerous striker, but Benitez liked the movement of Kuyt and Craig Bellamy more. Nothing wrong there but Kuyt and Bellamy are not going to break that Milan defence. Crouch's height gave Liverpool something dangerous upfront and I believed he should have started.

Compare this to Milan. AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti picked Inzaghi over Gilardino as their lone striker upfront and 2 goals from Inzaghi tell you that it was the correct decision. Benitez may have won the tactical battle but Ancelotti made the correct selection upfront. That was the real difference as both teams were well-match in other areas.

After the World Cup, came the Champions League. This is the year of the Italians.

UNSW campus closed after 3 months

3 months! That's how long the University of New South Wales Asia lasted in Singapore. The New South Wales campus was opened to much fanfare in March, and now it's closed.

The campus was touted as Singapore's first comprehensive private university, and the UNSW name was so respected that the Economic Development Board of Singapore (EDB) was the one who persuaded the UNSW to come. However due to high fees, only 148 out of the 300 expected students enrolled in the university. The school charges $26,000 to $29,000 a year in tuition fees, 4 times more compared to what local universities are currently charging.

UNSW also exceeded its budget and spent $3 million on marketing, so it decided bite the bullet and cut its losses...to a tune of S$22 million (A$17.5 million). Wow. 3 million in marketing? What the hell were they thinking? You don't spend 3 million on marketing for a school, especially one that's just started up in Singapore.

But that's something for UNSW to decide as it is their money. What I really want to know is how much did EDB lose on this venture. EDB invited UNSW to come to Singapore, so it must have a hefty percentage on the $22 million loss. So how much is it? Also why did EDB got involed in this? Why did EBD invited UNSW to Singapore? Isn't there more than enough schools in Singapore? Out the local universities, there's a whole load of private schools like Infomatics & Thames. I know Singapore is trying to be some sort of eduaction hub, but why get involed in such a crowded market?

Some people might say that hindsight is a beautiful thing and that's what I'm doing now. Okay, you have a point. But EDB uses public money. don't you think they should be upfront and tell people how much Singapore loss in this venture? It is public money right? Tell us how much we lost in this.

Shadowbred by Paul S.Kemp

Just finish reading another Forgotten Realms novel, 'Shadowbred' by Paul S. Kemp. The story take place a year after the events from the Erevis Cale Trilogy. I strongly suggest you read the preceding books first before tackling this one. Though you can read this book without reading the Erevis Cale Trilogy first, the books are really a series together.

Who is Erevis Cale, you asked? Erevis Cale is a assasin turned cleric. Unfortunately, he became a cleric of Mask, God of Thieves. Worse, Mask liked him so much, he made Cale his Chosen. Chosen are like their gods point-man on the world. A job that grant great power and powerful drawbacks. This is the part of the book I liked. The only other Chosen we have really seem thus far in Forgotten Realms are the Chosen of Mystra, Goddess of Magic. A job that seems to have no drawbacks at all. However, Mask is a god of evil so he has no problem doing what needs to be done to get Cale to do his dirty work. That just seems more...godlike don't you think?

Kemp's Forgotten Realms novels are a bit different from the majority of the stuff set in the world. While the tone of the Forgotten Realms is high fantasy, Kemp usually tried (and mostly managed) to give a darker, grittier tone to the books. How many Forgetton Realms books are there that spotlight the evil faiths of the Realms? No more than a handful, at best. This is what makes the Cale's books different from the Drizzt's books or the Elminister's books.

However, it's not all roses for Shadowbred. Cale has always been a character that did evil things (lying, killing etc) for good purposes, however there is a shift to the good side for him in this book. Nothing wrong there, I understand Kemp need a likable main character to sell the book, but the turning of Cale to a 'good' guy seems very forced. Also, a main character from the trilogy did not turn up until the last third of the book. A big no-no in my view.

Overall, this is a good book that continued the Erevis Cale story. The dark gritty tone suits the book and the characters. Pick it up if you want something different from the Forgotten Realms.

Review of Spiderman 3 (spoilers)

Just saw Spider-Man 3, not that I have much of a choice in the matter as the Spiderman juggernaut has conquered Singapore movie theatres. If you are not watching Spiderman 3, you are not watching a movie period.

But enough of my bitching, on to the review. In case you are from Mars, Spider-Man 3 is the third superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spiderman. At $258 million, it is the most expensive movie ever made.

The movie starts with Peter Paker (Tobey Maguire) enjoying life as Spider-Man and planning to propose to Mary Jane. Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) on her end is beginning her Broadway career. Peter's best friend, Harry Osborn (James Franco), still seeks vengeance for his father's death and attacked Spiderman early in the film. The battle leaves Harry with short-term amnesia.

A small meteorite crashes New York City and an alien symbiote oozes out. It attach itself to Peter Parker's bike and follows him home. Later, a captain from the police informs Peter and Aunt May that a small-time crook named Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) was the one who killed his uncle, Ben Parker. Peter then go all swearing vengeance again and waits for Marko to strike again. While asleep, the symbiote bonds with his costume and Peter discovers that not only has his costume changed, but that his powers have been enhanced as well. The black suit also alters Peter's personality, making him more violent and aggressive.

Flint Marko however has fallen into a particle accelerator and is transformed into a shape shifting sand monster, the Sandman. After a near fatal attack on Marko during a battle in the subway, Peter then exposes and humiliates Eddie Brock Jr. (Topher Grace), a rival photographer who has sold fake pictures of Spider-Man. Harry Osborn then recovers from his amnesia and threatens to kill Peter unless MJ breaks up with him. After Mary Jane leaves Peter, stating she is in love with another man, Harry meets Peter at a restaurant and claims to be the other man. Peter confront Osborn at the Osborn mansion. Peter is victorious in a battle that leaves Harry's face disfigured.

After a scuffle where he accidentally throws MJ to the floor, Peter discovered that the black suit is changing him for the worse. After a night of soul-searching, Peter decides to get rid of the symbiote. He went to the church tower but was unable to pull the suit off. However the sound waves from the church bells weaken the symbiote, thus freeing Peter. Eddie Brock is at the same church. The symbiote falls from the tower and takes over Brock, who became Venom.

Later, Venom finds Sandman and they join forces to destroy Spider-Man. The pair use Mary Jane as bait (again) to lure Spider-Man out. Harry turned down Peter's appeal for help. Spider-Man arrives but is overmatched by both villians. Harry then arrives and rescues Peter. Two-on-two, Sandman & Venom vs Spiderman & the Green Goblin.

As the fight progresses, Harry saved Peter by jumping in front of his own glider. Remembering what happened in the church, Peter frees Eddie from the symbiote by creating sound waves from several pipes. Peter throws a pumpkin bomb at Venom and both Eddie and the symbiote were destroyed. After the battle, Marko tells Peter that he had no intention of killing Ben Parker, that it was a pure accident. Peter forgives Flint. Peter and a dying Harry forgive each other before Harry dies with Mary Jane and Peter by his side.

Remember when I said that the movie was the most expensive ever made? It shows. The special effects was great, especially anything to do with Sandman. When he changed shape, you could see the grains of sand that was moving in his body. The pacing was also good. Although it's long, it never felt tedious or boring in any parts. James Franco and Thomas Haden Church did well in their roles as the two conflicted villians.

Tobey Maguire didn't do as well as Spiderman. I know he is a respected character actor but his Peter Parker just didn't do it for me. When Peter has the black suit, he was a alpha-male. A aggressive go-getter. Maguire came across as more goofy than anything. There was also too many things happening in this film. It almost as if they know this is the last movie so they must squeeue everything in. Why else was Gwen Stacy in the movie? She hardly do anything.

Overall, this is a great movie. Easily the best of the Spiderman trilogy, it had plenty of humor and action. The feelings of angst (by Sandman) and personal betrayal (by Green Goblin) was heartfelt and these two were the heart of the movie. (Ironic since they are the bad guys) A fitting end to the trilogy, go watch Spiderman 3. You have no choice in the matter.