vinyarb- you just have to read it

Based on the series of novels by Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief is the first in a series of 5 books chronicling the adventures of 12 year old Percy Jackson.

Percy Jackson thought he was an everyday loser, afflicted with dyslexia and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder). Turns out he is no ordinary loser. After a failed attack by his math teacher on a field trip, he is revealed to be the son of Poseidon, God of the seas! He's a loser demigod!

Together with his best friend, Grover, who's actually a junior protector man-goat satyr, they make their way to Camp Half Blood, where he meets hottie Annabeth Chase, who's actually daughter of Athena, Goddess of wisdom and strategy. There are also tons of other half-bloods running around, training under what seems like BMT conditions, with Pierce Brosnan playing the Camp Regimental Sergeant Major.

There, he's told that he's in grave danger, for Zeus's lightning bolt has been stolen, and everybody thinks he did it! and if its not returned within 10 days to Mount Olympus (on the 600th storey atop Empire State Building), the Gods will start a war that will end the world. (those greek gods - they drink, be merry, have sex with each other and mortals, and can still find time to end the world)

So he and his new found friends embark on an adventure to save his mom (who's been held captive by Hades along the way), and the world in general.

While the effects on the monsters are decent, I can't say much about the water scenes, which look a little rough (I know water is probably one of the toughest effects to master, but hey, Chris Columbus should have mastered his CG trickery with Harry Potter right?)

I know this probably stems from the source material, but the film also reeks of camp. Too much camp at times.

I know its supposed to be lighter fare than Harry Potter, seeing that it involves Greek Gods infused with the modern world, but still, the jokes sometimes border on spoof material direct from the Wayan Brothers School of filmmaking.

Overall, its a decent film with acceptable effects and some laughs. But it doesn't leave a very lasting impression.

5/10

I was more interested in how author Rick Riordan started off on these books. He was a middle school teacher for greek mythology, and had been telling greek bedtime stories to his son Haley. Soon, he ran out of actual myths to tell his son, and had to make up new ones.

Haley then had just been diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD. So Rick created the fictional character of Percy with similar traits to Haley, and told of his adventures in travelling around the States to recover Zeus's lightning bolt.

This eventually turned into the novel that was published in 2005, and since gone on to sell more than 1.2 million copies.

How cool is that?

As a person ages, their immune system breaks down. Backs get sore, legs get wobbly, eyesight deteriorates, and you generally get lethargic easily.

My mother is suffering from Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a rare degenerative neurological (brain) disorder affecting roughly 0.005% of the population. Put it another way, 5 out of 100,000 people are estimated to be inflicted with MSA.

There is no  known cure for the disease, and upon the onset of symptoms, remaining lifespan is at an average of 9 years.

Whenever she goes out (which is limited to sessions at the physio, or acupuncture), she needs a wheelchair. As she's encouraged to try and exercise whenever she can, she walks at home with a walking aid. With an aid, she takes an excructiating 15 minutes to make her way from the living room to the toilet.

She is also losing control of her speech, having to repeat herself several times before we can understand her.

Her frustrations and pain are something we as family members can never imagine. As we work and complain how 24 hours is never enough, I feel each 24 hour day for her is probably 12 hours too long.

She can't sleep more than 5 hours, so she wakes at 3am. But she can't get herself up. So she waits from 3am till 7am, where my dad and/or the maid wakes up to help her wash up. During this time, I dare not imagine what she thinks about.

She has breakfast, then watches tv. She has lunch, then watches tv. She has dinner, then watches tv. Because there's really not much else she can do. She doesn't want to go out, because her prideful nature will not allow others to see her like this.

She desperately seeks a cure, but we can't bring ourselves to tell her the prognosis. On the other hand, I believe she does know.

She tells me God is punishing her, and she doesn't know why. I don't know how to reply.

She tells me she cannot speak properly. I tell her as long as we understand, its ok. But I know its not ok.

My mother's deteriorated speech is compounded by the fact that my dad's hearing is also not that great. This makes communication between them difficult at best.

We can offer support, love and concern. But ultimately, the journey is hers to take alone, because we never truly feel what she feels.

Its understandable she's depressed. I would be, too.

I admire people who remain optimistic and cheerful in the face of terminal illnessses. I admire how they have accepted that their time is now limited, and proceed to do/see/experience things that they've always wanted, as far as they can, and leave happy and contented rather than embattled and bitter.

I admire how they fight to live another day, so they can live each day fulfilled and satisfied.

It takes great strength and courage to see the silver lining in every storm cloud. For it is much much easier said than done. I wish mum can be like that. To tell us what she wants to do and see instead of counting the seconds each day.

The fact that we each have 24 hours a day is handed to us. But how we play each hand, is entirely up to us.

Depression's a scary and lonely road. I hope no one ever has to go down that route.

Mum, I hope you find the strength in you to see beyond your pain, and view the world through rose-tinted glasses again. We all love you, and we're all trying to help.

LOST is back. Finally, after such a long wait, we're treated to an hour of recap, followed by a 2 hour premiere of the final season of LOST.

And it is so awesome I wouldn't know where to begin talking about it. And as always with LOST, we're back with a double dose of that oh so familiar feeling of "err.. what?" followed instantly with "WTF!?"

The premiere brings back fond memories of the pilot with a strong sense of dejavu, yet also spinning away from the narrative direction of the past 5 seasons in an awesome reset/multiverse/alt arc.

As usual, we leave the episodes with more questions than answers (and they say they're already in answer-mode) and I really hope they can answer the most important ones when the end is here!

They say a picture paints a thousand words, so, here's my collection of wtf moments kodak-ed for your dissection!

Warning: Extreme spoilerific pictures ahead... so unless you've seen the premiere, DO NOT BOARD.

I'm not sure of the authenticy of the following report, so take it with a larger pinch of salt, especially since the incident was supposed to have occured in 1988, yet there are surprisingly few facts floating around.

So, this girl apparently had no vagina, only a "shallow skin dimple was present below the external urethral meatus and between the labia minora". Being 15, she was naturally curious about the birds and bees, and without sexual intercourse, the next best thing to experiment on was oral sex.

Unfortunately, while engaging in oral sex with her new boyfriend, she was caught out by her former boyfriend. Violence ensued, and she was stabbed in the abdomen.

The wound allowed the sperm to gain access to her reproductive organs, and 9 months later, miracle boy was born.

Told you. I couldn't make this up even if I tried.

Full story at Discover Magazine.