The Sandman Review

I've finally finished reading The Sandman (book 1 to 11) by Neil Gaiman. Now I'm reading The Sandman Companion by Hy Bender. I guess The Sandman will be the only the comic that I have to/ am willing to read a guidebook to fully appreciate the story. Anwz I'll give a brief synopsis of what the Sandman is all about.

 

Basically, the Sandman is all about... the Sandman himself, and the people around him. Sandman, also known as Dream, Morpheus, King of Stories etc etc, is one of the 7 beings who are known as the Endless. He, together with Destiny, Death, Destruction, Despair, Desire and Delirium, was there before or soon after the Universe is created, and are older than the Gods themselves. (The real reason why he is created so early is because Neil wanted to put in all kinds of stories, ancient or modern, alien or human, into the series.) The 7 of them are siblings and needless to say, each have their own functions.

 

The story starts in 1916 with an English magician trying to imprison Death, but caught Dream instead. Dream was trapped until 1988, when he escaped and dealt out some punishments. Later he set out to recover his artifacts and reorganised his realm (which had fallen into disrepair) and hunted down some rogue dreams. (Book 1 - 2)

 

After Sandman got everything in order and a heart to heart chat with his elder sister, Death, he prepared to go to Hell to release his former lover, Nada, whom he had condemned ten thousand years ago, from her torment. However to do this, he gotta go through the ruler of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar, who hates him. Will he succeed? (Book 4)

 

300 years ago, Destruction left his realm, his responsibiltiy and his family to travel the world. No one has seen him since. Delirium, youngest in the family and missing her brother, begged Dream to help her find him. Dream patronisingly agreed. Nobody can seek Destruction and come out unscathed. What will happen? (Book 7)

 

Interposing between the main storyline are collections of loosely related short stories, stories about... the bargain between Dream and William Shakesphere; a world where cats once hunts humans like mice; the 1st and last emperor of the United State of America (Joshua Abraham Norton really existed!); an ancient king of Baghdad trying to preserve his city's glory in dream; the adventure of a faerie ambassador etc etc... I loved these short stories... (Book 3, 6, 8)

 

Book 9 The Kindly Ones is one thick book showing the full repercussions of the decisions Dream made in Book 4 and 7. It is the climax of the story. But I think it is abit too confusing.

 

Book 10 The Wake is the aftermath of the climax and the conclusion of the entire Sandman story.

 

Book 11 Endless Nights is the last book of the series, showcasing 7 short stories, 1 for each of the Endless... 2 of which I totally don't understand. But the rest is super nice.

 

 

The Sandman is one comic that is unique from all other comics. If you like interesting stories, this is a must read. Sometimes it may be a little draggy and boring and hard to understand, but mostly it is highly entertaining and it makes you think. You will get through those 'arghhh' parts in no time. Haha!

 

P.S.  I like Fables better. At least I don't have to read guidebook. (There is no guidebook on Fables also la.) =P 

 

 

P.P.S. By the way, I found this: The 7 little Endless!!! 

 

("They didn't even look remotely human. None of us did, back then." commented Cain to his brother Abel, who was telling a little baby a story about Dream and Death when they were young.)  

 

 

 From the left: Desire, Despair, Delirium, Dream, Matthew (the bird), Death, Destiny and Destruction.

 

  

Three Little Red Riding Pigs

This little story is from a very interesting book which I borrowed from ADM library called Ideas Have Legs by Ian McMillan and Andy Martin. It goes like this:

 

 

THREE RED LITTLE RIDDING PIGS

 

A pre-teen mini novel combing two of your favourite stories. Hear two at once then you'll have more time for the video nasties.

 

 

Pigs. House. Sticks. Huff. Puff. Wolf. Big face.

See you with. Pigs. House. Straw. Huff. Puff.

Wolf. Big nose. Sniff you with. Pigs. Bricks.

House. Granny. Woocutter. Eyes. Bricks.

Pigs. Wolf. Confused. Wolf. Identity crisis.

Wolf. Psychiatrist. Pigs. Granny. Woodcutter.

All happy. Psychiatrist is R. R. Hood.

Surprise ending.

 

 

Quote of the day

"The first time I see a jogger smiling, I'll consider it." - Joan Rivers

 

I saw this at the Quote of the Day on my blog, after I just jogged in the morning. Kinda amusing, haha! Gotta smile when I jog... but I think very hard la. Anw school is starting soon, hopefully I can still continue this good habit of exercising even when I'm busy studying.

 

********

 

Anw I discovered this chinese website that helps you see whether your name is good or not. Can try check it out. http://life.httpcn.com/sm/index.asp?gourl=name_test.asp 

 

This is my report (partial). It says that I will be lonely before I reach 36 (my 地格) . Sad... cannot find gf le... T_T

   

对三才数理的影响：您的姓名三才配置为：木火木。它具有如下数理诱导力，据此会对人生产生一定的影响。http://www.httpcn.com

得上下惠助，顺调成功发展，基础强固，境域安泰。子孙繁荣，心身健康而获得幸福及长寿的配置。　　（吉）

→ 详细解释： 1、总论：运限大致良好，但只能小成功，性情过急容易误事，交际较差，应从事人际关系较单纯的工作，减少精神负担，中年以后财运慢慢减弱。 2、性格：外表乐观，内心多苦闷，待人诚恳，但喜怒无常，感情较极端，待人热心积极而常为他人所累，耐心处事终有所得。 3、意志：意志坚定，思想正确，可依自己的理想奋发，早年稍有发展，中年后欠佳。 4、事业：事业运平凡，在稳定中求发展，一生运徒尚称如意，中年后防意外失败。 5、家庭：夫妻同心协力创造家庭，但感情稍有些不满。 6、婚姻：男娶个性稍强之女性为妻；女嫁谦恭之夫，但喜欢支配丈夫，表现才干。 7、子女：男孩多于女孩，都能孝顺父母，在社会上有所成就。 8、社交：待人诚恳，乐于解决别人的困难，想；培养人际关系但常为他人所累。 9、精神：事业虽能顺利，但总有些莫名其妙的事情，带来精神上的困扰。 10、财运：虽有财运但不丰，注意受亲友之拖累。 11、健康：有皮肤病或外伤、高血压。 12、老运：精神寂寞，财运平凡，生活尚称安定。

对基础运的影响	境遇稳固，能得部下之力，地位，财产均稳定妥当。　　（吉）
对成功运的影响	受上级长辈的照顾关心，能顺利成功发达。　　（吉）
对人际关系的影响	感情敏锐，善于社交，明朗活泼，善于改造根基，有出类拔萃的活动能力，家庭生活快乐。三才良善者大吉。　　（吉 ）
对性格的影响	性急进。血气旺溢，手腕灵敏，富活动力。名利心甚重，智谋才略具备，感情锐猛，有如燃火之气魄。但也有气狭者。大都富有成功运，盛名一时。但也可能中途多生出支节。 http://www.httpcn.com

人格23有以下数理暗示	首领运（智慧仁勇、立上位、能领导众人） 吉祥运（表示健全、幸福、名誉等）
地格22有以下数理暗示	凶数运（表示逆境、沉浮、薄弱、病难、困难、多灾等） 孤独运（妻凌夫或夫克妻）
总格33有以下数理暗示	富贵运（多钱财、富贵、白手可获巨财） 吉祥运（表示健全、幸福、名誉等） 艺能运（富有艺术天才，对审美、艺术、演艺、体育有通达之能）
外格11有以下数理暗示	吉祥运（表示健全、幸福、名誉等） 温和运（性情平和、能得上下信望）

 

总评及建议：    你的名字取得不错，如果与命理搭配得当，相信它会助你一生顺利的，祝你好运！

姓名五格评分：89

JJ family outing

Went out with a bunch of guys JC friends yesterday. Went out with a bunch of gals JC friends today. Both gatherings ended up in Raffles City. Anwz nothing much to blog abt the guys... we are still our same old crappy selves, talking cock the whole night. Lets blog about the gals.

 

Somehow, gals of the same age as me are all very accomplished career-wise at this point of time. One is comtemplating to change job already, one is writing policies in Ministry Of Health (albeit they are all not approved), one is studying for her Masters and getting paid at the same time, one has just graduated from Medicine School and is now HO (House Officer) in some hospital... (better record all their job status down before I forgot, wait they accuse me of forgetting again... haha!)

 

...and all the while I'm still a undergrad and slacking around and doing bo liao things such as going Sungei Buloh watch birds tmr. I really feel quite young and a bit ignorant compared to them. Actually I rarely feel young these days... Nice hanging around with you all, sisters, haha!

 

Btw I stress to you sisters: ordering a scope of chocolate ice-cream in a class resturant and a cup of kiwi juice at Mix is not 'boring' ok...

 

Sometimes the best things in life lies in its simplictiy.

 

Haha!

 

 

Photo koped from Shirong's blog.

 

Irritating habits of good people

Recently I've been going out with friends alot, to meet up for movies, meals, party or to do project. I found that some people have very irritating habits despite their inherently good nature. I guess maybe I should put up a discussion here to see if I should be irritated with those habits. Maybe I'm wrong to be irritated with them. Maybe those habits are the social norm? So lets see...

 

Being Late

 

Normally I'm ok with people being late for 5-10 mins, though I'll not be very happy about it, esp those people who are punctually late for 5-10 mins. But still, it's ok. I admit I do that sometimes also.

 

BUT, for those people who are always more than 15mins late, without fail... I think this is being irresponsible. You may think it is no big deal. However, do you know that you are wasting other people's time, other people's life!!! Moreover, you are not keeping your promise, not only that, you are habitually breaking promise again and again! Also, it shows that you couldn't care less about the person you are meeting with. He/she/they are nothing to you. You don't give a damn that they are waiting for you. Would you be late to a VERY important event, such as your job interview? Lastly, if you can't do such a simple task as keeping on time, what will other think about your capabilities?

 

You may think it is a small matter, late only ma, so serious meh? However, that is what other people think of you when you are late, esp when you are late everytime. So friends, for your own sake, please kick the bad habit of being late. What's wrong with reaching the place earlier abit? You die die must make other people wait for you meh???

 

 

Being Late (Part 2)

 

IF, you are already late, or you already know you will be late, please, as a basic courtesy, inform those people you are meeting that you will be late, and give an accurate timing what time you will arrive. Here I stressed - ACCURATE timing. Nothing is more irritating than the fact that you come even later than the new, already late, timing that you gave.

 

Last Tuesday, a friend and I arranged to meet at 12pm in Dolby Ghaut.

 

At 11.20pm: she SMS me that she will reached only on 12:15pm. I was already on the train.

 

11.55pm: I reached.

 

12.15pm: she called and told me she will reach at 12:30pm.

 

12.40pm: she arrived, finally.

 

 

If you were me, how will you feel? What will you think of that person, esp if you don't know her?

 

(Despite what you all think, she is a very nice girl la. =P)

 

If you can't estimate your time when you reach properly, just tell your friend your whereabout. Let your friend do the estimating. DO NOT, I stress, DO NOT give an inaccurate timing!

 

 

***********

 

The above are my personal opinion. Am I wrong? Is it ok that pple should be late? Or it is ok for gals to be late? Maybe it is my habit of being punctual that is wrong, because a surprising number of people like to be late. Point out to me, then I will change my habit accordingly. =)

 

 

Not Replying to SMS

 

The problem here isn't not being prompt in replying SMS. You may not have seen the SMS at the time when it is sent to you. Or you are too busy to reply the message. You may even forget to reply the message afterword. But eventually, you reply. Maybe a day later, or even 2 days later (which is sometimes VERY irritating also). But you replied. So, it is ok.

 

The problem here is: You do not reply to SMS, at all.

 

So, in what situations do you not reply to other people's SMS?

 

Case 1) When you didn't receive it.

 

Ok, sometimes it happens, once in a blue moon. But it definitely will not happen to every SMS that I sent.

 

Case 2) When the SMS is forwarded.

 

I personally don't reply forwarded SMSes, though I appreciate them.

 

Case 3) When the SMS is stupid or lame or insulting. 

 

I don't send those kind of SMS, I think. =p

 

Case 4) When you don't give a damn to the person who sent you the SMS. This person is not even a friend!!!

 

Hmmm...

 

 

***********

 

 

Let us take one example, just to see what you all think. A simple well-wishing message :

 

"Hi XXX, Happy Birthday!"

 

Will you reply? Yes, no, maybe?

 

For me, I may not reply if I feel lazy. But most of the time I will reply "thank you". Basic courtesy.

 

 

What about:

 

"Hi XXX, Happy Birthday! How have you been?"

 

To me, this one is a must reply message, 'cos it is a question. Anyone think otherwise?

 

 

So, what if you msg this to a good friend and the person didn't reply? What will you think?

 

You will think it is Case 1: The person didn't receive the message right?

 

 

What if you SMS your good friend THREE times and the person didn't reply??

 

Case 4??

 

***********

 

I don't know if this is a bad habit. If it is a bad habit, it is a Friendship-Killer bad habit, to me at least. Hmmm... maybe I'm too serious abt it? Can someone convince me it is ok to ignore other pple / friends' SMS?

 

 

(Actually I may have this habit... Hopefully I didn't kill any friendships this way. I hereby say that I'm sorry to all friends whose SMSes I didn't reply for one reason or another.)

 

 

Being Uncontactable During Critical Period

 

Actually there is no right or wrong for being uncontactable, people sometimes gets uncontactable from time to time. However, if you picked up your handphone and see 100 miss calls and 100 unread messages... please understand that your friend is not very happy with you and the least you can do is say that you are sorry, even though you are not wrong. Apologise won't die.

 

***********

 

I always apologise. Those who are close to me like Soonguan, Richard, Jiahong, Yongren etc they all will know. Actually the word 'sorry' is extremely easy to use and apporpriate for most circumstances, for example:

 

"Jiahong, you are NOT thin. I'm sorry."

 

Simple? LOL!

 

 

Disclaimer: The above bad habit has nothing to do with Jiahong. He is just an example in the sentence constructing.

 

 

***********

 

To end off, nobody is perfect. Everyone got a bad habit or two, including me. They say a good friend is like a mirror: they point out your mistakes. Nowadays mirrors are hard to find. I hope this entry can serve as a mirror, for me as well as you. Hope you can become a better person, friend. =)

 

 

Psychological Tests

Koped this from an old entry of PF's blog since a friend asked me if I know any psycho tests today... (PF, you won't mind right? =P)

 

WHY DO YOU LOVE SOMEONE?

** 1 9 5 0 **

What is your first thought when you saw the above number?

1) Year

2) Phone number

3) Money

4) Combination code in a locker room

 

HERE IS THE ANALYSIS :

1) You think he/she is very smart one....you love his/her brain.

2) You love his/her personality....Everything he/she does is beautiful.

3) Let's face it......you love his/her money.

4) You love his/her appearance....you like a good looking person .

 

THE CAVE YOU WANT TO VISIT....

You decided to go for a cave tour. What kind of caves do you want to visit?

1) Cave with a narrow entrance but a wide exit.

2) Cave with a same space of entrance and exit.

3) Cave with a wide entrance but a narrow exit.

 

HERE IS THE ANALYSIS :

The philosophy behind this test indicates how you spend your money......

1) You easily spend your money much more than what you earn.

2) You keep balance between the money you can earn and the money you spend.

3) Stingy you! Though you have earned a lot of money but you hardly spend it off.

 

A NEW PLANT....

Noticing a new plant pop up from the ground, what is your first thought?

1) Glad and want it to grow quickly.

2) Be careful.Don't step on it.

3) Oh!Will it give flowers?

4) Thank God!Many thanks to you,God,for its growth.

5) All right! No more watering!

 

This test indicates your attitude towards your parents....

1) You don't want your parents to interfere whatever you are doing.

2) You feel grateful to your parents for bringing you up and making you a nice person.

3) You rely on your parents so much and want them to be always close to you.

4) You have your sincere thanks to your parents.

5) You want to be self-survived as soon as possible.

 

WHAT KIND OF CHAIR DO YOU PREFER? :

Your selection of the chair can tell you the type of person you are.

1) Cloth covered

2) Leather covered

3) Wood

4) Cushioned

5) One with a built-in massager

 

HERE IS THE ANALYSIS :

1)You want your partner (girlfriend/boyfriend) to be together with you always, no matter when or where.

2)You want your partner (girlfriend/boyfriend) to be more open with you about himself/herself..

3)You want your partner (girlfriend/boyfriend) to take more care of his/her dress and manner.

4)You want your partner (girlfriend/boyfriend) to be a little bit more relaxed, calm and composed.

5) One with built-in massager. You want your partner (girlfriend/boyfriend) to do more for you.

The message behind the question:

A chair is for sitting on. If you choose to sit on certain chair,you have no suspicions or distrust towards it. This is the same psychology present in our relationship with the people we like. In other words, the qualities you look for in a chair are similar to the qualities you look for in a partner.

 

THE THIRD EYE :

If you could have the third eye on your body, where would you put it on?

1) your head

2) your heart

3) your back

4) your hand

 

HERE IS THE ANALYSIS

1) You have no respect to your lover, instead, you often exploit him/her. As far as love is concerned, you are too QUICK. You easily fall in love with someone and leave him/her right away when you get bored.

2) Since you are scared of being cheated by the others or not wanting to be disappointed again, you, therefore seem to be contented with your unrequited love.

3) It takes you a long time and big effort before falling in love with someone. But, once you are in love, you will love him/her with all your heart,sincerely and forever

4) It is hard for you to get deeply involved with someone.Most of your relationships are just more than friends but less than lovers.

 

WHEN WILL YOU GET MARRIED?

There is a cake with plenty of room to put many more candles on it. How many more candles do you want to put on the cake?

1) One

2) Two

3) Three or four

4) More than five

 

 

HERE IS THE ANALYSIS :

1) Wow! You seem wanting to get married as soon as possible.You may get married at the age of 20 or right after you have finished your education.

2) You want to be married a little sooner than the other.However,you want your marriage to be agreed and pleased by the others.

3) You want to enjoy your youngster life as long as possible.So you don't want to be married too soon. You may get married when you are over 25 even you already have your steady loved one.

4) You are full of curiosity. You are curious about everything.You want to travel and accumulate your experience more and more.You want to prove yourself with the challenging work.You may enjoy your unmarried life until you are 30 or over even you have had so many lovers by then.

 

Luck

Luck is such a fickle thing.

 

I lost $60 on roulette on the cruise.

 

Bad luck.

 

My industrial attachment result got an 'A'.

 

Getting 'A' when you worked hard is one thing.

 

Getting 'A' when you are playing games in the office... most of the time... is another thing. (Haha!)

 

Good luck.

 

I picked up $2 on the road today. (=P)

 

My 'A' costed me $58.

 

Hmmm.

 

 

Create, Innovate, ?

Remember that I said in my previous entry that Americans are Creative, Japanese are Innovative? Look at this headline:

 

China keen to learn from Singapore's experience in water technologies

 

Now then I remember there is a third part to the story. Chinese...

 

Copy.

 

Haha!

 

 

Cruise (Angel and Devil)

Spent 3 days 2 nights on cruise last week, lost more money and eaten more than planned (I was... ). If the previous weeks are slack, last week was pure fan4 jian4. It really feels like the Devil is on board the ship, telling me throughout the journey...

 

"Gaamble isss goood, ggo casssinoo gaamblee... loook, yyoour frriends haave earnned so mmuchh mooneyy..."

 

"Eeat, yoou havve allreaddyy paiid forr itt... it'ss freee, jusst eatt..."

 

 

Then you can hear the Angel said,

 

 

"Don't gamble. You can't win against the casino. Don't try!"

 

"Don't eat too much. You are getting damn fat. Damn it!"

 

 

In the battle between Angel and Devil, the Devil won. Shit.

 

 

Besides eating and gambling, we went snorkel, play cards, looking at babes, swim, jacuzzi, steam bath, hot bath, spa, sauna, watch live shows (dance, magic, acrobatic), enjoyed sea breeze blah blah blah... and eat, and eat. Enjoyable, but duo4 luo4.

 

Next time if I ever go on cruise again, I won't go with gamblers. (Damn Jiahong, Yongren, Richard!)