Taming the Cracked Snake

By now, everyone must have heard about the damage done to Pablo Picasso’s “The Actor”, all because of a woman who decided to plunge headlong into it. Talk about wanting to be close to the maestro’s work. Well, all I can say is: LOL! According to officials, the accident has not impacted “the focal point of the composition”. But c’mon, a six-inch gash? I’d say that has become the new focal point! Now, a critique of the painting might go: “Note the use of light and shadows by the artist, [...]

Last night I was hit by a headache after coming home from work. Yeah bummer, just when I had finally found some free time to do whatever I liked, this throbbing pain came along and spoiled the night. Maybe it was due to the hectic day at work, or due to poor quality sleep the night before I don’t know, but no one seems to be 100% sure what exactly triggers a headache or a migraine. So I proceeded to drink a lot of water, but that didn’t seem to [...]

Scenario 1: You’ve just come home from a long day at work and you’re about to sit down for dinner when suddenly the phone rings. So you pick it up and the voice at the other end asks, “Hi, may I speak to Mr. Smith?” “Yes, speaking…” you answer. Then, the son-of-a-bitch begins his seemingly endless barrage of canned lines, in his attempt to sell you some piece of crap that you don’t care to hear about. Scenario 2: It’s early in the morning, and you’re trying to catch some [...]

I stopped by a farmer’s market today, and saw a crate-load of bright orange persimmons. Not having had them in about a decade, it was all but impossible to resist the temptation to buy a couple. For such a sweet and delicious fruit, it’s surprising that it’s not as popular and widespread as it should be. In fact, I’ve known an individual or two who had no idea what a persimmon was! And I’ve also heard of a poor soul who actually thought they were some sort of tomatoes, and [...]

It has been almost 5 years since I last looked up my credit report, so naturally I was curious to know how much it has improved (I’m a born optimist) during all this time. After typing “free credit report” into the Google search box, out came a gazillion hits as can be expected. Then came the less-than-pleasant memory of the very first time I had looked up my own credit report / score. Way back then, an inexperienced me had happily signed up with one of the major credit reporting [...]

It was feeding time at the local Aquarium today, and in addition to the usual chum and lettuce, there was almost a new food item on the menu for the dozens of hungry fish in the giant tank below. Perhaps inspired by the now infamous images of the late Michael Jackson dangling his kid over a balcony, one aquarium visitor apparently thought it was a good idea to dangle her toddler over the edge of the tank. Thanks to the eagle-eyed host of the feeding time show, the brilliant woman [...]

I read an article a couple of days ago about a new species of crab discovered off the coast of Taiwan. The weird-looking critter looks a bit like a giant strawberry – sporting a pinkish-red shell with polka dots all over. Hence the name. But in my opinion, the crab looks more like a walking Rafflesia flower or a walking Amanita muscaria mushroom. It’s strange how certain completely unrelated organisms can resemble each other, just as each of us is said to have a doppelgänger out there. Is Mother Nature [...]

Ever experienced a bout of microsleep during a lecture or boardroom meeting and woke up a few seconds later to find a beautiful line drawn straight down your notepad? Sound familiar? I’ve had my fair share of those during my college days. Try as you might, it’s almost impossible to resist that 3-second snooze, only to wake up and realize that the professor teaching the class is staring right into your eyes. Making it through a typical work/college day is tiring business, and it’s understandable that a much desired afternoon [...]

Christmas has come and gone, and the merry-making on New Year’s Eve has similarly become a thing of the past. Now, all that’s left is that sickening feeling in my stomach, ushering in a whole new week (or year rather!) of work. Ever got that unpleasant feeling after a long vacation away from the workplace? Ever wondered why good times pass so quickly while the things you dread seem to last an eternity? If you have, you’re not alone. I’m currently struggling with the post-holiday blues, with the thought of [...]

Drugs, dietary supplements, health foods, you name it! We’re seeing more and more of these being advertised on TV and on the internet. One of the latest crazes seems to be antioxidants, so now we’ve got people extracting and concentrating various antioxidant chemicals from red wine, green tea amongst other things, and putting them into capsules. These supplements are touted as being helpful in combating oxidative damage caused by free radicals in the body. Frankly, I’ve never liked the idea of ingesting unnatural quantities of chemicals in this fashion. Instead [...]