Another blog to link to: Otterman Speaks, the author of which also knows the Lonely Ham ( yes, Singapore is small, and crawling with bloggers, it seems :)). His review? "She is likely one of our industrious forum page letter writers and her blog too reads well. Unfortunately it includes lengthy star struck essays about some singer or the other. Well it's her site, mates, so read it and weep."
"Star-struck" is an understatement, in my opinion! :D But I love getting excited about things, especially when it's something good. Someone once told me I had a "schoolgirlish giddiness" about Clay Aiken, and my simple solution to that person's annoyance -- don't read my blog then. Or at least, the bits that turn him/her off. Don't ever let anyone get away with comments like that on your blog. You have the right to your own opinions. :) Thanks for linking to me.

I'm hoping for a quiet night shift today. The reg on with us is super-nice, and has pretty good luck -- usually. My first time doing night with her, and we're both presenting a case at a small conference tomorrow morning, so the ER had better not get swamped! Am wondering whatever happened to that nasty woman I saw last weekend. Complaint letters can show up on the very day itself ( yes, admin is efficient in that respect ), but so far, I haven't heard a peep from her. Interesting...

Ploughed through "Vanilla Sky" earlier today. Yes, "ploughed" is the operative word here. It's so long, and just when it started to rise above the "dull" level, it turned completely insane. I actually enjoyed "Jerry Maguire", and think quite highly of Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, but this show sucked in my book, for 2 reasons -- Penelope Cruz and the script. The former can't act very well ( again, this is my personal opinion ). Maybe she's dynamite in Spanish films where she speaks her mother tongue, but I've seen her in "All The Pretty Horses" and "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" and was bored silly both times. There was one show where she fared a little bit better -- it's an English movie about her hosting a cooking show... oh darn, what's it called? Never mind. Ultimately, I always find her "acting" skills mediocre, even forced at times. And her manner of speaking really irritates me, though I understand accents are difficult to control, especially if they're from non-English-speaking countries. She's sweet-looking, but I get very distracted by her eye bags, and her hairstylist needs to convince her to change to a less limp and haphazard do.

In "Vanilla Sky", Cruz and Cruise flirt outrageously. Maybe it's my imagination, maybe my observation is biased based on Tom and Nicole's ugly divorce, but I've watched a lot of his movies before, and this one was different from the rest. Sure, he plays the romantic lead very well -- e.g. Jerry Maguire, Mission Impossible 2 ( yes, yes, it's supposed to be an action movie, but I liked his on-screen chemistry with Thandie Newton more than the explosions ). However, there were sparks between him and Penelope, and the latter kept giving him these come-hither looks that I never noticed in her films with Matt Damon and Nicolas Cage. Cameron Diaz, lovely as always, had a few love scenes with Cruise too, but she never came across as overdoing it. Funny that she and Tom didn't hit it off. My mom says it's because 1) she's taller than he is, 2) she's as big a star as he is, or 3) she doesn't believe in making passes at married men. How true. Apparently, she prefers guys almost 10 years her junior named Justin. :)

As for the script, it's a warzone. I am not a Cameron Crowe fan, "Almost Famous" or not. ( What was so good about that film? Someone please explain it to me. ) "Vanilla Sky" would've been more enjoyable if it had been an hour shorter, with fewer "dream sequences" ( aka time-consuming segments that are meant to be artistic but actually demonstrate the character's warped mind ). The last 20 minutes became a joke, with its references to futuristic cryogenic life extension whatever. A poor imitation of "The Matrix", my friend. Crowe should've stuck to reality.

Clay Aiken update ( can picture Otterman cringing right now :P )

His latest single, "Invisible" debuted on Power 98 today, approximately a week after starting airplay in the US. It's very pop-flavoured, and a cover of a song originally done by a UK boyband, so there will inevitably be criticisms from connoiseurs of "real music". Well, I'm not paid to voice my opinions like reporters, but I listen to anything from classical to new age, pop to rock, jazz, and even a little rap ( though I refrain from buying such CDs, to avoid having my brain turn to jelly ), and Clay is top on my list of favourite singers. He's got an amazing voice, wonderful stage presence, and is a worthy role model for young people everywhere. Naturally, I also find him good-looking, but again, people have disagreed with me a number of times. :) Hey, I think Kevin Spacey is hot. Try to categorize my taste, will you? :D

Next thing I'd like to share, thanks to a fellow local Clay fan who bugged someone from BMG Records, is: Clay's full-length album will be released in Singapore the same day as America! This hasn't been confirmed publicly, but the source was pretty sure about it, and we're treating this as fact till proven otherwise. The CD release party is likely to be kept on October 25th, and some of the fans are taking pre-orders on behalf of others. Seems all the music stores on the island are having trouble meeting the demand. Doesn't surprise me at all. :)

"CSI" is airing on local television every Wednesday at 11pm, starting tonight. Which season is this? I'm not too sure, but it is an excellent show, so pleeeeeease, tune in.

Only 10 more hours to go. Yippee.