Good Friday afternoon. A check with my blog's site meter generated a hit number of more than 100 yesterday -- what gives? :) This makes me either (1) pretty happy, 'cos it means more interest in my inane ramblings, or on the flipside (2) really worried, 'cos for all I know, someone's written strange or bad things about me, and people are dropping by for the wrong reasons. These 2 scenarios hold true for the link "re-minisce" put on his blog. It's made quite a few readers click on it to come here, but yikes, he listed me as "a disturbingly rabid Clay groupie"! HEY!!! :P

Nah, I don't really mind. But I'd respectfully request that he put the word "Aiken" behind "Clay", so people will at least know who this Clay fellow is.

Re-minisce, whom I know personally ( though not literally "in person" ), is currently doing an ER rotation in the UK, a terrific writer, and appears to have his own groupies too. :D Here's the link for those of you who are interested:

Re-minisce's Blog

Point of interest here. Have been seeing quite a lot of a certain Dr. Sanjay Gupta in magazines lately -- he's a Time medical correspondent and was listed among the top 25 sexiest guys for People mag in December 2003 -- so I thought I'd put up this link for you to take a look. There's actually a "Gupta Girls" website somewhere ( I saw it but will save him the embarrassment of circulating the link, should he somehow find my blog, haha! ), so this one's the more "formal and legit" webpage. He also hosts a medical segment on CNN, and has been to Iraq, where he huddled together with US troops in the thick of Gulf War II. He's 35, a neurosurgeon by training, and has said that he enjoys talking with patients, unlike most doctors, who, in a survey done, "interrupt you within the first 11 seconds".

Dr. Sanjay Gupta

Or how about this one:

Dr. Sanjay Gupta's Portfolio on CNN

[ Yes, it's a quiet shift! :D ]

There's yet another reality programme on cable, airing every Thursday night on Starworld Channel 18. Called "For Love Or Money", it has 1 bachelor picking a lady from among 15 hopefuls, but with a catch -- the women are informed that the "winner" will receive a US $1 million cheque, but the guy has no clue of this arrangement. So you have 2 camps: those who claim they don't care about the money, and just want "true love", and those who want the dough and could care less about the man's feelings.
It's an interesting concept, but totally ruined by the very very dull bachelor, a guy named Rob who, granted, is tall and striking in looks, not to mention a defense criminal lawyer, BUT comes with a dopey persona and says some really stupid things. You'll get the full dose of the bad stuff during the elimination round, as he speaks to each lady in turn. He complimented one on her red dress, but added that it matches the rug they were standing on!? And he's one for fetishes too: women who wear bondage-type gear like leather strappy shoes or metallic breast-boosters routinely get the "Pretty exciting!" thumbs-up from him. Puh-lease...

One episode is more than I can take, so I won't be tuning in anymore after the excruciating pilot. At least "Joe Millionaire" was palatable, partly because I actually liked Evan Marriott. He may not be highly educated, but at least he was sincere. This Rob guy just looks as if his wet dream has come true, and he can't wait to get started. Ugh.

Anyway, who needs "For Love Or Money" when the 3rd season of "American Idol" debuts next Thursday on Channel 5? I can hardly wait, 'cos the first episode always focuses on the ones who didn't make the cut -- often painfully tone-deaf people with denial issues. Last year, we had Edgar Nova, an Enrique Iglesias lookalike who, sadly, sounded like a dog that had just been hit by a car. I, on the other hand, will be watching for anyone who might be the next Idol. I admit Clay didn't catch my eye when he first appeared during the auditions and "heats", but once he belted out "Open Arms" during the semi-finals, that was it! It's anyone's guess who this year's winner will be, but I strongly doubt he/she can surpass the Clay Aiken. :)

Have been catching up with my backdated issues of Time magazine lately. The December 15 issue had a poignant story about China's struggle with the AIDS epidemic, and I was very surprised to learn that Dr. David Ho, that very famous American-Chinese who pioneered the triple cocktail regimen back in the mid-1990s, is heading this ambitious effort. The journalist, who also travelled to the affected areas with Dr. Ho's team, penned an extremely poignant and heart-breaking article. I've been a loyal subscriber of Time magazine for the past 10 years, and the standard of writing never fails to impress. Its team of reporters can make even the most technical or political topics exciting, through the sheer power of well-chosen words and beautiful prose. Compare and contrast this to some Straits Times journalists, e.g. whoever it was that wrote the article on the Toa Payoh Industrial Park fire recently, and you'll see the stark difference. People died! It was a high-stress situation! Your writing made it sound like a slumber party! ( Oh wait, slumber parties are more interesting. )

Can't think of anything more to add right now. Gonna grab dinner, then might post more if I have something. If not, have a good evening. :)