Extreme circumstances sometimes require extreme measures.

For the first time in the 2 years since I started this blog, I've made the decision to edit a reader's comments.

Yes, Urgh, my dear boy ( or girl ), you no longer have free rein to mouth off in such an irresponsible manner. Never mind about throwing giant darts at me in particular, but attacking my fellow colleagues and the specialty of emergency medicine itself is the last straw. Worse, you persistently refuse to crawl out from whatever dark hole you reside in, choosing instead to make some of the nastiest comments I've ever come across, without ever thinking of the consequences.

I think many of us will welcome this small change, no? :)

Right then, on to business.

The Amazing Race 5 concluded 3 days ago, with African-American couple Chip and Kim taking the prize money. I was sorely disappointed though, after rooting for top players Colin and Christie this season. The latter led at 6 pit-stops ( a record ), didn't ever use the yield card ( Chip and Kim weren't as kind ), and have consistently shown good instincts and smarts. Unfortunately, it all bore down to pure luck in the end, and a flight delay cost them the win. Still, the paper this morning reported that Colin proposed to Christie on American TV, and she accepted. There's a happy ending after all. :)

13 Going on 30
Believe it or not, the DVD was available even when the film was in the middle of its theatre run here. Supposedly a female version of Big ( which catapulted Tom Hanks to superstardom ), it sadly pales in comparison. Jennifer Garner is pretty, sweet, and I'm a big fan of hers ( Alias rocks! ), but seeing her try to act the part of a girl trapped in a woman's body is just... painful. She isn't right for such fluff, and should seriously stick to kick-ass action and more adult romances. But I gotta say, Mark Ruffalo is very watchable. :D

Godsend
Do not, I say, DO NOT be fooled by what you read on the cover of this DVD! Rave reviews galore, but IMHO, it sucked. Robert De Niro languishes in the role of a renegade geneticist who manipulates married on-screen couple Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romjin ( scratch the Stamos since they're now divorced ) for his own purposes. Although it starts out promisingly enough, the whole plot soon degenerates, and I started to develop a HUGE irritation towards whoever it is that plays the couple's son -- he looks like Marcus from About A Boy, but without any shred of personality. Dullsville.

Anyone You Want Me To Be

I mentioned this John Douglas book in my last entry, and am happy to report that I've finished it, thanks to his always excellent writing style and the book's riveting content, which traces the horrific crimes committed by John Robinson, a very nondescript-looking family man with closet sadomasochistic tendencies, a frightening ability to control women, and later, a thirst for murder. The story is complex, yet kept interesting with fascinating profiling anecdotes interspersed between the gory details. Also, the author repetitively mentions how even the most normal-looking people can actually be severely disturbed. I wholly agree with this point -- I know someone who outwardly appears very studious and consistently excels academically, yet harbours a deep interest in S&M practices, perhaps even obsessing about them 24-7. Very unnerving.

I also strongly recommend his other novels -- Mindhunter, Journey Into Darkness, and The Cases That Haunt Us. The 2nd book discusses America's most notorious serial killers, and is absolutely chilling.

The next book on my list is Mike Gayle's Turning Thirty. I do believe a couple of fellow blogger friends have read Gayle previously and enjoyed his work, so I'm hoping I will too. The blurb was quite funny -- talking about how when one turns thirty, the choice of pubs mostly depends on whether there's a place to sit down. How very true, haha!

Following this, I will start on The Hiding Place, a gift from a very good friend, and supposed to be very inspiring.

Work-wise, I've been seeing a whole lot of immensely spoiled brats these past few days. Plus their totally ineffective parents. One 9-year-old boy screamed, struggled and kicked so hard I had to ask his mom and dad to help me hold him down ( just for a routine throat exam, yeesh ). Anyhow, they didn't even try, for pete's sake. They just held him limply for a few seconds, then when he kept fussing, they just let him squirm out of their grasps.
"Okay lah, okay lah, mommy kiss kiss, daddy love love. Let doctor see for a while can? *smooch smooch smooch*"
Oh pleeeease.
Thank goodness once in a while, the odd parent will exercise some control over a child that's running amok. Like the father who barked at his son once he started whining.
"STOP IT RIGHT NOW! LET THE DOCTOR CHECK YOU!!!"
At that moment, I was really tempted to bow down before him and say a hundred thank-you's. :)

More another time. Enjoy your weekend!