Monday night's "Alias" had me on the edge of my seat, and it wasn't because of the espionage theme! Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan generate so much chemistry I was extremely disappointed when their little romantic interlude was interrupted by a bunch of burly bad guys. Darn it! This show remains one of the most watchable in my book. Tried following "The Agency" and "Boomtown", but found them boring. Maybe it's the female kick-butt protagonist, played so well by Garner, that keeps me tuning in for more. Vartan as the cute CIA handler helps too. :P

Am more than halfway through "Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix", and am happy to report that it's better than its predecessor "...The Goblet Of Fire". Starts out a little slowly, but picks up towards the end of the first third, and speeds along nicely thereafter. Considering that this is already the 5th in the series of 7, J.K. Rowling has managed to keep the magic alive, not just by introducing yet another group of new and interesting characters, but also allowing the veterans to grow and develop as well.

Spoilers ahead

All that talk about how angry Harry is wasn't an exaggeration. He spends the first 200 pages in a foul mood, and toggles back and forth between elation and depression in subsequent chapters. I initially found this a little over-the-top, but thinking back on my own teenhood, and my secondary school classmates, I realize how much angst there was at the time. Putting Harry's many problems into perspective ( e.g. terrifying visions, being stalked by Death Eaters / Voldemort, being labelled as a lunatic ), is it any surprise that he'd feel at least a little on the off side?
Fortunately, this book allows him to mature nicely. He gets his first kiss from a pretty Chinese girl, he becomes a Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher by default, and takes an advanced course in Occlumency to protect himself against Voldemort.

Ron and Hermione don't lag behind either. The former joins the Quidditch team as a Keeper, and begins to show feelings for the latter, who continues her streak of perfect scores and thinking skills way beyond her tender years. Their strong bond with Harry remains a key ingredient in all the novels, and Rowling helps keep it fresh by hurling new obstacles in their path.

Fans will be delighted with all the new lessons, colourful characters, gadgets ( especially Fred and George Weasley's budding joke shop goodies ) and plot twists. I'm so hooked I'm bringing the book with me to work -- though I rarely get a chance to read even one page during my shift. A.S. Byatt, aka the author of "Possession" ( later made into a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow ) and a Pulitzer Prize winner, may have kicked up a major fuss about how "abysmal" Rowling's writing skills are, but good writing isn't all about detailed descriptions and fancy language. As long as you can captivate the reader, your job is done. Many of the best works in literature don't resort to flowery prose. "Animal Farm" by George Orwell is a prime example, using a simple, almost child-like fable to discuss political regimes. Likewise, I draw many lessons from the Harry Potter series -- courage, selflessness, loyalty, kindness, tolerance, persecution, the eternal battle between good and evil, even some parallels between the stories and incidents from the Bible. I recommend these wonderful works to anyone who hasn't read them, and if I ever have children of my own, you can bet I'll read Harry Potter to them. If some kids draw the wrong conclusions or use it as a reason to dabble in the occult, then it's the parents' responsibility to discuss the books with them and ensure that this doesn't happen. Heck, I read David Eddings and Stephen King as a child, but you don't see me running around putting hexes on people or going berserk. Same thing with Sidney Sheldon -- pure entertainment, nothing more.

Wednesday in the ER is so far so good. It always tends to slow down around evening time, when people eat their dinner. They'll storm in here later on after filling their tummies. But the system is being greatly abused, and having to see 10 cases of flu in a row gets on my nerves sometimes. Don't these people have GPs? Or can't they wait till morning at least, when the GP or polyclinics open? The other day, there was an inexplicable referral from a camp MO, for a crack fracture of the distal phalanx of the index finger. YES, A CRACK FRACTURE. There was nothing to be done! Just symptomatic treatment! I realize that some camp MOs may not have any training in orthopaedics, but a handy all-purpose guidebook should help with management. I recommend "Oxford's Handbook of Emergency Medicine", which is fantastic and covers everything quite well. This will help you learn, and cut down on unnecessary referrals -- the poor guy who came for that crack fracture ( and his accompanying officer ) both looked incredulous when I told them they needn't have come to the A&E. Can imagine all the wasted time spent travelling, waiting, etc, not to mention the army having to pay for the ER visit.

Back to TV shows. ( Yes, lots of pent-up energy this time :) )

"Fear Factor" on cable 2 nights ago was a major shocker. After only the 1st round, all the guys plus 1 imposing-looking big-sized blonde got eliminated, leaving the 2 smaller females. These later went on to gobble down 15 inches of horse rectum, followed by a nerve-wracking balancing beam stunt. Most impressive!

The finale of "Joe Millionaire" will be shown tonight. I didn't follow its progress on the Internet, but am pretty certain there was no happy ending. Most likely answer from whichever female he picks after he spills the beans: "What?! You mean you've been lying to me all these weeks? You DON'T have 50 million dollars? You're a construction worker? I don't CARE if you think we have a connection. I don't CARE if we each get half a million bucks for participating in this farce. I'm going to take my share, get a proper makeover, and get myself a REAL millionaire." (If it's Zora, then maybe it'll be less vicious, 'cos she's the only nice one around.) I kinda feel sorry for Evan sometimes, for being stupid enough to get conned into doing this. But then, he did make out with some of them while pretending to be a rich bloke.

I'm not a fan of "Star Search", but would suggest tuning in this Friday night ( 8:30pm Channel 5 ), for only 1 reason -- a blonde with a terrific voice and an even greater stage presence, by the name of Jake Simpson. I last caught him in action sometime last month, when he sang the heck out of Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely". No idea what he'll croon this time, but it's bound to be equally fabulous. He's good-looking too, which is a bonus. :D

Have been spending quite a lot of time scouring the Net for New Zealand sights, in preparation for my upcoming trip -- hope it won't get derailed again, especially with an ominous announcement from the future Health Minister that "SARS will return in 4 months' time", ACK! Anyway, for the benefit of those who are heading the same way come December, you may be interested to know that the world premiere of "LOTR: The Return of the King" will be held in Wellington on December 1st, 2003. The whole cast and crew will be there, of course, but I have to pass, 'cos I can only leave the country on December 5th, darn. However, NZ offers lots of LOTR tours, especially in Wellington and Queenstown, where many scenes were shot. I've signed up for both, and hope to purchase a digital camera once and for all so I can put the pictures up on the Net after the trip. Something I'm greatly looking forward to!

Right then, I've written enough. Hoping for a quiet shift ahead.