Forgiveness: A lost Virtue (Philosophy)

Recently, one of my friends made a career-killing blunder. He now wonders if the company and his colleagues can ever forgive him. This brings us to a question-- are we lacking in forgiveness?

Talk all you want about the yellow ribbon project. It's a fact that once you get a criminal record, you will find it hard to get a job. You see it in sports-- players in top flight clubs will find it hard to return once they screw up. Look at Fabian Barthez, 1998 World Cup winner. H ended his career with a whimper.

However forgiveness is a necessary virtue. Research has shown that people who hold on to grudges are more likely to suffer from health problems than those with none. Worse are those who cannot forgive themselves.

Ultimately, one has to acknowledge that no one is perfect. Therefore we should forgive. The mistake has to be punished, but the person forgiven. Afterall, forgiveness is the crux of most unhappiness.

the 198

Christopher Lee goes to jail (Local News)

Local celebrity Christopher Lee was sentenced to 4 weeks in jail after being a "cowardly" driver in a hit-and-run accident.

Maybe the Yellow Ribbon Project will have some star power next year! They could rope in Paris Hilton, you know.

Ben Tan

Spiderman 3 Review (Entertainment)

Well, the long anticipated wait for Spiderman 3 is over. Was it worth it? Let's find out.

The movie kicks off with a short slideshow of the previous two Spiderman movies. It then reveals how popular Spiderman is to New Yorkers. In fact, everything seems to be going well for Peter Parker, the face behind Spiderman. His career is stable, he's doing well in school, his girlfriend Mary Jane is a boardway star, and his best friend Harry is sane again. However, upon the discovery of his uncle's real killer, things go downhill of our hero. He then turns to an alien symbiote to slove his problems.

Unlike the first two movies, the storyline of Spiderman 3 was a bit messy and lacked a suitable pacing. Parker's relationship with Mary Jane is inconsistent, and the Sandman had very little character developement. The action scenes on the other hand were exciting and refreshing. Parker's duel with the Green Goblin at the start of the film was breath-taking.

Overall: 72/100

Nurlisa

New Earth? (Science)

Scientists have discovered a planet that has the potential to host life. Five times the mass of earth, it orbits the red star Gliese 581. Dr Dimitar Sasselov of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics claims we can "go there" although it is "20 lightyears away".


So what are we going to call it? Earth -2? Counter-Earth? New Universe? Stop finding about stuff that's never really going to help us!

Ben Tan

Virgina Tech massacre (International)

On April 12, 31 people in Virgina Polytechnic Institute and State University were ruthlessly gunned down by a South Korean student. The gunman himself later commited suicide. This makes the killings the deadliest school massacre in American history.

Perhaps this is a good time for Americans to re-look its gun policy. This massacre was an accident waiting to happen. All it takes is a pyscho with a gun and all hell breaks loose.

Natasha Romanov

300 (Entertainment)

Finally, after so long, something is published!

Anyway, I went to watch "300", a movie based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller. It documents the Battle of Thermoplyae between the 300 Spartans and the millions of Persian soldiers.

Although I felt the view point of the movie was one-sided (the other Greeks were wimps and the Persians were monsters), I really liked the artisitic style, the battle speed and the sound track.

I would give the movie an 87/100.

November Foxtrot

Captain America/ Ironman: Casualties of War (Arts)

I hate it everytime Defensedefumer forces me to review comics. Afterall, ALL my book reviews are comics! So it was natural that I was particularly reluctant to read this one.

The story takes place halfway through Marvel's biggest event of the year so far: Civil War. If you are in the dark so far, basically the American government had required all metahumans to register with the state. Feeling that it oppresses human rights, Captain America leads a team to oppose the law. Ironman, on the other hand, is on the side of the government.

So the book begins with Ironman, aka Tony Stark, waiting patiently for Captain America, aka Steve Rogers, to appear. It is soon revealed that the two had been meeting frequently to resolve their problems diplomatically. To summarise, the comic is full of dialougue, with an unexpected sparring match in the end.

It may sound boring, but I would not be lying if I said this is the best comic I ever read so far! This comic clearly summarises the events of Civil War. For one, it states the main beliefs of both sides. Tony is focused on accountability, while Steve is more concerned about personal liberty. In the end, both sides are unable to persuade the other to change his stand.

A great deal of history is also brought up in the story, such as the Armour Wars, the death of Gwen Stacy and the Kree-Skrull War. Then it gets personal; Ironman accuses Steve of misusing his iconic image for his own interests and oversimplifying morality, while Captain America labels Tony as a government stooge and betraying Spiderman.

The story is aptly named "Rubicon", as the two sides leave, knowing that they will never see each other in the same light ever again.

In conclusion, this comic is a must-buy! Although the fight scene was a little irrelevant in the end, it is a generally good story with fantastic plot development.

Overall: 98/100

Nurlisa