Stone Cold Warms Up

He was SO nice.

Former wwe star talks about his reality TV show steve austin’s broken skull Challenge 

Since retiring from the world of professional wrestling in 2003, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar Steve Austin has paved a way for himself in Hollywood.
Better known by his ring name Stone Cold, Austin has starred in action flicks The Condemned and The Expendables, in Adam Sandler comedies like The Longest Yard and Grown Ups 2 and in a slew of direct-to-video B-movies.
So you would think the 50-year-old Texan is following in the footsteps of other WWE fighters-turned-actors like Dwayne Johnson,  Dave Bautista (Guardians Of The Galaxy) and Kevin Nash (Magic Mike).
Turns out Austin doesn’t like acting all that much. He told The New Paper over the phone from Los Angeles yesterday: “I have made probably eight or 10 movies and I enjoyed it, but I don’t en- joy it as much as hosting reality television. I find it more fun being myself and not a character in a movie.”

I want to enjoy the rest of my life kicking back, enjoy the fruits of working as hard as I have.
— Former WWE wrestler Steve Austin 

Austin is the host of new reality TV series Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge, which airs every Wednesday at 9pm on KIX and KIX HD.
He invites eight elite male and female athletes to an area just outside of Los Angeles, designed to represent his Bro- ken Skull Ranch in South Texas, to compete in head-to-head battles.
The contestants are eliminated over a series of challenges with fearsome names like Pulverizer and Pain Train, with the last one standing and facing a tough obstacle course known as the Skullbuster for a shot at the US$10,000 (S$13,000) cash prize.
He said: “A third of my year is dedicated to my podcast and about a third

to half of my year is dedicated to the reality TV stuff. Two months are dedicated to being at my ranch in South Texas during hunting season.
“When I have other projects that take up the rest of the year, it doesn’t really give me the time to do acting.
“Then again, acting is probably the least of what I like to do.”
Austin calls Johnson one of his “favourite guys to work with in the ring” and “the biggest movie star in the world”, adding that he’s “extremely proud” of what Johnson has accomplished, making a successful transition from WWE to Hollywood.
But that career path is not for him.
He said he reads scripts on occasion and if something really piques his inter- est, it would have to be the right part at the right time, like his latest flick that will be released this year, Echo Effect starring Michael Jai White.
Austin said: “There was a window of time that allowed me the opportunity to do that movie.
“I worked with Michael about three or four years ago and he’s one of the greatest mixed martial artists in the world. We became really good friends. The chance to collaborate again was the biggest reason why I signed on for it.”
On naming his show Broken Skull Challenge, Austin said: “I named my ranch the Broken Skull Ranch because metaphorically speaking, I had to break my skull to buy it.
“The name pays homage to the body of hard work that I did in the business of professional wrestling.”
Even though he quit WWE more than a decade ago, the father of four, who married his fourth wife Kristin Feres in 2009, still keeps in touch with wrestler friends like Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Kevin Nash and Mick Foley.
He said: “I want to enjoy the rest of my life kicking back, enjoy the fruits of working as hard as I have.
“I do miss being in the ring, in front of a crowd, the adrenaline and 20,000 people almost every single night.
“That was just one of the greatest experiences of my life. When I go out there and I can light up a crowd and get that adrenaline rush, that’s fun and there’s just really nothing quite like it. There’s nothing that can duplicate it.”
What Austin does not miss is the “grind of the travel”, touring all over the US and the world for WWE shows.
“I consider myself a ‘civilian’ now, returning to just being a regular human being,” he said.
“When I get out of the business and look back, that’s one of the things that I don’t miss.”

The Power of Three

Oh my GOSH the amount of craziness that went into this article was ridiculous. I couldn't do all the articles at the graduation ceremony because miraculously not everyone was graduating on the same day - well done PR rep. From the late afternoon when I got this story to waiting for interviews, doing them to rushing all the way to off-stone (that's when the articles are ALREADY done up and ready to be sent to print) in the middle of the night, burdening the sub-editors, to having this done was surreal.
Something I can't forget in a long time. 
Though not everything ended well the next day the articles had a lot of hits on Facebook and I was pleased.
From rebel to top student 

He would have verbal fights with his school teachers, and often get into trouble over his hair or attire.  
Mr Asher Chua would also play truant a lot till his parents had to be called.
Sometimes, he would even catch a nap in an HDB block nearby till school was over.
But the person who once did all those things has since changed his attitude so much that come tomorrow, he will be graduating as the second top student of Republic Polytechnic’s Diploma in Mo- bile Software Development (School of Information).
He got mostly As and his grade point average is 3.81.
Mr Chua, 20, has also been inducted into the Director’s Roll of Honour for four semesters.
Looking back at his past, he said: “It was an experience. Without it, I wouldn’t be what I am today. It was a bit rocky but it was probably necessary for it to happen.”
Still, it wasn’t easy to get to where he is today.
Mr Chua recalled how he used to try to avoid school when he was studying at Yuhua Secondary School.
“My parents would say they were okay with (me not going to school), but I noticed them getting more and more disappointed in me. I saw it in their eyes,” he said.
In Secondary Three, the Express stream student finished last among his cohort and was told he would either drop to the Normal Academic stream or be retained a year.

Mr Chua chose to drop out. He was 15.
He worked at part-time jobs for three to four months — serving at a fast-food restaurant, distributing fliers and even selling ice cream.
He also helped his father, a cleaner at a Kopitiam outlet, to collect trays.
He recalled how his dad would leave home early in the morning and get home late at night.
“During the months I was working, I asked myself if I wanted to do part-time work for the rest of my life,” he said.
His parents weren’t well-educated so they were unable to qualify for a lot of jobs. Mr Chua realised he wanted more opportunities for himself.
A year after leaving school, he enrolled at City College Singapore and scored 24 points for his O levels in L1R4 (English and four relevant subjects).
Determined to try again, he decided to study for a diploma in mobile soft- ware development at RP.
“RP was a new start for me. I wanted to show myself and my parents I was capable. I wanted to just go all out,” he said.
Asked what he would say to other youth feeling lost in life, he said: “It’s very important to think through what you really want. Don’t just go through life, make the right choices.” 

His mum stopped school to support him

His mother got retrenched, and he had to switch from a full- time to a part-time course at the polytechnic.
But Mr Senthil Kumar Vincent Asokan never blamed his mother or felt sorry for his predicament.
He recalled how his mother had to stop her diploma studies at Temasek Polytechnic to support his sister and him after their father died when he was just five years old.
“Not finishing her course then was probably her greatest sacrifice. She sacrificed a lot. Too much, actually.
“It was through her whole life. The time and effort she took to come back to take care of us. She was there for us, all the time,” he said.
Determined to help his single mother financially, Mr Kumar, 26, found work as a full-time football coach at the Singapore American School and took up a Part-Time Diploma in Sports Coaching at Republic Polytechnic (RP).

He graduated yesterday while his mother, who eventually got a masters, is now working part-time as a counsellor at the Stamford American International School.
Mr Kumar even started his own coaching academy last November. Sportykids Singapore coaches children from 18 months to 12 years old in racket and ball sports.
He said he loves coaching sports, especially football.
When he was a student, he would play football every day, even after work, and watch the games.
He said: “Soccer occupies most of my life. You go and teach the sport, come back and play the sport and at night you watch the sport.”

He overcame obstacles with ‘can-do’ spirit

 

His mother got divorced when he was in Primary 5 and had to take care of him and his older brother.  
Wanting to help support her, Mr Jovan Khoo, 23, turned to photography.
Even though he had only dabbled in it in the past, he decided to take it up seriously and make some money from it to help his family.
He watched YouTube videos to improve his skills and learnt how to take professional-looking shots.
Mr Khoo, who graduated yesterday with a Diploma in Integrated Events Management, said: “The first few months were a headache, to watch one video over and over again.”
He also learnt to use editing software like Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Lightroom to enhance his photography and design.
The freelance photography he took

up in 2013, in his second year at Repub- lic Polytechnic (RP), helped earn extra money for the family.
He joked that he didn’t get pock- et money from his mother for some time.
His “can-do” spirit and independence helped him in his poly studies.
Mr Khoo, who is also the Tay Eng Soon Gold Medal award recipient and School of Hospitality valedictorian, said he was able to overcome many obstacles during his time in RP.
He recalled how he even led a committee who were responsible for planning several internal and external events.

Lucky escape from lightning

A colleague (always so uncomfortable with this word) of mine helped me out with the looooooong winded details after the accident took place. I stayed at the 'shopping centre' (more like a centre centre) for quite awhile getting quotes and trying to locate the man who survived the lightning strike. Went through almost every shop that was there, and open, at the time. 
And voila~ 

Construction worker survives being struck outside shopping centre during storm
A man was struck by lightning during a raging storm on Tuesday afternoon.
TNP understands that the victim, Mr Mohd Nasu, is a 34-year-old construction worker from Bangladesh.
He is believed to have been injured outside Limbang Shopping Centre in Choa Chu Kang at about 4.30pm.
A shop assistant working there, who wanted to be known only as Madam Lee, 52, said she heard that Mr Nasu works in the Sungei Kadut factory area.
A cleaner who wanted to be known only as Maat, 56, said he saw men, who he believes are Mr Nasu’s co-workers, carrying him into the shopping centre and placing him in front of Healthway Medical Clinic.
His right arm looked “burnt”.
Madam Lee added: “One of my customers told me he was holding a metal pole. He said that he could still walk. He was struggling and shouting.”

A staff member at the clinic, who did not want to be named, said the burn looked severe and Mr Nasu looked like he was in pain.
But he was alert and conscious when he was brought in and his blood pres- sure was normal, she added.
The clinic doctor who attended to him declined to comment.
Associate Professor Malcolm Mahadevan, who heads the National University Hospital’s emergency medicine department, said it is not uncommon to survive a lightning strike.
He said: “About one in 10 people die from direct lightning strikes and the main cause of fatality is cardiac arrest.”
Prof Malcolm added that for such victims, there would be evidence of burn marks.
“There can be a fern-like pattern seen on the skin surface that is temporary, and burns around the area where the electricity is transmitted to.
“There can also be damage to the skin area or nerves, caused either by electrical transfer or the associated explosion,” he said.
Professor Liew Ah Choy from the National University of Singapore’s electri- cal and computer engineering depart- ment said the area outside Limbang Shopping Centre has HDB blocks and other tall buildings, but this does not rule out the probability of being direct- ly struck by lightning.

He said: “If the building is 50m high and you’re 100m away, the building is not going to prevent you from getting struck.”
But you can protect yourself during storms by staying away from open areas and checking the Meteorological Service Singapore website for thunder- storm activity over Singapore, he said.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force was alerted to the incident at 4.28pm. Mr Nasu was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.
TNP understands his condition is stable and he was being reviewed for dis- charge on Wednesday afternoon. 

First Accident I Covered!!

Okay, you're not supposed to be totally happy with accidents, but considering this was my first and there was no death... yay? Plus it was the first accident I did - not the last of course - and I remember clearly calling the different hotlines, going up and down the HDB block to get witnesses (who don't all speak English ARGH) and taking pictures of the scene. 

She was crying, with

blood

in her mouth

Six passengers injured when two SBS buses crash at Tampines Avenue 1

 

A collision between two SBS service number 15 buses in Tampines yesterday morning left six passengers injured.
Five adult passengers were taken to Changi General Hospital while a girl was taken to KK Women and Children’s Hospital, an SBS Transit spokesman told TNP.
IT business analyst Leomar Garcia, 41, tipped TNP off about the accident, which happened at about 8.30am, through an e-mail. The accident happened in Tampines Avenue 1, near Temasek Polytechnic.
The Singapore permanent resident was on his way to work in one of the buses and was about to get off when it collided with the bus in front of it.
Mr Garcia said: “I was flung forwards and bumped my knees against a metal board. I lost my balance, but managed to hold on to a railing.
“For the first few seconds, everybody was in shock. They checked themselves to see if they were hurt and after about a minute, everyone checked with other passengers.
“That was how we saw a woman (with) lots of blood in her mouth. And she was crying.”
The woman, whose face had hit the seat in front, was bleeding profusely from her mouth and her top was covered with blood.
Mr Garcia and another passenger at- tended to her and a woman who sat in front went to the back to offer her hand- kerchief and help.
The impact of the crash was so great the windscreen of the bus was shattered. Mr Garcia called for an ambulance and the two bus drivers got out of their vehicles to talk to each other.

Mr Garcia said that the driver returned to the bus after a few minutes and noticed the injured passengers.
He got his first-aid kit and attended to the woman bleeding from the mouth.
An ambulance arrived seven minutes after Mr Garcia’s call.
Paramedics checked the passengers before they left the bus, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force.
In a statement to TNP, Ms Tammy Tan, senior vice-president of corporate communications with SBS Transit, said: “We are sorry that this accident happened. Our immediate concern is for the well-being of the six passengers who were taken to hospital.
“Our staff have been at the hospitals since this morning to extend care and concern to the injured. Five received outpatient treatment.
“We are rendering assistance to all of them as best as we can. We apologise to all our commuters who were affected by the accident.” 

Not Taking Life For Granted

Putting my byline in as I also took the photos hahaha
That aside, it was one of the best memories I made. Simply because I had the most amazing stories from her - which came only at night rather than me (and every other reporter out there) talking to her during the press conference (which was my first too!) - that no other publication had. 
That's what I wanted to do for so long: bring out those amazing stories.

Report & photos by JADE TEO
Through her 30 years as a nurse, she’s felt the highs and lows of life — from the joy of patients’ recovery, to the depths of grief over their deaths.
And through it all, she has strived to always get better at the art of nursing, especially for women and refugees.
For her stellar contributions in that arena, Dr Subadhra Devi Rai, 51, will be the first Singapore- an to receive the 2015 International Achievement Award given by the International Council of Nurses’ (ICN) Florence Nightingale International Foundation (FNIF).
The Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Health Sciences (Nursing) senior lecturer’s journey to receiving the award has been a lifetime of eye-opening — sometimes heart-breaking — experiences.
In replying to queries from The New Paper, Dr Rai, who holds a PhD in Population Health from the University of Alberta, Canada, shared two an- ecdotes that span the spectrum of emotions.
In the first incident, a young pregnant woman had to have a C-section and because of complications, died on the table while her baby was delivered.

“It is something I will never forget. We all cried that day,” she said of the incident when she was working in the Post-Anaesthetic Care Unit in New Westminster, Canada.
“It taught me the importance of not taking life for granted.”
In another case, one patient had become gradually paralysed after being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease.
The patient could not do anything for herself ex- cept blink. But she recovered and walked out of the hospital. 
“It was then that it dawned on me how remark- able the human body is and the will of the human spirit to live,” said Dr Rai. 

She is a shining example of how nurses can make a difference, affect change and influence policy.
— Associate Professor
Lim Swee Hia, president
of the Singapore Nurses Association, on Dr Subadhra Devi Rai

 
“The fact that she knew we were doing our best to care for her and she got better, was reward in it- self...
“These moments are the most satisfying. You feel all the difficult points in the journey were nothing but a blot,” she said.
“You feel that you want to fly — the joy of seeing that your care made a difference.”
At 18, Dr Rai, was inspired by the story of Florence Nightingale to take up nursing but said her

true role models were her parents, who have both died. Her father taught her that anyone could help at any time and helping others did not require a lot of effort. She modelled herself after that belief.
Nursing has given her the structure to assist others in a meaningful way, she said.
Dr Rai, who is single, started working in an intensive care unit after her general nursing training. She furthered her studies in Canada and also worked there as a researcher at the Edmonton Centre for Survivors of Torture and Trauma.
She then joined the Women’s Education for Advancement and Empowerment as a coordinator in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and later worked on a project that aided the health of repatriated refugees from the Thai-Myanmar border back to Myanmar.
The ICN is recognising her exceptional work internationally in the health of women and refugees.
“I feel really humbled,” she said.
Ms Judith Shamian, president of the ICN’s FNIF, said: “Subadhra Rai has shown dedication in providing nursing care to vulnerable populations since the beginning of her career.”
The award is given to a mid-career practicing nurse who is influencing nursing at the international level.
Dr Rai will be presented the award at the ICN Conference on June 21 in Seoul, South Korea. 

I'm really proud

After completing my first magazine-slash-graded project, I felt the urge to actually put up the articles from my internship - the ones  that I loved doing, that is. I just wanted to feel proud after I failed so badly yesterday at just putting together the title (plus effects) of my video for the online edition. 

Feel free to read it and let me know what you think :) 
I put everything according to date so it'll be a lot earlier than this month 
Though I did make some changes, just deletion. Proof's in the PDF

When your ideas are used for syllabus without consent

https://writeelements.blogspot.com/2016/11/when-your-ideas-are-used-for-syllabus.html

The Vindico by Wesley King

This is the first book in the Vindico series.

Instant pang of regret: I should have borrowed the second while I had it in my grasps. ENORMOUS sigh.

Doesn't that open up on how awesome the book was? (I thought that was pretty good an opening haha * all innocent *)

In all honesty - even though technically the definition of awesome is extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring awe.  - I think the English faculties will forgive me for this one.

I really loved it. Really really! (Look at how profound my English is when I'm reduced to fan-girling)

And yes I realise I'm easily persuaded by fantasy novels, But I mean, it's about super villains and powers for pete's sake!

It really provided a fresh take on the usual Marvel we're used to. A chance to show that not all heroes are perfect and sparkly good. The story centralised on five teens being abducted from their homes by the villains of the League, the Vindico (meaning "vengeance") and are now given the opportunity to be granted powers - or learn from their innate, natural gifts

Usually it's the heroes that find these kids and train them, but that wouldn't have been as fun - by far.

I read it in one sitting since I just couldn't let it go. Even when it got dark I just used my flashlight and read, like a kid reading his/her comics.

Wesley isn't the type of author that drags or imposes too much bland writing ; he's got wit, just like his character Hayden.

In fact in the first chapters you get to see the personalities of each teen vividly, which is a nice insight. Though it isn't a new way to do it , to write from a character's perspectives interchangeably - that's where Wesley makes it different

After the final kidnapping he begins the story as a completely third party; not coming from one person's POV gives readers more elbow grease to form our opinions on the people, environment and such

Though the teens do get to have personal trainings; the writing is kept light and it's well-written so you won't get bored or carried away

And as superhero / villain stories go, LOTS of action in place. There was even a very intriguing twist near the end - like all our English teachers try to tell us to put in.

Wesley's was subtle but definitely there and done tastefully

Mm. Maybe I kinda saw it coming, all things considered. ( But that's me being me. If I don't learn to think ahead, I can't write my own book, can I )

Anyway, major props. Should totally pick it up! Brings about a lot of emotion and development

An adventure begins... with The Lost Hero

Heroes of Olympus 

#1 the lost hero

Rick Riordan

Images from Google

I know I'm long overdue for this book. I've been That busy. (Although it's a month after some Seaweed Brain's birthday haha)

The whole Camp Half-Blood series is still going strong! thank the gods 

(little joke, I do have my own God *fears getting struck by lightning all the same*) 

I didn't have a chance to look at the synopsis before I formerly read the book but I love the idea and mystery of bringing in Roman myths. 

I always had this urge to study Latin *eyes sparkling* 

The characters are really intriguing because they manage to stir up new things at the camp. 

I love Percy, obviously, but the change of pace was nice with Leo, Jason and Piper. 

~ loving Leo, he's just so much fun! 

It's a whole new chapter and it gives the old series a harder edge, with new enemies and - what they assume would be - strange allies. 

As always I love the quests because of the riddles the Oracle gives. I mean, 7 heroes now!! 

Though I wish it would be so that all the gods had a child that either brought eternal bliss or the end, in this series. Favouritism for Apollo shining through very brightly here 

However I was so excited on what the future technically brings that I was tempted to skip ahead a few chapters. 

I know, I know, bad me.... 

Mind you, this was quite a heavy book but I brought it everywhere - it was really captivating. Of course I'm in love with Greek mythology and the more reading like this makes it easy to learn about the Roman culture. 

Rick also brought in a lot more of the history which, like I said, is an excellent way to learn as it has the heroes interacting with them instead of simply reading from textbooks. 

I was thrilled. 

And it's just as action-packed as before, even more so now. The adventure may last a few days but it'll leave you wanting more right after - I guarantee it. 

Currently hunting for the second book myself. 

Artemis Fowl takes his last bow: Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian

Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian
Eoin Colfer

Images from Google

Seemingly nothing in this world daunts the young criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl. In the fairy world, however, there is a small thing that has gotten under his skin on more than one occasion: Opal Koboi. In The Last Guardian, the evil pixie is wreaking havoc yet again. This time his arch rival has reanimated dead fairy warriors who were buried in the grounds of Fowl Manor. Their spirits have possessed Artemis's little brothers, making his siblings even more annoying than usual. The warriors don't seem to realize that the battle they were fighting when they died is long over. Artemis has until sunrise to get the spirits to vacate his brothers and go back into the earth where they belong. Can he count on a certain LEPrecon fairy to join him in what could well be his last stand?

New York Times best-selling author and comic genius Eoin Colfer will leave Artemis Fowl fans gasping up to the very end of this thrilling finale to the blockbuster series.

Ages 10+

(Summary from Bookbrowse)

That was a Long hiatus. Exams, yadda yadda...

 If you're a real bibliophile you'll know what I mean when it felt so good to touch a book again.

I decided to kick things off again by sadly ending one of my favourite series, Artemis Fowl. Yeah I couldn't believe it was the last too...

To a friend of mine who saw my book, he claimed how he didn't feel it was as good as before; it couldn't grip him.

I, however, am totally the opposite. I couldn't put it down!

 I even went against my life-long policy of bringing books I bought outside to read - with good reason I might add (there were...incidents with the book, like we had been through a real Artemis adventure)

But it had been a really long time since I read the last story so it took me a bit to get the context straight.

I would recommend to try reading the books in succession, in a comfy room and cosy bed. Not to be disturbed.

So yes obviously the story is super fast-paced and you'll won't even be able to stop for a cup of cocoa.

In stories there's no part that's usually completely insignificant. So as I read on and thought of the how perhaps it would turn out I was greeted by nice surprises.

(I want to say so much here but I'll spoil it!!!)

I always had a fondness for Artemis - he never had a particularly bad motive for doing what he did. (Maybe I'm losing my sense here haha)
But if you compare him to Opal, who of course had to make a comeback, well, she's just psychotic.

And I mean stark raving mad this time. As the series progressed you know she wouldn't stay down, and to some of the lengths she went through. Yikes.
I would not have liked to get on her bad side.

And personally I don't like drawn out things, but they're usually forgiven if there's big action that followed, which it did. For this book it didn't have anything that was *too* much.

The surprising impact of a part of her plan on all of civilization - when I read through it I didn't think it really happened. I felt so detached at that point.
However it shows the writer's capability to just make you think if something of that magnitude were to happen - I'm glad for this instance it was in a book.

Colfer kept going for one surprise after another, making sure his readers are always anticipating and wanting more.

It was great to watch the characters progress after all this time and with 8 strong titles under his belt, it's definite there's depth people can emphasize with.

It really was such a sad thing to close the book, which had a pretty nice way of ending (phew)

Colfer's got a new book out though:  WARP, if I'm not mistaken
Which will fall more into the YA context on the library shelves.

Not that I minded going down to the lower elements (of the children section)
My other friends are the same age and we continued to carry the legacy of Artemis Fowl no matter how old we got


If anyone's read any of his series maybe you can tell me what you think