The Possum Bistro

A solitary palm tree reaches out from the shore to catch the breeze, an unsuspecting victim to the natural forces of erosion, pummelled by gales and finally forced to bow to the hand that feeds it - the sea. Such a scene captured my attention during a trip to Malaysia via the Changi Village Boat Terminal.

This was my second excursion there, and the main attraction was, of course, food, glorious food! Prices being relatively cheaper, the quality of seafood being fresh as well as the desperate need to get away from the frenzied, relentless shopping hordes spawning around Singapore ubiquitously since Christmas sprung up - what a golden, even platinum, opportunity to grasp and enjoy ourselves before being thrown back into the humdrum doldrums of army life next year!




















This is Zhiye and me along the dirt path from the temple to my friend's relative house where we were supposed to get our fresh mini-lobsters and perhaps some fish as well for our sumptuous feast later. We prayed at a small shrine-like structure for blessings. It felt like giving something back to this peaceful place in return for the food that was harvested from these lands and were going to be the subject of our lunch later on.















Still on the concrete path towards the house - everyone's in a really excited mood, especially when the anticipation of food has been culminating ever since the moment each of us woke from our deep slumber that sleepy morning! That's Chee Wee, Zhiye and Hong Jun trying to pose for the camera while on the move.















We were already salivating at that munificent sight of freshly picked, fried buttered mini-lobsters stacked on top of each other in the middle of the table. Dig in!















And the aftermath of our grand banquet! As you can see, we polished almost every plate that landed at our table - a sure sign of our ravenous appetites that day.















After lunch, our friend's uncle offered to drive us to the boat terminal via his lorry. Even though it wasn't exactly the best form of transport we would have chosen, it would provide a windy, open-air sightseeing opportunity - and with my camera with me, no way I would have passed it up!















That's Chee Wee with me, absolutely stuffed after lunch that he's been rendered almost immobile. Those plastic bags in the pictures are actually snacks that we had chosen to bring home for our families to try - Chee Wee even brought fresh mini-lobsters home to eat for dinner!




















From left to right: Bor Jenq, Ah Beng, Zhiye and Weijun.
They certainly look satisfied, don't they? All in a day's work at the restaurant!

And the most unexpected happens when the last boat from Malaysia leaves without us! Previously, we had witnessed a group of Singaporean cyclists around our age depart from the terminal. Faced with the likely and unappealing prospect of staying overnight there, we contemplated taking a cab to the Causeway. Chee Wee had his lobsters grow colder by the second, plus he had to catch The Chronicles of Narnia, so he was pretty worked up, albeit a bit crazy later on!














Discussing about our predicament finally leads us to one viable option: take a ferry service from Sebana Country Club that would bring us to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.















And so we board my friend's uncle's van - squeezy and compact, but definitely relieved that we could finally go home after all that chaos and confusion engendered by that last boat leaving without us!















While waiting for the 7pm ferry to take us back home, we did a little sightseeing around the premises of the country club. Stumbling upon this magnificent waterfront with a bevy of luxury yachts floating on the tranquil waters, it was a perfect moment to capture!















And as we approached the central part of the platform near the yachts to take a closer look, I could spot a clique of 5 girls walking slowly towards us. All of them were dressed rather JC-like ie sleeves rolled-up, shorts and slippers/ankle-socks-and-sneakers, with one exception. The girl in the middle was wearing an Armour singlet, plus she was relatively shorter than the others. She looked like the leader since there were two girls on each side. Her bangs were distinctively unique, since the only girl I've ever known who is that height and sports those 70s-80s bangs is Bernie from the sport-that-cannot-be-named team back in JC days.

And so we kind of waited around, deciding what to do in the meantime. As the girls approached ever closer in our direction, I kept a listening ear vigilant to pick up any distinct tones and voices. Bernie's voice was unique too, since I remember the deep, mature tone she always used. And to my utter surprise, when I heard it again there, it confirmed my suspicions that it was Bernie there! No doubt about it, there she was, and we just said hi before she went on one of the yachts with her friends. We all extrapolated that either one of the girls were extremely rich, or had boyfriends that were, probably offspring of rich men licking the silver spoons which they kept oh-so-closely with them like Gollum to the Ring. Fancy meeting Bernie there!















Everyone's in a relaxed mood now, just waiting and enjoying the sunset before our scheduled departure via ferry at 7pm.















And it's 7pm as we make our way to the ferry that would take us home after a long day filled with surprises, great food, superb company and ultimately an unforgettable experience. Along the ferry ride back, we went up to the deck and enjoyed the cooling breeze as the lone ferry sailed through the meandering river banked by thick vegetation, like the River Nile without the ravenous crocodiles. There, we just chatted and reminisced about past days, even experiences from our "compulsory visits" to Brunei and Taiwan cropped up - no matter how we debunk those incidents as unpleasant memories, somehow the entire process of being in the Organisation's cadre has really given us special stories to talk about even 10 or 20 years down the road, and even the most anti-Organisation person cannot deny that!

Thanks to all who made this outing an oustanding success!

A 1938 Coca-Cola advertisement captures the light-hearted warmth of the festive spirit in true passionate colour.

If only something happened around here. Something, anything! Anything that would justify my presence, my purpose in this insect-infested hellhole, thought Kasper to himself as he dusted an inconspicuous winged fly off his neatly-pressed azure-hued uniform, absently wondering why he even bothered to maintain such meticulousness when his perspective of the occupation was already entrenched in cavalier nonchalance, even disdain at times.

"Who has to do security duty this Christmas, this oh-so-wonderful holiday?" muttered Kasper cynically under his breath, his tirade dripping with sarcasm while emphasizing those last words. As if there were an ironic contrast to the word "wonderful", Kasper's eyes drifted towards the dilapidated room he was being housed in, his mind subverting to a nonsensical analysis of every unworthy detail existing right before him.

The incandescent orange flooded the room in its gaudy dullness, the vertically-aligned window panes reflected opaque bars upon the chiselled wall. How appropriate, Kasper mused sardonically. It reminded him of a prison. The chisels weren't what those aggrandising big-mouths back at Special Security Forces had boasted about. Bullet holes and shrapnel? Bah! These works of art were the handicraft of bored guards scraping their revolver butts across the wall. Much like bored prisoners. Kasper praised himself for the allusion.

The unsightly congregation of lizards, flies and frogs amassed around the room every night, and tonight was no exception. Kasper regarded the winged pests with a pure, inexplicable hatred so intense that the trusty fly swatter never strayed too far from his twitchy hands. Lizards, he reassured himself, were a necessary evil.

Even though the all-seeing mechanical eye of the CCTV was swivelling, Kasper knew that the guard on duty had programmed it on auto-mode and thus it was safe to assume he was already somewhere in peaceful slumber. Without anyone monitoring his actions, he turned the dusty dial of the radio, adjusting the frequency while enduring the crackly static that shattered the otherwise tranquil night air. His grievances concerning his company extended towards the archaic-looking device as he agonised over the improbability of funds being used to improve the welfare of the security forces. Who uses frequency tuners nowadays, anyway, Kasper muttered in a tired soliloquy.

The artifact finally crackled to life when Kasper's favourite station, Klazz 95 FM, was tuned in to, and it partially dissipated the guard's irate demeanor. Kasper always found music to be the perfect avenue to express his thoughts and feelings in the most humanistic way possible, and it provided him with enough positivity to feel good about himself. With the DJs on holiday leave, the songlist ran consistently without pause for the entire Christmas.

The mellifluous symphony of songs did unexpectedly remind him of his single status, which was depressing for Kasper to endure, especially when Christmastime was seemingly the perfect occasion to surprise a girl with a gift without having to conjure up a reason. Tis' the season of giving, isn't it? Departing from such delusions with a dismissive wave of his hand, as if annoyed with his idiosycratic tendency to fantasise about love, Kasper pondered over whether the radio was just another cruel instrument of propaganda of the Romancing Zinkapor committee, all in a day's work to cultivate a loving environment where romance would bloom by exploiting the insecurities of those single and yearning for love.

Sheer irreverence took over as Kasper began to sashay and groove to the music, his mind so bored and inactive that it had to focus on something to relieve itself of that vegetative-like stasis. Faith Hill's Kiss Me came along, and pretty soon Kasper's woefully inadequate range was foolishly attempting to scale the high notes that the country songstress clinched so effortlessly. Unaware of the horrendous cacophony he was inadvertently causing, the intoxicated Kasper began mimicking Michael Jackson's outrageous dance moves unabashedly, knowing fully well nobody was listening in on Christmas, that no sane person would find nothing better to do than to watch a disgruntled man make an utter fool of himself.

And who cares if he were caught by his superiors? For all he knew, his boss was in the spirit of giving - punishments and extra duties - all year round. He didn't need Christmas as a valid excuse to mete out such disciplinary measures. If everyone else was out there downing drinks and having the time of their lives, Kasper thought, he had the right to do the same, so he became even more convinced and determined to extract whatever enjoyment that could possibly be derived from this ghastly predicament. Michael Buble's My Grown-up Christmas List never sounded so good as Kasper began to execute his best Frank Sinatra impersonation while prancing about the room.

A slender silhouette approached the chiselled walls slowly, as if intentionally taking its own time, steadily gliding without a trace of hurry or flurry. Kasper's sharp eyes immediately registered the visual and with a deft flick of his fingers turned off the radio and adjusted his uniform, which had been tucked out during his frenetic dancing routine. Instantaneously, he became aware of the deafening silence that ensued when the crackle of the radio died down - and the growing realisation that someone must have heard the ungodly racket emitting from this room and decided to investigate. Could it be the superiors? He already felt dread creeping up on him surreptitiously like the darkness enveloping him.

"You're not very good at dancing, are you?"

Kasper almost forgot to close his agape jaw at this. There stood Mirelle, his female colleague from the same branch of the security forces, dressed in full uniform, which was weird because unless she was attending some Christmas masquerade in which she had to disguise herself (and that the uniform was probably disgusting enough to have qualified for a masquerade party), there was no reason why she was supposed to be there. And are those champagne glasses? Kasper rubbed his eyes, momentarily stunned at the incredulity of it all, but more so perhaps of the paralysing fear that Mirelle had witnessed the biggest freak show in history and would undoubtedly embarrass him in front of everyone in the force. He vaguely remembered treading on her toes a while back; payback this way would be purely cruel in every sense of the word.

"Figured you'd need some company. Tonight's my shift at the Control Center, and since it's a universally known fact that nothing ever happens around here, I thought to myself, Mirelle, maybe you should go and relieve some other poor soul like yourself from the agony of festive deficiency."

"Champagne?" Kasper mumbled rather incoherently, the word coming across as more in an incredulous manner than a rational query, but Mirelle merely pursed her lips before replying teasingly, answering an unintended question.

"Of course! I thought, what would Christmas be without a few drinks?" Mirelle handed the glass to a stuporified Kasper, who was still unsure whether this was simply a wicked ruse by a manipulative co-worker with malicious intent to get him into even more trouble. As he wrapped his clammy fingers over the goblet, he could gauge the temperature of the champagne - cold. Revenge is a dish best served cold, Kasper reminded himself, pleased that he could recover quickly and still avoid falling for Mirelle's malevolent intentions.

She inched even closer to Kasper's immobile figure, all this time sipping the wine tastefully, as if she were a connoisseur imparting the values of appreciation of fine wine. Buble's Come Fly With Me chimed in at this instant as Mirelle slid her fingers over the dial, lowering the volume to a serene, if paradoxically disquieting to Kasper, level. Kasper didn't know if it was the music or the moonlight, but whatever it was, it was compelling him to observe Mirelle in a totally new light. The girl was pretty, which would have been obvious if not for the strict dress code which seemed to be set based on the principle that beauty is a flaw best concealed. Kasper never noticed her blue eyes, which were always hidden under the cap. But now she had taken that off, her lustrous locks were no longer restricted to the cramp confines of that uncomfortable headwear.

Feeling all the more uneasy and awkward, Kasper tried to decipher why Mirelle was, well, trying to seduce him, of all people. As he moved backwards slowly, his head brushed past something green, and that was when Mirelle took the diversion as an opportunity to move uncomfortably close to Kasper. And as Kasper's gaze swung upwards, he instantly knew what was coming.

"It's mistletoe. It's customary. You know that, Kasper?"

Kasper met Mirelle's demure yet toying gesture with a rigid "Yes". He wondered what had attracted her to him in the first place. Could it be that his Buble impersonation had won her over? Was he really that vocally mesmerising? Did his voice sound so tempting, so deeply sexy? As self-assurance emboldened him, Kasper eased into the romantic mood.

"Buble?"

Mirelle shook her head slowly, allowing herself a giggle, her lustrous locks glistening in the silvery glow of the moonlight.

"Faith."

Before Kasper could laugh out loud at this unexpected answer, Mirelle's soft, tender lips pressed delicately against his own. Kasper found himself absolutely speechless, staring at Mirelle's closed eyes, her face a picture of enchantment. And as her lips lifted from his, he knew that his face was one of enchantment too.

"Merry Christmas, Kasper."

With that, the dainty Mirelle, with her hands kept behind her back all this time, retreated with a shy, almost guilty expression plastered on her face, back into the shadows, back into the silhouette, back into the night.

Kasper slumped into his seat, only managing to utter a few words before warbling in lovelorn fashion yet again, his face flushed as beetroot, his lips trembling from that unreal contact.

"Merry Christmas, Mirelle. Merry Christmas."

(This fictional story was created while I was doing my duty on Christmas this year. Any semblances to the characters in the story are purely coincidental.)

Torn between beast and....beast, a frazzled Naomi Watts ponders a tough decision in Peter Jackson's latest epic, King Kong!

Skepticism has been as rife as locusts during harvesting seasons Down Under that Peter Jackson, the, dare I say it, uber-successful director of the epic movie adaptation of J.R.R Tolkien's spectacular Lord of The Rings trilogy, has let the overwhelming (gross understatement) barrage of accolades get to his head - this time, by investing truckloads of generous time and effort in remaking that famous simian film of all-time: King Kong (for all those zoologists who answered Ah Meng, please kindly proceed to the nearest wall and give yourself a nice concussion, thank you!). Could it be possible that Jackson has simply thrown a list of talented actors into what seems like a reused Jurassic Park I-III set, decorated it with fanciful, flamboyant CGI effects, spruced up the audio with Dolby-Digital-challenging roars and grunts, reduced lovely Naomi Watts' lines into no more than what is reminiscent of Psycho's female victim - screams and more screams?

Heck, no! From what most reviews have shown (and I don't mean 8 Days or Life!), Jackson has created an excellent remake from the classic, with stellar performances by Watts as the rather helpless female protagonist who is tricked into joining the boys on a "harmless, innocuous" expedition when she unintentionally manifests into the sole subject of King Kong's obsessive, complex fixation; Jack Black who does an about-face with a risky venture away from his usual genre of comedy and surprises the skeptical audiences; Adrien Brody, who stunned many in The Pianist, a powerful tour de force set in Warsaw, Poland. And I'm a big fan of Watts ever since she starred in that disturbing chronological jigsaw-of-a-movie, 21 Grams - her ability to portray and flesh out the darker elements of emotion, such as hatred, vengeance and sorrow, so vividly and believably is truly deserving of recognition. And I loved LoTR not only for its insane, whirlwind action, but also for its character development - Aragorn-Arwen, Sam-Frodo, Gandalf-Frodo, so name a few. Plus Jackson made me blink back more than a few tears when Sam reunited with Frodo at the end; he had me almost act out of decorum in the cinema when the Ents thoroughly decimated Saruman's fortress (I had to restrain myself from punching my fists in the air and shouting something ridiculous like, "Go, trees!"); Jackson will do just as well, if not better in King Kong. I'm watching it tomorrow, and I can't wait!

Another day spent walking the streets of Orchard, visiting Heeren, Wisma, Taka, Cineleisure, Tangs, Raffles City and Suntec Mall - my legs are literally killing me! Yet I have grown accustomed, even seasoned to such long bouts of traversing the arduous boulevards of Orchard and the city area, determined to source out the latest fashion trends, threads and tricks. Even though I did not have an agenda today, I was still insistent on getting out of the house more often, especially when Christmas is just around the corner, with the reindeers revving up for yet another one-horse-open-sleigh glide through the starry night skies hovering above us. The festive spirit is certainly resonating in the confines of each and every nook and cranny of our city, albeit over-exploited in Orchard itself. When the nearest bell, mistletoe or peppermint candy is only a few metres in proximity wherever you are, it's time to start worrying. Christmas trees are shooting upwards in countless shops, outlets and walkways that it seems this year's grassroots planning committee must have mixed up their seasons and tree-planting practices throughout Singapore. And choirs seem to be spawning ubiquitously as before you can get out of earshot of a melodious carol, several cacophonous voices overlap and beseige your exhausted ears. Bells aren't jingling anymore; they're more like clashing and smashing like cymbals, alluding to that little kid outside Paragon whom some like to believe is being exploited in a very slave-like manner. Ah, since when did the spirit of Christmas allow itself to be so shamelessly manipulated for commercial means?

I spotted only a single beret worn by a female throughout the entire duration of my trek across Orchard's sprawling complexes. Females in Singapore don't seem to like to wear any form of headgear while sashaying down the streets, unlike their more fashion-acute counterparts in New York, Milan and Paris, the bustling fashion hubs of the world. Personally, ever since Samaire Armstrong sauntered onscreen in The O.C. with a beret, I've gushed over it as if it was a quinessential sartorial piece in every girl's wardrobe. It adds a touch of class, an aura of intrigue and certainly sophisticatedly polishes the entire get-up in a quirky, intelligent manner. Why the intellectual tag to such an object? Well, the beret was once worn by the French peasants, artists and intellectuals, as well as directors till the baseball cap became commonspeak as we know it now. Still, it might have belonged to a previous era, yet its charm effuses effortlessly and lingers even in today's fashion realm - Singapore just hasn't caught on yet.



Survivor: Guatemala and The Amazing Race just ended their latest seasons on the same week this month, which means that my cravings for reality television will just have to be satisfied by America's Next Top Model Season 5, Project Runway and Battle of the Reality Network Stars. Around February-March, Survivor will resume its twelvth installation in Panama: Exile Island, while Amazing Race 9 will kickstart with 11 teams of two, reverting to its time-honoured tradition of 2-person teams instead of the less popular family-of-four configuration.

Coincidentally as well as unintentionally, the latest novel I've just finished devouring right after The Plot Against America by Philip Roth, Garden of Beasts by acclaimed criminal novelist Jeffery Deaver, is similarly set in the 1930s, right after Hitler and his Nazis had seized power of the Reichstag and sidelined it in favour of a dictatorial regime which has by now been documented extensively and infamously in the historian's realm. This is another work of fiction built upon the pillars of fact, and Deaver has done it again with Garden of Beasts, a wonderful tale encircling the mysterious henchmen of Hitler as well as the mustachioed leader himself in all of its insidious, malevolent vainglory - Heinrich Himmler (chief of the feared Gestapo and Secret Service), Hermann Goring (founder of the Gestapo), Joseph Goebbels (propaganda minister) and Reinhard Ernst (the man behind Germany's rearmament scheme). With such immaculate poise, Deaver manages to keep us riveted as we follow Paul Schumann, an American criminal of German ancestry. Our protagonist is somewhat a criminal's criminal - a killer out to murder those who have murdered, like a modern-day, less glamorous version of Marvel's Punisher. He's caught, then given a choice between execution or helping the Americans to travel to Germany and assassinate Reinhard Ernst so as to signal to Hitler that the United States is not going to sit and watch as the Germans attempt to imprint their insignia of violence in Europe and beyond. We also view another perspective through the eyes of meticulous detective Willi Kohl, whose allegiance to the Kripo masks his contempt for the surreptitious forces of the SS and Gestapo, and who is as endearing a hero as Paul is an anti-hero. By doggedly pursuing the moral path and objectively tracking down clues, Kohl displays a man bound by duty to his country, yet conflicted with his morals during a time when Hitler's regime seemed to defy all ideals of humanity. And the twist is brilliant; even more so when we unravel both the humanity and bestial nature of Ernst, a brilliant man whose shortcomings we are led to sympathise with, and whose facade is shockingly ripped to shreds when his true nature is revealed towards the end. Kudos to Deaver yet again!

Spread the Christmas Cheer!















Unsuspecting shoppers are the main prey for Cookie Monster and Elmo as these fearsome furry predators peek over the tent in Takashimaya




















Trapped within a glass cage - much akin to how we are constantly being pressured to conform to fashion trends, when we attempt to deceive ourselves that there is no glass cage and that we seem to have this "unique" style




















A golden shower drizzles upon mannequins decked in eclectic Christmas gear at The Heeren




















Panda and his girl - random bus ad















Traffic still bustles on the streets of Orchard at night as throngs of sales-crazed, bargain-hungry shoppers flood the complexes















Looks like Frosty the Snowman and Santa are kind of stuck on top of that frozen overhead bridge at Suntec City















Everyone loves to say "Cheese!"

Cliched as it may be...and then there were three! Danni, Steph and Rafe fight it out in a gruelling Final Immunity challenge - Danni triumphs in the end, bringing Steph to Final 2 before the Jury declares her the eventual Sole Survivor!

Here are the more memorable moments from this season's spectacular run in Guatemala - the top 15!

15. Steph actually being on the winning side for the first time after such a despairing gloomy season in Palau - didn't you feel proud for her?



14. When this moody, Johnny-Deppesque, smooth operator of a laid-back farmer sauntered onscreen with such charming nonchalance, you couldn't but help admire his charismatic nature. And when he thrashed Jamie at rope-cutting, it showed you could never underestimate Brandon.



13. A dirty, dirty game. Mud-slinging aside, this gruelling challenge at the beginning tested the limits of their physical capabilities. Yet it proved to be chillingly striking for Gary when Danni, the sports newscaster recognised him and revealed to the rest his true identity as a NFL player - the looks on everyone else's faces were priceless.



12. Introducing the lanky, athletic Danni - she stamped her authority all over the ball-hoop challenge - particularly interesting when she provided a counter to the ferociously competitive Steph from Yaxha, and more than matched up to the Survivor veteran's desire to win.



11. When Amy stormed into camp and found out the tribes had switched pre-merge. "We're freakin' decimated!" It was simply hilarious.



10. The food challenge whereby all the castaways had something to feast upon, save for Jamie, who due to his noble sacrifice had to contend with corn - it was great simply watching the Survivors escape from all that strategizing and just have plain gastronomical fun.



9. Witnessing Amy's indomitable never-say-die spirit during the course of three challenges whereby she endured the pain and walked the walk by pressing onwards, and in this case, gaining back a well-deserved point for her new tribe. You go, feisty woman!



8. Mindy Hall, Cindy's twin sister. Need I say more?



7. Jamie's cheeky outburst when he was blindsided into getting the boot - "Blindsided - nice! Now that's how you vote somebody out!"



6. Judd's boot - a great ending to a superb episode littered with instances of ominous foreshadowing - the fall of a crass, egotistical fool who deserved to exit when he fell prey to Danni's strategic plans to stay alive.

5. Is Steph really that hungry? This particular scene had us in stitches at Steph's insistence on devouring the sacred chicken which was sacrificed to the Mayan gods. And later at Tribal Council, Jeff simply shook his head at the girls, who were cheekily giggling, ashamed yet naughtily guilty.



4. Rafe winning 3 Immunities - who could ever have predicted it? This wilderness guide could have stormed all the way to the top if not for a foolish move at Final 3 - Rafe was the overpowered underdog throughout the entire season - dangerous yet likeable - a successful concoction for Sole Survivor.



3. The car challenge this season was modified with a radical twist: take the car for yourself and risk the curse that has befallen each previous car winner in Survivor history (never won the game), or give it up and the others will each get a car, thereby weaning the curse away from you. Cindy chose to risk it all - and she was booted. Self-fulfilling prophecy, no?



2. One of the more intelligent juries around. They asked questions that were tough yet answerable; tricky yet profoundly clear. We had Judd and his dramatic tirade spicing the scene up; dudes Bobby Jon and Jamie enjoying every excruciating moment Steph was going through while trying to answer each painful accusation thrown at her; Gary and Cindy delivering logical questions as expected of their usual self; Lydia defensively confronting Steph, emboldened to speak negatively of the Queen.



And finally...

1. The football chic chick - Danni Boatwright, Sole Survivor of Guatemala. She never backstabbed anyone except Rafe, her trusty ally; yet this only occurred because Rafe himself allowed it rather explicitly after the Final 3 Immunity. She played the game with integrity; weaving into the overwhelmingly Yaxha alliance by exploiting fissures, convincing the rest to vote out auxiliary members who were simply fodder as the core alliance - Steph and Rafe - knew all too well from the start. By being truthfully honest and strategically intelligent, she managed to evade being targeted even though her physique rivalled Cindy's and Steph's, and when her position was threatened, she ramped up her game to clinch a Final 2 spot. Instigating divides within the alliance discreetly while preserving her low-profile agenda, Danni simply trumped the competition when it came to winning the Jury vote. Kudos to her for having such foresight - my favourite Survivor from all 11 seasons thus far!

"Bamboo Gate"




















Rei Ayanami of Japanese manga series Evangelion - Grimrock! Mix Edition figurine, purchased in Taiwan



















Asuka Langley's Grimrock! Mix Edition figurine that accompanied Rei's - the epitome of adorable-and-sweet


"Soaring Heat"

It has been a long, arduous journey for Steph as she claims Immunity to secure a Final 4 spot - unshackled from the chains of despair dragging her down in Palau and pre-merge Guatemala - and the first ever Individual Immunity she has laid hands on in the past two seasons!

Jealousy will get you nowhere. But this week it sure worked its envious intoxication on several of the Final 5, and it did propel them into Final 4 for the finale of this season. At the Reward Challenge, Cindy beat Steph convincingly to claim the Pontiac for herself, yet Jeff dropped a bombshell by suggesting that if she gave up the car, she could wean herself away from the infamous car curse - that nobody who has won the car reward has ever won Survivor in the past 10 seasons - and automatically gift the rest each a similar Pontiac. Apparently intent on taking the odds on and being less than superstitious, she chose to accept the car for only herself, stirring masked resentment in Danni, Lydia and Rafe, all three who weren't chosen to tag along for the barbeque part of the reward. And as Cindy went completely tactless and overboard with her exhilarated spiel over her new automobile, it was reminiscent of Golden Boy Blake and his self-absorbed persona. Brian would be proud of Rafe, Danni and Lydia, who were inconspicuously quiet, misleading Cindy into assuming that they felt she had made the right decision, when in fact they were subconsciously allowing the unsuspecting zookeeper to dig her own grave. As Steph surged forward fervently to snatch Immunity, everyone else felt unsafe. With Steph being nudged with the consensus of Danni, Rafe and Lydia weighing upon her to vote off Cindy, it was simply deja vu all over again when Steph yet again took part in the execution of one of her allies, contributing to the final 4-1 result to send the Pontiac owner right over to the Jury.

Danni played her cards perfectly this week when she approached Rafe about Cindy's decision, which was rather shocking to both of them, coincidentally. Finding such a consensus, especially rare when you consider that Lydia and Steph both felt that Cindy did make the right choice of not forfeiting her rightful prize, was integral to reinforcing that particular bond that had existed ever since the merge between the two dark horses in the game, one of which has already been recognised as a major threat by Cindy at Tribal Council this week, and the other surreptitiously exploiting the fissures in the fractious alliance for vested interest. With Rafe literally promising Danni a Final 3 spot, and the sports newscaster repaying the priceless favour with a commensurate guarantee to pick the wilderness guide for Final 2, it was a done deal. Lydia still feels resentment towards Steph, which happened to yet again indirectly reap the rewards of someone else's victory (she's riding on coattails just for the reward challenges this season), thus it was fairly certain that if Steph tried to vote Rafe out, Lydia would not concur.

Right now, nobody seems to suspect that Rafe and Danni share this secret partnership that may consolidate their place in the Final 2 facing the 7-man Jury in the finale. Steph is more concerned with keeping Rafe loyal by her side, and she has totally discounted Lydia as a crucial ally with whom she could manipulate or count on to swing votes in her favour. Lydia, on the other hand, is rather nonchalant and would likely simply go with the majority, though she does feel more comfortably aligned with Danni and Rafe. Steph was forced to follow suit this week to vote off yet another member of the original alliance, much of which has been chipped off single-handedly by the Queen herself. We shall discuss the serious repercussions of this later, much of which should be painfully obvious to Steph by now.

Now only with 4 castaways, 3 Tribal Councils and 2 Immunity Challenges left to decide the sole Survivor for this season, it is time to review the prospects of each remaining person through the critical kaleidescope of the potential chance of clinching the Jury's vote.

One of the probable outcomes that could spawn from this episode's aftermath is that Lydia could decide to stick with Danni and Rafe to ensure at least a Final 3 finish, akin to Thailand's Brian and Clay jointly agreeing to take batty Jan to Final 3 instead of Helen due to the fact that Helen, like Steph, could pose a serious threat to their alliance, in this case, Danni and Rafe as the decision-makers. With a disappointing record at Rewards and Immunities, it seems safe to assume that Lydia won't be cradling that much sought-after necklace anytime soon, except maybe if she wins the e-Bay auction after the season ends. As such, nobody will think of bringing her to Final 2 since she doesn't deserve to win. Yet this is where the Judd conundrum manifests itself again - should I bring Lydia to Final 2 so that everyone will think she doesn't deserve to win and thus vote for me to win the million bucks, or give someone else more worthy the invaluable spot and risk the odds? With Steph being a much greater threat in challenges than the fishmonger, Rafe and Danni might just preempt by voting the Queen out and securing Final 2. I'm sure both of them have enough integrity in them to reward the other with a deserved spot in front of the Jury, and not take the cowardly, easy way out.

Yet Steph herself will surely attempt to get Lydia out first on the grounds that the latter is definitely less deserving than her. And if Rafe and Danni allow Steph to join them in the Final 3, it wouldn't be surprising in the least. At least Gary would be proud of them for upholding the Darwinian strategy of voting. The tricky thing is, Immunity will probably dictate the course of the finale. If Steph wins, then she might offer overtures to Rafe, her only key ally left after all that backstabbing and chipping the alliance away. Rafe might then feel pressured to vote Danni off and keep Lydia on the grounds that Lydia would not possibly win Immunity at Final 3, and both could ensure a Final 2 finish without being stressed as would be the case if Danni was competing. Would Rafe renege on his promise to Danni and risk losing her vote at Final 2? If Lydia is contented with a Final 3 finish only, then she will simply align herself with the majority and not create a deadlock (which would not help her cause in any particular way).

If you're one of the "nice" players in the game, and you knew this likeable popularity would backfire upon your strategy towards the end of the game, how would you possibly insulate yourself against the impending backlash? Usually, ally with another "nice" player and let the Jury decide who truly outplayed, outsmarted and outlasted the competition. Such is Danni's and Rafe's collusion right now. Steph's popularity has been all but destroyed, corroding acidly with each passing TC, what with Jamie, Judd and now Cindy being the betrayed allies, licking their wounds while simply craving the moment when they can deal a judgement blow to the Queen. Bobby Jon might be grateful to Steph for allowing him a Jury vote, but there's simply no way he's going to put her name on the parchment at Final 2. Assuming Lydia never makes it to Final 2 no matter the circumstances (and for the benefit of us viewers that it shouldn't be another Katie-versus-Tom), it comes down to the result of the second Immunity.

If Steph wins, there is absolutely no guarantee that she will pick Rafe, her closest ally since the beginning of the game - she turned on Cindy after promising her a Final 4 spot this week, and she did the same to Judd after he graciously let her boyfriend spend quality time with a clearly delighted Steph. This is no grateful ally, trust me. It seems entirely implausible that she would ever pick Lydia - if this happens, we're going to be stuck with two evils; an easy, opportunistic and boring Final TC and victory, or the most undeserving winner ever in the annals of Survivor history. She does find Danni similar to her in some ways ("she's a cool chick") and noted that she never did lie before. Danni is just as "nice" as Rafe, and if Steph takes Rafe along, Danni will feel no resentment, but she will surely vote for Rafe at Final 2. If Steph takes Danni, and Steph has already lost votes from Judd, Cindy, Bobby Jon, Gary and Jamie (maybe), then she will risk losing Rafe's vote since she blatantly betrayed him and proved that their relationship amounted to nothing after 38 days. Either way, I don't see a Steph victory in the horizon. Plus the "having played Survivor before" spectre looming just behind her, the odds are stacking very ominously against the Queen right now.

Scenario 1: Steph-Rafe

For Rafe: Gary - trusted Rafe before, believes him as not entirely complicit with Steph
Bobby Jon - just doesn't like her enough to be grateful for that Jury spot
Danni - feels more bonded to Rafe due to the fact that they are both dark horses
Lydia - this can't be more obvious

Undecideds:

Judd - bitter about Steph's betrayal, but seems like he finds everyone in that alliance complicit and responsible for his ouster; he's rather shallow and immature, so he might just choose to punish Steph for her transigence, or accept that she did what she needed to do, and that Rafe rode on coattails since he obviously did not consider him in high regard before

Cindy - also bitter about Steph's backstabbing, but then again, she was all touchy-feely with Rafe at the waterfall and this week, she caught him trying to engineer her ouster, so it's a toss-up
Jamie - seemingly appreciative of the fact that he was blindsided and outplayed by both of them, so it's a toss-up too

Result: At least a 4-3 victory for Rafe; even if Rafe won Immunity and chose Steph despite their promise to each other this week, Danni would not feel particularly bitter (she's not one to hold grudges)

Scenario 2: Steph-Danni

For Danni: Gary - best buds since the merge, proud of her for making so far despite the odds
Bobby Jon - no Steph, period
Lydia - this can't be more obvious, again

For Steph:

Cindy - absolutely no affinity for Danni whatsoever; perhaps grateful to Steph for taking her so far despite her backstabbing tactics, admiring her gamesmanship (she has a nonchalant, almost haughty attitude towards Danni's existence)

Undecideds:

Judd - see above, Danni as riding on coattails like Rafe did

Jamie - see above

Rafe - definitely grateful to Steph for bringing him so far in the game; yet both of whom he had made alliances with chose not to bring him to the Final 2, which means he should feel equally bitter no matter who wins, but there exists a slight possibility that he might just repay Steph with her name scrawled on his parchment

Result: A tough contest, but with 3 votes guaranteed for Danni, there's a slight edge for the sports newscaster to take home bragging rights as Guatemala's victor

Scenario 3: Danni-Rafe

For Rafe:

Lydia - closer to the wilderness guide than she is to Danni

Cindy - she'd rather vote for someone who she appreciates outsmarted her than
someone she totally doesn't know at all

Steph - appreciates Rafe's gamesmanship (if Danni picks Rafe, then Steph would surely vote for Rafe at Final 2; even if Rafe picks Danni, she might be bitter, but she would probably avoid calling the kettle black)

For Danni:

Gary - best buds since the merge, proud of her for making so far despite the odds

Bobby Jon - tribe mates way back in Nakum, remembered as a staunch ally

Undecideds:

Judd - might accuse Rafe of hiding in Steph's shadows most of the game while he and the Queen had to bear the brunt of being high-profile (given his egotistical nature); then again, he knows nothing about Danni

Jamie - again, knows nothing about Danni; Rafe did promise him that he would not vote for the former at TC, but reneged when he was given the boot (Jamie will question Rafe whether he lied at all, and demand an explanation for his boot - whether it is satisfactory will affect Jamie's vote)

Result: Again, inconclusively arbitrary, and another tough showdown. Could come down to who actually took the time to know the Jury members - in this aspect, Rafe wins hands-down

Steph might use the argument that she had a big target on her back all this while and she still managed to survive up till Final 2. Yet Rafe could say that he defied all social stereotypes of a true Survivor, and nobody expected someone like him to win; that he won 3 Immunities so far vindicates his rebuttal that he did not ride on anyone's coattails. But Danni would have the most convincing argument, that she had been the underdog right from the merge dominated by former Yaxha members, and she still managed to make it to the top. Gary's statement that people were starstruck by Steph could convince some that any inclination of theirs to vote for the Queen was misguided and the result of serious disillusionment. Thus, Steph used her popularity to get to the top, then taking advantage of their trust in her to send them packing once she didn't need them anymore.

My prediction: Danni, Rafe, Steph, then Lydia, in decreasing order of winning potential.