Osteoporosis And The Athlete

Remember the film ‘Unbreakable’, where Elijah Price/Mr Glass keeps breaking his bones? What a horrid way to live!

1 in 2 women, and 1 in 4 men over-50 years will experience a bone fracture because of osteoporosis. With such scary statistics, and in the light of deficiency from foods, we will need to deliberately reduce such a situation.

The infographic illustrates the urgency of keeping ourselves healthy and active, to reduce the occurrence of this debilitating condition. Invasive surgery such as hip and knee replacements, are not long-term solutions as these mechanical parts, too, need to be replaced through constant use.

As an active athlete, experiencing wear-and-tear, of the body is a major concern. Our bones are our endoskeleton, supporting the amazing muscles and connective tissues that keep us 'in' place. When bones heal, they become naturally stronger. However, osteoporosis can hamper normal recovery and cause us to be structurally unstable. A weak skeleton and musculature can encourage the onset of injury, which is unhealthy and unpleasant.

With the collaboration of the American Recall Centre, more preventive advice will follow soon. Meanwhile, stay physically-active (walking), get off the chair regularly, eat bone-enhancing foods, and spend some time in the sunlight.

Rainy Day Conversation

This afternoon, I met my friend and schoolteacher Shade and I learnt several things about films, anime and authors.

1)    IMAX films in 3D are the highest quality, so book cinema seats as far back of the screen and in the centre of the hall, whenever possible. This is due to the parabolic design of the screen and you do not want to lose peripheral details. Plus, the spectacles are expensive and therefore capture all the clarity and details.

2)    The production and standards of musical soundtracks in animated films are as elaborate as a mainstream Hollywood film. Here is singer Angela Aki doing her song ‘Kiss Me Goodbye’ for PlayStation 2’s game, Final Fantasy.

3)    There is some lack of clarity about the Harry Potter films, as it would take more screen-time to explain the reasons behind the motivation behind the key characters like Professor Dumbledore and his death.

4)    There is tremendous detail in each of J.K. Rowling’s seven Harry Potter books; The Order of The Phoenix is not her best work among the collection. The books can be described as adult fantasy-fable.

5)    Many of the latest role-playing games (RPG in another time) are rated for adults, like M-audience only. Be warned that some have strong adult content and language.

6)    Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon is best seen on an IMAX theatre. The new girl, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is hot; Megan Fox is hotter!

7)    Steven Spielberg directed The Adventures of Tin Tin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011); the next film would be directed by Peter Jackson. Andy Serkis is the link between the two directors as he provided the voice talent in The Lord of The Rings (Gollum) and Captain Haddock. Serkis will reprise his role as Gollum in the 2-part The Hobbits film in 2012 and 2013.

Crossing Countries and Cross-Country Running

In exactly two weeks’ time, I will be running with my triathlon-buddy, Hui Koon in The North Face (TNF) 100 Duo race. Each of us will have to complete 50K worth of challenging and varying terrain. I have not run cross-country for a while, with my last being my running club’s (MR25) 5K time-trial. My recent rolling road race was when I ran was at the Yellow Ribbon Project 10K Run, and placed 44^th in 44:44.

This is the latest controversy to erupt in the triathlon world. Two former-world champions in triathlon are suing an author and publisher for irresponsible journalism and inaccurate reporting. Reporting on the truth is a challenging task, marred by failure to establish agreement (about content and co-authorship) with the subjects being interviewed. Will a suggested boycott of this new book fan or flag its sales?

I just watched a 3-hour-plus long Hindi film, Veer-Zaara (2004) directed by Yash Chopra; it was the top-grossing Bollywood film of the year. It is a romantic story set against the backdrop of tension-riffed India and Pakistan. A former-air Indian Airforce Squadron leader (Shahrukh Khan) who falls in love with a Pakistani woman (who hails from a rich, political family) is jailed for 20 years. A female Pakistani lawyer attempts to free him after hearing his story, and in the process delivers abject lessons on justice and cross-border relations. Overall, I enjoyed the film as there were some poignant moments, focus on family values, well-written dialogue, and the enticing musical score. 

Tomorrow after, I may test my cross-country legs at MR25’s bi-monthly 5K time Trial. If I do cross the line below 22:00, I will then earn my new ranking as a Greyhound. I missed that moniker by one sly second in August, so I commit to giving it my hearty shot. Plus, the countryside view is not too shabby. Have an enjoyable weekend!

Quest To Be Your Best

QUEST = Quietly Utilise Exquisite Skills and Talents. QUEST*: Jean Claude Van-Damme’s film, shot in Phuket and featured martial artists who worked long hours and could each wolf down one kilogramme of pasta (4,000 calories) at one dinner sitting!

This evening, our entourage sent off Barney Tee and Don Ng at Terminal 3, Changi Airport. They will be the first Malaysian and Singaporean to attempt the extreme Norseman Ironman within the stipulated hours. Two years ago, Don crashed during the dangerously fast descents, and had to, unfortunately, stop after painfully running a quarter of the tough marathon. They will attempt to earn both the white and black t-shirts. The black label, t-shirt is earned when you arrive at the 36K mark of the marathon within the cutoff time of 14.5 hours, whereby you gain permission to do the slippery, rocky climb, for the remainder of the marathon.

We also bumped into Ironman Regensberg incumbents, Chris Smith, Mano, and Conrad. The cliché ‘It’s a small world!’ was reinforced when I realised that Chris’s brother was my old friend in journalism, Colin. Once in print and broadcast media, he now manages his own media company. We promised to catch up shortly on the social media platform before meeting face-to-face. I used to write full-time and freelance for leisure magazines, trade journals and the newspapers in the early 1990’s – writing continues to be one of my passions in my life. Colin and I stretched ourselves to pursue our other interests later in our lives, so as to realize our potentials.

Endurance races can be an indulgence, yet it is a test of one’s leadership qualities and character. Can you withstand the discomfort and pain? As Macca alluded in his book: Can you embrace the suck? Can you continue when the going gets really bad?

The physical test of triathlon over any distance is a disquieting and demanding task. It is so easy to allow self-doubt, anxiety, apprehension and other distractions to shift your focus away. However, with occasional racing and the annual Big Dance of your choice, you can test your mettle, true grit, gumption, and other qualities of your character. My friend, James Middleditch who won in 40-44 years age group at the OSIM Singapore International Triathlon Sunday has completed Kona, and will be competing in the first Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas in September.

Congratulations to the perennially fit, human dynamo Victor Chan for winning in his age group!

Be the best YOU, you can be!

* Inside scoop: By the way, JCVD was very particular about how his Thai glass noodles was prepared, that he rejected many versions in the resort he stayed. The resort manager had to request his wife to cook for the film star, eventually - that was resourceful!

127 Hours & The Notion of Valuing Time

Endurance sports can teach us much about time. Not just about timing, but the value of time, right up to the second. Every step is equivalent to a unit of time. When qualifying for the Boston Marathon, every second counts. I knew my chances for Boston 2011 was dashed at the three-quarter mark when my pace dropped significantly. With a 10-minute leeway this year, I am closer to the qualifying mark, so I am optimistic that next year I would have a winning shot at it. In a 17-hour Ironman triathlon, it may appear that we have lots of time, yet who would want to spend so much time out there, braving the elements? Every additional minute spent completing the race exerts strain on an already fatigued body. In a fast 5K race, the challenge of holding a faster pace takes its toll on the body quickly because we tap on another energy system.

In the new James Franco (Spiderman’s arch-villain, the Green Goblin) movie, 127 Hours a climber has that many hours to save himself before he gets rescued or dies. Inspired by real events, the climber dismembers his trapped arm with a blunt jackknife. Although audiences may watch this film for the wrong reason, the story is told in flashbacks as the climber’s life flashes before him.

How do you respect people’s time? Do your clients respect your time? When you lead in meetings, does your team appreciate the time spent? Do you charge by the minute, hour, day or month? The degree of respect for one’s time can be determined when one considers how we rarely wish to waste our time with legal professionals. Perhaps, it is time to think like a lawyer.

Mesmerised by a Magician’s Mystical Ways

‘Perhaps there is truth, and there is illusion!’

Perception is reality! In The illusionist, that reality is created on-stage by the mysterious magician, Eisenheim who returns to Vienna after his disappearance for 15 years.

First screened in Europe and scheduled for limited release in the U.S., The Illusionist was welcome proof that art-house quality need not be limited to art-houses. Set in turn-of-the-century Vienna, this stately, elegant period film benefitted from a crossover release in mainstream cinemas, and showed considerable box-office staying power. It may have also been helped through the allure of Seventh Heaven alumnus Jessica Biel, who rose to the occasion with a fine performance.

Certainly, with the acting tour-de-force of Edward Norton (Primal Fear; Incredible Hulk) and Paul Giamatti (Sideways), this film is a heavyweight for this genre. This is an intriguing story about a celebrated magician, Eisenheim (Norton) whose private parlour performance offends the Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell), a vindictive (and suspected spousal abuser) lout who aims to marry Duchess Sophie (Biel), Eisenheim's childhood friend. With this backdrop of romantic rivalry and Eisenheim's increasingly enigmatic craft of illusion, he is investigated by Chief Inspector Uhl (Giamatti), who is under Leopold's command; The latter is not to be trusted, as Eisenheim and Sophie draw closer to their inevitable reunion. The twist at the end is like a carefully crafted chess game, where the audience is also checkmate in the process.

Cleverly adapted by director Neil Burger from Steven Millhauser's short story Eisenheim the Illusionist, and boasting exquisite production values and a fine musical score by Philip Glass, The Illusionist is a very well made film. The illusions were consistent with the era, and associated superstitions: ghostly apparitions, mind reading, stage illusions, and spiritualism. My favourite re-enactment of a classic of illusion: Celebrated French magician, Jean Robert-Houdin’s The Orange Tree. Rating: A-.


Photo-credits: Amazon.com