Archive for April, 2007

Junior Case Competition 07

Saturday, April 28th, 2007

    I was one of the presenter for yesterday’s junior case competiton event, conducted by biosoc society, and judged by esteemed panels; prof Hill, prof Mcelvaney and Dr. Grogan. After dreading it for almost a week, at last the day came for me to stand in front of the lecture theatre and spill my guts out. It was really like a fear factor thing, to be able to present a case in front of a crowd, i was never good at presenting before, not even in my OSCE or with my consultant, let alone in a competition where a bunch of expectant crowd staring down. But i did it. And it felt good. :)
    It all started with me blank-minded-ly submitted a short summary of a very interesting case of Graves disease (hyperthyroidism). My case was selected among with other 8 cases. I was terrified then, being my first time of experience and I just can’t imagine how am I going to present it. But the support I received, I was so touched and they get me through it. First the patient herself, Mrs DV, who was so helpful and kindly, consented for her picture to be used in the slides, and she becomes my new friend. There’s so many hikmah lies here, as she’s a revert and she’s looking for someone to help her through and I gladly extend my hand of friendship to help her with any way I can. Then my team’s registrar Dr. Tom King, who initially gave me this case for me and then, helped me out with the presentation. For the concern and time, I just can’t thank him enough. And then to all my dear friends, Fairuz who edited the slides and always giving me a helpful  hand, Huda and Farah who went to support my presentation and always there for me, Wawa who helped me out to choose whether I should wear my pink or black jacket;), Mahirah who helped  my rehearsal and others and to my family who never cease to give me encouragement and motivation, thank you so much.
    When you know that people cares about you, it’s when you feel happy most ☺

Film review: Pan’s Labyrinth

Monday, April 2nd, 2007

This movie is totally unbelievably a good one..it’s been a long time since me and friends been watching an agreeable movie..but this is certainly good..no words can describe :) it just vacuumed the audience inside to its realm…

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

An opening prologue tells of Princess Moanna, daughter to the king
of the underworld. The princess became curious about the world above
and fled to the surface, where the brightness of the sun blotted out
her memories. Princess Moanna eventually grew old as a human and died,
causing turmoil in her kingdom. However, the king always believed that
her spirit would one day return, even if reincarnated in the form of another.

The story cuts to post-Civil War Spain in 1944, after Francisco Franco has come into power. Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), a young girl often absorbed in fairy tales, travels with her pregnant mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil) to meet Captain Vidal (Sergi López), Ofelia’s new stepfather and father of Carmen’s unborn child. Vidal, a fascist devotee, suffers from the repercussions of his father’s death as a famed commander in Morrocco,
and takes his feelings out on the Republican rebels he has been
assigned to seek out and eliminate while stationed at a countryside
mill.

On the way, Ofelia discovers a large insect resembling a praying mantis and walking stick bug, and she believes it to be a fairy. The creature follows the family to their new home, where it leads Ofelia to an ancient labyrinth. Before Ofelia can enter the labyrinth, she is stopped by Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), one of Vidal’s maids and a spy for the rebels, who are led by her brother, Pedro.

The faun gives Ofelia the Book of Crossroads, which explains her tasks.

The faun gives Ofelia the Book of Crossroads, which explains her tasks.

That night, the creature appears in Ofelia’s bedroom, where it
morphs into a fairy and leads Ofelia through the labyrinth into a small
clearing. There, Ofelia meets the faun (Doug Jones),
who recognizes her as the long-lost Princess Moanna and assigns her
three tasks to complete before the full moon to ensure that her
"essence is intact".

The Pale Man awakens and examines his surroundings.

The Pale Man awakens and examines his surroundings.

Ofelia completes the first task - retrieving a key from the belly of a giant toad - however, she fears for her mother, whose condition is worsening. The faun gives Ofelia a mandrake root, which instantly begins to cure her mother’s illness. Ofelia then manages to complete the second task - taking an ornate dagger
from the lair of the Pale Man - but not without awakening the creature
and losing two of the faun’s fairies to it. Infuriated by her
disobeying his orders, the faun disappears, claiming that she will
never return to her kingdom or see him again.

Meanwhile, Vidal becomes increasingly vicious in his methods,
torturing a captured Republican and killing a doctor (a Republican
sympathizer) who euthanized
the prisoner (at the prisoner’s request) after the prisoner began to
give Vidal information. Vidal catches Ofelia tending to the mandrake
root, and Carmen, desperate to prove to her daughter that magic is not
real, throws the root into the fireplace. Instantly, she develops
painful contractions and dies giving birth to a son.

Vidal discovers Mercedes is a rebel spy, and he captures her and
Ofelia as they attempt to escape. Ofelia is locked in her bedroom, and
Mercedes is taken to be tortured; however, she frees herself, injures
Vidal and flees into the woods, where Pedro and the rebels rescue her.

The faun returns to Ofelia, claiming that he will give her one more
chance to prove herself. He tells her to take her baby brother into the
labyrinth. Ofelia manages to steal the baby after sedating Vidal;
however, although disoriented, Vidal continues to chase her through the
labyrinth amidst an attack on the mill by the rebels.

Upon her arrival in the clearing, the faun demands that Ofelia spill
her brother’s blood to open the portal to the underworld. Ofelia
refuses to harm her brother, and the faun disappears, accepting her
decision. Vidal finds her, takes the baby and shoots Ofelia. As he
staggers out of the labyrinth, he finds the rebels waiting for him and,
after handing them his son, is killed by Pedro.

As Mercedes enters the labyrinth and mourns over Ofelia’s dead body,
Ofelia is reunited with the king and queen of the underworld. She
learns that by spilling her own blood instead of her brother’s, she has
proven herself to be the true Princess Moanna. The epilogue tells that
Ofelia ruled the kingdom for many centuries, was adored by her people,
and left behind little signs of her life on Earth, visible only to
those who knew where to look.

kudos tu bojol who burned this movie ..

 

Spoilers end here.