Avengers: Endgame Has Changed The Game. Forever.

[Spoiler Warning, in case you still haven’t watched it!]

It’s been just over a week since the last movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) opened, and it has already earned a record-breaking 1.2 billion dollars over 5 days!

On screen, we saw Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Thor, Black Widow, Hulk, Hawkeye, Wanda (Scarlet Witch), Dr. Strange, Wong, Captain Marvel, Star-Lord, Drax (the Destroyer), Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, Nebula, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Ant-man, The Wasp, Black Panther, Shuri, Okoye, Valkyrie, Spider-Man, War Machine, Rescue (Pepper Potts) and the one who started it all - Iron Man - fight against Thanos and the Black Order - Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian.

Howard Stark, Hank Pym, Loki, and Red Skull also make an appearance.

This movie also contained the final cameo of the late Stan Lee.

Copyright belongs to Marvel Studios

I don’t usually bother with movies and/or movie reviews, but this had so many nods to so many incidents in the comics that I couldn’t help but enjoy it. And yes, I do read the comics.

Yet, no, I’m not here to break all of that down. There are already a number of YouTube channels that have done so. As such, I’m not going to bother reinventing the wheel.

What I do want to talk about is the sheer volume of interest and attention this movie has obtained.

There are the purists who complain about the inconsistencies between the MCU’s productions and the comics.

There are the fans who watch it multiple times and enjoy each run.

There are the analysts who search for and dig up references to past movies and the comics.

There are the trendspotters who predict how the movies will affect industries and businesses (think merchandise and paraphernalia) and also look forward to possible future projects.

And then there are the naysayers who refuse to have anything to do with the movies, much less watch them.

No matter who you are, there is no way to avoid the flood of content generated as a result of this movie.

A number of brands have attempted to ‘newsjack’, to varying degrees of success.

The actors are appearing everywhere: from events to talk shows.

Social media is awash with articles, videos, and SPOILERS.

From this moment, future movies are going to be compared to this one, both in terms of engagement as well as earnings made.

Avengers: Endgame has changed the game. Forever.

Will You Help Him?

We meet obstacles every now and then.

Sometimes, they are easy to overcome. Like stepping over a small puddle.

Many times, they aren’t. Like a 2-metre high concrete wall.

Some of us try to climb over the wall. If we succeed, we move on, until the next obstacle.

If we fail, some of us try again. And again. And again.

After multiple tries, some of us are still stuck.

At this point, we can do 1 of 3 things:

1) Give up

2) Try a different technique / solution

3) Ask for help

The truth is, as long as we don’t give up, with the right approach and the right help, we can get over that wall, no matter how high it may be.

Maybe you found a way around it. Maybe you took a course on wall climbing. Maybe you built some stairs. Maybe you got a friend to bring you a ladder.

Now, we are veterans at getting over that particular wall.

One day, you’ll meet someone trying to scale that same wall.

The question is:

Will you help him?

I Met 3 Remarkable Authors-To-Be From The Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH)

On Wednesday morning, 6 March, I visited the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH). I was invited by Tanya, whom I met in January. She told me that she would be meeting with a few people from SAVH who were visually impaired and that they will be working on their books together. She asked if I would like to share my authoring experience with the group.

Of course, I said, 'Yes!'

And there I was.

These are truly remarkable individuals who refuse to be brought down by their inability to see. They were open about sharing their experiences and how they used text-to-speech software to do their writing. And though this is, needless to say, a slow, laborious activity, they persevere.

2 of them have books that are near completion and are projected to be done by April!

I truly admire their resolve and look forward to meeting them again to help in any way I can.

I Started My Training Journey in the Life Sciences. I Intend to Continue the Journey.

In the numerous networking events I've attended, after telling others what I do now, many of them have asked how I started as a trainer.

I tell them that I started by training in the topic I studied - Biotechnology - in the Secondary School I graduated from - Chung Cheng High School (Main) [CCHMS].

And I'm still teaching it in different schools across Singapore for two simple reasons: I love the subject and I love what I do - inspiring minds (especially young ones) through a complicated-sounding topic introduced in an easy-to-digest way.

Yes, doing public workshops, conducting corporate training, and having speaking engagements are all fantastic and well-paying.

That said, I want to stay rooted to my beginnings, especially considering how 'perfect' the combination was. As long as there is a demand for education in the life sciences, I want to be a part of it.