Double Double Toil and Trouble

If you're familiar with the wordings of this post, well, Congratulations - you must either have watched the movie (starring the Olson twins) or you are just a Shakesperean fan. Where do I stand? Both .. I have watched the movie although it wa ages ago and I do love Shakespeare ( umm ... Thanks Dr. Aleya for the B+). Of all the plays he's written, I've studied a few in detail:

1. Macbeth
2. Hamlet
3. The Merchant of Venice
4. Henry V
5. Romeo and Juliet
6. Othello
7. Twelfth Night
8. Antony and Cleopatra

As you known or might have known, Shakesperean plays are divided into three categories; comedy, history and tragedy. The classification of these plays are quite straight forward to what the meaning entails:

Comedy ( har har har )
History ( kings, kings and more kings )
Tragedy ( till death do us part )

Back to the original topic, Macbeth. Well, Macbeth was the first Shakespearean play I studies during my university days. It was my first real encounter with Shakespeare. Phew ... it was hard that time but as time went by, we kinda got used to it and Shakespeare was no alien to us then.

Of course, Macbeth can best be categorised as a tragic play. Someone dies in the end. Not gonna ruin the story for you. You can read it and it's also available in modern English. Makes the reading a whole lot faster and easier.

My favorite part in Macbeth is definitely Act IV, Scene 1. The brewing of some crazy stuff by the three witches. Enjoy!

A dark Cave. In the middle, a Caldron boiling. Thunder.

Enter the three Witches.

1 WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.
2 WITCH. Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin'd.
3 WITCH. Harpier cries:—'tis time! 'tis time!
1 WITCH. Round about the caldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.—
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
3 WITCH. Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
Witches' mummy; maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark;
Root of hemlock digg'd i the dark;
Liver of blaspheming Jew;
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips;
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,—
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
For the ingrediants of our caldron.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

2004 In Memory

Modul Disiplin dan Ketahanan Diri:

AKADEMI BOMBA DAN PENYELAMAT
KUALA KUBU BHARU
20 - 27 APRIL 2004

I was actually cleaning out my closet this evening when suddenly, out came this CD containing pictures and videos of the Discipline Module that I went through in 2004 as part of the Diploma programme organised by INTAN. I could still remember the scorching heat that week and we were all very anxious and no to mention, nervous - not knowing what to expect but have heard tons about this particular module ... SCARY!

Well, these are some pictures I want to share with you.

OIFF - Offensive Indoor Fire Fighting
What we had to do was to enter a burning container
and try to fight the fire before it spreads. Umm ... I was the
third in line, had to take my glasses off. At this point, we were briefed
about safety before entering the burning conatiner.
Believe me, the heat inside was none I have experienced BUT watching
a real live fire from a 1 metre distance was just amazing!
We saw the different stages of burning and the structure (physical)
of a live fire. The temperature reached a whopping 300 degress celcius!

Yup .. me in action. The training before the real stuff. A firehose
needs a 2 man team to handle as the force of the water
is very strong.

Well this was me in 2004 (the one on the left) with a mate of mine.

This training was called "KAWAT HOS". This was taken during
the briefing session. We were told to watch a demonstration by our
fellow fire fighters.


The team in action. Where am I? First row ... furthest to the right.


Scuba Diving Session
Was actually one of my favorite activities throughout
the whole week. Was geared up in a scuba diving
suit all equipped and ready to descend underwater.
This is me practicing my breathing using an oxygen mask.


Oil Leak
Apart from the OIFF activity, this one - called
OIL LEAK was extremely challenging. Not only
were we faced by a roaring fire that burnt almost
20 metres into the air, we were supposed to put it out
by suffocating its oxygen source. I was in the sweeper
team. The first in line. The head. What we were
responsible to do was to ensure that our friends
do not catch on fire by the leaking oil running through.