Kicking Ass

The SSG stayed with us over the weekend. Of course, being such a Bond fan, she dragged Nik and I to go watch Quantum of Solace with her yesterday (it was her 3rd time watching the movie!).

The movie itself was entertaining, if only for the fact that it provided 2 hours worth of escapism. Olga Kurylenko was pretty cute, but then again, I still preferred Eva Green. But throughout, one pressing question kept on cropping up in my head:

Who would win in a straight kick ass fight - Jason Bourne or James Bond?

Let's look at the pros and cons of both (because I have nothing better to do at the moment and need to destress from CFA studying):

Jason Bourne

Pros:

1. The guy obviously has had some proper martial arts training.
2. He has a proven record of killing people with everyday objects - pens, magazines, newspapers, books, condoms, tampons (alright, I made the last 2 up).
3. The man is pretty f^cked up - I mean, he cant even remember who he is!
4. He speaks numerous languages (though I have no idea how this would help him in a slugfest)
5. The guy has proven himself to be able to leap over bridges and climb walls despite having multiple bullet holes in his body.

Cons:

1. The man is pretty f^cked up - I mean, what happens if he suddenly decides to stop fighting because he got depressed?
2. The guy has a personality of cardboard - make that recycled cardboard. You want a guy to not just win a fight, but win a fight with flair.
3. His girlfriends arent as good looking as Bond's (which means that he may not be as incentivised to stay alive and get the girl at the end).
4. Jason Bourne has morals - he doesnt seem like the type to take a cheap shot in the gonads, unlike Bond.
5. He operates on a lower budget than James Bond - while Bond has all sorts of gadgets to get him through the day, Bourne seems to end up wearing second hand clothes with holes in them. Plus he sleeps in horrible looking motels and drives a beaten up Mini through Paris.

James Bond

Pros

1. The guy has had no obvious training - the latest Daniel Craig incarnation seems to just thug his way through everything. Somehow that's a point in his favour?
2. Bond has more gadgets and resources than Bourne.
3. His chicks are hotter - nuff said.
4. Daniel Craig's Bond is also quite f^cked up - the edginess could give him a leg up in a fight.
5. He's cool...

Cons
1. Daniel Craig's Bond is basically a highly paid thug.
2. Is he too reliant on his gadgets?
3. Seems to be at the mercy of his women - e.g. his dead girlfriend and his lady boss.
4. Bond is an alcoholic - and probably addicted to sex too.
5. Daniel Craig's Bond is also quite f^cked up - what happens if he breaks down in the middle of a fight and starts crying?

4 weeks to go...

I'm trying with great determination not to fall asleep while studying revenue recognition methods. It's Saturday night, and I have 2 thick CFA manuals as company for the weekend.

I'm sitting here in my Study watching the River Thames as the rain comes chucking down. The numerous lights from the apartments across the water have merged into a random scattergram of multi-coloured dots.

My one comfort is that the torrential rain reminds me of the tropical weather we get at home. Strangely enough, I have always taken comfort in the rain. To me, one of the worst things that one can experience in life is the sense of the pending storm that is to come. The rain symbolises the fact that the storm has already arrived, and the pressure that has been built up from all the pensiveness can dissapate. The presence of rain usually means that the weather will only get better from here...

Today is Saturday, the 8th of November. On this day in 1960, JFK defeated Richard Nixon for the American presidency. But more importantly, my CFA exam is in 4 weeks time. Despite my best efforts to concentrate, I can't seem to build up a momentum. I have tried looking for appropriate background noise by playing tracks from Bargrooves compilations to the Gladiator soundtrack - nothing seems to be able to settle me down.

I think I am going to write tonight off as an unproductive study night. I'm now going to sleep - will try again tomorrow.

Oh, and it has just stopped raining...