Commentary on wikipedia's article...

I admit that its been a really really long time since I last posted anything on this blog. To tell you the truth, I don't feel as much desire or the impulse to blog as much as I used to, partly because I get to talk with more people about the stuff that I observe and also because I don't see the need to worry about these stuff all the time. Also, there's a higher chance of getting into trouble in the current situation I am at so its a good idea to not try anything stupid...

Life's been pretty nice and prelims are coming up... Urgh, another portion of my life is ending...

Anyway,

I was reading wikipedia and I came across this article on National Junior College. As I read through it, I came across some outright flaming and defaming of the college. There is also a large amount of scant attacks on the IP program in the school (not that I am defending it but lets reserve that for another post). Unfortunately, I am not sure how long exactly all those inflamatory content will stay on wikipedia, but you can be sure that the quotes that I raise here are copied directly out of that article on National Junior College.

NJC was also the first junior college approved by the Ministry of Education to introduce a 4-year Integrated Programme (IP) in 2004 to provide a through-train education for capable Secondary 3 students, allowing them to bypass the traditional GCE 'O' Levels and giving them the opportunity and room for more creative pursuits which would be hard to pursue in the traditional GCE 'O' Level path. In practice, the IP is overflowing with sub-par students; and since there are no O levels to remove them, they remain in the college. In a political move to prevent demotion, the authorities have given them the best teachers to save the ailing grades, but efforts are largely unsuccessful. The NJC Integrated Programme disaster was adopted by Temasek Junior College and Victoria Junior College for their own integrated programmes, effectively sparking a chain of catastrophe throughout the nation.

The IP is overflowing with sub-par students? I don't think so (PTM and comparison between JC and IP) It won't be the first time that this thing is raised up by anybody in the JC and this has already become a highly controversial topic for discussion. How exactly do you define a sub-par student? A students who has low grades? or a student with the wrong moral and ethics code? I do agree however that the IP students are naturally getting more attention then that of the mainstream students since they are supposed to be the more important group of people in the school. Judging from the amount of enrichment that they have and the idea that the schools wants to develop them to the best of their ability, you can't stop them from giving them the best teachers.

And who said that the JC teachers are bad? I believe that some of the JC teachers are quite good, and lets face it, teachers who teach the JC will have a different method of teaching as compared to the teachers who teach IP. JC students are already very well-conditioned to doing work, lots of work to achieve the results that is needed while IP students are more conditioned to start debates and do project works. How then can the same method be used to teach the two cohorts? Thus, how can we say that the IP students are indeed getting the better teachers? (In fact, if you aren't even taught by those teachers, how do you know??)

It is interesting to note that IP is basically a rehash of what has been happening in the past, albeit without the O levels as a "method of removing the sub-par students". IP has its own advantages and disadvantages, but the main problem plaguing the IP in my opinion is the way the adminstration is causing conflicts and tensions between the two groups of students, as well as some people in the two groups that believes that their own group is better in some way or other.

Chain of catastrophe? What catastrophe? Results falling? A friend mentioned to me that IP is meant to produce better students, so technically they should produce better A level results from the project works and skills that need to be learned in their syllables. I feel however that these two sets of skills are very different and will thus tend to produce different results at A levels, which has always been more of an academically inclined exam. I don't agree that results falling warrants it to be a catastrophe, but lets see what happens in the long run. Results aren't everything.

The original site which NJC occupied is now the site for Nanyang Girls' High School, which has such architectural beauty and efficiency that it puts NJ to shame.

I'll take this to be outright flaming. Since you hate the current site of NJ now, go be the architect and redesign it. Besides, this is an article about NJC, a comparison with other schools is not needed. Be proud of what you have now. NJ may not be the best, but you know what's called 饮水思源？

Currently, the plot of land along NJC Rise and Hillcrest Road is being developed as part of the College's expansion plans to squander on a hostel, slated for completion in late 2008.

I'll take this to be another outright flaming. Squander on a hostel?! First thing first, this is an encyclopedia and does not require opinions to be included in it. Although seriously, I don't agree on the hostel, particularly as the hostel is meant for the new IP 1 & 2 students(sec 1 and sec 2) when they come into the school. Imagine, a bunch of 13 and 14 year old running amok in the hostel... I can imagine the amount of stories they can start with visiting friends in the middle of the night.... Another good question to ponder, sending this kids to hostel, does it impede with family ties?

NJC was among the first 5 Colleges to be centres for the Humanities Programme alongside Hwa Chong Junior College (now Hwa Chong Institution), Raffles Junior College, Temasek Junior College and rich-brat Victoria Junior College.

The author has something against "rich-brat" Victoria Junior College. Someone should really move this statement to the VJC article... but there's no need to defame any school. Also, why do we always give away prizes while reading things like "We beat other teams like HC and RJ to emerge ..."? I mean, are we enemies? Don't you have friends there? Don't you think its sad that your friends in other JC is now your biggest enemy? Plus, it creates this assumption that NJ isn't as good and that we have to beat other "tougher" opponents to win the award. It seems as though everyone agrees that HC and RJ is good in everything...

Since then, this honour has been overtaken by Hwa Chong Institution, Raffles JC and Anglo-Chinese JC...

Like I said, no comparison needed... Although seriously, a nice question to ask would be how did NJC develop? In the past, NJC was the only college in Singapore, thus all the honour should naturally go to it only (like duh, monopoly). But as the other colleges start to open up in Singapore, more and more of the honour goes to the other colleges. So maybe perhaps NJ didn't really have the merits to win those awards in the first place, but just won them due to the lack of competition? Just a thought...

On some formal occasions though, instead of donning blazers, NJCians simply wear their red tie along with their full-grey uniform. Standing out from the crowd is easily achieved in this case, considering the sharp contrast between the dull grey of the uniform and the bright red of the tie. The trade-off is that such an unharmonious blend of colour makes NJCians stand out like a sore thumb, and they look like a joke with grey matching bright red. Yellow with red looks indignant enough in the case of Ronald McDonald's but grey with red redefines the absolute pit bottom of colour coordination and gives the word "clown" a whole new meaning

This is a very degragatory remark and there isn't a need to go to that extent.However, I do agree that red tie + grey uniform is quite horrible (imagine this coming out from someone who has no dress sense). Sometimes, I just wish that the teachers and event organisers just borrow blaziers for the ushers and the people on duty. Come on, RV forced us to change into blazier everytime a big event comes along, why not do it here too? Or rather, why not just usher in full grey? It looks much much more dignified. The NJ uniform doesn't seem to be designed to go with a tie in the first place, so why force the tie on? I don't feel that it makes them look formal. Blaziers might seem overboard sometimes, but from my experience, that's exactly what we are trying to achieve when we want to look formal.

NJC has received criticism by many for the design of its uniform. Being full grey, water-proof and some say even fire-proof, the fabric is really stiff and rough, something like paper against skin. Because of its highly unpopular uniform design, with many metal buttons in the shape of the college logo (as if the college collar pin is not enough to show the world that one is from NJC), many students have opted for the vibrant and dynamic Victoria Junior College even though they live far from VJC and near to NJC.

Don't worry, NJC isn't the only one. I mean seriously, which group of students doesn't criticise their uniform now? Hmm... can't think of any...
Probably because we want to express ourselves?
Also, is it true that students are opting for the vibrant and dynamic VJC even though they live near to NJC? Where's the proof???
And finally, NJC was born in the era when chinese schools are still found in Singapore (to be fair, there is no such thing as chinese schools left in Singapore) so the buttons could have been influenced by the chinese schools in that period of time. What's wrong with the design of the buttons anyway? Catholic high, River Valley, The Chinese High school all have buttons in the shape of their school logo, so what's with the whole button thing?

Finally, we've reached the end of this rather lengthy commentary. I didn't rebutt every single point (seeing as I have my own arguments against and for various things in NJC). As I was typing this out, I started to wonder if the above comments was written by a current student, an ex-student, a student from another school out to shoot us down, or just what the public thinks of us. Its hard to pin-point exactly, but even as we correct, refute or agree with the points, we have to wonder why these points are made. If made by our own people, what caused these people to react in this way as though they are totally against their own school? Is something wrong with the system in the school? or is it how the adminstrations and the people on top are treating the people at the bottom?

It really begs the question:"Is there something wrong with the school?"

Discmon

Lets take a look at SPA...

It's been a long time since I last posted anything on the blog... I think a lot of things are happening in my life and I'm feeling a bit, like don't know how to feel properly? But that's not the main point of the post for today, but maybe if I go into a greater level of confusion or something like that...

Note to self: I need to find a movie that makes me cry properly so that I will feel properly again...

Anyway...

Note to all readers: I know that SPA is a National Exam and that release of any materials related to SPA will be severely dealt with and disciplinary measures will be undertaken. What I have written below is NOT a description of any experiments or procedures done in SPA but rather a personal view of the SPA system as compared to the SPE system that I was exposed to in secondary school as well as my own personal take on the effectiveness of SPA as a teaching tool for students to learn practical skills. As such, this post does not violate any rules or regulations set out by the SEAB regarding SPA. However, should a violation occur, please inform the author and this article will be promptly deleted

Science Practical Assessment was introduced to replace the Science Practical Examination that was being used then to assess the abilities of the candidates in performing practical experiments in the respective disciplines. I remembered several rationale behind replacing the science practical examination with the science practical assessment, one of which was that it allows candidates who are taking the exam to not be so worried about their one and only chance to score well in the science practical exams.

I thought that it was a great idea then, mainly because it would be nice to have more then one chance when it comes to a science practical. You can imagine the gloominess that follows a science practical examination when you flop up something halfway, especially when you have prepared many times for the exam. It is also quite irritating when you are measuring something and it just so happens that you made a simple mistake in the set-up somewhere and that costs you the whole of the experiment without giving you any chance to ever rectify that mistake and score the marks that you actually deserve, but lost because of a moment's folly.

Also, another rationale was that candidates were not following proper lab procedures when we are doing science practical examination. I remember not even worrying about whether or not we should wash the burette when we start volumetric analysis in chemistry practical examination at O levels because none of the invigilators would care about you and you wouldn't even be marked down even if you did. That's because in the SPE, you only needed to present the correct observations and conclusion to score that marks you need.

However, in SPA, correct lab procedures need to be observed. Marks are now placed on the way a candidate perform his experiments in the lab and this helps to train candidates in the correct methods of handling the many different types of equipments in the lab. I felt that this was a good change, as I'm finally more conscientious of what I'm doing in the lab, and also making sure that the readings are as accurate as possible the first time round, and not re-doing experiments over and over again because of a speck of dust in the containers.

Of course, I've finished my SPA already, so its kinda easy for me to tell you guys about the good stuff about SPA because I don't have to worry about the next SPA that is coming up. If I had to worry, I would probably be whining about how dumb SPA is and all...

And why is that?
Look at it this way, in the old SPE, the best that the teachers could do was to guide their students in the main methods of practical and then leave it to the students themselves when they step into the lab. However in the new SPA, practicals are now "designed" such that they train us to be ready for the next practical exams. Sometimes I wonder if this really portrays an accurate picture of a candidate's ability to do practical.

Face it, the failure of SPA is that most of us don't even remember any of our SPA skills any more because there is no need to remember them once we are done and over with the SPA. I can't list any examples, but seriously, if you are geared up to one particular type of experiment due to the way the practicals are designed, a good question to ask would be is it really teaching us to use our practicals skills, or are we just simply trying to present to the invigilators and examiners with what they want to see?

What's the point of studying? Is it to get high marks and to be the top in whatever cohort? I don't believe in that. Learning about science and doing practical isn't about getting your As and that's it. To me, its more about learning the skills that comes along with it. How do you make sure that the measurement you get is accurate? How do you make sure that there are no other variables that will affect what you are doing? This is the more important stuff, not about going through the motions checking this and checking that in a robotic fashion simply because we already done that before and is simply regurgitating it in the practical examination hall.

I mean, come on, maybe one day we will find the need to conduct an experiment that we thought up ourselves, and if we are stuck into that geared up practicals... then how?

I would say that SPA has tried its best to teach us skills and sometimes indeed, I would say that our tutors have tried their very best to impress upon us the true meaning of doing practicals, and not because we want to score an A for our science subjects. But looking back at it all, the mock practicals that we were doing that leads up to each SPA, it felt less skills and more repeating of work...

Alright, that was about the skills part. Word has come round to say that next year, SPA will change its format. Currently there are 4 skills which are tested separately in the SPA:
1. Planning
2. Performing the experiment and tabulation of data
3. Analysing the data
4. Pointing out errors and way to improve it.

Skills 2,3 and 4 are tested twice while skill 1 is tested only once. This means that there's a total of 7 tests. There's quite some chances for you to flop up here and there but overall, you won't die because of one miserable flop. But hey, things are going to change next year!

Next year, SPA will only have 2 tests. One in the first year and one in the second year. Skills 2,3 and 4 will be tested in one shot in each assessment. OK, truth be told, its damn freaking hard to do that much things in one shot. Personally, my brain died after completing only one skill. There's so many things to write and report about, so many things to take note of, and now they're only going to give you 2 chances? I thought we were trying to reduce the burden of having a mistake in your practical exams...?

Hmm, sounds like we are going backwards eh? Personally, I'm against the reduced amount of tests. Ah yes, less stress, but that means that the sort of privilege that we have had in terms of making mistakes is severely reduced for the next batch of people taking the SPA exams. Is that the point of having the SPA exams then, or should we just reinstate the SPE, but with a change in the emphasis to that of the SPA.

To make it clearer:
One big practical exam that means you have no chance to flop, but with marks allocated to the way you should perform the experiments like that in SPA.

Sounds like a good idea to me, judging from the way things are changing already in our science practical examinations.

And hey, things are going backwards as usual. Just look at IP, who remember the good old days when there were no junior colleges and there were college departments in secondary schools that prepares students to university?

Discmon

Points of travelling...

I've just came back from my holiday, and I think a lot of people never realised that I was on holiday until they found that I did not reply a single one of their SMS-es over the period of one whole week... or maybe they knew I was on holiday but conveniently forgotten =P

Anyway...

Have you ever wondered what's the point of travelling?
I know there are already various answers to this question, such as visiting new and wondrous places, taking a break from a hectic work life, or even just plain wanting to get out of your comfort zone and stretch your legs in dangerous and exciting places.

When you go on a package tours, I sometimes get this feeling that the only thing that matters on such tours is to reach each destination quickly and see the most important or most famous part of that place. Following which, you'll go to the nearby souvenir store, buy something and leave the place...

To me, the point of travelling isn't to get to your final destination as quickly as possible. Quoting Discovery Travel & Living, the journey to your destination is the most important part of travelling. I feel that after all these years, I finally understood the meaning of this words.

Just a few days ago, we had to take a train to reach our next destination and its going to be a really really long 6 hours ride to our destination. There was absolutely nothing to do on the train other then walking up and down the corridor, admiring the scenery outside, visiting the toilet, going to the food carriage and looking blankly at the occupant of the seat who is opposite you. Now, who could handle this sort of boredom for 6 hours? Well, I can actually if I have my mp3 player around, but being me, I decided to talk to the two people who were sitting opposite of me.

So I started the talking and before too long we were engaged in conversations on a wide array of issue. The person was from China and he's off travelling with his friend after finishing their college exams. I think its a great way to spend this short holiday away from home seeing as technically you've become an adult when you are admitted to university...

So anyway, through this conversation I learned about all sorts of stuff, such as different view points on life and society simply because of the upbringing of the person and the exposure to society that the person has. I think the point of travelling is not simply to just have fun and visit interesting places. One other point of travelling is the wonderful people and culture that you meet there. Maybe its because I like talking to people and meeting people, but that's what I see in travelling.

Through this talking, you learn about other cultures and other people's aspirations. The aspiration of a graduate from a small town, the beliefs of a person who went through NS and decides to seek his fortune elsewhere, the thoughts of life from a person who has experienced the same thing as you...

This are the things that I think we should seek out in life. That's why humans are amazing and every life is worth living, its because we are all different and unique.

Discmon
ps. I apologise for not sounding like myself for the time being. Haven't been blogging for a bit and writing essays, so I'm trying to warm back up.

The Final Event...

Etude 33...

I guess I'll remember this title as the FINAL EVENT that I'll possibly ever do as a member of NJ PA. It's true that I stepped down like a few days ago, but that doesn't stop my love for technical stuff and trying to learn more about the really cool systems that are all around us.

Anyway, some background on the event first:

Etude 33 is a last-minute request from National Junior College Symphonic Band. Basically, we did a recording for them when they had their anianime concert, and because of that (and their unwillingness to pay Victoria Concert Hall a large sum of money to do recordings), we were called in to do a recording for them. I responded enthusiastically to this event (although the rest weren't as enthusiastic) and of course I did the event...

Anyway, Nicholas Lim was the only person who responded to my request for help and so the two of us set forth to do the recording and the event. We met in the early morning at 11am in school to pack our equipments. We had to brave the big rain and storm to reach the school gate and we were pretty soaked by the time we reached control.... (dumb side gate). So anyway, we decided to pack a lot of cables just in case we need to drag a huge amount of extensions to be able to position the mic and do the recordings.

We packed a lot of extra stuff in the end, but this is due to the large amount of uncertainty that we had to deal with...

This is the layout of VCH. For the recording, we were planning to position mics at the aisle on the first floor as it would then pick up what "the audience will hear". This ensures the highest quality of recording, or that's what we thought it should provide...

Unfortunately, because of safety issues and the like (people running for their lives in a fire), the mics cannot be placed at the aisle and have to be shifted somewhere else. The suggestion was to place it at the side of the stage and record from there, however, we fear that this will cause only some instruments to be picked up and would result in a very unbalanced sound. We also did not have a super tall mic stand to hang the mic above the conductor so we had to forsake that method...

Our next course of action was to position the mic in this place where the lights are positioned. Sort of like a hole in the wall...

Basically its the 4 black holes in the wall in the picture above. This holes are normally used to position lights to shine on the stage. Anyway, we managed to position the mic there, however our test recording found that there was a lot of echo. This is because a shotgun condenser do not just take in the sound in front of it but also will take in a bit of sound directly behind it. Since the box is closed, the sound echoes inside the box, resulting in a lot of pickup from the shotgun condenser mic as it takes in both from the front and the back...

Because of that, we repositioned the mic again. This time its outside of the box. Although the recording quality is the best here with a drastic reduction in the level of echo, we were not allowed to do that because of safety issue again.

In the end, we shifted our mics yet again to the far end of the concert hall. There's some sort of balcony on the 2nd floor and that's where we position our mic.

Here you can see a picture of the position of the mic stand...
Anyway, we learned some cable laying skills that really made the cable invisible (position the cable and hide it behind the seats, follow the contour of the ground... blah blah blah)

Anyway, after the set up was completed, here is a picture of the lonely corner I was hiding at (nah, I wasn't hiding, I was openly displaying my presence =P )

For the recording, I used one shotgun condenser mic pointed at the stage and recorded using the AUX output on the Allen&Heath PA12 so that I can control the volume level using the faders. The output was fed directly into the audio input jack on my computer and recorded using Audacity. At the same time, the sound was processed using Realtek HD sound effects manager so that acoustic echo is suppressed. This was a measure taken to reduce the effects of echo in VCH.

Victoria Concert Hall is an acoustic hall. Meaning that it does not need mics or sound boosting systems to ensure that the audience can hear everything. What this also means is that the hall itself is extremely echo-y and sounds will bounce all over the place. To a certain extent, it's a very good thing. Firstly because when you send sound through a mixer and speakers and blah blah, there will definitely be a reduction in the quality of the sound because its a mechanical machine. To put it simply, certain frequencies of sound may be affected by the machines and the speakers. However, this makes recording a pain without PRO equipments because you'll have a hard time with all the echo bouncing around....

Also, do take a look at the long dark strip on top of the concert hall. That's the position of several speakers. MCs, unfortunately, are usually not as loud as instruments, therefore they still need mics in the acoustic hall. Thus, the speakers are positioned. Also, I checked their EQ while I was in their control. Their EQ has a drastic reduction in the level of the bass frequency of the mics, showing how much the bass frequency bounce inside VCH.This also means that most of the feeding that occurred is low frequency feeds, and is only brought about by the MCs who are around.

However, I think it's right to commend that their light and sound system is set up correctly. We do not hear any of the irritating buzzing sounds when the lights are being switched on or off. When lights and sound cables overlap each other, the power cable of the lights tend to interfere with the sound cables as a magnetic field is generated when a current flows through a wire. This results in the irritating buzz that we hear a lot in LT 1 and LT 5 to a certain extent.

Victoria concert hall has a very simple lighting set up not meant for rock concerts or large dramas where the lights have to be very accurately positioned and placed. It boasts several spots light that are aimed at various points on the stage, and a really nice full stage PAR flood + wash. But mostly PAR flood.

The spots are positioned such that their main target is the conductor's usual position and the left and right side of the stage for the usual MCs.
The PAR flood is what I like about victoria concert hall as a venue for large concerts. It provides ample lighting for the orchestra , bathing them in a soothing white light, while at the same time not compromising the performers ability to look at their script.

The control box at victoria concert hall is also well positioned, giving it a nice look at the whole stage and the whole hall in general. This allows it good control to anything that might happen. However, it does not need to be positioned in the crowd as most of the sound is not controlled from control but from the natural acoustic of the place.

Victoria concert hall also has nice house lights. The house lights can be dimmed to whatever intensity that is required and has a nice starry effect on the ceiling.
Overall, victoria concert hall has a simple but adequate lighting system for the events that it runs.


I think its fitting for me to end my NJ PA journey, with a journey to Victoria Concert Hall and taking a look at the wonderous system there as well as setting up my own recording system. Looking back, I started not knowing anything at all and was learning everything from the most basic. From the mixer, to the lighting board, to computer lightings, to the systems of various other venues all over Singapore and to a certain extent, around the world. I believe through all these experiences, I have learned many stuff that the seniors never taught to us (speakers can be joined together etc.) There are many different PA systems all over Singapore, and I strive to understand each and at the same time, learn something new from it (=

Going back to the event, its quite an enjoyable event, with band doing their utmost best at performing. I like to thank them for the splendid night spent there.
Oh... and...Me and my equipments (= in the small little corner in Victoria Concert Hall...

A fitting end (=

Discmon

A thank list that goes on forever...

... ... ... ... ...
To tell you the truth, I don't know how I should feel today after everything that has occurred yesterday...

With the end of yesterday, the end of 4th of June, the end of PA camp...
I'm officially no longer in NJ PA, no longer the QM, and no longer... in many people's eyes... do not have a life...
(=

Anyway, looking back at it all, its been an amazing and wonderful journey with everyone as we ventured forwards and made sure that we continue to do the good job that our seniors have left behind for us to continue to do. There were many trials and tribulations, many challenges and obviously (with the whole bunch of jokers around) a lot of laughter that we have had together...

So, I've never really done this before. (THIS being giving "thank you"s and comments to people on my blog in a sort of listing fashion, but I guess it has to be done). If I happen to miss out anyone, it doesn't mean that I don't remember you, just that I don't have as much to say I guess... (I'll try my best to write something for everyone)

Kai Zhong:
Of course, we start this of with our dearest President. Never forget how we all met together in PA and started to talk joke and everything. Even though we always call you "a joke" (and you did prove to all of us that you ARE a joke), I think I respected you a lot and made sure to follow what you say as much as possible. Of course, not forgetting the amount of hard disk space that you misused on my computer and using it to watch your anime...
You'll have to find another way now =P

Siyuan:
Possibly the most serious and most militaristic guy I'll meet in a long long time. Thanks for dragging us all back in meetings when we start drifting all over the place talking about lame crap stuff that could drag on for hours. Even though you don't say much sometimes, you make your presence felt all the time in some unknown way, call it the Siyuan's aura. I appreciate all that you have done and your confidence in us. Don't give up and continue pushing onwards. Sometimes its hard to see the small and happy things in life, but I'm sure you'll be able to see it eventually (=

Yu Xuan:
It's nice knowing you and meeting you over this whole period of time. Even though you don't say much, the things you say really gets to the root of the problem and I think this sure saves us a lot of trouble some times. Thanks for your confidence in some of us, and I think we won't forget the mugger of PA too early ^^. And of course, I'll remember all the events that we have done together...

Melissa:
I'll definitely remember how you like to come to control and throw your bags and then leave it quite soon after. Thanks for providing an IP perspective into our PA exco meetings so that we are able to better understand things from the other side. Thanks for being a great treasurer as well or we would not have been able to claim back our money after purchasing so many things here and there. Of course, its not just the role or the job, but also the level of dedication to PA. Thanks for everything (=

Levon:
Haha, our "glam" representative... (went to find a bucket). Ok, that's a bit better. Thanks for coming back to us eventually and I hope that after all this period of time, you have found a reason for all of us to come together and spend our time. Thanks for being THE CCO that keeps things going in the worse of times (=. Your "glam" actions will serve to be a constant reminder of the jokes that was added into PA after coming back (=. It's been a great journey with you to the end of our term.

Nicholas Lim:
Our TO. Sorry that I ate into your job a bit during our whole term >< but I guess in the end you still are the best TO, a much better TO then I would ever be (=. Thanks for your own personalised joke and method of talking that we would never be able to emulate perfectly. Even though you seem relaxed all the time and really slack, when we really need to get down to business, you'll switch moods and we get to see... THE OTHER NICHOLAS. Oh ya, PA aside, thanks for teaching me stuff that I do not know, especially math and science and the like. Overall, its been nice working with you and having you as a friend in PA (=

Eng Yian:
Although I know that there are some things that came between us in the end, I still feel that you are a great friend and a great person in PA. Without you, PA would be very different and we would not be able to reach what we are today. I would like to thank you for bringing new perspectives on the things that are happening all around us and I really like the debates that we used to have in control over all sorts of stuff. Thanks for everything, especially for supporting all of us when we first took over.

Yan Ling:
My classmate for the first three months in NJ and then later, my CCA mate for the next one and a half year. Thanks for supporting all of us after we have taken over and also your dedication to PA. Not just from signing up for events or coming to help us out during our two camps (in which you played a very very integral part in ensuring that we can carry out our camp successfully) but also in responding to those last minute events and also those big events where we simply require a lot of support from everyone. Thanks for always being there for all of us, and I hope you had a lot of fun times with us too ^^.

Huzaifah:
Possibly the most dedicated member to PA even though you were not able to help us out a lot because of the ban that was placed on you. But even with the ban in place and not being able to work with you any event after june, you still stayed with us all the way, you still came to control to talk to us, you still came and supported us in the best way that you could despite all the various limitations that have been placed on you. Despite not being able to know more about you after June last year, I still think that you are really a dedicated member of PA and I know I can rely on you if we ever needed any help.

The EXCO:
Thanks for the wonderful year. I think that through all the challenges and times that we had spent together, we have forged a bond that would not be so easily broken. Call it a electrostatic attraction holding oppositely charged ions together. (= Together, I think we make a great team where we do stuff in a nice and very funny manner even if the stuff is really damn stressful and challenging

PVC:
You know who I am referring to right? Basically, Kai Zhong, Siyuan, Eng Yian and Me. If I remember correctly, our name was derived from Siyuan's blog post after he notes that each of us have a very different take on life. Siyuan is the military freak, Eng Yian is the realist I think, I was the liberalist and the columnist (because I am too ideal) and Kai Zhong is the kopitiam uncle.
Basically, the Polarised View Club...
But it wasn't long before we became the Potentially Very Chaotic event crew. So named because the 4 of us happened to be the group of people who took up all the phantom events that occurred during the first 6 months when we were exco. And this events tend to became very chaotic because nothing is well planned for phantom events.

PVC crew all the way!!!
Oh ya, the standards we set for ourselves then:
-4 man bi-amp set up in 15 minutes
-2 man stereo set up in 5 minutes
-1 man control
-1 man backstage

Mervyn, Hsiang Wei, Grace, Cassandra, Eugene:
I'm sorry I link all 5 of you together because I'm not very sure that I would be able to write different things for each of you. Thanks for everything, especially the support you gave to us when we just took over and a whole lot of our own batch people left us. Probably the first group of people who came back to us after we took over and solved our huge manpower issue and member issues. I like to thank you guys for everything that you all have done for PA, everything in fact. And always staying committed to PA even after all sorts of things came into your life. THANK YOU GUYS!!!

Shijin, Yijing, Jingwen, Li Chun, Jonathon:
Thanks guys for everything that you all have done in PA. Everything over the whole of this year when we were in the PA exco. Supporting us for event and generally just creating more and more joke for us to laugh at (the star folding jokes really get into mind). Even though towards the end I don't really see a lot of you all, nevertheless, I feel the commitment to PA and whatever you all done to help us in some way.


THE JUNIORS:
There's just too many people I need to talk about and express my thank in this post, so I guess I could lump the juniors together as I don't know all of you guys that well yet. Come on, its only about half a year. Anyway, I think I know some of the juniors a bit better and some I don't really know that well... but ...

Thanks for all the support you guys gave to us after you guys joined us this year. With you guys in PA, you brought in lots of new stuff and lots of new laughter and joys for the whole of PA. I hope that I have taken care of you guys well and that I didn't leave any permanent emotional scarring or the like in any of you guys...

I guess the best part is that you guys injected a sort of new life into our already very stagnant jokes that we've been telling each other for the half a year already. (=

Other then that, I hope that you guys will stay committed to PA after we guys are gone (we are gone already technically) Don't give the new EXCOs a hard time and make PA the best CCA that there ever was.

To the new EXCOs:
I think I've said a lot of what I wanted to say to you guys during our meeting and the like already. So, just do your best and set your own expectations. Every EXCO is different, by extension, every PA is different. Make it the best you guys can do !!!

This list could go on forever, not forgetting:
The previous batch:
Thanks for choosing us as EXCO and educating us making sure that we all are proficient in technical stuff. Especially thanks when you came back and pointed out to us some mistakes or errors that we were committing. Thanks for all the wonderful memories that you gave to us when you guys are around, and the wonderful memories that you gave to us even when you guys have left, but came back to talk crap and laugh. Thanks guys for everything. We would never have reached so far without you guys...

Mr Ang:
Thanks for all your help over the past one year. I know that I have left some things undone and was not able to fulfil everything you had expected me to do as a QM of the CCA. Nevertheless, thanks for everything and especially helping us when we had some technical problems. I believe that you have given your best to us and I hope that I have given my best to you too. Thanks for the whole of this twelve months (=

Samuel:
Even though you only joined us in January, I could tell that you are a very dedicated member of PA when you were the QM then. Thanks for bringing in new insights and knowledge of technical stuff into PA and especially for always being with us when we were doing events and whenever we had any problems. You also gave us a lot of suggestions and comments on the things that we plan on doing and thus helped us to avert problems and the like. Overall thanks for all your guidance. Oh and especially thanks for accompanying me in control (ok, I don't know which way this thanks should go so I guess its both ways). Thanks for everything, without you, life would have been a lot harder in PA with all those random phantom events that pop out. (=

All the CCA's, groups and people who we had provided support for, especially council:
I guess firstly thanks for giving us events to do? Haha. I hope that we had provided adequate and good support for your events that you had planned for. Through all this event, we had learned a lot of new things and knowledge that we use to make sure that the next event that we do will reach a higher level of standard that the previous one.

If there had been any problems, screw ups and the like during the events we support, we apologise for it and hope that you give us a chance for us to do a better job next time. We learn through our mistakes and we strive to get better and provide better support each time we do an event.

Thanks also for letting me know about more about you guys through all this events. I would gladly say that I know more people compared to when I first entered PA.

This list of thanks would go on and there a few other people that should have been included on this list, but I guess if this goes on, this list would really go on forever and ever and.... pretty much forever.
It's been a really long and eventful year as a QM in PA.

Everything that has a beginning has an end...

Discmon

Usage of words...

College day just ended, I'm feeling a bit sick, and its been an extremely long time since I last typed anything on blogger. I'm sorry for the hiatus but lets just say that its due to a mixture of the following reasons:

1. Some things just cannot be typed out
2. A lot of time I didn't really had time to type out anything
3. I can't put it into words and I'll hurt quite a few other people and get myself into trouble
4. Ok, I've just been lazy...

But anyway, we'll ignore whatever happened in the morning and the night of college day and just focus on the point I want to discuss.

What is college day? College day is a day where the college comes together to celebrate the birthday of the college of which we are a part of. I feel that it is a very important day in the calendar as the school moulds our character and our knowledge, and prepares us for the future. Obviously, we should give back to the school as much as possible to show how much we love it.

At the same time, I feel that College day is not simply for the college, but for the entire family of students, teachers and staff who walk in and out of it on a daily basis. To put it simply, if there isn't students, teachers and staff in the school, the school would just be an empty shell. An empty shell that does not represent anything, but simply a hollow structure that has nothing inside.

Previously when I was in RV, speech day (equivalent of college day) was a very gigantic affair, with rehearsals spanning over three weeks before the actual event. The whole of the school would be mobilised, with some people being usherers, helpers to teachers and the like... I always felt like I'm a very important part in making sure that the speech day is a success as everyone plays an important part in it. At the same time, the school acknowledges it with the principal and teachers thanking the students who had made it a success...

When I was there, I didn't see the need to hide from the important people who came. In fact, I was always given the feeling that the teachers wanted us to be there to share in the celebration of the school (although, yes they are still very scared that we do anything wrong, but at least they do try) and to contribute to the success of it. I don't feel the pressure to run away from the very important people or what not when I was there and I always felt that its a good chance to get everyone together to really celebrate with the school....

But...
When college day came around, I naturally felt that its indeed an honour to serve the school and to make the event a success, but I'm shocked at the way the teachers and principal treat the students.

At the beginning, our class was told to move tables to the VIP area so that they can have a reception. Sounds fair enough and it seems to be an easy job that will help the college in a wonderful way. But what I don't get is why the teachers have to phrase it like this:

"Basically what you all need to do is to move all the tables out there in that short interval of time and then after that, I want you all to hide in the classroom there and don't make any noise. You must not be seen by the GOH"

....
Ehhh?
To me, without the students, a school is not a school, so why do we treat students like they're some... rascals that should not be seen by the GOH? To a certain extent, the students do contribute a large share of the glory on college day, so why do they not deserve the recognition, and have to resort of "hiding from the GOH"?

College day is a day shared by everyone, so why should the glory and fame only be reserved for the teachers and the hot-shots? The students could very well start a riot and create trouble in an attempt to disrupt the proceedings of the college day, but they do not. Instead, they contribute selflessly to the school, ensuring the success of it. Shouldn't the student be thanked too? Shouldn't they be recognised in their contribution to the school? Shouldn't articles on college day include the students who worked very hard to make it a success? Shouldn't they deserve mention in the school report?

A lot of people would say that this whole issue is crap and arises simply because I had taken a critical stance against the statement that is made by the teacher...
But aren't we held accountable for our words? How many law cases have occurred in Singapore under the accusation of scandal simply because of the wrong choice of a single word or even the wrong implied meaning of a sentence?

When teachers speak to students, they are also faced with the same constraints of choosing the correct word. I mean, teachers do have to convey the correct meaning to students. Not only does it prevent this sort of things from occurring, but it also ensures that the students have the correct set of moral values that should have been imparted by the teacher. If the teacher uses a wrong word and destroy the original meaning of the sentence, it is then the teacher's fault as the student may choose to interpret the sentence in a bad way and get the wrong impression of things.

Taking the above as an example, it suddenly seems like a dishonourable act to help move tables for the college during college day and the job that we do is some under-handed job that should not be seen. But is that true?

Service to the college is one of the values that the college holds dear, but it does not mean that the teacher can give the student the wrong impression of serving. It is the role of the teacher to ensure that the future of our nation is moulded correctly. So isn't the wrong usage of a word causing a different interpretation totally contradicting "moulding the future of our nation"?

Of course, I do not deny that some students could not care less about the whole college day as they don't see the point in it and they don't like the school yadda yadda yadda... This is another major problem... Why do the students not like the school? Why, when they were the one who choose this college in the first place? Is it the students themselves, the teachers or the culture of the school that causes people to be turned off? If its indeed the culture of the school... shouldn't we do something about it? Do something to make sure that people feel that they are needed by the college and are not some "late developers" that is not needed and is actually the dead weight of the college.

Looking back at it all, its basically this:
以人为本。 To put it into English, basically, it means that we should put the people first. What is a country without people? The same goes.. What is a college without students? What is a college when the administration uses the wrong words, brings the wrong impressions to the students which tends to break the college apart?

"Late developers", "Holiday packages", "HIDE"...
What's next? and how long will college day still be a "College day"?

Discmon

"L change the world" without L... Seems very plausible...

Some time ago, I went to watch "L:Change the world". Before I continue, lets hear the great gasp from everyone who reads this blog:

"OMG!!! YOU ACTUALLY WENT TO WATCH A MOVIE!!!!"

Please note: Spoilers from many different films might appear ahead based on whim of the author. If you are those kind of people who cannot take spoilers, then you might as well just skip this post. Plot points will be used indiscriminately to illustrate points and concepts that will be mentioned by the writer.

Lets begin our review of this movie...When I first heard about the movie, I knew it was going to be another one of those hyped-up movie, but I'm not sure if it was going to be bad or good. "Death note" has caught my interest for quite some time because of the deep and elaborate storyline and the conflict between the two characters. It reminds me a lot of "jigoku shoujo" where a lot of conflicting moral questions are asked, such as is it right for us to send people to their deaths because the world would be better without this group of people? and who is the real decider of what is right and what is wrong?

Naturally, I had hoped that this movie would be able to live up to what it had built itself to be. In terms of character development, storyline and the like. Unfortunately, I was utterly disappointed as I stared at the screen in bewilderment at what is happening there...

It makes no logical sense...

Lets start with the most distinguishing one:
We get taken to this lab or something where they are planting trees and flowers. After the boss scolded some guy for selling this virus to the superpowers in the world (he wants to cleanse the planet of humans using that virus), the guy walks off and then turns around and viciously stabs the boss. The boss dies and the three other people in the area looks "shocked".

After that, the guy who killed the boss turns around and told them that they should go and cleanse the world by killing off all the humans as humans are the ones that have been hurting the environment. After about 10 seconds, everyone in the group accepted that person's idea and actively starts to get ready for that eventual attack on the human race...

Alright, big problem number 1:
Let's imagine this, someone walked up to you one day and tells you this story :"Do you know why the planet Earth is in such a bad state now? Its all because of us, because of the race called "humans". We take but we do not produce, we are greedy and we grab everything before us. Do you remember Noah's ark? that was God's cleaning of the human race and the world. The time has come for us again to activate "Noah's ark", to wipe the planet clean of the race called "human" to......"
(Biblical examples used out of context, please do not treat this as correct)

Unless you are extremely simple-minded or very weak-willed, no one will accept this radical school of thought in a short span of about 10 seconds. Its even more so when the three people are still grieving about the death of the boss. I mean, what the heck?

Another point to note is that even if the 4 people there have already long awaited this to happen, it doesn't make any logical sense that they should be shocked by the death of the boss (which they do) and the person even takes time to explain what the heck is going on...

Personally, I felt that it was a very huge plot hole. Possibly, this scene could be about... 10 minutes long to go through the whole scenario properly, but it got reduced to 10 seconds...

Big problem number 2:
Remember the cute girl whose father killed himself by injecting himself with the virus? Either she has horrible mood swing, or she's crazy. Face it, how often do you see a young girl ready to kill someone, just to seek revenge?

Before I continue, lets take a look at "Peacemaker Kurogane". This anime took a total of approximately 20 episodes (minus those lame episodes) to show how a young boy finally strengthened his resolve to avenge his parent's death. Originally, the boy was reluctant to kill and he even disagreed with it even though he wanted to avenge their deaths, but at the final episode, the boy was forced to kill in a Do-Or-Die scenario and then the invisible barrier to killing others was broken.

All this goes to show how hard it is for a human to kill another human. It take strong resolve and desire to see the person dead and that's when it is possible for a human to grab a knife and just kill a person. And yet....

In the movie, it was established very early that the girl is weak-willed and will not be the sort of person who will grab a knife and go around avenging the death of her father. All the early developments in the films seems to suggest that she is a weak girl without a strong character and will most likely not grab a knife and kill people.

It is thus extremely shocking to me when half-way through the film, the girl disappeared from the medical school and went to arrange a session with the killers so that she can kill them... Sure, acting on impulse you might say, but considering the early developments of the films, if you want to say acting on impulse, there was nothing that happened then that would have triggered such a reaction from her (Let's see, picnic on a rooftop with your friends... ehh?)...

Its a serious "no link" and I wished it made a bit more sense.

Big problem number 3:
For no apparent reason (other then to cash in on those "L" lovers [L doesn't exist], death note fans, and trying to put the story into the world of "Death Note"), L just had to write his own name into the Death Note right at the start of the movie. O-K...

23 days to live...
I was expecting that to be some sort of time bomb for L and the entire movie. Maybe L dies halfway or something and yet he leaves enough instruction for them to follow to solve the huge problem that has arisen... That would have strengthened the idea that L is a great detective...But no....

For the first few days, we just see L wasting his time away, eating candy, and oh yea, clearing that huge stack of unsolved cases (which he does in about 1 day)(23 to 21 to 16 to 14 to 12..., you get the idea)After which, the story starts with only around 12 days left to live.

Of course, this gets even worse because it doesn't seem to create a lot of problem with the rest of the story. By the time the whole story ends, L still have 2 days left to live... Which brings up this amazing question: What's the point of the 23 days if it doesn't contribute to the story?

I have the answer:
To cash in on death note fans...

This whole idea of the 23 days reminds me of a channel 8 tv drama a few years back called "密云20天". The storyline of this shows takes exactly 20 days to unfold and the whole time limit of the 20 days is continuously refered to by the way the film is structured so that it creates a sort of "impending doom" on the viewer. I felt that it was a great way to make use of "time" as it creates a huge connection for everything to link together...

But in this movie?

Big problem number 4:
K...
WHO THE HECK IS K ANYWAY?
She turns up quite early through the film and then through a freakish turn of events, she decides to join the bunch of people that wants to wipe human off the face of this planet.
Remind me again, isn't L and K in the same freaking organisation?

I have a few big problems with this:
1. Why the hell do K wants to wipe humans off the face of this planet?
2. How did she get in touch with those people anyway?

Big problem number 5:
She hijacked a plane...
which brings up the point that it makes no logical sense that the army isn't called in. Ok, we could say that terrorism isn't such a big issue yet during the time period that the story is based in... but even before 9-11, plane hijackers were commonly made to face off with special forces during the hostage rescue process...

...So where the heck are the special forces?

There's still one more big problem, which is the complete disregard for the law of physics, but heck, all the films do this all the time anyway...

If we take a huge step back and just take a look at the film... it seems very pathetic once you try to put the whole "Death Note" universe into the film. By itself, it would have been a great film with quite a good story line if it was developed properly, but too much time was wasted on the whole point of trying to link it to death note instead of explaining what is going on in the story. Too many things were assumed and too many things were glossed over... something you seriously do not want to see in a story with huge character developments and plots...

Just looking at the whole summary above, I could have easily named L as Sherlock Holmes, K as Nemesis, F as 007, and the story would still have made sense.

So...
Equation of the movie:
(A good story with good plot developments) + (Death note) - (Parts of the story deleted to have death note in it) = (L Change the world)

I would rather have the movie go into the psychological aspects of the character instead. It would have been an interesting exploration of how those people think.
Lets all go watch "Paradise Now" shall we?

Discmon
P.S. "Paradise Now" is a movie about suicide bombers and how they are not mindless fanatics who just wants to kill as much people as possible and go to paradise. It tries to delve very deeply into the psychological mindset of these suicide bombers and explain what are some of the things that drives them to do these actions.

Some random photos

I know its been a really really really (lets just assume that I've repeated and typed the word "REALLY" about... let's see... a million times? Yup, should be enough to get the point across)...REALLY long time since I last updated this blog at all. I know I've not been as critical as how I used to. There are a couple of posts in my head currently, but before we delve into those topics that would see me baying for blood, lets do some other less serious stuff...

By looking at some pictures in my life...
=P

So anyway...

Ahh, doesn't that look a teeny weeny bit familiar? Well, its just the lock on a cubicle's door in a public toilet....

Anyway, that day I had this horrible stomachache and I decided that its time for me to stop enduring all the pain and just end it off at the nearest washroom. So luckily, there was this toilet that was very very clean, and I went in...

After reliving myself somewhat and starting the recovery process from my ordeal, I noticed that there were two locks on the cubicle door. I had obviously locked it on my way in, but I guess I missed the other lock (Don't ask me which one I used first, you don't exactly remember things when bombs are going to be released)...

So anyway, have you ever watched those shows where the doors have like about a million locks? and then, quite coincidentally, the room decides to go on fire? Its those sort of things that always happen on our drama serials (Talk about script writers running out of ideas, that's going to be something for the movie review that I have in mind... but)

I suddenly had this weird idea of "what might happen should someone be caught in a cubicle with his pants down when the room goes on fire"...

As the person tries to relive himself, he smells smoke slowly filling up the small little cubicle that he is in. He does not know what is going on outside, and initially dismisses it as just another inconsiderate smoker who takes advantage of the toilet to smoke... However, as time goes on, he realises that the smoke seems to be turning black, a highly unusual colour for a cigarette smoke... Before too long, he knows it... It's a fire!!

Desperately trying to end his "bomb dropping" ceremony, he attempts to force everything out while at the same time pulling up his pants to make the necessary escape. However, he now realises that he is unable to open up the door of the cubicle... because there are too many locks.

"**** *** locks"
Slowly and desperately, he attempts to unlock each of the locks on the door one by one. The heat in the toilet is getting higher and higher and the man struggles to breathe while trapped in the very very small cubicle that has "no way out". The amount of locks on the cubicle door seems to go on to infinity (Don't ask me how many locks that guy had used when he used the cubicle in the first place). The fire is slowly consuming his surrounding, will the person be able to make it out alive to live another day.... ....??

(Ok, we'll cut the story here, interested people who have nothing to do is more then welcomed to continue the story...)
(I just got a great idea to make PA blog alive!! Start chain stories>< ...)
Anyway, you get the idea ^^
Whoa, doesn't that picture looks nice?
Just so happened while I was on my way home one day, the train decided to go past the track at that moment in time (I nearly died) Ok, I didn't die since I wasn't even near the track when the train came wooshing past, but I managed to whip out my phone and caught this lovely picture ^^

I like the blur-ness of the photo but I could do with less of the background scenery and more foreground. Should take note of that next time when I do this sort of impromptu photo involving a train, my life and natural scenery...
(Although how likely that is EVER going to happen again will be quite another story)

Alright, enough rant.
Oh ya, if you are interested in looking at the train, come and find me!! We can go pick rambutans together near the track. I think the trees are still around ^^

Discmon

Singapore films...

One of my friends mentioned to me about why Singapore films cannot make it. He said that Singapore films are either too artistic or they are too local. Personally, I see nothing wrong with it, but let’s explore his points of argument first.

Firstly, Singapore films are too artistic.

His criticism lies in the fact that because Singapore films are too artistic, it results in a reduction of the amount of people in the world who are able to enjoy the film properly. The films are thus not able to make it globally and is also part of the reason why up to now, the Singapore film industry do not have really big blockbusters or box office hits that it can be proud of.

What makes a film artistic? A film is artistic when it isn't the stereotypical Hollywood fare, which basically consists of "Boom!", "BANG!", "Fwoosh!", "Swipe" and then the usual sex scenes that go over the top with the lust for flesh... Ok, I admit that this is a very narrow view of what exactly is an artistic film, but I can't really get a good definition of it.

A definition that I had arrived at after watching artistic films for some time is this:

1. Artistic films are films that make you think; films that have lots of hidden meanings and specially chosen phrases to highlight a certain idea that is behind the film.
2. They are films that may seem simple at first glance, but when you go deeper, it becomes a very complicated affair.
3. They are also films that want you to have your own interpretation of it, to have you come to your own conclusion when you finish watching it.
4. They are films that make you want to look for a plot analysis so that you know what is going on and to figure out exactly the entire meaning behind the film...

This is what I call artistic films, and if I am correct, and my friend is correct, very little people appreciate this type of films.

Secondly, Singapore films are too local.

Over the period of the last few years, we have seen films such as "I not stupid", "Money not enough", "Just follow law" and the like. We all know that these films are a highly satirical take on the things that are happening in Singapore and may be not very understandable to a foreign audience. This, according to my friend, is the second reason why Singapore films cannot make it to foreign market.

His criticism on this is because it is too local, a foreign audience is unable to understand the large number of dialects and other variants of Singlish being applied in the movie. At the same time, people will not be able to understand the big fuss being kicked up in the movie over a very trivial issue because they are not part of the happenings and thus is totally disconnected.

For example, if you are an expert in Maplestory and now proceeds to tell a lengthy story to your non-Maplestory friend about how you kill Balrog, your non-Maplestory friend will be going "WTH?!"
Same here...

After listening to my friend criticism of the Singapore film industry, I did not have enough time to reply to him so this is my take on the situation.

Firstly, what is wrong with Singapore films being too artistic?
What exactly is wrong with it being too artistic? Or rather, what is wrong with a film being artistic in the first place? An artistic film is still a film. It’s still a film for audiences to enjoy and to remember and to discuss with other people and their friends.

Besides, isn’t it a good thing that our films are artistic? For one thing, it means that Singapore films are able to be differentiated from the rest of the films out there in the world. It’s a good departure from the stereotypical Hollywood films which basically goes something along the line of “lust for blood” and “lust for flesh”. At least Singapore films will not be confused with American films out there… I mean, it’s a good thing; we will be able to build up a “brand-name” for Singapore films.

Also, if you guys had been following the news lately, there have been lots of reports coming in from westerners where they are criticising Hollywood and the film industry in general. They are usually criticising it for its use of on-screen sex and violence to attract people to watch their film. Criticisms have been lashed against slasher films, splatter films, films that have been created to satisfy a population’s lust for blood and the raw flesh…

Other than that, there has been alarming cases of people who have become numb to the experience of killing people in cold blood because they watch so much violence on tv and in the movie. To some of these people out there, they feel that killing people is nothing, like the way it is being shown on tv. Killing people to achieve joy, is that what we want our next generation to become?

Artistic films are a great departure from the traditional formula of hack, hack and slash, slash. At least we see more to life than just killing and slashing, fighting for some cause that seems to have no logic in, and then end of almost all films with the line “happily ever after”…

Secondly, what is wrong with a film being too local? I mean, seriously, what is the point of a film other than to try and earn lots of money from it by making it a great box office hit? Well, I feel that another point of a film is to inspire, to motivate, to make you think about some philosophical details in daily life that we have already taken for granted and also to make fun of daily life while trying to transmit an important message.

Some years ago, I watched a short film about the last few days of primary school for two friends and how they spent it. It was a very short film and that’s probably the reason why it left such a deep impact on me. It is these films that touch our daily life that leaves such a great impact on us, and probably the reason why we keep remembering them after all these years. Human experiences are somewhat similar all over the world. We all experience happiness, sadness, despair, fear, excitement… All these are common experiences that we all enjoy at some time or other in our life, and even if the film is “too” local, the experiences created, the human spirit, its still present, it’s still there, it’s something that humans all over the world can relate to.

Look at the Oscars…
There are even awards for “best foreign language films”. Sure, Singapore hasn’t won one yet, but how do we judge a foreign language film? Probably on the way it can touch our lives? Isn’t that one of the best measurements for a good film?

So after looking at all of this, what is exactly wrong with Singapore films? Is there anything wrong with Singapore films being too artistic and too local? Isn’t it a good thing that we are able to experience the human spirit instead of continuously embracing the lust for flesh and blood?

Personally, I like Singapore films because they are close to my heart so that’s why I am writing this in the first place, but seriously, Singapore films isn’t that bad. Judging from opinions from abroad over the last few years, Singapore films will continue to grow and one day it will be a synonym with good films.

Discmon

Wet-weather importance

The new year is well under way, and I have yet to post anything on blogger... This seems so weird don't you think?
Anyway, the main reason why I haven't been posting is because I got owned by the amount of work I need to do with the start of the new year and also the orientation that has just ended recently.

Talking about orientation...

(I've decided not to go into a day-by-day analysis of what happened, although I might do that if I manage to clear my homework before my memory during this period of time becomes fuzzy)

It defeats the purpose of my blog somewhat if I go into a day-by-day analysis anyway, so ... too bad.

Have you ever planned events?
Events that are fun and you want it to happen?
And then...

While I was helping out during orientation, I couldn't help but notice about the very significant lack of wet-weather planning. It seems as though the organisers of the event thought that the weather will always be on their side and that it wouldn't rain during the orientation at all. I think that this is a highly optimistic view and that it should not be the case when planning an event at such a major scale where it concerns the impression that they make on the new students in our school.

To quote an example of some of their "wet-weather" program:
They were having mass dance at the track. This is an open-air area. Other then the fact that most people who are learning their mass dances there get roasted most of the time, it is also susceptible to rain. Of course, PA is once again unaware of any other alternative programs should the weather turn bad, so I asked one of the councillors about the wet-weather program. I was shocked by the reply...

"What happens if it rains here at the track??"
"Oh, [Insert name] says: "We continue dancing""
comments: Erm... I'll keep all my equipments now, you can continue dancing.

You get the idea don't you. Just to make a point here, it will NOT be only my equipments that will disappear, I'm sure that the rest of the J1s will DISAPPEAR too. Of course, there is always the "chase everyone back and force them to dance" method, but lets just say that it isn't very appropriate don't you think?

Planning for a wet-weather program is a very important part of planning for an outdoor event. Seriously, you will not be able to know what is the weather going to do to you on the day itself. Besides, we have been doing project work for the whole of last year, councils been doing "project work" for at least 6 months already. Surely you would have learned something from project work even if you had been lagging around and not doing much to help your group...?

Just planning for the wet-weather however is not enough. Similar to what I have mentioned above, the wet-weather program that has been planned must also be feasible to occur. A wet-weather program that involves people dancing in the rain so as to have "more enjoyment" isn't exactly going to work out properly and it'll probably send some angry parents to the school at a very short notice. (I'm looking forward to the June parent teacher meeting, its always an annual affair where war is executed) Even when you do have a wet-weather program planned, please make sure that it is feasible and that it can be executed.

We all learned that in project work already, so why now? Why do we continue to make this sort of mistakes in the process of planning for our events? One of the aims of project work was to make us more able to do this sort of stuff. Then I would like to question if project work has indeed helped us at all when coming to this sort of events if we continue seeing this pieces of planning that are not complete at all?

Alright, this has already became a question of the purpose of project work...
Of course, I won't say that orientation was a flop. Sure, it has its good and bad points in planning, as do almost all other events. The important point here is that we learn from our mistakes and do not repeat them so that we can make our next event a better one. Overall, orientation was a exciting and happy affair (my teacher aren't exactly happy) and we got to have lots of fun, lots of jokes and meanwhile, attracting lots of J1s to our CCA.

Hopefully, most of those juniors will be staying in the CCA and become an active member of that CCA, then we'll have less worries when we depart from them in June.
Of course, June is a bit faraway from now...

Or.. is it?

Discmon