I'm surprised Mr Devan would behave like the other PSLE parents when his kid returned a poor grade on his presumably GP essay. The school system is too rigid, he claims, in being dogmatic to the thesis-exposition-conclusion model of essay writing. He gives examples of great essayists whose works don't follow the pattern, Bacon and Orwell he quotes. The thesis-expo-conc model might work for boring old reports on Singapore's economy or a lab report, but doesn't reflect the writings of novelists and journalists, so why can't we be flexible about it [and give young Master Devan an 'A' for his effort, instead of a 'B' or whatever]?

Let's just dump all our illusions and ideals about Education. A GP essay is the most boring thing anyone will ever write. GP isn't creative writing which celebrates a free flow of thoughts and ideas that might eventually meander to some revelation. Or not, which is also ok. GP doesn't like the personal and the story-telling style either, so even if Orwell himself wrote lines like the ones Devan quotes, I would still write in the margins in glaring red: Narrative! Relevance?

We forget that GP, like any other subject, is a training regimen in a particular discipline. And the grades a student gets are merely reflective of the skill demonstrated by the student attained in that discipline. GP is a narrow discipline because it belongs in the realm of Pre-university, i.e., teaching kids to cope in the university environment at which they will be writing boring, stuffy academic reports about the Singapore economy, lab reports and probably worse. They'd better be prepared.

In GP we emphasize not so much clarity of thought, but rather clarity of communicating our thoughts. Socrates was brilliant, but if he didn't have the ability to articulate his most significant idea: "You're all idiots!" to us, his wisdom would have died with him millennia ago.

The thesis-expo-conc model is great for communicating ideas because there's no room for discontinuity, or for random, stray, left-field thoughts entering the argument and confusing the issue or the reader. It makes the essayist more careful in considering his purpose for writing, more aware of the audience's desire to access a simple idea and have some evaluative deliberation over it. It makes the essayist research the background of the issue and be personally responsible for what he says about it.

The essayist is a person of integrity, who has thought hard about the issue being discussed, has learned as much as he can about the issue, and proposes a course of action that is both practical and responsible to deal with it. This is the way leaders communicate with their people, and as potential uni-grads who are likely to hold decision-making positions in society in the near future, they'd better learn to write and speak like leaders or hell, they ain't gonna get no respect. No, sir!

If you don't like GP to be so inflexible and narrow, remember that this is a course in writing that caters to the lowest common denominator, same as every other subject in the formal curriculum. In our hands, we would have shattered the confidence of Bacon and Orwell, sending them in tears from the classroom time and again. They would have had stable jobs in the civil service, but they would never have written another essay as long as they lived, ever again. But if you want your genius kid* to flower, why not try homeschooling? Your kid could have taken the 'O' levels at the age of 9!

*Darn! Link for ST subscribers only!

Rediscovering Ya Hua Rou Gu Cha -- a long-lost treasure -- was June's biggest thrill from yesterday's reef walk. Back when she was working for Compaq, this was THE place to celebrate Department events and special occasions. But when Ya Hua moved from Outram, they fell off the radar... until last night. As the bus took us back to campus, there it appeared, right outside PSA's Tanjong Pagar Gate 1, with a basement parking lot conveniently located right there.

So today, we went to see if it was as good as she remembered. The rou gu cha here is of the peppery variety. It's claim to fame is that with the same soup base, they make complementary (meaning "goes well with", NOT "free, gratis") side dishes of Chinese lettuce, Japanese seaweed (yums!), pork liver (excellent!) which we ordered (left). The different soups take on the flavour of their main ingredients so there's a multiplicity of variations on the basic rou gu cha theme in one meal.

Was it good? Yes. The top pix shows the pre-lunchtime crowd on a Sunday in the business district. Hint: go early if you want to get a table.

Edit 01:
This is the second time Mr George Lim Heng Chye has got my goat with another inane, petty and ridiculous letter to the ST's forum pages:

Man exposed himself to boys
October 28, 2007 Sunday

ON OCT20, I took my young son to the Ang Mo Kio Swimming Complex for his swimming lessons.

After his session, I accompanied him to the shower room. There, I noticed a man standing naked, drying his hair with a towel while displaying his full frontal view towards two young boys, who were in the midst of changing.

What was offensive was that the man was in a state of physical arousal. He was standing close and exposing himself to the boys, who fortunately ignored him.

When my son got out of the shower, I told him to change quickly and we left the room.

That man was still 'drying' his hair with a towel when we left. It did not look like he had any intention to get dressed.

What I saw was a pervert who was looking for an opportunity to satisfy his lust in the men's changing room by preying on young boys. It was a detestable act.

I urge the Singapore Sports Council to send patrols or marshals to stop such perverts from deliberately parading naked in the changing rooms at swimming complexes.

Hellooo... you saw a MAN naked in a MEN's shower room. Newsflash: people shower with their clothes off, most of the time. Ok, the dude was towelling dry his hair, but unless he had brought an extra towel with him (most of us won't bother), what else was he going to cover himself with? His dry BVDs?

Oh, and you thought the man was in "a state of physical arousal"? Men are born with differently sized um... physical equipment. Just because his might have been bigger than [what you're used to seeing] doesn't mean he was particularly excited by what your genetic offspring or you had to offer. Alternatively, he could have just towelled dry his own nether regions, and the stimulation might have inadvertently caused some "arousal". Has it been that long for you?

In fact, by taking note of the man's endowments, you were probably violating his privacy and he could sue you for it. The two young boys he was allegedly "exposing" himself to were probably his own sons who had the sense to ignore their dad going about his business. I think they'll turn out ok, but I worry about yours.

Just curious. Did you ever serve NS, or were you excused bathing for some medical condition or other?

You should stay away from the Women's shower room. With your constitution, you'll risk an ambulance ride to the nearest hospital if you ever saw what goes on in there. Naked women showering. The horror!

Staff field trip to Kusu Island! About 30 of us, some with spouses and/or kids in tow descended upon the tidal pools on the island to view the different lifeforms observable at low tide. Guides from Blue Water Volunteers showed us around, this being the last trip to the island they are organizing for the year.

When a place has generally few human visitors, it's amazing how much life flourishes. Today, however, we arrived; and though we were careful to gingerly step around inhabited patches of the reef, I'm sure some lifeforms came to grief under the soles of our feet. But we really did try to minimize our impact on the ecosystem as far as possible.

As we waded through the salt-water pools, we encountered crabs of the hermit and flower varieties, and one of the other guides put one small, hairy specimen in temporary captivity so that most of us could see it first-hand. What other things did we see? Check out the rest of June's pix here.

Our guides, Dionne and Yvonne, were entertaining and lively, and took our nonsense in their stride. They were informative and encouraged us to get hands-on with some of the creatures. We felt the suction of the carpet anemone's stinging tentacles (our skin is too thick to be affected by the stings) , and had snails and small crabs crawling over our palms just for the experience.

There was time for a quick self-prepared dinner after, while awaiting the ferry's departure. With the budget we gave her, Mel put together a small feast of egg mayo and chix mayo to spread on bread. Various people opened bags of chips, while Linc opened a bottle of cab sauv to share around.

Definitely not the worst way to spend a Saturday afternoon. =)

June got us comps to "The Game Plan" at the very last minute today. There was this huge crowd strung out along a red carpet at GV, Vivocity; and surprise, surprise, Mr Johnson himself strode in to the music of Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock". Corny, but somehow appropriate.

The pix was a quick grab using June's cellphone cam. Mine tends to run out of juice when I need it most.

Honestly, Game Plan wasn't on my list of to-watch movies. I'm quite leery of movies pitting known tough guys against wise-ass pipsqueaks. Arnold's done it, Hulk Hogan's done it, Vin Diesel's done it, and now The Rock? Big guys being put in their place by a tiny costar is usually hilarious in a David and Goliath sense, but the gags come cheap.

But The Rock, to his credit, isn't playing for laughs. There are the expected laugh-out-loud moments, but never once do we feel he's just milking comedy by making a fool of himself. Though his character, Joe Kingman, fumbles around with a new wrinkle in his life -- a daughter he never knew he had -- at a most crucial stage in his pro-football career, and though this unexpected situation causes chaos in his well-ordered existence, he never loses control but instead visibly puts himself on a learning curve to cope with it.

When Kingman gets forced into performing ballet with daughter, Peyton, there's an opportunity for on-screen silliness, but, no. While not entirely balletic, The Rock's on the mark, moving with the ensemble rather than against it. Good choice. In this respect, The Rock makes a transition that few in his industry have been able to, that is to separate the wrestler from the actor, and that's professionalism at the highest level.

Although Game Plan still follows formula ultimately, there are a few twists and surprises to sustain our interest. Peyton arrives at Kingman's apartment under rather suspicious circumstances, and what exactly is her hidden agenda with him?

If there's a point to this movie, it's that despite Kingman's wildly successful celebrity status, with his opulence, fame and his victory trophies, he lives in an empty, lonely world full of nothing but himself. But with the arrival of Peyton, he has to take stock of his situation and ask, what's life without a little chaos? What's success with no one to share it with? Good questions.

Also, a winning team comprises more than just the star quarterback.

I'm enjoying Portal the most out of all the toys in the Orange Box. It's short -- roughly three hours of gameplay to complete -- it's episodic, so stopping the game to do inconvenient but necessary stuff like potty breaks and meals is relatively painless, and the satisfaction of solving each puzzle is pure instant gratification.

There are 19 puzzle solving levels set in someplace called "Aperture Labs", but it's all training for the last level by which time we discover that all is not as it seems. Apart from the clinically sterile environment in which most of the game takes place, there are occasional glimpses behind the facade that reveal that something sinister is happening in the background.

For one thing, all safety protocols are non-existent. Many puzzles include lethal elements like acid-flooded floors, kawai but trigger-happy little gun turrets, and bouncy energy pellets which need to be manipulated into powering certain devices but are instant death on contact. How suspicious is that?

Every puzzle solved brings us a step closer to the truth. Is the lab computer malfunctioning? Its sing-song voice seems a little off-kilter. It promises cake and a party after the lab testing is complete, but IS the cake a lie?

For supporting NPCs in a game, the lab computer has to be one of the most memorable. We only hear its disembodied voice which accompanies us as we progress. It's functional at first, but there's almost a relationship that builds up between us two. Since there doesn't seem to be any other intelligence to interact with in the game, this relationship is more Stockholm Syndrome, less companionship.

I'm not sure how it's possible, but despite the vocal intonations that sound like they're being rendered through an early-generation SoundBlaster card, there's a discernible personality behind the computer's voice that appears genuinely interested in our progress, though not necessarily in our well-being. The information it provides tends to be a lot of corporate nonsense, pointless advice, disclaimers; but it's also disturbing to be watched and monitored so closely without knowing why.

Puzzle games don't usually have this level of story-telling, much less such personality. The puzzles themselves are readily solvable once we get used to the game physics. Since we have no offensive capability ourselves, most of the game is slow and methodical while we trial-and-error our next move. But the last five minutes of the endgame is quite a change of pace -- our personal survival depends on putting what we've learned to use as quickly as possible or die trying.

And now that I have successfully completed Portal, there are more advanced maps to play with. No story, just pure problem-solving. For what I initially expected of it, Portal has delivered so much more in terms of gaming experience.

Test drove the NEW Mazda 2! I couldn't resist it. While M2 stood shivering with uncertainty over his fate in his parking lot at the showroom, June and I took out a new toxic green coloured 2 for a spin.

Unlike the boxy, functional old design, the new one is sleek and sporty on the outside. The sales reps emphasize how the new look is supposed to have been inspired by the Peugeot 207, but really it could stand by itself. M2 looks rather ungainly in comparison.

Because of the new look, the cockpit is more crammed than I'm used to. There isn't as much clearance between the head and the door frame, so there's a little more caution needed in entering and exiting. Much reduced trunk space from the old, and the seats don't fold up so don't expect to carry too much in the back.

The console is quite space-age, though the displays are still more analogue than digital. Controls give the impression that it's all fly-by-wire, especially with the tiny auto-shift lever mounted on the console panel rather than the floorboard. The stereo system looks like it's been moulded into a bubble; sound is adequate, though nothing to boast about. Standard, the upholstery comes in fabric, though there is an upgrade option to 1 or 2-tone (yuck) sports leather.

The ride is s-w-e-e-t. Quiet engine, highly responsive acceleration with a kick you can feel, and it corners well, without the sway that the old model with its higher CG can't help. If I ever get used to this kind of handling, it'll be a great temptation to just hit the highway to see what this baby can really do.

So am I getting a new car? The new M2 is a yummy treat to drive, but after doing the math (yes, we went that far), we decided we couldn't afford the switch. M2 is currently in excellent working condition, so there's no real reason to make the trade; and besides, there's big travel plans to be made next year which need some serious financing. I'm not about to give that up for a new car I don't need right now.

Pragmatism and a level-head won this day!

*video 'koped' from 4a.mazda.com

Cracked open the Orange Box at last. For $79.90, it packs in 5 games, though 2 are reprises (more on them later). The new games are Half Life 2: Episode 2; the innovative 1st person puzzle game, Portal; and the multiplayer Team Fortress 2 that offers a higher level of complexity in the mix of character classes than ET:QW. TF2 I didn't load, since I'm NOT going online with it.

Ep. 2's strength is in cooperative gameplay partnering the player's character, Gordon Freeman, with a highly competent NPC who isn't just a great shot, but also offers contextualized, scripted "conversation" that moves the plot along, and gives the player a sense of companionship unparalleled in any other FPS. It's great having Alex Alyx watch your back with a sniper rifle as you plough through a radioactive swamp crawling with zombies. Though she never misses, the area is so target rich that the shotgun Gordon's totting doesn't have a chance to be idle.

Apart from the runnin' and gunnin', Ep. 2 is also a bit of a puzzle game involving environmental obstacles as well as figuring out how to get crucial bits of machinery functioning. Tense drama, blazin' guns, head-scratchin' moments, Ep. 2's got a little something for everyone.

Portal's a bit strange as a puzzler. The player carries a portal gun that opens holes in walls, floors and ceilings, but the point of entry into a portal leads to an exit point somewhere else on the map. This miracle of technology allows the player to manoeuvre around obstacles to reach objectives that are otherwise physically inaccessible. Amidst this rather disorienting experience is an adventure game that maintains a consistent narrative, driving the player from one puzzle to the next.

Warning: While beautiful and realistic in rendering graphics, the Source engine powering these games makes me sick to the core after a while. Motion sickness makes me play in bite-sized chunks, or alternatively, blow chunks. I prefer the former.

The older games in this package are HL2 and Ep. 1 all over again, for the benefit of first-time buyers who might want to complete the backstory leading to Ep. 2. And this is my cue to announce that publisher, Valve, having recognized me as a legal purchaser of these previous 2 games, allows me to legally GIVE away 1 copy of each to anyone I choose. I'm not exactly sure how the download process is going to work exactly, but the recipient, I suppose, needs to create an account with Valve first. Sooo... any takers? Email me at xmac2006@gmail.com; 1st come, 1st served!

There was no intention to be mysterious about my "decision" in the previous entry, although I suppose that might have overdramatized things a little. All I did was to apply for an MA programme, which means I'll be working and studying at the same time, so Taily was right on the money.

However, the chances of my application being successful are slim, given the limited number of places available. I don't like to talk about my "chances" because I have this irrational notion that the more is said, the less likely it's going to happen.

I'll keep y'all posted about it when I know more.

I realized that life for me has become too comfortably stagnant. Like I've got everything I wanted, and there's this blissful contentment that I've been wallowing in for a while already. As ideal as it sounds, it's also made me lazy and complacent, and the world is starting to pass me by. I'm glad that's starting to disturb me, 'cos I'm still too young to ossify, too young to think like a retiree, and I have too many bills to pay.

As I said before, maybe in not so many words, it's better to be slightly hungry than torpid, languid and overfed. I need a new challenge to rise above, and a new milestone to aim my efforts at. So I made a decision this morning that will push me out of my comfort zone, and will probably add a hitherto unknown level of stress on my life, though at the end, it isn't likely to change my life very much other than perhaps grant me a few more bragging rights than I have now.

It's a decision that is more likely not to pan out, so I won't actually say what it is until I hear more positive results, but even if the outcome is negative it won't matter because I'm hungry and on the hunt again.

Pain and hunger. There's no better way to reassure ourselves that we're still alive.

Where D NY EL went was the mystery of the afternoon. The entire department had upped and left to bid Boss Lady goodbye as she leaves for um... more intellectual pastures than hanging around us nutters.

Josh, B-lo and I were at China Square collecting 8 Don's Pies, and a chocolate banana cake at Awfully Chocolate in Republic Plaza to feed the hungry masses.

It was a great afternoon to be out and about. It was bright and sunny -- the kind of lighting that makes the whole world look lined in sharp, clear edges -- warm, with a light breeze, like summer in TO, which I miss.

This was no formal event, just D NY EL meeting over food and teh tarik at someone's house. We haven't done anything like this for a long time. Years, in fact. So I'm glad that we could overcome our usual inertia to do this, even if the occasion had to be a farewell for someone who was most excellent to work with.

She was calm and steady, understanding, patient and gave good advice. She rose up from among us, to lead us and to be responsible for us. In the few years as our boss, she's since become a seasoned veteran of the HOD trenches. We're gonna miss her.

Fortunately, new Boss Lady is also from among us, and she has our confidence and support. We'll be good and try not to give her too much trouble. Promise.

Oh, what a time to be a gamer! There are so many much anticipated new games that finally hit the shelves in the last couple of weeks.

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars kicked off the flurry with its wide-open spaces, and teamplay comprising a mix of specialists who support one another in combat. It really does feel like being immersed in a war, with attacks coming in from more than just the opposing grunt team but also from artillery, armoured vehicles, water and air craft, all vehicles piloted by the players themselves. ETQW is really meant as an online game, so there's hardly any plot, except to distinguish one side from the other. There are several maps with objectives to accomplish on both sides; whichever team completes all its primary objectives on the map wins the round.

I dunno why I bought the game, though. I'm never going online with it. I'm already getting myself murdered by the off-line mode bots. Besides, after getting myself player-killed by my own teammate in CS (I was shot in the back even before the game started so the berk could pick up my weapon which was presumably more expensive than his) I've never trusted the online gaming community ever again. There, I said it. You guys officially suck.

But ETQW is no fun playing alone, so I'm amusing myself with Spider-Man: Friend or Foe. It plays more like a side scroller than the other games in the SM franchise. No free-roaming in a city, looking for trouble, SM:FoF puts the player on a pre-defined path lined with obstacles, rewards and boss-battles. Like a pretty NES Mario in albeit gorgeous 3D landscapes and a whole lot more beat-'em-up violence. The artwork is more cartoony (probably as a tie-in to the new Spider-Man animated series being released next year) than its previous movie merchandise incarnations, but the humour between NPCs Nick Fury and the SHIELD computer is priceless. The attraction to this game is in the mixing and matching of SM and a cooperative teammate who could be either another Marvel hero, or an enemy with whom SM has formed a temporary alliance in order to fight a bigger threat. Think of the Marvel Team-Up comic series of the 70s-80s and you get the idea.

And still pristine in its shrink-wrap is The Orange Box... I don't have time to play everything, you know? The gamer in me is in heaven, but I'm also a daily-rated salaryman. How else to finance the gaming habit? It's a vicious circle.

According to the NSDUH survey, the education industry ranks pretty high in employee depression. Above us are people involved in the social and health care type services (not surprising), and immediately above us are the artists, entertainment and sports people (also not surprising because depression makes for great spectacle).

But every other type of occupation appears happier than us. Even the janitors, the construction workers, and the maintenance personnel sport bigger smiles on their faces, while the engineers and architects are the least depressed, laughing all the way to the bank. Could our mothers who so insisted on us getting an engineering degree have been right all along? They were a bit off about the doctor thing, though.

So there. Your teachers are a depressed lot, many of whom are probably borderline psychotics on the edge of a nervous breakdown. The stats say so. Kids, what can you do to cheer us up?

In "Resident Evil: Extinction", the T-virus has taken over the world, and only a small handful of survivors remain to fend for themselves against an unending army of the infected undead. It's literally "you and me against the world" when Alice chances upon a convoy of survivors among whom are her old pals, Carlos and LJ.

With supplies running low, Alice brings the convoy a rumour of a safe haven in sunny Alaska. Too bad they're stuck in the Nevada desert. Solution: hit Vegas to stock up for the long drive ahead. Setting-wise, Vegas is a brilliant location for the movie as its distinctive landmarks have been ripped off the major landmarks of the world, so it really does look like the living fighting the undead within a microcosm of the entire world.

While scary-looking, the flesh-munching undead are, as usual, not the "Evil" the title refers to. Yet again, it's the self-serving Umbrella Corporation that seeks to enslave the undead, making Umbrella-ella-ella the largest employer the planet has ever seen. Having no needs of their own, the undead demand no wages, and hence, Umbrella would not have to contend with any future belligerent labor union asserting the rights of the unpaid, unwashed, unliving masses. Now, if only someone could remind all this potential zombie-power resource that they don't actually have to eat living people as they don't actually have to eat anything, 'cos they're, well, already dead.

That job, the Corporate President leaves to Dr Issacs, the Evil Resident of the US research facility. Issacs goes after Alice, whose mutated blood is key to his company's recruitment drive, while Alice just wants Issacs' helicopter so she can fly her chums to Alaska. Talk about conflict!

The movie is kept tight and tense, with a number of "boo!" moments to keep us on the edge of our seats. Somehow, I felt the fighting wasn't quite as intense as "RE:Apocalypse". Maybe the bright, open spaces of desert combat had something to do with that. Zombies don't have much impact in the light of day, and without the dank, claustrophobic crawlspaces to play hide and seek in, it isn't so much fun. Still, babes, guns, bullets that strike with palpable impact, and Milla; I'm not gonna argue.

I think the title, "Resident Evil: Extinction" is also appropriate to this hot news article about pet killings in Puerto Rico. The depravity of such human beings is unspeakable. If people can do this sort of thing to animals, it doesn't surprise me that we are doing it to each other as well.

Who needs a bloody T-virus? You know a dynasty's reign is about over when its members think nothing of committing such outrageous deeds. The human species has lived on earth for too long and it's time for our extinction so the world can recover from our infection. I, for one, am so not adding one more T-virus to the current infestation. Have to do my part for the planet.

I think of my Q-tip, Momo, and Kaiser, and I want to cry.

Attempted to catch the latest "Resident Evil" movie, but for the second day in a row, I've been thwarted by fatigue and inertia. Today was particularly bad 'cos while awaiting our scheduled departure time, we fell asleep watching TV. I only woke up past midnight, while June's still out cold in la-la land.

I don't have a big picture view of our college Open House event, so I won't comment too much on that. My job was to pull a team of student DJs together and schedule their on-air slots. Their role is less glam than it sounds; the kids are among the most harassed while they're on duty.

Apart from playing music (Dani was having a field day selecting the tracks to be played), they had to cope with making both scheduled and unscheduled announcements, while assailing our little secondary school guests with reminders, encouragement to participate in the various games and activities, and calling out prize winners' names.

I seem to have assembled a great team of DJs who were quite up to the task and who appeared to have enjoyed their stressful afternoon quite well. YY and Sumi were bright and chirpy, Tim and Dani turned up their 'tude attempting to interact with the audience, Zen and ZH kept cool, just taking things as they came.

Considering they have had hardly any training apart from perhaps listening to the radio themselves -- and I'm not sure Zen does, even -- I think they did ok. Thanks for being so enthu all afternoon. Wish I had the time and the expertise (maybe I can ask Howie, he's the pro) to train you all properly, though. We could be less ad hoc and aim for longer-term goals then.

Yay! Back to my usual self-indulgent bimbo self again. Got this quiz from YKM. Does seem acceptably accurate, maybe except for the mathematician part. Where did that come from?

You Are An INTP

The Thinker You are analytical and logical - and on a quest to learn everything you can. Smart and complex, you always love a new intellectual challenge. Your biggest pet peeve is people who slow you down with trivial chit chat. A quiet maverick, you tend to ignore rules and authority whenever you feel like it. In love, you are an easy person to fall for. But not an easy person to stay in love with. Although you are quite flexible, you often come off as aloof or argumentative. At work, you are both a logical and creative thinker. You are great at solving problems. You would make an excellent mathematician, programmer, or professor. How you see yourself: Creative, fair, and tough-minded When other people don't get you, they see you as: arrogant, cold, and robotic

What's Your Personality Type?

We bade farewell to our J2s at their Graduation Ceremony today. A little prematurely, 'cos they'll still come back tomorrow, and the next day, and the next... for extra classes, mock papers, remedial workshops, and anything else we can throw at them to help them make the grade and move on to the Uni.

Their finals start in 19 days, and then, hopefully we'll never have to see them again. Out of the nest, at last; spreading their fledgling wings and seeing where the world will take them to next. But till then, they'll be clamouring for one last stuffing of pre-digested worm meal to prepare them for that step out the front door, and that step is gonna be a doozy.

Since Cara took a turn to organize one of these sentimental events, it's become something of a tradition for us staff, by departments, to videotape a farewell message to our kids, wishing them bon voyage, fair winds and good fortune. Over the years, we've been pushing the envelope of what technology, creativity and good taste can avail us in crafting these non-Hallmark approved last words of advice. Now that we have embedded video technology, everyone can view D NY EL's vid to the kids:



BTW, the advice about sleep is serious. Kids are screwing up their brains, being too busy to sleep enough hours every day!

Heh, I should take my own advice.

With limited time for lunch and the sun just beating us down with withering heat in the afternoon, we just needed someplace cool to grab a quick bite. B-lo could have rolled her eyes all she wanted, but trapped in M2 with Amy, Mel and Baggy, our general consensus brought us to McD's in Gardens. Not very imaginative, our choice, but we've eaten at Dju2 once too often already, and anywhere else to break the monotony was better than that.

But McD's here has one major pull factor: it's right next to Cardon Coffee Shop at which we can find the most gorgeous muffins this part of town. They come out of the on-site oven fresh and hot, and in a wide variety of different flavours: cranberry/walnut, oatmeal/orange-peel, chempedak (eew...) are some of the more exotic combinations.

These muffins are light, not oily, sweet without being overpowering. The muffins have a faint, milky aftertaste so the flavour stays in the mouth for a little while longer. And that's quite a pleasant memory.

Stocks sell out quickly, but that's no surprise. Just the 5 of us wiped out 14 assorted muffins, taking full advantage of the free muffin with every half-dozen purchased policy.

Mmm... muffins...

Took Q-tip to Kasey to get her microchip implant. It's unlikely that we'll lose her, since she'll always be wherever we have left her -- not that she's so deadset faithful, but that she's too scared to jump off whatever perch we've parked her on -- but it's best to be careful, anyway.

The implant is a tiny RFID chip that holds a unique identification number so that the person the number is registered to is indisputably the rightful owner of the dog, so there. It's great for identifying a lost pet, but it also makes dog abandonment a futile exercise, in case anyone could ever be so inhumanely inclined.

Kasey showed us the applicator, a small syringe-like device with a big, fat needle, about as thick as the one they use on us when we're donating blood. Yipes! On a little dog like Q-tip, that has gotta hurt.

We agreed to stay and help Kasey with the procedure. We held Q-tip's head steady while Kasey pulled up the skin on the scruff of her neck, where dogs are least likely to feel pain. The needle went in and out, and it was all over. So fast. And Q-tip doesn't seem to be feeling any distress or discomfort from the experience.

I wonder... now that all licensed dogs are "highly encouraged" to be thus chipped, could the military have a remote control device to recruit an army of canine "volunteers" should any hostilities break out?

Edit01:
Ooh! What a stoopid headline!
"Officers find ecstasy in Mr. Potato Head" Must have had a deprived childhood...

Whether we give too much attention to paper qualifications was the topic of discussion among Maddy, HH and me this morning. Consultation with the kids does sometimes bring up eye-opening observations. Despite our insistence on presenting a 'balanced' viewpoint in our essays, it was difficult to resist arguing that this situation exactly describes how maniacally obsessed we are over our certs, degrees and other black-and-white acknowledgments of our skills and accomplishments...

No point completing a long and boring essay discussion here, so only if interested, ok? Click.

Hope Mary will pull through the next few days ok. She got tix for us to LaSalle's "Oh! What a Lovely War!" but while driving to meet us, she knocked over a motorcyclist. The guy hurt his arm and was shaken up, but fortunately, nothing worse. Now she's going through the necessary reporting stages, investigation, and whatever else.

Meantime, our dinner and show plans carried on as usual. We met Jen and Adrian at Sketches for a quick pasta meal. Jen generously shared her voluptuously juicy sausage that went with her spaghetti.

"OWLW!" was quite a slick, professional production by the students of the drama school. The house opened with the chorus streaming out into the lobby area to personally invite the audience in. There was no opening curtain as the cast was already performing a selection of WW1 songs while the audience was still finding their seats. With such high energy from the outset, I knew we were in for a great show.

It was quite the history lesson on the First World War, seen from the viewpoints of the various European nations involved. We got an insight into the political and industrial leadership's motivations for the war, as well as look into the lives and attitudes the commoners at home, and the soldiers in the trenches.

It was uncomfortable as the sober realities of the horror that was WW1 were brought home to us through comic sketches, songs of the period, a backdrop slideshow of old b&w photographs, and simple mass dance movements. I was thinking that if anyone was studying up on WW1, this show would provide a nice, broad overview.

The use of the different European accents might make it a little inaccessible to our local audience though, especially if they're not used to 'Allo 'Allo. The tech was also a little off, with some of the action taking place in the dark, and occasionally the lights came on late.

Regardless, there is a lot of talent in these students. They ensemble cast played well together, to deliver a highly polished production. The guy with the megaphone had me scratching my head a bit, though. What exactly was his role, being cast so anomalously in relation to the period and the other characters? Both in and out of the ensemble, my best guess is that he is the audience's anchor to that distant conflagration so long ago.

My usually bimbotic entries have temporarily given way to issues with slightly more political overtones.I'm probably suffering from an overdose of KI critical thinking paper marking and it's carrying over into my off-duty hours.

Well, since I'm at it, I know a couple of people who have things to say about the political nastiness going on in Myanmar, so while I recover my own wits, I'll let them take centrestage for a while:

Meet Leounheort, who's all fire and brimstone about the injustices taking place up there and how we're implicated in the mess due to our money-grubbing "bizness" and other ties with the junta heads up there.

And here's ST writer, Keane. No, I don't know him personally, but he suggests a bottom-up approach to resolving the crisis which is novel and less confrontational. What do you expect from ST, right?

Interesting that Ms Yu-Foo asserts that "women in their 20s now earn 98 per cent of what their male counterparts do." It's even more interesting that the respondents to the ST report would get all indignant about it. NS shortchanges our guys in terms of their pay and career prospects? I don't think so.

If Ms Yu-Foo's assertion was meant to show how we're closing the gender gap in wages and work, we need a reality check. Because of 2 years' NS, women get a headstart on their careers, while the men discharge their national obligations. Chronologically, women start work or continue their education at the university at 18, while the men can only start at 20. So women have 2 years' seniority over their male counterparts, and yet are still earning 2% less than a man who is just landing an entry-level position at his first job.

It's even more disturbing to consider Ms Yu-Foo's observation that our female grads outnumber our male grads. A female grad with 2 year's seniority over her non-grad male counterpart earns 2% less than him while they are in their 20s? I'm no Math major, but somehow that doesn't sound at all equal to me.

But a more important consideration of wage equality would be the gap between male and female earnings as we grow older. I'd like some data on that before I agree that we have indeed closed the wage gap between the genders in S'pore.

Where the guys are really losing out is in their academic achievement, if what Ms Yu-Foo says about us having more female than male grads is true. That means that more women are in a better position to advance in their careers than men because they have the necessary qualifications to do so. Education does seem to be the Great Equalizer of social disparity in the long term.

So, guys, if ya wanna be lazy, slack off, and don't study, then don't complain when a girl overtakes you on the career track. Understand?

We are approaching the last leg of our 18 month tour. The final stretch before another batch of JC kids take their final exam and, nothing personal, but we hope to never see them again... except perhaps as future colleagues or if they return with valuable tribute in gratitude to the ones who have set them on the path to their success. Right.

This is the last 100m sprint to the finish line, and the good news is that whether each student crosses the line in great vigour and strength, or limps across battered and bruised from falling face first into the mud once too often, everybody wins! And in this final stretch, we staff will be pushing, pressuring, cussing, cajoling, waving pom-poms, whatever -- anything to keep spirits and confidence up so that as many of our students as possible will find the courage to make this last effort to finish well.

The majority will, as they do every year. But this stage of preparation is also like the eve of a major battle. In the gathering gloom, faces aglow in the flickering campfire light, the Commander will "proclaim...

That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man’s company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.

(Henry V, 4.3)

This too is the reality of the task we are all facing. There will be those who for one reason or another are still deficient in the training, the focus and the courage to do what's necessary to ensure victory, or even their own survival. They shouldn't be tested if they haven't earned the right to be tested.

These next few weeks will be crucial to all our JC2s. If you commit to the fight, then you bloody well FIGHT! Each subject you take is a front you must attack to your last breath, no giving up, no giving way. If you waver now, you might as well go home now. Choose.

Finally took Cat up on her lunch offer today. It was great to see her & Sam, Joyce, and Joyce's little 'un, Jun, a reunion of sorts of people who once spent a lot of time in each other's company. Dan was celebrating his daughter's birthday so he couldn't join us. And Googling around, I found Nic who's now a corporate head in the ad industry in KL, a whole capital city away. So perhaps the old YU alumni (though Sam's actually from UT) might actually start meeting each other more regularly, now that we've sort of reestablished contact.

I was last in TO in '92, and in 15 years, we're married and a couple of us have kids. But the last decade and a half, for me at least, feels like no time has passed at all. Yet so much has changed, and we no longer have a common campus or church to keep us together any longer. It'll be will and goodwill, and email(!) that'll keep us in touch with each other now.

Our afternoon began at Brewski's. Location happenin' but not overcrowded, central enough for all of us to get to, food of good variety, quality and value. Seeking dessert, we moved from there to Dempsey Road, Cat's preferred stomping grounds. Dempsey Road is a huge knowledge gap for me and June. The rustic charm of the expansive converted army camp promises intriguing eating and exotic shopping and demands further exploration.

From the various choices available, Jun decided for us that we wanted Ben & Jerry's. The outlet here is like a countryside barn, all wood and some cast-iron supports. It was packed and noisy, with an electric atmosphere, more than what I'd expected on a lazy Sunday. The youthful staff were smiley, friendly and warm. Great place to while the afternoon away, catching up on old friends and acquaintances (what? no! really?), while our ice-creams melted slowly in front of us.

The quick snapshot here shows (L-R) Joyce, Jun (see the resemblance?) and Cat. See y'all again real soon, 'k?

There's a lot of anger and fear over our CPF changes. A lot of questions about what the govt is doing with our money, making us buy a compulsory annuity which we can only cash out if we survive past 85, and how many of us are likely to do that?

It's like a bet: we all put our money in a common pot and if we make it past five years as an octogenarian, we win and we can take our share (plus interest) back in monthly installments. If we don't make it, well, that's the nature of gambling -- win some, lose some. Sure, S'poreans make a national pastime of 4-D and Toto, but who'd have thought CPF would be the latest game S'pore Pools is offering?

I dunno. I'm not really into that debate at the moment. I have more pressing concerns about my CPF. Like how my personal CPF contribution to our housing loan is practically servicing only the loan interest, while June's contribution can only put a tiny dent per month on the principal. And next month, the interest rate is going to be revised again, more likely up than down.

What this works out to is that a truckload of my money doesn't belong to me, but it does pay for my right to own a house... eventually. It's a loss making proposition since the market for my location isn't likely to return to the high, heady time that it was when we bought it. So barring any unforseen incident, we'll be staying put for a while.

This morning, we were at our local HDB office transferring a large chunk of our accumulated CPF to reduce our loan to 10 years from 18. That's 8 year's worth of interest saved, if I calculate correctly.

10 more years to pay for my flat, then maybe I can start worrying about whatever money I have left to retire on.

It's not just us abandoning pets any more! They're doing it in the US too! With domestic rabbits! *shakes head and wonders what the world's coming to. Click here. Thank goodness for animal rescue volunteers, both here and there.

Canis domesticus has suddenly leaped onto the endangered species list. Owners of unlicensed dogs now facing a tenfold increase in fines for the offence have devised a brilliant workaround their predicament: abandon their dogs before the revised law kicks in.

How ironic that a law revised to offer more protection to our pets has resulted in more cruelty to them instead. Couple of issues here: rigid, over-reactive laws designed more to punish than help the situation, and people who would rather save themselves and their money than be responsible for their own pets.

But it's the latter issue that probably caused the former. As people who are urbanizing over what used to be natural habitats of other species, we've been losing sense of our interconnectedness with the plants and animals that form more than just the backdrop of our existance. When they get expensive or inconvenient, we get rid of them like we get rid of garbage.

But a punitive law with such a heavy penalty isn't helping make this situation any better. All the more we've made keeping pets an even more expensive proposition. No one wants to pay for an annual license. They are going to want to pay a $5k fine even less.

Law and punishment won't solve a problem if we don't address the root causes of the problem. Penalizing people isn't going to make them respect their responsibilities. Some dumb idiot abandoned what looks like a pomeranian which somehow wound up on the central divider of the TPE! Charitable assumption: dog somehow ran across the highway from wherever it got abandoned. Uncharitable assumption: dog got abandoned where it got found, owner hoping that a passing vehicle would put the ex-pet out of its misery.

Why do we feel the Govt is always controlling our lives when what we've got is really what we deserve? A little more thoughtfulness towards our fellow beings, people, please! We don't need a Draconian legal system to keep us in line, just a measure of common sense and a little empathy towards others, human or otherwise.

"Censorship is the best defence against unwholesome values. Discuss." Yes, another outline.

I think for an 800 word essay, this one is unbelievably difficult to write. Censorship only limits access to specific content in the mass media. It's really hard to link "content" with "values" without some kind of extensive waffling because the two are obviously not the same thing.

I'm not entirely happy with this outline, especially the way I brought in the idea of "education" from nowhere, and some of the connections are more convenient than considered. It's even a little vague and unrealistic. But what can you do with such a minuscule word limit?

Oh, in case anyone asks why my "outlines" are as long as an acceptable GP essay, it's because they're really outlines for a much larger research paper. Get the hint, KIds?

Edit:
Forgot to mention that M2 went for his 50k servicing. Now he handles a little better, pickup's a little faster, purrs smoother. Wonder if the effect is just psychosomatic?

I think it was Cat who got me where I am today. I recall way back in '91, when we were still young and irresponsible students, she said to me, "why don't you go and teach in a JC?" Who knew it would take nearly a decade of aimless wandering around in the wilderness before her throwaway suggestion would become prophecy?

Thanks, Cat. Now I'm swamped up to my eyeballs with marking; reports, outlines and reviews clawing at my back; vetting of testimonials (SGCs they call 'em now -- same animal, new cage); prelim casualties to comfort and admonish while juggling the inevitable pre-finals consultations that are about to recommence; and a dozen other ad hoc things to accomplish before the year-end hols.

Ah, to be an irresponsible student again...

Whole day spent on drawing up essay outlines and writing exam markers' reports, although according to my schedule perhaps most of what I did was a little premature. I'm confused...

Anyway, while I'm at it, here's another essay outline to bore you to tears with:

"Consider the importance of skepticism in society today." Click here.

The mooncake festival is here again. M-i-L got busy and whipped up a bunch of mooncakes and pig-in-a-basket cookies which also come in the shape of goldfish and, these days, Ultraman.

Due to the recent recall of tainted salted eggs, this year M-i-L's "golden yolk" mooncakes are extremely limited in supply. There are none in this batch here.

That's also the reason why the mooncakes here are smaller than usual. Without the savoriness of the egg yolk, the sweet taste of the bean paste filling would become monotonous very quickly. Besides, they look cuter like this.

Just staggered home from the "Planet Terror" marathon at GV Plaza. It's actually Tarantino's Grindhouse double-bill of "Death Proof" and "Planet Terror" that are usually packaged together and meant to be viewed in one sitting. Here in S'pore, the two movies got split up and sold individually, except for tonight's screening at which we could watch both as was originally intended.

Tix pricing was exorbitant, though part of the cost was to cover our "unlimited" supply of popcorn and Coke... which we couldn't take much advantage of because there's only so much of the stuff we can input before it starts generating negative returns.

The movies themselves, well... what's not to like? Babes with guns, babes in fast muscle cars, babes turning the tables on their dumb, macho oppressors; babes fighting and surviving nicely thank you very much against unbelievable odds. Whether it's hunted tuning hunter against a psycho stalker (Death Proof) or victim turning survivor against an ever increasing hoard of disease-ridden zombies (Planet Terror), it's just fun watching babes find strength within themselves, and put even their most "useless" talents to good use.

Earlier this morning, back in the real world, we spent a small fortune taking our animals to the vet. The cats got their shots while Q-tip went for teeth scaling. Combined, June & I spent nearly $400 making sure our family was healthy. Careful as we are, there's nothing like getting a professional opinion in case we missed anything.

Nothing unusual, though Kasey's professional eye saw that we could still take better care of them. Cats have a little hair-chewing, non-transferable, lice problem, while Q-tip's dental plaque build-up has resulted in a few loose teeth which we need to take action on.

Pet ownership is an expensive proposition. Don't get a pet if you're not prepared for this.

Alvin confirmed his place at our breakfast table with his amazing Excel spreadsheet. It was a work of pure genius, allowing us to key in our orders for McD's breakfast meals and immediately tally our outstanding payment from our own terminals in the staffroom. With a comprehensive list of our demands, it was easy for him to place a mass order for us; a lifesaving gesture on his part, as the canteen was closed today.

Meantime, I've had my prelim marking temporarily interrupted to give my attention to shooting D NY EL's farewell messages to our JC2s. The bulk of our shoot caused quite a bit of inconvenience to the staff not involved 'cos I didn't want any incidentals popping up unexpectedly on camera and forcing an unnecessary retake. The shoot took about an hour split over two sessions today, no more, so I hope to be forgiven for the disruption to the [serious] work schedule... someday.

Still, some shots simply could not be used. I had problems with continuity, poor composition and pacing, and they basically looked weird, not quite complementary with the main storyline, if we may call it that. Have to do some quick improvisation on Mon if I'm gonna meet the Wed deadline

Dinner was at Sunset, finally, after planning to drop by for several weeks now. Amazingly, quite a number of us (and our dates) found this evening to be free. Even more amazingly, Josh and Jo couldn't, even though they were the ones most hoping to go this time around. But Sunset is beautiful, the prices are quite reasonable, and there is every reason for us to make another trip up. Better luck next time!

Have to give IJ credit for trying out a more argumentative, critical-thinking approach to GP, even if it was only for an academic study.

"The aim was to enable students to engage more effectively in critical thinking as they explored different perspectives, concretised their arguments, and analysed the strengths and weaknesses of each other's arguments and underlying assumptions - skills required in both the essay and the Application Question components of GP."

The theory appears sound enough. GP's stock-in-trade is argumentation. We look at ideas, events and phenomena from multiple perspectives, recognizing that not all these diverse views are entirely reasonable. For reasons such as experiential or cultural prejudice, lack of knowledge, or perhaps even because of a personal agenda, people perceive and interpret the things that go on around them differently from one another. It is the stronger folk that try to persuade others to see things their way in order to initiate some action in order to salvage or exploit the situation as they see fit.

These are the arguments we all get blasted with daily. Politicians, scientists, clergy, enterprise, yes, even educators and parents all communicate with us through presenting arguments -- some more formally and more skillfully than others -- but they all tell us to go do something, eat something, wear something, buy something, and so on. For a teenager, all these arguments can appear conflicting, and worse, because they are usually voiced by an authority figure, they sound more like orders and instructions rather than simply appeals for positive support.

If teens feel they have no freedom, and no choices to make, it's usually because they are unable to prioritize all these diverse arguments but instead see them all as equally important, and hence, get stretched apart running, jumping through hoops, fetching and carrying for whoever assaults them with the loudest voice first.

By teaching argumentation and critical thinking in GP, that should be the first step to our teens learning to empower themselves to sieve through their various stimuli, analyze their situation and take action based on their own decision-making processes. This, ultimately, is teaching our teens to fish for themselves, rather than us staff catching, preparing, de-boning, and offering our ungrateful children our best fish dishes all the time. We continue doing this for our kids and we shouldn't be surprised that all they do is pick at their food and all they return to us is excrement in the form of poorly thought out essays and compre papers. Garbage in, garbage out.

Ok. Easy to say. Why aren't my kids performing any better, since I seem to have all the answers? Simple. I don't have the loudest voice.

The pioneer batch of KIds have submitted their Independent Study (IS) research papers. I think there is definitely a difference in the quality of the 2500-3000 word K&I essays I've received, and the 500-800 word GP essays I'm currently marking. Odd thing is, neither I nor NBS have really hand-held the KIds through their IS -- it is an Independent Study, after all -- and they've shown quite a level of motivation, even enthusiasm in getting their task done, whereas we've been teaching our brains out at GP, but I doubt many of the GP kids could produce anything like the K&I IS even at this stage.

How our IS papers compare with other JCs', I wouldn't know. But K&I's emphasis on purposeful research and personal responsibility for knowledge acquisition seems to have pushed the KIds' writing capabilities up a notch from the usual GP standard.

Is it innate in the KIds themselves, that they are already predisposed to cope with such pressure, stress and rigour? Or could it be the nature of the subject, that by setting higher expectations the students stretch themselves further to meet those expectations?

Or could K&I really demonstrate that the industry's "teach less, learn more" guideline actually has some merit? Guess it's up to Cambridge now to put some numbers to what is right now merely speculative thinking.

Good luck with your submissions, KIds!

Today was Lorenzo's one-day-only sale. We were in the market for a new bed frame. Our current one is getting awfully rickety. For some reason, the headboard joints have been getting increasingly loose, and it feels like it'll collapse pretty soon with one more false move.

It's not our safety we're concerned about, but rather Q-tip's. She loves to sleep under the bed, and if there should be a sudden nocturnal falling apart, we're going to end up with one slightly flattened mini-maltese.

Lorenzo has very chic looking beds, all angular with clean lines, and probably great for creating a Zen ambiance. But that is also the problem. Such hard angles are a potential health hazard for people who have to walk between the light switch and their "side" of the bed. I've already stubbed my toe several times on the current bed, but the higher corners on the Lorenzo beds offer bruised shins and knees apart from the usual digit damage. And, as June pointed out, because the bed frame is covered in a leather layer, it'll become a tempting new scratching post for our cats.

So despite the sale, we gave Lorenzo a miss.

We did, however, blow a wad on a Scanteak bed frame, the design of which is surprisingly not that dissimilar to our current one. All teak, nothing to claw at, and seems stable enough so Q-tip can sleep with a little more security at night. For what we paid for it, we hope it'll last 10 years or more.

While the prelims are on, we have just been focused on marking our papers and using the time to write our comments in more detail on each script that passes through our hands.

The kids of this year have been more diligent and studious than I've ever encountered before. Most of my scripts show that the kids have been reading their notes and have been paying attention during their lectures, and quite a number have been keeping up with the news as well. At least content-wise they're showing promise.

So, they have amassed a nice pile of Lego bricks to build answers with. The difficulty for them now is fitting the pieces together as the question requires. Some concepts they have a better grasp of than others. Environmental issues they seem ok with 'cos they're mostly straightforward cause-effect principles. But the kids writing on the censorship issue have been turning in essays comprising ill-fitting bits, looking quite skeletal and grotesque in nature. I shouldn't be surprised; censorship is a pretty abstract concept, especially if the question requires them to discuss its effectiveness against unwholesome values. Let's not even talk about the question on scepticism, an even more abstract concept.

While the kids have been kuai with their input, their unquestioning acceptance of everything we've shoveled at them suggests that in the next few weeks before the 'A's, we have to work on their processing, helping them to understand their content better, and in some cases, update their content as well. Quoting case studies from the '60s and '70s just seems a little dated. But at least they know their case studies.

While getai was getting an '881' makeover in the '60s in S'pore, over on the other side of the world America was waking up to a rebellion of music and dance against the white-dominated conservative values of a decade before. Welcome to Baltimore, Maryland, a nondescript town in one of the tiniest of the US States, and the setting for 'Hairspray'.

'881' was a nostalgic reflection on Hokkien music which has not really grown out of its niche and is currently being kept alive primarily as entertainment for the Dead (no, I don't mean Deadheads, duh. I do literally mean our dearly departed during the annual 7th month summer break from the afterlife). The story focuses on the divisiveness of the music, and how rival getai singers compete with one another through music, dance and costume as they backstab, badmouth and brawl their way to the top of their circuit.

'Hairspray' looks at rock & roll, the springboard for the kind of music heard around the world today, and the common ancestor of black music and white music as we know them today. In the US, rock & roll underscores some major changes in the lives of the American people. Some changes were frivolous and transient (fashion, hairstyle, dance moves), but others impacted on the values of society as a part of a fundamental shift in the way people lived (e.g., racial integration, the idea that "being different" is no longer an obstacle to achieving one's dreams).

Both movies say a lot about our two very different cultures. Over here, we see threats and competition all over the place. For us, the only way to the top is through tooth and claw and the sweat of our brows. Over in 'Hairspray', change centres around plus-sized Tracy Turnblad, whose irrepressible optimism and talent for turning adversity into opportunity makes her a natural stereotype breaker in modest-town Baltimore.

As in '881', Tracy aims to win a contest -- a real one with crown and contract, compared to '881's totally imaginary self-imposed one -- but the contest becomes secondary for her as she embraces a cause even larger than herself. Determined as she is to break into TV as a dancer despite her non-TV friendly proportions ("this show isn't broadcast in Cinemascope," is one of the nastier comments she receives from fellow dancer, Amber Von Tussle, her biggest critic on the show), she jeopardises her dreams to march in a demonstration advocating racial integration because "it's the right thing to do."

Both musicals are highly entertaining, employing captivating vocals, choreography, and particularly in 'Hairspray', colour scheme. Both are very down-to-earth in their character portrayals and concerns, from the point of view of very ordinary people and their dreams to transcend their ordinariness. But '881' has a particular sense of urgency, to make change now because an individual's life is short. 'Hairspray' is more patient, recognizing the quiet strength of a united people (as in Motormouth Maybelle's anthem, 'I know where I've been'), whose resoluteness brings about a slower but more inevitable change for everyone.

Compared to 'Hairspray', '881' is a kancheong spider. If you want to get to know a culture, listen to their stories, or watch their movies, and learn how the people think. I dunno. With '881', I'm like, yeah, that's how it was... interesting. But with 'Hairspray', I feel more like singing along with Tracy, "Good morning, Siiiiingapore...!"*

*Hear this song for free at the 'Hairspray' Broadway musical site -- just activate the 1st song on the jukebox.

Installing one additional gig of RAM has worked wonders for my exploration of Rapture. No more juddering, shuddering, abrupt system freezes, no more crashes. Now I'm ready to immerse myself in Bioshock. Thanks to YKM for the tip, though that was what I actually intended to do in the first place.

But gamer or not, I do too have a social life. Caught the All Blacks demolish a brave Italy at the Rugby World Cup with Anne, Mel, Wayne, JY and Thad. June and I joined them at Blooie's for dinner and dessert.

Yay, Blacks! Though the final scoreline (76-14) was a testament to how one-sided the match was. Oh well, Italy already got the soccer World Cup. What would they want a Rugby one for?

Casting off and casting care and concern aside, D. NY EL went on retreat to the Pulai Resort, Desaru. Josh, Baggy and I brought accompanying spouses, Boss Lady brought her 2 not-so-little gremlins.

Welcome to Desaru! This is about as exciting as it gets here. No modern conveniences of a shopping mall anywhere, but enough beach, swimming pool, and plenty of food for a relaxing get-away-from-it-all. It's a place to come to when looking for a slower pace of life, and to luxuriate in the otherwise guilty pleasures of torpor and indolence. The food quality isn't great, in fact it seemed to deteriorate gradually while we were there, but there's enough palatable selections on the buffet table at every meal to keep us going.

This here's the beach. We had dry, sunny weather throughout our stay. The beach is white and sandy, with lots of washed up seashells and shell fragments. June gathered a small collection of the best looking ones. The beach is mostly free of human debris, and while we were there, quite free of human beings as well. Nice.

This is a local individual who is suffering from a severe identity crisis. It and its friends were responsible for what I initially took to be bicycle tyre tracks all over the beach. We only saw this one though. How it got hold of a land snail shell to inhabit is probably an epic story worthy of a Peter Jackson retelling. I simply don't have that kind of imagination.

It wasn't all play and no work, though. Here we take a little break from our daily inactivity to get something useful done. Yes, the never-ending marking of the academic profession goes on vacation with us.

Probably the highlight of our retreat was our night cruise down the river on a vessel that reminded me somewhat of the African Queen in search of the Heart of Darkness fireflies. To reach the jetty, our 2 mini-buses bumped their way through a near pitch-dark off-road track through a plantation of oil-palms. Amazingly, there were a few people walking the same path that we drove through. Without their own illumination, their night vision must have been incredible.

Fireflies we found, but, as Mel said, what was even more fascinating were the stars overhead. They stood out for us city folk like never before, here so far from the glare of urban civilization. The stars have never been so bright, nor as numerous, and I saw a couple of constellations I roughly know the shape of, but could never before see in our own night sky.

1 weekend left to chill, then it's back to reality again...

"Why doesn't anarchy work?", I asked Wayne and Linc just yesterday. Apparently, it's because we are ultimately beings that function best when organized around one or more common goals, or something like that. Today, I am getting an object lesson on anarchy, as defined by rampant industrialized capitalism fueling unfettered scientific research and development devoid of any moral considerations whatsoever in an environment of complete freedom of expression and no censorship. Welcome to the undersea utopia of Rapture, the setting for Bioshock, the latest FPS to hit the console and PC market.

In Rapture, anarchy, which begins as a visionary Industrialist's dream, quickly degenerates into violence and hell-under-the-ocean-depths. Scientific research here finds a way to genetically enhance the good citizens of Rapture, and soon everyone wants to biologically command electric bolts from their fingertips to fry their irritating neighbours with. Before long, the genetic enhancement process drives everyone nuts, then it becomes open warfare, survive or die. There, another example of how our human nature simply cannot be left alone to manage things on our own.

Fortunately for the player's character, R&D also results in some awesome weapons and ammo the player can find lying around or pry from cold, dead fingers. The player also may seek genetic enhancements, boosting fight or puzzle-solving prowess to superhuman levels, a great asset to have in this game.

How far have I progressed into Rapture? I'm just a couple of scenes past the intro, admiring the detail in the underwater environment, the play between light and dark areas, and the ferocity of the AI enemies.

But sadly, I haven't progressed much further. The game crashes often on Mr L33t whose components are just past a year old as of today. Looks like I'll be in the market for another gig's worth of memory, a faster video card (my current 7600 just can't make it anymore), and perhaps a good sound card to complete the ensemble.

But again, no hurry. The D. NY EL retreat begins tomorrow morning. We're going to be leaving civilization for a few days to enjoy some Resort living. No technology... ttfn!

Officially, we're having a week off, but most of us staff still found our way back to campus for one reason or another. Consultations, backlog admin, the consolation is that we're assured of lunch company.

Anyway, it's a bit late but I've finally got our new NYconneX print edition #6 uploaded. Glad to say that the editorial team did most of the layouts themselves, though they're still rough around the edges.

Thanks to the sponsorship of Jane's committee, we could afford a little better quality paper for this run. We opted for 80 gsm photocopy paper which made the colour pix stand out beautifully compared to our usual newsprint. Now Wan's asking for a reprint of another 1k copies for use as publicity material at our upcoming Open House.

Good job, my Editorial Crew!

Here's a great study tip: eating makes mugging more effective. Ain't that great to know? Click here.

Pixar's "Ratatouille" is such a charming tale. Set in la belle Paris, how could it go wrong? It's about good food and messing about in the kitchen, a la the plethora of audience-friendly cable cooking shows, the likes of Oliver, Bourdain, and the travelogues of Samantha Brown. If that isn't a license to print money, I don't know what is.

Oh, and Chef Remy is a rat. Not the Cagney "you dirty... rat" type, but the actual makes [Victorian] women jump on chairs and scream rattus rattus variety. While his genius becomes so well-loved by the top food critics in Paris, his genus is widely despised, reviled and persecuted by nearly every human being who catches sight of him.

So, basically he's a mutant rat with some very special abilities. His uncomfortable friendship and partnership with the new garbage boy, Linguini, revives the name of the once-famous 5-star rated "Gusteau's" -- and brings it back into the attention of the much-feared food critic, Anton Ego, whose scathing review of many years ago had brought the restaurant's name down in the first place.

In the complicated relationship between rat and garbage boy, success lies somewhere between their strength of self-belief and identifying their personal talents which work well together in times of crisis. Like foreign talent, both are viewed with disdain, suspicion, jealousy and hate. Head Chef Skinner -- who has his own plans for Gusteau's -- particularly fears the new staff member, concerned that he will eventually be eclipsed and replaced (sound familiar?), and is unable to switch from his tried-and-tested ways to accept the newcomers' unorthodox but effective new practices.

Both facing the prejudice of their colleagues, and creating a dish to satisfy their culinary nemesis, Monseur Ego, require their ingenuity, creativity, talent and a touch of audacity, and is indeed a sight to behold, particularly as Gusteau's kitchen has to resolve a dramatic personnel meltdown in order to do so. Too bad for the locals, then, who cannot see the reality that in these days of unprecedented talent mobility, "Anyone Can Cook", and the next great thing may not necessarily be home-grown. It's going to take an attitude shift like chef Collette's, who adapts quickly to the unfolding circumstances and adds her local talent to create the new gastronomic haven that emerges.

Is the movie funny? 'Funny' has to do with the juxtaposition of opposites, in unlikely situations, causing unexpected results. Rat. Boy. Gourmet kitchen. Pressure-cooker kitchen environment. Paris. Lots of dichotomies too, as Remy and Linguini have to wear more than one hat each as they learn to adapt to their new home. Yup, the mix looks to be just right. Let it simmer to boil, serve warm. Good stuff.

Whatever. Linguini may live in a rathole, but at least it's a rathole in Paris.

My true talents have finally been recognized, if only by Taily and Que! Now I have another shiny thing to add to my collection that's sitting on the top of my cubicle's partition, thanks you two!

Thanks also for the other Teachers' Day gifts and notes of appreciation and encouragement from everyone else.

There was a novel party on campus to celebrate the occasion. There was food and open-air entertainment. P personally handed out ice-cream to the staff, Dee had a counter selling pretty little cupcakes for a good cause, and Lena brought her maltese, Hercules, whose well-groomed coat bravely bore the brunt of many hands seeking pet therapy.

Don't know how Council managed it but during the penultimate act at the open-air concert, the beautiful blue sky grew ominously dark and a light drizzle started, prompting a mad scramble for shelter and an abrupt close to the festivities. Perhaps we could hire out that last act to drought-stricken countries?

Great lunch at the White Dog with a larger group of company than usual. Vays, Linc & I were GoH to mark the completion of yet another solar orbit. Thanks everyone!

The GP prelims are over! That's the last official test the JC2s will take before they face the Real Thing in a few weeks' time. But a reminder to the JC2 KIds, remember to come back next Saturday to take your Critical Thinking paper!

We had 2 speakers discuss talent and population challenges for S'pore at this afternoon's industry-organized seminar. 1st guy was from a private sector consultancy, a Permanent Resident himself, focusing on the competition for talent around the world and looking at some of the factors that attract talented people to make a decision as to where they want to stay.

From his company's studies, financial reward comes last out of 4 criteria. The most important factor is something so subjective that it's difficult to quantify: talented people want, above all, a challenging experience, and a "buzz" in their work culture and environment.

Call me parochial, but I couldn't help thinking about my own employment situation, wondering if the "buzz" I'm getting now on the job will be enough to keep me going, and for how much longer. In the workplace right now, there are staff who've been here since like forever, so there's no doubt there is some kind of "buzz" going on. In a recent email, a friend of mine from waaaay back, listed a number of our old teachers from our sec school days who are still teaching there, and I'm like, wow... If I can already consider myself a wizened, shriveled, prune of a sage, these old mentors and tormentors of mine must have become hardened into diamond by now after so many years on the job. Would I ever last that long? Do I even want to?

What's the "buzz", anyway? It obviously has something to do with the challenging nature of the work, which should be stimulating in process and somehow results in benefits for others -- which makes the job worthwhile. Solving problems for people can be quite an ego boost, sometimes worth even more than the financial compensation for the work done.

But the "buzz" is also a social thing, in that there must be other co-workers who inspire, support and socialize informally with each other; sharing time, food, caffeine (or similar biochemical stimulants), gossip and jokes apart from the work-load. The "buzz" is excitement in the things we do together, whether it's duty-hours serious business, or off-duty fun and play. People respond positively to busy-ness within an atmosphere of "buzzy"-ness.

This year, I've had to get used to things being a little less buzzy, and I kinda' miss the Boyz still. CCA-wise I feel isolated and cast adrift since I've got no partner to bounce ideas off, or to spur me to do more than just tread water, or even help me get my admin straight. But I am appreciative of my current company, and the effort we make to still have meals together, at least. Today's pasta lunch before the seminar, the few movies we've sat through, and the upcoming D. NY EL Retreat, for example, show we still know how to create a buzz for ourselves. Even without the Boyz who, I'm beginning to be convinced these days, were a bit of an anomaly.

Guess I'll be sticking around a while more...

After an intense weekend of news editing and laying out, compre marking and the last couple of days of non-stop seeing of individual and small groups of students every hour on the hour with only a short lunch break in between, by this evening I was feeling like I'd been taking meds without actually having taken any.

The year 2 students are on study break, meaning no more formal timetable, but they arrange personal consultations with their subject tutors on a loose per-hour basis, first come, first served. Around this period in previous years, I don't remember ever being so popular. It's probably the nature of this batch, more of whom seem genuinely concerned about doing better about their grades than the earlier batches.

A couple of things I've been repeating today: Despite essay and compre papers looking like pen-and-paper exercises, if we treat them simply as intellectual exercises, we tend to be more interested in what we want to say about the issue rather than address the specific concerns of the person asking the question. We seek our own agenda among the questions offered and pick the one with the closest match, but fail to pay attention to what we are actually being asked. Hence we often miss out on the specific nuances that our chosen question requires us to address. That, in human terms, is just rude.

Instead, a good essayist listens to the questions like there was a real person asking them. Respect the inquirer, seek to understand the situation from the inquirer's perspective, address the inquirer's concerns, and reassure the inquirer that things are not so bad. Even if the essayist has no solutions to the problem, the essayist should at least know of which agencies are taking steps to solve the problem, and make referrals accordingly.

For GP students concerned about formalities like keyword definition, thesis statement construction, and the biggest bugbear, argument "balancing", perhaps the famous Prayer of St Francis might offer some insight and wisdom.

With all our concerns about climate change and pollution and hyper-consumerism all being linked to our mania for urbanization, maybe it IS time to let the Taleban and Al-Qaeda take over the reigns of the world. They pursue the perfect save-the-earth policy, after all. It's called "Turbanization".

Well, what did you expect? I've just finished laying out our latest print NYconneX, and am now facing about 30 essays to mark by tonight. I'm really not supposed to be blogging now...

I am upset with taily for being clairvoyant. Not a couple of months after suggesting I might smash my new Samsung cellphone, I have indeed accomplished the (then) unthinkable. There's now a thumb-shaped depression over a nasty crack on my poor phone's faceplate and the screen has gone blank apart from a few pretty coloured streaks of LDC material radiating from the epicenter of Ground Zero.

There are a couple of possibilities as to how the damage could have occurred. One: I'm a ham-fisted oaf who doesn't know his own strength, and pressed my thumb too hard on the faceplate as I was sliding the phone open (likely). Two: This damage is to be expected when a 40+ year-old crams his phone with his hard-plastic protected staff-pass in the pocket of his too-tight jeans, and the immense pressures that build up upon sitting his fat ass down proved too much for the delicate Korean-made product to withstand (I don't even want to consider this one).

Anyone know where I can take the casualty to get some A&E treatment?

Elite instiutions take pride in the high rate of candidates "washing out" of their courses such that only a small handful of deserving students can claim the honour and bragging rights of having survived a most gruelling, challenging experience. Those that graduate from the course know they are the best in their field, that they passed the highly stringent quality control measures, and their qualification actually means something to society.

Somewhere along the line, the Junior College has lost this prestige as an elite institution. A JC is, after all, not an institution of basic education, and being educated in a JC is therefore not an entitlement, as much as our students seem to think it is (and news of there being yet a 4th Uni could well increase the sense of entitilement our future students will have).

Under Article 26 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, while "Elementary education shall be compulsory.... higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit" (emphasis mine). Kids, you either work to prove your worthiness to be educated at H1/H2 level, or the education you have already received already ensures that you won't starve if you decide that you are wasting your time with us.

These days, though, we are so afraid to allow our students to fail. We pride ourselves in the number of our students who pass, and we bend over backwards just to get even the least deserving to make the grade. Not that we do anything illegal or underhand to give our students a passing grade, but we take it personally, when the kids underperform, and feel that we haven't been doing our jobs properly.

But our job is also to maintain standards and quality as gatekeepers of qualified personnel who will seek responsible positions in society in the near future. We canot afford to let loose into society sub-standard, yet paper-qualified graduates, or that really would be a violation of our civil trust. Yet we feel guilty for letting down our students if they eventually fail.

Perhaps it's us that are perpetuating the fear of failure that's a symptom of our unwillingness to try new paths, take risks and experiment to make new discoveries. It's us that perpetuate the myth that there is only one way in life and that failure at this stage is the end of the world for our kids.

The kids don't realize how much in the minority they are out of their cohort that took the 'O's with them. Our kids are elite seeking elite education. We need to constantly remind them of the reaity that not all of them are going to make it. Only the brightest and the best will, while the rest, well, they can always go back to living ordinary lives with the rest of their compatriots.

This is a proving ground, not a playground. Sure, everyone who enters has the potential to make it given their prior qualification, but it takes further effort, further endurance, further determination to overcome setback after setback, and if that is too much for them, then I'm sorry, they don't have what it takes. As their instructors, we have a responsibility to help the deserving, but we also need the courage -- and these days, reassure ourselves that we have the authority -- to allow those who deserve to fail fail.

Welcome to the Junior College. Appreciate the privilege of being here. We hope you survive the experience.

US kids cite very simple things that make them happy, according to an AP-MTV survey on youth happiness. Having strong relationships with others: family, friends and significant others -- in that order -- give them the security they need to be happy. Other indicators of youth happiness have to do with having a sense of belonging with some form of religious organization, and close parental bonding. Surprisingly, kids are also happier attending school (I suppose than not). Concerns for material well-being seem to have more to do with concerns over income disparity across the ethnic divide rather than with personal concerns.

Could it be that our kids aren't the selfish, angst-ridden, ungrateful little brats that we take them to be after all? Could it be also that despite the world having changed so much in the last couple of generations in terms of personal access to wealth and technology, our fundamental happy-factors haven't changed at all? What makes these kids happy are pretty much what would have made our ancestors happy, according to the results of this survey.

If these survey results are to be believed, then I wonder if the developments the PM promised us in his Nat Day Rally speech are going to be enough to make S'poreans a happier lot in the long-run. We can look forward to a whole slew of initiatives that will take care of our material concerns, some necessarily pragmatic (like tweaking our CPF in consideration of our longer life-expectancies) to the extravagant (beach resort HDB dwelling, anyone?), but if we don't do something about building better relations with our fellow S'poreans and FTs, our beautiful house will still not yet be a home.

But that, of course, is only what the govt can realistically promise -- better infrastructure, better living conditions. There's nothing wrong with having a nicer house, I guess, but it depends on ourselves as residents to make life pleasant for everyone, family members, guests and even our neighbours as well. Whatever the govt is promising, being happy is ultimately a do-it-yourself endeavour. Shall we roll up our sleeves and start work on it?

Dinner at The Olive, Labrador Park. It was a special occasion, after all. Finished off another pile of marking; only another, oh, 997 more to go or so.

It was a cool evening up in the hills. Chilly, in fact. We were dining al fresco, and the restaurant didn't even have to switch on the overhead fans.

Stuffed ourselves silly yet again. We had a seafood platter to start and a 'shroom soup each. It came with a warm roll that tasted fresh out of the oven.

I had a seafood 'shroom linguini aglio olio, heavy on the garlic, just the way I like it -- you can see a bit of it in the pix. I had 5/8ths of the lovely thin crust pizza that June's holding, while she had the rest.

Too full for dessert. Came home looking forward to the tub of Chubby Hubby (how approporiate) in the freezer, but as of right now, there is still no room in our fat faces even for ice-cream.