Not a(nother) model essay on Technology

How do I spend my Youth Day day off? By preparing material for a lecture answering the following essay question:

"Technology never provides solutions – it only poses more problems." What is your view?

What follows is NOT a 'model answer'. It's more like a coherent collection of ideas that the candidates might have included in their essays, but pitched at the level of a well-written H1 paper.

Again, to me it's just an outline for a much larger paper, since I've left many claims unsubstantiated, but even then it's still a hefty 1800+ words long. For one thing, it's a very general question, and for another I'm trying to incorporate as much subject material as I've gathered from all the essays I've been grading, so I've got a lot of mileage to cover.

Next step is to condense it to about half its size, and in a form a 17 year-old would be reasonably expected to present it in.

If you insist on reading the original, click here. But don't say I didn't warn you!

Just one thing

Quote of the day: "School teachers are concerned about creating moral people. [But] We focus more on getting the students better grades in a short amount of time. That's why we are needed and popular," says super-tutor Woo Hyeong-cheol. Woo's annual paycheque comes up to US$4 mil.

There's a bold mission statement if I ever saw one. So devoid of fluff and other distractions, the sharpness of focus makes her organizational systems and processes crystal clear, minimizing wastage of resources, maximizing output and income.

We've been discussing campus branding in our recent meetings. Too many people want too many conflicting things for our students. The more we talk, the more things get added on. What we really need is to pare down everything into one core objective that everyone can agree on and work towards.

Do we want our students to have values, or leadership, or world-readiness? We don't have time to give them everything. According to Ms US$4-mil-a-year Woo, students want results above all. If our kids just want results, they can go look for her. But we are a Ministry approved college, so I suggest we pick just one item from our existing list and run with it.

I won't arbitrarily make my choice now. I want to ask my alumni for input 'cos you probably see things quite differently from the Staff and I've already got lots of their input already. My question: what positive experience do you remember best from your days in JC? If I can detect a common thread, that's probably the best indication of how our branding should go.

In defence of the Arts

One question I'm currently grading has to do with how literature (and by extension, art) has no practical value. Have a look at the video below that YT shared with me:

Who says engineers have no aesthetic sense? Who says artists are technologically inept? Because our school system segregates Arts kids from Science kids by faculty and subject combination, this dichotomy causes them to pigeonhole themselves and they get proprietary over their intellectual turf.

Many of the essays I've read are by Arts kids vehemently defending literature as an essential, relevant but neglected part of our life experience, and hence must necessarily be "practical".

But watching this clip, I wonder if there is any need to make such a strong point about the "practicality" of art? Art doesn't have to be practical, but so what? Art is beautiful and that's all it needs to be.

Wonder if there'll be a Part 2?

Lunch party found our way to Little Part 1 cafe. Strange name. Not a lot of parking and seating, so car pooling was a smart thing to do. Also had to split tables, one for the working lunch people, the other for the fun lunch people.

Decor is cosy, homely. lots of framed snapshots on the wall, no theme I could discern. Two fell off the wall as we ate. Tremors? Free wifi! Great place to eat, grade papers and surf all afternoon.

The cafe's specialty is crepes. I had the Louisiana crepe. Attracted by the two different kinds of cheese fillings: emmental and mozza, though a bit leery about the asparagus. Ham is ham. Combination turned out to be quite pleasant. Could have done with an alternative flavour to the BBQ sauce on top -- tang was sharp, distracting. Fresh salad helped balance.

Brownie a la mode was fluffy and crumbled a lot. I appreciated the lightness 'cos I could eat the whole thing and not feel particularly guilty. Nevertheless, since mine was a communal table, I happily shared it with my fellow piranha.

Veggie items on the menu too. Know of any veggie people we could invite to lunch next time?

Slightly derailed

Been putting all my resources towards the one goal of finishing my assignment grading, and my rhythm's been thrown completely off because of it. Perhaps I've set myself an unrealistic deadline, but there are many other tasks needing my attention that I can't even look at until I get this giant bugbear off my back.

Unrealistic or not, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel already, which means my strategy has paid off! And the only casualty has been this long-neglected blog which I've unintentionally forgone because I've simply run out of steam by nightfall.

Very grateful for the lunch circle that has provided a much welcome break over the last couple of days. We don't get many chances to eat off campus these days, so yesterday's jaunt to Botak Jones, and today's extended "Land-Ex[pedition]" to Cafe Oliv and Chin Mee Chin (for kaya toast, a couple of doors down) were a real treat.

Should be back to regular posts soon, but perhaps in a new text format. Hearing a lot lately about the advantages of terse, to-the-point entries. Time to update my style.

Happy July First!

Been feeling inexplicably homesick. It's July and that means summer in TO. Bright, cloudless skies; sun on my face; cold, dry air I can breathe in with less effort than this humid soup we swim in all day here in the tropics. Wonderland, and the Jays at the SkyDome. Hot-off-the-cart Polish sausages with all the toppings you can balance between your buns (how rude that sounds!). And CHUM FM*, a constant companion that sets the mood just right for driving long distances on highways that have no end.

Without looking it up, I must have instinctively felt it in my bones. July 1, Canada Day!

*CHUM FM is a lot like Power 98 here, except I just heard a great ad for Trojan condoms, and the Internet radio works!

Raising a flap over nothing

Wayne and I had a minor disagreement over the supposed 'ethnicity' of Mudflap and Skids, the Autobot twins introduced in Transformers:ROTF. He thought they were Redneck, I had them pegged for ghetto gangstas.

When it comes to identifying accents, I have the advantage. What I didn't realise was that while my ears were good, a host of other critics had ears just as good -- and criticized both robot characters for being racially offensive.

Fine, both Wayne and I agree they are somewhat irritating. Our first impression of them is that of the Transformers' version of Jar Jar Binks. And they do set our teeth on edge with their childish antics. But to identify them as malicious "racist caricatures" is just reaching.

To be stereotyped suggests that people born into a particular ethnic group have no choice but to look, sound and behave like however the 'type' describes them to be. Autobots have a choice in the matter, though. They adopt their features and vocal patterns/dialects/patois from whatever and whomever they admire or wish to identify with.

And in a sense, that too is how the two voice actors decided to portray their characters. There's no agenda to offend anyone, it's just what works with the chemistry between co-performers as they interpret their scene.

Even if the twins are stereotypes, their portrayal is hardly negative. They talk big, but in a scrap they more than prove they can hold their own. They may be pintsized, but they are the first to inflict significant damage on the Decepticon behemoth, Devastator, before they get taken out of the fight themselves.

Sure, they admit they can't read the text of the Primes, but then none of the other Transformers on either side -- apart from old-timer, Jetfire -- can either. That criticism is like calling a layman who can't interpret ancient Sumerian cuniform 'illiterate'.

Anyway, I'm not about to overanalyze the whole thing. It just annoys me when critics get into this "Emperor's New Clothes" mode and echo each other because the angle is just too sensational to ignore.

Amidst all this criticism, I've decided to throw my support behind Mudflap and Skids. Dumb, self-righteous critic b*tches can take yo' wack s**t and shove it up yo' a** befo' I pop a cap in it. So there!

-----

And over the day's catch at Fish & Co, AMK Hub, we wished many happy returns to today's birthday girl. :)

Enough "me" time

It's been an odd sort of vacation, most of the time spent alone, like I've been quarantined with some infectious disease or something. So not a lot of motivation to go out and do a lot of stuff, like I'd been planning to before the start of the vacation.

Funny thing is, solitude is addictive. The more time I spend by myself, the more I'd rather not cross paths with anyone else, friend, neighbour or foe.

But that's quite enough of "me" time. I'm starting to lose my propensity for socializing and that's not really a good thing.

Fortunately, schools aren't staying closed for another week though some people are agitating that they should as an H1N1 precaution. Another week in self-imposed quarantine and I might not want to come out of my cave ever again.

Big staff meeting tomorrow. Best get my "social" self warmed up. The vacation ends here.

ROTF: Big, loud, long

I wonder if the enemies of the free world would pirate copies of Transformers:ROTF and watch it over and over again as a wish fulfillment fantasy. We're talking grand scale destruction of highways, buildings, a whole aircraft-carrier with full complement of squadrons and personnel, and ancient monuments going up in massive explosions that terrorists dream of while they snuggle under their bedclothes with teddy under their arm.

ROTF is big, is loud, is long... all the symptoms of sequel-itis. Transformers was a total thrill-fest, so the only way to up the ante is to add generous helpings of more. More military hardware, more combustion, more backstory, more locations, more cheesy romance (ok, maybe I'm jealous 'cos it's Megan Fox in question), more OTT laughs, and more characters than an F-16's threatboard could possibly keep track of.

So ROTF didn't get many good reviews. It's probably the law of diminishing returns at work. The first time may have been highly satisfactory but the second, with all the additional trimmings, is a bit too much.

One feature the critics can't seem to get over is how much running, ducking and covering our protagonists, Sam and Mikaela, have to do. Not very heroic, the critics seem to say. I think they've forgotten how their own game of (American) football, on which both Transformers movies are based, is played. Sam has the ball, everyone runs interference for him, clearing the path so that he can score the touchdown. Perhaps Sam is the new breed of action hero -- the running forward rather than the quarterback? Let's see if this archetype repeats itself in other action movies to come.

I went in for the Transformers Movie Marathon, so I watched both movies back-to-back. I noticed that a second viewing of Transformers allowed me to see things I hadn't seen before the first time, and I guess it'll be the same for ROTF as well. There's so much sensory input, it takes time for the mind to process it all. If anything, that's the main problem with ROTF. Leave brain at door, settle down confortably with free-flow popcorn and Coke, be shocked and awed by the systematic demolition of civilization, have fun! Why make things more complicated than that?

The Q-tip and the sea

A great day for the beach.

June wanted to drop in on a couple of friends working at a promo booth on Siloso Beach and we thought Q-tip would like an outing.

Dogs are not welcome on Siloso Beach though, so we took a very long trek to Tanjung Beach quite some distance away, part walking her and most of the time carrying her 'cos we remembered what happened the last time we let her overheat.

Q-tip had a good swim, that is, as soon as she hit water she'd frantically paddle back to terra firma. Then we'd pick her up, put her back into the water and repeat the process for a few cycles. Silly dog can swim, but she's afraid of the water. Funny, that.

More pix? Click here.

Bad things happen to good people

Sam Raimi goes back to his horror roots with "Drag Me To Hell". These days, the Raimi name may be better associated with the "Spider-Man" movie franchise, but with DMTH he reminds us that his original claim to fame was through the "Evil Dead" trilogy. Yes, even if "Army of Darkness" was more slapstick comedy than horror, it just shows his versatility in directing many different movie genres.

Anyway, DMTH brings us back to straightforward campy, shocky horror. Young, ambitious loan officer competing for a promotion turns down a loan extension for an old crone (there's always an old crone!) who curses her with a rather disproportional punishment: to be tormented by an evil spirit for three days, then be taken to hell to burn forever on the fourth day.

Cue two kinds of horror devices Raimi loves to play with. The first is rising tension followed by shock, the second is the horror of contact with vile fluid substances (blood, bile, slime and others of that nature) on the skin, face and otherwise inavertently ingested in large mouthfuls. We get both in generous portions throughout the movie.

But looking past the fun of shock after shock, revolting situation after revolting situation, there is an understated psychological parable at work here as well. Christine Brown is essentially a good person. She has a good nature, a kind heart, she is a woman in love; the sort of person that does not deserve any evil to befall her. But she makes one small mistake against her conscience, and no matter how good she has been up till then, no matter how she tries to make amends thereafter, it is still that one mistake that ends up defining her perception of the world. It is her own guilt that turns her otherwise idyllic life into hell.

Y'know, according to Christian doctrine, the scary thing is that all of us bear this exact same curse. Regardless of how good we are, or think we are, or try to be, because of our inherent imperfections, we are still destined towards, you know, the place downstairs. I believe DMTH makes up only one half of a good old-fashioned fire-and-brimstone sermon. The other half -- the redemption part -- has been left out.

Paid to stay in bed

Must be letting the notions of space travel get to me. Now I'm inspired to take up this job NASA's offering as a test subject for the effects of low gravity on the human being. It pays US$160/day and it involves lying in bed all day! Welcome to the life of a NASA "pillownaut".

Never did like camping much

Did some nephew-sitting while Ling and June took a girls' night out. The Wii played a big part in helping me out. How did we use to get by without such an invaluably useful device? Anyway, in preparation for that big event, I went shopping for a game or two that would keep two rambunctious young 'uns occupied. "Space Camp", anyone?

Good thing I previewed SC before I tried it out on them. First off, SC isn't exactly catered to my age preference (right, anyone who suggests "Parcheesi" gets their head bashed in with my walking stick!), but even putting myself in the mind of an 8 year-old the game would have bored me to tears. Actually, it's more like work than a game. Even the in-game mentor, Jim, admits at the start that it's going to take "back-breaking work" to complete the story.

Ah, the story: the player's somewhat customizeable character attends Space Camp and for the lack of other buttons to press accidentally launches him/herself to the moon. Survivability is no issue. The player has unlimited resources to complete a series of tasks in order to get home.

The main complication is that the two main resources, Energy and Metal, are locked into moon rocks which we have to mine for in pre-designated locations on the map. And they just keep replenishing -- well, yeah, it's a big moon for one little kid. With a flick of the wiimote or via a mini-Grabber game we accumulate a pile of moon rocks for processing. We can also kick piles of moon dust to find these resources too.

Step two is to process these rocks through another mini-game to extract either Energy or Metal from them. Energy converts into rocket fuel for which we need to get home; Metal we need to fabricate into tools that help us open doors to new places for exploration as the game progresses. They also help to open locked containers of unique collectible items that fill up our inventory, which I think is intended as the reward system of the game.

Yes, completist that I am, I most anally hunted down every single collectible comprising unique SC patches, and various designs and colours of clothing and headgear the well-dressed astronaut should be wearing on a moon-jaunt.

Wii games are often a collection of mini-games, but in this case, they tend to be the same three or four mini-games over and over again. the only discernable variation is in the three difficulty levels which aren't all that difficult even for an 8 year old. The only one that drove me insane was the Meteoroid defense game at the highest difficulty level -- my reflexes aren't what they used to be -- so accomplishing that task was quite a triumph (stop sniggering, remember my walking stick?).

The nephews didn't get to play SC after all, 'cos I decided they wouldn't have found it any fun. They're the "Ravin' Rabbids" sort, and that kept them entertained all night. Hey, whoever said an evening with me had to be educational?

It's alive!

So, that's why Rhumba didn't make it back to his docking bay before his charge ran out. Greedy thing was helping himself to the cats' kibble!

Another day with dad

Got the news of the passing of Sha's dad. It wasn't unexpected -- we knew he was already on his last legs -- but when it actually happened, the swiftness of it was sudden and shocking.

Which is why today, I appreciated the time I spent with my own dad. June and I met him at service and with the rest of our family regulars at 1115 SAC, we went to lunch as a group. This isn't something we do every week. Our service timings are different but because mom is curently gallivanting in the UK we thought he might appreciate the ride home... and our company, of course.

Among the reminicences we always get to hear whenever family gets together was how my dad quit smoking. Daughters are indeed a formidable influence on their father's behaviour.

The blurness of strangers

Made an NLB book run with June. Once again, they had people taking care of the North so our assignment was three locations in Jurong West.

The first drop was almost rejected outright. Apparently, the girl had asked for DVDs but we only had books in our bag for her. The second was to a blind lady with kids. She had asked for audio books, but as far as I could tell, there were both normal books and a few kids' CD-ROMs in her bag. Fine, her kids could use the CD-ROMs and someone could read the books to her, but no audio books like she had asked for? Our last drop was to a kid who selected three books out of the eight we had brought for him. He seemed to only like sports-related materials but had no idea what to do with the Photoshop manuals and novels that were also in his bag.

Three drops, three problems. NLB needs to establish better, or perhaps more specific communications with their disabled clientele. Perhaps next time we could teach them to use CARL for locating specific materials that they would want rather than rely on the blurness of strangers to make choices for them.

Er... no, we didn't choose the books, they were already pre-packed for delivery, in case you're wondering.

Party on, NYeDC!

09 J2 Seniors make a grand entrance to their Farewell Party.

This must be the longest party ever organized by the Drama Club. In a 7-hour marathon session, we bade the J2 Seniors farewell and then we hosted the "Timepieces" post-production party for the cast and crew of Drama Night 2009.

Perhaps the plan was too ambitious. We ran into problems of overcatering due to a number of last-minute no-shows, plus keeping the crowd entertained with party games proved quite a toughie. People were mostly interested in eating, chatting and finding their own entertainment among themselves... sounds familiar?

Credit to the J1s, though, who soldiered on till they were quite worn out, playing host and running the programmes, then late at night after all the festivities were over, working out the accounts until Security came up to chase us all home.

The J1s and the Club need a morale booster after this. Perhaps a little brainless entertainment or a little team-bonding exercise in Term 3 would do them good. I've seen them able to work hard, now I want to see if they can play just as hard too.

Lazy Thursday

It's good to have some money coming in for a change. I picked up two cheques, one to reimburse me for Drama Night expenses; the other a refund of my premium on a cancelled insurance policy.

I also discovered the real reason why on one Saturday some weeks back, this odd-looking fellow was measuring previous M2 in the parking lot. Apparently, the guy who rear-ended me earlier this year wasn't happy with the amount my insurance company was claiming against him and he requested an independent investigation. Fortunately, the investigation was in my favour so today I was summoned back to my workshop to sign a release paper acknowledging the conclusion of the case.

I remember that day... I had the impression it was the OTHER guy being investigated by HIS insurance company, so I cooperated fully with the investigator and his measuring tape. If I had known I was the one being investigated... well, I still would have cooperated fully, but perhaps not half as enthusiastically.

Spent the rest of the afternoon at Brew n Groove, hangin' with the Boyz: Anthony, Vince, Weng (hon. Boyz), and a couple of their frenz. We occupied a corner furnished with plush armchairs around a coffee table and discussed Someone's upcoming wedding plans. With several married dudes around the table, we had quite some experience among us to share and entertain ourselves with for most of the afternoon. Nice, lazy Thursday afternoon.

Out in the sun

Nothing like a little sun, sand and surf to remind us we're on a break. We planned to cycle the park connector to Bedok from ECP. But we gathered a larger party than usual, so what eventually happened was that our intended expedition to parts unknown became more of a social event on the beach instead. With bicycles.

Some highlights: met NBS again. Haven't seen my partner-in-KrIme much since her move up to Head Office. And while she and I were pushing the boundaries of how far we could pedal in a half-hour, the rest of the party took the same time to teach Fen to ride a bike. Fen's a fast learner. By the time we regrouped, Fen was already pedalling quite well. Next lesson for her is how to steer to avoid obstacles.

We regained our spent calories at Fish & Co, Parkway Parade. It's been quite a while also that the whole lot of us have had a meal out. After today, our party will split and scatter ourselves around the world on our various vacation plans. Me? No money, nowhere to go. I'll enjoy my staycation right here, thank you very much.

Print vs Digital

One topic that we like to discuss in GP is the viability of print media in today's digitally networked world. Both concepts require quite a lot of unpacking. Print media generally refers to mainstream print, which is a decent working definition, but "today's digitally networked world" is a bizarre, amorphous beast to pin down and study for an adequate compare-and-contrast exercise.

Fortunately, this Wired article might offer some help in the matter: "Eighteen challenges in contemporary literature". Or maybe not.

More to life than just Sims

A mental checklist of all the media that have passed through my perusal this past week, just so that I can assure myself that I haven't Simmed myself to death and have actually done other things as well.

Let's see... while waiting in line for two hours on "Let there be Sims" Day, I finished Pratchett's "Nation" which I have been slowly digesting for the longest time. "Nation" isn't a difficult book to read, but trying to find time to read whole tomes has actually been a problem this year.

On the same day commuting home on public transport I also finished Gaiman's "Coraline" in graphic novel format. Had to get that read before the movie opens in the next few weeks. And I began "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" allegedly written by Austen and Grahame-Smith. It's a fanfic mashup of the classic Victorian tale set in an alternate universe in which the Bennett girls have been trained in the Shaolin arts in order to combat the plague of the undead ravaging the English countryside; but in the meantime they also have to get married to eligible bachelors as Victorian society demands. The amiable Bingley and the insufferably haughty Darcy come to mind, if only those damned zombies wouldn't keep distracting the girls from their domestic destinies. It's a fanfic all right, though I'm not sure if it's been written by a fan of Austen or a fan of zombies. But it's hilarious, nonetheless.

Got my movie fix yesterday from "Blood: the Last Vampire". Woohoo! Non-stop fighting at a breakneck pace filmed manga-style for maximum excitement. Wouldn't you know it, but the story is viewed from the perspective of a character called Alice who in keeping with the Traditions of Alice gets her world compeletly turned around and no one can say for sure what's real and what's fantasy any longer.

And today it was "Angels and Demons": a scavenger hunt through the Vatican to prevent the seat of Catholicism from being vaporized by an anti-matter detonation. The conflict between science and religion feature strongly in this movie, though the premise isn't as controversial as it was in "The DaVinci Code".

It's almost enough for me to confess, "forgive me Father, for I have Simmed". But looking at this list, I have to say that's not all I've been doing.

Hangin' in Sunset Valley

If anyone asks, tell them I've been out of town for the last few days. Sunset Valley, to be precise, doing my best to maintain some semblance of a work-life balance, yet keep my people happy and moving towards achieving their life-long desires at the same time.

Yes, I'm the type of player that wants to see his Sims succeed in life, that they are fulfilled and accomplished by the time the Reaper comes for them. A boring, safe, predictable way to play "The Sims 3", but it's still challenging nonetheless. For someone like me, it's easy to grind a Sim upwards towards a career-oriented goal (but it's still a grind, nonetheless), but I had problems with someone who wanted more wealth than she could possibly earn on the career track alone, and major problems figuring out what to do with another who wants to make and keep 20 friends all at once -- and simply 'cos that's so not me, I haven't a clue.

There is only one way I can see to get rich in The Sims 3 and that is to marry or move in with someone who's household value is vastly superior. If anyone knows of a way to earn pots of Simoleons by some other means, please inform me at once. I'd like to try other pathways than the obvious. But marriage was how I managed to move from my initial pokey little house to the multi-storey mansion on the hill next to a graveyard (and its resident ghosts) -- the very lap of Sim luxury itself.

I think I can pride myself on my overall guidance of my Sims in their lives. Too bad I can't say the same for myself. Better cut my virtual vacation in Sunset Valley short and get my real life back on track again...

3 hours and counting...

1100. 3 hours to the release of The Sims 3. I'm having brekkie overlooking the line I'll be joining in a little while. First 600!

Shaking speares in the park

Oh, what an evening! It's closing night for "Much Ado About Nothing" and we the audience are sitting on our picnic mats on the grand slope of Fort Canning Hill overlooking the amphitheatre. We, meaning Amy, B-lo, HP, June and me. Around us is a packed house and lost in the midst are a number of our students who happened to choose the same day as us to go.

The heavens were merciful and held off the rain so we could enjoy shaking our speares in the park for the entire evening. Our picnic was a simple affair compared to what some of the other revellers around us brought. But we were very happy with our own buns and sausages, potato salad and grapes, and other miscellaneous post-meal snacks. When else do we get to eat our way through a literary performance without looking anti-social?

The performance was entirely enjoyable. The cast delivered Shakespeare in a most accessible way, sounding very much like plain English which would have been reassuring to anyone in the audience apprehensive about sitting through a whole evening of Elizabethan chatter. The play is a comedy and and the performance delivered loads of verbal humour and sight gags that we might never get to experience from just reading the text alone. Hope our lit kids in the audience will look at Shakespeare through new eyes after this.

The set was particularly intriguing in that it was elaborate without being fussy, nothing extraneous but everything purpose-built with depth and character. We are in the courtyard of colonial bungalow with a swimming pool at left. The pool contained enough water to swim a couple of strokes in, so it wasn't there just for show. The bungalow set was a series of tall, narrow doors and opening louvres that opened out into the courtyard, revealing a long dining room set behind them. While character asides take place in the courtyard, dinner is going on in the background clearly visible to the audience. That makes for a set that looks like there's a whole world that's living and breathing behind the action that takes place onstage. Amazing.

Another evening well-spent with good food, good company and good entertainment. :D

"Monsters" in 3D

June and I volunteered for nephew sitting duty today. As it turned out, we wanted to watch "Monsters Vs Aliens" in 3D and our agenda happily coincided with theirs.

The movie was a fun romp through a familiar theme: outcasts of society saving the day for everyone. All but one of the (human) male characters are portrayed as weedy, incompetent and self-serving, while the female characters tower over them (literally, in the case of Ginormica). Only Gen. Monger has a clue, knowing when to stay out of the way before coming through for the team in the big finish. So yes, there are obvious feminist overtones but I saw it more as a critique of the males of our species as opposed to a statement from the ladies.

As for nephew sitting, I'm still glad that at the end of the day, I can return them to sender. There's just so much we can do to contain so much sonic and kenetic energy within acceptable levels in a public space. There's so much looking around to maintain spatial and environmental awareness so that they don't wander off or somehow allow the environment to interact with them in a negative way. And as far as behaviour goes, they are already considerably well-behaved and obedient.  Wonder how parents of more feral children cope?

SQ baggage

Got a peek into the world of SQ's flight crew. May needed a replacement for her cargo bag a.k.a. suitcase. She also needed a ride and new M2 was available, so we took her over to this pokey little shophouse in Siglap which happens to be THE supplier of cargo bags for SQ's flight crew. They also do repairs.

The staff looks to be all-male handyman types. Brusque in appearance, but they know their luggage and made very practical recommendations on the kind that could withstand the most punishment from airport handling. They actually talked May out of a more expensive but very lightweight Samsonite which she really wanted. It was simply too fragile for her and her frequent-flying career. In the end, she took home a sober-looking Delsey that looked and felt more solidly constructed than her preferred choice.

The name of the new M2 is still under deliberation. I've always wanted to name a Mazda "Hatta" so that his full name would be "Madaza Hatta" for a Lewis Caroll in-joke. But I'm also contemplating J0513, after Josie and her most aware Pussycats, 'cos when we acquired him was in the middle of their big hoo-ha and somehow the name stuck with me. At this point, I'm still open to suggestion.

Possibilities and definites

And so we have arrived once again at what passes for the summer vacation in the West. Those idyllic three-month long breaks, by the way, are a tradition that goes back some two hundred years when the kids of the farming community were needed back at their homesteads as farmhands. It wasn't really a "vacation" at all, unless you like farmstays.

Here, we get a month. Probably a holdover from when we once followed the colonial timetable, but we have taken it as our God-given right anyway.

Today our month of unstructured time stretches out before us with endless possibilities. Possibly we could go to the beach; possibly we could go cycling; possibly we could have long, leisurely lunches on lovely lawns in the sunshine; possibly we could explore strange, exotic and wonderful locations -- and I know of some people who already have that planned.

But there are also some definites too. Like we definitely have to finish our mid-year marking (plus last term's backlog); we definitely have to get our lecture plans firmed up and researched; we definitely have to meet among our various committees to assess our mid-year achievements and make plans for the rest of the year... um, that's all I remember so far. If I've forgotten anything, drop me a line to remind me, ok?

Anyway, I'm not planning to moan about it. It's the summer hols, and whatever the outlook the mood is upbeat. *rubs hands together with glee

Down for the count

The daily fruit juices have not kept me safe from the flu bug. I've been dosing myself nearly every day with a pineapple-starfruit blend, but the last of my defences crumbled today. Perhaps I should have gone with a stronger, if less palatable blend?

Such a bad week to be incapacitated too, but then I could have said the same thing any other week before. Have to remind myself that I am not indespensible, and that a day's rest means a day's rest.

*clangs handbell and cries "unclean, unclean!"

A place to mark

Today was a good day to get some marking done. June was away in HCMC and wouldn't be back till the evening and since campus should have been deserted I drove out there determined to focus on my scripts with no distractions. That worked well. I had a very productive couple of hours that put a more significant dent in my marking load than I had thought possible. Quite proud of myself for that.

What I hadn't counted on was meeting Jojo on campus too. Like me, she needed some place to mark while Derek gave tuition across the road. What she encountered on campus was this grizzled creature at its most unglam -- unshaven, in googly glasses, sans corset, dentures and botox jabs that help create the illusion of a younger person on normal working days. The horror, the horror.

Regardless, she recognised me and invited me to lunch anyway. So we made a threesome at Sizzlers for salmon and salad. A fitting reward for the hours of pain that "marked" the earlier part of my morning. :)

Yes, there's still quite a mountain of scripts left to be marked, but today's session tells me I may yet pull off a miracle before the week is over.

Goodness graciousness!

Woke up at 0530. Quick rehearsal with script amendments at 0700 on campus. On-site rehearsal at 0845. Showtime at 0910. We were the opening act welcoming the GoH as he made his rounds through the five stations of the Circle Line. This is what he saw...

Please don't crowd the doors

Excuse me, the train is not for you to exungulate yourself in

Don't play on the train! Wait fall down, how?

Oh, this poor lady performing her "National Service". Won't someone give her a seat?

One polite applause later and we're ready to explore the rest of the Circle Line

Guess who had the tough job of following up our act?

Tech and fixes

Got an early preview of the new Circle Line subway system that brings public transportation right to the campus doorstep. We have long awaited this development and have watched eagerly every day as the construction mess that we have had to drive through for a couple of years slowly evolved into the steel-and-glass structure that started taking shape only a few months ago.

Today, I rode the train to visit three of the five stations to sound and tech check for tomorrow's little performance. It's great to work with a professional tech team. Whatever I ask for, I get. Head mikes? Check. Handheld wireless mikes? Check. Channel for sound FX? Open and check! Tech is ready to go, no worries. T -15 hours and counting...

Our patron fed back on our script, and did we ever get a taste of corporate interests clashing with our artistic aspirations. In attempting to inject humour in a potentially dreary morality play, we scripted some sequences and lines of conflict that our patron interpreted as not good for its public image.

Basically what our patron would rather we say was that if passengers wanted a more confortable ride, they have the means within themselves to do something about it. That prompted a hasty rewrite at about 2100 hrs tonight, and a mass email to all cast to note and adapt to the changes in a hurry. Ah, the nature of commissioned work.

Blooding the newbies, pt 2

After encountering a major hiccup that threatened to scuttle NYeDC's committment to the MRT project, the J1s are working quite enthusiastically on our little morality play again. Fortunately for us, it turned out to be only a scheduling difficulty that we could resolve and so our project lives on.

So good to see how the J1s are pitching in to get this performance going. Our dramaturgh has done some fine thinking on her script. From her rough concepts, the rest of the cast members were happily adding on their own bizarre interpretations as we workshopped the scenario today. Even my J2 directors, YuT and Nick have cast themselves in the project even though I said the J2s could take a rest this week.

And while this is going on, my laundry list of to-do items has expanded rather than shrunk. I am so looking forward to the June hols during which I hope to recover a smidgen of the sanity I am prepared to lose over the next week and a half.

Blooding the newbies

Running hot from Drama Night, NYeDC's next project is to put up a skit for the long-awaited opening of the Circle Line that will bring Mass Rapid transportation right to our doorstep.

Predictably, our patrons want us to present a moralistic tableaux enshrining the proper etiquette of commuter behaviour in trains and stations. No problem. We wanted to involve ourselves in community theatre and here we are -- under the media spotlight, no less.

The opening ceremony is being organized by our local broadcasting body, and somehow it's been decided that our item be among those performing in front of the VIPs. Yipes! As of today I have a rough concept for a script and no confirmed cast, but I have faith in my troops. Tina's offered to help out too, so we'll see how our first rehearsal will go tomorrow.

Hello, you're kinda' cute!

Derrick the Dealer tells me M2 is likely to be exported, but he doesn't know yet where to. Meanwhile, I've finally taken possession of new M2, and here he(?) is! We will probably be adjusting to each other for some time as we work out how our different contours are supposed to fit together. There's no second-skin feel to the cockpit yet.

New M2's dashboard is quite pretty at night, all lit up with a rather aggressive red display. As it is, it's still quite bright in the parking lot but the dash is already glowing like a cylon with orders to shoot on sight. Cool.

Car wash day

It was a sombre little ritual we carried out with M2 as we carefully washed him with our own hands in preparation for the next stage of his journey.

Legally, I have ceased being M2's owner for a little over a week now. He belongs to Derrick the Dealer who, despite having paid in full for him, has been kind enough to let me continue driving him for now 'cos I have been too busy to collect the new M2.

But the day to part has arrived already. The exchange will take place at sundown tomorrow, new for old.

I should feel excited, itching to try out my new ride. But all I feel is sadness at the thought of a good friend moving on. Who knows where the road will take him? India? Thailand? The Philippines?  Or might I still be able to bump into him (not literally, of course) on the busy streets of S'pore? But I do know he has quite a few years of adventure left in him.

Dammit. No wonder I don't have many friends. Partings are so flippin' difficult for me.

My Oscar speech

Hadn't expected that it would end in tears, but the emotional release from watching all their effort, dedication, and everything else they invested physically and psychologically into the production culminate in the audience's appreciative applause
set the waterworks flowing for Yu T and Xuan2. They were tears of joy at having accomplished what had seemed like an impossible challenge for them who had taken a huge leap of faith in directing their own show despite their lack of theatrical experience beforehand.

The other two directors were dealing with it in their own way. Lin stood by her friends as they wept, offering support as best she could -- and Nick went off on his own to shmooze with the playwright of the play he directed. 4 amazing kids who have grown so fast in such a short time. I truly salute them and their ability to organize and motivate a team of such diverse talent to give off their best for two evenings of theatrical magic.

I am still amazed by how so many people were willing to pitch in to make "Timepieces" a success. The actors starting from zero experience to delivering confident performances took much time, practice and not a few sharp words from Tina; the props makers quietly toiling away unseen, so creative and resourceful in building our set from recyclable materials on a budget that was so economical I couldn't believe it when they handed me their bills for reimbursement; wardrobe and make-up who might have overrun their budget a bit, but worth it for the visual treat they created of the actors on stage; the spot-on serious and efficient backstage crew which changed sets so quickly that between-the-scenes blackouts were bearable; and the tireless, multi-tasking publicity crew who took on the jobs of collateral designers, bill posters, sales and marketing, accounts, front-of-house, and banquet staff, all led by my indispensible partner-in-crime, Sha.

The AVA crew was so completely integral to our production I have to credit the show as a collaborative project between our two CCAs. Our campus TV news crew put our "thank you/credit roll" video together and will be editing our opening night video which will make a nice souvenir for all of us involved, as well as for the playwrights who let us use their scripts royalty-free. It isn't easy to get so much inter-CCA support for a project, but our kids pulled it off so seamlessly.

I had professional help from Tina who provided the training for the actors and directors and also lent her overall expertise in putting the kids to work as if we were operating like a professional theatre company. She also brought in Matt for a session of voice training at which we discovered some very hidden talents from among our less prominent kids, and Ian who oversaw all the technical details -- lights, sound -- shuttling back and forth between us and his job tech'ing for the Shakespeare gig at Ft Canning.

One more person I have to acknowledge is June. She sourced out my thank-you tokens to the cast and crew when she had gone on holiday in HK earlier this year. Having lugged them all home, on the nights I couldn't be around to keep her company (several of those in the past two weeks or so) she painstakingly wrapped and labelled each one for a more personal touch.

Honestly, everyone in this production was fabulous. Now, being fabulous isn't my personal forte, but as the appointed CEO of this little theatre company, I really only had one job: to LET the people around me BE fabulous. And everyone was, outstandingly so. Thank you all so very much!!!

Btw, the photo above has nothing to do with our production. "Timepieces" deserved my full attention so my cam stayed sheathed in the theatre. The photo is to congratulate Cara on her wedding day (the S'porean one) today. She threw a lunch for us at the Copthorne Kings and that was my table in the pix. My heartiest congrats to Cara and Dave!

Curtain... 2009

Opening night has always been a magical experience, and this year's Drama Night has been no exception. From rehearsal weeks before right up to curtain tonight there was always something to worry over, some crisis to resolve.

But we opened to a warm crowd, so generous with their cheers and applause, so appreciative of the simple set pieced together on an extremely tight budget. It was the audience that made a big difference to the performance. It energised the performers who took it all in, playing at a level we hadn't yet reached at the dress rehearsal the night before.

Despite the worries, there was no real trouble at all. Everyone pitched in to help, even under no obligation. We had Estate and Security support which was particularly cooperative despite our schools being currently at Yellow Alert status. We had encouraging colleagues who kept our spirits up, plying us with food (thanks, Jojo) and Amy even pitched in to select and collect our reception items from Molly's -- cheap and good wholesale nonya kueh (Mel's recommendation). Speaking of Mel, she personally called in long-distance to wish us all a good show, and probably to remind us what a great time she's having in Poland.

In all the running around I was doing, I'd inadvertently left my cam at my desk, so for the first time, I was forced to watch the show through my own eyes rather then via a tiny LCD screen. Apart from a few minor technical hiccups, and mainly in overcoming the inertia of getting the show started -- it's boring to sit and watch nothing but curtain billowing in the air-conditioning updraft -- the show itself was magic. That is, the magic of previously disparate elements of movement, script, props, set, lighting, sound all coming together for once and seeing the story unfold as envisioned by my student directors of whom I am so proud.

One more show tomorrow night, to most likely a smaller audience. If we keep our heads and not get carried away by tonight's high, I'm certain we'll rock the house again and end our run with a bang. Looking forward to that, and maybe sleep too.

GP would be DADA

If JC was Hogwarts, GP would be DADA (Defence Against the Dark Arts). Quoting Prof Snape about his subject,

"Dark Arts are many, varied, ever-changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible."

"Your defences must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the Arts you seek to undo." (Half-Blood Prince)

The kids are expressing some concern that our teaching methods are nothing like the methods that accorded them so much success at the 'O' Levels. Back then for them, it was straightforward: here's a chunk of text to study; reproduce it on the exam; congratulations, here's your 'A'.

That kind of study assumes that knowledge is finite and non-conflicting. That's the kind of knowledge that is adequate for a worker with a list of daily tasks that won't change over time.

But it simply won't do for the kids at JC level. These are the kids destined to be our future professional decision-makers. They're young, gangly, squirming at their desks, but in not too many years from now they'll be our engineers, architects, lawyers, politicians, doctors, entrepreneurs and probably teachers as well. Many of them are likely to be our bosses too.

I am NOT about to let someone qualified only as a daily-rated worker make any of those important decisions for me. Those decisions have to be made by people who know enough to know they will never know enough, and yet take action when they do know enough.

Knowledge itself at this level is the Dark Arts. Nothing is certain, possibilities are numerous, sensory input is confusing, conflicting and often inaccurate. Much like the hydra Snape describes, knowledge seeks to beguile, charm, sway, harrass, threaten, and overwhelm (and if all else fails, bore) us because there is so much of it and because it operates according to a multitude of conflicting agenda. And our JC kids have to be trained to handle this kind of uncertainty and still be able to make good decisions anyway.

Our 'O' level reliance on plain vanilla facts will make every hydra head undefeatable. If every head is a fact, then we have to take on the whole monster all at once. To fight the hydra, our tools are logic and reason, values and principles, weilded with surgical precision against the monster facing us. We may not defeat it entirely,but through judicious hacking and slashing, we can cut through enough crap to get what we need of it and get the heck out of there.

This is not easily taught through a textbook. Instead, our activities are more toward research and debate; intellectual defence and attack against opponents who are usually more qualified or more skilled than the students themselves. But through the skilled use of logic and reason, everyone plays on a level field regardless of station, position or seniority. We are teaching the kids to spar and duel against dark forces, and in so doing, we are helping them establish their own identities as responsible and mature adults whom we trust to take over in their time.

In the JC curriculum, there is no better subject than GP (except maybe K&I) to conduct this type of training in. I don't blame the kids if they find the going tough. It is.

We often tell the kids that their future is in their hands. But we teach them because of a more fundamental, self-serving reason: our future in in their hands. They'd better be good hands, so we'd better train them well.

4 days to...

Curtian is so close now. Continuing to be amazed at what the kids are putting into this production. The set is entirely handcrafted from recycled materials, and the small army of stagehands that materialized overnight blew me away. They're quite clueless right now, but they're taking on a steep learning curve to be ready in a scant couple of days.

Online album updated with more rehearsal pix. Check 'em out!

5 days to curtain

Drama Night 09 Rehearsals

It may have been the Vesak Day off in lieu, but since it's curtains up this Friday it's business as usual in the theatre with rehearsals and tech. Kids including the full AVA crew are working hard and making me work just as hard with them.

Tix are already on sale at $6 a piece. Come get 'em while they're hot!

New Trek

After many repetitions, a tale takes on a life of its own. It evolves and the original premises get all hazy, but that can be a good thing because after many decades of same old, same old, we get a fresh new look and a fresh new perspective on what has long become familiar -- and tired.

In "Star Trek" -- that's right, not Star Trek XI and sans any pendulous subtitle -- we get to see the crew of The Original Series (TOS) as young, rambunctious cadets before they take command of the most famous starship in all of sci-fi. Youth brings such energy to the characters many of us have grown up with. Combine that with CGI and a director who has taken the liberty to reinterpret the canon without messing up its spirit makes for a terrific summer action flick.

Barely out of their teens, Kirk and co. face down a threat from the future led by a maniac who weilds a technology that matches his thirst for genocide. If that was their first mission as cadets, no wonder their subsequent voyages hardly raised a Vulcan eyebrow in comparison.

While this retelling doesn't stinge on all-phasers-firing ship-to-ship battles, the carnage is an extension of the very human need to cope with the pain of loss. All the major participants in this battle have lost someone they hold dear. They either learn to cope and perhaps become stronger for it; or they lose it completely, transferring their pain to others.

It's a great set-up for a story, but the events depicted in this movie will not gel with conventional 'Trek continuity. It is clear that because of people from the future tampering with the past (JJ Abrams being self-referential here?) the timeline has changed, and the young Uhura herself makes a point to state that what this crew is experiencing is indeed an alternate reality.

Yet even in this alternate tale, it's only minor events (if we can consider the destruction of a whole planet as minor) that have been irrevocably changed, but the Enterprise (NCC-1701) and everyone on board remain true to their character. It may be more action-packed no doubt, but it is still a exciting Star Trek story.

Will we get to see more adventures with this new young crew? I'd like that. It's a promising beginning.

I are milo dinosawr!

I are milo dinosawr! Hear me rawr!

Some sums

Now I understand what "breaking even" means when drivers go about buying their next car. Simply put, it's the difference between what you owe the bank for your previous car and what the dealer is willing to pay for it as a second-hand car.

The amount I got for M2 not only paid off my existing loan but also went towards a significant portion of my downpayment for the new M2. So my initial capital outlay for the new car wasn't that much after all. What I did pay for was a reduction of the loan I would be taking from the bank so that my monthly installment for the new car is just a little lower than what I am currently paying.

Ok. Too much math. But it does show that it's a lot easier to buy a car when you already have a car.

Director's cut

Got interviewed on my own camera by my own publicity crew. They're making a "behind-the-scenes" video for Drama Night and wanted some short quotes to splice in with the rest of the footage.

It wasn't easy for me to say in just a short quote what I felt about Drama Night this year, and I think I mangled my interview. There are so many people to be appreciative of: from coach, to cast, to crew, to directors, to publicity, to Sha, my partner in crime.

I've been amazed by the organizational capabilities of the club members, and how resourceful and innovative they have been in getting all the help they need to run this show on their own, with me, Sha and Tina taking something of a back seat and only stepping in to offer guidance and support. It hasn't meant a reduction of our working hours, but it does mean that the kids themselves are making the major production decisions, from organizing their own auditions to building the set to even enlisting the support of the AVA crew who have been working flat out with us since yesterday. First time ever, AVA has been so supportive of Drama Club efforts.

The actors and crew have been dedicated to their task even though many of them are actually sub-cons and not actual Drama Club members. All of us are stretched quite thin by now, all keeping late nights as we have been rehearsing, revising and rehearsing again these past couple of weeks. And as of now, there's just one more week to endure till showtime!

But it's going to be a very long week. While the kids' forte is in organization and administration, they still have to make a quantum leap in their stagecraft and overall watchability in the next few days. Things are still looking pretty rough onstage, especially now that we have started rehearsing on site. From what I see from today's rehearsal, we need a miracle to get us ready in the one week remaining. But I'm still confident because miracles have happened before and there's every reason to expect they will happen again.

There goes the hamburger

Hurray! A triumph for animal rights. More surprisingly, the activist happens to be the victim herself! Way to go, Molly! Those stupid carnivores let one slip after all.

I heart NY!

Another head-scratching class discussion

I wonder if we've got our concept of school ranking correct? We accord top ranking to the schools that deliver the highest 'A' grade percentage. Shouldn't it be that the top schools are the ones with the highest failure rate instead? That would indicate that the top schools are operating at the highest possible standards and expectations for their students, and that just passing alone is a real challenge. Pass the best, fail the rest -- that would be the true measure of an elite school.

Doesn't a high passing percentage mean that our standards are so low that anyone can pass? We just don't give failure the respect it deserves and, as a result, our students still haven't a clue what being challenged means. Does that mean we are sending our graduates and scholars out into the world unprepared?

Now, how am I supposed to address this conundrum?

Goodbye and hello

I suppose it was too much to hope for, but my bid for a COE was successful. That means my days as M2's owner are numbered. Well, they were numbered anyway, but now the number has reduced to a very small digit, and it's happened much earlier than expected.

I hate goodbyes, but perhaps M2 will find a better owner on the resale market. One who won't bump him around so much and will wash him more often. As for me, it's time to make a new friend.

Warm fuzzy

The days are hot. Combining that with our humidity, we are being slowly steamed alive. No doubt our energy bills are going to rise as we rely increasingly on air-conditioning to keep cool.

But the past few nights have been most glorious for sleeping cosily snuggled up under the sheets. Stormy, rain lashing down, wind howling through the gaps in the windows, giving us good reason to overstay our welcome in the land of zzzs.

Pyongyang tea party

I'm in a parable-telling mood. Nothing like oversimplifying complex issues as if I'm talking to 9 year-olds about the way the world is. Anyway...

Because of the North Korean missle test not too long ago, one of my kids asked me why we view NK with such suspicion. Let me explain it this way: Mostly, it's a matter of trust. NK fought a bitter war against the US over communist vs democratic ideology and officially there has not been an end to the hostilities even after 50 years.

NK still believes it is at war. It's just that it hasn't acquired the necessary technological advantages to win it yet. The US and pretty much the rest of the world are certain that once NK is ready with its war waging capabilities, it will end recess-time and start the war again.

For the world, it's like everyone's at a tea party, makin' nice with one another, while in a shadowy corner one of the guests is muttering to himself and playing with steak knives. Not too comfortable a feeling, is it?

So they're waving chicken wings and hors d'ouvres at him hoping he'll put the knives down and play nicely with everyone else. Sad thing is, he thinks that the only way he's going to get any food at this party is if he keeps pretending to talk to himself and play with knives. And when people start to ignore him again ('cos he grates on their nerves after a while) he gets their attention again by playing with bigger knives. Don't you just hate guests like that? Yet, you feel really sorry for him at the same time.

Trust me, I've been to parties like that before. Ooh... shiny. pointy. things...

Anyway, Mel Gurtov of Time has a theory on why NK behaves so strangely. Check it out here.

Thanks for providing the link, Amy!

The big catfight

Met Jen for dinner. She was over an hour and a half late for our appointment, but she had a good reason. She was doing her part to resolve the big catfight that has gripped the attention of our national media over the last couple of weeks.

It's an interesting story she told about a posse of young upstarts who rode into town one day and by their sheer number declared themselves the new mayor, town council and sheriff over the existing townsfolk and their assets. Oh boy, did they ever pick the wrong town to annexe. The rebellion that came after their initial success was armed to the teeth, spoiling for a knock-down drag-out fight, and brought friends.

There was an epic battle in which more of the town's assets suffered further collateral damage, but finally amidst the carnage the newbies capitulated. Law and order has since been restored while the lawyers are busy calculating reparations.

And so ends one of the most exciting political events to have ever occured in our so-called "apathetic" nation. We may take democracy for granted, but God help whomever attempts to hijack it from us. And in this one instance God, in his infinite wisdom, didn't.

That was basically Jen's story from the trenches. Me, I'm not even going to comment because I wasn't there and, anyway, I wouldn't understand.

As fatigued as my wallet

Labour Day holiday. An opportunity to goof off without guilt because we are celebrating our being employed. These days, having a job is not to be taken for granted so today has some particular significance for us waged and working people.

And looking back on how I've been spending on big ticket items in the past few months, I am so gonna need to depend on a regular paycheck to stay afloat. From acquiring, renovating and furnishing a new home and new wheels, it's a pretty deep hole I've sunk myself in. I had better begin clawing my way up and out, or be buried under the dumptruck load of debt poised directly overhead. 

The marginal utility I derive from spending money has finally reached the point of diminishing returns. I am now as fatigued as my moth-eaten wallet. I've done all I can to boost the economy, so now I declare that it's high time other people took their turn.

No more unnecessary spending from this household. That is, we're not likely to become complete misers overnight, but we're not going to be shopping around for any more trouble either.

Slash, slash, Wolverine, slash

As a stand-alone movie, "X-men Origins: Wolverine" is quite the action-packed blockbuster we were hoping for. There are brutal fight scenes and things blowing up galore, and some awesomely cool choreographed moves by some of the characters as well (Agent Zero and Deadpool!!!), but for a bunch of characters wielding all manner of bladed weapons and small-arms, their kills are oddly bloodless. Guess the movie has to be acceptable to the kiddies' parents too, 'cos Wolvie is as popular to a 10-year-old as is to a jaded grump like me.

"Wolverine" compiles a brief history of everybody's favourite mutant, from his childhood to the Weapon X program and it's disastrous aftermath -- basically, all the memories Wolvie has lost, now revealed at last to the movie audience.

Considering his memories begin in the mid to late 19th century, I would have liked to explore his earlier memories in more detail. Unfortunately, these earlier memories were handled rather perfunctorily in the movie. The intention is to help align "Wolverine" continuity to "X-men" continuity, though I feel they rushed it. Wolvie's been a combatant in every major war since the American Civil War, and each war must have potential for some epic stories. But within the constraints of movie time, a lot of pruning has to be expected.

I'm glad the Sabretooth character is intelligent and that his reprehensible actions are the result of conscious choice rather than direct control by some external force. He is a bad, dangerous man who knows what he is doing, not just some beast on a leash like he was in the first X-men movie.

But the biggest disappointment was Gambit. Yes, it isn't his name on the title, but this character is way too cool to be used just as a glorified chauffeur who gets Wolvie where he's going. And what happened to Gambit's trademark Cajun mannerisms and accent? Maybe they should have brought in a speech coach because he sounded more Irish instead. Sorry, nitpicking; but it's too big an oversight to let it pass without mention.

Maybe it's because the fanboy in me already knows something of the Weapon X saga, so focusing on this event -- crucial as it is to the Wolverine mythos -- was meh. It makes for necessary plot development as the locations and events here are very closely linked with what happens in the "X-men" movie trilogy, but personally, I would have liked more screen time to showcase the awesome potential of Team X. Wolvie's heroic side emerges through his association with the X-men, so it would have been interesting to see the more grey areas of his past alongside his nasty Team X associates.

What I'm saying isn't so much an indictment against poor filmmaking choices as it is an acknowledgement that the Wolverine character has been so well-developed over the years by so many excellent writers and that a simple summary done on film does no justice to the richness of the man who is "the best at what he does, and what he does isn't very nice".

Too late for regrets

I have bought a new car, and I haven't been making much of a big deal about it. First, because it happened so suddenly, and second, because I'm upset.

It isn't about the money -- I don't have much of it to throw around anyway. It's the way I so readily signed over M2 to the dealer, although I had no intention to do it before. I have no reason to sell him off. He's been a good boy, never having given me any problems apart from a flat tyre and battery which were easily replaceable parts. I bet he'd still be a great companion for at least a couple more years before age actually starts taking its toll on him.

So why the sudden change? That's not a question I want to answer now. I'm too haunted by the memory that I signed him away while I was in full sight of him. There he was, just beyond the showroom window, sitting in the parking lot, while I hesitatingly put my John Hancock on the dotted line.

It's a memory that came back strongly this evening when I started him up to drive home from work. Mr Big's "Wild World" was playing on the radio:

Now that I've lost everything to you

You say you want to start something new

And it's breaking my heart you're leaving

Baby I'm grieving

And if you wanna leave take good care

Hope you have a lot of nice things to wear

A lot of nice things turn bad out there

Oh baby, baby, it's a wild world...

I know it's silly of me to be so sentimental. I'm getting a great deal out of this transaction, and it's a routine part of car ownership in S'pore (cars are too expensive to keep for long and have to be sold off before they start giving trouble), but I already miss him.

This is one car owner who is dreading to hear that his COE bid has been successful.

Enduring "memory"

As magical as Mr Mistoffelees, Cats: Now and Forever was quite the extravaganza of music, song and dance that I had hoped it would be. I've been acquainted with the Webber musical since my sis was a schoolgirl, and only now, two decades or so later have I finally been able to see what she had been raving about way back then.

First of all, Cats is not a play. There is a very loose narrative stringing the different numbers together -- a reason for the cats to gather onstage -- but the plot is really just a convenient device for sequencing the scenes in some coherent manner. Most of the scenes themselves are self-contained units, focusing on the story of a particular cat (like the rum-tum-tugger) or cats (like Mungojerrie and Rumpleteaser). So there isn't much necessity to interpret a bigger picture than what is already being presented.

What's more important for me is that the music is beautiful, varying in genre and tempo; as is the dance by the ensemble cast, so coordinated, acrobatic and energetic; a total treat for both audio and visual senses. The experience is what counts -- being in and appreciating the moment, every moment. That's where the enjoyment is, at least for me.

I don't know if Momo, Kaiser and Maui would approve of human beings cavorting around impersonating them, though. This kind of thing is only what we people would do; we don't see cats pretending to be us, do we?

3 2 2

I suppose it was inevitable, though I didn't expect it to be this soon. I took up the dealer's invitation to test drive the newly launched Mazda 3 even though I knew I couldn't afford it. It was just a lark, to see how the latest designed M3 would feel on the road. That was all it was supposed to be.

Mazdas are always a smooth ride, easy to handle and corner well. I was holding back because of its unfamiliar feel, but the 1.6l engine promised a jolt of power if I would but step a little harder on the accelerator. The luxury version comes with a few pretty cosmetic accessories, mostly having to do with lighting. The exterior boasts dual-xeon headlamps and fogs while the interior brightens up with a constellation of little console lights that indicate where every control button is if you happen to want to push one on a dark night. Pretty.

Like I said, there is no way in heck I could afford even the sedan version, let alone the luxury. The math simply wouldn't go, not that I really wanted a 3 anyway. But the math worked out perfectly for the Mazda 2 which I test drove over a year ago, but couldn't afford then. So suddenly, M2 got traded in and if our calculations are accurate, the new monthly payments will be less than what I am currently paying now. I placed the order, expecting delivery some time next month.

I should feel some excitement, even elation at the prospect of the change, but I don't. Somehow, I feel like I'll be losing a dear, old friend in M2. We've been through a lot together, but I know I won't be able to keep him forever. So can I think of it as M2 isn't really gone but rather as having got a major makeover including weight reduction and image enhancement instead? That'll be one way to cope, I guess.

We might have to clap in shifts

College Day: the day to recognize kids' achievements in academic and co-curricula pursuits, and for a rare few, both. We also use the occasion to inspire the other kids to do better so that they can take their own place on the stage the following year.

As teachers, we are justifiably proud of our students when we know we have contributed in some way to their success. But as much as we like to celebrate our aces, I thought I'd remind myself that the other kids -- the not-so-successful ones; the pains-in-the-neck; the ones who make me want to cough blood and die; yeah, those -- are no less valuable, and are just as worthy of my time and attention as well. Just because they don't score aces doesn't necessarily mean they aren't learning; and sometimes even when they don't display brilliance in exam conditions, it just means that their skills will emerge when they really need them perhaps a little further down the road.

So for me, College Day isn't just about the swots and muggers, but for all our kids regardless of achievement. Congrats to all of you!

Bits of randomness

"I appreciate the compliment, Chu-bi Wan. Have patience, and one day you too will master the art of Cat Fu."

"Dessert. Now. Please."

Finally got these pix uploaded like I promised. That means June's home from Beijing! Yay! No more instant noodles for dinner.

Dunno what's wrong with me the past few days. Simply could not come up with a single coherent thought, and had even more trouble reaching for appropriate vocabulary to use even in conversation with friends and colleagues. It's been like my neurons shorting out or something. Maybe I just need more sleep.

Meantime, NBS had the courage to offer herself up to be ravaged by the usual whiners and axe-to-grinders who stalk the ST online opinion pages. I don't subscribe to abuse therapy to deal with my boredom, but sometimes it's fun to poke the hornets' nest with a stick then stand back and laugh at their angry, pointless buzzing. I guess that could be therapeutic. I guess.

And a shout out to the little Swift who was just minding her own business when an oblivious truck jammed his nose up her butt: "Get well soon!"

Geek gushes over gorgeous gal

Omg, she's a beauty! For an older lady, she's still got the curves and the moves to make these eyes o' mine water. A gal like her is so hard to find these days. Majestic, graceful, yet cheeky enough for a little fun when she's not taking care of serious business, she's still got it in her to turn heads with her presence. At first glance, she may not look immediately appealing, with her twin humps disconcertingly distracting from her sleek figure. But I've observed her long enough, and have grown accustomed to her unique charms. And now I just can't take my eyes off her. I simply must take her home, care for her and treat her real nice, and I just know she'll take me to the heights of my desire.

Sigh. Wish I had £1.5-2 mil.

A change of leadership

We have been playing around with the notion of democracy so much that we actually think we are a democratic nation. Going by the unhappiness over the sudden and abrupt change of leadership in women's advocate group, AWARE, it's become apparent that we have no concept at all about what "democracy" means, or what its implications are. Or the fact that adopting democratic principles presupposes the voting members are responsible people who perform their due diligence before they vote and then are prepared to live with the decision they have made.

No. Here, democracy's peachy -- as long as it returns the status quo. But all hell breaks loose when the unexpected results. Accusations fly over questionable tactics and ethics; hidden agenda and conspiracy theories surface; and everyone wonders what went wrong, as if the defeat of the incumbent was a moral violation of some sort.

Democracy is a contest, not a procedure. There will be a winner and there will be a loser. The one who knows and prepares the ground best wins, the other... well, there's always the next election. My guess is that the previous leadership of AWARE simply took this election as a formal procedure to legitimize its position in the forthcoming term, and wasn't prepared to slug it out with a candidate who was in it to win it. Result: ah, there's the beauty of democracy, isn't it? If the people feel it's time for a change of leadership, then leadership makes a peaceful transition, thus eliminating a full-blown civil war ending with the loser's head on a pike.

But at this time in our nation's development, we haven't quite figured out this aspect of our cherished democratic principles yet. If AWARE is any indication of the ground today, then we're looking at a people that really want to see change take place. The next General Election may prove to be a hotter, more serious contest than it has ever been since independence. The previously lethargic opposition may take this incident as a sign to launch a major offensive to capitalize on shifting ground support while the incumbents should know by now to prep for a real battle on their hands this time.

Could this event mark a turning point in our voters' appreciation of the concept of democracy: that their choices really do matter, and that they have to be responsible for the votes they will be casting? That their votes must be based on an intelligent assessment of the options available and not simply made as a matter of course or reflex? An advocacy group can take time out for hand-wringing (though I think they would much prefer neck-wringing), but national government has no time for anything else other than business as usual regardless of the result. And we, the voters, must learn to peacefully accept the outcome because it was the choice we made. Else it'll be another battle of different coloured shirts as we tear our own country apart. Who needs enemies then?

If we didn't know the first thing about democracy before, now's the time to be AWARE.

Home alone

Urm, I was gonna pretty up this entry with pix of Q-tip with her new haircut, Maui watching TV, and the lovely steak I had for dinner, but I procrastinated a tad too long. Now my cam is on its way to the airport, accompanying June to Beijing. Yes, I've been left to my own devices again for about a week. I've stocked up on provisions so I'm not likely to starve, and the laundry's done so I should continue to smell nice, at least for the next few days.

How is a guy gonna survive without the civilizing influence of a woman's proximity? In this experiment, we're about to find out. Stay tuned...

For one night only

The annual Chinese drama night has taken a big step forward this year in terms of staging choices and overall presentation.

Tonight, in the first play, we saw a more efficient use of performance space, sectioning off different parts of the stage to represent different locations, thus avoiding long, unnecessary blackouts while transitioning between scenes.

The second play was more stylized. The set utilized movable blocks of different sizes for a versatile set that easily transformed to create different moods and locations. Movement in this piece was more tightly choreographed than the previous piece, which tended towards a more realistic presentation. The second piece also made good use of heights and levels, a little dance movement, and also delivered an interesting, textured soundscape -- a combination of music and rhythms -- that worked for both realistic and abstract scenes.

The plots were straightforward enough for me to understand most of what was going on, at least through observing the situation. The dialogue was not simple TV-grade Mandarin, but rather some higher level language that went clear over my head. Must thank Amy and B-lo for helping me past the more esoteric bits, though there weren't really that many.

Apart from watching the performance, I was also taking note of the lighting equipment and the effectiveness of the condensers. It'll be NYeDC's turn to go up on stage in only a month's time. Panic stations!

Knowing we've seen it all before

Why do I insist on watching movies about the end of the world? Oh yeah, for the scenes of civilization being destroyed in spectacular fashion, and perhaps for the glimmer of hope that we can somehow overcome, avert or avoid the inevitable.

In the case of "Knowing", there are indeed some truly vivid depictions of disasters complete with a few disturbing visuals of being right in the midst of it all while people are dying in quite horrible ways all aound us. That itself should be worth the price of admission, but we've seen it all before already -- in the trailer!

Ok, so the trailer does not cover every single aspect of the movie but I daresay everything I wanted to view, I could have got it off the trailer, for free. The bits that were not in the trailer, well, let's just say they didn't add much more -- except maybe a little unnecessary hokeyness -- to an already predictable plot.

There's an attempt to draw out a debate between Determinism and "sh*t happens" randomness, but it seems like a convenient placeholder for upping the philosophical ante of the movie, and it didn't sustain.

Oh well, nice concept, but not quite my cup of tea.

Not exactly rapt attention

It's probably my own fault I had to destress this afternoon. I've been working on a little presentation for today's address to the JC2s that we Inno people (Kev, et al) were responsible for. We? I mean, me. Not that they didn't offer help, but I took it upon myself to deliver the oration because I could not get another speaker to fill the slot like I said I could. Penance. The speaker I did get is for a later date, not today, in case you're wondering.

I've lectured before, to groups of about 120-150, but this was the first time I faced the whole JC2 cohort, all 700+ of them. Did I really have anything to say that could hold their attention for 40 minutes or so? It was something I've been fretting over the past week, imagining a scenario where I'd be holding a wireless mike in one hand and a can of mace (or a fire extinguisher) in the other to maintain crowd control.

The initial technical problems didn't help ease my nerves, but I finally had my sound and visuals by the second reboot while the crowd murmured around me, anxious to see some action at least for their trouble of hustling to the hall.

But I've been selling my audience short. When we got started, they did rather seem politely interested. It wasn't exactly rapt attention, but it wasn't the riot I'd been fearing either.

A couple of things that most likely worked in my favour: I held a wireless mike and walked in the midst of my audience, randomly shooting off a question, shoving the mike at a convenient face and expecting a response. No one really wanted to attract my attention and my mike, so there were no outstanding individuals in the crowd. The other thing was to constantly vary the sensory input, letting a few short video clips take up about half my time while I spent the rest stitching together a plausible narrative linking the clips together along with the other media (news clippings and websites) I used in my show-and-tell.

I think overall it went well, though I haven't heard the reviews yet. Anyway, the ordeal's over -- for now. And the root beer did wonders for my mood.

Recipe for destress

Recipe for destress: 1 root beer float, well beaten, served neat. And the afternoon off.

Is no house, is zoo

Everyone knows I keep four animals in my house, 3 cats and a dog. The addition of the fifth, Mimi, whom I am dogsitting over the weekend has pushed me to my limits.

It's no fun being constantly up to my elbows in poop and pee, every now and then having to spray down the bathroom floor because somebody missed the paper. And even then, sometimes I can't even change the paper fast enough, so I can't really blame the dogs for their inability to make a precision strike when the designated target zone has already been carpet-bombed to saturation.

Bleary-eyed all weekend, I finally got a good night's sleep in my own bed last night. I simply couldn't take my Mimi-induced insomnia any longer. When she started acting up as usual, I got out of bed to give her a sharp swat on her hindquarters and plonked her back into her sleeping basket. Not a peep out of her after that, and I got a solid five hours.

Now to get the house ship-shape for June's return tonight. All evidence of my decadent bachelor lifestyle must be eradicated. Rhumba is hard at work as we speak.