The RIDGE - Jan-Feb Issue 2014 by The Ridge

mIca (p) 113/10/2012

THE RIDGE MAGA ZINE

THE RIDGE MAGAZINE - A NUSSU PUBLICATION JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2014 Find THE RIDGE on Facebook facebook.com/NussuTHERIDGE

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CONTENTS NEWS

OPINION

ENTERTAINMENT

06 NUSSU VOLUNTEERS PROFILE

13 ENDER’S GAME CONTROVERSY

22 CINEPHILE

07 THANKS! NUS

14 LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP… ONLINE!

24 TV JUNKIE

08 HEART INITIATIVE 5

16 WHAT ARE WE BECOMING

26 ZOUKOUT AND BEYONCE REVIEW

09 PROJECT I WISH TO RUN 2014

18 OPINIONS ON OPINIONS

27 REVIEW: THE SUIT

10 YALE-NUS: THE FIRST TWO MONTHS

20 ONCE MORE UNTO THE RIDGE

28 BOOK WORM ADVENTURES 29 INTERVIEW WITH RAHUL 30 SWF INTERVIEW 32 NUS ARTS FESTIVAL

34 BEAUTY WORLD

46 NAIISE REVIEW

35 THE ODD COUPLE

47 VALENTINUS: HOW TO CELEBRATE VALENTINE’S DAY AT SCHOOL

LIFESTYLE

SPORTS 57 NUS MUSEUM 58 UNITY THROUGH SPORTS

48 DRESSING FOR SCHOOL 37 IRC COVERAGE

59 IT’S GETTING STALE IN VETTEL’S TRAIL

38 ON THE NEW YEAR AND RESOLUTIONS

WIRED

40 RECIPE FOR ONE

50 KINDLE PAPERWHITE

42 NUS SOCMED INITIATIVES INTERVIEW

52 HACKING

44 MARVELOUS MELBOURNE MUST-SEES

54 STEPS

60 TWO NUS TRIATHLETES CONQUER IRONMAN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 62 AARON RAMSEY

04 EDITOR’S NOTE

EDITOR’S NOTE L

ife is made up of a series of wars and we are all warriors. A new year, or a new semester, does not mean starting all over again on a blank page. We still bear the scars that remind us of those battles we won or lost. Some of us have grown stronger or weaker with each battle fought. Through this short note, I would like to remind you that we can always start anew in one way or another nevertheless. A few wins do not make you a winner forever – you should not be caught off guard. On the other hand, don’t let a few losses define you. We are all winners if we choose not to give up. As we begin this new semester and New Year, The Ridge would like to wish you all the very best in your new journey.

unfortunate medical conditions.

In this issue, let’s play a little flashback to pay tribute to our past year. Thanks! NUS (p. 7), organized by NUSSU, was held last semester to ignite the spirit of gratitude among the student population at NUS. The outcome was wonderful. Thousands of post cards were given out.

When I read Chan Yi Wen’s article, On New Year and Resolutions (p. 38), I tried to recall my 2013 resolutions, but none came to mind. Never mind all those broken promises that we make every 1st January, of which we promptly forget the very next day. After reading Yi Wen’s article, I realize that the most important thing lies in the memories we have made in the past, and will make.

News Desk brings you different events – one of them being Project I Wish To Run 2014 (p. 10) in which you can have fun running with your friends while making a difference to the lives in children born with

Many a times, we forget our goals or destinations. Some of us are not even certain about what they are working towards. We may stray from our path and lose our way. So before you start burying yourselves in mundane routines, read Anthony Yoong’s journey in redefining the purpose of our life as university students on page 16. Attention to all movie goers, the award season is upon us. Tons of great movies are competing for Oscars this year. Who will bring home the trophy on 2nd March? Read Kintan Andanari’s guesses on page 22.

live without my laptop). Many people try to take advantage of the accessibility to technology by infiltrating into others’ digital life illegally, obtaining their confidential data, or simply messing up with other people’s lives. We have all heard of hacking incidents before – from the recently hacked NUSSU website to big companies. Flip to page 52 for four easy tips to prevent online threats. Sports, which main objective is to bond people, often causes riots. Read Yang Kaiyuan’s article on how sports bond people as a remembrance of the late Nelson Mandela on page 58.

Teresa Widodo Chief Editor theridge.chiefeditor@nussu.org.sg

As Generation Y, we often rely too much on technology (well, at least I do. I can’t

EDITORIAL TEAM 05

EDITORIAL BOARD

CONTRIBUTORS

Chief Editor Teresa Widodo theridge.chiefeditor@nussu.org. sg

Operations and Financial Manager Lee Kay Ling a0084324@nus.edu.sg

Deputy Chief Loh Kai Ying theridge.depchiefeditor@nussu. org.sg

Logistics Manager Albert Kurniawan a0088383@nus.edu.sg

Creative Director Patricia Jonatan theridge.creative@nussu.org.sg Head Designer Lim Min Er theridge.headdesigner@nussu. org.sg News Desk Editor Velda Wong theridge.news@nussu.org.sg Opinion Desk Editor Debra Chua theridge.opinion@nussu.org.sg Entertainment Desk Editor Rachel Phua theridge.entertainment@nussu. org.sg Lifestyle Desk Editor Sharifah Nursyafiqah theridge.lifestyle@nussu.org.sg Sports Desk Editor Ashwathaman Muruganandan & Ong Hua Han theridge.sports@nussu.org.sg Wired Desk Editor Lim Wei Di theridge.wired@nussu.org.sg Copy Editors Samantha Wong & Yu Pei Fern theridge.copyeditor@nussu.org. sg

NUSSU Communications Secretary Denise Ee Shu Fen commsec@nussu.org.sg Social Media Managers Lim Wei Di weidi@nus.edu.sg Peiling Chua a0084185@nus.edu.sg

News Desk Rohini Samtani

rohini@nus.edu.sg

Opinion Desk Regina Koh Yee Ping

a0114079@nus.edu.sg

Jay Chauhan

a0118991@nus.edu.sg

Anthony Yoong

anthony.yoong@nus.edu.sg

Gabriel Pik Liang Marini

pik@nus.edu.sg

Entertainment Desk Chia Soong Ming

a0072975@nus.edu.sg

Chua Pei Ling

a0084185@nus.edu.sg

Angelita Sasmita,

a0114002@nus.edu.sga

Kee Jia Yun

a0083412@nus.edu.sg

Tan Yan Ni,

a0115063@nus.edu.sg

Kintan Andanari,

a0114721@nus.edu.sg

Melissa Yasmin Stewart

a0083677@nus.edu.sg

Chesna Goh Lifestyle Desk

Grace Ng ngrace@nus.edu.sg

Wendy Wong

wendy@nus.edu.sg

Chan Yi Wen

chanyiwen@nus.edu.sg

Aishwarya Tandon (Contributor) publication.director@nussuirc.com

Kok Ann Ng A0071969@nus.edu.sg

Alice Li

liaisi@nus.edu.sg

Wired Desk Lester Hio

lesterh@nus.edu.sg

Zhou Jiajia

a0115859@nus.edu.sg

Yeo Jun Yan

a0111387@nus.edu.sg

Sports Desk Rishian Balaskanda

rishian@nus.edu.sg

Yang Kaiyuan

yangkaiyuan@nus.edu.sg

Chua Jing Zhi

A0078758@nus.edu.sg

Designers Ye Zichen

zichen@nus.edu.sg

Ningxin Yang

ningxin.y@gmail.com

Veena Salim

veena_salim@nus.edu.sg

Cheryl Low

cheryl.low@nus.edu.sg

Colin Ng

colin.ng@nus.edu.sg

Sun Lixin

victor.sunlixin@gmail.com

Karen Tan

karent@gmail.com

FEATURE

NUSSU Committees Profile: NVAC Teresa Widodo

t is often said that true happiness comes from giving and helping others. If you agree with this statement, you might want to check out NUSSU Volunteer Action Committee (NVAC). “NVAC is a committee under the NUS Students’ Union (NUSSU) and a student volunteer host organization since 1990.” Lee Ming Yong, Chairperson of NVAC, explained, “I will say NVAC serves as a platform to bond student volunteers from the union together more than providing outreach. When students do similar things together (i.e volunteering) and explore their passions together, I think this brings them closer and this is in line with the NUSSU objective this year, to create a closer NUSSU.”

responsible for the liaison work with different stakeholders. Not to mention thinking of innovative ways to improve NVAC and enhance the volunteering environment in NUS. However, when he was asked about his experience in NVAC, he confidently answered that joining NVAC is a meaningful experience, “I felt as if I am making a difference as these efforts will ultimately go towards helping the beneficiaries in need.”

I FELT AS IF I AM MAKING A DIFFERENCE AS THESE EFFORTS WILL ULTIMATELY GO TOWARDS HELPING THE BENEFICIARIES IN NEED.”

What should we expect once we delve deeper into volunteerism? According to Ming Yong, one upside will be meeting other passionate people who also believe in helping others, which makes a lot of volunteers continue volunteering. On the other hand, sometimes volunteers may feel like they are simply ‘going through the motions’ because they are not engaged enough by what they do and the overall environment.

As project-based NUSSU Committee, NVAC offers volunteering for everyone, be it on regular basis or in an ad-hoc event, local or overseas. For regular projects, the volunteers can choose to volunteer on a weekly or fortnightly basis whereas in special projects, volunteers participate in planning or volunteering in a one-off event. The third year Business Major shared his experience in NVAC to The Ridge. Not a stranger to volunteering, Ming Yong started doing charity works even before university. “I have always been an advocate of it as I get to help others and also learning things in the process.” he said. This encouraged him to continue volunteering in university. After observing the volunteering landscape in university, he realized that it could be improved. “Overall, there could be more awareness

So, what makes him keep going? “The sense of purpose. Whenever I look at the work I am doing, and that of my team, I got reminded of why we are doing it,” said Ming Yong wholeheartedly.

created on the needs of beneficiaries and volunteering opportunities available. In addition, current volunteers can be further engaged with their time spent. Therefore, I thought being NVAC can help to change

this.” Being the spearhead of NVAC, Ming Yong has been extremely busy managing both people and projects. He was also

Do look out for the upcoming initiatives by the NUS Volunteer Network (NVN) this coming semester! Through this network, the four voluntary clubs comprising of the NUS Students’ Community Service Club, NUS Students’ Union Volunteer Action Committee, Red Cross Youth (NUS Chapter) and NUS Rotaract Club are collaborating to improve the volunteering scene of NUS by raising awareness for the NVN’s volunteering programmes.

FEATURE

Thanks! NUS Giving Thanks, Building Relations Velda Wong

midst the demanding curriculum and stress faced in the face of examinations and interminable assignments, how often do students actually make an effort to stop and remind themselves of the little things on campus to be thankful for? Well, you’d be gladly surprised to hear that students in NUS do remember and appreciate the efforts made by unsung heroes around school. Last semester, the 35th NUSSU Executive Committee (EXCO) embarked on a weeklong project inviting the entire student population to give thanks to people who made their time in NUS a meaningful one in spite of the long hours spent studying at school. Students were extremely receptive and welcoming of the event and wasted no time in spreading the spirit of thanksgiving. Thanks! NUS, which took place from 31 October 2013 to 8 November 2013, gave students an opportunity to thank individuals by writing postcards and declaring their appreciation (known as Thanks!fessions) on NUSSU’s Facebook page to others. NUSSU conducted the event by setting up booths across various faculties where students penned words of gratitude on postcards to anyone who had brightened their mundane days. They were also encouraged to present the postcards to them, snap a photo with their heroes and upload them on NUSSU’s Facebook page. The postcards were especially well-received as more than 1000 post cards were immediately snapped up by students on the very first 2 days of the event at the booth in University Town (UTown) alone. Representatives of NUSSU had to think quick on their feet to find more resources and manpower to re-direct postcards to

the booths that required a replenishment of the postcards in order to meet the high demand at certain booths in the various faculties. The support staff behind NUS’s daily operations were also treated to wonderful performances put up by NUSSU and NUS Voices while enjoying a picnic at University Town’s Town Green to mark a closure to the weeklong Thanks! NUS campaign. The attendees included shuttle bus drivers, security guards, canteen staff and housekeeping and maintenance workers. They were also presented with hearty fruit baskets, snacks and drinks to accompany them throughout the evening with 25 students from NUSSU serving the support staff and cleaning up the premises.

and distributed around campus, it would defeat the purpose of the campaign. “The campaign started out simply with a clear goal in mind: to prompt students who are too busy with their own lives in school to stop and give thanks to the unsung heroes around them, especially the really hidden back-end support staff who run the daily operations in school. Ultimately, what we would like to achieve is a community that sees students using their own methods and means to give thanks. They should have a sense of ownership in how they want to express gratitude to the people around them.” he added. Professors of the individual faculties also received the thoughtful postcards unexpectedly from students. The Directors of the different offices in NUS were also caught by surprise when some of the students presented the appreciation postcards to them.

“My team and I also saw admin staff from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences hanging the postcards in their offices. This was evident of how much the appreciation messages meant to them”, said John. Often, students get pre-occupied and stressed out with the overwhelming workload they face at school and may tend to take certain intangible things for granted. However, little reminders of how much there is to be thankful for in school go a long way in making one’s day. The best things in life are often free; so why not be generous and tell someone how grateful you are to him for making your day in school? Whenever you get jaded and exhausted from school, remember that there are also people who are working as hard as you do to create a better environment for everyone in NUS. Give thanks to someone each day, every day.

Heading the project were the General Secretary of the 35th NUSSU EXCO, John Paul Chua, and the Assistant Secretary, Lim Kok Seng. Together, they shared that the campaign far exceeded their expectations, and was more than successful than they could hope for. “There were plenty of feedbacks from students who requested for more postcards to be placed around campus even after the weeklong campaign. It was very heartening to receive such positive feedbacks,” said John. They had even received feedback from the NUS Provost, Professor Tan Eng Chye, to continue the project on a longterm basis because of its feasibility and sustainability. However, John felt that the event should only be kept to a yearly event because the main aim of the project was to drive home the message to people about the significance of appreciation. If more postcards were to be printed

credits: nus.edu.sg

NEWS

Heart Initiative 5: Building lovable neighbourhoods together Velda Wong

eart Initiative 5 (H.I. 5) is a community outreach project started by three Master Thesis Students (AY2013/14) from NUS Architecture who came together with the common interest of exploring a whole new boundary to community design. The name H.I. 5 comes from the team’s strong want to reach out to the community. The name acts as a key driving force for their designs. Furthermore, “Hi 5” is a typical way of displaying one’s friendliness and affability within most communities. Through the initiative, they hope to reach out to the community as friends and buddies, and engage the community to create a more inclusive living environment for all. They also strongly believe that a strong community-oriented design is one which is created BY the community,

FOR the community, with the planner and designers as agents to bring all the different stakeholders together. Currently, H.I. 5 is interested in rethinking HDB Rental Housing’s estate design & planning. Centering on the idea of what it takes to build a lovable neighbourhood, the team believes that the community “kampung” spirit could play a greater role in rental housing estates, especially in creating a more sustainable community where residents could share resources together to create a more vibrant and humanistic community whereby residents keep a lookout for one another. The aim of their movement is to explore and showcase architectural ideas which are capable of creating a more self sustainable community whereby the

credits : H.I.5

NEWS

credits : H.I.5

Here are some additional details of H.I. 5:

Vision & Aim Building lovable neighbourhoods together

Approach Through Community Engagement (Dreaming & Visioning Exercises)

Desired Outcome - An alternate planning & masterplan of Jalan Kukoh which encourages self sustainability. - Architectural Intervention as agent to bridge gap between state & community while encouraging a self sustainable community. - A Set of Guiding Principles for design & planning of rental housing estate for the future.

Our Contribution - To raise awareness of rental housing community concerns & dreams / vision - To showcase how design of an alternate built environment could better empower & inspire the community to appreciate & activate assets they possess. - A Rethink of rental housing neighbourhood for the future communities.

(Source: www.heartinitiative5.wordpress.com)

rental housing estate acts as a platform for the rental housing communities to better empower themselves to move up the social ladder, and to co-create a more cohesive and caring environment for those who will be staying in the estate for a long period of time. Through this project, they hope to document their unique journey of this community outreach initiative and showcase some of their ideas and alternate visions for the rental housing communities in Singapore with more participatory design. The sites chosen for the exploration of this concept of alternative rental housing planning are Jalan Kukoh, Jalan Minyak and York Hill. The founders hope that more students

can share their ideas in this journey of community-based design and planning for the rental housing community in Singapore and contribute more to the community around them. They also hope that this initiative can inspire more of their peers from various faculties to do their part for the community using skills and knowledge they possess regardless of the nature of their degree. If you are keen in wanting to contribute towards this meaningful project, visit their website at www.heartinitiative5. wordpress.com and like their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ HeartInitiative5

NEWS

PROJECT I WISH TO RUN 2014

velda wong

children with the financial support they need for their hefty medical expenses.

The initiative was founded on the basis of two loves: one for running and another for making a difference in the lives of less fortunate children. The organizing team hopes to raise awareness about the less privileged children with medical conditions in Singapore by encouraging students and the public to participate in a meaningful and unique sporting event. It is open to everyone who wishes to play a part in improving the lives of underserved children with medical needs in Singapore.

Every year, thousands of children and youth are treated at KTP-NUCMI’s inpatient and outpatient facilities for conditions ranging from simple colds to complicated liver diseases. The NUHkids Fund is an importance source of funding for families with ailing children who require expensive unsubsidized drugs for ailments such as kidney problems and blood diseases. It also supports them in purchasing medical equipment (e.g. renal dialysis equipment, oxygen concentrators, home ventilator machines, feeding pumps), wheelchairs and consumables (e.g. catheters, feeding tubes, test strips). The fund also helps to subsidise the cost of doing blood tests, x-rays and treatment such as rehabilitation and outpatient subsidised consultation fees. The amount raised by iWTR 2014 will therefore go a long way in helping to ease the financial burden of the children’s families.

roject I Wish To Run (iWTR) is a student initiative conceptualised by a group of medical students from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS). The project’s inception was in 2012; it is currently in its third year.

This year, Project iWTR is privileged to collaborate with the NUHkids Fund, a charity of the Khoo Teck Puat – National University Children’s Medical Institute (KTP-NUCMI). As the sole beneficiary of iWTR 2014, every last cent of the net funds raised will provide under-privileged

The organizing committee will be

raising funds through event participants’ registration fees, monetary pledges by individuals and companies, on top of donation box collections. Slated to be held at the Stephen Riady Centre in NUS University Town on Saturday, 29 March 2014, the highlight of iWTR 2014 is an exciting 6-hour static challenge: a run-and-ride involving treadmills and stationary bicycles where teams will compete to cover the greatest distance in 30 minutes. Every team is expected to strategise and ration their team members’ stamina to clock the longest collective distance possible on one treadmill and one stationary bicycle. Teams of 3 or 4 members can be formed and registration fees are fixed at $80 per team. Alongside the high-energy competition, the event will be interspersed with exciting guest performances and a mini carnival that will sure to be of great entertainment to the crowds expected that day and supporters of the event.

There will also be a non-competitive segment included in the event where members of the public can contribute towards clocking an amount of distance covered. This will help participating companies to chart the amount they should donate in proportion to the distance accumulated. Team registration for the main static cycling and running challenge will open on 1 January 2014. More information will be released closer to the event date on the iWTR official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ iwishtorun. So why not grab a team of friends and join in the fun? Prizes for winning teams will be awarded to every member of the team, and include such items as tickets to the Double Flowrider at Wave House Sentosa. See you on 29 March 2014!

NEWS

Ya l e - N U S - T h e f i r s t t w o m o n t h s

he Ridge would like to formally apologize to Yale-NUS College for a misquotemadeinthepreviousarticleon Yale-NUS’s programmes and activities held on their campus. In particular, the quote attributed to Meghna Basu may have been taken in the wrong spirit. This isacorrectedversionoftheprogrammes held in Yale-NUS and we would like to thank Ms. Basu for pointing out the error, and the College for their kind understanding and patience. The new Yale-NUS program has been on in full swing, tucked away in a corner of UTown in Residential College 4. The Ridge spoke to students from the program about their first few months, just before they were getting ready for a movie night (watching Troy before their next day’s lesson on Greek Mythology). Yes, Greek Epics are a part of the YaleNUS curriculum. That along with Indian mythology, Philosophy, Scientific enquiry (even for students with no background in the sciences) and Math. Walter, a student in the double degree Yale-NUS Law program sums this up very aptly. “Conventional education today is veering towards professional courses such as Engineering, Business, Computing etc. In ancient times, higher education was mainly to introduce students to new ways of thinking, rather than teaching them what to do. A liberal arts education, which encompasses these ancient ideals is thus an apt way to combining the old with the new, providing an interesting multifaceted educational background.” However, what do the students think of having to study classical Greek

mythology despite having an intention to study Economics is a question we all had in mind. “This is the fun of liberal arts. More than half the concepts we learn may not have direct correlation to our future careers, but they definitely help strike up conversation with a wide variety of people,” says Walter. The other day, some of them got tickets to go watch Sam Tsui and Kurt Schneider live and got to meet them backstage. While discussing the artists’ academic interests, the students found that Sam had actually specialized in Greek Mythology and was even able to recite a part of the epic in Greek!

thus their grades are not counted towards their CAP. “This concept allows us to test waters without being afraid of failing, and therefore helps us experiment without the fear of making mistakes,” says Naz one of the students we spoke to.

Just like the diverse subjects taught, the population in Yale-NUS is pretty diverse as well. There are 62% Singaporeans and 38% international students from a wide variety of backgrounds including Sweden, India, Malaysia, among others. “We can just go knock on someone’s door at 11pm and talk to them for hours on end about their culture and their life in their home countries. This has given us a very wide exposure to multiculturalism in just these last few months,” says Adrian, a Swedish student.

This learning extends beyond the classroom as all 155 students in the program are taking the exact same classes. They are thus able to strike up intellectual conversation with any of their friends over dinner, while hanging out in the common lounges or even in the lift! Living in a Residential College thus definitely aids this.

The students have seminar style classes with very interactive discussions, which means a lot of preparation before every class. “Although catching up with what is going on in class does get overwhelming sometimes, the smaller classes do provide a better learning environment compared to massive lectures,” says Naz.

“These conversations are not just limited to fellow students, our professors are also very accessible. If I’m interested in Neuroscience, I can go to a professor and talk to him about it, without any academic motive,” continues Adrian. They are thus learning in a very academic and yet stimulating manner by talking to different people and various professionals - a skill set that would be useful in any field.

The program also aptly combines theory with application. In week 7, all the students travelled either within Singapore or abroad to apply various aspects of their curriculum to practice. One group went to Bali during the Miss World pageant to analyze modern notions of beauty. Another group of students flew all the way to Greece to discover ancient Greece. A third will be studying the aftermaths of the Tsunami in Indonesia. A week such as this provides an opportunity to learn lessons and bond outside of the usual classroom environment.

The first semester is designed to help the students ease into the new curriculum,

Being a brand-new program, the pioneer batch also had this novel opportunity to

build a learning culture for themselves, to be hopefully passed on to future batches. The students have Facebook pages where they just share notes and interesting YouTube videos with each other that would help explain concepts taught in class. Practices like these create a holistic learning environment and also promote a community culture. Moving beyond academics, Yale-NUS is also trying to build a wide variety of extra-curricular activities. As the pioneer batch, students are able to just start clubs based on interest. Some of these include a Whistling Orchestra, various Dance groups, and an Investment society, all within the community of 155 students. Since academics are on a Pass/Fail basis this semester, students are able to devote time to setting up these interest groups. The Yale-NUS students are not just involved in their own activities. Some of them are even part of Team NUS teams. Walter for example is a member of the NUS Life Saving team. We bet some of you didn’t even know Life-Saving was a sport (I know I didn’t). Another student Naz is on the NUS Netball team. Balancing time between their own Residential College activities as well as NUS CCAs thus leads to a pretty busy schedule for these students! These students sure seem to be having a great time, and are sure to accomplish a lot in the years to come as a part of the already revered Yale-NUS curriculum. We wish them all the best in all their academic and extra-curricular endeavors.

OPINION

THERE SHOULD BE NO LINK BETWEEN AN AUTHOR’S WORK AND THEIR SOCIOPOLITICAL STANCE, AND YET ENDER’S

GAME SAW A BOYCOTT FROM LGBT GROUPS BASED ON ITS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER’S STANCE ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. A PRIMER ON THE BOYCOTTING AND THE UNDERLYING REASONS.

Ender's Game

Regarding the Controversy Regina Koh Yee Ping

he film version of Orson Scott Card’s beloved 1985 sci-fi bestseller ENDER’S GAME hit screens on November 1, 2013 after a ten-month media firestorm over Card’s views which has overshadowed the movie itself. The conservative, devoutly Mormon author has a well-documented history of public homophobia since the nineties. The lead-up to the film’s release has seen boycotts from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups, and the cast and director have been peppered nonstop with questions about how they reconcile Card’s beliefs with their participation in the movie, which has become a journalistic afterthought. Card holds an executive producer’s credit on the film, which meant that he was already paid for the production rights of the film, based upon the book of the same title. In early July 2013, American pro-LGBT organization Geeks OUT launched a campaign persuading audiences to skip ENDER’S GAME. “Do not let your box-office dollars fuel [Card’s] anti-gay agenda,” the campaign declared. The group planned to organize boycott events in various cities to coincide with the film’s release. As at the time of the writing of this article, the petition had more than 11,000 signatures. Responding to threats of a boycott, Card released an exclusive statement in Entertainment Weekly in which he declared the gay-marriage issue “moot” as a result of the Supreme Court ruling. Lions Gate Entertainment, having long remained silent on the controversy, released a statement saying that while they obviously disagree with Card’s personal views, “they are completely irrelevant to a discussion of ENDER’S

credits : fixedonfantasy.com

GAME. The simple fact is that neither the underlying book nor the film itself reflects these views in any way, shape or form.” Days after releasing his statement declaring the gay-marriage issue moot, Card quietly stepped down from the board of the National Organization for Marriage, a known-anti-gay-marriage group. Director Gavin Hood speaks to the irony of the whole issue, arguing that the story itself is an empowering one for LGBT youths. “It is so ironic that the writer of the work that has helped so many [young] people, gay and straight, to find empowerment, to feel empowered, to find their own moral compass — it’s very sad that he, himself, is struggling with these issues. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that in struggling with these issues, he wrote a great book. I think what would be far more helpful is if audiences knew that the makers of this film, and the film itself, holds the polar opposite point of view to the current thinking of Orson Scott Card on gay issues.” The issue here is not whether ENDER’S GAME holds any unpleasant anti-gay

activism, or whether Card’s producer’s credit would allow him back-end points of the film’s revenue. The problem is, should we condemn the art − even though ENDER’S GAME has been a long sci-fi favourite since its publication in 1985 − because we don’t like the artist’s politics? Judging from the views of the author − who wrote the original work − and the director, it is possible to separate the creator’s own views from their work, and fans can reinterpret the work in a manner more acceptable to them. Fans have been known to reinterpret popular media into any fashion they choose; one example being Steven Moffat and whether his views are apparent in his work on the television dramas DOCTOR WHO and SHERLOCK; the homoerotic subtext within both works could be interpreted either as a progression of LGBT presence in mainstream media, or queer baiting from the show runners. Although the quality of these works is undeniable, with the ambiguous framing of the characters’ sexual inclinations either interpretation is plausible, and many find it problematic that it attempts to pander both to members of the LGBT community

and the more conservative viewers. The underlying assumption is that alternative lifestyles are a novelty, a deviation from the norm. Yet we should ask, are we supposed to assume a measure of heterosexuality on fictional aliens and high-functioning sociopaths? They could reproduce via mitosis for all we know. We should also consider that the controversy could help − or hurt − the film itself, by drumming up debate over whether the author’s views should be involved in enjoying a science-fiction film. Science fiction has been often cited as an allegory or indirect commentary on current affairs, with media such as Aldous Huxley’s BRAVE NEW WORLD often seen as the ‘authority’ on major issues such as the allowed extent of governmental censorship in a rapidly globalising world. Director Hood has expressed that ENDER’S GAME is implicitly critical of homosexuality still features an empowering story rather than a discriminatory one which homophobes can rally around. There is a certain irony in seeing a man who has long espoused intolerance turning to tolerance as a last resort. Yet his masterpiece should not be dragged through the same political spiel as Card himself, even if his views are different.

Sources: Vulture. A Primer on the Ender’s Game Controversy. Accessed 17 December 2013: http://www.vulture.com/2013/10/ primer-orson-scott-card-enders-gamecontroversy.html Kelley, Pam. Greensboro author of ‘Ender’s Game’ confronts controversy as his book hits the big screen. CharlotteObserver. com. Accessed 17 December 2013: http://www.charlotteobserver. com/2013/11/02/4434200/greensboroauthor-of-enders-game.html#. Uq_2yPQW3OM Geeks OUT. Skip Ender’s Game. Accessed 17 December 2013: http:// skipendersgame.com/

OPINION

Look

before you leap

Jay Chauhan

ocial media has become a way of life. It is a platform to make friends, voice your opinions, get educated, spread awareness; follow the people who inspire…the list is endless. Does this often happen? Has the social media not become a platform to stalk people, judge and be judged and portray yourself to be someone you are not just to be in sync with the current trends? Some would say that it is an inevitable blend of both. I would say it is a matter of choice.

This choice is extremely crucial. A good example would be that of recruiters checking the applicant’s profiles on various social networking sites to get an

The recent riots in Little India caused a riot of its own online. It is in human nature to react strongly when the event results in the loss of life. The severity of

EMOTIONS AND PRACTICALITY SHOULD NOT BE MIXED.

overview of their personality. In short, what you post and the way you write can determine your future. What you post reflects your views, your attitude and approaches towards issues.

these issues deepens when there are different countries, cultures and races involved. It is integral to understand and perform a thorough analysis of the situation, keeping in mind the impact on all the involved people and stakeholders before reacting, especially via social media. The impact could otherwise turn out to be catastrophic in the long run. As Mr. Devadas Krishnadas, a writer for Today, rightly stated in his article, “In an emotionally charged crowded situation, it is very easy to trigger a mob phenomenon. All that is needed is a spark to dramatically blow up the scale of events.” This phenomenon is

applicable to the online sphere as well. A single hate-fuelled or speculative post can cause millions others to react without giving a second thought to the providence of the source, or the underlying scenario. Emotions and practicality should not be mixed. It is hard to not react emotionally when lives are lost or the integrity and image of a country is tarnished. However that does not give one free rein to upload unreasonable and untrue posts and videos that worsen the already tense situation. Keeping calm even when tensions are running high, checking the source of information, and verifying it are three critical prerequisites for any online

OPINION

EVEN IF ONE FEELS STRONGLY ABOUT THE ISSUE AND WISHES TO VOICE THEIR OPINIONS, IT IS VITAL TO MAKE SURE THAT EACH CLAIM IS SUPPORTED BY PROOF.

post, tweet or a blog. Most importantly, it is essential to do a quick yet detailed review on the possible impact of the post and whether it helps improve the situation. In the online ‘riot’ a few days after the Little India riots, some of the posts and tweets by both local and international netizens involved a mixture of falsehoods, misreporting and reality. One speculative poster claimed that the victim was from Bangladesh. Another pointed a finger at the nationalities and professions of the rioters, and used it as justification for drawing unfavorable conclusions about certain groups of people as a whole. Nevertheless, there were also sensible netizens who did not fall prey to xenophobia and racism, beseeching their fellow netizens to not jump to conclusions. One local citizen even created a Facebook group named ‘Shut Racism Up SG’ to unite the Singaporeans against the racially charged comments made online. Social media does support freedom of expression. It would be apt to use this platform (where news spreads quickly) to provide clarification of the facts of the matter and cool the rising tensions, especially when handling issues like riots. Even if one feels strongly about the issue and wishes to voice their opinions, it is vital to make sure that each claim is supported by proof. An international news

channel called Sun TV in South India misreported the incident by broadcasting speculations that were completely false in nature. One such speculation said that the victim had been pushed down from the bus when in reality it was an accident. Another one said that the locals attacked the international migrant workers causing them to hide in their homes when in reality, it was a group of workers who caused the chaos in the first place. Such rampant misreporting not only worsens the situation, but could also potentially lead to another riot. Rather than rushing to be the first one to reveal ‘uncovered facts’ without being sure about their accuracy, it is much better to sit back and let the government and the mainstream media do its job. Facts did surface eventually. The policemen did get the situation under control efficiently. If your post is slowing down the already established system from doing its job, then it is a matter of grave concern. For instance, if taken seriously, the misreporting of Sun TV might have led to further tensions. Misinformation, especially when related to race and ethnicity, weakens the cultural bonds of a community and the country at large. All the people currently residing in Singapore, be it the local or the international population, must work hand in hand to ensure that the ethnic harmony

of Singapore is maintained and fostered. A two-step approach can be followed while dealing with such controversial issues. Step one: Empathy. It is not only appropriate but necessary to empathize with the families and relatives of the innocent victims. The sharing the grief and caring for another human being not just fosters a sense of unity, but also calms the anger-fever down. Words said or written in fury do more harm than good. So while you empathize and refrain from hastily posting facts that you are unsure of, the police, government

authenticity of his claim were raised. This clearly shows that it is in human nature to crave for attention. A similar behavior is seen online as well especially amongst the youth who prefer blogging and posting things that turn heads and raise eyebrows instead of making a point. In most cases, it is about making a point that gains attention. However, it is indispensable to be vigilant, not lose focus and express views that will actually make a difference. The number of comments and likes on an article about your work don’t matter, your contribution through your work as a world citizen does.

IN MOST CASES, IT IS ABOUT MAKING A POINT THAT GAINS ATTENTION. HOWEVER, IT IS INDISPENSABLE TO BE VIGILANT, NOT LOSE FOCUS AND EXPRESS VIEWS THAT WILL ACTUALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

and the mainstream media concurrently works and investigates, gathering facts that can be relied on. Step two: Analysis of the issue at hand, and a self-analysis of your views and opinions. How reliable are the facts you use to substantiate your opinions? The media can be wrong. You need to do fact checking with multiple, reliable sources before drawing a conclusion. Facts which contradict one’s opinion should not be selectively ignored either. The electrician who claimed to be the valiant hero in the plaid shirt who fended off the rioters during the riot was shown to be a fraud when questions about the

OPINION

What are we becoming? Anthony Yoong

credits: zhuoku.com

OPINION

any of us have different experiences in our time in university. Most of us came in with high hopes and assurances from our older friends that this period would be the “best time of our lives”. For some in NUS, that is true. With a multitude of co-curricular activities and student societies, we can have a fruitful and satisfying student life outside of our academic pursuits in NUS, with plenty of opportunities to make new friends, showcase our talents, participate in activities, and learn new skills. But amidst our endeavors, do we stop to ask ourselves, “What are we working towards?” Or more clearly – “what are we becoming?” Lost in the routine mugging and various activities in school, we might sometimes forget that the person we are need not be defined by the standards set by everyone and everything around us. We can choose what kind of life we want to lead, but we must think deeper about what we want to become. I argue that it is pertinent for us to analyze and understand the person we are shaping ourselves into, in order for us to have a more holistic view of our lives. The common saying failing to plan is planning to fail applies to life more than anything else – in order to achieve our objective of becoming the person we want to become, we must first plan our route there. This includes what course to study, what activities to join, what internship to go for, and what job to take up. Planning out these things will help us keep our target in view. But to holistically understand the question, “what are we becoming?” we have to examine our existence in relation to the world and to society. A common unspoken assumption is that we, as human beings, hold a special place in the world. We grow up learning and thinking that we have a purpose in life that is distinct from that of most organic beings – a purpose we must seek for ourselves. We seek a greater meaning in life than just subsistence. This search for meaning manifests itself in dreams, aspirations, philosophy, and other goals. Fulfillment in life might not necessarily require big achievements

either; it could be to start a family or to live according to a certain kind of lifestyle. Many people take tangible goals as benchmarks of fulfillment. In the context of Singapore, the general structure of a typical life plan is as such: to be good at what we choose to do, to earn money, and to be recognized by people for being successful at what we do or specialize in. It’s why we are in school – to get academic qualifications in order to find a job and build up our finances, start a family, buy a house, and raise children. But regardless of what objects of fulfillment we wish to attain in our lives, we must balance it with contemplation. It is not enough to know what we want to achieve, like financial success or starting

culture which only concerns itself with fame, influence and wealth. Today’s world tells us that our value is defined by how much money we make; how attractive we look; and how popular we are with people. Anything that does not give us an advantage in these aspects is deemed as worthless. While being successful is not a bad thing, I do not think it is worth dedicating all our time to pursue fleeting material objectives at the expense of gaining a greater selfawareness of our true nature. It would be such a waste to live our lives according to the standards of other people, without discovering what our true desires are. No one can claim to know what the meaning of life is, but it is definitely not just about

BUT AMIDST OUR ENDEAVORS, DO WE STOP TO ASK OURSELVES, “WHAT ARE WE WORKING TOWARDS?” OR MORE CLEARLY – “WHAT ARE WE BECOMING?”

a family, but also to know what kind of person we are turning into by constantly reflecting on our interpersonal relations, our thoughts and our very existence. Projecting and visualizing the person that we will become upon following our present choices will help us to see if this is what we really want for ourselves. The person we want to become is not obvious to us. The societal structures we live in constantly restrain our personal growth, dictating the kind of character we ought to have and the thoughts we ought to think. In today’s world, personal worth is defined by the wealth we accumulate, the popularity we garner and the power we hold over others. A person will not be recognized in society for his insightful thoughts on philosophical issues unless his ideas translate into a bestselling book. No one really cares if someone is really good at drawing unless his artwork sells for thousands at art galleries, or garners widespread attention in the mainstream media. The expressions of one’s inner being can be easily dismissed by a

looking as beautiful as the models in Vogue magazines; or being as wealthy as the people in the Forbes 500 list; or getting millions of hits on YouTube. But neither do we need to go to the other extreme and strive for an abstract ideal or spiritual transcendence of sorts. To gain some clarity on life, we need to put it into perspective, and recognize the person we are becoming. Instead of placing excessive value on material achievements, we need to become more aware of our nature and examine the source of our personal goals and objectives. It is increasingly difficult to discover our true nature with modern society inculcating in us values that emphasize restraint in action, speech and thought. The standards provided by society reject any alternatives to the system and limit our options within a particular framework. Over time, we become desensitized to our limitations and mistake our limited choices to be ‘freedom’. The things that we have come to desire in this restrictive framework may not be our true desires, but artificial ones

inculcated in us by the system and by society. It is important that we recognize the sources of our desires, in order to better understand our real nature as human beings. Do we pursue things in life because we have a real desire for them, or do we think we desire them because of society’s constructed message? Recognizing the difference could help us discover our true nature and desires, and then take them into consideration in the visualization of our lives. This can give us deeper insight when we determine the kind of person we want to become. One of the ways to discover our true desires is to look at our interests and what we enjoy doing, like dancing, writing, or solving complex mathematical puzzles– and then examining why we enjoy doing these particular things. Finding the defining factor of our desires will help us understand ourselves more, and perhaps shed some light on our true nature. Although society might not immediately accept lifestyles and interests it considers to be unorthodox, it is important that we never forget these dreams and goals, lest we let all creativity be consumed by the mediocrity of society. Of course, we cannot deny that surviving in this fast paced life requires us to stay ahead in the competition and to be fully involved in our careers. Putting bread on the table is not an easy task in itself. But even as we struggle to survive in this competitive world, we must think more deeply about our goals and objectives. We may find our real desires to be vastly different from what modern society claims they should be. Through constant contemplation and analysis, we can have a fuller understanding of our desires and goals, and better relate them to the world we live in. Blindly following societal standards will only hinder the full expression and comprehension of our true desires and nature.

OPINION

>OPINIONS on opinions GABRIEL PIK LIANG MARINI

credits: wikipedia.org

ikipedia is full of nonsense these days. If you look up the word “university”, you might find the page vandalised with the notion of “academic freedom”. Accordingly, it carries the idea that scholastic inquiry should be divorced from fear of reprisal. Bologna. Pure Bologna. That is, the concept of “academic freedom” originated from the University of Bologna. But that was a long time ago. Today you could run into many definitions of “academic freedom”; it’s become parroted and romanticised to the point where you could insert just about any meaning you want and call it a matter of opinion. Kind of like “democracy”. NTU, another national university of Singapore like NUS, seemed to have had a pretty good idea of what it thought academic freedom meant when it denied tenure to one of its outspoken professors back in 2013. It really says something about what it means to be in a “national” university around these parts; or at least about what it means to say one thing about another thing. Well the whole thing certainly says something about something, and there’s probably a point in it somewhere too. But don’t say it, I think, is the takeaway from the episode. Anyone’s free to have an opinion, but it’s a really under-appreciated notion that it also costs nothing to think about the ramifications of an opinion before you go about

IT’S A REALLY UNDERAPPRECIATED NOTION THAT IT ALSO COSTS NOTHING TO THINK ABOUT THE RAMIFICATIONS OF AN OPINION BEFORE YOU GO ABOUT EXPRESSING IT.

OPINION

expressing it. It helps not to underestimate the ability of an opinion to career out of hand. Sometimes we end up with the misfortune of being stuck in a conversation with somebody who has an actual opinion on something. As much as we came into NUS, I’m sure, to avoid exactly that sort of trauma, if we’re not careful we risk being hit by a runaway opinion. It’s exactly the same with car accidents, except the ordeal is much worse. Folk with opinions always end up yapping on about how we should or shouldn’t care about something or other. Climate change, forests blah blah, tl;dr. The immediate action that everything claims to warrant seems only to desensitise us even further. Understandably, at some point it becomes quite a bit difficult to care all that much about- well, basically anything that would necessitate the summation of its cause in an infographic, has ever existed in pamphlet form, or is preceded by a heading of “Opinions”. With all the things that people seem to care about, it’s only natural to accord a certain level of reflex-apathy toward things that get slotted indiscriminately into mailboxes or come at you on the streets with matching t-shirts. I personally wouldn’t blame people for not caring about things they have no real reason to care about. Yet it’s become as reliable as the breakdown of trains, that in every few months, when there aren’t any bodies of water in the CBD for journalists to write about, we get yet another news article that comments on the apparent crisis of apathy that in one year might be rending the fabric of society or, in the next, sundering the very heart of the nation while possibly causing little paper cuts in some other incorporeal, but nonetheless breakable, entity. “Breaking” news archives are full of these sorts of pieces. Remember when “Singa the Courtesy Lion” resigned in May last year? The only impact that seemed to have was just the addition of one disillusioned lion to a morning Tai-Chi group in the heartlands somewhere – and maybe the surfacing of new policies to keep the top floors of buildings facing parking lots off limits to depressed-looking imaginary felines. In any case, I’m glad that whole phase is finally over. The true peril lies within the stability of our nation as threatened

whenever independent groups of youngsters entertain radical and foreign ideologies – what manner of discontent I wonder, might ever have led a depraved mind to the import of “kindness” and “courtesy”; thankfully, it seems, we are headed on the trajectory to discuss these fads only in the context of History. I’ve always wondered who the target audience was for all those news articles on apathy. The point of all those reports, I presume, would be to make the masses (i.e. the minority of people who actually read things in the morning) aware of something in the hopes that they will begin to care; but if we are truly as apathetic as the reports claim we are, then why would we have cared about what the reports had to say in the first place? The irony of this must have been realised at some point, as the recent trend in heroic-journalism to save Singapore from the brink of apathy-induced annihilation, it would seem, has been to stop harping on about the disaster and instead pretend like it has somehow miraculously solved itself. This seems like the right idea really (in fact I wonder if the same principle could be applied to solve a recession). If the papers keep tricking us into believing that we’re all wonderful and caring people, would we just start acting the part out of a sense of obligation? Somebody must have thought it was worth a shot: Today did a recent piece back in August entitled: ‘Singapore youth: Apathetic no more’ (http:// www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-youth-apatheticno-more). It makes you wonder, did we truly become less apathetic and more pathetic? It is possible, by the turn of a dime even, that maybe we did become a more caring society. I’d reckon it’s worth thinking about but, personally, I don’t really care that much.

OPINION

once more unto the ridge! //What, another semester? Didn't we just have one?

gabriel pik liang marini

NUS IS UNIQUE AMONG PENITENTIARY INSTITUTIONS FOR ITS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL USE OF THE CAP SYSTEM

s we move into semester 2, we should consider the kind of person we are developing into as students. In the United States, college students are known progressively as freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and then seniors. Over here, appropriately, we just have freshmen and “everyone else”. That is to say, you’re either a freshman or some alternative, which I assume must be “bitterman”. “Sourman”, maybe. Whether the relentless mugging has made you bitter or the relentless mugging and your grades, one thing you can be sure of by the end of the freshman year is a distinct lack of freshness. I presume that much of the bitterness comes from our grading system. NUS is unique among penitentiary institutions for its cruel and unusual use of the CAP system. It fosters a sense of mental CAPtivity which has the effect of inducing self-confinement, a lack of sleep, irritability and the inability to form coherent sentences in the morning; a most dreadful affliction- especially

for its effects upon loved ones and/or the people who have to put up with you for that term paper submission. For most of us here, the bell-curve is master of your destiny and CAPtain of your soul. If you aren’t in some permanent state of micro-panic then you either have my sincerest admiration or perhaps you haven’t truly appreciated the implications of a relative grading system. What it means is that as you are reading this right now, somebody somewhere is out there studying and effectively lowering your CAP, if ever so slightly. Semester-round CAs ensure that the fruits of your despicable acts of mugging will not go unpunished and would spur others to mug harder. In short: the more you mug, the more you compel others to mug, so the more you have to mug, and so on and so forth ad infinitum; but here’s the catch, you cannot not mug. You’d be right to be paranoid; after all, it’s well-established in Game theory: ‘e’rrybody’s out to get’ch ya’. What

OPINION

credits: thejobspot.ryerson.ca

we’re faced with is a CAPtive’s dilemma: the optimal outcome for all is to not mug; but you just know some low-life “no life” is going to mug anyway, so the optimal strategy would be to act on the assumption that everybody else is scum and mug for your own sake. Hell is a beautiful paradox of endless mugging and it goes something like this: “I do say old chap, isn’t that Jenkins at Starbucks trying to lower everyone else’s CAP? Why, that dastardly swine! Jeeves, fetch my own textbook! By gum, we’ll teach us a thing or two and give that roguish villain a right kick in the CAP!” The way out of mental hell is, of course, to not care about your CAP; yes, insanity would solve a lot of problems but falling short of that luxury, we’d all have to CAPitulate to the system at some point. I’d invite you think otherwise (huzzah, one sucker down) but, for now, CAP is really just that important. I should try to explain what all the fuss is about. It helps to think of CAP as CAPital. Academic capital. It’s very likely that for most of us, our education is sponsored in some way, be it by external organisations, charities or our parents. Whatever vested interests these parties may have in our scholarship, our personal CAPs represents the value of their investment. We are more like the CEOs of our education (congratulations on making

it this far! Back in kindergarten we couldn’t trust you to manage operations, but look at you now!); we run the show however we like, but by the end of the year we are still held accountable to our sources of funding and equity. So after the accountants come to tally our modules, ensure that there are no discrepancies and offer some options for S/U window dressing, we nonetheless have to stand before the board (or dinner table) and give our performance review. We will give our sorry excuses, remarks of disbelief appended with suggestions of accounting errors, reassurances to get to the bottom of “this” (good brand name for an alcoholic beverage) and extenuating reasons for our transcripts. All this because, no matter how we’ve spent our time during the year, our CAPs still serve as the final guarantor of stakeholder confidence.

cause a setback in one’s CAP.

It’s not all just about making Christmas dinner a little less dour; like actual capital, it’s essential to have a sufficient amount of CAP in proposals to start up most academic ventures. For example, SEP requires you to have a minimum CAP of 3.0. But it’s always beneficial to possess more than the minimum threshold, if at the very least to act as a provision for unforeseen circumstances, like in the unfortunate event of contracting a boyfriend or some other ailment that could

is ridiculous.

Now whether you’re a CAPitalist or you condemn CAPitalism, you have to admit that the prospect of endless mugging does have the benefit of leaving us otherwise reckless students without time to care for frivolous affairs, like those of the state or fire alarms when the building is on fire. In all fairness, we shouldn’t discount the benefits of being kept constantly busy, some could claim that it can be quite therapeutic – presumably like how breaking rocks under a hot sun or shovelling coal can be considered therapeutic. Nonetheless, we all know how dangerous it is for university students to have spare time – why, they might wander into ditches or get themselves trapped in tyres or fishing nets out at sea. Worse, they might actually be tempted to form an opinion about something. Okay, I admit, that last one

ENTERTAINMENT

// Machete Kills

C I N E P Chia Soong Ming

trailers for non-existent B-movies at the beginning to more fully replicate the experience of watching dollar movies in their heyday. Based on positive reception of one fake trailer in particular, Rodriguez set out to turn it into a full length feature.

n 2007, directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino collaborated to release Grindhouse. This horror-action double feature was designed to both parody and pay homage to B-cinema by deliberately evoking its low brow and exploitative elements. The film cut forward through entire scenes with only an onscreen cue that there was a “missing reel” as well as featured fake

Flash forward to 2013… an Oscar winner, a Grammy winner and an Emmy nominee walk into a bar; rather, they descend far below the bar of moral standards by appearing in the unapologetically schlocky sequel Machete Kills. The cast of this hyper violent action comedy, also helmed by Robert Rodriguez, actually boasts a total of two Oscar winners, three Emmy nominees and a Grammy winner. Among them are Mel Gibson (Braveheart), Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire) and musician Lady Gaga. There is no doubt that the film contains the genesis of something genuinely sharp and funny, but one wonders if it is quite enough to warrant such a stellar cast. Unfortunately, though the group is still a joy to watch, Machete Kills does not

// Rigor Mortis

This time, the titular character of Machete (Danny Trejo) is ordered by the President of the United States (Charlie Sheen) to stop Mexican radicals who have posed a direct nuclear threat on Washington. Along the way, Machete’s enemies issue a bounty on him, forcing him to fend off a barrage of assassins from both sides of the border. In the original, the over the top scenes of exploitative violence and sex were especially humorous because they were ludicrously foregrounded against the sombreness of Machete’s murdered family and his solidarity to disempowered refugees from his native Mexico. In Machete Kills, the personal stakes are considerably lower, Machete sets out to avenge a slain lover… and obtain his US green card! The film trades in the original’s deliberately vapid attempt at political commentary for even more

ridiculous blood and gore. It doesn’t feel quite as delightfully inappropriate since the campiness is more directly embraced. Still, Machete Kills does manage to deliver some genuine moments of wild entertainment. In particular, Mel Gibson’s geeky twist on his archetypal scumbag master-villain was a delightful watch. In addition, Modern Family’s Sofía Vergara hilariously plays against type (or rather, finally embraces her true type) by lumbering on screen as a man-hating brothel madam with breast canons and a strap-on penis revolver. The cameo appearances of Cuba Gooding Jr., Antonio Banderas and Lady Gaga are also sort of charming; if only because of how enthusiastically they took to their awful dialogue. Give this a watch if you are a huge cinema fan or if you have two hours to kill, but be prepared for it not to live up to its predecessor. Otherwise, you should give Machete Kills a miss.

Tan Yan Ni

roduced by first time director Juno Mak and Takashi Shimizu, the man behind the wildly successfully JU-ON franchise, RIGOR MORTIS pays homage to the MR VAMPIRE series of films famous in the 1980s, featuring actors from the original series.

Starring: Chin Siu-ho, Nina Paw, Anthony Chan Release Date: 28 Nov 2013

manage to capture the same wit and pace of the original. It comes off as repetitive for drawing from the same well of gags and genre references as the original did.

The film is based in an old tenement complex which houses, among others, a lunatic, vengeful twin ghosts, and an elderly seamstress trying to resurrect her dead husband. The innocent protagonist (Chin Siu-ho) soon finds himself embroiled in a battle between the living and the dead as the tenants combine spirits, corpses and black magic to create a monster.

While the film successfully revived the Chinese vampire genre after it faded in the 1990s with the end of the MR VAMPIRE franchise, it disappoints as a horror film. The storyline hops along like the vampire. It revolves around instead of taking flight, culminating in an epilogue which completely befuddles. What seems to be RIGOR MORTIS’ largest saving grace is its cinematic effects. The eerie atmosphere of the tenement complex, Shimizu-style female ghosts and slow-motion fight scenes make the film a pleasure to the visuals.

Chinese vampire concept. It is a first of its kind in its genre, as previous films have all been comedies. While Mak has not been entirely successful in deconstructing the Chinese vampire, and recreating it with elements of fear, it is nevertheless an invested attempt in resurrecting the Chinese vampires of the 1980s. For fans of the MR VAMPIRE series, or simply those interested in Chinese folk culture, RIGOR MORTIS, with its talismans, altars and hopping vampires, would definitely be a good watch.

RIGOR MORTIS is no doubt, a very Asian film that merges J-Horror with the

credits : ohsolovely.youcanthande this.

ENTERTAINMENT

E P H I L E

nthande this.

Oscar Predictions: Our Favourites Kintan Andanari

he award season, which begins with the Golden Globes Award and culminates with the Academy Awards, promises riveting competition every year. Last year, it was a close race between the frontrunners LINCOLN and ARGO, with this year being no exception. The absolute locks for Oscar nominations- 12 YEARS A SLAVE, AMERICAN HUSTLE and GRAVITY- are set to repeat last year’s close race. Here goes our very own Oscar predictions for some categories.

Best Picture: A close fight among AMERICAN HUSTLE, 12 YEARS A SLAVE and GRAVITY. While the subject of slavery has often fallen into numerous pitfalls (e.g oversimplification), 12 YEARS A SLAVE triumphs as critics crown it the ‘most accurate depiction of slavery’. It is a terrific tour de force, clad with an impressive cast and helmed by the 2008 Camera D’or winner, director Steve McQueen. AMERICAN HUSTLE has turned into both the critics’ and audience’s darling with its solid A-list cast and indie heart, helmed by David O. Russell. GRAVITY has a solid plot but most of all, is what one would call a visual spectacle. With CHILDREN OF MEN director Alfonso Cuaron on board, the film shied away from the extravagant portrayal of space in replace for a more realistic, and yet majestic representation of space.

Best Actor: Chiwetel Eljiofor

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett

Undeniably, this year produced stellar performances from many contenders, but Chiwetel Eljiofor distinguishes himself from the rest with his role as a freed, African American man in 12 YEARS A SLAVE who becomes enslaved after falling for a ruse. Lauded by Theatlantic’s resident movie critic Christopher Orr, Eljiofor was ‘stoic [and] watchful, compromising himself just enough to stay alive…[He] is the point of stillness and decency around which spin the madness of the film’. Based on Orr’s compliments, Eljiofor may well bag the coveted award of Best Actor. Here’s a fun fact: Not only is Eljiofor nominated for ’Best Actor in a Drama’, he also scored a nomination in the ‘Best actor for TV-movie or miniseries’ in the Golden Globes for his role in DANCING IN THE EDGE.

This year’s strong performances feature mostly Oscar veterans, but out of the talented crop, Cate Blanchett is most likely to win the coveted prize of Best Actress. In BLUE JASMINE, she was the bedrock upon which the story centers, and her neurotic ways awed spectators and critics alike. We see the duality in her character- the haughtiness and the helplessness, her painful awareness and her denial. However, due to the long interval between the movie’s release and the award season, her formidable performance may be harder to recall as compared to Bullock’s more recent act in GRAVITY.

ENTERTAINMENT

American Horror Story - the story that doesn't end Tan Yan ni

crazed woman murders her slaves to gain eternal youth. A young girl discovers that she is a witch. A hoard of zombies attack a school. These may seem like plots from a dozen different horror movies, but they are just part of the everyday lives of the characters in AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN, which revolves around a group of modern day witches. With its third season coming to a close this coming January, AMERICAN HORROR STORY continues to shock and disturb its viewers with every episode. True to its name, horrors of every kind permeate the series, ranging from the psychological to the macabre. To date, AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN has covered a spectrum of disturbing events (including human voodoo dolls

and real life Minotaurs), and it seems like worse is to be expected as the series reaches its climax this month. In fact, the unique style adapted by AMERICAN HORROR STORY has become so popular that a fourth season is already in the making by director Ryan Murphy. A SERIES UNLIKE ANY OTHER One of the rare few series in the horror industry to adapt an anthology style of storytelling, every season of AMERICAN HORROR STORY promises new stories, characters and settings, but with the same cast and crew. Themes of violence, revenge and suffering are retained while storylines are kept fresh.

keep the story going in future seasons. Instead, the characters are killed off left, right and centre in brutal and often disturbing ways. This is precisely what makes AMERICAN HORROR STORY special – its stories and characters are so different season after season that it is impossible to define the series in one word or represent it with any one character.

Moreover, no character is ever spared

Another aspect of AMERICAN HORROR STORY, which captivates viewers, is its contemplation of real world issues. Issues such as infidelity, madness and homophobia are deconstructed against a backdrop of supernatural and bizarre happenings. The series constantly challenges the boundaries of what we commonly define as horror, widening the

from death since they are not needed to

scope so that horror is no longer fuelled

by the paranormal and occult. In fact, many of AMERICAN HORROR STORY’S most horrific moments (murdering slaves, creating a bull-headed but humanbodied Minotaur) are the result of human emotions gone awry. Perhaps, what the series is suggesting is that real horror we face today is not the mass of vengeful spirits, aliens, or witches that have manifested in our basements.

At the end of the day, the real horror in AMERICAN HORROR STORY is none other than the human themselves. This is perhaps one of the most interesting thoughts we should mull over – what are the real horrors in our lives? Are they, at the end of all the mayhem and chaos, just ourselves?

Arrested Development (Season 4) chia soong ming

ix years after the cult series was dropped from broadcast network Fox, Arrested Development was revived for a fourth season through online streaming medium Netflix. Series creator Mitchell Hurwitz is no slouch in terms of delivering a creative story, which certainly contributes to the generous critical acclaim the first three seasons received. Hence, it isn’t surprising that Hurwitz fully capitalizes upon Netflix’s unique attributes when crafting the narrative for season 4. Season 4 ambitiously spans the period from 2006 (when the show was cancelled on Fox) until the present date. Each of the fifteen episodes in season 4 is

allocated the point of views of different members of the Bluth family, the series’ main ensemble, with some characters being allocated up to two episodes. With such a format, the story still moves forward with each episode. Yet, events are often revisited, revised or made more coherent when perceived by different characters in different episodes. Given the characters’ propensity for disguises, misunderstandings and miscellaneous farce, this gag proves especially and repeatedly effective throughout the season. Additionally, stepping out of their supporting roles, members of the Bluth clan such as insolent magician Gob (Will Arnett) or the unintentionally

campy Tobias (David Cross) deliver knee-slapping funny episodes for their turns in the spotlight. Other characters (Jeffrey Tambor’s Geroge Sr., for example) flounder a little when thrust into the anchoring role they were never meant to take on. The general success of the branching, non-linear narrative of Arrested Development season 4 is evidence of the perks non-traditional distribution mediums like Netflix can offer. The same day release of all fifteen episodes allowed viewers to watch the season in any order they choose. Star Jason Bateman, who plays Michael Bluth, spoke about this in an interview, “It can only work on Netflix

where it is released on the same day, you can stop my episode if you see Gob go by on his segway and see where he is going [by watching his episode].” Netflix’s ability to revive a cancelled network series and deliver it directly to its loyal fan base, as well as to challenge show runners into delivering a creatively structured narrative through its same-day release system absolutely works for Arrested Development. Jason Bateman’s Primetime Emmy nomination for his work on season 4 as well as multiple nominations for fellow Netflix series House of Cards offers an optimistic view of what new age mediums like Netflix can do for television.

ENTERTAINMENT

The blacklist Angelita Sasmita

aymond ‘Red’ Reddington (James Spader) is the fourth most wanted guy by the FBI. The used-to-be decorative military personal, groomed into an Admiral, disappeared one day and surfaced a few years later in connection with serious criminal activities. So when Red, the ‘Concierge of Crime’, surrendered himself, the FBI had no clue what his true motive was. The incident turned even stranger when he demanded to speak only to Elizabeth Keynes (Megan

Boone), a low-level FBI agent who did not seem to have any connection to him. Red, then, gave the FBI a name on the Blacklist, a list of extremely dangerous and skilful criminals, of which many the FBI was not even aware of. Week after week, we are served with the action-fueled plot of the FBI crossing a name of the Blacklist as they rush against time to unravel and stop potentially deadly plans. Interestingly, in the center

The Breakthrough of Netflix: Introducing HOUSE OF CARDS

t used to be about what we watch. And technology brought us big bulky colour television boxes. Now it is about how we watch it. Innovation, today, has certainly come a long way to bring us Netflix. Relatively unknown, Netflix is actually not new and has been around since 1997, granted that the company only expanded its services internationally in 2010. Netflix started up as a subscription based DVD delivery service and moved into on-demand internet streaming media available today mostly in American and European countries. In the beginning of last year, Netflix began to produce their own original ‘TV’ series, bringing in big names from television and film industry such as Jenji Kohan, Jodie foster and Kevin Spacey. Soon enough, Netflix became the topic of conversation after the huge success their streaming series HOUSE OF CARDS, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK and the fourth season of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. Netflix realised that people these days prefer to wait until a full season of a show is complete before watching many episodes at one go - popularly known as

binge watching. As such, Netflix meets this demand by releasing their series in bulk on a specified time. However, with such a method, Netflix is unable to keep the fans in suspense week after week, and to allow them to discuss the next episode. Nevertheless, due to wide variance in the pace of people watching shows, people are constantly talking about the show throughout the year, which in itself is a free and effective form of promotion of the shows in question. The flexibility Netflix provides audiences in how they watch a show also enables Netflix to produce pure serialised shows without rating losses. Moreover, Netflix is very strict in terms of releasing promotional teasers, which drives the fans to crave for their favourite shows even more. This in turn creates buzz in social media, and works as forms of promotion as well. Production crews and casts have mentioned that Netflix give out more freedom and intervenes less as compared to other television networks, which enable them to explore artistically without being afraid of getting production cuts. Netflix’s approach in minimising promotion and focusing on

of all the action and suspense, there was the dynamic relationship between Red and Keynes. Although Red had made it abundantly clear that he only reveal criminal names for his own agenda, Keynes always had the power to persuade him to go the extra mile in order to help her solve her case. Unlike many law-enforcement dramas, THE BLACKLIST chose to dwell more on its overall mystery and suspense of the

series’ plot. For every question answered in the show, a couple more questions will surface, leaving the audience ever more glued to the TV screen. We are faced with a cliffhanger at the end of Season 1, with many things left unexplained. With the high quality of Season 1 BLACKLIST episodes delivered to us every week, we look forward to the sophomore season, which will definitely bring us a better story.

Angelita Sasmita

quality seem to work in revolutionising the television industry which, for decades, has been dominated by giant networks. As Singaporeans, we can only hope that Netflix will notice the lucrative market of South East Asia and provide their services in Singapore soon. To merely discuss about the success of Netflix seems to be inadequate without mentioning its pioneer success in streaming the show, HOUSE OF CARDS. Nominated for 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, HOUSE OF CARDS tells a story of a ruthless ambitious Congressman, Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey). After his enormous support towards the running President of the United States, Frank was betrayed as the second term President took back his promise of giving the Secretary of State position to him. The unexpected betrayal was taken very personally by Frank to the extent that he started to plot his grand scheme of revenge against his perpetrators. A persuasive and practical man, Frank is at once a brilliant mastermind and a political animal. His wife, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright), is an

intelligent, cunning and beautiful woman, who runs a non-profit Clear Water Initiative. When many politician wives are seen to serve merely as decorative ornaments, Claire is otherwise. Frank’s pillar and support, Claire guides Frank along, and advises him well along the way. As clearly iterated by her to Frank the day he was passed the position, “My husband doesn’t apologise. Not even to me.” The Underwood marriage is far from conventional, yet they are committed to each other in achieving their ambition. Together, the power couple little by little through meticulous calculated master plan rise into power they both desire. HOUSE OF CARDS is full of suspense and twists. It was brilliantly written and executed with great directing and a solid ensemble of highly experienced actors. In many occasions, Frank narrates the turn of events by speaking directly to the camera, allowing us to understand better the thoughts of the scheming mastermind. Season 1 has delivered us the show worth obsessing over, and we can’t wait for season two out in several weeks.

ENTERTAINMENT

ZoukOut 2013 Melissa Stewart

fter 13 years, it is hard to believe that Zouk would be able to keep up their standard of producing a killer lineup for ZoukOut 2013. The dance festival, spanned across two days and considered as one of the biggest dance music festivals in the region, has enjoyed spectacular reviews over the years. And this year, one question was on our minds: “Will Zouk ever disappoint?” This year’s lineup consisted of a range of genres from Electro, Trance, House, Techno, Mambo Jambo, Hip Hop and Pop. The event also consisted of two stages; with the Moon stage hosting big mainstream DJ names, and the Star stage hosting smaller, niche DJ acts. Stretching on for longer hours this time, Zoukout promised to be the ultimate ravefest. The first day saw the likes of Dutch DJs Afrojack and Ferry Corsten, Sweden’s

Otto Knows, electronic dance music group Krewella and Australian duo Nervo. Accompanied by pyrotechnics and LED lights, both the Sun and Moon stages were alive and definitely a sight to behold. Zouk sure does not compromise on anything for their yearly festival. Day 1 opened with Otto Knows, and the sound “Eh eh eh eh ah ah ah ah” from his hit track Million Voices got the 41,000 people packed together on Siloso beach singing along as one. Next up, the ever-energetic Nervo sisters sure got the crowd hyped up and jumping on their feet. However, the night’s headliner was no doubt Afrojack, and as usual, the Dutch DJ did not disappoint. Ending off his set with hit song You Can’t Stop Me. the crowd was definitely a reflection of the hit’s lyrics: “Dance the night away cos it feels right/You can’t stop me no”.

REview:

If you thought that was the end of it, you are gravely mistaken. Day 2 promised to be an even bigger and better night of fist-pumping and grooving to a lineup just as, or perhaps even more, exciting then the night before. With Danny Avila kick starting the night, the crowd was finally in a tizzy for the next few acts, which included Sweden’s Alesso, Dutch Dash Berlin, Germany’s Zedd and France’s Martin Solveig. The highlights of the night were definitely Zedd and Martin Solveig. Unfortunately, the night’s headliner Alesso was a tad bit disappointing for the first half of his set. The energy of the crowd seemed to be dropping low, but the much-anticipated DJ managed to pique the interest of the crowd once again with his hit track If I Lose Myself and City of Dreams. Dash Berlin’s sunrise set was definitely the cherry on top of the cake for the festival. Despite playing in the wee hours of the morning, the still-energetic

crowd continued dancing and singing along to the likes of Never Cry Again and Better Half of Me as the sun rose along the shores of Siloso Beach. The festival concluded with both Zedd and Alesso joining Dash Berlin on stage, which got the crowd going wild. The sheer size and the diversity of nationalities of the crowd seemed to prove a point during the two-day festival. Dance music transcends any nationality, race and even language. Such is the power of music. And as usual, Zouk did not fail to whet the appetite for dance music enthusiasts all over the world. Just like this year’s theme of Metamorphosis suggests, the crowd managed to let loose and enter a different realm of consciousness. Here’s to a great two nights at Zoukout, and for more incredible lineups to come in the coming years!

Beyonce's

surprise album

Kintan Andanari

orget Beyonce’s lip-synching incident. Forget the string of unglamorous, meme-worthy photos circulating after Superbowl. Just before the year comes to a close, Beyonce drops a surprise for her fans: a visual album compiling 14 songs, each accompanied with a video, and 3 bonus tracks. Collaborating with the few mainstays in the R&B scene (and

unexpectedly with Natalie Polachek of Indie group Chairlift), the album is far from being a disappointment. Pretty Hurts expounds on the societal pressure faced by women as she graces the stage of a pageant show; No Angel appears like a mini-documentary about the everyday life in a communal hip-hop scene- complete with blings and ostentatious cars; and celebrates

the female body in Yonce alongside supermodels Chanel Iman and Jourdain Dunn. We were treated to a euphonious compilation that was every bit entertaining and heart rendering. We marvel at the diverse settings and unpack the subtleties; it is both a treat to our visual senses as it is to our mind. Navigating this album, we come to understand why it is titled Beyonce. We

see her in every facet: sultry, rebellious, and brimming with life. Most astonishing of all, however, is the lack of pre-publicity. It is as if Queen Beyonce foresees us mortal beings succumbing to her dazzling, electrifying album without a single money spent on publicity. True enough, her visual album is the fastest-selling album in iTunes history, establishing her as the queen once more.

ENTERTAINMENT

REVIEW:the SUIT Chesna Goh

credits: nytmes.com

he collaboration of EsplanadeTheatres on the Bay and Singapore Repertory Theatre brought to the local arts scene the three titans of theatre in November last year: Peter Brook – the Godfather of Western theatre, Yukio Ninagawa – the exalted sensei of Asian theatre, and Simon McBurney – arguably the most influential director in the UK – and with them, three of the most breathtaking productions you will ever see. Peter Brook’s The Suit was one of them, and it was an astounding production well-deserving of its completely sold-out feature span. The play centred around the revenge a cuckold sentences on his adulterous wife. After catching them red handed, Matilda’s lover hastily escapes leaving behind

his suit and Philemon (the husband) perversely forces her to treat the suit as their new guest, insisting that it eats with them at mealtimes and sits in chair facing the couple’s marital bed. The grimness of this South African play is underscored by the apartheid looming over this fictional Sophiatown, manifested through the characters mentioning the brutal violence and injustices being carried out. This was a fairly tame production considering Brook’s penchant for the avant-garde. His minimalistic set comprised of a few wooden chairs painted in bright colours that characters would move around during the play to form structures, and metal frames of varying sizes that doubled as doors, windows, a cupboard, and once, even a telephone.

Though extremely ergonomic, the set felt insipid at best. One must, however, give credit when it is due, and such was the phenomenal acting by the relatively young cast. The action was well paced, the lines perfectly delivered and the actors were all unbelievably convincing in their roles. Moments of sobriety like Nonhlanhla Kheswa’s (playing Maltida) moving rendition of a folk song illustrating the horrors of the apartheid (‘the scent of magnolia/sweet and fresh/then the sudden smell/of burning flesh) were punctuated with comedic instances- the caricatures of the local townspeople, or in the play’s climax where three audience members were selected and thrust on stage, introduced as party

guests. The surreal quality of the play was compounded with third person narrations done by characters themselves and the presence of the three-man band intermittently being woven into the stage action. The Suit undoubtedly lives up to its acclaim and it is a true pity that it was only run locally for three days.

_ Special thanks to the Singapore RepertoryTheatreformakingthisreview possible.

ENTERTAINMENT

BOOKWORM ADVENTURES M

Vicious | VICTORIA SCHWAB REVIEWD BY Kee Jia Yun

eet Victor Vale: he’s an escaped prison convict and if you stand in his way, he’ll most likely kill you. Victor is the dubious protagonist in Vicious: a chillingly dark story of revenge and supernatural powers. On the other side of the fence, we have Eli Ever: a man on a mission with questionable motivations. Eli is the supposed hero of the book and Victor’s best friend in college. When the two embark on an experiment to become Extra-Ordinaries (beings with supernatural powers), things go horribly wrong. Needless to say, this sets the stage for the future conflict between the two men. The rest of the characters in Vicious are split into two teams: Victor’s team, or Eli’s team. Each character has

their own motivations, smartly interwoven in the story that alternates between past and present. Despite the frequent time jumps, the story does not suffer from it. Rather, it becomes a clever way of keeping the story engaging, with new information and motivations thrown at the reader to muddle things up. Ultimately, Vicious deals with the ambiguity of human morality and the corruptive properties of having too much power. While these topics are not new and characterizations can be generic at times, the effect is no less gripping. At the end of the day, Vicious is a book that manages to be both realistic and fantastical, making it perfect for a bit of escapist reading

hrough heart-wrenching interviews with oppressed female victims of sex slavery, Half The Sky tells of the tragic histories of the victims (mostly in developing countries of Africa and Asia) and how they escaped their predicaments through empowerment in the form of education and monetary aid.

HALF THE SKY: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide | NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF & SHERYL WUDUNN REVIEWED BY CHUA PEI LING

Spanning over 14 chapters, the book interweaves the stories of victims with research statistics and recommendations on empowering these less fortunate women. Even though the book can be rather lengthy, it is clear that the authors have one key message: the invisible oppression and the silent humiliation of female victims perpetuate the violation of women’s rights. The developing world’s view

of women as “discounted humans” in contrast to their male counterparts only further reiterates the age-old problem of gender inequality, a problem which persists in the 21st century of today. If you need that little impetus to stand up for women’s rights or if you are interested to learn more about the plight of oppressed female victims around the world, this book might just inspire you to do so.

Will Grayson Will Grayson | DAVID LEVITHAN & JOHN GREEN REVIEWD BY ANGELITA SASMITA

ill Grayson Will Grayson tells a story of two William Grayson who, unaware of each other’s existence, are living in very different worlds. The first Grayson is the voice of a typical teenager – cynical yet curious in figuring out the world. He lived by two rules: don’t care too much and shut up. He surprised himself when he broke his two rules and publicly defended a flamboyant gay not-so-tiny childhood best friend named Tiny Cooper. At the same time, in a different city, the second Grayson lived. He was very depressed as he barely had any friends except a girl named Maura. He was a closeted gay, and was in love with a boy named Issac whom he met online. In the pursuit of his only important human connection to Issac, this second

Will Grayson travels to Chicago where unexpected turn of events introduced the two Graysons.

Will Grayson Will Grayson is simply a fine work of two great modern writers who share undeniable chemistry. Although both Graysons have strong characters, shaped up by two very distinct writing styles, the stories of the Graysons fit perfectly well when joined together. John Green’s Grayson constantly amuses us with his thoughts and impulses and David Levithan’s Grayson touches our hearts with his struggle and pain, both which we can certainly relate to. Although the settings of high school may actually imply the book to be a light reading, profound issues of friendships, love, family and acceptance, are heavily discussed throughout this smart, quirky piece.

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Rahul Advani: Taking the stage from NUS to the esplanade

credits : Rahul Advani

Chua Pei Ling

esearcher by day, musician by night – that’s the life of Rahul Advani, who juggles his job at the Institute for South Asian Studies at NUS and his newfound passion for song writing. Having performed at numerous events, Rahul took to the stage at the Esplanade last November with a repertoire of original songs, performed in distinct musical styles. Here, THE RIDGE catches up with Rahul to find out more about his music. Hi Rahul! What have you been up to? Rahul Advani: Apart from performance preparations, work is really all that I’ve been able to do! It’s a struggle trying to juggle work in the daytime and music in the night, but I’m enjoying it. Also, I’ve just returned from Bihar, India, where I was doing fieldwork for a project on the social and political aspirations of young people in India. This involved interviewing young people about their views on political

institutions, political parties, social issues, their level of political engagement, their use of social media, etc. It was the first time I’ve ever done fieldwork as well as the first time visiting Bihar! It was a pretty incredible experience and I met some amazing people during my time there. Sounds like an awesome experience! Tell us more about your music. Rahul: I’ve recently started writing my own songs and the whole process was rather unplanned! It was only when I received an email a couple of months before the major performance asking about whether I had any original material that I realised I didn’t have any songs of my own I could perform. It was at that moment that I took the plunge to give song-writing a go. It has been an incredibly therapeutic process, and so whenever I feel stressed, the first thing I do is mess around on the piano (which has led to quite a few songs

being written!).

so fulfilling. On some days I performed my songs in a Western acoustic setup while Who are your musical influences? on other days, I jammed with Vinod on the ghatam and Lakshminarasimhan on Rahul: My musical tastes are fairly diverse the violin, both of whom are from the NUS – I love anything that has a great melody. Indian Instrumental Ensemble. I’ve never There’s definitely a strong influence from performed with classical Indian musicians ohsolovely.youcanthande singer-songwriters like Michelle Branch, credits before :but these guys are amazing this. Katharine McPhee and Sara Bareilles musicians and my songs sounded far in my music. The way I sing, I think, is better than I had envisioned them to be! shaped by the two singers I listen to almost every day – Michael Jackson What’s up next for your music plans? and Whitney Houston. There are some amazing local bands such as Seyra, Rahul: Now that I’ve started writing my Arajua, Gentle Bones, The Sam Willows own music, I really don’t know where my and NUS’ very own Take Two who I music will take me! It’s exciting though. I always try to catch live whenever I can. definitely will continue to write music and hopefully get the chance to record it on an How did your performance at the EP perhaps. We’ll see how it goes. Esplanade go? Rahul: It was great! I performed my original songs at the Esplanade Concourse over five days. It was tiring but

SEX AND VIOLENCE 30

ENTERTAINMENT

Interview with Rodney Ee // Writer Rodney Ee shares writing tips and travel anecdotes in this interview done in conjunction with the annual Singapore Writers' Festival. tan yan ni

Rodney Ee. credits: singaporewritersfestival.com

"You Can Write Too!" Panel Discussion

“I

nspiration is the external manifestation of an internal state of mind.” This was just one of the many quirky and memorable quotes raised during the “You Can Write Too!” panel discussion held during the Singapore Writers’ Festival. The panel featured four writers - Claire Chiang, Rodney Ee, Jerrold Yam and Vernetta Lopez - who had recently launched their first books, and was moderated by Philip Jeyaratnam. From the pains of transcription to the difficulties in defining the lines between one’s private and public self, the writers discussed and shared their motivations and obstacles encountered in the process of creating their works. The panel discussion ended on a light hearted note with the panelists providing helpful writing tips and encouragement for aspiring writers in the audience.

credits: marshalcavendish.com

ENTERTAINMENT

odney Ee works in the aviation and air cargo industry and is a regular contributor to The Straits Times’ travel section. He is also an avid photographer and has had his photos featured in Fodor’s guidebooks. His first book, My Name is Not Konnichiwa, details his travel adventures (and misadventures) in various parts of the world, including exotic locations such as Vanuatu and the Baltic Sea. 1. What inspired you to pen your experiences in a book? A mid-life crisis! I started off with a low-profile travel blog. A few years ago, I chanced upon a couple of travel humour books and felt inspired to put the stories from my blog into a publication. 2. What do you think was the most difficult part about writing your book? It definitely has to be writer’s block – there were days where I sat in front of the computer and just felt completely unsatisfied with whatever I had typed. Another challenge was not losing my own style in the midst of taking on board constructive advice from my family, my friends and also my editor, which meant a lot of rewriting before the book was published. 3. You’ve been to many exotic places like Dubai and

the Baltic Sea. Have any of these experiences changed your perspective on life in Singapore? Travelling to exotic locations is exciting every now and then. I look forward to being thrown out of my comfort zone, but at the end of the day, it is an equally great feeling to come home to Singapore. All my travels, not just those to exotic locations, have made me even more appreciative of what we have here. I have also realised how far we have come in transforming our country as an exciting tourist destination, and I sometimes even feel like a tourist in my own backyard! What we lack in terms of historical and natural wonders, we have made up with impressive man-made attractions. 4. Are there any must-see destinations you’d like to recommend to our readers? Where do I begin?! Viewing the northern lights is definitely a magical experience. It is one thing to view photos and videos of this amazing natural phenomenon, but to actually witness the curtains of dancing lights in person (especially with your loved ones) is truly special. By virtue of its location and remoteness, Iceland is a great place to maximise your chances to view the lights.

An African safari is also another experience not to be missed. There is a palpable adrenaline rush when tracking a leopard stalking its prey and a heartthumping mix of fear and excitement when coming face to face with a wild elephant with no barrier in between. Standing on the crater rim of an active volcano spewing lava is also an exhilarating experience. There are not many places in the world where you can do this safely, and on certain days, Mount Yasur in Vanuatu is one such place. Finally, I would also highly recommend a visit to the old medinas of some of the Moroccan cities. It is an experience that will jolt all your senses and take you back in time. 5. If you had to choose one of your destinations to live in for the rest of your life, which one would it be? Western Australia. The pace of life is slower and one can really enjoy the great outdoors. One of my dreams is to retire and run a small B&Bd, where I am able to meet people from all walks of life, and we can share with each other our travel experiences. 6. Do you have any plans for future books? Hopefully! The stories in my book are

gathered from my travel experiences over the last ten to fifteen years. I would therefore have to travel a lot more to have new material to write about. I am also an avid photographer and if the opportunity arises, I hope to publish a coffee-table book featuring my favourite travel photos.

ENTERTAINMENT

naf said Phua En-Lin Rachel

emester two is always an exciting time to all those who proclaim their love for the John Cages, Gus Van Sants and Yukio Ninagawas. It’s a time when your free spirit is let loose in rehearsals and in the concert halls, dancing along the aisle to renditions of Duke Ellington’s best grooves. It’s a time when you confess to that person you’ve been eyeing with a Shakespearean sonnet. So, although we advocate such buay-paiseh actions all throughout the year, we know it’s only when the NUS Arts Festival appears and all you arty-farts have scrambled into practice gear that this shyness dissipates. So while half of the more kinaesthetic ones head off to studio after studio to help make this one of Singapore’s top and most well-known Arts

credits: nevadachamber.com

Festivals, the other half with the tranquil, bohemian spirits will sit back and enjoy the show. And so to help this laid-back half – of course, we know good shows will never be missed by anyone—here’s an introduction to some of the festival picks:

Film Screenings With this year’s theme being Consumed, what better way than to celebrate such material indulgence than with Singapore’s actual favourite pastime: Eating. Imbibing all types of food and beverages in Singapore has become an international affair, and so to celebrate the cosmopolitan palate, we also have movies from the land of the rising sun -- and Sushi! And Tempura! And Ramen! – to remind us that there is more to food that meets its sight and taste. The three features include: Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011), a documentary exploring how the craft of making sushi has become a legacy for a Ono family; Tampopo (1985), an offbeat comedy the first “Ramen Western” (think Japanese Spaghetti Western); Chicken Rice War (2000), from the local picture house itself, and a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet starring Pierre Png and May Yee Lum. Even better, NUS’s student film production house nuSTUDIOS will be premiering three of their short films before each screening. These films were made under the mentorship of Jan Ole Gerster (Oh boy), German cinema’s new golden boy after this debut feature garnered accolades at the film festivals and awards.

Opening and Closing Show NAF 2014 Opening Show : Overdrive – A Triple Bill NUS Dancers with Idan Cohen (Israel) & T.H.E 2nd Company, Akiko Kitamura (Japan), and HORSE 驫舞劇場 (Taiwan) Fri 14 & Sat 15 Mar | 8pm | UCC Theatre | $29 & $23 Witness pure joy from an aesthetic collision of movement and music as two international choreographers from two diametrically different cities take young dancers from NUS to a heightened state of activity in Overdrive. Award winning young Israeli-born Idan Cohen’s Private Dancer reveals the way we see and think of our most intimate instrument- our body, as a medium through which we try and shape our being into significance within the hierarchy of contemporary social expectation. Akiko Kitamura, acknowledged as a leader of Japan’s contemporary dance world since its nascent period with her dance company Leni-Basso, investigates in Emotional Strata how our perception of objects have changed in our consumerist society, heightened by catastrophes such as the Great Tohoku Earthquake on March 11. Finally, Taipei-based dance collective Horse will present an excerpt from their critically acclaimed piece 2 Men as a counterfoil for the two pieces.

Fri 28 & Sat 29 Mar | 8pm | UCC Theatre | $29 & $23

NAF 2014 Closing Show : CON$UMED By NUS Talents with Edith Podesta, Brian Gothong Tan & Adrian Tan

In a world where everything can be bought or sold, how much are you willing to spend? Buy now, pay later, but at what price? At what point does the consumer become the consumed? Candid, witty,

Akiko Kitamura & Idan Cohen. credits : CFA

Con$umed. credits : CFA

ENTERTAINMENT

provocative and accessible, Con$umed examines the serious, far-reaching issue of consumerism for the wider audience.

shocking journey into what is possible if consumerism supersedes all moral codes.

Award winning theatre director Edith Podesta, Young Artist Award recipient Brian Gothong Tan and Life! Theatre Award nominee Adrian Tan collaborate to bring you on a fascinating and

NAF2013. credits : NAF & JK Light Capture

ENTERTAINMENT

Beauty World: A night you would not want to miss T

he College of Alice and Peter Tan will be presenting its first musical production ‘Beauty World’ on 8th February. The team of over 80 students is staging one of Singapore’s best-known musicals, ‘Beauty World’. Set in the 1960s, the show promises to tell the fascinating story of a young Malaysian girl who comes from Batu Pahat to Singapore in search of her father and ends up in the eponymous nightclub. As Ivy (Cabrini Bridget Tan) leaves in her trail, an anxious sweetheart, Frankie (Jonathan Tan), and her friend, Rosemary (Mackenzie Rae Schoon), she meets new friends at Beauty World- Ah Hock (Liu Chen Chuan), a bouncer who finds himself falling in love with the new girl and Wan Choo (Jean Kwok), a kind

cleaning lady. Along this journey, she also encounters dangerous enemies. Lulu (Celine Ong), the sexy Queen of Cabaret in Beauty World, hatches sinister plots to oust newcomer Ivy. Will Ivy survive these trials and emerge safely from the clutches of the cabaret world? Will she ever find her lost father? Find out on February 8th at the University Cultural Centre. Written by Michael Chiang and composed by Dick Lee, the first local production of Beauty World featured theatre favorites like Tan Kheng Hua, Ivan Heng and Margaret Chan. ‘Beauty World’ has since been staged to full houses, touring several cities, and was even remade to air on television during the 1998 President’s Star Charity Show, featuring popular local

celebrities such as Sharon Au and Evelyn Tan. CAPT has now taken on the task to stage this timeless musical, and entertain you with its old world charm. The team has been rehearsing since last September, for its challenging vocal pieces, tantalizing dance numbers, and acting sequences. The entire cast is required to sing and dance- and they have worked very hard- waking up as early as 6.30am to run and build their stamina. For the musicians, weekly sessions have been held for over three months to create a professional-level sound for Beauty World. The rest of the crew has also been working feverishly on props, costumes, publicity materials, lights and sound etc. Everyone is working with a fierce vision to stage a successful production.

Hold on tight as this glamorous musical whisks you away to the enchanting past. Expect beautiful costumes, brilliant singing, enticing music and energetic dance numbers on this magical night. Catch the one night only show on 8 February 2014, Saturday at the University Cultural Centre. Be sure not to miss it! Tickets on sale only on www.eventclique. com, and ticket booths around campus. FOR MORE DETAILS ‘LIKE’ BEAUTY WORLD’S FACEBOOK PAGE AND FOLLOW IT ON INSTAGRAM: www.facebook.com/CAPTMusical Instagram: @captmusical

ENTERTAINMENT

24 Jan & 25 Jan, 7.00pm / UCC Theatre Tickets: $15

BY KING EDWARD VII HALL PLAY

ing Edward VII Hallplay, a criticallyacclaimed annual theatrical production, returns this year as an even bigger production. King Edward brings you a comedy in three acts “The Odd Couple”, which will leave you reeling from excess laughter! The Odd Couple is a Neil Simon’s comedy where it has proven successful on Broadway, a film and TV series. It tells a story of the two friends – Felix, a neurotic, neat freak newswriter and

Oscar, a slovenly, messy sportswriter - having to share the same apartment, despite their extreme differences in ideas of housekeeping and lifestyles as day and night. The King Edward VII Hallplay has been the hall’s annual tradition since 1973, when it staged A Streetcar Named Desire. Since then, it has featured a range of dramatic, comedic and musical productions by award-winning playwrights. The team this year has spent

countless hours working tirelessly since August 2013 in bringing us the show of The Odd Couple. The process was definitely a tough one, involving hard work, large sacrifices and a fair share of nightmares. On top of that, the Hallplay team uses this platform to give back to the community every year including this year. Until now, King Edward VII Hallplay is one of the hall’s biggest and proudest traditions.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TICKET ENQUIRIES, PLEASE VISIT: Website: http://hallplay1314.wix.com/ theoddcouple Facebook page: https://www.facebook. com/KEtheoddcouple

PCCommWeek2014(NUS)_2-12-2013.pdf

Author's Name Here

CMY

magine a painter holding a palette of colours and a paint-brush, with which he paints a picture of scintillating beauty. The art he demonstrates is not just in the final painting but it is in the method and process of making it as well. In a similar vein, a sex scene, with its eroticism, lust and abandonment portrayed can be considered a piece of art and it really does take a master to perfectly encapsulate the exhilaration of this human experience. Pornography, despites the fact that it is an actual representation of the sexual act, fails to create an equally powerful effect of shock and amazement. Violence, in its most graphic kind, also does require skill in its depiction. In both cases, the actors

2/12/13

5:28 PM

LIFESTYLE 37

Think Globally G

eographical boundaries have vanished in our time. More people are spending their time overseas – be it to travel or to pursue higher education. More employees are being sent overseas. We are all no longer citizens of one country but citizens of the world. The ability to communicate and adapt

in different cultures are essential to survive global competition.

Being NUS students, we are lucky to be constantly exposed to a multicultural environment. It is easy to meet people from different countries and find out more about their cultures. NUSSU International Relations Committee (IRC) will be putting up the following events this year, in the spirit of providing platforms to bridge borders between students and bring together students from various cultures in NUS. Here are a few you should not miss:

OlymNUS 29th -30th March 2014 OlymNUS is a sports competition which provides a platform for the diverse international student community to interact whilst competing amongst themselves. The event aims to knit the multicultural society in NUS through

means of spirited sports and games. Even though event targets international students, OlymNUS is open to all NUS students to promote friendship and bonding between the local and international student populace.

In-Fusion 12th-14th Feb 2014 In-Fusion is an annual event held by NUSSU IRC. IT consists of two major parts, which are ‘International Fair’ and ‘International Student Night’. While ‘International Fair’ tries to promote various cultures through a fair, ‘International Student Night’ tries to bond and promote different cultures through one night performance by each

of the diversities in NUS. This event aims to promote cultural awareness and exchange among the students of NUS. As a portrait of cultural diversities in NUS, the ultimate aim of this event is to bring everyone in NUS, despite their origin, together as one.

Sparkz 22nd Feb 2014 Sparkz is a popular talent time event within NUS. This event puts on display performances by people from a variety of cultures, and gives them an avenue to express themselves in what they excel

International Film Festival The International Film Festival is a new initiative under NUSSU IRC. This twoday event will showcase movies from all corners of the world. Classics from all parts of the world – be it Hollywood, Singapore, French art-house, you name it – as many as possible will be screened to ensure very few are left out! Not only will the movies curated be popular classics, but also possess an element of cultural or historical

background specific to the country of origin. People of different nationalities and cultures will get the chance to meet new people from their communities and outside their own. Rest assured that English subtitles are displayed for every film to match everyone’s viewing pleasure.

in. Having had 40 performances last year, Sparkz will host 55 performances this year, and are steadily increasing our outreach to students.

LIFESTYLE

On the New Year and Resolutions CHAN YI WEN

his year, I’m refraining from making any new year’s resolutions, or reresolutions. David Foster Wallace defines a harmful addiction as one that creates a certain problem, and then offers relief from the very problem it creates (alcohol being exhibit a). I think New Year’s resolutions are one such addiction. 2013 was the year of #selfie, #twerk, and #cronuts; the year of the Boston Marathon Bombings, another Bangkok protest, and the Syrian war; the year of Bitcoins, Snapchat, and Big Data; the year of Roger Ebert, Edward Snowden, and Nelson Mandela. I was in Philadelphia for the NOC program for the most of 2013 and subsequently returned to NUS for a semester of school. Here are three major highlights from my 2013: 1. A conversation I had in the car on the way from Philadelphia to the Garden State for an entrepreneurship project. Innocuous enough, but it was definitely a ride to remember. There was a huge traffic jam on the I-676. Joe and I were sitting amidst empty red bull cans and cigarette butts in his old Subaru in semiawkward radio silence (we weren’t close). Califone’s Funeral Singers came on the radio. Simultaneously, Joe reached forward to switch the channel as I yelled, “Oh my god, I LOVEEE this song!!!”

The song reminded me of my summer in New York ‘11 – of acoustic guitars, brunches and sitting in line for indie concerts. To Joe it quite the opposite, a was a painful reminder of his older brother, who had killed himself when Joe was 13. His brother loved Califone. “The week after he died, I spent the entire time sitting in the basement playing video games. I became a completely different person after he kille-… died.” “I’m so sorry…” “He was having some problems with his girlfriend and before died he was visiting his psychiatrist pretty regularly. I didn’t really know what was going on. I was really immature. But I guess even if I had known what was going on, I wouldn’t have known what was going on,” Joe’s gaze fell upon me, away from the road. “Am I even making sense?” “After he died, the priest from the Church that my family went to came for a visit and he came down to the basement and told me that my brother wasn’t going to hell and all that jazz. I was like, ‘Why are you even telling me this?!’ It didn’t even cross my mind that my brother was could going to hell.” “Mmhm,” filler intonations… I couldn’t speak. “I don’t know.. life sucks sometimes but…

In some ways I feel pretty shitty because for my college application essay to Penn, I wrote about how his death changed me profoundly. I was the only one in my high school to get into an Ivy League university. Most of my friends back from home ended up to community colleges. I somehow feel like I profited from his death. He died, and I moved on.” The traffic slowly cleared, Joe turned to face the road and that was it. By the next intersection we were talking about something else entirely. We didn’t talk about it more after that, and I never brought it up again. But I’ll remember it, always. It raised a common but interesting contradiction of the perception versus reality debate. Online, Joe was a fraternity weekend warrior who most people would say “leads a pretty interesting and fulfilling life”. Truly, you can’t know a person till you’ve lived their lives. But how does one do that? As much as I view surface level thought as detrimental to progress, I find myself consistently practicing it? 2. How a short email exchange became translated into a digital poem. I was taking an ‘Uncreative Writing’ class at the University of Pennsylvania. My professor was Kenneth Goldsmith, an established American poet whose one of many career highlights was a reading he did at President and Mrs. Obama’s “A Celebration of American Poetry” at The

White House in 2011. His book on creating art from preexisting work, Uncreative Writing formed the background of the class. For the entire semester we were banned from creating anything from scratch. Whatever we submitted for class had to be plagiarized or ripped off the Internet somewhere, an unconventional approach to what’s traditionally emphasized by school administration. We were encouraged to vandalize public property, troll online community forums and plagiarize existing works all in the name of art. Goldsmith’s philosophy closely aligned with the 80/20 principal: Investing minimal effort to achieve maximum results. One the assignments required us to transcribe digital text into HTML form. Ali decided to translate an old email exchange between her and her exboyfriend: mattp@gmail.com to alik@ gmail.com: my phone died, were done talking about this. you acted in a way that I won’t get over. move on go back to whoever it was he can comfort you its not my job anymore i appreciate your honesty

LIFESTYLE

New Year’s Eve Fireworks from eatrightchicago.org

but it doesn’t work this way, you made a choice. And now you need to go with it let me go im done being upset. enjoy your time at penn alik@gmail.com to mattp@ gmail.com I’m not going to stop fighting for you. Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T In HTML form it created a beautiful poem which she read in class: canonical my phone died icon were done talking about this shortcut you acted in a way that I won’t get over. alternate type move on. <go back to whoever it was> NO _ COOKIE _ function null function (return) <he can comfort you now its not my job

anymore> navigator? navigator. userAgent function String replace. split. String.replace.split length,length break. I appreciate your honesty but return this Date. Now| {return+new Date} it doesn’t work this way and now you made a choice. Float String break Validate if you need to go with it. #loading position:absolute ;width:100%;height:100 let me go I’m done being upset. position:relative Enjoy your time at Penn. transparent,transparent 66%,transparent 66%,transparent transparent 66%,transparent

I’m not going to stop fighting for you.

and I never wrote back. I should have though - regardless.

I love the way the codes interweaved into the original text, paralleling technology’s infiltration into the nitty-gritty of our everyday. Our messages become more constructed and complicated and ultimately distant and detached. The highly connected life is a pretty tiring and complex one.

My sister was 12 when she wrote to me. One year later she doesn’t remember what she wrote in those letters. She just remembers crying a lot when she wrote them because she “missed (me) while (I) was away”. We were incredibly close before I left for Philly, then I left and got pre-occupied with new people and places. Now I’m back home, she’s 13, and we aren’t as close as before.

Even when we have a person to whom we can divulge anything and everything, we may still feel totally unable to communicate, no matter how much we say. But this may just be because we do not know what it is we want to communicate. We know ourselves halfway, from the inside rather than the outside perspective. As a friend recently told me, ‘my blockage is my entire mentality.’ She’s very astute. 3. This last treasured memory ironically happened at the end of January. It was one of the rare times I Skyped home. That night, I discovered that my younger sister had been writing me letters everyday in for the month, but to a wrong address. You can imagine my The Notebook-style shock. I never managed to recover those letters. The address she sent the letters to doesn’t exist; those lost letters, expectedly honest and touching, sure to send me on my knees bawling by the time I get through with it. But I never saw them

It’s a powerful memory for me and it hurts awfully – at my throat, rendering me voiceless and at my heart, leaving me in helpless. After I ended the conversation, I thought how perfectly my younger sister and I got along, even though we’re a decade apart and sometimes she never understands I’m talking about, and vice versa. For all of our differences, in a really abstract way we understand each other perfectly. That is a special thing that is really hard to find even within family. This I have just begun to realize. But that’s enough musing for now. Time to move on to new memories waiting in 2014. As Einstein said, “Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

LIFESTYLE

Cooking for One A Beginner's Guide WENDY WONG

f you’re reading this, you’re probably someone who can’t cook, or can’t cook very well. But that’s okay—everybody has to start somewhere, right? Take me, for example. After having lived apart from my parents for three years and on campus for the past one and a half, I can safely assure you that it’s pretty easy to learn. For those of you who still aren’t convinced, here are three very simple reasons why you should start cooking:

1. It's way cheaper. (This is for all those cheapos out there, or as I prefer to call, the prudent.) Cooking your own meals is much more cost-effective. Sure, it takes time to whip up a meal—you need to buy groceries, cook the food and clean up afterwards. But it takes time (and more money*) to buy takeaway too. Groceries can be bought just once a week, a week’s meals can be prepared in advance and popped them in the microwave, and come on— how long does it take you to wash a pot, plate and cutlery? These days, a typical lunch or dinner at the nearby hawker centre or food court is about $3. Honestly speaking, that’s a pretty fair price. Ordering ‘cai fan’ (rice with side dishes) with two vegetables and one meat is $3.20. Chicken rice with vegetables is $4.50. Fish items can easily cost you $5 for the meal. The other day I thought I’d save a little money and just order rice with a meat and vegetable, so I got a chicken drumstick and some greens. I was charged me $4.70. My appetite disappeared as quickly as I (painfully) handed over the money.

2. Cooking is customizable.

3. It's useful-and actually fun.

Picky eater? Too big/ small appetite? Want more vegetables and less chili? The answer’s easy—cook it yourself. Cooking for yourself allows you to tweak recipes according to your own preferences. When you cook, you don’t need to worry about excess MSG or too much rice. If you eat what you cook, you can cook exactly what you want. This is one of the main reasons why I cook.

Cooking is one of the few things that almost everybody—and I mean everybody—can and should do. With a little practice and effort, learning how to cook is one of those skills that can come in handy on a daily basis.

Case in point: I realize I consume way too much carbohydrate whenever I order takeaway ‘cai fan’, even though I always ask for less rice (note: I recently ordered ‘cai fan’ and ended up keeping the leftover rice for two other meals). Sometimes when I order chicken I’m given more fat than meat. Sometimes when I order popiah without chili I get chili anyway. Sometimes when I order a dish that looks delicious it tastes otherwise… well, you get the gist.

* As a cheapo queen I’ve broken down the costs of my lunches and dinners to an average of about $2 each. Add up the dollars and cents saved and voila!—in ten years you’ll be able to use that money to buy a car. Or not.

credits : oneplaceofmymind.tumblr.com

If you are what you eat, then the big question is: who’s the one cooking and what’s in the food that you don’t know about? Think of hair hidden in your rice and insects floating in your soup… been there, seen that. But here’s another point to chew on: Surely you’re not planning to eat takeaway, cup noodles and fast food for the rest of your life? I’ve practically lived on takeaway for the last three years of my life and I already feel like it’s more than enough. Not only is cooking a useful, lifelong skill, it can also be a fun stress reliever. As you’re chopping carrots or stir-frying chicken, you can let your mind wander and your eyes rest. It’s like taking a shower, but, well, in the kitchen. It’s also fun learning new recipes and tasting the literal fruits of your success. You get a sense of accomplishment from preparing each meal, and somehow it tastes better, too! Now that I’ve (hopefully) convinced you, look out for the second part of this beginner’s guide online, and have a go at the following upcoming easy-peasyone-two-three recipe - baked salmon with veggies!

LIFESTYLE

Recipe: Baked Salmon with Vegetables and Rice credits : Wendy Wong

This has got to be one of my all-time favourite meals. Not only is it simple, it’s quick to make and it’s incredibly delicious. Salmon can be a bit pricey but from my perspective, its health benefits outweigh the cheapo considerations I have.

Serves: 2 Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes

The key ingredient in this recipe (apart from the salmon) is garlic. As you can tell, I tend to get a little excited with it.

Ingredients* • A slab of salmon fillet (good for 2 servings) • 3-4 cloves garlic, minced (more/less according to your preference) • 1 small head broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces • 1 carrot, chopped intobite-sized pieces • Salt, to taste

You can easily find salmon in any supermarket seafood section. Sometimes if the supermarket’s big enough, you can even choose fresh ones that are lying on a bed of ice. But for convenience’s sake I choose pre-packaged ones. To separate the fish into two separate servings, make a cut down the fillet. You won’t be able to cut through the fish skin, but after it’s baked it’ll tear easily. There are three versions of marinade for it comes to seasoning the salmon (+ garlic) before baking it: 1. Soy sauce 2. Herbs 3. Lemon and olive oil I’ve tried all three and they’re all excellent complements to salmon’s natural flavour. My personal favourite would be the lemon marinade. Here I demonstrate with the soy sauce and herb marinade, with one on each side. The recipe calls for two servings, so you can keep the other serving and consume it sometime in the next 2-3 days after heating it up. Place the salmon on foil and cover it with another piece of foil to trap the moisture in as it’s baking.

Marinade • Soy sauce (you can choose to marinate the salmon 3-4 hours beforehand or just before cooking) o 4 tbsp light soy sauce o 2 tbsp sesame oil (optional) o 1 tbsp oyster sauce (optional) o 1 tbsp dark soy sauce (optional) • Herbs o 1 tbsp herbs o 4 tbsp olive oil • Lemon o 1 lemon, sliced o 4 tbsp olive oil

Directions 1. Mince garlic and set aside. Chop broccoli and carrot into bite-sized pieces. 2. Wash and pat dry the salmon. Slice the salmon into half. 3. Combine the marinade’s ingredients and pour over or rub into the salmon. For the lemon marinade, place lemon slices on top of the salmon and squeeze the juice from the two ends of the lemons. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 375°C, or until salmon is fully cooked through (use a fork and insert it into the middle of the fillet. It should be flaky, the fork should be clean when removed and the salmon should not be raw pink). 4. As the salmon is baking, boil a pot of water. As the water starts to boil, add in a pinch of salt. 5. Once the water starts boiling, throw in the broccoli stems. After 1 minute, add in the rest of the broccoli and carrots. 6. Boil the vegetables for another 3-5 minutes or until cooked, and then remove their skins. 7. Serve salmon and veggies with rice or potatoes.

And there you have it: perfectly baked salmon dressed in a blanket of garlic. *Note: The ingredients and directions listed are a rough estimate of what I usually follow. As you start cooking, you’ll learn how to play around with the recipe to suit your taste or to what you already have. So feel free to tweak it accordingly!

SEX AND VIOLENCE 42

LIFESTYLE

NUCESSARY PROJECTS - NUS

This month, The Ridge features two Facebook projects that aim to engage SHARIFAH NURSYAFIQAH

#1: BARE NUSESSITIES

US boasts a myriad of wonderful people with incredible stories – yet so rarely do we chance upon fleeting opportunities to learn something new about someone new. First-year Life Sciences undergraduate Kae Yuan has made it his personal project to uncover glimpses into the life stories of strangers he meets on campus – a project he terms Bare Nusessities. Inspired by Humans of New York, Bare Nusessities’ Facebook page is filled with captivating photos of smiling faces, shots of belongings, taken in campus locations we are familiar with – all accompanied with intriguing and provocative captions that reveal a bit more about the subject in question. To date, Bare Nusessities has garnered nearly 800 likes on its page within one semester of being in operation, with 76 people having been featured on the page. Kae Yuan shares his motivation behind the project: “I’m interested in people, that’s why I’m doing this. We should be open to talking to the next stranger we

see. It’s really not that hard, and you’d be surprised at where the conversation leads. Plus they often offer some new perspective, which is really cool.” “I think that many Singaporeans have this fear of talking to strangers, like bothering other people – that makes us appear a bit cold.” Kae Yuan relates how he found himself “ghosting around” in his first week of University. Having not joined any orientation camps, he said, “I could spend the whole day not talking to anyone… this wasn’t my image of university. So I wanted to do something.” “The second week of school, I started this project.” The idea of approaching complete strangers – albeit within a secure campus environment – was daunting. But the first person he met on the project made him feel better by encouraging him, giving him the confidence to execute Bare Nusessities. Selecting a subject is an exercise in

Kae Yuen, founder of Bare Nusessities. credits: Sharifah Nursyafiqah

patience. “My criterion is very simple. You’re alone or in a pair, and you look like you’re not going anywhere.” The learning curve wasn’t easy either. “Initially, what I did in my first few weeks was to stop people who were walking, and that wasn’t very good because usually they are on the way somewhere… the responses would be quite short. It will be better if I approached someone who is resting, admiring the sunset or something. It’s easier when they’re in a relaxed mode.” There are also those who decline having their photos taken, in which case Kae Yuan may take a photo of their shoes, or belongings. For those who decline to be featured on the page at all, Kae Yuan says it’s fine – “I’ll just keep it in my memory.” Having had so many encounters with different people, Kae Yuan cannot identify his most memorable encounter, “because at the end of each conversation I would learn something new.” “I would say that the longest conversation was more than two hours.” It bears an odd irony in the fact that students belonging to a population as diverse as NUS’s rarely venture out of the comfort zone of familiar social circles. That said, despite the comfort of familiarity, there is beauty in fleeting moments with strangers we are surrounded by everyday. As Kae Yuan puts it, “There’s something unique

about talking to a stranger… we have no vested interests or something, you know? There’s something cool about just meeting someone once and never seeing them again.” Pausing to reflect on his personal objectives, Kae Yuan admits that his initial goal was to face his fear of talking to strangers and meet people different from him. He was also keen to find out what is important for people. “I think most of us don’t know what’s important, or we don’t particularly. We cannot exactly pinpoint it, but we can express it in some ways.” “I guess I’m trying to find out what people hold dear, and then learn more about myself as well.” The well maintained site is helmed singlehandedly by Kae Yuan for the five months since its inception. “It’s a personal project, so I get to decide if I continue or stop. The good thing is that I am the one motivating myself to do it so I don’t feel like it’s work – I’ll probably continue it.” But he adds, “The current method of finding a stranger is quite time consuming, so I might have to change it.” It seems for Kae Yuan though, that the effort is worth every second he spends. “They say you have to learn something new everyday, so that’s a good way and, who knows, you might meet your new best friend.” Who knows, indeed.

LIFESTYLE

- NUS FACEBOOK INITIATIVES

hat aim to engage NUS students, and connect us in more meaningful ways. SHARIFAH NURSYAFIQAH

#2: UNILUNCHER

he concept of meeting a stranger over an arranged lunch date is novel, though not an entirely new one. Embarking on a quest to find someone new and open to having a chat over a meal can be an unnerving task. For the past year, UniLuncher has been striving to make this challenge easier for the Singapore collegiate community. An online platform run by founder Hakeem, a fourth-year Statistics undergraduate, and his team – Aditi, a Business graduate and Yvonne, a Graduate student, UniLuncher promises to match you up for lunch with a person who shares your interests, across local universities. Born out of a genuine interest in people and a goal to make university life more meaningful, Hakeem was inspired to create a way to meet others through lunch to simply have a good conversation. “Being in Science, you’re surrounded by people who are more keen to study, and conversation topics always revolved around school and this module and that module and homework and assignments… I didn’t think that was what University was supposed to be about. I really felt like there’s a whole other big world outside this small little bubble that I was in.” Hakeem says. In its infant stages, UniLuncher (then called “JustLunch”) saw commendable success, having been initially shared by friends and making its rounds across various Facebook walls. Almost 60

people took part in the first round of lunches. This number doubled after the site made an appearance in a local newspaper, having had a good run for a month before it was interrupted by legal problems over the use of the name “JustLunch” – akin to an existing local dating site of a similar name. A quick name change later, UniLuncher was up and running again. Despite being relatively young, significant changes have been made in UniLuncher’s operations. Most notably, the platform cannot be used for dating, as matches are made without accounting for the gender of participants. He shares, “[Gender matching] ended up attracting kind of the wrong crowd – it wasn’t the crowd I wanted UniLuncher to represent or to serve.” Instead of being a weekly affair, UniLuncher now opens its lunch rounds on a more flexible and ad-hoc basis. The team also incorporates themes into the lunch rounds, such as musical lunches.

receptive towards UniLuncher’s objectives. “Initially it only attracted people who were really experimental, and really out for something different. But now that word has spread, there are a lot of people who are telling their friends, and people signed on just for the fun of it,” says Aditi. She continues, “I think a lot of people think that NUS students are quite reserved, and keep to themselves. But we’ve showed that you can meet a stranger for two hours for the first time and have a really great conversation. It’s really amazing.” “There are a lot more random people than I thought,” Yvonne quips. “People may look boring and normal on the outside but inside they have lots of ideas and opinions and stuff. I see people slightly differently now.” “I think nothing will really beat that, when you sit down with a stranger and really have a non-reserved talk,” Hakeem

remarks. ”Like you’re just sharing and going with the flow, it’s really nice.” UniLuncher is not premised on the imperative to make new friends, but rather to settle down for an interesting chat with a stranger with no obligations or promise to follow up after. As Yvonne describes it, it is akin to having a conversation with a stranger on a plane. “You can have very intense or wonderful conversations, or very interesting and personal conversations with very random strangers,” Yvonne describes. Aditi adds, “Our advice is that just be open about it and you never know what’s going to happen.” It seems odd that such a culture of free exchange of ideas, and engaging discussion over a plethora of topics ideas concerning life, the universe and everything, does not already exist in an institution as esteemed as a University. Perhaps we cannot find kindred spirits to connect with, but UniLuncher may just be

In addition, more care is taken into documentation and matching. As the platform boasts a steady group of regulars, more care is taken to avoid cases where the same pairs are matched up again. “It’s a great opportunity for us now to learn things like coding – as a start-up or as a small team, it’s good to have our own knowledge,” says Yvonne. Students also appear increasingly

Uniluncher founders. credits: unilauncher

LIFESTYLE

#1 THE HARDWARE SOCIETÉ U LT I M AT E B R U N C H H U N T

–

THE

ot eating brunch in Melbourne is akin to skipping a visit to the Big Ben in London. Easily putting our local brunch establishments to shame, the immense number of quaint cafés offering scrumptious brunch fare can immediately overwhelm even a seasoned tourist. For modern Australian cuisine with a French twist, head to Hardware Lane’s The Hardware Societé. Think thick brioche French toasts with soft, buttery insides and savoury baked eggs. Their hot chocolate is also a crowd-pleaser—served in a mini pitcher, the thick liquid is poured into a cup that contains yet more chocolate pieces- the perfect accompaniment to a perfect lunch.

MARVELOUS M MUST-S

#2 N2

his “state-of-the-art” ice cream establishment has taken over Melbourne by storm. Packed to the brim with excited patrons, each order is freshly whipped up right under your nose using an electric mixer and liquid nitrogen. The range of quirky flavours change regularly; with offerings from the likes of “Red Bean with Green Tea Shortbread” to “Black Lava Salt Dulce De Leche”, you know your senses are up for a tantalizing experience. The locale adds an extra touch of charm. Situated in the Fitzroy area, the suburb carries a unique rustic charm with its quirky vintage stores and beautiful graffiti. You’ve been reminded: get your camera ready and go trigger-happy.

Alice Li

THERE A A DRAG. IS IS ALWAYS K LF THAN R O SE R LW U O YO CHO MOTIVATE TO G WITH AY IN W ST BETTER LIDAY? BUR O T H T EX N UR ISES GREA TO PLAN YO CUISINE THAT PROM LS, PA G N D LI N A EL E CULTUR YOUR TRAV IT Y FR O M IE AMONG C CAMARADER O N D E R FU L W IS TH YOU . E N R W E B R IN G U O ER: MELB DOWN UND

#3 QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET

he Queen Victoria Market is a grocery and food haven frequented by locals and tourists alike. Think fresh oysters at AUD11 per dozen and piping hot bratwurst grilled to perfection and topped with cheese and caramelized onions. For your daily dose of vitamins, the cheap fruit stalls offer the freshest seasonal selections. One stomach can’t contain all the delights, so remember to go in a large group. That way, you can share all the goodies with your buddies and savour more delights. Those who can’t get enough of the Queen Victoria Market should also pay a visit to the South Melbourne Market. A little further from the city, this lovely market boasts comparable fresh goods, while the crowds and queues for its restaurants will pique the interest of a Singaporean faster than Krispy Kreme.

#4 MARKET LANE COFFEE

his little café right beside the Queen Victoria Market offers up a mean cup of Joe. The locals are take their coffee very seriously, so the constant crowd in Market Lane stands –or sips- testament to its quality. The milk is always frothed to perfection and their unique house blend is definitely worth a try. A perfect spot to wash down your Queen Victoria Market feastings, and nurse your bulging tummy.

#5 CAMBERWELL MARKET

amberwell Market is the answer for flea market starved Singaporeans who are tired of blogshop apparel-ridden bazaars. Held every Sunday, this flea offers everything from secondhand home furnishing to vintage leather goods. Wandering down the rows of this lovely open-air market is sure to make your Sunday. Your trip guarantees snag stylish finds at jaw dropping steals.

# 6 B E AT B O X B U R G E R

till feeling peckish? See to it the Melbourne way by visiting Beatbox Burger, the crown jewel of Melbourne food trucks. Follow them on Twitter or Facebook to find out their truck location for the day, and turn up early to avoid long queues. The signature Raph burger features a moist, pink-centered beef patty that bursts with flavour, while the crispy fries threaten to redefine everything you previously knew about them.

Greater Melbourne / Market Lan Brighton Beach / Beatbox Burger / Quee Hardware Societe / State Lib

US MELBOURNE ST-SEES

Melbourne / Market Lane Coffee / Beatbox Burger / Queen Victoria Market dware Societe / State Library

LIFESTYLE

#7 DFO SOUTH WARF For a little bit of outlet shopping, DFO South Warf is your best bet, housing a mix of high street and mid-range brands from Forever New, Also, FCUK to Armani and Burberry. Prices may not beat those found in America’s outlet stores, but the feeling of snagging a pair of leather oxfords for AUD29 from Aldo is still pretty neat.

# 8 S TAT E L I B R A R Y O F V I C T O R I A

visit to the library probably isn’t on your list of places to visit while on a holiday. However, this library is more than just a building to house books. Over 100 years old, the State Library of Victoria also features a stunning photo-worthy octagonal reading room. It almost makes you wish you had an assignment that you need to complete right there— almost. Situated within Melbourne’s shopping district, the library offers a quick refuge to escape the hustle and bustle, while you rest your tired feet over a game of chess.

#9 CHAPEL STREET BAZAAR

his huge consignment store sells everything from vintage furnishing to retro accessories—a sanctuary for the vintage-junkies and budding hipsters. Try on a pair of shades here and select your favourite vinyl there, or simply lose yourself in the myriad of products, and be amazed by the Pandora’s Box that is Chapel Street Bazaar.

#10 PHÕ HUNG VUONG 2

otwithstanding tourists and international students, you’ll soon notice that Melbourne plays host to a huge proportion of immigrants from Asian countries, whose restaurants offer you tastes around the world. For a truly authentic Vietnamese meal, go to this humble diner. It is often packed with patrons hungry for a good, piping hot bowl of Phõ. The soup broth is clear but rich with flavour, while the beef slices are fresh and tender. Wash this savoury bowl down with some sweet Vietnamese iced coffee, and you will certainly forget that you’re still Down Under.

#11 BRIGHTON BEACH

his row of brightly coloured “Bathing Boxes” situated along Brighton Beach brings some vivid hues to its sandy shores—even the most reserved of visitors find themselves reaching for their cameras.

#12 LYGON STREET

his famed “Little Italy” of Melbourne features an immense selection of Italian restaurants and cafes, and an excellent location to dine outdoors with your pals all year round (with heating during the winter months). Indulge away in tasty antipasti, al dente pasta, and delectable pizza, followed by a good serving of gelato from Helados Jauja or II Dolce Freddo (the latter only opens during the summer months).

# 1 3 G R E AT E R M E L B O U R N E

or those armed with a Singapore Driving License and a great passion for nature, the rest of Victoria has much to offer. For a day trip, consider driving along Great Ocean Road, and watch the cool waves crash vigorously onto the sandy beaches. Don’t forget to visit the London Bridge and Twelve Apostles on the way. Those who are up for a longer drive should head to Grampians National Park, where kangaroos and deer roam free. The drive is approximately 3 hours away from the Melbourne city. Be sure to make the drive up to Reed’s Lookout while there for a truly unforgettable experience.

LIFESTYLE

dESIGN FOR EVERYONE SHARIFAH NURSYAFIQAH

ttp://naiise.com greets you with bursts of inspiring colours on its homepage. Its pages are filled with carefully curated gift ideas and intoxicating designs from the modern to the quirky. The e-commerce site aims to create an accessible culture of design through their proffered items – from household goods to gadgets and gizmos, art prints to stocking stuffers or Valentine’s gifts for him and her. We speak to Naiise’s Chief Marketing Director, NUS alumni Amanda Eng, to find out more about the ideas and workings behind the site. How did the name “Naiise” for the site come about? We wanted a simple, common-enough word that everyone could relate to. “Naiise” is actually a play on the word “nice”, and we try to achieve that in everything we do - from our products, to our customer service and website. “Naiise” also governs the culture of who we are as a business. We seek to always do the good and correct thing, and be nice to everyone. We want people to go “naiise!” at every touch point they have with us. You have a vast catalogue of wonderful items – from home and kitchenware, to art and things for him and her. How do you go about scouring for the best designs to feature on your site from a whole plethora of items on the general market? We search design blogs and web portals

a lot, go to flea markets and fairs, look at magazines, etc. Even when we are browsing through Instagram or out shopping on the streets, we are always on the lookout for budding designers or great design products that we can bring online to Naiise to make them accessible to more people! We only have one strict condition for our products on Naiise - all items have to be original designs. Where do you draw your inspiration for the designs on your site? Who are you inspired by, and whom are you targeting as you sell these products? Great brands like Apple, Chanel, Ogilvy and Muji have always been the inspiration for our site’s layout, branding and design. We want to offer a simple, clean and user-friendly platform that allows people to discover with ease. A consistent voice and branding throughout all touch points to help people emotionally connect with what we are trying to do. We also offer different products at varying prices across multiple verticals because we believe design is for everybody.

fun stuff. From your ‘About’ page, you state “Naiise loves social.” How do you aim to create this community for like-minded people who share your passion for great design?

audiences. We have had guest curators ranging from photographers to fashion students and editors, and we believe that the more we work with the community, the more design can truly be for everyone. Where do you see the future of Naiise?

Your ‘Go Local’ page is particularly interesting. How has the reception been for those items, such as the Singlishpatterned shirts (like “uh uh siol” and “Bojio?”)? They have actually been very well received; in fact, one of our best sellers are the Singlish patterned shirts! We think that Singaporeans actually do have a strong penchant for local, quirky and

Naiise loves social because we believe it takes everyone to be involved in making design accessible and loved by all. We think some people tend to be afraid of the word “design” as it usually translates as expensive (think designer bags and cars). We want to this perception by constantly finding great design products at affordable prices. To do this, we work with bloggers and tastemakers to join us as guest curators, adding a layer of relevance to our products for our

We definitely hope that Naiise will be the go-to place for people to buy great design products that will put a smile on their loved ones’ faces, or even to brighten up their daily workspace, or home. We also want it to be a place here people can discover new designers, brands and products that can add value to their lives!

LIFESTYLE

ValentiNUS:

How to Celebrate Valentine's Day At School

credits:bz1111.com Teresa Widodo

his year’s Valentine’s Day falls on Friday which means some of you are stuck in lectures or group meetings or even dreadful tests on the day of love. Sure, you can rush to a nice café right after school but why not celebrate Valentine’s at school? NUS Students’ Union (NUSSU) and NUSSU Welfare will bring Valentine’s to you! Here are the list of activities that you don’t want to miss: FREE HUGS The best things in life are free – one of them is hug. NUSSU Welfare and the lovely school mascot LiNUS will take a stroll around NUS for couple of days before Valentine’s Day to offer free hugs and free stickers. Psttt… LiNUS will dress up especially well for Valentine’s.

Tips: Hunt for LiNUS, hug him and take pictures. FREEB I ES A L ERT! Wear something red or pink on Valentine’s Day and be rewarded with heart-shaped balloon. Besides these lovely balloons, NUSSU Welfare is also giving out limited number of collectible badges (remember those cute Halloween badges? This one’s the Valentine’s edition!). Tips: Wear something red or pink, grab your freebies and go straight to the photo booth to take pictures! PH OTO B O OT H Take pictures with your loved ones – be it your friends or lovers – with various props

provided by NUSSU Welfare. Each group is only entitled for one Polaroid photo but fret not because you can take another digital photo which will be uploaded to NUSSU Welfare’s Facebook Page. Tips: Don your best clothes, take your loved ones to the photo booth and say cheese! M A K E A G R A N D G EST U RE If you have no time to buy Valentine gifts or clean forgot about this special day, come down to Valentine’s Bazaar to get your Valentine’s essentials at lower price. If you want to give something more personal and meaningful, do not miss the card-making station. You can design your own cards or grab the pre-designed ones. Pstt… It is said that the number of cards

you can take is unlimited. Tips: List down the names of people that deserve your gift this Valentine’s beforehand to avoid confusion and unnecessary time loss! PRO J ECT CU PI D Forget about being single and ready to mingle: do not miss the chance to find your potential life partner (or potential best friends?) this Valentine’s. NUSSU is going to play cupid and arrange a blind date on Valentine’s Day night at UTown Town Green for 50 gentlemen and 50 ladies.

LIFESTYLE

DRESSING FOR SCHOOL

//DRESSILY APP

Do you have problems deciding what to wear to school? Do you waste time choosing outfits only to end up wearing outfits you’ve worn before? The Ridge scoured NUS to find out what students across faculties are wearing and how they dress up for school. CHAN YI WEN

Faculty: Engineering everything goes together. I don’t want Major: Year 5, Environmental Science to repeat my outfits too often either, so and Engineering that’s what would make me think twice about what I wear. What are you wearing? A camisole and a sheer black shirt (Su- What is your fashion style? pre), white jeans (Cheap Monday) and I tend to put together simple outfits (I covered shoes (Dr. Martens). don’t layer or accessorize much) or outfits with basic colours. I always want How long did you take to select this to try out different looks, now I’m into outfit? slightly rock styles, because I get bored Five minutes. I’ve worn this outfit before with what I constantly wear. But I can’t so I stick to what’s safe. come up with that many different variations to try and I’m afraid I can’t pull it What did you consider before choosing off. this outfit? I had to go to the lab today, so I had What do you think about the fashion to wear covered shoes and long pants. style of girls/guys in your faculty? Spectacles are also more comfortable I think many girls dress for comfort. A for the kind of lab work I do. I guess commonly seen outfit will be a top with it’s more of the functionality and com- shorts, slippers and a backpack. When fort of the outfit, and then making sure they wear jeans, it’s usually because

CADENCE

Do you face any problems in deciding what to wear to school? I tend to wear the same outfit quite often because I’m too lazy and it takes a lot of time to think of new outfits without buying new clothes. But I don’t like to keep wearing the same outfits because it is boring. It’d be great if I could dress in different outfits without having to spend a lot of time trying them on before going to school.

what I think is comfortable and nice, but it tends to be the same stuff. I also choose comfort and convenience over dressing well. I think that I don’t need What are you wearing? A grey dress (ASOS) paired with a sep- to dress up so much for school, unless arate belt (“it’s quite old”). The shoes there is a presentation. are from Tommy Hilfiger. What is your fashion style? How long did you take to select this I like pants and dresses. I used to dress more colourfully, but now I like wearoutfit? ing black. I also dress according to the Ten minutes. weather and find it odd when people What did you consider before choosing don’t dress for the weather. For example, wearing warm boots when it is this outfit? It depends on what I’m going to do all sunny outside. Don’t they feel warm? later. Today, I’m having an exam and going out after that. So it’s something What do you think about the fashion comfortable and nice enough for town. style of girls in your faculty? During the semester, I usually just grab In Business, dresssing well is a school Faculty: Business Major: Year 4, Marketing

A L L I C S I R P

of lab. Of course, there are those who dress more femininely. But I think with Engine girls they tend to be less concerned with how well they dress because there isn’t a “standard” to keep up with. They don’t dress super nicely to school, like with makeup and heels, because other will be wondering what’s up with them (no one does that around here).

culture, especially if there are presentations. Most of them bother to dress up and are quite trendy. They keep up with fashion and they put on makeup to school as well. You can also see a slight difference based on their major too. For example, Marketing students seem to put in a bit more effort in dressing up. Do you face any problems in deciding what to wear to school? Yes and no. Yes because some days I just don’t have inspiration and I realise that I keep wearing the same things. No because I want to dress for comfort.

LIFESTYLE

DRESSING FOR SCHOOL //DRESSILY APP

DAWN

Faculty: FASS comfortable in your own skin, you can they may put more effort in shopping; 3) Major: Year 4, Communication and show your personality. That is your best Girls who dress for comfort; they wear New Media outfit! shorts and a nice top. What are you wearing? A top handed down from my aunt, a pearl waist belt from my mum, the skirt is a gift from a friend (rockthesheep. com) and black high-cut shoes.

What is your fashion style? The outfit cannot reveal too much, so that it won’t cheapen the style. I like solid color blocking though not in loud colours. But it also depends on my mood. On days when I feel more daring, I will How long did you take to select this wear more colourful clothes. When outfit? I have projects and feel like I want to Ten minutes. conquer the world, I will also wear more colorful clothes. What did you consider before choosing this outfit? What do you think about the fashion I’ll look at the weather and think of what style of girls/guys in your faculty? I’m going to do. Today I’m in school to Three groups of people: 1) Girls who study, so I wanted to dress comfort- wear ready-to-party clothes which are ably. Also, I’m dressed in pastel colours more tight-fitting, with accessories and but I don’t want to look too “gu-niang” make-up; 2) Those who dress more (feminine), so I wore a pair of high cut boho (bohemian) style, like a patterned shoes for an added edge. In general I long pants (baggy) and a quirky top – I like to dress for comfort. When you’re would like to dress like them and I think

The year of study they are in might affect them as well. In year 1, they may try to dress well to blend in with others, but when they are seniors, they get more comfortable with their surroundings, feel less judged and start dressing according to their own style. Do you face any problems in deciding what to wear to school? People here generally dress up or dress decently because there is a social benchmark as to what you wear. The most basic is a good pair of denim shorts, a nice blouse, and sandals or covered shoes. I find it troublesome on days when I feel lazy but still need to try to dress up.

This feature was brought to you by Dressily. Dressily is a mobile app where you can upload your clothes and invite friends to help you put together outfits and save them for future references. We asked Cadence, Dawn, and Priscilla how they would use Dressily. Cadence: Since my virtual wardrobe will store clothes that I have, it would be great to maximise my clothing and get outfit ideas from my friends, as they have different styles from me. It can also be useful during shopping trips too, as I will know what to buy to match the clothes I have in my wardrobe.

Priscilla: I can get dressed quickly based on archived outfits on days when I can’t decide on what to wear. If my sister is using it too, I can also see what she has that I can borrow!

Dressily is the brainchild of NUS students and is currently available for download in the Apple App Dawn: Sometimes I don’t know Store. Find out more about Dresshow to match my older clothes that ily at www.dressi.ly may be going out of trend with my new ones. But I have a lot of ‘fashionista’ friends, so I guess I can ask them for help with the app’s social function when I need it.

WIRED

4 Reasons Why You Should Get The Kindle Paperwhite Zhou Jiajia

1) Built-in Dictionary. It is always too much of a hassle to check the dictionary for every obscure word we come across in a book. Most of us refuse to detach ourselves from the trance state when reading a good book. Kindle solves this problem for us with its built-in dictionary function where a simple tap on the word brings up its dictionary explanation. You will never have to guess the meaning of a new word again!

2) Warm lights that do not burn your eyes. For serious readers, the e-ink technology is much kinder to your eyes than the backlit display on smartphones and your regular tablets. In addition, the lighting never dims without your consent. Read the Kindle well into the night or in a car when you drive into a tunnel your reading will not be interfered.

3) You never have to lug your textbooks and lecture notes around anymore. Kindle supports not only e-books but PDF files as well. This means that you can put all your lecture notes and textbooks in one nifty 200g device. Kindle’s highlighting function is also useful for annotating as you read and they are automatically compiled under the ‘notes’ section for easy retrieval and reference.

4) Find a book to fit your mood wherever, whenever. Have you ever gone on a holiday with a book, only to realize that you are craving another title? Kindle Paperwhite has a usable storage space of 1.25GB. This means 1,100 (according to Amazon) titles on-the-go. On top of that, Amazon grants users another 5GB worth of cloud storage space which would accommodate another 4,000 books. The only problem left then would be the paradox of choice.

Photo from http://www.the-digital-reader.com

WIRED

If you are convinced, then there are some things you need to note:

1) Which model to get? There are four models to choose from 3G vs non-3G, advertisements vs ad-free. The ad-free Kindles are USD$20 more expensive. These are not a must-have because the advertisements do not interfere with your reading at all, and only appear on the lock screen and at the bottom of your home page. Interesting offers do come around so it does not hurt to keep the advertisements. If, however, you are a stickler who likes your Kindle clear of special offers and you have spare cash, then by all means, go ahead and pay that extra USD$20. The 3G-enabled models are also much pricier, but you get to check your emails and catch up on your news on your Kindle anytime and almost anywhere. The free 3G service, supported in many countries, enables you to send emails and read the news when you are overseas (more details on the list of countries can be found online). However, if you are using your Kindle just for reading books and notes, the extra USD$70 is definitely not necessary because you can always rely on your smartphone.

2) Not available to Singapore Amazon does not ship the Kindle to Singapore. This means that buyers have to engage a third party shipping service. These services present a range of prices and the most commonly used service providers are Comgateway and vPost. Be prepared to find some of your e-books region-locked to either the US or UK. Fortunately, the internet presents a variety of ingenious, albeit tedious, solutions to seek out these economical e-books.

3) Reading PDF files Reading PDF files on the Kindle Paperwhite can be quite annoying with all the zooming in and out, but this problem can be easily solved by converting them into a Kindle-ready version. All you need to do is to send the PDF file to your kindle email with ‘convert’ as the subject title, and the PDF file would be converted to a kindle-optimised e-book. Other free online conversion software include Calibre and PDF4Kindle. Do not expect the conversion to be perfect, especially if you have pictures in the PDF file, but it’s a good compromise for its convenience.

“

4) 8 weeks of battery life! …is what Amazon says but the small print tells you that the figure is based on half an hour of reading per day on the airplane mode (i.e. with the WiFi switched off). This adds up to around 28 hours of reading and that still makes it far more reliable than your average smartphones and tablets. My personal experience is that I could go up to three weeks with a fully-charged Kindle for snatches of casual reading every day.

5) Kindle accessories Getting a cover for your Kindle Paperwhite is definitely recommended unless you prefer your Kindle ridden with battle scars. These covers are readily available on the Amazon site and local sites like qoo10.sg. Screen protectors are not necessary as most covers have lids. Fingerprints do not get imprinted on the screen that easily because the Kindle screen is matte made for swiping to begin with. The Kindle Paperwhite does not come with a power adapter, but it is also not necessary to get one because it charges just fine with the smartphones’.

KINDLE SUPPORTS NOT ONLY EBOOKS BUT PDF FILES AS WELL. THIS MEANS THAT YOU CAN PUT ALL YOUR LECTURE NOTES AND TEXTBOOKS IN ONE NIFTY 200G DEVICE.”

Photo from Amazon.com

WIRED

4 Easy Tips Against Online Threats Yeo Jun Yan

ou become a target of cyber-attacks as soon as you are connected to the Internet. These attacks can steal information from your computer and cause your computer to malfunction. In this article, we have outlined four easy (and free!) tips to arm yourself with in the treacherous world wide web. Here are some simple definitions on the different cyber threats before moving to the main contents of the article:

A cookie is a legal file containing data that identifies you to a specific website, as well as data that the site desires to preserve about you when you visit it. Virus is another kind of malware that has the ability to spread itself through the network or devices that are plugged into your computer, like the thumb drive. It can take control and disable your computer, in addition to turning it into a host that spreads the virus.

Tip 1: Perform an online transection only if the web address begins with 'https:// ' HTTPS refers to Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It is a communications protocol for a secured network. HTTPS verifies that the website you are currently on is guarding you against third party attacks and accesses. Most web browsers will usually display a padlock symbol to show that the website is secured. Most major email services and monetary transaction services will have this protocol. However, if you are entering the URL manually, you must remember to type in the

Malware is short for “malicious software”. It stays and runs on your computer without the user’s permission. It’s an all-inclusive term for any software designed to cause damage to a single computer, server, or computer network. Spyware is malware that gathers data about you, including your web-surfing behavior and private information stored on your computer.

Tip 2: Have a strong password and change it on a regular basis. Have you realised that your NUS ID’s default password is not the usual “Password”? NUS makes sure your NUS email password must pass password complexity tests and expire in 180 days to prevent your account from getting easily hacked. That should also become a habit for most of your important accounts online. At the same time, you need to remember to log out of your account when you are not using it for this tip to work.

WIRED

credits : iwallsave.com/

Tip 3: Install malware removal software

Tip 4: Install an anti-malware software

Do not wait till your computer breaks down to install malware removal software. You never know if your computer is already infected, even if you only visit a limited list of websites.

Tackling the problem after it happened is not enough as prevention is better than cure. You may want to consider an additional antivirus protection software to for example, Windows Security Essentials.

There is no need to spend a lot of money to ensure your computer safe; you just need to download a free malware removal program. Comodo Antivirus, Superantispyware and Malwarebytes are free software that can help you exterminate malwares.

Although you probably find running an extra programme in the background slow, antivirus software that is light on the computer can be found in the market for free. Windows users can consider Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition or AVG Antivirus Free 2014. For Mac users, there is Avast Free Antivirus for Mac.

Some malware removal software allows you to scan your thumb drive and external hard disk before transferring files. Additionally, periodic scans can be set for certain times of the week.

All in all, follow these 4 tips to increase your protection online. They are no guarantee to a malware free computer, but they will certainly lengthen the duration between visits to the computer repair shop.

The downtime you might experience while your computer scans for the malware might be troublesome, but it is well worth the trouble in the long run.

WIRED

It's a Gee and an Una Samantha Wong

The Ridge got up close and personal with the students behind two incredible projects - School of Computing Term Project Showcase (STePs) winners of the legendary project module Software Development on Evolving Platforms: GeeMeow and Una.

Computer Science undergraduates, Soon Chun Mun, Soedarsono, Tay Yang Shun and Le Viet Tien. Una allows developers to create interactive applications where users can interact with a large central display in real-time using their mobile devices. The concept behind

Meet The Nutty Ninjas: Le Viet Tien, Soedarsono, Soon Chun Mun, Tay Yang Shun

it is pretty novel. Imagine being able to play a multiplayer console game on the The Nutty Ninjas Game

street, with a billboard as the display and of device model and type. The first few

We also put a great amount of thought into

prototypes were extremely encouraging

the way we angled Una as a library that

and demonstrated that this interaction

is capable of much more than just gaming.

can be extended to a whole range of

It is a library that is capable of changing

uses. The result is the Una library that

the way people interact with websites.

you see in its current incarnation. We actually had built another project How did you prepare for the showcase?

prototype for the showcase called ShakeOff, where users can simply access a website

From left: Soon Chun Mun, Tay Yang Shun, Le Viet Tien, Soedarsono of the Nutty Ninjas. (Photo credit to NUS School of Computing) Una is a library that allows developers to

your phone as the controller. We think

create browser-mobile games to simulate a

that it would be a pretty cool experience!

console game environment. These games

The people behind this project is a team of

using their mobile device and support their

strong software engineers with a variety of

favorite brands by shaking their device to

skills extending beyond programming, if we

increase their brand counter. The statistics

may say so ourselves. We put ourselves in

were updated in real-time on screen.

the shoes of a participant at a conference. Did the showcase affect the way What would catch the attention of a

you prepared for the project?

person who was surrounded by a ton of disparate booths and posters?

Yes, definitely! The most significant

allow players to engage in multiplayer

We like gaming and we like to play games

console games without actually needing

together. We are not just about being

We definitely needed flashy visuals and

restriction that the showcase put on most projects was the need to communicate

consoles and controllers; all they need

part of a massive online multiplayer game,

pre-event publicity. A good way to attract a

the idea of our project without using

is a laptop and their smartphones. The

but also the whole nostalgic console

crowd was to have a crowd in the first place.

too much technical jargon. The flagship

browser window will serve as the large

experience -where friends huddle in

We made it super simple for participants

game, Nutty Ninjas was a good way to reach out to our less tech-y friends.

display for the game while smartphones

front of the same screen and share a

to try out our flagship game, Nutty Ninjas

serve as controllers. 3 apps have been

good time together. The idea was born

(http://nuttyninjas.com), a top-down

built to demo the capabilities of the Una

naturally when we realized that the devices

shooter easily accessible to anyone with

library and how easy it is to create such

that we bring around with us daily were

a smart phone and an internet browser.

An extreme amount of effort was devoted

cross-device interactive games using Una.

already jam-packed with the necessary hardware that can be taken advantage

We designed and printed many posters,

What inspired the project?

of to simulate such an experience.

and pasted them at the entrances of

(UI)/User Experience (UX) designer Yang

SoC. Friends and family were invited

Shun, redesigned our UX flow several

to making sure that the user experience on the day of the showcase was as smooth as possible. Our User Interface

Our project, Una (http://una-org.github.io),

Expanding on the idea of collaborative

to come down to visit our booth. Also, a

times in order to ensure that our product

is a product built as the final project of the

gameplay, we devised a specific way

thick lacquer was slabbed onto our final

was as barrier-free and low-resistance as

module CS3216, Software Development

of interaction that allows web pages to

product to give it a layer of polish such that

possible. It is our aim to pique the curiosity

on Evolving Platforms by a team of four

communicate with each other regardless

people would not feel the rough edges.

of passersby so that they would join in

54L 55R Geecats and The Nutty Ninjas.indd 54

3/1/14 2:55 pm

WIRED

and experience the product right away.

for other engineering disciplines.

What is your favorite project,

to toggle synchronization on/off).

apart from your own?

network for the demonstration.

Meet The GeeCats: Chua Keng Lee Hendy, Ng Joon Kiat Steve, Genevieve Leng Ker Ching, Chua Wei Kuan

What is your favorite project,

GeeMeow is a real time web discussion

We also had a backup plan in the event that wireless networking in SoC failed and we could not rely on the school

What are some of the changes/ Besides our project, we really

improvements users can expect to

liked Una. The idea of phones as

see from GeeMeow in the future?

a console is innovative, and the game is pretty enjoyable too.

apart from your own?

platform that includes video conferencing,

What was the greatest thing

whiteboard, and document sketching

about the showcase?

While there were many enterprising

capabilities. Inviting others to the same

projects produced by the CS3216 teams

conference is easy: simply passing others

Users can expect to be able to record and store their entire meeting session in the cloud for playback in the future. How did you prepare for the showcase?

The showcase provided us with user

this year, GeeMeow (https://www.geemeow.

the link that will be given to you when you

feedback at a large scale in a very

com) was our favorite. In short, it is a

start the conference. GeeMeow is built

short time. There were industry parties

We did two things. We gave out Red Bulls to those who completed our feedback

platform for collaborative document

with the coolest technology (WebRTC and

that were really interested in knowing

form (a CS3216 requirement). We also

editing with the additional functions of

WebSockets) to provide the best seamless

more about the potential of GeeMeow

folded hundreds of these little paper cats

group video chat and screenshare.

conference experience. Pure convenience,

and they gave constructive feedback

(pictured on the left) that could be pasted

no sign ups, no registration nor any

that help to validate the product.

on the guest’s clothes during the showcase.

While similar to existing services like Google Docs, Google Hangout and Skype,

Did the showcase affect the way

the best part about GeeMeow is that it

you prepared for the project?

does not require any of its users to install nor sign up for an account before using it;

If there was no showcase, the project

all users need is a simple link and anyone

would still be carried out, just without

can join in the fun. The fact that everything

Red Bulls, folded cats and poster :)

is housed in the browser means this can be accessed from your laptop, phone

Out of curiosity, how did you come

or tablet. It is a solid all-rounded project

up with the name GeeMeow?

with potential for game changing impact. The name was derived from the Korean Any other thoughts about the event/fellow participants? It is a really great event to be a part

song ‘Gee’ by SNSD and our Prof’s

The GeeCats demonstrating their product to Vice Dean of the SOC Undergraduate Programme, A/P Lee Wee Sun. (Photo credit to NUS `School of Computing) downloads. Try now! www.geemeow.com

of and it keeps getting better every year. It has been great to see so many

What was the inspiration

interesting projects on display.

behind the project?

What was the greatest thing about the showcase?

love for cats (Dr. Colin Tan lectures CS3216). Just kidding, ‘gee’ is a catchy

Tell us about some of the best-

phrase, and ‘meow’ is a sound that is

loved features in GeeMeow.

used to attract attention in conversation.

Most of the users love GeeMeow for

See the rest of our coverage of

the convenience it provides in order to

the STePs event online at:

It started out with an external pitching

start a meeting (no login is required).

session with Charmain Tan, an NUS

Some other features that users love

http://studentry.sg/2013/12/10/3rd-steps-

Alumnus, who wanted to make the online

is the ability to make annotations on

the-third-soc-term-project-showcase/

The showcase is a great way of displaying

tuition experience more interactive. Given

a pdf file, and the synchronized view

what SoC students have been up to. It

how large the tuition culture in Singapore

at all times (with the added option

definitely serves to break the stereotypical

is, we thought this would be a lucrative

image of SoC students as nerds. Contrary

business idea with a ready market.

to the impression that SoC students live in an ivory tower, SoC students are creative

What was the hardest thing about

and are capable of building good products.

doing/completing the project?

The ability to ship products quickly is a

The most challenging task for this project

very valuable skill, one that is almost

would be in learning the technology stacks

unique to our field of study. It is possible

that GeeMeow is built on (WebRTC and

to realize an idea into a full-fledged

Socket.IO). None of our team members

product in a matter of months or even

had any prior experience with them.

weeks, which isn’t necessarily the case

54L 55R Geecats and The Nutty Ninjas.indd 55

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3/1/14 2:55 pm

ADVERTORIAL

DISCOVER ART // EXPLORE ASIAN HERITAGE

ingapore, a nation with a multicultural society, has unique arts, culture and heritage that are of great value. Appreciation of the arts by citizens has shown a substantial improvement in the past nine years, with an increase in participation in arts related events from 27% to 48% (Singapore Cultural Statistics, 2012). Moreover, the total number of museum visitors (including state and private museums) in Singapore has seen a threefold increase from 2.13m in 2004 to 8.38m in 2011 (Singapore Cultural Statistics, 2012). The increase could be attributed to the efforts of the National Art Council, which oversees the promotion of art appreciation in Singapore. However, despite government initiatives to educate the public about arts and promote participation in the arts – these include the Literary and Traditional Arts Plan, free entry to Museums for Singaporeans and PRs, improvement of infrastructure and various heritage outreach programmes - the appreciation of arts is not so prominent among the undergraduates from the National University of Singapore (NUS). Earlier in September 2013, a survey was conducted among 371 respondents from the NUS community to understand museum-going behaviors and explore what attracts people to a museum. The results showed that 53% of NUS undergraduate students had not visited a museum in the past one year. It was encouraging to note that 88% of the respondents were aware that NUS has its very own NUS Museum, located at the University Cultural Centre, however, only 37% had visited the museum. The NUS Business School has been supporting the NUS Museum by

engaging with the museum through Field Service Projects (FSP). FSP is a project designed to enhance the learning experience for honors students, which requires partnering with organizations in Singapore. This year, our team is working with the NUS Museum to improve the visibility and the awareness of the NUS Museum within campus and engage and educate the NUS community with art-related activities to enhance the understanding and appreciation of arts. As part of the campaign, we have launched the Asian Portrait Competition, which is an arts competition with the theme “Life Portraits”, of which the artworks can be submitted in the form of a photograph, sketch, or painting. This competition aims to engage the NUS community in order to generate awareness for upcoming NUS Museum Week 2014 and create relevance and interaction between the students and NUS Museum. The results of the competition will be announced during the NUS Museum Week 2014, which will be held from 17 to 21 Feb 2014. The NUS Museum Week 2014 comprises a four-day roadshow on campus and a finale event at the NUS Museum. The finale event will feature museum tours, live performances from student groups, food and drinks, and other interactive activities such as decorating and designing your own notebook with MT tapes. The details will all be up on the Museum’s Facebook page (www. facebook.com/nusmuseum), so remember to keep an eye out!

NUS Museum FSP Team 2013/2014 Acacia Hans Leroy Eunike Victoria Iskak Noviabella Lam Stephany Winata

Current exhibitions at the NUS Museum Inherited & Salvaged: Family Portraits from the Straits Chinese Collection (till 6 July 2014) Presenting over 50 painted and photographed portraits dating from the 19th to early 20th century, they capture some of the earliest visual representations of Peranakan Chinese in Malaya and the Dutch East Indies.

In Search of Raffles’ Light | An Art Project with Charles Lim (till 27 April 2014) Attempting to remember histories attached to sites related to Singapore’s seas, the exhibition is an interdisciplinary project guided by the Raffles Lighthouse (estd. 1854) as an evolving metaphor to chart how and where history intersects with the present.

‘Come cannibalise us, why don’t you?’ | Erika Tan (till 4 May 2014) Emerging from an ongoing discussion between NUS Museum and artist Erika Tan about the multitudinous potentials of the museumized object, the exhibition is an artist’s response that revisits through re-use, re-enactment and repatriation, artefacts and writings from, and referenced in, the exhibition Camping and Tramping Through the Colonial Archive: The Museum in Malaya (2011 – 2013).

SPORTS

UNITY THROUGH SPORTS nelson mandela remembered

Photo from: thestar.com

Photo from: theguardian.com

"It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul"

- Invictus, (1885), by William Ernest Henley. YANg KAIYUAN

eing both a sports and movie fanatic, I was touched by one particular sports movie, Invictus (2009). The film recounts the real-life story of how the South Africa rugby team won the 1995 world championship. It is not just the power of a good script that makes Invictus so compelling. Part of its strength comes from the man whom the movie was based upon: anti-apartheid revolutionary, president and philanthropist, the late Nelson Mandela. One particular scene stays with me. In it, the then newly elected President Mandela (portrayed by Morgan Freeman) attends a rugby match between South Africa and England. It was barely a few years into the post-Apartheid period in South Africa. Yet, in the stadium, the white South Africans cheered for the home team South Africa (who were mostly white), while the black South Africans cheered for the guest team to make a stand. In that scene, there was more at stake than a rugby match. The future of a fractured nation hung precariously, with President Mandela shouldering the task to rebuild and reunite the people. Mandela was very fond of sports his whole life, being an avid boxer in his youth. In his autobiography, The Long walk to Freedom, he reflected on his student times: “I participated in sports and games as often as I could, but my performances were no more than mediocre. I played for the love of sport, not the glory, for I received none.”

Mandela arranged to meet with former South African rugby team captain Francois Pienaar and shared with him his vision: this is more than a rugby team. When Mandela’s people needed a leader, he gave them a champion. And the rest is, as we say, history. In a speech Mandela gave in 2000, he remarked, “It (sport) has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all kinds of discrimination.” Such a strong conviction in a higher purpose for sports sets him apart from others as a true giant in history. Perhaps this is why soccer clubs all over the world honoured Mandela by dedicating jerseys in his name in wake of his passing last year; teams worldwide observed a minute of silence or applause in tribute to Mandela. In 2004, South Africa finally won the bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2010. At the age of 86, after years of earnest support for South Africa in hosting the 2010 World Cup, Mandela held the World Cup trophy and cried with happiness. Mandela believed in the best of human nature. He saw the potential in the good side of everyone. He truly inspires. Perhaps it was fitting that the man who united a formerly divided South Africa managed to live to witness a World Cup hosted on the very land he fought hard to build. Though his journey has come to an end, the memories will never be forgotten, and his story will live on. His legendarium will continue to inspire. Such a man is one deserving of the title of a true sportsman.

SPORTS

It's Getting Stale in Vettel's Trail Rishian Balaskanda

the final race of the season will now be worth double the points of a regular race. For every preceding season in, all races were scored equally. The writing’s on the wall with this one: with more at stake in the final race, the championship may be decided in the final race, rather than allowing Vettel and RBR to take it home earlier in the season. On the surface, the ruling seems clearly targeted at the dominance of RBR and Vettel. But we have reason to believe otherwise: by forcing the championship to be exciting up till the very last corner, F1 can guarantee more viewership. Since most of the sport’s revenue is derived from the mass of F1 fans’ television viewership, a boring season threatens FIA’s financial viability.

credits : sports.ndtv.com

ebastian Vettel is a name eponymous with Formula One racing glory. The Red Bull Racing (RBR) driver is the world’s youngest-ever quadruple champion and undisputedly the reigning King of the sport. His drive in the 2013 season was a (yet another) record breaking one, with 13 wins out of a possible 19 –9 of them being won in consecutive succession. Unfortunately, Vettel’s fierce dominance on the circuits has had the side effect of stagnating the sport. It’s starting to get stale, to the point where races become

more exciting if Vettel doesn’t win. I may be an F1 enthusiast, but I don’t think I’ve ever spent so little time watching live races than in this season. There’s nothing like the adrenaline of watching a live race, but this feeling is notably weaker when you’re absolutely certain who will wind up the eventual winner. The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the governing body behind Formula One, appears to have gotten as bored as the once-enthusiastic fans. For the upcoming 2014 season, FIA has thrown in a potential game changer:

F1 purists like myself are naturally aghast at the changes; this ruling marks the first time in 60 years of F1 history where races are not weighed equally. Had the ruling been in place in recent years, it would have affected the outcomes of both the 2012 and 2008 title fights. In those years, Vettel and British driver Lewis Hamilton won their titles respectively by claiming sufficient points over rivals Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. League-based sports such as F1 are exciting to follow precisely because of the format itself. It gives competitors enough wiggle room to make small slip-ups they know that they are able to make up for their mistakes in the future. But it also means that the team who has been the most consistent throughout the season is most likely to win. Such was the case of

Vettel and RBR in 2013, where even their strongest detractors took a bow and said the victory was well deserved. The new format is a cause of concern for FIA’s ‘impartiality’. When F1 Legendary Michael Schumacher was dominant a decade ago, with 7 World Championships to his name, not a whisper of a similar rule change was heard. It seems that the FIA is on a hot pursuit of the new kid on the block. The traditionally established order of F1 teams is that car manufacturers reign supreme –Ferrari, Renault, Mercedes, Williams, to name a few. What is Red Bull Racing if not for the energy drink it sells? Conspiracy theories aside, I do believe that F1 needs to be spiced up a little. But this can be done without changing the points system; allowing more overtaking on the track would definitely get the job done. F1 gained its street cred from the thrills and spills of racing, where overtaking was first instinct. A race is not the same as a procession. For the latter, we have the National Day Parade. If FIA can find a way to increase overtaking opportunities on track, F1 will get its mojo back. Does anyone feel up for nitrous oxide boosting like we see in street racing and films like The Fast and The Furious? I’m sure such additions would breathe fresh life into F1 and keep fans clamouring for more.

SEX AND VIOLENCE 60

SPORTS

Two NUS Triathletes Conquer Ironman Western Australia Chua Jing Zhi

ow often do we hear of students rising at 4.a.m for three-four hours of ardous physical training? Walking among thousands of students in NUS are two extraordinary atheletes, Justin Kwan and Nazri Rahman. The NUS Aquathlon teammates did just that on top of their busy school schedules all in the lead-up to Ironman Western Australia, 2013. For those unfamiliar with the non-Marvel Ironman, the term refers to a standard

distance in triathlons. It comprises a 3.8km swim, 180km bike, and a 42.2km run. Although the distance can scare some, it’s the challenge that draws participants to the event. Said 4 time Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington, “There is a special mystique about the marathon, for example, because of its length—but that’s just the bit you do at the end of an Ironman”

Our two boys came up with the idea of signing up in 2012, when they were watching Ironman videos while preparing for their examinations together. They were inspired by the fact that participants came from all walks of life: from professionals to aged folk to disabled people. A year later, Justin and Nazri attained their dream. “It’s been a long but fulfilling journey to the finish line,” said Justin. He finished with a time of just over 10

SPORTS

“IT ALWAYS SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE UNTIL IT’S DONE.”

photos credited to Nazri and Austin

hours. Alongside participants all over the world, Justin’s six-place finish in his age category is to be marvelled, given that it is his maiden Ironman. However, his feat was to be expected: Justin was the top Singaporean at 2013’s edition of Singapore Triathlon Professionals’ circuit, which acts as a qualifying standard for the World University Triathlon in March 2014. Formerly a Naval Diving Unit officer during National Service, Justin is no stranger to tough times. He enjoys challenging himself and testing his limits. It’s no wonder that he signed up for what many regard as the most punishing single day sporting event. But the road was not so smooth for the usually resilient Justin. “Training for this race was not only a physical one. It also involved mental and spiritual aspects for me. I had a lot of doubt when I wasn’t progressing as I should, but self-talk, belief and a positive attitude did help to allay my worries and I have definitely become more confident of myself through this journey.” He also credits the achievement to supportive family and friends around him, who made sacrifices

alongside him in the pursuit of his dream. Nazri’s story couldn’t be more different. With no background in swimming, he had to pick up the sport from scratch by training with the NUS Aquathlon team. Figuring that he couldn’t qualify for the World University Triathlon with Justin, he looked elsewhere for a challenge and signed up for Ironman in December, just 9 months after learning to swim. For such an avid sportsman, it comes as a surprise that his greatest challenge in training for Ironman wasn’t the physical strain, but getting himself off the couch and into the gym. “It wasn’t easy waking up in the morning knowing that there’s a 21km run waiting for you.” His advice on the matter? “You just have to do it. Once you’re out there, things get easier.” Juggling with school and training was just as tough for Nazri, as he had never dedicated long hours to training through the exam period before. His efforts eventually paid off when he finished comfortably, just an hour behind Justin. “I didn’t cramp, and I don’t remember feeling miserable at any point” he remarked.

Nazri found that focusing on one thing at a time and setting small attainable targets helped greatly in his the long-run of his Ironman journey. The feeling of finishing wasn’t one of entirely one of immense satisfaction, but rather, “you’ll be like, wah, I did all that?” he quips. Justin and Nazri have shown us how little courage goes a long way. If they had never dared to sign up, they would never have accomplished the amazing feats that they did. In Nelson Mandela’s words, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

SPORTS

Rambo Resu Ong Hua Han

won’t be the first to say this and I certainly won’t be the last. I never dreamt that Aaron scoring, he won’t stop.” What a prophecy. Even the most unforgiving of critics Ramsey would be the player he is today. Mention the term ‘Welsh Wizard’ and you would admit that Ramsey’s biggest asset was his great ‘engine’ and industry on might point toward the ageless, yoga-practising Ryan Giggs, or former one-man army the pitch. Ramsey is consistently hardworking and covers every blade of grass. Gareth Bale. But for me, Ramsey has been nothing short of magical since the start of the current Barclays Premier League (BPL) season, and gets my full vote of confidence. This season, the 22-year old Welsh workaholic has added a clinical edge to his game. For the observant spectator, it is easy to catch him move from defending in I used to consider Ramsey a liability to the Arsenal team, with the way he dallies his own area to threatening to finish off an attacking move in mere moments. The for far too long on the ball. No one ever felt exceptionally confident with Ramsey in box-to-box midfielder is often defined by the goals he scores, and the prolific possession. But this season is just the opposite. From a seemingly unimaginative Ramsey is slowly solidifying his status as such a player. and looking likely to emulate and ineffective player, Ramsey has evolved into quite the star. Hungry, confident English greats Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard who epitomise the role. and armed with nippy footwork, Ramsey is now the backbone of Arsenal. His goals already speak for themselves – compared to two goals from 47 appearances last With all that is said about him, perhaps the most remarkable thing about season, Ramsey has already scored more this term in less than half the matches Ramsey is still not how he has evolved as a player this season. No, not played. Forget super-signing Mesut Ozil. The new Ramsey is the man to mark. quite. In my opinion, his resilience remains his biggest quality. In 2012, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger claimed that “once Ramsey starts

It may seem a long time ago, but Ramsey’s horrific double leg fracture at the

SPORTS

esurgence Ong Hua Han

credits: mirror.co.uk

Britannia two years ago was a major setback for the Arsenal starlet. At an age where most players were still learning the game, Ramsey had to suffer a career-threatening injury which could easily have adverse psychological effects. When he returned from the long injury lay-off to feature for Arsenal, the initial support quickly wore thin with long stretches of poor performances. Yet, all of that seems behind him now. For him to step up and become the unexpected hero for the Gunners this season, in spite of all that he has had to go through in the past two years is a testament to his mental toughness. But we cannot get too carried away. The Welsh International has certainly retained some of his old tendency to give the ball carelessly away, such as in Arsenalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home game against Dortmund during the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. Ramseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sloppiness was made to pay as the Gunners conceded first because he allowed the opposition to rob him of the ball at the edge of the penalty area.

Given his relative youth and tutelage under the astute Arsene Wenger, Ramsey has every chance to grow into an all-round player. The signs look good at the moment. I can only say that I am apologetic for never truly believing in his ability. I was never convinced that injury could have such a big impact on his career or any footballing career. I dismissed his poor performances as stemming from a lack of talent, believing he was overhyped from the start. The fans gave up on him; I gave up on him, but his manager kept faith. Perhaps more remarkably, Ramsey himself kept faith. It is truly outstanding that he has managed to catch up and play at such a high level today. Opponents should give the boy the respect he deserves, and take heed. This is Ramsey 2.0, and he scores when he wants.

Do you have a vision for the place we call home? Turn that vision into a reality. In today’s rapidly-changing world, we need officers who can envision innovative solutions to the complex challenges Singapore faces, and who have the dedication to realise that vision to better our people. Every officer plays a role in our nation building. We welcome individuals of diverse backgrounds and talents to help shape Singapore’s future. We have 136,000 officers currently serving in 16 Ministries, more than 50 Statutory Boards and nine Organs of State. They are already making that difference. What are you waiting for? Take your first step towards a career that matters! www.careers.gov.sg www.facebook.com/CareersGov www.linkedin.com/company/singapore-public-service-careers