The Nanyang Chronicle Vol 14 Issue 07

CHRONICLE

It s yellow, nutty and incredibly moist on the inside... PAGE 11

THE NANYANG

J A N UA R Y 28 , 2 0 0 8 | V O L14 N O7 | IS S N N O 0 218 -7 310 | W W W. N T U . E D U . S G / C H R O NI C L E

Book that look FOR THE longest time, geeks have been the biggest misfits of fashion ̶ committing one faux pas after another.

But not any more.

Geeks and bookworms have become the latest poster boys and girls in the fickle world of fashion, just in time for Valentine s Day. Look inside to see how to take a leaf from the style book of preppy dressing.

READ ALL ABOUT IT IN DAPPER: YOUR ESSENTIAL STYLE GUIDE

Flower power

13

20, 21

Something fishy at Nanyang Lake Poachers are depleting the population of fish in the Nanyang Lake, to the ire of the Anglers Club NATASHA ANN ZACHARIAH FISHY business at Nanyang Lake has NTU’s Anglers’ Club up in arms as they try to stop illegal fishing by members of the public.

The club, which uses the lake for fishing carnivals and club events, has seen a steady stream of outsiders coming to fish.

Only executive club and alumni member s who hold approved permits are allowed to fish at the lake, which is near Hall 4.

The club has a catch-andrelease system where fish caught are released back into the lake.

Mr Victor Chia, 22, president of the Angler’s Club, said that these poachers will usually fish late at night on weekdays or come in over the weekends. This happens despite signboards stating that non-members of the club are prohibited from fishing there.

The club wants something done as the problem has worsened. Chia has noticed a “slow but steady decline of fish” in the lake.

“The only asset that we have

EMPTY WARNING: Poachers ignore such signs around the lake to fish indiscriminately with a permit. PHOTO | NG WAI MUN

is the fi sh, some of which have been there for ages, some of them are rare, some we have to get from overseas and others are donated by friends of the club,” he said.

Every year, $2,000-worth of fish are put in the lake to replenish the numbers, funded in part by NTU student activities fund.

However, with poaching being carried out, the club will have to look for additional funding in order to maintain the number of fish for fishing carnivals.

Chia is worried that students will be deterred from joining t he club as member sh ip and competition fees would have to increase. Membership is at $3 per year currently.

For many members, it is also about “fishing rights” as they pay to use the lake and its resources.

“If people are fishing freely, then it would send out the message that it’s pointless to pay for a club membership,” said Chia.

The club is looking for solutions

to the problem.

Attempts by club members to confront poachers in the past have been met with hostile reactions, often resulting in scolding or shouting at members. They are not deterred despite repeated warnings

by Campus Security.

The Student Affairs Office (SAO) said they operate in accordance with the Public Utilities Board’s Reservoir Catchment Regulation, where people who fish at reservoirs are given warnings; they are only fined if caught multiple times.

The club was told by SAO that more evidence must be produced before something can be done.

SAO said they are working with the club to “devise better ways to deter unauthorised fishing”.

They were unable to comment on current security measures and Campus Security could not get back to the Chronicle by press time.

An attempt to prevent illegal f i sh i ng by er ec t i ng ba mboo barriers tied with lines in the lake failed as well. The poles were pulled out one night. “ T he da mage ha s be en accumulating over the years.

Now is the time to do something,” Chia said.

重新出发的

绿燕

31

Having a splash 37

02

news

JAN UARY 28 20 0 8

T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

Mr Fairprice joins NTU Cheryl Ong news editor FOR M ER head of N T UC Cooperative Mr S. Chandra Das has been appointed NTU’s ProChancellor from this year by the university’s Chancellor, President S. R. Nathan.

At t he me d ia con fe r e nce announcing Mr Das’ appointment early this month, NTU President Su Guaning said: “Pro-Chancellors are role models for students, as they are active in private enterprise and serve the nation.”

A Pro-Chancellor oversees annual convocation ceremonies and other events assigned to him.

Dr Su added that Mr Das’ success in business and his public ser vice record are something students should try to emulate.

Mr Das has had an illustrious career, with 16 years spent as a Member of Parliament and 12 years helming NTUC Fairprice Co-operative – earning him the nickname “Mr Fairprice”.

A recipient of many awards such as the President’s Medal in 2000 and the Distinguished Service Award in 2001, Mr Das has been chairman of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Endowment Fund since January last year. He is also a Life Trustee of the Singapore Indian Development Association.

“I feel ver y honoured and proud ,” sa id M r Da s on h i s appointment, adding that while he has not been assigned official duties from the Chancellor yet, he

AS THE Add/Drop period drew to a close last week, students desperate to get their coveted modules turned to offering money for them on NTU’s online message boards.

Popular modules requested i nc lude Biolog y i n Bu si ness (BS802), Science or Fiction? – Biology in Popular Media (BS803) and Astronomy (EE8086).

“I am surprised that there are students willing to buy slots,” said Assistant Professor Andrew Tan and subject coordinator of Biology in Business, when told of such offers on the Public Folders, a messaging system accessible through Webmail.

He had not anticipated such popularity as the module was only into its second semester of being offered. The initial 300 vacancies expanded to 500 to cope with the large number of applicants.

T he i nc r ea sed slot s we r e apparent ly sti ll insuff icient, prompting students who failed to get their choices through STARS to resort to offering money on the Public Folders.

ASIAN MARKETS EASED HIGHER after the United States Federal Reserve’s surprise rate cut. The Straits Times Index opened 2.23% higher last Friday.

HIGH MERCURY LEVELS WERE FOUND IN TUNA SUSHI sold in 20 Manhat t an stores and restaurants.

ACTOR HEATH LEDGER was found dead last tuesday at the Lower Manhattan apartment where he lived, police said.

SULPHURIC ACID leaked into the water supply from a chemical factory in central China. At least 26 villagers were poisoned, said authorities.

BRITISH-RUSSIAN TENSION ESC AL ATED when the British Council defied a Russian government order to close offices in two cities.

NEW CHANCELLOR FOR NTU: Former Member of Parliament Mr S Chandra Das (centre in picture) hopes to promote the spirit cooperatives among students. PHOTO | TAN ZI JIE

can share much of his experiences with the university.

T h i s u npa id appoi nt ment brings NTU’s current number of Pro-Chancellors to four. Besides Mr Das, the other three N T U Pro-Chancellors are Mr Wee Cho Yaw, Mr Hsuan Owyang, and Mr Herman R Hochstadt.

Mr Das laughed when asked how he makes a living, since he will not be paid as Pro-Chancellor.

“Don’t worry,” he said, adding that

he still has business investments, although he keeps away from managerial duties.

Mr Das cited his links with the private sector in India that the university may benefit financially from as an example of how he can help students, and suggested sharing his expertise in business and entrepreneurship with them.

Drawing on his experiences with cooperatives – businesses that are owned and controlled by

its members – like NTUC, Mr Das suggested NTU students set up such enterprises on their own to help the disadvantaged.

“I hope to promote the spirit of cooperatives,” in NTU, said Mr Das, but added that this will depend on students taking the initiative.

Mr Das has high hopes for NTU students, saying that they “should become competent in what they do, then volunteer in society so that they can give something back.”

Students offer cash for courses Rachael Boon

news flash

The Office of Academic Services decline to comment when asked if such practices are acceptable in the university.

Final-year Computer E n g i ne e r i n g s t u d e nt , C h u a Chee Yong, 24, intended to buy Environmental Health and Safety (EM107) online. He was willing to pay up to $50 if necessary.

“I am surprised that there are students willing to buy slots.”

Assistant Professor Andrew Tan Subject coordinator of Biology in Business

A s pa r t of h is I ndu st r ia l Orientation (IO), Chua had to take an additional six academic units.

However, he failed to register for the module on STARS because he had reached the maximum number of academic units he could register for his course.

“I needed the electives badly i n or de r to complete my IO and graduate,” said Chua. ”But (approval to take the additional units) could take up to four days.

Fortunately, EM107 opened more vacancies and I did not have to spend the $50.”

A s s o c i at e P r of e s s or S z e Chun Chau, who teaches Biology i n Popu l a r M e d i a ( B S 8 0 3 ) , disapproved of the buying of modules and said: “While I am encouraged by the overwhelming response, students should try to accept that vacancies are limited and be more open-minded to other modules which could be just as interesting as BS803.”

However, she empathised with final year students who had to fulfil their AUs, and would try to give the vacancies to them.

She said: “The initial solution was to move to a larger lecture theatre (LT), but the booking of LT slots also depends on core modules, which require the bigger LTs.” Chia Wan Ping, 20, a secondyear Sociology student taking Biology in Popular Media this semester, said that she would not

sell her elective as she was happy with it.

“Getting popular modules to get good grades is just a myth as people could still get Bs and Cs,” she said. “There might be other modules that don’t seem as interesting but one could always learn something new.”

Professor Sze said: “A kind of official module swapping system based on goodwill would be nice to see, if juniors are willing to help the seniors.”

“But that is only an ideal and I’m very sure they will not give up their place in the class because they are not even giving it up for cash right now,” she laughed.

“Getting popular modules to get good grades is just a myth.”

Chia Wan Ping, 20 Second-year Sociology student

TENS OF THOUSANDS MORE PALESTINIANS flooded across the breached border crossing from Gaza into Egypt, after Hamas militants toppled large sections of the fence.

BANGL ADESH NEEDS houseto-house surveillance to fight bird flu because the situation has worsened, the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation said on Thursday.

A F O R M E R R EL AT I O N S H I P manager of Citibank who invested US$6 million ($ 8.6 million) in funds after forging her customers’ signatures on bank documents was sentenced to eight months’ jail on Thursday.

NEWS CORP CHIEF EXEC RUPERT MURDOCH will not make all online Wall Street Journal free, but video clips from Fox News are offered online without charge.

A 30-YEAR-OLD MAN has died of bird flu, the Indonesian health ministry said on Thursday, bringing the toll to 98 in the nation worst hit by the H5N1 virus.

PRESIDENT ROH MOO HYUN on Thursday apologised to South Koreans for the mass execution of suspected leftists half a century ago, his office said.

correction “EUREKA, I’VE GOT AN EPIPHANY! NOW TO GET IT PUBLISHED..” (Vol 14 No 6, page 6) It was misstated that Epiphany was the first arts magazine in NTU. It was Art Jam, a monthly magazine by the Cultural Activities Club that should be the first arts magazine here.

We ap olo gis e for the error.

news

JAN UA RY 2 8 , 20 0 8

T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

Now, room for one more Lin Junjie

chief editor

STUDENTS staying in a double room might need to prepare for a third roommate soon.

The Student Affairs Office (SAO) and representatives from the 16 halls met a week ago to discuss the proposal that could see up to two-thirds of existing double rooms at 11 halls converted into rooms for three.

The change could come as early as August, and is one of the proposals to tackle the high demand for places in hall.

According to sources at the meeting, two-thirds of the double rooms at Hall 4 may be converted into triple rooms, half of the single rooms at Hall 1 and 2 into double rooms and between onethird to two-thirds of the double rooms at the rest of the halls may be conver ted into tr iple rooms. However, there would be no changes to Hall 3, 7 and 16.

The changes were proposed by the SAO, taking into consideration the size of each hall. Hall 4, which has the largest double rooms, would have more rooms converted into triple rooms.

No change has been proposed to Hall 3 and 16 as they have the smallest room area among all the halls. Hall 7 would also be unaffected under this proposal because it lacks amenities such as a hall canteen. This would pose an inconvenience to an increased population should its rooms be converted as well, the SAO told representatives at the meeting.

The measure to convert existing rooms to house more students came

MAKE SPACE IN YOUR HALL ROOM: The proposed changes may mean students will soon get to stay with two other residents in their room. PHOTO | KUAN JIE WEI

after plans to construct four new halls to increase accomodation on campus were shelved for the next two years.

T h e d e l a y w a s pr oba bl y due to increasing pressure on construction resources here, which has seen the postponement of some $2 billion worth of public sector

construction projects, according to t he Nov e m b e r-D e c e m b e r 2007 edition of The Singapore Engineer.

“The bulk of the construction activities and resources in 2008 and 2009 are expected to be concentrated on mega projects such as the Integrated Resorts,

M a r i n a B u s i ne s s F i n a nc i a l Centre, Downtown M RT Line and petrochemical plants,” the magazine read.

If the proposed changes go through, the SAO expects to be able to house 900 more students, in spite of the construction crunch facing the nation.

The Chronicle understands that special furniture including double-decker beds and beds that are built atop study tables are being explored to house the third resident comfortably.

A range of rates for the triple rooms was also proposed at the meeting and are likely to be lower than rates for double rooms.

Hall presidents whom t he Chronicle spoke to said there is a need to cater to the demand for a place in hall, but an appropriate trade-off must be found.

Robin Lin, 23, president of Hall 6, said it is a delicate balance between maintaining comfort for residents and addressing the shortage of space.

President of Hall 2, Ngiam Zhen Hao, 23, agreed that something must be done, but was concerned about having half of all his hall’s single rooms converted into double rooms at once.

“The school def initely has a valid point in doing this, but cutting down half the number of single rooms means having twice the number of people wanting single rooms (in Hall 1 and 2).”

I nstead, Ngiam suggested carrying out the changes in phases so that residents can have time to adjust.

The SAO declined to comment until the proposal is finalised.

NCCs distort HAS, says Odac president Lin Junjie chief editor “THE HAS (Hall Admission Scheme) is broken right now,” president of Outdoor Adventure Club, Syed Munir, told representatives from some 30 Non-Constituent Clubs (NCC) Thursday.

The reason: too many people get nine points for campus life involvement—the highest possible.

This has led to cut-off points of 14 for men and 13 for women for rooms on campus this year. In other words, students who have less than five points in distance will not make the cut-off.

“We (the NCCs) have distorted the system,” Munir said.

According to him, the large number of students from the NCCs receiving nine points had “distor ted” what should be a pyramidal distribution of points for campus life involvement, with few getting nine points and the bulk getting three points.

T he presidents of Outdoor

Adventure Club (Odac), the Red Cross Humanitar ian Net work and t he Spanish Societ y are representing the NCCs in the latest round of the HAS review.

To make his point, he cited the case of a student at the Students’ Union feedback forum held last October, who failed to get a room despite getting nine points for

“Everybody needs to give up something to fix this system.”

Syed Munir President, Odac

being active in campus activities.

Under the current scheme, management committee members of the 57 NCCs receive nine points for campus involvement, which accounts for 1,200—or two-thirds— of all students with nine points.

To fix the system, the three

representatives of NCCs on the 14-member HAS implementation com m it tee have proposed to categorise NCCs into three tiers so as to cap the number of their members receiving nine points.

Under the proposal, clubs would be categorised based on two of three criteria: number of active members, budget, and frequency and size of activities.

Only the top three or four clubs would go into tier one, getting nine points for all its management committee members.

“We do not want a tit-for-tat about which club is doing more than the other, so most clubs would end up in tier two,” Munir said. “Tier three would be for the underperforming and new clubs.”

T he pr e s ide nt a nd v ic e president of tier two clubs would get nine and seven points, while its management committee members would get five. Points for tier three clubs would be one notch lower.

For the proposal to work out, other groups must be willing to

scale down points of their subcommittee too, Munir said.

T h i s i s becau se w it h t he proposal to scale down points given to NCCs, most of their management committee would be getting the same number of points as the sub-committee of the Union, Constituent Clubs and Junior Common Room Committees.

In response, Union President Choudhury Anshuman Das said he was willing to reduce 90% of Union members who are currently receiving five points to three; from 800 to 80 students. The president wants to help those “stuck at 12 points” to get a room.

Howe v e r, M u n i r w a r ne d that the proposal may not pass through members who represent the interest of other groups on the HAS implementation committee.

“Some me mbe r s a r e st i l l defending their turfs,” Munir said.

He said in a separate interview: “Ever ybody needs to give up something to fix this system.”

03

Students reply to proposed hall occupancy changes Teo Wan Gek THE Chronicle spoke to 40 students, some of whom expressed concerns about proposals to convert some double rooms to triple rooms.

Yet many residents interviewed think the change might be feasible if it was introduced as a temporary measure to cope with the construction crunch.

Top on the list of students’ concerns was the possible lack of space.

Yeo Xu He, 21, a first-year student who lives in Hall 10, said: “The space in the double room is just nice for two people, but with three it would be impossible to live in.”

Wu Wei Wei, 21, a Hall 4 resident now sharing her room with her friend, said she might move out if she is allocated a triple room.

“But I would consider staying if the fees are cut,” Wu said.

However, for others such as Alvin Ho, 24, a student living in Hall 11, even a reduction in hall fees would not entice him to stay.

“It’s not about the price at all. How can you accommodate three people in a room?” he said.

Some students worry about communication problems between three residents living under one roof.

Priscilla Goh, 21, a Hall 8 resident, said: “Different people have different habits to get used to. It’s going to be disruptive with more people in a room.”

However, foreign students the Chronicle spoke to would rather live with any changes than move out.

Malaysian Yap Teck Min, 25, a Hall 5 resident, said: “I will try to live in whatever room they allocate me to as it is better than finding accommodation outside of NTU. That would be too expensive and inconvenient.”

Ahmad Hassan, 23, a Hall 8 resident, said he would put up with the triple rooms before the new halls are built.

Other students who applied unsuccessfully for a hall last semester, such as Daisy Zhang, 22, a secondyear student, welcomed the move.

“If the number of occupants in the room is increased, I would expect more basic amenities like toilets and tables.”

04

news

JAN UARY 28 20 0 8

T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

Overcoming life’s hurdles to become teachers “It goes without saying that the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers.”

Jalelah Bte MS Abu Baker MORE than 300 National Institute of Education (NIE) graduates were honoured at the NIE Investiture Ceremony on January 16th, but some stood out for the trials they overcame to embark on the teaching profession.

The Investiture awarded 336 graduates w it h postgraduate diplomas in Primary and Secondary education, diplomas in Education, Bachelor of Arts (Education) and Bachelor of Science (Education), but two ladies received extra attention for their efforts.

Ms Penny Chong Chew Luan, 29, and Ms Goh Poh Lin, 23, faced signif icant obstacles in their pursuit to become qualified teachers.

Despite being visually impaired from the age of nine, Ms Chong is optimistic about her new teaching career, crediting the support of her family for her enthusiasm.

The Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary teac her now he lps v i sua l lyimpaired secondary one students improve in their weak subjects during their breaks.

Said Ms Chong: “Helping them adapt to cope with their studies is a bit of a challenge because most of them have been studying in special schools all their lives. It is

Mr Lui Tuck Yew Minister of State for Education

A DAY OF ACHIEVEMENT: Ms Penny Chong, who is visually-impaired, with her family at the Investiture. PHOTO | YEOH KIAT WEI

more tedious for them.”

Ms Chong has no difficulty getting around familiar places in the school compound, but seeks help when she needs to go to a new location.

Another graduate of note was

Ms Goh, who overcame injuries sustained from a traffic accident to complete her teacher’s training.

T he accident occ u r red i n September, a week af ter her training as a teacher had started.

She was hospitalized for more

than two weeks, and remained bedridden for two months. She also lost the hearing in her right ear.

Ms Goh said that her friends and lecturers went to the hospital to encourage her and helped her catch up with her studies. With

their support, she finished her training in the same year as her peers.

Now teaching at Mayf lower Secondary School teacher, she said that her only problem now is gauging the volume of her voice due to the loss of her hearing.

In his speech as Guest-ofHonour of the Investiture, Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Minister of State for Education, credited NIE for ranking Singapore among the top five in the McKinsey & Company report of best performing school systems worldwide.

“It goes without saying that the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers,” he said.

Seniors, it’s time to give Class Gift 2008 involves students in getting their graduating seniors to donate to NTU Teo Wan Gek STUDENT volunteers will helm Graduation Class Gift this year for the first time, to seek donations from final-year NTU students to give back to their alma mater.

These donations collectively make up Class Gift 2008.

This is the first time peer-topeer solicitation of donations has been introduced. Representatives from the various schools have been nominated and will participate as Class Gift ambassadors who will be seeking donations from their schoolmates.

Ms Marina Tan Harper, Director of the NTU Development Office, emphasized the importance of the grassroots support from the graduating students that will hopefully excite the community and leverage for more donations.

“Ever yone has a sta ke in maintaining N T U at its best.

The students’ participation will leverage others in the community to give. Private donations lift the university to the next level of excellence,” she said.

Yandi Andhita, 21, chairperson of the committee for Graduation

Class Gift 2008, is also in favour of student participation.

“It is good that students are involved in seeking donations from their friends, as they can explain to them why they should donate,” he said.

“It makes you think about what the school has given you and what you can give back now.”

Sherry Toh, 21 Final-year Business student

Of la st yea r’s gr aduat i ng class, 27% donated $95,000 to the Graduation Class Gift. Students can designate their donations either to the NTU Endowment Fund or the School General Fund of their respective schools.

Lita, 21, a second-year Civil and Environmental Engineering student, was among those appointed to be Class Gift Ambassadors.

“It is a good idea that the Development Office approached the various school clubs first for the pioneer batch. After gaining more awareness for the campaign, the

position of Class Gift Ambassador can be open to anyone who is interested and more will apply,” she said.

However, she said that there may be difficulties in seeking donations from the final-year students as most of them do not have many lessons in school.

La i Jes M ie, 24, a f i na lyear student from the Nanyang Business School, acknowledged the difficulties, but felt that the involvement of the Class Gift ambassadors have helped greatly in overcoming the problem.

“Most of t he st udent s i n their final year have only two days of school, but as I’m a final year student myself, I have more opportunities to approach them when we have class together,” Lai said.

A final-year student at the Nanyang Business School, Sherry Toh, 21, is grateful for the chance to give back to her alma mater.

She will be donating $75, as she wishes to dedicate a message to a professor who has helped her a lot. For gifts of $75 and above, a special message of thanks will be displayed on campus televisions during Convocation Week.

“I feel a great sense of pride to be part of the NTU community. It makes you think about what the school has given you for the past few years, and what you can give back now,” she said.

PHOTO | NG WAI MUN

SNAPPED on campus The driver of this car clearly was not worried about parking illegally, nor seeing his parking skills shown off in public.

Have you seen anything quirky or odd on campus? Take a photo and send it to us at chronicle@ntu.edu.sg

news

JAN UA RY 2 8 , 20 0 8

T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

05

Nanyang Arts Festival gets MAD The Nanyang Arts Festival (NAF) aims to heighten the awareness of arts among students Chen Jingting THE three-month-long Nanyang Arts Festival, organised by the Cultural Activities Club (CAC) ever y year, held its opening cer emony, “M . A .D.ness: T he Revelation” outside Canteen A on January 16th.

The arts festival’s theme this year is music, arts and dance, in a word – M.A.D.ness.

The launch featured performances by member clubs of the CAC, and beat-boxer Charles Wong. It also presented artwork from the School of Art, Design and Media, Hwa Chong Institution, and Creative Home, an organisation that promotes the arts among youths.

Colourful dustbins, photographs and other works are being displayed around campus in a new initiative called “Arts aRound The School” (A.R.T.S) in conjunction with the festival, which will last till the end of March.

The dustbins display by Creative Home showed that “even ordinary

LOOKING AT ART IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT: A passer-by looks at the art display at Canteen A. PHOTO | GERALDINE YEO

items can be very beautiful” and that anyone can appreciate art, said Dixie Tan, 20, from NIE. Associate Provost Professor Er Meng Hwa graced the ceremony.

Students and staff interested in learning Latin ballroom dancing

Students get headstart in fund management Lee Yen Nee NTU’s Investment Interactive Club (IIC) has launched Singapore’s first student-managed charity investment fund.

T he St ude nt-M a naged Investment Fund (SMIF) aims to equip students with knowledge of the investment market.

“Today we see an increasing number of young students jumping onto the investment bandwagon with little or insufficient knowledge (in investment),” said Jason Low, 22, president of the fund, in his speech addressing why initiatives like SMIF are necessary.

Student fund managers will work together to manage a virtual

“Personal success may be important but it is equally essential to contribute back to society.”

Jason Low, 21 President of SMIF

portfolio of $1m.

At the end of the year, 10% of the virtual profit, with a cap at $10,000, will be converted into real cash and donated to the Straits Times Pocket Money Fund.

The finals of The Next Fund Manager, a presentation-based competition, were held together with the Fund’s launch. Five teams of three competed in the finals.

The winning trio received $1,000 and an appointment to the Fund as student fund managers.

The first and second runner-ups were awarded $800 and $500 respectively.

Cedric Mui, a second–year business student, is a member of the winning team.

“I came here as an underdog, I knew nothing. But you must always have the attitude to perform better than anyone out there,” he said.

His teammates, Rodney Ho and Yeo Wei Jie, also second-year business students, said that being a student fund manager enables them to pursue their interest and contribute to the less fortunate as well.

This sentiment is shared by Low, who said: “Personal success may be important, but it is equally essential to contribute back to the society.”

or Lindy Hop can pay $2 to attend any one of the dance workshops.

Proceeds will go to the Chen Su Lan Methodist Children’s Home, the beneficiary of “Arts from the Heart”, a CAC charity project.

“It will be a win-win situation

because you get to learn something new and do charity at the same time,” said Tan Kar Soon, 23, a third-year Accountancy student.

A n ot h e r N A F s h owc a s e , “M.A.D.ly in Love,” will be a Va lent ine’s Day specia l held

on Febu a r y 13t h a nd 14t h .

One highlight of the event is a competition where participants submit pictures with their loved ones taken at a booth outside Canteen A. Two years of hard work paid off for the NAF committee, when the National Arts Council finally recognised it as a nationwide arts event. The festival was noted for its effor ts to raise public awareness of the arts through quality performances, art displays and workshops, said organisers.

Planning the festival was not easy for the committee which was largely made up of first-year students. They faced an initial lack of sponsors, said chairperson Lim Yong Xi, 22.

T he f i r s t-yea r S c hool of M e c h a n i c a l a nd A e r o s p a c e Engineering (MAE) student and his committee heads ended up canvassing for funds on their own, and managed to get sponsors for the festival’s goodie bags.

Despite t he ha rd work , overcoming difficulties boosted the committee’s confidence, said Alvin Sim, 23, a first-year student from MAE and the Chief Business Manager for the NAF. L o ok i n g f or w a r d to t h e festival’s closing ceremony in March, Lim said: “It will make people remember and anticipate the next NAF,” he said.

Heavy-duty defence for soldiers Koh Si Hui I NST I T U T ES of h ig her learning come together to develop stronger armour for the military, getting junior college students to work with NTU under the Nanyang Research Programme.

Projec t super v isor s Associate Professor Ma Jan and Assistant Professor Hng Huey Hoon are leading a group of four Junior College (JC) students in experimenting with a variety

“Providing better protection for soldiers has been a cause for concern. In Singapore, we also want to come up with stronger armour to provide better protection for our soldiers.”

Associate Professor Ma Jan Project Coordinator

HEAVY-DUTY DEFENCE: A student researcher holds up a sample of her project. PHOTO | NELSON YEO

of materials to develop better body armour for soldiers. The funding for this research is provided by the Ministry of Defence (Mindef).

The N R P is par t of N T U’s effort to involve JC students in engineering research conducted by the university’s professors. The project, MSE1: Advanced Materials Systems for Soldier Protection, aims to integrate harder materials into conventional Kevlar armour, currently the body armour used by most armies.

Professor Ma said: “The issue of providing better protection for soldiers has been a cause for concern right from the beginning.

In Singapore, we also want to come up with stronger armour in order to provide better protection for our soldiers.”

He said the team’s primary focus is to add harder materials like ceramics to the Kevlar armour.

Their compositions are tailored to achieve the properties necessary for protection against different ballistic impacts.

While strengthening the Kevlar armour is the main objective of the team, other impor tant considerations include the overall weight and water resistance of the armour.

The JC students who are part of this research project go through various stages of experiments to test the armour under different conditions. For example, they fire at the armour at the rifle range to test its ability to withstand bullet shots.

Lee Jie Yang, 17, a first-year Hwa Chong Instituition student, said: “The project was greatly enriching with the close guidance by student mentors and supervisors.

There was never a moment where we lacked help or good advice. It was, in all, exciting to be at the frontier of such interesting fields of material and defence science.”

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Call for aid breaks 14-year record More than a thousand NTU staff and students respond to the call for blood, breaking a 14-year record of collection.

Charissa Tan FOR the first time in 14 years, the organisers of the NTU Blood Challenge surpassed their target of collecting a thousand units of blood, a surprising turnaround considering the disappointing response from students and staff on the first day.

The blood-donation dr ive, held from January 15th to 18th, collected less than 70 percent of the 250 units of blood expected on the opening day.

“The first day’s collection, compared to the second and third day, wasn’t very good, perhaps because there was not enough publicit y,” said Mei Mei, 22, President of the NTU Red Cross Chapter, which organised the Challenge. “Also, because the drive is usually held in February, many students did not realize we were having the blood challenge in the second week of school,” she said.

The first day’s collection fell short of the daily demand for blood

RESPONDING TO THE CALL: Students step forward to donate blood after an appeal by the NTU Red Cross. PHOTO | CHARISSA TAN

in Singapore, which numbers at 350 units, or bags, of blood.

“As of January 17th, the blood bank had only 1,300 bags of blood in its reserves, adequate for

only five days, barring any major medical emergency or national cr isis,” said M r Der r ick Toh, manager of the Red Cross Blond Donation Recruitment Programme.

Underwear thief caught red-handed at Hall 10 Nur Raihana A RETURN to familiar territory has landed a university don in trouble.

Lee Wing Foon, 39, who obtained both his degree and doctorate from the School of Elec t ron ic a nd Elec t r ica l Engineer ing (EEE ) , has been charged with theft and fraudulent possession of bras, panties and other clothing.

Last Monday, the associate professor of a university in China was charged with swiping three bras and three pairs of underwear from Hall 10, in addition to earlier charges of stealing two bras and a pair of panties from NTU. According to an email sent out by the Hall 10 office to its residents, police found six bags of undergarments and clothes in Lee’s possession.

He has been found to have a collection of 117 panties, 304 bras and 123 other pieces of clothing.

Lee, who was apparently back in Singapore visiting a friend, was detained by Hall 10 security after being spotted loitering suspiciously on the evening of December 20th

last year. He was later found to have female undergarments on him.

The identity of the suspect comes as a surprise to residents, who did not expect a person of such high standing to be behind the crimes.

“I am shocked. His behavior doesn’t match his profile,” said a Hall 10 resident, one of Lee’s victims who did not wish to be named.

She also said that she noticed nothing special about the stolen undergarments when she was called to the police station to identify them.

“I saw that he had stolen some

“I only hang my underwear outside when I am in my room and I will open the door to keep an eye on them.”

Ng Hwa Swan, 22 Hall 11 Resident

big-sized panties. Others looked like they were quite a turn-off, but most were the normal-looking and plain ones.”

The Student Affairs Office said that there are no plans to boost security because they believe students are comfortable with the measures already in place.

“We have not heard from the JCRC of Hall 10 about implementing extra secur it y measures, but if there is such a need, we will explore the possibilities of doing so,” said Mr Choo Choon Huat, assistant manager for student accommodation.

The case is not an isolated one as residents from other halls have also reported missing underwear.

Ng Hwa Swan, 22, a resident of Hall 11, has had her underwear stolen 10 times in two years.

Despite the frequency of such cases, most residents chose not to pin the responsibility on security guards, saying crimes like this are hard to prevent.

“I only hang my underwear outside when I am in my room and I will open the door to keep an eye on them,” Ng said.

“But now that people have started stealing laundry bags from washing machines, I don’t think security can do much.”

The blood bank at the Health Sciences Author it y had been depending on NTU to top up its reserves.

Concerned by the lacklustre

participation rate on the first day, the NTU Red Cross chapter sent a mass email to the university population, made pleas through ChannelNTU, hall to hall flyers, and Edventure, and dispatched their mascot, the Blood Buddy, to lecture theatres to appeal for donors.

Responding to the call, many students and staff came forward, boosting the daily unit count to about 260 for the second and third day of the drive.

The surge in donors came as a pleasant surprise to Chua Chun Liang, 23, a second-year student in the School of Biological Sciences.

He said: “I think it shows that Singaporeans do have kind hearts.”

“I’m glad that they were able to hit the target, and it reaffirms that the NTU students and staff have a willing spirit to donate blood to those who need it,” said Ong Hui Fang, 23, fourth-year Chemical Engineering student and thirdtime donor.

On breaking the record of collecting the most units of blood for the NTU Blood Challenge, Mei said: “While I’m really thrilled at the outcome of this blood drive, it is the support of the nurses and the spirit of giving of the students and staff that has helped us hit the target.”

HP joins Engineering in IT Fellowship Programme Valerie Toh E NGI N E E R I NG gr aduate students may now experience industry research in HewlettPackard (HP) as part of NTU’s Memorandum of Collaboration wit h t he infor mation te c h nolog y cor por at ion’s Singapore division.

“Students will be exposed to real-world research and the business world.”

Ms Jackie Yu Assistand Director Corporate Communications

The College of Engineering and HP had been collaborating for about two years before the IT giant presented a US$100,000 cheque on January 22nd. This fulfilled a Memorandum of Collaboration signed in October

last year between the two parties.

Open to graduate students specializing in IT Shared Services and Interactive & Digital Media, t hose awa rded u nder t he I T Fellowship Programme will engage in research with HP for at least six months.

Ms Jackie Yu, the Assistant Director of Cor porate Communications, said that the fellowship provides students with a chance to work in a dynamic environment “HP is one of the leading and most technologically advanced companies in the world,” she said.

“Students will be exposed to real-world research and the business world,” added Ms Yu. Wan Huibin, 25, a fourth-year Computer Science student, agreed that such an experience will be invaluable and that participants of this collaboration will have an edge when they are applying for jobs.

“Working in an established MNC (Multi-National Company) like HP reflects well on your CV,” she said. “It is definitely good for your portfolio.

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Making waves Swimsuit secrets that can bump off the competition with laser technology Koh Jing Jing

SHARING HIS KNOWLEDGE: Dr Gover discussing a concept about FEL technology with an NTU professor. PHOTOS | CHEN WEI LI

Israeli Professor visits NTU to share his expertise in laser technology Elizabeth Soh ONE of the pioneers of Free Electron Laser (FEL) technology visited NTU for a week as a Cheng Tsang Man visiting scholar, sharing his expertise in the laser technology with students on January 14th.

“Free Electron Laser technology is a very unique and expensive technology, only conducted in fifty or more countries,” he explained.

“So I was very surprised and happy that there were students here in NTU who were interested to pursue a career in this field.”

Dr Av r a ha m (Av i ) Gove r currently chairs the Physical Electronics Department of TelAviv University in Israel. His FEL technology is able to quickly detect hidden items and explosives, making it an important tool in anti-terrorism warfare

“Currently, the lasers in the X-ray range can be as big as basketball courts. We aim to reduce them to the size of a desk.”

Dr Avi Gover, Chairperson of Physical Electronics Department, Tel-Aviv University, Israel

FEL also holds great promise in medical imaging, or more specifically, in detecting skin cancer. Already underway are pr oje c t s by compa n ie s t h at make use of FEL technology to conduct angiography—an X-ray examination of the veins and heart.

Closer to home, Dr Gover has been working with Associate Professor Ricky Ang and Electronic and Electrical Engineering students to develop better, smaller, lasers.

“Currently, the lasers operating in the X-ray range can be as big as a basketball court. We are aiming to reduce them to the size of a desk,” said Dr Gover.

In addition, a group of EEE students are working to develop electron guns for the less demanding uses of FEL technology.

Dr Gover said he found working with NTU’s staff and students very meaningful, in light of Israel and Singapore’s history of economic and defence cooperation.

H ig h l ig ht i ng si m i la r it ie s between the two countries in terms of size and population, he commented that there was much to be learnt from having close ties with each other.

Dr Gover is optimistic about future exchanges between TelAviv University and NTU, citing the collaboration between Israel’s National Research Institution and Singapore as an example.

“Despite being so culturally diverse, Singapore does a good job keeping good order and discipline,” he said. “ T he e duc at ion s y s te m i s excellent, and NTU students are recognised internationally for their work.”

A SWIMSUIT modelled after the skin of a shark may lead to faster swimmers. The project under the Nanyang Research Programme involves simple science but is practical for competitive sports.

The project which ran from March till November last year also involved two students, Wang Meng Cheng of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and Tejas Potdar of Saint Andrews Junior College, both 18.

A swimwear manufacturer suggested the idea to Assistant Professor Huang Weimin, who is one of the project supervisors. “ T he se pat te r n s on t he swimsuits will enhance athletes’ performance and also protect manufacturing secrets,” said Prof Huang, referring to the tiny bumps that form on the surface of the suits only when in contact with water.

The bumps on the swimsuits resemble that of shark’s skins, and divert water along the body, reducing friction in the process.

T he st udents made use of hydrogel beads commonly found in the market to demonstrate their project. They sewed them in between two pieces of cloth to show tiny bumps that appear when they swell in water.

Fondly called “water babies” by many, these beads can grow up to 100 times their size when submerged in water. They shrink back to normal in the absence of

water, hence succeeding in making a “reversible” pattern on swimsuits.

While the idea is feasible, the team has to find a material that reacts quick enough to dry or wet conditions.

Potdar was motivated to take par t in this research becau se he u sed to sw i m competitively and “saw the potential the project had in helping swimmers increase their speed in water.”

Wang said: “Our project is extremely pragmatic and has the potential to be used in the real world.”

But the project was not always smooth-sailing.

The students said that one difficulty was finding a substance that displayed faster response than ordinary hydrogels. Also, they could not find suppliers who would cater to small orders.

Although nearing the end of their project, they have yet to present their idea to a swimwear manufacturer.

“It is achievable but the cost of ma nu fac t u r i ng t h i s k i nd of rever sible swimsuits wit h protruding patterns will be very high, thus it will only be made for professional swimmers.

“Hopef u l ly i n t he f ut u r e someone will duplicate our project but with better materials,” said A/P Huang.

FAST AND FURIOUS: These tiny bumps found on the specially-designed swimsuit will help improve the performance of swimmers. PHOTO | COURTESY

NTU teams up with prestigious Swedish medical institute Zakaria Zainal NTU has taken a step forward in the biomedical research industry.

For the first time ever, NTU has signed a Memorandum of Und e r s t a nd i n g ( MOU ) w i t h Karolinska Institute (K I); one of Eu r ope’s la r ge s t me d ica l universities and Sweden’s largest centre for medical training and research.

Details of the MOU include exchange visits for study and research for both students and facu lt y f rom K I Biomedicine Program and the NTU School of Biological Sciences (SBS).

“We hope to have the exchange visits ready by the next academic

year,” said Assistant Professor Kristen Sadler who coordinates the undergraduate student exchange and attachment for SBS. I n add it ion , t he t wo institutes will also explore research collaboration in areas of mutual interest in the near future.

“We are excited to work c lo s e l y w i t h K a r ol i n s k a Institute, a world-class medical universit y,” said Professor Alex Law, acting chair of NTU School of Biological Sciences.

The institution also awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine through the Karolinska Institute Nobel

Assembly.

This agreement started from discussions with Professor Sven Pettersson, K I coordinator for scientific relations, about two years ago, said representatives from NTU SBS. During the process, they have visited KI three times.

The MOU was signed during a 2-day symposium on Biomedical Structural Biology with participants from both countries exchanging ideas on how to prevent malaria, dengue and cancer at a molecular level.

The symposium also presented the determination of 3D structures of important dengue virus proteins and how it will be used to develop antivirals.

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Minus plastic campaign launches, plus a little help from the stars Joanna Hor ONE way to breathe new life into an old concept is by getting we l l-k now n per sona l it ies to champion it.

This was the strategy adopted by three final year NTU students from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information who launched ‘(minus)plastic’, a public awareness campaign targeting 10,000 youth in Singapore to pledge towards reducing plastic usage in 2008.

Together with Environmental Challenge Organization (Singapore), the campaign was launched on 12th January at the Atrium@Orchard. Nominated Member of Parliament, Miss Eunice Olsen, was the guest of honour for the event.

Apa r t f rom u r g i ng t hose present to use alternatives for plastic during her speech, she led by example, showing them a foldable canvas bag she had bought for her own shopping needs.

Also lending their presence to the launch were celebrities such as IPOP artiste Paul Twohill, and MediaCorp Radio 98FM DJ Rosalyn Lee. They had been approached by the final-year project group to blog about their experiences in reducing plastic usage over a seven-day challenge on the campaign website, hosted by youth.SG.

P r ior to t he e ve nt , bot h ce lebr it ie s had competed i n two challenges, which involved reducing their usage of plastic takeaway containers and plastic bottles. At the launch, they mingled w it h ga me pa r t icipa nt s a nd completed their final challenge, which was to purchase a beverage with their own mug from a coffee joint in Plaza Singapura.

Mr Kephren Ayanari, 18, was one of the 400 people who attended the launch after learning about it online from websites such as facebook.com and youth.sg.

Describing it as “pretty cool, u n ique a nd i n novat ive”, M r Ayanari felt that having celebrities promote plastic reduction was an effective approach.

Team leader Elaine Lim felt that star appeal helped generate initial interest but finally, it was the message itself that would sustain interest in the campaign.

“We are bringing the message closer to the hear t, that you can ma ke an impact by just incorporating simple and easy habits into your daily lives,” she said.

To date, the team has garnered over 800 pledges, which is still distant from their target of 10,000 pledges by the end of February.

However, Lim is optimistic that they can reach their target by appealing to more youths through email.

SAVE THE EARTH: Youths are encouraged to make pledges to reduce their plastic usage just like their favourite stars.

PHOTO | AHMAD ISKANDAR

Taking the road less travelled on a journey of discovery Junaini Johari

apa r t ment ,” sa id Wu la nda r i.

“There were five bedrooms and only two bathrooms, so it was quite a challenge. We had to fight for space in the fridge to put our groceries.”

Students go overseas to learn about the world and themselves FOR students, the May to August holiday means a much-needed break from school or the chance to gain some work experience through temporary jobs or internships.

Some however, choose the road less travelled, preferring to venture overseas for work opportunities.

Schemes such as Work and Travel USA and the AIESEC International Internship Program help NTU students secure jobs overseas.

American Summer Jobs Work a nd Tr ave l USA g ives students to chance to experience working life in theme parks and ski resorts and the American culture of summer jobs.

For second-year Literature student Lydia Wulandari, 20, the opportunity to travel and explore the United States was the chance of a lifetime.

TAKE FLIGHT: Experience something new by going global. PHOTO | COURTESY

“I worked at Cedar Point, an amusement park in Ohio, for about one-and-a-half months as a food and ice-cream seller.” said Wulandari. “The first two weeks were tough because the park had just opened and we worked about 12 hours a day every day.”

Organised by Geovisions, a company that facilitates work e xc h a nge pr og r a m s a r ou nd

the world, it is partnered with Speedwing Training (Asia) Pte Ltd, a local agency that helps to make necessary arrangements such as visa applications.

Employer s w i l l prov ide accommodation with a rental fee, ranging from US$15 to US$85 per week.

“Accommodation was cheap but there were 15 of us in an

Going global T he A I ESEC I nter nat iona l Internship Program has internship opportunities in over 95 countries and matches students’ skills and qualifications to companies in their database; they range from multi-national corporations such as Ernst & Young or non-profit organisations such as World Wide Fund for Nature.

While Work and Travel USA is limited to the ser v ice and hospitalit y industr y, A I ESEC can secure students internships in management, educational, technical, or development sectors.

Salaries also differ.

“St udents who go for t he development internship may not receive a salary but their food and accommodation will be provided for,” said Lucia Deng Lu, 20, the Vice President of External Relations of AIESEC in NTU. The wide range of choices

led NTU alumnus Mr Pramoda Dei Sudarmo to three months in Russia.

“Russia is a ver y exciting place to be in because it’s one of the fastest growing nations in the world. I wanted to be part of its development,” said the Indonesian, who worked as a management trainee in a management consultant company.

Timeline The duration of both schemes differ; Work and Travel USA lasts for 2 ½ to 4 months whereas AIESEC allows students to work between 2 to 18 months. Also, the AIESEC internship program can be used to fulfil the credits of your Professional Internship.

Working in another country has opened their eyes to a new way of thinking and living.

Han Ling, a second-year NTU student who volunteered in an English camp in St Petersburg, Russia, experienced difficulty getting over the language barrier and different working style. She said: “What you think is easy can become very difficult in a different culture.”

Lifestyle

“I did not know then, that checking him out would be the highlight of the date.” Page 12

All hail the baking queen!

Passionate, precise and perfectionistic. Aerospace Engineering student Lee Sihan is a domestic goddess in making, discovers Estelle Low

Flour, butter and eggs are not what a typical engineering student deals with. Yet third-year Aerospace Engineering student Lee Sihan has been handling more batter than lab experiments in the past year.

At 21, baking is more than a pastime for Sihan, who spends more time in her kitchen of her home in Bukit Timah than anywhere else. She bakes four times a week, spending $100-$200 on ingredients and making about $300 profit a month selling customised cakes to friends.

When Sihan wanted to try her hand at baking a couple of years ago, she pestered her mother to buy her an oven.

Within months of the oven arriving last January, she was hooked. Living in a family of food connoisseurs, they are her tough critics. “If it’s not good, they’ll tell me it’s not good,” she chuckles.

Sihan’s mother gave her cakes the green light, and started to distribute them in the finance department of Hitachi Metals Singapore. Turning her passion into a business venture was never on Sihan’s mind, until seven orders for her hot-selling

Blueber r y Cheesecake came from her mother’s colleagues during her exam period last April. the queen in armour For all her sweetie-pie looks, her first interest was to be a pilot. She did a seven-month stint with the Singapore Armed Forces, hoping to win the SAF scholarship that would enable her to study abroad. Even though she got a place at Cornell University to study Mechanical Engineering, she failed to win a scholarship. So she pursued her interest in aerospace engineering in NTU. She felt dejected at the time, but says “Looking back, it was a blessing in disguise,” If she had been overseas, she would never have discovered baking.

Engineering still has a place in her life, though. Sihan is currently on work attachment with Embraer, a Brazilian aircraft manufacturer in Orchard.

But baking comes first, at home and abroad. An avid traveller, Sihan stocks up on liqueur for baking whenever she travels, such as the Strawberry Cream liqueur she

brought back from a trip to Spain last December. It adds taste rather than alcohol to her cakes, she says: “Alcohol tends to evaporate above 80 degree Celcius, so I’ll have to add a lot of it to my cupcakes to get the essence.”

Sihan uses words like “worrywart”, “paranoid” and “control freak” to describe herself. But she confesses that these qualities help to hone her skills in baking. Her secret to a good-tasting cake, she says, is to “use ingredients of the exact proportion and at the right temperature”.

For instance, eggs that are kept in the refrigerator must be warmed to room temperature before mixing them into melted butter and sugar. “Baking is a science – it’s all about chemical reactions,” she says.

She gets recipes from books but also says “I love to mix and match ingredients, to just sit down and think about how different flavours can complement each other,” citing her Malibu Pineapple and Cranberry Earl Grey Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese frosting as her top creations.

Sihan recalls a particular cake she created

to suit a birthday girl. “Her friend told me she was wacky, fun-loving and quirky, so I thought of something unconventional.

Instead of normal chocolate, I went for a Caramel Banana cake with Cream Cheese.

It was yellow, nutty and incredibly moist on the inside.”

In future, Sihan hopes to study at Le Cordon Bleu (the world’s top cookery school) in Paris after she graduates from NTU, and then set up a cafe in Singapore with an English cottage theme as it is “somewhere homely for people to chill and relax.”

And her one piece of golden advice for aspiring bakers shows her expertise above all else: “Do not open the oven when it is in baking process, as it disrupts the flow of heat, and this will affect the quality of your cake.”

CappucCino cupcakes (makes 6)

INGREDIENTS: 80g of all-purpose flour 3/8 tsp of baking powder A pinch of salt 3 tbsp of brewed coffee/espresso 1 tbsp of milk 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder 56g of butter, room temperature 110g of sugar 1 egg METHOD: 1) Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a muffin tin with six paper cups.

2) Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3) Combine the espresso and milk.

Dissolve the instant espresso powder in the mixture and set aside.

4) Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth, fluffy and pale. Add the egg and beat well.

5) Add the dry ingredients and espresso mixture in three parts, alternating and beating smooth after each addition. Add the liquid additions a little at a time to avoid splitting the batter.

6) Divide the batter among the paper cups, and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the tins for a few minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

SUGAR, SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE: Sihan gets inspiration for her intricately decorated cakes from her collection of liqueur and recipe books. PHOTOS | CHEN WEI LI

RECIPE | SIHAN

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Three blind dates raihana:

sern yong:

I TOOK another bite from my half-eaten plate of noodles and looked at my watch.

My date jabbered away about a recent overseas trip. I took a deep breath and came up with friendly replies to keep the conversation flowing.

Sma ll, conf ident and packed wit h opinions, Date #1, Miss I-Am-Woman-HearMe-Roar, wanted to have her say on every issue. She came up with conversation killers of all sorts from sharing how she lost interest in shopping (so what were we supposed to do after the date, then?) to overarching theories about life (too much, too early in the relationship).

Subsequently, I went on my second blind date with low expectations. But I was wrong.

She was sweet.

Date #2, Girl-Next-Door was genuine and unpretentious. Petite and studiouslooking, she did not flinch when I teased her repeatedly as she had come straight from lessons, even bringing her file with her.

At first she insisted on picking up her share of the dinner tab. But I wanted to impress her. Only after I insisted that the best way to split the cost was to buy coffee later did she let me pick up the meal tab.

She was a tough act for Date #3, Miss Sleepyhead, to follow. It didn’t help that we met at 10am, which taught me that mornings were better reserved for dates with the bedsheets.

Blame the early morning, as the two hours we spent together were filled with dry and monotonous exchanges, with the better part of us still in dreamland.

“I woke up early especially for this blind date,” Miss Sleepyhead groaned throughout our breakfast over French toast and tea at Plaza Singapura.

We parted without lasting impressions of each other, but promised to meet up at a more reasonable time of day in future.

While we all try our hardest on a date, our bad habits and choice of conversation topics become amplified in front of strangers. But at least they see us for who we are, rather than us adopting a new personality in the name of good, clean fun or a serious quest for romance.

Fancy meeting up with a guy or girl you’ve never seen before? It is not as scary as it seems, as Pang Sern Yong and Nur Raihana find out

three dos

Use a helpful friend to mix in two desperate people. Stir in a handful of awkward silences before adding a dash of stilted conversation.

There, a blind date. Perfect conditions to dispel any notions of romance, if you ask me.

Three blind dates later, I now sing a different tune. Awkwardness is little more than an urban myth, and yes, the possibility of friendship and romance is very much alive.

One of my dates went oddly enough, though. Date #1, The Player, strode up to me: tall and strapping, with oodles of confidence and spot-on sartorial sense. I liked what I saw, but I did not know then, that checking him out would be the highlight of the date.

But when he took it upon himself to allow his hands to roam, it became evident that the afternoon was headed straight for the ruins.

My friends chided me for “meeting up with random strangers off the street”, and painted gory images of blind dates gone wrong. More helpfully, they suggested the use of a warm smile and a spiffy wardrobe to make a positive impact. And be punctual, something Date #2, Mr. Laidback, was not.

It is ironic because the date with him turned out to be my favourite. Our conversation over tea and donuts at Suntec City’s Donut Factory lacked the pretentiousness of the previous date. It was only hours later when our date was over that I picked up my phone to find several unread messages and even more missed calls. I had lost track of time and ended up being late for another appointment.

My gripe though, was that Mr Laidback did not pick up the tab. Blind dates are oneshot chances to impress the other, and what better way to make the girl feel special than with a treat. “It is not as if I see you often,” Date #3, The Gentleman, pointed out.

He displayed a certain degree of attention and suaveness that chalked up major brownie points. He carried my bag, unscrewed the cap of my drink when it was served, and offered his jacket in the cinema when he noticed my futile efforts to keep warm.

So go on and prod the guy you fancy.

When he finally agrees to go out on a date, remember to pack along a smile and an open mind. three don’ts

1. Listen While on the date, listen to what she has to say. Ask her questions and show interest in her responses. Listening does not mean “waiting for your turn to speak”.

1. Don’t get too personal Don’t ask her anything too personal and by the same token, don’t talk about how hurt you were after your past relationship. You don’t want to give away too much on the first date.

2. Making conversation If you can’t think of anything to say, bring up the matchmaker, ask her how long they’ve known each other. Remember, the two of you do have common ground, the person that set you up. So use that to your advantage. Under no circumstance should you bad mouth or say anything negative about the matchmaker.

2. Don’t be cheap First impressions count for a lot, so bringing a two-for-one coupon on your first date is a major turnoff. This is your first day or night out together, and it may be your only night out if you start calculating who had the extra Diet Coke on your dinner date.

3. Prepare for it mentally Prepare for the date by telling yourself that this is just a night out and that whatever happens, meeting new people is always great and refreshing. Refusing to go on a blind date just limits your options.

PHOTOS | KONG YEN LIN, KYLE LEUNG & TAN ZI JIE

3. Don’t have high expectations Expectations can lead to major disappointments or feelings of shock, both of which can ruin the date and throw you off kilter. It’s easy to start conjuring up images in your mind of the other person, but it’s safer to just expect a pleasant companion.

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In full bloom If the way to a man s heart is through his stomach, then the way to a woman s heart must be through flowers. Nur Raihana tells you how to make the most of your bouquet by choosing the right blooms for the right occasion

JEWELLERY may be more long lasting and chocolate more delectable, but flowers can make more of an impact because few other things can make the recipient feel as cared about and special as fresh blooms.

Research conducted by the Michael Cohen group, a market research firm, has shown that a large majority of women saw men who give flowers as sophisticated and thoughtful.

In other words, guys, flowers work.

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, that ought to be reason enough to send scores of men on the hunt for the perfect bouquet.

Some, like Lai Mun Chun, 22, a thirdyear student from Civil and Environmental Engineering, starts his search up to two weeks before V-Day. He admits that he has no qualms forking out hundreds of dollars for his bouquet of choice for his girlfriend, as long as the floral arrangement strikes his fancy.

Once in the shop however, men are quick flower shoppers, says Norzudyra, 21, a florist with Freeman Florists. “Some guys would stand

If the guy is going to waste his money on flowers, it had better be something big.

Adibah Asri, 20, second-year Accountancy student

by the fridge or flip through the catalog, but most would rely on our expertise. After about fifteen minutes, they will cash and carry the flowers.”

Fresh blooms are sold in Singapore all year round, so Valentine’s Day doesn’t need to be the only occasion to give flowers.

Adibah Asri, 20, a second-year Accountancy student, had a dozen roses

delivered to her house the day after her boyfriend left for a two-week trip, just so she would know he was thinking of her. “But I would have rather he gave it to me himself, so I could kiss him and say thanks,” she says.

One fan of hand-delivering bouquets is Lin Weiqiang, 24, a fourth-year student from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, because he believes it shows sincerity. “It is embarrassing for a guy to be seen carrying a bouquet,” he says. “But for my girlfriend, I will do it and just swallow my pride.

“I don’t have to do it for long though. Once I give it to her, she will carry it around very happily,” he adds.

While some guys readily take to the task, others have a more cynical view about giving flowers. Mohamed Nasruddin, 21, a fi rst-year student from Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, finds the practice unnecessary. “I am not one of those mushy guys who writes poems, read it to their girl and then give them flowers,” he says. “I would give her other things like necklaces, bags or earrings to express how I feel.”

Indeed there are other ways to show a girl you care, and saying it with flowers is not exactly the cheapest way.

Nevertheless, Norzudyda notes a trend on upward spending, with the average young male customer spending about $50 to $60 each time. Yet some girls are not letting up.

“If the guy is going to waste his money on flowers, it had better be something big,” says Adibah, proving that sometimes size still does matter.

FLORIOGRAPHY

Red roses have long stood for true love. Its name is an anagram of Eros, the goddess of Love in Greek mythology. In addition to red traditionally being a used as a metaphor for deep emotion, many early cultures featured red roses as part of the wedding attire or as decoration in marriage ceremonies, dubbing the bloom as the f lower of love and fidelity.

Su n f lowe r s convey adoration, loyalt y and l o n g e v i t y. T h e y g e t their name from their resemblance to the yellow rays of sunsh ine. T he head of the sunf lower also tracks the journey of the sun across the sky in the day.

Tulips are symbolic of t he t hings we do for love, gaining widespread popu lar it y in Europe since the 17th century.

Persian legend tells us of Farhad, who upon finding out that his lover Sharin was dead, flung himself off a high cliff. Where his body landed, the first tulips began to grow.

To tell a girl “You are the sunshine of my life” a bouquet of gerbera daisies will do the trick.

With their large flowering heads, the bloom’s petals can come in a multitude of colours from bright pink to sunny yellow.

The vibrant hues can do much to lift the spirit, making the gerbera the perfect flower to convey cheerfulness.

For a more gra nd iose declaration of love, white lilies are a way of saying “I feel like I’m in heaven when I’m wth you.” In Roman mythology, lilies were believed to be created when Juno, queen of the gods, spi lt some m i l k onto Earth when she was nursing her son Hercules.

Wit h its scient if ic name dianthus roughly translating to “f lower of love”, the carnation stands for fascination, distinction and of course, love. In ancient Europe, Italian and French girls presented the blooms to their boyfriends who were headed out to battle, in the hope that they would come back safe and sound.

PHOTOS | COURTESY

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T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

Beyond Victory Tan Zi Jie & Ng Wai Mun IT’S not easy to make cheerleading look effortless - but that is what every team aspires to do.

It’s not just a question of all the physical hard work: just getting to the training session can be a challenge as

some halls have banned cheerleading practice because of the noise.

So teams travel round campus on the shuttle bus to meet, train, and be coached to success by their seniors.

But the hours of teamwork, bonding, consistent attendance and being there for your teammates through the highs and lows of practice makes the difference between victory and second place.

lifestyle

JAN UA RY 2 8 , 20 0 8

T H E NA N YA NG C H RON IC L E

know your prof

Not your average monkey business He was rescued by a monkey and attacked by another. Assistant Professor of Psychology, Dr Michael Gumert, shares his love for primates with Chen Jingting, but explains why he would never want one as a pet

TELL US MORE ABOUT YOURSELF.

I grew up in South-Eastern Pennsylvania, a rural area in USA. My wife is from Indonesia and we have been married for more than two years.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME A PRIMATOLOGIST? As a child, I read National Geographic and watched television specials about wildlife. My father, a world traveller in oil business, would tell me stories from different countries. I wanted to do something that would allow me to work outdoors and travel, so I decided to become a primatologist.

H O W L O N G H AV E YO U B E E N RESEARCHING ON PRIMATES? I have been working with the macaque species (the most common species of monkeys) for 10 years.

They are not only interesting to watch, but also provide useful models for studying the basis of social behaviour. Their lives are like big, never-ending soap operas. They have a dominance hierarchy and deeprooted kin networks.

It is almost like looking at human behaviour in a fast-forwarded and simpler mode.

down at me from a tree and let out an alarm call, warning of danger.

I looked down and sure enough, there was a snake between my feet. Had the monkey not warned me, I would have stepped right on it. Now I feel safe whenever I am with monkeys in the forest.

They provide useful models for studying social behaviour.

Their lives are like big, never-ending soap operas.

Dr Gumert, 31, Psychology professor

ANY OTHER EXPERIENCES?

During my research in 1999, I met a grumpy old monkey named Budi. One day, he was found with a popular female, Cleopatra.

Suddenly, a young alpha male monkey, Nikema, came. When Cleopatra saw Nikema, she walked away from Budi to join him.

Budi let out a huge scream, in a jealous rage. But Nikema was stronger than he

HOW DO YOU COMMUNICATE WITH PRIMATES? As a researcher, I try to limit my contact with them so as not to influence their behaviour.

But when I am not researching, I communicate with them through facial expressions and try to mimic their vocalisations.

WERE THERE EXPERIENCES?

MEMORABLE

One day, during a research study in 2003, monkeys suddenly surrounded me in the forest. One adolescent male monkey looked

was, so Budi tried to vent his anger on an adolescent male monkey instead, which managed to escape. There was no one else left at the scene but me.

The next thing I knew, Budi charged at me. All I had was my camera bag, and I swung it as hard as I could to dissuade Budi from attacking me. It must have looked hilarious to a bystander, but it was serious business between me and Budi. Eventually I managed to calm him down.

ARE YOU DOING ANY RESEARCH NOW?

I am going to start on three projects and I need student researchers. The main one is on the social behaviour of macaques in Singapore.

For the other project, I am going to Thailand to study a sub-species of macaques that use stone tools. The last project is in Kalimantan and will start a year-and-a-half from now.

My most recent research received international attention and was published in the Straits Times on 5th January this year. It is about how male macaque monkeys groom female ones before they mate, as if they are “paying” for sex.

The “value” of sex is determined by supply and demand factors. The male will spend more time grooming the female when there are fewer females around. It is like a social market.

WOULD YOU WANT A PET MONKEY?

Never. People have been killed by their pet monkeys, and the monkeys get killed too.

When monkeys grow old, they become aggressive and want to exert their dominance over their owners. They are very bad pets.

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upcoming events ENVIRO SHOE DESIGN COMPETITION This competition is open to all students to design a pair of canvas shoe according to the Title: “EnVirO”.Participants are free to interpret this title and express their creativity through the designing of the shoe. The main objective of this competition is to raise awareness among students of the need to “Go Green” and that being environmental friendly is the “in” thing now.

Participants are required to submit their entries with a short description of not more than 50 words.

Deadline for submission is on 18th April 2008. Top 3 entries with the highest votes will be the winners.

CONTACT INFO: PARACOCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS _ HAHA@ HOTMAIL .COM BAILAMOS EN LA CALLE Caderas Latinas, the Latin Dance club of Singapore Management University (SMU), will be organizing “Bailamos en la Calle” (Spanish for “We dance in the street”), a night of Latin dance workshops, performances and social dancing. This event is part of our efforts to bring the joy of Latin dance to the Singaporean public and lead many to take the first step into the scintillating world of dances like Salsa, Jive, Samba and many more. Caderas Latinas will be supported by performance teams from the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, and Republic Polytechnic.

DATE: THURSDAY, 21 FEBRUARY 2008 TIME: 8.00PM – 12.00AM VENUE: DXO, COLORS BY THE BAY 8 R AFFLES AVENUE, #01-13F ESPLANADE MALL TICKETS: $15 ADVANCE PURCHASES OF FIVE TICKETS OR MORE AT $12 PER TICKET. EMAIL JOEL NG AT CADERASLATINAS@ SA .SMU.EDU.SG FOR ENQUIRIES OR TO PURCHASE AHEAD. TICKETS ALSO AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR ON THE DAY OF PERFORMANCE. MORE INFORMATION AT WWW. DANCEONTHESTREETS .COM SURF N SWEAT 2008 In its 13th year running, be sure to challenge yourself in our main event, SURF N RUN!! Along with it, there are side games like Ultimate Frisbee, Beach Soccer, Beach Volleyball, Beach Touch Rugby for you to show your sporty side!

This year, we are bringing in a brand new game - Captain’s Ball! Not forgetting our stage events, look out for the hottest Beach Babe, and the most macho Beach Hunk!

DATE: 8-9TH JAN, 14-18TH JAN 2007 TIME: 10AM -4PM VENUE: CANTEEN A, NTU MORE INFORMATION AT WWW.SURFNSWEAT08.

NTUSPORTSCLUB.COM

To have your event listed, e-mail chronicle@ntu.edu.sg. Include event date, location, contact and any pictures.

MONKEY LOVIN’: Dr Gumert with his monkey memorabilia. PHOTO | TAN ZI JIE

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T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

food from the globe

Guten Appetit!

That’s German for ‘enjoy your meal’ or ‘have a good appetite’.

Keep that phrase in mind as Koh Jing Jing and Grace Lee present food that the Germans are proud of TUCKED away in a row of shophouses beside Coronation Plaza in Bukit Timah, German Market Place may be a hard find.

It was opened eight years ago by manager Christel Ludwig, who found a demand for German goods from Caucasians living nearby.

On holidays to Germany, Mrs Ludwig would lug back suitcases full of German products and eventually decided to set up a business selling imported German goods.

This led to the birth of the mart which was the first in Singapore to sell imported German food products.

While most customers are Caucasians, you might meet tourists from neighbouring

countries here. Customers say they come to the German mart mostly to get ingredients for their dishes like Vinaigrette (salad dressing or marinade containing vinegar and vegetable oil along with spices) and Borscht (soup).

“German food is hearty, heavy and filling. Europeans eat a lot of dair y products while Asians’ staple is more towards rice. You can’t find the foodstuff here in local supermarkets because our range here is totally different, distinctively German,” says German Market Place employee Joyce Choong, 35.

German Market Place 615 Bukit Timah Road 6466-4044 Opening hours: Mon - Sat, 10am - 7pm

BARBEQUE FIESTA

DO YOU rave about those delicious western sausages that can be found in European restaurants? Why not barbeque them on your own? The German Marketplace sells its Swiss Butchery sausages at prices from $5 to $10. Each packet contains three sausages and there are at least five varieties such as Weiner sausages and Bratwurst. Easy to cook and well-liked by almost everyone, you can never go wrong with sausages.

Cheer ‘yam seng!’ in your next BBQ party without guilt with a bottle of Warsteiner ($2.75 for 0.33ml). With this alcohol-free G e r m a n b e e r, you do not have to worry about people getting drunk or about d r i v i n g home. It tastes similar to nor ma l beer so surprise your guests with a bottle!

TINY BUT MIGHTY: This mart may be small, but it is well-stocked with a diverse range of Germanyimported products. Products range from frozen food to fresh German bread daily. PHOTOS | NURIA LING

THE ADVENTUROUS YOU DO NOT mistake Remoulade mitkrautern ($6.85) for a tube of toothpaste from Germany! This seemingly toothpaste-like tube actually contains German tartar sauce mixed with herbs. Remoulade mitkrautern is especially handy for BBQs because you can squeeze out the exact amount needed without wasting any of it. Germans spread this cream paste on eggs or meat, for that extra bit of f lavour.

Though the price is steep as compared to the standard mayonnaise you can get from local supermarts, you could add a different taste to your BBQ-ed food with this imported sauce!

Dare someone with a jar of green and prickly Salz d i l lg he rk i n ( pic k led c uc u mbe r s ) at $ 7.95.

Also known as ‘Gherkins’ (pronounced ger-kins) by German customers at the mart, they can be sliced and eaten with salad or pasta. It is also served in classic German dishes such as Labskaus, which includes corned beef mash, herrings and beet root. As we always say, do not judge food by its appearance.

SPICE UP YOUR HALL LIFE A S K NOR R i s a fa mou s Ger ma n brand, you will not be surprised to find rows of their products stacked in the German Market Place. It specialises in instant noodles and snacks for convenient meals, such as mashed potatoes.

The Knorr snack cup ($3.85) comes in three flavours. The abundance of spring onions and bacon bits among the mashed potatoes will definitely make you crave for more.

Just pour hot water into it, wait for a few minutes and viola- a delicious creamy snack to tide you through your hunger.

Anyone would be smitten w it h t h i s aut hent ic G e r ma ny-i mpor ted Nutella ($6.05). It looks just like ordinary Nutella you find elsewhere but its uniqueness is that this quality-controlled hazelnut spread tastes muc h t h ic ke r a nd smoot her t ha n t he Au st ra lia-i mpor ted ones you find in local marts. Of course, you do pay more for the difference in quality.

Great with any kind of bread and convenient for breakfast!

lifestyle

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T H E NA N YA NG C H RON IC L E

19 17

Life in plastic, it s fantastic

Confused by the benefits offered by different types of credit or debit cards? Koh Jing Jing helps you sort some of them out THOUGH still an undergraduate without a stable income, 22-year-old Lee Zhi Cao is already armed with several credit and debit cards, such as the OCBC, UOB and POSB cards, and he plans to apply for the Citi Clear Card soon.

In fact, many students below the age of 21 already own credit cards. Banks are increasingly offering modified versions of original credit cards to target the student population, many of whom do not have any income.

It seems that the UOB Campus Debit Card and the Citi Clear Card are the hot favourites among NTU students. The majority of those interviewed agreed that the card they use most often depends on the benefits they get from using it. Hence, if a particular restaurant offers a 10% discount off the bill with a certain card, they would use that card to pay.

“I applied for the cards because different cards give me different privileges at assorted places so I get more benefits,” says Zhi Chao, a second-year Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering student.

Zhi Chao is also the chairman of the OCBC-N T U debit card privileges committee, and says that he understands many NTU students with the OCBC-NTU Debit Card would like more discounts at popular places.

He adds that more exclusive discounts will be sourced in the coming year for the OCBC-NTU card.

“Such credit cards are a real deal for a student like me who is not earning an income and have to rely on my savings,” she says.

Yet, not all students are interested to apply for them.

Victor Chee, a first-year student in Common Engineering, says he seldom comes across shops that offer privileges for campus cards.

But after giving it a second thought, the 21-year-old adds: “If having the cards can ensure that I get priority queues for the food stalls in Canteen A, I might consider getting them.”

Others, however, prefer to stick to cash and the ATM card as they do not think credit and debit card are necessary.

“I’m lazy to apply (for the card) and I’m scared that I’ll spend more than I should,”

says Business student Victoria Lee, 20, who has the habit of carrying enough cash around.

“I usually have at least $50 in my wallet and I only use the NETS card for buying expensive items. I am not worried about some places not accepting NETS because most of the shops I’ve visited do accept it.”

KNOW YOUR CAMPUS CARD UOBbank CAMPUS DEBIT WHO IS IT FOR The masses

WHAT YOU’LL LIKE

• • • •

15% off bill at Harry’s Bar @ Dempsey Hill 10% off a la carte menu with minimum $15 spent at Coffee Club 15% off with minimum $50 nett spent at Vil’age 10% off with minimum $20 spent at Carl’s Jr

CITI CLEAR CREDIT WHO IS IT FOR The clubber

WHAT YOU’LL LIKE

• • • • •

If having the cards can ensure that I get priority queues for the food stalls in Canteen A, I might consider getting them.

Free Priority Entry into Zouk (limited to first 350 members or 12 midnight) and 1-for-1 drinks on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays till 1am) Receive a return visit voucher with any order at Fish&Co. 10% off bill with minimum $10 spent at Gelare Café 10% off bill or 20% off bill between 2pm to 5pm on weekdays at Cafe Cartel

OCBC-NTU VISA GOLD CREDIT WHO IS IT FOR

Victor Chee, 21, first-year Common Engineering student

The NTU/NIE graduate

WHAT YOU’LL LIKE

Joyce Goh, 19, a first-year student from Common Engineering, says she would check out places that offer discounts for the cards she is holding, but ultimately other factors such as the quality of food and its pricing affect her decisions more.

“I mainly use Citibank’s Clear Card for Zouk, and I frequent Ichiban and Fish & Co for the good food and reasonable pricing of about $20,” she added.

Dianne Goh, a first-year student from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, is carefully choosing her fi rst card and her main concern is the benefits each card provides.

“Debit cards are accepted overseas and I can have the experience of having a credit card without a minimum income requirement,” she says.

The Citi Clear Card is on the top of the 19year-old’s list as it offers extensive discounts ranging from food to entertainment.

• • • •

Enjoy one free drink everyday at DXO (house pour spirits only) 10% off food bill on a la carte at Long Beach Seafood Restaurant 10% off food bill on a la carte menu at White Rose Café 50% off fi nger food items with minimum order of 1main course at Aglio Olio (not valid before 3pm on weekdays)

OCBC-NTU DEBIT WHO IS IT FOR

Students who love to have NTU’s logo on their card

WHAT YOU’LL LIKE • • • • • PHOTOS | TAN ZI JIE

Waiver of cover charge before 10pm at dbl O 10% off all food and drinks at Banquet Jurong Point 10% off bill at Café Galilee 15% off food bill on a la carte menu at Surf ‘n’ Turf 8% discount on iPod at EpiCentre Correct as of January 3rd, 2008

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T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

travelogue

Seoul easy to be free Five hundred dollars for five days in Korea sounds like a good deal. But as cheap deals go, you get what you pay for.

Aw Hui Min learns that to truly discover Seoul she had to leave the tour group and explore alone

OUR tour group woke up at 6.30am every day to rush around Korea. It was anything but relaxing.

For four straight days, the tour guide took us to more than 12 tourist attractions in Korea, making the most of our money.

Excluding the flight tickets, the tour package cost about $100 each day, including transportation, entrance tickets to the sites, top-notch accommodation and 80% of the meals.

But minimal time was given to us at the places we visited, especially during our tour of Seoul. The longest time we had was two hours at Lotte World Amusement Park, where my sister and I only managed to squeeze in two rides.

I felt that the time wasted in local speciality stores could have been better spent in Insa-Dong (the cultural street) where we were given only 45 minutes.

Under the perpetual time constraints, my dream of the perfect winter getaway was shattered.

On the final day of the tour, my sister and I scooted off in a taxi to enjoy more of Korea in our extended 12-day stay in Seoul,

much to the envy of the other Singaporeans in the tour group.

It was sad but true that most of them said they did not like the trip. Being shuttled from one place to another left us with almost no opportunity to discover Korea’s true character. Everything zoomed past us in a blur.

It was not until we left the tour and went solo that we discovered that while Korea is pricey, it’s worth spending the extra time and money visiting places on your own.

My sister and I braved the cold to explore the streets of Seoul without the group and without a guide.

We ventured out to take the subway, hoping that the night market at Dongdaemun (a shopper’s paradise) would still be open.

To our relief, what greeted us were boisterous crowds and rows of fluorescentlit roadside stalls selling everything from food to clothes to accessories. Seeing more locals than tourists was exhilarating. At 10pm, the night market was still going strong with ladies tr ying to sniff out bargains.

Nearing midnight, the dry, winter wind

WHEN IN SEOUL, DO WHAT KOREANS DO: Young Koreans love to hang out at Myeongdong for its variety of shops along its big and little streets, but tour groups avoid that place as it is always crowded. PHOTO | COURTESY

became harsher. We sought refuge in Doota and Migliore, two of the most popular shopping malls in Dongdaemun Stadium.

There, we came across a sweet discovery: the shops were open until the wee hours of the morning. With few shoppers around, we felt as if we owned the malls.

We took our time r ummaging for discounted past-season clothes, such as tank tops and cotton skirts. It was a stark contrast from shopping with the tour group earlier in the day as the guide had given us a mere 90 minutes to shop in fashion house Doota.

The meals provided by the package tour

Being shuttled from one place to another left us with almost no opportunity to discover Korea’s true character. Everything zoomed past us in a blur. were not good too. Almost every meal in the tourist restaurants was vegetable-pork hotpot which everyone in the group soon grew sick of.

But I learnt that there was more to Korean food than just hotpots. I had my first bowl of Galgugsu (handmade noodles) after the tour and was surprised to find that it cost $14.

However, we didn’t really mind paying the high prices when we discovered that ever y restaurant we went to had free refillable side dishes, such as kimchi, rice and soup to go with the mains.

Another alternative was roadside food which cost an average of between $2 to $5.

My sister and I found it satisfying munching

on piping-hot food, like the popular fishshaped red bean-filled pancake and the 30cm barbecued chicken stick, in winter while window-shopping in Myeongdong, our favourite haunt when we were there.

Eating ice-cream was also double the fun when enjoying it slowly in a minus-10 degrees Celsius environment.

Getting around Seoul by public transport was easy and inexpensive.

A lt hough t he nine-track rail line map was baffling at first glance, it was easy to understand as there were English translations of station names and a one-way ticket cost about $1.60. Popular shopping precincts were also conveniently next to the stations .

The never-ending rows of shops along all the streets had this special charm, that would never fail to leave me enthralled.

Instead of being herded around like lost sheep in tour groups, being on my own gave me the freedom to take in the sights and sounds of the Korean culture.

With a tourist map, navigation was simple. Sometimes to save on transport fares, my sister and I would walk to the next destination as they were close to each other.

The Koreans I approached on the streets understood and spoke simple English, proving that we did not have to know Korean to survive in Seoul.

In cases of confusion, we engaged in the universal language of gesturing which somehow always managed to get the ideas across.

Seoul is not as intimidating as stories paint it to be. Though it is not well-known for backpacking, the high cost of living could be offset by living in guesthouses and eating cheaply at roadside stalls.

After experiencing the two kinds of tours, I began to understand why friends who had been to Korea with tour groups came back unimpressed while the few who travelled free and easy are already saving up for their next trip there.

lifestyle

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T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

19

appetite

Romance in the West Dempsey may have the newest romantic restaurants, but the booking lists and prices can put you off.

Estelle Low and Aw Hui Min find restaurants tucked away in the West that are ideal for dates

Hooked!

5

390 Upper Bukit Timah Road The Rail Mall, Singapore 678045

similar restaurants as its homemade dishes feature mainly local fish (grouper, snapper, pomfret, cod etc.), including other interesting ones like sharkfish.

T h e p r i c e s of t h e m a i n courses are reasonable, given that ingredients are brought in fresh every day, which explains the absence of any unpleasant fishy taste in their dishes, even with over 50 items on the menu.

Hooked! opened its doors in 2006, and the restaurant’s Steamed Red Sn appe r in W hite w ine, Lemongrass and Garlic Fish Broth ($14.90) was singled out by The Straits Times last year.

Tel: 6765 5336 12 noon to 10pm hooked_at_rail_mall@yahoo. com.sg

HOOKED! is the place to go if you’re fishing for a bargain.

The humble eatery rolls out a gastronomic spread of westernor ienta l sea food d i she s at affordable prices.

The cheery, yellow-and-blue décor and spacious layout makes Hooked! a fine place to relax and indulge in some good oldfashioned feasting.

Hooked! stands out from

La Noce

5

No. 3 Chu Lin Road Singapore 669890 Tel: 6877 1986

11.30am to 2.30pm 5.30pm to 10.30pm Closed on Mondays www.lanoce.com.sg

WATCH out for the walnut – La Noce (“the walnut” in Italian) is the new gem in Hillview neighbourhood. This three-monthold restaurant can be easily overlooked as its name is etched in reverse on the frosted glass pane entrance.

With its dim setting and seating capacity of 30, La Noce is the place for private dining.

At first, the humble-looking menu may stump you as it’s filled with Italian words but with no helpful photographs of the food.

Before you dismiss the plainly designed menu, ask for a recommendation from Italian chef Catalano. The items that are not on the menu are worth paying (and travelling) for.

Request for Ravioli Porcini ($24) – an Italian version of jiao zi (Chinese dumplings). Pureed Porcini mushrooms with garlic, ricotta cheese and a smattering of bread crumbs that give it a grainy texture are encased in small pasta

T he red snapper (pict ured below) was perfectly de-boned. and was steamed and soaked in lemongrass and garlic broth with simple ingredients that bring out the purest essence of the fish.

St a l k s of a s pa r a g u s a nd slices of tomato and carrot give a refreshing, tangy flavour to the broth which tasted almost like non-spicy Tom Yam. The snapper was succulently tender and had no trace of fishiness while the side dish of fried linguine was light on the palate and complemented the main with its tinge of saltiness.

The f lavourful Roasted Cod in Lemongrass Miso ($19.90) was a slightly toned down version of sweet and sour fish with a refreshing aftertaste.

However, the cod was not well de-boned and the overpowering miso taste on the brinjal may not appeal to everyone, even if it is an interesting combination. Still, the softness and sweetness of the cod and the appetising puree made up for these shortcomings.

Another house signature dish, Hooked by Fish and Chips ($11.50), may be a tad overpriced, but it is one of the best in Singapore as the fillet (pictured top right) truly melts in the mouth.

Prepared from the chef’s secret recipe, the fish was nicely fried and the meat stayed together with the batter, unlike other fish-andenvelopes. The delicate layers of pasta melted in the mouth when eaten piping hot, and are smothered with a decadent sauce made from five kinds of Italian cheese.

Angelhair with Rabbit Ragout ($26) is La Noce’s best-selling dish. Done in aglio olio (garlic and olive oil) style, this silky strandlike pasta (pictured right) came generously topped with Pecorino cheese powder and drenched in extra virgin olive oil that gave the dish a pleasing aroma. The minced rabbit meat was more tender and juicier than chicken, with added sweetness from stewed carrot and celery bits.

If this is not available, Rigatoni with Creamy Duck Ragout ($19), a pasta resembling short and hollow tubes, is a good alternative.

Chef Catalano recommends both ragout dishes to be complemented with Merlot ($15 per glass), a medium-bodied red wine with hints of berry, plum and currant.

Linguini with Squid Ink ($22) sounds intimidating (pictured left), but in fact it is a popular choice for adventurous eaters.

Served in an austere black sauce, its taste is reminiscent of zha jiang noodles, except that it uses squid ink instead of Chinese soy sauce. The end result is a sa-

PHOTOS | KONG YEN LIN

chip dishes. Scrumptiously light and crunchy, it won our hearts quickly.

Diners can also choose the type of fish and how it is cooked – steamed, fried, Cajun or grilled.

Steamed is recommended as it brings out the best taste of the fish.

Upgrading the main course to a set meal, which includes a drink and soup, looks like a good idea, but be warned that the main meals are filling enough on their own.

What is a date without wine?

With four types of wine to choose f rom , Supe r v i sor A n ny Kok recommends their Sauvignon

Blanc, a white wine with an aromatic bouquet and generous ripe fruit flavours that go well with fish and white-meat dishes, especially the favourite Sashimi Platter ($17.80). At $8 per glass, it adds charm to a dinner for two.

Besides fish, Hooked! serves vegetarian dishes and other main courses such as grilled pork ribs and beef stew.

With many delectable dishes to choose from and the servicetax free policy, the only catch to Hooked! is its quiet location, which may lend an unexpected touch of romance to your date. ($16), a deeply satisfying side order that is out to deceive. Unlike the mustard yellow calamari from Fish and Co. many diners are accustomed to, this pale, cream-coloured calamari looks like it lacks a certain ingredient.

Truth is, it can be wiped out in seconds as the batter tastes surprisingly light but flavourful.

There are hardly traces of oil on your fingers after eating, so this dish feels less sinful.

With 95% of the ingredients imported from Italy and attentive waiters adding to La Noce’s top-notch service, this walnut is worth the un-shelling.

voury pasta that gets more addictive after each bite – even if it does stain the teeth black.

On the safe side, Salami pizza ($18) is a traditional oven-baked pizza (pictured right) that hits all the right notes. True to its name, this thin-crust pizza has only firm and chewy pieces of salami (seasoned sausage) as its topping.

The simple combination of finely sliced salami atop a lavish bed of melted cheese makes this an ideal dish to share with your date.

Also look out for Deep Fried Calamari with Red Spicy Sauce

PHOTOS | KONG YEN LIN & TAN ZI JIE

Present this page to Hooked! or La Noce to enjoy a 10% discount on all orders.

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show dapper: your essential style guide

PREPP in l

They aren’t exactly your typical style savants, but a the fashion world is bracing itself for the reve

LIKE everything else in the cult of fashion, nothing is ever predicta stodgy one day, might just be the most celebrated look the next.

At the recent Spring 2008 shows, designers pay homage to schoo of bookworms on the runway, proving that being a geek can be ch At Bottega Venetta, Tomas Maier showed what Style.com’s Tim on a preppy Palm Beach story” – with breezy shorts and gauzy to cotton fabric, madras.

Paul Smith on the other hand set a kaleidoscopic march of cand shirts. The godfather of British tailoring was inspired by renowned and this was apparent from the fuschia pinstripe blazers to the pin For women, Smith infused another key trend this season – mensw and yes, even bow ties.

But if you prefer flirting with your girlishness, then Miuccia P the preppy look will leave you enthralled. For her second line, Mi bright floral and graphic prints on slinky silhouettes will leave you secretarial.

On him: Plaid shirt, $123; cardigan, $89, all from River island, 01-41 VivoCity; denim and leather messenge

KNIT & TUCK

Dressing up preppy doesn’t mean you have to be clothed in a frumpy librarian’s frock.

The knit dress not only gives an updated look, but with the right choice of layering and textures, you’ll look as charming as an English school lass.

On her: Knit dress, $89; shirt by Vis-à-vis, $59, both from Collage Workshop, 04-138 Far East Plaza; grey patent and faux snake leather heels, $98, from Collage, 61 Haji Lane. On him: Polo tee with tie, $53; trousers, $105; white plimsoles, $89, all from River island, 01-41 VivoCity.

On her: Cardigan, $35, from Collage, 61 Haji Lane; shorts, $95, from River Island, 01-41 VivoCity. On him: Fu 04-138 Far East Plaza; shorts, price unavailable, from Niche, 34 Haji Lane. Blouse and headband, stylist’s ow

jan uary 28 , 20 0 8

T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

PY love

as Imran Jalal discovers, enge of the geeks

able. What is deemed dowdy and

ol-like dressing with an invasion hic. m Blanks labelled “a quirky take ops made from the lightweight

dy pop colours on polo tees and d British painter David Hockney nk sneakers. wear tailoring on jackets, pants,

Prada’s gamine interpretation of iu Miu, Prada exemplified how looking more Lolita-esque than

CHECK MATE

Prints are making their mark on the style radar. From Viktor & Rolf, to Comme des Garçon, designers are saying that it’s hip to be square.

WAISTED AMBITION With

the tides of fashion getting high, finally you get to cover up your behind. Pull up your act and look demure with either high waisted pants or skirts.

On her: Striped blouse, $95; high-waisted skirt, $105; patent platforms, $159. On him: Cardigan, $105; singlet, $21; pants, $105; straw hat, $45, all from River Island, 01-41 VivoCity. Spectacles and head band, stylist’s own.

VESTED INTERESTS

Waist coats are overrated, while pullovers are predictable. Resurrect the sweater vest and add a dollop of energy with prints and colour.

er bag, $89, from Sky Room, 84 Haji Lane.

GEEK GODS

No longer the perennial knitwear meant for your geography teacher, the cardigan is now a hit with fashionistas.

urrMuse shirt, $69, from Collage Workshop, wn.

Photographer Chen Wei Li Photo assistants Shah Aidil Yusuf Abdol Hamid Digital imaging Joy Lee Stylist Imran Jalal Styling assistant Apple Lee; Aw Hui Min Hair Apple Lee Make-up Joanne & Jocelyn Yan Make-up assisstant Elizabeth Soh Models Vanessa Ann Vanderstraaten Ben Lim Location ADM Library

HEMMING IT UP

Scandalously short hemlines, and this season’s favourite colour palette, canary yellow, turn up the dial on bookish glamour.

On her: Cardigan, $35, from Collage Workshop, 04-138 Far East Plaza. All other items, stylist’s own.

On him: Jack and Jones shirt with knitted vest, $79; shorts, $59, both from Duplex, Level 1, 44 Haji Lane; shoes, model’s own. On her: Jacket, $175, from River Island, 01-41 VivoCity; velvet mary jane with patent trim, $59.90, from Bianca, Level 2, 44 Haji Lane; chiffon blouse, stylist’s own.

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lifestyle

JAN UARY 28 , 20 0 8

T H E NA N YA NG C H RON IC L E

reviews

BOOKS T Is for Trespass SUE GRAFTON

$32.50, available at Borders Published by Putnam

SOLANA Rojas is one of the darkest, most dangerous sociopaths Kinsey Millhone has ever encountered. The wily evildoer in T Is for Trespass, Sue Grafton’s 20th Kinsey Millhone alphabet series, Solana is loathsome pr e c i se ly be cau se she’s not a bloodthirsty monster.

Instead, she’s a nondescript woman in crepe-soled shoes you might cross paths with while shopping at the local supermarket. Or, if you’re spectacularly unlucky, hire to take care of your vulnerable, aging loved one.

It all begins just a few months after private investigator Kinsey has wrapped up her last big case. (See S Is for Silence.) It’s 1987, Kinsey is 37, romantically unattached once again. An attorney wants her to investigate a suspicious fender bender. A landlord has hired her to evict some deadbeat tenants. Then there’s the background check on Solana Rojas, who’s applied for a job caring for Kinsey’s infi rm elderly neighbor, Gus. Solana, an expert at creating false identifications has had many elderly patients - frequently mentally incompetent - die under her care. Their relatives, if any, are never suspicious when their loved ones pass away.

Watching a crime story quietly emerge from Kinsey’s routine is one of the most reliable joys of reading Grafton.

Rather than nervously clobbering you with gore, we’re fi rst eased into Kinsey’s placid, and by now thoroughly familiar, daily grind: the three-mile morning jog through the streets of fictional Santa Teresa, Calif., followed by the ho-hum surveillance gigs of the small-time gumshoe, and the evening glass of Chardonnay and palaver with her octogenarian best friend, Henry. When the narrative eventually takes a turn for the thrilling (and bloody), you’re both solidly grounded and hooked. -CHARLENE FANG

I m gonna face my demons.

Gonna turn them down.

I m gonna keep on moving.

Gonna make my sound.

Bring It On by Lenny Kravitz

Pontoon: A Novel of Lake Wobegon GARRISON KEILLOR $27.90, available at Borders Published by Penguin Group

E V E LY N wa s a S a nc t i f ie d B r e t h r e n w o m a n of go o d standing, a devoted mother, a serious quilter. Only after she dies in her sleep, as she always wished she would, do we find out that she has been living a secret life.

In the opening pages,Evelyn is reading in bed when she’s visited by the Angel of Death. “Not yet,” Evelyn tells the angel. “I have to finish this book.” For years she has been in love with Raoul, a Las Vegas man who took her dancing and showed her the joys of life outside Lake Wobegon.

Evelyn’s stunned daughter Barbara finds she’s inspired by her mother’s secret commitment to pleasure. She decides to finally stop drinking and thumb her nose at the Wobegon establishment by carrying out Evelyn’s final wish — to be cremated and have her ashes scattered over Lake Wobegon from a pontoon boat. It is also a time of homecoming for Debbie Detmer, a veterinary aromatherapy millionaire who has returned to Wobegon from California with her uncommitted fiancé in the hope that a lavish wedding with Moët and shrimp shish kabob will save them. But Debbie’s plans for a pontoon boat wedding go terribly wrong.

And maybe that’s Keillor’s draw: For all the faux simplicity of his characters, a reader can’t help but hope that he or she, too, is “just us” -- not typical, not generic, but very specific and down-to-earth and brimming with common sense. As Evelyn once told the school board when a resolution proposed mandatory recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance: “If you require me to go to church, then it’s no longer faith, and when you make somebody pledge allegiance to a flag that stands for freedom -- you are just being stupid.”

A novel about courage and transformation in a town stuck in its ways, Pontoon is a heartfelt and comic novel by one of the greatest storytellers. -TEO MUI KIAN

Seventh Tree

GOLDFRAPP (ELECTRONIC)

MUSIC 

Goldfrapp is a British electronica group known for their visual theatrics. They were shortlisted for the Mercury Prize previously.

EVERYONE who is a loyal fan of Goldfrapp will enjoy Seventh Tree. The album in its delicated counterpoint is pure, innocent and melodic as opposed to the glam rock sound.

Goldfrapp infuses s ou nd s f r om t he 70’s with spilling pia no for m s a nd orchestral brilliance, while Alison’s vocals cascade beautifully, sounding war mer and challenged.

“Clowns” is a suitable introduction - the looped synth and melodic whirlpool of operatic vocals are an ethereal way to star t the album.

“Little Bird”, on the other hand, seems to replicate a

Beat les track f rom t heir famous Sgt Peppers album.

Clearly one of the best singles Goldfrapp has ever created, “A and E” reflects Alison’s vocal range and powerful lyrics.

Well-written with a terrific melody, the band’s interest in capturing music is more than just a soundscape or a sexual metaphor.

Seventh Tree is a good album by Goldfrapp. It focuses on the folk influences and the grand filmic influence the band shares and their imagery proves idiosyncratic and interesting. Supernature: Part Two will never happen, but Seventh tree is in our hands to love. -CHRIS LIEW

It Is Time for a Love Revolution LENNY KRAVITZ (ROCK)



Lenny Kravitz won the Grammy Award for “Best Male Rock Vocal Performance” four years in a row from 1998 to 2002.

IT IS Time for a Love Revolution is Lenny Kravitz’s eight studio album. The entire record is a thunderous mix, featuring a universal blend of soul, jazz grooves and the undeniable anthemic lyricism that has been Kravitz’s trademark from day One. Wr it ten a nd recorded over the last year in various locations from New York to Bra zi l, t h is album looks set to become one of Kravitz’s best albums, with its raucous rock ‘n roll jams, heavy drums and his unmistakable croon.

Featuring 14 new songs, once aga i n t he mu lt iinstrumentalist is writing,

producing, arranging and play i ng a l l t he t r ac k s, something he has done on all of his releases throughout his career.

A s t he tit le indicates, songs of love and spiritual revolution are sung, a sk i ng pe ople to welcome love in their hearts.

Not afraid to get political, he uses his music to draw attention to the current US war in Iraq.

From the singles Bring It On and Love, Love, Love, It Is Time For A Love Revolution represents the characteristics that has made Kravitz a vital musician for 18 years.

-FRANCIS CHONG

East Side Story

EMILY KING (CONTEMPORARY R&B)  Emily King is an American singer who started her career in 2005.

Her debut album East Side Story was released in August 2007.

PHOTO | INTERNET

EMILY KING has an influential musical history - she’s the daughter of jazz duo Marion Cowings and K im Kalesti. In East Side Story, she chose to grav itate towards hip-hop and R&B, instead of following her parents’ footsteps in jazz.

Howe ve r, ja z z inf luences are apparent in her music, like the inclusion of a sample of Bruce Hornsby’s “That’s Just the Way It Is” on the track “Alright”, which was a bit shocking since hip-hop is prevalent in previous songs.

S he e v e n c ov e r s Bi l l Whither’s “Ain’t No Sunshine”,

moving into Aretha Franklin’s ter r itor y. K ing is a good singer but can sound a bit too similar to Mariah Carey at times.

However, King still exhibits a voice of h e r ow n a n d she has written a majority of the songs on the album. The fi rst song she wrote, “Business Man”, is included on the album and “Walk in my Shoes” features Lupe Flasco.

Overall, K ing’s effor ts i n her f i r st a lbu m a re commendable. A promising start to a successful music career to call her own.

-LYDIA MOHD

lifestyle

JAN UA RY 2 8 , 20 0 8

T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

FILM

@

Sweeney Todd

v

Musical (M18)

Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter 117 minutes

TIM BURTON’S adaptation of t he 1979 mu sic a l Sweeney Todd is a tale of serial-killing barber, Sweeney Todd (Johnny De pp ) , who sl it s t he throats of his customers.

Then, with the help of bakery owner Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), he grinds up the corpses and serves them as meat pies to a salivating if unsuspecting public.

Depp sings and dances almost as well as he acts, and the only obv ious criticism is the non-stop gore and gurgling blood throughout the film.

As a young barber, Sweeney doted on his

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wife and baby daughter.

H i s w i fe’s beaut y attracted Judge Turpin (a superlatively creepy Alan Rickman), a sexual predator protected by the law played by Beadle Bamford (Timot hy Spall).

A trumped-up charge sent the barber to an Australian prison and the judge into rape mode.

Fifteen years later, Sw e e n e y i s b a c k i n London, a shock of white in his hair to match his deathly pallor.

Mrs. Lovett, his former landlady, tells him that his wife went mad and took her own life, and the

27 Dresses

Comedy/Romance (PG) Katherine Heigl, James Marsden 108 minutes

ALWAYS the bridesmaid at a wedding, and never the bride, Jane Nichols (Katherine Heigl) focuses on e v e r yone e l s e’s happiness at her own expense. Obsessed with all things white and made of taffeta, she is such a fan of weddings that friends look to her for various v e r s ion s of a r d uou s nuptial planning.

To make this sincere singleton appear more miserable, she has a crush on her clueless but hunky bos s , G e or ge . Ja ne’s attractive sister Tess, a flighty supermodel, was ordered for support and distraction, but the plan backfires when George and Tess fall head over heels with each other.

Jane is put to the test when she’s asked to plan the couple’s marriage.

Enter the classic male character who is cynical about anything remotely associated with marriage or commitment.

Played by Ja mes M a r sde n , Ke v i n i s a New York journalist who

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judge now plans to marry Johanna (Jayne Wisener), Sweeney’s daughter.

Sweene y Todd is a thriller from start to finish - sca r y, mon st rou sly funny and melodically thrilling. Depp is simply ma r velous. He is not Pavarotti and doesn’t try to be, but his light ba r itone ha s c la r it y, t i m br e a n d e m ot i v e power. Depp blurs the line between singing and acting, fusing them into something that keeps the movie blazing.

The musical is intimate and epic, horrific and hear t-rending as it f lies on t he w ings of S on d h e i m’s m o s t thunderously exciting score. Burton is a true visionary, who, with the help of cinematographer Dariusz Wolski, costume whiz Colleen At wood and production designer Dante Fer retti, sets a new gold standard for bringing a stage musical to the screen.

Take note: Sweeney Todd is bloody good.

-Chris Liew

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meets Jane at a wedding, and finds her the perfect material for his popular column. They start off on the wrong foot, with her dislik ing him for his cynicism, and him despising her love affair with weddings.

Unsurprisingly, Kevin then shifts from sparring partner to a shoulder for Jane to cry on. It is not hard to predict which way the stor y will go from here.

There is nothing new about this Cinderella story, and witty scripting can only save so much. Judy

Greer gives a predictably sol id pe r for ma nce a s Jane’s attitude-spewing co-worker and best friend Casey. Though she is the scene-stealing sidekick, Heigl does surprise with some effective physical comedy while radiating a girl-next-door persona that is difficult to hate.

Marsden and Heigl m a ke a n ic e -look i n g couple, and it is unfortunate a potentially wonderful movie is in fact nothing more than a regular chick flick.

-Chen Li Ying

REVIEW Vexille

Animation /Science Fiction (NC16) Meisa Kuroki, Yasuko Matsuyuki 109 minutes

VEXILLE is nothing short of a visual feast. The production team behind the hugely successful Appleseed film reunite here for a high concept, high action sci-fi thriller that questions the nature of humanity and is remarkably willing to criticize the current state of Japan, particularly for a mainstream Japanese blockbuster.

In the future, the use of robotic technology to augment humanity troubles the global community. Worried that such technology may allow the weaponization of the human body and the subversion of the human spirit itself, the UN passes a resolution forbidding the use of android technology, a resolution which has to be signed into international treaty law by all member states.

With the urging of Daiwa Heavy Industries, the world’s leading supplier of robotic technology, Japan refuses to sign the treaty and adopts a new policy of national seclusion. Japan withdraws from the UN, expels all foreigners and installs an electronic shield that scrambles any sort of electronic or satellite surveillance.

For all practical purposes, with the exception of the regular shipments of legal Daiwa robots that drive international industry, Japan simply falls off the map. No one comes in or out for ten years.

Enter Vexille, a young female operative of S.W.O.R.D., an LA based specialized militar y unit charged with policing the potential misuse of robotic technology in violation of the international treaty.

Her unit receives a tip about an upcoming meeting on US soil,

GIVE-AWAY! The Nanyang Chronicle has three pairs of tickets to Vexille which is exclusively screened at The Picturehouse, to give away.

Answer the question below and stand a chance to win passes to the film.

Question: Why did Japan withdraw from the UN in the movie? a) Political Struggle b) Refusal to forbid android technology c) War with the US

REVIEW

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involving a Daiwa executive and several major international politicians and they move in only to discover most of the politicians dead and that the Daiwa executive has become some sort of living machine, his human flesh being replaced by some sort of bio-metal. Realising that something is happening in Japan that could pose a threat to the rest of the world, the group plans a covert operation to infiltrate Japan and discover what ominous plans may be afoot in the Daiwa offices.

Vexille is a film that asks some serious questions about human nature - what makes us human on the most basic level and the ways in which we endanger our own humanity through our reckless greed.

Mostly, it is also a film that blows stuff up in spectacular fashion where the characters are made far more physically expressive with a vast improvement in facial expressions.

The film is an action spectacle that underpins its entertainment with high minded concepts — serious concerns will ensure it remains engaging and challenging for quite some time. Eye candy it may be but these are no empty calories.

-Huang Huimin

(Vexille is screening exclusively at The Picturehouse.)

E - m a i l u s y o u r a n s w e r, w i t h t h e subject, “Vexille” along with your name, gender and contact number to chronicle@ntu.edu.sg

Contest closes February 11 2008 This give-away is courtesy of The Picturehouse.

There is a student discount for tickets purchased before 6 pm at The Picturehouse.

Tickets are sold at $7, upon presenting your student pass at the Box Office, on Level 5, The Cathay Cineplex.

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lifestyle

JAN UARY 28 , 20 0 8

T H E NA N YA NG C H RON IC L E

tech review

The skinny on the Macbook Air Apple has revealed what it claims is The World s Thinnest Notebook . However, besides the aesthetics and the initial Wow! factor, what does the Macbook Air have to offer? Cameron Ng gives you his take THE Macbook Air is the latest in a line of subnotebooks that cater mainly to business people who are always on the move and require lightweight, ultra-portable laptops.

Its release has essentially cemented Apple's reputation as the leader in gorgeous-looking consumer electronics.

As with any major advertising blitz, the hype can be blinding.

In Steve Job's presentation, he declared: “we’ve (Apple) built the world’s thinnest notebook.”

T he c la i m i s d i s put able .

The Macbook Air measures an unprecedented 0.16 inches at its thinnest point and 0.76 inches at its thickest point.

The thinness of the Macbook Air is not uniform, unlike other subnotebooks in the market such as the Toshiba Portégé 2000 released in 2002, with a maximum thickness of 0.75 inches.

It is also not the lightest laptop available currently, as is trumpeted

by Apple supporters. Sony's 2.7 pound VAIO VGN-TZ150N has been available since 2007, while the new Macbook Air weighs in at 3 pounds.

Like most other subnotebooks, the Macbook Air trades functionality for ultra-portability.

As such, the Macbook Air comes without an optical drive, Ethernet (Local Area Network) or Firewire ports. There is a lone USB port on its side.

It also comes with its hard drive, memory and battery all enclosed within the casing, and memory soldered directly to the motherboard. In other words, the Macbook Air offers its user no options to replace or upgrade any

of its parts.

The lack of a swappable battery will definitely be a hindrance to mobile warriors where a power point is often unavailable.

As an additional service, Apple offers battery replacement for a fee.

On the upside, the Macbook Air does come with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and can wirelessly access the optical drive of another Mac or PC that has the required software installed, somewhat lessen i ng t he burden of not have a built-in optical drive.

With laptops today sporting ever smaller and hotter processors, the Macbook Air is no different.

As with any major advertising blitz, the hype can be blinding.

In fact, its CPU is literally a piece of the f ut ure, as the miniaturization technology found in the Macbook Air processor, which is 60% the size of identical processors on the market now, will not be available elsewhere until mid 2008, since it is specially produced for Apple by Intel.

Besides paying a price premium to join this exclusive (at least for the next few months) club, heat management looks likely to be

PHOTO | INTERNET

an issue.

W h i le t he major it y of laptops today use a combination of heatsinks, cooling fans and air vents to dissipate the heat generated by the CPU, the Macbook Air appears to have a single array of air vents located right at the bottom of its base. Unless the laptop is elevated while used, hot air is likely to recirculate inside the Macbook Air. T his might mean that the Macbook Air could potentially have problems caused by overheating, such as sudden shutdowns and data loss.

The Macbook Air is not without its good points. It has a fullsized keyboard unlike many other subnotebooks in the market today.

It is also at the bleeding edge of technology if you choose the

solid-state drive (SSD) option for your storage, though entrance into that club will cost you more than a thousand dollars over the basic option.

Wit h no mov i ng pa r t s, a Macbook Air sporting SSD for storage can potentially take more knocks than a normal laptop with a conventional hard disk drive, while possessing the significant perfor mance and batter y life boosts.

However, with the Macbook Air being as thin and light as it is, one should not be too rough with it. Its lightness may be its main selling point but the accompanying fragility may also end up being the main deterrent to any potential buyer.

T h e A p ple M ac b o ok A i r remains a triumph in engineering

and a celebration of design and aesthetics. Of course, such a sleek machine does not come cheaply.

Currently, the Macbook Air is tagged with a price of $2,988.00 for the lower-end model with a 1.6 Ghz processor and 80 GB harddisk, and $5,088.00 for the higher-end one with the 64 GB solid-state drive and a 1.8 Ghz core from the Apple online store.

Considering that the top-ofthe-line model in the Macbook Pro range costs only S$4,777.00 and comes with more functionality (albeit at a weight of 6.8 pounds), the decision to buy a Macbook Air is a difficult one to justify. Still, that probably will not deter ardent Mac supporters around the world from wanting to own yet another piece of Mac history.

Format wars: The Empire strikes back While Sony s Betamax faded into obscurity in last generation s clash of video formats, the Japanese giant may be the victor of this round. Cameron Ng reports

THIS generation’s format war between supporters of Toshiba’s High Definition Digital Video Disc, or HD-DVD, and those of Sony’s Blu-Ray Disc may soon see the latter emerging victorious.

The recent announcement by Warner Bros. of its decision to back Sony’s format exclusively from May 31 will see HD-DVD’s clients drop to Microsoft and two major fi lm studios, Universal and Paramount.

Howe ver, it wa s r ecent ly revealed that Paramount’s contract with HD-DVD included a clause to void their own studio’s agreements should Warner Bros. switch over to the Blu-Ray camp.

Meanwhile, Universal’s Ken Graffeo, executive Vice President of H D s t r at e g i c m a r k e t i n g for Un ive r sa l St ud ios Home Ente r ta i n me nt r e lea sed t h i s statement to the press: “Contrary to unsubstantiated rumours from unnamed sources, Universal’s current plan is to continue to support the HD-DVD format.”

While this might seem to be reassuring news to Toshiba, a lingering question remains over the length of time Universal’s support will last, given the recent shifts in allegiances among the two camps. Whether this will mark an end to Universal remaining exclusive to the HD-DVD format

is still unclear, especially as Universal did not define the exact length of time they would continue their support.

In Microsoft’s case, group marketing manager for Xbox hardware A lber t Penello has issued a non-commital statement that whatever format the console should utilise “should be the consumer’s choice, and if that’s the way they vote, that’s something we’ll have to consider (adopting)”, when asked by Reuters if Microsoft would support a Blu-ray Disc drive accessory in the event that HD DVD lost out.

Microsoft also failed to reveal the rumoured Xbox console with

HD-DVD FIRESALE: Toshiba has slashed the prices of its HD-DVD players by half.

The A30 here is now retailing for US$199 from US$399 less than two weeks ago.

PHOTO | INTERNET

built-in HD-DVD capabilities at the Consumer Electronics Show recently held in Las Vegas from January 7-10, and has no plans to do so in the future, according to Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing for interactive entertainment at Microsoft.

As of now, Microsoft’s official stand is that it will continue to

fully support the HD-DVD format, and there is no sign of the add-on HD-DVD drive being pulled off shelves.

With only Microsoft willing to pledge its unwavering support for the format now, it seems likely that Sony’s Blu-Ray will eventually become the next-generation format for high definition content.

lifestyle

JAN UA RY 2 8 , 20 0 8

T H E NA N YA NG C H RON IC L E

news flash

tech review

2008: The year of the laptop?

Portability is the order of the day, as consumers spoke loudly with their wallets in 2007 by embracing notebook technology. Our tech editor Lim Yan Liang tells you why 2008 belongs to these mean machines.

AS WE enter 2008, the ubiquity of the desktop is being threatened.

I ndu st r y e x per t s pred ic t total laptop sales worldwide will surpass desktop sales for the first time in 2008, as the demand for portable computing continues to soar.

While PC sales still outstrip that of laptops, the notebook has seen an enormous uptake in the past few years. Statistics from information and technology research fi rm Gartner indicate that while desktop PC sales grew less than a percentage point between 2005 and 2006, notebook sales grew 28.4% in the same period.

Laptop sales continued to close in on desktop sales in 2007,

growing 21% over ’06 figures to reach 31.6 million units, while desktop purchases maintained their downward trend, to move to a total of 35 million units.

Increasingly, both in academia and at the workplace, the laptop i s becom i ng more com mon.

Besides campus-wide wireless access for every student with a laptop, the launch of Wireless@ SG has brought free island-wide internet access to virtually every Singaporean with a wifi-enabled computing device.

With “WiMax [a wireless technolog y capable of providing high-speed data or broadband connections over long d ista nces ] e x pec ted to b e a v a i l a b l e com me r c ia l ly

from 2008”, according to an Infocomm Development Aut hor it y of Si ngapore spokesman speaking with online technology publication, ZDNet Asia, laptop sales are not looking to slow down anytime soon.

Besides the growing ava i labi l it y of w i r e less con nect iv it y, tech nologica l ad v a nc e s a nd plu m me t i ng prices are making new laptop purchases highly attractive.

From the introduction of dualcore mobile processors in 2006, to Intel’s Santa Rosa chip refresh in 2008, mobile computing power is fast catching up with desktop performance, while at the same time improving on battery life.

The growing trend of retailers making a Microsoft Windows license an optional purchase, and instead bundling a free Linux-based operating system with new computers also means more competitive pr ices for t he consu mer on a budget.

The success of Asus’ EEE PC, which has sold more than 350,000 units since its launch in October ‘07, means that hardware manufacturers are beginning to pay attention to the ultra

100GB MEMORY CHIP S ARE coming in 2009, with Intel Capital investing $14m in Nanochip, a Silicon Valley-based semiconductor firm. The design is reported to be scalable to 1 terabyte.

OLYMPUS HAS ANNOUNCED a new 20x optical zoom camera as part of its 2008 line-up of 10 cameras, reclaiming the title of longest superzoom. It will be available in March for $725.

TRAILBLAZER: The EEE gets a shot to the proverbial arm in 2008. PHOTO | INTERNET

affordable, ultra-portable portion of the notebook market. The 7”, S$598 laptop has been a resounding success, creating a new category of laptops at a previously unheard-of price point.

The EEE PC was such a surprise hit in 2007 that many retailers were unable to fulfi l all their orders when it first hit local shores.

Compet i ng ma ker s a re expected to roll out similar models in mid-2008, in anticipation of surging demand in this segment of the notebook market. Asus will introduce the next generation of the EEE in April ‘08 featuring a larger 8” screen and Intel’s power saving Merom processor, which should improve usability, battery life and system performance.

Sandisk unveils new 32GB flash-based media player The race for the Digital Audio Player (DAP) crown shows no signs of abating, with Sandisk recently announcing a 32GB flash-based music player, while competing DAP makers scramble to put more storage space into their own product lines. Lim Yan Liang brings you the details

SHORTLY after introducing an identical-capacity 1.8” Solid State Drive for ultra-mobile laptops, Sandisk announced the massive storage upgrade to its Sansa View MP3 players. At a suggested retail price of US$349, the View now offers enough storage to challenge existing hard disk drive (HDD) based players.

While Creative beat Sandisk to the punch by announcing a 32GB Zen player in late December last year, stocks of the Zen are expected to be available only in the fi rst quarter of 2008 for the major North American and European markets. Singapore buyers can

also mean a longer battery life, better performance and increased reliability over their HDD brethren.

W it h f la s h-ba s e d s olut ion s breaking the 32GB barrier, music lovers now have the best of both worlds available, albeit at a price premium.

It was barely 10 years ago in the summer of 1998 when the first DAP, a South Koreanproduced “MPMan” which sported 32MB of storage space, was released in North America. While subsequent DA Ps like the iconic first generation iPod used laptop H DDs , t he technology industry has come full circle w i t h S a n d i s k ’s ne w of fe r i ng, as at tent ion is r efoc u sed on UNDERSTATED BEAUTY: The Sansa is a no-frills, highf lash memor y. capacity and Flash-based alternative to the iPod. Expect pr ices to fall and capacities to do not contain any moving parts, continue increasing through 2008 tend to be much more durable as major players in the audio and compact, while being able to player market update their range withstand extreme temperatures of DAPs. and being submerged in water.

The decreased heat generation and solid state nature of flash drives their entire collection with them wherever they go, as they offer better price-per-gigabyte and higher capacities compared to flash memory. However, this came at the cost of employing fragile HDDs, which often skipped and were more prone to failure from bumps and drops.

Flash-based solutions, which

PHOTO | INTERNET

purchase the 32GB Zen now, at a suggested retail price of S$549.

H DD -ba s e d playe r s h ave always been the choice of music aficionados who want to bring

25

CREDIT CARD ISSUER GE Money released a statement last Wednesday that a backup computer tape containing personal data of over 650,000 customers had gone missing.

A CYBERATTACK HAS CAUSED a power blackout in multiple cities outside the United States, as the CIA disclosed evidence of blackmail demands following demonstrations of successful intrusion.

DATA FROM RESEARCH FIRM NPD Group indicates Blu-ray Discs surged to 93 percent of total highdefinition hardware sales following Warner’s pro-Blu-ray announcement, while HD-DVD sales continue to plummet.

WORL D OF WA RCR A F T H A S s u r p a s s e d 10 milli o n p a y in g subscribers worldwide, announced Blizzard on Tuesday. Approximately 5.5 million of these subscribers are from Asia.

NINTENDO HAS TOPPED 2007 sales numbers, taking both first and second place with the DS and Wii respectively. The video games industry had its best year ever, with sales up 43% from 2006.

A GROUP OF INTERNET SERVICE Providers led by Verizon is working to harness P 2P technology to reduce network traffic and speed up downloads on the web by distributing bandwidth more efficiently.

VIA TECHNOLOGY IS STARTING to make 64-bit processors based on a new architecture that is expected to provide double the performance of their current chips but consume the same power.

GOOGLE HA S TIED UP WITH Japan’s DoCoMo to provide search services for its 48 million mobile net users. The two companies are also planning to launch a Linux-based handset in Japan.

ELECTRONIC ARTS IS SET TO release a free online version of the popular Battlefield game to be supported by ads, marking EA’s first major attempt to tap into new sources of ad-driven revenue.

APPLE’S EARNINGS EXCEEDED expectations but it s stock s plummeted after the company’s projected earnings for ‘08 failed to meet shareholder forecasts. It is expecting a sharp decline in software sales.

ROCKSTAR HAS ANNOUNCED that GTA IV will be released on April 29th on both the PS3 and Xbox 360.

The game, which has been delayed since August last year, is one of the year’s most anticipated software.

张悬：你们要为我鼓掌，我要为你 们痛哭流涕。 —— 刊30页

新闻

热门科目值50元以上！ 林芯怡●报道

在

学期开始的首两周， 南大校园出现学生为 得到自己想要的单元，不惜 花钱“买”科目的情况。 有几名学生竟在南大电邮 系统的公共文件夹（public folder）里刊登启示，公然 开价。 越是热门的科目，尤其是 外语课和非考试单元，就有 越多人愿意进行买卖，而价 钱甚至从10元到50元以上皆 有。 据本报了解，学生大多数 是因为无法得到重要或合适 的科目才出此下策，而卖家 为了从中赚钱也不介意 “转 让”这些科目给其他同学。

中 文 系 组 乐 团

每个学期的科目登记时 期，都是学生最苦恼的时 候。尤其是通识（General Education Requirement Prescribed Electives）和自 由选修单元（Unrestricted Electives）的登记程序。 学生在科目登记系统 （STARS）上分别选择最多 五门通识和自由选修单元， 按照顺序排列。 校方过后将按照学额把科 目分配给学生，但并不是所 有的学生将能够获得自己想 要的科目。 毕竟很多科目都会出现僧 多粥少的现象。 直到开学后的Add/Drop 时期，学生才能以“先到先 得”的方式登记剩余的学 额。

陈文华●报道

联南 系 师 生 感 情

大独一无二的茶霓思 （取“Chinese”谐音） 乐团创办仅有半年时间，就已 有远大的理想。他们将会在八 月份推出首张原创专辑。 茶霓思乐团是由南大中文系 师生、校友及教务行政人员组 成。这也是新加坡大专学府唯

一名受访的理科生表示， 他因为科目申请被驳回，课 堂表又很不方便，才会想要 用钱买科目。 也有一位二年级学生透 露，他提出了20元的买价， 但卖家却要求以40元成交， 所以最后交易并没达成。 虽然STARS有e-swop的

“就算不出钱也有 其他的方法解决问 题，可以和管理层 洽谈，或者选择其 他科目。” 陈宥兴 电机与电子工程系四年级生

一的中文乐团。 茶霓思乐团是联系中文系 全体上下的感情管道之一。 中文系二年级生梁智祥 在半年前向中文系提出组乐 团时，赢得师生的欢迎与支 持。从征选歌手、乐手到宣 传工作都由他一手包办。过 程虽辛苦，但在努力地筛选 歌曲与彩排后，茶霓思乐团 终于策划在八月份推出首张

茶霓思乐团是南大中文系的辛苦结晶。 摄影|关洁薇

功能，但有些学生却是在提 出金钱交易后才找到愿意交 换科目的对象。 因为是第二学期的关系， 即将毕业的学生有些却还没 达到学分数量要求，所以为 了能够得到理想的科目并顺 利毕业，才会愿意出钱吸引 卖家。 这些受访的学生都知道这 种买卖可能是不合法的，但 事态紧急又走头无路，只好 冒险尝试。 记者尝试多次联络教 务处（Office of Academic Services）以确认这种行为 的合法性和所牵涉的后果， 却至截稿时间，仍无法获得 任何正面回复。 记者也采访了众多学生， 他们一般上认为这种交易是

不道德的，对没有经济优势 的学生也很不公平。 电机与电子工程系四年级 生陈宥兴说:“就算不出钱也 有其他的方法解决问题，可 以和管理层洽谈，或者选择 其他科目。” 相对地，有学生表示可以 理解与纵容这种做法。 一位数理科二年级学生向 本报透露，自己也曾有买科 目的念头。 她说：“STARS系统真 的很恼人，所以我可以了解 他们的行为。买家也是因为 走投无路才会出此下策。 “但那些卖出热门科目的 人却是为了金钱才这么做， 我就觉得不道德，他们应该 直接让出学额而不是趁人之 危地卖出去。”

专辑。 也是乐团团长的智祥透 露：“这张专辑的特色就是收 录了中文系同学自创的作品。 “我们是个非营利的团体。 卖专辑得来的钱将会用来支付 一切乐团后勤的费用与购买自 己的乐器。” 茶霓思乐团在公开演出时， 除了表演华语流行歌曲，也有 中文系学生的自创歌曲。乐团 秉着让同学有发挥音乐所长的 目的，召集有兴趣者前来组 团，致力于培训音乐人才。 茶霓思乐团的歌手之一，一 年级的蔡可 就说：“我想为 茶霓思乐团好好唱歌，也希望 可以向学姐学吉他。” 团长梁智祥在南大以外参加 教堂的乐团已有四年，最拿手 的乐器是钢琴与键盘。他期望 乐团可以推出自己的专辑，成 为中文系之光。 茶霓思乐团每月至少会练习 一次，而且都是租校外的音乐 室与乐器来练习。

针对茶霓思乐团有何展 望，智祥表示：“我希望更 多对音乐有兴趣的同学有机 会学音乐。也想看到乐团收 到更多、更好的自创作品， 提高素质后，参加公开的乐 团比赛。”

茶霓思乐团 排练详情 茶霓思乐团非常欢迎中文系 以外的师生前去观看他们的 排练情况并给予意见。 地点：Four Tones Music Rehearsal Studios （可上 www.fourtonesmusic.com 查询地址） 排练日期：2月11日与18日 （晚上7时至9时）

27

JAN UA RY 2 8 , 20 0 8

T H E NA N YA NG C H RON IC L E

通 讯 故 障

殃 及 南 大

宋慧纯●报道 中文娱乐编辑

南

大校园的手机通讯在 过去的一个月里给许 多学生带来不便，特别是新 电信（Singtel）2G用户的学 生。在繁忙时段，手机通讯 频频出现问题，电话连打了 好几次都没有办法接通，简 讯也无法顺利发送，叫人不 解其中原因。 有好几名学生向本报透 露，每次在校园内想联络同

学（新电信用户），都联络 不上，有时电话根本是响都 不响。 较早前，《我报》报道， 自去年十二月开始，裕廊西 一带的新电信通讯服务在傍 晚六时至晚上十时几乎陷入 瘫痪。许多手机用户都碰到 收讯中断或者收讯全无的状 况。第一通（M1）与星和 （Starhub）通讯公司的电信 服务使用者，却没有遇到类 似问题。 报道也指出，新电信所 给予受影响公众的理由是因 为裕廊西一带的客工越来越 多，他们大量购买预付卡手 机使用，因而导致通讯网络 不胜负荷。 但在南大校园内，此情况 不只限于傍晚六时至晚上十 时之间，就连中午时间，使 用新电信服务的学生也同样 叫苦连天。 传播系一年级学生罗雪俐 就表示：“一到繁忙时段， 我的手机就会有收不到信号 的问题，害得我不能拨打电 话或传送简讯。” 中文系二年级学生纪庆 聆也遭遇类似状况。她说： “我的朋友拨了好几通电话

给我都不通。我的通讯纪录 也没有未接来电。” 记者到南大的不同地点， 如食堂A和B、Hall 4和North Spine等，进行实地测试， 确实发现第一通和星和的通 讯服务没问题，唯有新电信 的服务非常不稳定。简讯得 尝试发好几次，才能顺利发 送；电话也得打上三次才能 接通。 虽然新电信在《我报》受 询时表示，只要换成3G卡， 就能免受其害，但事实证明 并非如此。 一位刚好来南大找朋友 的梁博渊（19岁，3G手机用 户）受访时说：“我原本就 对南大环境不太熟悉，想打 电话向朋友求助时，却发现 电信服务发生故障，还好我 的朋友当中一位是非新电信 用户，这才解决的我在南大 走失的问题。” 据了解，新电信已经在裕 廊一带增设基站，以提高流 动通讯网络的容量，来应付 日益增加的需求。预计通讯 网络设施的提升将在今年三 月之前完成。因此，预料手 机通讯的问题还会持续一段 时间。

《华艺节2008》

节目精粹 音乐剧《上海之夜》 TOY肥料厂（新加坡） 日期：2月8日与9日 时间：晚上8时

现代《水浒传》 国立中正文化中心与非常林奕华 （台湾） 日期：2月12日与13日 时间：晚上8时

欲知订票详情，可上SISTIC网站 查询。

好in::乐 － 黄韵仁 + 伍家辉 + 黄星魁 （新加坡 / 马来西亚） 日期：2月9日 时间：晚上7时30分与10时30分

张震岳[不插电]Live演唱会 （台湾） 日期：2月16日 时间：晚上7时30分

刺 的 激 艺 感 术 官 节

韩伟定●报道 中文总编辑

（所有照片由滨海艺术中心提供）

《上海之夜》音乐剧将为华艺节2008掀开序幕，由（左起）王 欣、苏永康和杨爱曼领衔主演。

华

艺节2008将见证 多个“第一”， 节目重点更是放在本地和 本区域的艺术家与国际艺 术家的合作与互动，以提 升艺术领域的素质。 本届华艺节首次推出 崭新的音乐系列《好in:: 乐》。 来自新、马、港、台 才华横溢的独立唱作歌 手，黄韵仁、伍家辉、 黄星魁、at17 + PixelToy 等，将通过这系列分享他 们的音乐创作，撑起乐坛 的另类流行。 此外，今年也第一次 推出了“艺术家驻留计 划”，有望把艺术表演推 向另一个高潮。 台湾著名音乐人林 强，与本地四位艺术工作 者余思行、黄雯蕾、林玮 翎和林菀雯，将以音乐、 效果、造景、影像和灯 光，创造出一种刺激感官 与互动的剧场氛围。 步入第六个年头的艺 术节加深了同本地艺术团 体的合作。 对此，滨海艺术中心

节目处处长纳登说：“每一 项（节目）都为本地与本区 域的艺术家提供了更多成长 的机会，这也恰恰是我们长 期发展与推介更多亚洲作品 的用意所在。” 除了音乐，戏剧方面也将 汇集本地与本区域的力作。 为华艺节掀开序幕的是 TOY肥料厂的音乐剧《上海 之夜》。这部音乐剧，改编 自著名编剧杜国威的作品， 由TOY肥料厂艺术总监吴 文德执导，香港艺人苏永康 和本地演员王欣（Mindee Ong）、杨爱曼（Emma Yong）领衔主演，演绎一段 扣人心弦的浪漫温馨爱情故 事。 《华艺节2008》将从2月8 日至17日在滨海艺术中心举 行。 除了售票演出，华艺节也 准备了一系列免费的节目， 包括本地合唱队伍在中央大 厅的新年歌曲齐唱、本地独 立流行乐团的演奏，以及户 外电影放映会等。 有 兴 趣 者 可 上 网 www.huayifestival.com查询 更多详情。

28

JAN UARY 28 , 20 0 8

T H E NA N YA NG C H RON IC L E

农历新年将近，你对这 华族传统节日的习俗知 多少？新年期间又有哪 些避忌、健康的饮食方 法？记者郑韫茵、林洁 莹、吴炜炜、滕思珂整 理报道。 （插图●黄郁雯 ／ Sarah Amnah）

不同籍贯的习俗 福建人

广东人

对福建人来说，正月初 九天公诞才是他们的新年。 在中国明朝末年，福建地带 饱受敌军蹂蔺。一次的大屠 杀，村民躲进甘蔗园中才得 以保住性命，到那年正月初 九敌兵宣布不再滥杀无辜为 止。所以，每逢正月初八午 夜起，福建人就会大事祭拜 天公，酬谢神明当年的庇 护。

说到广东人，他们把捞鱼 生作为人日的习俗，由大陆 移民带来南洋。 广东人很喜欢糕点，他们 在八宝盒内摆放九样传统零 食：莲子、莲藕、柿饼、马 蹄、金桔、冬瓜条、姜片、 红萝卜和椰丝，喻意盘满钵 满，年年有余。

潮州人

客家人很早就开始准备过 年，九、十月晒番薯片、米 糕片供过年油炸和炒食。 冬 至一到，开始蒸酒。年近三 十日，家家户户要蒸糖糕、 做米果、做豆腐、杀猪、宰 鸡等。 除夕晚上，吃团圆饭， 菜肴多是象征繁荣的八菜一 汤。席间，老人小孩吃鸡 腿，以示尊老敬幼。

家长会率子女围坐火锅 旁吃年夜饭，叫“围炉守 岁”，象征家庭团圆。传统 潮州家庭会在初七吃“七样 羹”，材料一般是芹菜， 大蒜，葱，韭菜等。金橘的 “金”在潮州话里是“怒 气”的谐音，所以给潮州人 拜年可千万别带金橘去。

客家人

健康饮食小贴士 一、火锅的健康吃法 吃火锅时最好不要喝冷 饮，因为会造成血压起伏过 大，从而引发身体不适。 火锅若放进过多材料，饮 用熬煮的高汤，可能导致热 量摄取过多。 以海带、番茄等蔬菜代替 肉骨来熬煮火锅汤底，能够 减低油脂量。 二、健康食品 选择一些较健康的零食， 如开心果、杏仁果等坚果 类。坚果不含胆固醇，而且 含有高蛋白质、高纤维以及 矿物质。 以葡萄干和薄荷糖代替含

高糖份的糖果；以果汁或绿 茶代替汽水饮料，也是较健 康的选择。 三、节制食量、多运动 要避免自己在美食的诱惑 下暴饮暴食，可在出门前， 先吃点东西。访亲友时就不 会肚子饿，越吃越多。 其次，不妨考虑在到组屋 拜年时多爬楼梯；开车人士 也可考虑将车子停放在距离 目的地较远的停车场，多加 运动，以消耗额外的卡路里! 吃了太多油腻或高脂食 品，要解热清肠，不妨试试 以苹果与红枣煮水饮用。红 枣补气，性温味甘，有补益 脾胃、养血宁神的功效。

农历新年，避之大吉？ 农

历新年的脚步越来越 近了，对于这个隆重 的传统节日，你还会带着儿 时的兴奋期待它的到来吗？ 还是会选择避开过新年的种 种习俗？ 受访的学生大部分认为， 随着年龄的增长，对农历新 年的感觉越来越平淡。年轻 一代似乎是跟着家人和长辈 的习惯而进行一系列的农历 新年活动。 机械与宇航工程系二年 级的刘祖佑便坦言：“现在 农历新年对我来说不是很重 要，期待的只是红包而已。 至于拜年时与亲戚的相聚， 毕竟一年才见一次，也没什 么话题。” 而来自马来西亚的机械与 宇航工程系三年级生谢世勤 说：“尽管我不会为这个节

新年避忌 1. 年初一的上午不要叫人 姓名催人起床，这样表 示对方整年度都要人催 促做事情。 2. 年初一时忌跟还在睡觉 的人拜年，因为这样会 造成对方一整年都在病 床中。 3. 年初一不准用剪刀，否 则会断绝财路仕途，甚 至意味着断子绝孙。 4. 过去的常规穷人家才吃 稀饭，所以在年初一的 上午一定要吃乾饭，表 示家里整年度都会很富 有。 5. 过年期间不要让人从自 己口袋掏东西，这样表 示整年度钱财都会被人 家掏走。

日觉得很兴奋，但还是会跟 着家人隆重地庆祝新年，也 有很多的活动。在马来西亚 我们会偷买鞭炮偷放，也会 聚在一起打打麻将和到处去 拜年。” 另一方面，也有部分受访 者认为农历新年是很重要的 节日，也会为此准备一番。 商学院会计系二年级的林 诗洁就是农年新年的“拥护 者”。 她说：“我会和妈妈去 买年货，也打扫房子迎接新 年。新年期间会到牛车水走 走，感受新年的气氛 。” 被问到她对年轻一代对农 历新年不再重视的看法时， 她解释道：“也许有些人认 为农历新年有点像老一辈人 的节日，例如圣诞节的时候 你会看到各年龄层的人在街

上庆祝，而农历新年到牛车 水的好像都是老一辈的人。 “一些比我年纪小的表兄 弟，表姐妹也觉得拜年是很 闷的一件事，更别说对其他 新年习俗的重视了。” 尽管对农历新年活动的 期待不如以往，受访的同学 却表示不会选择出外旅游避 年。 化学与生物化学系一年 级的林佳慧就提出她的看 法：“选择避年的人大概是 想省下给红包的钱，但是出 外旅游也是需要花钱的，所 以我和我的家人都没有避年 的习惯。” 谢世勤则认为，避年的现 象应该是因为新年有连续几 天假期的关系，所以人们趁 这个机会出外旅游 ，好好休 息一番。

猪 今年会有无心学习 的倾向。易与人口 角争吵。健康较 差，须注意饮食。

鼠 今年较喜欢参加课外活 动。性格较燥，要控 制自己的脾气。注意安 全，慎防水险并提防割 伤或刺伤。 牛 今年领悟力特强，易 于吸收新知识，若专 心温习，成绩定会突 飞猛进。但应谨慎交 友，远离损友。 虎 今年读书情绪难以专 注，容易分心，须付 出双倍努力，才可成 功！ 兔 今年读书较易掌握窍 门，往往事半功倍！ 易得人缘，但须带眼 识人，远离损友。易 受肠胃之疾困扰。 龙 今年读书情绪不够积 极，学业成绩未有改 进；必须下定决心， 加倍努力。是非较 多，须谨口慎言。 蛇 今年读书必须加倍努 力，否则成绩会每况 愈下！若与人发生争 执，要以和为贵，切 勿小事化大。今年健 康欠佳，注意饮食。

鼠 年 12 生 肖 运 程

狗 今年读书最重要是有 一个良好的开始，便 会有一个理想的效 果。今年情绪紧张， 与人易生磨擦，提防 因而变得孤单寂寞。 鸡 今年福星高照，心思 特别灵巧，读书可胜 人一筹，名列前茅。 但须谨口慎言，慎防 隔墙有耳。 猴 今年读书情绪容易 低落，且易被外来 事物分心，成绩可 能一落千丈！今年 会遭人非议，勿斤 斤计较。 羊 今年紫微照命，创意 特别丰富，若能专 心学习，定可百尺竿 头！健康情况良好， 但易受口腔疾病困 扰，应及早诊治。 马 今年在校可能成为被针 对的对象，但只要坦诚 对人，便无大碍！身体 抵抗力较差，应注意强 身健体。

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JAN UA RY 2 8 , 20 0 8

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言论 咖啡厅

编辑室●独具慧眼

“新贫族”花钱 买心灵慰籍 宋慧纯 中文娱乐编辑

最

近在一本中国出版 的杂志上看到“新 贫族”这个名词的时候， 觉得很有趣。因为在二 十一世纪的中国上海， “新贫族”是一个新时代 年轻高消费群的代名词。 “新贫族”其实是由 上海一群高新的专业年 轻消费者所组成，他们 主张的是：钱就是要赚 来花的，他们自定了一个 新的花钱主张，讲究的是 怎样把钱花在更应该花的 地方。存折里没有钱没关 系，重要的是享受当下金 钱那所能带来的满足与快 乐，即使这种满足感多半 来自于物质上的给予。相 比之下，过去的人并持着 未雨绸缪的旧式思想，以 储蓄为最实际的理财概 念，似乎已经不受用。 然而，这个名词并不 仅局限于上海，而是可以 把它套用在其他的大都 市，新加坡就是一个例 子。 近几年来，许多在过 去十年从未在商场上出现 过的欧美品牌，尤其是高 档男性服饰，如今都陆续 出现在我国。它们锁定的 购物群就是新一代的年轻 专业男士，因为他们的高 消费能力以及对高质量产

品的需求已经变成一种趋 势。就好像西班牙品牌 Zara已经是许多男性的最 爱，他们花在服饰上的钱 并不亚于女生崇尚名牌。 高岛屋的Louis Vuitton和 Chanel等国际时尚品牌近 几年来，消费者也有年轻 化的趋势，意味着新一代 的“新贫族”的崛起，重 视的是物质上的满足多过 于对未来的考量。 他们总是活在当下， 把及时行乐当成一种人生 态度。所以能够购买名牌 的快感对他们而言已经变 成一种身份与能力的认 同，在同辈之间几乎没有 人会否定这种态度。 其实这种物质上的满 足是短暂的，因为它能给 你的不过是暂时的心灵慰 藉与肯定。如果一个人心 灵上的满足要靠物质来加 持，那其实是一件很悲哀 的事情。 心灵上的满足终究不 是物质所能顶替的。与其 从购买名牌的能力找回自 信与获得他人的肯定，倒 不如从提升自己，建立自 己的自信开始。因为别人 看到的是你内在散发出来 的自信与魅力。 你就能从而体会到人 生其实不仅是为了追求需 花的名利地位而存在。自 信面对生活上的挑战，才 是在人生中我们应该努力 去追求，去体验的吧。

周汶静

现

在只要提起“甜甜 圈”或是“donut” 这个单词，相信大多数人都 会滔滔不绝吧。这股“甜甜 圈”热潮在2007年头掀起， 带头的相信是位于莱佛士城 购物中心里的一家甜甜圈专 卖店。在这间店开幕不久 时，我曾经过。当时我暗暗 啧奇：颜色这么奇怪的“甜 甜圈”有人敢吃吗？ 出乎意料，不到几个月，

这间曾被我质疑的专卖店里 的甜甜圈竟卖到断货。这 股“甜甜圈”热潮是否和 当年的“泡泡茶”疯有些 相似？它又会不会像“泡泡 茶”一样，维持不久便会化 为泡沫？ 甜甜圈专卖店在西方国家 屡见不鲜。甜甜圈对西方人 来说是他们再平常不过的家 庭式点心。但这些鼎鼎有名 的专卖店却不曾登陆我国， 甜甜圈爱好者只能到国外去 品尝其滋味。 我常听几位友人说，每当 他们到国外时，都不忘把那 里的“甜甜圈”大批地 带回来慢慢享用， 其实我也不例 外。我们都一致 认为国外 有名的“ 甜甜圈” 不

论味道或口感，都远超越国 所制。 我有时会想：如果在国外 有名的“甜甜圈”来到新加 坡开分店，本地的小型“甜 甜圈”店恐怕岌岌可危了。 虽然“泡泡茶”疯与“甜 甜圈”热有不少相同之处。 但“泡泡茶”的作法简单， 口味上并不容易喝出什么不 同。反观“甜甜圈”的制作 程序繁琐，只要哪里不对 劲，一口就吃得出。因此， 不是“甜甜圈”不是外表漂 亮就一定可口，也不是每一 间“甜甜圈”店都能受欢 迎。竞争强劲，做得不好， 反而容易被踢出局。 在莱佛士城购物中心的“ 甜甜圈”店能在一夜之间成 名，靠的不是大规模的宣 传，而是顾客们的口碑。一 传十，十传百，口头上的宣 传是不容忽视的。 这股“甜甜圈”热潮是否 能持续，就要看业者是否能 做出卖相和口感兼具的“甜 甜圈”。毕竟，国人的味蕾 可不是那么容易被征服的。

优势。 而上海的家长则因为过于 重视孩子语言能力的培养， 过早让孩子学习多种语，因 而许多幼儿都面临“失语 症”，到了该说话的年龄却 很难开口说话。 以往，每听到家长给还 未上小学的孩子聘请补习老 师，为幼儿报读各式各样的 课程等，就已经觉得不可思 议。 毕竟，如此幼龄的孩子必 须面对繁重的作业、活动与 压力，从而丧失孩子该有的 无忧无虑童年生活，实在令 人心疼。 如今，这样的新闻更令人 咂舌，促使我们重新思考这 样的学习安排是否真有此必 要。 诚然，家长“怕输”的心 理是可以理解。 他们望子成龙，想给孩子 最好的一切，而教育也成为 家长最重视的环节。而当竞 争愈强，家长对孩子的要求 也无可厚非地提高。 但值得思考的是幼儿究竟 有多大的吸收能力？

爱子的同时，家长是否也 要顾虑到孩子实际的学习能 力？ 从以上两则新闻可见，家 长认为没有所谓不适合学习 的年龄。 纵使专家指出，幼儿的 学习能力有限，不可能吸收 太多知识，但是家长依然希 望在孩子在这种耳濡目染的 情况下培养好学的精神与兴 趣。 所谓：“欲速则不达”， 家长们越想让孩子从小学习 更多，孩子越可能无法有效 地吸收那么多知识。 家长虽爱子心切，但是不 切实际的希望或许会弄巧成 拙。 家长应该依自己孩子的 年龄与能力制定适合孩子的 学习计划，而并非一味地跟 风。 在这步伐快速的现代社会 中，年幼的孩子或许更需要 的是快乐的童年，以及父母 的爱与鼓励。而在这样充满 爱与笑声的童年中，学习自 然会成为一种乐事，而孩子 们也可能会吸收得更多。

插图｜Sarah Amnah

年 幼 孩 子

没 童 年 了

陈丽汶

或

插图｜龙凡

“甜甜圈”可否持续发热？

许是因为生活在如此 竞争强烈的时代中， 家长们对于孩子们的教育便 越来越重视。 日前的两则报道，让我 们再一次见证了现代家长的 “怕输”行为。 越来越多新加坡的家长不 惜昂贵的学费，纷纷将年龄 未满两岁的孩子送入婴儿学 校，希望自己的孩子能从小 开始学习，好让他们在进入 学校时比同龄孩子更有学习

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T H E NA N YA NG C H RON IC L E

娱乐

Soler X2 双倍诚意

张悬《亲爱的...我还不知道》音乐分享会

● 台上喝酒演唱 “灌醉”台下歌迷 近 颜子欣

张悬毫不讳忌地在台上喝啤酒，展现豪迈个性。 摄影|陈姿洁

郭进华●报道 湾创作歌手张悬日前 首次来到新加坡，在 Dragonfly举行了《亲爱的… 我还不知道》音乐分享会。 不做作的她在台上唱完每 一首歌曲后喝啤酒，并以最 真实舒服的歌声，让在场约 200位歌迷陶醉。为了支持 张悬，观众在当天下午一小 时前就冒雨前来排队入场。 音乐会当天，张悬和吉 他手杉特一同呈现了八首歌 曲，还向观众介绍了歌曲背 后的意义，并以幽默的方式 自我调侃，把观众逗乐了。

表演之前，张悬对台下静 静听着她说话的歌迷坦率地 说：“其实，我本来今天要 扮淑女的，结果你们都那么 文静，搞得我很尴尬。” 表演歌单中不仅有她两 张专辑（《My Life Will…》 与 《 亲 爱 的 … 我 还 不知道》）里的歌曲，还包 括了她喜欢的西洋音乐， 如Sheryl Crow的“I Shall Believe”和 Rolling Stones 的“Wild Roses”。 她说，歌单和她在台北著 名夜店“女巫的店”驻唱时 是一样的，她唱最多的歌曲 也是她想要诠释的。 “歌曲不一定要是自己

娱乐大嘴巴

陈丽汶

台

若 中 国 吹 风 向 何 处

说起“中国音乐”， 你可能立刻联想到华 乐、周杰伦式的“中国风” 或者是中国民间歌谣之类的 歌曲；说到中国歌手，或许 也只能勉强说出刀郎、胡彦 斌等。 本地的听众对港台的流行 乐坛并不陌生，但对中国的 流行音乐却不这么熟悉，有 所保留，也对中国音乐保持 刻板印象。或许，这是因为 中国的歌手甚少到东南亚宣 传与演出，纵使新加坡的电 台近期已开始播放中国歌手 的歌曲，并设立时段介绍来

的，但只要对它有感觉，那 首歌就是你的。这也是一种 创作，比起写一堆歌曲来表 达自己更有意义。” 发片前，张悬曾组织地下 乐团，并常在台湾各大Live House演唱，因此累积了丰 富的驻唱经验。 为保留在台湾夜店表演 的感觉，所以没有安排主持 人，以最自在的方式和台下 观众交流。 不过，习惯晚上演出的 她，不习惯“太阳唱不下 去”的感觉。 张悬的现场表演实力在 当天发挥得淋漓尽致，从 慢板的《模样》、非主打 《嫁祸进行式》，到甜蜜的 西洋歌曲Ben Christophers 的“Sunday”，舒服的哼 唱配上时而又有爆发力的歌 声，都让观众听得如痴如 醉。 对观众和歌迷的到场支 持，张悬很高兴，并认为是 缘分，而不是设定好“你们 要为我鼓掌，我要为你们痛 哭流涕”的表演。 尽管不喜欢搭飞机，张悬 依然向往在宣传期过后到不 同国家去表演，因为这是她 想要过的生活，并答应观众 下回会带着乐团一起表演。

自内地的歌曲，而新加坡金 曲奖也增设了“最受欢迎内 地歌手”的奖项，但本地的 听众似乎仍然对中国音乐依 旧陌生。 但如今在中国崛起的新 声势力绝不容忽视。近几 年，各国都兴起了歌唱选 秀比赛，就如本地的《绝 对Superstar》让我们认识了 潘嘉丽、洪俊扬等；台湾的 《超级星光大道》让我们认 识了星光帮；中国的选秀比 赛《超级女声》、《加油！ 好男儿》、《我型我Show》 等五花八门的比赛，则让我 们见证了一批新秀的歌唱实 力，同时造就了内地流行乐 坛的新势力。

报道

期Soler发行了新专 辑，取名为 《X2》 ，有多种涵义，其中是因为 专辑特别收录中英歌曲 ，让 听众听出双倍的诚意。 来自澳门的双胞胎兄弟摇 滚乐队Soler日前来到本地进 行宣传，在记者招待会上， 吉他手Dino（弟弟）用一句 话概括《X2》时说：“这是 一张从摇滚曲风说个人故事 的专辑。” 《X2》这张专辑有多 首写给家人的歌曲，如 《Saving Grace》是“写父 子的关系”，《妈妈再见》 是让母亲知道Soler“没有 改变”，还有Dino为Julio （哥哥）写的《 Walking on Ice》。 这首歌背后其实有一个感 人的故事，Dino娓娓道出几 年前Julio迷失方向时和他疏 远，让Dino感到非常难过， 因为他突然间好像失去一个

那么靠近他的人，于是便 写了一首歌告诉弟弟自己 的感受。 现在的Dino和Julio， 兄弟之间的默契因合作而 变得极佳，异口同声表示 创作时两人都不会吵架。 因 为 自 身 的 经 历，Soler受访时表示希 望歌迷听到《X2》后， 会有和“家人沟通的推动 力”。 Julio 说：“现在很多 人都会听情歌，不会有太 多机会听家庭的歌曲，我 觉得这世界须要说家庭的 话题。” 当记者问及将来想和 谁合作，Julio迅速的回 答：“曹格！” Soler 从出道以来从未 收过歌迷的情书，是因为 他们的歌迷只把焦点放在 他们的音乐创作上，专注 的聆听音乐里个个感人的 故事。而Soler也表示希 望和歌迷保值这种互相尊 重的关系。

SOLER 兄弟情深，Dino 还为哥哥写了一首歌。摄影|沈丽芬

去年终的中国乐坛异常 热闹。许多由选秀诞生的歌 手如“超女”李宇春、周笔 畅、尚雯婕、谭维维；《我 型我Show》的格里杰夫、 张杰等，都陆续发行个人专 辑，并交出了不错的成绩。 其实，值得一提的是中 国歌手也正渐渐走出中国市 场，并开始与台湾的歌手或 制作人合作。例如，由蒲 巴甲与张惠妹合唱的《两 端》、李玖哲与周笔畅的 《你好吗》、炎亚纶与刘力 扬的《TiAmo》等都是两岸 歌手合唱的音乐结晶。 2006年超级女声季军刘 力扬也正式加盟台湾的华研 国际音乐，成为S.H.E的师

妹；格里杰夫的专辑有邰正 宵组阵，尚雯婕的专辑也收 录了李思菘与李伟菘的作 品。 由此可见，中国歌手的发 展已不再限制于中国。中国 风已经渐渐渗透开来，接触 更广大的听众群，希望将这 股中国风发扬到世界各地， 把好音乐与大家分享，证明 音乐无国界。 我相信，优秀的声音是不 应该，也不会被国界或区域 受限的。而当内地的歌手正 渐渐走出中国市场时，本地 的听众是否也应该仔细聆听 来自中国内地的歌声呢？或 许，我们也会找到令我们惊 艳的一把声音！

31

JAN UA RY 2 8 , 20 0 8

T H E NA N YA NG C H RON IC L E

娱 乐 休 闲 厅

乐评 走出忧郁 化音符为推动力

黄碧燕 专访

雕 塑 后 重生的绿燕

韩伟定 中文总编辑

专辑：《Chiselled》 歌手：黄碧燕 推荐：《都说了》、 《美满》

本

音乐让黄碧燕走出阴霾，重新出发。 （发型 / 化妆：Salon Orient） 摄影|陈为立

郭进华●报道

当

年以朋友的亲身经 历，写了一首《你说 他是你想嫁的人》给刘德 华，唱红了半边天；最近整 理了自己的心情，推出了 独立创作的《Chiselled》专 辑。这张专辑就是本地唱作 人黄碧燕，在2000至2005年 经历和克服忧郁症前后的记 录。 生病，是孤独 生病前后的这段旅程是孤 独的。 碧燕说：“是音乐陪伴我 渡过这一段艰难的时期，也 让内向的我交了音乐上的朋 友。推出这张专辑，是要告 诉他们，我还过得很好。” 经过这五年，碧燕平凡的 人生被“chiselled”了，也 让她不抗拒、更勇于接触陌 生人。经历人生的低潮时， 她觉得时间能冲淡一切的伤 痛，但不能被困难打败。 碧燕深信：“困难和挑

战会一直迎你而来，不要害 怕，一定要去面对。” 17年前卖出第一首歌曲 从1990年起开始写歌的 黄碧燕，高中时期常接触台 湾唱将林慧萍、曾淑琴的歌 曲，后来喜欢上李宗盛，都 对她的创作有一定的影响。 她说：“他的曲风接近生 活，歌词浅白易懂，容易感 动人，因此能和大部分的歌 曲产生共鸣。” 1991年，在朋友的鼓励 下，一起写了本地歌手翁诗 韵唱的《让我高飞》，也是 黄碧燕卖出的第一首歌曲。 而在1995年给刘德华唱红的 《你说他是你想嫁的人》， 是她一次无心插柳的意外。 她透露：“当时刚好到香 港度假，就顺便把一些作品 交给唱片公司；过了半年得 知这首歌曲被选中，我感到 很意外。” 过后碧燕认识了王菲的经 理人，并通过他的版权公司 把歌曲卖给了梁咏琪、叶倩 文等香港歌手。

下一期

民歌餐厅特辑

对音乐的执著

陈 孟 奇 专 访

但是，碧燕表示，只有 在自己有感触的时候才会写 歌。“除非有请求，我不会 刻意地要求自己把歌曲写 给某位歌手。随着自己的 经历，曲风也会随着时间改 变。” 她也说，能通过歌曲和听 众产生共鸣是神奇的。 希望与黄韵仁合作 针对在本地写歌、创作音 乐是否有困难或具挑战性， 碧燕表示不会。她说：“因 为写歌纯属自己的兴趣，也 是我记录生命的方法。” 也因为自己的随性，碧燕 希望有机会能和本地音乐人 黄韵仁合作。 但是碧燕指出，因为现在 有电脑科技的协助，写歌变 得容易多了。因此她觉得要 成为音乐人的话，一定要打 好自己的音乐基础，也要有 很好的音乐鉴赏能力。 她说：“音乐不是商业化 的，而是有艺术性的。只要 作品写得好，就不须把它定 为主流或非主流歌曲。”

赢取黄碧燕 《Chiselled》专辑 本报将送出一张黄碧燕亲 笔签名专辑。 问：黄碧燕所写的《你说他 是你想嫁的人》是由哪一位 歌手唱红的？ 请把正确答案、个人资料 和联络号码电邮至： nanyuan@gmail.com 得奖者将获得通知。

地唱作人黄碧燕的 首张个人创作专辑 《Chiselled》得来不易， 经过重重波折，才得以 “诞生”。 这张“独立”唱片 （Indie album）是黄碧 燕走出忧郁的阴霾，把自 己的心路历程写进创作, 的精心杰作。细听一番， 能够听出她心中的一股推 动力，要正面面对人生。 收入在专辑中的10首 歌曲是黄碧燕在2000至 2005年生病前后的创作， 写的都是自 己的故事。 整张专辑 的制作是由 黄碧燕亲自 包办的，颇 有一份亲切 感，也能体

内 情 蒙 歌 古 王 的 子 陈丽汶

中

国东方卫视2005 年 的 《 我 型 我 Show》歌唱比赛，让大 家认识到了来自内蒙古的 格里杰夫。 他浑厚的歌声、俊俏 的外表迅速虏获了许多歌 迷的心，并发行了他的首 张创作个人同名专辑。 专辑的首波主打《雪 花》的词曲出自格里杰夫 之笔，温柔的声音像是冬

会她对音乐的坚持与热 诚，对听众的诚意。自十 二年前为刘德华写了一首 《你说他是你想嫁的人》 后，现在能够听黄碧燕亲 自唱出自己的作品，值得 期待。 《美满》整首歌只有 简简单单的四行字，但在 编曲上下了一番功夫，弦 乐搭配钢琴伴奏，黄碧燕 以她独特声线，诠释出恋 人心中的矛盾。 特别喜欢《哪里跌、 哪里站》一曲。黄碧燕直 接唱出自己决定振作，以 音乐化为动力，感染力十 足。轻快摇滚曲风更带出 了歌曲的激励性。 可惜的是，专辑制作 的素质有点让我失望，可 能是独立制片的关系吧。 但这不表示音乐的素质就 此下降，因为 听到的是一张 用诚意谱写生 命的好作品， 带我们看到了 人生中常常遗 忘的豁然开 朗。

专辑：《格里杰夫》 歌手：格里杰夫 推荐：《雪花》、 《一台好戏》 天中的一把温火，将 爱情的幸福甜蜜诠释 得很动人。 专辑也少不了中国风 的曲目，但不同的是《一 台好戏》的京剧唱腔融合 了西洋摇滚节奏，歌词中 也利用京剧艺术，具有跨 时代的意义。 格里杰夫与邰正宵响 亮透明的歌声互相衬托， 让《天罗地网》一曲唱出 了他们心中产生内蒙古白 马王子的旷达形象。 收录在专辑中的11首 歌以抒情为主，大部分词 曲由格里杰夫包办，但抒 情路线似乎束缚了他的歌 声，无法突出格里杰夫歌 声的张力。

Undergraduate Investment Forum

ISSUE 7 | NTU INVESTMENT INTERACTIVE CLUB | WWW.NTU-IIC.ORG

Nothing to Lose

Ex-President of NTU IIC shares his experience

Born into a humble family of three, 26 year-old EUGENE SOO once washed bikes before venturing into the finance industry. Now a mentor at a leading financial firm, Eugene devotes much of his time to the public education of financial issues. In this issue, we talk to Eugene about his drive to succeed, his money management philosophy and his work.

You graduated from NTU with a Bachelor of Business (Honours) in 2006. Tell us how was school life back then for you and how different are you from your peers.

Eugene: I was just like many other undergraduates facing the academic pressures from school. However, what I think set me apart from them was my desire to succeed. I wanted to make the most from my university life so I participated in as many activities as possible.

I was the President of the NTU Investment Interactive and I also represented NTU in the 2005 Delta Forum held in Hong Kong and participated in the 2006 ‘Students in Free Enterprise’ competition. On top of that, I had to finance my own studies back then so I was taking up a lot of part –time jobs and even went on to start my own businesses on events planning and bike washing service.

What a hectic school life! What motivated you to learn about investing?

Having graduated from a polytechnic, I was a year older than most of my schoolmates who came from junior colleges. I realized the need for me to catch up with them, and this desire drove me to excel in my studies and at the same time kept me focused on my goal of attaining financial freedom.

In fact, the main idea of growing wealth started when I was in my polytechnic days. I’m always on the lookout for opportunities to apply textbook knowledge in more a practical sense, for instance analyzing the prospectus of a company that is offering Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Eugene Soo Associate of Estate Planning Practitioner Top 6% Financial Practitioner 2006

WIN! We want to hear from you! Tell us your thoughts and comments on UIF and stand to win attractive prizes in every issue. What are you waiting for? Send your entries now to: uif.letters@ntu-iic.org Letter of the issue wins a $20 Royal Sporting House Voucher!

Please set the subject of your email as “UIF Issue 7” and leave your full name and mobile number. Winner will be notified via email. Selected entries will be published at www.ntu-iic.org.

Closing date: 11 February 2008 NTU IIC reserves the right to edit the letters for brevity, spelling and grammar.

Winner of “LETTER OF THE ISSUE” uif iSSUE 6

Congratulations LAW KIA HE AARON! You have just won a CREATIVE ZEN STONE! You will be notified via email soon.

Tell us a bit on your business ventures.

I set up an events management business with a friend when I was in my second year as I saw a potential in that industry.

There are many big companies holding corporate events and they need expertise in that area. I know it’s a lucrative business and wanted to be part of it.

Besides, I’ve nothing to lose. If the business fails, I’ll just take it as part and parcel of learning.

Another business that I set up was the bike washing service. My major clients are those expatriates who love to bike but too busy to maintain their big toys.

I see that as another money-making opportunity and started a website publicizing services like washing,

polishing and waxing.

On a good month, I can easily earn $8,000. But it ain’t easy money. I work really hard for them.

What lessons did you learn from them?

You reap what you sow, so if you want more business, you’ll have to plant more seeds in hope of a good harvest eventually. Business or money doesn’t appear from nowhere. You have to start from somewhere in order to work towards an end. I learnt that if you want to make it big one day, you have to be different by doing things out of the ordinary.

I guess money doesn’t come easy for you. How do you manage your money and is there any advice for budding investors?

I think it’s important to know what you want your money to do for you. You can save it in a bank, invest it in stocks or simply place it underneath your bed and do nothing about it. For me, I want to grow a sizeable pot of money to ensure financial security. I developed a habit of saving regularly since young. As the pot of money grew, I separated my savings into emergency and non-emergency fund. From the non-emergency fund, I would set aside a sum that I’m willing to part with and invest them on stocks.

You are now a mentor in Professional Investment Advisory Service (PIAS).

Tell us a bit of your work.

PIAS is one of the largest financial planning organization in Singapore.

As a mentor, I am currently in charge of training and coaching a team of 45 advisors. I am also in charge of management issues and plans for the company. I don’t really see this as work for I firmly believe that if you do something you enjoy, you don’t have to work a single day. In short, I am filling my work with life instead of filling my life with work.

From the perspective as a professional in the financial industry, do you have any advice for students about investments and for those who are interested to have a career?

Understand the different segments and bodies of the industry before you finally take your call. Have a clear idea of your goals and work towards them. Don’t be easily swayed by offers that are too good to be true. The financial industry is a tough place to be, but with continuous hard work and determination, you can succeed.

Undergraduate Investment Forum Brought to you by:

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Opinion

“More than just recycling our trash, we need to alter our spending behaviour and stop splurging on wasteful purchases. ” Page 35

frankly, my dear

EDITORIAL

Making of a comeback kid Everyone loves a story of someone overcoming all odds to succeed.

We s e e t h e m f e at u r e d in the papers ever y year as examination results are released: former EM3 students, Normal technical stream students and even delinquents who eventually do well enough to qualify for polytechnics and universities.

Yet, how many of t hese students would have succeeded without the support of their teachers and parents?

Earlier this month, a group of students who had done well enough to sit for their O-level examinations were told by their principal to apply to the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) instead. The reason: they were unlikely to do well based on their N-level grades and could ruin the school’s chances for achieving 100% passes.

The incident drew angr y responses from parents who recounted similar experiences toward their children, and from Normal stream students who shared their stories of eventually making it to the polytechnics and universities.

While we agree with Minister of State for Education Lui Tuck Yew that there are students who need to be told that they will not make it if they do not work hard, the minister’s response has neither assuaged public anger nor addressed the issue at hand.

The principal’s message to the students is clear: go to the ITE now because you are going to fail your O-level examinations anyway.

Although it may have been intended as a wake-up call, not many see it that way. There was no attempt at encouraging her students to work harder after delivering the possibility of failure, only an encouragement to quit now rather than later.

A healthy dose of pragmatism is indeed necessar y to keep our expectations realistic and achievable. But with three out of every five Normal stream students doing well enough for their O-levels to qualify for polytechnic education, the odds seem to be in the students’ favour.

Shou ld st udent s not do well enough for polytechnic education, they would merely go to ITE a year later.

There is a common theme found in the comeback k id featured in the papers every year and in the letters of the former Normal stream students who have written to the press: they inevitably credit their seemingly improbable successes to their teachers.

This year is no different. If only educators would pick up a lesson or two from St Gabriel’s secondary school’s success in sending 98 per cent of its Normal stream students to polytechnics and beyond.

CH R O N ICL E THE NANYANG

chief editor Lin Junjie

Managing editor Lin Xinyi sub-editors Natasha Ann Zachariah Philip Lim Tan Mingxiong Danny Valerie Toh Ser Yi News editors Cheryl Ong Emma Lim Lifestyle editors Aw Hui Min Estelle Low

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A students’ newspaper published by the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI) Nanyang Technological University 31 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637718 Tel: 6790 6446

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Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the editorial board of The Chronicle and do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of Nanyang Technological University, its employees, the students or the Council of the University.

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WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

A column by The Chronicle editors on issues close to their hearts

GRAPHIC | SARAH AMNAH

It lies in the heart, darling Emma Lim

news editor

I

f you don’t show up in a limousine with a dozen roses, lavish pretty gifts on me or serenade me under the stars this Valentine’s Day, you do not love me enough.

This is Hollywood’s airy-fairy depiction of love.

Once a day set a side for lovebirds to appreciate each other, Valentine’s Day has lost its touch of romance in the face of unrealistic demands and expectations. People are faced with great pressure to impress their significant other on that special occasion.

While girls inevitably dream of being swept off their feet, the obsession with having an “ideal” Valentine’s Day places undue stress and anxiety on their boyfriends.

Being broke at this time of the year spells doomsday, as one can no longer afford that lovely Valentine’s Day dress or the bottle of cologne for their sweetheart.

Guys have it harder, especially when their counterparts can afford to buy better things for their girlfriends.

As they often say, the rich guy gets the girl.

When I was still in college,

I knew of a friend who disliked Valentine’s Day for the fact that he was expected to visit expensive restaurants when out with his date. She wanted to appear more fortunate than her other dating

If Valentine’s Day were a mere obligation, there lies no point in the giving. f r iends on t hat day, and his willingness to splurge would determine his love for her.

This left him feeling unhappy and manipulated, as he could not be true to himself and to her.

The above anecdote is just one of the countless stories about a Valentine’s Day driven by social comparison. However, doesn’t it seem absurd to quantify the different degrees of grandeur between your Valentine’s day and mine?

If someone you love has given his best to make your Valentine’s Day special, it seems unfair to compare him with your friend’s significant other.

A f ter all, Valentine’s Day should be a special occasion, rather than just a contrived form of expression devoid of sincerity.

A few weeks ago, I walked past a gift shop with the sign “Quick Valentine’s solutions”.

This made me wonder whether guys feel they are being forced or obliged to give something to their girlfriend on a day like Valentine’s, when everyone else is doing so.

If Valentine’s Day were a mere obligation, there lies no point in the giving.

While the occasion serves as a reminder to show our appreciation for our loved one, it is, by all means, not the only time we can show love.

Love let ter s a nd notes of appreciation delight just as much, if not even more on a regular day.

In fact, a girl is more likely to be moved by your sincerity when offered a bunch of her favourite flowers when she least expects it.

Surprises work all the time, as they make people feel special and valued.

W h i le I wou ld love to be pampered on Valentine’s, it is the heart’s intention that matters to me most. I believe appreciation is most genuine when it comes all year round, not just when love fills the air.

34

opinion

jan uary 28 , 20 0 8

T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

canteen talk

A principal advised her underperforming Sec 5 students to transfer to the Institute of Technical Education (ITE). We asked NTU students whether this was justified

Time to “feed” yourself

”

The principal was wrong to some extent, but neither should students be pushed beyond their limits.

Ivina, BUS, Year 3, 20

“

You cannot judge anybody on the basis of an exam. Some current underachievers may succeed later in life.

Menon Saurabh Muralidharan, EEE, M.Sc, 24

”

The principal had a point, but she should have put it across in an encouraging, rather than demoralising, way.

Teng Pei Shan, NIE, 24

“

If I had been the principal I would have tried to motivate these students and send them to revision classes instead.

Huynh Phan Thang, BUS, Year 3, 21

”

ITE is not necessarily a bad option. In fact these students may very well lead a much better life following this path.

Chung Ai Ling, ADM, Year 3, 21

TEXT | VO VAN HUNG, PHOTOS | ZOE LIM

Natalie Michelle Heng

M

o o t e d i n 1 9 9 7, “Thinking Schools, Learning Nation” was a vision statement for MOE. With that, many new initiatives took off under its wing, one of which was TLLM. In brief, it means that teachers should focus on quality instead of quantity and provide avenues for students to develop their passion for learning.

It also seeks to entice students’ interest in particular subjects and hopefully sparks off a flurry of

It is time to stop being spoilt brats and start to seek knowledge on our own. independent reading.

This is where the “learn more” part takes place.

I believe that rote learning is not something strange to us.

Many of us grew up fearing the threatening big wooden ruler whenever we could not recite our multiplication tables in unison.

Fear used to drive us to study.

Under TLLM, however, failure is welcome. You have to learn to fail in order to learn how to succeed.

When doing independent research that comprises data collection and analysis, you might not obtain the results you are seeking. However, your tutors will encourage you to explore other options which you have not explored.

Compar ing ter tiar y institutions and foundational education systems, I must admit that although slight, there is an increase in the practice of TLLM. I believe any improvements are better than none.

At the tertiary level, students are no longer viewed as children with young minds.

T hey are expected to be independent adults with a considerable level of logica l thinking. Tossing tertiary students into the “deep end” for research and experimentation may cause a few to lose their nerve.

However, more often than not, most survive this challenge when it strikes them that they are now

grown-ups that do not need to be fed with information. Projects and research papers require tertiary students to fervently read up on their own and sort out what is important.

Professors are not as easily available to their students due to their tight schedule. This is part of the TLLM process, where students, through extensive independent learning, learn much more than is required.

Sharing their ideas in a group project and using suggestions from other group members to make improvements also result in better knowledge acquisition.

Who said that students have to harvest the knowledge from professors? To one-way journeyers, it is time to turn your mind around and travel on the new path.

How far can TLLM apply in a tertiary institution like NTU? I only have one simple answer: as far as one’s attitude takes it. If you are a person with the drive and passion to learn, you will find means and ways to learn without having someone to hold your hand through your learning journey.

Conversely, if you still wait to be spoon-fed, you will end up sulking in a corner and refusing to do any work when asked to be an independent learner. It is all in your attitude.

On the other hand, educators cannot use this initiative as a

When students are able to form a relationship between their knowledge and its application, learning takes on a whole new dimension. reason to slacken during lecture time, t h in k ing t hat st udents would already have read the entire textbook before coming for their first lecture of the semester, and give only bite-sized information that is of no significance to the students’ learning.

I nstead, educator s shou ld continually challenge students to think out of the box for solutions to a problem and to find other for ms of lear ning instead of

GRAPHIC | FIRDIANA FAWZIR

regurgitating from a book. The educator must instill a passion for learning by exhibiting his or her passion for teaching the subject.

It a l so he lps st ude nt s i n building up their interest when the lecturer is able to relate what is being taught to what is happening in the real world. It brings meaning to what numbers, equations and technical jargons really mean.

When students are able to form a relat ionsh ip bet ween t heir knowledge and its application, learning takes on a whole new dimension altogether.

As with every initiative, there are always limitations. Again, I believe the limitations here are contingent on one’s attitude. A poor attitude results in limiting yourself from further knowledge acquisition compared to someone who is keen to learn, no matter how tough it is.

He r e at N I E , pe d a gog y modules are taught with the TLLM initiatives in mind. Lessons are made interesting as the tutors explain how manipulatives can be made use of to intrigue students’ interest in learning.

Some sessions involve us putting ourselves in the shoes of our students and using these manipulatives to learn a new concept of a subject. This provides us with a framework of how we conduct lessons in our own classes and the limitations that come along with it.

TLLM can be an interesting learning experience for everyone if we are all geared towards a common goal. You do not need to be in primary school to enjoy colourful manipulatives designed for learning.

It is beneficial not only to younger learners but to adults as well. New perspectives are formed when you are given the opportunity to explore on your own.

TLLM is an initiative that can go very far in a society like Singapore. All we need to do is to change our mindset and set foot into the unknown, knowing that despite the outcome, we will still learn something. It is time to stop being spoilt brats and start to seek knowledge on our own.

opinion

Jan ua ry 2 8 , 20 0 8

T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

35

i talk

Open your eyes, broaden your mind

Save the planet: RECYCLE LESS If we consume less, we recycle less. So fewer bins like those on the right would be a sign of greater awareness, not less Terence Lee

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A COMMON SIGHT IN TOWN: Recycling, however, fails to address the root causes of environmental issues. PHOTO | Foo Chee Chang

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only become the biggest engines of growth on the global economy, but also the biggest contributors of pollution.

With a combined population of 2.5 billion people yearning for a taste of the high life, it would seem that we are spiralling inevitably t o w a r d s a n e n v i r on m e n t a l meltdown.

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More than just recycling our trash, it would be a wiser solution to alter our spending behaviour and stop splurging on wasteful purchases.

Even as environmental activists, governments, and scientists busy themselves with reversing the planet’s environmental woes, individuals do have a part to play in all of this.

More than just recycling our trash, it would be a wiser solution to alter our spending behaviour and stop splurging on wasteful purchases.

Diamond shows in his article how people can always work towards maximising resources without having to compromise on standard of living.

He then cites the example of Western Europe, which consumes about half as much per capita oil consumption as A mer ica, yet enjoys a higher standard of living.

All we need is a little bit of creativity.

The January 12th, 2008 edition of The Straits Times reported on how a Swedish state-owned firm is using body heat from a quarter-million commuters from Stockholm’s central station to heat up its office building.

Through the use of ventilators and pipes, heat is directed into the building, where it is used to heat up water.

As clichéd as it sounds, the 3Rs – reduce, reuse, recycle – is apt in describing how an individual can contribute towards environmental conservation.

As a result, in the order of importance: first, we reduce, then we reuse, and for everything else – we recycle.

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consuming that number of times more resources than a typical pe r son i n ma ny de ve lopi ng countries. In other words, a typical Singaporean consumes 32 times more resources than a Kenyan.

To make matters worse, as countries develop, the standard of living will increase, and the citizen’s demand for material possessions will rise as well.

Even though the developed nat ions a re mov i ng towa rd s sustainable development, their progress are offset by countries like India and China, who would not

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w a s won d e r i n g w h at to do wit h a read copy of a newspaper. Considering how environmental conservation is becoming a widespread practice, the most obvious answer would be to dump it into the recycling bin.

However, this is an assumption that needs to be challenged.

A s g loba l temper at u r es continue to rise, people have finally warmed up to the concept of recycling.

Celebrities in Hollywood are jumping onto the environmental bandwagon. For example, Sheryl Crow has a tour bus that runs on bio-diesel, while Cameron Diaz drives a Prius and uses recycled products.

It is the concept of recycling that seems to have hit home with the general public, perhaps due to the visibility of the recycling bin, which has become an iconic symbol of environmentalism globally and in Singapore.

And it seems the practice has caught on among locals; at least that is what the latest figures from the Ministry of the Environment and Water are telling us.

They show that Singapore’s recycling rate – which is the total amount of waste recycled as a percentage of the total amount of waste generated – has risen from 40% to 49% between 2000 and 2005, and the Ministry aims to increase this to 60% by 2012.

While recycling does have an important role in environmental conservation, it does not address the root causes of our environmental problem: human greed and high consumption.

But these are problems requiring very complicated solutions. Asking consumers to buy less would be an economic disaster, as advertisers, marketers, and the government are counting on them to spend the dollar and contribute towards economic growth.

Therefore the best solution wou ld b e to c u r b w a s te f u l consumption.

In an article titled “What’s Your Consumption Factor?” published in the New York Times on 2nd January 2008, Jared Diamond shed light on how wasteful consumerism is contributing significantly to the gravit y of the environmental problem.

He revea ls how people i n developed cou nt r ies have a con su mpt ion fac tor of 32,

Interested parties, please email chronicle@ntu.edu.sg

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opinion

jan uary 28 , 20 0 8

T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

Cab fare hike is not as bad as it seems First we have tuition fee hike and GST hike; now comes cab fare hike. People complain whenever they have to pay more. Jalelah Bte MS Abu Baker begs to differ

T

he snooze function on my handphone alarm has seen little use recently.

T he pr ice to pay for sneaking back under the blankets for those extra moments of sleep has, unfortunately, increased substantially. “Super expensive� was the consensus when I asked my friends about the current taxi fares.

It used to cost me about $15 to take a taxi from my house in Queenstown to NTU. I now have to pay over $20 for a similar trip.

Many people I know have stopped taking taxi even if they are late for school or work. I have also noticed long queues of taxis instead of long queues of people.

However, while many might complain about the fare hike, with me being privy to the occasional rant as well, it dawned on me that I have been sleeping and getting up earlier nowadays to avoid paying

for an unnecessary taxi ride.

It may not spell good news for ComfortDelgro and the other taxi companies, but my resolution to avoid taking taxis as much as I can has made my wallet rather happy.

I am saving much more money than ever, and this scares me as much as it makes me happy. It just shows how much I used to spend on taxis as a compensation for my laziness.

The unexpected good outcomes

I thank ComfortDelgro for instilling in me the discipline that my Dad has been trying to inculcate for the past ten years without success. of the fare hike, however, might only apply to students like me who consider taxi services as a luxury.

For those who take taxis out

GRAPHIC | LONG FAN

of necessity, the current taxi fare structure might be a financial n ig ht m a r e . T h i s hold s t r ue especially for the disabled and the injured, who seem to have little choice.

Party animals who love to hang out at night, or those who simply want to chill out or have a night of fun will find themselves spending more than usual to get home if they do not have any alternative form of transportation.

A lt hough t he 50 per cent surcharge on top of the metered fare from midnight till six in the morning remains the same, the fare will be significantly higher because the meter jumps by twenty cents instead of ten for the same distance travelled now.

That said, I have learnt to manage my time and activities better so that I do not have to resort to taking a taxi.

If this greater self-discipline on my part is anything to go by, the current cab fare hike may very well turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

I thank ComfortDelgro for instilling in me the discipline that my dad has been trying to inculcate for the past 10 years without success.

sports

jan ua ry 2 8 , 20 0 8

T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

37

Climb me if you dare Lian Yiting AT THE pavillon outside Lecture Theatre 2, a manmade structure for Bouldermania stood high for all to see. It was a standing invitation for students to scale its heights.

Built by students from the NTU Mountaineering Club, it was part of their efforts to bring the sport to the student population, making it accessible for all.

Alternative spor ts such as bouldering have become more common, and the increase in popu la r it y showed w it h t he number of participants involved in Bouldermania, held from 15th to 16th January.

29 climbers from NUS were invited to join the competition toget her w it h N T U st udents, bringing the number of participants to 179.

Over 40 pre-allocated climbing routes up the rock-face meant that both amateurs and enthusiasts could participate in an atmosphere that was more relaxed than in competitions.

With music blaring, climbers wearing “Get Pumped” shirts hung precariously off the structure, grasping tightly onto the rocks on the surface.

Chua Yanzhang, 21, a School of C hem ica l a nd Biomed ica l Engineering freshman, was enticed by the sight, and gave it a go despite

having no prior experience.

“It is great that such events are organised, as it allows the average student to be exposed to unique sports that otherwise have a low profile,” he said.

This coincided with the aims of the organisers, which were “to raise the profile of climbing in NTU, bring together like-minded climbers, as well as to introduce the sport to people with little or no previous experience.”

“If other niche sports were to organise similar events, they will certainly have the support of students like me.”

Yeo Ailin, 22, NBS, Year 3

Howe ve r, t he r e wa s a l so confusion as some students did not fully understand the event, confusing the sport of bouldering with its more famous counterpart of rock climbing.

One of the event officials, Shu Long, acknowledged that the two

had key differences.

“In rock climbing, there are harnesses to ensure safety, while in bouldering, there are just nets to cushion your fall,” the Year 1 School of Physical and Mathematical Science student said.

Though this was music to the ears of adrenaline junkies, precautionar y measures were undertaken to ensure that safety came first.

Sathish Sanmugavelu, 21, a first-year student in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences said, “It was fun climbing the walls, but it’s definitely harder than it looks. It was also reassuring to see the organisers emphasising the importance of safety.”

Wit h t he hea lt hy t u r nout and the buzz generated from the stream of people walking past the bouldering structure, Boulder mania did its par t in raising the level of awareness of students about unconventional sports.

Yeo Ailin, a final-year NBS student, felt that participating in the event sparked her interest in other alternative sports, and that it could be used as a platform for other such events to be held.

“Bou lder man ia was an interesting experience, and if other niche sports were to organise similar events, they will certainly have the support of students like me.”

HANG IN THERE: Beginners were encouraged to participate. PHOTO | AHMAD ISKANDAR

Canoepolo players prepare for stern test with challenge Tan Jinhe Sports Editor N T U Canoepolo prepared for t his year’s Instit ute-Varsit yPoly tech n ic ( I V P) Ga mes by organising a 3-on-3 invitational challenge which ran from 4th to 5th January.

In a bid to ensure junior players

receive maximum exposure, the male category only allowed junior teams to participate, while the female category, which has fewer junior players, imposed a minimum registration criteria of three junior teams.

“Prev iously we only had open games where both novice and experienced players could participate,” said Tan Teng Ee, 22,

a year-two NBS student and one of the organisers for the invitational challenge.

“However, our event can be viewed as the first that focused on junior players,” The event brought players from NUS, NUS High, Ngee Ann Poly tech n ic ( N P) , Si ngapore Polytechnic (SP) and Temasek Polytechnic (TP) to NTU.

In the male category, the sole NTU team emerged first with SP and NP trailing close behind in second and third place respectively.

NP clinched the top spot in the female category, followed by TP and NTU.

“(Canoepolo) is a sport where a small mistake can turn into a huge advantage for the other team. ” Shiah Zi Yang, 21, MAE, Year 1

THIS IS CANOEPOLO!: NTU (blue) vs SP (white) in an adrenaline-charged match. PHOTO | COURTESY

Chan Chi Teng, 20, a secondyear student from the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, felt that NP was a strong opponent. Despite being the only senior team from N T U in the female category, Chan and her team mates came in fourth.

“These are more or less the same people we will be up against in future competitions,” she said.

“We can gauge the standard of our opponents from these matches so that we will be better prepared next time.”

Another tough competitor was SP, who made the NTU boys work

for their triumph.

“Our last game was against SP and it was the closest fight in the whole competition,” said Shiah Zi Yang, 21, a member of the winning team in the male category. “They have a lot of potential. With more training and practice, they will only become stronger.”

The Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering freshman also said his team won not because they were more skilled, but that they understood how the game should be played and quickly capitalised on their opponent’s mistakes.

“Canoepolo is a very intensive and aggressive sport. In that short span of 15 minutes, you need to be completely focused,” said Shiah.

“It is a sport where a small mistake can turn into a huge advantage for the other team.”

The event was held overnight at the Sports and Recreational Centre (SRC) swimming pool.

Participants pointed that out the lack of sleep contributed to fatigue during their matches and it was chilly in the night.

Te ng e x pla i ne d t hat t he organising committee did not want to stretch the event to two separate days, so they made it an overnight affair, lasting from 5 pm to 10.30 am the next day.

NTU Canoepolo will embark on their IVP Games campaign in August, hoping to replicate the results last year where the girls emerged champions.

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sports

jan uary 28 , 20 0 8

T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

Return of the King Tan Thiam Peng I N A shoc k appoi nt ment resembling a scene straight out of a soap opera, Kevin Keegan has returned to the side he twice led with such distinction – first as a player then as the manager.

The return of King Kev to Newcastle United: was it an emotional appointment?

Geordie fans will embrace him unquestionably, and I would say that he brings a lot more than passion and personality to the table.

As a player, Kevin Keegan was majestic, spending his best days conquering Europe with Liverpool.

But he wasn’t too bad as a manager too. He is someone with the rare distinction of having sent every club he managed up into a higher division – he did it first with Newcastle United, then Fulham and then Manchester City.

Owner Mike Ashley, who takes his place with the masses in the stands, is surely aware of Keegan’s legacy before he walked out 11 years ago.

CASTLE FIT FOR A KING: Can Kevin Keegan bring the long suffering Geordie fans the success that they crave? PHOTO | COURTESY

Six of the Best Thomas Luff

LAST year, the rugby World Cup piqued the attention of viewers all over the island. Starting 2nd February, a smaller but no less passionately fought competition will hope to rekindle the spark among rugby lovers.

That’s the day when the Six Nations rugby union tournament will start, and this year it is set to be a close battle. The competing nations are: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy.

Aside from defending their title, they (France) will want to exact revenge upon England, who eliminated them from the World Cup. The French are currently the bookmakers’ favourite to win, with

England and Ireland close behind.

After a hectic summer of rugby, where all six nations competed in the World Cup, they will be looking to use this competition as a platform to either build or rebuild their squads and reputations.

England reached the final of the World Cup and will want to carry on their success. In the hope of doing this, head coach Brian Ashton has stuck by the majority of England’s tr ied-and-tested players, though he has announced the inclusion of five new faces.

The most notable of these is Lesley Vainikolo, a player who made t he switch f rom r ugby league this season to rugby union and has to date only played nine professional matches.

France, hosts of the World Cup, now return to the Six Nations as defending champions. Aside from defending their title, they will want to exact revenge upon England, who eliminated them from the World Cup. They also have the huge bonus of hosting both England and Ireland at Stade de France, and this home advantage could be the key to their campaign.

However the team has seen the retirement of four veteran players from their squad: Fabien Pelous, Raphael Ibanez, Serge Betsen and Christophe Dominici. Their

this season, a legacy of departed manager Sam Allardyce.

Chairman Ashley has offered to back his manager with an “unlimited” transfer kitty, and it will be interesting to see if Keegan can excite the fans with some inspired signings.

This was the man who in only his first management job, took the club into the then newly formed Premier League, and in 1996 and 1997 finished runners-up.

Although they threw away a 12-point lead in 1996 to allow Manchester United to steal the championship, he built a team that was arguably the only one in the league that could match United both in terms of quality and flair.

Speculation had linked Mark

Hughes, Didier Deschamps, Gerard Houllier to the managerial hot-seat at St James’ Park, all of them reputable managers in their own right with proven records of success.

On the other hand, Keegan had by his own admission not been to a live game for over two years Emotion might have overruled sensibilities with this appointment, but Keegan’s track record and style of play may be just what the club needs now.

Keegan has always promoted an attacking style of play with the simple aim of scoring more than his opponents, much like the Brazilians of the 1970s. This was, and continues to be a rarity in English football.

With the attacking riches now at his disposal, it seems feasible that he will continue to pursue his stated goal of entertaining the fans.

Charles N’Zogbia follows the path of fellow Frenchmen David Ginola and Laurent Rober t, marauding down the left flank.

James Milner and Damien Duff add further width, integral to Keegan’s attacking philosophy.

Famed for his charisma and man-management, if Keegan rejuvenates his dispirited charges and the ace in his pack - the possibly hostile Michael Owen - this crop might just outdo his last vintage.

Except this time, there is a more solid defensive platform.

Newcast le United, so of ten victims of shoddy defending, have a more capable backline

absence may leave a void that only time can repair.

Ireland who were last year’s favourites, lost to France in the final. This year, they will use the tournament as a chance to prove to the rugby world that they are still contenders, especially following their woeful World Cup adventure where they failed to get past the group stages, in a bid that fell

offered by Williams and others such as Gethin Jenkins and Duncan Jones over youth and fresh legs.

This is a bold tactic, but as most experts doubt Wales’ chances of mounting a serious challenge, it seems worth the risk.

Scotland made it to the quarter finals of the World Cup and hoped to maintain their momentum but they have been struck with a series

Six Nations performance where they could only secure one win, leaving them at the bottom of the table.

Keegan is revered on Tyneside, the only manager other than Sir Bobby Robson to have been embraced by Newcastle United supporters.

It has been 11 years since King Kev last ruled in Newcastle.

To many, there is a sense of nostalgia and unfinished business.

FOR HONOR AND GLORY: The competing nations will do their best to emerge victorious. PHOTO | COURTESY

short of most experts’ and fans’ expectations.

Wales recently announced the inclusion of veteran Martyn Williams who retired after the World Cup but was persuaded out of retirement by Warren Gatland, Wales’s new head coach. Gatland appears to want the experience

of injuries. This setback has seen four of the original team withdraw from the competition and another three are unlikely to be fit for the Scots’ first match against France.

However, this Scottish team should not be discounted and should certainly better last year’s

Emotion might have overruled sensibilities with this appointment, but Keegan’s track record and style of play may be just what the club needs now.

It has been 11 years since King Kev last ruled in Newcastle. To many, there is a sense of nostalgia and unfinished business. There is already talk of him ending the 39 years wait for silverwear.

Yet we should remember that this was the man who walked out on Fulham, Man City, the England national team and, perhaps most heartbreaking of all, even this very club previously.

Will it be the fairytale that all of Tyneside is expecting, or will it all end in tears?

Ireland who were last year’s favourites... will use the tournament as a chance to prove to the rugby world that they are still contenders.

It a l y on t he ot he r h a nd will definitely want to emulate their performance in last year’s competition, which was their most successful since their inclusion in the tournament, finishing forth.

Though they failed to get past the group stages of the World Cup, they have improved dramatically over the last few years and will undoubtedly want to continue this.

Overall, the competition should prove to be a tight affair with France and England most likely to succeed. So keep an eye out this spring for the best show European rugby has to offer.

sports

JAN UA RY 2 8 , 20 0 8

T H E NA N YA NG C H RON IC L E

Decorated national shooter Choo Choon Seng shares his wealth of experience with Liyana Low SOMETIMES, not being the early bird has its benefits. Choo Choon Seng, unlike many of Singapore’s shooters, started trap shooting not in his youth but in his late 20s.

Starting late might not have given the thirty-five year old a head start, but showing perseverance and determination, the triple gold medallist in the recently concluded 2007 Southeast Asian (SEA) games, who once almost wanted to quit shooting, is setting his sights on the Olympics.

The executive officer working in NTU shares with us his SEA games experience; and if being one of the oldest in the team helped him as a shooter.

What’s the secret to motivating yourself as an athlete?

It boils down to the love of the sport. Also, it is important that I want to do my best to contribute to the team. We rely on each other for the success of the team.

Is there any difference between your experience in the 2005 and 2007 SEA games?

During the 2007 SEA games, the team was better organised and well prepared. We had a highperformance manager, coaches, a sports psychologist and even a sports masseuse.

Shooting for the team

Do you feel disadvantaged that you are older than them?

No, in actual fact, I think that the experience that I have accumulated as a result of my age has improved my shooting skills. I learn from the experience because

Ethopian runner Haile Gebrselassie gets all confused after winning the Dubai Marathon.

LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS: Choo Choon Seng en route to another gold medal at the recent SEA Games held in Korat, Thailand. PHOTO | COURTESY

after every competition, there is a review or evaluation done as a whole team, together with the managers, coaches and even the sports psychologist.

Are there any difficulties you face when juggling work and training?

It is tough. I make use of my lunch time to go the nearby shooting range at Lim Chu Kang to train. Weekends are burnt because I start training at 10 am and end around 6pm.

But my family and friends

have been very supportive of my training. Sometimes when I’m on competition leave, or if I have to leave early to do shooting matters, my colleagues and supervisor will understand and cover for me.

A SPORTING barrier was removed earlier this month when both disabled and able-bodied athletes competed in a first-of-its-kind friendly competition.

F e a t u r i n g a t h le t e s w i t h disabilities about to represent Si ngapore for t he upcom i ng ASEAN Para Games, the Why Not Challenge provided an ideal platform upon which to build.

The brainchild of fi nal-year

IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING: A disabled swimmer giving his all. PHOTO | COURTESY

students from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, the Challenge sought to give the disabled athletes long overdue recognition.

They may have won numerous international accolades since the 1980s, but disabled athletes still do not enjoy a high profile as compared to their able-bodied counterparts.

Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic ( I V P) playe r s f r om v a r iou s institutions served as the opponents at the Challenge, held on 5th January at United World College.

Year 1 Aerospace Engineering student Benedict Sim felt that the Challenge was a great experience as he got to u nder sta nd t he mentalities of the disabled athletes, and was exposed to a sport that was at once familiar and strange to him.

The school IVP basketball player participated in the wheelchair basketball competition, which saw them being mentored in the sport by their disabled counterparts.

“There is a great difference, and the disabled athletes were really good,” said Sim. “It was a hard game but played with good spirit.”

One of the disabled basketball player, Palani Samy Avaday, 49, concurred. “I think it was a good event. At least we get to show

that we can be as good as the able-bodied. We had a great time.

It’s nice to see people supportive of us.”

The other sport on show was swimming. Similarly, athletes from both sides agreed that it was an excellent opportunit y to pit their skills in a relaxed atmosphere.

At least we get to show that we can be as good as the able bodied. We had a great time.

It s nice to see people supportive of us.

Palani Samy Avaday Disabled athlete

Sharon Wong, a mentally handicapped swimmer, enjoyed the occasion and said, “We swam a lot and I was having fun with my group. The student (IVP) swimmers also said I swim very well.”

Former national swimmer Ang Peng Siong also felt that the event

Someone has had it away and when I find out who it is, it s going to be bloody. Legs will be broken.

Reading skipper Graeme Murty is not a happy camper after discovering that someone has stolen the jersey he swapped with Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

What do you think of the future of shooting in Singapore?

Now that we have an established management team that has found new ways to improve shooting in Singapore, I expect the future of shooting to be bright. We should see further improvements in the years to come.

Handicapped in body but not in spirit FABIAN NG SPORTS EDITOR

they said that?

Least but not last, I would like to thank the Dubai Government.

The psychologist played an important role because during the recent games, I shot very badly in one round for my pet event.

The pressure was so intense that I couldn’t add up my own score.

I kept very quiet, even my coach didn’t talk to me. But eventually our sports psychologist talked to me and asked me to face the reality of the situation.

So right after that, I was up to shoot in the Double Trap category, which is not my pet event. I told myself to strive even harder and be stronger for the team because they needed me to perform well. It led us to winning the gold medal in that event.

What did it feel like being one of the older athletes in a young team for the SEA games?

As one of the older athletes with competition experience, I’m in a position to help take care of the juniors. Sometimes during competition, we help to shield them from the media as they do not know how to handle the reporters.

39

was beneficial to the disabled community as a whole.

T he 46-year-old said, “In terms of social integration, it is events like this that allow youth to understand and know what they (disabled) can do as disabled individuals.”

Though the Challenge was conducted in a relaxed atmosphere, there was plenty of determination and hard work on show. As Sim noted, the disabled athletes were all skilled in their sport and were no pushovers.

Certainly, the shared love of sports drew the two groups of athletes together, and helped them understand that having disabilities was not a limitation.

Event organiser Wendy Lee, 22, observed that the participants bonde d t h r ou g h t he i r joi nt experience as athletes with a common interest, regardless of any handicap.

The final-year Communication Studies student said, “I feel a sense of achievement when I see the able-bodied cheering for the disabled players, all of them sweating and having smiles on their faces.”

With their new found friends and suppor ter s, t he disabled athletes departed, ready to make their mark on the ASEAN Para Games.

The stars were shining, it was just meant to be.

Maria Sharapova (above) credits her demolition of Justine Henin to celestial powers.

There were a few of my mates in the crowd and as I leaned over to give them a high-five, I heard the trousers go!

Kirk Shepherd has a rip-roaring time on his way to darts’ PDC World Championship final.

I could tell you, but I d have to kill you.

Serena Williams’ reply to courtside interviewer Todd Woodbridge after he asks her what the notes she reads at the changeovers say.

I am more shy than people think.

Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka, football’s former Enfant Terrible.

Sports

Spiderman wannabes in NTU? Find out more on Page 37

A family affair tries to bridge the gap With the NTU Sports Club extending a warm invitation to students to join its extended family, Amos Yeo prepares to get cozy at the Sports Exposé TITLED ‘A Family Affair,’ Sports Exposé 2008 was touted as a showcase of 21 sub-clubs under the NTU Sports Club. However, it seemed to attract few family members.

From 14th to 15th January, the various clubs displayed booths outside Canteen A, hoping to attract new recruits.

“This year’s theme is called ‘A Family Affair’, with the goal to integrate the NTU Sports Clubs Sub Clubs and the student population of our school,” said Ang Li Ann, the organiser behind this year’s Sports Exposé.

“With NTU Sports Club and its sub-clubs working as a group collectively, we can better reach out to the student population and showcase the national events we are organising.”

The sub-clubs interviewed felt the Sports Exposé helped raise their profi le.

“The Sports Exposé gives us a proper place, a proper avenue to advertise what Taekwondo is about and perhaps with this interaction with the school population we can clear some misconceptions about Taekwondo”, said Gu Si Jie, chairman of the NTU Taekwondo Club.

Ching Seong Kian, a training officer with the NTU Windsurfing club, agreed that without the Exposé, people would not have

A BLURRED EXPOSURE: The Sports Exposé was a well-intentioned event that unfortunately failed to focus adequate attention on publicity to students.

the chance to f ind out about windsurfing, which is not a major sport in Singapore.

Likewise, Tay Shi Hao, 22, chairman of the International Chess Club, said, “The Sports Exposé allows us to show what

we do and hopefully this will help us to promote chess to more players.”

However, most of the students i nte r v ie we d f e lt t h at t he r e could have been better publicity regarding the event.

Koh Si Liang, a School of Materials Science and Engineering freshman, had no idea what the Sports Exposé was about. “We were just walking past here to Canteen A, but we have no idea what all these booths are here for.”

The 21-year-old felt that with better publicity, more students

would be interested in the Sports Exposé to come down and sign up for the events.

Year 1 English students, Aw Ching Yi and Evon Lim, both 19, agreed that the event could have been better publicized.

“Before this, we didn’t know there was such an event. It is just that we happened to walk past Canteen A, so maybe they could have put up more notices so we could know before hand”, Lim said.

Both of them said that they did not see or hear any publicity regarding the event.

We were definitely hoping for a bigger crowd and we will devote more effort to publicity in order to draw in a larger student population for next year s Exposé.

GOT MY EYES ON YOU: A Sports Club member welcoming a potential addition to the family. PHOTOS | FOO CHEE CHANG

Ang Li Ann, 19, NTU Sports Club Ex-Officio

“Although the emphasis of the Exposé was to introduce sports to the student population, they might have overlooked working on inviting the student population to the event,” said Wang Hui Teng, 19, a Year 1 NBS student.

Howe ver, t he sub-c lub presidents disagreed. Tay felt that more effort was put into Sports Exposé 2008 as compared to the year before. “There were many more meetings and plans for a more successful and organised Sports Exposé this year. Overall I would say that this year’s expose was better.”

Gu agreed. “Naturally, the sign ups at the Sports Exposé are lower compared to the beginning of the year, but still, the sign-up rate is good.”

W he n told of st ude nt s c om m e n t i n g a b ou t l a c k of publicity, Ang said, “We were definitely hoping for a bigger crowd and we will devote more effort to publicity in order to draw in a larger student population for next year’s Exposé.”