THE RIDGE MAGAZINE A NUSSU PUBLICATION FEBUARY 2011 mica (p) 207/11/2009
Dear NUS,
happy OPINION
SO WHY ARE YOU STILL SINGLE? LIFESTYLE
DRESSING UP FOR YOUR VDAY DATE
ENTERTAINMENT
MUSIC FOR LOVIN’
THE
ISSUE
THE RIDGE wishes everyone a happy valentine’s day - especially all the happy couples on campus.
SPORTS
day.
THE CRICKET WORLD CUP WIRED
CONNECT TO THE NUS HIDDEN WIRELESS NETWORK
11 46
CONTENTS NEWS
OPINION
LIFESTYLE
06 NUSFLASH
15 I’M WITH WIKI
23 OH MY STARS!
08 PHOTOSTORY: LET EVERYDAY BE VALENTINE’S DAY
16 LET THEM HAVE DOMINION
24 5 LIFESTYLE SHOPS TO VISIT
18 VOICES OF SINGAPORE’S TOMORROW
26 COFFEE FOR THOUGHT
19 WHAT MAKES YOU PROUD OF SINGAPORE?
27 ONE PERCENTER
20 HOW TO BE HAPPY
29 DRESSING UP FOR YOUR VALENTINE’S DAY DATE
09 BIZAD CHARITY RUN RAISES $30,000 10 MAKEOVER FOR TOILETS AT FASS 11 QUIET RESPONSE TO MUCH-PUBLICISED CAMPAIGN IN NUS
21 SO WHY ARE YOU STILL SINGLE?
12 FAKE TWITTER ACCOUNTS GENERATE BUZZ
22 THE FACEBOOK EFFECT
32 WARDROBE ESSENTIALS
13 STUDENT RAISES FURORE ONLINE CALLING FOR TRANSPARENCY IN NUSSU-NUS NEGOTIATIONS
35
57
ENTERTAINMENT
SPORTS
WIRED
33 GIVING SOME LOVIN’ IN MUSIC
44 CRICKET WORLD CUP 2011
52 HOW TO CONNECT TO NUS’ HIDDEN WIRELESS NETWORK
35 NUS ARTS FESTIVAL PREVIEW: SHIV’S STAGE
46 SPORT OF THE MONTH: SOFTBALL
38 NUS ARTS FESTIVAL PREVIEW: FIND THE ORIENT IN YOU
48 RIDGE REPORT: IHG REVIEW
54 5 (+1) MUST-READ SOURCES OF TECH NEWS
40 ASIA’S INAUGURAL LANEWAY FESTIVAL
57 DEAD SPACE 2: THE GAME YOUR MOTHER DOESN’T WANT YOU TO PLAY
42 BOOK REVIEWS + WHAT’S IN MY IPOD
59 BYTE-SIZED NEWS FOR FEBRUARY
02
Ed EDITOR’S NOTE
V
alentine’s Day - the day for lovers and couples and a day full of love. It’s a wonderful day that I look forward to every year. This year would be my fourth V Day with mon amour and as I write this column a week ahead, the schemer who lives inside my head is working double-time. This day is a little artificial (and so our photostory asks you to “Let Every Day be Valentine’s Day”) but it’s a yearly tradition for many. And if you’re thinking about your attire for the day then “Dressing Up for Your Vday Date” will provide you some suggestions! Ming Fong (an Opinion writer) talks about the other people that have to bear with all the couples and asks them, “Why Are You Still Single?” and tells them to not be overcome by the peer pressure. Elsewhere, we have all the usual articles that make this magazine an enjoyable read every month. Do especially read about “Asia’s Inaugural Laneway Festival” and we believe that this event should be a must-visit for concert goers every year (we got to interview the bands too!). Also, the Entertainment Desk previews some of the events that are showcased in this year’s NUS Arts Festival (do go for the many great events that CFA organises for us NUS students). The News Desk covers all the happenings in campus - an Eat Alone Day campaign in NUS (“Quiet Response to Much-Publicised Campaign in NUS”), fake Twitter accounts (“Fake Twitter Accounts Generate Buzz”) and an article on how NUS Students’ Union funds might be controversially utilised in supporting investments by the university (“Student Raises Furore Online Calling for Transparency in NUSSU-NUS Negotiations”).
Wired reviews a new game (“Dead Space 2: The Game Your Mother Doesn’t Want You To Play”) and tells you which sources you can rely on for your technology news (“5(+1) Must-Read Sources of Tech News”). Also, we have a neat how-to guide on “How to Connect to the Hidden NUS Wireless Network.” But coming back to the topic of Valentine’s Day, the day is not just about couples and romance. It is about a day set apart to celebrate love itself. And in this university that is filled with such tremendous diversity, I don’t know if we partake in that emotion as often as we should. Our professors are truly wonderful for working so hard and in delivering such interesting material and they’re truly worth loving. A few, like Professor Lee Soo Ann of the Economics Department (who has been teaching for well over 30 years), have truly given their all for the sake of this university. Also, our drivers and our cleaners and cooks and everyone else that makes this university a brilliantly run esetablishment aren’t thanked often enough either. They play an important role in this university and I especially love the Arts canteen uncle who gives me my morning coffee and the friendly guy in the Indian canteen stall who calls me ‘bhaiya’ (brother) and who has now memorized my lunch orders. They’ve both been around forever (we featured the coffee stall uncle on an article once in THE RIDGE!) as have many of those we meet on a daily basis and we don’t think of them in loving terms despite their dedication to making our lives better.
We also focus on the rise of evangelicalism in Singapore (“Let There Be Dominion”), the alluring and distracting effect of Facebook (“The Facebook
This university with its vast campus and wonderful facilities is also worth loving. Its architecture is impressive (although a tad bleak) and Central Library is the best library I have ever come across in my life. The map of
Effect”) and Wikipedia’s relevance in academia (“I’m With Wiki”) in other articles by the Opinion desk.
NUS (which is in the background of the R in THE RIDGE’s logo) is one that we will always fondly remember, I’m sure.
Sports Desk reports on the IHG (“IHG Report”) and previews the Cricket World Cup (“Cricket World Cup 2011”) that will kick off this month!
And there is hardly love lost between students either, especially between international and local students. The NUSSU International Relations
03
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Committee, in that respect, has much work to do and with the conclusion of InFusion and International Students’ Night last Friday, I hope that there will be better relations forged between the two groups. Do befriend an international student because they do not have their family or loved ones around and could often use your support and love. And for the couples out there that will celebrate this day, I wish them all a blissful time. I hope they revisit all the quaint and wonderful memories in their relationship and recall the “How I Met My Gf/Bf” moment. It’s a day where they get to demonstrate their love to the world at large without abandon and there will be chocolates, roses, movies and much more, I hope! Remember what you saw in the other person that completely swept you off your feet! Have a great Valentine’s Day and I hope that you always have someone who loves you.
Suhas Bhat theridge.chiefeditor@nussu.org.sg
04 EDITORIAL TEAM
EDITORIAL BOARD Chief Editor Suhas Bhat theridge.chiefeditor@nussu.org.sg Assistant Chief Editor Meera Nair theridge.asstchief@nussu.org.sg Creative Director Kaden Hoe theridge.creative@nussu.org.sg Chief Designer Caryn Quek theridge.chiefdesigner@nussu.org.sg News Desk Editor Chua Ai Ni theridge.news@nussu.org.sg Lifestyle Desk Editor Tamara Kisha Tan theridge.lifestyle@nussu.org.sg Entertainment Desk Editor Saheli Roy Choudhury theridge.entertainment@nussu.org.sg Sports Desk Editor Herngyih Tan theridge.sports@nussu.org.sg Wired Desk Editor Raymond Lau theridge.wired@nussu.org.sg Secretary Anokhi Vakil theridge.secretary@nussu.org.sg Head of Operations Chen Liang theridge.operations@nussu.org.sg NUSSU Publications Secretary Tan Heng Wee pubsec@nussu.org.sg
CONTRIBUTORS
WRITERS
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Opinion Desk
Lifestyle Desk
Entertainment Desk
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CREATIVE TEAM
Layout Designers
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OPERATIONS TEAM
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michelle_chong@nus.edu.sg
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Sriharsha Bhat
sriharsha@nus.edu.sg
Dawn Tan
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Luke Vijay
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Aarushi Puri
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Augustin Chiam
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Heng Mingfong
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Vani Goyal
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Tan Zy Bridget
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Jocelyn Yeo
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Nicole Kang
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Retna Devi
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Divya Gundlapalli
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Vanessa Nunis
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Joseph Chin
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Teo Teng Kiat
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Prateek Sinha
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Lester Hio
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Shanmugam MPL
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Lam Woon Cherk
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Eunice Ng
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Liu Zenan
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Peng Yifan
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Rishika Anchalia
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Stephanie Lim
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Yvonne Lee
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Abishek Balasubramaniam
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Matthew Chee
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Binu Jose
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Nitya Padmanabhan
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Dou Yue
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Wai Yan Yip
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Kavya Jacob
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ASK US ABOUT RECRUITMENT AT the.ridge@nussu.org.sg
05
06
NEWS
CREATE CAMPUS SET TO BOOST R&D SRIHARSHA BHAT
A
of Technology, Munich and University of California, Berkeley.
Funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF), the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) will be home to one of Asia’s leading research centres.
Dr Tony Tan, chairman of NRF, said at the topping up ceremony of Create, that the Create campus will “bring a new and significant dimension of research excellence into an already bustling R&D environment in the Kent Ridge and Buona Vista area.”
$360 million research campus situated in the new University Town will be completed by July this year.
It will house research centres from world class research universities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Technion Israel, University
The project was first mooted by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2006.
researchers and be equipped with laboratories to cater the needs of researchers from different disciplines. There will be a 16-storey tower for offices and dry labs and three buildings for wet labs. According to a statement on their website, “CREATE offers a multi-national, multidisciplinary research enterprise unlike anything known till now, strategically located in the heart of Asia, at the nexus of East and West.”
It is expected to house more than 1,000 local and foreign
CELC RECEIVES GRANT TO ENHANCE TEACHING OF ACADEMIC WRITING IN LAOS YEO SHANG LONG
colleges, set up a formal framework for doing so and create a mentoring programme that can benefit other teacher trainers.
T
he Centre for English Language Communication (CELC) in NUS has been awarded a grant of about S$220,000 to improve the teaching of English academic writing in teacher training colleges in Laos.
Under this 15-month project, which began in December 2010, CELC lecturers will hold workshops, co-teaching, observation and consultation sessions for 15 Lao teacher trainers from five teacher training colleges.
The grant was awarded by nonprofit organization Temasek Foundation.
This will help revamp current practices of teaching academic writing in Lao teacher training
PHOTOGRAPH BUSTLER.NET, SMU.EDU.SG
Professor Tan Tai Yong, vice provost (Student Life) at NUS, said he was confident that CELC would help develop a teaching framework that could be applied across Laos. Professor Tan said the project would enable “both teachers and students to acquire valuable skills in expressing themselves with confidence and clarity in the global sphere of English academic discourse.”
Benedict Cheong, Temasek Foundation’s chief executive officer, also said that the project’s use of peer sharing beyond the initial group of teacher trainers would help “sustain the impact of learning in the local community.” This is the second CELC project supported by Temasek Foundation. The first such project, which was launched in 2009, aimed to develop a framework for teaching English for business communication in Southeast Asia.
NEWS
07
NUSFLASH NUS RAISES TUITION FEES DAWN TAN
T
he National University of Singapore (NUS) announced on January 14, 2011, that there will be a tuition fee increment for the academic year of 2011/2012. The fee hike, however, will affect only incoming freshmen. The amount of tuition fees paid by male students who applied for places before their national service will depend on the date of their applications. The increased cost of providing a quality education has been cited as the reason for the fee increase. The fee adjustment is set to affect permanent residents (PRs) and
foreigners more than citizens. Singaporean citizens would have to pay from $280 to $540 more than the cohort of 2010/2011 while the amount would be $770 to $2,180 and $1,310 to $3,270 for Singapore Permanent Residents and International Students respectively. NUS has generally increased its fees every year in the last few years, with the exception of 2009, when the economic downturn caused a postponement of fee increases.
be 6% higher than the 2010/2011 intake. The fee increment is implemented in tandem with more financial aid for students. Forms of financial aid available include tuition loans, bursaries from NUS and the Ministry of Education, and work-study schemes. The school stresses that various financial assistance schemes are in place to ensure that no deserving student will be denied higher education because of financial need.
Tuition fees for graduate degrees (with the exception of Nursing) for the 2011/2012 intake would
UNIVERSITY TOWN GETS FIRST HONORARY FELLOW SRIHARSHA BHAT
T
The dinner also marked the official inauguration of Tembusu College.
This also marks the first time NUS University Town is conferring such an honour.
Other attendees of the dinner were NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, Vice President Joseph Mullinex, and Vice Provost Professor Tan Tai Yong.
The fellowship was presented by Professor Tommy Koh, Rector of Tembusu College, at the Tembusu Inaugural Dinner held at the Kent Ridge Guild House on January 12, 2011.
Sir Lloyd is Emeritus Professor in Ancient Philosophy and Science and the Senior Scholar in Residence at Needham College, Cambridge University. He was also, for eleven years, the Master
embusu College, one of the residential colleges in NUS University Town, has awarded its first Honorary Fellowship to eminent British historian and philosopher Sir Geoffrey Lloyd.
of Darwin College, Cambridge. His speciality includes ancient Greek science and Classcial Chinese.
PHOTOGRAPH NUS.EDU.SG, CLASSICS.CAM.AC.UK
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NEWS * PHOTOSTORY
“DON’T BE FOOLED BY THE CALENDAR. THERE ARE ONLY AS MANY DAYS IN THE YEAR AS YOU MAKE USE OF.” -CHARLES RICHARDS
LET EVERYDAY BE VALENTINE’S DAY I
t is the time of the year again when the NUS community divides itself into three camps: the free-spirited singles, the best friends forever, and the couples. It is also the time when bank accounts take a pummeling and empty pockets protest from the damage. On this one day out of the 365, a single stalk of rose would soar to three times its usual price, yet you and I seemingly become fools and pay that obscene amount for a symbol of a mere ritual of a senseless trend. Why would you, supposedly among the pinnacle of society given your education level, be hoodwinked into this ridiculous tradition? Apart from February 14, we have 364 other days to write notes, give flowers, chocolates and gifts to our significant others. A flower lives, at best, for a week; nonetheless, the beauty of a given flower does not fade on any other day and gives your loved ones that same euphoria of being appreciated. If you think about it, Valentine’s Day is just a reflection of consumerism in our society. Without the superb marketing and advertisements on television, or the decorations around us, Valentine’s Day would merely become Boxing Day in Singapore; just another day on the calendar. My point is this: Why wait for this day to express your appreciation and love? Valentine’s Day exists only as a product of our minds. Let us live everyday better than Valentines, for we should express our true selves to our loved ones every breathing moment we have in our lives.
AUTHOR + PHOTOGRAPHER DAWN TAN
NEWS
09
BIZAD CHARITY RUN RAISES $30,000 O
n Jan 16, over 550 people took part in the inaugural Adidas Bizad Charity Run, raising a total of $30,000 to help the less fortunate. Arriving at the Mochtar Riady Building early on a Sunday morning, participants took part in a five-kilometre run around the Kent Ridge Campus, flagged off by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports.
School Alumni Association’s tenth anniversary. The run was open to business school alumni, current students, and their friends and family. Kwen Yi Jun, a first-year business student and the Director of Community Involvement and Social Responsibility of the Students’ Business Club, said turnout was larger than expected. She said, “Since the event took place on a Sunday, we are very grateful that so many students made the effort to come down to support us.”
The event, organised by the NUS Business School Alumni Association, the NUS Students’ Business Club (Bizad Club) and the NUS Masters Club, was Donations were raised from held in honour of the National registration fees and contributions University of Singapore’s Business from individuals and companies.
They would be divided amongst three charities chosen by the event’s organisers. They are Fei Yue Community Services, a not-for-profit voluntary welfare organisation, Towner Gardens School, a special education institution, and New Charis Mission, a rehabilitation centre for ex-convicts and ex-drug addicts.
their alma mater, following the same paths they took during their school days. The chosen route even included segments that called for participants to walk or run up and down flights of stairs, an experience all NUS students are very familiar with. It also allowed alumni members and current students to show their friends and family their campus.
Kwen said these charities were chosen as the Bizad club had a history of collaborating with them.
Eilton Ho, a first-year business student who loves running, took part in the event. He said the experience was very memorable, with former and current students of the business school running together. He added that he was looking forward to next year’s event.
Aside from providing the runners with an opportunity to keep fit while supporting a good cause, the run also presented Business school alumni a chance to revisit
AUTHOR LUKE VIJAY + PHOTOGRAPH MCYSSINGAPORE // FLICKR
10 06
NEWS
MAKEOVER FOR TOILETS AT FASS The increase in the number of female restrooms would also mean that queues for the restrooms would be significantly reduced, especially during the “peak” periods of restroom usage in between lectures and tutorials as well as during lunch hour.
R
enovation works have been carried out on the toilets at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) since 2009. Not only have the interior of the toilets been refurbished but the positions of male and female restrooms have been switched around as well. There is also an increase in the number of female restrooms compared to male restrooms. According to Goh Cheng Wah, the manager of the Building Improvement Division in the Office of Estate and Development, these changes were initiated because the Faculty had highlighted that females made up the majority of the total student population in FASS.
The switching around of the positions of the restroom also ensured that female students get more privacy. Prior to the upgrading, male students had to walk past the female restroom in order to get to the male restroom beside Coffee Club Express near LT11. This arrangement made many female students feel insecure as male students could easily take a peek into the female restroom as they walked past.
Before renovation works took place, the restrooms located at more accessible spots on the main levels in FASS were male Third-year social work major restrooms. Girls often had to Quah Feng Ling approved of the climb up or switch. THESE CHANGES down a flight WERE INITIATED “I have always of stairs in BECAUSE order to get thought that this is THE FACULTY to the female the standard and most HAD restroom. suitable arrangement HIGHLIGHTED These toilets of the restrooms, in THAT FEMALES which male toilets have now been MADE converted to are situated before UP THE female toilets. the female ones so MAJORITY that the girls can have OF THE TOTAL In response to more privacy,” said STUDENT the changes, Quah. POPULATION female students IN FASS. interviewed The changes to the were glad of the convenience toilets at FASS may have brought of getting to restrooms from convenience to female students common venues such as The Deck, but male students now have to walk a longer distance or climb the canteen at FASS.
AUTHOR MICHELLE CHONG + PHOTOGRAPH QLDC.GOVT.NZ
stairs in order to access the male restrooms around these locations. Some have griped about these changes, citing difficulties in finding a male restroom. “I literally have to go to another block, or climb three floors up in order to use a toilet. The shifting of the toilets has inconvenienced me a lot,” said third-year Japanese studies major Noel Chau. Others, like fourth-year economics student Ang Yang Chong, have adopted a more understanding attitude. Although he now has to walk all the way to AS6 or walk down one level in order to get to a male restroom from The Deck, he acknowledged the fact that females indeed make up the majority in FASS. “I am willing to give up the privilege of having a nearby toilet to the girls. Besides, we do not spend as much time in the toilet as most girls do. I have seen the queues for the female restrooms. Perhaps the girls really need more toilets that are also easily accessible,” said Ang. Upgrading and renovation works in FASS are still on-going.
NEWS
11
QUIET RESPONSE TO MUCH-PUBLICISED CAMPAIGN IN NUS
T
he act of eating alone came under the spotlight recently in NUS when three undergraduates organised a campaign called “Eating alone in the school canteen” to encourage people not to be afraid of eating alone. However, despite coverage on The Straits Times and various online platforms, the event attracted only 40 attendees. The campaign organisers, Heng Choon Peng, a finalyear psychology major, Jude Alphonsus Tan, a final-year student from the School of Engineering, and Sonia Oh Ting Wen, a first-year student at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, thought the number of attendees could have been higher.
They told The Straits Times, “I think there is room for more improvement as we only met half of the target. But I guess the awareness is definitely more than the number of T-shirts sold.” The trio had started the campaign as they felt that there was a need to let people know that having a meal alone was not something to fear or feel uncomfortable about. They recounted incidents where they had to accompany friends who were too shy to be seen dining solo in the canteen. Thus they felt their campaign would be a novel and fun way to address the issue. They even created a page on social networking site Facebook called “Eating alone in the school
canteen” which attracted 158 people to sign up. Overall, there were mixed reactions to the campaign. Some were supportive of it. Choo Jiale, a third-year real estate major from the School of Design and Environment said, “This event is a brave effort at addressing a common issue that is often neglected. I see this as a problem that many of my school mates face so I thought this was a cause worth supporting.”
The campaign had even inspired a counter-campaign titled “Don’t allow people to eat alone” which aimed to act against the perceived encouragement of antisocial behaviour in the original campaign.
Others see nothing inherently wrong with eating alone in the first place. Third-year Japanese studies major Noel Chau, said that eating alone was simply “more efficient” than hunting around for a dining companion.
AUTHOR SHARON ROZARIO & CHUA AI NI + PHOTOGRAPHER JUDE ALPHONSO TAN
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NEWS* FEATURE
FAKE TWITTER ACCOUNTS GENERATE BUZZ on matters pertinent to their respective schools. For example fakeNUS has 617 followers and updates its page ten times a day on average.
obvious.
P
arody accounts seem to be all the rage on Twitter nowadays. Last November, there was a report on The Straits Times about spoof messages being sent on Twitter using the names of well-known Singapore firms like Telco SingTel and public transport operator SMRT to poke fun at the companies, staff and customers.
NOW ANOTHER GENERATION OF PARODY TWITTER ACCOUNTS LOOKS SET TO SPARK OFF A NEW TREND. These accounts deliberately tag the word ‘fake’ to their Twitter accounts, making their intention as parody sites immediately
Back in 2008, Twitter personas like fakeSarahPalin and fakeBarackObama were providing an alternative commentary about the elections in the United States. FakeSarahPalin tweets,
“SOMETIMES I WONDER IF I’M THE ONLY SMART PERSON LEFT ON EARTH.” In Singapore, there are Twitter accounts like fakeStomp and fakeMOE passing satirical 140-character comments on various issues.
IT IS A PLATFORM FOR STUDENTS TO SHARE THOUGHTS ON INTERESTING THINGS IN SCHOOL LIKE THE CALORIE SIGNS THAT WERE INSTALLED ON STEPS TO GET STUDENTS TO CLIMB STAIRS. Students also air their grouses on everything from spoilt ATM machines to CORS. These accounts are satirical in nature and are open about their distinction from the official websites. The description on fakeNUS’ profile page reads, “Believing me is like believing Sir Stamford Raffles founded the moon”. There is also a disclaimer stating that it is not affiliated to the official NUS site. Indeed, fakeNUS has the word’ fake’ stamped on its logo, much like the one from a specimen dollar note.
Even tertiary institutions have jumped on the ‘fake’ Twitter bandwagon. A check on the internet found Twitter accounts Students find the tweets like fakeNUS, fakeSMU and refreshing. Third-year therealfakeNTU giving their take communications and new
media major Wan Munirah, an avid Twitter user who follows fakeNUS on Twitter said, “I follow fakeNUS on Twitter because the tweets are usually related to school and they are also entertaining and funny.” But she is clear on where to draw the line,
“IT’S LIKE A SPOOF OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN REALITY. IT’S BEST NOT TO BELIEVE EVERYTHING IT SAYS. JUST TAKE IT WITH A PINCH OF SALT.” Others choose to follow NUSingapore, the official NUS Twitter page instead. Siti Suhailah, a third-year communications and new media major, said, “I can get fast and reliable updates on the happenings about school in bite-sized information which is really convenient for me.” The school authorities are aware of such Twitter pages. An NUS spokesperson said, “NUS values comments and feedback made on socialnetworking sites that would help the University improve or better understand the community’s views of it. We will, however, correct any misinformation about the University that may arise from these comments or feedback.”
AUTHOR CHUA AI NI + PHOTOGRAPH TRENDSUPDATES.COM
NEWS
07 13
STUDENT RAISES FURORE ONLINE CALLING FOR TRANSPARENCY IN NUSSU-NUS NEGOTIATIONS It was through the usage of these reserves, as outlined in an earlier article, that freshmen from this year onwards have an automatic 10% discount for their purchases with NUS Co-Op. Despite such expenditure, reserves have nevertheless accumulated over the 32 years of the Student Union’s existence and they amount to a sizeable sum.
C
hen Jiaxi Bernard, a secondyear history major, recently posted a note on Facebook entitled “NUSSU - What are you trying to do with the students’ monies in the reserves?” which has attracted the attention of the NUS community, amassing 195 ‘likes’ and over 60 comments.
Committees and the undergraduates of NUS, who by default are members. Students pay a $24 subscription fee to the Union as part of his student bill every year and, according to the latest circular by the NUSSU Executive Committee (NUSSU Exco), “this fee is divided equally into 3 portions, with each portion Chen’s note focuses on the going to NUSSU Exco, NUSSU sensitive matter of negotiations Faculty Clubs and NUSSU between the NUS Students’ Non-Faculty Clubs (Sports Union (NUSSU) and the Club, Cultural Activities Club, administration in the negotiations Community Service Club and regarding the utilization of Political Association.” NUSSU financial reserves. The stated purpose of these funds The NUS Students’ Union is to support the various activities comprises of 14 Constituent that NUSSU representatives Clubs and 12 NUSSU engage in for the betterment of
student life within the university. THE RIDGE, as one of the NUSSU Committees, benefits from the generosity of students, especially with regards to its monthly publication costs. The subscription fees have financed the creation of benefits for students like the Exam Welfare Pack giveaway and it helps finance the annual Rag Day. This academic year, a new committee named NUSSU Peer Support was born, with this group focusing on creating events aimed at improving mental wellness of the student population.
About six months ago, the Office of Financial Services (OFS) proposed that NUSSU move its reserves from a current fixed deposit scheme to the University’s investment portfolio. This investment scheme was suggested as a means of getting higher returns in light of rising inflation rates and the fact that the Union has not significantly drawn down on its accumulated surpluses. If such a scheme were to succeed, the spending power of the Union would be preserved despite the inflation. Chen asserted that he was informed through various sources that there have been ongoing talks “to allow the administration to use monies accumulated in the reserves of each constituent clubs for purposes of investment in existing investment plan(s) that NUS currently holds.” NUS is currently undertaking significant long-term projects, most notably in the creation of University Town. At the same time, the NUS Investment
AUTHOR SUHAS BHAT + PHOTOGRAPHER LUKE VIJAY
14 06
NEWS
of these discussions have now spread like wildfire in a rather unexpected manner.”
Office does partake in marketrelated investments much in the manner of many other foreign universities, and they do not usually interfere in the finances of NUSSU. Chen also raised concerns regarding issues of transparency and accountability regarding these negotiations asking some rather severe questions - “What’s the point of quietly going about this negotiation with the NUS administration without mentioning a word to the student population? How are these monies going to be invested and what are the returns like? In the event of a failed investment, are there any safeguards that NUS can promise to the student population?” The fact that the discussions have been happening for over six months without procuring any student feedback particularly riled Chen and many other students. Christel Quek, a geography alumni, and former Editor-inChief of the independent online news site, The Kent Ridge Common said, “The issues raised in the note pertain to how we, as NUS undergrads and
alumni, should, as stakeholders, be kept in the loop of such negotiations [and] it would be great if NUSSU could respond to these questions and facilitate a relationship, strengthened by accountability and transparency between NUSSU and the student population.”
Regarding the relationship between the Union and the administration, he explained that it has always been a cordial one. “The university administration acknowledges the Union’s legitimacy and authority when it comes to protecting and promoting the welfare of students. The administration will not act without consulting us, and we, in turn, act in the interests of the student body,” he said.
He reassured students that the Union would not take any decision without the consent of its members. “Ultimately, Bernard is right in saying that we are the guardians of the student monies, not the owners. Thus, we will definitely consult the students The NUSSU Publications before taking a final action. Secretary, Tan Heng Wee, a Stating that the Union third-year has gone negotiating environmental “WHAT’S THE POINT OF to a significant stage is engineering QUIETLY GOING an exaggeration. ” student who ABOUT THIS oversees NEGOTIATION The circular that was the various WITH THE NUS sent out by NUSSU publications, ADMINISTRATION also indicates that and who is WITHOUT nothing concrete responsible MENTIONING has been confirmed, for NUSSU’s A WORD saying that “NUSSU public image, TO THE has yet to promise explained STUDENT NUSSU’s POPULATION?” anything as of now with regard to this stand on the investment of reserves.” matter. He stated, “These negotiations had been a rather sensitive matter and the Exco wished to be sure of the details of the negotiations before releasing any information. This was done to forestall any potential confusion that may arise from releasing information on issues that were as yet unconfirmed. The rumours
PHOTOGRAPH NUS STUDENTS’ UNION FACEBOOK PAGE
On the Facebook page of the NUS Students Union, a discussion has also been opened up and students have been invited to post their thoughts. In an attempt to address the concerns of students, the NUSSU Exco is currently planning a discussion forum on the issue that
will be held on 16th February 2011 at 7pm in the Yusof Ishak House (YIH) Students’ Lounge.
OPINION
Last semester, my English literature tutor brought up the topic of the ‘Renaissance Man’ and I had absolutely no clue what that was. Instead of spending hours poring over books in the library, I went home, did a search on Wikipedia, and got a pretty comprehensive overview of everything. Of course, I did consult certain books and it turned out to be pretty in-sync with what I read online! Wikipedia has an incredibly large database with all sorts of information stored inside. All I need to do is type the words into the search bar and I’ll get my results. It’s also highly accessible, especially now when many phones are 3G-enabled and people stay connected to the internet 24/7. Best of all, it’s FREE. To me, this borders on the miraculous. Although it has only been around
undo unconstructive edits as well as track users’ IP addresses.
I’M WITH WIKI WIKIPEDIA HAS BEEN SHUNNED IN ACADEMIA BUT IT STILL REMAINS AN IMPORTANT ONLINE DESTINATION FOR MOST STUDENTS. for 10 years (January 15th was its tenth anniversary), it has had profound effects on the way students like myself do research or look up information.
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Personally, I know of at least one professor who makes regular contributions to pieces related to astronomy.
THERE ARE
Unfortunately, this website is THOSE WHO MAKE also often frowned upon by many AN EFFORT TO professors and tutors in NUS who ENSURE THAT THE feel that it is un-academic and INFORMATION IS unreliable because any Tom, Dick AS ACCURATE or Harry can make editions and AND DETAILED AS contributions. They also question POSSIBLE. the reliability of sources cited in the articles, if they are even cited Wikipedia itself has a ‘block’ at all. function that prevent users from haphazardly editing Legitimate and well-meaning as articles, especially those that are these concerns are, they show bad academically significant. It also faith in the online community. has automated programs that can
Also, the fact that it has been able to tout itself as an ‘online encyclopaedia’ for a good ten years says something about its reliability. Admittedly, it is still not a foolproof website but then nothing is perfect - even acknowledged academic sources might have their facts disputed or disproved at times! Saying that Wikipedia should be considered academically reliable might still be a long shot, at least in the foreseeable future. But it is still a great help for students who need a quick reference or are in dire need of research material just hours before the essay deadline (touch wood!). At the very least, it points them in the right direction. But of course, don’t lift entire passages out of Wikipedia!
AUTHOR NGUI JIAN GANG + PHOTOGRAPH DAGBLADET.NO
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OPINION* FEATURE
LET THEM HAVE DOMINION
At
Mega-churches have expanded rapidly in Singapore. What’s their appeal, and what are the implications of this rise of evangelicalism and its inherently subversive agenda?
Singapore’s National Indoor Stadium, 30,000 people are jumping, dancing and waving their arms in the dark to the pulsating sound of electric guitars and the beat of drums.
brand of Christianity that has been rapidly increasing in size and prominence in Singapore. Churches like City Harvest and New Creation lead the pack in this surge of American-styled Evangelical fervor. One has to attend a church service and stand in the crowd A rock concert? of frenzied worshippers to truly understand the magnitude No, it’s Sunday morning and it’s of this phenomenon. It is a church service. difficult otherwise to picture The music dies down and a tall man skips onto the stage. He’s in a strikingly colourful t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans, bright highlights in his carefully gelled hair and a Bible in his hand. He starts to preach – an impassioned message about divine empowerment of the modern Christian, revealing God’s will for the lives of the congregation. He moves around the stage energetically and speaks in rousing tones to the delight of his captivated audience who respond with a regular chorus of “Yes!” and “Amen!” It’s a scene you’ll find at any Evangelical mega-church, the
increasing Evangelical masses. And there are several reasons behind the incredible appeal of this particular brand of Christianity. Foremost amongst the factors is the strong sense of community belonging inculcated within these churches as they generally have a very distinct culture – certain practices, church jargon, even a sort of dress code. This caters to those who are searching for a sense of identity - they easily gain one by attaching themselves to the larger community. These churches also have an efficient system to channel new members into smaller groups where they can interact and develop close relationships. It is not uncommon for young people to find life partners and for business people to find useful contacts within the walls of the church.
the thousands of wide-eyed youths, fashionable yuppies and even older people in their collective display of tremendous enthusiasm and devotion. Findings from the recent Singapore population census provide hard evidence of the
AUTHOR DARIUS SIT + PHOTOGRAPH 28MMSTUDIO.COM, APOLOTHEO.WORDPRESS.COM
Secondly, each member feels significant after joining these churches. The size and wealth of these Evangelical churches, a feature that differentiates them from their smaller, traditional counterparts, enables this.
There is an intensely strong focus on proselytizing and wealth - the need to ‘save the lost’ and the necessity of ‘tithing and offering’ (the give-till-it-hurts mentality) is hammered weekly into the minds of the congregation. One easily gets the sense of divine megalomania listening to some of the messages. These churches also espouse a strong progressive message that is quite surprising. While these churches are quite fundamentalist in their Christian
OPINION* FEATURE
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beliefs, they still actively modernize certain aspects of the message to fit the palate of the modern worshipper. Archaic ideals of poverty and submissiveness are shunned and replaced by divinely inspired advancement and wealth, a compelling message for the modern Singaporean. The sermon messages are often structured into digestible, succinct points with catchy phrases and delivered with an empowering, inspirational undertone (like an Anthony Robbins message with a Christian twist). The Evangelical movement presents modern ideals combined with the age-old comforts of religion; a truly irresistible mix.
promotion of lesbianism and homosexuality in Singaporean society.
would vehemently defend the benevolence of the Evangelical cause.
The actions of this group of Evangelicals have been condemned as an unwarranted intrusion by religion into civil society, a misuse of the church’s significant influence.
Yet, in spite of the proclamations of good intention, the movement has begun to actively infringe on the structures of secular society.
There would be little cause for These effervescent Evangelical concern if the incident were an anomalous mishap. However, churches have been a boon to society; they’ve provided a safe the hijacking was in line with an explicit mandate held by environment for youth and are an avenue through which many Evangelicals to expand the influence of Christianity and individuals find meaning and to gradually occupy seats of purpose in life. Yet it’s hard to authority in secular institutions. ignore a sense of subversion This militant agenda is aptly in their insatiable hunger for named Dominion Theology, expansion and influence. justified by Genesis 1:26 in the Bible which says, “Let us The clearest example in recent times was the planned hijacking make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have of women’s rights advocacy dominion…over all the earth.” group, the Association of Women for Action and Evangelicalism has been seen Research (AWARE), by Evangelical Christians from the as an eccentric, idiosyncratic and (sometimes) controversial Church of Our Saviour. movement; its rapid expansion has otherwise been perceived The fast-growing Evangelical to be harmless. Its members church held comparatively see no malevolence in its conservative views and anarchistic agenda and were opposed to what they perceived to be AWARE’s
As Singaporeans on a whole become more educated and as they experience closer integration with the Western world, more and more will begin to abandon traditional syncretic religions in favour of Christianity. And among the many available denominations, Modern Evangelicalism would surely be a hot favourite – where else can you find the promise of salvation with the acceptance of Jesus Christ and secular materialistic values melded into a coherent message with the incessant proclamation that there are no contradictions between the two? These mega-churches have also begun to reproduce, spawning smaller Evangelical hothouses with the same
identity, using the same formula for church growth. They will begin to inhabit hotel ballrooms and convention halls, eventually growing large enough to build large church buildings with ‘miracle’ donations (from ostentatiously elaborate fund-raising/ marketing campaigns). The efficacy of its growth, while admirable, should be viewed with apprehension as the realization of its inherently subversive agenda could result in a dystopian future, one in which the secular Singaporean state devolves into an Evangelical pseudo-theocracy.
It might sound ridiculous at this point but the possibility of an AWARE-like hijacking occurring on a larger scale is not entirely remote. If that happens, we might wake up one day to find ourselves citizens of an Evangelical state and be the Bible belt of the region.
PHOTOGRAPH KONGHEE.COM
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OPINION
VOICES OF SINGAPORE’S TOMORROW
A
rmed with an iPod in one hand, a Blackberry in the other and the latest Gucci bag they are young, they are trendy. But they are also politically apathetic. I dare say that a large number of youths are more familiar with juicy celebrity gossips and latest iPhone applications than the upcoming general elections. Foreign Minister George Yeo has hinted that the elections would be in the second quarter of this year, meaning that they are looming closer! As the older generation passes the baton to the next, questions arise as to whether Singapore’s future is at stake, especially as the political apathy of the younger generation, an issue which has been discussed ad nauseam, has not abated. Even though it is convenient to pour the blame on the education system of Singapore, it is not entirely just either. National Education, established in 1997, and civil and moral education to
gain “awareness of the nation” as well as social studies, introduced in 2005, have played a role in attempting to educate Singapore’s youth about their nation. But is theoretical knowledge enough to erase apathy? How many of us can truthfully claim to have read up on the nondominant political parties?
to equip students to become active learners, but textbook regurgitation is still commonplace ironically! It is of the utmost importance that Singaporean youths be honed from their early formative years to take ideas with a pinch of salt and churn out their own thoughts. By striking the iron when it’s hot, can we minimize political apathy.
While reforming “IT IS OF Targeting the education THE UTMOST political apathy system was IMPORTANCE THAT also requires not the SINGAPOREAN engagement of the bullseye that YOUTHS BE HONED youth in politics policymakers FROM THEIR EARLY from an early age. had hoped it FORMATIVE YEARS would be, it is TO TAKE IDEAS Prime Minister an important WITH A PINCH OF Lee Hsien factor in SALT” Loong called the issue of for empowering political apathy and the education youths in 2004, saying “[We system has an important role in should] give them a say in their sculpting tomorrow’s youths. lives, make them feel they can make a difference”. The gates to critical thinking have been opened with the Thinking Indeed, it is crucial for the Schools, Learning Nation government to allow the youth to (TSLN) policy yet elections pass have a voice that can be carried by under students’ noses. The forward to sculpt policies. TSLN policy was introduced
AUTHOR VIBHA GHARIWALA + PHOTOGRAPH REDPIXART.COM
This does not equate to merely handing a loudspeaker to the youth, but to reassure them that their voice is indeed heard and does not fall on deaf ears! Engaging youth bodies through open political discussions as well as getting them to understand the structure of political machinery will indeed go miles in preparing them to take over the political baton from their predecessors. Facebook and Twitter are only two of the many rising platforms to allow them to give their two cents’ worth towards sculpting Singapore’s tomorrow. Perhaps a new iPhone application – iPolitics anyone?
OPINION
I
just returned from a youth leadership conference in Prague and like most conferences with a diverse group of international delegates, there was a time allotted to share about the culture of our home countries. Though there were four Singaporeans at the conference, we were faced with the unenviable conundrum of deciding what aspects of Singapore culture to share with the other delegates. As much as the Singapore Tourism Board would like to brand Singapore as “Uniquely Singapore”, we just could not find something unique to share. The Malaysians would contest our “unique” food culture while the Indians, Chinese and Malays would surely, and rightly so, claim some of our “unique culture” as their own. Globalisation has perhaps taken away and shown the emptiness of our claims to be unique in any sense. It was also
WHAT MAKES YOU PROUD OF SINGAPORE? particularly unnerving to hear that we could not even claim multiculturalism as something unique to Singapore. Countries like Australia and Canada can all claim to be as much of a melting pot of culture as us – or even more. And so, we decided to share some of the quirky things that might surprise the delegates, especially the non-Asian ones. We talked about how the highest point of Singapore is Bukit Timah Hill (a measly 163m tall!), how we are not allowed to eat or drink while taking public transport, how we have waterreclamation facilities which give us NEWater (drinking your own pee!) and of course the death penalty and our ban on the distribution of chewing gum.
I must confess that we were not particularly enthusiastic to share these trivia although some of the delegates were genuinely interested and pleasantly surprised. It was perhaps not surprising then that one delegate asked us in a bemused tone, “So what makes you proud of Singapore?” This is my answer. I said that I was proud that Singapore is a relatively safe and peaceful country where I would not need to fear for my security even after the sun sets. After the conference, I reflected upon this and realised that there were many other things I am proud of. I am proud to have had a heavily-government subsidised education. I am also proud that there is freedom of
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religion. Just compare this to the broken public education system in many countries (developed and developing) and the fear and chaos that has broken out in Pakistan due to the ruling of the blasphemy case and you will understand what I mean. The lesson I learnt is that we must all be ready to answer the question that was posed to me. It does not have to be elaborate and well thought out but I do think it is our civic duty to have at least thought about it and to answer with a sincere heart. So really, ask yourself: What makes you proud of Singapore?
AUTHOR + PHOTOGRAPHER AUGUSTIN CHIAM
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OPINION
HOW TO BE HAPPY So at this point in our lives, as students in the National University of Singapore, here are the few things that determine our happiness:
Here is my take on ‘How to be Happy’ (and you don’t have to pay a cent to hear it!). But then happiness is also a matter of perspective!
1 Getting good grades.
1 Don’t compare
Yes, the better our grades are, the happier we are – it’s as simple as that!
Wherever or whoever you are, there will always be someone either worse off or better than you. Comparison never ends, and it just makes you feel unhappy!
2 Finding that elusive love of our lives.
2
Be content With Valentine’s Day coming up, many guys and girls are Potential happiness is in frantically reviewing the potential everything that you own and you ‘other-halves’ in their lives. Will are. Don’t you forget that! that person be the love of my life, who will make me happy? Stop looking for happiness in the future, and start looking for it Rolling around in a pile of around you money That’s right, if happiness is We get the grades to get a job, defined as a goal, then quite we get a job to make money, we likely your present will be pretty make the money to spend and miserable as you always fight to make us happier! Or we strike 4D attain that happiness. Happiness or invent the next Facebook and is here and in the now, in all the become rich overnight – instant small things around you. Cherish happiness! every moment, and you’ll always be happy! Having a large social circle Starting caring for people other Going around and meeting than yourself people you know everywhere in NUS makes you feel like a In other words, stop being superstar, no doubt! self-centred and help others! Start by simply helping the Yet not everyone can achieve cleaners pick up rubbish or help all or any of the above. Even a fellow student who needs your if you did achieve one of those help. Either way, you’ll find it objectives, don’t you still feel like rewarding and good for your soul! you could achieve more? I hope I have helped you It’s true – sometimes the more we somehow be happier! And it isn’t have, the more we lust for what hard to be happy, really, as after we don’t have! So we work even all, it takes fewer muscles to smile harder for the next level, and than to frown! the next and so on and the cycle never really ends.
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4
I
f you enter the ‘Self-help’ section of any typical bookshop, you’ll undoubtedly find a myriad of books teaching you how to get richer, how to be confident, how to get smarter – so on and so forth. All these books, however, can easily be summarized into one tidy and simple title: How to Be Happy. It’s a fact: everyone wants to be someone, get something or be somewhere in order to be happy!
The goal of our fleeting life on earth is to accumulate as much potential happiness as we possibly can! Even governments are beginning to see the importance of happiness. Many countries, including the United States and Great Britain, have adopted the Happiness Index to measure people’s quality of life in addition to their Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
AUTHOR DANIEL TAY + PHOTOGRAPH UNANOSLUCROR//FLICKR
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OPINION
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SO WHY ARE YOU STILL SINGLE? F
ebruary is the month whereby this question will be heard more often than not. During Chinese New Year, relatives would pound on you with questions on boyfriends or girlfriends. As Valentine’s Day looms, friends would ask if you are meeting someone special on that day. The Singapore Department of Statistics highlighted in January 2011 the growing trend of singles in the younger age groups. The proportion of singles rose significantly from 33 per cent to 43 per cent for the males, and from 22 per cent to 31 per cent for the females. Singlehood was most prevalent among female graduates. It is thus not surprising that even the government is bemoaning the same question.
faith in finding the right ‘one’.
shortchanging himself.
A research by Professor David Buss of the University of Texas which surveyed 10,047 people in 37 cultures, from Australia to Zambia suggests that evolutionary behaviour and the forces of natural selection have played an increasing role in what we find and consider desirable for the protection and production of our offspring.
By the right one, I don’t mean finding a perfect person who satisfies everything on a checklist. Rather, I mean somebody that deserves you and treats you as you should be treated.
Marriage is not a means to an end, whereby the end is to fulfill the social construct of a family. Arguably, one of the most important decisions in life is about finding the right person.
Many people are stuck in relationships that are unhappy or abusive simply because they were afraid of being alone.
How fair is it for the other person to know that you settled for her just because you are not getting any younger?
Does that mean that if you are still single by a certain “marriageable” age, you are undesirable?
Only when one is a happy and complete individual can he share and give love without losing his identity or get overwhelmed by his emotions from a relationship. Only when one has met the right person will he not feel the pain of
Not every couple consists of desirable partners. If so, there wouldn’t be domestic violence.
Not necessarily. It definitely takes courage to not settle and to have
I personally agree with what Steve Jobs has to say on the subject of marriage - “like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it.” “Don’t settle.”
It’s just like how not every bachelor is undesirable.
AUTHOR HENG MINGFONG + PHOTOGRAPH HIREN.INFO
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OPINION
THE FACEBOOK EFFECT HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN ON FACEBOOK TODAY?
M
ost of us spend an inordinate amount of time on building or maintaining our social image. In other words, we worry greatly about how others perceive us. Do you disagree? Think again.
unsurpassed outlet. Indeed, not all of us are addicts but there are enough of us out there to give this some food for thought. Perhaps not all of us use Facebook to build an identity for ourselves, but then there is its less talked about, but more common utilization of cyber stalking!
You may not do it consciously but even choosing to wear a certain shirt or choosing one research topic over the other are all parameters that define us since we choose these over other alternatives. Hence, we are very conscious of our choices and how they make us look.
A PRETTY FACE OR A SPECTACULAR BODY TENDS TO SPARK INTEREST
When it comes to characterizing and labeling ourselves, Facebook wins hands down over all the other social networking sites floating around as the
You may shake your head reluctantly at this one, but everyone has done this at some point or another, if only for the sake of curiosity.
AUTHOR AARUSHI PURI + PHOTOGRAPH PERSONAL.PSU.EDU
A pretty face or a spectacular body tends to spark interest, naturally and for those of you who still disagree, all I can say is building an empire of friends (who you probably barely talk to, or even know personally), adding numerous applications, “poking” your “friends” from time to time, “liking” other users’ comments, pictures, pages, etc. or updating your status in nearly any situation (life threatening or mundane) are all indicators of this “effect” that is almost akin to an obsession. A moderate addict myself, I realized the time-thieving aspect of this demon during my senior year in high school and I took the bold step of deactivating my account (boy, was it hard). A study conducted by Ohio State
University authenticates my claim as it illustrates that there is a direct correlation between time squandered on Facebook and academic triumph. Not only does the study suggest that it eats into university students’ time but it also wounds their GPA or CAP. Chilling thought? It wouldn’t be right to condemn Facebook outright as it does help us keep in touch with people from around the world, but its distracting influence cannot be ignored. If deactivating your account is too extreme for you, maybe try monitoring and limiting your time on a regular basis just like you would with any other addiction. Yes, this is an intervention.
LIFESTYLE
I
OH MY STARS!
’d had my share of nightmares as a kid and the dream factory in my subconscious mind liked conjuring up images of the scariest of vipers chasing me. And this year I read that that due to a change in the Earth’s orientation, I’m now supposedly a Serpentarian. I cannot for the life of me understand how and why. I’m a snake holder now. Like I haven’t experienced my share of irony overload already!
VINOTHINI SUBRAMANIAN BARELY INTO ITS FIRST MONTH, 2011 DECIDED TO SPRING A SURPRISE ON US ALL: NEW ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS! WHILE THE COSMIC AFFAIR IS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE TALK OF THE TOWN, THE LATEST ADDITION, OPHIUCHUS, DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE GAINING MANY FANS. QUITE ON THE CONTRARY, MOST PEOPLE ARE WONT TO CONDEMN IT AS THE BAD GUY LEADING AN ASTROLOGICAL ANARCHY. INDEED THERE ARE SOME WHO BELIEVE THIS 13TH SIGN IS NOT EVEN A REAL SIGN, AT LEAST, NOT IN WESTERN ASTROLOGY.
THE RIDGE ASKED
FEW NUS STUDENTS WHAT THEY THOUGHT AND THIS IS WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY!
YEAR 2, BUSINESS
I
believe my identity consisted of factors way beyond the alignment of the Earth with the stars. I am not rational, passionate, or a leader because I was born on a certain date. I was not affected the day the Zodiac sign changes were announced; I was only slightly amused.
HABIB MAYA YEAR 3, BUSINESS
I
don’t really see what the big deal is about the new zodiac sign. Sure, they’ve added a 13th sign with some unpronouncable name - but apparently the new signs only affect people born after 2009. And I’ve personally never believed in the whole zodiacsigns-and-shared-traits thing, so I honestly don’t know what all the fuss is about.
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G
rowing up, I learnt that you can have more than 1 sign depending on the method of calculation used. That made me doubt the reliability of the zodiac and I stopped looking at such things when I converted to Christianity. But I know a guy in his mid-twenties who is very addicted to zodiac fortune-telling; he even looked for a girlfriend with the most compatible zodiac sign! Things went well in the beginning but they broke up after a few months. So my advice is to just be yourself, and for those with religious background, your God will arrange things for you, not the stars.
NOEL WONG YEAR 3, FASS
T
he possibility that spatial relationships amongst celestial bodies are changing and that the Sun may enter an altogether new constellation of stars, ‘Ophiuchus’ before entering Sagittarius from Scorpius brings to my mind interesting possibilities. How this event, so many light years away, almost like a butterfly effect, rippling through the empty chasms of the universe can affect the way we live our lives, or more precisely perceive our lives.
ADITHYA PRASAD YEAR 2, SDE
NAYANTARA SRINIVASAN YEAR 2, FASS AUTHOR ADITI ANAND
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LIFESTYLE
LIFESTYLE SHOPS TO VISIT
BIRD & CO. BY BOOKSACTUALLY
.WOODWOULD..
ADDRESS | NO. 86 CLUB STREET
ADDRESS | #03-24 MANDARIN
OPENING HOURS | MON-SAT 11AM TO
OPENING HOURS | DAILY 11AM TO
9PM, SUN AND PUBLIC HOLS 12PM TO 6PM
Stepping into Birds & Co. is like going back in time to your childhood days. Owned by BooksActually, this shop is dedicated to vintage stationery and nostalgic knick knacks. The display cabinets housed old and new envelopes, pencils, country erasers, tin pencil boxes and wooden rulers among other things that you probably stopped seeing as you grew up. Also on display are the wide varieties of postcards and notebooks which range from alphabetthemed postcards to individually hand-bounded notebooks with typewritten quotations, books of various subjects and pencils inked with famous author names like William Shakespeare and Enid Blyton. Ah, the good old days definitely came back to me on my last trip there!
AUTHOR + PHOTOGRAPHER VANESSA TAN
GALLERY SINGAPORE 9.30PM
Sick of utilitarian office supplies? .WoodWould.. is your go to place to make you go “Oooo, I want that! And that! And this!” Its unique entrance and well-decorated interior, which includes beautiful hanging bird cages, provides shoppers with a very pleasant experience. The place is a stationery paradise, with teak-wood display cabinets containing scrapbook materials, drawers of pretty ribbons, old school tables containing stacks of well designed notebooks and cute pens as well as a whole display of interesting greeting cards which feature Paul Frank and Russian dolls among other designs. Knick-knacks like mini polka-dotted briefcases are worth checking out too. Stationery shopping redefined? Definitely.
LIFESTYLE
ROCKSTAR BY SOON LEE
BOOKSACTUALLY
ADDRESS | 8 GRANGE ROAD,
ADDRESS | NO. 86 CLUB STREET
ORCHARD CINELEISURE, #03-08
OPENING HOURS | MON-THURS AND
SUN 12PM TO 10PM, FRI-SAT 12PM TO 12 MIDNIGHT Completely welcoming, with its pastel-coloured interior and minimalistic designs, rockstar stocks both male and female sneakers from various brands such as Pointer, Keep, TOMS and VANS as well as apparel that go well with the sneakers from various brands like Proklamasi and SIFR, a homegrown label. rockstar also brings in notso-common labels like Bag ‘n’ Noun which is known for their hand-produced canvas bags and wallets made with fine fabrics. You can also find quirky items like Paperus Bottle Gardens which are indoor plants that do not require watering or fertilizing as they survive on photosynthesis and condensation. Display shelves and tables are stacked with bags, shoes, accessories and fabric books, including well-loved classics like Oliver Twist and The Hound of the Baskervilles.
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OPENING HOURS | MON-SAT 11AM TO 9PM, SUN AND PH 12PM TO 6PM
A bookstore proud to be specialising in literature, BooksActually is not your run-off-themill bookstore. With rows of must read books on the bookshelves, old typewriters on the stairs and wine crates attached to the walls to display various knick knacks, the place has a homely, pop-out card feel. Very comfy indeed! Housed in the 2nd and 3rd level of the same shophouse as BooksActually, Polymath & Crust by BooksActually is a sister bookshop specialising in non-fiction e.g. nature and science.
THE ATTIC LIFESTYLE STORE ADDRESS | #04-146A FAR EAST PLAZA 14 SCOTTS ROAD
OPENING HOURS | DAILY 2.30PM TO 9.30PM
A tiny, dimly lit shop with rows of vintage items in the display window, The Attic Lifestyle Store seemed overwhelmed by its glitzy neighbours. But upon entering the store, I felt myself being transported back in time. The shop was quiet and cramped, but only because of the mounds of vintage treasures! Piles of classic cameras, vintage phones, displays of Ray-Ban sunglasses and rows of Russian dolls were just some of the items on display. Vintage-crazy fashionistas are in for a treat with this store overflowing with a tonne of vintage clothing, jewellery and bags.
PHOTOGRAPHER/PHOTOGRAPH VANESSA TAN/ ISHOPSOONLEE.BLOGSPOT.COM
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LIFESTYLE
COFFEE FOR THOUGHT T
h e quintessential cup of coffee: once a drink to jolt the senses awake, now a drink for all occasions. The rise of the ‘coffee culture’ in Singapore is evident by the presence of a wide range of popular coffee chains like Starbucks, TCC (The Coffee Connoisseur), Spinelli, Gloria Jean’s and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. With approximately 1, 200 baristas in Singapore, about 150 of which serve specialty coffee, one is spoilt for choice between myriad offers of gourmet latte, cappuccino, espresso, macchiato, long black and many more apart from the regular coffee. In Singapore’s coffee industry however, there has remained to be a divide between the two parallel coffee tracks - traditional local coffee (Kopi) brewed by Ya
AUTHOR VANI GOYAL + PHOTOGRAPH HUGGSCOFFEE.COM ET AL
Kun and TOAST BOX, and the upmarket (‘atas’) operators serving Western-style coffees ranging from ice-blended lattes to classic espressos. Though there has been some concern expressed about the sustainability of the kopi tradition, the fact remains that both have a different niche market, and have their own strong following. Before the establishment of the upscale westernized coffee chains, most people in Singapore knew only kopi. Espresso and cappuccino on the other hand were extravagant coffees meant for the rich and only available in hotels. Now however, there is no dearth of upmarket coffees – they are
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COMPLETE LIST OF KOPI VARIATIONS AND TERMS IN SINGAPORE (From angryangmo.com)
• Kopi: Coffee with condensed milk • Kopi-O: Coffee without milk and only sugar • Kopi-C: Coffee with evaporated milk • Kopi-gau: Coffee (strong brew) • Kopi-po: Coffee (weak brew) • Kopi-C-kosong: Coffee with evaporated milk and no sugar (’kosong” means empty in Malay) • Kopi-O-kosong: Coffee without sugar or milk
highly available and accessible. Have you ever wondered why most people readily embrace the daily branded coffees without batting an eyelid or sparing a thought about the somewhat extravagant prices, which, when compounded over a sustained period of time could amass a tiny fortune? Really, how often have we made the time and effort to visit some of the lesser known coffee joints and done our part to boost the Singapore coffee culture by treading a path different from the one leading to the likes of Starbucks? If you want a few indicators to point you to the smaller yet quaint and comfortable coffee joints, read on.
There are several places one can head to, especially in the Central Business District (CBD), which provide traditional and classic coffees coupled with an enjoyable beverage experience at reasonable prices. Joe & Dough in particular, located in Collyer Quay is a personal favourite of one of the editors of THE RIDGE. Serving gourmet coffee and sandwiches, their ‘cup of Joe’ is a sarcastic homage to Admiral Joe Daniels of the U.S. Navy during World War 1, who banned alcohol intake on board navy ships, leading to the consequent increased consumption of coffee by the naval men. Joe & Dough’s signature boasts 100% Arabica beans, less than two weeks from roasting, and ground on demand on a daily basis to refine the
• Kopi-O-kosong-gau: A strong brew of coffee without sugar or milk • Kopi-bing or Kopi-ice or Kopi-Peng: Coffee with milk, sugar and ice • Kopi-xiu-dai: Coffee with less sugar • Kopi-gah-dai: Coffee with extra sweetened milk • Kopi-Di-Lo: All coffee, no water
flavour extraction. The coffee is brewed by passionate baristas to maintain the essence of superb espresso-based coffees. Huggs operates in the everbustling CBD and makes a distinctive effort to choose from quality Brazilian and Columbian coffee beans. They employ unique roasts and blends to heighten ones senses with just the right amount of strength, smoothness and aroma of one’s choice of coffee at essentially non-ludicrous prices. Dimbulah Coffee serves ‘Fine Australian Coffee’ from the tropical rainforests of the Dimbulah Mountain Estate of North Queensland at several centrally located stores in Singapore. Their motto “Plantation to cup” boasts of maintaining the pristine quality
of coffee, despite the approximate twenty times it changes hands from seedling to cup. Combining just the right blend of acidity and underlying richness, one is welcomed with the heady aromas of caramel and smooth chocolate; leaving a lingering sweetness long after that cup has been drained till the very last dreg. Those are the ‘ATAS’ coffee places that you can enjoy when you’re out for some coffee adventure. But we’re in Singapore, and there is no escaping the hearty KOPI. So, for those of you unfamiliar with our local coffee, we’ve provided you with a complete list of the variations of kopi (as it is locally referred to), so that you can easily order some, whenever the coffee-need arises!
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LIFESTYLE
one percenter
T
here is an unmistakable allure of leather jackets, the smell of grease and all the dangers associated with riding a bike. One percenter was a slang commonly used to refer to the small population of rider-outlaws in the United States. There’s no use of the term here but I thought the minority of riders in NUS (who are definitely not outlaws themselves) were cool enough to be christened such. I mean, isn’t it cool that they get to park for free? While the rest of us are ranting about the lack of parking lots for drivers, the one percenters just ride in and out, literally.
LET’S GET TO KNOW SOME OF THEM BETTER:
RIDER: TEO ZIXIAN MODEL: YAMAHA PHANTOM A second-year student from the School of Design and Environment, Zixian has been riding for almost 3 years now and owns a Yamaha Phantom. Some call it an ‘old man’s bike’ but who’s calling it old? It’s a hardy bike, not to mention really cost effective. Zixian tells us he only got the bike for 2000 dollars, which was a real steal.
AUTHOR TAN HERNG YIH TAN + PHOTOGRAPHER STEPHANIE TAN
RIDER: NURUDIN
RIDER: CHOW LAIYEW
MODEL: VESPA PX150
MODEL: YAMAHA R1
Nurudin is a second-year student from FASS, currently on a MOE scholarship. He owns a Vespa, which is commonly associated with the chic, indie and cool. And you know what? I think Nurudin certainly lives up to all of it. Besides being a stellar student, he also loves music, being in the Original Music Society and DJ society. He explains that scooters, to him, are one of the most sexiest things around! He had to rebuild the engines when he bought it, so it cost him about $3000, but he definitely has no regrets about riding.
Laiyew recently graduated from the Business School. He has been riding for a really long time and his passion for riding is just CRAZY. Besides the ultra-sexy R1, he also owns a Vespa. He was involved in a few near-death accidents and professes that it’s quite a miracle for him to still be alive and in one piece. The bike cost him $21,000! Well, I guess he paid for the specs: The engine of the bike is almost as powerful as a small car, and the build is really sleek and good-looking, if there were such a bike description. I think I met a true-blue speed demon!
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Saint Valentine’s Day, established in 500AD
in commemoration of the lives of one or more
“
THE ROSE IS RED, THE VIOLET’S BLUE THE HONEY’S SWEET, AND SO ARE YOU THOU ARE MY LOVE AND I AM THINE I DREW THEE TO MY VALENTINE THE LOT WAS CAST AND THEN I DREW AND FORTUNE SAID IT SHOU’D BE YOU
”
early Christian martyrs, originally had no
amorous intentions. However, due to modern
consumerism (South Koreans, the Chinese, and Singaporeans are ranked highest in Asia for
spending the most on Valentine’s gifts) and our overwhelming desire to show those close to us
how extensive our love for them is, the 14th of
February has evolved into a universally eminent romantic celebration.
I passionately dreaded Valentine’s Day as a
young teenager. It merely represented heart
ache, youthful misery and emotional torture as
I watched my friends, beset with copious dinner date invitations and ardent romantic proposi-
tions, metamorphose into love-lorn and gooeyeyed creatures around this time.
Fast forward several years and a
handful of boyfriends later, and I still find that this date represents intense anguish and torment. In
1598, Christopher Marlowe infa-
mously wrote “whoever loved, that loved
not at first sight” and consequently, despite
the hundreds of preceding years, we feel the
desperate need to immediately impress in order to win over our new date.
AUTHOR GRACE CARTER + PHOTOGRAPH PIXELGIRLPRESENTS.COM
30
LIFESTYLE* FEATURE
This means that not only do we have to contend with choosing a present for our new love from
the profuse array of Valentine’s gifts, surprises
GI R LS
and romantic gestures, but we also have to
contend with the ever-so-slightly vain consid-
eration of what to wear for that very important date.
Our exasperations are merely heightened further if our date is so new that we don’t really know how to place their tastes and dislikes.
Do go for something feminine and girly in order to win him over. Roses are not just for giving, they can be worn too. Dress this little cutie up with some pretty pumps and a simple necklace.
Many women make the mistake of believ-
ing being scantily clad is the only way to look
appealing to their new Valentine, and the vast majority of men absurdly choose to bathe in their strongest aftershave before leaving the
house in order to catch their lover’s eye (which they will, for all the wrong reasons).
Therefore, to all the women that need some
inspiration, and to all you downcast and de-
spondent men who don’t know where to turn to this Valentine’s Day, look closely into our Valentine’s Fashion Guide. You won’t regret it!
PHOTOGRAPH TOPSHOP.COM
Red is renowned for being the colour of romance. So be bold and try this sensual hue out with this cute little Cheryl Cole inspired dress. It can be dressed up for the evening with some satin red heels and a white cover-up.
Don’t want to lose the attention of your valentine all night? Guarantee yourself his eyes all night by slipping on this Little Black Beauty... I mean Dress. Accessorize it with a pearl necklace and a sassy Audrey Hepburn up-do.
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BOYS Go for a 1940’s ultrafeminine Chic in this Spotted Scallop Collar dress. Team it with a figurehugging black waist belt, a pair of chunky heeled black shoes and matching bracelet.
Don’t want to wear something too figurehugging? Then try this angelic white ruffle dress. Brighten it up with a tan clutch bag and chunky tan heels without distracting attention away from the dress.
Do show her your gentlemanly side by donning a smart, tailored shirt which will leave her as the one a tad hot under the collar.
Don’t let the date go down-hill along with your trousers by leaving the house without a good leather belt. You don’t want to embarrass your date by showing your underpants to the world. Don’t under-estimate the power of a good pair of socks. Yes, it is usually mothers who moan about holes that need darning, but when your date looks down, it will be a pleasant surprise to see the attention you have given to detail just to impress her. Throw away your old, tatty jeans with ragged ends and buy yourself a new pair. If you are opting out of the suit-tie combination for a more casual attire, then dark denim jeans with a pair of loafers and a smart shirt will impress any girl. But don’t spend too much money on yourself that you have nothing left to treat her with.
PHOTOGRAPH TOPSHOP.COM
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LIFESTYLE
WARDROBE ESSENTIALS STYLE VERSUS COMFORT. ALWAYS PRESENTED AS MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE (SEXY HEELS OR UGLY SPORTS SHOES?), BUT THAT DOES NOT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE THE CASE. THE RIDGE WALKS YOU THROUGH FOOTWEAR THAT MARRIES STYLE WITH COMFORT!
1.
4.
7.
Whoever said Crocs was chunky and ugly should think again because Crocs has jumped onto the style-wagon. The new Crocband Flat is sleek and sweet with a combination of the retro feel with a funky modern twist. To top it off, it’s comfortable with its signature holes to allow breathability. With a whole range of colours to choose from – Espresso, Bijou Blue, Plum, Red, Bubble Gum and Yellow – you’d be spoilt for choice!
Forget Dorothy and her little red shoes. The Creeper from TUK is a standout with its contrasting red and black mixture. What could go wrong with a red and black combination right? Thick soles don’t usually go and may even make your feet look clumsy and clunky. In this case, the thick black sole actually adds character to the overall look. And the sleek burgundy and black suede? Classic.
Gucci never fails us. With its classic green/red/green signature bands as the highlight of the shoe, this piece practically screams style and elegance. Pair it with jeans for a casual look or with your office wear for an executive look. The simple versatility of the style definitely makes it worth the price, which, of course, is not particularly cheap.
2.
5.
8.
One look at the print and you know this is not any old flat. With the classic Gucci signature web detail, this is one chic flat. It comes in a beige/ebony Gucci fabric with the green/red/green signature web and a dark brown leather trim. Although the most expensive of the lot (obviously), who could say the combination of casual with sophistication is not worth that price?
Yee-haw! Howdy partner and welcome the Wild Wild West with these cowboy inspired women’s Bronx Herald Brogue flats. With a small wooden heel of 2cm (barely there), the soft blue leather of the shoe is sure to bring about instant love between foot and shoe.
Another stunning piece from Gucci. This design is simple yet chic with a running detail all over the shoe. Go out on a day at the golf course or on a casual date with these classic beauties which bear the signature Gucci colours. With its pointed toe, any foot would look ten times its worth, and fifty times its style.
3.
Men also have an option with Crocs. This little baby not only looks cool, but even has a cool name: Santa Cruz Argyle. Once again, style and comfort is combined with a Croslite material footbed which supports your feet.
AUTHOR BRIDGET TAN ZY
6.
Toms, Toms, Toms. They’re everywhere! And who could blame them, with such adorable yet classy styles? These Black Women’s Glitters are a hit among the Toms fans. Paint the town red in the shimmering black beauty of these flats. Leave those four inches at home. It’s time to go comfy, with style.
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33
GIVING SOME LOVIN’ IN MUSIC G
reat music performances are hard to come by these days, much less one where you can learn about a good cause in a relaxed atmosphere. With the theme of “A Celebration of Life, Love and Peace”, Love-In will be held on 6 March 2011 at Hong Lim Park. This free-ofcharge event will feature some of Singapore’s rising musical talents coming together to raise awareness against domestic violence. Inspired by international outdoor festivals like Woodstock and Glastonbury, Love-In will be giving a cultural twist to the concert by featuring a Colours Fest, reminiscent of the Indian festival of colours – Holi. Following in the footsteps of
famous predecessors who have brought attention to global issues (like the earthquake in Haiti and poverty in Africa), Love-In seeks to educate the public about a more intimate issue – that of domestic violence. It is estimated that a third of domestic violence cases are reported in the US and UK, but due to its taboo nature, it has remained a hush-hush affair in our modern society. Despite living in an advanced age (or so it is claimed), women today are often still the victims of domestic violence. Beyond physical abuse, domestic violence also extends to the emotional wounding of a loved one. Unlike rape and molestation, domestic violence often takes place between intimate partners which, perhaps, makes it
harder for the abused party to take in the lyrics to her songs. You action. won’t be surprised if you hear her sing about “the emotional Love-In features artists who are and psychological scars” that the strong believers of raising aware- abused victims go through. Zahiness against domestic violence, dah tells us she is looking forward and want to use their voices for the to Love-In to raise awareness and cause. THE RIDGE got in touch has no qualms of being “used” for with some of these performers, to a social agenda such as this. find out about their views on the issue of domestic violence, as well as the kind of outcome they hope FOR THIS CYCLE to see through Love-In. The youngest amongst the performers, Weiwen Seah is not ZAHIDAH a newbie to the music scene. Having gathered a large following, At only 20, Zahidah enjoys writ- from Finland to the Philiping about the unspoken stories of pines, and a large fan base on the people she has met; about their video broadcasting site YouTube, happiness, struggles, turmoil and Weiwen’s jaded music is not one inspirations, which are showcased normally associated with his AUTHOR NICOLE KANG PHOTOGRAPH RYAN CHANG + LITTLE ONG
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youthfulness. One of the few mediums to communicate real-life experiences, Weiwen believes that “music is not only an art form and an outlet for creativity, but also a medium for ideas to be heard”. His music has been heard on several other platforms, and Love-In may seem small compared to his other big performances. However, he finds Love-In to be an exciting opportunity to do something for a good cause.
SEAN HARRISON According to Sean, the most important part about music is the heart and soul. “A song is a voice and it is important that we use it to speak rather than just sing.” Since 2007, Sean has held to this motto in his music; reworking Indie music with his rhythmic and soulful beats. Rest assured that your music buds will be rewarded by his beautiful sounds and your heart stirred by his moving message.
KING KONG JANE King Kong Jane, a local Indie rock band, is no stranger to the local music scene. Having established a solid reputation for
their performance at the Youth Olympic Games 2010, King Kong Jane has gathered a rather eye-catching resume. Despite not being particularly close to the theme of domestic violence, they are aware of its “prevalen[ce] in society today”, and are “glad to be part of an initiative that helps to raise awareness.” (Front man, Colin Lim). Love-In will thus be a social cause they can add to their illustrious career. They will be marking their performance at Love-In with their debut album ‘Waiting for Friday’. OTHER PERFORMERS:
ETC Etc features the duo of Harvey Chamberlain (drums) and Ben Harrison (guitar and vocals). Both Harvey and Ben are from the UK. Harvey currently lives in Jakarta, and Ben is based in Singapore. This duo has an international following, and has even received good comments from the likes of Nirvana.
TYPEWRITER Touted as an Indie superband,
TypeWriter owes its musical influences to the Pop-Underground movement which includes inspirational songwriters like Wilco, Big Star, Guided By Voices, Aimee Mann, and Elvis Costello. Their motto “Open your hearts and be moved.” is consistent with their tunes of honesty and exuberance, of which they are sure that you will be moved to jive to their rocking beat.
THE PINHOLES This power-packed quartet goes all out to make your day. You can expect a brilliant blend of kaleidoscopic beats and compositions that capture the soul of Straydog, the dynamism of Mick Jagger, and the harmonic pitching of Beach Boys. Love-In, a party with a social cause, will want of their fun personality and serious attitude. It is also an event they are determined not to miss.
BASEMENT IN MY LOFT Formed in October 2009, after meeting at an originals-only open mike, Basement In My Loft quickly went on to record and release their debut 12 track-album ‘See The Rhyme In The Dirt &
Grime’ in the summer of 2010. Their words are indeed thoughtprovoking and paired with hard rhythms of alternative rock that literally moves your heart with their music. Love-In is not just any cause, but one that is intimately embedded in heartlands. While Singapore may not have a prominent record of reported cases of domestic violence, but it does not mean that it is non-existent in our society. So come down on 6 March for a free, open-air concert with a social agenda and who knows, maybe in the future, you might help to empower someone to come forth and address their abuse.
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35
SHIV’S STAGE O
scar Wilde once said, “Put your talent into your work, but your genius into your life.” That is exactly what playwright Shiv Tandan has been doing. In his second year at NUS, in the faculty of Engineering and the University Scholar’s Programme, Shiv has been involved with the stage, in one way or another, for as long as he can remember. Last year, Shiv won the Best Film Award in the amateur category (18 – 25 years old) of Faith Shorts, a global competition organised by the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, and judged by an international panel of judges that included Hollywood A-lister Hugh Jackman and Bollywood’s leading man, Anil Kapoor. This March, Shiv will be making his directorial debut on stage at the NUS Arts Festival (NAF) with his semi-autobiographical play The Good, The Bad and The Sholay – he will also be playing the lead character, a boy named Raghav, who moves from the small Indian town of Ambala to the small metropolis of Singapore. What makes this play even more interesting is that it is a personal retelling of the timeless Bollywood classic, Sholay. This performance is jointly produced by Checkpoint Theatre and NUS Stage under a CFA-supported professional theatre mentorship and laboratory programme. THE RIDGE caught up with Shiv to find out more about this coming-of-age story, and what makes the playwright in him tick.
WRITER VANESSA NUNIS + SAHELI ROY CHOUDHURY PHOTOGRAPH LUKE + NUS STAGE
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THE RIDGE: Shiv, tell us what has the journey been like, from the time you were interested in the theatre, to making your directorial debut next month?
nity to direct. One of the reasons why I got the opportunity to direct was that last year, I was the understudy to Claire Wong who directed wo(men) (NUS Arts Festival, 2010) and that’s where I picked up the necessary skills.
TR: Sholay is one of the most iconic films in Bollywood. What made you choose Sholay to base your play on?
ST: The idea initially started off with me thinking of only writing Sholay for the stage. There wasn’t TR: What was your stage inany story that I had wanted to volvement like in India? talk about. Then I had a pretty long conversation with Huzir ST: I was usually taking part in Sulaiman (Joint Artistic Direcschool plays, and my cousins were tor, Checkpoint Theatre) and I realised that Sholay is iconic because it is very representative “MY ADVICE IS THAT IF YOU WANT TO DO IT, IF YOU of that period. That old charm WANT TO BE A PLAYWRIGHT, THERE ARE PEOPLE of riding horses and motorbikes, through the country side that AROUND WHO WILL HELP YOU.” – SHIV TANDAN was shown in the film, I wanted debating etc. When I came here really big on theatre. So I used to to bring that into life, on stage. for Junior College, I got a profes- go and watch them perform, atSecond, I wanted to talk about sional glimpse of the theatre. tend their rehearsals even though the small town of Ambala, where In my first year at NUS, I got I wasn’t involved. That’s how I got I was brought up, and Delhi, as the chance to act on stage, and to know a lot about how street well as Singapore. I wanted to fosubsequently I got the opportutheatre works. cus on the changes I’ve observed Shiv Tandan: Theatre has basically been all my life. In India, it wasn’t really professional theatre; it was more about short plays and skits, and street theatre, but I’ve always been on stage for some reason or the other; for singing,
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on my journey from Ambala to Singapore and in a way the environment of Sholay became representative of Ambala, even though it’s nothing like it. TR: Is The Good, The Bad and The Sholay autobiographical? ST: Yeah, at least the first half of it is very autobiographical. From the second half onwards, I was thinking about a plot and came up with proper storylines for the characters. TR: When you write plays, do you generally have an idea of what the end product is going to look like on stage? ST: That’s a very open ended question because everybody goes about it in their own way. Some people are visual writers, so they will actually think about how it’s going to be on stage, and then just put it on paper. For me, I had never really written a play before. So I basically put down on paper whatever I could think of, mostly in prose form. The proper plot, characters and dialogue came about only in the last three weeks of the development. Initially, I had started with Sholay which was always going to be a play because it had characters defined, with who is saying what. TR: We’ve heard you’re acting in the lead role of Raghav. How does it feel to act in your own play? ST: It feels pretty awesome. Huzir has already directed me once, so we have a very comfortable situation here. He knows me, and I know him, and the ice has already broken. Plus, we’re also working with another professional actor, Kubhaer Jethwani, who is flying in from Malaysia for the next two months for the rehears-
als. I’m really looking forward to working with him. TR: How do you find the balance between school and the theatre then? Doesn’t it overwhelm you? ST: School is now like a part time job. When I took engineering, I thought I really wanted to do it, and since then I’ve seen so much of the theatre that I know that engineering really isn’t my cup of tea. On the other hand, theatre is exciting at every step, so whatever I write, it’s a lot of fun for me.
up, and we’re also starting with improv sessions (which is a first in NUS) and chamber reading of scripts and just making life exciting for students; that’s the most important thing.
Tickets are on sale now at SISTIC, and NUS Students are entitled to a 15% discount! So hurry, and grab your tickets for The Good, The Bad and The Sholay.
TR: Did you have problems with coping? ST: In the first semester, I was practically killing myself, trying to juggle everything, but now it has become a kind of an everyday struggle. It usually comes to a point where I want to do this, but then I remember I have to do that, so eventually I told myself to take it easy and pass the course, get the bare minimum required by the USP. TR: What advice do you have for hopeful playwrights around campus? ST: My advice is that if you want to do it, if you want to be a playwright, there are people around who will help you. So go and find them, and if you can’t find them, just do it yourself. TR: Lastly, as the president, what kind of a future are you trying to create for NUS Stage? ST: As a group, we’re only five years old. Right now, we’re aiming to put up really high quality plays to enhance our reputation not only around campus but also in Singapore. On campus, I’m trying to get more productions
The Good The Bad and the Sholay
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FIND THE ORIENT IN YOU WITH NUS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA E
mbark on a musical journey this March, as the National University of Singapore Symphony Orchestra (NUSSO) proudly presents “Voyage to the Orient”, the theme for their concert performed during the NUS Arts Festival next month. Held at the University Cultural Centre (UCC) Hall on the 13 March, the concert will feature a dazzling repertoire, including ‘Raintree for Full Orchestra’, a piece by local composer Chen Zhangyi, as well as a melodious journey into the enchanting world of the ‘Arabian Nights’ in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, a classical Russian symphonic suite. The orchestra practices and performs under the skilled baton of Maestro Lim Soon Lee, who has been leading the orchestra since 1994. Having won the Jean Frederic Perrenoud Prize with Certificate of Distinction in Orchestral Conducting at the 4th Vienna International Music Competition in 1995, Maestro’s Lim’s guidance and vast experience has been instrumental (pun fully intended) in bringing the standard of the orchestra up to what it is today. The NUS Symphony orchestra now has the esteemed distinction of being the first local student
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group to have been selected to perform in the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, an international cultural event in Scotland, and whose stage has been graced by the likes of Sir Simon Rattle (principle conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic) and Julian Lloyd Webber (a British solo Cellist and younger brother of Andrew Lloyd Webber). The orchestra, which comprises mostly of undergraduates, alumni and friends, has also made its mark on in the local music scene. In 2006, its members were given the honour of performing alongside the Singapore Idol finalists, Hady Mirza and Jonathan Leong, during the grand finale at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. They have also performed at various public venues such as the Botanical Gardens and the Istana Park, and Siti Asmah, the Vicepresident of the orchestra aspires to bring this to a higher level, hoping to have more opportunities to engage the public with their music. The annual NUS Arts Festival is one of the biggest projects for the orchestra, and preparations for it can thus prove to be challenging at times, in addition to the school work, administrative matters,
and other commitments members have to juggle with. Being a part of an orchestra means sacrificing a large part of your time practicing and rehearsing, sometimes even having to go through that one bar for hours on end, trying to attain that perfect sound. It is a difficult job, one that might involve tired lips, sore fingers and aching arms. However, it is also a job that could bring you the greatest sense of achievement, especially after a triumphant finish to a performance. For Asmah, being in the NUS Symphony Orchestra has been one of the greatest things that have happened to her in NUS. “The NUS Symphony Orchestra is like a home to me”, she says, “and I have forged meaningful friendship and bonds with the members along the way.” And such bonds and friendships are what keeps her going through the toughest times, and what helps her to overcome her stage fright. “I have terrible stage fright usually,” she admits, “I have really sweaty palms and trembling hands ten minutes before I enter the stage. The orchestra members however are always motivating and encouraging each other before performance, which helps me a lot in overcoming my fears”.
Many times, the audience remains privy only to the pictureperfect precision that takes place onstage, and it is sometimes strangely fascinating, how the orderly elegance one sees on stage is preceded by the utter and almost always inevitable chaos that occurs behind the scenes. Asmah recalls a particularly harrowing experience when “the bass drum skin got punctured in the lorry because the chimes fell into the double bass, which then fell into the bass drum like a domino. And it all happened when we were transporting the instruments to our performance venue just the day before the concert! Thank god we managed to get the skin changed in time!”
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Geoffrey Saba
This year, the NUS Symphony Orchestra is once again joined by another legendary musician, as classical cocert pianist Geoffrey Saba joins them in their performance for the NUS Arts Festival. Geoffrey Saba is a renowned Australian pianist who has performed in almost all parts of the world, with destinations ranging from North America, the Middle East, Japan, and South East Asia. Though born in Australia, Saba has lived in England for more than thirty years. He made his London debut in the 1970s, where he was awarded a bronze medal at the First Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition. At home Yes, thank god indeed! in England, he enjoys teaching and imparting his musical So do grab some tickets and come knowledge and expertise to young on down to the UCC Hall on the and practicing musicians. He is 13 March, 8 pm, and regale your also regularly invited to conduct senses with the melodious tunes master classes to young and pracput forth by the NUS Symphony ticing musicians all around the Orchestra. And may the orchesworld. Saba’s extensive repertoire tra continue to achieve greater includes better known pieces heights and spread the joy of like Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. music further, for as Shakespeare 1 Bartok’s Concerto No. 1, and once said, “If music be the food of Liszt’s Concerto No. 2, Hungarlove, play on.” ian Fantasy as well as various less known pieces from the early 20th century.
AUTHOR JOCELYN YEO + PHOTOGRAPH NUSSO
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OVERCAST WEATHER DID NOT DETER ENTHUSIASTIC CONCERTGOERS AT ASIA’S INAUGURAL
LANEWAY FESTIVAL
LADYHAWKE
BEACH HOUSE VICTORIA LEGRAND WARPAINT THERESA WAYMAN
DEERHUNTER JOSH FAUVER
AUTHOR RETNA DEVI
ENTERTAINMENT Robert Frost once wrote, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.” If you, like Mr. Frost, prefer travelling the road less travelled by, then St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival is the kind of venture catered just for you. It can easily be described as a realm away from the mainstream tunes played on the radio. Move over Katy Perry and Taylor Swift! On 29 Jan 2011, under the overcast sky at Fort Canning Park, one would have been forgiven for thinking that they were transported back to the American Woodstock Festival of the 60s. Surrounded by people in flowery dresses, tie-dye shirts and other kinds of quirky dressing, the music was not the only thing that was unique. Laneway Festival is a popular and highly anticipated event in Australia and New Zealand. The turnout on 29 Jan was a clear indicator that many in Singapore looked forward to it as well. Fort Canning Park was bursting with a crowd, undeterred by the initial downpour in the morning and the drizzle that followed after. Umbrellas sprouted up like mushrooms and people rushed across the muddy fields barefoot, eager to listen to their favourite band belt out some tunes. While I huddled under my umbrella and tried to steer clear from the muddy areas, people around me danced and swayed to the music with not a care in the world. This, I realised, was the spirit of the festival - carefree and exciting. The performances very clearly embodied a similar vibe. This large-scale Australian festival kicked off with Warpaint, a band echoing GIRLPOWER! with their four leading ladies. Though, they were able to get the crowd to sing along, they were probably not the ideal band to open the Festival. They were unable to generate the kind of energy needed to kick things off. The performance that followed however, by multiple award-winning Ladyhawke was one of the more notable performances of Laneway. She has seen considerable success in the past few years, sweeping away most of the categories in NZ Music Tui Awards and getting nominated for the International Female Solo Artist at the Brit Awards. Despite the popularity and recognition, her music has not been watered down and she continues to impress both critics and fans alike. Pip Brown aka Ladyhawke confirmed that she was not all hype the minute she stepped on the stage. The resounding applause at the end of each of her songs and the way her powerful vocals got the crowd dancing indicated that she was an obvious crowd favourite. It was from this moment that the Laneway Festival finally began to take off. However, there seemed to be no end to the rain as the evening progressed, but if there was any sign of dampened spirits, it was quickly put out by Beach House, another crowd favourite. The ethereal quality of the female vocalist’s voice and the softness of their music was a stark contrast from the pulsing guitars and adrenaline pumping songs of
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the previous bands. With hands in the air and their bodies swaying to the music, it seemed as if a spell had been cast on the crowd. Beach House, my personal favourite, were highly mesmerising and are most certainly on their way to achieving greater success in the music scene. The compelling thing about Laneway Festival was the artists’ passion and how much they enjoyed being on stage, sharing their music with hundreds of people and !!! (CHK CHK CHK) was no different. Happy to be in Singapore and given the chance to expand their fan base, this group shares a comfortable camaraderie that is reflected in their music. Despite having to perform in a few moments, the trio did not seem to be nervous during their interview. They even joked with one another about how one of their band mate’s favourite sandwich, a combination of peanut butter, pickles and onions, brought to mind a pregnant lady’s craving. For those aspiring musicians out there, these ‘dance floor filling disco punks’ believe that it is best to have fun and start simple. Although it boasted a line up of performances that lasted from 2.30 pm to 12 midnight, Laneway was not all about the music. Tents were set up at the sides to provide food and drinks for the concert goers. Like the music, the food was not a disappointment either, especially their chicken nuggets with Cajun spice. There was a burst of flavour with every bite. Good food and music that connects to you on a different level, there was something intimate about the Festival, despite the huge crowd. Even the rainy weather did little to ruin the festivity. There was a deep level of connection between the musicians and their fans; as if everyone was part of one big family. Speaking of family, one of the bands, The Temper Trap has a very personal connection with the Festival. One of Australia’s most famous groups, they used to help out at the Festival prior to being discovered and their first live performance to a mass audience was at Laneway. This year, they returned to where it all began to help kick off Laneway’s inaugural Asian tour. St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival hit all the right notes and even the slight pitch problems due to the sound system could easily be overlooked. As one concert-goer summed up the event; “The INSANE rain, the fest spirit and enjoying the music with random people, a woman in the concert flashing and lead singer of The Temper Trap and Foals jumping into the crowd was totally a value for money!” There was hardly a dull moment and everyone who embraced the Laneway spirit seemed to have had a memorable time. If you like the road less travelled by, and if you are looking to discover a different kind of music then Laneway Festival is something definitely worth considering when it returns next year.
PHOTOGRAPHER CARYN & CHARLYN
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ENTERTAINMENT
BOOK REVIEW Title: Giants of Asia series Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew Citizen Singapore: How to build a nation
Title: The Confession: A novel Author: John Grisham Reviewer: Divya Gundlapalli
Author: Tom Plate Reviewer: Anokhi Vakil
H
ave you ever wondered how the mind of a nation builder works? Well, you can find most of your answers in this book which unveils the persona of one the greatest political leaders of all times, founding father of modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew (LKY). As the first part of title suggests, the book has been elaborated from an intensive and exclusive two day interview of the Minister Mentor LKY with renowned American journalist, and author of this book, Tom Plate, at the former’s residence in Singapore, in July 2009.
that has led a tiny third world country into a prosperous modern society. His candid and sharp reflects on wide ranging issues of governance, welfare of the people, inclusive growth, emerging geopolitical map of the world, challenges faced by small nations and the world as a whole make this book a fascinating account of political competence and definitely must-read.
The book has a light conversational tone and the author has added occasional humor acting as a breather to the heavy-themed discussions. What I really admire about Plate’s style is that he has portrayed LKY just the way he saw him – passionate, grandfatherly, razor-sharp minded and witty. Westerners, like the author himself, have been deeply inspired by LKYs political insight PHOTOGRAPH VARIOUS SOURCES FROM THE INTERNET
I
have a serious issue with John Grisham!
I do like his books but I’m in a bit of a dilemma as to how I liked his latest novel, “The Confessions”. I sort of figured out the ending, knowing my favorite author all too well, so I wasn’t sure if the middle sections of the book would keep me engaged. I wasn’t disappointed! In some ways, the same theme of “fleeting the death penalty”, which ardent fans will recognise seeing in his first non-fiction work, “The Innocent Man” returns in this book. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise really, if you take note of the fact that Grisham himself is a former lawyer, who is passionately against the death penalty. In “The Confession”, Reverend Keith Schroder, a 35 year old church minister in Kansas leads a very simple and straight forward life. As with most novels, life is never as simple as it seems and in comes Travis Boyette, confessing
to a murder. Boyette admits to abducting, raping and killing a popular high school cheerleader in Texas in 1998, and burying her body in a different state. Travis is known to have a medical ailment – a fast-growing brain tumour, and he wants to clear his conscience before dying. In a shocking revealer, Boyette tells the Reverend that another man, a teenager, Donte Drumm was charged with the murder of the cheerleader, and is being executed in four days. Troubled by this, Schroder delves into the case in an attempt to save the man’s life. Of course, Grisham also stuck to what he does best – writing a fast paced novel that is extremely gripping. In retrospect, it was a good novel that earned its place in the “Top 100 Books” list on Amazon.com. What I’m not so sure about is whether his fast paced books can more than make up for his inherent flaw – that is, his predictable endings.
ENTERTAINMENT
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“LET’S GET DOWN AND DIRTY WITH THE BLACK EYED PEAS!”
WHAT'S IN MY IPOD? Title: The Thirteenth Tale Author: Diane Setterfield
Hold It Against Me Britney Spears
Reviewer: Meera Nair
1 Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You) Enrique Iglesias Featuring Ludacris & DJ Frank E
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tale of haunting beauty, The Thirteenth Tale is the story of Vida Winter, a reclusive author who is well-known for her missing thirteenth tale, in a collection of short stories called ‘Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation’. Having spent her life making up stories about her birth, she is finally ready to tell the truth. She engages the help of Margaret Lea, a young biographer with her own troubled past, and together they delve into the real story of Vida Winter – a story about twins, madness, incest and ghosts. Written in the gothic style of Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Setterfield’s debut novel became a New York Times Bestseller after its release in 2006. Her skilful use of suspense is reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s novels, as she seamlessly weaves the story of Vida Winter with the story of Margaret Lea, a woman wholly unconnected to her, yet drawn to her because of her own past.
2
Setterfield manages to build up to a thrilling climax, although the final revelation fell a little short of expectations because of its incongruity with the tone of the rest of the story. Nevertheless, the novel is a gripping read and well-worth the time you spend on it. It takes great skill to pen a successful gothic novel in this era and Setterfield has proven herself to be one masterful storyteller.
The Time (Dirty Bit) The Black Eyed Peas
3 4 5
Black And Yellow Wiz Khalif
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Only Girl (In The World) Rihanna
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Just The Way You Are Bruno Mars
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Stereo Love Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina
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Your Body Is A Wonderland John Mayer
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Rockteer Far*East Movement Featuring Ryan Tedder
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Secrets One Republic
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September Daughtry
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Heartbreak Warfare John Mayer
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Hey Soul Sister Train
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We Speak No Americano Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup
Marry You Bruno Mars
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SPORTS
CRICKET WORLD C C
ricket’s largest tournament is back! This is the tenth edition of the quadrennial mega event and what better place to hold it than the Indian subcontinent which has the largest and most passionate cricket following. Love for the sport is fanatical in this region of the world surpassing the love Europeans and South Americans feel for football by miles. The event will be co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The pitches are going to be conducive to spin not to pace bowling so the teams with better spinners and batsmen comfortable while playing spin are likely to come out on top.
14 teams will be participating in a total of 49 matches with 50 overs per side to decide the world champion. The teams have been divided into two groups of seven, each with the top four of each respective groups advancing to the quarterfinals from which point on a knockout format will be followed till the champion emerges in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. This World Cup is perfectly poised to surpass previous
editions in scale and hype. Struggling three-time defending champions, Australia are going through turbulent times throwing the competition wide open. Speculations are rife that this tournament might also be metaphorical “last throw of the dice” for greats like Sachin Tendulkar, M. Muralitharan, Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee and Jacques Kallis contributing to the hype.
Top picks • India – Under the leadership of MS Dhoni and the guidance of seasoned veterans like Sachin Tendulkar, this current Indian squad is one of the hottest teams going into the competition. A fine mix of experience and youth combined with the home advantage and the support of a passionate crowd. The Indian team will be disappointed, their fans heartbroken, if they do not emerge, at the very least, as champions. Players to watch out for - Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh Best Result – Winners (1983) • South Africa – As captain, Graeme Smith has assembled a strong side who will be fancying their chances in the tournament. With a notorious reputation for choking at crucial stages, South Africa will be looking to shed that tag to clinch their first World
AUTHOR PRATEEK SINHA + PHOTOGRAPH CRICKETWORLD.COM
Cup title. Players to watch out for – AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn Best Result – Semifinalists (1992, 1999, 2007) • Sri Lanka – I will stick my neck out and pick Sri Lanka over the likes of England and Australia solely because they are playing in sub-continental conditions. The Sri Lankan squad is a solid unit and has been a consistent performer over the last few years. Kumar Sangakkara will be hoping to lead his team to their second world championship trophy. Players to watch out for – T. DIlshan, L. Malinga, A. Mendis, M. Muralitharan Best Result – Winners (1996)
Trivia • The mascot for this event is Stumpy - a young, enthusiastic and exuberant elephant who, according to ICC, is “bursting at the seams with his love for cricket and his/its heroes!” • Australia has the most number of world cup trophies (4) - 1987, 1999, 2003 and 2007, followed by West Indies (2) and India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka (1). • India’s Sachin Tendulkar is the all-time highest run getter with
1796 runs in World Cup cricket while Glenn McGrath from Australia is the highest wicket taker with 71 wickets. • The only person to have played both World Cup Football and World Cup Cricket is Sir Vivian Richards – with Antigua in football and with West Indies in cricket. • England have played the World Cup final three times - in 1979, 1987 and 1992 - but have never won it. • This will be the first time the Umpire Decision Review System will be used in the tournament. It will be put in place in the knockout rounds.
Controversies • Pakistan was also selected as a co-host but following the attack by militants on the Sri Lankan team bus during their tour of Pakistan, the ICC ruled that Pakistan would not be a suitable venue. • ICC shifted the opening game, India v. England, from the iconic Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata, West Bengal. The ICC feels the stadium won’t be ready on time, even though Indian sports authorities have repeatedly insisted that the venue will be ready. There have also been ongoing talks of cancelling the rest of the group matches that Eden
SPORTS
D CUP 2011 Gardens is scheduled to host, if the preparation of the stadium - which is being revamped entirely - is not satisfactory. Understandably, this has caused quite furore amongst Indians, especially in West Bengal because of the stadium’s iconic status.
Student Picks Klashan, 2nd year student from Sri Lanka 1. Sri Lanka 2. New Zealand 3. England Yash, 1st India
year
student
from
1. India 2. South Africa 3. Sri Lanka Rishian, 1st year student from Malaysia 1. South Africa 2. England 3. India
Games to watch in the group stages (in SGT) Sat, Feb 26 17:00 Match 10 Sri Lanka vs Pakistan R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Sun, Feb 27 17:00 India vs England Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Match 11
Sat, Mar 05 17:00 Match 20 Sri Lanka vs Australia R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Sun, Mar 06 12:00 Match 21 England vs South Africa MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Sat, Mar 12 17:00 Match 29 India vs South Africa Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur
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SPORTS
SPORT OF T How did you get started on How would you describe softball, and how long have you yourself? played it for? I might not look it, but I’m My interest in softball started actually very approachable and in primary school when my PE very friendly. People always teacher introduced it to the class. tell me that I look angry when Well, my team and I got pretty I don’t smile, so they shy away good at it and my interest for the from me, but in fact I’m actually sport grew. Since then, I always a very outgoing person and I like looked forward to playing it in connecting with people. my secondary school, Maris Stella High School. I have about 6 years of experience at the moment, playing in secondary school and Has playing this sport changed in NUS. you as a person in any way?
Having been a player for so long, are there any memorable incidents that have stood out for you? Also, what are the awards/ achievements/accolades that you’ve won? Well, any moment in the game is memorable to me. I look back and think to myself, ‘I played it right and it was a good decision.’ There was this match that was the most memorable to me; it was against a team that was placed second in the national men’s league tournament the previous year. In that match, everyone played fantastically, and we won the game 2-1 in the final inning. It was the turning point for us, at that moment, everyone thought: “we aren’t a third or fourth-placed team anymore; we are championship contenders.” We were really motivated by that match and we really pushed even harder in the remaining games.
AUTHOR + PHOTOGRAPHER DYLON TEO
proud to spread the NUS name to about preparation and planning. the teams we face in matches and For example, if I want to train competitions. Our team is really on Wednesdays, I prepare for my like a very big family. We care for assignments and tutorials before each other a lot and we really work then, so that I can train without hard together during trainings. worrying about deadlines. Having been the team manager for two years now, my role is to make sure that the team doesn’t fall apart and it is well taken care What are the competitions that of. In addition to planning the the team takes part in annually? training programme and making sure that everyone trains hard We take part in the national men’s for future competitions. Our league against the other clubs of captain, Keefe, is a national player Singapore, and in the Chiangmai for Singapore, so he has to train Open in Thailand. We also have with the national team. Therefore an annual NUS Open that we Well, this sport has taught me to sometimes I take over as captain organize and raise funds for always stay sharp and focused in too. our overseas trip to Thailand whatever I do. When you are in (to take part in the Chiangmai the batter’s box and looking at the Open). The Men’s league is where pitcher’s pitch, if you don’t stay Singapore’s top teams compete, sharp and focused, you might end How is training like, and thus it is very competitive. We up making the wrong decisions. how do you juggle it with just go there and enjoy ourselves You might end up making wild your schoolwork and other playing softball. The Chiangmai swings at bad balls and get struck- commitments? Open is really good exposure, as out. It may be just a strike in the we face different types of teams game but sometimes in the game We currently train twice a week, under varying weather and terrain of life, you don’t get strike-outs. on Wednesday evenings and conditions. For example, when the Bad decisions can be costly and Saturday mornings. We focus ball is hit onto different ground I apply that philosophy in the on improving our basic fielding conditions, the way the ball moves decisions I make. drills and basic batting skills. varies, and thus we have to learn In this game, the basics are very to compensate for that. We really important for more advanced learn a lot from our competitors plays; mastering the basics will and in every tournament we play You are a team NUS player; give us a better chance to win. It in. are you proud to represent the can be tiring at times, but it is all school? How is the team like, and what is your role in the team? Full name: Tan Zhongyuan, Desmond Age: 23 Yes, I’m definitely proud to Year: 3 represent the school and most Faculty/Course: Arts/CNM importantly, bring glory to Playing Position: CentreField the school’s name by winning competitions. I feel a sense of attachment to the school and I’m
SPORTS
THE MONTH There’s always bound to be losses when you compete; how do you deal with losing a game, or if you’ve had a bad game personally? What motivates you to train hard? We talk about it as a team, discuss how we played and the mistakes we made. We then make sure we want to avoid making the same mistake again. As they say, the ball is round; it can go in any direction during the game. We can be champions one day and have a different game another. Once we identify the problem, we work on it and try to prevent it the next time round. This is how I deal with having a bad game as well. Our losses are what motivate us to train even harder. Our mindset is such that if we lose this time, the next time round we will come back and beat you.
Finally, any advice for people who are new to the sport? What would you say to encourage people to join? Don’t be frustrated when you can’t play properly at first. Give yourself time and have patience and train hard. You will get better slowly but surely. Focus on your basics and don’t neglect it. I’d say give it a shot, there’s no harm trying and for all you know, you might enjoy the game more than you think.
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SPORTS
RIDGE R IHG REVIEW
T
his year’s Inter Hall Games has given hall residents its fair share of entertainment and drama. The six Halls of Residences have pulled out all the stops and given the audiences around the Sports & Recreation Centre (SRC) oodles of sporting action on campus. In a two-part series, THE RIDGE will be giving an update of all the IHG sporting actions.
Tennis: The Games started with the tennis fixtures. A resurgent Raffles Hall (RH) denied Kent Ridge (KR) a double sweep of titles. The KR guys dispatched Eusoff 4-1 in the finals without much fuss, after winning their group which consisted of Sheares and King Edward VII (KE7), and narrowly defeated Temasek Hall (TH) 3-2. The Raffles girls were pushed all the way by KR before a decisive doubles fixture went in favour of Raffles, completing a comeback from 2-1 down and avenging a 3-2 defeat in the group stages. KE7 also made the semifinals for the girls tennis in what has been a very lean period so far for the Reds before losing to Raffles.
Takraw:
two days and promising lots of action. Temasek defended their title despite suffering an uncharacteristic 2-1 loss to KR in the group stages. A nail-biting semifinal saw Temasek and KR negotiate tough fixtures against their neighbouring halls, Eusoff and Sheares respectively. A group stage rematch was set when Temasek went from strength to strength against Eusoff (winning 2-0) and KR obtained an emphatic 2-1 win over Sheares. The finals were played on the same day and a visibly tired KR was defeated by Temasek.
Swimming: The Opening Ceremony on 12th January formed the backdrop for the swimming carnival. Temasek had a clean sweep of the swimming titles, followed by the unusual suspects RH and KE7 earning silvers for the males and females. Eusoff paid the price of getting disqualified on both the breaststroke relays by finishing third and fifth for the male and female event. Twin fourth places was a decent performance for KR amid strong competition and the carnival was one to forget for Sheares and the KE7 guys.
Handball:
The first week also saw the takraw Sheares defended their male fixtures for IHG, spanning over handball title after a dramatic AUTHOR JOSEPH CHIN
21-20 win over Raffles Hall, while Temasek whitewashed Eusoff 18-2 for the female title despite a bad start. Sheares won all their fixtures for the year, comfortably scoring more than 20 goals against the sportsmen from Eusoff and Temasek, as well as their derby semifinal against KR. They made a comeback from 13-8 down against Raffles to win 2120, which was apparently aided by the harsh dismissal of Raffles players. Meanwhile the Temasek girls bounced back from their last minute heartbreak against Eusoff in their first game to emphatically defeat KR 18-1 and then they defeated Raffles 10-9 over extra time after drawing 8-8. The group stage rematch against Eusoff turned out to be a one-sided affair as Temasek soon continued their irrepressible form to limit Eusoff to 2 goals in the last 10 minutes.
Squash: Another moment where the twin sporting powers were seen sparring, and so far the results have all gone in Temasek’s favour. The male squash tournament saw Temasek take the title over Eusoff after narrow matches that resulted in a loss to RH and a win to Sheares by a 3-2 score line. While KE7 did offer a respite for the TH contingent, Eusoff proved far tougher opponents.
Touch Rugby: Eusoff made a clean sweep of both male and female titles. In this instance the Heng Mui Keng rivals Sheares and KR were the respective challengers to Eusoffian dominance. While Sheares managed to draw against Eusoff, a free scoring Eusoff notably scored 10 goals against a hapless KE7 and pipped Sheares on goal difference (both scoring 4 wins and a draw with one another). On the other hand, a hard fought 2-1 victory for Eusoff against KR was the difference between two strong female sides.
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REPORT How We Grade The Six Halls Temasek: A+
Sheares: B
They top the tables for overall IHG results. This may be considered routine, until you consider the fact that they lost their opening matches in squash, takraw (M) and handball (F). The way they bounce back from adversity was the reason for the A+ grade
While they successfully defended their handball males titles, and obtained silver medals in touch rugby for males, they remain a sleeping giant in terms of sports, with volleyball the main source of their medals
Raffles: A Challenging the established order is a much changed Team Raffles, whose strong performances in handball, tennis and swimming has led opponents to sit up and take notice
King Edward VII: BA spirited performance here and there, and the odd semifinal appearance aside, IHG remains a platform for them to have fun rather than to gun for medals
Eusoff: APerhaps their pet events have not happened yet. They have just started revving their engines for touch rugby, but a slow start for IHG with only a few silvers to show for meant that they have a lot to do if they were to regain their prominence in sports
Kent Ridge: B+ While tennis has been a revelation, one must not forget improved performances in sports such as swimming, takraw and handball amid intense competition
PHOTOGRAPH WIKIPEDIA.ORG
IT’S ALSO THE OPERATIONS
IF YOU SEE THE BEAUTY IN SPORTS SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD join us theridge.sports@nussu.org.sg
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WIRED
HOW-TO
CONNECT TO THE HIDDEN NUS WIRELESS NETWORK
H
as that unsecured network ever unsettled you when you connect to NUSOPEN? Has that “open” in “NUSOPEN” ever made you wonder just how open its “security” is? If you didn’t purchase your laptop from the IT Co-op, or opted not to let them meddle around its innards, it’s likely you’ve never heard of the hidden NUS wireless network. In this how-to – the first in many to come – the Wired Desk’s gurus show you how to connect to this hidden network!
Windows Vista/7
4. Select manually connect to a wireless network.
5. Input the following into the relevant fields: Windows allows for greater options and a finer grain of control. Unfortunately, this can be daunting for non-techies. Here’s how to do Network Name (SSID) : NUS it: Security Type: 802.1X 1. Click on wireless networks; 7. Make sure the boxes “Connect automatically when this network is in 2. Open network and sharing center;
3. Set up a new connection or network;
range” and “connect even if the network is not broadcasting its name (SSID)” are checked. 8. Under the “security” tab, select Microsoft: Protected EAP (PEAP) as the network authentication method. Now click on settings and check “validate server certificate”. 9. Select Thawte Premium server CA under trusted root certification authorities.
AUTHOR WIRED + PHOTOGRAPH WIRED
WIRED
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10. Select authentication method: EAP-MSCHAP v2. Under configure, uncheck “use windows login name”. 11. Click “Advanced settings” in the security tab.
3. Network Name: NUS 4. Security: 802.1X WEP 5. User Name: NUSSTU\a0123456.This is your NUSNET account.
12. Check specify authentication mode, user authentication from the dropdown. 13. Click on “Save credentials” and enter your NUSNET username and password like so: NUSSTU\a0123456 14. Exit all windows by clicking on the ok button. 15. Your laptop should now automatically connect to NUS whenever its in range. If it doesn’t select NUS from the list of networks you see. When you eventually change your NUSNET password, you’ll get a prompt to re-enter it, make sure you do it in this format: NUSSTU\ a0123456. If you’re using Windows XP, visit network.nus.edu.sg/starterkit/ for instructions.
Macintosh This is much easier for the end-user like almost everything Apple designs. Visit https://docs.comp.nus.edu.sg/node/1962 for more detailed instructions.
Linux If you’re using Linux, we shouldn’t have to tell you what to do!
1. Click on the wireless menu 2. Select “Join other network”
Assuming you followed instructions, you should now have a more secure browsing experience! Still do be smart, and ignore that malicious app on Facebook that promises to predict your grades!
AUTHOR WIRED + PHOTOGRAPH WIRED
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WIRED
5 (+1) MUST-READ SOURCES OF TECH NEWS
THE WIRED DESK IS HERE TO MAKE SURE YOU GET THE FRESHEST TECH NEWS AND OPINIONS, SERVED HOT
A
s technology continues to be integrated into our lives, it becomes important to keep up with the latest developments that could forever change the way we do certain things. Who would have thought ten years ago that checking your e-mail would be a common activity on our daily commute?
Fortunately, a plethora of tech news sites and blogs exist online for this exact purpose. Alas, any Tom, Dick, Harry, Peter, or James can get his stuff published online nowadays, how are we to know which are reputable and which are not?
FRET NOT, THAT’S WHERE WE COME IN.
NEWS.GOOGLE.COM Let’s start off with the +1 – university life is busy, and sometimes you just don’t have time to read through all of the (many) tech blogs you want to read. If this happenss to you, you need Google News. Google News is basically an aggregator that draws content from news websites and blogs, processes them, and shows you the important ones you want.
In other words, Google has already done the filtering for busy people like us. All you have to do is to glance through the headline, and read one that catches your interest. Google News is divided into several categories, including, of course, Science & Tech section for us nerds. Another clever feature is the grouping of similar titles together.
AUTHOR RAYMOND LAU + PHOTOGRAPH GOOGLE.COM
Remember that Google News is a news aggregator, and its sources come from a large amount of different sites. This grouping thus drastically saves your time from reading repeated topics. As a search engine giant, Google did not forget to include a powerful search feature. With the search function, you can easily and efficiently sift through
news collected from different sources, and it’s pretty handy at times. So when you’re craving news but need a quick fix, give Google News a shot.
WIRED
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ENGADGET.COM This name should be pretty familiar, even if you have a mere casual interest in tech. Part of the greater Weblogs Inc. network (which was acquired by AOL in 2005), Engadget is a tech blog with several language varieties, writing mainly about gadgets and consumer electronics such as phones, computers and televisions. Among the site’s features include a product reviews, podcasts, videos, and photo galleries. It also posts some quirky stuff, such as knock-off products in China, and tech rumours. All these are updated several times daily so you should be set all day, everyday.
THENEWXTWEB.COM One of the rising stars of the tech blogging community, The Next Web was launched in January 2008 as a spin-off of The Next Web Conference – a popular annual conference examining trends in the web and mobile industry.
The blog soon found a life of its own and now serves more than 4.5 million readers a month.
“Social Media”, and more. It also features regional editions with more localised content.
The Next Web divides its reporting into various channels with a specific focus, such as “Apps”, “Apple”, “Microsoft”,
For the best experience, sign up as a member and you can earn badges and make friends as you read!
CNet Asia ASIA.CNET.COM We picked the Asian edition of popular tech news site CNET over the main site (cnet. com) for one chief reason: it’s highly Singapore-oriented. For example, the prices of gadgets are listed in Singapore dollars.
CNET Asia also continues CNET’s tradition of frequently updated and highly accessible content, easily digestible by laymen. With a tagline that says
“For a life gone digital”, it’s no surprise CNET produces very consumer-oriented content. It’s an excellent site for product reviews (both hardware and software) and CNET also runs
download.com, your onestop shop for all the software you’ll ever need, from free and open-source apps to expensive anti-virus monstrosities.
PHOTOGRAPH ENGADGET.COM, THENEXTWEB.COM, ASIA.CNET.COM
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ARSTECHNICA.COM
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If Engadget and CNET are too “consumer” for you and you want something more hardcore (but not too hardcore), then you’ll love Ars Technica. With a name that means the “art of technology” (derived from Latin), you know you’re in good hands. Usual stuff you can find here than the regular coverage of technology, science and gaming news, and reviews.
Now let’s end with a bang, shall we?
What makes Ars Technica stand out is a healthy dose of analysis and commentary on the impact of science & tech on our society. Their wide-ranging topics touch on business trends, law and politics, and technology in both the enterprise and the home. In their own words: “…Ars has become a ‘go-to’ destination for those who need to sift the wheat from the chaff.” We totally agree.
Unrelated to THE RIDGE’s Wired Desk in any way, Wired.com is probably the coolest science & tech publication on the web, making us wish we actually are related.
and (surprise!) Ars Technica – Wired.com is the online counterpart to the monthly Wired magazine and has an illustrious history of providing news and commentary on how technology impacts our lives. They are also known for coining new terms, such as the now clichéd “crowdsourcing”.
Part of the wider Condé Nast Publications network – which includes big names like The New Yorker, Vanity Fair
The magazine, both the print and web version, has won numerous awards for its original and ground-breaking articles.
THE FINAL STEP Start reading! We guarantee subscribing to these 5 sites + Google News will greatly increase your brownie points among techlovers. In fact, we daresay you can no longer afford to be blind to developments in technology and the potential impact it could have in our society. Every aspect of your life is influenced in one way or the other by these key movers of the industry.
PHOTOGRAPH ARSTECHNICA.COM, WIKIPEDIA.ORG
What’s that? You’re already a regular reader of these sites? You subscribe to all their newsletters and get them delivered straight to your inbox??!! Then why the hell are you not on our team writing something original for a change? Get off your ass and join us!
There’s even an outstanding iPad edition that’s unlike any other magazine app. It’s a sheer maelstrom of geekery – or if you prefer, nerdgasm – with articles touching on quantum physics, smart grids, science fiction, politics, medical tech, technology’s influence on culture… the list goes on. It’s perfect for a rainy afternoon indoors.
WIRED
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DEAD SPACE 2 THE GAME YOUR MOTHER DOESN’T WANT YOU TO PLAY
D
ead Space 2 is the kind of game that easily flies off the radar of gamers, simply by nature of its content and gameplay. The sequel to 2008’s Dead Space, Dead Space 2 is brutal, compelling and violent. It may not have the hype of other hits being released this year, like Portal 2 or Mass Effect 3, but Dead Space 2 is nonetheless an excellent game.
a space station city that has been overrun with deformed alien abominations known as the Necromorphs, and it is his job as the main buttkicker – sorry, engineer – to mop up the mess and basically kill as many Necromorphs as possible, all in the name of trying to find out what exactly happened. While there are other humans on the city as well, including those who communicate with you to save Set on a decaying urban space city you from trouble, in classic Alien simply called The Sprawl, Dead style most of the characters you Space 2 picks up the aftermath meet will have but a fleeting of the events of the first game. second for you before they meet Players assume control of Isaac an untimely and grisly demise. Clarke, the protagonist of the previous game, as he wakes up The game kicks off innocently three years after the events of enough: Isaac is recounting his Dead Space. troubles to a psychiatrist, but before you know it, the game Anyone who has ever watched thrusts you into a brutal tutorial Aliens will feel a sense of uneasy where you fight to survive while recognition when playing this the people around you become game. Isaac is but one man in infected and morph into freakish
alien monstrosities before your very eyes. The pace of the game picks up insanely quickly, with periods of relative calm and rest before all hell breaks loose again and you scramble to shoot off the limbs of Necromorphs before they eat your face. Dead Space 2 has been hailed as an “action horror” game, and it has both action and horror in spades. The action isn’t restricted to combat though that is certainly where the bulk of it is.
Right from the get-go, you run away from explosions and Necromorphs hungry for your flesh; as the game progresses, you turn towards them with a vengeance. With an arsenal of up to ten weapons, it’s now up to you to dismember, disembowel and ultimately destroy any Necromorphs you come across.
Dead Space 2 lavishes the violence lovingly onto your lap, so when you blast your bullets into an oncoming freak, its guts will spew satisfying out towards Dead Space 2 isn’t too concerned the screen. Blood will splatter with realism and instead just from dismembered limbs as the makes things plain fun, especially Necromorph flails about in agony. during a level where Isaac casually straps on a jet pack and sends Make no mistake: This is a very you careening into space. It’s gory game. Oddly enough (or this flippant use of sci-fi tropes perhaps because of this), this that makes Dead Space 2 as is its main selling point. Dead entertaining as it gets - suspend Space 2 had a brilliant advertising your disbelief, and just have a campaign where they invited good time playing the game. regular ‘ol mothers to come down AUTHOR LESTER HIO + PHOTOGRAPH GAMERANX.COM
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for a preview play-through of the game, and all of them were understandably horrified at the level of violence and carnage. It doesn’t cross the line insofar as the bulk of the gore is alien gore, but it is still something that makes you go “Awww maaaan” when you close a door on a Necromorph, making his head go “pop” spewing alien brains on you in the process. As for as horror goes, true horror fans might not find it particularly terrifying. The bulk of the horror manifests itself in cheap “BOO!” horror, such as when you’re traversing in an underground tunnel, turn a corner, and suddenly a Necromorph has launched itself into your face while the music spikes with a dramatic crescendo. It’s a cheap thrill designed to send your adrenaline rushing, but isn’t the sort of dark, psychological horror that games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent can offer.
style of play, you can go with laser precision in slicing limbs by utilizing the Plasma Cutter or if you like to just create a big mass impact, the bigger and badder Line Cutter, Javelin Gun and even the Flamethrower will hit that sweet spot.
make sure you upgrade things that you really want to use! It did detract a little from the shooter aspect of the game though, since it imposes strategic limitations on the type of weapons that I can use effectively, which just wasn’t as fun since I wanted to kill everything in sight with all kinds of weapons.
On top of that, Isaac gains special abilities such as Stasis - a telepathic ability that ISAAC’S MAIN GOAL Dead Space 2 lets him IS TO FIND OUT WHAT benefits from slow enemies HAPPENED TO HIS its oppressive, At its core, though, Dead Space and objects GIRLFRIEND, AND moody 2 is a linear, plot-driven game temporarily circumstances, HIS SWEETNESS that is essentially a love story and Kinesis, and the visuals AND DEDICATION TO HER MANIFESTS are rendered occasionally punctuated by which allows PRIMARILY IN moments of frantic, screaming him to fling detailed enough DISMEMBERING AS to create an horror. Isaac’s main goal is to objects MANY ALIEN FREAKS atmosphere of find out what happened to his around. It’s AS HE CAN FIND. IF urban weariness, girlfriend, and his sweetness particularly THAT ISN’T LOVE, I and dedication to her manifests gratifying DON’T KNOW WHAT punctuated by primarily in dismembering as (and prudent) flesh-hungry IS. many alien freaks as he can find. to beam off freaks. It’s a If that isn’t love, I don’t know a pointy limb of a Necromorph, great game to look at, but nothing what is. kinesis it up, and launch it right fantastic stands out in the game, back at it. given the quality of graphics that Despite primarily being a shooter, we have become accustomed to Dead Space 2 has elements As the game progresses, there are and expect from games nowadays. that seem to be a mish-mash opportunities to upgrade of features that have succeeded your weapons and skills at the The music, however, makes good in other games. Weapons take various upgrading benches use of ambiance to create a sense front priority and in this regard scattered throughout the game. of unease as you traverse in a Dead Space 2 is generous in the Each upgrade requires currency, dead space city, and you know variety of guns Isaac can take in known as Power Nodes, and since something’s up when the music his arsenal. Depending on your there are a finite number of them, starts wailing eerily.
PHOTOGRAPH LESTER HIO
Dead Space 2 comes with a multiplayer component, and while it’s fun to play on the Necromorphs’ side for once, the best part of the game would still have to be its single-player campaign. Multiplayer isn’t as well-developed as other firstperson shooters such as Call of Duty and it just consists of regular deathmatch and objectiveoriented games. It comes off as merely a Left 4 Dead experience, but without the cohesiveness. In essence, Dead Space 2 can be describe haphazardly as a mix of Mass Effect meets Bioshock meets Alan Wake; the core competencies and sci-fi nature of the game, and the visuals, remind me a lot of Mass Effect. The survival-horror aspect, as well as the scavenging and preservation of ammo and hoarding of cash and upgrades feel very Bioshock-ish, while the plot-driven love-story of the game is very much Alan Wake. You owe it to yourself as a gamer to pick up this game and have a runthrough. Dead Space 2 is available for the PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3.
WIRED* BYTE-SIZED
/ NEW FACEBOOK PROFILE Eric Schmidt, long-standing CEO of Google recently stepped down allowing co-founder Larry Page to step up as the new leader. Eric Schmidt had been guiding Google for the past 10 years, while the company’s young founders learnt the ropes of doing business. Under Schmidt, Google became one of the most successful technology companies of the last decade. Despite his great contribution, this move is good news for the company as it is believed that Larry Page will create new directions for Google to take on various challenges from other companies, especially Facebook. Going forward, Schmidt will assume the role of executive chairman, in charge of external matters.
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/ TABLETS RULE CES 2011 Since the launch of iPad, tablets have received much attention from the press and consumers. Various manufacturers have attempted to break the iPad streak by pushing out slates of their own, but to no avail. But things might change in 2011. At the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at Las Vegas, almost 100 tablets were announced, including by big companies such as Blackberry and Motorola. Perhaps the most notable ones are the Blackberry PlayBook and the Motorola Xoo, among others. Interestingly, most of the tablets announced use Android as their OS. However, there was still no sign of the elusive iPad 2.
BYTE-SIZED NEWS FOR FEB
/ MICROSOFT TO OFFICIALLY SUPPORT HOMEBREW APPS ON WINDOWS PHONE 7 According to Neowin.net, Microsoft plans to officially support homebrew developers on its Windows Phone 7 platform. This means that you can download apps for your WP7 device even if it’s not offered in the Windows Phone Marketplace, potentially allowing for greater customisation and functionalities beyond the what the Marketplace allows. Pundits are quick to point out how drastically different this stance is from Apple’s locked-down App Store approach. But don’t get too optimistic yet: no formal agreement or strategy has been worked out, and by letting riff-raff into your phone, you may be letting in other undesirable stuff like worms and viruses too.
AUTHOR LAM WOON CHERK, SUHAS BHAT
/ IT SHOW RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER Right before WorldMUN 2011, Suntec will play host to an IT fair from March 10-13. Expected at this show are all the leading IT companies such as Acer, Canon, Brother, Fujitsu, Hewlett Packard, Kingston, Lenovo, Microsoft, Nokia etc. Such IT shows come around twice or thrice every year and if you missed out on any IT-related purchases during the matriculation fair then this IT show might just be the perfect time to buy handy things such as external hard drives, earphones, external display monitors, speakers, digital cameras and more. Competitive prices and steep discounts are offered and with five floors of IT vendors, look forward to a great deal of variety! Mark these dates down on your calendar and prepare yourself for some shopping!
AUTHOR LAM WOON CHERK
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