THE RIDGE MAGA ZINE
THE RIDGE MAGAZINE A NUSSU PUBLICATION OCTOBER 2012 Find THE RIDGE on Facebook facebook.com/NussuTHERIDGE
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CONTENTS NEWS
INTERVIEW
ENTERTAINMENT
06 14-HOUR ELECTION DECIDES 34TH NUSSU EXCO
17 THE MARITIME INDUSTRY: AN OCEAN OF OPPORTUNITIES
28 EDWIN THUMBOO: A POET IN SINGAPORE
10 REINVENTING VOLUNTEERING: A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
18 SEEDING FOR THE FUTURE
29 MOVIE PREVIEW + BOOK REVIEWS + WHAT’S IN MY IPOD
21 INTERNSHIP AT DEUTSCHE BANK 12 SAVE
32 MOVIES TO WATCH OUR FOR: POPCORN AHOY!
OPINION
14 NATIONAL HEALTH SCREENING
34 CAMPING AND TRAMPING 22 SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE UTILITY OF SLACKER ACTIVISM 24 STEP-UP AND START-UP 26 THINKING OUT OF THE BOX IN THE “FINE CITY”
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62
LIFESTYLE
WIRED
SPORTS
38 10 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT CHANGI AIRPORT
49 APPS FOR A FITTER YOU!
56 FLOORBALL AT INTER FACULTY GAMES 2012
40 YES TO THE DRESS
50 APPLE APPS THAT WOULD MAKE YOUR SCHOOL BAG LIGHTER
58 STREET STYLE
42 OF BEAUTY, BRAWN AND BRAINS
52 REVIEW OF SONY VAIO S AND E SERIES
60 NUS SPORTS SCHOLAR – 2012
44 CARING FOR YOUR EYES
54 BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL
62 10 MOMENTS TO REMEMBER FROM THE LONDON OLYMPICS
46 GAGA OVER BRUNCH
EDITOR’S NOTE
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EDITOR’S NOTE Y
es, you. That’s who we write for. However, this effort cannot be sustained without a dedicated team of quality writers. Which is why I cannot emphasize this enough: if you have a passion for writing and have a good sense of how to get the stories, we want you! If you are interested, drop me an email and I will be sure to get back to you as soon as possible. In the meantime, we have a great line up of articles that might interest you. First up, it is time to discard the stereotype that Medicine students form elite groups and do not collaborate with other students in NUS. We have an article from News Desk writer, Felicia, on the Medicine Faculty’s first collaboration with Social Work students for their Neighbourhood Health Screening (p. 14). I am certainly heartened to read about NUS students from various faculties collaborating to solve problems. We must recognise
that the problems we face today as a society are too complex to be examined from one perspective. Next, we have Opinion Desk writer, Shibanshu’s personal reflections on his short stay in Chile, talking to entrepreneurs and thinking about entrepreneurship (p. 24). NUS have always been very supportive of student entrepreneurship so if you are an aspiring entrepreneur, do read his article and you might just find yourself inspired. Whether you need to relieve some stress or kill some time because of boredom, Entertainment Desk writer, Mei Yin, has the answer for you (p. 32). Read on as she shares with us some movie titles is definitely not your typical selection but will surely leave you entertained. Frankly, our Lifestyle Desk never fails to amaze me with
the kind of candid profiles that they churn out on a regular basis. Writer, Grace Yeoh, continues that tradition by interviewing the Clozette pageant contestants (p. 42). The dreams and aspirations of these contestants are certainly ones that some of us can relate to as students. Yes, we have heard so much about the iPhone 5. That is why we are not going to add to the 1 billion reviews about it that are out there. Instead, Wired Desk writer, Neethu, might just be able to change your mind and consider getting a Blackberry Bold 9900 instead. Not convinced? Turn to pg. 54 to find out.
knows, there may be some of you out there who are looking for a new hobby. Look no further. I hope I have done enough to convince you that we currently have great content but we are always hungry for more. Six desks, six unique platforms to write about what you’re passionate about. We provide the space, you provide the voice. Will you speak up?
Augustin Chiam, Chief Editor theridge.chiefeditor@nussu.org.sg
And if you think there is nothing new under the sun to write about for the Sports Desk, think again. Read about Sports Desk writer, Yan Peng, as he picks up a new sport (p. 58). Now that is dedication! I have never heard of streetball before but who
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EDITORIAL TEAM
EDITORIAL BOARD
CONTRIBUTORS
Chief Editor Augustin Chiam theridge.chiefeditor@nussu.org.sg
News Desk
Deputy Chief/Entertainment Desk Editor Nicole Kang theridge.depchiefeditor@nussu.org.sg Creative Director Nguyen Son Tra theridge.creative@nussu.org.sg Head Designer Patricia Natalia Jonatan theridge.headdesigner@nussu.org.sg News Desk Editors Gerrard Lai theridge.news@nussu.org.sg Opinion Desk Editor Elliot Tan theridge.opinion@nussu.org.sg Lifestyle Desk Editor Rachel Ong theridge.lifestyle@nussu.org.sg Sports Desk Editor Prateek Sinha theridge.sports@nussu.org.sg Wired Desk Editor Lester Hio theridge.wired@nussu.org.sg Copy Editor Ngui Jian Gang theridge.copyeditor@nussu.org.sg
NUS STUDENTS’ UNION NUSSU Publications Secretary Gladys Yeo pubsec@nussu.org.sg
Charmaine Chan
a0083612@nus.edu.sg
Ng Hui Ying
huiying.ng@nus.edu.sg
Felicia Choo
a0101341@nus.edu.sg
Interview Inggrid Teo
itt07@hotmail.com
Opinion Desk Debra Chua
cyr.debra.nus.edu.sg
Shibanshu Mukhopadhyay
shibanshu@nus.edu.sg
Aarushi Puri
a0104845@nus.edu.sg
Entertainment Desk Nurshahiylia Erdina
nurshahiylia@nus.edu.sg
Jennifer Kwan
a0100235@nus.edu.sg
Tay Dixin
a0073243@nus.edu.sg
Melissa Yasmin Hafidz Stewart
a0083677@nus.edu.sg
Divya Gundlapalli
divya.divya10@nus.edu.sg
Tan Mei Yin
a0099996@nus.edu.sg
Lifestyle Desk Teresa Widodo
teresa.widodo @nus.edu.sg
Grace Yeoh
a0087531@nus.edu.sg
Sharifah Nursyafiqah
a0083099@nus.edu.sg
Candice Chua
a0077257@nus.edu.sg
Clare Loh
clare.loh@nus.edu.sg
Wired Desk Neethu Krishna M
neethu.krishna@nus.edu.sg
Michelle Teo
a0101515@nus.edu.sg
Lim Wei Di
a0083092@nus.edu.sg
Dexter Tai
a0097941@nus.edu.sg
Sports Desk Goh Yan Peng
a0085070@nus.edu.sg
Naveen Prakash
naveen.prakash@nus.edu.sg
Rishian Balaskanda
a0070089@nus.edu.sg
Yang Kaiyuan
yangkaiyuan@nus.edu.sg
Designers Tong Wei Ping
a0074510@nus.edu.sg
Ye Zichen
a0105632@nus.edu.sg
Liu Jiahui
a0091723@nus.edu.sg
Min Er
a0099181@nus.edu.sg
Social Media Manager Lim Wei Di
a0083092@nus.edu.sg
Web Master Felice Tsui
a0104845@nus.edu.sg
Online Copy Editor Ryann Stephanie Kwan
a0105010@nus.edu.sg
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Deterrence of Death Penalty? Burden Of Proof Is On The Government. Dear Editor, I read Debra Chua’s The Death Penalty: Pragmatic and Moral Considerations published on September 12th with some disappointment. While I acknowledge her desire to further understand the role and significance of retributivist arguments in the moral justification of our judicial system, and applaud her suggestion of the removal of the mandatory clause of the death penalty, favouring an approach that would take important mitigating factors into account, I see her current reasons for support of the death penalty as misguided. Ms. Chua contends that the lack of statistical evidence to establish a negative causal relationship between crime rate and capital punishment “does not necessarily
The Solidarity of SlutWalk Dear Editor, I refer to Augustin Chiam’s The Childish Tantrums of Radical Feminism published on studentry. sg on 27th Jun 2012 and published in the August 2012 issue of The RIDGE. His primary concern seems to be that “Slutwalks” which involve ‘slutty dressing’ are un-strategic to the extent that they make the protestors vulnerable to dismissal as being ‘bra-burning fanatics’ and that the whole movement might therefore be counterproductive. I think this is because he mistakenly measures the movement’s success against whether it will convert chauvinists. The answer is no,
count against the argument for deterrence”. However, I ask, should the burden of proof not be on those who claim the effectiveness of the death penalty in deterring potential criminals, rather than on those who call for its abolishment? To give an analogy, if a scientist were to claim that eating large amounts of cheese were effective in curing cancer, would it not be his or her onus to provide evidence for this claim? While other scientists could effectively try to disprove it, the scientist who made the claim is first expected to demonstrate the truth of his or her statement. In the same way, it has been and always will be the burden of proponents of the death penalty to prove the method’s effectiveness; that it has been used for so many years across so many states in spite of the fact that, in Ms. Chua’s words, “there has been no empirical study, in Singapore or elsewhere, which conclusively demonstrates the causal link between the use of capital punishment and falling
crime rates”, makes the necessity of such evidence even more apparent.
obviously not. I don’t think even the academic, constructive discourse he favours could really do that. But that’s not the point. As well as attracting media attention and getting the conversation going, a fundamental aspect of “Slutwalk” is that it is an expression of solidarity.
really a male comparative term for ‘slut’ or ‘whore’. Slutwalk acts as an antidote to society’s continued message that to show off your female body is to subject yourself to judgment and abuse. The women who march in their underwear don’t think they won’t be judged, they are saying ‘We don’t care if you judge us. The fact that we are proud to be seen in public like this is a rejection of your biased standards.’ In many ways, Slutwalk attempts to speak to women, and get women to reconsider whether there is in fact, sting to the term ‘slut’. After all, if it simply means that the person thinks you are sexually promiscuous then what is actually wrong with that? It’s like yelling ‘red head’ at someone with red hair. It’s only insulting if you are ashamed of having red hair.
Instead of thinking of the effect (or non-effect) the parades might have on feminist skeptics, think of the effect it might have on a girl who has previously been assaulted or humiliated because of the way she dressed. As a male, have you ever been called a whore, slut, or wolf-whistled at? These are all ways to degrade a person, and they apply overwhelmingly to female sexuality. Just as there is not really a white comparative term for ‘nigger’, neither is there
In making the deterrence argument for capital punishment from “a more common sense approach”, Ms. Chua suggests that the “finality and irrevocability” of death is definitely more likely to dissuade would-be criminals than the lack of freedom in lifetime imprisonment. Indeed, this may be the case. Yet she fails to see that it is exactly these attributes of death that should prevent us from considering capital punishment at all. Like hers, my argument also appeals to common sense. Most, if not all of us, would agree that humans are fallible—we make mistakes. No matter how hard we try, slip-ups still occur. And often we are told that this is okay, because we can try again. But when an individual is sentenced to death, and when the sentence has been carried out, there is no trying again. He or she is dead. No re-trial, no apologies, no
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compensation to loved ones can amount to the innocent life that was lost. And to what end? The supposed deterrence of potential criminals has yet to be proven. Even one mistake is one too many! While incarceration (especially for extended periods of time) is also difficult to compensate for, only death itself forecloses any meaningful attempt at reconciliation with the victim. In sum, Ms. Chua states that her reasons for support of the continued use of the death penalty are pragmatic. Then I must question if supporting a form of punishment that has no conclusive proof of increased deterrence (or any at all) and which puts (even a small number of) innocent lives at risk is indeed the most practical and rational choice, especially when alternatives are clearly present. Rachel Lee Year 3, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
So do I think you should have to identify as a slut in order to participate in Slutwalk? Absolutely not! The more inclusive the movement, the merrier. In fact, I would be delighted to see more males out there showing their contempt for society’s double standards. But do I have a problem with you wearing your underwear to protest? No, I don’t. And that’s just the point, I don’t care what you wear, because I don’t tie your worth or the worth of your opinion to what you choose to put, or not put, on. Cassandra Shih Year 4, Exchange Student in NUS Faculty of Law & Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Victoria University of Wellington
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NEWS
14-hour election decide Augustin Chiam
Questions being posed by a member of the NUSSU Council
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gruelling 14 hours on a Saturday morning. That is how long it took for a group of 60-odd student leaders and observers to nominate, grill and elect candidates to form the 34th NUSSU Executive Committee (EXCO). Many have criticised NUSSU as an unrepresentative student body lacking mandate and
the voter turnout statistics for the internal elections held by the constituent clubs seem to bear out this truth. I confess that despite being a Year 3 student, this was my first time at a NUSSU election and, then, only because I had a vested interest to cover this event for the sake of students who could not attend the event.
However, what I soon realised was that despite voter apathy, these representatives take the elections very seriously. Even uncontested positions require a 2/3 vote of confidence from the NUSSU Council made up of elected representatives from the various constituent clubs. The 7 “constitutional positions�
that were being filled during this election were the office of the President, Vice-President, General Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Financial Secretary, Communications Secretary and Welfare Secretary. Perception surveys done by the Public Relations Unit (PRU) in NUSSU suggests that a majority of students are still unaware
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cides 34 nussu exco th
of what NUSSU does. Anyone interested in finding out should go to NUSSU Website to read their constitution (http://www. nussu.org.sg/downloadspage/ nussu-constitution). In a nutshell, there are 2 main groups of people who should be concerned with who gets elected into NUSSU: people who need funds to run their activities as part of their clubs and societies and people concerned about whether the welfare of students is being considered. For those who are unaware, each NUS student pays a compulsory $24 as subscription fees to NUSSU and should be concerned about how their $24 is being managed and spent. The first position to be contested was the office of the President. Two candidates, Goh Ren Kai (Year 3, Economics) and Clovis Tan (Year 3, E. Commerce) staked their claim on why they should be President of the 34th NUSSU EXCO. It was often difficult to differentiate the two candidates. Each of them had significant experience in leadership positions both within their respective faculty clubs as well as in NUSSU EXCO. For example, Ren Kai
is the outgoing Director of Marketing in the 33rd NUSSU EXCO while Clovis was the Director of Internal Relations / Director of Alumni Relations, also in the 33rd NUSSU EXCO. Both talked about ways to reach out and raise awareness
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REN KAI PROPOSED A SERIES OF TOWN HALL MEETINGS AND EMPHASIZED THAT NUSSU WAS MORE THAN A STUDENT ORGANISATION WHILE CLOVIS DESCRIBED A VISION OF A UNION WE CAN CALL OURS”
of NUSSU within the larger student population. Ren Kai proposed a series of Town Hall meetings and emphasized that NUSSU was “more than a student organisation” while Clovis described a vision of “a union we can call ours”. Perhaps, the only difference between the two candidates was their response to how they would deal with the potential scenario of not having a Welfare Secretary. In the runup to the NUSSU Elections,
nobody had indicated their interest in running for the position of Welfare Secretary. Ren Kai stated that if he was not elected President, he would not run for the position of Welfare Secretary but would help the Welfare Cell in collaboration with the two Assistant Welfare Secretaries. On the other hand, Clovis admitted that he had thought about running for the position of Welfare Secretary and would do so if not successful in his bid for the Presidency. Additionally, he repeatedly emphasized during his presentation that he sees “welfare as fronting most of the union’s efforts”. In the end, this difference may have proved decisive as Ren Kai won out during the voting by a mere 5 votes (4 void, 24 for Ren Kai and 19 for Clovis). It is not surprising then, that Clovis was eventually nominated to be the Welfare Secretary. Inevitably, the question was asked whether he could work well with Ren Kai given his loss in his bid to be President. “The competition [with Ren Kai] is something in the past... I don’t see that as a hindrance to our working relationship,”
said Clovis, assuring all the present members of the NUSSU Council. What really impressed me throughout the elections was the rigor of the questionand-answer sessions. Though many of those present knew the candidates in their own personal capacity, the interrogation was relentless. Queries ranged from “what are the top 3 things you would change about the previous policies of the outgoing cell” to “why should we vote for you over the other candidate?” The long contest was, in large part, due to the extensive questioning. Nevertheless, as Ren Kai commented during his nomination presentation, “ [there are] many more observers [at this year’s elections], so that’s a good thing.” The dilemma is that the more observers there are, the longer future elections are likely to be. However, for those who are genuinely concerned with the quality of student leadership in NUS, this is probably a happy problem.
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NEWS
Goh Ren Kai, President-elect, listening intently to his potential colleagues’ speeches
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hort of going through all 14 hours of the elections, here are some choice quotes: On his plans for the Union, Goh Ren Kai: “I’m not starting a 10 year plan, I’m just continuing what somebody has started.” On the need to engage student interest groups, Soh Yi Da: “I’ve always looked to SMU, they have so many interest groups ... sprouting like mushrooms.” On his personal strengths, Wilson Deng: “I am an honest person ... and I have a sense of duty.” On his inexperience, Ang Wei Xiang:
“I do not have EXCO knowledge but I’m willing to learn... [but] I have external experience” Note: Wei Xiang is one of only two Year 2s that formed the 34th NUSSU EXCO. On subscription fees, Cassandra Soh: “I definitely don’t think that there is a need to increase [subscription fees] ... it’s paradoxical [for the students] to be paying for welfare.” On methods of publicity, Gladys Yeo: “I would like to explore unconventional publicity ... like flash mobs - low cost, high impact.” On what welfare means, Clovis
Tan:
Science)
“Welfare is not [about] pampering the students. the quantum [of welfare packs] is not to please the students but because we want to give back to the students.”
6. Communications Secretary - Gladys Yeo (Year 2, Life Science)
And so these are your elected representatives for the 34th NUSSU EXCO: 1. President - Goh Ren Kai (Year 3, Economics) 2. Vice-President - Soh Yi Da (Year 3, Political Science) 3. General Secretary - Wilson Deng (Year 4, Political Science) 4. Assistant Secretary - Ang Wei Xiang (Year 2, Psychology) 5. Financial Secretary Cassandra Soh (Year 3, Life
7. Student Welfare Secretary - Clovis Tan (Year 3, E. Commerce)
For more details: Watch video recordings of the elections via the Union’s Facebook Group: http://www.facebook. com/nus.students.union In addition, for more information related to NUSSU elections (eg. standing order), you can visit: http://www.nussu.org. sg/elections/
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REINVENTING VOLUNTEERING Charmaine Chan
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ng Kar Yong was just your average second year architecture major, but this academic year he decided to take the path less travelled – a gap year, and following that, he will be starting afresh at NUS business school next August. Two years wasted? Not by Ang’s definition. “I’ve wanted to become an architect since secondary school,” Ang said, but his experience during his time off school trying out a “volunteering opportunity” gave him second thoughts. That opportunity was being part of the core team of Start Now, an up and coming social enterprise. But this is not your run-of-the-mill start-up. Start Now aims to bring an innovative solution to our local volunteering scene as the first non-governmental volunteerism advocacy in Singapore. Those may be big terms to swallow, but Ang explained that Start Now simply connects schools and organisations to volunteers. They provide an integrated online platform for non-profit organisations (NPOs) to manage, train and engage with potential
volunteers. On the website, a cloud system maintains volunteer accounts. Start Now has worked with youths by powering the 2012 SHINE Youth Festival pledging portal, the National Youth Council’s Community Service Marathon and is powering the upcoming International Volunteer Day celebrations here, redefining the use of technology for social good. Ang is the creative director of Start Now and part of a fivemember, all-undergraduate core team. The enterprise was the brainchild of two longtime friends, Keith Tan and Ivan Chang from NUS and SMU respectively. Through their extensive experience in volunteering, they realized that there was a lack of proper engagement between non-profit organisations and their volunteers. Inspired by Tan’s winning project in 2008’s Students-in-Free-Enterprise National Competition, both co-founders started recruiting members for Start Now last year after their National Service.
Since their official launch in February, Start Now has made waves in the start-up scene. Ang said they have gained excellent traction in the volunteering community, with 165 NPOs and approximately 45,000 volunteers registered and numbers are growing every day. As an enterprise, their business ideas have won them numerous accolades. For instance, they won this year’s Start Up @ Singapore Social Enterprise Business Plan competition, the biggest business plan competition in Singapore. Ang said that the grants from their winnings are crucial in helping them start the business. Their business capital has come from competition grants – the first being a $50,000 Yes! Spring Singapore Grant in 2011 – as well as a sole investor thus far. Now that the enterprise is up and running, plans to expand their clientele to the corporate sectors of Singapore are underway. The profits from their engagement with companies will create sustainable revenue for the company, Ang explained.
Since August, Ang has been at the helm of Start Now’s outreach to the corporate sector. Start Now is developing management IT platforms for individual companies to help HR managers with organizing corporate volunteering. The entire platform can be privately hosted in the company’s server. Ang added that design-thinking methodologies are first used to understand employees’ behaviour. The research is then used to improve volunteering behaviours. As the creative director of the company, Ang also takes charge of the design work for Start Now, including production of music and
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ERING: A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE their website design. On the current website (http:// www.startnow.sg), students can sign up for an account free of charge, and immediately be connected to NPOs of their choice. Contact details and profiles will be made available to NPOs so volunteers can be contacted
directly for current or future volunteer opportunities.
“SET A TIME TARGET FOR YOURSELF” For aspiring entrepreneurs, Ang has some words of experience. “I would say, set a time target for yourself.” “That’s what I did. I
decided to give a year of full time commitment to see if it’s really something I want to do.” As for him, the entrepreneurial journey has been worth the leap he took as being with Start Now gave him the opportunity to help others to do good and learn about running a business. Ang urges
students to let go of the mindset that they should prioritise studying saying, “If there is a chance to do something else, why not give it a try?”
The core team of social enterprise Start Now (from left): Keith Tan, 23, NUS Architecture Year 2, Co-Founder; Ang Kar Yong, 21, NUS Architecture Year 2, Creative Director; Ivan Chang, 23, SMU Business and Information Systems Year 3, Co-Founder; Cheng Xinyi, 23, NTU Wee Kim Wee School of Information and Communications Graduated, Communications Head; Huey Lin, 23, Nus Arts and Social Sciences (Geography) Year 3, New Media Head - Photo by Ang Kar Yong, Start Now
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Paving the way for Green Ng Hui Ying
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he next time you see NUS security officers doing their rounds in a little white vehicle, take a closer look—you could soon be getting a ride in one of those. Ten of the little white electric plug-and-drive vehicles can now be found on campus as part of an experimental scheme by Toyota to collect data on commuters’ usage patterns. The cars are meant to fill the “last mile” gap that commuters face between their major mode of transport and their final destination. Named COMS, short for “Chotto Odekake Machimade Suisui” (ちょっとお出かけ町までスイスイ) which means, “smooth, short rides into town” in Japanese, they are currently managed by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, under a joint project with Japanese automobile company, Toyota Tsusho Asia Pacific Ltd (TTAP). The company is currently in talks with NUSSU to find ways for students with a valid Class 3 license to drive the vehicles. The vehicles were unveiled during NUSSU Students Against Violation of the Earth (SAVE)’s Climate Action Day early this September. The yearly event,
now in its second year, is partly supported by funds from the Southwest CDC. In 2011, SAVE focused on reducing the quantity of rubbish bins on campus in a bid to reduce waste generation, a move which sparked off significant commotion amongst inconvenienced students. This year’s second attempt at communicating its environmental message to students, however, appears to have hit the right note. With “Green Transport” as the theme of this year’s event, SAVE took the opportunity to unveil its latest initiative: bicycling around campus. Envisioning a walkable, cyclable campus for the future, it is looking into ways for students to walk or cycle to class instead of waiting interminable minutes for a fully-packed bus. The bicycles and electric vehicles are two ideas that SAVE, together with the Office of Safety, Health and Environment (OSHE), the Office of Environmental Sustainability (OES) and the Office of Estate and Development (OED), is experimenting with as part of its push for a greener lifestyle. The bicycle initiative also supplements an already overstretched campus shuttle service, and results from two trials held on 27 August and 3 September will help to inform
Aloysius Foo, CAD 2012 co-director, with Zaqy Mohamad
future plans for cycling paths within campus.
“ANOTHER STUDENT POINTED OUT THAT EVEN WITHIN UTOWN, THE HIGH HUMAN TRAFFIC POSED AN OBSTACLE TO SAFE CYCLING” In addition, SAVE announced that it will be working with the halls of residences in NUS to carry out cycling trials. On the basis of feedback collected from students, it will then work with the OES, OED and OSHE to examine ways of making cycling paths possible. Another initiative, Hope Commute, seeks to encourage students and staff to walk to their destinations instead of taking the shuttle buses. This initiative aims at raising funds for the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled
of Singapore (MINDS) and is similarly supported by Southwest CDC. Despite its plans, SAVE foresees that its new initiative to convince students to use alternative modes of transport will be a “long, uphill task”, much like its previous initiatives. It cited its Plastic Bag Tax project as one which struggled in its early years to be accepted by the school administration, but which is now supported by both students and the administration. The Project Box and Project Tumbler initiatives quickly followed on the heels of this success. Aloysius Foo, Publicity Director of SAVE and Co-Project Director of Climate Action Day this year, noted that the project has several hurdles to overcome, one of them being the cost of constructing bicycle lanes.
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way for Greener Transport
“We understand it is a massive investment by the (university) administration if it were to pave lanes. Hence, one of the purposes of the trials, besides promoting cycling as an eco form of commuting, is data collection,” he said, adding that this data would enable SAVE and the NUS administrative offices it is working with to decide if more bicycle racks are needed, and on the feasibility of building bicycle lanes for the community.
“THE REAL DIFFICULTY LIES IN CHANGING PEOPLE’S MINDSETS” Guest-of-Honour at the event, Mr
Zaqy Mohamad, Vice-President of the Southwest Community Development Council and MP for Choa Chu Kang GRC, acknowledged the difficulties confronting SAVE and other environmental activism groups. Commending the initiative, he said, “setting up a one day event is a relatively easy thing, but the real difficulty lies in changing people’s mindsets.”
that further efforts to develop new environmentally-friendly ideas for the public also have to take into consideration current infrastructural conditions. He also pointed out that extensions of the bicycle initiative in NUS would have to deal with discrepancies between older and newer infrastructure, as older roads and buildings are less easily accessible by cyclists.
Moreover, new initiatives also have to contend with existing infrastructure and stakeholders’ priorities.
Students responding to a poll by SAVE had mixed responses on whether they thought NUS should become a walkable, cyclable campus. Some felt that the change would be minimal, as students already accommodated infrequent
Even if this new initiative were to turn out successful, he noted
shuttle bus timings by walking to their classes, while others welcomed the change, citing the infrequent and crowded bus services. In stark contrast to these responses, some raised concerns about the difficulty of cycling on the university’s hilly terrain. One such response stated rather bluntly, “until you eradicate the hills and you have sufficient stylish and useable bicycles, such a dream would never achieve a state of being realized. The bus would remain as a primary choice for those Singaporeans who can’t take the heat.” Another student pointed out that even within UTown, the high human traffic posed an obstacle to safe cycling. SAVE acknowledges that it may be a long wait before its plans for a cycle-friendly campus will come to fruition. Until the day that we are able to zip around campus on electric Toyotas arrives, it does look like a long march lies ahead.
Unveiling the Cycling Initiative with an officer from the Office of Environmental Sustainability
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NATIONAL HEALT
Neighbourhood health screening takes reside
Felicia Choo
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he realisation that patients’ social needs are as important as their medical needs struck medical student Calida Chua, 20, when she volunteered at the Neighbourhood Health Screening (NHS) last year. During a home visit to a patient suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, she witnessed first-hand his lack of motivation to continue living. “He just wanted company
and refused to take medication prescribed by the doctor. We found out that he passed away this year,” she recalled sadly. Now in year 2 and the co-chair of this year’s NHS, Calida is part of the group of medical students who are collaborating with social work students for the first time since the NHS was launched 6 academic years ago. The aim of the new
initiative is to address residents’ social needs in order to encourage them to seek and accept medical help.
“FREE HEALTH SCREENINGS TO LOW-INCOME RESIDENTS” The NHS is a community service project initiated by medical students of the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine from the
National University of Singapore (NUS), which offers free health screenings to low -income residents. Students conduct doorto-door screenings and a mass screening in void decks to identify residents at risk of the three main chronic diseases in Singapore diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia. These residents will also be given follow-up home calls and visits
A social wor student (on the extreme left) and a medical student speaking to a resident about her questionnaire
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EALTH SCREENING
g takes residents’ social needs into account
This year 1 medical student is carrying out capillary blood glucose test for the resident - Photos by NUS MedSoc Media
by professional doctors and volunteers every few months, or according to their individual needs.
“THROUGH THIS PROCESS, WE CAN IMPROVE OUR SOCIAL WORK SKILLS, BY ENGAGEMENT WITH AND ASSESSMENT OF THE RESIDENTS” The 15 social work students from NUS are primarily involved in the mass screening, where they identify and assess which
residents require social and financial help. They will also be writing follow-up plans and social reports to refer residents to social service agencies that can provide job referrals, befriending services, meals delivery, home modifications and walking aid subsidies. This is in line with another new initiative in previous years to work with social service agencies like the Centre for Enabled Living, Lions Befrienders and the Community Development Council (CDC). Nearly 400 students this
year are involved in the screenings of residents living in Taman Jurong, Macpherson and Bukit Merah, aged 40 years and above. The social work students are glad for this opportunity to work with their medical counterparts and to apply what they have learnt in the classroom to real-life situations. “Through this process, we can improve our social work skills, by engagement with and assessment of the residents,” said Year 3 student, Tan Jia Hui, 21. However, a crucial problem
remains, one which the addition of social work students will hopefully alleviate. Mr Tan Chong Keat, 25, one of the pioneers of NHS, explains that many of the elderly residents they have encountered were worried about the financial burden of a medical problem that the health screenings will potentially detect. As a result, many resist going for the health screenings. Calida agrees. “We want to kickstart this mindset change, with more help socially and financially.”
INTERVIEW
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THE MARITIME INDUSTRY: AN OCEAN OF OPPORTUNITIES family to me and this makes work at Keppel truly enjoyable,” she reflected.
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hat do you look for in a career? If you are in search of a dynamic and challenging career that offers exciting learning and travel opportunities, perhaps you might wish to follow in Teh Swee Kheng’s footsteps and consider a career in the maritime industry.
Upon graduating from polytechnic, Swee Kheng joined Keppel FELS Limited as a Project Engineer. Despite working for the company for seven years, Swee Kheng professed that there never is a dull day and that she finds a great sense of fulfillment in her job.
Working in the maritime industry was not initially a deliberate decision for Swee Kheng, but it is one that she is definitely glad she made. Swee Kheng was first exposed to the industry in her second year in polytechnic, when her lecturer encouraged her to apply for the Association of Singapore Marine Industries (ASMI) Marine Engineering scholarship.
“Unlike some manufacturing sectors where work can be mundane and routine, working in the shipyard is nothing like that. We work in project teams and every project offers different challenges and difficulties with a diverse group of teammates. The job satisfaction I gain from a project, from the initial blue-print phase to the actual completion of the project, is immense.”
“When researching about the industry, I discovered that Singapore commands 70% of the world’s share of the construction of jack-up drilling rigs and operates some of the most technically advanced and efficient rig building and ship repair facilities in the world. Singapore’s contribution to the global maritime scene is huge and I wanted to be a part of this.”
Having a closely-knit team that looks out for one another is something that Swee Kheng is grateful for. “When you’re embarking on a major project, it’s never just about one person stealing the limelight. Rather, it’s about everyone working together to complete the project. As such, everyone is willing to share their knowledge with you. I am proud to say that my team is like a
As the offshore and marine sector is a highly specialised industry, Keppel FELS offers varied exposure and development opportunities for its employees. Swee Kheng’s own career path is testimony to Keppel FELS’ emphasis on employee development. After her second year at Keppel, she was awarded an Employee Sponsorship to further her studies in Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2007. “It was challenging having to attend classes from six to nine in the evening after work as part of my part-time degree, but I really appreciate how understanding and supportive my managers and colleagues were during this period,” she reminisced. Swee Kheng even shared that her boss had asked her if she was keen to pursue a Master’s degree after her completion of her Honour’s degree. Opportunities within the maritime industry extend far beyond the shores of Singapore. During her time in Keppel FELS, Swee Kheng visited more than six countries such as America, China, Germany, Malaysia, the UK, and Vietnam.
decision to work at a shipyard. These days however, more people are aware that there is a good mix of male and female employees at the shipyard. There really isn’t any differentiation between the genders and equal opportunities exist for all.” “The maritime industry is not just limited to engineering and sea-faring careers. There are a host of shored-based career possibilities for those looking to enter specializations such as legal, finance, corporate communications, and marketing,” she added. When queried about what first steps someone interested in the industry should take, Swee Kheng advised, “Read up as much as you can. Do consider taking up an internship as it will definitely help you gain a better understanding of the industry.” Keppel FELS is a subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M), the global leader in offshore rig design, construction and repair, ship repair and conversion, and specialized shipbuilding. To learn more about maritime education and career opportunities, please visit www.maritimecareers.com.sg. Keppel Offshore & Marine offers internships to university students
Swee Kheng also noted that perceptions have since changed from when she first joined the maritime industry. She explained, “Back then, I had to convince my parents as to why I made the
who are keen to gain valuable work experiences before starting their careers in this industry. Students interested in an internship with us may send your resumes to training@keppelom.com.
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INTERVIEW
seeding for th Inggrid Teo
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eeding the future -- That is the call from Mr Ngiam Tong Dow to invest more in our youths by creating an innovative environment for them. Mr Ngiam, former Permanent Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office, spoke to a 300-strong audience, including NUS alumni and members of the public, at the Shaw Foundation Alumni Guild House as part of the U@live forum series. The speech, which lasted about 15 minutes, was followed by an hour’s dialogue. In a wide-ranging speech that touched on topics like the importance of higher education in the contemporary world and the issue of foreign talent, he emphasized that the competition faced by countries now will be more “knowledge intensive” rather than “resource based”. Mr Ngiam also touched on the importance of higher education in the contemporary world, particularly in Singapore. Mr Ngiam, now an adjunct Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, had explored these issues during his years in civil service and
he had shared with them his insights with regard to the sustenance of economic growth—how we can prepare our future generation in the face of these new challenges to be innovative and possess a wealth creation mind-set. The former civil servant of about 40 years observed that most of Singapore’s brightest students often end up attending the Raffles family of schools. He pointed out that issues - such as the failure to solve problems out of the norm – may arise as a result of receiving an education from merely “two sets of teachers (from Raffles Institution and Raffles Girls’ School)”.
Mr Viswa Sadasivan, former Nominated Member of Parliament and moderator of
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OVER THE YEARS THEY BECAME (RELIANT ON USING) THE CONFUCIUS ANALECTS TO SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS”
the dialogue said that these students were often told, at the age of 13 years old, that they are the cream of the crop, and commented that “Ït’s not a good thing because it will lead to elitism and complacency.” He also ventured that
Singapore’s focus on efficiency and avoidance of failure had possibly led to the decreasing level of resilience amongst the new generation in Singapore. Mr Ngiam responded that it is possible for the government to take a step backwards and “leave Singaporeans alone”. “Every time we’ve got a problem, we set up another stat (statutory) board. This means the employment of civil servants. It doesn’t grow the economy you know, ” he said, although conceding that sometimes “civil servants can be creative too (in responding to problems)”.
INTERVIEW
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or the future
When asked if Singapore still needs scholars, in light of creating elitism, Mr Ngiam cited the example of the imperial examination system in China. “Over the years they became (reliant on using) the Confucius analects to solve these problems, they had too much test on Confucianism, so instead of solving practical problems, they became very literary.” “They’ve got a very good imperial scholar system; where
the best young people from all the provinces congregate.” “But you must ask the young people the right questions.” Mr Viswa aptly summed it up with a question: How (then) can we transcend the plateau of competence to the peak of brilliance? Besides talking about the education system in Singapore, a member of the audience, Andrea raised the question on what Singaporeans can do in face of the influx of foreign
talents. Mr Ngiam replied that there is a need to raise our selfconfidence levels. “Every time we have a problem, (we tend to) call in a consultant, hire a foreign CEO… Why have we lost our confidence,” he said. In the final minutes of his speech before the dialogue, Mr Ngiam proposed that the Ministry of Finance (MOF) extend a $100 million grant to EDB to invest in an equity of knowledge-based startup companies that will be
germinated in our universities and polytechnics. He emphasized on the fact that “universities are the only strategic assets we have in this highly competitive knowledgebased global world economy”. “If we fail to mobilize our universities, Singapore will quickly revert back to the stagnant trade burdened economy of the 1950s.”
INTERVIEW
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INTERNSHIP AT DEUTSCHE BANK an old monitoring tool to a new monitoring tool, which includes rigorous testing and configuration to ensure that it was “more robust”. According to Zhongkun, he was initially not sure about his supervisor’s expectations for him but it soon became clear that he was “expected to initiate and even lead in the project”. “My supervisor had the same level of expectation for me as compared
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here are some stereotypes that come with working in the banking sector such as the perception that it is only for business students, that it has a competitive working culture and that it is only about making money. Stereotypes that proved unfounded after listening to NUS undergraduate, Zhang Zhongkun describe his internship at Deutsche Bank. By his own admission, Zhongkun started this internship without much financial knowledge. “I knew next to nothing about some of the financial products that the bank offered, save for the names of those products.” But his internship experience should put to rest all the stereotypes that people have about working in a bank. The bank takes in interns from many different disciplines, including computing and engineering. Zhongkun is currently in his fourth year as an Electrical Engineering major.
Zhongkun described the internship as a “well-structured programme”. The interns spent their first week undergoing an induction training which involved financial knowledge as well as other things such as presentation skills and business etiquette. Throughout the internship, there were also several “learning sessions” of between one to two hours, where they familiarise themselves with the various departments and operations within the bank such as “Private Wealth Management” and “Global Transaction Banking”. Although Zhongkun is from the Engineering faculty, he took ten computing modules from Year 1 to Year 3. With a foundational knowledge of I.T. in areas such as database, operating systems and programming languages, he was assigned to work in GT Productions under the Group Technology and Operations department. He was tasked to ensure the smooth migration from
BUT HIS INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE SHOULD PUT TO REST ALL THE STEREOTYPES THAT PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT WORKING IN A BANK to a full-time staff ... but this was good motivation for me to produce high quality work,” he explained. Along with other interns, Zhongkun was also tasked by the Human Resource Department to work in teams of 4-5 and conduct research into “gender diversity”. This includes finding out about some of the “gender diversity” initiatives started by other companies, interviewing champions of the cause and eventually coming up with a research proposal that was presented to a panel of Deutsche Bank directors. This “gender diversity” project was not something he had expected to do during the internship but was nevertheless an enriching experience for him. Zhongkun described the Deutsche Bank corporate culture as “very friendly, where everyone was
so willing to help”. Each intern is assigned a “buddy” who is a recent graduate student working at the analyst level. Zhongkun said that his buddy was especially helpful with regards to administrative work and settling into the department. Each intern is also assigned a mentor who would give them useful career advice. Along the way, there were numerous people from associates to vice-presidents who set aside time to conduct informal training so as to help the interns get a better understanding of the various operations within Deutsche Bank. Zhongkun related to me how the CEO of Deutsche Bank wanted to meet the interns from all the regions after the internship was over and one of the interns from Singapore even got to travel to London! Although Zhongkun did not manage to meet the CEO due to other commitments, he praised this gesture by the CEO as “something very special”. For NUS students who want to apply for the Deutsche Bank internship, Zhongkun has this piece of advice: “Start applying early, go for the networking events and get your CV reviewed by the Career Centre in NUS.” Applications for DB’s Analyst Internship Program close 02 December 2012. For more information on Deutsche Bank Graduate Programs, visit their website www.db.com/careers
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OPINION
social media
and the utility of slacker activism Debra Chua
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he past few years have witnessed the flourishing of social media, with a number of social media campaigns gaining much public attention. Social media has also proved to be an instrumental organisational tool for staging real-life demonstrations, observed most prominently in the Arab uprisings. Due to its ability to disseminate information at an unprecedented scale, an increasing number of civil society groups have turned to social media to galvanize support for their cause. Indeed, the rapid growth and spread of online groups and viral videos is but testament to social media’s wide-reaching influence on society. What is perhaps the most dramatic manifestation of this phenomenon can be observed in the wildly successful social media campaign initiated by Invisible Children. The campaign was ostensibly conceptualized to raise public awareness of the Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, his paramilitary group, the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army), and its use of child soldiers. Invisible Children created a 30 minute documentary film briefly outlining Joseph Kony and the LRA, and proposed a
simple solution to the problem: to raise public consciousness about Kony and, by doing so, pressure US policy makers into providing military assistance to the Ugandan military in the capture of Kony. With its easily comprehensible, evocative and emotionally compelling narrative and rousing cry for action, it is not difficult to see why it has inflamed the passions of the (mostly) American youth. Word spread like wildfire though the social media, and within the first four days of being uploaded, the documentary-film garnered about 40 million hits. The culmination of the campaign’s success came when the US Congress passed the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, thereby codifying US commitment to destroying the LRA, and when President Obama ordered the deployment of military advisors to the region. At first glance, the takeaway message from this would be one of empowerment of the people. Armed with the powerful tool for information dissemination and social organisation that is social media, ordinary people have managed to bring about substantial action by influencing the opinions of high
level political leaders. Why then, has there been such a vociferous backlash against the Kony 2012 campaign? The main criticisms can be essentially boiled down to two reasons. Many long-time socio-political commentators on Uganda and the region in general, have lambasted the content and the tone of the film. The pithy history of conflict in Northern Uganda
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a Hollywood action movie rather than a genuine conflict resolution method. The second main criticism is the way Invisible Children has handled its finances. A significant portion of the donations they receive is funnelled towards funding more awareness raising products and promotions, and administrative costs, as opposed to funding welfare programs in Uganda.
SLACKER ACTIVISM SERVES A MORE INSTRUMENTAL PURPOSE IN CASTING LIGHT ON SOCIAL CAUSES WHICH WOULD HAVE OTHERWISE GONE UNNOTICED”
sketched out in the film is an oversimplification of the more complex reality. Furthermore, the paternalistic, individualistic narrative and misleading portrayal of Ugandans as hapless, impotent victims overlooks the resilience demonstrated by the Ugandans by neglecting to mention the transformative work that has been carried out by the local community, all in order to indulge the messianic complexes of the targeted demographic. Their proposed solution—foreign military intervention to capture Kony— seems to have compromised nuance and diplomatic finesse in favour of constructing a solution more reminiscent of
The continuing focus on raising public awareness (at the time of writing, the KONY 2012 film is about a few hundred thousand hits shy of reaching 93 million hits on YouTube), poses questions as to whether slacker activism has counterproductive or even detrimental effects. As defined by Evgeny Morozov, the term slacker activism is used to describe “feel-good online activism that has zero political or social impact”. Slacker activism is closely associated to the use of social media in raising awareness for social causes, such as the joining of Facebook groups, the “liking” of videos or “tweeting” of designated hash tags on
OPINION
Twitter. The term has inherently pejorative connotations, as it enables people to obtain high returns in the form of emotional gratification at having contributed to a social cause, at a low personal cost in time, resources and so on. Morozov cites an online experiment conducted by Danish psychologist ColdingJorgensen, who set up a Facebook group that tacitly implied that the city officials were planning to demolish the Stork Fountain. This claim was of course, false, but within 3 days the group had 27,500 members. The salient point is not that “liking” a social cause on social media platforms makes one an self-righteous and morally pretentious, but rather the concern that enabling people to participate in slacker activism on social media platforms supplants more traditional, conventional types of activism. Some critics have argued that the concomitant ostensible moral superiority awarded to the individual when they join a Facebook group or “like” a social cause detracts from the social obligation one would, in the absence of the availability of slacker activism, attempt to carry out in more conventional, substantive ways such as volunteering or demonstrating. This argument however, has hitherto not been substantiated with any statistical evidence. On the contrary, a metaanalysis of the effect of internet usage on civic engagement suggests that there is a positive correlation between the two, although this effect is limited. Indeed, I would argue that slacker activism can serve
as a form of “gateway drug” (of the beneficial sort, in this metaphor) that could inspire the slacker activist into becoming a fully fledged activist in the true sense of the word, and translate into that individual becoming more active in civil society in reallife. That there will always be those who steadfastly remain point and click activists is inevitable, but the same can be said for people offline. How many of us can truly say that we contribute to social causes on a regular basis? We may cite time constraints, busy schedules and heavy workloads, but it seems doubtful that these claims would bear scrutiny in most cases. In the end, raising public consciousness concerning a particular social cause through the social media can hardly be a bad thing, and most probably increases social mobilisation, although the exact extent of its influence has yet to be determined. Kony 2012 also demonstrates one of the potential pitfalls of slacker activism. Often, a multifaceted situation is simplified in order to mould it into an emotionally gripping narrative that is, indubitably, much more palatable and sufficiently sensationalist to sate our fleeting attention spans. It goes without saying that for the overwhelming majority, such messages would be much more memorable and well-received, as compared to one which is factually rigorous and academically nuanced. Are there any dangers in the trade-off between complexity and factual accuracy, and emotional persuasiveness? Are there negative repercussions in mobilising a large group of
people to advocate a certain social cause on the basis of a simplified view of the situation? In the case of Kony 2012, concerns have been raised about providing financial and military aid to the Ugandan military, an organisation not known for its stellar human rights record, and forcing the US government to align itself with Ugandan President Museveni and the Ugandan government, which has a record of corruption. Ultimately, I think that slacker activism serves a more instrumental purpose
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in casting light on social causes which would have otherwise gone unnoticed. I would propose that since the crux of the problem lies not with the dissemination of information per se, but rather the oversimplified version of events being propagated, that slacker activists—having had their awareness raised and who feel impassioned enough to mobilize in real-life—divert some of their fervour into gaining a more comprehensive view of the cause they intend to support.
Photo by Ye Zichen
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OPINION
STEP-UP AND Shibanshu Mukhopadhyay
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s I stepped into a room filled with experienced business-people, most of whom were a good deal older than me, the frigid climate of Chile was not the only reason behind my goose bumps. It is one thing to try communicating with a people who speak primarily Spanish, and something entirely different to try and formulate business ideas with them. However, once I remembered that I had expected this situation to arise, my determination to perform made me less panicky. Once I had forced myself out of my comfort zone, I soon realized that we, Singaporeans, were not the only nervous ones. Quite an encouraging start to the Lean Startup Machine, Santiago 2012! After six months of internship in a local start-up company, the 9th batch of the innovative Local Enterprise Achiever Development (iLEAD) program got to experience a slice of the start-up scene in Chile and I was fortunate enough to be a part of it. This involved a two week trip to the country in July which comprised of networking sessions and company visits. Needless to say, it was an exhilarating experience which gave me a good taste of the differences between the entrepreneurial culture in Singapore and Chile.
The Production and Development Corporation of Chile (CORFO) has projected an 8% economic growth rate per annum for Chile if it were to follow the path of innovation and entrepreneurship rather than rely solely on existing businesses. The high level of projected growth is not surprising given how entrepreneurship aims to bring about the kind of innovation that has driven the evolution of modern human society. In its pursuit for rapid economic development, Singapore has clearly chosen wisely by following the same path of encouraging entrepreneurship. To promote this culture of entrepreneurship, NUS has developed a host of programs such as NUS Overseas College (NOC) and iLEAD. Furthermore, co-curricular activities like NUS Entrepreneurship Society (NES) promote the entrepreneurial mindset through an assortment of events, while Start-up@Singapore (S@S) holds the nation’s largest business plan competition each year. All these programs and activities are either managed by or endorsed and funded (fully or in part) by NUS Enterprise. Following the success of these programs, other bodies like the NUS Students’ Union (NUSSU) have also started conducting various activities, such as the
NUS Test-Bed, to bring out the entrepreneur within the student. All these efforts have shown signs of success in Singapore, with start-ups sprouting up across the island. Of course, not all of these are successful but there is definitely no lack of funding in Singapore with organizations like SPRING Singapore more than willing to support a good venture. Furthermore, other sources of funding are readily available, from venture capitalists and angel investors. The highlight of my trip to Chile would definitely be the start-
up weekend organized by the aforementioned Lean Startup Machine which was attended by people from all over Latin America. The event required us to form teams with those who had a certain business idea and who wanted to validate it real-time. Teams met up with customers over a single weekend, applying the ‘Lean Methodology’—pioneered by Eric Ries—to build their startups. “Get out of the Building” was the motto for that weekend and get out of the building we did. The first thing I noticed about my team was that despite how 4 out of the 6 members spoke Spanish
OPINION
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AND START-UP Singapore would be the highly competitive nature of the local market. With so many start-ups popping up everywhere, and many more around the corner, there is fierce competition for entry into the Singaporean market.
Photo from leanstartupmachine.com
as their mother tongue, everybody made a very good effort to speak in English. I had only heard about the burning passion of Latin Americans but getting to interact with them really brought home the fact to me. As I looked at the hustle of busy bodies around me, the adrenaline in the air struck me with a profound sense of excitement and anticipation. As my group approached random strangers on the streets of Santiago, I saw that the people of Chile were significantly more apprehensive towards approaching salesmen than the average Singaporean. The
“DESPITE BEING SO VERY DISPARATE, SINGAPORE AND CHILE ARE STILL BONDED BY A COMMON DESIRE TO ADVANCE THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP” atmosphere of distrust amongst the people contributed towards making market penetration rather difficult. By way of comparison, the average Singaporean is much more open to trying out new brands. Nonetheless, the main challenge of any entrepreneur looking to establish a base in
Another interesting observation was that most Latin Americans, Chileans in particular, do not tend to concern themselves beyond the boundaries of their country. Despite Singapore’s diminutive size, an insular mindset does not feature as prominently in its citizens. This is a great advantage to Singaporeans as any business idea is at its best only if it is scalable, and this is a factor that investors give profound consideration to. Despite being so very disparate, Singapore and Chile are still bonded by a common desire to advance through entrepreneurship. Along with quick technological progress comes creativity in the thought processes of the people, something that I got to observe in plenty at universities in both countries. Moreover, it stimulates many to strive to improve the inefficiencies around them, thus realizing the ultimate purpose of entrepreneurship. Such an aspiration for innovation knits the two countries closely together
despite the geographical distance between them. As a race, I believe that the technological pinnacle of our species can be reached through entrepreneurship, just like how we carved our early tools to build civilization through the creativity of innovation. After all, entrepreneurship is but a form of competition, one which necessitates perpetual innovation and improvisation in the struggle to stay ahead. As history tells us, these seasons of innovation may very well manifest in open conflict, although we have become much acclimatized with its less violent forms—corporate takeovers and legal battles are rife in the news these days. Regardless of the form that these conflicts take, it is through these periods of competition and struggle that entrepreneurship not just survives, but thrives. Looking towards the future, it is clear that entrepreneurship and innovation make up the twin driving forces behind the development that society so aspires towards.
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OPINION
THINKING OUT OF THE BOX IN THE “FINE CITY” Photo from newscientist.com Aarushi Puri
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ere you ever disenchanted by the very concept of restrained education during school? Did a snapshot of you twirling around the boundless realm of possibility just outside the cosmic box containing your educational experience instill hope in those dark times? Yes, the metaphor I was going for is ‘thinking out of the box’, a notion that is associated quite readily with the university by both students and educators alike—and NUS is no exception. The importance of a creative mind for academic fulfillment is underscored by Harvard professor Howard Gardner in his book, Five Minds for the Future. Being a leading university internationally, it comes as little surprise that one of NUS’ key focuses is the fostering of innovation and initiative. Last July, NUS’ Faculty of Engineering enlisted two professors known for their creative prowess, seemingly in the hope that they would nurture the same creative knack in its students. NUS has also consistently tried to stimulate a spirit of enterprise through programmes such as the NUS Overseas College (NOC) programme, which entails an intensive overseas internship in a
high-growth, high-tech start-up company. Despite NUS’ efforts towards promoting entrepreneurship, making a decision where the risks and benefits may come across as 50-50 is nevertheless still deemed irresponsible, whilst erring on the side of caution tends to end up being labeled as a clever move. Indeed, unconventional decisions, such as switching your faculty from science to music because you felt it to be your métier, or dropping out of college because you felt your calling lies elsewhere—these decisions are still typically abhorred. Stepping out of that “box” we once upon a time pictured ourselves twirling outside of very quickly transforms into a distant dream. What replaces it is a new, more focused
“A GENERATION OF OVER-CAUTIOUS INDIVIDUALS IS BEING CULTIVATED” aspiration: a stable job with a steady paycheck and a freeway access to the box you once loathed. The reason to paint this cynical picture, you ask? Well, it seems as if its cause may lie at the heart of this “fine city”. The sheer
abundance of stringent laws may be imprinting prudence to the extent where a generation of over-cautious individuals is being cultivated. You may find my association between the two aspects ridiculous, but take a minute to think about it. Years of constant prudence results in one automatically playing it safe—a pragmatic, although equally perilous practice. Such a practice propagates vigilance and hesitation to the extent where valuable opportunities demanding audaciousness and decisiveness are steered clear of. The result? A city teeming with talent getting boxed-in by conservatism. That is not to say that Singapore is not an innovative city, contrary to the pessimistic view Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple) held at an interview with BBC. Even though most of the private sector is governed by foreign corporates, so to an extent one may consider it lacking national creativity and entrepreneurship, the public sector is the antipode. Be it the Electronic Road Pricing System or NEWater plants, many of the Singaporean government’s policies brim with creativity—so much so that they have been the subject of much study by other countries. Creating a leading
economy with such few resources is no mean feat, to say the least. However, what is striking is that the bulk of Singapore’s past creativity stems from an environment where a combination of necessity and minimal laws prevailed. Coincidence, you say? I beg to differ. If the same feeling of the indispensability of innovation could be promoted in the private sector, perhaps the existing laws may not be viewed as a limitation but rather as a challenge. Or perhaps it is time for the Singaporean policies and laws to be revolutionized and tweaked to inspire innovation not on a global, but local level. This irony of laying such emphasis on ‘thinking out of the box’ throughout university and then confining oneself to a box simply because the framework encourages it can be and must be overcome. Until then, the choices we make, be it in our freshman year or senior year, influence our intellectual destiny and are an integral aspect of this change. So, will you chose to flourish like a flower in the wild as you had always envisaged or do you perhaps prefer the safe bounds of a tamed garden...inside a box?
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ENTERTAINMENT
Edwin T humboo: A Poet in Singapore Melissa Yasmin Stewart
Edwin Thumboo, acclaimed poet, is definitely a familiar name in Singapore’s poetry scene. However, what inspires him to write as beautifully as he does?
Edwin Thumboo, from peeepl.com
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ith a pleasant smile on his face and a jolly tone in his voice, Edwin Thumboo, Singapore’s most renowned poet, entered the Presentation Space, excited to share his work with a group of poetry enthusiasts. Along with a group of students, I was eager to know where this talented man draws his inspirations. Thumboo, who is regarded as a pioneer of English literature in Singapore, is currently residing in Angsana College as an Artist-In-Residence and holds master tea sessions regularly for poetry enthusiasts to teach the art of writing poetry. Themed “Identity”, Thumboo began his presentation by speaking of four distinctions that shaped his selfhood, namely race, learning nurture, class and family, as well as historical experience. Thumboo chuckled as he described growing up as
a mixed-race boy, then a taboo in society. Being halfIndian and half-Chinese, Thumboo was often teased with words like “half-caste” and “black devil”, garnering expressions of shock in the audience, who have grown
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WHAT CAPTIVATED THE AUDIENCE WERE THE STORIES THAT HE SHARED”
up in a racially-harmonious Singapore. Nonetheless, his racial background accounted for his unique name and interesting appearance. His four distinctions of identity gave us an understanding of how he constructed his sense of self, and how he considered them important in making him the person he is today. The talented poet then proceeded to give a reading of some of his poems and it was from here that the recurring theme of nationalism
resonated. Without a doubt, it is Thumboo’s strong nationalistic sentiments that greatly characterize his poems. These are reflected in his poems such as “May 1954”, “Games” and “Island”. Not only are his poems full of emotions, they also take us back to a time when Singapore was merely beginning to develop. As he read them out loud full of vigor and emotion, it felt as though we were traveling in a time machine, experiencing the moments along with him and sharing his passion for seeing an independent Singapore, free from colonial rule. What captivated the audience were the stories that he shared, from stories of being a young boy, to wartime and his university days. Thumboo stood before us not only as an award-winning poet, but a man full of color and life. We were given the privilege to look into the life of a famous poet, to understand him better and
to understand the context of his beautifully written poems. The most intriguing part of his stories was the fact that they reflected a time of which our generation merely learns through perhaps a history textbook. It was fascinating to listen to true accounts from a man who had been through those times himself, standing right in front of us, raw and open. The biggest takeaway for the audience was, without a doubt, Thumboo’s sense of worldliness. His poems are based on his memories, experiences and true accounts of life in Singapore. This has rarely occurred to many of us, but we need not look far for inspiration in our poetry; it is already embedded deep within us, and all around us. All we have to do is dig deeper into our own identity and our memories, and bring them alive in the form of poetry.
ENTERTAINMENT
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MOVIE P(REVIEW) The Perks of Being a Wallflower Release Date: 11 Oct 2012 Starring: Logan Lerman ,Emma Watson , Ezra Miller Genre: comedy/youth/friendship/ nostalgia
Photo from andpop.com
Tan Mei Yin
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urely, seeing Emma Watson’s name in the cast list is enough reason to check out this coming-of age movie. Boasting a star-studded cast as well as evergreen themes like youth and friendship, this movie details the traumatising experience of growing up (HAHA!) We have all had our painful, awkward experiences in school; our first crush, feeling left out, coping with homework and this movie poignantly expressed all of these memories. Based on Stephen Chbosky’s critically acclaimed book, this movie allows us to follow, our protagonist (or wallflower) Charlie through the confusing world of adolescence as he meets new friends who accepted him. It seemed that the plight of being a wallflower has finally ended for Charlie. Let us be frank here, being a wallflower sucks; one feels ignored, invisible and just unimportant in anyone’s life. Their teenage angst is so relatable and I can imagine movie-goers agreeing with these sentiments of yonder years. After all, inside all of us, is a Charlie, yearning to break out of their wallflower-ness.
Photo from mtv.com
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ENTERTAINMENT
BOOK REVIEWS Looking for Alaska
Seraphina
by John Green
by Rachel Hartman
Jennifer Kwan
Nurshahiylia Erdina
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f you don’t know who John Green is, he’s one of the finest Young Adult authors in the last decade. His first novel, Looking for Alaska, has firmly remained in my list of favourite books. Green always gives his teenage protagonists odd quirks. Miles from Looking for Alaska is no different. He memorizes the ‘last words’ of people. Mentioned in the book, the dying declaration of François Rabelais (French Renaissance writer) was: “I go to seek a Great Perhaps.” Miles spends most of the novel seeking out this ‘Great Perhaps’. Despite his unusual hobby, he is very much a typical teenage boy. Miles struggles with school work, peer pressure and, of course, with girls. He also (quite predictably) falls in love with one special girl, Alaska Young. Although this may sound quite conventional, midway through the book, things will change drastically and the world will fall off its axis. Expect not just ingenious comedy, but also thought-provoking content and sentimental moments. Looking for Alaska isn’t just about teenagers – it’s about who teenagers are and who they can become. Green may need to work on his dialogue because I find it too intellectual at moments and full of vocal ruminations you would not expect from a group of teenagers. So, while they are not the most realistic bunch of characters, they are still intriguing. This book delivers a haunting narrative about teenage-hood and the mistakes and successes associated with it. It depicts love in all its many forms, and explores deeper themes such as where our ‘Great Perhaps’ lies. Looking for Alaska is a heart-wrenching, moving story that deserves a place at the top of your reading list.
efore I go into the review proper, I simply must divulge a tiny fact about myself: I love dragons.
One of the quickest ways to get me to part with my money when it comes to fiction is to simply give the tiniest hint of these flying mythical creatures prowling between the pages. Or, in Seraphina’s case, draw in the eye with an intriguing black-and-white illustration of a dragon flying above rearing spires. Yes, I admit that I have judged this book by its cover, but that does not make Seraphina any less deserving of praise. The plot concerns the titular character, Seraphina Dombegh, in the kingdom of Goredd where an uneasy alliance between humans and dragons has managed to keep the peace for four decades. As the treaty’s anniversary draws near, the celebratory event gets threatened by the timely murder of a member in the royal family. All evidence points to a draconian suspect and Seraphina finds herself thrust into the midst of this while she struggles to protect her secret. The main tension in the novel arises from the differences between dragons and humans, and Hartman does a fantastic job of constructing this. Most depictions of dragons tend to rely on their appearance to invoke fear. Hartman goes beyond tooth and claws by allowing her dragons to morph into human shape while still retaining a distinctly non-human perspective. To them, emotions are considered profane and the strict extent of their control over it results in a truly disturbing effect. Seraphina herself is a fantastic heroine who navigates through the murder and other complex subplots with a keen mind and a spark of musical joy. Even if dragons are not your cup of tea, pick it up if good writing attracts you!
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WHAT’S IN The Reluctant Fundamentalist
MY IPOD Tay Dixin
by Mohsin Hamid
Doused by Diiv
Divya Gundlapalli
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ver since the screening at The Cannes Film Festival, news reports have only praise for The Reluctant Fundamentalist, a feature film directed by Mira Nair (of the Monsoon Wedding fame).
Paradise
by Wild Nothing
The film is based on the book of the same name by Mohsin Hamid. Knowing that this film stars the 24 star Kiefer Sutherland and sexy actress Kate Hudson, I thought it would be timely to get acquainted with this book. Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2007, this book is nothing short of clever; from its simple written prose to its deceptive plot. It’s a very spunky book. I know that most people do not describe books in such a manner but I am at a loss for words. It’s been quite a while since I have read such a captivating book. The book starts off with a stranger talking to someone in a Lahore Café: “Excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance? Ah, I see I have alarmed you. Do not be frightened by my beard, I am a lover of America …” That immediately sets up a conversation between the character and a stranger and takes on a completely different life of its own. A seemingly chance encounter may not be what it seems. Perhaps, a cup of tea or coffee can change one’s life. What I particularly liked about the book was the fact that it was a short and fast paced book that was very relevant to today’s world. I think if you want a quick read with some interesting twists and unconventional plot, this book would be your cup of tea! In fact, it’s better than any thriller movie I have seen. It’s no wonder that The Guardian called it the book that defined the decade!
Underwater
by Monster Cat
Angels
Constant Conversations
by The xx
by Passion Pit
A Simple Answer
The House That Heaven Built
by Grizzly Bear
by Japandroids
Hold on When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It
Little Talk
by Stars
Your Absence is Permanent
by Of Monsters and Men
by ANECHOIS
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ENTERTAINMENT
MOVIES TO WATCH OVER THE SEMESTER: POPCORN AHOY! Tan Mei Yin
Photo from highdefdiscnews.com
Pan’s Labyrinth Starring: Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Ivana Baquero,Doug Jones , Ariadna Gil Release Date: 11th January 2007 Genre: Thriller/Action/Fantasy
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or fantasy lovers who are tired of age old favorites like LORD OF THE RINGS and sweet factory favorites like Disney’s TANGLED (oops, sorry Disney fans), this is the movie. Join Ofelia on her quest to prove that she is Princess Moanna of the under-world; accomplishing tasks given by an ambivalent Fawn-like creature (You will adore him). Set against the postwar Spain (the film is in Spanish), this film boasts stunning
visuals, amazing soundtrack and matured acting. Expect amazing imagery like the monster whose eyes are literally stuck onto his hands, the stick-like insects that followed Ofelia around and the sensuous colors that enveloped the film. Little wonder that this film by Guillermo del Toro (director of HELLBOY) received critical acclaim and even a standing ovation at one of the notable film festivals. In this dark fairytale, there are real life monsters as well- the looming presence of the menacing stepfather, played with deftness by Lopez. A combination of all these elements never fails to remind us why Ofelia sought to escape from this world to the underworld. As both worlds collide, this morality tale plays out with dark consequences.
Photo from dvdbeaver.com
Hero
the unbelievably awesome scene when Tony Leung battles with Jet Li on the lake.
Release Date: 24th October 2002 Starring: Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Zhang Zi Yi, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung Genre: Martial arts/epic/historical/ tragedy/romance
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oasting one of the most starstudded casts ever gathered in the history of Asian cinema, HERO is a must-watch for wuxia fans. Stunningly beautiful choreography of the fights enfold before our eyes; enough to rank it with the likes of Ang Lee’s CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. Do watch the scenes when Zhang Zi Yi fights with Maggie Cheung in the forest with falling golden leaves as well as
What is appreciated here is instead of usual melodramatic fare that we are served with; we have poignant discussion of big political issues and the fate of a nation. This is not a movie that will just be forgotten as regular fare, it is deeper than that. Interestingly, HERO follows in the footsteps of RASHAMON, another confusing movie with interlocking narratives. This unconventional narrative style is what elevates HERO above conventional wuxia films. Nothing is certain and fixed in HERO, even the definition of “hero”. A refreshing insightful movie, markedly different from its peers.
ENTERTAINMENT
Photo from dvdbeaver.com
KILL BILL: The Whole Bloody Affair Starring: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu,Vivica A. Fox,Daryl Hannah,David Carradine,Michael Madsen Release Date: 10th October 2003 Genre: Thriller/ Action/Revenge
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retired assassin attacked at her wedding. Baby dead. Coma for four years. What do you expect? This movie(combination of Vol.1 and Vol.2) is practically screaming “WATCH ME!!” to martial arts and action fans. Directed by the legendary Quentin Tarantino and starring his muse Uma Thurman in the title role of the Bride, this movie follows a
woman bent on revenge. Never is revenge executed as cold and brutal. We can feel the pumping intensity through the electric soundtrack as the Bride battles one assassin by another. The villain that stole the show in the first half of the 3 hours film is definitely the mafia queen played by Lucy Liu. Watch out for their showdown in the snow with Japanese swords (thumbs up). That is art. The film is embedded with full of fun cultural references e.g. Bride’s Bruce Lee outfit and Tarantino even inserted an anime portion in the movie with extremely welldrawn characters. I am amazed by the craft of the movie! Be mentally prepared for kick ass violence and no bars-hold action. This is not for the faint-hearted.
Photo from doctormarco.com
It Happenned One Night Starring: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert Release Date: 22nd Febuary 1934 Genre: Romance/comedy
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he ultimate romantic comedy is definitely IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT! This is vintage Hollywood at her best. Winning the Golden Slam (winning all top 5 Academy Awards), this movie has a tall bill of legendary players that includes Clark Gable (GONE WITH THE WIND’s fans, here
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Photo from sinema.sg
Mee Pok Man Starring: Joe Ng, Michelle Goh, Lim Kay Tong, David Brazil
Release Date: 1995 Genre: black comedy/heartland
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oasting one of the most starstudded casts ever gathered in the history of Asian cinema, HERO is a must-watch for wuxia fans. Stunningly beautiful choreography of the fights enfold before our eyes; enough to rank it with the likes of Ang Lee’s CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. Do watch the scenes when Zhang Zi Yi fights with Maggie Cheung in the forest with falling golden leaves as well as the unbelievably awesome scene when Tony Leung battles with Jet Li on the lake. What is appreciated here is instead of usual melodramatic fare that we
you go). An absolutely enjoyable film with many tongue-in cheek moments (try Clark Gable’s halfnaked scene) accompanied by superb comic timing of Colbert and Gable. We follow Gable’s reporter who travels with an escaping heiress. He wants the scoop and Colbert needs the help, so off they run! Watch out for classic scenes like Colbert trying to flag down a car (clichéd but nonetheless, awesome). There are tear-jerker moments such as Colbert crying after Gable left. Misunderstandings abound which inevitably leads to a happy ending. Do not be turned off by the age of the film, it is screwball comedy at its finest.
are served with; we have poignant discussion of big political issues and the fate of a nation. This is not a movie that will just be forgotten as regular fare, it is deeper than that. Interestingly, HERO follows in the footsteps of RASHAMON, another confusing movie with interlocking narratives. This unconventional narrative style is what elevates HERO above conventional wuxia films. Nothing is certain and fixed in HERO, even the definition of “hero”. A refreshing insightful movie, markedly different from its peers.
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ENTERTAINMENT
CAMPING AND
Camping and Tramping through the Colonial Archive: The Museum in Malaya is a established and reputable sources such as the Asian Civilizations Museum, the Na Singapore Press Holdings, Singapore National Archives, NUS Museum, the Raffl Mohammad Din Mohammad collections. Just based on the sources alone, it is no
Tay Dixin
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amping and Tramping brings you back to the colonial times, and revolves around the inception of the Museum in British Malaya as both a symbol of the colonialists’ power over what defined the ‘exotic’ as well as a foundation for the accumulation and the ordering of knowledge. The exhibit is divided into three categories, namely: the Museum as an Idea, Shifts – The Other and Self, and Accumulation: Object, Order, Wonder. Structuring the entire exhibit in such a way made it a lot easier and more natural to
the viewer – one then knows how to view the exhibits and also get a chronological perspective. In the first, the history of the Museum as both a conceptual idea and a physical structure is traced. This is done through the displaying of letters and speeches by the British colonial government. Here, one is able to get a first-hand view of the beginnings of the museum, along with the (political) agenda that came with its inception.
The second section involves the constituting of Malaya through empirical knowledge that went together with the establishment of the modern museum. It also addresses the ordering, classification and naming habits of the British in order to better understand the colonized (the creation of the Other in the perspective of the British, and how this idea affected the colonized – the Self) At the same time, it follows through to the creation of a newly-independent Malaya, and how a politics of non-
alignment and post-colonialism is established (how the Self acts as an agent against this idea of the Other created by the British). Finally, the third section addresses the finding of a balance between those who controlled (the colonial government) and those it claimed to represent. I personally found this section very interesting as underlying this balance is the boundary of and tension between magic and science, which is still relevant today. The colonizers perceived themselves to be the
ENTERTAINMENT
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AND TRAMPING
um in Malaya is an exhibition that displays writings and artifacts from a variety of Museum, the National Museum of Singapore, National Library Board Singapore, Museum, the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research and the Ivan Polunin and ces alone, it is not hard to imagine how extensive and informative the exhibition is.
producers of knowledge and sought to educate those they govern over – those who believed in magic and the mystical. However, why should there be a hierarchy? If magic and religion are thought to be outdated and false, why do they still exist today? Overall, Camping and Tramping provides some valuable insights historically and sociologically regarding the Museum as a concept and its role as a form
of control. This is especially so since we do not normally think of museums as being a powerful source and display of control in our layman perspective. Also, the use of a variety of art forms – printed words, paintings, sculptures and artifacts the early museums held – made for an aesthetically-exciting experience. Coupled with the use of audio recordings, the entire exhibit became more coherent and realistic, as the information
and history presented came immediately from the source. However, I felt some sort of disconnect between what was exhibited, and the theme and aim of the exhibition: The Museum as a powerful tool of control. After all, isn’t the exhibit house in a museum too? To some extent, I would think that the items and information displayed were meant to put forth ideas that were skewed towards a biased
viewpoint, which did not make it thoroughly all-encompassing. Perhaps this is what made the exhibit so interesting and informative – it makes you think even after you leave the museum.
Camping and Tramping is currently housed at the NUS Museum and will be on till 2 June 2013
Photos from Center for the Arts
THE RIDGE is recruiting
Be part of the largest publication in NUS Email Position Recruitment - Your Name with a portfolio of your work to: theridge.chiefeditor@nussu.org.sg Writer theridge.headdesigner@nussu.org.sg Designer
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LIFESTYLE
10 Things You Didn’t Know about
changi airport Teresa Widodo
D
id you know that Singapore’s very own Changi Airport has been accorded more than 400 awards? The Ridge were invited to a guided tour by Mr. Ng Swee Kang, Manager of Corporate Communication of the Changi Airport Group to bring you ten more hidden treasures you can find at Changi (in alphabetical order!).
1. There’s something for everyone. Travelling with your hyper little brother and your grandparents will no longer be unbearable. There are various engaging activities for children in Changi Airport, like a forest-themed children playground called Canopy, a four-storey tall slide that is
the largest to be found in any airport, and much more! Your grandparents can sit down on couches with built-in speakers and watch various TV channels on giant screens available at the departure area.
2. You’ll never be bored. There is a heap of entertainment options: Hollywood blockbusters, 4D Cinema, Playstation 3, LAN Games, and Kinect. Most importantly, they are all free of charge. If you are the artsy type, indulge yourself with the world’s largest kinetic art sculpture called The Kinetic Rain. The 1216 bronze raindrops are individually tailored to move and form various flightrelated shapes.
3. Stay connected everywhere you go. What should you do if your handphone battery runs out? There is no need to find a plug and stand staring at your phone while it is charging. Changi Airport provides corners where you can charge your phone, lock the deposit box, and keep the key with you. Moreover, It also offers WiFi access and more than 550 internet kiosks for passengers to stay connected—all free of charge!
4. There’s a ton of diverse dining options. You can find various dining outlets ranging from fancy restaurants to fast food outlets and a food court. If you are looking for a fancy place to
eat, you might want to taste the scrumptious offerings of Dian Xiao Er or enjoy the lively Thai-inspired atmosphere in ThaiExpress.
5. First-class treatment. In Changi airport, customers are the top priority. You will never be lost in the 10,000 square km airport, with ushers ready to help you. They are all well-equipped with iPads and able to communicate in up to 16 languages! Customers can provide valuable feedback through a computerised feedback system provided in several spots such as restrooms and customer service counters.
6. Farewells are always hard. We all want to catch the sihoulette of our loved
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Photos by Teresa Widodo
ones before they leave, but that won’t be impossible since there are parts of the newlyrenovated Terminal 1 that were built with glass walls. We can watch our loved ones waving from the departure area and even get a glimpse of the planes! This ‘farewell spot’ is conveniently located on the second floor of Terminal 1.
7. Let the greenery wow you. Singapore is no longer a red dot, it is green! Even in Changi Airport, the
greenery is everywhere. There are numerous indoor nature trails to visit and even more indoor gardens to adore. One of the most fascinating trails is The Butterfly Garden which is a two-storey home of 1,000 butterflies from all over South East Asia.
8. Hop, shop and go! As the world’s best airport for shopping, Changi offers you various shopping outlets ranging from the colourful M&M store to the largest Planet
Traveller in Singapore and Hard Rock Café. You can even find some exclusive items sold only in Changi’s Hard Rock Café!
9. Find great bargains. In Changi Airport, you can get more bang for your buck. Here you are guaranteed that the prices are not higher than any other outlets. If you find the prices are higher, you’ll receive a refund of up to 2 times the price difference (psttt… you don’t even have to buy the products to get the refund!).
In addition, Changi Airport has even absorbed the GST charges in numerous shops.
10. Just relax and have a good time! There are still endless activities that you can participate in at Changi Airport. So, rule number one: don’t reach the airport only at the eleventh hour. You don’t want to miss out the great facilities offered there!
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LIFESTYLE
YES TO THE Candince Chua
T
his month, we take a break from the regular style guides to cover one of the newest attractions to arrive in the National Museum of Singapore (NMS) – The Wedding Dress: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion. With a stunning display of more than 80 artefacts from the early 1800s to present day, the exhibition is a mustgo for individuals with an eye for detail and a taste for garment history. Stepping into the gallery, I felt the need to walk around the hall with an air of elegance, never mind that I was still recovering from the heat outside or that my 5-inch shoes were killing me. Maybe it was the feeling from being surrounded by 200 yearold dresses and mesmerizing couture, or from the lilac-themed gallery designed to look like the inside of an old-fashioned church cathedral. Whatever it was, the exhibition was more than one of fashion and beautiful dresses – it was a collection of stories and a reflection of the events that surrounded the brides when the dresses were worn. Transported with utmost care from the famed Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the artefacts are divided into nine sections to reflect the different time periods from which the pieces originate. As one progresses through the exhibition, it becomes obvious that wedding
dresses were not always white and that wearing a coloured wedding dress is not a trend of the recent decades. For example, one particular dress dating back to 1841 featured rather quirky prints of red and blue that would give Miuccia Prada a run for her money if she had lived in the 1800s. The director of NMS, Lee Chor Lin, mentioned that the main objection to white during that time was the impracticality and the difficulty in maintenance of the colour, given that these dresses were not meant to be worn only once. It was not until the wedding of Queen Victoria that white dresses and the symbolic wearing of a veil became popularized so that we now regard them as tradition.
Viviene Westwood Courture Dress worn by Dita von Teese in 2005
With the establishment of white as the colour for wedding dresses, coloured fabrics naturally becomes an unconventional choice. It was interesting to know that even brides back in the early 90s knew a thing or two about being different! Take for example, a dress worn by an electrical engineer named Monica Maurice in 1938. With its deep romantic red colour, short sleeves and see-through silk, the button-down dress looks more fitted for a day outing than a wedding. Wearing white was also
Worn by Sarah Maria Wright in 1841
Vera Wang dress worn by Katie Bell Turner in 1997
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THE DRESS
Dress worn by Margaret Whigham in 1993. Photos by Candice Chua
avoided when the bridegroom was a divorcee or a widower, such as in the case of Sara DonaldsonHudson. She wore a marvellously detailed hand-painted coat with an orange satin dress and matching knee-high boots to her wedding in 1971. Now that is truly slamming a door in the face of convention. The exhibition’s highlight was definitely the dress worn by Margaret Whigham, Duchess of Argyll in 1933. With its intricate beading and flamboyantly long train (we were told by the curator that it was at least 3 metres long), the dress was perhaps the most extravagant of the lot. Aptly placed in an all-glass casing in the
centre of the gallery, visitors can easily gaze and appreciate this Norman Hartnell masterpiece. My favourite dress out of the entire exhibition had to be a black and gold Christian Lacroix Couture dress from 1993. Heavily embellished with gold foil, beads, gems and embroidery from headdress to hem, this dress literally gave me goose bumps from looking at it. Towards the end of the exhibition, I finally spotted what I was most looking forward to see – dresses designed by some of the most acclaimed designers of our time. Whether it was the spray paint details on Gwen Stefani’s Dior
dress or the big exaggerated skirt on Dita Von Teese’s deep violet dress from Vivenne Westwood Couture, the thought of looking at the actual work of top designers had me staring through the glass for minutes! Whether you’re a to-be bride looking for inspiration, a fashion enthusiast or just someone looking for a place to spend your weekend, the exhibition will surely captivate you. If you have a taste and eye for something more local, the exhibition has its own Singaporean component, featuring dresses from the early founding years of our country to the recent decades. This section is located outside the main gallery and
viewing is free-of-charge. The exhibition is open daily at the NMS from 10am-6pm, with tickets at $11 including handling fees. Hurry down quick if you’re interested before it closes on 31 October 2012! Visit http://www.nationalmuseum. sg for more details and information on other related attractions in the museum.
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LIFESTYLE
OF BEAUTY, BRAWN AND BRAINS Grace Yeoh
The Ridge managed to catch hold of a few NUS pageant contestants from Clozette.co’s Inter-Campus King and Queen 2012, so we posed them a few quirky questions to suss out their personalities. You might find yourself chuckling alongside some of their responses, or raising your eyebrows in surprise at others. After all, these contestants sure know how to hold their own.
What is the biggest turn off the opposite sex could have? Clown-level makeup mastery. How would you celebrate if you won this pageant? My friend will owe me 20 bucks, and he will have to refer to me as “your majesty”.
M OK Z H E N Y A NG T YLER LIM What is the biggest misconception that people have of pageant contestants? How do you think you have proven this stereotype wrong? People usually assume that pageant contestants are brainless. Actually, I am currently pursuing a Double Degree Programme in Accountancy and Information Systems. What is the best quality the opposite sex can possess? Self-confidence. What is the biggest turn off the opposite sex can possess? Arrogance. Passion or practicality? Why? Passion. I am a strong believer of passion and I feel that it is a struggle to do something purely because it is practical to do so. What’s your personal life motto? Live each day to the fullest!
Why did you decide to join a pageant? This is definitely a new experience for me! Plus, I get to make new friends and have fun. When opportunities arise, why turn them down? What is the biggest turn off the opposite sex can possess? To be unadventurous. What do you do in your spare time? I play really hard. I’m actually into water sports. What is the best takeaway from this entire experience? It is not about winning or losing, but the friends you make along the way and the experiences you take from it. Passion or practicality? Why? Passion! Always follow your heart and you will have no regrets. What’s your own personal life motto / something you live by? Believe in something hard enough and it will come true.
D O U GL A S E U Why did you decide to join a pageant? Is this your first time? This is indeed my first time taking part in a pageant! To be honest, I was really bored near the end of summer and needed something to do. I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. What’s the biggest misconception that people have of pageant contestants? How do you think you have proven this stereotype wrong? I guess people may have this perception that contestants may be overly arrogant and narcissistic. From my experiences and observations, these traits are symbols of weakness. The loudest man in the room is also the weakest man in the room … OK, I stole that line from American Gangster. I strive to be as humble and modest as possible. What is the best quality for the opposite sex to possess? Cheesecake-baking mastery.
What is the best takeaway from this entire pageant experience? The hope of actually being addressed as “your majesty”. Passion or practicality? Why? Ideally? I choose passion. Realistically? I choose practicality. A passionate, committed and dedicated person is definitely someone worth admiring and respecting. However, the last I heard, the most passionate athlete still cannot beat a faster nonpassionate athlete. What’s your own personal life motto / something you live by? When all seems lost, don’t forget that there will always be happy hour. If you could have any wish in the world granted, what would you wish for? A good cheese burger and a bag of fries. A realistic wish that will come true in the next 30 minutes (not kidding).
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H E N S O N TAY (Eventually crowned Clozette King 2012)
W EE CHI JIE What’s the biggest misconception that people have of pageant contestants? How do you think you have proven this stereotype wrong? Some people assume pageant contestants think very highly of themselves, but we really are just like everyone else. How would you celebrate if you won this pageant? I would celebrate my victory by going to the temple and thanking Guan Yin Ma for blessing me with such fortune. What is the best takeaway from this entire pageant experience? Besides the new friends I’ve made, the fact that I’ve become slightly more confident. Passion or practicality? Why? I wish I had the guts to say passion and to follow it. Unfortunately, I don’t. Being practical is always the safer bet, and I’m not a risk taker. I really wish I was though. What’s your own personal life motto / something you live by? Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue.
Why did you decide to join a pageant? Is this your first time? I was nominated by my CGL from NUS Business Camp and was lucky to get through! It seemed like it would be a fun once-in-alifetime experience, which turned out to be true. I was part of the pageant in the NUS Student Union Camp as well. What is the best quality for the opposite sex to possess? Self-confidence. What is the biggest turn off the opposite sex could have? Self-entitlement. In what ways do you feel you represent NUS well? I think I am just an ordinary student who is grateful to be able to study in NUS. I want to maximise my time here by seizing all the opportunities that comes with an NUS education. Passion or practicality? Why? Passion. I am glad that my passion is also practical - I want to start my own business. I believe that you should live your life based on your passion. After all, the pursuit of happiness is supposed to be the ultimate goal in life. What’s your own personal life motto / something you live by? “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle
Photos by clozette.co
E DW I N T E NG What’s the biggest misconception that people have of pageant contestants? How do you think you have proven this stereotype wrong? I guess the typical stereotype would be that they’re all looks and no brains. I definitely don’t think this is an issue with any NUS student in their pageants though, haha! What do you do in your spare time? I like water sports, travelling, and finding new places with good food. In what ways do you feel you represent NUS well? I think we’re similar in our vibrant character and constant desire to excel. What’s the best takeaway from this entire pageant experience? Never shun new things. You might just gain something from it, be it friends or great memories. What’s your own personal life motto / something you live by? “In 20 years, you’ll be more disappointed by what you didn’t do than by what you did.” – Mark Twain
E V E LY N C H U A What do you in your spare time? I like to make handmade presents for my family and friends because I believe it is the thought that counts. I also like to sing and listen to Korean, Mandarin and English songs. Passion or practicality? Why? Passion. In order to pursue a route wholeheartedly, I need to choose the one I have faith in. Passion is what keeps me going. What’s your own personal life motto / something you live by? Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. Clozette.co is the go-to platform for fashion and beauty brands, retailers, malls, fashion designers and artisans to engage and interact with consumers and fashion tastemakers. The intercampus pageant was an extension of Clozette’s efforts to continue the positive engagement with its young and fashion-forward community.
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LIFESTYLE
Sharifah Nursyafiqah
W
hen Peter Gabriel sang about “the resolution of all the fruitless searches” being the only thing you can find in one’s eyes, he clearly forgot something else—contact lenses! They have become a common fixture, with millions of people wearing contact lenses for practical or aesthetic purposes these days. Consquently, issues of lens hygiene have become a growing concern for many. The Ridge speaks to Shirley Loh, the Professional Affairs Manager of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, to find out more.
CARE FOR CONTACTS
Why is wearing daily disposable contact lenses the best option for youths? Shirley Loh (SL): Youths lead busy lifestyles studying, working and socializing, and are often looking for any products that can provide convenience. Daily disposables can be simply disposed of and do not require washing, cleaning and disinfecting. They offer wearers the peace of mind knowing that they have a fresh, clean pair of lenses every morning, and don’t have to worry about build-up of deposits on the surface of the lens that can cause discomfort. What are some of the common myths or misconceptions that people
SL: Those who don’t wear lenses might think it’s painful or troublesome. However once we get good at putting them in, it’s like brushing your teeth–it becomes part of your morning routine. Some people are concerned that the contact lens can get trapped in the eye, or caught behind the eye--that is not physically possible. Those who do wear contact lenses might think they can use the lenses longer than the prescribed time, but that’s a bit like eating food that’s past expiry date. Sometimes we’re okay and sometimes we get sick, but we shouldn’t take that risk with our eyes. What are some do’s and don’ts for wearing contact lenses? SL: Start off by thinking that your eyes should look good, see good and feel good everyday. Always wash your hands before your put the lenses in or take them out, make sure you clean your contact lens case out and use fresh solution everyday. Don’t re-use any old solution. Treat your eyes with respect and good hygiene, and wear your lenses for no longer than the prescribed time.
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Photo from Johnson & Johnson
Besides common instances of eye infections, what are some of the other problems that can arise as a result of lack of proper hygiene or contact lens care? SL: Problems include dry eyes red eyes, or a feeling we call “foreign body sensation” when you feel you have something in your eye. If we do start getting a reaction behind our eyelids, the tissue becomes inflamed so it is more likely to rub against the contact lens. Sometimes people put up with this because they are willing to put up with discomfort since they don’t want to wear spectacles all the time, but they don’t realize there are other options for them—such as choosing a healthier lens, or changing their contact lens solutions. What about lenses with longer replacement schedules – are they more cost-effective (because they last longer) – and would they be compromising eyesight quality? SL: It’s a personal decision–some people are good at taking care and handling their lenses. But what does happen over time is we see a drop in compliance. Even the best of us stop following instructions after a while. That’s something everyone should talk to their eye-care practitioner about. In terms of thinking about whether it is costeffective, we have to consider the cost of the solution on top of the lenses, and how often they wear their contacts.
What should first-time lens wearers look out for? SL: Find an eye-care practitioner you trust--someone that you feel is giving you the right lens and the right advice, and if you’re having problems you can go back. After that, work on feeling comfortable with your lens and thinking about your long-term eye health. The cheapest option is not always the best. If you start wearing contact lenses young it could be for twenty or thirty years of your life, so you should ask your optometrist or eye-care practitioner what type of lens will give you long years of wear. How do you best choose the right lenses to suit your needs or lifestyle? SL: Depending on your eye measurements, everyone’s eye curvature and eye size is slightly different. Some have astigmatism, an eye condition that distorts your vision at both distance and near. You might need a daily disposable lens if you suffer from astigmatism, otherwise you might notice that your glasses are clearer than your contacts. In your lifestyle, if you are going to spend very long hours in your lenses, use something that is of silicon and hydrogel material as it will allow more oxygen into the eyes. Some types of lenses incorporate wetting agents to keep more moisture in the eyes, and that can keep the wearing experience more comfortable, especially at the end of the day.
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LIFESTYLE
GAGA OVER BRUNCH Clare Loh
I
n recent years, there has been a craze for anything to do with brunch. Throw a rock in the Duxton or Tiong Bahru area and you will probably hit a café or restaurant with a sumptuous weekend brunch menu. What’s the attraction? Well, brunch allows you to sleep in, and combine two meals in one – it would be the ultimate sloth diet if brunch food weren’t so rich. Interestingly, many believe that brunch started from the Catholic practice of fasting before mass, and then combining the two meals--breakfast and lunch--into one after, giving rise to today’s brunch. It might also come as surprise that brunch has been a universal attraction for more than 100 years. In 1895, a British writer, Guy Beringer, wrote an essay arguing for the merits of brunch. About the British invention, he said, “It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” Of course, Beringer was also defending brunch as the solution to nursing those notorious Saturday night hangovers.
However, while brunch may have been a way to relax after a stressful week in 1895, it’s quite a different story today. As with all crazes, there always seems to be an inescapable crowd of people physically attached to popular places like Wild Honey and Strictly Pancakes. It is not uncommon to hear about people having to queue for an hour to grab a table, especially if the place does not take reservations. Escape the maddening crowd with some lesser-known brunch places:
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Poached eggs with ham, cheese and Roma tomatoes on Sourdough toast - Photo by Clare Loh
T H E PL A I N
50 Craig Rd #01-01 Open daily. From 7.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. Part of the rare breed of cafés that serve all-day brunch, The Plain is tucked in between an antique curios shop and an education centre. The Melbourne-style café is known for their great coffee and cozy interior. Much like their name suggests, the café has an unpretentious style with industrial-chic walls and an open kitchen concept. MUST TRY: Darling’s Eggs ($6.50/$12)
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ST R A NGER’S REU N ION
37 Kampong Bahru Rd Open daily except Tuesdays From 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. This 7 month old café was opened by two-time Singapore National Barista Champion, Ryan Tan. So you can be rest assured that the coffee (especially the latte) is good. Brunch here is served on weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There’s a campaign that recently started on their Facebook page for brunch on weekdays too.
However, this hole in the wall café may not remain that way for long. A Mediacorp team has been spotted filming there, so catch them before the crowd descends! MUST TRY: Poached eggs with a choice of ham or smoked salmon, served with Hollandaise sauce and a slow roasted tomato, on an English muffin. ($15)
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Scrambled egg with sautéed mushrooms, baked beans, crispy bacon, mixed mesclun salad, bratwurst sausage, and brioche toast - Photo by Clare Loh
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L’ETOI LE C A FÉ
160 Owen Road Open Tuesdays to Fridays 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays & Sundays 9 a.m. to 10 p.m L’etoile Café is a Japanese-French style café and lifestyle shop. This charming two-storey café offers all-day brunch everyday. French for ‘star’, L’etoile’s whimsical furnishings and serene vibe, coupled with their reasonably priced food, makes it a great place to while away your weekend. MUST TRY: Eggs Benedict ($12.90)
Photo by L’etoile
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OBOLO GALÉR I A
35 Rochester Drive #01-08 Open daily From 10 a.m. to Midnight Located in Rochester Mall, a 10-minute walk from Buona Vista MRT, this is one of the more accessible brunch places on the list. The Obolo Galéria serves brunch daily till 5.30pm, making it a great place to escape to when deadlines start getting to you. Prices are also reasonable, with $14 for a breakfast pizza that can be shared between two. The café seats about 50, and the food is always served hot and fresh. WA R N I NG: They are closed occasionally for private events on weekends so call ahead of time if you’re planning a weekend treat. M UST T RY: American Breakfast ($15)
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L AT E PL AT E
11 Kent Ridge Drive #01-03 Opens from Mon to Wed 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thurs & Fri (10 a.m. to 8 p.m.) Saturdays (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) Helmed by Australian Chef Roland Graham (of PS Café fame), Late Plate is located at the Shaw Foundation Alumni House on our very own NUS campus – all the better to drop by during long breaks for their all-day brunch. This under-the-radar bistro has been well received by foodies and it is easy to see why: they serve up great food at reasonable prices (the most expensive item on the menu is the Chef’s Fry-up at $19.90).
Best of all, NUS students and staff get to enjoy an additional 10% off. MUST TRY: Eggs Benedict ($16.90) – two poached eggs served on kalamata rosemary scones with citron hollandaise and a choice of smoked ocean trout or shaved lamb prosciutto.
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ADVERTORIAL
NUS STAGE PRESENTS
CHASING YESTERDAY NUS Stage presents Chasing Yesterday, a double-bill of new Singapore plays. These are stories told with urgency, sensitivity and aplomb, asking difficult questions about human struggles grand and small, familiar and extraordinary. Valerie-Ann Tan’s Begin is the story of an intelligent young woman coming to terms with her impending death. This rich and poetic meditation on the deceitfulness of memory and language explores whether or not, in the final assessment, intellect is an adequate sum of a life led. Gwendolyn Lee’s Chasing Yesterday is a loving portrait of three siblings at different points in their lives. A cousin’s
Author’s Name Here
wedding, the return of a childhood friend and a partner’s infidelity lead the siblings to question love, ambition and the meaning of being a family. A production with great heart and honesty, this showcase of new writing will surprise and inspire.the central character, performs while attacking the home of an old couple. It is a scene worth watching once in your life as it dislocates your horror temporarily forcing you to admire the dancing as if it were a piece played out on stage. Show Date: 31st October and 1st November, 7pm Free Ticket show
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APPS FOR A FITTER YOU! Michelle Teo
W
ant to track your runs but can’t afford to spend on expensive gadgets? A galore of sports apps you could possibly need are now at your fingertips! With just your iPhone, you can now track your routes, time yourself, check how far you have run, design your own diets, find out more about sports, nutrition and diets, and best of all, upload all that you have learnt or done onto your social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter! Now, what are some of the best, and more importantly, free apps out there for the iOS? Your reporter gives you the latest scope:
NIKE+ Find top routes in your area, map your runs, track your progress, and get in-run audio feedback on your distance, pace and time. Let Nike+ alert you of your speed and distance every 3-5 km so you can keep track as you run. Broadcast your routes on Facebook and let your friends cheer you on! Using PowerSongs, you can also listen to songs that pump you up as you run. Photo from oxygen.com.my
TRIBESPORTS
Photo from underexposedcreative.co.uk
A social networking app for athletes, Tribesports connects you to athletes from all over the world. Find like-minded people with similar interests, and get to know professionals like nutritionists and fitness bloggers. Any questions regarding sports related issues? Never fret, as Tribesports features chats and tribes where you can find information on just about any topics related to sports and fitness! Also, feel free to accept challenges issued by others as well as share your achievements with friends and people from all around the world.
MYFITNESSPAL CALORIE COUNTER Apple’s latest operating system, OSX Mountain Lion, is now available on the Mac App Store at US$19.99. Apple is set to integrate its product line together, with iMessage now integrated on Mountain Lion and iPhones and iPod Touch. Furthermore, it will feature an updated Launchpad for searching through apps, and a new security feature called Gatekeeper that allows you to personalise your security settings on your Mac. Photo from iphoneheadlines.com
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APPLE APPS THAT WOULD MAKE Y By Weidi Lim
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s your bag getting heavier as datelines and tests draw closer? I know mine is, and my left shoulder is literally hurting from the gold bar of a bag I carry around the campus everyday. If you can’t afford to visit a physiotherapist, Wired has a cheaper solution to offer- we have sussed out some of the apps on the iOS that will definitely lighten your bag load without compromising on your work.
1. GRAPHING CALULATOR (FREE)
E
ver had a study plan foiled because you left your graphing calculator at home? Fear not, and head straight to the app store and download The Free Graphing Calculator. This works almost as well as your TI-84, and you even get to colour-code your graphs. What’s more, it’s completely free!
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AKE YOUR SCHOOL BAG LIGHTER
2. PAPERS ($18.98)
I
nstead of printing your notes and having to lug them around, you can now store all of them in Papers. While doing your readings, feel free to highlight important points and write notes next to them. Need to research for a paper? With built-in search engines for 8 online academic sources - ACM, NASA-ADS, arXiv, Google Scholar, IEEE Xplore, JSTOR, Pubmed, and Web of Science - Papers allows you to download a PDF version of the paper into your library immediately. No more excuses for not doing adequate research for your term paper!
3. USB DISK (FREE)
G
ood news to those who are always misplacing their USB flash drive (guilty!) or leaving them behind on school computersUSB Disk allows you to effortlessly back-up your files on your mobile device. Its simple and intuitive interface also makes viewing documents and PDF files on-the-go a breeze - it automatically restores your last viewing position when you re-open the app. Now you don’t have to worry losing your term paper before it gets printed.
4. ENULTIMATE ($1.28)
P
enultimate by Evernote replaces the traditional notebook with its simple and intuitive handwriting note-taking function. Penultimate would come in especially useful for those who need to draw diagrams and graphs on their notes. You can create as many notebooks as you like, with an infinite number of pages for each notebook. Note-taking has never been more fun!
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REVIEW OF SONY VAI
The refreshes to the 2012 line-up of the Sony VAIO S and E Series have garn as good or bad as they are touted out to be? Wired
Dexter Tay
Sony VAIO S SVS13116
S
ony VAIO laptops have long impressed me with their sleek design and smooth interface since their inception, and the 13.3-inch Sony S Series is a wonderful example of Sony‘s design ideology at work. With ultrabooks being all the rage right now, I was hoping that the S Series would be able to offer the processing power of a traditional laptop while offering a lightweight experience similar to that of an ultrabook. It did not disappoint in either regard. The matte-black 13.3-inch S Series is a real eye-catcher once you open the lid. Sony did a great job designing and building a laptop with excellent build quality. The S Series felt durable in my hands and felt like it was more than capable of enduring abuse from people who might not be too careful with their gadgets.
Final conclusion
W
What really impressed me, though, was that it weighed only 1.72kg with the battery. Sony has managed to keep the weight of this 13.3-inch laptop close enough to the weight of an ultraportable ultrabook and that is a real bonus for students. Students who insist on the performance of a nonultrabook laptop now have a lightweight and portable option. This sleek and nifty laptop is something that all students can definitely consider when considering a laptop purchase.
hile both laptops are decent in their own right, the S Series rea and performance. For us university students, portability is esp every day. If I were shopping for a laptop myself, this would probably However, if performance at a budget is your thing, then the E Series s
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VAIO S AND E SERIES
Series have garnered mixed reviews over the technosphere. Are they really out to be? Wired tech reviewer Dexter Tay finds out.
Sony VAIO E SVE15117
ight, the S Series really shines when it comes to the right combination between portability nts, portability is especially important as some of us have to carry our laptops to school this would probably be the key deciding factor in me choosing the S Series over the E Series. g, then the E Series should definitely be your choice of a mobile, albeit heavy, workstation.
T
he first thing that struck me when reviewing this VAIO E Series laptop was just how heavy it was. As mentioned earlier, weight is probably the most important feature in my view, and this laptop scores really low on that front, weighing in at 2.7kg. That said, the VAIO E Series does have its good points. Its 15.5-inch is perfect for videophiles, and, with its decent second generation Intel processor, is suitable for people interested in doing design and other multimedia projects with a budget laptop. Other reviews online have praised the keyboard on the E Series for its spaciousness and its ability to squeeze a numpad onto the laptop without sacrificing space for the main keyboard. However, I found myself having to readjust the way I type thanks to the awkward
positioning of the keyboard relative to where I usually rest my hands. The E Series is one of the most basic and classic of the Sony laptops. Its specifications are not spectacular when compared to its other competitors, nor can it compete on the price front. However, a key difference that might tempt someone to choose a VAIO is Sony’s own pre-installed software dock. The VAIO Gate, as Sony calls it, is a refreshing change from the typical Windows OS and is really convenient to access the programmes that you would regularly use.
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WIRED
bol d and be Neethu Krishna M
I
am, for one, a hard-core Apple fan and a devoted iPhone 4 user. So when I was given the Blackberry Bold 9900 to review, I was a bit skeptical at first. But after spending a week’s worth of quality time with the BB, I was reluctant to let go of it, and returned the Black Beauty with a rather heavy heart. So what made me, an iPhone user, fall in love with the BB in such a short span of time? Let me begin by saying that the BlackBerry Bold 9900 is luxury in itself by design. At 10.5mm, it is the thinnest BlackBerry to date, and fits snuggly into your jeans pocket. The brushed stainless steel band that surrounds the perimeter of the phone and the modified buttons add a touch of class to the device. With the addition of a touchscreen on the outside and hardware platform upgrades on the inside, this phone offers superb performance. The Bold 9900 also supports Near-Field Communication (NFC) and comes with an orientation sensor (Accelerometer), digital compass (Magnetometer) and proximity sensor. In short, this smart phone aims to deliver
an ultimate experience of multimedia, productivity, as well as communication.
“
SO WHAT MADE ME, AN IPHONE USER, FALL IN LOVE WITH THE BB IN SUCH A SHORT SPAN OF TIME?”
In the following sections, I will highlight some of the features that sets this phone at or above par with the other smart phones: TOUCH SCREEN: The capacitive touchscreen is highly responsive. A wonderful keyboard partnered with a great touch screen right at your finger tips sets this phone apart from most other smart phones. Now you can choose to caress the screen or to use the optical track pad to scroll so as not to block the screen. KEYBOARD: Though the phone is quite broad (compared to other smart phones), the amazing QWERTY keyboard, with the chisel shape curved keys, makes typing easier and more luxurious. It is apparently the best keyboard on a BB phone and I can personally
vouch for it. If you are a person who lives and dies by sending emails, texts, tweets, and Facebook messages on the go, the keyboard itself can be reason enough for you to buy the phone. Your thumbs will be eternally grateful to you. E-MAIL, SOCIAL FEEDS & COMMUNICATION: Undoubtedly, the Bold is the best smartphone for quick and easy communication. It can handle up to 10 e-mail accounts of any type, each having its own envelope icon. The pleasant display and the readable font makes it easy on the eye, and the keyboard shortcuts (‘r’:reply, ‘f’:forward, ‘shift+t’:to get to the top of the list) makes a world of difference to those who juggle with a lot of emails. The Facebook application has recently had an update with the Facebook Chat integrated into the app. If you are a Twitter user then you have a selection of Twitter apps to download from App World. The Blackberry Messenger, of course, is the best instant messaging client on the planet. Multitasking was never easier, as you can have all your messaging and social
networking apps running at once and can interact with them as required. The notification light is a very convenient feature as a quick reference for the phone’s status. It saves a surprising amount of time, as you don’t have to interact with the phone at all to know whether or not you have new notifications. BLACKBERRY 7.0 OS: BlackBerry 7 refines the BlackBerry OS, which has modernized the user experience and optimized it for touch screen displays. It also has the Webkit rendering engine, which adds new features, based on the capabilities of the updated hardware platform. In addition to more speed, this hardware platform upgrade introduces a lot more features including 3D graphics, HD video recording and more. With 8GB of internal storage and an option to increase that to 32GB, this device doesn’t scrimp on memory. The BlackBerry Bold 9900’s 2.8-inch LCD provides a crisp and vivid display. Thanks to the 1.2GHz processor and Liquid Graphics there is now no lag between screen taps or swipes and even complex pages render quickly and are
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nd beautiful smooth to navigate around. The web browsing experience is quite good and tasks like switching between apps are fairly instant. NFC: The next big thing on the Bold is NFC, or Near Field Communication, which is a short-range wireless technology that allows a phone to pair effortlessly with an information-bearing target that is 4cm or less away, such as a card, sticker or tag. Sharing of contacts and files are as easy and quick as simply aligning the backs of your NFC enabled BlackBerry smartphones. NFC also has the potential to lead way to wireless payments in future. DOCUMENTS TO GO: The Premium version of the mobile office suite, Documents to Go, now comes free as standard on the Bold 9900. So now you can not only view but also create new Word, Excel and Power point documents on the go.
amazing features. The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is definitely on par with other topend smart phones and may even tempt some to convert from one ‘fruity company’ to another. Blackberries can be one of the most student friendly phones, because they can go through a lot of wear and tear and still work perfectly. There are a lot of applications that college students can use to organize their lives and improve their studying habits, such Student Docket, Dictionary.com, FlashPro, and Flashcards. In today’s competitive environment, communication and staying connected along with great social networking are of utmost importance. Having a superb mobile business tool that doesn’t always tempt you to goof around on it with all of the silly apps will do wonders for your productivity.
CONCLUSION Without a doubt, BlackBerry’s latest incarnation is definitely Bold and Beautiful - it is powerful, quick, sleek and packed with a bunch of
Blackberry Bold 9900
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SPORTS
floorball at inter faculty games 2012 Rishian Balaskanda
A
fter several weeks of exciting sports, the Inter Faculty Games (IFG) 2012 has finally drawn to a close with the Engineering faculty being crowned overall champion ten gold medals. I had the pleasure of watching them clinch two gold medals when I went down to MPSH 6 on September 21 to watch the Men’s and Women’s Floorball finals. After three weekends of intense qualifying rounds, the finals for both men and women was played out by the same faculties. Quite impressively, both Engineering and Law had managed to make it into the finals, making for an exciting double header fixture.
as both sides tried to avoid conceding an early goal and the game ended 0 – 0 after 10 minutes of play. The game however burst into life in the second half as the Engineering side raced to a 4 – 0 lead on the back of some quick and decisive breakaways. Despite the Law ladies mounting a resilient effort, they only managed one goal in reply. A late goal by Engineering when Law was left exposed at the back meant that the game ended with an emphatic win for Engineering with a score line of 5 -1. The score line does not do the Law faculty justice as they fought extremely hard and never threw in the towel despite finding themselves 4 – 0 behind.
In the first match played out by the women, the game began with a rather cagey first half
Unlike the women’s Floorball final, the men’s Floorball final had a definite international
flavour about it with some of our exchange students playing for their home faculty. I didn’t think too much about this until some of the Engineering supporters told me to watch out for the Swedish players.
Interestingly enough, Floorball was first invented in (no points for guessing where!) Sweden in the 1970s as an all – weather sport and now is a popular sport here in Singapore.
Engineering playmaker prepares to slice defenders - Photo by Samdish Suri
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Ready, Set, Play Ball - Photo by Samdish Suri
After watching their women’s team getting beaten by the Engineering side, it was only natural that Law looked to avenge the defeat, and they nearly managed to. In the first half, Law was often on the back foot as the Engineering side rampaged forward on the flanks and scored two goals. While a two-goal lead may sound like a safe advantage, a dogged and determined Law team brought the scores level and when the Engineering team missed a penalty, it appeared as if lady luck was shining down on the Law faculty and they would be able to force the game beyond regulation time.
It was however not to be as with a mere 26 seconds left on the clock, the Engineering side regained their lead by hitting the Law team on the break. This led to the Law faculty calling for a time out and a very nervous half a minute for all everyone. Once the game resumed, the engineering side tried to hold on to possession and let time run on. Although the Law team finally did dispossess the Engineering side, they ran out of time in the penalty box as Engineering players threw themselves at the ball to deny the Law team an equalizer. I must acknowledge that the
sporting entertainment was far better than what I had anticipated and given the quality of skills on display by both sides, I can only express how disappointed that so few of my fellow students had the pleasure to watch the finals that day. With pace, intensity and occasional flying player, as they go over the boards limiting the size of the field, the Floorball final was a really spectator-friendly sport yet the attendance comes nowhere to matching the rabid fan base that turns out year on year for the Inter Hall Games. I guess it comes down to the individual faculties and mobilizing one’s support base. Of course the
fact that this was the last day of term before the recess week should never be discounted. All in all, it was still a rousing success. Here’s to getting more supporters down for next year. Congratulations to all the participants and next time, try harder to drag your friends down to support you to make for an even more electric and exhilarating IFG.
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SPORTS
STREET STYLE
Demetrius Hook Mitchell - A Streetball Legend, from ballislife.com Goh Yan Peng
I
have never had much an affinity for sports, or any form of physically demanding activity for that matter. Sure, I run a little and dance hideously occasionally, but sports that involve balls are something I meticulously avoid. Years of disastrous Physical Education classes and class outings have taught me that balls do not like me. I have been blinded by squash balls, tripped by soccer balls and temporarily maimed by bowling balls.
But when my editor suggested that I can learn a new sport and write an article about it, I immediately decided to learn streetball. After all, I have been accident free for a while and I am older and wiser. It is time to put the past behind and try something ball-related. Happily, I approached my cousin, Yee Jian, for mentorship. Yee Jian is a point guard in Anderson Junior College’s basketball team (the runner-up team for 2012’s National A Division Boys’
Basketball Championship!) and an avid street basketball player. I have watched him play on the court for a few years but never joined in. He was elated that I finally expressed interest in his favorite sport. We made our way to a street court near our houses on a Saturday evening. Half the court was already taken up by two teenagers playing shooting hoops. Yee Jian spent 15 minutes explaining the basic rules of the game to
me. Streetball is a variation of basketball and the two are very similar. The main difference is that fewer players are needed to form a team and the structure of the game is very informal. Unlike the five players that are needed in a basketball team, streetball teams require as little as three players. Matches are normally held on outdoor courts and teams can be formed on an impromptu basis because whoever wants to play can play. Body
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Streetball Tournament at the South Asian Beach Games, from bp.blogspot.com
contact is also a huge feature of the game, meaning that there are no strict rules about violations and fouls can be called by players themselves. The sport is more player-oriented than basketball and more emphasis is laid on entertaining individual moves than teamwork. My feelings of anxiety worsened as he finished his explanation. This is mainly because I stand at a humble 160cm and will definitely fall pathetically if a male player shoves past me, elbows me or charges at me. The possibilities are endless. Keeping this article in mind, I pulled up my socks and made my way to the court anyway, ready to warm up and practice. To be honest, I wanted to call it quits after the warm up session. There was a lot of stretching, throwing the basketball around, running and, the worst of them all, working on lay-ups. A lay-up is a one-handed shot that is made under or beside the
basket. It is also impossible! I managed to get zero successful shots and got hit in the head by my own bad throw. The heat made everything worse and I was exhausted after the warm up. Yee Jian very kindly informed me that
“THERE WAS A LOT OF STRETCHING, THROWING THE BASKETBALL AROUND, RUNNING AND, THE WORST OF THEM ALL, WORKING ON LAY-UPS” the half an hour we took is much shorter than his normal routine. In my defence, I have not exercised for a really, really long while and my talent in free throws makes up for my lack of stamina. Yee Jian’s theory is that learning is best achieved with practice. As a result, we joined the guys sharing the court with us and played against them. Thankfully, in streetball fashion, the game was limited to half a court. The
two strangers were nice and gentlemanly, keeping out of my way most of the time, probably out of pity. My coach fed me the ball constantly and I spent the whole session shooting at the goal, improving in accuracy despite my fatigued arms. We did win because my cousin and I cannot stand losing (family trait) and I let him play solo at the end. I realized how fierce the game really was only when he took over. The three boys pushed and shoved and it was all very manly. After the game, I asked them if they preferred streetball over basketball. They all loved the former because of its lack of rules and how fast-paced it is. The match concluded the day’s training and I met Yee Jian a week later. I am embarrassed to admit that the body aches I experienced had only ceased that day. This time, he invited his friends to play as well, giving them specific instructions not to
make it too easy for me. Of course, his friends were still too kind to be too aggressive towards a girl, so I escaped unscathed. They, however, blocked nearly every single one of my throws and I was forced to pass more and be faster. Unfortunately, we lost this match and had to treat the winners to curry chicken rice. Experiencing how fast and difficult a real streetball match is, however, made sure that I was a non-sore loser. Practicing with such good players has helped me appreciate how fun and challenging streetball is. In fact, despite the muscle aches that I am currently recovering from, I intend to continue playing it and improve my lackluster skills even after finishing this article.
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SPORTS
NUS SPORTS SCHOLAR 2012 Naveen Prakash
“K
oh Jian Ying is part of the new incoming batch of Sports Scholars 2012. He took time out between his trainings and studies to answer a few questions for us.” 1. When did you start playing water polo? How did it all start? Was the coach’s influence crucial in the beginning stages? I started playing water polo in Secondary 1 when I joined it as a CCA in Raffles Institution. I joined it together with a close friend as we wanted to try something that looked fun. I was an average player till I experienced somewhat of a growth spurt when I was 15 which allowed me to improve my game. The coach’s influence at the beginning was definitely important as it set the foundation which I could build upon. He was also very encouraging whenever I experienced setbacks. 2. Were you a good swimmer when you were younger? I believe the game involves a lot of swimming in addition to water polo skills. What made you choose water polo over swimming? I did swim with a club in primary school and having a swimming background definitely gives one
an advantage in starting water polo which is also why many water polo players were swimmers at some point in time before. Personally, water polo is a much more interesting and engaging sport. 3. What has been the toughest situation or the biggest hurdle you have ever faced in your sporting career? How did you overcome it? Who motivated you? My toughest hurdle, thus far, was the period when I started to train with the Senior National side. Before that I had only trained with either my JC team or the youth teams. It was a huge struggle to adapt to the intensity and level of play initially, and it didn’t help that before joining the national team, I had spent a year away from water polo due to national service. I was struggling to keep up in every training session during that time but I kept at it as I always had an end goal in mind, which was to break in to the national side. Someone who I am thankful to was the national team manager who constantly encouraged me to keep up with the training whenever I was feeling discouraged. 4. Have you ever had injurywoes in your sporting career?
In case you have gone through such a phase, what gave you the confidence to go through the tough time? What advice would you give to people in such situations? Thus far, I have not had any serious injuries for which I am thankful for. The worst injury I have had was when I broke my nose at the start of this year and couldn’t train for around a month. I believe for athletes with long term serious injuries, staying involved with the team is the best way to keep one going. During the period when I couldn’t train, I went down for training sessions to observe and keep up to date with the team’s development in terms of strategy and other minute details. 5. I am aware that the current NUS water polo team is one of the best teams among Asian universities right now. Have you had a chance to play a game with them already? How do you plan to settle down in the team? I have actually played for Team NUS in the 2nd Asian University Games earlier this year where we came in third. As the water polo community in Singapore isn’t very big, most of the players actually already know each other and
hence it wasn’t difficult to settle into the NUS team. Additionally I have trained with them prior to the Asian University games and am currently training with them for the upcoming Singapore University Games. 6. What do you think is so special in the current team that everyone gels together well to play as a team and keep winning matches? What’s the secret behind such a team bonding? I believe what keeps everyone together, is our common goal to be successful, be it at the Asian University level or locally. I guess the secret behind such team bonding is simply that everyone in the team has worked hard and sacrificed something for the team in one way or another and such close bonds are also forged through hard training sessions together. 7. How do you manage to balance both studies and practice sessions? Are there any special tricks or secrets that you have up your sleeves? I believe knowing how to prioritize is the most important factor for time allocation. One just has to know how to sacrifice certain things. For now my
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Koh Jian Ying in action - Photo courtesy of Koh Jian Ying
schedule is pretty hectic as I have trainings on weekdays at 7 pm and on Saturday mornings, thus on school days I try to finish whatever work I have before I leave for training. 8. How do you feel being one of the Sports Scholars into NUS? Was it tough to get in? Were you aiming to get into NUS even in your high school days? I am honoured to be one of the recipients of the NUS sports
scholarship. I believe there were many equally worthy studentathletes in NUS. I have always wanted to study locally, thus NUS has always been my first choice. 9. Which is the most exotic place playing water polo has taken you? I went to Saudi Arabia in 2011 for the FINA world development championships. That is by far the most exotic place I have been to, although I am hoping to top that
experience when I travel with the National team to Dubai at the end of the year for the Asian Championships. 10. If you weren’t playing Water Polo where would you be? Did you have any other childhood dreams before you started the game? If I weren’t playing water polo, I would probably be playing some other sport as I love the excitement and adrenaline that comes with
playing sports. I didn’t really have any sporting dreams before I started playing water polo, but after I started I have always wanted to break into the national side and go to at least one South East Asian games. However now that I have achieved that goal, I have set higher expectations for myself and the next step for me is to play in the Asian games.
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TEN MOMENTS TO REM LONDON OL Yang Kaiyuan
T
he 2012 London Summer Olympics drew to an aweinspiring end and we couldn’t help but look back at the top ten moments that best exemplify the magnificent spectacle put on, just for us!
1. PEOPLE POWER The opening ceremony was one of the most refreshing and creative Olympic openings in history. Artful video screenings complimented the show which retained its focus on the significance of individuals. The most heartening moment was when the construction workers lined up the entrance of the stadium to be a part of this spectacle. Queen Elizabeth II
(yes, the real Queen!) in a cameo greeted Daniel Craig with a sporting “Good evening, Mr. Bond” before he parachuted into the stadium, David Beckham winking, Mr. Bean being himself and the Sex Pistols tearing the sky apart amidst breathtaking copper flame petals and “Hey Jude!”. Of course, some inevitable flaws did creep in. The Japanese delegation was led out of the stadium after the inauguration march and missed the second half of the ceremony. And we have the mysterious woman in red shirt (who later issued an apology) marching proudly along with the Indian delegation. All in all, it was a really good
Who’s the lady in red?, from gg2.net
show.
2. SINGAPORE’S 52 YEAR WAIT On the first day of August, Feng Tianwei defeated her Japanese opponent, Kasumi Ishikawa to claim the Bronze medal in Tabletennis Women’s Single. It was only Singapore’s second individual medal after 1960, and Singapore’s third Olympic medal.
3. WOJDAN ALI SERAJ ABDULRAHIM SHAHERKANI Meet the first woman to participate in the Olympics from Saudi Arabia. Although Shaherkani was defeated in the
first round of 78 kg Judo on 3rd August, her courage and legacy will touch and inspire many people in the years to come.
4.DREAM TEAM’S ROUT On 3rd August, in one of the Men’s Basketball Group A match, USA destroyed Nigeria with a score of 156-73 by a whopping margin of 83 points. It was the highest scoring basketball game in Olympic history. What a game!
5. BLADE RUNNER On 4th August, Oscar Pistorius from South Africa ran in the 400m prelims and finished in second place, advancing to the semi-
More Gold medals than most countries win!, from reachforthewall.com
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REMEMBER FROM THE N OLYMPICS finals. Pistorius lost both his legs as an infant but never gave up on his dream and continued training special artificial limbs, thus earning him the nickname “Blade Runner”.
6. MICHAEL PHELPS THE ALL TIME GREAT On 5th August, the 27-yearold Michael Phelps, having announced he would retire after this Olympics, climbed out of the Olympic swimming pool for the last time having won the 4 x 400m medley relay, his 22nd Olympic medal and his 18th Gold medal. He later received the trophy for being the “Greatest Olympic Athlete of All Time” on that same day, for being the most decorated
Olympic athlete of all time.
7. LIU XIANG’S FALL On 8th August, Chinese superstar Liu Xiang fell to the ground during the 110m hurdle preliminary round. It was the second time Liu failed to complete his Olympics race after he won the Gold medal in Athens 2004.
8. THE BOLT SUPREMACY On the last day of the London Olympics, Usain Bolt ran the final leg of the 4 x 100 m relay. When he received the baton, he was shoulder-to-shoulder with Ryan Bailey of the USA, but that was as close as Bailey could ever get. Bolt
The five Olympic rings on display, from washingtonpost.com
tore through the final leg as the Jamaican team set a new world record and became the first team to break the 37 seconds barrier. Bolt also became the first athlete to win back-to-back 100m and 200m Gold medals in Olympic history. Lightning Bolt indeed!
9. SOCCER’S REFRESHING CHANGE No one had predicted this one. Oribe Peralta from Mexico scored after merely 28 seconds during the Olympic men’s football final. The stunned Brazilians tried their hardest to recover with an all-out attacking game plan, but would be resigned to wait another four years for their first Olympic soccer Gold medal, when Mexico scored
in the 74th minute and held on for a 2-1 victory.
10. NOT A WHISPER BUT A BANG Many of us choose to leave out the Olympics closing ceremonies, but if you did that this year, then you have really missed something great. Like the opening ceremony, it was the one of the most delightful and exuberant ceremonies in history. It was an exciting concert full of fun and surprises, with dazzling visual effects. Good music and dance, super models, superstars and great fun made for a rocking finish to the 2012 London Olympics!
Records are meant to be broken, from caribscribewordpress.com
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