Battle of the voices

For weeks days we prepared for our US History debate, working feverishly to come up with points to defend ourself against the onslaught of our opponents! For we were the government team and our motion is....

"IS PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH GOOD FOR AMERICA?"

Yep, and we were supposed to defend it. Defend a president with horrifyingly low approval ratings. But wait, wasn't President Harry Truman approved by only 22% of his people in his final days in office? Isn't he now lauded as one of the greatest presidents of all time? So you see, impossible though it may seem, we actually managed to find a few good points to defend the dear old monkey. I had a nice script prepared, ready to rebut anything the opponent had to shoot at us.

But when the moment came, my mind went haywire. The opponents were smart enough to avoid all the big issues and to focus on stuff which we could not rebut. My focus was on foreign policy (YES, the Iraq War was good!!!!) They focused on domestic policy and the economy. It was like trying to catch water with a fishnet.

Ah well, good try though.

Red Alert

First of all, I simply must inform you that my camera is craptacular. (Don’t use this word in your essays, folks!) So please bear with the blur and ugly photos. Hopefully, by writing this blog, I will be able to improve my photo-taking skills to justify me buying a fancy new camera.

Last night was the final INTI Christian Fellowship (CF) ceremony where we shed our dear little tears and say goodbye to everybody. The red-shirt-wearing army (the CF shirt) gathered at around 6:30pm to celebrate a great semester that goes by. Seriously, everything was red, from the shirts to the ever so cutely done red carpet. I wonder if people realize the irony of wearing red in a Christian Fellowship…

Honestly though, these CF guys are simply awesome and they really know how to liven up a party. I’ve said it once and I’ll continue to say it for many times to come: CF guys are among the best and friendliest people around! Four CF members will be leaving us to further their studies, but only three members could attend the closing ceremony. Good luck to you guys overseas!

It was a great night of fun, games and fellowship and I have to say that I’m going to miss CF until it is reinstated again next semester. Anyway, as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words:

Sea of Red!

The wise Kelvin speaks...ooh...

The cute little red strip is the red carpet.

Eldrick, Jared and Xiu Mei, given VIP treatment.

We'll miss you!

Getting ready for games.

Jared...this is your life!

Touching moment. Washing of feet to show appreciation.

Poser.

Behold my back! Taken by Xiu Mei.

So you think you've got a Masters?

Do forgive me. It takes a bit to make me scream in frustration, but one lecturer cut the strings of my patience today.

I was having problems trying to print a statistics assignment (knowing beautiful INTI College printers and all), and today's problems were exacerbated more so than usual. It took me half an hour just to get things running and this lecturer came in to teach his half-gathered class.

All right, all right! It was my fault that I didn't print my assignment earlier in order to meet the deadline, but take a look at the following conversation and see what you think:

Lecturer: I have a class right now.
Me : I'm really sorry, I know, I know.
Lecturer: If you know then why don't you take action? (The nerve!!)
Me : Please, it's just two more graphs. Can't you allow me to continue printing?
Lecturer: I can't do that. Go print in another lab or somewhere.

The nerve of him! With that play-pretend stern face and all! At least talk nicely if you wanted to chase me out! I fully comprehend the need for you to have a silent class sleeping paying attention to you, but at least speak politely. You really don't need to prove your ego as none of your students probably cared anyway.

Maybe I'm overreacting, but I needed to get that of my chest. grrr...

Why so Serious?

Hi all! After months of contemplation, I have decided to start a blog. Why? To tell all those who haven't watched The Dark Knight that you're missing one of the greatest movies of all time!

In one scene of the movie, the Joker grabs a pencil and stands it on a table. "Let me show you a magic trick, " he says. "I'm gonna make this pencil disappear." Suddenly, he grabs a nearby thug and slams his head on the pointed pencil. As the thug falls dead, out of sight, the Joker dryly exclaims, "There, pencil disappeared..." This anarchy and sick randomness pervades the whole movie, making it so full of intensity that your eyes just cannot move away from the screen. What will the Joker do next? How does the elusive Batman stop him? Is Batman really the best hope Gotham has?

The Joker is without doubt Heath Ledger's crowning moment. Although I was initially skeptical about the all the buzz proclaiming Ledger's performance as Oscar-worthy, I now fully stand behind him. The way he talks in that dry, high-pitched manner, the way he flicks his tongue ever so disgustingly, the way he casually murders random people while uttering lame, sadistic jokes are just so brilliant that you love and despise him at the same time. What makes it so great is that he does it all without any on-screen gore or serious violence. The camera-work is quick and hazy and most of the murders happen off screen, but one still twinges at the sickeningly creative ways in which the Joker dispatches his enemies. Besides playing villain, Joker also plays philosopher, exclaiming that everyone is just rotten and evil at heart. As such, it is his "duty" to expose humanity as the beasts they are by committing crimes that drive them beyond the edge. A friend of mine felt that Ledger seemed almost born to take up the role and I have to say that I very much agree with him. Joker was simply amazing.

Now, that doesn't mean that Batman is left kicking the dust in the sidelines. Christian Bale returns as the Batman, carrying along his excellent performance from the first movie. Batman still intimidates his villains and Bruce still charmingly fools people with his playboy routine. Some may say that he is overshadowed by the explosive Joker, but this is merely because Batman is much more composed, reflecting the opposite characteristics of the two characters. Did I say composed? While Batman is usually one step ahead of most of his villains, the Joker keeps him playing catch-up, drawing him closer to letting his cool. Batman finds himself angered and frustrated at his inability to see the logic of the Joker's plans.

In fact, it is the duality of the two characters that drives this movie. Both represent order and chaos, light and dark, yin and yang, good and evil. Batman is struggling to uphold justice while the Joker works to expose mankind's inner demons. The Joker rightfully exclaims that both drive each other, as the Batman is "a freak" much like himself, and only the Joker understands his psyche. The way these two characters interact alone makes this movie fantastic.

Luckily, there's also the icing on the cake. Aaron Eckhart plays knight in shining armor, Harvey Dent. As the district attorney, Dent strives to uphold justice, drawing the Joker's attention. Also worth noting is Gary Oldman's great performance as Lieutenant James Gordon, Gotham City's good cop. Besides that, there are plenty of action and stunts that will be sure to satisfy everyone. Some of the feats performed by the Batman will cause gasps and wows to permeate from the audience and the filmmakers have also given the Batman a more extensive arsenal of gadgets and toys, just to showcase the action side of the film. Rest assured, plenty of fights and explosions for the film's share of eye candy.

Simply put, this review doesn't do justice to the movie. You need to watch it, and for good reason. Christopher Nolan pumps up another good film, and good as Batman Begins was, this film skyrockets ahead of it as my favorite superhero film ever.

By the way, thanks for reading my blog!