what i hate

something i hate most is the ego of others. yes, i am in no position to comment on anyone's behaviour, but i still find it essential to voice some comments out.
for me, i am a noob in most games due to minimal time given to me and the ever-sharp eye of my mother. due to this, passing questions about the game i am playing, mousehunt to specify, i usually get that kind of "har!? so noob ar, like that also don't know!", from more people than others.
yet the irony is that those that laugh most at my newb-ness are those who are only good in that game. for instance, someone in our class has been commenting on that very subject, yet this particular person had to fail his math test because of the game. this gives me a strong sense of satisfaction because when he played, he lost out.
now i have a clear goal, to prove that ego-maniac wrong. not in the game of course, but in studies, so i can prove to him that he is not better than me in every single aspect of life. after all, as my mother always says, 'who turns out more useful? the person with good grades, or the person with a high-leveled game character?' till now, i only partially believed her, but now i have fully understood what it means!

maid tying lace

there was a video posted on the free video/photo sharing site, STOMP. the video showed a maid obviously being mistreated, tying her owners lace.
but why did the maid do such a thing, which is obviously an embarrassment to herself. maybe of the very fear of losing her job, and being sent back, was probably enough to weigh out the staring eyes of the public.
although she is a maid, she is not a slave. her owner has only paid for her services, and given her accommodation, but she has not bought the freedom of the maid. yet she uses the power of money and employment to control the maid. she is obviously abusing her authority.
yet others actually sympathise with the plight of the now notorious woman, noticing her limp she had in one of her feet. yes, maids make life easier, but not so easy till the extent that she cannot even take a seat to tie it herself.
but the people going up the elevator were also too much. although they noticed this act, they did not do anything or say anything to stand up to that act, maybe they thought it was OK, or just because that woman was a maid, so they did not care less.
maybe, just maybe, the maid used a limping trick so not to be seen as evil.
i fully agree with the person who videoed it, STOMPer 'Larvitar', when he said, this is obviously abusing her authority, others should have common sense, maids are not slaves, they are helpers.
link"http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/3552/4136/417958"

rehearsel?

every Saturday is the NDP rehearsal, admittedly, the fireworks are indeed very beautiful, but to what expense. the government is sparing no expense in making this year's a successful one. but this constant firing of the fireworks, what loses will there be.
there are certainly advantages, like the actors having the actual, scene rehearsal, the crowd being formed by hundreds of p5 students.
but what are the disadvantages of this "brilliant" set-up?
just think, how much is spent on these fireworks, and how this money can be used in a more productive and beneficial way. with the current flash floods in Singapore, should this money be used to solve those problems rather than continue with this. personally, any rehearsal can go on, maybe just by substituting that with something else, maybe just a few fireworks, or some sparks.
also, rehearsal takes place on every Saturday, people will be More largely affected by this rehearsal.

projects day reflections

as i am only a secondary 1 student, i think passing the prelims was in a way, very good already. but the preperations for the semifinals were even more excruciating because of the immense stress i was under.
well, i did not want to fail any of my test, for my MSG is already below average. if i did not mug more, i was afraid i would do even worse. thus, i slightly neglected my projects day research and only completed after a warning call from Jia Jie, which was clearly not enough.
the fact that Darrly Chan was missing in action,added to our already so heavy workload. at this point, my only wish was to get this thing over and done with, so i could just go home and do something else that i wanted.
now, the only thing i feel is guilt, for my personal results, i neglected the needs of my group, the ones which were most impotant at that point of time. since i needed to sleep at 9.30, due to parents issues, my groupmates were kind enough to bear that heavy workload for me, they were kind enough to only let me handle the Q and A and the introductory slides, i am grateful for that kindness.
but lets get realistic, i tell myself. they wont choose me next year. i will probably be replaced by someone more competent, someone who can burn the midnight oil. but i was took in this year by them this year, so they are stuck with me, i wonder:who will group with me next year?

recently, i have completed my thickest book yet, angels and demons. it was rather interesting, and it always probed me to read further and further, until i had finished the whole book.
it was about the camerlengo remaking a past cult, the illumanti. he wanted to do this to strike fear in the hearts of the poeple by placing a deadly, explosive amount of anti-matter, which threatens to blow up the whole vatican city. later on, the camerlengo would pretend God had sent him a sign, and find the antimatter that he himself had hidden, letting religion claim credit for that man-made scene. reason being more and more religious happenings were being proved by Science itself, and the camerlengo felt a need to do something so great, he would turn the tables permanently on Science.
this act would have gone unoticed if not for the director of CERN, Dr. Kohler, who had sent robert and vittoria on their quest for the antimatter at the start. from DR. Vetra's records(antimatter creater), Kohler discovered that the only person that knew about antimatter, other than vittoria, was the camerlengo himself.
Kohler consulted the camerlengo, hoping to make the camerlengo tell him the truth. he knew it was likely to be a trip of no return, so he discreetly placed a camera under his wheelchair(he was a cripple).
now, the camerlengo wanted to heroicly get rid of the antimatter by killing himself in a one way trip up in a helicopter. Robert misinterpreys this and goes with the camerlengo. to his greatest surprise, the camerlengo takes a parachute and jumps just before the explosion.
robert on the other hand, falls into the water with minor injuries. he now views the video Kohler(whom he thought led th illumanti) had left him. it was on ly now he found out that the camerlengo had branded himself! and had put the blame on Kohler, then shot him to death.
later on the scam is ruined and another more trusty cardinal is elected pope.
this story tells of the extent anyone will go to achieve something, the camerlengo threatened to destroy the whole vatican city, brand 4 would-be popes and kill anyone let in on his secret plan, only shows the extent anyone will go to achieve what they think is the right way.
the bad side human nature in this book is kept ferociously fresh.

powerful people.

people that ruled in history such as Pol Pot, Joseph Stalin, Napoleon Bonaparte, and the ever notorious leader of the Nazis, Adolf Hitler. even invading countries like Japan, what do all these conqeurors have in common? i personaly feel that is the need to keep their power.

to do these, rulers have gone through even the most bizzare methods to keep this power which they treasure so dearly. toturing, mass killings and so on must have been the common scene of the places these corrupted rulers comtrolled.

but why? with a close reference to biographies, people like Adolf and Napoleon all had dark childhoods, this could be the very motivation that spurs the people on to make a whole new society, one to his/her liking. after this 'ideal' society is built, they wish to keep it that way, and do not want to lose their standing in their so-called picture perfect society.

they will result to propaganda, torture and controlled flow of what the people read, just for the fact that they are able to keep their standing. they will ruthlessly destroy all possible enemies in their attempt.

but perhaps, it is these experiences that make the people of the present wiser, and more concious of the danger of a single ruler, especially one who is bent on changing the entire structure of politics. it is perhaps thanks to these corrupted people, that we have the society it is today.

toy story 3

after watching the movie toy story 3, i found out it was more than just a bunch of toys running around, but it also displayed important values such as friendship, determination, and most importantly, giving up the past.
yet again, this story is somewhat comparable to Animal Farm, where a tyrannical bear, lotsa, dominates the entire sunnyside daycare, with himself as the supreme ruler, abusing newer and more naive toys by placing them in the caterpillar room, where the children abuse their toys, while lotsa and his companions enjoy the pampering of the butterfly room, where the children are older.this is something like Napoleon of Animal farm, who too abuses the stupid.
lotsa is one who is frightened of losing his authority. thus he manipulates a much bigger and stronger toy, a baby manikin, who is responsible for catching the would-be escapees. similarly, napoleon uses his nine ferocious dogs to threaten the animals.
but the story is not totally the same as well.
later on, lotsa and the gang end up at the Junkyard after an unfortunate series of events. lotsa tricks Woody the cowboy into helping him escape. he is the first to escape from the burning death they would have faced, but is tied to the front of a garbage truck because the driver used to have one. unlike napoleon who gets away with the backstabbing of Snowball, and is still the ruler.
while the others are about to get burned, they lives are saved by the three aliens. the irony of this scene is that the aliens are usually portrayed as the stupid and naive ones, the ones that create trouble rather than solve problems, they are the heroes of the movie. later on, the gang sends Barbie, who has a lover in sunnyside, to govern the place fairly, where toys, ironically, took turns to be abused by the violent tots.Napoleon, on the other hand, was successful in eliminating Snowball, and still continued his corrupt ways, all the way till the story ends.
although there is a happy ending to toy story 3, Animal farm ends on a cliff-hanger, where nothing more is said,(e.g. what happened to Napoleon).
personally, toy story 3 seems more correct, where lotsa the tyrant faces retribution. it almost seems that this movie was showcased just to show that those who abuse power will not get away with it.
Animal farm, it is impossible to say that it is incorrect though, because the message Orwell was trying to convey was:'absolute power corrupts absolutely',and not so much about their retribution.