| the conference |
| Wednesday, May 30, 2007, 06:54 p.m. #1335 |
Attended a 3-day conference hosted by Singapore for educators around the world. The foreign delegates were probably very impressed that we had such a structured and big-scale conference for educators, and the media would love to seize the chance to write about Singapore being a thriving "education hub", but I don't think local teachers like us appreciated this conference very much, and the turnout at the auditorium showed: the hall was fully packed on the first day, but it was only less-than-half-filled on the second, I shall not even talk about the third. And the diminishing attendance was quite understandable. The keynoters were mostly foreign professors and most of them liked to share statistical data and survey findings on study trends. As a pragmatic practitioner, I am more interested in knowing 'what I can do', but those statistics only served to reaffirm what we already knew, without offering any real solutions. Reaffirmation is fine, but three full days of reaffirmation had been a gross overdose. I hate to sound biased but local presenters, on the other hand, were more on-the-ground and experimental. Some of them shared practical strategies to deal with the new generation of students who like to engage themselves in 'cool' stuff like podcasts and twittering, but such inspiring presentations were few. Most of the time, the speakers were monotonous and the visuals were boring (read: powerpoint slides filled with words). Hardly inspiring when they're supposed to be lecturers who teach others to conduct engaging lessons. Guess how much the schools paid for this? 0 for each teacher, and my school sent ten of us. Almost every school sent a few representatives. Think this amount of money could have been better-used elsewhere. The teabreaks and lunches were good though.
| prison break 2 |
| Wednesday, May 30, 2007, 06:30 p.m. #1334 |
Finished watching the second season of "Prison Break". It isn't as good as the first season, but it is still compelling enough for me to look forward to its third (and most likely the final) season. The storyline is dispersed into several threads as the Fox River Eight went on with their individual lives as fugitives - some of the threads are less interesting than others, which makes this season rather boring and draggy at times. Most of the questions in Season 1 have been fully answered in Season 2. While most of the characters gained more "meat" in this season as they were reunited with their families, a few reasonably well-developed characters were killed off rather abruptly - probably to boost the dwindling ratings, and I felt quite disappointed that these characters didn't get the proper closure which they deserved (Tweener, especially). Hope Kellerman survives the ambiguous shooting in the cliffhanger...
| the crane wife |
| Sunday, May 27, 2007, 03:14 p.m. #1333 |
Got hold of Rufus Wainwright's "Release The Stars" and The Decemberists's "The Crane Wife" recently.
"Release The Stars" starts off well, with its lush layered orchestration and Rufus's unique "popera" style (mixture of pop and opera), but I soon got tired of the all-so-similar theatrical treatment. Listening to individual songs is probably okay, but listening to the entire album at one go nearly bored me to death.
The sounds of "The Crane Wife" are much richer. With a wondrous blend of pop and folk with pleasing melodies, the album includes two poetic suites: "The Crane Wife" (based on a Japanese folk tale) and "The Island" (Based on William Shakespeare's "The Tempest), which greatly accentuate its simple, idyllic charm.
The Crane Wife
The Decemberists
[1]
It was a cold night
And the snow lay 'round
I pulled my coat tight
Against it falling down
And the sun was all...
And the sun was all down
I am a poor man
I haven't wealth nor fame
I have my two hands
And a house to my name
And the winter's so...
And the winter's so long
And all the stars were crashing 'round
As I laid eyes on what I'd found
It was a white crane
It was a helpless thing
Upon a red stain
With an arrow in its wing
And it called and cried...
And it called and cried so
And all the stars were crashing 'round
As I laid eyes on what I'd found
My crane wife
And now I helped her
And now I dressed her wounds
And now I held her
Beneath the rising moon
And she stood to fly...
And she stood to fly away
And all the stars were crashing 'round
As I laid eyes on what I'd found
My crane wife
[2]
My crane wife arrived at my door in the moonlight
All starbright and tongue-tied, I took her in
We were married and bells rang sweet for our wedding
And our bedding was ready and we fell in
Sound the keening bell and see it's painted red
Soft as fontanelle, the feathers in the thread
And all I ever meant to do was to keep you
My crane wife
We were poorly, our fortunes fading hourly
And how she loved me, she could bring it back
But I was greedy, I was vain and I forced her to weaving
On a cold loom in a closed room down the hall
Sound the keening bell and see it's painted red
Soft as fontanelle, the feathers in the thread
And all I ever meant to do was to keep you
My crane wife
There's a bend in the wind and it rakes at my heart
There is blood in the thread and it rakes at my heart
My crane wife
[3]
And under the boughs unbowed
All clothed in a snowy shroud
She had no heart so hardened
All under the boughs unbowed
Each feather it fell from skin
'Til threadbare, she grew thin
How were my eyes so blinded?
Each feather it fell from skin
And I will hang my head
Hang my head low
A grey sky, a bitter sting
A raincloud, a crane on the wing
All out beyond horizon
A grey sky, a bitter sting
And I will hang my head
Hang my head low
| breakfast with giggling kids |
| Friday, May 25, 2007, 07:23 p.m. #1332 |
Last day of Term 2. We had a "Breakfast with Form Teacher" session in the morning. Students brought their own breakfast to eat together with their form teacher in class - I got one form class boy to help me buy a Big Breakfast. Apparently there were so many students at MacDonald's this morning that the cashier auntie asked my boy, "Today no school meh?"
I was actually quite skeptical about the event at first - having breakfast with my teacher has never been on my wishlist when I was a student - but the event went surprisingly well. The atmosphere was relaxed and I chit-chatted with some students who seldom spoke. Some of the students got really excited as they watched me eat - they probably thought teachers were saints who didn't need to eat - I thought we normally eat at the canteen as well?! Anyway some kids crowded around me and busied themselves with things like adding sugar to my coffee and stirring it for me. Felt like a zoo animal when the girls giggled uncontrollably as they watched me eat. Is there anything funny with the way I eat? *Rolls eyes*
| beautiful midnight |
| Friday, May 25, 2007, 07:01 p.m. #1331 |
Linkin Park's "Minutes to Midnight" is as good as their previous "Meteora". Soul-baring and earnest, with a great mix of brooding soft rock ballads and confessional hard rock pieces. The tracks are also thoughtfully arranged such that you can safely put on Repeat mode and listen to it over and over again, each time feeling more for the lyrics and relating more to your own experiences.
Oh. Jordin is the new American Idol, much to nobody's surprise (since Melinda Doolittle was already out).
| the simple lives |
| Thursday, May 24, 2007, 10:17 p.m. #1330 |
每次看《稀游记》，都会有些许的感动。上个星期，主持人在中国一个偏僻的山地里找到了一个长年在那里当义工的新加坡人。那人每天会爬几小时陡峭的山路，到各个不同的部落去，为的是能够帮助在深山里被人遗忘了的自闭或弱智的小孩和贫困的村民。没有酬劳、没有舒适的居住环境、没有都市的娱乐，白天的她为这些需要帮助的人跋山涉水、不遗余力地贴心照顾，夜晚的她只能孤身一人在家里作画解闷。她那种无条件的付出，真的很令我佩服。那些人与她根本非亲非故，为什么她会肯付出生命与时间来帮助他们？我应该永远也不会像她那样伟大。但她令我感觉到，人生竟然是可以活得那么有意义的。
这星期，主持人到了埃及寻找一位嫁到那里的新加坡人。拍摄当天，她的丈夫带了她的两个孩子去上篮球课，而她则在一个路口摆摊教导其他小孩填色、做手工。那个摊子才刚开不久竟马上就爆满了。我心里是想：这些小孩不必上学吗？那些家长和小孩竟然会肯花钱就只让别人教他们填色？或许那里没有一个教育制度，家长可以任由孩子的喜好让他们自习所爱。一生居住在都市里的我没想到生活竟能如此写意、简单、自在。
两种简单却又完全毫不简单的生活，我虽然羡慕，却也知道自己是绝对没有这些人的勇气和毅力去尝试的。但我希望我至少能够向着她们生活方式的那个方向前进，过得简单、充实、有意义。
| bjork and pipa |
| Monday, May 21, 2007, 09:42 p.m. #1329 |
Bought Bjork's "Volta" and Linkin Park's "Minutes to Midnight" last week. While the media touted "Volta" as the most "accessible" album to date, I don't quite agree. In terms of accessibility, "Volta" isn't as mainstream as "Debut", "Post" or "Telegram". It isn't as epical as "Homogenic", nor as thematically dreamy as "Vespertine", nor as melodiously pleasing as "Selmasongs", nor as avant-garde as "Drawing Restraint 9", nor as revolutionary as "Medulla". It is really a neither-here-nor-there album - and it feels more like a consolidation of her past musical styles. Not that it isn't good - "Volta" is still a refreshingly upbeat album much better than many of its contemporaries - it just isn't musically exciting enough when it comes from Bjork.
A noteworthy point though, is that the pipa was the main accompanying instrument in "I See Who You Are". The pipa player (Min Xiao-Fen) must have felt so flattered by Bjork's invitation that she showcased almost all the pipa techniques in the song - li yin, fan yin, tui la xian, sao fu xian, da yin, pai xian, wu zhi lun... and I think I heard yao zhi at the end too. Nice. For Bjork to have noticed a Chinese instrument - in her interview she said she liked the "twang" sounds of pipa, and for this album she wanted instruments that sound raw, unlike the celestial sounds that she used in "Vespertine". I take those as compliments. :)
| cool protest |
| Saturday, May 19, 2007, 05:35 p.m. #1328 |
Saw this at a busstop. The bottom line reads, "This timetable is brought to you by a non-SBS personnel, who is fed up with missing timetables at busstops and never-ending fare hikes." Cool eh? Must have taken the person a lot of time to do this. The most constructive scream of protest ever.
| the end of the road |
| Friday, May 18, 2007, 07:02 a.m. #1327 |
Melinda Doolittle has been voted out of American Idol, when she's obviously the most amazing singer for this season. And it's even more ironic when she's kicked out after one of the best performances in Idol history. But like the judges have said, she doesn't need this competition to confirm her greatness - she's of a different league from all the other contenders - she's already a star, with or without this competition.
80年代《红楼梦》里的“林黛玉”陈晓旭已经病逝。一年前《红楼梦》剧组的演员们才刚在一个“大团圆”节目上重聚（刘姥姥尚健康安好），谁会想到“林妹妹”竟在一年间出家当了尼姑，接着又匆匆离开了大家。她是我童年记忆里不可磨灭的一部分，小时候的我曾经以她作为“美人”的标准（好像段誉心目中的神仙姐姐），连我的初恋也围绕着这位“林妹妹”。她的去世，似乎为我当时那一段消逝的时光画上了句点。一点怅然。
侬今葬花人笑痴，他年葬侬知是谁？
| prison break |
| Thursday, May 17, 2007, 07:05 p.m. #1326 |
Finished watching the first season of "Prison Break" last night. The series truly deserves all those praises from the media. Anyone will be hooked to the series by the time you reach the sixth episode. The wit, quick pace, conspiracies, suspense, action, escape plans and vivid characters drive you to want to watch one episode after another - there were times when I'd watch four or five episodes at one go. In fact I finished watching all 22 episodes within a week even when it has been a busy work-week.
Will be starting on the second season tonight. Hope it's equally exciting. :)
| fly |
| Thursday, May 17, 2007, 06:39 p.m. #1325 |
The Science department conducted a science workshop for our lower secondary students just now. We had three stations for students to perform three short and simple tasks in making yoghurt, ice-cream and a glider respectively. Thought the last two activities were the most fun. In making ice-cream, students basically had to put a packet of flavoured milk (we had strawberry and chocolate) in a bag of ice and then shake it vigorously for about ten minutes. The students enjoyed themselves when they were taking turns to shake the bag - and of course, at the end of it they could eat the ice-cream which they'd made on their own! The glider activity was even better. Students had to cut out the wing, stabiliser and rudder from pieces of wood using a template, then sandpaper the parts to the ideal airfoil shape and finally assemble the parts to make a glider which would fly the furthest. There was a competition at the end of the activity so we had a flying test at a grass patch, where the students got so excited as they watched their gliders fly.
I don't remember having such fun activities when I was a student.
| older chests |
| Monday, May 14, 2007, 06:13 p.m. #1324 |
A simple and moving song about change and holding on, which inspired the layout for my blog this month. Too many books - read me your favourite line... So do you have a favourite line? Or are you also buried by shelves of older books that you haven't taken the time to savour?
Older Chests
Damien Rice
Older chests reveal themselves
Like a crack in a wall
Starting small, and grow in time
And we always seem to need the help
Of someone else, to mend that shelf
Too many books
Read me your favourite line
Papa went to other lands
And he found someone who understands
The ticking, and the western man's need to cry
He came back the other day, you know
Some things in life may change
And some things
They stay the same
Like time, there's always time
On my mind
So pass me by, I'll be fine
Just give me time
Older gents sit on the fence
With their cap in hand
Looking grand
They watch their city change
Children scream, or so it seems
Louder than before
Out of doors, and into stores with bigger names
Mama tried to wash their faces
But these kids they lost their graces
And daddy lost at the races too many times
She broke down the other day, you know
Some things in life may change
But some things
They stay the same
Like time, there's always time
On my mind
So pass me by, I'll be fine
Just give me time
Time, there's always time
On my mind
Pass me by, I'll be fine
Just give me time
| up to the sky |
| Sunday, May 13, 2007, 08:57 p.m. #1323 |
Been entertaining myself with students' answers while I was marking the Science exam scripts. Here are some of the rather entertaining answers which I'd received.
Q1: (Refer to the diagram below) Identify the mistakes that the girl made when she was heating the test tube of water.
A1: She should not be sleeping when she was doing an experiment.
[I had to mark her right since the picture could be interpreted as such and her answer was logical.]
Q2: Draw a table to compare two differences between a luminous flame and a non-luminous flame.
A2: (As shown in the answer script below)
[The student interpreted the word 'draw' a little too literally. I guess I should be glad that he didn't draw a 'table' (as in tables and chairs) for me.]
Q3: Why is hydrogen gas not used to fill up party balloons?
A3: Hydrogen is the lightest gas, so if children jump on the balloons, they will be carried up to the sky until they cannot be seen.
[The "cannot be seen" part was quite funny - I could imagine children struggling on top of balloons and disappearing into the sky... If only it's so easy to transport people up to the sky... :)]
| undecided |
| Saturday, May 12, 2007, 06:00 p.m. #1322 |
Asked my violin teacher to source for a better violin for me weeks ago. She specially spent a day to go violin-shopping and picked a Chinese violin for me last week. Got it from her place to try for a week before I decide whether I want to buy it.
I'm not so sure whether I should buy it though. Firstly, it isn't an European violin as I'd intended - my teacher said it'd cost much more for the same range of violins if it were European - Chinese violins are more value-for-money. Maybe I'm biased, but I think the worksmanship and appearance of European violins are much better - although this Chinese violin is quite a good-looker too. Next, I'm not so sure about the money. My first violin costs 0+. My second costs 5 times as much, and I could physically hear and feel the difference so I'm quite convinced to spend the money. This third violin costs 5 times more than my second one, but I'm not sure if it is significantly that much better. The tone is much brighter and richer for the first string, but it seems the differences in the other strings aren't that obvious. Maybe my ears aren't sensitive enough, or it's because I haven't changed to better strings, or the violin hasn't "opened up" yet? Maybe the price and quality of violins don't follow a linear relationship. I'm just not sure whether I should fork out another -3k to get this violin, or I should save up the money to buy an even better violin when I'm richer. This is probably going to be the last time I'm getting a violin, so I want to make sure that this is the one - and I'm not sure it is.
After trying out the violin for a few days, I've grown to like it more somehow. It is even starting to look and sound nicer by the minute. It's like a girlfriend who grows on you the longer you hold on to her.
| wooden boat |
| Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 06:32 p.m. #1321 |
Was pleasantly surprised to discover this unusually charming piece by Jason Orange when I was listening to my iPod on shuffle mode.
Wooden Boat
Take That
A little boy me went fishing in a wooden boat
Sitting there for hours in the cold
Patience is a virtue till we die
Then a ripple in the water caught my eye
Sometimes we don't know what we're waiting for
That's the time to be the first one on the dance floor
We go from green to blue to gold to black
Breathe deep, who knows how long this will last
Only was last week I learned to drive
Stole my Mother's keys and drove all night
Christine never showed, it's 4 a.m.
Started up Mum's car, drove home again
Sometimes we don't know what we're waiting for
That's the time to be the first one on the dance floor
We go from green to blue to gold to black
Breathe deep, who knows how long this will last
One year ago I kissed my bride
Now I wait to hear my baby's cry
Woman showed me all that she knew then
To cut himself down, man's born again
Sometimes we don't know what we're waiting for
That's the time to be the first one on the dance floor
We go from green to blue to gold to black
Breathe deep, who knows how long this will last
Christine died and now I'm here alone
What I wouldn't give to be on that wooden boat
| from many years ago |
| Sunday, May 6, 2007, 07:38 p.m. #1320 |
翻箱倒柜，因为突然想起若干年前曾有人为我们在新广青年华乐团的短暂时光做了记录。一张发黄了的剪报，撩起了我不少几乎被遗忘了的珍贵回忆。至今我仍不知道这位霖星是谁。
| the best |
| Sunday, May 6, 2007, 06:29 p.m. #1319 |
It feels good to be able to wash the dishes, watch TV and read newspapers again. Should be fine by tomorrow.
Here's a Baby Blues comic strip. A nice little reminder for all of us (teachers and parents especially). :)
| slow-mo |
| Saturday, May 5, 2007, 10:02 p.m. #1318 |
Been extremely drowsy since Thursday night, and I almost never left my bed until today. I just kept on sleeping, day and night, but I still felt like I haven't slept for months. Everything I did during my rare waking hours was in slow-mo, and when I forced myself to stay awake, I ended up staring at the wall as I was too weak to do anything else. Took the drastic move of not taking all the medicine today (except the antibiotics), and decided to take a walk outside by attending my violin lesson, but it didn't help at all. By the end of the lesson, my head felt like it didn't belong to me.
Feeling better now suddenly. Still groggy, but at least I have the energy and consciousness to type. I want to get well soon. :(
| babel and babbles |
| Thursday, May 3, 2007, 03:54 p.m. #1317 |
Watched "Babel". Not wonderful, but worth a watch. Four interconnected stories on the theme of communication (or rather, the lack of). Didn't feel the length of the movie at all as it kept me wanting to know what happens next, but the ending was a little disappointing and predictable for me - it felt like a routine which had to be acted out.
Am sick right now. Feeling feverish and weak. Came home straight away after school to get some sleep. And here's a rather unsympathetic piece of conversation with a colleague when we were walking out of the school together to get a cab.
Her: You don't look well, ya?
Me: Ya, so weak that I have problems walking straight. May be on MC tomorrow.
Her: Huh? Then who is going to take over your work? I'm not going to relieve your classes huh.
Me: ... I don't care who is relieving my classes, I think my health is more important.
(We have walked out of school and a cab was in sight)
Her: I go first okay? (Flags the cab) Happy waiting!
Me: ...
Oh well. Maybe I'm a guy so I'm supposed to be strong and gentlemanly, but at that moment I really felt like I needed to get to my bed fast before I collapsed. Anyway, there is another colleague who was really nice to me. When she walked past my seat and saw my condition, she dug out medicine for me and even helped me keep track of when to take the next dose. So sweet right? Hmm. Shall stop babbling and go get more sleep.
| eternal summer |
| Tuesday, May 1, 2007, 10:31 a.m. #1316 |
终于看了《盛夏光年》。一直很期待这部电影，一是因为五月天为它制作了一张概念专辑，二是因为“盛夏”跟我十分喜欢的德国电影 “Sommersturm” (Summer Storm) 一样，有着同样的主题和故事背景，就连戏名也和夏天有关。或许夏季总令人遐思吧（莎翁也做了一场仲夏夜之梦呀）？不同的是，Sommersturm 把同性同学间的暗恋与青涩时期对于性向的探索，穿插了玩笑与讽刺，戏剧性地坦然地在一场风暴中找到完结；盛夏光年却是含蓄地、淡淡地、平实地，把隐讳的情感展现出来。没有令人释怀的结局，没有铺张的电闪雷鸣。华人电影的魅力就在这里。
康正行、余守恒、杜慧嘉。行星环绕着恒星运行，是自然的定律，从一开始便没有选择。彗星的出现，三个孤独的个体的交会，又会产生怎么样的火花？盛夏是行星和恒星距离最近的时候，但是再近也得用光年来计算。人与人之间的距离有时亦是如此，即使靠近仍有不能言喻的疏远。喜欢电影里的细节、阴郁的色系、人物间说不出口的秘密。剧终时仍心情澎湃。仍惦念少年时的轻狂和精彩。