A Thousand Splendid Suns Labels: whatsthebuzz
By Khaled Hosseini
To me, this has got to be one of the best books that I had ever read in my whole life. Even until now I can still remember the storyline. The novel is divided into four parts. The first part focuses exclusively on Mariam, the second and fourth parts focus on Laila, and the third part switches focus between Mariam and Laila with each chapter.
Mariam was born an illegitimate child in 1959 after a wealthy business man (Jalil) slept with his house maid (Nana) and got her pregnant but did not marry her. Mariam and Nana lived in a small hut for 15 years until Mariam was married off to a man from Kabul when she was 15. Her husband was abusive and cruel and he forced her to wear a burqa even though many liberal women in Kabul were free to go without it.
Laila was born just before the Russian invasion and had dreams of a life of education and travel. A bomb kills most of her family and she recovers from her wounds in Mariam's house. Laila and her childhood friend, Tariq became closer and develop a deep love for each other. Tariq’s family however decides to leave Kabul due to civil war.
The last few parts of the novel tell about life when Laila, Mariam and her husband were living together. Towards the end of the story, it was told that Laila and Tariq returned to Afganistan after leaving the country for many years. They finally decided to start a family. At the very end of the novel, both of them were debating about the male names of their baby. Laila however, have a name in mind if the baby was a girl. It was none other than her good friend, Mariam.
Author:
Luanzon Nella Marielle Malig
MB0705
071815F
Inter Polytechnic Debates 2008 Labels: whatsthebuzz
8 November 2008 – The preliminary rounds
Today was the first day of the Inter Polytechnic Debates 2008. Teams from Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic came down to Nanyang Polytechnic to fight it out to see who the best is when it comes to debating. The preliminary rounds were held at Blk E Level 3. The matches that were played were exciting to watch. Even the motions were interesting. One of them that caught my eye was the match between NYP and NP. Even the motion was interesting. It has something to do with whether bestiality should be banned. The debate was so funny until I laughed my hearts out after the debate ended. After the preliminary round was over, only 4 teams made it to the semi-finals. They are NYP team A and B, TP team B and SP team A.
15 November 2008 – Semi-finals & Grand finals
After 1 week of break, the semi-finals and Grand finals were finally ready to begin. In the semi-finals, both NYP teams faced off and TP team B and SP team A were in the other semi-finals. After a close debate, NYP team A and TP team B went head to head in the Grand finals which was held at the Theatre For The Arts. The motion was quite interesting. It was something about Sarah Palin bringing down the image of women in politics. After a great final, TP emerged victorious. It was a very close debate but at least the NYP team gave all their best. Don’t worry we will try our best to reclaim the title again next year!
Authors:
Muhammad Syafiq Bin Abdul Rahman, Teo Teck Boon
MB0705
072282N, 073421B
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Cool =) Coins Don't Smell…You Do!!!! Albert Einstein Facts Labels: whatsthebuzz
Hey babes and dudes!! Or should I say young scientists?? Alright! Here are some of the world’s MOST INTERESTING scientific findings! I hope all of you will enjoy reading them! =)
What's the smell? It's actually from you. That’s weird! Metallic odour that we smell on coins is actually created by the breakdown of oils in skin after touching objects that contained iron. Smelling the metal itself is actually an illusion!!
In an experiment, seven test subjects reported smelling the metallic odour after their hands came into contact with iron. Researchers took gas samples from the subjects' skins and traced the smell to 1-octen-2-one, an organic molecule formed when certain oils in our skin decompose.
Scientists Write on Water??? Serious?
Though we can't walk on water, scientists have developed a way to write on it. By using the AMOEBA wave generator, scientists were able to create ripples in the form of letters. Scientists formed a few roman letters and some Japanese characters.
This remarkable display device consists of fifty water-wave generators surrounding a cylindrical tank 5 feet wide and a foot deep. The wave generators move vertically to produce cylindrical waves. These "pixels" are about 4 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches in height, as a result, forming lines and shapes.
The AMOEBA device can form all the roman alphabets, as well as some kanji characters.
All it takes is just fifteen seconds to produce one letter!
Einstein declined the presidency of the state of Israel when it was offered to him in 1952 by state leaders. The element einsteinium, discovered in 1952, was named in honour of Albert Einstein. Picture of Einstein sticking his tongue was taken on his 72nd birthday by annoying press photographer Arthur Sasse. Albert loved the photo so much that he cut his image out and sent it to all his friends.
Is someone lying to you?
Lie is usually manifested by these signs: a sudden increase in the number of \"ums\" and \"ahs.\", overly defensive, no eye contact, lying is stressful, they will try to be sarcastic, turning his body away from you, talking fast, making statements that contradict each other, unusual body language or a hand reaching to cover mouth.
Author:
Nur Syafeeqah Wahid MB0805 083325S
IMPROVEMENTS Labels: whatsthebuzz
What do you think of the campus? Do you often grumble about walking too far just to have your lunch? Or you are in need to relieve yourself yet the washrooms are nowhere to be found? Or perhaps, you have been complaining about how the school should do this or that. Well, this post involves students and the campus. Often, we can only complain yet nothing is done to what we have complained about.
In this post, we will be writing about how the school can be improved. Similarly, we have also asked around and seek for suggestions among the students in SCL.
Since our school has been emphasizing about building relationships with your classmates and teachers, it would be good we have barbecue pits in our campus. In the same way, students can organise monthly evening events. Let’s say for example, when a class organises an event, most likely a handful of classmates would not attend due to several reasons. However, one common reason is due to location as well as travelling. When a barbecue pit is situated in the school, students can stay back after lessons and gather as a class. Not only does it help us to spend lesser time on discussing on the location, it provides convenience to many. Not only that, students in SCL won’t always be labelled as either geeks and nerds, being stuck with books or notes all the time.
Not forgetting about the luxury of the elevators that we have in school. Many students are grateful for that. However, taking the elevator can really be a hassle or chore if we are unlucky enough to be caught in the sudden influx of students, proceeding to their next class! To think about climbing the stairs from the second floor all the way to the seventh floor, lugging all our belongings in the process isn’t very appealing. At times, waiting for an elevator can be like, waiting for the eternity. The whole process can take up to more than 10 agonizing minutes, most of the time due to the fact that elevators are already filled when they reach our floor. From being early or on time for lessons, we can actually end up being late, and to tell the teacher that it was due to the jam packed or infrequent elevators aren’t really valid excuses. Instead of being pitied upon, we can be branded as being just plain lazy for not wanting to take the stairs, which are always very deserted. So therefore, it is a good thing that our school has elevators, but installing a few more won’t make much of a difference, won’t it? Apart from the fact that a hole might be burnt into NYP’s pockets. We are paying school fees afterall, aren’t we?
Interacting with our peers are a vital part of school life. We suggest that the school provide us with so-called function rooms or acitivity rooms where students can just hang out and chill. There already is a library located in our campus, however not everyone are frequent library users. Besides, it is hard to get an available spot in the café to relax. Its always full of people, cause it’s the only place where students are allowed to talk and have a drink or two at the same time. The other canteens arent’t very appealing either. It’s either too crowded, or too hot. Finding a nice, comfortable air conditioned spot in school can be a chore sometimes. So, why don’t have rooms equipted with a television set, a comfy sofa? Afterall, relaxing can be something good, and at the same time, it might help to inculcate more genuises. Some people think best while relaxing, not working!
So here’s our so-called short post on how or rather, ways to improve our wonderful SCL. Not only will it make lives easier for students, it might motivate them to come to school!
Authors:
Clarabelle Loy Wen Jun (083520K) MB0805
Jacinta Tan Shu Chun (082163K) MB0805
Sunday, November 16, 2008
A bonding session for PS 0701 Labels: whatsthebuzz
PS0701 had a bbq at East Coast Park on the 30th aug 08’. It was for post exam celebration, birthday celebration and also a farewell party for one of our lecturer in DPS, Miss Andrea. All DPS lecturers were invited to join us. I thought the event was very successful and memorable for all of us.
During the bbq, the weather wasn’t very good when we reached our pit. It started drizzling. However, due to our enthusiasm, it lasted only for a short while =). So we were still able to start the fire and do the grilling. It was great to have the class enjoying together, helping each other with the food, chit chatting, and joke with one another. We also had this rare opportunity to see the ‘other’ side of the lecturers. They can be really crazy and cute at times.
Thanks to our class reps who planned the event with the help of other classmates, and thanks to the whole of PS0701 and the DPS lecturers.
The 1st photo:
These are the aug/sep birthday gals!!
Happy birthday to all…..
The 2nd photo:
The DPS lecturers!!!
You Rocks!
The 3rd photo:
This is Miss Andrea.
The scarf and the card as token of appreciation for her
Bon voyage!
All the best for her future career!
And this is US… PS0701!! 
Done by: Irene Ser (074018Z) PS0701Posted by: Justin Soh/PS0701
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
MINDS carnival Labels: whatsthebuzz
the day before..
Preparations.
I helped arrange the tables and chairs and set up my stall (manicure). Then i was assigned to give out some helium balloons to the stalls. It was my first time carrying so many balloons. haha. After all the stalls have been set up, we went home..jpg)
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The day itself...jpg)
When I arrived at the sports hall, the balloons have already dropped to the ground. The helium must have escaped. pity. So my helpers (sandra & wanwen) and I helped to tie up the balloons to make them look neater. :) After having a curry puff, the clients started to pour into the sports hall. No one visited my stall at first but after a short while, we had more customers. & the 3 of us were put to work. It was interesting to see what kind of colour combinations they wanted. One chose red and requested me to put on another layer of blue glitter nail polish. Yup, i did just that. It looked well.. new. heh. We had male customers too and if they didn't know what colour they wanted, we put on just the nail vanish. Some were pretty funny, some chose bright colours and also wanted nail stickers. :D Well, customers first, so I did what they requested. It was only till their lunch time that we had a break. Then we slumped into our chairs, exhausted. lol.
Wanwen & I ate a pao for lunch. and we watched the clients dance to the music. While they were being entertained by the performers, we had some other customers. haha. After we packed up the stall, we watched the clients dance.. dance.. and dance some more. & then balloons were being tossed around so we too got into the fun and gave the balloons from our stall to the clients.
When everything was over, we waved bye to the friendly clients and helped clear up the rubbish from the place.
It was reaally enjoyable to be able to do what I like (manicure) on real life customers. x) It's like a dream come true. haha. And to see their satisfied and happy faces, it makes me happy too. :)
I'm anticipating more events like this in the future. :D
Bye!!!
Contributed by: Lim Woon Ching (FS0803)
Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701)
Our Leadership Building Programme. It was in the morning during one of our semester break. Majority of my classmates were present and we were all ready for the activity in front of us. Our mentor, Mr Tan Chee Boon, was looking as sporty as ever including our whole class! Our instructor of the day was Mr William and there was a lady and she was taking our photographs. We were actually joining another class which was a Food Science class with their lady mentor. The first activity was the 2 truths and 1 lie. Mr William explained the activity. In this activity, the person has to say 2 truths and 1 lie and the people around him or her has to guess which of the 3 sentences is the lie. Mr William said his 2 truths that he lived in Australia for more than 7 years and that he had a beautiful wife and 3 beautiful children. His like was that he is a marathon runner. Then it was the mentors turn to do it. Then the mentors had to choose one of their students to do it too. And guess what , my mentor chose me. So my two truths were that I am a hockey player and I was in military band and my lie was that I LOVE swimming. This is a lie as I hate swimming because I got phobia of drowning called Hobophobia. Then the next activity was a blind fold activity where you partner up with someone and one will be blindfolded while the other partner will give the directions. I partner my friend, Zhareena and unfortunately, I was chosen to be blindfolded first. I have to admit it was really scary because you cannot see where you are going but Zhareena did a great job. The stairs were the most scary part because you do not know how many steps there are. Then it finally ended and we had a debrief. I was chosen to share how I felt and my poor partner had to come out with me to share her own experience. Through this activity I found out that I am not that good in directions. The rest of the students shared their own experiences. Then the next activity was Prison Break where we had to be carried through the spider web at the adventure area. I knew I would be first to be carried through the highest and smallest part because I was the smallest there. Guess what my thoughts came true! Everyone looked at me first when the question arised of who to carry out first. So I got carried by the guys in my class and even my mentor. I was panicking as I was afraid of being crashed to the floor so you can see my panick-stricken face. Finally I went through the whole painful ordeal. My neck was in pain. Everyone was working together to bring each other across and we did it under 20 minutes. It was a hot day and I was so thirsty so we had a water break but the Malays could not drink as they were fasting. Then we had another activity called the 3 year bus ride where we discussed what the reasons of a smooth and rough journey of our 3 years in Nanyang Polytechnic. It was meaningful and you can see the presentation skills of our peers. After that the mentors discussed their worries about copying. Then it was all over. We were exhausted yet happy of how the day went by. Contributed by: Sandhya Devi (PS0802) Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701) Labels: whatsthebuzz
13 October 2008, Monday, was the start of year 2, semester 2. After a long break, I still feel tired back in school. It has been quite long I went back to school. Although feeling tired, I am still quite happy to go back to school as I get to see my classmates and friends again after such a long time. I felt happy and comfortable that I am able to hear them talk about their holidays, jokes and etc. We received our timetable for this semester. Oh my gosh! 7 modules this semester! And these modules are difficult. Our mentor told us that these might be the most difficult modules throughout the 3 years. Almost 1 week have passed… The first week of the school reopen was still considered quite relaxing as introductions; briefings were made for most modules. I believed that the rest of the days of the semester would be quite tough. We got to work hard then. Jia You Everyone!!! Labels: whatsthebuzz
Contributed by: Toh Shi Min (MB0704)
Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Not just boasting a cute interface alone, this fun and deceptively simple game tests your typing speed, your English vocabulary and how fast your brain can process an anagram of letters and arrange it into words recognized by the English dictionary. (Options for the dictionary vary; Scrabble players can even take on the TWL98 or SOWPODS dictionaries.) Labels: whatsthebuzz
Basically, you are given 6 letters and it recognizes words from 3 letters onwards. A time constraint of a minute and 30 seconds is given and you are to work out as many words as possible during that time period. (Fortunately, you can work around that: 4-lettered words and above gives you bonus time.)
All the possible words that can be formed are indicated in the blanks beside the cute-faced clock. Can you think of what other words there would be?
If you figure out a 6-lettered word (e.g. RNDIFE un-shuffled gives you FRIEND), you get a bonus round where you are to figure out whose name is it, out of all your friends on Facebook, that is hidden in another 6 letters and earn some extra points!
Oh yea! I managed to guess who it was within the time limit! In case you are wondering why my friend is called “Fan”, it’s because we are to guess a friend’s first name, and for many of us it turns out to be our surname.
You get to compete with your other friends that have added this app (you can invite more of your friends on Facebook to join in the fun) based on scores to see who has the biggest vocabulary of them all. You will be likened to certain ranks of people based on your score, ranging to that of a toddler to an anagram cyborg.
With a little help from my elder sister (with my horrible typing speed this rank is just not possible for me T_T) I’m 3rd among my friends and I supposedly have a vocabulary of a lawyer. (Supposedly.)
Think you can do better? Start challenging now!
Contributed by : Ng Qianning(083218W) of PS0803
Posted up by : Desiree Lau(071224N) of MB0704
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Contributed by: JianLi PS0801 Labels: whatsthebuzz
World of Warcraft is an online role-playing experience set in the award-winning Warcraft universe. Players assume the roles of Warcraft heroes as they explore, adventure, and quest across a vast world. World of Warcraft is a "Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game" which allows thousands of players to interact within the same world. Whether adventuring together or fighting against each other in epic battles, players will form friendships, forge alliances, and compete with enemies for power and glory.
As a massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft enables thousands of players to come together online and battle against the world and each other. Players from across the globe can leave the real world behind and undertake grand quests and heroic exploits in a land of fantastic adventure.
Unlike other MMORPGs, World of Warcraft allows players to play the game at their own pace, whether it be a few hours here and there or entire weeks at a time. The quest system also provides an enormous variety of captivating quests with story elements, dynamic events, and flexible reward systems. World of Warcraft also features a faster style of play, with less downtime and an emphasis on combat and tactics against multiple opponents.
There is an expansion pack called the Burning Crusade which was released in January 2007. The second expansion pack : Wrath of the Lich king is scheduled to release in the US at the end of this year. There is one catch to this fabulous game however, it is a pay to play game which costs around 24 SG dollars per month. Game cards can be bought at almost any gaming outlets.
Game Score: 9.0/10 * Great.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Hello, people! We’re more than halfway into this semester, and (I think) we’re supposed to be getting ready for those final tests coming in a few weeks time. I’m sure we’ll do great. Anyway, I chanced upon a book recently, titled Guns, Germs, and Steel. The book does in fact talk about weapons, diseases and metallurgy. It probably doesn’t seem all that appealing at first glance, but it is actually a very good book. This book, however, is not a novel. It’s more of an informative kind of text, but written in a manner that doesn’t make you fall asleep whilst reading. Labels: whatsthebuzz
Guns, Germs, and Steel details the rise and fall of various nations. It explains in much detail why ancient China dropped out of the race in development, and why countries of the West soared ahead during that period. There is much talk of how various technological advancements, mainly in the military field, has helped many a nation to rise in dominance. Other factors, like the environment, and disease, are shown to play an equally, if not more important role in deciding the stability of a country.
The book pretty much takes all the interesting bits of history and fleshes them out nicely. Even I, having claimed to dislike history, found this book quite astounding. I suppose that would be why it won the Pulitzer back in 1998.
In short, if you have the time, pick it up. I guarantee that it will be a pleasantly light, and yet informative read.
Written by Joseph Lee(082849F,MB0801)
Posted by Kevin Neo (070625Y, MB0704)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Hello, Jack(084351N) from FS0801 here, As you all know in the month of July'08 a blockbuster film was released known as "The Batman : The Dark Knight". I'm pretty sure alot of you movie-goers have already seen the movie. For those who haven't seen the movie, this review might contain spoilers that would ruin the movie if you haven't watch it yet."The Dark Knight" as many of you know, was the last movie for the actor Heath Ledger who died due to a drug overdose on 23 january'08. If you enjoy any of his movie before "The Dark Knight" Please take some time off and watch this movie as a tribute to his final film.This movie was written by Christopher Nolan, the same man who brought the revival of the Batman movie with his hit movie "Batman Begins" during 2005, If you think Batman Begin was good, this movie will knock your socks off :D Labels: whatsthebuzz
This review is a short review of the entire movie.
The movie begins a bunch of thugs robbing a mob bank in broad daylight using Clown Mask to hide their identify. As the robbery proceed, the robbers began to eliminate each other in hopes of having more loot for themselves. This is the introduction of The Joker [ Health Ledger ]On the very same night, the Russian Mobsters were having a deal with the Scarecrow where they were ambushed by multiple fake Batmans using firearms and was stopped by the real Batman which received damaged from the mobsters dogs.So under the consideration of making his suit more mobile ( Allowing his head to turn ) , Bruce Wayne turned to Lucius Fox, his trusted "Q" like in James Bond to design a new suit for him. Enter Harvey Dent. Gotham’s newly elected district attorney. He is called a white knight that’s out for all the crooks and bad guys of the city, even Batman. The movie is basically surrounding him through out and even though you root for his character, in the back of your mind you know how it all plays out. He will become Two-Face, and there’s no stopping it. The way his character falls from grace will really affect you because it has happened in real life to people who are noble and generally good people, which is jokers ambition through out.. Then the mobsters gathered in the a kitchen to discuss about how to handle the "Batman" Then came along Joker, who introduced himself to the mobsters and left after performing a magic trick with a pencil. :DAs the movie continues, more shocking events will happen including the destruction of the batmobile and introduction of the Batpod then came along Two-face Harvey Dent and how Bruce Wayne will have to face his biggest foe to date in the Joker, and will have to look in the mirror many times to see how far he will push himself to stop a mad man.Anymore said would spoil the movie for you, so read this brief review, head to the cinema and watch this movie today! Remember to buy it when it's out on DVD too :D
Contributed by Jack 084351N from FS0801
Posted by Norbert 075302H MB0702
Monday, June 2, 2008
Wie geht es Ihnen? Comment ca va? How are you? Alright these are some of the phrases we have learnt from our foreign languages elective. If you actually understand them, you will realise that the first two phrases are basically the German and French versions of ‘’How are you?’’ respectively. Labels: whatsthebuzz
Languages to some may seem to be the most important tool for communication. In fact, language is communication, without language there will be no communication and you would not understand what I am trying to say here. Understanding the importance of language is one thing, however learning a new form of language is certainly an incredible feat.
Language is imprinted in the person mind through his family background; one might even say it is inherited. That was how I view someone who had done so well in their languages is because they use it more often than I do. That may sound logical at first, until I realise some people do not actually follow this logic of mine.
An example will be a person called Barry Cox. He is a British who can sing in Cantonese and is able to converse fluently in Mandarin. Do note that Mr. Cox certainly has no Cantonese-speaking mother or father, yet just by attending lessons, he is able to grasp the language rapidly. Fascinating it may seem but such cases are rare, a person who has a linguistic brain may also have a mind that learns new things rapidly.
It is disappointing indeed for a person who has not done well in his languages for years. However, we must realise that we are created differently; we all have different talents.
Created and submitted by Daniel Tan Chun Sin MB0804 (083713T)
Comic presented by thebigscope.blogspot.com
Posted by Norbert MB0702
Contributed by FS0703 070618A Chan Ka Chun Patrick Labels: whatsthebuzz
Number of players: 2 – 8 (Recommend at least 5)
Playing time: 1 – 3 hours (8 players)
Introduction
Citadels is a mind-engaging game whereby players will assume various characters who possess unique abilities in your quest to build up a city, subsequently winning the game.
Good news for players who blame their bad luck: the beauty of this game is that the game mechanism largely eliminates random components, no dice throwing nor coin flipping. It is all about battle of wit, outwit and sabotages.
The more cunning and witty the players, the more fun and interactive the game play.
Game play
Each player is dealt four (4) district “building” cards and two (2) gold coins. Each turn, players will choose to draw card or gain gold coins. Gold coins are the currency for building the district cards from hand. Also, players are to select one (1) of the nine (9) characters whom they will assume for the duration of the turn. Each character has his / her unique abilities that can assist in your game play or sabotage other players. Once any player has built eight (8) districts, the game will end at the end of that round. Players will tabulate their scores mainly from the gold coin value of their district cards built. The player with highest score wins.
Character abilities
1. Assassin: Makes a player to skip his / her turn.
2. Thief: Steals all the gold coins from a player.
3. Magician: Swaps your cards in hand with either with another player or with the deck of cards.
4. King: First player of the round aka first player to choose the character cards aka most choices.
5. Bishop: Buildings cannot be destroyed by Warlord.
6. Merchant: One (1) free gold.
7. Architect: Two (2) free cards. Builds up to three (3) buildings instead of one (1).
8. Warlord: Destroys one (1) district at the expense of own gold coins.
9. Artist: Adds gold coins from your stash onto your district to increase the gold coin value of them and make them more expensive to be destroyed by Warlord.
Where to buy / play
Citadels is a card game that is commonly available at board game cafes such as Settler’s Café and Mind’s Café.
Alternatively, you can get your copy at Paradigm Infinitum in Ochard Road for $30+.
http://www.pi.com.sg/html/index.html
For more information, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadels_(game)
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Labels: whatsthebuzz
Book Review: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
In my opinion, one of the most extraordinary works of fiction in the recent years. Set in the Napoleonic era, this book speaks extensively about the reign of Napoleon from the British point of view. An interesting point is the inclusion of dragons as aerial battle vessels… Nope the MOST important point of the book is the inclusion of dragons and their handlers.
Captain Will Laurence of the British Navy captures a rare dragon egg bound for France, the egg hatches and the young dragon unexpectedly bonds with Laurence. Named Temeraire, the young dragon and his captain soon join the Aerial Corps as the frontline aerial defence against Napoleon’s aerial attacks against Britain.
At a first glance the book already seems interesting, brimming with recommendations and blazoned with quotes from world-renowned authors such as Stephen King. However, throw your self in the book and you’ll find that its easily one of the most captivating books you’ll ever read. The plot is excellent, with many twists and turns forcing you to guess and discard theories on what happens next. The main characters, Temeraire and Laurence capture your heart from the very beginning of the story and it justs gets better and better. Naomi Novik excels in twisting the story’s plot such that your laughing in glee 1 minute and wiping tears away the next.
Definitely a must read for all fantasy and dragon fansWritten by
Nicholas
Labels: whatsthebuzz
Chris Brown
With his easy-going demeanor and schoolboy charm, Chris Brown could easily be somebody that you know. One listen and I draw comparisons to Michael Jackson, Tevin Campbell, and Usher. Listening longer then I realized he has a style, flavour that are all his own.
His debut CD takes us on a journey through the malls, parties and teen hangouts as Chris covers a variety of subjects. It's an album about young boys, young girls -- young love. It is something that I and most teenagers can relate to. My personal favourites from Chris’s debut album have to be “Just Fine”, “Run It” and the ballad off the movie Step Up, “Say Goodbye”.
Now, with the release of Exclusive, my new favourites are “I Wanna Be” and “Kiss Kiss”. Recently, the newly-released single “With You” also had hitched on me. The style in the new album is varied and different from his debut. Chris has shown how far he has progressed with him co-writing several tracks.
Well Chris Brown may still look like the boy-next-door but, he sounds nothing like it. Bottom line is Chris’s definitely buzz-worthy with two chart-topping albums and counting. He is a must hear young artist from the R&B industry!Written bySiti Fatimah Bte Mohd Ali
A Thousand Splendid Suns Labels: whatsthebuzz
By Khaled Hosseini
To me, this has got to be one of the best books that I had ever read in my whole life. Even until now I can still remember the storyline. The novel is divided into four parts. The first part focuses exclusively on Mariam, the second and fourth parts focus on Laila, and the third part switches focus between Mariam and Laila with each chapter.
Mariam was born an illegitimate child in 1959 after a wealthy business man (Jalil) slept with his house maid (Nana) and got her pregnant but did not marry her. Mariam and Nana lived in a small hut for 15 years until Mariam was married off to a man from Kabul when she was 15. Her husband was abusive and cruel and he forced her to wear a burqa even though many liberal women in Kabul were free to go without it.
Laila was born just before the Russian invasion and had dreams of a life of education and travel. A bomb kills most of her family and she recovers from her wounds in Mariam's house. Laila and her childhood friend, Tariq became closer and develop a deep love for each other. Tariq’s family however decides to leave Kabul due to civil war.
The last few parts of the novel tell about life when Laila, Mariam and her husband were living together. Towards the end of the story, it was told that Laila and Tariq returned to Afganistan after leaving the country for many years. They finally decided to start a family. At the very end of the novel, both of them were debating about the male names of their baby. Laila however, have a name in mind if the baby was a girl. It was none other than her good friend, Mariam.
Author:
Luanzon Nella Marielle Malig
MB0705
071815F
Inter Polytechnic Debates 2008 Labels: whatsthebuzz
8 November 2008 – The preliminary rounds
Today was the first day of the Inter Polytechnic Debates 2008. Teams from Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic came down to Nanyang Polytechnic to fight it out to see who the best is when it comes to debating. The preliminary rounds were held at Blk E Level 3. The matches that were played were exciting to watch. Even the motions were interesting. One of them that caught my eye was the match between NYP and NP. Even the motion was interesting. It has something to do with whether bestiality should be banned. The debate was so funny until I laughed my hearts out after the debate ended. After the preliminary round was over, only 4 teams made it to the semi-finals. They are NYP team A and B, TP team B and SP team A.
15 November 2008 – Semi-finals & Grand finals
After 1 week of break, the semi-finals and Grand finals were finally ready to begin. In the semi-finals, both NYP teams faced off and TP team B and SP team A were in the other semi-finals. After a close debate, NYP team A and TP team B went head to head in the Grand finals which was held at the Theatre For The Arts. The motion was quite interesting. It was something about Sarah Palin bringing down the image of women in politics. After a great final, TP emerged victorious. It was a very close debate but at least the NYP team gave all their best. Don’t worry we will try our best to reclaim the title again next year!
Authors:
Muhammad Syafiq Bin Abdul Rahman, Teo Teck Boon
MB0705
072282N, 073421B
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Cool =) Coins Don't Smell…You Do!!!! Albert Einstein Facts Labels: whatsthebuzz
Hey babes and dudes!! Or should I say young scientists?? Alright! Here are some of the world’s MOST INTERESTING scientific findings! I hope all of you will enjoy reading them! =)
What's the smell? It's actually from you. That’s weird! Metallic odour that we smell on coins is actually created by the breakdown of oils in skin after touching objects that contained iron. Smelling the metal itself is actually an illusion!!
In an experiment, seven test subjects reported smelling the metallic odour after their hands came into contact with iron. Researchers took gas samples from the subjects' skins and traced the smell to 1-octen-2-one, an organic molecule formed when certain oils in our skin decompose.
Scientists Write on Water??? Serious?
Though we can't walk on water, scientists have developed a way to write on it. By using the AMOEBA wave generator, scientists were able to create ripples in the form of letters. Scientists formed a few roman letters and some Japanese characters.
This remarkable display device consists of fifty water-wave generators surrounding a cylindrical tank 5 feet wide and a foot deep. The wave generators move vertically to produce cylindrical waves. These "pixels" are about 4 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches in height, as a result, forming lines and shapes.
The AMOEBA device can form all the roman alphabets, as well as some kanji characters.
All it takes is just fifteen seconds to produce one letter!
Einstein declined the presidency of the state of Israel when it was offered to him in 1952 by state leaders. The element einsteinium, discovered in 1952, was named in honour of Albert Einstein. Picture of Einstein sticking his tongue was taken on his 72nd birthday by annoying press photographer Arthur Sasse. Albert loved the photo so much that he cut his image out and sent it to all his friends.
Is someone lying to you?
Lie is usually manifested by these signs: a sudden increase in the number of \"ums\" and \"ahs.\", overly defensive, no eye contact, lying is stressful, they will try to be sarcastic, turning his body away from you, talking fast, making statements that contradict each other, unusual body language or a hand reaching to cover mouth.
Author:
Nur Syafeeqah Wahid MB0805 083325S
IMPROVEMENTS Labels: whatsthebuzz
What do you think of the campus? Do you often grumble about walking too far just to have your lunch? Or you are in need to relieve yourself yet the washrooms are nowhere to be found? Or perhaps, you have been complaining about how the school should do this or that. Well, this post involves students and the campus. Often, we can only complain yet nothing is done to what we have complained about.
In this post, we will be writing about how the school can be improved. Similarly, we have also asked around and seek for suggestions among the students in SCL.
Since our school has been emphasizing about building relationships with your classmates and teachers, it would be good we have barbecue pits in our campus. In the same way, students can organise monthly evening events. Let’s say for example, when a class organises an event, most likely a handful of classmates would not attend due to several reasons. However, one common reason is due to location as well as travelling. When a barbecue pit is situated in the school, students can stay back after lessons and gather as a class. Not only does it help us to spend lesser time on discussing on the location, it provides convenience to many. Not only that, students in SCL won’t always be labelled as either geeks and nerds, being stuck with books or notes all the time.
Not forgetting about the luxury of the elevators that we have in school. Many students are grateful for that. However, taking the elevator can really be a hassle or chore if we are unlucky enough to be caught in the sudden influx of students, proceeding to their next class! To think about climbing the stairs from the second floor all the way to the seventh floor, lugging all our belongings in the process isn’t very appealing. At times, waiting for an elevator can be like, waiting for the eternity. The whole process can take up to more than 10 agonizing minutes, most of the time due to the fact that elevators are already filled when they reach our floor. From being early or on time for lessons, we can actually end up being late, and to tell the teacher that it was due to the jam packed or infrequent elevators aren’t really valid excuses. Instead of being pitied upon, we can be branded as being just plain lazy for not wanting to take the stairs, which are always very deserted. So therefore, it is a good thing that our school has elevators, but installing a few more won’t make much of a difference, won’t it? Apart from the fact that a hole might be burnt into NYP’s pockets. We are paying school fees afterall, aren’t we?
Interacting with our peers are a vital part of school life. We suggest that the school provide us with so-called function rooms or acitivity rooms where students can just hang out and chill. There already is a library located in our campus, however not everyone are frequent library users. Besides, it is hard to get an available spot in the café to relax. Its always full of people, cause it’s the only place where students are allowed to talk and have a drink or two at the same time. The other canteens arent’t very appealing either. It’s either too crowded, or too hot. Finding a nice, comfortable air conditioned spot in school can be a chore sometimes. So, why don’t have rooms equipted with a television set, a comfy sofa? Afterall, relaxing can be something good, and at the same time, it might help to inculcate more genuises. Some people think best while relaxing, not working!
So here’s our so-called short post on how or rather, ways to improve our wonderful SCL. Not only will it make lives easier for students, it might motivate them to come to school!
Authors:
Clarabelle Loy Wen Jun (083520K) MB0805
Jacinta Tan Shu Chun (082163K) MB0805
Sunday, November 16, 2008
A bonding session for PS 0701 Labels: whatsthebuzz
PS0701 had a bbq at East Coast Park on the 30th aug 08’. It was for post exam celebration, birthday celebration and also a farewell party for one of our lecturer in DPS, Miss Andrea. All DPS lecturers were invited to join us. I thought the event was very successful and memorable for all of us.
During the bbq, the weather wasn’t very good when we reached our pit. It started drizzling. However, due to our enthusiasm, it lasted only for a short while =). So we were still able to start the fire and do the grilling. It was great to have the class enjoying together, helping each other with the food, chit chatting, and joke with one another. We also had this rare opportunity to see the ‘other’ side of the lecturers. They can be really crazy and cute at times.
Thanks to our class reps who planned the event with the help of other classmates, and thanks to the whole of PS0701 and the DPS lecturers.
The 1st photo:
These are the aug/sep birthday gals!!
Happy birthday to all…..
The 2nd photo:
The DPS lecturers!!!
You Rocks!
The 3rd photo:
This is Miss Andrea.
The scarf and the card as token of appreciation for her
Bon voyage!
All the best for her future career!
And this is US… PS0701!!
Done by: Irene Ser (074018Z) PS0701Posted by: Justin Soh/PS0701
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
MINDS carnival Labels: whatsthebuzz
the day before..
Preparations.
I helped arrange the tables and chairs and set up my stall (manicure). Then i was assigned to give out some helium balloons to the stalls. It was my first time carrying so many balloons. haha. After all the stalls have been set up, we went home.The day itself..
When I arrived at the sports hall, the balloons have already dropped to the ground. The helium must have escaped. pity. So my helpers (sandra & wanwen) and I helped to tie up the balloons to make them look neater. :) After having a curry puff, the clients started to pour into the sports hall. No one visited my stall at first but after a short while, we had more customers. & the 3 of us were put to work. It was interesting to see what kind of colour combinations they wanted. One chose red and requested me to put on another layer of blue glitter nail polish. Yup, i did just that. It looked well.. new. heh. We had male customers too and if they didn't know what colour they wanted, we put on just the nail vanish. Some were pretty funny, some chose bright colours and also wanted nail stickers. :D Well, customers first, so I did what they requested. It was only till their lunch time that we had a break. Then we slumped into our chairs, exhausted. lol.
Wanwen & I ate a pao for lunch. and we watched the clients dance to the music. While they were being entertained by the performers, we had some other customers. haha. After we packed up the stall, we watched the clients dance.. dance.. and dance some more. & then balloons were being tossed around so we too got into the fun and gave the balloons from our stall to the clients.
When everything was over, we waved bye to the friendly clients and helped clear up the rubbish from the place.
It was reaally enjoyable to be able to do what I like (manicure) on real life customers. x) It's like a dream come true. haha. And to see their satisfied and happy faces, it makes me happy too. :)
I'm anticipating more events like this in the future. :D
Bye!!!
Contributed by: Lim Woon Ching (FS0803)
Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701)
Our Leadership Building Programme. It was in the morning during one of our semester break. Majority of my classmates were present and we were all ready for the activity in front of us. Our mentor, Mr Tan Chee Boon, was looking as sporty as ever including our whole class! Our instructor of the day was Mr William and there was a lady and she was taking our photographs. We were actually joining another class which was a Food Science class with their lady mentor. The first activity was the 2 truths and 1 lie. Mr William explained the activity. In this activity, the person has to say 2 truths and 1 lie and the people around him or her has to guess which of the 3 sentences is the lie. Mr William said his 2 truths that he lived in Australia for more than 7 years and that he had a beautiful wife and 3 beautiful children. His like was that he is a marathon runner. Then it was the mentors turn to do it. Then the mentors had to choose one of their students to do it too. And guess what , my mentor chose me. So my two truths were that I am a hockey player and I was in military band and my lie was that I LOVE swimming. This is a lie as I hate swimming because I got phobia of drowning called Hobophobia. Then the next activity was a blind fold activity where you partner up with someone and one will be blindfolded while the other partner will give the directions. I partner my friend, Zhareena and unfortunately, I was chosen to be blindfolded first. I have to admit it was really scary because you cannot see where you are going but Zhareena did a great job. The stairs were the most scary part because you do not know how many steps there are. Then it finally ended and we had a debrief. I was chosen to share how I felt and my poor partner had to come out with me to share her own experience. Through this activity I found out that I am not that good in directions. The rest of the students shared their own experiences. Then the next activity was Prison Break where we had to be carried through the spider web at the adventure area. I knew I would be first to be carried through the highest and smallest part because I was the smallest there. Guess what my thoughts came true! Everyone looked at me first when the question arised of who to carry out first. So I got carried by the guys in my class and even my mentor. I was panicking as I was afraid of being crashed to the floor so you can see my panick-stricken face. Finally I went through the whole painful ordeal. My neck was in pain. Everyone was working together to bring each other across and we did it under 20 minutes. It was a hot day and I was so thirsty so we had a water break but the Malays could not drink as they were fasting. Then we had another activity called the 3 year bus ride where we discussed what the reasons of a smooth and rough journey of our 3 years in Nanyang Polytechnic. It was meaningful and you can see the presentation skills of our peers. After that the mentors discussed their worries about copying. Then it was all over. We were exhausted yet happy of how the day went by. Contributed by: Sandhya Devi (PS0802) Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701) Labels: whatsthebuzz
13 October 2008, Monday, was the start of year 2, semester 2. After a long break, I still feel tired back in school. It has been quite long I went back to school. Although feeling tired, I am still quite happy to go back to school as I get to see my classmates and friends again after such a long time. I felt happy and comfortable that I am able to hear them talk about their holidays, jokes and etc. We received our timetable for this semester. Oh my gosh! 7 modules this semester! And these modules are difficult. Our mentor told us that these might be the most difficult modules throughout the 3 years. Almost 1 week have passed… The first week of the school reopen was still considered quite relaxing as introductions; briefings were made for most modules. I believed that the rest of the days of the semester would be quite tough. We got to work hard then. Jia You Everyone!!! Labels: whatsthebuzz
Contributed by: Toh Shi Min (MB0704)
Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Not just boasting a cute interface alone, this fun and deceptively simple game tests your typing speed, your English vocabulary and how fast your brain can process an anagram of letters and arrange it into words recognized by the English dictionary. (Options for the dictionary vary; Scrabble players can even take on the TWL98 or SOWPODS dictionaries.) Labels: whatsthebuzz
Basically, you are given 6 letters and it recognizes words from 3 letters onwards. A time constraint of a minute and 30 seconds is given and you are to work out as many words as possible during that time period. (Fortunately, you can work around that: 4-lettered words and above gives you bonus time.)
All the possible words that can be formed are indicated in the blanks beside the cute-faced clock. Can you think of what other words there would be?
If you figure out a 6-lettered word (e.g. RNDIFE un-shuffled gives you FRIEND), you get a bonus round where you are to figure out whose name is it, out of all your friends on Facebook, that is hidden in another 6 letters and earn some extra points!
Oh yea! I managed to guess who it was within the time limit! In case you are wondering why my friend is called “Fan”, it’s because we are to guess a friend’s first name, and for many of us it turns out to be our surname.
You get to compete with your other friends that have added this app (you can invite more of your friends on Facebook to join in the fun) based on scores to see who has the biggest vocabulary of them all. You will be likened to certain ranks of people based on your score, ranging to that of a toddler to an anagram cyborg.
With a little help from my elder sister (with my horrible typing speed this rank is just not possible for me T_T) I’m 3rd among my friends and I supposedly have a vocabulary of a lawyer. (Supposedly.)
Think you can do better? Start challenging now!
Contributed by : Ng Qianning(083218W) of PS0803
Posted up by : Desiree Lau(071224N) of MB0704
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Contributed by: JianLi PS0801 Labels: whatsthebuzz
World of Warcraft is an online role-playing experience set in the award-winning Warcraft universe. Players assume the roles of Warcraft heroes as they explore, adventure, and quest across a vast world. World of Warcraft is a "Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game" which allows thousands of players to interact within the same world. Whether adventuring together or fighting against each other in epic battles, players will form friendships, forge alliances, and compete with enemies for power and glory.
As a massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft enables thousands of players to come together online and battle against the world and each other. Players from across the globe can leave the real world behind and undertake grand quests and heroic exploits in a land of fantastic adventure.
Unlike other MMORPGs, World of Warcraft allows players to play the game at their own pace, whether it be a few hours here and there or entire weeks at a time. The quest system also provides an enormous variety of captivating quests with story elements, dynamic events, and flexible reward systems. World of Warcraft also features a faster style of play, with less downtime and an emphasis on combat and tactics against multiple opponents.
There is an expansion pack called the Burning Crusade which was released in January 2007. The second expansion pack : Wrath of the Lich king is scheduled to release in the US at the end of this year. There is one catch to this fabulous game however, it is a pay to play game which costs around 24 SG dollars per month. Game cards can be bought at almost any gaming outlets.
Game Score: 9.0/10 * Great.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Hello, people! We’re more than halfway into this semester, and (I think) we’re supposed to be getting ready for those final tests coming in a few weeks time. I’m sure we’ll do great. Anyway, I chanced upon a book recently, titled Guns, Germs, and Steel. The book does in fact talk about weapons, diseases and metallurgy. It probably doesn’t seem all that appealing at first glance, but it is actually a very good book. This book, however, is not a novel. It’s more of an informative kind of text, but written in a manner that doesn’t make you fall asleep whilst reading. Labels: whatsthebuzz
Guns, Germs, and Steel details the rise and fall of various nations. It explains in much detail why ancient China dropped out of the race in development, and why countries of the West soared ahead during that period. There is much talk of how various technological advancements, mainly in the military field, has helped many a nation to rise in dominance. Other factors, like the environment, and disease, are shown to play an equally, if not more important role in deciding the stability of a country.
The book pretty much takes all the interesting bits of history and fleshes them out nicely. Even I, having claimed to dislike history, found this book quite astounding. I suppose that would be why it won the Pulitzer back in 1998.
In short, if you have the time, pick it up. I guarantee that it will be a pleasantly light, and yet informative read.
Written by Joseph Lee(082849F,MB0801)
Posted by Kevin Neo (070625Y, MB0704)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Hello, Jack(084351N) from FS0801 here, As you all know in the month of July'08 a blockbuster film was released known as "The Batman : The Dark Knight". I'm pretty sure alot of you movie-goers have already seen the movie. For those who haven't seen the movie, this review might contain spoilers that would ruin the movie if you haven't watch it yet."The Dark Knight" as many of you know, was the last movie for the actor Heath Ledger who died due to a drug overdose on 23 january'08. If you enjoy any of his movie before "The Dark Knight" Please take some time off and watch this movie as a tribute to his final film.This movie was written by Christopher Nolan, the same man who brought the revival of the Batman movie with his hit movie "Batman Begins" during 2005, If you think Batman Begin was good, this movie will knock your socks off :D Labels: whatsthebuzz
This review is a short review of the entire movie.
The movie begins a bunch of thugs robbing a mob bank in broad daylight using Clown Mask to hide their identify. As the robbery proceed, the robbers began to eliminate each other in hopes of having more loot for themselves. This is the introduction of The Joker [ Health Ledger ]On the very same night, the Russian Mobsters were having a deal with the Scarecrow where they were ambushed by multiple fake Batmans using firearms and was stopped by the real Batman which received damaged from the mobsters dogs.So under the consideration of making his suit more mobile ( Allowing his head to turn ) , Bruce Wayne turned to Lucius Fox, his trusted "Q" like in James Bond to design a new suit for him. Enter Harvey Dent. Gotham’s newly elected district attorney. He is called a white knight that’s out for all the crooks and bad guys of the city, even Batman. The movie is basically surrounding him through out and even though you root for his character, in the back of your mind you know how it all plays out. He will become Two-Face, and there’s no stopping it. The way his character falls from grace will really affect you because it has happened in real life to people who are noble and generally good people, which is jokers ambition through out.. Then the mobsters gathered in the a kitchen to discuss about how to handle the "Batman" Then came along Joker, who introduced himself to the mobsters and left after performing a magic trick with a pencil. :DAs the movie continues, more shocking events will happen including the destruction of the batmobile and introduction of the Batpod then came along Two-face Harvey Dent and how Bruce Wayne will have to face his biggest foe to date in the Joker, and will have to look in the mirror many times to see how far he will push himself to stop a mad man.Anymore said would spoil the movie for you, so read this brief review, head to the cinema and watch this movie today! Remember to buy it when it's out on DVD too :D
Contributed by Jack 084351N from FS0801
Posted by Norbert 075302H MB0702
Monday, June 2, 2008
Wie geht es Ihnen? Comment ca va? How are you? Alright these are some of the phrases we have learnt from our foreign languages elective. If you actually understand them, you will realise that the first two phrases are basically the German and French versions of ‘’How are you?’’ respectively. Labels: whatsthebuzz
Languages to some may seem to be the most important tool for communication. In fact, language is communication, without language there will be no communication and you would not understand what I am trying to say here. Understanding the importance of language is one thing, however learning a new form of language is certainly an incredible feat.
Language is imprinted in the person mind through his family background; one might even say it is inherited. That was how I view someone who had done so well in their languages is because they use it more often than I do. That may sound logical at first, until I realise some people do not actually follow this logic of mine.
An example will be a person called Barry Cox. He is a British who can sing in Cantonese and is able to converse fluently in Mandarin. Do note that Mr. Cox certainly has no Cantonese-speaking mother or father, yet just by attending lessons, he is able to grasp the language rapidly. Fascinating it may seem but such cases are rare, a person who has a linguistic brain may also have a mind that learns new things rapidly.
It is disappointing indeed for a person who has not done well in his languages for years. However, we must realise that we are created differently; we all have different talents.
Created and submitted by Daniel Tan Chun Sin MB0804 (083713T)
Comic presented by thebigscope.blogspot.com
Posted by Norbert MB0702
Contributed by FS0703 070618A Chan Ka Chun Patrick Labels: whatsthebuzz
Number of players: 2 – 8 (Recommend at least 5)
Playing time: 1 – 3 hours (8 players)
Introduction
Citadels is a mind-engaging game whereby players will assume various characters who possess unique abilities in your quest to build up a city, subsequently winning the game.
Good news for players who blame their bad luck: the beauty of this game is that the game mechanism largely eliminates random components, no dice throwing nor coin flipping. It is all about battle of wit, outwit and sabotages.
The more cunning and witty the players, the more fun and interactive the game play.
Game play
Each player is dealt four (4) district “building” cards and two (2) gold coins. Each turn, players will choose to draw card or gain gold coins. Gold coins are the currency for building the district cards from hand. Also, players are to select one (1) of the nine (9) characters whom they will assume for the duration of the turn. Each character has his / her unique abilities that can assist in your game play or sabotage other players. Once any player has built eight (8) districts, the game will end at the end of that round. Players will tabulate their scores mainly from the gold coin value of their district cards built. The player with highest score wins.
Character abilities
1. Assassin: Makes a player to skip his / her turn.
2. Thief: Steals all the gold coins from a player.
3. Magician: Swaps your cards in hand with either with another player or with the deck of cards.
4. King: First player of the round aka first player to choose the character cards aka most choices.
5. Bishop: Buildings cannot be destroyed by Warlord.
6. Merchant: One (1) free gold.
7. Architect: Two (2) free cards. Builds up to three (3) buildings instead of one (1).
8. Warlord: Destroys one (1) district at the expense of own gold coins.
9. Artist: Adds gold coins from your stash onto your district to increase the gold coin value of them and make them more expensive to be destroyed by Warlord.
Where to buy / play
Citadels is a card game that is commonly available at board game cafes such as Settler’s Café and Mind’s Café.
Alternatively, you can get your copy at Paradigm Infinitum in Ochard Road for $30+.
http://www.pi.com.sg/html/index.html
For more information, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadels_(game)
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Labels: whatsthebuzzBook Review: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
In my opinion, one of the most extraordinary works of fiction in the recent years. Set in the Napoleonic era, this book speaks extensively about the reign of Napoleon from the British point of view. An interesting point is the inclusion of dragons as aerial battle vessels… Nope the MOST important point of the book is the inclusion of dragons and their handlers.
Captain Will Laurence of the British Navy captures a rare dragon egg bound for France, the egg hatches and the young dragon unexpectedly bonds with Laurence. Named Temeraire, the young dragon and his captain soon join the Aerial Corps as the frontline aerial defence against Napoleon’s aerial attacks against Britain.
At a first glance the book already seems interesting, brimming with recommendations and blazoned with quotes from world-renowned authors such as Stephen King. However, throw your self in the book and you’ll find that its easily one of the most captivating books you’ll ever read. The plot is excellent, with many twists and turns forcing you to guess and discard theories on what happens next. The main characters, Temeraire and Laurence capture your heart from the very beginning of the story and it justs gets better and better. Naomi Novik excels in twisting the story’s plot such that your laughing in glee 1 minute and wiping tears away the next.
Definitely a must read for all fantasy and dragon fansWritten by
Nicholas
Labels: whatsthebuzz
Chris Brown
With his easy-going demeanor and schoolboy charm, Chris Brown could easily be somebody that you know. One listen and I draw comparisons to Michael Jackson, Tevin Campbell, and Usher. Listening longer then I realized he has a style, flavour that are all his own.
His debut CD takes us on a journey through the malls, parties and teen hangouts as Chris covers a variety of subjects. It's an album about young boys, young girls -- young love. It is something that I and most teenagers can relate to. My personal favourites from Chris’s debut album have to be “Just Fine”, “Run It” and the ballad off the movie Step Up, “Say Goodbye”.
Now, with the release of Exclusive, my new favourites are “I Wanna Be” and “Kiss Kiss”. Recently, the newly-released single “With You” also had hitched on me. The style in the new album is varied and different from his debut. Chris has shown how far he has progressed with him co-writing several tracks.
Well Chris Brown may still look like the boy-next-door but, he sounds nothing like it. Bottom line is Chris’s definitely buzz-worthy with two chart-topping albums and counting. He is a must hear young artist from the R&B industry!Written bySiti Fatimah Bte Mohd Ali
A Thousand Splendid Suns Labels: whatsthebuzz
By Khaled Hosseini
To me, this has got to be one of the best books that I had ever read in my whole life. Even until now I can still remember the storyline. The novel is divided into four parts. The first part focuses exclusively on Mariam, the second and fourth parts focus on Laila, and the third part switches focus between Mariam and Laila with each chapter.
Mariam was born an illegitimate child in 1959 after a wealthy business man (Jalil) slept with his house maid (Nana) and got her pregnant but did not marry her. Mariam and Nana lived in a small hut for 15 years until Mariam was married off to a man from Kabul when she was 15. Her husband was abusive and cruel and he forced her to wear a burqa even though many liberal women in Kabul were free to go without it.
Laila was born just before the Russian invasion and had dreams of a life of education and travel. A bomb kills most of her family and she recovers from her wounds in Mariam's house. Laila and her childhood friend, Tariq became closer and develop a deep love for each other. Tariq’s family however decides to leave Kabul due to civil war.
The last few parts of the novel tell about life when Laila, Mariam and her husband were living together. Towards the end of the story, it was told that Laila and Tariq returned to Afganistan after leaving the country for many years. They finally decided to start a family. At the very end of the novel, both of them were debating about the male names of their baby. Laila however, have a name in mind if the baby was a girl. It was none other than her good friend, Mariam.
Author:
Luanzon Nella Marielle Malig
MB0705
071815F
Inter Polytechnic Debates 2008 Labels: whatsthebuzz
8 November 2008 – The preliminary rounds
Today was the first day of the Inter Polytechnic Debates 2008. Teams from Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic came down to Nanyang Polytechnic to fight it out to see who the best is when it comes to debating. The preliminary rounds were held at Blk E Level 3. The matches that were played were exciting to watch. Even the motions were interesting. One of them that caught my eye was the match between NYP and NP. Even the motion was interesting. It has something to do with whether bestiality should be banned. The debate was so funny until I laughed my hearts out after the debate ended. After the preliminary round was over, only 4 teams made it to the semi-finals. They are NYP team A and B, TP team B and SP team A.
15 November 2008 – Semi-finals & Grand finals
After 1 week of break, the semi-finals and Grand finals were finally ready to begin. In the semi-finals, both NYP teams faced off and TP team B and SP team A were in the other semi-finals. After a close debate, NYP team A and TP team B went head to head in the Grand finals which was held at the Theatre For The Arts. The motion was quite interesting. It was something about Sarah Palin bringing down the image of women in politics. After a great final, TP emerged victorious. It was a very close debate but at least the NYP team gave all their best. Don’t worry we will try our best to reclaim the title again next year!
Authors:
Muhammad Syafiq Bin Abdul Rahman, Teo Teck Boon
MB0705
072282N, 073421B
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Cool =) Coins Don't Smell…You Do!!!! Albert Einstein Facts Labels: whatsthebuzz
Hey babes and dudes!! Or should I say young scientists?? Alright! Here are some of the world’s MOST INTERESTING scientific findings! I hope all of you will enjoy reading them! =)
What's the smell? It's actually from you. That’s weird! Metallic odour that we smell on coins is actually created by the breakdown of oils in skin after touching objects that contained iron. Smelling the metal itself is actually an illusion!!
In an experiment, seven test subjects reported smelling the metallic odour after their hands came into contact with iron. Researchers took gas samples from the subjects' skins and traced the smell to 1-octen-2-one, an organic molecule formed when certain oils in our skin decompose.
Scientists Write on Water??? Serious?
Though we can't walk on water, scientists have developed a way to write on it. By using the AMOEBA wave generator, scientists were able to create ripples in the form of letters. Scientists formed a few roman letters and some Japanese characters.
This remarkable display device consists of fifty water-wave generators surrounding a cylindrical tank 5 feet wide and a foot deep. The wave generators move vertically to produce cylindrical waves. These "pixels" are about 4 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches in height, as a result, forming lines and shapes.
The AMOEBA device can form all the roman alphabets, as well as some kanji characters.
All it takes is just fifteen seconds to produce one letter!
Einstein declined the presidency of the state of Israel when it was offered to him in 1952 by state leaders. The element einsteinium, discovered in 1952, was named in honour of Albert Einstein. Picture of Einstein sticking his tongue was taken on his 72nd birthday by annoying press photographer Arthur Sasse. Albert loved the photo so much that he cut his image out and sent it to all his friends.
Is someone lying to you?
Lie is usually manifested by these signs: a sudden increase in the number of \"ums\" and \"ahs.\", overly defensive, no eye contact, lying is stressful, they will try to be sarcastic, turning his body away from you, talking fast, making statements that contradict each other, unusual body language or a hand reaching to cover mouth.
Author:
Nur Syafeeqah Wahid MB0805 083325S
IMPROVEMENTS Labels: whatsthebuzz
What do you think of the campus? Do you often grumble about walking too far just to have your lunch? Or you are in need to relieve yourself yet the washrooms are nowhere to be found? Or perhaps, you have been complaining about how the school should do this or that. Well, this post involves students and the campus. Often, we can only complain yet nothing is done to what we have complained about.
In this post, we will be writing about how the school can be improved. Similarly, we have also asked around and seek for suggestions among the students in SCL.
Since our school has been emphasizing about building relationships with your classmates and teachers, it would be good we have barbecue pits in our campus. In the same way, students can organise monthly evening events. Let’s say for example, when a class organises an event, most likely a handful of classmates would not attend due to several reasons. However, one common reason is due to location as well as travelling. When a barbecue pit is situated in the school, students can stay back after lessons and gather as a class. Not only does it help us to spend lesser time on discussing on the location, it provides convenience to many. Not only that, students in SCL won’t always be labelled as either geeks and nerds, being stuck with books or notes all the time.
Not forgetting about the luxury of the elevators that we have in school. Many students are grateful for that. However, taking the elevator can really be a hassle or chore if we are unlucky enough to be caught in the sudden influx of students, proceeding to their next class! To think about climbing the stairs from the second floor all the way to the seventh floor, lugging all our belongings in the process isn’t very appealing. At times, waiting for an elevator can be like, waiting for the eternity. The whole process can take up to more than 10 agonizing minutes, most of the time due to the fact that elevators are already filled when they reach our floor. From being early or on time for lessons, we can actually end up being late, and to tell the teacher that it was due to the jam packed or infrequent elevators aren’t really valid excuses. Instead of being pitied upon, we can be branded as being just plain lazy for not wanting to take the stairs, which are always very deserted. So therefore, it is a good thing that our school has elevators, but installing a few more won’t make much of a difference, won’t it? Apart from the fact that a hole might be burnt into NYP’s pockets. We are paying school fees afterall, aren’t we?
Interacting with our peers are a vital part of school life. We suggest that the school provide us with so-called function rooms or acitivity rooms where students can just hang out and chill. There already is a library located in our campus, however not everyone are frequent library users. Besides, it is hard to get an available spot in the café to relax. Its always full of people, cause it’s the only place where students are allowed to talk and have a drink or two at the same time. The other canteens arent’t very appealing either. It’s either too crowded, or too hot. Finding a nice, comfortable air conditioned spot in school can be a chore sometimes. So, why don’t have rooms equipted with a television set, a comfy sofa? Afterall, relaxing can be something good, and at the same time, it might help to inculcate more genuises. Some people think best while relaxing, not working!
So here’s our so-called short post on how or rather, ways to improve our wonderful SCL. Not only will it make lives easier for students, it might motivate them to come to school!
Authors:
Clarabelle Loy Wen Jun (083520K) MB0805
Jacinta Tan Shu Chun (082163K) MB0805
Sunday, November 16, 2008
A bonding session for PS 0701 Labels: whatsthebuzz
PS0701 had a bbq at East Coast Park on the 30th aug 08’. It was for post exam celebration, birthday celebration and also a farewell party for one of our lecturer in DPS, Miss Andrea. All DPS lecturers were invited to join us. I thought the event was very successful and memorable for all of us.
During the bbq, the weather wasn’t very good when we reached our pit. It started drizzling. However, due to our enthusiasm, it lasted only for a short while =). So we were still able to start the fire and do the grilling. It was great to have the class enjoying together, helping each other with the food, chit chatting, and joke with one another. We also had this rare opportunity to see the ‘other’ side of the lecturers. They can be really crazy and cute at times.
Thanks to our class reps who planned the event with the help of other classmates, and thanks to the whole of PS0701 and the DPS lecturers.
The 1st photo:
These are the aug/sep birthday gals!!
Happy birthday to all…..
The 2nd photo:
The DPS lecturers!!!
You Rocks!
The 3rd photo:
This is Miss Andrea.
The scarf and the card as token of appreciation for her
Bon voyage!
All the best for her future career!
And this is US… PS0701!!
Done by: Irene Ser (074018Z) PS0701Posted by: Justin Soh/PS0701
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
MINDS carnival Labels: whatsthebuzz
the day before..
Preparations.
I helped arrange the tables and chairs and set up my stall (manicure). Then i was assigned to give out some helium balloons to the stalls. It was my first time carrying so many balloons. haha. After all the stalls have been set up, we went home.The day itself..
When I arrived at the sports hall, the balloons have already dropped to the ground. The helium must have escaped. pity. So my helpers (sandra & wanwen) and I helped to tie up the balloons to make them look neater. :) After having a curry puff, the clients started to pour into the sports hall. No one visited my stall at first but after a short while, we had more customers. & the 3 of us were put to work. It was interesting to see what kind of colour combinations they wanted. One chose red and requested me to put on another layer of blue glitter nail polish. Yup, i did just that. It looked well.. new. heh. We had male customers too and if they didn't know what colour they wanted, we put on just the nail vanish. Some were pretty funny, some chose bright colours and also wanted nail stickers. :D Well, customers first, so I did what they requested. It was only till their lunch time that we had a break. Then we slumped into our chairs, exhausted. lol.
Wanwen & I ate a pao for lunch. and we watched the clients dance to the music. While they were being entertained by the performers, we had some other customers. haha. After we packed up the stall, we watched the clients dance.. dance.. and dance some more. & then balloons were being tossed around so we too got into the fun and gave the balloons from our stall to the clients.
When everything was over, we waved bye to the friendly clients and helped clear up the rubbish from the place.
It was reaally enjoyable to be able to do what I like (manicure) on real life customers. x) It's like a dream come true. haha. And to see their satisfied and happy faces, it makes me happy too. :)
I'm anticipating more events like this in the future. :D
Bye!!!
Contributed by: Lim Woon Ching (FS0803)
Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701)
Our Leadership Building Programme. It was in the morning during one of our semester break. Majority of my classmates were present and we were all ready for the activity in front of us. Our mentor, Mr Tan Chee Boon, was looking as sporty as ever including our whole class! Our instructor of the day was Mr William and there was a lady and she was taking our photographs. We were actually joining another class which was a Food Science class with their lady mentor. The first activity was the 2 truths and 1 lie. Mr William explained the activity. In this activity, the person has to say 2 truths and 1 lie and the people around him or her has to guess which of the 3 sentences is the lie. Mr William said his 2 truths that he lived in Australia for more than 7 years and that he had a beautiful wife and 3 beautiful children. His like was that he is a marathon runner. Then it was the mentors turn to do it. Then the mentors had to choose one of their students to do it too. And guess what , my mentor chose me. So my two truths were that I am a hockey player and I was in military band and my lie was that I LOVE swimming. This is a lie as I hate swimming because I got phobia of drowning called Hobophobia. Then the next activity was a blind fold activity where you partner up with someone and one will be blindfolded while the other partner will give the directions. I partner my friend, Zhareena and unfortunately, I was chosen to be blindfolded first. I have to admit it was really scary because you cannot see where you are going but Zhareena did a great job. The stairs were the most scary part because you do not know how many steps there are. Then it finally ended and we had a debrief. I was chosen to share how I felt and my poor partner had to come out with me to share her own experience. Through this activity I found out that I am not that good in directions. The rest of the students shared their own experiences. Then the next activity was Prison Break where we had to be carried through the spider web at the adventure area. I knew I would be first to be carried through the highest and smallest part because I was the smallest there. Guess what my thoughts came true! Everyone looked at me first when the question arised of who to carry out first. So I got carried by the guys in my class and even my mentor. I was panicking as I was afraid of being crashed to the floor so you can see my panick-stricken face. Finally I went through the whole painful ordeal. My neck was in pain. Everyone was working together to bring each other across and we did it under 20 minutes. It was a hot day and I was so thirsty so we had a water break but the Malays could not drink as they were fasting. Then we had another activity called the 3 year bus ride where we discussed what the reasons of a smooth and rough journey of our 3 years in Nanyang Polytechnic. It was meaningful and you can see the presentation skills of our peers. After that the mentors discussed their worries about copying. Then it was all over. We were exhausted yet happy of how the day went by. Contributed by: Sandhya Devi (PS0802) Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701) Labels: whatsthebuzz
13 October 2008, Monday, was the start of year 2, semester 2. After a long break, I still feel tired back in school. It has been quite long I went back to school. Although feeling tired, I am still quite happy to go back to school as I get to see my classmates and friends again after such a long time. I felt happy and comfortable that I am able to hear them talk about their holidays, jokes and etc. We received our timetable for this semester. Oh my gosh! 7 modules this semester! And these modules are difficult. Our mentor told us that these might be the most difficult modules throughout the 3 years. Almost 1 week have passed… The first week of the school reopen was still considered quite relaxing as introductions; briefings were made for most modules. I believed that the rest of the days of the semester would be quite tough. We got to work hard then. Jia You Everyone!!! Labels: whatsthebuzz
Contributed by: Toh Shi Min (MB0704)
Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Not just boasting a cute interface alone, this fun and deceptively simple game tests your typing speed, your English vocabulary and how fast your brain can process an anagram of letters and arrange it into words recognized by the English dictionary. (Options for the dictionary vary; Scrabble players can even take on the TWL98 or SOWPODS dictionaries.) Labels: whatsthebuzz
Basically, you are given 6 letters and it recognizes words from 3 letters onwards. A time constraint of a minute and 30 seconds is given and you are to work out as many words as possible during that time period. (Fortunately, you can work around that: 4-lettered words and above gives you bonus time.)
All the possible words that can be formed are indicated in the blanks beside the cute-faced clock. Can you think of what other words there would be?
If you figure out a 6-lettered word (e.g. RNDIFE un-shuffled gives you FRIEND), you get a bonus round where you are to figure out whose name is it, out of all your friends on Facebook, that is hidden in another 6 letters and earn some extra points!
Oh yea! I managed to guess who it was within the time limit! In case you are wondering why my friend is called “Fan”, it’s because we are to guess a friend’s first name, and for many of us it turns out to be our surname.
You get to compete with your other friends that have added this app (you can invite more of your friends on Facebook to join in the fun) based on scores to see who has the biggest vocabulary of them all. You will be likened to certain ranks of people based on your score, ranging to that of a toddler to an anagram cyborg.
With a little help from my elder sister (with my horrible typing speed this rank is just not possible for me T_T) I’m 3rd among my friends and I supposedly have a vocabulary of a lawyer. (Supposedly.)
Think you can do better? Start challenging now!
Contributed by : Ng Qianning(083218W) of PS0803
Posted up by : Desiree Lau(071224N) of MB0704
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Contributed by: JianLi PS0801 Labels: whatsthebuzz
World of Warcraft is an online role-playing experience set in the award-winning Warcraft universe. Players assume the roles of Warcraft heroes as they explore, adventure, and quest across a vast world. World of Warcraft is a "Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game" which allows thousands of players to interact within the same world. Whether adventuring together or fighting against each other in epic battles, players will form friendships, forge alliances, and compete with enemies for power and glory.
As a massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft enables thousands of players to come together online and battle against the world and each other. Players from across the globe can leave the real world behind and undertake grand quests and heroic exploits in a land of fantastic adventure.
Unlike other MMORPGs, World of Warcraft allows players to play the game at their own pace, whether it be a few hours here and there or entire weeks at a time. The quest system also provides an enormous variety of captivating quests with story elements, dynamic events, and flexible reward systems. World of Warcraft also features a faster style of play, with less downtime and an emphasis on combat and tactics against multiple opponents.
There is an expansion pack called the Burning Crusade which was released in January 2007. The second expansion pack : Wrath of the Lich king is scheduled to release in the US at the end of this year. There is one catch to this fabulous game however, it is a pay to play game which costs around 24 SG dollars per month. Game cards can be bought at almost any gaming outlets.
Game Score: 9.0/10 * Great.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Hello, people! We’re more than halfway into this semester, and (I think) we’re supposed to be getting ready for those final tests coming in a few weeks time. I’m sure we’ll do great. Anyway, I chanced upon a book recently, titled Guns, Germs, and Steel. The book does in fact talk about weapons, diseases and metallurgy. It probably doesn’t seem all that appealing at first glance, but it is actually a very good book. This book, however, is not a novel. It’s more of an informative kind of text, but written in a manner that doesn’t make you fall asleep whilst reading. Labels: whatsthebuzz
Guns, Germs, and Steel details the rise and fall of various nations. It explains in much detail why ancient China dropped out of the race in development, and why countries of the West soared ahead during that period. There is much talk of how various technological advancements, mainly in the military field, has helped many a nation to rise in dominance. Other factors, like the environment, and disease, are shown to play an equally, if not more important role in deciding the stability of a country.
The book pretty much takes all the interesting bits of history and fleshes them out nicely. Even I, having claimed to dislike history, found this book quite astounding. I suppose that would be why it won the Pulitzer back in 1998.
In short, if you have the time, pick it up. I guarantee that it will be a pleasantly light, and yet informative read.
Written by Joseph Lee(082849F,MB0801)
Posted by Kevin Neo (070625Y, MB0704)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Hello, Jack(084351N) from FS0801 here, As you all know in the month of July'08 a blockbuster film was released known as "The Batman : The Dark Knight". I'm pretty sure alot of you movie-goers have already seen the movie. For those who haven't seen the movie, this review might contain spoilers that would ruin the movie if you haven't watch it yet."The Dark Knight" as many of you know, was the last movie for the actor Heath Ledger who died due to a drug overdose on 23 january'08. If you enjoy any of his movie before "The Dark Knight" Please take some time off and watch this movie as a tribute to his final film.This movie was written by Christopher Nolan, the same man who brought the revival of the Batman movie with his hit movie "Batman Begins" during 2005, If you think Batman Begin was good, this movie will knock your socks off :D Labels: whatsthebuzz
This review is a short review of the entire movie.
The movie begins a bunch of thugs robbing a mob bank in broad daylight using Clown Mask to hide their identify. As the robbery proceed, the robbers began to eliminate each other in hopes of having more loot for themselves. This is the introduction of The Joker [ Health Ledger ]On the very same night, the Russian Mobsters were having a deal with the Scarecrow where they were ambushed by multiple fake Batmans using firearms and was stopped by the real Batman which received damaged from the mobsters dogs.So under the consideration of making his suit more mobile ( Allowing his head to turn ) , Bruce Wayne turned to Lucius Fox, his trusted "Q" like in James Bond to design a new suit for him. Enter Harvey Dent. Gotham’s newly elected district attorney. He is called a white knight that’s out for all the crooks and bad guys of the city, even Batman. The movie is basically surrounding him through out and even though you root for his character, in the back of your mind you know how it all plays out. He will become Two-Face, and there’s no stopping it. The way his character falls from grace will really affect you because it has happened in real life to people who are noble and generally good people, which is jokers ambition through out.. Then the mobsters gathered in the a kitchen to discuss about how to handle the "Batman" Then came along Joker, who introduced himself to the mobsters and left after performing a magic trick with a pencil. :DAs the movie continues, more shocking events will happen including the destruction of the batmobile and introduction of the Batpod then came along Two-face Harvey Dent and how Bruce Wayne will have to face his biggest foe to date in the Joker, and will have to look in the mirror many times to see how far he will push himself to stop a mad man.Anymore said would spoil the movie for you, so read this brief review, head to the cinema and watch this movie today! Remember to buy it when it's out on DVD too :D
Contributed by Jack 084351N from FS0801
Posted by Norbert 075302H MB0702
Monday, June 2, 2008
Wie geht es Ihnen? Comment ca va? How are you? Alright these are some of the phrases we have learnt from our foreign languages elective. If you actually understand them, you will realise that the first two phrases are basically the German and French versions of ‘’How are you?’’ respectively. Labels: whatsthebuzz
Languages to some may seem to be the most important tool for communication. In fact, language is communication, without language there will be no communication and you would not understand what I am trying to say here. Understanding the importance of language is one thing, however learning a new form of language is certainly an incredible feat.
Language is imprinted in the person mind through his family background; one might even say it is inherited. That was how I view someone who had done so well in their languages is because they use it more often than I do. That may sound logical at first, until I realise some people do not actually follow this logic of mine.
An example will be a person called Barry Cox. He is a British who can sing in Cantonese and is able to converse fluently in Mandarin. Do note that Mr. Cox certainly has no Cantonese-speaking mother or father, yet just by attending lessons, he is able to grasp the language rapidly. Fascinating it may seem but such cases are rare, a person who has a linguistic brain may also have a mind that learns new things rapidly.
It is disappointing indeed for a person who has not done well in his languages for years. However, we must realise that we are created differently; we all have different talents.
Created and submitted by Daniel Tan Chun Sin MB0804 (083713T)
Comic presented by thebigscope.blogspot.com
Posted by Norbert MB0702
Contributed by FS0703 070618A Chan Ka Chun Patrick Labels: whatsthebuzz
Number of players: 2 – 8 (Recommend at least 5)
Playing time: 1 – 3 hours (8 players)
Introduction
Citadels is a mind-engaging game whereby players will assume various characters who possess unique abilities in your quest to build up a city, subsequently winning the game.
Good news for players who blame their bad luck: the beauty of this game is that the game mechanism largely eliminates random components, no dice throwing nor coin flipping. It is all about battle of wit, outwit and sabotages.
The more cunning and witty the players, the more fun and interactive the game play.
Game play
Each player is dealt four (4) district “building” cards and two (2) gold coins. Each turn, players will choose to draw card or gain gold coins. Gold coins are the currency for building the district cards from hand. Also, players are to select one (1) of the nine (9) characters whom they will assume for the duration of the turn. Each character has his / her unique abilities that can assist in your game play or sabotage other players. Once any player has built eight (8) districts, the game will end at the end of that round. Players will tabulate their scores mainly from the gold coin value of their district cards built. The player with highest score wins.
Character abilities
1. Assassin: Makes a player to skip his / her turn.
2. Thief: Steals all the gold coins from a player.
3. Magician: Swaps your cards in hand with either with another player or with the deck of cards.
4. King: First player of the round aka first player to choose the character cards aka most choices.
5. Bishop: Buildings cannot be destroyed by Warlord.
6. Merchant: One (1) free gold.
7. Architect: Two (2) free cards. Builds up to three (3) buildings instead of one (1).
8. Warlord: Destroys one (1) district at the expense of own gold coins.
9. Artist: Adds gold coins from your stash onto your district to increase the gold coin value of them and make them more expensive to be destroyed by Warlord.
Where to buy / play
Citadels is a card game that is commonly available at board game cafes such as Settler’s Café and Mind’s Café.
Alternatively, you can get your copy at Paradigm Infinitum in Ochard Road for $30+.
http://www.pi.com.sg/html/index.html
For more information, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadels_(game)
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Labels: whatsthebuzzBook Review: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
In my opinion, one of the most extraordinary works of fiction in the recent years. Set in the Napoleonic era, this book speaks extensively about the reign of Napoleon from the British point of view. An interesting point is the inclusion of dragons as aerial battle vessels… Nope the MOST important point of the book is the inclusion of dragons and their handlers.
Captain Will Laurence of the British Navy captures a rare dragon egg bound for France, the egg hatches and the young dragon unexpectedly bonds with Laurence. Named Temeraire, the young dragon and his captain soon join the Aerial Corps as the frontline aerial defence against Napoleon’s aerial attacks against Britain.
At a first glance the book already seems interesting, brimming with recommendations and blazoned with quotes from world-renowned authors such as Stephen King. However, throw your self in the book and you’ll find that its easily one of the most captivating books you’ll ever read. The plot is excellent, with many twists and turns forcing you to guess and discard theories on what happens next. The main characters, Temeraire and Laurence capture your heart from the very beginning of the story and it justs gets better and better. Naomi Novik excels in twisting the story’s plot such that your laughing in glee 1 minute and wiping tears away the next.
Definitely a must read for all fantasy and dragon fansWritten by
Nicholas
Labels: whatsthebuzz
Chris Brown
With his easy-going demeanor and schoolboy charm, Chris Brown could easily be somebody that you know. One listen and I draw comparisons to Michael Jackson, Tevin Campbell, and Usher. Listening longer then I realized he has a style, flavour that are all his own.
His debut CD takes us on a journey through the malls, parties and teen hangouts as Chris covers a variety of subjects. It's an album about young boys, young girls -- young love. It is something that I and most teenagers can relate to. My personal favourites from Chris’s debut album have to be “Just Fine”, “Run It” and the ballad off the movie Step Up, “Say Goodbye”.
Now, with the release of Exclusive, my new favourites are “I Wanna Be” and “Kiss Kiss”. Recently, the newly-released single “With You” also had hitched on me. The style in the new album is varied and different from his debut. Chris has shown how far he has progressed with him co-writing several tracks.
Well Chris Brown may still look like the boy-next-door but, he sounds nothing like it. Bottom line is Chris’s definitely buzz-worthy with two chart-topping albums and counting. He is a must hear young artist from the R&B industry!Written bySiti Fatimah Bte Mohd Ali
A Thousand Splendid Suns Labels: whatsthebuzz
By Khaled Hosseini
To me, this has got to be one of the best books that I had ever read in my whole life. Even until now I can still remember the storyline. The novel is divided into four parts. The first part focuses exclusively on Mariam, the second and fourth parts focus on Laila, and the third part switches focus between Mariam and Laila with each chapter.
Mariam was born an illegitimate child in 1959 after a wealthy business man (Jalil) slept with his house maid (Nana) and got her pregnant but did not marry her. Mariam and Nana lived in a small hut for 15 years until Mariam was married off to a man from Kabul when she was 15. Her husband was abusive and cruel and he forced her to wear a burqa even though many liberal women in Kabul were free to go without it.
Laila was born just before the Russian invasion and had dreams of a life of education and travel. A bomb kills most of her family and she recovers from her wounds in Mariam's house. Laila and her childhood friend, Tariq became closer and develop a deep love for each other. Tariq’s family however decides to leave Kabul due to civil war.
The last few parts of the novel tell about life when Laila, Mariam and her husband were living together. Towards the end of the story, it was told that Laila and Tariq returned to Afganistan after leaving the country for many years. They finally decided to start a family. At the very end of the novel, both of them were debating about the male names of their baby. Laila however, have a name in mind if the baby was a girl. It was none other than her good friend, Mariam.
Author:
Luanzon Nella Marielle Malig
MB0705
071815F
Inter Polytechnic Debates 2008 Labels: whatsthebuzz
8 November 2008 – The preliminary rounds
Today was the first day of the Inter Polytechnic Debates 2008. Teams from Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic came down to Nanyang Polytechnic to fight it out to see who the best is when it comes to debating. The preliminary rounds were held at Blk E Level 3. The matches that were played were exciting to watch. Even the motions were interesting. One of them that caught my eye was the match between NYP and NP. Even the motion was interesting. It has something to do with whether bestiality should be banned. The debate was so funny until I laughed my hearts out after the debate ended. After the preliminary round was over, only 4 teams made it to the semi-finals. They are NYP team A and B, TP team B and SP team A.
15 November 2008 – Semi-finals & Grand finals
After 1 week of break, the semi-finals and Grand finals were finally ready to begin. In the semi-finals, both NYP teams faced off and TP team B and SP team A were in the other semi-finals. After a close debate, NYP team A and TP team B went head to head in the Grand finals which was held at the Theatre For The Arts. The motion was quite interesting. It was something about Sarah Palin bringing down the image of women in politics. After a great final, TP emerged victorious. It was a very close debate but at least the NYP team gave all their best. Don’t worry we will try our best to reclaim the title again next year!
Authors:
Muhammad Syafiq Bin Abdul Rahman, Teo Teck Boon
MB0705
072282N, 073421B
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Cool =) Coins Don't Smell…You Do!!!! Albert Einstein Facts Labels: whatsthebuzz
Hey babes and dudes!! Or should I say young scientists?? Alright! Here are some of the world’s MOST INTERESTING scientific findings! I hope all of you will enjoy reading them! =)
What's the smell? It's actually from you. That’s weird! Metallic odour that we smell on coins is actually created by the breakdown of oils in skin after touching objects that contained iron. Smelling the metal itself is actually an illusion!!
In an experiment, seven test subjects reported smelling the metallic odour after their hands came into contact with iron. Researchers took gas samples from the subjects' skins and traced the smell to 1-octen-2-one, an organic molecule formed when certain oils in our skin decompose.
Scientists Write on Water??? Serious?
Though we can't walk on water, scientists have developed a way to write on it. By using the AMOEBA wave generator, scientists were able to create ripples in the form of letters. Scientists formed a few roman letters and some Japanese characters.
This remarkable display device consists of fifty water-wave generators surrounding a cylindrical tank 5 feet wide and a foot deep. The wave generators move vertically to produce cylindrical waves. These "pixels" are about 4 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches in height, as a result, forming lines and shapes.
The AMOEBA device can form all the roman alphabets, as well as some kanji characters.
All it takes is just fifteen seconds to produce one letter!
Einstein declined the presidency of the state of Israel when it was offered to him in 1952 by state leaders. The element einsteinium, discovered in 1952, was named in honour of Albert Einstein. Picture of Einstein sticking his tongue was taken on his 72nd birthday by annoying press photographer Arthur Sasse. Albert loved the photo so much that he cut his image out and sent it to all his friends.
Is someone lying to you?
Lie is usually manifested by these signs: a sudden increase in the number of \"ums\" and \"ahs.\", overly defensive, no eye contact, lying is stressful, they will try to be sarcastic, turning his body away from you, talking fast, making statements that contradict each other, unusual body language or a hand reaching to cover mouth.
Author:
Nur Syafeeqah Wahid MB0805 083325S
IMPROVEMENTS Labels: whatsthebuzz
What do you think of the campus? Do you often grumble about walking too far just to have your lunch? Or you are in need to relieve yourself yet the washrooms are nowhere to be found? Or perhaps, you have been complaining about how the school should do this or that. Well, this post involves students and the campus. Often, we can only complain yet nothing is done to what we have complained about.
In this post, we will be writing about how the school can be improved. Similarly, we have also asked around and seek for suggestions among the students in SCL.
Since our school has been emphasizing about building relationships with your classmates and teachers, it would be good we have barbecue pits in our campus. In the same way, students can organise monthly evening events. Let’s say for example, when a class organises an event, most likely a handful of classmates would not attend due to several reasons. However, one common reason is due to location as well as travelling. When a barbecue pit is situated in the school, students can stay back after lessons and gather as a class. Not only does it help us to spend lesser time on discussing on the location, it provides convenience to many. Not only that, students in SCL won’t always be labelled as either geeks and nerds, being stuck with books or notes all the time.
Not forgetting about the luxury of the elevators that we have in school. Many students are grateful for that. However, taking the elevator can really be a hassle or chore if we are unlucky enough to be caught in the sudden influx of students, proceeding to their next class! To think about climbing the stairs from the second floor all the way to the seventh floor, lugging all our belongings in the process isn’t very appealing. At times, waiting for an elevator can be like, waiting for the eternity. The whole process can take up to more than 10 agonizing minutes, most of the time due to the fact that elevators are already filled when they reach our floor. From being early or on time for lessons, we can actually end up being late, and to tell the teacher that it was due to the jam packed or infrequent elevators aren’t really valid excuses. Instead of being pitied upon, we can be branded as being just plain lazy for not wanting to take the stairs, which are always very deserted. So therefore, it is a good thing that our school has elevators, but installing a few more won’t make much of a difference, won’t it? Apart from the fact that a hole might be burnt into NYP’s pockets. We are paying school fees afterall, aren’t we?
Interacting with our peers are a vital part of school life. We suggest that the school provide us with so-called function rooms or acitivity rooms where students can just hang out and chill. There already is a library located in our campus, however not everyone are frequent library users. Besides, it is hard to get an available spot in the café to relax. Its always full of people, cause it’s the only place where students are allowed to talk and have a drink or two at the same time. The other canteens arent’t very appealing either. It’s either too crowded, or too hot. Finding a nice, comfortable air conditioned spot in school can be a chore sometimes. So, why don’t have rooms equipted with a television set, a comfy sofa? Afterall, relaxing can be something good, and at the same time, it might help to inculcate more genuises. Some people think best while relaxing, not working!
So here’s our so-called short post on how or rather, ways to improve our wonderful SCL. Not only will it make lives easier for students, it might motivate them to come to school!
Authors:
Clarabelle Loy Wen Jun (083520K) MB0805
Jacinta Tan Shu Chun (082163K) MB0805
Sunday, November 16, 2008
A bonding session for PS 0701 Labels: whatsthebuzz
PS0701 had a bbq at East Coast Park on the 30th aug 08’. It was for post exam celebration, birthday celebration and also a farewell party for one of our lecturer in DPS, Miss Andrea. All DPS lecturers were invited to join us. I thought the event was very successful and memorable for all of us.
During the bbq, the weather wasn’t very good when we reached our pit. It started drizzling. However, due to our enthusiasm, it lasted only for a short while =). So we were still able to start the fire and do the grilling. It was great to have the class enjoying together, helping each other with the food, chit chatting, and joke with one another. We also had this rare opportunity to see the ‘other’ side of the lecturers. They can be really crazy and cute at times.
Thanks to our class reps who planned the event with the help of other classmates, and thanks to the whole of PS0701 and the DPS lecturers.
The 1st photo:
These are the aug/sep birthday gals!!
Happy birthday to all…..
The 2nd photo:
The DPS lecturers!!!
You Rocks!
The 3rd photo:
This is Miss Andrea.
The scarf and the card as token of appreciation for her
Bon voyage!
All the best for her future career!
And this is US… PS0701!!
Done by: Irene Ser (074018Z) PS0701Posted by: Justin Soh/PS0701
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
MINDS carnival Labels: whatsthebuzz
the day before..
Preparations.
I helped arrange the tables and chairs and set up my stall (manicure). Then i was assigned to give out some helium balloons to the stalls. It was my first time carrying so many balloons. haha. After all the stalls have been set up, we went home.The day itself..
When I arrived at the sports hall, the balloons have already dropped to the ground. The helium must have escaped. pity. So my helpers (sandra & wanwen) and I helped to tie up the balloons to make them look neater. :) After having a curry puff, the clients started to pour into the sports hall. No one visited my stall at first but after a short while, we had more customers. & the 3 of us were put to work. It was interesting to see what kind of colour combinations they wanted. One chose red and requested me to put on another layer of blue glitter nail polish. Yup, i did just that. It looked well.. new. heh. We had male customers too and if they didn't know what colour they wanted, we put on just the nail vanish. Some were pretty funny, some chose bright colours and also wanted nail stickers. :D Well, customers first, so I did what they requested. It was only till their lunch time that we had a break. Then we slumped into our chairs, exhausted. lol.
Wanwen & I ate a pao for lunch. and we watched the clients dance to the music. While they were being entertained by the performers, we had some other customers. haha. After we packed up the stall, we watched the clients dance.. dance.. and dance some more. & then balloons were being tossed around so we too got into the fun and gave the balloons from our stall to the clients.
When everything was over, we waved bye to the friendly clients and helped clear up the rubbish from the place.
It was reaally enjoyable to be able to do what I like (manicure) on real life customers. x) It's like a dream come true. haha. And to see their satisfied and happy faces, it makes me happy too. :)
I'm anticipating more events like this in the future. :D
Bye!!!
Contributed by: Lim Woon Ching (FS0803)
Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701)
Our Leadership Building Programme. It was in the morning during one of our semester break. Majority of my classmates were present and we were all ready for the activity in front of us. Our mentor, Mr Tan Chee Boon, was looking as sporty as ever including our whole class! Our instructor of the day was Mr William and there was a lady and she was taking our photographs. We were actually joining another class which was a Food Science class with their lady mentor. The first activity was the 2 truths and 1 lie. Mr William explained the activity. In this activity, the person has to say 2 truths and 1 lie and the people around him or her has to guess which of the 3 sentences is the lie. Mr William said his 2 truths that he lived in Australia for more than 7 years and that he had a beautiful wife and 3 beautiful children. His like was that he is a marathon runner. Then it was the mentors turn to do it. Then the mentors had to choose one of their students to do it too. And guess what , my mentor chose me. So my two truths were that I am a hockey player and I was in military band and my lie was that I LOVE swimming. This is a lie as I hate swimming because I got phobia of drowning called Hobophobia. Then the next activity was a blind fold activity where you partner up with someone and one will be blindfolded while the other partner will give the directions. I partner my friend, Zhareena and unfortunately, I was chosen to be blindfolded first. I have to admit it was really scary because you cannot see where you are going but Zhareena did a great job. The stairs were the most scary part because you do not know how many steps there are. Then it finally ended and we had a debrief. I was chosen to share how I felt and my poor partner had to come out with me to share her own experience. Through this activity I found out that I am not that good in directions. The rest of the students shared their own experiences. Then the next activity was Prison Break where we had to be carried through the spider web at the adventure area. I knew I would be first to be carried through the highest and smallest part because I was the smallest there. Guess what my thoughts came true! Everyone looked at me first when the question arised of who to carry out first. So I got carried by the guys in my class and even my mentor. I was panicking as I was afraid of being crashed to the floor so you can see my panick-stricken face. Finally I went through the whole painful ordeal. My neck was in pain. Everyone was working together to bring each other across and we did it under 20 minutes. It was a hot day and I was so thirsty so we had a water break but the Malays could not drink as they were fasting. Then we had another activity called the 3 year bus ride where we discussed what the reasons of a smooth and rough journey of our 3 years in Nanyang Polytechnic. It was meaningful and you can see the presentation skills of our peers. After that the mentors discussed their worries about copying. Then it was all over. We were exhausted yet happy of how the day went by. Contributed by: Sandhya Devi (PS0802) Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701) Labels: whatsthebuzz
13 October 2008, Monday, was the start of year 2, semester 2. After a long break, I still feel tired back in school. It has been quite long I went back to school. Although feeling tired, I am still quite happy to go back to school as I get to see my classmates and friends again after such a long time. I felt happy and comfortable that I am able to hear them talk about their holidays, jokes and etc. We received our timetable for this semester. Oh my gosh! 7 modules this semester! And these modules are difficult. Our mentor told us that these might be the most difficult modules throughout the 3 years. Almost 1 week have passed… The first week of the school reopen was still considered quite relaxing as introductions; briefings were made for most modules. I believed that the rest of the days of the semester would be quite tough. We got to work hard then. Jia You Everyone!!! Labels: whatsthebuzz
Contributed by: Toh Shi Min (MB0704)
Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Not just boasting a cute interface alone, this fun and deceptively simple game tests your typing speed, your English vocabulary and how fast your brain can process an anagram of letters and arrange it into words recognized by the English dictionary. (Options for the dictionary vary; Scrabble players can even take on the TWL98 or SOWPODS dictionaries.) Labels: whatsthebuzz
Basically, you are given 6 letters and it recognizes words from 3 letters onwards. A time constraint of a minute and 30 seconds is given and you are to work out as many words as possible during that time period. (Fortunately, you can work around that: 4-lettered words and above gives you bonus time.)
All the possible words that can be formed are indicated in the blanks beside the cute-faced clock. Can you think of what other words there would be?
If you figure out a 6-lettered word (e.g. RNDIFE un-shuffled gives you FRIEND), you get a bonus round where you are to figure out whose name is it, out of all your friends on Facebook, that is hidden in another 6 letters and earn some extra points!
Oh yea! I managed to guess who it was within the time limit! In case you are wondering why my friend is called “Fan”, it’s because we are to guess a friend’s first name, and for many of us it turns out to be our surname.
You get to compete with your other friends that have added this app (you can invite more of your friends on Facebook to join in the fun) based on scores to see who has the biggest vocabulary of them all. You will be likened to certain ranks of people based on your score, ranging to that of a toddler to an anagram cyborg.
With a little help from my elder sister (with my horrible typing speed this rank is just not possible for me T_T) I’m 3rd among my friends and I supposedly have a vocabulary of a lawyer. (Supposedly.)
Think you can do better? Start challenging now!
Contributed by : Ng Qianning(083218W) of PS0803
Posted up by : Desiree Lau(071224N) of MB0704
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Contributed by: JianLi PS0801 Labels: whatsthebuzz
World of Warcraft is an online role-playing experience set in the award-winning Warcraft universe. Players assume the roles of Warcraft heroes as they explore, adventure, and quest across a vast world. World of Warcraft is a "Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game" which allows thousands of players to interact within the same world. Whether adventuring together or fighting against each other in epic battles, players will form friendships, forge alliances, and compete with enemies for power and glory.
As a massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft enables thousands of players to come together online and battle against the world and each other. Players from across the globe can leave the real world behind and undertake grand quests and heroic exploits in a land of fantastic adventure.
Unlike other MMORPGs, World of Warcraft allows players to play the game at their own pace, whether it be a few hours here and there or entire weeks at a time. The quest system also provides an enormous variety of captivating quests with story elements, dynamic events, and flexible reward systems. World of Warcraft also features a faster style of play, with less downtime and an emphasis on combat and tactics against multiple opponents.
There is an expansion pack called the Burning Crusade which was released in January 2007. The second expansion pack : Wrath of the Lich king is scheduled to release in the US at the end of this year. There is one catch to this fabulous game however, it is a pay to play game which costs around 24 SG dollars per month. Game cards can be bought at almost any gaming outlets.
Game Score: 9.0/10 * Great.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Hello, people! We’re more than halfway into this semester, and (I think) we’re supposed to be getting ready for those final tests coming in a few weeks time. I’m sure we’ll do great. Anyway, I chanced upon a book recently, titled Guns, Germs, and Steel. The book does in fact talk about weapons, diseases and metallurgy. It probably doesn’t seem all that appealing at first glance, but it is actually a very good book. This book, however, is not a novel. It’s more of an informative kind of text, but written in a manner that doesn’t make you fall asleep whilst reading. Labels: whatsthebuzz
Guns, Germs, and Steel details the rise and fall of various nations. It explains in much detail why ancient China dropped out of the race in development, and why countries of the West soared ahead during that period. There is much talk of how various technological advancements, mainly in the military field, has helped many a nation to rise in dominance. Other factors, like the environment, and disease, are shown to play an equally, if not more important role in deciding the stability of a country.
The book pretty much takes all the interesting bits of history and fleshes them out nicely. Even I, having claimed to dislike history, found this book quite astounding. I suppose that would be why it won the Pulitzer back in 1998.
In short, if you have the time, pick it up. I guarantee that it will be a pleasantly light, and yet informative read.
Written by Joseph Lee(082849F,MB0801)
Posted by Kevin Neo (070625Y, MB0704)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Hello, Jack(084351N) from FS0801 here, As you all know in the month of July'08 a blockbuster film was released known as "The Batman : The Dark Knight". I'm pretty sure alot of you movie-goers have already seen the movie. For those who haven't seen the movie, this review might contain spoilers that would ruin the movie if you haven't watch it yet."The Dark Knight" as many of you know, was the last movie for the actor Heath Ledger who died due to a drug overdose on 23 january'08. If you enjoy any of his movie before "The Dark Knight" Please take some time off and watch this movie as a tribute to his final film.This movie was written by Christopher Nolan, the same man who brought the revival of the Batman movie with his hit movie "Batman Begins" during 2005, If you think Batman Begin was good, this movie will knock your socks off :D Labels: whatsthebuzz
This review is a short review of the entire movie.
The movie begins a bunch of thugs robbing a mob bank in broad daylight using Clown Mask to hide their identify. As the robbery proceed, the robbers began to eliminate each other in hopes of having more loot for themselves. This is the introduction of The Joker [ Health Ledger ]On the very same night, the Russian Mobsters were having a deal with the Scarecrow where they were ambushed by multiple fake Batmans using firearms and was stopped by the real Batman which received damaged from the mobsters dogs.So under the consideration of making his suit more mobile ( Allowing his head to turn ) , Bruce Wayne turned to Lucius Fox, his trusted "Q" like in James Bond to design a new suit for him. Enter Harvey Dent. Gotham’s newly elected district attorney. He is called a white knight that’s out for all the crooks and bad guys of the city, even Batman. The movie is basically surrounding him through out and even though you root for his character, in the back of your mind you know how it all plays out. He will become Two-Face, and there’s no stopping it. The way his character falls from grace will really affect you because it has happened in real life to people who are noble and generally good people, which is jokers ambition through out.. Then the mobsters gathered in the a kitchen to discuss about how to handle the "Batman" Then came along Joker, who introduced himself to the mobsters and left after performing a magic trick with a pencil. :DAs the movie continues, more shocking events will happen including the destruction of the batmobile and introduction of the Batpod then came along Two-face Harvey Dent and how Bruce Wayne will have to face his biggest foe to date in the Joker, and will have to look in the mirror many times to see how far he will push himself to stop a mad man.Anymore said would spoil the movie for you, so read this brief review, head to the cinema and watch this movie today! Remember to buy it when it's out on DVD too :D
Contributed by Jack 084351N from FS0801
Posted by Norbert 075302H MB0702
Monday, June 2, 2008
Wie geht es Ihnen? Comment ca va? How are you? Alright these are some of the phrases we have learnt from our foreign languages elective. If you actually understand them, you will realise that the first two phrases are basically the German and French versions of ‘’How are you?’’ respectively. Labels: whatsthebuzz
Languages to some may seem to be the most important tool for communication. In fact, language is communication, without language there will be no communication and you would not understand what I am trying to say here. Understanding the importance of language is one thing, however learning a new form of language is certainly an incredible feat.
Language is imprinted in the person mind through his family background; one might even say it is inherited. That was how I view someone who had done so well in their languages is because they use it more often than I do. That may sound logical at first, until I realise some people do not actually follow this logic of mine.
An example will be a person called Barry Cox. He is a British who can sing in Cantonese and is able to converse fluently in Mandarin. Do note that Mr. Cox certainly has no Cantonese-speaking mother or father, yet just by attending lessons, he is able to grasp the language rapidly. Fascinating it may seem but such cases are rare, a person who has a linguistic brain may also have a mind that learns new things rapidly.
It is disappointing indeed for a person who has not done well in his languages for years. However, we must realise that we are created differently; we all have different talents.
Created and submitted by Daniel Tan Chun Sin MB0804 (083713T)
Comic presented by thebigscope.blogspot.com
Posted by Norbert MB0702
Contributed by FS0703 070618A Chan Ka Chun Patrick Labels: whatsthebuzz
Number of players: 2 – 8 (Recommend at least 5)
Playing time: 1 – 3 hours (8 players)
Introduction
Citadels is a mind-engaging game whereby players will assume various characters who possess unique abilities in your quest to build up a city, subsequently winning the game.
Good news for players who blame their bad luck: the beauty of this game is that the game mechanism largely eliminates random components, no dice throwing nor coin flipping. It is all about battle of wit, outwit and sabotages.
The more cunning and witty the players, the more fun and interactive the game play.
Game play
Each player is dealt four (4) district “building” cards and two (2) gold coins. Each turn, players will choose to draw card or gain gold coins. Gold coins are the currency for building the district cards from hand. Also, players are to select one (1) of the nine (9) characters whom they will assume for the duration of the turn. Each character has his / her unique abilities that can assist in your game play or sabotage other players. Once any player has built eight (8) districts, the game will end at the end of that round. Players will tabulate their scores mainly from the gold coin value of their district cards built. The player with highest score wins.
Character abilities
1. Assassin: Makes a player to skip his / her turn.
2. Thief: Steals all the gold coins from a player.
3. Magician: Swaps your cards in hand with either with another player or with the deck of cards.
4. King: First player of the round aka first player to choose the character cards aka most choices.
5. Bishop: Buildings cannot be destroyed by Warlord.
6. Merchant: One (1) free gold.
7. Architect: Two (2) free cards. Builds up to three (3) buildings instead of one (1).
8. Warlord: Destroys one (1) district at the expense of own gold coins.
9. Artist: Adds gold coins from your stash onto your district to increase the gold coin value of them and make them more expensive to be destroyed by Warlord.
Where to buy / play
Citadels is a card game that is commonly available at board game cafes such as Settler’s Café and Mind’s Café.
Alternatively, you can get your copy at Paradigm Infinitum in Ochard Road for $30+.
http://www.pi.com.sg/html/index.html
For more information, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadels_(game)
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Labels: whatsthebuzzBook Review: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
In my opinion, one of the most extraordinary works of fiction in the recent years. Set in the Napoleonic era, this book speaks extensively about the reign of Napoleon from the British point of view. An interesting point is the inclusion of dragons as aerial battle vessels… Nope the MOST important point of the book is the inclusion of dragons and their handlers.
Captain Will Laurence of the British Navy captures a rare dragon egg bound for France, the egg hatches and the young dragon unexpectedly bonds with Laurence. Named Temeraire, the young dragon and his captain soon join the Aerial Corps as the frontline aerial defence against Napoleon’s aerial attacks against Britain.
At a first glance the book already seems interesting, brimming with recommendations and blazoned with quotes from world-renowned authors such as Stephen King. However, throw your self in the book and you’ll find that its easily one of the most captivating books you’ll ever read. The plot is excellent, with many twists and turns forcing you to guess and discard theories on what happens next. The main characters, Temeraire and Laurence capture your heart from the very beginning of the story and it justs gets better and better. Naomi Novik excels in twisting the story’s plot such that your laughing in glee 1 minute and wiping tears away the next.
Definitely a must read for all fantasy and dragon fansWritten by
Nicholas
Labels: whatsthebuzz
Chris Brown
With his easy-going demeanor and schoolboy charm, Chris Brown could easily be somebody that you know. One listen and I draw comparisons to Michael Jackson, Tevin Campbell, and Usher. Listening longer then I realized he has a style, flavour that are all his own.
His debut CD takes us on a journey through the malls, parties and teen hangouts as Chris covers a variety of subjects. It's an album about young boys, young girls -- young love. It is something that I and most teenagers can relate to. My personal favourites from Chris’s debut album have to be “Just Fine”, “Run It” and the ballad off the movie Step Up, “Say Goodbye”.
Now, with the release of Exclusive, my new favourites are “I Wanna Be” and “Kiss Kiss”. Recently, the newly-released single “With You” also had hitched on me. The style in the new album is varied and different from his debut. Chris has shown how far he has progressed with him co-writing several tracks.
Well Chris Brown may still look like the boy-next-door but, he sounds nothing like it. Bottom line is Chris’s definitely buzz-worthy with two chart-topping albums and counting. He is a must hear young artist from the R&B industry!Written bySiti Fatimah Bte Mohd Ali
A Thousand Splendid Suns Labels: whatsthebuzz
By Khaled Hosseini
To me, this has got to be one of the best books that I had ever read in my whole life. Even until now I can still remember the storyline. The novel is divided into four parts. The first part focuses exclusively on Mariam, the second and fourth parts focus on Laila, and the third part switches focus between Mariam and Laila with each chapter.
Mariam was born an illegitimate child in 1959 after a wealthy business man (Jalil) slept with his house maid (Nana) and got her pregnant but did not marry her. Mariam and Nana lived in a small hut for 15 years until Mariam was married off to a man from Kabul when she was 15. Her husband was abusive and cruel and he forced her to wear a burqa even though many liberal women in Kabul were free to go without it.
Laila was born just before the Russian invasion and had dreams of a life of education and travel. A bomb kills most of her family and she recovers from her wounds in Mariam's house. Laila and her childhood friend, Tariq became closer and develop a deep love for each other. Tariq’s family however decides to leave Kabul due to civil war.
The last few parts of the novel tell about life when Laila, Mariam and her husband were living together. Towards the end of the story, it was told that Laila and Tariq returned to Afganistan after leaving the country for many years. They finally decided to start a family. At the very end of the novel, both of them were debating about the male names of their baby. Laila however, have a name in mind if the baby was a girl. It was none other than her good friend, Mariam.
Author:
Luanzon Nella Marielle Malig
MB0705
071815F
Inter Polytechnic Debates 2008 Labels: whatsthebuzz
8 November 2008 – The preliminary rounds
Today was the first day of the Inter Polytechnic Debates 2008. Teams from Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic came down to Nanyang Polytechnic to fight it out to see who the best is when it comes to debating. The preliminary rounds were held at Blk E Level 3. The matches that were played were exciting to watch. Even the motions were interesting. One of them that caught my eye was the match between NYP and NP. Even the motion was interesting. It has something to do with whether bestiality should be banned. The debate was so funny until I laughed my hearts out after the debate ended. After the preliminary round was over, only 4 teams made it to the semi-finals. They are NYP team A and B, TP team B and SP team A.
15 November 2008 – Semi-finals & Grand finals
After 1 week of break, the semi-finals and Grand finals were finally ready to begin. In the semi-finals, both NYP teams faced off and TP team B and SP team A were in the other semi-finals. After a close debate, NYP team A and TP team B went head to head in the Grand finals which was held at the Theatre For The Arts. The motion was quite interesting. It was something about Sarah Palin bringing down the image of women in politics. After a great final, TP emerged victorious. It was a very close debate but at least the NYP team gave all their best. Don’t worry we will try our best to reclaim the title again next year!
Authors:
Muhammad Syafiq Bin Abdul Rahman, Teo Teck Boon
MB0705
072282N, 073421B
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Cool =) Coins Don't Smell…You Do!!!! Albert Einstein Facts Labels: whatsthebuzz
Hey babes and dudes!! Or should I say young scientists?? Alright! Here are some of the world’s MOST INTERESTING scientific findings! I hope all of you will enjoy reading them! =)
What's the smell? It's actually from you. That’s weird! Metallic odour that we smell on coins is actually created by the breakdown of oils in skin after touching objects that contained iron. Smelling the metal itself is actually an illusion!!
In an experiment, seven test subjects reported smelling the metallic odour after their hands came into contact with iron. Researchers took gas samples from the subjects' skins and traced the smell to 1-octen-2-one, an organic molecule formed when certain oils in our skin decompose.
Scientists Write on Water??? Serious?
Though we can't walk on water, scientists have developed a way to write on it. By using the AMOEBA wave generator, scientists were able to create ripples in the form of letters. Scientists formed a few roman letters and some Japanese characters.
This remarkable display device consists of fifty water-wave generators surrounding a cylindrical tank 5 feet wide and a foot deep. The wave generators move vertically to produce cylindrical waves. These "pixels" are about 4 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches in height, as a result, forming lines and shapes.
The AMOEBA device can form all the roman alphabets, as well as some kanji characters.
All it takes is just fifteen seconds to produce one letter!
Einstein declined the presidency of the state of Israel when it was offered to him in 1952 by state leaders. The element einsteinium, discovered in 1952, was named in honour of Albert Einstein. Picture of Einstein sticking his tongue was taken on his 72nd birthday by annoying press photographer Arthur Sasse. Albert loved the photo so much that he cut his image out and sent it to all his friends.
Is someone lying to you?
Lie is usually manifested by these signs: a sudden increase in the number of \"ums\" and \"ahs.\", overly defensive, no eye contact, lying is stressful, they will try to be sarcastic, turning his body away from you, talking fast, making statements that contradict each other, unusual body language or a hand reaching to cover mouth.
Author:
Nur Syafeeqah Wahid MB0805 083325S
IMPROVEMENTS Labels: whatsthebuzz
What do you think of the campus? Do you often grumble about walking too far just to have your lunch? Or you are in need to relieve yourself yet the washrooms are nowhere to be found? Or perhaps, you have been complaining about how the school should do this or that. Well, this post involves students and the campus. Often, we can only complain yet nothing is done to what we have complained about.
In this post, we will be writing about how the school can be improved. Similarly, we have also asked around and seek for suggestions among the students in SCL.
Since our school has been emphasizing about building relationships with your classmates and teachers, it would be good we have barbecue pits in our campus. In the same way, students can organise monthly evening events. Let’s say for example, when a class organises an event, most likely a handful of classmates would not attend due to several reasons. However, one common reason is due to location as well as travelling. When a barbecue pit is situated in the school, students can stay back after lessons and gather as a class. Not only does it help us to spend lesser time on discussing on the location, it provides convenience to many. Not only that, students in SCL won’t always be labelled as either geeks and nerds, being stuck with books or notes all the time.
Not forgetting about the luxury of the elevators that we have in school. Many students are grateful for that. However, taking the elevator can really be a hassle or chore if we are unlucky enough to be caught in the sudden influx of students, proceeding to their next class! To think about climbing the stairs from the second floor all the way to the seventh floor, lugging all our belongings in the process isn’t very appealing. At times, waiting for an elevator can be like, waiting for the eternity. The whole process can take up to more than 10 agonizing minutes, most of the time due to the fact that elevators are already filled when they reach our floor. From being early or on time for lessons, we can actually end up being late, and to tell the teacher that it was due to the jam packed or infrequent elevators aren’t really valid excuses. Instead of being pitied upon, we can be branded as being just plain lazy for not wanting to take the stairs, which are always very deserted. So therefore, it is a good thing that our school has elevators, but installing a few more won’t make much of a difference, won’t it? Apart from the fact that a hole might be burnt into NYP’s pockets. We are paying school fees afterall, aren’t we?
Interacting with our peers are a vital part of school life. We suggest that the school provide us with so-called function rooms or acitivity rooms where students can just hang out and chill. There already is a library located in our campus, however not everyone are frequent library users. Besides, it is hard to get an available spot in the café to relax. Its always full of people, cause it’s the only place where students are allowed to talk and have a drink or two at the same time. The other canteens arent’t very appealing either. It’s either too crowded, or too hot. Finding a nice, comfortable air conditioned spot in school can be a chore sometimes. So, why don’t have rooms equipted with a television set, a comfy sofa? Afterall, relaxing can be something good, and at the same time, it might help to inculcate more genuises. Some people think best while relaxing, not working!
So here’s our so-called short post on how or rather, ways to improve our wonderful SCL. Not only will it make lives easier for students, it might motivate them to come to school!
Authors:
Clarabelle Loy Wen Jun (083520K) MB0805
Jacinta Tan Shu Chun (082163K) MB0805
Sunday, November 16, 2008
A bonding session for PS 0701 Labels: whatsthebuzz
PS0701 had a bbq at East Coast Park on the 30th aug 08’. It was for post exam celebration, birthday celebration and also a farewell party for one of our lecturer in DPS, Miss Andrea. All DPS lecturers were invited to join us. I thought the event was very successful and memorable for all of us.
During the bbq, the weather wasn’t very good when we reached our pit. It started drizzling. However, due to our enthusiasm, it lasted only for a short while =). So we were still able to start the fire and do the grilling. It was great to have the class enjoying together, helping each other with the food, chit chatting, and joke with one another. We also had this rare opportunity to see the ‘other’ side of the lecturers. They can be really crazy and cute at times.
Thanks to our class reps who planned the event with the help of other classmates, and thanks to the whole of PS0701 and the DPS lecturers.
The 1st photo:
These are the aug/sep birthday gals!!
Happy birthday to all…..
The 2nd photo:
The DPS lecturers!!!
You Rocks!
The 3rd photo:
This is Miss Andrea.
The scarf and the card as token of appreciation for her
Bon voyage!
All the best for her future career!
And this is US… PS0701!!
Done by: Irene Ser (074018Z) PS0701Posted by: Justin Soh/PS0701
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
MINDS carnival Labels: whatsthebuzz
the day before..
Preparations.
I helped arrange the tables and chairs and set up my stall (manicure). Then i was assigned to give out some helium balloons to the stalls. It was my first time carrying so many balloons. haha. After all the stalls have been set up, we went home.The day itself..
When I arrived at the sports hall, the balloons have already dropped to the ground. The helium must have escaped. pity. So my helpers (sandra & wanwen) and I helped to tie up the balloons to make them look neater. :) After having a curry puff, the clients started to pour into the sports hall. No one visited my stall at first but after a short while, we had more customers. & the 3 of us were put to work. It was interesting to see what kind of colour combinations they wanted. One chose red and requested me to put on another layer of blue glitter nail polish. Yup, i did just that. It looked well.. new. heh. We had male customers too and if they didn't know what colour they wanted, we put on just the nail vanish. Some were pretty funny, some chose bright colours and also wanted nail stickers. :D Well, customers first, so I did what they requested. It was only till their lunch time that we had a break. Then we slumped into our chairs, exhausted. lol.
Wanwen & I ate a pao for lunch. and we watched the clients dance to the music. While they were being entertained by the performers, we had some other customers. haha. After we packed up the stall, we watched the clients dance.. dance.. and dance some more. & then balloons were being tossed around so we too got into the fun and gave the balloons from our stall to the clients.
When everything was over, we waved bye to the friendly clients and helped clear up the rubbish from the place.
It was reaally enjoyable to be able to do what I like (manicure) on real life customers. x) It's like a dream come true. haha. And to see their satisfied and happy faces, it makes me happy too. :)
I'm anticipating more events like this in the future. :D
Bye!!!
Contributed by: Lim Woon Ching (FS0803)
Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701)
Our Leadership Building Programme. It was in the morning during one of our semester break. Majority of my classmates were present and we were all ready for the activity in front of us. Our mentor, Mr Tan Chee Boon, was looking as sporty as ever including our whole class! Our instructor of the day was Mr William and there was a lady and she was taking our photographs. We were actually joining another class which was a Food Science class with their lady mentor. The first activity was the 2 truths and 1 lie. Mr William explained the activity. In this activity, the person has to say 2 truths and 1 lie and the people around him or her has to guess which of the 3 sentences is the lie. Mr William said his 2 truths that he lived in Australia for more than 7 years and that he had a beautiful wife and 3 beautiful children. His like was that he is a marathon runner. Then it was the mentors turn to do it. Then the mentors had to choose one of their students to do it too. And guess what , my mentor chose me. So my two truths were that I am a hockey player and I was in military band and my lie was that I LOVE swimming. This is a lie as I hate swimming because I got phobia of drowning called Hobophobia. Then the next activity was a blind fold activity where you partner up with someone and one will be blindfolded while the other partner will give the directions. I partner my friend, Zhareena and unfortunately, I was chosen to be blindfolded first. I have to admit it was really scary because you cannot see where you are going but Zhareena did a great job. The stairs were the most scary part because you do not know how many steps there are. Then it finally ended and we had a debrief. I was chosen to share how I felt and my poor partner had to come out with me to share her own experience. Through this activity I found out that I am not that good in directions. The rest of the students shared their own experiences. Then the next activity was Prison Break where we had to be carried through the spider web at the adventure area. I knew I would be first to be carried through the highest and smallest part because I was the smallest there. Guess what my thoughts came true! Everyone looked at me first when the question arised of who to carry out first. So I got carried by the guys in my class and even my mentor. I was panicking as I was afraid of being crashed to the floor so you can see my panick-stricken face. Finally I went through the whole painful ordeal. My neck was in pain. Everyone was working together to bring each other across and we did it under 20 minutes. It was a hot day and I was so thirsty so we had a water break but the Malays could not drink as they were fasting. Then we had another activity called the 3 year bus ride where we discussed what the reasons of a smooth and rough journey of our 3 years in Nanyang Polytechnic. It was meaningful and you can see the presentation skills of our peers. After that the mentors discussed their worries about copying. Then it was all over. We were exhausted yet happy of how the day went by. Contributed by: Sandhya Devi (PS0802) Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701) Labels: whatsthebuzz
13 October 2008, Monday, was the start of year 2, semester 2. After a long break, I still feel tired back in school. It has been quite long I went back to school. Although feeling tired, I am still quite happy to go back to school as I get to see my classmates and friends again after such a long time. I felt happy and comfortable that I am able to hear them talk about their holidays, jokes and etc. We received our timetable for this semester. Oh my gosh! 7 modules this semester! And these modules are difficult. Our mentor told us that these might be the most difficult modules throughout the 3 years. Almost 1 week have passed… The first week of the school reopen was still considered quite relaxing as introductions; briefings were made for most modules. I believed that the rest of the days of the semester would be quite tough. We got to work hard then. Jia You Everyone!!! Labels: whatsthebuzz
Contributed by: Toh Shi Min (MB0704)
Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Not just boasting a cute interface alone, this fun and deceptively simple game tests your typing speed, your English vocabulary and how fast your brain can process an anagram of letters and arrange it into words recognized by the English dictionary. (Options for the dictionary vary; Scrabble players can even take on the TWL98 or SOWPODS dictionaries.) Labels: whatsthebuzz
Basically, you are given 6 letters and it recognizes words from 3 letters onwards. A time constraint of a minute and 30 seconds is given and you are to work out as many words as possible during that time period. (Fortunately, you can work around that: 4-lettered words and above gives you bonus time.)
All the possible words that can be formed are indicated in the blanks beside the cute-faced clock. Can you think of what other words there would be?
If you figure out a 6-lettered word (e.g. RNDIFE un-shuffled gives you FRIEND), you get a bonus round where you are to figure out whose name is it, out of all your friends on Facebook, that is hidden in another 6 letters and earn some extra points!
Oh yea! I managed to guess who it was within the time limit! In case you are wondering why my friend is called “Fan”, it’s because we are to guess a friend’s first name, and for many of us it turns out to be our surname.
You get to compete with your other friends that have added this app (you can invite more of your friends on Facebook to join in the fun) based on scores to see who has the biggest vocabulary of them all. You will be likened to certain ranks of people based on your score, ranging to that of a toddler to an anagram cyborg.
With a little help from my elder sister (with my horrible typing speed this rank is just not possible for me T_T) I’m 3rd among my friends and I supposedly have a vocabulary of a lawyer. (Supposedly.)
Think you can do better? Start challenging now!
Contributed by : Ng Qianning(083218W) of PS0803
Posted up by : Desiree Lau(071224N) of MB0704
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Contributed by: JianLi PS0801 Labels: whatsthebuzz
World of Warcraft is an online role-playing experience set in the award-winning Warcraft universe. Players assume the roles of Warcraft heroes as they explore, adventure, and quest across a vast world. World of Warcraft is a "Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game" which allows thousands of players to interact within the same world. Whether adventuring together or fighting against each other in epic battles, players will form friendships, forge alliances, and compete with enemies for power and glory.
As a massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft enables thousands of players to come together online and battle against the world and each other. Players from across the globe can leave the real world behind and undertake grand quests and heroic exploits in a land of fantastic adventure.
Unlike other MMORPGs, World of Warcraft allows players to play the game at their own pace, whether it be a few hours here and there or entire weeks at a time. The quest system also provides an enormous variety of captivating quests with story elements, dynamic events, and flexible reward systems. World of Warcraft also features a faster style of play, with less downtime and an emphasis on combat and tactics against multiple opponents.
There is an expansion pack called the Burning Crusade which was released in January 2007. The second expansion pack : Wrath of the Lich king is scheduled to release in the US at the end of this year. There is one catch to this fabulous game however, it is a pay to play game which costs around 24 SG dollars per month. Game cards can be bought at almost any gaming outlets.
Game Score: 9.0/10 * Great.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Hello, people! We’re more than halfway into this semester, and (I think) we’re supposed to be getting ready for those final tests coming in a few weeks time. I’m sure we’ll do great. Anyway, I chanced upon a book recently, titled Guns, Germs, and Steel. The book does in fact talk about weapons, diseases and metallurgy. It probably doesn’t seem all that appealing at first glance, but it is actually a very good book. This book, however, is not a novel. It’s more of an informative kind of text, but written in a manner that doesn’t make you fall asleep whilst reading. Labels: whatsthebuzz
Guns, Germs, and Steel details the rise and fall of various nations. It explains in much detail why ancient China dropped out of the race in development, and why countries of the West soared ahead during that period. There is much talk of how various technological advancements, mainly in the military field, has helped many a nation to rise in dominance. Other factors, like the environment, and disease, are shown to play an equally, if not more important role in deciding the stability of a country.
The book pretty much takes all the interesting bits of history and fleshes them out nicely. Even I, having claimed to dislike history, found this book quite astounding. I suppose that would be why it won the Pulitzer back in 1998.
In short, if you have the time, pick it up. I guarantee that it will be a pleasantly light, and yet informative read.
Written by Joseph Lee(082849F,MB0801)
Posted by Kevin Neo (070625Y, MB0704)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Hello, Jack(084351N) from FS0801 here, As you all know in the month of July'08 a blockbuster film was released known as "The Batman : The Dark Knight". I'm pretty sure alot of you movie-goers have already seen the movie. For those who haven't seen the movie, this review might contain spoilers that would ruin the movie if you haven't watch it yet."The Dark Knight" as many of you know, was the last movie for the actor Heath Ledger who died due to a drug overdose on 23 january'08. If you enjoy any of his movie before "The Dark Knight" Please take some time off and watch this movie as a tribute to his final film.This movie was written by Christopher Nolan, the same man who brought the revival of the Batman movie with his hit movie "Batman Begins" during 2005, If you think Batman Begin was good, this movie will knock your socks off :D Labels: whatsthebuzz
This review is a short review of the entire movie.
The movie begins a bunch of thugs robbing a mob bank in broad daylight using Clown Mask to hide their identify. As the robbery proceed, the robbers began to eliminate each other in hopes of having more loot for themselves. This is the introduction of The Joker [ Health Ledger ]On the very same night, the Russian Mobsters were having a deal with the Scarecrow where they were ambushed by multiple fake Batmans using firearms and was stopped by the real Batman which received damaged from the mobsters dogs.So under the consideration of making his suit more mobile ( Allowing his head to turn ) , Bruce Wayne turned to Lucius Fox, his trusted "Q" like in James Bond to design a new suit for him. Enter Harvey Dent. Gotham’s newly elected district attorney. He is called a white knight that’s out for all the crooks and bad guys of the city, even Batman. The movie is basically surrounding him through out and even though you root for his character, in the back of your mind you know how it all plays out. He will become Two-Face, and there’s no stopping it. The way his character falls from grace will really affect you because it has happened in real life to people who are noble and generally good people, which is jokers ambition through out.. Then the mobsters gathered in the a kitchen to discuss about how to handle the "Batman" Then came along Joker, who introduced himself to the mobsters and left after performing a magic trick with a pencil. :DAs the movie continues, more shocking events will happen including the destruction of the batmobile and introduction of the Batpod then came along Two-face Harvey Dent and how Bruce Wayne will have to face his biggest foe to date in the Joker, and will have to look in the mirror many times to see how far he will push himself to stop a mad man.Anymore said would spoil the movie for you, so read this brief review, head to the cinema and watch this movie today! Remember to buy it when it's out on DVD too :D
Contributed by Jack 084351N from FS0801
Posted by Norbert 075302H MB0702
Monday, June 2, 2008
Wie geht es Ihnen? Comment ca va? How are you? Alright these are some of the phrases we have learnt from our foreign languages elective. If you actually understand them, you will realise that the first two phrases are basically the German and French versions of ‘’How are you?’’ respectively. Labels: whatsthebuzz
Languages to some may seem to be the most important tool for communication. In fact, language is communication, without language there will be no communication and you would not understand what I am trying to say here. Understanding the importance of language is one thing, however learning a new form of language is certainly an incredible feat.
Language is imprinted in the person mind through his family background; one might even say it is inherited. That was how I view someone who had done so well in their languages is because they use it more often than I do. That may sound logical at first, until I realise some people do not actually follow this logic of mine.
An example will be a person called Barry Cox. He is a British who can sing in Cantonese and is able to converse fluently in Mandarin. Do note that Mr. Cox certainly has no Cantonese-speaking mother or father, yet just by attending lessons, he is able to grasp the language rapidly. Fascinating it may seem but such cases are rare, a person who has a linguistic brain may also have a mind that learns new things rapidly.
It is disappointing indeed for a person who has not done well in his languages for years. However, we must realise that we are created differently; we all have different talents.
Created and submitted by Daniel Tan Chun Sin MB0804 (083713T)
Comic presented by thebigscope.blogspot.com
Posted by Norbert MB0702
Contributed by FS0703 070618A Chan Ka Chun Patrick Labels: whatsthebuzz
Number of players: 2 – 8 (Recommend at least 5)
Playing time: 1 – 3 hours (8 players)
Introduction
Citadels is a mind-engaging game whereby players will assume various characters who possess unique abilities in your quest to build up a city, subsequently winning the game.
Good news for players who blame their bad luck: the beauty of this game is that the game mechanism largely eliminates random components, no dice throwing nor coin flipping. It is all about battle of wit, outwit and sabotages.
The more cunning and witty the players, the more fun and interactive the game play.
Game play
Each player is dealt four (4) district “building” cards and two (2) gold coins. Each turn, players will choose to draw card or gain gold coins. Gold coins are the currency for building the district cards from hand. Also, players are to select one (1) of the nine (9) characters whom they will assume for the duration of the turn. Each character has his / her unique abilities that can assist in your game play or sabotage other players. Once any player has built eight (8) districts, the game will end at the end of that round. Players will tabulate their scores mainly from the gold coin value of their district cards built. The player with highest score wins.
Character abilities
1. Assassin: Makes a player to skip his / her turn.
2. Thief: Steals all the gold coins from a player.
3. Magician: Swaps your cards in hand with either with another player or with the deck of cards.
4. King: First player of the round aka first player to choose the character cards aka most choices.
5. Bishop: Buildings cannot be destroyed by Warlord.
6. Merchant: One (1) free gold.
7. Architect: Two (2) free cards. Builds up to three (3) buildings instead of one (1).
8. Warlord: Destroys one (1) district at the expense of own gold coins.
9. Artist: Adds gold coins from your stash onto your district to increase the gold coin value of them and make them more expensive to be destroyed by Warlord.
Where to buy / play
Citadels is a card game that is commonly available at board game cafes such as Settler’s Café and Mind’s Café.
Alternatively, you can get your copy at Paradigm Infinitum in Ochard Road for $30+.
http://www.pi.com.sg/html/index.html
For more information, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadels_(game)
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Labels: whatsthebuzzBook Review: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
In my opinion, one of the most extraordinary works of fiction in the recent years. Set in the Napoleonic era, this book speaks extensively about the reign of Napoleon from the British point of view. An interesting point is the inclusion of dragons as aerial battle vessels… Nope the MOST important point of the book is the inclusion of dragons and their handlers.
Captain Will Laurence of the British Navy captures a rare dragon egg bound for France, the egg hatches and the young dragon unexpectedly bonds with Laurence. Named Temeraire, the young dragon and his captain soon join the Aerial Corps as the frontline aerial defence against Napoleon’s aerial attacks against Britain.
At a first glance the book already seems interesting, brimming with recommendations and blazoned with quotes from world-renowned authors such as Stephen King. However, throw your self in the book and you’ll find that its easily one of the most captivating books you’ll ever read. The plot is excellent, with many twists and turns forcing you to guess and discard theories on what happens next. The main characters, Temeraire and Laurence capture your heart from the very beginning of the story and it justs gets better and better. Naomi Novik excels in twisting the story’s plot such that your laughing in glee 1 minute and wiping tears away the next.
Definitely a must read for all fantasy and dragon fansWritten by
Nicholas
Labels: whatsthebuzz
Chris Brown
With his easy-going demeanor and schoolboy charm, Chris Brown could easily be somebody that you know. One listen and I draw comparisons to Michael Jackson, Tevin Campbell, and Usher. Listening longer then I realized he has a style, flavour that are all his own.
His debut CD takes us on a journey through the malls, parties and teen hangouts as Chris covers a variety of subjects. It's an album about young boys, young girls -- young love. It is something that I and most teenagers can relate to. My personal favourites from Chris’s debut album have to be “Just Fine”, “Run It” and the ballad off the movie Step Up, “Say Goodbye”.
Now, with the release of Exclusive, my new favourites are “I Wanna Be” and “Kiss Kiss”. Recently, the newly-released single “With You” also had hitched on me. The style in the new album is varied and different from his debut. Chris has shown how far he has progressed with him co-writing several tracks.
Well Chris Brown may still look like the boy-next-door but, he sounds nothing like it. Bottom line is Chris’s definitely buzz-worthy with two chart-topping albums and counting. He is a must hear young artist from the R&B industry!Written bySiti Fatimah Bte Mohd Ali
A Thousand Splendid Suns Labels: whatsthebuzz
By Khaled Hosseini
To me, this has got to be one of the best books that I had ever read in my whole life. Even until now I can still remember the storyline. The novel is divided into four parts. The first part focuses exclusively on Mariam, the second and fourth parts focus on Laila, and the third part switches focus between Mariam and Laila with each chapter.
Mariam was born an illegitimate child in 1959 after a wealthy business man (Jalil) slept with his house maid (Nana) and got her pregnant but did not marry her. Mariam and Nana lived in a small hut for 15 years until Mariam was married off to a man from Kabul when she was 15. Her husband was abusive and cruel and he forced her to wear a burqa even though many liberal women in Kabul were free to go without it.
Laila was born just before the Russian invasion and had dreams of a life of education and travel. A bomb kills most of her family and she recovers from her wounds in Mariam's house. Laila and her childhood friend, Tariq became closer and develop a deep love for each other. Tariq’s family however decides to leave Kabul due to civil war.
The last few parts of the novel tell about life when Laila, Mariam and her husband were living together. Towards the end of the story, it was told that Laila and Tariq returned to Afganistan after leaving the country for many years. They finally decided to start a family. At the very end of the novel, both of them were debating about the male names of their baby. Laila however, have a name in mind if the baby was a girl. It was none other than her good friend, Mariam.
Author:
Luanzon Nella Marielle Malig
MB0705
071815F
Inter Polytechnic Debates 2008 Labels: whatsthebuzz
8 November 2008 – The preliminary rounds
Today was the first day of the Inter Polytechnic Debates 2008. Teams from Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic came down to Nanyang Polytechnic to fight it out to see who the best is when it comes to debating. The preliminary rounds were held at Blk E Level 3. The matches that were played were exciting to watch. Even the motions were interesting. One of them that caught my eye was the match between NYP and NP. Even the motion was interesting. It has something to do with whether bestiality should be banned. The debate was so funny until I laughed my hearts out after the debate ended. After the preliminary round was over, only 4 teams made it to the semi-finals. They are NYP team A and B, TP team B and SP team A.
15 November 2008 – Semi-finals & Grand finals
After 1 week of break, the semi-finals and Grand finals were finally ready to begin. In the semi-finals, both NYP teams faced off and TP team B and SP team A were in the other semi-finals. After a close debate, NYP team A and TP team B went head to head in the Grand finals which was held at the Theatre For The Arts. The motion was quite interesting. It was something about Sarah Palin bringing down the image of women in politics. After a great final, TP emerged victorious. It was a very close debate but at least the NYP team gave all their best. Don’t worry we will try our best to reclaim the title again next year!
Authors:
Muhammad Syafiq Bin Abdul Rahman, Teo Teck Boon
MB0705
072282N, 073421B
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Cool =) Coins Don't Smell…You Do!!!! Albert Einstein Facts Labels: whatsthebuzz
Hey babes and dudes!! Or should I say young scientists?? Alright! Here are some of the world’s MOST INTERESTING scientific findings! I hope all of you will enjoy reading them! =)
What's the smell? It's actually from you. That’s weird! Metallic odour that we smell on coins is actually created by the breakdown of oils in skin after touching objects that contained iron. Smelling the metal itself is actually an illusion!!
In an experiment, seven test subjects reported smelling the metallic odour after their hands came into contact with iron. Researchers took gas samples from the subjects' skins and traced the smell to 1-octen-2-one, an organic molecule formed when certain oils in our skin decompose.
Scientists Write on Water??? Serious?
Though we can't walk on water, scientists have developed a way to write on it. By using the AMOEBA wave generator, scientists were able to create ripples in the form of letters. Scientists formed a few roman letters and some Japanese characters.
This remarkable display device consists of fifty water-wave generators surrounding a cylindrical tank 5 feet wide and a foot deep. The wave generators move vertically to produce cylindrical waves. These "pixels" are about 4 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches in height, as a result, forming lines and shapes.
The AMOEBA device can form all the roman alphabets, as well as some kanji characters.
All it takes is just fifteen seconds to produce one letter!
Einstein declined the presidency of the state of Israel when it was offered to him in 1952 by state leaders. The element einsteinium, discovered in 1952, was named in honour of Albert Einstein. Picture of Einstein sticking his tongue was taken on his 72nd birthday by annoying press photographer Arthur Sasse. Albert loved the photo so much that he cut his image out and sent it to all his friends.
Is someone lying to you?
Lie is usually manifested by these signs: a sudden increase in the number of \"ums\" and \"ahs.\", overly defensive, no eye contact, lying is stressful, they will try to be sarcastic, turning his body away from you, talking fast, making statements that contradict each other, unusual body language or a hand reaching to cover mouth.
Author:
Nur Syafeeqah Wahid MB0805 083325S
IMPROVEMENTS Labels: whatsthebuzz
What do you think of the campus? Do you often grumble about walking too far just to have your lunch? Or you are in need to relieve yourself yet the washrooms are nowhere to be found? Or perhaps, you have been complaining about how the school should do this or that. Well, this post involves students and the campus. Often, we can only complain yet nothing is done to what we have complained about.
In this post, we will be writing about how the school can be improved. Similarly, we have also asked around and seek for suggestions among the students in SCL.
Since our school has been emphasizing about building relationships with your classmates and teachers, it would be good we have barbecue pits in our campus. In the same way, students can organise monthly evening events. Let’s say for example, when a class organises an event, most likely a handful of classmates would not attend due to several reasons. However, one common reason is due to location as well as travelling. When a barbecue pit is situated in the school, students can stay back after lessons and gather as a class. Not only does it help us to spend lesser time on discussing on the location, it provides convenience to many. Not only that, students in SCL won’t always be labelled as either geeks and nerds, being stuck with books or notes all the time.
Not forgetting about the luxury of the elevators that we have in school. Many students are grateful for that. However, taking the elevator can really be a hassle or chore if we are unlucky enough to be caught in the sudden influx of students, proceeding to their next class! To think about climbing the stairs from the second floor all the way to the seventh floor, lugging all our belongings in the process isn’t very appealing. At times, waiting for an elevator can be like, waiting for the eternity. The whole process can take up to more than 10 agonizing minutes, most of the time due to the fact that elevators are already filled when they reach our floor. From being early or on time for lessons, we can actually end up being late, and to tell the teacher that it was due to the jam packed or infrequent elevators aren’t really valid excuses. Instead of being pitied upon, we can be branded as being just plain lazy for not wanting to take the stairs, which are always very deserted. So therefore, it is a good thing that our school has elevators, but installing a few more won’t make much of a difference, won’t it? Apart from the fact that a hole might be burnt into NYP’s pockets. We are paying school fees afterall, aren’t we?
Interacting with our peers are a vital part of school life. We suggest that the school provide us with so-called function rooms or acitivity rooms where students can just hang out and chill. There already is a library located in our campus, however not everyone are frequent library users. Besides, it is hard to get an available spot in the café to relax. Its always full of people, cause it’s the only place where students are allowed to talk and have a drink or two at the same time. The other canteens arent’t very appealing either. It’s either too crowded, or too hot. Finding a nice, comfortable air conditioned spot in school can be a chore sometimes. So, why don’t have rooms equipted with a television set, a comfy sofa? Afterall, relaxing can be something good, and at the same time, it might help to inculcate more genuises. Some people think best while relaxing, not working!
So here’s our so-called short post on how or rather, ways to improve our wonderful SCL. Not only will it make lives easier for students, it might motivate them to come to school!
Authors:
Clarabelle Loy Wen Jun (083520K) MB0805
Jacinta Tan Shu Chun (082163K) MB0805
Sunday, November 16, 2008
A bonding session for PS 0701 Labels: whatsthebuzz
PS0701 had a bbq at East Coast Park on the 30th aug 08’. It was for post exam celebration, birthday celebration and also a farewell party for one of our lecturer in DPS, Miss Andrea. All DPS lecturers were invited to join us. I thought the event was very successful and memorable for all of us.
During the bbq, the weather wasn’t very good when we reached our pit. It started drizzling. However, due to our enthusiasm, it lasted only for a short while =). So we were still able to start the fire and do the grilling. It was great to have the class enjoying together, helping each other with the food, chit chatting, and joke with one another. We also had this rare opportunity to see the ‘other’ side of the lecturers. They can be really crazy and cute at times.
Thanks to our class reps who planned the event with the help of other classmates, and thanks to the whole of PS0701 and the DPS lecturers.
The 1st photo:
These are the aug/sep birthday gals!!
Happy birthday to all…..
The 2nd photo:
The DPS lecturers!!!
You Rocks!
The 3rd photo:
This is Miss Andrea.
The scarf and the card as token of appreciation for her
Bon voyage!
All the best for her future career!
And this is US… PS0701!!
Done by: Irene Ser (074018Z) PS0701Posted by: Justin Soh/PS0701
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
MINDS carnival Labels: whatsthebuzz
the day before..
Preparations.
I helped arrange the tables and chairs and set up my stall (manicure). Then i was assigned to give out some helium balloons to the stalls. It was my first time carrying so many balloons. haha. After all the stalls have been set up, we went home.The day itself..
When I arrived at the sports hall, the balloons have already dropped to the ground. The helium must have escaped. pity. So my helpers (sandra & wanwen) and I helped to tie up the balloons to make them look neater. :) After having a curry puff, the clients started to pour into the sports hall. No one visited my stall at first but after a short while, we had more customers. & the 3 of us were put to work. It was interesting to see what kind of colour combinations they wanted. One chose red and requested me to put on another layer of blue glitter nail polish. Yup, i did just that. It looked well.. new. heh. We had male customers too and if they didn't know what colour they wanted, we put on just the nail vanish. Some were pretty funny, some chose bright colours and also wanted nail stickers. :D Well, customers first, so I did what they requested. It was only till their lunch time that we had a break. Then we slumped into our chairs, exhausted. lol.
Wanwen & I ate a pao for lunch. and we watched the clients dance to the music. While they were being entertained by the performers, we had some other customers. haha. After we packed up the stall, we watched the clients dance.. dance.. and dance some more. & then balloons were being tossed around so we too got into the fun and gave the balloons from our stall to the clients.
When everything was over, we waved bye to the friendly clients and helped clear up the rubbish from the place.
It was reaally enjoyable to be able to do what I like (manicure) on real life customers. x) It's like a dream come true. haha. And to see their satisfied and happy faces, it makes me happy too. :)
I'm anticipating more events like this in the future. :D
Bye!!!
Contributed by: Lim Woon Ching (FS0803)
Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701)
Our Leadership Building Programme. It was in the morning during one of our semester break. Majority of my classmates were present and we were all ready for the activity in front of us. Our mentor, Mr Tan Chee Boon, was looking as sporty as ever including our whole class! Our instructor of the day was Mr William and there was a lady and she was taking our photographs. We were actually joining another class which was a Food Science class with their lady mentor. The first activity was the 2 truths and 1 lie. Mr William explained the activity. In this activity, the person has to say 2 truths and 1 lie and the people around him or her has to guess which of the 3 sentences is the lie. Mr William said his 2 truths that he lived in Australia for more than 7 years and that he had a beautiful wife and 3 beautiful children. His like was that he is a marathon runner. Then it was the mentors turn to do it. Then the mentors had to choose one of their students to do it too. And guess what , my mentor chose me. So my two truths were that I am a hockey player and I was in military band and my lie was that I LOVE swimming. This is a lie as I hate swimming because I got phobia of drowning called Hobophobia. Then the next activity was a blind fold activity where you partner up with someone and one will be blindfolded while the other partner will give the directions. I partner my friend, Zhareena and unfortunately, I was chosen to be blindfolded first. I have to admit it was really scary because you cannot see where you are going but Zhareena did a great job. The stairs were the most scary part because you do not know how many steps there are. Then it finally ended and we had a debrief. I was chosen to share how I felt and my poor partner had to come out with me to share her own experience. Through this activity I found out that I am not that good in directions. The rest of the students shared their own experiences. Then the next activity was Prison Break where we had to be carried through the spider web at the adventure area. I knew I would be first to be carried through the highest and smallest part because I was the smallest there. Guess what my thoughts came true! Everyone looked at me first when the question arised of who to carry out first. So I got carried by the guys in my class and even my mentor. I was panicking as I was afraid of being crashed to the floor so you can see my panick-stricken face. Finally I went through the whole painful ordeal. My neck was in pain. Everyone was working together to bring each other across and we did it under 20 minutes. It was a hot day and I was so thirsty so we had a water break but the Malays could not drink as they were fasting. Then we had another activity called the 3 year bus ride where we discussed what the reasons of a smooth and rough journey of our 3 years in Nanyang Polytechnic. It was meaningful and you can see the presentation skills of our peers. After that the mentors discussed their worries about copying. Then it was all over. We were exhausted yet happy of how the day went by. Contributed by: Sandhya Devi (PS0802) Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701) Labels: whatsthebuzz
13 October 2008, Monday, was the start of year 2, semester 2. After a long break, I still feel tired back in school. It has been quite long I went back to school. Although feeling tired, I am still quite happy to go back to school as I get to see my classmates and friends again after such a long time. I felt happy and comfortable that I am able to hear them talk about their holidays, jokes and etc. We received our timetable for this semester. Oh my gosh! 7 modules this semester! And these modules are difficult. Our mentor told us that these might be the most difficult modules throughout the 3 years. Almost 1 week have passed… The first week of the school reopen was still considered quite relaxing as introductions; briefings were made for most modules. I believed that the rest of the days of the semester would be quite tough. We got to work hard then. Jia You Everyone!!! Labels: whatsthebuzz
Contributed by: Toh Shi Min (MB0704)
Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Not just boasting a cute interface alone, this fun and deceptively simple game tests your typing speed, your English vocabulary and how fast your brain can process an anagram of letters and arrange it into words recognized by the English dictionary. (Options for the dictionary vary; Scrabble players can even take on the TWL98 or SOWPODS dictionaries.) Labels: whatsthebuzz
Basically, you are given 6 letters and it recognizes words from 3 letters onwards. A time constraint of a minute and 30 seconds is given and you are to work out as many words as possible during that time period. (Fortunately, you can work around that: 4-lettered words and above gives you bonus time.)
All the possible words that can be formed are indicated in the blanks beside the cute-faced clock. Can you think of what other words there would be?
If you figure out a 6-lettered word (e.g. RNDIFE un-shuffled gives you FRIEND), you get a bonus round where you are to figure out whose name is it, out of all your friends on Facebook, that is hidden in another 6 letters and earn some extra points!
Oh yea! I managed to guess who it was within the time limit! In case you are wondering why my friend is called “Fan”, it’s because we are to guess a friend’s first name, and for many of us it turns out to be our surname.
You get to compete with your other friends that have added this app (you can invite more of your friends on Facebook to join in the fun) based on scores to see who has the biggest vocabulary of them all. You will be likened to certain ranks of people based on your score, ranging to that of a toddler to an anagram cyborg.
With a little help from my elder sister (with my horrible typing speed this rank is just not possible for me T_T) I’m 3rd among my friends and I supposedly have a vocabulary of a lawyer. (Supposedly.)
Think you can do better? Start challenging now!
Contributed by : Ng Qianning(083218W) of PS0803
Posted up by : Desiree Lau(071224N) of MB0704
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Contributed by: JianLi PS0801 Labels: whatsthebuzz
World of Warcraft is an online role-playing experience set in the award-winning Warcraft universe. Players assume the roles of Warcraft heroes as they explore, adventure, and quest across a vast world. World of Warcraft is a "Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game" which allows thousands of players to interact within the same world. Whether adventuring together or fighting against each other in epic battles, players will form friendships, forge alliances, and compete with enemies for power and glory.
As a massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft enables thousands of players to come together online and battle against the world and each other. Players from across the globe can leave the real world behind and undertake grand quests and heroic exploits in a land of fantastic adventure.
Unlike other MMORPGs, World of Warcraft allows players to play the game at their own pace, whether it be a few hours here and there or entire weeks at a time. The quest system also provides an enormous variety of captivating quests with story elements, dynamic events, and flexible reward systems. World of Warcraft also features a faster style of play, with less downtime and an emphasis on combat and tactics against multiple opponents.
There is an expansion pack called the Burning Crusade which was released in January 2007. The second expansion pack : Wrath of the Lich king is scheduled to release in the US at the end of this year. There is one catch to this fabulous game however, it is a pay to play game which costs around 24 SG dollars per month. Game cards can be bought at almost any gaming outlets.
Game Score: 9.0/10 * Great.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Hello, people! We’re more than halfway into this semester, and (I think) we’re supposed to be getting ready for those final tests coming in a few weeks time. I’m sure we’ll do great. Anyway, I chanced upon a book recently, titled Guns, Germs, and Steel. The book does in fact talk about weapons, diseases and metallurgy. It probably doesn’t seem all that appealing at first glance, but it is actually a very good book. This book, however, is not a novel. It’s more of an informative kind of text, but written in a manner that doesn’t make you fall asleep whilst reading. Labels: whatsthebuzz
Guns, Germs, and Steel details the rise and fall of various nations. It explains in much detail why ancient China dropped out of the race in development, and why countries of the West soared ahead during that period. There is much talk of how various technological advancements, mainly in the military field, has helped many a nation to rise in dominance. Other factors, like the environment, and disease, are shown to play an equally, if not more important role in deciding the stability of a country.
The book pretty much takes all the interesting bits of history and fleshes them out nicely. Even I, having claimed to dislike history, found this book quite astounding. I suppose that would be why it won the Pulitzer back in 1998.
In short, if you have the time, pick it up. I guarantee that it will be a pleasantly light, and yet informative read.
Written by Joseph Lee(082849F,MB0801)
Posted by Kevin Neo (070625Y, MB0704)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Hello, Jack(084351N) from FS0801 here, As you all know in the month of July'08 a blockbuster film was released known as "The Batman : The Dark Knight". I'm pretty sure alot of you movie-goers have already seen the movie. For those who haven't seen the movie, this review might contain spoilers that would ruin the movie if you haven't watch it yet."The Dark Knight" as many of you know, was the last movie for the actor Heath Ledger who died due to a drug overdose on 23 january'08. If you enjoy any of his movie before "The Dark Knight" Please take some time off and watch this movie as a tribute to his final film.This movie was written by Christopher Nolan, the same man who brought the revival of the Batman movie with his hit movie "Batman Begins" during 2005, If you think Batman Begin was good, this movie will knock your socks off :D Labels: whatsthebuzz
This review is a short review of the entire movie.
The movie begins a bunch of thugs robbing a mob bank in broad daylight using Clown Mask to hide their identify. As the robbery proceed, the robbers began to eliminate each other in hopes of having more loot for themselves. This is the introduction of The Joker [ Health Ledger ]On the very same night, the Russian Mobsters were having a deal with the Scarecrow where they were ambushed by multiple fake Batmans using firearms and was stopped by the real Batman which received damaged from the mobsters dogs.So under the consideration of making his suit more mobile ( Allowing his head to turn ) , Bruce Wayne turned to Lucius Fox, his trusted "Q" like in James Bond to design a new suit for him. Enter Harvey Dent. Gotham’s newly elected district attorney. He is called a white knight that’s out for all the crooks and bad guys of the city, even Batman. The movie is basically surrounding him through out and even though you root for his character, in the back of your mind you know how it all plays out. He will become Two-Face, and there’s no stopping it. The way his character falls from grace will really affect you because it has happened in real life to people who are noble and generally good people, which is jokers ambition through out.. Then the mobsters gathered in the a kitchen to discuss about how to handle the "Batman" Then came along Joker, who introduced himself to the mobsters and left after performing a magic trick with a pencil. :DAs the movie continues, more shocking events will happen including the destruction of the batmobile and introduction of the Batpod then came along Two-face Harvey Dent and how Bruce Wayne will have to face his biggest foe to date in the Joker, and will have to look in the mirror many times to see how far he will push himself to stop a mad man.Anymore said would spoil the movie for you, so read this brief review, head to the cinema and watch this movie today! Remember to buy it when it's out on DVD too :D
Contributed by Jack 084351N from FS0801
Posted by Norbert 075302H MB0702
Monday, June 2, 2008
Wie geht es Ihnen? Comment ca va? How are you? Alright these are some of the phrases we have learnt from our foreign languages elective. If you actually understand them, you will realise that the first two phrases are basically the German and French versions of ‘’How are you?’’ respectively. Labels: whatsthebuzz
Languages to some may seem to be the most important tool for communication. In fact, language is communication, without language there will be no communication and you would not understand what I am trying to say here. Understanding the importance of language is one thing, however learning a new form of language is certainly an incredible feat.
Language is imprinted in the person mind through his family background; one might even say it is inherited. That was how I view someone who had done so well in their languages is because they use it more often than I do. That may sound logical at first, until I realise some people do not actually follow this logic of mine.
An example will be a person called Barry Cox. He is a British who can sing in Cantonese and is able to converse fluently in Mandarin. Do note that Mr. Cox certainly has no Cantonese-speaking mother or father, yet just by attending lessons, he is able to grasp the language rapidly. Fascinating it may seem but such cases are rare, a person who has a linguistic brain may also have a mind that learns new things rapidly.
It is disappointing indeed for a person who has not done well in his languages for years. However, we must realise that we are created differently; we all have different talents.
Created and submitted by Daniel Tan Chun Sin MB0804 (083713T)
Comic presented by thebigscope.blogspot.com
Posted by Norbert MB0702
Contributed by FS0703 070618A Chan Ka Chun Patrick Labels: whatsthebuzz
Number of players: 2 – 8 (Recommend at least 5)
Playing time: 1 – 3 hours (8 players)
Introduction
Citadels is a mind-engaging game whereby players will assume various characters who possess unique abilities in your quest to build up a city, subsequently winning the game.
Good news for players who blame their bad luck: the beauty of this game is that the game mechanism largely eliminates random components, no dice throwing nor coin flipping. It is all about battle of wit, outwit and sabotages.
The more cunning and witty the players, the more fun and interactive the game play.
Game play
Each player is dealt four (4) district “building” cards and two (2) gold coins. Each turn, players will choose to draw card or gain gold coins. Gold coins are the currency for building the district cards from hand. Also, players are to select one (1) of the nine (9) characters whom they will assume for the duration of the turn. Each character has his / her unique abilities that can assist in your game play or sabotage other players. Once any player has built eight (8) districts, the game will end at the end of that round. Players will tabulate their scores mainly from the gold coin value of their district cards built. The player with highest score wins.
Character abilities
1. Assassin: Makes a player to skip his / her turn.
2. Thief: Steals all the gold coins from a player.
3. Magician: Swaps your cards in hand with either with another player or with the deck of cards.
4. King: First player of the round aka first player to choose the character cards aka most choices.
5. Bishop: Buildings cannot be destroyed by Warlord.
6. Merchant: One (1) free gold.
7. Architect: Two (2) free cards. Builds up to three (3) buildings instead of one (1).
8. Warlord: Destroys one (1) district at the expense of own gold coins.
9. Artist: Adds gold coins from your stash onto your district to increase the gold coin value of them and make them more expensive to be destroyed by Warlord.
Where to buy / play
Citadels is a card game that is commonly available at board game cafes such as Settler’s Café and Mind’s Café.
Alternatively, you can get your copy at Paradigm Infinitum in Ochard Road for $30+.
http://www.pi.com.sg/html/index.html
For more information, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadels_(game)
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Labels: whatsthebuzzBook Review: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
In my opinion, one of the most extraordinary works of fiction in the recent years. Set in the Napoleonic era, this book speaks extensively about the reign of Napoleon from the British point of view. An interesting point is the inclusion of dragons as aerial battle vessels… Nope the MOST important point of the book is the inclusion of dragons and their handlers.
Captain Will Laurence of the British Navy captures a rare dragon egg bound for France, the egg hatches and the young dragon unexpectedly bonds with Laurence. Named Temeraire, the young dragon and his captain soon join the Aerial Corps as the frontline aerial defence against Napoleon’s aerial attacks against Britain.
At a first glance the book already seems interesting, brimming with recommendations and blazoned with quotes from world-renowned authors such as Stephen King. However, throw your self in the book and you’ll find that its easily one of the most captivating books you’ll ever read. The plot is excellent, with many twists and turns forcing you to guess and discard theories on what happens next. The main characters, Temeraire and Laurence capture your heart from the very beginning of the story and it justs gets better and better. Naomi Novik excels in twisting the story’s plot such that your laughing in glee 1 minute and wiping tears away the next.
Definitely a must read for all fantasy and dragon fansWritten by
Nicholas
Labels: whatsthebuzz
Chris Brown
With his easy-going demeanor and schoolboy charm, Chris Brown could easily be somebody that you know. One listen and I draw comparisons to Michael Jackson, Tevin Campbell, and Usher. Listening longer then I realized he has a style, flavour that are all his own.
His debut CD takes us on a journey through the malls, parties and teen hangouts as Chris covers a variety of subjects. It's an album about young boys, young girls -- young love. It is something that I and most teenagers can relate to. My personal favourites from Chris’s debut album have to be “Just Fine”, “Run It” and the ballad off the movie Step Up, “Say Goodbye”.
Now, with the release of Exclusive, my new favourites are “I Wanna Be” and “Kiss Kiss”. Recently, the newly-released single “With You” also had hitched on me. The style in the new album is varied and different from his debut. Chris has shown how far he has progressed with him co-writing several tracks.
Well Chris Brown may still look like the boy-next-door but, he sounds nothing like it. Bottom line is Chris’s definitely buzz-worthy with two chart-topping albums and counting. He is a must hear young artist from the R&B industry!Written bySiti Fatimah Bte Mohd Ali
A Thousand Splendid Suns Labels: whatsthebuzz
By Khaled Hosseini
To me, this has got to be one of the best books that I had ever read in my whole life. Even until now I can still remember the storyline. The novel is divided into four parts. The first part focuses exclusively on Mariam, the second and fourth parts focus on Laila, and the third part switches focus between Mariam and Laila with each chapter.
Mariam was born an illegitimate child in 1959 after a wealthy business man (Jalil) slept with his house maid (Nana) and got her pregnant but did not marry her. Mariam and Nana lived in a small hut for 15 years until Mariam was married off to a man from Kabul when she was 15. Her husband was abusive and cruel and he forced her to wear a burqa even though many liberal women in Kabul were free to go without it.
Laila was born just before the Russian invasion and had dreams of a life of education and travel. A bomb kills most of her family and she recovers from her wounds in Mariam's house. Laila and her childhood friend, Tariq became closer and develop a deep love for each other. Tariq’s family however decides to leave Kabul due to civil war.
The last few parts of the novel tell about life when Laila, Mariam and her husband were living together. Towards the end of the story, it was told that Laila and Tariq returned to Afganistan after leaving the country for many years. They finally decided to start a family. At the very end of the novel, both of them were debating about the male names of their baby. Laila however, have a name in mind if the baby was a girl. It was none other than her good friend, Mariam.
Author:
Luanzon Nella Marielle Malig
MB0705
071815F
Inter Polytechnic Debates 2008 Labels: whatsthebuzz
8 November 2008 – The preliminary rounds
Today was the first day of the Inter Polytechnic Debates 2008. Teams from Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic came down to Nanyang Polytechnic to fight it out to see who the best is when it comes to debating. The preliminary rounds were held at Blk E Level 3. The matches that were played were exciting to watch. Even the motions were interesting. One of them that caught my eye was the match between NYP and NP. Even the motion was interesting. It has something to do with whether bestiality should be banned. The debate was so funny until I laughed my hearts out after the debate ended. After the preliminary round was over, only 4 teams made it to the semi-finals. They are NYP team A and B, TP team B and SP team A.
15 November 2008 – Semi-finals & Grand finals
After 1 week of break, the semi-finals and Grand finals were finally ready to begin. In the semi-finals, both NYP teams faced off and TP team B and SP team A were in the other semi-finals. After a close debate, NYP team A and TP team B went head to head in the Grand finals which was held at the Theatre For The Arts. The motion was quite interesting. It was something about Sarah Palin bringing down the image of women in politics. After a great final, TP emerged victorious. It was a very close debate but at least the NYP team gave all their best. Don’t worry we will try our best to reclaim the title again next year!
Authors:
Muhammad Syafiq Bin Abdul Rahman, Teo Teck Boon
MB0705
072282N, 073421B
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Cool =) Coins Don't Smell…You Do!!!! Albert Einstein Facts Labels: whatsthebuzz
Hey babes and dudes!! Or should I say young scientists?? Alright! Here are some of the world’s MOST INTERESTING scientific findings! I hope all of you will enjoy reading them! =)
What's the smell? It's actually from you. That’s weird! Metallic odour that we smell on coins is actually created by the breakdown of oils in skin after touching objects that contained iron. Smelling the metal itself is actually an illusion!!
In an experiment, seven test subjects reported smelling the metallic odour after their hands came into contact with iron. Researchers took gas samples from the subjects' skins and traced the smell to 1-octen-2-one, an organic molecule formed when certain oils in our skin decompose.
Scientists Write on Water??? Serious?
Though we can't walk on water, scientists have developed a way to write on it. By using the AMOEBA wave generator, scientists were able to create ripples in the form of letters. Scientists formed a few roman letters and some Japanese characters.
This remarkable display device consists of fifty water-wave generators surrounding a cylindrical tank 5 feet wide and a foot deep. The wave generators move vertically to produce cylindrical waves. These "pixels" are about 4 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches in height, as a result, forming lines and shapes.
The AMOEBA device can form all the roman alphabets, as well as some kanji characters.
All it takes is just fifteen seconds to produce one letter!
Einstein declined the presidency of the state of Israel when it was offered to him in 1952 by state leaders. The element einsteinium, discovered in 1952, was named in honour of Albert Einstein. Picture of Einstein sticking his tongue was taken on his 72nd birthday by annoying press photographer Arthur Sasse. Albert loved the photo so much that he cut his image out and sent it to all his friends.
Is someone lying to you?
Lie is usually manifested by these signs: a sudden increase in the number of \"ums\" and \"ahs.\", overly defensive, no eye contact, lying is stressful, they will try to be sarcastic, turning his body away from you, talking fast, making statements that contradict each other, unusual body language or a hand reaching to cover mouth.
Author:
Nur Syafeeqah Wahid MB0805 083325S
IMPROVEMENTS Labels: whatsthebuzz
What do you think of the campus? Do you often grumble about walking too far just to have your lunch? Or you are in need to relieve yourself yet the washrooms are nowhere to be found? Or perhaps, you have been complaining about how the school should do this or that. Well, this post involves students and the campus. Often, we can only complain yet nothing is done to what we have complained about.
In this post, we will be writing about how the school can be improved. Similarly, we have also asked around and seek for suggestions among the students in SCL.
Since our school has been emphasizing about building relationships with your classmates and teachers, it would be good we have barbecue pits in our campus. In the same way, students can organise monthly evening events. Let’s say for example, when a class organises an event, most likely a handful of classmates would not attend due to several reasons. However, one common reason is due to location as well as travelling. When a barbecue pit is situated in the school, students can stay back after lessons and gather as a class. Not only does it help us to spend lesser time on discussing on the location, it provides convenience to many. Not only that, students in SCL won’t always be labelled as either geeks and nerds, being stuck with books or notes all the time.
Not forgetting about the luxury of the elevators that we have in school. Many students are grateful for that. However, taking the elevator can really be a hassle or chore if we are unlucky enough to be caught in the sudden influx of students, proceeding to their next class! To think about climbing the stairs from the second floor all the way to the seventh floor, lugging all our belongings in the process isn’t very appealing. At times, waiting for an elevator can be like, waiting for the eternity. The whole process can take up to more than 10 agonizing minutes, most of the time due to the fact that elevators are already filled when they reach our floor. From being early or on time for lessons, we can actually end up being late, and to tell the teacher that it was due to the jam packed or infrequent elevators aren’t really valid excuses. Instead of being pitied upon, we can be branded as being just plain lazy for not wanting to take the stairs, which are always very deserted. So therefore, it is a good thing that our school has elevators, but installing a few more won’t make much of a difference, won’t it? Apart from the fact that a hole might be burnt into NYP’s pockets. We are paying school fees afterall, aren’t we?
Interacting with our peers are a vital part of school life. We suggest that the school provide us with so-called function rooms or acitivity rooms where students can just hang out and chill. There already is a library located in our campus, however not everyone are frequent library users. Besides, it is hard to get an available spot in the café to relax. Its always full of people, cause it’s the only place where students are allowed to talk and have a drink or two at the same time. The other canteens arent’t very appealing either. It’s either too crowded, or too hot. Finding a nice, comfortable air conditioned spot in school can be a chore sometimes. So, why don’t have rooms equipted with a television set, a comfy sofa? Afterall, relaxing can be something good, and at the same time, it might help to inculcate more genuises. Some people think best while relaxing, not working!
So here’s our so-called short post on how or rather, ways to improve our wonderful SCL. Not only will it make lives easier for students, it might motivate them to come to school!
Authors:
Clarabelle Loy Wen Jun (083520K) MB0805
Jacinta Tan Shu Chun (082163K) MB0805
Sunday, November 16, 2008
A bonding session for PS 0701 Labels: whatsthebuzz
PS0701 had a bbq at East Coast Park on the 30th aug 08’. It was for post exam celebration, birthday celebration and also a farewell party for one of our lecturer in DPS, Miss Andrea. All DPS lecturers were invited to join us. I thought the event was very successful and memorable for all of us.
During the bbq, the weather wasn’t very good when we reached our pit. It started drizzling. However, due to our enthusiasm, it lasted only for a short while =). So we were still able to start the fire and do the grilling. It was great to have the class enjoying together, helping each other with the food, chit chatting, and joke with one another. We also had this rare opportunity to see the ‘other’ side of the lecturers. They can be really crazy and cute at times.
Thanks to our class reps who planned the event with the help of other classmates, and thanks to the whole of PS0701 and the DPS lecturers.
The 1st photo:
These are the aug/sep birthday gals!!
Happy birthday to all…..
The 2nd photo:
The DPS lecturers!!!
You Rocks!
The 3rd photo:
This is Miss Andrea.
The scarf and the card as token of appreciation for her
Bon voyage!
All the best for her future career!
And this is US… PS0701!!
Done by: Irene Ser (074018Z) PS0701Posted by: Justin Soh/PS0701
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
MINDS carnival Labels: whatsthebuzz
the day before..
Preparations.
I helped arrange the tables and chairs and set up my stall (manicure). Then i was assigned to give out some helium balloons to the stalls. It was my first time carrying so many balloons. haha. After all the stalls have been set up, we went home.The day itself..
When I arrived at the sports hall, the balloons have already dropped to the ground. The helium must have escaped. pity. So my helpers (sandra & wanwen) and I helped to tie up the balloons to make them look neater. :) After having a curry puff, the clients started to pour into the sports hall. No one visited my stall at first but after a short while, we had more customers. & the 3 of us were put to work. It was interesting to see what kind of colour combinations they wanted. One chose red and requested me to put on another layer of blue glitter nail polish. Yup, i did just that. It looked well.. new. heh. We had male customers too and if they didn't know what colour they wanted, we put on just the nail vanish. Some were pretty funny, some chose bright colours and also wanted nail stickers. :D Well, customers first, so I did what they requested. It was only till their lunch time that we had a break. Then we slumped into our chairs, exhausted. lol.
Wanwen & I ate a pao for lunch. and we watched the clients dance to the music. While they were being entertained by the performers, we had some other customers. haha. After we packed up the stall, we watched the clients dance.. dance.. and dance some more. & then balloons were being tossed around so we too got into the fun and gave the balloons from our stall to the clients.
When everything was over, we waved bye to the friendly clients and helped clear up the rubbish from the place.
It was reaally enjoyable to be able to do what I like (manicure) on real life customers. x) It's like a dream come true. haha. And to see their satisfied and happy faces, it makes me happy too. :)
I'm anticipating more events like this in the future. :D
Bye!!!
Contributed by: Lim Woon Ching (FS0803)
Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701)
Our Leadership Building Programme. It was in the morning during one of our semester break. Majority of my classmates were present and we were all ready for the activity in front of us. Our mentor, Mr Tan Chee Boon, was looking as sporty as ever including our whole class! Our instructor of the day was Mr William and there was a lady and she was taking our photographs. We were actually joining another class which was a Food Science class with their lady mentor. The first activity was the 2 truths and 1 lie. Mr William explained the activity. In this activity, the person has to say 2 truths and 1 lie and the people around him or her has to guess which of the 3 sentences is the lie. Mr William said his 2 truths that he lived in Australia for more than 7 years and that he had a beautiful wife and 3 beautiful children. His like was that he is a marathon runner. Then it was the mentors turn to do it. Then the mentors had to choose one of their students to do it too. And guess what , my mentor chose me. So my two truths were that I am a hockey player and I was in military band and my lie was that I LOVE swimming. This is a lie as I hate swimming because I got phobia of drowning called Hobophobia. Then the next activity was a blind fold activity where you partner up with someone and one will be blindfolded while the other partner will give the directions. I partner my friend, Zhareena and unfortunately, I was chosen to be blindfolded first. I have to admit it was really scary because you cannot see where you are going but Zhareena did a great job. The stairs were the most scary part because you do not know how many steps there are. Then it finally ended and we had a debrief. I was chosen to share how I felt and my poor partner had to come out with me to share her own experience. Through this activity I found out that I am not that good in directions. The rest of the students shared their own experiences. Then the next activity was Prison Break where we had to be carried through the spider web at the adventure area. I knew I would be first to be carried through the highest and smallest part because I was the smallest there. Guess what my thoughts came true! Everyone looked at me first when the question arised of who to carry out first. So I got carried by the guys in my class and even my mentor. I was panicking as I was afraid of being crashed to the floor so you can see my panick-stricken face. Finally I went through the whole painful ordeal. My neck was in pain. Everyone was working together to bring each other across and we did it under 20 minutes. It was a hot day and I was so thirsty so we had a water break but the Malays could not drink as they were fasting. Then we had another activity called the 3 year bus ride where we discussed what the reasons of a smooth and rough journey of our 3 years in Nanyang Polytechnic. It was meaningful and you can see the presentation skills of our peers. After that the mentors discussed their worries about copying. Then it was all over. We were exhausted yet happy of how the day went by. Contributed by: Sandhya Devi (PS0802) Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701) Labels: whatsthebuzz
13 October 2008, Monday, was the start of year 2, semester 2. After a long break, I still feel tired back in school. It has been quite long I went back to school. Although feeling tired, I am still quite happy to go back to school as I get to see my classmates and friends again after such a long time. I felt happy and comfortable that I am able to hear them talk about their holidays, jokes and etc. We received our timetable for this semester. Oh my gosh! 7 modules this semester! And these modules are difficult. Our mentor told us that these might be the most difficult modules throughout the 3 years. Almost 1 week have passed… The first week of the school reopen was still considered quite relaxing as introductions; briefings were made for most modules. I believed that the rest of the days of the semester would be quite tough. We got to work hard then. Jia You Everyone!!! Labels: whatsthebuzz
Contributed by: Toh Shi Min (MB0704)
Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Not just boasting a cute interface alone, this fun and deceptively simple game tests your typing speed, your English vocabulary and how fast your brain can process an anagram of letters and arrange it into words recognized by the English dictionary. (Options for the dictionary vary; Scrabble players can even take on the TWL98 or SOWPODS dictionaries.) Labels: whatsthebuzz
Basically, you are given 6 letters and it recognizes words from 3 letters onwards. A time constraint of a minute and 30 seconds is given and you are to work out as many words as possible during that time period. (Fortunately, you can work around that: 4-lettered words and above gives you bonus time.)
All the possible words that can be formed are indicated in the blanks beside the cute-faced clock. Can you think of what other words there would be?
If you figure out a 6-lettered word (e.g. RNDIFE un-shuffled gives you FRIEND), you get a bonus round where you are to figure out whose name is it, out of all your friends on Facebook, that is hidden in another 6 letters and earn some extra points!
Oh yea! I managed to guess who it was within the time limit! In case you are wondering why my friend is called “Fan”, it’s because we are to guess a friend’s first name, and for many of us it turns out to be our surname.
You get to compete with your other friends that have added this app (you can invite more of your friends on Facebook to join in the fun) based on scores to see who has the biggest vocabulary of them all. You will be likened to certain ranks of people based on your score, ranging to that of a toddler to an anagram cyborg.
With a little help from my elder sister (with my horrible typing speed this rank is just not possible for me T_T) I’m 3rd among my friends and I supposedly have a vocabulary of a lawyer. (Supposedly.)
Think you can do better? Start challenging now!
Contributed by : Ng Qianning(083218W) of PS0803
Posted up by : Desiree Lau(071224N) of MB0704
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Contributed by: JianLi PS0801 Labels: whatsthebuzz
World of Warcraft is an online role-playing experience set in the award-winning Warcraft universe. Players assume the roles of Warcraft heroes as they explore, adventure, and quest across a vast world. World of Warcraft is a "Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game" which allows thousands of players to interact within the same world. Whether adventuring together or fighting against each other in epic battles, players will form friendships, forge alliances, and compete with enemies for power and glory.
As a massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft enables thousands of players to come together online and battle against the world and each other. Players from across the globe can leave the real world behind and undertake grand quests and heroic exploits in a land of fantastic adventure.
Unlike other MMORPGs, World of Warcraft allows players to play the game at their own pace, whether it be a few hours here and there or entire weeks at a time. The quest system also provides an enormous variety of captivating quests with story elements, dynamic events, and flexible reward systems. World of Warcraft also features a faster style of play, with less downtime and an emphasis on combat and tactics against multiple opponents.
There is an expansion pack called the Burning Crusade which was released in January 2007. The second expansion pack : Wrath of the Lich king is scheduled to release in the US at the end of this year. There is one catch to this fabulous game however, it is a pay to play game which costs around 24 SG dollars per month. Game cards can be bought at almost any gaming outlets.
Game Score: 9.0/10 * Great.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Hello, people! We’re more than halfway into this semester, and (I think) we’re supposed to be getting ready for those final tests coming in a few weeks time. I’m sure we’ll do great. Anyway, I chanced upon a book recently, titled Guns, Germs, and Steel. The book does in fact talk about weapons, diseases and metallurgy. It probably doesn’t seem all that appealing at first glance, but it is actually a very good book. This book, however, is not a novel. It’s more of an informative kind of text, but written in a manner that doesn’t make you fall asleep whilst reading. Labels: whatsthebuzz
Guns, Germs, and Steel details the rise and fall of various nations. It explains in much detail why ancient China dropped out of the race in development, and why countries of the West soared ahead during that period. There is much talk of how various technological advancements, mainly in the military field, has helped many a nation to rise in dominance. Other factors, like the environment, and disease, are shown to play an equally, if not more important role in deciding the stability of a country.
The book pretty much takes all the interesting bits of history and fleshes them out nicely. Even I, having claimed to dislike history, found this book quite astounding. I suppose that would be why it won the Pulitzer back in 1998.
In short, if you have the time, pick it up. I guarantee that it will be a pleasantly light, and yet informative read.
Written by Joseph Lee(082849F,MB0801)
Posted by Kevin Neo (070625Y, MB0704)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Hello, Jack(084351N) from FS0801 here, As you all know in the month of July'08 a blockbuster film was released known as "The Batman : The Dark Knight". I'm pretty sure alot of you movie-goers have already seen the movie. For those who haven't seen the movie, this review might contain spoilers that would ruin the movie if you haven't watch it yet."The Dark Knight" as many of you know, was the last movie for the actor Heath Ledger who died due to a drug overdose on 23 january'08. If you enjoy any of his movie before "The Dark Knight" Please take some time off and watch this movie as a tribute to his final film.This movie was written by Christopher Nolan, the same man who brought the revival of the Batman movie with his hit movie "Batman Begins" during 2005, If you think Batman Begin was good, this movie will knock your socks off :D Labels: whatsthebuzz
This review is a short review of the entire movie.
The movie begins a bunch of thugs robbing a mob bank in broad daylight using Clown Mask to hide their identify. As the robbery proceed, the robbers began to eliminate each other in hopes of having more loot for themselves. This is the introduction of The Joker [ Health Ledger ]On the very same night, the Russian Mobsters were having a deal with the Scarecrow where they were ambushed by multiple fake Batmans using firearms and was stopped by the real Batman which received damaged from the mobsters dogs.So under the consideration of making his suit more mobile ( Allowing his head to turn ) , Bruce Wayne turned to Lucius Fox, his trusted "Q" like in James Bond to design a new suit for him. Enter Harvey Dent. Gotham’s newly elected district attorney. He is called a white knight that’s out for all the crooks and bad guys of the city, even Batman. The movie is basically surrounding him through out and even though you root for his character, in the back of your mind you know how it all plays out. He will become Two-Face, and there’s no stopping it. The way his character falls from grace will really affect you because it has happened in real life to people who are noble and generally good people, which is jokers ambition through out.. Then the mobsters gathered in the a kitchen to discuss about how to handle the "Batman" Then came along Joker, who introduced himself to the mobsters and left after performing a magic trick with a pencil. :DAs the movie continues, more shocking events will happen including the destruction of the batmobile and introduction of the Batpod then came along Two-face Harvey Dent and how Bruce Wayne will have to face his biggest foe to date in the Joker, and will have to look in the mirror many times to see how far he will push himself to stop a mad man.Anymore said would spoil the movie for you, so read this brief review, head to the cinema and watch this movie today! Remember to buy it when it's out on DVD too :D
Contributed by Jack 084351N from FS0801
Posted by Norbert 075302H MB0702
Monday, June 2, 2008
Wie geht es Ihnen? Comment ca va? How are you? Alright these are some of the phrases we have learnt from our foreign languages elective. If you actually understand them, you will realise that the first two phrases are basically the German and French versions of ‘’How are you?’’ respectively. Labels: whatsthebuzz
Languages to some may seem to be the most important tool for communication. In fact, language is communication, without language there will be no communication and you would not understand what I am trying to say here. Understanding the importance of language is one thing, however learning a new form of language is certainly an incredible feat.
Language is imprinted in the person mind through his family background; one might even say it is inherited. That was how I view someone who had done so well in their languages is because they use it more often than I do. That may sound logical at first, until I realise some people do not actually follow this logic of mine.
An example will be a person called Barry Cox. He is a British who can sing in Cantonese and is able to converse fluently in Mandarin. Do note that Mr. Cox certainly has no Cantonese-speaking mother or father, yet just by attending lessons, he is able to grasp the language rapidly. Fascinating it may seem but such cases are rare, a person who has a linguistic brain may also have a mind that learns new things rapidly.
It is disappointing indeed for a person who has not done well in his languages for years. However, we must realise that we are created differently; we all have different talents.
Created and submitted by Daniel Tan Chun Sin MB0804 (083713T)
Comic presented by thebigscope.blogspot.com
Posted by Norbert MB0702
Contributed by FS0703 070618A Chan Ka Chun Patrick Labels: whatsthebuzz
Number of players: 2 – 8 (Recommend at least 5)
Playing time: 1 – 3 hours (8 players)
Introduction
Citadels is a mind-engaging game whereby players will assume various characters who possess unique abilities in your quest to build up a city, subsequently winning the game.
Good news for players who blame their bad luck: the beauty of this game is that the game mechanism largely eliminates random components, no dice throwing nor coin flipping. It is all about battle of wit, outwit and sabotages.
The more cunning and witty the players, the more fun and interactive the game play.
Game play
Each player is dealt four (4) district “building” cards and two (2) gold coins. Each turn, players will choose to draw card or gain gold coins. Gold coins are the currency for building the district cards from hand. Also, players are to select one (1) of the nine (9) characters whom they will assume for the duration of the turn. Each character has his / her unique abilities that can assist in your game play or sabotage other players. Once any player has built eight (8) districts, the game will end at the end of that round. Players will tabulate their scores mainly from the gold coin value of their district cards built. The player with highest score wins.
Character abilities
1. Assassin: Makes a player to skip his / her turn.
2. Thief: Steals all the gold coins from a player.
3. Magician: Swaps your cards in hand with either with another player or with the deck of cards.
4. King: First player of the round aka first player to choose the character cards aka most choices.
5. Bishop: Buildings cannot be destroyed by Warlord.
6. Merchant: One (1) free gold.
7. Architect: Two (2) free cards. Builds up to three (3) buildings instead of one (1).
8. Warlord: Destroys one (1) district at the expense of own gold coins.
9. Artist: Adds gold coins from your stash onto your district to increase the gold coin value of them and make them more expensive to be destroyed by Warlord.
Where to buy / play
Citadels is a card game that is commonly available at board game cafes such as Settler’s Café and Mind’s Café.
Alternatively, you can get your copy at Paradigm Infinitum in Ochard Road for $30+.
http://www.pi.com.sg/html/index.html
For more information, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadels_(game)
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Labels: whatsthebuzzBook Review: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
In my opinion, one of the most extraordinary works of fiction in the recent years. Set in the Napoleonic era, this book speaks extensively about the reign of Napoleon from the British point of view. An interesting point is the inclusion of dragons as aerial battle vessels… Nope the MOST important point of the book is the inclusion of dragons and their handlers.
Captain Will Laurence of the British Navy captures a rare dragon egg bound for France, the egg hatches and the young dragon unexpectedly bonds with Laurence. Named Temeraire, the young dragon and his captain soon join the Aerial Corps as the frontline aerial defence against Napoleon’s aerial attacks against Britain.
At a first glance the book already seems interesting, brimming with recommendations and blazoned with quotes from world-renowned authors such as Stephen King. However, throw your self in the book and you’ll find that its easily one of the most captivating books you’ll ever read. The plot is excellent, with many twists and turns forcing you to guess and discard theories on what happens next. The main characters, Temeraire and Laurence capture your heart from the very beginning of the story and it justs gets better and better. Naomi Novik excels in twisting the story’s plot such that your laughing in glee 1 minute and wiping tears away the next.
Definitely a must read for all fantasy and dragon fansWritten by
Nicholas
Labels: whatsthebuzz
Chris Brown
With his easy-going demeanor and schoolboy charm, Chris Brown could easily be somebody that you know. One listen and I draw comparisons to Michael Jackson, Tevin Campbell, and Usher. Listening longer then I realized he has a style, flavour that are all his own.
His debut CD takes us on a journey through the malls, parties and teen hangouts as Chris covers a variety of subjects. It's an album about young boys, young girls -- young love. It is something that I and most teenagers can relate to. My personal favourites from Chris’s debut album have to be “Just Fine”, “Run It” and the ballad off the movie Step Up, “Say Goodbye”.
Now, with the release of Exclusive, my new favourites are “I Wanna Be” and “Kiss Kiss”. Recently, the newly-released single “With You” also had hitched on me. The style in the new album is varied and different from his debut. Chris has shown how far he has progressed with him co-writing several tracks.
Well Chris Brown may still look like the boy-next-door but, he sounds nothing like it. Bottom line is Chris’s definitely buzz-worthy with two chart-topping albums and counting. He is a must hear young artist from the R&B industry!Written bySiti Fatimah Bte Mohd Ali
A Thousand Splendid Suns Labels: whatsthebuzz
By Khaled Hosseini
To me, this has got to be one of the best books that I had ever read in my whole life. Even until now I can still remember the storyline. The novel is divided into four parts. The first part focuses exclusively on Mariam, the second and fourth parts focus on Laila, and the third part switches focus between Mariam and Laila with each chapter.
Mariam was born an illegitimate child in 1959 after a wealthy business man (Jalil) slept with his house maid (Nana) and got her pregnant but did not marry her. Mariam and Nana lived in a small hut for 15 years until Mariam was married off to a man from Kabul when she was 15. Her husband was abusive and cruel and he forced her to wear a burqa even though many liberal women in Kabul were free to go without it.
Laila was born just before the Russian invasion and had dreams of a life of education and travel. A bomb kills most of her family and she recovers from her wounds in Mariam's house. Laila and her childhood friend, Tariq became closer and develop a deep love for each other. Tariq’s family however decides to leave Kabul due to civil war.
The last few parts of the novel tell about life when Laila, Mariam and her husband were living together. Towards the end of the story, it was told that Laila and Tariq returned to Afganistan after leaving the country for many years. They finally decided to start a family. At the very end of the novel, both of them were debating about the male names of their baby. Laila however, have a name in mind if the baby was a girl. It was none other than her good friend, Mariam.
Author:
Luanzon Nella Marielle Malig
MB0705
071815F
Inter Polytechnic Debates 2008 Labels: whatsthebuzz
8 November 2008 – The preliminary rounds
Today was the first day of the Inter Polytechnic Debates 2008. Teams from Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic came down to Nanyang Polytechnic to fight it out to see who the best is when it comes to debating. The preliminary rounds were held at Blk E Level 3. The matches that were played were exciting to watch. Even the motions were interesting. One of them that caught my eye was the match between NYP and NP. Even the motion was interesting. It has something to do with whether bestiality should be banned. The debate was so funny until I laughed my hearts out after the debate ended. After the preliminary round was over, only 4 teams made it to the semi-finals. They are NYP team A and B, TP team B and SP team A.
15 November 2008 – Semi-finals & Grand finals
After 1 week of break, the semi-finals and Grand finals were finally ready to begin. In the semi-finals, both NYP teams faced off and TP team B and SP team A were in the other semi-finals. After a close debate, NYP team A and TP team B went head to head in the Grand finals which was held at the Theatre For The Arts. The motion was quite interesting. It was something about Sarah Palin bringing down the image of women in politics. After a great final, TP emerged victorious. It was a very close debate but at least the NYP team gave all their best. Don’t worry we will try our best to reclaim the title again next year!
Authors:
Muhammad Syafiq Bin Abdul Rahman, Teo Teck Boon
MB0705
072282N, 073421B
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Cool =) Coins Don't Smell…You Do!!!! Albert Einstein Facts Labels: whatsthebuzz
Hey babes and dudes!! Or should I say young scientists?? Alright! Here are some of the world’s MOST INTERESTING scientific findings! I hope all of you will enjoy reading them! =)
What's the smell? It's actually from you. That’s weird! Metallic odour that we smell on coins is actually created by the breakdown of oils in skin after touching objects that contained iron. Smelling the metal itself is actually an illusion!!
In an experiment, seven test subjects reported smelling the metallic odour after their hands came into contact with iron. Researchers took gas samples from the subjects' skins and traced the smell to 1-octen-2-one, an organic molecule formed when certain oils in our skin decompose.
Scientists Write on Water??? Serious?
Though we can't walk on water, scientists have developed a way to write on it. By using the AMOEBA wave generator, scientists were able to create ripples in the form of letters. Scientists formed a few roman letters and some Japanese characters.
This remarkable display device consists of fifty water-wave generators surrounding a cylindrical tank 5 feet wide and a foot deep. The wave generators move vertically to produce cylindrical waves. These "pixels" are about 4 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches in height, as a result, forming lines and shapes.
The AMOEBA device can form all the roman alphabets, as well as some kanji characters.
All it takes is just fifteen seconds to produce one letter!
Einstein declined the presidency of the state of Israel when it was offered to him in 1952 by state leaders. The element einsteinium, discovered in 1952, was named in honour of Albert Einstein. Picture of Einstein sticking his tongue was taken on his 72nd birthday by annoying press photographer Arthur Sasse. Albert loved the photo so much that he cut his image out and sent it to all his friends.
Is someone lying to you?
Lie is usually manifested by these signs: a sudden increase in the number of \"ums\" and \"ahs.\", overly defensive, no eye contact, lying is stressful, they will try to be sarcastic, turning his body away from you, talking fast, making statements that contradict each other, unusual body language or a hand reaching to cover mouth.
Author:
Nur Syafeeqah Wahid MB0805 083325S
IMPROVEMENTS Labels: whatsthebuzz
What do you think of the campus? Do you often grumble about walking too far just to have your lunch? Or you are in need to relieve yourself yet the washrooms are nowhere to be found? Or perhaps, you have been complaining about how the school should do this or that. Well, this post involves students and the campus. Often, we can only complain yet nothing is done to what we have complained about.
In this post, we will be writing about how the school can be improved. Similarly, we have also asked around and seek for suggestions among the students in SCL.
Since our school has been emphasizing about building relationships with your classmates and teachers, it would be good we have barbecue pits in our campus. In the same way, students can organise monthly evening events. Let’s say for example, when a class organises an event, most likely a handful of classmates would not attend due to several reasons. However, one common reason is due to location as well as travelling. When a barbecue pit is situated in the school, students can stay back after lessons and gather as a class. Not only does it help us to spend lesser time on discussing on the location, it provides convenience to many. Not only that, students in SCL won’t always be labelled as either geeks and nerds, being stuck with books or notes all the time.
Not forgetting about the luxury of the elevators that we have in school. Many students are grateful for that. However, taking the elevator can really be a hassle or chore if we are unlucky enough to be caught in the sudden influx of students, proceeding to their next class! To think about climbing the stairs from the second floor all the way to the seventh floor, lugging all our belongings in the process isn’t very appealing. At times, waiting for an elevator can be like, waiting for the eternity. The whole process can take up to more than 10 agonizing minutes, most of the time due to the fact that elevators are already filled when they reach our floor. From being early or on time for lessons, we can actually end up being late, and to tell the teacher that it was due to the jam packed or infrequent elevators aren’t really valid excuses. Instead of being pitied upon, we can be branded as being just plain lazy for not wanting to take the stairs, which are always very deserted. So therefore, it is a good thing that our school has elevators, but installing a few more won’t make much of a difference, won’t it? Apart from the fact that a hole might be burnt into NYP’s pockets. We are paying school fees afterall, aren’t we?
Interacting with our peers are a vital part of school life. We suggest that the school provide us with so-called function rooms or acitivity rooms where students can just hang out and chill. There already is a library located in our campus, however not everyone are frequent library users. Besides, it is hard to get an available spot in the café to relax. Its always full of people, cause it’s the only place where students are allowed to talk and have a drink or two at the same time. The other canteens arent’t very appealing either. It’s either too crowded, or too hot. Finding a nice, comfortable air conditioned spot in school can be a chore sometimes. So, why don’t have rooms equipted with a television set, a comfy sofa? Afterall, relaxing can be something good, and at the same time, it might help to inculcate more genuises. Some people think best while relaxing, not working!
So here’s our so-called short post on how or rather, ways to improve our wonderful SCL. Not only will it make lives easier for students, it might motivate them to come to school!
Authors:
Clarabelle Loy Wen Jun (083520K) MB0805
Jacinta Tan Shu Chun (082163K) MB0805
Sunday, November 16, 2008
A bonding session for PS 0701 Labels: whatsthebuzz
PS0701 had a bbq at East Coast Park on the 30th aug 08’. It was for post exam celebration, birthday celebration and also a farewell party for one of our lecturer in DPS, Miss Andrea. All DPS lecturers were invited to join us. I thought the event was very successful and memorable for all of us.
During the bbq, the weather wasn’t very good when we reached our pit. It started drizzling. However, due to our enthusiasm, it lasted only for a short while =). So we were still able to start the fire and do the grilling. It was great to have the class enjoying together, helping each other with the food, chit chatting, and joke with one another. We also had this rare opportunity to see the ‘other’ side of the lecturers. They can be really crazy and cute at times.
Thanks to our class reps who planned the event with the help of other classmates, and thanks to the whole of PS0701 and the DPS lecturers.
The 1st photo:
These are the aug/sep birthday gals!!
Happy birthday to all…..
The 2nd photo:
The DPS lecturers!!!
You Rocks!
The 3rd photo:
This is Miss Andrea.
The scarf and the card as token of appreciation for her
Bon voyage!
All the best for her future career!
And this is US… PS0701!!
Done by: Irene Ser (074018Z) PS0701Posted by: Justin Soh/PS0701
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
MINDS carnival Labels: whatsthebuzz
the day before..
Preparations.
I helped arrange the tables and chairs and set up my stall (manicure). Then i was assigned to give out some helium balloons to the stalls. It was my first time carrying so many balloons. haha. After all the stalls have been set up, we went home.The day itself..
When I arrived at the sports hall, the balloons have already dropped to the ground. The helium must have escaped. pity. So my helpers (sandra & wanwen) and I helped to tie up the balloons to make them look neater. :) After having a curry puff, the clients started to pour into the sports hall. No one visited my stall at first but after a short while, we had more customers. & the 3 of us were put to work. It was interesting to see what kind of colour combinations they wanted. One chose red and requested me to put on another layer of blue glitter nail polish. Yup, i did just that. It looked well.. new. heh. We had male customers too and if they didn't know what colour they wanted, we put on just the nail vanish. Some were pretty funny, some chose bright colours and also wanted nail stickers. :D Well, customers first, so I did what they requested. It was only till their lunch time that we had a break. Then we slumped into our chairs, exhausted. lol.
Wanwen & I ate a pao for lunch. and we watched the clients dance to the music. While they were being entertained by the performers, we had some other customers. haha. After we packed up the stall, we watched the clients dance.. dance.. and dance some more. & then balloons were being tossed around so we too got into the fun and gave the balloons from our stall to the clients.
When everything was over, we waved bye to the friendly clients and helped clear up the rubbish from the place.
It was reaally enjoyable to be able to do what I like (manicure) on real life customers. x) It's like a dream come true. haha. And to see their satisfied and happy faces, it makes me happy too. :)
I'm anticipating more events like this in the future. :D
Bye!!!
Contributed by: Lim Woon Ching (FS0803)
Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701)
Our Leadership Building Programme. It was in the morning during one of our semester break. Majority of my classmates were present and we were all ready for the activity in front of us. Our mentor, Mr Tan Chee Boon, was looking as sporty as ever including our whole class! Our instructor of the day was Mr William and there was a lady and she was taking our photographs. We were actually joining another class which was a Food Science class with their lady mentor. The first activity was the 2 truths and 1 lie. Mr William explained the activity. In this activity, the person has to say 2 truths and 1 lie and the people around him or her has to guess which of the 3 sentences is the lie. Mr William said his 2 truths that he lived in Australia for more than 7 years and that he had a beautiful wife and 3 beautiful children. His like was that he is a marathon runner. Then it was the mentors turn to do it. Then the mentors had to choose one of their students to do it too. And guess what , my mentor chose me. So my two truths were that I am a hockey player and I was in military band and my lie was that I LOVE swimming. This is a lie as I hate swimming because I got phobia of drowning called Hobophobia. Then the next activity was a blind fold activity where you partner up with someone and one will be blindfolded while the other partner will give the directions. I partner my friend, Zhareena and unfortunately, I was chosen to be blindfolded first. I have to admit it was really scary because you cannot see where you are going but Zhareena did a great job. The stairs were the most scary part because you do not know how many steps there are. Then it finally ended and we had a debrief. I was chosen to share how I felt and my poor partner had to come out with me to share her own experience. Through this activity I found out that I am not that good in directions. The rest of the students shared their own experiences. Then the next activity was Prison Break where we had to be carried through the spider web at the adventure area. I knew I would be first to be carried through the highest and smallest part because I was the smallest there. Guess what my thoughts came true! Everyone looked at me first when the question arised of who to carry out first. So I got carried by the guys in my class and even my mentor. I was panicking as I was afraid of being crashed to the floor so you can see my panick-stricken face. Finally I went through the whole painful ordeal. My neck was in pain. Everyone was working together to bring each other across and we did it under 20 minutes. It was a hot day and I was so thirsty so we had a water break but the Malays could not drink as they were fasting. Then we had another activity called the 3 year bus ride where we discussed what the reasons of a smooth and rough journey of our 3 years in Nanyang Polytechnic. It was meaningful and you can see the presentation skills of our peers. After that the mentors discussed their worries about copying. Then it was all over. We were exhausted yet happy of how the day went by. Contributed by: Sandhya Devi (PS0802) Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701) Labels: whatsthebuzz
13 October 2008, Monday, was the start of year 2, semester 2. After a long break, I still feel tired back in school. It has been quite long I went back to school. Although feeling tired, I am still quite happy to go back to school as I get to see my classmates and friends again after such a long time. I felt happy and comfortable that I am able to hear them talk about their holidays, jokes and etc. We received our timetable for this semester. Oh my gosh! 7 modules this semester! And these modules are difficult. Our mentor told us that these might be the most difficult modules throughout the 3 years. Almost 1 week have passed… The first week of the school reopen was still considered quite relaxing as introductions; briefings were made for most modules. I believed that the rest of the days of the semester would be quite tough. We got to work hard then. Jia You Everyone!!! Labels: whatsthebuzz
Contributed by: Toh Shi Min (MB0704)
Posted up by: Tirza N (PS0701)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Not just boasting a cute interface alone, this fun and deceptively simple game tests your typing speed, your English vocabulary and how fast your brain can process an anagram of letters and arrange it into words recognized by the English dictionary. (Options for the dictionary vary; Scrabble players can even take on the TWL98 or SOWPODS dictionaries.) Labels: whatsthebuzz
Basically, you are given 6 letters and it recognizes words from 3 letters onwards. A time constraint of a minute and 30 seconds is given and you are to work out as many words as possible during that time period. (Fortunately, you can work around that: 4-lettered words and above gives you bonus time.)
All the possible words that can be formed are indicated in the blanks beside the cute-faced clock. Can you think of what other words there would be?
If you figure out a 6-lettered word (e.g. RNDIFE un-shuffled gives you FRIEND), you get a bonus round where you are to figure out whose name is it, out of all your friends on Facebook, that is hidden in another 6 letters and earn some extra points!
Oh yea! I managed to guess who it was within the time limit! In case you are wondering why my friend is called “Fan”, it’s because we are to guess a friend’s first name, and for many of us it turns out to be our surname.
You get to compete with your other friends that have added this app (you can invite more of your friends on Facebook to join in the fun) based on scores to see who has the biggest vocabulary of them all. You will be likened to certain ranks of people based on your score, ranging to that of a toddler to an anagram cyborg.
With a little help from my elder sister (with my horrible typing speed this rank is just not possible for me T_T) I’m 3rd among my friends and I supposedly have a vocabulary of a lawyer. (Supposedly.)
Think you can do better? Start challenging now!
Contributed by : Ng Qianning(083218W) of PS0803
Posted up by : Desiree Lau(071224N) of MB0704
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Contributed by: JianLi PS0801 Labels: whatsthebuzz
World of Warcraft is an online role-playing experience set in the award-winning Warcraft universe. Players assume the roles of Warcraft heroes as they explore, adventure, and quest across a vast world. World of Warcraft is a "Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game" which allows thousands of players to interact within the same world. Whether adventuring together or fighting against each other in epic battles, players will form friendships, forge alliances, and compete with enemies for power and glory.
As a massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft enables thousands of players to come together online and battle against the world and each other. Players from across the globe can leave the real world behind and undertake grand quests and heroic exploits in a land of fantastic adventure.
Unlike other MMORPGs, World of Warcraft allows players to play the game at their own pace, whether it be a few hours here and there or entire weeks at a time. The quest system also provides an enormous variety of captivating quests with story elements, dynamic events, and flexible reward systems. World of Warcraft also features a faster style of play, with less downtime and an emphasis on combat and tactics against multiple opponents.
There is an expansion pack called the Burning Crusade which was released in January 2007. The second expansion pack : Wrath of the Lich king is scheduled to release in the US at the end of this year. There is one catch to this fabulous game however, it is a pay to play game which costs around 24 SG dollars per month. Game cards can be bought at almost any gaming outlets.
Game Score: 9.0/10 * Great.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Hello, people! We’re more than halfway into this semester, and (I think) we’re supposed to be getting ready for those final tests coming in a few weeks time. I’m sure we’ll do great. Anyway, I chanced upon a book recently, titled Guns, Germs, and Steel. The book does in fact talk about weapons, diseases and metallurgy. It probably doesn’t seem all that appealing at first glance, but it is actually a very good book. This book, however, is not a novel. It’s more of an informative kind of text, but written in a manner that doesn’t make you fall asleep whilst reading. Labels: whatsthebuzz
Guns, Germs, and Steel details the rise and fall of various nations. It explains in much detail why ancient China dropped out of the race in development, and why countries of the West soared ahead during that period. There is much talk of how various technological advancements, mainly in the military field, has helped many a nation to rise in dominance. Other factors, like the environment, and disease, are shown to play an equally, if not more important role in deciding the stability of a country.
The book pretty much takes all the interesting bits of history and fleshes them out nicely. Even I, having claimed to dislike history, found this book quite astounding. I suppose that would be why it won the Pulitzer back in 1998.
In short, if you have the time, pick it up. I guarantee that it will be a pleasantly light, and yet informative read.
Written by Joseph Lee(082849F,MB0801)
Posted by Kevin Neo (070625Y, MB0704)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Hello, Jack(084351N) from FS0801 here, As you all know in the month of July'08 a blockbuster film was released known as "The Batman : The Dark Knight". I'm pretty sure alot of you movie-goers have already seen the movie. For those who haven't seen the movie, this review might contain spoilers that would ruin the movie if you haven't watch it yet."The Dark Knight" as many of you know, was the last movie for the actor Heath Ledger who died due to a drug overdose on 23 january'08. If you enjoy any of his movie before "The Dark Knight" Please take some time off and watch this movie as a tribute to his final film.This movie was written by Christopher Nolan, the same man who brought the revival of the Batman movie with his hit movie "Batman Begins" during 2005, If you think Batman Begin was good, this movie will knock your socks off :D Labels: whatsthebuzz
This review is a short review of the entire movie.
The movie begins a bunch of thugs robbing a mob bank in broad daylight using Clown Mask to hide their identify. As the robbery proceed, the robbers began to eliminate each other in hopes of having more loot for themselves. This is the introduction of The Joker [ Health Ledger ]On the very same night, the Russian Mobsters were having a deal with the Scarecrow where they were ambushed by multiple fake Batmans using firearms and was stopped by the real Batman which received damaged from the mobsters dogs.So under the consideration of making his suit more mobile ( Allowing his head to turn ) , Bruce Wayne turned to Lucius Fox, his trusted "Q" like in James Bond to design a new suit for him. Enter Harvey Dent. Gotham’s newly elected district attorney. He is called a white knight that’s out for all the crooks and bad guys of the city, even Batman. The movie is basically surrounding him through out and even though you root for his character, in the back of your mind you know how it all plays out. He will become Two-Face, and there’s no stopping it. The way his character falls from grace will really affect you because it has happened in real life to people who are noble and generally good people, which is jokers ambition through out.. Then the mobsters gathered in the a kitchen to discuss about how to handle the "Batman" Then came along Joker, who introduced himself to the mobsters and left after performing a magic trick with a pencil. :DAs the movie continues, more shocking events will happen including the destruction of the batmobile and introduction of the Batpod then came along Two-face Harvey Dent and how Bruce Wayne will have to face his biggest foe to date in the Joker, and will have to look in the mirror many times to see how far he will push himself to stop a mad man.Anymore said would spoil the movie for you, so read this brief review, head to the cinema and watch this movie today! Remember to buy it when it's out on DVD too :D
Contributed by Jack 084351N from FS0801
Posted by Norbert 075302H MB0702
Monday, June 2, 2008
Wie geht es Ihnen? Comment ca va? How are you? Alright these are some of the phrases we have learnt from our foreign languages elective. If you actually understand them, you will realise that the first two phrases are basically the German and French versions of ‘’How are you?’’ respectively. Labels: whatsthebuzz
Languages to some may seem to be the most important tool for communication. In fact, language is communication, without language there will be no communication and you would not understand what I am trying to say here. Understanding the importance of language is one thing, however learning a new form of language is certainly an incredible feat.
Language is imprinted in the person mind through his family background; one might even say it is inherited. That was how I view someone who had done so well in their languages is because they use it more often than I do. That may sound logical at first, until I realise some people do not actually follow this logic of mine.
An example will be a person called Barry Cox. He is a British who can sing in Cantonese and is able to converse fluently in Mandarin. Do note that Mr. Cox certainly has no Cantonese-speaking mother or father, yet just by attending lessons, he is able to grasp the language rapidly. Fascinating it may seem but such cases are rare, a person who has a linguistic brain may also have a mind that learns new things rapidly.
It is disappointing indeed for a person who has not done well in his languages for years. However, we must realise that we are created differently; we all have different talents.
Created and submitted by Daniel Tan Chun Sin MB0804 (083713T)
Comic presented by thebigscope.blogspot.com
Posted by Norbert MB0702
Contributed by FS0703 070618A Chan Ka Chun Patrick Labels: whatsthebuzz
Number of players: 2 – 8 (Recommend at least 5)
Playing time: 1 – 3 hours (8 players)
Introduction
Citadels is a mind-engaging game whereby players will assume various characters who possess unique abilities in your quest to build up a city, subsequently winning the game.
Good news for players who blame their bad luck: the beauty of this game is that the game mechanism largely eliminates random components, no dice throwing nor coin flipping. It is all about battle of wit, outwit and sabotages.
The more cunning and witty the players, the more fun and interactive the game play.
Game play
Each player is dealt four (4) district “building” cards and two (2) gold coins. Each turn, players will choose to draw card or gain gold coins. Gold coins are the currency for building the district cards from hand. Also, players are to select one (1) of the nine (9) characters whom they will assume for the duration of the turn. Each character has his / her unique abilities that can assist in your game play or sabotage other players. Once any player has built eight (8) districts, the game will end at the end of that round. Players will tabulate their scores mainly from the gold coin value of their district cards built. The player with highest score wins.
Character abilities
1. Assassin: Makes a player to skip his / her turn.
2. Thief: Steals all the gold coins from a player.
3. Magician: Swaps your cards in hand with either with another player or with the deck of cards.
4. King: First player of the round aka first player to choose the character cards aka most choices.
5. Bishop: Buildings cannot be destroyed by Warlord.
6. Merchant: One (1) free gold.
7. Architect: Two (2) free cards. Builds up to three (3) buildings instead of one (1).
8. Warlord: Destroys one (1) district at the expense of own gold coins.
9. Artist: Adds gold coins from your stash onto your district to increase the gold coin value of them and make them more expensive to be destroyed by Warlord.
Where to buy / play
Citadels is a card game that is commonly available at board game cafes such as Settler’s Café and Mind’s Café.
Alternatively, you can get your copy at Paradigm Infinitum in Ochard Road for $30+.
http://www.pi.com.sg/html/index.html
For more information, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadels_(game)
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Labels: whatsthebuzzBook Review: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
In my opinion, one of the most extraordinary works of fiction in the recent years. Set in the Napoleonic era, this book speaks extensively about the reign of Napoleon from the British point of view. An interesting point is the inclusion of dragons as aerial battle vessels… Nope the MOST important point of the book is the inclusion of dragons and their handlers.
Captain Will Laurence of the British Navy captures a rare dragon egg bound for France, the egg hatches and the young dragon unexpectedly bonds with Laurence. Named Temeraire, the young dragon and his captain soon join the Aerial Corps as the frontline aerial defence against Napoleon’s aerial attacks against Britain.
At a first glance the book already seems interesting, brimming with recommendations and blazoned with quotes from world-renowned authors such as Stephen King. However, throw your self in the book and you’ll find that its easily one of the most captivating books you’ll ever read. The plot is excellent, with many twists and turns forcing you to guess and discard theories on what happens next. The main characters, Temeraire and Laurence capture your heart from the very beginning of the story and it justs gets better and better. Naomi Novik excels in twisting the story’s plot such that your laughing in glee 1 minute and wiping tears away the next.
Definitely a must read for all fantasy and dragon fansWritten by
Nicholas
Labels: whatsthebuzz
Chris Brown
With his easy-going demeanor and schoolboy charm, Chris Brown could easily be somebody that you know. One listen and I draw comparisons to Michael Jackson, Tevin Campbell, and Usher. Listening longer then I realized he has a style, flavour that are all his own.
His debut CD takes us on a journey through the malls, parties and teen hangouts as Chris covers a variety of subjects. It's an album about young boys, young girls -- young love. It is something that I and most teenagers can relate to. My personal favourites from Chris’s debut album have to be “Just Fine”, “Run It” and the ballad off the movie Step Up, “Say Goodbye”.
Now, with the release of Exclusive, my new favourites are “I Wanna Be” and “Kiss Kiss”. Recently, the newly-released single “With You” also had hitched on me. The style in the new album is varied and different from his debut. Chris has shown how far he has progressed with him co-writing several tracks.
Well Chris Brown may still look like the boy-next-door but, he sounds nothing like it. Bottom line is Chris’s definitely buzz-worthy with two chart-topping albums and counting. He is a must hear young artist from the R&B industry!Written bySiti Fatimah Bte Mohd Ali