Alice in Wonderland Movie!

I am not a real big fan of fantasy movies.But I do take notice when the director is either Guillermo Del Toro or Tim Burton.In this case,it's the latter.Coming out on March 5,2010 is a new Alice in Wonderland movie.Famous(or notorious,whatever your opinion is of the guy)for his adult and dark interpretations of seemingly innocent tales,Tim Burton chose to go down his usual path and spin a new take on the children's classic.Here's a little snippet I cut and pasted from Wiki,"Alice, 17, attends a party at a Victorian estate only to find she is about to be proposed to in front of hundreds of snooty society types. She runs off, following a white rabbit into a hole and ending up in Wonderland, a place she visited 10 years before yet doesn't remember".Pretty interesting stuff,no?Plus the cast list is awesome,with a few familiar faces in it.Long time collaborators Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp ain't no surprise there,but do watch out for comedian Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat,Christopher Lee as Jabberwock and Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts.Suddenly,2010 seems too far away.

Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter,Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen.
I feel a tear in my eye.

Lewis Carroll would approve.

Alice with the twins,Tweedledum and Twiddledee.

I-N-J-U-S-T-I-C-E

Day started off with a bang,a bang in my heart that is.Wesley actually showed up dressed in just T-shirt and shorts instead of his school uniform which was against the rules and would get the team disqualified.At least he was able to call his parents and return home to change clothes.Team was nervous and rightly so,considering the faces of all the participants present who looked like they had practised for weeks.I hadn't even touched the dictionary,something that I would regret later.But first things first,the coverage of the whole event.

Pn Cheam waiting in line to register the team.Was surprised to see the list of competing schools.A total of 200+ students gathered at the LG floor,waiting for the comp to start.And the organisers were pretty organised,beginning the event right on schedule.Some guy from NST tried to pmp up the crowd but failed due to his lameness and funny accent.Anyways,the panel of judges were introduced afterwards.The chief judge seemed a nice enough lady,though you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

Group photo of the team in front of stage.Please notice the numbers on our placards.I'm number 109,which meant I would have to sit through the spelling of 108 people before me.Finally right before we broke for lunch,it was my team's turn.Was fortunate to receive easy words like decipher and installation,though the team wasn't as lucky.Amirah got whirlygig and Bhindia got axiom.The rest of the batch weren't that good,and I was in the final.However I think I did piss off the chief judge with the intentional arrogance I portrayed on stage and the hand signals I kept giving to Keenan and Calvin,who came to support.Was pointed out that cheating would not be tolerated,though I wasn't.Just gesturing how easy my words were.I'm gonna get what's coming to me later.

Still able to smile though they were eliminated.Actually stayed to support me,which of course sent me on these constant guilt trips for the boredom of the whole event.

Yeah,I was bored.

Amirah too.

Walked around Pyramid a bit as many of us started getting restless from sitting on our butts too long.When we got back to our seats,we were horrified to learn that the words given to the other contestants were so easy.For example resistance,upholstery and manicurist.And yet,many were wrong and got eliminated.What a waste.No wonder the level of English among teens are terrible if the wordlist was anything to go by.Met some pretty nice girls from Sri Aman who had one of them in the final too.

After the tea break,all the finalists were ushered to their seats on stage.

First word I received was bilious which I spelt wrong when I added an extra 'l'.Damn.Two more words to go.

Peripatetic.Added an extra 'h'.Last chance saloon now.

Didn't know how to spell nimbostratus so I just winged it.Was surprised to hear "Correct" from the chief judge.

Still hated her though.She asked me really tough words which I've never heard of.Probably revenge for earlier,to put me in my place.Bitch.Was disappointed with the words asked to the others.Child's play stuff.

Me with the winner of the comp.Asshole received words like abaft and ricochet.And he got to walk away with my RM2000 grand prize.And I so wanted that Mount Kinabalu trip.

Finally,day ended with the closing ceremony.Left right after we received our goodie bags and certs as watching the winners get their mock checks and photos for the NST was quite heartbreaking.Stayed from 9 am to 7 pm for nothing.Just a piece of fancy paper and a bunch of useless stuff.Sigh.At least I maximised my final year in high school.5 years of wasting my time procrastinating the entering of big events and comps.Good thing I realised that and signed up for BRATs and was more active in co-curricular activites.Now if you'd excuse me,I'm gonna run a hot bath and slit my wrists.

Keep The Fire Burning

Photo of my batch in Form 3.

Initiation of new recruits during the Tenderfoot Camp this year.

A couple of days ago,my class received the results of the mid term English examination.As I was browsing through some of my friends' Paper 1s,I chanced upon an essay by the troop leader of my school's scouts movement Tay Chia Chang. For his Section B,he chose to write on what he would miss most after he leaves school and that would be scouting.Though his essay wasn't much to shout about in terms of grammar and vocab,I definitely felt his spirit and love for scouts.As a fellow member of this co-curricular unit,I understood his pangs of loss.Scouting has left a big mark on my life,both emotionally and physically.The friends and experience gained cannot be reproduced anywhere else.Scouting was where I felt I belonged.The jokes exchanged while carrying out activities,the injuries proudly shown off as 'battle scars',the sense of accomplishment after earning a badge;all these moments are priceless.Sure,scouting may be hard on the mind and body in the first few years,but the rewards received cannot be arguesd with.I admit,I was not much of a sociable person in Forms 1 and 2,prefering instead to do everything on my own and having few close friends.However the many meetings held and the numerous camps attended changed all of that.I found something in common with total opposites of who I am.We worked together,we laughed together,we...ahem...slept together.My confidence and self esteem grew,and so did my circle of friends.In fact,I would dare say that scouting set my mind on becoming a journalist in the future.Besides that,I noticed that my body changed as well.Before,I had really fair skin and got tired too easily.So much so,coupled with my inability to like any girls,made me the poof among the boys.Even my dad got into the act,insulting my manliness every chance he got.A few months of scouting later,and all my doubters learned to shut up(not my bloody dad though). Clearly,scouting has helped me in so many ways.This will definitely be something I would miss when I leave school and enter the scary realms of adulthood.Everything I've gained from scouts will never be forgotten and will be applied into almost every aspect of my daily life.Thank god there are mobile phones,MSN and Facebook to keep in touch with when everyone's gone off to study their field of choice and make new friends.Till then,I have to appreciate and make every moment spent scouting count.

Green is the new Black

The 7th of June.The middle of the midterm holidays.A Sunday.The perfect day to just kick back,relax or plain sleep in late.Heck,those were my plans and they were splendid.But at precisely 5 am I dragged my unfit body over to the bathroom in preparation for the day's major event,The Star's Go Green,Live Green World Environment Day Celebration at FRIM Kepong.Guess that nap'll have to wait.Andrian's parents were kind enough to give Marissa,Pei She and yours truly a lift there.Seriously,the best parents one could have.But that's a story for another day.We arrived at the gate of FRIM at around 7.30 am.We expected crowds but not that early.Thankfully,we managed to get in without much waiting.What greeted us at the booth venue was quite shocking really.I expected an event like this to be bigger and more happening.Reality was far less rosier.There were very few booths,not enough to line half of the field!In fact,my school's Canteen Day was livelier.But Ivy did not leave me much time for painful observation as she hurried us to prepare the booth for passersby and customers.Niki Cheong scrapped my game idea and in return suggested a better(and safer)one.RM1 for 3 balls,hit a can,answer a question,win a prize.Had a slow and unmotivating start but business soon picked up with the event proper.People started flocking in after the Minister of the Federal Territories dropped in.I even got a handshake,though I didn't know who he was.I even made a social blunder by giving him a hard question and not giving him the answer.Ivy wasn't mad,but she pointed it out.Though I may look tired and stressed out to the naked eye,I was actually enjoying myself.I was like a freaking workaholic.I loved promoting the game to unwitting passersby and when I do reel them in,I was awashed by a feeling of pride,the fuel that kept me going.I even managed to snag close to RM100 for a RM1 game.Though it had to be weighted against the many prizes I gave away,I was proud nonetheless.Hopefully,Ivy and Niki noticed the work I've done and choose me for the year end camp.It is also worth noting that I was featured in a photo in Monday's The Star.Plus,I got interviewed by a production house for a teen programme about the environment on TV2!Yeah,noone would watch it but I could hope!And...and...and Stephanie Chai!Yeah,so she's local and not everyone knows her(I'm looking at you,Andrian)but she's way beautiful and we should support our homegrown talents.Below are pics for your viewing pleasure.They're the same as the ones on my Facebook page but I'll post some more soon,fingers crossed!

The arrangement of cans for the game.

The banner which was only done a day before.Many thanks to those who came and helped!
Ivy scared the crap outta me when she posted that we had to learn how to make ballon sculptures and face-painting by the night before the event.Fortunately,the guy manning the cotton candy machine was a magician with the balloons and face-painting was easy to pick up.

Niki Cheong having his lunch at the game booth.Those are empty cans mind you.

Andrian and his balloon headgear.I was about to make a dirty joke but thought better of it.

Andrian and his planned STOMP performance.It did not work out.I wonder why?

Oh.

One of the highlights of the day.Stephanie Chai in all her makeupless glory.

Beat that,Jezreel.

She got me when she untied her hair.

These guys were awesome.Came to our booth 4 times.I guess guys already have pride at a tender age.Only left with a few bookmarks though.

The BRATs were laughing but not WITH them.AT them.Only a small crowd gathered to actually listen to these AF rejects sing.

The camera crew interviewing Sandra Tan first.I did mine pretty badly IMO.Hope it will be considered for screening.

After clearing up the booth,Ivy allowed us to go for the nature walk.Originally wanted the canopy walk but it was closed.This angmoh here told us of carnivorous fish living in the river.He told us to clap our hands to attract them out of hiding.Apparently,our clapping makes the fish think some small animal dropped into the water to be devoured.Cool stuff.

As we proceeded,another guide,Pasu was her name,realized the number of BRATs on the nature walk.So she split the group up and got us to follow her.Was interesting at first.Above,is a 100+ y.o. raintree.

Bird's Nest Fern.

These buluh plants only flower once every 4 years.

I forgot the name but I do remember it is named after the animal it resembles.Notice the trunk,eyes and ears?

The orang asli call this one Tapak Hantu,one of the many naming conventions devised to scare city folk.Good but unfruitful intentions.

An ant the size of my thumb.Good thing we're not camping here.

The nature walk got really boring halfway through as Pasu was real slow and had to explain the uniqueness of every tree we saw.I'm sorry but after a few minutes all the trees look the same to me.And so,the event concluded at 3pm.I gave Pasu a trumped up excuse about how we were supposed to be going home.Camwhored a lot on the way back.Andrian actually returned to the booth to take care of our stuff during the walk.Again,I took a lift from his parents home.It is worth noting that The Star accidentally took our pails back to the office.I only owned one blue pail and one brown paint pail but received three blues instead.Hope my granaunt woudn't mind.After a long day,the bed,heck even the floor looked really inviting.

Conclusion?

Had a real blast but was disappointed with the lack of support for the vent.Not many people turned up.To add salt to the wound,the events of the past two years were livelier and more fun according to the senior BRATs who showed up.Sigh.At least I had fun and I think evryone else did too.And that's all that matters.


Many thanks to....

1. Andrian for his many contributions and sacrifices towards a more successful event.
2. His parents for the generosity and kindness undeservedly lavished on me.
3. All the BRATs who turned up on Saturday to help with the banner.
4. All the BRATs who forgo their plans in order to attend the event.
5. The past year BRATs who were kind enough to give a few pointers and help.
6. Ivy and Niki for their patience and genuine concern for us BRATs.
   
   Terima kasih!

All Systems Go!

The information may have been leaked weeks ago,but the announcement still elicited a few murmurs among the crowd at E3.Sony has confirmed that they will be releasing the PSP Go instead of a new Slim like everyone wanted.So what are the improvements to this new version?Well,not only does it look different(and much more comfortable to play),it sports bigger memory(16GB to be exact),the ability to connect a wireless headset and utilise Skype via its built in Bluetooth and a 3.8 inch LCD screen.However,Sony did not even think of adding a second analog controller eventhough it was the subject of many criticisms of the first PSP.In my opinion,I like the new look and the fact that it's smaller than the previous iterations.But the lack of good games is the only thing that separates it from the hugely succesful DS.So I'm still gonna stay at the Nintendo camp for now.But I might change my mind if the Cartman design below is available in Malaysia.South Park FTW! Oh and one last thing.A small company famous for its line of RPGs recently dropped a bombshell at its booth.

You can pick your jaw off the floor now.