I watched Sherlock Holmes 2 last Thursday, the day it hit the screen. I liked the movie, especially after I've watched the first one and realised the movie is exceedingly engaging, spellbinding and funny. The bond between Sherlock and Watson is what intrigued me the most. Good friends are hard to come by. The movie commences with a slow pace but then after that it takes on speed. As usual, Holmes tries to prevail on Watson to join his adventure, his attempt bungled initially and but he shanghaied Watson into it when he interrupts their journey to honeymoon to save their lives, and in the mean time he has Watson's wife sent away for safety. Watson, with great forbearance, and with subdued animosity that wouldn't last, helps him in a blue funk while trying to avoid trigger-happy goons during a mission to search for a guy. Moriarty is the main villain and one that is difficult to topple even with Holmes' intelligence. However, as expected, Holmes wins the fight, with a price though. I still love their friendship. So close. So caring. The sequel is not as funny as the first, but it contains more actions, adventure and intelligence war. Highly recommended. Watch it! Thursday 29 December 2011
Watched a Movie
I watched Sherlock Holmes 2 last Thursday, the day it hit the screen. I liked the movie, especially after I've watched the first one and realised the movie is exceedingly engaging, spellbinding and funny. The bond between Sherlock and Watson is what intrigued me the most. Good friends are hard to come by. The movie commences with a slow pace but then after that it takes on speed. As usual, Holmes tries to prevail on Watson to join his adventure, his attempt bungled initially and but he shanghaied Watson into it when he interrupts their journey to honeymoon to save their lives, and in the mean time he has Watson's wife sent away for safety. Watson, with great forbearance, and with subdued animosity that wouldn't last, helps him in a blue funk while trying to avoid trigger-happy goons during a mission to search for a guy. Moriarty is the main villain and one that is difficult to topple even with Holmes' intelligence. However, as expected, Holmes wins the fight, with a price though. I still love their friendship. So close. So caring. The sequel is not as funny as the first, but it contains more actions, adventure and intelligence war. Highly recommended. Watch it! Tuesday 27 December 2011
End - 2011
December 2011 is going to end, which also means 2011 is coming to an end, and we'll be entering a brand new year - 2012. The year where apocalypse will presumably happen.
I don't buy it though. No idea why - but this notion strikes me every time I see or hear anything pertaining to the year 2012. Perhaps I have been afraid of it, but I conceal it so good I don't even know I am afraid of it.
This is the power of rumour - you get scared even if you know it's phoney.
Anyway, SPM had just ended about 20 days ago but I have a feeling that it has ended for almost a year. Lols no joke! I have been slacking around, immersing myself in a virtual world where only storybooks rule, and I have binged on food so much I believe I have gained some weight.
Well, since I have ended my secondary school life, the real life begins next year - where I have to learn to work, study hard, and most importantly, be independent. We can't lean on someone else for our entire life. Sometimes, we just need to learn to be autonomous, as we can't always expect help from someone else.
I guess I have got to find a part time job soon. I can't always laze around, time will just hang heavy on my hand and I despise that. So, new year, new things. I'll embrace it with gallantry, and hope you guys do too.
I don't buy it though. No idea why - but this notion strikes me every time I see or hear anything pertaining to the year 2012. Perhaps I have been afraid of it, but I conceal it so good I don't even know I am afraid of it.
This is the power of rumour - you get scared even if you know it's phoney.
Anyway, SPM had just ended about 20 days ago but I have a feeling that it has ended for almost a year. Lols no joke! I have been slacking around, immersing myself in a virtual world where only storybooks rule, and I have binged on food so much I believe I have gained some weight.
Well, since I have ended my secondary school life, the real life begins next year - where I have to learn to work, study hard, and most importantly, be independent. We can't lean on someone else for our entire life. Sometimes, we just need to learn to be autonomous, as we can't always expect help from someone else.
I guess I have got to find a part time job soon. I can't always laze around, time will just hang heavy on my hand and I despise that. So, new year, new things. I'll embrace it with gallantry, and hope you guys do too.
Sunday 25 December 2011
Merry Christmas!
Happy Christmas everyone!
Hope you enjoy your Christmas this year and I sincerely hope you have achieved what you long for, and hope you have gained what you yearn for, and I too earnestly hope you have a happy day!
Merry Christmas!!!!! Hohohoho!!!!
Wednesday 21 December 2011
Taiping Trip, Day 3
After exiting the Museum, we decided to walk our way to the train station. The journey was insanely long, but perhaps immensely fun. Initially I read the map wrong, and led my friends to the wrong route. My bad!
Walking along the road in a overcast day was quite fun, with the exception that we needed to avoid being splashed by water when cars drove by. The road was narrow, watery and a trifle uncomfortable to walk on. Thanks to Gin whose handphone was equipped with GPS system, we were secured from being lost in a city where we were unfamiliar with.
And credit is also given to the main road for being wide, straight and long. We just had to make sure we were walking on the main road and we would reach the train station as long as we kept track on it.
Half way, we saw KFC. Hungry, all of us went into the shop and dined. It looked funny though, went to Taiping but took KFC for dinner.
Then we continued our journey. Frankly there wasn't many things in Taiping to see. While walking along the stretch of road, what we saw were those ordinary shops that could be found everywhere. Looked like BM town, honestly.
We reached the train station safe and sound. Pretty early though. Our train was scheduled to depart on 7.20pm, but we reached the station around 6.00pm, and we had about an hour and 30 minutes to spare. We sat on the bench there playing mobile phones.
And here comes the anticlimax: that idiotic workers there dropped us a bombshell: all train services were cancelled!
We took a double take, had our mouth agape, and registered the cruel fact and remained thunderstruck. We were at lost for a moment for we had no transport to go back then. Trying to stay calm - but failed - we talked to the workers there and he said he could not do anything. Tickets would be refund.
We were figuring a way to escape from this predicament when Yiet Hean suddenly remembered he had a cousin living in Taiping. Painstakingly he managed to contact them and we sighed with relief for a moment. We hoped they could bring us to the bus station in Kamunting and then from there we board a bus and returned home.
And we did - thanks to Yiet Hean's cousin.
We reached the train station at 7pm and took the bus that departed at 7.10pm for fear we could not go back if we delayed. Thank goodness we managed to buy the ticket.
The rest seems unnecessary to talk about. Apparently, train station in Malaysia sucks. No wonder the service isn't extremely welcomed and sought after.
Walking along the road in a overcast day was quite fun, with the exception that we needed to avoid being splashed by water when cars drove by. The road was narrow, watery and a trifle uncomfortable to walk on. Thanks to Gin whose handphone was equipped with GPS system, we were secured from being lost in a city where we were unfamiliar with.
And credit is also given to the main road for being wide, straight and long. We just had to make sure we were walking on the main road and we would reach the train station as long as we kept track on it.
Half way, we saw KFC. Hungry, all of us went into the shop and dined. It looked funny though, went to Taiping but took KFC for dinner.
Then we continued our journey. Frankly there wasn't many things in Taiping to see. While walking along the stretch of road, what we saw were those ordinary shops that could be found everywhere. Looked like BM town, honestly.
We reached the train station safe and sound. Pretty early though. Our train was scheduled to depart on 7.20pm, but we reached the station around 6.00pm, and we had about an hour and 30 minutes to spare. We sat on the bench there playing mobile phones.
And here comes the anticlimax: that idiotic workers there dropped us a bombshell: all train services were cancelled!
We took a double take, had our mouth agape, and registered the cruel fact and remained thunderstruck. We were at lost for a moment for we had no transport to go back then. Trying to stay calm - but failed - we talked to the workers there and he said he could not do anything. Tickets would be refund.
We were figuring a way to escape from this predicament when Yiet Hean suddenly remembered he had a cousin living in Taiping. Painstakingly he managed to contact them and we sighed with relief for a moment. We hoped they could bring us to the bus station in Kamunting and then from there we board a bus and returned home.
And we did - thanks to Yiet Hean's cousin.
We reached the train station at 7pm and took the bus that departed at 7.10pm for fear we could not go back if we delayed. Thank goodness we managed to buy the ticket.
The rest seems unnecessary to talk about. Apparently, train station in Malaysia sucks. No wonder the service isn't extremely welcomed and sought after.
Wednesday 14 December 2011
Taiping Trip, Part 2
Then we had lunch in a hawker centre somewhere in Taiping (seems unnecessary to mention this). I took only popiah as I wasn't famished, but my friends took some noodles as they were pretty hungry and wolfed them down exceptionally fast.
Then the benevolent brought us to Museum, as requested. The torrential rain disrupted our plan because it made our transport exceptionally inconvenient. Anyway we visited the Museum around 2pm. The entrance was free of charge, and hence we spent our time there without restrictions or worries.
It wasn't really boring though. Some of the artifacts looked phoney and some looked deliberately altered, but since this museum was set up for the purpose of preserving historical facts and conserving historical knowledge, having bogus samples aren't a big thing to whine about. As long as the facts are true, samples don't matter. If you wanna look at historical monuments or any objects that are historical, go to Muzeum Negara.
As I mentioned before, the museum in Taiping was set up solely for preserving historical facts, therefore we weren't there to enjoy artifacts or monuments, we were there to read those cultures, animals or objects that are now extinct, nonexistent, or defunct. A lot of things there did not catch my attention as I wasn't a person who shows a liking towards history. But since the entrance was free and the air-conditioner was on, plus the fact that rain was bucketing down outside, we sat down in a bench inside the museum, slightly secluded, and talked for almost half an hour before we left the museum. We were smart right, for taking advantage of the museum. :)
Then the benevolent brought us to Museum, as requested. The torrential rain disrupted our plan because it made our transport exceptionally inconvenient. Anyway we visited the Museum around 2pm. The entrance was free of charge, and hence we spent our time there without restrictions or worries.
It wasn't really boring though. Some of the artifacts looked phoney and some looked deliberately altered, but since this museum was set up for the purpose of preserving historical facts and conserving historical knowledge, having bogus samples aren't a big thing to whine about. As long as the facts are true, samples don't matter. If you wanna look at historical monuments or any objects that are historical, go to Muzeum Negara.
As I mentioned before, the museum in Taiping was set up solely for preserving historical facts, therefore we weren't there to enjoy artifacts or monuments, we were there to read those cultures, animals or objects that are now extinct, nonexistent, or defunct. A lot of things there did not catch my attention as I wasn't a person who shows a liking towards history. But since the entrance was free and the air-conditioner was on, plus the fact that rain was bucketing down outside, we sat down in a bench inside the museum, slightly secluded, and talked for almost half an hour before we left the museum. We were smart right, for taking advantage of the museum. :)
Sunday 11 December 2011
Taiping Trip, Part 1
My benevolent dad sent me and my friend, Jeff, to the train station, our pre-arranged rendezvous. There we caught up with another two of my friends, Gin and Yiet Hean. That was my very first time I was gonna board a train and I was kinda excited. I wore completely black: black attire, black jeans, which made me stood up among my friends cause they dressed rather casually.
The train was fine, better than I expected, and was smoother than I imagined. At least the journey wasn't bumpy or shaky. We sat on the first row, and all the other spaces on that carriage were occupied by some students from a kindergarten who, ironically, never watched Harry Potter before and seemed to be enjoying silent cartoons.
The entire journey took about an hour and twenty minutes, and once we arrived Taiping train station we alighted and moved to the main entrance, and that marked the genesis of our trip. We didn't record phone numbers for taxi in advance, and therefore we were lost for a moment until we managed to get a number from an Indian at the stall there. I made a duly move and dialed the number. Since the number wasn't a mobile one, I thought it was a taxi company. They said they would send a taxi with the number plate 4007, and so we waited patiently despite the heat. However, later, when a taxi came and waved towards us, I realised the number wasn't 4007 and was something else, so I thought...well....maybe the company sent another taxi to pick us up. How naive we were. The moment we boarded the taxi, my friends told me another taxi with the number plate 4007 came and watched us left with this taxi. I believed that Indian would sure go berserk and think he was fooled. =.=
Then the taxi driver brought us to Taiping Zoo, the sole tourist attraction in Taiping. The ticket cost us RM12 per person, not exorbitant, but ain't cheap either. Then we entered the zoo, saw all kinds of animals that were either sick, half-dying or devoid of animal characteristics. Taiping Zoo wasn't well taken care of, and the maintenance was really poor. Just look at the water for the animals and you could only see a patch of green algae or a pool of muddy colour water.
The price for any goods in the zoo was exorbitant. They did not sell any meals so I grabbed a bottle of extra sweet fruit juice (three bottles per day for a week is enough to cause diabetes), a bottle of mineral water and a packet of junk food to fill my stomach for I was hungry. Then we continued our journey. It was pretty fun seeing all those animals traipsing in the zoo, or lazing around, or just lied on the ground endeavoured to sleep but was constantly interrupted by tourists.
I had to admit: the visit was fun. Not because the zoo was entertaining or the animals were enlightening, they weren't be any entertaining when their supposed home was in an almost dilapidated situation, but because I went there with my friends, and it's the feelings that was enjoyable, and not the zoo. If I went there alone I might have hightail it as soon when I caught sight of the severely tainted window cages for the animals.
We left the zoo around 1pm, approximately half an hour before rain began to pour.
*Photos will be uploaded soon*
The train was fine, better than I expected, and was smoother than I imagined. At least the journey wasn't bumpy or shaky. We sat on the first row, and all the other spaces on that carriage were occupied by some students from a kindergarten who, ironically, never watched Harry Potter before and seemed to be enjoying silent cartoons.
The entire journey took about an hour and twenty minutes, and once we arrived Taiping train station we alighted and moved to the main entrance, and that marked the genesis of our trip. We didn't record phone numbers for taxi in advance, and therefore we were lost for a moment until we managed to get a number from an Indian at the stall there. I made a duly move and dialed the number. Since the number wasn't a mobile one, I thought it was a taxi company. They said they would send a taxi with the number plate 4007, and so we waited patiently despite the heat. However, later, when a taxi came and waved towards us, I realised the number wasn't 4007 and was something else, so I thought...well....maybe the company sent another taxi to pick us up. How naive we were. The moment we boarded the taxi, my friends told me another taxi with the number plate 4007 came and watched us left with this taxi. I believed that Indian would sure go berserk and think he was fooled. =.=
Then the taxi driver brought us to Taiping Zoo, the sole tourist attraction in Taiping. The ticket cost us RM12 per person, not exorbitant, but ain't cheap either. Then we entered the zoo, saw all kinds of animals that were either sick, half-dying or devoid of animal characteristics. Taiping Zoo wasn't well taken care of, and the maintenance was really poor. Just look at the water for the animals and you could only see a patch of green algae or a pool of muddy colour water.
The price for any goods in the zoo was exorbitant. They did not sell any meals so I grabbed a bottle of extra sweet fruit juice (three bottles per day for a week is enough to cause diabetes), a bottle of mineral water and a packet of junk food to fill my stomach for I was hungry. Then we continued our journey. It was pretty fun seeing all those animals traipsing in the zoo, or lazing around, or just lied on the ground endeavoured to sleep but was constantly interrupted by tourists.
I had to admit: the visit was fun. Not because the zoo was entertaining or the animals were enlightening, they weren't be any entertaining when their supposed home was in an almost dilapidated situation, but because I went there with my friends, and it's the feelings that was enjoyable, and not the zoo. If I went there alone I might have hightail it as soon when I caught sight of the severely tainted window cages for the animals.
We left the zoo around 1pm, approximately half an hour before rain began to pour.
*Photos will be uploaded soon*
Friday 9 December 2011
What's Unique About SPM 2011?
BM: A totally new Komsas, that's why all of us are so troubled. We are not able to spot any possible topics for this year komsas and therefore we have to study all. And guess what, all three komsas that came out this year were not spotted by any of the states trial paper, particularly drama: cempaka berdarah. All 3 komsas really caught all of us off guard. The harbinger of trouble: it tells us the government is doing their job. Hot topics are to be avoided.
BI: New literature, no short stories and drama.
BC: A totally new format with no objective questions at all. For paper 1, addresses for both writer and recipient are given, both 应用文 are 公函, unlike previous years where both are different format. For paper 2,
shorter and thank goodness easier 文言文，no 翻译，and probably the easiest SPM chinese paper for the past 3 years.
Maths: The first question for paper 2 is either sets or graphical inequalities, and it has been going on in cycle, where the first year is sets and the second year is graphical inequalities and the cycle continues for almost 8 years and this year, the paper violates the cycle and the first question is sets, although it has been tested last year. Another sign the government is avoiding any topics that can be easily spotted.
Additional Maths: Paper 1 is quite tricky if compared to previous years, but the standard remains the same. A totally unexpected question is being tested in paper 2: logarithm. Hence, a lot of students are unable to answer the question. Third sign the government is avoiding any topics that can be easily detected.
Sejarah: This is the paper ALL SPM students lament about. Why? For previous years, students will tell you they hate memorising all those Islamic facts and all events that happened before Independence of Malaysia. And this year, students will complain because all out studies end up useless! Why? After memorising all rubbish in Form 4 and Form 5 textbooks, we were being tested on Sivik like "Adakah bandar anda dibina secara terancang?", "Apakah lagu kebangsaan kita?", "Apakah kesan kepada negara sekiranya rakyat tidak diberi pendidikan formal?", "Bagaimana anda tunjukkan perasaan cinta kepada negara semasa lagu kebangsaan dimainkan?" , "Apakah perasaan anda apabila lagu kebangsaan berkumandang? Berikan dua alasan", "Mengapakah buruh asing suka datang ke Tanah Melayu?" ,"Apakah kesan kedatangan buruh asing. Berikan dua kebaikan dan keburukan." Tell me, honestly, if you are a student who has wasted two years memorising all those rubbish in the textbooks and you are given a paper who consist of 80% KBKK questions and 20% sejarah questions, how would you feel? Happiness standa 80% I admit, but frustration covers the rest (no anger, nobody would be angry, they'll just be frustrated) as you realise you have wasted 2 years of study.
Biology: Paper 1 is too easy. Paper 2 questions are weird, some are KBKK questions that you have to endeavour to relate it to your biology knowledge. Hot topics are not being tested, again, and all those unimportant topics came out. Paper 3 is fine, hot topics did come out for this paper. The only paper that we are satisfied about.
Chemistry: Paper 1 is fine. Again, hot topics aren't tested on paper 2 and those weird questions came out. Questions seem to be random. Paper 3 part 2, constructing experiment has probably left a lot of students thunderstruck as no one would have expected that experiment would be tested. Even a teacher in my school says it's very unimportant. SPM boleh!
Physics: The main complaint is about paper 3. The others are fine. Paper 1 is pretty tricky, and there's one question with two answers and one question with no answer. Did they even bother to check?
Moral: Closed paper. Nothing can be disclosed.
BI: New literature, no short stories and drama.
BC: A totally new format with no objective questions at all. For paper 1, addresses for both writer and recipient are given, both 应用文 are 公函, unlike previous years where both are different format. For paper 2,
shorter and thank goodness easier 文言文，no 翻译，and probably the easiest SPM chinese paper for the past 3 years.
Maths: The first question for paper 2 is either sets or graphical inequalities, and it has been going on in cycle, where the first year is sets and the second year is graphical inequalities and the cycle continues for almost 8 years and this year, the paper violates the cycle and the first question is sets, although it has been tested last year. Another sign the government is avoiding any topics that can be easily spotted.
Additional Maths: Paper 1 is quite tricky if compared to previous years, but the standard remains the same. A totally unexpected question is being tested in paper 2: logarithm. Hence, a lot of students are unable to answer the question. Third sign the government is avoiding any topics that can be easily detected.
Sejarah: This is the paper ALL SPM students lament about. Why? For previous years, students will tell you they hate memorising all those Islamic facts and all events that happened before Independence of Malaysia. And this year, students will complain because all out studies end up useless! Why? After memorising all rubbish in Form 4 and Form 5 textbooks, we were being tested on Sivik like "Adakah bandar anda dibina secara terancang?", "Apakah lagu kebangsaan kita?", "Apakah kesan kepada negara sekiranya rakyat tidak diberi pendidikan formal?", "Bagaimana anda tunjukkan perasaan cinta kepada negara semasa lagu kebangsaan dimainkan?" , "Apakah perasaan anda apabila lagu kebangsaan berkumandang? Berikan dua alasan", "Mengapakah buruh asing suka datang ke Tanah Melayu?" ,"Apakah kesan kedatangan buruh asing. Berikan dua kebaikan dan keburukan." Tell me, honestly, if you are a student who has wasted two years memorising all those rubbish in the textbooks and you are given a paper who consist of 80% KBKK questions and 20% sejarah questions, how would you feel? Happiness standa 80% I admit, but frustration covers the rest (no anger, nobody would be angry, they'll just be frustrated) as you realise you have wasted 2 years of study.
Biology: Paper 1 is too easy. Paper 2 questions are weird, some are KBKK questions that you have to endeavour to relate it to your biology knowledge. Hot topics are not being tested, again, and all those unimportant topics came out. Paper 3 is fine, hot topics did come out for this paper. The only paper that we are satisfied about.
Chemistry: Paper 1 is fine. Again, hot topics aren't tested on paper 2 and those weird questions came out. Questions seem to be random. Paper 3 part 2, constructing experiment has probably left a lot of students thunderstruck as no one would have expected that experiment would be tested. Even a teacher in my school says it's very unimportant. SPM boleh!
Physics: The main complaint is about paper 3. The others are fine. Paper 1 is pretty tricky, and there's one question with two answers and one question with no answer. Did they even bother to check?
Moral: Closed paper. Nothing can be disclosed.
SPM, Week 4
7 December 2011, Wednesday
With a week of holiday and the last paper Chinese, none of the students really have any moods to study. Conveniently, there's nothing much to study about Chinese except the annoying mingju with its syllabus that encompasses removed classes to form 5, a total of 230 mingju and frustratingly only 3 will be tested.
Never mind.
I'm weak at Chinese, despite the fact that I'm a Chinese. The main problem is the paper is too hard. It's more like a literature paper than Bahasa Cina. The other reason would be I focus less on Chinese. I don't like studying classical Chinese. It's boring and sometimes it requires us to have substantial amount of knowledge about China history.
Well, today is my nightmare.
The first paper would be Chinese paper 2: the paper that cause most of us flunk the entire subject. Luckily, lembaga peperiksaan shows some mercy this year (probably because this is the first year that the new format is being used) and the paper is very much easier if compared to others. The summary is easier, at least the points aren't scattered around like that of negeri sembilan trial paper. The comprehension is quite easy, although there are some questions that challenge your mind and understanding of the passage.
Classical is okay. I can roughly understand what the entire passage is about, but I don't think I translate them correctly. Good thing about this year is there's no questions on translation. I always fail that part. The classical poem is quite hard for me, I can get the overall message but I can't get the specific.
And the last part: mingju. I'm glad I never bothered to memorise all the 出处、作者 and 朝代, because none is being tested this year. I'm saved a lot of time studying it compared to my friends. :)
Paper 1 is fine. Nothing much to complain, albeit I can't guarantee I can score.
I know I'm not good in Chinese, so all I am hoping for is an A-. I hope I can get it, but if the final result is B+ or B, I wouldn't be floored.
With a week of holiday and the last paper Chinese, none of the students really have any moods to study. Conveniently, there's nothing much to study about Chinese except the annoying mingju with its syllabus that encompasses removed classes to form 5, a total of 230 mingju and frustratingly only 3 will be tested.
Never mind.
Well, today is my nightmare.
The first paper would be Chinese paper 2: the paper that cause most of us flunk the entire subject. Luckily, lembaga peperiksaan shows some mercy this year (probably because this is the first year that the new format is being used) and the paper is very much easier if compared to others. The summary is easier, at least the points aren't scattered around like that of negeri sembilan trial paper. The comprehension is quite easy, although there are some questions that challenge your mind and understanding of the passage.
Classical is okay. I can roughly understand what the entire passage is about, but I don't think I translate them correctly. Good thing about this year is there's no questions on translation. I always fail that part. The classical poem is quite hard for me, I can get the overall message but I can't get the specific.
And the last part: mingju. I'm glad I never bothered to memorise all the 出处、作者 and 朝代, because none is being tested this year. I'm saved a lot of time studying it compared to my friends. :)
Paper 1 is fine. Nothing much to complain, albeit I can't guarantee I can score.
I know I'm not good in Chinese, so all I am hoping for is an A-. I hope I can get it, but if the final result is B+ or B, I wouldn't be floored.
Sunday 4 December 2011
SPM, Week 3
Day 8: 29 November 2011
Biology. Every student's second nightmare (behind sejarah). Paper 1 is so easy half of my class dozed off after 30 minutes. Funny. Paper 2 has some difficulties. Some really need us to think critically and it's good because rote-learning kills creativity and some KBKK questions are good in moulding students who can think creatively.
The second science paper: Chemistry.While past year papers were relatively easy, this year paper has some standard that has us thunderstruck. Paper 1 is okay, but I wanna say the paper is "tak ada standard". Some English scientific terms are not written and they are substituted by Malay words. We can obviously see who set the paper then.
Paper 2 is okay, but there's one question that looks random. First, it says solution P, then out of nowhere, hydrochloric acid appears and solution P has been seemingly displaced. So random. Do they even proofread? Essay is quite shocking. Two more difficult chapters that are all about factuals are tested in Section B and we MUST answer either one, which make most of us grip our hairs to the extent some have become bold. **Exaggerating!!
Paper 3. I don't think I need to talk about the graph. Everyone who sits for the paper should know about the maddening draw-a-perfect-graph-but-then-need-to-rub-off-because-the-next-question-is-stupid things. Question 2, again, catches everyone off guard. Nobody would have expected that experiment will be tested. Some cried for the lost of 17 marks there.
Day 9: 30 November 2011
Biology. Every student's second nightmare (behind sejarah). Paper 1 is so easy half of my class dozed off after 30 minutes. Funny. Paper 2 has some difficulties. Some really need us to think critically and it's good because rote-learning kills creativity and some KBKK questions are good in moulding students who can think creatively.
But the essay questions are really weird. It seems to have been affected by sejarah, where there are questions which only need logic and not biological knowledge. The questions aren't hot topics either, which makes the year SPM more weird.
Paper 3 is also slightly weird. Question 1 is fine, but the language they used is rather odd. Question 2 about potometer is new (first form 5 experiment) but we still manage to do it because we have predicted this question.
Overall, this year SPM is really, exceptionally bizarre.
Friday 2 December 2011
Movie Review: You Are The Apple Of My Eye
WARNING: I'm not a professional, so please don't expect a professional review. Everything below is simply my opinion and thoughts. Review begins below the lengthy synopsis. :)
I went to watch this famous movie today. The ticket was selling like hot cakes, it had been on screen for three weeks, almost four, and the ticket was still selling fast.
The movie commences with Ko Ching-Teng (played by Ko Chen-Tung) dressed up in suit, being called by his friends to attend a wedding. Then, the movie switches back to 1994 (the year I was born!) and we see the high school Ko Ching-Teng cycling rather dangerously on the road, playing with his friends childishly. On the journey to school, the main character gives us the introduction of his lives and his friends, which conveniently help us to understand the movie without the need to read the novel beforehand.
Then we see what he and his friends do in the school: all sorts of weird activities including assaulting each other playfully, talking rude words, and even masturbating. These aren't good examples that we should learn though, but they certainly have lighted up our feelings.
Everything begins when Ko Ching-Teng lent Shen Chia-Yi his English textbook when she has forgotten to bring it to school, sacrificing himself by being punished by his surly English teacher who is pretty temperamental and has gone over the line in punishing. This move was probably exaggerated in the movie, but I don't think it is heavily twisted from the real facts.
Shen Chia-Yi feels indebted to him, and therefore decides to help him improve his studies, despite his reluctance and annoyance. Weirdly, Ching-Teng obeys and does his homework and regularly has his homework given to Chia-Yi for her to mark his papers. Story progresses from here and they both begin to fall in love to each other. Chia-Yi never admitted her feelings, and Ching-Teng always thought she will reject him if he confesses his love.
Ching-Teng academic performances improves dramatically. One day, Chia-Yi fails her high school exam (I think it's something like SPM/STPM), but Ching-Teng passes it. Ching-Teng tries to assuage her feelings. They are then separated from each other, but they still date. While dating, Ching-Teng finally confesses his love, and hopes Chia-Yi would not tell him her decision for he is afraid he would be rejected, even though Chia-Yi earnestly asks him whether he needs an answer then and is about to say she likes him.
Then the chemicals between them changes when Ching-Teng decides to held a fighting competition to show Chia-Yi his strongest/masculine side. He loses badly but still truants it to Chia-Yi. She calls it childish furiously and asks why would he do something that would only inflict damage on himself. Ching-Teng got upset by the fact that she doesn't understand him, and walks away, telling her he gives up going after her, leaving both of them severely heartbroken.
The both of them do not contact each other for 2 years, until an earthquake strikes. Ching-Teng immediately calls Chia-Yi for fear that she might sustain injury. They both managed to get in touch with each other, and then begin to talk about their lives and old memories.
After that, Ching-Teng becomes a great writer. He receives a phonecall from Chia-Yi, telling him to attend her wedding. The both of them have become friends whose bond have been hardened after their failed close relationship. He then writes his teenage years and his romance into a novel, which became a hit after it is published.
Okay. Movie review begins.
Yes. I admit the movie contains too much sex elements. But hei, it's teenage years! Giddens is renowned for his odd sex thinking too. If that's his teenage years, then the story should be told unaltered.
It's very interesting for me to see how Taiwan's school system works. They too have strict teachers who would yell at someone for no reason or further investigation, they too have teachers who are extremely temperamental. They too have students who are mischievous and recalcitrant. Sometimes, breaking the rules is really a joy to experience. If you have been a guai kia for too long, breaking a strict rule is really some fun.
I haven't read the novel before, but I find the movie great. These students in the movie do reflect our school lives. In fact, I think their school lives are the same as us: rote-learning system that causes a lot of students to study hard, weird activities that are done by students who are simply bored and decide to have some fun at the expense of their victims. Making deals or bets that end up with the one losing heeding the rules stated before the result is known. I truly like this movie probably because I have the experience and I know exactly how these students go through their lives.
And the graduation ceremony scene is just like the graduation ceremony in my school. I suddenly felt nostalgic when I watched that scene.
The romance between Ching-Teng and Chia-Yi is fairy-tale like. The story might have been exaggerated, but gosh it's very heart engaging. They both love each other, but then they do not really share any same interest. Ko Chen-Tung does play his role very well. For a newcomer to deliver this strong character, he did it successfully. I can't imagine what would happen if Giddens actually plays his own character in the movie. ==
Both the main characters are god-like. One is handsome, and another one is so beautiful. They make the couple looks so matching and some actually cried in the theatre when they split. I do admit the scene is really touching, but I haven't shed a single tear though.
Thinking back, it's great to have friends like Ching-Teng does. They hit at each other when they are disappointed with each other. Ya, this is a sign of violence. But at the same time, this is what we called 'brothers' who are really concerned at each other. Giddens certainly has made his wonderful teenage years into a masterpiece that might have altered somebody's life.
Overall, the movie is great. Highly recommended.
My ratings: 5/5
The movie commences with Ko Ching-Teng (played by Ko Chen-Tung) dressed up in suit, being called by his friends to attend a wedding. Then, the movie switches back to 1994 (the year I was born!) and we see the high school Ko Ching-Teng cycling rather dangerously on the road, playing with his friends childishly. On the journey to school, the main character gives us the introduction of his lives and his friends, which conveniently help us to understand the movie without the need to read the novel beforehand.
Then we see what he and his friends do in the school: all sorts of weird activities including assaulting each other playfully, talking rude words, and even masturbating. These aren't good examples that we should learn though, but they certainly have lighted up our feelings.
Everything begins when Ko Ching-Teng lent Shen Chia-Yi his English textbook when she has forgotten to bring it to school, sacrificing himself by being punished by his surly English teacher who is pretty temperamental and has gone over the line in punishing. This move was probably exaggerated in the movie, but I don't think it is heavily twisted from the real facts.
Shen Chia-Yi feels indebted to him, and therefore decides to help him improve his studies, despite his reluctance and annoyance. Weirdly, Ching-Teng obeys and does his homework and regularly has his homework given to Chia-Yi for her to mark his papers. Story progresses from here and they both begin to fall in love to each other. Chia-Yi never admitted her feelings, and Ching-Teng always thought she will reject him if he confesses his love.
Then the chemicals between them changes when Ching-Teng decides to held a fighting competition to show Chia-Yi his strongest/masculine side. He loses badly but still truants it to Chia-Yi. She calls it childish furiously and asks why would he do something that would only inflict damage on himself. Ching-Teng got upset by the fact that she doesn't understand him, and walks away, telling her he gives up going after her, leaving both of them severely heartbroken.
The both of them do not contact each other for 2 years, until an earthquake strikes. Ching-Teng immediately calls Chia-Yi for fear that she might sustain injury. They both managed to get in touch with each other, and then begin to talk about their lives and old memories.
After that, Ching-Teng becomes a great writer. He receives a phonecall from Chia-Yi, telling him to attend her wedding. The both of them have become friends whose bond have been hardened after their failed close relationship. He then writes his teenage years and his romance into a novel, which became a hit after it is published.
Yes. I admit the movie contains too much sex elements. But hei, it's teenage years! Giddens is renowned for his odd sex thinking too. If that's his teenage years, then the story should be told unaltered.
It's very interesting for me to see how Taiwan's school system works. They too have strict teachers who would yell at someone for no reason or further investigation, they too have teachers who are extremely temperamental. They too have students who are mischievous and recalcitrant. Sometimes, breaking the rules is really a joy to experience. If you have been a guai kia for too long, breaking a strict rule is really some fun.
I haven't read the novel before, but I find the movie great. These students in the movie do reflect our school lives. In fact, I think their school lives are the same as us: rote-learning system that causes a lot of students to study hard, weird activities that are done by students who are simply bored and decide to have some fun at the expense of their victims. Making deals or bets that end up with the one losing heeding the rules stated before the result is known. I truly like this movie probably because I have the experience and I know exactly how these students go through their lives.
And the graduation ceremony scene is just like the graduation ceremony in my school. I suddenly felt nostalgic when I watched that scene.
Both the main characters are god-like. One is handsome, and another one is so beautiful. They make the couple looks so matching and some actually cried in the theatre when they split. I do admit the scene is really touching, but I haven't shed a single tear though.
Thinking back, it's great to have friends like Ching-Teng does. They hit at each other when they are disappointed with each other. Ya, this is a sign of violence. But at the same time, this is what we called 'brothers' who are really concerned at each other. Giddens certainly has made his wonderful teenage years into a masterpiece that might have altered somebody's life.
Overall, the movie is great. Highly recommended.
My ratings: 5/5
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