"Ah Boys To Men" rakes in S$4.9m in 18 days

Army-themed local movie, "Ah Boys To Men", directed by Jack Neo, is the second-highest grossing Singapore film ever, raking a sales number of S$4.9 million in 18 days after its launch. How is it that an army-themed local movie is able to bring about such an enormous figure in sales? Is National Service in Singapore depicted in such a realistic and humane manner?

We ask local Singaporean sons about how they feel about the movie. 

Mr Steven Seah, a student from Singapore Management University, who previously served the army as a 3rd Sergeant, said,"The movie really brought back memories of myself during BMT (Basic Military Training), and I miss all the times I had serving the nation together with strangers who slowly became my best buddies. All the blood, sweat, and tears I shared with my buddies, will be in my heart forever."

"I really like how the movie is depicted in such a realistic and humane manner, reminding me of all the times I had serving the nation. Everything depicted in the movie seem so familiar, even though I've already ORD-ed seven years ago. I believe it is a really good illustration of the Singapore Armed Forces for Singaporean sons who have not gone through national service yet." Said Mr Tan Cheng Wai, a 28-year-old Accountant. 

In one of the scenes of the movie, Singapore is depicted as being at war. In that particular scene, many of Singapore's infrastructures were destroyed by the enemy forces, and Singapore soldiers fought to drive the enemy forces out of the country.

"That particular scene reminded me why Singaporean sons must serve the nation, because the bustling city and the peace we enjoy in this day and age did not come by chance, but because of the army uniform we are wearing." Said national-serviceman Mr Joel Ang, who has 6 months till his operational ready date.

Gerald Liew, a third-year diploma in Aeronautical Science student, who is enlisting later this year, said, "After watching this movie, I can say I'm quite excited about enlistment. Even though it's going to be tough, I'm sure it will be worth it... the skills and experiences which only come by once in a lifetime." 

Besides portraying the Singapore Armed Forces in a realistic way, the movie also incorporates Jack Neo's very own local humor that definitely invoke laughter in the audience. 

The theme song of the movie, "Recruit's Anthem", also drew much attention because of the army terms which are portrayed as local slangs, and Singaporeans would definitely be able to relate to. 

Click on the video below for the theme song of "Ah Boys To Men":

Noah Yap is the only one out of the four main characters (recruits) of "Ah Boys To Men" who has not yet served the nation, and has admitted he wasn't aware serving the nation is so tough. 

Click on the video below for the interview with the main characters of "Ah Boys To Men":

Evaluation of Newsqueeze group blog

Website evaluated: newsqueeze.wordpress.com

The reason why I would consider using newsqueeze.wordpress.com as my preferred blog for lifestyle issues is because the journalism team has ample advertising done to publicize the blog. From Facebook newsfeeds to Twitter newsfeeds, the team does a good job in presenting short descriptions of their latest posts to capture the attention of the target audience. However, I would not know whether they have infringed any copyright laws because I do not know whether there exists similar news in other news websites.

The articles that the team have put up on their group blog are very informative, but yet the length of the articles are suitable for internet browsing, and there are short videos and photos accompanying the text to capture the attention of readers for a longer period of time. The use of captivating headlines and rhetorical questions have also served to create suspense and invoke strong interest in the readers. The news stories are rather timely as well, as there is a steady flow of information every week. 

The blog layout is designed to allow easy navigation for the readers as I do not need to go through many layers to access the information I would be interested in. The tabs such as entertainment, fashion & lifestyle, food and technology cater to my specific needs and just by clicking on the tabs, I would get my preferred genre of news. However, I feel that the tabs such as news, feature and commentary could be incorporated into the specific genres instead of standing on their own. The pages on the website does not take a long time to download, and the different kind of information may well cater to the needs of the general population, be it the old or the young. 

However, I feel that what is lacking in the blog are interactive elements that can make people stay on the website for a longer period of time. Interactive elements such as chat boxes, forums, or even games could be incorporated into the website. The team have served to present the most timely, informative stories, but have failed to meet the interactive criteria. 

It can be seen that the team, when sourcing information from interviewees, have displayed professionalism in their job field. Shots taken with interviewees have also served to display the credibility of the information the team have sourced for. 

The website can maintained regularly in the long run because the organizational structure is very consistent and organized. Adding to the fact that Wordpress easy to utilize, there should not be a problem if anyone wants to take over the entire operation and management of the website. It definitely requires the teamwork of a whole team to ensure consistent flow of news though. 

Polytechnic graduates sought after for their skills and experience?

Poly grads’ pay crosses $2,000 mark - What does this indicate? For me, the increase of pay indicates that the need for the workforce to look for job skills in polytechnic graduates also increases, and employers are placing more value on the specific job field experience and skills that polytechnic graduates possess.

However, let’s face it, some fresh polytechnic graduates would choose to move on to further their studies in university instead of finding a job straight away. In my opinion, this is one of the reasons employers are offering a higher pay to fresh graduates: The need for more in the workforce.

When interviewed, Wong Jia Hui, a third-year diploma in Integrated Facilities Management student, said, “I would believe the main reason why fresh polytechnic graduates are offered a higher pay now is that employers are now placing more importance on job training, skills and experience, something that Junior Colleague students do not possess. Also, some graduates would choose to move on to university to further their studies instead of going straight into the workforce. The demand for these graduates has grew, hence the increase in pay.”

A tight labor market helping to push wages up?Probably. If more and more people are choosing to further their studies instead of strengthening the work force after they graduate from tertiary education, who then, is going to support the economy?

Times have changed. In the coming years, we will be seeing a transition from seeking paper qualification to job skills and experience. I feel that even with a prestigious paper qualification, experience and pre-training are important as well. The job market now look for employees who have both paper qualification and job experience.

However, Jia Hui admitted she would not get in a rush to enter the workforce after she graduates from Temasek Polytechnic. 

“It is not all about what is on paper, it is about how you brand yourself, how much experience you have, and the skills you possess in a particular field. All these are what employers look for, and of course, they determine whether you will be employed. ” said Jia Hui.

The difference between online and print journalism

              
  

               VS

Online journalism and print journalism - both terms substantially familiar to possibly every journalist. So, what is the difference between these two major fields of the journalism world? To me, online journalism means news that are available to everybody on the Internet. I define it as the reporting of facts when produced and distributed via the Internet. Print journalism, as then name suggests, is then news that are produced and distributed on papers, be it magazines, newspapers, or newsletters. With the growing circulation of newsflash on the internet, more and more readers no longer want to buy newspapers or magazines to read about information they might be interested in.

As a simple fact, who would want to spend money on tangible newspapers and magazines that might possibly end up collecting dust in their homes, after they are done with browsing them? Furthermore, to cater to the increasingly literate and gadgets-dependent audience, it is little doubt more and more news companies will turn to online journalism. Eg. TODAY, TheNewPaper, The Straits Times. Just by going online on their Iphones, Ipads, laptops or other portable devices, people are able to retrieve information on-the-go, without the unnecessary hassle of flipping the pages on a newspaper. 

One major difference between online and print journalism is that online newspaper can be updated immediately so they would have the newest information as opposed to print newspaper's which must first be written, then printed and then distributed.

Another difference is online newspapers can be interactive and include multimedia elements such as video and audio, whereas print newspapers have to rely on just words and pictures to convey news to the public.

To be honest, these two major advantages online journalism has over print journalism is already enough to draw more and more readers into the realm of online journalism. Not only does online journalism makes news more interesting and interactive, it also has a more effective circulation model that allows people to get the latest updates of news almost immediately.

However, even though online journalism has more of an effective circulation, print newspapers, in contrary, will most likely have less errors than online news, as they are usually more thoroughly edited before they are printed and circulated. All types of newspapers can present the wrong information, but I feel that online newspaper will have a higher likelihood of presenting false information as anyone on the net, if given the necessary access and tools, can fabricate information about a particular subject and post it online for mass viewing. Print newspapers, in this aspect, then has more credibility, compared to online news.

Figurines of members from People's Action Party draw crowds on Orchard Road

"People have never seen Lee Kuan Yew in a different style, so I want to allow people to have a different perception of him, not just as a political hero." That's what Chris Treewizard, a local artist, has to say about displaying exhibitive figurines of Lee Kuan Yew and Lee Hsien-Loong.

Figurines of former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew drew gazes from curious passers-by on Orchard Road this past Saturday.

Along Mandarin Gallery, just right after the traffic light situated outside Takashimaya, one would be surprised to see a crowd gathering around an exhibition platform. From afar, one would never know what the crowd is looking at. As a passer-by, bet you would have thought,"Why are all these people carrying cameras and gathering around the exhibition platform, when there is no visible exhibition on display?" 

Take a closer look, and your opinion would definitely make a turn. There, in the centre of attraction of passers-by, are familiar faces of our national heroes, Lee Kuan Yew and Lee Hsien-Loong, but in the form of cute little figurines. 

Chris Treewizard, 54, a local freelance artist who previously studied in National University of Singapore, is the one responsible for putting up these political figurines on display outside Mandarin Gallery. The most impressive point to note about him was probably the fact that he made these great sculptures all by himself.

When asked about his purpose for exhibiting these figurines, he said, "What I intend to do is political street art of People's Action Party in Orchard Road. People have never seen Lee Kuan Yew in a different style, but I want to make it user-symmetric so people are learning it." 

"I come here to Orchard Road to put up these exhibits as and when I like. Because today is the first day of Christmas, I'm launching my first day of christmas exhibition. So what I do is,
I take photos here and then I put them up on Facebook and other social media platforms," said Mr Chris.

Amidst the packed walkway of Orchard Road, many curious passers-by even stopped to take photos with the figurines of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and Mr. Lee Hsien Loong.

"I feel that these exhibits add colors to the already vibrant Orchard Road. It further brings up the Christmas atmosphere. It's impressive how Mr Chris made all these sculptures himelf" said Madam Lee, a 40-year-old home maker.




One would definitely think these exhibits of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and Mr. Lee Hsien-Loong would spark a public outcry about sensitivity to politics. 

However, in the eyes of Mr Chris Treewizard, it is not the case. 

"This is only street art, so don't get me wrong, there is no politics involved with putting these figurines up for display, it is all about art," said the 54-year-old.

Besides putting up these figurines on display as a form of support for People's Action Party, Chris had collected signatures and well-wishes for Mr Lee Kuan Yew's birthday as well. 

Problem-Based Learning Reflection

After having gone through Problem-Based learning in class, I feel that it is a rather impressive way to promote learning. My first perspective of it before class was that it would be a rather futile idea to go about solving a problem this way because there would be lots of time wasted on the whole process.

I would have preferred focusing on the main idea behind a project. However, after going through Problem-Based Learning with the tutor, I realized that this kind of Problem-solving actually helps me to go more in depth into learning, and take pride in what I learn, because I will have to share something which I have researched on with my fellow group mates.

Peer-sharing sessions have built up my self-confidence, and help me take pride in what I have learnt. I see Problem-Based Learning as coming up with a systematic way of handling a project, from start to finish. It also helps me come up with the fundamental ideas for a project before starting it.

From Problem-Based Learning, I have learn about how important foundations can be. If there are not enough knowledge on the subject at hand, it will be very hard to come up with a solution to tackle the problem.

Problem-based Learning also helped me know more about how dynamic and versatile my group can be, because every one of us has our strong and weak points. By compensating for the flaws of one another, I believe we will be able to work very well as a team.

Popular nightspot Helipad making its closing next week

This news may come as a shock to fellow clubbers, but popular nightspot Helipad is bound to make its grand closing next week. Saturday, 17th November, will be the last night fellow party people can get to party with all staffs and DJs of Helipad alike.

"I have been coming here very frequently because I like the way the resident DJ of Helipad, DJ Ohan drives the crowd wild every night," said Mr Macus Khoo, 21, a student from Singapore Management University.

Situated in Clarke Quay Central, this rooftop bar, which has been operating for four years now, has been a favorite nightspot for youngsters. Every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday night, it is not uncommon to see groups of clubbers gathering on the roof of The Central, waiting to party their night away.

According to the official website of Helipad, the nightclub will not be renewing its lease at The Central as attempts to obtain a new license by the management has been unsuccessful.

"For a while now, we have been trying to obtain a license to continue operating the rooftop bar but it has been unsuccessful," reads the company's notice.
"We are looking to move to a new location with a fresh concept where we can better serve you."

"I'm definitely going to miss this place when it's gone. Even though I've only started visiting Helipad this year, I really like the atmosphere it provides. There have been fond memories partying with my friends at this little clubbing heartland right smacked in Clarke Quay," said Mr Ng Bing Jun, a student waiting for enlistment.

The popular nightspot basically consists of two different levels, the lower level is more or less a club setting while the upper level is more for chilling in the ambience and admiring the panoramic night view of Clarke Quay and the Singapore River while having a few drinks with friends. It is ranked among the top ten rooftop bars in Singapore, according to online statistics.

Miss Fanny Lee, an accountant who frequently patronize the rooftop bar, said, "Every Friday after work, Helipad would be my favorite hang-out spot for a couple of drinks with my colleagues. I wonder why the management is unable to renew their lease."

When asked what about Helipad that attracts her the most, Miss Fanny Lee replied, "Definitely indulging in the breathtaking views of the bustling Clarke Quay nightlife while doubling up with my favorite cocktails."

Next Saturday, clubbers get to party their night away with the resident DJ of Helipad, DJ Ohan, for the last time in four years. Clubbers will be looking forward to what the management offers then.

                                        

Photos taken from the official website of Helipad