Deflated, Inflated Reflated

Well, my coms group members are suffering from post project syndrome. They have been complaining to me that they do not know how to spend the rest of the time that has been freed from the end of the project. The 4 hours long meeting on weds and fris, and the 5hrs long intensive sessions each day as the deadline drew near had already been history. But, well they all miss the all so familiar get togethers and chit chat sessions. They feel lost with nothing else to look forward to. I guess I get rather teary as well, as I am what that makes this group so united I guess. Nevertheless, it's been a wonderful journey. At the moment, I have been juggling quite a few things at a time. From the meeting of the needs of my dementia grandfather, to the handling of housechores that the new maid is oblivious about. sigh.not forgetting meeting deadlines and trying to mantain relationships with loved ones and people. I believe that I will get stronger by the end of the day. More hardy, more experienced. Haven been to the theatre since last Dec. I have soooo many movies I would like to watch - Slumdog Millionaire, The Tale Of Benjamin Button, Watch Man, Push, IP Man, Street Fighter, Coming Soon, Let the right one in, and the list goes on. I think it's partly caused by the reviews on all the different movies in my COMs moduel. OF COURSE, definitely the upcoming x-man origins, transformers, terminator...OH MY GOODNESS....i feel so behind time... =( jw, we better start our movie outings again, jin n pl i wana watch a 3D flick? KL...its coming to april...I soooo hope u r doing fine out that...i haven heard from ya for some time..u ok? erm..I want u to come back and eat at glutton bay with me...deep fried squids, sambal stingray? u better come back alive, i m sure u wld learnt a trick or 2 frm the army rite....I am waiting to feast with ya...

random thoughts...oh so random...

well, i spent the day, sending my beloved maid to the airport. she has worked 4 yrs in my household, and has indeed been a really good worker. I don't see her as a maid, but more of a friend whom does housechores for me.Having so much laughter and talk, and yet sometimes, venting my frustration on her doings, all make me feel that I have owed her so much. I always thought that maids are really respectable. For coming to a land so foreign, and meeting physical demands to earn a meagre salary. So i told myself, i had to push away all appointments regardless whoever the person was, to be there and send her home. yes, she has decided to return back to her home country, and it's something that we can't stop, as it would be selfish for us to do so.

Spent the day at home with my grandfather. He has lost his senses, and needs someone to give him directions. Just spent an hr helping him to bathe and he feels fresh and happy now i guess. He doesn't even know how to bathe, ya that bad eh...well, it seems that i do not have much time to attend to my social life these days with all these things breathing up my neck..oh well, it's time for more management. yesterday, was the end of my long-awaited oral presentation on cameras for my comms module also known as Shumi Gumi group. Well, i hoped everyone lurved it. My group members were really brilliant and capable, and i feel so lucky to have them around. What makes it more touching was the after notes and emails they sent when it was all over..well done guys. and i would like to share a small excerpt, written by one of them:

"How many hours, days and weeks has it been? No matter, duration does not play any significance. Words alone can't quite convey all my feelings, but here's my pathetic attempt nonetheless:Despite me being an obnoxious, rude, vulgar, in-your-face, judgmental, critical, gaming-while-discussing asshole, YOU always shut an eye, grit and bear without personal grudge (i hope (: ). Time spent with you guys makes me want to take the first bus to school everyday. Time spent with you guys makes me burst out of ESL 407 straight into the student lounge. Time spent with you guys makes me da pao my food to attend meetings. The laughter, groans, moans, smiles, crazy antics and comfortable silence we shared - will forever be cherished by me.
Kelvin - your leadership and patience never ceased to amaze me. You keep a calm disposition and strong focus on the work at hand but they never get in your way of sharing a good laugh. On top of which, you present genuine concern for others despite of your own troubles. You're a strong person and I truly admire you in many ways. Not to forget your superior dramatics and creative mind, you have brought our project great success and I must say I enjoyed every strenuous sessions we had to get it down. For all this I thank you and am grateful to have made your acquaintance. HELL, You're a GREAT FRIEND!"

Thanks so much to you, for making all of this come true as well.. god bless you and our proj presentation. it's the combined effort of everyone that makes us so unique and strong. thanks for appreciating me as much as i have appreciated u as well. well done well done and well done again. i love all u guys.....god speed.

INTERNET and COMPUTERS (COM)

Well, the long-awaited IT fair has arrived. This is usually seen by the long queues of cars jamming it's way into the carpark of Suntec City. Everyone jostles in the crowd to catch a glimpse of what's on sale. Apparently many people have told me the prices there are the lowest you can ever get. Talk about global economic recession, and yet people are still buying laptops and desktops off the shelves. I guess that in era of internet and World Wide Web, it's no wonder that one has to get it computer, as it works hand in hand to achieve what users want. Now to think of it, my computer is 6years old, with a loud whirring fan that irritates me. It's running on a really slow processor and has hardly enough hard drive left to install any programmes. Furthermore, I don't own a laptop too, which makes me ponder if i should head down there tomorrow. Oh well. Nevertheless, I would like to touch about computer mediated communication today thru the wourld of the internet.







Check out the 2 comics below:

The first comic tells us about computer mediated communication at work. It refers to a form of communication which uses computers, networks to relay messages through a platform of communication. This allows access and intereaction between people and databases over the world. The internet allows fast access to information, and provide users a personal identity that no one would know. The content touches on how Mc Cain would like to invade Nigeria on the internet scams. Bascially what happened was, a cyber crime was committed. There have been many instances of fraud through the internet with reference to Nigeria. The fraud always run along the line of needing money for investment whereby, returns would be given back to the investor in a short period of time. This usually involves stating established firms like petroleum company of Nigeria, bank of nigeria etc. This is done via email, and therefore many victims do not know the true identity of the sender. This have led to many Americans falling for the scam. Thankfully, cyber crime leaves cyber prints. Therefore, regardless of what anonymity, the culprits could be tracked down. Though I think Mc Cain wouldn't do such a silly thing, I think he got the US economy to care about.

The second comic tells us about the way internet and computers have affected us. It has become so part of our life, till that the boss rewards his employees with 2 days membership for a webpage. Besides, it also kinda ridicules the fact that, internet and computer has been so important to these people's life that they would take " time-off" in the virtual world than in the real world. Therefore, it has invaded into the world of many people. The virtual world has served many purposes. From getting information to meeting new people. It has been a platform that allows one to let more people to know more about you and vice-versa. It also enables people who have difficulty in relating to people in the real world, to provide them with an opportunity to communicate with others. However, I still abhor the fact of communicating online as it's just so much faster to talk, then put thoughts down in word, not to mention the lack of emotions involved. Unless one really know who he is talking to on the other end, he would really not be able to assume on how is the person feeling. I guess computer mediated communication does has it's limitation to a certain extent. I think we should all excercise some caution with regards to how we see the virtual world. This is because we will never know who were are interacting with on the other end, similarly, we shouldnt get to understand people through this platform, as it would mean less contact with the social world, and would thus be unhealthy.

a bunch of love

Strangely, in the past 2 days, 4 of my relatives in my extended family, both my paternal and maternal side, joined the ranks of my grandmother, and passed away. hmm, i guess life is just fragile these days, and who knows it could be my turn anytime soon? well, i guess after my accting exam, things have gotten slightly better. And I am much relaxed and happier, till they throw me another quiz or exam nxt. I have also sorted things out, more or less. I am sorry things went that wrong, I assure you that it won't happen again cuz I understand better...really..
And I got a party this sat nite to attend to.lotsa good food and drinks await..i hope i can find time to go out on sat..hmm...proj presenation is nxt fri. we will prevail.....................



to kl- hang in there, remember what i told ya, obstacles just make us grow stronger, don't detest them, cherish them for making u wiser.

to - u r not alone in this world ;) always....

Mass Communication and Globalisation (COM)

This blog entry is dedicated to my late grandma who passed away peacefully on the 05 March 2009, at 5.45pm. She's 81 this year. She has been a strong woman, battling diabetes, kidney failure and an in-curable eye condition called glaucoma that led her to become blind. She makes really good rice dumpling aka bak chang, and will be dearly miss. God bless her soul.

This 2 weeks have been dreadful with 2 midterms and one quiz. Adding on to another midterm next mon. This week especially with the death of my grandma, and the sudden decision with the giving up of one of the joy i have known. I guess with so many problems to cope with, hitting me here and there, the volcano just erupted. to the person, i have tried my best to be the best. I am also thinking deeply these couple of days to make a choice. I think the choice for me, is the choice that would make me happy, because it's my life, my decision and shouldnt be wavered by the opinions or view of the people surrounding me. I think it should go to you too. really.
And i really missed the copying of homework , and the part where you keep seeking the enlightenment of physics..... but we shall see...

And so over that, where i continue to ponder on. I shall talk about something today.First check out the comic below:


and the next one below to :


well, what do the 2 comics have in common? yes, it relates to mass media. And in particular, reporting and news telecasting and print, in this case. Well, the first comic, relates to a much past event with regards to the Late Saddam Hussein, which depicts about how indepth is the coverage of the war by news media companies that the dictator don't have to hire spies to track the movement of the enemy forces. And in the 2nd comic, it's a clear cut meaning of how a reporter attempts to get the answer out from God about regarding the chicken and the egg. Media messages play a very important part in our everyday life. They are directed to large heterogeneous groups can come from complex organisations that has specialised individuals creating them. And with regards, to news media, their main purpose is to inform and raise the importance of an issue in the public's mind. In the case of the first comic, we have CNN, US and Europe newspapers in the picture. We all know that CNN is a news media company that is focus on reporting US news, and it is widely recieved globally. Therefore, it can be so readily be viewed by Saddam himself. Furthermore, CNN had live reporters that travcelled with the US army that constantly gave 24hr report on troops movement. Similarly, so does the print media of the newspaper companies that distribute the papers globally which Saddam can get his hands on. The news media potrays these events basically to show western domination in particular US to the world. It shows how the US stamps out one of the most feared dictator, and indirectly tells us that they are still the super power of the world. Besides, the news media company would have to be selective and potray all the good sides of the US, as they have to represent what the world percieves the US power, and at the same time, make the White House adminstration look good. The comic also somewhat ridicule the news media company of doing such a good job in giving insides of the war to the public that Saddam dont even need to waste a spy to study the troops movement. It's somewhat rather suggestive as well. But I really think it's very creative.
As for the 2nd comic, it answers the long time question of whether the egg came first or the chicken. And it dates back to the time of evolution where no one could figure out too. Therefore, a reporter and his camera man finds god to gets the question answered. Well, why do most people consume the news media? One reason that it sells, is because they address problems, and seek answers to what the public wants to know. On the other hand, they can create a way of looking at the world that eventually becomes a commonly held view. The comic, shows how the reporter attempts the impossible to get the answer to the widely sort after question so that he can get back to the public. The cartoonist wants to potray the importance of how reporters need to satisfy the public's thirst to what they want in order to be a good broadcasting news company. But of course, I believe that the public should be given a general dose of everything and not only things that would concern them. Thanks to media globalisation, we can have access through all the different news channels. At the same time, we can see western dominance overwhelming our TV channels where most of the shows played are from the US. For example, quite a number of countries buy the right to play American Idol in their country, but nobody buys the right to air Singapore Idol? I grew up in the world of MTV, american idol and wheel of forture. Therefore, I guess i am rather americanized. Whenever I flick on my TV, its either starworld, axn, discovery, history, mtv etc. Seldom would I scroll to Ch 5, and even if its channel 5 it would be Lost, CSI etc. We have been so used to seeing americans acting for us on TV through out our lives, that we dont' feel so different from them. Maybe because of my americanism that i am studying in a US university. Oh well, but I do wish I can travel down to Warner Bros one day, and be on the ELLEN DEGENERES show!!! and dance with her, because she's hilarious and wacky. Time to go, and plug on the TV, to watch survivor. a CBS entertainment american production! haha.

One Bloody Mary please! (COM)

TGIF! really...I have been running on negative energy...I am in a bad debt of sleep, and energy deficient. Egg Head, I don't think I will be able to attend ur finals singing competition tomorrow, or go out the stage to give you flowers! lol.. but i wish that you would do really well and have fun. In other news, I am planning to indulge in lotsa comfort food this weekend, starting with freshly cut sashimi, fresh juicy oysters, live poach drunken prawns and many many more. God, I can't wait...in other news, my grandpa thinks that he's drinking coffee when it's water in his mug. And keeps adding more "coffee" from the flask, when it is actually water.I wonder if he was to be given actual coffee, would he think it's water? hmm..shld try. haha, god bless him. And so we were walking aimlessly that day, sharing a moment of peace from the traumatic world, and I caught sign of a poster that was pretty "stunning". It was at night, and it wasn't a very pleasant sight.And I shall give you an indepth analysis of it today.

Well, well do have a close look at this. This was taken from the Singapore Police Force Crime Prevention News Letter. This was put up in conjuction with the recent festive seasons whereby there are a higher chances for drink driving to occur.

This poster was put in place, to warn people, not to drink and drink. This is suppose to reach out to the masses. It is relevant to all the different cultures in Singapore, as it mostly common across all of them to consume alcohol during social festive gatherings. Furthermore, being in a collectivist cultural society, it's no doubt that many people would take part in social drinking in a group, rather than to be left out. As in such a cultural society, we practised high level of conformity and readiness to coporate with members around us. Nevertheless, being in set in such a difficult position, it's not wrong to take a few drinks, but the key is not to drive after that. Even though, there are many who drives to the venue with the intentions of not consuming any alcohol, but end up taking on a few drinks. These are the people who shouldn't be driving back. And because we are in such a high context cultural society, whereby politness and 'face-saving' precedes over the truth, and people always say that they are not drunk, and can drive back. This usually leads to fatal accidents.

The advertisement here uses the concept of pathos to appeal to the viewers emotions, on the fatality in an accident. The potraying of the victim drenched in blood attempts to scare most people that this could be what would happen to them if they drink and drive. Thus by inducing fear, the police force hope that this image would be imprinted on the driver's minds when they wish to drive after drinking, hoping that it would deter their actions. Besides, you can find these posters everywhere, at bus stops, train stations and malls. Thus with such high frequency, it's also naturally that peole would select this poster to see over others, and remember it better. A high level of gore and blood is used to show the intensity of fatality and danger involved in drink driving, which is what the police force wants to tell the public. If we do take a more in depth look into the figure and ground of the poster. Whereby the figure, is the accident victim which exerts most of the influence, and the ground is a scene of where the accident actually took place. But why is the scene so blurry? Well, this is because it wishes to potray how the road or surroundings would look to a person under the influence of alcohol. At the same time, to show the fast movement effect, on probably the tremendous speed at which the car was travelling. We can also see part of the wreckage in the back ground.

One thing that appeals to me, and to most of us, is the use of the term bloody mary. It appeals to our logic here. Whereby bloody mary is an alocoholic drink, at the same time, it also describes a woman with blood on her. So, in the poster, they use a lady that is involved in the accident and stains her with blood. They call her bloody mary, at the same time, they use the fact that she consumed the alcoholic drink bloody mary that caused her tragedy. As a result, being aware of the alcoholic drink, our cognitive schemata aka our brain would be generally link it to the reason why the lady ended up to be so bloody. Therefore, I am sure that many of us would have a deep impression of this. And of course, the words on the poster explains it all, using a intensity of vocab that one don't normally use in everyday conversations to warn the public.

Well, other than bloody mary, Singapore Sling is one of the all time favourite cocktails here. Though I am now imagining what they can do with that term, and what would be the result of the poster.Hmm, a singaporean flying out from the car upon impact and landing on a hammock sling concidentally? LOL..I don't know...just my wild imagination. Good nite folks.. Don't have nightmares because of her...

Greed........(COM)

Well, this week has been a fairly fruitful week....i guess...it's my birthday week, and under the legal law, I am officially an adult...hmm..*thinks*, what's so great abt it? well it definitely gave me a REASON to party more, splurge more and feast more, but doesn't an older age come with greater responsibilities? Furthermore, it signifies the degradation of your body. Decrease in metabolism, wrinkles etc. of course not so sooon for me, but i mean, that i will get there one day. But i guess birthdays are the day when you know who likes you, loves you truly or doesn't care for you. The copious number of greetings written on my facebook wall, and the SMSes i recieved meant something to me. And I am currently suffering from an overdose of birthday cakes, but i guess that happens only once a year, so heck it. Regardless, my heart is still heavy, and I haven't decided whom yet. Nevertheless, I would like talk about advertisements today.





Advertising and commercials play a huge part in our everyday lives. Their purpose is to deliver their message across in its most effective manner, and hoping that the viewer would have a lasting impression of it. So, I would like to share a review with you on one of my favourite commercials on our local TV. Here's the link-


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chbjc-XDKLw





It's basically a commercial to warn the public on the problems caused by gambling, and to excercise caution. The logo of the Nation Council on problem gambling is shown at the end, to inform the viewers that there's a government organisation available to seek help from if such problems still occur. This commercial has effectively delivered it's message across to the audience with the re-enactment of the father and daughter, leaving vivid impressions on people.


Being a commercial, it's a linear model of communication, whereby viewers are passive target of the message, and regarded as a source centred process of message transmission. Thus its very important for advertising companies to get the message across, as there's no opportunity for audience to provide feedback.





The commercial appeals to the emotion of audience. At the start, the camera focus on a middle aged Chinese man who appears to be talking to the camera. The background displays a portion of his house, which depicts it, as simple and basic. Potraying that he isn't very affluent. And the fact that he isnt well dressed, and looks very haggard, catches most of our attention. This a concept of figure and group as a brain attempts to organise the information being displayed. The figure is the man, and the ground is the house. And the figure exerts a large influence on our perception of the whole commercial. As base on our selection process, this is a novel stimuli percieved by our brain. This approach is rarely seen on TV commercials. Our personal prototype of commercials are bright colours, catchy songs, good looking people and extravagance, which is clearly not seen in any case here. I think we should applaud the acting of the Chinese man, I say he does potray his character really well. Through the tone of his voice, we can infer that he's very desperate and down.There isnt much body language throughout only till he emphasises the fact that he be given one more chance to try, and sticks out his finger one. We can see how verbal and nonverbal work together, as he repeats his emphasis of one more try, before stretching his hands to get the piggy bank. There's a lot of pauses and fillers within his speech, as we can see that he's trying to get his message slowly across to his daughter, hoping that she will buy it. Furthermore, his pitch and volume is subtle, with a tone of begging. The intensity of his words used draws audience to select this commercial consciously.Nearing the end, we see a little girl carrying a piggybank with disappointed looks on her face. The physical object potrayed which is the piggybank, links the information in the viewers brains, and finally answers the question of what the Chinese man is asking for. And with the nice gentle tone, and strong eye contact, we can infer that the girl is probably his daughter. A further emphasis by the advertising company is done, whereby, it says " Often the people who suffer from gambling arent the gamblers" This is to illiterate the point that loved ones are affected in the process. Thereby, potraying scene of how a father loses control of himself, and turns to taking money from his own daughter's savings appeal to our emotions, and leaves us to ponder over this issue. Beside, the ingeniuity of this commercial is the fact that, when it was first played, many people didnt wanted to leave their screen when it was showing. The idea of having an emotional chinese man that just started talking of stuff that seemed irrevalant made people want to know more about what's going on, and eventually sit through the advertisement. The uniqueness and contrast of this approach stands out from the rest. And during the period of time he's talking, viewers are constantly trying to figure what to link his conversation to, with whatever perceptual sets that they had before. Because of the commercial constantly being shown during prime time hours, it's high frequency has allowedthe image and message to sink deeper into their memory. I believe that this commercial has done it's job on educating the public on the dangers of gambling.





From my point of view of gambling, well firstly I believe that the greatest brains are behind casinos and gambling machines. This is because they work on the greed of human nature to make their living. Banking on the fact that one can win money effortlessly through some games, attract a large number of people to their 'playing ground'. And why the brains? Because gambling is a cocktail of calculations and probability. And the chances of one winning is very very slim, but it's human nature whereby one feels the thrill of attempting to win, and wish to savour the triumph of eventually winning. Some people do it for the ego as well, they want to win the banker, they want to succeed in winning the house. Doesn't the catch phrase " the house always win" explain a lot? If casinos were a charity ground, whereby the public could easily win cash, then Steve Wynn wouldn't be travelling around in limousines and private jets. I think those people who are weak in the mind are very susceptible to the dangers of gambling, and those who do not excercise much self control over themselves. Have I gambled? Yes, I have. Just for the fun and experience of it. I feel that people who wish to have some fun and entertainment may juz take out a small amount of cash from their pockets to try their luck. But I feel that it's a "past time" or activity that is mainly catered to the rich tycoons and socialites. How does one stop himself from wasting cash on gambling? Well, firstly I would place bets on games with high odds on winning. Upon winning, I would take 1/10 of my profits to bet again. And if i won, I would take double (1/10 + 1/10) the fraction of my profits to bet again. If I lost on the 2nd round, when i bet with 1/10, I would still have 9/10 left. I can always choose to con't betting or leave with 9/10 of profit. Nevertheless, I will always leave with either a fraction of profit or leave upon all the profit has been lost back but cost still covered. This equates to breaking even. Thus I wouldnt have lost nor gain any money from the casino. But at least I had some fun, and made some new friends around the table! maybe this advice should be subscribed into a commercial! haha..





Well, that's all about it. It's the weekend, time to let my hair now and relax. Got some movies i really wana watch, but not sure if i have the time... anyway, happy birthday to me! Oh well

=)