//...winter...\\

Friday, January 29, 2010

Today, January 29th, was the deadline for submission of blog posts. I am glad to say that I have already submitted one of my posts and the peer evaluation worksheet along with the rest of my classmates. Now, I eagerly anticipate the grading of my work and the returning of the worksheets to find out my grade for this assignment. So I guess I'll be doing more homework until then.

I really enjoyed doing this blog assignments as this is the first time this year we get to do an assignment that requires the medium of a computer. I must say, the mere idea of creating a blog is very appealing to the generation of today. Hopefully, this blog will remain updated...

I guess that after today, this blog will not be updated as much as before. Without the constant supply of assignment topics, cases of writer's block will come more often. I hope you readers will still return to check my blog every week for new posts. Posts in the future will probably be few and far between, mainly about random topics.

Until then, this is me, signing off!

NoRulezToby counted snowflakes at 9:27 PM

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

"And the host for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games is... Singapore!" I'm sure that sentence has been heard by many of us Singaporeans tuning in to the television on 21 February 2008, when Singapore was declared host of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games 2010 via live telecast from Lausanne, Switzerland, winning by a tally of 53 votes to 44 for Moscow. How exciting is that? Preparations for the upcoming Youth Olympic Games begun and Singapore was well on its way to becoming the host of the first Youth Olympic Games!

Singapore will be contesting all 26 sports, which include soccer, hockey, swimming, cycling, basketball, etc. I, for one, will be watching the swimming and cycling competitions as these are some of my favourite spectator sports. I love the fast-paced action of swimming as well as the grace of the swimmers. Cycling was a favourite hobby of mine so I enjoy watching cyclists racing for the gold award.

In my opinion, Singapore is the most suitable country to host the YOG. Our different languages and cultures promote racial harmony. Since many athletes from all around the world will be coming, they will be able to try many new and exotic delicacies, which is Singapore's niche. This is also an opportunity to showcase our different ethnic cultures to the world.

Opportunity knocked on the door and we were there to answer it. Singapore hosting the Youth Olympic Games is probably a once in a lifetime event. I would not miss the showing of the games for anything and I will cherish those few days... I am sure that time will pass by us in a blink and the 2010 Youth Olympic Games will be over. I have only one message to convey to the athletes representing Singapore. Do your best, have fun, but most importantly of all, make Singapore proud!

NoRulezToby counted snowflakes at 4:07 PM

Good day, my readers! Today, I'm going to talk about the book which I'm am currently reading, "Pendragon: The Reality Bug". It is the fourth book in the series, Pendragon. But wait! I can't just go on and on about the fourth book in this series without a little introduction, can I? Here it is:

Bobby Pendragon is just your average 14 year old kid, studying in Junior High like the other kids his age. Until one day, when his whole life changed. Just as he was preparing to go for his big basketball match against another school, his Uncle Press mysteriously appeared and dragged him to an isolated Bronx subway station. Dropping down to the train tracks, Bobby finds a door marked with a star and learns about Uncle Press's true identity: A Traveller. He reveals that Bobby is also a Traveller and can enter the marked door to travel, or "flume", to other territories. They flume to Denduron, where Uncle Press explains the role of Travellers. There is one Traveller from every territory and their job is to ensure that Halla, everything that is good, is maintained. Every territory will reach a turning point and Saint Drane, the black sheep of the Travellers, is out to control Halla. The Travellers must stop Saint Drane from destroying the territories. Bobby learns of Saint Dane's evil plans for Denduron and tries to put a stop to it. As the series go on, Saint Dane attempts to destroy every territory while Bobby, Uncle Press and the other Travellers try to stop him.

D.J. MacHale, the author of this series is truly a great writer. He includes regular cliffhangers and unexpected twists in the story line. Generating suspense in us readers, he plants surprises with a flip of a page in the book that will shock us unsuspecting readers. Pendragon is truly an engrossing and interesting series of books and I strongly recommend it to those who adore books of the Fantasy and Adventure Genres. So hurry down to your nearest book store and grab a copy of "Pendragon" today!

NoRulezToby counted snowflakes at 3:22 PM

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The recent Golden Globe Awards has seen the epic movie, Avatar, win the best motion picture. James Cameron, the director and mastermind behind it all, also clinched the award for best director. So what exactly is this movie about? Well, that's what I'm here to tell you about.

Let's begin with a basic plot summary. The movie takes place in the planet Pandora, which is inhabited with exotic species of wildlife. Among them are the Na'vi, 3m tall creatures that live in the forest. As luck would have it, the humans are also on Pandora, in search of a valuable ore (I did not catch the name) that could be sold for a fortune. It turns out that the most abundant source of the ore was under a gigantic tree, home to most of the Na'vi inhabitants. Marine Jack Sully is given the task of infiltrating the Na'vi's defenses, learning more about them and trying to get them to move from the tree that is their home.using an avatar. During his mission, he meets Neytiri, a female Na'vi who teaches him more about their culture. As time passes, Jake finds himself falling in love with her and with the beauty of Pandora. Since the Na'vi were not willing to budge, the humans staged a war against the inhabitants. However, they find out that humans should not take whatever they want, whenever they want.

Director James Cameron really outdid himself this time, creating such a brilliant and original movie. If I'm not wrong, do correct me if I am, this movie took about 10 years to make. And it sure was worth it! With stunning special effects, superb acoustics, wonderful quality, authentic characters as well as engrossing plot, this movie is definitely the must-watch movie of the decade! I give two thumbs way up! So hurry down to your nearest DVD store and purchase Avatar today! (though it isn't out yet, not so soon)

NoRulezToby counted snowflakes at 4:36 PM

Friday, January 22, 2010

You know that nolstagic feeling you get when you hear a song that brings back memories? Today I'm going to talk about the songs that brings me fond memories of VS. One of these songs, strangely, is Poker Face by Lady GaGa. (No comments, seriously) I remember humming the tune whenever I'm walking along the corridor outside the D&T rooms, heading for the field. Since then, that memory is brought up whenever I hear Poker Face.

Another one of those songs is Fireflies by Owl City. It reminds me of the times when I was strolling around the school grounds aimlessly. I would be humming that song whenever I had nothing to do. I guess you can say that is was one of my favourite songs then. Owl City is a budding group that became popular when Fireflies was featured in the game, "Tap Tap Revenge". (At least, that's what I heard) Since then, the band's popularity has been growing. Currently, I'm getting fond of another one of their songs, "Vanilla Twilight". You should check it out too!

However, the song that brings back the most memories of this wonderful school we Victorians call our second home would be the "Victorian Anthem". I remember singing it enthusiastically with my friends in school last year. We would be singing it at random times, between classes, etc.

All in all, I guess you could call this my VS playlist. Now you, my readers, know which songs are the ones that bring back memories for me, how about sharing some of your songs?

NoRulezToby counted snowflakes at 10:07 AM

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

As the title might suggest, it was another hectic day in school for me. So I knew I had to hand in a group work for Mother Tongue today, right after school. But during Mother Tongue that day, we were given another set of group work that needed to be handed in after school as well. Imagine my stress as my group and I struggled to do the assigned work before school ended.

Eventually, we came up with a solution during recess. It may not be perfect, but at least it will get some work done. (No physics pun intended) That was what I thought. But during English lesson, we were set up to believe that we were either going to the library or the computer lab. For about ten seconds, that is. Then our English teacher decided to let us do a diagnostic test for an essay. This brought a whole new meaning to the phrase, "setting them up to knock them down". Or was that the original meaning? (Sarcastically clueless)

During the two tiring English periods, I rushed through my essay, so I'm not sure if it was a good one. I had done my part of the group work, so I passed it on to the other members of my team to add in the final touches. However, they only started on it in the canteen after the bell had rang, so I was unsure of the final result. Did they hand it in? I guess that's a mystery I'll never solve. (Not)

So I'll find out tomorrow. Hope you have done what you were supposed to do, guys.

P.S. No offense intended if there were any.

NoRulezToby counted snowflakes at 10:33 PM

Saturday, January 16, 2010

"What's the big deal about Mousehunt? You just log in to Facebook, click on the little MouseHunt icon, sound the Hunter's Horn, and then you wait for the next hunt. How is that fun?"

That is what most newcomers to this epic game adeptly named, "MouseHunt", would exclaim in frustration. Well, this is the post that will state all of the reasons why you should play MouseHunt.

First of all, let me just give a brief introduction to this game. Basically, all you need to do is to start a hunt by sounding the Hunter's Horn. That's it. Of course, you have to shift locations from time to time. Locations are "unlocked" as your rank gets higher. This may not seem like an idea of fun to you, but believe me, you will be surprised.

Created by HitGrab inc, MouseHunt is like any other strategic game, only with a twist. Why do I say it is a strategic game? Well, you can choose to pair any weapon with any base to make the ideal trap. These traps have fun names and looks, such as the Arcane Capturing Rod of Never Yielding Mystery, or ACRONYM. How cool is that?

What I enjoy about MouseHunt? I like the anticipation of waiting to discover what new mouse you have caught and the sense of pride and achievement you get when you have caught a powerful mouse. It makes you feel like all the hard work you have put in to catch a specific mouse has paid off.

Throughout the year, the are many festive events that call for celebration and Mousehunt celebrates by releasing new mice and sometimes, even new locations. The Christmas event has just passed and left us hunters with many fond memories. However the recent Haiti earthquake inspired the game developers to create a new mouse, which is called, "Hope Mouse". (Look at above picture) For the first 200,000 caught, HitGrab will donate five cents to the Mission of Hope in Haiti. Talk about playing for a cause!

With over 1.5 million people returning everyday to play this game, I think it is safe to say that MouseHunt is one of the most widely played game in Facebook. What an achievement!

Thus, my answer to the previous question would probably be, "It just is, my friend. It just is."

NoRulezToby counted snowflakes at 5:32 PM

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

As you can see, today's topic will be about, wait for it... Food! I bet you never guessed that, did you? (Hints of sarcasm) As you can see from the picture, one of my favourite types of food is western food. It is scrumptious and fills my stomach. However, if you want to tuck in to a good meal of western food, bring money. Western food do not come cheap and some meals can cost up to ten dollars! Wow, that's a lot of money! Western food may not be healthy, but it sure isn't healthy for the wallet.

This is why I have other favourite types of food, like mixed vegetable rice, which in my opinion, is the healthiest food you can get, besides salad. Basically, I prefer eating a wide variety of food. Eating too much of the same food may make you bored of eating it. I suggest that you should be more daring and be more willing to try other types of food. Who knows, you may even like it!

I would not go on about how food is essential to us in our lives because that will result in many cliches that may have been heard too often. Just remember, have a healthy and balanced diet with two servings of vegetables and fruits, etc. A helpful tip would be, and I quote, "Eat right for your blood type."

NoRulezToby counted snowflakes at 10:39 PM

Monday, January 11, 2010

Well, looks like this is my first post, so I guess I should be doing some self-introduction, huh?

For starters, my name is Ian Kiat, and I'm just one of those other teenagers you see studying in school. For the time-being, i suppose. My hobbies are pretty much similar to every other kid. Nothing's better than sitting back after a tiring day in school and just chill in front of the television and getting some laughs. Of course, playing video games is not that bad an idea either. Come to think of it, curling up on the couch with a good book is also a good option.

I'm doing generally well in school, and I hope to keep it that way. Getting straight A's is no mean feat and are always my goals of the year. I wouldn't want to quote any cliches or anything, so... Yeah. Now that you (my readers) know a little more about me, feel free to visit this blog anytime you want.

This is me, signing off my first post! See you around!

NoRulezToby counted snowflakes at 12:13 PM