Tabung

Joel Ryan Lee

I remember when I was studying at SMK Damansara Utama as a student. The passing of a student's parent was not a common occurrence. When it did happen, a little 'tabung' would go around the school to collect funds for the students' family.

However, very few would actually chip in unless they knew the deceased's family (the student). I myself didn't really chip in much during my five years at DU for the 'tabung' unless I knew the student myself.

Over here at SMKPR, Bukit Mertajam, I've only been here for 4 months but quite a few of our kids' parents here have passed away already. The 'tabung' has entered my classes a few times throughout for different families.

It kinda makes you wonder... why is this seemingly more common in a community of poor socioeconomic backgrounds? Is it due to the lack of medical amenities? Is it due to a lack of awareness of prevention of diseases? Very possible.

Yesterday I was talking to my collab Muhamad Nadzmi Dzulkifli about one of his student's mother who has breast cancer which made him very quiet and withdrawn in class.

This reality is very sad, you guys.

But this post isn't a sob story. In fact it's quite the opposite.

Something happened today and it really lifted me, almost making clouds form in my eyes. It happened in the weakest Form 4 class; my 4 AKh, where 28 out of the 16/17 year old 33 students are boys and all very rowdy/noisy/disruptive/uninterested in class.

These guys have very little on them.

With a reported household median income of about RM700, they kind of exemplify the group that is always hungry. Once, I brought in my tin of just plain Jacob's into the class as part of my lesson demonstration and everybody was staring at it hungrily; I know a few of them don't eat during recess at all because they don't have enough money. So I shared that tin out.

Yes, a lot of them are really poor.

But when the prefects knocked on my classroom door with the 'tabung' and I let them in, more than three quarters of them started taking out coins from their pockets to put in the 'tabung'. I asked them whether they knew the kid (who was Form 2) but nobody did.

They just gave, you guys.

Even though they didn't know who the deceased's family was.

Why? Simply because they understand. They know how much pain is involved when a loved one is lost. They know that even just a few cents can really help the grieving family.

They care.

Society calls them stupid because the majority of them still cannot form a single grammatically correct 4-word English sentences on their own. Society calls them hopeless because they sleep/talk in every other teacher's class (mine too sometimes ish). Society deems them to have 'no future' because some of them are illiterate/almost illiterate.

But you cannot deny these guys have good hearts. They are my heroes and even though I'm the teacher, I learn stuff from them all the time.

As what Charis Ding said of her kids, I feel the same as well.

"Some of the best people I've ever met."

The Blank Wall

Make The Changes

It will take just 37 seconds to read this and change your thinking..

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.

One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.

His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end.

They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation..

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.
Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine this picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man could not hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days, weeks and months passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep.

She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.
He strained to slowly turn to look out the window besides the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.

She said, 'Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.'

Epilogue:

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.
Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.
If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.
'Today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present .'

The origin of this letter is unknown, but please pass it on.

Share it with friends and tag them so the cycle continues ... Do not keep this letter ... You could change a life too

17 hours ago

bring me a whisker from a live tiger

• ONCE UPON A TIME a young wife named Yun Ok was at her wit's end. Her husband had always been a tender and loving soulmate before he had left for the wars, but ever since he returned home he was cross, angry, and unpredictable. She was almost
  afraid to live with her own husband. Only in glancing moments did she catch a... shadow of the husband she used to know and love.
  
  When one ailment or another bothered people in her village, they would often rush for a cure to a hermit who lived deep in the mountains. Not Yun Ok. She always prided herself that she could heal her own troubles. But this time was different. She was desperate.
  
  As Yun Ok approached the hermit's hut, she saw the door was open. The old man said without turning around, "I hear you. What's your problem?"
  
  She explained the situation. His back still to her, he said, "Ah yes, it's often that way when soldiers return from the war. What do you expect me to do about it?"
  
  "Make me a potion!" cried the young wife. "Or an amulet, a drink, whatever it takes to get my husband back the way he used to be."
  
  The old man turned around. "Young woman, your request doesn't exactly fall into the same category as a broken bone or ear infection."
  
  "I know," said she.
  
  "It will take three days before I can even look into it. Come back then."
  
  Three days later, Yun Ok returned to the hermit's hut. "Yun Ok," he greeted her with a smile, "I have good news. There is a potion that will restore your husband to the way he used to be, but you should know that it requires an unusual ingredient. You must bring me a whisker from a live tiger."
  
  "What?" she gasped. "Such a thing is impossible!"
  
  "I cannot make the potion without it!" he shouted, startling her. He turned his back. "There is nothing more to say. As you can see, I'm very busy."
  
  That night Yun Ok tossed and turned. How could she get a whisker from a live tiger?
  
  The next day before dawn, she crept out of the house with a bowl of rice covered with meat sauce. She went to a cave on the mountainside where a tiger was known to live. She clicked her tongue very softly as she crept up, her heart pounding, and carefully set the bowl on the grass. Then, trying to make as little noise as she could, she backed away.
  
  The next day before dawn, she took another bowl of rice covered with meat sauce to the cave. She approached the same spot, clicking softly with her tongue. She saw that the bowl was empty, replaced the empty one with a fresh one, and again left, clicking softly and trying not to break twigs or rustle leaves, or do anything else to startle and unsettle the wild beast.
  
  So it went, day after day, for several months. She never saw the tiger (thank goodness for that! she thought) though she knew from footprints on the ground that the tiger - and not a smaller mountain creature - had been eating her food. Then one day as she approached, she noticed the tiger's head poking out of its cave. Glancing downward, she stepped very carefully to the same spot and with as little noise as she could, set down the fresh bowl and, her heart pounding, picked up the one that was empty.
  
  After a few weeks, she noticed the tiger would come out of its cave as it heard her footsteps, though it stayed a distance away (again, thank goodness! she thought, though she knew that someday, in order to get the whisker, she'd have to come closer to it).
  
  Another month went by. Then the tiger would wait by the empty food bowl as it heard her approaching. As she picked up the old bowl and replaced it with a fresh one, she could smell its scent, as it could surely smell hers.
  
  "Actually," she thought, remembering its almost kittenish look as she set down a fresh bowl, "it is a rather friendly creature, when you get to know it." The next time she visited, she glanced up at the tiger briefly and noticed what a lovely downturn of reddish fur it had from over one of its eyebrows to the next. Not a week later, the tiger allowed her to gently rub its head, and it purred and stretched like a house cat.
  
  Then she knew the time had come. The next morning, very early, she brought with her a small knife. After she set down the fresh bowl and the tiger allowed her to pet its head she said in a low voice, "Oh, my tiger, may I please have just one of your whiskers?" While petting the tiger with one hand, she held one whisker at its base, and with the other hand, in one quick stroke, she carved the whisker off. She stood up, speaking softly her thanks, and left, for the last time.
  
  The next morning seemed endless. At last her husband left for the rice fields. She ran to the hermit's hut, clutching the precious whisker in her fist. Bursting in, she cried to the hermit, "I have it! I have the tiger's whisker!"
  
  "You don't say?" he said, turning around. "From a live tiger?"
  
  "Yes!" she said.
  
  "Tell me," said the hermit, interested. "How did you do it?"
  
  Yun Ok told the hermit how, for the last six months, she had earned the trust of the creature and it had finally permitted her to cut off one of its whiskers. With pride she handed him the whisker. The hermit examined it, satisfied himself that it was indeed a whisker from a live tiger, then flicked it into the fire where it sizzled and burned in an instant.
  
  "What have you done?" Yun Ok cried, horrified.
  
  "Yun Ok," the hermit said softly, "you no longer need the whisker. Tell me, is a man more vicious than a tiger? If a dangerous wild beast will respond to your gradual and patient care, do you think a man will respond any less willingly?"
  
  Yun Ok stood speechless. Then she turned and stepped down the trail, turning over in her mind images of the tiger and of her husband, back and forth. She knew what she could do

Recycling and reuse

Recycling involves the collection of used and discarded materials processing these materials and making them into new products. It reduces the amount of waste that is thrown into the community dustbins thereby making the environment cleaner and the air more fresh to breathe.

Surveys carried out by Government and non-government agencies in the country have all recognized the importance of recycling wastes. However, the methodology for safe recycling of waste has not been standardized. Studies have revealed that 7 %-15% of the waste is recycled. If recycling is done in a proper manner, it will solve the problems of waste or garbage. At the community level, a large number of NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations) and private sector enterprises have taken an initiative in segregation and recycling of waste (EXNORA International in Chennai recycles a large part of the waste that is collected). It is being used for composting, making pellets to be used in gasifiers, etc. Plastics are sold to the factories that reuse them.

The steps involved in the process prior to recycling include
a) Collection of waste from doorsteps, commercial places, etc.
b) Collection of waste from community dumps.
c) Collection/picking up of waste from final disposal sites.

Some items that can be recycled or reused
Paper
Plastic
Glass and ceramics
Miscellaneous

Most of the garbage generated in the household can be recycled and reused. Organic kitchen waste such as leftover foodstuff, vegetable peels, and spoilt or dried fruits and vegetables can be recycled by putting them in the compost pits that have been dug in the garden. Old newspapers, magazines and bottles can be sold to the kabadiwala the man who buys these items from homes.

In your own homes you can contribute to waste reduction and the recycling and reuse of certain items. To cover your books you can use old calendars; old greeting cards can also be reused. Paper can also be made at home through a very simple process and you can paint on them.

Fill in the table above with the articles shown below:

Old copies,Old books,Paper bags,Newspapers,Old greeting cards,Cardboard box

Containers.Bottles,Bags,Sheets,Bottles ,Plates.Cup,Bowls Old cans,Utensils,Clothes,furniture

The schematic diagram below depicts recycling of wastes

Source: CPCB Report on Management of Municipal Solid Waste

Waste recycling has some significant advantages. It
leads to less utilization of raw materials.
reduces environmental impacts arising from waste treatment and disposal.
makes the surroundings cleaner and healthier.
saves on landfill space.
saves money.
reduces the amount of energy required to manufacture new products.

In fact recycling can prevent the creation of waste at the source.

Questions:

1.     What is the definition of recycling?

2.     How does recycling make the environment cleaner and the air fresher to breathe?

3.     What can be used for composting?

4.     What happens to plastic?

5.     What are the steps involved in recycling? Name 2.

6.     What is organic kitchen waste?

7.     How can it be recycles?

8.     Who buys the old newspapers in Malaysia?

9.     How can you contribute to waste reduction in the home?

10.  Name 2 significant advantages of recycling.

11.  How can you, do your part in recycling at

A: the school

B.  home

C. the work-place

Vocablulary

1.discarded   2. NGOs  3.composting 4 pellets 5. Gasifiers 6  prior to  7. Commercial places 8 landfills

9 rag pickers 10. Junk dealers

LOO MEE KEUN 30.7.2012

Movie Review: Hungry for The Hunger Games

Friday, March 23, 2012

Movie Review: Hungry for The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

Updated: Check out the latest movie news on Catching Fire, The Hunger Games sequel.

And may the odds be ever in your favor! We have seen a lot of books that were turned to movies. John, being an avid reader and book collector, knows most of them and he can surely say that there are misses and hits. Lucky for this year we had a full serving of The Hunger Games and it's surely a certified hit.

Let's digest what made this movie a great one and worthy of our attention:

The Adaptation From Book

It is always hard to adapt a book into a movie, most especially if it has a legion of die hard followers who wanted to hear every line of dialogue incorporated into the movie. This is not possible, of course. But with The Hunger Games it has made ways to be faithful to the book despite a few alteration. It would have been very dragging should Katniss's monologue on the book were translated as is in the movie, but by doing how it was done exactly in the movie: it was amazing artistically and very effective at that.

A viewer would certainly be bored, even if he is an avid fan if each and every thought that the main character had will be blurted out in the screen. Instead it was done in a sport commentary kind of way that Stanley Tucci, playing the your-friend-your-enemy host Caesar, effectively conveyed. All in all, even the most avid fan would agree that the book was best adapted as we see it in the movie. I dare say there could be no better way to do it.

The Cast of Actors and Their Acting

The cast of actors, having been involved in some adaptations before, are familiar and more likely relatable. After seeing how sincere Jennifer Lawrence's acting was I can't imagine should the role have landed to other actors that were considered for the role. Josh Hutcherson's Peeta Mellark is as supposed as he should be, portraying a very strong guy that still emanates a complexity of vulnerability and weakness. Elizabeth Banks's Effie Trinket was also a bonus.

We don't get the usual cheesy combination of actors who can't barely act the way I wanted them to, but these actor being fans of the book themselves surely put there passion on every acting they did in order to give as a unique and very convincing portrayal of each characters. Except one, Woody Harrelson's Haymitch could have been better, I believe.

The Special and Physical Effects, and Production

Who would have not felt the dread of seeing District 12's dilapidated condition as opposed to the majestic living of the Capitol? There, we can already see the contrast of living between two opposing locations. One would surely sympathize on the conditions of the district people: how they suffer, how they have barely something to eat and how those devil may care Capitol people seem not to notice all these.

We see the big difference even in the color palette. The Capitol enjoys the colorful and extravagant collection of fizz and dills on their garments and make up showing how they can spend dearly on ornaments that they could live without, while the extreme districts, slurp the crumbs on the mud and have barely nothing to protect them from the harsh weather. It's as if I could almost say that this is not a movie, but a "documentary on poverty."

The movie has an effective way of rendering physical effects, but I can say that they could still improve on the special one. I mean I was expecting the girl on fire to be truly on fire. And after seeing the fiery attire the District 12 champions wore during the parade I was like, "Is that it?" On the other hand, the futuristic architecture was certainly CGI and I commend the movie for that convincing and creative feel on it,.

The Creatures and the Mythology

In the book, we see creatures and other beings that only reside on this story. They are unique and have the right of their own to express their existence. But in the movie we barely even know of their backgrounds and the mythology behind their existence. We have a very fast glimpses of mockingjays and tracker jackers and they were not really given a hundred percent justice.

And the genetically modified wolves? What happened to them? In the book they were even given the spirit and characters of the victims that died during the game. Why did they have to be showcased like some automaton and brutish creatures without showing the hatred and the feeling of revenge of the victims that should have been there.

Only a few areas of the book has not been given much emphasis and this is one of them.

The Relationship and The Love Affairs

Everyone in the cinema was crying over the fate that Rue has to go through. One annoying viewer even has the guts to wail and let the whole viewers know she is really affected. This is a manifest that the relationship between Katniss and Rue, played by Amandla Stenberg, was really at its best portrayal. And this goes back to the cast's good acting. I can clearly state that there is a chemistry between the two characters: one remembering her younger sister with the other and another needing a mature guidance showing how vulnerable she is during the entire competition.

But who would forget Katniss's and Peeta's love affair? We may have not heard Katniss say each and every thought to feel that she really is confused about the matter, but we still have the feel of it by how the two star crossed lover interacted all the time. It was awkward at the moment since Katniss is undecided by then, but when the time they have to show they are intimate they did there best, and how lovely and convincing it was on screen. And the best part of all this is the remorse that Gale Hawthorne (played by Liam Hemsworth) has to feel seeing his most loved girl being caressed by another man.

The Overall Impact of the Movie

I say, after having lost fate on books turned to movies, I have disappointed my self again on this negative expectation, because simply this one is very good. From the technicalities of movie making up to the visual area of it I can say the the movie has made a very good job. It may not have been very perfect, but who cares there is no perfect movie out there (and if there is it's not many, I guess). What matters most is for the two hours and 20 minutes that I spent watching the movie is a an equivalent amount of time that I feel I have been transported to a world which is very different from what we have now. It was a convincing movie that I felt I was almost trapped into that distant dystopia.

I praise the director and the cast and all the people behind this movie, because they have given us something good, something worthwhile. All these were achieved, because of their passion and dedication in satisfying this not-so-die-hard fan among many others.

Rating: 4.5 / 5, Still have more room for improvement.

Chin San Sooi Biodata
 Tel. 03-79806746
 e-mail: sschin@pd.jaring.my
B.A. (Hons) University of Malaya
 British Council Scholarship 1969-70 to study speech and drama at Central School of Speech and Drama, London.
 Been teaching since 1964.
 Award: 16th Pride of Workmanship Awards
15th Feb 2003 by the Rotary Club of Ipoh in recognition of outstanding performance in the teaching profession having served with dedication, commitment and pride in the chosen vocation.
 Designed the Power of the Voice course and has been conducting it since 1985.
 Designed Speech and Drama course for 6 year old kindergarten children for Edventure Sdn Bhd Companies and Corporate bodies which benefited from the above course: TV3, MetroVision, Bloomberg Malaysia, Teachers Training College, Kuala Lumpur, Price Water House, BMG Malaysia, Cosway Direct Marketing Co., Malaysian Pineapple Board, Johore, Sabah Tourist Department, Methodist Girls School Malacca, Jerneh Insurance, Kuala Lumpur, College of Foreign Economic Relations HCM City ,Vietnam, Sunway College Kuala Lumpur, Lifelinks Singapore, Seimans Kuala Lumpur, Applied Information Management Services (AIMS) Sdn Bhd, numerous Toast Masters clubs , individuals, professionals students in Malaysia and Singapore and from China, Japan and Indonesia. Conducted a course on Public Speaking to AON (Risk Insurance) Wrote and directed the following plays: Lady White (A re-telling of the Madam White Snake Legend), Morning In Night (musical), Yap Ah Loy the Play, Reunion (musical) published in1994, Kuala Lumpur Sentral (musical). Also directed many Shakespearean plays and local Broadway Musicals among others. Invited by Ø East West Center, Hawaii to direct Emily of Emerald Hill by Stella Kon in 1986 Ø Chinese Theatre Workshop, New York to direct Zhang Boils the Ocean in 1996. Founder Member of Ø Five Arts Centre 1984 Ø Chinese Opera Club, Kuala Lumpur 1992.