Pre-School Education?

As a rule, I usually do not care much about the National Day Rally. Most of the time what the Prime Minister (PM) say on the day is just a rehash of government policies.

This year’s National Day Rally was pretty much the same. PM Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally Speech on Sunday may have touched on some issues but most of what he says is in line with current government policy. And that is why I can’t understand why some parents like the idea of establishing a new statutory board to oversee pre-school education.

That means exams and tests. For pre-school children! Yes, I know no one has said anything about exams and tests yet but be serious; I mean this is Singapore. Does anyone truly believe a government statutory board on education will not recommend exams and tests to “track” the progress of students sooner or later; even for pre-school students! Even if they do not want to, kaisu parents will not allow it. They will want “data” to make sure their children do not “fall behind”.

That is why I cannot understand why some parents actually like the idea of establishing a new statutory board for pre-school education. Children in Singapore are already under enough pressure from primary school onwards; there’s no reason to add on to their stress. Leave the pre-school centres alone, a few years of fun and play will not “destroy” your children’s future. 

Comics this week

Green Lantern Annual #1- The annual was supposed to be the start of the next great GL saga and after reading, it’s actually more of a prologue. Writer Geoff Johns again expanded the mythos of the GL while artist Ethan Van Sciver returned to Green Lantern, the series where he made his name. All the ingredients of a new great event are here; the new Guardians, the First Lantern, the birth of The Third Army, the “death” of Hal Jordon and Sinestro, the awesome prison, but there was something missing; A coherent story! The annual started with Hal in a coffin. I’m sorry here but since when did that happened? I can only guess it’s something that happened off screen because in #12 of GL, both Hal and Sinestro were still fighting Black Hand. It was as if Johns decided to get the details out of the way and go straight to the big reveals. The reveals were great but a story is more than that and on this, this annual was disappointing.

Justice League #11- The kiss! Yes, I know it’s the last issue of The Villain’s Journey, but all details have been overshadowed by THE KISS! Even in Singapore, the kiss between Superman and Wonder Woman made it on the news. And when it finally happened, the smooch between Superman and Wonder Woman was surprisingly understated. Which was great! I was worried the moment would be spoiled by a need for it to be “momentous” but the understated way it happened made the situation even more special. The rest of the issue was almost backdrop to the kiss. The fight against Graves was pretty weak but the aftermath was much better. Green Lantern leaving was kind of expected due to the events in the GL books but I questioned the new line-up shown in the previews. After just 12 issues, I think it might be too soon to change the whole structure of the team but hopefully I’ll be proven wrong.

Supercrooks #4- This double sized issue closed off Mark Millar’s Supercrooks. The series had been surprisingly good thus far but in a way I’m glad its out of the way. I can’t help shake the feeling Bolt and his gang would get on my nerves after a few more issues so the earlier than expected send-off was welcomed by me. Artist Leinil Yu’s work suited the story well and the only problem I had was that the plan went off almost too well. For all the talk of being the most successful supervillain in the world, The Bastard was played like a yo-yo by a team of second-rate supervillains. That just didn’t gel with me but overall I have to say Supercrooks was a good series.

Par For Course

Apple Inc.'s $1 billion victory over the weekend in their patent dispute with Samsung has supposedly sent shockwaves through the mobile market industry as many people are now wondering how the verdict would impact other players in the market.

I don’t think it will affect them much in anyway shape or form.

I don’t think so because I personally think the verdict delivered in America is pretty straight forward. In my mind, there wasn’t much doubt Samsung rip-off the iPhone. It was pretty obvious but to be fair, Samsung wasn’t the first company to do such a thing. Many companies do the same, especially in Asia. Singapore’s Creative was locked in such a patent battle with Apple before.

So this is not the first time there is patent dispute and it will not be the last. Also being as powerful as they are, this verdict is probably nothing but a bump in the road for Samsung. They probably already have an army of engineers working to go around the patent.

That’s why I think this verdict will change nothing. Ripping off your rivals is almost par for course in this industry and this verdict is not going to change that.

Not A Good Start

As a player who likes to solo at times, Guild Wars is one game that never really held much interest for me. A game, even a MMORPG, that almost demands that you join a guild is just not for me.

Even so, I’m keeping an eye out for Guild Wars 2. After the so-so success of Star Wars: The Old Republic and the failure of The Secret World, there is a lot riding on the success of Guild Wars 2. The game is now in pre-release and thus far…I’m not actually a fan of what I read.

The main reason is that even though the game is still not officially released yet; a player has already reached the level cap. Nothing usual there but the player in question, Surfeuz, did it without fighting. The level cap was hit simply via crafting. It seems Guild Wars 2 give experience when you craft items and Surfeuz hit the cap simply by crafting with guild-donated materials for his guild.

I’m sorry but for me a MMORPG is about exploring the world. Allowing a player to reach the max-level by standing at one spot and just craft items is just stupid. It’s like City of Heroes where some players will just stay in the AE building and reach the cap without ever leaving the building. I can’t help but shake my head at those idiots.

Luckily, ArenaNet (the maker of Guild Wars 2) has immediately come out to say they are "fixing these issues”. It seems that at least they know this is a bad thing to have.

Comics this week

Green Lantern: The New Guardians #12- This series has been stop and start for awhile now but this issue is strange even by that standard. Writer Tony Bedard suddenly gave Kyle Rayner a leadership speech which made no sense when you compare it to the previous 11 issues of this series. Hopefully things would get better with the new story arc.

I, Vampire #12- After the jaw-dropping last scene in the previous issue, writer Joshua Hale Fialkov and artist Andrea Sorrentino had a lot to live up to this issue. They managed to come up with the goods. The surprise conclusion of this issue knocked everything out of the park as, somehow, the insane plot works! I, Vampire is quickly making itself a “must read” for all comics reader.

Justice League Dark #12- Oh Tim Hunter, you stupid stupid boy! Writer Jeff Lemire is clearly a big fan of the old Vertigo universe as all things Vertigo made a comeback this issue. Not only was the prophecy of Tim Hunter being the greatest mage of his time dished around, there was also the Zatanna/Constantine backstory where Zatanna’s father, Zatarra, got killed. The twist of Tim Hunter no longer being a mage is cool and gives Lemire room to explore the magical world of the New 52 even more. The only problem I had with this issue was the too short cameo of Doctor Occult and the tired mystery of the villain. That is a cliché that has been done to death. Outside that, it was a good issue.

Puzzling And Ridiculous

I totally understand where Lance Armstrong is coming from. Now I’m no fan of the American who bullied his way to 7 Tour de France titles but seriously enough is enough.

Armstrong has over 500 dope tests in his career and never once has any of them came back positive but still the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is claiming that he was guilty of doping. The thing is…no one cares!

Armstrong may be a legend in the cycling world but he won the first of his titles over 10 years ago. And the man is retired! It is stupid and crazy for an anti-doping agency to be pursing a man who is no longer competing. What? Is there a lack of drug cheats currently competing in various sports nowadays?

Armstrong is right. This smells of a grudge and it seems personal. The US anti-doping agency had came out and said that it is stripping Armstrong of his Tour de France titles. That is both puzzling and ridiculous. How in the world can an “anti-doping agency” do that? Is the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency a sporting body now? I always though they are there only to catch drug cheats!

So even though I’m not a fan of him, I understand where Lance Armstrong is coming from. No matter how proud or stubborn you are, some things are just too ridiculous to fight against. If I was him, I would do the exact same thing; I’m retired and I’m going to enjoy my retirement.

Why Singapore Need The Death Penalty

After murdering 77 people last year, you would think that a death sentence is the least Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik would get. However as Norway don’t have the death penalty; an unrepentant Breivik has only been given a 21 years jail sentence.

Yes; I said “only”.

Now some people might think this is enough as the Norwegian judges handed him the steepest penalty possible and most believe there is no way he is ever going free. However I disagree.

A man like Breivik should be given the death penalty. He has not showed any remorse at all during his trial. Even when he was sentenced, all it did was draw a smirk of triumph from the man. Triumph! And during the trial, Breivik openly said that he would do it again. The man was glad he was sentenced for his crimes and has no regrets!

This is a man who blew up a government building and then shot 69 teenagers at a summer youth camp. And he is not regretting a single moment of it. Tell me; how is keeping a man like this alive good for anyone? There are some people in the world that deserved death. I don’t think anyone can argue Anders Behring Breivik is one of those people. One of those people that makes me glad Singapore has the death penalty.

Having that option for our judges is far more sensible than the insanity of the Norwegian justice system. They now have to feed, clothed and take care of this evil man for the rest of his life.