Cyber Marriages

http://marriage.about.com/cs/cybermarriage/a/cybermarriage.htm

An issue that has puzzled me for a long time, how can two strangers get married online? Why would they want to engage in such activities? From the article, some did it for fun and to some others. this was a way of tying knots due to separation, being under-aged or homosexual. However, could it be due to this group of people being unable to find acceptance in real world, due to physical characteristics or other reasons, that they could only find self acceptance online?

I feel that for those seeking fun, trying to tie knots due to separation or homosexuality are just wasting their time. As mentioned in the article, ‘a cyber marriage in a cyber chapel is ‘not a legal marriage’. Cyber marriages will not firmly hold the relationship of both parties. For those who feel that they can find acceptance online, it is only a temporary solution. In the long run, one will still have to pick up his/her courage to face the real world.

Jurassic park

Jurassic Park was published in 1990 (science fiction novel by Micheal Crichton) and was adapted into a blockbuster film in 1993 by director Steven Spielberg. The book has one sequel, The Lost World, in 1995, which was also adapted by Spielberg into a film in 1997.

The narrative begins by slowly tying together a series of incidents involving strange animal attacks in Costa Rica and on Isla Nublar, the main setting for the story. After paleontologist Alan Grant and his paleobotanist graduate student Ellie Sattler enter the sequence of queried experts they are abruptly whisked away by billionaire John Hammond for a weekend visit to a "zoological preserve" he has established on an island 120 miles west off the coast of Costa Rica.

Recent events have spooked Hammond's considerable investors and, to placate them, he means for Grant and Sattler to act as fresh consultants. They stand in counterbalance to a well-known mathematician and chaos theorist Ian Malcolm and a lawyer representing the investors, Donald Gennaro. Both are pessimistic, but Malcolm, having been consulted before the park's creation, is emphatic in his prediction that the park will collapse, as it is an unsustainably simple structure bluntly forced upon a complex system.

I was in primary school then and I had completely no idea what dinosaurs were until I watched this film. I enjoyed the entire film and I was convinced that dinosaurs were huge and horrible creatures that existed and still exist. Despite being fascinated by the movie, I had recurring nightmares that dinosaurs would come through my window and bite off one of my limbs. (That’s what happened in the movie.) Well, looking back on it, it does seem quite silly now.

I think the powerful effect theory applies to this movie. The mass media is extremely influential and I as the audience am passive. Has anyone in this world ever seen a dinosaur before? Maybe the fossil. But what about the colour, texture of skin and behaviour? Naturally, with the aid of high technologies, consumers are highly influenced and convinced that dinosaurs look and behave as potrayed in the film. Are you convinced?

Same Sex Marriages

http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_marh.htm

I just ended my communications project discussion. During the discussion, we happened to come across the above website. How we got into that website is still a mystery. The article is about same sex marriage in Netherlands. Anyway, after that we had a minor argument if homosexuality is nature or nurture According to one of my group mates, from a religious point of view, homosexual/bisexual relationships are unacceptable. However, we should condemn only the act and not the person. He also argued that it is the process of nurturing that makes a person gay/lesbian. Media influence has also got to share part of the responsibility.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0722_040722_gayanimal.html

http://www.lifeandlibertyministries.com/archives/000200.php

http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521864461

In my opinion, homosexuality is nature. From the above articles, we can see that homosexuality not only occurs in humans, but there are also animals that are homosexual. The media can influence us humans, but does it have the same impact on the animals? How different can we be from the animals?

The next question we ponder on is why same sex marriages are legalized in the Netherlands and not in Singapore. Homosexuality is now becoming more accepted by many countries. However, there’re still countries that are unable to accept such practice. In Singapore, same sex marriage is not permitted although we are greatly influenced by the outside world. In my opinion, it is probably due our culture.

http://www.gmax.co.za/look/07/04-singapore.html

Despite of our culture, the above article shows that Singapore is slowly opening up to homosexuals. In the article, PM Goh(at that point in time) reveals that the Singapore government employs gays and even in sensitive jobs. I agree with the idea. We employ a person rather then his/her sexual orientation. Singapore has no natural resources except for its people (human resource). If we do not accept and continue to ostracize this group of people, then we are going to lose valuable manpower. Many of us do not realize there are actually lots of talents in this group and this is may not be beneficial to our country. Apart from the economic point of view,media publish that more countries are now opening to the gay/les community, could culture imperialism be another factor that results in the decision the PM Goh made?

Teenage Violence

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1556148/Teenage-violence-Life-at-the-sharp-end.html#continue

I was researching for my writing on the other module when I came across this article. It was about a teenager fatally stabbed in Beckenham. Click on the above link for story and details. Also mentioned in the article was the increasing number of teenagers charged for criminal offences in London. From several articles, I realized that many countries and not only London are facing the same problem.

So who and what are the culprits that make and shape our violent youths? Well, according to Alan Gordon, the vice-president of the Police Federation, one of the reasons is that the young people are fed a diet of increasingly violent films and video games.

I agree with him. Violence in the media is easily accessible to youths nowadays especially with the aid of technology such as the Internet. It can also occur in cartoons, NEWS, and even in family programs. Sometimes even on sporting channels. I still remember when I was younger and even until today, footballers sometimes still do engage in fist fights. Very often, we have let what we would never let in through out doors through TV screens.

I did a browse through the psychology websites; psychological research has showed three major effects of viewing violence on screen. Firstly, one will become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. He/She will also be more fearful of the world around them. Lastly, he/she will more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways towards others.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hBkj-Bi6dzGMMrid_jOE2PHFsw4g
So how can we stop this? From the above link, we can see that the Brazilian government has imposed a ban on a popular game (counter strike). In Singapore, I feel, the government has played a part in counteracting the influence on media by practicing censorship and introducing the movie rating (eg. NC16, M18, R21). In my opinion, I think parents and guardians do play an important part too. At an early age, the media influences how the young think and act in various ways. As they grow, these media influence becomes even more powerful. The media influence on the young is not also desirable and parents and guardians need to counteract to this influence by monitoring what are exposed to their children.

Army Daze

http://www.freewebs.com/kayla_ixora69/armydaze.html

Army Daze is a Singapore film and a comedy based on NS (National Service) experience by group of enlistees in the SAF. National Service is an integral part of every Singaporean male’s journey towards manhood. Through ARMY DAZE, we salute Singaporean boys as they don uniforms and begin their march into maturity whilst celebrating how the sons of diverse circumstances come under one camp and become brothers; where the boundaries of race, age and social status become blurred into friendship, laughter and love. Watch how this five men bond, tortured by instructors who spout meaningless classical-Hokkien proverbs and how these five friends learn how to camouflage themselves, shoot M16s, and throw grenades with, sometimes disastrous, sometimes moving, but always hilarious results.

I still vividly remember when I had watched this movie. I was still in primary school!! And I thought it was quite a nice comedy that illustrated the Characteristics of a group (interaction, interdependence, shared behavioural standards and collective identity) and the maintenance roles. It also showed very briefly on Bruce Tuckman’s Five-stage model (Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning)

Having gone through national service in the defence force, I feel that army is unlike what all the army movies I have watched. All the movies portrayed army as a collectivist society. I agree that teamwork and interpersonal sensitivity is the key to all missions. However, at the end of the day, who doesn’t look forward to social recognition, promotions and pay increments? I feel that I can hardly rely on anyone in the army with exception of a couple of my close friends. Everyone creates the perception of being kind and helpful on the outside but the sad truth is he was concerned only for his own welfare. Well guys, what are your views and experiences?

My Sassy Girl

http://www.crunchyroll.com/group/CRSeries_-_My_Sassy_Girl_-_Movie

My Sassy Girl, based on a true story posted by Ho-sik Kim on the Internet describing his relationship with his girlfriend, it describes a single Korean college student meeting an extremely beautiful girl, who is completely drunk, on the way home one night. Because of circumstances, he had no other choice but to help the girl. He decides to leave her in a motel, since he doesn't know where she lives. After a series of incidents, the two become good friends and as the relationship progresses, we will discover the how crazy and wacky this girl could be. These were later transformed into a best-selling book and the movie follows the book closely.

I cannot really recall why I went to watch the movie ‘My Sassy Girl’ in the first place. It was probably because of the free tickets my girlfriend got from some radio station. I never really look forward to watching romantic movies. In my opinion, they are generally boring and predictable unlike the Shakespeare’s tragedy (e.g R & J). Also, romantic movies in theatres always have very predictable endings and stages such as
Stage 1: Initiating
Stage 2: Experimenting
Stage 3: Intensifying
Stage 4: Integrating
Stage 5: Bonding
However, on the visual aspect, the movie was interesting for viewers to follow. Transitions between some of the events were precise and also the usage of music to fit into certain scenes was quite appealing to me. There were lots of comical situations and some unexpected surprises but the humor was always right on time and easy to understand despite being a Korean movie. There was not much about the Korean culture, therefore even if you are not familiar with the culture, you will not have any problems understanding the types of humor in the film.

I was also online browsing some of the related articles and I thought this would quite interesting to comment on.
The article below tells us about the ancient Chinese marriages.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/marriage/

Unlike modern relationships, the ancient Chinese customs ignore the ‘stages of coming together’ and bond the couples before allowing them to explore/ experience the other stages. Marriages aren’t decided by love; instead it was decided by parents’ desires. I recalled what my grandparents told me about their wedding arrangements. Apparently, my paternal grandparents’ relationship did not work out very well. I have no recollection of two of them sitting or talking to one another. In fact, they lived in separate places. However, my maternal grandparents were exactly the opposite. For me, I still cannot make up my mind if it’s a good or bad. Well, but I guess today most of us appreciate the freedom to choose our partners, don’t we?

Crimewatch

http://www.spf.gov.sg/crimewatch/2008episode03.htm

“Sleight of Hand Two Pakistani tricksters employed sleight of hand at various shops and hotels island wide last year to steal money from unknowing cashiers. One of them would take money from the cashier using an excuse while the other distracted the cashier. The money would then be returned to the cashier but with some cash missing. They would leave the shop before the cashier could finish counting the notes.” Extracted from the Singapore police force

These two Pakistani managed to pass through the customs without being detected. As seen from the re-enactment, both were very smartly dressed, cultured n refined. One would make up an excuse to take money from the cashier while the other distracts the cashier. They employed the same technique to many unsuspecting cashiers over a very short period of time. However, the two were eventually arrested at the Causeway.

All victims described the tricksters as smartly dressed. In my opinion, these tricksters were indeed intelligent. Everything was well planned and probably well rehearsed before execution. They were able to allow their victims lower their guard by creating a perception of a genuine tourist and collector and convince the victims in handing over the cash. The same technique was employed repeatedly after realizing that it was workable (Pragmatic approach). The success of the tricksters also lies in the use of nonverbal cues. Mainly Paralinguistics and Oculesics. For instance, calm, soothing and steady voice (Paralinguistics) as well as constantly maintaining suitable eye contact (Oculesics). Amazingly, communication is not only an extremely vital tool in the public relation industry but also in committing crimes.

If I were in the culprits’ shoes, I would have applied a different approach. I wouldn’t have maintained the same appearance or the same outfit for the subsequent crimes. Most importantly, I would not even have driven a car. A car will definitely leave traces and that is as good as turning myself in.

I know what is on your mind, do not change your perception of me; I’m not a thief! Even though I think the life of a thief is certainly more enriching and exciting as compared to a regular policeman. But I must admit that I do use these ‘arsenals of weapon’ sometimes. And I think you’re not much different from me, correct me if I’m wrong, we do rely on these ‘weapons’ in some point in our lives to get what we desire, don’t we?

Non verbal comms

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html

This clips is Amy Tan talking on creativity. Born in the US to immigrant parents from China, failing her mother's expectations that she become a doctor and concert pianist. She chose to write fiction instead and her much-loved, best-selling novels have been translated into 35 languages.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/96

This is a clips by Tony Robbins, an inspirational life coach, shown in one of my classes. The motivational speaker has attracted a wide swath of high performing professionals ranging from heads of state to world-class athletes looking for help in reaching their fullest potential. This clips is a discussion talk: Why we do what we do, and how we can do it better.

I enjoy watching talks by professional speakers and I long to be one of them one day. I have always wished that I could have the power to influence and change people’s lives. I’ve been watching talks on TED for the past couple of hours and these clips, by Amy and Tony, are one of my favourites. Both are excellent speakers. Apart from unloading some of their knowledge, I was actually spotting the types of non-verbal cues, I learnt in class, applied by these speakers.

Types of Nonverbal Communications
- kinesics
- paralinguistic
- chronemics
- objectics or artifacts
- Oculesics
- haptics
- Proxemics
- Physical appearance

After watching both clips I noticed the importance and the heavy usage of Kinesics (emblems, illustrator, regulators, adaptors), Paralinguistics (quality of voice, vocalics, non-fluencies) and Oculesics (eye contact). Try to imagine a talk without the aid of these nonverbal cues. Monotone, low volume, out of pitch and the absence of Kinesics, wouldn’t it be terrifying? Comparing the two clips, I find myself more attracted and attentive to Tony’s. The high energy, strong voice (Paralinguistics) in particular and the use of regulators, adaptors(kinesics) , I think, held my attention 100% for the entire 20 minutes.