Just Follow Law- Another Hit Movie

I'm a big fan of Jack Neo, yup, I've seen and own all his movies from Home Run, I Not Stupid 1 & 2, Best Bet, One More Chance, Money No Enough, I Do, I Do. Heck, I even have Liang Po Po- The Movie on VCD!

Jack Neo's movies are getting better and better but to the average Westerner in US, they'll have no idea what is going on. The beauty of Neo's films isn't in the witty Singlish dialogue (though it often cracks me up- the classic being Jack Neo's 4D rap in Hokkien during the opening of Best Bet)Nope, the beauty of Neo's films is in the layered subtext- the unspoken commentary of Singaporean life that lies just beneath the surface. It isn't the 'quaint' use of Singlish, as some of our colonial-linguists are just beginning to appreciate in mainstream culture; it's the unabashed use of multiple languages to tell a unqiue story made possible by the unique integration of people and culture in Singapore.

I'll tell you who appreciates Jack Neo's films: our good neighbours to the north. Yup, on a training trip to Malaysia, I drove all the way up from Singapore to KL and Kedah. And guess what, during our supper sessions, my Kedah buddies were spouting Neo-esque lines from Best Bet almost like they memorised the entire show.
Our Malaysian brothers share the same 'feel' for life that we do :)
My Caucasian friends (whom we can affectionately call 'Ang Moh', these days), having stayed in Singapore for awhile, are starting to see and understand the same jokes.
Yes, Neo's films are for are select crowd- the heartlanders

Granted, that films like Home Run will touch international audiences with its poignancy but unless you're Malaysian or Singaporean, you'll never get the in-joke about the 2 kids quarreling about drawing water from the drinking well. It's hilarious but you just can't translate or explain it.

In this tradition, Neo's latest film, Just Follow Law is funny, critical and touching all at the same time. It gives us a self-deprecating look at how bureaucratic civil service can be and yet how the average layman refuses to help himself. While he isn't entirely objective (we can see where his sympathies lie), he presents a pretty balanced picture.

And Fann Wong's performance... Really, I never thought much about her acting skills but in this movie, she shows that she can act. Likewise, Gurmit's role is actually very demanding, although much subtler than Fann's. I'm not going to give any spoilers here. Check out the Official Film Site for Just Follow Law

Trust me, it's a good film to watch (better than Ghost Rider :)
For a little taste, watch these 2 trailers I downloaded from the film's official site:

Public Service Board- Sharing Our Proudest Moments

Sometime last year, PSB made a call for all members in public service to submit and share their proudest moments.

I made a submission of one video clip with the following caption:

In preparation for Victoria School’s 130th anniversary, I was asked to put together two video clips to celebrate the uniqueness of Victoria School’s tradition and culture.

I did it with my students and the clips were shown during our anniversary concert where President S R Nathan was the guest of honour. I was heartened and touched when many parents and teachers gave me positive feedback on how the clips had moved them and how they felt the clips had captured our mission statement for every Victorian to be a Gentleman, Professional and Sportsman.

My proudest moment in the Public Service was when I saw my boys turning into men, and becoming something more.

After the submission, I thought nothing of it. But little did I expect that excerpt to be featured on the Public Service website above. Check out the link to PSB Sharing Our Proudest Moments

Hostel Room Check

Ahhh, it's that time again when I check the room cleanliness of the boys in the hostel.

And we all know that if there's one thing that boys hate doing, it's house work. But my constant nagging and stringent standards seem to have paid off.
Here are the ratings for this round of room checks:

H1-04-04 : A+
H1-04-05 : B+
H1-04-06 : A-
H1-04-16 : A
H1-04-17 : A
H1-04-18 : A-
H1-04-19 : B+
H1-06-19 : C+
H1-06-22 : C

This is a great improvement
Special mention goes to Phuong and Dung H1-04-17 for the neatest cupboards- see how they even arrange their ties


And the cleanest room award goes to ............. H1-04-04
Here we see the occupants, Jia Lok, Xuanjie, Qi Kai and Christian all hard at work during CST time in their neat and tidy room. Heh heh, so hardworking right:)

Well done boys!
Keep up the good work- tonight as reward, we'll have group supper. Will order Pizza to share for all!

TIPD UK Exchange Programme - Final Day

Don't we look like brothers?!
Yup, this is the final day for all our buddies from the TIPD Exchange Program from the UK.

To:
Stephen Underwood from Middlewich High School
Linda Hopkins from Sandbach High
and Matt Hogan from Eaton Bank School

We hope you've enjoyed your say here with us.
Matt surprised me with a lovely gift of a jersey from his hometown of CORNWALL.
I must say that I was very touched with this gesture and so I put together this little MTV of our time together.
It's not much but I hope it'll bring fond memories to our UK friends of the time they had in Singapore.

Hope we meet again soon.