STUCK IN SPOOKS ISLAND

Today's group work

My apologies for the unclear photo. To summarized what's said on the photo, we have to design a ghostly outfit. This is to defend ourselves from the bloodthirsty beings on SPOOKS island; by disguising ourselves as a ghost.

Sounds like a good Halloween comedy movie material. Just imagine fitting in with the ghosts while wearing big garbage bags and a silly hat, and the ghost is stupid enough to mistaken you for his kind. Heck, if the ghost is friendly enough, he might as well "bro" you. Or what if the ghost was an old spirit from the Britain in the 19th century, then he starts taking out his favorite teacup set, magically pour earl grey into the cups, while speaking in old English about how people these days don't understand real art.

Hey, who says all ghosts are bloodthirsty? Maybe a lot of them are misunderstood, and the bloodthirsty ones are the loud minority. After all, the unknown and unnatural is always scary to us.

Back to topic,

Can we survive?

Requirements for today's group work

In groups of 5, Me, Huei Hao, Siew Kei, Ma Chao and Nguyen Tien Sy.

We have 1 hour design the outfit and to film a 30 second video.

Hopefully this photo is clearer. Basically the photo says what requirements we are supposed to fulfill.
We have 5 requirements to meet; only 3 fingers, no eyes on face, very long hair, body part must contain 2 paper plate, covered in 50% black tar(garbage bag).

Sounds simple?

However, if we fail to meet any of these requirements, the bloodthirsty beings will find out and kill us. If this was a real situation, it will be so unnerving and frightening.

Twine Strings, Penknife, Cellophane wraps, Masking tape and Garbage bag

This are the materials we are told to prepare last week.
Time to put them into good use!

Oh god, this is when the horror atmospheric music starts. I think Ms Tan Ai Khim searched for 1 hour of horror music in Youtube? Props to her for playing music in class, making it a more engaging and enjoyable experience.

P.S. Play some Silent Hill soundtracks!

We communicated our ideas and sketched the drawings out
Left is illustrated by SY, while right is by Ma Chao.

The left illustration looks like an Air spirit, whereas the right looks like a demonic tribal spirit that wants to trick you with it's cute looks and then claw your eyes out.

We decided we like the left design more, and therefore will be making it.

Next, we need to pick our model. Naturally we should pick a girl as one of the requirements require as to have long hair. But nay, we decide not to pick a girl because picking a girl is too mainstream.
The module is called "creative thinking" for a reason!

Our model is the fabulous Huei Hao.

Pyramid shaped helmet

Our dear fashion student, SY designed the helmet, meeting the requirement of having no eyes on the face, as the cellophane wrap is translucent.

Iconic character from SH, Pyramid Head

I asked him if the helmet was inspired from Pyramid Head, a horror game character from Silent Hill.
"Yes, it is inspired from Pyramid Head." He exclaimed, happy that someone knows the reference.

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Making of the "hair"

Next up is the requirement of having very long hair. An easy requirement to tackle.

Basically, to have long hair; we attach cut cellophane wrap onto the top of the helmet. This works like a knight's helmet, the plume.

The making of the plume didn't take long as the cellophane wrap is easy to cut.

Nice teamwork going on here

Attaching the plume

Finished the helmet!

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Cutting the bag

Trying to make it fit

Finally, the making of the clothes.
For clothes, we have to fulfill the requirement of body covered with 50% black tar. Another easy requirement to tackle.

By using the garbage bag, we can cover 50% of the body.
Following the idea drawn earlier, the bag will be covering from the torso to the thighs.

The arm is tied up with twine strings.

We had to make a hoodie to make sure the shirt's collar is covered.

Making of arm, using twine strings

Making of the hood

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Almost finished!

Now, we are left is having only 3 fingers and using the two paper plates.
On the photo, we are trying out where to place the paper plates.

would make an good video character design

We end up putting the paper plates on the hands, to act as a weaponry.

Those are my hands!

This is how we tape the fingers together to fulfill the requirement of having 3 fingers.
3 Fingers and 2 paper plates requirement done in one go.

We fulfilled all the 5 requirements!
What is left is the 30 second video.

Our finish product. We didn't really name this character but it's along the lines of, "ninja samurai knight warrior." Our naming attempts all sounded edgy and childish.

Lets just call him the mega ultimate super undead edgy samurai ninja knight warrior, Huei Hao the dark eyes beholder, vanquisher of the holy, master of the pyramids, manipulator of the shadow.

Behold mortals, bow before your END!

As for our 30 second video, we went to the graffiti wall to film an epic battle between the cellophane wrap wielding holy knights versus the mega ultimate super undead edgy samurai ninja knight warrior, Huei Hao the dark eyes beholder, vanquisher of the holy, master of the pyramids, manipulator of the shadow.

I don't have the video with me unfortunately, but here are the spoilers,
All knights died in a horrific death. It's very graphic and I don't advise anyone to watch it. My favorite character died in vain. Truly the saddest moment in the video.

I'm not sure how the survivor became a real ghost and end up killing people too.
What if surviving in the island turns you into a bloodthirsty being too?

Our spoils-of-war

Here concludes our lesson.

I feel that this is the best lesson aka best group work we have done for creative thinking module.
It served as a nice break from the stressful routine.
Not exaggerating; It's the most enjoyable experience I had in NAFA so far.

Hopefully more group work are like this!

10/10

Paper Tower Challenge

 Our team is tasked to build a structure as high as possible using only paper in 45 minutes time, (15 minutes of brainstorming and 30 mins of building)

The challenge is that we are not allowed to use adhesive, bluetacs, stickers or alike and the fact that we must ensure our structure is stable.

Group are as usual; 4 people are randomly put into a group. (I get to know more about people in my class, which is great.)

This is the limited amount of paper we are given, 10 pieces. Because of limited resources, we cannot afford to experiment as much as we can, but to put more effort into strategic planning.

This is when the brainstorming starts.
All of us think pretty alike, we thought about the techniques we learnt from our 3D fundamental classes, specifically, the cardboard slotting technique.

Though, it took us a while to understand each other idea as a member in our group isn't familiar with English, as she is from China. I, being the only Chinese speaking member other than her, acted as a "mediator", and translated any English words said that she didn't understand.

Other than that, the discussion went smoothly.
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Without further ado, we moved to working on the structure.

Measured, and then cutting a slit

Iszuan has a different method of approaching the slotting technique, so we watched him make the prototype to see if it works.

Unfortunately, the slit he has cut is way too big. As a result it was way too loose.

The prototype was deemed a failure.

Sadly, we can not try making it again as limited paper prevents us to.

Folding it

The end result of it

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We moved on to another idea that we had.

A stable base that is easily made just by folding the paper nicely, and then making a small lock to interlock both sides of paper.















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We made another to slot it into the base.

The slotting is successful as the structure is firm and stable.














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End result of our structure

Next, we made a cylinder shaped paper by rolling it.
The same techniques were used, interlocking both sides together then slotted onto the last base.

Once, that was stable, we placed a cone onto the cylinder to maximize our structure height.

And that was last of our resources, therefore we are finally done with it!

I like how it resembles the Statue of Liberty.











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Other group works

Looks like poker cards or cups stacking. It must be really stable.

I like how this one looks! It resembles a cocktail. They called it the 'Lemon juice king on the ground'.

I like how this resembles a giant plant sprouting from a small plant pot. Maybe a gigantic beanstalk?

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This week lesson was enjoyable. I got to know a little more about my classmates and different techniques and methods to make a structure.

Symbolism in the Count Of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by French author Alexandre Dumas completed 

in 1844. It is one of the author's most popular works, along with The Three Musketeers. The 

book is considered a literary classic today. I decided to write about the three important symbols 

in this novel: the potion, the waters, and the red silk purse.

Elixir of Life

Dantès’s potent potion seems to have the power both to kill and to bring to life, a power that

Dantès comes to believe in too strongly. His overestimation of the elixir’s power reflects his 

overestimation of his own power, his delusion that he is almost godlike, and his assertion that he 

has the right and capacity to act as the agent of Providence. It is significant that, when faced with 

Edward’s corpse, Dantès thinks first to use his elixir to bring the boy to life. Of course, the elixir 

is not powerful enough to bring the dead to life, just as Dantès himself is not capable of 

accomplishing divine feats. The power to grant life—like the power to carry out ultimate 

retribution and justice—lies solely in God’s hands. It is when Dantès acknowledges the limits of 

his elixir that he realizes his own limitations as a human being.

Chateau d’If, where Edmond Dantès was imprisoned.

When Edmond Dantès escapes from prison, he dives into the ocean, experiencing a second 

“baptism.” He has suffered a metaphorical death while in prison: the death of his innocent, 

loving self. Dantès emerges as a bitter and hateful man, bent on carrying out revenge on his 

enemies. He is washed in the waters that lead him to freedom, and his rebirth as a man 

transformed is complete. The sea continues to figure prominently in the novel even after this 

symbolic baptism. Being a citizen of no land, Dantès spends much of his time on the ocean, 

traveling the world in his ship. The sea offered Dantès, a skilled sailor, a perpetual escape and 

solitude.

Red Silk Purse

The red purse is the corporeal symbol of the linking between good deed and reward. It first

appeared when Monsieur Morrel used it in his attempt to save the life of Dantès’s father, Dantès 

later uses the red silk purse when he is saving Morrel’s life. Morrel recognizes the purse and 

deduces the connection between the good deed performed on his behalf and the good deed he 

once performed himself. Morrel concludes that Dantès must be his savior, guessing that he is 

working from beyond the grave.

Top 10 Interesting Mobile Phone Designs

Galaxy Note 5

The newest from Samsung brings a premium feeling to its design with the use of metal and glass. 

The curved screen is not present but what’s curved is the rear. A phablet of this size is harder to 

hold but the curved back made the grip a bit more natural, especially when you are attempting to 

write notes on this device. The façade is almost the same throughout the years but they still seem 

to surprise the consumers with new things.

HTC One

HTC undoubtedly made the best looking phones during the Android transition especially when 

the HTC One came out. This one had the best build and at the same time the only phone to sport 

two front facing speakers. This translates to better audio output when watching a video using 

loudspeakers and the sound is directed toward you. I forgot to mention that these are stereo 

speakers. No one else attempted to do this even until now.

HTC Hero

This phone had a “chin” which is its angular bottom. Apart from this unique design, the phone 

uses premium matte plastic that is almost rubbery to give it extra grip. The chin allows the screen 

to avoid getting scratched when placed on a surface.

HTC Sensation XE

I like the color accents: the earpiece, the trim of the camera lens nest and the red-backlit 

capacitive controls. The finish of the rear is another point in favor. While the original Sensation 

did look patched up from different pieces, the XE has a single color soft rubbery finish and a 

piece of aluminum. It's by no means a compact handset but fortunately designed to provide a 

good grip. The rubbery finish and curved shape of the battery cover are of much help.

Nokia X7-00

During the last few runs of Symbian, Nokia still made the best looking phones for almost 2 

decades. Most were gimmicky but they still did their purpose. X7-00 looked stealthy and 

futuristic. It is rectangular with beveled corners showing grills. Despite the alienating look, It is 

very comfortable to hold. It bested other manufacturers in terms of design during its release.

Nokia 3250

The alpha-numeric keypad of Nokia 3250 is definitely phone's most attractive element. Besides a 

standard keypad its rotary segment also features a 2 megapixel camera and four control keys for 

the phone's built-in music player. The bottom part of the device turns one way to an angle of 90° 

and the other way up to 180°. It moves in four-rev cycles. Stopping is precise, and is 

accompanied by a pleasant dimmed clap. Apart from fulfilling certain functions rotating is also 

quite entertaining and reminds me of Rubik's famous cube. I can assure you that if not on Nokia 

3250's color your friends' looks will certainly lay down on phone's rotary keypad.

Nokia N93

The N93 resembles a camcorder. The upper part of the handset's body is taken by the 

zoom lens. Unlike Nokia N90, the lens cannot be rotated. There is a plastic protective 

cap, which you might lose soon if you don't use the supplied string. The swivel joint for 

the upper part of the clamshell is positioned on the right side of the lens tube.

Motorola RAZR V series

No doubt, People years ago loved this phone. It is a clamshell phone yet it was slimmer than a lot 

of phones. This was made possible by making it wider. It was so slim that people are very careful 

with their RAZRs. It was widely loved by consumers due to its premium design. It slips in the 

pocket easily that sometimes you feel that it is not there at all. It was also able to put a second 

screen on the outside for time and notifications.

Oppo N1

The device has an aluminum alloy frame going around its sides and the back is treated to an 

impressively sleek soft finish, which is great to the touch and virtually impervious to 

fingerprints, while offering excellent grip. Above the screen, the earpiece and sensors are on one 

side of the rotating bit, the 13MP camera and two LED flashes on the other. There are two 

flashes - one is a bright LED for regular shots (when the camera is pointed back), but when you 

turn the camera beyond a certain angle, the phone uses automatically the diffused one so your 

selfies turn out with a more pleasing skin tone.

Sony Xperia Z1

OmniBalance permeates the Sony Xperia line, making high-end phones stand out and more 

affordable phones look premium. The Xperia Z1 is as high as it gets in the smartphone food 

chain and Sony has spared no expense building it. The aluminum chassis is carved out of a solid 

block of aluminum and it really is just a frame - most of the material is removed, leaving only a 

light but tough frame. The two scratch-resistant glass panels on the front and back, the big 

battery and the water-resistant seals are surely to blame for making the Xperia Z1 heavier than 

the competition.

Singapore 7th Month Ghost Festival

  

A Chinese deity 'Da Shi Ye', Guardian God of Ghosts

Hungry Ghost celebration (known as Zhong Yuan Jie in Chinese) is the month where the entryways of hell are opened to free the hungry ghosts who have been kept in isolation the whole year. These ghosts meander to Earth to seek for food, complete any unfinished business they have left on Earth, and to take revenge on the individuals who had wronged them in their lives.

Offerings

Offerings are made to “hungry ghosts” as a way to appease them. These hungry ghosts or pretas are believed to be roaming around in search of something to satisfy their insatiable hunger. This makes them a nuisance to mortals but they are seen as something to be pitied, hence given 
offerings.

Burning of  hell notes

Preta

An example of a p

Pretas may very well be the embodiment of all negative and/or evil in the world. They are believed to be the people who lived very sinful lives previously. As a result of their karma, they are undergoing suffering greater than that of humans, as known to be the extreme levels of hunger and thirst. They seem to be malicious beings, causing misfortune to living beings especially when they’re out roaming freely. They are similar to dwellers of hell except these are trapped in the subterranean world while the pretas freely roam around.

Beliefs

There are various beliefs surrounding the hungry ghost festival but I would like to focus on the basics and the taboos.The ghosts are believed to be forgotten ancestors who have stopped receiving tributes or those who were never given proper ritual send-off. People offer food, money, and prayers to alleviate the suffering of the ghosts.


There are taboos to be considered during the ghost festival. Activities are discouraged for the people as these may attract the ghosts and may end up causing misfortune for them. An example is to stay away from walls as it is believed to be the places ghosts like to stick to. People are advised to be cautious of their actions during this time in order not to disturb the spirits.

Live Shows

There are also live shows called “getai” for these spirits. These cultural performances are made for the ghosts and sitting on the front row is another taboo as it will cause you a misfortune for sitting on a special spot for the spirits. These are probably done to entertain the spirits, however, this tradition is slowly dying.

"VIP" seats for the hungry ghosts

CONCLUSION

I believe that this festival is a way to honor the dead. It means that we, as humans, being the only things that have free will, emotions, and knowledge on the concept of death, we value the departed ones wherever they are. We feel that it is only right to show respect to the dead as it is our own way to cope up with a great loss. This way, we are not only reminding ourselves of their deaths, but in a way we are celebrating their lives.