Thursday, September 25, 2008

Jumping, Sucidal or Attention?

I was pretty taken aback about what happened one week ago in SIM HQ campus.

Apparently, a particular schoolmate jumped down from the second level of the SIM builing with an umbrella on his hands.
Yes, second level may seemed pretty low for many people. But trust me, level 1 of our school is higher than the usual floors. I simply had no idea what he was thinking. Maybe he was trying to enact some 911 scenes? Apparently, in order to escape from the collapsing world trade center back in 2004, many victims were compelled to jump off the building with an umbrella in hope to save their own lives.

Enacting the scenees without any safety precautions... not wise...

From what i see, i know, he is a pretty interesting guy. He is a risk-taker. definitely. Coupled with jeans and teeshirt, he wears a sailor cap in school too. Interestingly, he seems to change his hats and caps quite regurlarly. Such people are definitely attracts a lot of attention. Well, physical appearance is definitely important in building an impression and also a relationship with others. However, our judgements of physical attractiveness are influenced by cultural norms and socialisation. So, my first impression of him was defintely not daring or cool, but rather weird and attention-seeker.

The schoolmate was doing this, apparently for his communications blog. His whole project group sort of agreed on it. But i would believe he was the initiator. But seriously, what were they thinking?
Yes, he thinks that this is an interesting issue to post on the blog, but do we need to do it until that extent?

not smart....
although he landed on both feet, but he was hospitalised because he hurt his spine. not sure of the details though.

My perception of him has definitely changed tremendously after this incident. not going to reveal if its positive or negative. Have yours change? But yes, this information has determined my outlook towards him. I will adopt stimulus discrimination because, if i happen to make friends with him, communcations and actions will be based on the fact that he is so unique from others. so really unique.

Get well soon.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

got milk?























hmmm, i was thinking of what to blog today. its very easy to blog any random stuff but i find it hard to link them to comm theories. i mean like, my entries tend to become very rigid that way.
I was checking my inbox(myphone) just now, and i realised same 5 smses throughout the whole weekend, which says,
FYI, the following items have been recalled due to China's milk situation. M&M's, snickers, mento's yogurt bottle, dove chocolate, oreo wafer sticks, monmilk, dutch lady sterilised milk, wall's all natural mango, mini poppers ice cream, magnum ice cream, mini cornetto and youcan ice cream. Stores have been asked by AVA to remove them. If you have any of these in your house, don't eat them.

now i have to see if eva longoria still can't resist temptation with such health hazards.
here's an article taken from channelnewasia.com

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA)
says its latest laboratory findings show that the "White Rabbit Creamy Candy"
from China is also contaminated with melamine. It advises consumers who
have bought the affected product not to consume them.

The latest test results bring the total number of milk and related products from China imported
into Singapore that are found to be contaminated with melamine to three.

The other two affected products are "Yili Brand" Choice Dairy Fruit Bar Yogurt Flavoured Ice Confection" and "Dutch Lady" brand of strawberry flavoured milk. All the
affected products have been recalled earlier. Since September 19, AVA
has suspended the import and sale of all milk and milk products from China.

These products include milk, ice-cream, yoghurt, confectionery such as
chocolates, biscuits and sweets as well as any other products containing
milk from China as an ingredient.

Retailers and importers have been instructed to recall these products and withhold them
from sale. As a precaution, consumers are also advised not to consume any milk or milk
products from China.

AVA says it will not hesitate to prosecute any retailer or importer who fails
to remove these products from their shelves. Under the Sale of Food Act,
anyone found selling unwholesome food can be fined up to $10,000 and/or
sentenced to three months' jail, or both. Consumers who have any queries
can call AVA's hotline at 6325-7625 during office hours (8.30am-6pm, Monday-Friday).

from this article, we can tell that
the mass media is a powerful tool in informing consumers the dangers of consumption of milk products from china.
well, most of us are quite biased in our opinions about china products. Based on our past experiences and knowledge, we are aware that china products are produced via cheap labour and resources. I am sure, we all tend to doubt products coming from china. Therefore, we perceived them as of lower quality. well, we learnt that in com101 right. perception can be deceiving.

AH HAH. on top of tt, now comes this news, im pretty much sure that China's market would be greatly affected. Many milk companies may face downfall. and there might be a higher rate of unemployment.

Despite the fact that our singapore government AVA have noted that other products are safe. Singaporeans, as usual, the kiasu, kia-si and kia sangbang lot will not purchase ANY food product made in china. This is becuase we select what we hear out of the news. It seemed only 'china's products is toxic' is ringing in our head. Hence, our information is distorted and is subjected to omission.

So dear fellow singaporeans, do take note of the fact not all china products are affected. thanks

Sunday, September 14, 2008

The toughest race ever

The amazing race asia 3 premiered this week on Sept 11 2008 on AXN. Managed to catch the repeat this morning. As usual, the show was amazing. Season 3 was advertised as the toughest race ever. Have a look at the tara 3 advertisements.


Such advertisements are enticing because they bring about a difference between the different seasons of the show. Instead of presenting monotonously, another season of the amazing race asia, they used a new headline, that is 'the toughest race ever' to capture the attention of the audience. After all, there are 14 seasons of the american the amazing race, and this, being the third instalment of the asia version, it has to somehow be outstanding.

I especially loved the first advertisement that introduces the teams because of the style and narration of the advertisement and how it aims to reach out to the audience. Ethos (persuasive appeal of one's character) was definitely acheived. Through it's animated and exaggerated depiction, it definitely convinces me that the race is going to be full of challenges and difficulties.

For the past seasons, it has proven the criterias for a successful team. How about for this season? Being the toughest race, audience would perceived racers from this season to be tough and fit. Viewers would select teams to root for based on just physical attributes. I, myself was awed by our singaporean team because they did not look fit enough for such challenges. In fact, their physical attributes may hinder their progress in the game.

But, such perception is falsifiable because though fitness may be a criteria, past teams have won given their excellent team work and persistency. For instance, season 1 was won by a team of 2 malaysian girls.

Also, by watching the race, i learnt that language(Idols of marketplace) essentially is important in communication. Teams are travelling around the world and many a times, the differences in cultural and language have caused them to slow down during the race. Communication is successful only when ideas are transmitted right?

Though initially i wasn't hopeful for the singaporean team, however if singaporean don't support themselves, who will?

So everyone, do catch when you have the chance.

will the singaporean team go far?

p.s: the singaporean team can be seen in the advertisment. the 2 females (they look boy-ish) in the cave.

http://amazing-race-asia.axn-asia.com

Sunday, September 7, 2008

What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off?

Cast: Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin, Sigourney Weaver
Director: Andrew Stanton
Genre:Animation
Language: English
Release Date:28 August 2008 (S'pore), 27 June 2008 (US)
Running Time:103 minutes


Background:
Academy Award winning director-writer Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) and the inventive storytellers and technical geniuses at Pixar Animation Studios (The Incredibles, Cars and Ratatouille) transport movie go-ers to a galaxy not so very far away for a new computer-animated cosmic comedy about a determined robot called WALL.E


Synopsis:
After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for WALL.E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick knacks) when he met a sleek search robot named EVE.EVE comes to realise that he has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report her findings to them humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home).

Meanwhile, WALL.E chases EVE across the galaxyand sets into motion one of the most exciting and imaginative comedy adventures ever brought to the big screen.



Joining WALL.E on his fantastic journey across the universe of never-before-imagined visions of the future, is a hilarious cast of characters including a pet cockroach, and a heroic team of mal-functioning misfit robots.
Official website: http://www.wall-e.com/


Trailer:





Review:

WALL.E is a well-deserved, high anticipated animated event of the year. Though with little dialogues, the message that the movie was trying to deliver to the audience was well-interpreted. On top of that, the cutesy designs and voices of the robots melt the hearts of many. This movie definitely proves that 'Silence is gold' and a good example of non-verbal communication. Even in the cases of robots, it is impossible not to interact as silence is part of of communication. The interaction between Wall.e and Eve is a also a good depiction of a transactional model of communication because communication is made using noise and the environment. Also, following the long line of Pixar classics - beautiful, energetic, intelligent, satirical, crammed full of gorgeous design, and genuinely heartwarming, Wall.e has displayed another high standard quality of a pixar production.

Nonetheless, the movie may not appeal to the masses. Especially to movie goers looking for action-packed and more intellectually challenged movie. With little conversations, Wall.e may bore, if you just knock off from a tiring day at work. However, it is definitely, a must catch movie for parents hoping to bring their children out for a fun-filled day.

Personally, i enjoyed the movie given its adorable and emotional depiction of the characters. Also, the movie delivered a hidden message that gives a good warning to all earthlings that we ought to take better good care of our home.

catch it if you can.

now comment! :D