Article 1: Short people are most prone to jealousy, scientists say

PARIS - SHORT people should pray for a return to the Seventies fashion of stack heels, for the power of jealousy depends on how tall you are, the British weekly New Scientist says.

Researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and University of Valencia in Spain asked 549 Dutch and Spanish men and women to rate how jealous they felt, and to list the qualities in a romantic competitor that were most likely to make them ill at ease.

Men generally felt most nervous about attractive, rich and strong rivals.

But these feelings were increasingly relaxed the taller they were themselves. The more vertically challenged the man, the greater his feelings of jealousy.

For women, what counted most in jealousy was the rival's looks and charm, but these feelings were less intense if the woman herself was of average height. This makes sense in evolutionary terms, says New Scientist, in next Saturday's issue.

Taller men are most successful with women, and women of medium height enjoy the best health, fertility and popularity with men.

On the other hand, a woman of average height could in certain circumstances fall afoul of the green-eyed monster if their rival were taller.

'Taller women are more dominant and have greater fighting abilities than shorter women,' says the study, which appears in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour. -- AFP


-

Article 2.1: HIP OR OFFENSIVE?
– Sports Council’s name for party to promote sporty lifestyle draws flak
by Debbie Yong

It was meant to be a theme party promoting a sporty lifestyle.

But the Singapore Sports Council’s name for the event, Spam – Sports Party Animal Movement – this Saturday has drawn flak from an invitee.

Last week, the irate guest, known as M L Lee, e-mailed the SSC two lengthy objections to the party invitations sent out by the council two weekends ago. A copy was also e-mailed to the media.

The writer felt that the choice of name for the event, to be held at St James Power Station, was offensive and humiliating as the term, “party animals”, and the acronym, Spam, equated the party’s guests to animals, canned meat or junk e-mail. The latter two are the more common meanings for the abbreviation.

“No human would enjoy being called an ‘animal’,” Lee said. “Are people who engage in sports a party of animals? Is there a lack of creativity in such a lapse?”

However, young party-goers my paper spoke to felt that the name could have been more hip, while marketing executives cheered the name, saying that it could have been bolder.

In an e-mail response to Lee, the SSC apologised, saying any offence was unintentional. The council told my paper that it was constantly trying new ways to engage the public.

The SSC’s director of sports culture Bervyn Lee said: “The term ‘party animal’ is a street slang for a person who enjoys partying. The aim of the event is to bring across the message that sports can be fun and exciting, just like any other lifestyle activity such as clubbing.”

Article 2.2: SPAM and sports don’t mix but some say, why not?
– SSC’s decision to call event Spam draws mixed reaction from students and professionals
by Debbie Yong

The stranger, the better. That is what marketing professionals felt when they learnt of the Singapore Sports Council’s unusual name for a sports-themed party at the St James Power Station nightclub this Saturday.

Its Sports Party Animal Movement event’s abbreviated name, Spam, drew ire from one invitee who received an invitation last week.

The invitee, M L Lee, felt that Spam, a common abbreviation for junk e-mail and a brand of canned luncheon meat, was “insulting” and the term “party animal” was humiliating.

But Mr Gary Tan, the marketing manager of Loof bar, felt differently. He said: “From a marketing point of view, anything that catches the eye is good. And party animal is a common expression.”

Ms Debbie Cai, editor of Marketing magazine, added: “People are bombarded with information on events and brands all the time, the good ones generate buzz to get your attention.”

Mr Ben Chung, who handles public relations at hip hop club Butter Factory, felt that the theme could have been “more intriguing”, such as letting guests wait till the event to find out what Spam stands for and its relation to sports, for example.

Peter De Maeyer, assistant professor of marketing at Singapore Management University said that playing on a word’s multiple meanings – or resonance, in textbook-speak – is a common tactic used by advertisers to grab attention.

“Spam is a quirky brand that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s imagery and advertising are quite humourous. Spam in the meaning of unsolicited email is one of these fun, informal words,” he said.

These associations, he said, should appeal to the segment the SSC is targeting: The 20 to 30-year-olds who lead an active lifestyle.

But young party-goers my paper spoke to were unimpresed.

“The word party animal is a bit cheesy, and isn’t Spam, as in junk mail, generally unwanted?” said Mr Ming Yuen, 18, a coordinator at Home club.

Mr Lim Aik, 23, a second year National University of Singapore student felt that the party’s name was just not catchy.

“It seems that the planning authorities have a hazy understanding of what appeals to youths. Perhaps they should get more youths’ feedback before they start naming and marketing their parties,” he said.

-



well, yeah. just wanted to share these three interesting articles. (:

and with regards to S.P.A.M., i guess it was just done in poor taste. i mean, what's up with Sports Party Animals Movement. -.-" it just isn't right. i'm pretty sure they could've come up with something better. but of course, they know better now, haha.

4:53 PM
sadikin

- Friday, March 14, 2008

the chalet

the whole chalet experience was supposed to start on Wednesday, but unfortunately, poor ol' me had to wake up that morning to a fever, which left me all lethargic and simply not in the mood for anything at all. so i stayed at home the entire day (mostly spent sleeping), took the meds from the polyclinic, got better, and Day 1 eventually began on Thursday.

basically, it was a typical gathering - bowling, arcade, pool, tennis, and the works (including Taboo!). oh, and of course, barbeque. and when there wasn't anything else to do, Luwen's Men's Health (March issue) came in pretty handy, haha. in all, it was just a great time catching up with close friends and 4J classmates, especially since we haven't really had the time to do so with the hectic life in RJ. so it was just really nice. and well, at times, just a lil crazy. like when Bryan, Alaric, Kar Liang and me decided to take a long morning stroll all the way to East Coast Mac's for breakfast, and along the way, just belted out power ballads of the 80's and 90's like nobody's business, with the exception of Bryan, who wanted to maintain his sanity. =D

anyway, a huge thanks definitely goes out to Lionel Lim Siang and his parents for booking the bungalow, and preparing the food and just about everything else that made the chalet possible. (:

everyone loves a good game of mahjong

ALIAS!
(courtesy of GKarL)

Shawn and me (:
(he left on Thursday afternoon)

Mac's breakfast =D

the trio who already has a fan =D
- a middle-aged lady actually commented that we were quite good, haha

yours truly, Alaric, Louis, Kar Liang, Bryan, Lionel (:

-

they're always on our radar

haha. gosh. anyhow, 'twas an evening out with the bestest pals yet again. (:

this time though, the highly-anticipated Step Up 2: The Streets, was quite disappointing, i must say. for one, the acting wasn't exactly great, but granted, this is afterall, a dance movie. but still, even in the dance aspect, it was seriously lacklustre, with average choreography (save for the really wow final routine by the MSA crew). and i haven't even taken into account the many overused cliches, logical jumps and just really bad scripting, especially in the final half an hour. =/ well, essentially, i came out of the cinema feeling very cheated of my $9.50. then again, perhaps i just had really high expectations. but come on, Step Up wasn't exactly perfect, but it did work for me.

anyway, met up with Mathan for dinner (since he intelligently declined to watch the movie with us three due to an OG gathering at some posh house), which, let's just say, started with a very heated greeting. and it was all because of a cap/hat/whatever. oh, yet another important lesson learnt - never (ever) remove your friend's head accessory without his prior permission, coz he might just be having a bad hair day. and especially so if he's capable of a nasty bitch slap. haha

ended up having dinner at LJS Far East, followed by just random window-shopping at our favourite, the Heeren's xP, and ended off with another coffee session at the same Starbuck's branch. and nope, we didn't get the couch seats yet again, sadly. but well, we did manage to have a fruitful session just talking about um, stuff "under the arcs of colour in the sky", as Mathan puts it. =D

and of course, our two best group shots today:

us! (:

alright, that's all for now. nights! (:

11:59 PM
sadikin

- Wednesday, March 12, 2008

they're still on our radar
and will always be, haha

'twas an awesome day out with bestest pals. (:

P.S. I Love You was heartwarmingly good (contrary to the review by ST Life! critics), and chill out at Starbuck's was just as great, despite us not getting the couch seats. haha. and of course, the mindless conversations and pure retarded moments (of Dean Goh Dong Yi, mostly) were just well, enjoyable and entertaining at the very least. =D

starbuck's coffees

dean and me (:

multi-racial prata eaters =D

and the two best group shots:

OH. and one important lesson learnt - even the closest of friends should never (ever) attempt to dress the same. take it from us - we tried, with the matching S&K tees and it turned out to be a major crime against fashion. it may work for siblings, but never for even close friends.

well, at least now we know better. haha

alright, nights!



ps. (not I Love You, haha!) i've finally uploaded the Malaysian Montage photos. do check them out alright. (:

oh, and have a read of this article: Could Heath Ledger Earn A Posthumous Oscar Nomination For The Joker? actually, i did think about it when i heard of the rave reviews about his performance and the amount of effort he had put in, but never really got down to writing about it. well, we'll just have to wait and see.

12:25 AM
sadikin

- Tuesday, March 11, 2008

explicitness

yay. i am finally done with my GP essay on the mass media. which took me practically the whole day to complete, with loads of distractions here and there. haha. oh, and i feel so darn accomplished since i managed to go through my GP notes and handouts and i even did the vocab practice. (: but then again, what about maths and chem and physics and econs. ahhhh... =/

okay, done with that.

anyway, here's an amazingly hilarious article on Mahathir's calls for Badawi to take full responsibility for the shocking outcome of the Malaysian elections and to step down. imo, Dr M is just a really sad and bitter former PM, who should learn to enjoy his retirement and keep any dissing remarks to himself, for the good of everyone. and of course, i definitely prefer Pak Lah to him. which is good that the article is defending him. but the point is, as Suanie puts it, this article is just overly defensive going so far as to even clarify that (i.e. oh Badawi never said that…) and (i.e. Mahathir actually did this last time…). well, yeah. the explicitness in the parentheses. haha

okay, time to catch up on Brothers & Sisters, Grey's Anatomy and Gossip Girls. =D

1:11 AM
sadikin

- Sunday, March 09, 2008

it's the holidays!

so yesterday's supposed OG outing was a failure, unfortunately. with an attendance of seven out of twenty-two T'antantanians, it was less than half of the OG. -.-" ohwell, at least those were there managed to amuse and entertain ourselves somehow. xP

anyway, while i'm aready in the holiday mood, bro and sis are currently working on their university stuff. bro is still trying to secure a scholarship, intending to send out quite a number of applications, and sis is deciding on her university course of work and future career. sounds fun aye. well, that's post-tertiary education for you.

well, in more exciting news, i simply can't wait for next week's outing with my favouritest people in the world, as well as the chalet with yet another bunch of my favouritest people! =D yeah, i'm lovin' the holidays loads.

and finally, just some comments on current affairs - i am extremely elated over Clinton's wins in three states in the past week (yay), and let's hope she grabs Pennsylvania especially, and Mississippi well, somehow. oh. and how did Nurul Izzah of Parti Keadilan Rakyat manage to beat Shahrizat, a minister? o.O i guess it just goes to show that sometimes, things don't really happen as we expect them to.

have a great week ahead everyone! (:

2:07 PM
sadikin

- Saturday, March 08, 2008

pahang, malaysia

Malaysian Montage 2008 was quite a blast. afterall, it was pretty much a holiday for the 8 J1 facilitators - Paul, Stanley, Mingzhe, Wang, Jerome, Tian Kai, Dillon, and me - since our capable cluster I/Cs (especially my three cluster 6 I/Cs - thank you!) took care of almost everything, and left us with nothing much to do.

and on top of that, accommodation was quite good. the first two nights at De'Rhu Resort was your typical 3-star hotel, but the last two nights at Lanjut Resort was the bomb, since we were given two really cosy and rather classy rooms (the same rooms as most others teachers), comparable to the Grand Blue Wave hotel we had on the last night during our Malaysian Montage three years ago. so well, that rocked. =D

my greatest take-away from the trip? i guess it certainly has to be the closer interaction with many other juniors from the batch, especially those in my cluster, as well as getting to know the 7 other J1 facilitators rather well, which i wouldn't really have the chance if not for the trip. from the first night at the beach singing our batch songs, doing the batch dance, and those really mindless conversations on your rather interesting love lives (sorry i didn't bring much to the table haha), and the impromptu song items during the finale, and the failed stay-up-till-4am on the last morning, thanks guys for the awesome company on the trip. (: despite the unpleasant bout of diarrhoea that struck most of you. haha

so well, it was a great 5 days in Pahang, Malaysia. though i felt that our batch's Malaysian Montage was a lil better, which is a shared sentiment by all 8 J1 facilitators actually. xP

oh, and there was no proper shopping stop! much to our dismay. boohoo. =/ hence, i actually brought back 160 ringgit out of the 220 i went with. yeah, i was a thrifty boy. (:

PHOTOS!

the sungei pandan waterfalls

cluster 6 peeps in the bus

Deerland!
there aren't only deers in deerland, actually

interesting positioning of your face, Mr Deer

the really adorable hedgehog
(my personal fav shot!)

sang kancil

Bennett showing his affection for the deer
(with an amused Teun Yee in the background)

a brilliant display of peacock feathers

CIP!

you could tell that they're really excited about it,
and working hard - just look at Izzat =D

Desmond looks happy too,
to be doing CIP work perhaps

now, is that them playing i see? tsk tsk

good job picking up the brick Bennett,
though you don't usually throw them away during area clean-up xP

Turtle Sanctuary!

the adult turtle

the young ones

the even younger one

Dog & Bone Telematch!

cluster 6 drawn in the sand

Stanley hard at work outlining the boundaries,
with Tian Kai looking on

ta-dah! the playing field

the Sec 2s in action

Natural Batik Village!

Sec 2s eager to start on their masterpieces
haha

the adorable boy (ain't he! =D) whom i babysitted for 5 mins
while his mum was busy helping out with the session

my own batik masterpiece (:

Agricultural Research Centre!

Sec 2s hard at work processing sugar cane juice

the rather huge honey bee hive =/
(which was home to the bee that stung me, ouch!)

Dragon Fruit Plantation!

the plant

the developing fruits (right?) or buds?
(oh, and this was when i discovered the close-up mode on my camera
- a much better function than the simple macro one)

the fruit

and the Lanjut Resort!

just look at the cosy and almost-luxurious room!
- fantastic accommodation for the last two nights, certainly

oh, and since the facilitators amassed quite a number of photos of ourselves, most of which are purely retarded, i've decided to make it into a collage so that you can see all of it. and it saves the trouble of me having to painstakingly upload each and every photo.

go ahead and click on it to view a larger version, since i'm sure you wouldn't wanna miss any shots. =D

MM08 facilitators (:

anyway, on a most brightest note, HAPPY MARCH HOLIDAYS! =D yay

10:27 AM
sadikin