Marley & Me - The movie

spoke volumes about the unique friendship between humans and dogs through the story of a impossibly mischievous labrador retriever and how it gained the unconditional love of its owner through time. The story depicts the life of the dog starting from its days as a puppy till the very last moment of its life, when it was too old and sick that it had to be put down. 

The labrador retriever, Marley was impossibly mischievous and destructive as a puppy and even as a dog, it continued to create havoc in the house. Despite so, it managed to stay in the family from one that consisted of only 2 to 5 members in the family when it breathed its last breath. The movie showed that through compromise, unconditional love and respect, one can indeed find a friend if not part of the family in a dog.

The movie is a real tear jerker for dog lovers and also teaches dog owners about the unconditional love shared between humans and dogs. Hopefully the movie had successfully communicated the idea of animal love and ownership responsibility, and not be inducing yet another bout of irresponsible and irrational labrador retriever puppy purchasing craze among the public after they watched the movie. It is observed that movies showcasing animals more often than not do indeed induce such impulsive pet purchases, resulting in irresponsible animal breeding to feed the sudden and overwhelming demand for the specific animal shown in the movie. It then lead to these pets being deserted and put to sleep, when their owners grow out of the craze or decided that the responsibility was too great for them to handle

Thus, movies makers play a big role in communicating the right values to the public. This is because the audience is more receptive to the intended message when it is transmitted through subtle cues weaved within the medium such as movie's plot as compared to a upfront and direct message flashed across saying 'love your dog no matter what' or 'dogs are friends for life'. By learning and stumbling across the message themselves through the story line of the movie, a deeper impression and impact is made. It is thus the responsibility of movie makers, especially those of animal movies, to take on a positive and morally correct point of view when depicting their stories.

Slumdog Millionaire and its message

Slumdog Millionaire, a movie made under tight budget and lack of sponsor, clinched 5 globe awards and become the talk of the town shortly after it was screened. The movie was about an Indian boy who was suspected of cheating when he won a million dollars in reality Television program, 'Who wants to be a millionaire?' In the movie he was questioned and tortured by the police till he revealed the reason how he had managed to know all the answers to the questions. As he does so, he tells the story of his sad life such as how losing his mother to a religion riot gave him the answer to the question about a Hindu God.

The movie reflects the living conditions and real life situations in India such as the existence of child labour, abuse, prostitution, secret societies, violence and more. Because of the controversy of the issues raised in the movie, it clinched 5 globe awards and at the same time, protesting voices from the Indians. 

The director captured the essence of the asian culture, by adding plenty of non verbal cues and less verbal ones as asians are usually less expressive verbally. As the movie also weaves in a love story between the male lead and an Indian girl, the director also managed to capture the pure and simple love of the two indians while they work against diversities in life.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20090205/tap-081-no-credible-information-whereabo-231650b.html

Rumors has it

rumors have been spreading like wild fire these days, facilitated by sms-es and emails. According to these sms-es and emails, it is believed that the next target of a terrorists attack is none other than Singapore's very own bustling Bugis. The information without a doubt has stirred emotions of the citizens, mostly fear and cautiousness. Despite a handful of Singaporeans who stand by their faith in the government's control in the terrorist activities on the island, the notorious escape of terrorist, Mas Selamat from the Whitley Road Dentention Center during February last year, has clearly impacted on the citizens' past unwavering faith for the protection and vigilance provided by the nation's big bosses. 

We could hardly afford letting loose merely one terrorist, now can we afford a terrorist attack? Yishun was a close call years ago. But can we always be so lucky? No one has any answers. However the Police has stepped in and warned the public to stop circulating such emails and sms-es. It is clear that the government do not wish for the public to be panicking yet, which may very well be a good sign because it implies that the situation is still under control, or so they may think. Despite the Police's interference, there has not been any official confirmation nor denial of this piece of information.

All that is crystal clear is that Singaporeans who have caught their whiffs of the news, would definitely shun Bugis for awhile now. Tenants in Bugis are bound to be hit first wave by the news and the impact of it but life in general, has to and will go on. 

Fighting against terrorist activities must be recognized by the public as not only the job of the government, instead it should be part of a nation wide exercise. During times like these, what may give us a chance is standing united as one to exercise constant vigilance, to support our government and their decisions in busting terrorist activities.

Economy slowdown hits Integrated Resort due 2009

Source:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ap/20090203/tbs-as-singapore-tourism-3c8dc0d.html
http://app.stb.gov.sg/asp/index.asp?



Singapore tourism continues to shrink in December for a seventh month, adding to the city-state's economic woes, as more visitors stayed home amid a global slowdown.

Tourist arrivals to Singapore fell to 880,000 in December 2008, down 6.9 percent from the same month a year earlier, the Singapore Tourism Board said. Hotels revenue also took a dip from 7.4 percent to 141 million Singapore dollars ($93 million) in the seven months.

Factors leading to the dip of tourist arrival is believed to be directly affected by the ecnonomic slowdown, inducing potential tourists to stay home instead of going on a holiday. This effect may be as long lasting as the economy crisis is expected to stay globally.

Singapore's economy is highly diversified, with Service and Tourism taking up a substantial percentage. The shrinking of the industry is sure to affect the economy in considerable degree, especially with the Integrated Resort that is scheduled to be ready by the 2009.

The Integrated Resort was part of the government's plan to ease its economic dependence on manufacturing and exporting and also an initiative to re-position itself and increase its attractiveness as the new tourist attraction. The Integrated Resort includes two casinos, Universal Studios amusement park, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, Convention Centers, Theatres and Museum and other facilities

The tourism industry slowdown may undermine the expected flow of tourists the Integrated Resort will bring to the nation.

Despite the present unoptimistic situation, the Singapore Government continues to work towards pulling more tourists into the city by hosting the upcoming youth Olympics and the recent F1 race.

The Singapore Tourism Board also work to not only attract tourists to come to Singapore for leisure holidays, but also for Official Conferences (Medical, Economic etc), education and business.

Some examples of the works of the board are BikeAsia 2009, Indexing & ETF Investments Asia 2009 and Singapore LIVE 2009 (18th Annual Live Interventions in Vascular Endotherapy, Global Healthcare Congress 2009)