Astro Boy Movie Trailer

Release Date: October 23, 2009
Studio: Summit Entertainment
Director: David Bowers
Screenwriter: Timothy Harris
Starring: Freddie Highmore, Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy, Eugene Levy, Matt Lucus, Donald Sutherland
Genre: Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: Not Available
Official Website: AstroBoy-themovie.com
Review: Not Available
DVD Review: Not Available
DVD: Not Available
Movie Poster: View here
Production Stills: View here
Plot Summary: A thrilling tale of a true hero, "Astro Boy" is an all-new, feature film full of action, adventure, humor and heart. It will be brought to life on the big screen in breathtaking CGI animation on October 23rd, 2009.Set in futuristic Metro City, "Astro Boy" is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist named Tenma (Nicolas Cage). Powered by positive "blue" energy, Astro Boy (Freddie Highmore) is endowed with super strength, x-ray vision, unbelievable speed and the ability to fly. Embarking on a journey in search of acceptance, Astro Boy encounters many other colorful characters along the way. Through his adventures, he learns the joys and emotions of being human, and gains the strength to embrace his destiny. Ultimately learning his friends and family are in danger, Astro Boy marshals his awesome super powers and returns to Metro City in a valiant effort to save everything he cares about and to understand what it takes to be a hero.

Lost Friends of MoBlog

There are some people at former SingTel MoBlog whom I wish to stay in contact, but with the moblog's demise, I am not sure if these people have alternative blogs. If you are reading this blog entry and know any of the URLs of these people's alternative blogs, please let me know. They are:

alexks, anarchista3, angelpeh, annachua85, ashnisa, benitatata, blackstar, bluetulip, Carmen, cheryldee, congzi, DizzyLizzy, Dollipop, eclektic, Emi, Erika, estherix, Fleur, fRoStYgiRL, garfield, gEoOo, hazelroxanne, Heartsling, hitChic, HostSara, iamesther, ice3, irises, jiah, jiejie, jolju, Juan, jumper12, kawaiicandy520, lachicabonita, Lagoon, LeAnNa, leeena, lenenattie, listener, LSQ, manjarockstarr, Melt, Mishysya, MisirLou, nicolechen, passiongal, princessELOISE, PrincessEvie, purpleRose, SashaE, seraphina2511, shuyee, silversw, sunDrop, Taryn, TheGalOverHere, TheMeanieElla, thereforeiblog, tolive4Jesus4ever, vioona, xxgongzhuxx, zonda

Meanwhile, allow me to thank all of you who are former bloggers of SingTel MoBlog and who are still in touch with me. I cannot imagine how much I would have lost without you remaining as my friends.

Love you all! Hugz. (",)

Two Sides of the Fake Degree Story

I regularly receive emails from junkies offering fake diplomas and degrees. I cannot understand why anyone would even bother to read such emails or give a thought to a possible short cut of obtaining a degree, and I certainly cannot imagine anyone in Singapore would want to pay money to get a fake degree.

As a provider of writing services, I have once in a while received enquiries from students studying in Singapore on the price I would charge to write their academic assignments for them, which of course I flatly turned down. The fact that I studied so hard to obtain a degree makes me feel totally turned off by people attempting to take short cuts or cheat in order to obtain any kind of certification or qualification.

It saddens me to think such practices are becoming common these days in a small nation state such as ours. This is probably the reason why many graduates who have obtained their degrees through distance education are still finding it hard to get a job. Many potential employers today still doubt the credibility and worth of qualifications obtained through off-campus education, and this is despite the sacrifices put in by individuals studying part-time while working full-time.

Just recently, there was the news about fake degrees and diplomas offered to students studying in a private school here. This piece of news certainly does not help with the already bad situation faced by graduates of distance study and the doubts by potential employers.

The following is an extract of the news showing the two sides of the story from the view points of a local and a foreign newspaper.

*******July 15, 2009
Fake-degree school closes
By Jermyn Chow (StraitsTimes - Singapore)
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_403332.html (Accessed July 27, 2009)

BROOKES Business School, which peddled fake degrees and diplomas to hundreds of students, has been ordered to shut down.

The private school handed out bogus qualifications from brand-name institutions in Australia and Britain, including the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), in a practice which was exposed last month by The Straits Times. The Education Ministry (MOE) said on Tuesday it had revoked the school's registration for contravening the Education Act.

The 400 students enrolled at the school - half of them foreigners - had little warning of the impending action. Many turned up at Brookes' premises in Beach Road on Tuesday morning to find the door closed and an MOE closure notice stuck to it.

Some had been telephoned earlier by a staff member of the school and told that classes would be cancelled for the week, resuming in about a fortnight.

One of them, who gave his name as Thomas, 21, said the caller neither identified herself nor gave a reason for the cancellation. 'It was so strange, so I thought: better to come down and get answers,' said the Chinese national, who is studying for a diploma in tourism and hospitality.

He failed to find any answers though, since staff and lecturers were nowhere to be seen. Neither was the man at the centre of the fiasco, the school's registered owner, Mr Benny Yap Chee Mun, 39.

Students said the last time they saw him was just after news broke of the scam in mid-June, when he called a meeting and assured them that the school's degrees were bona fide, and that it would not close down. He had told The Straits Times that he had been duped by a Vietnamese man, who sold him a 'franchise' to offer RMIT degrees in 2007.

On Tuesday, however, an MOE spokesman said there was 'sufficient evidence' to prove Mr Yap 'is not a fit and proper person to continue to operate the school'. Calls to the school and Mr Yap went unanswered.

Students have been told by MOE to approach the Association of Private Schools and Colleges (APSC), which represents some 40 private schools here, to help with transfers to other schools.

Dr Andrew Chua, its president, said that four receiving schools had been identified. He advised students to seek help at its secretariat at 9, Ah Hood Road, which will be open from 9am to 5pm from Wednesday till Friday. Students seeking fee refunds, which ranged from $9,000 to $12,000 for a one-year specialist diploma, should approach the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) for advice, said the ministry.

*******June 18, 2009
RMIT snared in degree scam
By Farrah Tomazin (The Age - Australia)
http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/rmit-snared-in--degree-scam-20090617-chvv.html (Accessed July 27, 2009)

RMIT University has been embroiled in a scam in which an Asian business school was selling fake degrees purporting to come from the Melbourne institution.

Dozens of students have been duped after signing up for a one-year course they thought would lead to an RMIT Bachelor of Business offered through the Brookes Business School, in Singapore.

Students paid up to $16,000 to graduate with what they thought was a legitimate qualification from an Australian institution.

However, RMIT insists it never had links to Brookes, and is now considering legal action.

"RMIT is extremely concerned about any misrepresentation and is currently considering all its legal options in relation to this matter," said Dr Madeleine Reeve, the university's pro-vice-chancellor, international and development.

University documents seen by The Age show Singapore's Ministry of Education was told about the problem as early as April 2007, when the university became aware that Brookes' website was making false representations about links to RMIT.

At the time, the university obtained a written undertaking from Brookes to remove all references to RMIT on its website and any other documentation, and inform students that there were no links between the two providers.

But from late last year, a number of Brookes students began contacting RMIT again: some to check the authenticity of their certificates, others to check if they were properly registered with the university.

However, in a bizarre twist, Brookes claims it only began offering the program because it was conned to do so by a man purporting to be an employee of RMIT's Vietnam campus.

The head of Brookes Business School, Ben Yap, told The Age that a man approached him two years ago and sold him a franchise to run RMIT degree programs.

He said Brookes — which also offers education programs from established universities in the US and Britain — believed it was providing a bona fide degree from RMIT.

He said the school has since worked to "contain the problem" by giving students refunds for their invalid degree, and had also offered to enrol them into other legitimate courses provided by Brookes.

"We didn't realise the degrees were not valid," Mr Yap said. "We were given all the proper documentation so there was no reason to doubt it. There was no intention to con anybody."

Brookes has asked Singapore police to investigate the matter. However, Dr Reeve categorically rejected the school's claim that it was duped by a university employee.

"RMIT has been provided with the name of the staff member allegedly involved, but there are no records of a man with that name being employed at RMIT Vietnam," she said.

The Singapore Education Ministry did not respond to questions from The Age about Brookes' registration, or what action, if any, was taken.

G-Force Movie Trailer

Release Date: July 24, 2009
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Hoyt Yeatman
Screenwriter: The Wibberleys, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Tim Firth
Starring: Bill Nighy, Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Jon Favreau, Penelope Cruz, Steve Buscemi, Tracy Morgan, Kelli Garner
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG (for some mild action and rude humor)
Official Website: Disney.com
Review: 5.5/10 rating
DVD Review: Not Available
DVD: Not Available
Movie Poster: Not Available
Production Stills: View here
Plot Summary: Producer Jerry Bruckheimer brings his first 3-D film to the big screen with "G-Force," a comedy adventure about the latest evolution of a covert government program to train animals to work in espionage. Armed with the latest high-tech spy equipment, these highly trained guinea pigs discover that the fate of the world is in their paws. Tapped for the G-Force are guinea pigs Darwin (voice of Sam Rockwell), the squad leader determined to succeed at all costs; Blaster (voice of Tracy Morgan), an outrageous weapons expert with tons of attitude and a love for all things extreme; and Juarez (voice of Penelope Cruz), a sexy martial arts pro; plus the literal fly-on-the-wall reconnaissance expert, Mooch, and a star-nosed mole, Speckles (voice of Nicolas Cage), the computer and information specialist. Directed by two-time Oscar®-winning visual effects master Hoyt Yeatman—"G-Force" takes audiences on a high-octane thrill ride, proving once and for all that size really doesn't matter.

More Writings n Editorial Work

These days, besides performing official editorial tasks at work such as editing and writing, I am also regularly and unofficially writing devotionals. If you are interested in read my devotional writings, feel free to visit my other blog, Living Water.

The Time Traveler's Wife Movie Trailer

Release Date: August 14, 2009
Studio: New Line Cinema (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Director: Robert Schwentke
Screenwriter: Bruce Joel Rubin
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Eric Bana, Arliss Howard, Ron Livingston
Genre: Drama, Romance
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for thematic elements, brief disturbing images, nudity and sexuality)
Official Website: TheTimeTravelersWifemovie.com
Review: Not Available
DVD Review: Not Available
DVD: Not Available
Movie Poster: View here
Production Stills: View here
Plot Summary: "The Time Traveler's Wife" is based on the best-selling book about a love that transcends time. Clare (Rachel McAdams) has been in love with Henry (Eric Bana) her entire life. She believes they are destined to be together, even though she never knows when they will be separated: Henry is a time traveler—cursed with a rare genetic anomaly that causes him to live his life on a shifting timeline, skipping back and forth through his lifespan with no control. Despite the fact that Henry's travels force them apart with no warning, Clare desperately tries to build a life with her one true love.

Difference Between Singapore and Foreign Customer Service

By the time I knew about Moblog's closing down two days ago, it was too late for me to delete or edit anything at my blog. Sadly, I cannot even leave a farewell note to inform my contacts where I will be moving to after Moblog. Bloggers at moblog.com.sg are given up to July 22, 2009 to migrate five years of data via page by page cut and paste to some place else within a few days, and no email was received from Moblog to inform us of its soon closure, except for a notice written at Moblog's home page.

Unlike the way Moblog handles the closure notification, I received an email yesterday from Yahoo! informing me of the upcoming closure of my free web site at Geocities by October 26, 2009 with full instructions on how to migrate my files to some other sites.

That is the difference between Singapore style customer service and those of foreign professionals.

Death of Moblog

Date of Birth: August, 2004
Date of Death: July 22, 2009

In Memory of SingTel Moblog

I am sadden by your sudden demise, because I was with you since the day of your inauguration as the Nation's Blog during the press conference held at Sakae Sushi, Funan Center in August 2004. I was then a journalist for the Education magazine and I wrote about you and your glorious capabilities to the world. Now after many years moblogging at your place, I am moved to tears with deep emotions that I now have to part with you. May you rest in peace, and may all the friends I know at your MoBlog remember me. Without you, things will never be the same again.

Here's my last dedication to you to recall the days of your glory ... my article of you: I Blog, You Blog, They Blog.

Yours
SpideY
;p xoxo

Long Pick-up Queue at Jurong East

Not the longest queue yet, but this is the sight you can see every morning between 8am to 9am at the new shuttle pick up point at Jurong East next to JTC Summit, after the partial closure of Jurong East St 12 and Summit Lane from 5 July 2009 to facilitate construction work for MRT Jurong East Modification Project.

So far the weather has been fine over the last few days in the morning, but I wonder how these passengers are going to handle the situation on a raining day with such poor shelter that is not designed to brave the rain nor the sun.

Photograph: July 10, 2009 08:26

Photograph: July 9, 2009 08:24