A Poet

The story is about how Sukarno systematically eliminated pro-communists in Indonesia in the mid 1960s by locking them up in prison cells to be executed. One of them was a poet from Aceh and he was famous for composing traditional folk songs called the Didong.

Liked the nice songs and how everything was filmed inside the prison cell behind bars to highlight the situation of the people then.

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The Long March

The story is about what a soldier had to go through in his fight for the Independence of Indonesia in the late 1940s.

Learnt a little bit more about Indonesian history from this film. The nurse looked quite pretty with her big round eyes!

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Melancholia

The story is about how two sisters coped with the stress of getting married and the impending crash of a giant planet named "Melancholia" towards earth.

Liked the pretty cinematography in the prologue, the interesting special effects and the great acting by the two actresses!

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Jurong Green CC Cup 2012 (Day Two)

Game 6: vs Sundram Pillai
Sundram is an ex-colleague of Bee Tiang. Was leading quite comfortably when I opened up for my opponent for him to put HEALERS(91) down the triple word lane. I still managed to win by a small margin but now I realised that having a good rack leave becomes less important as the game progresses.

New words learnt:
My Bingos: ScENTED(82) Opp Bingos: HEALERS(91)
My Phoneys: TEP* Opp Phoneys: VOA*, UNcARES*
My High Moves: YEX(39) Opp High Moves: QUIMS(52), ZA(31)
W 381-375, +6. 3W 3L (Accum spread -116).

Game 7: vs Steven Surya
Steven Surya is a student from Indonesia. I played with him three times during the 2011 Causeway Cup and lost twice. Lost to him again as we each had two bingos but he scored very well with his power tiles. Missed STORMIER down the triple score lane with an EIMORST rack and an existing R on the board.

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: BENDERS(82), MOISTER(76) Opp Bingos: LATINAS(76), NEATENS(80)
My Phoneys: Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: QIS(39) Opp High Moves: FIX(54), JOW(38), PING(34), WILE(33), LEAZE(77)
L 385-538, -153. 3W 4L (Accum spread -269).

Game 8: vs Low Bee Tiang
Thought I would have an easy game with Bee Tiang but it was not to be. He had a bingo early in the game and I phonied at a crucial point of the game to give him a second bingo for him to seal the game.

New words learnt:
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: WRESTED(101), UNVEILS(76)
My Phoneys: YADI* Opp Phoneys: cLARIOUS*
My High Moves: EF(30), WHIPS(34), DETAIL(32), DAB(36), PI(30), CIVE(36) Opp High Moves: REX(31), SQUIZ(56)
L 389-438, -49. 3W 5L (Accum spread -318).

Game 9: vs Mary Morgan
Mary Morgan was a friendly old lady from Ireland. We had one bingo each and I got away with DES* while both LUB* and PELK* were taken off the board. It was a close game and I just pipped her for a win

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: ANEROID(73) Opp Bingos: NETTLES(74)
My Phoneys: DES*, LUB* Opp Phoneys: PELK*
My High Moves: WE(31), OYS(30) Opp High Moves: GAZE(34), PRONG(35), JOT(31), HOX(31)
W 381-371, +10. 4W 5L (Accum spread -308).

Game 10: vs Neo Wei Sheng
Wei Sheng is Jeremy's school mate from Raffles Institution. Had close to zero chance of meeting Jeremy now at this King of the Hill stage as he is on top of the leader board while I was close to the bottom. Our scores were pretty close until he bingoed with TaNGELo(77) using two blanks and scored well with REX(40) two moves later for him to seal the game.

New words learnt:
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: TaNGELo(77)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: MIRTH(39), UNDID(34), AHIS(38), ECAD(31) Opp High Moves: ZIP(37), REX(40)
L 315-409, -94. 4W 6L (Accum spread -412).

Game 11: vs Harryadi
Harryadi was the third Indonesian player that I played. Hendy Yohanes was the only Indonesian player that I didn't play with . We had one bingo each but he scored well late in the game with AMNESIA(30) across the triple word score lane to maintain a 20 point lead to win.

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: PERVeRT(76) Opp Bingos: rOARIEST(74)
My Phoneys: Opp Phoneys: NOP*
My High Moves: KEN(30), PLOY(33), AMNESIA(30) Opp High Moves: ZORI(36)
L 350-374, -24. 4W 7L (Accum spread -436).

Game 12: vs Kok Eugene
Was very lucky in this game as I had both blanks, all the power tiles and three S to win easily.

New words learnt:
My Bingos: STuDIES(64), MEANINg(65) Opp Bingos:
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: COGENT(40), ZINS(44), OAF(30) Opp High Moves: WITE(33)
W 488-257, +231. 5W 7L (Accum spread -205).

Finished with 5 wins and 7 losses. Was a little bit disappointed as I had expected to win at least half the games but it was an interesting experience to play with so many new faces at a local competition!

Jurong Green CC Cup 2012 (Day One)

This is my first time visiting Jurong Green CC after its renovation and it looked brand new! At least five overseas players were participating in division B: four from Indonesia and one from Ireland. Went for lunch with the Indonesian players before coming back for the first game.

Game 1: vs Gabriel
Gabriel is an NTU Scrabble player. I challenged three times unsuccessfully while he challenged off my TOYA*. I have mixed it up with HOYA and TOYO. We had one bingo each but he was able to score much better than me most of the time to win.

New words learnt: TOWY, ALOW, ECOS
My Bingos: NAILERS(61) Opp Bingos: RIOTING(79)
My Phoneys: TOYA*, GRIMS*(39) Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: GRIMS*(39), JOHN(30), VIRL(30), KI(41) Opp High Moves: ALOW(44), FEMS(50), TEX(31), EQUID(30), ROJI(36)
L 352-453, -101. 0W 1L (Accum spread -101).

Game 2: vs Reynaldo
Reynaldo was another Scrabble player from NTU. Had better luck this time round. I had two bingos against my opponent's one and was able to score better most of the time to win.

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: DARLINGS(61), PANIERS(66) Opp Bingos: GLUEING(81)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: TAJS*
My High Moves: BOWER(38), FY(32) Opp High Moves: VIBE(39)
W 436-329, +107. 1W 1L (Accum spread +6).

Game 3: vs Shahrul
Shahrul was working in Singapore Polytechnic. I was trashed by him as he had four bingos versus one from me.

New words learnt: RESOLING
My Bingos: CREATIN(76) Opp Bingos: BASInET(75), TRIAGES(69), PLAINEST(64), RESOLING(75)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: JAR(30), ZETA(33) Opp High Moves: MAFIA(35), YEA(34), TUX(32)
L 382-475, -93. 1W 2L (Accum spread -87).

Game 4: vs Eugene Kok
Eugene was the third NTU Scrabble player that I played. I had very good tiles to bingo three times to win but he scored well with the KQXZ tiles to stay not far behind.

New words learnt: STIRK
My Bingos: PREVENT(80), CENTERED(63), SODAINE(66) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: STRINK*
My High Moves: DOC(30) Opp High Moves: ZITS(39), QIN(32), DEX(33), SKIRT(36)
W 464-343, +121. 2W 2L (Accum spread +34).

Game 5: vs Albert Martono
Albert was the first Indonesian player that I played. He had very good tiles but I also gave many points to him as I took some risks to open up the board for myself. Think I may have given him the high game of the day.

New words learnt: POINDER
My Bingos: UNITERS(66), CLINGERS(72) Opp Bingos: GUINEAS(79), INeArTH(87), POINDER(100)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: rT*
My High Moves: OB(31) Opp High Moves: FOX(38), ITA(47), YEVE(36)
L 367-523, -156. 2W 3L (Accum spread -122).

Finished day 1 with 2 wins and 3 losses.

Village People Radio Show

The story is about the lives of ex-Malayan Communist Party members who ended up staying in Thailand.

Liked how the image relates to the narration like the ant procession, the chained monkey and the play about the abandoned baby!

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DSTA Inter-PC Scrabble

This is the first time DSTA is organising an inter-PC Scrabble competition and six people from various PCs took part: Chew Chuah, myself, Hung Peng, Seow Kie, Yew Hang and Peng Kee. We played a total of 3 games in straight King-of-the-Hill format.

Game 1 vs Seow Kie
I had ALIENED(76) and scored well with MAKE(40), ZAG(38), TRAYS(32) and JILT(36) while her UNCITE* was taken off the board. My TRAYS(32) was formed by front hooking the S to an existing CAP but she did not challenge SCAP* and I win easily by 434 to 225.

Game 2 vs Chew Chuah
I have not played Chew Chuah for a long time already and I knew he was a formidable opponent! He had WRONGED(81) and IONISED(67) while I had SHERIAT(96). I phonied with RAKIEST* and ETICS* which were taken off the board and I lost by 363 to 447. Missed the two anagrams for AEIKRST!

Game 3 vs Yew Hang
I had LATTICE(79) and he had TOURING(74). I also scored well with KAM(30), YIP(30), LOW(36), TUX(30) and DEATH(63) to win by 434 to 309. We had one phoney each and they were both challenged off. I had UNAILED* while he had ZOE*. Missed the two anagrams for ADEILNU!

In the end, Chew Chuah won first position with 3 wins. I won second position by having a slightly better spread than Hung Peng who won third position. It was fun but a little bit distracting to be the organiser at the same time. Would probably consider hiring an external tournament director the next time round.

A Separation

The story is about how an Iranian couple's decision to separate affected their lives. The father had to employ a maid and an incident led to a legal dispute between the two families.

Liked the interesting plot and how the director slowly revealed what actually happened from different perspectives!

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The Naked Island

The story is about how a poor Japanese family lived on a small island despite the difficult environmental conditions.

Liked the director's deliberate attempt to take away the dialogue and let the family's action speak for itself!

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Mother Joan of the Angels

The story is about how a priest helped to exorcise a possessed nun in a convent.

Great acting by the actress who acted as Mother Joan! I also liked the nice choral music! Felt that the nun's uniform in "Black Narcissus" looked prettier though.

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The Thin Red Line

The story is about how a group of American soldiers felt when they went to fight in a small Pacific Island with the Japanese during Second Word War.

Liked the nice philosophical voice over narration and the interesting flashbacks!

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Hugo

The story is about how a young boy whose father died came to live in the train station and came to know an eccentric old man who is a toy shop owner.

Liked the nice black and white old movie clips shown and the nice cinematography!

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The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

This animation is based on a short story of the same title by Dostoevsky. A man's attempted suicide was interrupted by a young girl in the street and he had a dream about utopia when he went home to sleep.

Liked the beautiful painting style and the interesting plot that painted a vision for the future of mankind!

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Happy Thank You More Please

The story is about how six young adults living in New York juggle love, friendship and the responsibilities of adulthood.

Liked the nice folk music soundtrack!

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Happy End

The story is about how a man was given the death sentence for killing his wife and lover told in reverse chronological order.

Liked the interesting concept but the special effects of eating, talking and walking in reverse got tiresome after a while.

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Ways of the Sea

The story is about people who illegally travelled from the Phillipines to Sabah by boat to look for work.

Liked the docu-drama approach and the nice song in the film! Great acting by the little girl!

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In Two Minds

The story is based on a folk tale about how a new bride spent a few years with a ghost that took the form of her husband while he was away on business and what happened after he returned.

Liked the colorful cinematography, the innovative use of static shots and the beautiful music! The plot was interesting too!

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Sunflower

The story is about the relationship between a father and his son over a period of thirty years from the late sixties to the late nineties in China.

Nice paintings at the art exhibition and liked how the father and son reconciled towards the end! Thought the director could have condensed the plot a little bit more though.

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City Lights

The story is about a tramp's relationships with a blind girl and a rich man.

Liked the interesting plot and the nice ending!

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Sita Sings the Blues

The story is based on an Indian epic, the Ramayana, that described the ups and downs in the relationship between prince Rama and his wife Sita after they were banished to the forest.

Liked how the director weaved her own story into the film and used different ways to tell the same story! It was refreshing to learn the plot through the discussion among the three narrators! The songs were appropriate and nice too!

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