Archive for January, 2005

The movie "Hotel Rwanda" was profoundly disturbing. Having institutionalised the ethnic distinction between Tutsi and Hutu based on skin colour, height, and width of noses, the Belgian colonists in the 1930s gave the minority Tutsi (lighter, taller) greater power and opportunities than the majority Hutu (darker, shorter). Years later, the jealousies boiled over into the […]

I have just finished reading The daVinci Code and I loved it! In Uni days I took the class "Biblical Studies" as an interest elective. The lecturer was Barbara Thiering and I felt at the time that she did an excellent job of revealing several belief-shattering concepts to us... most societies have creation stories that […]

A trainee teacher I talked to was about to set out for his probationary teaching period in 'the country' (I saw some very rough schools out of Siem Reap). He will be paid US$25 per month for the 2 years. When he is a fully qualified teacher, he will get $40 per month. Those working […]

The massive 2004 tsunami spared Singapore due to the location of the earthquake's epicentre.

Michael Crichton’s new book State of Fear will certainly be influential. I’m wondering if it was funded by the Bush administration since it gives the impression that global warming is still in doubt. This summary from Zinken, on the original Times Online interview: Interview: Jasper Gerard meets Michael Crichton. A giant wave envelops a tropical […]

What a great movie! It was brilliantly filmed (you know it is a real photographer behind the lens when the light is superb - shots are taken at dawn and dusk, there is lovely backlighting and some superb angles, like the shots of the Zeros coming in above the woman hanging out her washing - […]

Review: Paperback This book is about general problem solving ('in real life') but it could have applications in Problem Based Learning as used in educational institutions. It gives some good suggestions about identifying the problem and deciding what should be happening when the problem is solved. Then we assess the situation and look at causes […]