A Ball Of A Time

Above: Videos I took while playing my favourite game, Fifa10, on the WII with my cousin, Bryan.

Talking about holidays, I would like to relive those moments of joy I had last December with my cousin. We had an unforgettable whale of our time!

During his December school holidays, my cousin returned from India for a short visit. It was nearing Christmas and we were disscussing on what we would like for the upcoming and highly anticipated festival. He wanted a WII and I have totally no idea what a WII was initially. A few days later was Christmas and my cousin indeed got a WII as a present from his mother. According to what he described to me, it is a fun gaming gadget that can be connected to the TV for hours of entertaining play. He also told me it worked mainly on sensors and high-tech radiation like 'Bluetooth'.

Short of games? We made a trip down to Tampines One to buy some. There, we got three games. They are Fifa10( a soccer game), Resident Evil: The dark chronicles( a first-person zombie shooting game) and last but not least, Super Smash Brothers Brawl (an animated cartoon fighting game). Fifa10 was definately for me as soccer never fails to captivate me. Then there is the Zombies! - our favourite game since young! So, there is no hesitation in buying it! However, I was not convinced by the cartoon game, going by its childish appearence. My cousin insisted on buying it, basing on his friend's reccommendation. To my surprise it was the most expensive game amongst all our buy. "The more expensive, the higher the quality." Well, that is one gulliable belief I have. So, why not just give it a try? Then after we grabbed the games, we headed quickly for home. (or did we fly back?)

Next, we got down to playing the WII. We were so engrossed and captivated by the WII that I would now conclude that it is the best gaming gadget in the world! My favourite game was Fifa10, just as I thought. Frankly speaking, though I played Super Smash Brothers Brawl over and over again, I did not seem to like it. Though not one who will blow my own trumpet, it just went to show that I was surprisingly good at that game despite my reluctance in playing it initially.

It was boring playing the games repeatedly for more than a million times so we decided to get just one new inspiration. We went back to the same old shop but this time we got a brand new game, for a change. It is called the 'Naruto Shippuuden:Clash of the Ninja 3.' - a Japanese Manga fighting game. Also a reccommendation from my cousin's friend, I personally think it did stand out from the shelves because of its cool graphics. It is also quite a well-known game among my friends. This time I did not doubt it and also think that the cartoon is not as childish as that of Super Smash Brothers Brawl's. Here is a picture of the new game I took when I just grabbed it off the shelves.

I would rate this game six out of ten. It was an average game but still tolerable to play. There were appealing special effects and a large range of characters to choose from.

I enjoyed myself to the extreme and hope to play the WII with my cousin again when he next return. I am also thinking of getting one for myself ! In my opinion, the WII is only fun when there is more than one player. Actually, the more the better! Game enough to come play with me?

Cheers,

Joel

Music to my ears...

"We're not arrogant, we just believe we're the best band in the world."

This is one of my beloved quotes made by Noel Gallagher, a member from my favourite band named OASIS.

Oasis is an English rock band that was formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher (vocals and tambourine), Paul Arthurs (guitar), Paul McGuigan (bass guitar) and Tony McCarroll (drums, percussion), who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher (lead guitar and vocals).

A little more about them...

As of June 2009, Oasis had sold over 70 million records worldwide. They have had eight UK number-one singles, seven UK number-one albums, fifteen NME Awards, nine Q Awards, four MTV Europe Music Awards and five BRIT Awards, including one in 2007 for outstanding contribution to music.

In 1995, the band recorded the critically acclaimed '(What's the Story) Morning Glory?' with their new drummer Alan White' while the Gallagher brothers were featured regularly in tabloid newspapers for their sibling disputes and wild lifestyles. The band lost members Paul McGuigan and Paul Arthurs as they went on to record and release 'Standing on the Shoulder of Giants' in 2000 and were replaced by Gem Archer and Andy Bell who joined the group for the recording of 'Heathen Chemistry' in 2002.

The band found renewed success and popularity with their albums Don't Believe the Truth and Dig Out Your Soul and their supporting tours.

In August 2009, Noel Gallagher announced his departure from the band. Liam Gallagher initially stated that Oasis were "done", but later announced that the remaining members of the band would continue to record music, and did not rule out the possibility of retaining the Oasis name. As of December 2009, the new band's tentative name was Oasis 2.0.

I like the 'OASIS style!'

My friend introduced me to OASIS sometime back. I doubted the band initially because it was an old band and I was more into pop and rock music. After listening to a few of OASIS's songs however, my mindset about them changed. I was won over and you know what? I became their avid fan in no time.

But what's the draw? I think its in the lyrics of their songs. I love their hits like Songbird, Stand By Me, Live Forever, Sunday Morning Call, Wonderwall, Don't Go Away etc. while Songs like Whatever and All Around The World are extremely inspiring too.

Stop The Clocks is a sentimental yet meaningful one while Songbird is a cheerful serenade. Still Whatever is my favourite because it touches me and let you be as free as a bird after listening to it. In the nutshell, it says that one could be whatever he or she wants to be if only one could break through all the obstacles in the way. Failure may occur but if one persists, one would eventually reach one's dreams.

There are many more songs like this which have morals behind them and are worth listening to. This is also one of the many reasons why I love OASIS's creations so much.

OASIS is so easy on the ears. I take it with me everywhere I go - on the bus, at home, in the library, while doing homework...

Although OASIS has already split up and Noel has already left the group, it is still living in my heart and has my fullest support.

All The Way, Old boys,

Joel

The Rocker, My Cousin

You may be thinking why you should even want to know about my cousin; one whom you have not been acquainted with. Well, Let us look at it this way - Why not ask yourself another question? Why did I chose to blog and share about him of all persons? You would know the answer after reading this post.

Yes, he is one person who has impacted my life significantly...

My cousin is 15 years old, that is one year my senior. His name is Bryan and he loves playing the guitar and basketball. Wonder how he looks like? For a person his age, he is exceptionally tall and well-built. His height is 1.8 metres and he weighs a whopping 75 kilograms. Though we are cousins, we bear resemblance of each other except that he has a long and unkempt fringe, the kind that gives people the impression of a funky and cool guy. Indeed, he is a rocker, ready to rock out on his guitar anytime!

We grew up together under one roof until Bryan's parents moved out after they acquired an apartment of their own. As an only son, I do feel lonely at times and look up to him as my brother. During the school holidays I would also stay over at his place.

Those were the good old days we had until I turned eleven when my uncle was suddenly given an overseas assignment by his company and was required to move to Mumbai, India for a 4-year stint. His family was to follow suit as well.

When the news reached me, I was saddened and reluctant to part with my "brother". I knew I would be lonely and bored. However, after giving the matter much thought, I considered it a blessing in disguise because I could then concentrate fully on my PSLE, while he is away.

I remembered the time when my family bid them farewell at the departure hall of Changi Airport. Before we parted, we promised each other to strive for the best until we meet again. Indeed, I did well and went to the school of my choice. As for him, he managed a posting at an International Boarding School and made many friends from all other parts of the world!

Looking back now, 3 years has past by very quickly. In fact, we excelled in what we set out to do. He went on to become a great amateur musician of-sort in his search for his one true love while I invested in both my studies and trained hard for my passion in pursuit of my football dream...

In the blink of an eye, we are now left with one final year to go and he will be back in Singapore for good at the end of next year. To me, it is like journeying through a book. It gives me an overwhelming joy to know that we have grown from kids to teenagers, each having our own lifestyles and interest. Yet, though we may be miles apart, our bond stays forever and we will be there for each other no matter what happens.

Now all I want to do is to await Bryan's return and relish our times together again...

(By the way, I'm the younger of the two in the photos above. You can also see that Bryan is already a head taller than me then).

Not To Be Forgotten,
Joel

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!

My obsession with the Star Wars Saga started when I was about 9. My friend introduced me to this whole new world of adventures and actions. I was facinated with the plot which gave me insights into an unknown galaxy operated by technology. Travelling between planets, having robots to do housework and hi-tech communications and such are the order of the day.
I adore the many weird, individual creatures because they are unthinkable in our everyday context, yet they are cute and have personalities like us.

My favourite is Episode III and I will attempt to detail the plot in this blog for the benefit of those who have missed the actions:-

Anakin Skywalker is a respectable Jedi (a trained person from young who fights with a light saber) who fights for the justice of mankind. In this chapter however, he was influenced by the Sith Lord who instigated him to turn against his own master out of greed and jealousy. In the end, Anakin attempted to kill his own wife whom he thought has betrayed his love and trust in favour of his master, Obi-wan.

Anakin, under the evil influence of Sith Lord, turned blood-thirsty and revengeful, to the extent that he killed all the young Jedi . I think he did this becoz he did not want these young Jedi to grow up and turn against him, but little did he know that the one who is to turn against him was his own flesh and blood in the next generation.

Back to our last scene, Obi-wan managed to stop Anakin from killing his wife. The scene flashed into a duel between Anakin and his master, Obi-wan which climaxed at the fighting in a lava-laden, volcano setting. During the fight, Anakin showed his true colours and unfold the story which was actually a misunderstanding. In the end, Master Obi-wan slashed Anakin in his torso and the latter fell from the cliff. This tormenting scene was a very sad, painful and moving one when Master Obi-wan revealed his love for Anakin and told him how he has regarded him as a son all along though their relational ties were only that of a Master and Padawan (apprentice).

Watching this scene made me very emotional as I could relate the pain and unwillingness of Master Obi-wan when he has to hurt his one and only beloved apprentice, Anakin since I've followed the previous episodes I & II where Anakin was placed in the custody of Master Obi-wan since the day he was born. They bore the footprints of how Master Obi-wan taught Anakin and brought him up. Through the many battles and mayhems, it showed that Master Obi-wan and Anakin were very close as both fought the dark forces together to bring justice and goodwill to help and save the Republic.

Master Obi-wan did not ultimately kill Anakin but only took his light saber which in my opinion is to prevent him from killing others. The Sith Lord came upon the scene and saved Anakin from dying and totally changed Anakin into a new person and named him Darth Vader. Anakin was given a black, evil-looking, sinister suit and also a brand new light saber, which is red in colour, signifying him as a fighter for the dark side now.

In Chapter IV, Obi-wan returned and checked on Anakin's wife and found her pregnant with Anakin's child. He took her to safety and let her deliver her babies. They found that she gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, Luke and Liaya. After giving birth, she died. So Obi-wan took the responsibilities to bring Luke up. The irony is that they did not reveal that Darth Vader was his father but merely trained him to continue protecting the Republic.

Initially, the Republic was under the protection of the powerful clone army. However, when Darth Vader gained total control of the clone army, he took over the Republic. What was left on the good side was the Jedis themselves and not the clone army any more. Darth Vader became very powerful and use the clone soldiers to serve his own evil purposes. After the clone army have switched sides, what was left were the good Jedis who became rebels as they would not conform to the evil governance of Darth Vader. The rebels were under hot pursuit of the Darth Vader's clone armies.

Luke Skywalker eventually found out that Darth Vader was his biological father. He managed to obtain the truth and rise up against his father, killing him eventually. Wars and battles were fought at the closure of the fight between good and evil.

While watching the final battle between Darth Vader and Luke, I found myself nursing the same emotional wounds and sentiments as when I was watching Episode III whereby Darth Vader, actually Anakin himself, has fought against Obi-wan. To me, this is no mere coincidence as cruelly enough, history has repeated itself. In the end, Luke still managed to kill his evil father and ended the saga with the good triumping over the evil.

And my intepretation of the epic? Light shall always triump over darkness. "May the force be with you ..."

Food For Thought

Hey there again!!! Right here I am going share with you my love for SCALLOP CONGEE ...
My grandmother cooks very tasty and mouth-watering congee. The picture above is the one I had for dinner today. I feel congee is a healthy food, with high nutritional value and easily digestable. It can also fill your stomach as carbo from the rice grains is quite substantial. However, the best thing is still that congee is so tasty!!!

To let you into a secret, the SCALLOP CONGEE is a fusion-of-sorts between Teochew "muay" and the congee you usually get in the hawker centre.

As a sportsman, I eat them quite often to keep a healthy diet. The congee I often eat consist of vegetables, meat and my favourite scallop (could be fresh or dried ones) which gives it its sweetness. Sadly, the canteen in my school do not sell congee. I would appreciate if they take into consideration people like me who loves congee.

For those who are still not convinced that congee can be a delicious treat, I hope my post will entice you to at least try out the conventional congee.

From young, my grandmother has cultivated the interest and liking of congee in me by whipping up a good meal and ever since then, I would enjoy every bowl of congee she cooks.

Using this opportunity, I would like to thank my grandmother and let her know that i appreciate her very much.

Intro.

Hi there, my name is Joel. I have a family consisting of five members. I am currently 13 years old (secondary two) and studying in a premier school.
In my family, I live with my parents and grandparents and I am the only son. I have two very close cousins that would keep me company when i feel bored.
My CCA is soccer and i have training every week day except wednesday. My training is quite tough. In my opinion, people who are in my CCA must be good at juggling their time between studies and soccer.
My other hobbies could be going online on facebook or hanging out with my friends.
You must be thinking why you should read my blog. Now, let me tell you why I created this blog. It was for an English Project that my teacher assigned us and told us to write about a certain topic. As you can see, I chose food because I think that no one here would ever hate food as food is what keeps us alive. I hope you may enjoy my posts! :>