Five Years! and our Year in Review: 2014

2014 has been an overall quiet year for Suburban KID, largely due to the increased busyness of the entire team. Gregory, Matthew and yours truly have entered colleges/universities, while Siangling is due to join very soon. This simply meant a much busier year for all of us, myself especially (given that I've entered college from the start of this year), and even less time than before to squeeze out time for articles.

We've been so busy, in fact, that we even forgot this site's anniversary, which was yesterday! Then again, it hasn't been the first time, so admittedly we may just be bad at dates in general. At the very least, I am.

To be honest, I'm slightly surprised that SK is alive and well after 5 years in existence. Many commercial websites don't even last that long, but here we are still posting, albeit less frequently than last year. I do hope that we can keep it this way, if for nothing else, then at least for all of you who have been faithfully following this blog (and there's quite a number, if our stats indicate anything).

For a mini celebration, we'd like to continue doing our Year in Review as we have done last year, and bring you a selection of our best works of the year. There's a smaller pool to choose from this time round, but in my opinion, no where less great.

Out Cold

"...Thank you, and goodnight!"

I lowered the mike for the final time as the booming dance music crossfaded in, increasing in volume with an echoing bass. Waving to the audience, some of whom were already preparing to take their leave, I strode offstage towards our right, where the rest of the technical crew were gathered and waiting.

She was there too, and I saw her first. The salmon pink dress and flower headband probably made her even more prominent, but I knew I didn't need those to find her. As our gazes met, she gave me a quiet, tired smile. As she had one of the busiest offstage jobs of the night, I wasn't surprised; in fact, part of me was exhausted too.

Singularity

I look at my my old pair of boots sitting in its little corner. Oh what a wonderful pair of boots, even though I could never tell what color it was.

It’s beige in color.

Yeah, whatever. I used to be blue-yellow color blind, so I just assumed it was some muddy mix of a yellowish-orangey light tan color.

Used to be color blind?

You know what I mean. Anyway, back to my boots. I used to loathe them when I was younger, since I felt like I lost my ability to walk properly with them on, not to mention blisters as well. The fact that I was required to wear them for military-related activities made me hate them even more. That feeling of having stiff material wrapped around my feet is not one I relate to comfort.

But  when I grew older I got used to them and wore them around whenever it was cold out. And now, in the state that I am in, I never thought that I would actually miss the way the boots hugged my feet, holding them tight and never letting go. I have only begun to realize the reassurance they provided, doing their job to protect my feet.

So does he hate the boots or does he like them? Hmph. Humans. So full of contradictions.

If only I could wear my boots again.

Just so you can hate them again?

Yeah.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night - Interstellar Review

At 9:30pm, I stumbled out of the cinema, having concluded a 3-hour journey in Interstellar's universe. I felt dazed, awestruck, and quite stunned. This is quite normal for me if the movie was good, or at least sufficiently thought-provoking.

It was when I was sitting quietly at a bench at 11:30pm, still dazed, still awestruck, still stunned, and with the movie's soul-tingling soundtrack still ringing in my head, did I fully accept that I had witnessed something quite spectacular.

Fermata

1. Fermata: a pause of unspecified length on a note or rest.

I looked up at the twin towers, gleaming spectacularly against the night sky, the most symbolic sight of my home country. My legs dangled over a small artificial creek as I perched on the railings of a bridge, a futile attempt to distance myself from the throngs of people that filled the vicinity.

8:00pm.

Why Inception Is The Best Movie of All Time

"You're waiting for a train. A train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you, but you don't know for sure."

Looking back, I don't even remember what made me decide to watch Inception. Perhaps it was an online review, perhaps it was a friend's recommendation. What I do remember is finally having some time for myself one boring afternoon and the movie on my laptop (I never caught it while it was still in cinemas - one of my lifetime regrets). So I sat down and took a proverbial train ride, not knowing where it would take me.

That ride ended 2.5 hours later, and with it, my life had changed.

[SPOILERS AHEAD] [IT'S BEEN 4 FREAKING YEARS]

You and I

She was sitting across from me, talking on the phone. She leaned back and giggled uncontrollably. I like it when she does that. Thank you, whoever it is on the other end. Oh, how I love her laugh. Nothing but music to my ears.

“Think about the places we have seen together,”

I hear the familiar tune playing. Instinctively I brace myself.

“Back when it was just you and I.” I sing along with the song in my head, and breathed a gentle sigh.

Companion

Author's note: From now on I have decided to call my fiction series "Oneiric Cognition". It comes with the fancy picture (credits to Siangling) and, hopefully, a new entry every month.

Why do you still keep Jake anyway? It’s not like you need Artificial Intelligence to assist you when you already have Enhanced Cognition.

I pondered the question that my other half fired at me. Yes, it is a little redundant to have a separate AI when I already have one integrated within me. Even though the integrated AI is rather basic, when combined with human intellect, it easily surpasses the limits of both human and machine. 

But we’re talking about Jake here. Sure, you can categorize him as an AI, but he’s more than that. He’s a Companion™. 

What is a Companion™, you ask? Well, let me tell you a story. I hope you like stories.

Breakfast

He was already waiting for me when I descended the hard-light elevator. He somehow always manages to be present whenever he’s needed. If I didn’t know him any better I’d be creeped out by now.

“Good morning, Gio.” he greeted.

“Morning.” I replied.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Not really. But it’s amazing how simulated dreams feel so real.”

“Technology that is indistinguishable from magic, you know that old saying?” he asked cheerfully.

“Yeah. Can’t believe we've gotten this far.”

“So what do you want for breakfast? Shall I warm up the food printer? Or do you just wanna pop one of those food pills?”

I stood silent for a while, pondering my options.

“No Jake, I, uh... I want to cook.”

“You want to cook?” Jake asked, surprised.

“Yes, Jake. Does the induction stove still work?”

“Yes, it does. I’ll start it up now. Do you want me to search for recipes?”

“No need. I remember my mum’s recipes just fine, thanks.”

Jake hesitated for a while. "Why?" He asked finally.

"I just want to feel human, Jake. To savour the taste of the Old Centuries...and prepare a surprise for her."

He fell silent and left me alone to my cooking.

Sweet Dreams

“You look absolutely dashing, sir.”

“My charming French acquaintance brings me nothing but the sharpest suits, dear Jake. And please, stop calling me sir. You’re my wingman, not my servant.” I quipped. “You look handsome yourself.” I said with a grin.

“I feel all wrapped up and uncomfortable.” replied Jake.

“Oh you’re just not used to wearing suits. You’ll get the hang of it. So much classier than jeans and a tee.” I glanced at my watch. 9.30 p.m. “We’d best be off now. Don’t wanna be late!”

“Wait,” said Jake, “Who is it this time?”

“Number 10. She’s a tough one to catch!”

Okay? More Than Okay: The Fault in Our Stars Review

Big, neon-lit disclaimer upfront: I have not read the book.

This is one of my "going in blind" situations where I know nothing about the movie and have not attempted to do any sort of research beforehand. Therefore, as is the case with many other book-to-movie adaptations, my opinions may not reflect that of someone going in the cinema with a certain set of expectations.

Let's face it, though: by reading a book, any book, you've pretty much guaranteed your disappointment for its movie counterpart anyway. So there is that.

With that out of the way, on to the blockbuster that's been hyped up for months now.

And for those of you who follow me, it's good to be writing again.

Picture

I trod down the massive hall, my heart racing.

The atmosphere was uncanny that day: a strangely harmonious concoction of chitter-chatter, occasional sobs and group selfies made the occasion undeniably melancholic. It was our graduation day.

Scanning the crowd, I caught myself stealing a quick glance at her. She was her usual self, smiling effortlessly as her cheerful demeanour resonated with her peers while they engaged in high spirited chitter chatter.

All of a sudden, as if she noticed, she glanced in my direction.

A Poem For My Brother

O how exciting it is to be
A child in the world of today!
A reality filled with stuff of dreams
The fruit of struggles, the base for more.

Look at yer phones and fancy tablets
Fresh out of Star Trek or Matrix lore
We 90s kids can only reminisce
The VCR-and-pencil tricks of yore.

Look at yer high speed trains and many planes
People crossing borders as they please
Never thought our childhood holiday dreams
Would be nothing to our little kids.

Look at yer global metropolises
A cross-mix of cultures and different things
Where many colours walk a single street
And a single suit clothe many skins.

Look, though, at yer pointless fights and wars
Not all is perfect as you can tell
But this will be what your gen will bear
March on bravely and all will be well.

O how exciting it is to be
A child in the world of today!
It's yours for the taking, yours to keep
What you want it to be, is now your say.

What's Better Than One Bullseye?

February 26th, 2014. I woke up rather groggy that morning. It might be because everyone else was already awake. Normally, I would be the first one to rise, and any attempt to wake my dorm mates up would be in vain. Why, of all the 72 days being stuck in this hell-hole, did they choose this particular day to be so eager to wake up? Simple - on this glorious day, we get to fire a Colt M16A1 rifle.

Casanova

It was the 22nd of February. The seven of us were just chilling about outside the church, waiting for the Mass to start. When it was almost time, she asked: "Shall we go in now?"

No one responded. They were too busy complaining about camp. I stood forward, offered her my elbow and said, "Come along now, let's go in first."

Note to Readers #7

A couple of weeks ago, we allowed our previous url's (www.suburbankid.tk) redirection to our site to lapse. I want to say that we will not be relinking the redirect and from now on only suburban-kid.com will lead to this site.

This is mainly because the redirection itself wasn't so much a normal, 'official' redirect that you can usually do on your domain registrar (Goddady, Namecheap etc). The 'free' nature of the .tk domain, which made it attractive to us - or rather, me, as the team hadn't been formed yet - in the past, also came with severe limitations, one of them being that it was almost impossible to make a redirect when we decided to get a .com domain.

Well, the keyword is 'almost'; through a lot of googling and a dose of ingenuity, we managed to pull it off by attaching an empty webhost to the domain, and using that webhost to force the redirect. If it sounds like I'm speaking in Greek here, you can ignore all of that and simply know that we succeeded. But it was, quite plainly, a hack, and it was hard to maintain - the webhost itself required constant updating by logging into its dashboard, or it would expire, cutting off the redirect. Which kept happening, only I renewed it every time before the last.

Then there's the fact that .tk domains are just bad for search engine optimisation (SEO), mainly due to the fact that a lot of scam sites use them. That was why before today, you'd never be able to find Suburban KID on a Google results page, whereas now we're close to the top. Cutting off all links to that domain will hopefully provide us with an even cleaner slate to work with.

We'll consider setting up a small page at our old domain to remind users who still haven't realised that we're on suburban-kid.com now (seriously?), but the fact that our readership has remained steady even after the expiry of the redirect seems to indicate that it isn't much of an issue. Just thought we should let everyone know what's going on anyway, lest you're curious about the 404 page you'll get visiting our old domain. Have a great weekend!

The Sun Sets: How Jit Sin's Book Throwing Marks the End of an Era

Not too many hours ago, a hot topic began circulating on social media regarding a disciplinary case of a top-ranked school in Malaysia. Apparently, the school authorities had decided to take action against students that left their books in desks after the end of class due to the heavy timetable, which was against school regulations. This in itself came as no surprise; what was far more shocking was the way they decided to go about it - the books were collected and thrown into a heap in front of the school. Students were given an ultimatum: collect the books and receive 6 demerit points (nearly one-third required for expulsion) or not collect them and risk getting caught through the names on the books, which would then result in double the demerit points. To make the situation even more humiliating for the students, the teachers reportedly took the opportunity to take photos of the students while verbally insulting them.

The school in question is Jit Sin High School (JSHS), Bukit Mertajam, also known as SKK Jit Sin. My alma mater. In fact, the alma mater of the entire Suburban KID team. As such, though this post is written in my own personal capacity, it's needless to say that we're all concerned about it. While our school has shown itself to be capable of making bone-headed decisions at times, never did we think that such a proud and prestigious institution would resort to such barbaric methods of 'educating' students, methods which I suspect are more effective in sending the wrong message more than any sort of discipline.

However, this is but one new milestone in the long decline in JSHS, and the vernacular Chinese education system in Malaysia as a whole. Despite its long history, it now suffers the threat of becoming one of the most outdated educational systems in the region, and maybe even the world. This opinion piece is intended to show, through my own eyes as a student that has gone through the grinder, why this is the case.

Stepping Out

On the Malaysian Airlines flight from Ho Chi Minh to Kuala Lumpur, the passenger beside me sported thick rimmed glasses along with a striped t-shirt and beige khaki shorts. Although I had only a quick glance, it was evident the Caucasian man was already past his working years.

A few minutes after boarding had completed, the already familiar yet compulsory safety briefing video interrupted the movie that I was fully engrossed in. Slightly dismayed, I moaned silently.

Eye Contact

"Where are you?"

"I just got out of the workshop," her silvery voice echoed through the phone. "Are you outside?"

"No, I'm on the opposite end of the hallway, by the exhibitions."

"Okay, I'm on my way."

I watched the crowd of students walk past, some clueless, others curious. My eyes lit up as I caught sight of a cute girl of small stature, dressed in a salmon-coloured blouse and dark leggings.

I sneaked up to her. "Hello."

"Oh hey, I didn't see you there."