Had a wedding rehearsal last week for an upcoming rehearsal this coming Saturday, but more interestingly, this week I reestablished contact with a friend I've not met in a while. Nice. Very nice! So maybe, that door is opening.
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Thursday Thoughts: 9 June 2011
It has been a very eventful week, and there's still more to come. Looking back, I find it hard to accept that it has been 6 years since the big drama of 2005. That's when things really took a nosedive for me, but well, 6 years on, I think the Lord is closing that door and opening up a new one for me.
Monday, June 06, 2011
Monday Musings: 6 June 2011
The magic of Magic
Well, in the last 10 years I've had varied hobbies. In NUS, music was a big part of that life, but yesterday at a wedding rehearsal, I realized just how rusty and neglected my musical skill has been. As a teacher, I returned to my roots, as a gamer, not much of a computer gamer but games that really make you think too much. It started when I saw my colleagues playing Saboteur, and I decided to get a set myself. I ended up buying Citadels at the same time.
Rest is history, in the past 4 years I've collected quite an interesting array of games, Great Wall of China, Starcraft the Boardgame, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Navegador and of course the improved versions of some Hasbro games like Monopoly Deal, Cluedo Suspect, Monopoly Junior and Risk. However, at the end of the day, you have to realise that most of the games above all have some mechanic taken from what I think is one of the best games of all times, Magic, The Gathering.
I've already talked about that game once, somewhere in my archives and why I really enjoyed playing that game when I was still a secondary school student and how it shaped what I am doing today.
So, in recent times I have spent some time getting back up to speed with what has been happening in the MtG world, and I have to say the environment has completely changed. Gone are the controversial themes that made it a target for conservative groups; in are ideas that the game can be used for educational purposes. In the recent expansion block, the game felt more science fiction than fantasy, with the bad guys resembling the Zerg of Starcraft rather than the dragons of the Old Mountain.
Indeed, the whole demograph of the players has changed, no more school kids dominating the scene, but serious post-NS professional players who now have some spending power. The game itself still has it's old charm, and the game play has become a highly evolved exercise in mathematical precision, and that's what I've always liked about it.
And it's good to see that the educational value in the game has been seen by Hasbro who has incorporated it's mechanics into more mainstream games like Monopoly Deal and Cluedo Suspect, I actually encourage people to play these games to exercise their brains a little more, maybe that is what is missing in today's mathematics education spectrum, the outlet to play real games. Maybe that's why NS guys play the game a lot more, an opportunity to use their brains!
Well, it's been ten years since I left the game, it's good in some way to be back. But no, my main gripe with the game still exists and in fact is now worse, that of cost. It is a rich man's game and there is no way on earth I can afford playing that game again, except in a limited fashion. So well, it's been fun dabbling back into the old the past few weeks, but no, won't be playing it in a serious manner anytime.
Now that I'm going back to NUS, I will have to focus back on my studies a lot more. Who knows, maybe I will do a PhD in Mathematics Education and focus on games; hopefully something I can contribute to the way mathematics is taught here in Singapore.
Well, in the last 10 years I've had varied hobbies. In NUS, music was a big part of that life, but yesterday at a wedding rehearsal, I realized just how rusty and neglected my musical skill has been. As a teacher, I returned to my roots, as a gamer, not much of a computer gamer but games that really make you think too much. It started when I saw my colleagues playing Saboteur, and I decided to get a set myself. I ended up buying Citadels at the same time.
Rest is history, in the past 4 years I've collected quite an interesting array of games, Great Wall of China, Starcraft the Boardgame, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Navegador and of course the improved versions of some Hasbro games like Monopoly Deal, Cluedo Suspect, Monopoly Junior and Risk. However, at the end of the day, you have to realise that most of the games above all have some mechanic taken from what I think is one of the best games of all times, Magic, The Gathering.
I've already talked about that game once, somewhere in my archives and why I really enjoyed playing that game when I was still a secondary school student and how it shaped what I am doing today.
So, in recent times I have spent some time getting back up to speed with what has been happening in the MtG world, and I have to say the environment has completely changed. Gone are the controversial themes that made it a target for conservative groups; in are ideas that the game can be used for educational purposes. In the recent expansion block, the game felt more science fiction than fantasy, with the bad guys resembling the Zerg of Starcraft rather than the dragons of the Old Mountain.
Indeed, the whole demograph of the players has changed, no more school kids dominating the scene, but serious post-NS professional players who now have some spending power. The game itself still has it's old charm, and the game play has become a highly evolved exercise in mathematical precision, and that's what I've always liked about it.
And it's good to see that the educational value in the game has been seen by Hasbro who has incorporated it's mechanics into more mainstream games like Monopoly Deal and Cluedo Suspect, I actually encourage people to play these games to exercise their brains a little more, maybe that is what is missing in today's mathematics education spectrum, the outlet to play real games. Maybe that's why NS guys play the game a lot more, an opportunity to use their brains!
Well, it's been ten years since I left the game, it's good in some way to be back. But no, my main gripe with the game still exists and in fact is now worse, that of cost. It is a rich man's game and there is no way on earth I can afford playing that game again, except in a limited fashion. So well, it's been fun dabbling back into the old the past few weeks, but no, won't be playing it in a serious manner anytime.
Now that I'm going back to NUS, I will have to focus back on my studies a lot more. Who knows, maybe I will do a PhD in Mathematics Education and focus on games; hopefully something I can contribute to the way mathematics is taught here in Singapore.
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Thursday Thoughts: 2 June 2010
As I am writing this, I am also finishing up my sermon for the week. So I thought I give anyone who is reading this a small preview.
At FIFA 2010 Camp, I was supposed to speak on "Roots". What that was about, only the camp planning team knew. As it happened, I didn't conduct that workshop as there wasn't enough time. Well, the notes and preparation work was all done and good to go what was missing was an occasion to conduct the workshop.
In March this year, I was rostered to speak at YMPACT service this coming Sunday and was given a free topic, basically I could speak on anything I wanted. Since I had all my notes done up I decided that it was time to speak about this but redo it in a way that is more appropriate for the current time frame.
So, my topic this Sunday will be on the "Voyage of the Gospel", and this is in tandem with PMC's Year of Missions. Just to let everyone know that we are in Pasir Ris today as a result of missions work in the years gone by.
Here's a video that I will be showing at the start to get everyone thinking.
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