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“The Easter Bunny IS real!
VOLUME V - EDITION V - #31
THE VICTORIAN
VICTORIA SHANGHAI ACADEMY // SPRING 2016 // APRIL EDITION
BOOK WEEK IS COMING! LUNAR ECLIPSE?! EGGS?! EGGS?! Take a peek into the science of Lunar Eclipses. - Page 2
How well do you know your breakfast? - Page 2
Self-proclaimed book nerd?! Come test your skills. - Page 13
:
S
T
N
K
E
E
V
E
E
W
L
I
K
R
O
O
AP
B
&
R
E
T
EAS
THE BEST
SHAKESPEAREAN
INSULTS OF ALL TIME
Because who doesn’t think of immediately relating Shakespeare to English Literature?
By Keisha Ding, Writer
9. "Milksops!" (Much Ado
About Nothing)
10. "Thy tongue
outvenoms all the worms
of the Nile." (Cymbeline)
8. "More of your conversation would
infect my brain.” (Coriolanus)
3. Your brain is as dry as
the remainder biscuit after
voyage." (As You Like It)
4. "Away, you mouldy
rogue, away!" (Henry IV
Part 1)
5. "Pray you stand further
from me." (Antony and
Cleopatra)
6. "You, minion, are too saucy.”
(The Two Gentleman of Verna)
7. "There's no more faith
in thee than in a stewed
prune."(Henry IV Part 1)
2. "Thy sin's not accidental
but a trade." (Measure for
Measure)
1. "Methink'st thou art a
general offence." (All's
Well That Ends Well)
BOOK WEEK!
By Chun Fai, Writer
As we approach to the annual Book Week of 2016, some students like me
were bored because of the same and “old school” up coming activities of what
we could do in book week. But luckily for this year, me and some other
students of The Vic have created suggestions for our friendly English
Department about “fun” activities we could add into this year’s book week. So
here is a sneak peek of our 2 suggestions:
Are you an Artistic student? Do you like to sketching or drawing? Or maybe you’d like
to show off your skills drawing “fan-art”? In our opinion, Character sketching allows you to
submit your personal fan art of your favorite character from your favorite book and share it to
your teachers and friends.
In addition, we will also gather all your fan-art(s) and select the best of the best sketches of
each character to present around the school, the winner will also receive a prize from the
teachers.
Getting bored reading your favourite book? Or want to share your interest to another student in
an “Opposite” way? Our second suggestion is the Story Twister; here you can rewrite your
favourite book into a different genre. For example changing The Woman In Black into a
Comedy, or even Harry Potter into a Horror story, and the possibilities are endless.
We hope you will enjoy all this suggestions, and if you have any personal ‘oustanding’ opinions
wanted to include into next year’s book week, you can send an E-Mail to the English
department or any Vic members next year.
V
The chipping of a cheshire cat’s smile.
By Edward Ye, Writer
• WHAT_IS A LUNAR ECLIPSE?
A Lunar eclipse is a phenomenon that a moon can get a deep red glow and is
sometimes called a blood moon. When the moon does not have its own light, its
surface reflects the Sun’s rays. facebook.com/thevicvsa
IN THIS APRIL
EDITION OF
Time to recount on all those book characters we dressed up as.
THE MOON’S
GOBBLED UP?!
The Vic
2-5
NEWS
6-9
A&E
10-11
VIC PERSPECTIVES
12-13
EDITORIAL
14-15
ARDICITY
16-17
SPORTS
18
GAMING
19
FUN & GAMES
ONLINE
TELL ME A STORY
ONLINE
BvS MOVIE RANT
ONLINE
VIC COMICS
The earth’s 3 shadows are called:
Penumbra - the outer part.
Umbra - darker, central part.
Antumbra - a partly shaded area beyond the umbra.
• WHY DO LUNAR ECLIPSES HAPPEN?
During the lunar eclipse, the sun, moon and Earth aligns a straight line, during the
scene, the moon blocks the sunlight from shining the Earth, which caused the lunar
eclipse. The scientific term is called the sygyzy, which comes from the Greek word of
being paired together.
• STAGES OF LUNAR ECLIPSE:
Penumbral eclipse begins: This begins when the penumbral part of Earth's shadow
starts moving over the Moon. This phase is not easily seen by the naked eye.
Partial eclipse begins: The Earth's umbra starts covering the Moon, making the
eclipse more visible.
Total eclipse begins: Earth's umbra completely covers the Moon and the Moon is red,
brown or yellow in colour.
Maximum eclipse: This is the middle of the total eclipse.
Total eclipse ends: At this stage, the Earth's umbra starts moving away from the
Moon's surface.
Partial eclipse ends: The Earth's umbra completely leaves the Moon's surface.
Penumbral eclipse ends: At this point the eclipse ends and the Earth's shadow
completely moves away from the Moon.
(Continued on the Page 3)
NEWS - 2
PLEASE CONSIDER THE ENVIRONMENT & RECYCLE THIS PAPER
THE VIC - APRIL - 2016
MY GRANDFATHER,
THE HK BUS
DRIVER
The wheels on the bus go round & round.
by Jade Fok,
Contributor
www.vsa.edu.hk/en/The_Victorian.aspx
as the technology takes over our minds and actions, “Most
people would just walk past the drivers without looking up, in
the best case scenarios, younger and polite passengers might
look up and smile towards the bus driver. However most of the
times, the closest wording to being grateful of the bus driver is
‘Thankyou’ when the passengers suddenly recalls that he or
she will need to get off the bus and shouts out to the bus driver
‘司機有落’ (or ‘I would like to get off’ in english” Dickson states.
No matter is it just a thank you note or just a smile, I think that
we as passengers should still give the respect bus drivers need,
don’t you think so?
Buses, Why not?
Buses aren’t a transport that most notice in their daily lives,
though there can be a few bus lovers, you can admit that it isn’t
common. Operating as one of the largest bus companies in
Southeast Asia, the KMB carries approx. 2.61 million
passengers per day, while some other prefer the choice of
driving to work or taking a taxi, yet thousands and millions of
Hong Kong citizens still rely on the near-40 year old transport.
My g randfather,
Dickson Tam
(LEFT), a bus
driver ever since
1998, has seen the
ch a n ge s i n H o n g
Kong for almost two
decades. When he
w a s j u s t a fi r s t
started working, the
bus companies had
just introduced the
buses with air
conditioning, but
many of the buses
that he would drive
still had no air
conditioning, and, I
quote, “sometimes in
t h e s u m m e r, i t
would get very hot
and there would
often be passengers
coming on the bus
with a hand fan.”
The Vic: The What do you think about the job of a bus driver?
“In my perspective, I think that being a bus driver not only can
benefit the community, but also people in need” During rain
storms and typhoons, buses stay operational for 2 extra hours
after the signal was sent, meaning that as Dickson said “You get
to help the people who are stuck in the rain to return home
safely before the storm gets any worse”
The Vic: In your perspective, what is the overall change in
Hong Kong? Have the passengers changed over the years? How
has the passengers of the bus changed?
“Yes it has changed over the years of his bus driving.” Dickson
states that when compared to ten years ago, there is certainly a
larger ratio complaints to the bus companies. “More people
have demanded a better service, and they all seem to think that
because they paid for the journey, the bus service has to be
perfect.”
It is known to most people that passengers get on the bus by the
front entrance, and get off at the back exit, and in the newer
buses in the recent years, the door mechanism which allows the
passengers to get on opens in an inward direction, on the
contrary, the door mechanism which allows the passengers to
exit opens in an outward direction, both avoid hitting
passengers while the door is opening.
However in some extreme cases, Dickson has experienced
where some passengers might try to get off at the front
entrance since they sat nearer to the front entrance, some have
demand the bus to stop even though the stop light was not lit,
and some—who are not affected by disabilities— wait until the
bus has fully stopped before packing their belongings and
leaving the bus.
Some have also demanded that the bus driver stop at each
station no matter if the stop had been lit. This causes the bus to
progress slower in between stations, resulting in complaints
made by the passengers asking why even though there is only
one person getting off, the bus still stays at the station for a
long time.
What most people neglect is that the buses aren’t the MTR,
especially, “When the door closes on the MTR, they usually still
give passengers enough time to make a last minute rush to
enter the bus, but on the contrary, a bus doesn’t allow this,
when passengers are on the bus, they would just naturally
expect what they would if they were on an MTR train.”
This is one of the many things that my grandfather has noticed
in the recent years. “Well, the attitude of people has certainly
changed over the years, and also the actions they take have
also changed” In the past, passengers would greet the bus
driver, and would say ‘Good Morning’ or ‘hello’, but nowadays,
Last Lunar Eclipse:
Next Lunar Eclipse:
Date
Mode
Date
Mode
25-5-2013
Ascending
11-2-2017
Ascending
28-11-2012
Descending
11-2-2017
Descending
Incans:
The Vic: Have the streets of Hong Kong changed?
It is said that Hong Kong is a fast paced city
with concrete mountains filling up the
stunning skyline. By the end of June 2015,
the government predicted that everyday,
there are about 12.5 million passengers
journeys within Hong Kong I thought,
what better way to see the changes in
Hong Kong than through the eyes of a man
who drove a bus in the streets of this
populated city for seventeen years?
(Continued from page 2)
The streets of Hong Kong were never as wide as they are now,
they used to be narrow and thin. The roads fifteen years ago
were not used for large and heavy cargo, the streets of Hong
Kong then were more narrow and thin.
The Vic: How has the technology of Hong Kong changed? How
has the traffic of Hong Kong changed?
“Since the horsepower of cars has became stronger, the speed of
which the cars are traveling at has also become faster.” And
naturally, since the horse power is stronger, vehicles like buses
appear to be much slower, more and more cars will try to
change lanes to pass the bus, resulting in a higher chance of car
accidents.” Even though buses are more of a slow moving
vehicles, they have also been in car accidents due to their speed
and weight. Earlier last year, a double decker KMB bus topples
over due to a quick crash of a delivery bus into the KMB bus’
side, and toppled over since it lost control of the weight
distribution of the bus. Luckily, no one was hurt since the bus
had only the bus driver himself, and he had luckily escaped
after the crash.
A History of Buses in Hong Kong:
Long before my grandfather started driving the bus, the two
buses companies were still separate-- CityBus and NWFB were
not yet to be bought by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited and
NWS Holdings Limited. CityBus on one hand, started to operate
in 1979 with only one double decker bus, providing a shuttle
bus service to a group of employees working in a Hong Kong
dockyard. While it was a success, to extend their business,
Citybus started their first residential bus route. Afterwards, it
was all about increasing in routes and size. By 1995, the
company had over 40 routes and expanded their fleet to 500
buses. As for NWFB, which was quite similar to CityBus, had
octopus cards installed to all of its buses by 2001, and in 2002,
the company had upgraded its buses to a fully operational air
conditioned fleet. The two companies united in 2004, by joining
the Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited and NWS Holdings
Limited. Bus drivers will also need to undergo tremendous
amount of training, making sure that everyday we as
passengers would be able to reach the destination perfectly.
Similarly to the Mayans, the Incans believed that lunar
eclipses occurred when a jaguar would eat the moon,
which is why a blood moon looks red. The Incans totally
believed that the Earth turned red because of the Jaguar
has ate the Earth, creating it to have a red moon.
Mesopotamians:
The ancient Mesopotamians believed that a lunar eclipse
was when the moon was being attacked by seven demons.
This attack was more than just one on the moon, however,
for the Mesopotamians linked what happened in the sky
with what happened on the land, and because the king of
Mesopotamia represented the land, the seven demons
were thought to be also attacking the king.
In order to prevent this attack on the king, the
Mesopotamians made someone pretend to be the king so
they would be attacked instead of the true king. After the
lunar eclipse was over, the substitute king was made to
disappear (possibly by poisoning).
Chinese:
In some Chinese cultures, people would ring bells to
prevent a dragon or other wild animals from biting the
moon. In the nineteenth century, during a lunar eclipse,
the Chinese navy fired its artillery because of this
belief.During the Zhou Dynasty in the Book of Songs, the
sight of a red moon engulfed in darkness was believed to
foreshadow famine or disease.
Here is an image of how the lunar eclipse works:
Familiar faces on the bus
In the bus driving industry, when you’re working with the same
route every day, it's most likely that you’re going to come
across some familiar faces, and these can be young or old
passengers each with a different job, each with a different
background, and each with a different place in the society.
“Before I worked in the Kowloon side, I was working in a route
that travels up a mountain and back down, and most of the
time, I saw elderly who are either going to get their groceries or
the ones who are going out buy something from the wet market.
And what’s interesting is that you get to see the same person
over the course of an hour, and you’re most likely going to get
familiar with the elderly who live close by.”
Some myths from different areas on Earth has
some stories about lunar eclipses. For example:
Some passengers break rules
to give red packets
It’s a tradition in Chinese new year that you give out red
packets, but according to bus driving rules, the bus drivers
aren’t allowed to receive red packets and it’s best if they
don’t ,“Some elderly would give out fruits or red packets to the
bus drivers. Usually, they would leave the fruit on the
dashboard when we’re distracted and walk away quickly so that
you don’t have time to stop them.”
A Comedy play for
Book Week
Octopus cards have also been a great role in changing the bus
industry. After being launched in 1997, the octopus card have
been a great deal of help to the bus company. “Most people in
the past days would only start pulling out their wallets to get
coins if they were standing right in front of the payment box,
and with some luck, passengers might even take out their
wallets and the coins before going on to the bus. Some might
also ask how much is the bus fare. But now, octopus cards have
increased the flow of people getting on to the bus, resulting in
less time wasted on passengers paying and getting on the bus.”
If you are like me, and and you often come across buses, you’ll
know most bus drivers won’t enjoy a conversation with the
passengers when they are trying to focus and drive. But, that
doesn’t mean that passengers haven’t said peculiar things to
the bus drivers. Some have asked the bus drivers are they
going to this specific destination, which are common questions
in Hong Kong, and in usual sense, the passenger would get on if
the driver answered yes to the destination. But in some cases
there are passengers that refuse to get on the bus even after
they answered yes and insisted that they don’t want a bus that
goes to that destination.
In this article we as readers and passengers have traveled a
long journey, discovering the secrets and experiences in bus
driving, and I would like to leave a simple note: From the
history of buses to the changes in Hong Kong, bus drivers might
seem insignificant, but the next time you take the public bus,
just imagine all the things that they have been through: the
training, the familiar faces fading away day by day, they are all
parts of the history of Hong Kong. There will always be another
layer to the simplest things.
V
Type to enter text
WILL POWER
Thursday, 21st April 2016
5th Floor Hall
NEWS - 3
EGGS, RE-BIRTH,
& CHOCOLATE!
By Chloe Tan, Contributor
Easter.
What do you associate the word Easter
with? Perhaps the yummy gooeyness of the
chocolate easter eggs or are you merely just
looking forward to the week long holiday from
school? But have you really thought about the
true meaning behind this special celebration?
Most people won’t really care what the holiday
is but personally, I believe people should
understand the past happenings and the reason
behind this celebration.
Many people celebrate easter with joy. Once a year, Christians
celebrate this important holiday by remembering the story of
Jesus Christ and the resurrection of Christ three days after his
death. They attend Easter church services where they revise the
Easter story from the bible and celebrate day where Jesus
willingly gave up his life.
Others think that this is a great
opportunity to finally spend
some quality time with their
family and friends. This is the
time where we all cook a
delicious meal to enjoy under
the sun while children mainly
celebrate with the ionic part of
easter.
How did the
re-brith of Christ
lead to bunnies?
The easter egg hunt. Youngsters may enjoy decorating it the
easter eggs which are then often used in a pleasurable
scavengers where all engage as a team and attempt to find all the
hidden easter eggs. It is also a good surprise to place something
within the easter egg and whoever finds the egg would either be
pranked or may receive a wonderful gift.
Now moving on from the serious reflecting, let me tell you more
about the interesting facts regarding easter. Did you know that
the tallest chocolate Easter egg ever made was constructed in
Italy in 2011. It was more than 10 metres high in height and
weighed 7,200 kg. In fact, it was even taller than a giraffe and
heavier than an elephant.
The special easter flower is the
white lily with is the symbol of
resurrection. Did you ever wonder
where the name Easter came
from? Well, I sure didn’t know
until now. The name Easter
originates from Easter, the Anglo
Saxon goddess who symbolise the
hare and egg.
During the old days, pretzels were
actually associated with easter because the twists in the middle
of the pretzel were to thought to resemble people’s arms crossing
in prayer.Americans consume over 16 million jellybeans during
easter, which is enough to circle around the globe three times.
Now may I ask you, how do you eat chocolate bunnies? Research
shows that 76% of people actually eat the ears on the chocolate
bunnies first.
On the whole, enjoy this easter holiday joyously with you family
and friends, spend some time with your family and friends and
leave all those worries under your desk, you can deal with them
another time. Most importantly, take some time in reflecting
what easter really means to you and celebrate from the bottom of
your heart.
DON’T
IGNORE
THE CHILL,
IT’S REAL
By Ashley Kot,
Managing Editor
Climate change is real, and it’s happening to us right
now.
Coldest Weather Yet
As the first breeze of spring blows upon us, many are
left to wonder: Why was it so cold this year? Those who
grew up here or have lived here for a long time would
understand this concern; Hong Kong’s only ever been
hot or cold, never freezing, yet this year we’re met with
iced peaks on the highest peaks in Hong Kong and the
coldest temperature ever recorded in Hong Kong:
−5.7 °C.
Some may call it a hoax, but
none the less the affect that
Global Warming is having on us
is visible everywhere.
California’s extreme droughts,
the fastest rise in CO2 levels
that humankind has ever
witnessed and recorded,
Tornado clusters becoming
more and more of a common
weather and downpours
everywhere.
features a villain that wishes to commit a mass
homicide to clean humans off the face of the earth.
Hunger Games, despite it’s main focus on the old latin
saying ‘Panem et Circenses’ (Bread and Circus), also
hints at a world after Climate Change has finally taken
over us.
The rise in sea levels submerges a large number of
states in America and the cruel and inhuman society as
we see it within the book was sketched from such a
world, the world where humans kill each other for
entertainment and to keep order.
It’s affecting the way the world moves.
Yet sea levels may not be what would kill us in the end;
the spin of the earth depicts when we’re facing the sun,
and Global Warming’s affecting that too. The cycle isn’t
going away, but the melting of the ice due to Global
Warming in the South and North poles could be
accounted for over 66% of the change in the shift of the
Earth’s spin axis.
Taken from a official report on this incident : ”It’s a
huge, mind boggling process on the global scale, but
imagine it like a top. Spinning a top with a bunch of
pennies on it will cause wobble and drift in a certain
pattern. If you rearrange the pennies, the wobble and
drift will be slightly different.
That’s essentially what climate change is doing, except
instead of pennies, it’s ice and
instead of a top, it’s the planet.
Suffice to say, the stakes are a
little higher.” The shifting of
these poles would highly damage
GPS calculations and satellite
communications, both of which
can be said to be used by almost
ever yone within developed
countries.
Education is not enough, we
need action
We’re taught from a young age
that Climate Change, Global
Warming can be prevented if
only we’re all to live a little
greener.
War would become
inevitable
Hong Kong’s always been one of
the safest cities to live on earth,
and yet that will not stop the sea
levels from rising nor the wars
from starting. During the years
of 1500 to 1850, mass amounts
of droughts within Europe also
brought with it war, we know
that period as The mini Ice Age.
Despite the casual and comedic
cartoons that we’ve watched
based off of it, scientist deduce
that just as the cooling of the
earth caused mass amounts of
war; so will Global warming.
Yet scientists show that some of
the damage we’re causing can
never be mended, droughts
caused by climate change are
changing rainforests and it’s
predicted that they will store
less and less carbon as the
climate continues to change.
No more excuses,
no more warnings
There are so much more that we
don’t know and can’t know, yet
one thing is for sure. We can no
longer hide our heads
underneath sandpits and use
excuses such as ‘mass
unemployment’ to not push
forward renewable energy.
Even if we were to have faith in
our own species ability to not
start wars at the time of our
utmost desperate need to band
together, the rising sea levels
are estimated to affect over 13
million people in the United
States.
It’s in our movies and books
The warnings are also weaved
into our entertainment—
Kingsmen:The Secret Service,
facebook.com/thevicvsa
(ABOVE) Vic Art Editor Y10 Joyce Lam’s
WHARF Hong Kong Secondary Art
Competition “Selected Entry” on the theme of
climate change.
We are sure to face issues during
our path to try and find a way to
co-exist with our planet, but
pushing it back and calling it
hoax is asking for it.
V
V
DESCRIBE YOUR FAVOURITE STORY OR BOOK
IN A VERY TWISTED WAY *Or perhaps, there’s no need to be twisted at all.
By Sharon Lee,
Editor
Everybody
has their favourite book or movie that they will watch over and over again without feeling the slightest twinge of
boredom. But when you take the movie and twist in such a way that most of people couldn’t guess that it was the book or movie
itself, you get some amusing results. I conducted a quiz to find out about people’s favourite book or movie in one sentence in a
twisted way. The below are some of my favourite.
Game of Thrones:
People fight for the throne left vacant after previous king died as the kingdom crumbles, meanwhile, zombies inflict land while
people are left vulnerable in the crossfire in the way for the throne and a group of men in black and left trying to fight off zombies. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone:
A boy is retrieved by a part giant to go to a school of wizardry and embarks on a journey
with a ginger and a know it all to find out about an undead man’s gemstone after being
scarred for life (literally and figuratively) by a man who seeks immorality and doesn’t
have a nose.
Hunger Games:
A young girl is forced to participate in an arena where the goal is to brutally kill other
children taking part in the arena to go home by a group of rich people with fancy clothes
and accents after replacing her sister who was originally picked to take part in the arena.
+ UNKNOWN:
Girl’s best friend repeats a week over and over to stop her making a contract with satan’s
pet to unintentionally end the existence of the world but when girl realises her friend does
this she sacrifices her entire existence to stop satan pet’s little chaotic game and restarts
everything but the only one who remembers girl is her best friend and best friend has to
deal with a world where nobody remembers her.
NEWS - 4
TWINS! TWINS!
5 INTERESTING
FACTS ABOUT:
EGGS!
Out of all the people in the world, I had to look like you.
By Tiffany Mak,
Writer
I have never met or personally knew many twins, though I am certain that
I have met an individual and was then confused that they had a
doppelganger. Over the past few weeks, I have come across the most
twins in my life and was fortunate enough to be able to learn that not all
twins look identical not to mention that each are very unique
individuals themselves.
“What’s the thing that people ask that pisses you off the most?” I asked
Felix & Anthony, of which Anthony replied, “When they ask if we speak
the same.” Turns out, no, twins don’t speak the same as if it was not obvious
enough. I am certain of that coming from the fact that they barely spoke in sync or in an
identical manner during the course of the interview. “We’re just different people,” Katie and
Hannah said in another interview. “I’m more serious and organized and Katie is less serious
and organized.” Hannah added.
Identical twins are probably the easiest to spot, though I have also met fraternal twins, which
was quite interesting as I assumed that twins looked identical for the whole of my life…until
the day of the interview. “There are two eggs instead of one,” Anthony said. Oh, I see…and
nodded awkwardly, glancing at Felix who looked nothing like him. I immediately regretted
that I had not touched this part of the research I was supposed to conduct. “People are
usually surprised that we are twins,” Jaap said, “and it’s annoying that people say I look like
a boy and he looks like a girl.” She looked nothing like a boy by the way.
Twins, I have found, usually go well together like salt and pepper. Jason and Julian
emphasized that they were “really close,” Katie & Hannah both have their friends, though
assured me that they “knew most about each other.” Some, however, do find having a twin
makes their lives a little competitive. “We get compared,” Austin and Alin said, “there’s a lot
of pressure in the competition,” Jaap said. Having a brother myself, I do get compared
sometimes, though most of the time I just compare who had the larger slice of cake, which is a
totally different context.
(ABOVE) Sum & Yee doing twin things.
The definition of the shape, oval.
By Keisha Ding, Writer Easter is coming and Easter is the time where people celebrate the
resurrection of Jesus and also celebrating the new birth, that what the egg's
you see around the city is for, eggs that represent new birth.; and here are a few facts about
eggs: 1) To tell if an egg is raw or hardboiled,
spin it! If the egg spins easily it means
that the egg is hardboiled, but if the egg
is wobbly while it's spinning, it means
that the egg is raw. 2) If a raw egg was accidentally dropped on
the floor, sprinkle it heavily with lots of
salt to make it easier to clean up. 3) There are actually more colours of eggs
that white and brown, it depends on the
different breeds of chicken, some lay
brown or white and even blue! 4) The yolk colours depend on the diet of
the hen. 5) As a hen grows older, it produces larger eggs.
Which made me wonder, what would my life be if I
was actually a twin, and my brother was the same
age as I was, going to the same school, attending the
same classes and then going home and spending
more time together. Would I like it more? “I’d prefer
being a twin than a regular brother,” Julian said
and Jason agreed. Sum & Yee also agreed on the
same thing, “Being a twin is great! It’s like you
always have a best friend.” Sum said. “Our
relationship would change a lot,” Katie said when I
asked what would happen if one was significantly
older or younger. “Like we wouldn’t be attending
the same classes, and not be together all the time.”
V
I guess having a twin is an amazing thing, if you are a twin, you are pretty lucky; only 32 out
of 1000 people in this world are twins. You get to celebrate your birthday together with
double the cake because there are two birthdays in one day, at least that is the case for
Austin & Alyn. Though at the end of the day, the only competition that somehow matters
between twins is who gets the bigger slice of cake not who is better or smarter, because twins
are unique individuals who, like all siblings will get along so much better if they were just
being themselves, not a better version of the other.
THE VICTORIAN (V.5 - E5 - #31) EDITORIAL STAFF...
Managing Editor:
Ashley Kot, Editor
Consulting Editors:
A&E:
Art & Queen Vic Logo:
Sharon Lee, Editor
Joyce Lam, Editor
Ardicity:
Photoshop:
Pak Hei Lam, Editor
Ian Lee, Editor
Athena Lai, Editor
Michelle Kung, Editor
Page One & News:
Gaming:
Vic Facebook Page:
Ashley Kot, Editor
Sze Hang Lo, Editor
Wai.Y.Lam Editor
Editorial:
Fun & Games:
Sze Hang Lo, Editor
Ashley Kot, Editor
Sports:
Karen Chau, Editor
VSA Perspectives:
Jessica Yam, Editor
Ashley Kot, Editor
Coaxers & Cajolers:
Mr. Burrage, Mr. Copus,
& Ms. Walls
Vic COMICS (Online):
Sze Hang Lo, Editor
NEWS - 5
MOVIE
REVIEW:
Deadpool
By Katie Mottram, Writer
Release Date: 18th March 2016
Movie Studio:
Director: Robert Schwentke
Rating:
Starring:
Release Date:
Movie Studio:
Director:
Rating:
Starring: Ryan Reynolds
Allegiant is the third and final book in the Divergent trilogy
by Veronica Ross. In 2014, the first book in the series was
turned into a major motion picture, starring Shailene
Woodley as Tris. There are only three novels in the book
series, but just as practically every major movie franchise,
Allegiant is to be split into two parts, Allegiant and then
Ascendant, which is set to come out next year.
Do you remember that leaked test footage of a
‘teased’ Deadpool movie back in 2013? No? Well, it
looks like Fox has officially released their apology letter
after their ungodly abomination of Deadpool in
Wolverine: Origins.
About a year ago I watched the second instalment of the
franchise, Insurgent. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure as
to whether I liked how far the movie strayed from the
novel, but after watching the trailer for the movie, which
was released in September last year, I am really hopeful.
The highly anticipated R-Rated, comedy gold, is action
packed and fourth wall breaking moments in the of the
year, Deadpool.
Do you have any idea how much of a hit the news of
the movie was? Marvel fans collectively felt the orgasmic
pleasure of finally getting to see me on the big screen.
The story of the movie is basically my life story: local
merc gets diagnosed with cancer, shady organization
offers up a contract that could turn him into a superhero.
Well, not one that would end up turning him into a silent
mutant with knives implanted in his wrists like bald Hugh
Jackman with his mouth sewn shut, or a freaking space
cop with an animated green suit.
MOVIE
PREVIEW:
Allegiant
By Jay Ku,Writer
The movie, starring the sexiest man alive, Ryan
Reynolds, as yours truly, is a must see for comic book
fans who aren’t afraid of unadulterated gore, sexual
themes and dry humor.
Luckily, I didn’t have to turn into those two
abominations, it was a career low for me, anyway. In the
movie, or, my official origins story, I get to be played by
the world’s sexiest man alive: Ryan Reynolds. Did I
mention that? He’s been wanting to meet me for eleven
years, so I guess our relationship is official. No hard
feelings for Blake, though.
That time I was sitting down in the cinema after having
to push through a bunch of Deadpool wannabes, and
finding a kid right next to me: eight years old, wearing a
little Deadpool costume with his dad with the same
outfit.
Good lord, was I astonished, and you have no idea the
horror I had to go through - A child, watching an R Rated
movie! So let’s make this a warning for any one of your
VSA students who are dying to watch it.
Honestly the trailer doesn’t give me much information on
the film. While it does tell me about plot, it doesn’t show
any traces of a subplot. One thing that i love about the
book trilogy is the relationship between Tris and Four, but
the movie trailer only shows action. As a fangirl, I am
absolute Fourtris trash, and the lack of romance in the
trailer worries me.
This movie is going to be very different from the previous
two because it is set in a place that the characters had
never even known existed. I’m really interested to see how
the producers built the setting, because the trailer shows a
scene completely different to what I was expecting it to
look like. Even though I have my doubts, as a huge fan of
the series, I’m really excited for Allegiant, when it comes
out on the 18th of March, I will definitely go see it.
V
V
ABOUT THAT
GUNS N’ ROSES
REUNION TOUR
By Joshua Ng,Writer
After
more than 20 years of
estranged relationship, Guns
N’ Roses are back.
Front man Axl Rose, former
Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist
Slash, and former Guns N’
Roses bassists Duff McKagan
had performed their first stadium
reunion show in 8th April Las Vegas. The reunion
tour had brought back the raw and energetic
signature sound.
Guns N’ Roses is one of the most iconic hardrock bands in history. Influenced by the raw and
energetic performance by Led Zeppelin,
Aerosmith, Queen, and more; the band had
released their critically acclaimed debut album Appetite for
Destruction in July 1987. While the rest of the music industry was delivering the
glamour and fame in their music, the original lineup – front
man Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan,
A&E - 6
rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, and drummer Steven Adler, had
delivered the dark side of the Los Angeles underground. With explicit lyrics related to drug, sex, and violence. Songs
such as Welcome to the Jungle, It’s so Easy, Paradise City,
and Sweet Child O’ Mine had defined the band’s signature
raw and loud sound that many artists, such as Avenged
Sevenfold and Bullet for my Valentine, are still being
influenced today. As members of the original and later lineups had
left the band, Guns N’ Roses had been declining
since 1994, which is when lead guitarist Slash
had left, due to his disagreements with front man
Axl. Slash had later formed the 2000’s defined super
group Velvet Revolver in 2001 with McKagan,
former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum,
guitarist Dave Kushner, and vocals Scott
Weiland, but has been inactive since 2007;
Weiland’s death in December 2015 had also put
the band’s future in question. But it seems like Slash and Axl had been in good
terms since early December last year, as good
friend and front man of Aerosmith Steven Tyler,
had “Helped them to reunite,” and they are ready
to show the world needs Guns N’ Roses.
Classic hits such as Welcome to the Jungle and Sweet Child
o’ Mine are featured in the reunion tour’s setlist, while newer
songs Slash and Duff had not recorded such as Chinese
Democracy and This I love were also performed. V
THE VIC - APRIL- 2016
9 SHOWS TO
BINGE WATCH
AT THE MOVIES
WITH AUSTIN UNG
By Tiffany Mak, Liesl Yip, & Valerie Yip, Writers
Grey’s Anatomy is a medical drama about understanding, compassion,
tolerance and kindness. I found myself completely engrossed in the
blood and gore, it’s compelling and creative medical cases.
(DISCLAIMER: speaking as a person who is able to withstand
high amounts of gore during dinner, only watch this if you won’t
With David Lynch’s most known film Blue Velvet is rereleasing to theatres in March 25th and his
collaboration with Mark Frost to make the third season of Twin Peaks after roughly 26 years after
its season 1 rerelease. Ever since this is pretty big news, so I’ve decided to review some of his
films.
If you are still scratching your head on who is David Lynch then let me introduce him to you.
David Keith Lynch (born January 20th, 1946), is an American director, screenwriter, artist,
musician, actor and author. He is most known as a surrealist films and has a rather unique
approach to films and in many cases rather violent elements intended to confuse, disturb or
offend — but at least not as violent as Quentin Tarintino (who uses excessive violence and gore, just
watch Kill Bill and you'll know why).
be traumatized by a
human heart in a box,
amputation, gaping holes from
where organs should be, bomb in the
abdomen; as in a homemade bazooka inside
a human’s abdomen).
Rizzoli and Isles provides lighthearted quips and features highly witty female characters.
Jane Rizzoli, is a tough, independent and shrewd homicide detective. While her partner
in crime, Maura Isles, is collected and book-smart in a sharply endearing way. Not only
does the show build tension appropriately to its genre of crime drama, it also gives great
comic relief.
Daredevil is a thrilling excursion into the Marvel Cinematic
Universe, there’s an intensity to the show that will draw
you in pretty quickly; the compelling mysteries, the gore,
and of course seeing Matt Murdock pretending to be a
‘regular’ blind guy, while going on night-time panty hose
wearing escapades, fighting bad guys, trying to save
Hell’s Kitchen from the wrong hands.
Teen Titans is for your inner nerdy child. It’s full of clever
dialogue and unique, relatable, and extremely likeable
characters, and funny animation. This has been one of my
favorite tv shows as a kid and as a teenager. But unlike
other animated kid shows, it contains surprisingly dark plot lines, with themes of death,
pain, betrayal, and destruction that aren't usually depicted as candidly in a kid's show.
Of course, it also has a fair share of lighthearted but undoubtedly hilarious episodes that
would put a smile on anyone's face.
Project Runway is great for binge watching because the designers on the show bear a
myriad sense of style. The creativity that the designers exert never ceases to leave my
eyes bulged and my mouth hanging wide open. Contrary to popular opinion, it is nothing
like most reality TV shows in the sense that the judges never take sides or make unfair
eliminations. In fact, I often agree with the judges’ choices; which speaks volumes
assuming my criticality and pickiness in
regards to show selection.
Fresh Off The Boat depicts numerous racial
stereotypes in a surprisingly lighthearted
and humorous fashion. The show is great
for laid-back binge watching, provided that
no one gets butthurt.
Friends is the definitive TV show of the 90s. As one of the most iconic and popular TV
shows in history, there’s no doubt that it’s worth a watch. The sitcom tells the story of
six friends who live in New York. Despite its simplistic plotlines, you will definitely relate
to at least one of the the six characters: Chandler’s dry wit, Monica’s neuroticism,
Phoebe’s eccentricity, Joey’s simple-mindedness, Rachel’s spunkiness, and Ross’s
goofiness. This show will leave you spellbound as you fall in love with its six charming
characters.
The story of How I Met Your Mother is narrated through flashbacks from the future
(2025) by Ted Mosby- it is not only a wildly hilarious tale of how Ted searched for his
perfect soulmate, but also a tale of five friends and their (LEGEN - wait for it... DARY)
adventures. Robin is the ambitious, young reporter. Barney is the casanova, an
aficionado of hooking up and womanizing. Marshall and Lily are the annoying couple
that’s been dating for nine years, they are the college sweethearts that you hate to love.
HIMYM with its elaborate con games, fake identities, wedding day disasters will leave
you in fits of laughter.
The center of Breaking Bad is rooted in the reality of life that most American middle
class lives, it tells the captivating journey of Walter White, of how desperation and love
for his family has drove him to take irrevocable steps that led him down a dark, winding
path. The character portrayal and their moral evolution is exquisite, Breaking Bad
doesn’t only give you the potential to become a crystal meth cook, but through realistic
storytelling, it also teaches you how one’s decisions can affect everyone related to us,
and the tribulations of leading a life the wrong way.
V
Eraserhead
David Lynch’s very first work is Eraserhead, which was made in long 4 years due to it’s extremely low budget (USD
10000) about a couple who gets a child. Unlike an average kid, the baby looks like a freaking mutant. Soon, Mary X,
unable to deal with the stress of having a baby, leaves Henry. Henry soon goes mad and things starting to go ape-sh*t.
Henry starts to get visions of him turning into a pencil and eraser. Finally we see Henry killing him. Because this is a
Lynch film, there’s a catch: Turns out the the bandages acts as a bag to keep the internal organs together, and Henry
straight up murders the baby. Henry then finally embraces The Lady In The Radiator as the film ends. Overall,
Eraserhead is an uncomfortable movie even to my standards, but it is one of the most unique horror movies I have ever
seen. Based on this cult film I’ll give it 4 rotten potatoes out of 5.
Lynch then found even more success after directing The Elephant Man starring John Hurt (aka the guy who got his
chest bursted in Alien). The Elephant Man is about a slightly fictionalised account of Joseph Maverick (however the
script calls him John), a man whom has severe deformities. However, ever since I haven't watched it, so obviously I
can’t review it. Off to the next film: Dune.
Dune (1984)
Lynch’s adaption of the Frank Herbert’s 1965 classic Dune was a flop: Critics and audiences hated it and it was a box
office failure. It’s understandable on why is it confusing: It’s trying to summarise all the Game of thrones books in
extremely good detail within 2 hours and 14 minutes. Thus Lynch heavily relies on voice-overs, cross cutting etc.
The story is about roughly 10,000 years later, where the universe is ruled by Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. The most
important part of the empire is a chemical called Spice, which has special properties such as expanding life and
consciousness. It helps the Spacing Guild (Think of a Space Association), as it allows safe and instant space travel.
Then the Spacing Guild fears that the production of Spice (which can be made in the planet Arrakis, also known as
Dune) would be threatened. The Guild then approaches to Shaddam IV and persuade him to destroy House Atreides as
the House’s leader, House Leto Atreides has grown and suspected of building a secret army and thus a highly possible
threat to the Shaddam. Shaddam then gives Atreides the ability to rule Dune, but what they do not know is that they
would be ambushed by their longtime enemy, the Harkonnens. If you thought this was confusing enough, be very
worried, because this is within the first 10 minutes and 30 seconds (I actually counted) of the movie.
The story is about roughly 10,000 years later, where the universe is ruled by Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. The most
important part of the empire is a chemical called Spice, which has special properties such as expanding life and
consciousness. It helps the Spacing Guild (Think of a Space Association), as it allows safe and instant space travel.
Then the Spacing Guild fears that the production of Spice (which can be made in the planet Arrakis, also known as
Dune) would be threatened. The Guild then approaches to Shaddam IV and persuade him to destroy House Atreides as
the House’s leader, House Leto Atreides has grown and suspected of building a secret army and thus a highly possible
threat to the Shaddam. Shaddam then gives Atreides the ability to rule Dune, but what they do not know is that they
would be ambushed by their longtime enemy, the Harkonnens. If you thought this was confusing enough, be very
worried, because this is within the first 10 minutes and 30 seconds (I actually counted) of the movie.
After a lot of strange prophetic dreams for the Duke’s son, Paul then worries that these dreams mean something, and
suspects their doctor, Dr. Yueth is hiding something. That becomes true as Yueth turns out to be the traitor and thus
deactivates the shield generator for their base, allowing The Harkonnens to attack them. Paul and his mother are sent
to die, but they fight back and the ship crash lands into the dessert, where they are populated by the Sandworms
(worms that are ridiculously big). They soon gain the trust of The Fremen, and in return Paul teaches them the use of
sonic weapons. And fast forward 2 years Spice production has been halted. Soon the Guild fears that Paul may drink
the Water of Life. Soon the guild’s worries are shown in Paul’s dream, and so he drinks it. After drinking it he fulfils the
Fremen prophecy as a man who can fully control sandworms. With these groundbreaking powers he goes and regains the base, where he kills off the sadistic Baron Vladimir
Harkonnens and goes into a hand in hand with Feyd-Rautha. In the end, Paul wins and saves the day. Honestly, it isn't
so bad as critic thought. In fact, the performances are great and the set designs from HR Giger (the guy whom
designed the original Alien in the film Alien). There are great performances delivered from Patrick Stewart and Kyle
MacLachlan (a friend of Lynch) and the sandworms look awfully original. Overall I’ll give it 4.5 rotten potatoes out of 5.
Blue Velvet (1986)
Blue Velvet is David Lynch’s rare straight forward films and arguably his best work. To sum up, it is a neo-noir film
based on a college student (Jeffery Beaumont, possibly Kyle MacLachlan’s best performance) solving the mystery of a
severed ear located in the middle of the field. Blue Velvet is infamous for it’s sexual content and violence. In fact,
numerous actors and actresses such as Val Kilmer, Harry Dean Stanton and Debbie Harry declined to star in it. The film
is relatively simple and straightforward and even has references to Lincoln’s assassination. The antagonist, Frank
Booth, a sadistic rapist whom rapes Dorothy, the suspect for the severed ear case. This obviously shows that Frank is
the killer, so Jeff soon stalks him and even tries to stop him.
One of the favourite aspects of Blue Velvet is how strong the performances are. MacLachlan is determined but yet
weak to fight against Booth, whom is portrayed by Dennis Hopper. Hopper gives a very strong acting that it feels
extremely uncomfortable to watch whenever he is on screen and gives Frank far more intimating villain than he should
be. To sum up I’ll give 5 out of 5 rotten potatos.
Twin Peaks (1990-1991) and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
Twin Peaks is a groundbreaking television show made by David Lynch and Mark Frost. It revolves around the murder of
high school student Laura Palmer, which is being investigated by Dale Cooper. Palmer’s death becomes an outcry to
the small town Twin Peaks (hence the name of this show), as the investigation get more and more unpredictable. Due to
its complexity, strong acting and complex sub-plots became a national phenomenon. The first season had 8 episodes
and while the second season has 22 episodes. The first season fully discusses how Laura Palmer was murdered while
the second season is more about find the killer, which apparently is a supernatural entity. Despite the fact that it is
ultimately unfulfilling, but Lynch manages to make realistic town with horror and comedy mixed makes this show truly
unique and also surreal as hell. And thus, I will give this acclaimed TV show 5.9 out of 5 stars
There is also a prequel film, called Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. It premiered at the Cannes Festival. Despite the fact
that it was booed and was critically panned by critics, but it is now regarded and underrated. It is about the 7 final days
of Laura Palmer, whom for spoiler reasons I can’t tell everything to you. Again, Lynch strikes with his trademark
surrealist themes, allowing it not only to be even more creepy than the TV show, but the lack of any actual investigation
makes me feel as if not watching a Twin Peaks film… which makes me feel betrayed. But hey, at least David Bowie
makes a cameo. Because Fire Walk With Me has a high creepy factor and no actual investigation at all, so I’ll give it 3
rotten potatoes over five.
There are also see more of his frequent work, such as Nadja, Mullholland Drive, Lost Highway, Wild At Heart, and Inland
Empire and several short films which I have not seen. His daughter, Jennifer Lynch, is currently making a film called A
Fall From Grace starring Tim Roth (famously known as Pumpkin in Quentin Tarintino’s Pulp Fiction).
V
A&E - 7
THE VIC - APRIL- 2016
Looking for good reads?
Look no further!
Book
Recommendations
THE TIME TRAVELLER’S WIFE LADY
By Janet Wong,
Writer
The Time Traveller’s Wife is a
romance novel written by Audrey
Niffenegger. It is notable for
having an unique take on time
travel. In the novel, the protagonist,
Henry DeTamble has no control over
his powers, and must treat it as an obstacle to work
around in his life. However, his time travelling powers has also
brought him together with his wife Clare Abshire, as
they first met during one of his time travelling trips.
Consequently, it is also what links him to his
daughter, Alba. They are linked by Henry's time travelling abilities,
which are passed on to Alba, albeit with better
control.
MIDNIGHT: PREVIEW
Niffenegger is talented at creating the appropriate
mood and atmosphere befitting each scene. Most
notably, the relationship between Clare and Henry
was developed naturally (or as naturally as it can be
when time travelling was involved). Cassandra Clare
Nothing felt forced. I really enjoyed reading the
book and felt that it was definitely something I
could recommend, but only to a very specific
audience. By Katie Mottram, writer
Two years ago, character Emma Carstairs was introduced to us
in Cassandra Clare’s novel, City of Heavenly Fire. Now Clare has
began a new series, The Dark Artifices, set five years after CoHF
and revolving around Emma. The book is essentially what most would call a “fluff
piece” - The writing isn’t filled with metaphors, and
the story doesn’t have any deep meaning, but is still
enjoyable and will appeal to most romantics due to
the nature of their relationship and the way they
support each other. I am a huge fan of Cassandra Clare’s
writing because her novels are both thrilling
and humorous, and I’ve read all of her
Shadowhunter novels. It is a little over the top, so if that is unbearable, this
is not something you should read.
Incase you haven’t read any of them, most
of Clare’s novels are set in a universe
where Shadowhunters protect humans
from demons, her two series are The
Mortal Instruments and The Infernal
Devices. The use of time
travel spices the
story up and
d i ff e re n t i a t e s i t
from
other
romance novels. Henry and Clare’s relationship is the core of the
story, and their love is what motivates and drives
them to overcome the obstacles Henry’s time
travelling brings them. One of the things I love most about her writing is that because
all of her novels are set in the same universe, Cassandra tends
to connect characters and put them in each other’s stories,
which is what she will be doing in Lady Midnight. It is in truth a
clever device something to link
the two lovers
together and force
them apart,
creating the
s o m e w h a t
melodramatic
ending.
Using time travelling as a device, Niffenegger
weaves a love story that is like no other. Their love
is fragile- they know they can be torn apart at any
time- but they still desperately strive for some
semblance for normalcy. Their deep yet fragile bond
is the most well written and fascinating part of the
story.
The writing, although not outstanding, is
surprisingly smooth and mature for a debut novel.
Even though I love her work, I must say that I won’t be surprised
if I am bored with Clare’s newest series. Lady Midnight will be
her 10th Shadowhunter novel and part of me is expecting her to
run out of new ideas. Nonetheless, I will be reading Lady Midnight when it comes out
on the 8th of march, my hopes are high for this book.
TELL THE VIC…
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF BATMAN Vs SUPERMAN?
WARNING:
“Ben Affleck
was about the
only good thing
about the only
good thing about
the movie.”
“I wish Wonder
Woman appeared
with a more
significant role in
the movie.”
“Other than the plot, I
think the movie was ok.
I can make it more
clearer with Superman
and Batman’s life.”
“Batman vs Superman was a mess.
There are just too many things happening
within the movie. The action was really
enjoyable and the effects ware very good.
The movie was so focused on the setting
up the Justice League that it forgot to be a
good individual movie.”
“I think the biggest thing is just
the Snyder doesn't understand DC, if
anyone has seen the previous Superman
film would know that he just doesn't get
the comics. I love the dark and gritty
setting don't get me wrong, but he
doesn't do it as well as Nolan did.”
As a devoted DC fan I was
fairly disappointed at the
outcome of Batman vs Superman.
The movie was mediocre at best
with the cameos and didn’t really
manage to convey the main
characters like the comics did.
“After watching Superman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice,
I thought this movie was not as good as it says. The start of
the plot was quite confusing, going from superman life to
batman’s back and forth. I only found the fight scene interesting
because they added Wonder Woman in it, and how it takes all
three heroes to take down one monster.”
A&E - 8
AUSTIN UNG RANT…
“Batman VS Superman is basically Batman and
Superman taking on Lex Luthor. The film spends most
on it's time opening potential for subplots which can be
expanded on JLA movies which WB Bros are expanding. Thus,
most of the time it's more of talking rather than fighting.
I think that Snyder failed miserably as he tries so hard to include so
many comic book storylines, such as The Death of Superman, which
is a comic arc involving Doomsday killing off Superman, The Dark
Knight Returns, which is about a 50 year old Batman fighting against
the authorities and eventually a criminal gang called The Mutants
(which is an obvious inspiration for Ben Afflek's Batman as he his
opposes against Superman just like in TDKR). I also do think that
Wonder Woman seems to be a forced inclusion as she has an
extremely minor role throughout the film. However…”
DUE TO US RECEIVING AN 800 WORD
ARTICLE (WHEN WE REQUESTED TWO
SENTENCES), YOU CAN FIND THE
REST OF THIS ARTICLE
ONLINE.
Share anonymous secrets, revelations, opinions,
dissatisfactions or anything else you can think of
related to VSA life with The Vic at:
https://sites.google.com/site/dpcasvsa/
MOVIE PREVIEWS
By Naveen
Yeung,
Writer
By Sharon
Lee,
Editor
THE JUNGLE BOOK
Release Date: 15/4/2016 (Just released)
The jungle book is a live action reimagining of the cartoon from our childhood. As we all know, the story is about Mowgli, a boy who
enters the jungle and encounters different animals do not exactly have his best interests at heart. He ventures through the jungle with his
two furry companions, Bagheera the black panther and Baloo the bear, while trying to escape from the vicious claws of the Bengal tiger
Shere Khan. This movie mostly uses some of the newest photorealistic rendering, computer-generated imagery and motion capture
technologies, and generates very realistic looking animals and brings the jungle to life. This movie is worth seeing if you wish to see the
story brought to life, you should definitely watch the movie.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
Release Date: 27/4/2016
Instead of the usual battle between heroes and villains, Captain America: Civil War will feature a ‘civil war’ between the heroes we are
familiar with. The newest installation to the Captain America series explores the grey area in between good and evil and shows how
hard it can be for one to choose between one’s duty and friendship. As usual we can expect good quality production and the typical
action packed scenes throughout the Marvel movie. It’s a good idea to watch this since the plot crosses over several Marvel movie
series, and the movie itself will probably be worth it as it has a more innovative concept.
X-Men: Apocalypse
When the first and most powerful mutant Apocalypse awakens after thousands of years, he tries to gather the four horsemen and
destroy humanity. He recruits Magneto and other mutants to create a new world where only mutants exist. On the other hand, Professor
X must lead Raven and a group of young mutants to stop the immortal mutant from wiping out humanity. New mutants will be introduced
for the first time in the film universe so new powers are something to look forward to. Perhaps the audience will be once again be
confused by the complicated timeline, but please do expect much from the film, as it is supposed to be the best there is yet in the XMen series.
ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
The sequel to ‘Alice in Wonderland’. This time, Alice returns to Wonderland by a looking glass to save Wonderland from Time, the villain
who is half human, half clock. Unlike the first movie, the sequel is directed by James Bobin, not Tim Burton, so the sequel probably
won’t have the same unique dark style. The movie is based on Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass, the sequel to Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland, however the movie’s storyline will probably have little similarities to the original book’s plot. Overall it should
be a movie worth watching, considering the cast and the small fragments we can see from the trailer.
FINDING DORY
Sequel to the 2003 film Finding Nemo, Finding Dory will be focus on the amnesiac character Dory and will explore more of the well
known character whose playful nature has warmed people’s hearts. The movie will be about reuniting her with her family and will
include most of the main cast from Find Nemo. Andrew Stanton, the director of the previous film will be returning as a writer and
director of Finding Dory. The previous movie was touching and the animations was beautiful, which sets expectations high for the
movie coming out. I suggest you go watch it if you are an avid Disney fan as disney has provided us with brilliant movies as of recently
and if you are looking forward to seeing the development in Dory’s character.
THE BFG
The BFG, a much loved novel written by Roald Dahl will be getting a movie which is premiering at the start of July. The movie will
revolve around a young orphan, Sophie and her journey to a land of evil, man eating giants when she befriends the friendly Big
Friendly Giant. One of the next installations to Disney studios, fans can expect to see great results from the movie, as seem from
trailers and previews of the movie which have been released. The movie seeks to capture the heart warming relationship between
Sophie and the BFG which was portrayed in the novel. I hope the movie will be able to show the gentleness of the BFG, who was
written as a soft spoken giant who cared for Sophie and other children very much.
A&E - 9
DO YOU HAVE A UNIQUE
PERSPECTIVE ON VSA?
Post them @
VIC Perspectives:
“One word to describe
_________?
VIC Perspectives:
“One word to describe _______?
PHOTO CAPTION CONTEST:
Post & vote for winning caption ideas at www.facebook.com/thevicvsa
Last edition’s winner...
This edition’s contest...
We
chose to
do this
theme because
we were inspired by
Buzzfeed posts!
Unlike other Vic Perspectives, we
didn't want to feel limited to all
the responses that we received,
and we wanted to hear from
everyone on their thoughts...
however stupid or random they
may be.
Kristi Wong & Jessica Yam
“Birds born in a cage think flying is an illness.” -Anon
Editors & Photojournalists
UNDERAGE
DRINKING
IN HONG
KONG
by “Anonymous”
Contributor
•••
“Hong Kong is a difficult city to be in,
especially for young people. There’s
pressure at home, pressure at
school and pressure in the
community.” This statement is
particularly relevant for everyone
to blame his or her problems on in
the city. Whether it’s losing
opportunities, not performing well
academically, or towards their actions –
such as drinking underage.
Combining the words ‘underage’ and ‘drinking’ is
a bit of an oxymoron in Hong Kong, because of
the way the law works. Although none under 18
can consume or purchase alcohol at places with a
liquor licenses, restrictions on the sale of these
products at convenience stores seems vague and
almost non-existent. The lack of regulations
makes drinking a convenient crutch for teenagers.
For instance, new 7-11s are rapidly opening in the
tiny area of LKF central, counting up to a total of 4
currently. On weekends underage drinkers
invariably surround them.
Fairly saying, to me the immediate problem with
‘underage’ drinking doesn’t lie in the act of
drinking, it lies in our natural instincts. If you look
at the States – those eligible at 21 tend to go wild
at university, because of the freedom and access
they now own towards to alcohol. Curiosity is an
unconscious human aspect that allows us to
constantly try and unravel discoveries. For those ‘underage’, alcohol is undeniably one
curious being. Sometimes I feel like people
stereotype the causes of underage drinking with
things like this: “Studies are finding that underage
youth believe alcohol enhances their social
interactions, and often see it as a way to earn
acceptance from peers. Other factors may
originate from a need to relieve stress.” Despite
the accuracy of certain aspects, they tend to have Editorial Cartoon by Sze Hang Lo
missed out teenagers just being naturally curious.
It’s only natural to be curious about alcohol,
something that is glorified in the media, or even in
families.
With that being said, parents play a significant
role on this issue. Notably, there are no legal age
restrictions for consuming alcohol in households.
Depending on different familial values, I am aware
that some parents encourages their teenage child
to consume alcohol or tobacco with them,
thinking that ‘they are old enough’ by the age of
15 or 16 and should be ‘introduced into the adult
world’, symbolizing a sign of maturity. As to
respond, teenagers are likely to accept the offer,
relating back to their nature of curiosity as
mentioned. Like any other issue, the severity of it
depends on the extent. However it is worth noting that alcohol and
tobacco are addictive substances, and allowing
teenagers to drink or smoke exposes them to the
risks of addiction if they do not hold sufficient
self-control. Hence, this suggests that parents
take on a crucial role in shaping their child’s
interests especially during the teenage years, and
how they value the consumption of alcohol
directly reflects upon the behavior of the child.
The stereotype of users on alcohol or tobacco is
often listed and connected with the act or
plaything for adults. Whereas being a teenager
having such adult “thing”, might increase person’s
maturity, or maybe higher the “cooler-ness” of
themselves. Snapchat is a phone application that
allows the user to share their immediate status as
part of their daily story, or you can call a virtual
album that contains photographs and videos,
where friends and families can view or “read” their
stories easily. As usual, like a set schedule, from Friday to
Sunday, starting at 8pm, there would be a bunch
of updated stories, where the filter of “LKF” is
always applicable. On their stories, apart from
young faces and dark environments, cigarettes,
shisha, beer, spirits...etc, often accompanies. But,
besides the impact on our health, I would say, our
experience is still very green, and there is a
possibility of danger that is unsolvable at some
time, especially during nighttime, at bar areas,
where behaviours after alcohol is often
uncontrollable. You might disagree with me
because you had experiences with escaping from
dangerous predicaments. But, they are limited. Limited under a certain
environment, where it is suitable to who we are,
such as a student at school, and a child at home.
So, how do you think about teenagers under 18
at an over 18 environment, with a bunch of
strangers that are mostly adults?
Dangerous
events are unpredictable, especially under an
unsafe environment, where no one will bear the
responsibility of supervising you. Hong Kong laws do offer a certain degree of
freedom, or some may consider a loophole,
towards purchasing and consuming alcohol
underage. Nonetheless, there are places that
enforce this more strictly. For Singapore, it is
illegal for anyone under 18 to consume or
purchase alcohol, and anyone found misbehaving
in public places under the influence of alcohol
could potentially face imprisonment of up to three
months. However will strict policies eliminate the
curiosity and drive teenagers hold towards alcohol
access? I doubt it.
The debate over underage drinking in Hong Kong
could go on for a long time without a correct
o p i n i o n . U n d e n i a b l y, e x c e s s i v e a l c o h o l
consumption is certainly detrimental to health
during growth, however towards a mature age,
one should known that sensible self-prescribed
moderation and knowing your limits is key to the
well being of yourself, and those around you.
V
EDITORIAL - 12
GIRLS,
DON’T
TAKE THAT
PILL!
by Ashley Kot
Managing Editor
•••
“We all go to
doctors, and we do
so with trust and
blind faith that the
test they’re ordering
and the medicine
they're prescribing are
based upon evidence, evidence
designed to help us.”—but what if they
don’t? What if our doctors aren’t doing
what’s best for us but instead following
a biased and ancient method of
medicine testing that could overdoses
half of our population daily?
during the study? Who would be
responsible? “— As described by
McGregor.
Shockingly, she reveals that the cells
used within laboratories are all male
cells; while males are homogeneous,
females have fluctuating levels of
hormones. Thus the results derived from
drug tests are ‘cleaner’ and ‘cheaper’.
Previous medical research and general
views on the different sex had only
assumed that the difference between
men and women were only within the
reproductive systems and sex
hormones. Researchers now believe this
is not the whole story. Yet now, a mass amount of research has
shown us just how different women and
men are, not just in the aspect of their
anatomy, but also of their hormones and
other body conditions that was once
ignored within drug trials.
Alyson McGregor, an Emergency doctor,
says when a patient passes into the ER,
the doctors order the same tests without
ever considering the gender of the
patient.
The terrifying fact is, sex may play a
much more important role in medicine
than we all thought.
McGregor states the current situation
could be described with “this saying in
medicine: children are not just little
adults. And we say that to remind
ourselves that children actually have a
different physiology than normal adults.
And it's because of this that the medical
specialty of paediatrics came to light.”
When we think about why prescriptions
for each individual is different, we tend
to tilt towards body mass and allergies;
yet more than 80% of drugs redrawn
from the market are due to side effects
that are discovered in women.
Cells are not the same within each
individual. Cells too have sexes; while
one may prefer to be one gender over
the other (transexuals), Sex is DNA
“every cell in our bodies -- skin, hair,
heart and lungs -- contains our own
unique DNA, and that DNA contains the
chromosomes that determine whether
we become male or female, man or
woman.”
Sleep aid Ambien, a drug that is
primarily prescribed to women, was
revealed that the appropriate dosage for
women should be half the amount
typically prescribed; women metabolise
drugs slower than men, thus many
complain waking up groggy as there
was still active drugs in their system
How did we allow that to happen? It is
because of the long and tedious
process that takes years and years for a
drug to be developed from an idea to
the pill prescribed to us in those little
plastic bag, the dozens of tests and
trials were required to prevent these
issues.
Wars reap away people’s lives and
freedom. World War II alerted us to the
desperate need to protect people from
u n i n f o r m e d a n d f o rc e d m e d i c a l
research. One of which was to forbid
women of childbearing age to enter any
medical research.
“There was fear:
what if something happened to the fetus
This Editorial was written in hopes that
many of our esteemed doctors and
n u r s e s m a y i n t h e f u t u re b r i n g
awareness that sex (not gender) matters
within prescriptions. Or, as McGregor
concluded, “from now on, I want you to
ask your doctors whether the treatments
you are receiving are specific to your
sex and gender. They may not know the
answer -- yet. But the conversation has
begun, and together we can all learn.
Remember, for me and my colleagues in
this field”
Your sex and gender matter. “Your sex and gender matter”
V
Link to the ted talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJCBM9ajA5s
GRAVE
NOT
THE VIC
THAT BIG ISSUE? NAH
FACEBOOK PAGE
OF A
OPINION POLLS PROBLEM
- MARCH POLL Q School rules don't allow Sharks sports hoodies to be
worn in school. I would like hoodies to be worn:
Although I feel obligated to say that
underage drinking should be
eliminated and anyone who partake in
this should be prosecuted by the law,
there is no doubt that this “problem”
of underage drinking will not go away.
To be blunt, there is no stopping
teens from doing what they want.
Personally, I think that underage
drinking isn’t that big of a problem,
that is, if you drink in moderation and
know your limits. Although quite frankly, teenagers
shouldn’t be chronic drinking at that
young of age, especially if you’re
under 16. However, whilst I believe
that underage drinking isn’t the end of
the world, I still think that teenagers
shouldn’t use alcohol as a mean of
stress relief or an escape from reality
to have fun. I know for myself that I
don’t drink because I find other ways
to have fun and enjoy myself just as
much without being intoxicated. The main reasoning behind this issue
becoming a concern is that teens are
more likely to be more irresponsible,
therefore, they can’t be trusted with
potentially life-threatening substances
like alcohol. Ironically, adults who
believe this forget that adults are
usually the ones who have a drink too
much on a night out and end up
having their stomach pumped in the
emergency room. In the end, we can’t completely
annihilate underage drinking
completely as we are under the direct
or indirect influence of alcohol
constantly. With good education
regarding alcohol consumption and
with teenagers knowing the
consequences behind alcohol
drinking, I think everyone is entitled to
have their own opinion about drinking
and it is up to them on whether they
would like to participate in it.
>> Anonymous, Year 9
- APRIL POLL Q With the Wong Chuk Hang MTR set to open in
January 2017, how will this affect your journey
to / from school?
“SOCIAL
DRINKING” IS
NO EXCUSE
I
know personally quite a few
teenagers who drink, some more
severely than adults. Some call it
‘social drinking’ and it seems to void
them of responsibilities. Some do so
to as a sign of ‘maturity’, which is
ironic, because being an adult is
about responsibilities. There is no easy solution to underage
drinking, there’s a reason why the rate
of underage drinking is still going up.
A teenager is the last thing that
comes up when you think about an
a l c o h o l i c , s a d l y, t h a t ’s s l o w l y
changing.”
Personally, I don’t see a little alcohol
consumption in teenagers is too
much of a grave issue, but it shouldn’t
be a getaway for anyone, let alone
teenagers. I’m saying this from my
personal experience, since I only
share a few drinks with my father to
celebrate. Come to think of it, the prospect of
underage drinking, especially younger
teenagers at the at of thirteen to
fifteen, is pretty disturbing (I know a
couple of friends who drink
impulsively and they say it’s to drown
their problems). I guess the issue here is how teens
can be irresponsible (of course, adults
are guilty of this as well) when it
comes to drinking and how
dangerous it can be to them. We can’t
get rid of underage drinking, but we
can minimize it by teaching early on
that you have to be responsible. We can’t stop teenagers from doing
what they want, and we should know
that alcohol is so engraved into our
culture that it’s hard to get rid of
completely. Confronting the problems that may
have caused these pressures to make
teenagers drink may be helpful, or
occupying them with something much
more healthy.
NOBODY KNOWS
BUT THAT’S
WHY IT’S
IMPORTANT
A lthough I am not a doctor, in
response to Ashley Kot's editorial I
believe that there are certain areas
that should be further investigated
within the medical profession. It is
said that research has shown that
males are Homogeneous while
females have fluctuating levels of
hormones which would result in
different effects within both genders. In my opinion, drugs and pills should
be deprived once professions have
discovered side effects recognised in
females.
I fully agree to the point made Ashley
makes in her opening paragraph.
Many parents brought their child to
experienced doctors in hope of giving
their child the best medical attention
they need. Nonetheless, many of
these tend to give blind faith and
trust, not knowing what may happen
within the hands of the doctor. Although the medication may have
passed through various tests, there
are still certain risks. All in all, in
prevention of any further lost lives in
the future due to improper use of
medication, I would like to alert all
and raise awareness for those who
care greatly about their health.
Gender and sex matters.
>> Lydianne Ng, Year 8
NOBODY KNOWS
BUT THAT’S
WHY IT’S
IMPORTANT
I feel as though the medicine industry
has lied to us somewhat. They speak
as though a certain drug or
prescriptions can heal us for sure
when mostly they’re basing it on the
grounds of research that may be
incorrect. One thing about Science that I dislike
is that they disregard to include the
‘theory of’ before anything. The theory
of evolution; the theory of
photosynthesis etc.. These are all
things that doesn’t go against a lot of
logical sequences, but then again, we
used to believe that gods exist and
the earth is flat, so we’re not always
right. To neglect putting the theory of before
something may have graver
consequences on students like us in
the long run.
LOOSEN RULES
ON SPORTS
HOODIES
T he sports hoodie was kindly
distributed by our school in late 2015
and won the hearts of the majority of
the sports team members. The hoodie
soon superseded school jackets as
the amount of students that flaunted
their new 'uniform' spread like an
epidemic. A few teachers raised their concerns
in apropos to this situation and the
school hoodie was banned within a
month. The ban undeniably sparked outrage
amongst a number of school team
members as they felt that the hoodie
should be worn as an emblem of their
contribution and memorable times
spent together with their team
members. Without a platform to properly voice
their opinions, a few even suggested
to write a petition against this ban. As a result, The Vic conducted a poll
in regards to this controversial topic
and uncovered that 89% of the
responders would like to wear sports
hoodie in school. It is, without a
doubt, that the majority of the student
body feels that the school hoodie
should be allowed to be worn. Regardless of this, there was still
those that do not think that the sports
hoodie should be worn in school, as
one begs the question, why? The reasons for this and the rationale
of why the school hoodie was banned
in the first place still remains
unknown. Will it affect the aesthetic of
our school uniforms? Do they fear a
"social difference" between sports
team members and students? Will we
ever know?
>> Chantelle Yan, Year 8
EDITORIAL - 13
ARDICITY
STUDENT COUNCIL
2015-2016
INTRODUCTION TO
CONGRESS SYSTEM
By Amos Chiu
Hello everybody! Today I would like use this article to introduce and
explain to the students who don’t understand how does the congress
work.
As you know, the HK government have the legislative council, where
different district council members will monitor and supervise the
government through discussing the issues happening in HK, verifying
and approving the financial budget, listening to various of complaints
from the HK citizen, etc. The one who held the meeting and setting
meeting agenda is the president of Legislative council of HK, Jasper
Tsang.
Same case applied to our congress! The class representatives are just like
the district council members, and the student council is the government
itself. Whenever the student council wants to make something happen,
the proposal need to get approved by the Congress. Then who is the
“president” of the student congress? The answer is our Vice president
Vania Leung. Through this platform, students can have the opportunity
to practice the concept of how the society works.
And that sums up of how the congress works! So keep looking forward to
our work and again, enjoy reading “The Vic”!
Member Introduction By Noxx Lam
Hi, I’m Noxx Lam and probably most of you would recognize me as the guy
who’s walking around with a camera during assembly and school events.
Obviously, I’m a photography enthusiast; I really enjoy capturing the moments
of our school life through photos or film.
Which is why it may not be surprising to some of you that I’m the person
behind all of student council’s event promotion videos. Another hobby of mine
is robotics and programming, and I find myself spending most of the time
coding and building robots instead of working on my PP and this explains my
black circles and why I look like the walking dead most of the time.
It’s been a great term serving you guys as the secretary of promotion and feel
free to say hi and talk to me whenever you see me around in school
:)
FEATURED MEMBER
Name: Noxx Lam
CLASS: Y10 Joy
ROLE: Secretary of Promotion
Noxx is the secretary of promotion and promotion is
what he does very well!! -Thomas
Apart from his smart promotional tactics and excellent
A very hard working member, always give his
110% effort while executing his duty. -Amos
video shooting skills, Noss is a leader within our student
council cabinet and has, made crucial contributions to our
development. -Alvin
Noxx, someone whos very willing to voice out his
opinions and tries very hard to put words into
action. -Vania
Diligent & clever. -Hoi Man
Great and hilarious guy, really clever and very
hardworking!!! maybe just- a bit too hardworking.
-Sabrina
He's very reliable (when it comes to promotion)🌚 "
-Michelle
ARDICITY - 14
Here are some photos of our 2015 Christmas Ball! The rest of the photos has
already uploaded on our Facebook page! Check them out too!
A big thanks to Sean Lee, Sylvester Chan, Alex Chan,
Angela Poon, Audrey Ching, Oscar Tong, Melanie Kwan
and Jerry Wong!! (In no particular order)
THE VIC - VOLUME V - EDITION V - #31
SPORTS
C Grade BBall:
“The Force
Awakens”
by Jonathan Chung
& Linus Lim, Writers
After
the news of former NBA superstar
Kobe Bryant retiring after this season,
many consider it to be a sign of a new era
of basketball. The same can be said for
the VSA U14 boys basketball team, as
members of the once championship
caliber A grade/ U20 basketball team
graduates from VSA,U14 boys basketball
team proved to everyone that a new era of
VSA boys basketball has started through
solid and convincing results in the ISSFHK
group stage. After 4 matches, the U14 basketball team
remain unbeaten with average points
difference between VSA and opposing
team of 18.25, it’s clear that the current
U14 boys basketball team is a dominant
force not to be underestimated in the
future. One of the key to current success of U14
boys basketball team is balanced power
between the starters and the bench.
According to basketball team coach David
L e e , i n p re v i o u s m a t c h e s o f t h e
tournament, the players coming off the
bench can often stretch the lead gained
by starters, preserving crucial stamina for
the starters when opposing team strikes
back. Especially considering that players
at the age group of under 14 often don’t
have the stamina needed to play 40
minutes without significant drop of
performance, a strong and trustworthy
bench can often determine who the
winner of the age group is.
Another important factor to the current
success of U14 boys basketball team is
experience. Many members of the U14
boys basketball team had participated in
the same tournament last year, and Coach
Lee saw significant improvement in terms
of game awareness compared to last year,
which is crucial because those are skills
that can’t be developed without having
first-hand experience of a basketball
match. Also, as many of the members still have
4-5 years left in their VSA boys basketball
team career, there are lots of time for team
chemistry to be developed between
members which can further enhance their
performance overall.
But in the end, having balanced power
between starters and bench along with
experience won’t matter if the team
doesn’t have the heart to win it all, so U14
boys basketball team members must not
be taken away by their previous success
in their upcoming matches and if they can
perform well on a consistent basis, it’s no
question that they are capable of
challenging titles of many other
tournament.
Just Cutout
& Glue the
flaps together
The Very First
Vic Mini Paper
Soccer Ball.
V
Random Sports Facts
The word
“Soccer” is a
1800s slang term
!
The most football tricks
done in one minute is
85. John Farnsworth a
freestyle footballer from England,
currently holds the record.
Olympic gold
medals only
contain 1% of
gold (They
are mostly
Silver).
Samuel Groth
holds the record
for the fastest
serve in tennis
and at 263km/hr, it’s faster
!
than the top speed of an
average car.
SPORTS - 16
The tallest
NBA
basketball
players were
Manute Bol
and
Gheorghe
Muresan
both 231cm
tall.
*To scale
Astronaut Alan
Shepard played
golf on the Moon
after he
smuggled a golf
ball and club on
to the NASA
Apollo 14
mission.
The most
football
touches in
30 seconds
is held by a
female,
Chloe Hegland.
who manage to touch the ball
163 times with her feet whilst
keeping the ball in air.
Michael Jordan
was cut from
his high school
basketball
team.
Ruben Alcaraz set the
record of the longest
time to spin a basketball
on one finger which is in:
10 minutes and 33
seconds.
The dents and dimples on a golf ball help the ball
fly further than one that is smooth.
U14 GIRLS
B-BALL REPORT
kick. In those total of 40 minutes, our eyes were on our
opponents and the ball. At that time, nothing else mattered, the
only thing that mattered was getting the ball to the opposing
hoop and score.
During the match, one of
my teammates was doing
a layup but one of the
opponents pushed her on
the back while doing it and
she got injured. It was an
extremely sad loss
especially since we were
so close to the
championship, with a
complete winning streak.
Sadly, the best we could
do now was to win the
second runner-up.
By Alison Cho, Contributor
Our coach Ms. Tong Li Ling always told us
that “It doesn’t matter what the score is,
you just need to go out there and do your
best, and most importantly have fun. It
doesn’t matter if you make mistakes
during the game, it’s part of your growing
process to be more and more skilful and
successful at basketball.
So just go out there and give it your best!”. These words are our
motivation for every game, we now have stronger wills to win
and a much more focused mind.About 3 months ago, the
season started. After six incredibly intense games, we were
finally at the finals fighting for a third place in the ISSFHK
Division 2 U14 girls competition.
Throughout the game, all of us were sweating and breathing
hard as we listened intently to our coach’s instructions on what
to do next.
The whistle blows and we made our way to our spot on the
court. Once we were on the court, our instincts automatically
ROAD TO THE
CHAMPIONSHIP
By Griffin Lin, Writer
We have eight girls in the u14 team and one seven We have
eight girls in the u14 team and one seven due to unfortunate
injuries within the team. One of my teammates, including myself,
sprained our ankles during the season which made us unfit to
play in both practices or competitions. The last 3 games were
definitely the most nerve wrecking and toughest to play since
only seven of us were fit to play.
We had a total of six wins and one loss: one of them during
the semi-finals which we lost by seven points to Delia School of
Canada, unfortunately, I was unable to witness the match first
hand since the game took place all the way at Harrow
Tw e l v e b o y s , o n e
CONGRATULATIONS coach, one season,
U14 BOYS
one objective and one
championship.
Jason Wong
Against all odds, the C
Grade U14 Boys
successfully went on a
seven game unbeaten
run to take home the
ISSFHK Division 2
B a s k e t b a l l
Championship and to
be
crowned
champions!
James Ma
Y7C
Y7H
Garvin Chan
Jason Lau
Kyle Cheng
Adrian Leung
Griffin Lin
Matin Sat
Max Chang
This is OUR road to the championship, this is
OUR story. Firstly, congratulations to all
the teams that participated in this
year’s ISSFHK basketball season, a
shout out to the U18 Boys, U16 boys,
U12 boys, U16 girls and the U14 girls.
Well done to all the teams, we all tried
our best, went out to the court, and
shared the passion of playing basketball
to everyone.
International School Hong
Kong and my ankle was
still injured.
Y7J
Y8P
Y8R
Y8R
Y8R
Y8R
Y8T
Yang Yang
Y8T
George Ji
Y8P
Aidan Ha
Y8R
A few months back,
the twelve of us went
out to represent VSA
in the annual ISSFHK
Div 2 b-ball season.
As we look back to
where the journey all
first started, we would
like to thank all the
teachers, students,
coaches who has led
us and supported us
every second of every
minute of each game,
cheering on the
benches, shouting out
‘’Go VSA!’’.
CONGRATULATIONS
U14 GIRLS
Evelyn Hui
Y8C
Heidi Chui
Y8P
CK Lee
Y8P
Lotus Chan
Y8T
Tiffany Poon
Y8P
Joyce Wong
On behalf of my team, I
Y8R
would like to thank all the
students and teachers
who have had faith in us
Y8R
and cheered for us along
t h e w a y, y o u r m o r a l
Y6R
support has really meant a
lot to us. We would also
like to congratulate all the
teams that took part in this year’s ISSFHK basketball
competitions, U18 boys, U16 boys, U14 boys on their
championship title and also the U16 girls.
Alison Cho
Ashley Au
no matter we
were losing
by 24 points,
or winning
by 8 points,
all of you
were there
by our side
supporting
all twelve of
us.
Our coach,
C o a c h M r.
David Lee, thank you for everything you have provided
us, the training, the drills. Yeah, sure it was tiring, but it
is all the training and dedication you have placed in to
us, the trust you have given us, that has brought us to
where we are right now, without you, we have no clue
what a mess we will end up in.
As you have always told us ‘’The score doesn’t matter,
the points don’t matter, it is the experience and the
dedication you’ve put into your game that matters. So
go out the court, play your game, your way, try your
best and let’s win the ball game!’’
Thank you for all the support and hope you have given
us, we are every happy to say we have finally brought
the title to where it belongs, our home, our school,
VSA!!!
Special thanks to Ms. Liu, Mr. Copus, Mr. Millard and
Mr. W. Wong for joining in multiple games with us as our
fans during the course the season!
These are the memories that we will cherish everyday,
not the winning, but all the support you have given us,
HONG KONG
OLYMPIC
STATS
SPORTS -17
GAMES
FALLOUT 4: REVIEW
In the year of 2054,
governments start to
build vaults and our
protagonist was
chosen to live in one of
these vaults. They started building vaults
because a small scale nuclear war had
happened in 2053. In the year of 2066, China
decided to invade U.S. for the last bit of oil on
earth. Ultimately, in the year of 2077 the world had
nuclear war in a global scale broke out called
the Great war, causing the whole world become
a wasteland. The protagonist of the game is
lucky enough to be chosen to live in vault 111. Unlike other vaults where a lot of inhumane
experiments were conducted by the
government to create new species, technology,
and theories, he was only sealed in a cryo-pot
and was waked 210 years after the Great war. However, as you wake up, the “Institute”
captured your son “Shaun” and your wife was
killed for stopping them to do so. So, you went
on to a search for your son with your wife’s
wedding ring.
GAME STYLE OF FALLOUT 4
This is a game based on your personality and
playstyle, it is like reading a book but somehow
also writing it. The best part of the game is you
can choose how you want to live in the
wasteland. Fallout 4 allow you to make choices
freely and allow you to involve in the world
actively. The game style is really similar with most RPG.
You can choose what class and what skills to
level up after gaining experience. You can
choose to be smart, strong, lucky and fast.
There are 7 skill tree called “S.P.E.C.I.A.L”, each
have the maximum of 10 level. S for Strength, P
for Perception, E for Endurance, C for Charisma,
I for Intelligence, A for Agility and L for Luck. Every level up in the game will affect your
playing experience, the way you interact with
the characters and the environment, and even
the ending you get. For myself, I mainly level up
my Strength, Charisma and Luck based on me
in real life, as I prefer to use strength to solve
problem. The points you attribute to the skill tree
will lead to different perks. For example,
“Brawler” increase your melee damage. They
even have perks like “Lady killer” that increase
your charisma between female.
Throughout the game, you will meet a lot of facebook.com/thevicvsa
GAMES by Linus Lim,
eSports, Editor
Reviews, News… & more!
“WAR, WAR NEVER CHANGES”
By Wai Lam Leung, Contributor
different companions which all have different yet
special personality. They all show different
reaction to what you do. If your relationships is
maxed out, it will give you a special perk to
increase your character’s ability. Brotherhood of Steel is racist towards the
“synths” (robots that thinks and acts like human)
but is still trying to destroy the “Institute”, the
Railroads that keen on save the “synths”
through destroying the “Institute”. Some of the companions are even able to
perform romance with you, since we are living in
an open-minded world, homosexuality is also
available in the game.
Unlike characters in Fallout 3 where they are in
more of a neutral mood, characters in Fallout 4
is much more emotional. You can feel the fear,
joy and hatress of what the characters behold.
At the end of the game, I realise that the
characters in the wasteland is a living individual,
and their own story apparently is more special
than mine. It doesn't necessarily require
knowledge of the previous series to understand.
If you’re consider buying this game, its totally
gonna worth it.
Missions in the game is fun but also repetitive.
However, mission/events happens randomly
around the wasteland. Different mission will
give you different reward, companions or short
stories that makes you go on to a feels train. If
you want to expand the lifespan of this game,
you can ignore the main storyline and focus on
sidequests. I know some people that have yet
to finish the main storyline after hundreds of
hours. In this case, I used 30 hours to focus
and finish the main storyline.
Final Score: 9/10
OVERALL & COMPARISON
WITH OLDER SERIES (SPOILER
ALERT!)
Overall, Fallout 4 is a nice game individually. It
was named the game of the year for reasons,
such as the graphics, design, and the build up
of companions’ personality is up to a decent
standard. The combat and shooting system
had doubtlessly improved from the previous
games. However, it seem like that they only focuses on
the flashy graphics and the combat system
which is the popular trend of nowadays gaming
industry.
Comparing it
to the old Fallout
games, they have certainly taken out a lot of
elements that made the Fallout series
fascinating. IN BRIEF:
+Personality of characters
+Relationship between characters
+Combat system +Visual effect and
graphics
+New features (Building shelters,
crafting, framing, etc…) +Decent
storyline
+Wide range items +Excellent Voice
acting and dialogue
For example, the options you can choose in a
conversation has been decreased. Also the
perk system’s significance have been decreased
too in Fallout 4. In the previous series, the perk
“Lady Killer” provide you alternative solutions to
problem. In Fallout 4 the application of “Lady
Killer” have been largely limited. The funniest
part is it actually increase your damage against
female, becoming a literal “Lady Killer”. +Quality and Quantity of missions
+Character creation
Also a significant part that is missing is the
“Karma” system. In previous games, if you do
good/bad things it will affect your Karma,
eventually making you a bad or good person. In
Fallout 4, they removed such system, which
makes the fun of the game significantly
decrease as saying or doing anything DOESN’T
CHANGE ANYTHING! -Less engagement to the world’s event Repetition of missions
Another mentionable point is the plot. They
focused on building the image of NPCs in the
game, which made the conflict between
different clans more realistic.
Like the way
+Wide range items +Excellent Voice
acting and dialogue
-Less roleplaying compare to old ones Less decision making
‘GAME OF THE
YEAR’ AWARD
GOES TO:
UNDERTALE:
ARE YOU
GOING TO
HAVE A
BAD TIME?
By Jay Ku, Writer
As
games develop, more and more people have
access to technology that allows them to express
their creativity through creating fan made games,
or individually develop their own, original games.
Indie games, like Hotline Miami 2, Super Meat
Boy, Broforce and Terraria are gradually
becoming more and more popular, gaining their
own fanbase (and rightfully so). What are indie games? Indie games are video
games developed by an individual or a small
team of people, without being backed by a
publishing company financially. Most indie games
start from kickstarter projects or even the
developer doing it in his/her free time. Even so,
there have been a few indie games that have
been rather popular to boot, with incredible
storytelling and wonderfully crafted characters.
These stories make you feel part of it, and there
are moments where you want to pause the game
and savour the moment, with characters that
make you feel like you’re really talking to them,
filled with emotion, comedy, and seriousness.
In late 2015, an indie game (released in
September 15th, available on Steam for both Mac
and PC) has been crowned, or rather in popular
opinion, as this year’s best indie game, with
engaging characters and a fun mechanic, where
the game plays you as much as you play it,
selling over 500,000 copies so far, and has been
nominated Game of the Year. Developed,
published, illustrated, soundtrack created by a
single person, tobyfox (with additional artwork by
Temmie Chang, of course).
What is Undertale about? In a very short synopsis
(and without spoilers), you roleplay as a human
child who has fallen into the Underground, where
monsters who were banished long ago, live in. In
the game, you can befriend or fight the monsters,
and your goal is to escape from the Underground
and return to the surface. Of course, that’s just scratching the surface of the
iceberg; Undertale is best played blind, where
you know absolutely nothing about it and dive
straight in. The question is: why was it nominated
as Game of the Year? What is so special about a
pixelated, Earthbound looking, 8-bit game with
only one dimension and no fighting and gore?
The game received loads of accolades not
because of the “action” or “acting”, but rather the
unique, engaging characters and the writing. Although there isn’t a myriad of characters voice
acted by A-list voice actors like Troy Baker or
Nolan North, but these characters felt real, in the
way the game reacts to your previous choices
and changes how those characters speak to you.
The heartfelt moments in the game are
complemented by the comedic elements that a
certain few monsters that you would certainly fall
in love with. Although the graphics and artwork seem simple
and bland, the animation and soundtrack make
up for it, like the main theme of the game. The
pixelated artwork of the main characters were
also able to convey emotions effectively.
Undertale is completely replay-able, and you will
never cease to find new surprises in each playthrough (unless you’re that thorough in your first
play-through, then kudos to you). Now, Undertale
has gained a cult following, and it is looked down
upon if you kill anyone in your walkthrough,
preferably sparing the monsters, because if you
kill everything… You’re going to have a bad time.
V
GAMES - 18
JUST FUN & GAMES
Fun & Games by WHICH BOOK DOES THIS FIRST LINE BELONG TO?
Memes by
Ashley Kot
It was a pleasure to burn.
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number
four, Privet Drive, were proud to say
that they were perfectly normal,
thank you very much.
5
6
After a year of slavery in the Salt
Mines of Endovier, Celaena
Sardothien was accustomed to
being escorted everywhere in
8 shackles and at sword-point.
The week before I left my family and
Florida and the rest of my minor life to
go to Boarding School in Alabama, my
mother insisted on throwing me a
going-away party.
7
Wind howled through the night,
carrying a scent that would
change the world.
The last thing I wanted to do on my
summer break was blow up
another school.
9
10
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Cassandra Clare, City of Bones
James Dashner, The Maze Runner
He began his new life standing up,
surrounded by cold darkness and
stale, dusty air.
CURRENT NEWS EVENTS IN MEMES
"You've got to be kidding me," the
bouncer said, folding his arms
4 across his massive chest.
In my younger and more vulnerable
years my father gave me some
advice that I've been turning
3 over in my mind ever since.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
John Green, Looking for Alaska
Sarah J. Maas, Throne of Glass
Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Christopher Paolini, Eragon
FIND THE VIC
2
1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
It is a truth universally acknowledged,
that a single man in possession of a
good fortune, must be in want of a
wife.
Sze Hang Lo
Can you find the Queen Vic in these book covers?
FUN AND GAMES - 19
AT THE MOVIES
Friends Of Dawn
By Anonymous, Contributor
WITH AUSTIN UNG
I spread my eyes as I start to ascend, Got out my phone, my wallet, and my
keys.
I saw a photo about an old friend, And with his face is all the memories. Batman VS Superman is basically Batman and Superman taking on Lex Luthor. The film spends most on it's time
opening potential for subplots which can be expanded on JLA movies which WB Bros are expanding. Thus, most
of the time it's more of talking rather than fighting.
I think that Snyder failed miserably as he tries so hard to include so many comic book storylines, such as The
Death of Superman, which is a comic arc involving Doomsday killing off Superman, The Dark Knight Returns, which
is about a 50 year old Batman fighting against the authorities and
eventually a criminal gang called The Mutants (which is an obvious
inspiration for Ben Afflek's Batman as he his opposes against
Superman just like in TDKR). I also do think that Wonder Woman
seems to be a forced inclusion as she has an extremely minor role
throughout the film. However, I think that Lex Luthor is extremely
faithful to its source material as Lex’s first appearance (Action
Comics Issue 26) actually includes him having hair.
I can think of it now, and remember,
Happiness shined the sun on you and I.
About all the times we had together,
Colorful like a rainbow in the sky. I have chosen to structure this poem as Shakespearean
sonnet because the style of structure suits how my sonnet
develops onwards. Since this is a Shakespearean sonnet, it
has fourteen lines. This is important for my sonnet to develop
the story from one quatrain to the next, which fits with my
theme. The rhyme scheme and the iambic pentameter also
adds rhythm to how the poem is read. The iambic
pentameter is evident as every line is ten syllables long. In my sonnet, I have used different poetic devices. One
poetic device is the simile. An example in my sonnet is the
phrase ‘colorful like a rainbow’ on line eight. I also used the
volta, located between lines twelve and thirteen. This
changes the tone of the poem from being peaceful and
happy to a mysterious one. Another poetic device I used is
imagery on line six, where I create a point that the reader
imagines the setting with shining sun. A fourth poetic device I
used is pathetic fallacy. I depicted the sun as a happy sign,
and with that it shows the reader being happy. This
emphasizes the point of happiness in my poem. Overall, my sonnet “Friends of Dawn” is about friendship.
The message is that friendship lasts forever, and I used
different forms of structure and language to explain the
message. Overall, I think that the screenwriters accomplished it, entertaining audiences back in 1997 with the thrills of 11 percent in Rotten
Tomatoes!
Those empty nights without you next to me,
Those mornings when I see you deep asleep,
Inside that tired mind I cannot see,
Where all the thoughts and troubles you would keep.
Day and night inside your small dark faint room,
Beyond the wooden door I cannot see, Call after call, so busy, I assume,
But what’s to know if I barely see thee.
You are like the dark black color to me
Not responsive to the calls from the light;
Empty gusts blow back when I look at thee,
Why can’t you be like the bright color white?
What did I know? What can I even say?
It’s all for me at the end of the day.
Commentary:
The shakespearean sonnet i have created mainly expresses the
sadness,anger and complain because of the lack of love my father
gives to me because he is too busy. However, in the last two lines, i
state that i understand that his hard work is all for me. The tone of
my poem is mainly a complaint tone for the first 3 quatrains, but
later in the couplet i change to a more comforting tone and express
that i understand. The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF which
is the rhyme scheme for a shakespearean sonnet. Throughout the
poem, i have used a variety of poetic devices to make the poem
more appealing to the reader. I have used metaphor, simile, visual
imagery, personification, assonance and alliteration in my poem. In
the poem i have used these poetic devices, not only to make it
more appealing to the reader, but to also help to create tone and
express my theme.
Sonnet 626
Lettered Future
Never have I once imagined such love What would I do without you beside me For the wings of a mesmerising dove Shall embrace the love from your heart
maybe Dear me of the future, how are you now? I write from the past, in the hot summer Please remember this small meaningful vow We swear upon as I write and wonder. You are the brightest burning star by far,
The tree that blossoms every winter fall.
Dancing flows of larva bursting afar,
Thou flaws are ever endlessly small What would he want to remember from here?
The joys? The sadness? The long, slow lessons? Would he want them to slowly disappear With times he wished to spend with that person? Guilt once left me wondering vast For crimes of wistful stealing thou may sublime.
Never have you once doubted me at last,
Treating as though I were the last dime Though we may have grown helplessly apart
You will forever remain in my heart. Commentary:
The main theme and topic of this sonnet is based on
unconditional love from friends and family. In the first stanza,
one has described how they feel towards this kind of love.By
expressing that I have never imagined such love, this would
create empathy towards one as an effect from the readers.
The second stanza mainly consists of metaphors regarding
the counterpart, comparing him or her against nature using
personification. In the third stanza, one gave a detailed
account of their past encounters and how they were grateful
for the counterpart for not giving up on them. As a conclusion, one portrayed their emotions towards the
other and how they will still remain in one’s heart no matter
how far apart they are physically. I have written a sonnet named “Friends Of Dawn”. This
sonnet is about love in the sense of friendship. It talks about
how a strong friendship lasts forever even if they aren’t
physically around you. Overall, I think that the film is mediocre. The film focuses on too much subplots than the plot itself, giving the effect of a lack of plot at the
first glance. The lack of Joker is one of the biggest warning signs as this makes Batman nearly nothing good to do. I’m not expecting a
grand scheme, but at least find him to buy some time would be much better.
Analysis Despite its flaws, I also need to compliment the tone. The tone is much more similar to TDKR as it explore the abilities of being a vigilante
and its limits. It also features a much darker Batman. In TDKR Batman snaps Joker’s neck and in BvS Batman does use a gun, mirroring
his early appearances (in which he uses a gun) and he also tortures evil-doers for information. However, I think that the quality of TDKR is
much more better than BvS as it handles its subplots much more better. Thus, I hope that Warner Brothers learnt that this means just
because the film has a lot of content does not mean that the quality would be good.
It was a fun time before you had gone,
I will always see you when it is dawn. I was also disappointed by Cyborg and Aquaman too, as they serve as little the equivalent of a cameo. However, the Flash’s cameo is
extremely satisfying for some strange reason. This is because it tells a lot about the potential future in which Superman becomes insane
after Lois dies. This is similar as the story of the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, which is Mortal Kombat with a twist: A roster of
DC characters ranging from Aquaman to Zod. The video game is actually pretty awesome and I suggest you guys to check it out.
Doomsday is a whole new level of awesomeness. It is extremely faithful to the comic books, but I think the fight seemed to be too short
as in the story arc “The Death of Superman”, there was over 10 issues, not including the aftermath. Thus, Snyder’s execution can be
summarised as pathetic.
Anyway, the fights scenes are decent, and it surprises me as there isn’t any slow motion. Snyder is infamous for his fetish in slow motion.
For example, in 300, there are a lot of slow motion fight scenes. The damage done to Gotham City and Metropolis is significantly lower
than Man of Steel (which had 2 billion dollars worth of damage), which makes much more sense.
Friendship had built between the two of us,
It was not long ago we were alone. Of all the times we walked, or took the bus,
The nice photo that we took on my phone. There are also appearances of much less known characters or
easter eggs which you didn’t get, such KGBeast, which in the film
he is Anatoli Knyazev, Steve Trevor, Wonder Woman’s love interest
in the comics, Mother Box (the weird box in Cyborg’s video in
which in the comics it was a supercomputer used by The New
Gods), The Flash (as a civilian stopping a robbery at a Grocery
Store), Darkseid (The guy that controls the mosquito monsters
during Flash’s dream, Lex’s warning to Batman, and the Omega
symbol), Joker (“Freaks dressed like clowns), Robin (possibly Jason
Todd, as it in the comics he was killed off by Joker, only resurrected
during as Red Hood), Riddler (the question mark graffiti) and finally The JLA (Batman, Superman and Wonder woman teaming up).
It’s All For Me At
The End Of The
Were my feelings better hidden? Unsaid? Would it have changed my life for the better?
What if I hadn’t run away from dread? Is it better to save it for later? And so, as I seal this vow between us I hope you’ll make the right choice, as you must. Commentary
This sonnet is written in the format of a letter, where the
protagonist wrote it for their future self to read.
In the sonnet, the protagonist is hesitating over whether or not
they should keep their feelings for themselves or confess. In the end, the protagonist doesn’t confess, and writes this
letter to tell their future self to decide whether then is the right
time or not. The protagonists hopes her future self does not
regret her decision not to confess.
Even though it isn’t directly written out, the main idea of the
sonnet is to show that “Nothing gold can stay”, and that they
shouldn’t have taken their time for granted. ONLINE EXCLUSIVE-A&E
facebook.com/
Omniscience
By Jay Ku, Soon-to-be Alumni
In the beginning, there was only darkness. Nothing existed but the chaos and the seemingly
eternal oblivion that was once the universe. There was only singularity. Time didn’t even begin
to exist, nothing had meaning at all, let alone living things, planets, galaxies… That was the
universe that we all came to know today.
But then, for a moment,
I came to be.
It all happened so quickly; I was born in the middle of a vast space of mere nothingness for a
fraction of a moment, and a blinding, destructive cosmic explosion followed my birth. It was
overwhelming. Needless to say, the explosion spreaded throughout the whole universe,
forming interstellar clouds of dust and gas. They stayed there, floating motionlessly in the
middle of the vast space. Gradually, they clustered together, forming planets, solar systems,
then discs of galaxies… It would have been a magnificent sight for any sentient being, but
alas I was the only one to view it fully.
Emotions meant nothing to me that time, neither did time, which was the reason why I merely
observed what would be called the birth of the universe for eons. Besides observing, I did
nothing else; I perceived every single event that happened, but did nothing, nor could I
interact with anything within my immediate vicinity at all, if I wanted to. I was but a spectator of
time. I witnessed the formation of a bright, orange yellow sun, as it was began to form from
extreme quantities of heated gas. Rocks, now planets, began to orbit around the large ball of
glaring, intense heat. Nine planets, heated rocks of various sizes circled around the sun
quickly, as their surfaces began to reshape and adjust to this lingering genesis of this
particular solar system.
I have taken an interest in this solar system, and I could foresee a rather… intriguing future in
one of its planets; the third planet away from the sun. I witnessed mountains of fire erupting
and forming, beginning to show me its true potential of destruction.
For some reason, I found it beautiful. The delightful sight of the solid form that was the result
of molten liquid and gas condensed and cooled. The surface of Earth, which I had taken the
liberty to give such a simple name, began to form as more of it cooled down. As I was
marvelling at the beauty of these solid planets, tremendous rocks raced into Earth, and began
to bombard its surface, not sparing the a single piece of the planet of the havoc wreaked upon
it. For the first time , I felt sadness and overprotectiveness; I wanted to stop them, to stop the
rocks from ruining my precious Earth, as they continuously attacked the surface I once
marvelled at.
Around four Earth’s orbital cycles later, the bombardment stopped, and it left me in sadness,
disappointed that it was no longer beautiful, but I sensed something coming.
Due to the heat brought by the destruction, the surface of the Earth began to reshape and
reform, and mountains of molten rock rose from the ground, and began sprouting soot,
flaming and molten rock from their rigid brims. I no longer felt bad for the suffering the Earth
had to endure, but instead felt pleasure for it, for the extreme makeover might have been
worth what would happen next.
I decided to ignore the growth of the rest of the universe, for my interest had grown as I
watched the Earth begin to form landscapes naturally. Immense mountains towered over the
vast sea and the single piece of land the former had surrounded. Climate changes came and
went, and yet it had never gotten "old" to me.
Time was the most trivial subject that I could ever think of, for I... I was no tangible, nor living
being. What was thousands of millennia felt like minutes to me, as what had actually
happened was a deep contrast to what I had perceived; day came as quickly as night came in
a matter of seconds. Time was trivial to me, thanks to my omniscience. I was eternal; I was
immortal, but I was intangible. I was not a living being, rather a mere spectator of the world. I
was stuck between the limbo of existence. This was a price to pay for being omniscient, but I'll
have to admit that it was worth it.
Despite my own flaws, I had paid attention to every detail, every motion... Every life.
Yes, I had realized that I had missed a particular detail within the encompassing ocean: a
single cellular being - no, a whole new wonder of the world was beginning to thrive.
The new species had began to evolve into multicellular underwater beings, some with
tentacles, gills, fins... Years passed, and the animals slowly came out from their hiding and
bravely embraced the land, as the earth, too, had commenced separating and formed other
lands. Plantlife had begun to thrive as well. So did the creatures. Dry lands, empty lands
spread plant life everywhere habitable, and the population of creatures flourished. I observed
the creatures growing from single-celled beings to a dominant reptilian race, along with some
other mammalian species, as well. Most of the reptilian race were large in size, as the strong
devoured the weak, whom were trying to survive by running and hiding.
Then came an old friend of mine: a meteor. Like millions of years ago, I felt the same dread
that had washed over me when the shower had bombarded the young Earth, but I accepted
the inevitable as I again watched it obliterate every creature unlucky enough to be within the
blast radius. The large reptilian species were absolutely exterminated, leaving the smaller
ones to survive and pass on their young.
Life went on.
Survivors of the meteor blast gradually evolved, and adapted to the new environment they
were presented with.
Millions of years passed again, and I had never gotten bored of observing the peculiar
behavior of those creatures inhabiting my precious Earth for generations, a world that I had
decided to take possession in and focus on; a world that I had nothing to do with. I was
eternal and I could see, hear, and sense everything. I sometimes question my existence, but
even my omniscient knowledge couldn’t answer the question: “Why do I exist? What am I,
really?”, so I had given up, and continued to watch nature take its course.
Evolution continued to progress, as a primitive being who was able to walk on two hind legs,
had began to lose hair, and slowly, they possessed little hair, unlike their ancestors. Those
evolved primitive creatures, which I had called homo sapiens, had invented tools and artificial
fire in order to keep themselves alive. Their brains were developing at a fast speed, as the
race grew smarter every generation.
Eventually, the homo sapiens had built shelters made of basic materials,, formed civilizations,
cultivated lands, threw away their traditional hunter-gatherer ways of life, and began to gather
livestock and bred them. These… humans, were much more superior than the other creatures
that inhabited the earth.
I was beyond intrigued of how advanced the humans had advanced, and I strived to achieve
any means necessary to find a way to interact or see it for myself, experiencing their lifestyle,
even if it meant discarding and shirking my responsibilities as an Spectator. Using every bit of
my effort, I had formed a tangible body around me, but I knew that it wasn’t able to sustain my
TELL ME A STORY - ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
sheer spirit, but it was enough for me to find a civilization and interact with them… just this
once, and defy my nature.
Appearing in front of a squire of a human city, with their dirt walls and towering trees
surrounding the area, my ethereal form had become mortal. I stood in the middle of a crowd of
humans, and for the first time in my existence, I saw what humans had been able to
comprehend of my physique. Because of me struggling to sustain a mortal body with my
latterly discovered immense power, my body was barely human at all, but visible to the
humans. I was able to maintain a naked, transparent humanoid body adequate with limbs, a
torso and head. I was genderless, thus I had no reproductive organs, unlike these magnificent
beings before me.
They stared at my direction, eyes wide in shock. Fear in their eyes, I could sense alienation
from this civilization.
I approached a bewildered female human being, who was carrying her offspring in her arms. I
struggled to speak in their complex language, “Hello.” Simply by touching, I had inadvertently
erased the female from existence. Her form had suddenly disappeared, leaving her fellow
humans even more astonished. I honestly didn’t mean it. I had already crossed my border,
and I had had enough of what I have done. I abandoned the my mortal husk and my desire to
interact with the humans.
After a while, humans had began worshipping me due to my powers demonstrated in front of
them. They had began worshipping me as some sort of supreme deity. Calling me as a ‘god’,
or the all powerful, all-knowing lord over them. Of course, I would have denied, but I didn’t
dare set foot and cause destruction again and allow my powers to defile this land. I had
wronged once, and I must never take any chances.
The humans had began to form groups of belief in “honour” of me; they had built monuments,
shrines and temples to worship me, weekly, and called me God. Of course, I was flattered as I
stayed in my own realm of omniscience, but then humans became corrupted and did nature
defying acts in my name. Some others disagreed with the conventional belief, and called me
other names and based several other gods on me. I cared not for such religions.
Conflict led to bloodshed. I watched, and realized that these humans were weak. They were
pathetic without something leading them to a certain goal, and were doomed in a destructive
future. Civilizations were incomplete without a powerful being. I had come to realize that
humans needed something besides their superiority over the other creatures and their
intellect; but something to truly to believe in: Me.
The first couple of centuries of aiding the humans in their endeavors have been proven
useless, as they took the “miracles” I had created for granted, however, I continued to watch
and observed their actions, as their devotion to me had gotten out of hand. I ignored them,
and moved onto the real progress humans have made. Surely religion is not the only thing
they were able to create?
Humans were able to use their ingenuity to invent tools to aid them. Centuries after my first
encounter with the humans, they have been able to collect minerals and metals from the
ground. They also invented a sort of amalgamation of noises of different sounds, pitches and
rhythms, which was ‘music’. I could see a bright future for them, despite contradicting their evil
nature.
The only thing I could do right now is to continue to mourn for the female I had inadvertently
killed, and continue to watch, as I have named myself “Observer”.
Millennia passed.
Unsurprisingly, humans have progressed significantly, around two millennia after a
man claiming to be a son of mine was cruelly sacrificed. I felt pity for the man, but
that’s just how life goes.
A lot has happened ever since that crucifixion happened. People were more
devoted to the worship of religion, and desperately needed a savior. On the other
hand, during those two millennia, humans have waged wars, invented advanced
tools, weapons, machinery and have discovered new things that I have already
knew of.
Twentieth century since the crucifixion; two heated, global wars were waged
between the Earth’s colossal nations. I merely observed as humans killed each
other off, and possibly doing even more inhumane acts. Although I could be
considered as a god, I could do nothing but ‘live’ up to the name I had given myself.
I could crush human civilisations like stepping on anthills. I could use my powers for
evil, but I chose to hide them away. I have ignored my reputation as a god, and
continue to observe.
There were indeed a few particular humans I have despised during the second
World War waged between globally: Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zhe Dong...
But I admired their tenacity and their abilities. They were able to lead the weak
ones to their goals, but what they did was unforgivable.
Fortunately, things slowly calmed down, as the humans began to slowly evolve,
loosening their binds, thanks to a large number of revolutionaries and freedom
fighters who sought to help others over the centuries. They were the light that
brought hope to me when I thought the fate of all humans was doomed.
The twenty-first century was considered a revolutionary year for humans, as their
technology advanced even more, with science aiding their findings and innovative
inventions. Humans can be debatably leeches or assets for the growth of life. You
see, majority of the animal extinctions, climate changes, calamities and many more
disasters were caused by the greed of the homo sapiens. A minority of them strived
to at least minimalise this by dedicating their lives to fight against this. I watched,
and began to wonder, despite my omniscience: What is the purpose for everything?
Obviously, my purpose was to observe. The purpose for animals was to sustain the
food chain, and the purpose for nature was to help sustain life, but what of
humans? Animals had still thrived peacefully without humans.
I came to a solution: Evolution. Evolution was inevitable, and to adapt to new
environments, living beings adapt to them by inadvertently changing their bodies
and how they work, thus being able to survive, but I digress.
Observing the growth of this planet was my job, and I was not supposed to become
VOLUME V - EDITION 1 - #27
bored with merely looking at the big picture. I needed something to entertain me,
something that I would less likely fuel my strife at human nature, so I sondered.
Sondering is an act of looking at a random passerby and realising that they have the
same complex life as the sonderer, despite the fact that I am no such mortal being,
but I sondered nonetheless. I picked a small city in India: Pondicherry, and began to
look into everyone’s lives.
I watched an infant grow and be raised in a happy Hindu family, fully supported by
his parents, who owned a zoo. They did not share the beliefs as the people who
believed in me, but I viewed every human as the same. He grew into an average
teenager, and as he grew up, he grew an independent mind. Slightly straying from
his religion, he had also believed in to others, claiming that he just wants to love
‘God’. Surprised, I had taken an interest in this mortal.
One day, he and his parents had set out to Canada after being forced to move with
the zoo. Unfortunately, the freighter ship that had carried the family and the zoo was
wrecked, leaving the boy alone to survive on a lifeboat, accompanied by a Bengal
tiger.
I watched over him, as he and the Bengal tiger coexisted. The beast had kept him
sane, as the boy returned the favor by keeping it alive. I would have expected the
boy to take a chance to slay it while the beast trusted him, but he proved me wrong
by growing an attachment to it. It was simply a magnificent story of this boy to
behold, as the odds of survival were slim, but he managed regardless.
I watched the boy finally reach shore after nearly a year stranded in the Pacific
Ocean, and continued to live his life.
Sometimes, humans amaze me. In other times, they infuriate me. This is truly an
interesting world. Observing it was my nature, and I intend to keep it that way. I look
forward to the future. My observation was simply something to keep me occupied,
and an unsettling question has been annoying since humans started to evolve:
Everything has a beginning and an end. Since this world has began, this means
there must be an end, and there must be a world before that. My omniscience only
allows me to see what has happened and I remember every single detail, but I know
not of the future, nor the past. I questioned everything, despite all I could do is
observe. I wanted to know what was the world before this one, and the future of it.
Sometimes I wonder if there will ever be an end to this universe.
How will this universe end?
I know not of the future, therefore I assume that it will end with simply…
Oblivion.
—The End—
The Power of Silence
By Abbey Chan,
The Oxford dictionary defines “Silence” as “Complete
absence of sound”, if you cannot hear anything then you
are in silence. “Silence” origins from the Middle English,
from Old French, from Latin “silentium”, from “silere”
meaning to be silent.
Silence can be perceived in different perspectives; a
philosophical thought experiment from George Berkeley
an Irish philosopher published a book called “A Treatise
Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge” (1710)
states that "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around
to hear it, does it make a sound?" This raises questions
regarding observation and knowledge of reality. The fact
that some people who have better hearing then most are
able to hear more sounds; that means if one person
thinks that it is quiet, the other might think that there is
silence. For example, a younger person may hear highpitched noises whilst older people might not. But then
again there is a possibility of them using hearing aid. A
person in a room may not hear any sounds, but a person
with hearing aid may be able to hear sounds.
Silence is an experience, it just simply never happens
while we are alive. If one is in an anechoic chamber, an
area deliberately created to exclude all external sounds
and minimize absolutely any sound we may make when
inside it, we 'hear', very loudly, the sound of our blood
being pumped through the veins close to our ears. But
because the silent environment is so strange and foreign
to us, our receptive mechanism for sound is 'turned up'
high, and what we actually hear is perceived to be
extremely loud. Some think that the perception of silence
is felt to be portentous, and with all our senses keyed
up, whatever we 'hear' will be greatly magnified.
There is a well-known idiom “Speech is silver, Silence is
golden”, silence is important for paying respect to
people. It is not deferential to disturb someone who is
speaking out their thoughts; it is not polite to make
slurping sounds while drinking or talking while eating. It
is not polite to share your opinions during a movie; it is
just as rude as getting every last drop of soda through a
straw in an almost empty cup.
Silence is valued and required when reflecting about
something and it is important to be quiet when people
are praying, to be respectful to people’s beliefs. It allows
people to listen to one another more effectively; it gives
you a clear view into the hearts of others. It is difficult to
concentrate on a test or assignment if someone is
making noises. When reading a book, the presence of
silence is appreciated, in some cases welcoming and
soothing. If someone is focusing on playing a video
game and someone makes a sudden noise, it affects the
person's reflexes, it causes that person to falter and the
words “GAME OVER” will appear on the pitch-black
screen. When you drive, disruptions from other people in
the car or from a cell phone can distract the driver,
causing disastrous accidents to occur and putting other
people’s lives in danger.
Managing Editor
Silence can also be found when you are in the deep
side of pool, surrounded by the water. And you look up
and see how the light bounces off the surface of the
pool, while the tightening feeling of the your chest
increases and the absence of your breath decreases.
And when you resurface, breaking through the water like
a dolphin, taking in generous amounts of air into your
lungs the silence of either fear or relief is over, you
realized the beauty of silence for a moment either calms
you or pictures flashes through your mind that you may
be in silence forever.
With silence, speeches are made more dramatic with the
powerful silence between the lines, creating suspense
and capturing the audience’s attention. It is used in
music, to distinguish other periods of sound and allow
dynamics, melodies and rhythms to have greater impact
on the listeners. It is the same silence that holds the
tension in the air after a heated argument, the tension so
thick that you could slice it open with a sharp knife. It is
the same silence that is equivalent to an empty paper,
like when your heart is blank and deprived from
sensation. It is the silence that makes people feel lonely
to the core of their hearts, empty like the endless depths
of the ocean and isolated from the rest of the world.
It is the same silence that rests between lovers, the
comfortable peaceful silence that no words are needed
to be spoken, because simply sometimes silence speaks
louder than words. SIlence is loud because it commands
attention, it demands to be heard. It is the same silence
when you exchange eye contact between you and your
friends across the room, like a different type of Morse
code that only you two could understand. It is the same
word, “silence” that is used in famous works like
Shakespeare, “Silence is the perfectest herald of joy. I
were but little happy” Much Ado About Nothing, (Act 2,
Scene 1, line 317) from Claudio, as he speaks to
Beatrice about Hero.
“Seeing her sitting there unresponsive makes me realize
that silence has a sound.” Was said from Jodi Picoult’s
novel, My Sister’s Keeper, this means sometimes even if
we don’t speak, our actions speaks louder than our
words. Even to the eyes of other people, including our
loved ones. It is the same feeling when you receive bad
news from someone, when you become paralyzed,
numbed, silencing the outside world as the newfound
news sinks into the depths of your mind, clouding all
your judgments.
Right from the beginning, before the Big Bang, the
cosmic universe only consisted silence, where no form
of life existed except for the constant flow of stars,
galaxies and mere silence. It is the equilibrium of sound
waves that we learn in Physics, the opposing force of
sound and how it travels. But now, the form of silence
can be rarely heard. The constant bustling noises of the
city, the busy traffic and blaring car horns, the never
ending shouts and yells heard, even if sound appears as
whispers, silence can be rarely heard.
A picture is silent, it is not a video yet it is worth more
than a thousand words; this could be spoken about the
refugee crisis from Syria. During September 2015, a
picture depicted a dark-haired toddler, wearing a brightred T-shirt and shorts, lying face down in the surf not far
from Turkey’s fashionable resort town of Bodrum. The
contrast between where the photo was taken and the
toddler’s death was ironic. Within hours, the picture went
viral, it sparked up controversy online on social media
platforms like Twitter under the hashtag
#KiyiyaVuranInsanlik (humanity washed ashore). This
showed how refugees have to fight and survive in
silence, the harsh reality of how a little three year old’s
life ended just because his family was running away
form the war, and hoping to seek a better life. And
reflects on how big of a impact war has on modern
civilization.
And although we can no longer find ourselves blanketed
by the veil of silence, we conform ourselves to activities
that give us the same sense of peace, like reading,
meditation or yoga. I am incomplete when I am not in a
noisy environment for I grew up where noise is apart of
whom I am, a part of my society.
However some might argue that silence is not powerful,
that it is not golden to the hearing deprive group of
people. Some people choose to have selective deaf
ears, like if our parents nag us about school work or how
you didn’t do this, or you didn’t do that. But parents only
nag because they care about you, and what you to have
a better like. So in this case, is silence powerful or is it
just a tool?
No matter how we perceive or try to attain silence, we
never truly have it. For when we try to get away from the
noise of life by going into a quiet room, removing all
distractions, making ourselves stop thinking, and just
craning your neck to hear the sound of deafening
silence. To some it might be scary, to some it might be
comforting, but nonetheless silence will always speak
louder then any gaze, words, actions or behaviour.
You are most powerful when you are in silence, because
people never expect silence. They expect words,
actions, defense, and offense, back and forth. They
expect you to leap into the fray; and they will be ready,
with their fists up, words like acid dripping from the
corners of their mouth ready to spit at you. But if you
remain silent, their acid-like words will be swallowed by
their own pride, and you will be safe, because you kept
quiet.
And that is the power of silence.
TELL ME A STORY - ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
Have a break; read our comics.
By: Raphaele Guillemot, Artist
HIGH
STUDENTS GETTING
READY FOR SCHOOL LIKE
MED
By: Sze Hang Lo, Editor
March winds and April showers, please,
black rain for a couple of hours!
By: Sze Hang Lo, Editor
COMICS IN
TECHNOLOGY
By:Jay Ku, Artist
Online comics—webcomics—are growing popular among
teenagers and adults who love visual stories on the go.
Because of online servers and publishers, artists receive a chance
to display their comic to a larger online community and audience.
These websites include Hiveworks, Tapastic, and Webtoon, all of
which are accessible online, without having to sign in or register
using an account.
In addition, some websites like Webtoon and Tapastic also have
mobile apps, bringing easier access.
As such a versatile and flexible type of comic, webcomics are
beneficial to both the readers and the artists; providing free but
good quality entertainment and convenience while also publicising
the artist’s skills and artwork.
VIC COMICS - ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

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