Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk 2010 in Bangkok

The photo walkers at the King Rama 1 Statue before the jump-off
of the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk 2010 in Wang Burapha
Phirom, Bangkok, Thailand on July 24, 2010.

Led by the Siam Pinoy Aperture Society (SPAS), a group of Filipino photographers in the Kingdom of Thailand, this year's Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk in Wang Burapha Phirom, Bangkok, Thailand (Pak Khlong Talat) became a remarkable gathering of photographers from different sides of the world. Participated in by some European and African photographers and mostly Filipino and Thai photo enthusiasts, everyone was gathered capturing the unique urban culture that this side of Bangkok has to offer. 

Pak Khlong Talat is undoubtedly the flower trading area of
Bangkok as depicted in this picture.

Gathered at 3:30 in the afternoon at the King  

Rama 1 statue for short briefing and group picture taking, the group then headed towards Pak Khlong Talat where exquisite variety of flowers can be found. The area is at its best for macro and street photography as details could be beautifully captured and dramatic scenes are just around the corner. Following the route of the Photo Walk, everyone passed through the Grand Palace compound where unique Thai architecture and some western-inspired designs roused every walker to spontaneously snap their gadgets. 

Taken at the Grand Palace compund, this photo is my
entry for the contest in Scott Kelby World Wide Photo
Walk 2010 .

Thai TV Channel 3 was there to cover the event. A reporter accompanied by three crews, followed and interviewed some of the walkers. The coverage was aired in the channel's program later in the evening. That, actually, made the event more remarkable in its truest sense. 

After the walk, the group met at Cafe' Democ near the Democracy Monument for some food and drinks and networking. Everyone was also up at sharing their experiences during the walk and the pictures they have taken. But for me, it did not end there as a sumptuous dinner, lively chat and mesmerizing music followed at De River of River with some of the walkers. The day was very long but it was enjoyable and rewarding. It was great to meet new people and, of course, meet same old brilliant friends. 

More pictures can be viewed in my Flickr Photostream. Just click the thumbnails in the right sidebar of this blog and it would direct you to my photostream.  

PHOTO CREDIT: The group picture of the walkers as seen in this blog was taken by Jose Tan of Siam Pinoy - the ultimate online Filipino community in Thailand. 

Inception: Deciphering Dreams within Dreams

Inception is perhaps the best movie that this year could offer. From the gifted director and screenwriter Christopher Nolan, this film is absolutely a work of a genius who is so abreast of the twist and turns of sci-fi flicks. The muddling up of the intricacies of the scientific world and the fantasy-filled space is brilliant and in a way astonishing. Watching a flick wherein the plot entirely revolves in the subconscious world of human dreams, one would be left thinking of what’s real and what’s unreal. Heart-pumping in its own way and mind-blowing in every aspect of the plot, the movie would leave the audience rationally bewildered.

Synopsis (from Warner Bros. as posted in the Internet Movie Database)

Dom Cobb (played by award-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible-inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming.

My Review:

Directly speaking, I have never seen a movie as exceptional as this. If I consider Dan Brown a literature genius because of his astounding yet controversial The Da Vinci Code, Christopher Nolan is no less than a whiz for such an imaginative mind that was able to coherently mix up reality with fantasy.

As the plot details layers of dreams, it would somehow leave the viewers with powerful truth-seeking minds trying to decipher which is delusion and which is real and that makes the movie mentally gratifying. Emotion would never be spared in this film as the story itself would perk your hearts up and would make it beat faster as you tend to undergo factual and emotive discernment of each and every incidental reason.

The cast, led by veteran actor Leonardo DiCaprio, justified the film with their convincing stunts. Ellen Page is also worth of a mention for her dramatic and intellectual rationalization of the "inception."

The setting and the visual effects were nothing but awe-inspiring especially that scene where the van was about to fall from the bridge and the one where they lost gravity in the hotel. The scene is scientifically real and the visual representation was awesome. If you are the kind of person who likes light but convincing visual effects, you will agree with me that the visuals of the film are commendable.

Although there have been plenty of feedback that the plot of the movie is not clear, I would not agree. Concentration and rational viewing of the film would clear things out. I highly recommend this film to everyone. It’s absolutely worth of your time, effort and money.

My Rating:

For satisfying my ravenous mind and hammering my altering sensation, I give this film a rating of 9 out of 10. I will spare 1 to the many other films which would not catch my fancy. I believe Nolan would be kind enough to share that point to others. :)

Mastery Matters

After reading some researches on Mathematics Education and having a couple of observations in my classes, I thought of not giving homeworks to my students anymore. My reasons are personally valid based on the observations I had and the supposedly purpose for giving homeworks. Homeworks are supposed to be given for practice and mastery of mathematical concepts and skills. However, with the learners' bulk of homeworks, the extension works I have given them as homework were clearly done for the sake of finishing them and not being scolded in the classroom.

The truth about homework is that the students who have been performing in class well and seem to have mastered the concepts and skills already are the ones who would most likely do them while those who need them the most would most likely escape from them and end up copying or half-heartedly doing them. Goals are forfeited, indeed.

I decided, instead of giving homeworks, I could give all the exercises in the classroom. That way I could make sure that they are all doing and I could also provide immediate feedback -- straightforward when a mathematical problem is correctly solved and when a mistake is committed in any part of the solution. I know it would work but I need to put on another consideration and that is TIME. Time is one of the greatest constraint for not achieving something -- there has been too little time to a learn a couple of mathematical concepts.

It's one of the worst scenario in our education institutions today. Too much focus has been given on studying a couple of contents and students are treated like machines who are ready to accept all those things fed unto them. It's an ugly truth and I don't want to live into it. Learning concepts matters more than studying concepts because the learned ones tend to be applied more that those ones which were only studied. Studying and learning has to be differentiated in this case as not all who study learn.

NEW and NEWS

I want to start with the NEW:

I have been so busy in the past days because the NEW school year has just started and, as usual, there are lots of things which need to be tried, redone and polished. I started a NEW learning portal blog for my students through Blogger platform. The idea was coined last school year but it was materialized only last month due to some considerations which I needed to put on for the learners. I already had class wiki last school year but I decided to change it into portal blog for easier customization to suit the learners' needs and capabilities.

I got NEW students this school year and NEW level and subject matter to teach. Like last year, I am still teaching Mathematics for Grade 8 and Grade 11 but I have new students where few of them are girls unlike last year where only my Grade 11 class got some girls. My Grade 11 students last year are still my students this year but they are now in Grade 12 so I got old students with new subject matter to teach. And guess, I am always excited because it's Calculus. I'll gonna be deeply thinking with my students!

Two weeks ago, I also signed a NEW contract with my school which meant that I would be working in Thailand for another school year. That's another milestone for me and my kids. I also had my Visa extended.

And now, the NEWS...

I already got my permanent teaching license from the Ministry of Education in Thailand. My temporary teaching license has already expired as its validity is only for two years. I did not actually sweat off that much to get this teaching license especially that I am a licensed teacher in the Philippines. That's the advantage if you got a degree in education or a licensed teacher from your country of origin. I just took a 20-hour training on Thai Language, Culture and Professional Ethics which is one of the requirements. I was so amazed how fast was the processing. Now, I am only waiting for the ID card to be issued by the Teachers' Council of Thailand.

Another big news bumped upon me and my students last week. Our entry in the International Schools CyberFair Contest 2010 got the Platinum Prize which is the highest distinction for a project in each category. Our research project "Save Bangkok, Save Earth" was under Environmental Awareness category. We got the platinum prize together with Saint Louis University Laboratory High School of Baguio City, Philippines. I am very happy and proud of my students!

Welcome School Year 2010-2011!

After being delayed for one week because of the current peace and order situation in Bangkok, classes for school year 2010-2011 would finally start next week. Although I am not happy with the current situation of the capital which affects every waking man in the city, I was glad to learn that I would be having more time to prepare my lessons and all those necessary and 'unnecessary' documentations for the new school year.

Almost everything is new this school year as we embark to the third year of the instigation of the bilingual curriculum for English, Math and Science. New textbooks are arriving and new curriculum has to be followed. Standards were also set for the teaching of the three core subjects wherein analysis of the relevance of the subject matter to the standards had to be painstakingly done as I found the two to have divergent concerns. Well, that's for high school Mathematics.

This school year, I would be teaching the same levels I taught last year (Grade 8 and Grade 11) but I would have one additional class in Mathematics in Grade 12. I would be handling 11 classes all in all with at least three varied preparations per week and, I tell you, that is really inspiring. At least, I would not have that time to entertain negative thoughts as I would be spending much of my time with my close to 600 students with absolutely varied interests and level of development in English language and in Mathematics. I should say that I leveled up this school year.

Wish me luck, folks!