The Cinnamon Roll

A Frank review: Why you shouldn’t miss USProds this weekend

By Samara Gan I was invited to watch a preview of Frank on Tuesday afternoon and I am so glad I went for it. Frank, USP’s first Fall Productions, is a modern day Singaporean take on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and tells a tale of how Singapore society reacts to the unknown, and with fear and imagination, turns it into a monster. Much of Frank’s charm is in its titular character Frankie,…

Putting ‘action’ into ‘action figures’: USP’s secret DIY master

When I first met Ihsan last year, he seemed like a quiet, stoic, and reserved man. So imagine my shock when I ran into him at the Singapore Toys, Games, and Comics Convention (STGCC) on Sunday, dressed up as Vigilante from Arrow, with a rifle to boot. (more…)

Giant Clam Shells seek asylum in Singapore after public furore over immigration status

By: A. Mollusk In a dramatic turn of events, a family of giant clam shells have filed for asylum in Singapore, in what is a first for Singapore, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) shared in a press conference on Monday night. According to the MHA, the giant clam shells were picked up from the shores of Pulau Gojong and brought into Singapore on a 60-foot schooner during a daring rescue trip,…

By: Choo Ruizhi I watched a student-produced play on Saturday, called Everlife. It cost $18, which is a lot of money, even if you are from the Singaporean bourgeoisie, and have pretensions to high culture. I didn’t have just a few pretensions to high culture. Not many, just a few. The play gave me some food for thought. Of course, the work itself had its flaws, despite the weeks and months of…

By: Edward Goh Khiam Li About Kintsugi The play Everlife was performed from 20-22 January 2017 by USProductions at Yale-NUS’s Black Box. The poem Kintsugi chronicles how a play is born and is dedicated to the playwright, director and cast, and the supporting crew of Everlife and other productions teams everywhere, who have both agonized and delighted in their work. Because it was inspired by…

The Sessions: Brexit and Beyond

By: Soon Hao Jing Dozens of students gathered in Chatterbox for the latest edition of The Sessions, titled ‘Brexit and Beyond’, to learn about the vote and its implications, seven months after the fateful 23 June 2016 British referendum on the country’s continued European Union (EU) membership. The dialogue, held Monday, 23 January evening, featured Alexandra McKenzie, the British Deputy High…

By: Ow Yong Zhi Qi The United States is that one nation in the entire world that commands global attention. From music to movies to television, no one can keep their eyes off them. I’m no political pundit. I know as much about Congress, the Senate, and the two dominant parties as any other person. Which is to say, I understand very little. The intrigues and machinations of US politics remain a…

You Are So Much More

By: Dennis Lam Wei Quan Exams are coming. The thought of that strikes in us a fear so rational, and yet so irrational at the same time. A fear of botching what is seemingly the culmination of the perennial youth pastime affectionately called studying. After countless late – maybe sleepless – nights, we base the fruits of our labour on a few alphabets, and measure our learning and accomplishments…

The Sessions: Singapore in Southeast Asia (Between China and India)

By: Sarah Kow Few events have the capacity to fill Chatterbox on a week 12 evening. But the dialogue session with Chairman of Kerry Logistics and Chancellor of Nalanda University, Mr George Yeo was more than sufficient a reason to attract a crowd. Seats were occupied half an hour before the allotted time – students had to be encouraged to leave their seats and return to the refreshments. The…

By: Anonymous   A note from the poet: I wrote this after reading “The myth of the lazy native”, a paper by Syed Hussein Alatas on how the British established the identities of the natives in the Malay archipelago. Although enraged, I, like many others, become more resigned to the fact that perhaps the status quo may never change.    her immaculate fingers weave in and out, creating a figure with…

SGAG: More Than Just a Gag Account

By: Richelle Lum Most of us know of us know of 9GAG, a social media website and online platform used to share internet memes that feature current, popular trends. However, perhaps slightly lesser known is the Singaporean version of 9GAG, SGAG, which posts similar content, except in a Singaporean context. Likewise, SGAG has a website and various social media accounts that have considerable…

“A rose by any other name”

By: Ow Yong Zhi Qi Sexuality and gender. The things that everyone’s curious about. In all of written history, there are only two immutable constants: war and sex. And since there aren’t any outrageous developments in the arena of foreign affairs, I shall settle for talking about the latter. Sex is a curious thing. It complicates, fascinates and frustrates. Questions upon questions regarding it…

By: Joshua Koh Jun Xiang You stand at the edge of the world, looking down. The water rushes under you, but you hear no trace of it striking the ground – there is no ground to strike. On your tiny piece of land, the water laps against your feet. Around your island, a piece of land, just large enough for you to stand upon, nothing but water can be seen. The water stretches for miles, no end in…

Primary Healthcare from A Different Perspective

By: Imran Shah Foreigners recommending policies for the healthcare system of a country often run the risk of recommending policies that do not fit the context of the country. Recognising this risk, global health organisations like UNICEF have teams consisting of locals who can match the ‘global’ ideas to the ground. Indeed, how can ideas from developed countries be implemented in developing…

Love, USP – A Budding Initiative

By: Raag Sudha A new Ground-Up Initiative has been turning heads in the USP community. The new GUI, “Love, USP”, started with the intention of creating a peer-supported safe space in an environment of “critical” learners, said its founders Chua Khai Qing and Natalya Wickramasuriya. The year two psychology majors saw a scope for this initiative after speaking to the pastoral care counsellor in…

AY16/17 TCR Publication 1

Links to articles for this publication   Newsroom: Parents’ Night USPolymath Session 6   Opinion: Talking About It   Lifestyle: Thoughts on Sing! China   Creative: Wings and Boredom