REGULARCOLUMNS

Undiscovered Hong Kong Whats on in Hong Kong Grub Column

FEATURES
Letter from a HKer at Atlantic College We were never meant to fly Is Ordering from McDonalds against UWC Values Reflections on ACE Reflections on Self

EDITORS
Colin Diersing Tomi Kiviluoma

CREATIVEDIRECTOR
Fernanda Lai Suh Yoon Lee

ARTSSECTION
Reviews of 12 Months and a Penguin A Sensical Scramble?

JANUARY 20TH 2012| SIXTH Issue |

Colloquially, it is out of place. As every flight I attend turns worse from the previous and it becomes harder to entertain myself, I took the chance to observe my surroundings the last time. I am given a meal. Packed in a sheet of foil which is further covered with a layer of plastic wrap. Plastic utensils wrapped in plastic. Two pieces of watermelon served on a plastic dish, with a plastic wrapping on top. I ate plastic, from plastic, with plastic. I took a glance of the corridor opening in front, and behind me. Roughly 300 customers seated, all chewing their share simultaneously. That is quite a lot of plastic. All 300 hundred are given a pair of cheap, easily broken earphones. In a plastic envelope. All 300 hundred consume an average of 3 or 4 drinks, most likely using a new cup. As the world comes to its inevitable end, it might bring comfort to some to know that they still have a chance to keep breathing for a couple more days when the societies are evacuated into aeroplanes. Me? I will stand at the airport terminal waving out from the window.

We were never Meant to Fly

By TomiKiviluoma
Some might say they absolutely love flying. I cant understand what it is that fascinates them so much. In essence, I guess, it is like me trying to explain to a person from the tropics how enjoyable the cold and dark autumn nights back home are. In the urban mind set where voyages across the globe are drooled after, there is nothing I detest more than flying. Quite sincerely, in all of its aspects. In traveling, more precisely in flying, a person enters a sort of transition zone. A brief exit from life, Id say. Or this at least how I have experienced my existence in an aeroplane. Every time. This is the inevitable result of the nature of the aeroplane itself. It is an artificial man-made construct which allows us to be transported over distances that during our primitive being remained merely a product of our imagination. A tool that allows us to travel those distances with unnatural speeds. More than just a tool, it is an extension of life. Sterile cube with white, soothing walls. Rows of sirs and rows of madams. My identity is determined by the seat code on my boarding pass. And with that identity comes my position in the hierarchy. Rather radical but for me aeroplanes are the vision Orwell and other literary prophets of his kind painted. Everything is completely sustained within the arching mantle of the plane. Almost like a parallel reality, an artificial illusion. Utopia. Like most other artefacts forged by a human hand, an aeroplane is also completely detached from the natural reality. On top of everything, this makes an aeroplane an extremely unsustainable vehicle.

Undiscovered HK: Eggy, Puffy, Waffley.

You must have tried one of these by now, or at least seen someone else relish them with sweet delight. Its a quirky looking oval shaped waffle, with egg-like protrusions all across its surface, looking a little like an oversized piece of bubble wrap. What am I talking about? Egg puffs, of course - gai daan tsai. This famous snack is popular throughout Hong Kong and firmly ingrained in the fond childhood memories of every authentic Hongky. The origins of this timeless street-delicacy is hazy. Some say that the enterprising post-war generation came up with the egg-shaped mold to make up for an eggless batter, because eggs used to be a luxury. Others contend that street-hawkers bought defected eggs at bargain prices, then concocted a batter from them. Still others reason that the egg-shaped iron skillet is just the Hong Kong version of the European waffle press. Whatever legend you subscribe

to, the fact of the m

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BYOB. Closing on the same day will be Circuit a group exhibition running at EXIT (1 Shin Hing Street, Central) of works by Szelit Cheung, Hsu Yinling, Ko Sin Tung, Moling Tsui, Gladys Wu and Trevor Yeung, with pieces ranging from installation to watercolour. The following week, January 28, for those of you craving to party like its 2004 (thats a phrase nowadays) therell be some DnB at FLY in Central (gratis). Also this fortnight, at the HK Academy for Performing Arts two plays adapted from childrens picture books will be running. Were going on a bear hunt, and The tiger who came to tea while not perhaps being the meaty drama you yearn for, would definitely attract me if it werent for the rather steep $195 ticket price. The Guardian called it a fun-filled frolic, and you may not know this about me, but sometimes theres little I enjoy more than a good frolicking session, fun-filled or otherwise. Besides that, not a huge amount to report, just give it a couple of weeks.

Regular Columns
Open daily, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. but varies between branches. Lee Keung Kee North Point Egg Waffles (main branch), 492 Kings Road, North Point. Charcoal Fired Gai Daan Tsai You might remember 73 year old Ah Bak from my earlier article on Tai Hang. He too has spent over thirty years making gai daan tsais, and thinks the secret is all in the eggs. Its in the eggs. Just add plenty of eggs. So many places still dont add eggs, they just use custard powder to give it colour. If I had to pick a quick phrase to describe Ah Bak, though, it would most probably be this: bad ass. Hes routinely fined for operating without a license, and has his equipment confiscated. But hes always back with a bang. Go ahead and arrest me, he says. Because he always makes a comeback. Open daily, 11.30 a.m.-3 p.m., but times can vary. Tung Lo Wan Road, Tai Hang Hung Kee Top Quality Egg Waffles Mr Lai is a second generation egg waffle master with a secret recipe that he has been perfecting for the last eight years. Hes certain that no one can even come close matching his egg waffles flavour and texture: rich yet soothing, delicately crispy on the inside yet tenderly light and fluffy on the inside. No one can come close to my flavor. Im sure of it. Thats why Im the only guy who will confidently let you try before you buy. Open daily, 2 p.m.-12 a.m.. Hung Kee Top Quality Egg Waffles, shop A34C, second corridor, Tai On Building, Sai Wan Ho Now go and embark on your quest for the best egg waffles in Hong Kong. Who knows, you might even learn to make your own - and become the next egg waffle tycoon.

Grub Column On Christmas Food

By Trevor Lam Its that time of year again everyone. Christmas. The magical time of specially decorated pine trees, boxes of junk wrapped with colorful paper, and reindeer meat. Thats right. There are people in this world who are so into the Christmas spirit that they actually eat reindeer meat. Technically it is not uncommon for people to eat venison in some parts of the world, but the fact that the meat is reindeer meat, and not just that of an ordinary deer, makes the entire situation slightly bizarre. But this time Im not here to talk about people consumption of abnormal parts of strange animals, because Christmas is the special time of the year where everything just automatically seems more wonderful. And so I will be talking about the perfect Christmas meal. Now I dont come from many different cultures, and since the Chinese do not particularly celebrate Christmas traditionally with special types of food, and so my family usually just goes out to Western restaurants for dinner, or stay home and cook special food ourselves. The typical Christmas dinner includes roast turkey or roast beef as the main course, with condiments that include baked potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, candied carrots, chopped baked tomatoes, and ginger bread or chocolate fondants with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Usually, the way that my family makes roast turkey is we dont use stuffing, roast it for a relatively short time at high heat using an extra thermometer (since the one installed in the oven itself is sometimes inaccurate), and serve/eat it positively swimming in gravy. We also have cranberry jelly on the side to dip the turkey in, which gives the entire meal a pretty nice balance between sweet and saltiness. The baked potatoes we cook with the carrots

Whats on in Hong Kong

By Matthew Webb Its a new year, but presumably you already knew that. My job though is to say that if this first month is anything to go by, 2012 will be awash with interesting things. The Peoples Party an event promoter, have returned to Hong Kong and teamed-up with Untitled (whove brought us the likes of MGMT and Friendly Fires) so expect more highprofile bands visiting in the near future. Its not all roses and rainbows though; much-loved, if a bit dodgy, venue Hidden Agenda has ceased to be, and will remain so until finding new premises to occupy more legally. This after being evicted by the HK lands department. They were in fact issued an ultimatum to cease operations in June, but they just kept on partying like the crazy fools they are yeah! Stick it to the man! (then get evicted). But on to whats actually happening this fortnight. January 20, TEEBS aka Mtendere Mandowa, American painter turned musician/producer will be at XXX (Sheung Wan) for a one of a kind project, to provide an experience more akin for art + music enthusiasts. Doors 22:30, $150

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Features
and occasionally asparagus, simply seasoning them with a variety of herbs, salt, pepper, vinaigrette and almost a bucketful of olive oil. The chopped tomatoes that we make are actually quite different, because we sprinkle a thick layer of parmesan cheese on the surface, before lining them up in a pan and baking them in the oven for a very short time, until the cheese melts and spills slightly over the side of the tomatoes, kind of like how some people make sandwiches in the canteen. And finally, since my mother is the only one who can successfully bake in our family, she usually makes a flourless chocolate cake that is make by folding egg whites and adding dangerously high amounts of butter and melted chocolate. But its always amazing, especially when you eat it with loads of vanilla ice cream on the side. So there you have it, a typical Christmas dinner in the Lam family household. Its really simple and honestly tastes a lot better just because we make it as a family. I think everyone should give it a try, because in the end, it really is a lot of fun. really are possibilities of dreams coming true, as long as you have the passion and determination to see it happen. Yet I will not lie and say this place is perfect. Weekend after weekend I have seen people behaving out of their normality, shouting in the house with the smell of alcohol in the air. I have not forgotten the shock at my first party at AC, seeing people getting drunk, making out and throwing up. Perhaps it is merely my not being used to seeing these things and not being from such a sort of culture. Some people account for it as the British culture of drinking, but sometimes, sometimes on weekends, I do wonder why the very same people who are able of making amazing things happen can be willing to let go of their consciousness and instead, let their minds be dulled by music, movements and alcohol. Relaxation is good, but when it reaches such an extent that psychological consciousness is lost frequently, there is no way of living out the brighter and more beautiful side of being human, of living out values that make up a UWC- not only the code of conduct we have all ourselves agreed with in coming here, but also the key basis of personal responsibility and integrity as well as respecting and not affecting others. And on the other hand, there are people, and to be honest, quite a large portion of Chinese people (yes, that includes you, my fellow Hong Kongers) who have academic achievement as their only and sole focus- forgoing socializing and opening their minds to receive the full impact of being in such an environment. Is it our way of dealing with cultural shock? Or has it to do with our intention of coming to a United World College? (Highway to renowned universities?) These things pain me because before I know it, the UWC movement has grown into part of who I am- I believe in the UWC values, not as slogans but as a passion, a possibility and a dream. It pains me because I know people in the UWC movement are capable of so much more, but for some reason or another, we are not doing it yet. I am not resigned to what I see; and I am not resigned to defeat, to an old comfort zone of only doing what is closely and directly concerned with myself. I am not afraid to speak here- and I am yelling for an open challenge, perhaps not only to LPC-ers, but to UWC-ers as a whole. I dare you to consider again the reasons why you are here at a UWC, reading this passage you are holding. I dare you to consider the meaning of all youve done and all there is to be done. I dare you to consider UWC, consider humanity and where we want to go. Do not shirk responsibility because we play a greater role than we think we do in leading and changing the world, and it really depends on us- the younger generation. What I can offer is but a limited and narrow perspective and my opinion radical and possibly untrue. I have spoken daringly and even in rage, and my words may come out as I have not intended. Yet above all that I am sure you all who has bore with me through this passage agree with me something- that this world is not perfect and we play a role here, as long as we are alive. Now the choice is in your hands what to do in such a privileged position. Whatever be your choice, do not regret it. Best wishes from just another human voice From United World College of the Atlantic.

Letter from an HKer at Atlantic College

Collected by Teddy Chow Dear LPC, it is strange, being a Hong Konger studying in the UK addressing people I dont know back home, yet are strangely connected in a sense. Strictly speaking, we study at two schools, our conditions and mindsets different, our reflections and experience may not be the same, yet it is a comforting thought to know back home there are people, not only Hong Kongers but people from all round the world, sharing the same mission as we do over here, being part of the same movement to make education a force for peace and sustainable development. Being a first year at any UWC, I guess, must be a thrilling experience- with so much to learn, so much to see, so much to try. I have done things I have never would have done otherwise over here- I have gone coast-steeringjumping off cliffs and swimming in raging waves during first year camp. I have chosen to engage in inshore lifeboats service, getting trained for driving lifeboats and sailing knowledge, and to hopefully, get into the Royal National Lifeboats Institute and actually save people on a B-Boat. I have chosen to take Arabic ab intio- an act which most Chinese would probably regard as insane for this indirectly means running a risk of a lower IB grade. I have, for the first time, engaged in INGOs campaigning work, like a street theatre for Amnesty International. I have witnessed the unimaginable possibilities people of our age can do- starting their own mission-based classes rooted in their own ideologies that are thoroughly researched and thought provoking. I would say this is a place where there

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ter, unhealthy food in the canteen or anything else that is insalubrious to us in the campus. So, feel free to neglect and laugh at my viewpoint. But remember: If you want to change the world, start with yourself. Be the change you want to see.

Features

Is Ordering from McDonalds Reflections on Against UWC ACE Values?

By Maxim Moshnyakov By: Suhyoon When I first arrived to Hong Kong and LPC, I was dazzled by the fact how cheap the food in McDonalds was (In Finland, BicMac-meal costs 60 HK$). Sadly, that fact led me to another feeling disappointment. If I had to name one aspect I consider negative in LPC, it would definitely be the amount and frequency of McDonalds orders every evening. For me and many other people, McDonalds logo stands for something inferior, sinful, sick, wicked, immoral and most importantly, unhealthy. And then I started to think just how much McDonalds stands against UWCvalues in general, the values that are supposed to be so close and dear to us. First, respect for the environment I think that almost everyone has heard about the environmental impact McDonalds exerts. 80 per cent of land deforested in the Amazon between 1998 and 2007 is now being used for cattle pasture to produce more Big Macs for the world that just seems to get more and more obscene. And it is not only the method of manufacturing the meat; lets not forget all that useless packaging material, the junk that comes with your junk food. Not to mention the greenhouse gas emissions that follow from transporting. Especially distressing is to see those people who are concerned about the state of the environment to order regularly from McDonalds setting a personal example is one of the UWC-values as well. While the critique on the environmental concerns probably touches most of us the best, for me McDonalds is anti-UWC in its every feature. Of course, you could say that bringing people together helps to promote international and intercultural understanding but there are lots of other ways to improve college spirit other than destroying individuals health it has been stated in many studies that eating meals containing a high proportion of junk sugars (so pretty much anything from McDonalds) decreases the quality of nights sleep and makes it generally harder to fall asleep. So, your insomnia is usually a consequence of your decision, due to a bad habit. You can change it. Also, there is no point in going to the gym and afterwards consuming that benefit by eating junk food. (Vincent, I am looking at you). I see no reason why any actions against McDonalds and other junk food at the campus are not taken. It should not be tolerated, since there are several alternatives available; alternatives, that are both healthier and cheaper. This is of course, just my subjective view on the issue. If I had the power to decide, there would not be any hot wa-

The African Cultural Evening took place last Saturday, on November 12th at the brand new assembly hall. The general consensus of the LPC community was that it was the possibly the best ACE ever, setting a quite high standard for the other cultural evenings to come this year. Although there wasnt a single continuous story line running through the show, the quirky assortment of various dances, songs, and skits gave the LPC community an entertaining and accurate perspective of African culture. Although it may seem as if humor was the key success factor ACE this year, its important to note that humor was just an effective way of conveying to the audience the more serious themes and issues. These issues included democracy movements of the Arab Spring movement, increasing women empowerment, corruption, and the need to clear out ridiculous stereotypes of Africa that we find even at LPC. Nonetheless, the use of sardonic wit in that laid back chilled African manner was admirable, never failing to bring the house to tears with laughter. One of the most effective scenes to note here was the African Union scene depicting the corruption and lack of focus by the African leaders on the important matters during AU meetings. We had Alex T, Ugandan second year, imitate his president Yoweri Musevini (nickname Sevo)s election campaign rap during the simulated AU discussion. We Africans arent too proud to make fun of ourselves for the sake of serious matters, commented Precious, a Nigerian first year. Another highlight of the evening was the woman empowerment scene where Moliehi Tjamela, second year from Lesotho, awed the audience with her charismatic delivery of Maya Angelous poem Phenomenal Woman. The scene was immediately followed by a great dance to Beyonces Run the World. Second year Griffith Chengs impressed comment summed up Moliehis exceptional performance in one apt phrase: She moves like a true African. Other impressive performances included the bellydance led by Ilham Farrah, clearly a professional in the field as well as the rain simulation which some students described as very very artistic. Simba Chakauya, second year from Zimbabwe also had the audience roaring with his hilarious depiction of a corrupted hypocritical priest in the Church and polygamy scene. The ending came as a surprise to most. It suddenly brought the audiences from uncontrollable laughter to horrified gasps with inconsiderate and asinine jokes concerning Africans thatbelieve it or nothave been

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Features
said in LPC. The last scene before the closing dance was symbolic of Africans overcoming such stereotypes with a step forward while the audience held their breath, touched by the message. Arnett Edwards, the new principal commented in an impromptu interview, It was awesome! I liked how it had elements in it that made you think, for instance, the Arab Spring. In fact, Arnett posed a challenge to the European Cultural Evening group during college announcements to meet the high standards set by ACE when the ECE happens in December. ECE and CCE (Chinese Cultural Evening) have both started planning for their own shows with new vigor following ACE. However not everything did go as planned from behind the scenes. Despite the overwhelming majority of students who thought the food was amazing, Soukeyna Boucoum, the Senegalese second-year confessed in private that the food wasnt half as good as they planned it to be, I didnt eat anything. If you think that was good, you better try what its actually like in Africa. Nonetheless, everyone stuffed themselves to their maximum capacity with plates of banana fritters, coconut rice, steamed fish, chocolate cake, and yoghurt salad. Karen Yip, our HK second year commented, This is amazing. Its way above expectations of most cultural evening dinners! Another unnoticed glitch occurred during the rain simulation scene. When the rain sounds reached the crescendo which is when the performers jumped to imitate the sound of thunder, the lights didnt flicker on and off as was planned. During the last dress rehearsals, the lights had flicked on and off like lightening to give the simulation a more authentic feel. Soukeyna , who was in charge of the rain simulation, was seen backstage right afterwards howling miserably, They killed my rain, they killed my rain!. Fortunately, phenomenal woman Moliehi put Soukeyna back together again so that the show could go on. During the last few weeks before ACE, Africans and other volunteers alike had been overworked and stressed after hours of rehearsals but now that the show is finally over, there is a sense of nostalgia pervading the Africans at LPC. Precious called it ACE-withdrawal symptoms while Khetiwe, our South African first year called it, Post-ACE depression. The sudden lack of 6 hour rehearsals, script changes, and stressed arguments with her fellow ACE team have left some missing the vicious sleep-at-3AM cyle. Khetiwe was seen commenting at lunch in the following Monday, I havent seen Maroua since this morning. THIS IS NOT NORMAL (frustrated expression). But nostalgia and shock arent the only sentiments that are left over. Precious commented that through these few weeks Working together to show Africa to the rest of the world made our bonds stronger. In fact, various witnesses testify that the favorite phase among the ACE team during the final week was I feel so African!

Reflections on Self
By Mary Hui I, Me, My. Tell me about yourself... Write about a significant experience and its impact on you... Discuss an event or experience that has defined your values or changed the way you approach the world... How many times have you been confronted with questions like these, and felt a thump of dread as you began the tortuous process of plowing through your experiences, your history, your self? Second years have definitely had their fair share of these annoying self-probing questions, what with the deluge of Common App essays, college supplements, personal statements and what not. And first years - well, youll find out soon enough. But just why is there such an emphasis on the self anyway? Is self knowledge really that important, or is it totally over-rated? I remember being totally overwhelmed with a flood of changes, choices and decisions when I arrived in LPC last year. Everyone seemed to be doing jaw-droppingly amazing things: MUN secretary general here, ultra-marathon runner there, super artist over here, and the up-andcoming President of the World everywhere! What was I supposed to do - try to make myself as UWC as possible (whatever that means)? Push myself to try every new activity that came my way? It took me a term of feeling slightly uncomfortable - dabbling awkwardly in this and that, but not really getting anywhere - to realise that in a place as diverse as LPC, and filled with over-achievers lurking behind every corner, you just have to be yourself. What good is it to be someone you are not, to waste time and energy on something that youre not passionate about? So thats what I took from my first year at LPC: be yourself. But being yourself is only half the journey. Walking out of the Assembly Hall after Shelleys mind-blowing meta-GIF, I realised that it wasnt enough to just be yourself. How do you be yourself if you dont know what your self is? How do you be something if you dont know what it is? So thats what I took from Shelleys meta-GIF: know yourself. Knowing yourself means to understand who you are and why. What am I aiming for, why am I aiming for it? Am I doing it for myself, does it come from within? I think these are questions that we should all have answers for, because without them well just be blindly fumbling around in the dark, trying to get somewhere without knowing why. Only with self knowledge can we live with awareness and freedom.

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And the rampage of notes that followed didnt help much either. Ill show you my weapons of mass destruction if you show me yours. Im not quite sure whether they would fit, size is really an issue. Its not the size that matters but how long it takes. Really? Would you like to bring your issues to the floor. And so on. Apparently the best part of sending notes scattered with sexual innuendo is when they arrive at particularly constipated looking delegates who then simply look confused and put the note to one side. upon running out of one thing to do, take it to a whole new level. After running out of things to do, the delegates of a country that shall not be named decided to start sending things to the dais, whereupon which our chairpeople could not contain their laughter and the conference was held up for a several moments. Towards the end of one session, we simply motioned for a unmoderated caucus, where by trial-and-error, we managed to get the phone number of one of the chairpeople. And no, we havent called her yet. 3) how to locate the nearest sustenance provider Around Day 3, a lot of delegates began disappearing during the afternoon session, and some of them never came back. Out of curiosity, I decided to follow some of them, and found them working hard at testing every single item on the menu in the nearest coffee shop, making their country proud. 4) how to sing in an operatic manner Now this doesnt happen at every conference, but it certainly did in this one. Bouts of spontaneous broadway songs were heard at the end of the day, and it certainly made for a lot of entertainment. 5) research. We discussed a lot of things, humanitarian aid and natural disaster management, but after the information that North Korea and Poland managed to find, we talked a lot about the personal private lives and speculated on the relationship of between our vice-chair and our rapporteur. All in the name of national security of course. And last but not least, we learnt how to do the other things, write position papers, hand in position papers, turn up on time for conferences, or at least run madly with breakfast to the meeting point, draft resolutions, the rules and regulations of MUN. And we learnt one more thing. The reason why things never get done in the actual UN, might be because delegations spend more time doing 1-6, rather than everything else. Of course this is only speculation, and representatives are probably more self-disciplined than the average MUN attendee. But suffice to say we accomplished a lot

Arts
LPC, I believe, is the best place for knowing the self. Were surrounded by all sorts of different people, each with different beliefs and values, likes and dislikes, principles and morals. These people will teach me about myself faster than I will ever on my own. Theres a danger, though, of being a know-it-all: thinking you know yourself inside out, only to realise that its all just an illusion. Thats when you need to take a step back, unknow yourself, unlearn what youve learnt, and bring yourself one step closer to self-knowledge. I, me, my. Be youself, know yourself. But make sure to do some un-knowing along the way, too.

REFLECTIONS ON CUHKMUNC

By Fernanda Lai To be a good MUN delegate, you have to be stellar at expressing the simplest things with the most convoluted of sentences and also a certain degree of vanity. You learn to refer to yourself as this delegate and say I believe and I think with a pompous tone;after all, you are representing a country. You prance around in a fancy suit, and soon figure out how to wave your placard for maximum attention and how to abuse your point of personal privilege, from turning down the air-conditioning to being moved to a more comfortable vantage point. And thats what we learnt to do at CUHKMUNC 2012. On the 3rd to the 6th of January, eight of us, namely, Jane, Antonio, Eugin, Ryan, Rosie-Mai, Carmen, Bheki and yours truly went to CUHK for an MUN conference. Among us we represented two countries, Brazil and Iran, in three different committees, SOCHUM, ECOFIN and HRC. Of course, we managed to learn other things along the way at CUHKMUNC. 1) you learn to be diplomatic Given the fact that many of our delegates were jet-lagged (poor Antonio flew in on the first day of the conference), and the rest of us who didnt have to deal with time-zone issues were just trying to compensate for days of procrastination, we found ourselves trying to get out of the various social events that CUHK had planned. So many a time we found ourselves barred by concerned chairpeople and rapporteurs begging us to stay. And like true diplomats we used our presence as political leverage, and agreed to take a picture and left as swiftly as possible. 2) you learn to engage This delegate was surprised to receive a note that proudly proclaimed If you were a gavel, Id bang you. While this delegate didnt particularly mind being propositioned, she was more surprised at the fact that someone had decided to send one of the most overused jokes in MUN history.

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Arts
at CUHKMUNC.

Review of 12 Months and a Penguin

Independent Project (IP) Review, Insider and Commentary: Tomi Kiviluomas 12 Months and a Penguin By Bobby Adamson This article is the product of discussion with Tomi and my personal interpretation of the play and script. I hope to give a brief overview for records sake and some commentary for discussions sake, not to mention some insight from the creative mind himself. This IP, described as a distant adaptation of Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkovs Death and the Penguin, was written and directed by Tomi and performed on the 12th and 13th of December. As Tomi describes, the process of adapting the novel distantly was more or less a process of dismantling elements of the novel and reconstructing them without a clear logical plot or direction. In absurdist tradition, however, this was a purposefully calibrated move to create something compelling and entertaining. It left two audiences hardly knowing what to think but in a good way. In this Samuel Beckett-esque piece, the plot, if there was one, could be described as the struggle of a writer named Viktor to produce something (its difficult to tell what) for a newspaper publisher. That said, most scenes, let alone any segment of the play had enough explicit structure to quite comprehend, at least literally. While the language employed lent itself to recurring motifs and themes, most of it was just there to fill the dialogue, or so Tomi says. If it wasnt said more than twice it was more part of the aesthetic of the stage than a cohesive story. The few explicit elements that Tomi did include tended to revolve around a theme of enclosure from real life - the divide between the absurdity of reality and human conventions. One of the most entertaining manifestations of this theme was the destruction of theatre conventions. The audience got to give a round of enthusiastic applause to the director, actors and crew of the performance about five or ten minutes into the play after it had been pronounced complete. Of course, it was not complete, and the audience was plunged straight back into absurdity until the real ending, which was not really marked by anything at all; actors remained in position on stage, props were cleared off around them and Tomi colloquially dismissed an audience that trickled out gradually as they had no knowledge of when exactly to leave. Juxtaposed against somewhat mundane human behaviour and speech, the essence of which resembled real life, a surrealist human-sized penguin Adam Butrill in a costume - was kept on stage for most of the play, staring out a window into the out there. It was apparently a long thought-out decision as to how the penguin should

be portrayed as it would determine the set, the presence of other characters or lack thereof...and pretty much the whole script. Portraying an animal character in an IPlevel play was a bold move, and ran numerous risks, but when Laszlos mother was able to provide Tomi a penguin costume by mere chance on his summer travels, the decision more or less made itself. Like the fish in a bowl or fly behind glass referenced in this play, this penguins sight out of the window highlighted vision from enclosure into the outside world - the link to what was outside Viktors office. In a surrealist manner, the penguin was able to speak to Viktor. Tomi said he intended to suggest Viktor projected his expectations of the outside reality into this surreal figure. In a darkly ironic sense, however, the audience saw him speaking to nothing more than another human in a costume nothing outside his artificial office bubble. Much of the play was about juxtaposition. Apart from the penguin and other animals reference to the outside world, a spiral-shaped arrangement of the stage and an embedded Fibonacci-sequence in the scene numbers alluded to something that exists in nature independent of human convention: the golden ration, Phi, 1.618.... This play very purposefully highlighted the disaccord between human created quantification of the natural world, as in the months of the year, with natural order, as in the passage of time: in a surreal demonstration of calendar pages being ripped off sequentially, one knew that December could not really be followed by another December. Moreover, the suggestion that time is difficult to keep track of these days paints time as part of a man-made universe that evolves from era to era. While this type of dialogue was written to be obstructive unto itself, it crafted a purposeful exposure of lifes absurdity. Viktors artificial reality seemed strange and yet all-encompassing. While this theme was mostly philosophical, the play had an interesting but very subtle foray into social commentary. Viktors writing of eulogies for living people who seemed to die as a result was met with apathy on the part of this protagonist: a suggestion that we can get so isolated in our complex senseless bubble that we lose the ability to connect with what happens out there. Tomi says he wanted to talk about something corrupted about human nature without getting too out of the loop. This was the closest thing to a message the play offered, and was quite open-ended. Overall, the plays lack of cohesion must have risked that it would fall apart at the seams. If nothing else, maintaining interest with completely un-naturalist characters and events could have failed. However, it was held together by the qualities that made it unique: some captivating writing that gave glimmers of truth in an absurd mess, very absurd humour, and brilliant actors whose conviction brought the audience into the world of the play from the opening applause to the closing clean-up/dismissal. The entertaining quality of the play may have been its greatest success. The cleverness or creativity could not have supported itself without something that was simultaneously watchable. The audience got something much more than watchable, between the plays visual aspect, physicality, vibrant pacing (including a montage-like scene to <insert song name here>) and humour. The plays obvious

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JANUARY 20TH 2012| SIXTH Issue |

it? Doesnt seem as flawless as a university study should be, right? Thats what I thought after deconstructing this, so I googled it, and found no proof this was ever carried out at Cambridge University... Looks like their name has just been used for credibility, in this clever but simple magic trick.

downside is that it was too illogical to properly absorb, but did it offer enough for a viewer to work with. Overall, it worked out.

You cant make an omelette without breaking eggs, but according to a study carried out by Cambridge university, you CAN read a sentence with scrambled words.

A sensical scramble?

After finding this on the Internet, I began to wonder how true this actually was. I showed it to several people, and although some did seem amazed, others were sceptical, saying it had been written in a particular way, so that it could be understood. A dislexic had much more difficulty with the scrambled text, not being able to make much sense of it at all. To try out their theory, I decided to have a go myself: I wteand to fnid out if it woekrd wtih eyaredvy scteeenns. Oens taht hvae not been fmreod scalpliey for tihs ppsuore. So I am ginog to slacbmre the wdros hree, and see if it is slitl cbpleenosmihre. This is much harder to make sense of than the document above, but it is not incomprehensible. The longer words (scteeenns=sentences, fmreod scalpliey=formed specially, slacbmre=scramble) are more difficult, but the rest is easily decoded. This is the key flaw here: the bulk of our language is composed of words with four letters or less. So either only two letters swap places,or the word is kept completely intact. If the sentence were to be made up solely of long words, the theory no longer seems plausible: Dcflutfiify ansmgot vrblcoaauy deaeerscs crtbeeohsnlmipiiy. (=Difficulty amongst vocabulary decreases comprehensibility.) The claim that we read the word as a whole, not letter by letter seems to be another flaw. If this was entirely the case, why is the first and last letter left in place? It would be totally incomprehensible if all letters were scrambled, and besides, how would we understand a word without taking into account the letters comprising