Universal Studios, Singapore.

A couple of days ago, I took Fintan, seven and Ainan, ten, to Universal Studios, in Singapore. It was not quite what I expected.

There are two ways to review Universal Studios: I could look at it, from my point of view, or from that of my boys. I think I should do both.

There were a number of things which both sons liked. For instance, the "4D" cinema show about Shrek, in "Far far away". That, was one of the things the boys liked best. I won't give too much away, only to say that it is a much more "alive" cinema show than any I have seen. Basically, what you see on the screen, also happens to you. So, if a character spits, on screen - you get "spat" on by a water jet from the seat in front. This kind of thing, happened throughout and the boys really enjoyed it.

Also of interest was the Donkey Live, show, in which an onscreen cartoon character appears to interact with an audience: very well done. Ainan appreciated the cleverness of that.

In all, however, I would say that the Far far away set was the most carefully thought out. The same cannot be said for all Universal Studios, however.

Many of the rides were not working. This was disappointing considering that the boys had travelled so far. The main ride in the Jurassic Park section - the Rapid Adventures - was shut owing to "technical difficulties". The Sci Fi Town was a joke. The big roller coaster there has been out of action for most of the year. Both the Human and Cylon sections of Battle Star Galactica are out of commission. Other than that, there appeared to be not one idea in the whole of the Sci Fi town. Whoever implemented it, had no creativity at all. The boys were not impressed and neither was I.

The Madagascar section held most promise for the boys, since they are great Madagascar fans - but the main attraction there, The Crate Adventure, was not yet ready for opening. This was beginning to become a tiresome tale, of the Universal Studios experience. Much that the boys wanted to try simply wasn't available.

Interestingly, when we bought the tickets, at FULL price, it was not made clear to us, that so many rides were out of commission. This seems to be a deceptive practice and certainly didn't inspire confidence in the decency of Universal Studios.

Ainan was very impressed, however, with Lights Camera Action - a Spielberg effort. It was basically a sound stage set up to show special effects. The scene - a Category 5 storm - was well done enough to light up the kids' eyes.

Also enjoyable was the Waterworld performance. This involved actors shooting and blowing each other up all over the place, on a large floating set, using boats and jet skis and even a crashing plane. Great stuff for the kids.

The Monster Rock musical in the evening, got a very interesting reaction from all of us. It was just too loud. Both of my sons stuck their fingers in their ears throughout and Ainan was so unimpressed by the antics on stage, that he tried to go to sleep in that position! However, I did enjoy the performance of one particular actor. I don't know his name, since there was no programme for the show - but he looked rather like Orlando Bloom and was constantly reacting in an interesting fashion to all that was happening around him. In some ways, he was being a bit naughty as an actor, though, since he tended to upstage other performers, by his reactions. He was good, however, as a performer.

What was not good, was just how loud the explosives used on stage were, at the end. We were sat in the front row and could feel the sheer HEAT of the fireworks used. The final bang was truly percussive and enough to shock one. I felt rather sorry for the performers who have to hear that explosion three times a day, throughout each and every week. I am sure that they will have one thing to remember Universal Studios by: tinnitus and lifelong hardness of hearing.

It was even worse in Waterworld. Some of the actors had explosions go off a few feet from where they stood. I really wouldn't like to be them.

This brings me to my own point of view. As an adult, watching Universal Studios' offering, I can say this: I was very surprised at the limited range of ideas, on display. Everywhere, there was recourse to two key ideas: make the audience wet (by inundating them, splashing them, spraying them...etc.) and using explosives to make loud bangs, at every opportunity. It was both silly and juvenile to use these two ploys so extensively throughout the park. It was also rather boring and predictable. Only someone very inexperienced in the world - or a child (same thing, I suppose), could be impressed by this. Anyone else, could only see it as rather cliche.

Personally, I had rather expected more creativity to be on display - but that is not what was offered, in general (expect for the Shrek shows). It seems that whoever is responsible for designing Universal Studios exhibits is mired, too much, in Hollywood cliche and unable to break through and offer a truly new experience. Only the Shrek show hinted at what was possible.

At the end, I asked Ainan if he had thought it was worth it to come to Universal Studios.

"Yes.", he said, softly. Then he asked, "How much did it cost?"

I told him. His eyes looked a little surprised.

"Almost worth it," he qualified.

Fintan, however, was not so sure. From about four pm (about three and a half hours after we had arrived), he began asking, repeatedly: "Can we go home?". So, land of enchantment though it might purport to be, Fintan was not entirely enchanted - at least not for long.

From my point of view, I would say that Universal Studios could do so much better. Many of the shows/rides/offerings, showed little creativity, and too many of them were simply closed - leaving it impossible for me to judge or comment on them.

Universal Studios should not charge full prices on its tickets, when rides are out of action. That makes anyone who goes there, feel ripped off. Personally, I think it shortsighted of them, to do this: they profit in the short term, but in the long term, they create bad word of mouth.

My review of Universal Studios cannot be definitive because we were unable to see everything in action - but what we did see, was mixed. Some of it had thought and creativity in its implementation, but much of it did not. So, there is much room for improvement.

Universal Studios Singapore was surprisingly small, for a theme park - but then, that is to be expected given its location. So, if you go, don't expect the expanse of a Disney World...because you simply are not going to get it.

Children who have no experience of theme parks (like my children) will enjoy it, at least for a time. Adults, who have been to theme parks before, might be struck by the lack of originality on show. So, whether you enjoy it or not, will depend on your prior experience. Happy holidaying all.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here: http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

The surreal dreams of a young boy.

Children are supposed to have imagination. Some children do, some children don't, some children just have TV (no imagination required). However, all children have dreams...and, of course, the more imaginative children show this characteristic when dreaming.

A couple of weeks ago, Tiarnan, four, had a dream. It struck me as a rather bizarre one. Can you imagine, for a moment, what Tiarnan might have dreamt? Try to imagine yourself into a four year old boy's world, and think what he might have dreamt.

Please think of every detail of your imagined dream that you can - one that would suit a four year old boy.

Perhaps you could write the dream you guessed he had, down below.

Well, Tiarnan spoke, rather excitedly, a couple of weeks ago, of his dream the night before. In it the Incredible Hulk had been belly dancing. That is right, a key feature of Tiarnan's dream was that the Hulk was doing a belly dance. Tiarnan thought it was very funny. Of course, he is unaware that dreams come from within him, I should think...he saw it as a very entertaining image of his nightly sleep.

Tiarnan's dream seems to be reflective of who he is: in his young mind, all sorts of unusual remarks take place. He seems to be able to connect the previously unconnected and see the previously unseen. It is a good quality and promises a creative future, in some way or other. I very much doubt whether anyone else has imagined the Incredible Hulk - the quintessential male - doing belly dancing - quintessentially female. Yet, Tiarnan saw fit to combine them, in his dream, for comic effect.

Of course, I have no idea why his dreaming mind thought it reasonable to make the Hulk do a belly dance - maybe it just thought it would be funny to watch.

What makes this dream image of Tiarnan's even more unlikely is that the only contexts in which he has seen the Hulk, are when he is fighting in a cartoon or in a computer game. He has never seen the Hulk as anything else...thus, it is quite a stretch, to suddenly imagine the Hulk as a graceful belly dancer! It seems his mind feels free to break from stereotypical categorizations, and try to see things in a new way. Perhaps, of course, it is just seeing potential comedy, in what it knows of the world. Whatever is the case, it is certainly a memorable image.

To some, this post might seem like a little thing - but, to me, it is not. It captures the essence of one of my youngest son's dreams. I have no such record of my own. So, I make this record so that, one day, Tiarnan might smile, perhaps in remembrance, at the dream he once had as a child, of a Marvel Superhero, doing a belly dance.

Happy dreaming, Tiarnan.

Fintan's aesthetic view of the world.

Fintan, seven, and Ainan, ten, share not only brotherhood, but a passion for cars. Today, Fintan and Ainan were looking at Youtube videos of high performance cars in action around various famous tracks. They were monitoring the cars, not only for performance, but, surprisingly, perhaps, in boys, beauty. They were comparing the beauty of the cars.

They had been at this for some hour or so, when Fintan made a remark that I think shall always stick with me:

"The nicest thing ever made, is a human."

He said it with such certainty, as if the realization had crystallized into something indestructible, at that moment.

"Why do you say that, Fintan?", I asked, quietly, in a manner so as not to disturb the mood that had given rise to the remark.

"Because this car is not nice, around the base, here...". He looked at the car, critically and said again what he had said: "The nicest thing ever made is the human."

I thought this a very meaningful insight, of Fintan's. He sees the beauty that man makes, and finds it wanting set against the beauty of Man himself. This is, I think, a very beautiful thought and one that I am happy my second son has had.

Perhaps sometimes, it is easy to forget just what a wonder is Man himself. For Fintan, there is nothing more beautiful in all the world, than the human. I think, in having that thought, Fintan proves himself to be one human with a beautiful heart and mind.

Tiarnan's view of games ratings.

A couple of weeks ago, Tiarnan leant his arms upon my armchair, an expression of intense amazement on his face.

"Daddy, you would think that fighting games would be "teen" or "M" - but no, they are for everyone: isn't that crazy?"

He said the word "crazy" with such a demented expression that it was most clear that he thought the adult world utterly bonkers, to rate such games so lightly.

Tiarnan is just four years old. I find it very interesting that, from his perspective, the games raters have got it wrong. For those who don't know, "M" stands for "mature" and is used for games directed at adults. In Tiarnan's eyes, games which showed repeated killing - as the fighting games (military) ones he referred to, do, should be rated for teens or adults only. Yet, we have ones with an "E" rating, for "everyone". Little Tiarnan found that mindboggling, for even he knows that one shouldn't go around shooting people in the head (the basic purpose of one of the games rated for "everyone".)

Perhaps, Tiarnan is able to see more clearly the absurdity of the ratings system, precisely because he is so young and not yet desensitized in the way that so many of us are. He sees what the ratings board has long lost the ability to see: how little children see violence. Even four year olds know that it is not the way to go - at least, our little four year old does.

I wonder what would happen if children were the ones who set ratings: would they be a better reflection of what is harmful to the young and what is not (if any of this is actually harmful). I have a sneaky feeling that they would get it right more often than jaded adults do.

Perhaps they should ask Tiarnan's views for ratings, in future. He might just put them right.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here: http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Super sensory perception

Sometimes, I wonder what I miss in the world. You see, my wife, Syahidah, in particular, notices things I do not, sees things I do not see, hears things I do not hear, smells things I cannot smell. She is gifted in sensory terms in a way that seems, at times, to be almost miraculous. That is, to one who could never perceive what she does so readily, it does seem like a miracle. She often reminds me, simply by perceiving the world, that the world I see, is not all that there is to see.

A few days ago, we were out, at night. I stood by the roadside, with the cars rumbling past and she stood on the pavement, about one and a half to two metres away (I had just turned back to speak with her, whilst approaching the road). There was quite a bit of background noise and conversation required acute attention to each other’s voices.

“Why don’t you check out that Korean restaurant – and get a menu?”, she asked, looking hungrily across the street, for Syahidah is a bit of a foodie.

I took a couple of steps into the road, for it was free of traffic, at that moment, so I was, by now, perhaps three metres away from Syahidah.

“Is that your phone?”, she called after me.

I stopped and listened and heard nothing.

I reached my hand into my pocket and my phone did, indeed, seem a little agitated.

I pulled it out. Sure enough, someone was calling me. As I answered, I had one thought in my head, which I said aloud to Syahidah, before I turned my attention to the caller:“How did you hear that?”, I asked her, with a raised voice – for such a voice was necessary, I thought, for a normal person to hear me, at that distance, and with that background noise.

She shrugged, having no answer, or explanation herself. She just heard it, that is all.

As my call proceeded, my mind was half on Syahidah’s miraculous hearing.

Think about it: my ear was about 1 metre from the phone. Hers was about two and a half to three metres away. Given that the sound energy intensity will decline by an inverse power square law – that is it will be proportional to 1/distance squared, the sound intensity at her position would have been about 1/6 to 1/9 of what it was for me. Yet she had heard it and I had not. That means that her hearing, at the frequency of the phone ring, is at least around 6 to 10 times more acute than mine. I find that quite startling.

She often tells me of noises I have not heard, of people approaching or things happening, that are too far for me to be able to perceive – yet she is right, every time. She will hear the voices of people in the street at night, far from our house, long before they are near enough for me to hear. Her perceptual range is thus far greater than my own.

Now you should note that my own senses are not in deficit: I see, hear, taste and smell just fine. It is that her senses are more sensitive than is normal. At least, her hearing and smell, in particular, are.

Observing her perceiving the world is a bit humbling. For she tells me, just by her effortless perception, that my world, the one I sense, it is not as rich as hers: she hears softer sounds, smells fainter smells, notes things at greater distances and senses an altogether greater variety of things, than I am able to. We live in the same world, supposedly – but, in a way, I know that is not true: for her world is in “higher definition” than mine. Indeed, her world might be said to be HD colour TV – and mine no more than an old fashioned low definition black and white TV. That would seem a fair comparison given how much more sensitive her senses are, than mine.

I wonder, now, what effect having such a mother, has on the senses of my children. I do not know enough, yet, about how they perceive the world, to know if they have inherited her greater acuity of sense perception. I hope so. For if they have, they will see a richer world, for the duration of their lives, than I know – and I would be happy for them, if that were so.

I shall endeavour to observe what they perceive and so come to a better understanding of just what their threshold of perception might be. I already have hints that they may have better senses than one might expect. Future posts will report my observations.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here: http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)