Volume 1, Issue 4 The online magazine for the GeoCities Vienna neighborhood January/February 1999

Zineterview 'Keith K. Klassiks' By Robert Farley (cl_kaulana) | cl_kaulana@oocities.com | Vienna Strasse/7000 The often mysterious, but always accessible Keith K. Klassiks is a 15-year-old community leader from the tropical rain-forest island of Singapore. With a background in music and technology, his future contains a mix of college, armed service, a career in the sciences, and maybe even a bit of freelance writing. He has already made a start with the latter by volunteering his efforts for the Vienna Zine's "Piece of the Month" column, which describes the background music for the issue. Sans a scanner, his is the first interview to feature a caricature. We trust this example is just the barebones structure of one of Vienna's finest community leaders. Keith K. Klassiks Anyone have a suggestion about what the "K" stands for? GeoCities User Name(s): Klassiks Real Name: Geographical Location: Singapore URL(s): Vienna Strasse 7645 Email Addy: klassiks@oocities.com Birthday/Age: June 17, 1983/15 Neighborhood(s)/Block(s) you are a CL in: One is enough! Vienna Strasse 7500-7999 Family: Mom, Dad, and brother Vocation and/or School Situation: Student in Secondary 3 Favorite Composer: Too many to list Favorite Composition: Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture Instruments You Play: Harmonica, recorder, a little keyboard (I'm going to learn the sax!) Favorite Instrument (whether you play it or not): Double bass Hobbies: Reading, art, writing, (watching) soccer, playing a little basketball Kaulana: When did you become a GeoCities homesteader? Klassiks: May 98? or was it April? cl_k: Why did you choose GeoCities rather than Tripod or Xoom? K: Because I didn't know they existed! ( and I didn't change because Geo is still the best!) Sometimes when you ask for a school picture, that is what you get, a school picture. This exotic building is where Klassiks and his school mates learn their lessons in Singapore. cl_k: What do you like best about GeoCities? K: Community Leaders! Before I became one I found them very helpful. It's a really good system. cl_k: What made you decide to become a CL and how long have you been one? K: I like to do my little bit for the community, so that's it! I've been here for some four or five months already. cl_k: If someone were to ask you why they should become a CL, what would you tell them? K: (If they were qualified) to help everyone have the maximum freedom of expression that they can on the web, without going against regulations, that is. cl_k: I wonder what good things GeoCities will bring homesteaders for the new year? K: More space! More kewl contests and programmes, and a new look, perhaps? cl_k: In your opinion, what is the one most important aspect of a good page? (List some other important aspects, if you want.) K: Layout/navigation. No matter how good your content, the page is useless without organisation. cl_k: Can you explain the education system in Singapore? If you're 15 going on 16, that would translate into a high school sophomore in America. I guess the question would be: how many years of schooling do you have left? Or how does school operate in Singapore? How many years are mandatory? K: The system works like this: there is preschool for toddlers and nursery for age 4 and kindergarten (K1 & K2). From ages 7-12 is called primary. Afterwards, secondary lasts 4-5 years depending on stream (course) taken, after which there are the Tertiary institutes, one of three choices, dependent on results: Junior College, 2 years Polytechnic, varies by course taken, and Technical institutions, all followed by university. None of it is really mandatory, but, these days, we all need school. Jobs are at stake! There are a number of exams along the way determining the stream that a student is admitted into, but I won't go into that. cl_k: Where do you see yourself in five years, what will you be doing, what will your site look like? K: I'll probably be stuck in the military (conscripted) while my page stalls. But it should have been nicely done up by then to allow it to run with little interference! cl_k: How old will you be when conscripted into the military? K: Officially it's 18, but they always give allowances so you can continue studying. cl_k: Is the military all combined, or is there a separate army and navy? K: Separate. There's the army, navy and air force. cl_k: How many years do you have to serve in the military? K: Two and a half. A few months more for overweight folks, to get them in shape before the real thing. Unlikely I'll have to go through that, I'm underweight. cl_k: Do both men and women serve in the military? K: Yes, but the difference is that the ladies aren't conscripted. cl_k: What would someone never suspect about you in a million years? K: If I told they wouldn't even have a chance to suspect! =) cl_k: What other kinds of music do you like to listen to? K: Jazz. A little pop and country, but really little at that. cl_k: Who is your favorite musical artist? K: The Swingle Singers, who, by the way, were here not too long ago. Too bad I wasn't able to catch 'em. cl_k: Besides music or band, what is your favorite class in school? K: Physics. cl_k: Do you have an physics heroes? K: Richard Phillips Feynmann, 1918-88 cl_k: You are the first person I've interviewed from Singapore. What is the language of your country? K: We're multi-racial and multi-cultural, so there's a lot to say for this: National Language: Malay, due to our geography; Official Languages: English, Mandarin (Chinese), Malay, Tamil (meaning these languages may be used in parliament); Working Language: English is most common in work and school; School lessons are mostly in English, with the exception of Mother Tongue, which is a language class - the Chinese learn Chinese, the Malays, Malay, etc. cl_k: How long have you studied and/or spoken English? K: nearly 13. Amazing how fast time passes, isn't it? cl_k: What do you like to do to "get away from it all"? K: Put my CDs on and try to play along! cl_k: What would you recommend a visitor to Singapore be sure to do? K: Listen to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. cl_k: Seems like sound advice. It has been great corresponding with you. I appreciate your time and efforts, and wish you all the best in the coming months and years. cl_kaulana is an administrative assistant at KAAH TV-26 in Honolulu, Hawaii, who puts his innate curiousity and desire to be helpful to use by conducting interviews and writing about the people and places he visits in Vienna, along with writing and updating his webpages in Heartland, Pentagon, and, of course, Vienna Strasse. Find out how to join the Vienna Community Leaders.		Index