Rise of the E-Book

With the recent IT boom, it is inevitable that an alternative to paper books will be developed. And that is the electronic book, or E-Book for short. There are, of course, pros and cons for E-Books, just like paper books. I shall just mention the pros and cons of the E-Book since I doubt that anyone reading my blog have never touched a paper book in their life.
Pros:

• More environmentally friendly (MOST IMPORTANT)
• More portable (Many book in one reader)
• Provides light for reading

Cons:

• You need a decent E-Book reader
• Battery life limits reading time
• Eye-strain and RSI (It is still an electronic after all)
• E-Book readers are very fragile (Well, more fragile than a paper book anyway)
• E-Books are not readily available

Now, I shall talk about the problems caused by the E-Book in the writer community. Most authors dislike E-Books since readers of E-Books (for some reason) expect E-Books to be free just because it is on the Internet. This would lead to writers earning less income and some potentially excellent books might not be published. Even authors need to eat. If you really support the author and want to read more books by said author, then support them by buying their books! There is no reason not to pay for a good book.

The London Riots

For those of you who do not know, the London Riots started when the family of an African American who was shot dead by the police after he 'shot' (with a replica gun) at some police officers decided to protest against his death. The African American was shot multiple times until his face was unrecognisable. The protest turned ugly when the people started rioting and looting to 'show their anger towards an uncalled for and illegal police shooting'. Yeah right, nothings says 'I am feeling upset about an unnecessary death caused by racism' like cleaning out electronic and jewellery stores and setting fire to buildings and vehicles. I bet that most of the 'protesters' have no idea of what they are 'protesting' about. The term 'rioters' would be more accurate since they have no valid cause for their 'protest'. It is very likely that most of the people just saw others looting and, like the sheep thay are, follow. I would also like to take this opportunity to point out the link between this and my earlier post on altruism. So much for it, eh?
Although the protest started as a peaceful protest, there are numerous oppurtunists who take the chance to do what they would normally not dare to do when there is law and order. Namely looting, arson, striking out at police officers and rioting. To quote my previous post:
"Moreover, when disaster strikes, most people would adopt the ‘every man for himself’ mentality. As proven when a tourist asked a police officer for assistance and got the response, "Go to hell, it's every man for himself.", when people are confused or scared, they would automatically look out for number one, that is, themselves. This mentality often results in selfishness and thus makes any thought of helping others near impossible, much less altruism."
Though I doubt the rioters are scared or confused, it is now the survival of the fittest in London. There is absolutely (Ok, maybe there are but they are not reported) little evidence of altruism and common sense has clearly taken a long term leave.
To round it off, this post is actually just an example and proof of my post "Blog Prompts 10 - Does crisis bring out the best in man? " with a bit of an extension on mob mentality.

Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream'

One of the most famous speech about freedom in our history: Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream'. Today, I shall analyse this speech to the best of my ability and let you, too, see what makes this speech so great. The full speech can be found here for reference: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
I suggest that you open the link in another tab and read it first before reading the analysis.

'I Have a Dream' uses many stylistic devices, among them are:

• Anaphora
• Hyperbole & strong opening
• References to other speeches
• Metaphors

Anaphora:
Repetition of words or phrases.
Martin Luther King's speech's most famous anaphora would, naturally, be the phrase 'I have a dream'. This phrase is repeated a grand total of 8 times throughout the speech. However, this is not the only time King used anaphora. The other examples are:

• 'One hundred years later...' (3rd paragraph)
• 'Now is the time...' (6th paragraph)
• 'We must...' (8th paragraph)
• 'We can never be satisfied...' or 'We can never be satisfied...' (13th paragraph)
• 'Go back to...' (14th paragraph)
• 'I have a dream...' (16th to 24th paragraph)
• 'With this faith...' (25th paragraph)
• 'Let freedom ring...' (27th to 41st paragraph)

Hyperbole & strong opening:
I could only find one example of hyperbole in King's speech and that is at the beginning. "I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation." This is a very strong opening as it asserts very clearly what King is trying to achieve through his speech. The word 'greatest' is the hyperbole in this case.

References to other speeches:
King very evidently respected Abraham Lincoln as he made his speech at the Lincoln Memorial and begin his second paragraph with the words 'Five score years ago...' which echoes Abraham Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address speech beginning with the words 'Four score and seven years ago...' This is a very good choice of reference as:

• He is standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial
• He is, like Abraham Lincoln, fighting for the freedom of the Negros

Metaphors:
King was either very, very fond of metaphors or used them to paint a picture in his audience's minds. The latter seem more likely. The metaphors used are:

• 'This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.' (2nd paragraph)
• '...the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.' (3rd paragraph)
• '...the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.' (3rd paragraph)
• 'In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check... And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.' (4th to 5th paragraph. Compares the Emancipation Proclamation, freedom etc. to checks, money and banks. Not a good comparison since freedom and justice is immaterial but money is.)
• '...take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.' (6th paragraph)
• 'Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.' (6th paragraph)
• ' This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.' (7th paragraph)
• 'The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.' (7th paragraph)

Need I continue? There is a large abundance of metaphors in King's 'I Have a Dream' and to list them all would be entirely unnecessary.

This is then end of my analysis as of now. I would really like it if anyone else posta comment i they feel that I missed out something in my analysis which should be there. Till the next time.

Blog Prompt 12 - Arranged Marriages

Long ago, arranged marriages was the norm. Now, it is frowned upon except in some cultures. To clear up the misunderstanding, arranged marriages are not forced marriages. They are simply marriages which a third party introduces two people who might or might be acquainted to each other, meanwhile avoiding the process of dating or courtship. Arranged marriages are not the kind of marriage where the bride is forced by her parents into marriages. Both the the bride and groom have the choice whether to accept the other as their partner for life. There are many pros and cons of arranged marriages and that is why some cultures still practice arranged marriages while others condemn it. First the pros:Firstly, the divorce rate of arranged marriages are lower than in the United States, where love marriages are the norm. People in arranged marriages rarely divorce in order to avoid the embarrassment of having to return the dowry even if it is not explicitly said or because it is condemned by society and family in general in those cultures. Other cultures which do not practice arranged marriages usually do not really condemn divorce. At most, it is frown upon.
Also, arranged marriages are arranged by a third party who is specially chosen for this task. The third party is usually a matchmaker of some sort, thus having much experience in this area. This makes the marriages more stable in that sense than one decided in the heat of the moment.
Finally, arranged marriages allows for individuals who have a hard time finding a mate (disabilities etc.) to find a mate and get married. Of course, the bride/groom might reject the match but at least said individual would get introduced to more people than in a love marriage society.
And now the con:
There are quite a few cons but the one that stands out is that arranged marriages are only as good as the people arranging it. IF the matchmaker is not doing the job properly, the arranged marriage has a very high chance of ending with a divorce, which should constitute of most of the arranged marriages which end with a divorce. That said, it is unlikely that the bride or groom would agree to the match if the matchmaker just randomly picked someone off the street.

Blog Prompt 11 - Should the U.S. have dropped the atomic bomb on Japan?

6 August 1945. The day a World War was decided. The day Hiroshima was destroyed and thousands were killed. The day ‘Little Boy’ was dropped. It brought about the end of World War II and the defeat of the Japanese, but should the U.S. have dropped the bomb? Yes.
Though ‘Little Boy’ killed thousands, how many more would have died if 'Little Boy' was not dropped? The war between the U.S. and Japan would have gone on for many more months, thus leading to the loss of much more soldiers. Moreover, Japan was already given an ultimatum, 'Surrender or we shall drop the atomic bomb.' They were already given a choice to surrender. They choose not to themselves. Without the usage of the atomic bomb, Japan would definitely not surrender, thus leading to further war and the loss of lives.
On the flip side, the aftereffects of 'Little Boy' were devastation. For generations, children born were born with defects or were mentally retarded. It is not fair that the children suffer for the sins on their fathers, yet that was what happened. Of course, the U.S. could not have foreseen the aftereffects of the atomic bomb since it was the first atomic bomb made and thus it is not entirely or even mostly their fault for the suffering of Japan's children.
In conclusion, it was necessary for the U.S. to drop the atomic bomb. Though many children suffered for the sins of their father, many more lives were prevented from being lost.

Book Review: The Age of Zeus

Title: The Age of Zeus
Author: James Lovegrove
Publisher: Solaris

Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. And give humans the powers of gods? Absolute disaster. A few months ago, the Olympians popped out of nowhere. Only one thing was certain. They were more than human. They might or might not be gods, but they were better. Stronger. Faster. Yet they were inhumane. Like tyrants, these 'gods' ruled over the human race with an iron fist. Any resistance was crushed. The protagonist later meets with Zeus, the leader of the Pantheon. Sam Akehurst , the protagonist, discovers that the 'gods' came about their power by a process which anyone could take part in. They had a discussion on power the 'gods' hold and whether it should be shared among the entire human race. "How do we decide who to give these powers to? And if we give these powers to everyone on Earth, who then shall watch over them? If we have a group of people with even more powerful abilities to watch over them, then the same problem shall arise." Yet 'Zeus' has no right to decide who to give those powers to. It would be impossible to be impartial with regards to who to give those powers to and thus it is better for all of us and for mankind that such would not happen...

Hurt. Sam Akehurst joins a resistance, the TITANS, against the Pantheon. Her only reason for this was to get payback. Years ago, her husband was killed on a stampede caused by Artemis and Apollo when they decided to go to the Central Park and shot some humans. The mental trauma caused by the incident also caused Sam to lose her unborn child. Later in the story, Sam felt betrayed when her employer, Regis Landesman, took her position as leader of the TITAN strike force from her and declared himself leader of the team. Nonetheless, Sam manages to over come her inhibitions and places her trust in Mr Landesman to lead the team well. However, Mr Landesman betrays her trust by abandoning a teammate in a moment of crisis. We do not know whether it was intentional or not but it hurt Sam greatly as the teammate was her best friend on the team. As a result of Mr Landesman's actions, the mission was a rather hollow success.

The climax of the story would naturally be the final battle between the TITANS and the Pantheon. The TITANS worked by the divide and conquer strategy. They would converge on a single 'god' and take him or her down while the human troops who pledge to help them keep the others busy. All of the individual battles were dipicted and though the reader knew that the TITANS were most likely to win t the end, the results of the battles were often in doubt. The gods would miss death by a few inches while the TITANS would be save by a last minute appearance.

They story had a very satisfying ending. The Pantheon was defeated and the world resumed its normal routines again. Sam was able to put aside her past hurts and starts her life anew. She marries one of her teammates and had a baby who was named Will. The ending was full of hope and life and the reader would feel good that Sam has finally found her peace.

Licence for selling poisonous substances

A 45-year-old fishmonger was charged with selling poisonous substances without a licence. I would like to ask: What is the meaning of this?! Does that mean that if one has a licence, one can sell poisonous substances everywhere in Singapore? NO! Unless one is a doctor, one should not sell poisonous substances. Though both of the substances have medicinal use, prolonged usage would cause the user grievous harm.
"One of the poisons is dexamethasone, a potent steroid that requires a doctor's prescription.
Usually used for anti-inflammatory purposes, it can cause high blood pressure, muscle damage and mental disorders. Sudden withdrawal after prolonged use can lead to serious outcomes including muscle weakness and kidney failure.
The other poison, chlorpheniramine, can be used to relieve runny noses. However, it can also cause drowsiness, confusion and urine retention."
I believe that the fishmonger thought that his costumers might keep on visiting his store after they discovered that not eating his fish would lead to them feeling unwell. One could argue that the fishmonger was only trying to make a living. However, he should consider that by earning money this way, he has made the lives of others worse by making them go to the doctor for treatment. If found guilty, the fishmonger could be jailed up to 2 years and fined $10,000 for each charge.
Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1136733/1/.html

Charity Begins At Home. However...

Two months ago, Thai teenager Nitcharee Peneakchanasak lost both of her legs after falling onto the MRT tracks in Ang Mo Kio. Now, a group of anonymous Singaporeans have donated S$250,000 for Nitcharee Peneakchanasak's medical rehabilitation expenses. The amount of money is enough to pay for not her medical rehabilitation expenses but a pair of prosthetic legs as well.
I would like to laud the kindhearted Singaporeans who have made all the difference for this young girl. However, I would like to point out a strange question I have about this incident. It is: How did the girl fall onto the MRT tracks?
As we all know now, the MRT station at Ang Mo Kio does not have the half-height platform screen doors. Therefore, is it SMRT's fault for not installing the screen doors quickly, or is it the girl's fault for not being careful enough? The girl's father has viewed the CCTV footage of the incident, yet decided to keep the details confidential. This feels a little strange to me. If it is not the girl's fault that she fell onto the MRT tracks, why keep it a secret? From this, we can assume that the CCTV footage showed that it was, at least, partially the girl's fault that she fell onto the MRT tracks. Moreover, Mr Peneakchanasak, the girl's 56-year-old father, rejected SMRT's compensation offer of S$5,000, saying that he would seek 'fairer' compensation. I would like to ask this: ON what grounds does he have the right to seek fairer compensation? I have been on the MRT several times and I do not seehow it is possible to all onto the tracks unless one is not paying much attention to one's surroundings (texting, reading, etc.) or one is pushed. I seriously doubt that Nitcharee Peneakchanasak was pushed since I do not believe that anyone in Singapore would have no other better thing to do. IN conclusion, I do not believe that it is entirely SMRT's fault for not installing the platform screen doors. It is also partially, if not entirely, Nitcharee Peneakchanasak's fault for not paying enough attention to her surroundings. I would like to point out that the Singaporean donors' compassion is commendable yet perhaphs a little misplaced. I believe that if one makes a mistake, one should be able to bear the consequences of that mistake. I can only hope that Nitcharee Peneakchanasak will be more careful around MRT stations sfter getting her pair of prosthetic legs and not repeat her mistake.

"Costly" Flood Solutions

With the recent flooding in Singapore, we are all concerned about what the government is going to do about it. One of the less expensive solutions was to raise the level of Wilby Road. This would prevent the risk of flood waters entering Tessarina Condominium's basement car park whenever Bukit Timah Road is flooded. However, the raising of roads only treats the symptoms of the floods. Built-up areas like Bukit Timah and Orchard will require better solutions than raising the level of the area. Nanyang Technological University School of Civil & Environmental Engineering associate professor Tan Soon Keat says that the built-up areas would require much more expensive solutions as they would need to physically divert the flow to a storage pond somewhere else. However, where to locate these ponds is a very difficult question to answer.

I feel that the government should do everything they can, no matter how expensive it is, to prevent or minimize the effects of the frequent floods which were supposed to be a 'once in fifty years' thing. It would really benefit the the citizens of Singapore and let them feel that the government actually cares about them and their welfare. In conclusion, though the solutions for preventing future floods may be costly, if would be really beneficial in both the short and long run as the pros outweigh the cons by a large margin.

E. coli Outbreak

On 30th May 2011, an Escherichia coli (E. coli) outbreak was reported in Germany. The outbreak killed 14 and left more than 300 seriously ill. Most of the deaths were from northern Germany. The German government has identified the pathogen as hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious complication of a type of E. coli. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has confirmed that this HUS outbreak is the largest in the world of its kind. E coli. affects the blood, kidneys, and in severe cases, the nervous system. On 31st May 2011, the number of deaths rose to 16 and reached 18 on 8th June 2011. One can be infected by E. coli if one consumes:

• undercooked ground beef (the inside is pink)
• contaminated/impure water
• unpasteurised/raw milk
• contaminated food

To prevent infection, it is advised for one to cook all food properly and make sure that the temperature of the food is high enough to kill the bacteria. It is also advisable to practice proper hygiene so as to not infect other people with E. coli in the event that one is inected with E. coli.

Symptoms of E. coli infection start 7 days after infection. Sudden severe abdominal cramps are the first signs of infection. After a few hours, watery diarrhea starts. The diarrhea lasts for 1 day, then changes to bright red bloody stools. The bloody stools lasts 2 to 5 days. If you have any of these symptoms, you should visit a doctor straight away.

War - A Living Hell 5/25 HBL

Day 15:

Another day of misery, of hurt. I can hear moans and groans of pain from the various people around me. The sickness has taken its toll on these brave and courageous men and woman, people I have known since young. And who to blame for this heinous crime? The U.S. military and their partner in crime: Agent Orange.

Basic societal rule demands that one would have to take care of someone you've purposely harmed, yet those who have caused this are running free. Is there no justice in this world! They have caused so torment, so much misery with no retribution coming for them. It simply isn't fair. All that hopes and dreams, shattered. All because of a single mistake of the U.S. military. Somebody must pay for this! I will not let this go by unavenged! Those murderers shall be killed! By any means necessary. Even is it means joining the rebels, those people whose life hood is killing, not honest work like farming. Rumor has it that Shifty Will has... connections with the rebels. I must find him, for it is a sliver of hope, no matter how slim.

I pushed myself up from the ground, teeth gritted against the excruciating pain. Shoving the pain aside, I started walking. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", this journey, though not a thousand miles, has begun. Far off, I can here the song "Dawn of a Rebellion" from Rebel without a Cause. I grinned mirthlessly, oh, yes, I was a rebel, but not without a cause, certainly not...

Smiling - A Study of Why We Smile

Why do we smile? It is a question many have not thought of, yet a question that everyone should consider. We smile practically everyday, after all. There are mainly two different types of smiles. The 'voluntary' and the 'involuntary'.
The voluntary type is like when you smile merely to be polite. For example, when your aunt gives you a pair of woolen socks for Christmas (just and example). Normally, it would be alright but FOR CHRISTMAS!!! Since I live in Singapore, a pair of woolen socks are near useless. And giving someone socks for Christmas is just plain cheep. In this kind of situation, one would smile to be polite so as to not insult your aunt (thought she might deserve it) and embarrass your family by being rude. This type of smiling is very commonly used in our lives as most of us are hard pressed to find anything else to do when faced with this type of situation (and it happens really often in our lives). This type of smiles are usually insincere.
The second type of smiling, the involuntary, is the real kind of smiles. It is the kind of smile that lights up the whole world. This type of smile occurs when you do not consciously smile, hence the term 'involuntary'. An example of when you use this type of smile is when someone says something funny and you smile unconsciously or, when it is really funny, laugh. Here's a joke: How do you make a hot dog stand? Take away its chair :) If you DID find that funny, you would have laughed, or at the very least smile. This type of smile is also very common, maybe even more than the first type.
In conclusion, the two main reasons we smile are:

• To be polite - voluntary


• To express our joy or happiness - involuntary

Thanks for reading!

LA Mind Map - Vietnam War

Blog Prompts 10 - Does crisis bring out the best in man?

What is the best in man? Personally, I feel that compassion is the best in man but that is too shallow. It is not truly the best in man. The true best in man is altruism. What is altruism? The Oxford Study Dictionary’s definition of altruism is unselfishness. However, altruism is not merely unselfishness. The word unselfishness does not do the concept of altruism justice. Altruism is not just unselfishness, it is putting others before self, it is to put your own life at risk for the good of others, it is to help others knowing that you may very well die in the attempt. Now that we have established that the best in man is altruism, it is time to go back to our original topic. Does crisis bring out altruism, the best in man? My answer, sad is it may be, is no.

Firstly, as demonstrated by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, crisis does not bring out the best in man. It in fact does the opposite. Shortly after the hurricane moved away, residents of New Orleans began looting stores for food and water as it was not available to them through other means. Reports of carjacking, murders, thefts, and rapes in New Orleans flooded the news. ‘Sniper’ fire was even targeted at rescue helicopters, relief workers, and police officers by relocation or evacuation resisters. Of those who choose to resist relocation or evacuation there are two types. Those who are staying because of sentiments and those who are staying for the easy prey.

I (kind of) respect those who are staying for sentimental reasons that I can understand. New Orleans have been their home for so long, from since when they were little toddlers till now. It has been their only home and now they don’t know where to go. On the other hand, their homes are no longer safe and it would be wise to leave. Brutal practicality wins over sentiments for me. The other type of resister, the ones staying for the easy prey, are the ones that I will be using to demonstrate my thoughts that crisis brings out the worst in man. Normally, our society is bound by the laws and rules our founding fathers lay, but in the absence of these laws, chaos runs unchecked and our normally bound ‘dark side’ is unleashed. Things we wouldn’t even consider doing normally is brought to the forefront of our minds when our survival is at stake. Even unnecessary things such as carjacking and rape are done all because of one thing. The removal of laws that keeps order within our society allows man the freedom to do whatever he likes and that resulted in many people doing unlawful things now that they have the chance to do so.

Moreover, when disaster strikes, most people would adopt the ‘every man for himself’ mentality. As proven when a tourist asked a police officer for assistance and got the response, "Go to hell, it's every man for himself.", when people are confused or scared, they would automatically look out for number one, that is, themselves. This mentality often results in selfishness and thus makes any thought of helping others near impossible, much less altruism.

Yes, I do admit that there are rare cases where altruism is demonstrated, like the recent Japan earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis. The nation suffered blow after blow, yet it still stood firm. There were no reports of looting or theft or murders. Despite their need for food, people still lined up for their rations and even gave part of their own rations to others who need it more. However, these cases are far and few between. Perhaps it is that the darkness in the aftermath of disasters calls out to the darkness in our souls that makes us behave this way, but more often than not, crisis brings out the worst in man.

SYF 2011, bring it on...

"It's the results that matter, not the method." That is the Singaporean way, with what better example than our tough exam-based educational system? For the past four months, I've been putting all my effort into learning and mastering the two Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) pieces we are playing, with only the goal of getting Gold with Honors in the SYF Central Judging. For those of you who do not know, I am in Hwa Chong Military Band and I play the flute. The SYF Central Judging for Bands have begun this Monday. Four days have passed, and now it is our turn.

From day one, all the blood, sweat and tears I have put into band has been for the sake of getting that prestigious Gold with Honors, and I do believe that we can get Gold with Honors. I'm not blowing my own trumpet here (ha ha, so funny), I really do feel that we can achieve that goal. Yet today, when my seniors gave us our 'prep talk', one of them said something that floats hauntingly in my mind.

He said,"The journey matters more than the goal. Of course, the goal is still important, but it is the journey that matters." This is indeed true. If at the end of the journey, the traveller has not changed for the better, then what was the point of the entire journey? Sometime during all the hard work that I have put into band, I have forgotten that. I have forgotten that I work so hard, sacrificed so many hours, practiced so many times, it is not just for that Gold with Honors. It is to become a better flute player, a better musician, and a better person in general. I have forgotten that music, like death, in one of the great universal unifiers. Music breaches all racial barriers, transcends all religious beliefs, and sweeps aside all our differences to bring us together as one. I have forgotten all those, but now I remember.

As I look back, to when I first picked up the flute, when I blew my first note, when I learnt my first major piece, when I first performed in front of an audience, when I first played in a concert, when I first started learning my SYF pieces, I realise that I have come a long way since all those 'firsts'. And I know that whatever the band gets tomorrow, I will have no regrets. No matter what we get, I will know that I have improved as a flute player, as a musician, and I will continue to sustain that growth for as long as I live. In this aspect of my life, at least, the journey matters more than the end point. Tomorrow, when I play those two pieces, I play it not for the Gold with Honors, but for myself. I play those pieces to express myself, my deepest thoughts. Music played from the bottoms of hearts will reach out to and touch bottoms of hearts. Four days have passed, and only three bands have gotten Gold with Honors. The bar has been raised, the challenge has been set, Gold with Honors no longer means just a notch above Gold, but we're ready. Let's do this...

Blog Prompts 9 - Should students be given the autonomy to develop their own curriculum?

Imagine a school where students decide what they want to learn, and when. Where students pursue their own interest. Where students learn essential life skills voluntarily. That is the kind of school a school can be if students were given the freedom to develop their own curriculum.

Firstly, being given the power to create their own curriculum, the students would feel more 'free' and this would thus be beneficial to their rate of learning. For example, a student under the impression that he is 'forced' to study a particular subject would perform infinitely worse than a student that feels that he is studying the exact same subject. It is that extra element of the feeling of freedom that brings in that special dimension to learning. This would allow the students who develop their own curriculum to learn much better than those who have their curriculum developed by others.

On the other hand, some people believe that students are not matured enough to decide things such their own curriculum for themselves. However, I believe that if we never let students decide important thing for themselves, then they may never mature. Only through handling great responsibilities does one be come more mature and thus more independent.

On whether we should implement this is Hwa Chong, I feel that we should 'test drive' this experiment among a few students in Hwa Chong first before deciding whether to inreoduce it to the entire school as a whole or just scrape the project altogether.

Blog Prompts 8 - What are the qualities you look for in a potential MP/ Minister?

Personally, I feel that a potential MP/Minister should have:

• Empathy

I'm pretty sure that anyone out there would know why a future leader of the nation would need empathy. What other reason is there than to empathize with the very people they serve? Notice my use of the word 'serve', not 'lead'. Personally, I believe in servant leadership, and that brings me to the next quality I would look for in a potential Mp/Minister:

• Humility

As always, a leader must learn humility, as must everyone else. A leader must be able to accept that he/she does not know absolutely everything and must admit that everyone makes mistakes, including themselves. And of course, a future leader of the nation must have:

• Experience

As a lot of people apparently think so from all the online 'slamming' I've seen against Tin Pei Ling, age is a crucial factor in choosing a candidate. I partially agree with that thought, but I would like to modify it to experience. So what if someone is young? I feel that it is not the age that counts, but the years of experience. An 80 year-old man might not have as much experience in politics and serving the people than a 30 year-old man. If age is a deciding factor in choosing a candidate, why not get a 1000 year-old man (who would have the unfortunate coincidence of being dead) to be our next Prime Minister? Of course, a dead person would be sorely lacking in the next quality and that is:

• Drive

A leader must have the passion to succeed, the drive to bring the nation forward as one, then only can the country succeed. Without the same passion and drive, the country would not be able to grow and enter the global market. It would forever remain stagnant and in this competitive world, to remain stagnant is to be forgotten in the ruins of antiquity. And last but not least:

• Integrity

As the famous saying saying goes 'power corrupts'. An MP/Minister should have the integrity to not fleece of money from the government's funding for his/her own purposes. For when the people finds out that the MP/Minister has been taking their money for selfish purposes, the Mp/Minister would instantly lose all the trust and rapport the people had with and in him/her and he/she would never be able to earn it back as long as he/she lives.

After all that explanation and stuff, I'm sure you know why those are the qualities I look for in a potential MP/Minister. If you have any thoughts or comments on this issue, or any other qualities you would like to see in a potential MP/Minister, just comment on this post but NO SLAMMING PLEASE!!! This is a neutral blog post that does not intend to cause any harm to anyone in this world at any point in time. So please respect that ideology.

Online Lesson Wk 2 - Descriptive Piece on War

I can feel their eyes on me. I know how I must look like, with my deep, sunken eyes, eyes that have lost all hope, eyes without life. War does that to you. Having seen countless people dying, the survivors shuffling among the ruins of their former homes, living yet dead, this old soldier have seen enough of war. War is not glorious, nor is it clean. War is gory, war is messy, war is not knowing whether it's the last second you'd ever live, war is seeing your platoon-mates, people you have trained, fought, done practically everything together, die in the blink of an eye. War is hell.

After all these things, is it surprising to lose all hope of life? To lose the belief that tomorrow would be a new day, a new beginning? To give up living? For what else is there to live for? What are we but pawns to be sacrificed in a politician's game? We are expendable. We can easily be replaced, for many do not know the truth about war, many are clamoring for the chance to fight in this 'holy' war, the war to end all wars.

No, I must continue living, if not for myself, then for the green recruit they would send to replace me, for those who still do not know the truth about war, to bring the light of knowledge to chase away the darkness of ignorence in those people's minds, to let them know the truth about war...

Blog Prompts 7 - Should we care about what happens in places far away from where we live in general?

Well, I feel that we should care about what happens in places far away from us. "Why?!" many of you may cry. "Those things happen in places far away,they do not affect us! They only happen there! They won't happen here!" But that's where you are wrong.

Any incident that happens anywhere on Earth can happen just as quickly, just as mercilessly anywhere else. There is no such thing as an isolated incident or event that will only happen once and at that particular place. As George Santayana once said, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." And so we too must learn from both past and present challenges and use that knowledge to avoid such incidents in the future. Anyway, it just happens that one particular incident happened today that I would like to bring light to. A few people who I will not be naming (*ahem*losers*cough*) were caught playing computer games in class today after school. For many of them, it was their second offence. Like I said, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." I only knew of this as I have lent my laptop to one of those who were caught. But its alright people, I will be getting it back tomorrow and the blogging shall continue. I'm blogging this on a 7 year-old (at least) computer (I'm not joking). Anyway, back to the topic.

Those people have been given a warning and have already gotten their laptops confiscated for a month, yet they persist in their behavior. If what George Santayana said is true, and I believe it is so, then these people would keep on getting their laptops confiscated again and again unless they learn from their mistakes and do not commit such 'crimes' in the future. All in all, I feel that this is why we should care about what happens in places far away from us so as to learn from their mistakes and take precautions against making such mistakes in the future. Illuminano il buio!

Movie Review: 'V for Vendetta'

This movie is set in the near future, just a few years down the road. The government rules the people with an iron fist and the people live in constant fear of the secret police, also known as the 'Fingermen'. 'V' is a freedom fighter who fights against the totalitarian government using terrorist tactics and has gained extraordinary speed and reflexes through a secret government project to create a biological weapon. V's preferred weapons are knives which he straps all over his body. One night, V rescues Evey, a girl who works at the state-run British Television Network, from the Fingermen and brings her to a rooftop to watch his destruction of the Old Bailey. This is preceded by the tune '1812 Overture' being played on the public announcement system. I find the destruction of the Old Bailey particularly funny and you can see for yourself why by just visiting YouTube in your spare time. Thank goodness for modern technology, huh? It's one of my favourite movies not just because of the great storyline and the special effects(it was made by the creators of The Matrix after all), but also for the significance of the movie in our present day society.
The movie deals with issues such as corruption, freedom and liberty with a dash of symbolism. This movie is quite similar in concept to the recent uprising in Egypt and thus is relevant in today's society even more because of that. I hate to ruin a good movie but V died in the end and I want to make a point about that. My point is that we, as human beings, treasure life a lot but for the right cause, we are prepared to die. Not that I am encouraging anyone to sacrifice themselves for the 'greater good' but that that should be the only reason why we kill fellow human beings or ourselves, to serve a cause greater than you or me can complete alone, to do so so that future generations will benefit from your actions. That is your legacy.
And now my last few words. Search 'V for Vendetta ' on YouTube and the 1st one is the trailer, the 2nd V's introductory speech to Evey with an insane amount of alliteration, the 3rd his speech to London after he hijacked the television broadcasting station and the 4th the final fight scene which has really great special effects. If you want to see the Old Bailey getting blown up, search 'V for Vendetta Old Bailey' and click on the 1st one. V seemed quite insane as he laughs when the Old Bailey explodes. Towards the end of the final fight scene, there is a sentence V said that I would like to quote to end my 'review'. "Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr Creedy. And ideas are bulletproof."

Blog Prompt 6 - "Where Is The Love" by the Black Eyed Peas

Today, we will be discussing the song "Where is the Love?" by the Black Eyed Peas. You know, the one that was very popular a loooooong time ago. Click here for the lyrics. The issues discussed are war, hatred and discrimination which are all closely linked and are still quite prominent in today's society. Well, it is really as they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same. How more paradoxical can you get?
Anyway, I feel that the root cause of the problems above, mainly discrimination, is that we can't differentiate the information which are given to us. Now in the modern age, all of us are getting spoofed information over the Internet and the majority of us, myself included, are unable to differentiate true or false information. The Internet is, electronically speaking, an enormous platform and thus people would be hard pressed to find the reliability of the information we see on the Internet. Most of the information we get over the Internet is one-sided or biased and this leads to us forming stereotypes which leads to us becoming biased, prejudiced and eventually, discriminating. If you do not know the difference between stereotype, bias, prejudice and discrimination, look it up on Google. I'm not going to just spoon-feed you the information.
Anyway, the presence of discrimination makes it easier for wars to get started and this would lead to hatred and even more discrimination. Also, it is quite a nice song and you should listen to it on YouTube if you have not yet.

Blog Prompt 5 - Can students from poor families can succeed in life?

Today, we are discussing the topic of whether students from poor families can succeed in life. Apparently, MM Lee says that people with a PhD should marry other people with a PhD so as to produce intelligent children who will then succeed in life. But ask yourself this, what is success? There is no definite answer and so let's just take that to succeed in life is to make lots of money. Personally, I feel that to succeed in life is to be happy and to die contented and peacefully in your sleep but let's not go there now. Anyway, the basis of the theory in my second sentence is based on the assumption that parents with good genes will pass them on to their children. However, this goes against meritocracy, which is encouraged by the government and means that if you work hard, you will succeed. Working hard, the basic essence of meritocracy, is also the only way to break the poverty cycle which is depicted below:





Though, it is rather pixilated, the basic idea is that a poor parent would not have enough money to send their children to a good school and thus the child grows up to be rather uneducated and this results in a poor parent as he/she would not be able to get a good job due to their low education and the cycle repeats itself again and again. BUT, rich and talented parents do not guarantee a successful child. After all, talent is nothing without hard work. As Albert Einstein once said, "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." My opinion mirrors his on this issue. Even if one has the money to buy assessment books or pay for tuition fees, that is not a sure-fire way to ensure that your child succeeds in life. Hard work and determination is the only road to success. And that is all I have to say on this matter. Thanks for reading. Please comment=]

Description of Atmosphere

The sun rose from the east and shone its golden rays upon the earth. The clouds blushed a rosy pink and then dispersed like wisps of mist in the morning sun. The gilded rays filtered through the silent trees, casting an orange sheen over the entire forest ground. The rising sun struck the morning dew on the trees, making them glow and shine with an inner light that turned the trees into priceless trunks of topaz. Jake turned his face towards the rising sun, feeling its warmth on his face. The sun rose upon the first day of a new world. There was a new hope, a new day.

Blog Prompts 4

As of 2010, only 67% of Singaporeans say they have close friends of a different race, religion or nationality. I feel that this is really a pity though Singapore is mostly made up if Chinese (74.2% of Singapore's population is Chinese - 2009 figures). In that case, a non-Chinese would have to have at least 3 Chinese friends to reach a 100% figure. That is, of course, possible. I feel that we still need to understand other races even though we are the majority as it would be easy to misunderstand someone if you did not understand their culture and religion. Moreover, to understand someone else's religion would be taking the 1st step to forming good life-long relationships with that person

Mind Map - The American Civil War

Blog Prompts 3 - Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

Today, we are discussing about this article about 'Chinese' and 'Western' parents, their methods and the pros and cons. The article can be found here. Those kids sure have it tough! I feel that the examples the article gave are rather extreme and stereotypic and though most people think that way, the truth is that most parents are neither completely 'Chinese' or 'Western' and are in fact somewhere in between. Both methods have their pros and cons but I feel that a combination of both is the best. For example, the author wrote that 'Western parents have to tiptoe around the issue (that their child is fat), talking in terms of "health" and never ever mentioning the f-word, and their kids still end up in therapy for eating disorders and negative self-image'. In this aspect, I feel that the 'Chinese' parent's direct and blunt way of just telling their child that he/she is fat is better as the child might not even realise that he/she is fat and if you, as parents (if you are) do not let your child realise that, he/she would just grow fatter and fatter and most likely will get ridiculed in school. Perhaps this is the reason that 'Western' kids end up in therapy for eating disorders and negative self-image.

24th January's Home Learning

The theme of this comic strip is partly humor and partly to demonstrate that our advance in technology is not an advance in our morals, in fact, it is a degrade in our social morals. The white dove(or pigeon) represents the past when we where more advanced in our morals and the black rabbit represents the present where our advance in technology pulls us back and caused our morals to degrade.

I choose the dove(or pigeon) to mostly be white to show that it is 'purer' than the rabbit, which is mostly black. The black rabbit lost the race as it stopped to answer it's phone which I used to show that technology is pulling us back. Thanks for reading!

Blog Prompts 2

Is it better to have not known something than to have known something and to ultimately lose it later? Well, to know something and then to lose it would be very painful and might cause you a lot of heartache but, you will know the happiness and joy of knowing the something and that could be enough for you to carry with you throughout your whole life. Some people might not want to know the something in order to escape the heartache that will come with losing it. To those people I say this: if, by your definition, it is better not to know something in order to escape the heartache that will come with losing it, than what is the point of life? You will lose everything in the end anyway and besides, nothing is without risks. If you still have that mentality, then why are you still living(not that I'm suggesting suicide)? You know life the moment you are born and you will ultimately lose it. There is no escaping this fact. The fact that you are still alive and reading this shows that you do not really believe that it is better not to know something in order to escape the heartache that will come with losing it. Ciao!

Blog Prompts 1 - Have you ever been excluded from a group of people, or been in a group of people who excludes other people?

Two year ago when I was in Primary 6, there was this guy my class who was severely overweight and was the subject of much casual bullying. one day during PE, we were required to run the shuttle run which was 4 x 100m. When it was the overweight guy's turn to run, he ran quite slowly and clumsily as he could not stop properly. The bullies in the class laughed and some people just followed due to the so-called 'mob-mentality'. I cannot say that I defended the student but neither did I laugh and that was a source of comfort for him. From that day onwards we were friends but both of us were quite quite so I did not know much about him beyond the surface. He loved Science and got me much more interested in Science that I was at that time.

Debate: Is Lying Justifiable?

So, is lying justifiable? Most of you will say 'Yes. it is.' since all of us have lied before and will not want to be caught in a spot if we say no. I feel that the answer should be sometimes as there are these so called 'white lies' which people claim that are told for benign reasons. Benign is an adjective that means kindly, by the way. But are telling 'white lies' good for the recipient? Say the your aunt is slightly plump and when she asks you whether she is fat, do you say that she is fat or that she is just perfect to make her feel happy? However, if you keep on telling her that she is perfect and then suddenly one day someone not so considerate tells her that she is fat and then your aunt would be crushed as all the time she was thinking she was perfect because of you and suddenly someone tells her that she is fat! If this really happens, should you have told your aunt that she is perfect? You think about it. Of course, if your aunt is severely overweight, you should just tell her the truth, that she is really fat, as it will be good for her health.

In this case, one can argue that you did not tell the 'white lie' with the intention to harm your aunt. By this definition, telling a lie is justifiable until you hurt someone by telling the lie. But then how will you know whether your lie will hurt someone or not? Think about this the next time you are going to tell a lie('cos you will, believe me).

2011 Target for LA

What went well last year?

The poetry segment was pretty good considering the time and ranks somewhere in the middle between the poetry, composition and comprehension segments.

What went wrong last year?

There was too much irrelevant stuff in compositions and I took too long to write it leading to less time for the poetry segment.

What is my target MSG?

Below 2.0

How do I intend to achieve this?

Practice writing more compositions so as to get higher marks and use less time to write it.