Angels and demons by Dan Brown

One lesson I learnt from this book is that the truth always wins. In the story, then carmelengo went through all ways and means possible to slam science in the long-lasting feud between the church and science. He even hired the enemy, a hassaisin , under a false name to torture the four cardinals to frame the illuminati, an ancient science brotherhood, for the “trouble” they have caused the church. He speaks of science as an evil that causes destruction and questions God’s holy existence. However, the people themselves find out which is the real evil when the truth is uncovered.

If this story occurred a long time ago, I do not think the main story plot will be grossly over changed as the feud between the church and science started hundreds of years ago. Of course, there must be some changes. For example, the pope wouldn’t just have a son, he would father a son without the use of scientific methods,; that is, he literally fathers a child. Another change that must be made is that the destructive weapon wouldn’t be the anti-matter- rather, it would be some new weapon that science just created.

I think the climax of the book is when the antimatter is counting down. The carmelengo takes the antimatter with him and flies off with Robert Langdon helping him, though he is unaware that it is a suicide mission and he is one lucky man if he makes it out alive.

The title, in my opinion, is a rather good one as the church tells us that angels are “good” and guide us; they are God’s helpers. They say that demons like Satan are God’s enemy and nobody should succumb to their temptation. However, in the end, it is very obvious who are the angels… and who are the demons

Terminal Games by Cole Perriman

One lesson I learnt from this story is never to take things at face value. In the story, everybody sees the killer as Auggie’s operator, a human that is behind the brutal killings. However, Auggie is actually a single, unified decentralized intelligence feeding on many different humans’ knowledge and sentience. Thus, many people are Auggie, but when they are not themselves; there is only one Auggie. Hence, if the LAPD detectives had thought of the possibility that Auggie wasn’t just an avatar of a human operator after all, they could have prevented the killings faster.

(Comparing two characters)
Pritchard and Zoomer are both expert hackers, but there are differences between them. Zoomer is a professional computer expert who uses his skills for his work. He holds a somewhat dignified disposition and is cold to a certain extent. In short, he gives people the “professional” kind of impression. However, Pritchard is more of a “PC Punk” type f guy. He does not have the professional air around him like Zoomer does and is more laid-back. The only job he does is running Insomnimania and the rest of the time h plays with computer viruses.

In my opinion, the climax of the story is when Marianne entered the Basement without becoming Auggie. She was able to do this as she was not void of any emotion that Auggie could fill her with, especially love. She then says she is Pierrot, his sworn enemy. By a simple thing as proving to him that he is not eternal, he commits virtual suicide as he thinks not being able to be eternal means there is no reason to live anymore.

I think the most interesting part of the book was when Auggie saw a replicate of himself while trying to kill Marianne as he was supposed to be a singular being. When he saw that there were so many of him, he questioned his own existence. He felt betrayed and through all the confusion, :Auggie” disappears and all his “cells” are back to normal again.

FYI: Isomnimania is an entertainment network, something like Habbo Hotel, where users can be anybody they want to.

Should we criticize people or the opinions they have?
In my opinion, I would criticize the opinions people have rather than the people themselves. This is because the opinion(s) they have may not have anything to do with their attitudes/personalities ands so on. For example, I despise religious terrorists but my friend thinks that though they are violent and their sense of religion is wrong, they are so devout to their religion and he admires that. I think that this is a foolish notion but I will only criticize him This is because he is a great friend and through years of friendship I know that he is not a bad person, thus I will only argue with his opinion on this particular matter and will not hate him just because of this.
An argument some would put up to this is “since the opinion came from the person himself, shouldn’t you criticize the person too?” That is very short sighted as there could be many other opinions that both of us will share and there will be some other opinions that he has which will make me respect him. In that case, should I really criticize the person? No.

If you could eliminate one emotion from the world, would you.

Of course not. How absurd. Why would somebody want to eliminate emotions? Emotions make us who we are. Emotions are part of our existence. Emotions are what set us living things apart from those lifeless machines that serve you when you need them, and get destroyed in the dump when you do not, making no sound, uttering no grumble. Lets take a look at the basic that define us humans and find out why they shouldn’t be eliminated.

Happiness. Ah, that feeling you get when your teacher tells you that you have topped the school. The surge of warmth that makes you feel good about yourself when your boss promotes you. That nice emotion that makes you rejoice and brings a smile to your face. Happiness is what we all seek. It would be ridiculous to eliminate it then. Even the most depressed guy on earth, who has spent hundreds of dollars on therapy(none of them doing any good), still yearns for happiness even though he accepts his condition.

Sadness. The heaviness that clouds over you, making you feel bad about yourself. That despair you feel when the odds are stacked against you, making you feel like crying. The melancholy that washes over you when a loved one has died. Sadness seems like a bad thing doesn’t it? But, when your loved one has passed away, are sure you want to blissfully ignore the fact and move on as if he/she never existed? I think not.

Anger. Aha! The emotion that makes your blood boil, that makes you see red. It clouds your emotions sometimes, making you think irrationally. However, it is not all bad. You get beaten in competition and you are very angry at that fact. This will make you strive more to achieve your goal next time around. A policeman hates to criminal for getting away and committing even more crimes, harming even more innocent people. The rage in him makes him even more determined to catch the criminal. Or how about this: Your teacher scolds you for something you have not done and the class jeers at you. Are you going to remain apathetic and accept all this? No. Anger can’t go away then.

So, as you see, emotions make us who we are and to eliminate one emotion just because you don’t like what it does is, in my opinion, unnecessary and will not do that much good.

1. The casino being built in Singapore is supposed to be a money-maker and job creator. However, many people have spoken against it. Talk to a parent or adult and get their view on the casino. Listen to the NPR and YouTube offerings and choose one that substantiates your viewpoint and include a quote from it as well. Your blog entry has to be at least 200 words and you must either support the casino or condemn its construction and ultimately the hardships it will cause in Singapore.

As for this topic, although it is true that this will create more job opportunities and a big improvement in the tourism industry, I rather feel that there is a high possibility that it will cause more problems than it helps people.

Just look at Las Vegas. These people are so obsessed with trying to strike it rich that they don't even know that they're making themselves bankrupt. Its like in the video. Melanie Morgon did not know that she was becoming addicted to gambling until she was seriously addicted, with no way of stopping. "I knew at that time, that I was sick. I was sick, and needed help

People want to win. People don't like other people getting their money. That, is precisely the psychology casinos use. John goes to the casino for the first time. He loses three hundred bucks. He says, "Drats, I have to win it back." And so, this is the motivation for frequenting the casino. They have to get their money back. They think "If I win I can cover all my losses plus have a little bit more. If I stop now I'll be in deep trouble." The problem is, they are already in deep trouble. They are addicted. They may resort to ways and means of getting their money, ie getting a loan from the bank, or stealing. Frida, a woman in the video said, "The sick, compulsive gambler will do whatever they can to gamble." And it is true. How many people are chased by loan sharks just because of gambling?

Thus, although there is nothing that can be done to stop the casino now, I do hope that people will be more careful with their money, and their minds, to prevent themselves from being drawn into the vicious cycle of gambling addiction

My badge has a Latin motto
Hope for the future
The future is hope
Or something

This is a Quatrain. It gives the reader the "heck care" type of attitude, showing that he was not really interested in the badge or its meaning.

.At times black crows try to interrupt
When we sing the National Anthem

This is a couplet and also an example of personification. It is as if the black crows are purposely being rude by squawking loudly when the national anthem is being played


It is difficult to maintain
The whiteness of my shoes
Especially on Wednesdays

This is a tercet. It is a three line stanza. He is complaining about how hard it is to keep his shoes clean, especially on Wednesdays, where most probably he is involved in some physical activities, such as PE or CCA.

I must admit there is something quite special
About the bare thighs of hardworking scouts

From the way he describes it, it is almost as if the author is jealous of the scouts. Perhaps he does not have the physical requirements to join scouts.

The Malay chauffeurs
Who wait for my schoolmates
Sit on the car park kerb
Telling jokes to one another

Here, the author is trying to imply that his family does not have a chauffeur, though he does not sound envious of them. I feel that this a rather factual view and the writer remembers this because there were a lot of chauffeurs after school.

Seven to the power of five is unreasonable

This single sentence shows the author's disdain for maths, and maybe even now, as he said that seven to the power of five "IS" unreasonable.

On Chinese New Year
Mrs Lee dressed up
In a sarong kebaya
And sang Bengawan Solo

In my pinion, the author meant this as a joke, to think that a Chinese Mrs Lee would actually dress in a Malay costume and sing a malay song ON CHINESE NEW YEAR.

The capital of Singapore is Singapore

Well, this confirms that they were in early Singapore.

My best friend did a heroic thing once
Shaded all A’for his
Chinese Language Multiple-choice paper

Maybe, when the both of them were still young that would seem like a heroic thing to do but i feel that the tone the author is using now is probably a sarcastic one

In our annual yearbook
There is a photograph of me
Pushing a wheelchair and smiling
They caught me
At the exact moment
When my eyes were actually closed

Here, i feel that the author is not in a wheel chair, but pushing another person's wheelchair. And when he said "They caught me
At the exact moment
When my eyes were actually closed", i think that there is no second meaning and the author is just trying to say "Drat my luck"