The Interconnected World Where I Solely Live In

2010-08-12T23:25:00.002+08:00

though i am known for being anti-christian at some points of time( yes darren) i still feel this is an excellent story

Religion vs Science

"Let me explain the problem science has with Jesus Christ." The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand. "You're a Christian, aren't you, son?"

"Yes, sir."

"So you believe in God?"

"Absolutely."

"Is God good?"

"Sure! God's good."

"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"

"Yes."

"Are you good or evil?"

"The Bible says I'm evil."

The professor grins knowingly. "Ahh! THE BIBLE!" He considers for a moment. "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help them? Would you try?"

"Yes sir, I would."

"So you're good...!"

"I wouldn't say that."

"Why not say that? You would help a sick and maimed person if you could... in fact most of us would if we could... God doesn't.

[No answer.]

"He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?"

[No answer]

The elderly man is sympathetic. "No, you can't, can you?" He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. In philosophy, you have to go easy with the new ones. "Let's start again, young fella."

"Is God good?"

"Er... Yes."

"Is Satan good?"

"No."

"Where does Satan come from?" The student falters.

"From... God..."

"That's right. God made Satan, didn't he?" The elderly man runs his bony fingers through his thinning hair and turns to the smirking, student audience."I think we're going to have a lot of fun this semester, ladies and gentlemen." He turns back to the Christian.

"Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?"

"Yes, sir."

"Evil's everywhere, isn't it? Did God make everything?"

"Yes."

"Who created evil?

[No answer]

"Is there sickness in this world? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness. All the terrible things - do they exist in this world? "

The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."

"Who created them? "

[No answer] The professor suddenly shouts at his student. "WHO CREATED THEM? TELL ME, PLEASE!" The professor closes in for the kill and climbs into the Christian's face. In a still small voice: "God created all evil, didn't He, son?"

[No answer]

The student tries to hold the steady, experienced gaze and fails.

Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace the front of the classroom like an aging panther. The class is mesmerized. "Tell me," he continues, "How is it that this God is good if He created all evil throughout all time?" The professor swishes his arms around to encompass the wickedness of the world. "All the hatred, the brutality, all the pain, all the torture, all the death and ugliness and all the suffering created by this good God is all over the world, isn't it, young man?"

[No answer]

"Don't you see it all over the place? Huh?"

Pause.

"Don't you?" The professor leans into the student's face again and whispers, "Is God good?"

[No answer]

"Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?"

The student's voice betrays him and cracks. "Yes, professor. I do."

The old man shakes his head sadly. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen him? "

"No, sir. I've never seen Him."

"Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?"

"No, sir. I have not."

"Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus...in fact, do you have any sensory perception of your God whatsoever?"

[No answer]

"Answer me, please."

"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."

"You're AFRAID... you haven't?"

"No, sir."

"Yet you still believe in him?"

"...yes..."

"That takes FAITH!" The professor smiles sagely at the underling."According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son? Where is your God now?"

[The student doesn't answer]

"Sit down, please."

The Christian sits...Defeated.

Another Christian raises his hand. "Professor, may I address the class?"

The professor turns and smiles. "Ah, another Christian in the vanguard! Come, come, young man. Speak some proper wisdom to the gathering."

The Christian looks around the room. "Some interesting points you are making, sir. Now I've got a question for you. Is there such thing as heat?"

"Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat."

"Is there such a thing as cold?"

"Yes, son, there's cold too."

"No, sir, there isn't."

The professor's grin freezes. The room suddenly goes very cold.

The second Christian continues. "You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super- heat, mega-heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold, otherwise we would be able to go colder than -458.

You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. "Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."

Silence. A pin drops somewhere in the classroom.

"Is there such a thing as darkness, professor?"

"That's a dumb question, son. What is night if it isn't darkness? What are you getting at...?"

"So you say there is such a thing as darkness?"

"Yes..."

"You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something, it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, Darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker and give me a jar of it. Can you...give me a jar of darker darkness, professor?"

Despite himself, the professor smiles at the young effrontery before him. This will indeed be a good semester. "Would you mind telling us what your point is, young man?"

"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with and so your conclusion must be in error...."

The professor goes toxic. "Flawed...? How dare you...!""

"Sir, may I explain what I mean?"

The class is all ears.

"Explain... oh, explain..." The professor makes an admirable effort to regain control. Suddenly he is affability itself. He waves his hand to silence the class, for the student to continue.

"You are working on the premise of duality," the Christian explains. "That for example there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science cannot even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism but has never seen, much less fully understood them. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, merely the absence of it."

The young man holds up a newspaper he takes from the desk of a neighbor who has been reading it. "Here is one of the most disgusting tabloids this country hosts, professor. Is there such a thing as immorality?"

"Of course there is, now look..."

"Wrong again, sir. You see, immorality is merely the absence of morality.

Is there such thing as injustice? No. Injustice is the absence of justice. Is there such a thing as evil?" The Christian pauses. "Isn't evil the absence of good?"

The professor's face has turned an alarming color. He is so angry he is temporarily speechless.

The Christian continues. "If there is evil in the world, professor, and we all agree there is, then God, if he exists, must be accomplishing a work through the agency of evil. What is that work, God is accomplishing? The Bible tells us it is to see if each one of us will, of our own free will, choose good over evil."

The professor bridles. "As a philosophical scientist, I don't view this matter as having anything to do with any choice; as a realist, I absolutely do not recognize the concept of God or any other theological factor as being part of the world equation because God is not observable."

"I would have thought that the absence of God's moral code in this world is probably one of the most observable phenomena going," the Christian replies.

"Newspapers make billions of dollars reporting it every week! Tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?"

"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do."

"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?"

The professor makes a sucking sound with his teeth and gives his student a silent, stony stare.

"Professor. Since no-one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a priest?"

"I'll overlook your impudence in the light of our philosophical discussion. Now, have you quite finished?" the professor hisses.

"So you don't accept God's moral code to do what is righteous?"

"I believe in what is - that's science!"

"Ahh! SCIENCE!" the student's face splits into a grin. "Sir, you rightly state that science is the study of observed phenomena. Science too is a premise which is flawed..."

"SCIENCE IS FLAWED?" the professor splutters.

The class is in uproar.

The Christian remains standing until the commotion has subsided. "To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, may I give you an example of what I mean?" The professor wisely keeps silent.

The Christian looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?" The class breaks out in laughter.

The Christian points towards his elderly, crumbling tutor. "Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain... felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain?" No one appears to have done so.

The Christian shakes his head sadly. "It appears no-one here has had any sensory perception of the professor's brain whatsoever. Well, according to the rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science, I DECLARE that the professor has no brain."

The class is in chaos.

The Christian sits down

2010-08-12T22:44:00.000+08:00

As I was in the 171 bus on my way to dhoby ghaut mrt station with my dear friend Kang Le this evening, a Caucasian chap brushed past me, causing me to sway to one side, swearing under my breath, for my beloved laptop almost fell out of my clutches. I glared at the fellow, but he did not notice the hardly 1.6m 14 year old kid. Too bad.

It was about fifteen minutes later, I think, that chap did an amazing thing. Beside me were two ladies . one was what we call “of golden age” and the other was a pregnant mum-to-be. “Excuse me” were the first words I heard. I turned around. “Could you give up your seats to this lady? She’s about to pass out”. I was shocked into silence. First, you don’t see that everyday. Duh. Ok, second, he actually asked those whom people are supposed to give up their seats to, to give up THEIR seats to somebody in need. It seemed kind of cool as my brain was processing that train of thought at that time. The old lady didn’t look especially pleased and she kept staring at the poor lady who looked really pale. The pregnant lady of course, gave up her seat willingly.

ANYWAYS, this event sparked many trains of thought, but I will tell you the main one. Giving up your seats. Are you definitely wrong when you do not give up your seat in the bus or mrt to the elderly, the young, and the handicapped? I don’t really think so. Why not? Some elderly may not really need to sit down, but they expect to just because the government wants to take care of them. Being one who always gives up my seat to the elderly, I am not one to talk, but there really are times when I am so tired that when I see an old woman, I just tell myself “since she is not super bony and does not have white hair, forget it”. However, my conscience won’t let me do that, and I find myself leaning against a wall, half awake.

Sometimes, you don’t even know whether some of the elderly really NEED the seat or not. Do not deceive yourself, my friend. Haven’t you ever wondered “Does this old man really have so much difficulty standing?” or maybe “It doesn’t hurt to let him stand”. Seriously speaking, all of us have experienced these thoughts going through our heads, but it seems that everybody just decides to be obedient citizens(ahem) and thus just gives up their seats to whom we are supposed to give up our seats to. So, WHY? Take some time to think about it, catch you laterJ

Betrayal

2010-08-11T00:09:00.000+08:00

Betrayal
Yes its me. The complicated person who needs to think about his life. Anyway, Im here today to talk about betrayal. Two aspects of it actually. One, is betrayal of all forms justifiable? And two, does betrayal help us learn, or is it just causing us double trouble?
OK! First up. Is betrayal justifiable? Many people like to think of complicated problems as a “go with the flow” kind of thing and like to say things like “oh it depends on the situation”. I don’t. Not at all. Take murder for example. You could be killing as an act of revenge, you could be killing because you have no choice, but the fact remains that you killed somebody. It’s the same with betrayal. Once you betray somebody, theres no excuse. You can say “its for his own good”, or “its either me or him”, or whatever excuse that can come out of your mouth. You can never erase the guilt you feel, thee hurt you can see on your friend’s face. His sorrow will remain. The very fact that you betrayed somebody shows your self-centeredness and how much you value your friend. It doesn’t matter if you are a criminal and you betray your friend and turn to the police. You are still a traitor.At least, that’s how I feel0.0
Secondly, some say that pain help us learn. When we get betrayed, we experience some sort of pain I guess. THUS, does betrayal help us learn? I don’t think so. Having experienced betrayal, one gets confused in the future. Confused about whether to trust anyone in the future. Confused about who is your friend and who is not. Fearful that they might be betrayed yet again. So no, I do not agree that the pain in betrayal can actually help one mature/learn

Now I Know Not To Feel Sad When I Don't Get 'A's

2010-08-04T21:55:00.002+08:00

Now i know not to feel depressed when I don't get A1s. Because, according to brain scientist Allan Snyder, founder and director of the Centre for the Mind at the University of Sydney. He feels that students who always get 'A's are not going to do anything exceptional in their lives because by getting many 'A' grades, one is actually forcing himself to learn what other people want him to learn and doing as other people want him to. Let me now make my speech*claps*

I fully agree with Professor Allan Synder's statement. If you look at the great inventors and artists throughout the years, none of them were exceptionally bright as students. Take, for example, the great Albert Einstein. When he was young, his teacher once said that he was stupid, asked too many questions, and would not amount to much in the future. However, he went against all odds and became one of the world's most brilliant inventors and scientists. Walt Disney, the man who founded Pixar Animations, was also told that he could not draw when he was young. However, he too proved people wrong.

Thus, I feel that to be a successful person in life, one does not have to study everything out syllabus requires us to only. We must have the courage to break the rules, to explore the unknown, so that we can discover something new, that may ultimately benefit mankind. Or maybe if you are a boss in a normal office, be courageous to break office norms. Treat your staff like a big family. Care about them. This will improve working relationships and the office will not seem like a tense place for everybody. Work as a team. Look at results only and have none of that boot-licking rubbish.

Everybody can break norms. And who knows, they might just work. Why should we conform to what people want us to do? Are we learning for them? Are our lives controlled by them? No. That is the simple truth. So why aren't we changing? because we are students, and we have no choice but to work our asses off and get a degree so that we can be "successful". That seems like another simple truth. However, I would like to ask if that truly means being successful. Society has certainly brainwashed many people into believing so, but it may not be so. If my dream is to be a coach and I fulfill my dream of training my students to international standards, I fell successful. I may not have a car, a condominium, a country club membership or a rolex watch, but i feel successful and content. Scoff if you want, but that is truly how I feel. Seriously. Without a doubt. Absolutely. Ok bye

Nothing

2010-07-18T20:56:00.006+08:00

sorry. blogger messed up . refer to above

Inception

2010-07-18T20:56:00.005+08:00

(Please do not be too frightened by this. What what what. I'm just sayin')

Let me just put it out there. Inception is the best movie ever. I am not joking. the trailer doesn't really do it justice, if I should say so myself.

Have you ever thought about it? That somebody is watching you, that you are Pawns in a game of Chess, like the movie Matrix? Or, that you actually are in a dream, and to wake up to reality, you need to kill yourself, to give yourself a "kick"? Mind boggling, isn't it?

there could be essays written on this topic. Ok, let us now start with the fact that we are in a dream. It sounds absurd at first, but if you think about it, do YOU remember how you came into this situation? you don't do you? Do you exactly remember how exactly you were born? You don't and you can't. Sounds like a dream situation, no? Let's say we are in a dream and Christopher Nolan wants us to possess this idea that inception is possible. You see my friend, by reading this, the idea of putting an IDEA into somebody's head through DREAMS is already in your mind. You cannot forget it. At least for now. So for inception to work, the victims (us) must be in a dream. Therefore we can conclude that this is a dream. You are looking at your computer screen. You hear the sounds of human life. They may not be real.

Or maybe the old chap Nolan is being used as a pawn by somebody somewhere in an alternate universe, somebody who wants a genocide and thus "programmes" Nolan to spread this message. That person up there, in an alternate world where no God exists, is possibly pragramming me to type this blog post. But if it was his and his will only, why am I talking about this? Paradoxical, no?

Strange how a simple movie can cause one to question one to think so much. But don't you agree that it is better than watching movies that are funny because they're lame? or overrated and cliche movies that do nothing but spread the message about teenage love and romance? Yes? Ah, glad you agree. Oh wait, that was probably what the chap up there wanted me to tell you.......

THE END (EPIC MUSIC)

Plot Of The Merchant Of Venice

2010-06-27T22:27:00.002+08:00

Task 2- LA E-Learning

2010-05-26T10:49:00.002+08:00

America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.

Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!

By Hubert Wilson

1. Point Of View

The poet has close contact with Agent Orange. This can be seen through the phrase "America did not forsee". the fact that he knows something that his country did not forsee shows that he has contact with Agent Orange. Also, only if he has contact, or even close contact, would he know of the "Execrable effects of agent orange spray!". The poet is angry about the "illness, birth defects and prematurely dead" people Agent Orange spray has caused, knowing that "Generations untold WILL pay".

2. Situation and setting

The setting may be during the war, or after the war, but we know that it is definitely after Agent Orange has been used, which is why the poet states that "America did not forsee" the horrific effects it would have on the victims, such as " Illness", "birth defects". We know that America is the one at fault from "America did not forsee", and the poet is very emotional about the mistakes that the Americans have made. He may be feeling guilty as well because he was with the Americans. He knows that this big mistake that the Americans have made will cause "generations untold" to make up and pay for their mistakes.

3. language/ diction

The title of this poem is a oxymoron, "Rainbow Death". Rainbows are commonly associated with "the calm after the storm", "Beauty", "serenity", and related "peaceful" words. However, death is commonly associated with darkness, gloom and sadness. So in this case, Rainbow does not refer to the real rainbow but rather, the series of "Rainbow Herbicides" that were used during the Vietnam War, "Agent Orange", "Agent Purple" and "Agent Green" being a few of them. Therefore we can say that "Rainbow Death" is a assortment to killer herbicides that leaves nothing but death in its wake.The poet uses " death potpourri". potpourri means a mixture of dried flowers and leaves used to make a room smell nice. "death potpourri" is an oxymoron because death is not associated with pleasant smells.

4. Personal Response

In this poem, the poet does not introduce the subject of his poem- Agent Orange, straightaway. Instead, he tells me about the unforseen and horrific effects the culprit had on humans. He tells me that America had made a mistake in using this unknown object and causes me to feel uncomfortable hearing him describe the culprit. He succeeds in conveying his message that Agent Orange is a terrible weapon that America made a mistake in using, and that future generations must pay for this costly mistake

Task 1- LA E-Learning

2010-05-26T10:26:00.002+08:00

Rainbow of Death

America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.

Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!

By Hubert Wilson

Hubert Wilson

- US Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF Security Service

- After the war he experienced health problems like:

- Severe headaches

- Progressive limb pain

- Doctors said that it was due to him drinking water contaminated by Agent Orange

Agent Orange

- Agent Orange is a code-name for a herbicide and defoilant contaminated with TCDD(2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin), used by the US Army in its herbicide warfare during the Vietnam War

- According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400 000 deaths and disabilities, and 500 000 children born with defects.

- From 1961 to 1971, Agent Orange was the most commonly used 'Rainbow Herbicides", which includes Agent White, Agent Blue,

- Agent orange is reported to cause serious skin problems as well as numerous cancers such as in the lung and larynx. Children in the areas where Agent Orange was used have been affected and have multiple health problems including cleft palate, mental disabilities, hernias and extra digits

2010-05-09T19:19:00.002+08:00

"Oh man, Xavier are you gonna insult me religion again?"

Well, not really. Now this video shows *interval* you know what, just watch the video. I congratulate you if you get past one and a half minute.

This, in the best non-vulgar way I can possibly can, is, well, pigheadedness. I'm not insulting the religious boy who devotes his life to Christ and then mocks his classmate every time he has the chance, I'm just voicing my opinion .

Christian side hugs. The best method to stay a kilometre away from sin, the way to get everybody to love you for being ever-so-dedicated to christ. Nah, you wish.

So, basically, these group of teenagers with nothing better to do have decided that front hugs are immoral, they cause sexual urges blah blah blah, thus we should give everybody we know a side hug, and we should not kiss as well. Okay I get it. We're trying to prevent sin, right. Let's go for it then. We humans have already sinned too much. OH... wait a second. "I ain't that scared to call your momma, you'll be riding home in a coma". Really?! A COMA?! Did I hear you correctly? So you angels are saving all our tarnished souls, but you're willing to betray your friend and knock him into severe consciousness, so much that he has to enter the nearest hospital ward? Amazing, seriously. Your sense of camaraderie is simply astounding.

So, my group of Christian-side-hug friends, I suggest you Christian-side-hug your future partners. Oh wait, they don't want you? Never mind. Well I suggest you Christian-side-hug your Grandma the next time you visit her and see if she gives you a Christian-side-hugs you back with the side of her frying pan.

Really, where are all these confusing idealogies coming from? Are their priests too boring for them? Did they get bullied too much in middle school until they read too much into the Bible? I don't know, and I would be surprised if you did. Yes you, my Holy friend.

So, what do you think of this amazing phenomenon guys? Leave your creative and interesting thoughts in the comment section, BELOW.

Don't hate the Policeman, hate the Law

2010-05-03T11:22:00.002+08:00

Headline news. A kid who is not even old enough to watch NC16 movies gets shot by a policeman while trying to escape, mainly because he was driving his dad's car and that is obviously against the law. Now let me foremost say that my sympathies extend to the poor chap who shot the kid. First of all, it must be on his conscience. Secondly, this should be worsened by all the media frenzy, with everybody saying " Man, he was just a kid? Did you really have to do that?". However, I shall provide a two-sided argument here.

Firstly, let us see this matter from the parent's and critics' POV. Obviously, it was too harsh a action. Even first class maniacs and murderers don't get killed before their trials, right? Furthermore, it was a KID driving a car. Hardly red-alert. All the policeman had to do was order him to stop or chase after him. Why in the world did he have to KILL him?

Now, let us see this in the policeman's POV. the policeman was just doing his job. Why do you have to blame HIM? furthermore, if the kid had done nothing wrong, there was no need to escape from the policeman in the first place. What was the policeman to think? Obviously the kid had done something wrong and therefore tried. Also, it's not as if it's a hidden fact that Malaysia is "spammed" with criminals, from robbers with guns to gangsters with parangs. Obviously, for the safety of the rest of the population, our dear friend had no choice to do what he thought was his duty. I'm sure that although he IS a policeman, he does not love violence. So go easy on him and stop the criticism

I Just Can't Take It Anymore

2010-05-01T13:16:00.002+08:00

The air is thinner than a ruffle chip, those sold in humongous bags that epically fail in their message "man, such a big big for only two bucks?"; it is so palpable that you could just rub it between your forefinger and thumb, and it would tear straightaway. The air is silent and the whirring of fans seems like the noise that helicopters make; yet, you still feel hot and frustrated. There is no outburst of agony nor anguish nor plain fury here. No. These emotions are simply sealed in a bottle and someday, when you're unaware the seal will loosen a bit, in the darkest abysses of your mind, and haunt you. The contents of this bottle will dominate your mind, your spiritual being, and will go on to affect the future generations living this this meaningless fast-paced world.

Years later you visit a typical psychiatrist, but deep down, it's oh-so-clear to you that you are simply wasting your time, paying money with plenty of zeroes in it to these fat men who are actually merely highly-educated con-men, but their ronald-macdonald-like smiles help to cover the fact that all your "therapy sessions" are made up of obscure six-syllable words that these con-men like to use, partly because of the pompous clout it gives them, partly because they have earned the right to do so. Your conscience knows this but you simply want to fool yourself that i-really-want-to-break-out-of-this-vicious-cycle and maybe telling yourself don't worry this is all part of the healing process and I must persevere with this and boy oh boy I would have transcended it by the time my bank account has half the money there should have been, my depression is already more or less solved and i can go on with my life being a happy person, and you purposely overlook the fact you must take a daily dose of god-knows-what.

The air is still and there you are, typing furiously at the computer, your glasses slipping off your nose, your vision is blurring, but you cant stop partly because you are afraid of the teachers' might, and partly because your parents will start their stupid interrogating again when you try to sleep. Oh look, you can already hearing them complain and lament at their misfortune of having such a lousy son. It pierces your soul but you just shut the **** up because you know that would make matters even worse, but in your head you are crying and screaming in hurt and pleading for them to shut their trap. I've got goddamn problems of my own without you exponentially increasing my misery, I've been slaving my ass off, working till the wee hours but you just don't try to understand and simply assume that when I come home late it's because I was gallivanting at some mall while I've been doing assignments just within a damned breadth of the deadlines I'm just a slow learner and you know it yet you send me to a elite school and complain that I'm wasting your money. I've had so few hours of sleep and it is a struggle to stay awake, let alone subject my ears to your hurting words and abusive tone, and you drop another bombshell and my world is fading my vision is blurring once again, the fatigue can't defeat the fear and i just feel like completing my work just for the sake of it and the kid typing furiously at the computer, silently crying, you can't think anymore.

And We Wonder Why We lose our Faith

2010-04-29T19:56:00.003+08:00

Amazing. Not only does your dad rape his own daughter and hide her under your house, now your Father and your Reverend is doing it too. I'm sure YOU know what I mean. Yes you, my Christ loving friend. Where is YOUR Faith now, eh?

The Catholic Church. One of the most well-funded religious organisation. They have millions of followers everywhere who almost look up to the fathers and priests as second Gods. Their faith is frankly remarkable. And what do these priests, these self-proclaimed pure people, do with their followers' faith? They just shun it to an eternal abyss in the back of their minds, and start molesting little kiddies.

For people who vow to treat the bible as law, these people of higher authority in religious society are either very seriously ignorant about their hypocrisy or they simply just don't care. As we all know, in the very beginning where there was only Adam and Eve, if Eve never ate the fruit from the tree, there wouldn't be such thing as sin, etc etc and therefore women to a certain extent are evil and we men should never have sex with them unless we are married. OK. Now that we have established THAT fact, feel free to laugh and mock the priests. So being promiscuous and having sex with unknown women is not ok but abusing small, innocent children IS?

You can almost imagine a priest, muttering to himself: "Damn, I've been holding this off for too long. Too long. This burning desire is literally killing me. Argh... I can't do with Melissa, she's a woman. Plus,as a nun she has her vows. Hmmm... I know! How about lil John. he doesn't hav any parents, and....... ok...... I think there won't be a problem with this..."

Well, Mr Pedophile, I'm afraid there are several problems. With your sense of judgement. So you're telling me that you cannot have sex with a lady because of your vows but abusing and forcing a BOY to have sex with you does NOT break your celibacy? First of all, that's a homosexual act. And I would like to remind you that your religion deeply condemns homosexuals simply because of the way they are. I, sir, can therefore conclude that you are crazy and a hypocrite

Secondly, if you were THAT pure and just, did you not stop for one second even, to think about the consequences of your actions? Did it not cross your mind that by doing such an immoral act would not make you any different from the insane pedophilia you read about in the newspaper yesterday? That you are no different from any other criminal that has strayed from the path of justice and good? Does your conscience not scream at you when you continue to preach the Gospel Of Truth? What about your followers? You didn't think about them, the backbone of our entire religion? Well, then Father, you are nothing more than scum and your life as the helper or messenger of God should end right now

So what now we have to help criminals?? (Part 2)

2010-03-05T17:45:00.002+08:00

Yes, that's right. 12 -to 14 year old boys all around Switzerland are rejoicing and celebrating while Britain's are waiting in anticipation. Oh, Joy! Finally, a condom fit for them!

Although this may be sort of a taboo type of subject to some people, I have very strong opinions on this and I would like to voice my opinions about this matter. If you don't mind me, why the hell are they doing this?

Not too long ago, underage sex was a crime that was disgraceful and looked down upon. The population could scoff and sneer at those teenagers stupid enough to have underage sex. Now, can we say so, when a GOVERNMENT is saying : "Hm mm, looks like the young chaps are cheekier and cheekier, aren't they? What should we do? Let me think...... Ahh! I've got it! Since there's no stopping them, the best we can do is.... let a condom company make a type of condom specially suited for them! Excellent idea..."

A completely ridiculous and stupid idea, if you ask me. On one hand we have parents who try so hard to tell their kids that underage sex is wrong and and that we should be responsible for our own actions. And on the other hand, condoms are being made specially for such immature, testosterone-fueled boys. It is a sad irony, and if you ask me, a similar example can be seen in Singapore. On one hand, advertisements are showing Singaporeans that we should fall prey to problem gambling, or better still, not gamble at all, and while the National Council on Problem Gambling is trying hard to stop citizens from compulsive gambling, the government is doing all it can to make sure it i a success(so that money is earned as well). The effects are more or less the same. How can we tell our children that gambling is wrong and we should not keep gambling when our government advocates gambling and builds a casino right in front of us? Similarly, can will parents keep trying to continue guide and teach their children about the dangers of underage sex, even with protection, when they are reminded everyday when they go to the grocery store that their government has gone to the extent of making condoms specially for teenagers to have sex? Most parents will continue to try their best to fulfill their duties, but inside they know that their children do not have the common sense, nothing will stop them and the government can be blamed for this( although they do not say this in public, of course)

Also, what type of lame-a** type of reasoning is "We know young people are having sex and if this is what it takes to protect them, we need to go along with it"??? In my opinion, this is tantamount to saying "We know that youngsters like to smoke. Hence, we have developed a new type of healthier cigarette just for them. There MAY be problems, but what can we do if they all want to smoke? If you can't beat them, just join them!". This "logic" (if we can even call it logic) is unfathomable to me but accepted by some people, and as a conclusion, I would just like to say that I disagree greatly with what the Swiss are doing, and I really hope such a thing will not happen in Singapore.

So what now we have to help criminals?? (Part 1)

2010-03-05T17:39:00.003+08:00

To ensure that my posts are more organized I will first publish the article, then my thoughts about this matter. Thank you:)

Extra small condoms for boys as young as 12 could soon be on our shelves.

The Hotshot condoms are going on sale in Switzerland after research found that not enough 12 to 14-year-old boys were having protected sex.

The condoms are likely to end up on sale in Britain, said their manufacturer Lamprecht AG.

Campaign: Extra small Hotshot condoms are being produced in Switzerland for boys as young as 12 (file picture)

A spokesman said the UK would be ‘top priority’ if the company expanded abroad, considering it had the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe.

Nysse Norballe said: ‘At the moment we are only producing the Hotshot in Switzerland.

‘But the UK is certainly a very attractive market since there is a very high rate of underage conception.’

A standard condom has a diameter of 52mm in comparison with the Hotshot’s 45mm. Both are the same length – 190mm.

According to a study of 13 to 20-year-olds, a quarter said that a standard condom was too large.

Hilary Pannack, of teenage pregnancy charity Straight Talking Peer Education, said: ‘We know young people are having sex and if this is what it takes to protect them, we need to go along with it.’

Intrapersonal

2010-03-02T22:15:00.002+08:00

name of interviewee: WXY (he does not want me to reveal his true name)

Xavier: Hello. What is your take on discrimination and prejudice?

XY: Well, for starters, I feel that there is a faint line between discrimination and prejudice.

Xavier: Really? what is the difference?

XY: Well, you could say that discrimination is a more general type of bias-ness and that prejudiced is sort of a more personal touch, like I am prejudiced against people who cannot talk properly and the blacks have been discriminated for a long time

Xavier: Oh yes, that is an interesting way of thought. So what do you feel about both matters?

XY: Well, you could say that I take prejudice more lightly than discrimination. Prejudice, in a sense, help us change ourselves, perhaps for the better. For example, if I am loud and arrogant, people will not like me because it is human for people to dislike people who are snobbish are proud. I will then change for the better, and maybe this will help me in the long run. For example, some people are biased against stupid people, and that cannot be changed if the person really has low intelligence, so he will; continue to be insulted, and that is a sad thing?

Xavier: So you feel prejudice actually has its good points?

XY: yes well I guess you could say that... Now, about discrimination. Discrimination is a absolute no-no to me. For example, the blacks were discriminated. That is wrong isn't it? Also, when gays are being discriminated, I feel that that is wrong as well. Just the same as employers hate ugly people and people who have no money to buy a proper suit. Its wrong, but the sad fact is that nobody can stop it. Even if it is/was stop, just count the number of years the victim have suffered!

Xavier: yes, that is very true. So, you don't have any good opinions about discrimination?

XY: nope, none at all. How can something so bad have any good about it?

Xavier: Well, thank you very much for letting me do this interview with you.

XY: You are welcome

Intrapersonal

2010-03-02T09:45:00.004+08:00

I think playing Jem in the movie version, or a play of To Kill A Mockingbird would certainly be an interesting and also enriching experience

To Kill A Mockingbird is recognized as a coming-of-age type of novel. Hence, within a short span of a few hours, I will act as Jem, when he is only about ten to the time when he is 13. This is exciting in the sense that i will get to feel everything that he feels and experiences, from his naive and Innocent self at the beginning of the novel, to the confusion he feels when people he has known all his life start acting like the bad guys and threaten Atticus,and finally when he matures and understands that boys and girls should act the way they should, and that maycomb is actually made up of biased people who are prejudiced against the blacks/Negroes even in the face of fact and evidence. Just thinking about it makes me excited:)

Jem is a boy reaching puberty and it is at that stage where all boys shed off their innocence and learn the cold, hard facts of the real world. This, I feel, is an really interesting(but maybe confusing) process to experience if someone was acting it out. The very fact that Jem's ideals and the things he believes in are all destroyed and they are replaced with sorrow, anger and confusion is a rather dramatic process and I would love to act it out.

Also I would make some changes if it really was acting jem out. I feel that Jem's actions after the trial and also death of Tom Robinson was not just because he learnt about the evils he though he never existed in Maycomb. It is because he learned about the evils AND refused to accept it. Hence, when Scout talked to him about the trial, he refused to listen and chased her away. If i was acting it out, I would further dramatise this

Is This Really My Style of Learning?

2010-03-02T09:29:00.002+08:00

I think not.

Firstly, I shall say why I think generally this test cannot be used as evidence about learning styles. Most people tell themselves " ok, I will do this truthfully", but when they come to awkward questions, they will cheat a bit because they are worried of looking stupid. Those who have big egos, will just answer "I am always like this" for almost every question. And the "heck-care-er" will just select one option for the entire quiz.

I think that this quiz could be replaced with a test of sorts, where students have to answer questions related to the category, like "pick out the different type of instruments being played in this musical piece". It is one possibility

Now, moving on to my personal opinion. As you can see, the quiz tells me that I am people smart and not smart about myself. This is false. Just because I understand the way people do things and I like group work, that does not mean that I like being with a lot of people. That also does not mean that I am Gregorius.

Just because I can memorise and remember the names of certain wild life, does not mean that I love nature as much as I love doing Maths, or studying language, too. Hence all in all, i feel that this is a rather poor way of finding out about my learning style, hence I feel the quiz makers should come up with better questions

I Hate The Word Emo

2010-03-01T22:18:00.005+08:00

yes, you heard me. I hate the word "emo".

Actually, I cant say I hate the word. Words cannot be hated. Rather, I hate the Way the Word is being used.

The word emo originates from the word Emotional. And it is an irony to see that the two emo-looking re***ds are hugging each other and looking at the camera, looking perfectly cool. there are two possible reasons: Their high school English teacher did a terrible job and should be fired immediately, or they just follow the "emo" fashion even though it is contradictory to the root word itself.

I hope you can see where I'm going here. How do you expect me to acknowledge a fashion trend, when it contradicts itself? For example, say the word "Gothic" and I will think "Evanescence". Say "metal" I will will think of a old Harley-Davidson-Motorcycle-Man. Say "Groovy" and I will think of some Disney teenage star. Say "emo" however, and I will think of a sad, sad child, but I will later stare at my laptop in puzzlement as I see a Google image of Adam Lambert looking like a Black-make-up clown, SMILING at me. This is TANTAMOUNT(;]) to the guy in the first picture, smiling like today was his best day ever, and ironically the words on his arm read : "For sorrow i cry".

However, it must be admitted that some people look quite cool in this type of dressing. However that does not mean I do not think "Please find a proper name for your fashion sense or I may get into trouble for laughing at a person who thinks he looks really 'emo' in Orchard Road" because that is my true feelings about this matter: the fact is that the "emo" fashion trend is a big joke.

Some people might say that people like to be emo because they want pity and attention even though (ironically) on the outside they put on a face of melancholy and say " I don't care about anything anymore". This, I feel, is ridiculously stupid. If you are truly sad, I will not pity you if you further wallow yourself in pity and it is obvious that you crave attention. I only pity those who grieve silently but still try to cheer themselves up and not wallow in self-despair. These people are the smart ones, whom I truly appreciate. But I am digressing here. Moving on...

Actually this was supposed to be a Facebook post, but I reckoned it was too long to be posted on facebook. I was right. Anyways, please leave your important comments below. i really appreciate a good argument:)

CHANGES

2010-03-01T08:39:00.002+08:00

hello everybody:)

Change number.... 1!

1. I changed my skin. Although this will make some people go -.-, I would like to explain that the picture of at the top of my skin, ie the empty town with connected power lines,is part of my theme and is used to compliment my blog slogan

Change number.... 2!

2. As you can see, i have changed from the simple " This IS Complicated" slogan to the (to some) superfluous and annoying line of "The Interconnected World Where I Solely Live In". However, I can explain. While I was editing my skin, I was struck by the thought that everyone wants to enjoy life. Even though they want life to go on as usual, they want to enjoy everything and, simply put, be the sole winner. Thus, you can say that it is a fantasy about a world that functions normally, but also a world where I can have anything I want, or be anything I want to be

Change number.... 3!

3. I added a blog hit counter. When i first when to the website, i realised that we could start with with whatever number we wanted. For example, I could have started off with 10000~. i HAVE TO ADMIT, I WAS SORELY TEMPTED. who wouldn't? But then again I realised that if i did that, I would never be proud of my blog because everytime I look at at, I would be reminded about the dishonest act I committed. Better to walk away a free man. Therefore I started with... 0. i know it sounds ._. but how many of you 2o1 people can actually say that?;)

Change number... 4!

4. This year, I decided to have only one blog. Yes I do have a private blog but then I decided why not bring up things that I actually think about in everyday life instead of doing cliche things like moral values and all that? All i have to do is to format it in PROPER ENGLISH:)

Change number... 5!

5. I have only put links to relevant blogs that I enjoy reading. No offence to anybody but I do feel that a witty but well thought blog post is better than an essay which essentially repeats the main points over and over again

Change number... 6!

6. With Google Friend Connect I can actually know who enjoys my blog.

To wrap it all up I hope that all these will help my blog to become more popular, and then, FAMOUS!:) Hahaha...

2010-02-27T16:35:00.001+08:00

EIGHT people have landed in trouble within the first three days of the Resorts World Sentosa casino opening.

Two Mongolians were arrested on Monday at the casino entrance at Resorts World Sentosa for cheating by impersonation.

The pair, aged 45 and 18, are released on police bail and investigations are ongoing. The younger Mongolian, who is studying in a private school here, had allegedly used the passport of the 45-year-old's son to enter the casino as he is underage.

Meanwhile, five others, including Singaporeans and permanent residents, have been caught for trying to sneak into the casino without paying the $100 levy on Sunday - the first day the casino was opened to the public.

The day levy is $100 and the annual fee is $2,000.

Separately, an Indonesian gambler who claimed he lost all his money at the RWS casino, stole a mobile phone from an undergraduate at Changi Airport. Paulus Djohar, 49, unemployed, was jailed for four weeks on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to the charge.

This round's on you, Singapore gahmen.

The Knight's Vow

2010-02-21T22:21:00.003+08:00

i started this year, thinking of turning over a new leaf
but up to now, my promises remain to be seen

i am still distracted by small things
i still burn the midnight oil
i like to think of my teachers as mean
but i must admit i caused the inner turmoil

i hate working between break and wushu
i feel that the hour is for me to let loose
and the result of that
when i reach home my mind goes"splat"

which effectively means i cant do much
because after i check the SMB and such
its time to moan
i have to work till such a time where I'm alone(yes, even on msn)

and thus i think,(this time I'm for real)
its a case or kill or be killed (as in homework)
because if i don't work hard for the last few weeks
I'm seriously going to dread the future parent-teacher meet

a few tests have already flown past,
a few deciding ones are yet to come
these few will decide my fate
these few will decide if i last

the march holidays without being bombarded with self-homework
plus 3 day a week training
plus friends keep "jioing" me to go out
when my courage to do that will not be worth a single ounce(of gold, i mean)

for i will have to face The Parent,
male or female it may be
and i am so scared of this,
because it depends on my grades you see

and thus i am trembling in fear
on failing my class tests (yes, my maths has De-proved)
and the result i hate so much(msg) is looming very near
so much that when i sleep i dream of the word "SOON"

hence i am writing this down
in weak hope that i will abide
by these rules that will make me frown
but i to help me i will always remember The Parent's Might

1. Thou shalt not turn on msn, except when thou needs urgent help
2. Thou shall resist the temptation of the poison ivys "facebook", "mousehunt" and "game" in the name of courage
3. Thou will score an msg of below two or face The Parent's Might
4. Thou shalt follow these rules to the best of his ability or face another beast called "humiliation and embarrassment" for thou has stated this in front of basically the whole world.

And although this sounds ironic, i am tired. i think I shall make my way to the cosy comforts of my bed now. Good night fellow knights and good luck on your quest for a excellent msg

What happens when you are aimlessly thinking about random matters

2010-02-18T20:18:00.002+08:00

I have just came across a random thought. We all know that everything we do depends on our brain. If our brain was a part of "us"(let's take us as a general term) it means that "we " are controlling our brain. But what is that thing controlling our brain if the brain is the one controlling everything?

Another point. If we say everything in our body can be controlled by us, including our brain, then i think that this statement is wrong. Since our brain controls our nerve cells, why can't we control the pain that we feel? This leads to the thought that our brain controls us. But if I'm thinking this right now, what is the thing, or cell, or substance that feels that my body is a "totalitarian" state and my brain actually wants me to enjoy feeling pain? One understands that pain is necessary so that we know that our body is in trouble but one wonders why the brain could not have just sent one a message saying " you body is hurt. Do something about it" . One would have gladly thanked it and seen a doctor immediately.

So at the end of this of this philosophical(ahem) cum B**ls**t post, I ask one question : What the hell are we???

Why Do You Do Good?

2010-02-13T15:24:00.004+08:00

On surface, this seems like a rather meaningless and stupid question, don't you think? "What do you mean, Why do I want to do good? Isn't that a rhetorical question?" Actually, it isn't.

I find the notion of Karma( in Buddhism) intriguing. If we do bad things in our current life, we will be degraded to animals, or worse, even insects. So am I supposed to spend my whole life doing good, constantly afraid of becoming a six-legged bloodsucker in my next life? I don't think so. Next, there is what we call boot-licking. Need I explain more? Students who latch on to their teachers, following them around like little puppies, always the first to help the teacher, living by the rule " the teacher is always right", hoping that their obedience will earn them brownie points and hints for exams.

But wait, there's more. Governments who send huge amounts of money to neighboring countries when there is disaster. Are they really such good samatarians or are they trying to build up relations when others are in need? We will never know. However, I would like to pin point something that illustrates my point here. when disaster struck Haiti, our government donate sucha meagre amount compared to other countries that Mr Brown, a famous Singaporean blogger, commended the Straits Times for finding a line small enough to compare with other countries' donations. Some may say that our country is small and therefore we don't donate as much compared to USA and whatnot, but one wonders where our "gahmen" got the money to help the tsunami victims in Malaysia and earthquake victims in China.

All in all, I would like to conclude my post by saying this : "Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind". I hope everybody will live by that... but then again, we will not always get what we wish for

Continued from my previous post ( information all from vigilantcitizen.com)

2010-02-13T14:57:00.001+08:00

Monarch Programming

As seen in previous articles, Monarch Programming is a mind control technique used mostly on children to make them dissociate from reality.

“One of the primary reasons that the Monarch mind-control programming was named Monarch programming was because of the Monarch butterfly. The Monarch butterfly learns where it was born (its roots) and it passes this knowledge via genetics on to its offspring (from generation to generation). This was one of the key animals that tipped scientists off, that knowledge can be passed genetically.
(…)
The primary important factor for the trauma-based mind-control is the ability to disassociate. It was discovered that this ability is passed genetically from generation to generation. American Indian tribes (who had traumatic ritual dances and who would wait motionless for hours when hunting), children of Fakirs in India (who would sleep on a bed of nails or walk on hot coals), children of Yogis (those skilled in Yoga, who would have total control over their body in trance), Tibetan Buddhists, children of Vodoun, Bizango and other groups have a good ability to disassociate.
The children of multigenerational abuse are also good at dissociation. The Illuminati families and European occultists went to India, and Tibet to study occultism and eastern philosophy. These Europeans learned yoga, tantric yoga, meditations, and trances and other methods to disassociate. These skills are passed on to their children via genetics. A test is run when the children are about 18 months old to determine if they can dissociate enough to be selected for programming or not.”
-The Illuminati Formula Used to Create an Undetectable Total Mind Controlled Slave

Mind Control Victim, 1961

During sexual abuse, electroshock therapy and all kinds of sadistic tortures, mind control slaves are encouraged to dissociate from reality and to go to “a happy place”. The use of fairy tale imagery is used to reinforce programming and to create an alternate reality. The victim’s brain, in self-preservation mode, creates a new persona (an “alter”) as a defense mechanism to the abuse. The blurring of the lines between reality and fantasy makes the slave totally oblivious of his/her true state.

Paramore’s latest album is called “Brand New Eyes”, which has obvious mind control/Illuminati connotations. The cover features a pinned butterfly with its wings separated from its body…symbolic indeed.

Brick by Boring Brick

Paramore’s song is, at face value, about a girl escaping her problems and acting childish only to realize that it makes things worse. Behind this first degree meaning, lies a second layer of interpretation: the song describes, in chilling detail, the reality of a mind control slave. The video manages to assemble all of the symbolism usually associated with Monarch Programming in about 3 minutes, leaving no doubt concerning the meaning of the song.

Right from the start of the video, the subject matter of the song is made very clear. The setting is totally unreal and synthetically created. A little girl, apparently a child version of the singer Hayley, runs towards a strange world, bearing monarch butterfly wings on her back. This can easily symbolize the fact that she is a Monarch slave. She almost reluctantly enters a symbolic gateway, representing the start of her dissociative state. The door violently shuts down behind her, which hints the viewers to the fact that this wonderland is forcibly induced on the child. The lyrics of the first verse describe the reality of the slave.

Well she lives in the fairy tale
Somewhere too far for us to find
Forgotten the taste and smell
Of a world that she’s left behind
It’s all about the exposure the lens I told her
The angles are all wrong now
She’s ripping wings off of butterflies

The girl lives in a “fairy tale”, which is her dissociative mind state. It is “too far for us to find” due to the fact that this world can only be found in the confines of her consciousness. The slave has been removed from her family and the real world to live in a confined environment. She has “forgotten the taste and smell” of the the “real world” she has left behind. She lives in a prison for kids, a human rat laboratory and she is constantly manipulated by her handlers. All of her senses are subject to constant pressure and pain and her perception of reality is completely distorted. “The angles are all wrong now“. She is a Monarch slave and is thus “ripping wings off of butterflies”.

Keep your feet on the ground
When your head’s in the clouds

The dissociative state experienced by Monarch slaves is often described as a sensation of weightlessness. While her feet are on the ground, her consciousness is in an alternate reality or “in the clouds“.

The girl in the video walks around this strange world filled with fairy tale characters which are reminiscent of those found in Alice in Wonderland or the Wizard of Oz, the stories most commonly associated with mind control. The blurriness of the scenes and the presence of mushrooms in the background refer to the use of hallucinogenic drugs during Monarch Programming.

The girl enters a castle, representing her inner consciousness. Mirrors, reflections and the girl’s multiplication symbolize the girl’s fragmented/compartmentalized mind state.

The girl stands still while an independent, alternate personality, looking back at her through the mirror brushes her hair. Mirrors and castles are triggers that are often used in Monarch Programming.

“The premise of trauma-based mind control (a version of which was known as the MK Ultra program) is to compartmentalize the brain, and then use techniques to access the different sections of the brain while the subject is hypnotized. Entire systems can be embedded into a person’s mind, each with its own theme, access codes and trigger words. Some of the most common and popular symbolisms and themes in use are Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and The Wizard of Oz, mirrors, porcelain/harlequin masks, the phoenix/phoenix rising, rainbows, butterflies, owls, keys, carousels, puppets/marionettes and dolls,willow trees, tornadoes, spirals/helixes, castles, rings, hallways and doors, elevators and stairs.”
-Source

The second verse of the song describes a disturbing reality of Monarch slaves.

So one day he found her crying
Coiled up on the dirty ground
Her prince finally came to save her
And the rest you can figure out
But it was a trick
And the clock struck 12

This is the picture painted by this verse: the slave’s handler enters her “cell”, where she is coiled up and deeply traumatized. The floor is dirty. It has been documented that victims of mind control are forced to live rooms littered with feces (I can’t make this stuff up). Her “prince”, who is in fact her handler, comes in to “save her from her pain”. Handlers are often portrayed as the slave’s savior, who will guide them through traumatic events. The line “And the rest you can figure out” alludes to the worst: the “prince” came to rape her. It was a trick, there was never a prince but only a sadistic handler furthering the girls trauma with sexual abuse. During those repeated assaults, the slaves are forced to dissociate from reality. The lyrics of the song’s bridge aptly define this concept.

Well you built up a world of magic
Because your real life is tragic
Yeah you built up a world of magic

She has built, brick by brick, a wall in her consciousness that dissociates her from reality. She escapes into a world of magic due to the extreme trauma she has to live through on a daily basis.

The Awakening

Probably because the girl’s curiosity concerning her own mind has lead her too far, the world of wonders quickly becomes nightmarish. Creepy puppets make their way out of the mirrors. The characters of her fairy tale world suddenly become terrifying. An evil looking character, dressed as a thief holding an ax, approaches her. Is she being reprimanded by her handlers for “not following the script” of her programming? The girl is understandably freaked out and runs away. The lyrics explain this difference between reality and fiction.

If it’s not real
You can’t hold it in your hand
You can’t feel it with your heart
And I won’t believe it

But if it’s true
You can see it with your eyes
Or even in the dark
And that’s where I want to be, yeah

The girl runs out of the castle and falls into the grave dug by…Paramore? That is not really cool of them. Hayley gets up, throws the girl’s doll into the grave and they start burying her. At face value, this can interpreted as the burial of the “young irresponsible girl” living in a fairy tale. On a second level, this can be seen as the burial of the innocence of a child after living traumatic events.

If you have keen eyes, you can notice a white rabbit inside the hole. Is it the white rabbit of Alice in Wonderland? As Morpheus says in the Matrix:

“You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes. “

Whatever the meaning one can attribute to the burial, the message of the video is not to sympathetic to the girl’s quest of self-knowledge and emancipation. Seems like they’re saying “This is what you get for trying to know your real self”.

In Conclusion

After viewing the video a couple of times, I’ve asked myself if the song was actually a denunciation of mind control practices. Maybe it is trying to inform and warn people on the subject. So I’ve visited some Paramore-related sites and forums to see if the song has sparked discussions concerning its deeper meaning. I’ve quickly came back to the reality of things: young people listen to this music and they have absolutely NO IDEA of what’s going on. About 97% of educated adults are totally unaware of the existence of mind control (let alone its symbolism), so to expect high schoolers know about this is totally absurd. Here are some actual comments from fans about this song: “I luv the Badabada part!“, “Hayley looks great in blonde!“or “I don’t like the burying part!“.

So with that in mind I keep asking myself: why do we use symbolism and triggers associated with mind control in videos aimed at the young people? They are totally oblivious to the reality of Monarch programming, so why do we expose them to it? After realizing that the group has adopted some of the Illuminati symbolism discussed in previous articles, the answer became very clear: they are part of the System, with a capital “S”. This System hypnotically conditions people to accept mind control as part of their daily lives and the trend is becoming increasingly apparent. I can already hear the naysayers say “nay” to everything and finding ways to rationalize everything that has been discussed here. Maybe they should ponder on those words:

Brick by Boring Brick

2010-02-05T22:57:00.001+08:00

Brick By Boring Brick Lyrics

She lives in a fairy tale
Somewhere too far for us to find
Forgotten the taste and smell
Of the world that she's left behind
It's all about the exposure the lens I told her
The angles were all wrong now
She's ripping wings off of butterflies
keep your feet on the ground
when your head's in the clouds
Well go get your shovel
And we'll dig a deep hole
To bury the castle, bury the castle
Well go get your shovel
And we'll dig a deep hole
To bury the castle; bury the castle
Ba da ba ba da ba ba ha
So one day he found her crying
Coiled up on the dirty ground
Her prince finally came to save her
And the rest you can figure out
But it was a trick
And the clock struck 12
Well make sure to build your house brick by boring brick
or the wolves gonna blow it down
keep your feet on the ground
when your head's in the clouds
Well go get your shovel
And we'll dig a deep hole
To bury the castle, bury the castle
Well you built up a world of magic
Because your real life is tragic
Yeah you built up a world of magic
If it's not real
You can't hold it in your hand
You can't feel it with your heart
And I won't believe it
But if it's true
You can see it with your eyes
Or even in the dark
And that's where I want to be, yeah
Go get your shovel
We'll dig a deep hole
To bury the castle, bury the castle
Guys x2:
ba da ba ba da da ba da......
Hayley x2:
ba da ba ba da ba ba da.....

I am just obsessed with this song and its video. The video starts with A fairy tale- like scenery, but the only funny thing is that that is a grave digger digging a huge hole filled with ornaments that children would find attractive. Meanwhile, a small girl is seen running towards an unassuming door, but when the door closes behind her the knob and keyhole disappears. This is the first sign of the darker side of the video. She ventures towards a alice-in-wonderland type of place where she meets a friendly knight but many other scary animals (at least to me). She enters the castle's doors and finds a place filled with mirrors. But suddenly, horrifying pictures appear before her and she gets so errified that she runs and leaves, but only to find that the setting has changed to a stormy night. She struggles to get through and finally runs to the place where the grave-digger is. however she accidentally falls inside the hole.

But does this song have a message to it? I have done my research and I say yes, there is a meaning to it, and it is the message that attracts me to the song. So what exactly is it? I'll tell you all tomorrow. But meanwhile you can comment on this:)

Gays and how they are being discriminated

2010-02-03T20:04:00.002+08:00

I would like to make this clear from the start that this post is just meant to express my feelings about how gays are being treated in society. No purposeful insults are intended do i have the intention of being superfluous, especially since there is already much discussion about this topic

Let me say for a start that the general parent's talk of gays has always irked and frustrated me, even though they may be good people generally. This is the cliche of the parent's explaination about gays: "They are doing something wrong. These type of people are sick. We should not do things like this"

First of all, Science has proven that gays are, well, gay because of hormonal imbalance. Hence, they might act a bit like girls or have a liking for guys. Because of how society's rules have been slowly set in stone over the years, it is natural to think that boys like girls. Girls like boys. Period. hence because of this, anything or anyone that does not fit into these two "rules" are labeled "weird" or "freaks".

That, I feel, is grossly unfair. Scientists have stated the fact that gays do not have a choice about how they live and way of thinking. But people still say," Eew, gays. Best not to interact with them". Either that or it's "HeeHee, that xxx acts like a sissy. What a joke". I mean, what is their problem?

Two answers. Firstly, religion. The Bible states that God created Adam and Eve, and the animals as well. But He did not create gays. So what, these freaks popped out of nowhere? Also, one of my Christian friends told me that gays should change who they are, try to control themselves. I once again, found this hugely irritating ( though i should not blame my friend). Gays are BORN with this defect, if you could call it one. It is the same as being born with polio or a naturally weak lung. Pray tell me how you can actually CHANGE that??? But I am not dissing my friend here. He is a great guy, it's just that we have different beliefs.

Moving on. Second reason:Culture. It is etched in our minds, it is an accepted thing, our beliefs and the fact that things are the way they are supposed to be. But neither the words"gay" nor "homosexual" are one of the many "things" that are accepted. Perhaps mentioned, but definitely not accepted. But this, like religion, is omething we cannot change. Religion and Culture are the backbone of the whole network, infrastructure and backbone of Humans. We act according to our beliefs, whether they are right or wrong.

But after ranting about this for so long, I am glad to find that changes are slowly being made. Gay marriage is finally allowed in America, and gays there are not as looked down upon as before. The Equality Bill, recently passed down, states that everybody( gays and all) should be equal. Needless to say, the Catholics and Christians weren't too happy about it, but there is still change. And I yearn for these change to spread around the world, and maybe, just maybe, one day, gays, homosexuals ands all, can be finally accepted into our society

Hello 2010

2010-01-25T20:41:00.001+08:00

Yes. Well. Call me "lag" if you want, but I just want to write a new post so that people will not look at my latest post and think "geez, this guy has not been blogging for months. Probably won't ever again."

No. This time, I will reguarly update my blog, firstly because I do not want to mantain this blog solely for the purpose of ACE, secondly, I do not have the time to keep a personal blog, so there you are.

Last year has been a pretty turbulent year for me( not just in school). After all, when one is suddenly presented with the freedom of secondary school life, one(aka me) tends to go ovewrboard. So this year, I have made a list of things that i want to do, (though i will not be sharing everything with all of you.

- Being consistent in all my term test
- Get exempted for Chinese ( so I don't have to take the 70% weightage exam)
- Make it a must to revise my work and not get distracted by the computer...

So anyway, look out for my future posts, people!
(peace out:])

A little help would be nice...

2009-08-03T22:11:00.000+08:00

Hi guys

This is my website for Projects Day. Please help to advertise it and leave comments but NO SPAMMING:D
http://www.standuptobullies.wetpaint.com

2009-07-06T14:52:00.000+08:00

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

2009-07-06T14:49:00.000+08:00

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.

2009-07-06T14:45:00.001+08:00

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.

2009-07-06T13:42:00.001+08:00

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.

2009-07-03T10:44:00.000+08:00

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

2009-07-01T13:16:00.000+08:00

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"

2009-06-30T10:35:00.001+08:00

A truly unique and multi-faceted artist, Shel Silverstein was a renowned poet, playwright, illustrator, screenwriter, and songwriter. Best known for his immensely popular children’s books including The Giving Tree, Falling Up, and A Light in the Attic, Silverstein has delighted tens of millions of readers around the world, becoming one of the most popular and best-loved children's authors of all time.
Shel Silverstein never planned on writing for children – surprising for an artist whose children’s works would soon become available in more than 30 languages around the world. In the early 1960’s Tomi Ungerer, a friend whose own career in children’s books was blossoming, introduced Silverstein to his editor, Harper Collins’ legendary Ursula Nordstrom. That connection led to the publication of The Giving Tree in 1964. The book sold modestly at first, but soon the gentle parable about a boy and the tree that loved him was admired by readers of all ages, recommended by counselors and teachers, and being read aloud from pulpits. Decades after its initial publication, with more than five and a half million copies sold, The Giving Tree holds a permanent spot atop lists of perennial bestsellers.

Silverstein drew his first cartoons for the adult readers of Pacific Stars and Stripes when he was a G.I. in Japan and Korea in the 1950’s. He also learned to play the guitar and to write songs, a talent that would later produce such hits as “A Boy Named Sue” for Johnny Cash and “The Cover of the Rolling Stone” for Dr. Hook.
Born in Chicago on September 25, 1930, Sheldon Allan Silverstein grew up to attain an enormous public following, but always preferred to say little about himself. “When I was a kid,” he told Publishers Weekly in 1975, “I would much rather have been a good baseball player or a hit with the girls. But I couldn’t play ball. I couldn’t dance. So I started to draw and to write. I was lucky that I didn’t have anyone to copy, be impressed by. I had developed my own style.”

And indeed he developed his own style. As you can see from his poems below, Silverstien doesn’t take things that seriously and writes his poems in a rather witty fashion. Also, most of his poems are written from the “I” point of view, making it seem like he really is the subject of the poem, e.g. he is a boy named Sue, or he is only one inch tall etc. Also another thing I like about his poems are that they rhyme a lot, and that they don’t sound awkward even though he is trying to make his poem rhyme. Therefore, Shel Silverstien is my favourite poet

A Boy Named Sue by Shel Silverstein
Well, my daddy left home when I was three,
and he didn't leave much to Ma and me,
just this old guitar and a bottle of booze.
Now I don't blame him because he run and hid,
but the meanest thing that he ever did was
before he left he went and named me Sue.

Well, he must have thought it was quite a joke,
and it got lots of laughs from a lot of folks,
it seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
and some guy would laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell you, life ain't easy for a boy named Sue.

Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean.
My fist got hard and my wits got keen.
Roamed from town to town to hide my shame,
but I made me a vow to the moon and the stars
,I'd search the honky tonks and bars and kill
that man that gave me that awful name.

But it was Gatlinburg in mid July and I had
just hit town and my throat was dry.
I'd thought i'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon in a street of mud
and at a table dealing stud sat the dirty,
mangy dog that named me Sue.Well,

I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
from a worn-out picture that my mother hadand
I knew the scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old
and I looked at him and my blood ran cold,
and I said, "My name is Sue. How do you do?
Now you're gonna die." Yeah, that's what I told him.

Well, I hit him right between the eyes and he went down
but to my surprise he came up with a knife
and cut off a piece of my ear. But I busted a chair
right across his teeth. And we crashed through
the wall and into the street kicking and a-gougingin
the mud and the blood and the beer.

I tell you I've fought tougher men but I really can't remember when.
He kicked like a mule and bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laughin' and then I heard him cussin',
he went for his gun and I pulled mine first.
He stood there looking at me and I saw him smile.

And he said, "Son, this world is rough and if
a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
and I knew I wouldn't be there to help you along.
So I gave you that name and I said 'Goodbye'.
I knew you'd have to get tough or die.
And it'sthat name that helped to make you strong.

"Yeah, he said, "Now you have just fought one
helluva fight, and I know you hate me and you've
got the right to kill me now and I wouldn't blame you
if you do. But you ought to thank me
before I die for the gravel in your guts and the spit
in your eye because I'm the nut that named you Sue.
"Yeah, what could I do? What could I do?

I got all choked up and I threw down my gun,
called him pa and he called me a son,
and I came away with a different point of view
and I think about him now and then.
Every time I tried, every time I win and if I
ever have a son I think I am gonna name him
Bill or George - anything but Sue.

One Inch Tall by Shel Silverstein
If you were only one inch tall, you'd ride a worm to school.
The teardrop of a crying ant would be your swimming pool.
A crumb of cake would be a feast
And last you seven days at least,
A flea would be a frightening beastIf you were one inch tall.
If you were only one inch tall, you'd walk beneath the door,
And it would take about a month to get down to the store.
A bit of fluff would be your bed,You'd swing upon a spider's thread,
And wear a thimble on your headIf you were one inch tall.
You'd surf across the kitchen sink upon a stick of gum
.You couldn't hug your mama, you'd just have to hug her thumb.
You'd run from people's feet in fright,
To move a pen would take all night,
(This poem took fourteen years to write--'Cause I'm just one inch tall

Boa Constrictor by Shel Silverstein
Oh, I'm being eaten
By a boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor
,And I don't like it--one bit.
Well, what do you know?
It's nibblin' my toe.
Oh, gee,
It's up to my knee.
Oh my,
It's up to my thigh.
Oh, fiddle,
It's up to my middle.
Oh, heck,
It's up to my neck.
Oh, dread,
It's upmmmmmmmmmmffffffffff . . .

2009-06-29T21:59:00.000+08:00

The tented field wore a wrinkled frown,And the emptied church from the hill looked down
On the emptied road and the emptied town,
That summer Sunday morning.

And here was the blue, and there was the gray;
And a wide green valley rolled away
Between where the battling armies lay,
That sacred Sunday morning.

And Custer sat, with impatient will,
His restless horse, 'mid his troopers still,
As he watched with glass from the oak-set hill,
That silent Sunday morning.

Then fast he began to chafe and to fret;
"There's a battle flag on a bayonet
Too close to my own true soldiers set
For peace this Sunday morning!"

"Ride over, some one," he haughtily said,
"And bring it to me! Why, in bars blood red
And in stars I will stain it, and overhead
Will flaunt it this Sunday morning!"

Then a West-born lad, pale-faced and slim,
Rode out, and touching his cap to him,Swept down, swept swift as
Spring swallows swim,
That anxious Sunday morning.

On, on through the valley! up, up anywhere!
That pale-faced lad like a bird through the air
Kept on till he climbed to the banner there
That bravest Sunday morning!

And he caught up the flag, and around his waist
He wound it tight, and he turned in haste,And swift his perilous route retraced
That daring Sunday morning.

All honor and praise to the trusty steed!
Ah! boy, and banner, and all, God speed!
God's pity for you in your hour of need
This deadly Sunday morning.

O deadly shot! and O shower of lead!
O iron rain on the brave, bare head!
Why, even the leaves from the tree fall dead
This dreadful Sunday morning!

But he gains the oaks!
Men cheer in their might!B
rave Custer is laughing in his delight!
Why, he is embracing the boy outright
This glorious Sunday morning!

But, soft! Not a word has the pale boy said.
He unwinds the flag. It is starred, striped, red
With his heart's best blood; and he falls down dead,
In God's still Sunday morning.

So wrap this flag to his soldier's breast;
Into the stars and stripes it is stained and blest;
And under the oaks let him rest and rest
Till God's great Sunday morning.

“O deadly shot! and O shower of lead!O iron rain on the brave, bare head!”
This is an example of a hyperbole. It is an exaggeration of emotion and is a exaggerated statement. In this case, the hyperbole is identified by the “O,” at the start of each sentence and the exclamation marks at the end of the sentences.

“The tented field wore a wrinkled frown,And the emptied church from the hill looked down”
This is an example of personification. It means giving an object or abstract idea human traits or qualities. Here, “ The tented field wore a wrinkled frown” is a good example of personification. It describes the tent as a human, frowning.

“That pale-faced lad like a bird through the air”
This is a simile. A simile is used to relate two objects using like, as or than . This sentence compares the young soldier to a bird through the air, because of his speed.

why i like this poem- this poem is very dramatic and i find it interesting that each paragraph ends saying that it all happened on a Sunday morning, but there is an adjective in front of the "Sunday Morning"s. Also, what i found interesting about this poem is that the author could describe a simple situation as trying to snatch a flag but getting wounded on the way into such a beautiful poem. It is a fast-flowing poem in my opinion, and frequent use of exclamation marks show the intensity of the situation.

2009-06-10T22:04:00.001+08:00

If many people think something is true,, is it true? Regarding this question, I would have to disagree. Why?
Now, something that is true is something being in accordance with the actual state or conditions; conforming to reality or fact. Thus, the opinions people have is not a factor in deciding in whether something is true or false. Even if they insist that they are right, you just have to find that shred of evidence that has been there all along to prove them wrong. The same went with the Church a long time ago. The event that I am talking about is Genesis.

For countless years, the church influenced the people’s thinking. In, fact, I would say the church pretty much controlled most thoughts of their countrymen. People at that time were religious and thus believed what the priests, the fathers and the nuns told them. For many years, people thought that Genesis was God’s doing. “1:3- And God said, let there be light: and there was light”. However, science proved that Genesis was a scientific event and not some creation of a holy being. The church said the earth was in the center of the universe; science proved that earth was just any ordinary small planet. These and other related events fueled the hatred between the church and science. Science hated the church for lying to the people and not accepting the truth; the church hated science or putting them in a bad light.
And there was La Purga. In 1668, the church branded four scientists with the cross to “purge their sins”. They were quite well-known scientists who tested many of the things the church had been saying for years. After the branding, the church dumped the bodies on the streets of Rome, as a warning for people not to join these scientists. Even though the church had many means of getting their way, the truth is, a fact is a fact. It EXISTS there. A fact exists indefinitely. It is not a believe, it is something that cannot be changed. For example, Job 37:18 says the heavens are hard like a meal mirror. “With him can you beat out the skies hard like a molten mirror? (New English Bible)”; Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a heavy metal mirror? ( King James)”. But science has proved that the sky is immaterial and even clouds(which are matter) are so soft they can be passed through by airplanes. And with spaceships flying out to space for missions all the time, what has happened to that heavy metal mirror? Thus, a fact is something that exists indefinitely; it is just waiting to be found out. Nothing can change a fact, not even the most influential people. Even if Barack Obama were to say the sky is a heavy metal mirror, science and common knowledge will prove him wrong straightaway. Hence, a fact is a basic law of life and cannot be changed.

2009-06-04T14:35:00.001+08:00

Book Review
Book Read: Digital Fortress by Dan Brown
One of the many lessons I learnt from this story is never to trust anybody too much, even if it’s your closest friend or anybody you have known. In the story, Susan trusted Commander Strathmore as she believed him for the patriotic genius that he was, but little did she know that Strathmore also had an ulterior motive: to get rid of her fiancé, David, so that he could be with her as he secretly loved her. Also, he didn’t tell her that so many murders would be involved in the plan to decrypt Digital Fortress. Susan only helped Strathmore as she believed that his plan would help NSA. If she knew that Strathmore was so heartless and selfish, there is no doubt that she wouldn’t have helped him.

There are many differences between the two cryptographers, Greg Hale and Susan Fletcher. Greg Hale was involved in many petty crimes when he was young despite being a computer genius. When Strathmore wrote a back door in a program that the NSA created so that they would have full access to any forms of online communication, Greg Hale discovered it and announced it to the whole country, causing NSA to come under heavy scrutiny from the EFF. The NSA then immediately hired him, figuring that it would be better if he worked for them Greg is a showoff, not afraid to sow that he has a solid salary, buying al the latest gadgets. On the other hand, Susan is a somewhat studious woman, who was hired into NSA based on merit. She is conservative and unlike Greg, she doesn’t like showing off her wealth. She drives a simple Volvo and believes firmly in the work of NSA, unlike Greg.

In my opinion, the climax of the story would be the last part of the story where Jabba, Midge, Chad, Susan and Fontaine were in the command cenrtre of the NSA main databank trying to get rid of the “worm”. Although many other parts of the sory may seem like the climax, I feel that this part should be the climax as this is where the NSA’s fate will be decided. Will the long-dead Ensei Tankado win the battle, or will they get the pass-key in time? That is what makes the book such a good read.

I would have to say that I rather like the title of the book as I feel that it has the “two-meaning” thing. Firstly, Digital Fortress is the name of the algorithm that caused all the trouble at the Puzzle Palace (NSA’s Crypto), and secondly, Crypto, where many important events happened, is a “digital fortress” also. So, I think it’s a rather clever titleJ

All in all, I think Digital Fortress is a good read and I would definitely recommend it to all of you:D

2009-06-02T23:00:00.000+08:00

Wow… almost five months have passed since I first entered this school… time passes really fast doesn’t it?

These few months seemed like a roller coaster of events that happen so fast sometimes I find myself a little confused. My first experience of Hwa Chong happened in late December. The teacher in charge of wushu(Ms Tan Yew Hui) called me and informed me that there would be a training the next day. Truth be told, I was a little afraid and nervous. I would be the only p6 kid among all the seniors and thus I was mostly afraid about not being able to fit in. However, all my fears disappeared when I reached the EP3 shed. The vice-chairman, ShunXiang, gave me a warm welcome and so did the rest of the team. In that very first training with Hwa Chong’s wushu team, I felt the spirit of Hwa Chong. Another event I cherish is the EP3 exhibition during the first few weeks of school. My seniors told them that I was the only kid that got through the DSA exercise, and when they looked at me with such awe, when I heard how proudly my seniors spoke of me, I really felt that this was where I belonged.
However, wushu wasn’t always an easy thing for me. Because I entered through DSA, i trained as hard as all the seniors- three time a week, 3.30 to 7. For the first few weeks, i slacked during the period in between the end of school and EP3 time, and thus when I reached home, I always had to stay up till the wee hours to complete my work. I realized this big mistake of mine and made changes. Now, I feel more relaxed when I reach home after training because I know that almost all my work is completed. Another setback for me was the competition. I left the class early quite a few times and therefore I missed out on quite a few important lessons. I am not blaming anybody here but myself. If I had put in more effort to catch up, I would have gotten a better grade for my tests.

Moving on to academics, I must admit that I have been pretty slack for the first two term tests. Although it IS true that I do not understand some of the topics taught, I am sure that I would have done better if I actually bothered to put in the extra effort. Truth be told, i didn’t “mug” as hard as I did during the PSLE period. I pretty much took life for granted and assumed that I would get the good grades(not being boastful here) I always had the ability to get. I wasn’t even half as hardworking. For that, I paid a terrible price. My term 1 MSG was a lousy 2.83 while my term 2 MSG was a meager 2.67. I consider this one of the setbacks in my 5 months here in this school

Another thing that I regret is being too trusting. There was this guy(who I shan’t name), he impressed me with his academic performance, citing that his English was the best and whatsoever. For the projects day competition, I decided to do the project with him. He told me beforehand that there would be a Nanyang girl doing the project with us. At that time, she was his, well, girlfriend, but when I asked him if there would be any well, problems, he assured me that there wouldn’t be any. But now, that fella suddenly became a lazy person who used my name as an excuse to go out and “do project” when all he ever did was meet up with his girlfriend, leaving me to plan and do everything by myself. So much for “leader”. Now, I have another problem on my hands. Miss-I-am-a-AEP-student isn’t getting along TOO WELL with him and is not interested I in the project anymore. Great.
Hmm…
On second thought, I would say that this is MY BIGGEST REGRET SO FAR. Ahh… that sounds more like it.:)

One thing I learned about being in a “branded” school is that people think more highly of you and really respect you. For example, when I went for street sales on Sunday as part of my CIP, there was this lady who told her friend,”Eh, look, Hwa Chong leh! These students are really clever you know. Future leaders!” When she bought the wristband from me, she told me that “next time when you become a CEO make sure you take care of lowly workers like us.” My goodness, I was really touched by that. You see, here’s a theory my dad told me(which rather makes sense if you ask me) When somebody looks at the lousiest student in a branded school, they will nonetheless think highly of you. However, if you get the best student from a lousy school(no offence), people will still give them snide remarks. This goes to show how important getting into a good school is.

Sports Career- short lived?

2009-04-20T20:08:00.000+08:00

I was going through my "News In Week" papers a few days ago and saw the blog prompt about parents discouraging their children from a career in sports as they believe that the children will never go far. Thus, I decided to write a post on this topic.

Firstly, let's face it. No self-respecting kiasu parent is ever, ever going to allow his or her kid to pursue a career in sports as chances are slim that it would be a long time career. Is there any chance that a parent would allow his or her son to pursue a career in oh, let's say football, when the monthly income would be the same as what he could earn in a private company in a week? No.

That's mostly what the Chinese parents would do. As for the Malays, they believe that if any career would bring in a monthly income, it would be fine unless it is illegal or wrong. After all, Mr Fandi-Ahmad-I-Played-Football-For-Singapore-But-I-Am-Rich is a role model to any football playing kid, isn't he?

And thus, with all this, the results can be seen. In 2001, in the pre-qualifying World Cup match, not a single football player in the starting X was Chinese. Even now, how many Chinese football players do you see competing in the S-league? Furthermore, with the known fact that Chinese make up more than half of the population in Singapore, we have to admit that we are indeed a kiasu lot. I myself know well. My parents always remind me about how important that sheet of paper is in society these days, and how I am likely to suffer without it. I am sure the same goes for many of my classmates

In conclusion, I would like to hear your views on this post. Thanks +)

Some Random Facts

2009-04-08T20:33:00.000+08:00

If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would produce enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
(hardly seems worth it)

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
(There must be another way to lose my calories)

An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.
( I have no comment)

Just twenty seconds worth of fuel remained when Apollo 11’s lunar module landed on the moon.
( What a wste of effort, time and energy)

If you attempted to count to stars in a galaxy at a rate of one every second it would take around 3,000 years to count them all.
( I'm sure people have better things to do)

Every minute in the U.S. six people turn 17.
(Happy Birthday)

Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.
( Now that's interesting)

Termites eat wood twice as fast when listening to heavy metal music.
(Just like us humans)

Guinness Book Of Records holds the record for being the book most stolen from Public Libraries. (This fact should make a Guiness World Record)

Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.
(Aha! Hear, hear)

How about some facts about Bill Gates?

1.Bill Gates earns US$250 every SECOND, that’s about US$20 Million a DAY and US$7.8 Billion a YEAR!

2.If he drops a thousand dollars, he won’t even bother to pick it up bcoz the 4 seconds he picks it, he would’ve already earned it back.

3.The US national debt is about 5.62 trillion, if Bill Gates were to pay the debt by himself; he will finish it in less then 10 years.

4.He can donate US$15 to everyone on earth but still be left with US$5 Million for his pocket money.
5.Michael Jordan is the highest paid athlete in US. If he doesn’t drink and eat, and keeps up his annual income i.e. US$30 Million, he’ll have to wait for 277 years to become as rich as Bill Gates is now.
6.If Bill Gates was a country, he would be the 37th richest country on earth.

7.If you change all of Bill Gate’s money to US$1 notes, you can make a road from the earth to moon, 14 times back and forth.! But you have to make that road non-stop for 1400 years, and use a total of 713 BOEING 747 planes to transport all the money.

8.Bill Gates is 40 this year. If we assume that he will live for another 35 years, he has to spend US$6.78 Million per day to finish all his money before he goes to heaven.

To Conclude
If Microsoft Windows’ users can claim US$1 for every time theircomputers hang because of Microsoft Windows, Bill Gates will be bankruptin 3 years !!

2009-04-02T20:30:00.000+08:00

This speech was made by ex-U.S. president George Bush after the 9/11 incident. The 9/11 attacks were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 Islamist terrorists affiliated with the al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. Two were intentionally crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre and the other two were crashed into the Pentagon and in a field near Shanksville in rural somerset County, Pennsylvania respectively. In total, 2974 people(excluding the 19 hijackers)died, mostly of whom were civilians.

At a time where people were most confused and doubting the government, George Bush made this speech."These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat- But they have failed." George Bush stated this in a firm, decisive tone. America needed a strong leader showing determination to protect the people of the free world and thus people who were shocked and confused would take reassurance in his speech and believe in him.All in all, his speech is about how pathetically the terrorists have failed to shake America. If I was listening to this speech at such a time of tragedy, I would most probably believe that George Bush is indeed a great leader and undoubtedly believe that he will lead us through all this successfully.

2009-03-31T22:13:00.000+08:00

What is utopia? To me, utopia is an ideal community or society. A society where the world is at peace,and there will be no wars. A society where leaders are selfless, not corrupted, tainted with greed. When people stop bothering about whose country is more powerful and whose God is more powerful, I believe only then will our society will improve by leaps and bounds. It should be a society where people work for the common good and there is no discrimination at all about skin colour. If only the world was like that. If only......

Russian Revoulution

2009-03-30T22:03:00.001+08:00

Moving on......

Apparently the story "Animal Farm" is a satire and allegory of the Russian Revolution.
Right. So in this first part I will tell you more about the characters in the story.

Pigs
Old Major: He can be interpreted as Karl Marx, who first describes the ideal society if everybody is equal. He can also be interpreted as Vladimir Lenin, in the sense that Lenin's skull was too put on display.

Napoleon: He is the main tyrant and villain of the story, and can be interpreted as Joseph Stalin. He gradually builds up his power, forming his own secret police from the puppies that he raised by himself. After Snowball is driven of the farm, he uses propaganda(i.e. Squealer) and threats from the other dogs on the farm. Once he has full power, he edits the commandments to his own benefits. Napoleon's name adds to the novella's themes of totalitarian dictators rising from vacuum of power and absolute power corrupting absolutely.

Snowball: Napoleon's rival, he is an allusion to Leon Trotsky. He wins over the trust of most animals, but is driven out by Napoleon, who has a different set of ideals. Snowball works genuinely for the good of the farm and devises plans to help the animals achieve their vision of a communist Utopia. However, Napoleon's dogs chase him away and soon after that, Napoleon spreads rumours to make Snowball sound like like a evil and corrupt pig who tried to hinder the improvement of the farm.

Squealer: A small fat porker, he serves as Napoleon's right hand man and minister of propaganda. Squealer represents all the propaganda Stalin tried to us to justify his misdeeds. Squealer limits debate by complicating it he confuses and disorientates the animals, making the threat that Mr Jones would return to justify the pigs' privileges.

Humans

Mr. Jones represents Nicholas II of Russia, the deposed Czar, who had been facing severe financial difficulties in the days leading up to the 1917 Revolution. The character is also a nod towards Louis XVI. There are several implications that he represents an autocratic but ineffective capitalist, incapable of running the farm and looking after the animals properly. Jones is a very heavy drinker and the animals revolt against him after he drinks so much that he does not feed or take care of them, and his attempt to recapture the farm is foiled in the Battle of the Cowshed (the Russian Civil War).

Mr. Frederick is the tough owner of Pinch field, a well-kept neighbouring farm. He represents Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in general.[8] He buys wood from the animals for forged money and later attacks them, destroying the windmill but being finally beaten in the resulting Battle of the Windmill (World War II), which could be interpreted as either the battle of Moscow or Stalingrad. There are also stories of him mistreating his own animals, such as throwing dogs into a furnace, which may also represent the Nazi Party's treatment of political dissidents.

Mr. Pilkington is the easy-going but crafty owner of Foxwood, a neighbouring farm overgrown with weeds, as described in the book. He represents the western powers, such as the United Kingdom and the United States. The card game at the very end of the novel is a metaphor for the Tehran Conference, where the parties flatter each other, all the while cheating at the game. This last scene is ironic because all the Pigs are civil and kind to the humans, defying all for which they had fought. This happened at the Tehran Conference: the Soviet Union formed an alliance with the United States and the United Kingdom, capitalist countries that the Soviet Union had fought in the early years of the revolution.[8] At the end of the game, both Napoleon and Pilkington draw the Ace of Spades and then begin fighting loudly, symbolising the beginning of tension between the U.S. and Soviet superpowers.

Mr. Whymper is a man hired by Napoleon for public relations of Animal Farm to human society. He is loosely based on Western intellectuals such as George Bernard Shaw and, especially, Lincoln Steffens, who visited the USSR in 1919.

Other

Boxer: He represents the loyal and dedicated people. He works harder than the rest, even getting up earlier than the rest of the animals to do some work. His motto"Napoleon is always right" is also a form of propaganda. However, Napoleon was not able to see that Boxer was a loyal animal and was afraid that Boxer might rebel. Thus, when Boxer was sick, Napoleon sent him to the knackers'.

Mollie: A self centred, vain horse, she enjoyed the things that humans gave her and in the end moved to another farm where the owner fussed over her. She represents the upper-class people, the bourgeoisie and the nobility who fled to the West after the Russian Revolution.

Benjamin: A wise old donkey, he shows little emotion and one of the longest-lived animals. Although he knows about the pigs' wrongdoings, he says nothing to the other animals. He can be interpreted as the cynics in society but on the other hand, he can be a allegory for intellectuals who have the wisdom to stay clear of the purges, but take no action as well, such as pacifists.

Moses the Raven is an old bird that occasionally visits the farm with tales of a place in the sky called Sugarcandy Mountain, where he says animals go when they die, but only if they work hard. He spends time turning the animals' minds to Sugarcandy Mountain and he does no work. He represents religious leaders, specifically the Russian Orthodox Church, and Sugarcandy Mountain is Heaven. Religion is banned in the new régime, and his religious persona is exacerbated by the fact that he is named after a biblical character. He feels unequal in comparison to the other animals, so he leaves after the rebellion, for all animals were supposed to be equal. However, much later in the book he returns to the farm and continues to proclaim the existence of Sugarcandy Mountain. The other animals are confused by the pigs' attitude towards Moses; they denounce his claims as nonsense, but allow him to remain on the farm. The pigs do this to offer the hope of a happy afterlife to the other animals, probably to keep their minds on Sugarcandy Mountain and not on possible uprisings. This is an allegory to Stalin's pact with the Russian Orthodox Church. In the end, Moses is one of few animals to remember the rebellion, along with Clover, Benjamin, and the pigs.

The Sheep represent the mass proletariat, manipulated to support Napoleon in spite of his treachery. They show limited understanding of the situations but support him anyway, and regularly chant "Four legs good, Two legs bad". At the end of the novel, one of the Seven Commandments is changed after the pigs learn to walk on two legs, so they shout "Four legs good, two legs better". They can be relied on by the pigs to shout down any dissent from others.

That's all for today folks:)

How To Solve A Problem

2009-03-30T21:54:00.000+08:00

Last Friday during recess, someone was in a rush and accidentally knocked over Mark's waterbottle, causing the water to spill out. A few rags were placed haphazardly on the floor in an attempt to soak the water up, but in the end the floor was still quite wet and nothing was further done. Then, Ms Soh came in for LA lesson. She was a bit angry about the fact that we couldn't solve such a simple poblem, which in this case, was to wipe the floor clean with toilet paper or use a mop. Two helpful classmates, Dylan and Bryan helped Mark to clean the floor while the rest of us stood still like zombies, not bothering to help them. I have learned that even simple things such as this show us how united we are as a class. Thus, I hope that from now on, we will tackle problems, whether big or small, united as a class.

2009-03-28T22:33:00.000+08:00

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill was born on 30 November 1874 to Lord Randolph Harry Spencer Churchill and Lady Randolph Churchill(Jennie Jerome). Independent and rebellious by nature, Churchill generally did poorly in school, for which he was punished. He was educated at three independent schools: St. George's School in Ascot, Berkshire, followed by Brunswick School in Hove, near Brighton (the school has since been renamed Stoke Brunswick School and relocated to Ashurst Wood in West Sussex), and then at Harrow School on 17 April 1888, where his military career began. Within weeks of his arrival, he had joined the Harrow Rifle Corps. . He earned high marks in English and history and was also the school's fencing champion.

He was rarely visited by his mother (then known as Lady Randolph), and wrote letters begging her to either come to the school or to allow him to come home. His relationship with his father was a distant one, he once remarked that they barely spoke to each other. Due to this lack of parental contact he became very close to his nanny, Elizabeth Anne Everest. When, his father died when he was 45, Churchill was convinced that he would die young too, and thus this made him determined to be quick about making his mark on the world

Army(In brief)

From 1896 to 1897 Churchill served as a soldier and journalist in India, and wrote the basis for THE STORY OF THE MALAKAND FIELD FORCE (1898). "Writing is an adventure," Churchill once said. "To begin with, it is a toy and amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase it that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him to the public."

In 1898 Churchill fought at the battle of Omdurman in Sudan, depicting his experiences in THE RIVER WAR, AN ACCOUNT OF THE RECONQUEST OF THE SUDAN (1899). Churchill's several books dealing with his early career include MY AFRICAN JOURNEY (1908) and MY EARLY LIFE (1930). Churchill resigned his commission in 1899, and was assigned to cover the Boer War for the London Morning Post. His adventures, capture by the Boers, and a daring escape, made Churchill celebrity and hero on his return to England in 1900.

Political Career

'Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, the whole world, including the Unites States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age, made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say, "This was their finest hour."' (Churchill in his speech on June 18, 1940)

In the 1900 General Election Churchill was elected as the Conservative MP for Oldham. As a result of reading, Poverty, A Study Of Town Life by Seebohm Rowntree he became a supporter of social reform. In 1904, unconvinced by his party leaders desire for change, Churchill decided to join the Liberal Party.
In the 1906 General Election Churchill won North West Manchester and immediately became a member of the new Liberal government as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. When Herbert Asquith replaced Henry Campbell-Bannerman as Prime Minister in 1908 he promoted Churchill to his cabinet as President of the Board of Trade. While in this post he carried through important social legislation including the establishment of employment exchanges.
At the election of 1922 Churchill was defeated as an Anti-Socialist. A rabid anti-Bolshevik, he further alienated critics by a third abortive military expedition - to help the White Russians on the Murman Coast. He left Parliament in 1922, and returned to the House as a Conservative. From this period he is remembered for his role as chancellor of the exchequer (1924-29) for the part he played in defeating the General strike of 1926 as an opponent of organized labour when the latter came into direct conflict with the principle of public order and government. In 1923 Lord Alfred Douglas accused Churchill of having arranged the wartime death of Lord Kitchener. Douglas's source was a bogus captain who had been certified as a lunatic. Much later he addressed a sonnet to Winston Churchill. False news annoyed Churchill but also BBC - he saw it as a rival to his own British Gazette, edited from his official address at Downing Street.
With the outbreak of World War II Churchill was appointed first lord of the Admiralty. On May 10, 1940, he became Prime Minister, and established close ties with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. His radio speeches strenghtened the nation's determination to win the war. "We shall not flag nor fail. We shall go on to the end. . . . We shall fight on the beaches . . . we shall fight in the fields and in the streets . . . we shall never surrender." In 2001, some sixty years later, President George W. Bush used an adaptation of these words in his speeches after a terrorist attack against World Trade Center on September 11. In November 1943 Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin met in Teheran and at the meeting Churchill presented Stalin with a sword of honor for the people of Stalingrad. The Yalta meeting with Roosevelt and Stalin resulted in the dissection of Europe into opposing political jurisdictions. His strategic misjudgment was blamed for the wartime success of Germany in Africa, Norway, and the Aegean. He had difficulties to tolerate Charles de Gaulle, and he told to a friend: "Of all the crosses I have to bear, the heaviest is the Cross of Lorraine." During the war Churchill was relatively healthy but in 1943 and 1944 he suffered pneumonia; also his long, official meals with Stalin, which could take four-five hours, gave him stomach pains. On 8 May Churchill announced the unconditional surrender of Germany. His Conservative party was defeated by the Labour party in the 1945 election, but he continued as Opposition leader in the House of Commons: against Indian independence, and in favor of the United Nations, a unified Europe, and manufacture of the hydrogen bomb.

Brief Outline

In 1951 Churchill became prime minister, and was knighted in 1953. Next year he was acclaimed by the Queen and Parliament as 'the greatest living Briton'. Churchill's efforts to bring an end to the first phase of the Cold War by a summit conference between himself, Eisenhower and Stalin (1952-55) turned out to be fruitless. He resigned from the prime minister's office in 1955 and was succeeded by Anthony Eden. He had suffered a paralytic stroke a few year before, and Lord Moran, his physician, gave him some stimulant, perhaps amphetamine. It is possible that Churchill took drugs, "Dr. Moran's green pills", before important political meetings. His diet was not healthy - he was overweight, did not take any unnecessary steps in his old days, and his servants helped him to dress and undress. After his retirement he published the monumental A HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING PEOPLE (1956-58), which mostly dealt with politics and war. At Westerham, Kent, Churchill concentrated in painting, masonry, and horse racing. He frequently dictated letters to his secretaries half-dressed and often roamed around his rooms at Chartwell nude when he awoke. During this last period of his life, when he was not in the center of political power, he also suffered from depression.

Feelings

I feel that Winston Churchill is a great leader as he served his country well and was determined not let his country fall to their enemies. He was a brave soldier as well. However, in spite of his greatness he has his bad points as well. Although he knew that he was overweight, he did not do anything to make himself healthier, tasking his servants to dress and undress him. It could be that he was too used to the rich man's lifestyle. However, all in all I feel that Winston Churchill was a great man

2009-03-26T22:31:00.000+08:00

(Note: I apologise for delaying this. My computer went haywire for a while)

RELEVANCE TO TODAY(THE LOTTERY)

From "The Lottery", we learn mainly about how hypocritic we humans are, and also how we follow customs blindly. In the story, for more than, say, 50 years, nobody ever questioned the reason behind this bloody and agonizing ritual, partly because Mr Summers, an influential man, did not feel the need to oppose the lottery. Thus the rest of the villagers followed his lead, not a single one of them questioning the ethics of the lottery. Even the words of Mr Adams and Mrs Graves were said as they were afraid of being stoned to death, but in the end, they forget all about what they said and were only interested in finding out who in the Hutchinson family would get stoned to death.

Moving to my point about hypocrisy. We humans do not bother about things until we get victimised. In the story, Tessie Hutchinson had been participating inthe lottery all her life, and not once did she utter a word of protest to this wrongdoing. However, when she is the one selected to be stoned, she starts saying that the lottery "isn't fair" and "isn't right". This shows how hypocritic we humans can be at times. Im my opinion, Shirley Jackson is trying to say that humans think it is alright to kill others but themselves.

Do we have such lotteries in our society nowadays? Yes, we do. A geeky or clumsy kid gets picked on by a group of stronger kids in school. Companies are not keen on hiring disabled people even though they may be talented just because they are different. Why do we blame them for something they can't control. Do you think they wanted to be born this way? I dont think so. Thus, I hope that we will think carefully about everything we do and not follow blindly

2009-03-09T20:48:00.000+08:00

Organ trade: should it be allowed? I think so.

Of course, I'm not saying that we should allow illegal trade like what has happened recently( workers going for medical checkups got their kidneys stolen), however what I'm saying is that people should have the choice whether they want to sell their kidneys or not. If a doctor guarantees that the donor will be fine and if the donor is willing, why not? The money coming from the trade may improve the donor's life, thus I feel we should allow organ trade. After all, what's the point of having two healthy kidneys when you are going to die of starvation anyway? Wouldn't it be better to have one kidney, be healthy and then be able to survive? Thus, I think governments should rethink and maybe allow a restricted and highly monitored organ trade.

2009-03-08T14:41:00.000+08:00

A few days ago, I on a train at Tampines, I saw a student from Coral Secondary School giving up his seat to an elderly man. This made me think a lot about how neighbourhood school students are deemed by society.

Firstly, many people will think of a student with long hair, ankle socks who fails his exams at the time. Simply because he is a neighbourhood student. Why is this so? People always overlook the fact that maybe they came from low-income families and always had to help to look after their siblings while their parents go to work. How would they have time to study? I know a few students from neighbourhood schools myself. They are not those type of students who hang out at shopping malls all day long, but are decent people who just did not happen to do so well for their PSLE examinations.

Secondly, people assume that students from neighbourhood schools will become bums and end up in jail because they broke laws. However, let's ask ourselves: are there really no such people in other schools? I can quote you an example at once: the respected monk once from RI embezzled company funds, didn't he?

Thus, I hope people will stop stereotyping neighbourhood students

2009-03-07T15:52:00.000+08:00

An eye-for-eye justice

MADRID - AN Iranian woman living in Spain said on Wednesday she welcomed a Tehran court ruling that awards her eye-for-an-eye justice against a suitor who blinded her with acid.
Ameneh Bahrami, 30, told Cadena SER radio, 'I am not doing this out of revenge, but rather so that the suffering I went through is not repeated.'
Late last year an Iranian court ruled that the man - identified only as Majid - who blinded Bahrami in 2004 after she spurned him, should also be blinded with acid based on the Islamic law system of 'qisas,' or eye for an eye retribution, according to Iranian newspaper reports from November.
But Ms Bahrami, who moved to Spain after the attack to get medical treatment, said on Wednesday that under Iranian law, she is entitled to blind him in only one eye, unless she pays euro20,000 ($25,110), because in Iran women are not considered equal to men.
'They have told us that my two eyes are equal to one of his because in my country each man is worth two women. They are not the same,' she told Cadena SER.
Ms Bahrami explained that she was now waiting for a letter from the court to go back to Iran for the punishment to be carried out.
Cadenda SER said that after undergoing treatment in Barcelona, Bahrami recovered 40 per cent vision in one eye but since then doctors have not been able to prevent her from going totally blind.
She also suffered horrific burns to her face, scalp and body. She says she now survives on 400 euro a month in aid from the Spanish government.
The woman said Majid would be blinded by having several drops of acid put into one eye, whereas she had acid splashed all over her face and other parts of her body. -- AP

MY VIEWS

This is a rather touchy subject so I shall express it from two point of views.

VICTIM

Of course, the violence would naturally leave the victim destroyed, mentally and physically. The victim, just because of one angry suitor, now had a ruined future in front of her. She would be deemed a freak, she could could not be totally independent, and would never get married and have children. This in the victim's eyes was totally unfair and naturally she would want to get revenge on her attacker, even if the attacker would be blinded by having several drops of acid put into one eye, whereas she had acid splashed all over her face and other parts of her body. She just wanted to get the satisfaction of knowing that her attacker would go through what she went through and will be going through for the rest of her life. Thus, in this certain aspect, we should sympathise with the victim and agree with her.

OTHER PEOPLE

However, from the bystander's point of view, one would probably think: "Since what the attacker did to you is cruel and heartless, how does what you are going to do justify your actions?" One would also think that 'I am not doing this out of revenge, but rather so that the suffering I went through is not repeated.' is just an excuse to get revenge as there are many other ways for her to share on how she felt and how this act is inhumane. By doing exactly the same act, one would think of her as a hypocrite.

2009-03-06T20:36:00.000+08:00

Hello there.

Apparently, I heard from my seniors that our batch of secondary one students are the most prejudiced against iSpark so far. Thus, I would like to voice my opinions about this matter.

True, primary school GEPers may be anti-social, arrogant or rude, but let's question ourselves: are there such people in other consortiums like Ortus, Aphelion and Proed? It would be the greatest joke ever if you can cross your heart and say "no". So, why are we prejudiced against them? Is it because they are smarter than us? If it is, then I believe this would be the case of "eating sour grapes". By the way, why should we get jealous of people who are smarter than us? We, in my opinion, should time learning from them so that we can be as good, or even better, than them. So next time if we enter CSE, we can proudly say that "Hey, I wasn't from iSpark, I had a normal curriculum, but I still got a msg of 1.5 and below". And that, I feel, is really what matters.

The Lottery

2009-03-05T21:21:00.000+08:00

Today, Ms Soh gave out a short story called "The Lottery". It was those type of books which required readers to fully understand the story and not just look at things superficially. After I read the story for the first time, I was stumped. It was such(in my opinion) a warped story. Bewildered, I questioned Ms Soh about it. She then told me to read deeper into the story and look for important quotes. I did just that. I read the story again slowly, looking for important quotes. And all of a sudden, it hit home.

Aha! " 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.' " In that particular time, people were superstitious and believed that stoning a person would bring good harvest to the village. Old Man Warner personally believes that stopping the lottery would bring bad luck. He is one that believes in following the order of things and never questions the reason behind them.

Surprisingly, Shirley Jackson artfully used name symbology. As I did not know much about names, I decided to do some simple research. Apparently, "Martin," Bobby’s surname, derives from a Middle English word signifying ape or monkey. This, juxtaposed with "Harry Jones" (in all its commonness) and "Dickie Delacroix" (of-the-Cross) urges us to an awareness of the Hairy Ape within us all, veneered by a Christianity as perverted as "Delacroix," vulgarized to "Dellacroy" by the villagers. Horribly, at the end of the story, it will be Mrs. Delacroix, warm and friendly in her natural state, would encourage the others to attack Tessie. "Mr. Adams," at once progenitor and martyr in the Judeo-Christian myth of man, stands with "Mrs. Graves"—the ultimate refuge or escape of all mankind—in the forefront of the crowd.

Another quote I found intriguing was "It isn't fair, it isn't right." All her life, Tessie had been throwing stones at the people unlucky enough to get the slip of paper all her life. However, now that she knew she was about to get killed, she panicked and started shouting about how it wasn't fair and that they should restart the lottery. I think this sorts of brings out the topic about human hypocrisy and the famous quote about "do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you". As said by Ms Soh, Tessie throwed stones as a kid, a teenager and an adult. Now that she would be the one getting killed, what right did she have to say that it wasn't fair?

There is another interesting fact. The sentence "selecting the smoothest and roundest stones" apparently means that the death would be more painful as there would be more bruises and the agony would last longer. To think that children at such a young age could actually think of such a notion makes me feel alarmed and shocked.

At the point of sounding cruel, I was actually glad that Tessie would be the one getting killed and not the other family members. This is because she actually wanted more people(her two married daughters )to be included so that she could increase her chances of surviving. This disgusts me as it is unacceptable to actually include your family members into something this risky so that you can survive. I am also not saying that she should make the choice to die for her family members, but that she should just let things happen and not involve more people.

As usual, I would love to see your comments.+)

2009-03-04T21:36:00.000+08:00

Hello there!

I took this picture at random a few days ago and when I looked at it closely, I realised that this could be interpreted into an intriguing topic.

When I first started to analyse this, my first observation was that the outside was fairly bright while the inside of the house was dark. The window grilles also made the picture look kind of negative. Why do I say so? This is my conclusion.

Hypothetically

This picture is taken from a unhappy teenager's point of view. It is bright and shining outside but he is stuck at home, a dark and gloomy place. The window grilles suddenly look like jail cell bars. This makes the teenager even more unhappy with his lack of freedom

I shall thus be talking about this topic. Often, parents don't allow their kids to go out unless they finish their work. Sometimes, they don't allow their children to go out at all. Often, their children will feel very unhappy and will only cause more heartache and headache to their parents. What their parents do not know is, their children have grown up. They have a wider group of friends and restricting them as such will only caused the children to be deemed as introverts and anti-social. Another point I want to stress is, why force your children to do their work unhappily before they can go out when they can let their children have their fun, feel grateful to themselves, and be more motivated to do their work afterwards. Of course, from the parent's point of view, a parent would worry about their children getting carried away or distracted. Thus, there must also be mutual understanding between the two parties so they can understand and respect each other as well.

As usual, I would love to hear your comments. Thank you.

In Your Own Words(blog prompt)

2009-02-25T22:38:00.000+08:00

You are a student activist for animal preservation. You strongly believe animals should not be hunted for their body parts as medicinal ingredients. Draft a speech which you are going to make at a public forum on preventing cruelty to animals.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Today, I shall be talking to you about preventing cruelty to animals.

Sometimes, we must remember that even though animals are, well, animals, but they are also living, breathing creatures just like us humans. If you put yourself into their shoes, how do you think you will feel if someone cuts off one of your body parts just because it can be used as a medicinal ingredients? Moreover, the cruel people who do these type of things just throw the poor animals back to where they came from, slowly leaving them to die instead of ending their pain straightaway.

Another point: sometimes, the medicinal values of body parts of some animals may just be rumours. For example, the rhinoceros. It is rumoured that their horns have great medicinal value just because their horns have calcium inside them. If that is the case, why don't we pound up our nails and use them for medicinal purposes?

Thus, I would like to advise everyone: do not follow blindly just because someone says so or it MAY work. Think of the beautiful creatures that you will hurt. Thank you

ANGLES competition

2009-02-25T22:33:00.000+08:00

Today was the finals for the ANGLES competition 2009. The contestants, were, in my opinion, absolutely fantastic. They were so even matched that it was hard to decide which one I liked best. I am sure the judges were stumped too.:) Even with little time to prepare for the impromptu speech, the contestants still did a great job and still sounded very professional. Goes to say I have a lot more to learn if I want to join these type of competitions......

In Your Own Words(blog prompt)

2009-02-24T22:21:00.000+08:00

A recent nationwide survey done in Singapore has reveled that primary school students have a nonchalant attitude towards environmental issues. You are the president of the Activist's' Club in Singapore and have been invited to make a speech to educate and inspire the young ones to make a difference in their lifestyles and choices.

Good morning boys and girls. As all of you know, Mother Earth has been greatly affected for the past few decades because of our neglect. Problems include global warming and air pollution. Thus, now is the time to save the Earth.

Many of you would not be bothered about this fact or think that doing your part to save the environment would cause your friends to think of you as a good-two-shoes type of person. But, there is nothing to be ashamed of. The only time you will feel ashamed is a few decades later, when you think, " I could have avoided all of this if I did my part to save the environment before."Another point I want to stress is that we all live on the same planet. Thus, a few people's negligence could cause the world suffer. A good example would be in China. It is one of the countries worst hit by air pollution. This is because there are selfish people out there who only care about making money. They think," I won't live long enough to see the bad things happen anyway." It is precisely this kind of attitude that will lead to the Earth's downfall.

Thus, start making a change. Simple things that you do in everyday life will help to save the Earth. For example, recycle whenever you can. Always bring a container along when you want to buy takeaway food. Only turn on your air-conditioners when the heat is really unbearable.

With this, I end my speech. Thank you all for your kind attention.

I Outsmarted You There, Didn't I, Mr Principal?

2009-02-12T22:31:00.000+08:00

As you all will remember, Dr Hon posted the news about Coral Secondary School's ban. Intrigued, I searched the web and saw this funny yet meaningful blog post. However, there were undesirable comments so I deleted them. This was taken from http://politicssg.blogspot.com/2009/02/will-coral-secondary-principal-be-sued.html...

Will Coral Secondary principal be sued for human rights violation? Not a chance in Singapore

Coral Secondary School is allegedly one of the strictest school in Singapore. It forbids any student in uniform from entering the nearby White Sands shopping mall in Pasir Ris. On top of that, it also forbids students in uniform from hanging out at the neighbouring housing estate. Not even dropping by the mini-mart to get a drink.

The exception - the community library in White Sands Shopping Mall. However the student is required to go through the process of seeking approval from HOD/Student Management, Operations Manager, Vice-Principal or Principal.

When asked by the press to comment on the rule, principal Veronica Ng responded: 'Coral Secondary places much emphasis on inculcating in our students good habits like using time prudently. As such, it is in their interest not to loiter in the malls after school.'

Where there are rules, there are always enforcers. To prove that they are really serious about it, the school assigns teachers to patrol the shopping mall and neighbouring areas after school. Any offenders caught will be sent for a two-hour detention.

Some may condemn the school for human rights violations. But alas, this is Singapore! Without a doubt, this is a definite law case in U.S., but here in Singapore, the principal is only learning from the government. The government seems to believe that the most efficient way to govern a country is by creating laws.

Back to the school. Is that really a perfect ban? Will this ban truly ensure that the students are using their time prudently? Could the students not log into their computers and play online games with their friends in the comfort of their homes?

On top of that, where there are rules, there are always loopholes. And where there are loopholes, there are always more rules to be broken...

Student A brings along a light set of civilian clothing in his/her school bag. If a teacher spots him/her entering a toilet in uniform but exiting in civilian clothing, can he/her be penalised? Notice that the student is no longer in school uniform. Will the rule still stand?

Student B gets an approval to visit the community library but he/she then gives, or worse, sells the approval to Student C. Student C gets into the community library and quickly borrows a couple of books before proceeding to the fastfood restaurant. Can the teacher then penalise Student C for grabbing a bite after going to the library?

Student D is caught in the mall by a patroling teacher, but after the two-hour detention penalise has been given to him/her, if he/she decided to stay in the mall, will double jeopardy then forbids the teacher from further penalising him/her?

For the school to set such a ban is a double-edged sword. While some students may stay "good" because the opportunity to stray has been removed from them, the ban may also be a good training ground for some students to learn how to think outside the box to outsmart the law.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Right. Here are my thoughts about the topic: to introduce such a notion is totally abstract. If a student wants to enter a shopping mall, he or she must not be wearing their school uniform. In the first place, the students are still going to loiter in shopping malls if they really want to, be it wearing school uniform or home clothing. So, is the rule made to "prevent students from wasting their time loitering in shopping malls" or is it just a feeble attempt to protect the school's reputation should something go wrong? This, dear people, is the thing you have to consider.

Furthermore, "anyone caught would be sent to an 2-hour detention". Isn't this such an irony in the face of the school insisting on preventing students wasting their time away? Furthermore, isn't it more time consuming to go home, change into home clothes, and then go back to the shopping mall again just for a simple lunch? This, too, is another factor to consider.

Thus, I suggest that instead of imposing bans on students(which will only make them more rebellious), the school should conduct more workshops or talks about time management so that students will be convinced not to waste their time instead of being forced to

Thus, I would love to hear your comments about my views. Feel free to comment

Ang Moh Pai???

2009-02-11T23:22:00.001+08:00

Many Singaporean does not like Caucasians. Face it. It is a true fact. Here's the next fact: many Singaporeans do not like them because they have seen too many of them showing off how much money they have.

Why, though?

Throughout my 12 years of life in Singapore, I noticed that Singaporeans tend to be stereotypical. A few examples would include:

Ang Moh= Show Off
Neighbourhood School= Pai Kia(misbehaving pupils)
Simple Clothes= Poor

I will be focusing on the Caucasians. Why do people feel so distant from them even though they may be born in Singapore? I must admit, I felt that way too until today...

Scene: City Hall Interchange

It is the peak hour and everybody is squeezing into the train that just arrived. By accident, 4 HCI boys accidentally hit a really tall Caucasian.

Xavier: Sorry
Xuyi: Are you ok?
Caucasian:(pleasantly)It's ok. It's like rugby players shoving each other almost every other day.
Jian Shun: At least we don't have to worry if any of us falls down

We laugh merrily...

(Caucasian says goodbye to us before alighting at Bugis.)

That simple meeting left a deep impression on me. We aren't that so different after all. We're all humans. We need friends. We have our own needs. Ang Moh Pai? White American? African American? Nah. To me, now we're all the same. And that's how the world should be.

Flowers for Algernon Discussion Questions: Question 3

2009-02-04T21:20:00.000+08:00

What makes an ideal human or the ideal life?

An ideal human that everyone wishes to be would be a fairly well-off person who has a great personality. He is someone that people can look up to and respect. People won't find it hard to communicate with him because he is not the least bit snobbish. He also has a wide circle of friends and is popular and well-liked.

The ideal life need not necessarily be full of material stuff. The ideal life, in my opinion, is one trying to live life to the fullest doing meaningful things and not meaningless things such as consistently changing handphones or bags when the trend is so. The ideal life should be spent helping other people as well.

Little Ironies- The Taximan's Story

2009-02-04T00:24:00.000+08:00

What is the irony in this story?

Throughout the whole story the taximan talks about teenagers making themselves cheap and about them going to hotels to entertain Eurasians but in reality, his daughter is doing those type of things as well. Moreover, he also makes money off these teenagers and is not afraid to admit it. This greatly contradicts what he is trying to talk to his passenger about.

What are the themes raised in this story?

How teenagers in the 21st century differ from those of a different time(in terms of obedience)

How materialistic teenagers are these days(making themselves cheap to satisfy their materialistic needs).

How parents are less willing to hand out physical punishment .

How realistic is this story?

This story is actually very true. It is not particularly rare to see things like this happening in Singapore. However, I feel that "wallet full of American money" is a bit too unrealistic and exaggerated.

What do you think of the taximan? Do you feel sympathy for him?

Although I feel that he contradicts himself, he should be pitied. He is trying to make ends meet and also saving up for his daughter's university fund but she goes off making herself cheap and entertaining the Eurasians.

Do you agree with his lamenting?

Yes, I do. Nowadays, many teenagers are more rebellious and less willing to obey their parents. Thus it is understandable how the taximan feels.

What about the other characters in the story? Do you feel sympathy for them?

No. Even if they wanted to earn money, they should do it properly and not try to earn a quick buck by entertaining the Eurasians.

2009-02-02T22:46:00.000+08:00

Today's training was brutal. Everybody(including me) who are going for competition in April are going to suffer a lot.

First part: frog jump to the enormous tree outside the shed, do 20 squats, frog jump back.
Second part: frog jump to the tree, 20 squats, duck walk back(I think)
Third part: run to tree, 20 squats, run back.
Fourth part: 60 pushups(30 of which somebody's leg is on your back)
Fifth part: Raise your legs up vertically and your partner pushes them down. You have to raise your legs before they hit the ground(40 times)
Sixth part: Stomach exercise(40 times in 45 seconds, although it's kind of impossible)

Right now, my whole body is aching. No kidding. But I'm not complaining. I just hope all our hard work will pay off. Tommorow we must do 整套. Sigh......

2009-02-01T17:54:00.001+08:00

FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON ACE

Question 6

Charlie Gordon
17 Nisshao Street, House number 12
New York

15th August 2001

Dr. Hartles Nemur
Science Researcher
National Institute of Science
116 Nolifa Street

New York

Dear Dr Nemur,

Afta you told me abot the risks of the operashun, I hesited for while. But now I huv made up my mind. I want too go fer the operashun. 2 years ish a lot of time ande I can do a lot of things than. i wil be able too comunicate wih other peoples properly and they wun look at me funyly like I'm a alian. I can talk to Miss Kinnian proper and maybe Joe and Frank woud like me evan more. I also want to halp dum people like me too. And than maybe shumday Joe and Frank wont remamber me fer being dum but fer helping people. Ihate it whan people alweys leave me out becouse I don't reily know a lot of thengs. I'm also a humen being But everybody leaves me out becouse I'm dum and not smart like thum. Whan I'm smart I'll be reily happy and I also promish that I'll do something good with all my nowledge. I'll let all the dum peoples in the warld become smart as well. So please please let me have the operashun Dr. Nemur. I promish I wont let you down.

Your faithfilly,
Charlie Gordon

In Your Own Words(blog prompt)

2009-01-29T21:06:00.000+08:00

PROCESSED FOOD

Admit it. You love processed food. You love luncheon meat, hot dogs and ham for their irresistible aroma and saltiness.

Who doesn't?

I must say, I'm no angel myself. I like processed food. Like more than half of the raging population on Earth, I know processed food is bad for me but I will still eat hot dogs, luncheon meat and ham all the same. Yes, that is the reason why so many people are obese these days. But still, processed food is the most liked food item in my household(or in any household) simply because it is processed food. It is easy to cook, tastes nice, and saves a lot of time on washing the stock-pot. And that is why we must resist this seemingly irresistible temptation.

Here's my daily diet(on the average):

Breakfast: Mostly bread, sometimes cake.

Recess: Bee Hoon, maybe rice with dishes(sometimes with a bit of processed food)

Lunch: Light stuff as I would have training in the afternoon

Dinner(home cooked): 1 plate of meat, vegetables respectively, and a bowl of soup.

I know it is not that fantastic, if you take into the consideration the sometimes splurge on unhealthy food. And that is why the decision for change.

The ideal diet:

Breakfast: As usual

Recess: Sometimes, if I'm hungry, bee hoon, if not, light stuff

Lunch: As per normal

Dinner: As per normal

As you can can see, a small change in a recess diet can mean a lot of changes. And that is why I am going to try real hard to follow this ideal diet. Moderation. That is what i am going to try very hard to achieve.

In Your Own Words(blog prompt)

2009-01-29T20:37:00.000+08:00

Imagine that you are Dr Tan and that you have been invited to make an article contribution to a youth magazine to encourage young people to set worthwhile goals and work towards them.

Life is not a bed of roses. In fact, life is all about setting worthwhile goals and working towards them. The main problem nowadays is that people don't know what they truly want in life. Everyday, these ignorant people go about the same old routine, doing the same old things, wasting their life away. Why is this so? They do not set goals for themselves, or set unrealistic goals that they know they cannot achieve.

Thus, setting worthwhile and realistic goals are essential for you to live life to the fullest and not get dragged into the never-ending cycle of ignorance and regret, saying things like i should have done this when i could, i should have tried harder to do that, etc. By the time you realise that, it is probably too late.

How do you go about it?

Think about what you want to do. However, keep it realistic.
Start planning on the first step of the plan. Without the first action, things won't progress.
Remind yourself of the end product that you will be so proud of when the going gets tough. This way, you will be more motivated to succeed.
Always differentiate between what you need and what you want.

With that, I wish all of the readers all the best.

Dr William Tan

11/5/2007

Sec 1 CCA Orientation

2009-01-14T21:28:00.000+08:00

On last Friday, we had CCA orientation. (Wushu was part of Part 3 CCA orientation). Here are the details of our performance:
1. Senior talks about wushu and what we do.
2. Routine performance( it was a success)
3. Drums performance
4. Writing down of names

From what I hear from my seniors, last year's orientation yielded poor results(out of 10 who wrote down their names, only 1 or 2 turned up.)
However, this year was excellent! We had 2 whole pages of names written down.

I feel that though many people "oooh" and "ahhh" at martial arts, they just want to want to watch people fighting and are not really interested in experiencing it.
They look at kung fu movies and have the impression that wushu is all about fighting and hurting your enemies. (And that's probably why many people are not keen to join wushu). That's not the case, as a matter of fact.
I would say that wushu is actually an art, the art of learning how to defend ourselves. That's why my passion is in wushu. The aggressiveness, the swiftness, all these are the beautiful things about wushu.

I actually joined wushu when i was in Primary 3. One day, I was watching TV when i saw this man flying through the air with a spear in his hand and some kids doing a disciplined routine. (The flying man turned out to be my coach). I must say, i was impressed. After watching the commercial a few other times, i had two thoughts. The first was: "These guys are good." The second thought was:"I want to join wushu". And that's where my passion for wushu started.

Now, lets move on to people who just do not follow instructions. We decided that we would introduce them to a few weapons that we used. That Proved to be a mistake. There was this one boy who grabbed a pair of drumsticks and started sparring with his friend who was holding a sword. The poor guy ended up getting a cut. :D

Signing off......

My Newly Created Blog

2009-01-09T13:03:00.000+08:00

So this is my new blog. Actually, before this i was never really interested in blogging. True, it may be fun, but i thought it troublesome to keep blogging. Anyway, this blog is going to be mostly about me, my opinions and etc etc. Yeah well, feel free to browse.......