Idiosyncrasies Of Life

E-Learning 25-26 May =D

2010-05-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

Children in the Darkness

There are children in the darkness
Who have not seen the light
There are children in the darkness
Who someone will teach to fight

Chalk and blackboards will not be
To this door there is no key
From this life they can not flee
And these children are not free

Could we simply light a candle
Could we give them half a chance
Could we teach them how to read
Could we teach them how to dance

Or will a war consume them
Their body and their soul
Will their life and blood be poured
Down some endless thirsty hole

Back into the darkness
From which there is no flight
Back into the darkness
Into which there shines no light
Henry M Bechtold
Task 1:

Nice poem, isn't it?

This poem came about when Henry M Bechtold was in his hotel room in Saigon just before Christmas 2009. At that time, he was trying to write about young girls working in the park and how they were mistreated by men. Asexpected, he is experiencing a writer's block, and is very vexed that he was unable to write anything substancial. Just as he was about to give up, his television screen showed a very chilling sight - a photo of a small boy with a helmet and an automatic rifle.
Inspiration came.

Adapted from : http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html

From this poem, we can see that the children are being forced to go to war at a very young age. At the start, it is already very clear that the children were taught how to fight instead of a proper education involving the OH-SO-WONDERFUL mathematics and english, etc. "has not seen the light" could be inferred as the children are still quite young and has not seen much of the world, and these children are already taught how to fight. This is a conflict, since fighting should not be taught to those who are still immature, and that the cruel nature of fighting would be instilled in the pure and innocent minds of the children.

Task 2:

(1) Point of View
This is in the third person point of view, as the poet refers to the children as "them" and "their". The poet uses this point of view to make his stand as part of those who opposes to making children fight wars.

(2) Situation and Setting
This is set in times of war. The children are taiught how to fight, and many of them are young and innocent, and they "have not seen hte light".

(3) Language/Diction
1st stanza: The children are described as in "darkness", which means that they are still ignorant and naieve. They "have not seen the light", which further emphasises that the children have no future, as well as them being naieve and ignorant.The rhyme of "light" and "fight" could mean that the children will not learn anything but fight, that fighting would be the first thing they learn.

In the second stanza, "chalk" and "blackboard" could be intepreted as education, which there is "no key" to. This implies that the children will not have a chance at education at all,and that they are not masters of their own fate, as they "can not flee" and "are not free".

Moving on to the third stanza, the poet implores the readers to give the children "half a chance" to do the things that ordinary children do, like dancing and reading. The poet also plays on "darkness" as mentioned earlier, using "light a candle". If darkness above symbolises that the children has no future, then the candle represents that the children has a small glimmer of hope. The poet wants us to help the children, to emphatise with them.

In the 4th stanza, war is depicted as an endless hole, where everyone is dumped in and they are wasted. The poet is condamning war here, saying that it is a waste of people and time, claiming that it is an "endless thirsty hole".

Finally in the 5th stanza, the poet shows us that it is too late, as the darkness is not of ignorance anymore, it is when they are in the hole of war, and they are unable to escape that reality.

(4) Personal Response
It shocked me when this poem is written in 2009. This clearly shows that even in the advanced world we live in now, children are still being recruited as soldiers in wars. It really made me appreciate my life, that i am living a very luxurious life as compared to the childen in the story.

The Inconvenient Truth

2010-05-09T06:39:00.000-07:00

TIME TRAVELLERS EXIST!!!!!
“If time travellers exist, then where are they?” as said by Albert Einstein.
You see, this is actually a lie made up by him to cover up the fact that he is actually a time traveller. If there was no time travelling, then how would the person who took the photograph of JFK’s assassination know when it would happen?
Ha-ha, just a little digression there.
Okay, have anyone of you experienced deja-vu? I sure have. It occurred to me, that I experienced the same thing again. One example, as I was rehearsing late at night with my Chinese drama CCA, it suddenly occurred to me that it actually happened before! It’s quite hard to explain, but I felt that I actually went through it before. Either I am crazy, which I am not, or something is going on… really! Just now, as I was writing the blog post on ang mohs, I suddenly felt that I have done all this before. Can anyone offer some explanation?
Okay. This is pretty much philosophical, and it is not in my scope of work, idiosyncrasies. So here is the crux of the matter. On the newspapers, I always see NTUC trolleys( the type where you put $1 inside) parked along corridors, and chained to the railings. It is quite a funny sight, actually, but can you imagine the anger of the store manager when you see your own trolley “stolen” by someone. The trolleys must have cost quite a lot.
The mindset of the people is: ONE DOLLAR FOR A TROLLEY! WOW! CHEAP! MUST GET MORE TOMORROW~ Yes, this is about it. The $1 is to ensure that people do not steal the trolley away, as they would not be able to get back their $1, but it is very funny seeing how this backfires on the store. People are not THAT petty. They may have lost $1, but they have gained a trolley. A good, reliable one at that.
What I suggest, and this may work, is to let people use their ICs to borrow the trolleys.
Speaking about ICs, I want to talk about libraries. THOSE LIBRARIES ARE WAY TOO LIENIENT!!! Scenario 1: student a borrows book, returns them on time, no fine
Scenario 2: student borrows book, does not return until he finished reading, 2 weeks late. Does not pay fine. Ignores messages to pay fine. End of year, fine waived, no fine
See? Bothe does not pay the fine, and thanks to people like student 2 who does not pay fines, libraries are losing money. Last year, NLB waived off about 1 million in fines. This should not be the way. People will just develop the mindset that even if the return the books late, the can still evade the fine.
Once again, I have the solution. Like the trolleys, pay a deposit, say $10? If the books are failed to be returned, the deposit is kept. So, the problems for both situations can be used interchangeably to solve each other.

The Ang Moh

2010-05-09T05:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, it’s finally out. The inconvenient truth about foreigners here in Singapore. It has been awhile before this topic has been brought up in Singapore. LONG, LONG AGO, say 2001? That was the time of major changes here in Singapore. I just bought a book (YAY!) yup. It is Neil Humphreys’ Scribbles from a small island. Apart from the OCCASIONAL expletive, it is a very good book, depicting Singapore from a Caucasian point of view. Thus the birth of this blog post. I decided to revise the stereotype that all Caucasians in Singapore has fat wallets. This is a known fact that at that time, Caucasians who come to Singapore has an automatic social pedestal to stand on. It is quite sad actually, that Caucasians are automatically associated with some rich CEO of a big company.

It is quite ironic, as in every facet of Singaporean society, there is a growing realization that white skin does not automatically equate to a greater talent of bank balance. You would have to be living in a cave all this time if you still think that this is the case. However, there is still a wide gap between the foreigners and us. There is actually no difference. Just because they are of a different skin colour and speak differently, does that mean we should have a clear divide between us? All men are created equal, and racism will not be allowed. Take Michael Fay for example. He thought that since he is Caucasian, he can get away with crime here in Singapore.

Singapore's The Straits Times newspaper in 1993 ran stories about car vandalism in Singapore. Unknown individuals, thought at first to be residents of the HDB flats in which 85% of the local population lives, damaged their neighbours' cars with hot tar, paint remover, and hatchets. Taxi drivers complained that their tires were slashed. In the city center and the condos, cars were found with deep scratches and dents. Fay pleaded guilty to vandalizing the cars in addition to stealing road signs, as he was advised that such a plea would preclude caning. Fay later maintained that his confession was false; that he never vandalized any cars and that the only crime he committed was stealing signs. Under the 1966 Singapore Vandalism Act, originally passed to curb the spread of political graffiti in Singapore and which specifically covered vandalism of government property, he was sentenced on March 3, 1994 to four months in jail, a fine of 3,500 Singapore dollars (US$2,214 at the time), and six strokes of the cane.

Yes, this is what we need! Equal treatment for all!

Working with a joyful heart

2010-05-08T05:47:00.000-07:00

After finally reviving my blog from desolateness, I finally feel the need, the need for ACE. Okay. This is what I want to talk about. Nowadays, we, the people of an elite school, focus more on results more than anything. I mean, results are good and all, but there has got to be al limit for all this. We need to pause for a moment in our busy lives, and take a moment to just enjoy what is around us, our friends (somehow I spelt fiends the first time), our family, our teachers, our homework, our paper, and even the bird droppings on our beautiful table, chair, and floor. Indeed, there are so many things to look at, to observe, to appreciate. BUT, what are we all doing?

Teacher: “it is a good day today, go out and enjoy yourselves”
Students: “is there ACE?”
Teacher: “No, just go enjoy yourselves”
Student: “Is there LEAPS?”
Teacher: “Just go and enjoy, for goodness’ sake”
Student: “Do I get OP for asking these?”

Of course, this does not always happen, and it never will, but this is the general idea of our systems. A project? Does it have ACE? No? Then I don’t want. We students are taking this way too seriously. Of course, we cannot all be blamed. How I envy those enthusiastic primary one pupils, who goes to school bright and early, with every intention to learn new things. How I wish that we could be more like them. School is a place to learn, not to get ACE, OP, LEAPS, and cry over bad tests*hint hint*. NO. It is more about that.
We have lost the overall idea of what school is, which is pretty sad, actually. School is about fun and learning, or part thereof. So, here is the plan, that we all should, for once, just try, to forget about everything and just relax, and enjoy the simple life.

Two sides of the coin

2010-03-10T03:45:00.000-08:00

Okay, here’s another food for thought. At home, when I was getting lunch during the e-learning week, I saw several items which I would like to critique:

One such example is that I saw a bunch of kindergartners and their teachers at the roadside. Without waiting for the traffic light to turn green, she led them across the road. Of course, the road was very empty and there were no cars at all.
However, what will this be telling the children? At that particular age, 5-7, children are very receptive and they will be picking up habits, good or bad, everywhere. With this action of crossing the road without waiting for the lights to turn green, the children may think that this is actually correct. As said in my previous post, affect one generation, and the generations after will follow.

Like this, the children will grow up with this mindset that it is OKAY to cross the road without waiting for the traffic light. Actually, I do this also (yes, I’m a hypocrite). In this fast paced society we are in, time is money. In my opinion, if the road is empty, go for it. Okay. I have a point to clarify. There is actually a very simple logic I use. If the road is empty and there are no dangers posed to oneself, I will cross the road. However, in most situations, I will just wait for the traffic light.

Okay. I shall deviate a little here. In the past, cars have the priority on the roads. Now, due the development of our “kia su-ness (scared to lose)” we feel that we will should and will have the priority on the roads. The car now should fear us, people. If there are any accidents, there is one and only one action: sue. We will forever have this mindset: complain, or sue. It’s quite saddening, actually, that we Singaporeans have to resort to this form of “blackmail” to ensure that we do not lose out.

The bad stuff has come out. However, there are good things happening also.
At the same road after I finished lunch, I saw a primary school (primary 3, I think) helping an old lady cross the road. Yes, the road was literally empty, (and I think the old lady cam waltz across the road slowly and there will still be no cars) but it was the thought that counts.

The boy had the best intentions when he helped the old lady across the road, and it was very heartening to watch. In one day, I saw both the ugly and the pretty of Singapore, and I am pleased and pis*ed.

Yet another cliched topic...

2010-03-10T02:29:00.001-08:00

Finally, it’s the sabbaticals! One week of no school, and one week of fun and enjoyment. But, let’s not get caught in all the festivities. We should always be on the lookout for interesting stuff to blog about. I know I have!
Today when going home from school, I passed by the walkway outside Marymount Station. The drain along the walkway was littered with cigarette butts. Yes, you have guessed correctly, I will be blogging about smoking.
Smoking is pretty much a major issue here in Singapore. Even though the government “strongly discourages” smoking, a lot of people are still smoking. Just take a walk along any street which does not ban smoking and you will see a smoker. As my father once said, “take a stone and throw it at a crowd. Chances are you will hit a smoker.”
Funny as it is, we must not underestimate the seriousness of smoking. Like drugs, smoking can be addictive. The government tried to discourage smoking by printing grotesque pictures of organs and sufferers of smoking. But actually, who really bothers to look at the pictures?
As I have heard in one Mr Brown show episode, some people have even gone to the extent of trading cigarette boxes, like playing cards. This clearly shows how much this plan is backfiring. Let’s face it. Smoking will forever be a problem all around the world.

BUT

There is hope! Schools can help to educate their students that smoking is evil (propaganda speeches, anyone?) . The rationale is simple; affect one generation and the generations that follow will be affected as well. So, in my opinion, the government should stop wasting its resources in trying to change the adults. How about us children for a change?

E-Learning 2 March 2010(answers)

2010-03-01T18:47:00.000-08:00

Task for Naturalist:

I have found put that the mockingbird lives in open country with thickets, farmland and desert brush, where ants, beetles, grasshoppers, seeds and berries grows. The mockingbird eats these animals.

Characteristics:
The mockingbird is gray on top and white on its underside. It has white patches on its wings that look like bars; a long black tail with white outer feathers and a long, slender bill. Males and females look alike.

Behavior:
The mockingbird was given its name because of its ability to mimic the calls of dozens of other bird species. In fact, the mockingbird's Latin name, Mimus polyglottus, means many-tongued mimic. The mockingbirds have even been known to mimic the sounds of dogs and sirens! The mockingbird is especially vocal on moonlit spring nights. The mockingbird is also very territorial and will attack intruders.

Conclusion
The mockingbird lives in Maycomb as Maycomb is an open country with thickets, farmland and desert brush. These conditions are vital for the mockingbird to flourish.

Intrapersonal:

Firstly, before I say who I would like to befriend, I shall do a brief character analysis on the characters on the novel.

Scout:

· Intelligent

· Tomboy-ish

· Combative

· Naïve

· Appreciates human goodness without ignoring human evil (more mature)

Atticus

· Moral

· Dry sense of humor

· Just

· Equal (no prejudice)

· Wise

· Convicted

Jem

· Refuses to back down from challenges

· Athletic

· Strong sense of justice

Boo Radley

· Reclusive

· Symbol of goodness swathed in creepiness

· Intelligent

· A good person injured by the evil of mankind

After doing the character analysis, I feel that I will like to befriend Atticus Finch. Among the four people, I feel that Atticus has the most merits and I will benefit the most when I am around him. People get influenced by the people around them, and Atticus will be a good nfluence to me, making me a more refined gentleman.

Home learning 2 March 2010(questions)

2010-03-01T18:26:00.000-08:00

Okay, as stated in the wiki, we were to " pick 2 tasks according to your learning profile". After doing the quiz at
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/questions/choose_lang.cfm
I discovered that my learning profiles are:

*dramatic pause*

*I know you are waiting...*

*say the magic word...*

*"PLEASE?"*

Naturalist and Intrapersonal(sounds cool!)

Big words, ehh? Well, basically, they mean that I am a loner(!!!) and am a nature geek.

Moving on, the task was to pick two items among the list of work. I have chosen

a)Do a research on the natural habitat of mockingbird. In your research, include the kind of flora and fauna you think exist in Maycomb and explain why the mockingbird lives in Maycomb

AND

b)Who would you want to be friends with in the novel? Explain

Welcome, 2010!

2010-02-27T07:28:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

I have decided to re-use my Secondary One blog for 2010, but decided to change the theme of it, thus i decided that the theme should be idiosyncrasies of our daily lives. Might i provide the meaning for idiosyncrasies : a characteristic, habit, mannerism, or the like, that is peculiar to an individual.

So yes, this will be like a journal of my daily life, ad what I have seen or heard during the day. To start, I shall start with a simple topic : Kia su(scared to lose) of Singapore.

Today, I went to a reunion dinner with my CCA, Chinese Drama, at a steamboat restaurant. As I had nothing to do, I decided to observe the people around me. Being an all-you-can-eat restaurant, most people naturally went for the most expensive item : crab. As soon as the crab was served, many people flocked to grab as many pieces as they could, so as to not ‘亏本’(lose out). Not surprisingly, the crabs were gone within minutes. Also, the people did not even finish their food, they just took for the sake of taking. Thus, there were many wastage.

Being a Singaporean, this actions are all part and parcel of life here, but what would tourists think? Singaporeans have this tendency to only want to benefit themselves. This action is not only seen in these all-you-can-eat places, but also in places like MRTs(mass rapid transport). People will probably find a seat for themselves, even if it means sitting on the "reserved" seats. Frankly, I feel that the Government putting those "reserved" stickers are quite redundant. People sitting on the seat do not really care about what kind of seat they are sitting on, and are too thicked skinned to feel embarrassed that they are sitting on a "reserved" seat.

However, this is just the ugly side of the situation. This is not the case with other Singaporeans. I have seen people giving up their seats on the train to the elderly and pregnant, but here's a question : "How many of you would actually give your seats up to the elderly?" Lets face it, the big answer would be "NO". Those who say yes are probably lying too. As many have said before, it is one thing to say, and another to do as you have said.

In fact, I find it almost hypocritical. In school and at home we are taught to do the right thing, like giving up your seats and not to take more than what you can eat at buffets. But in real life, the people who teaches us these values are the ones not following them. I have seen countless adults attack the buffet tables with such gusto, and people frowning at their children when they give their seat up to other people. Such actions speak for themselves. "Actions speak louder than words" children can be taught countless times these values, but when they see what their parents are doing, they will follow suit and all the teachings will come to naught.

So, I end with this: if you truly want a gracious society, start acting like one.

Greed ... ...

2009-07-27T05:10:00.000-07:00

Reading the Sunday Times on July 26, 2009, I found other articles about the Ming Yi case. But before that, another headline caught my eye. "Duo show it's possible to overcome failure" it talks about the cases of Mr Tan Koon Swok and a Mr Glenn Knight.If you are scratching your head in confusion, "Huh? What has two unknown stranger overcome failure?" Well, I was too.

Mr Tan was an ex-Malaysian Magnate and Cabinet Minister: Mr Glenn was an ex-CAD director. Both high flyers, one must agree. Mr Tan came down first. He was charged and prosecuted by Mr Glenn, for abetting a criminal breach of trust in the high profile Pan-Electric Industries case. After that, Mr Glenn was arrested and found guilty of tying to cheat three businessmen of $3 million and faking an invoice to get government loan.

Both were jail. Both were fined. Both were under the influence of money.

Just like Ming Yi, they were corrupted by money, and they paid the price for it. I feel that many of us people are vulnerable to this. It is important to note that while money is important, one must know that money is not everything. Money, although can buy you a good meal, cannot buy you happiness. This may sound cliched, but I cannot emphasize the importance of this. Its like a cycle, these people grew up with a big dream, and accomplished it. They started with a pure heart, wanting to do only good, but when they have accomplished that, they start to get greedy. No one, no matter how honest you are, can resist the temptation of money. Look at T.T. Durai, the NKF guy. He was commended for setting up such an organization, but was charged for corruption charges. Next is Ming Yi.

Who's next? What has Singapore become?

What has becomed of Singapore ?

2009-07-20T05:07:00.000-07:00

Scanning through The New Paper (TNP), July 20, 2009, an interesting headline caught my attention: “Will you take the Pledge” I read the article and I can’t say that I’m pleased. Two survey questions were asked, the first one being “Do you know the pledge?” A startling 41% said no, and only a mere 35% said yes. The other question, “Will you say the Pledge at 8.22pm on 9 August” 58% of the people interviewed said no, while the other 42% said yes.

This has really got me thinking. How many of us Singaporeans would actually stop our activities for 30 seconds just to renew our vows for Singapore? Not many, I presume. Also, how many people can actually say the Pledge word-for-word without stumbling? All of us should take the pledge seriously. It doesn’t rake much out of us to pause for a mere 30 seconds to remind ourselves how lucky we are to be citizens of this progressive and happy nation.

If you are too shy as to stand up and say the Pledge, do not think of it as something awkward. Just think of it as like giving up your seat for a person in the MRT. You are just imagining the stares, and maybe, people might be envious of you! So go on, prove me wrong.

Day 5 e- learning

2009-07-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

By creating the casino, a money-maker and a job creator to me, I think it would be helpful in Singapore after a careful decision by the government.

After interviewing my parents for his views, I got mixed reactions from them. My Father said that by building the casino, it would create many job opportunities for the citizens of Singapore and boost our Gross Domestic Product( a rate on how the country is doing on their economy) thus, boost our economy as there is much more cash. Also, the workers in the casino will be able to receive a stable income from the casino, thus, there is a sense of stability for their families. By building the casino, it would also promote tourism and thus, more tourism and more cash flowing in to the government. Tourists from Indonesia had to go to Genting to gamble, but now they can come to Singapore to gamble. Not only that, but he also said that more tourist will look forward coming to Singapore for a tour and go to the casino for a spin of luck. This will create more money from the casino, and thus, the government will get all the money, reducing our loads on the taxes and the Electronic Road Pricing.

My mother, on the other hand, said that by by building the casino, it will also cause some harm to Singaporeans. A quote from the National Council and Problem Gambling said,"20 years ago, only just a handful of women were gambling, but now, almost half are female." This shows they there are more gambling addicts in the entire world. Not only that, psychologist Paul Goods from Atlanta even said," Women gamble to escape their routine everyday lives." Women and men are getting more addicted to gambling and this is a problem which will be happening in Singapore. More men will get addicted to the casino and they will have a broken family, ruining their family because of a man’s foolishness to gamble for once and get addicted forever.

To summerise, I feel that building the casino is like a double-edged sword. As there are advantages, there are disadvantages. As a Singaporean, I feel that this casino would boost Singapore's economy. But one must measure the pros and cons of every situation. It all boils down to self-discipline. Self-discipline helps people not get addicted. Therefore, as long as addiction to gambling is scarce, I will generally support gambling.

E-learning lesson 2-My favourite author

2009-06-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

Ezra Pound advanced the work of major contemporaries such as W. B. Yeats, Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, Marianne Moore, H. D., James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, and especially T. S. Eliot, with generosity. He is generally considered the poet most responsible for defining and promoting a modernist aesthetic in poetry. His personal significant contributions to poetry begin with his promulgation of Imagism, a movement in poetry which derived its technique from classical Chinese and Japanese poetry, which stressed clarity, precision, and economy of language, and foregoing traditional rhyme and meter in order to, in Pound's words, "compose in the sequence of the musical phrase, not in the sequence of the metronome."

Brought up in Wyncote, Philadelphia, Ezra Pound was born in Hailey, Idaho. His father has worked as an assistant assayer at the US Mint. Going to a military school, Cheltenham, at the age of twelve, Ezra Pound was introduced to Greek and Latin. He then moved on to study languages at the University of Pennsylvania, and befriended William Carlos Williams (1883-1963), who gained later fame as a poet in New York's avant-garde circles. He had a brief teaching stint, which was cut short when he entertained an actress in his rom. A year later, Ezra Pound moved on to become a journalist, travelling widely in Europe.

I really enjoy reading his poems as they all contain some slang language and they are mostly about the sea. Reading his poems, I can feel his joy, anger, exasperation, as if I am standing next to him, with the salty breeze in my face. His poems evoke emotions in me when I read his poems, and I have a fresh inspiration for my blog. He has cured me of my writer’s block!

Sources: poets.org
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/epound.htm

Poems done by him:

The River-Merchant's Wife: A Letter
by Ezra Pound

While my hair was still cut straight across my forehead I played about the front gate, pulling flowers. You came by on bamboo stilts, playing horse, You walked about my seat, playing with blue plums. And we went on living in the village of Chokan: Two small people, without dislike or suspicion. At fourteen I married My Lord you. I never laughed, being bashful. Lowering my head, I looked at the wall. Called to, a thousand times, I never looked back. At fifteen I stopped scowling, I desired my dust to be mingled with yours Forever and forever and forever. Why should I climb the look out? At sixteen you departed, You went into far Ku-to-yen, by the river of swirling eddies, And you have been gone five months. The monkeys make sorrowful noise overhead. You dragged your feet when you went out. By the gate now, the moss is grown, the different mosses, Too deep to clear them away! The leaves fall early this autumn, in wind. The paired butterflies are already yellow with August Over the grass in the West garden; They hurt me. I grow older. If you are coming down through the narrows of the river Kiang, Please let me know beforehand, And I will come out to meet you As far as Cho-fu-Sa. By Rihaku

Ballad of the Goodly Fere
by Ezra Pound

Simon Zelotes speaking after the Crucifixion. Fere=Mate, Companion. Ha' we lost the goodliest fere o' all For the priests and the gallows tree? Aye lover he was of brawny men, O' ships and the open sea. When they came wi' a host to take Our Man His smile was good to see, "First let these go!" quo' our Goodly Fere, "Or I'll see ye damned," says he. Aye he sent us out through the crossed high spears And the scorn of his laugh rang free, "Why took ye not me when I walked about Alone in the town?" says he. Oh we drank his "Hale" in the good red wine When we last made company, No capon priest was the Goodly Fere But a man o' men was he. I ha' seen him drive a hundred men Wi' a bundle o' cords swung free, That they took the high and holy house For their pawn and treasury. They'll no' get him a' in a book I think Though they write it cunningly; No mouse of the scrolls was the Goodly Fere But aye loved the open sea. If they think they ha' snared our Goodly Fere They are fools to the last degree. "I'll go to the feast," quo' our Goodly Fere, "Though I go to the gallows tree." "Ye ha' seen me heal the lame and blind, And wake the dead," says he, "Ye shall see one thing to master all: 'Tis how a brave man dies on the tree." A son of God was the Goodly Fere That bade us his brothers be. I ha' seen him cow a thousand men. I have seen him upon the tree. He cried no cry when they drave the nails And the blood gushed hot and free, The hounds of the crimson sky gave tongue But never a cry cried he. I ha' seen him cow a thousand men On the hills o' Galilee, They whined as he walked out calm between, Wi' his eyes like the grey o' the sea, Like the sea that brooks no voyaging With the winds unleashed and free, Like the sea that he cowed at Genseret Wi' twey words spoke' suddently. A master of men was the Goodly Fere, A mate of the wind and sea, If they think they ha' slain our Goodly Fere They are fools eternally. I ha' seen him eat o' the honey-comb Sin' they nailed him to the tree.

Canto I
by Ezra Pound

And then went down to the ship, Set keel to breakers, forth on the godly sea, and We set up mast and sail on that swart ship, Bore sheep aboard her, and our bodies also Heavy with weeping, so winds from sternward Bore us out onward with bellying canvas, Circe's this craft, the trim-coifed goddess. Then sat we amidships, wind jamming the tiller, Thus with stretched sail, we went over sea till day's end. Sun to his slumber, shadows o'er all the ocean, Came we then to the bounds of deepest water, To the Kimmerian lands, and peopled cities Covered with close-webbed mist, unpierced ever With glitter of sun-rays Nor with stars stretched, nor looking back from heaven Swartest night stretched over wretched men there. The ocean flowing backward, came we then to the place Aforesaid by Circe. Here did they rites, Perimedes and Eurylochus, And drawing sword from my hip I dug the ell-square pitkin; Poured we libations unto each the dead, First mead and then sweet wine, water mixed with white flour. Then prayed I many a prayer to the sickly death's-head; As set in Ithaca, sterile bulls of the best For sacrifice, heaping the pyre with goods, A sheep to Tiresias only, black and a bell-sheep. Dark blood flowed in the fosse, Souls out of Erebus, cadaverous dead, of brides Of youths and at the old who had borne much; Souls stained with recent tears, girls tender, Men many, mauled with bronze lance heads, Battle spoil, bearing yet dreory arms, These many crowded about me; with shouting, Pallor upon me, cried to my men for more beasts; Slaughtered the heards, sheep slain of bronze; Poured ointment, cried to the gods, To Pluto the strong, and praised Proserpine; Unsheathed the narrow sword, I sat to keep off the impetuous impotent dead, Till I should hear Tiresias. But first Elpenor came, our friend Elpenor, Unburied, cast on the wide earth, Limbs that we left in the house of Circe, Unwept, unwrapped in sepulchre, since toils urged other. Pitiful spirit. And I cried in hurried speech: "Elpenor, how art thou come to this dark coast? Cam'st thou afoot, outstripping seamen?" And he in heavy speech: "Ill fate and abundant wine. I slept in Circe's ingle. Going down the long ladder unguarded, I fell against the buttress, Shattered the nape-nerve, the soul sought Avernus. But thou, O King, I bid remember me, unwept, unburied, Heap up mine arms, be tomb by sea-bord, and inscribed: A man of no fortune, and with a name to come. And set my oar up, that I swung mid fellows." And Anticlea came, whom I beat off, and then Tiresias Theban, Holding his golden wand, knew me, and spoke first: "A second time? why? man of ill star, Facing the sunless dead and this joyless region? Stand from the fosse, leave me my bloody bever For soothsay." And I stepped back, And he stong with the blood, said then: "Odysseus Shalt return through spiteful Neptune, over dark seas, Lose all companions." And then Anticlea came. Lie quiet Divus. I mean, that is Andreas Divus, In officina Wecheli, 1538, out of Homer. And he sailed, by Sirens and thence outward and away And unto Circe. Venerandam, In the Creatan's phrase, with the golden crown, Aphrodite, Cypri munimenta sortita est, mirthful, orichalchi, with golden Girdles and breast bands, thou with dark eyelids Bearing the golden bough of Argicida. So that:

Home learning 1

2009-06-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

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 had
and 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-gouging
in 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's
that 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.

How are the figurative language used in the poem? Give the specific word(s), explain what type of figurative language it is and why the poet chose to use this figurative language?

"he didn't leave much to Ma and me,just this old guitar and a bottle of booze." This is a hyperbole that shows how little the Father cares about the author and his mother. It may also show that their family are very poor.

"I had to fight my whole life through" This is a metaphor that show how difficult the protagonist's life is, that he has to 'fight' throughout his life.

"At an old saloon in a street of mud" Another hyperbole, showing what a dilapidated town that was.

"I knew that snake was my own sweet dad"Another metaphor, claiming that his father is like a snake, cold-blooded, cruel, unfeeling.

Tell us why you like this poem in no less than 100 words.

I like this poem as this is a very heartwarming story of a boy who grew up hating his father for naming him “Sue” which is a girl’s name. The boy was constantly mocked by people for having such a name, and thought his father named his father named him “Sue” just for laughs and he ended up growing up beating up people who laughed at his name. Hence, he was tougher and made a vow to kill his father. This storyline is not realistic, but I feel that the author has managed to make the story realistic. There is also a vivid description of action and the reader feels very involved in the story.

My First Semester in Bukit Timah

2009-05-25T19:11:00.000-07:00

I just completed my first semester in a school which name is of little or no importance. The first term was quite okay; just that I could not even tell where the exit was for the first week! Being a freshman in that school, I thought that I would be unable to ‘fit in’. I soon found many good friends. We enjoyed playing together and staying back. In term 1, we were very slack as the teachers did not give us any homework.

I thought that the next term would be the same, and the terms after that.

Then, term II came
.
.
.

IT WAS HORRIBLE

Right at the start, the ‘meek’ teachers turned into ferocious lions, snapping at us over the slightest matters. Homework came by the mountains, and CCA commitments spiked.

I felt tired
I felt sad
I felt like giving up
.
.
.

Then, my teachers finally cut us some slack. We were given a breather. For a while, things were starting to seem like Term I. Suddenly, I realized. Projects’ Day! My group and I had completely forgotten about it! We were mugging up till the very night until the prelims. We were doomed.

To cut a long story short, WE PASSED!!! I did not even know how we passed, but a pass is a pass, no matter how small a pass.

That’s my BRIEF story about my 6 months in this school which name is of little or no importance.

Thinking about Thinking

2009-03-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

I sat on my bed and thought about this when I was still a small child. How can I think? Is there a mind for everybody, or is there a different mind? Can everybody think about the same thing, feel the same thing, as me? As a child, I was deeply intrigued by these questions.
So, I decided to explore. I went to my parent’s room and asked them to think about something, and tried to tell them what they were thinking. It failed. However, as the years progressed, I gave the topic more thought.
I often thought about if there were someone exactly like me, in a reverse world, where everything was the direct opposite. I got this thought as I was watching a cartoon, where a boy shrank himself so much that he sort of turned the world ”inside out” and the world he’s in seemed so real, but in fact there are totally different and opposite, where he was a ‘winner’ in that world, and a ‘loser’ in the real world.
Another intriguing thought is of giants. Yes, this may sound childish, but I was a child then. Everyone has heard of the story ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ and at that time, I really thought that there were giants, up in the clouds. Now, I think the opposite, that we are giants and that there are small people (refer to previous paragraph).
It is quite mind-blowing how small thoughts like these could snowball into such a great topic to discuss. Yes, there are indeed many mysteries, both big and small yet to be solved.
My mind has been truly blown.

Philosophy-FOOTBALL

2009-03-05T04:12:00.000-08:00

After the shock(not really) loss of all 3 points against Middlesbrough, I really feel that Liverpool should do something about their manager, and their style of playing. The loss at Middlesbrough should be a wake up call to the off-form Liverpool. Personally, I feel that Rafa Benitez should be the one to blame for Liverpool's shaky defense. Sorry Liverpool fans, this is what I believe, that Rafa's stupid. He wastes so much of the club's money buying players, but in the end, he deploys them out of their positions. Rafa is the main source of blame for Liverpool's confidence crisis. I feel that there has to be actions taken against Rafa.
"If you ask me, Rafa Benitez must be a stupid man because he doesn't seem to understand that his rotation policy doesn't work when everyone else's does. "
-Laura Davies, Golfer

Now, let's talk about psychology.
Liverpool has not kept a clean sheet in the Premiership since their win over Chelsea LAST MONTH. I feel that this has strongly dented their egos. Form being the top of the table, they have dropped to third place. Now, I feel that even the players are sure that their title hopes are shattered, and they are not playing to their highest potential.

I have only this to say...BUCK UP! LIVERPOOL!

2nd principal's dialogue

2009-02-16T01:53:00.001-08:00

Today we had a dialogue with the principal, Dr Hon about the topic of bullying. We've heard many interesting yet disturbing accounts of bullies and victims. One disturbing account is from Philman(sorry if i got his name wrong), about the on-going "war" between him an his classmates. Yes, it can be said that we are sadists to laugh at something as grave as bullying, but the way the people put it... we can't help but laugh. We also heard one idiot using Dr Hon's name to cite an example. He even called Dr Hon a 肥人!!! As Hwa Chong gentlemen, I feel that we should respect our elders, especially Dr Hon, example or no example. We also heard one confession made by the chairman of the dialogue about him being an "unintentional bully."
Well, I too have a confession to make, although this is not bullying, its just the "victim" being too sensitive. Let me tell you what really happened...

There was this guy in my class who sucks up to my teachers alot. In front of the teachers, he is the perfect student, behind the teachers, he is the perfect demon. In front of the teachers, he calls himself "nerd", in front of us, he calls himself "emo". All og us hate him and he is a cast out...a "lone ranger". But I think he is downright gay. He feigns colour-blindness just to gain sympathy and cries whenever he gets into trouble.(This is just the tip of the iceberg!!)
So one day, when his Mont Blanc pen goes missing, he blindly accused ME of stealing it! ME!!!
All I did was call him "nerd" (trust me, there are lots more words I wish to call him) and he went crying to his mother!!
Now, you tell me...is this bullying...?
(up till now he still blames me)

The Taximan's story

2009-02-14T01:31:00.001-08:00

1.Irony in the Story

Throughout the story, the taxi man keeps lamenting on how the youth nowadays are behaving. He gives many examples, one of which concerns his daughter, Lay Choo. With this, the taxi man is trying to impress upon us that he does not like the teenagers nowadays and neither should we. BUT, towards the end of the story, he refers to the teenagers as a good source of money, and that they are a good thing. In the last sentence, he even goes to where the teenagers usually hang out to pick them up and earn money. I feel that this is the irony in the story.

2.The Themes raised in the story

There are many themes in the story but I feel strongly about one particular theme. That theme is "Money makes the world go round." It's like the irony in the story, with the taxi man looking to the teenagers for money. Other infamous examples are Taiwan's Chen Shui Bian and Thailand's Taksin. Money is not THAT important, so I feel that as human beings, we should not fall into the temptation of money.

3.How realistic is this story

This question has many contridicting points. Firstly, a NORMAL person would not tell anyone about his presonal life, let alone to a complete stranger you meet on your taxi. However, the story depicts the average Sinagporean-vulgar, money-minded and sometimes poorly educated.(no malice intended) So, I will sit on the fence for this question.

Q4. What do you think of the taximan? Do you feel sympathy for him?/Q6. What about the other characters in the story? Do you feel sympathy for them?

I actually feel sorry for the taxi man. Like any other parent, he only wants the best for his children, more so for Lay Choo, his brightest and smartest daughter. So, he is working extra hard to get her to university, but there she is, flirting with the European tourists when she is supposed to"stay back in school to study". I feel for the taxi man, as no parent wants their child to go astray.

5.Do you agree with his lamenting?
I agree with his lementing as teenagers nowadays are REALLY doing such acts. I feel that they should be concentrating on their studies as schools in Singapore are more and more competitive. They can also proper utilise their time by spending more time with their family and bond with them more.

ACE-DIARY OF THE MENTALLY CHALLENGED(no offence intended)

2009-02-06T22:17:00.000-08:00

deer diary,
i has been very puzled 2day. i god a leter sayin tat i has been chosn 2 b a test subjet. wad dos it meen. the leter tell me go 2 hospitil where is tat. after i go tere(i had 2 find my way tere a long time) i show a nures tha leter n she say folow me so i folo her. we go into a room with lot of picturs. i say what we do here n she say wait 4 tha dorcter so i waited
den tha dorcter came n show me cards. he said this is a raw schorch test tell me wad u see in tha pictur. i told him wad pictur thers only balck spots on tha cards n he said u hav 2 imagine tha picturs out. but tats lying i say thers only black spots n teacher say cannot say lies. den he got angy and shouted y did he shout i just told him tha plain truth.
after that i went back home n watch tha tv. thers some people dancing n i tryed 2 folow dem. i nockd down lots stuff n i put dem back. den i feel sleepy n i went 2 sleep but i forgot 2 off tha tv so i couldnt sleep.i went to off the tv so i can sleep agin.
goodnite,diary
charlie

My computer went blank, The class computer went BOOM

2009-01-23T18:03:00.000-08:00

Today, all the teachers came into class requesting for the computer to be turned on. It couldn't. So, the 2 AV reps, played around with the wires. Suddenly, it went BOOM! (It didn't explode, just the sound) Although its not funny, the whole class was lauginng. The next day, our assistant director of consortium, Ms Giam, came into class to ask about the computer. The AV reps explained that the voltage was too high or low(I don't remember, I wasn't really listening)

Computer Crashed

2009-01-23T17:59:00.000-08:00

I know that I haven't been posting for quite some time. My computer has crashed. So all the posts you are seeing may not have the correct date.(I am posting them all over again)