Hey yo! I am back with much more awesomeness to share with you. What am I sharing? NEWS! Yes! We have been doing some mass reading lately and now it is time to throw some facts and opinions in your faces. Are you guys ready? Today, the news will be on the phone hacking scandal in UK that has became worldwide news. Read all of it here: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2085875,00.html OR http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2082991,00.html
Right, so do you guys think this news media, or The News of the World should be blamed for all these unhealthy paparazzi culture? Well, they went to the extremes to get such sensational news, so to a small extent, I can agree that this media is at fault of causing such a trouble with their inhuman ways of invading other people's privacy. I mean, would you want your private life totally revealed to the public? Absolutely not!(Unless you happen to be crazy) Well then, The News of the World has done just that, hacking into people's phones and finding out their secrets. The main aim? Well, to attract readers and to make more money of course! Think about it! They are making other people lose their privacy and dignity simply for the selfish reason of making more cash. This is completely outrageous and thus they should be blamed for it.
However, we ourselves play a part too, so we cannot entirely throw the matter at the news media. What is the other reason that The News of the World continue to hack into people's phone for sensational news? Well, we are the readers, so obviously we are the curious crew who actually wanted to read and buy the newspaper simply because we want to know of other people's private lives. We are the contributing factor to the continuity of this scandal. In the first place, when such a thing had happened, we were so curious that we did not bother to protest and in fact, we were supporting it by continuing to buy the newspaper. We should have done otherwise like giving feedback to the news media and telling them that such behaviour is considered unacceptable and morally wrong. Thus, the people can also be blamed for the continuity of such scandal.
The government is also to be blamed. When the scandal broke out, the government did nothing and took a neutral stand. They are afraid to take action against the news media as the news media have the ability to write bad things about them in their news and thus cause the image of the government to be destroyed. This will cause the trust between the government and the people to be broken and may lead to unrest in the country. In fact, the government should have shown more courage to deal with situations like this and take action against the news media. But as they are afraid of losing their good image, they decided to be a "bystander".
Wow that is a lot of "analysing". Well, we are supposed to look at things from different perspectives since the cause of events is not always made by one particular party. All have a part to play to finally form a concluded outcome. With all that, I shall sign off with awesomeness. May more posts come your way!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Merchant Of Venice: Justice VS Mercy
(Publishing of posts are still working fine, though it make take about a day or more for them to show up after I press the "Publish Post" button. Phew!)
Hello again people. I have come from the Elizabeth Times and is here to lecture future people like you who greatly take things for granted. Who am I? I am KING Elizabeth! I am the husband of Queen Elizabeth. So, I have come here to talk about JUSTICE!!!(Epic music playing in background) And MERCY!!!(Another epic music playing) Well, this two things are very different, especially in the past, where such things can be easily manipulated by those in power.
As we are going to discuss, the Merchant of Venice trial scene. Is there true justice? Well, in this case, true justice means receiving what one deserves. In Merchant of Venice, there is not really much justice at first, since Antonio manages to escape punishment. He had forfeited the bond between Shylock and him, and Shylock deserves to get his pound of flesh. But because the Christians were in power, they have the means to twist and change the law anytime they want. Shylock was then trapped in the logic of wanting his pound of flesh without spilling a drop of blood, under the intelligent "management" of the trial by Portia. True justice was then not shown since Shylock was denied of it simply because he is a Jew. Then again, there is still true justice when Shylock was punished and made to lose half of his property and to convert to Christian. This is mainly because he failed to show mercy when he was given the chance and pressed on for justice. When he failed to be able to get a pound of flesh without spilling a drop of blood, his plan backfired on him and he got punished as a result. That just go to show how a person not showing mercy will eventually cause justice to be implemented on him.
Now, in the case of true mercy shown by Portia(Christians, to be exact), well, in the first place, we will take it that there is no true mercy shown to Shylock when he failed to get his pound of flesh. We may be thinking that the Christians are asking way too much from him, wanting half of his possessions donated and forcing him to convert to Christian. They may just as well take his life. We ended up pitying Shylock and thought maybe he should have gotten his pound of flesh after all. Then again, we thought maybe mercy has been shown to Shylock, simply because the punishment he received is considered as rather "light" and "lenient" simply because he had wanted Antonio's life in the first place. His cold hearted personality shown to Antonio means that he ought to have receive a much more heavy sentence since he rightfully deserves it. Yet then the punishment is only to take away half of his possessions and ti convert to Christian. This sort of punishment is much more justified than death.
As those times imply, the people in power have the ability and rights to manipulate the laws. Sure, it is totally unfair, but do do the rest of the people have the choice to rebel? In those times, the Christians were in power, mainly because there is a larger number of them. The Jews were forced to follow the laws and rules set by the Christians, but they also received unfair treatment as the law always goes in favour of the Christians. But that is what life is about. Nothing is fair in this world. A current example will be the global scandal rape case of Nafissatou Diallo by Strauss-Kahn. Well, Strauss-Kahn is supposedly charged for raping Diallo at a hotel in New York. But because Diallo is an African American, and because her background and status are considerably low class compared to that of Strauss-Kahn, who is about to become the president of France, the charges were waved off and denied. This just goes to show how the people in power(considerably the French or the Whites), have the ability to "control" the so-called weaker people(considerably the Blacks) by manipulating the law or changing it.
To sum things up, I will say that true justice and mercy is very subjective to judge. It all depends on the situation we are dealing with whose point of view we are looking from. At the same time, the world is an unfair place where people in power get to get away with crimes since the law is in favour of them. This all goes down to selfishness and racism.
With that, I shall close this post, with another epic music playing! May more posts come your way! Oh, here's a video you can watch about the case of DSK and the maid. Sorry, embedding has been disabled by the uploader so I can't post the video itself here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q5GtWWI85U
Hello again people. I have come from the Elizabeth Times and is here to lecture future people like you who greatly take things for granted. Who am I? I am KING Elizabeth! I am the husband of Queen Elizabeth. So, I have come here to talk about JUSTICE!!!(Epic music playing in background) And MERCY!!!(Another epic music playing) Well, this two things are very different, especially in the past, where such things can be easily manipulated by those in power.
As we are going to discuss, the Merchant of Venice trial scene. Is there true justice? Well, in this case, true justice means receiving what one deserves. In Merchant of Venice, there is not really much justice at first, since Antonio manages to escape punishment. He had forfeited the bond between Shylock and him, and Shylock deserves to get his pound of flesh. But because the Christians were in power, they have the means to twist and change the law anytime they want. Shylock was then trapped in the logic of wanting his pound of flesh without spilling a drop of blood, under the intelligent "management" of the trial by Portia. True justice was then not shown since Shylock was denied of it simply because he is a Jew. Then again, there is still true justice when Shylock was punished and made to lose half of his property and to convert to Christian. This is mainly because he failed to show mercy when he was given the chance and pressed on for justice. When he failed to be able to get a pound of flesh without spilling a drop of blood, his plan backfired on him and he got punished as a result. That just go to show how a person not showing mercy will eventually cause justice to be implemented on him.
Now, in the case of true mercy shown by Portia(Christians, to be exact), well, in the first place, we will take it that there is no true mercy shown to Shylock when he failed to get his pound of flesh. We may be thinking that the Christians are asking way too much from him, wanting half of his possessions donated and forcing him to convert to Christian. They may just as well take his life. We ended up pitying Shylock and thought maybe he should have gotten his pound of flesh after all. Then again, we thought maybe mercy has been shown to Shylock, simply because the punishment he received is considered as rather "light" and "lenient" simply because he had wanted Antonio's life in the first place. His cold hearted personality shown to Antonio means that he ought to have receive a much more heavy sentence since he rightfully deserves it. Yet then the punishment is only to take away half of his possessions and ti convert to Christian. This sort of punishment is much more justified than death.
As those times imply, the people in power have the ability and rights to manipulate the laws. Sure, it is totally unfair, but do do the rest of the people have the choice to rebel? In those times, the Christians were in power, mainly because there is a larger number of them. The Jews were forced to follow the laws and rules set by the Christians, but they also received unfair treatment as the law always goes in favour of the Christians. But that is what life is about. Nothing is fair in this world. A current example will be the global scandal rape case of Nafissatou Diallo by Strauss-Kahn. Well, Strauss-Kahn is supposedly charged for raping Diallo at a hotel in New York. But because Diallo is an African American, and because her background and status are considerably low class compared to that of Strauss-Kahn, who is about to become the president of France, the charges were waved off and denied. This just goes to show how the people in power(considerably the French or the Whites), have the ability to "control" the so-called weaker people(considerably the Blacks) by manipulating the law or changing it.
To sum things up, I will say that true justice and mercy is very subjective to judge. It all depends on the situation we are dealing with whose point of view we are looking from. At the same time, the world is an unfair place where people in power get to get away with crimes since the law is in favour of them. This all goes down to selfishness and racism.
With that, I shall close this post, with another epic music playing! May more posts come your way! Oh, here's a video you can watch about the case of DSK and the maid. Sorry, embedding has been disabled by the uploader so I can't post the video itself here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q5GtWWI85U
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Secondary 4 Open Letter To Mr Heng: My Response
(WARNING: MY BLOG HAS SOME PROBLEMS. WHATEVER POSTS I PUBLISHED TAKE ABOUT A DAY FOR THEM TO SHOW UP ON MY BLOG. PLEASE BE PATIENT.)
(Finally manage to publish this after a few hundred tries. Have to delete some old random posts made last year.)
Hello again humans! This is subject 2O301 from outer space. Please stay calm as we come down to your planet Earth to throw facts at you. What sort of facts? Well, particular in Singapore, do you think there ought to be a change of the education system right now? I heard lots of cries of appreciation and support from you guys right now. Hmm...... I love this sort of attention. Now people, there is this student who wrote to the Education Minister, Mr Heng. It sounded like a letter of complain to me. Well, she stated the flaws in Singapore's education system. Read the whole letter for yourself here: http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/07/12/an-open-letter-to-the-education-minister-from-a-secondary-4-student/
Now, I would definitely agree with her points that Singapore had mistaken success in education as just simply memorising and not by clear understanding.
At this current moment, her tone in the letter is still considered okay, most of the times being very polite. However, there were times where she sounded rather irritated(maybe she is too worked up XD), and the way she phrased her words made me think she is throwing the facts in Mr Heng's face as though it is all his fault. I guess she need to calm down a bit more as in this case, she is the one who is asking for a favour.
It will be no good if she offended the person she is seeking attention from. In fact, she mentioned she took about 2 hours to type that letter, which means she typed it all in one go. During this time, she must have typed while she think and well, she might be in a frustrated state. What I feel is that she should have planned out her points, evidence and elaborations first, and then slowly piece together what she wants to say bit by bit in a polite manner.
For me, I myself have a few points to 'throw' at the minister. Well, what I feel is that currently, a student is mostly judged by his or her performance during examinations. Yep, just that few hours of sitting down in a classroom and writing answers will be how a teacher will access and define your capability, instead of that few hundred days of school that will have been much more meaningful. I mean, how can you judge a person based on examinations? This sort of method may not really be fair as the student may be feeling very nervous during examinations and thus will not do well for it which will affect the end result.
To be honest, that is what's happening to me right now. The moment I enter an examination, my mind just goes blank for no apparent reason. In fact, I will really appreciate if the education system can a judge a student based on everyday performance, or at least make it 50% everyday performance and 50% examinations. This will things much more logical in a sense that a student can learn in a much more stress-free environment which will result in much more efficient learning.
Well, I guess that greatly concludes my points. And since life now is so stress, here is a video to release your stress into the wild. Have fun and may more posts come your way!
(Finally manage to publish this after a few hundred tries. Have to delete some old random posts made last year.)
Hello again humans! This is subject 2O301 from outer space. Please stay calm as we come down to your planet Earth to throw facts at you. What sort of facts? Well, particular in Singapore, do you think there ought to be a change of the education system right now? I heard lots of cries of appreciation and support from you guys right now. Hmm...... I love this sort of attention. Now people, there is this student who wrote to the Education Minister, Mr Heng. It sounded like a letter of complain to me. Well, she stated the flaws in Singapore's education system. Read the whole letter for yourself here: http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/07/12/an-open-letter-to-the-education-minister-from-a-secondary-4-student/
Now, I would definitely agree with her points that Singapore had mistaken success in education as just simply memorising and not by clear understanding.
At this current moment, her tone in the letter is still considered okay, most of the times being very polite. However, there were times where she sounded rather irritated(maybe she is too worked up XD), and the way she phrased her words made me think she is throwing the facts in Mr Heng's face as though it is all his fault. I guess she need to calm down a bit more as in this case, she is the one who is asking for a favour.
It will be no good if she offended the person she is seeking attention from. In fact, she mentioned she took about 2 hours to type that letter, which means she typed it all in one go. During this time, she must have typed while she think and well, she might be in a frustrated state. What I feel is that she should have planned out her points, evidence and elaborations first, and then slowly piece together what she wants to say bit by bit in a polite manner.
For me, I myself have a few points to 'throw' at the minister. Well, what I feel is that currently, a student is mostly judged by his or her performance during examinations. Yep, just that few hours of sitting down in a classroom and writing answers will be how a teacher will access and define your capability, instead of that few hundred days of school that will have been much more meaningful. I mean, how can you judge a person based on examinations? This sort of method may not really be fair as the student may be feeling very nervous during examinations and thus will not do well for it which will affect the end result.
To be honest, that is what's happening to me right now. The moment I enter an examination, my mind just goes blank for no apparent reason. In fact, I will really appreciate if the education system can a judge a student based on everyday performance, or at least make it 50% everyday performance and 50% examinations. This will things much more logical in a sense that a student can learn in a much more stress-free environment which will result in much more efficient learning.
Well, I guess that greatly concludes my points. And since life now is so stress, here is a video to release your stress into the wild. Have fun and may more posts come your way!
Money, A Key Element In Relationship?
Hello there humanoids! This is KCYF, your lecturer for today! Today, we shall have a topic on ROMANCE! Wait, not that! I don't have any experience with that. So, our topic for today will be RELATIONSHIP! Make much more sense to me but I still don't have any experience. Oh well, I guess I will just give what I think of it and well, we have the Internet to help us (though I am not really going to be using that)! So, speaking of relationships, people often speak of MONEY! Yep! I feel rich! $v$ Haha, as if I am rich. Well, is money important in a relationship? We shall soon find out. To be fair, I will be presenting this from both sides. That means I will be neutral to this whole discussion.
So, first up, money is important in a relationship. Money is considered as the root of everything. You need money to be able to do the things you want and to be able to hold up your head in public. Without it, you are just considered as a loser in other people's eyes. To be exact, you need money with you all the time. In this whole new world, money is the only thing that buys most of what you want. It is a source of luxury and happiness(most of the time).
Money problem is usually why couples break up. The husband is unable to earn enough to cater to the needs of his family, and that causes arguments. With arguments come cold and tensed relationships. This will eventually drive the couple to their limits until they eventually break up. For people who are yet to marry, they will usually look at each other and ask: Will I really be happy if I am to be with him/her forever? At first it might be yes. But after looking at each other's finances, one realised that their requirements cannot be met, and that they will not live happily ever after. This cause them to feel sorry that they have met in the first place and thus they broke up.
Geez, I cannot believe money matters so much. To start a family, of course you need a lot of money. But that is not what the couples meant. They wanted money simply because they just want to have an easy-going life and not one with lots of hardships.
Next up, we have money being not important for relationships. As they always say, money is not everything. Wealth does not always bring all the happiness in the world. In fact, money can even backfire on you. If you are way too rich, people may kidnap you and make you give them a large sum of money so that they can let you go.
People often mistake the fact that money allows marriages to be a happy one. But there are also many people who got married and live happily ever after. Money should not always get in the way when starting a relationship. In fact, what people should be looking at are the qualities and nature of a person. As they say, do not judge a book by its cover. Though a person may look well pampered and groomed, deep down, he may have the heart of a devil. A person that seems to be wearing rags can also be people of great heart and has the ways of a gentleman or a lady.
Overall conclusion, I would say money is supposedly important, but that will have to depend on what the couples really want in life. If they are going to lead those sort of "high" life, then money will be the key thing they need. If they are just going to lead a normal life, that is fulfill their destiny of bringing up their children and see them through university, then money will not be as important.
Of course, there is an upward trend of people preferring money over qualities. I think it is natural. Nowadays, as costs of living become higher, money is needed for everything. As I said before, money is the source to everything. Where will you be if you do not have money? On the streets of course! Though it is wrong to judge a person by his finances, I think there is really not much of a choice. The situation this world is in is seemingly desperate and competitive. Money matters much to the society now.
With that, this post has come to an end. Me, the lecturer requires some rest. May more post come your way! Have fun and be RICH! XD
So, first up, money is important in a relationship. Money is considered as the root of everything. You need money to be able to do the things you want and to be able to hold up your head in public. Without it, you are just considered as a loser in other people's eyes. To be exact, you need money with you all the time. In this whole new world, money is the only thing that buys most of what you want. It is a source of luxury and happiness(most of the time).
Money problem is usually why couples break up. The husband is unable to earn enough to cater to the needs of his family, and that causes arguments. With arguments come cold and tensed relationships. This will eventually drive the couple to their limits until they eventually break up. For people who are yet to marry, they will usually look at each other and ask: Will I really be happy if I am to be with him/her forever? At first it might be yes. But after looking at each other's finances, one realised that their requirements cannot be met, and that they will not live happily ever after. This cause them to feel sorry that they have met in the first place and thus they broke up.
Geez, I cannot believe money matters so much. To start a family, of course you need a lot of money. But that is not what the couples meant. They wanted money simply because they just want to have an easy-going life and not one with lots of hardships.
Next up, we have money being not important for relationships. As they always say, money is not everything. Wealth does not always bring all the happiness in the world. In fact, money can even backfire on you. If you are way too rich, people may kidnap you and make you give them a large sum of money so that they can let you go.
People often mistake the fact that money allows marriages to be a happy one. But there are also many people who got married and live happily ever after. Money should not always get in the way when starting a relationship. In fact, what people should be looking at are the qualities and nature of a person. As they say, do not judge a book by its cover. Though a person may look well pampered and groomed, deep down, he may have the heart of a devil. A person that seems to be wearing rags can also be people of great heart and has the ways of a gentleman or a lady.
Overall conclusion, I would say money is supposedly important, but that will have to depend on what the couples really want in life. If they are going to lead those sort of "high" life, then money will be the key thing they need. If they are just going to lead a normal life, that is fulfill their destiny of bringing up their children and see them through university, then money will not be as important.
Of course, there is an upward trend of people preferring money over qualities. I think it is natural. Nowadays, as costs of living become higher, money is needed for everything. As I said before, money is the source to everything. Where will you be if you do not have money? On the streets of course! Though it is wrong to judge a person by his finances, I think there is really not much of a choice. The situation this world is in is seemingly desperate and competitive. Money matters much to the society now.
With that, this post has come to an end. Me, the lecturer requires some rest. May more post come your way! Have fun and be RICH! XD
Monday, July 4, 2011
War: From History To Now
Well hiya to all of you folks again. Today's post is about war! Yes, WAR!!! All armed and ready and yearning to jump onto the battlefield.
So, this is General Kenneth here briefing you on the timeline of war. As they always say, old man declare war but the young man fought it. So, you are a young man am I right? Are your ready Privates? Then let me bring you to war, from the past to the present!
Date: 499 B.C to 449 B.C
Name: Persian War
In this ancient times, Greeks are not the only people that existed. There are also the Egyptians and other civilisations around the Mediterranean Sea that were developing fast. The most powerful of all was the Persian Empire. Their territory was huge, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Middle East, or the Indus River Valley to be exact. The Greeks were tiny, just a small area at the tip of the Greek peninsula. They used to have a huge territory, but most were conquered by the Persians. Athens sent supplies to help the Greeks in survival.
Such actions caught the attention of the Persians, and they thought the Greeks would be easy to conquer, since they were badly outnumbered. However, the Greeks were incredible warriors. They have highly capable ships, and together with the Spartan Army, the Greeks were a formidable civilisation.
The Persians fought three wars with the Greeks, but they lost it all. Each time, the Persians were convinced that it would be an easy job to conquer the Greeks, yet they lost badly. Xerxes, the Persian King, was furious with the Greek and wanted all of them to be eliminated in the third battle. He was so confident of success that he even asked his slaves to carry his golden throne onto a hillside so he can overlook the war. However, the Greeks were able to burn down the Persian Ships with ease and the Persians were forced to abandon their ships. Those that made it to land were killed by the Spartans. When Xerxes saw this, he quickly fled and ran away.
After the war, the Greeks created the Delian League, a treasury that would allow them to quickly prepare for war.
Date: 1950 to 1953
Name: The Korean War
The Korean War was a war of disagreement over politics. Soon after World War 2, Korea was split along the 38th Parallel, with the Soviets occupying the north and the Americans occupying the south.
Conflict arose as elections could not be held and that created political tensions between the pro-communist and anti-communist, particularly the Soviets and the Americans. North Korea became a communist country and despite reunification negotiations, war broke out on 25th June, 1950. North Korea invaded South Korea, with the support of the Russians. The United Nations(particularly the Americans) quickly came to the aid of the South Koreans. At first, North Korea was winning, pushing South Korea down to the Pusan Perimeter, a small area located at the south of the country. Then a rapid UN counter-offensive drove the North Koreans past the 38th Parallel and almost to the Yalu River. At this point, China came in to aid North Korea. Launching a counter-offensive tactic, South Korea was pushed back to the 38th parallel.
The war ended with an armistice that restored the border between the Koreas near the 38th Parallel and created the Korean Demilitarized Zone, a 4km wide buffer zone between the two Koreas. Though the war ended in 1953, there are still minor outbreaks of fighting today.
Thank you Privates and Corporals and Sergeants and Lieutenants and Captains and Majors and Colonels and General(Oops, I am the General!). Today marks the day you learn of war, I hope you have a fulfilling journey into history.
Now as we can all see, war has developed a lot since history. It is not only the weapons and tactics that changed, the reasons for war have changed too. In the very first place, war is fought for the greed for power, territory and fame. That is in the ancient times. Back in the 18th and 19th century, war happens because of political conflicts and freedom. War certainly exist for purposes like this. Though you may thought, this wars are completely unnecessary, but then, it is this wars that shaped the world we have today. Without it, we may not even have existed. It is the history that defines the present. It is impossible to have the entire world at peace forever. War only requires a little spark for it to ignite.
Though now people are much more wiser to only go to war when we have reached our limits, there are still some that take wars as a problem-solver. Let us hope this people will learn for the better and create world peace for the eternity.
With that, KCYF signing off right here. May more posts come your way! PEACE!
So, this is General Kenneth here briefing you on the timeline of war. As they always say, old man declare war but the young man fought it. So, you are a young man am I right? Are your ready Privates? Then let me bring you to war, from the past to the present!
Date: 499 B.C to 449 B.C
Name: Persian War
In this ancient times, Greeks are not the only people that existed. There are also the Egyptians and other civilisations around the Mediterranean Sea that were developing fast. The most powerful of all was the Persian Empire. Their territory was huge, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Middle East, or the Indus River Valley to be exact. The Greeks were tiny, just a small area at the tip of the Greek peninsula. They used to have a huge territory, but most were conquered by the Persians. Athens sent supplies to help the Greeks in survival.
Such actions caught the attention of the Persians, and they thought the Greeks would be easy to conquer, since they were badly outnumbered. However, the Greeks were incredible warriors. They have highly capable ships, and together with the Spartan Army, the Greeks were a formidable civilisation.
The Persians fought three wars with the Greeks, but they lost it all. Each time, the Persians were convinced that it would be an easy job to conquer the Greeks, yet they lost badly. Xerxes, the Persian King, was furious with the Greek and wanted all of them to be eliminated in the third battle. He was so confident of success that he even asked his slaves to carry his golden throne onto a hillside so he can overlook the war. However, the Greeks were able to burn down the Persian Ships with ease and the Persians were forced to abandon their ships. Those that made it to land were killed by the Spartans. When Xerxes saw this, he quickly fled and ran away.
After the war, the Greeks created the Delian League, a treasury that would allow them to quickly prepare for war.
Date: 1950 to 1953
Name: The Korean War
The Korean War was a war of disagreement over politics. Soon after World War 2, Korea was split along the 38th Parallel, with the Soviets occupying the north and the Americans occupying the south.
Conflict arose as elections could not be held and that created political tensions between the pro-communist and anti-communist, particularly the Soviets and the Americans. North Korea became a communist country and despite reunification negotiations, war broke out on 25th June, 1950. North Korea invaded South Korea, with the support of the Russians. The United Nations(particularly the Americans) quickly came to the aid of the South Koreans. At first, North Korea was winning, pushing South Korea down to the Pusan Perimeter, a small area located at the south of the country. Then a rapid UN counter-offensive drove the North Koreans past the 38th Parallel and almost to the Yalu River. At this point, China came in to aid North Korea. Launching a counter-offensive tactic, South Korea was pushed back to the 38th parallel.
The war ended with an armistice that restored the border between the Koreas near the 38th Parallel and created the Korean Demilitarized Zone, a 4km wide buffer zone between the two Koreas. Though the war ended in 1953, there are still minor outbreaks of fighting today.
Thank you Privates and Corporals and Sergeants and Lieutenants and Captains and Majors and Colonels and General(Oops, I am the General!). Today marks the day you learn of war, I hope you have a fulfilling journey into history.
Now as we can all see, war has developed a lot since history. It is not only the weapons and tactics that changed, the reasons for war have changed too. In the very first place, war is fought for the greed for power, territory and fame. That is in the ancient times. Back in the 18th and 19th century, war happens because of political conflicts and freedom. War certainly exist for purposes like this. Though you may thought, this wars are completely unnecessary, but then, it is this wars that shaped the world we have today. Without it, we may not even have existed. It is the history that defines the present. It is impossible to have the entire world at peace forever. War only requires a little spark for it to ignite.
Though now people are much more wiser to only go to war when we have reached our limits, there are still some that take wars as a problem-solver. Let us hope this people will learn for the better and create world peace for the eternity.
With that, KCYF signing off right here. May more posts come your way! PEACE!
Should I Be A Part of War? (The Soldier by Rupert Brooke)
It is war again in the history of mankind! Prepare for destruction! Nah. There is no war, just rookie soldier. Another random poem again, to be analysed and reflected on. You can cut out that part about analyse. I just put it there for the cool sound of it. So, here we have, the poem itself, which is so easily found on the web. Sadly, we do not have the writer himself to come back from he dead to read it for us.
The Soldier by Rupert Brooke
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
Goodness gracious me! This guy really loves his country eh? Well, you can see the patriotism he portrayed in his poem. Now, what did I say I am suppose to do again? Nothing? Oh good! Then let's commence this post to a close. I am getting tired of this work. So, goodbye. (Reader attempts to look at the top of the post and see what work was suppose to be done. Kenneth whacks the reader on the head.) Haha! Don't try to make me remember what I am suppose to do. Aargh! You already did. Oh well, so for the reflection......
Now, we will need young man in Singapore to do National Service which is considered as highly compulsory. To be exact, it is 100% compulsory or you are dead! Hmm......wonder why the government emphasize so strongly on this point. Well, I guess it all leads down to the fact that they wanted us to be loyal to our very own country. We have lived in it, grow in it, develop in it and now, it is time for us to give it all back to our Motherland. It gives a sense that we are proud to be a Singaporean(even though I am not exactly one). Well, as I have stayed in Singapore for quite a LOOOOOOONG time, I do have some feelings that it is part of me. But then again, I am not fully dedicated and having a patriotism towards Singapore. I am half half. You see, I am a Malaysian, and that's where my real identity was. So, I guess I will have to distribute myself among the two countries. One for which has given you your identity and the other which had nurture you into a man. Well, patriotism in Singapore can be seen widely, especially those serving the Singapore Armed Forces. They are our country's defence and the only reason why they joined it in the first place it because they wanted to serve their country. Their respect for Singapore has rose to such a high level that they seem to have this "Die for Singapore" motto in them.
Right, so there you go. I gotta rush since I have to do something. Do what? Not telling you. This is private! And nothing sick too! If you thought so then you really need to wash your brain with BLEACH. I think I shall have the honour of doing it for you. May more posts come your way!
The Soldier by Rupert Brooke
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
Goodness gracious me! This guy really loves his country eh? Well, you can see the patriotism he portrayed in his poem. Now, what did I say I am suppose to do again? Nothing? Oh good! Then let's commence this post to a close. I am getting tired of this work. So, goodbye. (Reader attempts to look at the top of the post and see what work was suppose to be done. Kenneth whacks the reader on the head.) Haha! Don't try to make me remember what I am suppose to do. Aargh! You already did. Oh well, so for the reflection......
Now, we will need young man in Singapore to do National Service which is considered as highly compulsory. To be exact, it is 100% compulsory or you are dead! Hmm......wonder why the government emphasize so strongly on this point. Well, I guess it all leads down to the fact that they wanted us to be loyal to our very own country. We have lived in it, grow in it, develop in it and now, it is time for us to give it all back to our Motherland. It gives a sense that we are proud to be a Singaporean(even though I am not exactly one). Well, as I have stayed in Singapore for quite a LOOOOOOONG time, I do have some feelings that it is part of me. But then again, I am not fully dedicated and having a patriotism towards Singapore. I am half half. You see, I am a Malaysian, and that's where my real identity was. So, I guess I will have to distribute myself among the two countries. One for which has given you your identity and the other which had nurture you into a man. Well, patriotism in Singapore can be seen widely, especially those serving the Singapore Armed Forces. They are our country's defence and the only reason why they joined it in the first place it because they wanted to serve their country. Their respect for Singapore has rose to such a high level that they seem to have this "Die for Singapore" motto in them.
Right, so there you go. I gotta rush since I have to do something. Do what? Not telling you. This is private! And nothing sick too! If you thought so then you really need to wash your brain with BLEACH. I think I shall have the honour of doing it for you. May more posts come your way!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Rainbow Death by Hubert Wilson: Information Overload
Right!!!!! Today we have another online lesson work to be done. Groan! Oh well, what do I have to do. Hmm......looks like it is poetry again! Great, now my head will go bonkers and overloaded with complicated words. What's the poem? You shall find out soon......
Rainbow Death by Hubert Wilson:
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!
Task 1: Extreme Analysis
Hubert Wilson is a Vietnam War veteran that serves in the USAF Security Service. He prepped for about 14 months in Kelly AFB in San Antonio in anticipation before being sent to the Vietnam War. To be exact the location is Shemya Island. The living conditions were very bad with a lot of contamination. 15 years ago before he wrote this poem, he experienced health problems with unexplained headaches and limb pains. 4 years ago his nervous system deteriorated with Parkinsonian type tremors, severe headaches and much more worse limb pains. However, no physician was able to tell what the real illness was and thus no medication was assigned to him. He suspected that the heavily contaminated drinking water at Shemya during his year there was the cause. It has organo-phosphate toxins in it and symptoms may not show until 20 to 30 years after initial exposure. Since then, he has decided to do writing.
This poem describes the main killer during the Vietnam War, which is herbicide and defoliant contaminated with TCDD, also known as "Agent Orange". According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects. From 1962 to 1971, it was the most widely used of the so-called "Rainbow Herbicides" employed in the herbicidal warfare program. During the production of Agent Orange(they came in purple, pink and green too), dioxins were produced as a contaminant, which have caused numerous health problems for the millions of people who have been exposed to it.
Task 2: Information Arrangment
Point of View: Written in the perspective of Hubert Wilson who was a war veteran at that time then.
Situation and Setting: Took place in Vietnam where the living conditions were very bad and there was people dying everyday. The atmosphere was very tensed as everyone dreaded to be the next victim.
Language/Diction: The language was a bit harsh as the phrase "will PAY" seems to send out a warning to all fellow readers not to take life for granted.
Personal Response: To me, the author seem to suffering from depression and is very angry at the fact that he is made to fight in such a harsh environment.
Gee, that's a lot of work done! You can say I have gotten this information from online, but I have tried my best to simplify and rephrase them and make the words easier to read. The research was kinda messed up as the results I usually get was other people's blog from our school who also have to do this online lesson. -.- Ugh, I have a feeling mine will be in the results too when you search it up on Google. Well, that will just make your job of researching harder! This is a first come first serve basics. You do the work earlier, you would not get as much results as later when other people already posted their findings on theirs blogs.
With that, I commenced this post to a close. May more posts come your way!
Rainbow Death by Hubert Wilson:
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!
Task 1: Extreme Analysis
Hubert Wilson is a Vietnam War veteran that serves in the USAF Security Service. He prepped for about 14 months in Kelly AFB in San Antonio in anticipation before being sent to the Vietnam War. To be exact the location is Shemya Island. The living conditions were very bad with a lot of contamination. 15 years ago before he wrote this poem, he experienced health problems with unexplained headaches and limb pains. 4 years ago his nervous system deteriorated with Parkinsonian type tremors, severe headaches and much more worse limb pains. However, no physician was able to tell what the real illness was and thus no medication was assigned to him. He suspected that the heavily contaminated drinking water at Shemya during his year there was the cause. It has organo-phosphate toxins in it and symptoms may not show until 20 to 30 years after initial exposure. Since then, he has decided to do writing.
This poem describes the main killer during the Vietnam War, which is herbicide and defoliant contaminated with TCDD, also known as "Agent Orange". According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects. From 1962 to 1971, it was the most widely used of the so-called "Rainbow Herbicides" employed in the herbicidal warfare program. During the production of Agent Orange(they came in purple, pink and green too), dioxins were produced as a contaminant, which have caused numerous health problems for the millions of people who have been exposed to it.
Task 2: Information Arrangment
Point of View: Written in the perspective of Hubert Wilson who was a war veteran at that time then.
Situation and Setting: Took place in Vietnam where the living conditions were very bad and there was people dying everyday. The atmosphere was very tensed as everyone dreaded to be the next victim.
Language/Diction: The language was a bit harsh as the phrase "will PAY" seems to send out a warning to all fellow readers not to take life for granted.
Personal Response: To me, the author seem to suffering from depression and is very angry at the fact that he is made to fight in such a harsh environment.
Gee, that's a lot of work done! You can say I have gotten this information from online, but I have tried my best to simplify and rephrase them and make the words easier to read. The research was kinda messed up as the results I usually get was other people's blog from our school who also have to do this online lesson. -.- Ugh, I have a feeling mine will be in the results too when you search it up on Google. Well, that will just make your job of researching harder! This is a first come first serve basics. You do the work earlier, you would not get as much results as later when other people already posted their findings on theirs blogs.
With that, I commenced this post to a close. May more posts come your way!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
THIS IS WAR!!!!!!!! My Response......
I am back! Again......as always of course. What? You don't want me back? Oh then get lost and don't ever come back to my blog. Ha ha! Now what are we doing? Oh yes! WAR!!! WE ARE GOING TO WAR!!! FIRE IN THE HOLE!!! SHOOT THAT RESISTANCE!!! Well, I am suppose to do some sort of reflection on a war scene. You can see all of them here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8492000/8492777.stm. And here is the picture I choose. It is the first one obviously.
The picture tells of great depression by being shown in black and white. The great soldier lay in the rubble lifeless, his team mates crowding about him with sorrows and tears in their heart. This is the worst ever to happen, as though all the hope in the world has been lost. Misery befell them upon the death of their friend. The action of mourning him show how all hope seems to be lost, the sadness overwhelming the situation. Warfare has never been the same with man as the devastation spreads all around. War is hated and yet man took it as a problem solver. Peace is desired and yet man cannot ensure its longevity.
Well, that was my share of personal response.
The picture tells of great depression by being shown in black and white. The great soldier lay in the rubble lifeless, his team mates crowding about him with sorrows and tears in their heart. This is the worst ever to happen, as though all the hope in the world has been lost. Misery befell them upon the death of their friend. The action of mourning him show how all hope seems to be lost, the sadness overwhelming the situation. Warfare has never been the same with man as the devastation spreads all around. War is hated and yet man took it as a problem solver. Peace is desired and yet man cannot ensure its longevity.
Well, that was my share of personal response.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Banana Split, Tips & Secrets (Not so)
Hello yeah. I am back! Guess what? I am eating an ice-cream! Yeah, I am just feeling hot. Way to hot I say! My temperature has reached 100'C. I think I am gonna explode. If you are feeling hot too, well, then turn on the fan! Or the air-conditioner when you are feeling really rich to spend your parent's cash on electricity. But if you are feeling really cool, and want to save on some cash, here is your second option:
Now that looks really overwhelming! Looks tasty doesn't it? If you are feeling desperate, you may try licking the screen. I bet the banana split will taste awful and technical. What is this? This is banana split.
As Wikipedia says: A banana split is an ice cream-based dessert. In its classic form it is served in a long dish called a boat. A banana is cut in half lengthwise (hence the split) and laid in the dish. There are many variations, but the classic banana split is made with scoops of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream served in a row between the split banana. Pineapple topping is spooned over the strawberry ice cream, chocolate syrup over the vanilla, and strawberry topping over the chocolate. It is garnished with crushed nuts, whipped cream, and maraschino cherries.
Yep, that is banana split. I bet I need not give you the recipe at all. It is so simple to make, you can know the ingredients simply by reading the definition of banana split. Now, with that, I commenced this post to a close. I wanna go eat my banana split already. May more posts come your way!
Here's a video if you are feeling really bored. BANANA SPLIT-VIDEO RECIPE.
Now that looks really overwhelming! Looks tasty doesn't it? If you are feeling desperate, you may try licking the screen. I bet the banana split will taste awful and technical. What is this? This is banana split.
As Wikipedia says: A banana split is an ice cream-based dessert. In its classic form it is served in a long dish called a boat. A banana is cut in half lengthwise (hence the split) and laid in the dish. There are many variations, but the classic banana split is made with scoops of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream served in a row between the split banana. Pineapple topping is spooned over the strawberry ice cream, chocolate syrup over the vanilla, and strawberry topping over the chocolate. It is garnished with crushed nuts, whipped cream, and maraschino cherries.
Yep, that is banana split. I bet I need not give you the recipe at all. It is so simple to make, you can know the ingredients simply by reading the definition of banana split. Now, with that, I commenced this post to a close. I wanna go eat my banana split already. May more posts come your way!
Here's a video if you are feeling really bored. BANANA SPLIT-VIDEO RECIPE.
Japan, Stay Strong!!!
Hello again to all of you internet addicts! Here I am, returned from the underworld, with more work! Recently, we all knew Japan suffered some fate that they do not deserved. As internet folks began typing their response on the web, we are forced(Yeah, forced to!) to write some letter to them? What do we say? Well, you get the idea after you read mine! No copying!
(Do we still need the address and date?)
Dear Mr. Nick Jones,
Having read your article, I was deeply touched by the heart you have for the rest of the people in Japan even though you are one of the victims. It must have been quite a terrifying experience for you. I sincerely apologise for the torture you will have to go through. I am writing this letter to assure you, we are all in favour and support of you!
Truly, this disaster has shock the whole of Japan, killing thousands. You are very fortunate to be a survivor of such a tragedy. Having gone this far, I would strongly encourage you to go on with your life. No matter how many people have died, God has spared you and you could return the favour by appreciating the chance given to you. You have to learn to move on. Looking at the past would not help. What is gone is gone. You cannot change the past and there is no turning back.
To be honest, you are considered one in a million since you still have your family. Think about it, how many people get to reunite with their families after such a disaster? Do not pity the dead. Pity the living instead. It is only when the person is alive could you save them. It would not be a wise choice to end your life as well. What use would your death have to the rest of the world? Only when you are alive and happy, would your presence be useful to the rest of the society. You still have your family to take care of. Why not spare a thought for them and continue with what you have?
Having said that, I could also see that you are having troubles coping with what the people on the Internet are saying. Here is a word of advice. The Internet is not reality. It is just a virtual world where people just type their comments without much thought. What you are now is the true reality. So, it will be wise to stick with your life instead of listening to what others are saying about Japan. As for the problems at the nuclear plant, be assured, the people would overcome the challenges. Japan had endured many decades of disasters, why not now? Sure, this is one of the worst disaster Japan had ever encountered. But it does not mean it is impossible to stand up to it. I have faith in the whole of Japan and you. Nothing is impossible.
With that, I wish you and your people good luck. You shall overcome obstacles on your way and have things restored to how it was before the disaster. May God bless us.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Ching
A Singapore Student who is always behind you
Now that was pretty interesting ain't it? Quite a masterpiece for me I say! Like I said, not copying! Hmm...what else do I want to say? Oh yes! May more posts come your way! Support Japan as well!
(Do we still need the address and date?)
Dear Mr. Nick Jones,
Having read your article, I was deeply touched by the heart you have for the rest of the people in Japan even though you are one of the victims. It must have been quite a terrifying experience for you. I sincerely apologise for the torture you will have to go through. I am writing this letter to assure you, we are all in favour and support of you!
Truly, this disaster has shock the whole of Japan, killing thousands. You are very fortunate to be a survivor of such a tragedy. Having gone this far, I would strongly encourage you to go on with your life. No matter how many people have died, God has spared you and you could return the favour by appreciating the chance given to you. You have to learn to move on. Looking at the past would not help. What is gone is gone. You cannot change the past and there is no turning back.
To be honest, you are considered one in a million since you still have your family. Think about it, how many people get to reunite with their families after such a disaster? Do not pity the dead. Pity the living instead. It is only when the person is alive could you save them. It would not be a wise choice to end your life as well. What use would your death have to the rest of the world? Only when you are alive and happy, would your presence be useful to the rest of the society. You still have your family to take care of. Why not spare a thought for them and continue with what you have?
Having said that, I could also see that you are having troubles coping with what the people on the Internet are saying. Here is a word of advice. The Internet is not reality. It is just a virtual world where people just type their comments without much thought. What you are now is the true reality. So, it will be wise to stick with your life instead of listening to what others are saying about Japan. As for the problems at the nuclear plant, be assured, the people would overcome the challenges. Japan had endured many decades of disasters, why not now? Sure, this is one of the worst disaster Japan had ever encountered. But it does not mean it is impossible to stand up to it. I have faith in the whole of Japan and you. Nothing is impossible.
With that, I wish you and your people good luck. You shall overcome obstacles on your way and have things restored to how it was before the disaster. May God bless us.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Ching
A Singapore Student who is always behind you
Now that was pretty interesting ain't it? Quite a masterpiece for me I say! Like I said, not copying! Hmm...what else do I want to say? Oh yes! May more posts come your way! Support Japan as well!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Setting, Every Story's Key Element...
Hello again humans. This is your awesome Kenneth speaking. I mean talking. Wait, or is it typing. Yeah, typing that's right. This is your TOTALLY AWESOME KENNETH typing. So, we have to do some picture snapping and put them here to tell a setting? That sounds ridiculous. Here's what I have for ya:
HINT:
Lightnings flashed before Johnny's eyes, blinding him to the retina. He stared in horror as the 'lights of the night' reveals a F5 tornado in the distance, slowly engulfing the surrounding trees and buildings and heading his way. It may be a good time to trigger his 'running muscles'.
You may be surprised that I actually managed to take such a picture. What do you know, it ain't taken by me dude! Come on man! Tornadoes may happen anywhere, but they are incredibly rare in Singapore. Where do you think I got it from? Obviously from Google. I could not find any interesting scenes that may tell a story.
I bet you guys have pictures which you took on your own. I feel so jealous. Haha. I am going to raid your blog and destroy it. Let's see what you guys have. Good luck to ya and hope your blog will not be picked by me for destruction! Hehe! May more posts come your way!
HINT:
Lightnings flashed before Johnny's eyes, blinding him to the retina. He stared in horror as the 'lights of the night' reveals a F5 tornado in the distance, slowly engulfing the surrounding trees and buildings and heading his way. It may be a good time to trigger his 'running muscles'.
You may be surprised that I actually managed to take such a picture. What do you know, it ain't taken by me dude! Come on man! Tornadoes may happen anywhere, but they are incredibly rare in Singapore. Where do you think I got it from? Obviously from Google. I could not find any interesting scenes that may tell a story.
I bet you guys have pictures which you took on your own. I feel so jealous. Haha. I am going to raid your blog and destroy it. Let's see what you guys have. Good luck to ya and hope your blog will not be picked by me for destruction! Hehe! May more posts come your way!
LA Short Story: Life As A Street Sweeper(Identity Final Draft)
I am back!!!!!!! Nah, not really. I am always back. So, why had I come back? Oh yeah, I have to put my up the final draft of short story here. You may say it is pretty 'crappd' up, since it only has 2500 words. Yeah, that kinda sucks. I believe you guys are able to do better than that am I right? But anyway, I still have to put it up here no matter how lousy it is.
Life As A Street Sweeper:
Tommy looked at the large pile of rubbish and gave a huge sigh. Fetching his broomstick, he began sweeping away at the junk and churning up dust from the gritty road. Life in Singapore had never been worse. Tommy had to wake up every day at seven just to get to Chinatown to earn what is known as his family income. He had never really known his boss. All he knew was that he was a middle-aged man named Mr. Smith. He did not bother about finding out about him. In fact, all that mattered to him was simply sweeping and cleaning.
He would be sweeping till he got his hands and legs numb. His back had been bent to an awkward angle due to the long hours of sweeping and the fact that the broomstick was only eighteen inches long. Children passing by would be so amused by his camel-like back that they could stand there for up to an hour just to watch him sweep. Children, and I meant those ranging from ages three to twelve, would be playing their games, attending festivals and wearing new clothes every year. Tommy, you would not see any change in his life. It was as though it is part of his routine to be there every day, sweeping and cleaning up the streets of Chinatown.
Occasionally, a bullock cart or two will pass by, its passenger wealthily dressed. Most of them never took notice of Tommy, and neither did they see the point. In fact, the closest one that ever got to him was when Tommy raced up to stop the bullock cart and begged its passenger for money and food. This person was dressed in silk. The passenger was rather taken aback at first. But he soon recovered and hollered at Tommy, “Get out of my way! You filthy pest!” The scrunching sounds of a punch and a kick. Tommy was sent to the ground with a loud ‘thud’. The bullock cart pulled away, leaving Tommy in a cloud of dust. He sat up on the ground and began to cry quietly.
What use was crying, when you could do something better? This motivation seemed crystal clear to Tommy, but he rather sat down in the dirt buried in sobs. There was nothing much he could do. He was a cleaner and he would stay as that for his whole life. His father lost his job a year ago due to the low education and skills he had, leaving his family in poverty and rags. Tommy had to stop school to support his family of five, which consists of two younger siblings. One boy, one girl. Currently, Tommy was unable to save any much money, as all of them had been snatched away by other school children who took him as a money providing machine.
Somewhere in the distance the school bell rang, indicating the end of school. Moments later, children ranging from ages seven to twelve were seen rushing out and towards Chinatown. “Hey, it is that old rat Tommy! Look at how he is all hunched up at the back! Such an ignorant creature,” one of them shouted as he passed by Tommy. Tommy was still buried in sobs. But he quickly sprang to his feet and grabbed his pocket, which jangled as he touched it. “You got money again Tommy?” the boy, whose name everybody knew was Jim, shouted as he was joined by the rest of his gang. “No,” Tommy said flatly, taking a step back. He was trembling from head to toe, and his eyes told of fear and horror.
“To hell you do not have money. Do you think we are deaf? In fact, I think you do since you do not even know you are making all that ‘I have money’ noise by shaking your filthy body.” Tommy stopped trembling almost immediately. Knowing that staying would only result in having his money snatched again, he took off at amazing speed despite the fact that he had not had a good breakfast. Behind him, he heard cries of fury and the loud tapping of shoes on gravel. They were chasing him. Tommy ran as though he had never run in his life. He flew past the coffee shop, past the market which was already crowded with people, past the hospital and the tuck shop. He was staring straight ahead at the small house which he called home.
He got through the door and quickly slammed the door behind him. He knelt down, placed his ear on the door and listened hard. The footsteps outside were getting slower and louder. Finally, they came to a stop. Tommy thought the gang might just be standing right outside the door, ready to pounce on him if he ever appears again. “We will get you next time you piece of junk! We will see how we will deal with you!” Jim shouted and spat on the floor. The footsteps echoed away and there was silence. Relieved, Tommy stood up. The atmosphere of the house seems gloomier than before. He thought he sensed something different. Taking a look around, he finally found what it was. The occasional workings and noises of his mother were missing.
He wondered where his mother had gone, or what had happened to her. Turning around, he saw his two siblings, Jerry and Alice standing at the doorway. “Where is mother?” Tommy asked but that would have been unnecessarily as their expressions told it all. Jerry and Alice exchanged glances and hung their head low. “Where is she? Take me to her now!” Tommy was frantic, afraid that something disastrous had happened. Jerry and Alice led the way to the bedroom, and there, on the bed, looking pale and bony, was their mother. “I think she is sick brother,” Jerry piped in. Alice, who stood beside him, nodded her head simultaneously.
Tommy got to the side of her bed and leaned in over her mother. She looked like an ancient figure, her eyes closed and barely moving. “Mo……mother,” he croaked, unable to control himself. “Mother…...” He sat down and broke into tears. It was too much, too much for him to take. A gentle hand ruffled his hair. Looking up, he saw his mother’s face looking back at him from the bed. She gave a weak smile, closed her eyes and was back to her original position. Tommy stood where he was and stared for what seems to years. Finally, words managed to get to him. “Get me Dr. Koh, now!” he ordered his siblings. Jerry and Alice disappeared for a while. Returning, they brought along an old man in his sixties who Tommy knew very well to be Dr. Koh.
Dr. Koh knelt down beside the bed and examined Tommy’s mother. As the clock continued to tick away, Tommy was becoming nervous. “What is it, doctor? What happened to my mother?” Tommy spurted so suddenly that his siblings jumped. Dr. Koh was silent. Closing his eyes, he spoke in a voice so low Tommy had to stand by him to hear. “I am afraid you mother has gotten anaemia. A severe one. I cannot cure it.” Dr. Koh said with great anxiety. He slowly turned green, as though regretting what he had said. “What?” Tommy exclaimed. He was getting impatient. Dr. Koh took a deep breath. “She has got anaemia, a disease I cannot cure. She has to be sent to the hospital. I am afraid I cannot help.” He was about to stand up and leave, but Tommy got him by the arm. “Help us, sir. Help us. You know we have no money. So help us pay for the fees.”
For a long moment, Dr. Koh stared into Tommy’s eyes. “I am having a hard enough life with my family.” He shook his arms lose and scampered out of the house. Tommy stared at the last spot Dr. Koh was before he was out of sight, the image still burning fiercely in his eyes. Walking out of the room, he went past his father who was sitting on a stool and staring into space. He had been doing that ever since he lost his jobs. His eyes told of sorrow and hopelessness. It was as though the life in him had long gone. Tommy did not bother to look at his father. There was nothing he could do. He went to his room, turned off the oil lamp and lied down on his bed.
Opening his eyes the next morning, Tommy sat up looking even more worn-out than before. He prepared breakfast for himself and his siblings, took some to his mother and went off to the streets again. It was crowded now, being morning. Most people would be at the market and shop keepers would be shouting prices and any worthy customer up for a challenge would be bargaining with them. Picking up the overly short broomstick that has long become his, Tommy started his usual scouting of the alleyways. He had thought that day was going to be just the same as the others, judging by the fact that there was not much activity that was of interest going on.
By noon, most of the customers had gone and markets closing down. The streets were quiet, though Tommy found the silence deafening in his ears. Somewhere in the distance the familiar sound of the school bell rang again. At the last beat of the bell, Tommy’s heart throbbed. He suddenly remembered that he was in grave danger from yesterday’s encounter with Jim and his gang. Quickly putting all his coins in a secured spot behind the dustbin which was filled with old cardboard and trash, he just hoped that the gang would not turn up, which was likely not to happen. Praying to heaven to give him mercy and closing his eyes, he was brought back to reality by a skull-breaking punch in his face. Struggling to get back on his feet, he was met by a hard kick in his stomach. Tommy yelled in pain. He quickly stood up and looking up, he saw what he had dreaded to see.
Jim looked like red devil. He might just as well have come from hell. “Decided to run away, have you? Think we will not be able to get our hands on you? Give us the money you owed!” He yelled like a mad barking dog. Tommy took a step back. His heart was beating fast. Jim was still looking wild and outrageous. Pouncing on Tommy, he tore at everything he sees. Tommy reacted by punching and kicking frantically in all directions. For some reason, Jim loosened his grip on Tommy and seizing the chance, Tommy pushed him out of the way and charged into the streets. He was running in random directions, unaware of where he was going. He was not sure whether Jim was chasing him. But he did not care. All he wanted was to keep on running, as though that would help him escape from the misery he was in, as though this was just a bad dream.
Finally, he stopped at what he thought to be an office building. He had no idea how he got there and how far he had ran. Worse of all, he had no idea how to get back. Seeing a door in front of him, he instinctively went through it. Now, he seemed to be in the main hall. He walked to the end of the hall which separated into two ways. Taking the one that led to the right, he came across the office door that he thought belonged to his boss. The words “Head and Manager of Chinatown Commission: Mr. Smith” were carved into an expensive looking copper stuck on the door.
Though he was not sure, Tommy thought of going inside and asking for Mr. Smith’s assistance in his family affairs. He had long wanted to do this, but lacked the guts. He knew he had to do it. The feeling in him was so strong it seemed to engulf him. Taking a deep breath, he knocked softly on the door. “Come in.” Mr. Smith’s voice was barely audible yet clearly solid through the door.
Cautiously, Tommy pushed opened the door and entered. Mr. Smith was arranging his desk. “Why had you come?” He asked. Tommy looked into the man’s eyes. They were pale blue. “Sir,” he stammered, “Sir, I had come to today to ask for your help.” Mr. Smith looked with interest at Tommy. “Why exactly?” he asked. Tommy hesitated for what seemed like ages before spurting, “My father does not have a job sir. My mother is ill and I still have siblings to take care of. Would you help me sir? Would you help me make my family’s life better and change things round? I would do anything you wish.” The words seemed to come so clear to him he had no idea how he had manage to said them. Mr. Smith sat down on his chair. He closed his eyes for a few moments.
When he finally opened them, he looked at Tommy. “Of course!” he exclaimed. Tommy was taken aback. “Why had you not told me this before?” Mr. Smith shouted again. “Take me to your home now!” Mr. Smith was off his chair. Walking out of the office door, Mr. Smith first, Tommy lagging a little behind as he was still shocked by the sudden turn of events, the two of them headed out of the building and into the streets. It was a little hard for Tommy to find his way back, as he had no idea which way he had come from. But with Mr. Smith’s great sense of direction, they found Tommy’s house easily.
Mr. Smith went inside and examined the place. He saw Tommy’s father who was still sitting on the stool. He too saw Tommy’s mother lying on the bed looking pale. “She is ill sir,” Tommy said. Mr. Smith stole a quick glance at Tommy’s father and said, “Get the ambulance.” Upon hearing this, Tommy was on his knees and shouting, “Thank you! Thank you sir!” With that, he ran as quickly as his legs could carry him to the nearest hospital a hundred meters away. The hospital sent an ambulance to Tommy’s house and brought Tommy’s mother to the hospital. Weeks later, she recovered from her illness and was healthy again. Mr. Smith did not just stop there. He also employed Tommy’s father as a clerk and bit by bit, had him up and working like a man again.
Tommy managed to return to school and continued his education. Many years later when he graduated from university, he revisited Mr. Smith. “Thank you sir. Because of what you did that many years ago, I would not have been where I am today.” Mr. Smith just simply smiled. He was nearly sixty then, and had most of his hair white. It had been great knowing him, and Tommy hoped to be just like him when he starts work himself.
(2526 words)
So, pretty rotten story right? The words used are so simple a primary school kid can write this kind of story. Oh, as some of you asked what the identity here was, I decided to take the honour and explain them. So, the identity here is mostly referring to Tommy's personality and his ways of respect for his family. It makes him find a job in order to make sure his family is still standing and the fact that he actually stands up to the school boys shows how he will always protect his pride and his position in the whole of the society. It is also courageous of him to seek help from a person he do not know well, in this case, Mr. Smith.
So, with that, this post has come to a close. I look forward to all of your random comments. Hehe. May more posts come your way! Good luck on your stories too!
Life As A Street Sweeper:
Tommy looked at the large pile of rubbish and gave a huge sigh. Fetching his broomstick, he began sweeping away at the junk and churning up dust from the gritty road. Life in Singapore had never been worse. Tommy had to wake up every day at seven just to get to Chinatown to earn what is known as his family income. He had never really known his boss. All he knew was that he was a middle-aged man named Mr. Smith. He did not bother about finding out about him. In fact, all that mattered to him was simply sweeping and cleaning.
He would be sweeping till he got his hands and legs numb. His back had been bent to an awkward angle due to the long hours of sweeping and the fact that the broomstick was only eighteen inches long. Children passing by would be so amused by his camel-like back that they could stand there for up to an hour just to watch him sweep. Children, and I meant those ranging from ages three to twelve, would be playing their games, attending festivals and wearing new clothes every year. Tommy, you would not see any change in his life. It was as though it is part of his routine to be there every day, sweeping and cleaning up the streets of Chinatown.
Occasionally, a bullock cart or two will pass by, its passenger wealthily dressed. Most of them never took notice of Tommy, and neither did they see the point. In fact, the closest one that ever got to him was when Tommy raced up to stop the bullock cart and begged its passenger for money and food. This person was dressed in silk. The passenger was rather taken aback at first. But he soon recovered and hollered at Tommy, “Get out of my way! You filthy pest!” The scrunching sounds of a punch and a kick. Tommy was sent to the ground with a loud ‘thud’. The bullock cart pulled away, leaving Tommy in a cloud of dust. He sat up on the ground and began to cry quietly.
What use was crying, when you could do something better? This motivation seemed crystal clear to Tommy, but he rather sat down in the dirt buried in sobs. There was nothing much he could do. He was a cleaner and he would stay as that for his whole life. His father lost his job a year ago due to the low education and skills he had, leaving his family in poverty and rags. Tommy had to stop school to support his family of five, which consists of two younger siblings. One boy, one girl. Currently, Tommy was unable to save any much money, as all of them had been snatched away by other school children who took him as a money providing machine.
Somewhere in the distance the school bell rang, indicating the end of school. Moments later, children ranging from ages seven to twelve were seen rushing out and towards Chinatown. “Hey, it is that old rat Tommy! Look at how he is all hunched up at the back! Such an ignorant creature,” one of them shouted as he passed by Tommy. Tommy was still buried in sobs. But he quickly sprang to his feet and grabbed his pocket, which jangled as he touched it. “You got money again Tommy?” the boy, whose name everybody knew was Jim, shouted as he was joined by the rest of his gang. “No,” Tommy said flatly, taking a step back. He was trembling from head to toe, and his eyes told of fear and horror.
“To hell you do not have money. Do you think we are deaf? In fact, I think you do since you do not even know you are making all that ‘I have money’ noise by shaking your filthy body.” Tommy stopped trembling almost immediately. Knowing that staying would only result in having his money snatched again, he took off at amazing speed despite the fact that he had not had a good breakfast. Behind him, he heard cries of fury and the loud tapping of shoes on gravel. They were chasing him. Tommy ran as though he had never run in his life. He flew past the coffee shop, past the market which was already crowded with people, past the hospital and the tuck shop. He was staring straight ahead at the small house which he called home.
He got through the door and quickly slammed the door behind him. He knelt down, placed his ear on the door and listened hard. The footsteps outside were getting slower and louder. Finally, they came to a stop. Tommy thought the gang might just be standing right outside the door, ready to pounce on him if he ever appears again. “We will get you next time you piece of junk! We will see how we will deal with you!” Jim shouted and spat on the floor. The footsteps echoed away and there was silence. Relieved, Tommy stood up. The atmosphere of the house seems gloomier than before. He thought he sensed something different. Taking a look around, he finally found what it was. The occasional workings and noises of his mother were missing.
He wondered where his mother had gone, or what had happened to her. Turning around, he saw his two siblings, Jerry and Alice standing at the doorway. “Where is mother?” Tommy asked but that would have been unnecessarily as their expressions told it all. Jerry and Alice exchanged glances and hung their head low. “Where is she? Take me to her now!” Tommy was frantic, afraid that something disastrous had happened. Jerry and Alice led the way to the bedroom, and there, on the bed, looking pale and bony, was their mother. “I think she is sick brother,” Jerry piped in. Alice, who stood beside him, nodded her head simultaneously.
Tommy got to the side of her bed and leaned in over her mother. She looked like an ancient figure, her eyes closed and barely moving. “Mo……mother,” he croaked, unable to control himself. “Mother…...” He sat down and broke into tears. It was too much, too much for him to take. A gentle hand ruffled his hair. Looking up, he saw his mother’s face looking back at him from the bed. She gave a weak smile, closed her eyes and was back to her original position. Tommy stood where he was and stared for what seems to years. Finally, words managed to get to him. “Get me Dr. Koh, now!” he ordered his siblings. Jerry and Alice disappeared for a while. Returning, they brought along an old man in his sixties who Tommy knew very well to be Dr. Koh.
Dr. Koh knelt down beside the bed and examined Tommy’s mother. As the clock continued to tick away, Tommy was becoming nervous. “What is it, doctor? What happened to my mother?” Tommy spurted so suddenly that his siblings jumped. Dr. Koh was silent. Closing his eyes, he spoke in a voice so low Tommy had to stand by him to hear. “I am afraid you mother has gotten anaemia. A severe one. I cannot cure it.” Dr. Koh said with great anxiety. He slowly turned green, as though regretting what he had said. “What?” Tommy exclaimed. He was getting impatient. Dr. Koh took a deep breath. “She has got anaemia, a disease I cannot cure. She has to be sent to the hospital. I am afraid I cannot help.” He was about to stand up and leave, but Tommy got him by the arm. “Help us, sir. Help us. You know we have no money. So help us pay for the fees.”
For a long moment, Dr. Koh stared into Tommy’s eyes. “I am having a hard enough life with my family.” He shook his arms lose and scampered out of the house. Tommy stared at the last spot Dr. Koh was before he was out of sight, the image still burning fiercely in his eyes. Walking out of the room, he went past his father who was sitting on a stool and staring into space. He had been doing that ever since he lost his jobs. His eyes told of sorrow and hopelessness. It was as though the life in him had long gone. Tommy did not bother to look at his father. There was nothing he could do. He went to his room, turned off the oil lamp and lied down on his bed.
Opening his eyes the next morning, Tommy sat up looking even more worn-out than before. He prepared breakfast for himself and his siblings, took some to his mother and went off to the streets again. It was crowded now, being morning. Most people would be at the market and shop keepers would be shouting prices and any worthy customer up for a challenge would be bargaining with them. Picking up the overly short broomstick that has long become his, Tommy started his usual scouting of the alleyways. He had thought that day was going to be just the same as the others, judging by the fact that there was not much activity that was of interest going on.
By noon, most of the customers had gone and markets closing down. The streets were quiet, though Tommy found the silence deafening in his ears. Somewhere in the distance the familiar sound of the school bell rang again. At the last beat of the bell, Tommy’s heart throbbed. He suddenly remembered that he was in grave danger from yesterday’s encounter with Jim and his gang. Quickly putting all his coins in a secured spot behind the dustbin which was filled with old cardboard and trash, he just hoped that the gang would not turn up, which was likely not to happen. Praying to heaven to give him mercy and closing his eyes, he was brought back to reality by a skull-breaking punch in his face. Struggling to get back on his feet, he was met by a hard kick in his stomach. Tommy yelled in pain. He quickly stood up and looking up, he saw what he had dreaded to see.
Jim looked like red devil. He might just as well have come from hell. “Decided to run away, have you? Think we will not be able to get our hands on you? Give us the money you owed!” He yelled like a mad barking dog. Tommy took a step back. His heart was beating fast. Jim was still looking wild and outrageous. Pouncing on Tommy, he tore at everything he sees. Tommy reacted by punching and kicking frantically in all directions. For some reason, Jim loosened his grip on Tommy and seizing the chance, Tommy pushed him out of the way and charged into the streets. He was running in random directions, unaware of where he was going. He was not sure whether Jim was chasing him. But he did not care. All he wanted was to keep on running, as though that would help him escape from the misery he was in, as though this was just a bad dream.
Finally, he stopped at what he thought to be an office building. He had no idea how he got there and how far he had ran. Worse of all, he had no idea how to get back. Seeing a door in front of him, he instinctively went through it. Now, he seemed to be in the main hall. He walked to the end of the hall which separated into two ways. Taking the one that led to the right, he came across the office door that he thought belonged to his boss. The words “Head and Manager of Chinatown Commission: Mr. Smith” were carved into an expensive looking copper stuck on the door.
Though he was not sure, Tommy thought of going inside and asking for Mr. Smith’s assistance in his family affairs. He had long wanted to do this, but lacked the guts. He knew he had to do it. The feeling in him was so strong it seemed to engulf him. Taking a deep breath, he knocked softly on the door. “Come in.” Mr. Smith’s voice was barely audible yet clearly solid through the door.
Cautiously, Tommy pushed opened the door and entered. Mr. Smith was arranging his desk. “Why had you come?” He asked. Tommy looked into the man’s eyes. They were pale blue. “Sir,” he stammered, “Sir, I had come to today to ask for your help.” Mr. Smith looked with interest at Tommy. “Why exactly?” he asked. Tommy hesitated for what seemed like ages before spurting, “My father does not have a job sir. My mother is ill and I still have siblings to take care of. Would you help me sir? Would you help me make my family’s life better and change things round? I would do anything you wish.” The words seemed to come so clear to him he had no idea how he had manage to said them. Mr. Smith sat down on his chair. He closed his eyes for a few moments.
When he finally opened them, he looked at Tommy. “Of course!” he exclaimed. Tommy was taken aback. “Why had you not told me this before?” Mr. Smith shouted again. “Take me to your home now!” Mr. Smith was off his chair. Walking out of the office door, Mr. Smith first, Tommy lagging a little behind as he was still shocked by the sudden turn of events, the two of them headed out of the building and into the streets. It was a little hard for Tommy to find his way back, as he had no idea which way he had come from. But with Mr. Smith’s great sense of direction, they found Tommy’s house easily.
Mr. Smith went inside and examined the place. He saw Tommy’s father who was still sitting on the stool. He too saw Tommy’s mother lying on the bed looking pale. “She is ill sir,” Tommy said. Mr. Smith stole a quick glance at Tommy’s father and said, “Get the ambulance.” Upon hearing this, Tommy was on his knees and shouting, “Thank you! Thank you sir!” With that, he ran as quickly as his legs could carry him to the nearest hospital a hundred meters away. The hospital sent an ambulance to Tommy’s house and brought Tommy’s mother to the hospital. Weeks later, she recovered from her illness and was healthy again. Mr. Smith did not just stop there. He also employed Tommy’s father as a clerk and bit by bit, had him up and working like a man again.
Tommy managed to return to school and continued his education. Many years later when he graduated from university, he revisited Mr. Smith. “Thank you sir. Because of what you did that many years ago, I would not have been where I am today.” Mr. Smith just simply smiled. He was nearly sixty then, and had most of his hair white. It had been great knowing him, and Tommy hoped to be just like him when he starts work himself.
(2526 words)
So, pretty rotten story right? The words used are so simple a primary school kid can write this kind of story. Oh, as some of you asked what the identity here was, I decided to take the honour and explain them. So, the identity here is mostly referring to Tommy's personality and his ways of respect for his family. It makes him find a job in order to make sure his family is still standing and the fact that he actually stands up to the school boys shows how he will always protect his pride and his position in the whole of the society. It is also courageous of him to seek help from a person he do not know well, in this case, Mr. Smith.
So, with that, this post has come to a close. I look forward to all of your random comments. Hehe. May more posts come your way! Good luck on your stories too!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
LA Short Story: Life As A Street Sweeper(Identity Draft 1)
Heyo people! I am back again. Hmm......looks like this time we have to type out our first draft of our short story. Oh my god! It has to be between five hundred and one thousand words? This is stupid! I can write more than that. I mean, my story plot is very long, how am I gonna keep it that short? Oh well, just got to try.
Life As A Street Sweeper:
Tommy looked at the large pile of rubbish and gave a huge sigh. Fetching his broomstick, he began sweeping away at the junk and churning up dust from the gritty road. Life in Chinatown had never been worse. Tommy had to wake up every day at seven just to get to this place to earn what is known as his family income and working as a cleaner. To add to the shock, Tommy was only eleven years old.
It was tiring being a cleaner in Chinatown. His back had been bent to an awkward angle due to the long hours of sweeping. The broomstick was very short. Other children would be playing their games, attending festivals and wearing new clothes every year. Tommy would be the same every day. You never see him anywhere else. The streets were like his second home.
Occasionally, a bullock cart or two will pass by, its passenger wealthily dressed. Most of them never took notice of Tommy. The closest one that ever got to him was when Tommy raced up to stop the bullock cart and begged its passenger for money and food. This one was dressed in silk. The passenger however just kicked him aside and asked the driver to move on.
Tommy’s father lost his job about a year ago due to the low intelligence he possessed. His mother was ill from the low standards of living. Tommy had to support his family and thus had to stop school. Shortly after, he was sent to the streets to help to clean the streets. His boss was a rich man named Mr. Smith who often had high demands for his workers. He and Tommy seldom communicated, so they did not know each other very well. All Mr. Smith had for him was: “Clean the streets and you get your money.”
Months passed and Tommy’s life still has no change. It was the same every day, waking up at seven, had a lite breakfast of some simple porridge that can be gulped down in a few spoonful and head towards the streets. He was like the ‘ghost’ of Chinatown, since almost everyone ignored him. It would almost be like that until one day, when Tommy really decided to speak up. He went to Mr. Smith’s office, knocked on his door. He had long wanted to do this, but lacked the guts. “Come in.” Mr. Smith’s voice was barely audible through the door.
Tommy took a deep breath and entered. Mr. Smith was arranging his desk. “Why had you come?” He asked. Tommy looked into the man’s eyes. They were pale blue. “Sir,” he stammered, “Sir, I had come to today to ask for your help.” Mr. Smith looked with interest at Tommy. “Why exactly?” he asked. Tommy hesitated. Then, closing his eyes, he spurted, “My father does not have a job sir. My mother is ill and I still have siblings to take care of. Would you help me sir? Would you help me make my family’s life better and change things round? I would do anything you wish.” Mr. Smith sat down on his chair. He closed his eyes for a few moments. When he finally opened them, he looked at Tommy. “Take me to your house,” he said. Tommy’s eyes brightened a little. Together, they arrive at Tommy’s house. It was old and run-downed.
Mr. Smith went inside and examined the place. He saw Tommy’s father siting on a stool and staring into space. He too saw Tommy’s mother lying on the bed looking pale. “She is ill sir,” Tommy said. Mr. Smith stole a quick glance at Tommy’s father and said, “Get the ambulance.” Upon hearing this, Tommy was on his knees and shouting, “Thank you! Thank you sir!” With that, he ran as quickly as his legs could carry him to the nearest hospital a kilometer away. The hospital sent an ambulance to Tommy’s house and brought Tommy’s mother to the hospital. Weeks later, she recovered from her illness and was healthy again. Mr. Smith did not just stop there. He also employed Tommy’s father as a clerk and bit by bit, had him up and working like a man again.
Tommy managed to return to school and continued his education. Many years later when he graduated from university, he revisited Mr. Smith. “Thank you sir. Because of what you did that many years ago, I would not have been where I am today.” Mr. Smith just simply smiled. He was nearly sixty then, and had most of his hair white. It had been great knowing him, and Tommy hoped to be just like him when he start work himself. (780 words)
Okay, I know this is rather crappy and short and boring, but this is only the first draft. In fact, I did this in a rush. Oh well. You still haven't seen my real masterpiece yet. It is sure to come out nice and engaging. In fact, I thought it would have been a novel. With that, I say goodbye to you guys. May more posts ocme your way!
Life As A Street Sweeper:
Tommy looked at the large pile of rubbish and gave a huge sigh. Fetching his broomstick, he began sweeping away at the junk and churning up dust from the gritty road. Life in Chinatown had never been worse. Tommy had to wake up every day at seven just to get to this place to earn what is known as his family income and working as a cleaner. To add to the shock, Tommy was only eleven years old.
It was tiring being a cleaner in Chinatown. His back had been bent to an awkward angle due to the long hours of sweeping. The broomstick was very short. Other children would be playing their games, attending festivals and wearing new clothes every year. Tommy would be the same every day. You never see him anywhere else. The streets were like his second home.
Occasionally, a bullock cart or two will pass by, its passenger wealthily dressed. Most of them never took notice of Tommy. The closest one that ever got to him was when Tommy raced up to stop the bullock cart and begged its passenger for money and food. This one was dressed in silk. The passenger however just kicked him aside and asked the driver to move on.
Tommy’s father lost his job about a year ago due to the low intelligence he possessed. His mother was ill from the low standards of living. Tommy had to support his family and thus had to stop school. Shortly after, he was sent to the streets to help to clean the streets. His boss was a rich man named Mr. Smith who often had high demands for his workers. He and Tommy seldom communicated, so they did not know each other very well. All Mr. Smith had for him was: “Clean the streets and you get your money.”
Months passed and Tommy’s life still has no change. It was the same every day, waking up at seven, had a lite breakfast of some simple porridge that can be gulped down in a few spoonful and head towards the streets. He was like the ‘ghost’ of Chinatown, since almost everyone ignored him. It would almost be like that until one day, when Tommy really decided to speak up. He went to Mr. Smith’s office, knocked on his door. He had long wanted to do this, but lacked the guts. “Come in.” Mr. Smith’s voice was barely audible through the door.
Tommy took a deep breath and entered. Mr. Smith was arranging his desk. “Why had you come?” He asked. Tommy looked into the man’s eyes. They were pale blue. “Sir,” he stammered, “Sir, I had come to today to ask for your help.” Mr. Smith looked with interest at Tommy. “Why exactly?” he asked. Tommy hesitated. Then, closing his eyes, he spurted, “My father does not have a job sir. My mother is ill and I still have siblings to take care of. Would you help me sir? Would you help me make my family’s life better and change things round? I would do anything you wish.” Mr. Smith sat down on his chair. He closed his eyes for a few moments. When he finally opened them, he looked at Tommy. “Take me to your house,” he said. Tommy’s eyes brightened a little. Together, they arrive at Tommy’s house. It was old and run-downed.
Mr. Smith went inside and examined the place. He saw Tommy’s father siting on a stool and staring into space. He too saw Tommy’s mother lying on the bed looking pale. “She is ill sir,” Tommy said. Mr. Smith stole a quick glance at Tommy’s father and said, “Get the ambulance.” Upon hearing this, Tommy was on his knees and shouting, “Thank you! Thank you sir!” With that, he ran as quickly as his legs could carry him to the nearest hospital a kilometer away. The hospital sent an ambulance to Tommy’s house and brought Tommy’s mother to the hospital. Weeks later, she recovered from her illness and was healthy again. Mr. Smith did not just stop there. He also employed Tommy’s father as a clerk and bit by bit, had him up and working like a man again.
Tommy managed to return to school and continued his education. Many years later when he graduated from university, he revisited Mr. Smith. “Thank you sir. Because of what you did that many years ago, I would not have been where I am today.” Mr. Smith just simply smiled. He was nearly sixty then, and had most of his hair white. It had been great knowing him, and Tommy hoped to be just like him when he start work himself. (780 words)
Okay, I know this is rather crappy and short and boring, but this is only the first draft. In fact, I did this in a rush. Oh well. You still haven't seen my real masterpiece yet. It is sure to come out nice and engaging. In fact, I thought it would have been a novel. With that, I say goodbye to you guys. May more posts ocme your way!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Wole Soyinka 'Very Nice' Telephone Conversation
Okay, guys, I am back here once again. Of course, this time I have another poem for ya. Gosh, this poem is really confusing! What the heck are they talking about? Worse still, I can't believe we still have to answer questions which I myself don't even understand too! Oh well, here they are.
Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka:
The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. “Madam,” I warned,
5 “I hate a wasted journey—I am African.”
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was, foully.
10 “HOW DARK?” . . . I had not misheard . . . “ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK?” Button B. Button A. Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
15 By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfoundment to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis—
“ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?” Revelation came.
“You mean—like plain or milk chocolate?”
20 Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wavelength adjusted,
I chose. “West African sepia”—and as an afterthought,
“Down in my passport.” Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
25 Hard on the mouthpiece. “WHAT’S THAT?” conceding,
“DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT IS.” “Like brunette.”
“THAT’S DARK, ISN’T IT?” “Not altogether.
Facially, I am brunette, but madam, you should see
The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
30 Are a peroxide blonde. Friction, caused—
Foolishly, madam—by sitting down, has turned
My bottom raven black—One moment madam!”—sensing
Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap
About my ears—“Madam,” I pleaded, “wouldn’t you rather
35 See for yourself?”
Q1: This poem is full of colours not just that of skin, what do you think these colours signify?
Q2: What does the dialogue in this poem reveal about these two characters?
Q3: The poet dramatises a battle, who wins finally and why?
Ans1: These colours signify a whole lot of things, even the personalities of the characters. We can see how the landlady said, "ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?". This goes to show that she was a bit on the 'high' side, or agitated. They even use the colours to signify the "plain or milk chocolate". This gives the readers a better view of the whole thing that colours were what mattered in the past as it represents your life status.
Ans2: The dialogue show us the true personality of the two characters and their backgrounds. We can easily tell that the landlady is a white and is a racist person due to the fact that she was very reluctant to take in the African lady. She even asked her whether she was dark or light skinned. The African lady, on the other hand, was very polite and a calm person. She did not even fight back when the landlady was discriminating her.
Ans3: The landlady won in the end. Mainly because we can see that she had slammed the phone down before the African lady could explain herself. This goes to show that coloured people are still being discriminated and are often not taken seriously. The moment the landlady knew that she was speaking to an African Negro, she hung up straight away.
Okay. So, that's what I got for this very poem. In fact, I feel like thrashing the landlady up. What a racist person. If you don't mind, I would like to call her an idiot. Even now, the whites are still discriminating the Africans. Not only that, we Asian, are discriminated too! They call us the 'yellow people'. Aargh! I wanna thrash them up! Oh well, I guess that's life. May more posts come your way!
Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka:
The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. “Madam,” I warned,
5 “I hate a wasted journey—I am African.”
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was, foully.
10 “HOW DARK?” . . . I had not misheard . . . “ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK?” Button B. Button A. Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
15 By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfoundment to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis—
“ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?” Revelation came.
“You mean—like plain or milk chocolate?”
20 Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wavelength adjusted,
I chose. “West African sepia”—and as an afterthought,
“Down in my passport.” Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
25 Hard on the mouthpiece. “WHAT’S THAT?” conceding,
“DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT IS.” “Like brunette.”
“THAT’S DARK, ISN’T IT?” “Not altogether.
Facially, I am brunette, but madam, you should see
The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
30 Are a peroxide blonde. Friction, caused—
Foolishly, madam—by sitting down, has turned
My bottom raven black—One moment madam!”—sensing
Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap
About my ears—“Madam,” I pleaded, “wouldn’t you rather
35 See for yourself?”
Q1: This poem is full of colours not just that of skin, what do you think these colours signify?
Q2: What does the dialogue in this poem reveal about these two characters?
Q3: The poet dramatises a battle, who wins finally and why?
Ans1: These colours signify a whole lot of things, even the personalities of the characters. We can see how the landlady said, "ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?". This goes to show that she was a bit on the 'high' side, or agitated. They even use the colours to signify the "plain or milk chocolate". This gives the readers a better view of the whole thing that colours were what mattered in the past as it represents your life status.
Ans2: The dialogue show us the true personality of the two characters and their backgrounds. We can easily tell that the landlady is a white and is a racist person due to the fact that she was very reluctant to take in the African lady. She even asked her whether she was dark or light skinned. The African lady, on the other hand, was very polite and a calm person. She did not even fight back when the landlady was discriminating her.
Ans3: The landlady won in the end. Mainly because we can see that she had slammed the phone down before the African lady could explain herself. This goes to show that coloured people are still being discriminated and are often not taken seriously. The moment the landlady knew that she was speaking to an African Negro, she hung up straight away.
Okay. So, that's what I got for this very poem. In fact, I feel like thrashing the landlady up. What a racist person. If you don't mind, I would like to call her an idiot. Even now, the whites are still discriminating the Africans. Not only that, we Asian, are discriminated too! They call us the 'yellow people'. Aargh! I wanna thrash them up! Oh well, I guess that's life. May more posts come your way!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Comic Strip!!! :D
Hiya again to all of you! Today's online learning again...... am I am not very happy. First, I woke up a little late. Next, I started coughing so hard I almost had a fit and had to go to the doctor. At 11am, I am back with two subjects behind! Aargh!! This is insane! Anyway, we have to do some random comic strip for today's Literature Arts online lesson. So, here goes..
Pretty interesting ain't it? Don't jump to conclusion! Hehe! If you want to see the original picture, here you go: http://www.pikistrips.com/ps/gallery/view_image/35377403. Now, down to my explanation:
First of all, all these pictures, backgrounds and characters are drawn by me purely on Adobe Flash CS4 Professional. They are not created on www.toondoo.com. Okay, so it looks rather ugly but I am not used to drawing on the computer. Anyway, I picked soccer to represent it since there are so many lessons you can learn from soccer. The soccer player and the goalkeeper make up most of the plot, oh, and you can include the soccer ball too.
The goalkeeper's personality of crowing and laughing at the soccer player when he kicks the ball too high shows the fact that he is very proud of himself, and straight away declare that he had missed the shot. We can see this from the second picture when he says: "Haha! Out!". The soccer player himself is just a humble little lad who does nothing when he had missed the shot. He did not even try to cover it up by saying something. All these personification makes up part of the plot and gives an idea of what is going to happen next.
Comics are supposed to be funny(At least I think so.), so the last part about the ball falling through the top of the net makes it that way. It too, tells us that unexpected things can happen when we least expected it. The background, which consists of the goal post and the grass patch, tells us the characters are at the soccer field. The different colour pants of the characters shows us that they are from different teams.
Well, that's all I have to say. To be honest, this was adapted from an old hand-drawn comic of mine. In fact, I had drawn tons of comics in primary school life time but I seem to have dump them somewhere I could not remember. I just gotta find them again! So there, that commences my post on this day of online lesson. May more posts come your way! Good luck on your comics!
Pretty interesting ain't it? Don't jump to conclusion! Hehe! If you want to see the original picture, here you go: http://www.pikistrips.com/ps/gallery/view_image/35377403. Now, down to my explanation:
First of all, all these pictures, backgrounds and characters are drawn by me purely on Adobe Flash CS4 Professional. They are not created on www.toondoo.com. Okay, so it looks rather ugly but I am not used to drawing on the computer. Anyway, I picked soccer to represent it since there are so many lessons you can learn from soccer. The soccer player and the goalkeeper make up most of the plot, oh, and you can include the soccer ball too.
The goalkeeper's personality of crowing and laughing at the soccer player when he kicks the ball too high shows the fact that he is very proud of himself, and straight away declare that he had missed the shot. We can see this from the second picture when he says: "Haha! Out!". The soccer player himself is just a humble little lad who does nothing when he had missed the shot. He did not even try to cover it up by saying something. All these personification makes up part of the plot and gives an idea of what is going to happen next.
Comics are supposed to be funny(At least I think so.), so the last part about the ball falling through the top of the net makes it that way. It too, tells us that unexpected things can happen when we least expected it. The background, which consists of the goal post and the grass patch, tells us the characters are at the soccer field. The different colour pants of the characters shows us that they are from different teams.
Well, that's all I have to say. To be honest, this was adapted from an old hand-drawn comic of mine. In fact, I had drawn tons of comics in primary school life time but I seem to have dump them somewhere I could not remember. I just gotta find them again! So there, that commences my post on this day of online lesson. May more posts come your way! Good luck on your comics!
Historical Background: Black and Whites
Heyo to you guys again. Here I am today with another whole ton of stuff to share, or HOMEWORK TO DO! Yes! I can't believe this is homework! Okay, let's get down to the facts. We have to do research on slavery in America in the past, the civil war in America and Jim Crow's Laws? Don't look surprised, I have no idea what they are talking about either! In fact, I don't even think they are talking! Oh well, just got to do it randomly...
Slavery:
Slavery in America began in the 1600s. The southern states has more slaves as there are many large plantations that grew cotton and other crops which require more labour from the slaves. Most of them are blacks that are brought from Western Africa to do work in the plantations. The usual owners of the slaves are whites though some of the blacks can have slaves too.
If that wasn't enough, slaves still have rules to abide to. What a lot of work!
Here's an example of rules I found......
A Summary of South Carolina Slave Laws:
Prop VI. " The slave, being personal chattel, is at all times liable to be sold absolutely, or mortgaged or leased, at the will of his master."
Prop. XI "Slaves cannot redeem themselves, nor obtain a change of masters, though cruel treatment may have rendered such change necessary for their personal safety."
Prop. X. "Slaves being objects of property, if injured by third persons, their owners, may bring suit, and recover damages for the injury."
Prop. XI "Slaves can make no contract."
Prop. XII Slavery is heriditary and perpetual."
Source: http://www.bowdoin.edu/~prael/projects/gsonnen/page3.html
Back to the novel, we can make a lot of links here. The blacks are not respected as they are seen as slaves or servants to them. They tend to be referred to as waste of space and are badly bullied by the whites. And yeah, I guess this research helped me understand the novel better(although there isn't already much understanding in the novel itself).
The US Civil War:
There are around 11 states in southern America(that is, the south of US, not the continent South America!). Here they are in this very blog to show themselves to you:
South Carolina (December 20, 1860)
Mississippi (January 9, 1861)
Florida (January 10 1861)
Alabama (January 11 1861)
Georgia (January 19, 1861)
Louisiana (January 26 1861)
Texas (February 1 1861)
Virginia (April 17, 1861)
Arkansas (May 6, 1861)
North Carolina (May 20 1861)
Tennessee (June 8 1861)
The war started in 1861 and ended in 1865. During this painful 5 years, much has happened that caused United States of America to stand together today. It started when the Republican Party was formed, resulting in the formation of the Confederate States of America, which are the southern states of America. They declared succession from the Union in USA. It was also because they were angered when the Union and the rest of the USA were against slavery.
The Republican Party was led by President Abraham Lincoln(I prefer calling him Lincoln Abraham). He was greatly against the expansion of slavery and was calling on the southern states to stop the practice before suffering further action from the Republican Party. But the Confederate States refused and began their first attack. It was April 12, 1861. Lincoln responded by asking for voluntary troops to strike back.
At first, the Confederate States dominated the battles in the east, but was turned down at the Battle of Gettysburg. The Republican Party and Union won battles to the west, splitting the Confederate in two. This counterattack greatly wrecked the Confederate's war-time spirit and on April 9, 1865, Confederate commander Robert E. Lee surrendered at the McLean House in the village of Appomattox Court House.
Though he was allowed to keep his officer's saber and horse, the Confederate States was demolished and rejoined into the Union. Five days later, President Abraham Lincoln was shot and he died early next morning. Andrew Johnson became the new President and the whole five years of hardship and sufferings has thought the Americans that war is disastrous and agreed to organize peace. This is what kept America standing today.
How does it relate to the novel? Well, I don't see much things in it that has relation to the novel. The only thing which I think relates to this is the fact that the whites are the rightful owners of the American land and the rest are just immigrants. Immigrants, are just as good as slaves in the eyes of the whites.
Jim Crow's Laws:
Jim Crow is not a person's name. In fact, it is just a set of segregation laws, rules, and customs which arose after Reconstruction ended in 1877 and continued until the mid-1960s. It was the name of the racial caste system. Under this laws, African Americans were relegated to the status of second class citizens. Jim Crow represented the legitimization of anti-Black racism.
Many Christian ministers and theologians taught that Whites were the Chosen people, Blacks were cursed to be servants, and God supported racial segregation. Though the blacks were outraged and protests were made, there is nothing much they could do.
Now, we do see this kind of happenings in the novel itself. The people are often called 'niggers'(sorry for any African American reading this), and are usually discriminated by the whites. One part which surfaces this is the fact that they have different churches for different people and they even sit separately when in court.
Hmm......that's a lot of things! Especially when I decided to start adding lot more pictures to make my posts more interesting. I received complains from MYSELF that my posts are too wordy and boring, though the jokes may be there to stop from damaging your brain too much. Well, guess that's all I have for this post. But I am sure more of this will have to be done again in the future. Ugh! May more posts come your way!
Slavery:
Slavery in America began in the 1600s. The southern states has more slaves as there are many large plantations that grew cotton and other crops which require more labour from the slaves. Most of them are blacks that are brought from Western Africa to do work in the plantations. The usual owners of the slaves are whites though some of the blacks can have slaves too.
If that wasn't enough, slaves still have rules to abide to. What a lot of work!
Here's an example of rules I found......
A Summary of South Carolina Slave Laws:
Prop VI. " The slave, being personal chattel, is at all times liable to be sold absolutely, or mortgaged or leased, at the will of his master."
Prop. XI "Slaves cannot redeem themselves, nor obtain a change of masters, though cruel treatment may have rendered such change necessary for their personal safety."
Prop. X. "Slaves being objects of property, if injured by third persons, their owners, may bring suit, and recover damages for the injury."
Prop. XI "Slaves can make no contract."
Prop. XII Slavery is heriditary and perpetual."
Source: http://www.bowdoin.edu/~prael/projects/gsonnen/page3.html
Back to the novel, we can make a lot of links here. The blacks are not respected as they are seen as slaves or servants to them. They tend to be referred to as waste of space and are badly bullied by the whites. And yeah, I guess this research helped me understand the novel better(although there isn't already much understanding in the novel itself).
The US Civil War:
There are around 11 states in southern America(that is, the south of US, not the continent South America!). Here they are in this very blog to show themselves to you:
South Carolina (December 20, 1860)
Mississippi (January 9, 1861)
Florida (January 10 1861)Alabama (January 11 1861)
Georgia (January 19, 1861)
Louisiana (January 26 1861)
Texas (February 1 1861)
Virginia (April 17, 1861)
Arkansas (May 6, 1861)
North Carolina (May 20 1861)
Tennessee (June 8 1861)
The war started in 1861 and ended in 1865. During this painful 5 years, much has happened that caused United States of America to stand together today. It started when the Republican Party was formed, resulting in the formation of the Confederate States of America, which are the southern states of America. They declared succession from the Union in USA. It was also because they were angered when the Union and the rest of the USA were against slavery.
The Republican Party was led by President Abraham Lincoln(I prefer calling him Lincoln Abraham). He was greatly against the expansion of slavery and was calling on the southern states to stop the practice before suffering further action from the Republican Party. But the Confederate States refused and began their first attack. It was April 12, 1861. Lincoln responded by asking for voluntary troops to strike back.At first, the Confederate States dominated the battles in the east, but was turned down at the Battle of Gettysburg. The Republican Party and Union won battles to the west, splitting the Confederate in two. This counterattack greatly wrecked the Confederate's war-time spirit and on April 9, 1865, Confederate commander Robert E. Lee surrendered at the McLean House in the village of Appomattox Court House.
Though he was allowed to keep his officer's saber and horse, the Confederate States was demolished and rejoined into the Union. Five days later, President Abraham Lincoln was shot and he died early next morning. Andrew Johnson became the new President and the whole five years of hardship and sufferings has thought the Americans that war is disastrous and agreed to organize peace. This is what kept America standing today.
How does it relate to the novel? Well, I don't see much things in it that has relation to the novel. The only thing which I think relates to this is the fact that the whites are the rightful owners of the American land and the rest are just immigrants. Immigrants, are just as good as slaves in the eyes of the whites.
Jim Crow's Laws:
Jim Crow is not a person's name. In fact, it is just a set of segregation laws, rules, and customs which arose after Reconstruction ended in 1877 and continued until the mid-1960s. It was the name of the racial caste system. Under this laws, African Americans were relegated to the status of second class citizens. Jim Crow represented the legitimization of anti-Black racism.
Many Christian ministers and theologians taught that Whites were the Chosen people, Blacks were cursed to be servants, and God supported racial segregation. Though the blacks were outraged and protests were made, there is nothing much they could do.
Now, we do see this kind of happenings in the novel itself. The people are often called 'niggers'(sorry for any African American reading this), and are usually discriminated by the whites. One part which surfaces this is the fact that they have different churches for different people and they even sit separately when in court.
Hmm......that's a lot of things! Especially when I decided to start adding lot more pictures to make my posts more interesting. I received complains from MYSELF that my posts are too wordy and boring, though the jokes may be there to stop from damaging your brain too much. Well, guess that's all I have for this post. But I am sure more of this will have to be done again in the future. Ugh! May more posts come your way!
Monday, January 17, 2011
The Very Word, Discrimination
Hello again to you people out there! As mentioned in the previous post, I said I would make a comeback for some extra work. Well, obviously this is the one, Lucky for me, we won't be talking about silly poems this time. In fact, we will be talking about words! Yes! Words! To be exact, it is only a word. But this word is enough kill you out! Well......let's get down to work.
Discrimination, the definition:
Treatment or consideration of, or making a discrimination in favour of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than individual merit.
Wow, that seems pretty long. Now, the forms of discrimination, we have:
-Race Discrimination:
Racial discrimination differentiates between individuals or the basics of real and perceived racial differences.
-Age Discrimination:
Discrimination on the grounds of age.
-Gender Discrimination:
An adverse action taken by one person against another that would not have occurred had the person been of another gender.
-Religious Discrimination:
Treating a person or group differently because of what they do or do not believe.
-Employment Discrimination:
Disabling certain people to apply and receive jobs based on their race, age, gender, religion, height, weight, nationality, disability.
Now, that sounds like a lot. Hmm...looks like discrimination is a bad thing. Why does it exist in the first place? In fact, why are there people in this world that just wants to insult one another? Well, it has been a long time since I embedded a video, so here's TWO to get your attention. May more posts and EVEN MORE VIDEOS COME YOUR WAY!
Discrimination, the definition:
Treatment or consideration of, or making a discrimination in favour of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than individual merit.
Wow, that seems pretty long. Now, the forms of discrimination, we have:
-Race Discrimination:
Racial discrimination differentiates between individuals or the basics of real and perceived racial differences.
-Age Discrimination:
Discrimination on the grounds of age.
-Gender Discrimination:
An adverse action taken by one person against another that would not have occurred had the person been of another gender.
-Religious Discrimination:
Treating a person or group differently because of what they do or do not believe.
-Employment Discrimination:
Disabling certain people to apply and receive jobs based on their race, age, gender, religion, height, weight, nationality, disability.
Now, that sounds like a lot. Hmm...looks like discrimination is a bad thing. Why does it exist in the first place? In fact, why are there people in this world that just wants to insult one another? Well, it has been a long time since I embedded a video, so here's TWO to get your attention. May more posts and EVEN MORE VIDEOS COME YOUR WAY!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Shel Silverstein's 'Interesting' Poems
Hiya to you people again! Hmm... school has just started for a few days and we are already getting this kind of homework? Aargh! This is nonsense! Oh, and the homework is non other than some real weird poems that are totally not my type. In fact, poetry is never my type. Oh well here goes...
The Little Boy and the Old Man by Shel Silverstein:
Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon."
Said the old man, "I do that too."
The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."
"I do that too," laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, "I often cry."
The old man nodded, "So do I."
"But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems
Grown-ups don't pay attention to me."
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
"I know what you mean," said the little old man.
Q1: What is the underlying message that is being conveyed in this poem?
Q2: Has Shell Silverstein used any particular poetic technique that brings out this message more clearly?
Ans1: As you can tell in the poem, the boy is complaining that life is totally unfair and thought he is the only one who has the worst life. The old man told him that he, too suffers the same fate. But what they did not realise that they were only talking about their current life. The boy failed to look into what the future holds for him and the old man did not even think about his past. What they cared about was only their current life.
Ans2: Yes, he used dialogues to tell us directly what exactly the characters in the poem has to say instead of using complicated words for us to analyse and understand what they are talking about.
Messy Room by Shel Silverstein:
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!
Q1: Can you say that the poem is humourous? If so, how?
Q2: What aspect of the human character has been highlighted in this poem?
Ans 1: Yes, it is. The room has been described to such an exaggerating state it seemed impossible to be true, especially for a bedroom. The way that the poet described each things in the room being in an unearthly place and position certainly brings out the humour in the poem.
Ans 2: It shows how a normal person is quick to blame others for their things but is bind to their own faults.
Clooney The Clown by Shel Silverstein:
I'll tell you the story of Cloony the Clown
Who worked in a circus that came through town.
His shoes were too big and his hat was too small,
But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.
He had a trombone to play loud silly tunes,
He had a green dog and a thousand balloons.
He was floppy and sloppy and skinny and tall,
But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.
And every time he did a trick,
Everyone felt a little sick.
And every time he told a joke,
Folks sighed as if their hearts were broke.
And every time he lost a shoe,
Everyone looked awfully blue.
And every time he stood on his head,
Everyone screamed, "Go back to bed!"
And every time he made a leap,
Everybody fell asleep.
And every time he ate his tie,
Everyone began to cry.
And Cloony could not make any money
Simply because he was not funny.
One day he said, "I'll tell this town
How it feels to be an unfunny clown."
And he told them all why he looked so sad,
And he told them all why he felt so bad.
He told of Pain and Rain and Cold,
He told of Darkness in his soul,
And after he finished his tale of woe,
Did everyone cry? Oh no, no, no,
They laughed until they shook the trees
With "Hah-Hah-Hahs" and "Hee-Hee-Hees."
They laughed with howls and yowls and shrieks,
They laughed all day, they laughed all week,
They laughed until they had a fit,
They laughed until their jackets split.
The laughter spread for miles around
To every city, every town,
Over mountains, 'cross the sea,
From Saint Tropez to Mun San Nee.
And soon the whole world rang with laughter,
Lasting till forever after,
While Cloony stood in the circus tent,
With his head drooped low and his shoulders bent.
And he said,"THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT -
I'M FUNNY JUST BY ACCIDENT."
And while the world laughed outside.
Cloony the Clown sat down and cried.
Q1: Explain the irony in this poem.
Q2: Does Shel Silverstein manage to convey some harsh realities in this poem?
Q3: What poetic devices has the poet used to effectively convey his message?
Ans 1: The irony in this poem is the fact that Clooney the Clown intentionally tried to be funny so as to entertain his audience, but instead, his jokes had a negative effect on his audience and they were not impressed by his tricks. However, when he told the whole world how sad he was and wanted sympathy, people started to laugh at him instead.
Ans 2: Yes, he has. The reality here is that normal people does not fully understand each other well. They could not see the hardships of other people who are trying to entertain them, and instead insulted them.
Ans 3: Well, the poet has used poetic devices like onomatopoeia and personification. He also made the poem rhyme line after line. This caused the poem to be much easier understood and clearly described to create a vivid image of the scene.
Wait! Don't go yet! There is still one more thing which suddenly popped out of nowhere and nearly scared me to death. Oh, and the question is very personal, so I guess I can answer in the style I am very used to.
Q: Which of the above poems can you identify with the most?
Ans: Me? Oh alright! Well, I guess it shall be the Messy Room poem. The main reason for this is that I prefer poems that are mostly funny. It kills the stress in me and makes me think of what the poem is talking about. Yes, my mind works better when I am enlightened with jokes and no! Don't try to make me do my work by telling jokes to me! I will never do that!(PS: Hmm... I think this last sentence should be in my conclusion instead. Oh well.)
So, you have just seen some poems that you may regard as interesting. But it is not the case for me! Yes I absolutely hate poems! I mean, I like reading them, but if you ask me to analyze them and answer boring questions then I am not in the mood. Speaking of work, looks like I still have one more coming up for this blog. May more posts come your way!
The Little Boy and the Old Man by Shel Silverstein:
Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon."
Said the old man, "I do that too."
The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."
"I do that too," laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, "I often cry."
The old man nodded, "So do I."
"But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems
Grown-ups don't pay attention to me."
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
"I know what you mean," said the little old man.
Q1: What is the underlying message that is being conveyed in this poem?
Q2: Has Shell Silverstein used any particular poetic technique that brings out this message more clearly?
Ans1: As you can tell in the poem, the boy is complaining that life is totally unfair and thought he is the only one who has the worst life. The old man told him that he, too suffers the same fate. But what they did not realise that they were only talking about their current life. The boy failed to look into what the future holds for him and the old man did not even think about his past. What they cared about was only their current life.
Ans2: Yes, he used dialogues to tell us directly what exactly the characters in the poem has to say instead of using complicated words for us to analyse and understand what they are talking about.
Messy Room by Shel Silverstein:
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!
Q1: Can you say that the poem is humourous? If so, how?
Q2: What aspect of the human character has been highlighted in this poem?
Ans 1: Yes, it is. The room has been described to such an exaggerating state it seemed impossible to be true, especially for a bedroom. The way that the poet described each things in the room being in an unearthly place and position certainly brings out the humour in the poem.
Ans 2: It shows how a normal person is quick to blame others for their things but is bind to their own faults.
Clooney The Clown by Shel Silverstein:
I'll tell you the story of Cloony the Clown
Who worked in a circus that came through town.
His shoes were too big and his hat was too small,
But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.
He had a trombone to play loud silly tunes,
He had a green dog and a thousand balloons.
He was floppy and sloppy and skinny and tall,
But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.
And every time he did a trick,
Everyone felt a little sick.
And every time he told a joke,
Folks sighed as if their hearts were broke.
And every time he lost a shoe,
Everyone looked awfully blue.
And every time he stood on his head,
Everyone screamed, "Go back to bed!"
And every time he made a leap,
Everybody fell asleep.
And every time he ate his tie,
Everyone began to cry.
And Cloony could not make any money
Simply because he was not funny.
One day he said, "I'll tell this town
How it feels to be an unfunny clown."
And he told them all why he looked so sad,
And he told them all why he felt so bad.
He told of Pain and Rain and Cold,
He told of Darkness in his soul,
And after he finished his tale of woe,
Did everyone cry? Oh no, no, no,
They laughed until they shook the trees
With "Hah-Hah-Hahs" and "Hee-Hee-Hees."
They laughed with howls and yowls and shrieks,
They laughed all day, they laughed all week,
They laughed until they had a fit,
They laughed until their jackets split.
The laughter spread for miles around
To every city, every town,
Over mountains, 'cross the sea,
From Saint Tropez to Mun San Nee.
And soon the whole world rang with laughter,
Lasting till forever after,
While Cloony stood in the circus tent,
With his head drooped low and his shoulders bent.
And he said,"THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT -
I'M FUNNY JUST BY ACCIDENT."
And while the world laughed outside.
Cloony the Clown sat down and cried.
Q1: Explain the irony in this poem.
Q2: Does Shel Silverstein manage to convey some harsh realities in this poem?
Q3: What poetic devices has the poet used to effectively convey his message?
Ans 1: The irony in this poem is the fact that Clooney the Clown intentionally tried to be funny so as to entertain his audience, but instead, his jokes had a negative effect on his audience and they were not impressed by his tricks. However, when he told the whole world how sad he was and wanted sympathy, people started to laugh at him instead.
Ans 2: Yes, he has. The reality here is that normal people does not fully understand each other well. They could not see the hardships of other people who are trying to entertain them, and instead insulted them.
Ans 3: Well, the poet has used poetic devices like onomatopoeia and personification. He also made the poem rhyme line after line. This caused the poem to be much easier understood and clearly described to create a vivid image of the scene.
Wait! Don't go yet! There is still one more thing which suddenly popped out of nowhere and nearly scared me to death. Oh, and the question is very personal, so I guess I can answer in the style I am very used to.
Q: Which of the above poems can you identify with the most?
Ans: Me? Oh alright! Well, I guess it shall be the Messy Room poem. The main reason for this is that I prefer poems that are mostly funny. It kills the stress in me and makes me think of what the poem is talking about. Yes, my mind works better when I am enlightened with jokes and no! Don't try to make me do my work by telling jokes to me! I will never do that!(PS: Hmm... I think this last sentence should be in my conclusion instead. Oh well.)
So, you have just seen some poems that you may regard as interesting. But it is not the case for me! Yes I absolutely hate poems! I mean, I like reading them, but if you ask me to analyze them and answer boring questions then I am not in the mood. Speaking of work, looks like I still have one more coming up for this blog. May more posts come your way!
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