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

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!

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

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!

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!

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!

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.

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.