SLC Introduction

Hi all

Somehow its seems as if everyone has dedicated at least 1 paragraph to the new future school pilot programme. A little boring isn't it? I mean like, most of our blogs will be read by either

1)people from 2O1 or

2)people from Hwa Chong or

3) some random guy who happens to fall into our boring blogs by clicking "next blog" and leaves after finding out we are NOT celebrity bloggers though we want to be one.

(the sad truth huh?)

Who wouldn't know about it? Bad analysis of target audience or possible audience, I would say.

Today I am going to write about a topic none of you guys in the class will write for this year: My experience in the Student Leader's Convention OT. (SLCOT for short) Yesterday marked the official starting day of the SLCOT marathon, according to The teacher-in-charge of SLC. I was told that being a member of the SLCOT would be really tough (so don't expect me to be posting that much) but the fruits of our labour would change our lives forever.

Yesterday's meeting started at 7pm. No, that's not a typo-error. Its ended around 9.30p.m. Yeah! What's more, I was told that this first meeting was considered very early!!! (I bet you have those three letters Mr Dennis Ong mentioned)

First we went through some Icebreakers and the Organizing Secretary, Daniel, randomly forced me to do a forfeit even though no one called my name in 'Whacko'. Sort of unfair, I would say. So I stood behind him and shouted, " Daniel, forfeit!" Everyone likes to tease Daniel so they too wanted him to do a forfeit. Sadly, in the end I still did the forfeit.

Did I forget to mention that SLC was a collaboration between NYGH and HCI? Never mind it is not that important is it? It is? (I can see you wishing you were there) In my committee (logistics) there are 5 boys and 5 girls. Thus there is this school rule that we cannot meet in school (you know why but I don't, really!) so we have to meet at someone's house. (isn't that worse???)

Enough about them. Our seniors told us that the workload will be very heavy for SLC. there are meetings about 2 times a week at night because it is hard to find an afternoon where everyone is available. Meetings can easily last until 11pm. Plus there is a general meeting once every fortnight. Sounds pretty demanding!

I hope that SLC will not affect my school performance. I also hope that this event will change me into a better person and I will benefit greatly from it.

I cross my heart and hope for the best.

Samuel

PS. I did NOT join SLCOT to be with THEM.

Which is more Prominent in Singapore: Racism or Xenophobia

Hi all,

Welcome once again to my blog. Its the beginning of a new year (sorry actually its been more than half a month already) and I am very very very glad to say we have new literature books! (sorry for the propaganda too)

I have started to read To Kill A Mockingbird, a story about racism and racial inequality in America. The first time I read it it was boring boring and even more boring. To be honest, I could not even get past the first chapter. Now that I think of it, Animal Farm was much better. The story was quite easy to understand as a whole. The dynamic characters made it easy for the reader to sympathize with the mistreated animals. The relation to real life was very eminent throughout the entire story.

Now back to the point. I was like trying to remember all those projects that I saw last year to try to improve my own project. I randomly recalled one that had a twenty word title! Mind-blowing? It was something like: examining the extent of the xenophobic tendencies in Singaporeans; case study of the Serangoon Gardens incident... This surprisingly random topic caused me to think about whether racism or Xenophobia is more prominent in Singapore.

For those of you who do not know what is Xenophobia, it actually means "intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries". For example, many Singaporeans dislike Chinese nationals etc.

Note: This blog post is based on my own opinion, not on any statistics.

Racism

In Singapore, there is no laws to enforce racial segregation. However, racism is still prevalent, whether we want to admit it or not. Studies show that racism exists in the subconscious (surprise!). Some employers only want to hire people of certain races, for example. Even so, racism is less in Singapore than in other countries. This is because almost all Singaporeans were brought up in a multi-racial community, with government imposing national education to teach children about the importance of Racial Harmony. We are taught and conditioned to accept everyone as Singaporeans, not Indians or Chinese or Malay.

Xenophobia

Have you forgotten the meaning of this word yet? If you have not, then try saying "Carl's Junior Portebello Mushroom Burger" 10 times very quickly and you will forget. If you happen to still be able to remember then say it another 100 times.

Finished? Ok, let us continue. Xenophobia is a very pressing issue here in Singapore. Since we can't be prejudiced against other races (who are born in Singapore, of course) we sort of turn our racism into Xenophobia. Foreigners are often made fun of in school. Most of us in school hate International school children. We think of them as rich BRATS, who cut the queues in the canteen or even if they do not cut the queues, we blame them for making the queues so much longer.

This scene can also be represented in the Jobs scene. Foreigners are blamed for taking up jobs which the local Singaporeans desperately need. Foreigners are also associated with crimes committed in Singapore. For example: theft, rape, burglary etc. are thought to be common around foreign worker dormitories. Once some Singaporeans signed a petition to move a foreign worker dormitory away from their houses as they thought that having it nearby would cause their houses to depreciate in value.

Final Verdict

Xenophobia is seen more in Singapore than racism. But racism still exists, as part of human nature.

Amazing....

My Blog Slogan

Hi all,

I am posting two posts in a single day because today is the only day in the week that I actually have time to blog. I have two EP3s, Robotics and Fencing, Science Olympiad, Council Duties (Student Leader's Convention OT).

What's more, I am in the Future School Class, where the Just-In-Time Teaching Pedagogy is adopted. We have to read up on the topics BEFORE going to school. This means double workload!

An Acknowledged Alive Addicted Amazing Awesome Blogger

Coming back to the point, I will now be explaining my blog slogan. As most of you should be able to see, my blog slogan is actually an awesome alliteration. The slogan is actually the goal I set for myself as well as my blog. Now I will explain each and every word in the slogan:

Acknowledged

I want my blog to receive recognition as a celebrity blog. (or at least an effort to create one)

Alive

My blog will be alive with content and new viewpoints on current affairs.

Addicted

Now this is just a follow-up on my previous blog, in which the url is "iamnotablogaddict.blogspot.com" (the blog is not available now). Now I am addicted to blogging! I also want my readers to be addicted to reading my blog.

Amazing

I want to amaze people with my unique viewpoints.

Awesome

This word was our random tagline for all the buddies during Sec 1 Orientation 2010. When my readers leave this blog, I want them to shout the word "AWESOME!". If you cannot remember my entire blog slogan, just remember this one word: AWESOME!

Hope you find this awesome blog AWESOME!

Problem with Importing contacts from hotmail to apple address book

This is the export page from hotmail
Proof of download. Notice that it is a csv file
Open the Address Book to import contacts
Selection of the CSV file
Failure!

Is it the problem with hotmail or address book? How to I correct it?

New Macbook Laptop!

I am posting this blog post from my new Macbook! It's really great! After even touching this Mac, I do not want to use windows computers anymore.

Some features include:

1. Face detecting software that helps you sort out your photos
2. Website making software that you could use in your html lessons
3. Overall higher speed. (that means no more lagging like on a PC)
4. A better Microsoft office which is called iWork
5. Very impressive graphics in the entire computer
6. Fake thermal camera
7. A cool mouse I just bought yesterday that can scroll in all directions, not just up and down
8. 6-7 hour battery!

and many others...

I think I would not be using windows for a long time after this...
Most people think that a Mac is very incompatible but I find it absolutely great. All important applications such as office and adobe etc all have their Mac counterparts. What's more, Mac documents are compatible with windows documents. For example, A mac Keynote presentation can be opened in Microsoft office.

I also like the snow white colour of the Mac, the mouse and the power cable. If you look at them, they are really beautiful.

I recommend all those people who do not have a Mac to buy one. You will never regret it!

Casino in Singapore. Boon or Bane?

Yes, the casino is supposed to create hundreds of thousands of jobs and generate millions of dollars for the tourism industry. Many Singaporeans will be saved from poverty during this economic crisis. Visitors to Singapore will increase dramatically and children will have a new theme park to play in. As a precautionary measure to discourage Singaporeans from entering the casino, a fee of at least $100 will be charged. As you can see, there are many advantages.

However, I feel that the disadvantages are more. Firstly, I feel that the $100 fine is not an effective method to stop gamblers. Most gamblers go to a casino ready to win some money, possibly thousands. What is a hundred to them? Or maybe some have already lost a lot of money, losing a hundred more would not make a difference to them.

Secondly, a casino will cause many social problems. Addicts will become in debt and there may be broken families. As I mentioned above, there is an economic crisis. Perhaps a person who is unemployed wants to have a chance to strike it rich. He takes all his savings and gambles it all away in one night. In one night, his family has become bangkrupt. In the soundtrack on gambling addiction, Jonny W. lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, lost his job and got divorced. Another gambler, a woman, spent one year in jail for stealing money to gamble.

Thirdly, if many people in Singapore are addicted to gambling and lose a lot of money, the economic system of Singapore would be affected. Many gamblers who have lost money fall into depression and are unable to function at maximum capacity. As seen in a video, even famous people are not spared from gambling either. A well-known reporter neglected her child to gamble. If this addiction can affect even famous people, many not so well-known people will also fall into it.

Lastly, gambling is a habit that is impossible to erase completely. One gambler who had not gambled to 17 years could not resist the temptation and went gambling one more time. There is also and advertisment of a gambler who asks money from his children! Gambling brings out the worst in people. Thus, I do not think that a casino should be built.

My father also thinks that a casino should not be built. He feels that there are many more ways to generate revenue for the tourism industry such as theme parks, greenery and shopping hot-spots. A casino should only be used as a last resort.

Robert Frost

“The death of Robert Frost leaves a vacancy in the American spirit....His death impoverishes us all; but he has bequeathed his Nation a body of imperishable verse from which Americans will forever gain joy and understanding.” John F Kennedy

He is a man who was continuously plagued with grief and loss, but he could still write beautiful poems. His father died of tuberculosis when Frost was 11, leaving the family with just $8 after paying expenses. Frost's mother died of cancer in 1900. Frost’s sister was mentally ill and died in a mental hospital in 1929. Frost and his mother both suffered from depression, and his daughter Irma was also committed to a mental hospital in 1947. Even his wife was a little mentally ill.

Only 2 of his 6 children outlived Frost, with one of them mentally ill. One of his other children committed suicide, one died just days after birth and others died very young too.

Despite all these deaths and sadness, he was able to win 4 Pulitzer prizes (a US award for achievement in Literature, Journalism etc.) and he even managed to recite one of his poems at President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration ceremony! He is one of the most famous American poets of all time, and his poems are taught in many schools in America. In fact, I think that his life a one is very inspirational. Few people have seen so many loved ones die, Robert Frost is one of them. Despite having mental illness running through his family, he still managed to snap out of his depression and write poems. This is what we should do to. Whenever unfortunate events happen, we should not grief for too long. We should quickly “regain our composure” and try to return to our normal life.
Many of his poems are also inspirational poems. One example would be The Road Not Taken:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,


And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

In case you do not understand the poem, it actually talks about the rewards of travelling the road that is less taken. Other poems of his that I like include: Going for Water and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.

Sources:
http://poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/192
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/robertfrost/12074
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Frost#Pulitzer_Prizes
http://www.ketzle.com/frost/
http://www.online-literature.com/frost/
http://www.poetry.org/famous.htm

Poetry Analysis

Courage by Robert William Service
Today I opened wide my eyes,
And stared with wonder and surprise,
To see beneath November skies
An apple blossom peer;
Upon a branch as bleak as night
It gleamed exultant on my sight,
A fairy beacon burning bright
Of hope and cheer.

"Alas!" said I, "poor foolish thing,
Have you mistaken this for Spring?
Behold, the thrush has taken wing,
And Winter's near.
"Serene it seemed to lift its head:
"The Winter's wrath I do not dread,
Because I am," it proudly said,
"A Pioneer."

Some apple blossom must be first,
With beauty's urgency to burst
Into a world for joy athirst,
And so I dare;
And I shall see what none shall see -
December skies gloom over me,
And mock them with my April glee,
And fearless fare.

"And I shall hear what none shall hear -
The hardy robin piping clear,
The Storm King gallop dark and drear
Across the sky;
And I shall know what none shall know -
The silent kisses of the snow,
The Christmas candles' silver glow,
Before I die.

"Then from your frost-gemmed window pane
One morning you will look in vain,
My smile of delicate disdain
No more to see;
But though I pass before my time,
And perish in the grale and grime,
Maybe you'll have a little rhyme
To spare for me."

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

Hyperboles
In stanza 3 and 4, the statements “I shall see what none shall see”, “I shall hear what none shall hear” and “I shall know what none shall know” are hyperboles. This is because they emphasize the rewards of being courageous to explore new boundaries. The author uses these hyperboles to encourage us to be brave.

Personification
There is a lot of personification in this poem as the author is writing about a tree with feelings. A tree is not supposed to have feelings, only humans have, so the poem should be all about personification. In the first stanza, the apple blossom tree “gleamed exultant” and “burned brightly”. (I am not saying that humans can burn brightly but rather the apple blossom tree was full of life and fervour) The author chose to use this to tell us that people should be like that apple blossom tree, full of courage to face life.
Also, the apple blossoms serenely “lift its head” to look at the winter skies. Then, the apple blossom said that it was not afraid of the “winter’s wrath”. The author uses this personification to tell us to have courage in times of difficulty. The apple blossom tree is “A pioneer”, the one to bloom before spring, the one to endure the winter. Similarly, we need to step out of our comfort zone and try out new things.
Regarding the winter, the apple blossom said that it will “mock them” with his “April glee” and “fearless fare”. The author is trying to tell us to not be afraid of danger. Instead, we should mock it by doing our best to overcome it.
The “Storm King gallop dark and drear across the sky” and “silent kisses of the snow” are also personifications. The author uses these to describe the hardships but also the happiness whenever a person has courage.
In the last stanza, the tree has a “smile of delicate disdain”. This personification actually tells us the satisfaction when one is brave enough to cross boundaries to explore new fields of study. Courage certainly has many advantages, according to the way the author writes.

Similes
There is only one simile in the poem, which is “as bleak as night”. The author uses this simile to emphasize the dangers ahead for the courageous.

Why do I like this poem?
For starters, it actually rhymes and the syllabus for each line is almost the same. (8 for the main lines and about 4 for the shorter lines.) This makes the poem a lot easier to read than other poems that do not rhyme.

Secondly, there is an effective use of personification. The author portrays a lowly tree as brave and strong-willed, even more so than most people. This is an inspirational poem and its main purpose is to tell people to be brave as even a tree is brave. After all, courage is what made the world, and will continue to do so. If no one is courageous enough to step out of their own comfort zone, nothing great will be accomplished.

Thirdly, It does not only critisise men, but also gives us inspiration to be brave. The author mentions rewards during and after the jouney. This, I think, is quite good inspiration for a depressed person. Thus, I like this poem.

Book Review 1

Book read: Bones of the Hills by Conn Iggulden


18. What would the main character be likely to do if he/she visited your classroom?

Well, that would depend whether we are Arabian, Mongolian or Chinese. If we were Arabian, the main character would most likely order his men to execute us. He may also storm into the classroom shouting like a madman and kill us all. He would show no mercy to anybody.

However, if we were Chinese already loyal to him, he would most probably try to recruit us into his army. This is because his army was lacking in soldiers and he would want to train young Chinese in Mongolian ways.

If we were Mongolian, he would come in to observe us study. Alternatively, he may ask us questions and praise the children. Yes, he would be like a father to us. He would probably tell us a story of his exploits.


26. If the story happened in a foreign land, compare that land to Singapore.

The story is situated in ancient Afghanistan/Arabia. The land there is vast and wide, with widely varying terrain. In some places, the land is extremely fertile and rich. All sorts of crops and fruits grew there, and the city near it was made rich and luxurious. However, in others, the land is dry and barren like a desert, with almost no life at all. Battles were fought on huge mountains and narrow valleys barely wide enough to fit a man. The destruction that the Mongolians left in their wake made the entire land stink of rotting flesh and burnt cities. Most of Arabia was left in ruins.
The characters venture even to Russia, where the snow is thick enough to bury a person riding on a horse.
The people of Arabia lived in fear of a Mongol attack. No town was safe. The Mongols raided every town and city in the country and millions of people were killed. There was no sense of security, even in the midst of the strongest army in the world.

In Singapore, the terrain is relatively flat and small. It is a metropolitan city with land that is not too fertile but still good. Much of the land in southern Singapore is man-made, unlike the land in the story which is all natural. Singapore is not too dry, with a lot of rainfall. In fact, thunderstorms occur on almost 200 days a year. There are no high mountains, or for that matter, no mountains at all, in Singapore. Unlike the land in the story, Singapore’s air is really fresh (no corpses). There is no snow, or the 4 seasons.

The people of Singapore have a sense of security and are quite safe.( In fact, too much sense of security) The crime rate is low and there is no war currently.


37. Using information from the book about one of the main characters, rewrite the ending of the book.

Ending: “It is done,” Ogedai said. ”My father has gone and I will now accept the oaths of my people.”

My Ending: “My father is dead, and his death is already avenged. His spirit is even now protecting our gers. His legacy shall be sung for generations to come, never forgotten. Long live the Khan!”


55. Which character in the book would you choose as a friend? Why?

I would choose Tsubodai as my friend. He is a extremely intelligent general. He is able to analyze every situation and come up with dozens of solutions. Moreover, he is loyal to the finish and never betrays his friends. He is also king and caring, unlike other generals who are cold-hearted and cruel (only towards their enemies). He is sensitive to other’s feelings and does not like to kill as much as Genghis or Jochi.

Should we critisise people or the opinions they have?

I think that we should criticise them or their opinions, but not in a way that ruins their reputation or puts them down.

Firstly, I would like to say that criticism actually improves a person. When someone receives criticism, he or she will try his/her best to change for the better. For example, if my friend is always forgetful, I will tell him that he is too forgetful and should change. He will then try not to be forgetful. Without criticism, no one would know his/her own weaknesses, and there would not be great people.

However, I feel that criticism that is too harsh may hurt a person's feelings. Once, when I was watching a singing contest, the judges were criticising a man so harshly that the man started to fume and scold the judges! Sometimes, criticism causes strife between friends and enmity to develop. Thus, we will have to watch what we say very carefully, or else we may hurt other people's feelings.

One example of criticising harshly is openly criticising someone. If you criticise someone in public, they will "lose face". Most of the time, they will hate you for causing them so much embarrassment. Criticising someone in public also defeats the true purpose of criticism. Criticism is to inform that particular person of his/her mistake. It is not to let the whole world know that he/she has made a mistake.

When trying to criticise someone, you should do it in a way that makes the person think that you really care for him/her. You must talk to him/her gently and try not to seem like you are criticising them, but instead like you are advising them. This will make you criticism/advice more easily accepted by the other party.