E-learning lesson 3...

Well, I was supposed to be posting this on wikispaces but unfortunately, I forgot to request membership with the wikimaster... so I would be posting it here...

The Son is in Secondary School by Affran Sa’at
My badge has a Latin motto
Hope for the future
The future is hope
Or something

At times black crows try to interrupt
When we sing the National Anthem

It is difficult to maintain
The whiteness of my shoes
Especially on Wednesdays

I must admit there is something quite special
About the bare thighs of hardworking scouts

The Malay chauffeurs
Who wait for my schoolmates
Sit on the car park kerb
Telling jokes to one another

Seven to the power of five is unreasonable

On Chinese New Year
Mrs Lee dressed up
In a sarong kebaya
And sang Bengawan Solo

The capital of Singapore is Singapore

My best friend did a heroic thing once
Shaded all A’s
For his Chinese Language
Multiple-choice paper

In our annual yearbook
There is a photograph of me
Pushing a wheelchair and smiling
They caught me
At the exact moment
When my eyes were actually closed



Well, I was supposed to read and analyse the poem and then respond to the question: Think back on our days in primary school. Do you share the same sentiments? What were your memories of those days? Write a poem of no less than 2 stanzas of your days in primary school.


So here it is:

Homework homework
everyday.
It's all about work,
All work no play.

Scolded by teachers,
reprimanded in class,
I do so hope,
it never lasts.

Exams are the worst of all,
torturing us to the core.
Study hard or you will fall,
your teachers will give your parents a call...



I know it ain't very good, but at least I tried...

Favourite Poet

My favourite poet is William Carlos Williams. One thing I admire about him is his determination and love for composing poems. Even as his Williams's health began to decline after a heart attack in 1948 and a series of strokes, but he continued writing up until his death in New Jersey in 1963.

I believe that William Carlos Williams is a very determined writer who really enjoys composing poems. Such love and determination to compose poems is truly amazing. Even though he was having difficulties coping with his health, he still continued writing poems. Without this love and passion for composing poems, or doing anything for that matter, it is difficult to do the best in everything we do. They are one of the most important things that we must have to do the best in everything. They keep us moving despite the obstacles.

Here's one of his poems from Journey To Love titled "Shadows":

Shadows cast by the street light
under the stars,
the head is tilted back,
the long shadow of the legs
presumes a world taken for granted
on which the cricket trills"


The breaks in the poem search out a natural pause spoken in the American idiom that is also reflective of rhythms found within jazz sounds that also touch upon Sapphic harmony. Williams experimented with different types of lines and eventually found the "stepped triadic line", a long line which is divided into three segments. This line is used in Paterson and in poems like "To Elsie" and "The Ivy Crown." Here again one of Williams' aims is to show the truly American (i.e., opposed to European traditions) rhythm which is unnoticed but present in everyday American language. Stylistically, Williams worked with variations on free-form styles, notably developing and utilising the triadic line as in his lengthy love-poem Asphodel, That Greeny Flower.

Here's another poem by him:

By the road to the contagious hospital
under the surge of the blue
mottled clouds driven from the
northeast-a cold wind. Beyond, the
waste of broad, muddy fields
brown with dried weeds, standing and fallen
patches of standing water
the scattering of tall trees
All along the road the reddish
purplish, forked, upstanding, twiggy
stuff of bushes and small trees
with dead, brown leaves under them
leafless vines-
Lifeless in appearance, sluggish
dazed spring approaches-
They enter the new world naked,
cold, uncertain of all
save that they enter. All about them
the cold, familiar wind-
Now the grass, tomorrow
the stiff curl of wildcarrot leaf
One by one objects are defined-
It quickens: clarity, outline of leaf
But now the stark dignity of
entrance-Still, the profound change
has come upon them: rooted, they
grip down and begin to awaken


And another:

The Archer is wake!
The Swan is flying!
Gold against blue
An Arrow is lying.
There is hunting in heaven—
Sleep safe till tomorrow.
The Bears are abroad!
The Eagle is screaming!
Gold against blue
Their eyes are gleaming!
Sleep!
Sleep safe till tomorrow.
The Sisters lie
With their arms intertwining;
Gold against blue
Their hair is shining!
The Serpent writhes!
Orion is listening!
Gold against blue
His sword is glistening!
Sleep!
There is hunting in heaven—
Sleep safe till tomorrow.

All these info is taken from http://poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19912
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Carlos_Williams

Favourite Poem

Very Early Spring by Katherine Mansfield

The fields are snowbound no longer;
There are little blue lakes and flags of tenderest green.
The snow has been caught up into the sky--
So many white clouds--
and the blue of the sky is cold.
Now the sun walks in the forest,
He touches the bows and stems with his golden fingers;
They shiver, and wake from slumber.
Over the barren branches he shakes his yellow curls.
Yet is the forest full of the sound of tears....
A wind dances over the fields.
Shrill and clear the sound of her waking laughter,
Yet the little blue lakes tremble
And the flags of tenderest green bend and quiver.



There are several ways in which figurative language is used in this poem.

Personification:
1."Now the sun waiks into the forest"
2."He touches the bows and stems with his golden fingers"
3."Over the barren branches he shakes his yellow curls"

These sentences from the poem are personifications of the Sun. It is most probably used to compare more closely how the Sun behaves and acts, and also to make the poem more lively.

4."They shiver, and wake from slumber"
5."A wind dances over the fields"
6."Shrill and clear the sound of her waking laughter"
7."Yet the little blue lakes tremble and the flags of tenderest green bend and quiver"

These are several more instances where personification is used in the poem. It gives the poem a more lively feature to it as the reader is able further visualise what is happening in the story. It gives the unmoving objects like the grass and the trees a character and it is more life-like.

What I like about the poem:
The poem, in my opinion, is a very interesting poem. The poet uses a lot of personification in the poem and hence, gives it a very lively feature to it. Such excellent use of personification gives the poem a very lively and realistic appearence where the reader is able to visualise what is really happening in the poem. By changing the actions of nature into the actions of a certain "person" (for example, changing the rippling of the lakes into the trembling of the lakes), the poet has given each of the unmoving objects the qualities of a person, and hence, changed the view of what we think of those unmoving objects. How the poet uses personification to more closely how the Sun behaves is also rather amazing.

How do you who your friends are?

Firstly, let us all ask ourselves, what is friendship? What are true and fake friends?

Well, Friendship is a special bond between two or more people. It is a bond that we are able to treasure and cherish. Friends take care of each other when in trouble. Friends are usually people who share common goals and interests, and care about each other's mental growth. A friend usually wants you to be sucessful in life.

It can take many forms, from helping out your friend when he is having trouble to "borrowing" homework from each other (not to mention occasionally playing tricks on each other).

However, even friendship is split into two parts: True and Fake friends. Like I said before, a true friend would want to see how you progress in life, and wants you to be successful in life. A true friend would want tohelp each other out of the goodness of his or her heart. Even if you exceed him in terms of success, instead of mourning over how unsuccessful he or she is, a true friend would congratulate and encourage you to do even better (they mean it). A true friend would not pout and throw a fit just because you got higher marks than he did in a science test.
No, a true friend does none of that. A true friend would try his or her best to help you despite the difficulty. Basically, a tru friend puts you before himself.

Compared to true friends, fake friends differ by quite a lot. Fake friends are people who stick with you and become your "friend" only till you no longer any use to him. Either that, or you just gained some temporary popularity. A fake friend would try to help you unless it does not benefit him or her. He would not stiick around and share the blame with you. For example you rammed a soccer ball and it toppled and broke a few flowerpots, he would not stick around and share the blame, even if he did cause part of it. All you would see him do is run for his life. Heartless huh?

Speaking of true friends, I have one friend who really cared for me. When I injured my ankle, he did not just turn away and ask me to get up myself. Instead he went up to me and helped me up. Whenever I had problems with my homework, he would never hesitate to help and teach me the best he can. We cared for each other a lot, and went through a lot together. That was my most true and best friend I ever had.

What is beauty?

What is it? Well, beauty has several meanings, and what you think of it depends on several factors. Of course, what it means depends on your view of beauty to begin with.

Some might say that beauty is shown on the outside. So, many people would find ways to make themselves more good-looking, using up tonnes of money just to make themselves look better. Well, many people think like that, especially the media for example the newspapers. If someone from an ordinary neighbourhood school helps up an old lady who fell on the streets, well, at most he gets a "thank-you" from the lady in return. However, it is a whole different story if it were a famous singer like Jay Chou or Nicholas Teo, they would probably be on the news the next day, with praises splashed on the front page. Big difference huh?

In my opinion, inner beauty is waaaaaay better than external beauty. Imagine you have a friend. He is a hot shot in school and very popular. Sadly, he is empty on the inside. For example, he is an arrogant brat, does not care about others feelings, and does not even help his friends when they are in trouble. Not much of a friend to me. If you are beautiful on the outside, you may have friends for a while, but soon those friends would realise you do not care about them, and probably ditch you sooner or later. A person ugly on the inside, might as well be ugly on the out side as well, since inner beauty should come before external beauty.

Also, beauty depends on your mood. If you happen to have you money stolen or lost something very precious to you, you would probably be very sad and angry then. Even if you saw some really majestic piece of art made by a famous artist, you would think that that was the most disgusting piece of artwork you ever saw. However, if you passed a test with flying colours or something, you would be over the moon then and would probably think that your little brother's crayon work is the best in the world.

So, make your life better! Smile more! Be HAPPY!!!

If you could eliminate one emotion from the world, would you? Which one? Why?

Almost everyone has different views about this question. Different people would want to eliminate different emotions for different reasons. For example, some sadistic people would want to eliminate happiness from the world so that everyone would be as sad as he or she is. Or, it could be that others would want to eliminate sadness from the world, so the world would be free of sad people, and everyone can just enjoy themselves.

Some very "top wanted to be eliminated" emotion would be frustration and anger. For example, if you have worked very hard for the past ten years and never received a promotion or even a pay raise, you would be very disappointed. However, if some greenhorn just got employed and within the month he already got promoted, how would you feel? Angry, am I correct? That would be the time you felt that this anger and frustration should be eliminated so you can concentrate on your work. Hence, this shows that the question is extremely open-ended.

If I had the power to eliminate one emotion from the world, I would not. I believe that these emotions have both a good and bad thing about them and that they are a part of our lives.
If you were to eliminate sadness from the world, then everyone will be very happy, however, that makes you the same as everyone else, and that there would be no significannce in being happy, since you would be happy for every single thing you do, making you sad in the end.

No one likes jealousy, yet it can also be a good thing to be jealous of somebody. If you are jealous of someone, it means you look up to the person. Also, we would want to outshadow that certain someone. Hence, jealousy can drive us to do the best of everything we do. It is the same with frustration. It also forces a you to do the best you can, so that you can end your frustration.

Just as a person needs two hands to clap, one emotion cannot exist without each other. All emotions should be appreciated. There cannot be satisfaction without frustration. Happiness is also the fruit of sadness. Without these emotions, HOW CAN WE EXPRESS OURSELVES???

Book Review on "The Dream Merchant"

"The Dream Merchant" by Isabel Hoving

Twelve year old Joshua Cope is contacted by a corporation called Gippart International one day late at night. Joshua and his friend, Bhasvar (Baz) Patel go to Gippart and meet Max Herbert, a talent scout. Josh is sent into a dreamworld to sell products. But dreams also come with nightmares...
Umaya, the collective dream of everyone at that point in time, is caught between dreams and reality. Josh, Baz and a fellow associate Teresa cannot get out of the dream-world, where time is running backwards due to a Gippart employee attempting to break into real time rather than dream-time. Along his adventure, Josh meets his dead twin sister Jericho, who has been attempting to get in contact with him for 350 years. But with Jericho comes Lucide, a guardian who makes sure that no one crosses the borders of life and death.

They must find the ancient Tembe and fufill Siparti's last promise to his beloved brother, and try to escape back into reality...

1)Lesson learnt

After reading the book, I have learnt about one important thing: Never be greedy.

There were several instances where greed caused Josh Cope to be unable to fufill his goals. For example, Josh tried to steal a dress for Jericho, and ended up fleeing for his life, with a hoard of angered people at his heels. They were forced to escape and take refuge at the next town. This shows that greed can make you a magnet for trouble, and cause you to commit crimes.

There was also the time when they were right in front of the doors of the Tembe, and everyone else were able to go in except for Josh, because of all the things he had stolen from everyone else. He had to drop all of his precious items before he was admitted into the territory of the Tembe, and this shows that Greed weighs us down, with it, we cannot go far and fufill our goals

2)A Different Ending

The piercing sound of the phone could be heard. Josh picked up the phone, curious. "Hey erm... Josh? Baz here. I think we might have a problem. The doors to Umaya has crashed shut! Again!

Well, Gippart needs our help."Baz spluttered into the phone.

Josh thought of the times in Umaya, the endless adventures, the hanging evil, the horrific nightmares and most of all, of Jericho. A harsh smile danced on his lips. "Give me a moment, I will be there as soon as possible......"

He rushed for the door.

I believe that the ending in the book makes the reader feel as if it is the end to the entire adventure in Umaya. I think that there should be something like a cliffhanger or a certain hint that the adventures of Josh Cope and his friends are not over, but far from it. Only then, will there be more excitement in the ending of the story.

3)An exerpt from Josh's point of view

But I had another idea. Once Baz and Teresa hoisted their packs onto their backs, I told them to go on ahead, making it sound as if I had forgotten something, and in a few strides, I arrived at the front of the Buzzard House. Shrugging off my jacket, I grabbed four shortswords from the basket of battlefield debris and ran as fast as I could, shouting for Baz and the others to follow, half expecting shouts behind my very back.

4)Opinion of the ending of the story

I did not like the ending of the story as much as the rest of the story as I felt that Josh's adventures should not end just like that. The ending in the book makes the reader feel as if it is the end to the entire adventure in Umaya. I think that there should be something like a cliffhanger or a certain hint that the adventures of Josh Cope and his friends are not over, but far from it. Only then, will there be more excitement in the ending of the story.

Book Review about "Eragon"

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

The story of "Eragon" is about a young farmboy named Eragon, who found a polished blue stone which turned out to be a dragon egg. The dragon hatchling hence chose him to be a Dragon Rider. Plunged into a perilous new world of destiny, Eragon only had an ancient sword and an old storyteller's advice to guide him through the lands of Alagaesia and defeat the tyrant king Galbatorix...

1)Lesson learnt
It is an intriguing book of excitement and adventure. From reading the book, I have learnt that in life, one very important moral is "determination". Despite the challenges that Eragon faced during his adventures, he never gave up, just striving on and on. Such determination is admirable. In fact, determination is what keeps us going all the way to the end despite the challenges. Without it, many tasks would be impossible to complete. Determination is one the greatest assets we can possess. Determination can bring out the best in us. It is also the tool we use to defeat discouragement, the tool we use to overcome temporary failure to prevent failure from becoming permanent.

How can we succeed if we fall? The countless times Eragon failed, and the countless times he tried again. It was all worthwhile when he finally succeeded. DETERMINATION is what we use to SUCCEED!

2)Comparing two characters in a book

The two characters that I would choose to compare would be Eragon, the determined Dragon Rider and Galbatorix, the evil ruler of Alagaesia. For one, they are completely different in terms of good and evil. Galbatorix is the evil ruler that does not care about most of the ordinary mortals in Alagesia, unlike Eragon, who tries to help whoever needs help.

Also, they are also worlds apart in terms of their loyalty towards their peers and seniors. For example, Eragon was exceedingly loyal to his teacher who taught him magic, Brom, and always tried to help Brom whenever possible, even if Brom kept a lot of secrets from him. Galbatorix however, after being trained by the rest of Dragon Riders, even after exceeding them in power, he killed most of them just to achieve his goals.

3)Rewriting an exerpt in a different point of view

I would like to rewrite an exerpt from the story in Eragon's point of view:

I was starting to doubt whatever Saphira said. It would be such a wild and desperate thing for us to do. Contempt for my indecision rose and a harsh smile danced on my cracked lips. "She's right..."I thought to myself. Nothing mattered to me any more except the act itself. The doing is the thing, I told myself. And what would give me more satisfaction than hunting down the strangers? It was not long before a terrible energy and strength grew within me. It grabbed my emotions and forged them into a solid bar of pure anger with one word stamped on it: REVENGE. My heart pounded as I said with conviction, I will do it.

4)The most interesting part

I feel that the most interesting part of the book is when Saphira is introduced into the story as a dragon hatchling. I enjoyed how they discribed the dragon hatchling, both its appearence and its behavior. No one has seen a real life dragon before, much less observe how it behaves. How Christopher Paolini described the dragon was rather interesting, as the reader is somehow able to visualise how a dragon should really look like. Such ability to picture the characters in the story is amazing.

I am lying. True or False?

"I am lying." If it is true and I am lying, then I am saying something false (that is what a lie is) and if it is false and I am saying something false, then it is true that I am lying. Such a statement is self-contradictory It contradicts itself. Its truth entails its falsity and its falsity entails its truth.
In life, people may also claim something which is opposite to what they claim earlier on, like when I asked whether it is true that I am lying. It may not be that obvious but there is contradiction in that statement.

If I make a statement but leave it totally ambiguous as to how that statement is to be taken, e.g., as a statement of belief, as a question, as a line in a play, as a poetic conceit, as a deliberate lie, etc., then I have omitted a statement about the statement. Ordinarily context supplies the content of the statement about the statement, tells us how the statement is to be taken. But if the context does not, the statement may seem to us "off the wall," crazy.

Well people often do not listen closely to what other people say, they don't digest the speaker's words and hence could be at a disadvantage. So listen carefully!

Exam Results

Hey all,
It has been quite a while since I received my exam results. Well, generally, I believe I have done rather well, since I have reached my expectations for most of my subjects. Guess what? I GO A 1.67 FOR MY MSG!!!!! That is far higher than what I aimed to achieve by mid-year( I only aimed for a 2.2). Quite and improvement, considering the fact that I got 3.33 last term. Quite happy with my results except for my geography. Sadly, I only got a B4 for it. Apparently, I just cannot get all my facts right. Well, all I can do to improve my geography results is to read up. Hmm... Should have revised for my geography...=). Well, even though I have exceeded my expectaions this term, I must work even harder next term, I CANNOT be complacent. It is still the middle of the year with still a long way to go. I cannot SLACK!!!

Happiness

What is happiness? Happiness is a state of mind or feeling such as contentment, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy. Happiness is what you feel when you are having fun, when you are enjoying yourself. In my opinion, one can only be happy when he or she shares their joyful emotions with people that are important to you. Even if you were to be a very rich person, if you do not share these joyful emotions or money with people important to you or the needy, it would be pointless as there is no one to accompany you, no one to share your joy.

Imagine when you live in a world where happiness never existed, and that everywhere you go, all you see are the sad and miserable faces hung on everyone’s face? Just like you need two hands to clap, you need more than one person along with you to make happiness. Happiness is when someone is able to have fun along with you, to share your joy, and what makes the world go round.

Many activities lead to happiness, for example, having fun, relaxing etc.

Sometimes, when I have very good news, keeping it bottled up in my mind would not really help me be happy. Sooner or later, this bottled up joy would be turned into frustration and misery. Also, being happy also has its advantages. This might seem obvious - why would you not want to be happy?! But the implications are greater than you might think. Happier people are generally healthier people - not only mentally, but also physically. So you can see than happiness is actually something that is really important, that you might want to increase if you can!! Be Happy!