In today's competitive society, parents tend to be very conscious about their child's performance, whether in academics, or in sports. They tend to push their children very hard, wanting them to excel in every way. A little competitiveness is fine, as it allows the child to improve, but some parents nowadays are beginning to compare their child's performance with others. This may ultimately hurt the child's feelings, demoralising them and causing them to fall behind.
In the future, parents may be even more competitive, as the world gets more advanced. Not wanting their children to fall behind, they may push their children even harder.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Book Review - Nothing But The Truth
This book is about a boy, named Phillip Malloy, who sang the American national anthem, 'The Star Spangled Banner' when he was not supposed to, and was punished by his teacher, Miss Narwin. When the public knew about this, it caused a national uproar, as they thought Miss Narwin was unpatriotic for stopping Phillip from singing the national anthem. However, they did not know that it was not supposed to be sung when the song was played over the intercom.
Phillip Malloy was later exposed to be a fraud, who complained about Miss Narwin out of hate for her.
Overall, this is a really good read and I recommend it to anyone looking for a book to read.
Phillip Malloy was later exposed to be a fraud, who complained about Miss Narwin out of hate for her.
Overall, this is a really good read and I recommend it to anyone looking for a book to read.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Poem - The lesson by Roger McG, teacher style
Chaos ruled OK in the staff room
as bravely the student walked in
the teachers ignored him
his voice was lost in the din.
The homework for today is violence
and a test will be set
We're going to teach you a lesson
one that you will never forget.
One picked on the student
and throttled him here and there
another garrotted the student
(he was held up in the air)
Sword in his hand, the next teacher hacked the student
between the chattering rows.
First come, first severed, he declared
fingers, feet and toes
They threw a sword at another student
it cleaved her right into two
Then pulling out their guns,
The rest joined in the fray too
The blasts cleared the worksheets
(they were happy they were gone)
They burned amidst the chaos
Their work was gone
Please, may I leave the room?
a trembling student enquired
Of course you may, said a teacher
She put her gun to his head and fired
The head popped a head round the staff room
to see why a din was made
ran away immediately
then got shot by the rampant teachers
And when the ammo was well spent,
with blood everywhere
silence shuffled forth
with its hands up in the air
The teachers surveyed the carnage
the dying and the dead
they waggled their fingers
Now let that be a lesson, they said
as bravely the student walked in
the teachers ignored him
his voice was lost in the din.
The homework for today is violence
and a test will be set
We're going to teach you a lesson
one that you will never forget.
One picked on the student
and throttled him here and there
another garrotted the student
(he was held up in the air)
Sword in his hand, the next teacher hacked the student
between the chattering rows.
First come, first severed, he declared
fingers, feet and toes
They threw a sword at another student
it cleaved her right into two
Then pulling out their guns,
The rest joined in the fray too
The blasts cleared the worksheets
(they were happy they were gone)
They burned amidst the chaos
Their work was gone
Please, may I leave the room?
a trembling student enquired
Of course you may, said a teacher
She put her gun to his head and fired
The head popped a head round the staff room
to see why a din was made
ran away immediately
then got shot by the rampant teachers
And when the ammo was well spent,
with blood everywhere
silence shuffled forth
with its hands up in the air
The teachers surveyed the carnage
the dying and the dead
they waggled their fingers
Now let that be a lesson, they said
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
lesson 5
The first poem is very descriptive, it depicts a person going into a casino, losing then whining.
It is probably quite true, as gamblers will usually whine when they lose.
The second poem describes a person gambling, then losing his money. He continues to play as he wanted to recover his loses, but to no avail whatsoever, and to also get revenge and humiliate his opponent.
The third poem depicts how dangerous it is to put all your eggs in one basket, a term used to describe placing all of your valuables, assets, etc. into one area. The gambler uses his one and only dollar to bet on number 13, and loses the bet. He loses all of his money and does not have any money for food and other things.
It is probably quite true, as gamblers will usually whine when they lose.
The second poem describes a person gambling, then losing his money. He continues to play as he wanted to recover his loses, but to no avail whatsoever, and to also get revenge and humiliate his opponent.
The third poem depicts how dangerous it is to put all your eggs in one basket, a term used to describe placing all of your valuables, assets, etc. into one area. The gambler uses his one and only dollar to bet on number 13, and loses the bet. He loses all of his money and does not have any money for food and other things.
lesson 4 - part two - paper by Cathrine Lim
The story depicts a man, who desperately wanted to own a huge house, gambling in a more uncommon and unheard of form -- shares.
He and his wife live in a terrace with his mother. The man and his family are all saving up their money to save up money to fulfil their dream of having their dream house. Only the man's mother was unsupportive.
The man then turned to shares to gather the money required. He was successful at first. They were making loads of money. But towards the end, their shares plummeted, leaving them close to bankruptcy.
The man eventually dies leaving his wife, children and mother. and an unfulfilled dream.
The man's mother decided to hire a person to make a house in exactly the same specifications and features as her son pictured the house to be. Except that it was made in paper.
The house was to be burnt to 'send' it to her son in heaven.
The man was driven mad by his desire to build his dream house. He was so set on it that he sacrificed everything just to make it possible. In the end, when he realised that he was unable to do so, he gave up his life.
He and his wife live in a terrace with his mother. The man and his family are all saving up their money to save up money to fulfil their dream of having their dream house. Only the man's mother was unsupportive.
The man then turned to shares to gather the money required. He was successful at first. They were making loads of money. But towards the end, their shares plummeted, leaving them close to bankruptcy.
The man eventually dies leaving his wife, children and mother. and an unfulfilled dream.
The man's mother decided to hire a person to make a house in exactly the same specifications and features as her son pictured the house to be. Except that it was made in paper.
The house was to be burnt to 'send' it to her son in heaven.
The man was driven mad by his desire to build his dream house. He was so set on it that he sacrificed everything just to make it possible. In the end, when he realised that he was unable to do so, he gave up his life.
leeson 4 - rocking horse winner ( copied and pasted on wikispaces when I have access to the discussion)
I feel that Paul's parents, Uncle Oscar and Bassets were responsible for Paul's death.
First, let us start with Paul's parents.
They have high standards of living, wanting to indulge in the most expensive of things. Things that they cannot really afford. Hence, the need for money in the family. Paul was driven so insane by the family's need for money caused by his parents, that in order to make his parents happy and to get rid of the sound of the house ' saying ' that ' we need more money.'
Next, is Uncle Oscar.
When he realised that Paul was winning repeatedly, instead of convincing Paul that gambling leads to addiction, he forged a partnership with Paul, volunteering to be partners with Paul, exploiting his luck in the horse races and helping him keep his money. He was adding fuel to the flames of Paul's gambling addiction.
Lastly, is Bassets
He was one of the main reasons of Paul's addiction. He volunteered to help Paul bet on the races and was also exploiting Paul's uncanny ability to predict the winner of the horse races to make some extra money. He started Paul's addiction by helping him bet.
First, let us start with Paul's parents.
They have high standards of living, wanting to indulge in the most expensive of things. Things that they cannot really afford. Hence, the need for money in the family. Paul was driven so insane by the family's need for money caused by his parents, that in order to make his parents happy and to get rid of the sound of the house ' saying ' that ' we need more money.'
Next, is Uncle Oscar.
When he realised that Paul was winning repeatedly, instead of convincing Paul that gambling leads to addiction, he forged a partnership with Paul, volunteering to be partners with Paul, exploiting his luck in the horse races and helping him keep his money. He was adding fuel to the flames of Paul's gambling addiction.
Lastly, is Bassets
He was one of the main reasons of Paul's addiction. He volunteered to help Paul bet on the races and was also exploiting Paul's uncanny ability to predict the winner of the horse races to make some extra money. He started Paul's addiction by helping him bet.
lesson 6 - lotteries and gambling
First, to answer the question, I would condemn the construction of a casino in Singapore.
Casinos were supposed to be a money maker for governments and the owners of the casinos and to create jobs for people. However, people have abused this 'form of entertainment' and started gambling, thinking that it could actually help them make lots of money.
Many Singaporeans who have lower incomes want to strike it big and obtain large amounts of money in a short amount of time or with little effort. Hence, they turn to gambling in lotteries or casinos in the hopes that they will help them fulfil their dreams of being rich.
Unfortunately, some of them win at first, causing them to think that gambling is the way to go. When they later start losing, they will want to recoup their losses and keep on gambling until their funds have been depleted. This is evident as shown in the quote from Johnny W. found below:
'After awhile, the winnings I was getting wasn't enough. I always wanted more. I found myself going in. If i had i had to leave, i found myself to going back in at every opportunity.
But in the winnings, I started to lose as well. The more I lost, the more I found myself wanting to get back my losses more.'
Gambling addicts often find themselves in a financial crisis or in trouble with their family or loan sharks. They borrow money from them in order to attempt to get back their losses. However, more often than not, they fail to do so, and end up owing the loan sharks money.
Hence, I condemn the building of casinos in Singapore as they can cause a terrible predicament to themselves and their family and land themselves in debts.
Casinos were supposed to be a money maker for governments and the owners of the casinos and to create jobs for people. However, people have abused this 'form of entertainment' and started gambling, thinking that it could actually help them make lots of money.
Many Singaporeans who have lower incomes want to strike it big and obtain large amounts of money in a short amount of time or with little effort. Hence, they turn to gambling in lotteries or casinos in the hopes that they will help them fulfil their dreams of being rich.
Unfortunately, some of them win at first, causing them to think that gambling is the way to go. When they later start losing, they will want to recoup their losses and keep on gambling until their funds have been depleted. This is evident as shown in the quote from Johnny W. found below:
'After awhile, the winnings I was getting wasn't enough. I always wanted more. I found myself going in. If i had i had to leave, i found myself to going back in at every opportunity.
But in the winnings, I started to lose as well. The more I lost, the more I found myself wanting to get back my losses more.'
Gambling addicts often find themselves in a financial crisis or in trouble with their family or loan sharks. They borrow money from them in order to attempt to get back their losses. However, more often than not, they fail to do so, and end up owing the loan sharks money.
Hence, I condemn the building of casinos in Singapore as they can cause a terrible predicament to themselves and their family and land themselves in debts.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Favourite poet - William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare is one of the most famous poets and playwrights in history.
He is a very intriguing man. He wrote multiple poems as well as dramas. Although Shakespeare was considered as the foremost dramatist of his time, he looked towards poetry for his enduring fame. But Shakespeare was not only a dramatist and poet. He was also an inventor. He greatly contributed to the English language by inventing thousands of words, often combining or contorting Latin, French and native roots. His inventions included arch-villain, birthplace, bloodsucking, courtship, dewdrop, downstairs, fanged, heartsore, hunchbacked, leapfrog, misquote, pageantry, radiance, schoolboy, stillborn, watchdog, and zany. Shakespeare was probably a person with a great love for poetry and the literary arts. During his lifetime, Shakespeare wrote more than thirty plays. His earlier plays were mainly comedies, but over the next few years, he wrote some of his most amazing works, including Hamlet and Macbeth. His works have inspired many and are currently being studied all around the world.
His poetry includes:
The Rape of Lucrece (1594)
The Sonnets of Shakespeare (1609)
Venus and Adonis (1593)
He is a very intriguing man. He wrote multiple poems as well as dramas. Although Shakespeare was considered as the foremost dramatist of his time, he looked towards poetry for his enduring fame. But Shakespeare was not only a dramatist and poet. He was also an inventor. He greatly contributed to the English language by inventing thousands of words, often combining or contorting Latin, French and native roots. His inventions included arch-villain, birthplace, bloodsucking, courtship, dewdrop, downstairs, fanged, heartsore, hunchbacked, leapfrog, misquote, pageantry, radiance, schoolboy, stillborn, watchdog, and zany. Shakespeare was probably a person with a great love for poetry and the literary arts. During his lifetime, Shakespeare wrote more than thirty plays. His earlier plays were mainly comedies, but over the next few years, he wrote some of his most amazing works, including Hamlet and Macbeth. His works have inspired many and are currently being studied all around the world.
His poetry includes:
The Rape of Lucrece (1594)
The Sonnets of Shakespeare (1609)
Venus and Adonis (1593)
Sunday, June 28, 2009
My Favourite Poem
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!
I like this poem as it uses a lot of figurative language and it also vividly describes what a messy room would typically look like.
The first example of the use of figurative language would be the hyperbole. The phrases "should be ashamed!" (1st line) and "Oh, dear". They exaggerate how much the poet dislikes this room and also how embarrassed the poet is when he realises that the messy room is actually his/hers. The poet uses hyperboles to describe how messy he thinks the room is.
Next, is the use of metaphors. Basically, almost the entire poem is made of metaphors. the lines 2 - 12 describe the messy room and allows you to form a picture of the room in your mind. It also describes how messy and unkempt the room's owner is. The poet uses metaphors to describe the room.
Finally, at the end of the poem, there is a twist in the story as the poet finally realises that the room that he was describing in such a harsh manner about its mess was his. It made a very humorous ending to the poem.
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!
I like this poem as it uses a lot of figurative language and it also vividly describes what a messy room would typically look like.
The first example of the use of figurative language would be the hyperbole. The phrases "should be ashamed!" (1st line) and "Oh, dear". They exaggerate how much the poet dislikes this room and also how embarrassed the poet is when he realises that the messy room is actually his/hers. The poet uses hyperboles to describe how messy he thinks the room is.
Next, is the use of metaphors. Basically, almost the entire poem is made of metaphors. the lines 2 - 12 describe the messy room and allows you to form a picture of the room in your mind. It also describes how messy and unkempt the room's owner is. The poet uses metaphors to describe the room.
Finally, at the end of the poem, there is a twist in the story as the poet finally realises that the room that he was describing in such a harsh manner about its mess was his. It made a very humorous ending to the poem.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Book Review - Charlotte's Web
Charlotte's Web is a famous, fictional story, written by E.B. White. It depicts a young pig, Wilbur's life, from being saved from being slaughtered, to living in a farm. It tells of Charlotte, a spider who became friends with Wilbur while he was living in the farm and eventually saves Wilbur from being slaughtered by the farmer. The book is written in simple language, and is an enjoyable read.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Book Review - Only A Sandpiper: Appreciating Classical Chinese Poetry
'Only a sandpiper' is a book written by a local columnist for both the Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao, Li Lienfung. It discusses Chinese Poetry and major classics. It gives readers an interesting insight into appreciating Chinese poetry, even to those unfamiliar to the language or have never read a Chinese poem before. Many different sorts of poems are introduced to the reader, ranging from poems by a war veteran, to poems written by a prisoner of war. At the same time, it also gives the reader insight into the war-plagued, corrupted land that is ancient China. It is a good read and is a must for poem lovers.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Book review: The Arrival
Today, I will be doing another review in a book that I have just read, entitled, The Arrival. It is a graphic novel, filled with many stunning hand drawn pictures which are linked together to form a story. It does not have a single word in the story.
It has many interpretations, depending on how you read it, but this is what I think it depicts:
A man is leaving for work in a foreign land. He has a wife and a child. He packs up and unwillingly leaves his family. As he reaches his destination, he sees the exotic range of flora and fauna which he is unfamiliar to. At first, he struggled to find jobs which suited him. He was in a dilema as he was unable to find jobs. Fortunately, he finds a job and starts working.
He eventually gathers enough mmoney to send home. His family decided to come and live in the strange land.
The story has a really happy ending.
It is a good read and I encourage anybody to read it.
It has many interpretations, depending on how you read it, but this is what I think it depicts:
A man is leaving for work in a foreign land. He has a wife and a child. He packs up and unwillingly leaves his family. As he reaches his destination, he sees the exotic range of flora and fauna which he is unfamiliar to. At first, he struggled to find jobs which suited him. He was in a dilema as he was unable to find jobs. Fortunately, he finds a job and starts working.
He eventually gathers enough mmoney to send home. His family decided to come and live in the strange land.
The story has a really happy ending.
It is a good read and I encourage anybody to read it.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Book reviews for hoidays part 1
I will be doing some book reviews over the holidays, of books I have never read before from the library.
The first book is: Animal Farm by George Orwell
It is a story of a farm, with the animals in it dissatisfied with their living conditions. One of the old boars in the farm then had a dream, that animals would one day overthrow the tyranny of the human race and run a farm run by and for the animals.
A few days after the boar told the rest of the animals, he passed away.
The animals then decided they had to lay down the foundations for the rebellion to begin. All sorts of preparations were made to ensure that the farm would be in their hands.
When the farmer was driven out of the farm, two pigs were chosen to lead the animals to properity.
Eventually, the peace was shattered and one of the pigs became corrupted, and drove the other pig out from the farm.
The remaining pig repeatedly violated the original seven commandments which were used to govern the animals. He changed the contents to suit his needs after a while, it was removed.
The pig started to interact with humans in the district, and eventually became a human, after being corrupted by his power.
It has various lessons that we can learn from, and it is very good read, although some content may not be suitable to younger children. (parts depicting blood, gore, and violence)
The first book is: Animal Farm by George Orwell
It is a story of a farm, with the animals in it dissatisfied with their living conditions. One of the old boars in the farm then had a dream, that animals would one day overthrow the tyranny of the human race and run a farm run by and for the animals.
A few days after the boar told the rest of the animals, he passed away.
The animals then decided they had to lay down the foundations for the rebellion to begin. All sorts of preparations were made to ensure that the farm would be in their hands.
When the farmer was driven out of the farm, two pigs were chosen to lead the animals to properity.
Eventually, the peace was shattered and one of the pigs became corrupted, and drove the other pig out from the farm.
The remaining pig repeatedly violated the original seven commandments which were used to govern the animals. He changed the contents to suit his needs after a while, it was removed.
The pig started to interact with humans in the district, and eventually became a human, after being corrupted by his power.
It has various lessons that we can learn from, and it is very good read, although some content may not be suitable to younger children. (parts depicting blood, gore, and violence)
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Character analysis of Village by the sea
Here is a brief character analysis of the characters in 'Village by the sea'.
Hari:
1.Protagonist of story
2.Only son of his family
3.Assumes duty of taking care of mother and siblings
Lila:
1.Oldest in the family
2.Assumes duty of taking care of siblings and parents
Bela and Kamal:
1.Helped to pick shellfish as food for family
2.Younger sisters of the family
3.Only members of family who are currently studying
Mother:
1.Fell ill with anaemia(lack of iron)
2.Sick for most of the story
Father:
1.Irresponsible as a father
2.Perpetually drunk
3.Turned over a new leaf towards the end of the story
Ramu:
1.A friend of Hari's
2.Looking forward to new jobs after the factories have been built in Thul.
3.Quit school
Biju
1.A wealthy fisherman
2.First to own a diesel engine boat in Thul
Pinto
1.A dog living with the family
2.Later killed by the drunk Khanekar brothers
3.Devoted to the family, especially Lila
Hira-bai
1.Tried to help the mother by sending the medicine man to cure her
Khanekar brothers
1.Drunk, just like father
2.Wanted to collect debts from the family
The de Silvas
1.Owns a bungalow in Thul
2.Goes to Thul for holidays
3.Helped send mother to hospital
4.Gave jobs to Hari and Lila when they went to Thul
Jagu
1.Owns an eating house in Bombay
2.Lives in a slum
3. Gave Hari food, shelter and a jobs while Hari was at Bombay
Mr Panwallah
1.Repairs watches for living
2.taught Hari how to mend watches
3.A nice person
Mrs Jagu
1.Unhappy when Jagu brought Hari back home as they did not have enough food to go around in the family.
Adarkar
1.Led villagers to protest in Bombay as they were unhappy about the building of the factories
Watchman of factory
1.Hated Thul
2.Shunned the villagers, thinking that they were dumb and uncivilised
Policeman
1.Protected Hari while he was sleeping in the park during his trip to Bombay
Sayyid Ali Sahib
1.Came from Bombay to Thul to look research on the birds in Thul
2.Gave the sisters jobs when the de Silvas returned to Bombay
This is the end of the character analysis.
Hari:
1.Protagonist of story
2.Only son of his family
3.Assumes duty of taking care of mother and siblings
Lila:
1.Oldest in the family
2.Assumes duty of taking care of siblings and parents
Bela and Kamal:
1.Helped to pick shellfish as food for family
2.Younger sisters of the family
3.Only members of family who are currently studying
Mother:
1.Fell ill with anaemia(lack of iron)
2.Sick for most of the story
Father:
1.Irresponsible as a father
2.Perpetually drunk
3.Turned over a new leaf towards the end of the story
Ramu:
1.A friend of Hari's
2.Looking forward to new jobs after the factories have been built in Thul.
3.Quit school
Biju
1.A wealthy fisherman
2.First to own a diesel engine boat in Thul
Pinto
1.A dog living with the family
2.Later killed by the drunk Khanekar brothers
3.Devoted to the family, especially Lila
Hira-bai
1.Tried to help the mother by sending the medicine man to cure her
Khanekar brothers
1.Drunk, just like father
2.Wanted to collect debts from the family
The de Silvas
1.Owns a bungalow in Thul
2.Goes to Thul for holidays
3.Helped send mother to hospital
4.Gave jobs to Hari and Lila when they went to Thul
Jagu
1.Owns an eating house in Bombay
2.Lives in a slum
3. Gave Hari food, shelter and a jobs while Hari was at Bombay
Mr Panwallah
1.Repairs watches for living
2.taught Hari how to mend watches
3.A nice person
Mrs Jagu
1.Unhappy when Jagu brought Hari back home as they did not have enough food to go around in the family.
Adarkar
1.Led villagers to protest in Bombay as they were unhappy about the building of the factories
Watchman of factory
1.Hated Thul
2.Shunned the villagers, thinking that they were dumb and uncivilised
Policeman
1.Protected Hari while he was sleeping in the park during his trip to Bombay
Sayyid Ali Sahib
1.Came from Bombay to Thul to look research on the birds in Thul
2.Gave the sisters jobs when the de Silvas returned to Bombay
This is the end of the character analysis.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Book review on Village by the sea
I have recently read a novel for my literature class written by Anita Desai, entitled 'Village by the sea'.
The story is set in India, focusing on the ups and downs of a family in Thul, a fishing village.
Throughout the story, various themes are depicted such as family, the ability of the villagers to adapt to the changing environment, kindness in the city, poverty of the villagers and benefactors.
The main chracter, Hari, decides to run away to Bombay to look for jobs, leaving his sister to look after their two younger siblings, being frustrated by his dysfunctional family, with a mother who is severely ill, and the father being perpetually drunk.
Throughout his journey in Bombay, Hari is lost in the urban city, but gets help from some benefactors, who took care of him, gave him food and shelter and taught him new skills to help him survive when he goes back to Thul.
The book shows the harsh reality of the poorer families, but does not depict the comfort of the wealthier families. Nonetheless, it is a great book and I recommend it to anyone looking for a good read.
The story is set in India, focusing on the ups and downs of a family in Thul, a fishing village.
Throughout the story, various themes are depicted such as family, the ability of the villagers to adapt to the changing environment, kindness in the city, poverty of the villagers and benefactors.
The main chracter, Hari, decides to run away to Bombay to look for jobs, leaving his sister to look after their two younger siblings, being frustrated by his dysfunctional family, with a mother who is severely ill, and the father being perpetually drunk.
Throughout his journey in Bombay, Hari is lost in the urban city, but gets help from some benefactors, who took care of him, gave him food and shelter and taught him new skills to help him survive when he goes back to Thul.
The book shows the harsh reality of the poorer families, but does not depict the comfort of the wealthier families. Nonetheless, it is a great book and I recommend it to anyone looking for a good read.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Interview with parents
Today, I will interview one of my parents on a book that has changed thier lives or inspired them greatly.
So, below are some of the findings that are translated from chinese, so bear with me if I get it wrong.
Me : So, can you give me a brief introduction on the book?
Mom: It is a book written by the founder of the Buddist Tzu Chi Foundation, Master Cheng Yen,
"Still Thoughts". It is a book listing down a hundred teachings of the Master.
Me : Could you tell me what was so inspiring about this book?
Mom: Some of the teachings in the book are very inspiring, for example, "Anger is taking another's mistake and using it to punish yourself." Now, whenever I get angry, I would think of this phrase and I would calm myself down. Another great example is, " A cup with a chip, when seen from a different angle, is still round." It basically means that people all have flaws, but in order for us to get along, we must learn to accept each others' imperfections.
Me: Ok, thank you for taking some time out of your schedule for this interview. Bye.
Mom: Bye.
So, below are some of the findings that are translated from chinese, so bear with me if I get it wrong.
Me : So, can you give me a brief introduction on the book?
Mom: It is a book written by the founder of the Buddist Tzu Chi Foundation, Master Cheng Yen,
"Still Thoughts". It is a book listing down a hundred teachings of the Master.
Me : Could you tell me what was so inspiring about this book?
Mom: Some of the teachings in the book are very inspiring, for example, "Anger is taking another's mistake and using it to punish yourself." Now, whenever I get angry, I would think of this phrase and I would calm myself down. Another great example is, " A cup with a chip, when seen from a different angle, is still round." It basically means that people all have flaws, but in order for us to get along, we must learn to accept each others' imperfections.
Me: Ok, thank you for taking some time out of your schedule for this interview. Bye.
Mom: Bye.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Curernt affaris - organ donations
After reading the Wednesday's Straits Times article titled 'Kidney payment gets nod', I felt that the reimbursement of living kidney donors is very dangerous as it may turn into organ trading instead of organ donating. I feel that there should be caps on payments to prevent the more wealthy population from getting the upper hand in getting donors to donate organs to them. The donors need not choose between the wealthier or the less wealthy patient to donate the organ to. Instead, the patients who are in a more critical condition would be given the prirority if donated organs are available. The government could closely monitor the transaction between the donor and the receiver to ensure that both parties do not abuse this new system.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Maintaining a blog
I think that maintaining a blog is definitely much more difficult than expected at first, but having a blog can be a lot of fun. Maintaining a blog is also much harder than starting one. Regularly updating one's blog can be tedious at times, but I feel that it was overall an enriching and interesting experience. In my opinion, the main difference between a dirry and a blog is that blogs can be more interesting than diaries, and the that multimedia can be added to blogs and that is is not as personal as a diary. People can comment on it, and read it once you post it. The only downside about a blog I can think of is that I have to boot up my computer to publish/write posts. I am personally a lazy person and am sometimes too lazy to boot up my computer to check my e-mail etc. Otherwise, I think blogging is a very good platform to write your views about anything and to share them with people all around the world.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Phillip Malloy's diary
I really regretted what I have done to get Miss Narwin into trouble. I should have accepted my mistake and not lie to my parents about the entire incident. I wished that I could turn back time and tide and prevented this entire thing from happening. Now, my friends hate me, I do not have a track team to join and I feel guilty that I made Miss Narwin resign.
Monday, February 23, 2009
My Reading Habits
My reading style is mostly varied, I like to read basically everything, even encyclopaedias.
I prefer fictional novels to any other types of books though. One of my favourite books is 'Charlie and The Chocolate Factory' , a very famous classic written by Roald Dahl.
Many books are chock full of information and you can learn a lot just by reading them, even novels. Reading books are a good pastime if you ever run out of homework or things to do, read a book!
A good place to start is at the library. It has a lot of information and books for you to browse through to do your research if you are ever doing a project.
If you like to read books as much as I do, I suggest going to this website:
http://www.weread.com/.
It allows you to create your very own electronic bookshelf and allows you to read books you would not usually have in your home for free. You can also add comments on your books.
Click here to access to my electronic bookshelf!
I prefer fictional novels to any other types of books though. One of my favourite books is 'Charlie and The Chocolate Factory' , a very famous classic written by Roald Dahl.
Many books are chock full of information and you can learn a lot just by reading them, even novels. Reading books are a good pastime if you ever run out of homework or things to do, read a book!
A good place to start is at the library. It has a lot of information and books for you to browse through to do your research if you are ever doing a project.
If you like to read books as much as I do, I suggest going to this website:
http://www.weread.com/.
It allows you to create your very own electronic bookshelf and allows you to read books you would not usually have in your home for free. You can also add comments on your books.
Click here to access to my electronic bookshelf!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Secondary school life
I graduated from Primary school education a year ago and I now am studying at secondary school. Things have gotten a lot more hectic since the december holidays and im now having quite a lot of homework in addition to my third lanuage lessons. A few days ago, the school held a parents' symposium, allowing our parents to get to know more about the school. Apparently, we were told what our parents were told. We now have a lot more projects to do. These projects are optional, yet not really optional. If we did not do them, we would not get marks for our end of the year score. We can send in as many entries as we want. During the Chinese New Year holidays, a few primary schoolmates and I will be going back to visit our primary school.
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