Blog prompt 8

The Phone-hacking Scandal, continued

I could not believe my eyes when I read this article. I knew it must be, of course, but seeing it in a letter from a former reporter of the company showed how uncaring they were. An entire company, ignoring the fact that this phone-hacking, this invasion of privacy is going on under their nose, and not doing anything?

Clive Goodman, News International (NI) former royal reporter, just recently wrote to NI, stating that phone hacking "was 'widely discussed' at editorial meetings, until such chatter was banned by the editor". Apparently, people would do anything for money. If it included covering up an enormous phone-hacking plot, so be it. If it included devastating families of murder victims more, so be it. I doubt they have any heart left in them at all, letting all this go by unsettled. I personally feel disgusted at the hearts of these men. Where are their morals? If it had been Murdoch alone, it would have been his mistake. Standing aside and letting a crime happen is almost tantamount to having committed it himself. Someone should have stood up to Murdoch, regardless of his authority, to guide him back to the path, to not allow him to stray off. Instead, the whole executive staff played an extreme "follow-the-leader" game, where they followed his plans, not knowing right or wrong. I wish they had a sense of moral value to at least try and stop him, which would t least be the right thing to do even if it means risking his job. Others more worthy to follow might have appreciated this value of integrity at least, but now they have a criminal record and are involved with Murdoch, no one will hire them any more.

"The news media should be blamed for the unhealthy paparazzi culture and going to the extremes for sensational news. How far do you agree?"

I agree to a small extent that the news media should be blamed for the unhealthy paparazzi culture and going to the extremes for sensational news.

Firstly, the readers of the news play an important part in the cultivation of this unhealthy culture. Only when there is a demand will there be a supply. The readers and supporters of newspapers fulfil the "demand" portion, which will cause supply to rise. The readers only care about the news; they do not care about the ways and means they were obtained. They just continue buying the newspapers, without a care for the subjects of these news, who gets pestered by paparazzi, trying but failing to maintain the slightest bit of privacy. As such, the readers and supporters of these news are the main root of this problem.

Secondly, the paparazzi are not doing anything against the law, so the law enforcement have no right to arrest them. They are perfectly at liberty to interview others and to write news about them. Without suppression, the paparazzi will continue their work, and even more will also start to take up this job. No one else also dares to oppose the news publishers, for fear of being reported in the news. This lack of opposition has promoted the growth of this unhealthy culture.

However, the news media are also to blame. The news companies are desperate about earning money, and will try all ways and means to achieve their objectives. There is also competition between the reporters -- a survival of the fittest, where only those who are more effective stay and others are fired. The reporters will work hard as they can to get news from readers, from whom the companies earn money, and from whom the reporters' salaries are paid.

Blog prompt 4

http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/07/12/an-open-letter-to-the-education-minister-from-a-secondary-4-student/

This is an open letter to the education minister written by a secondary four student who will be taking her sec 4 'O' Level examination this year

You probably have already heard that a Secondary Four student recently wrote a letter to the Education Minister, Mr Heng Swee Keat, which generated much heated debate again about Singapore's much-discussed education system.

1. To what extent do you agree with the issues that the student has raised here? Point out some issues of agreement and possible contention.
   I agree that the education in Singapore is stifling the talent of the students. The students are forced to set other, more important things aside just to see the A1 written in black and white on that report card. They are setting aside the good character instilled in them from young, preferring to isolate themselves in their room, cramming information into their minds, just to see that A1 printed on that report card. Where did this mentality come from? The teachers and parents. Diplomas and degrees are growing increasingly more influential over the years, and many parents and teachers crave success for their children and students. They are, perhaps unwittingly, imposing this thinking that nothing is more important than a good grade and achievements, or certificates. Although they state that nothing is more important than a good character, they fail to rein themselves in as they begin to flare up, rebuking students and children for bad grades. To quote Janelle, who am I to make a generalisation, and to state all teachers and parents are like that? I cannot. However, this mentality is only rampant among students through certain teachers and parents.
   

2. Examine her tone and attitude in this letter. Do you think it’s a well-crafted letter with the appropriate tone?
   
   Her tone suggest that she is reining her anger and frustration in. However, it is a well-crafted letter, with an appropriate tone of respect to the Minister, and also of modesty so as to not impress on to the Minister that she is proud, humbling herself in some places, such as, "Granted, who am I to make a generalisation and say that all teenagers are this way? I know that there are teenagers and youths out there who are truly compassionate, who would truly go out of their way to help, but I have no arguments in my bag of tricks to argue for the stand that this behaviour is taught by Civics and Moral Education lessons in schools."

3. If you should write a letter to Minister of Education, what are some issues you would raise? Remember- your intention is to make the system better for society’s betterment via CONSTRUCTIVE ideas.
   
   I will raise the same issues as Janelle, but I will also raise the issue of the existence of single gender schools. I feel there should not be single gender schools, as single gender schools only serve to distance boys from girls and vice versa. This will seriously impair the ability of these students to communicate in the future, when both genders have to work together. Even now, merely one or two years into the system, the repercussions are already felt. If students from Hwa Chong Institution and Nanyang Girls High, for example, are travelling together on a private bus, a bystander will not help but notice that  the males will gravitate to one half of the bus, while the females to the other. The same applies for group work. In primary school, boys and girls are less afraid to work together, while in single gender secondary schools, when doing group work, members of different genders tend to prefer to interact online instead of face-to-face.

Blog prompt 3

In your opinion, is money important in a relationship? Consider the 'transactional' element observed in the relationships between the couples. Do you think there is an upward trend of relationships and marriages valuing money over other qualities? Provide examples for your responses.

My answer:
Money is not at all important in a relationship. One hears many phrases about the importance of money, such as: money is time, as good as gold, etc. However, one also hears many stories of how money has broken up families, as one party (usually the male), becomes increasingly obsessed with money, eventually ignoring the other party and his loved ones in his pursuit for wealth. After all these, many people are in two minds about money. Most come to the conclusion that money is important, but not in emotional and psychological aspects of life. However, some are unswayed in their perspective that money is all-important and omnipotent. I feel, however, that money is not important in matters of the heart. If one truly loves a person, he or she will try his or her uttermost to be with the person, against all odds. If one is only attached to another when he or she has money, it is not true love, but purely human greed. However, some who are lonely and rich may desire this kind of company, not being able to associate him or herself well with others. However, these relationships are short-lived. After leeching enough money from the rich, these 'friends' will leave him or her to pursue another victim. Therefore, I can conclude that money does not matter in a true relationship.

Blog prompt 2

In your opinion, how has war evolved from the past to the present? Please use examples to justify your opinions.

In my opinion, war has changed progressively from the past to the present, in accordance to the advancements made by technology itself. As the world heads towards a technology based society, the use of society is much more prevalent in our present society. Technology is constantly progressing, to satisfy the bottomless hole that is Man's greed. In certain situations, Man's greed drives them to desire certain things, which they achieve by the simplest way possible, in Man's eyes -- war. In that case, they depend on technology, and use it in the wrong way, to destroy, and to annihilate, just to achieve Man's own selfish needs, not a care for others, just so long as they get what they want.

Even now, technology is advancing more rapidly along the road, which may lead to destruction, or lead in a circle, like Man's insatiable hunger. Technology, other than being used negatively in warfare and destruction, has also been used in the destruction of privacy -- very soon, no one would be able to upload something offensive online without enduring an onslaught of insults, or witnessing a campaign against him, growing ever bigger. These leaking information might be used against others or create conflicts; used to blackmail or threaten; to coerce and to suppress. Wars may even be started over the release of information. One example is the Cuban Missile Crisis. A full scale nuclear war was almost started due to the U.S. finding out about the intermediate range missile installations in Cuba. Luckily, the matter was resolved with no lasting repercussions.

Blog prompt 1

1) Why do you think National Service is important to Singapore?

National Service serves two main purposes: Promotion of harmony and preparation for the time when we have to defend ourselves. Both are equally crucial to the growth of Singapore. Singapore is a small country and harmony is important, for without it, there will be unrest among the people. National Service promotes harmony by putting men of all races through the same process, hence effectively bonding them together. It promotes teamwork and also teaches men to defend our country in times of need.

2) In the above poem, the speaker expresses his love for his country England. Do you have the same spirit for patriotism towards Singapore? Why?

Yes, I have the same spirit for patriotism. Singapore has helped me to become what I am today, and is the country I grew up in, and provided for me.

3) Do you consider yourself a patriot to your country?
I do not consider myself a patriot to my country to the extent of wanting to give up my life for Singapore yet. However, I do consider myself patriotic enough to want to return to the society what it has given to me. Unlike certain others, I do CIP activities with the intention to help, not just for the sake of CIP hours.

HBL

We Slept With Our Boots On

They unloaded the dead and maimed right before our eyes
They washed out the blood, we loaded our ruck’s and then took to the skies
Over the mountains, villages, and valleys we flew
Where we would land we had not a clue
Bullets are flying, the LZ is hot
We’re leaving this bird whether we like it or not
30 seconds they yelled, Lock N Load and grab your shit
Get ready to go and make it quick
My heart is pumping adrenalin through all of my veins
I run as fast as I can through the lead rain
The noise is tremendous, terror I can’t define
The only reason I survived that day was divine
I kept pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling some more
You do what you have to do, with that I will say no more
We fought from the valleys to the mountain peaks
From house to cave, to car to creek
Dirty and tired and hungry and scared
We slept with our boots on so we were always prepared
Those majestic mountains so steep, so high they kiss the skies
The Hindu Kush has changed so many lives
Up the mountains with heavy loads we trod
Who knew hell was so close to God
Beauty and terror are a strong mixed drink
So we drank it like drunkards and tried not to think
Good men and bad men, Mothers lost son’s
Everyone loses their innocence when they carry guns
Washed in the blood, and baptized by fire
I will never forget those who were called higher
They say blood is thicker than water, well lead is thicker than blood
Brothers aren’t born they’re earned. In the poppy fields, the tears, and the mud
And when I get to heaven to Saint Peter I will tell
Another Paratrooper reporting for duty sir, I spent my time in hell


Steve Carlsen


LZ definition: Landing Zone

Hindu Kush is a 500-mile long mountain range located in Afghanistan to Pakistan

Task 1:Steve Carlsen was in the army from 2000-2003, and was a paratrooper in the 1st battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He fought many wars and was honorarily discharged from the army in 2003 This poem is about what it was like to be a paratrooper, about the emotions felt as death comes ever closer, and how the poet himself feels about war.

Task 2:The poem is written from a first-person point of view, making the poem more personal and in the perspective of an individual. This suggests that the persona has experienced the war firsthand, which is further confirmed and supported by his detailed descriptions of the war and his history as a soldier in the war.

The poem is written in past tense, thus implying it is simply a memory, a past event set in Afghanistan, from the mention of the Hindu Kush. The poem narrates the persona's feelings and experiences as he fights in the war, caught in the crossfire of the battle, taking in the thrill of the fight but also hindered by the fear, from his mention of beauty and terror being a strong mixed drink, referring to the battles. The poet does not mention much of their opponent in the war, the soldiers of a foreign land, but instead reveals the real obstacle to originate emotionally and psychologically. Hence, in this case, the theme is Man vs Oneself, where the persona struggles with expressing the glory of the war, as shown by, "washed in the blood, baptised by fire" and rejecting it out of guilt and fear, as shown by, "everyone loses their innocence when they carry guns". "Lead is thicker than blood, brothers aren't born, they're earned" This sentence shows that the persona's perspective of life has been changed by the war. He feels that true brotherhood is not one's biological siblings, but close friends who stick together. The persona makes his stand unclear until the last few lines in which he reflects and lastly concludes that war is equal to be going through hell. Another paratrooper reporting for duty, sir I spent my time in hell.

The poem follows an AA BB rhyming pattern where the last word of the first line rhymes with the last word of the next line. The persona narrates in an oxymoronic and self-contradictory way. For example, "Beauty and terror are a strong mixed drink" and "who knew hell was so close to God". The persona also manages to bring out the emotions and sufferings of war through the fast pace of the poem in which the soldiers hurry to fight battles in different places, fighting chaotic battles, as shown in, "We fought from the valleys to the mountain peaks, from house to cave, to house to creek". Adjectives such as "tremendous" and "dirty, tired, hungry, and scared" are used to describe the battle and its effects and outcomes.

I feel that this poem does manage to bring out the essence of war through the persona's thoughts and experiences. The rhyming pattern gives the poem a suitable and appreciated, fast-paced rhythm which aids in the description of war and the battle in general. The persona also manages to bring out his inner turmoil, excitement against trepidation, and finally decided that he disliked war in the concluding lines of the poem.

Book Review 2

Title: Earth, Air, Fire and Custard
Author: Tom Holt
Rating: 4.5/5
Summary: J.W. Wells , who is currently paying Paul Carpenter's salary is in fact a deeply sinister organisation with a very weird management team. Paul thought he was getting the hang of it, but death is never far away when you work at J.W. Wells. Tom Holt's exceedingly comic fantasies are populated with evil goblins, annoying sprites and people like us. However, it's not always possible to tell the difference...
Review: This is an exceedingly hilarious and addictive book, which one can never stop reading. It involves many fantasy creatures and magic, something not found in any random book off a shelf.It is very comic and transports you to a world of laughs and custard. A must-read for teenagers and above.(Contains Vulgarities)

Book Review

Title: House Rules
Author: Jodi Picoult
Rating: 3.5/5
Summary: A boy, Jacob, lives with his mother and his brother, his parents having divorced. However, apart from that , Jacob Hunt is not an ordinary boy. He is autistic, having been diagnosed some years before with Asperger's Syndrome. This form of autism does not affect his intelligence, but wreaks havoc with his social skills and tolerance of certain sights and sounds. When life becomes intolerable for him, he breaks down, screaming and flailing around. The story really begins when his social skills teacher, who is helping him to live with and perhaps overcome his problem, turns up dead and all the evidence points toward him. Whether he will be convicted of murder will be for readers to know, and for others to discover.

Review: Although a very interesting and intriguing book, faster readers can figure out the end of the story before the characters even know what has happened. The hints given by characters are glaringly obvious and the ending is very mundane.

My comic strip

This is my comic strip, which I made recently for my E-Learning.

By yoaprh | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

Please comment and feel free to ask questions!

Q1. Why did you choose the different pictures and backgrounds?
A1. I chose the pictures because sportsmanship is very important in sports and the consequences of unsportsmanlike actions in martial arts competitions are more severe.

Q2. How do they contribute to the elements (plot, setting, characterization) of your narrative?
A2. The pictures show the competitors fighting(setting), but the blue fighter does not want the fight to be so tiring, so he tries to disable his opponent when he is down to make it easier to fight the opponent(plot). This shows that the blue fighter is lazy and wants to make it easier for himself and does not care about hurting or making things more difficult for others.

Q3. How did you make use of the different elements to contribute to the theme that you have chosen?
A3. In this comic, the theme is to have sportsmanship. In the comic strip, the blue fighter could make a choice to either fight fairly or try to disable his opponent. He feels that going against the rules was simpler than to just fight fairly to win and tries to disable his opponent by falling on him. Fortunately, the referee spotted him injuring his opponent and disqualified him immediately. This encourages us to have sportsmanship and play fairly, as even cheating in a game would be unfair to others and might instil in one's self a bad habit always to cheat and one will find it very hard to change in the future.

Literature and Life worksheet - Shel Silverstein

The Little Boy and the Old Man by Shel Silverstein

Q1.) What is the underlying message that is being conveyed in this poem?
ANS: The poem conveys the fact that as teenagers and adults, we often make the mistake of forgetting our youth and our feelings of being neglected, bullied or even of abuse during our childhood and also of forgetting that we are to become old, hence resulting in neglect and abuse for the old and young, causing them to think that grown-ups do not care for them.

Q2.) Has Shel Silverstein used any particular poetic technique that brings out this message more clearly?
ANS: Shel Silverstein has inserted a lot of dialogue in this poem, and has also depicted the old man as full of empathy for the young boy by agreeing with him.

Messy Room

Q1.) Can you say that the poem is humorous? If so how?
ANS: The poem is humorous as it points out all the aspects of the room, mostly in an exaggerated way. It describes an extremely dirty and unhygienic room. After describing the room, the persona goes on to blame others for having such a messy room before discovering it is his own, which must have been an embarrassing moment.

Q2.) What aspect of the human character has been highlighted in this poem?
ANS: The persona's character highlights the fact that people are prone to find fault in others while turning a blind eye to our own faults and the poem warns us not to do so, so as to avoid embarrassment.

Cloony the Clown

Q1.) Explain the irony in this poem.
ANS: The irony in this poem is the fact that while Cloony tries to be funny, nobody finds him funny and instead feel bored and depressed. However, when Cloony is depressed and tells his woes to people to try and gain their sympathy, everybody laughs at Cloony, the only one not laughing, the only depressed one.

Q2.) Does Shel Silverstein manage to convey some harsh realities in this poem?
ANS: In this poem, Shel Silverstein manages to convey that some people tend to refute attempts to cheer them up, instead laughing at other's misfortune and gaining happiness from other's sadness.

Q3.) What poetic devices has the poet used to effectively convey his message?
ANS: Shel Silverstein has inserted many poetic devices to convey his message effectively, including onomatopoeia, metaphors, irony, enjambment and rhyming to bring out the message in this poem, which is that sometimes life can be hard on you but you should not despair and also that humans are sadistic by nature.

Review of A Prisoner of Birth

Title: A Prisoner of Birth
Author: Jeffrey Archer

The story starts off with a depiction of the main character, Danny Cartwright, proposing to his girlfriend, Elizabeth Wilson, and going with her and her brother to a bar to celebrate. Some customers at the bar provoke them, and they try to leave quietly but find their way blocked by the men, who kill Elizabeth's brother. Danny Cartwright is charged with murder of Elizabeth's brother and sentenced to twenty-two years of jail. His cellmate, Sir Nicholas Moncrieff dies, the assassin having killed the wrong person. Because they look alike, Danny passes off as Sir Nicholas and gets released early. After he was discovered, his lawyer cleared his name and he and his girlfriend were married.

I feel that this book is very interesting and I recommend it for readers of all ages.

Review of Treasure Island

Title: Treasure Island
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson

The book starts off with a depiction of an old seaman going down to stay in the inn of the possession of the author's father, The Admiral Benbow, and the trouble and excitement he brings. Not long after, the old seaman and the author's father die of overdose of rum and disease respectively. It is later discovered that pirates hunting him and causing trouble at the inn were looking for a treasure map in possession of the old seaman, later identified as Billy Bones.

The author, a doctor and magistrate, and a squire decide to go on a voyage in search of the treasure depicted on the map, later discovered to have contained directions as to where the treasure of the most notorious pirate known at sea is hidden. One of the crew members, Long John Silver, who helped in the choosing of other crew members, was found to be the ringleader of a mutiny. The author, doctor, squire and a few other faithful hands work together to overcome all odds, and they got the treasure at last.

This classic is very intriguing andI recommend it for people of all ages.

Review of The War Of The Worlds

Title:The War Of The Worlds
Author: Herbert George Wells

At the starting of the book, there is a description of the Martians on Mars watching Earth closely, envying its inhabitants. Then the point of view changes to the author, who was on Earth. He and his astronomer friend were studying Mars, from which there was a succession of flashes from one part of the planet every night for ten nights. Then Martians came out of a cylinder that landed on Earth. They built a robot which had a heat ray equipped and began destroying the town they landed in, Woking.

Reinforcements came in every night after that, and brought stronger weapons with them. The story shows the author's adventure during the invasion, how he survived, and so on. Finally, the aliens die of disease.

I feel that this story was written to let us reflect on what we have done to our own planet and the war we wage on weaker animals such as ants and rabbits. This story is very realistic and it "absorbs" the reader into it, so that the reader can see the author hiding, running, fighting and so on. I recommend this book for people of all ages.

Review of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Title: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson

The story starts off describing a major character in the story, Mr. Utterson, and his friend, Mr. Enfield. They are written as taking a walk through a deserted street and seeing the house of the antagonist of the story, Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde is depicted as a mysterious character, his background unknown and has an aura of undefined deformity. Later in the story, a certain Sir Danvers was seen murdered by Mr. Hyde and Mr. Hyde disappears shortly after.

As the story progresses, more and more of Mr. Hyde is revealed, until finally his true indentity is revealed and everything becomes clear.

I feel that the book is worth reading and the plot is very interesting and unique and it captures one's attention quickly. The description at the back of the book also arouses one's curiosity and attracts people to read it. I recommend this book for people of all ages to read.

Poem Analysis for home learning

In the first stanza, the poet talks about his badge and the Latin motto on it. The tone in this stanza makes me feel like he does not really care about the Latin motto and is just saying it to start his poem. The second stanza is where the poem really starts to go into its topic, describing his primary school life. In the third stanza, the author hints that he is very untidy in nature. The fourth stanza probably shows his co-curricular activity, scouts. I think the fourth stanza is in relation to the third, as he puts them side-by-side and scouts usually go outdoors for their CCA, so I think the poet is stating that his CCA is on Wednesday. Then, the poet is probably showing the scene outside his school at dismissal, as he states that malay chauffeurs are waiting for his schoolmates. The next stanza has only one line, and is probably hinting that he does not like Mathematics. Then, he depicts the scene at Chinese New Year, and what his teacher did. The next stanza also only has one line, which shows that he is proud to be a Singaporean. The ninth stanza shows that the poet is probably very playful, because he feels that shading all the multiple choice questions 'A' is very heroic. Stanza ten, eleven and twelve are about the same thing-the picture that was in the yearbook. The poet feels that the candid picture that the time that the picture was taken was memorable.
I feel that my primary school days are very memorable and I feel the same as the poet about my primary school days.

Journal according to Mary Maloney

If I were Mary Maloney, I would probably have loved my husband, Patrick Maloney, very much. I would have given him the best, but not really expect the best from him in return. I would only expect his love and caring, especially now that I am pregnant. I did not expect that he would give me his worst, leaving me and abandoning me in my advanced state of pregnancy. I was so angry, so disappointed... with both him and myself. Had I not given him enough, are was it just his fault he gave up on me? No, I decided, it was his fault he abandoned me. I decided to try to calm down before I made him regret, settled this debt. But his last words... it was the last straw. My brain was not working with so much rage. One moment, he was there, the next, I'd killed him. After that, I tried to get over him, get over that incident, but it was hard, Partly because of my old love for him; partly because of fear- fear I would get caught, fear of my guilty conscience making the rest of my days miserable, but eventually, I got over him, over the incident, and it became a tripwire in my memory, a tripwire I'd learnned to step over, to ignore.

LTTS vs The Way Up To Heaven

Both stories share similarities and differences. For the similarities, both are stories of couples and the wives in both stories are loving, caring and loyal to their husbands, who take them for granted and tries to save only their job and money while not caring for their wives. In the end, both wives murdered or did not save their husbands from danger on purpose but made it look like an accident so noone would suspect them.
Now for the differences. The method of murder is different and in one story, the situation is actual murder while in the other, it is not rescuing her husband while he is in danger. Also, one story has a timespan of one day but the other story lasts more than one day, even more than a month.