What is your favourite memory of Chinese New Year? Provide details using all five senses.
The sense of taste:
After every Chinese New Year, I am bound to put on some weight. Even before the festival itself, everyone would have started preparing and buying Chinese snacks, most of which is very, very fattening. Then again, these snacks are always so yummy and irresistible. I would say that among all the festivals celebrated in Singapore, the one where I eat the most and taste the most is definitely Chinese New Year.
The sense of sight:
Before Chinese New Year, what you would see around Singapore houses and streets is that there ar boundless decorations everywhere. Everywhere you go you would see lanterns and lights, and fake fire crackers too(those are banned in Singapore). So basically during the festival of Chinese New Year, be prepared for your world to turn into a red and lively one!
The sense of smell:
I think that the only things that we would be smelling is the delicious food, so the sense of smell is pretty much the same as the sense of taste.
The sense of sound:
During every Chinese New Year, my aunt would invite us to her place for a renuion dinner, and never once has she failed to invite a lion dance troupe to "bless" house. The entire neighbourhood would be filled with sounds of the traditional Chinese drum, people shouting and clapping, all to the dance of the lion.
The sense of touch:
I don't think there is anything unique that we would be touching during Chinese New Year, but I do have to say that our hands would usually be filled with Ang Paos(Red Packets)! At least for the children though, since the adults are the one giving. It is indeed a joyous occasion for the children in the family, as they get some extra pocket money to spend!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
In-Class Blog-Writing Prompt #5 (Term 1)
Describe a situation in which you collaborated intensely and at length with another person (Projects Day, CIP/Consortium event OS, creative product, etc.)
One such situation would really be an event, but not a event that was held by Hwa Chong. This event was called ISpace, where we would organise this event every year for the primary school Infocomm Club members to visit Science centre, ISpace. This would open up their eyes to our current technologies and also broaden their perspective on Infocomm through talks. So basically I was usually part of the logistics team, and my job was to contact vendors for the lunch buffets, to prepare name tags for all the students, and work closely with the public relations team to make this event a success. It is indeed hard work every year, but it pays off when I see the primary school students learning something actually of use to their Infocomm path.
What did you learn about your own abilities to cooperate and work together during your collaboration?
What I felt was that it was rather easy for me to cooperate with other people. In fact on almost every single project or cooperative work I have done with other people, I am always at ease, and able to communicate with the members in my group to come up with the work or event. I keep finding myself able and happy to work with other people, and every year when I hold this ISpace event with all the other people, I am reminded of how being able to work as a group is very important in life. Cooperating learning is also a Habit of Mind, which is what we are currently learning in AAT too!
One such situation would really be an event, but not a event that was held by Hwa Chong. This event was called ISpace, where we would organise this event every year for the primary school Infocomm Club members to visit Science centre, ISpace. This would open up their eyes to our current technologies and also broaden their perspective on Infocomm through talks. So basically I was usually part of the logistics team, and my job was to contact vendors for the lunch buffets, to prepare name tags for all the students, and work closely with the public relations team to make this event a success. It is indeed hard work every year, but it pays off when I see the primary school students learning something actually of use to their Infocomm path.
What did you learn about your own abilities to cooperate and work together during your collaboration?
What I felt was that it was rather easy for me to cooperate with other people. In fact on almost every single project or cooperative work I have done with other people, I am always at ease, and able to communicate with the members in my group to come up with the work or event. I keep finding myself able and happy to work with other people, and every year when I hold this ISpace event with all the other people, I am reminded of how being able to work as a group is very important in life. Cooperating learning is also a Habit of Mind, which is what we are currently learning in AAT too!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
In-Class Blog-Writing Prompt #4 (Term 1)
Write a reflection on the "Comic Strip" Home Learning lesson that you completed yesterday.
I have had prior experience on creating comic strips in primary school before, but I never came across Toondoo(considering it is more of a place for "non-artist"s as they say). I feel that out of all the E-Learning sessions we had for LA from this year and last year, this was my favourite. I had many ideas on what to do for my comic strip, but I felt a maximum of 2 was too little to tell a story. It was enough to tell a message though. While using toondoo I was very limited to the characters and images they had there, and though we could import images, it wouldn't really fit, and trying to cartoonise it would be consuming too much time. Even then, I really enjoyed the entire process of creating the comic strip, and posting my hard work on my blog after one and a half hour.
What did you learn from the experience? Did you enjoy the assignment? Would you create more comic strips in the future?
The main thing I learnt from this experience was that, making a comic strip doesn't always have to be for humour, or just for fun. It can also be used to tell a story, to learn and improve your composition skills. I would say that this was one of the assignments that I enjoyed the most, from brainstorming about my theme or message, to choosing a nice background and characters, and putting it all together! I would definitely create more comic strips in the future, for fun and for the benefit of my English.
I have had prior experience on creating comic strips in primary school before, but I never came across Toondoo(considering it is more of a place for "non-artist"s as they say). I feel that out of all the E-Learning sessions we had for LA from this year and last year, this was my favourite. I had many ideas on what to do for my comic strip, but I felt a maximum of 2 was too little to tell a story. It was enough to tell a message though. While using toondoo I was very limited to the characters and images they had there, and though we could import images, it wouldn't really fit, and trying to cartoonise it would be consuming too much time. Even then, I really enjoyed the entire process of creating the comic strip, and posting my hard work on my blog after one and a half hour.
What did you learn from the experience? Did you enjoy the assignment? Would you create more comic strips in the future?
The main thing I learnt from this experience was that, making a comic strip doesn't always have to be for humour, or just for fun. It can also be used to tell a story, to learn and improve your composition skills. I would say that this was one of the assignments that I enjoyed the most, from brainstorming about my theme or message, to choosing a nice background and characters, and putting it all together! I would definitely create more comic strips in the future, for fun and for the benefit of my English.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
HBL Blog ACE - Cartoon Strip
Below is my cartoon strip:
I know I exceeded the number of cartoon strips, but I felt the need to really do so.
Firstly, I would like to elaborate on what this story is about. Basically this entire comic strip is about how starhucks(starbucks), is severely overpriced, and how time-consuming the process of buying just a simple cup of coffee becomes. I did exaggerate that part a little, but it was only to add on to the effect. However though, I would not say the "time-consuming" part for Singapore, as most of the times the Starbucks in Singapore do give very quick service.
Where I experienced this was actually in UK, when I was there for a holiday. Basically what happens is that the person serving us would always ask questions regarding vouchers, discount and whatnot. Fine, that's actually alright, since it's their interest that we get our coffee with the best price. Then when you take a look at your receipt, BOOM. $6.50 for a cup of coffee, for a cup of "Starbucks" coffee.
Then there are the times where you are in a rush and just want to order a cup of coffee, no particular size, and you get the question, "What size would you like to have? Venti?(Which is the biggest size)"
Now when I chose the background, I was looking for an indoor background and one with a clock. This is to emphasis on the "time" effect, though I regret I couldn't actually change the time. When I was choosing the characters, I made sure the waitress was always smiling, giving the effect that she has been serving customers this way for years.
When I was choosing the guy buying the coffee, I wanted someone who looked like a standard office guy, to give the effect that he just wants his coffee, and go to work, like most office people. Finally, I added the old man so that I could put some humour into my comic strip. The reason is obvious of course, an old man has all the time in the world to buy his coffee.
Alright, I hope that you would enjoy my comic strip that I spend quite some time doing!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
In-Class Blog-Writing Prompt #3 (Term 1)
What are your learning goals for this year in Language Arts, and why?
So basically I think everybody would agree with me, that everyone in this class would like to get A1 for Language Arts. That though, is a goal, but not a LEARNING goal. So what I'm going to blog about today is my learning goals this year.
Firstly, I would really want to improve my English standard as a whole. This is a goal that I perhaps set for all my subjects every year.
Secondly, I want to make sure that I learn as much as possible from unseen poetry and "How To Kill A Mockingbird" are done well and to the best of my ability, as those two sections are the sections in Language Arts that I prefer more.
Lastly, I want to learn and do well for the new "Writing Paper" test this year that is replacing comprehension. This thing is new for all of us, and learning as much as I can from it will really do me benefit.
So those are the three learning goals that I have for Langauge Arts this year, and I would just like to end off that I set these as goals, not just empty resolutions! Let's hope that everyone in the class achieve them too!
So basically I think everybody would agree with me, that everyone in this class would like to get A1 for Language Arts. That though, is a goal, but not a LEARNING goal. So what I'm going to blog about today is my learning goals this year.
Firstly, I would really want to improve my English standard as a whole. This is a goal that I perhaps set for all my subjects every year.
Secondly, I want to make sure that I learn as much as possible from unseen poetry and "How To Kill A Mockingbird" are done well and to the best of my ability, as those two sections are the sections in Language Arts that I prefer more.
Lastly, I want to learn and do well for the new "Writing Paper" test this year that is replacing comprehension. This thing is new for all of us, and learning as much as I can from it will really do me benefit.
So those are the three learning goals that I have for Langauge Arts this year, and I would just like to end off that I set these as goals, not just empty resolutions! Let's hope that everyone in the class achieve them too!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
In-Class Online Lesson #1 (Part 2 - ACE)
These were the two senarios that we were presented with, and we only had to choose one.
1. Have you ever been in the company of a group of which you were clearly not a member? What was the circumstance? How did you act? How were you treated?
2. Have you ever been part of a group of people who were unkind to one or some individuals? What was the circumstance? How did you act? What did you feel?
Well in my case I would choose number 2, as I have a particular experience that I would like to share.
Firstly before I write anything, I just would like to say that this story might be insulting to some people, and that I really mean no offense or whatsoever. So basically my experience takes place in primary school, when I was primary 3. During that time I was required to join the "TAF" club(Trim and Fit club) as I was overweight. I remember being one of the first ones there, so what we had to do was exercise during recess period.
Gradually when I primary 5, I lost quite a bit of weight and was only slightly overweight, so I could leave the TAF club the next year. During that time though, a lot of new people came in, and most of them were much, much more overweight than me. I remember there this particular primary 3 student(youngest among all of us), who was severely overweight. As a primary 3 student, he was already bigger than most of the primary 5 students. My first thought was, "How does somebody get so fat?" Of course that was me telling the truth, but after that I wiped that thought out and said to myself that, I was once fat too, and I had to help this primary 3 student.
Everytime during the TAF club sessions, this student would always be the last to finish his running laps, and at the end of it he would always be the laughing stock for everyone else. As I looked at his face then, what I saw was despair, anger and embarrassment. From that though, I could imagine myself being him, putting myself in his shoes, and I was like, nobody ever deserves to be treated like that. The fact that he is willing to keep on running and carrying on in the TAF club shows that he actually wants to lose weight, that he actually wanted to stop being picked on by everyone else. And typing this now as a sec 1, I all the more found out that it really wasn't his fault, as his body type was most likely an endomorph!
(A characteristic of an endomorph body type would be that they have difficulty in weight loss. For more information on endomorphs and other body types, check: http://www.bodybuildingpro.com/bodytypeinformation.html )
So after that I decided to first talk to that primary 3 student, and give him some advice on weight managment and loss. I also encouraged him to ignore what the others said, but just concentrate on doing what he thought was best for himself. At that point of time I could see that he was truly grateful to me, and I am glad I indeed went up to him and told him that.
A lot of times, I must say, children are suffering insults and humillation because of their traits. These traits are usually a result of their parent's traits. For example, eyesight problems, body weight problems and looks and appearance problems. A child that has parents that both wear spectacles is most likely to be wearing one soon too. A child with parents who are endomorphs(naturally fatter bodies), is likely to be overweight. Ugly parents never have good-looking children. The point here is to not to blame the parents, but I really wish to just wake up the society of students, of the teenages and children, that how someone looks and his outer appearance, do not determine his inner character. I used to get this question a lot in primary 3, " Eh Shaun, how do you become so fat? I eat and eat and eat but I still cannot become fat." When I hear that, in my heart all I feel is that it's not my fault that I was fat, but my parent's. Well of course a person who was born naturally fat could still exercise to lose weight and keep fit, which was exactly what I did, but some people simply don't and still get the same results!
Okay, looks like I am straying from the point. I hope that any person that reads this will realise that before you be judgemental, know that you are putting yourself in a superior position at the expense of others. This is extremely distasteful to me, and I detest(pardon my use of strong words) people who judge books by their covers. So I would like to end off saying that after all we are all equal and deserve to be treated the same, regardless of race, language, or religion, AND appearance!
1. Have you ever been in the company of a group of which you were clearly not a member? What was the circumstance? How did you act? How were you treated?
2. Have you ever been part of a group of people who were unkind to one or some individuals? What was the circumstance? How did you act? What did you feel?
Well in my case I would choose number 2, as I have a particular experience that I would like to share.
Firstly before I write anything, I just would like to say that this story might be insulting to some people, and that I really mean no offense or whatsoever. So basically my experience takes place in primary school, when I was primary 3. During that time I was required to join the "TAF" club(Trim and Fit club) as I was overweight. I remember being one of the first ones there, so what we had to do was exercise during recess period.
Gradually when I primary 5, I lost quite a bit of weight and was only slightly overweight, so I could leave the TAF club the next year. During that time though, a lot of new people came in, and most of them were much, much more overweight than me. I remember there this particular primary 3 student(youngest among all of us), who was severely overweight. As a primary 3 student, he was already bigger than most of the primary 5 students. My first thought was, "How does somebody get so fat?" Of course that was me telling the truth, but after that I wiped that thought out and said to myself that, I was once fat too, and I had to help this primary 3 student.
Everytime during the TAF club sessions, this student would always be the last to finish his running laps, and at the end of it he would always be the laughing stock for everyone else. As I looked at his face then, what I saw was despair, anger and embarrassment. From that though, I could imagine myself being him, putting myself in his shoes, and I was like, nobody ever deserves to be treated like that. The fact that he is willing to keep on running and carrying on in the TAF club shows that he actually wants to lose weight, that he actually wanted to stop being picked on by everyone else. And typing this now as a sec 1, I all the more found out that it really wasn't his fault, as his body type was most likely an endomorph!
(A characteristic of an endomorph body type would be that they have difficulty in weight loss. For more information on endomorphs and other body types, check: http://www.bodybuildingpro.com/bodytypeinformation.html )
So after that I decided to first talk to that primary 3 student, and give him some advice on weight managment and loss. I also encouraged him to ignore what the others said, but just concentrate on doing what he thought was best for himself. At that point of time I could see that he was truly grateful to me, and I am glad I indeed went up to him and told him that.
A lot of times, I must say, children are suffering insults and humillation because of their traits. These traits are usually a result of their parent's traits. For example, eyesight problems, body weight problems and looks and appearance problems. A child that has parents that both wear spectacles is most likely to be wearing one soon too. A child with parents who are endomorphs(naturally fatter bodies), is likely to be overweight. Ugly parents never have good-looking children. The point here is to not to blame the parents, but I really wish to just wake up the society of students, of the teenages and children, that how someone looks and his outer appearance, do not determine his inner character. I used to get this question a lot in primary 3, " Eh Shaun, how do you become so fat? I eat and eat and eat but I still cannot become fat." When I hear that, in my heart all I feel is that it's not my fault that I was fat, but my parent's. Well of course a person who was born naturally fat could still exercise to lose weight and keep fit, which was exactly what I did, but some people simply don't and still get the same results!
Okay, looks like I am straying from the point. I hope that any person that reads this will realise that before you be judgemental, know that you are putting yourself in a superior position at the expense of others. This is extremely distasteful to me, and I detest(pardon my use of strong words) people who judge books by their covers. So I would like to end off saying that after all we are all equal and deserve to be treated the same, regardless of race, language, or religion, AND appearance!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
In-Class Online Lesson #1 (Part 1)
聽媽媽的話 Ting Ma Ma De Hua Listen to Mother's Words
Hear the song here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9PFQSVZdzM
詞: 周杰倫
Ci: Zhou Jie Lun
Lyrics: Jay Chou
I got this translated version, and editted some of the English parts from: eminemjamesuk & Ling - www.jay-chou.net
小朋友 你是否有很多問號 為什麼
Xiao peng you, ni shi fou you hen duo wen hao, wei shen me
Little children, do you have a lot of questions, why
別人在那看漫畫 我卻在學畫畫 對著鋼琴說話
Bie ren zai na kan man hua, wo que zai xue hua hua, dui zhe gang qin shuo hua
When other kids are reading manga, I am learning to draw and learning to communicate with the piano
別人在玩遊戲 我卻靠在牆壁背我的ABC
Bie ren zai wan you xi, wo que kao zai qiang bi bei wo de ABC
When other kids are playing games, I am leaning on the wall memorizing my ABCs
我說我要一台大大的飛機 我卻得到一台舊舊錄音機
Wo shuo wo yao yi tai da da de fei ji, wo jue de dao yi tai jiu jiu lu yin ji
I said that I wanted a large airplane, but I got an old recorder
為什麼 要聽媽媽的話 長大後你就會開始懂得這種話
Wei shen me, yao ting ma ma de hua, zhang da hou ni jiu hui kai shi dong de zhe zhong hua
Why should I listen to mother's words? When you grow up you will understand what I am saying
長大後我開始明白 為什麼我跑的比別人快 飛的比別人高
Zhang da hou wo kai shi ming bai, wei shen me wo pao de bi bie ren kuai, fei de bi bie ren gao
After I got older I started to realize why I run faster than others and fly further than other people
將來大家看的都是我畫的漫畫 大家唱的都是 我寫的歌
Jiang lai da jia kan de dou shi wo hua de man hua, da jia chang de dou shi wo xie de ge
In the future, people will be reading my mangas and all the songs they sing will be written by me
媽媽的辛苦 不讓你看見 溫暖的食譜在她心裡面
Ma ma de xin ku bu rang ni kan jian, wen nuan de shi pu zai ta xin li mian
Mother's hard work isn't seen by others. She knows the warm recipe by heart
有空就多多握握她的手 把手牽著一起夢遊
You kong jiu duo duo wo wo ta de shou, ba shou qian zhe yi qi meng you
When you have time, hold her hand and sleep dream together
聽媽媽的話 別讓她受傷 想快快長大 才能保護她
Ting ma ma de hua, bie rang ta shou shang, xiang kuai kuai zhang da cai neng bao hu ta
Listen to mother's words, don't let her get hurt. Grow up quickly so you can take care of her
美麗的白髮 幸福中發芽 天使的魔法 溫暖中慈祥
Mei li de bai fa, xing fu zhong fa ya tian shi de mo fa, wen nuan zhong ci xiang
Beautiful white hair, growing inside happiness. Angel's magic benevolence within (her) gentleness
在你的未來 音樂是你的王牌 拿王牌談個戀愛
Zai ni de wei lai, yin yue shi ni de wang pai na wang pai tan ge lian ai
In your future, music is your key to success, use it to get into a relationship
唉 我不想把你教壞 還是聽媽媽的話吧 晚點在戀愛吧
Ai wo bu xiang ba ni jiao huai hai shi ting ma ma de hua ba, wan dian zai lian ai ba
Sigh, I don't want to teach you to be a bad kid. Why don't you listen to what your mother says and get in a relationship later
我知道你未來的路 當媽比我更清楚
Wo zhi dao ni wei lai de lu, dang ma bi wo geng qing chu
I know your future path, but your mother knows it even better
你會開始學其他同學在書包寫東寫西
Ni hui kai shi xue qi ta tong xue zai shu bao xie dong xie xi
You will start imitating friends and write things on your backpack
但我建議你最好寫 媽媽我會用功讀書
Dan shi wo jian yi ni zui hao xie, ma ma wo hui yong gong du shu
But I suggest you better write: Mom I will put in my best effort to learn
用功讀書 怎麼會從我嘴巴說出
Yong gong du shu, zhe me hui cong wo zui ba shuo chu
You will study hard, why is it coming from me?
不想你輸所以要教你 用功讀書
Bu xiang ni shu suo yi yao jiao ni, yong gong du shu
I need to teach you because I don't want you to lose. Study hard
媽媽織給你的毛衣 你要好好收著
Ma ma zhi gei ni de mao yi, ni yao hao hao shou zhe
The sweater mother gave you, you have to keep it safe
因為母親節到時我要告訴她 我還留著
Ying wei mu qin jie dao shi wo hui gao shu ta, wo hai liu zhe
Because on Mother's Day, you would want to tell her, I still have it
對了 我會遇到了周潤發
Dui le, wo hui yu dao le zou ren fa
Oh yea, I will meet Zhou Run Fa*
*Zhou Run Fa is a famous actor (Yes...He is Chow Yun Fat)
所以你可以跟同學炫耀 賭神未來是你爸爸
suo yi ni ke yi geng tong xue xuan yao du shen wei lai shi ni ba ba
So you can show off to your friends, "The God of Gambling will be your father"
我找不到童年寫的情書 你寫完不要送人
Wo zhao bu dao tong nian xie de qing shu, ni xie wan bu yao song ren
I can't find the childhood love letter. Don't give it away after you write it
因為過兩天你會在操場上撿到
yin wei guo liang tian ni hui zai cao chang shang jian dao
Because you will find it on the playground two days later
你會開始喜歡上流行歌 因為張學友開始準備唱吻別
Ni hui kai shi xi huan shang liu xing ge yin wei zhang xue you kai shi zhun bei chang wen bie
You will start to like pop music because Jacky Cheung is about to sing Kiss Goodbye*
*(Kiss Goodbye is a famous song that was a hit in the 90s)
聽媽媽的話 別讓她受傷 想快快長大 才能保護她
Ting ma ma de hua, bie rang ta shou shang, xiang kuai kuai zhang da cai neng bao hu ta
Listen to mother's words, don't let her get hurt. Grow up quickly so you can take care of her and protect her
Okay so the reason why I decided to choose a chinese song is that because most of the chinese songs we hear are based on values and how to behave in life, in the case of this song, filial piety. Just for information purposes, Jay Chou is actually a really talented singer-songwriter and actor in Asia. He is starring in the coming movie, "Green Hornet", as the green hornet.
I had to correct some of the english translations as it didn't really fit when translated. The bulk of the song(except for the chorus), is actually sung as a rap, so when translated from Chinese to English, there are some parts that don't really rhyme.
This song is really about Jay Chou telling children about his childhood, about how he decided not to follow his friends in doing things and wasting their time, and listen to his mother instead. He also goes on and tell them how this has benefitted him in life(In the future, people will be reading my mangas and all the songs they sing will be written by me), and that the children should listen to his experiences. Basically why I really feel that this song has an impact on me is that I am actaully a person that never ever listen to my parents. Well at least since primary three. I felt that I could do things much better than my parents, and decided to do it the way I want to. So far though, I feel I have been quite a success. I mean when I was in primary 1 to 3, I was always one of the few people that got last in class. Finally at primary three, I followed my mother's "detailed" advice and failed my first subject. From then on I decided to just study the way I felt best for myself, and do my work at my own time and pace. In primary 5 I went into my primary school's best class, same in primary 6, and now I'm in Hwa Chong!
When I heard this song however, I thought to myself, yes I have gone to a good school with my own merit, but without my parent's support(money and house), I would never get this far. So this song made me think about my actions again, and what I concluded was that regardless of what my parents do or are, they are after all my parents. Since then I actually decided to try my best to listen to my parents, and I hope one day I will be able to live well with them again.
In-Class Blog Wriing Prompt #2 (Term 1)
What is the most valuable thing you learnt last year in Language Arts, and why?
The most valuable thing that I think I have learnt last year was actually poetry. Last year would be my first time learning poetry, and I think I really enjoyed it so far. We had lessons on poetic devices, we went through different poems, and YEAH i scored very well for the unseen poetry test. Aside from just the syllabus that we covered though, I really wished that we could have some lessons analysing song lyrics, instead of just poems everytime.
What I found very valuable that I learnt last year too was comprehension. To be more specific, some critical skills in scoring well for comprehension. In Primary School, comprehension was usually the part in my examination that actually pulls my entire paper down, but for this year, I got an A1 score!
The most valuable thing that I think I have learnt last year was actually poetry. Last year would be my first time learning poetry, and I think I really enjoyed it so far. We had lessons on poetic devices, we went through different poems, and YEAH i scored very well for the unseen poetry test. Aside from just the syllabus that we covered though, I really wished that we could have some lessons analysing song lyrics, instead of just poems everytime.
What I found very valuable that I learnt last year too was comprehension. To be more specific, some critical skills in scoring well for comprehension. In Primary School, comprehension was usually the part in my examination that actually pulls my entire paper down, but for this year, I got an A1 score!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
In-Class Blog Writing Prompt #1 (Term 1)
The most favourite book I have ever read, was actually a book I read last year. I have actually did a book review on this book in a previous blog post, but since during the first blog writing prompt this year is on my favourite book, I decided to further add on on why I really loved that book.
Emperor: The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden
Before I start writing anything else, here is the link of my book, in the website Goodreads.com: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6868339-emperor
I would actually like to say that anything related to roman history, interests me. From movies, to games, and even to books. There's just something so fascinating about how the politics were like during the time when Rome was one of the greatest empires in history, how a few significant leaders could change so much, and all the things going on in a great city. To find a book that actually does such a brilliant job in giving all that justice, is rather rare. Thus, when I set my eyes on this book and read it, I could just imagine whatever is being described in the book.
There is an ancient latin saying from a greek poet, Pindar, that goes, "γλυκύ δ᾽ἀπείρῳ πόλεμος." What this means in English is, "Dulce bellum inexpertis." which means, "War is sweet to those that never have experienced it." Oh how true is this, as I have always enjoyed games that have war. Well I would say that most people who enjoy games do too.
So the main plot of the story revolves around the very famous roman general, Gaius Julius Caesar. This book is part of a series of four volumes, and this particular one start on the beginning of Julius Caesar's life, when he was a baby, when he was a child, through his adolescent years. Why I like this book more than the other three in the series, is precisely because of this reason. Before I even read this book, I have read biographies on Julius Caesar and his acomplishments, his follies, and things like that. What happens in this book is that I get to go into a personal level on how Julius Caesar might have felt, might have thought at his age. I get to reveal the making of a leader. This really intrigues me, as behind all the glamour, grandeur and pride, I can see who truly Julius Caesar was as a person, and not as a celebrity.
So that ends of this blog writing prompt of my favourite book. I will indeed remember this book for the rest of my life, and you have to read it, in order to truly experience it.
Emperor: The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden
Before I start writing anything else, here is the link of my book, in the website Goodreads.com: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6868339-emperor
I would actually like to say that anything related to roman history, interests me. From movies, to games, and even to books. There's just something so fascinating about how the politics were like during the time when Rome was one of the greatest empires in history, how a few significant leaders could change so much, and all the things going on in a great city. To find a book that actually does such a brilliant job in giving all that justice, is rather rare. Thus, when I set my eyes on this book and read it, I could just imagine whatever is being described in the book.
There is an ancient latin saying from a greek poet, Pindar, that goes, "γλυκύ δ᾽ἀπείρῳ πόλεμος." What this means in English is, "Dulce bellum inexpertis." which means, "War is sweet to those that never have experienced it." Oh how true is this, as I have always enjoyed games that have war. Well I would say that most people who enjoy games do too.
So the main plot of the story revolves around the very famous roman general, Gaius Julius Caesar. This book is part of a series of four volumes, and this particular one start on the beginning of Julius Caesar's life, when he was a baby, when he was a child, through his adolescent years. Why I like this book more than the other three in the series, is precisely because of this reason. Before I even read this book, I have read biographies on Julius Caesar and his acomplishments, his follies, and things like that. What happens in this book is that I get to go into a personal level on how Julius Caesar might have felt, might have thought at his age. I get to reveal the making of a leader. This really intrigues me, as behind all the glamour, grandeur and pride, I can see who truly Julius Caesar was as a person, and not as a celebrity.
So that ends of this blog writing prompt of my favourite book. I will indeed remember this book for the rest of my life, and you have to read it, in order to truly experience it.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
2011 Term 1 Blog Post 1 - Narrative Activity: Literature & Life(Part 2)
Continued from the previous post.
These are some of the poems that we analysed, all by Shel Silverstein.
The Little Boy and the Old Man
Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon."
Said the old man, "I do that too."
The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."
"I do that too," laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, "I often cry."
The old man nodded, "So do I."
"But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems
Grown-ups don't pay attention to me."
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
"I know what you mean," said the little old man.
Q1) What is the underlying message that is being conveyed in this poem?
Ans: Both Children and elderly are equally treated. A person becomes just like a child again when he is old.
Q2) Has Shel Silverstein used any particular poetic technique that brings out this message more clearly?
Ans: Assonace. There is assonace in every sentence, and through this I feel that Shel Silverstein is trying to show similarity between the old man and the child.
Messy Room
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!
Q1) Can you say that the poem is humorous? If so how?
Ans: Yes. Shel Silverstein's majority of the poem was on critcizing a room, but at the end, he realised that the room was actually his, the irony and foolishness of the identity potrayed being humorous.
Q2) What aspect of the human character has been highlighted in this poem?
Ans: "The pot calling the cattle black" aspect.
Cloony The Clown
I'll tell you the story of Cloony the Clown
Who worked in a circus that came through town.
His shoes were too big and his hat was too small,
But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.
He had a trombone to play loud silly tunes,
He had a green dog and a thousand balloons.
He was floppy and sloppy and skinny and tall,
But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.
And every time he did a trick,
Everyone felt a little sick.
And every time he told a joke,
Folks sighed as if their hearts were broke.
And every time he lost a shoe,
Everyone looked awfully blue.
And every time he stood on his head,
Everyone screamed, "Go back to bed!"
And every time he made a leap,
Everybody fell asleep.
And every time he ate his tie,
Everyone began to cry.
And Cloony could not make any money
Simply because he was not funny.
One day he said, "I'll tell this town
How it feels to be an unfunny clown."
And he told them all why he looked so sad,
And he told them all why he felt so bad.
He told of Pain and Rain and Cold,
He told of Darkness in his soul,
And after he finished his tale of woe,
Did everyone cry? Oh no, no, no,
They laughed until they shook the trees
With "Hah-Hah-Hahs" and "Hee-Hee-Hees."
They laughed with howls and yowls and shrieks,
They laughed all day, they laughed all week,
They laughed until they had a fit,
They laughed until their jackets split.
The laughter spread for miles around
To every city, every town,
Over mountains, 'cross the sea,
From Saint Tropez to Mun San Nee.
And soon the whole world rang with laughter,
Lasting till forever after,
While Cloony stood in the circus tent,
With his head drooped low and his shoulders bent.
And he said,"THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT -
I'M FUNNY JUST BY ACCIDENT."
And while the world laughed outside.
Cloony the Clown sat down and cried.
Q1) Explain the irony in this poem.
Ans: Cloony The Clown tried so hard to entertain, but all his efforts were in vain, as no one found him funny at all. When he decided to stop entertaining people and tell everyone had sad he felt, everyone instead laughed and were entertained.
Q2) Does Shel Silverstein manage to convey some harsh realities in this poem?
Ans: Yes. He manages to convey the harsh reality of sadistic personalities in people.
Q3) What poetic devices has the poet used to effectively convey his message?
Ans: Assonace and rhyme.
Which of the above poems can you identify with the most? Write down your thoughts on your blog...
I feel that the poem that I can relate to the most is Cloony The Clown by Shel Silverstein. I think this poem addresses the reality of what most people are like, which is everyone indeed has a sadistic side to them. Being a clown means that you have to entertain people, try to make people laugh, but more often than not, this is actually quite a tedious and unrewarding job, which requires someone with a huge amount of patience. So what happens is that clowns usually resort to doing silly things, rather than funny things. This means that when people are "entertained" by the clown, they are laughing at the clown, not with the clown.
In the game, Sims, when your sims are exceptionally upset, a clown will come into your household and try to cheer your sims up. So what happens is the clown will try to perform tricks and entertain your sims, but the result is actually your sims becoming more upset, as a result of finding the clown "unentertaining". After spending some time trying to find out how the clown would actually help my sims, I found out that when you direct your sims to do mean or evil actions towards the clown, they actually become happier!
So I think that Shel Silverstein has really done a good job in trying to convey this message to the audience.
These are some of the poems that we analysed, all by Shel Silverstein.
The Little Boy and the Old Man
Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon."
Said the old man, "I do that too."
The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."
"I do that too," laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, "I often cry."
The old man nodded, "So do I."
"But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems
Grown-ups don't pay attention to me."
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
"I know what you mean," said the little old man.
Q1) What is the underlying message that is being conveyed in this poem?
Ans: Both Children and elderly are equally treated. A person becomes just like a child again when he is old.
Q2) Has Shel Silverstein used any particular poetic technique that brings out this message more clearly?
Ans: Assonace. There is assonace in every sentence, and through this I feel that Shel Silverstein is trying to show similarity between the old man and the child.
Messy Room
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!
Q1) Can you say that the poem is humorous? If so how?
Ans: Yes. Shel Silverstein's majority of the poem was on critcizing a room, but at the end, he realised that the room was actually his, the irony and foolishness of the identity potrayed being humorous.
Q2) What aspect of the human character has been highlighted in this poem?
Ans: "The pot calling the cattle black" aspect.
Cloony The Clown
I'll tell you the story of Cloony the Clown
Who worked in a circus that came through town.
His shoes were too big and his hat was too small,
But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.
He had a trombone to play loud silly tunes,
He had a green dog and a thousand balloons.
He was floppy and sloppy and skinny and tall,
But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.
And every time he did a trick,
Everyone felt a little sick.
And every time he told a joke,
Folks sighed as if their hearts were broke.
And every time he lost a shoe,
Everyone looked awfully blue.
And every time he stood on his head,
Everyone screamed, "Go back to bed!"
And every time he made a leap,
Everybody fell asleep.
And every time he ate his tie,
Everyone began to cry.
And Cloony could not make any money
Simply because he was not funny.
One day he said, "I'll tell this town
How it feels to be an unfunny clown."
And he told them all why he looked so sad,
And he told them all why he felt so bad.
He told of Pain and Rain and Cold,
He told of Darkness in his soul,
And after he finished his tale of woe,
Did everyone cry? Oh no, no, no,
They laughed until they shook the trees
With "Hah-Hah-Hahs" and "Hee-Hee-Hees."
They laughed with howls and yowls and shrieks,
They laughed all day, they laughed all week,
They laughed until they had a fit,
They laughed until their jackets split.
The laughter spread for miles around
To every city, every town,
Over mountains, 'cross the sea,
From Saint Tropez to Mun San Nee.
And soon the whole world rang with laughter,
Lasting till forever after,
While Cloony stood in the circus tent,
With his head drooped low and his shoulders bent.
And he said,"THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT -
I'M FUNNY JUST BY ACCIDENT."
And while the world laughed outside.
Cloony the Clown sat down and cried.
Q1) Explain the irony in this poem.
Ans: Cloony The Clown tried so hard to entertain, but all his efforts were in vain, as no one found him funny at all. When he decided to stop entertaining people and tell everyone had sad he felt, everyone instead laughed and were entertained.
Q2) Does Shel Silverstein manage to convey some harsh realities in this poem?
Ans: Yes. He manages to convey the harsh reality of sadistic personalities in people.
Q3) What poetic devices has the poet used to effectively convey his message?
Ans: Assonace and rhyme.
Which of the above poems can you identify with the most? Write down your thoughts on your blog...
I feel that the poem that I can relate to the most is Cloony The Clown by Shel Silverstein. I think this poem addresses the reality of what most people are like, which is everyone indeed has a sadistic side to them. Being a clown means that you have to entertain people, try to make people laugh, but more often than not, this is actually quite a tedious and unrewarding job, which requires someone with a huge amount of patience. So what happens is that clowns usually resort to doing silly things, rather than funny things. This means that when people are "entertained" by the clown, they are laughing at the clown, not with the clown.
In the game, Sims, when your sims are exceptionally upset, a clown will come into your household and try to cheer your sims up. So what happens is the clown will try to perform tricks and entertain your sims, but the result is actually your sims becoming more upset, as a result of finding the clown "unentertaining". After spending some time trying to find out how the clown would actually help my sims, I found out that when you direct your sims to do mean or evil actions towards the clown, they actually become happier!
So I think that Shel Silverstein has really done a good job in trying to convey this message to the audience.
2011 Term 1 Blog Post 1 - Narrative Activity: Literature & Life(Part 1)
It's the first blog post of my LA blog for 2011, YAY! So After watching the first seven minutes of the Tim Burton film "BIG FISH", we(2O4) had to answer some questions regarding the movie.
These are the questions and answers:
Q1) What does the phrase " a big fish in a small pond" mean to you?
Ans: To me, "a big fish in a small pond" means talent or potential not receiving the deserved recognition.
Q2) What is the purpose of Edward Bloom's tall tale about the big fish and the wedding ring?
Ans: He wants to relate to the audience through the story that the only way to catch an uncatchable woman, is with a wedding ring, just like how he did in the story.
Q3) How does William Bloom as a boy feel about his father's telling o the tale? How does this feeling change as he gets older?
Ans: He was always very excited and interested in the beginning, but as he grew older, he started to grow bored and sick of it.
Q4) Why does Edward Bloom feel the need to keep repeating the tale throughout his life?
Ans: He thinks that the audeience love the story, and wants to emphasise on the message by repeating it.
Q5) What does the tale reveal about the relationship between Edward and William Bloom?
Ans: The tale shows that Edward Bloom and his son had a very good relationship in the starting, as in the tale, when Edward had "caught the big fish", it was the day his son was born, and he also hesitated in the tale if he should actually catch the fish, as that would deprive his son of the chance to do so.
Q6) Consider the following quote: "In telling the story of my father's life, it's impossible to separate fact from fiction, the man from the myth. The best I can do is to tell it the way he told me. It doesn't always make sense, and most of it never happened, but that's what kind of story this is." What stories have you been told that match this description? What is the effect of telling a story in this way?"
Ans: Fables - Legend of the Seeker. It allows the audience to think and picture the story much easier, and thus easier to understand, and making the story more interesting and entertaining.
Q7) Does bending or exaggerating the truth for the purpose of conveying and entertaining story undercut the believability of such a story? Is a tall tale less valid than a straight reportage of the facts? Why or why not?
Ans: No. A straight reportage, though may be the exact true story, to the audience, is just coming from the same person. When someone tells a tall tale, the audience would have no idea in what is being told is exaggerated or not.
Well, those are my answers. Apart from this seven questions, we also had to analyze and answer soem questions on problems, and those will be on my next part of this blog post!
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