Always be thankful (Formal Blog)

My friend
He lies against the wall
And every now and then
He'll call
He has hands
Which always keep still
But when I look again
They've already moved
He is weird
And he is strange
But most importantly I'm hardly late.

Would and will both have many meanings. Would can be used for making a formal request. For example, 'Would you be able to help me?' Will can also be used in requests, just that it is normally used in annoyance. "Will you please listen to what I'm saying!"

Would can also be used to offer something formally. "Would you like a cup of coffee?" It is also used to talk about the results of an unlikely situation, "What would you do if you could live on the moon?", and for asking or giving opinions; "You wouldn't recognize our school now if u saw it." Lastly, it can be used for saying what somebody wants. "I think David would prefer to be alone."

Will can be used to give orders and set rules. "You will not attend the party." It can also be used for talking about future events or actions. "They will win the match tomorrow."

i) Overall did you put in more hours per day with E-Learning or a regular school day with homework?

I should think that the workload was increased with E-learning as compared with regular school day homework. We are required to do some research on our own, watch videos, view comments, etc before doing the work, unlike school days, where we go through homework in class in a detailed manner before setting about to do them.

ii.)Were you able to complete the Language Arts assignments in about an hour each or did they take longer?

Most of the time the lessons took longer than an hour as I went through resources and instructions more than once to get a better idea on how to complete them. This would of greater help when blogging as I do not need to refer and read through the resources once again before I type the answers out.

iii.)Which assignment(s) did you like the best and which one(s) did you like the least? Explain why.

I liked assignments 3 and 4 the most as for assignment 3, we could create our own poems on school life and view our friends' ones and compare how life was like for us in primary school. As for assignment 4, I enjoyed reading through the materials provided.

I liked assignment 2 the least as I do not have a favourite poet, and had to spend quite some time choosing a poet and going through his life and background of writing poems. It was quite a tiresome process, I must say.

iv)My suggestions to make E-Learning better are...

Perhaps the assignments could be assigned to a specific date so I have a better picture on how fast one assignment is needed to be completed. I don't really have an idea on where I'm headed to if they are merely numbered.

v) A general reflection on how you feel the week went. Please share your honest opinion as ALL feedback is critical at this time.

Wow! Expected the pace of learning to be a lot slower but everything just fits in place nicely like any other school day and there's hardly time for relaxation like I thought. Week passed very fast I must say. Overall English was an enjoyable IT Home Learning experience for me.

2.The casino being built in Singapore is supposed to be a money-maker and job creator. However, many people have spoken against it. Talk to a parent or adult and get their view on the casino. Listen to the NPR and YouTube offerings and choose one that substantiates your viewpoint and include a quote from it as well. Your blog entry has to be at least 200 words and you must either support the casino or condemn its construction and ultimately the hardships it will cause in Singapore.

From the day the plans to start a casino were announced, to this very moment the way I see the casino in Singapore is casiNO. Why? Let me explain. First of all, the building of the casino in Singapore makes gambling very accessible. By constructing a casino in Singapore, the government is actually encouraging gambling. If you actually take a closer look, there isn't much of a difference between illegal horse betting and slot machines in casinos. Only one is approved by the government; the other isn't. You cannot bet on horses illegally, but you are allowed to squander your money away in the slot machines in our very own casino. That's the message conveyed to our citizens out there. So gamblers turn from horse betting to the casino. Do they earn money? No. They continue to lose. And lose. And then perhaps they win something. And there's the rush of euphoria. They want to gamble more, win more. But, they continue to lose. The obsession never stops. It's a "one last time" last time kind of thing, but one last time never is the last. There's always another last time. It's something called obsession.

Secondly, this casino is supposedly a money maker and job creator. But let's stop and think. Money maker? The only people who make money are the government. Gamblers patronising the casino are bound to lose their money in the process of gambling. "I've lost three hundred thousand dollars. It was all of my retirement money," said an ex-compulsive gambler who has recovered. I believe that this isn't the highest amount lost, and if something is not done to discourage gambling, it could go higher. It may also be a job creator for those working at the casino, but again consider, how many more jobs are lost when creating let's say, a few hundred jobs?

Thirdly, what kind of generation is going to rise from the existence of the casino? There is an age limit, but everyone is bound to cross it one day. Everyone is going to have that chance to step into the casino and try the games in there. With the casino built, many who were initially too young, will grow old enough one day, and may get lured to it sooner or later. Curiosity, influence, peer pressure are just a few out of the many ways which may push youngsters like us to try our hand at earning big bucks at the casino. We are not encouraging good values as a country with this action taken. The casino may also cause citizens to not want to work, all in the hope of striking it rich at the casino and relaxing in the future. And when they earn something, they gamble again in hope of earning more money. Hence, the government should encourage us to be successful in a right and proper way.

"One bet. That's all it takes and I could instantly be back at that place I was before." Gambling is a bad habit, and like all other bad habits, it's easy to take up but difficult to kick.

Sources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aQgpcxVtu0
Interview with mother.

1.Show how the poem Tom Beatty could be compared to The Rocking Horse Winner. In studying the poem, note that the opera house is really life and when He makes the rules it’s either the Lord or perhaps the devil. Beatty suggests that everyone has about 70 years, but Paul in The Rocking Horse Winner had much less time. Explain what Paul’s weakness was, how the cards were stacked against him and do you think Paul was lucky not to live to be an old man fumbling the cards, leaden-eyed and whining about his losses?

In both cases, the protagonists are hooked onto winning, which is actually what all gamblers are hooked onto. However, Tom Beatty never does win and ends up regretting spending all that time, effort and money in vain. Paul pushes himself too much, and ends up killing himself.

Paul relied fully on the horse to win the races. He never did think of it himself, and when he tried to, he would lose the betting for that particular race. Moreover, when he asked his mother whether she was contented with her birthday present of a thousand pounds, she replied in a cold, hard, absent voice, making him all the more want to win more races. His obssesion with both impressing his mother and winning the betting sessions caused him to over-exert his body, to the extent that he could not control himself. Gambling just took over his life, even in times when he was sick, all he was intent on was to see if his bet on the winning horse had won. I also think that Paul was lucky enough that he died early. He was bound to lose sooner or later. There is no such thing as a continuous winning streak in the world. Continuing gambling could continue to take its toll on his health and cause him to lose all his profits. In just a few weeks, gambling had already made a monster out of him, who knows what would have become of him if he had continued his gambling till he turned old?

2. In The Green Clothes, green is the color of envy, greed and money! This poem is thematically similar to Paper. Even though the poem takes place at a roulette wheel the gamblers from the short story and the poem have similar experiences. Explain how tips, dry lips, and all that was spent in vain could apply to the short story Paper.

In Paper, tips refers to the money the couple had earned in the stock market. It was a moment of joy and happiness, but led to more them seeing more "green". Their savings, though doubled initially in the stock market, fell below what they used to be worth during the downward slide. Still seeing "green" and not being contented with what they had, they foolishly held onto their stocks and followed a person's advice blindly. Thereafter, the whole company they had invested in crashed and they lost all their savings. That was when their lips turned dry, and they felt like everything they had spent on the stock market was in vain.

3. Ah Boh in Lottery has about one dollar, there’s a “blind man,” the number 13 and ultimately zero dollars to bet. These last examples are taken from One-Dollar Gambler. Show how they also relate to Ah Boh.

In One Dollar Gambler, the author like Ah Boh, has her own salary. She can choose to spend it on daily necessities, or gamble it away. Like a fool, she decides to use it for betting, and at the end of the day she learns that she has earned nothing, and has no more to spend. So she goes home with an empty stomach, thirsting for water, and no paper and ink to write a letter home. She has learnt a lesson, but the next day guess what? She bets again. She reaps nothing. She bets again. And again. And again.

After reading Paper, Lottery and The Rocking Horse Winner, I have decided to do question 1 and 3.

1. In relation to Paper, you should explain exactly what the title refers to and why it is so significant to gambling, gains on the stock market and ultimately the conclusion of the story.

The title Paper actually appeared thrice in the story. Firstly, it was used for when the main character says,"After all it's just paper gains so far." Secondly, it was used when the companies he had invested in had crashed, and people were starting to say that their shares were not were the paper of the certificates of possession of the stocks. Finally, it is used to make a paper house to be burned for the main character when he dies.

One of my interpretations of paper is money that isn't even physically real, and has no ability to last a long time. The money here is actually made in the stock market. People who do not have years of experience in it will not be able to survive long in it. The main characters didn't along with the fact that they were greedy, not wanting to sell their shares when they had already earned a handsome amount of profits, caused them to lose their hard-earned savings.

My second interpretation of paper, is its real meaning, however shaped to be like the house the main character had actually wanted to live in. It it brought to his grave soon after his death and burned to ashes.

The similarity between the two is, both ceased to exist in the end. I think that the author wrote in a way that as the main character's money lost, his house went along with it.

3.For The Rocking Horse Winner, write a paragraph of 100 words in which you point out who was responsible for Paul’s death.

Although it can be stated that Paul's mother were partly to blame for not believing he had luck, I feel that Paul's death was caused by no one but himself. The main reason for wanting the luck to win the betting sessions at horse races, was not only to be able to earn some money to help the family's financial state and stop the whispering, but to "compel her attention", her being his mother, prove her wrong as she had not believed him when he said that he was a lucky person.

As time passed, he started to have an obsession for winning all bets placed on horse races, and the obsession caused him to lose control of his mind and eventually lead to his death.

The Son is in Secondary School by Affran Sa’at

My badge has a Latin motto
Hope for the future
The future is hope - Metaphor
Or something
At times black crows try to interrupt
When we sing the National Anthem ------alliteration
It is difficult to maintain
The whiteness of my shoes--------------- alliteration
Especially on Wednesdays---------------- alliteration
I must admit there is something quite special
About the bare thighs of hardworking scouts
The Malay chauffeurs
Who wait for my schoolmates
Sit on the car park kerb
Telling jokes to one another
Seven to the power of five is unreasonable
On Chinese New Year Mrs Lee dressed up
In a sarong kebaya
And sang Bengawan Solo
The capital of Singapore is Singapore
My best friend did a heroic thing once
Shaded all A’s
For his Chinese Language
Multiple-choice paper
In our annual yearbook
There is a photograph of me
Pushing a wheelchair and smiling
They caught me
At the exact moment
When my eyes were actually closed

Through this poem, the poet is actually trying to create a picture of the joy he shared with his childhood friends back then. There are several hints of alliteration in the first part, and a metaphor, but other than that, this poem appears to me as a free verse revolving around the author's life in primary school. It starts and flows with a happy mood, however, ending with what I felt was a note of disappointment, that his eyes were closed in yearbook picture.

Well, one thing for sure, none of my friends were wheelchair bound. And my friends and I took exams pretty seriously, so there never was a situation when somebody shaded all 'A's for his multiple choice paper. Everything about primary school, was so fun... Sure there were times when we got into trouble, there were times where we were up to mischeif. But the feeling of being a child is just so wonderful. Now that I am progressing into my teenage years, I wish I can remain young forever. However, I also know that is just a wish, a dream, not reality. Which is why I choose to look ahead.

Those Days By Mattheus Wee

I remember those days
Chasing each other and hiding under the stairwells
I remember those days
Where everything seemed to go so well

When we were simply astonished by looking at the fish in the pond
Till time made it a bore
When we sang high pitched songs during music lessons
To the time our throats turned sore.

Tearing tissue paper and throwing the pieces at each other
I used to find it a bother
English was always my favourite period
Though it was then I was first called a nerd

Oh those days were so fine
The time spent with my friends was simply divine
But I didn’t cherish them well enough
How I wish I could go back in time