Before nuclear bombs and tanks or even fighter planes are invented, war had existed in the society from the day the first humans existed. How has war evolved from the past to present?
Let us look into depths of this question. "past" is a general term that can be anything that happened before. In this post, my "past" refers to the days before modern tanks and machinaries was invented.
The most significant factors of the comparison is technology. Technology here mostly refers to the internet and the amunitions. However, despite the differences, the main objectives of war still remains the same--- to defend or conquer.
Current wars are more civilized and most is done to affect the lives of the publics. The use of technology allows wars to be more globalised and this results in more damage to earth. Although nuclear bombs are baned, it is still possible for countries to use them without caring about the rules. Just imagine , if a nuclear bomb land in Singapore, the whole island would sink or be destroyed within seconds. Due to the fatal consequences, wars nowadays are more reasonable in a way that the government will consider a lot of things before launching a war.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Post reflection on "The Soldier"
Young men in Singapore, including you, will have to do National Serivce. Why do you think National Service is compulsory in Singapore and why is it important? In the poem, the speaker expresses his love for his country, England. Do you find this same spirit of passion and patriotism Singaporeans have for our country? Why? Do you have this same spirit of patriotism for Singapore? Why?
Dracula
Jonathan Harker is sent by his employer to Transylvania to conclude some house-purchasing business with a foreign nobleman. Dracula the count seemed like an ideal host: welcoming, hospitable, and genuinely interested in everything his guest can tell him about England.
However, this count never eats, drinks, or appears by daylight; he has neither mirrors nor servants; he delivers strange warnings and has a peculiar reaction to the sight of blood....
Soon Jonathan realises that he’s literally imprisoned in a nightmare from which his only escape could well be death - if not at the hands (or teeth) of Dracula, then at those of the castle’s other residents..
In Whitby, Mina Murray is becoming increasingly worried. Her fiancé is missing somewhere in Eastern Europe, and her friend Lucy Westenra is behaving oddly. She has become vaguely anxious and has resumed her childhood habit of sleepwalking. Things get worse after a violent storm and the accompanying arrival of a Russian ship occupied only by a large dog and a dead captain. The dog disappears, and soon so does Lucy, whom Mina discovers in the churchyard across the bay with a tall dark figure bending over her.... After this latest sleepwalking misadventure, Lucy goes into a decline. she has become vaguely anxious and has resumed her childhood habit of sleepwalking. Things get worse after a violent storm and the accompanying arrival of a Russian ship occupied only by a large dog and a dead captain. The dog disappears, and soon so does Lucy, whom Mina discovers in the churchyard across the bay with a tall dark figure bending over her.... After this latest sleepwalking misadventure, Lucy goes into a decline.
Mina went to Van Helsing and the real battle began. ( Due the story being too complicated, I might have interpreted certain parts wrongly.)
This story is extremely hard to read as it has got a lot a lot of point of views and I got muddled halfway through. And I do not really get how Jonathan escaped in the end.
book review: Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver’s travels talks about the story of a man called Lemuel Gulliver. Gulliver goes on four separate voyages in Gulliver's Travels. Each journey is preceded by a storm. All four voyages bring new perspectives to Gulliver's life.
Gulliver’s travels talks about the story of a man called Lemuel Gulliver. Gulliver goes on four separate voyages in Gulliver's Travels. Each journey is preceded by a storm. All four voyages bring new perspectives to Gulliver's life.
The first voyage is to Lilliput, where Gulliver is huge and the Lilliputians are small. At first the Lilliputians seem amiable, but the reader soon sees them for the ridiculous and petty creatures they are. Gulliver was treated as a criminal who made water even though he was putting out a fire and saving countless lives.
His second voyage is to Brobdingnag, a land of Giants where Gulliver seems as small as the Lilliputians were to him. Strangely, the “keepers” of Gulliver was very gentle to him. Ehen Gulliver was humiliated by the king, he realized how revolting he must have seemed to the Lilliputians.
Gulliver's third voyage is to Laputa (and neighboring Luggnagg and Glubdugdribb). In a visit to the island of Glubdugdribb, Gulliver is able to call up the dead and discovers the deceptions of history. In Laputa, the people are over-thinkers and are ridiculous in other ways. Also, he meets the Stuldbrugs, a race with immortality. Gulliver discovers that they are miserable.
The first voyage is to Lilliput, where Gulliver is huge and the Lilliputians are small. At first the Lilliputians seem amiable, but the reader soon sees them for the ridiculous and petty creatures they are. Gulliver was treated as a criminal who made water even though he was putting out a fire and saving countless lives.
His second voyage is to Brobdingnag, a land of Giants where Gulliver seems as small as the Lilliputians were to him. Strangely, the “keepers” of Gulliver was very gentle to him. Ehen Gulliver was humiliated by the king, he realized how revolting he must have seemed to the Lilliputians.
Gulliver's third voyage is to Laputa (and neighboring Luggnagg and Glubdugdribb). In a visit to the island of Glubdugdribb, Gulliver is able to call up the dead and discovers the deceptions of history. In Laputa, the people are over-thinkers and are ridiculous in other ways. Also, he meets the Stuldbrugs, a race with immortality. Gulliver discovers that they are miserable.
His fourth voyage is to the land of the Houyhnhnms, who are horses endowed with reason. Their rational, clean, and simple society is contrasted with the filthiness and brutality of the Yahoos, beasts in human shape. Gulliver reluctantly comes to recognize their human vices. Gulliver stays with the Houyhnhnms for several years, becoming completely enamored with them to the point that he never wants to leave. When he is told that the time has come for him to leave the island, Gulliver faints from grief.
Upon returning to England, Gulliver feels disgusted about other humans, including his own family.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
LA story
It has been four years ever since John had last tasted Singapore food. These four full years had nearly driven him crazy. Now, after these four years of waiting and hoping, John was finally back in Singapore. Although still being a developing country, John still felt that my homeland- Singapore was much better than America. Although the sudden separation from Malaysia had deeply affected the country, this did not affect his happy mood to return to his place of birth.
John left Singapore for further education in America in 1963. He had never forgotten his homeland. Now that his studies are done, John had no hesitation in returning to Singapore. “ . I am a Singaporean.” John never forgets to introduce his homeland to the friends he made in America. “America might be good and a great country to live in, but nothing is better than Singapore.” John never doubts this.
John stilled remembered how his family forced him to study overseas to avoid getting caught for owning drugs after discovering that John was addicted to drugs. In these four years, John had grown more mature and the western education had educated him to be a western gentleman.
Upon stepping on the ground of Singapore, John rushed back to his home. He did not tell his family about his return to Singapore. He did not have the money to call them. Neither did he send a letter as he knew that by the time the letter reached his parents, he would have reached in Singapore.
John really regretted breaking the laws when he was young. Only one wrong decision led to this outcome. In America, the whites with blonde hair discriminated him as “dumb” because of his religion. It had really been hard years for John.
John’s friend in America helped him to make faked passport and identification card. He knew that if he didn’t make them, he would be caught reaching by the police upon landing on Singapore.
“Mum!” John pressed on the door bell, controlling his urge to shout out in happiness. However, his mood soon changed as h realized that no one was in the house. John went to the neighbors and only to realize that his family had moved away. It was really shocking to coming to know that his own family had abandoned him.
“No!” John could not believe this.
John wandered on the streets of Chinatown, those familiar feelings and the crowds that he had been so much for was nothing to John now. All those could not extinguish the fire in John’s heart. He was so angry that his family being so irresponsible.
It took John another year to overcome this feeling and in this one year, John had grown from an “old” teenager into a matured man. He had forgiven his family as he himself knew what trouble he had caused for them. He heard from friends that his family was chased after by loan sharks that he borrowed money from to buy drugs and policemen finding for him. His family actually was saving him by staying away from him.
From the clerk to the managing director was a long journey. John worked hard to get it. He got married and had a wonderful family. One day, there was a slight knock on the door. John opened the door and was stunned. In front of him were his long lost parents! The old couple did not really realize that this young millionaire was their son. They just came here to beg for some food to survive. “Mum! Dad! ”
The family was reunion again finally. It ended with another knock on the door. As John went to open the door, he did not know that what waiting for him outside would cause him two years in the jail and loses his family again.
(I did this in an hour so the standards might not meet)
John left Singapore for further education in America in 1963. He had never forgotten his homeland. Now that his studies are done, John had no hesitation in returning to Singapore. “ . I am a Singaporean.” John never forgets to introduce his homeland to the friends he made in America. “America might be good and a great country to live in, but nothing is better than Singapore.” John never doubts this.
John stilled remembered how his family forced him to study overseas to avoid getting caught for owning drugs after discovering that John was addicted to drugs. In these four years, John had grown more mature and the western education had educated him to be a western gentleman.
Upon stepping on the ground of Singapore, John rushed back to his home. He did not tell his family about his return to Singapore. He did not have the money to call them. Neither did he send a letter as he knew that by the time the letter reached his parents, he would have reached in Singapore.
John really regretted breaking the laws when he was young. Only one wrong decision led to this outcome. In America, the whites with blonde hair discriminated him as “dumb” because of his religion. It had really been hard years for John.
John’s friend in America helped him to make faked passport and identification card. He knew that if he didn’t make them, he would be caught reaching by the police upon landing on Singapore.
“Mum!” John pressed on the door bell, controlling his urge to shout out in happiness. However, his mood soon changed as h realized that no one was in the house. John went to the neighbors and only to realize that his family had moved away. It was really shocking to coming to know that his own family had abandoned him.
“No!” John could not believe this.
John wandered on the streets of Chinatown, those familiar feelings and the crowds that he had been so much for was nothing to John now. All those could not extinguish the fire in John’s heart. He was so angry that his family being so irresponsible.
It took John another year to overcome this feeling and in this one year, John had grown from an “old” teenager into a matured man. He had forgiven his family as he himself knew what trouble he had caused for them. He heard from friends that his family was chased after by loan sharks that he borrowed money from to buy drugs and policemen finding for him. His family actually was saving him by staying away from him.
From the clerk to the managing director was a long journey. John worked hard to get it. He got married and had a wonderful family. One day, there was a slight knock on the door. John opened the door and was stunned. In front of him were his long lost parents! The old couple did not really realize that this young millionaire was their son. They just came here to beg for some food to survive. “Mum! Dad! ”
The family was reunion again finally. It ended with another knock on the door. As John went to open the door, he did not know that what waiting for him outside would cause him two years in the jail and loses his family again.
(I did this in an hour so the standards might not meet)
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Telephone Conversation
This poem is about the discrimination of the African.
In the first stanza, the poet wrote about him finding a place to rent. He found a almost perfect flat and he was calling the landlady to check about the price and conditions. As it was during a time which racisms ranpant, the poet was an African and many white people were racist against them. Thus , before accepting the conditions, the poet had to con fess that he was an African to avoid things from getting messy.
However, the landlady, instead of being straight forward to reject the poet, discriminated him by asking how black he was. The poet was angry. He looked at the red booth, red pillar-box, red double-tiered. All these things are of the same colour in almost every country but not te colour of the skin.
The landlady continued to ask the poet about his skin colour in stanza three. The poet decided to tell her after much struggling. He tried to avoid answering her indirectly failed to convince the lady. Without any choice, the poet answered " West African Sepia" like in his passport. The assence of discrimination became worse as the lady either pretends or do not know.
The lady wanted to stop the conversation in the last stanza, however, the poet won the conversation by cleverly saying that although being a "facial brunette" , the lady should not depend on the skin colour of a man to assume that he is bad or good. There are also many other colours on the body of an African also contains other colours other than black.
In the first stanza, the poet wrote about him finding a place to rent. He found a almost perfect flat and he was calling the landlady to check about the price and conditions. As it was during a time which racisms ranpant, the poet was an African and many white people were racist against them. Thus , before accepting the conditions, the poet had to con fess that he was an African to avoid things from getting messy.
However, the landlady, instead of being straight forward to reject the poet, discriminated him by asking how black he was. The poet was angry. He looked at the red booth, red pillar-box, red double-tiered. All these things are of the same colour in almost every country but not te colour of the skin.
The landlady continued to ask the poet about his skin colour in stanza three. The poet decided to tell her after much struggling. He tried to avoid answering her indirectly failed to convince the lady. Without any choice, the poet answered " West African Sepia" like in his passport. The assence of discrimination became worse as the lady either pretends or do not know.
The lady wanted to stop the conversation in the last stanza, however, the poet won the conversation by cleverly saying that although being a "facial brunette" , the lady should not depend on the skin colour of a man to assume that he is bad or good. There are also many other colours on the body of an African also contains other colours other than black.
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