9:37:00 PM
English Portfolio - Colour Blindness is Not A Bad Thing
In response to controversial issues in the article Govt confident migrant population growth won't affect social harmony on ChannelNewsAsia.com
*** here the action begins ***
(cue to start word count)
Over the years, Singapore's migrant community has been increasing drastically, and the article highlights this. One word pops out. Racism.
Just think of Singapore as a plate, and the different races as the food from a Eat-All-You-Can Salad Bar at Sizzlers. You can take lots. You can take more. You can take even more. However, tastes of foods can and will clash. Potato salad and Pineapple Tidbits taste terrible. Chicken Soup doesn't go with Romaine Lettuce. Worse still, the food can fall right off your plate and give you one heck of a mess.
Not trying to make a meal of things, I feel that the racism is totally ludicrous. Whatever happened to Racial Harmony? I mean; A Singaporean in a Lexus is a businessman. A "Chinaman" in a Lexus? These innocent jokes done in the name of fun are merely the tip of the iceberg. It’s no different from the Blacks and the Whites in America in the time past. The increase in immigrants is nothing for us to invent jokes about. Who is going to do all the dirty work for us? If we don't get the bunch of Bangladeshi workers into Singapore, our Circle Line would merely be a fantasy. What happened to Singaporeans and our favourite D&T?
Darn I can't. I broke a nail.
Mr Mah was asked how population growth through migration will affect Singapore's ethnic mix. The migrants are here for our good. To preserve racial harmony, everyone just needs to understand that. I don't mean they should think they are lower than us just because they are building the underground MRT Line, or anything. I feel that we need to understand that there is no shame in doing these "lower-down" jobs. I think we should eradicate this mindset that there is a spectrum of job "ratings" with some being marginally lower.
Why is this mindset even there? I find it quite immature, really. There is a Circle Line construction site right next to my house at Marymount Road, and despite rain, cold or even hot sun, the resilient workers there keep doing their thing, not giving in to "a few droplets of rain".
Migrants are not just construction workers. Maids: many of us have them in our homes; their function? A machine which does housework. Based on my calculations,
maids = machines
aeroplanes = machines
So, based on our logic, Maids are as good as Aeroplanes. Let's all get us a A380 for our houses shan't we? It can have a private hangar in the puny space-room/bomb-shelter next to the kitchen!
The ironic thing is, these people whom we look down on do not complain at all. They have resilience, perseverance and courage to leave home and come to an alien country, so they all can become like aeroplanes. Well, go fly kites. The golden rule is so true here. We may shun them now, but wait till we go abroad.
An American at Harvard is smart. A Singaporean at Harvard is?
Suffering.
word count: 500.
Labels: ep
25.2.07
12:58:00 PM
Lala.
Well, it turns out that theres no chem cct, which means there are 4 CCTS THIS WEEK! Great. Isn't that wonderful. We have CHINESE and MATHS on Monday and Tuesday, GREAT. Ok, fine; this year is a muggy mug year. I have been a good boy and have been consienciously practicing maths :) so my maths should have no problem; i finished ALL the worksheets already, i have nothing to do for practice questions. HAHA.
Chinese is a stupid subject. Thats all I have to say about that. I can tell you Bill Gates and Microsoft don't like it either. That's why when you want to type chinese words on the world wide internet, all you get is 死尿屁。 No really, what else can you describe squiggles with?
Haha, anyway, I bought a new racket! Instead of buying the o3 tour, which I wanted, I got an o3 Hybrid Vendetta. It's not as flashy as the o3 tour, but its like a match made in heaven :) :) :) I LOVE MY NEW RACKET; It's like, the best I've ever had. All the shots that I intentionally try are executed much better than with my Lightning II. Ok, so I must admit, the ball must like me la, I have lots of luck (usually when I don't really need it) and my shots go everywhere but in :)
I'm not that bad ok? Haha. Really. I like the o3 Hybrid Vendetta. It's really really nice. The only reason why people don't like it its because it's head heavy, but I prefer head heavy rackets haha. Here's a pic I found on the internet somewhere:
Haha. I feel so much more enthusiastic about squash now. It's something to do with new equipment and boosting morale and all that random rubbish. Like how Tottenham unveiled their new logo and their new away kit that was brown and yucky, and similarly, they ended up playing like Sugar Honey Ice Tea. But the confidence was there. Like, now, with a new racket and everything I feel psyched up and ready to take on the world hahahahaa. My ****. What rubbish.
Lala, I resolve not to bash this racket against any wall, glass, or floor in any furor this year, because when the racket breaks, there night not be this great model anymore! Haha, I have been mean to my Lightning II, but it's being pampered now, in the Squash Racket Retirement Village happily residing with my Lightning I that I had in Sec 1. HEH.
23.2.07
7:19:00 PM
Random Musing of the Day
Name: Blue Man
Secret Identity: Andrew Chua
Special Power: Crackling Energy
Transportation: Magnetic Umbrella
Weapon: Neutron Cutlass
Costume: Silver Robe
Sidekick: Bobo
Nemesis: Ming the Blue
Tragic Flaw: Fear of water
Favorite Food: Cheese
Haha I was bored and saw this on Mark's blog so i thought i should give it a try. Anyway.
Next week is a lousy, lousy week. There's only 1 period of PE. There are 5 CCTS, one on every day. In order of date, there is chinese, maths, english, bio and chem. BLEAH. Pity i dropped physics for bio, there is NO PHYSICS CCT! Ok that's quite stupid.
I decided not to make a new skin yet cos the english portfolio thing will mess up my plans. I mean, putting a seperate layer for current affairs will mess everything up.
Haha, I'm tired and bored.
Go figure. Zz
21.2.07
11:08:00 PM
Sick and Tired
Bleah. Its been a long time since i last posted. I think it was 6 days. I haven't done a thing on my image-map template except write the css, cos there's too much stuff to do. Such as watching CSI :) And Air Crash Investigation :) And all those other cool programs on TV. Haha, there is this especially cool episode of Air Crash Investigation where one of the windscreens actually got blasted out because of a mix of the wrong type of bolts and outward air pressure in the plane cabin.. the worse thing was that the pilot was CONVENIENTLY getting out of his seat to get a drink and !#$%!#$%">!#%!#$%!#$% he's sucked out the window. He didn't fly off and become space junk because his foot was jammed on the throttle; hence keeping him there, but making the plane fly downward.
The plot is seriously compelling. Like some big time drama. Oh yes: there was this series of seriously MIRACULOUS EVENTS. Nothing short of it. Really cool.
The stewards couldn't hold on for much longer.
The co-pilot, who was stressed out from flying solo without the flight engineer (holding on to the pilot; his charts were all blown out the window anyway so he was more or less useless) and the pilot (somewhere out the window).
The stewards saw the pilot's expressionless, unblinking eyes and realised that the pilot was dead. Or so they thought.
The co-pilot, after hestitating, decided to let the pilot go. NOT. The co-pilot felt that since they were facing headwind, the pilot's body would probably crash into the wing and damage it, causing them more trouble.
They all hung on and the co-pilot managed to run in a Southampton (yay) runway, which was much too short for the heavy 1-11 which still had an almost full tank of fuel; they had enough to go from London to Mallorca and back.
Nobody died.
I MEAN IT.
Not even the "Dead" pilot.
He woke up and returned to flying 5 MONTHS LATER.
Everyone got lots and lots of aviation awards, but HOW COOL IS THAT!
Haha.
15.2.07
7:34:00 PM
Bleah
I forgot to bring PE so i ran home to get; after that felt so sleepy that i decided not to go for training and slept.. until now. haha. i'm making a new skin a new skin! I'm trying out image mapping so i hope it turns out ok haha. Lala off for dinner.
12.2.07
8:50:00 PM
English Portfolio #1:
This portfolio entry was written in response to two articles: the first found on ChannelNewsasia's online website click here and the other on the CNN Website click here .
Suvarnabhumi Airport: The Dream That Never Took Off.
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After almost 2 hours, the spanking new Suvarnabhumi Airport came into view; a welcome sight for the passengers after seeing nothing but endless clouds. On landing, however, distress signals were being processed in every single of the passengers' brains, crew included. The mighty 747 shuddered with irregular spasms at it teetered precariously on the new runway. After minutes, which seemed like hours, of nervous anticipation, the passengers were finally released from the thrill ride that never seemed like ending. The torture was not yet over...
Bangkok's new airport, named Suvarnabhumi Airport, after a mythical South-East-Asian land, opened last September, only to face talks of closure, due to a wide variety of problems.
(above, left: revolutionary architecture of Suvarnabhumi, right: tallest control tower in the world at Suvarnabhumi)
Suvarnabhumi's architecture is revolutionary; the list of amenities endless. A 5 star airport hotel, duty free shops, high-tech check-in counters, etc. However, despite all these "touristy attractions", basic things such as toilets were severely neglected. Tourists described the toilets as "dingy grey" with a desperate need for a "de-stink" and the number of urinals were inadequate.
This is not the only problem. Poor space management means that the poor tourists in transit have no option but to be squashed mercilessly by the millions of others in the airport. A friend of mine who recently went to Bangkok described it as “an MRT train in the morning.”
(above:cracks in the runway)
Even the newly-build runways are posing problems to airport authorities. Mysterious cracks have appeared on the runways, right under the nose of "the world’s tallest control tower", posing major safety issues for incoming and outgoing air traffic.
The Thais are now facing many political problems as well. This airport was the "pet project" of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra. It has been mangled by corruption talk for ages, and to complicate things, the world is engaged in a huge conflict of opinions over whether to rank safety first and reopen the older and smaller Don Muang Airport, or to rank tourism first, and keep the giant Suvarnabhumi up and running.
As a frequent holidayer, I would definitely want to avoid Bangkok altogether, because if I can’t get to a place in one piece, forget it. Tourists share similar mindsets, putting their personal safety first, rather than to try a death defying stunt like entering Suvarnabhumi. Thailand depends heavily on the tourist industry for money, and this airport certainly puts them in financial jeopardy (bear in mind that the construction costs are not cheap in the first place.)
This incident teaches us a huge lesson on planning before we act. We should not do last minute work and then make a huge mess out of things, like the Airport Authorities did here. It applies in our school life, especially. It also teaches us to be upright and uncorrupt, as this will lead to problems down the road; in this case, Thaksin’s corruption caused massive delays, and flaws in planning.
... The gleaming white 747 looked so peaceful in such a time, of trouble, crisis and conflict. Would it ever take off again?
---
(exactly 500 words excluding image captions and title; word count starts from "After almost 2 hours...")
First image adapted from one found HERE . The one with the runway cracks is taken from HERE .
Labels: ep
11.2.07
3:23:00 PM
Random.. Musing?
Kind of strange; people are really not who they seem. It seems that more than 3 of my classmates have straining family relationships, which is really quite awkward. However strange it might seem, it's really becoming the norm nowadays with people wanting more from their children and wanting more for their children. But really, where do parents draw the line?
The most interesting thing is, on the outside, they are really fine. But when they go home and start blogging, the truth spills and its really quite weird. I mean, it's the same kind of feeling we, the happy and priviledged, get when we go to old folks home or silra home, or whatever home; we try and be normal, but deep down we know we just can't.
Argh.
10.2.07
12:46:00 PM
Friday
Volunteered to be a house psl on friday for the Bayley house day. I must admit, although the exco aren't as convincing as Poo Yi Hong and Adnaan's team of jokers (i mean it in a good sense), Bayley is one of the nicest houses to be in. The teachers, for one, are ultra-hyper kind. It's probably part of some yearly tradition to sponsor lunch for 100+ sec1s and SLs, and this year, they even bought cartons and cartons of canned drinks. I don't really like the housemistresses, though, they are kind of intimidating. Haha.
It was quite fun haha, we basically facilitated the icebreakers and played this war game with the sec 1s. Interestingly, the sec 1s, probably under the mega influence of Paul Tern, have a surprising amount of respect for seniors. I was kind of expecting the sec 1s to be like being all pissy and cynical like some people from 1L last time haha. Maybe the free lunch (Kampung Istimewa/ Million Dollar Makan's ri-famous chicken bryani) helped. The war game was also surprisingly successful, unlike the war game during s3 orientation, and the war game that was a mega DISASTER during the sec 1 GE camp at Sembawang BB Camp. Somehow everything seemed to go right; no serious injuries also haha.
Oh yes, I'm sorry, Hwee Leong and Stuart Christopher Lee and gang, but your year was one of the most shi bai for Bayley. For one, the theme was so COPIED and we couldn't even have any pride to go around parading like.. SHAZAM, which is the theme of Shan Zhi's prefectorial campaign. I mean, remember the Rath of Ra? That was quite cool, and other people though so too, but Shazam? A dubious theme of dubious origins, and what does that have to do with yellow? You guys are nice people and all, but bleah.
Ok, so this year's theme is Lionheart, which is a lot better than Shazam haha. Except for the ridiculously hard Lions cheer, I think Bayley will go and own Hullett, Moor and Morrision; Buckley might prove to be a surprise this year. Like maybe they'll finish 1st after like.. forever. But the chances are like.. 0.0"
House Day was very fun and enjoyable, especially cos we helped to paint the huge banner! (2L/1L has so much Bayley spirit, don't you think?) 3L has the most Bayley spirit yayyy. Haha kidding. But Geoffrey, Me, Zhongren, Matthias, Paul AND Ian came down to help as SLs. Thats 6 out of less than 20 sec3s!
Haha, after house day, caught a TAXI to training, $5 gone, only to lose to Han Lin during selections. I can't stand it, the set scores show nothing about your skill, haha. I lost COUNTLESS sets 9-7, 10-8 and 10-9 to people like Han Lin, Bryan Nah, Michael Chee, Stuart, Marcus.. argh. Totally CRAP. Anyway, after that went to eat dinner at sg (serangoon gardens la, not singapore; sg is a subset of s'pore haha) then took bus to Montfort to watch debateeeee.
THB that govt should ban sports gambling. I thought that the usually animated Anish was kind of muted during the debate and the CHIJtp debaters were much more convincing. Apparently not, RI won haha. But still, I thought RI weren't very forceful in their points; they tried to use logic to sound out the judges, but maybe thats cos we were against CHIJ. You know how girls are; let alone girl debaters. (there are blatant fallacies here haha).
8.2.07
10:23:00 PM
Random
Southampton are currently 5th in the Coca Cola Championship, after losing 1-0 to league leaders Derby County. Although this placing is good enough to qualify for the Promotional playoff between the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th placed teams (competing for ONE promotional spot), what I would really like to see is Southampton displacing at least Preston North End out of 2nd place for automatic promotion. No chances there.
Oo. I just realised Preston North End have a very insprational name, they try and finish the season at the NORTH END of the table. Haha. That would be near the top :). No wonder Southend United are struggling to survive the season. That does it, people, everybody change your club name to something with connotations like that, now isn't that cool!
Just feeling random..
You Are Iceman |
 You tried to live a normal life, but it just wasn't possible A bit of a slacker, you rather tell jokes than cultivate your powers Powers: turning self and others into ice, making ice weapons, becoming nearly invisible |
2:22:00 PM
Just Testing
I'm just testing to see if I can squeeze in the Blogger label function so I don't have to create a new blog for the English Portfolio thing..
Labels: ep
7.2.07
10:03:00 PM
Random
Whee. Jon Lim drew inspiration from the funny video we watched during english and decided to throw up in class, which was quite a scary thing, especially because of the person sitting next to me. That would be Jon Lim. Apparently during BB, he had to run 8km (wa worse than squash) and do lots of circuit training and fell sick, and the rest is history with residue on the 3L floor near his seat. So, taking advantage of Bryan Choong's absence, I have migrated to the seat next to Zhongren, far away from the newly-quarantined zone. Argh.
Well. These are the first two albums I'm going to buy this yearrrr! I don't mean photo albums, if you are that ignorant. Well.
Good Charlotte: Good Morning Revival (2007) Includes cool songs like Keep Your Hands Off My Girl and some song featuring a guitarist and the lead singer of Avenged Sevenfold (some band Daniel likes haha), if I'm not wrong, its called The River or something like that. From what MTV shows, its very good, unlike other wannabe bands such as, well, I shant name, but yeah; Its not anything bleah-ey like some other bands who just run out of new ideas.
James Morrison: Undiscovered. This was released last year, but after I buy my racket, I'll be dead broke. So I might have to wait for a little more $$$. Haha, I find James Morrison's tunes unbelievably catchy. He's really not like James Blunt at all, despite all the hype. I think James Morrison songs are so much more upbeat and they're not sickeningly lovey-dovey like James Blunt. I really can't push out You Give Me Something, It's a Wonderful World and Pieces Don't Fit Anymore out of my head.. keep hearing it on MTV, its really nice. Pity a large number of people don't like it.
Paul for one would object to my laying out of 10+- precious dollars to buy "musical trash", but he is a dire hypocrite where this is concerned. His shared mp3 is filled with songs that he ironically flames in public. Songs like Stars are Blind oO. Ok, I'm not saying much except, DONT OPEN YOUR MOUTH, IM BUYING THIS!
6.2.07
10:57:00 PM
Unbayleyvable
I can't Bayleyve it. I haven't posted for 3 days. 3! My computer has some stupid trojan. Like whoever invented the f***king trojan should go to f**king hell because like what the f*** were you thinking when you did it? Like, what is wrong with you brain? That's like cyber terrorism. It is, in a way, but go anf f*** yourself if you are too free.
I can't believe I just used so many f***ing f***s. I'm very angry at the presence of this stupid trojan. As a result of somebody (ie guy who invented these pieces of crap), my computer (Fujitsu Tablet PC, like the type we used for philo) which is originally very effecient, is now as fast as Blee runs 2.4. No offense, but, yes, it really IS slow. Yesterday while I was trying to do my CEP homework, the C++ compiler was SO slow that I had to rush the hw in school today. And today was CEP lesson.
At least Mrs Chor was quite nice and gave me extension until next lesson; theres this foreign scholar who is still at Lesson 2, I'm doing lesson 4 now, at least i'm not THAT slow. Manek and Spencer are really, really BAD BAD BAD PEOPLE! They are like the Sec 4s deserting you in the middle of MacRitchie forest. They surge forward while you lag behind and die trying to escape the menacingly muddy swamp.
I can't believe the change that is affecting many of us. Ever since Sec 1, certain stereotypes and impressions that 1L/2L classmates have left on me have drastically changed, for better or for worse (this sounds like a marriage.)
Lets give an example. We shall take Zhongren for example. From a die-hard sleeper; every lesson die die must sleep, he has finally seen the light; at least that's because his eyes are open during lesson now! I find he's suddenly a social animal, which lots of gf's data stored in that equally flashy phone of his. Well.. That's just the tip of the iceberg, but I shan't spill all my personal thoughts here, maybe to some close friends, but not here.
And it's not just about Zhongren. Michael, Paul, Leon, the list goes on.
Hmm..
3.2.07
12:24:00 PM
Bored
I'm feeling very bored right now. Its another victory for my tv i guess. Bored myself watching MTV Hits, The biggest Loser etc. Well, anyway, something really random I found on this ridiculously random bad-english website: www.engrish.com
Like, LOL? Victoly?
Anyway, i shall be making a new template soon, yawn.
