ITWeek: Musical Maycomb

Dill came one summer and Jem was dared,
but physical courage made him not so scared,
He ran up to the oh-so forbidden Radley's mansion,
and touched the roof which caught Boo's attention.

The trio played and acted all summer,
But they never got the chance to know him proper.
Role-played Boo's forgotten past with a bunch of ideas,
And untrue myths made up by this bunch of liars.

The gifts.
Although the short skit made him sad,
But that didn't totally made Boo mad.
In fact giving gifts made him glad.
No matter how much they treated him bad.

It was this courage that Boo had there,
Daring to be in the minority and just stay there,
Because his family didn't go to church,
The religious prejudice left Boo in the lurch.

The gifts.
Two soap dolls, a pair of good-luck pennies.
A broken watch and chain and some chewing gummies.
A blanket during the fire and their lives on Halloween,
And a little care and concern and a hope to be unseen.

This led Scout discover,
On the night she brought Boo home.
From the start Boo meant no harm,
Longing to be a friend, not a foe.

And yet after so much Boo did to them,
their ignorance made Scout sad.
Boo was not forced, but wanted to stay indoors,
and this made Scout feel bad.

You never really know a man until you stand
in his shoes and walk around in them.
Boo dared to be in the minority and stay,
and this courage led him to this very day.

ITWeek: Multiple Intelligence Test

I first took this test on 27 February a year ago when Mr. Spelmer, our Secondary 1 Language Arts teacher, gave it to us. My results then were
"I took a Learning Preference test and here are the top 3 results.
1. Logical (Number Smart)
2. Musical (Music Smart)
3. Intrapersonal (Myself Smart)"
Taken from: http://yjs-pace.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html

Exactly one year later, I took the test again yesterday and I was surprised to obtain a different set of results.
"I took a Learning Preference test and here are the top 3 results.
1. Musical (Music Smart)
2. Visual/Spatial
3. Logical (Number Smart)"

I guess this shows that a person does change throughout a year, and so does his learning preference. Multiple intelligence test... What is it for? If we answer the questions of the test honestly and truthfully, this test will display accurate results that will show how the different intelligences are ranked. From the top intelligences, we can then infer our learning preferences. These will facilitate our learning better if we follow our learning style as we would learn from the direction of what we are good at. We can also maximize our learning potential by doing what we are good at and what we like.

I must say, this is pretty reliable. I'm one that is passionate about music and love challenging problems. Sudoku, anyone?

Balanced on both sides

The past week was a busy test week, with a refreshing new test everyday. Finally, it ended with a big bang on Friday with 2 tests, both going one after another and ending before recess. Therefore, it was considered as a happy occasion for the people of 2A1.

Life is unfair. While we were busy celebrating, the period after Language Arts Lecture, which was Higher Chinese, gave us a surprise when the teacher entered and gave us an on-the-spot test. Its details were only taught 15 minutes before the test. This really dampened our mood, but as what they always say, life still goes on. Most of us did not complete the test. However unhappy we felt, it was over and there was nothing we could do to change it.

During my Chinese Orchestra practice in the afternoon, the conductor did not arrive and thus we were released one hour earlier from the usual dismissal time. Which meant to me that there would be more time to relax at night. This was a good thing and I truly appreciated it.

Alas, just as we walked out of the building and into the open air, it suddenly rained! No, we're not talking about small drizzle and drops, but heavy rain pouring from the sky upon us. How wet we were, I guess it's imaginable. And our instrument casings.

It is rare to chance upon a day when everything goes well for you. Life is balanced on both sides, and whatever good or bad things that happen on you cannot be changed or decided. It's all about fate. And life.

The legend behind it

Good evening to all. Today, I am here to highlight the highlights of the Chinese New Year festival. After this speech, you may have a deeper understanding in this topic and learn to appreciate our Chinese culture better.

What is your definition of Chinese New Year? Is it a study break before the term tests? Is it a time to get as many Red Packets as you can? No, Chinese New Year is so much more. Through this festival, we get to understand our Chinese culture better. Let me share with you the story of Nian. The legend says that there was a ferocious and ugly beast called Nian in the mountains long ago who would come down from the mountains and hunt the innocent people on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month. People were very much afraid of it and locked their doors early before sunset on the days of its coming. An old wise man living in a village thought the monster was so bold and furious because of the panic in people and soon discovered that Nian was terrified of the colour red. Thus, he gathered the people and together they beat drums and gongs, burnt bamboo and lighting fireworks to make large noises to threaten and conquer the hateful monster. He also advised everyone to hang red decorations outside the house to scare the monster away. Alas, it worked and the monster never returned again. Today, there has been many spin-offs of the legend. Although it is completely fiction, it is still interesting to discover such legends and be amazed by how it actually contributed to the origin of the festival.

There are other things to look for during Chinese New Year. One is the bonding time with our cousins and relatives. No matter how distant we are, we are still one family. Therefore, it is important to cherish these visits, especially if you do not meet up often. "Blood is thicker than water", isn't it?

There are also other components of this festival. What do you look forward to? There are the Chinese traditional decorations (mostly Tiger for this year), festive goodies (this one I like best), new clothing and much more. What do you like about Chinese New Year? The discussion is now open to the floor.

Little things do so much more

It amazes me how some of us try so hard to satisfy oneself and others around them. Whereas, little gestures and actions do bring it further.

Of all the talk of giving your seat to the elderly, disabled and those with children on buses and trains, how often do you see these happening? Most of us have the habit of letting others do the job of giving up their seat. If everyone thinks that way, then the elderly won't ever get a seat until he gets off his stop. (or someone else gets down first, if not for another person taking the empty seat) Halfway back home on the bus, an elderly boarded the bus. It was crowded; there was no visible empty seat. Then this guy stood up and gave up his seat. Yes, automatically and willingly. While he stood, he was still smiling and chatting with the elderly. This small gesture brought a smile to my face.

A smile and a small gesture is what we need in our society today. The cashiers always greet us when we purchase, but what can determine whether their smile is genuine or just to keep their job? It makes the difference. The customer might feel it. One that enjoy his or her job is likely to get his or her customers happy. That depends on us.

A smile goes a long way. A little gesture might be much more to someone else. When we greet someone familiar on the street, we make them feel good for the rest of the day. And so do we. We help someone cross the road or lend someone a phone to call. These might not be much to us, but there are always people in our community that needs them much more than we can imagine.

A smile can brighten up someone's day. Bring it forward. Little things do so much more.

CNY'10!

Happy Chinese New Year to everyone! Have a great year ahead! :D

NOTICE

Due to the Chinese New Year celebrations and break, I will be skipping both features of Review Monday and Newsunday this week. They will resume this Sunday on the 21st February 2010. If you have not noticed, the Responsible Blogging Policy as well as a brief introduction to the features of the blog has been added as pages. You can navigate by using the links below the banner.

The runner that solved the maze

Sorry for the late Review Monday! Was busy yesterday, but oh well. Better late than never. (:

Finally, the first Review Monday that is NOT related to a show. Today I'm gonna do a book review, or what we all know as Book Talk, about "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner. It is a trilogy (book with three parts). I've only read the first part, but I enjoyed it and definitely WILL get the next book once it is released. One of my favourite books is "The Hunger Games", which is also a trilogy. I will share this book will everyone in the next possible Review Monday (or just leave it as Friday Book Talk).

Right, back to this book. The synopsis: A guy suddenly finds himself in a lift and transported to another world. The people there work to survive. For two years, they have been sending people into the dangerous maze to find the way out. They believe that the only way to escape this place is through the maze. However, when the first girl arrives in the island and promises no more, they experience a cut in food supply and this confirms that the way out is now crucial for survival. Will they be able to escape and go back to the real world? Read it to find out!

There is a twist at the end of the story. I will not reveal it here; I will leave it to you to find out. This is an interesting adventure story, where lives are controlled by the children/teenagers themselves. I would encourage this to everyone who loves adventure stories. If you liked "The Hunger Games", you will surely like this one.

Rating: 4/5

Luck when the least you expect it

No Newsunday today.

What is luck? It is an element of chance. Luck can be good or bad. Good luck is to your advantage, bad luck is just plainly unlucky. We always hope for 'good luck', but we should never depend on it; Nevertheless, we should never give up, for at the time where all hopes seem to be lost, it appears when you least expect it.

Luck. What can be considered as luck? I'll give you a simple answer in our everyday lives. Gambling. With the opening of the Integrated Resorts and Casinos in Singapore from this year, more people will be taking the chance to strike rich. Yet, "gamble 10 times and lose 9". These people will complain that they are down on luck. Whereas, a lucky streak will make one feel great, wealthy and lucky. It all boils down to luck.

Why "All the best" or "Do your best" before examinations, and not "Good Luck"? The paper's set. It boils down to whether you've studied and remembered enough to complete the paper or not, never a chance of luck. You might argue that the questions just so happen to all fall into the range of what you've studied, but it depends if you actually studied all. "All the best" works better in this context and you will give it your best.

What affects luck? Some people believe it fengshui, which is kind of meaningless to me. Personally, fengshui is just another random Chinese factor to confuse the people and to earn a quick buck. Nothing affects luck. There's only coincidence. Coincidence to the current event. Sometimes, you may even be able to plan and expect it.

In this world, luck plays an important part of our lives. Determination and knowledge are two important factors as well. I wonder, how is luck even calculated?

From 17th February 2010, catch 'Priceless Wonder' on Channel 8 at 9pm on weekdays. It is an anti-gambling drama with no princesses or princes, only other actors including Tiffany Leong and Xiang Yun. Give them a chance, will you?

Nine rules of indices

All the best for your Mathematics Test tomorrow, Acerians! :D

Reunion or not?

Today's Review Monday will be about the current Channel 8 9pm show "Happy Family".
The plot starts from 10 over years ago where the grandfather chased all his children out. He then adpoted a girl called Yang Xiaodong. 10 years later, the grandfather gets a stroke and Xiaodong aims to get all his children back for a reunion. However, it's not as simple as it seems. One of them was hit until she became limp and is unable to give birth anymore; one had swore 10 years ago that he will never return until he becomes rich, which did not happen after 6 failed attempts; the other one married to a Japanese and is under close grip by his wife, not allowing him to go back after being chased away. They have a shop in Chinatown where another Chen Liangcai is hoping for a reunion with his daughter and wife. Will the story have a good ending and will the family reunite?

Until today, I thought the show was only average. I thought it was just a typical show, without the Chinese New Year festive feeling. Thus, the show did not accomplish its objective. However, I thought Rui En's acting as a carefree and happy-go-lucky person was well acted. The others were okay, although I enjoy the family of Mei-e the best (the family of 4). It is really refreshing, though it can be boring at times. The different characteristics of the family members make it interesting to watch.

Rating: 3/5