The biggest lie I ever told and its consequesnces

‘Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I am you captain for today’s flight from Sydney back to Singapore, this will be a long flight, the temperature for today is 15C. Thank you for flying with Singapore Airlines and I hope that you will have a pleasant flight.’

Jack, the co-pilot and I started the normal drill, checking the normal flight procedures and whether everything was functioning normally. I had a bad night yesterday, I was awake for most of the time, watching the World Cup final. I was having a slight headache but I was meant to fly back to Singapore today so I just hanged on, wishing that there will be no turbulence and I can have a safe and comfortable flight back home.

Just before we are to take off, my co-pilot noticed that I was not feeling well and he asked me whether I was feeling bad, the traffic control also felt that there was something wrong with me as I sounded sleepy and asked me if I wanted to have a switch with another pilot, a taboo for a pilot that is to take off for a long flight. I lied to them and said that I was fine and that I had a long sleep last night. Everything was ready to go, and we took off, without much difficulty the plane has risen to the normal cruising height and it was switched to auto-pilot and soon, I fell asleep.

It was not long before I was awoken by a mayday transmitted by my co-pilot to the air-traffic control. The plane had flown into an ash cloud formed by an erupting volcano and the plane was plummeting fast. There was nothing that we could have done to save the flight. The plane fell fast and it crashed, out of control.

My co-pilot died, along with half of the 245 passengers, I should not have flown that day, I should not have watched the football match, I could have watched a replay, now it is all too late, and I will be behind these bars till I die.

Stomp

As many of would have known, there was a recent case of a student from Hwa Chong who went on Stomp, a website to share his story about how his whole class’ belongings were gone after they went for a event and only knew that it was one of the teachers who took all of the things as the class did not lock up their doors when all of them left for an event. The post was open to the public and many had commented and shared their views. Many agreed with the boy that the teacher should not have taken the students’ things although she wanted to teach them a ‘lesson’ for not safe-keeping their belongings by locking their classroom door, however there was also many who felt that what the teacher did was indeed the right thing to do.

Now, I would like to share my feelings and thoughts about this incident with you. The teacher who decided to take all the students’ valuables as they did not lock their classroom door when no one was in the classroom, an open invitation to people who wanted to steal them, later returned the belongings of the students, giving them warnings and also asked them to write a letter of apology. I believe this move was necessary to teach the students a lesson for leaving their valuables unattended, at least the students got their items back in the end, instead of if it was a real theft case, they will never get their things back.

Students in Singapore nowadays are very much over-protected, they think that as Singapore has a low crime rate, it means that they can leave their valuables lying around as no one will steal it, especially those in premium schools, thinking that they are well protected and safe in school. This idea is very much present in the students from elitist schools, they feel that they are so clever that they can outsmart the thieves so their valuables will still be safe even if they leave it lying around.

I do not think that what the teacher did was wrong, it was the right thing to do, the students deserve some punishment, some warnings. If the students already leave their valuables lying around when they are in school, when they grow up and start working they may even leave some company files lying around, creating a threat to the company if someone took it. That is why the teacher wanted to give the students some warning, their guard were down, they are not aware of the threat outside of their comfort zone, out of school, home. I believe that students nowadays need to really go out to the society and see how cruel it is out there, instead of always staying in their comfort zones, they should really see the outside world clearly and it is then when they will truly appreciate what the teacher did.

Although they are from elite schools, they don’t even have the common sense to safe-guard their things, their valuables, and this is what is so bad about the elitist schools, they focus in teaching the students how to be a leader, how to become successful but they don’t teach them life skills, assuming that they can learn it at home but the thing is this is what we go to school for, is to learn to be a better person. So what if he becomes the president in the future, he can’t even safe guard his belongings, he can’ even look after his own ass so how is he going to govern a country when he can’t even look after himself?

When war comes..

Looking at the current situation, with numerous countries having enough nuclear warheads to destroy Earth many times round, it only depends on when the war is to come. Many think that if we can have peace now, why can’t it continue to last and stay so. To answer this, allow me to quote one of Mitch Albom’s book, which tells us that, ‘War never stops, it only pauses’. As many countries have spent billions on its army, it only depends on when these countries decides to stretch its muscles, it also only takes one foolish man to do something foolish to spark off a great war. And when that day truly comes, will we really be ready for it? This is just what I am going to talk about with you.

As I have read from many sources, it is foretold that the 3^rd World War will be between the East and the West, mainly between China and America. When that day comes, every single country will have to take its sides and every one of them will be pulled into the war. Every single country now, are trying to train its people, teaching them combatting skills, most important of all, how to survive. Many countries also have mercenaries fighting for them but will they still help you if they are pit against his own fellow countrymen? No matter how high a price you are paying, they will still return to their own country, so in the end it will still be your own people that will fight for your country.

Many countries now have national service for its people, to train its people, to make them ready and able to fight for the country when war comes. However, the battlefield is heartless, no matter how skilled you are, it just takes a stray bullet to kill you. Also, there is no ‘save’ button in real life, which means that it is totally different from you playing computer games, from what you did during national service. Many will think that, ‘then we just prevent a war, stop it from ever happening’, that thought is naïve, wars are bound to happen, it only depends on how long before it happens again, and that whether we are ready for it.

When war really comes, it does not just depend on which side is better equipped, it also depends on how well a side is prepared. Looking at our current education, we are taught Science, Mathematics, Language, History, Geography, Computer skills, art and many more. However, when war comes, are these subjects that we are taught, tested on really going to save our lives? Is it really going to be much of a use during extreme circumstances. One may argue that we are learning these in order to have a brighter future. What I can tell you is that we need real life saving skills, surviving skills to be learnt, instead of these subjects that are supposed to give us a brighter future, a better job, bigger houses, more expensive cars and better aircraft seats. All these will not save you. One may say that by being an educated person, will make you make educated decisions and by doing these will stop you from making decisions to go to war, however, it only takes one guy foolish enough to start a great war, it only takes one technical error that misunderstands something else as a flying missile to start a war so why not be better prepared than to be naïve, thinking that war will never happen ever again.

I do not believe that by learning all these subjects that we are learning now keep us alive. By knowing how many bones there is in our body will not keep us alive, by knowing that NaCl is sodium chloride will not keep you alive, by knowing that light travels in a straight line will also not save you, by being able to speak more than three languages will also not save you. One may say that if you know your enemy’s language, you can tell him to spare you. Stop being naïve! That will not save you, the battlefield is bloodless, it will not save you even if you are crippled, this world is cruel so we must be better prepared for things that are to happen, even if it does not happen now, doesn’t mean that it will not happen in the future.

So why be sorry only when things happen when we could have been better prepared, don’t blame the people who started the war for all the deaths, blame the dead for not being better prepared, they could have kept themselves alive, if they had been better prepared, why waste time on stuffs that will not keep yourself alive, we are born not just to study, to have a good job, have a big car and definitely not to suffer because we are ill-prepared. Why not start now, start getting prepared for what that is to come soon, in the near future, we have enjoyed peace for decades and it has been too long, it has lasted too long, not long after it will end and when that day comes, don’t die because you are not well prepared, die because you tried but failed.

Task 2

Rainbow Death America did not foresee Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri! Expecting others to pay a high price. Now thinking twice? Toll on the innocent and unborn. Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn. Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead. All the deceit continues to spread. Nefariously America led astray - Generations untold WILL pay - Execrable effects of agent orange spray! Hubert Wilson

Point of view: Hubert, was one of the men fighting in Vietnam during the war, the area he was in was also one of the areas with high use of Agent Orange which causes health problems to those who are exposed to it. Hubert who was a Vietnam war veteran, witnessed the death, suffering caused by the Agent Orange, he realised that America was so desperate into winning the war, they did not think twice and they just went on with the plan of using Agent Orange, as the writer wrote, 'Now thinking twice'. Situation and Setting: America could not win the Viet Cong fighting against them, due to their guerrilla warfare. As the America had no more ways that they can think of to best counter the Viet Cong, they decided to use the Agent Orange although it doesn't seem to be the best way. When the Agent Orange was use, the problem came. Everybody who came into contact with it was affected by it. The American's plan backfired, as it not only brought pain and agony to the Viet Cong, it also brought pain to the soldiers who came into contact with it and also innocent civilians, as can be seen when the writer said, 'Toll on the innocent and unborn'. It also affected generations and generations after, as can be seen, 'Generations untold WILL pay'. Language/Diction: potpourri- a mixture of dried petals of roses. In this poem, it is referring to the different combination of colours of the Agents. omnipotent-almighty or infinite in power, as God deceit-the act or practice of deceiving nefariously-extremely wicked or villainous execrable-utterly detestable Personal Response: After reading this poem, I feel that wars are meant to kill and bring suffering to people involved in it. There is nothing called a end of war, there will only be pauses but wars will never truly stop, one war may have ended but there will always be another, and that even when one war has stopped, ended, people involved in it will still suffer, no matter it is the soldier or the civilians. Generations of the civilians will suffer, as the Agent Orange case, generations after the war, the civilians are still suffering, through the effects on people who came into contact with Agent Orange, as the writer said, 'birth defects and prematurely dead'. The writer is witnessed the horrors of war, the after effects of it and he hopes to tell us by writing this poem, to tell us that war is cruel, and people involved in it will also turn evil, no matter how he was before the war, as they only want to win, not thinking about the consequences.

Task 1

The author

The author of the poem, Rainbow Death, Hubert Wilson, was a Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF Security Service. Hubert along with a dozen or so intelligence school graduates, prepared for about 14 months at Kelly AFB in San Antonio, Texas, before anticipating being sent to Vietnam or elsewhere in Southeast Asia in 1970. About half of them ended up in Da Nang (an Agent Orange hotspot) in the 6924th Security Squadron. The rest of them were assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska, with the 6984th Security Squadron, and what eventually was a more contaminated environment than Da Nang.
His health problems started approximately 15 years ago with unexplained headaches and limb pains. Four years ago, his central nervous system radically deteriorated with Parkinsonian type tremors, severe headaches, progressive limb pains, etc. No physician has ever diagnosed the specific illness. No VA physician has ever rendered any medical assistance. During that time, the author’s number one educated guess is the heavily contaminated drinking water at Shemya during his year there as an intelligence analyst. Organo-phosphate toxins may not run their toxic course until 20 to 30 years after initial exposure.

Since his brain still functions moderately well (and he had mobility issues), the author turned to writing just like his late Father and the late singer (and writer) Johnny Cash.

The Poem

The poem speaks of a modern day ingredient of warfare that has caused appalling death and suffering – not only to its intended victims, the Vietnamese people, but also the service personnel that used or even just came into contact with “Agent Orange”.

Wikipedia reports, “Agent Orange is the code name for a herbicide and defoliant—contaminated with TCDD—used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam War.

According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects.

From 1962 to 1971, Agent Orange was by far the most widely used of the so-called "Rainbow Herbicides" employed in the herbicidal warfare program. During the production of Agent Orange (as well as Agents Purple, Pink, and Green) dioxins were produced as a contaminant, which have caused numerous health problems for the millions of people who have been exposed. Agents Blue and White were part of the same program but did not contain dioxins.”

This poem may remind us that wars aren’t over when the wars are over. Hubert wrote this poem to tell us that, although the war is already over, and that America has so called 'win', suffering is still going on, and it is still going to last for many more generations, that with conflict, war, comes great suffering and sacrifices. Hubert hopes to tell us that no matter which side wins in a war, both will suffer, and that it will last for a long time.

References:

http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html#Rainbow

http://www.poemhunter.com/hubert-wilson/

Education

Have you ever wondered, why is it that we are all still stuck here on this planet Earth?

That there have not been any major new inventions nowadays?

Well for this two simple question, we have also a simple answer, all that is to be blamed is ourselves, the sense of envy which is deeply rooted into every one of us, the education system now, is also another cause to it.

You may be wondering, why is it that it is the education system that is the cause to no major new inventions, only modifications. The education system now, is always teaching us on past knowledge, what the ancients knew and what our forefathers invented. It is always showing us what our forefathers have achieved, the knowledge they have acquired. However, this kind of education is limiting our imaginations, our thinking. It is putting all of us into one small room of a big mansion, stretching over miles and miles. It is limiting us, only allowing us space to explore one small piece of the whole puzzle, keeping the rest away from us.

All of this may not come to sense to you, but there is only one main idea here, that everything that we have here, is limiting us, only allowing us enough space to breath, but not to stretch ourselves until our limits.

Envy lies in every one, and it is only how far to an extent one can control it. Some who can control it, lives in happiness despite living in poverty, some who can’t, will always be on their feet, always planning to strip others of their possession and make it their own and this is the exact situation, going on in our very own society.

As I have said earlier, our education system now, always shows us and tells us what our forefathers have achieved, or rather telling us about great inventers, those who invented things that we can’t live without, and many of those who came out of this education system, no longer hold what the ancients possess, they no longer have the ability to think freely, as their brains are now affected by what they learned, on what others created and many of this education no longer hold the ability to invent but rather they could only improve on what the ancients or our forefathers have created.

It is not that I am saying that this education system now is bad, it is not bad, it have nurtured great thinkers, who are skilled in improving, spotting mistakes and making inventions of our forefathers, better, but it no longer nurtures great inventors, free minds, who think freely, who have the ability to think out of the box, not restricted by the invisible box, created by the now education system.

What I am trying to say here, is that the education system now, is only nurturing thinking minds, minds that study the past inventions and tries to improve it, making it even better. The education system now is somehow teaching the young that what we have now is what we can have, that we will not get more, only better. Look at the cars, we keep on getting newer designs, newer engines, which are modified, improved, but we are not getting new ideas, new inventions.

Look at the past, there wasn’t much education but there were a lot of inventions, the people then had free minds, they pursued their dreams, and made their imagination into reality. I am not saying that the people now don’t have dreams, imaginations, but I am saying that the people now no longer have the ability to think out of the box. Maybe it is those that have great dreams, imaginations, their dreams were rejected by the researchers, saying that it is just not workable, that it is just not possible because science doesn’t say so.

Ah, and this is just what the education system now nurtures. It nurtures people that goes strictly according to the book, people that only believe in things recorded down in the books, and treating everything that is not in there as blasphemy, that it is not acceptable and not true. However, don’t you realize that everything that is in the books we are reading now, was once only merely thoughts, imaginations, dreams of our ancestors, forefathers.

This fact is always forcefully rejected, or somehow ignored by the scholars, that everything the ancients recorded down is true. However, they are ignoring the truth that once people thought that the Sun was rotating around Earth, until someone stood up and say that it was actually the Earth that is rotating around the Sun. The people then objected and rejected this fact, but slowly accepted this truth when everything was clear. However, this will not happen in our times, as it is very clear that the education system now is somehow insisting that every tiny bit of information we are learning now is undeniably correct and there is no space for us to question it.

Look at the greatest inventor, Sir Tom Edison, he was thought to be an idiot during his school days, he spent most of his time out of the classrooms, and therefore he did not receive much education but look at him, he invented so many great things when his teacher thought that he was a complete idiot, so how can the education be possibly right, usable when people that are supposed to be idiots, compared to the standards set up by the education system, was one of the greatest inventor of all times?

This tells us that what this education system nurtures, is thinking minds, minds that tends to improve things, makes betterment, but not minds that holds the ability to think out of the box, minds that have no thinking boundaries, minds that can think freely and are not restricted by the invisible boundary set up by the education system. However, this creates a social balance, or somehow generation balance, the past had been times of somehow unlimited new initiatives, inventions and after such long time of inventions, now is the time for betterment, time for people to improve on past inventions, a time to improve on things that were invented in the past, and some time in the future should once again be a time of inventions and when that time comes, this education system should be able to change, to adapt, or it would be overwhelmed by minds that do not, and will not accept and go through this education system and the world will collapse, it will die of brilliant minds, as I believe those minds will find a way to escape this prison, this invisible box that is limiting us, to somewhere far away, where they can think freely, and be accepted, maybe they would be taken away, or follow some still unknown being to us, to a much more free space, where minds can still think freely.

And when that day comes, all will mourn on the loss, but to only know that all of this is already too late...

Tests

They are meant to test your intelligence, your knowledge on certain things but realistically, it does not come out it is supposed to be. Do you know what I am talking about? If you know the answers to this question, ‘congratulations, you are not a mugger or you are a mugger who knows what the non-muggers face. If you do not know the answer, I have only one word for you, that you have no life and continue mugging, for you do not have a future.
I am not trying to insult or scold the muggers but I am just trying to express what is deep down in my heart. The answer to the question is ‘tests’. Why do I say that they are not testing and knowing our intelligence and knowledge on certain things? This is because in tests nowadays, you could easily score a distinction but do you really know what it was talking about and what it really meant?
In tests nowadays, all the answers to the questions could be found in their notes, in the textbook so how could it really be to test our intelligence and knowledge when it is very obvious that everyone could pass with distinction if they study and memorize everything given? Also, you just need to analyze and predict what the teacher is going to give in the test and memorize all the examples given by her or go to the internet to find an answer. It is very ironic to say that it is to test our intelligence and knowledge when it is very obvious that it is testing our mugging skills? Why not call it the arts and acts of mugging or reading your teacher’s mind?
Also, the tests also test your skills of not making mistakes. For example, when you are doing science you wrote the correct chemical name, you remembered the chemical number but forgot to take the 2s away when there was ‘2’ on both sides and you got 0 marks. Doesn’t this show that the teacher doesn’t care about whether you know what the chemical is and that you only made a careless mistake, at least I remembered the chemical symbol and power right? This further showed that the teacher nowadays only care about your answer and that they only cared about your answer, they want you to give an answer that they want and there you go, you got the marks, even if you are to forget all the things after it.
Also, the tests also tests whether you have enough time to study and that what CCA you are in. If you joined a CCA that only requires you to go one day and you have no extra lessons, then you can stay at home mugging but for many, their CCAs require full commitment, they must attend their CCA and when they go home at night, they had already lost off to those who had already started mugging at home as they had nothing to do at school. Having extra lessons also makes you have less time to study and have more subjects to study for but for many, it is worth it to go through the trouble as they get to learn new things.
From all that I have said, we can draw a conclusion, a conclusion that tells you that even if you have good exam grades, it does not mean that you truly understand it., having good exam grades does not mean that you will have a bright future waiting for you, that good exam grades will bring you jobs, bring you food because in the community now, it is not what you can knows that matters, it is what you truly understand, what you can achieve and how you present yourself that matters. If the current system of study is not changed, I believe that in the near future, it will no longer be the academics that matter, and that the exam slips will become trash, something that is totally useless.

Trying to Make Sure

Have you all heard about a myth, or rather a legend, which told us about Orpheus, a musician. It was said that his music was so beautiful that it could not only charm humans and animals, it could also make trees and even rocks move. Orpheus fell in love with a lady, by the name of Eurydice but she was killed on the wedding day. The sorrow and grief filled Orpheus descended into the underworld in hope of bringing her back. He got his way to the King of The Underworld by charming everyone in his way with his music, not surprisingly, the king was also charmed and was ready to release her, but on one condition, that he cannot look back at Eurydice before they reach the exit at the very top. However, when he was already near the top, when sunshine shone on his face, he looked back at Eurydice, as he was worried that the king had tricked him and when he turned back, as promised, Eurydice fell back to the underworld and why did this happen, this is because he wanted to make sure and from here why Orpheus failed, it is because he tried to do what all good hero had done-he tried to make sure.
Today, we are to talk about ‘making sure’. Many problems only start to surface or start when people try to make sure. Picture this, ‘when a immigration officer felt something odd with a package and wanted to make sure that it was nothing threatening, he opens to the lid to the package and it triggers the count-down of a bomb’. This case here shows you how ironic it is for people who liked to make sure. We can see from here that it is not always good to make sure about things and that sometimes it is not a good thing to make sure about things. Sometimes it is better to not think about much thing and just do what you need to do, that might bring you a better out-come. From here, we can conclude that sometimes it is not an appropriate move when you try to make sure about things, sometimes it is better to keep things how they are as making sure will only lead to more trouble.

The Secret History of The World

For quite a few days, I had been working on a book, titled ‘The Secret History of The World’ which the ideas in it I found extremely fresh and new. This book mainly focuses on mystic revelations and decoding esoteric codes. It also talks about the beliefs of the secret societies, this book can be said as a radical re-interpretation and a view of the world previously hidden from us.
From starting the book till now, I had learned many ideas that the writer is trying to hypnotize into the readers mind. For most of the time, the book quoted from books to legends, ancient carvings to ancient tablets, and it used a new way to show and explain to us what is the creators of them are trying to tell us. For an example, we all know that god created our world in 7 human days but the writer said that the 7 days did not really mean 7 human days and may be in another form of day and that it was a total of 7 gods who created Earth together, one creating each day. This is seriously not as we have been told, everything in the book is not of the original interpretation but of a new way, a different way, from a different view.
This book tries to tell us of what the secret societies believe and what is being taught in the secret schools. This book also tries to show facts that the ancients already knew a lot of things that we just found out and that more which we still don’t know.
However, the key point that the writer is trying to say is that science could not tell us everything and that sometimes it is not telling the truth. The writer also stressed that everything went the ‘Nature Way’ and that it has nothing to do with science and that science can only briefly tell us what happened but not how it happened.
I have yet to finish the book and I hope to find and learn more new ideas and that I shall share more of the book next time when I have read more.

Diary Entry by Jem

Today, could be said as the most wonderful day I had ever had since birth. The day started as usual, breakfast then to school. Scout and I then walked back home after school, using the same route, doing the same thing, looking like yet another normal and uneventful day. However, what is to come will make today the best and most memorable day in my life.
After Scout and I got home, we had our bath and lunch, we then sat at the chair next to the door to get some wind. Scout kept looking out of the window as if she had spotted something so I turned and looked out too. In the middle of the street, a dog was walking slowly towards town. As I found it quite odd to have a dog that walked with a twitch so I told Calpurnia about it and at first sight of the dog, she exclaimed a curse that there is a mad dog in town and ran to the phone to phone Atticus and the town operator.
After quite some time, Atticus and the town sheriff came. The sheriff stepped out of his car with a shot-gun in hand. Atticus asked him to shoot and kill the dog immediately so that it will not cause any harm to the town folks. He also told the sheriff that if he misses he will hit the Radley’s window and if he injured the dog, it will go berserk and start biting people. However, the sheriff exclaimed that he could not possibly kill the dog with one shot at such distance and that he will most probably miss and hit the Radley’s window.
Then, the sheriff asked Atticus to shoot but ‘Atticus can’t shoot,’ I thought. After a long conversation, Atticus finally got hold of the gun, he then took aim. Finding it not clear to aim with his spectacles on, he took them off and took aim again. After a short silent pause, he pulled the trigger. The sound of the bullet broke the town’s silence. I could not believe my eyes that Atticus can shoot and that it was so well. I only realized after asking Calpurnia that Atticus was once known as ‘One-Shot Finch’ and that he is the best shooter in Maycomb.
Although I really wanted to ask Atticus why he doesn’t shoot but I resisted it because I know that there must be a reason behind it and if Atticus wants to tell me he would. Most importantly, I know that Atticus is a great shooter and that is all I need.

DramaPlay(Based on the book To Kill a Mockingbird)

This is a play that is based on the book, ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’. The storyline of the play is based on the book but the speeches and characters are of some changes.
The play starts with a empty street, with old-style houses lined around it. A dog will then enter the scene, walking into town slowly, with a twitch. Jem and Scout coming out of the house and spots the odd looking dog. They will then go in again and come out with Calpurnia. And that is the beginning of the play…

Jem : Calpurnia, isn’t that dog Tim Johnson?
Calpurnia: Yes, you are right there boy. (nodding the head) The dog out there is indeed Tom Jonhson.
Scout: But Calpurnia, why is he walking with a twitch?
Calpurnia: That is indeed a mystery. (Calpurnia in deep thought, after a long pause) Could it not be… Oh no! That’s a rabid dog . I better call the town operator to inform everyone that there is a rabid dog in town and that they better stay in their houses today.

Calpurnia on the phone…

Calpurnia: Hello, is this the town operator?
Operator: Yep ma’am, how can I help you?
Calpurnia: Hello, this is Calpurnia here. I have just spotted a rabid dog going towards town and I was wondering it may be appropriate to phone you to issue a alert to the others.
Operator: If what you said is true, then it is indeed a serious matter we are dealing with here. I will immediately issue a emergency notice and I will call the sheriff to have a look at the situation.
Calpurnia: I believe this is all I have.
Operator: Thank you for your information.

The lights are dimmed and the scene returns the street…
A car slowly comes into the scene. The sheriff, Heck Tate and Atticus then comes out of the car, with the sheriff holding on to the shotgun. Calpurnia, Jem and Scout are in the house, looking out from the window.

Atticus: And that’s the rabid dog.(pointing at the dog)
Jem: Hey Uncle Heck, go on and kill that dog out there, I know you can do it.
Heck Tate: Oh Jem, I can’t possibly kill that dog from a safe distance, I could only injure it.
Scout: But Uncle Heck, you are the best we have here in Maycomb, you are the sheriff.
Heck Tate: Don’t the two of you know that your father is the best shooter in Maycomb? He was once known as ‘One-Shot Finch’.
Jem: You must be kidding Uncle Heck, Atticus don’t even know how to shoot, I never seen him holding a gun before.
Atticus: Hey Heck, we have a situation out here so stop chit-chatting with the kids. The dog must be killed now or it will cause trouble when it gets to town
Heck Tate: Atticus, you know me, I can’t even possibly hit the dog from here. You are the only one in Maycomb who can hit the target from such distance.
Atticus: You know me Heck, I don’t like going around with a gun, shooting at things.
Heck Tate: Stop caring about those things. It is a matter of life and death here. If I am to shoot, the bullet will go into the Radleys if I miss, which I most probably would but for you, it’s different. You wouldn’t miss from here so for once, take up the gun again, shoot the dog, for the sake of the Maycomb community.
Atticus: Ok, I will take up a gun again for only this once.

Heck Tate handed over the gun to Atticus. Atticus took aim but he felt uneasy with his spectacles on, he then threw his spectacles on the floor and took aim again. Then, in a split second, a bullet roared through the still air, piercing through the dog’s head. The dog then dropped dead onto the ground with blood rushing out from the bullet-hole.

Jem: Oh my god! Atticus actually shoots and that he has a dead accuracy man!
Calpurnia: Now, boy, do you know why Atticus never told you about this? It is because he doesn’t feel proud about this so I do not wish that you and your sister here will go around town talking about how your father killed a dog at such a distance.
Scout: But Calpurnia, why isn’t this a thing to be proud of? That was just awesome!
Calpurnia: Your father, feels that God has given him an unfair advantage over the others whenever he holds on to a gun, because no one can shoot as accurately as him so he does not hold on to a gun to shoot, unless it was a must.

Atticus: Now, business is done so we should head back to town, and son, life is like this, God gives everyone a specialty so do not feel that you are better than anyone when you do better than him in something because he also has a specialty so do not go around telling and showing others how good you are, because one day when someone does better than you, you will feel as if you have lost everything and I do not hope to see you like that one day.

Chinese New Year

What comes to you first when you hear of ‘Chinese New Year’?
To the Chinese, it is when you get new shirts, angpows (or red packets) and when you gather with your family with good food. To the Malays and the Indians, it is when you get free holiday and when you see the Chinese walking around in red clothes.
However to me, Chinese New Year is not just any day to me. It is when I can forget about everything, forget what day it is, forget what I need to do, when I truly relax.
Having a hometown in a calm and almost forgotten place, is a great thing to have. Every time when I go back there, I feel a sense of comfort, because it is stress-free there, I do not need to worry about what to do, what I have not finished, it is just that I do not need to worry about anything. Also, it is the only time when I find peace in my mind, when I totally forget about everything here, all the exams, the home works, everything.
Also, it is only during Chinese New Year when I get to meet up with my cousins as they are all spread out around the word having their University degrees. Being the only time when I meet them, I cherishes these times the most, we would normally stay-up throughout the whole night, talking about how we are lately.
Chinese New Year is also the time when I get a taste of my grandmother’s cooking as I have to attend to CCA training during the holidays so it is only during Chinese New Year when I get an exception so I can go back to my parents’ hometown.
Chinese New Year is indeed a very meaningful day to me. However, I wish that our school can have an extra day of holiday so we can spend more time with our family and to recharge ourselves to cope with the everlasting school works.

Creation and destruction

Before I start anything, I hereby swear that this has nothing to do with racism or religion prejudice, that this is purely an opinion, or rather idea.
Every religion has a different version of a story, a story telling you what you are, how you became you and most important of all, how this universe came into place. But what I am about to tell you, is totally different from what you are told since young, what your parents, teachers, elders, peers, friends, anyone had ever told you. Before I start telling you about this, clear your mind, forget everything that you were once told, forget who you are, forget where you came from, forget what’s your religion, the only thing that you need to remember is that you belong in a place having mysteries more than the stars in the night, having secrets more than the hair on your head, having unknowns more than the sands on the beach.
You must be wondering, if no one created this universe, then how did it come about, did it just pop out of nothingness?
This question is one that many had been thinking about since the very start of civilization. How do you think of the come-about of religion? Religions are what people go to when they find questions, questions that only leads to a dead end, questions that have no answer, questions that can’t be answered, yet. And at this time, people go to religions, to have a sense of comfort, thinking that if anything strange happens, it is because the gods are angry, the gods are punishing people, that it is the act of god.
However, is it real that all these ‘strange’ things are the very doings of god?
This question is one of weight and I am in no place to answer this place but I have one thing to say, and that is no matter what happens, there is always a reason, a answer to it because nothing comes from nothing. Just as once people thought that earthquakes are caused by the gods’ angry feet, that above the sky lies heaven, and hell lies below but now we know that it is not so and this very situation is similar to our view on the creation, we do not know about the creation so we use god as a reason, that god created all this but this will no longer be the reason when people start knowing more about the universe as the scholars can no longer say lies, that this universe is created by god.
Have you ever thought about the end of the Dinosaur Age?
Many believe that by knowing more about the end of the Dinosaur Age, will give us a better picture of how will our age end and what will come after us but this is not the main thing here. The main thing is that have you ever even think that we are not the only humans ever lived, that there is humans living somewhere else in this universe, that somehow we are not the first humans to live on Earth, that Humans had already once lived trillion years ago but already died out due to the problems we are facing now, that we are going to die as they did?
We do not know of anything about this but the thing is that after we are to meet the end, who or what will live here? Will the flow start again after million, billions of year later, having dinosaurs living again, then to humans again and to end again? Maybe this flow has already been here trillion years ago or maybe it is going to start now.
So look out to the future, as there is still more coming our way~

A before editing speech

Good morning school, today I stand before you, as a to-retire President of the 26th Student Council. Four years ago, a 13 years old boy came under the shelter of this wonderful school, having dreams of his own. Three years later, that young boy, stood before most of you here, having a dream, no longer of his own, but a dream that I believe everyone here has, and it is to make this school a better place for all. And this boy gave a speech, a speech that gained your support, your acknowledgement and convinced you to vote for him, which made him the President of the Student Council. And since then, one year has passed, and now, he stand before you giving yet again another speech but this time it is not for you to vote for him, but is to ask for you to give your support and belief in those two gentlemen down there, for now is their time, their time to make their dreams yours, to make your dream theirs’ and make it a common dream for all and strife for it together.
Harold R. Mc Alindon once said, ‘Do not follow where the path leads, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail’ and this is what I believe that the person that I am about to introduce to you believe in too. This guy is Tay Wei Bin, one of the candidates running for presidency this year. To give you a brief picture of what kind of guy is Wei Bin, he has been in the student council since Sec 1 and he has excellent academic results. Wei Bin has also represented the school in national competitions and he is a charismatic leader. The only bad thing about Wei Bin, is that he is not a team-player.
Wei Bin has been a student councilor since Sec 1 which shows that he is very clear with how the council works and also he will have experience in leading. Also, by being a charismatic leader, Wei Bin can convince all of his ideas and so it will make his new initiatives more accepted. However, although Wei Bin is not a team-player, I believe that he will overcome this barrier and start working together with others. However, not being a team-player may sometimes be a good trait as if everyone of the EXCO agrees to something that Wei Bin thinks other-wise, he will not just agree to the matter, he will look into the matter first before making judgements and decisions.
And after this short speech, I hope that you will know Wei Bin enough to put your beliefs in him. And once again before I end my speech, I urge you to vote for Wei Bin, vote for a better Hwa Chong and vote for a better tomorrow.
Thank you.

Brief Biography of Harper Lee

Harper Lee was born on the 28th of April in the year 1926. Born as the youngest daughter of a lawyer who is one of the members of the Alabama state legislature Harper Lee grew up as a tomboy. Lee’s mother was down with a mental illness which made her days mostly in the house, it is also believed that Lee’s mother was with bipolar disorder.

Lee also had a best friend by the name of Truman Capote. Being tougher than most boys, Lee stood up as Truman’s protector. Although this two of friends have very different interests, they both shared a commonality where they both have difficult house lives.

In 1944, Lee enrolled in an all-girl school, Huntingdon College in Montgomery. Lee stood out from most of her schoolmates as she was not into the makeup fever. She fully focused on her studies and was also a member of the literary honor society and the glee club. Lee then had her law degree in the University of Alabama from 1945 to 1949.

After one year of law study, Lee began expressing to her family that her interests were not in law but was for writing. That summer, Lee went as an exchange student to the Oxford University in England. That fall, after returning from the exchange program, Lee dropped out of school after the first semester. She then moved to New York City to follow her dreams as a writer.

In 1949, the 23 years old Lee struggled for a few years and worked as a ticket collector for the Eastern Airlines and for the British Overseas Air Corp (BOAC). During her times in the city, Lee reunited with her old friend Truman, a literary rising star then, there. Lee also befriended Broadway composer and lyricist Michael Martin Brown and his wife Joy.

That Christmas, the Browns gave Lee an unforgettable present – a support to her for a year so that she can write full time. The Browns also introduced an agent by the name of Maurice Crain to her. Maurice got a publishing firm interested in Lee’s first novel Go Set a Watchman, which was then changed to Atticus, and at the end, To Kill a Mockingbird. Woking hand in hand with the editor, Tay Hohoff, Lee finished the manuscript in 1959.

After she finished her book, Lee started to help her friend, Truman with his books where they went to Kansas. After the return, Lee was thrilled when she knew that her book picked up by the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Literary Guild. A small condensed version of the story also appeared on the ‘Reader’s Digest’. Lee’s book, To Kill A Mockingbird also won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize and several other literary awards.

Horton Foote also wrote a screenplay based on the story and the play was received extraordinarily well by the audience and earned eight Academy Award nominations. The book was also made into a film which won four awards.

During the mid-1960s, Lee was reportedly writing on a second novel which was never published. Lee helped Truman with his book, Cold Blood that was published in 1966. A rift was developed between the two friends Truman dedicated the book to Truman and his long time lover, Jack Dunphy but he failed to acknowledge Lee’s contributions to the book. Although Lee was hurt and very angry with what Truman did, they still remained for the rest of their lives.

That same year, Lee underwent a operation on her hand to repair a damage done on her hand by a bad burn. And from then on, Lee led a quite, private life in New York City and Monroeville. She usually avoids anything to do with her still popular novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.