Why the place means so much to me and how it links to my identity

I like this part of the school, the school gate, which you can obviously recognize. This picture means a lot to me as this is a symbol of the school, apart from the school logo. There is a saying that “School is your second home", which I totally agree. The first place of learning is home, where a person is born. School is the second place where a person learns how to interact, behave and to give respect to seniors. Thus, school is our second home. I pass by this gate everyday, but as I see it, it reminds me of the memories of me coming to this magnificent school for the first time. It also reminds me of my J-TIGERR spirit. This links to my identity, which is me being a "Hwa-Chongnian". Being a "Hwa-Chongnian" means having the J-TIGERR, which means Joy, Teamwork, Integrity, Global perspective, Excellence, Resilience and Respect. Our IQ, AQ and EQ/CQ are also critical as it is our holistic development model. Our school's motto is Win-Win, live with passion and lead with compassion. I guess being in a school means being a part of a big family. 

Comic strip on hacking

By kukumalu | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

By kukumalu | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

This was created by me through Toondoo.com. I am trying to relay the message of computer hacking. Like the man in the 3rd box, he lost his 20-page essay within seconds, this proves that hackers hacking of your computer will leave you in pain. What if one day, you are about to submit all your ace projects to your teacher all at one go, but suddenly you got a virus that deleted your entire hard disk, also, you forgot to save them in your thumb drive.  Thus, through this comic, I hope everyone will know the seriousness of computer hackers and viruses, and protect your computers. I hope you enjoy my comic!

Song Appreciation

 Term 1 Week 3: (Weekend Assignment)

19/01/2011

This week, we have touched on the concepts of Prejudice and Discrimination. This short assignment requires you to reflect and blog on these concepts.

Listen to the following song. Pay attention to the lyrics as you listen to the song.

YouTube Video

What is the main message in this song? Which part of the song do you have the strongest feeling? Why?

Note: Your response to the above questions should be about 150 words in length.

If you people don't know about what the song means, let me help you. This is an interpretation......

Interpretation:

"What's wrong with the world mama? 
 People livin' like they aint got no mamas. 
 I think the whole world's addicted to the drama." 


That means people are living their lives with no meaning, doing a lot of unnecessary things and that they're addicted to television dramas and other things and are oblivious to what's going on in the real world.

"...only attracted to things that bring the trauma. 
overseas yeah we tryin' to stop terrorism,
 but we still got terrorism, livin' here in the USA. 
The CIA, the blood and The Crips and the KKK" 


That means people love violent movies which ties in with being "addicted to television drama". The other part means that the US army are in Iraq trying to stop terrorism but the CIA is not telling the people anything that there is something really bad going on that the people do not know. Hence the "but we still got ter'rism livin' here in the USA".

"But if you only have love for your own race, 

then you only leave space to discriminate and to discriminate only generates hate, 
and when you hate then you're bound to get irate, 
madness is what you demonstrate, 
and that's exactly how anger works and operates" 


That means you have to respect other races or you'll turn into a racist. In my opinion, it is true but exaggerating.

"People killing, people dying, 

children hurt and liv-and cryin'. 
when you practice what you preach... 
father father help us, with some guidance from above. 
There's people got me got me question me.
 Where is the love?" 


That means they disagree with the war on Iraq. The singer is praying to God to help him figure out how to restore peace in Iraq, instead of having the US army still on the grounds of Iraq.

"It just ain't the same,

always unchanged, 
new days are strange, 
is the world insane, 
if love and peace is so strong, 
why are there pieces of love that don't belong, 
nations droppin' bombs,

chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones, 
with ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young" 


That means the world is changing but he doesn't understand why we preach love and peace but the US troops are in Iraq dropping bombs and killing.

"So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong, 
in this world that we livin' in people keep on givin' in,
makin' wrong decisions, 
only visions of them dividends, 
not respectin' each other,
deny thy brother"


 That means the youths of America are getting discouraged from making good choices to help their country because there is a lot of bad role models around them.

"The war's going on but the reason's undercover. 
The truth is kept secret.
If you never know truth, 
then you never know love. 
where's the LOVE y'all? (I don't know!) 
where's the truth y'all? (I don't know!)"


 That means he's criticizing the government for being harsh about the war with Iraq and that there is no good reason for it and they aren't going to admit even though everybody knows the war is wrong.

"I feel the weight of the world on my shoulda. 
as I'm gettin older y'all people get colder.
only care about money makin. 
Somethin's just gotta be follow-in the wrong direction. 
Whatever happened to the values of humanity?
Whatever happened to the fairness and equality? 
Instead of hope we spreadin animosity. 
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under.
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down." 


That means he thinks people these days are getting too materialistic. He misses the old days when people respected each other and had their morals.

Now, let me give you my comments on this song.

Opinions:

This song refers to the fight against racism that took place in USA. It talks about how children are getting involved in gangs and caught up in criminal activities that should be avoided. People are being killed from these decisions and people are getting hurt. We can't be going to war as I quote from the the song "if you practice what you preach, then you turn the other cheek" this is not only referring to war but also minor issues that take place in the united states whether it would be racism or discrimination. This song is basically calling out all of the hatred that takes place in todays' society. 

The part which I like most is:

"Nations droppin' bombs

Chemical gases fillin' lungs of little ones
 With on goin' sufferin' as the youth die young

 So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone

 So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong

 In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin' in"

This part is about the Iraq war which started at 2003, which ended when Barrack Obama was elected as the President of the United States when he promised the people that he would allow the US army to come back to their homeland after many years. Before Barrack Obama was elected ad the US President, I thought that the US army should get out of Iraq because they've been over there for many years and it was definitely long enough. People get killed over there everyday, not just Iraqi citizens but US troops too. I disagree with the Iraq War  because it's taking the lives of US soldiers away. I actually think the war is doing more harm than good. President George .W Bush thought that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the US army invaded Iraq to look for the weapons but nothing came up. Do the US really need so many soldiers? I think that rather than increasing the amount of soldiers, we should decrease the numbers.

Here is a video of Barrack Obama ending the Iraq War.......

A Book Which Impacted My Life.....

The book which impacted me was " Angels and Demons" written by Dan Brown.


Summary:


When world famous Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to examine a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the rebirth of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati.... the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The Illuminati has surfaced from the shadows to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy... the Catholic Church. 

Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces he has hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival. 

Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati hideout, a secret location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation......

Opinion:

To me, I think "Angels and Demons" is a must-read book. It is a novel based heavily around the different philosophical viewpoints and intent between science and religion. It is a page turner from the very beginning. I think the themes would be romance, drama and science fiction. But what had my eyes glued to the pages was the amount of mysteries and questions that came with every moment. If you're worried about getting lost, don't worry, this book didn't have so many characters that you couldn't keep up with the action but it didn't have so little to where it was too intimate to focus on the main plot. Even though being fictional,  I think Dan Brown has the power to bring about a false consciousness about the facts and the myths in the world and makes me rethink and question our world of knowledge and perception. When I read this novel, I almost submitted my mind to the realm of imagination. Dan Brown made me realize faith is the backbone of all. I think it has stirred up a debate in my mind regarding religion and science which i have never thought of.  I learned the greatest good, pure, person can fall into a deep sin. that's why we have to be balanced. 

Hamster