Social media - a blessing or a curse?

What are the most bookmarked pages on the Internet? A survey has shown that aside from search engines like Yahoo! and Google, the most bookmarked pages online were social networks like Facebook and Twitter. There is no doubt many of us are exposed to social media, as seen by the hundreds upon millions of accounts created on Facebook alone. That number rises by the minute, as each new generation comes out more and more tech-savvy. This prompts the question - does social media enhance or destroy our technological cocoon?

We cannot deny that connectivity has improved due to social media. As a result of social media, one can have two hundred friends and send every single one of them pieces of news at once. One can connect with different people all over the world to discuss their common interests, which can be anything from video games to quantum physics. One can now create groups and invite related individuals, just so that they can communicate with long lost friends. One can go online and 'Like' a certain pop idol, or 'Subscribe' to keep track of every post he or she makes. Undoubtedly, we all have windows to the world, thanks to social media.

However, this could go the other way. With these two hundred friends all telling the world what they had for dinner, users of social media experience an information overload. Research has shown that this sort of information overload causes a lack of concentration, severe stress or even mental disorders. It is as if all of us are tiny ants stuck in the drum of a marching band. We lose the ability to hear ourselves, causing mental distress. All of us are journalists in a sensational tabloid of our own lives, while having each other's tabloids plastered on our own walls.

Another issue brought about by social media is addiction. Games that modern day teenagers play are forms of social media. My classmate. for example, is addicted to the massive multiplayer role playing game, 'World of Warcraft'. When asked why it was fun, he said that it allowed him to pit his skills against players from all around the world. Social networks like Facebook have addictive qualities too. The news article of a mother who neglected her own family to raise a virtual farm on the Facebook game, 'Farmville', comes to mind. This is undoubtedly addiction brought about by social media.

A very important issue about by social media is cyberbullying. The Internet slang word, 'troll', is used to describe a netizen who enjoys insulting or putting down others. These 'trolls' are often anynymous users who attack others with attacks others with attacks like "you noob" or "[username] is gay". These people abuse the Internet behind their mask of anonymity, knowing that they will not be caught. People have committed suicide because of what these people have said. But nothing is to stop them - after all, nobody knows who they are.

In conclusion, we have established that social media brings about connectivity. Alas, it brings about too much connectivity. When one is online, be careful what one says - after all, "Big Brother" Facebook is watching.

Analysis of "Sam and the SDP"

After watching the above video, here is my analysis.

Firstly, there was one statistic that struck me as unbelievable, namely the statement “[PM Lee] is the highest paid politician in the world today, earning more than the leaders of the US, UK, France, Japan and Germany combined” and the caption says “$10000 a day”. Assuming the “$10000” is in Singapore dollars, I did a bit of research to prove or disprove this. I turns out that different parties have different values of what he earns, from S$1570000 to S$1958000. This is a maximum of $5400 a day, not even close to the “$10000 a day”. As for the “[PM Lee earns] more than the leaders of the US, UK, France, Japan and Germany combined”, it is true that PM Lee is one of the highest paid heads of government. Even though he may not earn “more than the leaders of the US, UK, France, Japan and Germany combined”, he still earns five times more than US President Barrack Obama (US$400000 a year).

I will now move on to the proposed policies by the SDP. Firstly, the SDP proposes a minimum wage policy. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan has refuted this with three reasons – firstly, “if you raise wages overnight, and it is not competitive, the company will close”; second, “if you just raise the wage instead of improving the capability and training and education of the worker, you're just fooling yourself”; and lastly, “a minimum wage does not help the self-employed”. I feel that there is a way around this, by making the minimum wage high enough for the poor menial workers but too low for the average Singaporean. Firstly, most employers would already pay the worker above the minimum wage, even with this minimum wage policy. It will not cause employees to be less motivated, as it is the bare minimum for a salary. But most importantly, it targets employers who mistreat their employees and do not give them enough of a salary to sustain themselves.

Next, the SDP encourages “hiring Singaporeans first before considering hiring foreigners”. However, what is currently being encouraged in Singapore is hiring on merit. I personally agree more with hiring on merit, as this would both benefit employers and employees. Why? Firstly, the employer would be able to obtain the ‘best man for the job’. He would be able to obtain talent to carry out his goal, no matter whether the talent is foreign or local. Next, it is fairer to the foreign employees who truly has more talent but cannot be hired because he is not a Singaporean. Furthermore, this would motivate Singaporeans to work harder.

All in all, I am not convinced by this video. Why? It is blatant propaganda.

A day in the life of World War 2: Following President Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech

“As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defence.”

The voice of President Roosevelt, emitted from the radio, echoed around the bar and caused tiny reverberations in our beers.

Richard stared down into his drink and asked, “Do you think he really means it?”

President Roosevelt answered that question for me. “I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December seventh, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.”

“Oh man,” Richard murmured, then I had not heard the rest of his sentence. I was thinking of my son in some part of the world defending our country.

I was almost certain he'd die.

A personal response to war: descriptive essay

1) I felt dull spikes poke against my uniform as I crept across the field of rubble. Ahead and behind me was the dull grey of the broken concrete, with a smattering of orange from the fallen roof tiles. My comrades ahead of me looked like green specks on a sheet of ash. There was a charred stench in the air, echoed by the thud of the last pieces of rubble falling from the ruined homes. There was a bloody taste in my mouth, which tasted bitter and sweet and sour. I pulled out my camera.

Poem: The Hangman

Hangman
by Maurice Ogden

1.
Into our town the Hangman came,
Smelling of gold and blood and flame.
And he paced our bricks with a diffident air,
And built his frame in the courthouse square.

The scaffold stood by the courthouse side,
Only as wide as the door was wide;
A frame as tall, or little more,
Than the capping sill of the courthouse door.

And we wondered, whenever we had the time,
Who the criminal, what the crime
That the Hangman judged with the yellow twist
of knotted hemp in his busy fist.

And innocent though we were, with dread,
We passed those eyes of buckshot lead --
Till one cried: "Hangman, who is he
For whom you raised the gallows-tree?"

Then a twinkle grew in the buckshot eye,
And he gave us a riddle instead of reply:
"He who serves me best," said he,
"Shall earn the rope of the gallows-tree."

And he stepped down, and laid his hand
On a man who came from another land.
And we breathed again, for another's grief
At the Hangman's hand was our relief

And the gallows-frame on the courthouse lawn
By tomorrow's sun would be struck and gone.
So we gave him way, and no one spoke,
Out of respect for his Hangman's cloak.

2.
The next day's sun looked mildly down
On roof and street in our quiet town,
And stark and black in the morning air
Was the gallows-tree in the courthouse square.

And the Hangman stood at his usual stand
With the yellow hemp in his busy hand;
With his buckshot eye and his jaw like a pike
And his air so knowing and business-like.

And we cried, "Hangman, have you not done
Yesterday, with the foreign one?"
Then we fell silent, and stood amazed,
"Oh, not for him was the gallows raised."

He laughed a laugh as he looked at us:
"Did you think I'd gone to all this fuss
To hang one man? That's a thing I do
To stretch a rope when the rope is new."

Then one cried "Murder!" and one cried "Shame!"
And into our midst the Hangman came
To that man's place. "Do you hold," said he,
"with him that was meant for the gallows-tree?"

And he laid his hand on that one's arm.
And we shrank back in quick alarm!
And we gave him way, and no one spoke
Out of fear of his Hangman's cloak.

That night we saw with dread surprise
The Hangman's scaffold had grown in size.
Fed by the blood beneath the chute,
The gallows-tree had taken root;

Now as wide, or a little more,
Than the steps that led to the courthouse door,
As tall as the writing, or nearly as tall,
Halfway up on the courthouse wall.

3.
The third he took -- we had all heard tell --
Was a usurer, and an infidel.
"What," said the Hangman "have you to do
With the gallows-bound, and he a Jew?"

And we cried out, "Is this one he
Who has served you well and faithfully?"
The Hangman smiled: "It's a clever scheme
to try the strength of the gallows-beam."

The fourth man's dark, accusing song
Had scratched our comfort hard and long;
"And what concern," he gave us back.
"Have you for the doomed -- the doomed and Black?"

The fifth. The sixth. And we cried again,
"Hangman, Hangman, is this the man?"
"It's a trick," he said. "that we hangmen know
For easing the trap when the trap springs slow."

And so we ceased, and asked no more,
As the Hangman tallied his bloody score.
And sun by sun, and night by night,
The gallows grew to monstrous height.

The wings of the scaffold opened wide
Till they covered the square from side to side;
And the monster cross-beam, looking down,
Cast its shadow across the town.

4.
Then through the town the Hangman came,
Through the empty streets, and called my name --
And I looked at the gallows soaring tall,
And thought, "There is no one left at all

For hanging, and so he calls to me
To help pull down the gallows-tree."
So I went out with right good hope
To the Hangman's tree and the Hangman's rope.

He smiled at me as I came down
To the courthouse square through the silent town.
And supple and stretched in his busy hand
Was the yellow twist of the hempen strand.

And he whistled his tune as he tried the trap,
And it sprang down with a ready snap --
And then with a smile of awful command
He laid his hand upon my hand.

"You tricked me. Hangman!," I shouted then,
"That your scaffold was built for other men...
And I no henchman of yours," I cried,
"You lied to me, Hangman. Foully lied!"

Then a twinkle grew in the buckshot eye,
"Lied to you? Tricked you?" he said. "Not I.
For I answered straight and I told you true --
The scaffold was raised for none but you.

For who has served me more faithfully
Then you with your coward's hope?" said he,
"And where are the others who might have stood
Side by your side in the common good?"

"Dead," I whispered. And amiably
"Murdered," the Hangman corrected me:
"First the foreigner, then the Jew...
I did no more than you let me do."

Beneath the beam that blocked the sky
None had stood so alone as I.
The Hangman noosed me, and no voice there
Cried "Stop!" for me in the empty square.

Reflections

This is my favourite poem on injustice, as it brings out the concept of injustice and what happens if it goes unpunished well. Throughout the poem, the hangman starts killing people one by one, and always has a reason for it. This is quite like injustice regularly portrayed, as the perpetrators always has a reason (anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, etc.)

Also, it touches on the issue of justice as in the end, the one who most helped the hangman achieve his evil deeds was the narrator with his “coward’s hope”. The last line the hangman says “I did no more than you let me do” really struck me. That was what I feel the most important line in the poem. It reminded me of the current political situation in Libya and Egypt, an attest to the fact that injustice can be conquered if you are willing to do something about it.

Posterous blog prompt 1

Have you ever been part of a group of people that were unkind to one or more individuals? Describe the circumstances. What caused you to behave the way you did? How did you feel then? How do you feel about the circumstances / events in retrospect?

No, I have not been a part of a group who were unkind to an individual. However, I have seen it happen many times before. Usually, it’s a small event, like people shoving rubbish under someone else’s desk because they’re too lazy to throw it away themselves or a CCA senior cutting in front of a junior’s queue at lunchtime. These people have one excuse for it – because they can. If you think about it, bullies are usually very assertive, vocal people. Likewise, victims of these bullies are usually very shy or cowardly.

These people are disgusting – they bully out of ability to bully, and to make them feel better. These people almost never think for the victim as they are too preoccupied with the pleasure that bullying brings about.

Whenever I see these things happening, the case is usually that I can’t stop these people, and have to walk away. However, I walk away knowing that no crime goes unpunished, and these people will sooner or later get their just desserts.

What is the Ku Klux Klan?

There are a total of 3 Ku Klux Klans over time. The original Ku Klux Klan was created after the end of the Civil War in December 1865, by six educated, middle-class Confederates who were bored with post-war routine from Pulaski, Tennessee. The name was constructed by combining the Greek "kyklos" (circle) with "clan." It was at first a humorous social club centring on practical jokes and hazing rituals but soon spread into nearly every Southern state, launching a "reign of terror" against Republican leaders both black and white.

The one in Mississippi Burning is the Third Ku Klux Klan, which was mainly focused on supressing the Blacks, but also was anti-Jewish, anti-Catholic, anti-Communist and anti-Immigrant. The Klan eventually fell apart due to the intervention of the FBI.

What is lynching?

Lynching is to illegally kill someone using hanging or other means by a mob. The victims of lynching are usually minority groups which have been prejudiced against. The term lynching probably derived from the name Charles Lynch (1736-96), a justice of the peace who administered rough justice in Virginia. Lynching was originally a punishment for African-American slaves, but Whites who protested against this were also punished. When the Ku Klux Klan was established, however, lynching of African-Americans dramatically increased. The Ku Klux Klan did this to maintain white supremacy in the South, which they felt was under threat after their defeat in the Civil War. It has been estimated that between 1880 and 1920, an average of two African Americans a week were lynched in the United States.

TKAM: End

Q: Did the ending of the novel surprise you? Did you agree with how the author ended it?

It ends on a significantly lighter note and with a visible resolution. The past few chapters are all very serious (Tom Robinson's trial, attempted murder of Jem) but it ends wih a soft resolution, that "most people are not what they seem when you finally see them", effectively linking the myths about Boo Radley, Tom Robinson's trial and the murder of Jem. I feel this is a very good way to end the story, as it gives a solution to the multitude of problems faced in the book in just one line.

TKAM: In Court

Q: As you followed he action in the court, which character did you emphasize with the most?

A: I emphasized with Tom Robinson the most. Mr Gilmer had assumed Tom was guilty from the start, which is not just as "all defendants are innocent until proved guilty in court." Also, Tom was wronged and mistreated by Mayela, the girl who he cared for.

Mississippi Burning: Reflections 1

On the FBI agents' personalities:

Agent Ward:
-straightforward, buisnesslike (always speaks very calmly, for example)
-not familiar with racial relations in the South (attempted to interview a Black man in public)

Agent Anderson:
-laid-back at first (first thing he did after eaving the sheriff's office was to go into the barbershop and the hairdresser to chat)
-uses subtle methods at first (contrast his asking about seemingly normal things with Ward's straightforward approach)
-later uses harsh and cruel methods (kidnapping the mayor, for example)

What I would do:
-try to be as hidden as possible, n order not to draw attention
-persuade locals to help me

TKAM: Begin

Q: What memories of your own childhood come to mind as you read about Scout's experience?
A: I recall the imaginative side of my childhood, when, much like Scout, me and my neighbors would dream up fantastical situations, like making forts out of cardboard, using marbles as jewels and other events. This let me relate to the wonderous adventures of Scout and Jem.

1st person and 3rd person narrative

I would use 1st person to bring out a main character, particularly his thoughts and feelings. Also, it can be used to give a different point of view on another main character, such as in The Great Gatsby and Sherlock Holmes. It is also used to bring you closer to the story, as it feels as if the characters are talking and interacting with you through the first person.

3rd person, however, can be used to describe setting as in third person you can see all. It can also bring out the relationship between characters as you know what every single one of the characters are doing and thinking.

English Description Exercise

The sky was a brilliant shade of azure and the sea a bright cerulean. On the low horizon you could just barely make out lots of yachts slowly drifting along the current. The sand shone and sparkled in the sweltering heat of the day. Had I not been standing under this palm tree, I think I would have fainted with heatstroke. Even the leaves of the tree were balding and spiked, as if to reject the attacking sun rays. The white hull of the small boat glared in the sun and the little blue roof stood out against the cerulean sea, leaving ripples as it went along.

The Historica and Cutural Context

You cannot appreciate a text without pre-reading about the background. Sure, you can understand it, but the onlt way to truly appreciate it is to earn more about it., What was the author going through when he wrote it? Was he in a sate of joy? Grief? What was going on when the text was written? A economic downfall? A war? You could only know if you checked it's background. That''s why to truly appreciate a text, you first need to know it's background.

Pre lesson blogging: Prejudice

What is prejudice to me?

Well, prejudice is an idea which has existed throughout the years. Be it the Holocaust or apartheid, it has been ever present. Most often, prejudice arises from pride or power. People who are in power often frown down upon the weak, poor or needy and influence others to do the same thing. Also, proud people regard others not like them or in the minority as inferior and thus stereotype them. People who come across as unusual or have a different race or religion are usually the victims of this sort of prejudice.

There is only one way to prevent this - humility. Only with a humble heart can we not succumb to prejudice.