Blog Prompt #2 - 100 words sentence without punctuation

   It was chaotic as people was pushing and shouting at each other when another person had bought what he wanted which caused him to be angry and thus wanting to attack each other but luckily there is enough for almost everyone and those who were unable to buy something at first rushed towards the stalls behind where more things like pears and oranges were sold and this created excitement in the people and they rushed towards those stalls with more things to prevent the things from being sold out but this is quite impossible because there is too much people and those in front are able to buy more things easily because they can see better than those at the back and finally when the day is over everyone but those who came late and could not buy anything went home happily including the stallholders since they were successful as selling everything they had to sell.

Online Lesson #9 - War Poetry

Passage A

1. Sandburg is describing the cannons on board of the war ships.

2. The "jackies"refer to the sailors on board the war ships. They are singing "war chanties" because they ae happy and wants to increase their morale.

3. In line 11, the oblong vaults mean graves, therefore the shovels will be used to create these oblong vaults. This shows and represents death of the sailors in a war. By stating "The shovel is brother to the gun", it shows a relationship between the shovel and the gun, also stating that death is related to war, since the shovel is representing the oblong vaults and the gun represents the war. 

Passage B

4. It shows that the normal citizens are supposed to obey and follow the soldiers. However, although it seems that the citizens are commanding the soldiers in stanza 1, I think that there is some irony inside.
5. It shows that the citizens have to rebuild what is being destroyed by the soldiers. It creates a feeling that it is very hard to rebuild what is destroyed. The persona feels angry at the soldiers for destroying the buildings, thus the irony in stanza 1. However, the persona has a sense of sympathy for the citizens, since stanza 2 shows the hard work of the citizens.
6. I think that it is harder to build a society again. A society can be destroyed easily, and there is little time needed to do so. For example, when Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand, was convicted of corruption, anger erupted among his supporters and started riots. This created disorder in the society, and it was done easily. However, to control and stop the riots, it took a long time and even caused deaths. Therefore, it is hard to rebuild a good society again after it is destroyed.

Passage C

7. In line 1, the "drum of hoofs" represent horses, which are used for transport in the past. The "beat of shod feet" represents the foot soldiers, who travelled by walking. Now, horses are no longer used for transport. Instead, tanks are used, therefore creating "hum of motors"- the engine and the "thread of rubber tires" - the wheels. It represents how the future wars would be, when technology are progressing, getting better and better.
8. One "king" was has been "kicked under the dust" is Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand, for corruption. He is considered a "King" because a king holds an important position in a country, and as the prime minister before being convicted of corruption, he held power and status in Thailand.

Blog-Writing Prompt #1 - Do you think that same-sex marriage will ever become legal in Singapore?

    I think that same-sex marriage in Singapore will not become legal in Singapore. This is because of law not accepting same-sex marriage, the low fertility rate of Singapore and their rights.

     The law in Singapore does not accept same-sex marriage. Section 377A of the Penal Code of Singapore is the main remaining piece of legislation which criminalises sex between mutually consenting adult men. Section 377A ("Outrages on decency") states that any male person who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years. This shows that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) is not encouraged in Singapore. Therefore, I think that the government will not want same-sex marriage to be legal in Singapore, since there is a part of law that discourages LGBT. 

     Also, Singapore's fertility rate is very low, at a record low of 1.16. As the low population of Singapore will cause a negative effect, such as affecting Singapore economically and not being able to support the aging population which is increasing because of low birth rates. Therefore, the government will want more adults to give birth to babies, increasing the birth rate. If same-sex marriage is legalised in Singapore, the birth rate will decrease even more, and that is not what the government wants. Therefore, the government will not allow same-sex marriage to become legal in Singapore.

     Lastly, legal and immigration rights are not awarded to binational same-sex couples, where one is a Singaporean or Singapore Permanent Resident. Dependent visas, issued for heterosexual spouses, as well as tax rights, wills, and spousal insurance benefits are not included for same-sex couples too. Also, thee is no recognition of same-sex couples in most areas of concern such as hospital visitation and Central Provident Fund (CPF) benefits. Since Singapore does not change its policies frequently and unnecessarily, I do not think  that same-sex marriage will become legal in Singapore.

     In conclusion, I do not believe that same-sex marriage will be accepted and legalised in Singapore, since the government does not encourage same-sex marriage and that even Singapore's law is discouraging such marriages. 

In-Class Online lesson #8 - War: Living Hell

Diary of Civilian of the World War 2 - Japanese Occupation

Dear Diary,

                  Yesterday was a disaster for me. The Kempeitai, who had treated us civilians badly, beat me today. It was some days after my resources had been finished. During these days, resources were scare. The price of these necessaries soared and I had difficulties paying for necessaries. The value of banana money issued by the Japanese dropped, since the authorities would print more whenever they needed money.  This caused the food quality to decrease greatly. We had to be satisfied with staple food like sweet potatoes and tapioca. 

                  Yesterday, I was queuing up to buy some sweet potatoes. Just then, the Kempeitai came. Everyone started to bow to them. However, I did not spot them as I was busy choosing sweet potatoes. Immediately, they walked towards me. Finally, I spotted them and managed a small bow. However, it was too late as they started to pull me and beat me. Finally after I was rolling on the floor groaning in pain, they left with smug grins over their faces. I was angered, but could not do anything at all.

                   The Japanese Occupation caused great damage to the people of Singapore. We suffered loss of people, and many of my relatives were killed. Everyday, I wished that a miracle would happen and I would be saved from this nightmare. Also, we were too reliable on the British, which I believed that they surrendered    so easily. Singapore, in the future, is going to need to work hard to build up a solid defence, too protect Singapore from enemies. I hope that my children would e able to learn from the previous generation's mistake, and strive hard to make Singapore a better place in the future. 

                  That's all for now. I think I will go to sleep. Such a rotten day it was yesterday, and I had still not recovered from the wounds given to me by the Kempeitai. Hope I live through this horrible war.

Blog - Writing Prompt #17b - Home-Based Learning

    I think that the most interesting thing I have learned is learning how to use a Mathematics Software called Geogebra. In Geogebra, we can learn more on algebra and tables. Also, because it is easy to use and we can accomplish many things such as creation of shapes and even objects. In the Maths Home-Based Learning, we could explore the different kinds of tools in it. We created kinds of triangles and also an object based on what we learned. 

    Through Geogebra, I learned many things, one of it being constructing shapes easily using the software. I think that it s very interesting and I would like to explore more tools of Geogebra.

Home-based Learning Online Lesson Task 2

Selection - "Rainbow Death" by Hubert Wilson

                 Difficulty Rating: **

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!

Task 2:

1. Whose Point of View

Statement: The poet wrote this poem in the Point of View of a war veteran. 

Evidence: The poet is recounting what happened during the war. This is supported by "Reflective about all the illness, birth defects ad prematurely death". 

Elaboration: This showed that the poet reflected upon the war, how the deceit caused by Agent Orange continued to worsen.  

2. Situation and Setting

Statement: The situation is that the war created chaos in the people's life, deforming and taking away the life of many people . It took place in Vietnam.

Evidence: The poem suggests "Toll on the innocent and unborn".

Elaboration: It showed that the impact of the war not only affected the soldiers who were fighting the war, but also innocent peoples that did not take part in the war.

3. Language/Diction

Statement: The last word of the odd sentence rhymes with the next sentence. There is also personification.  

Evidence: This includes "unborn", the last word of the 5th sentence and "mourn" of the 6th sentence, "astray" and "pay" in the 9th and 10th sentence. For personification, it is supported by "America led astray" and "America did not foresee".

Elaboration: The personification showed America being compared with humans, being led astray and not foreseeing.   

4. Personal Response

Statement: I feel that the war was cruel and the effect of war was disastrous.

Evidence: The war caused "illness, birth defects and prematurely dead" and "execrable effects of agent orange spray".  

Elaboration: This showed that the agent orange caused extremely unpleasant effects of the people during the war.