Stereotype: Are all Hwachongians like that?

I feel that the post on stomp, about the students of Hwa Chong eating ice-cream on the public transport should not represent the behavior of all the elite schools’ students but merely the behavior of the students objectively. The writer stated that “Even elite schools’ students cannot behave?” in which I highly condemn as it was an early generalization of the whole cohort of students of Hwa Chong or even elite schools.
I feel that it had been unfair to the students mentioned, mainly the students of Hwa Chong and the elite schools as a whole. This is because the actions of the students who ate ice cream on the bus does not reflect the all the students’ action, neither does it reflect the education of the school. Any action done should be held responsible by the students involved and not anyone else. However, what the stompers responded was disappointing; they criticized not the students but the school heavily. To top off, they labeled the students of elite schools as “rich and spoiled” Moreover, the person who posted the entry circled the badge of the school, with the intention to highlight the school but not the student.

Hence right now, I would like to revoke their statement made, in which to prove what the stompers said were irresponsible generalizations. Firstly, they mentioned that the school had not taught the students properly, questioning the school’s education given to the students. However, with reference to a research done by the Australian Teenage Studies, it says that “teenagers aged between 12 to 17” tend to be more rebellious, and teachings are often futile. As such, it is proven that it was not the schools failure to educate. Moreover, with regards to students in elite schools as “rich and spoiled” However, nearly 15% of the population in the elite schools is under the financial assistant scheme and 67% under the middle-income. As such, I do not think that the statement made by the stompers were true.
I am highly against such judgment towards to innocent students. There is no evidence to prove that the school had not done their job in educating nor were the rest of the students just as bad. Such generalization can permanently affect the reputation of the school and is an injustice made on the students. The people should not hold their words inappropriately.

Online lesson 10

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/oct/27/israel.iran

The link above talks about the conflict between Israel and Iran. The Iran president had made it official about their unacceptance towards Israel. This is similiar to the Merchant of Venice as in the story, the Christian hated the Jews and vice versal.

http://www.jstor.org/pss/352565

The link above shows example of an interfaith marriage, similiar to that of in The Merchant of Venice where Jessica, a Jew was married to Lorenzo.

Story:

Henry walked around the market patronizing the stalls. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a beautiful fair lady, accompanied by numerous guards and followers. He dared not look up directly into the eyes of the lady, as he knew that she was someone of a high status and he was a Jew. She walked past him, however, accidently knocked him down.

Henry fell badly, but he expected no help from anyone. But to his surprise, the lady gave him a hand, as asked with great concern if he was fine. With that, they got known of each other. Henry soon knew that the lady was called Tiffany, and was the daughter of a Christian commander of the German Army.

With days of interaction, they fell in love and decided to declare marriage. However, both families objected to this marriage.

“Are you crazy? How can you be married to a filthy Jew? That’s a huge disgrace to the family!” Tiffany father objected vigorously after the request from Tiffany to be married to Henry. Tiffany pleaded for agreement in tears, but it did not move her father.

“No! Do you know what kind of criticism we will receive if you marry that women? I beg you, no!” Henry’s mother pleaded Henry to put this marriage to a stop. Despite Henry’s numerous request once and again, Henry mother did not agree.

However, this couple were adamant and insisted on their marriage. News soon spread around the town, while Tiffany only received criticism, Henry often got beatings from both the Jews and Christians. Tiffany’s father chose to break his relationship with his only daughter, than to lose his reputation as a commander.

The marriage was soon held, the families from both parties did not turn up. They had a quiet wedding, however, they were so in love that it did not bother them. But after that, they had to face the harsh reality that the townspeople did not accept such a interfaith marriage that they had to leave the town for other country.

NASA

I feel that the idea of private commercial space travel is not a good thing. Such commercial space travel may not be able to recover the cost of setting, possible dangers may occur and lastly resources may be wasted.

The commercial space travel may not be able to recover the cost. The Space Shuttle Endeavour, the orbiter built to replace the Space Shuttle Challenger, cost approximately $1.7 billion. To recover such a high cost, it is not a sum that could be or willing to be paid by anyone, limiting the number of passenger. With reference to the Bloomberg Businessweek article, “NASA will pay each company $1.6 billion to run 12 cargo missions to the space station through 2015. The $133 million cost per flight would be less than one-third NASA's cost for such missions.” With such limited passenger, such space travel may need a long time to recover the cost. Not just that, there may even be a loss for the support needed.

Such travel may have possible danger. Since the technology is still limited, and the condition in the space is still unpredictable, possible dangers may arise. George bush once said "Some explorers do not return, and the loss settles unfairly on a few”, proving the danger that may involve even when experienced astronauts are sent. If any errors or failures were to occur on the craft, the passengers may be left helpless and are not able to cope with such a circumstance.

Lastly, resources may be wasted. Resources included molecular wires and light-weighted metal that are extremely valuable. If such rare resources are to be used on purposes that are to research, it will be heavily wasted, as the reward for the travel to space should have been the ones benefitting the whole human race, rather than for the company. Such resources cannot be replaced by just money.

In conclusion, I feel that the idea of private commercial space travel is not a good thing. Such commercial space travel may not be able to recover the cost of setting, possible dangers may occur and lastly resources may be wasted.

Apple

The decision made by Apple will decrease the efficiency of their product, lose their popularity, and lastly, result in more piracy.

Such decision made by Apple will decrease the efficiency of their product. In Asia, the iPhone is one of the most popular hand phones. However, if they where to not allow the music store, it means that users will have to find more alternative ways to download music and have them inside the product. An evidence to prove this will be a blog post made by an anonymous blogger. He complained about the inconvenience to download songs and “sync” into the iPhone. He even started a rally to collect the votes of many who had the same thought as him. The result shown was that many people were really unhappy about the music store not introduced in Asia, which had caused much inconvenience.

If Apple were to continue to not allow the music store to be set up in Asia, the company will gradually lose their popularity. The Asian may feel that the company is biased against them, also disregarding the interest of the Apple users of Asia, and in turn disliking the products. An evidence to prove this is a statistic of the number of products bought against the popularity of the company. It had shown that of two companies that are producing similar things, people will choose the company that they feel will take their interest as the priority. However, what Apple is doing now shows that they had put the interest of Asian as the minor factor to consider. Feeling disrespected, the popularity of Apple will then drop.

Such policy from Apple will lastly, result in more piracy, contradicting their intention. As they do not allow users to buy music, book or movies using the Apple product, in may result in more piracy. The users are unable to buy these things even if they were willing to pay for them. Hence, they will go for alternative method to get them. Methods such as torrent, jailbreak, or illegal downloads will be used. This contradicts the initial intention of the company.

In conclusion, the policy made by Apple will decrease the efficiency of their product, lose their popularity, and lastly, result in more piracy.

Expert circle

Topic 2
Elizabeth I: Who was she?

Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. She was also known as the virgin queen, gloriana. Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. In 1558 Elizabeth succeeded the Catholic Mary I, during whose reign she had been imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels.

What were England's international relations like during Elizabeth's reign?

2. Due to the fact that Queen Elizabeth 1 was a Protestant, this caused her much trouble with other countries because of her strong belief. However, England had an alliance with Netherlands during Elizabeth's reign.

What was Shakespeare's relationship with Elizabeth I?

3. Queen Elizabeth I liked when plays were acted out for her. She was very fond of Shakespeare’s plays. In some of his play, Shakespeare cleverly hinted passages referring to the Queen and other events that affiliated during both of their life time. Queen Elizabeth I was a great supporter of the arts, mainly she supported plays and masques.

Compare Elizabeth I to Portia from The Merchant of Venice. How is Portia's character a tribute to Elizabeth I?

4.Portia Portia is the lead female in the Merchant of Venice play She is also the heroine who saves the day when she finds a fault in the contract given by Shylock and forces Shylock to drop the charges against Antonio. Portia She is very much like an independent woman who has rose to such high ranks like today’s Michelle Obama or Condolezza Rice. She is a strong-headed woman. Queen Elizabeth I had the same character as Portia. Perhaps Portia was an inspiration drawn from as well as a tribute paid to Elizabeth I who was a patron of Shakespeare’s works. Queen Elizabeth I had been famous for the defeat of the Spanish Armada She had also created an Elizabethan Era in which English dramas and plays had flourished during this period.
Queen Elizabeth I She is celebrated as the ruler of a golden age. Her work on the throne is enormous and helped to give England its own identity. She was a successful monarch and also another strong woman like Portia.

Topic 3

Diet

Did Elizabethan food and drink constitute a good balanced diet? No! And especially not for the rich! The rich ate few fresh vegetables and little fresh fruit - unprepared food of this variety was viewed with some suspicion! Fruit was usually served in pies or was preserved in honey. Vegetables and fresh fruit were eaten by the poor - vegetables would have been included in some form of stew, soup or pottage. Food items which came from the ground were only are considered fit for the poor. Only vegetables such as rape, onions, garlic and leeks graced a Noble's table. Dairy products were also deemed as inferior foods and therefore only to be eaten by the poor.

Hygiene

The Poor

The greatest majority of families were poor. Hygiene, at this level, was not important enough to be practiced. Most people took only one to three baths a year. Oral hygiene was not considered.


Middle Class

The yeomanry and the gentry were more concerned with hygiene, bathing as often as once a month. Daily washing of the face, neck and wrists was common. Teeth were cleaned by rinsing with vinegar and water, then wiping each tooth with a cloth. Toothpicks were also widely used.


The Wealthy

The wealthy bathed every other week, and often enjoyed expensive soap. Beards were also washed with soap, and kept trimmed and neat. Ironically, many oral hygiene concoctions were sweetened with honey, causing rapid tooth decay.


Recreation

Fairs

The Annual Summer Fair and other seasonal fairs such as May Day were often bawdy affairs.

Plays

Started as plays enacted in town squares followed by the actors using the courtyards of taverns or inns (referred to as Inn-yards) followed by the first theatres (great open air amphitheatres built in the same style as the Roman Coliseum) and then the introduction of indoor theatres called Playhouses.

Miracle Plays

Re-enactments of stories from the Bible. These are derived from the ancient Briton custom of Mystery Plays, in which stories and fables were enacted to teach lessons or educate about life in general. Miracle plays included stories from all ecclesiastic literature, from the Bible to the everyday psaltery or prayerbook.

Festivals

Celebrating Church festivals

Jousts / Tournaments

A series of tilted matches between two or more warriors, by the Elizabethan time period these were more of a show or display of arms than to settle disputes such as we hear of in stories. Unlike our romantic notions of only knights participating in a joust, they were in fact a favorite of many, such as King Henry VIII, who often in his youth showed off his equestrian skills with a lance and a tilt.

Games and Sports

Sports and games which included archery, bowling, cards, dice, hammer-throwing, quarter-staff contests, troco, quoits, skittles, wrestling and mob football.

Card Games

Cards appeared in Spain and Italy about 1370, but they probably came from Egypt. They began to spread throughout Europe and came into England around 1460. By the time of Elizabeth’s reign, gambling was a common sport. Cards were not played only by the upper class. Many of the lower classes had access to playing cards. The card suits tended to change over time.

Accommodation

The most common manor plan for Elizabethan times housing was an E shape, with the vertical line of the E being the main hall, and the shorter horizontal end lines the kitchens and living rooms. The shorter central line was the entry porch. On the upper floor of the main hall there was a long gallery, used for entertaining as a family area, for exercise on dull days, and as a portrait gallery, the long gallery was an almost universal feature of Elizabethan manors. It featured windows on three sides and fireplaces along the fourth, and it usually ran the entire length of the floor.

Why is William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon not considered a likely candidate for the authorship of Shakespeare's works?

- The lack of documentary proof for Shakespeare's education or literacy is often noted in the arguments for alternative candidates
- In his surviving signatures William Shakespeare did not spell his name as it appears on most Shakespeare title pages. His surname was spelled inconsistently in both literary and non-literary documents, with the most variation observed in those that were written by hand. This is taken as evidence that he was not the same person who wrote the works, and that the name was used as a pseudonym for the true author.
- When Shakespeare died, the language of the will is mundane and unpoetic and makes no mention of personal papers, books, poems, or the 18 plays that remained unpublished at the time of his death.


Who are the possible candidates?

- Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
- Francis Bacon, Philosopher and Writer
- Christopher Marlowe, Playwright

Topic 4

Venice was well developed in its culture, adapting to new trends quickly, as well as improving its structure making it very attractive, its culture was simple and many people were merchants.
Venice was important in that it had a huge market and was one of the ruling economies, Venice also had many items which were worth quite some money at the time.
Venice is an appropriate setting for the Merchant of Venice as it easily explains the reasons why Antonio went there, as well as portraying the culture of Venice and how Antonio adapts to it, such as the racism and Prejudice against jews.

Topic 6

In what sort of building were Shakespeare’s plays performed?

Shakespeare’s plays were mostly performed in the Globe Theatre which was some sort of a medieval building. The outer view of the building has a much simpler design while the inside holds a much more intricate design which brings out a mystical atmosphere. The Globe Theatre had no roof, allowing sunlight to enter the building during the day. The building had no lighting equipment thus plays were mostly scheduled in the afternoon where there is light.

How did the physical constraints of the theatre affect the language of Shakespeare’s plays?

The theater that Cuthbert Burbage built for the Chamberlain’s Men had a total capacity of between 2,000 and 3,000 spectators. Because there was no lighting, all performances at the Globe were conducted, weather permitting, during the day (probably most often in the mid-afternoon span between 2 P.M. and 5 P.M.). Because most of the Globe and all of its stage was open air, acoustics were poor and the actors were compelled by circumstances to shout their lines, stress their enunciation, and engage in exaggerated theatrical gestures.

What sort of people acted in plays?

Shakespeare’s fellow members of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men acted in his plays. Among these actors were Richard Burbage (who played the title role in the first performances of many of Shakespeare’s plays, including Hamlet, Othello, Richard III and King Lear), Richard Cowley (who played Verges in Much Ado About Nothing), William Kempe, (who played Peter in Romeo and Juliet and, possibly, Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Henry Condell and John Heminges, are most famous now for collecting and editing the plays of Shakespeare’s First Folio.

What sort of people went to see them?

People from all classes went to see Shakespeare’s plays in Shakespeare’s time. Anyone who could afford the minimum price of one penny could go and stand in the yard in front of the stage. They were known as ‘groundlings’ or ‘penny stinkers’; they stood all through the play. Those who could afford two pennies could sit on the covered benches; there were three tiers of covered seating around the edge of the yard. Rich people could sit above, or above and just to the side of the stage in the ‘Lords’ rooms’.

How was “The Theatre” viewed by Elizabethan society?

The Mayor and Corporation of London banned plays in 1572 as a measure against the plague, and in 1575 they formally expelled all players from the city1 This prompted the construction of playhouses outside the jurisdiction of London, in the liberties of Halliwell/Holywell in Shoreditch and later the Clink, and at Newington Butts near the established entertainment district of St. George’s Fields in rural Surrey

Compare the modern-day Globe Theatre in London with the theatres that Shakespeare worked in.

In the past, Shakespeare worked in places like the theatre….

The Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Shoreditch (in Curtain Road, part of the modern London Borough of Hackney), just outside the City of London. It was the second permanent theatre ever built in England, after the Red Lion, and the first successful one. Built by actor-manager James Burbage, near the family home in Holywell Street, The Theatre is considered the first theatre built in London for the sole purpose of theatrical productions. The Theatre’s history includes a number of important acting troupes including the Lord Chamberlain’s Men.The design of The Theatre was possibly adapted from the inn-yards that had served as playing spaces for actors and/or bear baiting pits. The building was a polygonal wooden building with three galleries that surrounded an open yard.



However, the modern Globe theatre is different in…

Shakespeare’s Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse in the London Borough of Southwark, located on the south bank of the River Thames, but destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt 1614 then demolished in 1644. The modern reconstruction, of the 1614 building, was founded by the actor and director Sam Wanamaker and built approximately 230 metres (750 ft) from the site of the original theatre. The theatre was opened to the public in 1997, with a production of Henry V. The site also includes a reconstruction of the Blackfriars Theatre.

Narrative paragraphs with no adjective and adverbs

It was a Friday afternoon. Everyone one in the class was preparing to cheer for the teams they support. The race is on. Team A had a head start, leading the crowd with an advantage of nearly twenty metres, which was significant in a 12x200 race like this. Next was Team P, followed by Team I then Team O. However, the lead did not last long, Team P had their fastest runner sent, who shortened the gap then soon overtaking. The crowd cheered upon seeing such a sight, it was indeed close!

What if there was a gender imbalance

If the ratio of the male population to the female population remains at such an imbalance rate, then the population of Asia will decrease, there will be lacking of females to occupy relevant jobs and lastly, there will be men migrating to other countries for marriage partner.

Firstly, if the gender continues to be imbalance, the population in Asia will decrease. As the number of female decreases, there will be lesser marriages, leading to less child birth, lastly, affecting the population of Asia as a whole. Based on an analysis of the east-west centre, it says that from the research made on new marriages, it had decreased by 2.7% since 2008 to 2009. This had further caused the population “decreasing by 1.3%” from the year 2008 to 2009, corresponding to the same year the number of marriages decreased. A research also showed that the fertility rate had decreased when more boys were born per 100 girls. This shows that there are lesser marriages nowadays where the contributing factor may very well be the decrease in the number of females. This can affect the relevant companies, for example the bridal gown shop. Also, it can affect the workforce in Singapore in the future.

Then, there will be a lacking of females to occupy relevant jobs, due to the higher demand for such workers, yet a decreasing population of females. The UK news states that “The average earnings of a daily nanny in central London have risen above £30,000 for the first time to £33,179 - equivalent to a police officer in the capital with about two years' experience” as there was an increasing demand for nanny. The reason for such may be the decrease in the population of females to occupy these job vacancies that most females do. This can further affect the economy as a whole, if it continues, as there are lesser such workforce to facilitate the economy.
Lastly, there will be more men migrating to other countries for marriage partner. In a report made by the IMC, it says that there were “12% of the male graduates migrating to other countries and settling there”. This shows that men were migrating to other countries, including the elites. As such, in Asia, there may be an increase lost of talents, which can affect many factors such as better education, productivity. If it persists, the population will finally decrease, and there will be “resource over population”.

In conclusion if the ratio of the male population to the female population remains at such an imbalance rate, then the population of Asia will decrease, there will be lacking of females to occupy relevant jobs and lastly, there will be men migrating to other countries for marriage partner.

Reflection:

I personally do not agree with the traditional concept of Asians that boys are better. In my opinion, I feel that children or people of any gender should be treated with same amount of respect and receive the same kind of treatment, bringing about the same amount of expectations. There are no actual evidences that male contributes more than females or such. It was merely due to the fact that boys can carry the traits of the family to the future generations. However, is that really that important such that females in certain countries can have such bias?

There are actually examples of women that had contributed greatly to the world. Such as Marie Carie, who had discovered the radioactivity and helped many people, yet forfeiting the patent of such discovery. This is a feat that had been achieved more than the majority of the man in the world. With such an example, how can we say that women cannot contribute and are weak in nature? That is an obvious stereotyping, in which many people with the past concepts had , taking away the rights of many women. As such, we should stop this trend as that was the basic human rights that ought to be received by everyone, but not only certain gender.

War poem

Told by the governor
That we were in no danger
From the Japanese's rife
Yearning to be our executer

The undefeatable fortress was a joke
Bomb to pieces left with smoke
Thought to cross the jungle was impossible
But proved them to be assessible

Where on earth did they go
Leaving us in this dreaded camp
That no one seem to live again

If human beings were not inherently optimistic

The world would change if human beings were not inherently optimistic. Firstly, they would become less persistent when doing things or when they meet challenges. They will also find life having less meaning. Lastly, people will get more health problems.

People without optimism will become less persistent when doing things or when they meet challenges. One example would be Jimmy Carter, the ex-president of United States of America, who received the noble prize award in the year 2002. He reordered the budget to make it more efficient and effective despite the opposition of many. If he had not been optimistic, facing the opposition, he would have given up since he would not think about the good points of his initiatives. He would also be easily influenced by other and thus, unable to persist on the own idea. With that there would not be such efficient budget. Eventually, the budget record turned out to be a great success.

If human beings were not inherently optimistic, they will find less meaning in their life. This is because whatever thing they do will seem to be futile, and they will not see any benefits or good points in the results of their hard work. As such, they will find no meaning in their life. An evidence to show this is a research made on pessimism done by the MidWest company. It says that people that are pessimistic will not set their goals, since they do not anticipate anything good to happen. Without goals in their lives, these people have nothing to work towards, and hence just wait for time to pass. This can make their lives very meaningless.

Lastly, without inherent optimism, human beings can get more health problems. According to David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD, in his book Anti Cancer: A New Way of Life, psychological stress has been associated with cancer for more than 2,000. The type of mindset that can most negatively affect health is the feeling of utter helplessness and despair. Showing that with the pessimism, it can affect the health of many, and the cancer rate will increase drastically, also more psychological problems will occur.

In conclusion, if optimism was not inherent, people will become less persistent when doing things. They will also find life having less meaning. Lastly, people will get more health problems.