Treating people with your heart-

Lying on the bed, recounting my life as a councilor, I had a sudden epiphany I had to record. I recounted the campaigning periods the year before and just recently this year. I am ProEd Councilor and every year, the student body will cast vote for their favorite councilors and shortlisted councilors will remain in the council, while the rest shall drop out. I realized that I had always been desperate in my measures to the extent of using emotional blackmail to garner support for the elections. It was similar to last-minute hugging the buddha's foot, in this case, it was hugging the students' foot.

Why was that so? It then dawn upon me that I had been mistreating my friends, calling them names they dislike, and frequent teasing. I had not been helpful in many occasions, dismissing their request with a wave of my hand. Overall, I had not been a helpful friend.

Now, just 1 month before elections, I started treating people better, helping them occasionally, no longer my usual rowdy self. However, my change in behavior was not able to reach all the friends I had mistreated, and for those people, they were not willing to cast me their votes due to past taunting, they felt that someone who was not sensitive enough should not be in council. However, for my classmates who were able to sense my change in behavior, they themselves reciprocated by treating me better. They no longer call me names nor tease me too. This is when I realised that it is important as a human being, you treat people with your heart and never let your overwhelming ego hurt others. So, that was what adults always meant, to live in a better society, with everyone caring and helping each other.

Back to my campaigning process, as I went along convincing classmates why they should vote for me, they reflected that they have certain choices in mind and I will come after that. And more often than not, these choices always corresponds. I was indignant, these people did not had a better MSG than I do , nor were these people as outspoken as I was. As I sat on a chair, staring into blank space, wondering why some people who does not seem too capable are a popular choice. Shortly, my friend joined me and I poured out my woes.

He replied, "Lionell, you want to know why? Because they are not bastards like you. "

This statement angered me quite a bit, I was not able to restrain myself and I insulted him by calling him a 'dog' accompanied by various profanities and a slap on his back.

"See, this is what I meant, bastard..." and he went off. I immediately regretted my action as it had cost me to lose a vote, but above that, I probably had lost a friend. I realised that these frequent actions of mine has damaged relations with my friends. For a moment, I thought I was not able to make it to council, but most importantly of all, I had wasted my year, mistreating friends, not valuing friendship.

When I got home, I was saddened by the fact that I had minimal support for the elections.

I googled, " What does people look for in a leader?" and hoped to come out with a miraculous campaigning method. The page was filled with a few questions, a supposed checklist for leaders-to-be. Mentally, I asked myself the questions. (Paraphrased it)

1. Do I have what it takes for ProEdians to look up to?

No. Even my friends call me a 'bastard'.

2. Am I able to command the respect of my friends?

No. Same answer as 1.

3. Am I exceptionally superb in leading?

No. If you are superb, people won't call you a 'bastard'.

4. Had I been helpful to my friends?

I wouldn't be so desperate now.

5. Are you extremely capable in a certain field of studies?

My MSG is better than the average, but hey, I guess that is not something to be proud of as my class has more than a handful of people doing much better than how I am doing and they are not interested in council.

Seemed to be all crosses for my checklist.

I scrolled down to read more.

5- Great, way to go! You have the attributes of what people look in leaders!

4- Well done, focus on the aspect you are weakest in, you are prepared to lead.

3- Acceptable, but you are not ready to lead yet, studies, charisma, whatever it is, work on it!

1-2 : You are too hasty to be a leader, reflect on how you can even be a better person before coming back.

0: You are too hasty to lead. Work on your basic character, a few years later, you will definitely be prepared.

I was prepared to drop out, however, I remained in council.

It was by luck I entered as a good friend of mine helped me to propagate within the consortium.

This had taught me a lesson, to treat people well with your heart, not for votes. Naturally, they shall reciprocate and only then, are you a worthy Hwa Chong student.

From now on, I shall work on my attitude towards friends and work to be a better person before I even look at leading.

Tomorrow is the ExCo interviews, I wonder how I am going to fare after all these negative reflections. D:

TED: Ideas worth spreading

Addiction- the teenage life is faced with temptation from all sorts of aspects that cannot be halted easily. From gaming addiction, drama addiction, Facebook addiction, titillation addiction so on and so forth.

Can addiction ever be positive and beneficial for someone? Let us not be restricted by its definition although the word inevitably has negative connotations. In the case of work addiction, it is a double edged sword. For extreme cases workaholics may suffer from malnutrition due to frequent skipping of meals and lose social contact with friends and families. However, being a workaholic will ensure a swift elevation through the posts in your career, it also ensures that your time is not wasted and you learn much in the process.

This bring me to my point, nope- it is not about My aspiration to be a workaholic nor My experience as a workaholic. I would like to introduce you to something called TED. Something that got me hooked to and addicted.

TED is an organization that often negotiates with accomplished people to give talks on their personal experience, their findings and thoughts. The speakers may range from Steve Jobs to Arthur Benjamin and from William Kamkwamba to Bill Gates. The topics may be courageous, inspiring, persuasive so on and so forth, addressing Global Warming or the importance of letter writing. And TED aims to compile all this video on one site, (http://www.ted.com) and allow viewing to be free-of-charge. They do this, with only one aim, conveying messages, ideas, that are worth spreading.

I happened to chance upon TED 2 years ago, under the recommendation of my brother. At that time, TED was not as established, it didn't had their transcript, it did not had introduction about speakers nor subtitles. At that age, my capability to understand and appreciate the talks were limited, and so I was not very interested in them. This year, I revisited the site while reading an article on the net. I remembered the first video I viewed was regarding our origins which was substantiated with plenty of pictures and videos by a speaker who tried to convey her belief that we originated from primates. The talk was fascinating and clearly got me thinking. Before I knew it, I was clicking on many of the videos, one by one. Clearly, I was addicted as the ideas were truly worth spreading.

Well, I would not say this is an all beneficial addiction when you neglect your revision to watch the TED videos. However, you can take away many tips about presentations and how the presenters made use of their slideshows. Most of the presenters were trained and extremely skilled, which explains why one can enjoy it thoroughly. There are also subtitles in 29 languages and aides in your comprehension of the talk.

By watching this videos, I firmly believe that it will broaden your horizon and encourage critical thinking instead of whaling away your time, Facebooking, feeding on useless addiction. I assure you that these videos are mostly entertaining as many speakers implant humor in their talk, even entertaining to the extend you get addicted to them. Whether or not you are agreeable to the idea, you would definitely have some learning points to take away on how this great people manage to generate an idea, how they go about doing it to substantiate it such that it can be persuasive.

However, just yesterday, I realised that on one hand, although watching these talks allow you to gain insights and entertaining at the same time, I chanced upon some videos I viewed before in the past and was disappointed when I tried to recall the gist of the talk only to have failed. Hence, I came to the realisation that it is essential for me to document each talk with a reflection and my view on the topic and that only then would I had clearly gained. Not to mention that this will also train me in critical analysis and broaden my experience, further etching the talk into my mind. I have decided to do this in the form of blogging to share my ideas and facilitate active discussion.

To end off, I hope my post had served its purpose to introduce TED to some of you and convey the idea that rather than indulging in useless addictions that only develops bad habits within you, watching these entertaining and informative talks will be more entertaining. And I congratulate you if it ever becomes your addiction and you manage to kick the others out of your life.

I hope you will ever find the talks as entertaining as I described. Do check in on my blog in the near future, I may be posting up my reflections soon!

Well, that's all, folks!

Task 1

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!

What the poem means

America wanted Vietnam to pay for trying to invade them and hence produced herbicide of different colours to destroy Vietnam's ecosystem, hence the title "Rainbow Death", due to the code names of the different dangerous chemicals used by America.

This then caused the death of many innocent Vietnamese. The poet was a victim himself as he was diagnosed with a illness even long after the war. He expresses his anger towards America who did not think twice before acting and appears to be reflective of its actions. Due to this, many generations will have to suffer due to the lethal effect of the Agent Orange and other agents. However, the poet mentioned agent orange specifically as he himself experienced the ‘Execrable effects’ of agent orange.

Further Back ground info ( Adapted from http://www.warpoetry.co.uk)

Agent Orange is the code name for a highly toxic weed killer, a chemical sprayed or dusted on plants to cause its leaves to fall off. Agent Orange is contaminated with TCDD which can potentially cause indirect DNA damage through induction or activation of other DNA damaging compounds in the body. Agent Orange was 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 1961 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. All this information I found on Wikipedia.

More about the Poet

“I am a Vietnam War veteran (as are my four brothers) who served in the USAF Security Service. I, along with a dozen or so intelligence school grads, prepped for about 14 months at Kelly AFB in San Antonio, Texas, before anticipating being sent to Vietnam or elsewhere in southeat Asia in 1970. About half ended up in Da Nang (an Agent Orange hotspot) in the 6924th Security Squadron. The rest of us were assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska, with the 6984th Security Squadron, and what eventually was a MORE contaminated environment than Da Nang!
My health problems started approximately 15 years ago with unexplained headaches and limb pains. Four years ago my 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! My number one educated guess is the heavily contaminated drinking water at Shemya during my year there as an intelligence analyst. Organo-phosphate toxins may not run their toxic course until 20 to 30 years after initial exposure.

Since my brain still functions moderately well (and I have mobility issues), I have turned to writing just like my late Father and the late singer (and writer) Johnny Cash. “

- Herbert Wilson

Hence, we can see that the Poet wrote this poem with a illness due to drinking water toxified with agent Orange. He wrote this poem full of anger of America for causing so many innocent lives. The poem is widely praised due to its practical description and criticism for America as Hubert Wilson himself experienced it himself.

Task 2

POV/Speaker

The Speaker of this poem is presumably the poet himself. This can be seen from his criticism of America and speak out from his own experience and wrote the poems according to his own feelings about how war effects are not finished even after it had ended.

Situation & Setting

This aspect of Poem analysing is quite tricky. After reading for a few times, I believe that the situation is long after war where the Poet experience the harsh effects of the herbicide, also known as the ‘agent orange spray’ before he choose to write this poem depicting his displeasure for wars. Another interpretation could be that it is shortly after war and everywhere is filled with Graveyards.

This can be seen from “Toll on the innocent and unborn... Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.” Which describes the many casualties after the war.

Diction

· Potpourri - is a mixture of dried materials. In this poem, the word is used in the 2^nd Stanza, 2^nd line before ending with a exclamation mark. It depicts the anger of the poet as he criticizes America for not foreseeing and having so many different agents( poisonous substances) cause the death and suffering of people. By reading that particular line out, the poet mentioned all different colours representing the different harmful agents that are used in war, in a way, he was fed up with these agents and ended with “potpourri!” to vent his anger.

· “Not thinking twice?” – Personally, I feel that this sentence portrays how disappointed and angry the poet is with America. He ended with alliteration and a question mark to question what America has said after criticizing their actions

· Toll- Damage and death caused due to conflict or disasters. (Death Toll) by using this word as a verb, it means that America had caused the death of innocent people and unborn babies as seen in the last line of the first stanza.

· Omnipotent- Having unlimited power. Attempts to put the culprit as someone who is very proud lack of empathy as it is coupled with ‘ Disregarding’.

· Reflective- Someone is only reflective after he has done something wrong. In this instance, the poet is trying to mock the culprit for acting guilty as they see the people who caught up with illness and death.

· Deceit- As said, the poet mock the culprit for acting guilty, deceit is used again trying emphasize that the culprit had never been guilty for their actions. Them being guilty had been a lie to everyone.

· Nefariously- Led astray, America is wicked as it leads its citizens astray from its wicked actions.

· WILL – will is caps for 2 uses. To show how ridiculous and unfair it is for the future generations to suffer and it shows another tone such as America’s. After committing such actions, it provide the sense that they are still not regretful and stating that the future generations will pay.

· Excreable effects- Alliteration to create impact of the effects of the Agent Orange. Excreable on the other hand means deserving a curse. It put on very clearly where the poet is standing, against the America.

· The last word of the 2 consecutive lines rhythms to create the feeling that the poem is linked and will not seem out of place when being read. It also builds up its argument using a systematic manner.

Personal Response

I feel that this poem is very well written and shows the cruelty of War on one side, the cruel aggressor. It tells us that one wrong move without thinking twice will lead to suffering and many deaths and that by reflecting is no use. I feel that it also bring across the fact that war effects shall last even after a war. From this poem, I realise the harsh effects of war and how much pain it can cause a victim, in this case, the poet. Thinking twice before action is certainly important, and we shall not toll on the innocent.

Lastly, through the uses of sound devices and word choice, it creates a sense of anger in the reader and goes a long way in discouraging war. ( and criticizing America)

THE END

If you would like to know more about the vietnam war, you may want to watch this video on youtube for better understanding on the effects of the different agents. You may want to skip through some parts for it is quite long. Do look through the comments to find out more about people's view on this incident.

Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJxb7CY13uc

ma'aple s'a

TASK B PART 2

d. Design a civil rights movement poster for Maycomb.\

Hi Readers,

This is my poster, sorry that its abit off size :P.

The black and white shaking hands show peace between them.

Both hands have a watch, and have a sleeve, this actually shows that both races should have equal rights.

The words " You will definitely feel warmth when shaking hands " Means that the white will feel better if they have equal rights and peace with the blacks.

That's all.

Please comment in the tagboard. :D

Task B

a. Do a research on the natural habitat of mockingbird. In your research, include the kind of flora and fauna you think exist in Maycomb and explain why the mockingbirds live in Macomb.[Naturalist]

Mocking birds are group of birds from the Mimidae family. They are known to mimic the voice of insects, other birds and amphibians, often loud and rapid in succession. There are around 17 species of Mockingbirds in 3 Genre.

HABITAT

Mocking birds live in open country with thickets, farmland and desert brush.

They breed from northern California, eastern Nebraska, southern Ontario, and Maritime Canada southward. Mockingbird also spends winters in the southern part of range. They are often found around in residential areas, city parks, farmlands, open country with thickets, and desert brush.

Mockingbirds are very comfortable around people. They now range from parts of southern Canada to southern Mexico. Some mockingbirds, typically those in the west, and in the northern most part of their range in Canada, migrate toward warmer regions south or to the coast. The Mockingbird is the state bird of Texas, Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi.

The diet of the mockingbird consists of ants, beetles, grasshoppers, seeds and berries.

During the fall and winter mockingbirds prefer to eat wild fruits consisting of holly, pokeberry, blackberry, sumac and Virginia creeper and defend these areas aggressively. They eat insects all year long but especially during the breeding season.

Both parent mockingbirds are very territorial when they are nesting. They will defend their nests from any animals they think are predators. This includes people. If you get too close to a nest, even in your own yard, they may "dive-bomb" you. Don't worry, they have never been known to hurt anyone, but it is probably very stressful for the bird.

Mockinbird nests are built with sticks, weed stems, grasses, moss, hair, rootlets, dry leaves, and trash.

( Adapted from: http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/northern_mockingbird.htm)

PREY/FOOD	PREDATORS	SHELTER
Earthworm	Sharp-shinned Hawk	Highbush Blueberry
Cabbage White	Red-tailed Hawk	American Holly
Common Black Ground Beetle	Barred Owl	Spicebush
Chinese Mantid	Black Rat Snake	Flowering Dogwood
Cicada Killer		Sassafras
Black Carpenter Ant		Smooth Sumac
Clouded Sulphur		Common Elderberry
Eastern Yellow Jacket		Witch Hazel
Pokeweed		Red Maple
Spicebush		Black Willow
Sassafras		Green Hawthorn
Virginia Creeper		Eastern Redcedar
Smooth Sumac		White Cushion Moss
Common Elderberry		Switchgrass
Greenbrier		Queen Anne's Lace
Differential Grasshopper		English Plantain
Five-lined Skink		Red Clover
Flowering Dogwood		Smooth Crabgrass
American Holly		Wild Grape
Dogwood Borer		Virginia Rose

The table shown above is very important in terms of the Mockingbird’s relationship to nature. It also give us a rough idea where the Mockingbird resides or the characteristics of their Habitat.

I think that Maycomb should be a place full of different plants such as the Red Maple, or Spice bush that aid the Mockingbird in terms of shelter. The flora also includes Sassafras which is a source of food for the birds. The Mockingbirds can survive in many different kinds of habitats as they have a wide variety of food source. Adding on, they are also friendly with humans.

However, they do have a few predators. I infer that Maycomb would rarely have them around for the existence of the predators will only scare the mockingbirds. The mockingbirds also have a loud voice when they mimic other birds, if there are predators around, they would be attracted to the Mockingbirds. Hence, it is essential that the Maycomb has very few or no predators at all. Maycomb must also have a widespread of insects everywhere to feed the mocking birds.

To conclude, Maycomb has a widespread of insects and flora and fauna to shelter and feed the Mockingbird. The place also has very few predators like the Black rat snake, owl or hawk.

Characterization Analysis of Mrs. Dubose

This is our picture of Dubose.
She is depicted as an old
woman who sits on a wheel
chair as described in the story.
However, in our photo, her
face is not as ferocious as the
first half of the story has
described.
This is because we wanted to
show 2 sides of Mrs Dubose to
every one.
Her Courageous side and her
racist side.
Behind her is a wall that reads "Get lost Niggers!"
This shows how she is as her racist.

Now, let us describe how I and Jing Yu created the image.
1. Traced a photo of an old woman in Adobe Flash CS4
2. Painted the woman using Adobe Flash CS4
3. Background : Using gradiant to make the background of the Sky
4. Next, for the grass. Filter>Render green surface.
5. Font: Green Color font used to type the text.
6.Wall : Filter>Texturize. Customized the brown surface to look like a wall.
7. Graffti on Wall, used a special font. Rotated the word " Nigger" Drop shaddow effect, inner shadow, satin etc.
8. Nigger with a cross, drew it with Adobe Photoshop CS4 Paint brush.
9. Sun: Cropped.
10. Clouds: Filter.
11. The names of the sole creators : Lionell and Jing Yu: Special Font.



DONE BY:LIONELL LOH

AND LIM JING YU

Tankersftw<---Clickehereforduboseppt

Below is the link for the image and our PPT, Tableaux. Enjoy!