“I never read reviews because if you believe the good ones you have to believe the bad ones too. I was always prepared for success but that means that I have to be prepared for failure too.” This is a quote from an interview with Shel silverstein, the well-known poet in the world.
Shel silverstein was born in Chicago in 1930, 25th September. He became a cartoonist for the U.S. Army publication Stars and Stripes during his army service and attracted notice since then. After his service, he began to draw cartoons for magazines such as Look, Sports Illustrated, and This Week. However, it was only when he joined Playboy magazine that his fame shot up and he was known world wide. From then on, he embarked on his journey to become a composer, singer, cartoonist, illustrator and an author.
I think I like him because of many reasons. One of them is that he is humble. He does not brag and does not “think about his image”. In fact, he wanted people to be inspired by him. The most important thing is to be humble. Being overly proud will blind you from reality and lead you to failure eventually. Being humble is the key to success as you are continuously learning from others.
Secondly, I like the way Shel silverstein writes his poem. He has a unique style in writing and his poems are brimmed with feelings. For example, in the poem “Where the sidewalk ends”, he strongly convey to us to get away from the “place where the smoke blows black and the dark street winds and bends.” This poem tells us to free ourselves from the world full of pollution and go to the beautiful place where the sidewalk ends. He feels that we should not be corrupted and instead has the innocence of a child.
The poems he wrote are filled by emotions and feelings and by reading the words, I can even picture the scenario in the poem. Shel Silverstein is indeed a talented and inspirational writer and I hope to come across more of his poems.
Three poems by Shel silverstein
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
The explanation of this poem is above. Nevertheless, here is a short recap. This poem tells us that we are corrupted and to step out of this polluted world into a beautiful world where the sidewalk ends.
Messy Room by Shel Silverstein
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!
This poem is humorous and relatively easy to understand. However, it can also be viewed as a critique of modern society, saying that people often blame people for what we have done or hate about ourselves.
Hug O'War
I will not play at tug o' war.
I'd rather play at hug o' war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins.
This poem shows Shel silverstein optimistic and gentle character. He makes people think of a world where everybody co-operates and live together happily, where there are no fighting and quarrelling.
Reference:
1)http://www.answers.com/topic/shel-silverstein
2)http://kyleysenglishblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/where-sidewalk-ends.html
3)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shel_Silverstein
4)http://faculty.weber.edu/chansen/humanweb/projects/MeghanUng/poems.htm
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
IT lesson 1
Life Is Fine by Langston Hughes
I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.
I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If that water hadn't a-been so cold
I might've sunk and died.
But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!
I took the elevator
Sixteen floors above the ground.
I thought about my baby
And thought I would jump down.
I stood there and I hollered!
I stood there and I cried!
If it hadn't a-been so high
I might've jumped and died.
But it was High up there! It was high!
So since I'm still here livin',
I guess I will live on.
I could've died for love--
But for livin' I was born
Though you may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry--
I'll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.
Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!
There are uses of figurative language in the poem.
Example of hyperboles in this poem would be ‘But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!’ and ‘But it was High up there! It was high!’ The writer repeated the feelings to exaggerate the feeling of coldness and how high it was respectively.
As for similes, there is ‘fine as wine’. This is linking life to wine, which is normally nice to people who like it. By saying ‘Life is fine! Fine as wine!’, the writer is trying to say that in the end he felt that life is good.
Last but not least, there is symbolism. The cold water symbolizes that life is harsh and there will be times that we feel that we are unable to go on living. This symbolizes that the person’s who wants to commit suicide grief in life.
2. I like this poem because it is very meaningful. It teaches us not to give up and to push forward even if life seems to be weighing down on you. The person in the poem who wants to commit suicide cannot bring himself to do so because a part of him still holds on to life no matter what happens. When he wanted to drown himself, he couldn’t do it because he felt the cold and decided not to. When he wanted to end his life by jumping off a building, once again he couldn’t bring himself to do it because of the height. If he really wanted to stop living, he would have just let go of his feelings and just do it, which he didn’t. Although he was very unhappy about the things going on around him, he still had a strong will to life on for the sake of her child. This shows that everyone will struggle throughout life, but that we will always have hope within us.
Thank you
I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.
I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If that water hadn't a-been so cold
I might've sunk and died.
But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!
I took the elevator
Sixteen floors above the ground.
I thought about my baby
And thought I would jump down.
I stood there and I hollered!
I stood there and I cried!
If it hadn't a-been so high
I might've jumped and died.
But it was High up there! It was high!
So since I'm still here livin',
I guess I will live on.
I could've died for love--
But for livin' I was born
Though you may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry--
I'll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.
Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!
There are uses of figurative language in the poem.
Example of hyperboles in this poem would be ‘But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!’ and ‘But it was High up there! It was high!’ The writer repeated the feelings to exaggerate the feeling of coldness and how high it was respectively.
As for similes, there is ‘fine as wine’. This is linking life to wine, which is normally nice to people who like it. By saying ‘Life is fine! Fine as wine!’, the writer is trying to say that in the end he felt that life is good.
Last but not least, there is symbolism. The cold water symbolizes that life is harsh and there will be times that we feel that we are unable to go on living. This symbolizes that the person’s who wants to commit suicide grief in life.
2. I like this poem because it is very meaningful. It teaches us not to give up and to push forward even if life seems to be weighing down on you. The person in the poem who wants to commit suicide cannot bring himself to do so because a part of him still holds on to life no matter what happens. When he wanted to drown himself, he couldn’t do it because he felt the cold and decided not to. When he wanted to end his life by jumping off a building, once again he couldn’t bring himself to do it because of the height. If he really wanted to stop living, he would have just let go of his feelings and just do it, which he didn’t. Although he was very unhappy about the things going on around him, he still had a strong will to life on for the sake of her child. This shows that everyone will struggle throughout life, but that we will always have hope within us.
Thank you
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Book review 2 -- Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
Book read: Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
A different childhood
When I compare my childhood with that of Eragon’s, I feel that I lead a dull and boring life. In this novel, Eragon faces many adventures and even found a dragon’s egg in the first book. Although he faces many life threatening situations, he was still able to overcome them, either by his own determination or from other people’s help. Eragon leads an interesting life as he can meet up with elves, dwarfs and all the magical creatures. However, unlike Eragon, I lead a very uninteresting life as nothing fun and exciting has really happened to me before. Although the adventures I seek are not as dangerous as Eragon’s, the only interesting thing that happened was when I got lost in a shopping centre. Hence, I feel that Eragon is very lucky to be able to embark on such an adventure where so many exciting things await him, though some may be life threatening.
Comparison of Eragon and Galbatorix
Eragon and Galbatorix have many similarities and differences.
Needless to say, both of them are one of the few reminding dragon riders and are also very powerful and talented magicians.
However, they have a lot of differences.
Eragon is a humble person who started off as a farm boy before he found the dragon egg. However, he was not power-hungry and was very compassionate and kind. For instance, he was repulsed by killing the enemy although he had no choice. Another example is also when he did not kill Katrina’s father although he betrayed them. Eragon, being kind-hearted, only strives to help the people by eliminating Galbatorix.
On the other hand, Galbatorix is an evil and cruel king. He does not care about his soldiers’ life or death and only wants his job done no matter what. This can be shown when he made 300 of his soldiers lose the feeling of pain just to kill more of the Varden’s soldiers. He does not even find killing repulsive. Moreover, he is so power-hungry to the extent that he would go and steal the dragon’s hearts of hearts to become more powerful.
As shown above, we can see how different Eragon and Galbatorix are, although both of them are dragon riders.
Excerpt from Roran’s point of view
“Choose something- be it an emotion, image or sound and let it swell within your mind until it blocks out anything other thing”.
“That’s all?” I was taken aback by the simplicity of the task.
“It’s not as easy as you think. Go on and take a step at it. When you are ready let me know and I will see how well you have done”.
I was determined to impress my cousin, to show him that I could do this. I focused all my thoughts on my memories of Katrina and thought of nothing else. When I was ready, I flicked my fingers.
A powerful mental ray rammed into the thick wall that I had built in my mind but I stayed firm. I knew that Eragon could not break into my mind if I concentrated hard. Indeed, Eragon could not find any entrance in.
However, I accidentally shifted my left foot and the wood beneath released a harsh squeal. Momentarily distracted by the sudden noise, my concentration fell apart and the wall was immediately shattered into pieces.
Is this a good title or a bad one?
Generally, I feel that Christopher Paolini is very creative, being able to come up with such an idea. After reading this book, I feel that the title of this book is very unique and special. I say this because no one would have guessed that the title of the book would be “fire” in the ancient language. Some people even thought that the book would be named “Empire”. This is also a good title, as it has something to do with the book. Brisingr is the name of Eragon’s newly made sword which he had dreamt of getting. This sword is important as it is a dragon’s rider sword. Furthermore, Brisingr could also be the true name of that sword. Hence, Christopher Paolini decided to use this title to highlight the significance of the sword.
A different childhood
When I compare my childhood with that of Eragon’s, I feel that I lead a dull and boring life. In this novel, Eragon faces many adventures and even found a dragon’s egg in the first book. Although he faces many life threatening situations, he was still able to overcome them, either by his own determination or from other people’s help. Eragon leads an interesting life as he can meet up with elves, dwarfs and all the magical creatures. However, unlike Eragon, I lead a very uninteresting life as nothing fun and exciting has really happened to me before. Although the adventures I seek are not as dangerous as Eragon’s, the only interesting thing that happened was when I got lost in a shopping centre. Hence, I feel that Eragon is very lucky to be able to embark on such an adventure where so many exciting things await him, though some may be life threatening.
Comparison of Eragon and Galbatorix
Eragon and Galbatorix have many similarities and differences.
Needless to say, both of them are one of the few reminding dragon riders and are also very powerful and talented magicians.
However, they have a lot of differences.
Eragon is a humble person who started off as a farm boy before he found the dragon egg. However, he was not power-hungry and was very compassionate and kind. For instance, he was repulsed by killing the enemy although he had no choice. Another example is also when he did not kill Katrina’s father although he betrayed them. Eragon, being kind-hearted, only strives to help the people by eliminating Galbatorix.
On the other hand, Galbatorix is an evil and cruel king. He does not care about his soldiers’ life or death and only wants his job done no matter what. This can be shown when he made 300 of his soldiers lose the feeling of pain just to kill more of the Varden’s soldiers. He does not even find killing repulsive. Moreover, he is so power-hungry to the extent that he would go and steal the dragon’s hearts of hearts to become more powerful.
As shown above, we can see how different Eragon and Galbatorix are, although both of them are dragon riders.
Excerpt from Roran’s point of view
“Choose something- be it an emotion, image or sound and let it swell within your mind until it blocks out anything other thing”.
“That’s all?” I was taken aback by the simplicity of the task.
“It’s not as easy as you think. Go on and take a step at it. When you are ready let me know and I will see how well you have done”.
I was determined to impress my cousin, to show him that I could do this. I focused all my thoughts on my memories of Katrina and thought of nothing else. When I was ready, I flicked my fingers.
A powerful mental ray rammed into the thick wall that I had built in my mind but I stayed firm. I knew that Eragon could not break into my mind if I concentrated hard. Indeed, Eragon could not find any entrance in.
However, I accidentally shifted my left foot and the wood beneath released a harsh squeal. Momentarily distracted by the sudden noise, my concentration fell apart and the wall was immediately shattered into pieces.
Is this a good title or a bad one?
Generally, I feel that Christopher Paolini is very creative, being able to come up with such an idea. After reading this book, I feel that the title of this book is very unique and special. I say this because no one would have guessed that the title of the book would be “fire” in the ancient language. Some people even thought that the book would be named “Empire”. This is also a good title, as it has something to do with the book. Brisingr is the name of Eragon’s newly made sword which he had dreamt of getting. This sword is important as it is a dragon’s rider sword. Furthermore, Brisingr could also be the true name of that sword. Hence, Christopher Paolini decided to use this title to highlight the significance of the sword.
Book review 1 -- Star Wars Rule of Two
Book read: Star Wars Rule of Two by Drew Karpyshyn
A different childhood
When I compare my childhood with that of Darovit’s, I feel that I am very lucky and fortunate to be in such a safe country. In this novel, Darovit was one of the few survivors of the thought bomb and he had no family. Even after this unfortunate series of events, he lost his arm to his childhood cousin who was trying to save him. Darovit was very unfortunate and was not talented. Near the end of the novel, he was even driven to his death by his own cousin who took his arm. Unlike Darovit, I feel that I am very lucky to be here in Singapore, where very few riots, strikes and wars take place. I am also very fortunate to have a family who loves me unlike Darovit, who was “betrayed” by his cousin. Hence, I feel that I should treasure what I have now, lest something unfortunate happens.
Describing a character
In this novel, I would say that Zannah is very scheming and cunning. There are many instances in the novel where Zannah uses her intelligence to outwit people when she knows she cannot use her strength to beat her opponent.
For example, one of the instances is at the beginning of the novel when Darth Bane was forcing her to keep up with him. Darth Bane had expected a “more broader and basic assault” but Zannah focused on his heel, trying to trip him. This shows her cunning as a normal person would just blindly strike him without thinking.
Furthermore, Zannah knows how to exploit people’s weaknesses and using them to her own advantage. She could think of solutions for every problem she faced.
Near the end of the novel, when the Jedi were coming for them, everything seemed to be going bad for the Jedi. However, Zannah was able to turn the tables and make the Jedi go away instead. Zannah killed Caleb, hacking him into many pieces over and over. She then hid, with her master underground from Caleb's shack, and used her sorcery to drive Darovit insane. When the Jedi arrived, Darovit attacked the Jedi, making them believe that he was the Sith Lord.
From these examples, it is obvious that Zannah is very scheming and intelligent.
Excerpt from Seth’s point of view
I watched Irtanna fall in wide-eyed horror, momentarily paralyzed by all that had happened. As the girl turned to face me, fear overwhelmed me as I looked at her cold and emotionless eyes.
In an attempt to save myself, I shouted out “Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me! Please!”
However, those words did not seem to have any effect on the girl as she turned to face me. Her eyes terrified me as she pointed the blaster at me.
In a last desperate attempt to save myself, I cried out “Please don’t shoot! I’m just a kid! Like you!” I knew I had said the wrong thing as anger flashed across her face and she said in a menacing tone, “I’m not a kid! I’m a Sith”.
Then, she fired and the next moment, I was dropping into an abyss of darkness, screaming out loud as my senses were all lost.
Saving a person
If I could only save one person from the book in the event of a disaster, I would choose to save Caleb the healer. The reason why I would save Caleb is because he is a man of his words and he does his work faithfully once he has promised he will do it. Even though Darth Bane was a monster to him, when Zannah agreed to tell the Jedi they were here, he healed him and did not even tried to kill him.
Keeping to your words is very important in today’s society. If you stand by your word, you will gain other people’s trust. However, if you cheat or go back on your words, people will not trust you and have anything to do with you in the future.
A different childhood
When I compare my childhood with that of Darovit’s, I feel that I am very lucky and fortunate to be in such a safe country. In this novel, Darovit was one of the few survivors of the thought bomb and he had no family. Even after this unfortunate series of events, he lost his arm to his childhood cousin who was trying to save him. Darovit was very unfortunate and was not talented. Near the end of the novel, he was even driven to his death by his own cousin who took his arm. Unlike Darovit, I feel that I am very lucky to be here in Singapore, where very few riots, strikes and wars take place. I am also very fortunate to have a family who loves me unlike Darovit, who was “betrayed” by his cousin. Hence, I feel that I should treasure what I have now, lest something unfortunate happens.
Describing a character
In this novel, I would say that Zannah is very scheming and cunning. There are many instances in the novel where Zannah uses her intelligence to outwit people when she knows she cannot use her strength to beat her opponent.
For example, one of the instances is at the beginning of the novel when Darth Bane was forcing her to keep up with him. Darth Bane had expected a “more broader and basic assault” but Zannah focused on his heel, trying to trip him. This shows her cunning as a normal person would just blindly strike him without thinking.
Furthermore, Zannah knows how to exploit people’s weaknesses and using them to her own advantage. She could think of solutions for every problem she faced.
Near the end of the novel, when the Jedi were coming for them, everything seemed to be going bad for the Jedi. However, Zannah was able to turn the tables and make the Jedi go away instead. Zannah killed Caleb, hacking him into many pieces over and over. She then hid, with her master underground from Caleb's shack, and used her sorcery to drive Darovit insane. When the Jedi arrived, Darovit attacked the Jedi, making them believe that he was the Sith Lord.
From these examples, it is obvious that Zannah is very scheming and intelligent.
Excerpt from Seth’s point of view
I watched Irtanna fall in wide-eyed horror, momentarily paralyzed by all that had happened. As the girl turned to face me, fear overwhelmed me as I looked at her cold and emotionless eyes.
In an attempt to save myself, I shouted out “Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me! Please!”
However, those words did not seem to have any effect on the girl as she turned to face me. Her eyes terrified me as she pointed the blaster at me.
In a last desperate attempt to save myself, I cried out “Please don’t shoot! I’m just a kid! Like you!” I knew I had said the wrong thing as anger flashed across her face and she said in a menacing tone, “I’m not a kid! I’m a Sith”.
Then, she fired and the next moment, I was dropping into an abyss of darkness, screaming out loud as my senses were all lost.
Saving a person
If I could only save one person from the book in the event of a disaster, I would choose to save Caleb the healer. The reason why I would save Caleb is because he is a man of his words and he does his work faithfully once he has promised he will do it. Even though Darth Bane was a monster to him, when Zannah agreed to tell the Jedi they were here, he healed him and did not even tried to kill him.
Keeping to your words is very important in today’s society. If you stand by your word, you will gain other people’s trust. However, if you cheat or go back on your words, people will not trust you and have anything to do with you in the future.
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