Last Lesson of the Afternoon
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Last Lesson of the Afternoon- D.H Lawrence

1a. What are the persona's feelings described in the first three stanzas of this poem? Explain how the poet described these feelings through the use of alliteration, metaphor and pun.

The persona was angry as described by the literacy devices. In the first line, the word used was " weariness", it described that the lesson has been wearing down himself/herself and she yearn for it to end. Though it is not a literacy device, it still manage to describe the persona's feelings.

In the third line, metaphor was used, " My pack of unruly hounds" were referring to his class of students who were unruly, this device showed us how the teacher see his lesson and students as. On the third line, " Them again on a quarry of knowledge they hate to hunt."
The word quarry is a pun, referring to both 'prey' and 'the vastness of knowledge'. This showed what the teacher thinks about his students' attitude in learning and seeking of knowledge.
In the fifth line " I can haul them and urge them no more.", this showed that the teacher can no longer push them to learn nor urge while 'hual' is a metaphor. In the first line of the 2nd stanza, 'brunt' was used, a metaphor that depicts the teacher not being able to endure teaching his students.

On the forth line was the word 'sick', the teacher was sick and unable to carry on and he didn't see any good teaching the students and resulting himself being sick. In the third stanza , 2nd line, " My last fuel of life to heap on my soul" describes that the teacher only had a fuel of life left which refers to his energy after teacher the troublesome class of students.

In the last two lines of the third stanza, " Their dross of indifference; and take the toll. Of their insults in punishment? -I will not!- " The pun used was 'Toll' toll refer to the hardship and also the tax civilians had to pay, in this case, the teacher wanted to show that he shall no take the hardship nor pay the tax of their insults. All of it sum up to show that the teacher was angry.

1b. How is the tone of anger in this poem illustrated?


The tone of anger was illustrated mainly by the description of the students' impression to the teacher and the teachers' desires. "My pack of unruly hounds! I cannot start!" This show that the teacher thought about the students as unruly hounds and hence he could not teach. He was also angry that the students were unruly.

Puns and metaphors were also used to illustrate the tone of anger. For example, " Them again on a quarry of knowledge they hate to hunt, I can haul them and urge them no more." 'Hunt' and ' Haul' were the metaphors used, it showed that the students did not want to seek for knowledge and the hence the teacher can no longer push nor urge them anymore. The complain the teacher made illustrated the tone of anger of the poem.
The poet also wrote " I am sick, and what on earth is the good of it all?" ' Sick' is used as a metaphor to show that the teacher is tired and weak from teaching the students with a tinge of anger felt. Thirdly, " last dear fuel of life' also emphasizes on how weak the teacher had deteriorate to after teaching his unruly students. Due to his students' attitude towards learning and their behavior, the teacher became angry with them, for example, " Their dross of indifference; and take the toll. Of their insults in punishment? - I will not!- " The teacher did not want to take their insults and was angry and complaining about their attitude.


Article- Facebook get sued. OMG.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Article- Facebook get sued. OMG.


5 users sue Facebook

SAN FRANCISCO - FIVE Facebook users are suing the social network for doing what made it an online superstar - letting members share aspects of their lives on the Web.

A lawsuit filed on Monday in a southern California court accuses Facebook of being a data-mining operation that does not deliver on promises to give users strict control of data uploaded to profile pages.

Facebook has dismissed the lawsuit as being without merit and promised a legal battle. The suit asks for unspecified cash damages.

One of the parties to the suit is a woman who joined Facebook in an early phase when membership was limited to the college crowd. Then-Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004 as a way for college friends to remain connected as their lives grew apart.

The suit accuses Facebook of betraying the woman by evolving into an open social network that now claims more than 250 million members worldwide.

Other plaintiffs named in the suit are identified as a photographer and an actress who contend Facebook is wrongly sharing pictures posted on their profile pages. The remaining plaintiffs are young boys that the suit charges should not have been permitted by Facebook to join or post images or comments.

Facebook requires members to be ages 13 or older, but there is no viable tool to confirm ages of those creating accounts.

One plaintiff is an 11-year-old boy who joined Facebook and then posted that he had swine flu and uploaded pictures or video of 'partially-clothed' children swimming, according to the lawsuit.

Facebook has steadfastly maintained that its members own information they post to profile pages and control who gets to see it.

Facebook has repeatedly revised its terms of service to appease privacy concerns of users while allowing for the technical side of running a social networking service.

Last month, Facebook announced it is testing a tiered level of privacy options including 'all of your friends, your friends and people in your school or work networks, and friends of friends.' There is also an option to publicly share with everyone on the Web in what is being seen as an effort by Facebook to compete with the hot micro-blogging service Twitter. -- AFP


So, allow me to do a brief introduction of facebok. Facebook is a very popular social network teenagers like to use nowadays. Using the social network, teens can play games, do interesting quizzes, report their statuses, share pictures and videos. Hence, it is a very effective network for socializing.

However, Facebook offers to much freedom for its users. Users can do lots of things like sharing photos... One may never know if the multimedia files can be offensive or insulting. Regarding age ban, Facebook claims that they only allow people of 13 or older of age to sign up. However, the lack of restrictions has allowed many sign up despite not qualifying for the age ban. Even for me, I signed up when I was 11 years old!

In the case of the law suit, Facebook was sued as it has made a mistake, publishing others' statuses on others pages wrongly. Because of the freedom that facebook has granted users of, a mistake led to severe conseqences. In my opinion, since facebook has given users so much freedom, they should take extra caution and do not let infomation leak so easily.

Since Facebook was careless enough to let mistakes happen, I feel that they must accept the consequences. This teaches us to be careful of things and you may be one day severed by what you produce...
Favorite Food- Ji Rice, Chicken Fan

Hi everyone, today I am going to talk about my favorite food, CHICKEN RICE! Its succulent rice, and aroma drifting from the chicken pieces, along with the cooling cucumber, appetizing chilli and the hot but fragant soup! How I eat my Chicken rice is special. The steps are as follow:
1.Dip each piece of meat into the chilli.
2.Savour the chicken meat.
3.Reapeat step 1 and 2 till all the meat are finished.
4.As the rice itself is fragant, I prefer to eat it alone, with the chilli, cucumber and soup.
5. Eat the rice with the chilli and cucumber, savour it slowly.
6. Dip some into the soup if you would like it.
7. YUM... Just writing about it makes me slivialate! Off to go for lunch. Guess what I am having? Yeah!

Okay, now, I shall share with you how I fell in love with chicken rice.
My father loved to cook chicken rice for the familily in the past, however, I didn't really like the rice then, it was healthier but not as fragant. As time goes by, my dad likes to buy chicken rice for us for dinner, from different places all the time.
I tasted different standards of chicken rice, some are really bad and the amount is meagre, insufficient. Whereas some are relatively cheap, really fragant and the amount is more than enough. Not clear myself, after eating for a long time, I started to fall in love with chicken rice. I was able to understand the work behind it, the effort put in to cook it. Hence, whenever I was out, if a chicken rice stall managed to catch my eye(Well, it must have long queue and take I will take a look at its display etc), I will definitely grab a bite! Oh yeah! CHICKEN RICE.

How to differentiate good chicken rice (by looking and tasting)


1. Take a look at the chicken rice, is steam coming out? Take note that piping hot chicken rice always taste much better then chicken rice that have gone cold.
2. Smell- The rice is a important factor to chicken rice. Normally, Char Siew rice will use normal rice and no spices will be added. If the rice is good, it will smell really nice! Even to the extent of shining! LOL!
3. Take a look at the meat. Feel it. Well, for this criteria, you will need to buy the food itself. Try and feel the skin of it, nice chicken pieces will have crips when you bite it. KRSSHHH. Take note that chicken pieces with blood embedded inside are definitely substandard.

4.Drink the soup, if they provide it. Stir it, and take a look. If particles are still moving around in the soup, it is quite unhealthy as its apparent that MSG has been added.
5.Chilli. First of all, not too lumpy looking, it must not be too spicy or too blend. Too much seeds are not good. Good chilli are often appetizing.

Well, that's all. There are lots of hawkers in Singapore selling chicken rice, try any of them and give me your comments! THANK YOU.
Leonardo Da Vinci
Monday, August 17, 2009
Yo everyone. I went to the Da vinvi exhibition on Sunday. It was really amazing and fascinating. On first look, the place seemed small, however, the contents were just so well chosen and prepared for the audiences! Well, I knew that Leonardo was a real genius and some secrets of his creations. Including the mona lisa's 25 secrets. Curious? Visit the exhibition now!
Ace Project (Nothing but the truth)
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Nothing but the truth…[o be considered for ACE]
But is it the whole truth?
A Sequel to the novel, “Nothing but the truth”.
Meanwhile, Philip Malloy had just started to get use to his new school. To Philip, it was a new start, and he intended to make the very best out of it. Although Washington academy had no track and field team, he joined the choir, having been commended on his ability to sing well. However, little did he know something bad is going to befall him… It was just another day; Philip was getting ready to go to school.
[1 May 11:25A.M.]
[Short Conversation between Philip and his Mother]
Mrs. Malloy: Bye Phil, remember, your dad and I will be out for a wedding dinner tonight! Take care!
Philip: Bye Mum!
(Clad in his new uniform, Philip ambled towards his school, he happened to pass the Newspaper Booth)
[1 May 11:30A.M.]
[Conversation between Philip and the Newspaper man]
Newspaper man: Hi Philip, how’re you coping with your life? Your feud with Miss Narwin caused a stir, but I heard you’re facing a new problem…
Philip was stunned when he heard the newspaper man mentioned a new problem. As far as he was concerned, he was coping quite well. Curious, he snatched up one copy and read out aloud.
Philip Malloy: Patriotic boy gets harassed again… What?
A confused Philip was shocked to see the headline of the “News for You” paper, he reads on.
Philip Malloy: Philip Malloy, the patriotic boy who is now in his new school, Washington Academy, however, to everyone’s horror, his old school teacher, Miss Narwin harassed him again. She…
Unable to read on, he ran home in mixed feelings of anger and confusion
[1 May 7:15P.M].
[Phone Conversation between Philip and Allison Dorette]
Allison: May I speak to Philip?
Philip: I’m on the line.
Allison: Philip! Why are you doing this?
Philip: What do you mean?
Allison: You know it yourself! The article…
Philip: Hey! You mean you believed the article? I really don’t know, I didn’t do anything!
Allison: How could it be? But the article said that…
Philip: Allison! Do you believe in me?
Allison: …
Philip: I wouldn’t have committed the same mistake! I will ask my parents when they reach home!
‐Few moments of silence‐
Allison: Philip?
Philip: Hmmm?
Allison: I just want to tell you that I believe in you.
Philip: Thank you.
Allison: Good night.
Philip: Good Night
That night, Philip had an uneasy feeling. Someone was hatching a plot and only he himself knew it. Pondering over the problem, Philip patiently waits for his parents.
[1 May 10.30P.M.]
[Conversation between Philip and his Mum]
Philip: Mum! You’re finally back!
Mrs. Malloy: What happened, my dear? You looked so flustered.
Philip: It’s a long story. Just today, on my way to school, I chanced upon a piece of article which says that Miss Narwin has been harassing me once again! It’s not true and many people must be thinking that’s my problem!
Mrs. Malloy: I was too busy I didn’t read the newspaper today… May I have a look at the article please?
(Reaches out her hands to receive it from Philip)
Philip: Here it is. It’s even on the cover page! Doesn’t the press have better things to do nowadays?
(Hands the newspaper over)
Mrs. Malloy: Mmm… Certainly, something’s odd. Let’s contact Miss Narwin and seek her help. I’m certain the press is up to something again.
[2 May 8.30 A.M.]
Mrs. Malloy: Hello, may I speak to Narwin?
Miss Narwin: She is me.
Mrs. Malloy: Miss Narwin, recently, the newspaper company ,“Dogos” published an article accusing you have harassing Philip! We know that it isn’t true and thus would like to seek your cooperation in resolving the matter.
Miss Narwin: Isn’t Dogos the company that is on the verge of closing down? What’re they up to now? Alright, I’ll go over to your house in a minute. I’ll bring along a reporter to assist in our investigation.
[2 May 8.00A.M.]
Philip: *Yawns* Mom, have you contacted Miss Narwin?
Mrs Malloy: Why, Philip! She’s right here, along with the reporter, Mr Darwin!
Philip: Ah, I see. By the way, Allison offered her help for investigation. She’s coming later.
[2 May 11:00 A.M.]
[ Mass Conversation between Allison, Philip, Mrs. Malloy and Miss Narwin]
Mrs. Malloy: Sorry my husband couldn’t make it today.
Miss Narwin: It’s okay. Everyone, this is Mr. Darwin, a helpful reporter who is here to help. Mr. Darwin, this is Allison, my student, Philips and this is his mother.
Mr. Darwin: Hi all, look. As a professional journalist, I had analyzed the report thoroughly, I think it’s dubious. Usually, there should be pictures if the report makes it to the headline, adding on, there are not much quotes from both Miss Narwin and Philip. The report is made up of mainly general comments and not many details are included. Look, not even the name of the journalists is here, here, it is written that the Dogos Committee was the one who wrote it, a committee is too big, they won’t work on an article altogether.
Philips: So what are you inferring, could it be a mistake they made?
Mr. Darwin: Not likely, they should have cleared the misunderstanding by now.
Miss Narwin: So how do you think we can find out the root of the problem.
Mr. Darwin: It’s not hard, I will have a few friends check that for me, rest assured.
Allison: I am glad I believed in you Philip, you didn’t do it after all.
Philip: Yeah…By the way, what should we do in the meantime?
Miss Narwin: Concentrate on your own studies, if anyone asks you, just tell them the truth. I think I will not go out today, there must be a crowd of reporters outside my house by now.
Mrs Malloy: Dear me! Look at the time now, Philip, Allison, Don’t both of you need to go to school, hurry up!
[3 May 1P.M.]
Mr. Darwin: Alright, based on the report that my friends had given me, I found out that Dogos has been facing financial problems and is on the verge of collapsing. I have also noticed that
Dogos has took several desperate actions in order to regain fame. Hence, I believe that the article regarding Narwin and Philip is nothing but a hoax.
Philip: Mr. Darwin, how do you think we should go about solving the problem then? Should we make a police report?
Mr. Darwin: Ah… That’s what I plan to do. Other than that, I’ll contact someone to write an article about the Dogos’s plan. From there, we can exploit their lies and hopefully, resolve everything.
Philip: Could you perhaps deal with the crowd outside too?
[4 May 1.00P.M.]
Inspector: *Knocks on the door*
Philip: *Opens the door* I’m Philip. You are?
Inspector: I’m inspector Harrison and we have received a report from a man named Mr Darwin, saying that the newspaper company, Dogos, have fabricated tales about Miss Narwin harassing you. Is that true?
Philip: Yeah, come on in and have a seat.
Philip: Mum! Inspector Harrison is here.
Mrs. Malloy: Oh! Hi inspector, how may we help you?
Inspector: I am here to enquire something from Philip, as a third person that is not directly involved in this case, I am sorry but Mrs Malloy, you can’t accompany Philip, we will have to record his statements with Mrs. Margaret Narwin’s to serve as evidence before we can take any action against the Dogos Cooperation.
Mrs. Malloy: Alright, I guess that should be it.
[Recording of statements, Conversation between Inspector and Philip]
[4 May 2:00P.M.]
Inspector: Okay, Philip let’s begin with the swearing ceremony, are you familiar with it?
Philip: Never heard of it.
Inspector: Ok then, repeat after me.
Philip: Repeat after me.
Inspector: You do not have to say that, never mind. Strike up the three fingers of your left hand, that’s right. Here goes, I solemnly swear I will speak all that I know, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Philip: I solemnly swear I will speak all that I know, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
A few moments of silence
Philip: That’s all?
Inspector: That’s all.
The swearing statements somehow made Philip guilty for the rest of the day, thinking if he had done the right thing the last time…
After a few days…with the help of the media and the police force…the truth come to light. Turn out that Dogos
[7 May 9:00A.M.]
[Phone conversation between Philip and Mr. Dawson]
Philip: Is this Mr. Dawson?
Mr. Dawson: Yes, I am.
Philip: I am Philip and I don’t know how I could ever thank you for all this.
Mr. Dawson: Oh, I was just looking for you, could you give a few comments about the incident.
Philip: I…I don’t know.
Mr. Dawson: Did you mention about thanking me just now? Well, I got an idea.
Philip: What is it? I will do my best to help.
Mr. Dawson: This incident is a lesson for you, that we must always speak of the truth, nothing but the truth, get it?
Philip: I know, but‐
Mr. Dawson: No buts! Do you know that it is every unfair to Mrs Narwin when she is blamed for all that? I hope you can allow me to write about what actually happen, this is really unfair to Miss Narwin…
Philip: Ok then…
Mr. Dawson: Okay, I will come to your house tomorrow at around 10:00A.M., is that okay.
Philip: I guess so…
Mr. Dawson: That’s my boy! Goodbye and good day to you!
Philip realizes how important it was to speak of the truth at all times from then on.
And so, the sequel ends here with two articles that make it to the headline which are nothing but the truth!

[Conclusion]
This is a sequel to Nothing but the truth, to address some stuffs and to bring the truth to light.
Done by: Lionell Loh and Lim Jing Yu
Home-Learning Day 3
Thursday, July 30, 2009
3. Why is it important for students to keep up to date with the news? Share some tips on how students can keep up with what is happening around them and around the world.

It's important for students to be updated of the news so that they will be aware of what is happening around them. To be aware, they can do alot to help, or to make precautions if necessary. Students can also learn more about things around the world and gain insight by having their own reflections about each matter. They can also apply their knowledge or thoughts into projects, assignment or even exams. (GP paper?) They can also learn from articles, the condition of other countries and will grow up in the future to prove useful for Singapore.

Well, to keep updated, it's really easy. In school, during reading period, keep yourself concentrated and read the newspaper, fully utilize your 20 minutes well. Well, don't try to venture into those 'Comic' section or 'Games' section. Read headlines, world, sports and science(Saturday edition). On a non-school day, well, you must still keep yourself updated nevertheless. Spend around 20 minutes flipping through home, 20 minutes through straites time. 10 Minutes through life and the rest. And you are done! Just 50 minutes or even less! Reading newspaper can be tedious for some but entertaining for others. To look at some highlighted news, visit http://www.straitstimes.com/. If you really hate reading newspapers, you can start with a simple, more "reader-friendly" edition, 'Newpaper', well, I started reading it since I was primary 4. Last but not least, you watch the news, the newspaper has a larger coverage on news around the world but watch news on telelvision is more entertaining, its allow deeper understanding to selected news, broadcasters or whatever feel that you should know. Hard to choose between the television and the paper? Choose both then! I choose both everyday(not really =X). You will also feel proud when you share news with your peers that they never had known.

Well that's all. I end off by wish you people good luck for keeping updated.

Lionell
Tips for Students to stay healthy.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
TIPS FOR STUDENTS TO STAY HEALTHY

Well, to keep healthy, there's a couple of stuffs one must take note of. The most straightforward is to avoid contact with sickly people, so that you will not get infected too! Watch what you eat, for they say, " What you eat is what you become" eat more veggies, rice and protein rich food for bodybuilding, yaya, just refer to your food pyramid. :) Thirdly, Exercise. The right way. There are lots of ways to exercise, from the light ones, to the vigorous ones. As long as it's not too dangerous and unhealthy to your body it's alright :) Never try sprinting daily for exercise! For sprinting may spoil your ankle and it isn't very healthy and fats-burning(effective for diet), just exercise regularly for a few weeks, you will be strong enough to resist and fight against sickness! Do not stay on one spot for too long as that does not support blood circulation, like staying in front of the computer for too long a time. Sleep early, sleep long enough. Bath cleanly and then, you are done! Healthy man! Whooo. Cool. Just follow these tips, you shall be healthy. I myself->healthy! Healthy leads to Happy! Happy leads to happy go lucky. As you are healthy, good health will then support growth, you will be tall and muscular. However, we must maintain ourselves in the healthy scope for dropping back will mean an arduous climb up back to 'HEALTHY'. However, it may not be a hard thing to stay healthy, just excercise for the fun off it, like swimming with friends, playing basketball etc. It definitely won't be hard. Eating healthy maybe hard now, take note of what your parents buy for you, advise or suggest to them to buy more healthy but nice food. Cook with organic or olive oil to support healthy eating. One example of a healthy meal is wholegrain rice with salmon and veggies. Well, I think it's not bad, I myself have that for dinner. You can have it too >.<

Lionell
Thoughts about Home Learning
THOUGHTS ABOUT HOME LEARNING

I feel that home learning and actual learning has its own different pros and cons. For example, home learning is more of a, 'learn yourself' which may prove effective for diligent students. Furthermore, the need to travel from place to place no longer exists, it is traveling from sites to sites. :)Well, traveling can be a tedious matter. Most of the time, my energy was drained from traveling and hence was too tired to continue with my daily work. Computer can be efficient too. However, online learning can be an opportunity to "slack" for no teachers are monitoring. Students can take time to do a work and hence, learning is not that effective.For example, just typing this post, I had switch to a conversation in MSN for 20 plus times and played a mini game for 1 minute. Yeah, that's how it is. Furthermore, Home-learning possess more incentives for students. Gaming of course is one of them. Incentive may results in 2 outcomes, 1, increase sense of urgency, 2. Reduce the quality of work. So, to put it simply, Home Learning can be challenging and effective, but can also be distractive. However, for normal school, the range is smaller, for you can't really talk to much. 1 more thing that I experienced is the confusion caused from the different deadlines, however, I think that can be easily solved. To end it off, I feel that the result from each learning platform differs from character to character. For me, I guess school is more suitable and effective. However, home learning should never be a long term process as socializing is an important skill that needs to be nurtured nowadays.
Lionell.
ORD nite
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Well, it's ORD for our NCC NCOs. And I feel kind of sad. Like our training team have kept on saying, it's a long journey, yet short. I still can remember the day I entered HCINCC. I thought it was a joke. To me, I hated all UGs. Including NCC. (It was my 5th choice by the way) I was thinking of appealing to other EP3s then. Talk about EP3s discrimination, yup, that was what I was practicing...
However, from the 4th month onwards, I started to feel how "Zhai" the HCINCC unit was. Our PT, Drills, everything, TOP.
Well, time really flies, remember making jokes on the first day, looking at everyone, thinking that they were losers like me who had nowhere to go. However, how wrong I was! I stared to love my part, my unit, everything about HCINCC.
Okay, enough about the past, let's talk about the 'not so past', ORDNITE! Whoa. It was really fun. As the ORDIC, I felt that I have not done my job well enough. The skit that we were planning to do, presents, quite last minute, resulting in the disappointment the NCOs experienced. Due to time constrain and long participation,I could not get the part to rehearse enough. And for the presents, I was seriously unsure and unable to make decisions well. In the end, on friday itself, both me and Jian Song chiong to buy the presents. Luckily, he had enough money with him. Thanks Jian Song.

The presentation from Part As, Bs, and Cs were all quite well done (cept for Part As). I had real fun with water bombs and enjoyed the montage. From now on, I shall be more serious in my commitment towards HCINCC.
Poem.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The primary days of life…
In Primary 1 I was innocent,
Young and cute, short and chubby.
I took the school bus there.
A big building stood greeted me
Small and big kids.
Running around in the parade square.
Excitement surge in me.
I rush down to join.
In Primary 2 I was arrogant
I entered the best class
But I’m not the best child
I was the last child, in the best class.
Grades don’t make a sound to me.
Neither does my progress slip.
In Primary 3 and 4
I achieve well in math
People like me,
I like school.
I get arrogant.
People dislike me.
I hate school.
In Primary 5 and 6
Pressure arrived.
4 Letters , just 4.
No more no less.
That was what I had prepared for,
Through my primary school life.
Time was a breeze.
Without knowing, I was on the stage.
Smiling to the camera,
For I am ranked 2nd
Sweet memories
Bitter memories
I can still remember.
The days in canteen.
When we mixed vitagen and Laksa soup.
When we shoot ice with straws
When we fought with fish ball sticks.
So many, so many.
So many till I can write a book.
Titled, ‘The canteen in my school’
I remember the time,
I faked my reading challenge.
I wrote down books without reading.
So I could get an ultraman badge.
Below the character was some tiny words.
It says “Ultimate reader”
I didn’t care much about that.
I only wanted a badge.
I also remember the time,
My buddy gave me money,
To keep me quiet.
That bought me a few fishball.
Not to mention,
That we played table tennis,
Using hardcover books.
The things are just too many to mention in a poem.
I could write a series.
All about my primary days…
Ahhh…If only I could live it through again.
Never will I live it a different way.
Nothing shall change.
My favorite poet is....
Monday, June 29, 2009

RONALD DAHL! Not only does he writes nice stories, he writes fantastic poem too! His poems are way funny and it never fails to rhyme. One example is the poem in my last post, titled ' the pig' . Isn't it funny? I feel that Ronald Dahl has lots of creativity, many of his poems are funny and fresh. He put his heart and mind to write a good poem. The poem can make a reader so engrossed in the poem that he will never put his head up before he finish reading! There was one time I borrowed a book from school, and was on the bus home, the trip was supposed to be 15 minutes and never had I once miss my stop(cuz its my home.) I opened the book and read it, without knowing, I finished the whole book of poem, I looked up and was really shocked! I've been on the bus for half an hour! My gosh! Time really flies! Well, you may not believe me. Nevermind, for now, I shall introduce you to his life!

Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter, born in Wales of Norwegian parents. After serving in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace, he rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's bestselling authors. His short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, often very dark humour. Some of his most popular books include The Twits, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Witches and The BFG.



Roald Dahl was born in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales in 1916, to Norwegian parents, Harald Dahl and Sofie Magdalene Dahl (née Hesselberg). Dahl's father had moved from Norway and settled in Cardiff in the 1880s, and his mother came over to marry his father in about 1910. Roald was named after the polar explorer Roald Amundsen, a national hero in Norway at the time. He spoke Norwegian at home with his parents and sisters. Dahl and his sisters were christened at the Norwegian Church, Cardiff, where their parents worshipped.

In 1920, when Roald was still only three years old, his seven-year-old sister, Astri, died from appendicitis. Just weeks later, his father died of pneumonia at the age of 57, following grief from his daughter's death. Dahl's mother, however, decided not to return to Norway to live with her relatives, but to remain in Wales since it had been her husband's wish to have their children educated in British schools as he felt they were the best in the world.

Dahl first attended The Cathedral School, Llandaff. At the age of eight, he and four of his friends were caned by the headmaster after putting a dead mouse in a jar of sweets at the local sweet shop, which was owned by a "mean and loathsome" old woman called Mrs Pratchett (wife of blacksmith David Pratchett). This was known amongst the five boys as the "Great Mouse Plot of 1924". This was Roald's own idea.

Thereafter, he was sent to several boarding schools in England, including Saint Peter's in Weston-super-Mare. His parents had wanted Roald to be educated at a British public school and at the time, due to a then regular boat link across the Bristol Channel, this proved to be the nearest. His time at Saint Peter's was an unpleasant experience for him. He was very homesick and wrote to his mother almost every day, but never revealed to her his unhappiness, being under the pressure of school censorship. Only after her death in 1967 did he find out that she had saved every single one of his letters, in small bundles held together with green tape. He later attended Repton School in Derbyshire, where, according to his autobiography Boy, a friend named Michael was viciously caned by headmaster Geoffrey Fisher, the man who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury and crowned the Queen in 1953. This caused Dahl to "have doubts about religion and even about God".[1]

Dahl was very tall, reaching 6'6" (1.98m) in adult life,[2] and he was good at sports, being made captain of the school fives and squash teams, and also playing for the football team. This helped his popularity. He developed an interest in photography. During his years there, Cadbury, the chocolate company, would occasionally send boxes of new chocolates to the school to be tested by the pupils. Dahl himself apparently used to dream of inventing a new chocolate bar that would win the praise of Mr Cadbury himself, and this proved the inspiration for him to write his third book for children, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which was released in 1963.

Throughout his childhood and adolescent years, Dahl spent his summer holidays with his mother's family in their native Norway, mostly enjoying the fjords. His childhood and first job selling kerosene in Midsomer Norton and surrounding villages in Somerset are the subject of his autobiographical work, Boy: Tales of Childhood.

After finishing his schooling, he spent three weeks hiking through Newfoundland with a group called the Public Schools' Exploring Society (now known as BSES Expeditions). In July 1934, he joined the Shell Petroleum Company.

Following two years of training in the UK, he was transferred to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika (now Tanzania). Along with the only two other Shell employees in the entire territory, he lived in luxury in the Shell House outside Dar-es-Salaam, with a cook and personal servants. While out on assignments supplying oil to customers across Tanganyika, he encountered black mambas and lions, amongst other wildlife.[1]

(Adapted from Wikipedia)

Since you wont probably believe me, I shall present to you 3 poems from him!\



The Three Little Pigs

The animal I really dig,
Above all others is the pig.
Pigs are noble. Pigs are clever,
Pigs are courteous. However,
Now and then, to break this rule,
One meets a pig who is a fool.
What, for example, would you say,
If strolling through the woods one day,
Right there in front of you you saw
A pig who'd built his house of STRAW?
The Wolf who saw it licked his lips,
And said, "That pig has had his chips."
"Little pig, little pig, let me come in!"
"No, no, by the hairs on my chinny-chin-chin!"
"Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in!"

The little pig began to pray,
But Wolfie blew his house away.
He shouted, "Bacon, pork and ham!
Oh, what a lucky Wolf I am!"
And though he ate the pig quite fast,
He carefully kept the tail till last.
Wolf wandered on, a trifle bloated.
Surprise, surprise, for soon he noted
Another little house for pigs,
And this one had been built of TWIGS!

"Little pig, little pig, let me come in!"
"No, no, by the hairs on my chinny-chin-chin!"
"Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in!"

The Wolf said, "Okay, here we go!"
He then began to blow and blow.
The little pig began to squeal.
He cried, "Oh Wolf, you've had one meal!
Why can't we talk and make a deal?
The Wolf replied, "Not on your nelly!"
And soon the pig was in his belly.

"Two juicy little pigs!" Wolf cried,
"But still I'm not quite satisfied!
I know how full my tummy's bulging,
But oh, how I adore indulging."
So creeping quietly as a mouse,
The Wolf approached another house,
A house which also had inside
A little piggy trying to hide.
"You'll not get me!" the Piggy cried.
"I'll blow you down!" the Wolf replied.
"You'll need," Pig said, "a lot of puff,
And I don't think you've got enough."
Wolf huffed and puffed and blew and blew.
The house stayed up as good as new.
"If I can't blow it down," Wolf said,
I'll have to blow it up instead.
I'll come back in the dead of night
And blow it up with dynamite!"
Pig cried, "You brute! I might have known!"
Then, picking up the telephone,
He dialed as quickly as he could
The number of red Riding Hood.

"Hello," she said. "Who's speaking? Who?
Oh, hello, Piggy, how d'you do?"
Pig cried, "I need your help, Miss Hood!
Oh help me, please! D'you think you could?"
"I'll try of course," Miss Hood replied.
"What's on your mind...?" "A Wolf!" Pig cried.
"I know you've dealt with wolves before,
And now I've got one at my door!"

"My darling Pig," she said, "my sweet,
That's something really up my street.
I've just begun to wash my hair.
But when it's dry, I'll be right there."

A short while later, through the wood,
Came striding brave Miss Riding Hood.
The Wolf stood there, his eyes ablaze,
And yellowish, like mayonnaise.
His teeth were sharp, his gums were raw,
And spit was dripping from his jaw.
Once more the maiden's eyelid flickers.
She draws the pistol from her knickers.
Once more she hits the vital spot,
And kills him with a single shot.
Pig, peeping through the window, stood
And yelled, "Well done, Miss Riding Hood!"

Ah, Piglet, you must never trust
Young ladies from the upper crust.
For now, Miss Riding Hood, one notes,
Not only has two wolfskin coats,
But when she goes from place to place,
She has a PIGSKIN TRAVELING CASE.

Television

The most important thing we've learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set --
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we've been,
We've watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone's place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they're hypnotised by it,
Until they're absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink --
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK -- HE ONLY SEES!
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to do?
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY ... USED ... TO ... READ! They'd READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it's Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There's Mr. Rate and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They'll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.
And once they start -- oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen
They'll wonder what they'd ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.

THE CROCODILE

"No animal is half as vile
As Crocky–Wock, the crocodile.
On Saturdays he likes to crunch
Six juicy children for his lunch
And he especially enjoys
Just three of each, three girls, three boys.
He smears the boys (to make them hot)
With mustard from the mustard pot.
But mustard doesn't go with girls,
It tastes all wrong with plaits and curls.
With them, what goes extremely well
Is butterscotch and caramel.
It's such a super marvelous treat
When boys are hot and girls are sweet.
At least that's Crocky's point of view
He ought to know. He's had a few.
That's all for now. It's time for bed.
Lie down and rest your sleepy head.
Ssh. Listen. What is that I hear,
Galumphing softly up the stair?

Go lock the door and fetch my gun!
Go on child, hurry! Quickly run!
No stop! Stand back! He's coming in!
Oh, look, that greasy greenish skin!
The shining teeth, the greedy smile!
It's Crocky–Wock, the Crocodile!"

Well, that’s all! Bye!







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