YOG - Tickets sold out, but seats empty?

As all of us know, Singapore is now hosting the first ever Youth Olympic Games. However, surely we would have noticed that the yog venues are always half-empty when we watch the games on television? And this is despite the fact that the Singapore YOG Organizing Committee had recently announced the majority of the tickets have been sold out.

It turns out that the MOE had bought tickets from the market and distributed them to students who were 'willing' to go. In fact, some students had been coerced by their schools to attend the games and generate 'support' for it. However, some of these students leaves the games early after having their attendance taken - resulting in the half-filled stadiums we see everyday.

I find the organizing committee's actions deplorable. Though I am not too sure about what really happened, I feel that even if there was poor response to ticket sales, they should just continue selling them to the public, instead of using such methods to generate fake support. The tickets should be left for those who really want to watch the games and cheer Singapore on. On the other hand, the students should not be made to attend the games against their wishes. I hope that they could rectify this problem as soon as possible.

However, no matter what happens, i believe that it is a great achievement for a small country like Singapore to host such a world-class event and it has been very entertaining so far. Just as i was writing this post, i realised that Singapore had just won another medal. I think we have done very well in this event and hope that Singapore could keep it up:)

Independent Studies in HCI - My thoughts about it

Well, during the principal's dialogue on Tuesday, our topic for discussion was about the new subject, Independent Studies. It consists of 50% from our project's day grades and the other half from ACE(I think). As the dialogue went on, i seemed to be getting even more anxious by the second. If you fail your independent studies, you would have to go to 3Q, how scary was that? TO make matters worse, I had done badly in this year's projects day. I could not make it past the semi-finals. Then, i thought about the Ace i have done for this term - virtually none. I was getting worried. However, I would be safe if i managed to max my ace. However, what about the people who did very badly for projects day? They could not even make the grade even if they maxed their ace? Isn't switching them to the Q class too harsh on them? I think that the IS grade should be included in the overall msg, without it having such huge importance by itself. By including it in the msg for sec 2s, we could try to pull down our msg through other subjects, rather then the decision being made after evaluating one subject alone. Isn't that too harsh?

Term 3 tests over!

Today, we took our last test for term 3 - history. Over the past few days, there were tests in almost every subject- math, biology, LA and some others. Some were quite easy some were not. I haven't studied so hard for ages. After the tests were over, i felt relieved. For the past week i had spent so much time studying for these tests. I just hope i did well in the tests.But for now, i can finally take a break and of course, start doing my ACE.

Merchant of Venice

This term, our class is having Literature lessons regarding the play, "Merchant of Venice", written by none other than William Shakespeare. I have read some parts of the book but, to be honest, I don't understand much at all! I sort of understand the storyline but some things said by the character are hard to understand. Luckily, the book has helped us with this problem, by explaining what each phrase or word mean at the adjacent page.
The book seems interesting, I heard of the storyline before but i don't know where. My favourite character in the book so far is Antonio. Who would take up such a huge loan just for a friend? One of the main themes of the book seems to be prejudice. However, it seems that the prejudice in this book is different from that in To Kill A Mockingbird. In MOV, the prejudice portrayed is more of religious prejudice rather than racial.
I look forward to analyzing the play in class and hope that it is as interesting as it seems to be at first glance.

Rainbow Death

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!

Hubert Wilson

Background Information

This poem speaks of the use of 'Agent Orange' in the Vietnam War that has caused appalling death and suffering – not only to its intended victims, the Vietnamese people, but also the service personnel that used or even just came into contact with it.
According to Wikipedia, 'Agent Orange' is the code name for a herbicide and defoliant—contaminated with TCDD—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.[1]

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.

This poem reminds us that the detrimental effects of modern warfare may still linger on despite the war itself being over.

The author himself was also affects by 'Agent Orange'.
He said,"
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 southeast 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."

Home Learning Task 2- Children in the Darkness

Children in the Darkness


There are children in the darkness
Who have not seen the light
There are children in the darkness
Who someone will teach to fight

Chalk and blackboards will not be
To this door there is no key
From this life they can not flee
And these children are not free

Could we simply light a candle
Could we give them half a chance
Could we teach them how to read
Could we teach them how to dance

Or will a war consume them
Their body and their soul
Will their life and blood be poured
Down some endless thirsty hole

Back into the darkness
From which there is no flight
Back into the darkness
Into which there shines no light
Henry M Bechtold


Point of view
The point of view in this poem is that of an adult who understands the plight of these children and the horrors of war. He also desperately want to free the children of these their lives engulfed in war and gives them hope and happiness. This could be seen from stanza 4, which describes the horrors of war. The repeated use of 'could we' in stanza 3 seems to be convey the message that there is a need for us to help these children.

Situation and Setting
The setting of poem is in Vietnam, where children were taught how to fight and then harshly sent to war and more often than not, to their deaths. It would also be hard for them to escape this sort of life. Stanza 1 line 4 - 'who someone will teach to fight' tells us that the children were given basic training. It could be inferred from Stanza 2 ' there is no key' and 'are not free' that the children were unable to escape the horrors of war and that they have no freedom. 'their life and blood be poured down some endless thirsty hole' shows that the children usually died through the course of war and lives would continue to be lost in the 'endless thirsty hole'.

Language/Diction
The rhyme in this poem mostly follows the ABAB form.
Stanza 1:Darkness/Darkness, light/fight
Stanza 2:be/flee, key/free
Stanza 3:chance/dance
Stanza 4:soul/hole
Stanza 5:flight/light

Personal Response
After reading the poem, I feel children are innocent and that they should not be dragged into wars. It is not worth throwing away their lives away just for their country. War is harmful to the society and should be avoided.

Home Learning Task 1- Children in the Darkness

Children in the Darkness


There are children in the darkness
Who have not seen the light
There are children in the darkness
Who someone will teach to fight

Chalk and blackboards will not be
To this door there is no key
From this life they can not flee
And these children are not free

Could we simply light a candle
Could we give them half a chance
Could we teach them how to read
Could we teach them how to dance

Or will a war consume them
Their body and their soul
Will their life and blood be poured
Down some endless thirsty hole

Back into the darkness
From which there is no flight
Back into the darkness
Into which there shines no light

Henry M Bechtold

This poem was written by Henry M Bechtold in 2009, when he was in Vietnam. He had always enjoyed his trips to Vietnam, so much that he even describes it as his mistress. He first visited Vietnam in 1967 and again in 1969, 2003,2006 and 2009.However, there were times when what he saw in Vietnam breaks his heart. Initially, he was planning to write on the treatment suffered by the girls working in the park. However, he then saw a picture of a young boy with a helmet and an automatic rifle while watching the news in his hotel room. Thus, he got the inspiration for this poem, letting his emotions flow.