Do we need mega-sized food?

I was quite shocked when I saw this on the MacDonald's menu recently, look at the size of it! And after a while, I started seeing Burger King having huge burgers like these too, and with the new 'prosperity' burger MacDonalds came up with this holiday season, they decided to mega-sized it too.

I hope you guys know that fast food is processed food that is as unhealthy as it can get. To make that burger patty, meat parts has been minced up and all sorts of things added into it makes it a terrible food for nourishment and nutrition. And now they are trying to get you to eat 4 patties at one go, that's real madness! Don't fall for it!

Have a Happy New Year!

Hey everyone, hope your new year break was good! It wasn't a nice one for me at all, as for the other teachers, as we got lots to do; but at least I got to visit relatives of my extended family as usual, and had a good reunion dinner.

At different times, I had different feelings with regards to the New Year. When I was much younger, it was a happy time because I get to stuff myself with nice food and was delighted to get the ang baos, but after a while I thought that it was a rather boring holiday as there's no place to go after all that visiting (except to watch movies), and I couldn't understand why we have to go from house to house to visit, sitting there watching TV while waiting for the adults to finish their conversations. Do you think alike too?

But now that I'm sort of grown up already, I am starting to appreciate it all over again. Over the years I only see my cousins once a year during this time, and I realise I missed out on seeing them grow up. At least this holiday gives me a chance to stay in contact with them. Trust me, you will appreciate these traditional Chinese customs as you grow older!

Obama Inauguration!

Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, just had his first day at work yesterday. His inauguration ceremony (to make him a president) was one of the most watched event on TV on 20th January, and tickets for it were sold out in minutes.

Even I feel excited about him being president! We all should be, even though we are not Americans. His election showed that world that most of America has looked beyond racial differences to elect their first Black president, and it is a victory for democracy and meritocracy.

Let's hope it will be a smarter, more tolerant, and more environmentally-conscious world with more presidents like him!

Romeo and Juliet movie screening

Ok classes, I'm going to try show you the movie version of Romeo and Juliet, featuring the dashing Leonardo Di Caprio and the angelic Claire Danes. I am thinking of next week's Wednesday the 28th, as there are no CCAs on Wednesdays. I have to see if I can book a room for that though. Think it's a good idea/date? Let me know!

Can we think without words?

From Thirty Days to a More Power Vocabulary

Wilfred Funk and Norman Lewis

The study of words is not merely something that has to do with literature. Words are your tools of thought. You can’t even think at all without them. Try it. If you are planning to go downtown this afternoon you will find that you are saying to yourself ”I think I will go downtown this afternoon.” You can’t make such a simple decision as this without using words.

Without words you could make no decisions and form no judgments whatsoever. A pianist may have the most beautiful tunes in his head, but if he had only five keys on his piano he would never get more than a fraction of these tunes out.

Your words are your keys for your thoughts. And the more words you have at your command the deeper, clearer and more accurate will be your thinking.

A command of English will not only improve the processes of your mind. It will give you assurance; build your self-confidence; lend color to your personality; and increase your popularity.

Your words are your personality. Your vocabulary is you. Your words are all that we, your friends, have to know and judge you by. You have no other medium for telling us your thoughts – for convincing us, persuading us, giving us orders.

Count Dracula

Some of you guys were asking me about the story ofp Dracula, and why he is a 'Count'. First of all, a 'Count' is a nobleman, people of the higher classes or the royalty, and it comes from the French word comte.

The story Dracula was modelled after a Romanian ruler called Vlad III, or more commonly as Vlad the Impaler. To cut a long story short, he was extremely cruel has a habit of executing any prisoners he takes in war by impaling them on tall stakes. In Romania's history, there was already legends of people who are 'undead', and this English writer Bram Stoker uses Vlad's nickname 'Vampire' to create this legend.

Dracula starts with a man called Jonathan Harker who goes to Count Dracula's castle to handle a property deal, but eventually, he find that the Count doesn't allow him to leave, and notices that he does not have reflections in mirrors and can climb down the steep walls of the castle like a bat. He also finds other vampires in the castle, but was saved from them by Dracula himself. After he escapes, his fiancee helped him recover from the trauma but she herself was bitten. With the help of scientist Van Helsing, they eventually managed to kill Dracula.

Interesting thing is, why would an English writer have the idea of writing a story about a Romanian monster? It was because at that time, Western Europe started to feel threatened by the Eastern European citizens, who started to migrate in to work and live. The story reflects the fear and suspicion that the English have of these strange people, by showing them as being weird gypsies and blood (money) suckers, to put it simply.

Should we start school later?

Now you all know I have not been a teacher for very long, and although I have by and large enjoyed my experiences of being with you all, there are some things that I am not used to, like having to wake up at 6am. I cannot stand my friends who complain about having to wake up 'early' for work when they only have to wake up at 8am.

Two days ago, a journalist of the Straits Times wrote an article to suggest that school starts later so that students can get smarter! Yes, it's actually old news that more sleep makes you more able to absorb information better, hence the 'smartness' increase.

I'll love to have that happen, because the truth is I'm a natural late sleeper and always sleep at midnight, so I'm not actually very energetic that early in the morning. And of course, if we start school at 9am, I can have time for a proper breakfast too (which also contributes to IQ!), and recess break will be just at lunchtime.

Would you like that? Why or why not?

Ptolemy

Ptolemy was an ancient mathematician, astronomer, geographer and astrologer who was born in Roman Egypt.

He created astronomical charts to map out the paths of planets in motion, and establishes the Ptolemaic worldview where the earth is the center of the universe.

He also drew geographical maps of the lands discovered during his time, helping to establish the use of coordinates (latitudes and longitudes) in mapmaking. Above shows a world map that he created, and the map below is one of Southeast Asia (which is quite accurate isn't it?).

He also wrote about astrology and horoscopes which had an influences on religion. Isn't it amazing that ancient people can be so knowledgeable in so many different ways? Leonardo Da Vinci, was such a person too, and he was a scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer! We call these people polymaths.

Third-hand smoking!

We all know (I hope) that there's such a thing as second-hand smoke, which you get when you hand around smokers and breath in the smoke. This is actually supposed to be more toxic and poisonous than the smoking yourself, so we have learnt to stay far far away from cigarette smoke.

And now scientists tells us that there's third-hand smoke! Poisonous particles can stay on a smoker's clothes, hair and surrounding, which makes it dangerous for children who pick up things to suck or lick. Even breathing near such area can inhale these poisons!

Run for your lives (literally) if you see the smoke coming!

Why vulgarities should not be used in the classroom

I have been asked to provide an example of an argument by Lincoln, and he has very kindly helped to provide me a topic to argue about, so here it is!

Thesis Statement -
Vulgarities should not be used in the classroom because it is not appropriate to use crude languages in the school, or any where else, if we want to be responsible citizens of the society.

• Crude languages do not have a place in academic institutions

Students come to school to acquire good language skills, and it is definitely not helpful for students to pick up and use crude languages in class. At times when students might be upset, the school will always want any arguments or quarrels to be resolved in a calm and controlled manner by everyone involved. At no times will crude languages and vulgarities help to solve arguments, as they are only used to cause irritation or to intimidate.

• Every student have the right to a safe learning environment

Students come to school to learn, and a safe learning environment is necessary to make that possible; that includes taking care of both the physical and emotional health of all students. The use of vulgarities is by its nature a threatening gesture for those who hear it, and therefore it must not be allowed in the school. Using vulgarities will be seen as an act of bullying and gangsterism by the school for that reason.

• Using vulgarities will not reflect well on the student's character

Students also aim to be educated in moral character in school, and that has to come with discipline and learning what is good conduct and actions. The use of vulgarities, being offensive in school, is not permitted and therefore no students should be heard uttering them. The deliberate use of vulgarities despite the rules will show that the offender is defiant, and not of good conduct and character.

It also shows up the low level of maturity of the utterer, who have to resort to the use of crude words when they get upset or angry emotionally. They do not have discipline and self-control to control their own temper and feelings, and do not know how to resolve issues or release pent-up emotions in a proper manner.

• Using vulgarities affect your ability to integrate into society as a responsible citizen

Because students who use vulgarities show that they are not of good character, it will be hard for society to accept them as responsible citizens who knows how to live and work with other people amiably. Society in general will not want to accept people who are abusive, threatening, or who uses derogatory words to insult other people, as these people do not show that they have virtues and good values to be able to get along well with others.

Conclusion
Therefore, there is no place for vulgarities and crude words in the school because it is an academic institution and all students should aspire to be exemplary in conduct. Using vulgarities reflects poorly on a person's choice of language, self-discipline, control of emotions, character and moral values.

Shakespeare sonnets!

Again, do visit www.nosweatshakespeare.com to read more sonnets. To revise:

• It has 14 lines, with alternate rhyming lines
• It is supposed to have 3 quatrains (means every four lines are put together), and one couplet (2 lines together) right at the end.

Basically, the quatrains tells the story while the couplets is a sort of conclusion, or final say from the poet. Strangely, the first 17 sonnets asks the young man whom the poet is referring to to have children, while sonnet number 18-126 expresses love to a young man! Maybe Shakespeare is imagining that he is a girl when he was writing them.

*Information from Wikipedia

The last lecture

The last lecture was a worldwide hit because I think many people are inspired by his spirit and at the same time feel sorry that such a fine man had his life ended early.

In the lectures and the book itself, he talks about how he got these dreams of playing football, writing an entry in an encyclopedia, floating in zero gravity, being a part of Disney etc, and how one by one, he managed to achieve them.

What makes him such an inspiration is that he is eager to show other people, people like us who read about him, how to have the attitude to achieve our own dreams. How to try over and over again if you really want something - because the obstacles we met are only there to separate those who really want it from those who don't want it hard enough.

Do you have dreams that you want to fulfill? Why not write them down and try your best to achieve them?

Does Shakespeare have any living descendants?

William Shakespeare has passed away almost 400 years ago (393 years to be exact), and we wonder, is he the ancestor of someone still living today?

Turns out that the answer is no; Shakespeare does not have any living descendants in the world. But apparently Shakespeare sister does!

On Money

Remember in class I was talking about Literature as being "excellent writing expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest"? It's interesting that money was mentioned - I think we all know that in most society today, money is a big thing in everyone's life. People can lie, cheat, fight, and die to get it, and money very much equals to survival in our world today.

But it didn't used to be like this. There was a time when money wasn't invented. Before money came, people exchanged goods and services, and that was 'barter trading'. Then people started using different things to represent value, anything from salt, barley, seashells, silk, cows and of course precious metals, or whatever that culture believes is valuable. *

But then a cow can't live forever, and salt can dissolve away in water and silk can get torn. So people started using metals, which are rare and shiny and nice. Then to make things easier to carry around, paper money was finally invented.

So. The interesting thing is that in rural areas of certain countries, people still do barter trading because there's not much of a market for them to buy and sell things. If you're a hunter and occasionally need some clothes, you can just exchange your hunt for some. You don't have to do hard work just to get some paper money.

50 million dollar notes

And then there are places with economies so bad that their money is worthless. Zimbabwe is so poor that it lacks many necessities, people have no jobs and there's also no goods to buy. $100,000 probably isn't enough to buy toothpaste, for the Zimbabweans.

Multi-million dollar sweets

You need a bundle to eat at a restaurant! Pictures from Pictzz

We should be glad Singapore has a strong economy, we can buy things like electronic gadgets cheaply because of that, and holidays to many places are not as expensive too.

*Part of the information from Wikipedia

Hello world!

I'm glad you made it here!

Thanks for being curious enough to visit, and I hope you come back again and again and again...

Basically, I want to use this blog to show you more about things that I talk of in class , and I'm sure they are as fascinating to you as they are to me! If you want to find out something, anything trivial or whatever, just let me know and I'll help you on that!

Keep reading!