North Korea

In the news a few days ago, one particular piece of news aroused my curiosity. It seems that just recently North Korea opened its doors to tourism and allowed outsiders to travel there. This is surprising as North Korea has always been seen as mysterious, dangerous. No one knew what went on behind the scenes as North Korea had stopped all communication with the outside world before now.

The history of North Korea is not exactly very bright. Like many other countries, North Korea had been through many devastating wars. The most famous one, or should I say, infamous one was the Korean War. What sparked off the war? The war started because the Allies split Korea into North Korea and South Korea at the conclusion of the Pacific War. It ended 3 years later but there was no official peace between North and South Korea.

Not long after, North Korea started to research on Nuclear technology, both for reactors and warfare in as early as 1956.

So now we have some background information on North Korea's history. North Korea is a strictly communist country. Although opened for tourism, there are still many rules for tourists. For example, one cannot imitate the posture and action of the North Korean leader while taking photos. Also, one cannot take photos of pictures of the leader.

This makes us question the mindset of the leader. Why would he want to open up for tourism if he would set so many rules for the tourists? For money? That would be the most obvious answer. There are many possible reasons, and I shall list them down.

1. For money
2. To improve North Korea's public impression
3. To improve North Korea's impression on the powers so to reduce the lock-down that the powers are putting on her.

These are some of the possible reasons. What do you think?

Intrapersonal: Who would you like to be friends with in the novel?

I would like to be friends with Arthur Radley (Boo). This is because Arthur Radley is a very kind and gentle person, as evident in the instances where he showed care to Scout and Jem. For example, once Jem sneaked to the Radley house at night and lost his pants there. When he went back and got it, the pants were folded neatly and had been sewn crudely. It could not have been Nathan Radley, the other person in the house because he had attempted to kill him with a shotgun. Also, during the fire, Arthur Radley put a blanket around Scout when she was standing along the road looking at the fire. This shows that Arthur Radley is a good and kind person and therefore I would like to be friends with him.

Naturalist: Habitat of Mockingbirds and the flora and fauna of Maycomb

Description

The Northern Mockingbird, a medium-sized songbird, is dull gray above with paler underparts. The white outer tail feathers of the long tail and white wing patches are visible in flight.

Life History

Mockingbirds are one of the most commonly noticed birds in the state. They are either applauded for their audaciousness or cursed for their persistence in nocturnal singing or in the defense of their territory. Insects, fruit, crustaceans and small vertebrates make up the mockingbird's diet. The fact that they enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables hasn't exactly made them gardeners' friends either, although they do eat lots of insects.

Mockingbirds are found in just about every habitat type in the state. The males' territoriality and constant singing and displaying during the breeding season make them the most noticeable bird in Texas. Often this territoriality takes on the form of early morning singing sessions or diving attacks on other animals or people!

Unmated male mockingbirds sing more than mated ones, and only unmated males sing at night. Both sexes sing in the fall to claim winter feeding territories. These areas are often different than their spring breeding territories. Mockingbirds mimic 50 other bird's songs. They have also been known to imitate other sounds they hear such as rusty hinges, whistling, cackling hens, and dogs barking so expertly that even an electronic analysis could not tell the difference between the mockingbird and the original. Scientists have found that female mockingbirds are attracted to males that can make the most different sounds.

Habitat

Mockingbirds are one of the few birds found in every kind of habitat, from desert to forest to city.

Distribution

The northern mockingbird is distributed widely and it has extended its range much farther north in recent years. They range throughout North America from southern Canada south to Mexico. They even have been introduced and established in Hawaii. Mockingbirds live year-around across Texas.

Above is what I got from the internet (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/mockbird/). According to the source above, Mockingbirds live everywhere in the United States, not just limited to a specific area like Maycomb. It is found in every kind of habitat, from deserts to city to forests, so it is very hard to determine why it would live in someplace like Maycomb.

Now, about the flora and fauna in Maycomb. From what I know of Mockingbirds, it is hard to determine what kind of flora exists in Maycomb. However, from the diet of Mockingbirds, I can deduce that there would be shrubbery, thickets and bushes in Maycomb. This is because the Mockingbirds' main diet is fruits, vegetables, insects and small vertebrates, which live in shrubbery and bushes. There also could be fruit-yielding plants around Maycomb because Mockingbirds enjoy fresh fruits.

Gambling

I condemn the construction of the casino in Singapore. I believe that having a casino, or in any way make gambling more convenient for the people is not good. After discussing with my mother, we have came up with this comclusion that Singapore should not build a casino, because gambling is bad, as many people do not or have little self discipline and get themselves sunk in gambling and become compulsive gamblers who gamble and lose most, if not all of their money and have huge debts.
Also, the existence of compulsive gamblers would result in family problems, the gamblers' families breaking up, and divorces. All that would result in some form of social disorder. The gamblers would spend a lot of time in casinos, getting themselves fired and that would be bad for the country's economy, leading to more casinos being built to gain revenue. That would lead to more compulsive gamblers, making this a vicious cycle.
Also, Jonny W., a compulsive gambler, says he lost almost everything to a gambling addiction — his wife, his money, and the life he once knew. He started to cross the line when he starts winning when he only wants to increase his income. Winning, not losing, is the first part that makes a gambler become a compulsive gambler.
Therefore I comdemn the construction og Singapore's casino.

My Favourite Poet

He was a cartoonist, playwright, poet, performer, recording artist, and Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated songwriter. Who, you may ask, have this much titles? Who, you may ask, have this much titles but you can't put a name on? He is Shel Silverstein, who have passed away in May, 1999. He was best known for his iconic books of prose and poetry for young readers. His works include Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back (1963), The Giving Tree (1964), A Giraffe and a Half (1964), The Missing Piece (1976), and The Missing Piece Meets the Big O (1981). There's also his immensely popular poetry collections but I won't name the books because that would mean I'm using examples to fill up my 400 words.
Some background information: Shel Silverstein was born on September 25, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois and began writing and drawing at a young age.
I chose him as my favourite because he is the only poet whose poems I can understand fully without external help. His poems had a deft mixing of the sly and the serious, the macabre, and the just plain silly. His poem collections never fail to captivate and surprise me. His poems are not just beloved by children, they are read and loved by adults too.
Three Poems By Shel Silverstein:

1). If the World Was Crazy

If the world was crazy, you know what I'd eat?
A big slice of soup and a whole quart of meat,
A lemonade sandwich, and then I might try
Some roasted ice cream or a bicycle pie,
A nice notebook salad, an underwear roast,
An omelet of hats and some crisp cardboard toast,
A thick malted milk made from pencils and daisies,
And that's what I'd eat if the world was crazy.

If the world was crazy, you know what I'd wear?
A chocolate suit and a tie of eclair,
Some marshmallow earmuffs, some licorice shoes,
And I'd read a paper of peppermint news.
I'd call the boys "Suzy" and I'd call the girls "Harry,"
I'd talk through my ears, and I always would carry
A paper umbrella for when it grew hazy
To keep in the rain, if the world was crazy.

If the world was crazy, you know what I'd do?
I'd walk on the ocean and swim in my shoe,
I'd fly through the ground and I'd skip through the air,
I'd run down the bathtub and bathe on the stair.
When I met somebody I'd say "G'bye, Joe,"
And when I was leaving--then I'd say "Hello."
And the greatest of men would be silly and lazy
So I would be king...if the world was crazy.


2). Where the Sidewalk Ends

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.


3). Sick

"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more--that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut--my eyes are blue--
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke--
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb.
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is. . .Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"

Taken from Poets.org

Figurative language in Poems

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.

Figurative language used:
"And there the moon-bird rests from his flight" Metaphor and personification is used. The moon-bird represents the moon and his flight means the flight path of the moon in the sky.

"Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow" Asphalt flowers represents the asphalt roads, and the flowers represent how common asphalt is in the city, like flowers in the countryside.

"There is a place where the sidewalk ends" Where the sidewalk ends is a symbol which symbolises the place where the endless roads and all the things in a city ends, for example a countryside, there is no roads, buildings and naturally no sidewalks. The author used sidewalks because sidewalks are more familiar to children, as the roads are a place of danger to them.

"Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black" The place where the smoke blows black is the city, most likely the industrial area as all the pollution, which is the smoke, comes from. so naturally the 'place' is a city.


Why I like this poem:
This poem instills an emotion of longing for natural things, the grass, the sun and all that that a child would have in a city covered with smoke from the cars and factories. The poem repeats about the chalk-white arrows and the walking measured and slowed. That gives me a sense that the children will get to where the arrows are pointing and out of where the smoke blows black. Also, the poem is short and easy to understand, and I never liked long poems, mostly because I won't be able to understand it.

If many people think something is true, is it true?

If everyone else thinks dragons exist, would you? If you know that they do not exist but everyone else thinks otherwise, would you believe them? Would dragons really exist? Therefore, I believe that if many people think something is true, it is true IF it is a scientific fact. If not, or if it have not been proven yet, we should prove it scientifically, or alert the group of people that they are wrong if that something is fiction. But how would you know if that something is fiction or fact?

Of course, there’s still the part about opinions. If many people believes that something is true, and you don’t, does that mean you are wrong and they are right? It could be different opinions. In that case, there are three different possibilities. One being both are wrong, another being one wrong and the other, correct, and the last one being both are correct in different ways. But how would you know if something is fact or fiction? How do you know all this is real? Opinions, facts, even fiction, are all what we see of this world. But what is real to us, how do you know it is not fiction to other sentient beings?

Take the example of Gods. There are many people in the world who believe in Gods, but do they really exist? Those people seem to think so. If you pray, and a ‘miracle’ happens (I’m not a believer), is it really an act of a God? Or is it just a coincidence? Not everyone gets their prayers answered you know. You would not know if Gods really exist, or if they exist and we don’t. Therefore, you can’t tell if something is true even if many people think it’s true.