Blog Response to Poem The road not taken

Personally I believe that this poem is talking about the author in a situation between two choices, and he chooses adventurously. Honestly, I think there is much more to the poem than it is. I think that by 'taking the road less travelled means to be very adventurous and exploit opportunities. The nature of this poem, is that there is no correct path. There is only the chosen path, and the other one. Thus, I infer that in life, there is not really and algorithm, but a stand. I think the sigh means he regrets it, but at the same time satisfied.

Recount

Lester heaved a sigh of frustration, staring with ill-disguised impatience at the crumpled piece of paper clutched in her hand . His frazzled hair stood out in distinct clumps as he ran his hand yet another time through it, mutter and groaning under his breath.

" How am I supposed to finish this?" Lester beseeched to no one in particular, raising his arms in supplication. " The budget is too high and we our props are lousy". I could not resist an inadvertent grin at his distraught state and lengthy rants about the lamentable lack of facilities in our school. Lester caught sight of my hastily hidden smile, frowned in silent castigation, and dragged me to an empty table, demanding that I suggest something to save him.

Despite my vigorous protests to the contrary, he compelled my capitulation through a mixture of threats and earnest pleas. At the look of resignation etched on my face, he started to regurgitate the entire process, culminating in an unrestrained vociferous exclamation at the impending deadline.

I checked the clock, and finally gave in, realising that there was not much time for me to study any more 

The play was to centre on the theme " Around the world in 8 minutes". Meagre budget and pitiful help aside, the logistics of this endeavour was truly overwhelming; the props would be gargantuan and thus extraordinarily cumbersome, expensive and time consuming to create. The audience had to maintain focus on the characters, who would likely be dwarfed over shadowed peripherals. Exacerbated by a severe lack of funds and and manpower, this task indeed seemed insurmountable.

With these obstacles weighing on our minds, the tedious process of figuring a feasible and practical solution began. Pondering deep, a startling idea, slightly unorthodox and odd, flashed across my thoughts: the protagonist of the play might just be a common household pest, and the iconic buildings and features could be substituted with everyday items : The Statue of Liberty represented by a refrigerator, the Grand Canyon by the distance of two cabinets, et cetera.

Dawning hope lit up Lester's eyes as he started to pace around the table, fervently working out the details to himself. Running his hand once again through his unkempt hair, he gave a seemingly maniacal grin and declared feverishly that we might just succeed.

The next week flashed past in a paradoxical blur of frantic activity and agonising slowness. I had to sacrifice my time to think with him, and now I was lagging. Little by little, the details of the play were determined.

The play became an astounding success with the audience deeply engaged. I noticed Lester's cherubic smile and my heart melted, and I know deep down that my sacrifice was well worth it.

benedict (:

15 minute writing

Blog Prompt #17 (Narrative)
Write 200-250 words of descriptive prose, illustrating a character by describing any place inhabited or frequented by that character -- a room, house, garden, office, studio, etc. The character will not be present in your fictional location, so you must be able to show who they are through the objects in the room, the way it's decorated, the condition it is left in, etc.

The room dragged a dusty cold air, breathless, lifeless. Just as the neighbourhood morgue suffocated the surrounding air, the shadows of the room were equally deathly. Sunshine bakery and Mayflower botanic were blooming in prosperity. Not to mention the exuberant parades marching in unison, and Jack the postman delivering his postcards in merriment. Life was all as it was, cheerful, in Sunflower City. 

The shrouded gloom of the murky, obscure room forced in an elements of melancholy and forlorn. The silence was solely dreaded; the plastered walls and half-broken windows crackled. For it was the flickering of the unstable ceiling lights that shattered the sepulchral silence. As they crisped and flickered bit by bit, the door seemed to creak on its own. There were no lights. As cold as death, the marble flooring had gradually accrued a dust fume, mushrooming itself. Nails jutted out of chairs, DIY sofas had cotton poking out from one end, forcing itself out of the seams. The morose atmospheric influences all in all contributed to the detestable stench; a sour stench, a repulsive stench of yellow air. It was saddening.    

benedict (;

Reflective writing

I know this is going to be random, but I still consider it reflective writing and something to think about, as I have picked up certain points from it.


Recently, my favourite player from my favourite soccer club in England , Arsenal, : Francesc Fabregas, has completed a summer move to Spanish Champions Barcelona. I just received news from it yesterday, and I feel extremely upset. It is not that I am childish or too emotional, but I really think that there are emotional strings attached between me and the club. Now, with Francesc Fabregas gone, there is very little chance of success anymore.

I always thought that Fabregas was very loyal and respectful. Thus, from young I started to grow in admiration of him. Thereafter, I felt very attached to him, the way he plays, the way he reacts with his players; as though they were his own, and he cares for the club a lot. I always thought he was the loyal captain of Arsenal, and I would never expect a move to Barcelona. Yes, Barcelona can be very attractive as it is by official, the BEST team in the world. Now, everyone would be attracted when Barcelona shows interest, and I partially do not blame Fabregas for his move, as it was always his dream move.

So, what can I do now? Call him and beg him to return? That's impossible.The thing is I will miss him, I miss the way he plays, the connection between him and the team is broken. Oh well, but now on I can think about how I want to be when I grow up. In fact, after this, I feel like I want to be the centre of attraction, like him. I want to be an influential figure. So , that goes into my previous reflective post of my goals. I think one of my ambition is to be an influential figure, like Francesc Fabregas. Personally, I sort of enjoy it, and I will work towards it.

Good luck Fabregas at Barcelona, do your best, and you will succeed. Us Arsenal fans will miss you always, please come back .

benedict (:

Another Reflective writing

My results so far have been good. I would not be going into details of all the different results and more, but I would rather focus on how I feel and stuff. Yes I am pretty excited to see my MSG because I think I did pretty well. This would not have been for my best friend, being there for me everytime, helping me whenever I needed help, motivating and encouraging me.

No doubt I did relatively well, but I feel I can do better. My capabilities are not as limited as it seems now, and I hope to expand them and exemplify myself to the best. There is still a long way to go, and I believe I would be able to accomplish my goal. Now what I need to do is to set a goal, and think where I got wrong.

I think I would want to heighten my expectations of myself, and put a little more pressure on myself. And similarly to the previous reflective piece on narcissism I wrote about, I hope to practice a little bit of moderate narcissism, where it can pressurise me sufficiently to empower, drive me towards my goals. I think I can do better by not procrastinating and finishing my assigned work on time; that way I would save more time for other revision. I better stop playing so many games and start on my studies. The games are in fact entertainment, but I have to practice a little time management. Okay maybe a lot of time management. But nevertheless, I have to see where I have gone wrong and learn. Mr Lundberg said that it was perfectly fine to fail, as long as we learn something/ capture something from it. That way, improvement will naturally come by. I agree, and I feel that the "wrongs" I have gone were procrastination . Personally, procrastination is a huge challenge for me, I hope to overcome such an obstacle.

So now I have to plan my time, so as to ensure that I do not procrastinate, and finish my work on time, and thereafter revise. I think that my potential is not this limited, and I can do better. My goal, or rather ambitions are not as little as just results, but I wish for goals to be long term. Like, to ensure that my parents are happy, or to ascertain my future. Yes, those long term goals which I hope to achieve from now on. Every step is a step, and I will go slowly, but steadily. I will achieve my goals through determination. I know I have many other factors of encouragement and motivation, and that is what life is about. Well, I am pretty pleased with my results, and I hopefully strive to do much better.

benedict (:

15 minute writing #16

Blog Prompt #16 (Expository)
Over the past week, London has seen violence and riots as a result of the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old black man (and father of four), by police. The police claim that they were in imminent danger, even though there is now no evidence that Duggan was armed or presented a threat.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-1​4436499 Because officers have been so keyed up to expect a threat around every corner that they often "shoot first, ask questions later," fatal incidents like this are bound to occur. To what extent are these police officers accountable for their actions? If you believe they should be punished, what should the punishment be? Write in ABC/PEEL format.


These police officers should be accountable for their actions totally. The police officers should be ones in the nation, who are impartial, upright. Their decision making should carry much more responsibility than that fatal , rash shot. The London police officers should be totally accountable for killing him as they indeed killed a living man, acted very rashly, and was completely in the wrong. They should be punished for imprisonment. 


The London police officers should be totally accountable as they killed a living human. Mark Duggan did nothing wrong- at all, despite claims from the Police- and he does not deserve at all to be shot because of being suspected. The police should be accountable for their actions, as a life cannot be revived. They repenting would not make any difference at all, and punishment should be the way. For example, you accidentally shot your neighbour, and you start getting all worked up. You claim that he threatened you, and thats all for your defense. In reality, you actually killed someone, and accountability comes first; you need to take responsibility for your actions. And similarly, for the police, they are totally accountable for killing a man. 


The police acted rashly as well, killing a man whom they thought posed danger. They thought he possessed a gun, and was a terrorist; but in fact, evidences prove otherwise. The police, as they are, cannot every take out their guns and shoot anyone they suspect. Should the police act such rashly, the nation would be in trouble. For example, if you got into a rage because of external affairs, and you take it out on your family, there is not responsibility and fairness in that. Furthermore, you do not show any sense of accountability. For acting rashly, an element of accountability should come in place, and killing Mark Duggan puts them at total blame, despite a veneer of the defensive evidences that the police try to come up with.


The police was completely in the wrong, as seen from the evidences. The evidences show that they were wrong, and that Mark did not show any sense of threat. For example, if you shoplifted, and the CCTV caught you, you cannot deny. The police in this case were denying and not accepting the case they had put themselves in. With the severity of one's life in concern, never should the police avoid the accountabilities. 


They should be punished severely, and dealt with the court as does the court deals with normal murders. That is extremely fair and equal. I think that, even if the police have a minimal rank of authority, they do not deserve the mercy of the court, and they must accept the strict accountability that comes with their rash actions of killing Mark Duggan. 


benedict (:

Online Lesson #12

Logic and Decision-Making

Step 1: Read over the three casket scenes again in The Merchant of Venice: Prince of Morocco: Gold (Act 2, Scene 7), Prince of Arragon: Silver (Act 2, Scene 9), Bassanio: Lead (Act 3, Scene 2).

Step 2: Answer the following in 150-200 words: What is the common theme among the scrolls inside each of the caskets? How does this theme relate to how each suitor (Morocco, Arragon, and Bassanio) chooses their particular casket?

Step 3: Write a narrative or exposition in 200-300 words on the following topic: A moment in your life when you had to make a difficult decision primarily using logic.

Step 4: Post your responses to both Steps 2 and 3 in one blog entry.


The common theme among the scrolls inside each casket, the gold, silver and lead ones, is that all three caskets contain a high element of risk. For the prince of Morocco, he chose the golden casket, as he had a mind too high; immediately ascertaining that the lead and silver caskets were not to his liking. He lacked the logic and critical thinking of that moment, and acted rashly, thinking that the golden casket was only worthy of his risk. In the end, he was wrong, and that reflects on him, Portia's suitor, as a prince with very little logic and arrogant. The judgement the Prince of Morocco made was immature and not logical, unfortunately leading him to his failure. 


For the prince of Arragon, he says that risk is only worth when it is objectively attractive. For him, if something is not worthy to his sight, he will not take the risk, very similar to the Prince of Morocco. He assumes he chose the very best, the silver casket, as it appeals to him the best. That was very timid and cowardly; no risk was taken at all, and similarly, leading to his failure. As you can see, both princes have the same mindset of risk. They assume that risk is only worth when something or someone is deemed attractive. They judged what they deserved. That was immature and illogical. 


However, for Bassanio, he was very smart. He knew that a book can never be judged; appearances can never be trusted. That was his moral.He then draws comparison to beauty, that no matter how attractive one can be, it is the heart that matters. He reaffirms that outward appearances are meant as a cunning trap , and he believes in his choices. He deduced logically, that in the end, the most unattractive casket would be his choice for risk. In the end, he truly got Portia. 


For Bassanio, he took his risk seriously, and risked based on smart and logical morals. For the princes, they based their risks on their selfish opinions of 
appearances, and was very immature.






NARRATIVE PIECE :
There stood two particular appealing stones; an elegantly yet magnificently carved diamond, in a luxurious casket, glimmering, glittering in its perfection; in complete contrast to the grey-blackish pebble, that tried its best to perform, liberate. The diamond, as elegant as it appears, had an inner darkness. The darkness that obscures. The darkness that traps. The darkness that suffocates. The diamond carried a beautiful but morose feeling, attractive but forlorn. Somewhere, inside, it possessed nothing more than the contrasting elegance of its facets. The diamond drags my footsteps, curses me down. I endured. 


The pale pebble pokes a gentle merriment, and hidden spark. Though it might look unattractive, there was an inevitable pull. Like a magnet. It dragged me closer and closer to the pebble. The pebble puts gleam in my eyes, skips in my steps. I decided truthfully, that I cannot rely on my judgement. It was too basic, too surface. What I needed to follow was the inner groaning for the true one. I convinced myself again and again, hoping for some sort of change. The pebble looked frustrating, but stood out. The diamond looked cheery, but declined me. I had to make a choice. I knew risk was there, but also there, was the soothing calmness, in mixture with a peace, that urged me to choose her. I stood out, smiled at her, held her hand. That was when I knew I had made the right decision with Isabel. 


benedict (: