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 (: 

Reflective piece on T3 Online lessons .

Term 3 online lessons are lesson slots allocated for no particular subject in exact, but is required for self-study, or completion of the assignments. I feel that this idea is very realistic, very well implemented. In the hour we can have our time to do anything from all topics. As such, our learning is very much expansive and not constricted to the one topic we focus. I think that in the online lessons for the past term, they have all worked out well, just that it was probably a bit too short. I desired more time to accomplish more things, and wanted sufficient time to finish the assignments. At times, when I feel restless, that was the time to rest. I would still finish the work by then, relieved. I think that online lessons are very relaxing, but effective for learning. Although some mischievous ones would be facebooking, instead of going to the 2A2 page, all of us would have our homework completed by the end, so it was no problem. Unlike allocated lessons, this online lesson possesses the desirable flexibility, where we can do anything we like, with appropriate time management. This teaches us to be independent and focus on learning at the same time.

 The assignments issued are also very interesting; they require a lot of internet assistance, and is very intriguing to find some information I did not know before. The assignments might be easy, or might be extremely hard, at times I hope for easy assignments as I was lazy, but when I wanted to test myself I attempted the harder ones. The difficulty ranges, but we must complete everything by the end of the term. Though it might be slack-ish , too relaxing, I believe that this online lesson will help us be independent. Personally, I hope more and more of such online lessons. Honestly, whenever I see an online lesson slot, I feel happy. The capacity for learning is endless, and you can choose exactly what you want to learn during that period.

I think the school was very creative to come up with technologically dependent, study-related modules. What are classes if you do not really listen to them? This is a practical issue; the attention span is the key problem. If online lessons can give us the rest, ( rest means to study without the constant stress of keeping up with the teacher), and we can yet absorb, then it is effective. However, we cannot rely our learning on online lessons, and we need teachers to guide us and instruct us properly. With a mixture of teachers and online lessons, they make a holistic learning for us students. Agree?

Benedict (:

15 minute writing

Would you show mercy to the attacker if he spilt acid on  you?

No I would not if I were the Iranian, as justice must be meted out, and I doubt the attacker will rehabilitate . I also would not show mercy as I wanted to correct him as well, not going around harming more people. Furthermore, I would be living in regret if I were merciful as the attacker is at large. 

I want justice to be meted out and I want the law to carry out the justice I deserve, doubting at all the attacker will rehabilitate. For example, I am a shopkeeper, and a small young boy steals from my shop. What I would do is bring him to the police, without showing mercy; I cannot trust a young boy to absorb my verbal reprimanding and hope the parents will take care of him. Similarly, I cannot take the matter into my own hands, and I hope the court will be meting out justice to the attacker, I do not trust he will rehabilitate.

Secondly, I want to correct him. I would not want him continuing his mistake, and doing all sorts of bad things to all sorts of people. Such a personality must be corrected, and mercy alone is too soft to bring him back to his original path. For example, a serial robber breaks in my house, and he gets caught by me. I would definitely want my items back, and I would bring him to the police. I would not show mercy, and just let him off, as I know he would continue his wrongdoings. Justice in this way can correct, and strictly will change a person. 

Lastly, I would not show mercy as I would be regretful. The attacker would be at large if I do show mercy on him, he would not change. I would regret it if the young boy who stole from me, and thereafter me letting him go, to grow up into a robber. I would rather be merciless for once, than to lead him down the wrong path and live in regret. 

I would be merciless to the attacker to ensure he does not commit the same mistakes again, or have such brutal mentality, I also want him to be corrected. 

Benedict (:

15 minute writing

Problems arising narcissism in Singapore .

Firstly, narcissism in Singapore is growing, and it brings about certain problems. Firstly , it has an influential and contagious effect. It also makes them go over their limits, suffering from stress as a result. Narcissism makes Singapore more selfish, they become very self- centred, Singapore becomes a closed country.

Narcissism has an influential effect. For example, my brother thinks very highly of himself; he is very self-obsessive. Naturally, as I spend most of my life with him, I turn out narcissistic too. And this is applicable for the whole of Singapore; if narcissism is this easily spread, it may be contagious. Narcissism can be spread widely and is a problem, as narcissism would get hold of the whole of Singapore. Then, it would be difficult trying to reverse it.

Narcissism makes Singapore go over their limits. When one Singaporean is narcissistic , he would be overly indulgent in self-gratification, and go over his humanly limits. For example, when one is overly obsessed, he would want to drive himself further, and it brings about a very stressful life. If one cannot control the stress levels, the social and psychological problems of Singapore would be alarmingly inclining. Thus, the stress comes about narcissism.

Narcissism makes people more selfish, and self-centred. Everyone becomes too self-conscious, they become self-sufficient and self-reliant. For example, my brother, is he becomes too narcissistic, he would become very closed, very introvert, and self-driven. This way, he would not get much interaction. The same goes to Singapore, if narcissism is abound, the problems that come by might be a closed economy or a very weak country.

Narcissism has its advantages and disadvantages, and some problems include social problems, economical problems, and its spreading.

Benedict (:

TO BE CONVERTED INTO T3 ACE REFLECTIVE ASPECT.
I want to convert this post into an ACE as I feel that there is much reflection and I empathise with it. So this post revolves around narcissism in Singapore and the problems it brings about. Well, aside mentioning all the problems and criticising them, I feel that the narcissism in Singapore is actually very real. To me, I did not think that Singapore was narcissistic, and I thought that the government would take care of the country, and us modernised citizens would just have to finish our half-completed homework. I all along thought that Singapore was just a fine country growing as per normal, very relaxed. Little did I know that there were many factors affecting the mentalities of us humans. So now being aware of the present narcissism, the overdrive to work harder and harder is no longer surreal. Many a times I tell myself to relax, and not get trapped in narcissism. Just as a medicine is helpful yet harmful in overdose, narcissism is positively effective; be it in work, or perseverance, it can be very harmful at a great amount as well. Similarly, I hope I can control the amount of narcissism, as I do not want to be stressed out. Instead of narcissism  controlling us, I hope we can all put in effort controlling narcissism. You know, like a sword, if you know how to advantageously wield a sharp blade, it turns into your advantage entirely. The same goes for such narcissism; if we can effectively control this element of narcissism, no doubt it will do us good. Now when I do my work I take breaks, and know when to take breaks when to concentrate. Narcissism involves a small element of time management as well, in my opinion. If we can manage our time well, narcissism will have no grip on us. From now on, I decide not to work over my limits, and know when to stop. I used to think working beyond my capabilities equates to a hard-working me, but now I realise that moderate narcissism would be just fine. So please Singaporeans, master narcissism and not let it master you.

benedict (: