Marley And Me
Marley and Me is definitely one of my all time favourite books which has left a deep imprint in my mind. The book Marley and Me is an autobiography by John Grogan about his life with his family and his pet dog Marley, a labrador retriever who has a remarkably interesting temperament. I absolutely love this book because of how easily i can relate to and understand every part of the book, partly because I have a pet retriever as well. I can still vividly remember the scene immediately after I finished reading the book, where I was sobbing uncontrollably from the heart touching ending, this is truly a great book.

20. This book has made me realise the sheer importance of cherishing the things around you as we always do not realise how much we feel for something until it has been painfully separated from us, and that would be too late to realise. I've come to love my family members and pet dog considerably more after reading and now I feel that people have to be more appreciative (do not take things for granted)in order to be happy. If you only want to care about what you do not have and ignore the things that you already possess, it is highly likely you'll lead a sad life and at best you might only have some short term happiness.

32. John Grogan has proven to be a very adaptable person, being able to fit into a myriad of challenging situations easily. For example, after his wife suffered a miscarriage and the entire family was having was basically just going through hell on earth, John managed to perform all his daily tasks and take good care of his devastated wife. Also, when his wife was in an extremely dire state and felt that Marley was a useless being and a burden( she was dead serious )wanted to give Marley away), John managed to convince her otherwise with his ability to handle the situation and ultimately allow Marley to continue staying with the family.

48. Personally, I felt that there was no clear climax in this book but there are definitely some interesting scenes that were presented in the book. I would consider the part whereby Mrs Grogan was unable to cope with a few setbacks and was determined on getting rid of the family pet Marley one of the so called "climaxes" in the book. This scene showed just how fragile the family was and how easily it could just fall apart, and how problems could always pop up suddenly and catch us completely off guard. It made me feel extremely fearful and excited about what the outcome would be as I was really digging Marley as a pet and definitely did not want to see him go. How would a family loving dog like Marley be able to cope with such a huge setback? He would have probably gotten mentally scarred and traumatised for life, and sadly would probably never fit back into another family. FORTUNATELY, John did manage the settle the dispute after a few arduous days living in fear and anticipation of what his wife would do.

55. Honestly, I would choose Marley the dog as a friend. After all, dogs are " a man's best friend" and Marley, being a labrador retriever is perfectly suitable as a companion. Marley was fiercely loyal and was always ready to have some fun, and I would definitely not tire of living with him. Although Marley did have some cons(such as going bonkers during thunderstorms in which he would start destroying household furniture and aggravating his owners) I strongly feel that he would make a great companion.

Self Initiated Post: Lulzsec

In the past few weeks, numerous articles have been published, regarding major corporations being hacked and having large amounts of user information stolen and has gotten much attention. Many of these hackings have been done by the same group of hackers, LulzSec. I hope that after reading this post, people would have a clearer view of what they are and what we should be aware of about them.

Lulzsec is a grey hat group of hackers who claim responsibility for the recent hackings that have been occuring. The group Lulzsec usually commit these hackings for the "Lulz"(LOLs) which essentially means that they are doing this just for fun. It may seem that they are simply a group of irresponsible pranksters who find joy in committing such destructive acts, evidenced by the fact that they just released the emails and passwords of more than 62000 people.( http://gizmodo.com/5812545/find-out-if-your-passwords-were-leaked-by-lulzsec-right-here ) and only exist to bring sadness to the cyber world. They are also extremely hard to catch as they commit all their acts through the safety of their computer, probably using encryption technologies to make it hard for the police/government to trace their location and identity. It is also quite likely that the group comprises of several hundred members, making it such that even if one or two members are caught, the group will still function as per normal and continue with their heinous acts.

However, I strongly feel that what they are doing can serve as a blessing in disguise for many of us. Firstly, LulzSec can serve as a wake up call for many of us. They let us know that much of our online information isn't always as safe as we have thought, and it makes us wonder how safe exactly the web is. It serves as a warning to us, making us become more vigilant online users and becoming less prone to being hacked and having valuable information stolen. Lulzsec also states that the methods they use to hack into the corporations are not complicated and could be easily guarded against by the companies if they used proper security technologies, and that the companies that we trust our personal info with aren't as secure as many people have thought. The scariest part is that any group of hackers who had wanted to gain information would probably used similar techniques to LulzSec and obtain much information online, the only difference being that they do not announce to everyone their illegal acts unlike LulzSec. These groups secretly being in possession of so much of our confidential data for months would be an extremely frightening thing, but it is entirely possible. This is the kind of event that we should fear, and is the kind of awareness that LulzSec is raising in us. Therefore, it can be concluded that Lulzsec does have certain things it can teach us about the online the world and may be a blessing in disguise for many of us. Also, it is also quite probable that after LulzSec's hackings, many companies will step up their game and employ better technologies to guard our personal data, a definite plus for all of us.

The next generation of people

The next generation of Singaporeans are not comparable to the previous generations, in terms of moral values, determination, and mindset of the world. Many adults think this way as they look at their offspring, the people that are bound to replace them. Why do so many people think this way about the new generation?

The simple answer to this question is that the times have changed. Many things, such as the way we live our life has changed a lot in the recent few years due to the rapid and inevitable advance of technology. Compared to 30-50 years ago, it is now much easier to do many things, such as moving from one place to another, doing daily chores, or accessing information. For example, in the past one would have to go to a library and read through thick books to look for the information they require, the process taking one to two hours usually. However, nowadays, one simply has to turn on their desktop/ laptop, access the internet with the click of a button and bam! All the info they require is available on the screen, saving much time and allowing for convenience.

This also means that people do not have to work as much to get what they want, as many chores(laundry, transportation, etc.) nowadays are easily done with little to no effort at all. This will cause many people to become much more lazy as they feel that everything should be easy and convenient for them, changing their mindset as well. Thus, the change in times in a large factor in why the new generation is seen to be more lazy.

Question: Does crisis bring out the best in man?

I agree to a certain extent that crisis brings out the best in man.

Firstly, what exactly is the "best in man"? I strongly feel that altruism, the act of of selflessly devoting oneself to the welfare of others is considered the best in man. Altruism is something that is rarely seen in everyday life, if seen at all. This is as in everyday life, everyone has their own things to do and are too busy to be bothered by other less important things. For example,in the workplace everyone is extremely rushed to complete their assigned tasks within a fixed time, thus they could not be bothered with other people, and they would view others as obstacles, distractions etc.(Basically people will not be concerned with one another in this situation- no empathy, sympathy will be shown usually) However, everything changes in a crisis. The mindsets and thoughts of people will immediately change to suit the gravity of the situation, and only then would the best in man usually suffice. People would feel the obligation to protect and help one another, even if it involves the ultimate sacrifice- death. Thus, many people will become altruistic and the best in man will be shown.

However, the worst in man can also be brought out during a crisis. During a crisis, many things will inadvertently change. There will be complete chaos, laws would be completely absent and society would start to crumble. In a place without laws, man will start to give way to its basic instincts, things such as greed will invade the minds of everyone. Widespread looting will become commonplace as there is nothing stopping people from doing so, and other crimes such as robbery, theft, rape that will be committed around the same reasons as well. Thus, the worst in man would also appear during a crisis.

Thus, i feel that a crisis brings out both the best and worst in man, and therefore i can only agree to a certain extent with the statement:" Does crisis bring out the best in man?".

Class Blogging Topic: Let Kids Rule the School

Question:

What would schools look like if students developed their own curriculum? How would education and the experience of being in school differ for students if they had more power to direct their learning? Should this be recommended for HCI?

Yes, I feel that students should be allowed to develop their own curriculum. This is a very good idea if executed properly and the benefits that will result from this can potentially enormous.

The introduction of this new system would enable students to personalise their curriculum, suiting each individual's needs. Students would be able to look forward and more easily enjoy their school life, bringing them many benefits. Firstly, as they as personalise their curriculum, they will feel that they are in greater control of their lives, a huge factor in the overall happiness and satisfaction of any indivigual. Thus, students will feel less stressed, more positive and will more comfortably adopt a new positive learning attitude, changing the way they view school. They will likely have more passion for learning and ultimately, they will be able to attain much more from school then they currently are.

Class Blogging Topic:

it is perhaps a good time for you to start thinking what would be the qualities you would look out for when voting for a potential MP candidate. We shouldn’t engage in personal attacks but should, instead, look at candidates in a rational objective manner.

Remember you need your point, explanation and evidence (if possible).

When voting for a potential candidate( I have never done so before as I am still a teenager), I would look out for the same aspects as I would in selecting a class monitor or chairman. Basically, I would look out for the ability that the potential candidate has to lead and push forward a group of people. Firstly, I would want to make sure of the candidate's personality and reliability. I would need to know more about him, for example his integrity and foresight, or the ability to inspire and persuade others. Factors like age and gender are not important, as although some people may argue that older candidates have much more experience in their field of work, it is the candidates PERSONALTY AND ABILITY to learn and adapt to new situation that really counts. What is the point of having a more experienced candidate if he does not ever work well with his subordinates and is a disruption for others. Thus age or gender very rarely matters in most cases, and the recent uproar over Ms Tin Pei Ling was in my opinion rather unjustified.

I chose this picture in particular due to how immediately striking it is towards me. I feel that this picture has truly emphasized the cruelty and unforgivingness of war as no-one is spared from the agony and devastation in brings.

Assignment: Pick a photo from the slideshow and write a descriptive piece. Write in the voice of the character or one of the characters, with focus on the atmosphere, mood and emotion

I could feel my entire ribcage poking through my chest, each heartbeat forming a visible monadnock through my virtually tissue-less chest. It was revolting but common here. My mates were eerily similar in appearance, impoverished and suffering from severe malnutrition. Living conditions in the past were already poor, having to fend for ourselves in this wasteland, left like dogs to survive in a hellish apocalyptic world.

However, war brought a whole new meaning to the world hellish. They came overnight, ravaging through our "home" with mortar shells and showering the world around us with a cocoon of lead bullets. The war brought along utter devastation in its path, and soldiers heartlessly confiscated our extremely limited supply of food. I watched as a friend collapsed on the floor like a ragdoll, all forms of his character, personality, everything erased. Gone.

Not even us children are spared from war's unforgiving pain and horror. Living in this broken place is not akin to living anymore, as war gave birth to a hell on Earth which has forever scarred me for life.