annchi's world :) ❤

formspring.me

2010-04-11T21:38:00.003+08:00

Spill your curiosity (: http://formspring.me/sweetestaur

formspring.me

2010-04-11T21:38:00.001+08:00

Spill your curiosity (: http://formspring.me/sweetestaur

A Thank You Letter :]

2010-02-09T08:37:00.003+08:00

Last week, Mr Bernard Murdoch came to school to give a small presentation/a talk. Born in Kiribati, he was here to talk about the Global Warming issue while the citizenship class was honored to listen to his "speech". To thank him, we are supposed to be writing a Thank You letter to this special guest:

Dear Mr Murdoch,
I was honestly touched by how you spoke of your own country and its people. Your behavior towards your country can be claimed as the epitome of "patriotism" -- at least that was my assumption after you finished your speech. I have to say, it was a great speech! Your emotions were 100% true and well... I'm just so surprised that people actually care about their own country nowadays. Because, you know, people are all "evil" now. Our minds are all messed up by the environment and the other evil minds around us... For example, people steal, fight, etc, just for MONEY! JUST for money! Isn't that unreasonable? So one thing I really like about Kiribati is that... it's really clean... The environment, the people, all of those are clean. It's nature within nature!
Thank you, again. I really learned from this lesson... At first, I thought I wasn't going to enjoy the speech you were going to give. But as you start going into depth, I noticed your "patriotism" and I was deeply attracted to what you were saying. Haha, this may sound cliche, but it is oddly true.
Lastly, I would like to say... that since your story and presentation of Kiribati, etc, touched me, I've got another dream to accomplish when I grow up... But it can be in process now: work hard, earn money, donate money, help everyone. :] Thank you for the wonderful speech, Mr Murdoch. It was great. Hope you the best of luck!
Sincerely,
AnnChi :]

Ceramic Trip

2010-02-08T08:19:00.006+08:00

Somewhere near the end of January, we ditched PE and Music to go on an Art field trip somewhere in Junan where they make ceramics. I guess this trip was alright for me. It wasn't particularly interesting because I wasn't THAT interested in art. So that lunch time at 12:30, people gathered in front of the office and when everyone were ready, we set out for a 30-40 minute trip to the ceramic place.
When we got there, the first impression I got was of somewhere old and somewhere I wouldn't like. Woo, I was right indeed, I didn't like that place much. It was too old-fashioned for me, I guess. However, I did learn something. For example, they showed us how ceramics were made and what they were made of. Kiln was the material they HAVE TO have when they make ceramics and the process of making a ceramic isn't too complicated, but you sure need skills. First, you have to have a hand that is artistic, a hand that can carve a diversity of shapes.
So after touring around their place, we get to try it ourselves! They gave us blocks of clay and a bowl of water to start out with. Apparently, I failed, so I eventually gave up and started walking around to see what others' projects were. Jordan's... was... really... weird. Jez & Ariel's were really cooooooooool, Lian's was pretty and cute, etc etc.
When I fooled around, chatted, laughed, etc, I climbed back on the bus and off we went back to school!
The trip was really nice... and if only I could be better at art? :p

Credits to Google Images for the fantastique photo!

Citizesnhip Exam Recorrection :]]

2010-01-26T08:39:00.007+08:00

What does a good citizen look like?
A good citizen is someone who is pat of a community. The community doesn't have to be a nation; classrooms, cities, families are communities as well. A citizen has lots of rights and responsibilities. And each right or responsibility depends on what community you're in. Take a family as an example. In your family, you might have rules, etc. Those rules are like LAWS compared to your country. And what you can do at home are similar to rights outside. A good citizen should have patriotism.
For those that have not yet learned citizenship, they might not know that citizenship does not only refer to the country, but family as well. So the most suitable example would be to use citizenship at a nation. Everyone has duties. In a nation, your duties would just be to obey the law, pay taxes, do all the things that are required. As for rights, you're responsible for following through on your duties. Citizens have responsibilities... however, sometimes they may want to do more. For example, "excellent" citizens may serve the community by doing community service.

Aren't all citizens human? Citizens/Everyone has emotions. Ergo, everyone has prejudice or bias. This, happens in high school, middle school, during your teenage years. You know all the in-groups and out-groups? And its quite obvious that "in" means popularity right? Well these people, since they are popular, are the head of nearly everyone. Skipping to the next topic... cliques. These people are GROUPS of people in different personalities and interests... if that makes sense. Cliques are usually groups that won't easily let people in. And one of these groups... is the in-group. These people - the cliques - are usually biased or prejudiced. And that's why they don't easily let people in. It's all because they have opinions and dislikes about them. Otherwise, there's no reason at all. All of these weird prejudices of people... are stereotypes. Sometimes people don't hate or dislike each other on purpose though... Maybe people dislike each other unconsciously. This is called unconscious bias. For example, I may dislike that teacher the moment I see him but I may have no idea myself. Compared to the other teachers, I may treat this teacher badly but I may again, not know. Hidden bias may sound like bais you are secretly trying to hide, but it actually means bias that you don't know you have.

Bias isn't good. But it might be something that can hep the community. If you're biased, you can always see the good side of a person you're NOT biased on. However, there's always the bad. Consequences of prejudice and bias are obvious. People can get hurt, you don't see the good things in people... and more. One way we can stop this... we can try to detect our own hidden bias and try not to do that... ourselves. The next step would be to tell everyone (or maybe to just one or two) that this isn't good. Confucious once said, "What you don' twant people to do to you, don't do to others." And another quote I saw on my friend's Facebook profile, "You find out the best things in people when you find the time to talk to them." I think those quotes are perfectly true. Would you want someone to tease you about someone you really don't like? Would you want someone to dislike you even when they haven't even tried talking to you? No, duh. So stop, if you can. We all know that you dislike this person in blah blah grade... but maybe you should forgive and try to see the good side.

This is actually a small case. Compare this to the nation, the world, it's nothing. People outside have much serious prejudice and bias! They create social boundaries that separate people.
Social Boundaries are probably similar to cliques -- except that boundaries don't judge. you know how social boundaries are created? They are caused by the difference in people. For example, Bill Gates doesn't walk up to some convenient sales person and say "hi". His friends are probably all nearly as rich as he is. Different people have different personalities and the people with the nearest personalities are most likely to hang out with each other because this way, there will be several topics to talk about. To the next step... a good citizen of one's nation. To be a citizen of a nation if quite easy. You only have several rules to follow, need to pay taxes, etc. Citizens of a nation have lots of rights and duties. And if you fulfill them, life would barely be a problem in your own nation. Previously mentioned, citizens of a nation has freedom of speech, etc. (that's the states). Citizens are like the boss to a nation. you might think Governments are in charge, but without us, who can they govern? They don't need to be so conceited and not take in our opinions and suggestions.

Lastly, everyone is a citizen of this world. The major duty now is to save this Earth. Everyone knows how we have Global Warming right? Everyone -- well at least all the citizens on Earth need to help out for this. This is our home and if it's destroyed, where can we go? This is something everyone should consider. Besides, saving our Dear Earth, we may need to consider the poor as well. If you have extra cash.. maybe you could save the world -- the children... :]
Let's make the world better! Be good citizens... :] Because I believe that you would want help if you were the one in the lower situation...

Photo Credits to:
~Alexkcl on deviantART
~savethecows on deviantART
~rad-ix on deviantART

Haiti in Ink and Tears: A Literary Sampler

2010-01-19T09:26:00.003+08:00

Today, January 19, 2010, in Citizenship class, I read this article from New York Times. It was about the Haiti, the country an earthquake recently happened to. The number of I don't know what people died and it was a tragic story. So after reading that article, I was told to reflect on it. And we were assigned some particular questions. Written down below...

1. What is this story about?
The story was about the author seeing someone on the road driving the car when the gas ran out. Inside, the author saw a lady sitting there with tears running down her face. Then he heard the man -- the driver got out and say “If we do not get to the hospital, she will die. Her baby will die too.” And then the loungers, who were the hungry young men that never had a job and always smoked cigarettes, stopped. They approached the car and put their shoulders to the chore. The driver steered, and they all arrived to the gates of the States Hospital.

2. What is important to them about the story they picked?
The important part of the story... is that no matter how spoiled and arrogant anyone seems to be, they will show some sympathy or empathy or help when someone else needs it.

3. What does this story have to do with what is happening in Haiti now?
This story is telling us... that no matter how far Haiti or how unrelated it is to us, we should help them. Because in return, if the same thing happened on us, we would want something similar, right? Any help, aid would give them some hope... They’ll thank you.

4. Why should we care about what is happening in Haiti?
We should care because if we put ourselves in their shoe, we would want the same thing. Confucius once said, “What you don’t want others to do to you, don’t do to others.” Well, oppositely, others would want several things done or given to them if we want those, right? So if the same thing happened, I swear that we would want help as well.

5. What does this have to do with global citizenship?
This is all about helping each other out and making the world a better place for everyone else. And since it’s global, its called “Global Citizenship”! :] It’s basically just two words stuck together... Citizenship equals the rights and responsibilities of a citizen; Global equals “relating to the whole world”. So by helping and leading groups to aid them, you’ve fulfilled your responsibility to help others! It’s just like citizenship in one’s country, only that it’s globally.

So that were the questions... We should really help. That's all I can say. :]

Gustav Mahler

2009-12-08T14:53:00.002+08:00

1. What is Romanticism? (It has many definitions, and is many things.)
Romanticism is the romantic period emphasized the self, creativity, imagination, and the value of art.

2. How does your subject fit into the world of Romanticism (their work, their life)
Mahler combined the ideas of Romanticism, including the use of program music, the use of song melodies and symphonic works. Mahler was deeply spiritual and described his music in terms of nature very often. This caused his music to be viewed as extremely emotional for a long time after he died.

3. Are there elements or aspects of your subject that are not romantic in nature?
Yes, there are elements or aspects of Mahler that are not romantic in nature. He isn’t that romantic but his music is romantic enough to be called romanticism. He’s more commonly known as the creative and emotional one.

Gustave Mahler
1. His music bridged the gap between late romanticism and early modernism. In what way?
When he died, his music was being seen as something emotional. However, that wasn’t it; he was also a passionate artist. He was strict about his own job, he planned with detail, and he studied all the other musicians’ great work before him.

2. What was his most important or famous composition?
Mahler’s Maiernigg was arguably the best known Mahler symphony. Among its most distinctive landmarks are the funeral trumpet solo that opens the work and the frequently performed F major Adagietto.

General Statement
a) Who is your subject? When and where did they live?
Gustav Mahler, a Bohemian-born Austrian composer and conductor was born on July 7, 1860 and he died on May 18, 1911. Although under the category of Romanticism, his music is mainly emotional and creative.

b) What is their major contribution to music? (Why are they famous?)
He was best known during his own lifetime as one of the leading orchestral and operatic conductors of the day. From then on, he has been admitted to be one of the most important late-Romantic/early Modernist composers even when his music was never completely accepted by the musical establishment of Vienna while he was still alive.

Billie Holiday

2009-11-26T21:27:00.006+08:00

Billie Holiday was a true artist of her day and rose as a social phenomenon in the 1950s. She had a soulful, unique singing voice and her ability to boldly turn any material that she confronted into her own music made her a superstar of her time (people still listen to her music, even now). Today, Holiday is remembered for her masterpieces, creativity and vivacity, as many of Holiday's song are as well known today they were decades ago. Holiday's poignant (evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret) is still considered to be one of the greatest jazz voices of all time.

1. What was her life like?
Billie Holiday, born as Eleanora Fagan Gough, was born on April 7, 1915 and died in July 17,1959. She was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Her nickname was Lady Day which was given by her loyal friend and musical partner Lester Young. Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She was also admired for her deeply personal intimate approach to singing. Critic John Bush wrote that she "changed the art of American pop vocals forever". She co-wrote a few songs, and several of them have become jazz standards.

2. What was unique about her vocal style?
Her vocal style was strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists. It pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She had an emotive, soulful, and unique voice. She used innovative techniques when singing, and she had touching songs that will be forever remembered and enjoyed.

3. What famous people did she perform with?
Billie Holiday was discovered when she was singing in the Harlem nightclub one night in 1933. Recordings with Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington then led to a series of outstanding small-group records (1935-1942) feature musicians like saxophonist Lester Young and Teddy Wilson. Performances with big bands of Count Basie (1937) and Artie Shaw (1938) brought her great public attention and for the rest of her life, she remained one of America's greatest jazz singers.

General Questions:
1. How deeply rooted in society was this music or person at the time it was created (or when the person was alive and producing)?
As mentioned before, when she performed with big bands like Count Basie and Artie Shaw, it brought her great public attention and for the rest of her life, she remained one of America's greatest jazz singers. In other words, lots of people listened to her music back when she was still alive. People still listen to her music now too.

2. How important or relevant is this music now in 2009? Who listens to it?
This music is still listened by lots of people today in 2009. On the website Rhapsody.com, Nick Dedina said, "Long since gone, Lady Day still casts a spell. Like her musical alter ego, Frank Sinatra, interest in her personal life threatens to overshadow her importance to jazz and pop. Forget the tragedy, listen to the music. Holiday's attention to phrasing has influenced generations of singers and players. With her trademark gardenia in her hair, she advanced the art of singing by adding personal nuance and detail to each number. She practiced a subtle craft, telling a story with each lyric...her story. But even if all you speak is Esperanto, she has enough musicianship to duet with the likes of Lester Young and Ben Webster. Like them, her music dazzles with emotion, not empty gymnastics."

3. Is this music universal in appeal or is it very specific to a particular time, place, and culture, or audience?
Billie Holiday's music was said to be the change of the art of the American pop songs. Her vocal style was strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists. It pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo.

4. Is it easy to hear that this music is directly related to music that came before, or is it difficult to find a connection to the past?
No, the music Billie Holiday made were quite relevant to what happened before. One of her songs "Strange Fruit" describes how African Americans were mistreated etc, talking about how the world is and how they should change it. This song inspired lots of people and even today, people are listening to them. So far, the video on Youtube.com has about 2,282,053 views with 5750 ratings of an average of 4.91.

5. Is this music related to or influenced by other art forms, or is it's content related to non-musical things (such as politics, society, race, class).
The music are often about non-musical things. But sometimes they are purely influenced by other art forms. "Strange Fruit" is the song about "race". Holiday also sang a lot of blues.

Cliques and Stereotypes for Citizenship

2009-11-17T09:29:00.003+08:00

Today we talked about what the effects are of social boundaries. Social boundaries are boundaries that are invisible between people. At school, there are a lot of social boundaries and people are often left alone, etc. A clique is an example of a social boundary. A clique is a small group of people with shared interests and spend time together, but do not allow others to easily join.
I bet everyone has experiences of being left out before. Everyone, including me. Being left out is pain because people see you as someone invisible or someone they dont like. Even when you dont like this person, you still wish they like you right? You dont want people to hate you because you dont want them to gossip about bad stuff, etc. Don't stereotype people too, because it just hurts their feelings.
This is all part of Citizenship, where you need to respect people and treat them the way you want to be treated. Confucius once said, "What you dont want other to do to you, dont do to others."

A Trip To the Glass Factory

2009-11-10T15:12:00.005+08:00

For a Art field trip, Ms. Sheilah took us out to a glass factory not too far from the school. It was quite a good experience. I paired up with Sandra and we were the interview group.
First, when we got to the factory, we took a tour around the place where they made glass. After a short but interesting tour, we went upstairs to the room where they kept all the glass sculptures they made. It was sort of fascinating to look at. The illumination on the glass made it more ravishing and delighting.
So, after I finished observing the glasses, the interview started. However, Sandra didnt accompany me, haha. It was Ms. Sheilah who filmed the whole thing. The interview was quite fun. I had an opportunity to be the camera's spotlight. x] Just kidding. I interviewed the manager, who told me about his life at the glass factory. It appears to be that he had only been here for 2 years and this factory was passed down from his wife's father. He wasnt really interested in this job... he came here only because this factory needed help. He also told me his opinion on glass... he said orangy-yellow on glass was the best color he could think of. Then, he showed me his work - the one project that he was most proud of.
When the trip was over, we made our way back to school and Ms. Sheilah asked us to reflect on what happened today. Now I am done... so, the end! :]

Credits to ~nvdhoek on deviantART for the glorious glass picture :]

Second Class of Citizenship

2009-11-10T09:22:00.007+08:00

Ms. Sheilah, our Citizenship teacher, told us to wrote about what we learned today. Well, since its "citizenship", we learned about the different kinds of citizens. Naturalized, Native, Family, School/Classroom, Neighborhood, City, Country, World, are types of citizens we can be. For each type of citizen, we have different jobs.
For...
A Family Citizen: Usually when you're part of a family, you will have chores to do and rules to follow. For chores, you might need to do laundry, clean the dishes, etc. And for rules, you might have a curfew of 10 o'clock or you have to do something something in order to get another something, etc.
A School/Classroom Citizen: To be a citizen of a school or classroom is like following all the rules and doing appropriate things. To be a good citizen of a classroom, you need to respect the teacher, hand in homework on time, etc.
A Neighborhood Citizen: One of the things you need to do as a neighbor is to not litter and make the neighborhood worse than the condition it was originally at. For example, dont disturb the neighbors at 3 o clock in the morning with loud music or... dont throw trash in front of your neighbor's door because you want to play a joke on them or something.

To be a good citizen of all these different places are easy. All you have to do is to follow the rules, dont make people angry, etc. It's a piece of cake. But sometimes people just dont achieve the goals (including me... ==) and I dont know why.

Thanks to ~holiveira on deviantART for the cool school picture :] THE PHOTO WITH CHALK. :D

The Equals

2009-06-15T15:28:00.006+08:00

Yipppeee! This is the last project of the year for Language Arts! Haha.. This is so awesome! :) Our mission today is to reflect on a movie we just watched: God's Children. This movie's not my style of entertainment (it might be Mr. Laffin's, since he's like the Humanities teacher in the 10th and 9th grade classes) but it's sending a message to the world; our world, in fact.

If you watch the movie, you'll see that the families in the movie can only make a living by flipping through the garbage dump. They even live in the garbage dump. Just imagine having to live in a place where all the garabage are. Don't you just feel terrible? Wait. No, not terrible, but horrible, vile, spine-chilling... This is a message to all humans, telling us to be satisfied for all we have. Whenever I get unsatisfied, the adults at home always tell me that i'm already lucky enough and I should try to go live up in the mountains and experience the people up there's lives, see how hard their life is, how uncomfortable it sometimes can be, etc.

This movie is quite educational, so as a child, I really don't like to watch it. However, it's helpful to people who never get satisfied when they already have 100 cups of Haagen Dazs, the most expensive Mansion in the country, 10 cellphones, 15 ipods, etc...

Thanks to `gilad on deviantART for the drop-dead gorgeous picture! :)

Poverty at Iraq... A Long Time Ago

2009-06-11T15:29:00.010+08:00

Turns out that I was wrong! The previous blog post I wrote wasn't the second last project of my 7th grader year. This one is. Our assignment is to research articles on poverty and reflect or write about it.
First, I'm going to copy and paste the article from Los Angeles Times and then I'm going to reflect on it.

"A third of Iraqis live in poverty, according to a study released under United Nations auspices Sunday, dire findings for a nation that enjoyed widespread prosperity less than three decades ago.
The report, produced by a division of the Iraqi government and the United Nations Development Program, examined access to, and the quality of, a wide range of basic needs.

It found that by 2004, Iraqi living standards had deteriorated considerably compared with that of the 1970s and '80s, particularly in the areas of water, electricity, sanitation, jobs, income and assets.

Damaged or dangerous housing conditions and educational access and quality were also found to be significant areas of deprivation.

A subtext to the report is how much the eroding conditions are contributing to Iraq's civil war. Though the report made no official findings on the subject, a top U.N. official in Amman, the Jordanian capital, said that poverty offered "a very fertile ground to recruitment" for militant activity in Iraq.

"When you are jobless, when you don't have electricity and water, you become more vulnerable to being recruited by extremist groups," Paolo Lembo, director of the United Nations Development Program in Iraq, said in an interview. "My personal opinion is, yes, it is a contributing factor."

The survey was based on data collected in 2004 as part of a survey of Iraqi living conditions conducted by the U.N. and Iraq's Ministry of Planning and Development.

In addition to the one-third of Iraqis living in poverty, the study found that 5% of the population was living in extreme poverty.

Though the data are three years old and do not capture the deterioration in living standards since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, human rights officials say the study is still useful because it is the first comprehensive look at poverty and deprivation in Iraq and because it creates a baseline for future studies.

Though living standards started to decline under the decades-long leadership of Saddam Hussein, and continued through two wars and crippling sanctions that followed, the report takes aim at economic policies put in place after the 2003 invasion.

The policies, which reflect American free-market priorities, dismantled state-run enterprises that employed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and ended subsidies.

The policies presented Iraqis with wrenching change, leading to high unemployment and frustration, the report said.

The study found Iraq's damaged infrastructure to be the largest factor in creating poor living conditions.

It said 85% of households lacked a stable source of electricity, with weekly and even daily outages. Nearly 70% of households struggled with getting rid of garbage, and more than 40% had inadequate sanitation facilities.

Deprivation levels also were seen as a factor in malnourishment.

Residents in the country's mostly Shiite Muslim south were found to suffer the most, whereas people in Baghdad and northern Iraq had the highest living standards.

Poverty levels were three times higher in rural areas.

The report's authors urged officials in charge of Iraq's reconstruction to slow efforts to privatize the economy and improve ways to help people cope with the changes.

"It's not a criticism to anyone; it's a reality we must address," Lembo said."
Written by Christian Berthelsen, Times Staff Writer on February 19, 2007

Whoever who read this article would probably want to help the Iraqis. Sometimes, don't you think, it isn't fair that you get all the good stuff while someone else out there in the world get all the bad things you can imagine? I know, life isn't fair but someone really nice would probably try to make it fair for some people. We could at least donate a bit of money (bit by bit, the money piles up and there would be lots of money for the Iraqis) and give it a start.

Just look at India, they were really poor at first, so populated yet so little natural resources for them to make a living on. If you ever imagine yourself like that, you'd probably shiver, get goosebumps, or feel light-headed. Not to be religious or anything, but if you can imagine, the world is like a place with different people and there is always someone who at the top and bottom. For the lower levels, they have to try to achieve to be the higher ones while the higher levels should try their best to help people when they need a hand.
If you're affectionate or intelligent enough, you'll know that those people need people's (if not yours) help; you'll know that everyone is equal. You might also guess that someone made the world so it's unbalance and you need to do your job to make it balanced, peaceful, and like a paradise. If you did do your job, don't feel ashamed, even when you were the only one that did the right thing (this is called being A Person of High Character). Feel proud, and show it. When other people see it, they will follow what you did, if they are clever and generous enough. Slowly, there will be more and more people following what you undertook and the more people there are, the better. Gradually, the world or at least a small city might know about it. It's not about fame though. It's about who you are and why you did it. If you did it because you want fame, then, what a waste of time, don't do it. But if you did it because you want to save the world, you want to help anyone who needs your assistance, it'd be the right thing to do.

I remember Neil Armstrong, the famous astronomer who was the first human being to be on the moon said, "This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind". He is right.
All of this is just like a puzzle, if you puzzle what I just said in the paragraph above to Neil Armstrong's quote, you'll know why I said that. The one step you take, the little thing you do for the community or for other people when they need help, is one step you make for yourself (if you're sincere enough). And that one step you make for yourself can be the key to save the world (who knows? Stop doubting yourself). If people see you doing the right thing, they might realize that they need to get going too. They might urge other people to join and you'll have lots of people doing the right thing. Once lots of people start doing the right thing, this will be your first big step; it'll be step you and other people achieved. See? One little thing makes big difference.

All this big step and small step taking might sound really easy but actually it's not.
World leaders don't just sit in their comfortable office chair all day, commanding people to do this and that. They go to conferences, they hear what the world has to say, their thinking, and their opinions. They take in everything that is important and they try to change the world into a better place. You, can do it too. So what? You think you're just a dull old person who goes to school or work everyday? I don't think so. Look at Mr. Barack Obama, President of the United States of America. He was a plain guy. He is President of America because he has done what he thinks is right, he has tried his best to achieve his goals, and he has the heart to change the United States of American and if not, the world.

Another example, Bill Gates. Yeah, I know, he's the wealthiest man in the world. But he too, was a plain guy too. It's not easy to be the wealthiest man in the world. He used his own brain, his own abilities, and skills to be what he is today. He is a successful man who has more than 50% of the world to buy the softwares and electronic products he made and designed all by himself. If he had doubted himself in the beginning, do you think he's going to make it? If he had doubted himself, he might not even bother to try. And if he didn't want to try, he won't be the President of United States of American today, and right this moment.

People are successful today because they try. If you try too, you can make a small step and that small step, like you, will grow into a big step one day. Do not, doubt yourself. Create goals, and try to achieve them. Take a glance at the world, you need them, and they need you. We depend on each other (being independent is another thing here) for our lives. We're all important... and unique. Just remember that.

Thanks to Los Angeles Times for the great poverty article. :D
Thanks to =partlycloudyholiday on deviantART for the amazing picture! :)

Mr. White Fang: the Book and the Movie

2009-06-11T14:35:00.010+08:00

Wow... time really flies past. This assignment I am doing now is one of the last for Language Arts. I haven't been updating my blogger since Mr. Carpenter left. :(

Lately in Language Arts class, we have finished reading and watching White Fang. This is a book written by Jack London and it is about a dog who is 25% dog, 75% wolf, gray. White Fang, in this book, experiences human cruelty until he meets his love master, Weedon Scott.
After reading the book together, we watched the movie (as I had said previously) which was very different from the book. Our assignment today, during Language Arts class, on June 11, 2o09 at 2:45 PM is to compare and contrast the book and movie. To be honest, I like the book better since originals and classics to me are always the best.

There're a lot of differences between the movie and the book. The book is more descriptive, it has less information about a character called Weedon Scott, it's obviously longer, White Fang's mother Kiche does not die, there was no ship or dock at the start of the book, and there was no bear that tried to attack Scott. As for the movie, it has less information of White Fang's childhood, there was no San Francisco at the end, the characters had different names, there were a lot of scenes that were skipped, White Fang was born in a hole in the ground (in the book, he was born in a cave), Beauty Smith stole White Fang, and the Character of Beauty Smith were different.

Even if two human beings or any organism hate each other or have lots of differences, they might still have something in common. That rule goes for the White Fang movie and book. Although it has lots and lots of differences (I'm not listing all of them in this blog post), it still has something in common.
For example, White Fang's name is White Fang in both the movie and book. The setting, scense when Beauty Smith hurts White Fang, Beauty Smith is mean, and White Fang jumping out of the window for Scott stays the same.

Now, I'm done with my second last project! Haha... I hope it's good enough. I actually spent more than 10 mintues working on this... Haha. I wonder if it's worth it. Well, probably. Since I sort of enjoyed comparing and contrasting the book and movie.

If there are any readers who are reading this now, can they help me decide which is better? Is it the book or the movie? I still like the booK! Although sometimes Jack London uses too much verbs, adjectives, and adverbs to describe the characters, setting, etc. It gets annoying sometimes...
Nevertheless, I recommend this book to anyone who is an animal lover, anyone who is willingly to try to experience the cruelty of mankind, etc, anyone who is willingly to take their time.

Thanks to Google Images for providing the awesome White Fang book cover picture :)

Walking >> Driving

2009-05-18T20:59:00.004+08:00

Everyone knows that having your parents drive you to school is faster than walking to school yourself, right? (Don't tell me that you don't know.)
A report proves that 4 out of 10 kids get driven to school by their parents. But you know what? It's always healthy to walk to school by feet. Some kids may not like it, but you can try. First of all, it's healthy for you, and second of all, it saves your parents a fortune.

Thanks to CBBC Newsround for providing the excellent advice. :)
Thanks to ~messtor on deviantART for the amazing picture of feet made out of water drops :D

Holes by Louis Sachar

2009-05-03T15:33:00.007+08:00

Holes is written by the Louis Sachar, the popular author of the Wayside School stories. This book is about a boy called Stanley Yelnats, who's name is spelled exactly upside down to each other. He is a kid cursed with bad luck because of his no-good-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. The story starts with him being sent to Camp Green Lake because of stealing the baseball star Clyde Levingston's shoes. When he arrives to Camp Green Lake, he slowly notices something happening around him. The story ends with a really happy ending and the readers would really like it.
I strongly advise this book to the ones who like happy endings. :) Louis Sachar is an excellent writer and I hope he can write more stories with happy endings like that in the future. Just a small note: when you finish Holes, you can continue Small Steps which is sort of a sequel to Holes.

Thanks to Ettc.lrhsd.org for the Holes picture :)

Oh Dear, 101 Days for Obama Now!

2009-04-30T20:30:00.005+08:00

It’s 101 days since Mr. Barack Obama became the president of United States of America back in January 2009!
Mr. President has been pretty busy since taking office, traveling to other countries to meet world leaders and trying to solve the global money problems (at this point, we shall all shout: Mr. Obama rocks!).
Obama’s election was historic (for those who don’t know, this means that the people from now on will learn about him and his election will be remembered. maybe as important as George Washington!) since he is the first black person to become president of the United States of America.

Since he became president, all the attention has moved to how good a job he is doing and if the change he has promised is really happening.
When he was trying to get elected as president, Obama talked a great deal about how he would bring change to American now people are watching him closely to see if it is really happening.

Mr. Obama inspired many people to vote for him and now he is trying to keep his promises (which is what a very excellent human being should do).

President Obama gave a speech to mark his first 100 days in office yesterday, where he painted a beautiful picture for America.
Thanks to CBBC Newsround for the excellent Mr. Obama news. :)
Thanks to =steler from Deviant Art for the brilliant picture of the American flag.

The Fear of Not Being Safe

2009-04-24T09:46:00.003+08:00

CBBC Newsround has announced that Gavin (obviously one of their workers or interviewers) has been finding out what we (teenagers or kids) have been fearing.
It is said that we feel unsafe on streets. Is it true? Well, that’s what CBBC said. They said, “One in five of you feel unsafe on the streets, according to a Newsround survey. Lots of you also said you are scared of bullies, and four out of ten of you are scared of the dark. After bullying, lots of you said getting stabbed or shot was your biggest fear. Gavin’s been investigating and went to a workshop in Kent where lots of kids go to learn about staying safe on the streets.”

The workshop is run by Chris Preddie, who is now working for the anti-crime charity Crimestoppers.
Although he works for the anti-crime charity Crimestoppers, he used to carry a knife when he was younger. Well, that’s his PREVIOUS record. Who says he can’t change? He is now visiting school and kids to teach them about the dangers of doing so.
“Nine out of 10 kids that carry knives for protection actually get stabbed - you’re most likely to get it used on yourself,” he explained.

Many of the kids at the workshops say knife crime is something that worries them most - even though none of them knows anyone who carries a knife. Not just knives, gangs are also a problem.

According to CBBC Newsround, if you ever do feel unsafe on the streets, you can do these things:
-Go out with a big group of people you know
-Stay in a well lit area (in other words, where there are bright lights)
-Keep your phone with you wherever you go
-Stay only in places you know well

It’s quite scary, isn’t it? You might just be walking on the streets and suddenly someone stabs you behind the back or punches you with a big fist and you go home with bruises all over you. If you really fear, you can go out with an adult (one that seems strong and tough :D) or hang out with a large group of friends you know that can protect you and won’t leave you there if you’re just stuck there. Remember to pick trustworthy people because some people are just selfish and they might just leave you there because they want to save their lives and spare yours. Then when they calm down and find out that you’re dead, they start crying really hard. What’s the use then? You’re already dead! There’s no use regretting so pick the right people at first.

Thanks to CBBC Newsround for providing the brilliant advice & news.
Thanks to 'gilad on Deviant Art for providing the excellent photo of a deserted street.

2009's Earth Day!

2009-04-22T14:28:00.003+08:00

"Earth day is celebrated on April 22. It is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in 1970 and is celebrated in many countries every year. This date is Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere."

-Earth Day - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.

Well, after reading that short introduction of Earth Day from Wikipedia, how can you save Mr. Earth? The main idea is to save the Earth's energy. Here are a list of things you can do to save Mr. Earth's energy:
1. Turn off lights whenever you or someone else isn't using it.
2. Save water - If you still have half a cup of water left to drink, don't pour it in the sink and refill your bottle with new water.
3. Don't use electricity as much - If you can walk to school, walk to school; if you don't have to use the computer, don't use it; if you don't need the Air Conditioner to stay cool, turn it off; if you don't need to take a 1 hour shower, don't - 10 minutes is enough.
4. Try to use any resource that doesn't allow polluting.
5. Pick up garbage whenever you see one, wherever you are
The list goes on and on and you can even invent some of your own! :)

Thanks to ~N4u2k on Deviant Art for the Earth picture :) Gorgeous!

Steven Hawkings Said To Be Ill

2009-04-21T09:11:00.005+08:00

At London, the famed Mathematician Stephan Hawking got sent to a hospital today and was reported to be seriously ill.
Cambridge University said Hawking has been fighting a chest infection for several weeks, and was being treated at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, the university city northeast of London.
Gregory Hayman, the university’s head of communications said Hawking is very ill and that he is undergoing tests; He has been unwell for a couple of weeks.
Hayman then said, later in the afternoon, Hawking was now comfortable but will be kept in hospital overnight.
Steven Hawking, 67 year-old, was famous because of his work on black holes, and he has remained active without being affected by being diagnosed at 21 with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a disorder that is not curable - known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

A director of research at the Motor Neurone Disease Association called Brian Dickle said only 5 percent of people diagnosed with ALS survive for 10 years or longer.
Dickle also confessed that Hawking really is at the extreme end of the scale when it comes to survival.
For a few years, Hawking has been almost entirely paralyzed and he communicates through an electronic voice synthesizer activated by his fingers.

Steven Hawking was involved in the search for the great goal of physics which would resolve contradiction between Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, which describes the laws of gravity that govern the motion of large objects like planets, and the Theory of Quantum Mechanics, which deals with the world of subatomic particles.

Steven Hawking then announced, just last year, that he would step down from his post as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, a title once held by the great 18th century physicist Isaac Newton. However, the university said Hawking intended to continue working as Emeritus Lucasian Professor of Mathematics.

On account of Hawking being sick, Hawking had canceled an appearance at Arizona State University on April 6. Lastly, Professor Peter Haynes, head of Cambridge University’s Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics said, “Professor Hawking is a remarkable colleague. We all hope he will be amongst us again soon.”

Although I’m not really a big fan of Mr. Hawking’s, I think we should hope he would get better. After all, lots of people are still waiting for the excellent news of his return.
he seems like a very great person after all. Which makes me want to learn more about him. :)

Thanks to Los Angeles Times for providing the current event :D
Thanks to ~angel-for-a-dreamer on Deviant Art for the excellent physics picture :)

The Nail Accident

2009-04-20T13:11:00.004+08:00

Yesterday (Sunday, April 19, 2009) at West Lothian in Scotland, a girl named Naomi Easton was playing with her friends in the woods when a disaster came upon her.
Naomi, 11 year-old, was building a shelter with her friends in the woods when a plank of wood fell on her.
The wood wasn’t just any ordinary plank of wood - it had nails on it and the nails even got stuck in Naomi’s head. The firefighters had to saw the plank off considering that it was too big to fit in the ambulance.
The plank was removed in the hospital and Naomi was very lucky not to get killed by the freaky nail accident.
Naomi confessed that at first, she thought it was just twigs tangled in her hair. But when she tried to pull the ‘twigs’ out, she realized it was stuck.
The firefighters and doctors that rescued Naomi said she was very brave and she is now recovering at home. Naomi said, “I feel a little bit sore and I’m glad that I’m still here and I’ve got my mum.” “Next time,” she continues, “I go out to play, I’ll take her with me.”

Well, well, well. Isn’t it freaky? The nail accident, that is. I presume this tells everyone that you have to be careful about choosing a place to hang out or play with your friends.
Usually, news are meant to remind people of some accidents that might happen around. So you can actually learn lessons from them, even when you don’t experience them yourself.
Well, just watch out for pieces of wood and be careful where you choose to hang out or play with your friends. :)

Thanks to CBBC Newsround for providing the news :)
Thanks to =BinDubai on Deviant Art for the picture of nails. :D

Economy Tie (Nigeria & Morocco)

2009-04-17T09:38:00.005+08:00

The Moroccan government has blamed Abuja for illegal migration of Nigerians to European countries through Morocco, saying that they can’t refuse government appeal on issuance of visa.
They also seek strong economic and political relationships between Nigerian and Morocco.
Mr. Mustapha Cerqaoui said most of the visa issued by the embassy to Nigerians were requests from top government officials.
According to him, not fewer than 1000 visas are issued annually by the embassy to Nigerians, which include; those going on pilgrimage, business and others.
He spoke, “I can’t say that we are issuing visa to illegal migrants or that most of the people that travel to MOrocco migrate to other European countries, because we issued most of the visa on government request.
“Most of them come with letter headed papers from top government officials, and because we want to maintain our relationship with Nigerians, I grant them the visa. How could I know that they were going on illegal trips? Most of the times my hands were tired. So you can’t really blame us but your government.”
Mr. Mustapha felt this could be corrected, he said the embassy and Nigerian government have to meet and decide on the best strategy to follow, adding that until the right thing is done they can’t tell who is who.

On the economic ties between Nigeria and Morocco, he said before his arrival to Nigeria four years ago, it wasn’t strong, but he has corrected most of the anomalies.

Lastly, he said, “Before now, Nigerian businessman travelled to Morocco through Casablanca, but now we have direct flight from Morocco to Nigeria...”

Thanks to AllAfrica for providing the current event :D
Thanks to ~Em1990 on Deviant Art for the Nigeria Photo :)
Thanks to ~Narzisse on Deviant Art for the Morocco Photo :O

The Trade Between Canada & Morocco

2009-04-17T09:14:00.005+08:00

The Canadian Governments and the Kingdom of Morocco have had discussions in order to identify areas of partnership to strengthen the long-standing trade relationship between the two countries. Gerry Ritz, the Agriculture Minister met with Aziz Akhenouch, another Agriculture Minister, and Abdellatif Mazouz, a Trade Minister in Rabat, Morocco. They met to discuss the opportunities for the negotiation of a mutually beneficial free trade agreement.
Minister Ritz said, “The Kingdom of Morocco is engaged in a progressive liberation process. A mutually beneficial free trade agreement offers tremendous opportunities for the Moroccan and Canadian people. The meetings with Minister Akhenouch and Minster Mazouz are the kind of conversations that needs to get the ball rolling forward towards a comprehensive and reciprocal trade relationship.”

The trade between Canada and Morocco was worth $450 million in 2008. Agricultural products accounted for the vast majority of that trade for a total of $330 million.

Minister Ritz said that the strong and long-standing relationship between Canada and Morocco gives us a firm foundation to build on as we share technology, coordinate regulations in specific areas, and stimulate trade and investment. he also said that whether families are shopping in Calgary or Casablanca, a closer trade relationship will make sure high-quanity products from both Morocco and Canada are always available all year round.

Today, Canada and Morocco continue to enjoy a long-standing and constructive relationship. More than 100,000 Moroccan-Canadians make up the largest North African community in Canada. Canada and Morocco share strong cultural bonds as full members of a La Francophonie. Hundreds of young Moroccans study in Canadian universities every single year.

Thanks for Marketwire for providing the current event :)
Thanks to ~Marinnha from Deviant Art for the first amazing picture :D
Thanks to ~gabinmartins from Deviant Art for providing the second amazing picture :O

African Culture Is So Unique.

2009-04-16T13:56:00.003+08:00

Our Kenbrena expedition is over and we’re moving on to the Africa Quest. Each student is assigned a country and we are to do researches based on the country we each were assigned.
Today, we read 2 stories based on African cultures. I don’t really like Africa but to be honest, I did learn something from the stories.
It is said that Africans live in groups and they are always close together so they can protect each other when they need to.
It is weird to say so, but it is actually normal in Africa that children can get beaten up. One mistake or two, they’d get beaten up by adults. One of the stories we read today was called ‘Fafi’s Sheep’.
In the story, the main character, a child, was beaten up by a gardener because of accidentally stepping on his tomatoes. The Africans assumed that beating children by will help them learn their lessons.
Then, African children don’t usually get education because of them being poor. Men in Africa go to work and women usually stays home and maybe tidy the house and help with planting the crops.
Last but not least, Africans believe that talking to animals can help them. They have their own stories that they pass down to their children and when the children learn, they will past it down to their own later on when they grow up.
Each country has their culture and sometimes it may be interesting to learn. I am looking forward to learning from Morocco (the country I was assigned)! :)

Thanks to ~Photosnap on Deviant Art for the awesome picture :D

We're All Humans

2009-04-16T13:42:00.007+08:00

Every morning, I get up lazily from my bed and I force myself to walk to the bathroom to wash my face and take off my contacts.
After taking off my contacts and washing my face with ice-cold water, I am fully awake.
But still, I drag myself to my room and start changing out of my pajamas and start tying my hair up.
It takes about 20 minutes or more to get ready. Once I get ready, I walk to the dining room and pick up my cup of chocolate milk and start drinking it.
10 minutes later, we are ready to leave for school.

When I get to school at 8:10, I approach my locker immediately and unpack my bag there. Then I stay in my homeroom until 8:30 AM when classes are to start.
On Day As (Mondays, and Thursdays, Sometimes Wednesday), we take Science first block until 10AM. We take second block Wellness/Health until 11:40 PM when we are to go to lunch until 12:30.
There are only 2 classes left and the first one after lunch is Independent Learning. During this class, we are to send goals to the teacher on what we are going to do on our own and we will do good to try and reach the goals that we have set for ourselves.
After Independent Learning, we are to take Language Arts, the last class of the day.
On Day Bs (Tuesday, Friday, and Sometimes Wednesday), we have Humanities, then Math, then Lunch, then Creative Writing, and lastly Art Explorations.
School Dismissed!

At about 5:10 PM, the school bus would take us home or to other places. I have Chinese classes on Tuesdays and Friday so I will go to a Chinese class and arrive at about 5:30 PM or later.
After Chinese classes, my father would pick me up and then I’d go home.
My day ends after I finished my homework, brushed my teeth, and showered. Then, I go to sleep after I stare out the window for 1 minute after studying the exquisite night scenes! :)

You might ask why I am writing this post. Well, it’s not because I want to let everyone know me. Instead, this is for Humanities!
We are to compare our lives with the ones African children have. What’s different? What’s similar?
The difference is obvious. We have rich lives. We have lots of things do and we have money to buy nearly whatever we want. The Africans don’t (well, some do). Also, most of us live in the city and while the Africans (most of them) live in rural areas.
Are there similarities? I wouldn’t doubt that there are. We’re both human (that’s one similarity); we all have feelings; we all need to get experiences and learn from our mistakes; we all need to know what is right and what is wrong; we all need to know the basics of everything in order to live; etc.
We might also set the same goals too. We might both want to learn about something (Astronomy, for example); we might have a common hobby; we both might like to read Harry Potter; we might like the same author; we might like the same genres of songs and books; we might even both be the oldest sibling of the whole family too. You must have at least ‘something’ in common with the other person. Even when you can be exactly different from the other person, you’ll nearly always have something in common. (long hair for example).

Although we may live different lives, we can still be friends.
The banker and the singer can be friends; the teacher and the gardener can be friends; the businessman and the bartender can be friends; the janitor and the police can be friends. The list goes on and on and it will never stop probably.

Just keep in mind that all the humans stand in one. It doesn’t matter whether you’re American, British, or Asian. We are the same! So if you see an African poor and ridiculously skinny, you can help them. Everyone wants love at least from someone. If you don’t want to help that much, just wave and smile at them. Don’t walk by and pretend you never saw them. They’ll know that you’re ignoring them and they might feel uncomfortable about it. It’s not their fault if they’re poor and have no clothes on; it’s not their fault when the only thing they can do is crawl on the streets and ask for food. Do you think they wished for that? Do you think it’s their choice to be like that? If so, spend more time thinking about. If it was you, would you like to be like that and have everyone ignore you? Would you like to be treated like you are the filthiest thing on the world and treated like garbage? Who would want to? If it was you, your expression might just twist in terror if someone made harsh comments on you or just throw things at you. Confucius once said, “What you don’t want others to do to you, don’t do it to others” and he’s not the only one who said something like that - Jesus said nearly the same thing. It’s not about religion - it’s about how you should treat other people like you treat your friends of family (not like telling secrets of course... Just brief hellos or smiles).
Be Well, Love Much. :)

Image Sources:
Google Images
~AdonisWerther on Deviant Art
~evilhomer145 on Deviant Art

Petition Works For Wanting Bilbo Back!

2009-03-31T20:25:00.004+08:00

After hundreds of people signed a petition to get a lifeguard dog back, it is said that the dog WILL be back this summer to a Cornish beach.
Normal dogs are banned from a beach in Cornwall, but Newfoundland lifeguard dog Bilbo got round that by sitting in his owner’s beach buggy during patrols.
Unfortunately, when officials decided that wasn’t safe, Bilbo was banned too. :(
But luckily, about 1,500 people have signed a petition to get him classes as a working dog to see him back being a ‘security dog’.

If he wasn’t an official working dog, Bilbo’s lifeguard owner Steve Jamieson would be charged £75 every time Bilbo was spotted on the beach.

The six-year-old dog had a pass special fitness and swimming tests before he was allowed to become Cornwall’s first beach rescue dog - three years ago.

Bilbo’s water resistant coat and webbed paws come in very handy for the work and he’s even got his own lifeguard vest.

Original Post From CBBC Newsround
Thanks to ~theotherdude on Deviant Art for the picture

Missionaries Expelled By Morocco?

2009-03-30T22:16:00.003+08:00

It is said that Morocco has expelled five European missionaries. For what? Apparently, the five missionaries have been trying to change local Muslims to Christians. The five women have been put on a ferry and sent to Spain, which is the home country of the four of the five. The fifth one is German.
Morocco prides itself on its religious tolerance, but it has also cracked down on Shia Muslims in recent weeks.
In Morocco, it is against the law to try to change Muslims and the interior ministry spokesman said the five had been caught 'red-handed'.
A number of video cassettes in Arabic were apparently found when police broke up the meeting, described as Evangelical.
During these years, a number of converted Christians have been convicted for holding illegal religious gatherings and similar offenses in neighboring Algeria.
Human Rights groups have protested at the recent series of events targeting those apparently promoting the Shia form of Islam.
Morocco is almost entirely Sunni.
The kingdom cut off diplomatic relations with Iran at the beginning of this month, and charged the Iranian embassy with crime of trying to convert Moroccans into Shias.
A school has been closed, and there have been reports of Shia books and CDs being taken away.
The Moroccan authorities are very sure that there is no link between this and the expulsion of the five Christians, but the BBC News correspondent says this is unlikely to convince everybody.

Wow. After reading this post, I learned quite a lot. I NEVER EVER knew that religions were so important to some country. It is even AGAINST the LAW in Morocco that you CANNOT EVER EVER convert a Muslim to a Christian! This is quite amazing. I hope my readers (if there are) did enjoy! :)

Click to Access the Original Post from BBC News
For the picture, thanks to ~misseh on Deviant Art

Muaha. Land Thieves WILL BE Arrested.

2009-03-30T21:20:00.007+08:00

'Anyone invading farms will be arrested,' said Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. He also said that the recent land invasions in Zimbabwe are actually acts of theft. President Mugabe has said that the government would continue to seize white-owned farms as part of his land reform policy.
"This government is aware that most of the ongoing disruptions of agricultural production, which are being done in the name of the land reform process, are actually acts of theft," Mr. Tsvangirai told a meeting of diplomats, civic society and business leaders, in one of his first public appearances since the death of his wife in a car crash earlier this month.
It is said that those continuing to do these things will be arrested and face justice in the courts. However, there are two home affairs ministers in the unity administration, as neither side would cede control of the ministry which is responsible for the police.

Lastly, I have to say that this is over. People shouldn't go around robbing each other or being thieves. You earned anything by yourself, you deserve it. And please note, STEALING is NOT earning things by yourself. It's called TAKING FROM OTHER PEOPLE while they had put WORK into the thing you STOLE.
Sounds cliche, but let's just make the world a more peaceful place. At least so that some people SLEEP in PEACE.

Click To Access Original Article From BBC News
Thanks to =Ferice on Deviant Art For the Picture

Can You Point Me to the HIS Art Room?

2009-03-27T09:13:00.010+08:00

Mr. Carpenter says, "Use Google Earth and Google Maps to locate the HIS Art Room." and that's what I'm doing now. :)
In order to find the HIS Art Room, you have to find HIS first (HIS stands for Hsinchu International School). To find HIS, you have to know where it is, what address.
Here is the HIS Address on the HIS official website.
Hsinchu International School
No. 290, Niu Pu East Road
Hsinchu 30091
Taiwan, ROC

Now that you have the address, you arrive there then you can try to find the Art Room.
The Art Room isn't hard to find actually. You walk in the HIS campus from the gate, where the security guard stands and then you keep walking until you reach five to eight steps of stairs and you see a room in front of you - that is the Art Room. Congratulations!

President Obama Promises Iran To... What?

2009-03-21T11:23:00.010+08:00

"Let us hold hands and walk toward the future together; Let us be united as one."

President Barack Obama told Iran on Friday promising a new beginning that is grounded in mutual respect using a video. This statement echoed Obama’s inaugural speech when he said to the Muslim world, “We seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.”
In the video, Obama said, “The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right, but it comes with real responsibilities. And that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization.”
When Obama sent the video, there was no immediate response from Tehran but the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last month that his country would welcome talks with the United States ‘in fair atmosphere with mutual respect”

United States, several European nations, and Israel suspect that Tehran has been trying to get a chance the capacity to build nuclear weapons but Iran says its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.
The Washington based Institute for Science and International Security released a report saying that Iran has reached “nuclear weapons breakout capability” last month. Which means, in other words, it has enough uranium to make nuclear bombs.

The United States has had torturous relations with Tehran since the Islamic revolution in 1797 but the Obama message speaks of “new beginnings’ with the promise of a new year.

“We have serious differences that have grown over time. My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive tires among the United States, Iran and the international community,” said the President. “This process will not be advanced by threats. We seek, instead, engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect.”

Click To See the Original Post From CNN
Image Source: Deviant Art

New Panels For the ISS

2009-03-20T16:43:00.004+08:00

New solar panels will soon be giving the International Space Station a power boost after astronauts completed the first of three space walks to fit them.
Two astronauts, Steve Swanson and Richard Arnold, spent about six hours outside the space station, guiding its last set of solar wings into place.
NASA hopes the extra power means it will be able to double the number of crew at the ISS to six.
Experts also say that the new panels may also help make the ISS easier to be able to see from Earth.
If you look at the right place after the sun sets, the ISS looks like a bright star, moving fast. The new panel will make it appear even brighter.
On Monday (March 16, 2009), the space shuttle Discovery blasted into space for its latest 14-day mission.
It was supposed to be launched in February, but there were some mechanical problems NASA discovered so they decided to delay the mission.

Click To Access CBBC Newsround's Original Article
Image Source: First Class Wallpapers

Kids Getting Backaches

2009-03-20T16:29:00.005+08:00

If you ask me what kind of people get backaches, I’d say old people. But the fact is, half of the kids have back problems today.
One of the reasons that you get backaches is because of the badly designed desks and chairs in your classroom, experts reckon.
Lately, some improvements have been made to help you not get backaches.

You might feel more relaxed when you slouch at your desk but actually it’s putting a strain on your spine, experts say. And if you keep doing this while you’re young, you could get lots of problems when you grow up.

There’s a new kind of table that some schools have started using to help their students’ sitting positions.
You can decide how high the table is and you can tilt them in an angle so you don’t have to lean down to write on them.
The stools are cool too. It can be made taller or smaller. The point is to match the pointy bit at the front, with the back of your knees. If they are the same height it is much more comfortable.
Basically, this table is helping you improving your sitting posture - no matter what your size is.

Students in the primary school in Essex, in southeast England, say that they felt much better since they started using this furniture a year ago.

To make sure that everyone’s backs are in top condition, kids also have to do daily exercises to train their muscles.
For example, leaning from side to side, rotating their hips in a circle and giving their hands a good shake.

I guess this furniture IS something worth spending money for - to help kids with their sitting postures.

Picture Source: Deviant Art
Go back to CBBC Newsround for the Original Article

Ouch. Someone Split Kenbrena Up!

2009-03-19T23:13:00.008+08:00

Image Source: Deviant Art

Waaaaaaahhh! It's Kenbrena again! :) Ladies and Gentlemen, please clap for Kenbrena!
What Kenbrena wants to tell you today is that it has been split up!I It didn't hurt in the process and instead, it's quiet happy about what it's like now. Nearly whenever you're happy, you show it right? Kenbrena showed its happiness today and Mr Carpenter saw it. He couldn't help asking, "Hello Kenbrena. You look happy today. How so?" Below is the conversation:
Kenbrena: Oh hello Mr Carpenter! I'm happy because someone split me up today! I don't know who but I like the feeling of change.

Mr Carpenter: Really? Good for you. How do you feel when you're split up? Good?

Kenbrena: Indeed. I have been dying for a new feeling. I guess it was the 7th Graders who had divided me up! They did an excellent job, actually. They split me equally. So equally that all the people living on me had no feeling of being moved! I wonder how they did that, Mr Carpenter. Can you help me ask them? Since they are your students? Ah... it must be you who had made such a good plan right?

Mr Carpenter: Yes, I did. But I only gave little directions. As you know, my seventh graders are outstanding! I'm so proud of them. They're my favorite class ever!

Kenbrena: No wonder, Mr Carpenter. Well, may I ask you a favor? I want to know how the seventh graders did the dividing so well. Can you ask them or me?

Mr Carpenter: Of course, my dear friend. I will tell them to write a blog post about it so you can check each and every one of their blog post to know why.

Kenbrena: Thank you very much. I will check once they're done.
---
So this is why I'm writing this blog post now. Mr Carpenter had assigned us this blog post just because KENBRENAAAA wants to know why we can do so well (Yeah, I know. We're SO outstanding! Haha. Just kidding). Okay then. I shall start. Or else Mr Carpenter and Kenbrena is going to get angry.
The question Mr Carpenter assigned today is:
"How did you use the social sciences of Geography, Economics and Sociology to consider what would make strong countries in Kenbrena?"

Actually, Lian and I did this dividing Kenbrena activity together. So credits to both. :)
First we look at the landscape. We see rivers and we see mountains. In order to survive, the people need at least 1 kind of resource. For some part of the land, one group of people might have petroleum - which makes them rich - and the other group might have crops to feed the people - which makes them extremely important.
We also mixed the poor and the rich together - so it balanced. We then considered the society - whether people like each other or not. When people don't like each other, we would draw a line between them, separate them, make them into different countries. so they wouldn't fight too often.

Lian was really cool on deciding where to split. She told me what to do and I split all the countries, giving her advice while she corrected some mistakes I made. Now, we've got a perfectly split Kenbrena!

So if you, Kenbrena, are reading this post, be more happy! :)

Different Levels Doesn't Matter

2009-03-16T22:18:00.017+08:00

Image Source: Deviant Art - Search: People

In my last blog post, I had introduced all my blogger readers (if there are) to the fictional society Mr. Carpenter's wife - Mrs. Carpenter - made up: Kenbrena. After all the activities we've done - we're at Activity C so far - Mr. Carpenter wants us to write a blog post answering ONE of the following questions:
* If you lived in part of Kenbrena where you did not have energy resources, what could you do to survive?
* "To have a strong country, it is best to have only rich people with financial control." Support or refute that statement.
* "People of different levels of wealth may not love one another, but they might need each other." Support or refute that statement.

I'd say I choose the third one - "'People of different levels of wealth may not love one another, but they might need each other.' - Support of refute that statement". It says to support OR refute and now I'm going to say which one I'm going to choose. I support! Now, I will have to give examples to support my idea on why I support them.

If you flip the statement upside down to "People of different levels of wealth may not love one another, and they don't need each other". That would be wrong. Everything is connected to one another. For example, water. If you don't have water, you can't bathe, drink, extinguish a fire, etc. Then if you can't bathe, you'd be all smelly; if you can't drink, you'd get thirsty and die; if you can't extinguish a fire when there is a fire, you might be buried in the fire. Furthermore, if you smell unpleasant, people wouldn't want to be friends with you, wherever you go, people would just stay away from you; if you die, your family and friends will be sad; if you get buried in a fire, you're dead.
The record goes on and on. Now, this connects to the statement "People different levels of wealth may not love one another, but they might need each other" very strongly.

Pretend poor farmers live all around a country and they are the only people that grow food for the country's people to eat. The business people live all around the country too and they are the only people that are able to connect to other companies over-seas. The companies inside the country also make computer chips, all those technology stuff. Then there's a company that helps control the water power and electricity - they control all the dams, reservoirs, the water people get and they also control the electricity people receive in their houses or buildings. Next, there are the doctors - they are the only people who can help sick people get well or get better. Finally (there's more but I will stop here), there's the educators in different schools - again, they are the only people that can educate and give knowledge to people.
Now, imagine living without the poor farmers. Remember, they are the only people who can grow food for you because normal people don't have the supplies and they don't know how to anyway. See, now with no one growing the crops for you to eat, you might be starving and then dying.
Next, you imagine living without the companies that control the water, the electricity. And... WHOA. That one's crazy. You don't have water, you might just die (example 2 paragraphs above); you don't have electricity, how can you see at night?, how can you send your emails?, etc?
If you keep imagining living without the rest of the people I haven't named (business people, doctors, and educators) and see what you get. By the time you finish imagining all of them gone one by one, you'll know why I support the statement, "People of different levels of wealth may not love each other, but they might need each other".

So what I was trying to say is: Everything depends on each other. Look at the animals in the wild - they depend on each other. You can even look back at dinosaurs - if all the plants and grasses withered, what can the herbivores eat? If herbivores die, what can carnivores eat? If both carnivores and herbivores die, what can omnivores eat?
Just look at the cycle and you'll see that everything really depends on each other. If nobody needs each other, the world would be a blank piece of paper and everyone would be cold-blooded.

Introducing - Kenbrena

2009-03-12T21:12:00.009+08:00

Picture Provider: Deviant Art - Click Picture for Source :)

Did I tell my Blogger readers that we are learning about Geography in Humanities? I think so. For those who don't know, we are learning about Geography in Humanities 7 and Mr. Carpenter's wife, Mrs. Carpenter had created a fictional society activity. It has been used before for other classes and now Mr. Carpenter used this for our Geography activity. This fictional society is called 'Kenbrena'. In Kenbrena, just like some countries, there are social groups - Anglese, Redars, Saknich, Sotrep, Talese, Franklos, and Jartas - 7 in total.
When Mr. Carpenter first introduced us to Kenbrena, he gave us a data collection sheet. In it were all kinds activities inside and we were assigned to do it one by one. Today, Mr .Carpenter assigned us Activity B with this blog post as our homework. The meaning of this blog post is to answer the following questions (Enjoy...):

* What are some possible reasons for some groups in Kenbrena to be friendly to each other while other groups do not get along?
A: First of all, the people in Kenbrena all have different jobs. Sometimes people judge each other by looking at their school records, job records, etc. The people of Anglese might see that the people of Jarta seems to be a bit poor and they cannot afford to go to school so they treat them badly and leave them unemployed or else let them do labor work. That way, the people of Jarta would think the Anglese is too selfish and ego so they might start hating them. While they hate them, some other social group who likes them (because the Anglese see that they have good prospects of the future and they might gain lots of money if they work together) will fight with the people of Jarta saying, "The Anglese is cool! You have no right to hate them since they serve us all!" and the Jarta might not agree and a little fight might start.

* Is there a social group above the makes you think of yourself or your family?
A: A social group above that makes me think of myself or my family? I guess the people of Franklos might be a little bit like me and my family. Everyone in my family are very different from each other although we sometimes have similar characteristics. Each of us stands out differently - just like the people of Franklos would stand out since they have people from different societies making them up - Anglese, Redars, and the Sotreps. Also, just like the Franklos, my family sticks together too. I guess every happy family sticks together. :)

Fair Or Not

2009-03-11T21:38:00.004+08:00

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Please Note: The words stand out are copied and pasted.

For how many times have I told my Blogger readers that we are learning about Geology in Science? I don't know! So I am here to bring news: Mrs. Smith wants us to write about Geology again. This time, about Mr. Alfred Wegener! The topic is:

When Alfred Wegener proposed his Continental Drift Hypothesis, he was not believed partially because he was not a trained geologist. He was actually trained in meteorology. Do you think the scientists were fair when they pointed this out?

Well, I think the scientists were half fair, half unfair. Fair because people judge. If you're not a professional at the area you're debating on, the professionals might think you're a little twit who comes here unprepared! They were unfair because they should think about Mr. Wegener's hypothesis first, rather than laughing at him once he told them his thoughts.
Furthermore, geology is slightly connected to meteorology. You have to first learn about the locations of the mountains, the locations of the oceans.Then, you have to study the landforms so it is easier to determine the weather today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow.

Mr. Volcano Erupts In Japan

2009-03-11T10:03:00.003+08:00

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In Japan, a volcano has erupted, sending ash and debris (scattered fragments, typically from something wrecked or destroyed) two kilometers away from it.
When there was a small explosion from the Sakurajima volcano, people living nearby were warned that a bigger eruption might arrive days later. Mr. Volcano Sakurajima spat out lava 7 times on Tuesday and there were some worries from the people.
Mr. Volcano Sakurajima has been Japan's most active volcanoes with thousands of minor explosions reported each year.
After the eruption of Mr. Sakurajima, which is just under 1000 from Tokyo, continued to send smoke into the air.
Nobody thought that there was any damage causd by the latest eruption so people should be okay. :D YAY!

Click to go back to CBBC Newsround

Policeman Killed

2009-03-10T22:43:00.004+08:00

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In Northern Ireland, a policeman has been killed after responding to an emergency call. On Monday night, Constable Stephen Paul Carroll, 48, from County Down, was shot as he got out of a police car at a housing estate in Craigavon.
A group known as the Continuity IRA, which wants Northern Ireland to be a part of a united Ireland and not part of the UK, says it was responsible.
On Saturday, two soldiers were shot dead as they accepted a pizza delivery at the gates of the Massereene Barracks in Antrim.

The Real IRA and the Continuity IRA are two of a number of groups known to disagree with the Northern Ireland peace process.
They have carried out bomb and gun attacks on ordinary people and the security forces, and there is thought to be some co-operation between the two groups.

The peace process was set up after 30 years of trouble between some people who believe Northern Ireland should be part of a united Ireland, and others who believe it should stay as part of the UK.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has promised the gunmen will not be allowed to destroy the process, and says there will be "no return to the old days" of Northern Ireland.

The Original Post Is From: CBBC Newsround

No More Music Videos On Youtube

2009-03-10T22:20:00.003+08:00

According to CBBC Newsround, Youtube is going to block all the music videos on it.
On Monday (March 9, 2009) during 6 PM, thousands of videos became unavailable to people who were trying to watch music videos.
Google owned Youtube and the company says that it will cost too much money to keep the videos online.
Not only videos uploaded by record companies are being blocked - the videos added to Youtube by fans are blocked and banned as well.
Now people can't upload videos without paying - they have to pay an organization called PRS for Music a fee.

Youtube's director of video partnerships Patrick Walker said: "We feel we are so far apart that we have to remove content while we continue to negotiate with the PRS."We are making the message public because it will be noticeable to users on the site.

Original Post From: CBBC Newsround

Capital Resources

2009-03-09T21:44:00.010+08:00

As everyone knows, we are learning about Geography in Humanities class. Mr. Carpenter would like us to define 3 terms. Here they are:

-Human Capital is the skills and knowledge gained by a worker through education and experience. Many early economic theories refer to it simply as labor, the human resources used in economy, the knowledge and skills that allow workers to be creative. Human capital includes all the skills, knowledge, ability that people collect over time that allow them to increase their creative capacity one by one.
-Financial Capital
This term can referred to money used by traders and businesses to buy what they need to make their products and things like that. For example, stationary stores would want to use their spare money to order the latest, most fashionable stationary in to attract more people to buy their stuff so they earn more money.
Another big example is computers... Bill Gates and Steve Job all keep upgrading their computer so people would go buy their products. Some wealthy people, because they don't want to go out of fashion and the latest computers are just too attracting, they just want more and more. Since they have money, why don't they just buy them?
These computer companies use the money they've got to maybe employ more people and then think of more ideas to upgrade their computers into the coolest computer.
Can schools be in one of the examples?, I'm wondering... Schools use spare money to buy more school equipments too. Schools use spare money to allow students to go on field trip, to do different kinds of interesting stuff... But I'm still not sure about the example of 'school'.

-Natural Resources Capital
Natural Resources are the things Mother Nature (How about Father Time?) gives us: Minerals, Vegetation, Wildlife, Energy Resources, and anything that can be used to produce wealth.
Water and electricity can also be called natural resources since humans don't make these resources.

Image Sources: Google Images

My Learning of the 5 Themes of Geography

2009-03-09T12:50:00.011+08:00

Image Source: Deviant Art

Geography! We just finished learning about the 5 themes of geography and Mr. Carpenter wants us to reflect about it. He even gave us a template so it's easier! Here it is:
Definition
What is geography?
Geography is the study of Earth's surface, including people's responses to topography, climate, and soil and vegetation. In other words, to describe or write about Earth. This word originally came from Greek and Geo means Earth while Graphia means Describe. If you add them together, it becomes 'the description of Earth'.

Theme 1: Location
Where are you right now? Describe your location in as many ways as you can.
I am at Hsinchu, Taiwan in Hsinchu International School (HIS). If you want me to describe Hsinchu, the first thing I would say about it is that it is very windy.
Then if you want me to describe HIS, I would say that it is not as big as local schools but the design of the building is very unique.

Theme 2: Place
What do we mean by the terms “physical, human and cultural” when we describe a place?
Physical characteristics are the things that are created by nature. Human characteristics are things that are man-made, all the skyscrapers, political structures that humans built to adapt to the new environment surrounding them. Lastly, for Cultural characteristics are the interactions between humans and geography, thoughts and memories, and the different kinds of things humans remained in the environment.

Theme 3: Human-Environment Interactions
How do humans adapt to and/or change the environment?
Humans adapt to the environment by changing it or using the resources provided in the environment. Their clothing, religious beliefs, make up, hairstyle, food culture would be different for different people that live on different places of Earth.
Humans change the environment by polluting the air, moving the things around, cutting down trees, polluting rivers, etc.

How do we depend upon the environment?
We depend upon the environment by using what we need. People cut down trees because they need paper and they need land. People pollute the water and air because they need to burn and throw away stuff they don't need. People build reservoirs because they need to save the water for later use. Children depend on sunlight for growth because in order to grow, your bones need to work with the sunlight to get enough calcium to grow. We all depend on rain for water and we all depend on electricity for writing reports, contacting other people, seeing things we can't see in the dark, the index goes on and on...

Theme 4: Movement
How does movement affect your daily life?
Movement affects me a lot in my daily life. There's movement anywhere I go. The air I breathe, the water I use, etc. Use the water as an example. If I don't have water, I would die. I need water to keep me from being thirsty, to bathe, etc. Not just the nature affects our daily life. Humans, Ideas, Food, Resources/Energy affect our daily life too. For example, your family members and friends would affect the way you think. If you did something wrong, your family might correct you and next time you might not make the same mistake.

What “items” are being moved that you interact with on a regular basis?
Products (Books, goods, etc). We import and export foods and goods; we also import and export books from different countries. Cars are also imported and exported from different countries.

Theme 5: Regions
Describe the difference between a formal, functional and perceptual description of a region.
A formal region is characterized as common human property, such as people who share the same language, religion, nationality, political (country, states, town, etc), identity, or culture.
A functional region surrounds focal points with areas linked to that focal points by transportation systems, communication systems, or other economic associations. Lastly, a perceptual region.
It is a region that reflects human feelings and attitudes about areas and so it is defined by people’s shared subjective images of those places.

Venice, Italy!

2009-03-05T22:54:00.004+08:00

Image Source: Google Images

Venice is one of the most beautiful and unique city in the world. It is a so-called water city. There are no cars, no motorcycles. Transportation is completed by boat. Venice is a functional region because it has borders of other cities in Norther Italy. Venice is a city in northern Italy. The city stretches across 118 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. The population estimate of 272,000 inhabitants includes the population of the whole Comune of Venezia; around 62,000 in the historic city of Venice.

Venice is world-famous for its canals. It is built on an archipelago of 118 islands formed by abotut 150 canals in a shallow lagoon. The islands on which the city is built are connected by about 400 bridtes. In the old center, the canals serve the function of roads, and every form of transport is on water or on foot. In the 19th century a causeway to the mainland brought a railway station to Venice, and an automobile causeway and parking lot was added in the 20th century. Beyond these land entrances at the northern edge of the city, transportation within the city remains, as it was in centuries past, entirely on water or on foot. Venice is Europe's largest urban car free area, unique in Europe in remaining a sizable functioning city in the 21st entirely without motorcars or trucks.

I would like to recommend Venice to anyone who likes night scenes and anyone who hates so much pollution. :)

For more information of Venice, visit Wikipedia.

Big Winner!!

2009-03-05T22:45:00.003+08:00

Picture Source: Google Images

Our assignment for Language Arts today is to pretend you won LOTS AND LOTS of money and write about it on blogger with 5 blog posts but make it look like it's a diary. So what I did below for 5 blog posts is to make it really look like a diary you write everyday before you go to sleep. My point is that it might not makes sense if I just put the 5 entries on the blog so I decided to write an introduction before you read the 5 blog posts below (A blog has the latest post on top so I am posting this after I write the 5 blog posts).
Enjoy.

It's Not Normal Life (Diary Part 102) - September 5, 2009

2009-03-05T21:03:00.006+08:00

Image Source: Google Images

Ah. Today is not bad! :)
But I'm getting tired of writing in this diary though... It's the 102 Diary Entry! :) Dear Diary, You're really cool! Hahaha.
Talk about today.
I went shopping with my 5000000000 Euros! Well of course I didn't bring that much because of course someone would try to steal it away from me. I brought 350 Euros for shopping. It was so cool. Michael and Michelle was really amazed when they saw the money and they keep telling me that I have to take them to various places in the world to enjoy the feeling of traveling. I agreed to them since they had gave me the advice of protecting my money - my life - and then helping me when I'm down. I love them both! :)

After shopping for clothes, we went shopping for books! Yay for books! :) While I was looking at Science Fiction and Young Adult books, Michael went to search for books about Technology while Michelle went to look for books about Cityscape and Night scape.
For 3 hours, we just stood there at the bookstore, reading our own stuff and relaxing a bit after so much homework from school.
After reading, we went to eat Haagen Dazs! How relaxing...
After eating Haagen Dazs, we went to my house and played UNO and then at 5 OM we ate dinner then we all went home. And now I'm writing this diary which might be the last entry since I won't be here next week and the week after that because I'm off to Venice and America! :) Yay!
Good Night, Dear Diary.
I promise tomorrow will be more better than today.

☆Love the Night☆

It's Not Normal LIfe (Diary Part 101) - September 4, 2359

2009-03-05T20:06:00.005+08:00

Image Source: Google Images

Today once school was over, I searched for Michael and Michelle to go to the store to buy locks and metal boxes. When I found them, they told me that they needed five more minutes then they'll meet me downstairs at the school gate.
After we left the school, we went straight to the store and bought 3 locks (just in case I loose the other 2) and a metal box for me to lock my money in. I was really nervous when I went home because I was still wondering whether the thief will hack in the box and then all my money will be stolen... I guess I should use it as fast as I can. We also have Spring Break just next next week... Then I'll go to Venice with Michael and Michelle... I guess I can hold on to the money for a few more days. I hope. I phoned Michael and Michelle again and they gave me hope. They said they promise I would get over the scary stuff and I would be able to go to Venice with them! :)
Michael and Michelle are like fortune tellers and what they say is always 98% right.
Oh look! It's 9:30 PM. My average shower time. Bye bye, Dear Diary. Come back tomorrow!
I promise everything will be great and everything will work out tomorrow! :)

It's Not Normal Life (Diary Part 100) - September 3, 2359

2009-03-05T17:55:00.010+08:00

Image Source: Google Images

Oh. My. Goodness. I can't believe what just happened! I was just curious about the lottery stuff and poof! I won money! 5000000000 Euros. So crazy! I don't know what I'm going to do with it at the moment but I know I want to travel to Venice, buy more books at Page One, help people who need help, shop for new stuff (clothes, stationary, etc.), pay my school tuition fee, and more other stuff.
Ah... But now here's a big problem... If I buy all those new stuff, my friends would all notice and they'd ask where I get the money. But if I tell them, it'd be like a show-off. I hate showing-off... So I guess I won't make things so obvious... Oh, But there's another problem! Some thieves might want my money! They'd come to get the money from my house and I'd be in trouble because since they would want to money and I would of course try to block them, I might get killed in the process... That's a big problem to consider... What can I do? Well, I guess I will just need to contact my friend Michael & Michelle for advice... I need to go call them now. Later I'll write down all the dialogue...

-----5 minutes passed-----

Okay. I'm done with the phone. Here's the dialogue:
Me: Hello?

Michael: Hi. Who is this?

Me: Uh... it's AnnChi.

Michael: (Whispers to Michelle and tells her that it's me) Oh hi,
AnnChi. How's it going?

Me: Sorry to interrupt you but I've got a big problem here... You're my
best friends and the only people I can think of to help me are you guys...

Michelle: (Clearly, they have been using Speaker Phone) Oh it's fine AnnChi. We're willing to help. What's the problem (sounds concerned)?

Me: Oh hi Michelle, I didn't know you were here too. Oh and the problem is really... weird. I just need some advice...

Michelle: Sure. It's okay. We're really willingly to hear it. After all, we're your best friends right? Best friends should help each other no matter it's good or bad!

Me: Yeah sure... You're my best friends but this is a gigantic problem and I just don't know...

Michelle: Really? Sounds like the problem's really big... I hope we can help. Come on, SPILL.

Me: Okay then. BE PREPARED. I... won the lottery today...

Michael: WHAT?! THAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? It's not even 'BIG'. It's called SMALL alright? What advice do you want from us?!

Michelle: LET HER FINISH.

Michael: (Calms down) Sorry...

Me: Yeah. So uh... I won the lottery and I got 5000000000 Euros today... (Michael and Michelle both gasp) and I know what to do with it but I'm worried that some thief will come and try to steal it...

Michael: Oh. So that's what you're worrying about? You want us to give you advice on how to kill the thief or what?

Me: No no no. Not kill the thief! Besides, before I kill him, I'm probably already dead. The advice I want is how I can KEEP the money without letting anyone know - except you guys - and how I can keep it safe. Is that hard?

Michelle: What? No. Of course not. It's quite easy you know? We're good at this. Don't worry!

Michael: Yes AnnChi, trust us! We're happy to help and we WILL find a way to help. And it will be fine!

Me: Really? Thanks. I love you guys! But what advice are you preparing to give me?

Michael: Hmm... Let me think... Michelle, help me.

-----5 seconds later-----

Michael: I know!

Michelle: What?

Michael: You could keep it under your pillows for now and we will go buy a security lock and a metal box tomorrow after school.

Me: Thanks. I will do as you say today. Bye. I need to go to bed. See you guys. Love you too!

Michael & Michelle: You're welcome! We love you too. Good night.
*Hangs Up*
---
So that's the end of the dialogue and as I said on the phone, I need to go to bed now. Good night, Dear Diary.
I promise today will be way better than today. :)

Normal Life Part 99 - September 2, 2359

2009-03-05T15:25:00.005+08:00

Image Source: Google Images

Hey Ho. Another day has passed. And yep, like I said, it's another interesting day! :)
I got A++ on Science! So surprised. I didn't know there was A++! I thought there was A+ only! Haha. Enough talk on A+s etc.
Talk about My day! :)
Today I went to school and I was so tired because I hadn't slept early last night like I said. I almost fell asleep in Independent Learning! Thankfully I was listening to music and I didn't really fall asleep.
The day started well and it ended well. When I went to school, I got to Advisory and I looked around to find a seat. Then Mrs. Smith came in and told me I got A++ for Science! I was so surprised and I asked her why so she said it was because of my hard work and she was inspired. Haha. Nice one.
The day ended with Language Arts. We were writing blog posts on 'The Pearl' by John Steinbeck. Now, let me talk about the book. The book isn't bad... At least it's better than 'The Old Man and the Sea' by Ernest Hemingway. The one by Mr. Hemingway wasn't that much interesting since he spent 50~60 pages describing the old man's three days at sea. Doesn't it sound boring? Yeah it does. Haha.
Now I need to finish this entry or else I won't be able to finish my homework in time for tomorrow. Then I'd be in trouble.
See ya, Dear Diary.
I promise, tomorrow will be an amazing day! :)

Normal Life Part 98 - September 1, 2359

2009-03-05T14:58:00.011+08:00

Wow! Today I had an awesome day! Tomorrow might be more awesome! I went to a amusement park with my friends! We sat on the pirate ship for 8 times! When we got off the ship, everyone was about to throw up. Thankfully we didn't. We went to play other games and then went home at 5~6 PM. Then we went to dinner and when I got home, it was already 9 PM (I'm not including details, since it's too long).
It was an interesting experience and I hope we could go again next time but to an amusement park with more challenging games, not the the one we went to - which has little challenging games. But it was fun all the same! :)
---
Life is still not that interesting. But I have good news, next week is Week A (A week with 3 A Days)! YAY! I don't like B Days much because we don't have Science and Wellness.
I think I didn't mention in my previous 97 diary entries what my favorite subjects were right? Well, here they are:
Science, Math, and Wellness! For Science, I like Astronomy and for Math and Wellness, I think I like all. The reason I like Math is because there is always an ABSOLUTE answer. It is either FIVE or NOT five. In some other subjects, there are lots of answers for one question which sometimes confuses people.
Anyway, enough talk for today. I have class tomorrow and I need to sleep early. Good night, Dear Diary.
I promise tomorrow will be a nice day too! :)

Isolating the Variable

2009-03-04T10:03:00.007+08:00

SMASH (Smith's Marvelous Awesome Science Hoopla) Day again!
This time it was about a Chocolate War. Mission:
One day when you went to school, you see an unfamiliar scene going on. You look around see everyone running around. You stop and ask Mr. Carpenter, "What's going on?". Mr. Carpenter couldn't stop screaming and running around while answering your question, "We are attacked by China using chocolate missiles!". You understood the situation at once but the only way to get out safely is to leave by boat. Your mission is to create a boat that can carry as many people as possible.
---
After Mrs. Smith gave us this activity, she told us to choose our groups and start building our boats. I paired up with Stephanie and Jazzy and it took a little more than 45 minutes to build the boat. We built it on Monday (March 2, 2009) and we didn't finish it in class so we continued the last process today.
Mrs. Smith gave us 5 minutes for last minute fixing or anything and then we went downstairs to a 'pond' to test our designs.
The first group was Patrick's group (Patrick, Andrew, Victor, Chris) and they got 9~10 stoppers on their 'boat'. Then the next team was us. We got 31 stoppers on the 'boat'. Then it was Serena's group (Serena, Sandra, Cherine, and Lian) which got 28 stoppers on their 'boat'. Lastly, it's Jasmine's group (Jasmine, Peter, Tong Erh) and they got 22 stoppers on their 'boat'.
After we finished testing everything, Mrs. Smith told us to go upstairs and write a blog post explaining everything we did. She said, "When looking at today's Chocolate Attack activity...how did the activity isolate design as the variable? Basically, what things did we keep the same...so that at the end we could say that only the design was being tested?"
You might not understand since she's using a language only HIS Students can understand. Haha.
We made paper boats out of 3 A4 paper, 1 meter tape, and 3 straws. Everyone has the same supplies so why can more stoppers stay on our boat? Well, it's the design.
Everyone's design of the boat was different. Serena's boat was actually shaped like a box; Patrick's boat was shaped like a flat surface with a bit of fence around it; Jasmine's boat was shaped like a real canoe; Lastly, our boat was shaped like a box but with a cover on top.
Since everyone had the same supplies, the test was based on the design like I said at first. Some people didn't use ALL the supplies. They left some out. On the other hand, our team used all the supplies and we build a sort of big and firm boat so the boat had managed to carry 31 without falling and crashing down.
The way how you designed it affects the outcome really largely. If you designed a boat that is really firm and big, I think you could carry more things inside it. Next time if we ever have the same activity, we'll know what to do!

Image Source: Deviant Art

Who You Are and What You Do

2009-03-02T15:05:00.006+08:00

Mr. Laffin wants us to answer the following questions for today's Blog Post since we're starting to read 'The Pearl' by John Steinbeck:
1) How would you change if you had a lot of money? Would your personality be different? 
A: I don't think I would change if I had a lot of money. My personality wouldn't be different at all because I know that if you are showing off all the time, you would never earn any real friends because it annoys people to watch you showing off all the time. One should be humble all the time...

2) Would you ever take a risk to reach a goal?
It depends on what kind of risk you want me to take. If it 's something that would threaten my healthy life, I don't think so. If it's a risk that would let me loose my family or friends, I wouldn't do it. If it's a risk that would help me toward my goal and it won't hurt the things I love most (Family and Friends), I would maybe do it. It also depends on what goals I have too. If the goal is neither urgent nor important, NO I am not going to take a risk. If the goal is important but not as urgent, I might take a risk but I'm not really sure. If the goal is both urgent and important, and I HAVE TO take a risk, I might but I will decide beforehand.

3) Would you ever hurt members of your family just so you could be accepted by your friends?  
I don't think I would hurt members of my family just so I could be accepted by my friends because my friends aren't like that. And anyone who wants me to hurt my family so they will like me, is NOT worth it. If people do that, they usually want to watch the 'show' you put on hurting your family members or otherwise they don't really like you... It's a Fake Friendship, I rather not have that kind of friend.

Picture Source: Searched on Google Images but Google Images found them on Photobucket

Kelvin to Degrees Celsius

2009-02-26T23:24:00.019+08:00

Picture Source: Google Images

Question here.
How do you convert Kelvin into Celsius? Is there a special equation for that?
I searched online for the equation to convert Kelvin into Celsius and so far I looked at two results I've found before I start writing this blog post (Websites are at the bottom of the post).
This seems complicated. The first time I've heard about Kelvin was when I was doing my Science homework on 'Layers of the Earth'. I was sitting there in a Mr.Duffield's classroom, at his desk while other people was doing their own homework. Mr.Duffield had offered to help me on my Science (how nice). I remembered we searched on Wikipedia to find how hot each layer of the Earth was (or something like that).
During our search on one of the layers (Oops, I forgot which one), we came across the scale 'Kelvin'. I couldn't understand any of it at first so Mr. Duffield converted the scale to Celsius for me. I couldn't hide my curiosity so I asked him what Kelvin is.
He told me the answer. I forgot the exact thing he told me but I think I can summarize it. He told me that it is a scale they use in Physics (Wow. The teacher who offered to help me on Science is a Physics teacher. How honored. :) Haha) (I'm sure they use it in other places but Physics is one). and he also explained that the coldest temperature you can go is -273.15 degrees Celsius, which people call 'the absolute zero' which is 0 Kelvin. So far so good?
After his brief explanation, he gave me a little quiz (now that's not good), he asked me to convert! He gave me a particular number (forgot what) and then he told me to convert it into degrees Celsius. I didn't freak out. Instead I said, "I don't know" before even thinking about it. He encouraged me to convert it so I did. And you know what? I got it right! But here's the disadvantage: he gave me another number.
This time it didn't take as long to convert since I had already done it before. I remember I got this one right too. So he didn't quiz me anymore. We moved on to the next question on my 'Layers of the Earth' sheet.
One week after Mr. Duffield taught me about Kelvin, I sort of forgot what the absolute zero was so I wrote an email, asking him about it. He doesn't seem to be replying so on Tuesday (February 24, 2009), I asked Mr. Truchon about it during lunch time and Mr. Truchon was actually surprised when he heard about me knowing what Kelvin is. His reaction was like, "Wow. Where did you hear that from?" so I pointed at Mr. Duffield who was just sitting at the table next to ours. After Mr .Truchon knew where I learned Kelvin from, he explained some of it to me and like Mr. Duffield (I assume every teacher would do this), quizzed me. I didn't reject this time. I tried to answer it and got it right! Yay! Mr. Truchon said, "Very good!" or something like that and talked more about Kelvin. When lunch was over, I went to my Creative Writing class while he went to do his own work.
End of Story.
Moving on...
Oh My Goodness. I just discovered there are 4 different kinds of temperature scales. Perhaps even more. That's crazy, bizarre, mad, insane, etc! Now I know 4 temperature scales! They are:
-Celsius (The first one I ever learned. Like it.)
-Fahrenheit (The second one I ever learned. Don't like it that much.)
-Kelvin (The third one I ever knew about. Recently learned it from Mr. Duffield)
-Rankine (I'm not really sure that it's even a temperature scale.. At least it says so on a website [look below for details]. If someone tells me it's not a temperature scale, I could blame it on that website.)
Uh oh. I'm getting more curious than ever as time tick-tocks by. Is that a bad thing? Wanting to know anything? Or a good thing? People, judge (Don't take that as a very harsh command. It's just for fun!)

Perhaps if teachers see this, comment?Source: Temperature Conversion Equations Formulas Calculator

Source: Temperature Converter Online

Summarizing For Science!

2009-02-24T23:06:00.006+08:00

One week ago during Science, Mrs. Smith gave us a puzzle activity to do. She also gave us a continental drift worksheet to fill in.
Our homework is to write a blog post summarizing the puzzle activity, summarizing what I have learned now for continental drift and answer these two questions:
1. What did the Puzzle Time activity have to do with Continental Drift?
2. What do you think Mrs. Smith was trying to help you understand?
I shall start---

Summarizing the Puzzling Process:
The first puzzling process was quite hard because it had no hints except for different sides and shapes. There were no pictures and we didn't even know if we were using the right side to puzzle them together. It was a hard process to judge whether if the side of a piece of paper is straight or not so we could see if it was the side or not.
The second puzzling process is easier because we used newspaper and there were pictures and words to assure you that you were using the right side and the right puzzle to fit to another one.

Summarizing what we learned so far about continental drift:
We have learned that Alfred Wegener was the first person to find out about continental drift. Continental Drift is when continents drift apart from each other.
When Wegener had suggested this theory, lots of Scientists didn't believe him. A theory is like a guess but it has evidence or proof that it is like that. Wegener had evidence. He found fossils of the same animal in South America and Africa. He also found the same rocks in different continents like South America and Africa! How weird. The rocks can't possibly just walk there. Not quite possible is it?
Wegener's theory was that the continents was close together millions and millions of years ago and they had gradually drifted apart after millions and millions of years and they are where they are today. Wegener called the continents that are joined together into a huge landmass called 'Pangea' which in Greek means 'all land'.

Answering these two questions:
1. What did the Puzzle Time activity have to do with Continental Drift?
A: The Puzzle Time activity has go to do with the Continental Drift because we were acting like Alfred Wegener that time when we were trying to puzzle the 'blank' pieces of paper into one! Since it had took us quite a time to finish the puzzles, it must have taken Wegener a longer time since the land didn't actually fit together (Erosion wears away the land). Maybe Alfred Wegener didn't even believe that continents move at first. He might have suspected himself that he was wrong. But as he studied more, he got more evidence and he was really positive that the continents did move from the packed together position to the position today.

2. What do you think Mrs. Smith was trying to help you understand?
A: Perhaps Mrs. Smith wanted us to understand how hard it was to work out the huge landmass Pangea? First of all, you need lots of people to believe you so you have confidence in believing that the continents did move. Wegener had so many people against him but yet he still believed that the continents had moved for the past billions and millions of years.
Mrs. Smith may also be trying to help us understand that "If you have enough patience and you succeed at last, you can win other people's respect and prove the things that everyone said 'no' to everyone that it was 'yes'."
Today Alfred Wegener is one of the most important people on the world. Without him, who can figure out that the continents did move?

Picture Source

Geographic Lens 4: National Standards

2009-02-24T22:48:00.002+08:00

Below is the summarized form of the Geographic Lens 4: National Standards from the National Geography Website:
The national standards document focuses on the content on Geography but also the skill of geography. It also sets standards for what students should know and be able to do.
There're 18 content standards but they’re divided into 6 central elements:
1. The World in Spatial Terms: This body is using maps and other kinds of materials to understand the spacial dimensions of our world.

2. Places and Regions: This is a concept whenever we are looking at particular places in Asia combining them into regions like just the Pacific Rim to help us understand the complexity of Earth’s surface.

3. Physical Systems: Geography is interested how physical systems work in the natural environment

4. Human Systems: How are populations distributed? What are their characteristics? How do they interact with one another? The cultural mosaic that makes up our dynamic Earth.

5. Environment and Society: This takes us back to the ecological perspective of seeing how different societies adapt to their environment and the changes they’ve made to those environments. There’s hardly a place on the face of Earth that has not been effected by some impact on human society.

6. The Uses of Geography: How can we use geography to interpret the past and to plan and predict for the future? There’s power in that ability to make predictions and Geography can help us to do that.

There are also other skills in Geography:
Skill 1: Asking Geographic Questions - All inquiry has to start asking a question, We just want to focus on what constitutes a geographic question. Asking the question guides all of the next step. How did the current distribution of religions come to be where they are in Asia? This question would guide information that people who asked this question need to seek.

Skill 2: Acquiring Geographic Information - You can look at distribution maps on religions in Asia today so to see whether located to you can begin to gather information that would help you to understand how they left one place and came to where they are now. The people migrate - just like animals. Did they ride over monsoon winds? You can go to primary sources, you can go to secondary sources, you can look at graphs, you can talk to people, and you can actually go out to the field and do some field work.

Skill 3: Organizing Geographic Date - You can use charts, graphs, or you can use maps. Maps allow us to see the world as a whole because our world is too big to see all at one time. Like biologists uses maps to enlarge their world so geographers have to use maps to make their world more visible to them. Maps are a powerful and one of the most powerful tools geographers have now is Geographic Information Systems (GIS) which enables us to look at a lot more different variables that were more difficult for the past to do and it allows us the chance to do analysis and evaluation which is the next step.

Skill 4: Analysis And Synthesis

Skill 5: Finding Answers - Giving students to develop their skill and presentation whether we do that orally or in a written form or in some other fashion.

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The 9-Year-Old Wedding

2009-02-24T21:49:00.008+08:00

Jayla Cooper is getting married her family and friends gather around to celebrate for her. Yeah. That's normal. When your family members or friends is getting married, you should go there to help them celebrate right? That's normal. But the part that isn't normal is that... Jayla is only 9 years old but she's excited about her big day.
Jayla's mother, Lisa Cooper said, "We didn't except to have to do this when she was nine-years old but she has taught us all how to love each other and how to be strong."
The Cooper family is getting ready to say goodbye as Jayla's dad leads her onto the aisle, towards the groom. Jayla as been fighting leukemia for the past two years but this battle will likely end in a few weeks.
Jayla has met the groom, Jose Griggs at the Children's Medical Center. They share the same struggle and there is a bond between them that help them get through the good and the bad times.
Charles Griggs said, "Jayla is like a brighter, happier, more content with what they go through in the hospital and she just changed all of them, brought it all out and really open up a side of him (Jose Griggs) that I hadn't seen."
Mrs. Cooper told everyone, "Show your kids that you love them every moment of your life because you never know..."
Jayla's family isn't ready to let go but they're ready to give her her wedding of her life time.

Questions For the Article:
1. Why didn't Jayla's mom and dad say 'no' to her wedding? Isn't she too young?
2. Why did Jose's parents agree to the wedding too?
3. Does Jayla and Jose have any other siblings?

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The Greenhouse Satellite Failed

2009-02-24T21:15:00.007+08:00

NASA tried to launch a satellite that would be used to monitor greenhouse gases, to study how they would affect the Earth's climate, but it failed.
The rocket that carried the satellite launched at 1:55 am PT from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, but according to NASA's Website, the "payload fairing failed to separate." which occurred several minutes into the launch.
George Diller, an agency spokesman said, "We have declared a launch contingency, meaning that we did not have a successful launch tonight".
NASA has scheduled a news conference for later in the morning to provide more details.
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory that costs $243 million, would have collected 'precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the changes may have on the Earth's climate.

Questions:
1. How did they know that the rocket failed?
2. Why did they want to know how the greenhouse gases affected the Earth?
3. How far is the rocket going to go?

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Walking To Hi-Life :)

2009-02-24T08:18:00.003+08:00

What would it be like to walk to the Hi-Life close to my house Or perhaps arrive there by car?
If you start at my house, you have to walk out of the door and stop in front of the elevator, then press the down button to call the elevator to the 7th floor. Once you’re in the elevator, press the 1 button to arrive to the first floor.
After you’re on the first floor, you need to walk out the building and towards the entrance.
Then when you walk out the entrance, you’ll see two lanes. Choose the one RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. Keep walking... Although there are many lanes in between, DON’T STOP. Keep walking walking walking until you reach the end. When you reach the end, you’ll see the Hi-Life!

Source: Google Images

Mr. Carpenter Visits 8 Countries

2009-02-19T22:58:00.010+08:00

Our project this time for Humanities is to make a travel plan for Mr. Carpenter. We're learning stuff and having fun as we write along (Although I am staying up until 12 today to do it *sob).
First, Mr. Carpenter needs to arrive at the airport then the plane will fly northeast to Tokyo, Japan which is 36 degrees North and 138 degrees East.
Japan is slightly smaller than California and it has no boundaries around it. Tokyo lies in the humid subtropical zone.
Next, we go to New Zealand! It's quite far there though... We're going to the city Christchurch.
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the country's second large urban area. Christchurch lies in Canterbury, near the centre of the east coast of the South Island, east of the Canterbury Plains. It is located near the southern end of Pegasus Bay, and is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean coast and the estuary of the Avon as well as the Heathcote River. To the south and south-east the urban portion of the city is limited by the volcanic slopes of the Port Hills separating it from the Banks Peninsula.
Christchurch has a dry, temperate climate, with mean daily maximum air temperatures of 22.5˚C in January, 11.3˚C in July. The summer climate is often moderated by a sea breeze from the Northeast, but a record temperature of 41.6˚C was reached in February 1973.Then we're on to Waikiki, Hawaii! Although Hawaii is separated from The United States, it's still part of it. The climate in Hawaii is humid and comfortable for some people but it may be hot too. Waikiki Beach is noted for its magnificent views of the dormant volcano Diamond Head, its usually warm and cloud-free climate and its surfbreak. The frequently visited tourist beach, is actually fairly short, with half of it marked off for surfers. For some distance into the ocean the water is quite shallow, although there are numerous rocks on the bottom, so waders whould watch where they put their feet.

Now we move on to Vancouver, Canada! This city is the largest city in British Columbia and the second largest metropolitan area in the Pacific Northwest region. It is bounded by the Strait of Georgia, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River, the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a British explorer.
Vancouver's climate is unusually temperate by Canadian standards; its winters are the fourth warmest of Canadian cities monitored by Environment Canada after nearby Victoria, Nanaimo, and Duncan, all of which are on Vancouver Island.

After visiting Canada, we move on to Barcelona, Spain! This city is the most popular city in Spain and is also the second largest city in Spain. There are about 1,615,908 people living in that city during 2008. Barcelona is located on the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Mediterranean Sea, on a plateau approximately 5 km wide limited by the mountain range of Collserola, the Llobregat river to the south-west and the Besos river to the north.
Barcelona has the Mediterranean climate, with sub-Mediterranean influence, which makes of it not be the "classical mediterranean climate" with mild, humid winters and warm, dry summers. Barcelona is located in the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, so , the usual west winds, especially in winters, which cause the wet climate in many places of Western Europe, arrive in Barcelona with low humidity, producing no rain.

The amazing tour of Spain is over and we move on to London, England which is the capital of England the United Kingdom. London has a temperature marine climate, like lots of places on the British Isles, so the city rarely sees extremely high or low temperatures. Summers are warm with average high temperatures of 19˚C - 24˚C.

Then we move on to France, where the Eiffel Tower is! PARIS, here we come!
French is a country located in Western Europe. Although France is located in Western Europe, they still have allies in North America, the Carribean, South America, the southern Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and Antarctica.
Lastly, it's Venice, Italy we're visiting. I think it's the prettiest city on the world, with all the water and the beautiful and elegant night scenes there. :)
Venice is a city in northern Italy. The city stretches across 118 small islands in the marshly Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shorelin between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. The population estimate of 272,000 inhabitants inclusdes the population of the whole Comune of Venezia; around 62,000 in the historic city os Venice.
Venice is world-famous for its canals. It is built on an archipelago of 118 islands formed by abotut 150 canals in a shallow lagoon. The islands on which the city is built are connected by about 400 bridtes. In the old center, the canals serve the function of roads, and every form of transport is on water or on foot. In the 19th century a causeway to the mainland brought a railway station to Venice, and an automobile causeway and parking lot was added in the 20th century. Beyond these land entrances at the northern edge of the city, transportation within the city remains, as it was in centuries past, entirely on water or on foot. Venice is Europe's largest urban car free area, unique in Europe in remaining a sizable functioning city in the 21st entirely without motorcars or trucks.Watch Out! The buildings of Venice are constructed on closely spaced wood piles, which were imported from the mainland. Six hundred years ago, Venetians protected themselves from land-based attacks by diverting all the major rivers flowing int othe lagoon and that prevented sediment from filling the area around the city and this created an ever-deeper lagoon environment.
During the 20th century, when many artesian wells were sunk into the periphery of the lagoon to draw water for local industry, Venice began to sbside. It was realized that extraction of the aquifer (body of permeable rock that can contain or transmit groundwater) was the cause. The sinking process has slowed markdly sicne artesian wells were banned in the 1960s.
Thankfully, some recent studies have suggested that the city is no longer sinking, but this is not yet certain. So a state of alert has not been taken away.

Yay! Mr. Carpenter's trip is over! I think he might have enjoyed Venice the most since it is a beautiful city and it's unique in a lot of ways.

Wearing An Old Man's Shoes

2009-02-19T14:56:00.005+08:00

We read The Old Man and the Sea in Language Arts class and I don't think I like the kind of book he rights. I like fantasies, fiction, and young adult books more...
If you think more of The Old Man and the Sea, you'll see that it has a meaning... A meaning behind the book and why the Ernest Hemingway wrote it.
Anyway, that's not the point. The point of this blog post is to 'wear the an old man's shoes' as shown in the title. It means to wear the old man's shoes.
What I'm going to talk about is what I'll do if I was the old man.
1. If I were the old man, I would not have as much patience and I wouldn't risk to get my fish in danger.
2. If I were the old man, I would not do anything that would hurt myself.
3. If I were the old man, I would not just focus on big fish while I can fish the small ones and earn money.
4. If were the old man, I would also try to prove to Manolin's parents that I am worth Manolin following and learning from.
5. If I were the old man, I would try to earn some money.
But I can't be the old man because...
1. I'm not male
2. The Old Man and the Sea isn't real
3. You can't exchange souls (Freaky Friday doesn't count)
4. I don't want to (HAHAHAHA)
5. I don't have that much patience and strength.

Picture source: Deviant Art

National Geographic Geographic Lens 1&2

2009-02-19T12:47:00.004+08:00

If you want to study Geography, first you have to know what Geography means.
In ancient Greek, Geo means Earth while Graphia means description.
From watching the video, I learned that Geography is an exciting story that tells of earth and it's inhabitants. It is a story that helps us understand the world we live today. It is also a story that helps us understand the world we will live in tomorrow.
I also learned about the climate of Asia.
The Indian Ocean is beside Asia and the land and water heat and cool unevenly. Because of this, temperature difference sets up pressure difference. Then pressure difference initiates the flow of wind. Summer time develops low pressure system coming off from Indian Ocean. The wind is warm and wet at that time and the summer rainy season comes. Then when it's winter time, high pressure systems is developed and the wind gets colder and drier.
For the second video, I learned how Geography relate to the physical evironment and the action among people and place.
Over half of the people in the world live in Asia but the people aren't spread evenly on the continent. There's always a distribution pattern and people spread on the Earth's surface in a pattern which is based on their language, religion, what you eat, and their beauties.
Physical Environment influences what people might do in that particular area. How the actions of those people have modified the land themselves.
For most of Asia, they eat rice and the farmers depend on the seasonal monsoon rain.
In parts of Asia that are drier, rice cannot be grown so the people their change their main crop to wheat. People in different regions eat different things. For instance, the people in Northern China would eat dumplings while the people in Southern Asia would eat Rice.
Although the land separates the people from each other, we still use cyberspace to connect to each other.
Globalization means:
International
Economic
Social
Connections
Countries like India and China enter the world's food market. People want a lot of different kinds of food so countries are competing for the global food market.

Picture source: Deviant Art

Keep Your Promise

2009-02-14T19:15:00.006+08:00

Every Wednesday, we have a morning gathering. And last Wednesday (February 11, 2009), we had a little discussion about promises. Cindy Chen from 11th Grade gave us a little introduction by using one of Shakespeare's plays as a model (but she changed the story a bit). There were two students to act out the play -- Peter (Gr.7) and Jacob (Gr.10):
Mr. Carpenter (Gr. 7 & 8's Humanities Teacher) gave Peter a homework assignment that can only be done using a Macbook but Peter doesn't have one. So Peter went to Jacob and asked if he could borrow Jacob's Mac. Jacob agreed but he said Peter HAS TO return his Mac before 5 PM the next day and if the computer is not returned in the way it was (meaning that if there were scratches, if the computer was damaged in any way), Peter will have to give him the new Mac that is coming in for Peter. Peter agreed so Jacob lent him his Mac.
But clumsy as he was, Peter dropped Jacob's Mac and broke the hardrive. When Peter returned it to Jacob, Jacob was angry and he said Peter HAS TO give him the new Mac which is coming in, like he said at first. Just like most people would when it comes to this kind of occasion, Peter said no. Then he offered to fix Jacob's computer to him. But Jacob said he could fix the computer himself and that he wanted Peter to keep his promise -- to give him the new Mac that is coming in.
--
That's when the story stopped. And the question was, "Should Peter keep his promise? Why?"
This is the purpose of this blog post!
Well, I think Peter should keep his promise. No matter if he had signed a contract or not. A promise IS a promise. You can't reverse it, unless you go back into time, which nobody has done it so far yet.
That's just one of the reasons.
The other reason I think Peter should keep his promise is because that's the way you should be when you're a human being. Just imagine, if ALL the humans on Earth don't keep their promises, what will happen? This is just like imagining that ALL the humans on Earth not following the laws.
Keeping a promise is the same, but not that serious (although sometimes it can be).
That was the most important reason of all. And now I'm going to list the third reason (I can think of more, but I'll just stop here).
The third reason is that if you don't keep your promises, people will just stop believing you one day. Just like the boy who cried wolf:
The people in the village offered to help him if the wolf came to hunt the sheep. They told the boy that he just had to notice them by shouting, and they'll come immediately.
The first and second time, the boy faked the occasion. He cried, "Help! Help! The wolf is here!" so the villagers all came up to help him and save the sheep, but only to find that the boy was just pretending.
For the third time, the wolf really came and the boy cried wolf, but the villagers all thought that the boy was pretending again so they didn't help him.
And the ending was that all the sheep the boy was looking after was eaten by the wolf.
--
Well, that's it. That's why I think Peter should keep his promise to Jacob. And if he already knew that he would have to give Jacob his new Mac, he should've been more careful. Maybe Peter will be more careful next time since he has learned a lesson.

Geography Mindmap

2009-02-12T22:39:00.001+08:00

The Term 'Geography'

2009-02-12T22:11:00.002+08:00

I remember I wrote a blog post about 'where'. And in it, I mentioned the term 'geography'. So when Mr. Carpenter wanted us to write about 'geography' I thought I don't need to.

But there is always something new that you can add to your ideas. So I guess I'll try to add more about the term 'geography'.
Geography is the study of Earth's physical features and how this affects the living things around it. There is more to this word, but this is the basic explanation.
The people who study geography are called geologists and they are also the people who draw the maps we follow when we're lost.

Favorite Scene!

2009-02-12T20:48:00.006+08:00

Hey Ho! Blog No.5 for Language Arts so far during Semester 2! Today Mr. Laffin wants us to blog about our favorite scene in ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ because we just finished the book. I’ll start first talking about what I think about the book and the writer.
I don’t really like the book ‘The Old Man and the Sea’… In fact, most people in our class don’t really enjoy it. But it’s a WORLD classic! Everyone should try. Just like the Shakespeare plays, everyone should try to read it when you get to the age of reading the book/play/etc. Well, all I can say about ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ is that it’s not really an interesting book for me, but it’s a cool enough book.
My uncle said ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ has lots of meaning in it. You have to really reflect and think about the meaning of this book to really understand what the writer is trying to tell you. I’m still figuring it out! I’m wondering if the writer is trying to say, “As long as you try, you might get what you want. But you have to consider the consequences first, so you wouldn’t make big mistakes at the end.”
I think Ernest Hemingway is a good writer that describes a lot, but for the first few pages, I can’t focus on the book much… Sometimes I would turn out reading it but not taking it in. Like I see it through my right eye and it comes out from my left eye. Haha! Just kidding. But you’d really have to focus to know what the story is talking about.
Lastly, I favorite scene is when the boy sees the old man come back from fishing the marlin and he cried when he saw the old man’s hand. The reason because I like this scene is because I can see that the boy’s love to the old man’s is very deep. He really loved the old man not just because the old man taught him how to fish, the old man also showed a lot of care towards the boy. The old man is a strong man and he never gives up. This is a good model to everyone else in the world who has a life’s dream to accomplish. I encourage everyone to have the old man’s perseverance with everything you try to do. Maybe set yourself this rule, “What you started, finish it. There is NO turning back.” then maybe you’ll accomplish a lot of things in your life! Which makes you feel really good, by the way.

Mirror Image

2009-02-11T20:50:00.002+08:00

Today for Language Arts, Mr. Laffin wants us to write another blog post! This one is about ‘Mirror Image’. The topic is: ‘When you look into the mirror, what do you see? Do you think others see you as you see yourself?’. So, I’m going to define what Mr. Laffin means.
Well, I definitely think people look me in a different way than I look at myself. For example, I might think I’m bad at math while other people think I rock at math. Who knows? Everyone has different opinions. When I look into the mirror, I see a girl that has black hair, is about 155 cm, and dark brown eyes. :) So that’s what I see in the mirror physically. I haven’t gotten to the emotional part. Sometimes when I look in the mirror, I see a girl with a serious face and sometimes I see a girl with a smiley face! :) I think this blog post is short but it has a lot of meanings in it. You never know. Think think think and you’ll know what I mean. Good Luck.

Where - An Important 'W'

2009-02-10T21:00:00.006+08:00

Does everyone know that there are the 5 'W's? They are (with Chinese):
-Who (人)
-What (事)
-When (時)
-Where (地)
-Why (物)
They're all simple words so nearly anyone should know what they mean!
Today, Mr. Carpenter gave us a HUGE question, "Why is 'where' important? In other words, how does where one is on the planet and what type of geography-land-water form is nearby, affect one's life?" and he wants us to blog about it. Here I answer!:
How does where one is on the planet and what type of geography-land-water form is nearby, affect one's life? The effect of these things are huge! Take Hsinchu, Taiwan for example. There is a near by beach and that makes Hsinchu a windy city. Then look at Kaoshung, Taiwan, it is so close to the equator that it's really hot there.
If you switch the example to another continent, look at North America. It snows in the winter! Why? Because Taiwan is more closer to the equator while North America is father away from it. The farther up, the colder you are, and the animals and people there would have thicker fur or otherwise, they would dress up with more clothes.
'Where' is really important because it affects people worldwide. No matter 'where' you are, you can always describe it using the term 'geography'. "The geography of this place is ___", etc. The people who study the 'where's or geography, are called geologists. They study the 'where''s climate, mountains, rivers, or Earth's physical features. Geologists also study how these things affect the living creatures around the 'where'.
So this is why 'where' is so important. It's 'where' we live in! Without it, there'd be nothing around us. Even your house won't exist and that'd be scary. So just keep in mind that 'where' is 'great' word! :)

3 Major Religions

2009-02-09T21:53:00.006+08:00

Anyone know what the 3 major religions in the Middle East is? If yes, good for you! If not, I'll tell you then! :) This is our Humanities homework anyway. The 3 major religions in the Middle East are:
-Christianity
-Judaism
-Islam
That's it. That's the three main religions of the Middle East. Last Friday, one of our classmates did the '3 Major Religions' presentation during Humanities class and the audience are supposed to write about what you learned on Blogger. Here's what I learned:

Christianity
The god for Christianity is Jesus Christ. He is believed to be the son of god. Christianity is classified as a Abraham Religion and it started as a Jewish at the eastern Mediterranean. Then the group grew larger and larger and now you can find them in various parts of the world. It now represents about a quarter of the Earth's population.

Judaism
It is represented between the Children of Israel and God. It is the first monotheistic religion, which means that they only worship one god. The Jews believe that the God created the universe and he still holds control over it.

Islam
Islam is another monotheistic religion. Islam is the world's second largest religion today. Islam is usually found in the Middle East and the African and Asia continent.

Submarine SMASH Day Reflection

2009-02-09T13:17:00.004+08:00

Today in Science we had SMASSSHHHHH DAY!
It stands for: Smith's Marvelously Awesome Science Hoopla :)
I remember last semester we had SMASH day too. It was called 'The Paper Towel".
It was really unfamiliar when we started that project but once your started the project, your hands will start moving and you'll know what to do.
Our mission today was to build periscopes! Mrs. Smith gave us 4 mirrors, 10 pieces of paper, a card box, and a one meter scotch tape. We had to build the periscope in 1 hour and my team didn't succeed but Mrs. Smith said we were really close. We didn't really communicate well. I think I was doing almost all the work while chatting with my partner. Like I said, we turned out really close and there were some mistakes I think I won't make again next time.

I suggest...
For someone who is building up the periscope for the first time, I suggest that he/she relax first... Because if you have too much pressure, you can't focus.
After you relax, you can start planning by drawing on a piece of paper.
Once you know what you are going to build and how to build it, you can start the great job!

ONE of My Lucky Moments :)

2009-02-05T12:50:00.004+08:00

Mr. Laffin wants us to blog again. Heehee… He thinks we like to blog. Haha. That’s the truth for some of us but a lie for other people. HAHAHA.
So this time, Mr. Laffin wants us to ‘Free Write’ about our luckiest moment. Okay. I don’t know what to write about. I can’t think of a special, lucky moment I’ve had in my life. You might think, “Oh. I doubt it. Everyone has their lucky moment”. Yeah yeah. EVERYONE has their lucky moment. But can you think of one now? I guess not. That’s my problem for the moment. I can’t think of one!
I think I know one. :) Heehee…
That is, I have a lucky moment every day! Heehee..
Then it will be much easier to talk about. I’ll talk about once when I went to a kind of store where they sell all sorts of electronic products (Computer screens, Computers, Notebooks, USB, etc) with my dad. I was just following my dad around whereas my dad was being a customer and actually buying a computer screen. Since I was just going to the store with my dad, I could walk around wherever I want. So while my dad was asking the sales-people which screen is better, I went to look at other stuff. To my surprise, I saw different kinds of music players and iPods! I have always wanted one but my dad wouldn’t buy one for me because he thought the iPod would turn my attention away from my homework. I have went to that store lots of times and I have always begged my dad for the iPod but he never said, “Okay, I’ll buy it”, Although he always declined what I said, I was NEVER giving up. Then, that time when we went, I begged again. Then he said, “Okay, I’ll buy it.” When I heard that, I said, “Excuse me? Really? Are you kidding?” to which he replied, “No. I’m not kidding. I’m going to buy it. But you have to promise that this iPod wouldn’t turn your attention away from your homework.” So I nodded and he asked the cashier how much then he payed. HEEHEE… I was totally surprised and I couldn’t hide my happiness! :)
Well, that’s it. ONE of my lucky moments in life! :)

☆Back to the Picture!☆

Bookstore Is Closin'

2009-02-04T13:20:00.003+08:00

A bookshop in Greenwich Village, called The Oscar Wilde Bookshop, believed to the oldest gay and lesbian bookstore in the country, will close on March 29 because of economic troubles. It was a news announced by its owner on Tuesday.
Six years ago, the store was nearly closed but only to be sold and given a last-minute postpone.
The Oscar Wilde Bookshop was opened in 1967 on Mercer Street by Craig L. Rodwell, who was influential in the gay rights movement. It was later moved to 15 Christopher Street. Mr. Rodwell, inspired by the owners of gay bookshops around the country, helped organize the city’s first gay pride parade in 1970. He died of stomach cancer in 1993.
A store manager called Bill Offenbaker, bought the store. The store was then sold to Larry Lingle in 1996.
In 2003, after Mr. Lingle said he could no longer afford to keep the store open, Deacon Maccubbin, the owner of Lambda Rising Bookstores in Washington, agreed to buy the store and keep it going and selling books.
In 2006, there was a new owner. He was a store manager since 1996, called Kim Brinster.
The bookstore, not much bigger than a typical Manhattan studio apartment, became popular place for the lesbian, gay, and bisexual and transgenders communities.

My Questions:
1. Why didn't the fifth store manager postpone the bookstore close date? Mr. Obama is going to fix the Global Money Crisis!
2. Why did people after people buy the bookstore?

☆Picture and Article all from New York Times!☆

Snow Shuts Down Schools Again

2009-02-04T12:53:00.004+08:00

Lots of kids (thousands, actually) in the UK are off school again as the wintry weather causes disruption across UK for the second time.
The UK was hit by its heaviest snow fall in 18 years and up to 6,000 schools are still closed after that.
South-east England was hit by the snow in the worst occasion and the forecasters are now warning people from the north about the wide-spread ice.
The Borders, the Pennies (north-east England), and eastern Scotland are expected to bear the brunt of Tuesday’s wintry weather.
It is expected that snow will continue to spread across south Wales and south-east England, and into Northern Ireland.
There are severe weather warnings in place for lots of parts of the UK.
The areas where snow is expected to fall are being warned that strong winds could make the conditions worse.
There were delays on roads, lots of buses, trains, and flights being canceled on Monday (February 2, 2009).
Some rail services are still interrupted, but officials said London buses are expected to get back on the roads.
Grit (small, loose particles of stone or sand) is being put on the roads to make them less slippery, but drivers are still being told not travel unless their journey is extremely important and necessary.

My Questions:
1. When do they think will students be able to return to school again?
2. Will the winter storm go worse?
3. Where in the world is going through the same thing as the UK is?

☆Click for original article☆ Pic: Google Images

I Think HE Is!

2009-02-02T15:20:00.003+08:00

If you read the article I just wrote "I Think SHE Is!" then this article is a sequel to that article.
I have lots of people that are Effective Communicators so I guess I will talk about one more person that is.
I have this music teacher from Elementary School called Mr. Karst. He's a real gentleman and he's really generous. But he's not just that. He's more than that. He's another person who is an Effective Communicator that I know.
Mr. Karst had once told us that the secret to speak loudly is to open your mouth wide while you're speaking. We tried it, and it totally worked! He told us that he used this method to speak in front of 7,000 people without a microphone. How bizarre is that? But it's true! He's one of the people who I admire on the planet Earth. Although he's strict, he's a super nice and 'gentleman' teacher. I hope he sees this article. Haha.
Mr. Karst is also persuasive. He can convince you really well. He also tells the truth. Always. He never lies. At least, not to us.
That's it. I've only been Mr. Karst's student for half a semester and I really missed his class when I no longer had it since I went to 7th Grade. I still see him every day at lunch and I always say, "Hello." And you know what? He says "Hello" back! Haha. I guess everyone does that. Anyway, what I'm trying to point out is, he's really an Effective Communicator. Although he's strict and not much little kids like him, he's a really excellent teacher and you can learn a lot from him.
There's more! He even has his own website!

I Think SHE Is!

2009-02-02T15:08:00.005+08:00

In Language Arts class, Mr. Laffin wants us to think about who is an 'Effective Communicator' in our life. Well, I'm not sure. But I think I know one!
She's my friend, Caitlin and she is American. She really speaks up for her classmates and herself. Once in Grade 5, when we were having Social Studies class, the teacher asked if anyone would want to volunteer to read. Then Caitlin raised her hand! Listening to her read is a very relaxing thing. Since her first language is English, she speaks really fluent English. The teacher likes her accent and the way she reads too, so she gets to read an extra paragraph every time she volunteers to read.
Whenever we have presentations, she always gets really high marks. She uses her soothing voice and her knowledge to convince everyone what she thinks is right.
Also, when a friend of hers gets bullied by a boy, she would go to the boy and try to reason with him. They don't even need to fight. She talks to the boys and the boys would give in sometimes. I really like Caitlin. She's not just an Effective Communicator. She's also a Persons of High Character! She's really caring to her friends and she's really generous about everything. =)

WELCOME TO EARTH : POPULATION A BIG FAT ZER000

2009-01-23T10:53:00.010+08:00

Urgh. Another blog post. Mr. Truchon's fault. He made us. All because we've just seen the episode called "Life After People" made by the History Channel. Why would he do this? We've (As a class) asked him why and he said he's just curious "What we think will happen? What would it be like if everybody suddenly disappeared except people in Taiwan? For example, what do Taiwanese people import from other countries? What would it be like with all of this open space in other countries, but no-one their to sell us what we don't produce here?".
Some people might think he's doing this intentionally but some people would just believe him. And those people are usually NAIVE. Just kidding.
So, since MR. TRUCHON is the teacher, WE students have to follow his commands. P-fa. (<--If Mr. Truchon sees this ("P-fa"), tell him to go to Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Smith was the one who told Lian and me to say "P-fa" and see how long how it will take to pass it down, to make it popular so people would start to say that word.) If I decide not to follow Mr. Truchon's commands, I wouldn't be here, spending my time, typing this blog post and being funny. LOL. I wouldn't bother to do it if I didn't want to follow Mr. Truchon's "command". HAHAHAHA. Okay. So I will have to start now. Or else I might be in trouble. BWAHAHAHAHAHA.
I guess I'll start with the answers Mr. Truchon is seeking for. HAHA. Which means, I think I'll start with the questions he's asked on Moodle.

Q1. What would it be like if everybody suddenly disappeared except people in Taiwan? A1. It would be weird + exciting + amazing + like-a-dream + boring + frustrating + like-a-nightmare + etc.
Some of us would miss the friends that we made in other countries. But some greedy people would want to conquer all countries and fight for some. They would want to take all the land and control the people. They can run if they disobey the law because the world is too big and the policemen aren't that many to go to each country to capture the traitor. It would be weird because then the world is too big for this little people. Although you cannot have one country for one person, you can have 50 for per country or something like that. You'd feel lonely! Just look at America for example. It's so big and you only have 50 people in that country? 50 per state, is it? That's too weird. It would be amazing + exciting because it'd be cool and just bizarre. People would totally freak out and stuff. Maybe some scientists would even record the AWESOME MOMENT OF HISTORY. Haha. That would be funny.

Q2: What would it be like with all of this open space in other countries, but no-one their to sell us what we don't produce here?
A2: I suppose we'd go crazy because most of our stuff is from China, America, Canada, or so. You can barely find Taiwanese stuff in the markets. I'm not sure about this one. But I think so. For this answer, you might say, "We could just move to a country and take what we want ourselves!" But how can you go get what you want yourself? For example, you want fuel for your fuel? How? You don't even know the technique, how to get oil from the bottom from the Earth and stuff. Humans depend on each other and they'd have to spread to help. Earth and the Community, the Countries, are the examples. There are other similar examples too. But it's smaller. For example, in Science today, your class is doing an experiment. The teacher wants the whole class to crowd around a table so everybody can watch the experiment clearly. During the experiment, the teacher realizes that she forgot an ingredient. She asks everyone in class to see who will help her. But nobody moves when she asks. But if no one helps her, nobody can continue the experiment. This is just like the example for each country exporting and importing to and from another country. If you don't have someone else there to help, nobody succeeds. Nobody is complete. See what I mean by 'Humans Depending By Each Other'? If not, think.
--
Ha! I finish answering the questions Mr. Truchon wants us to answer! BWAHAHAHAHA. I rule. Just Kidding. I'm not Obama yet. HAHA.

If you want to know more about the episode of "Life After People", click the link to access the web page: <Life After People>

The First Semester of Humanities

2009-01-20T13:07:00.008+08:00

The first semester of Humanities is over in 1 more class! Time does really past very quickly does it? So Mr. Carpenter wants us to do some reflecting about the things we've done in class. He has asked three questions and we need to answer them. Here it comes! Which of the learning outcomes did I use in my learning?
I think I have used all 5 of the Learning Outcomes in my learning. But some of them might be stronger than some.
Again, I have to tell you what the 5 Student Outcomes are, in case you are a new reader or you just forget:
1. Effective Communicator
2. Critical Thinker and Problem Solver
3. Persons of High Character
4. Active Learner
5. Community Contributor
---
I think I did best on being an 'Active Learner' because I spent the most time on Humanities than any other subjects I did. Sometimes I spend so much time on Humanities that I don't have enough time for other subjects I take. Which is not good. So now I'm trying to spend time on my Humanities homework while focusing on other subjects as well.
The reason I think I am an 'Active Learner' in Humanities is because I like to seek for more information and reflect and think more about it. For example, if a title of an article catches my eye, I would stop what I am doing and I would go read the article. If I find the article interesting, I would even write the reflections on my blog and share it with everyone!

I also used the outcome of 'Critical Thinker and Problem Solver'. I really like to figure things out using logic and the knowledge I have gained in the past. =)
I like to sit there by myself while listening to music and think of the stuff that's happening in my life. Haha. I really like challenging questions, although I might get annoyed while trying to figure them out. Haha.

So those are the two outcomes I mostly used during Humanities class. I have used the other 3. But not much.

On to the next question!

What content, skills, and big ideas did I learn from doing this project?
For skills, I think I learned to be more organized and how to keep myself from being distracted by things like chat and facebook. For ideas, I learned how and where to get ideas. I could go to my classmates' blogs, books, or articles. You can get them from your everyday experience too! You can even get them from little things like observing a person. There's lots to learn in the world and you can't ever finish looking at how cruel and wonderful the world is at the same time.

Mr.Obama's Welcome Concert :)

2009-01-20T12:56:00.005+08:00

A massive concert has been held in Washington to welcome Barack Obama before he officially becomes the 44th president of the United States of America.
Hundreds of thousands of supporters turned out to see their new president and watch performances from big name stars like Beyonce, Shakira, and Usher.
"Anything is possible in America, " said Obama to everyone watching the concert.
Mr.Obama also warned that the country was facing its toughest challenges in years and solving them would take time.

The concert is called "We Are One" and it is one of a series of special events that's being held in the run-up to the Inauguration on Tuesday (Today!!!), when Mr.Obama officially takes over as president.

About 240,000 tickets have been issued for Tuesday's celebrations, but people are so excited about Obama's presidency that officials are expecting up to two million people to turn up.
To deal with all the people, a road which stretches nearly too miles from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial will be opened to the public for the first time.
And thousands of police officers are believed to be involved in one of the biggest security operations Washington has ever seen.

☆Click to Go to BBC☆

Congratulations, Mr. Barack Obama! The to-be president of United States of America! =)

Improve YOU!

2009-01-20T08:11:00.004+08:00

Time goes as fast as ever. If you sit still and close your eyes, think back at how many things have happened in your life ever since you remember, you would be surprised how many years have passed. If you are in sixth grade and you look back, you'll know how time can past by. It's been six years ever since you started Elementary School! Cliche as it sounds, it's like yesterday right? The first semester of 7th grade is about to past as every seconds carries it closer... We're about to have break, and then we're starting Semester 2, maybe meeting new teachers and students. You never know.
During Advisory, Mrs. Smith and Mr. Laffin wants us to use one of the Student Outcomes and write about it. Then tell them how you are going to improve the school.
Before I start, I'm going to name the 5 Student Outcomes as always:

a. Effective Communicator
b. Persons of High Character
c. Critical Thinker and Problem Solver
d. Community Contributor
e. Active Learner
---
I think I'm going to choose "Effective Communicator" this time.
"How do I plan to improve?" is the question you should ask yourself every time you have a new start on something. A new year, a new semester, a new month, a new week, a new day, or anything I suppose. If you don't have a plan yet, plan now. How can I improve?
If I want to improve on the "Effective Communicator" part, I need to speak up more and talk about the important and interesting things. Not just babbling along. Obviously, the reason it's named "'Effective' Communicator" is because you gotta be an "EFFECTIVE" communicator. Communicate Effectively. But how can I improve? Let me think...
I can improve by.. Speaking up like I said..
I can improve by.. Speaking effectively.. Something that might persuade people and show them that I'm right.
I can improve by.. Learn how to make things more clearer and shorter

"A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines, and a machine no unnecessary parts." -William Strunk

I can improve by.. Asking questions when I don't know
I can improve by.. Listening to what other people have got to say.. What they think.
I can improve by.. Measuring things in different ways, looking at things in different ways.

Well, that's all I can think now. Things are endless, and I can always think of new stuff to add to this blog post. So I'll say I'm done for now!

1 More Day Until The Mr.Obama Day!

2009-01-19T09:36:00.004+08:00

Hey people!

Know what day January 20, 2009 is?
If you don't, you're wayyy behind!
January 20, 2009 is the day Mr. Barack Obama is officially president of the United States of America!
Yes!!!!!
Anyone going to the Inauguration Party or Concert?
If you are, enjoy the fun!
Let's give Mr. Obama a round of applause! =)

Stars Among Obama Inauguration Parties

2009-01-13T12:40:00.005+08:00

President-elect Barack Obama is going to be one rockin' leader of the Free World.
Concerts celebrating the new presidency are planned over several days in Washington, D.C. and HBO and ABC will be pulling together the big nes and airing them live across the nation.
HBO kicks off the festivities as Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am and Stevie Wonder (Oh My God). The chool thing is that Obama himself, will stsrat things off with a welcome to the crowd!
Don Mischer, the producer and director of the show says, "This is a great opportunity to capture a historic event in a very meaningful setting. We will have the statue of Abraham Lincoln looking down on our stage and a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people lining the mall - a tableau any director would relish."

Obama and his wife, Michelle, are expected to make an appearance at ABC's "Neighborhood Lnaugural Ball" after Obama's sweaing-in on January 20. The network will broadcast live on television and over the Internet.

Disney is also jumping into the act with Kid's inaugural concert to honor military familes, to be hosted by Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vica President-elect Joe Biden.
The show will probably feature the latest white-hot Disney act the Jonas Brothers and broadcast live on the Disney Channel and on Radio Disney.

There are at least half a dozen other concerts around town, making D.C. seem like the most elaborate Grammy venue on the planet.

The event is expected to be funded with donations gathered by Obama's inaugural committee.
HBO has agreed to work with its distributors to allow these with access to cable, telcos or satellite television to watch the Sunday event free.

We don't know whether they will distrubute free tickets or not. Whoever's going better get there early though...

Questions:
1. About how many celebrities will be singing a the concert?
2. Will Obama's attend the events with them too?
3. What will Obama say to welcome everyone?

It's Slavery... And It's Even Modern

2009-01-11T19:22:00.009+08:00

There are still some places today where slavery is still common. There is also a fast growing problem in modern slavery: Trafficking
Modern day slavery is not usually associated with the West - but tens of thousands of women are trafficked there every year as sex workers and forced laborers...
The problem that has received worldwide attention earlier last year when nineteen Chinese laborers were drowned in the rising waters as they picked cockles in Moreambe Bay in the northwest of England. They were being paid the equivalent of less than $2 a day.

Other slaves come from Eastern Europe. Ivana, a Ukrainian woman in her early 20s, talks about how a job she took as a waitress in Greece turned into something more wicked - and she found herself forced into prostitution in Birmingham, in the English midlands.
And one hiding Trafficker reveals how he used to kidnap babies as young as 18 months and transport them through Europe.
(CLICK to connect to BBC)Niger
In Niger, slavery was only criminalized in 2003 - and the local human rights organization Timidria estimates 870,000 people are still held in bondage there.
It is said that the masters control the slaves totally, making full use of their labor, abusing them sexually and physically, and often forcing them to mate with other slaves so that their children are born into slavery.
BBC said then they met Azagar, a former slave who managed to escape his master. "I was considered an animal," he says.
(CLICK. To go to the original article.)
Pakistan
The modern slavery considered affecting the most people is the bonded labor in South Asia. The UN believes 20 million people are enslaved worldwide.
Gerry Northam visits Pakistan and he meets a women called Laxmi, a women who was told that she and her husband were bonded to the master until they had paid a supposed debt of 200,000 rupees. Laxmi was beaten when she asked to see proof of the debt.
Shanti, another women, tells how her master raped after she threatened to run away, even though she was pregnant.
Twelve years after the government made bonded labor illegal, it is estimated that there are still five million laborers in Pakistan bonded to their employees by debt. There is a central fund to rehabilitate, in other words, restore someone to health or normal life by training and therapy after imprisonment, addiction, or illness, workers like Laxmi. But so far, not one rupee has been spent.
(The Original article about Pakistan.)Haiti
The UN remembrance are linked to the 200th anniversary of the slave revolt in Haiti in 1804. However, that did not end slavery in the country and today there are 200,000 children kept as restavecs (domestic slaves), mostly in the capital Port au Prince.
Restavecs belong to the worldwide tradition of placement, where poorer families send their children to richer relatives in order to improve their chances in life. But Maryse Gulmond, working for Save the Children in Haiti says these children are given false hopes of education and then lost their family links, which often leads to abuse.
One man called Jean Robert Cadet talks about how he suffered terrible abuse as a restavec. Without being affected by a successful later life in the United States, he remains haunted by nightmares from his childhood.
(Back to the real article. CLICK.)

There are some Internet Links that you can consider looking at:
CLICK. To look at more!
Note: All pictures are from BBC. Links are above.

The Different Cultures

2009-01-11T17:42:00.006+08:00

We continued to watch 'The Ten Commandments' in Humanities. We had stopped at the scene where Moses was stumbling through the desert. He had been found by 7 women who were the daughters of Jethro the shepherd. He told Moses of their God and Moses found out that the slaves and the Jews had worshiped the same God. Only the Egyptians were different. They didn't worship the same God the Jews worshiped.

I think I can't find too much enough for me to write a complete blog post from the second part of the movie. I find the first part more interesting. Maybe when I find out more, I can add more to this blog post! For now, I think I'll publish it.

The Ten Commandments

2009-01-07T20:15:00.003+08:00

It's not funny watching people getting tortured and slapped. It's not funny watching people work so hard and still get blamed and hit.

On Monday during Humanities, Mr. Carpenter showed us a Hollywood movie called 'The Ten Commandments". It was sort of a cool movie but just not my type. Mr. Carpenter said the movie is a nonfiction movie, in other words, it has happened. There's actually a lot to learn from the movie. So far I've learned that the Egyptians were wealthy and they often tortured the Jewish because they were their slaves. There was this boy called Moses and he was Jewish. He didn't know that at first because when he was born, his mother put him in a basket and let the basket flow by itself on the Nile. Gradually, the basket flowed to a place where the Egyptian princesses were. The pharaoh's wife found him and raised him on her own so he became a prince. He had to compete for the pharaoh's place with another prince named Ramses. But when he realized he was Jew, he decided to be like the rest of his people -- become a slave, too. Then Ramses found him one day and sent him into the desert and wish him good luck.
In this movie, I've learned that some people are just too mean if they've got the power over you. But some of them still show mercy when you beg. And it's not fair when you are stronger than other people and you control them, telling them to become your slave. But that's the world. It's not fair. Life Isn't Fair. Thankfully, the world has changed a lot from before. Everyone is equal to each other and there are only little slavery going around which means that there still IS.

President Bush Helps Protect Unique Areas In Pacific

2009-01-07T12:56:00.007+08:00

People have complained that George W. Bush was hardly a 'green' president for the last eight years. But now he has established three new national monuments. The three of those Marine National Monuments take up nearly 200,000 altogether, larger than the state of California. Inside the monument, there are coral, fish, and seabirds. They also include the Mariana Trench, a canyon whose bottom, more then five miles down, is the deepest part of the world's oceans.
George W. Bush said at the White House signing ceremony this afternoon, "For sea birds and marine life, they will be sanctuaries to grow and thrive. For scientists, they will be places to extend the frontiers of discovery. And for the American people, they will be places that honor our duty to be good stewards of the Almighty's creation."
No president has ordered protections for as much of the world's sea as Mr. Bush has. He created a 140,000-square-mile reserve in the Northwest Hawiian Islands in 2006.
The Vice-President Cheney has argued that the restrictions would create a dangerous precedent. But Laura Bush had told her husband to go ahead and so did James Connaughton, who chairs the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
After Mr. Bush did this, the environmental groups did what they haven't done in the last eight years, they applauded the President!!
Mr. Bush, today and the White House, was quick on announcing the new Marine Monuments, and he spent lots of time talking about what he called his "common sense" approach to the environment.
At last he said, "We have charted the way toward a more promising era in environmental stewardship. While there's a lot more work to be done, we have done our part to leave behind a cleaner and healthier and better world for those who follow us on this earth."

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My Holiday Break and My School Goals for 2009

2009-01-06T13:15:00.006+08:00

My Winter Break
My winter break isn’t really exciting or anything. For the first whole week, I had to go to a Chinese class everyday from Monday to Friday and sit there listening to the teacher talk about the Taiwan culture and stuff. It was sort of annoying.. Because I had no intention of studying Chinese whatsoever. It was break! Everyone should have a rest!! And I am one of the ‘everybody’s. So, I sat there in class, listening to the teacher talk, talk, talk. I had to nod when he asks if I understood and I have to answer his boring questions. I wish I could just walk out while the teacher was talking and babbling. But I couldn’t. Because if I do, the teacher would tell me to come back. So I lived through that every single day. Then I got a nice surprise one day. I saw Mrs. Smith on the street while I was riding a bus. Well, actually my sisters saw her then they told me. Mrs. Smith was walking home from RT-Mart and listening to her iPod I think… After we said ‘goodbye’ to her, the bus drove on. So I had to start my class again.
After that week, I had a little freedom. My father sent me to Taipei, to my relatives’ house. At least when I was there, I could use the computer, sleep as late as I want, read a book, etc. I was sort of free. But I was sometimes bored too. The first day I went to Taipei, I went to the Eslite bookstore to see if they had the book ‘Eclipse’ by Stephanie Meyer from the Twilight Saga. But it seems that Twilight is too ‘hot’ all the books have sold out. So instead of going straight back home, I decided to go to the young-adult and science-fiction section to see if there were any books I would like to read. And I found one! It was a book by Jacqueline Wilson. It was a nice book. But it was short.
The next day, Sunday, I went to Page One in Taipei 101 to see if ‘Eclipse’ was there. But it seems like they have all sold them out too. Here’s the conversation between me and the clerk:
Me: Excuse me, where can I find Eclipse?
Clerk: I’m sorry, but we’ve gone out of copies
Me: Really? I thought there are more books coming in the middle of December.
Clerk: Yeah. But once we put the books on the shelves, people buy them quickly and we get out of copies.
Me: Okay. Thank you very much.
---
So I started wondering around again, looking at books in the young-adult and science-fiction centers. I even saw some Americans (I guess that’s normal. Haha.)! At the end, I end up buying 4 books. Then I went home.
Now I have 5 books in total but I read 2 of them in two days. See how boring my life is? Everyday was the same. Wake up. Eat. Computer. Books. Wandering Around. Eat. Chat With Cousins. Sleep. Boring. It’s always like that. So the week passed and next week would be school time. I’m not sure if I want to go to school, but I’m sure I won’t dislike it. Haha.
So that’s my break.

My 2009 Goals
I don’t really have any goals. Well, I’ll think of a few:
-Try my best on each class.
-Write more articles people online can read.
-Be social!
-Be nice.
-Think and reflect more.
-Exercise at least 20 minutes per day on weekends.
-Focus more on Chinese!
-If I don’t understand something on Math, work it out, don’t panic.
-Practice my Basketball, Volleyball, and Hockey skills more often.
-Make healthy choices, decisions.
-Read more books!
-Be Honest
-Remember my manners
-Control my temper
-Discover more music
-Count down with at least a friend for 2010!!
-Hang out with my friends more often
-Contact old friends more
-When I have a question, ASK!!!!!
-Help SAVE THE EARTH!!
-Watch more movies!

Life Lessons I Spent Years Figuring Out

2009-01-06T11:33:00.024+08:00

Ever hated it when people stick to you all the time?
Do you get annoyed?
Do you want to kick them or shout at them?
You don't want to hurt them but you want them to stop bugging you?
You want them to stop being such a pest and live their own life?
You know he/she just likes you and wants to be with you but you just think he/she's annoying?
You like him/her too but he/she is just so annoying sometimes?
You want him/her to be by your side too but not so close like a post-it!?

There are all kinds of people... Thin, Fat, Cute, Pretty, Tall, Ugly, Skinny, Muscular, etc...
Don't blame them! Because... that's just the way they are! Don't think they're ugly because they're ugly! Everyone has their own beauty.. I know I sound selfish saying this but it's true. And I sometimes think people are ugly because they're ugly too! I know I shouldn't think that way, but I'm improving... There might be lots of mistakes you have made in life, but it's ok! Everyone makes mistakes! Even professionals do! Sometimes when you sit there watching someone practice shooting baskets and the ball doesn't get in or the ball just slips, you might think they're stupid and think that if it was you who were playing, you would shoot each ball perfectly! But you may be wrong.. If you go up to that person and ask if you could try to have your shot, you could end up not shooting the ball in and you could feel guilty inside since you just made a comment in your mind that he/she is stupid.

Everyone has different kinds of personalities too. There's confident, caring, relaxing, clever, thoughtful, sensitive, generous, etc... People who are sensitive can have a hard time fitting in to the people around them because they just get over sensitive and they overreact about everything.. And you can't blame them for that! It's just their nature... They can't help it! But they can try to improve. Nobody's perfect you know.. You mustn't push someone.. (not literally..)
Back to my introduction to this blog post -- About being STICKY. You know when people stick to you too much and you don't like it? Sometimes it's just because they aren't confident or they just like you very very much. You may think they're annoying, but you know what, they actually can't help it! For example, Ashley is a new student to your class. You decide to be friendly and talk to her, introduce her to the class, the teachers, and the other students. Ashely thinks you like her and just sticks to you everyday because she's too shy to make other friends and she likes you too. You think she's a nice friend but she's totally following you around everyday and even when you want to have some time alone with your friends you can't. You start thinking she's annoying but you dare not say anything to her.. You don't want to hurt her because you know she's new and she's just not used to the new school, new environment, and she feels really insecure. You know when she is close to you, beside you, she feels really secure and happy. You don't want to dump her and just go to your friends! But she's affecting your normal life!

Another example.. You're a new student to a new school and you have always been home-schooled since you were born. You don't know anyone in the city since your parents forbids you to leave the house except for real emergencies or special occasions. You don't even know how to act like a teenager because you haven't been with another teenager yet. It's the first day of school and your fat mom walks your fat sister and skinny you in the school gate. The other students stare at you because you look like a stick and your mom and sister looks like a sofa and a ball. You wanted so desperately to leave this stupid playground but you can't. You force yourself to walk into the school gate and into the school. Your favorite subject is art and you wonder if you would get to have that lesson. When you walk into your home room, everyone stares at you because you're such a freak and they all ignore you. Even the English teacher dislikes you. Then it's art time and you run downstairs to the art room. You know you'll do good on this subject and you know the teacher would be nice and helpful. And you're right! The teacher welcomes you very warmly and helps you on everything you don't understand. He even tells you that if you have a problem in school, you could always talk to him about your problems.
You think this teacher is very nice and you start to follow him around in school. Your classmates start to laugh at you but you're confident. You know the teacher doesn't think you're a pest or anything.. But maybe he's just trying really hard to hide how annoying he thinks you are. He tries to be nice but you can see he's irritated. When you say you want to tell him something, he just walks away. When you say you have something to show him, he leaves early. You really want to apologize for being such a pest but you just can't do it. You're too afraid to. You're afraid he might walk away and just leave you standing there, embarrassed.

All these things are really hard.. Remember, different people have different kinds of backgrounds, different kinds of personalities, and different kinds of looks. And.. try not to judge people by their looks.. Imagine you're really ugly but you're actually nice and people think you're mean because you look so ugly. Even I sometimes judge people by their looks but I try not to! I know nearly everyone does.. And maybe if someone looks weird, you might think he's mean or something. It never hurts to be on your guard though... Teachers, what do you think? I'm not really sure since I'm only a kid.. Not that experienced.. Haha.

Try to understand when people are way sensitive and they think too much. Try being them. For example, if someone they love have died, you shouldn't say they love crying when they start to cry. They're just hurt. They're just hurt that someone they love died... You have to understand.. Imagine. Imagine you're them. Imagine the same thing has happened to you.... How would you feel? Would you cry in public? Or do you prefer crying secretly?
Or.. If they fail a grade and they start crying, don't think it's nothing. People cry because they HAVE a reason. Don't think they cry on everything! Although some of them do.. For example, if their best friend stops talking to them or is mad a them for a week, they might feel sad and cry or maybe just turn their sad emotion into fury. You gotta understand! Maybe they'd even use 'put downs'. They might say 'I'm sorry I'm so pathetic' and stuff similar to that.. If you have anyone around you doing that, encourage them. Don't say, "Yeah. I know." Because usually when they use put downs, they want you to say, "No you're not! How can you be?" or something like that to make them feel better.. In fact, I sometimes do that too.. Oh My.. I just revealed that secret...
For example, if you got a new haircut and you really hate it. The next day, your friends invited you to hang out with them. You say, "Man. I hate this haircut! It's ugly right?" Sometimes people might say, "Not really.. But I like your old hairstyle better..." to try to make you feel better but you know what, it doesn't work! You would want people to like the you RIGHT NOW. Not the you BEFORE! Even worst, people can say, "Yeah. I think so too." by accident because they thought agreeing with you might make you feel better or on purpose because they're just mean. The best way to make them happier, is to tell them, "No WAY! You're totally wrong! You look cool! Don't think yourself that way! Don't care about what other people think. It's not important if you have confidence in yourself. You look awesome!". There's one more fact you shall remember.. When you comfort them with the words above, NEVER EVER mention the negatives! Because then they'll know that they still have to listen to people telling them about the negatives! Remember, live now, worry later.. For things like that, at least.
Well, actually, everyone is different.. The ways above are just the ones in my point of view.. Maybe other people have other views. Who knows? I would love to hear other people's way! Learning more is always good. Haha.

There's this other thing people hate: Getting blamed at. You know when you didn't do something but people just blame you for it? It's really annoying, isn't it? I have tons of example. But I'll just name one that really bothers me...
Once I was talking to Mr. Truchon and some of my friends joined me. Then suddenly Kevin Liao came and he started talking to Mr. Truchon about some Art's Night stuff. So then Mr. Truchon went to talk to him. I was just about to walk away when Lian poked Mr. Truchon and I was the one standing closest to him. When he looked back, I told him, "It wasn't me! It was Lian!" and I could tell he knew it. But instead of turning to Lian, he said, "AnnChi! Stop doing that! Can't you see I'm talking to Kevin?" so I explained again that it wasn't me. But he still said, "AnnChi! Stop it!" so I stomped away feeling mad. I was thinking, "There had been like 4 other people standing there. WHY DID HE CHOSE ME TO TEASE? It's Just NOT FAIR. CAN'T HE SEE THAT I DON't LIKE IT?" while I went upstairs to the locker and Lian was like, "Don't be mad! He was joking!" so I said, "I Know!" but I was still mad and I walked away. I told Serena and Cherine that afterward and they said they had that feeling before too.. At least someone understands.
Everyone is different from each other. Some people like it when people joke and they don't take it seriously. But some really hate it. So, when you see that someone has changed their emotion from happy to angry or frustrated, stop this instant. Confucius once said, "What you don't like other people to do to you, don't do to others." Just don't do whatever people don't like you to do. Teasing can be okay.. but just once in a while if they really hate it. Everyone's different! They prefer different stuff...
---
Have you ever hated it when people laugh at you? I doubt you'll say 'no'. Lots and LOTS of people hate it when people laugh at them. Especially if people laugh at something what you did, what you look like, how you dress, etc. It's really painful because you made it or because it's your choice, how you dress. **Chuckles.
You might not understand what I am talking about. Well, let me explain.
What I mean by 'you made it' is like.. (I'll give you an example):
Pretend you're interested in fashion designing and you go to a school for that. Your teacher wants you to design a dress. So you figured that this is a very important project and you have to show everyone in your class how good you are. You spend days and nights of hard work and when the deadline arrives, you show your work to your teacher. She looks at it and her mouth drops open. You thought that she is too shocked, surprised, amazed that you did such a good job. Then suddenly, the teacher looks at you with a most disgusted look on her face and said, "What. Are. You. Doing? This is the worst work I have ever seen. You're not fit to this Advanced Class. I shall tell the principle." In a second, your emotion changes from excitement to sadness, from happiness to frustration. You turned around and charged for the door. Once you are out of the classroom, you start crying. It's not fair, you thought, I have spent so much free time that I don't even have time to hang out with my friends and now they're ignoring me. I thought I'd get a good result but this is what I got? A harsh comment from the stupid teacher who thinks she's the best?

Okay. Imagine it was you who had gone through this. (If you are a boy/man, imagine you're a girl OR just imagine it's NOT fashion designing. Instead, some other thing. Think Think Think. Painful enough right? Ouch. It hurts A LOT when someone says something to hurt you.. So you shouldn't hurt them too. It's not fair. Maybe you should just hide any negative comments..
I have a cool example:
I had this fantastic teacher called Mr. Jim. When first started Grade One, he first came too. Which means that that was his first year in HIS. He was new to the school just like I am new to the Elementary Department. Which means.. WE, our class, is the first class he ever taught in HIS! Such a pleasure! Anyway, he was and still is one of my favorite teachers in the world. At least the first 3 places. He is really nice to all his students and he's Canadian (Well, it doesn't matter where he's from. He's just fantastic and nice!). There was this girl called Jessica. She draws not very well and she often scribbles. During art time, she always shows her drawings to Mr. Jim and me (since I sit right next to her). I try not to tell her my real feeling so I said, "Hey. Nice!" and she just smiles in return. Then, she would show it to Mr. Jim after wards and Mr. Jim would always say, "Nice Job! Jessica! I like it very much!" and he would wink at Jessica while Jessica would smile back like she did with me. Then one day, when she showed her drawing to Mr. Jim, Mr. Jim said, "Wow.. Cool..". You might think he was shocked and wordless.. But No. He answered his "Wow..Cool.." in a hesitant way. It didn't sound convincing but Jessica seemed happy anyway. So I looked at Mr. Jim and he turned guiltily away.
I think it's already generous of him to at least try to make her happy by saying this unlike some people who just says it straight forward which is really not nice. Then Grade one passed, and my happy Grade One life was over. But I still got to see the teacher anyway. He even borrowed some educational DVD to teach the Grade ones next year! He was still here when I was in Grade 3. But he left HIS when I turned Grade Four. I am still in contact with him today and he is still like when I met him: Nice. Generous. Fantastic. Fabulous.

Well, I suppose that's just it. 'Life' is a very big subject to write about. There can be tons of things you still don't know. I might come back to add more or maybe just create a new blog post to keep writing! Thanks for reading through the whole thing if you have!

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Research Reflection and The Magic School Bus

2008-12-20T11:54:00.010+08:00

Research Reflection:
For the past month we have been researching body systems on our own.

First stop, it’s the +positives!
One thing good about doing this way is that when we start researching, the classroom is quiet. Nobody is speaking unless they’re asking questions. Everyone is quiet and it’s good to find the information on your own. Not having the teacher tell you what to do, where to find it, and what to write unless you’re really stuck and you really need help. It’s also cool to be able to discuss the teacher about your questions. It doesn’t seem like you’re discussing it with a teacher, it seems like you’re discussing it with a friend that has the same interest you have. Basically, it’s just cool this way! (Well, I guess this isn’t just one thing! It’s lots. Haha)

Now, to the -negatives.
One thing I didn't like about doing this way is that everyone is doing different things and sometimes Mrs. Smith would be too busy to respond you. Also, because some assignments are easier than the others, people wouldn’t care about choosing the body systems they are interested in. They would just choose the easy one and cheat by doing it together, using each other to answer questions they don’t know. And they might end up playing because they’re working together and people like to talk and have fun. There’s more. Sometimes when people research individually, they get tired. They get tired of doing it all by themselves and they might also happen to be listening to iTunes. And so they would keep flipping back and front to check out what song they are listening to which is a kind of distraction.
The reasons?
I think Mrs. Smith planned it this way so it would be easier to understand in other people’s eyes. It also looks more neater and it is a fresh way to impress the audiences. She also planned it this way so the audience wouldn’t be bored of just one kind of way to show your project. For example, Mrs. Smith separated us in 3 groups -- Yellow, Orange, and Red. The ‘Reds’ are in higher levels; The ‘Oranges’ in the middle; And the ‘Yellows’ last. It’s not that they suck or anything. Some levels are just too high for them or too hard for them to understand which means they only have little choices to pick from. The Yellows can only pick the first 2 choices; The Oranges can pick the first 5; And the highest level -- Reds -- can pick all 9 choices. Since there are 9 ways of doing the Body System Project, the audience wouldn’t get tired of all the projects being the same way. Instead, they would find it interesting; They would want to look at more projects we have done.
There can be another reason Mrs. Smith wanted to have 9 ways of doing the project. That is: She wants the audience to feel realistic. For example, if the ‘Yellow’ people used a lot of advanced or specific words, the audience might think they just copied and paste. But if the ‘Red’ people used a lot of advanced and specific words, the audience wouldn’t suspect anything.
The last reason possible that Mrs. Smith chose to do this way is because it’s creative.

Suggestions? Ideas? Advices? I Have Some!
One suggestion I have for Mrs. Smith is that maybe she should let the ‘Red’ people find the websites ourselves and then tell her where we found it in our bibliography. So she could test how advanced they are.
For the people that are ‘Orange’, she can give some information that’s harder to find and tell us to find the easier ones.
Last of all, the ‘Yellows’. She shouldn’t be too easy on them. Some of them might have the ability to be like the ‘Reds’ or the ‘Oranges’ so give them most of them information but tell them to find some information on their own to let them challenge themselves. *Wicked Grin.

The Magic School Bus Reflection
Today we watched ‘The Magic School Bus’ in Science class. The story was about the kids of Ms. Frizzle’s class going into one of the student called Arnold’s digestive system. Arnold didn’t want to go to the field trips Ms. Frizzle organized because every field trip was crazy. They’d go to the times when dinosaurs survived or into someone else’s body. This time, they went to Arnold’s digestive system and took a tour since Arnold didn’t want to go on their ‘field trip’.
Ms. Frizzle’s class started from Arnold’s mouth, to the esophagus, and then to the stomach where the food was broken down by more chemicals into liquid. After the break down, the liquid would go to the small intestine where the nutrients from the liquid would be absorbed away and put into the blood veins to send the nutrition around parts of the body. Then they went to the large intestine where it gets drier and drier, and where the waste is about to go to ‘the place where waste goes’ (not a nice word so I’m not using it. Heehee). But the students didn’t want to go to where the waste goes, so they thought of this idea: To turn back to and go out from Arnold’s mouth. It was hard. Since the digestive system was supposed to go DOWN. Not UP. They had to fought back. When they arrived back to the stomach, the easy part was over. Only the easy part. So they thought of the idea: Wanda -- one of the kids -- spoke through the microphone on the bus to Arnold. Arnold was surprised to listen to his stomach speak -- remember the kids were in Arnold’s stomach -- but replied anyway. Wanda told Arnold that she was his conscience and she told Arnold to drink her soda. Arnold argued a bit but listened at last anyway. When he drank the soda, bubbles formed in his stomach which were sent all the way up to his throat and then to his mouth. Wanda’s idea was to drive the school bus in the bubble then the bus would rise with the bubble so they didn’t have to fight all the way back out to Arnold’s mouth. Instead, the bubble would become Arnold’s burp and it would flow out of Arnold’s mouth. They successfully drove into the bubble and flow up out of Arnold’s mouth as he burped. Then they appeared in the classroom as fast as they could. They gave Arnold clues of where they’ve been n their field trip and Arnold was surprised when he guessed that they’ve been inside his body! Then he promised that he would never miss a field trip again. Then Ms. Frizzle smiled and nodded. But then Arnold saw that the next field trip is visiting the dinosaurs after seeing what’s on Ms. Frizzle’s dress. So he quickly added, “After the next field trip.” It was quite funny!

UK Floods

2008-12-14T15:06:00.000+08:00

Torrential rain which are those kind of rain that falls rapidly, caused flash flooding and traffic chaos in parts of Wales and Scotland, south of England.
At least 7 people were trapped in their cars by the rising flood waters in Devon and had to got rescued. There were more than 46cm of rain that fell in some areas of Somerset and Devon, where emergency services mentioned conditions on the roads as "atrocious" which means "horrifyingly wicked". There was even a time when more than 200 flood warnings were issued for the southwest of England and Wales. There were warnings all over UK, telling people to be careful. They urged people not to travel unless it's really necessary. Alright, now I have a fact that might make you laugh your head off: Meanwhile everything is happening , loads of sheep at a farm in Scotland have been saved after getting stranded on a hilltop by the rising flood waters. About 100 sheep got trapped in a field in Perth when the nearby River called Earn, burst its banks. Ok, so does this make you laugh your head off? HAHAHAHAHA. Maybe it's funny, maybe it's not. Let's continue...We've got not much left anyway..
The local fire service said that the high water levels were caused by snow melting on the hills which were swelling the river.
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50 Dead After Iraqi Suicide Bombing

2008-12-12T12:49:00.009+08:00

At least 50 people were killed today in a suicide bombing. The bombing, which represents the worst loss of life from a single attack in Iraq for months, occurred at the Abdullah restaurant a few miles north of Kirkuk. In this oil-rich city in northern Iraq live Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmens, all of whom want the power in Kirkuk. The Kurds want to self-govern the Kurdistan region. But Arabs and other ethnic groups don't like the idea. They say it would lead to their being driven out of the city. Iraqi and the US security officials said that the attacker had struck at about 2 PM, which was when people were having lunch. The restaurant is on the road between Kirkuk, about 150 miles north of Baghdad, and Irbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region. Thursday's blast was the worst single attack in Iraq since June 17, when a bomb at Baghdad market killed 63 people. Some people who survived said that security in front of the restaurant wasn’t very good. One of the survivors, called Soran Mohammed Gharib said, "If it had been better, the suicide bomber would not have been able to enter. The place was covered with so much blood. It got mixed with the food that they were about to eat on the tables."
At a hospital nearby, doctors struggled to take care of the wounded. The police in Kirkuk said the death toll would rise as the people who were wounded die of their injuries...

Crashed and Killed.

2008-12-09T13:15:00.005+08:00

A military fighter jet slammed into a San Diego on Monday which killed three people and 2 houses as it burst into flames. The people that were dead weren't found right after the plane crashed. instead, one person was missing. Two houses were destroyed. One house was damaged. The plane crashed near Interstate 805 around 12 o' clock which is about noon on Monday about 2 miles west of the base as it prepared to land. Barbara Prince, a school secretary said that students nearby University City High School were kept locked in the classroom, but there was no damage and no one was injured.
Someone called Steve Krasner, who lives a few blocks away in the earthquake-prone region. He said at first he thought it was a gigantic earthquake. "The house shook; the ground shook," Krasner said. "It was bigger than any earthquake I ever felt."
The F-18 is a supersonic jet used a lot of time in the Navy and Marine Corps and by the Navy's stunt-flying Blue Angels.

Chaos At the Airport

2008-12-08T21:49:00.006+08:00

About 56 flights were canceled at Stansted airport because of a protest by environmental campaigners. A group of people who are said to be called "Plane Stupids", around 50 people, chained themselves together in an area near the runway where people of the public aren't allowed to go. The runway was closed for 2 hours but is now re-opened. The police has arrested 57 people and have departed all the protesters.
The group Plane Stupid had created a website. On there, they said that they protested because they say that flying airplanes can harm the environment.
The people that run the airport want to increase the number of flights leaving the airport from 241, 000 to 264, 000. But some people had declined the plan, saying that it would harm the environment.
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