My Favourite Poet

Hey,
Well, I remember in primary school, when we would read our textbooks with many poems inside, and I was particularly fascinated by one poet - Shel Silverstein (1930-1999) . So now, I shall share a bit about him, and hopefully you would, like me, see the beauty in this wonderful poet.

Do you know that, amazingly, Shel Silverstein never studied poetry like other poets? Pretty hard to believe, considering the fact that his poems can be compared with the likes of other poets that studied poetry, or maybe even better than the others. Having not studied poetry like the other poets, he had to develop a style of his own, and my, what an unusual style he developed. His poems were laid-back and conversational, occasionally having some profanitie and slangs. And that, I feel, is what made me feel so attracted to his poems.

Shel Silverstein never intended to write poems for children when he first started his career. His editor, however, encouraged him to do so and after writing his first book which was filled with what we called "silly but unique" ideas and poems, he realised his passion for writing for children. A quote by Otto Penzler says, "his unmistakable illustrative style is another crucial element to his appeal. Just as no writer sounds like Shel, no other artist's vision is as delightfully, sophisticatingly cockeyed". All of us readers would have to admit, while his poems may sounds ridiculous, they are very enthralling to read, us being lost in the world Shel Silverstein has painted in his poems.

Shel was not only a poet and an author, he was also a cartoonist, a musician, a composer, a singer-songwriter and a screenwriter. These probably made him become a wonderful poet as he was able to use the skills in these different areas to combine to form a poem like no other. He wrote famous songs like "A boy named Sue" and sketches like "One Tennis Shoe". Late in his life,his favorite places such as Greenwich Village, Key West, Martha’s Vineyard, and Sausalito, California, where he continued to write beautiful poems, songs etc. He died in 1999 in Key West, Florida. It was a rather sad loss of a genius in illustration through words, and a person that no one would be able to replace.

Some examples of his poems are: If the World was Crazy, Mr Grumpledump's song and Where the Sidewalk Ends. Hope you would take some time to read his poems and be like everyone else that had read his poems, be lost in a magical world created by Shel Silverstein.

Thanks for reading. Special thanks to wikipedia(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shel_Silverstein) and poets.org(too long an address) for providing me with all the valuable information:)

Why I like this poem

Back with the second post,
Well, basically, I like this poem simply because I find it very meaningful as it shares with us some important matters in life. It is about a mother sharing with her son her experiences to prepare him for the outside world, therefore making it very real. Firstly, it reminds us that life is not a straighforward path, it has many obstacles we have to overcome. It also reminds us that we have to keep trying, keep improving, so that we can overcome these obstacles, and, at the end of the journey, succeed. Finally, it reminds us that we should not turn back when facing obstacles, we should keep going, keep climbing.
Thanks

Figurative Language

Hey,
The poem I have chosen is Mother to Son by Langston Hughes. It is "Well, son, I'll tell you: Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floorâ. Bare. But all the timeI'se been a-climbin' on, And reachin' landin's, And turnin' corners, And sometimes goin' in the dark Where there ain't been no light. So, boy, don't you turn back. Don't you set down on the steps. 'Cause you finds it's kinder hard. Don't you fall now—For I'se still goin', honey,I'se still climbin',And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
Firstly, this phrase "crystal stair" is, in my opinion, a use of figurative language. It is, in my opinion, a metaphor. Life has no relation with a crystal stair, and therefore it doesn't make sense to say that "life ain't been no crystal stair". Therefore, the poet wants us to draw a conclusion that this "crystal stair" is representing a smooth journey, without many obstacles. Therefore, in this instance, he is saying that life for this mother has not been smooth with many difficulties she has had to overcome. I suppose that the poet chose to use this figurative language as it sounds fanciful and stylish and mskes the reader more interested as you must read the whole poem before you can fully understand that phrase, something that cannot be achieved if you directly tell the readers what you are saying.
Actually, there are more uses of metaphors here, such as "tacks" and "splinters", as life cannot have tacks and splinters, can it? Now, touching on symbolism. The word "dark" in the poem is used as a symbol that, in my opinion, represents a place where all seems lost, in other words, failure. In my opinion, the author is trying to tell us that when we fail, we "dont turn back" like this mother, we should keep trying, and like what the poet wrote, "keep climbing".
Okay, that is about it for figurative language, read my next post to find out why I like this poem.

What is the right way to live?:

Hey guys,

Well, nowadays with people of working hard, desperate to earn as much money as they possibily can, have you ever paused and wondered, "Is that really the right way to live? Is there really any meaning left in life if I continue living my life this way, working long hours just to earn money that I will spend on luxurious cars and high-class restaurants?" Therefore, keeping this in mind, I am here to share a bit with you on what i think is very meaningful in life.

Now, what indeed can we do with the money we earn? Well, of course, we pay off our neccessities, such as our house loan, our electricity bills, our food and so on. Then, what do we do with the rest of the money we have? Well, one option, we can use it to indulge ourselves, but isn't that a bit selfish? How about all the others that have no food to eat, no books to study? Won't they feel disgusted at the way you are just spending your money? Now, I really feel that this money can be put to better use if we were a little more caring, a little more kind. So indeed, what is this meaningful act?

Well, you can say it is helping the less fortunate people.

Indeed, it is a wonder how this act of kindness, no matter the amount, will make you feel so satisfied, a feeling you would never get from spending your money on luxurious cars and high-class restaurants. If you do not wish to contribute your money, you can always contribute your energy by helping to build schools to give more people the chance to receive some education, in a bid to provide them an oppurtunity to leave the kind of poverish state they had been immersed in since young.

In case you are not satisfied with my explanation of getting a feeling of satisfaction after doing this good act, then you have just to look at the world's richest and most successful people. Most of them, I am sure, would donate lots of money to charity. Firstly, to be successful, you must have a kind heart. And people that do charity work obviously have a kind heart right? And, in my opinion, they would find life much less enriching if they do not do charity work. After all, at the end of the day, it is kind of boring just working and working to earn money without seeing it really go to anything meaningful.

So now, I srongly encourage you to do some charity work, no matter the amount. and I promise you that you would realise that life is more meaningful than you actually knew.

Thanks for reading,
Jeremy

Hey all,
Time for...another blog post! Lol. Well, I just finished reading this rather touching book called Charlotte's Web, so yeah, I'm here to do the book review:)
Well, I suppose this book instantly reminded me of the kind of motherly love I received from my mother when I was younger, when she protected me from all the dangers of the outside world, in this case Fern protecting Wilbur from getting slaughtered by her father. That really revoked my fond memories of my younger days, when my mother sacrificed a lot of her time to raise me, just like what Fern did for Wilbur and how Charlotte treated Wilbur from the time when Wilbur was sold to Mr Zuckerman.
Now, I will choose one word to describe Charlotte, who truly touched me in this book The word is "loyal". If you look closely, it has been mentioned in the book, and I fully agree with it. Firstly, she was completely selfless. She helped Wilbur win the prize but did not take much credit for the prize. Also, she worked tirelessly to save Wilbur's life, weaving words into her web during the night when every animal was sleeping. She also never left Wilbur's side, even following him to the fair, fearing for him if he was alone. She, too, defended Wilbur when he was being insulted by the other animals, such as when the lamb said Wilbur stank. She, too, builded the confidence of Wilbur from time to time, just like what good friends do.
Now, here is the radio announcement I would make to advertise this book. "Hello, one and all, a enchanting book about a spider who amazingly saved a pig's life is now in stores. It is a truly touching story and not only entertains you with it's creative storyline, but it also teaches us many morale values. It is certainly a book worth reading, and a book not to be missed.
Satisfaction guaranteed and it is truly one of the most wonderful books I have ever read.
I liked the way the story ended, definitely. Charlotte's death came as no surprise, given the fact that she was starting to feel very weak and that she had already laid her eggs. Therefore, the fact that Charlotte's offspring and her grandchildren and so on continued accompanying Wilbur is really touching, especially after we thought that Wilbur was going to be left all alone when most of her offspring started drifting away. The story ended with Wilbur living happily without Mr Zuckerman ever thinking of slaughtering him, and most importantly, with Charlotte's children and grandchildren and so on accompanying him through the rest of his life, and that is just like a fairytale ending, a dream ending.
Thanks for reading,
Bye

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

Hey guys,

Now, let's imagine, one day if everyone believes that UFO's exist, does that mean it's true? Does that g different thoughts, such as some people are more believingmean that you have no choice but to believe that yes, UFO's do exist, without seeing it with your own eyes? Of course not. Nowadays, there are many ifs and buts, many things that we humans are unsure of, such as the existence of aliens and UFO's, so at the end of the day, it is down to the individual to make his decision.

Now, everyone has their own brain to process their thoughts, it is not as though your brain is connected to someone else's, so why follow his thoughts? If someone believes in something, respect his belief, but you should not be swayed by him or her. Imagine if the whole world were followers like what I had mentioned above, the world would be a much more boring place, wouldn't it? Everyone would be thinking the same way, reacting in the same way, and so on and so forth. Therefore, I repeat, it is important for each and every individual to have their own thinkings and beliefs.

Therefore, my stance should be clear? As long as you have never seen it with your own pair of eyes, you are free to decide yourself whether you want to believe in something or not. The key word here is think. It is something not confirmed, so why should you believe in it? Maybe you might turn out to be the small number of people, of smart people, that thought right when this something is scientifically preven to NOT exist. Therefore, it pays off to have your own thoughts,

and at the end of the day, you can proudly and firmly say, "I believe this something does not exist!"

Hey,
Stuck in Malaysia now. Gosh, I never realised how much a person can miss home when they are away. I have not been in contact with many close friends, therefore that must be the reason why I miss home so much... Wow, this term "Home Sweet Home" really is true. Sigh, I guess I will just have to put up with the long period of suffering before I can finally return to Singapore. I guess, no matter where you go, nowhere can beat your home, where you are with your family and friends. Sigh, *Waiting for time to pass*. It is going to be a long and painful wait for the time to return...
Oh yeah, by the way, I am going back today.

How do you know who your friends are?

Hey guys,
Kay, let me ask you a question before I get on with my blog post. What do you want your friends for? Do you want to confide in them, tell them all your secrets, or do you just want them to be by your side, entertain you, cheer you up when you are down? Ask yourself that, and yes, this is rather important in this blog post in case you thought I was random yeah.
Indeed, it is rather difficult nowadays to determine whether your "friends" around you are actually real friends out there to help you. There are just so many sinister people out there harbouring evil thoughts, that it no longer is a surprise when you realise that your best friend has betrayed you. That is, of course, rather saddening. It is no longer easy to confide in someone for fear will overwhelm you when you do. Of course, naturally, we would have a few friends that we would know are loyal to us, friends who will not betray us, will not backstab us. However, that kind of trust will take a period of time to build up, and will never be immediate.
I am not sure about you guys, but when you were chatting happily with your friends, have you ever got this strange feeling that someone, just someone, among this group of friends might not be a trustworthy one? It is never proven unless something happens, but this is prove again how much different people are nowadays. In the past, it was much easier to trust people, when people then were less greedy, less self-scented. Just imagine you are a successful business man, how do you know your subordinates aren't out to steal your company's secrets, out to assasinate you? How do you know your friends, jealous of your wealth, are not plotting one of the biggest robberies in history?
For us students, the situation is not so blown-up. However, it is the same concept. Therefore, I just try to make as much friends as I can, but at the end of the day, only a few really know me well, know my troubles and so on. Of course, these friends are the friends that I have known for a long time, since my primary school days or even longer. Nothing wrong with making friends, don't get me wrong, but you should give yourself a period of time before finally deciding whether your dear little friend is actually a friend that you can trust.
Yawn, just imagine how much easier this blog post would have been in the older days:( Lol
Anyway,
Bye

Eliminating an emotion, a rather difficult choice

Hey all,
Urh, let's see, if I could eliminate an emotion in this world, what would that be? Phew, I am now cursing this question-setter, because this is a really difficult question. After all, there are so many emotions in this world, so why just one? *Thinking*... Okay, I have made my decision finally, and I think this emotion shall be...
*Drum roll please*
Jealousy.
Actually, coming to think about it, I have actually always really detested this emotion. This rather cruel emotion is the cost of a lot of thefts, murder etc. I have to admit that, yes, I have been tempted to steal in my childhood times, and what else, this was caused by my classmate having something that I craved to get my hands on, by hook or by crook. Of course, in the end, I did not carry out my plan, and thankfully so, for at that time a teacher walked by:)
Anyway, the point is, that this emotion is evil if you let it overwhelm you. A little bit of jealousy might be quite good actually. Imagine this, if you see a model student passing his exams with flying colours, you would naturally envy him and therefore that can be a motivation to put in extra hard work to get that kind of results. However, when it reaches another level, it might lead to horrible things happening. Something I call over-jealousy might lead you to alter your marks and so on. Sadly, many people nowadays fall prey to this temptation. Rising crime rates is a good evidence. Therefore, I feel that jealousy should be eliminated, and I hope that we students would be able to find another source for motivation to get good marks.
One more thing, I am NOT a thief, in case some of you get the wrong idea. thanks
Jer signing off,
Byez

Hey all,

Now, doing charity work certainly is good, but now, is that our duty? Is that a must, or is it something that we OUGHT to do? Will we get punished, scolded, or criticised if we do not do charity work? Well, we obviously won't get scolded, the most we can expect is a little criticism from friends and a little encouragement for us to do some charity work, no matter the amount. So, why do we do charity work then?

Interestingly, there are a few reasons why we do charity work. The first one is obviously because we are kind-hearted individuals who are compassionate towards the less fortunate, wanting to improve their lives. However, there is another small group of people that, in my opinion, do charity work as they do not want to be left out, or in another words (I hope that is the way you spell it), they are practically forced to do so. I feel that these people that fall under this category would find that doing charity work is a chore, and yes indeed, to them charity work would be like an unwanted duty for them. So, what is the meaning of doing charity work then?

Let me repeat, charity work should be out of your goodwill. You should be more than happy to take a small portion of your income to donate to charity. If you don't, then there really is no point for you to do charity work then. Indeed, you can go around proudly saying that you have played a part in improving the less fortunate people's lives, but was that done from the bottom of your heart? Was that a sincere gesture of kindness?

To sum it up, no, doing charity work is not our duty. It should be sincere, so that the people at the receiving end of the help we offer can feel the warmth, can feel that we really care for them. If you are unwilling to do so, then I suppose doing charity work would have no purpose, and that well, you really should not bother forcing yourself to do charity work. Of course, do not expect to not be called a selfish fool:)
Thanks for reading,
Bye

Hey guys,
Now, I do know some people that, to put it simply, enjoy slacking. Yes, slacking is fun, it is relaxing, but does it do you any good? Or does it make you happier than studying? Think about it. Interestingly, there are a few viewpoints this question, so let me share them with you now.
Firstly, yes, having fun is, of course, fun. But how long will the fun last? A little fun after a day's of hard work is indeed a good relaxation, but will too much fun make you feel very happy? Such as, after playing dota for a whole day, will you feel very happy? Happiness, to me, can indeed be found from hard work. When you achieve something remarkable, you will have this sense of achievement, this great feeling, and at that point of time, you would definitely be happier than you would be after a day's of computer games that certainly does not help you in the REAL world.
Secondly, you must ask yourselves, are you looking for short-term or long-term happiness? Do you want happiness now, and be filled with regret later in life, or would you prefer to suffer a bit, put in hard work, so as to have a bright future? Ask yourself that, and carefully think of the answer, because this would affect what you do now as a student (if you are), and certainly it will affect your future. You know, as I said earlier, you don’t learn anything when you are having fun, so if you slack for a long period of time, your hardworking peers would be far ahead of you, so how do you expect a good future man? That is certainly out of the question. Would you sacrifice your future for fun now? Are you willing to suffer in the future, where money might be a problem for you simply cannot get a good job? Remember, hard work will always be rewarded. Slacking, I repeat, will never do you any good.
So there you are, future happiness or current happiness? Happiness through having fun or happiness through achieving things beyond we ourselves ever imagined? Ponder over this question, but I am pretty sure of my stance after writing this post. Hope you guys would be too.
Thanks for reading this yeah:)