Friday, September 30, 2005

Download Away!

Listening to: Avril Lavigne's I'm With You

strange thing happened today: while surfing radio channels, discovered two radio channels playing the same song at the same time. coincidence.

To one and all, since tutorials have officially come to an end, you need to surf in here a little more often to check for stuff and announcements k?

P.S: some of you would be selected to come back to college once a week for 3 weeks. Each session will last for two-and-a-half hours. You'd do a paper for the first one-and-a-half hours, after which, the tutors will review the papers. This is NOT THE SAME as the mock exams (due next week). This is a special arrangement. I'd let you guys know via email if you'd been selected.

If you don't hear from me, and would like to pop by for these practice sessions anyway, let me know then.

in other news:

Mon's consultation schedule:

joanne, ruishan, zhengyu and ho kong

As promised:

1. Essay approaches (outlines) for prelims

Some of you have told me that the pick of essay qns aren't appealing. so here's more:

3. Compiled list of essay qns from various jcs (this yr's prelims)
4. Past yr a level gp qns

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Paper 2 Goodies

Listening to: Vertical Horizon's Better When You're Not There

Second post of the day..finally got some of the paper 2s sorted out.

by popular demand: here's one from 2005 (click here and here) and one from 2004 (again, here and here)

practice makes perfect

Listening to: Gavin DeGraw's I Don't Wanna Be

Wanna write an essay? click here for a fresh pick of questions.

For those who signed up for consultations, if you intend for me to look through your assgts during your slot, do me a favour and hand these up a day before your slot? so i wouldn't take up your precious 30 mins looking through assignments :)

akan datang: full essay outlines for ny's prelim paper 1 & new paper 2 assgt

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Choices: Which Would You Choose?

Listening to: Don and Drew's Uncle Mutton

You could choose:

1. to be miserable, wallow in self-pity and let it swallow you up; OR turn that misery into strength;

2. to be scared and hide in a dark corner and wait for the monsters to go away; OR face the monster and put up a valiant attempt to fight it off (well, at least if you fail in your attempt, you can still be called a hero);

3. to get angry and transform into a fiery monster (notice, i like monsters) OR remember that anger, feel it fade away and walk away, with your head held up high;

4. to be mediocre and turn into a wallflower; OR show the world (and yourself) what you're truly capable of;

5. to just let things take control of you; OR you could take control of things.

oh yah, prelim answer scheme is here (for those who missed out)


Monday, September 26, 2005

How To Book...

Listening to: The Silence of the Staff Room

Consultation schedule's out on the notice board, just outside the staffroom. i've put out five weeks' worth of dates out. They're in the little folder, so if you want any other date, please take the effort to look for the correct piece of paper.

I've put out some do's and don'ts for you to follow, but due to a lack of space, i couldn't really elaborate, so am going to do so online.

1. Each slot is for 30 mins and each student is allowed to sign up for only one slot each day. This will stay unless I feel otherwise.

2. If you want a 1
1. Each slot lasts for 30 mins. Each student is allowed to sign up for only one slot each day - unless I decide you need the extra time.

2. If you want a 1-hour slot, please sign up with 2 more persons.

3. Booking must be done by 12pm of the day before your proposed slot. What this means is that if you want a Tuesday slot. Please book by 12pm of Monday.


I'm doing so this so that i can put up each day's confirmed schedule beforehand.

4. Simliarly, cancellation must be done at least a day in advance. Unless, of course, you suddenly fall sick (touchwood!)

that's all for now :)

Sunday, September 25, 2005

The Vitamin They Call "M"

Listening to: Bon Jovi's Have A Nice Day

5 things I found out about the island's rich-poor "gap" from reading sat's newspapers:

1. There are about 50,000 people with financial assets of over US$1 million (S$1.7 million) in Singapore (this includes the home they in)

2. Over 1 per cent of Singapore's population are millionaires, up 22.4% from last year.

3. Monthly incomes of the poorest 20% of households fell by 3.2% a year between 1998 and 2003.

4. Households in the top 20% earned about 21 times as much as those in the lowest 20% in 2000.

5. Unemployment rates among those 40 and above and those with less education has gone up.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Back In Business

Listening to: Fish Leong's latest album

sure hope you are enjoying the well-deserved break :)

hate to bring you guys back into reality but here are a few things to remember before you people come back on Monday.

1. week three will run on the usual timetable. This means the usual 2 tutorials + 1 lecture.
this will be the last content/skills official lecture for the term, so i shan't beat around the bush: You'd better turn up!! :)

In this lecture, the tutors will be going through the prelim AQ. You'd find a lecture handout on litespeed, so please download that handout before you attend the lecture. 04a1b, please remind each other about this since yours is the first lecture of the week.

2. tutorials - please bring the question papers to class.

3. ad-hoc consultations will take place next week. Officially, a consultation schedule for week 4 onwards will be put up on the notice board, right outside the staffroom. I'll give more details about do's and don'ts about signing up for consultations in my next post :)

till then, have fun, relax and don't worry about what you can't have control over..

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

The Fear Factor

Listening to: The Clash's Should I Stay Or Should I Go

It's been an interesting week in the blogosphere. You know that this cyberspace has attained some sort of status when it's featured in the prelim papers (more than one!) and when people actually get arrested for stuff that they say! Which brings me to my lesson about how it's never safe in the cyberworld. Even if you say the blog belongs to you. Ownership counts for nothing on the Internet. Plus, remember the wide accessibility of the Internet...something I say might spread all over the world - all thanks to the copy and paste function! :)

wanted to share some thoughts about one strange emotion: fear. I once said that fear is not necessarily a bad thing. It is a very useful emotion, one that keeps you on your toes and the one emotion that keeps your survival instincts real sharp.

But when you let fear conquer you, it can then be one very scary monster. It'll swallow you up without you realising it. And it's extremely difficult to fight fear once it's conquered you.

We all have our fears and that makes us vulnerable. The question is always this: Should we pay no heed to that voice in the head (that screams: Don't do it!) or do we listen to it religiously?

The thing is, there isn't no absolute answer is there? What's my mantra? Always, always, pay attention to that voice in your head. But don't listen to it blindly. Check if it's an irrational fear or a fear that can keep you safe.

If it's an irrational fear, then just brush it off. If it's one that warrants attention, then do pay attention. But don't ever let it take over you. Do what you can to make use of that fear positively.

Ultimately, we should do all we can to keep ourselves moving in life. Fear can hinder us. But it can also help us progress and make our lives better. Really. Trust me, I should know :)

Saturday, September 10, 2005

He Said The World Isn't Round

Listening to: The Bravery's Unconditional

it's a known fact that globalisation has changed the world and there are so many different books out there analysing this phenomenon. One of the most influential ones on this topic is Mr Thomas Fri*dm*n. Am not giving his full name, cos i think he g**gles his own name :)

anyway, this esteemed author was in town recently and i was fortunate enough to attend his lecture. He has a very engaging demeanour and nice style of presentation.

So here's the link where you can watch the lecture online. It's the very first video in the list. Such is the greatness of technology.
*warning though: it is a rather long lecture; but trust me, if you sit through it, you'll surely be enlightened.

Friday, September 09, 2005

strength and faith

Listening to: Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication

thanks marcus for that call for people to share their thoughts about my posts :) guess everyone's still shy?

at this point in time, i just wonder if anyone would be interested to read about my thoughts about issues... after all, i know all of u have a million other things on your mind.

mulled over this and wondered what i should say.
Should I plonk some cheesy but inspirational poem/quote/song lyrics to send a message?
Nah..not quite my style..

so i'll put it simply: hang in there guys. We all have our bad days and we'll always question why we go through painful and difficult periods in life. But always remember to find the silver lining in the dark clouds. Look around you and learn to appreciate life, learn to count your blessings.

believe in yourself.. cos i do believe in each of you.


back home

Listening to: All Saints' Pure Shores


does poverty exist everywhere? sure thing, even in the world's richest country.

**************************************************************************************

UN hits back at US: Report Says Parts of America, Poor as Third World
By: Paul Vallely, The Independent

(edited)


Parts of the United States are as poor as the Third World, according to a shocking United Nations report on global inequality.

Claims that the New Orleans floods have laid bare a growing racial and economic divide in the US have, until now, been rejected by the American political establishment as emotional rhetoric. But yesterday's UN report provides statistical proof that for many - well beyond those affected by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina - the great American Dream is an ongoing nightmare.

The annual Human Development Report normally concerns itself with the Third World, but the 2005 edition scrutinises inequalities in health provision inside the US as part of a survey of how inequality worldwide is retarding the eradication of poverty.

It reveals that the infant mortality rate has been rising in the US for the past five years - and is now the same as Malaysia. America's black children are twice as likely as whites to die before their first birthday.

The report is bound to incense the Bush administration as it provides ammunition for critics who have claimed that the fiasco following Hurricane Katrina shows that Washington does not care about poor black Americans. But the 370-page document is critical of American policies towards poverty abroad as well as at home. And, in unusually outspoken language, it accuses the US of having "an overdeveloped military strategy and an under-developed strategy for human security".

"There is an urgent need to develop a collective security framework that goes beyond military responses to terrorism," it continues. " Poverty and social breakdown are core components of the global security threat."

The document, which was written by Kevin Watkins, the former head of research at Oxfam, will be seen as round two in the battle between the UN and the US, which regards the world body as an unnecessary constraint on its strategic interests and actions.

The clash on world poverty centres on the US policy of promoting growth and trade liberalisation on the assumption that this will trickle down to the poor. But this will not stop children dying, the UN says. Growth alone will not reduce poverty so long as the poor are denied full access to health, education and other social provision. Among the world's poor, infant mortality is falling at less than half of the world average. To tackle that means tackling inequality - a message towards which John Bolton and his fellow US neocons are deeply hostile.

India and China, the UN says, have been very successful in wealth creation but have not enabled the poor to share in the process. A rapid decline in child mortality has therefore not materialised. Indeed, when it comes to reducing infant deaths, India has now been overtaken by Bangladesh, which is only growing a third as fast.

Poverty could be halved in just 17 years in Kenya if the poorest people were enabled to double the amount of economic growth they can achieve at present.

Inequality within countries is as stark as the gaps between countries, the UN says. Poverty is not the only issue here. The death rate for girls in India is now 50 per cent higher than for boys. Gender bias means girls are not given the same food as boys and are not taken to clinics as often when they are ill. Foetal scanning has also reduced the number of girls born. The only way to eradicate poverty, it says, is to target inequalities. Unless that is done the Millennium Development Goals will never be met. And 41 million children will die unnecessarily over the next 10 years.

For half a century the US has seen a sustained decline in the number of children who die before their fifth birthday. But since 2000 this trend has been reversed.

Although the US leads the world in healthcare spending - per head of population it spends twice what other rich OECD nations spend on average, 13 per cent of its national income - this high level goes disproportionately on the care of white Americans. It has not been targeted to eradicate large disparities in infant death rates based on race, wealth and state of residence.

The infant mortality rate in the US is now the same as in Malaysia

High levels of spending on personal health care reflect America's cutting-edge medical technology and treatment. But the paradox at the heart of the US health system is that, because of inequalities in health financing, countries that spend substantially less than the US have, on average, a healthier population. A baby boy from one of the top 5 per cent richest families in America will live 25 per cent longer than a boy born in the bottom 5 per cent and the infant mortality rate in the US is the same as Malaysia, which has a quarter of America's income.

Blacks in Washington DC have a higher infant death rate than people in the Indian state of Kerala

The health of US citizens is influenced by differences in insurance, income, language and education. Black mothers are twice as likely as white mothers to give birth to a low birthweight baby. And their children are more likely to become ill.

Throughout the US black children are twice as likely to die before their first birthday.

Hispanic Americans are more than twice as likely as white Americans to have no health cover

The US is the only wealthy country with no universal health insurance system. Its mix of employer-based private insurance and public coverage does not reach all Americans. More than one in six people of working age lack insurance. One in three families living below the poverty line are uninsured. Just 13 per cent of white Americans are uninsured, compared with 21 per cent of blacks and 34 per cent of Hispanic Americans. Being born into an uninsured household increases the probability of death before the age of one by about 50 per cent.

More than a third of the uninsured say that they went without medical care last year because of cost

Uninsured Americans are less likely to have regular outpatient care, so they are more likely to be admitted to hospital for avoidable health problems.

More than 40 per cent of the uninsured do not have a regular place to receive medical treatment. More than a third say that they or someone in their family went without needed medical care, including prescription drugs, in the past year because they lacked the money to pay.

If the gap in health care between black and white Americans was eliminated it would save nearly 85,000 lives a year. Technological improvements in medicine save about 20,000 lives a year.

Child poverty rates in the United States are now more than 20 per cent

Child poverty is a particularly sensitive indicator for income poverty in rich countries. It is defined as living in a family with an income below 50 per cent of the national average.

The US - with Mexico - has the dubious distinction of seeing its child poverty rates increase to more than 20 per cent. In the UK - which at the end of the 1990s had one of the highest child poverty rates in Europe - the rise in child poverty, by contrast, has been reversed through increases in tax credits and benefits.

Sunday, September 04, 2005

my ipod's sick

Listening to: McFly's I'll Be Ok

nice, cheery, cheesy song to lift our spirits :)

be back in 3 days.

Friday, September 02, 2005

Stopping Traffic


Listening to: Jet's Look What You've Done

All children below the age of 6 on our island should also be fitted with these.

Blown Away

Listening to: The Blacksmoke Organisation's Herbie (Fully Loaded Remix)

[vanessa: if u're still thinking of vws, u must catch this film! :) ]

anyway, when tuesday ended on me, i wondered for a moment if there'd be an audience for this blog in the next few weeks. And thanks to everyone who tagged... at least i know people still surf in here.

so i guess i should remain responsible and continue to reward those who come in here yah? :)

news of the week has to be hurricane katrina.
a natural disaster that has wrecked so much havoc in unimaginable ways.
Not only are homes and lives lost, this hurricane has again exposed the ugly nature of Man - those who survive are involved in assualt, rape and looting.

With oil refineries being hit, oil prices are now escalating and this will definitely have an impact on the economies of the world.

one thing leads to another...