The Funeral

1) Why a mixed race couple?

I think that the director chose a mixed race couple because the relationship between the two characters in the video represents Singaporeans.

Singapore is a country with more than one race, but everyone lets their differences aside, and co-exists as Singaporeans.

Secondly, I think the director chose a mixed race to promote racial harmony.

2) Why did she concentrate on the imperfections?

Everyone always tries to get rid of their "imperfections" and try to be just like others so that they can blend in with the society. However, as said in the video, it is these imperfections who really make them who they are. The unique qualities of an individual is actually his so-called imperfections. The lady concentrated on her husband's imperfections because those are what made him, "her David". Without those imperfections, he would have been just another "normal" person.

3) Do you think it is effective to promote family values?

Yes, it is effective to promote family values. In the hustle-bustle of our daily life spending quality family time is one of the last things on our to-do lists. Seeing these touching commercials actually shows that life is short, and that we should spend time with our loved ones while we can.

My Favourite Character

My favourite character is from a story series which was later adapted to a movie series called The Twilight Saga. My favourite character is Edward Cullen. He is a patient, charming, caring gentlemen who loves Bella Swan, his girlfriend and later wife with every fiber of his being. What I like about him is that even though he is a vampire who has to consume blood in order to survive he was compassionate and had enough will power to restrain himself from harming Bella. If he had lost even one ounce of self control, he could have killed her in a snap. Sometimes he is too over-controlling but he has good intentions and could sacrifice his happiness for the well-being of his loved ones. I also like the fact that he respects other people's privacy even though he can read everyone's minds except Bella, and he does not go around talking about people's personal thoughts.

He may not be the most perfect character in the world, but that is what makes him real. His character is always shown to be perfect, but even he has made mistakes in his life, which shows that he too has flaws like the rest of the people in the world. That is why he is my favourite character. Also, I do not like characters that are shown to be so perfect that they could do no wrong, as it is not realistic.

Unseen Poetry

I think that unseen poems are quite interesting. We get to analyze each sentence to see the hidden meanings in each sentences. When I read unseen poems, all sorts of crazy ideas pop-up in my head when I think about what a certain word or phrase in the poem meant. However, I still need to memorize my Literature Devices to help me understand the poems better.

Romeo and Juliet

I started the preparations with my Group (4) for our rendition of one of Shakespeare's most well known plays, Romeo and Juliet in the first week of our Term 2 holidays.

Since we started so early, we have almost completed all our props and costumes. I think the group members still need to work on their voice projection and try to make their acting as perfect as possible.

All our members had attended most of our group meetings and contrib

uted financially, but I feel that only a half of the people in our group were commited to our project. One half of the group would be hard at work, painting, drawing, cutting and so forth while another half would be huddled to a corner of the room, gossiping, texting people and doing zero contribution. This had actually led to a confrontation in our group. Now, there is less than a month before our performance, and I hope the members in our group sets aside their differences and work TOGETHER to make our play a success.

Macbeth, Favorite Characters & Learning

At the beginning of Act 1, Scene 1, three witches are introduced. They start chanting things like typical witches and say that thay would meet Macbeth after the battle is over. Act 1, Scene 2, is set in the army camp near King Duncan's castle. A "bloody" captain is introduced. He tells the King and his sons the latest information on the battle. He informs that thay were able to defeat Ireland after Macbeth killed the rebel Macdonwald. However, their victory was short lived, as the Norwegian king saw his chance and attacked with an army. The Norwegians were assisted by the traiter, Thane of Cawder. Eventually, the Norwegians were defeated, and Macbeth was rewarded with the title of Thane of Cawder.

My Favourite character in Macbeth is Lady Macbeth. She was a smart, cunning woman and she could manipulate other people to do all the dirty work for her without dirtying her own hands. She was a very strong character considering she was from the mid-11th century in Scotland. During that time period, women did not have much say in anything, yet, Lady Macbeth, managed to convince her husband to murder the King of Scotland.

What I can learn from Macbeth is that no one can achieve anything by violence and lies. You

can only achieve success by honesty and hardwork.

Superstitions, Prophecies & Black Cats!

Dear Blog,

Last week, in Literature class, my classmates and I were introduced to superstitions and

prophecies after reading the "Act 1, Scene 1" of Macbeth. That made me wonder about

prophecies. Are they real? Has anyone experienced anything that had been foretold

before it had happened?

I am the type of person that does not believe in such mumbo jumbo. I believe in

thinking rationally and trying to find the logical reason if something illogical

ever happens. However lets imagine that I had experienced a prophecy before.

It was a dark stormy morning. The wind was howling loudly and dark clouds covered the sky.

Just like any other day, I was on my way to school. I spotted my bus reaching the bus stop

and was making my way through the street to get on the bus, when I a scrawny looking cat

zipped past me, crossing my path. I was really startled but hurried and got on my bus.

In the bus, I thought about the black cat. There was a superstition saying if black cats

cross your path, you will get seven years of bad luck. That was when the old lady who was

sitting next to me suddenly told me that she had seen the black cat crossing my path and

it would bring me bad luck. I just laughed it off, thinking of what bad luck and tiny

black cat would bring to me. However that day, in school, I had

the worst time ever. In school, I was made to stand in class for forgetting to bring my

English homework. Then, I had gotten my Literature and Maths examination results, and

found out that I had failed the examinations. Lastly, to top it all, I slipped on a puddle

and fell down the stairs. That was when I started wondering, whether it was the black

cat that had brought me all that bad luck just like how the old lady told me it would.

That night, after going back home, I went straight into bed, and woke up the next day,

with a refreshed mind. I started thinking about the whole black cat fiasco and realised,

that it did not cause me any bad luck. What had really caused my bad luck the day before,

was because I had not gotten proper sleep that day which caused me to become forgetful

that day.

Don't worry people, that story is 100% fictional. If I had really failed my history and

literature, I would have gotten a heart attack.

Good bye for now!

xoxoxo

Maisha

All About Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English Language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stradford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the 16th century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights.

Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. In 1623, two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare's.

Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the 19th century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry". In the 20th century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.