For the love of #@$@

I just think of this, why don't I close every post with

Mit freundlichem Gruss und, Heil Schrödingers Katze!

Why such weird lines? Oh well, I have grown fond of it. So let's begin.

Mit freundlichem Gruss und, Heil Schrödingers Katze!

Germany?

Oh well, my frustration paid off. Recently my parents had given approval to continue my studies in the German land.

My cousin contacted me about it and asked me whether I really want to go there. And my reply was "I'm not very sure yet." Since I will be having a freakishly long holiday, I asked her to register me for German course out there. It will be an efficient use of time, since the local NUS/NTU start in the middle of the year and German University start somewhere in November.

Oh well, I had received the result of that darned exam, except the History paper. Mr Lim have to mark around 360 essays alone, it should had taken him a while.

The Grand Design

"If the theory is confirmed by observation, it will be the successful conclusion of a search going back more than 3000 years. We will have found the grand design."

Stephen Hawking & Leonard Mlodinow

Just finished the book yesterday, fresh from the bookshop. Instead of studying for physics, I devoured the book in 3 days. Kinda dull I'd say. Most of the stuff is about the same with their previous book A Briefer History of Time.

Oh well....

I changed the layout and the background using the design function. I'll get my own background later.

Transmutation!

It is about time to revamp the blog, don't you think? Well, it won't come so soon, I'm too lazy to think of a new design and the time to learn using GIMP. Yea, I don't have photoshop for Mac. Probably I'll be changing the address too.

Gundam Fair

Okay, let's talk about some action. Few days back, my friend the Great Izumi, called me to join him visiting the Gundam Fiesta Singapore 2010 at some far far away place. The other end of the island....

There is not much to see beside the evolution of RX-78 from box gundam to a more humanoid one. Oh great, it is foreign to most of us. There are some perfect grade gundam, new products displayed, 1/1 scale RX-78 hand, lazy setting of battle of three kingdom and  the goddamn human size unicorn.

Izumi and the Ninja bought a model and I can't be bothered to buy one, simply no cash to burn and time to spend. Oh great, there is still an MG to construct and my Oh Gundam project.

No pictures! Why? because there is no camera!

Black September

What's up with the terrorist group title?

Oh well, this month Major Helen Choo is bashing us with preliminary exam, oh well, it started since monday though.

The first incoming missile already hit us hard. GP comprehension paper was grossly horrendous, bet that there will be high failure rate.

History? Fuck Gaddis's post-post-revisionist view, it is outta question. FREAKING CONFUSING!

Maths was fun, but too bad it can't be done in leisurely pace.

Physics? Oh fuck it, wasted too much time stoning.

Why do Americans think that the Japanese draw themselves as white?

Taken from Julian Abagond's blog. Abagond is a middle-class, West Indian, New Yorker; he is also a computer programmer who enjoys ancient Greek.  He writes whatever he wants at his blog.  In the borrowed post below, he explains that the question is really “Why do Americans think that the Japanese draw themselves as white?”  Enjoy.

—————————-

Why do the Japanese draw themselves as white? You see that especially in manga and anime.
As it turns out, that is an American opinion, not a Japanese one. The Japanese see anime characters as being Japanese. It is Americans who think they are white. Why?  Because to them white is the Default Human Being.

If I draw a stick figure, most Americans will assume that it is a white man. Because to them that is the Default Human Being. For them to think it is a woman I have to add a dress or long hair; for Asian, I have to add slanted eyes; for black, I add kinky hair or brown skin. Etc.

The Other has to be marked. If there are no stereotyped markings of otherness, then white is assumed.

Americans apply this thinking to Japanese drawings. But to the Japanese the Default Human Being is Japanese! So they feel no need to make their characters “look Asian”. They just have to make them look like people and everyone in Japan will assume they are Japanese – no matter how improbable their physical appearance.

You see the same thing in America: After all, why do people think Marge Simpson is white? Look at her skin: it is yellow. Look at her hair: it is a blue Afro. But the Default Human Being thing is so strong that lacking other clear, stereotyped signs of being either black or Asian she defaults to white.

When you think about it there is nothing particularly white about how anime characters look:

• huge round eyes – no one looks like that, not even white people (even though that style of drawing eyes does go back to Betty Boop).
• yellow hair – but they also have blue hair and green hair and all the rest. Therefore hair colour is not about being true to life.
• small noses – compared to the rest of the world whites have long noses that stick out.
• white skin – but many Japanese have skin just as pale and white as most White Americans.

Besides, that is not how the Japanese draw white or even Chinese people. The otherness of foreigners is clearly marked by physical stereotypes – just as Americans do with people of colour. In anime White Americans are stereotyped as having yellow hair, blue eyes and a long or big nose:

Gone are the big round eyes and the strange hair colours. Because those things have nothing to do with whiteness.

Note that the Japanese drop the markings of otherness if the action is set in a foreign land, like China or America. In that case the characters are drawn in the regular anime style. Because for that story the Default Human Being is understood.

Some Americans, even some scholars, will argue against this view of anime. They want to think the Japanese worship America or worship whiteness and use anime to prove it.  But they seem to be driven more by their own racism and nationalism than anything else.

————————-

All images are from Google images; Abagond retains no rights.

And what the japanese said?

It’s because it looks cool!

Their skin is just because they aren’t using any colouring or toning.

It’s because they are recognising the beauty of blonde hair and blue eyes.

Because if they were drawn by westerners even a 12-year-old would come out looking macho!

Those damn foreigners love fussing over this stuff, don’t they? Who cares about race or whatever, it’s anime.

I get the impression keeping things simple like that helps when exporting to the states…

But there aren’t any of those crew-cut beefcakes Americans love?

They look western? I think the style looks to be uniquely Japanese…

I live in Canada – what the Canadians are always asking me is why anime characters have no noses?

It looks pretty bad with too much nose detail – normally they just leave a shadow underneath.

What do they want? Bucktoothed bespectacled Japanese with glasses?

Westerners who come out in anime always look totally different to the main characters, don’t they?

Were there westerners with pink and green hair now?

The video version:



That video says it all…

Anime characters don’t look like any real race. Anyone with eyes that big is an alien for sure…

I think the men are done in western style (with narrow faces and deeply pronounced features) whilst the women are Asian (round faces and shallow features).

But aren’t they just emphasising the differences between the sexes?

The “pale skin” Japanese like is “the pale skin of Japanese,” not the pales skin of whites.

Who cares whether they’re white or black, it doesn’t matter. But it really is rather characteristic of Japanese manga and games to insist on trotting out an obviously Japanese guy with a katana into an otherwise fantastic setting…

Yanks going on about race need to go and look at Strike Witches – the Japanese are all flat-chested little weasels.

Japanese don’t care about race like that – if it were American you’d have to include a bunch of different races or be accused of discrimination. Those guys are the ones who are abnormal.

There are a lot of titles with obvious western settings and obviously western characters, but there are also lots with Japanese settings and characters.

Honestly, those guys think too highly of themselves! I don’t see any anime full of fat people!

What they mean to say is that anime characters don’t look like how they think Asians should look.

I’d understand if they were talking about games – you hardly see any Japanese names there.

To think they look white just shows the conceitedness of westerners.

Beauty = white people. So inevitably manga full of beautiful people have to be full of white looking people. In the end they end up full of Japanese who don’t look Japanese.

Most Japanese do believe in the superiority of the west. They masochistically think Japanese things are ugly in comparison.

How presumptuous of them to say they look like whites!

It’s just so you can easily tell characters apart. Don’t think about it too hard.

I don't feel like posting this, but....

I'll just be honest. There is this one girl whom I fancy. I met her around a year back during the days we are doing the same thing together. She is one of those few whom I can talk freely with. She is rather weird and eccentric, sometimes a bit pushy. At first I take her as a younger sister but somehow I grow to care more about her. She told me about her problems and I told her mine. She asked for advice and I give my best answer. Don't ask me who she is, cause I won't tell.

Leave it to Dag

I wish I can say that. Exam is around the corner and I have not prepared enough.

Never mind about it, there is still little hope. To rush for the last battle.

I'm back!

Wow, it have been one month. SA2 is over and the result is quite bad for me. GP was the worst ever. My essay structure was a wreck, the same with history. I'm kinda amused when Mr. Paolo said that I wrote the essay like a historian, too descriptive and the length of the essay was OVERKILL. 3 SHEET OF PAPER!

Märchen

Thanks to JYan, I was reminded that I used to think of organizing a class band before. But alas, there is lack of interest and the plan is never realised. Oh well, if I ever get it done with someone else these few song will be what I would like to try.

Hikari -from Kingdom Hearts
Passion -from Kingdom Hearts II
Kaze no Toori Michi -from My Neighbour Totoro (Thanks to MY for introducing me to the piece)
Dango Daikazoku -from Clannad (it was planned to be played with Abe)

Beat the drums!

It is about time to get everything done. The clock it ticking fast, the battle is coming soon.

I had told dad that I might need to take SAT to apply for overseas university as most of them require the SAT as reference. Dad simply told me to give it a shot.

This might be the green light. It is about time to ask for recommendation letters from my teachers and obviously one from the dean or other college officer.

I'm not sure about applying to American University. It is simply because of the security factor. I'm scared about another shoot-out in the University.

SAT, is it a necessity?

I did some research on German University yesterday and found one particular university quite appealing. It is Jacobs University Bremen. Unlike most German University, this university is fully international, meaning that most of the academic activity is done in English. Well, there is no German proficiency requirement imposed by this university. One of their 3 year undergraduate programme is quite appealing. Earth and Space Science. However, the university is asking for American SAT.

I'm not sure whether I should take the American SAT. When I told big sis about it, she told me to drop the idea. Thinking about it SAT might be able to be used as a mean of retreat, in case plan B failed again. I have no intention to stay in Singapore anyway. I hate the elitist system where everything is about grades. It seems that I need to talk about it with Mr Yeo once the college re-open.

I don't really care about university ranking now. Since the rank is determined by mostly what is related with graduate programmes such as research, facilities and the achievement of the staffs. Since big-name professors are very unlikely to teach undergraduates, it is pointless to fight for it. As long as the undergraduate degree is recognised worldwide, it is enough.

翠岭夜韵

CO concert was not that bad, it is much better than bleak prediction JY prophesied. It went well, except the guest performance of Hu Ensemble which sound terribly boring. Shayne's performance was quite disappointing, it was rather boring. Perhaps I was too far to listen to the piece properly. Jia Xiang did a good job with his acting. His act really entertain the audience. There is only a couple of senior who turn up, the usual 06-07 gang and some 08 batch.

Europa?

I have been thinking for a while, how my future should be drafted. Even though Dad had given me some signs that he won't intervene much, it still cast me some doubts whether I'd like to do what I'm about set to do. There is something big that keep bugging me. In the field of science, there are more than 1 aspect that I'm interested in. Mainly biology, physics and mathematics. As I'm supposed to note, I have increasing interest in evolutionary biology, thanks to Izumi for introducing me to the topic. Astronomy is something that I'm already been interested in since I'm a little kid. Mathematics as everyone had said, is the most important aspect of science. I had read several books and found out that the current scientific advance rely heavily on mathematics. So far, I can only find one course that dare to combine such outrageous combination, something that is extremely tough to sneak in. Cambridge! I have been thinking of applying for UK University all this while as it is less a hassle compared with German University since I don't need to learn a new language to enter. I already had the required language qualification which is basically my O Level.

I dunno what to decide whether it is worth a try to apply for this course nor what to choose if it fails. There is not many university that allows combination between evolutionary biology and physical & mathematical science. Perhaps I'll have to abandon my interest in biology.

I just find out quite recently that Dr Richard Dawkins no longer teach at Oxford. His name is not in the list at all. Did he stop teaching and went into retirement instead? It would be great if I have the chance to meet him and ask him some question.

Project Euler

Quite recently, I stumbled upon this so called Project Euler, named after famed German Mathematician. It is a collection of challenging mathematical questions.
Here is the description from the website:

Project Euler is a series of challenging mathematical/computer programming problems that will require more than just mathematical insights to solve. Although mathematics will help you arrive at elegant and efficient methods, the use of a computer and programming skills will be required to solve most problems.

The motivation for starting Project Euler, and its continuation, is to provide a platform for the inquiring mind to delve into unfamiliar areas and learn new concepts in a fun and recreational context.

Good luck in trying some of the questions XD

About Relativity

Quite recently I stumbled upon similar rhythmic lines describing Theory of Relativity, mainly from the book Hyperspace and A Briefer History of Time.

There was a lady of Wright.

Who traveled much faster than light.

She departed when the sky is bright.

And returned on the previous night.

Since the source are not identical, I changed it to this, without changing much of the meaning behind it.

Life goes on

Yesterday was a blast, at least not for my wallet. 08S09 peeps were as usual, the only downside is we do not have much topic to talk about. No anime, not much games, no educational debate. Almost the entire thing was dominated by NS, NS and NS. We had sushi for our lunch and unfortunately someone forget to pay me money. Hey people, I still waiting for the cash.

The movie was so so, not as exciting as the title suggest. After the movie, I went to Kinokuniya to buy some books (Broca's Brain written by Carl Sagan and another book on theory of relativity). You guys should had known why I bought those books. XD

Surprising Number Pattern

1 x 8 + 1 =9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

edit : taken from the book Math Wonders to Inspire Teachers and Students.

Interesting Pattern

Have you ever noticed this?

11^2 = 121

111^2 = 12321

1111^2 = 1234321

11111^2 = 123454321

...

111111111^2 = 12345678987654321

1111111111^2 = 1234567900987654321

and so on.

edit : taken from the book Math Wonders to Inspire Teachers and Students. 

How true is this?

When I was bored enough during maths lesson, I jotted down some prime number and find something rather surprising. Prime number that is larger or equal to 7 can be re-represented as the sum of three prime numbers. in short, d = a+b+c where a,b,c and d are prime number and d≥7.

Some example up to prime number that is less than 100 would be :
7=2+2+3
11=2+2+7
13=3+3+7
17=5+5+7
19=7+7+5
23=11+5+7
29=23+3+3
31=23+3+5
37=31+3+3
41=31+5+5
43=31+5+7
47=37+5+5
53=43+5+5
59=53+3+3
61=31+13+17
67=61+3+3
71=61+5+5
73=67+3+3
79=73+3+3
83=73+5+5
89=79+5+5
97=41+37+19

Enough of spamming out of the blue.

I Have a Dream

I have a dream
To know more about the cosmos
Seeking the truth behind its origin
And how it will end

I have a dream
To understand life better
Discovering how it starts
And how it diverge

I have a dream
To educate the world
Teaching them the truth of the universe
Out from the tyranny of religion

I have a dream
To protect the planet
That does not belongs to us
Yet we call it home

I have a dream
I will fight for it
Nothing will stop me
No matter what

Pascal triangle and number 11

When I was playing with number 11, I find a rather familiar number pattern for 11^x
we all know that 11^2 = 121 and 11^3 = 1331
121 and 1331 remind me of the polynomial (a+b)^x which leads me to pascal triangle.



Look at the number rows above. The first represent 11^0 which is 1, the second represent 11^1 which is 11 and soon on.
does this mean that 11^5 = 15101051? of course not. It should be calculated this way.


So, the answer is 161051

This method could be applied for 11^x for any value of x due to the nature of no.11

11 = 10+1

Just replace the x with 10 and the y with 1, we will get



since will always be one,




notice that can be derived from pascal triangle.

The last digit of 11^x will always be 1 when the second last will always be the last digit of x

edit: I just realised that the long equation is being cut. Since it does not affect that much, I'll just leave it that way.

McDonalds Nutrition Comparison

After careful analyzing and consideration whether it will make us full, we concluded that the best breakfast would be the hotcakes. It contains highest amout of energy, it can make you full and contains much less fat, cholestrol and sodium

For lunch, it would be hamburger ( considering you buy 2 of them) even though the energy content is about the same with bigmac, the fat, cholestrol and sodium content is much lower.

If you don't like to eat burger, you can grab 2 Apple pie, which contains about the same amount of calories with 2 hamburgers.

From the table, we can see clearly that the calory content of milkshake is more or less equivalent to one burger (average).

I suggest you guys who want to eat Mcdonalds to purchase the burger only as you might already know that a value meal contains french fries and drink. The calory content could easily reach 1000 kcal, that is half of 2000 kcal regular diet.

The datas on MegaMac can't be found in the official website. By assuming that they use the same patty, I calculated that by using the data on double cheese burger - cheese burger = beef patty. The calculated value of the beef patty will be 130 kcal, so the calculated amout of calory in Mega BicMac is 780 kcal. For Mega McSpicy, I assume that they use the same bread with normal burger. Hamburger - Beef Patty = Bread. The calculated value of the bread will be 120 kcal. The Chiken patty will be 460. WOW ! So those jokers who ate Mega McSpicy last week, beware of the Whooping 1080 kcal (without fries and drinks).

*Tables taken from McDonald's official website.
*Calculation may not be accurate.

Some old stuff from the class blog that I posted.

I'm not going for NTU

The letter had arrived, but it was too late to bother what they are going to say. I had made a firm decision to retake. I dunno why, life feel more and more depressing this few days, as if I'm carrying a gargantuan weight. It get worse each day, but I pretend it to be okay. Wednesday was a disaster. I had my weekly German tuition as usual, it was the exam week and I was trapped in the school just because of retarded sports event (that I never been bothered with since God knows). I dunno what that really troubles me now. I feels fine when I was with the CO people but it feels very awkward during normal school hours. Mr Khor was very supportive so does my Chem teacher Mrs Lee. I dunno what troubles me know.

Dad will be in Singapore this Monday, I'm going to discuss what to do next year. This will be serious, since the course that I really want is not offered in any local university, but for some reason dad decide to keep me here. June break is coming soon, dad had asked me before if I want to visit the Expo 2010 in Shanghai. Probably I'll go for it to get rid of what bugs me now.

I finished "A Devil's Chaplain" a few weeks ago and moving on "Hyperspace" now. It turns out to be a heavy book, with so many complicated mathematical concept and particle physics. Enough to make my brain melts if I rush with it. Looking at the amount of free e-books and the space left for my books, I'm considering for going digital. Yes, e-book reader. Out of so many readers it seemed hard to choose the right model and the price is not that cheap to choose so hastily. Nook, Kindle 2, iPad and Story seems to be among the best. Sadly, Kindle 2 and Nook can't be bought in Singapore (not even online). Probably I'll get Story (since iPad is too expensive) after the expiry of my Kinokuniya membership card (which is somewhere near the end of this year).

I'm working on my own notes for Quantum Physics now. It will be more detailed than school notes. Helping hands are welcomed.

Project Gutenberg

There is something interesting I find from digging LCC's blog.

Project Gutenberg, an ongoing project which is in general a digital library. Gutenberg works by transcribing old books whose copyrights have expired, and posting the books online, free for download. That's right: Anyone can download books from Gutenberg for free.

I guess that tells everything. I browsed that website only to be disappointed that I could not find a full transcription of Euclid's Elements. That bible of geometry is extremely hard to find, Google don't even have a full transcription of it. I had also checked Barnes & Noble only to be disappointed about it. It will be great if I can find commented version of the great book.

The works of Riemann is also nowhere to be find. Project Gutenberg is far from perfect, only popular titles can be found easily (BTW, isn't Euclid's Elements supposed to be popular?) such as Sherlock Holmes series, Alice in Wonderland, Homer's Odyssey, Sunzi Bingfa, some of Einstein's works, and obviously Origin of Species.

Are spiritual experiences real?

There is no absolute answer for this, since the brain is not well understood yet. However, there is a huge possibility that our brain is playing tricks. Such experiences is very personal since others might not experiences it under the same situation. Therefore, like what some scientist had said, it is self-deluding. It is personal experience, you are not supposed to draw a conclusion based on personal experience. If we treat personal experience as facts, it will be the same as treating what a lunatic had said as literal truth as simple as that.

Spiritual experiences is not caused by malfunction of the brain, it is already hard wired in the brain that we can experience such questionable thing. Drugs affect the brain by chemically stimulating parts of the brain that is linked with imagination, generating what most of us call hallucination. On the other hand, magnetic field influences the brain since the brain works by using magnetic  pulse, albeit a very weak one. How magnetic field affect the brain is still nothing much understood yet. However, once we understand much more about how the brain works, the scenario like The Brain in The Vat is likely to happen. We might be able to distort what is perceived as reality in the eye of the object.

As ethologist, Richard Dawkins had dedicated an entire chapter of "God Delusion" on the evolutionary root of religion. He argues that religion could sprung up because those who heed the words of authoritative figures have higher chance to survive in Darwinian World as they religiously follow what they are not supposed to do what could endanger their life. A child that do not heed what their parents or other grown ups is less likely to survive as he might plunge himself into life-threatening dangers. With such submission to an authoritative figure hardwired into our brain, it is easy for those in the authority to create a beliefs system as such figures usually also play the role of a sage.

Beliefs is something slowly being hardwired in our brain as generations roll. It is an evolutionary product to keep our tribal ancestors united.

Long forgotten SBQ

Source A,B and C supports the hypothesis that in 1945 to 1991 the General Assembly was ineffective in solving the problems it faced while source D and E disagrees.

Source A supports the hypothesis that in 1945 to 1991 the General Assembly was ineffective in solving the problems it faced. It state that the UN was "improperly used as an instrument of domination" with "the General Assembly...controlled by the USA". This clearly show that the UN (the General Assembly in particular) is ineffective since it had been used by USA as political tool to suppress USSR in the start of the Cold War politics with American built in dominance as shown by Source B. The source also state that the increasing membership of third world countries had led to the view that the UN is "...an organization biased against the West." The General Assembly had failed since its member view the UN as a biased organization. Since it is seen as biased organization by both Superpower who have the right to veto decisions, it will not be effective. If either superpower feels that any General Assembly Resolution is against their favour, they can just veto it. The entire discussion will hold empty result since nothing is being done to fulfill what is already decided by the great majority. The source is written in 1988, when the heights of cold war subsided to near it's end. It is likely that the author had examined Russian Archives made unclassified near the end of Cold War after introduction of Glasnost and Perestroika, thus the source is reliable. Therefore source A supports the hypothesis.

Source B supports the hypothesis that in 1945 to 1991 the General Assembly was ineffective in solving the problems it faced. It state that "...in the General Assembly, Western influence was dominant..." and the UN is a little more than "...a puppet of American government." The dominance of one party in an organization will eventually make other parties unhappy since the dominant party can do whatever they want without regard of the concern of other party. Feeling lonely and suppressed, it is a small wonder that USSR used it's veto power a lot of time during the early period of the UN before newly independent socialist Soviet-leaning states joined UN in the 1960s. It could be argued that USA bought it's political dominance from neutral states by using its economic power in form of aids such as Marshall Plan. With the entry of newly independent socialist states, it was American turn to use it's veto as USA lose it's dominance in the larger General Assembly. The Source comes from a Russian Historian who wrote it in 1955. He certainly do not know how the membership of newly independent ex-colonies will change the tide to favour USSR when he made such comment. While the source is saying the truth about UN in its early year. However, it fails to tell what happened after 1955, rendering it useless to tell whether the General Assembly was useful in 1945-1991. Overall, source B supports the hypothesis.

Source C supports the hypothesis that in 1945 to 1991 the General Assembly was ineffective in solving the problems it faced. It state that the General Assembly is "...trapped in the structural contradictions of the international system. It can not maintain impartiality..." It also state that the General Assembly is "...no stronger than the collective will of the nations that supports it. Of itself, it can do nothing." as "It can be used or developed...or it can be discarded and broken." The source clearly state that the General Assembly was ineffective as it is unable to remain neutral, it's resolution was often pointless as it is not mandatory to follow which allows members to violate it. It can be clearly seen that decisions of the General Assembly can just be thrown out of the window, not only because of veto, but also unwillingness of member states to hold it. It can be clearly seen that the UN was like a soap talk in it's early year as vetoes are cast and little political will of member nations to follow the resolutions. However, the source fails to project what happen after the speech in 1946. Even though the source is reliable, coming from the Trygve Lie, the first UN Secretary General who have first hand experience of the matter, it is not useful in judging whether the General Assembly was ineffective in solving the problems it faced in 1945-1991. Overall, the source supports the hypothesis.

Source D does not supports the hypothesis that in 1945 to 1991 the General Assembly was ineffective in solving the problems it faced. It shows statistics of the membership of the UN, where all members are part of the General Assembly It can be seen that the membership of the General Assembly increases rapidly, especially between 1945-1960 where the membership doubled partly due to rapid decolonization of Southern States. Increase in membership generally signify a success as hardly anyone would like to join an organization notorious for its failure. The increasing membership also dilutes American Domination of the UN, thus allowing the UN to work better as there is less one sided resolutions being made. Overall, the source does not support the hypothesis.

Source E does not supports the hypothesis that in 1945 to 1991 the General Assembly was ineffective in solving the problems it faced. Although it states that the activities of the General Assembly is "... torrent of unproductive and unheeded words..." which suggest the General Assembly was ineffective in solving the problems it faced since it did not bring results, the source also state that "... the Assembly performs is indeed to make all more conscious of the attitudes and interest of others and so more inclined to take account of them." Which could be interpreted as the success of General Assembly in projecting the will and interest of the world as the concern of other members is considered thus increasing  co-operation of member states as symbolized by the gathering of many people of different languages and race to address world issues, such as environmental crisis and AIDS. Since the book is published in 1979, it is safe to say that the source was the view of the author in or before 1979 which is unedited in the revised version offered by the source. Therefore, the source is reliable. Overall, the source does not support the hypothesis.

edit : Mr Lim told me that I made a huge error in this SBQ essay. I noticed it too, but it was after this essay being submitted. Can you spot the mistake?

Where The Joy of Learning Had Gone?

As a student, my life had been engulfed in education for more than ten years. It is noticeable that over the years competition do increase sharply, trapping most of us in a rat race, in order to obtain the best qualification. It often make us wonder, what had gone horribly wrong with our education system. It had been ruining the childhood of many young souls as ambitious parents (and sometimes also the school) vie with each other in an effort to produce the best student.

This very act not only threaten the joy of childhood but also true education itself. It killed the joy of learning which is the main aim if education. Instead of enjoying a good book to satisfy our hunger for knowledge, we are now desperately memorizing what is written in our notes and guidebooks for the sake of getting good grades. While our education system had been proven efficient in converting schools to a factory producing high performance students, it had failed miserably in producing students which high enthusiasm on learning the subject of their choice. It had effectively destroyed the passion of learning, by forcing students to learn everything in the syllabus. Like it or not the students have to learn a subject not of their choice, because it is simply in the syllabus and will be tested in exams.


So, what is really wrong about our education system? Why we end up studying for the wrong reason? Who are to blame for this problem? I leave it for you to answer.

I know life sucks, but we need to move on

I met with Izumi and the gang on Saturday and spend long hours having meal, crapping around and watching movie. The movie title was "Kick-Ass" adapted from Marvel Comics by the same title. I got to say it was hilarious albeit full of adult jokes. It was a good stress relief.

I bought a Yamaha PSR-E323 that same day. It is a touch sensitive electronic keyboard. Yeah, you knew it if you read my previous entry. I wanted to play it out of the blue and still want to play it now. Yes, it is an efficient distraction and a very entertaining one.

I remember that a few days ago, Lionel warned me that I have been acting weird recently and it freaks my classmates off. Yeah, I noticed it too. CH asked my what actually happened and I just told him that I need to be alone for a while. I dunno why but this few days things had gotten crazy for me, the unpleasant feeling that comes from nowhere had been bugging me all this while. Perhaps, I just simply bored.

I encounter some problem with the student pass application. It is the sponsor part. My previous sponsor know little or no English when it had to be done online and everything is in English. Maybe I should get another sponsor or meet him to get it done. I wonder why they use the word sponsor when no money is involved.

Mom was surprised when I called her today, since I rarely called home. It is usually she is the one to call. Actually I was going to call my dad to tell him my difficulty with the student pass, but it seemed that dad is in China now and mom is using his number. Oh well, I'm going to call again tomorrow and ask mom about it.

Chasing Dreams

This few days life had been boring. I totally felt like a zombie, deprived of what I really want to do, I feel like a machine that is made to satisfy someone's desire. A few months ago dad told me to choose university course that ensure a job for me. I was reluctant to choose any and just told him any kind of engineering would do. In reality, I wanted to study science, something that somehow hard to grab a job. I have read that some scientist (especially astronomer) could not find a job and end up as a writer. That prospects kinda scares me.

When A level result released, I was in despair. My result could not bring me to any local university. In desperation, I did a mumbo-jumbo research on overseas universities, especially German university since I was interested to went there for further studies. I was aghast when dad told me that he won't let me go there, even when he already told me two years ago that it was okay to go there since my cousin is there to help me. I was lucky enough to have Mr Lee helped me with questions regarding re-application and retaking A Level. I was glad that Mr Yeo also could spare me some of his time to have an appointment with me. Yes, I end up reapplying for A Level. I have no choice in the first place anyway.

Dad called me today and told me that I can take any course that I want, as long as I like it, even if it will be difficult to find a job. I have thought about it for quite long and come to a solid decision what I'll do if NTU won't take me this year. I want to choose Astronomy, but it is out of choice in this small island. Since modern Astronomy is closely linked with Astrophysics, I'll go for Physics with specialisation in Astrophysics offered by NUS instead. Major in Physics and minor in Maths will be a second choice. I know that it is extremely tough to secure a place in these courses. I need 4As in order to ensure a place. In other words, it time to go on rampage -spamming prelims paper with above 80% as my target. I have to place a limit though. I don't want to burn out or maybe having slump on the day of the exam like what happened last year. I have to minimise doing funny stuffs that I had been doing all this while, such as choosing questions that are interesting rather than easy. The consequences is bad, it can cost another year. It is terrible, seriously terrible.

I told my sister today that I wanted to buy keyboard, not typing keyboard, but a musical one. Yes, I want to learn how to play piano out of the blue but since I fear that this burning interest is short-lived, I decide that it is better to get a keyboard than a piano. To be honest I love music since my childhood, but I despise local bands as I don't find anything special in the voices of the singers. I discover about classical music when I reach teenage-hood and start getting engrossed with it. Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K 331 (300i) Rondo Alla Turca was among my favourite.

New MacBook Pro had been released. It comes with i5 or i7 as predicted. The price is rather costly too. I have a liking with the i7 model. It cost about the same with a Fujitsu i7 that was offered by Asiapac before discount. Perhaps I can get the new MacBook Pro cheaper during the next IT fair. I had been waiting for it's release all this while.

Natural Science?

I have thought about it. Maybe what interest me now is what called "Natural Science".

That was a mouthful

Okay, I have posted quite a lot today.

Let's talk about what happening recently.

Yesterday I just finished the book "God Delusion" which I started reading last year, but I re-read it from the beginning early this year. To be honest, it is quite a heavy book. It took me so long to finish, about a month to be precise.

Life had been crappy as usual, as boring as ever. Yesterday, I planned to fish some info from DAAD. Little did I know that I have to made appointment for that. Maybe next time or perhaps an e-mail is enough.

Today is no fun either, it was boring like hell. PE is super sucks. Boring and tiring training...

Oh yah, I'm reading "A Devil's Chaplain" now. Another book by Richard Dawkins, but this one is more like essay collection. Remind me that I have some Carl Sagan to read.

Animal Rights?!? Are you kidding me?

Well, I won't shoot a bullet here, but if you are easily offended when it comes to pets (including lab rats or guinea pigs), PLEASE GET LOST. I am going to talk about it in naturalistic view.

We noticed that there is an increasing movement on what is called animal rights. In this age when human rights is almost granted to everyone, there is an land slide leading to what called animal rights. Starting from the animals that are closer to us, such as cat and dogs and further movement plead for humane treatment spread to various kind of wild animals which could also potentially kill us. Many of these animal rights activist propagandize by exploiting the weakness of human heart with displays of slaughtering methods, animal experimentation and hunting method.

To be honest, such display is utterly disgusting, enough to make a person spill what he had eaten in the morning. Those pictures might be true however, is it a necessary to work against it? Just look at how animal kills, doesn't it look as bloody as what have been done by human? If this is not enough, there are also other ways animals do kill that is extremely gross, bad enough to make you feel sick. Have you ever heard of Ichneumonidae or maybe Ammophila (digger wasp)? It's larvae is parasitic, feeding off the host when the host is alive. The host, which is usually a caterpillar, is eaten alive from the insides, slowly till the larva grows up and going to become pupa soon. Just imagine eggs injected into your body, what comes from the egg going to eat you from inside when you are still alive and it is going to rip your body off on its way out to metamorph. It is an extremely cruel process! So, why we bother to be so kind towards other species if the nature is not that kind?

Some people might argue that human is the only species that kill for fun, not killing only for food or territorial battle. However, the nature seems to speak otherwise. Bottle-nosed Dolphin had been found to murder harmless porpoises. It had been examined that the attack on the porpoises is accurately aimed. They are way impossible to be accidents. One more thing to note is that dolphins are not territorial. They are a migratory animal, having no permanent place to stay. Another animal to point out is Orca. The killer whale had been recorded to play with seals in a game that looks like a bully. The seals were not eaten, just being smacked to the sky multiple times!

Another issue to note is that where this will stop? Some people argue that the primates should have it, lab rats should have it, cats and dogs should have it, and so on. Where this will stop? Why limit it just to a group of certain animals? It was argued that Chimps should have human rights as it share 98% of the components of our DNA. But, what about worms? Some of them share 75% of our DNA. Does that make them 75% human? Hell no!

The other problem is that, can animal appreciate and respect the rights given to them? Where is the rights of my hamster to protect it from being eaten by my neighbour's cat? It is absurd! Are you going to sue your neighbour's dog for bullying your cat? Hell no, we will just make the owner pay for the damages.

The most important thing to note is that, "is there such thing called rights?" My answer will be a straight no. In the times of war, there is no regard of human life, a clear violation of right to live. Another thing to note is your freedom of choice. In times of war you have no choice, but to do what you are being instructed. A clear violation of right to choose. There is simply no such thing as rights. We just happen to be claiming it all this while. Don't believe me? Go and check history book.

What to do?

My cousin had asked me to list what I probably would like to do for Uni. This is kinda tough, since I have quite board range of interest without knowing what is really interest me.

Astronomy
Theoretical Physics
Pure Mathematics
Quantum Physics
Evolutionary Biology
Nanotechnology
Applied Physics
Ethology
Genetics
Aerospace Engineering
Robotic Engineering
Engineering Science
Cosmology
Astro-physics
Material Engineering
Zoology
Archeology
Paleontology
Statistics
Nuclear Physics

This kinda remind me when Ee Hong and Wen Jie asked me what I want to do in Uni, assuming I can enter any course. I did not give them a reply back then. I'm still confused, I just do not know what is really in my interest. If I scanned the books that I had been reading the answer is simply science, but on what field? Biology? Physics? Mathematics? I only remember that since my childhood time, I'm fascinated with the cosmos. Yes, it was true that I had been reading encyclopedia on Astronomy since my childhood -which surprised the librarian. At that time, I also share a strong interest in studying animals (Sadly, I can't be a vet. I have cynophobia.). I had been reading a lot of book on them (Learning about dinosaur had been the initial trigger that made me doubt the creation, but I was too young to question it.). Alas, growing up made me neglecting that good habit. Maths is not something that I can live without. My life had been filled with it, ever since my childhood time. To be honest, I had been exposed to a lot of mathematical concept much earlier than what most people are, ranging from basic algebra and graphing to the vicious complex number.

I'm totally lost if you ask me what I really want to do.

Monday will be horrid...

Yea, the title says it. I'm going to hate next week. I have executed my Plan A and B. There is a probability that Plan A (trying my luck with NTU) will fail, that is why I'm getting a Plan B (retaking) to anticipate that which make me want to puke now. The reason is simple. In order to make Plan B work, I need to join the school. Yes, they accepted me but not in a way I like. Firstly, I know almost no one in that class. Secondly, I don't like some of the teacher who teach that class. Two particular teacher to be exact. The Physics teacher and the GP teacher. My reason might seem childish and immature. I don't find the Physics teacher good, I mean I can hardly make out what he is talking about. His pronunciation was not clear enough and it gives the effect that irritates me. For the GP teacher, it is rather personal. Did I mention about the band teacher who want us to perform in band seating arrangement? He is the one! I know it is childish. I really wish I forget about it. Plan C is still in the process of being drafted. I wish that Plan C can replace Plan B if Plan A fails.

Fuck it, the first lesson of the day will be physics lab session. I think I'll get Lionel and myself excused from that lame lab session. We don't need to do practical exam anymore!

Keep trying

Ok, this time I scored better.

24 right of 50

A boring week

Honestly, this week is quite boring. Re-admitting to collage might be a bad choice. The first week was a self study session in the library. It was boring, but I spent the time on reading "God Delusion", revising some concept and studying my German. I have forgotten a lot of stuff, this is really bad. Mr Yeo seems to be supporting this choice, but I don't feel that I made the right decision. Well, I kinda have no choice. My student pass expire by the end of April. If NTU did not accept me, I'll be at wits end. In other words, I have no choice since the beginning.

Well, this few weeks I had a nagging feeling that I want to learn how to play some musical instrument. I dunno why, but the feeling have been so strong since before the day of the release of our result. I was intending to visit a music school after taking back our result, but the bad result destroyed the mood. Dad blamed my active involvement in my two CCA as the cause of my bad result. There is no way to convince him to let me learn now (I can register for it, but I don't want to anger him).

Oh well, a few days ago I stumbled upon the fact that Yo-Yo Ma is going to perform in Singapore. I really want to watch, he is a well known cellist anyway. I wonder if the Cello section interested in watching and Shenyee who was the leader told me that he will get me the number of people who are interested by friday. The sad fact is, by the time I checked the tickets again, it is sold out. Yea, it is very sad. The next opportunity is the next five years. Let's make a pact to go for it 5 years later then. LOL!

Guten Tag!

What's up with the German title? Oh yah, I have been learning it recently. Well, I really want to go there, but it is not the time yet. Not yet.

German lesson was kinda fun. It is my first time to learn a new language at my own initiative. Other languages that I have learned were pretty much forced into me. German is rather simpler than English. There are some elements in English that is not present in German. To make things easier, there is a striking similarity of some German words and English words.

20 right of 50

Aw man, I have been training my ear to differentiate the musical note C, D and E. That was the result of 50 tries.

A book to write?

I have been thinking for a while to write a book on "Creation" from religious perspective and it's scientific rebuttal. The main idea should be ready soon. It is just that I need to read more books to get the scientific facts, in retaliation to prove that religious view is wrong! I'll spill the plans later after things are getting organised.

The brink of desperation

I have not been posting for so long! You might have guessed that I flunked my A Level. It is really bad in my opinion. Terribly flunked GP and only have one subject done well. Yes, it is Maths as expected. My friday was spent on rather emo manner, yep really emo. I was lucky enough to know that Ezo and RX was in about the same boat. I discussed with Ezo what we are going to do with such bad grade. On Monday, I meet Mr Yeo, my Physics teacher, to discuss my possible option. He told me to retake, but it must be done seriously, not half heartedly as most people do. Oh well, I went to Goethe Institut on Tuesday to register for German Lesson. It is starting on 17th. I picked this frigging laptop from repair centre the following day. The repair centre is FREAKING FAR! Not to mention the queue and the repair cost. Went back home afterward to have a chat with my dad. I go back to school at around 4 to find Mrs Sze. Unfortunately, it seemed that she already went back home, so I sent her an online message once I went back home instead. Oh well, that day I dropped of to see my CO junior for a while, there is no point to burn my time till 9 PM there.

The rest of the day is rather boring. Did I mention Min Yee was asking me to help her getting an autograph of Adam Lambert? Oh well, I tried to go there and was amazed by the crowd formed a few hours before the actual event. I predicted that it is at least 300 people. It way impossible for him to sign that much in 60 minutes. So, I decide to ditch the plan. Sorry, Min Yee. There is not much interesting book at Kinokuniya Bugis. Since it is rather near to city hall where the IT Show hosted, I decide to give a visit. IT WAS HORRENDOUS! The entrance is like floodgate, extremely difficult to go through. Oh yah, I stop over at HMV and MPH to get a gasp of fresh air, it is hard to breathe in a crowd. Oh well, I have no plan to buy anything for this IT Show. Looking at the current condition of my laptop, I might need a new one soon, but I decide to wait for the new Macbooks which rumoured to be released anytime soon. Sigh, the Dell offer was really tempting, An i7 with 1Gig Video Card, HD screen and Blu ray drive for $1999! It is much cheaper compared anything at its caliber. Oh well, Casio was selling some digital keyboard too. I want it, but no place to keep in the small flat.

I visited microsoft's booth to check the price of windows seven upgrade pack. It is terrible, about the usual price. I might need to uprade this frigging tablet laptop to windows seven to combat the frigging rapid heat build up. Office is still expensive as always, they still call it student package, but it cost more than 100 bucks. Have they ever consider where students get their money from? What the hell that corporate bastard is thinking. Even Adobe sell their stuff much cheaper to student. Hit back home afterward. OMG I want a DSLR Camera, yea seriously. Our digital camera is really outdated.

HP is rather pissing me. I find out that the problem that made me sent my laptop for repairs is coming back yesterday. What kind of repair they have done? It is coming back in less than a week. I had paid more than $400, just for a few days of fully functioning pc? What kind of scamming is that!

Oh yah, I just finished  "Why Evolution is True" somewhere in this period.

好无聊啊！

这几天真的好无聊。我没什么事做。星期天，岳泉叫我去体育场找他。我们已经好久不见了。最后见面可能是我们看电影那天。错，是那天我们打棋（还是打扑克卡？）。 已经几个星期了。他现在去当兵，不多时间去玩玩。我们在体育场跑三圈然后去谈一谈。他叫我赶快去找工作，不要浪费时间。有一只，黄老师也提醒我赶快找工作，不要浪费时间拿来玩玩。A 水准考试成绩已经要发布了，星期五，下午两点半。

What a pleasure to read

Oh well, I just finished it, that book,"Billions & Billions Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium". I can't believe I took so long reading it. Maybe that is because I read Full Metal Panic in between. It is a good book, very good for GP. Sadly, I read it long after the paper.

Oh yah, I almost forget that A Level result going to be released soon, the coming Friday to be precise. That's the end of the wait? No, it is still much longer. I plan to get on courses after taking back the result. I mean, it will make things easier that way. Oh well, I have not decided what to learn in Uni. Dad seems to expect me to learn something that will be useful to start business, but I'm really not sure what to take.

At last I finished it

I can't believe that it took me that long to finish that book, I mean "A Brief History of Time". It is kinda old book written by a genius. It is partially due to the hard to churn content, but also because I read something else, watching lots of anime and did massive forum posting in the middle of reading it. It is a good book, I have to admit. I just finish reading it on Tuesday night, I'd say midnight, before getting on to bed. Oh yah, dad went back home on that day and I decided to accompany him till the harbour. I never expect I find a treasure in a bookshop in Vivocity. It is a book that I have been looking for quite long, written by a great scientist by the name of Carl Sagan. It is his last book, the one that he wrote in a state of next to death. It is titled "Billions & Billions Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium". I gotta say that it is a good book, jargon free and written in such a way that it every chapter is interesting and entertaining while the topic covered is not something shallow but there is a deep meaning behind it. Sadly they sold the book much more expensive than the original price, what a rip off. I can't find it at other bookstore anyway and it was the last one sold there, so I decided to get it.

Welcoming the tiger

Winter solstice had passed,
signifying the end of the year comes near.
It is just a few weeks away,
for the end of the winter.

It is about time,
for the ox to leave.
The tiger will come soon,
to take over the spot.

Families gather around,
reuniting with family members,
waiting for the end of the year,
the coming of the tiger.

The last day of the year had come,
the ox slowly walks away.
It is about time,
for the last meal of the year.

The gong strikes,
the parade starts.
It is the hour of the dog,
a few more hour to midnight.

Flame dances in the sky,
gun powder could be smelt.
The crowd watched the colorful sky in awe.
The hour of pig had come.

The gong strikes,
the hour of rat had come,
signifying the change of day.
The tiger is coming!

The burst of firecrackers signaling the coming of the tiger,
the king of the beast, a symbol of power.
The ox had gone, the tiger had taken its spot.
A new beginning of the year, the start of spring.

Anime review - Senjō no Varukyuria -Valkyria Chronicles-

Genres: Action, Military, Romance
Themes: Alternative History, War, Racism
Rating: 7 out of 10
Original Run: 05.04.2009 till 27.09.2009
Episodes: 26
Fansubbing Groups : twrev-Doremi

An anime adaptation of the Japanese tactical role-playing game developed by Sega exclusively for the PlayStation 3.

Once upon a time the land was fertile, and people all lived in satisfaction. However, a greedy one took all the fruits, seeds and livestocks for oneself and people cried in hunger. Hearing their voices, a courageous one come forth, and with the spear clad in blue flame, pierced the heart of the greedy one. The land become fertile once more. The greedy one was a Darcs and the courageous one was a Valkyria.

In the year 1935 E.C., the continent of Europa is dominated by two superpowers: The Autocratic East Europan Imperial Alliance (The Empire) in the east and a commonwealth of loosely allied democracies known as the Atlantic Federation (The Federation) in the west. The economies of both powers depend on a precious multi-purpose mineral called Ragnite; its uses range from fueling weapons of war to use in medical treatments. Its growing scarcity results in the Empire declaring war on the Federation, sparking the Second Europan War. The Empire uses its military superiority to quickly put the Federation on the defensive. Emboldened by their progress and momentum, the Empire decides to invade the neutral Principality of Gallia in order to seize its rich Ragnite deposits.

When Imperial forces launch an attack on the Gallian border town of Bruhl, Welkin Gunther, son of late Gallian national hero General Belgen Gunther, is forced to fight for his life alongside the town watch captain, Alicia Melchiott. Together with Welkin's adopted sister Isara and using Belgen's prototype tank from the first war, the Edelweiss, they escape to Gallia's capital, Randgriz, and subsequently join the country's militia forces. Welkin is given the rank of lieutenant and assumes command of the newly-formed Squad 7, with Alicia acting as his non-commissioned officer. Initially, members of the squad question Welkin's qualifications due to a lack of combat experience; however, he quickly earns their trust and loyalty with his tactical genius. Welkin and Alicia soon become romantically engaged.

WARNING, SPOILER ALERT!!!

The Regulars of Gallian military, who hate the militia are jealous of the success of Militia Squad 7 and often sent them to suicidal missions. However, under the leadership of Welkin, Squad 7 managed to complete every mission given which pretty much weaken Imperial Force. To counter his successive defeat, the crown prince Maximilian deploys one of his commanders, Selvaria Bles, equipped with the Ragnite lance and shield of the ancient Valkyrian race, thought to have saved the ancient world from the Darcsen race. Using innate magic powers, she decimates the Gallian army. Alicia is shot by Welkin's archeologist colleague, Faldio, in order to awaken her own latent Valkyrian powers. Alicia is able to drive Selveria back, allowing the Gallians to advance to the border. Selveria commits suicide in defense of the Ghirlandaio fortress, killing the self-serving Gallian commander but sparing Squad 7.

Maximilian, wanting to create his own empire, uses his ultimate weapon, a "land dreadnought" called the Marmota, to break through Gallia's defenses and steal a giant Valkyrian lance from within Randgriz Castle. The princess reveals herself to be Darcsen - the Valkyrians rewrote history to make themselves into heroes, while an allied Darcsen tribe gained Randgriz as the spoils. With Alicia's help, Squad 7 are able to board the Marmota, destroying its engines and defeating Maximilian. Alicia and Welkin are rescued, and return to Bruhl, where they marry and raise a child.

Main Characters:

Welkin Gunther

Lieutenant, age 22. The only son of the hero of the previous war, General Belgen Gunther. He joined the militia as the leader of Squad 7 after witnessing the destruction of his homeland. He majored in Animal Sociology in his university year. In secondary military education, he chose Tank Operation; at university, Officer Training, In addition he earned credentials as Tank Commander. As a commander, he rides the "Edelweiss," a highly mobile tank created by Professor Theimer, Isara's late father.

A lover of nature since childhood, his free time was usually spent observing animal and plant life near his home. From his unique interests, he often finds the most unconventional tactics (such as using trails left by animals) to stop the Imperial forces.

Welkin is somewhat an airhead who is too absorbed in his hobby that he is oblivious too his surrounding. It took him long to realise that his hometown is under attack that he should evacuate by that time. He is somewhat dense that he do not realise that Alicia harbor feelings for him. When Faldio told him that he confessed to Alicia, Welkin does not show any reaction, unaware of his love for Alicia.

It was later revealed that Isara's death pain him greatly despite of him being the only one who put a straight face during the funeral.

Alicia Melchiott

Sergeant, age 19. A young lady who dreamed to become a baker. She served as a team captain of the Bruhl Town Watch and was called for duty after the invasion, being posted to Squad 7 as Welkin's Aide . From her previous experience, she will serve as one of the scouts.

She is extremely reliable, full of righteousness and loves taking care of others. At first, she is perplexed by Welkin’s personality, but soon learns what is special about his gentle ways. Faldio's attraction to her conflicts with her feelings for Welkin.

Alicia was an orphan, little is known of her parentage. It is later revealed that she come from the same orphanage with Selvaria and both of them are descendant of the legendary Valkyria.

She deeply cares of the safety of Squad 7. Which is clearly shown when she made a personal request with the princess to guarantee the safety of all member of Squad 7 and Faldio before she advance to the battlefield to face Selvaria.

Isara Gunther

Corporal, age 16. She was adopted by her late father’s friend, General Gunther, making her the younger sister of Welkin. Due to her Darcsen decent, a group of people who are openly discriminated in Europa, dealing with prejudice is part of her life.

Taking to engineering in her father’s footsteps, she earned several credentials before enlisting in the Army. She plays a dual role as the squad’s tank pilot and mechanic.

Together with her brother, she operates the "Edelweiss," a memento of his late father.

She was shot when taking care of injured Rosie.

I'm out of content

This few days I have been running out of content. I have no new inspiration as to what to write. I have been thinking to write a story earlier. I bet that I will need a proper planning. I have been returning back to school since last week, to watch the junior's practicing for the orientation. I think I'll butt in next week. I also want to know the freshman that will be joining the orchestra. It will be great if next year they manage to break the silver streak and clinch our first gold. I guess that I should be drowning myself with my books for the next few days. Too much time have been spent on anime and forum spamming.

Video filming and 08S09 Reunion

It was fun to have a reunion after the filming yesterday. It was quite disappointing that the number of people who turn up for it is only 3 more beside those involved with the filming. The filming was fun and we had a good laughter doing it. Everyone seems to enjoy it very much. I think it won't take very long for Izumi to finish the editing. We went to Simei for lunch after the filming. When the others are churning their lunch, I was having a Gundam match with Abe and Reu, but it seemed that the PSP could not handle it and it is horribly laggy. I my screen freeze for a few seconds just after shooting a beam and control is horribly slow. The only way for me to survive the game was running around all over the place which make the game not as fun as it should be.

All ten of us gather at Dhoby Ghaut Interchange and walked to Cathay for the movie. HK Guy was botak and having a tan after joining the army camp for a month. He is also looked a bit skinnier. The moment I realised that we are heading to Cathay was the moment I saw the nearby Presbyterian Church. Well, I used to go there last year, albeit not that frequent. The movie was quite good but it is unrealistic. I would say that it is a western non-magical version of KIRA. After the movie, the Ninja decided to leave and all nine of us went for a dinner together at Aston's. It is a terribly long queue, but it is worthwhile with the good food served. I wish we can have another one with more complete member next time, probably after taking back our result.

Paper

No one know who invent you,
we only know you have been around for long,
much longer than we had thought.
We found you in ancient ruins,
holding a piece of information.
Having you is handy,
that we begun to mass produce you.
We have you in a stacks,
at the cost of the environment.
We felled trees to make you,
yet we are wasting you.

The holy book

It is a book that we have heard of its name.
Printed in the memory of mankind.
We have hold it dear for generations.
Many are killed under its name.

Translating it was forbidden,
but a king broke the rule.
The book have been a source of motivation.
It is the first printed book in Europe.

It is the bestselling book in history,
with no one match the number of its sales.
It was also used to start a war.
A bloody mark in history of mankind.

What is so special of that book,
to be treated in such a way.
Why we held it high,
even when it contradict reason.

The book is said to possess the power of miracles,
written by the hand of saints,
blessed by the breath of life.
Do you know what it is?

Yue Fei

No tattoo have been so well known,
other than the one pierced on his back.
A mere four words,
carved by his mother.

"Jin Zhong Bao Guo" it read,
the prove of the oath he took,
to protect Song at all cost,
an utmost loyalty to the nation.

The troubled Song value him highly,
old and sick come to serve him,
but he took only the fittest,
to fight the invading barbarians.

"Huan wo he shan" he shout,
recapturing conquered land is his objective.
restoring humiliation of Jing Kang.
crushing Jin to the ground.

His name bring horror to Jin,
for his prowess in battle.
No one ever push them,
to the point of desperation.

His popularity caused fear,
in the heart of Zhao monarch.
The hero of Song,
stabbed by his own master.

He was sold to the barbarians,
in return for peace.
His dream was dead on its track.
No one ever push Jin since his departure.

He is remembered for generations,
as the most patriotic man.
His life mystified by many,
as a man of wisdom and strength.

Do you know this man?
the loyal subject of Song,
He rest in Hang Zhou.
Yue Fei is his name.

The field of dream

You are the wind,
I am the grain of sand.
You carry me around,
to the promised land.

The field of rainbow,
the place where flowers glow.
Feeling the warmth of the sunlight,
admiring the beauty of starry night.

The bird of joy sings the melody of life.
The nymphs dance the grace of life.
This is it,
I have been waiting for it.

The time you carry me,
to the land in my dream.
The place that have been calling me.
The land of dream.

Old it might be, yet it is still solid

Well, I am currently reading "A Brief History of Time". I know that it is an old book, but it took me quite long to absorb what Hawking trying to tell. Outdated it might be, yet it is not easy to understand. The scientific concept, that's it.

Friend

I see mountains ahead of me,
barriers to reach my destination.
I looked around,
there is no one around me.

I was alone,
in this vast dark space.
When I fall down,
I realise that you are with me.

You are there since the beginning,
pushing my back forward.
Together we go,
climbing the mount improbable.

Zhao Zilong

Have you heard of that man,
who joined the army to quell the rebel,
commanding an army of volunteers.
he is the dragon of Changshan.

Little is known of him,
other than he his loyalty.
He risk his life,
to protect the son of his master.

Wielding his spear on one hand,
the infant lord in his breast plate,
he gallop through hundreds of man,
deliver the young lord safely to his master.

Legend speaks of him,
as a man of valor,
who fought war without a scratch,
emerging victorious unharmed.

His heroic deeds remembered by scholars,
inspiring authors to write.
So many he had done for Shu,
yet so little we know about him.

Invincible he might sound,
words speak of him,
as an undefeated general.
Yet, time defeated him.

Yuki Onna

Legend speak of a beautiful woman,
who appear in a snowstorm.
She adorns a white kimono,
and walks barefooted.

Her skin is white as snow,
her long jet black hair covered her face.
Ghastly she might look,
yet men are captivated by her beauty.

Her presence bring forth cold wind,
her appearance blend in snow.
Her icy glare paralysed man,
her red lips freeze him to death.

Scary she might be,
yet it sound so lonely.
She live alone,
on the snowy mountain.

A picture written by master composer

The vibration of the strings is still ringing in my ear.
I still remember that song you played.
The tune that stays in my memoir.
As if it was recorded.

The sweet melody captivates me.
The concerto of life, that carries lots of emotions.
Wonder of the nature that it bring illusions.
As if we were somewhere else.

It is as if I'm riding a boat,
listening to my paddle slapping the water
and the chirping of birds early in the morning,
watching the mist covered mountain in awe.

Phantasm, it might be,
the majestic picture the tune bring,
the feeling of being there,
and the emotion it carries.

The picture of nature, printed in melody.
Not only it carries a beautiful sound,
but also a piece of memory,
shared with everyone.

The Sakura Tree

The pink petals slowly dance to the ground,
at five centimeters per second.
Beautiful it might be,
the sight of a tree shedding its flower.

It is spring, the time flower blooms.
But it is also the time this tree lose it's flower.
The pink flower that only blooms for three day.
A rare beauty of the nature.

The wind carries a packet of pink petals,
fly it all over the city.
A sign it's going to end,
the beautiful panorama of this pink flower.

Please forgive me

I told you to meet me there,
from there I'll show you the way.
Little did I realise,
It slipped my mind.

Why I forget about it?
Why I make you wait?
Why I leave you alone?
Why I'm so stupid?

I won't ask for your forgiveness,
it is my fault for being late.
I wish you are not there,
waiting for me in this coldness.

I grasp my breath,
rushing to find you.
I clenched my fist,
wishing you are not there.

The sight of your silhouette pains me greatly.
I had made you wait for hours,
under this cruel environment.
Please forgive me.

Broken Promise

You promised to meet here,
yet you did not came.
I have been waiting,
alone under the rain.

The rain pierce through my skin,
The wind chilled my bone.
It does not bleed,
yet it is very painful.

Why you do this?
Why you make me wait?
Why you break your promise?
Why you break my heart?

You lied to me!
I waited for you,
in this cold night,
shivering under the rain.

No one see my tears,
as the rain washed my face.
I stand alone,
crying under the lamp post.

The Greatest Show on Earth

Life, what it really is?
This planet is full of it,
yet we understand little of it.
Life, so mysterious it is.

Once I left the concrete jungle,
looking at life from different angle.
I saw how diverse life is.
Full of different variations.

Shape, colours and sizes.
All kinds of life forms have its unique codes.
So unique that no others had it.
Life, so diverse it is.

The nature at its wake,
creates all kinds of life.
The nature at its rage,
destroy many kinds of life.

It is not the strongest to survive,
nor the most intelligent,
but the most responsive.
To survive, life must adapt.

We call it evolution.
Some call it Darwin's delusion.
The process life adapt with nature,
creating new species designed by nature.

The nature created so many life forms,
All comes from a single life forms.
Ancestor of all life forms,
the first of all life forms.

Dogs have so many different breeds,
all of the same species.
So does cat with many different breeds,
all of the same species.

Nuclear arsenals,powerful enough to level an island,
it's explosion strong enough to crystalised sand.
Yet, life still can be found.
Under the rubble.

Man's triumph over the control of this planet,
some call it God given right,
we call it man's adaptive capabilities,
the best of animals.

The Greatest Show on Earth - the review

Title : The Greatest Show on Earth

Author : Richard Dawkins

Year Published : 2009
Rating :4.9

Summary :  In this book, Dawkins brought us to embark an in depth journey presenting the evidence of evolution from the famous fossil findings to molecular evidence of evolution. The book uses the analogy of detective coming late at the crime scene helps in understanding the process the conclusion is drawn and the absurdity of the rejection of the theory. Dawkins also presented various example of evolution and 'design flaw' in many organism much to the fallacy of the theory of Intelligent Design.

My thoughts : It is a great book to read with little big words (and the meanings are explained), one does not need much linguistic skill to read the book. It is fascinating as to how the nature shaped a lot of different living beings through the random process of natural selection. Those with advantageous random mutation will pass on the genes while those without it are unlikely to do so.