Band of Brothers Review - Episode 7 Breaking Point

After watching episode seven of the Band of Brothers, I feel that the show actually depicts the real effects of war. Firstly, it shows the emotional effects it has on the soldiers. For example, when Lieutanent Buck Compton saw two other soldiers, who were his friends, being seriously wounded after a series of artillery barrage, he became mentally unstable. And furthermore, before this incident, he was a good combat leader and experienced but because of the horrors of war he had seen, he was traumatized especially when it was his friends who were injured or killed. This part shows how war actually affects a person's state of mind. Another example for this is when a soldier tried to dig a foxhole with his bare hands after an artillery barrage, even until his hands were bleeding. This showed that soldiers would loose their state of mind and do things that a normal human being would not do, and this is how a real war would affect a soldier. Secondly, the show also show the hardship the soldiers has to endure. For example, in the battle of Foy, many soldiers were being shot down and in the end, soldiers were also killed by snipers. And before that, during the artillery barrage, a soldier's leg was blown off and this shows the cruelty of war. From other readings, it says that easy company fought in cold weather under German artillery fire without winter clothing and with limited rations and ammunition. In the battle of Foy, it was snowing, with the soldiers wearing a rather thin layer of clothing and they were shivering from the cold. This shows that they have to fight in extreme conditions, showing the hardships these soldiers have to go through during a war. And they were continuously subjected to artillery firing. Hence, this two points shows that Band of Brothers does not romantisize the story of easy company.

However, some parts of Band of Brothers does romantisize war in general. As there were a few parts in episode 7 of Band of Brothers, “Breaking Point”, that might not happen in a real war. The first one, which is also the most eye-catching part, was when Lieutanent Speirs ran towards German soldiers to get in contact with another company. He was not shot down and the Germans did little to resist his “advance”. This would not be really possible in a real war as the enemy would usually shoot at an enemy at first sight. Another part was during the artillery barrage before the battle of Foy. During the barrage, the show showed little casualties, even though two soldiers received serious injuries. Furthermore, even though the soldiers received serious injuries, in a real war, the soldiers would have probably been killed in a real war as the artillery bomb shell exploded right in front of them, which in a real war, would have been fatal. Even though it shows the cruelty of war, it hides more of it then show it. Another part is when the soldiers also joked during the bombings. For example, when a soldier was pinned down in his foxhole after the first bombings, he joked that he “overdid his foxholes”. This would not really happen in a real war as the soldiers would be focused in fighting the war, caring more for their own lives than to joke with others. Hence, some parts of the Band of Brothers romantisizes war in general.

Overall, the Band of Brothers does romantisize war in general. Even though it depicts some effects of war, it still hides the real effects and most of the effects of a war.

When The History Channel's broadcasted Band of Brothers on-air and it was sponsored by the US Army, it was to show people not only how the American soldiers fought in a war and their experiences, but also to show how a war affects us. I feel that this is significant as this broadcasting is sponsored by the US army, suggesting that the US army wants to spread the message of how a war looks like and maybe, to let other people know how the Americans had became victorious in the previous war.

YOG Opening Ceremony

The Youth Olympic Games Opening Ceremony is held on 14th August 2010, at the floating platform at the Marina Bay. It took Singapore around 350 million dollars and two years of preparation just for this event.

The opening ceremony is led by young talent, who displayed the "can do" spirit of youth. The opening ceremony involved around 7000 performers who were mostly 18 years old. It also had effects such as water effects and is watched by around 27000 spectators from the stands and many more from their homes.

There were many interesting segments such as the part called "Playing with Fire". However, I liked the part whereby the torch was lit by Singapore sailor Darren Choy. Upon docking from a float, Amanda Lim, who is a Asian Youth Games and SEA Games medalist, passed on the torch to other torch bearers which ended up with Darren. When he reached the cauldron, he placed the torch at the edge of it and fire burst from the cauldron, firing up the cauldron. This was dubbed the "vortex flame".

I feel that the opening ceremony was a success as I felt that it was very grand and spectacular. I also felt that the fireworks was quite spectacular even though the one done during the National Day Parade just a few days ago was much better. Overall, I think that the opening ceremony was a success and I hope that the Games would be a success too.

Abortion - Is it Immoral?

This is a hotly debated topic and this topic was also discussed during one of my "Thinking" lessons. We shared our views on how we felt about this topic and in this blog post, I am going to share my views about this topic. I would talk about the pros and cons of abortion.

There are pros of abortion and one of it is that, if a child has a high chance of contracting a disease, for example, aids, it would be the right thing to do to abort the birth of the child as if it was to be conceived, the child would suffer with that particular disease. Another situation whereby abortion is alright is when a child suffers from some disabilities such as mentally or physically, like loosing a limb. This would cause them to have a social stigma when born and they cannot live a full life. Another circumstance is that if conceiving the child would put the mother's life in danger, aborting the child would be an option to save a life.

However, one of the objection to the child having a mental illness and suffering after being born, is that the child might not even know that it has the disease and would thing that everything in his daily life is normal, even when being bullied or mocked by other children.

There are also cons of abortion and one of it is that, it is immoral as it is depriving the child to have a chance to live. A child might be aborted for some reasons like the parents not having enough money to raise and give the child a good life. Furthermore, depriving a child the right to live is immoral and the child could be put up for adoptions after being born.

However, an objection to that point is that the child might have some disabilities like having a missing limb and the child would not be able to enjoy a happy childhood and is unable to live a full life. Thus, abortion might be considered to prevent the sufferings the child would experience after being born.

In conclusion, I feel that abortion is immoral in certain circumstances such as when the life of the mother is in danger. I feel that abortion is a matter not to be lightly taken as it determines whether a child gets to live. Thus, I am alright with abortion but to a certain extent.

Feel free to comment on this post.

YOG Torch Relay Ceremony

On August 11th, the YOG torch relay finally came to our school. I was very excited to see the torch as it was a once in a life time chance to do so. However, I was required to perform for the YOG torch relay as I was in the Lion dance.

After morning assembly, students started flooding the Kah Kee Drive and waited along the side of the road for the torch to arrive. As we waited for the VIP, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, to arrive. And when he arrived, we started playing and even though we started too early earlier on, we managed to finish our performance. We quickly carried our things like drums away so as not to block the cars. I was very disappointed as when we had put the things back to the room, the torch had already passed. However, according to one of my friends who saw the “torch”, he said it was really a let-down. He said that the “torch” was actually a lantern and furthermore, he said that the runner was actually walking.

If what my friend had said was true, I would rather not see the ceremony as the runner should be holding the flame with pride and not walking while holding it. It tells a person that the flame is either embarrassing to hold or it does not show any significance. I was really disappointed with this ceremony as I did not get to see the torch and also, the runner had no pride in doing so.

National Day Parade 2010 - Live Our Dream, Fly Our Flag

This year's national day toook place at the Padang rather than at the Floating Platform at the Marina Bay. This year's theme is "Live our Dream, Fly our Flag".

Some highlights for this year's National Day Parade was the aerial display. Fighter jets such as the F15SG multirole fighter. The mobile column was also very spectacular as new additions of tanks such as the Leopard 2A4 tanks and also artilerries was displayed. This year's NDP song was composed and sang by Corrinne May. The fireworks display was also equally spectacular as it was set at nine different positions - Padang, City Hall, Esplanade Theatre, Marina Bay, Suntec City, Pan Pacific hotel, Ritz Calton Millenia Hotel and UOB Plaza & Mayband Tower. Thus, even though many people didn't get to get tickets to see the National Day Parade at Padang, they could get a glimpse of the fireworks from the other places such as the Marina Bay by watching nearby.

I personally feel that this year's NDP was a success as it was very spectecular and it showed the success Singapore has such as in military. I was amazed by the fireowrks display as it was very grand and was very interesting and I hope that the next NDP would be as good as this one.

Peranakan Museum

As the Barclays Premier League has not started, I will be posting on recent activities like the upcoming YOG torch relay and also the National Day Parade. For this blog post, I would be posting about the recent field trip I had with my class to the Peranakan Museum. The objective of this trip was to have a deeper understanding of Peranakan Culture and also, to understand the book we are reading now, Emily of Emerald Hill.

On 27th of July, we went to the Peranakan Museum after school at 1.40pm. We boarded a chartered bus there and arrived there at around 2.30. Our English teacher briefed us on what the museum had and gave us a worksheet and we were asked to go in pairs or groups. I went with a group of my classmates and the first place I went to was the history of Peranakans. It told us the history of their people. After that, we went to the second floor, where we were required to draw a sketch of a traditional chair and also a table. Then, we got to see Sarong Kebayas and were also required to draw a sketch of it and also, we saw traditional wedding costumes. Then, we went up another level where we saw a traditional table setting of a Tok Pajang. Then, we saw other items commonly used in a peranakan household such as the mortar and pestle and also tengkats, which were tiered containers which are used to store food. After that, it was already around 3 and we gathered back at the lobby of the museum where we waited for the bus to bring us back to school.

From this field trip, I got to understand the culture of a Peranakan and I could better understand the text of the book Emily of the Emerald Hill. It gave me an in-depth knowledge of the book as for example, we understood that making certain recipes like the Babi Buah Keluar is a very tedious and a time consuming thing to do. Thus, we were given a chance to get a insight to a different culture and also the book.

Task 2 Analysis of Poem - Children in the Darkness

1. Point of View

The poet is trying to tell people that children are being used as soldiers and are taught to fight at a very young age. They are also sent to war and they might lose their lives. This can be seen from "Who someone will teach to fight" and "Or will a war consume them". He is upset about the fact that children are not able to learn the things children used to learn, that they were not given any chance for freedom. This can be seen from "And these children are not free" and "Could we give them half a chance". The poet is also trying to say that war is a dark and cruel place, saying that it is "dark" and there is no "light".

2. Situation and Setting

The situation in this poem is that children are being taught how to fight at a very early age and they are also deployed into the front lines, where they might lose their lives. He potrays war as a very cruel and "dark" place and that children are not given a chance to have freedom. This can be seen from "Who someone will teach to fight", "Could we give them half a chance" and "Or will a war consume them".

3. Language and Diction

The poet uses different types of words to express this poem. Firstly, he uses repetition to emphasize the situation in the poem. He repeats "Could we" in the third stanza and this emphasizes that the children are not given a chance to live a normal live by anyone. The poet also uses personification in the fourth stanza. He likens war as a human as war "consumes" children, potraying war as a very evil and cruel thing. The word "light" used in the poem also refers to the hope of those children. They are kept in the "darkness", which refers to the cruelness of war and that all children are scared of "darkness". They are not given any chance, or hope, to live a normal live, a chance to be free. The word "light" also refers to the carefree life of a normal child which children would love, compared to the "dark" and scary life of a child in war, which children would dislike.

4. Personal Response

Personally, I feel very sorry for the children who were sent to war at such a young age. Their lives are put on the line so that the country can survive and hopefully win the war. I feel that children at such a young age should not be exposed to such cruelty in war as they would be scarred for live after the war. The poem also makes me understand the importance freedom and that not every children are that fortunate to have them.

Language Arts (English) E-Learning

Task 1 (Background of Poem)

Background

This poem was written by Henry M Bechtold in the year 2010. He was in Vietnam, sitting in his hotel room in Saigon in the year 2009. He attempted to write a poem about a girl being mistreated by man while working in a park. He was angry, but was unable to write something that sounds good. Then, while watching the news on the television, he saw a photo of a young boy with army equipments such as an automatic rifle. This inspired him somehow and that was how this poem came about.

This poem is trying to say children during war times are being used as soldiers and taught to fight and shoot a rifle at such an early age. Henry M Bechtold is also saying that these children had no freedom, they could not learn the things children usually enjoy doing, like dancing. He is also trying to tell us that war is a very cruel place, and a scary place and the lives of young children are going through all those suffering, just to have a chance to die in war for their country.

Reference:

http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html#Children_

Children in the Darkness

There are children in the darkness

Who have not seen the light
There are children in the darkness
Who someone will teach to fight

Chalk and blackboards will not be
To this door there is no key
From this life they can not flee
And these children are not free

Could we simply light a candle
Could we give them half a chance
Could we teach them how to read
Could we teach them how to dance

Or will a war consume them
Their body and their soul
Will their life and blood be poured
Down some endless thirsty hole

Back into the darkness
From which there is no flight
Back into the darkness
Into which there shines no light

Barclays Premier League - Liverpool Versus Chelsea

This was the biggest hurdle that stood in the way of Chelsea from claiming their third title. Although both teams started off slowly, Chelsea came out as the better of the two teams as they showed that their ability to become champions in the second half. They were able to walk away with three points, with the match ending 2-0, in favour of Chelsea.

In the early part of the first-half, there were three penalty appeals from both sides. Two were from Chelsea and one from Liverpool. Kalou was involved in both occasions. In the first, he seemed to have dived in the ninth minute and he tripped himself in the second occasion, with Liverpool's Lucas Leiva hot on his heels. Alberto Aquilani of Liverpool went down in the penalty box after a challenge from Branislav Ivanovic. This was a reasonable appeal for a peanalty as the Chelsea player did not seem to come in contact with the ball. Moreover, before half-time, Liverpool also lost Maxi Rodriguez through an injury and was replaced by Ryan Babel. This was a huge blow to Liverpool. Alberto Aquilani was involved in some of the chances created by the Liverpool. However, he failed to convert in those occasions.

Chelsea opened the scoring through Drogba in the 33rd minute. A sloppy back-pass from Liverpool captain, Steven Gerrard, handed Drogba a simple goal. Chelsea finished the first-half with a one nil lead, all thanks to an error from Gerrard.

In the second-half, Chelsea was clearly off to a better start. After six minutes in the second-half, Kalou pulled a cross into the six-yard box, only for Anelka to miss a simple tap in.

However, Anelka was able to create a opportunity in the 54th minute for Frank Lampard, who was able to convert from close range. His cross manage to pick out Lampard who slid in to score Chelsea's second and his 21st premier league goal this season.

Chelsea could have extended their lead if not for Liverpool's goalkeeper, Reina, to keep Chelsea at bay. This included a double save from Anelka then Kalou. Malouda's low shot was also saved by Reina.

The match ended 2-0 in favour of Chelsea and they move one step closer to claiming their third league title, with only Wigan standing in their way.