Book Review (1)

Book Review (1): Misdirected by Ali Berman

Misdirected by Ali Berman

So before I actually go into the book review and reflection, I wish to share with you guys about something. So back then when I was Primary 1, my parents put me in school bus and I take the bus to school every morning. And the bus that came to fetch me in the morning was a mini van. And because we go to school at like 6.30 plus in the morning, the sky is still dark and stuff. So everytime the school bus arrives, the auntie helps me up the bus and "assign" me to a seat next to a guy who's older by a year. I sit on his left. Well, I cant actually remember how this guy looks like. Or what's his name. (Though I strongly suspect it's Oscar.) But I remember he wore specs. He was in the same house as I am. (Which is Red house) He carries this trolley bag. He loves to read. Everytime I come up the bus, I would see him reading, without fail. And because I kind of love reading too, a couple of times, when I'm bored in the bus, I would sneak peek at his book and read with him. But here's the thing. He catches my attention everytime he flips the book. Why? Because he's got a sixth finger on his left hand. (Though I'm not sure if he does have a sixth finger on his right.) But the thing here is, I was kind of freaked out when I first saw it. Like everyone I knew have five fingers and suddenly the guy beside me in the school bus has six. Pretty scary for a seven year old like me. But I kept quiet about it. Maybe I was too shy to ask him. Maybe I was too young to tease him. But at that point of time in my life, I never once thought about how he was at school. Did anyone isolate him? Did anyone make fun of him? Did anyone tease him? No. I never give it any thought once. Until now. 

After I read this book, I was immediately reminded of this guy especially because 1) the guy in the book was teased at just because he was an atheist, just because he was different, just because he didnt believe in Christianity 2) the guy's sister was teased at just because she was a vegan, just because she was different, just because she loved animals so much she decided to go vegan. 3) the guy's sister was also teased at just because she was gay, just because she was different, just because she took more interest in girls than guys.

Although the guy that I know wasnt quite the same as the characters in the book, the situation is still pretty similar. I dont know for sure if anyone bullied him at school. But if they did, it wasnt fair to him at all. Now, let me start.

1) One thing I really like about this book are the light-hearted chapter titles and their fonts. One of the chapter titles go "Chimps have feelings too" and also first chapter "Because your parents said so" There are other more interesting ones but unfortunately I didnt take them down.

2) Second thing was the tone of the book. It's really very casual just like how a teenager kid would talk to you. And I find it very mine style, cause like he speaks in a way how I would have spoken when faced with that same situation.

3) Well, this guy reminds me of my love <3 for MAGIC. In this book he's really obsessed with magic. "Doing magic is the only icebreaker I know." He says. I remember how when I was about 8 years old, in school, during my recess, I took a tour in my bookshop and saw this magic book. And knew right that instance, I have to get it. So I called my mum and asked if I could use the spare two dollars in my wallet to buy the book. And I could still remember what she said, "Ok, if you really like it so much, then you can buy it." Back then two dollars was a huge sum of money to me, that's why I called my mum, if you were wondering. But yup, I got my book, and I tried out the magic tricks in there, though it seems kind of lame to me now, it still holds something in my heart. Here's the book.

My Little Book of Magic

4)Well, he has the same sentiments as me. Our interest isnt equivalent to our occupation. He says "Notice I didnt put magic on that list of talents people care about. It's because they dont." Whatever that cant get money rolling in is not worth your time. Apparently that's what people think. You cant work as someone who cant bring in a stable income. It's horrid. But its reality.

5) Another topic I want to address is that lessons about religion are not important as long as you are a good person. "It shouldnt matter, right? I mean, who cares what you believe or who you love as long as you're a good person." I guess this sentence is very true and honestly that's my opinion. But then people would say that religion makes you a better person than you already are.

6) The issue on greeting teachers. "I mean, my mum and dad gave me life. I dont high five them every half hour for that." This is so true. Like honestly, schools expect us to greet teachers and stuff. But some teachers honestly dont care that you have just greeted them. They just walk away as if you werent there. And then there are those who smile a little. But meh. And seriously, my parents gave me life. I should respect them the most, yet you dont see me greeting my parents everytime I see them. It's ridiculous. Some teachers dont even teach me.

7) High School Stuff-"I always thought that was kind of stupid, making fun of kids just for going to camp, but clapping like it's the coolest thing in the world makes me laugh a little." It's funny how high school is all about what's cool and what's not, bullying and making fun. And then when you step out of high school, you realise that these things dont matter at all, it's all pointless (like a circle). And you look back at how childish you were and laugh.

8) One quote in the book that really got my attention. "Great art is about saying the difficult thing. About not being afraid." It's really about standing up for what you think is right. For the sister, it would be standing up for gays. For the guy, it would be standing up for being an atheist. And sister again, standing up for being vegan. To be proud of you are and not being afraid.

9) If there's anything I learn this book it would be this- Your problems are nothing compared to others. He says "No matter how big my problems seem, hearing from Pete always makes me feel like I'm a total self-centred turdbag." Well, he's dealing with school and religion issues but Pete is dealing with life and death issues. He's at war. And this really applies to me. Sometimes, you have a little quarrel with your best friend, and you think the world should stop for you, but then you realise that there are people on the other side of the globe with bigger issues to handle, things like security, hunger, poverty. And suddenly, your problem seem so small and insignificant compared to what they are going through.

10) Science aint equivalent to religion. "How can knowing the facts not be enough? That's what science is. Facts. Science is about discovery." He goes through science class and aces through it because he mugs and studies the facts of science, but somehow the teacher always turns the tables around back to him about how religion always always plays a role in science. I think this picture clearly describes his feelings.

Science 

Well, this blog post is so short only because this isnt the full review. I had to return the book before I could finish taking down notes T.T So maybe I will extend this blog post if I ever get my hands on that book again.

But anyhow here's the end of my book review. And if you do actually read the book, perhaps you can drop me a comment below on your little reflection of the book. And hopefully, you enjoy it as much as I did. Now, I'm currently reading What Comes After by Steve Watkins. And I'm really enjoying it so I would also be writing a book review on it when I finish the book. Till then, Happy Reading. :)

Blog Post #8

Blog Post #8

TODAY MY ENGLISH TEACHER QUOTED ME!!! Nah, not really, but she said the exact same words I said in the second last sentence of my Blog Post #1.

"But I think maybe we should all not be too quick to judge." 

So today wasnt really the start of lessons, it's still more of the introductory segment, so during english lesson, the teacher Ms S shared with us her expectations of the class through a video called "Six Blind Men and the Elephant" Check out the video!  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBqgr5xZLz0

Have you guys watched it before? Isnt it just interesting? I personally found it very interesting mostly because it's animated XD. And the narrator's voice is very nice, there's this unmistakable Indian accent that you can hear. So then the teacher asked what do we think after watching this video. A girl said,

"This shows us that things can be seen from many perspectives."

And she's correct. Well, partly, that's what the teacher said. She asked another girl to answer. And I found her answer quite similar to what I was planning to say (if the teacher calls on me). She said,

"What the video is trying to say is that everyone has different opinions and everyone's opinions are right. It's just a matter of perspective."

Yup and the teacher says she's correct again but now the teacher adds on more of her explanation. She said

"Sometimes when you girls approach a concept or theme, you all tend to have different approaches, different ideas and opinions and we should all not be too quick to condemn, like "Oh you are wrong! I'm right!". Honestly, there's no wrong or right. Some people just happen to see that angle to that concept and I think that we should all not be too quick to judge."

Not quite her exact words but somewhere along the line so it's still valid. So I hope you guys take away something from watching the video. Thank you for reading! :D

Artsy Ideas No.1

Artsy Ideas No.1

Hey guys so in today's post I would be sharing with you all a way to decorate your notebooks for the new year. I know that a lot of students like to bring a new notebook to school on a new year. At least, the kids in my school do. (But then they are all girls so). Anyway, I also know a lot of people like to personalise their notebook to make it uniquely theirs. At least the girls in my school do. So they buy these plain cover notebooks and they scribble their names, some print photos of their favourite band, some draw, some stick jewels and stickers all over their notebook. All these are wonderful ideas but I just want to share with you guys a way I found out this year. So this year, as soon as I got my black handbook, I knew exactly what I needed to do with it to make it uniquely mine.

Let's welcome "Paper Cut". So today's post would be on paper cut on a certain leaf design.

Patterns
So I found a pattern of a leaf on Just like that......Aesthetics in Art and Design. Here's her blog link: http://kalasirjana.blogspot.sg/ Go check her out, I find some of her ideas pretty cool. Yup. You guys can use any other patterns you find on the web as well. It would also be good to exercise your creativity by creating your own patterns.

Drawing out the Pattern
So what I did was I actually drew out the pattern on my black handbook because there wasnt any template provided. And besides, I love recreating it. So here's a picture of my drawing.

Leafy Drawing

Designing in process
Then next, what I did was to use a penknife to cut along the pencil marks. Please take note to put a board beneath the cover page or you will be cutting the other pages in the book. So here's how the finished product looks like:

Final Product

What about thick notebooks?
For an alternative, for those who have very thick notebooks, you guys can actually not cut too deep and just cut the first layer of the notebook. After cutting along the edges and using your penknife to peel a corner off, you find that you can actually peel the first layer out like a sticker. The pattern can then be seen without you cutting the whole piece out of a (very thick) notebook. But the downside to this is that you can only do it if you have a thick notebook. So here's how it would look like:

Leafy Cutout (2)

More Ideas!!!
So in the process of doing that design for the thick notebooks, I discovered a new idea!!! You know, how back then when we were in kindergarten, the teachers would always make us go outside with a colour pencil and a paper. Then they would make us put our papers on the tree bark and shade it and then the tree bark pattern just magically comes onto our paper. So yup, pretty much the same concept to this idea. Basically if you want the pattern of the leaf to come out, you just have to put your paper on the crafted out pattern and shade it. The leaf will magically come onto your paper. Here's an example of what I did. Dont mind the words. I was helping out with a design for our CCA tee. (Btw, this idea came about only because I had to design the CCA tee).

Leafy Design

Free (Not So Good) Template!!!
After doing all this, I realised that I could actually stick all these bits and pieces onto an A4 size paper to create a template for you guys. It's not perfect but it's something you guys can reference if you need to. If not, just let your imagination run wild.

Leaf Template

So you guys just need to save this image^^ and print it out A4 size. Yup, everything else should be fine. Then you just cut out the bits and pieces and trace them out on your notebook/card,etc. Then a penknife should do the trick. :) So yup, you are done with your very own personalised notebook.

Hope You Enjoyed This Artsy Blog Post!
Honestly, I hope you guys enjoyed reading this blog post and are trying out making your very own notebooks. Here's just another of my ideas and if you guys have any suggestions on how I could improve or perhaps even more ideas to share, feel free to comment below. :D