A thought I have #2

Witness to the Afghan War 
Time Magazine September 3/10 2018 issue
pp 34 - 42

My day on the frontline...

The long stretch of sandy road ahead reminded me of my favorite apple flavored ice cream. I might not even taste it again. Our commander did not give us the assurance that we would come back from this mission alive. Anyway, there was no time to think about ice cream, we were approaching the outskirts of a town in our convoy of heavily armed 22-ton vehicles. We were one of the three U.S. Army Special Forces-led units converging on Ghazni to save it from the Taliban, which had laid siege to the city over the previous 24 hour.

"Alright boys, load yourselves up, we are approaching targets!" my commander shouted.

I could hear the loading sounds of all the soldier's AK47s. Most of them had anxious and worried looks while only the experienced older soldiers had a look of confidence.

"Take cover!" a commander from another vehicle screamed with his last breath.

Rocket propelled grenades and machine-gun fire came screaming from a tree line to the east,small bursts at first, then all at once. The nearest vehicle blew up in smoke and flames as a rocket propelled grenade hit them.

"Come on boys move it!" our commander urged.

The next few minutes were a blur, we did our best to fight the enemy troops but we were clearly surrounded. Besides, all the enemy were hiding among the trees which made it impossible to hit them with the high recoil on our AK47s.

"Where's the freaking air-strike?" our commander screamed.

Almost on cue, a lumbering AC-130 gunship circling above began showering bullets at the enemies. The air- strike apparently took them by surprise. In no time, the continuous firing was reduced to intermittent shots fired at the remaining few enemies, who we either killed or taken as hostage.

 "Alright boys gather around," our commander ordered. "We might have won this fight but the war is still in progress. For now, this area is secured, let's pack up and leave. Come on move it everyone!"

We gathered the dead bodies and loaded our equipment onto the armored vehicles. I had a feelings that we would have more bodies to bury sooner or later...


A Justified Cause of war

A war is only justified if it is fought for a reason which carries sufficient morality. Sometimes, a war fought to prevent a wrong from happening may be considered a justified war. This is because the victor would have the power to change or get something important. This would directly or indirectly affect other countries. Therefore, it is considered a justified war. 

Nations are changed forever

During the war, the citizens of the nations would suffer hardship as war need large supplies of resources, meaning the government might cut off or decrease supplies to the civilians. Therefore, the living conditions would be worse. If a war is taken place at a place with people staying there, those people wight even get hurt or die.

After the war, the victor will be able to get what she wants and make their countries more developed and also have the resources to improve the living conditions of their people. However, the defeated would most likely suffer. Their fate lies in the hands of the winner

A Thought I Have #1

SEEING IS BELIEVING
What the rise of Crazy Rich Asians signals for the future of Hollywood
By Karen K. Ho, Time, August 27 2018, pp 40-45

  The article is talking about how the new movie "Crazy Rich Asians" and how it is so special that it might change Hollywood. What so special about this film is that all the actors involved are Asians. This has not been done in a very long time and it is surprising to see how well it is doing. No movies had a all-Asian-cast since "The Joy Luck Club" in 1993. This article tells us how the under represented minorities can now take the centre stage. And that could be the new face of Hollywood.

Why is this significant?

For decades, Asian actors have not been greatly looked upon. For example, female Asian actors have been asked to portray stereotypes like the vindictive dragon lady, the submissive China doll, the nerdy overachiever or the inert sex worker. However, "Crazy Rich Asians" avoids all of these and instead shows the nuances of Asian women's experiences across the generations.

Along with that, the films debunks many Asian stereotypes.

From the author's point of view, he thinks that "Crazy Rich Asians" is a great way of setting a trend in movie nowadays. As mentioned above, Asian actors have not been greatly looked upon. This movie however, shows otherwise. Therefore, this can add as a reminder to all the directors that is is about time to start treating all the actors the same and all can have a part to play in a movie.

I personally... 

think that this movie is a great way to refresh the image of Hollywood. This can bring more viewer's eyes to Asian culture and this can even help to settle racial problems by creating more awareness and deeper understanding.. If a director can balance out the cast equally into different race and religion, this can teach the public more about respecting other religions.

I am looking forward to more inclusive stories that will tug the heartstrings of many.

The Blackthorn Key, By Kelvin Sands

Synopsis

  It was a time of terror in London. A wave of murders had been committed, with the victims being tied up, tortured, stomach slit open and left to bleed to death.

 Christopher Rowe found himself on the run as his master, Benedict Blackthorn, was murdered in the same way, seemingly by Christopher. Together with his best friend Tom, and Molly (Tom's sister), they race against time to track down the murderer.

 Their only clues were a coded message (or was it a recipe?) about his master's most dangerous research and a cryptic warning-"Tell no one!"

How will they solve the mystery?

The Characters

- Christopher Rowe: Apprentice to Benedict Blackthorn. Stubborn yet quick witted, he has to overcome obstacles and betrayals to save the world from total annihilation.

- Tom: Best friend to Christopher. Loyal yet simple-minded, he has to assist Christopher to save the world and at the same time prevent himself from being beaten by his father.


3 Reasons why you should pick up this book and spend your precious time reading it.

  The first reason is the language of the book. It is easy to understand and it also gives the reader a sense of how language would be at that time. The author used a good mix of Latin, English and also codes and symbols to create puzzles and obstacles in the story.

  The second reason is that the plot is easy to follow, yet there are a number of surprises along the way. The author used a good mix of realism and fantasy to pit the villains, who were trying to harness the power of God, against Christopher, who believes that this power should be kept out man's reach.

  The last thing about this stories are the puzzles and codes in the story as they take you on an unexpected journey together with the characters.


If I were the author, I would...

  The first thing I would have done is to elaborate more on certain parts of the story. For example, I would have described more about Christopher's time spent with his master before he died. This would perhaps give the reader a deeper understanding of their relationship. This will also lead to a easier comprehension of the passage as a large portion of the story has to do with master Benedict and Christopher's past.

  The second thing I would have done is to use the type of English used at that time. Although the author stated that he used proper English to make the passage more comprehensible, i think that the English used at that should be used more frequently. This would make the puzzles more difficult as another language, though similar, is used which will confuse Christopher. This way, the reader can take the shoes of the characters and solve the mysteries with them.

So if you like to solve puzzles or mysteries, and would like to see how fantasy can balance with realism, this book is for you.

Book Review: The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an IKEA Wardrobe (by Romain Puertolas)

Synopsis (SPOILER ALERTS!!)

With only one counterfeit €100 and a shiny grey suit with a tie rented with peanuts, Ajatashatru, the fakir went on an exiting adventure to a Ikea store in Europe to buy a bed of nails. Overwhelmed by the sight of the furniture, Ajatashatru was forced to hid in of the wardrobe to escape patrolling guards. When he woke from his slumber, he realized that he became an illegal immigrant! While he was busy trying to get back to his normal life and escaping from a revenge-crazed taxi driver, he met some friends who helped him a lot, which included other illegal immigrants and a very famous actor. As these crazy stuff was happening, he found time to travel to Italy in a suitcase, wrote a novel on a shirt and also travelled to Libya in a hot-air balloon with €100,000 euros. Read as an Indian trickster transforms into a lovable writer!

The Characters

It is an incredible experience witnessing the journey of Ajatashatru that helped him to "grow" from a trickster to a lovable writer, However, this can also be related to being a student. One might be a notorious pupil who is very bad in his or her study, but if he gets back on track, he can still become an outstanding student. Also, although Ajatashatru was a trickster, he still has a kind heart. He gave the money that he earned to other who need it more than him. Hence, we should all learn from him.

3 Reasons why you should pick up this book and spend your precious time reading it.

The plot is the first reason why you should read this book. The fact that someone can be trapped in a wardrobe and be shipped to England is crazy enough. However, the more ironic part of the plot is the fact that a fakir,who is more or less a magician, can become a writer and find true love. Of course he did tried to trick his wife-to-be with a fake broken glasses but still, the plot is very interesting.

Another reason is that the language in this book is very easy to understand. This allows the reader to understand the author easily and read with comfort.

Last but not least, the characters that are being portrayed in this book is also very humorous. A very simple example is how Ajatashatru's name is being pronounced. Being an Indian name, it is extremely difficult for people of other races to pronounce his name so the author thought of humorous ways to pronounce his name that have very different meanings.

Therefore, i can conclude that this is definitely a good book to pick up and read.

2 things I wished the author had done better / I would have done if I were the author.

 Personally, I think that the author could have elaborated more on some parts. For example, I'm sure many would have wanted to see the reaction of the fakir and the vengeful gypsy taxi driver when they mad at the airport for the third time. After all, it is always fun to read about an Indian getting a knife wound.

Although the author is trying to make the book more humorous, some words used in the speech and also the sentence structure is too informal and is unrealistic to the extend that it seems weird compared to our normal conversation we have in our daily lives. Another thing that the author could improve on is the realism in the speech of the people.

1 thing in the plot that raised my eyebrows.

 One thing in the plot that raised my eyebrows was the fact that an Indian fakir wanted to be a writer. As crazy and weird as it may sound, it is actually quite relatable. Having grown up in a poor Indian village, he understood hardship and poverty. Writing about sorrow would be quite easy for him. Also, being fakir, he understood how to manipulate what one's brains can understand, making him a writer with very an interesting style of writing.