Flipping Fantastic: Issues and Concerns

Reading this book  via the pages of the diaries of Tristan, James and their mother piece up a story of the concerns of the twin brothers for each other.

What brought forth these concerns?

The twins, Tristan and James have been together since they were young. They learn to help each other and in return, they help each other to fulfill each others' needs be it physical or otherwise. There were few concerns and issues that they could not resolved.

A new situation then arises.

They have both completed primary education and will move on to study at the secondary school level. They enjoyed their times at Peter Hill Primary though in different aspects. While James loved sports and played football, Tristan like to act in plays and dramas. Tristan was positive minded and full of confidence. James was timid and lack self assurance.

Tristan has been enrolled at a special school for the physically challenged called Chesterlea Grange while James will attend a day school called Highfields.This is the first time they will part ways. Tristan will only be back during the weekends.

After the stage play on the last day at Peter Hill Primary, their mother was deeply concerned about her two boys. Both had been extraordinarily quiet as if they were in a depression.

What was going in the minds of the boys?

Let us look at the issues and concerns of Tristan. He is feeling sad and bad. 'Sad' because he will no longer ever go back to Peter Hill Primary where he enjoyed school life so much. 'Bad' because he will be going to a new school leaving his brother James to go to another school. He believes that James needs his support and encouragement as James lacks confidence and need his encouragement.

What about James's concerns?

He is worried that Tristan would not be able to get around without him by his side. He senses the problems Tristan will face. Who will push his wheel-chair? How is he going to be help in physical exercises or in going to the toilet?

On the other hand, he feels he is still in need of Tristan in his new school to help him. as he is by nature a shy person, he is worried that he will not have anyone to help him. He needs Tristan to perhaps help him with his homework and also to give him constant encouragement.

As for their mother, she was worried whether she has made a wrong decision in separating the boys. She wanted Tristan to 'stand on his own two feet' by going to Chesterlea Grange where he can get himself involved in sports and other physical pursuits. If Tristan is enrolled in Highfields, he will still have to tolerate the facilities at school which may not be user friendly to a person in a wheel-chair. By separating the boys, Tristan will then be on his own and will be less dependent on James.

As for James, his mother feels that that he should also be made independent and to grow on his own rather than forever stay inside the shadow of Tristan.

When Tristan changed his mind of not going to Chesterlea Grange, his mother was worried but James is happy since he will again have Tristan by his side at school and at home. This was the climax of the whole story.

However, while they were discussing the pros and cons of Chesterlea Grange, Tristan felt the time has come for him to be on his own as well. This is a cross-road he has to decide the direction he must take. His new school had all the facilities and activities that is suitable for him and it is about time he should take the challenge to grow on his own without help from James.

So in the falling action phase of the story, Tristan decided to go to Chesterlea Grange and James went to Highfields.

Both enjoyed their new schools and found out that all their concerns were somewhat misplaced. Where Tristan find new joy in Chesterlea Grange, James had Kiara Jones as a friend to give him encouragement in his new school.

So, all the issues are finally resolved and the story ended  with happiness all round.

Flipping Fantastic: Exposition

Before we go to the issues and concerns plaguing the twins,let us look at the setting. In literary circles,the setting is that part of the short story called the exposition. The exposition is the beginning of the story where the main characters are brought into the picture.

So what is the setting or the exposition?

It is the last day in Peter Hill Primary for the twins. A play is always held on the last day. Both of the boys are involved in it. Tristan has the lead role while James took a bit part. The play was 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'. Tristan was selected for the role of Tom.

While Tristan took to the role like fish to water, James was ill at ease. Tristan had a good memory and could deliver his lines almost like a professional. James, on the other hand, is nervous and oftentimes stumble even if the role only has one line.

On the big night,among the parents watching,sitting in the front row was the boys' mother. She was so happy that her two boys were acting in the play. She marveled at how well Tristan delivered his lines. She was also pleased with James even though she senses he had stammered a little bit.

For Tristan, he was definitely very delighted with the way the whole play turned out. The stage and prop were all in place. Not a single thing was amiss. As for his acting, he felt he did a good job. James, on the other hand, felt he stumbled on his singular line and did noticed Jessica Parker laughing at him from the audience. He disliked the girl.

This was the setting or the introduction of the short story.

The other secondary characters to be mentioned in the short story apart from their mother and  Jessica Parker is Kiara Jones, a girl whom both Tristan and James liked.

Flipping Fantastic: Tristan versus James

The twins,Tristan and James are an interesting pair. Somehow or other, they complement each other in most areas.

Tristan is physically challenged and has difficulty in using his arms and legs. He is wheel-chair bound. James, on the other hand is a normal child and it is his labour of love to push his brother around in his wheelchair as well as up and down ramps. Tristan needs help in many things such as in dressing up and in getting into and out of his wheel-chair. He is dependent on James in school from going to the toilet to doing physical exercises.

Tristan has little choice but to use the computer for his schoolwork as he cannot write with a pen or other writing instruments. As such, he becomes good with things that are computer related. He is good in math,has a great memory and doing homework was easy for him. As he cannot express himself physically such as James who plays football and is good in sports, Tristan found his element in acting in dramas and stage plays.

Behaviourally and character wise, Tristan is positive minded and confident of himself. His mother describes him as a bewildered child and a live wire. On the other hand James was more inward looking;shy,nervous and lack confidence. He is not self-assured and exhibit many fears in life. He is even afraid to ask strangers for directions. He dislikes acting in dramas as he cannot remember his lines as well as Tristan.As such he hates dramas.

Tristan and James do provide comfort and support to each other. They have a symbiotic relationship. Both of them feel they need each other.

With such behavioural traits,close relationship and inter-dependence, issues surely will creep up when they had to separate to go to different secondary schools after leaving Peter Hill Primary. When school reopens,James will go to a day school called Highfields while Tristan will attend a special school called Chesterlea Grange, a residential school and can only be back for the weekends.

In my next posting, I will dwell of the issues and concerns both boys felt for each other and the climax of the short story.

Stay tuned............

Singapore: The Property Cooling Off

Before the bubble can build up, the Singapore authorities are already on their feet.

Let us read the Reuters report.

Singapore has introduced measures to cool its housing market, imposing a new stamp duty on homes sold within one year of purchase and capping the maximum housing loan at 80 per cent of the property value.

“While the current level of speculative activity in the market is still lower than what it was at the height of the property market boom, and overall price levels are below the previous peak, there is a risk that the market could overheat in the next few months,” the government said in a statement yesterday.

The new measures, which take effect today, do not affect first-time buyers of government-built HDB apartments who can still borrow up to 90 per cent of the property value.

Singapore private home prices have rallied strongly in recent months, with the government’s index gaining 7.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year following a 15.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter rise in July-September.

The government said that with the new stamp duty, sellers will have to pay up to 3 per cent of the value of the property transaction.

It added that while fewer than 10 per cent of housing loans in Singapore involve loans exceeding 80 per cent of the property value, “there are signs that more housing loans are originating at higher LTV (loan-to-value) bands”.

Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex, a firm of property agents, said the new government measures will affect mainly homes in prime areas, which are the usual focus of speculators.

As for homes in outlying areas, the impact will be mostly psychological since loans exceeding 80 per cent of the property value are not popular due to the higher interest rate charged by banks in Singapore.

The Internet Will Make You Smarter

This is a Reuters report of a survey carried out on-line on the impact of the internet and its effects on users.

The outcome is certainly wonderful.

The online survey of 895 web users and experts found more than three-quarters believe the Internet will make people smarter in the next 10 years, according to results released yesterday.

Most of the respondents also said the Internet would improve reading and writing by 2020, according to the study, conducted by the Imagining the Internet Center at Elon University in North Carolina and the Pew Internet and American Life project.

“Three out of four experts said our use of the Internet enhances and augments human intelligence, and two-thirds said use of the Internet has improved reading, writing and the rendering of knowledge,” said study co-author Janna Anderson, director of the Imagining the Internet Center.

Now the naysayers.

Some 21 per cent said the Internet would have the opposite effect and could even lower the IQs of some who use it a lot.

“There are still many people ... who are critics of the impact of Google, Wikipedia and other online tools,” she said.

The web-based survey gathered opinions from scientists, business leaders, consultants, writers and technology developers, along with Internet users screened by the authors. Of the 895 people surveyed, 371 were considered “experts.”

It was prompted in part by an August 2008 cover story in the Atlantic Monthly by technology writer Nicholas Carr headlined: “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”

Carr suggested in the article that heavy use of the web was chipping away at users’ capacity for concentration and deep thinking. Carr, who participated in the survey, told the authors he still agreed with the piece.

“What the Net does is shift the emphasis of our intelligence away from what might be called a meditative or contemplative intelligence and more toward what might be called a utilitarian intelligence,” Carr said in a release accompanying the study. “The price of zipping among lots of bits of information is a loss of depth in our thinking.”

But Craigslist founder Craig Newmark said: “People are already using Google as an adjunct to their own memory.

“For example, I have a hunch about something, need facts to support and Google comes through for me,” he said in the release.

The survey also found that 42 per cent of experts believed that anonymous online activity would be “sharply curtailed” by 2020, thanks to tighter security and identification systems, while 55 per cent thought it would still be relatively easy to browse the Internet anonymously in 10 years.

Well, anonymously or otherwise, it looks like we all should get smarter, don't you think?

The Tiger Who Got Lost in His Woods

Yesterday, the famed- turned -notorious Tiger Woods admitted he is addicted to sex. He told the world he is currently undergoing therapy after his many sexual affairs.

However, sex addiction is still controversial and currently not recognized as an official diagnosis in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is an authority in defining psychological disorders. They may soon list the word, “hypersexuality disorder”  in the next manual.

There are many clinicians who believe there is a clinical phenomenon of people who experience a lot of distress or get into a lot of trouble from having excessive sex,” said Dr Dan Zucker of the University of Toronto.  “Anything in the sex and gender domain is controversial. Everyone has an opinion about sex. These issues raise the boundary between what’s normal and what isn’t — and where do you draw the line,” he said.

A number of clinics — among them one in Mississippi where Woods has been reported to be receiving treatment — have sprung up to treat sex addiction.

People undergoing this treatment have included celebrities such as actor David Duchovny.

Some psychologists opposed to conferring recognition on a diagnosis of “sexual addiction” describe it as a habit or a compulsion, akin to unrestrained gambling, and not an addiction that has a direct impact on brain chemistry.

“Sex addiction by itself is not a diagnosis we currently use,” said Craig Fabrikant, a psychologist at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey.


“It’s like a lot of patterned behaviours that could be better described as obsessive-compulsive traits,” he said. “Are people in a loving relationship oversexed? Is loving sex a sign of addiction? If it feels good, you do it.”

“A chronic adulterer who gets caught might hide behind the term sexual addiction,” Fabrikant said.

“Nevertheless, treating someone who has numerous sex partners might be similar to treating a drug addict — prescribing medication to calm anxiety and talk therapy to learn techniques to handle the urge,” Fabrikant said.

Therapists who specialise in sex addiction say it is comparable to substance abuse and not merely a case of habitually accepting other people’s offers of sex.

The stigma of sex addiction can keep people from getting help, but the problem is “eminently treatable,” said Dr Mark Schwartz of the Masters & Johnson Clinic in St Louis, who treats patients for the condition.

Chinese Parsley: Kidney Cleaner!

Believe it or not, these humble Chinese parsley leaves  can be effective kidney cleaners.

Since we were born, our kidneys have been filtering the blood by removing excessive salt, poison and any unwanted substances from entering our body. With time, these salt accumulates and our kidneys need to undergo cleaning treatments. How are we going to overcome this?

This is a home remedy.

It is very easy. First take a bunch of parsley (Malli leaves) and wash them clean. Cut them into small pieces and put it in a pot with  clean water. Boil for ten minutes and let it cool down and then filter it and pour the contents into a  clean bottle and keep it inside refrigerator to cool.

 

Drink one glass daily and you will notice all the salts and other accumulated poisons coming out of the kidneys during urination. For those who have tried it, they testify that they felt a marked difference they have never felt before.

Parsley is known as best cleaning treatment for kidneys and it is natural! It only cost a dollar to try this treatment!