。°o○ 吹 泡 泡 的 心 情 ○o°。

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 After reading a particular article in the Toronto Star called "High school literacy tests could change" it struck me as rather appalling that students are having so much difficulty with this new diploma requirement. As suggested in the article, up to a quarter of current high school students are not intending on pursuing a post-secondary education. A sample of the test can be viewed here. While I can sympathize the frustration of those students who simply require a diploma in order to take up a trade. It's even more important that a standard of reading comprehension be established and maintained. An example, for those employed in skilled trades, there exists an even greater need for a minimum level of reading comprehension to ensure a minimum level of competency.

On top of the need for competency, the fact that the very nature of the test is being labeled as discriminatory is, in my own opinion, ignorant. The issue is not discrimination but more so to ensure that all high school graduates (regardless of post-secondary choices) will be able to remain reasonably well-equipped and competitive in today's more demanding society. Although the curriculum is in fact more stringent, it is not the curriculum that is the problem. The problem is the fact that those who fail to meet the standard (the mentally handicapped withheld) wish to lower it to form their own version of mediocrity instead of remedial action. If anything, remedial action in any form would prove to be the better choice. It is more reasonable to bring those students to the standard instead of lowering the standard. More to the point, English is an official language of the nation and even the most basic job demands basic reading comprehension. Having reviewed the test myself, I find it beyond any doubt, that it is reasonable for a high school graduate to be able to comprehend and express his or her interpretations on paper. The literacy tests are not bell-curved nor are the results statistically modified through constants. A passing grade is all that matters. A student need not do well (as in scoring in the upper-percentile) but rather just achieve a passing grade.

Well, since everyone else is doing it. I got back into blogging! After killing my old Pitas and Xanga blogs. I guess it would be only fair if I gave LiveJournal a try.

Nevertheless, here I am again, bewildered about what to write about. It’s funny that by the mere fact that you are actually still reading this, it seems I'm not the only one who’s rather desperate for (some if not any) content.

我是從小學五年級還是六年級開始寫日記的吧.雖然說是"日記",但也不是天天寫,而是在覺得有重要事情時才寫.前前後後寫了七八本吧.現在回去看以前寫的日記總覺得以前寫的東西好幼稚,常常一邊看一邊偷偷傻笑.有時候還會覺得莫名其妙,誰會記得那些代號啊.常常絞盡腦汁還是想不出個所以然來...

覺得寫得最頻繁,也"最有內容"的是國三時的日記.在聯考的壓力之下,努力的為生活多加一點樂趣及驚喜.校園的櫻花開了,早上進校門看到松鼠,或是哪個老師"赦免"一個考試,都能成為日記上的題材.對於聯考莫名的惶恐,也成了日記上最頻繁的常客.現在回去看國三時的日記,卻覺得那時候的生活好多采多姿,懂得在忙碌的生活中,為生活找尋一點點的浪漫及輕鬆愉快的氣氛...

Now this was a topic I wanted to steer away from but recent developments have forced my hand into playing a carte blanche that I can’t resist. A close friend of mine is currently dealing with a potentially cheating girlfriend. Having heard several things from one party and countering things from another, he doesn’t know whom to believe or what to think – it’s a torrent of emotion that I can recall having endured first-hand. In his heart he feels that it is possible for her to be capable of cheating but in his mind he tries to rationalize how it can’t be true. Nonetheless, simply mentioning the topic of cheating can incite a range of emotions from apathy to rage… the latter coming from those unfortunate to have suffered the injustice of it all. The below rant is something that has been the topic of countless recent discussions and for the sake of the people involved, I’ve chosen not to name any names and I’ve tried to keep the tone rather objective and unbiased (emphasis on tried). This is a heated topic and as such, I know you will not agree with me completely. With that in mind, please feel free to comment below. I am interested in any arguments in support or against of what I have to say.

Although I am a week late, I finally found the time to watch the Matrix: Revolution movie. As fair warning, this rant of mine contains a few spoilers, so if you have not yet seen the movie and intend on seeing it in the future, I beg you to please stop reading right now.

On that final note – Trinity and Neo will die (what did I say? Now look what you've made me do). In anycase, for those of you who actually took the time to read my rants back when I saw the first Matrix movie, I had inferred early on that Neo was going to be a Christ figure. As such, would have to die. It seems predictable that he would have to die to absolve for humanity’s creation of a self-aware AI (which inevitably creates the Matrix). While hoping that I was wrong, I know that it was necessary; he must give himself to the machines so to spare the rest of humanity. Nevertheless, I can’t avoid a feeling of loss (the one exception being Trinity’s death scene – whose stoic expressions and poor dialogue failed to convince me that she really loved Neo).