Thursday 31 May 2018

Has Law persuaded you? (Extended reading - persuasive essay)

What we read

We have now read Stephen Law's persuasive essay "Carving The Roast Beast", in which he aims to persuade his readers to agree with his thesis that it is morally wrong to eat meat (2003). 

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Our response 

Our initial survey on Classroom showed that before reading the body of his essay, where he supports it, all of us disagreed with Law's thesis that eating meat is morally wrong, which Gemma states in the introduction and then supports against the various opposing arguments made by her family members as they sit around the dinner table debating on Christmas day. (Christmas dinners were not like this in my family, but then we had duck, not turkey. Mmm ... duck!)
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My question

Has Law now persuaded you that his thesis is right? 
  • If he has, what changed your mind? 
  • If he has not, why do you think he is wrong? Where is the mistake in his support? 
And do you agree or disagree with your classmates' responses for or against Law? 

Suggested process

I suggest you spend a few minutes thinking about exactly what your own main idea on the topic of Stephen Law's thesis is, and how you will write the thesis statement that tells us that main idea. Then think about your main supporting points for that thesis. Finally, write a paragraph or two that tell us your thesis on the topic and why we should agree with you. 
  • topic = Stephen Law's thesis that it's morally wrong to eat meat 
  • thesis = your main idea about the above noun phrase
  • support = how are you going to persuade us to agree with you? Why do you think that you are right and that we are wrong to disagree with you? 

Remember

Your response writing will be stronger if you write as if your readers have not seen the questions you are responding to. That is, your writing should make sense independently of my comments and instructions here. 
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Reference

  • Law, S. (2003). Carving the roast beast. In The Xmas Files: The Philosophy of Christmas [Kindle Edition] (pp. 124 - 140). Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/

Wednesday 30 May 2018

Disease: readings 1 & 2, "Long-distance Care" & "Do We Know Too Much?" (B&S3, p62, Developing critical thinking)

What we read

We have now read both "Long-distance Care" (Bixby & Scanlon, 2013, p. 59) and "Do We Know Too Much?" (p. 61). As usual, the authors now invite us to respond critically to the ideas from both readings.

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Bixby and Scanlon's questions

The questions that ask us to respond to both readings are: 

  • Are all advances in science and technology good for humankind? Why or why not? Give examples to support your ideas.
     
  • What might be some long-term consequences of so many medical developments that continue to extend human lives? 
___________________________________ 

Reference

  • Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing, Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education

Disease: reading 2, "Do We Know Too Much?" (B&S3, pp60-61, Before reading)

Before we read

Write a comment to share your thoughts on these questions that Bixby and Scanlon ask on page 60 (2013).

  • What are some of your own genetic traits that you feel come from your mother's side of the family? What about your fathers? 

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Reference

  • Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing, Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education

Monday 28 May 2018

Disease: reading 1, "Long Distance Care" (B&S3, pp58-59, Before reading)

Before we read

Write a comment to share your thoughts on these questions that Bixby and Scanlon ask on page 58 (2013).
  • In recent years, many types of jobs have become automated. What are the pros and cons of this increased reliance on robots? 

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Reference

  • Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing, Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education 

Getting into Unit 6 = Disease (B&S3, p57, Discussion point)

What I read

On page 47 of Skillful, Bixby and Scanlon (2013) use the usual large photograph and some discussion questions to introduce unit 6, whose title is "Disease".

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Bixby and Scanlon's questions

In a comment or two discuss one or two of these questions: 

  • How have medical technology and treatment changed since your grandparents were young? What about your parents? How have they changed in your lifetime?
     
  • What are some interesting of amazing uses of technology in modern medicine? List as many as you can.
     
  •  What types of medical advances do you think, or hope, the future will bring? 
___________________________________ 

Reference

  • Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education

Our Painkiller

What I read

According to “I took 57 painkillers a day to get high” (2018), BBC News the writer says that countless of Egyptians have a painkiller addiction problem. Abdul Hameed, one of painkiller addiction, started to take Tramadol – an opioid-based painkiller at the age of 13 because he wanted to get high. The Abbasiya Psychiatric Hospital reported that more than 50% of patients were just around early 20 to 30 years old. The statistic also shows that 70% of patients are male. Egyptians patients really struggled with painkiller addiction problem. Some of them tried to do treatment to overcome addiction with a treatment specialist.




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My response 


I remember that I first took a painkiller when I was around 10 years old. I took it because I had classic symptoms: a headache. I took it at the nursing room after studying mathematics class. I had been studied a lot at that time because I had a very slow progress in academic subjects. My mother forced me to study extra class both weekday and weekend, but I still got “not yet grade” kindergarten until high school. So, I ended up with taking a painkiller, but it did not kill my pain anymore. What is the pain? I realized that my pain was I hated academic subjects. Even though I studied a lot, it did not improve because I was not into it. It seems like I took the wrong medicine. 

Everyone all has their own underlying disease. These may be some of them: didn’t get into the university that dream off, fail some test, fear something happen, fear something will not happen, overthinking, no feeling, very tried, worried in something, nervous, lack of energy, lack of inspiration, cannot think of something, cannot find something, cannot feel something, don’t know where to go next, decide what to choose, decide what to not choose, hopeless in something or lost something. 

Sometimes our painkiller: just go outside, turn off our phone, go for a walk, take a deep breath, go to the gym, eat some fruit, call some friends, go to the temple, go to sauna, look up to the sky, enjoy sunrise, capture sunset, talk to someone, help somebody, do new things, go to new place, being in present, being realistic, drink water, sip some tea, grasp some book, lean on our couch, close our eye, open our mind and try again.

We all have our own soul symptoms at some point. We do not need to go to the nursing room. All we need is just find “your own painkiller”. 

And, take it!

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My question

What is your painkiller? How it works?
___________________________________ 

Reference

Sunday 27 May 2018

Kicked out of bounds: Forced respect disrespects

What I read

In "The N.F.L. Is Being Anti-American" (2018), David Leonhardt argues that although there are more effective ways to highlight racism in the United States, forcing National Football League (N.F.L.) players to pretend to respect the national anthem is far worse because it contradicts the core American values of a free people. Whilst he agrees that private institutions have a right to make up their own rules on the behaviour of employees and customers, he argues that since the NFL receives substantial public financial benefits, it should be treated as a state institution which may not suppress free speech merely because that speech is deeply offensive to even a large majority of citizens, and therefore may not fine kneelers who refuse to stand to pretend to respect a symbol.

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My response 

I was getting worried with my summary because Leonhardt was not wasting words and almost every sentence states an idea I thought important, so it took me a bit of work to pick out the most important ideas and combine them into my short summary that is 134 words. In fact, it took about five revisions to get it right. Happily, this response section is much easier. 

Censorship is often problematic, and I think it's natural for us to want to ban speech or other expressions that we dislike. For example, I dislike anti-gay comments and sexist speech, such as jokes some tell because they think it's fun. It might be fun, but it's also disgusting. However, I don't think that my, or your, personal dislike of something is a good enough reason to ban it, and the US courts are right to allow bigots to say such filthy things as, "God hates fags (gay people)," which the hateful Westboro Baptist Church regularly says in public. For Americans, respecting the flag is even more controversial and American presidents regularly talk about making it illegal to, for example, burn or otherwise destroy the US flag as a protest. But the US Courts, especially the US Supreme Court, refuse to allow that censorship, however many politicians or voters might want to make such an oppressively unAmerican law. 

To be honest, I have no interest in NFL games, but I think it's admirable that some players have the courage to suffer for what they believe to be right. Fortunately, they are not yet labelled criminals under US law for doing that, and the strong democratic principles in the US Constitution would not allow that. In fact, I'm curious to see how the actions of the NFL will play out. Will the teams or players fined or discriminated against take it to court? I hope so. I think that if such laws or regulations get to the Supreme Court that the nine justices will rule them against the excellent US Constitution and therefore not legal.  

I'm not American, but I am a great admirer of the US Constitution, which has stood the test of time for over 200 years, and guided the American nation as it overcame the usual problems that confront every country: corrupt politicians, mob rule, bad populist policy, legalized prejudice and the usual disagreements that are a normal part of any nation's life. My own country, Australia, also has a strong constitution to protect my nation from majority wishes that would be anti-democratic and against the core democratic values of Australia, but the US manages to do it in far fewer words. We Aussies might disagree about many things, as Americans do, and we have often revised it, but we respect the supreme rule of law, the constitution that defines our nation. 
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My question

Should offensive speech or acts be illegal, or must they be protected by the law? 
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Reference

Saturday 26 May 2018

Railway maps got their model.

What I read

In the video "The genius of the London Tube Map" (2018), Micheal Bierut tells an origin of London Underground map. Back in 1933, the Underground introduced a new map created by Henry Beck, the Underground’s engineering draftsman. The old map replaced by Beck's was based on travel maps consisting of curves and twists to unnecessarily reflect the geographical routes of which passengers who only need to know which station to get in and out did not really care. Beck made it easier to read by transforming it into a diagram-looking map with only three types of line: horizontal, vertical and 45-degree and different color representing each rail line.  His map became widely known and was a model for railway maps in most cities of the world.  





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My response 

Looking at London Underground map first time, I think it is very colorful, draw much intention, and, of course, more readable compared with the old version. The map concerns pretty much about quick looking up for information which is just appropriate when you are at a busy station in middle of going somewhere and time seems to rush you off. I realized that when I thought of the time I was in crowded Waterloo station and had to look up for my destination and for how I could get there. Beck was clever that he came up with such a practical map. Apart from the use of it. It is also a classic symbol of London and was used in most souvenirs like T-shirt and key ring.

I saw maps with mutual characteristic in many cities including Asian ones like Singapore, Hong Kong, then Bangkok.  In Bangkok, the railway routes is not as complicate as the other countries but there is some difficult bit about finding an entry to get in for me sometimes. I think this is about the signs in the station which state only the ending station of each rail line. If someone who does not usually take a train or use the route every day, it takes some time to figure out which entry to walk to because there is no whole map to tell which direction of a rail line passenger should get in in order to get to their destination, after passing ticket scanning.  If I was at Ari, going to Victory Monument, it took me long to find out which direction to go, Mochit or Onnut.   In addition, because we are during the development the end of the line keep changing (now it is not Onnut anymore, but Samrong) and I cannot keep up with that. I couldn't help but wondered "where is Bang Wa?" and "is that next to Saphan Taksin"        

There is another comment I heard about railway in Bangkok. One of my German teachers, she had been in Bangkok for about two months. She took MRT every day to go to work. At the time she did not get used to a restriction which does not allow passengers to drink at all on the train. However, in Germany, passengers can drink some water while riding. She think the weather is quite hot here, in Bangkok. At least a bottle of water should be okay to not get dehydrated.
_____________________________

My question

How often do you use railway in Bangkok?  
___________________________________ 

Reference

  • Bierut, M. (2018, Martch). The genius of the London Tube Map. Ted. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_bierut_the_genius_of_the_london_tube_map

Thursday 24 May 2018

Amazing in Chiang Mai



Chiang Mai province is a place which has many interesting and amazing places. It is easy for me to visit Chiang Mai because at my hometown is in Chiang Rai. So from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai I just take 2.5 hours to get there. Moreover, I do like a lot of the ways they live the language and especially, their cultures which show their unique.

This province has many interesting places which I like very much, for example, Doi suthep where is the most popular place for tourists in Chiang Mai. From this place everyone will have chance to see the ancient temple and pagoda which are beautiful Lanna unique style. The building of the temple and pagoda were built from the very unique style with many details and colorful. There are many places to visit in this city

Chiang Mai, where is the very popular place to visit for tourists either from nation wide people or the foreigners from many countries around the world. I like this place because they have many things that I like and I'm sure, there are many people in our country and other countries in the world like the ways Chiang Mai are from the past until nowadays.

Once in an Interior Architecture School


There are many moment in my life that I drawn back to such as first day in kinder garden school, being a monk or slept in military camp. However, the most drawn back moment is life in an interior architecture school which is really difficult to choose to study, and  I really enjoyed studying.

Choosing study in design or the filed related to art was completely difficult for Thai students. Most of Thai parents had highly expectation for their children to study medicine, engineering or economic in the university. It has been a strong model for a long time. I have two older sister which studied computer engineering and economic which was perfectly expectation for my mother. She always happy with the choice that my sister had made. At the time that I had to choose for my study, I told my mother and sister that I always desired to study design especially interior design. It is because I really passionate about how people live their lives. It was interesting to design living space for people to enjoy their living. Furthermore, most people spent most of their time in interior space rather than outdoor space. Therefore, I decided to study interior architectural design. But, my mother and sister did not agree with my choice. After that, I tried to negotiate with them for a month. The result was that my mother told me just one thing which I always remembered it until now. She told me that "you can choose what you chose, and try your best." Then, the admission day that I had to choose four choices of my major in four different universities was coming. So, I all selected four interior architecture in four universities. Unfortunately, the admission system in Thailand changed that year. I could not get into the university that I dreamed of.

After the admission result published, I found myself in department of interior design, Bangkok University. At that time, I still sad about the result that I got. But, my life had change in this school. I felt like I lived in the new world. In design school, my friends and I learned how to draw, paint, making three dimensional model, notice aesthetic things and all kind of this stuff. I absolutely enjoyed learning this kind of things. It really fascinate me which completely difference from the subject that I studied in high school. I studied mathematics and sciences. Everyday in high school,  I confused about chemical stuff, calculus, gravity or momentum. In design school, I had learned from my classmate ideas, and we had discussed about what is aesthetic?, what is good composition? or what is comfortable factors in interior space?. We worked together all day and night which developed good friendship. I also found the good relationship between students and professor there. I always remember what my mother said "you can choose what you chose, and try your best." Finally, I earned my bachelor degree with first class honors.

In conclusion, selecting design filed and got accepted from the university was tough, but I definitely enjoyed in an interior design school life. This experience always drawn me back to to moment that I decided to study and drafting table that I fall asleep with after  drawing for three days without sleep.

A place in memory

During our life, there is a special place that we knew or have been there before and it become our favorite place to go but when the time passed, we may missed that place and want to visit it again.

The high school I studied and graduated from is a place I usually missed it because it reminds me of friends in my class and from other class about what we have done together. We are also missed teachers who have been taught us when we were their students, Even I have been studied there for six years but I still remembered most of the teachers that have teach me. So one day, my friends and I decided to visit the school on the first day of the semester.

Once we arrived, we walked around and greet many teachers that we found. Almost every teacher ask the same question and it is about an university and they also wish us luck about the path each of us choose. During the time we have visited teachers, it was also a lunchtime for student so we waited for our juniors at the park near the football field which is the place we always went after having lunch to played a trading card game and chatting together.

When our juniors arrived, I was really surprised because I thought they will not come to the park because none of them played trading card game anymore but in the end they still come and shared about their life during the day to each other.

In our life there must be one place that you keep missed it and want to visit it again.

My wonderful village

My village reminds me of the time being kids, of the time being young, and of the time being happy. It is located in Don Mueng, Bangkok and is a normal village that is quite old. In this village, there are many memories that I have experienced and that memories is deeply implanted in my mind forever.

To begin with, I mostly love the basketball court in my village. It is unique that it is very old and is in a bad condition, but I always love the feeling when playing with friends. I met these friends from the end of my alley, which is called Soi 17 in Thai. I first met them when I was just 5 years old. They are very friendly and awesome. I played some traditional foreign and Thai game with them. For example, we played hide and seek, dodge ball, and importantly basketball. However, we played basketball when we grew up like 14 years, so that we could play it easier. When playing, I play as a shooting guard, which I have to be very focus while aiming. This sport brought a ton of friend for me because we had to be teamwork so that we had to talked before playing.

Apart from basketball court, I love my old home. Because I am living in condo, the house in my village is very far and I miss that house so much. In my house, I have a fitness room and sauna room at the top floor. I also enjoy playing games in the living room. I missed the moment when I was in Grade 9. In the morning, I ate breakfast and went watching YouTube in an iPad. In the afternoon, I played online games with my friends at my school and at my village and I also read comic books. At an evening, I played basketball with my friends at the village until the night. And lastly when the night came, I played games with my brother and friends. It is not that interesting life in summer, but for me it is the happiest moment in life.

Ultimately, the family is the last thing that I always love. My grandfather passed away 2 years ago. It was that time that I moved from my house to my condo. It is really shocking that whenever I came to my village, his picture was shown up. My grandmother also lived in my village. Now she is alone and retired. However, my father hired someone to take care of her. There is one more person that is my cat, meow. She was bitten by dogs near my house. It was sad at first but I wish she was happy in heaven.

In conclusion, I have many memories to remember in good and bad ways. The court, the home, and the family are all in this wonderful village. I hope that I will visit my village more often and have time to spend with my friends like we were 14 years again.

Golf club nostalgic

I have just found old pictures of me when I was a baby and child while I was clearing my home to renovated. The most pictures of our family were taken at the golf club "Pinehurst". In the pictures, My parents were at an early forties and me were just about six months old. I was drawn back to the nostalgic memory that I was there enjoyed a quality time with my family. I always thought that the golf club was in countryside; however, recently I just realized that it was not I thought.

When I was a child, I remembered my parents usually went on vacation with our close relatives whether went to another provinces or abroad. My father was playing golf back then, so he took us to the golf club at the weekend. We sometimes had a night over at the golf club. The place was filled with green grass and the air was so refreshing like we were in Khaoyai. The atmosphere was tranquil and relaxing. I remembered that I had picnic with my brothers and sisters and playing swing together. Although my memory wasn't crystal clear but the pictures told stories and reminded me of the good old days. I was always looking for a family trip like this once again.

Only a few years ago that I went on the Vipawadee road headed to the north of Bangkok, I just noticed that the golf club "Pinehurst", where I usually went when I was a child, was on my left; located in the Rangsit neighborhood. Only a few kilometers from my home. I was disappointed that it was here because I had always thought that it was far away from Bangkok as my memory remembered sitting in the car for long time. I quickly pointed to my older sister that our favorite holiday spot was just closed to our home and that also surprised my sister as she thought that it should be farther than this. This was the time I realized that when you were just a child, you will think that the world is so big and everything seems enjoyable and pleasing because you were naive. But as you grow older, you will find that everything is so reachable, possible and sometimes not as perfect as you were expected. Undoubtedly, most people tend to seek for an extraordinary and exciting things to fulfill their life.

Protesters in front of my school.

Recently, I have heard about social movement and protest that mainly about democracy and election in Thailand, this reminded me of the worst day when I was studying at Satriwithaya school.

I studied middle school at Satriwithaya school, which is located in front of democracy monument. During 2013 and 2014, there was a group of protesters called themselves KPPS who wanted Yingluck Shinawatra, the prime minister at that time, to be fired out due to a corruption. Unluckily, my classroom was on the nearest building to a stage of protesters which there was loud noise all the time, to be honest, I couldn't concentrate on studying as I could. Unfortunately, the most horrible day came when there was a gun shot in front of my school, the school immediately allowed students to go home. My mother suddenly walked to pick me up, while we were out of the school we saw a strike between protesters and police in front of the route we have to walk through, it was frightening and I was crying, so my mother decided to go back to the central of democracy monument which we got some help from journalists. After protesters and police were gone, we went to through the route safely.

Two months ago, I visited the school and nothing has changed, but there were no protesters in front of the school like four years ago, which is a good news. I suggest protesters find a new location which does not affect other people.

Should everyone own a pet?

One of the most popular leisure in Thailand is owning a pet. Thai people have various choice of what pets they want to adapt. However, the most common pet is dogs. Though pets helps human beings with their friendship and companion, owning a pet is not for everybody.

I have two pets, a dog and a cat. For more than five year, they have lived with my family. Pets are a good companions for human beings because they are always be there every time they are alone and want someone to be around.  I have two small relative, my niece and nephew, in my family as well. When they play around together with the pets, it is a really funny moment. .In addition to friendship, a pet like dogs offer people a good reason to go outside to do some exercises as they have to walk the dog every day. Besides, cats and dogs are very cheap to adopt in Thailand because an individual can adopt a good strayed dog into their family.

On the other hand, owning a pet takes more than feeding. Owners need to take full responsibility for them. One of the most common issue is their behaviors. Imagine what happen if your dog bites one of your neighbors. It could be a very serious problem if the dog is sick or has some disease like Rabies. You need to accept the consequence of what they do, no matter it is good or bad. In this case, people have to pay for healthcare bill for you neighbor and to make up with them to keep a good relationship.  Apart from the behavior, one concern about owning dogs is their own health. People have to take of their pets, cure them when they are sick, give them vaccines for serious diseases prevention.

While owning a pet has many good benefits, they bring people a great responsibility. Pets are for people are ready to accept not only positive side but also the drawback and effort they need to make in order to keep away from undesirable consequences.

Return to the Mummy

The ties to my family draw me back to Australia every year, but this is usually for one week or less. Because the time is short, I spend only a few hours in Sydney before catching a domestic flight to my family home on the North Coast of New South Wales, about 700 kms north of Sydney. A few years ago, I spend this time not shopping us usual but visiting Sydney University to enjoy the memory of the happy years I had spent there.

The desire to visit my old university came to me in the weeks before I make my annual Songkran escape. I'm not sure why it came. I had recently started using Facebook, so perhaps the old friends that I caught up with there had reminded me of the time we had spent together among the beautiful old sandstone buildings as we read, argued with each other and our professors, and generally enjoyed the challenges of becoming members of a thriving academic community. I found myself remembering the purple flowers of the jacaranda tree in front of the philosophy department offices, where I had spend hours every week. I also recalled the wide green lawns of the main quadrangle that the philosophy department was in one corner of, and thinking also of the scarred wooden desks, perhaps a century old, in the rooms of the Latin department. And of course the ancient Egyptian mummies in the university museum down the corridor. I suddenly wanted to see all those things again.

My usual Qantas flight arrived in Sydney on a clear, cool day in mid-April  I took the airport rail link into the city as usual, and grabbed some bacon and eggs at the small cafe at Circular Quay, from which I could enjoy the sights of the fresh morning over the harbour, with the sun glittering on the water, lighting up the ferries going back and forth across the gently swelling water, bringing passengers to work in the towers of the city behind me. As usual, there were white gulls taking advantage of bits of food dropped by people eating quickly on the way to work: lawyers in suits, clerks a little less formally dressed, and laborers for the many construction sites that are constant part of downtown Sydney. It was a relaxing start to my half day in the city.

After I'd finished my bacon and eggs, and a large coffee, I didn't walk into the city for the usual shopping for cakes, pate, cheeses and chocolate for my mother, brothers and sisters, but instead I caught a bus to Newtown. I could have walked to Sydney University as I had many times when I was studying and living there, but although I had time, I wasn't sure that I my memory of the route through the streets was reliable, so I got the number 423 bus, which was still running on the same route. This cost $2:00 dollars for the short trip to Sydney University. I got off at the new, although now not so new, student union building on City Road, across from the large university grounds. As always, the cars and other traffic was hurtling along City Road, but I was on familiar territory now as I made my way across the pedestrian bridge over the road and into the university.

The old Carslaw Building, home of the mathematics department, where I had spend many years entranced as much by the sometimes odd professors who taught as calculus, non-Euclidean geometry and other fun things as those subjects were themselves, was the first landmark that stood out. It is a tall, rather boring cube, but I knew where I was and what lay beyond it. A short walk along the broad, quiet paths brought me a few minutes later to the massive old main quad., its solid sandstone looking exactly the same as it had when I had first arrived in February 1978.

It was the Easter break, so there were not many people around as I enjoyed retracing the steps I'd taken many years ago. The old jacaranda was in full bloom, making the ground beneath it purple with dropped flowers. The sandstone was the same light brown. I knew he wasn't there, but I imaged popping my head into the main lecture room and seeing Professor Stove expounding no philosophy of science, stuttering Dr. McDermitt leading his logic class through Godel's proof of incompleteness in mathematics. And the richly decorated mummy case was exactly as I'd remembered, or perhaps a little more dusty in the silent museum.

I didn't have as many treats to distribute to my nieces and nephews when  I arrived on the North Coast a few hours later, but I glad I'd taken the time to revisit the place where I had become an adult and enjoyed my introduction to academic life. Mum missed out on her chocolates from Sydney's best chocolate shop, but the mummy was worth the visit.

Strategies for Writing Timed Essays (B&S3, p56, Study Skill)

What we read

The writing task for Unit 5 of Skillful is timed response to an exam question. Although this is not how we normally write, it is something that most of us will have to sometimes do. We started preparing for this by looking at the writing skill notes on using sentence variety (Bixby & Scanlon, 2013, p. 53).

The Study Skills page "Strategies for Writing Times Essays" (p. 56) directly addresses some common worries that students might have about timed writing and suggests strategies to deal with them.

We have just done a quick survey to find out what we find most challenging about timed writing. 

___________________________________ 

Bixby and Scanlon's question

Write a comment responding to these questions: 

  • Have you ever done any timed writing (writing where you were given a time limit to complete)?
    How did you feel about it?
     
  • What did you find most challenging about a timed writing task?
    • deciding what to write
    • organizing ideas
    • feeling nervous or stressed
    • finishing on time
    • expressing your ideas clearly in writing
    • not having enough time to revise your work
    • using correct spelling and grammar
       
  • Having read Bixby and Scanlon's six suggestions on page 56 ("Consider It" section), what might you do differently next time you do write a timed essay? 
___________________________________ 

Reference

  • Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing, Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education

Wednesday 23 May 2018

Movement: readings 1 & 2, "Invasive Species You Should Know" & "How Do Animals Navigate?" (B&S3, p52, Developing critical thinking)

What we read

We have now read both "Invasive Species You Should Know" (Bixby & Scanlon, 2013, p. 49) and "How Do Animals Navigate?" (p. 51). As usual, the authors now invite us to respond critically to the ideas from both readings. 

___________________________________ 

Bixby and Scanlon's questions 

The questions that ask for our response to both readings are: 
  • Think about some other invasive creatures. How do you think they moved to new habitats? What problems do they cause?
    • In the image on the right, Bixby and Scanlon suggest some species you might like to think about; you are, however, free to discuss any invasive species that comes to mind.
       
  • How are your navigational skills? Rate your sense of direction from one to ten. Then discuss your abilities and strategies.  

Remember

As usual, your response writing will be stronger if you write as if your readers have not seen the questions you are responding to. That is, your writing should make sense independently of Bixby and Scanlon's questions. 
___________________________________ 

Reference

  • Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing, Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education

Monday 21 May 2018

Peaceful protest for get an election

What I read

According to "Protesters vow rally for election at Government House" (2018), the activists and the supporters for an election they won't give up their plan to walk from Tha Phra Chan campus to the Government House to pressure the government for a survey after it has been delayed since they took power. 

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My response 

As I know, the protesters will be walking from the Thummasart campus at Thaphrachan campus to the Government House tomorrow morning after their gathering at 7 am. Their proposes are to tell the Prime minister and deputy prime minister Prawit Wongsuwan what the people want. The protesters expect to have an election as soon as possible. However, they have to show their power by peaceful walking protest which they hope that the government will realize and understand for what they really want to happen soon is election.

since coup occurred, first I was very delightful that they can stop the terrible situations. then after that the military government began to make more problem themselves with country administration led to many problems such as economics, price of goods, farm products (rice, rubble, vegetables)  were decreased. Anyway, the protesters see that this government has done big mistake for four years and now the protesters need the new government which can be able to solve the nation's problems.     
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My question

1. Should we have military government after coup? Why? and Why not?
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Reference

Getting into Unit 5 = Movement (B&S3, p47, Discussion point)

What we read

On page 47 of Skillful, Bixby and Scanlon (2013) use the usual large photograph and some discussion questions to introduce unit 5, whose title is "Movement".

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Bixby and Scanlon's questions

Discuss these questions in a comment.  
  • Why do some birds migrate? 
  • What other animals migrate? 
    • What animals migrate to or from your country? 
  • What human activities can disrupt of interfere with animal movement? 
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Reference

  • Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education

Thursday 17 May 2018

Does Hollywood Need a PG-15 Rating?

What I read

In the article "Does Hollywood Need a PG-15 Rating?"(2018), Brooks Barnes tells gun violence has been increasing in PG-13 movies and some films even have as much as seen in R films. This is because creators of some PG-13 movies borrow some scenes from R movies, then just remove blood and suffering. A research suggests, even though some of the gun violence seems justified, parent do not see it appropriate to 13-year-old kids and they probably want a new rating that fit the level of violence better. PG-13 was first used in 1984 because some movies like “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “Gremlins”  were too strong for PG rating.
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My response 

It appears to me that the violence American people concern was specific to gun. As an audience, the difference of gun violence between PG-13 and R seems subtle to me. If I do not see the rating description, I will not notice it. Due to the care to their children, some parents might be more suspicious. I tried to recall when I was a young teen, though I had seen a lot of movies including the most memorable, Die Hard whose rating is R. Die Hard stand out in my memory because it was my father who brought it to us, I and my three siblings. We saw the movie countless of times and thought it was awesome. I don't feel the movie make me more aggressive (than I was supposed to be without watching it) and my thought of gun is so imaginary.  I never saw real gun and in Thailand it is quite rare because of the law. 

I was born to quite indulgent parents who, when it come to free time, are pretty much generous. We are allowed to play Nintendo video games (any possible games) and watched all mainstream movies, and are free to go anywhere if we know how to go (I had taken bus to school with my siblings since I was seven. At that time I knew only one bus no.). Ironically, I had never used that valuable freedom to deviate from their little expectation, no skipping school, for instance.  To be fair, at the time there were not much violent games, only fighting and character shooting, and the graphic did not look as real as console or PC games we see today. The worst that the young Kan became with the video game was that she got pissed easily when she was interrupted during playing.
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My question

As an adult, do you think violence in movies affect you? How?
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Reference

  • Barnes, R. (2018, May 14). Does Hollywood Need a PG-15 Rating?. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/14/business/media/hollywood-rating-pg-13.html

Never stop learning

What I read



In "Drowning at Midlife? Start Swimming" (2018), Judi Ketteler tells her new passion in swimming. She used to run, but recently she had injury in her calf and that her doctor told her to rest and stop running for a while. So, she decided to start swimming at the age of 43. Many women at her age encounter a midlife crisis from work, family and life problems. However, she refused to have one. She found that swimming and running help her surpassed stresses. She began to learn how to swim from the beginning step and keep pushing her limit. Ultimately, she set her new goal which is to achieve a triathlon at her middle age.
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My response 

I admire the writer's attitude and spirit. Since I can't swim, therefore, I don't think that I can learn and swim at this age. For me, swimming is now become one of my fear and obstacle to enjoy life. For instance, I always want to do a scuba diving because I want to see a beauty of the underwater world but I can't get rid of my fear to swim in the ocean. The writer has proof that no one is too old to learn which I think it's true. Although learning new things and trying for the first time is hard but once we have a determination and endeavour to succeed a goal, I believe that nothing is impossible. Look at the writer's age! Who will think that she will do a triathlon at the age of forty.

This also remind me of my parents who are now entering a retirement stage. Especially my father, he don't have any sports or hobbies to enjoy in his free time. Therefore, I tried taking him to the gym so he can do some exercises and meet new people; however he didn't enjoy much and think that he is too old to be active. I felt really bad for him that he's not willing to try new things and limit himself. So, I will definitely tell my dad her story and try to convince him again to experience new things. 
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My question

1. Do you have any things, activities and skills  that you always want to do or learn but never have a chance to do once?
2. What do you do to relieve your stress?
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Reference

Editing and Proofreading Strategies (B&S3, p26, Study Skill)

What we read

Bixby and Scanlon conclude unit 2 with the usual Study Skills page (2013, p. 26), in this case, the topic is strategies for editing and proofreading work, both of which we have already practised this term. 

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My response 

Since they include a peer review exercise as part of each writing task, it is clear that Bixby and Scanlon think that such strategies are an important step in the writing process, which is consistent with the title they give their general review checklist on page 109: "Process Writing Checklist". 
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Bixby and Scanlon's suggestions

You have already done review and proofreading exercises as part of the writing tasks for units 1 and 2 on your own identity and the design of a chosen structure. Similarly, there will be a peer review exercise for this week's narrative essay on a dangerous situation that you have faced. 

With this experience to look back on and more coming, it's timely to look at editing and proofreading strategies. Following their narrative of Ramon's experience, Bixby and Scanlon give five suggestions for consideration to help you edit and proofread your work. 

Their suggested strategies are: 

  • Edit for ideas and organization.
     
  • Do a reverse outline.
     
  • Create a personal editing list.
     
  • Read backwards.
     
  • Ask a classmate to read your paper. 

My question 

  • Choose two (or three) of the strategies that Bixby and Scanlon suggest that you already find useful or would like to try. In a comment, explain your choices.  
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Reference

  • Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education

Wednesday 16 May 2018

Fire: readings 1 & 2, "Feeling the Heat" & "Fire in the Sky" (B&S3, p42, Developing critical thinking)

What we read

We have now read both "Feeling the Heat" (Bixby & Scanlon, 2013, p. 39) and "Fire in the Sky" (p. 41). As usual, the authors now invite us to respond critically to the ideas from both readings. 

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Bixby and Scanlon's questions 

The questions that ask for our response to both readings are: 

  • "Feeling the Heat" stresses how fire can be dangerous and frightening, but "Fire in the Sky" reminds us how people are attracted to it. Why do you think some people are attracted to danger in their lives?
     
  • Think about the other "classical elements": air, water and earth. In what ways can they be dangerous as well as life-giving? 

Remember

As usual, your response writing will be stronger i you write for readers who have not seen the questions you are responding to. That is, if a reader who has not seen the questions above reads your writing, it should still make sense to that reader. 
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Reference

  • Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing, Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education

Fire: reading 1, "Feeling the Heat" (B&S3, p39-40, Developing critical thinking)

What we read

We have just read and checked our understanding of the interview with Kevin Lynch, "Feeling the Heat".

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Our response 

Having read the text a couple of times, Bixby and Scanlon now invite us to respond to those idea in a critical thinking exercise.
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Bixby and Scanlon's questions

Comment on the following questions, which are the critical thinking questions on page 40 (Bixby & Scanlon, 2013), and then reply to at least two of your classmates' comments.

  • What are some other dangerous jobs / types of jobs that require people to risk their lives? Why do you think that some people choose dangerous jobs?
     
  • Kevin Lynch says that an important skill for firefighters is to be able to "stay calm when things are falling apart."
    Do you have this skill? Give examples to explain why or why not? If you don't have this skill, do you know someone else who does? 

Remember

Your writing should stand alone. Your response will be stronger if you write as though your readers have not seen the questions that you are responding to.
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Reference

  • Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing, Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education 

Tuesday 15 May 2018

Something, Nothing and Nothing, Something

What I read

In the article “The art of doing something with nothing” (2018), The Economist the writer says that there is nothing in England pavilion in Venice Architecture Biennale. The artist tries to emphasize on the meaning of nothing. Yves Klein, the well-known conceptual artist, did an exhibition about emptiness space. In addition, an exhibition by Chris Burden, the reason for doing emptiness art is focusing on the audience’s attention. This kind of art is similar to Venice, German, Romanian and British pavilion which has a different interpretation of emptiness.



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My response 

It seems like we tend to judge a book by its cover. We think, weight and compare all the time. what good, what bad, what white, what black, what beauty, what ugly, what mine, what not mine. etc. We mostly think, weight and compare mostly on appearance. We prefer something rather than nothing. There is a Thai proverb: “grasp feces are better than grasp fart.” It is a bit funny, but it is true. We tend to think that nothing is nothing. It does mean anything. But, this article reminds us to think about the meaning of emptiness. Is it nothing? or Is there something in nothing?

This article also reminds me of one meaningful social experiment in D.C., USA. One guy was playing his violin in the subway during rush hours. It is not far from we can expect. No one listens to him. But, he was still playing. The time flew by no one stop and listen to his song. Until one young lady stop, she stood in front of him and listened for the entire song. The minute that finished his song, young lady says to him that “I saw you at the Library of Congress” “It was fantastic.” and continue saying that “this is one of those things that could only happen in D.C.” Yes, exactly! That guy is an American world-class violinist who won Avery Fisher Prize and Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist. His name is Joshua Bell. And, the violin that he holds in his arm is more than 300 years old which cost around 15 million dollars. If we want to listen to his concert hall, it will cost at least 8,000 baht. It sounds nothing and they ignore it, but there is something.

Haft Thai-Japanese illustrator tried to remove artwork from her studio wall after completing each project. She told that “she need emptiness to think for the new idea.” If it passed, it passed. The new idea will not happen, if we live in past. One Thai writing thinks about the spacing of his book. He said that he designs spacing in between line for his reader to read comfortably. He designs emptiness. Naoto Fukazawa, a well-known Japanese designer, he once designs a chair from the atmosphere. He uses emptiness in the atmosphere to shape his design.

In the world we living in, there are a lot of emptiness around us. If we pay attention to it, we will see something.
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My question

Have you ever experienced "emptiness moment" (It is nothing in general. but, it really means to you)? Please share.
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Reference

T.A. (2018, May 3). The art of doing something with nothing, The Economist. Retrieved from https://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2018/05/void-and-meaning

Helicopter to discover Mars

What I read

NASA's Mars Helicopter seen in a computer-generated render on the surface of MarsIn "Nasa will send helicopter to Mars to test otherworldly flight"(2018), BBCNews says Nasa is planning to send a non-pilot and remote-controlled helicopter with US's spaceship to explore Mars which will launches in 2020. Nasa prefers using the helicopter to wheeled vehicle because aerial vehicle can access locations not reachable by ground travel and will not be confined to open spaces on the surface of Mars.
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My response 

It's wonderful to hear that nowadays space technology is modernly developed. Mars is one of the closest planets to Earth, it is good (for astronauts and space teams) to get more information about structures and I believe one day they can build habitats for human to live there if  Earth collapses or has too much pollution.

This article reminds me of 'The Martian Movie' which is about an astronaut being left alone in Mars tries to survive and go back on Earth. The movie shows that Mars is a dried planet  so that makes Nasa discovers easier, but plans to develop harder. I encourage Nasa and other space teams  to succeed projects about Mars and By 2020, I hope I will receive good news from Nasa.
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My question

Have you ever think about living on another planet? where and why?
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Reference

Nasa will send helicopter to Mars to test otherworldly flight. (2018, May 11). BBCNews. Retrieved  from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44090509

Monday 14 May 2018

Loss of roadside plant diversity

What I read

According to "Plant 'thugs' crowd roadside flowers" (2018), the human have been using a lot of vehicle exhausts and also mowing which are decreasing diversity of the plants. Moreover, the plant diversity is falling and nitrogen deposition had increased. By the way, the charity Plantlife has been claiming and campaigning to reduce nitrogen levels.

Bee orchid
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My response 

In my opinion, I think the people nowadays they don't think much about plant extinction that will affect to our environment in the future. So I think if we just stop to think that all kinds of plants are very important for our global environment we should help it to not become extinct. But, we hardly make it to be possible from now to the next future because of the people have been increasing the  air pollution which reduce the plant diversity.

I do agree with the  charity that they try to campaign and claim to give precedence to plants diversity especially roadside plants by reducing air pollution and mowing which need a very good management.

I hope if everyone realizes about how to help our environment or plant diversity then we won't get much worry with the way to solve  the problem for our earth in the future.
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My question

1. Do you think the roadside plants are important or not? why?
2. How bad does the pollution affect to environment? 
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Reference

Send in the clowns

What I read

In "China and Eurovision clash over an LGBT performance—and the value of diversity" (2018), The Economist criticizes China's repressive policy of censoring what the government dictates to be not "'appropriate' culture and norms," accusing the Chinese government and officials of lacking a sense of humour in their refusal to allow citizens to enjoy a rich cultural diversity, as a result of which the Eurovision Song Contest has withdrawn broadcast rights from the Chinese TV channel that censored gay and lesbian content from the Chinese audience. The Economist also praises the Eurovision Song Contest for being not so much a great musical event as a celebration of diversity in liberal multi-cultural acceptance, and also the ability to "laugh at oneself."  
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My response 

Unusually, I thought of the title for this blog post even before I had finished reading the article in The Economist. It's a classic from modern opera by Stephen Sondheim. And after the effort of summarizing my chosen article, which was a bit more difficult than for a BBC News article, it took me some time to choose the best version from YouTube to include below. I like Barbara Streisand's version for her beautiful voice, but in the end, I opted for Dame Judi Dench's more earthy version: she had performed it in a production of Sondheim's A Little Light Music, and, still going strong, she's one of the great actors of the past century, whether doing Shakespeare or M in a James Bond movie. Listening  to a few versions of Send in the Clowns on YouTube was a pleasant way to start the day with my morning coffee. It's the last line of the song that is important for my title. 

Getting back to my chosen article, I have to admit that I'm not much interested in the Eurovision Song Contest, and was surprised to learn that it had such a long history, having started way back in 1950. I'd always thought it began around the late 1970s and had always been controversially liberal, but I was wrong. I really only learned of it over the last few years, when some acts, especially the women with a beard, made the news headlines, and even then I didn't actually listen to those songs. Reading the article, I was also surprised to learn that ABBA, who were a great favourite when I was in high school, had gotten their chance for fame in the Eurovision Song Contest. I obviously don't follow popular music trends very carefully. 

But what really interested me in the article was the ugly censorship of the Chinese government, which is clearly intent on keeping Chinese citizens ignorant. And ignorance is always, without exception, the reason for all censorship: someone in power wants others to be ignorant of something, usually an inconvenient truth. China censors a lot: they do not want Chinese citizens to understand Chinese politics or history, so they censor; they do not want Chinese citizens to know about alternative approaches to human relationships and sexuality, so they censor; and they don't want corruption exposed, so they censor. Of course, other countries do the same, and I'm sure everyone can think of local Thai topics that are heavily censored to keep Thai people ignorant of their own national affairs. I'm sure that politicians and others in my country would like to do the same, but strong legal protection for free speech, an essential foundation not only for informed opinion on any topic, but also for democracy, leaves Australian politicians and others exposed to healthy truth speaking and laughter. 

And as The Economist reminds us, it's good to laugh at ourselves, our leaders and our favourite beliefs: they are rarely so wonderfully perfect as we might think them. 
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My question

What may the law justly censor? That is, what is it OK for governments to keep people ignorant of?
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Reference


Getting into Unit 4 = Fire (B&S3, p37, Discussion point)

What we read

On page 37 of Skillful, Bixby and Scanlon (2013) use the usual large photograph and some discussion questions to introduce unit 4, whose title is "Fire".

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Bixby and Scanlon's question

We've just checked the meanings of some common English idioms about fire. Namely: 
    • to play with fire
    • to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire
    • Where there's smoke there's fire. and 
    • to come under fire.
We have also briefly brainstormed and discussed similar sayings from your first language.

  • Now, think of a story, situation or experience that can be described by one of the expressions above. Explain how your story is an example of the idea in the expression. 
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Reference

  • Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education

Friday 11 May 2018

Picasso's piece break the record

What I read



In "Rockefeller art auction opens with record-breaking $646m" (2018), David Rockefeller's private art collection are sold at Christie's auction house in New York by the last generation of Rockefeller family, whose grand dad is a co-founder of Standard Oil. The painting of a nude girl from Picasso is the record-breaking art piece which has been sold at $115 millions. Moreover, Monet's painting of water garden was sold at $84.7 millions, which was the highest of his piece in the history. The Rockefeller is an art collector who owned more than 1,500 pieces and their collection will be selling in the near future.
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My response 

The reason I wrote about this news is because I love Arts. I have one friend who is an art curator for one Thai billionaire and she told me that his boss has more than 500 pieces of modern arts around the world. I could only imagine how much he spent on the Arts because he own many big name artist pieces in our century such as Jeff Koon, Damien Hirst and Ai weiwei. So, thinking that the Rockefeller family must be incredibly rich since they own Picasso, Monet and many more classic pieces that I could only see in the museum. However, my question to this is why the grandson of Rockefeller decided to sell these items? If I were him I would enjoy these arts and maybe open the museum to showcase our family's collection. Another comment to this is that I noticed in Thailand there're only few millionaires who appreciated in Arts. Most of rich people prefer to buy supercar, luxury condo and expensive brandname to show how wealthy they are rather than art pieces. This is why there are such little opportunity of Thai artist to grow and survive in their career. In contrast with developed countries where rich people often are an art collector and interested to invest in Arts. 
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My question

What would you buy if you were billionaire? 
Do you have any favourite artist and why do you like him/her?
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Reference