Roald Dahl Day

Today, the world celebrates one of the world's most well-known authors of children's books. It's none other than Roald Dahl's birthday today. Dahl was born on Sept 13, 1916 and wrote a number of books, which are still and will be appreciated by adults and children alike.

These are some of the popular children's books by Dahl. They are all old edition covers. I enjoy looking at first edition covers! It's like going back in history.






Anyway, here are some cool Roald Dahl facts which I found in Wikipedia:

• Roald was named after the polar explorer Roald Amundsen, a national hero in Norway.
  
  
• Dahl first attended The Cathedral School, Llandaff. At the age of eight, he and four of his friends were caned by the headmaster after putting a dead mouse in a jar of sweets at the local sweet shop, which was owned by a "mean and loathsome" old woman called Mrs Pratchett (wife of blacksmith David Pratchett).
  
  
• Dahl was very tall, reaching 6'6" (1.98m) in adult life, and he was good at sports, being made captain of the school fives and squash teams, and also playing for the football team.
  
  
• In November 1939, Dahl joined the Royal Air Force. After a 600-mile car journey from Dar-es-Salaam to Nairobi, he was accepted for flight training with 20 other men, and was one of only three who survived the war, as the other 17 died in combat.
  
  
• His first children's book was The Gremlins, about mischievous little creatures that were part of RAF folklore.
  
  
• He also had a successful parallel career as the writer of macabre adult short stories, usually with a dark sense of humour and a surprise ending.

Have fun celebrating Roald Dahl Day!

Winner!

For my Secret Scroll giveaway held recently, the winner is:

nylusmilk

Congratulations! A big thank you to everyone who entered. I'm looking forward to my next giveaway so look out for it! :)

Surprise, Surprise

Current song stuck in my head:

No Surprise by Daughtry



Like his previous singles, Over You and Home, this song had me listening to it over and over again without getting sick of it. Yet. :)

Chris Daughtry does have a voice that'll make the listener want to know who it belongs to. When I heard this song on the radio, I sat right next to it and waited for it to end and for the radio deejay to mention the song's name.

I like the chorus:

It's no surprise I won't be here tomorrow
I can't believe that I stayed till today
Yeah you and I will be a tough act to follow
But I know in time we'll find this was no surprise

Mad for Maths

I loved it when the holidays came during my school-going time years ago. Of course, after weeks and weeks of studying, I do deserve a long break. I used to reread my Enid Blyton books about children going away to visit cousins, aunts, uncles, nannies and then having seemingly unlimited adventures. How I used to envy the characters!

But nothing lasts forever. The holidays were bound to come to an end and it’s time to psyche myself up to look forward to school. My long break usually lasted for two months and since I rarely go near my school books during the holidays, it’s not surprising that I might have forgotten what I’ve studied before. Well I never attended tuition so I had to refresh my memory at home by myself. If I didn’t understand anything, I would just ask my parents or my sister. I’m lucky to have such smart people in my life!

And when it came to questions, it was usually Mathematics questions. I loved Maths (kind of miss solving them problems now!) and would love the challenge of solving a problem. How I’d feel when I could solve a difficult problem. I’d let out a big sigh, grin widely and throw my hands up in the air in jubilation. Mathematics isn’t just about logic and solution to me. It does have its emotional aspects too, for me.

Anyway, thanks to the Internet, I’d shoot my questions to Maths experts online who’d guide me on solving the problems. They wouldn’t give the answer straightaway but only gave the first few steps and then provided an explanation. I could still ask more if I didn’t understand. The other fun part of doing Maths is feeling happy and excited whenever anyone responded to my questions online.

Back From Blogging Break & a Giveaway #6!

***STICKY POST***SCROLL DOWN FOR NEW ONES!

Hi everyone, how have you been doing? :) I've been busy the past couple of months, that's why I haven't been blogging! With my internship and also adjusting myself back to uni life, I decided to take a small break from blogging. I'm awfully sorry for not putting up a notice or anything but thank you very much for continuing your visits here!

To make it up to you, I am giving away a hardcover copy of The Secret Scroll by Ronald Cutler (read my review of it here). I've only read the book once so it's in almost new condition! A rather exciting read and it's almost like reading Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code.





Product Description from Amazon:

Josh Cohan, a work-obsessed archaeology professor, has a recurring dream about a great secret. He follows his instincts to the Judean desert, where he makes a fantastic discovery an ancient scroll which seems to have been written by Jesus Christ. The Israeli Antiquities Authority has a claim on the scroll, but another, more sinister organization wants the scroll as well. The Guardians, members of an ancient extremist religious sect, are willing to kill to get what they want.

Josh joins the government-sponsored team of translators who believe the scroll might be genuine, and falls in love with Danielle, the fiery daughter of one of the translators. When a friend turns up dead and Danielle goes missing, Josh realizes that the scroll might be more powerful and controversial than he had ever imagined. Will Josh be able to prevent something terrible from happening to the woman he loves without giving up the most important discovery mankind has ever made?

This giveaway is only open to those residing in Malaysia. To enter, just do any or all of the following:

1. Leave a comment and your e-mail address saying you want to participate - 1 entry

2. Blog about this giveaway in your blog and tell me about it - 2 entries

3. Adding me to your blogroll or if I'm already in your blogroll - 5 entries

You have until Sept 10, 2009 to enter. If you have any questions, you may e-mail me at josettebooks[at]yahoo[dot]com. Good luck!

5 People You Should Know in College

The way we choose our friends reflects on who we are. Okay, I just came up with that statement but somehow I kind of remember reading a similar one sometime somewhere.

Anyway, read the following article which is extremely interesting and informative. Perhaps you have questions on what kind of friends to choose? Who should you hang out with? Who would you like to stay 500 metres away from? Heheh!

5 People You Should Know in College
Written by Michael Francis

The Geek

Who?
While there are many definitions of a geek, the one you want is the tech geek. He spends most of his time at a computer or tinkering with gadgets. He knows all of the new things that are coming out, and it get’s him excited. Not only is he excited about the technology, he is also excited about telling everyone about it. He’s probably a pirate, so don’t take any music or software from him if you are concerned about piracy.

Why you need him?
You need this guy to fix your computer, tell you how to work your new iPhone, and help you do projects where you need to do some techie stuff like make a video. If you invite him over on occasion he will probably automatically go to your computer and do all those nice updates that you have been letting go for some time.

Be Careful
Make sure you get the right gal or girl. Some “geeks” aren’t really geeks. They pretend to be, and they will end up destroying your computer instead of fixing it. The perfect geek will know how to fix your stuff, but they also will not go overboard and do things to your computer that you do not want them to.

The Writer

Who?
This is the person who has written or is in the process of writing a book. Not only are they a clever writer, they are quick and they have all the fundamentals down to a science. Finding this person may not be easy. Most writers don’t usually flaunt their writing about, especially when they are working on it. Speech class is a good place to spot these guys out.

Why you need a writer?
Before you even think about turning in a paper, you take it to this person. Since they are a fast writer, they will be able to quickly skim your paper and look for grammar mistakes and points that need improvement. Doing this can easily turn your ‘B’ papers into ‘A’ papers. And if your friend is good, he teach you how to write, so you don’t have to keep coming back to him.

Be Careful
You still have to write your papers, you can’t get someone to do them for you. Perhaps you are not great with words, but make sure your ideas are solid. When you go to your friend for help be able to express what you would like to say. Also, don’t let the writer completely redo your paper, make sure when you leave your friend that the paper still has the same exact points you wanted, just maybe written differently.

The Activist

Who?
Have you ever seen someone with a tremendous amount of passion for a social issue. Someone passionate about child mortality, education, or the current events in Iran. This person is extremely emotional and is not afraid to say their opinion.

Why an Activist?
Because you have a voice, you just have to use it. An activist friend will know about all the political rallies and protests. They will inform you of issues that you never knew about, and they tell you what you can do about it.

Be Careful
Don’t believe everything they say. Sometimes an activist will become obsessed and they will search for anything and everything to complain about. Also, there are many sides to an issue, and you need to do your own research to determine which side of the issue you are going to take.

The News Junkie

Who?
You may not find just one news junkie, but will probably find multiple people who know the latest in different topics. For example, you may find a politics junkie, a sports junkie, and a science junkie.

Why do you need to know the news?
The key with news is to delegate, so you are not spending hours every day just keeping up with the latest news. Knowing what is going on in the world is extremely important. Events can affect you in many ways; from work to your social life.

Be Careful
Learn your junkies bias. The guy you are getting your political news from, make sure you know if he is a conservative or liberal. Make sure you ask where they got the information from; therefore, if you need more information you can directly to the source.

Don’t become a junkie yourself. If you have ever watched any 24-hour news station before, you probably know that a lot of news is propaganda and speculation. Just pay attention to the facts, and formulate your own opinions.

The Partier

Who?
Um… the guy that gets wasted 3 times every weekend. Ok, or maybe he doesn’t even drink. But still he seems to be at every party you have ever gone to.

Why a Partier?
Once you get done getting an ‘A’ on your paper, keeping up with the news, and writing your senator a letter; you may need to relax and have some fun. Finding out what to do for the weekend shouldn’t be a difficult task. A quick call to a friend should do it. If you are not big on parties, make sure you have a handful of friends you can hang out with on a regular basis.

Be Careful
Moderation. Make sure you balance your social life with the rest of your life.

Exceptionally Unique Individuals

You are going to meet a lot of people in college, and on occasion you will meet a person that just WOWs you. These people are extremely gifted and have unique thoughts. These are the people you learn from, they stretch your potential, and will carry you along in their success. Latch on to these people and see where they will take you.