Vortex

Vortex

Take a bow
Straighten the back
Thundering sound of applause
Cut through thought
Search in the crowd
Smile of an innocent child
Years have erased
That day of being proud
Conquering the world
Who hasn’t fought
Enduring to the end
Very few could vow
Don’t ask
What others can do
Ask instead
What you can do
In a vortex of chaos

Written by JerSki BjorkSen

Secret

Secret

In this world crisis
What have you done
To keep peace
Winter seems fierce
Green saplings are yet
To be seen
Tossing and turning
Night has become misery
Secret
How can we find new energy
Seeking
Sometimes is just within your reach

Written by JerSki BjorkSen

When do you start ‘getting’ sarcasm and irony in speech?

In the new issue of Scientific American Mind (October/November, 2008), there is an article about how humans perceive irony and sarcasm. We know that words in speech can be ambiguous, but the ability to comprehend whether a certain comment is ironic or literal has intrigued many neurologists and psychologists.

In the essay, Psychologist Penny M. Pexman of the University of Calgary in Alberta conducted an experiment to see how children perceive irony and sarcasm in order to find out when this cognitive skill, relating to understand ironic comments, emerges in the development of language acquisition.

The result suggested that children’s sensibilities towards irony and sarcasm seem ‘hardwired’. Certainly, the research also mentioned that understanding and using irony and sarcasm require social intelligence, the ability to distinguish an ironic comment from its literal meaning, and understanding hints of facial expression, tone of voice, knowledge of the speaker’s personality and so forth.

Although the experiment provided a promising perspective in probing how early children start to develop the ability to use and comprehend ironic words, I speculate that it might not be very objective and could be very difficult to determine when exactly a child starts to grasp irony and sarcasm. As we know, a mother’s motherese can have impact on the baby when he or she is still in the womb. In addition, any input from the environment can possibly influence a child’s linguistic development, be from other people in the family or radio and TV programmes. Therefore, I think this research can only give us some understanding regarding human’s application and comprehension of irony and sarcasm. Further research and studies should be undertaken so as to give more valid evidence in the aspect whether or not “we are hardwired with a sense of irony.”

Sound of Rain

Sound of Rain

Lines of thought
Aligned
In a direction I fought
Images of humans
Withdrawn
By various of excuses
Defamation or praise
Which one you care less
Light of the sun
Colours of stars
Where can I find
A sense of self
Silver pearls twirl
On the plate above my head
Sound of rain
The melody of past
Softly kills
Step by step
No more tears
No more regret
Love is just an element
On the life’s centre stage

Written by JerSki BjorkSen

Above the firmament

Above the firmament

Is there a possibility
To cross the invisible block
Daubing variegated hues
Upon the canvas in the dark
Skipping rock
Inadvertently lulls
A stimulating mind
Above the firmament
Cosmos-ridden plane
Spreads here and beyond
Silence is not without sound
Wisdom has its own spark
On the eternal path
Perhaps one day
All shall unknot
Elusiveness
Life and death
No longer perplex

Written by JerSki BjorkSen

Voyage

Voyage

Seeking sea
Debate team
Overwhelming voyage
Lay underneath
Tulip bulb
Olive green
Cobblestone
Emerged
Bittersweet it might be
Life can never repeat
Touch
Breathe
And take a glimpse
Hope is determined
By strong belief
As I walk on the boulevard
Of Alpine tree

Written by JerSki BjorkSen

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Your dream is mine
My hope is yours
Looking at the stars
Picturing the moon so far
When English meets Chinese
Will our hearts change


“Now look at this time line you guys. Past perfect progressive indicates a continuous action in a specific time frame of the past, so you must use ‘had’ plus ‘been’ plus ‘verb+ing’ as the sentence pattern,” explained patiently Mr. Lin. “What the heck is that? How often do we actually use that in daily life?” asked Wu Gin while nudging Chen Ue-Han. “Ai-ya, just learn the rule and pass the exam first. Why are you so worried about the usage?” replied sarcastically Ue-Han.

The English lesson was always full of grammar drilling and sentence analysis in our senior year. Not that I didn’t like grammar at all, it was just a bit boring at times, especially on Saturday morning. Early sultry summer air was thick enough to be cut with a knife; and there were no fans at all in our classroom. As we tried not to let our eyelids drop down, the ring of bell saved our life. Everyone bustlingly packed his books and stood up to stretch legs. The scorching sun was mocking at us, a bunch of 18 year-olds who studied hard in hopes to get into a good university after September.

“Hey Tseng Yu-Chi, don’t forget to meet us at the Wind Exit later, okay?” shouted Wu Gin as he rushed out the classroom. “OK, catch you guys later,” I yelled back. The weekly ritual for our English group was held at a corner of the staircase in the science building. The view overlooking the greenish vegetable gardens tended by the county agricultural institute was soothing after the half-day’s intense English lesson. There were three of us, a group formed by common interests in language and science. We wanted to study abroad after college, experience different cultures, see whether the moon in a foreign land was truly bigger, and of course visit places we only studied in the textbooks. However, I never knew fate was such a heavy and burdensome thing to tackle in life; and if I could turn back the clock, I would hold back some words I had said to my dear friends…

Again October

Again October

Cactus quietly stands
On the windowsill
Afternoon light sifts
Through the curtain
Wandering in the sky
Cotton white clouds
Breathing the air
Maple red trees
Where has my mind been
Rain drops can't erase
Your face
Late night stars
Fragrance of grass
Lingering
My head spins
My heart beats
In a harmony
Enduring
Again October
Begins
With chilly feeling
Too thin to take in

Written by JerSki BjorkSen

Flying Kite

Flying Kite

Literal meaning
Or hidden in context
A move represents
Emotion anticipates
Walking along
The road of green grass
Flying kite
A string pulls tight
Too much
Might break free fate
Too less
Could lose confidence
We all know balance
Is the most essential
When it comes to loving someone
Yet it's easily said then done
Even though we don't want

Written by JerSki BjorkSen

Sahara

Sahara

Mysterious orange
A colour of age
Breathtaking change
A second too much
Inwardly
She pleads
The mistake never repeats
Tears have been drained
Dreams no longer exist
Sahara
An endless mirage
A meandering page
Exhibits
A story of Khan
Clandestinely

Written by Jerski Bjorksen

Summoning Fall

Summoning Fall

Kicking pebbles on the beach
Azure skies with cool breeze
The end of summer festivity
Alighting
The orange horizon
Rainbow balloons
And millions of heartbeats
Summoning fall
A complete change
Mind or flesh
Body or spirit
I have to search
A surprise may emerge
Unexpectedly
A new journey shall begin
After the turmoil

Written by Jerski Bjorksen

Determination

Determination

In a rut
Life seemed to flow
Rendezvous you thought
You might have
Vacation you desired
For so long
Revolved
Determination
Marched forward
Goals were set
Efforts were made
Lessons were learned
What else could one demand
Health happiness
Wealth world peace
And the circle of love

Written by Jerski Bjorksen

Loneliness

Loneliness

Comet’s tail slashed
An invisible line
Between the late night sky
And my mind’s cry
Waves not stirred
Hearts wished to beat
At the same time
Loneliness
We all have
Detest or appreciate
It is just a blink of an eye

Written by Jerski Bjorksen

Trembling Hand

Trembling Hand

Ladybug’s back
Catches a childhood trace
Willow tree’s shadow
Is no man’s land
Tom Sawyer
Paper airplane
And dragonfly’s dance
Nothing can replace
The old woman’s trembling hand
Begging on a drowsy day
With time too less to spare

Written by Jerski Bjorksen

Hope

Hope

White Calla lily
An emblem of an oblivious past
Antique store
The treasure of myriad thoughts
Gently
Dabbed on my path
To another planet
Have you ever wondered
Whether
Hope has colour or not
Have you closely observed
The blue mountain’s robe

Written by Jerski Bjorksen

Droplets of Alacrity

Droplets of Alacrity

Standing in the street
Bustling cars sweep
A thunder
A bolt of lightning
I can’t flee
Turing around the palace
Spectacular edifices breathe
The air
The heat
No one seems to believe
Droplets of alacrity
Shower in an afternoon
Full of inner peace

Written by Jerski Bjorksen

Blue Eyes and the Pacific Castle

Chapter 1

Radio cassette
Camera photograph
And teenage mind
Infuse on the surface
Light of the ocean
Swindles
The worst enemy ever…


“Why do we have to study Confucianism? Those are dead man’s teaching!” protested Wu Chin. “Hey, you can’t deny that Confucius was a great and wise man in the Chinese history. Besides, you were saying that because you hate memorizing stuff for exams,” sneered I. “Yeah right. You’re a weirdo who loves that! Why don’t you go back and live in that old-fashioned time. Oh, and you will need to use candles for reading in the evening,” answered Wu Chin while rolling his big brown eyes.

The library was quite as usual although it was the end of the spring semester. Most people preferred to study in their own classrooms unless they had to search some information for school projects. The Sunrise Boulevard in front of the school was a landmark in our town. Every one knew the legendary story of a high school student, who excelled and scored the highest marks ever on the national college entrance exams. Therefore, the boulevard was given another name after him, Lee Min-De.

“Lin Yu-Fong! Have you finished the article about Sunrise Boulevard? The tutor wants it on her desk tomorrow morning,” asked Wu Chin. “Hmm, I still need to polish the last few lines. The people I visited and talked with last month wrote me letters, and there were some intriguing turns of the high school legend,” replied I slowly.

Sociolinguistic Competence

Sociolinguistic Competence

Some say it’s important
Some say it depends
I say everyone has it
At least in his or her first language
Never judge
Because it doesn’t mean
Being stupid
If a person lacks of it
In a specific setting
Sociolinguistic competence
May be problematic
When it comes to learning English
Yet I suggest
Learning style and critical thinking
Should be taken seriously
From the very beginning


Written by Jerski Bjorksen

Random Thought

Soul

Colourless it may be
Yet the essence is full
Of life experience

Wisdom

Not everyone has it
Even age does have some influence
On you and me

Beauty

Is it prejudice or preference
Neurons might elucidate
In a way that surprises
The entire humanity

Happiness

I believe
It embraces both spiritual and temporal
Components
Attitude also has its role
Success is probably just a result

Written by JerSki BjorkSen

Cocaine in the brain

In the recent issue of Scientific American Mind (April/May, 2008), an article discussed new remedies against cocaine addiction. The major idea is to hijack the part of the brain, ventral tegmental area (VTA), responsible for pleasure and reward. When we eat delicious food, have sex, or participate in other exciting activities, neurons in VTA will release the chemical messenger, or neurotransmitter, dopamine. Then dopamine will send its message to the recipient neurons, which results in feelings of delight, arousal, or what people nowadays would call ‘high’.

When a person uses cocaine, dopamine transporters on the endings of VTA neurons would be blocked and the reuptake of dopamine prevented, leaving dopamine to build up in the brain. When the concentration of dopamine reaches double or ten times of the ordinary amount, the neurotransmitter will keep stimulating the receiving neurons, thus producing euphoria.

In the past, researchers tried to target dopamine or its receptor to remedy drug addiction but found that there were some malignant side effects. Now scientists turn to other neurotransmitters such as glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in hopes to either satisfy addicts’ cravings or dampen reward responses in VTA. Another potential remedy is to tap the body’s immune system to target cocaine circulating in the blood. “Because the cocaine molecules are too small to provoke a strong immune response, developers link the drug to larger molecules, such as a bacterial toxin, that powerfully invigorate immune cells” (p.57) Hence some of the cells give out antibodies against the attached cocaine molecules, which is to prevent cocaine from going into the brain whenever a person takes it.

At the end of this essay, Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) said that “We can be at the mercy of drugs that inflict damage to brain tissue representing control functions.” However, I think the root of the problem lies in whether people are taught and warned of the danger from using drugs such as cocaine. Because we would likely become almost helpless in terms of kicking the habit after the uptake of cocaine or similar substances, that is why many countries have enacted laws against illegal drug use. The ripple effect of this drug is beyond many people’s imagination. We can look at the Chinese history at the end of Ching Dynasty. When a population was inflicted by opium, the entire nation was in jeopardy. If people know it is against the law and the consequence of using those drugs would lead to health damage, criminal act, let alone colossal expenses related to treatments, then whoever still does so should be held responsible for their own behavior even they will become ‘uncontrollable’ later on.

Written by JerSki BjorkSen