Yesterday was our last class of the semester! Can't believe summer vacation is around the corner already...! Where did April and May AND June go? :O:O:O
:O
↑That is a pretty accurate depiction of the facial expression I was wearing yesterday as we watched the documentary. Those students totally changed my definition of "project." It was amazing to see people as young as fifteen making big plans and putting them into action. Those weapons were horrific... The Iranian guy explaining how the gun-throwing machine could also throw sweets was funny though, lol. Anyway, I'm not sure if I can make as large a difference as those students did in the documentary, but aiming to make some kind of positive and influential change would definitely raise my motivation for the next project. I would be able to incorporate what I'm learning at uni into my daily life - skills ranging from critical thinking to digital technology - and it would be a waste not to do so. I guess once we get out of uni, what will matter most is how much we make use of the things we learn here. And therefore, this would be good practice. The thing is, I still have NO idea what I want to do... other than the fact that I'm interested in culture & ethnicity. But that's about it for now.
Making a website was much easier than I'd thought! I hope I don't forget the various skills Rab has taught us this semester >< I still have some difficulty with recording a video on a PowerPoint so please help me out if you see me panicking. lol
Thank you Rab and everybody in CB for a great semester :)
I'm really not looking forward to the exams next week, but ganbaroo!
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
6/14 class record
Yesterday was the last PWT of the semester! Otsukareeeee :)
At first I had a brain freeze and didn't know which question to choose but I think I started to get the hang of things as I began writing. I hope I did okay!
Today we split into groups and talked about THE essential 12 items we'd take if we were to be in a LOST situation on an island. Reading the descriptions of the island, I thought to myself, "Well hey, this island doesn't sound too bad" lol. My group, being the only all-girls group, chose some girly items like sunscreen and swimming suits, haha. I didn't realize what was weird about those two items until I went to my new group and received some "HUH?!" reactions. Hmm... maybe they shouldn't be at the top of the list. But my argument for keeping those are the following: We need sunscreen to protect skin from skin cancer, especially since the island seems to have nice weather all year round. It's not to keep it white-looking and if some people are going to take make-up with them too, then why not sunscreen? And swimming suits because... if you go swimming or get immersed in some kind of Santiago vs. Big fish kind of desperate fight with a creature, you could get hurt if you're in your birthday suit. lol OK, but I admit there are more important things we should have prioritized.
I can't believe tomorrow is our last class already :( Booooooooooo.
I know it's good experience to have different teachers, but I wish I had Rab next term too! Everybody in CB, that I've talked to about next semester, is saying so too. ね！lol
Oh and I don't know what to read for summer, haha. What are you guys going to read?
I'm relieved that the essay is due tomorrow! I just checked my essay on Sentence Works and Criterion. Criterion kind of screwed up on scoring my essay but I got good advice from both. Since I'm half dead right now from sleep deprivation, I will wake up early tomorrow morning, re-check it, and submit it. Yup.
Gooooood Night and see you all tomorrow :)
At first I had a brain freeze and didn't know which question to choose but I think I started to get the hang of things as I began writing. I hope I did okay!
Today we split into groups and talked about THE essential 12 items we'd take if we were to be in a LOST situation on an island. Reading the descriptions of the island, I thought to myself, "Well hey, this island doesn't sound too bad" lol. My group, being the only all-girls group, chose some girly items like sunscreen and swimming suits, haha. I didn't realize what was weird about those two items until I went to my new group and received some "HUH?!" reactions. Hmm... maybe they shouldn't be at the top of the list. But my argument for keeping those are the following: We need sunscreen to protect skin from skin cancer, especially since the island seems to have nice weather all year round. It's not to keep it white-looking and if some people are going to take make-up with them too, then why not sunscreen? And swimming suits because... if you go swimming or get immersed in some kind of Santiago vs. Big fish kind of desperate fight with a creature, you could get hurt if you're in your birthday suit. lol OK, but I admit there are more important things we should have prioritized.
I can't believe tomorrow is our last class already :( Booooooooooo.
I know it's good experience to have different teachers, but I wish I had Rab next term too! Everybody in CB, that I've talked to about next semester, is saying so too. ね！lol
Oh and I don't know what to read for summer, haha. What are you guys going to read?
I'm relieved that the essay is due tomorrow! I just checked my essay on Sentence Works and Criterion. Criterion kind of screwed up on scoring my essay but I got good advice from both. Since I'm half dead right now from sleep deprivation, I will wake up early tomorrow morning, re-check it, and submit it. Yup.
Gooooood Night and see you all tomorrow :)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
6/11 class record
I really enjoyed watching the various videos during class on Friday. Ken Tanka (「すぅぅー」「へ～！」), the chin people, and Cuc Skywalker and his veggie buddies were hilarious! LOL Couldn't stop laughing. It's amazing to see just how creative people can get! But it's hard to determine what kind of mood or catch will pursuade the audience to take action the most. It goes without saying that it depends on the age and cultural background of the audience. For me, the more amusing and light-hearted an advertisement is, the more likely I will get hooked and pay more attention to it. But there is a chance that I may undermine the seriousness of the situation because of the way that it is portrayed. Then again, something that sounds risky like breaking the law may not appeal to me either, not to sound like a goodie two shoes. If it were for my family or close friend, I'd definitely pitch in... but I honestly don't know if it was for someone I had no connection with, other than being from the same country. The people who all put their own lives at stake to save the life of that monk are all so courageous!
Erm, my essay is not finished yet. I started writing the essay a few times in different orders, focusing on different points... and I finally found a good focus for my essay yesterday! and so, I am still working on my body paragraphs... And we have our PWT tomorrow. Oh dear. So many things to do. Note to self: DON'T PANIC. lol
Erm, my essay is not finished yet. I started writing the essay a few times in different orders, focusing on different points... and I finally found a good focus for my essay yesterday! and so, I am still working on my body paragraphs... And we have our PWT tomorrow. Oh dear. So many things to do. Note to self: DON'T PANIC. lol
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
6/9 class record
We had yet another round of debating today :O
I can see that trying to defend my position is an obvious weakness of mine.
However, I have been in several debates before... like Model United Nations. I felt much more confident then. But back then I had a thick binder filled with overflowing handouts and papers and what not to help me. I think I still only have 1 piece of paper worth of organized information. Yup, I'm a bit doomed. lol I seriously seriously seeriously need to gather the information (cause there is an abundance of info on Disney) that's lying around and make a coherent essay. I'm waiting on two good books that are being borrowed by somebody else at the moment... I hope they return it soon :( Anyways, though I did not look forward to getting attacked, everybody's comment helped me notice things that I'd overlooked and needed to cover, in order to make a strong argument in my essay. Thanks Yuji, Kaori, Kana, and Yumi! :)
I can see that trying to defend my position is an obvious weakness of mine.
However, I have been in several debates before... like Model United Nations. I felt much more confident then. But back then I had a thick binder filled with overflowing handouts and papers and what not to help me. I think I still only have 1 piece of paper worth of organized information. Yup, I'm a bit doomed. lol I seriously seriously seeriously need to gather the information (cause there is an abundance of info on Disney) that's lying around and make a coherent essay. I'm waiting on two good books that are being borrowed by somebody else at the moment... I hope they return it soon :( Anyways, though I did not look forward to getting attacked, everybody's comment helped me notice things that I'd overlooked and needed to cover, in order to make a strong argument in my essay. Thanks Yuji, Kaori, Kana, and Yumi! :)
Some questions about OMS
I'm reading OMS right now - I'm around page 80 - but there were a few questions that popped up in my mind, concerning the literary devices in this book:
p. 75 - "There is no one worthy of eating him from the manner of his behaviour and his great dignity." Is there a reason why he writes that in British English? 'Cause I thought he was American... Is it intentional?
p. 83 "He was ceding line but more slowly all he time." I don't understand this sentence, lol. Can someone explain it to me?
p. 89 "I'm tireder than I have ever been, he thought..." Is "tireder" a real word? Is this another example of how Hemingway is adding unrealistic elements to his novel or is it an example of dialect? Or, does it support the fact that Santiago was poor and did not receive adequate education?
So yeah. Those were some questions that went through my mind this morning.
See you all later :)
p. 75 - "There is no one worthy of eating him from the manner of his behaviour and his great dignity." Is there a reason why he writes that in British English? 'Cause I thought he was American... Is it intentional?
p. 83 "He was ceding line but more slowly all he time." I don't understand this sentence, lol. Can someone explain it to me?
p. 89 "I'm tireder than I have ever been, he thought..." Is "tireder" a real word? Is this another example of how Hemingway is adding unrealistic elements to his novel or is it an example of dialect? Or, does it support the fact that Santiago was poor and did not receive adequate education?
So yeah. Those were some questions that went through my mind this morning.
See you all later :)
6/8 class record
Man... I totally suck at debating! The thing is, I always end up getting persuaded really easily... it kinda feels similar to losing in an arm wrestling match and not being able to recover, lol. I think I see the "Middle Way" as Nisbett puts it. But let me tell you, this really does me no good.
Do you want to know what happened to me the other day?
I got off at my bus stop on my way back from university, as usual.
I was walking down the road, past the traffic lights, as usual.
And then, I hear a "suimasen" from behind me, which doesn't happen usually.
These two friendly girls who seemed to be around the same age as me asked me if I had any interest in education and volunteering.... which I do!
I was convinced just in the 5 minutes or so that I spent talking with these girls that this was a safe, student-friendly intercollege circle.
They kept on commenting how friendly I was, and how they would love to work with somebody like me. (And because I'm stupid, these comments always make me happy... I never consider how they might be mere social conventions)
So, though I felt a tad uncomfortable, I exchanged my contacts with one of them.
One mail.
One phone call.
I answered neither of them.
And then a phone call from a totally different organization saying they got my phone # from a "Nozaki-san" at ICU.
My friends looked up the name of the organization.
We found out that both organizations were a part of a infamous religious society.
Crap.
Crap.
Crap!
... which is why we need to think on our feet and make quick judgements! And to continuously question, question, and question, no matter how something appears on the surface.
I'm kind of scared that if I write the actual organization names they might track me down or something, lol. But please ask me about it and I will tell you so that no one else gets caught in their trap!!!
Do you want to know what happened to me the other day?
I got off at my bus stop on my way back from university, as usual.
I was walking down the road, past the traffic lights, as usual.
And then, I hear a "suimasen" from behind me, which doesn't happen usually.
These two friendly girls who seemed to be around the same age as me asked me if I had any interest in education and volunteering.... which I do!
I was convinced just in the 5 minutes or so that I spent talking with these girls that this was a safe, student-friendly intercollege circle.
They kept on commenting how friendly I was, and how they would love to work with somebody like me. (And because I'm stupid, these comments always make me happy... I never consider how they might be mere social conventions)
So, though I felt a tad uncomfortable, I exchanged my contacts with one of them.
One mail.
One phone call.
I answered neither of them.
And then a phone call from a totally different organization saying they got my phone # from a "Nozaki-san" at ICU.
My friends looked up the name of the organization.
We found out that both organizations were a part of a infamous religious society.
Crap.
Crap.
Crap!
... which is why we need to think on our feet and make quick judgements! And to continuously question, question, and question, no matter how something appears on the surface.
I'm kind of scared that if I write the actual organization names they might track me down or something, lol. But please ask me about it and I will tell you so that no one else gets caught in their trap!!!
Monday, June 7, 2010
6/7 class record
Whew. I just got back from my part-time job interview an hour ago... Super tiring! Please keep your fingers crossed for me. lol
I found today's NP to be really interesting. I've always liked analyzing literature and so, the various interpretations that Paul introduced to us today fascinated me a lot. I particularly liked the Christian approach because I could see the deep connections, especially after learning about his Christian background via the 3B's check.
In class, we had discussions on Hemingway being a hunter and conservationist at the same time. I think this is possible because first, if we look at Hemingway as being a god-like figure from his Christian background, he probably wouldn't mind sacrificing something for the greater good. In this case, this would mean sacrificing an animal to maintain the food chain... though deciding how many lives is worth sacrificing may not be something that is for him, or let alone anyone, to decide. Our ideas developed as we continued discussing, and we realized that Hemingway treats nature as a person (for example, the ocean is described as a person in The Old Man and The Sea). I've also read this book by Hemingway called In Our Time which is a bunch of short stories focusing on the same main character, Nick. Nick goes off to war and comes back to revisit his hometown which has changed in many ways, as has he. From this, I gathered that Hemingway treats humans and nature as one whole entity and conflict as another. Instead of making humans or nature superior to one another, he places them in equal positions. That might explain why he can be a hunter and a conservationsist at the same time.
Malthusian economics sounded really absurd to me. But there must be a lot of people who believe in this. I think people could create a horrific movie out of this. Learning about externalities was really surprising too. I'd never really thought twice about the cheap 100 yen products being sold everywhere. Fishy fishy.
OK, I need to go read more Old Man. lol
Good Night!
I found today's NP to be really interesting. I've always liked analyzing literature and so, the various interpretations that Paul introduced to us today fascinated me a lot. I particularly liked the Christian approach because I could see the deep connections, especially after learning about his Christian background via the 3B's check.
In class, we had discussions on Hemingway being a hunter and conservationist at the same time. I think this is possible because first, if we look at Hemingway as being a god-like figure from his Christian background, he probably wouldn't mind sacrificing something for the greater good. In this case, this would mean sacrificing an animal to maintain the food chain... though deciding how many lives is worth sacrificing may not be something that is for him, or let alone anyone, to decide. Our ideas developed as we continued discussing, and we realized that Hemingway treats nature as a person (for example, the ocean is described as a person in The Old Man and The Sea). I've also read this book by Hemingway called In Our Time which is a bunch of short stories focusing on the same main character, Nick. Nick goes off to war and comes back to revisit his hometown which has changed in many ways, as has he. From this, I gathered that Hemingway treats humans and nature as one whole entity and conflict as another. Instead of making humans or nature superior to one another, he places them in equal positions. That might explain why he can be a hunter and a conservationsist at the same time.
Malthusian economics sounded really absurd to me. But there must be a lot of people who believe in this. I think people could create a horrific movie out of this. Learning about externalities was really surprising too. I'd never really thought twice about the cheap 100 yen products being sold everywhere. Fishy fishy.
OK, I need to go read more Old Man. lol
Good Night!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
6/4 class record
On Friday, we had our second PWT. Otsukaresama!
I found it easier than our last one but got stuck on the fallacy questions. To be honest, I think figuring out whether a statement contains a logical fallacy or not is enough. Remembering the names can come second. For some reason though, "Red Herring" won't leave my mind. Red Herring. Red Herring. Red Herring. lol
We had class at the ILC where Rab reminded us to make use of the Databases. Right! I'd totally forgotten about its existence...! I found several news clips from the past about Disney and its problems with ethnicity. I also realized that I could talk about gender issues in Disney - like how the roles of women and men are portrayed. OR I could make my topic more general and cover different aspects of Disney, including racisim and gender issues as two examples. I really need to get started on my essay!
Oh and yesterday... I was soooooooo drowsy and my eyes were going out of focus so I took this chance to look at the grassy stereogram. And then, Voila! I SAW IT! I saw the birds and the sun and I was amazed! haha. After my epiphany, I kinda woke up because I was happy and then I couldn't see anymore stereograms :( lol But I FINALLY got to see one! yay!
I found it easier than our last one but got stuck on the fallacy questions. To be honest, I think figuring out whether a statement contains a logical fallacy or not is enough. Remembering the names can come second. For some reason though, "Red Herring" won't leave my mind. Red Herring. Red Herring. Red Herring. lol
We had class at the ILC where Rab reminded us to make use of the Databases. Right! I'd totally forgotten about its existence...! I found several news clips from the past about Disney and its problems with ethnicity. I also realized that I could talk about gender issues in Disney - like how the roles of women and men are portrayed. OR I could make my topic more general and cover different aspects of Disney, including racisim and gender issues as two examples. I really need to get started on my essay!
Oh and yesterday... I was soooooooo drowsy and my eyes were going out of focus so I took this chance to look at the grassy stereogram. And then, Voila! I SAW IT! I saw the birds and the sun and I was amazed! haha. After my epiphany, I kinda woke up because I was happy and then I couldn't see anymore stereograms :( lol But I FINALLY got to see one! yay!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
6/2 class record
!!!!!!!!! You know how the lockers of the Honkan are actually inside a classroom? Well, I thought I had the right door until I opened it to face a whole class with a stern looking teacher and a bewildered student who was in the middle of a speech...
shoooooooooooot.
I quickly said, "Sorry!" and closed the door but it was so embarrassing!
On a brighter note, today we had class OUTSIDE :)
It was really nice, except these freakishly huge ants kept on climbing onto my feet and I STILL have allergies! I'm not even sure what I'm allergic to anymore, haha. But I love having class outside. Oh, and taking a photo during lunch was fun too! I'm glad Rab could make it. Can't wait to see our awesome photo on the yearbook! I hope we can all get together to take a CB Soph pic!
Soo, I thought I'd done an okay job on the 3B's check for The Old Man and the Sea, but I realized I totally forgot to do a background check of the context, cultural background, and time setting. I also found it a bit difficult to make connections with reality and the content of the book since I've only read about ten pages so far. But it was interesting connecting his women issues with the absence of women in the book, his humiliation of not being able to sell any books with Santiago not being able to retrieve any fish, Hemingway's strong Christian background with Santiago being depicted as Jesus, and Hemingway and the big fish representing countries. I wonder what significance the number eighty-five has in the book, other than the obvious fact that it took him that long to find the big fish. I read that in Hemingway's unique style of writing, he uses lots of repetition so I'll try to pay more attention to the things he repeats in this book.
shoooooooooooot.
I quickly said, "Sorry!" and closed the door but it was so embarrassing!
On a brighter note, today we had class OUTSIDE :)
It was really nice, except these freakishly huge ants kept on climbing onto my feet and I STILL have allergies! I'm not even sure what I'm allergic to anymore, haha. But I love having class outside. Oh, and taking a photo during lunch was fun too! I'm glad Rab could make it. Can't wait to see our awesome photo on the yearbook! I hope we can all get together to take a CB Soph pic!
Soo, I thought I'd done an okay job on the 3B's check for The Old Man and the Sea, but I realized I totally forgot to do a background check of the context, cultural background, and time setting. I also found it a bit difficult to make connections with reality and the content of the book since I've only read about ten pages so far. But it was interesting connecting his women issues with the absence of women in the book, his humiliation of not being able to sell any books with Santiago not being able to retrieve any fish, Hemingway's strong Christian background with Santiago being depicted as Jesus, and Hemingway and the big fish representing countries. I wonder what significance the number eighty-five has in the book, other than the obvious fact that it took him that long to find the big fish. I read that in Hemingway's unique style of writing, he uses lots of repetition so I'll try to pay more attention to the things he repeats in this book.
Hatoyama...
I just bumped into Naoko at the library and she told me that Prime Minister Hatoyama has quit his position as PM... :O
I guess I saw it coming but not this sudden. Are we ever going to get a stable Prime Minister?
I guess I saw it coming but not this sudden. Are we ever going to get a stable Prime Minister?
6/1 class record
Drrr... I didn't do so well on my PWT :( I see what I could have done better though, after talking to Rab - like giving more attention to Meiland's ideas and explaining them before going into my own examples and summarizing the WHOLE paragraph and not just part of it. I'll try to do a better job on the next PWT! Tomoaki, thanks for sharing your document! I've only seen a glimpse of it but there's already a whoole lot about fallacy and stuff on it. :O wow!
I've been doing a 3B check on Hemingway after eating dinner... I found a site that seemed to have a lot of information from many sources so I printed it out, slightly agonizing at the fact that there were 7 pages to read. But once I started to read, I was pulled in. I had no idea he led such a rocky life! I mean, he had three divorces, had alcoholic and hallucinatory problems, and committed suicide in the very end...?! I thought it was really interesting how he wrote The Old Man and the Sea in the midst of his troubling days. Maybe there are a lot of catharses expressed in the symbols that he uses in that book. Oh, that reminds me...! One of my best friends, who is half American and Japanese, is related to Hemingway. Her grandma on her father's side is closely related to Ernest Hemingway and she claims to have Hemingway's distinctive eyebrows, haha.
We're getting our photo taken for the yearbook tomorrow, right? :)
Thanks Yumi, for organizing everything!
See you all tomorrow!
I've been doing a 3B check on Hemingway after eating dinner... I found a site that seemed to have a lot of information from many sources so I printed it out, slightly agonizing at the fact that there were 7 pages to read. But once I started to read, I was pulled in. I had no idea he led such a rocky life! I mean, he had three divorces, had alcoholic and hallucinatory problems, and committed suicide in the very end...?! I thought it was really interesting how he wrote The Old Man and the Sea in the midst of his troubling days. Maybe there are a lot of catharses expressed in the symbols that he uses in that book. Oh, that reminds me...! One of my best friends, who is half American and Japanese, is related to Hemingway. Her grandma on her father's side is closely related to Ernest Hemingway and she claims to have Hemingway's distinctive eyebrows, haha.
We're getting our photo taken for the yearbook tomorrow, right? :)
Thanks Yumi, for organizing everything!
See you all tomorrow!
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