After Dark Animoto

What Kind of Learner I am

I think that I am more of a visual learner more than anything else. I think I do better myself when I have drawings, or texts right in front of me, rather than listening to teachers talking for a long period. Because I lack of concentration, I find it hard to concentrate on one particular subject over a long period of time. I find it easier if I have drawings or texts in front of me. This enables me to write notes down on the side and interpret ideas in my way so that it is easier for me to understand. But, I also find it very helpful when we have discussions as a class in social studies, english, etc. It clarifies my misunderstandings I may have and some uncertain parts for me. And by doing so, it helps me study and remember and understand more information. When in band, I can just practice by playing my instrument or doing math problems over and over again, I find it difficult to read the packet over and over again, or reading a novel over and over again. So the discussions we have in help me a great deal.

Mini-Commentary

In this passage, Murakami has concrete descriptions and short fragments to reinforce the image of the story for the audience. He gives the reader a good idea of the setting with the use of several visual imageries, and the listing of objects, which lay beside the character. The listing of objects with incomplete sentences applied in this passage gives the audience a sense of isolation. The writing structure of Murakami reflects upon the character itself. The description, “On her table is a coffee cup. And an ashtray. Next to the ashtray, a navy blue baseball cap with a Boston Red Sox ‘B,’” is a combination of three short fragments, which describe the setting. The isolation of the fragments alludes to the characters present state of mind. The visual imagery referred in this excerpt, “It bulges as if its contents had been thrown in on the spur of the moment,” provides the reader a better understanding of the setting. The concrete descriptions followed by visual imageries written in short fragments provides a sense of loneliness and the character sealed away from the society.

After Darl Pastiches

Pastiche 1

Pastiche -

Pastiche 2

Pastiche 2 -

Allusion of Antigone to the society now

Suicide Bombing and Antigone

Antigone and the Suicide Bomb -

Reflection

The past two essays that I have wrote is neither outstandingly well written nor was it poorly written. I believe that I have strong key points that need to be covered, but it is not well developed enough to the point where the essay has no unanswered questions left. Apparently, I show a good understanding in what I am writing in both of the essays, but I need to develop my thoughts more clearly and make the connection more obvious. To make my essay an eye-catching piece, I think it is better for me to start at an earlier time rather than starting few days before it is due. That would leave me a huge amount of time to go over my work several times and proofread as much as I can. As I proofread and revise more than I did for these past two essays, that would allow me to make the connections of my key points sufficient.

A Girl's Gotta Do What A Girl's Gotta Do

Why this scene?

We chose the scene where Antigone and Ismene are talking about whether they should bury their brother, Polyneices. Antigone wants to bury Polyneices because he deserves to be buried like his brother Eteocles. But the only problem with burying Polyneices was that Creon made a new law against burying him. And whoever shall attempt of burying him would be stoned to death in the public square. We chose this scene because by the conversation they had, it is easy to understand what kind of personality they are. Even in this short scene, it is clear that Antigone is more of a risk taker and Ismene is more of a person who thinks through the decisions she makes.

What were you trying to communicate in your cinematic decisions? Give some examples of your cinematic decisions.

Cinematic decisions are important in making a movie because they bring the good out of the movie. By the angles, and the close ups, it brings a whole new aspect of the movie. By changing the angle to zoom up on a particular face, it emphasizes more on the reaction made by the face. So it is easier for the audience to understand what the character is feeling. Cinematic decisions such as pauses and expressions are important. Pauses are used to emphasize a point the character was making, and by the pause, it would make the audience easier to understand what the character was trying to communicate. And to show expressions made by the character’s faces, we used long shots. A long shot enables the audience to get the idea of the whole scene, as well as catching the expressions on ones face and the action a character does.

Some of the cinematic decisions we came across as a group is one at 0:22-0:24. We used a close up on Ismene’s face to show her expression. While she says that she is sad, she frowns, so for the audience to get a better look at her expression, we chose to close up on her face. Another cinematic decision we made was at 0:35-0:40. We made Antigone look at the camera because it emphasizes on the point where she says, “there is something we must do.” It brings in the audience to the scene, which make it more lively and active. 1:12-1:17 is a long shot, which shows what actions the characters are doing. In this case, the long shot captures Ismene doing some actions on her reaction to what Antigone just told her. Even with these small cinematic decisions, which only take a couple of seconds in the whole movie, it is a very important part of the movie. These cinematic decisions emphasizes on the important aspects during this short scene.

Significance of Tradition in Individuals

What we believe in our life makes up the majority of the parts in you. We may believe in a common religion worldwide, or we may believe in objects, which are for personal benefits. But tradition, is a belief passed down, generation by generation, in your family or by the society. The Boat, Shaving, and The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World communicates the importance of tradition in a family and a society.

Alistair MacLeod, author of The Boat, displays the importance of tradition through the relationship between the man and his family. The protagonist in the story looks back at his childhood, remembering the choices he could have made. The man’s mother, afraid of their traditions fading away, wants him to become a fisherman like his father. While his mother is being conservative, his father wants him to study and does not want him “to go the path, dangerous and harsh, fishing the sea.” When the Mother finds out about her daughters getting married to a non-fisherman, “she did not care, for they were not of her people and they were not of her sea.” Because the man knows how conservative his mother is, he is afraid his mother would neglect him as she did towards his sisters. He is conscious that he is the only son and the only one who can support the fishing business, but also realizes his strong passion for studying. As he takes the road of studying and becomes a professor at Midwestern university, he is fond about his parents and “there came into my heart a very great love for my father and I thought it was very much braver to spend a life doing what you really do not want rather than selfishly following forever your own dreams and inclinations.”

Barry, the protagonist in Shaving written by Leslie Norris, also presents ideas of why tradition may be important in one’s life. It is not easy to face your father lying down ”fine-skinned and pallid” at the age of sixteen. His father, a victim of cancer, this story elaborates on Barry and the father’s feelings of passing down the authority through the family. The father “had to let go all his authority, handed it over” to Barry. Growing up and maturing is significant in life but at such a young age with a father so fragile, it is hard for Barry. The father knows his son can handle the responsibility “knowing his weakness and his mortality,” with a “curious humble pride.”

Lastly, a very strong example of how traditions affect one another is a piece written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World, with the use of magical realism, illustrates how one person influences a society and stays as a tradition. A young man brought to shore of a small village nearby the sea, is named Esteban just by his looks. The women in the village fantasize Esteban describing how big he is by exaggerating a great deal. That is the use of magical realism, which Marquez uses in this story to show his size. “Not only was he the tallest, strongest, most virile, and best built man they had ever seen, but even though they were looking at him there was no room for him in their imagination.” The women in the village compares Esteban to their husbands and fantasize and dream how better their husbands could be. After Esteban is released to the sea “without an anchor so that he could come back if he wished and whenever he wished,” his existence still stayed in the village and becomes part of the village’s tradition of making “wider doors, higher ceilings, and stronger floors.” “Esteban’s memory could go everywhere,” if they kept him in the tradition.

Tradition is an important aspect of life and it is possible for tradition have an affect on one’s life. Nowadays, some traditions, which have been passed down for years is fading away because of the improvements in our lives. Also, the younger generation seems as though they do not have any passions as the older people do, examples seen in The Boat. As the tradition is fading away in our society, a part of ourselves will be erased too.

Bust of "Hidden" Roman Emperor Found

After 1,800 years, one of Rome’s isolated emperors had been recovered. A statue of Lucius Verus, who ruled Rome along with his adopted brother, Marcus Aurelius, was found in a “cache of looted artifacts.” Finding a statue of Lucius Verus was significant because he was not a major part of Ancient Rome and there was only four other historical evidence found of him. This article reflects upon what we learned in class about historical evidence and how they are important. Because we find historical buildings, arts, statues, and others, we are able to learn about what happened before us and who used to be important. What happened centuries ago still affect us now because that is our base of what we are doing now. Even though Lucius Verus was not a main person who affected the Roman Empire, but the more information we have to deal with, it is better because we learn more. People around the world are trying to discover as many hints from the people that lived centuries before us. Some people do it for a living because finding historical evidence is interesting for them. By the efforts of those people, such as historians and archaeologists, we are able to learn a great deal of events that happened before us.

Wordle

Parental Influence on Me

My family and parents have always been a great help to me. They have corrected me when I have done something wrong. They have taught me how to become a person. They have taught me how to learn from my mistakes. What I am now is the person I have become from the influence of my family and parents. When I was a child, my parents would tell me off for my mistakes and praise me for my achievements. Through days and days of punishment and praising, I have learnt what is wrong and right. The small errors my parents picked up on throughout these years have made me the person I am today. At times, they would be quite harsh on me, confiscating objects or grounding me. It felt very unfair at the time, but looking back on it I realize they were doing it for my own sake. I have clearly learnt my old mistakes, and will continue to learn from new mistakes. Someday, it will be very beneficial for me.

For my long-term goals, I think my parents could have a slight effect on my goals. Honestly, I do not have any dreams or plans for my future right now. I haven’t really thought about my future in depth yet. I know I should be starting, sooner the better, but at the moment, I am just trying to live through my high school years. The only thing I know is where I want to go to university. I am quite positive that I would like to attend an university in Australia. I like the country itself, and I thought it would be a nice idea to study at such a beautiful country. My parents have given me plenty of ideas of what I am able to be in the future such as a doctor, lawyer, or simply marry a rich guy. They have provided me with numerous ideas, but I do not know if will pursue them.

For my short-term goals, I am just trying my best to do well at school. This means accomplishing what is expected at my highest ability. Whatever I decide to do, grades I received in high school will be an important part of my future: getting into an university and my future career. Trying my best in school will not hurt me. The worst it could do to me is stress and at one point in life, everyone must suffer. This would be my personal goal because getting good grades in high school will affect myself but not as such to others.

My parents may affect some of my goals but the decision I make about my own future will hopefully be a goal completely for myself. A goal, I can achieve myself and not regret the mistakes I have made. This is my own goal, and I plan to work as hard as I have ever done for it.

What role does English play for me?

The majority of people learn up to be able to speak, read, and write. In order to do this, learning a language is necessary. English has been a great part of my life. Since the moment I was born, English has surrounded me. My father is British, and my mother is Japanese. Therefore, I have grown up learning both languages. This has often been a hard task at times but also an exciting and interesting one at others.

Since my father is British, as a child he spoke to me in English. As for my mother, being Japanese she has always spoken to me in Japanese. Having my father talk to me in English at all times was how I learned to speak English. I would say English is my mother tongue. Yet, I would also have to say that Japanese is right along the lines. As a baby I have heard both languages and this has made me bilingual. Strangely, this has resulted with me speaking with a mix.

I feel most comfortable when talking with a mixture of both Japanese and English. Not only is it most comfortable, but also it is the most convenient. If I am unable to find myself the English word I am searching for, I will automatically replace it with a Japanese word with the same definition. My friends and I constantly talk to each other with a mixture. My parents say they are fascinated by how we are capable of doing this. To some extent, I am fascinated with my ability as well. But I am also aware that this is not a good habit to keep. For now, I do my best to finish each sentence using one language.

I am also learning Spanish at Canadian Academy. This is my third year learning Spanish and I quite enjoy learning it. It is much like English and so it is not hard to learn. I am learning Spanish because it will be useful in the future if I decide to find a job in Europe. To be bilingual is an advantage for me, but since one of the language is Japanese, which can only be used in Japan, it will be a greater advantage to be able to speak Spanish, which can be used in various states as well as Europe. I enjoy studying at Canadian Academy, even though the teachers often overload us.

Many classes at Canadian Academy are important and contain information needed further on in life. I believe that English should be a class where we can have fun as well as develop our speaking, reading, and writing techniques. In class, there are many assignments needed to be finished, but to improve in English another important part is to interact with others. Simply reading, writing essays, and doing worksheets will not improve our interaction skills. I can assure you that those will improve each area in specific, but it will not help us generally. Communicating and interacting with others is a great part of English as well. Learning English at Canadian Academy is able to give us various opportunities where we can have fun, interact, and improve specific areas of English.

English will play a great part of my life even after I have finished my years here at Canadian Academy. I plan to go to university in either United Kingdom or Australia, so English will definitely be essential for me. A language is something that can never be learnt perfectly. Being able to speak three languages almost perfectly is an accomplishment to anyone. At this stage in life, I am proud to say that I am bilingual and English is a huge part of it.

Who I am

Literary History

My Personal Literary History

People read a vast amount of literary work during a lifetime. Some read more than others, simply because of their likes and dislikes. During the short portion of my lifetime, I have found many literary works of others appealing to me. Three significant literary works for me are Marley and Me, Harry Potter: The Philosophers Stone, and Best Friends.

A well known, award-winning British authour, Jacqueline Wilson, wrote Best Friends. I happened to read this book when I was in sixth grade. It was a fairly easy book to read and not a very long one. It was a story about two girls, Gemma and Alice, who have never been separated from each other since birth. They were always together but one day, Alice’s family had to move because of her father’s job. These two girls were desperate of staying together. They decided to escape somewhere faraway where they imagined nobody would ever search. Eventually, unfortunate for them, their family found them and Alice had no choice but to move away. Though, they soon figured out that friendship does not end just because a friend moves far away. When I was reading this book six years ago, I just thought of it as a fun reading just to let the time pass. As for now, this situation is something I can relate to since I have also experienced this tragedy. Last year, one of my closest friends who I knew since I was new to Canadian Academy back in first grade left to New Zealand. It was strange for me to start a new school year without her by my side but we still keep in touch and we are also still very close. We did not do the ‘running away’ part in this book as that was quite impossible, but this book has a strong message about friendship from the authour.

One of the best-selling series worldwide, Harry Potter written by J.K. Rowling, was a significant literary work for me. This was one of my first ‘big’ books I read. Back when I was in first grade or even younger, the first of all Harry Potter series was released. I was very much interested in reading this book since almost everyone was talking about it. There was never a time I didn’t hear the word Harry or Potter. I would try reading by myself before bedtime or in the bus but I did not succeed to go that far because it was quite a long novel for a first grader. But during the weekends, I would snuggle up with my father in bed and listen as he read aloud to me. No television, no computers, just the sound flipping of pages and my fathers voice reading the words written along it.

Marley and Me written by John Grogan was a heart-warming story about a strong bond between a Golden Retriever named Marley and its owner. This was a book I read most recently, yet the story was one of the most touching books to me. This book caught my interest because of my stay in Australia during my winter vacation last year. As I flicked through the television the trailer of a new coming movie, Marley and Me caught my eye. It was as though I fell in love at first sight. I personally love dogs, and will watch or read anything regarding dogs. I would have loved to watch the movie most definitely. Unfortunately, during my stay there, I did not have time to watch the movie Coincidentally, I happened to drop by a bookstore at the airport and there it was: the original story of Marley and Me written by Josh Grogan. While reading this book, I was inspired by the significance of love. In the story, love meant so much to one, even a dog. Even though a dog is not able to communicate using words, it shares the same feeling as a human being would. I would love to have a family just like the one depicted by Josh Grogan.

I am very so excited for this English class. I would not call English as my least favourite subject, but I would not also call it as my most favourite subject. I have few of my close friends in this class, which would make me tempted to talk to them, but I will try my best to control myself. I am pretty weak in writing essays, but I would like to improve throughout the year. Reflecting on my own pieces is a great part of learning. I could learn from my mistakes in my papers, and possibly other works. Reflecting is also good because you can find your own mistakes rather than getting friend or teacher correcting your work for you. If you correct and reflect it yourself, you can see mistakes for yourself. I hope to enjoy this English class this year with you, Mr. Bellew. J

Scarlett Valentine

A history of pop icons: Scarlett Valentine
Rising from the back yards of New Port, Scarlett Valentine rose to the pinnacle of the pop scene in 2008 with their debut album, Love Never Gets Too Old. The band's latest album, joy you can contain, fuses Scarlett Valentine's bright vocals with to-the-point synths to produce a bevy of ultra-catchy gems. With standout tracks like "When the Song Begins," already certified platinum in Europe, Scarlett Valentine can count on loads of future success.