Monthly Archives: February 2012

Resource Reflection

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Resource Reflection

1.  Which applications do you think will be best to create a trailer?  Why?

I think that iMovie, overall is the best application to create a trailer. There are several reasons. One, is that the basic controls are very easy to figure out, and there are numerous features that are very useful. Trailer Themes, might be one big feature, because trailer themes are very useful for making “trailers”. Also, speed settings, audio conversion (etc.) are very useful. For tech geeks (not in a bad meaning) or geniuses, Final Cut Pro is the best application to concentrate on graphics.

2.  Which applications do you think will be the least useful for creating a book trailer?  Why?

Definitely Quick time is useless. This application has a advantage of screen-recording, nothing related to video creating. Although this application has high-quality recording, this application is not very compatible creating a trailer.

3.  Do you already feel confident about using the application?  If not how much will you need to learn?

Yes. I have knowledge and skills in the application, and it would basically cover all the areas I need for the elements in the trailer. I would also explore a little more to concentrate on gaining specific and professional knowledge.

4.  Do you think it makes more sense to choose an application and then start designing, or to design your trailer first and then choose an application to make it?  Explain.

It would be reasonable if you choose the application first, so it varies on the type of trailer you’re making. For example if you want to concentrate on audio, video editing, specific areas, transitions, etc.

Child Labor Speech Reflection

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Part I

    • What would you improve about your presentation?
  • I think that the questions were too repetitive. I would improve on varying the types of questions. My questions often lead to answers that were very similar. If I would include various types of questions, the witness would provide different answers and facts that can be a contribution for winning the court.
    • Would you ask any other questions or bring up any other arguments?
  • I don’t think so. The amount of questions were enough, but the problem was that there were not enough variations of questions. As mentioned, if I add some variations, I would be a good lawyer.
    • When you watch the video, do you think you were persuasive? Why were you able to persuade the audience (language, tone, evidence?)
  • I think my tone was very persuasive. Michael included a lot of evidence in his speech (answers). He also was able to tell how factory owner think, and their situations. I talked in an effective tone, as mentioned before.
    • Please include a link to at least two of the primary sources you used to get your evidence. What do you think was the advantage of using primary sources? (sources written at the time of the Industrial Revoltion).
  • Part II:
    • In 2-3 sentences explain the argument for child labor in the Industrial Revolution.
  • Children would have free education, and very rare education as operating machines. Children are able to climb chimneys and go in very complicated spaces in mines. Also, children would be able to have food, which their family cannot provide.
    • In 2-3 sentences explain the argument against child labor in the Industrial Revolution
  • Factory workers do not treat children very well, and care about them. Poor standards of hygiene, lack of proper education, and harsh treatment is a large problem in child labor. Because of machines, children have been injured.
    • Do you think England would have industrialized as quickly without child labor? Why or or why not?
  • I definitely think that England would not have industrialized as quickly without child labor. There are various reasons to this statement. First of all, children are very obedient, so there were rarely children fighting against, so this was one advantage for factories to maintain their workers. Not every factories were rich, so cheap children had to be used for the maintenance of workers. As mentioned before, children is very useful. Using their small hands and bodies, there are able to climb chimneys and very complicated spaces in mines. To have money and carry on the number of workers, children was very important. Without children, England would not have industrialized quickly.

English Collage Reflection

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First of all, below is my collage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite part of the collage, is the large formula in the middle. I found the A and B in the internet, so it looks awesome. Obviously in the website, I did find a C, but I did not use it. It has a meaning. It everything was the same (with the fire theme), it means some thing and something equals the same thing. The white C shows how its different to the others.

In this collage, I addressed one aspect with brief detail. That is, setting. One, is that I have included the Japan national flag, and the Time Machine. The japanese flag represents the setting, which is in Japan. Some people are not familiar with the Time Machine, but it is a circular icon with something like a clock in the middle. This thing, is originally a Macintosh Application. (By Apple) As a Student tech team member, when I thought time machine, only this came up. In the novel, time travels also occur. So the “time machine” represents the time travels. Imagination varies, but in my imagination, the past feels like dark. (This kind of imagination probably came up from television that were only black and white) So the background, is created with dark kind of colors, black, navy, and dark blue.

I would change one thing. In the story, the story goes from today to B.C. , then today.  (Again and again) I should have used a pop color, then dark, and on and on. It would have increased the representation of time, and time travel.

Child Labor Debate Mini-Reflection

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First of all, if you do not understand what I am going to talk about, I would like to explain what I will type a reflection on. We have been studying about the time in the Industrial Revolution, in Humanities class. We have also studied about child labor occurring during the Industrial Revolution. Now this assignment, was a debate. It was a judge, whether child labor should be allowed, or it should not. I was a lawyer of Henry Jones (Michael), a doctor, who has an idea of  allowing child labor.

  • I truly think that Michael and I collaborated very well, and made a good progress on the debate. In the research, I provided various ideas, from my understanding, knowledge, and some research. We were able to create a good witness and lawyer, who wants child labor being allowed.
  • I think that when we were speaking, we used a range of tones, and were able to appeal our ideas. We used eye-contact to clearly deliver information, and talk what we want to say.
  • As a lawyer, I think that I acted very well asking questions to the witness. I have prepared specific question to the witness, and the questions made the witness answer specifically with detail, as it covered the question.
  • Overall, as a lawyer, I think I did a good job in the debate. I was able to increase my understanding towards Industrial Revolution, and child labor. Also by listening to other witnesses and lawyer, I was able to understand different point of views and how there are different thoughts.

G7 International Games Assignment

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1. Create your own definition of Internationalism (small paragraph).
Internationalism, is people from different countries all over the world come together and become one community. In sports, they compete each other, as teams or country teams. Internationalism is one opportunity for people to learn about different countries, their religion, culture, as well as their food. Us students in YIS, go to an international school. People from various countries are there, and we create one community called Yokohama International School. (With students, teachers, staffs etc.) This is one example of internationalism. One more example, is the World Cup. A world cup occurs 1 time in 4 years, usually in Summer. (June to July) Countries who won the preliminary round, go to the actual Championship. Various countries from various continent fight each other.
2. Create your own definition of Sporting Spirit (small paragraph).
Sporting spirit, is one kind of spirit that sports athletes have. This spirit is about, respecting, caring, and others. But the most, is being fair, and making it a fair competition. In soccer, when someone is injured, the opponent kicks the ball out, and the throw-in (or some kind of opportunity to start off) is given to the team which the injured player is in. Also, we learned that when soccer players shout to referees, rugby player respect the referees by calling them “Sir” or something like it.

3. What role do you think sport plays in building internationalism and spirit (small paragraph)?

In terms of Internationalism, sport plays a role of making countries and teams in one community, and they can compete in a championship called the World Cup (for countries) and the UEFA (for teams) Sport provides the opportunity for different players to interact with people in different countries, and learn about foreign countries for ex. religion, as well as culture. Sport creates a opportunity for players to show their respect to others, and their sporting spirit. If I use soccer for instance, when one player trips another, the one who fouled definitely would support the injured player stand up, by pulling their arm up.

4. With internationalism and sporting spirit in mind , what are some more benefits of the world coming together through sport?

There would be profit from tourists, as well as people who want to watch the matches. A benefit for a country hosting some kind of championship, will gain a lot of money because of the airplane flights, as well as tickets. One more benefit, is that sports players would figure out new strategies and skills they can use for themselves. Another, is that players would learn what other countries and teams are doing, and use it personally.

5. Describe an example (and show it if you like) that you have found of an international sporting event where internationalism / spirit was evident.

There are various examples of matches, that if some one is injured, players try their best not to tackle them, or do something to make them fall. Also in the World Cup, countries which worked hard to win competed against very strong opponents, and they were fair to each other. When they fell, the opponent helped each other stand up, and compared to the recent world cup, the one in 2010 had few red cards because of violence or violent actions. (In the 2006 World cup, Zinedine Zidane got a red card)

6. Do you think internationalism/spirit is the main reason why people watch sport? Why why not?

First of all, a team (not country) is created from different player from different countries. For example, the famous Serie A team, Inter, has a meaning of “International” in its team, and a lot of players are competing in the team. For example, Argentina, Italy, Brazil, Netherlands, Japan, a lot others. It means, internationalism is one cause for a strong team to develop, and internationalism is a main reason why people watch sport. Also, I think that another main reason, is entertainment. Sports are about different teams competing (some sports are individual), but people who watch are entertained by watching matches.

7. Millions of dollars are spent on international sporting events. Do you think it is wise for a country to spend this amount of money on sport? Why why not?

I think it is wise to spend a lot of money on sport. First of all, I am going to use the World Cup as an example. The recent World Cup was in South Africa, on 2010, June. A lot of tourists flew from all over the world to South Africa, influenced by the World Cup. First, South Africa gained a lot of money, because of the flight trips tourist had. Also, tickets that were sold, hugely contributed to the creation of profit for South Africa. Also, these matches entertain a lot of people, and gave people desire, and hope.

8. Concluding paragraph: Why does the world play?

The world plays for various reasons. From the perspective of players, they want to compete stronger teams and countries, and teams and countries they never fought. Teams and countries play to win a championship, or win a league. For example, if Chelsea wins the Premier League, they would definitely go to the UEFA Champions league. Teams will try to win their own league, and go to a more challenging championship. From the perspective of audiences, and people who watch, the world play for entertainment. As I mentioned before, people are totally entertained when they see a sports match, it can be NBA, NHL, or FIFA, anything you like. The world plays to interact with each other, and learn each other’s methods and strategy. It can be a large key for players to lead their team/country to victory.

9. Complete the A, C and D reflections (Give yourself a level plus one or two sentences explaining why)

Criterion A

I will give myself a 7, because I have a good understanding of internationalism, culture, world sport, and sporting spirit. I have explained my knowledge in the recent questions.

Criterion C

I will give myself a 8, because I think my ability to make space, and my ability of kicking is highly-developed. However, I think that my hand-balling skills can be further developed, because I always lift the ball up when I handball a ball. I would like to work harder on all of the skills from now on as well.

Criterion D

I will give myself a 7, because I think my enthusiasm was great, and I think my attitude was good as well.

Reflection on “10 Ways to Let Go and Overcome a Bad Mood” in TinyBuddha

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We were supposed to type up a reflection on our blog, about one post on a website, TinyBuddha. There were three selections of posts on the website, and they were:

7 Reasons to Be Happy Even When Things Aren’t Perfect Now

10 Ways to Let Go and Overcome a Bad Mood

10 Ways to Deal With Negative or Difficult People

I chose “10 Ways to Let Go and Overcome a Bad Mood”, but I have no reason on why I chose it. In the post we chose, we had to answer at least 2 questions (A paragraph per question), and below are all the questions we can answer.

  • Which piece of advice do think is the best or most effective?
  • Which piece of advice do you think is the hardest to do? Why?
  • Are there any pieces of advice here that you don’t understand or disagree with? Why?
  • If you could follow it consistently, which piece of advice do you think would create the biggest positive change in your life?
  • What does the advice given in this article relate to our ideas about succeeding and belonging?
  • What does the advice given in the article relate to our ideas about why it is easy to be mean?
  • What questions are you left with after reading the article?
From these 7 questions, I have chosen 3 questions which is:
  • Which piece of advice do think is the best or most effective?
  • Which piece of advice do you think is the hardest to do? Why?
  • What questions are you left with after reading the article?
Before reading this post, below is the link to my other Tutor class blog post, which is “Why is it so easy to be mean?”.
From now, I will answer the 3 questions I chose from the 7.
  • Which piece of advice do think is the best or most effective?
From the post Number 2 (Be real.) was very effective on me. I have learned, that you do not have to act like you are joyful, when you are crying to hell, or some kind of situation where you are frustrated, upset, vexed, disappointed, shocked, or when you are sad. You can release your current feelings, not make it a fake one. If you actually do the fake one, you might be even more frustrated or sad. If you make your original face, it might draw attention, but generally it would be a better decision you yourself.
  • Which piece of advice do you think is the hardest to do? Why?
Same as above. (Be real.) It was very effective, but I think this piece of advice, is very hard to accomplish. If you are reading this, you might think “What? You just have to release your own emotion! No it isn’t the hardest, it probably the easiest!”. Yes in one way, it is. Just as mentioned, you just have to show your original face, and be like you are. From my view, it is, really easy to do in an expected way. Okay, now I would like to look around the situation. What is around you? Other people. Yes, other people. What are these people going to say? If you were at home, your parents might shoot questions at you, or worry. Your siblings might be annoying. If you are outside, your friends might also worry. People you don’t know can feel awkward being there. So this way, I think this advice is very hard to accomplish.
  • What questions are you left with after reading the article?
Not on every advice, but I want to know further consequences of the advices. If there were no consequences listed in the advice, you don’t know if you are doing the right thing or not. The knowledge of the consequences are one of the important keys to decide what to do. However, if there are some facts that can be listed, it would be very beneficial, so you would not make mistakes on your decisions and choices. Overall, if there are consequences listed with the advice, you can judge if it is easy/hard or if it is appropriate/inappropriate in a situation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why is it so easy to be mean?

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There are various reasons for why it is so easy to be mean, and I would like to share some today. Being mean, compared to being kind, is generally easy, because you do not need any commitment for it. If you wanted to be kind, you will need some kind of commitment, unless if you are a super-nice person. Some people might think that being nicer would be easier than being mean, but commonly, being mean is a lot easier.

There are a lot of advantages by being mean or being kind. For example, if you are kind to someone, it is one opportunity for the two to interact, create a relationship, or creating a friendship. It varies. If you be mean, you will hurt someone’s feelings, break a relationship/friendship, personally release various stresses, or make a revenge on someone.

One thing, is that not every people become a friend of you even if you are very kind. They actually might use your kindness to do something really bad and inappropriate. It means, that you kindness might lead to danger. If you are reading this, do not think that you should be always mean, but if you are too nice, it might be not good. Although, if you are mean to people, they will certainly have hurter feelings. If I just explain it in one phrase, it would be “what you wanted it to be”. If I now explain briefly about this phrase, as mentioned before being kind might not lead you to your original thought, but being mean has a higher possibility for you dreams and thoughts to be true.

French Cafés as Social Institutions

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  • For French class, Brian and I have been answering question about one café, Le Drouant. Please enjoy.
Février 2, 2012 Keigo et Brian
Maeda S. (Mme Maeda)
  • Historical background of your café

Café Drouant, was opened as a “bar-tobacco shop” in 1880, in Gaillon, by Charles Drounant. As this café continued its business, the neighborhood was in booming development, which pushed Charles to transform his shop into a bistro café. Drouant, now a bistro café, was having great business. Then, Jean Drouant sold Drouant to Robert Pascal. Then, Mr. Bansard took over the shop, but soon then the business was sold to the Elitair group, directed by Claude Douillard. In 2005, November 5, Antoine Westermann becomes the cook and owner of Drouant. In 2006, Westermann becomes the official owner of Drouant. Currently, it is what it was like in 2006.

  • Names of the famous people who frequented your café

On October 31st, 1914, the 72nd meeting of the Goncourt Academy took place at this café. The cafés tobacco shops, and the quarter became the gathering spot of the artists of the period just as Saint-Germain des Prés bacame on later. Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given by the Académie Goncourt to the author of “the best and most imaginative prose work of the year”. As mentioned, the 72nd meeting took place in café Drouant.

  • The reason or purpose for those people to go to this café. Did they have a particular activity going on in this café?

Being close to the Avenue de l’Opera and the Paris Stock exchange, the Drouant is frequented by business mans and women for lunch. They also run a free wireless Internet access for their benefit, and it is a popular place for an evening meal after being to the theatre or the opera as it is also located not far from the Opéra Garnier and they serve food reasonably late.

  • Has your café been at the origin of some changes in French society? Has it had any impact on any aspect of French society?

Drouant has the benefit of Chef, Antoine Westermann at the helm and he places a special emphasis on vegetables, and has marked the return of the famous French     hors d’oeuvres, but this café is also known for their fresh seafood and oyster bar. From when this café started its business, their oyster bar by Charles Drouant became very famous.

  • Is this café playing the same role nowadays and why/why not?

Yes. As I have mentioned before, this café is very close to the Avenue de l’Opera, and some people would come into the café very late at midnight. So, the café, for dinner it is  the open from 7pm through to midnight. If would be very beneficial for the customers.

  • If you can have access to some figures, would you say that the number of cafés in France is generally increasing or decreasing? How would you explain this trend? What future developments can we foresee? Are there any new types of cafés that you are aware of?

I would say, the number of cafés are extremely decreasing, compared to about years ago. Probably, the peak was about 200,000 to 250,000 cafés in France. This was about 1955-1960, about 80 years later from when this café opened. Currently, there are only about 30000 to 40000 cafés in France. One reason, is that when the tourists get attention from these French cafés, the number of normal French people who go to café are decreasing. This café is still very convenient, for going in after you go to the Avenue de l’Opera. One thing that is new type for Drouant, is that they run a free wireless network, so it would be convenient for customers to use their electronic devices and use the Internet.

  • French cafés have existed for more than three hundred years. What is it that makes cafés still a popular tradition? Explore several aspects of your café and report on its location, its atmosphere, its menu and prices. From your results, what would you say contributes to making it a popular place?
I have been mentioning this fact, but this café is very close to different kinds of places. One thing that makes cafés still a popular tradition, is Dress codes. Dress codes in Drouant, are smart business, and dressy. The mixture of the setting between luxury, a cosy atmosphere and Paris chic at a restaurant, that serves high-quality cuisine means that it gets very busy, therefore reservations are recommended. This café, is very close to a Metro station Quatre Septembre or the Opera. One more thing, is that this café has a parking lot for the patrons. Overall, history, service, and traditions contribute to make Drouant a very famous café.