Assignment

For this week's assignment I'd like everyone to find a website in English that interests them, and introduce us to the rest of us. I have some English websites listed by the side of the blog, under "Links" but I think you should be able to find others that interest you. Let me introduce the sites that I thought were important enough to link to this blog.

Google News can keep you abreast of the major news stories around the world. I check it first thing almost every morning to keep up with what's happening almost everywhere. You can customize it to report whatever you find interesting.

Japan Today is a news and information website. It's a little bit tabloidy at times, but it does cover the important news about Japan in English. If you're interested in news about Japan in English I would recommend both it and the Japan Times, which is also a newspaper. It's major stories are carried both in the online and print editions.

Brad Blackstone is a friend who used to teach English at Minnesota State University in Akita. Now he teaches at the National University of Singapore. He's much better than I am at both blogging and teaching English, and he uses blogs a lot in his classes. I hope you enjoy his blog.

Another blog for English classes that I happened along one day is the ALEA blog. It calls itself "A meeting point for all the students and staff who are, or have been, studying or teaching English at Yethreb School, Ben Ashur, Tripoli, Libya." It may be interesting for you to read what other students are doing in the way of learning English as a second language.

I also have links to the TOEFL and TOEIC sites for those of you who may be interested in taking either of those tests. TOEIC tests only passive skills, but is used by many businesses in Japan for appointment and promotion purposes. There is a TOEIC preparation class in this school. I also try to prepare my students for TOEFL if I can, and in fact your in-class writing exercises are intended to be preparation for TOEFL's Test of Written English (TWE) section.

Finally, I linked the class blog I created for a more advanced English class. This was originally Level 4, but we keep changing the system. I don't know if we'll be able to continue the advanced, intensive English classes much longer.

my favorite movies

As I explained in class, I didn't want to post to the blog about movies until I knew what kind of films you liked. Now I don't know what to say because you have some very diverse tastes in film. Well, so do I.

My favorite director of all time is definitely Akira Kurosawa, who directed Ran, The Seven Samurai and many other classic films. He was a big influence on such famous Hollywood directors as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. He and John Ford were also fans of each other. If you haven't seen any of his films I hope you will watch some. It's not widely known, but he was also an editor, and edited his own films. He originally trained to be a painter, and thus his mise en scène is very well composed.

My favorite Hollywood director is (or was until he died recently) Robert Altman. Altman was famous for directing films in which the characters didn't read formal lines, but had to improvise a lot of the dialogue. Many famous actors looked forward to working with him for the freedom his style gave them, and I think it would have been a nightmare to write subtitles for his films because the conversations are always moving in and out of microphone range. His most famous film is probably MASH (which was made into a TV show) but his film 3 Women is ranked higher at the Internet Movie Database. That's kind of a quirky, director's indulgence film, but its being higher rated only highlights his being, like Kurosawa, a film-maker's film-maker.

Altman had a love affair with American music, which I share, and made many films in which great music is important, for example Nashville (country music), Kansas City (Jazz), and A Prairie Home Companion (Folk). In The Long Goodbye the title song, written especially for the film, is played over and over again in a variety of musical genres, from Jazz to Folk to Mexican Mariachi music.

Both those directors are dead, and while I like old movies (if they are good), especially classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane, I also like more recent films. I enjoy the films of the Coen Brothers, Joel and Ethan, very much, especially O Brother, Where Art Thou? (which also has great music). It's based on Homer's Odyssey, which it sets in Depression Era Mississippi. I also like Roman Polanski's films (no Polanski jokes please - I know he's in the news a lot these days) such as Chinatown, Frantic, and Rosemary's Baby. I think his version of Shakespeare's Macbeth is the best ever filmed.

I do promise we'll watch a film in this class, but I don't know what film it will be. There's no obvious choice that would appeal to everyone in the class together. Do any of you have suggestions?

movie

I really like this movie "COACH CARTER".This movie is based on real story.
This movie is about high school basketball team.At first, this team is very weak,and everyone is so fool that they cann't graduate from high school.
Then Carter is invited only to make this team strong.But Carter also demand players to study.At first ,they don't follow what Carter says,but they gradually trust him and follow.
At last,the team become strong ,and they graduate school .

movie

I like a movie of discrimination against blacks, a regional conflict and a thick love romance.One good work is introduced from the inside.

The title of the movie is hotel Rwanda.

The impressed drama which drew the courage and conscience of the real hotelman who rescued people from a crisis of an enormous volume slaughter by an internal trouble in Rwanda in Africa. A star is a habitue of Stephen and Soderbergh director work and Don Cheadle. "Of father's prayer" etc., Terry George who plays an active part as a playwright deals with a scenario, supervision and making and figures a valiant figure of the man who holds the life of 1200 people heroically. Japanese opening to the public was doubted, the work in topics a campaign to collect signatures on the Internet by young people was effective, and opening to the public achieved.

We live peacefully, but an unrealistic thing has ordinarily occurred at a foreign country. Such actuality, a known work. Please see.

Movies

I like science fiction movies. Especially, I like "Harry Potter".

It is very famous movies, so all of you know this movies probably.

There are seven series from "the Philosopher's Stone" to "the Deathly Hallows", but what I have watched perfectly is "the Philosopher's Stone ", "the Chamber of Secrets " and "the Prisoner of Azkaban ".

My favorite one is "the Prisoner of Azkaban ". This movie has a scene that Harry and Hermione go back into past time and save their friends from death penalty. It's exciting and impressing for me, so I like this scene.

Do you have any scene you can feel excited or impressed in "Harry Potter" ?

My favorite movies

I especially like action movies. For example, 007 series, Jason Bourne series, etc.

First, with regard to 007 series, I like GOLDENEYE and DIE ANOTHER DAY. And I like Pierce Brosnan the best of successive James Bond.

Next, regarding Jason Bourne series, Jason Bourne is a fomer CIA agent and Matt Damon act the part of Jason Bourne. I think that Jason Bourne is very attractive because he is so cool and strong.

Actually, I also like suspense movies. For example, PRIMAL FEAR, HANNIBAL series, etc.

PRIMAL FEAR is a court drama starring Richard Gere. The highlight of the movie is Edward Norton's acting. Edward Norton act the part of a man with a double character and his acting is marvelous anyway. I think that it is worth seeing the film for once.

HNNIBAL series are phychological thriller films based on the novels written by Thomas Harris. Anthony Hopkins gave an excellent performance as Dr. Hannibal Lecter and received Academy Awards in 1991.

Movie

I'm afraid that I don't care too much for the action movie including violent scene.
But I don't hate it. I like SF action movie toward comedy.
For instance, MEN IN BLACK and Back to the future.

The story of the former is that argents are energenic to watch alien. In this movie, many star-studded cast acted. Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smisth, and so on.In the second series,played by Micheal Jackson as Argent M.

In the later movie's main character are an unusual expert and a general high school student. He went to the past and saw his parents were young.


You have may seen either of them,haven't it? You prpbably would enjoy watching these movie.

Autumn

In my image, the autumn is like the spring. The reason why I think so is difficult to explaon. Infact, I don't know the reason clearly. One of the reason may be likeness of both season's wehter. Both season is proper temperature to live for me. So I like the spring ,but I don't like the autumn. Indeed, there are many delicious fruit such as apresimmon and a pear in the autumn, and colored leaves are beutiful. I don't like coldness,and the autumn's next season is the wintera,so I have to live to be frightened in the autumn when the cold winter comes.

When saying autumn, it's a fruit, isn't it? I like an orange very much. A book is being read and a netsurfing is being done while eating an orange.

I did that, and also spent autumn of this year.

A book read a novel called "fake". It was the novel about which it lie in a lie and was a very deep book.

A book called" history in an American slum" is being read now. I'm interested in old society, so when having a fascinating book, please inform me about old society.

Autumn

Speaking of autumn, I remember the best season for reading.

However, I don't read books so much (^^;)

The reason why I chose this topic is, I'd like to have a custom of readind book.

A professor of this university said, "It is decided in your university student whether you have a custom of reading."

Therefore, I have decided to start reading something at the best season for reading.

However, what kind of books should I read? Do you have anything you recommend?

If you'd like to have custom of reading, too, you should miss an opporyunity, the best season for reading.

Apples

Talking of autumnal fruits, we find persimmons, grapes, pears, apples and so on. I like apples the best of all autumnal fruits because apples have some advantages as compared with the other fruit. First, apples are beneficial to your health. As the saying goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Second, you can use apples all kinds of food. For example, put a slice of an apple into a salad, grate and put a piece of an apple into a curry and so on. Third, you can process apples such as apple butter, hard cider, cider, apple cider vinegar etc. Therefore I think that an apple is not only delicious fruit but also useful one. Do you agree with me? And what is your favorit autumnal fruit? Please tell me.

Autumn

Autumn have a lot of appeal. It is said that the autumun, when people have a good appetite, the best season for reading or sport, and so on in Japan.
Also, you can see a beautiful scene in autumn. For instance, you may feast yours eyes on the colored leaves of autumn or autumn flowers.

This time I tell topic of regarding autumn flowers.

This is a picture of common cosmos . A common cosmos indicates the universe and means "beautiful decoration" in Greek. Some of them smells chocolate！

This is . It symbolize sternal youth and immortality in china.

In Japan, the festival of chrysanthemum hold. That festivals in every place in Japan are the special feature of autumn season.

The Japanese plum grass are seen frequentiy. Some people use it to "ikebana" and enjoy the moonlight.

Thus, there are many autumn flowers.You may feel the advent of autumn when these flowers.

Autumn (fall)

Autumn, or fall, is an interesting season. As with Spring, the weather is changing, but in fall it is getting cooler, not warmer. The days are getting shorter, not longer, and in fact they are now shorter than the nights. Much of the world is now going to sleep for the winter, and things in general slow down. Everyone is getting ready for winter.

One of the nicest things about Autumn is the fall leaves. There are only a few areas of the world where the climate and the soil are such that leaves in general turn bright colors, especially yellow, orange and red. One is the Tohoku region of Japan, where acid soils and temperate climate combine to produce these fall colors. Another is the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada, where similar climates and soil also produce similar effects with the leaves. Pennsylvania attracts many tourists with the largest such forests in easy reach of people from other parts of the country, but New England, with especially poor soils and rugged countryside, is even more famous for its leaves. Canada is so proud of its fall leaves that they have made the red maple leaf a national symbol and even put it on their flag.



Autumn is also the season of the harvest. Food is abundant and harvest festivals and thanksgiving holidays are common. Americans celebrate their Thanksgiving Day on the fourth Thursday in November, while the Japanese holiday of Labor Thanksgiving Day is also in late November. Fresh fruit is abundant, and there is plenty of other food available, too. While most people prefer Spring or Summer, there are many good points to Fall as well, and many people enjoy this season like any other.

I miss the cider we used to get in Pennsylvania in the Fall, sold in gallon jugs. It would turn hard in a few days, and you had to drink it before it went bad. The flavor was really good.

free topic

Do you know Kankurou Kudou?
He is a scriptwriter and an actor. He is called by the nickname of "Kudokan".

I like his dramas and movies. I think he is one of the best scriptwriter in Japan.

I knew him for the first tme when I saw the drama "Kisarazukyattuai" .

I had not see such an amusing drama like this.

I think his most popular movie is "Pinpon" . This movie is about table tennis and the original story is comics.This movie replicates theworld of comics.Of course, this movie entertain people who do not know orginal story.

My free topic

What sport do you like ?
What kind of sport did you play ?

I belonged to Japanese archery club when I was high school student.
I think that you have little chance to watch the Japanese archery.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvPQx-B0OCQ
That link is the tournament of Japanese archery 2008.

For my club members, this sport was a battle with the self.
That practice was very hard for us, but we was able to cultivate us patience.

You can enjoy taking part in or wacthig a sport, or whenever.
It won't be lomg before the winter season set in.
I would like to go skating this winter.

MAROON5

Do you like music?I like it very much!So,today I want to recommend my favorite rock band MAROON5 to you.MAROON5 is a Grammy Award-winning rock band from Los Angeles,California.Their debut album Songs About Jane was released in 2002 and made a great hit all over the world.Of course,they are very popular among young people in Japan:gave two performances in 2004 and 2008,appeared on television and performed in 2007 and some of their songs are used in a TV commercial.

MAROON5's songs are so cool that I want you to try to listen to their songs for once.I'm sure you will like their songs.

My free topic

I thought a lot about what I wanted to post here for my own free topic. I finally decided on a musician I like a lot, but you probably haven't heard of. I heard of him through the international media and on the Internet, but I couldn't get his music until buying music on the Internet became possible. He's just not that popular in Japan - at least yet. My daughter, who likes J-Pop, thinks he's just too weird.

"Dad, that music is so weird!" She told me.

"Hey, I love Jazz and I love Bluegrass. How could I not love this?" I responded.

Béla Fleck plays music that is an intricate mix of Bluegrass and Jazz, both very indigenous American musical genres that combine African and European instruments and traditions. Music sites like iTunes don't know what genre to put him in, and sometimes his different albums are in different categories. Needless to say, he doesn't get much air play. He's too country for the Jazz stations, but too jazzy for the Country stations. But I do run into other people who like his music.

Japan has both Jazz and Bluegrass musicians. In fact, even before I met my wife and thought of moving here, I had an album of Japanese Bluegrass music that I used to play for friends. And of course everyone who knows anything about Jazz has at least heard of Sadao Watanabe, probably the most famous Japanese Jazz musician ever.

Here's a Béla Fleck clip from YouTube for you to enjoy:

My free topic

I like playing and watching figure skate!!

I think figure skate has become more popular recently. Are you interested in figure skate?

My favorite figure skater is Brian Joubert!

This picture is Brian Joubert.

He is from France and He has participated in the Olympic Games twice. In 2007, he got a gold medal in a world champinonship.

His motto is perform a quadruple jamp.

A quadruple jamp is to spin four times in the air.

It is the hardest jamp in figure skate.

He says,"If you are real figure skater, you must perform a quadruple jamp!"

He is so deeply attached to quadruple jamp. I think the strong faith of his led to his achievement.
I looked up to him!! What do you think of him?

poppin'

I'm dancing. The genre is called "poppin'". Sound is expressed to play muscle of a body literally. It's better to see an animation more than the explanation is heard." poppin'" is the break dance loved from the past. Yourself's, sound can be expressed as you prefer, so as you have your individuality, it would be able to be a fascinating dancer more. If you interested, lets talk.





The person who put on striped clothes is the dancer I like very much. He's Korean, a handle name, "poppin' ds". His expressive power is free and the tedious dance on the textbook street isn't made fascinating. His home page is put.

his HP:poppin' ds!


I'm also playing other street basketball. Street basketball is the basketball which removed a rule from basketball. The work one considered is used, so the individuality is also asked this about. When this is also interested in you, I and talk, oh, I shoulder.





cool!!!!:D!!!!!!

My hometown Nakadomari

I will introduce my hometown Nakadomari!

There are some famous tourist spots.

This is one of the famous tourist spots which is called "Nanatsudaki."

Some tourists come here every year and drink its water. I have drunk the water before.
It is very fresh and cool. Some of them put some water into a bottle and bring back.

This is famous for its beautiful sea. Many peolpe go swimming and go camping in summer.

Also, beach soccer tournament is held here every year. Many people take part in it.

I usually enjoy swimming in summer (^^)