Hurricane, Underworld: Blood Wars, and other matters…

"I'm finished with this war."
"Well, it's not finished with you. He wants the blood of you and your daughter."

Today, we watched the trailer for Underworld: Blood Wars, a movie starring Kate Beckinsale. It's about another chapter in the fight between the Lycans and the Vampires. I think it's the fourth movie in the series. The Lycans want the blood of Celine and her daughter in order to make some kind of super-Lycan/Vampire.

We also listened to a live version of the song Hurricane by Bob Dylan. He sings very fast and the words are sometimes difficult to catch. This song is a fairly straight protest song and also a narrative.

In the Premier League, Manchester City have dropped points again, and now Manchester City are level with Arsenal on 19 points. If Liverpool beat Manchester United tonight, they will join Manchester City and Arsenal at the top of the table, with Tottenham just below. If Manchester United win, they will join Liverpool in fourth place. The title race looks as if it will be very exciting.

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Blog Check 2-01

Posts: 11
Words: 1582

Book reviews: 3
Juppun ha Juubun: 7
Diary/Typing: 0

Hurricane, Underworld: Blood Wars, and other matters…

Today we listened to the song Hurricane by Bob Dylan, the recent winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Hurricane isn't one of his best-known songs—or at least it wasn't until the movie Hurricane starring Denzel Washington was released—but it shows one side of his songwriting, the song being more or less a straight story told chronologically. The version we listened to was a live version from the 1975 Rolling Thunder tour. It sounded rather rough, and sometime let's listen to a smoother song. Maybe we'll also watch the Hurricane movie.

We also watched two trailers for Underworld: Blood Wars, starring Kate Beckinsale. I don't remember exactly, but I think this is the fourth one in the series. The Lycans want the blood of Kate Beckinsale and her daughter, perhaps in order to make an all-powerful blend of Lycan and Vampire. But from the trailer it looks as if Kate Beckinsale becomes all-powerful.

I don't really like horror movies, but the Underworld series is not too intense, so I want to watch this latest one.

Tonight, Liverpool play Manchester United! I'm looking forward to reading the reports.

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Shrek (Popcorn ELT Readers)

That night, Shrek finds a lot of fairy tale characters in the swamp. Now the swamp is not quiet. Shrek is angry.
"Why are you here?" he shouts.
"Lord Farquaad doesn't want fairy tale characters at the castle," says Pinocchio.

Thus starts Shrek's adventure. He goes with Donkey to see Lord Farquaard, who promises Shrek that he can keep his swamp to himself if he finds Princess Fiona and brings her to him to marry him. Donkey and Shrek team up with Dragon to take Princess Fiona to Lord Farquaard's castle, but Shrek realizes he loves Fiona. What will happen? Read this book and find out!

Hughes, A. (2011). Shrek. London, UK: Scholastic.

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My favorite vacation memory is this summer vacation. I went to Finland and France with my friends in this summer vacation. It was first time to go to Europe. I did a homestay in Finland because my friend has a Finnish friend. Japan was very hot but Finland was cool. It was very good to me. I ate Finnish food and played Finnish game. I enjoyed experiencing Finnish culture. I could see beautiful nature. In France, I went to some sightseeing spots. On the last day, I went to Disneyland Paris. I was very happy because I could meet French Mickey.

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Song of the Sea, Irish Coffee, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Song of the Sea, an animated movie based on a traditional story from Ireland. It looks very interesting, and the colors are beautiful, but for some reason it's showing for one week, at Denkikan only!

Malta was England's opponent at Wembley on Saturday night. When I hear Malta, I always think of Murakami Haruki's book, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, in which Malta and Creta are two sisters. But this match had nothing to do with Murakami's work, although thinking about it might be profitable since the match was rather boring. The score was 2–0 to England, with many players taking it easy in the second half to save their energy for tomorrow's match, which is against Slovenia.

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Song of the Sea, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Song of the Sea, an animated movie based on a story from Ireland. The animation was simple, but the colors were very beautiful, so I want to see it. It's playing at Denkikan this week only! Today's morning show is in Japanese, but the other shows are in English with Japanese subtitles. It looks great, so I'm going to try to go and see it on Friday.

Did you hear the news about the England football manager? Sam Allardyce was appointed in the summer after the poor performance of the England team in EURO 2016 under Roy Hodgson. But he was fired after about 60 days because of a scandal, and the new manager is Gareth Southgate. England played their first match under him on Saturday, against Malta, and they will play their second match tomorrow against Slovenia. The match against Malta ended in a win for England, 2–0. Let's hope they win tomorrow, too!

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Masterminds, and other matters…

Zach Galifianakis
Kristen Wiig
Owen Wilson 

starring A, B, and C

a movie starring A, B, and C



Today we watched the trailer for Masterminds, a movie starring Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, and Owen Wilson. It was directed by Jared Hess. It looks like a senseless action comedy, but surprisingly it is based on a true story of a gang who hold up a regional bank in "one of the largest cash heists in history", stealing $17,000,000. Jason Sudeikis plays a very funny hitman.

In the UK now, the Conservative Party conference is being held. The Prime Minister, Theresa May, will give more details on the process by which the UK will leave the European Union. It is said that Article 50, the official exit process, will begin in March next year. That will probably take about two years. But after that Britain needs to negotiate a separate trade deal. I wonder how it will work out?

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Book Review 2-03: Madagascar

Marty and Alex
live in a zoo,
with Gloria the hippo,
and Melman, too.
Marty's a zebra.
He's black and white.
He isn't very happy.
He runs away one night.

As you can understand from the chant above, Marty the zebra is bored of living in a zoo, so he runs away. Alex the lion, Melman the giraffe, and Gloria the hippo are worried about him, so they also escape to look for him. But they are captured by bad people who want to take them to a wildlife park in Kenya. They escape, and end up on the island of Madagascar, where they meet lemurs and fossa. (Fossa are animals who live under trees and eat lemurs.)

This book is published by Scholastic. It's a Level 1 book in the Popcorn ELT Readers series. Level 1 books are for early beginners and have a vocabulary of 200 headwords. You can check out the other books in the series at the series website.

You can see lists of Level 1 books, Level 2 books, and Level 3 books.

Beddall, F. (2011). Madagascar. London, UK: Scholastic.

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Masterminds, and other matters…

Jason Sudeikis
Zach Galifianakis
Kristen Wiig
Owen Wilson

based on a true story
action comedy
directed by Jared Hess

the trailer for Masterminds


Today we watched the trailer for Masterminds, a movie that was directed by Jared Hess and stars Jason Sudeikis, Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, and Owen Wilson. The movie is based on a true story about "one of the largest cash heists ever on American soil". One funny scene featured Jason Sudeikis, who plays a hitman, asking Owen Wilson, "Who d'y'all want me to kill?" At the time, Wilson's two children are sitting next to him, so, nodding towards the children, he says: "Not in front of the…". Sudeikis misunderstands the gesture and whispers, "Oh, you want me to kill them?"

The movie has a low score on Rotten Tomatoes, but it looks like a lot of fun.

The Champions League mid-week matches featured Celtic against Manchester City. A thrilling game ended 3–3. Yesterday, Manchester City played Spurs, losing 0–2. Many people thought that Manchester City would win the Premier League easily, but it seems that some teams have worked out how to play them. Things could get quite exciting!


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The Magnificent Seven, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for The Magnificent Seven, a movie starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, and Lee Byung-hun. It's directed by Antoine Fuqua, who also directed Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke in Training Day, for which Denzel got his second best actor Oscar.  He is one of my favorite actors, so I will certainly watch this movie. It is a remake of the 1960 movie of the same title and that was an adaptation of The Seven Samurai starring Toshiro Mifune.

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Rio: Learning to fly (Scholastic Popcorn ELT Readers)

A man and a white bird looked into the cage.
"Two Spix's Macaws," said the man. He put a chain on their legs. "We're going to be rich, Nigel."
"Very good, Marcel!" laughed the white bird.

Nigel, a white bird, is working with Marcel, a man who wants to become rich by stealing and catching the beautiful Spix's Macaws and selling them. Blu, Linda's Spix's Macaw, and Jewel, Tulio's Spix's Macaw, go to Rio to check the situation and try to rescue some of the Spix's Macaws. But, unfortunately, they are captured right away.

Fortunately, Blu uses his ability to open cages, and his newfound ability to fly, to escape.

This book is a Level 2 book in the Popcorn ELT Readers series from Scholastic. Like the other books in this series, it is based on a movie. I haven't seen Rio, but it sounds interesting. According to Rotten Tomatoes, it stars Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway. Rio 2, with the same voice actors, also looks interesting.


Davis, F. (2012). Rio: Learning to fly. London, UK: Scholastic.


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Snowden, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Snowden, a new movie by Oliver Stone starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Actually, it has an all-star cast, with Shailene Woodley, Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson, and Melissa Leo. Probably you have heard of Oliver Stone before. He was the director of JFK, Born on the Fourth of July, Platoon, and Wall Street. I'm not sure when it's coming to Kumamoto (if ever), but I hope to see it.

The summer vacation was quite interesting and busy. I went to Thailand and Korea and did lots of other interesting things. I saw the movie Jason Bourne. It was very exciting. It has been very hot this year, though, and today I heard it is going to be 33 degrees Celsius. The summers are getting longer and longer!

The 2016-17 Premier League season has begun. This year Manchester City seems to be very strong, and Stoke, West Ham, and Sunderland seem to be very week. But the season has just begun, so there may be many changes from now until the end.


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Holiday work

Mr Tomei will soon (September 1st) be contacting you about new typing homework. The aim is to avoid the dip in writing performance that most students experience at the beginning of the second semester, after the summer holiday. Please be looking forward to it!

Also, be sure to check your blogs for any important comments, if possible by the end of the day today, just in case there are any major problems.

Lesson Three - Coherence and Cohesion in Writing - IELTS Preparation Ser...

Final Blog Check

Juppun ha Juubun

April 11th: 112
May 9th: 134
July 25th: 192
August 1st: 90

Indignation, Kenta Matsudaira, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Indignation, a movie adaptation of Philip Roth's novel of the same name. Philip Roth is considered one of the greatest American novelists. He wrote many books and several of them have been translated into Japanese. Also, several of his novels have been made into films.

We also saw Ma Lin play Matsudaira Kenta in 2009. Ma Lin is 36 and retired now, but I still enjoy seeing his games. Xu Xin is my favorite current player. He plays with the same reverse pen backhand style.

Final Blog Check

Juppun ha Juubun

April 11th: 171
May 9th: 134
July 25th: 161
August 1st: 224

Indignation, Kenta Matsudaira, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Indignation, a movie directed by James Schamus and starring Logan Lerman. It's based on the novel by Philip Roth, the famous New York Jewish writer. I haven't read the book, and the trailer was very mysterious, but it seems that the boy played by Logan Lerman committed a crime, or imagined that he had committed a crime, and the movie deals with the aftermath of that event. I was interested to see that the headmaster of the school is played by the actor who plays the senator who becomes the director of the CIA in Homeland. It looks like a very interesting movie; I hope it comes to Denkikan soon.

We also watched a short table tennis video from YouTube. It was from the 2009 World Table Tennis Championships held in Yokohama. It was excerpts from the Ma Lin – Matsudaira Kenta quarterfinal, and it focused on how Matsudaira earned many points with skillful blocks.

I'm not sure if it's finalised yet, but it seems that Paul Pogba will almost definitely be joining Manchester United from Juventus. I think it's the most expensive transfer ever. He and Ibrahimovich will make a formidable team. I think maybe Manchester United will win the Premier League this year. Leicester City will probably fall down quite steeply. I'm also a bit worried about Arsenal.

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A Tale of Love and Darkness, Star Wars: Episode 2, Black Swan, and other matters…

Today, we saw three movie trailers: A Tale of Love and Darkness, Star Wars: Episode 2—Attack of the Clones, and Black Swan. What they all have in common is that they star Natalie Portman, and she is also a writer and the director of the first one.

In English football news, Sam Allardyce has been appointed the new manager of the national team. I am glad that an Englishman has been appointed, because in recent years English managers haven't been getting top jobs. Allardyce did well at Sunderland last year, and maybe he will be good at understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the players and finding ways to play against stronger teams but still get good results. England will play their first friendly match on September 1st, against Croatia.

The Premier League season will start in a few weeks, and many teams now are on tour, playing friendly matches. Manchester City and Manchester United both went to China and will play each other tonight, I think. They want to get back to England as soon as possible in order to get some rest and do some training in preparation for the new season.

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A Tale of Love and Darkness, Black Swan, and other matters…

Today, we saw two movie trailers featuring Natalie Portman. The first was A Tale of Love and Darkness, in which she stars and which she also directs. I believe it's the first movie that she has directed. It's about the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. It appears to be all in Hebrew with English subtitles. It's starting on August 19th in America. I guess it will come to Japan sometime.

The other is an older movie starring Natalie Portman, Black Swan, for which she won an Academy Award. As you probably know, it's about a ballerina, Nina, and her relationship with the director of the company and with Lily, another dancer in the company.

Natalie Portman has appeared in quite a few movies, such as Léon: The Professional and the second Star Wars trilogy. I like her, but I didn't think her performance in Black Swan was that special. I'm looking forward to seeing A Tale of Love and Darkness.

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Florence Foster Jenkins, and other matters…

Today we saw the trailer for Florence Foster Jenkins, a new movie starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant. It looks like a very good role for Hugh Grant. I took a look at the Denkikan schedule, and it looks like there are no plans to show the movie for a while.
The Premier League season kicks off on August 13th. Both Manchester United and Manchester City have been spending lots of money on new players. Chelsea also has a new manager and has been buying players. Leicester City has lost two of its top players, so many people predict that the traditional leaders will get back on top this coming season.
Did everyone see Theresa May's first speech as the new Prime Minister of the UK? Her cabinet appointments seem to suggest otherwise, but she says she wants a more inclusive style of government.

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Missouri (1): History

When Thomas Jefferson was president, in 1803, the United States made the Louisiana Purchase, buying a lot of land from Napoleon in France. Missouri was part of that purchase. It became a trading center, mainly for trading furs with Native Americans, and many people there became rich. Its location on the Mississippi was very important in that regard. It also became the "Gateway to the West", as many people started from there on expeditions to the West. In the 20th century, Missouri experienced rapid industrialization and then deindustrialization in the last decades.

Florence Foster Jenkins, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Florence Foster Jenkins, a movie based on a true story about a woman who was a terrible singer but believed she was talented. Florence Foster Jenkins is played by Meryl Streep and her husband is played by Hugh Grant. The movie looks like a lot of fun, but I don't know if it will ever come to Kumamoto.
Even though the Euro 2016 competition has just finished, the newspapers in England are full of football news. Some of the big clubs have brought in very famous managers and are spending big money on new players. Leicester City, last season's champions, have lost two of their big stars.

Britain now has a new Prime Minister, Theresa May. Her first speech as Prime Minister was very encouraging, but no-one knows how the negotiations to leave the EU will go.

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Jason Bourne, Wimbledon 2016, Euro 2016, and other matters…

Today we watched a trailer for the new movie in the Bourne series, called simply Jason Bourne. As you probably know, the Bourne series movies started in 2002 with The Bourne Identity. It was a new kind of spy movie. That movie was followed quickly by The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. Because it was so successful, the producers wanted to continue the series, but Matt Damon said he wasn't interested in continuing in the role, so they created a new character played by Jeremy Renner for The Bourne Legacy. That was only moderately popular, so this time, 14 years after the first Bourne movie, they brought back director Paul Greengrass and persuaded Matt Damon to reprise his role.
The Bourne Identity also exists as a TV series, adapted from the book.

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Jason Bourne, Wimbledon final, Euro 2016 final, and other matters…

Today we watched two trailers for Jason Bourne, the fifth movie in the Bourne series. Matt Damon said he wouldn't return after the original trilogy, so he was replaced by Jeremy Renner for The Bourne Legacy. It is good to see him back. Julia Stiles is also back. Two new faces are Tommy Lee Jones and Alicia Vikander, who has become a top star in the last year or two.

The two trailers were the standard US trailer and the UK trailer. I couldn't spot any differences between them; I guess I'll have to see them again.

There are two major sports stories: Portugal won Euro 2016, and Andy Murray won Wimbledon!

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Monty Python and the Holy Grail: The Tale of Sir Robin; The Black Knight…and other matters

Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Robin

That is one line from The Tale of Sir Robin, a famous sketch in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, my favorite movie by Monty Python's Flying Circus. Sir Robin manages to avoid the three-headed knight by running away while the knight is talking to itself. The movie was made in 1975 but still feels fresh today. Another movie by Monty Python is Life of Brian, also highly recommended.

The quarterfinals of Euro 2016 have almost finished. By tomorrow we will know all the semifinalists. I think that Germany will probably be the champion in the end. What do you think?

The cinemas in Kumamoto have been closed for a long time. I wonder when they will open again? Lots of interesting movies have been announced recently, but maybe we won't have a chance to see them.

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Olympic Hide-and-Seek, and other matters…

Today we watched a sketch by Monty Python's Flying Circus. It was the Olympic Hide-and-Seek sketch, one of my favorites, though not one of the most famous. It shows the second leg of the Hide-and-Seek final, between a British hide-and-seek "athlete" and one from Paraguay. The time that the Paraguayan has to beat to win in the final is more than 11 years.

The political situation in the UK is becoming rather chaotic. The Prime Minister has announced his resignation, and now several members of the Conservative Party are campaigning to become the next leader of the party (and thus, automatically, the next Prime Minister). At the same time, most of the Members of Parliament in the Labour Party have voted no confidence in the Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn. Scotland's leader is also considering whether to try to leave the UK and join the EU separately.

In Euro 2016, Wales, France, and Germany have got through to the semi-finals. The last semifinalist will be decided tonight.

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The Duel, Brexit, Dreams by the Cranberries, and other matters…

Liam Hemsworth
Woody Harrelson

Today we saw the trailer for The Duel, a western starring Woody Harrelson and Liam Hemsworth. Liam Hemsworth plays a Texas ranger who is sent by the governor to investigate some murders in a small town where a preacher, played by Woody Harrelson, is in charge. From the trailer, it looks like Woody Harrelson is responsible for the murders. The movie looks rather interesting, but I don't know when it will come to Kumamoto, if ever.

A few matches in the round of 16 at the Euro 2016 tournament have already finished. Portugal, France,  Wales, and Germany have made it through to the quarterfinals. England will play tonight against Iceland. I hope they also get through to the quarterfinals.

I think everyone heard about Brexit, the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union. It looks like there will be an election within the Conservative Party for a new leader, and that s/he will become the next Prime Minister. I wonder how that will go.

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Brexit, The Debt, Dreams by the Cranberries, and other matters…

Today, we watched the trailer for The Debt, a movie starring Stephen Dorff and David Strathairn. It appears to be set in London and Peru. Stephen Dorff's company is trying to buy a mining (?) company in Peru, but the purchase seems to go against the interests of the Peruvian people. In addition, his company has a cashflow problem, so he is told by his boss (Strathairn) to abandon the purchase which he has worked so hard for for over two years.
We also watched a video of Dreams by The Cranberries. It is one of the two most famous songs by this very successful Irish band, and it featured in Sleepless in Seattle, a movie starring Meg Ryan. The other super-famous song by The Cranberries is Zombie. Maybe we'll watch it sometime.
You have probably heard that the UK has voted to leave the European Union. I wonder what will happen. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, announced his resignation immediately, so most people think that the next Prime Minister will be Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London. The Scottish National Party is considering organizing leaving the UK in order to join the EU as an independent nation.
The Euro 2016 competition is moving ahead, and there aren't so many matches left.

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Central Intelligence, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Central Intelligence, an action comedy starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart. It began playing in the U.S. on June 17th. I'm not sure when it's coming to Japan, probably not for a long time. But it looks really funny.
As you know the EURO 2016 competition is still going on. France drew their third match, but they have qualified at the top of their group for the knockout tournament. Spain have also qualified after two victories. Ireland are probably out, but they have one more chance to get a victory and go through. England are probably safe.
This coming Thursday (June 23rd) the UK will vote whether to stay in or to leave the EU. A few days ago, an MP was murdered, so the campaigns took a few days off, but the last few days they will resume campaigning intensely. I think probably Remain will win, but the race seems quite close.

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The Innocents, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for The Innocents, a French movie about nuns in Poland in 1945. I didn't really understand what it was about, but it seemed to have something to do with a scandal of nuns having children.

Talking of movies, I hope to find time to see Room, a movie starring Brie Larson (who won the Academy Award for best actress) that is playing at Denkikan now. Everyone says her performance is great. But I have lots of meetings and so on this week, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to go.

EURO 2016 continues. France and Spain have already secured progress to the knockout stages, and after a few days we will know most of the other teams who will progress. England and Germany have one more game to play.

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Fathers and Daughters, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Fathers and Daughters, a movie starring Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried. Russell Crowe suffers from a disease that makes him unable to look after his daughter, so he leaves her with relatives while he seeks treatment. Then he writes a book about that matter. It looks rather interesting but also rather similar to many other movies I have seen.

Who do you think will win the Euro 2016 competition? France, Germany, and Spain are the favorites. Both France and Germany have already won a match, and Spain are scheduled to play tonight, so after that match we will have a better idea of their form right now.

One problem at Euro 2016 has been violence inside and outside stadiums. In particular, the England–Russia match featured violence in the stadium. There is talk that the teams could be sent home.

My errors 1

I knew about Bangkok = 私はバンコクについて既に知っていた

私はバンコクについて知った = I learned about Bangkok.

107words  >>  107 words

" The Infiltrator "       >>
"The Infiltrator"

I went 31   >>
I went to Baskin-Robbins

The Infiltrator, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for The Infiltrator, a movie about a police officer who goes undercover in order to infiltrate a drug gang. It stars Bryan Cranston. He is very famous for playing the lead role in the TV series Breaking Bad. The movie is based on a true story, and it also stars Diane Kruger. I was quite excited about it, but the trailer looked rather boring.

The Euro 2016 competition group stages are now underway. France, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Germany, and Croatia have all played their first games, and Spain will play tonight. Wales did very well, winning 2–1. England played an entertaining, attacking game, but drew 1–1 with Russia, conceding in added time. This is a common pattern with England, and they haven't won an opening game at a tournament for many years. Fortunately, 2 or 3 teams go forward to the tournament from each group, so probably they will be able to qualify.

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Monkey King: Hero is back, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Monkey King: Hero is Back. It's an animated movie starring the voice of Jackie Chan. It's not really based on the traditional Chinese story, but is a kind of spinoff, in which the Monkey King, asleep for 500 years, is awoken by accident by a young boy. The timing is good, because an evil creature is trying to capture the souls of 100 children in order to gain eternal life, and the monkey King is the only person who can save them and fight the evil creature.

As you know, EURO 2016 starts next weekend. The 24 teams taking part are England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Ireland, France (the home country), Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Poland, Albania, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Slovakia, …

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Dictogloss 1 (2)

My name is Keiko Hibino. I am 20 years old, and I come from Hida in Gifu. I am a student at Daisuki University. I study economics. My parents' house is far from my university, so I live by myself in Nagoya. I get homesick sometimes. I have two sisters, but they are much older. I have two nieces and two nephews. I am looking forward to seeing them at New Year. My oldest sister lived in the United States for two years before she got married. I have never been abroad, but I hope to go to the US someday.

[101 words]

Dictogloss 1 (1)

My name is Keita Hibika. I am 30 years old, and I come from Hida in Gifu. I am student at Daisuki University. I study economic. My parents' house is far from my university. I live in Nagoya. I get homesick sometimes. I have two sisters, but they are very old. I have two nieces and two nephew. I am look forward to see them at New Year. My oldest sister lives in the United States. I had never been abroad, but I hope to go the US someday.

[89 words]

Monkey King, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Monkey King: Hero is Back. It's a spinoff of the traditional Monkey King legend, with the voice of Jackie Chan. But the animation doesn't look so great, and I think it's really a TV movie. Maybe not one to seek out!

Yesterday, the final of the French Open was held. As usual in Grand Slam finals, Andy Murray (from the UK) played Novak Djokovic; also as usual, Djokovic won. Andy Murray won the first set, but after that it was quite easy for Djokovic.

Next weekend, Euro 2016 will begin. France will play on the first day (Saturday) and England will play on Sunday at 4 a.m. Please get a good rest after the match! Favorites Germany and Spain will play on Monday. This year's tournament features 24 teams, so it will be very long.

BR 1-09: Journey to Mars

"Let's go into the wormhole," you say. "I agree," Buck says. He starts tapping buttons on the control panel. The spaceship starts to turn.
The wormhole gets closer and closer. You, Buck, and Maki are quiet as you look out the window. The circle of light is beautiful.

Journey to Mars is the third book I have read in Atami-ii books. The storylines I read are full of variety. There's a wormhole, a strange blue planet, a fellow astronaut going crazy, and becoming a cannibal! It's very strange!

Vocabulary

asteroid: 小惑星
wormhole: 宇宙のワームホール
self-destruct: 自爆

Reference

Raine, P. (2014). Journey to Mars. Tokyo, Japan: Atama-ii Books.
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The Nice Guys, and other matters…

Today we watched a trailer for The Nice Guys today. It's a comedy mob action thriller with Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. It looks very funny so I hope to get a chance to see it when it comes to Japan.

The Champions League final was held on Saturday night in Milan. Real Madrid were leading for most of the match, but Atletico Madrid scored a goal late in the 2nd half. The teams then played extra time, with no further goals, so the match went to penalties. One of the Atleti players missed, and Real's Cristiano Ronaldo scored the last penalty to win the match.

This summer, the Euro 2016 will be held in France. Then, not long after, the new Premier League season will start. It will be exciting to see Guardiola, Mourinho, Ranieri, Pochettino, and other top managers fighting to win the title.

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Blog check 1

Book reviews: 9
Diary: 3
Juppun ha Juubun: 8
Words:

BR 1-08: Hunter in the Darkness

Your master is Sayad bin Khafash, the greatest vampire hunter in the world. He trained you to be strong and quick. He showed you how to hunt vampires, and all the ways to kill them.
Vampires strike at night. They are very strong…

This was the second Atami-ii book I have read. As with the last one, I didn't make very good decisions, and had two bad endings! But finally I succeeded in my mission and passed my test, killing a vampire.

Vocabulary

spear: やり
stake: 杭
weapon: 武器

Reference

Habeeb, R. (2014). Hunter in the Darkness. Tokyo, Japan: Atama-ii Books.
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The Nice Guys, and other matters

Today we saw the trailer for The Nice Guys, a new movie starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. Then we saw interviews with Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe. The Nice Guys is a comedy action movie. It appears to be about a private detective (Ryan Gosling) and a criminal (Russell Crowe) teaming up to fight the mafia and solve some murder cases. It looks very funny!

A movie I recommend is London Boulevard, starring Keira Knightley, Colin Farrell, and Ray Winstone. It's about gangs in London. Colin Farrell comes out of prison and he wants to live an honest life, but he is pulled back into a life of crime.

As you may know, the Champions League final was held on Saturday night. Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid on penalties. That was the 11th Champions League for Read Madrid, many more than any other club.

[143 words]

Avril Lavigne, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. We also watched some video with lyrics of Avril Lavigne songs, including Sk8er Boy, Girlfriend, and Alice (in keeping with last week's trailer, Alice through the Looking Glass). The Turtles movie looks very exciting.

Over the weekend, there were two important football matches. One was the FA Cup final, in which Manchester United beat Crystal Palace. The other was an international match, England vs. Turkey, in which England beat Turkey 2–1.

[84 words]

BR 1-07: Trouble at the Zoo

"Put him down, Mike," says Jenny. "Put him down."Mike says, "It's okay, Jenny. He's okay with me."
But Jenny is angry with Mike. "Give him to me. Now!" she says.
There is a big kangaroo. It is the baby kangaroo's mother.
She looks at Mike.

Trouble at the Zoo is a Level 2 book in the Foundations Reading Library. Some of the children at Bayview High School go to the zoo, but Mike behaves badly, hitting the bear's cage and giving the bear a sandwich, then picking up the baby kangaroo. He causes a problem for Jenny, to whom he gives the baby kangaroo.

Can Jenny escape alive? Read this book to find out!


Waring, R., & Jamall, M. (2006). Trouble at the zoo (Foundations Reading Library, Level 2). Boston, MA: Thomson ELT.

[127 words]

Revised schedule

Class schedule

April

11th: 1st class

18th: 2nd class

25th: 3rd class

May

2nd: 4th class

9th: 2nd class

16th: 3rd class

23rd: 4th class

30th: 5th class
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June

6th: 6th class

13th: 7th class

20th: 8th class

27th: 9th class

July

4th: 10th class

11th: 11th class
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18th: 12th class

25th: 13th class

August

1st: 14th class
8th: 15th class: TEST

BLOCKS

As you can see from the schedule above, I think of the 15-week course in terms of three blocks of about five classes. The activities won't change so much, but the emphasis will shift.

BLOCK 1

Fluency is important in writing, just as it is in speaking. In the first five weeks, the goal is simply to get used to writing frequently, if possible five posts a week or more. You don't need to worry so much about writing correctly. The idea is to build confidence and speed. However, please be sure to look at my comments on your blog, some of which will include corrections.

BLOCK 2

While continuing with basically the same activities, you will study model compositions to learn various phrases in order to improve your own writing more systematically. You should learn many phrases from these model compositions, so that you can use them yourself, fluently and without errors. My comments on your blog will take on more importance during this block.

BLOCK 3

The topic in Block 3 will be the U.S. As in Block 2, you will study a model composition to learn various phrases, but you will finish by writing a longer essay about a topic related to the U.S.

[196 words]

Alice through the looking glass, and other matters…

Today we watched two trailers for Alice Through the Looking Glass, the second Tim Burton movie based in the Alice world. Alice begins the movie in a mental hospital, suffering "a textbook case of female hysteria". She runs away from the hospital, and before long she hears a voice saying, "You've been gone too long, Alice", and she walks through a looking glass into Wonderland. As before, she finds that she sometimes becomes larger and sometimes smaller. She finds that the Hatter is ill, and she  has to try to help him. This movie is coming to Japan in July. I hope the cinemas in Kumamoto open in time to show it.

Over the weekend, the FA Cup final was held in London. Manchester United beat Crystal Palace 2–1. But I hear that the manager, Louis Van Gaal, will be fired and Jose Mourinho will come in in his place. Even though the football was not so exciting, I feel a little sorry for Van Gaal.

[166 words]

BR 1-06: The Motorway

Gran looked upset.
"What's the matter, Gran? asked Chip.
"They want to build a motorway. They want to put it right here," said Gran. (p. 12)

Gran and the children are worried that a motorway will spoil their village, and that they won't be able to play outside. But, even though they protest at a meeting, the plans go ahead—until, one day, they discover some rare flowers!

The book has an interesting ecological message. I recommend it to everyone.

Hunt, R., & Brychta, A. (1994). The motorway. Oxford University Press.

[85 words]

Alice through the looking glass, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Alice Through the Looking Glass, the sequel to Alice in Wonderland. Like Alice in Wonderland, it stars Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Mia Wasikowska. It looks like the date of its release has not yet been fixed. I thought Alice in Wonderland was only so-so, but the 3-D effects were excellent, so I will probably go and see this one. But I'm more interested in going to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. That one's coming to Japan in August.

In English football news, you may have heard that Arsenal got second place in the Premier League, behind Leicester City, the team where Okazaki plays. The last time I heard, the fourth place, which gives a team a chance to play in the Champions League, was yet to be decided. Probably Manchester City will get it, and Manchester United will lose out this year.

[153 words]

BR 1-05: Flood!

Dad looked worried.
"I don't like the look of this," he said. "We don't want the water to get as far as our house." Chip grinned at Dad.
"It couldn't go that far," he said. "Could it?" (p. 11)

But that night the flood did reach the house, even though they had tried to block off the water with sandbags. They had to be rescued by boat and stay in a hall until the flood went down. When they got back home, their house was muddy, but they cleaned it up and their life went back to normal.

This reminded me of Bangkok, where floods are quite frequent.

Hunt, R., & Brychta, A. (2001). Flood! Oxford University Press.

[113 words]

BR 1-04: Chinese Adventure (ORT)

Gran was pleased with the present. It was a Chinese vase. (p. 3)

I like this book very much. The children are taken back to ancient China by a magic key.

Hunt, R., & Brychta, A. (1994). Chinese adventure. Oxford University Press.

[40 words]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. This is the third or fourth (I think) movie in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. It looks very exciting. It's directed by Michael Bay, so we shouldn't expect too much, but I still want to see it. It's opening in the US in June. I'm not sure when it's coming to Japan.* Probably it will come to Kumamoto even later.

The football season in England is coming to an end. Leicester City won the Premiership a few weeks ago, but yesterday Arsenal took 2nd place, and Spurs moved down to 3rd. Manchester United and Manchester City were fighting for 4th spot, which would give them the chance to play in the Champions League. Both clubs are very rich, so not qualifying would be a bit of a shock to them.

I'm going to Okinawa later this week for a conference. It will be my first time to go there. I hope the weather won't be too rainy. Have you been to Okinawa? I will be at Meio University in Nago city. I hear that pork is very nice in Okinawa, so I hope to get the chance to eat some.

It's coming to Japan in August!

[208 words]

BR1-03: Stone Stoup

Then the visitor said, "I once had stone soup with cabbage and carrots. It was delicious!" A woman brought carrots and put them in the pot. (pp. 8-9)

Today I read Stone Soup, in the Folk and Fairy Tale Easy Readers series. That's one of my favorite traditional stories, and it's nice how the visitor makes everyone share and enjoy each other's company, even after he has left the village.



Einhorn, K. (2006). Stone soup. New York, NY: Scholastic.

[77 words]

Finding Dory, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Finding Dory. It's a Pixar movie, and the sequel to Finding Nemo. I enjoyed Finding Nemo, though I don't think it was the best of the Pixar movies. Pixar movies as a whole have been going down in quality the last few years, so I hope they can make a good one this time.

Recently, there are fewer quakes than before, but at least one or two a day still. I hope that they stop soon. My office was super-messy after the big one but now it's almost back to normal. A few people are still living in shelters, unfortunately.

Who do you think will finish in the top 4 in the Premier League this year? My guess is that Manchester United will just make it, knocking Manchester City out.

[134 words]

BR1-02: The Spider and the Beehive

They walked deep into the jungle to the boy's favorite plum tree. The spider felt greedy. He ate up every single plum and did not share any. (p. 5)

The Spider and the Beehive is a book in the Folk and Fairy Tale Easy Readers series. It's a Level G book. It's about a greedy and cunning spider who learns that cheating people is not good.


Einhorn, K. (2006). The spider and the beehive. New York, NY: Scholastic.

[76 words]

What did you read?

1. What did you read?
2. Who's it by? / Who's the author?
3. Are there any illustrations? What do you think of them?
4. Who are the characters in the book?
5. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the book?
6. Please read a couple of pages aloud to me!
7. Who's the publisher?
8. What year was it published?
9. What series is it in?

[55 words]

Finding Dory, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Finding Dory, the new movie from Pixar and the sequel to Finding Nemo. The scene features Dory sleepswimming and worrying the family by going off somewhere and talking in her sleep. Dory seems to be scatterbrained, and when she's awake she says that she has just remembered something, but then she forgets what she remembered and gets confused. Then she dashes off because she thinks her family is in danger. It looks like a fun movie and I look forward to seeing it.

The other day, Leicester City won the title in the Premier League. It is a big achievement because the team was promoted to the Premier League very recently, and last year it seemed to be the weakest team in the league. This season, it was the favorite to be relegated. When the team's new manager, Claudio Ranieri, was appointed at the beginning of the season, many people laughed because his image was as a not very good manager, but his players seem to love him and he was very capable with tactics and with keeping a good team spirit. It looks like Spurs will be second in the league. Three teams are fighting for the 3rd and 4th spots, including Manchester United and Manchester City.

[213 words]

Long time, no see

Hi, everyone! Long time, no see! I hope you were all OK in the earthquakes. All the furniture in my office fell down, and my university had many problems, but soon we'll be back to normal.

It's so long since we had a writing class, so today let's review the things you need to do for the course. In class, we'll:

1. do our second Juppun ha Juubun
2. write another book review

Because of the problems with the KGU Library, I think you won't be able to use the English Reading Garden for some time. So I will bring books to class most weeks. You can also read e-books through the university library website. There is also a backup site for a small number of books. We will also start our first essay topic soon.

BR 1:01 Henry and Mudge and the Happy Cat

Suddenly Mudge ran to the door and barked. Henry's father opened the door. Sitting on the steps was the shabbiest cat Henry had ever seen. (pp. 6-7)

Today I read the eighth book in the Henry and Mudge series, Henry and Mudge and the Happy Cat. Like the other books in the series, it is written by Cynthia Rylant and the illustrations are by Suçie Stevenson. The book consists of just one story, divided into three chapters. It is about a cat that gets lost and comes to Henry's house. Henry and Mudge and Henry's parents love the cat. [98 words]

My spring vacation

In the spring vacation, I didn't have much free time, only about 5 days in total, including weekends. It was a tough schedule because of my new job. The most interesting part was the visit of my nephew from England. He spent about three weeks in Japan, including four days in Kumamoto.

I did manage to find some time to see a few movies. The one that was most interesting was The Big Short, a film about the financial crisis of 2008. It was a kind of semi-documentary: although actors played it like a fictional movie, sometimes there was a voiceover with some explanation of financial terms or the reasons for the crisis.

[112 words]

BR 1: 01 Henry and Mudge and the Best Day of All

On the first day of May Henry woke up early and said to his big dog Mudge, "I'm having a birthday today." Judge wagged his tail, rolled over, and snored. (p. 5)

Today I read Henry and Mudge and the Best Day of All. The story is by Cynthia Rylant and the pictures are by Suçie Stevenson. The series is Ready-to-Read and it's a level 2 book. It is the fourteenth book of Henry and Mudge's adventures. It consists of four different stories: The First Day of May, A Colorful Morning, Cracker from the Sky, and Best Day.

My favorite story was Best Day, because it featured a party with games and lots of food such as ice cream and a cake.

My spring vacation

In my spring vacation, I was hoping to take several days' holiday and relax. But I was given a very busy new job and that made took a lot of time. In the end, I took only 4 or 5 days in total. My nephew came to visit from England, as part of his trip around the world. We went to Aso to see the volcano and also to eat dengaku and have a hot spring bath. We also went around the castle and the traditional arts and crafts center.

I also found time to see a few movies. My favorite one was the Big Short, which is a semi-documentary about the financial crisis of 2008. I also enjoyed the new Star Wars movie. But I'm looking forward especially to the new Star Wars movie in 2017, because it has a very interesting director.

This semester, I have many new classes and jobs to do. But I'll try to find time to watch new movies when they come out. Let's go together sometime!

[171 words]

Welcome to Writing III!

Hi, everyone. I'm Rick, your teacher for Writing III and IV. I hope you will enjoy these classes, and improve your writing over the year.

Let's talk about Writing III first. The main things we will do every week in this class are timed writings, called Juppun ha Juubun, and book reviews (2 a week). In addition, I'd like you to write general posts about your daily life as often as possible. In this way, everyone will be writing a minimum of 3 and usually 4 or 5 posts a week.

Class schedule

April

11th: 1th class

18th: 2th class

25th: 3th class

May

2nd: 4th class

9th: 5th class

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16th: 6th class

23rd: 7th class

30th: HOLIDAY

June

6th: 8th class

13th: 9th class

20th: 10th class

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27th: 11th class

July

4th: 12th class

11th: 13th class

18th: 14th class

25th: 15th class

BLOCKS

As you can see from the schedule above, I think of the 15-week course in terms of three blocks of five classes. The activities won't change so much, but the emphasis will shift.

BLOCK 1

Fluency is important in writing, just as it is in speaking. In the first five weeks, the goal is simply to get used to writing frequently, if possible five posts a week or more. You don't need to worry so much about writing correctly. The idea is to build confidence and speed. However, please be sure to look at my comments on your blog, some of which will include corrections.

BLOCK 2

While continuing with basically the same activities, we will start looking at ways to improve accuracy, in terms of grammar and spelling. My comments on your blog will take on more importance during this block.

BLOCK 3

During Block 3, you will study model compositions to learn various phrases in order to improve your own writing more systematically.

Various matters

This is the final Juppun ha Juubun of the semester. How much can I write? What shall I write about? Maybe I'll talk about some movies. Today we saw Hannah and her Sisters. Hannah was played by Mia Farrow. I think she's a very good actress, but it's interesting that most of her famous roles are in Woody Allen films. The main ones that were not connected to Woody Allen were Rosemary's Baby and The Great Gatsby.

Another actress in Hannah and her Sisters was Dianne Wiest. She has been in lots of movies, one of them being Edward Scissorhands. Another sister, Lee, was played by Barbara Hershey. Her highest rated movie is 11:14, which I haven't seen, but she has been in many, a recent one being Black Swan.

Movies and other matters

Hello, everyone, how are things going? There have been a lot of good movies playing recently. Of course, we saw Grosse Pointe Blank in class, but in the movie theaters now lots of movies are playing: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Creed, American Ultra, Paddington, and so on. I haven't seen Creed yet, but I recommend all the others. Paddington is very cleverly made, with the bear seeming quite natural amongst the human characters. Nicole Kidman has an interesting role in the movie. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is surprisingly similar to the first Star Wars movie (Episode IV: A New Hope) but well made and a lot of fun. American Ultra is very funny but also quite exciting drama.

Have you been following the football in the Premier League? Arsenal lost to Chelsea and have lost the top spot. Manchester United also lost their most recent match, and many fans want to change the manager. I think Leicester are still top.

Avoiding nasty surprises with your score

Introduction

Remember that the final exam is on February 4th. You still have several days to solve any problems with your blog. Read the questions and advice that follow carefully.

Have you written more than 5000~6000 words?

There is no official minimum word count for this course. But the course is designed so that most people (especially A-class students) will easily exceed 5000 words:

• You write a Juppun ha Juubun post every week.
• You write at least one book review every week, and that book review can include quotations (clearly marked and not too long) from books and vocabulary lists.
• Some posts involve copying sentences from handouts and other sources. With compositions (e.g. hometowns), you could make one post for every model if you wished.
• You are encouraged to write diary posts and/or extra book reviews as often as possible.
• When writing about a movie (for example), you are encouraged to write at least two posts: one with basic information, and one review (which can also mention the same information).
• Over a year, everyone making an effort should have become more fluent. Most people will have tried writing longer posts, naturally leading to larger total wordcounts.

Thus, if your word count this semester is less than 5000, you probably haven’t been making a constant effort. Check the other items in this post, and make sure that you haven’t forgotten to do something.

Have you posted and updated your final Blog Stats post?

On the day before the exam, check that your data are up-to-date. This will save you time in the exam, meaning that you can spend nearly all the time writing the essays.

Have you improved your writing over the year in some tangible way?

I have written corrections on everyone’s blog fairly constantly through the year, and you have had plenty of opportunities to ask questions about anything you didn’t understand. What aspect(s) of your writing have you improved?

Hannah and her Sisters info

Hannah and her Sisters

(Director) Woody Allen: Mickey
Michael Caine: Elliot
Mia Farrow: Hannah
Carrie Fisher: April
Barbara Hershey: Lee
Dianne Wiest: Holly
Max von Sydow: Frederick


Woody Allen: Annie Hall, Manhattan, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Zelig, Sleepers, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Wimbledon

movie language

Grosse Pointe Blank is a 1997 movie starring John Cusack and directed by George Armitage. The movie also features John Cusack's sister, Joan Cusack, playing his secretary. The movie centers around a hitman called Martin Blank, who has to go back to his hometown for a job around the same time as a school reunion. Minnie Driver, Dan Aykroyd, and Alan Arkin costar.


Hannah and her Sisters

Woody Allen
Michael Caine

Movie language

Grosse Pointe Blank is a movie starring John Cusack and directed by George Armitage. John Cusack plays a hitman called Martin Blank, who is contracted to kill someone from his hometown. His
secretary is played by Cusack's real sister, Joan Cusack. Blank's ex-girlfriend is played by Minnie Driver.

Zootopia, New Year, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Zootopia. It will be released in March in the U.S. and in April in Japan. It involves lots of animals, including a police officer.

The last month has seen a lot of football action in the U.K. There have been several Premier League matches as well as F.A. Cup matches. Arsenal and Leicester are still at the top of the table, and Manchester City and Spurs are not far behind.

The Oscar nominations have been decided. In the Best Picture nominations, I think that only Bridge of Spies and Mad Max: Fury Road have already been shown in Japan, so I am anxious to see what Spotlight, The Martian, Room, The Revenant, The Big Short, and Brooklyn are like. I think The Martian, with Matt Damon, is coming soon.
133 words

Hometowns

I like my hometown.

a trip

I enjoyed my trip

Provisional blog report

My blog

Juppun ha Juubun

April 20th: 227
April 27th: 146
May 11th: 156

July 27th: 141
September 28th: 129

December 24th: 133
January 18th: 133
January 25th/26th:

Book Reviews

Number: 5
Audio: 2
Best book review: Wagon Wheels
2nd book review: The Drinking Gourd


Movies:

Diary:

Compositions

Trips: 1
Hometowns: 1

Posts

September: 3
October: 12
November: 7
December: 13
January/February: 4

Words

Total:

New Year

Hello, everyone, long time, no see. How are you doing? Although I haven't been to KGU for a long time, I have been rather busy. Yesterday and on Saturday, we had the Center exams. At New Year, I got two days' holiday only. But I managed to go and see the new Star Wars movie. It was pretty good. I am also hoping to see the new Rocky movie, Creed, soon.

The Oscar nominations have been decided. Leonardo DiCaprio's movie, Revenant, has many nominations. But I heard it is terribly violent, so I'm not sure if I will go and see it.

American dialect map, A partridge in a pear tree, and other matters

Today we learnt the song The Twelve Days of Christmas. I can't imagine receiving a partridge for Christmas. What would I do with it? Maybe I would plant the pear tree and it could live there. But would it live peacefully with the French hens, the calling birds, and the turtle doves? These are the big questions of our day!

The American dialect map that I came across the other day is very interesting. Take a look sometime! It tells us about the various influences on American English in different parts of the country, such as (of course) British English on the East Coast, French in the south, German and Norwegian in some places, and Irish and Scottish influences in others.

We're going to watch the second half of Hannah and Her Sisters today. Yeah!
133 words

X-Men: Apocalypse…and other matters

Today we watched the trailer for X-Men: Apocalypse. I have enjoyed the X-Men movies so far, so I am looking forward to this one. I like James McAvoy very much and he think he does a good job following in Patrick Stewart's footsteps as Xavier, and the rest of the cast is also good. It starts on Memorial Day in the U.S. and probably it won't be too far behind in Japan.

In the Premier League, there has been some turmoil. Jose Mourinho has been sacked as the manager of Chelsea, and Guus Hiddink has come in as interim manager. Manchester United has been losing a lot of matches, so their manager is under threat. Liverpool have also been losing a lot of matches. Leicester, the Thai-owned club where Okazaki plays, is at the top of the table. In England, the Christmas and New Year period is ultra-busy, and after that many players are tired or injured, and the situation often changes, but many people hope that Leicester will continue to do well.

Star Trek: Beyond

Today we watched the trailer for Star Trek: Beyond, the latest movie in the Star Trek series, which has now continued for more than 40 years. The atmosphere was very different from other Star Trek movies, perhaps because the director is from the Fast and Furious series.

Probably all of you know about the latest Star Wars movie, which started on Friday. The director of that movie was recruited partly because of his success in rebooting the Star Trek series, when no movie had been made in the series for a long time. The two series are very different. Although Star Wars has a spiritual side (the Force), the stories are basically like westerns, with the Empire fighting against the rebels. By contrast, although Star Trek also features conflict, its general message is about hope and peace. If you get the chance, please check out some of the Star Trek: Next Generation TV series episodes.

Hot Rocks (audio review)

Please check out my audio review of Hot Rocks, a book in the TopReaders series.
Audio recording >>

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows…and other matters

Today we watched the trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, which is scheduled to open in June next year. It looked pretty exciting, so I'm looking forward to seeing it, even though it's a long way off. Talking of movies, the James Bond movie Spectre is already playing and the new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, is coming this Friday.

The Premier League is exciting as usual. Manchester United, Liverpool, and Tottenham slipped a little at the weekend, which means that Arsenal and probably Leicester City (who are playing tonight) are at the top, with Manchester City and Manchester United not far behind. Manchester United is getting a lot of criticism for playing boring football but also not being strong defensively. The groups for next summer's Euro championships were also decided over the last few days. England and Wales will be in the same group.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows… and other matters

Today, we saw the trailer for the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, due to be released in June next year. I enjoyed the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie in 1990, but I kind of lost track of them. I didn't realize that a new movie came out last year, nor that a sequel was in the works. In Kumamoto, I'm guessing that the movie will come out only in its dubbed version, so I'm not sure whether I'll go and see it. (Sometimes, even on iTunes the dubbed version is the only one that is available.) That's unfortunate, because part of the attraction of the Turtles is the language, which is based on the hippy talk of the 1960s.

Making an audio book review

1. Make sure that your audio file is ready. (Is the English correct? Can we hear clearly what you are saying?)
2. Go to Vocaroo.com
3. Upload your file, then listen to check that it's OK.
4. Click embed, then copy the code. (Be sure to copy the whole code and nothing else.)
5. In Blogger, make a new post.
6. Switch to HTML mode.
7. Write a sentence or two to introduce your audio book review.
8. Press RETURN once or twice after the sentence(s).
9. Paste the code that you just copied.
10. Press RETURN once or twice.
11. Add a picture of the book cover in the usual way. Set the alignment to RIGHT.

Make sure that the code you paste into your blog post is separated from your sentence(s) and the picture.

Use the usual Book Reviews tag for the post.

For the title, use TITLE_OF_THE_BOOK (audio review).

Ireland (audio review)

Hi, everyone, please check out my review of Ireland, an Oxford Bookworms Factfile!
Audio recording >>

Ireland (audio review)

Hi, everyone, please check out my review of the Oxford Bookworms Factfiles book, Ireland!

Ireland script

Hello. Today, I'm going to tell you a bit about Ireland, a book in the Oxford Bookworms Factfiles series.
The book consists of 10 chapters. I'm going to tell you about just one or two chapters that particularly interested me:
Chapter 5: Death from Hunger and Chapter 6: Fighting to be Free.

Chapter 5 begins at the end of the 18th century, and goes through the 19th century. It's about fights between the Irish and the English, the joining of Ireland and England into one country, and the potato blight that sent many Irish fleeing to the U.S.

Chapter 6 concerns the Irish fight for independence in the 20th century.

The other chapters are all interesting, and you can learn a lot about Ireland from this book. Check it out if you have time!

Exposed…and other matters

Today we watched the trailer for Exposed, a movie starring Keanu Reeves, Mira Sorvino, and Ana de Armas (a new actress from Cuba). It seems to be a very familiar story involving a murdered cop, a cover-up, and a partner who won't give up. Keanu Reeves is well-known for Speed, The Matrix, John Wick, Much Ado About Nothing, and many other movies. Mira Sorvino isn't seen so much these days, but she won an Oscar for her role in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite. Other movies of hers include Beautiful Girls, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, and Replacement Killers. Others that I haven't seen are Barcelona and Like Dandelion Dust, both rated very highly.

Ireland script

Hello. Today, I'd like to tell you about a book in the Oxford Bookworms Factfiles series, called Ireland. It's divided into 10 chapters, but I'd like to talk to you about two of them:
Chapter 5: Death from Hunger; and Chapter 6: Fighting to be Free.

Chapter 5 is about the end of the 18th century and the 19th century, when the Irish and English fought a lot. Most of the Irish were Catholics and poor, but the English were Protestant and rich. Many Irish farmers died from hunger and many others ran away to the United States.

Chapter 6 tells us about the Irish Republican Army and independence for Ireland.

The other chapters are all interesting, so please check out this book if you get the chance. Thank you.

Exposed…and other matters

Today we watched the trailer for Exposed, a move starring Keanu Reaves and Ana de Armas, and costarring Mira Sorvino. I'm not a great fan of Keanu Reeves, and I haven't seen Ana de Armas before, but I like Mira Sorvino. She was good in Mighty Aphrodite and Replacement Killers. The movie looks like many other cop movies, with the star's partner murdered and the star investigating his death, but his boss discouraging him from looking too deep. Will Keanu discover the dark secrets behind the death? And will he rescue Ana de Armas's character?

In the Premier League, Leicester are still top, followed by Arsenal, Manchester City, and Manchester United. Liverpool lost to Newcastle, which gives Newcastle the chance to get out of the relegation zone next week. No-one thinks that Leicester will win the title, but no-one else is very convincing, either.

Notes on "Ireland" (Oxford Bookworms)

Contents

1. A strange and interesting country
2. Around the island
3. The Irish church and people
4. The English come to Ireland
5. Death from hunger
6. Fighting to be free
7. Northern Ireland
8. Dublin
9. Stories, music and dancing
10. A country for young people

Chapter 5: Death from hunger

1795–1798: Irish and English fight. French help Irish, but English win.

1801: "Act of Union": England and Ireland become one country. Protestants are happy; Catholics are not.

Most Catholics are small farmers and quite poor.

1840s: "Potato blight": the potatoes die, and thousands of farmers die. Many flee to America to make a living. Most of the Irish who arrived safely lived in New York and other big cities.

Chapter 6: Fighting to be free

1914: Ireland gets its own Parliament. Catholics happy, Protestants not.

1916: Patrick Pearse forms a group of Irishmen to demand independence from England.

1918: The political party Sinn Féin was formed to fight for independence. Its military wing was the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The IRA, with its leader Michael Collins, killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers, and policemen and soldiers killed hundreds of IRA people.

1921: England agreed that Ireland could have its own government and president. But one part, Northern Ireland, remained part of the UK.

In 1968, the IRA started fighting for a better life for the Catholics in Northern Ireland, so I have many memories from my childhood of bombs in London and other cities in England. But during the Tony Blair administration, peace came.

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Spotlight, and other matters…

Today we saw the trailer for Spotlight, a movie starring Stanley Tucci, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, and Michael Keaton, about a scandal in the Catholic Church in Boston. The movie focuses on the Spotlight team's investigation, starting from 2002, of the scandal. The Spotlight team is a real investigative team. The movie has a 97% positive rating.

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Spotlight, and other matters…

Today, we watched the trailer for Spotlight. It is based on a true story about the Catholic Church in Boston. The movie focuses on the work of a team of reporters at the Boston Globe, a well-respected newspaper in Boston, to uncover a conspiracy involving many priests in the church. It appears to be in the best tradition of movies based on true stories about newspaper reporting of real events, perhaps rather similar to All the President's Men. I recommend that you also see All the President's Men.

In the Premier League, both Arsenal and Manchester United are faltering, while Liverpool and Manchester City seem to be doing better. All the British teams in the Champions League are having problems. It looks like the Champions League is between Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

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Suffragette, and other matters

Today we watched the trailer for Suffragette, as well as a featurette about the film. There were interviews with Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan, and Helena Bonham Carter, who play the main roles in the film. Meryl Streep plays Emmeline Pankhurst, the leader of the suffragette movement, Helena Bonham Carter plays an activist in the movement, and Carey Mulligan plays a laundry worker who is influenced by Helena Bonham Carter's character to start participating in the movement. The producer and director of the film are women and some of the people interviewed mentioned that the people making the movie felt like a sisterhood.

Some movies playing today are The Clouds of Sils Maria and A Most Violent Year. And The Assassin is playing until this Friday! It's a very unusual film, nominally a martial arts film but mainly about the feelings of the assassin and human relationships. The biggest martial arts scene is filmed from a distance.

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Suffragette, and other matters…

Today, we watched the trailer for Suffragette, a movie starring Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, and Meryl Streep, about the fight for women's equality in early-20th-century Britain. I haven't heard so many details about the movie but the argument about whether to argue peacefully for change or to fight for it seems to be at the centre of the movie. It looks like it's a powerful movie about an important event not too long ago, and I like all three actresses, so I hope it will come to Japan before too long. Ben Whishaw also features in the movie.

Talking of movies, the final Hunger Games movie is here! And American Dreamer has also started.

Barista, The Assassin, and other matters…

Today we saw two trailers, Barista and The Assassin. The Assassin is directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), the famous director from Taiwan, who was born in Guangdong. Some of his other films are A City of Sadness, The Puppetmaster, Daughter of the Nile, and Flowers of Shanghai. Some directors and critics consider him one of the greatest directors ever. Here is a picture of the poster from Flowers of Shanghai, which starred Tony Leung. He is well-known for the beauty of the images in his films.
One of his western films is Flight of the Red Balloon, made in France and starring Juliette Binoche.

Barista, The Assassin, and other matters…

Today we saw two trailers: Barista and The Assassin. Barista is a documentary about a barista competition. The contestants have to make three rounds of drinks (four cups of each one) for seven judges. As far as I remember, in addition to a head judge there are four sensory judges and two technical judges. The three drinks are espresso, cappuccino, and an original drink of the contestant's creation. For the cappuccino, it is said that the main challenge is getting the balance right, making sure that the coffee taste is at the front rather than being overwhelmed by the milk.
The Assassin has now started playing at Denkikan. It plays twice a day, at 11:10 and 16:10. It is a movie directed by the famous Taiwanese director, Hou Hsiao-Hsien. The critics I listen to most often said that it is very "cinematic" and also "painterly" at the same time, and judges at the Cannes Film Festival said it was one of the most beautiful movies they had ever seen.
Changing subjects, did you hear about Aston Villa's most recent match? Under their new manager, they drew with Manchester City, the league leaders!