Juppun ha Juubun update

My Cousin Rachel, and other matters…

Daphne du Maurier
Cornwall, southwest England, Cornish pasty
Rachel Weisz
Sam Claflin

Today we watched the trailer for My Cousin Rachel, a new movie based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier. The story is set in du Maurier's home county of Cornwall, and it seems to have been filmed there, too, so we can see Cornwall's beautiful scenery.

Did you hear about the Grenfell Tower disaster in London? A tower block of flats caught fire, and the fire spread in just a few minutes, leading to many, many deaths. Now, about 58 people are missing. The Prime Minister and the Queen have visited the site. They are trying to decide what to do to house all the people who have lost their homes.

Did you hear the England won the Under-20 championship? Yeah!

[120 words]

Robin Hood (ORT)

Biff and Wilma went to the pantomime. They went with Wilma's mum. They had a friend called Anneena. Anneena went to the pantomime with them.

Today I read Robin Hood, a Stage 6/7 book in the Oxford Reading Tree series. As shown in the quotation above, the story starts with the children going to the pantomime to see a play about Robin Hood. The next day, they make a song
about Robin Hood, and while they are singing it the magic key begins to glow and they are taken back to the Nottinghamshire woods in the 12th century, where they meet Robin Hood and his men. Unfortunately, they are captured by the sheriff and his men—except for Biff, who has gone off to explore. He manages to free Robin Hood and his men, and the children, and they move to a different part of the forest. Then the magic key begins to glow, and the children go back home.

Juppun ha Juubun update

My Cousin Rachel, and other matters…

Daphne du Maurier
My Cousin Rachel, written in 1951
Rachel Weisz
Sam Claflin
Roger Michell (director)

Today, we watched the trailer for My Cousin Rachel, a new movie starring Rachel Weisz and Sam Claflin, who plays Philip. Philip learns from letters from his guardian that Rachel, his guardian's wife, is controlling him and causing his death. After he dies, Philip decides to get revenge on Rachel. When she comes to visit, however, he finds her very attractive and begins to change his mind about her. What is the truth about Rachel? Daphne du Maurier is from Cornwall in England, and she also wrote The Birds and Rebecca, both of which have been made into movies.

Last Wednesday, England played a friendly match against France. France won 3–2. In general, the England midfield was overrun. People feel rather dissatisfied with how the game went and are looking for more progress from the team.

[135 words]

The 4 Elements of a Reference

 

 

1. The author. 
2. The year of publication.
3. The title of the book.
4. The location and name of the publisher.

Each of the 4 elements is ended with a period and one space. (After the last one, you don't need a space, but you DO need a period.

1. To make sure a reference is findable in a list, write the surname (family name) first. In this case, the author is Violet Findley, so we write:
   Findley, V.
2. The year of publication is 2006. Write:
   (2006). 
3. Write the title. Sometimes titles are written in ALL CAPS on book covers, but that is just a design matter, so don't copy it. Ideally, you should use italics for the title.
4. The location is New York, NY and the publisher is Scholastic, so write:
   New York, NY: Scholastic.

So this book is written:

 

Findley, V. (2006). The Gingerbread Man. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Hansel & Gretel (We Both Read)

Hansel and Gretel woke the next morning to the sound of a pretty white bird singing sweetly on the bough of a tree. The bird seemed to tell them to follow him.
When the bird had finished his song, he spread his wings and flew away.
Hansel and Gretel followed the bird. They followed the bird through the woods. They followed the bird to a little house.

Hansel and Gretel are clever children. When they go into the woods, they take some bread and leave a trail of breadcrumbs so that they can find their way back.
Unfortunately, the birds eat the breadcrumbs, so they lose their way. When a bird wakes them and leads them to a house in the woods, they feel very lucky, as if they have been saved. But little do they know how dangerous the house is! Can Hansel and Gretel escape the witch and find their way back home? Will their father be there waiting for them?

Vocabulary

plump 丸々太った
withered しわしわ
yank ～をグイッと引っ張る

McKay, S. (1999). Hansel & Gretel (We Both Read). San Anselmo, CA. Treasure Bay.

Megan Leavey, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Megan Leavey, an Iraq War movie starring Kate Mara. She plays a woman who doesn't know how to communicate with other people, but she is placed in a K9 unit, where her job is to train a dog and then work with the dog to find landmines and other explosives. Her dog is called Rex. She says that Rex taught her how to love.

In the UK, Theresa May of the Conservative Party is trying to form a government again, after a rather unsuccessful general election. It is probable that the Conservative Party will work with the DUP, a party from Northern Ireland. Brexit negotiations will start very soon, and many people worry about that.

[120 words]

The Frog Prince (We Both Read)

The next evening, while dining with the King, the Princess heard an odd noise — plitch, plotch, plitch, plotch.
Something was climbing up the palace stairs.
Reaching the top, the "something" called out in a raspy voice, "Excuse me, Princess! Please open the door! You promised to be my friend!"

The Frog Prince is a well-known tale, so you probably know the background. The Princess drops her golden ball in the pond. A frog offers to get it for her if she will be his friend and let him eat from her plate and sleep in her bed. She
promises, but then runs away, seeking to break the promise.  But the frog comes looking for her. She tries to send him away, but the King says: "A promise is a promise. And this one you must keep."

So the princess keeps her promise, even though she hates letting a frog eat from her plate and sleep in her bed. But she comes to hate it less and less, and after a few days…

Vocabulary

webbed feet: 水かきのある足
hop: ピョンピョン跳ぶ
raspy voice: 耳障りな声、かすれ気味の声、しゃがれ声、ガラガラ声


McKay, S. (1997). The Frog Prince (We Both Read). San Anselmo, CA: Treasure Bay.

Megan Leavey, and other matters…

Kate Mara

Megan Leavey is an Iraq War movie starring Kate Mara. Her co-star is a dog called Rex. He is very sensitive to danger, including explosives in cars and landmines. Megan is not very sociable, and doesn't know how to speak to people, but she forms a bond with Rex. The movie is based on a true story.

The Woody Allen movie Café Society has just ended. The next film I'm looking forward to at Denkikan is Manchester by the Sea.

Do you know the TV drama Scandal? It's a White House drama centered around electoral fraud. It seems rather interesting.

The Premier League season (and that of other European leagues) is over, so now there is time for international games, particularly World Cup qualifiers. Last week, England played Scotland in Scotland. The match ended in a draw, with 2 goals scored after 90 minutes. It wasn't a great game, but the late goals made it very exciting.

154 words

Read to Write Practice Plus!

1. I was born in Devon in the UK.
2. I am teaching applied linguistics and English at PUK.
3. I live with my wife and daughter.
4. My blood type is A (because I am an 英国人!) and my birthday is January 2nd.
5. I went to Osaka by myself a few weeks ago to attend a lecture.
6. I played the koto for the first time when I was 25. I got my teacher's licence when I was about 35.
7. I have been playing tennis and table tennis since I was at secondary school. I also played badminton for some time.
8. Devon is in the south-west of England and is quite near France.
9. I used to have a friend called Chris when I was in primary school.
10. I have never been to Universal Studios but I would like to go there sometime.

Victoria & Abdul, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Victoria & Abdul, a movie starring Judi Dench and directed by Stephen Frears. Judi Dench has acting credits in 120 movies, spanning six decades. When younger, she played several Shakespearean roles and also appeared in movies such A Room With a View. Some of her best roles have come in the later years of her life, in movies such as Shakespeare in Love, Iris, Hamlet, Philomena, and then several of the 007 movies. Her last Bond movie was Skyfall. She has an OBE and many other awards.
[93 words]

Read to Write Practice

1. I was born in Devon in the UK.
2. I am teaching applied linguistics and English at PUK.
3. I live with my wife and daughter.
4. My blood type is A (because I am an 英国人!) and my birthday is January 2nd.
5. I went to Osaka by myself a few weeks ago to attend a lecture.
6. I played the koto for the first time when I was 25.
7. I have been playing tennis and table tennis since I was at secondary school.
8. Devon is in the south-west of England and is quite near France.
9. I used to have a friend called Chris when I was in primary school.
10. I have never been to Universal Studios but I would like to go there sometime.

My 1st blog check

Blog Layout

Comments section: Yes
Tags section: Yes

Post Categories

Book Reviews: 6
Juppun ha Juubun: 14
Typing/Diary: 0
Dictogloss: 0
Typing homeworks to Mr Tomei: 0

Juppun ha Juubun
145 - 95 - 204 - 119 - 169 - 164 - 93 - 88 - 110 - 147 - 80 - 183 - 158 - 146

1st Blog Check

Blog Layout

1. Do you have a Comments section on your blog?
2. Do you have a Tags ("Labels") section?

Post Categories

3. How many posts do you have with the tag Book Reviews?
4. How many posts do you have with the tag Juppun ha Juubun (or not Juppun ha Juubun)?
5. How many posts do you have with the Typing or Diary (or similar) tag?
6. How many posts do you have with the tag Dictogloss?
7. How many typing homeworks have you sent to Mr Tomei?

Juppun ha Juubun

How many words in each of your Juppun ha Juubun posts?


Please use the tag Blog Check for this post.

Victoria & Abdul, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Victoria & Abdul, a new movie starring Judi Dench. She plays Queen Victoria. In the movie, a young man from India is sent to London to present the Queen (also Empress of India) with a commemorative coin. His name is Abdul. The Queen takes a liking to Abdul, and he tells her lots of things about life in India. At first, he is her servant, but later he becomes her teacher, and she learns Urdu and the Quran from her.

Did you hear about the attack in London over the weekend? That makes three recent attacks in the UK.

The Champions League final was held over the weekend, in Cardiff in the UK. Real

Madrid beat Juventus very easily. It was the first time for a team to win in two consecutive years. Christiano Ronaldo scored two of Real Madrid's four goals.

[146 words]

Movies

One of my favorite actors is Denzel Washington. I like his movie Training Day very much.

Wonder Woman, This Means War, and other matters…

Gal Gabot
Chris Pine

Chris Pine
Tom Hardy
Reese Witherspoon

Today we watched the trailer for Wonder Woman, which is starting in June in the U.S.A. but in August in Japan. Chris Pine features in the movie, so we also watched This Means War, in which Chris Pine costars with Tom Hardy and Reese Witherspoon. This Means War is already 5 years old, but I still remember it well. The scenes where Chris Pine and Tom Hardy sabotage each other are very funny.

Have you heard about the FA Cup final? It was the last match of the 2016-17 season in England. It featured Arsenal against Chelsea, and everyone thought that Chelsea would win, because they were very strong this season. But Arsenal played extremely well and won the Cup. That is a consolation for finishing 5th this season, the first time in 20 years that they haven't finished in the top 4. Finishing in the top 4 means that they won't play in the Champions League next year.
[158 words]

Forest Whitaker

One of my favorite actors is Forest Whitaker. He is best known for the Oscar that he won for The Last King of Scotland.

Wonder Woman, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Wonder Woman, a DC comic that is scheduled to come to theaters this summer. It looks very exciting, and it's unusual to see a female star of a superhero movie. The trailer begins with Wonder Woman waking up a man, played by Chris Pine, who is lying, perhaps dead, on the beach. Perhaps he was washed up from a shipwreck. She asks him, "Are you a man?". He thinks that is strange, and asks her: "Haven't you ever seen a man before? What about your father?" She explains that she was created by Zeus and lives on an island of women, so he is the first man she has ever seen. In any case, she has to leave the island to help end a war in the outside world.
The movie is scheduled for August 25th!

Bu the way, have you seen Arrival? It's an excellent movie, and I recommend that you go to the cinema to see it if possible. The director is Denis Villeneuve, all of whose movies are very interesting, and the images are very beautiful.
[183 words]

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

"Stop there! I am going to eat you up!" yelled Troll.
"Wait for my brother. He is bigger and much more delicious than I!" cried Little Billy.
"What a fine idea," said Troll, licking his lips. And with that, Little Billy crossed the bridge. (pp. 6-8)

On trying to cross the bridge, in order to get to the other side where the grass is sweeter, Little Billy's trick works well, and it also works for Middle Billy. But what about Big Billy? You probably know the story already, but he is much bigger and strong enough to fight a troll.

Findley, Violet. (2006). The three billy goats gruff. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Vocabulary

clomp: ドスンドスン

The Founder and other matters…

Ray Kroc
McDonald
franchise

Today we watched the trailer for The Founder, a movie starring Michael Keaton that tells the story of the founding of McDonald's as a chain of hamburger restaurants. McDonald's had been founded in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant, and had changed to a hamburger restaurant in 1948. Ray Kroc joined in 1955 and moved to expand operations; he also purchased land and made the McDonald brothers leave the business.

You can watch this movie from the end of July at Denkikan.

[80 words]

The Elves and the Shoemaker

The shoemaker put the leather on his table. The next morning, he found two fancy pairs of shoes!
"Wow! I will sell these at the market," he said. And so he did.

This is a very easy retelling of the traditional story The Elves and the Shoemaker. A shoemaker and his wife are very poor, and the shoemaker is down to his last piece of leather. But when he wakes up in the morning, a fancy pair of shoes is already made. He sells them, uses the money to buy more leather, and then the next morning he finds two more pairs of shoes.

This continues for some time, and the shoemaker becomes rich. Eventually, they discover that a pair of elves have been making the shoes. They make some clothes for the elves, and the elves stop coming.

Unlike many traditional stories, there doesn't seem to be any big lesson to be learned from this story. The shoemaker and his wife appear to be honest people, but they don't do anything special to earn the favour of the elves. When they do something to repay the elves, the elves stop coming. But it is a very pleasant story throughout.

Findley, Violet. (2006). The elves and the shoemaker. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Vocabulary

tattered: ぼろぼろ

[208 words]

The Founder, and other matters…

Today we saw the trailer for The Founder, a movie starring Michael Keaton. It's based on the true story of the founding of McDonald's. Michael Keaton plays Ray Kroc, who was originally a partner of the McDonald brothers but managed to take over the company. The McDonald brothers had the original idea of fast food; they said their burgers would be ready in 30 seconds. Ray Kroc had the idea of franchising the business to make it bigger and make more money. Laura Dern plays Ray's wife. The movie is scheduled to start playing at Denkikan on July 29th.

The English Premier League season has now finished. On the last day, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City all won their matches, which means that Manchester City come 3rd and Liverpool come 4th. Arsenal, for the first time in 20 years, will not play in the Champions League next year.

[147 words]

Churchill, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Churchill, a movie about the former Prime Minister shortly before D-Day, who hesitated to send soldiers to invade France because he worried that it would not be successful and many soldiers would die. General Eisenhower and Churchill's wife persuade him that he needs to go ahead with the plan.

Have you seen Guardians of the Galaxy 2? It has started playing at the local theaters now. If you enjoyed the first Guardians movie, probably you will enjoy this one, too. At Denkikan, Café Society, Woody Allen's latest movie, is still playing. It stars Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart.

Soon, Arrival will arrive! Everybody says it's great!

[110 words]

Manifesto, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Manifesto. It's a movie starring Cate Blanchett—in all the roles! It's about art, but I couldn't really understand what it was trying to say.
Have you been following the football news in the UK? Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal all won their weekend match, and Manchester United lost. That means that only one of Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal will lose out on a Top 4 place. Arsenal need Liverpool or Manchester City to drop points.
Manchester United will play Ajax in the Europa League final on May 24th.

[88 points]

Journey to Mars

Everyone gets ready quickly.
"How long before we hit?" Buck asks.
"A few minutes," you say.
"Can we go around?" asks Maki.
"No, we can't turn in time," you say.
"I was the best pilot in my class," Buck says. "I can get us through."
"Or maybe we can blast the rocks," Maki says.
"How?" you ask. "This space ship has no weapons!"
"Easy. We blast them with our extra fuel tanks."
"But then we won't have enough fuel to get home!" Buck says.

Buck is the pilot, and Maki is the science officer. I am the navigator on a spaceship heading to Mars. An asteroid storm is upon us, and everyone wants me to decide what to do. If I trust in Buck's skills, we may get hit and all die. If I accept Maki's suggestion, then we may survive the asteroid storm but not be able to get back to Earth.

I have read Journey to Mars a few times now. I think I've probably followed each story path once, but I often forget what I did before. Today, I died rather quickly! This story has a wide variety of endings. But a Wispa doesn't appear in any of them.

Raine, Paul. (2014). Journey to Mars. Tokyo: Atama-ii Books.

Hidden Figures, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Hidden Figures, a movie based on the book of the same name about three black women who were important figures in the space program at NASA. The women were Katherine Johnson (played by Taraji P. Henson), Mary Jackson (played by Janelle Monae), and Dorothy Vaughan (played by Octavia Spencer). At the time, computers were not advanced at all, so NASA needed humans to calculate launches, landings, and orbits. The people who did that were
called "computers".

It looks like the movie has not yet been released in Japan.

[93 words]

Hunter in the Darkness

"One of you must give your life. At night, you will wait for Aku. You will wear this coat of bells.
"When the vampire takes you," you continue, "we will follow the sound of the bells. Then, in the morning, we will kill him. This, I swear!"
You look around. The villagers look scared.
"Who will give their life, so that others may live?" you ask. (p. 6)

Hunter in the Darkness is another book in the Atama-ii Books series of interactive adventure stories. As you can guess from the above, it is a story of a vampire hunter and his/my quest to kill Aku, the strongest of the vampires. The vampire will not be killed easily, and sacrifices will be called for. I have read the story before, but each time I read only one or two story paths. Today, the story path I took led me to a kind of ambiguous success.

Habeeb, Ramy. (2014). Hunter in the darkness. Tokyo: Atama-ii Books.

Hidden Figures, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Hidden Figures, a movie about black scientists who worked on the NASA space program to send the first astronaut into space. At that time, there were few women working at NASA, few black people, and even fewer black women. At first, most of the people there think that they are cleaners rather than scientists, engineers, or mathematicians. They have to go to special bathrooms set aside for black women, which are in a distant building, until the director of the program agrees that the bathrooms shouldn't be segregated.

In the Premier League, Tottenham lost, to give the advantage to Chelsea in the title race. Manchester City won, Liverpool drew, and Arsenal beat Manchester United. That means that Manchester City have a good chance of coming third or fourth. Liverpool are probably OK, but they are in a little danger still from Manchester United perhaps. Arsenal still have a chance of overtaking Manchester United to get into the Europa League.

[164 words]

Kingsman, and other matters…

ACTORS
Colin Firth
Taron Egerton

Today we watched the trailer for the first Kingsman film, as well as the second one, which is yet to be released. The trailer didn't have many details, so I guess it is not completed yet. But the film has an all-star cast, with Elton John, Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry, Mark Strong, and Julianne Moore—and of course Colin Firth. The first Kingsman film was very entertaining, with its unusual blend of action and humor. I think that Colin Firth is the essential ingredient. In the first film, Michael Caine was also very good.

Which teams do you think will get into the top four in the Premier League? It is difficult to guess, because, although Tottenham and Chelsea are very strong, the 3rd–6th place teams all have many weaknesses. Liverpool lost their most recent game, as did Arsenal, and Manchester United and Manchester City both drew. I think maybe the table will stay as it is now, i.e. Liverpool and Manchester City to stay in the top 4.

[169 words]

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The Exception, and other matters…

ACTORS:
Christopher Plummer
Lily James
Janet McTeer

Today we watched the trailer for The Exception, a World War II thriller starring Christopher Plummer, who plays Kaiser Wilhelm, who is in exile in the Netherlands. A German soldier is sent to spy on him, but he falls in love with the Kaiser's servant, who is a Jew. He has to choose between following orders and protecting the woman he loves.

In the Premier League, Chelsea and Spurs won convincingly, while Arsenal lost and both Manchester United and Manchester City drew. Those results opened up the gap between the top two teams and the rest. Liverpool have yet to play, but they lost their previous game, so the teams who will finish in the top 4 are still unclear.

119 words

Journey to Mars (Atama-ii Books)

Buck shoots, but he hits the wall behind you.
Before you can do anything, Maki pushes off the wall toward you. She grabs you, pulls you into the next room, and closes the door.
You look through a small window and see Buck. He is smiling, and his eyes are red. Then he moves away from the door. You can't see what he is doing.
You hear the computer's voice. "This ship will self-destruct in sixty seconds," it says.

Today, I read Journey to Mars. This is Book 1 in the Atama-ii Books series, which currently consists of 10 books. The books are all interactive adventures. That means that, at certain points in the story, you have to choose what to do. In Journey to Mars, I am the navigator of a voyage to Mars. I travel with Buck, the commander, and Maki, the science officer. Our voyage is quite eventful. We meet a wormhole and an asteroid field. There are many difficult choices on the way. Our mission is only successful in a few of the eight endings.

The Ghost in the Shell, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for The Ghost in the Shell, a movie starring Scarlett Johansson and Takeshi Kitano. It is based on the animated movie directed by Mamoru Ishii in 1995 and the 1989 manga by Shiro Masamune. Actually, I've already seen the movie, and it's really good. I'd like to watch the original animated film. Scarlett Johansson and Takeshi Kitano are really good.

As we approach the end of the football season, things are getting quite exciting. Manchester United are doing really well in the Europa League, and look like they might get into the top 4 in the Premier League, which would allow them to play in the Champions League next year. Chelsea, after losing to Manchester United recently, beat Spurs in the FA Cup semifinal, and look like they will probably win the Double (Premier League and FA Cup). Their opponent in the final will be Arsenal. Arsenal look a bit doubtful for the top 4. In the semifinal, they beat Manchester City, who look very vulnerable. They are in the top 4 at the moment, but could lose their place to Manchester United. Liverpool also lost yesterday, and they too look under threat of dropping out of the top 4.

(204 words)

The Lost Cup (Atama-ii Books)

Outside the hospital, you get into a taxi.
"Who is this 'King'? you ask John.
"In Brazil, there is only one King," he says with a smile. "And he's in Rio today, at Maracana Stadium. Let's go!"
You arrive at the famous soccer stadium a few minutes later. Outside, the street is full of people. They are dancing and cheering.
"Why are we here?" you ask.

Atama-ii Books feature eight different story paths. They are like the Choose Your Own Adventure series, in that you can make decisions about what to do at various points in the story. If you make the wrong decisions, you may die or fail in your quest. The Lost Cup is about two detectives who try to find the Jules Rimet cup, the World Cup that Brazil won in 1970 but that was stolen. A man called Sergio is helping you, but it is difficult to know if he is really helping or if he wants to trap you in some way. Unfortunately, at the end of the story I was trapped in a cave, probably soon to die!

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and other matters…

Actors:
Djimon Hounsou, Aidan Gillen, Jude Law, Eric Bana
Director:
Guy Ritchie

Today we watched the trailer for King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. As you can see from the title, it is the story of King Arthur, the legendary king of the Britons. He drew the sword Excalibur from the stone and became king according to the prophecy. There are many movies and books telling this story. The director this time is Guy Ritchie, who directed the Sherlock Holmes movies, so probably it will be very full of action.

Yesterday and on Saturday, the FA Cup semifinals were held. Arsenal and Chelsea will meet in the final.

[95 words]

War for the Planet of the Apes, and other matters…

I did not start this war.

Today, we watched the trailer for War for the Planet of the Apes. I have enjoyed all the Planet of the Apes movies so far, including the old ones starring Charlton Heston. The new ones are very impressive, and each one has been notable for the performance of Andy Serkis, who plays Caesar. As usual, there is a lot of violence, as the humans, led by Woody Harrelson, fight to destroy the apes,
and the apes realize they have to destroy all the humans if they are going to survive.

You may have heard that Chelsea lost yesterday's match against Manchester United. That means that the gap between Chelsea and Spurs has been reduced to 4 points. Chelsea are still favorites, but the end of the season will be exciting. Manchester United's chances of getting into the top 4 have increased, so Manchester City need to be careful not to throw away games as they have been doing.

[145 words]

Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and other matters…

It's time for the Jedi to end.

Today, we watched the trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It is the latest Star Wars movie, due to come out this December. I have watched all the Star Wars movies so far and I like the universe very much. But I was a bit disappointed by the most recent one, Rogue One. However, that one was one of the "anthology" films, rather than one in the "saga", so maybe we don't need to worry so much. From Rogue One, it seems that there will be a different director for every film, so we can expect the quality to fluctuate as each director works in his or her own style. The director for The Last Jedi is Rian Johnson, who directed Looper, an innovative science fiction film starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, so I think probably it will be very interesting.

Did you hear about yesterday's match between Manchester United and Chelsea. Chelsea lost, so the gap at the top is now much smaller. Can Spurs catch Chelsea?

[160 words]

Writing III: Session 2

Hi everyone, I hope you had a good week. Did you remember to write a book review on your blog? How was it? And did you manage to do the typing homework that Mr Tomei explained to you last week?

In today’s class, let’s do the following:

• your first Juppun ha Juubun
• practice the typing homework (let’s get ahead of the schedule!)
• a book review (if we have time)

Remember!

• You need to read a book and write a book review for homework every week, whether or not we did one in class! You should already have one book review on your blog by today’s class. If you don’t, write an extra one this week!
• Please continue to send the typing homework to Mr Tomei. Afterwards, please paste the homework onto your blog.

Notice!

1. Every week, we will do a Juppun ha Juubun in class.
2. Every week, you will do a book review for homework.
3. Every week, you will do a typing homework, and paste it into your blog.
4. Usually, we will do another book review or another task in class.

That means that every week you should have 4 new posts on your blog, i.e. about 16 a month. The number of monthly blog posts will be a big factor when deciding your grade. Especially, you should avoid having any months where the number is less than 10.

I will often use this blog to confirm what I say in class. Please write down the URL!

Gold, and other matters…

And the only question I'm left with is: How did 17 billion dollars disappear overnight?

Since I have already written about this movie, I want to talk about movies playing now in Japan. A Bigger Splash stars Ralph Fiennes (from the Harry Potter series), Tilda Swinton (from Only Lovers Left Alive) and Dakota Johnson (from Fifty Shades of Grey). It will end its run this Friday. Everybody Wants Some is a Richard Linklater film about campus life that also ends its run this Friday. Remember is a movie about a forgetful old man who finds out about his wartime past. Another movie playing now is The Girl on the Train, starring Emily Blunt.

[112 words]

Gold, and other matters…

"We've got a gold mine! We've got a gold mine!"

That is from the movie Gold, starring Academy Award Winner Matthew McConaughey and Edgar Ramírez. It's coming out this week in the US, though probably it won't arrive in Japan until the summer. It's based on a true story about a man who goes to Indonesia to mine for gold. He finds it and makes lots of money, but then there are some problems concerning the ownership of the gold. I had never heard of this story before watching this trailer, so I'm curious to find out what happens at the end.

And the only question I'm left with is: How can 17 billion dollars disappear overnight?

I wonder what happened to the gold?

Moving to movies that are actually playing now, I hope to see Everybody Wants Some, by Richard Linklater, and Girl on a Train. I'm not sure if I'll actually have the time, though, before Everybody Wants Some ends its run this week. I wish movies at Denkikan continued a little longer.

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Final Class!

1. Finish your essay on the Atama-ii books series.
2. Write your final Blog Stats post. Include your updated Juppun ha Juubun scores to show your progress over the year.
3. Prepare for the test (content below).

The test will consist of two parts as usual:

1. Your blog stats, such as number of words, number of posts, number of book reviews, etc. To prepare for this, the best way is to update your final Blog Stats post the day before the test. That will leave you more time for the second part of the test. During this part of the test, you can go online to check the figures.
2. An essay. The topic will be one of the topics covered in this semester's dictoglosses.* During this part, you may not go online, although you can use dictionaries (paper or electronic) if you like.

Possible essay topics in the exam:

• Freeters
• Cram schools
• Smartphones

Easy ways to improve your score in the last week

• Make sure you have finished your typing homework and posted all of it on your blog.
• Write more book reviews.
• Update your blog stats the day before the exam.

The Founder, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for The Founder, a movie starring Michael Keaton about the man who took over the McDonald's empire from the McDonald brothers. McDonald's started with one store in southern California, and Kroc turned it into an empire of 1,600 stores and annual revenue of 70,000,000 dollars.

I caught Rogue One last week before its run ended. It was kind of fun to watch but I didn't really feel satisfied after it ended. I hope that next year's installment, directed by Rian Johnson, will be better.

Arsenal and Liverpool are not having such a great time now, even though Arsenal managed to win in the end. It looks like Arsene Wenger will be banned.

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The Founder, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for The Founder, a movie starring Michael Keaton, about the founding of the burger franchise business McDonald's. It's about Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), the man who tricked the McDonald brothers and took control of the McDonald's business, originally just one store in California. His first wife is played by Laura Dern.

In the Premier League, Chelsea won again. They're about 10 points ahead of everyone else now. It seems unlikely that anyone else can catch them, but Tottenham and Manchester United seem most likely.

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Everybody Wants Some, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Everybody Wants Some, a movie directed by Richard Linklater that is now playing at Denkikan, the downtown cinema that shows unusual movies. I think it's worth watching anything made by Linklater, as he always has an unusual angle on a story. Some of my favorite movies by him are the Before trilogy, consisting of Before Sunset, Before Sunrise, and Before Midnight. Those movies feature the same actors, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke, playing the same characters over a period of 18 years. Unusually, all three films feature a lot of talking. I think everyone has heard of Boyhood, for which Linklater filmed a boy every year for 12 years.

Other films that are scheduled for the near future at Denkikan are Girl on the Train and A Bigger Splash.

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Brainstorm

You are a scientist. Do you use your new nanobot technology to help people…or to destroy the world?

Today, I read another Atami-ii book, Brainstorm by Andy Boon. In this story, I am a scientist who has
developed nanobots for medical use. I work with a surgeon to send nanobots into patients' brains and repair damage.

One day, I work on a patient who has brain cancer. But, as I am working, the nanobots start multiplying. I have to decide whether to stop the operation or to continue it. Then the doctor has a stroke, and I have to decide whether to wait for help or operate alone.


flash-freeze: 急速冷凍する

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Paterson, Lost in London, and other matters…

Today we watched two movie trailers. The first one was Paterson. It is about a man called Paterson who lives in a town called Paterson in New Jersey. He is a bus driver, and he writes poetry in his spare time. It is a very quiet movie about his daily life. It stars Adam Driver, who has a great reputation for his work in movies such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens and While We're Young.

The second trailer was Lost in London. That is a comedy by Woody Harrelson, starring himself and Owen Wilson. It is based on an episode in Woody Harrelson's life. It is a very unusual kind of movie, because it is one take over two hours and will be broadcast live into cinemas.

At Denkikan now, Richard Linklater's Everybody Wants Some is showing. After Boyhood and the Before/After Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight trilogy, I am interested in any movie that he makes, so I hope to find the time to see this movie. Denkikan has many interesting movies, so I recommend that you try to find the time to see some while you are students.

In the Premier League, Chelsea and Spurs won, while Manchester United and Liverpool drew, and Manchester City lost. It looks like Chelsea will win the league, while Liverpool, Spurs, and Manchester United are favorites for the other top-four spots.

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Going in Style, winter holiday plans, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailers for Going in Style and The Crash. Going in Style stars Alan Arkin, and The Crash stars Minnie Driver, two actors who featured in Grosse Pointe Blank. The other stars are Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine.

Yesterday, Arsenal lost at Manchester City. That makes two consecutive defeats. Usually, Arsenal have a bad month in November. This year, November went pretty well, but December is going badly. Many were surprised at this defeat because Manchester City have been having a bad period, too, losing many games. So now Manchester City are up in 2nd place, followed by Liverpool and Arsenal. Chelsea have a seven-point lead at the top, having won 11 games in a row.

Recently, I saw season 4 of Homeland. It is so exciting.

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Going in style, winter vacation plans, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Going in Style, a film starring Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Arkin. We all know Alan Arkin as Dr. Oatman from Grosse Pointe Blank. However, the other two actors are more famous. Morgan Freeman has been in more than 70 movies and TV programs over the last 20 years, including Invictus and the Batman movies. Michael Caine, born in 1933, is best known for his 1960's movies such as Alfie, Zulu, and The Italian Job, but he has appeared in many movies every decade since then, such as Get Carter, Educating Rita, Hannah and Her Sisters, and the Batman movies.
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War for the Planet of the Apes, and other matters…

Today we saw the trailer for War for the Planet of the Apes, a movie due to be released next summer that is the sequel to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. In this movie, a violent colonel played by Woody Harrelson wants to kill all the apes so the apes, led by Caesar, are forced to fight back.

In the Premier League, Chelsea are solidifying their lead at the top of the table, while Liverpool and especially Manchester City are stumbling. Manchester City have won very few of their matches over the last month or so, and they are conceding many goals. Arsenal are 3 points behind Chelsea and doing well at the moment. Many commentators suggest that Manchester City will buy some new defenders in the January transfer window.

Manchester United are out of the top 4, but haven't lost for a long time, and the team seems to be settled now. Perhaps they will soon get back into the top 4 at the expense of Manchester City. The winter holiday is always a tough time in the Premier League so let's see what the situation is in January.

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Hidden Figures, and other matters…

Today we watched two different trailers for Hidden Figures, a movie about three black women who were involved with the space program at NASA, specifically the attempt to get astronaut John Glenn into orbit. The movie stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae, and is directed by Ted Melfi. Taraji P. Henson plays Katherine Johnson, who calculated the trajectories of spacecraft. Octavia Spencer plays Dorothy Vaughn, a mathematician and computer programmer. Mary Jackson was an aerospace engineer. They had to overcome many obstacles to working in equality with the white people at NASA.

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Fences, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Fences, a movie starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. The movie is also directed by Denzel Washington.

I like Denzel Washington very much. One of the first movies of his that I saw was Malcolm X. Since then, I've seen many of his movies, including Training Day, Much Ado About Nothing, Flight, American Gangster, The Hurricane, Courage Under Fire, and Crimson Tide. I think he is a very magnetic and versatile actor. Recently he played a tough man in The Equalizer, and that is going to be followed by The Equalizer 2 the year after next.

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Jackie, and other matters…

Today we saw two trailers for Jackie, a new movie starring Natalie Portman about the wife of President John F Kennedy. It seems to be a very meditative film. I'm looking forward to it but I'm not sure when it will come to Japan.

Natalie Portman has had a mixed career. Everyone remembers her from Leon: The Professional, in which she played a hitman's 12-year-old apprentice. She then starred as Amidala in Star Wars episodes 1, 2, and 3, confirming her as a grown-up star. In between, she also appeared in Beautiful Girls and Everyone Says I Love You. After Star Wars, she appeared in movies such as My Blueberry Nights, V for Vendetta, and The Other Boleyn Girl, then Black Swan in 2010 won her an Oscar. Since then, A Tale of Love and Darkness and Jackie have allowed her to develop as an actor and director.

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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and other matters…

Eddie Redmayne
J. K. Rowling
David Yates

Today we watched the trailer for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a movie starring Eddie Redmayne (the Oscar-winning star of The Theory of Everything) and directed by David Yates, and based on a screenplay by J. K. Rowling. It looks pretty exciting, and it's starting in just two days' time, on a Wednesday rather than a Friday or Saturday because it's a national holiday.

At the weekend, Chelsea and Manchester City both won their matches, but Liverpool and Arsenal both were held to draws. At the moment, only Chelsea look really convincing, with Arsenal 😃😃😃 and Manchester City drawing too many games. Manchester United are quite a long way back; they are also drawing a lot of matches.

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Dictogloss 3: Model

In 2012, it was estimated that the number of smartphone users in Japan had surpassed the number of people using the older feature phones. It is easy to understand why more people are choosing to use smartphones when you consider the number of incredibly useful functions they offer. The main advantage that smartphones have over feature phones is their ability to run “apps”, or programs made by third-party developers. These can perform a huge range of tasks, from converting currencies and calculating stock prices to playing games and drawing pictures. Owning a smartphone means that you can install as many of these apps as you want, and many of them are free.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Star Wars: Rogue One, and other matters…

Today we watched two trailers, both for movies that are coming soon. The first one was Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first movie in a new series by J. K. Rowling, starring Eddie Redmayne. It's a kind of spin-off from the Harry Potter series, featuring a former Hogwarts teacher who was fired. He never actually appeared in the books or movies, but was mentioned. Many critics were worried that the new movie wouldn't be very good, because it is located in New York and much of the Harry Potter charm comes from the British locations, but everyone says it is good. It is coming next week, so I am looking forward to it.

The second trailer was Trailer 3 for Star Wars: Rogue One. It is the first Star Wars movie that is not set in the same timeline as the major trilogies, and is called an anthology film, so it should be enjoyable for people who don't know Star Wars well. That is going to be released on December 16th.

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Rogue One, Ghost in the Shell, and other matters…

Today we saw two movie trailers, for Star Wars: Rogue One and Ghost in the Shell. Ghost in the Shell is a remake of the Japanese animation classic, starring Scarlett Johansson. I think I will check out the Japanese original before I watch this Hollywood version of the story.
Star Wars: Rogue One looks very exciting, and I am looking forward to seeing a movie that is not just a direct remake of the original Star Wars movies. The cast, including Felicity Jones, Forrest Whitaker, Donnie Yen, and Mads Mikkelsen, looks really good. I think there are already three trailers in circulation, so we have to be careful not to see too much of the movie before it is released in theaters!
Another interesting science fiction movie, coming next year, is Arrival, starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner.

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Campus festival, Arrival, Rogue One, and other matters…

Today we watched two movie trailers: Arrival, and Rogue One. Arrival is the new Dennis Villeneuve movie starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. It is about the arrival of spaceships from another planet on Earth, and the attempts of Amy Adams, a linguist, to communicate with them. She is obstructed by the army, who believe that the aliens are enemies that they need to attack.

The Rogue One trailer was a new one, and it looked very beautiful. I'm a little worried that I've seen too much of the Rogue One movie before its release. In today's trailer, Trailer 3, Mads Mikkelsen was the main protagonist, and Forest Whitaker and Felicity Jones played less prominent parts.

This last weekend was an international weekend in football. England beat Scotland, but Wales drew with Serbia, and they may have problems qualifying for the World Cup.

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Rules Don't Apply, and other matters…

Warren Beatty
Annette Bening
Lily Collins
Martin Sheen

Today we watched the trailer for Rules Don't Apply, a romantic comedy starring Warren Beatty and Lily Tomlin. I enjoyed watching Lily Tomlin in Love, Rosie, even though its rating is very low on Rotten Tomatoes.

Right now, there are some interesting movies playing. Miracle on the Hudson is a straight, moving drama, based on a true story and starring Tom Hanks. Star Trek: Beyond is a well-made science fiction movie. Jason Bourne is a suspenseful action movie. All are very entertaining and well worth seeing. In December, the new Star Wars movie, Rogue One, will begin playing, on December 16th.

I heard that KGU will hold its campus festival this coming weekend. I hope it goes well!

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Rules Don't Apply, and other matters…

Warren Beatty
Annette Bening
Lily Collins
Alec Baldwin
Martin Sheen
Matthew Broderick


Today we watched a trailer for Rules Don't Apply, a movie coming soon that stars Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Lily Collins, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, and Matthew Broderick. Warren Beatty plays Howard Hughes towards the end of his life when he has a mental illness. Lily Collins plays an actress employed by Hughes, who seems to be involved in some kind of romance with another of Hughes's employees.

This move reminds me of The Aviator, which also focused on Howard Hughes. That movie was also a drama with a lot of comedy. Leonardo DiCaprio played the lead in that film.

The Premier League had fewer surprises this weekend than in recent weeks. Most of the top teams won their matches, and now Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool are all on 23 points at the top. Manchester United, although they played well, only got a draw, however, so they are down in 8th place.

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Mr. Tambourine Man, Underworld: Awakening, and other matters…

Today we listened to the song Mr. Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan, while watching a video on Youtube of his live performance at a folk festival in 1964. We also watched the trailer for Underworld: Awakening, starring Kate Beckinsale. Kate Beckinsale came onto the scene with Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing and since then has appeared in many movies. Most of them do not have such great reviews, but I have always enjoyed her movies. Her most recent one is Love & Friendship, a Jane Austen adaptation. That has not yet been officially released in Japan, but hopefully it will come to Denkikan early next year.

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Mr. Tambourine Man, Underworld: Awakening, and other matters…

Today we watched a video of a Bob Dylan live performance from 1964, at the Newport Folk Festival. He played Mr. Tambourine Man. We saw the lyrics as we watched the performance and noticed the many rhymes in his songs. His performance looked a little diffident to me, so maybe I'll look for a different one. He missed out one of the verses.

We also watched another Underworld movie trailer. This one was for Underworld: Awakening, released in 2012. Kate Beckinsale looked cool as usual. I think maybe I'll go back and rewatch all the Underworld movies, because I enjoy the fighting between the Lycans and Vampires and the pictures are not too horrifying to watch.

Kate Beckinsale first became famous with Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing adaptation. Hopefully, we'll have a chance to watch that sometime!

This weekend was another interesting weekend in the Premier League, with Manchester City again failing to win. They had an entertaining draw with Southampton, but they are still on top because Arsenal also drew. The biggest result of the weekend was the 4–0 defeat of Manchester United by Chelsea. Now the top 5 teams are all within 1 point of each other.

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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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