Monday, October 24, 2011
Premier League again again
As I mentioned not long ago, yesterday Manchester United lost big time to Manchester City. The final score was…nan to…6−1! Towards the end, Manchester United were desperate to get a goal and their defence became terribly disorganized. Both Dzeko and Balotelli scored 2 goals each!
Premier League re-revisited again
This week, I thought I would write about the Premier League for a change. If you are a football fan, you probably know that Manchester United played Manchester City yesterday. Anticipation was intense, because it is the first time for many, many years that Manchester City has been seen as a team that is competitive with Manchester United. The Guardian ran a series of 4 articles on the respective teams' goalkeepers, defences, midfields, and attacks. Most people assumed that Manchester United would win or that the result would be a draw. So what happened?
"That's a really good question, and I'm glad you asked." "I am asking." "And well you may."
"That's a really good question, and I'm glad you asked." "I am asking." "And well you may."
Session 4: October 24th, 2011
It's time for our first podcast episode of the semester today. To make the procedure a little easier, and to make it possible for you to continue posting after this course finishes, let's switch to audioboo! Audioboo is a site just for short audio posts. You can link to your post from your blog.
- Join Audioboo. I'll give you detailed instructions separately.
- Make a "reverse outline" from your movie essay.
- Create a short script from the reverse outline and print it out. Your aim should be to speak quite quickly for about 1 minute.
- Record your script on Audioboo.
- Create a new post on your blog. Tags should be "my podcast" and "movies". The text content should be the reverse outline you made in (2). You need to link to the recording you made in (4).
- After you've finished, create another post with your script from (3). Tag this "movies" and "scripts".
HINT: When you're working, take a few moments to arrange your workspace. I suggest separate windows for (i) Audioboo, (ii) your own blog, and (iii) these instructions (at rickkgu.blogspot.com ; look for the Teachertalk tag).
UPDATE: Because of time problems, we will do the reverse outline and the recording for the movie essay next time. In this class, you should record a quick introduction and one of your book reviews from this semester. (Please count the number of words that you recorded, just as with a standard written post.)
HOMEWORK: We are now a third of the way through the semester. I am worried about people falling behind. There is no class next week. Before the next class (in November), please:
UPDATE: Because of time problems, we will do the reverse outline and the recording for the movie essay next time. In this class, you should record a quick introduction and one of your book reviews from this semester. (Please count the number of words that you recorded, just as with a standard written post.)
HOMEWORK: We are now a third of the way through the semester. I am worried about people falling behind. There is no class next week. Before the next class (in November), please:
- Make sure you have written 4 or 5 book reviews for this semester;
- Updated your Booklog collection;
- Finished and posted your essay movie;
- Posted a Blog Stats post with your up-to-date number of words for this semester.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Autumn films
This month is a good one for films. Rise of the Planet of the Apes began last weekend, and at the end of the month, The Three Musketeers, Source Code, and Fair Game are all coming. To tell you the truth, October and November are very busy times of year for me, so I'm not sure whether I'll have time to see them, but I really want to see them all. I think Moneyball is also coming soon.
Of those movies, Fair Game and Moneyball are both based on true stories. Fair Game is about Valerie Plame, a CIA operative whose identity is exposed by the Bush administration as retaliation for a newspaper article written by her husband. Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt, is about a baseball team that doesn't have much money but manages to win a championship.
Of those movies, Fair Game and Moneyball are both based on true stories. Fair Game is about Valerie Plame, a CIA operative whose identity is exposed by the Bush administration as retaliation for a newspaper article written by her husband. Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt, is about a baseball team that doesn't have much money but manages to win a championship.
Premier League revisited again
After the international break, the Premier League was back in action this weekend. The biggest match was Liverpool against Manchester United. The two teams are the most successful in English football history, with Manchester United having won 19 championships and Liverpool 18. In recent years, Manchester United have been by far the most successful team, winning the Premier League about once every two years and also getting to three Champions League finals in the last four or five years. However, when it comes to direct meetings of the two teams, in recent years Liverpool has the better record.
This year, Manchester United rested many players, including Rooney, who had taken part in the international matches or whom they want to include in next week's match against Manchester City. Apparently, the match was very dull until Gerard, returning from injury, scored. But, as happens very often, Manchester United came back to a draw with a late goal, after sending Rooney on as a substitute.
Manchester United's draw combined with Manchester City's win over Aston Villa to send Manchester City top for the first time. My suspicion is that Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, will be the most satisfied of the managers, because most of his top players have had a good rest, and I think he will be confident of beating Manchester City and going top again.
In a battle between two clubs lower down the table, Arsenal beat Sunderland 2-1. Yeah!
This year, Manchester United rested many players, including Rooney, who had taken part in the international matches or whom they want to include in next week's match against Manchester City. Apparently, the match was very dull until Gerard, returning from injury, scored. But, as happens very often, Manchester United came back to a draw with a late goal, after sending Rooney on as a substitute.
Manchester United's draw combined with Manchester City's win over Aston Villa to send Manchester City top for the first time. My suspicion is that Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, will be the most satisfied of the managers, because most of his top players have had a good rest, and I think he will be confident of beating Manchester City and going top again.
In a battle between two clubs lower down the table, Arsenal beat Sunderland 2-1. Yeah!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Movies to watch this semester (C class)
- Shakespeare in Love (available in Tsutaya, etc., and in the KGU Library)
- Amadeus (available in Tsutaya, etc., and in the KGU Library)
Premier League again
In the last post, I said that many people believe that the top 3 places will be taken by Manchester United, Manchester City, and Chelsea, and that that order seems most likely. I actually think that Chelsea will overtake Manchester City once the new manager gets used to his team and possibly brings in a new player or two in the January transfer window. So my prediction for the top 3 is:
- Manchester United
- Chelsea
- Manchester City
The 4th spot is very interesting and important because the 4th team also gets a chance to play in the Champions League, which as I mentioned before brings in a quite a lot of money. For the last 14 years, Arsenal has always been one of the teams qualifying for the Champions league places but that looks unlikely this year. Most people think either Liverpool or Tottenham will get that 4th spot. I think it will probably be Tottenham, because many of Liverpool's players are not so strong (I believe), although Liverpool's manager is probably a little better than Tottenham's.
Movies to watch this semester (A class)
- Midnight Run
Available on VHS in the KGU Library. Also available at Tsutaya and so on.
2. Much ado about nothing
Available on DVD at the KGU Library. Also available at Tsutaya and so on.
Premier League
I'd like to talk today about the Premier League table. Most teams have now played 7 matches, which is about a fifth of the total matches for the season. The top 3 places are filled by Manchester United, Manchester City, and Chelsea, and most people assume that those are the three teams that will be at the top at the end of the season. In fact, most people seem to think that the three teams will end in that order, with the odds of Manchester United being champions set at 5/6, Manchester City at 12/5, and Chelsea at 4/1.
All three of the top 3 teams qualify automatically for next season's Champions League, which means that they get extra income and have a better chance of continuing to improve their team.
All three of the top 3 teams qualify automatically for next season's Champions League, which means that they get extra income and have a better chance of continuing to improve their team.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Writing 4: October 3rd 2011
Hi, everyone, today let's do the first essay of this semester. The title is My favorite movies. Please choose about 3 movies that you have enjoyed very much, and tell us about them. Some things you could write about:
- the story (but don't tell us the ending!)
- why it was interesting to you
- the actors
- the director
- the English and Japanese titles: is there anything interesting about the translation of the title?
- any famous lines or speeches from the movie
- any other similar movies
Some sites you could use:
Please don't read detailed explanations (in English) of the movies too soon, because if you do you may find it difficult to think of your own words to write about the movies.
The deadline for the essay is October 16th (before the next Writing class on October 17th).
The deadline for the essay is October 16th (before the next Writing class on October 17th).
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