Writing IV 2018–19

In this class we will focus on writing fluency, as in Writing III. Since you already have a semester of experience, the amount of writing expected will be larger. We are also going to put more emphasis on improving your writing quality. You will need to use the feedback on your writing to judge your own weak points and systematically try to improve.

This semester, in general we will do two assignments a week on Manaba. One is a book review, and one is an exercise from the Trio Writing 2 textbook. After doing them and getting feedback, you should do the assignment again on your blog, using the feedback to improve it.

Please see the handout and future posts on this blog for the details.

A Quiet Place, and other matters…

Emily Blunt
John Krasinski

Today we watched a trailer for A Quiet Place, a new movie starring Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, who is also the director. It started in Japan last Friday, and will probably play for a few more weeks. It's very exciting, and the basic idea—aliens who attack anything that is noisy—is very interesting.
Another movie playing now that looks rather interesting is On Wings of Eagles. It's playing at Denkikan, and will finish this Friday. More than the story, what interests me is the star, Joseph Fiennes. He was great in the movie Shakespeare in Love, but decide that he didn't want to become a Hollywood star, so he avoided appearing in any big movies.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and other matters…

ABBA

Today we watched the trailer for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, which is the sequel to the 2008 movie Mamma Mia!

Actually, I'm not so interested in this movie, so I'll talk about some other movies that are playing now or coming soon. Denkikan still has Phantom Thread and Lady Bird showing. Phantom Thread ends this week, while Lady Bird will continue until August 3rd. From August 4th, Last Flag Flying, with Steve Carrell, will begin, as well as a new Roman Polanski film starring Eva Green. I'm not sure what the original name of this movie is, but it's called 告白小説、その結末 in Japanese.

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Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, a sequel to Mamma Mia!, the very popular movie featuring lots of Abba songs, sung karaoke style.

Before watching the trailer, I checked out Mama Mia! on Rotten Tomatoes. I was very surprised to see that it was made in 2008, ten years ago. Given that, it is unsurprising that the cast has many new members.

As you may know, ABBA were a Swedish group that were very popular in the 1970s. Their first hit song was Waterloo, and other popular ones were Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia!, Money Money, Money, Fernando, Chiquitita, and so on.

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Saoirse Ronan: Lady Bird, Brooklyn, Mary Queen of Scots, and other matters…

Today we watched three movie trailers, all starring Saoirse Ronan. First, we rewatched just a little bit of Lady Bird, which we watched a few weeks ago. As you know, that movie is now playing at Denkikan. Then, we watched Brooklyn, a 2015 movie about an Irish girl who moves to New York to escape a life of poverty. Finally, we watched Mary Queen of Scots, a new movie starring Saoirse as Mary and Margot Robbie as Elizabeth. The Japan release date is undecided, so in the meantime I think I will rewatch the 1971 movie starring Vanessa Redgrave.

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Saoirse Ronan: Lady Bird, Brooklyn, Mary Queen of Scots…and other matters

Today we watched some trailers of movies starring Saoirse Ronan. First, we rewatched a little bit of the Lady Bird trailer, then watched the trailer for Brooklyn. That is a 2015 movie that got very favorable reviews. The other one was Mary Queen of Scots, in which Saoirse plays Mary, and Margot Robbie plays Elizabeth I. Probably some of you know this history a little. That movie is not yet scheduled for playing in Japan, but when I went to look for it I came across a much older movie called Mary Queen of Scots. That one is from 1971 and stars Glenda Jackson and Vanessa Redgrave, two very famous British stars. I think I'll watch that one again before the new one comes to Japan. I don't have any certain information, but I am pretty sure the new movie will play at Denkikan.

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Molly's Game, Miss Sloane, and other matters…

Jessica Chastain


Today we watched the trailer for Miss Sloane. It's about a lobbyist. Then we watched the trailer for Molly's Game. It's about a woman who was an Olympic athlete. When she retired she started an expensive poker salon in Washington, DC. The FBI raided it, because they thought her profits were illegal.

Both movies star Jessica Chastain, who has been in many good movies, including Interstellar. The second is a true story. It's playing at Denkikan now. Check it out if you have time!

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Molly's Game, Miss Sloane, and other matters…

Jessica Chastain

Today we watched the trailer for Molly's Game, a movie starring Jessica Chastain that is playing at Denkikan now. It's the true story of a retired Olympic athlete who starts a big poker game in Washington, DC. The FBI get involved and arrest her.
We also saw the trailer for another movie starring Jessica Chastain, Miss Sloane. That played at Denkikan a few months ago. I saw it there. I thought it was a great movie. It was about a lobbyist who leaves a large company when she is instructed to lobby on behalf of a tobacco company. She joins a small company to fight against tobacco.
The World Cup semifinals are coming soon. England (!), Croatia, Belgium, and France will fight it out for places in the final. I think France is the favorite to win.

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Gofun ha Juubun

The Young Karl Marx, Dreams, Daffodil Lament, and other matters…

The Cranberries (Ireland)

Today we watched the trailer for the new movie The Young Karl Marx. As the title suggests, it follows the lives of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in their twenties, around the time that they wrote The Communist Manifesto.

The Communist Manifesto was written for people of the time. Marx's work Capital is more valuable for people of our time. Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century may be a good book to follow it up with.

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My Gofun ha Juubun Progress

Here are my Gofun ha Juubun stats so far.

The Young Karl Marx, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for The Young Karl Marx. It's about Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the young philosophers, economists, and political theorists who wrote The Communist Manifesto in the 19th century. Their work was to become the inspiration for the Soviet Union and The People's Republic of China, as well as many other socialist republics such as Cuba. The movie is playing at Denkikan, but will end this Friday. It's probably another one that I will have to miss. Hopefully, it will me out soon on iTunes or DVD.
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LADY BIRD, and other matters…

Saoirse Ronan
Greta Gerwig

Today we watched the trailer for Lady Bird, a new movie starring Saoirse Ronan. It is directed by Greta Gerwig, who has become very popular over the last few years as an actress and more recently as a writer and director.

Have you been watching the World Cup? Both England and Japan will play their first matches tomorrow (Japan Time). Please get up at 3 tomorrow morning to watch England!! Japan is playing at 9 in the evening, I think. Go, Okazaki!

I think Spain will win the World Cup. Their first match against Portugal was very exciting.

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Notes on the rest of the semester

1. Remember that there is no class next week.
2. To get a credit, you need at least 10 posts in June and 10 posts in July on your blog (NOT including Speaking posts).
3. Make sure that you have the tags (labels) Book Reviews, Gofun ha Juubun, My Diary, and Trio Writing on your blog.
4. Please finish your list of errors. (Later, we will talk about how to classify and prioritize them.)

Lady Bird, and other matters…

Greta Gerwig
Saoirse Ronan


Today we watched the trailer for Lady Bird, a movie directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Saoirse Ronan. It will come to Denkikan in the middle of next month. Greta Gerwig has been very popular for the last few years as an actress and now as a director. The movie is kind of about her life, and Saoirse Ronan is kind of a young version of her. I like Saoirse Ronan. Recently, I saw her in Brooklyn, and I'm looking forward to seeing her in Lady Bird.

Has anyone been following the World Cup. Spain 3 – 3 Portugal seems to have been a great match! I'm looking forward to England's and Japan's first matches.

[114 words]

Listening errors

I like watching movie.               movies                singular/plural
I have big family.                       a big family        articles

Unlocked, Isle of Dogs, and other matters…

Unlocked
spy thriller
Noomi Rapace
Orlando Bloom

Isle of Dogs
stop-motion animation
Wes Anderson
Bryan Cranston

Today we saw two movie trailers. The first was for Unlocked, a movie playing now at Denkikan. It stars Noomi Rapace, Orlando Bloom, Michael Douglas, and John Malkovich. It's a spy thriller featuring some kind of plot to attack an American military site in the UK. Rapace's character Alice finds out that there's a mole somewhere in the CIA.

Isle of Dogs is a Wes Anderson stop-motion animated film. Most of the characters are dogs who can talk. It reminds me of his movie from a few years ago, Fantastic Mr. Fox. If you haven't yet seen that movie, I recommend that you check it out. Isle of Dogs is playing now at Hamasen.

[113 words]

The Ugly Duckling

That made the ugly duckling curious. He looked into the shiny water. Wow! He had grown into a beautiful swan, just like them! (pp. 14-15)

Today, I read The Ugly Duckling, in the Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers series from Scholastic. The series features 15 titles, with five copies of each title packaged in a nice, colorful box. Check out the whole series!

The Ugly Duckling is a well-known story written by Hans Christian Andersen. I find the message of the story a little confusing. On the one hand, it seems to celebrate superficial beauty: if you look like a swan, you're going to be fine, but if you look like a duckling, you will be the target of ridicule. On the other hand, it does seem to celebrate self-confidence and also kindness:

From that day on, the once ugly duckling lived happily ever after. And he was always kind to all living things, from peacocks to potato bugs. (p. 16)

The set of books comes with a teacher's guide, with some background and activities to use in class.
Although it's good to read stories with which you are familiar, I recommend that you use this series to familiarize yourself with stories that you haven't read before. Another series that's also good for that is Usborne First Reading. Here are links to levels 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Ugly Duckling 著者 : Scholastic Teaching Resources 発売日 : 2006-03-01 ブクログでレビューを見る»

Unlocked, and other matters…

Unlocked
Noomi Rapace
Orlando Bloom



Today we watched a trailer for Unlocked, a new movie starring Noomi Rapace, Orlando Bloom, John Malkovich, and Michael Douglas. It's a thriller about a terrorist plot against an American military target in the UK. It's playing at Denkikan now (at 11:10 and 18:30!). It looks rather exciting, and I want to go and see it!

Another movie I want to see is Isle of Dogs, still playing (but only once a day) at Hamasen.

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Some good recent movies

Recently, I watched Deadpool 2. After enjoying Deadpool very much, I was looking forward to it. But I got tired of the metacommentary and wanted to leave early. Some better recent movies are The Shape of Water and Darkest Hour. Darkest Hour stars Gary Oldman, who is also famous for Leon, the Harry Potter movies, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and so on.

Damascus Cover, Red Sparrow, and other matters…

spy thriller

Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Jennifer Lawrence

Today we watched two movie trailers, both of them spy thrillers. The first one was Damascus Cover, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers. It's coming out in the U.S. in summer, so will probably come to Japan in winter. The second one was Red Sparrow. That was a Jennifer Lawrence movie that played in Japan a month or so ago. I enjoyed it very much. Actually, I like spy movies very much. Another one that's worth watching is Spy Game, starring Brad Pitt and Robert Redford. A more recent one was Atomic Blonde. And a good old one is The Little Drummer Girl.

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Damascus Cover, and other matters…

Jonathan Rhys Meyers
spy thriller

Mossad agent

Today we watched the trailer for Damascus Cover, a new spy thriller starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers. I don't know Jonathan Rhys Meyers so well, but I think he was in the Woody Allen movie Match Point starring Scarlett Johansson.

The World Cup will be here in a week or so. Who do you think will win? I think Spain will win, but Germany and Brazil are also very strong.

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The Little Red Hen

Once upon a time, a little red hen decided to plant some wheat.
"Who will help me plant this?" she asked.
"Not me!" said the dog.
"Not me!" said the cat.
"Not me!" said the duck.

The little red hen is a hard worker. She plants wheat, cuts it, grinds it, and bakes it into bread, all by herself; the other animals never offer to help. After she has baked it, she asks "Who will help me eat this?" What do you think the other animals said, and how did Little Red Hen respond?

Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Little Red Hen 著者 : Violet Findley Scholastic Teaching Resources 発売日 : 2006-03-01 ブクログでレビューを見る»

Vocabulary

grind: 粉にひく


Findley, V. (2006). The Little Red Hen. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Mission: Impossible — Fallout, and other matters…

-         hyphen
–        en-dash     n    (Option-Hyphen)
—      em-dash    m   (Option-Shift-Hyphen)

Cristiano Ronaldo's first-half goal was magnificent.
Many strikers score 30–40 goals a season.
Cristiano Ronaldo—one of the world's top players—didn't play well in the Champions League final.


Tom Cruise
Simon Pegg

Today we watched the trailer for Mission: Impossible — Fallout, a new Mission: Impossible movie starring Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, and Ving Rhames, as usual. It looks very exciting, also as usual. I have enjoyed all five Mission: Impossible movies so far, though I don't remember number 3 or Rogue Nation so well. It seems that the recent ones have all had good reviews. I just checked on Rotten Tomatoes, and it seems that the TV series began in 1966! I didn't realize quite how old it was.

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Mission: Impossible — Fallout, and other matters…

a one-year-old baby
about 4–5 years
I like films—especially British ones—and I watch them at the cinema.

Tom Cruise: Ethan Hunt
Simon Pegg
Ving Rhames

Today we watched one of the trailers for Mission: Impossible — Fallout, the 6th and latest of the Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible movies. Apparently, it's due to come out at the end of July, but since the length of the movie is not yet posted on Rotten Tomatoes, I wonder if it will be finished on time.

Did you see the Champions League final? I couldn't get up in time, but the match was a bit disappointing because Mohammed Salah, Liverpool's top player, was fouled after a short time and had to withdraw. In addition, Liverpool's goalkeeper made two very big mistakes to give Real Madrid two goals, and Liverpool lost 1–3 in the end.

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pp. 23-25: C, D, F

C

1. My classmates and I usually eat outside. We do not sit in the cafeteria. We relax in the warm sun.
2. When I talk to new people, I always try to be polite. I never interrupt them. I often compliment them.
3. When I have…
4. Sometimes…
5. My classmates and I…

D

1. I am polite. I never interrupt people.
2. When other people compliment me, I usually smile.
3. My coworkers…
4. My neighbours…
5. I…
6. Close friends…
7. Children…
8. When my classmates and I…

F

1. I like to be at home.
2. My friends like to ask me questions.
3. I…
4. My parents…
5. I…
6. I…

Darkest Hour, In the Fade, and other matters…

Today we watched two movie trailers. Both were from movies currently playing at Denkikan. The first was In the Fade, a 2017 movie starring Diane Kruger. That is a German movie about a terrorist incident in which Diane Kruger's character's husband and child are killed. The second was Finest Hour, the biopic, directed by Joe Wright, about Winston Churchill and his determination to fight Germany.

On Saturday, the FA Cup final was played between Manchester United and Chelsea. Chelsea won 1–0. That is basically the end of football until the World Cup begins on June 15th.

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Textbook pp. 23-24: C & D

1. My classmates and I usually eat outside. We do not sit in the cafeteria. We relax in the warm sun.
2. When I talk to new people, I always try to be polite. I compliment them. I don't interrupt them.
3. When I have meetings at work, I often use my computer. I read emails from my coworkers. I write emails to friends.
4. Sometimes people in the community get together. They meet other people from the neighbourhood. They become closer to their neighbours.
5. My classmates and I always work hard in English class. We practice our English. We don't speak other languages.

D

1. I am polite. I never interrupt people.
2. When other people compliment me, I always smile.
3. My coworkers often offer to help me.
4. My neighbours are friendly. They always talk a lot.
5. I usually feel nervous when I meet new people.
6. Close friends often have common interests.
7. Children sometimes play soccer on my street.
8. When my classmates and I have conversations, we often practice our English.

Darkest Hour, The Only Living Boy in New York, and other matters…

Gary Oldman

Kate Beckinsale
Pierce Brosnan
Jeff Bridges

a movie starring Gary Oldman

a 2017 movie directed by Marc Webb


Today we watched two movie trailers. Both movies are currently showing at Denkikan, the famous cinema on Shinshigai downtown. It's a great place to see movies that aren't showing at the United or Toho cinemas. They always come rather late, but better late than never!

The first one we saw was Darkest Hour, a movie about Winston Churchill starring Gary Oldman. The second was The Only Living Boy in New York, a 2017 movie directed by Marc Webb. Another one currently showing is In the Fade, starring Diane Kruger.

Try getting a cinépass at Denkikan. It's only 5,500 yen for 5 shows. And multiple people can use the same pass.

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Another Kind of Wedding, Adrift, and other matters…

the trailer for Adrift, a movie starring Shailene Woodley

a movie directed by Baltasar Kormákur

Shailene Woodley stars in Divergent.



Today we watched two movie trailers. The first one was for Another Kind of Wedding, a romantic comedy about two brothers, one of whom marries his brother's ex-girlfriend. The other was for Adrift, a movie directed by Baltasar Kormákur and starring Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin. It's based on a true story about a couple who sail the South Pacific but come across the largest storm in history.

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Hunter in the Darkness

I read

Atama-ii Books: #5 Hunter in the Darkness 著者 : Ramy Habeeb Atama-ii Books 発売日 : 2014 ブクログでレビューを見る»

Another Kind of Wedding, Adrift, and other matters…

Shailene Woodley
Sam Claflin

I saw the trailer for ________,

a movie starring Shailene Woodley.

Shailene Woodley stars in Another Kind of Wedding.

I watched the trailer for Tully, a movie directed by Jason Reitman



Today, we watched two movie trailers. One was Another Kind of Wedding, a movie starring Kathleen Turner, a kind of comedy about two brothers, one of whom is getting married to his brother's ex-girlfriend. The other was Adrift, a movie starring Sam Claflin and Shailene Woodley. It's based on a true about a couple who sail across the Pacific (?), and encounter a category 5 hurricane.

The Premier League season has come to an end. Manchester City managed to get 100 points, a new record. They also broke the record for goals scored, and number of wins.
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Whitney, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Whitney, a new movie about the life of Whitney Houston. I like her singing very much, and she has a lot of good songs. I also liked the movie Bodyguard, starring her and Keven Costner.

There has been a lot of exciting football recently. The Champions League semifinals had lots of goals. The Roma–Liverpool semifinal was especially exciting, ending in a score of 7–6. I am looking forward to the final, between Liverpool and Real Madrid.

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Whitney, and other matters…

Today we watched a trailer for Whitney, a new documentary about Whitney Houston. I haven't heard any of her songs for a long time, so it was nice to be reminded of them. The song that played in the background was I Have Nothing, so we listened to that on Youtube, both a version with lyrics and a live version. Probably her most famous song, though, is I Will Always Have You. One way to listen to her songs is in the movie The Bodyguard.

Did you watch any Champions League football? Liverpool will lay Real Madrid in the final!

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Writing 3 (May 7th)

Hi, everyone,

I hope you enjoyed Golden Week.

This week, let's work mainly on book reviews. We will read a book and write a review of it during the class time. We will start by doing it in Manaba, and then transfer the work to the blog.

You will notice that Book Review 3 is now open in Manaba. Unfortunately, there are several students who haven't done Book Review 2 yet (and even a few who haven't done Book Review 1 yet!). I am worried that people who have fallen behind so early in the semester may be on course to fail the class.

If we have time, we will do some more work with the textbook.

TRIO

Please remember that May 14th is the deadline for finishing the Chapter 1 exercises in Oxford Learn!