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!