Korean Deconstruction

Coffee...

Coffee comes in long, tube packaging because the Koreans like to use the wrapper as the stirrer.

Americans need a spoon or waste time with stirrers.

Dan

So, I downloaded Picasa for my PC at school and it is a great program. I mean it works almost exactly like iPhoto, but you can't get iPhoto for the PC platform. Oh, I'm in a transitioning mode these days, last night Firefox went to shit and it broke - losing all of my bookmarks and password saves. Ok, it was unintentionally my fault. Firefox has been getting really buggy, so I upgraded it.

After upgrading a window came up that asked what profile I wanted to use. I tried the default, but it gave me an error message so I had to make a new one. The new browser was cleaned out of all the bookmarks that I had saved.

That pissed me off...A lot. I spent the next hour or so googling for a solution. I found one. But in the process I learned about Camino and I downloaded it. I only played with it for like 10 minutes, but I quickly added my bookmarks from firefox and was browsing very quickly.

For some strange reason, I'm not a huge fan of Safari. It doesn't seem to be that user friendly. But I don't think I've really given it chance. Since, I'm off the Firefox, I might have to either have a candybar or go in the jungle.

Oh, the picture is of dawn and drew. I listen to their podcast like everyday.

Dan 

I'm going to learn to use powerpoint this weekend. It's my mission. I'm going to load them to my ipod and go powerpoint crazy!

Engadet has a good site.

http://www.engadget.com/entry/2872212676610755/

Dan

I'm testing if I can post blogs simply through my e-mail. 

--
Daniel Lee Gray
Yeoksam, Seoul, South Korea
MSN dnlgray
e-mail: dnlgray@gmail.com


Read my blogs at www.happylunatic.blogspot.com

Sometimes you've just gotta put it all on the line and go for broke in this poker game we call life.

gmail is totally kickass, but google is not the underdog. They are a supersmart corporation that is trying not to act like it. It's as if they are super rich vegans, living in a cabin on a 100 acres of land. On the outside, the appearance is austere, but inside that cabin is super hooked up with all the latest James Bond doo hickeys and they spend 100 dollars on a karat of carrot.

They are a braintrust and they are building up capital for an empire, but it is not only to do stuff with the google website. I think they envision a google empire in the horizon and the CEOs are smart, smart, smart. But I don't think they are sticking to their principals. Or if they are sticking to their principals, with the influx of cash they are getting now, they are going to jumpstart their plans several years early.
The CEOs realize right now that there is an allure surrounding Google and they are playing with their stock like a steak on a stick around a hungry dog. I mean they issued stock about 2 weeks ago at $295! They have never split the stock. And like in a three day span, I've seen it go to $330 and drop to 290 and then back to 300. It's a mess. Google is going to have a hell of alot of money to build....What??? I don't know.

I'll put my money on google, but not until the stock drops to a good level.

Dan

This whole week I'm going to do a Halloween lesson. I'm going to pit the students against each other for the love of candy. I know it's a bit devious, but in this society it's an effective teaching method and dolefully encouraged.

I am going to read the students a dialogue about Halloween and ask them questions. If they get it right then I'll give them candy. For the 3/4 it'll be easy, but for the 5/6 a little more difficult. I have two dialogues. One about the Day of the Dead and Halloween. This is one possible Halloween dialogue.

This is from http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/halloween/#abouthalloween

About Halloween

Halloween is celebrated on October 31st. It takes place the day before All Saints' Day. In the 700's, the Roman Catholic Church named November 1 as All Saints' Day. The old pagan customs and the Christian feast day were combined into the Halloween celebration.

Many superstitions and symbols are associated with Halloween. Some of these symbols are jack-o'-lanterns, black cats, witches, ghosts, spirits, goblins, fairies and elves. The custom of decorating with leaves, pumpkins, and cornstalks comes from the Druids - an order of priests in ancient Gaul and Britain.

Halloween is usually celebrated by both adults and kids. Some families celebrate by having costume parties and playing special games like bobbing for apples and telling ghost stories. Sometimes children go "trick or treating" - knocking on doors in their trusted neighborhoods collecting candy. Other times they may attend a community party instead. Parents should use common sense when supervising their child's Halloween activities.

In earlier years, Halloween was a time for playing harmless pranks. However, in more recent times, Halloween pranks have sometimes gotten out of hand - causing damage and injury to others.

Schools usually prefer to celebrate Halloween by having children dress as storybook characters. In this way, children are still allowed to "dress up, " and the holiday becomes both fun and educational.

Day of the Dead (from wikipedia)

Beliefs and customs

The souls of children are believed to return first on November 1, with adult spirits following on November 2.

Plans for the festival are made throughout the year, including gathering the items that will be offered to the dead. During the period of October 31 and November 2 families clean and decorate the graves. Families build ofrendas altars in their homes, and also attend mass held on the evening of November 2 in the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried. Families have decorated the gravesites with offerings to please the dead and to entice their spirit to remain in the cemetary when the festivities have ended.

Items that can be found on ofrendas include wreaths of marigolds, called cempasúchil by the Aztec, The Flower of the Dead and is thought to attract the souls of the dead with is pungent scent. Toys are placed on the ofrendas for the spirits of the dead children (los angelitos, or little angels) and items such as liquor, tequila, mezcal, pulque, atole or even soda are left for adults. Ofrendas in homes are littered with the favorite foods, beverages and even favorite cigarettes that the deceased enjoyed in life. Some people believe the spirits of the deceased eat the spirit of the food, so after the festivity, they eat the food from the ofrendas, but think it lacks nutritional value. Most offendas will have incese, food, water, salt, candles, flowers, sugar calaveras, paper, and a straw mat, which honor the deceased. In some parts of Mexico, like Mixquic, people spend all night beside the graves of their relatives.

Those gifted, like to write literary "calaveras" -- short poems mocking [[epitaphs or obituaries] of friends. Newspapers dedicate calaveras to public figures, with cartoons of skeletons. One of the most famous cartoonists is Jose Posada, who lived during the 1920s to 1950s. Theatrical presentations of "Don Juan Tenorio" by José Zorrilla (1817-1893) are also traditional on this day.

A common symbol of the holiday is the skull or calavera. The celebrants are represented in masks called calacas. Sugar skulls, or calaveras, are inscribed with the names of the deceased on the forehead. They are often eaten by a relative or friend of the deceased. Other special foods for El Día de los Muertos includes Pan de Muertos (bread of the dead), a sweet egg bread made usually in a plain round shape adorned with four "bones" made of the same kind of bread. The Pan de Muertos is also made in many shapes, including skulls and rabbits.

I also have handouts I want to use.

I used pictures from popular animes, except for the cool butterfly one. I just like that one, so I posted it. Anyway, I linked them up with feelings words like annoyed, happy, smug, devious, angry, etc. It was a successful lesson.

The Apple Polishers - Explaining the press corps' crush on Steve Jobs and company. By Jack Shafer: "slate.pressbox@gmail.com"

As an Apple polisher, I feel that by buying Apple products that I'm being empowered. I feel a sense of individuality and yes, the product is prettier overall. Isn't aesthetics important? Do you remember the Apple "Don't be subjugated by Big Brother" commercial in the eighties? Apple has stuck to it's guns and have always been advocates of the message (although it might have been unintentionally as their stock fell to subterrean levels).

And it might just be me, but I like rooting for the underdog. Now I don't just root for any underdog, it's got to be an underappreciated genius that deserves to be in the spotlight. I mean I loved Cinderella Man (but I'll admit, I didn't want to go at first because the title was too frilly...hence further fodder to my superficial nature.)

The iPod is something I love, because it releases me from the bains of life. I can easily turn on a song and escape from all my asinying students or I can educate myself with an audiobook or podcast. It's the mp3 player of the intellectual, or that's the value judgement that people place on it. With an iPod I can be listening Mozart, followed by the Gorillaz, then Smashing Pumpkins, and end with a song by Britney Spears and it's all ok, because the iPod says so. I'm liberated and free.

Oh, and one last thing. I wouldn't buy the iPod Video. 2 hours of video on a full charge? I might as well buy the Archo's video player with the camera and mp3 player.

And the last, last thing is that I own Apple stock and in the last 8 months I've seen it split and skyrocket, but I'm not stupid. I've got my broker on speed dial if the vantage of the Apple ideology starts to fade.

Daniel Gray

On 10/21/05, julian wrote:

Myself...guilty (of window-shopping, at least...)

"Apple iProduct. You'll Buy it. And You'll Like It.
Do you like Apple products? Do you live for every product announcement, every incremental upgrade, every rumor and screenshot? Do you wank and blare and drone and fucking gurgle about Apple products morning, noon, and night? Then get ready for iProduct. You'll be blown away. No matter what it is."
http://www.slate.com/id/2127924/?nav=fo

I'm getting older and it's not something I'm quite happy about
Is there something that will make me younger?

These days I've been spending more time at different doctors trying to find a exliser somewhere that will give me a couple of years. (It might just be Korea, it could be getting me down.)

There is nothing I lack these days. I mean I feel like I'm doing something worthwhile. I'm somewhat respected in my field. I'm halfway done this semester at Wonmyeong, but I just simply don't know what is wrong with me. I think I need a girlfriend, but Korean girls just don't do it for me. You know what I need? I need to have an intelligent conversation with someone. It's driving me crazy that there is no one I can really communicate with. I've also given up alcohol these days, and right now it is irritating.

I've got a minute to class. Time to sike myself up.

Dan

I'm at this weird point in my life where I don't know exactly what I want, but I think it's there and honestly it's not all that appealing. Today, I'm going to change things about who I am. I'm giving something up that has obviously become a vice and important. People can change, right? I'm going to take steps to do so. I'm getting older, I think that what I wanted was in reach, but it is unattainable simply because I didn't take someone elses maturity into consideration. Life just trods on. Big bangs are so subtle that you need perspective to see them clearly. It's time to say good bye. It's time to say hello. It's time to accept things as they are. The colors are a bit muted now.

I have a sheet that has a picture of a sloppy roommate. I could go into personalities- talking about neat, dirty, organized, etc. It's an idea. I could do a matching game...or I could use that lesson that I'm teaching in two weeks for Seocho city.

Recap of today...5th grade Jang Mi were all acting like bastards so I left class 10 minutes early. 4th grade Mae Hwa is something I have to pay attention to. The teacher is super smart and I can tell that she doesn't really like my teaching style. I should make it seem really educational, for her.

I know that my class on Monday, will be interesting for the 6th graders. Now I remember that if I simply do a couple pages from who's on first it is interesting and they like it. I'm getting tired though of doing all this work and not having them appreciate it. I feel like I should just go by the book. None of them will be interested in it, but I don't care today. It's a horrible way to feel about it. I guess I'm just bitter today.

I'll try to get over it.

Dan

I start with a discussion about superstitions. I ask them what it means and what are some Superstitions that they know about. Then I go into the dialogue about superstitions.

Girls: Did you wear green today?
Boys: Why would I want to wear green?
Girls: Because it is good luck.
Boys: Is that some strange superstition?
Girls: No….It’s the truth. If you wear Green on Wednesday, you’ll have good luck. Everyone knows that.
Boys: Did you know that if a bird poops on your shoulder, that you’ll be rich and famous.
Girls: Really?
Boys: Yeah. It is also lucky to have a tattoo if you’re a sailor.
Girls: Do you have a tattoo?
Boys: Yeah. I have a ninja on my back.
Girls: Did you know it is unlucky to meet a barking dog first thing in the morning? It’s a Death Omen.
Boys: What’s a Death Omen?
Girls: It means that you’re going to die soon.
Boys: Wooooo…so scary. Did you know it’s good luck to touch a corpse…you know…a dead person.
Girls: That’s gross! Well did you know that if you don’t wash your hair before a test, you’ll get a higher score!
Boys: You just made that up.
Girls: Nope. It’s the truth. I haven’t washed my hair all week.
Boys: Well I hope a ladybug lands on you and then you accidentally kill it.
Girls: Why?
Boys: Because then you’ll have bad luck for a million years.
Girls: Well I hope you sneeze before you go to bed tonight, because then you won’t wake up tomorrow!

I will then write a sample word scramble on the board and ask them to unscramble it.

I'll give them the sheets and ask each group to unscramble them.

Afterwards I'll play Jeopardy.

3rd and 4th Grade:

Start with Alphabet chart with letters ask them to find out if their name is lucky or not. There is a great superstition site on the net, I don't have it here. If you need it please e-mail me.

Then tell them about some other strange superstitions like, "It is lucky for sailors to have tattoos."
"It is unlucky to open an umbrella in the house.

I then went into trivial about the days of the week and what colors it is good to wear on those days.

Monday: White
Tuesday: Red
Wednesday: Green
Thursday: Purple
Friday: Blue
Saturday: Dark Blue
Sunday: Orange

Then I did a lucky talisman and asked them to add up the numbers on this chart

4 15 15 1
9 7 6 12
5 11 10 8
16 2 3 13 Everything adds to 34. If you write it on a small piece of paper, kiss it, blow on it then put it in your pocket- you'll have good luck.

---tangent---I could imagine a scene where when someone opened their umbrella inside some mother flew out from underneath of it. Oh, it could be a story all about superstitions and monsters that embody them---

Then move into a superstition word unscramble. I have the sheets prepared. I've found it's more fun to have them do it on the board as a game.

To end the class, I do Jeopardy. I might need a new game, or change it to superstition jeopardy because the 3rd grade don't seem to enjoy it as much as 4-6.

I revised my sports class.

I started by getting them to throw a foam ball around to count ordinal numbers from first to one-hundreth (after twenty I got them to count in increments of 10).

Then I went over baseball terms and got them to read about 3 pages of "Who's on first" I got them to read for Costello, but I should have got them to read for Abbott.

After that I went over spelling of ordinal numbers and did a word unscramble game. I marked a spot on the board for each team and wrote

"IRFTS" on the board and told them to unscramble it. The fastest team got a point.

We did this for fifteen minutes and they had a blast.

Dan

PS. This was for my 5th grade level.

The problem with planning with these classes is that they could end up as a riot of overly energetic kids. I'm not a big fan of chaos and well, they simply have too much energy. They should take the sugar out of their diet.

Tuesdays are interesting because they are 2 classes behind everyone else. While I've got to make a new lesson for Wednesday, Tuesday is still on "Restaurants" this works out well because Tuesday is my busiest day with 5 classes. Gosh, I'm complaining that I have 5 classes in a day.
I mean in Gyeong Ju sometimes I had like 8 classes. I average 4 classes a day here. I'm fricken spoiled and I'm making more cash.

I'm debating on upgrading my internet to KTF "Megapass Lite" which should get 4mbps. Apparently the wireless service is just as fast as the landline. The 4mbps service costs 37000 + 10,000 won for a modem rental. It's honestly not that bad considering that I'm paying 15,000 for a nespot connection that is similar to having a dial up modem. It's really shitty service...

Anyway. I should plan my class on Wednesday and I need to tweak my sports class. It really sucks right now.

Wednesday I have the terror 6th grade class the triple threat of 6th Baek Hap, Guk Hwa, and Na Ri. What to do...what to do...

Dan

This is a game for my 3 and 4th grade. Just write the numbers on the board and tell them to pick two numbers if it matches they get a point. If not the next team goes. This is the key

1. Harry Potter 13. Voldemort
2. Elephant 24. Mouse
3. Mosquitos 21. Dragonflies
4. Fox 20. Hound
5. Students 18. Tests
6. Snowman 19. Sun
7. Cops 22. Robbers
8. USA 23. Terrorists
9. Cats 17. Dogs
10. Shrek 16. Lord Farquaad
11. Computers 15. Viruses
12. Golem 14. Sam

I want to do a complement expercise also like Peanut butter and jelly, Willy Wonka and Chocolate, Milk and Cookies, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (of course my examples will be more elementary for my 3rd and 4th grade) It's a fun game and they ask for it over and over again.

Dan

I need to change this...24 is too much for a 3rd grade kid's class. I want to make it 16.

Full Metal Alchemist The Movie: The Conqueror of Shambala


Edward Elric: The Full Metal Alchemist

Roy Mustang: The Flame Alchemist

























Edward and Alphonse Elric

So this is my new favorite anime and obsession. I'm trying to get all the episodes now. I've got a good bulk of them 01, 02, 03, 05, 08, 10, 14, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, 35, 37, 39, 43, 45, 47, 49, 50, and 51. There are only 51 episodes in the series, which is good because I'm just coming off my Bleach obsession, which I have almost every episode of now - however, I don't know when it is going to end. I should check that out.

Anyway the story is that Edward and Alphonse Elric live in a world where alchemy is real and it is highly developed. It is a seeming similiarity and a foil to our own world. From an early age, Ed and Al are able to do magic, or alchemy. Every show they say that the law of alchemy is that you must replace something of equal value if you're going to change it. Or something like that.
Ed is much better than Al at magic and he is slightly older, 15 to Al's 14.

We never meet Al and Ed's father and there is a mystery about his disappearance and although their mother tries to hide her longing for her eventually she, their Neicha, dies from heartbreak. Al and Ed are devastated about this and decide to do human transfiguration- to bring their mother back to life. They learn from an alchemy sensei and they perform the ritual but to horrible results.

The "Gate" of alchemy needs an exchange to make the process work, but Al and Ed could not give enough to return their mother to her true form. The Gate sacrifices Ed's ;eg but Al loses his whole body. Ed gains a vision into alchemy, but when the gate closes he realizes he must save his brother so Ed sacrifices his arm and put's Al's body into a suit of armor.

There is a lot more and the story arc is amazing. I was truly impressived with the art and the characters. I really like Ed and Al. They are smart, innocent boys that are on a mission. Ed wants to return Al to his real body and Al wants to return Ed's arm and leg.

We learn later that when people fail human transfigurations there are consequences and that this law of alchemy of equivalent exchange is a farce. Dark secrets lurk in the world of Edward and Alphonse Elric and I can't wait to watch about all of them.

Dan

I have to think of how to make classes interesting and engaging for a class of 25-40 students. This is a bit tasking. I am trying to find the format that works in class and I think I have found it, but I always find myself changing the format because I think I need to make it more dynamic.

The thing is, I don't have to make it more dynamic. They see me once a week. If they see the same act over and over, then they'll be fine with it. I think I'm the one that has to make it more dynamic because I'm the one that's afraid to get bored.

Here's the format that has worked so far.

1: A short 3 minute dialogue
2: Going over picture vocabulary
3: A short class discussion about the topic
4: Going into a game that takes about 10-15 minutes of class

Basically I need to plan for only 25 minutes of class. I need to teach them either pronounciation, some phrases, or some vocabulary. I don't have a window to more than that.

What else has worked are Mad Libs. I want to use them more than once because they can read the fricken piece of paper. The board is too far for students in the back of the class. I would like to make a dialogue where I have three groups arguing about something. But I would have to actually write the dialogue and I would like to write something that takes up about 20 minutes of class, so I would have to write a 12 page dialogue. I don't know if I want to put up the work.

I have a format that works. I should try to make the 6th grade class just like a boring college lecture because they're little bastards.

OK...I'm tired of ranting for now. I'll think of my next lesson plan later...but first

Full Metal Alchemist

I am doing my cops and robbers class again and it is really effective. I think the double whammy of the game and actually having a piece of paper (I know that seems really ridiculous, but I've found that Korean students really like to hold a piece of paper.) I have generally gotten more participation out of this lesson then others.

Also the game because it is challenging, while being team oriented makes them really excited.

I should keep this in mind as I prepare for future lessons. I can put stuff on a piece of paper and do more team games.

I would like to do a word unscramble and like 4 letter word decrypters (out of a longer word like encyclopedia) in the future. Make the teams rush to the board and write the solutions on the board.

I have another mentally challenged student in my class. He is in 5th grade Mae Hwa. I sent him out of the room today, because he was disturbing the class. I know. I feel awful about it, but he and another student, were talking and causing a problem. Basically, the tables surrounding them couldn't hear me and had given up on the lesson. The class was also in anticipation of lunch, so they were already restless, so I made both students get up and go to the back of the class.

I was aware that the child was mentally challenged. I could tell by the way he twitched involuntarily and was speaking to himself. What got me was how the other students referred to him, when I asked him to get up. One student said, "He is not a person." I was utterly dumbfounded that they thought that of him. He is not person, so we can ignore him and let him do whatever he wants. Wow. I mean, if he is "not a person" then why did they insist on putting him in classes that were full of people. Was it some blind hope that magically he would personify (sorry, blatant and tasteless joke in this situation).

It makes me crazy sometimes about how utterly chaotic the Korean school system is. I believe it could be the best. It needs a lot of changes though.

Dan

There was a woman named Marie and a man named Warren that fell in love one day as they sat on opposite park benches on a spring day. They were married that summer in the park and by the following spring they had a son, William.

William, they didn't have in the park but in the van on the way to the hospital.

Now William was an extraordinary boy, for he was always in motion. When William lived in Marie's tummy, many curious onlookers were amazed by her constantly moving belly. And whenever Warren put his ear to her stomach, he would get motion sickness because, he said, "it's like riding a tugboat in a storm."

Warren didn't like to move much and honestly, neither did Marie. These two were most content spending a quiet evening drinking Darjeeling tea and reading a book on how to properly raise children.

When Marie went into labor, Warren rushed faster and faster to get her to the hospital, but it was as if William refused to lose the race. Before they even made it into the car, William seemed to be pushing with all his might to get out. And by the time Warren made it to the hospital, William had won. He was already out, fresh to the world- smiling because he knew that he beat his Dad in the first race of his life.

Now Marie and Warren didn't know how extraordinary their son was at first, because they were always exhausted from trying to make William stay still. They first had a rocking bed, but the constant creaking kept them up all night. They put him in a crib, but he rolled to one side of the bar and then back to the other - causing the springs to crimp and lines to appear on William's face. They finally had to make a circular bed and he could roll in 360 degree circles all night.

William learned how to crawl by six months and one day, when William was eight months old, Marie- tired and exhausted, left the front door open for a brief minute. This is all that William needed, because he had explored every inch of the house and he needed a bigger place to explore. William quickly sneaked through the door and he was now looking at the huge expanse of the world.

He crawled in the grass and watched the centipedes with it's many legs and the roly poly ladybugs hunting whiteflies, he chased the scurrying squirrels, and ran from the sniffing pups. William saw people on two wheels and four wheels and some even on three. He would have seen even more, if a Miss Wheeler, Marie and Warren's neighbor, didn't scream with fright and swiftly return William back to his home.

to be continued.

This is kinda how I feel today T.T
The Abbott and Costello bit was a hit and a miss. It was a single to the right field in the first class-Baek Hap, a Homerun in the second class-Guk Hwa, and a strikeout in third 6th grade class-Na Ri. It really sucked because the Na Ri class were all little bastards about it the whole time. They were utterly despondent and smart alecky. I had a couple bite in the class and they thought the exercise was worthwhile, but overall it was a bomb. I need to put my foot down the next time I see them, or I will have nothing to look forward to but dread...

The smart aleck who likes to heckle needs to be put in his place.

Anyway.

The third grade class was fine. I did a couple of phonics exercises at first:

Billy Battle bit baseball brats betting on better butter butts.

Barry brought bananas to Bob's birthday brunch but Bob bought both bananas and bandanas.

Alex ate apples in Alaska after artfully arfing.

AJ ate eight apples at eight.

Then I did ordinal numbers and did spelling baseball. Which was, first of all an idea of David's (thanks David): I split the groups into three teams. I told each group they would have to spell a word. I reviewed ordinal numbers in the beginning, so I got the students to spell them. The first person, if they got it right would get a man on first base. Then another person would go and if they got it right they would go to second base and so on and so forth. If a team got the word wrong, then their team would get an out. If they got three outs, it became the next teams turn.

This was effective and fun for the third graders. I think I'm going to do the same for the forth. I will add some more vocabular for the fourth grade and possibly a picture presentation. I had an idea that I would teach them the, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" song, but hell if I know how to sing.

I'm feeling a bit run down. I need to make a new lesson plan for my fifth graders unless, I want to take a chance in the Abbott and Costello bit on Friday. I think I can get it to work if I read for Costello and they read for Abbott. It could work, right?

Dan