2012년 3월 5일 월요일

Flow Sheet of 3/6 debate

PM: Hwi Gue

Def. policy recommending turning off the main light

First: propose the growth of teenagers
7~8 hours of sleep is necessary – do their work during day

Second: reduce the amount of energy used
Overuse of light and energy in a isolated region can be dangerous

After all, the policy is only recommendation and students can freely maintain light on their own

LO: Seohyun

# Rebut
We can’t sleep because we have too much work load
Turn off light when we actually go to sleep
Can’t save energy in any significant amount since it is voluntary

First: no participation of students
In autonomous student government, this decision is ironic in that we sought for more sovereignty

Hinder effective use of time
We have a lot to do

DPM: Joowon

When light is on, students are not burdened to study 
turning off light can make students who don't have much to do go to sleep
Small electric generator and limited amount of electricity in the school

The policy is only recommendation and it is a great benefit
We can flexibly use our time by maintaining the light when we have things to do

DLO: Celine

If penalty points come into policy - it means the policy is a must 
the electric generator is out of question because it ran well before the policy was implemented

we need much more time than 12 

GW: Ryan

1. how this is recommendation? 
lights on at 12:30 and dorm parent told to turn the light on 
we don't get penalty points 

2. inconsistent team stand
they say they love democracy and want to follow rules that they choose
however they are still following the 2am light out policy - it is inconsistent

3. the opposition does not understand our points

OW: Yong Wook

1. legitimacy
keep claiming that it is only recommendation
abrupt change - no participation of students and penalty points for whom do not take the policy 



2011년 12월 4일 일요일

"30 Days of Minimum Wage" and something to discuss.

I thought I can derive many topics for discussion from this single documentary.

- Health care
- Housing
- Need to increase Minimum wage
-

2011년 11월 24일 목요일

Ode to Ronaldo's Foot

Dear Ronaldo's Foot




I am sorry, but I have to tell you two, just in case you are mistaken. I am talking about the right foot not the left. I admit that you, the left foot, helps your neighbor in supporting the football player's body. But there is nothing special in that contribution. You are basically doing what everyone else is doing. So now I gently plead you to either step aside for your company to read this or join me worshiping the subject of my respect.




Hi, You are finally here to listen to what I must say. You will never understand how much I longed for this moment to show my deepest awe toward you. I first met you when I was still a little child pretending to be a big boy. Looking for something fun on the Internet, I came across the most played video in YouTube where you were featured fabulously with visual effects that gave a fantastic image. I am not sure whether the people who watched the same video with me was as fascinated as I was or they were just impressed by the splendid effects and Ronaldo's gorgeous outlook. Still, I guess I will never be able to forget the minutes I watched your movement. 



I had been barely into football before meeting you and the only occasion I was when my country held the football world cup in 2002. The entire country was all amazed about the national team's continuous victory and I just could not be excluded. After that, however, I did not or could not have interest in football  because I was a boy unfit for football. I tried many times to excel but I eventually failed due to my awkward movements when received the ball and my incapability to understand the complicated movements that I had to take in terms of attack and defense.




You came as a savior for me when I was in despair the most. I believed I would never be able to play football  well with my lack of understanding how one should move in the field and how one should interact with other players. Gratefully, you proved me wrong. In the video, you showed me a whole new approach to the sport.

You, although not much experienced, dominated the field. You were at once here and then there. You were at the place you want to be when you want to be. You were more swift than any but as elegant as much. Other feet always sought to conquer you and rob you of the ball. No one is perfect and you weren't either. You did let some passes slip through. However, Your concentration on the ball was never loose but always fierce. You had never let your ball go away from you forever. Did I say you weren't perfect? Then, you are probably the closest.

You taught me that football isn't just about passing and teamwork. I can use my foot as well to conquer the field. From then, I tried to imitate your movement with my feet. I practiced kicking like you, protecting the ball like you, and even posing like you. I can now say with confidence that I am fit for football and I perform quite well in my school team.

It has now been more than five years since I have met you. You have improved yourself more powerful and frightening to your opponents. You are now more experienced.

There is one last thing I would like to mention. Your fashion is just gorgeous. You have your own style that other feet would never even try to imitate. You usually wear one color clothing with a NIKE mark that implies your victory over other feet. Your clothes are always impressive and remarkable. You once receive a cloth made of gold for scoring the most in the league. But you are so frugal and sincere that you do not wear it while you play football. I just seem to admire everything about you.



   
I think it is time to let you go and let you achieve triumph as you always have. It was great honor to deliver my sentiments toward you. You must be old some day and must leave the filed you conquered. At that time, I would always be there and greet you with great welcome. Thanks.

Yours sincerely
Youngil Jung

p.s. This is the picture of myself a year ago. I took a photo trying my best to look alike your host Ronaldo.



   


2011년 11월 10일 목요일

Review: "No Country for Old Men (2007)"

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Release: 21 February 2008 in South Korea
Running Time: 122 minutes
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Casting: Tommy Lee Jones(Ed Tom Bell), Javier Bardem(Anton Chigurh), Josh Brolin(Llewelyn Moss)
Synopsis: In rural Texas, Llewelyn Moss discovers the site of fighting between drug dealers and decides to take the two million dollars. This makes the heartless killer, Anton Chigurh look after him for the money. During this chase, an old sheriff, Ed Tom Bell oversees the investigation but do not actively participate.
<Above information from "The Internet Movie Database; IMDb.com">

     I guess I have a problem with my biorhythm because I do not feel asleep until around 2 o'clock. Maybe it is because I supplement sleep during the classes and IR periods to fill the amount I need. Anyway, because I feel sort of lazy and not willing to study after midnight, I often watch videos when I am not much loaded. Using this time, I have watched many videos mostly of drama and movie such as "Boston Legal", the last "Harry Potter" series I missed in the theater, and this one, "No Country for Old Men."

"You know what's going to happen now. You should admit the situation.  There would be more dignity in it."
     For most of the times, I start to feel asleep, then stop the video, and continue the next day or days later. However, there were two I just could not stop; "Old Boy", a Korean movie by director Park Chan-Wook, and this one I am reviewing right now, "No Country for Old Men" by Coen brothers. These two movies share the characteristics of a thriller movie. Both movies depict the story of a cat and mouse drama where a psycho traces a man whom he wants to revenge or take something away from. However, there are also clear differences between the two movies. While the "Old Boy" focuses mainly on the relationship between the man being revenged and the one who revenges, "No Country for Old Men" focuses on the individuals who rarely appear together in the scenes.

     I hate studying literature even though I do enjoy reading the literary works. I hate people when they try to derive grandiose meanings from literature like "Emma" by Jane Austen when, in my perspective, it merely seems to be a diary of a woman who likes useless gossips. I do not understand people trying to write a paper on a two-sentence long poem by Wordsworth and lists all the possible meanings no matter whether they are from the actual poet's thought. Overall, I hate people when they exaggerate what they get from an work of art and when the things they allegedly have earned seem crappy and crude. Therefore, I never really enjoy writing journals for the literature classes and discussing about the so called the hidden meanings of literature. To express more radically, I always felt like I am learning how to write a good looking "BS."

     Fortunately, my attitude was different with this movie. I felt strangely motivated to better understand the directors' intentions and philosophy. The film is notably simple and even gives the sense of dryness. The simplicity, however, did not bring tediousness. Although I did not recognize while watching it, the movie does not take advantage of any background music. Music is one of the fundamental tools for a movie since it forms an appropriate mood the director wants to create for the scenes. This astounding simplicity rather impressed me because it was accompanied with the deep sense of vanity and desolation. The heavy atmosphere dominating the entire film "banned" me from falling asleep and I just had to stay the night.

      There are several things that contribute to the atmosphere of this movie. First of all, the setting takes quite an important role. The film takes place mainly in Texas, the west of the United States and the filmmakers succeeded in recording the dry and barren landscape of the American west. The barren land where the fight between the drug dealers took place and Moss found his fortune of two million dollars can almost be called deserts. The buildings including the hotels, where Moss stays during his fugitive period, are always plain without any decoration. There exists constant sense of silence and desolation in the setting. For example, in the streets, cars do not come across much and the hotels are pretty much empty all the time. The directors have accomplished well to construct foundation for their movie by background.

     This movie depends a lot on the characters for its unique atmosphere and the theme after all. The individual characters' importance is shown in the fact that the main characters hardly meet each other and they usually appear alone in many scenes. Anton Chigurh, Ed Tom Bell, and Llewellyn Moss are the three major characters and Anton Chigurh is the man whose face is depicted frighteningly in the movie poster. He is the most impressive character to many reviewers and I am one of those people struck by the peculiar mood he always accompanies with. His outlook is impressive at the first glance; his long and girlish hairstyle contrasts his face and terrifying facial expressions. He carries a powerful air gun and does not hesitate when killing people even without clear cause or necessity. His voice completes the horror his opponent feels; it is   extraordinarily deep and so resonant that it carries an irresistible power. These factors allow Anton Chigurh alone form the entire atmosphere of this film.

Heartless killer, just the right description for Anton Chigurh. 
Can't you feel the horror from this guy? I certainly do!


     Ed Tom Bell is an old sheriff who is experienced but powerless because of age. He talks to himself a lot and even when he is speaking to others, it seems like he is talking to no one. I thought the "Old Men" in the title indicates this character and it is quite obvious since he is the only old one among the major characters. Llewelyn Moss is one who discovers the money and is murdered by Anton Chigurh as a result of his decision to take possession of it. These two characters also contribute to the atmosphere of desolation.

     All these factors lead to the overall theme of this movie. I thought this movie is talking about the vanity on which everything in our lives is based on. Anton Chigurh kills everyone with even a little necessity to get rid of.  I think we can say that Chigurh has his own, clearly set standard. We cannot blame him for it since the time period that the movie takes place is certainly more permissive for murder than now. The murders he execute are so quick and clean that it gives the sense of vanity for the viewers. The coin which Chigurh uses for deciding whether to kill a person or not epitomizes the vanity of life this movie tries to deliver. Anton commands the other side to pick a side of a coin to decide whether he would execute the person. This mere conjecture decides one's life for ever.

     This movie follows the basic formula of a typical thriller movie where a character is chased by other. Some might say that basic structure might lead to boredom due to the lack of innovation. However, this one showed why basic structure functions as basic.


    

2011년 11월 6일 일요일

In Class Reflective Essay




     The movie "Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter" are composed of 4 parts each getting its name from the seasons of the title. The part we watched was the Spring. An old monk lives in a temple located in the middle of a lake with a little boy monk. Their life looks so simple and plain since their location is completely blocked from the outside world. The main story of this part was about the boy being punished for his cruelty towards the animals with which he played. The monk treated the boy as exactly the same as the boy did the animals. This relatively simple and not adventurous type of movie, nevertheless, was special and impressive.
     First of all, the location of this movie gives a special image. I feel some kind of awe even when in a perfectly usual Buddhist temple like the ones in mountains with big size statues of Buddha and great monks in the past. The temple in this movie is even more awe-inspiring and apparently symbolizes the Buddhist morals; separation from the outside world. The temple has only one building and the there lives the monk and the boy. They have to use a boat to get out of the lake to reach the land where huge mountains surround the place. Moreover, there stand several doors both the inside and the outside of the building. Inside, the door stands even though there is no wall that makes the need of it. These doors also imply the separation and they strictly follow the lesson by always using the doors even though there is space left and right to them. The boy and the monk have to always share the boat when they transport themselves because one of them must be stuck into somewhere otherwise. This inconvenience implies that the their lives are shared and they have to go with each other. 
     Another specialty about this movie is the education by the old monk. A boy monk in a usual Buddhist temple learns from textbooks that contain Buddhist morale and from the old monks who indulged in the Buddhism for a long period of time and actually runs the temple. However, the boy in this film is not shown to be properly educated. He wakes up in the morning, not sure about breakfast, goes to mountain to pick herbs, comes back to the temple, plays with animals, and goes to bed. I was not sure how he will grow up to be a monk like the old monk now and protect the temple from evil spirits of the outside world. However, the boy was receiving education not quickly but empirically. The old monk's punishment after the boy treated the animals cruelly was surely harsh from my perspective and I will never do something like that to my children or my student if I have one. Anyway, the boy realized how bad and immoral he had been with the animals not by the old monk's nagging but actually looking at the consequences of his deeds. The boy cries with regrets from his true heart and probably he will never pain others either physically or mentally. This empirical learning, neither allegedly empirical nor through vicarious experiences, must have given the boy monk an strong lesson that would never leave his mind. Although the old monk would not be able to leave all his wisdom in a short period of time but as their lives go on together, the boy would certainly be another wise monk. 
     The "Spring" is only the first part of this movie and I really look forward to watching the remaining seasons.   But still, this movie seems to have portrayed the image and sentiments of Korea well with the natural scenery and the character set-up. I believe this work is qualified for being the most well known Korean movie. 
          

2011년 10월 29일 토요일

Metafiction: Looking for the True History of Mankind

   <  My name is Elwyn Han. This article is about the story of myself and my ancestors. This is being written in December 3rd 2319 in human calendar about three hundred years after the aliens' colonization of the planet Earth. No alien should be allowed to read this for this is a prohibited story for them. The reading of these passages should be restricted to humans or the controlas. You, who are to read and finish this, are not a controla anymore from now on, but a human with true knowledge of your ancestors. You are now burdened with the responsibility to spread this knowledge.

      There are two classes of intellectual beings on Earth. One species rules the other entire species. The ruler is called the "Domina" and the ruled is called the "Controla." The two species look distinct from each other. Dominas are much taller creatures with average height of two and a half meters. They have a very smooth skin with no fur on their bodies. They have strength to hold three male controlas at once with their long arms while their short but strong legs stand their great weight. Controlas are physically much weaker than the dominas. Their average height is only 1.7meters and their physical strength cannot be compared to that of the dominas. However, the controlas have better balanced body with faces of sharp features.

     According to the history of the Earth written by the ancestors of dominas, the controlas have been ruled by the dominas from the earliest beginning. It was allegedly the decision of a deity to give all the powers to the dominas. The dominas hold all political rights. All adult dominas, regardless of race and sex, can vote and run for offices while the controlas have no access to politics at all. Moreover, controlas are prohibited from using computers and any IT devices. They can get information only from the materials provided by the dominas. A controla is allowed to pursue a career but his or her choice was restricted to those jobs that do not require much intelligence and information. Controlas are usually hired for menial works and simple paper works.

     I used to belong to the controlas with great pride in my origin. Although the bizarre looking dominas tell us what to do and interfere in our lives, I believe that we are fundamentally better. We have much more various emotions than the dominas do. With the above thought, I started to doubt about whether we were always ruled by the dominas. First of all, they have another planet they call the "home planet." They might have come from the planet some thousand years ago to Earth and just pretend to have ruled us forever. Moreover, I could not understand how the controlas had evolved to possess such intellectual ability if they never experienced to build their own civilizations.

     Therefore, I started to do some research.

     When I thought of myself as a controla, I worked as a secretary of a professor in a university. Of course, my boss was a domina. Fortunately for me, he was a pro-controla figure who had an interest in civil rights movement for the controlas. His main field of study was history and since he was kind to me, I could read his books freely in his room when there was no one around. After I decided to burrow into secrets, I spent more time reading his books. The research process, however, was much more difficult than I expected. If I had not firmly believed that the controlas used to be independent beings, I would have had given up several times already. It seemed that the dominas did their job of eliminating our history quite fastidiously.

     One day, I found a book named, "The History of Information Control by Humans." I was attracted to this book for I was curious what "Humans" are. While I was reading it, I found an article that reads as follows.

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Report XVI-2020

In 2020, Kim Jeongil, the national leader of North Korea, passed away. The North Korean government was put into a chaos with the absence of  their spiritual leader. No one seemed able to anticipate what would happen to the only left isolated country in the world. After 3 days, China rose up claiming its right to take control of North Korea. China wanted to use its closest relationship with North Korea based on their shared ideology. 


However, just at the moment when China was about to gobble up North Korea, South Korean citizens along with their president, got furious. "We need war" was the national consensus. Not a single person protested when the government came up with a war-fundraising project. The war seemed imminent. It seemed that only a few days were left before a massive war.

On the boundary of the war to declare its start, an unidentified object from the universe arrived at Beijing, China threatening the entire planet to be under the control of aliens. Both the Chinese and Korean governments fell into a state of chaos. They had prepared so many troops for the war and due to the arrival of aliens, the world is urging them to cooperate.


Another striking reality was revealed by the CIA task force in Beijing. The national leader of China, Hu Jintao was the spy that the aliens had planted prior to their attack. Hu Jintao had succeeded in creating a belligerent atmosphere on the entire globe since the war between China and Korea led to the conflicts all over the world. 

With the appearance of the extraterrestrial beings, the citizens all over the world were confounded.

     The report ended with the last sentence, leaving a huge impression. My conjecture was proven right. We the controlas were not always inferior beings. We had our own civilizations called countries. We had our own armies and own governments. This could be a direct counter evidence against the domina government's claim that controlas were predestined to be ruled.

     However, as a controla, I did not have access to any means to reveal this astonishing fact to the mass. I would have never used media for no controla were there in the industry and the dominas would arrest me if I were to reveal the fact. Therefore, I decided to continue the research. The report taught me that I am an independent being but it can never be the whole story of my ancestors. After I complete the story, I would think of the means to turn the story backward.

     After long hours of contemplation, I concluded that I need the help of my boss to proceed. It took me several weeks to find out a single piece of evidence of human civilization and it must take some years to complete the story of colonization. I hoped to spur my research with the aid of a history professor. When I brought the issue to him, he was first surprised to hear that I found out my knowledge from his book and was willing to help me but for purely academic cause.

      Fortunately, the report was giving us the direction of our research. The evil scheme to colonize the Earth began with the plantation of a spy into the country called China and the wicked spy succeeded in forming a conflicting atmosphere between countries before the actual attack from the home planet. I set the focus of my search on the spy's deeds during his mission. The professor authorized me to use the internet and I was able to read any books and articles with the new source of information. I spent most of my work time as well as private time for the research. I was deeply into it.

     The spy seemed to be a very sly one. I could not believe he was from another planet. He quickly grasped the environments surrounding China and found out that he could use North Korea to make some noise. By using secret agents located in North Korea, he poisoned the North Korean leader to death and declared the death was a natural one. He made glaringly ambitious remarks about taking over North Korea in an intention to provoke South Korean citizens as well as its allies such as the United States. He remained in the form of a human being even after the arrival of the "home planet" forces. When the situation urged the entire world to cooperate in order to defend itself from the aliens' threat, Hu Jintao, the leader of 1/5 of the whole Earth's population opposed to any sort of cooperation with other countries and constantly created conflicts.

     Due to the fundamental superiority of aliens in their technology and the failure of cooperation in the side of defenders, the aliens took over the planet within two months. They abolished all the political and social system of the mankind. They first got rid of all the countries and united all of them into one entity under the control of Hu Jintao. Humans were hired to perform administrative works at first but as time passed the aliens replaced them as they understood the planet better.

     As the report was written in 2020 and I am writing this article in 2319, almost 300 years have passed since the reign of dominas. Now, our species lost the our name "human", and is now collectively called the "Controla." Still, I wondered how the aliens could eliminate all the records of human civilization that existed more than several thousand years.

     One day, I was heading to my office as usual and some unfamiliar dominas approached me and forcefully dragged me to some interrogation building I had never been. Before the interrogation, they told me that they all knew about what I gathered and found out. One striking fact came to me; they had a chip planted to every individual controlas. With the chip, the dominas could keep track of all controlas' thoughts. At the time I was arrested, I must have been one of the most thinking controlas since other controlas do works that do not involve much thinking. The dominas checked me out and realized that I was committing a serious crime in their point of view. They arrested me and sentenced me to death.

     Now, I have all the answers to the colonization of this planet. I might not be the first one to gather the answers since the dominas could always have killed my precedents with the chips. However, I feel obliged to leave these truths for the sake of our species, "human." If you now finished reading this, try to think as little as possible about this matter. If you are too much into this, dominas will someday come to you and get you. Remember this as you would not forget about this. Live your life as normal as you did before. However, you are still responsible for spreading this knowledge to many people. That way only our mankind can revive into the honor we used to possess. >


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2011년 10월 23일 일요일

Chain Writing 10/10 result

     In 2020, Kim Jeongil, the national leader of North Korea, suddenly passed away. The North Korean government was put into a chaos in the absence of  leader and no one seemed able to anticipate what would happen to the only left isolated country in the world. After 3 days, China rose up claiming its right to take control over North Korea for it was in the closest relationship and it helped North Korea to sustain from falling down.
     However, just at the moment when China was about to gobble up North Korea for its own, South Korean citizens along with their president, got furious. "We need war" was the national consensus. Not a single person protested when the government came up with a war-fundraising project. Suddenly, the speculation of a war was imminent. It seemed that only a few days were left before a massive war. 
     However, on the boundary of the war to declare its start, an unidentified object from the universe arrived at Manhattan, New York, threatening all people all over the world and binding all citizens of whatever countries to be real cosmopolitans and force them to cooperate. 
     Both the Korean and Chinese governments fell into a state of chaos. They have prepared so many troops for the war and due to the arrival of aliens, the world is urging them to cooperate. 'If we attack first when they decide to agree upon a temporary truce, we would be able to win the war and conquer their land' was the primary thoughts of executive officials from both countries. 'What was gonna happen?', the citizens were in fear. Then, a groundbreaking news was revealed; the Prime minister of China, Hu Zintao, was actually a disguised creature that the aliens had sent. Foolish Chinses put him at the position in which he could almost freely control all the Chinese troops. The war now seemed inevitable - it was just that there was a little shift in the aim of war; to achieve North Korean territory to kill the alien master. 
     The president of Korea decided to form an alliance with all the countries which were not friendly with China. He sent messages of supposition to Taiwan, Vietnam, India, Mongol, and so on. He was now all ready to propose war. Another unbelievable things happened. Aliens landed at Seoul in great number. Koreans were confounded by the unexpected appearance of aliens.