Saturday, 4 October 2014
Thursday, 28 August 2014
"Time Team": an archaeological show that's airing for 20 years
In Mr. Ganse's Archaeology course, we started watching the series "Time Team".
We watch one episode in the 1st period and then discuss/criticize it in the 2nd period.
http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/timeteam/reports
http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/blogs/time-team
Friday, 22 August 2014
Using "Digging for the Truth" as Swiss Cheese
Currently I am taking an archaeology course by Mr.Ganse at my school.
I once took a short summer session on archaeology and since I got a hundred on the test he offered me a chance to be his TA for this semester's course.
Yesterday, we used the first period to discuss the 5~6 basic methods used to trace the date of artifacts. Than we used the second period to watch a flimsy documentary on archaeology and criticize it.
The documentary we watched was " Digging for the Truth"
Actually, I had bought a book with the same title when I visited the British Museum in 6th grade.
(http://www.amazon.com/Digging-Truth-Adventure-Exploring-Archaeological/dp/1400153441)
At the time, I only flipped through a few pages and stopped reading.
Now, I'm pretty glad that I did so because the documentary showed that whether by purpose or not, Josh Bernstein-the "explorer"-kept a very gullible attitude throughout his quest. It was as if he was an amateur with money who simply wanted to fulfill fantasies that he acquired while watching Indiana Jones.
I once took a short summer session on archaeology and since I got a hundred on the test he offered me a chance to be his TA for this semester's course.
Yesterday, we used the first period to discuss the 5~6 basic methods used to trace the date of artifacts. Than we used the second period to watch a flimsy documentary on archaeology and criticize it.
The documentary we watched was " Digging for the Truth"
Actually, I had bought a book with the same title when I visited the British Museum in 6th grade.
(http://www.amazon.com/Digging-Truth-Adventure-Exploring-Archaeological/dp/1400153441)
At the time, I only flipped through a few pages and stopped reading.
Now, I'm pretty glad that I did so because the documentary showed that whether by purpose or not, Josh Bernstein-the "explorer"-kept a very gullible attitude throughout his quest. It was as if he was an amateur with money who simply wanted to fulfill fantasies that he acquired while watching Indiana Jones.
2 tracks that work as OST compilations for Haruki's novel Norewegian Wood
http://8tracks.com/koraysoner/norwegian-wood
http://8tracks.com/ecem/norwegian-wood
http://8tracks.com/ecem/norwegian-wood
Found an introduction of my self written in early January of 2012
Thinking is an arduous
task. Philosophy helps one in dealing with this tiresome yet essential and fun
task. As a student of KMLA with
interest in a variety of fields such as linguistics, anthropology, and
logistics, which are all areas requiring intense thinking activity, interest in
philosophy was only natural. Throughout my journey as a scholar in such fields, studying and exercising
philosophical concepts will be in high demand as well. Therefore, I decided to participate in the International Philosophy Olympiad (IPO) to test the
extent of my knowledge in philosophy and
experience what it is like to compete with other people of my age using philosophical skills.
But, IPO is not just about philosophy. Rather, it is also a Colosseum where eager
students compete with their writing skills. If
so, my Korean composition teacher’s comment that my essays are crude and rough,
yet powerful and breath-taking in their own way should encourage me. Generally,
I try to focus more on the content and logics of what I write, rather than how elaborately
it might be shaped. Hence, I am not a stranger to criticisms regarding bumps
that might make some people hesitate to read on. Still, I have hopes that such
problems are primarily for my Korean essays. During the last four months, I
have engaged in writing journals and reviews on my blog for my English
composition class, where I was commented that my writing style is very
compacted yet active, helping readers to move quickly and get to point.
Ever since I
learned my letters and made reading a hobby, I almost never found myself
without a topic from a book to think about. Books like A Tale of Two Cities or
Lord of the Flies were my favorites because they gave me something to ponder
on. Such books often describe phases in one’s life when suddenly, one stops
taking the world around him or her as granted.
Reading and discussing on topics regarding such books helped mold my
views and opinions on the world.
As
for philosophy, it is not
a foreign topic and I had the fortune of getting in contact with it several
times. At such times, I tried to compare my thoughts with the thoughts of
scholars that lived ahead of me and find ways in which such scholar’s thoughts might
help structure mine better. I hope participating in this year’s IPO will benefit
me in the field of philosophy since
oftentimes it is hard to find friends to discuss on
such serious topics and therefore my thoughts might be a bit radical and
centered toward my experiences.
Thursday, 13 February 2014
Reading journal: The Student by Anton Chekhov
At first
glance, Anton Chekhov’s The Student seems
like a master piece that effectively portrays the Russian countryside of his
time. However, a few rereads brings readers to the conclusion that Chekhov
attempted more than simple scene depiction in his work. Chekhov’s seemingly
mundane choice of characters and the landscape are in fact, richly dipped in his
view of the Russian society.
After my second reading, it dawned upon me that for Chekhov to write about Ivan’s meeting with the two widows, mentioning the laborers was not necessary. Yet, the laborers seem to serve a certain purpose. Around the time when The Student was first published, the 1890s, socialism was gaining its hold in Russia. Socialism was at a stage where it stopped remaining a sophisticated philosophy for the learned and rather began transforming into a craved dream for the oppressed. Chekhov could have taken notice of such a trend in the society and implicitly embed it in his writings. The contrast between the Lukerya and her mother, Vasilisa, adds support to this analysis. Lukerya, a village peasant with a “stupid face”, does not make any attempt to converse with Ivan, but rather stared “immovably at the student” and “flushed crimson”. On the other hand, Vasilisa, “expressed herself with refinement” and showed “a soft, sedate” smile to Ivan. Chekhov’s portrayal suggests that Lukerya, or perhaps, the younger generation at the time, was ready to show resentment to the upper class—Ivan, in this case—whereas Vasilisa, or perhaps, the older generation at the time, still felt obliged to willingly serve and make sacrifices for the upper class. It seems Chekhov made his support for the oppressed plainly.
After my second reading, it dawned upon me that for Chekhov to write about Ivan’s meeting with the two widows, mentioning the laborers was not necessary. Yet, the laborers seem to serve a certain purpose. Around the time when The Student was first published, the 1890s, socialism was gaining its hold in Russia. Socialism was at a stage where it stopped remaining a sophisticated philosophy for the learned and rather began transforming into a craved dream for the oppressed. Chekhov could have taken notice of such a trend in the society and implicitly embed it in his writings. The contrast between the Lukerya and her mother, Vasilisa, adds support to this analysis. Lukerya, a village peasant with a “stupid face”, does not make any attempt to converse with Ivan, but rather stared “immovably at the student” and “flushed crimson”. On the other hand, Vasilisa, “expressed herself with refinement” and showed “a soft, sedate” smile to Ivan. Chekhov’s portrayal suggests that Lukerya, or perhaps, the younger generation at the time, was ready to show resentment to the upper class—Ivan, in this case—whereas Vasilisa, or perhaps, the older generation at the time, still felt obliged to willingly serve and make sacrifices for the upper class. It seems Chekhov made his support for the oppressed plainly.
Chekhov’s
choice to end the story by portraying an seemingly uplifting scene of Ivan made the story
stand out among other short stories. The ending scene in which Ivan looks down
upon the village from the hill might be mistaken for a sign that Chekhov
approves of Ivan’s pride. However, the hill scene seems to be rather a device
of black humor that serves as the finishing touch of Chekhov’s cynicism. Ivan’s
previous actions, such as interrupting the two widows’ peaceful evening so that
he could recite his practiced preaching marks him as an immature youth who has
not yet learned the trick of viewing the world from other’s perspective. Thus,
Ivan’s hope is understood not as one that is shared by others, such as the two
widows, but rather as one that is valid only to Ivan. Ivan mistaking his preaching
to be successful is a source of black humor that earns The Student the title of the “Perfect Short Story”.
An atheist, Chekhov could have implied his distaste for religion. Ivan preaches the widows on Jesus and Peter. Ivan’s story of Jesus and Peter is like a décalcomanie to Chekhov’s story of Ivan and the widows. Both stories contain a preacher, working class people that do not welcome the preacher, and a third person that sympathizes with the preacher. Chekhov makes this connection even stronger by making Vasilisa weep just as Peter had wept for Jesus. If the author, Chekhov, had been a religious man, it would be reasonable to view Ivan, who is compared to the holy Jesus, in a positive light. Yet, considering Chekhov’s distaste of religion, it would rather be plausible to view Jesus, who is compared the Ivan, the joke of the story, in a negative light. This interpretation gains even more validity by the fact that the church was the symbol of the old regime that enlightenment thinkers and socialists aimed to topple down.
In a final
analysis, Chekhov uses his cynical, yet masterful manner of writing to create a
short story that effectively expresses his thoughts on the Russian society. His
implicit portrayal of socialism seeping into the oppressed people implies his
approval of the society’s trend. The black humor present in the hill scene
shows his cynical view of the society. Comparing Ivan to Jesus is an expression
of his contempt at the Russian church and the old regime in general. Sunday, 2 February 2014
30 things about myself
2. I share my room with the same roommates back from last semester
3. I dropped the habit of using English names because I felt that my name, "David" is too biblical for me, who does not go to church
>
4. I'm seriously worried about drinking because one side of my family members can't drink at all. Some of them actually fainted after trying beer at college. But, the on the other side, its common for one person to drink two bottles of Soju alone
5. I'm expecting double eyelids, because every male on my father's line acquired them after enrolling in the army
6. I'm interested in shoes. I have a habit of examining my friends' shoes when we are at 민교관 and people leave their shoes on the door steps. I can guess pretty accurately who somebody is just by looking at their shoes
7. I love music
8. But I couldn't listen to music before junior high because my mother basically banned music from the house
9. Instead I spent all my spare time reading books when I was little
10. My favorite in childhood was [My Sweet Orange Tree] by Jose Mauro de Vasconcelos
11. I still keep reading as a hobby and have added such books as [A Tale of Two Cities] by Charles Dickens, [The Geography of Thought] by Richard E. Nisbett, [Kite Runner] by Khaled Hosseini, and [Blink] by Malcolm Gladwell to my list of favorites
12. I started listening to music by going to a book store that played songs by SG Wannabe everyday
13. Once introduced to the heaven called music, I found that my father is a music lover like me and expanded my music listening to my father's car
14. During these days, I came to love old songs by musicians such as Simon& Garfunkel and Queen
15. After that a big boost occurred in my second year at high school. I took an year off from school. At this time I would listen to music all night if I felt like it. My favorite musicians at this time were Gotye, Katatonia, Sigur Ros, Broken Valentine, Smashing Pumpkins, Aphrodite's Child, and Coldplay. Even now, I like these musicians the best because I still remember that they kept me on my feet in that year
(http://haeukwriting.blogspot.com/2013/08/katatonia-band.html)
16. One point that I found interesting was that despite listening to all kinds of strange music, I never listened to hip hop. But, that changed in last fall when 김현채 and 구한결 recorded dissing raps at 김홍순. Infatuated, I started listening to Simon D, Jazzyfact, and other such hip hop musicians as well
(http://haeukwriting.blogspot.kr/2013/08/kmla-rappers-make-parodies-of-dissing.html)
17. All those books and music would portray me as a geek, which I actually am. But, I'm also into Ultimate Frisbee
18. I was introduced to Ultimate Frisbee when I met Mr. Hinde at KMLA. With him and some of my friends who by chance happened to take Mr. Hinde's class at the time, I began playing Ultimate Frisbee
19. My passion for Ultimate Frisbee reached its peak when I came back to school from an year's rest. Again by chance, Ultimate Frisbee introduced me to new friends, with whom I revived the Ultimate Frisbee Organization
20. I not only came to play Ultimate Frisbee but also became interested with professional leagues - specifically, their history and the problems with the administration
21. Among the teams registered in MLU, I support San Francisco Dogfish and Boston Whitecaps
(http://mlultimate.com/)
22. But, my all time favorite team is the Buzz Bullets, a Japanese team that does not compete in professional leagues but still manage to thwart USA all-stars half the time they meet
(https://www.facebook.com/BuzzBullets)
23. Other than Frisbee, music, and books, I like traveling
24. I even skipped school for a whole month in 6th grade and traveled around Europe
25. My worst memories were at Prague where people not only didn't speak English but was also hostile to anyone who tried to communicate in English
26. Because of their antagonism, it took me three hours just to send some stuff at the postal office
27. My best memories were at Pompeii and Sorrento. Pompeii, I liked because of its historical significance, but Sorrento I loved because it was simply the most beautiful town I've ever seen to this day.
28. Other than, Europe, I've been to Egypt
29. I've never played League of Legends
30. Right now, 2:14 am of Feb, 6th, 2014, I want to tan myself at a terrace in Casablanca, Morocco with my roommates
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