If The World is a Classroom... ( understand the world in five minutes!)

My mom (yes, my mom) sent me a chinese joke. I never get tired of political humour…  XD

The Joke (In Mandarin):

世界是一个班级， 美国是班长 中国就是团支书 狂经典

1、美国 班长，学习好，家里有钱，人高马大，好打架,经常欺负别人。班里没几个人敢惹他。 和副班长关系不好。

2、俄罗斯 副班长，成绩优异，全班最高大，上学期光和班长顶着干。后来家里出事：分家！现在做事很消极，但在班级里有一定的影响力。

3、中国 团支书。幼儿园学习成绩很好。小学时由于体质差常被欺负，没事爱吹牛，由副班长罩着。

4、英国 学习委员，学习成绩好。家里也很富。班长的跟屁虫，做事没主见，啥都听班长的。前些天和班长把伊拉克打了一顿。

5、瑞士 美术课代表，班花。学习成绩好，清高。

6、奥地利 音乐课代表。

7、阿富汗 职务无。不爱学习。身材矮小。上学期被副班长打，班长帮忙付医药费。前几天把班长家的最高的两个家具砸了，被班长揍个半死，现在失忆中、

8、伊拉克 无职务。学习差。但人高马大，上学期排全班第四。嘴硬，上学期欺负同桌被群殴。前些天被班长和学习委员冲进他家揍个稀巴烂。

9、印度 好玩电脑，成了电脑课代表。经常和同桌巴基斯坦为一块课桌吵架。

10、巴基斯坦 职务无。成绩一般。和团支书关系不错，经常和印度吵架。 1

11、德国 班级活跃分子，人高马大，擅长数理化。有野心，由于上学打了2架所以现在暂无职务。但认错态度较好。

12、日本 无职位，成绩不错。思想品德很{巨}差。上学期刚被班长和团支书等人揍。现在还惦记着团支书家的鱼缸。)

13、越南 无职位。人品有问题,瘦弱。上学期被班长揍，幸好有副班长和团支书撑腰。后又挑衅团支书，被狂揍。

14、朝鲜 无职位。有个性。和团支书关系好。近期和班长闹矛盾，班长扬言要揍他。’

15、韩国，无职务，品行比日本还差，喜欢偷团支书东西，偷完了还不知廉耻拿出来炫耀。由班长罩着。

The Joke, translated:

The World is a classroom. United States is the Class president. China is the chairman.

1. United States, President.  Good grades, upperclass.  Most built in the class. Loves to fight, and bullies other students. Not alot of students stands up to him. His relationship with the Vice President is abysmal.

2. Russia, Vice President.  Very high grades. Tallest in the class. Had a fight with the President last semester, but then things at home lead to his family being separated. Right now he’s rather quiet, but he has a certain influence.

3. China, Chairman. Genius in kindergarten, but got bullied a lot because of his small structure.  Likes to brag when he’s bored. The Vice President protects him.

4. United Kingdom, Academics Representative. Good grades, rich upper class family. Class tag-along. Doesn’t really have opinions, listens to the President for everything. Beat up Iraq with the President a few days ago.

5. Switzerland, Visual Arts Representative. Prettiest girl in class. Good grades, high class. Extremely refined.

6. Austria, Music Representative.

7.  Afganistan,  regular student. Hates studying, scrawny. Got beaten up badly by the Vice President last semester, and the President helped to pay for his medical bills. A few days ago he broke two tallest pieces of furniture in the Presidents house. After being beaten up half to death by the President, he is suffering from amnesia.

8. Iraq, regular student. Horrible grades, but is tall and built.  Fourth tallest out of the whole class last semester. Irrationally vocal, last semester he got ganged up on for bullying his desk buddy.  The President and the Academics Representative stormed his house and beat the living crap out of him.

9.  India, Information Technology representative. Loves to play on the computer.  Has frequent squabbles with his desk buddy over desk space.

10. Pakistan, regular student. Average grades, good relations with the Chairman. Squabbles with India over desk space.

11. Germany, regular student. Participates actively in class and is serious about school. Very well built, he is good at scientific/math studies.  He has a wild side. He was on the student council, but was kicked out when he started two riots.  He is good at accepting full responsibility.

12. Japan, regular student. Good grades. Has some (very) questionable thoughts sometimes.  Got beaten up by the Chairman and others last semester. Now he often reminesces about the aquarium in the Chairman’s house.

13. Vietnam, regular student. Has some questionable morals. Very frail. Got into a fight with the President last semester. Lucky for him he had the support of the Chairman and Vice President. Then he went to pick a fight with the Chairman, and got his ass handed to him.

14.  North Korea, regular student. Isolationist. Good relations with the Chairman. The president and him has been butting heads recently, and the President announces he’s going to kick North Korea’s ass…

15. South Korea, regular student. Thoughts even more questionable than Japan’s. Likes to steal from the Chairman’s house, which he then shamelessly shows it off.  Protected by the President.

I had to change a few things here and there for it to make sense. For example, 班长 does not translate into ‘President’, it translates into ‘battalion leader’. The Chinese classroom has an interesting system: there will be a ‘battalion leader’ who will be in charge when the teacher is away, and a ‘vice-batallion leader’ to help out the ‘battalion leader’ when he needs it. Then there’ll be representatives for every subject and they’ll be responsible for everything that happens in that class. There are also some stupid titles such as ‘hygenics representative’ and ‘lunch representative’… more often than not, the class is so big that they have to split them up into even smaller groups, resulting in ‘platoon leaders’ and ’sub-platoon leaders’…

Yeah it’s really communist sounding, isn’t it?

Brave

by Nao

isa-mashii, yū

Isa-mashii is an adjective meaning brave and courageous. Yūkan and yūsō also mean brave and heroic. The kan of yūkan often becomes part of compounds that stress that you venture to do something or dare to do something.

The lower part of this character is chikara (power).

1. Draw the hook on the top.
2. Draw the dot.
3. Draw the left side of the rectangle.
4. Draw the upper and right side of the rectangle.
5. Draw the horizontal stroke in the rectangle.
6. Draw the vertical stroke in the rectangle, making a cross.
7. Draw the lower side of the rectangle.
8. Draw the hook of the power.
9. Draw the sweeping stroke from the center to the lower left.

Japan Jobless Rate Falls for Second Month to 5.3%

Japan’s jobless rate unexpectedly dropped for a second month in September, adding to signs that a recovery in the world’s second-largest economy is spreading to consumers.

The unemployment rate declined to 5.3 percent from 5.5 percent in August, the statistics bureau said today in Tokyo. The median estimate of 29 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for the rate to increase to 5.6 percent.

A global recovery fueled by more than $2 trillion in stimulus measures is bolstering business at companies from Honda Motor Co. to Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. Consumers are also more confident that the worst is over — household sentiment rose to a 23-month high in September and retail sales fell at the slowest pace in 10 months.

Anyway, it’s too early to confirm a rebound of the economy. Many economists still forecast a record 6% unemployment rate for next year.

 

Mots clés Technorati : Japanese Economy,Employment,fvtaiwan

Big Bang's new song 'Let Me Hear Your Voice’ Out!

The song sounds nicer than I expected very nice beat, and nice voices. It’s very catchy and I actually love it, the beats blend in so well, it’s hard to explain, but all I know is that I love it! & their voices are sounding great ! G-Dragon’s english rap = PERFECT! What do you guys think of it? Remember it’s supposed to be the opening theme for a Japanese drama, not a club song. Thanks to Mel for the tip~ ^^

"L" is for Love

Ok we all know Kenichi is the “official” L, since he interprets him in the movies, and I LOVE HIM! Soooo cuuuuuute! But what if other people had taken that character?

1) yAY! kENICHI lol

2) woot Mizushima Hiro XD he’s already dress-up! XD

3) this is hyde in a pv… im not sure which one, someone gave me this screencap. Anyway, i do remember that hyde made an L cosplay for HYDEIST but i can’t find  it T_T

Anyway, that’s it for now. If anyone finds some pics… why dont u share with me XD lol

A Beautiful Mind: Stephen Wiltshire Draws New York City from Memory

A Beautiful Mind: Stephen Wiltshire Draws New York City from Memory

Steven Wiltshire (born 1974) is an accomplished architectural artist who has been diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder.  Wiltshire’s work has been the subject of many television documentaries; neurologist Oliver Sacks praised his artistic work in the chapter Prodigies in his book An Anthropologist on Mars.  Stephen Wiltshire’s many published art books have included Cities (1989), Floating Cities (1991) and Stephen Wiltshire’s American Dream (1993).

Wiltshire is presently working to complete his last drawing in a series of city panoramas, this time of his spiritual home, New York City.  Wiltshire’s collection of  already completed works depicting some of the world’s most iconic cities already includes London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Rome, Madrid, Frankfurt, Dubai, and Jerusalem.  A 20-minute fly-over Manhattan this past weekend provided the memory for a 20-foot panorama of the city that he’s drawing throughout this week at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute.  Viewers can watch his progress on a live web cam or visit the Institute while he works from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday, Oct. 26 to Friday, Oct. 30, 2009.

A Beautiful Mind: Stephen Wiltshire Draws New York City from Memory

Slide Show: A Beautiful Mind/Stephen Wiltshire Draws New York City from Memory

(Please Click on Image to View Slide Show)

Viewers can watch his progress on a live web cam while he works from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday, Oct. 26 to Friday, Oct. 30, here.

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Film Director Offers Profits to Dolphin Hunters

The director of an eco-documentary about dolphins has offered to donate the Japanese profits of the project to the same people he exposed in the film – but only if they stop hunting the marine mammals. Filmmaker and activist Louie Psihoyos hopes that this will help encourage the hunters to abandon their now infamous dolphin trade, Associated Press reports.

Psihoyos teamed up with other activists, filmmakers, explorers, divers and adrenalin junkies to create a covert feature-length documentary about an annual hunting event in the town of Taiji. The film, called The Cove, exposes the cruel and unsustainable hunting practices of the local fishermen as they capture thousands of dolphins using drive-fishing methods and a natural cove along their coast.

The director was back in Japan for the screening of the movie at the Tokyo Film Festival amid strong opposition from Taiji locals. The last minute decision to show the documentary came after intense international pressure from conservationists and filmmakers, the Guardian reports.

Despite reservations from the organisers, the film sold out and became a highlight of the festival. According to Associated Press, however, coverage from the local media remains restrained due to concerns of a backlash.

The Japanese government has been quick to defend the dolphin hunt as part of their unique culture. “People in different countries eat all kinds of things, depending on their culture. I’d like people to understand that cultures are diverse,” says Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada.

A spokesman from the Japanese foreign ministry also added: “Please remember that only a very small number of Japanese people catch and eat dolphins.”

Psihoyos believes that most people in Japan will oppose dolphin hunting if the issue became more prominent in the social consciousness. “This is not an animal rights film. This is a people’s rights film for the Japanese people. Once the Japanese people see this film, I think they will shut down the cove,” he explains.

He also added:  “If we can get the film out to the Japanese people, I think it will be a huge victory for the Japanese people.”

The film has already been released in countries like Australia, Germany, Singapore and the UK. It has also been shown in various international film festivals in Ireland, Italy, and the US. Producers are still awaiting a decision regarding a general release in Japan.

Psihoyos, a respected photographer and co-founder of the Ocean Conservation Society, was inspired into action by a dolphin trainer-turned-activist Ric O’Barry, who used to work for the popular TV series Flipper.

O’Barry had a change of heart when one of the five dolphins he trained for the show committed a form of suicide in his arms. He has been campaigning to save dolphins ever since.

Dolphins are sociable and intelligent creatures. They have a long history of showing compassion for humans, often saving lives in times of maritime trouble.

Despite an international whaling ban, thousands of dolphins are still caught in Japan for the purposes of food and entertainment. Hunting these gentle mammals remains legal in the country because they are too small to be considered as ‘whale’.

Approximately 23,000 dolphins are killed each year in Japan, and over fifty percent of those chosen for entertainment also die within two years of captivity. The annual hunt in Taiji alone attracts an estimated 2,000 dolphins every season.

Psihoyos hopes that his film raise international awareness and ultimately stop dolphin hunting in the twenty-first century. He concludes: “I think it’s going to be a huge win for the dolphins. Those are my real clients.”

Written for EMMA Interactive
by Patrick Camara Ropeta
October 2009