In The Poem “Those Winter Sundays,”  Robert Hayden tried to captures the subtle and strong emotional attachment between father and son. What follows are two video clips of visual re-creations based on the poem. The first is  a flash animation work that uses colorful images to represent the once-harsh yet sweet memories. The second is a dance performance, or an interpretative dance, that tries to represents the emotion and mood in the poem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjosL9VpXjY

Cherryblossom, Japan

Recycling is not a very sound idea!
Let’s think about our recycling system. Actually, it is downcycling. Everything recycled will become some raw material of lesser quality and finally be turned into dumps after several rounds of recycling. Have a look of the Video and think about the possibility of creating new ways of manufacturing daily necessities that can truly live up to the spirits of “Waste not, want not.”

Link to the Video Clip:

Link to the Corporation that Promote the idea:

http://www.mbdc.com/c2c_ee.htm

http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/background/tunnel.htm

(Source of Photo: http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0bfz2vv6Xk4a5/610x.jpg)

Along with the election, many states will also have a general ballot measure for the citizens to decide on certain issues, such as gay marriage, abortion, etc.

Now have a look of this section and pick an issue that interest you and make a description of the result of the ballot measure, and state your opinion on this matter in your response.

Click on the following website to look for more and write down your answer in comments on this posting.

Ballot Measure Link: http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/ballot.measures/

Wiki on Initiative and Referendum:

In U.S. politics, initiative and referendum is a process that allows citizens of many U.S. states^[1] to place new legislation on a popular ballot, or place laws recently passed by the legislature on the ballot, and vote on it. Initiative and referendum, along with recall elections and popular primary elections, is one of the signature reforms of the Progressive Era. It is written into the constitutions of several states, particularly in the Western United States.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiative_and_referendum)

The VOTE MAP:

http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/president/

 Look at the map and see how many popular votes went to Obama and Mccain repsectively?

And their percentage?  And what about the electoral votes they got respectively?

1.  Click on any one of the red- and blue-colored state to see the popular votes going for each candidate and note them down in your response. And how many electoral votes each got from the winning state?

2. Look at the exit polls and what can we learn from the polls about the voter’s preference based on sex and age. Please make a brief description of it.

John Mccain’s Concession Speech:

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/mccain.transcript/

Video Clips:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/04/mccain-concession-speech_n_141196.html

Obama’s Acceptance Speech:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7710079.stm

3. What are the most touching part in each of the two candidates’ speech to you?

Quote them down and state your reasons.

For each of your Writing Assignment, please follow the following format.

1. Class, Number, and Name on the Top Left.

2. Topic Bold-faced &, Capitalized  in the Middle

3.  Double-Spaced for each line. (兩倍行高)

4. Font: New Times Roman 12.5~13.5

5. One Single Page-You may try, not necessary.  (Try to adjust the margin, Minimum 1.2 cm)

Some deduction on your score is inevitable if you fail to meet the top four requirements. Thanks for your cooperation.

30214 郭佳欣      Reading Afterthought: Judy Blume’s <Forever>

“Forever” is a book with great content and lovely cover written by Judy Blume. It’s about a story of teenagers. Katherine and Michael meet at a party. The attention between them is instantaneous. Attraction goes to love, and to an intense and exclusive relationship. When they decide that their love is forever they have sex. But the future is not as simple as they want it to be. For Katherine’ s parents insist that she and Michael spend the summer apart.

There are some sex scenes inside the book but not so intense. The point is that I found something extremely educational. Katherine goes to a doctor to ask for some advice before having sex with Michael. It goes without saying that having sex without preparing preventing measures and fundamental sense is sure of troublesome consequences.

In addition, I always believe that falling in love is magically like crazy. It resembles an eternal flame as if it is impossible to snuff out. But I am only at the age of seventeen, like the characters in the book. To speak frankly, I am not sure that I am ready for a love that is for good though I had some experience. It’s so ironic that Katherine and Michael says, “I love you forever.” to each other at every moments but end up breaking up.

“Forever” is not an easy word that should be underestimated especially for teenagers even adults. There are still various things we have to learn and experience. Because building an everlasting love or relationship is not as simple as we want it to be, is it?

這是在奇幻基金會（www.fantasy.tw）之下執行的一個計畫。我們希望能夠用開放原始碼的理想、精神、社群和技術來挑戰開放知識分享的這個新理念，讓更多的人可以分享到知識。

本計畫同時擁有世界各翻譯計畫的入口網站：www.myoops.org和繁體中文版www.myoops.org/twocw，簡體中文版www.myoops.org/cocw的翻譯網站。

目前採用中英對照方式架設網站。任何網友發現有翻譯錯誤或是疏漏之處，都可以直接來信指正，我們會立即修改，我們希望透過讀者的參與和編輯，將網站的正確度更為提升。對於英文閱讀沒問題的使用者來說，我們提供的是一個中文介面、連線速度較快的平台。對於只能用中文閱讀的讀者來說，我們提供的是通往新知識的另一扇大門。未來將引進WIKI系統，讓所有的參與者可以直接在線上進行修正與校稿，經過審定者的通過之後，就可以即時作出更改，更為提高參與性。

http://www.myoops.org/twocw/indexupdate.htm

Now, log on the website and take a look of a course program that you are interested in and make a summary of the course, which should cover

1. Why you are interested in the course

2. what the course is about

2. Which topic/class of the course interests you most? And why?

Please answer all these questions in English on your blog, and leave a link to the site.

Meanwhile, please read one of your friends’ blog post and tell him or her what you think of the program they talk about.

Example:語言學與哲學 »  2001秋季課程：哲學問題:

http://www.myoops.org/twocw/mit/Linguistics-and-Philosophy/24-00Problems-of-PhilosophyFall2001/Syllabus/index.htm

1. I’m interested in the course because I used to be a pholosophy major, and I really want to know how the Introductory class among top univeristies would be like.

2. In this class, they will discuss lots of important philosophical questions such as the existence of GOd and moral standard.

3.  what interests me most will be one about the existence of God as follows.

信的理由：上帝存在嗎？
I. REASON TO BELIEVE: DOES GOD EXIST? Though I can access the reading material so far,  but I am sure it will be an interesting discussion on this juect.

mild   published   diagnosed  mental  explanations

amount    creating     mentally-tough     research      level

Going to university, then choosing a mentally demanding job may help protect the brain from the devastating impact of Alzheimer’s disease on memory.
Scientists found tissue damage was much quicker to lead to memory loss in the less intellectually stimulated.
They suggest mentally tough work, or genes which help people achieve such careers, may help the brain compensate for disease. The Italian research was ___________ in the journal Neurology.
The brains are able to compensate for the damage and allow them to maintain functioning in spite of damage. Dr Valentina Garibotta San Raffaele University, Milan
While there are a number of studies which, based on age and symptoms, suggest that ______________ stimulation can ward off Alzheimer’s, there are fewer which look directly at the damage wreaked by the illness on the brain.
The team from the San Raffaele University in Milan used brain scanners to look for the distinctive “tangles” and protein deposits characteristic of Alzheimer’s in 242 older people, 72 who had _____________ cognitive impairment, and 144 with no memory problems.
Over a 14-month period, 21 of the people with mild impairment went on to be _____________ with Alzheimer’s.
However, when the MRI scans of people with the same level of memory problems were compared, the damage was significantly more extensive in those who had been university educated, then progressed to ______________ careers.
According to the researchers, this meant that, somehow, the brain was managing to cope better with the disease, perhaps by ____________ a “cognitive reserve” which buffered against its effects.

Brain training

Dr Valentina Garibotta, who led the research, said: “The brains are able to compensate for the damage and allow them to maintain functioning in spite of damage.
“There are two possible ________________- the brain could be made stronger through education and occupational challenges, or, genetic factors that enabled people to achieve higher education and occupational achievement might determine the ____________ of brain reserve.”
A spokesman for the Alzheimer’s Society said that more ___________ was “urgently needed” to build on the findings, and perhaps find ways to help people manage their symptoms.
“This research is exciting as it is the first study to use MRI scanning extensively to show that in early Alzheimer’s, people with higher education have fewer symptoms of dementia than others with the same ___________ of damage to the brain.
“Previously, research has suggested that people with “cognitive reserve” do better at managing the symptoms of dementia, but until now there has been little physical evidence.”

Question for discussion:
1. What is the distinctive value of the research?

2. What can we learn from the findings of the research?

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/7681451.stm Published: 2008/10/21 09:24:01 GMT

Glossary:

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is a fairly new technique that has been used since the beginning of the 1980s. (磁核共振攝影掃描或磁核共振影像掃描檢查)

dementia noun [U]
a medical condition that affects especially old people, causing gradual worsening of the memory and other mental abilities, and leading to confused behaviour:
e.g. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease.
(Cambridge Online Dictionary)

senile dementia noun [U] SPECIALIZED
a medical condition that causes a gradual worsening in the memory and other mental abilities of old people, leading them to behave in a confused manner

(from Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)

(chorus)
Coming out of the dark, I finally see the light now
It’s shinning on me
Coming out of the dark, I know the love that saved me
You’re sharing with me

Starting again is part of the plan
And I’ll be so much stronger holding your hand
Step by step I’ll make it through I know I can
It may not make it easier but I have felt you
Near all the way

(repeat chorus)

Forever, forever I stand on the rock of your love
Forever I’ll stand on the rock
Forever, forever I stand on the rock of your love
Love is all it takes, no matter what we face

(chorus out)

http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/woolf/virginia/w91r/index.html