BR 2-14: Stories of Knights

This kind of books again! I really like this series. This time, I'm gonna introduce about Chapter 1, 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'.

Story: When it's New Year's Eve, King Arthur was holding a feast. Everybody was really having fun but suddenly a huge knight came the hall. He was really tall like a bear and looked as wild as a wolf though, the strongest point about him was that he was totally green like Halk. He wanted to play a game, which is chopping off heads. Of course nobody wanted to play it because it's grouse, but he didn't leave and finally Sir Gawain agreed. And he sliced green knight's head off. His head fell down the hall and then the green knight's body picked up the head. It's his turn and he said to sir to come to the Green Chapel next New Year's Day in order to meet him. But Sir didn't know where it is. The following winter he set off and he finally arrived around the chapel. Then he stayed Sir Bertilak's for 3 days. He got a magic belt and he decided to wear it when he met the Green Knight. The Green Knight forced to him to kneel and then the knight raised his sword...

Read the book to know the result of the game!! It's kinda terrible but nice book!!

[227 words]

New year

It's 2009!! Yeah, time passes so fast. I guess, 2009 will pass really quickly like F1 because I'm gonna be junior and gonna be in America. I'm excited about that, but I don't prepare for it yet. What a lazy boy I am. Anyway, the school has begun. I don't wanna go there cuz I had sweet winter break. But I gotta go and study hard, huh? Yeah, I'll try to do it. Have a nice year guys!!

[78 words]

Yeah, dude.

How was your Christmas? I hope you had awesome time. In my case, I didn't do special, but the eve, it was crazy and fun. I don't wanna talk about it cuz I'm kinda sick of typing right now, so sometime I will post about it.

Yeah, dude. It's winter break now! I'm just chilling at home, but I have job from tomorrow to Monday. I heard that although it's really easy, I can get 7500 yen per day so I decided to work. I'm a bit excited now but I'm also nervous. It's because it's the first time to work that. But a few my friends work tomorrow too, it's gonna be okay.

Yesterday, I got the result of TOEFL, and it went up just 7 points, which is kinda good. One of my aims is to get good score on TOEFL, and I could get it. The next stage is to get more higher score than now like +20 points. I know it's freaking hard but I gotta get that cuz I need 550 points to enter regular school in TX.

Sigh, I'm sleepy and a kind of sick. I don't know what's going on my own body and mind. Alright, I just made an aim, which is to get over that sickness. It's gonna be difficult but I believe I can do it. Yeah dude.

[226words]

Portfolio for Second Semester

Student ID: 07145

Portfolio for Writing IV,
Section 1a

(See: Note 1, below)

0.0. Overview

Reviews, Posts, Words, and More

(See: Note 2, below.)

1.0. Essays

(See: Note 3, below.)

Please complete this table with data gathered from essays on your blog. See the Key (below) for definitions of the symbols in row one, and complete columns four through nine with numerical values (0, 1, 2, 3, ...).

1.1. Showcase	Short titles with links	Dates yy.mm.dd	¶	W	C	L	P	M
Website review 08.09.29 (375+ words)	Rewritten Website Review: Let's go to Beppu!!	2008.10.05	7	714	0	2	6	0
Favorite place(-s) 08.10.20 (450+ words)	Dorm, such a nice place ever! ~Writing Essay: My favorite place~	2008.10.18	5	635	0	0	0	0
Mrs. Doubtfire 08.11.04 (500+ words)	MR 2-1: Mrs. Doubtfire ~Smile and love are perfect~	2008.11.04	5	498	5	0	0	0
Community life 08.11.17 (default length*)	Essay 2-4: My Community Life	2008.11.16	5	549	0	0	0	0
Kumamoto's best-kept secrets 08.12.01 (5+ ¶¶)	Essay 2-5: Secret of Kumamoto	2008.11.30	5	414	0	2	6	0
Learning with computers 2008.12.15 (6+ ¶¶)	Essay 2-6: Learning with computer	2008.12.14	7	699	0	0	0	0
Website review 08.09.29 (375+ words)	Website Review: Let's go to Beppu!!	2008.09.28	5	437	7	1	0	0
Totals	---	---	39	3946	12	5	12	0

Key:

¶: number of paragraphs five (5) or more sentences in length

W: number of words

C: number of comments

L: number of links

P: number of photos or other graphics
M: number of other media included in post
*: "long enough to cover the ... [communities] you choose," Writing Studio Blog, Preparation for Next Essays, 2008.10.29)

1.2. Best Essay

Selection and Assessment: Which of those six assigned essays do you feel is the best that you've written this semester, and why? Remember that a complete answer is better than a short answer, focus on your writing, and give at least two reasons to support your assessment.

• I think my best essay that I've written this semester is about favorite place, 'Dorm, such a nice place ever! ~Writing Essay: My favorite place~'. The first reason is that I could enjoy writing about that. I think to enjoy writing is important to make good essay. Secondly, I could introduce about the dorm as much as I can. Besides, my English skills are improved to go to there, so I want people to go there. I'm not sure my essay attracts other people to come there, but I'm sure the essay I have written this semester is the best.
  

2.0. Comments

Showcase	Titles of posts with links	Dates of comments yy.mm.dd	Numbers of words in comments	Qualities of comments**
2.1. Your first comment on your instructor's blog*
2.2. Your best comment on a classmate's blog*	Essays 2-01: Rich and Poor alike ~WEB Review~	2008.10.01	65	friendly cheerful
2.3. Best comment by a classmate on your blog*	Website Review: Let's go to Beppu!!	2008.10.01	96	friendly
2.4. Most comments on:	Titles of posts with link	Dates of posts yy.mm.dd	Total number of words in comments	Qualities of comments**
2.4.1. Any one of your essays*	Website Review: Let's go to Beppu!!	2008.09.28	430	interested suggestions friendly
2.4.1.1. When did you respond to those comments?	---	2008.10.05	---	---
2.4.1.2. How did you respond to those comments?	---	---	137/430	thankful informative
2.4.2. Any of your other posts*	MR 2-1: Mrs. Doubtfire ~Smile and love are perfect~	2008.11.05	284	friendly suggested
2.4.2.1. When did you respond to those comments?	---	2008.11.09	---	---
2.4.2.2. How did you respond to those comments?	---	---	73/284	friendly thankful

----------
* Current semester comments on essays and other posts
** Please list the most important qualities of comments on each type of blog post. That is, explain briefly what makes them good comments.

2.5. Recent comments display

Does your blog display recent comments from blog visitors in a prominent location, for example, in a sidebar, header, or footer widget? Where, or why not? Please explain.

• My blog displays recent comments at the top of the sidebar because if they are on the top of the blog, it is easy to look at them and I can reply quickly.

2.6. Additional reflections on comments

• It's really nice way to communicate with people using comments because it's easy and clear. Giving and receiving comments make people realize what's good or bad.
  
• Comments show specific advice to the author, so author can make better post after the comments, I think.
  

3.0. Book Reviews

3.1. Showcase	Short titles with links	Dates (yy.mm.dd)	Words	Comments
Example:	Vampire Killer	07.05.16	39	1
2-01	BR 2-01: Stories of Magic Ponies	08.11.25	297	0
2-02	BR 2-2: Stories of Pirates	08.12.06	323	0
2-03	BR 2-3: Stories of DOGS	08.12.11	281	0
2-04	BR 2-4: Stories of The Monkey King	08.12.20	393	0
2-05	BR 2-5: Stories of WITCHES	08.12.20	280	0
2-06	BR 2-6: The Billy Goats Gruff	08.12.21	313	0
2-07	BR 2-7: Stories of GHOSTS	08.12.21	245	0
2-08	BR 2-8: Stories of Robots	08.12.21	252	0
2-09	BR 2-9: The Storm	08.12.21	209	0
2-10	BR 2-10: Down the Rushing River	08.12.21	187	0
2-11	BR 2-11: Background To The USA	08.12.21	266	0
2-12	BR 2-12: The Isle of Britain	08.12.21	157	0
2-13	BR 2-13: The Coldest Place on Earth	08.12.21	226	0
2-14
2-15
2-16
2-17
2-18
---	---	Totals:	3429	0

Note: Please calculate and list book review Totals for words and comments without including those from the example (above).

3.2. Best Book Review

Selection and Assessment: Which of those book reviews do you feel is the best that you've written this semester, and why? Remember that a complete answer is better than a short answer, focus on your writing, and give at least two reasons to support your assessment.

• I think, my best review that I have written this semester is 'BR 2-13: The Coldest Place on Earth'. On this review, it includes my opinions, questions, and the story of the book, even though it's kind of short review (and I used bad phrase...). And it looks easy to read.
  

4.0. Blog Layout, Labeling, Linking, & Media

Showcase	Yes	No
4.1. Does your blog display an archive?	○
4.1.1. Does the archive display the titles of posts?	○
4.1.2. Is the archive organized by month?	○
4.1.3. Is the archive at or near the top of the sidebar?	○
4.2. Does your blog have labels displayed in sidebar?	○
5.2.1. Do your labels include these required labels (typed accurately):	---	---
"books" (plural) AND "reviews" (plural)	○
"essays" (plural) AND "portfolios" (plural, without "proto-")	○
"quickposts" (plural, with no space between quick and posts)	○
"links" (plural) AND "media" (plural)	○
"movies" (plural) AND "websites" (plural)	○
"brainstorms" (or "brainstorming"), "essay prep.," AND "free-writing" (or "free-writes")	○
4.2.2. Does your sidebar display other labels?	○
How many other labels have you attached to three (3) or more posts? _10_ other labels attached to three or more posts	---	---
Which labels, and to how many posts each? Please list those labels instead of www, xxx, yyy..., and list numbers of posts instead of n, m, o... (in parentheses), below. Basketball (2) Boot Camp (3) Communities (1) Fall Out Boy (1) Favorites (9) Lists (7) Outlines (1) Secrets (2) The Academy Is... (1) The Fray (1)	---	---
4.3. Links & media	---	---
4.3.1. Does your blog include photos or other graphics?	○
Does your blog profile include a photo or graphic representation?	○
How many of your blog posts this semester include photos or other graphics? _5_ posts including photos or other graphics	---	---
4.3.2. Does your blog include posts with multiple links?	○
How many of your posts this semester include three (3) or more links? _1_ posts including three or more links (including this portfolio!)	---	---
4.3.3. Does your blog include other media?	○
How many of your blog posts this semester include other media? _3_ posts including other media	---	---
What kind(-s) of media have you included in posts this semester? Please list the kinds here: YouTube	---	---
What media content that you originally produced, if any, do your blog posts for this semester contain? Please list and explain each item briefly, and add short links and dates (yy.mm.dd) for reference. Nothing special	---	---

4.4. Overall presentation

What have you done to enhance the overall presentation of your blog? List and explain the three most important content, display, formatting, layout, or other presentation changes that you have made on your blog this semester.

1. I sometimes (or should I say occasionally??) used colored font in order to make posts easy to read for people.
   
2. I put some video, which are my favorite bands and popular in the US, from YouTube in order to share my favorites. Also I introduced my favorite band with a list.
   
3. I tried a training called 'Keita's Boot Camp', which I should to write at least 1000 words in a post. This is one way to make people surprised, I think.
   

5.0. Additional reflections on your blog and your writing on it

Please feel free to include reflections on both spring and fall semester work, as well as on the content of this portfolio (proto-portfolios, showcases, and reflections).

• It's good opportunity to write anything in English, but it's kinda hard for me, I could enjoy though.
  
• I really wanted teacher's feedback for our essays in both spring and fall semester not only our comments to classmates. Writing in English a lot and regularly is really important to improve our writing skill, but correction by teacher is more important because we really need to know what's wrong and how should I change that on a essay in order to make much better essay.
  
• I could know useful commands like copy, cut, past, and so on through this year.
  

6.0. Advice and suggestions for yourself, your peers, and your successors

• You'd better keep writing early and regularly because you shall feel really hard to do that if you neglect, especially book review...
• It's good to write about your interests and daily life. Remember that you just do not have to think difficult and enjoy blogging, and you can achieve the aim easily.
  
• It's quite important to think of readers. If your posts were boring, no one wants to read your articles. Short posts are okay, so just not make posts uninteresting.
  

____________________
Notes:

1. This portfolio template derives from the templates for Writing IIIc and Writing IVc portfolios (2007-08), and Writing III, §§1a & 1c (Fall, 2008).
2. Please use the same code in section 0.0 that you used to embed your proto-portfolios (PPFs) in the footer of your blog, which you should already have revised to display your 2nd (fall) semester PPF first.
   
3. The essays section (1.0. Essays, above) derives from Proto-Portfolio 2-02 (2008).
   

____________________
License:

This portfolio template is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Please attribute to "the Writing Studio Blog" (without quotation marks).

BR 2-13: The Coldest Place on Earth

"The Coldest Place on Earth" is about a history of Robert Falcon Scott, who is an English man and went to the coldest place on earth. I don't know where is the coldest place on earth and I didn't know the history of him, so I chose this book. Have you ever been to place where colder than Kumamoto? I have never been to places like that. To me Kumamoto is the coldest place I've ever been. But of course there are many colder places than Kumamoto. Take Finland for example, it's much colder than Kumamoto and usually it's -10C to -20C in winter.

The main character, Scott, is the captain of his ship. They tried to go South Pole, in Antarctica but it's quite hard and dangerous. People can't go there easily, so Scott and his crew took there many ponies and dogs and they pulled sleigh in order to carry baggage. Surprisingly (or not really?), the temperature were sometimes -40C. Can you believe that?? It can be -40C!!! WTF... Anyways, now people can go there by transportation systems, but there's nothing like that at that time because it was 1910!!

I guess the coldest place is the Antarctica, and no one can live cuz there are no food and warm things. I don't wanna think of living there, even though I like cold place like Finland.

[226 words]

BR 2-12: The Isle of Britain

This book is also used in a class, British Affairs, which I'm working as an assistant. I took the class last year, so I have read the book last year. But I completely forgot what is written in the book so I read it again.

This is a textbook so there's no story like normal books, but I could know lots of thing about UK. The contents of the book are 'Introduction', 'Section I: Scotland', 'Section II: Wales', 'Section III: England', and 'Finale'. Of course there are more details on each section but this time let me skip about them. I recommend people who is going to England as an exchange student for 6 months or 1 year to read this at least section III because it's much better to start from 1, 2, or something than nothing.

This is a textbook as I said, so it's boring to read but I'm pretty sure it'll be good for you!

[157 words]

BR 2-11: Background To The USA

This book is not for reading, but for textbook. Actually, this book is for a class, American Affairs, but this book is written in English so I thought it can be for book review! Don't you think so??

In this book, many American culture and histories are introduced. And there are mainly 5 topics; What is an American?, The Making of the USA, Governing 3 1/2 Million Sq. Miles, Achieving the American Dream, and The American Way of Life. In 'What is an American?' section, we can study about American Character, American Indians, American English and British English, and so on. In the 'The Making of the USA' section, we can know the July 4th, The frontier spirit, and War between bros. In the next section, we can find about government, federation, and police. Then you will learn about studying and American woman. In the last section, we can know American food and newspapers and TV. Sounds kinda difficult but not so much. It can be easy to read and you can enjoy reading. Actually, I didn't finish reading it last year, but this time I could. And I could discover many good and bad points of America. I think people who are going to the US next year have to read it because it's definitely necessary to understand what happened in the country before coming there.

At the end of the book, there are notes, which are written in Japanese. This means we can review some important points in each unit easily. Let's read it. If you wanna read, let me know, I can rent you it!

[266 words]

BR 2-10: Down the Rushing River

This book's cover looks like the story of Urashima Taro, so I chose this book.

Story: There were four children, and one of them pushed a magic button. After pushing that, they arrived at a strange place. They found a big stone there but the stone moved! It was a turtle and it can talk! They were surprised because they have never seen the talkative turtle. They, including the turtle, went to the inside of a river. In the river, they fell down a waterfall, but they were safe. They saw wicked people and they beat into the river and arrived at a box. They had an awesome time in the river.

My book review is getting worse... I have to make good one. This story was interesting. To me, the most attracted point was the scene where they fell down waterfall. Imagine when you are playing in a amusement park, and playing roller coaster. Then, imagine the scene of right before falling down from the top of the course...!! It's sooo exciting huh? I guess some people don't like it though... I recommend you to read this book.

[187 words]

BR 2-9: The Storm

I thought I should read other books more, so I read this book, "The Storm". And I try to write kinda different way from now on.

Story: Children had made a tree house on a tree. It was really nice house, and they had a party in the secret base. They drunk orange juice and had big sandwiches, and there are snacks and some fruits, and they seemed like they were having quite happy time in the tree house. However, a storm came, and the tree house was broken by the storm. It was very very windy day, so people said "What a storm!", "What a mess!", and "WTF!! (actually no :P)". Can you imagine how horrible it was? I guess it's like typhoon in the summer in Japan. However, the children went to school on the freaking crazy day... What the hell are they doing!?

In Japan, many typhoons come and mess up many area, so students do not go to school while a typhoon blows the area because it's flipping dangerous needless to say!!! Well, this year typhoon didn't come a lot, and they didn't hit directly the place where I live, this year was kinda safe this area, but nobody knows what happens in the future. Watch out!!

[209 words]

BR 2-8: Stories of Robots

This series again! The 3 chapters are; The terrible Tidybot, Robot robbery, and Robot racers. This time is about the first one.

Story: Luke, who loves playing computer games, was really lazy boy. His mother always got angry at him because he doesn't clean up his room, so she said if he doesn't clean the room up in a week, the computer goes. She did mean it. He couldn't clean up by his own and if he began to clean by himself, it takes forever. Therefore, he looked for cleaning companies, which were too expensive to pay. Suddenly, a pop-up window came up on the screen. It's an advertisement of cleaning robot, which he can use 2 weeks for free. He got it just under a week later, and he ordered the robot to clean up. The robot did a very good job till he broke the remote control. Then the robot became insane and it messed up whole the house. Luke used all his power to control the robot. Finally, the robot stopped running out of energy, but Luke was really tired. When him mom arrived at home, she couldn't believe what's going on the house. She of course got angry and carried off the computer.

Well, I'm really lazy too but I'm not like Luke. He is too lazy! I regularly clean my room and I don't rely on robot like that. Clean room brings good luck and makes people happy, I guess. We have to keep our room and house clean!

[252 words]