PLN at KIS

Me and my devilish bear friendship started with a perverted expression, “Yo Babe”. Currently, I’m a senior at this miserable school called Korea International School. For approximately four years, I have spent my time learning what ‘ABC’ actually was and that’s about it. But I have realized the real ‘thing’ I learned over the past several years; True friendship. I attended KIS when I was in my freshmen year. Because I partied too much and rarely studied in the US, I had to come to Korea and had to see my parent’s b o r i n g face again. The day when I first came to KIS was really awkward. There was no one next to me and everyone was definitely tall and scary-looking. Except this guy, Alex Rhim.

My homeroom class had only 4 guys and the rest of the classmates were all girls. How wonderful, but sad. It was my first day of high school and I couldn’t just go up to this random girl and start babbling. I had to talk with a guy and make him as my friend first in order to be cool enough to talk to anyone else. So, I set my mind. I walked over to the guys and stood there, blinking. Nothing much to do, but just to blink my eyes and listen. I tried my best to start a new conversation about my self, but just couldn’t because of this game called “WOW”. Wow, I was amazed that they were really into it, naming all these creatures that I almost thought of some Thai food. What a great start…

The time came, where I had to be miserable and sit in the bathroom for over 30 minutes; Lunch time. Holding my tray, I was looking for a possible seat to sit until this guy, Kang called me up. He told me to sit on his table since there was one left. Seriously, I was delighted and had to sit with a big smile. But the problem came when Kang asked me a question. “So. Your name is Kevin right? What do you think about our school?” I tried to be kewl and all pimped out, telling him “It sucks! What kind of school is this!?” Of course, what was I thinking… My stupidity lead to a silence where I had to eat without knowing names of others. I knew I just screwed up my freshmen year and therefore no need of going to this school. ‘Am I going to be isolated from the others?’ was the question that kept popping in my head.

Attending school with sadness, one day Kang started to talk to me about this paper in Creative Writing class. We started off by talking about some grammar crap and ended by saying a comment “Yo babe”. That time, Alex, who I always thought he is a genuine girl, was saying, “Yo mama”, trying to let us laugh. For me, instead of a laugh, pretty words came out, which were ‘what a female dog’, ’some jackbutt’ And then I made a smirk, thinking ‘Alex=Loser’. Well, the funny thing was he thought that I was smirking because of his joke on some mom… Naive little bastard. Enough about him.

So from that point, Kang and I enjoyed making up jokes and smiles lead to a true friendship. Not only during school days, but we also met during the weekends and had fun playing pool and poker. Girls… Well Kang had all the girls on his side and there was no chance for me to hang out with them like Kang. For me, it didn’t matter that much because the one that I needed was always next to me. However, at the middle of our senior year, things went gross. Leading us to think and act lead to us to the cliffs. Chaos.

To be continued…

I finished my storyboard after a couple of hours drawing unrecognizable stick figures and staring at the video like Frankenstein for details, one can know how enthusiastic I was about this storyboard by looking at my impressive artwork (Haha. This is a joke.). I have just sent an email to Mr. Hadley pleading him to help me make the darn video, by finding actors for me. If he consents and finds actors for me, I probably will be able to start filming next class or next next class.

This is my lovely storyboard :

“Ahh! There’s a head of a mouse in my shrimp chips!” a girl yells aloud.

“Yeah, right. Shrimp chips always come with a couple pieces of mice in them,” laughs the listener.

Occurrences like these would have been unimaginable back when I used to eat shrimp chips as a child. Unfortunately, now a days, that’s not necessarily the case. Numerous “unidentified” items are being found in foods that customers consume often. Is it simply just a mistake or has our society become careless about the cleanliness of the foods?

Back in the 1990’s when lots of new snacks were being made for kids to enjoy, the sanitization was one of the major aspects to take care of since these were mostly consumed by the children. Regular inspections and maintaining the clean environment in factories were common sense.

What kind of dramatic things could have happened in the last decade that changed around the conception of the seriousness of sanitization? It wasn’t only the “shrimp chips” case that shocked the consumers, but there were other cases where a piece of metal came out of sweet crackers, needle stuck in sandwich breads, and even a block of rubber dunked in orange juice. How can customers feel comfortable feeding their children or their families if so many risks are involved in buying convenient snacks? Another thing that concerns the moms especially is the fact that these “unidentified” objects are found in kids’ snack packages for the most part.

There have been many complaint-calls to the corporates that wrapped the unsanitized edible products, yet the actions that they take are just as careless as the products they bring out to the public. The corporate heads order their employees to politely apologize to the customers and collect the evidence, and as a bonus, hand out free boxes of the product the victims (customers) have consumed.

“We don’t want more products that we feel uncomfortable with,” is what the buyers’ claim. “We want a guarantee or the fullest effort of not making these types of mistakes again, but the corporate workers always tend to go around the subject and never confront it properly.”

Who knows when the battle between the consumers and the corporates will end? The only solution for now is to watch out for whatever it is that you’re eating.

Pre-writing
-find a standard
-brainstorm
-model production in mind
-how to convince?
-research
-collaborate
-creative interpretation
Outline and treatment
Pitch idea
Resources (acquiring rights)
-don’t use copyrighted material without permission

Lighting
key light-primar
fill light-balances
back light-separates

Transition
The cut - the point where two shots come together
Dissolve : the blending of two shots to communicate a passage of time and/or location

Shot Composition
wide shot : once
medium shot(two shot)
close up

Once again I feel that making movies are hard.

Smoothies.. the perfect chill on a hot Summer day. The best part of smoothies have got to be the fruits that you put in it.

Here’s a hardy and refreshing recipe for Banana and Strawberry Smoothie, the “Pink Swirl“.

Recipe

Yield: 2

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas

12 fresh strawberries

1/4 cup of apple juice

How to make it:

1. Chop up the bananas and 10 strawberries as if you’re chopping away the brutal heat on a blazing hot summer day

2. Freeze them overnight

3. Put the other 2 strawberries in a blender until it’s completely puréed (if you’re using a juicer, skip #4)

4. Place the puréed strawberries on a strainer and strain out the juice only, pressing down the purée with a spoon

5. Spoon the strawberry syrup and pour it in 2 empty glasses (about a tbsp each)

6. Take out the frozen fruits and blend them together in a blender (it’ll end up having a sorbet-like texture)

7. Drop 2 scoops or more of the mixture as if you’re scooping cold vanilla ice-cream into the prepared glasses with the strawberry syrup in it

8. As you drop the scoops into the glasses, you’ll notice that the strawberry syrup splashes in the glass and creates beautiful pink swirls

9. Put a straw into the glasses (or teaspoons) and enjoy!

Now, presenting the famous Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet produced in French called Romeo et Juliette. This one, of course, has modernization but with little differences from the book. Let’s go see the difference below.

Gerard Presguvic composed it and Joy Esther starred as Juliet Capulet, Damien Sargue as Romeo Montague, Cyril Niccolai as Benvolio, William St-Val as Tybalt, John Eyzen as Mercutio, Stephanie Rodrigue as Lady Capulet, and Arie, Brigitte Venditti as Lady Montague.

This time, I will mention the differences, especially about the modernization of music and costume. They both are modernized as much as Notre Dame de Paris. Since the themes are hatred, love, friendship, and protection, the music and lyrics are pretty much leaned toward these ideas. Slowness for love, darkness for hate, brightness for friendship, and warmth for protection express feeling in the production. Two extreme colors compose the color scheme for the costumes; dark red for Capulet and dark blue for Montague. I see that the textures that are used for them are clean and nice fabrics. I believe that the strong darkness of each color symbolizes some kind of human’s spiritual power. One thing of interest at the party on the land was the unison of color of both sides, which was strong white. Both sides dressed up into white. Perhaps it meant to tell the audience about the future unification of the two households as both Romeo and Juliet die in a chapel together. I hope so, then, if I am right.

I know why there are some differences between stage and videotapes. It is because they have their own stylish patterns and methods. Such is the case with Notre Dame de Paris and Romeo et Juliette and other musicals from Broadway, West End, and national and international productions that are converted from movies into the stage. Now it’s time to enjoy the upcoming performance in the concert hall.

I really never saw this kind of musical in my life; it was my first French musical named Notre Dame de Paris. It is based on the musical The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo. Singing and dancing, not dialogue composes the French production; it is amazing and very new to me.

Richard Cocciante composed and Luc Plamandon lyricized and directed it based on the book by Victor Hugo. Garou starred as Quasimodo, Helene Segara as Esmeralda, Daniel Lavoie as Frollo, Patrick Fiori as Phoebus, and Bruno Pelletier as Gringoire.

Instead of telling the brief summary in this article, I will just mention the differences because everyone knows the story. It differs from the animation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and is based on the original book and Anthony Quinn’s movie. I think that the visualization of the production and other little things are sadder than the book. First, the expressions of actors and actresses are more realistic than the explanation of the book. Second, I did not see many appearance of the character of Fleur de Lys in the book. Third, Esmeralda did not die by a lasso, but by an arrow. Fourth, as for the knife case that happened to the innkeeper, Phoebus and Frollo did not talk at all and Gringoire did not narrate at that part. Fifth, Phoebus did not address the execution content of Esmeralda that day. Sixth, which is the main difference, Quasimodo and Esmeralda met inside the cathedral and met for the second time very shortly. And seventh, Clopin does not appear many times in the movie and book, but he does in the production.

I did not see any ancient style of French music in the production. It was very modernized. I did not see an orchestra, whether old western or modern, but only the musical actors and actresses. Also, the costumes were modernized, too. It looked very comfortable and not tight. Why did Richard Cocciante and Fred Sathal compose and design their work like that? I guess they wanted to show something different about The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Let’s come and take a look at the modernized difference in the theater.

You give some of your blood to him if you are stuck in his castle and cannot escape until he releases you. Yes, it’s Dracula! Well, do not be scared about it! There are crosses and garlic everywhere. You might have to prepare for that before you go to the concert hall!

Frank Wildhorn composed and lyricized it based on book by Don Black and Christopher Hampton (Bram Stoker wrote the actual book). James Barbour starred as Dracula, Kate Shindle as Mina, Rob Evan as Harker, and Norm Lewis as Van Helsing.

A man named Jonathan Harker will deal with Count Dracula, who wants to buy a house in London. Dracula was attracted by the photo of Mina, Harker’s fiancée. Harker will escape to Budapest to marry Mina and Mina’s friend Lucy will marry Arthur in London. In the meantime, Dracula searched for his victims. He tells a man to get him his first victim, who was Lucy. She first dies and then transfigures into a renowned vampiress with the help of Van Helsing. With the pain, eventually, she dies by her former love interests, Jack and Quincey, in her tomb. And so, Mina had to meet Dracula to make him taste her blood and turn into a vampire herself. It is better for the count move away from London before the hunters of vampires and Dracula come and kill them. They will use Mina for the telepathy. Despite the help, Mina will follow the count into the darkness and that is her fate. He asks Mina to release him from his doomed existence. With tears running down her eyes, she fulfils her lover’s last wish.

A magical love trick offers help to the continuity of some of movies, dramas, stories, and reality. I read about the stories of monsters and creatures from the magical world in the guideline book of Harry Potter series, including ones about vampires and Dracula. They are tricky creatures. Let’s see them in this musical!

Firstly, Walt Disney Animation presented it in 1991 and Broadway and West End released it as musical productions. Scientifically, in the next one hundred years, nothing will be impossible in the world. Animals cannot love humans now but it will become possible. In the production of The Beauty and Beast, it tells the key to it.

Alan Menken composed and Howard Ashman and Tim Rice lyricized it based on the video animation and the book by Linda Woolverton. Terrence Mann and Brad Little starred as Beast, Susan Egan and Toni Braxton as Belle, and Burke Moses as Gaston. Just like The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the amazing clarity of the skill of the Walt Disney artists reveals itself in every single performance, video animation, poster, and music. The imagination turns magically into a reality like dreams coming true.

The story is the same and I do not need to retell it to the reader because it is well-known, but one difference is the rose that is in the bell jar. A human takes the role of the rose in a glass exhibition wall and speaks to Belle. I think that the producer had the idea of personification. Humans can easily spread philosophy and thoughts, much better than a rose. Another difference is that the furniture and kitchen stuff do not move their mouths at all, opposite from the case of the rose. Third, a fog machine helps the transfiguration from a prince into a beast. The prince turned and turned and hid through the underground of the gate of his castle and popped out of the fog as a beast.

Since this production has similarities to The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Little Mermaid, kids under five will love this musical. First opened in Palace Theater in 1994, it recorded up to 5464 performances between 1994 and 2007. How lovely that it became popular. Please, come over to the theater to watch the performance with great enjoyment and pleasure!

Michaelle Park
English Seminar II

1st Finalization or Generalization About My Sixteen Articles

Outline:
1.    Introduction
a.    The plan in the body
b.    Granting
2.    Body
a.    Explanation of my problems.
b.    I look for these on my writings like solutions and how can I explain each production more realistic, please!
c.    What can I improve on each writing.
d.    Do I have to correct several times on this essay, too?
3.    Conclusion
a.    To keep it stuck inside myself for as if like a teacher.
b.    Acceptance of the methods to myself.

So far, I’ve written sixteen articles about sixteen musical productions I watched in my life and I made many grammatical errors and writing mistakes. Let me explain about my problems and solutions and about the improvements and explanations on each article.
Mr. Burell had advised me and pointed out my five problems several times, that my articles are too wordy and that there are some unnecessary sentences and paragraphs. There were no problems in writing and planning but in grammar. The problems were too long headlines, rhetorical questions, too long paragraphs, not italicized production titles, and unnecessary sentences. The headlines of 1st or 2nd editions were too long and I had to shorten them to less than ten. Many rhetorical questions were not necessary, so some of the articles have less than three. Readers are not interested in readings if the paragraphs are too long and they will get bored and quit in the middle. They have to be interesting to make the readers to go to theaters. So, I deducted some sentences and words. Italicization is an emphasis to make the readers get interested on the topic. I emphasized all of the pronouns and production titles in my articles.
I look for the most descriptive realisms on each article. Even with my best effort, some things are still missing. Like the basic storylines of each production, they emphasize many important realistic points of the characters, historical background, and moods through songs and lyrics. My articles have to be realistic and descriptive. There has to be variety of methods for this and they are the description and explanation of details of setting and professional movements of actors and actresses. So, this was why five percent was missing. Second, is about the melody and combined cultures of modern, ancient, and some folk and traditional musical instruments of other countries. Third, I have to mention what parts were interesting after watching. And the last, I have to mention what scenes were visually artistic.
What I can improve on each writings according to the five problems is to practice concentration and caution. I believe that being concentrated is another way to avoid the marks of pencil or pen of grammar errors. Second, I have to think whether I am writing the similar sentences I mentioned before. If I do, then, I have to cancel it. Third, I have to deduct some little topics that are not perfectly and closely related to my original topic. Fourth, some types of writings have dead ends and limitations. My articles are different and free and all of my final articles are limited to under four hundreds words. And the last, I have to single the spaces between paragraphs.
Yes, I have to make changes because it is traditional and habitual to all writers despite the fact that some of them decided not to do so. What Mr. Burell advised again is that good writers edit several times until the story sounds perfect. This is a key answer to my question why there are several editions of textbooks. For better-edited grammar, then the students might focus themselves on its perfection.
Now, all of the methods and some of the improvements are stocked in my brain as my personal writing teacher. To keep it stocked and accepted to myself, I have to repeat that as I write something because they are helpful, especially at short ones. So, I do not need to get anymore problems pointed out by instructors in the future.