Barack Obama:
Columbia University - B.A.
Political Science with a Specialization in
International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude
Joseph Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)
vs.
John McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899
Sarah Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism
2008/10/26
2008/10/21
2008/10/09
Ode to Sean Hannity
Ode to Sean Hannity
by John Cleese
Aping urbanity
Oozing with vanity
Plump as a manatee
Faking humanity
Journalistic calamity
Intellectual inanity
Fox Noise insanity
You're a profanity
Hannity
by John Cleese
Aping urbanity
Oozing with vanity
Plump as a manatee
Faking humanity
Journalistic calamity
Intellectual inanity
Fox Noise insanity
You're a profanity
Hannity
2008/10/05
Sports Festival Part 2
I just got back from the sports festival at one of my schools last year. This was my favorite school of all time. Both the students and teachers were great and I've never felt so welcome at a school. I got a little emotional near the end of the event as I said goodbye to everyone once again.
So what's so amazing about these sports festivals? Japanese schools put a lot of emphasis on responsibilities of the children; especially the 5th and 6th graders, or kou-gaku-nen 高学年 (1-2: 低学年 lower grade level, 3-4: 中学年 middle grade level, 5-6: 高学年 upperclassmen). The 高学年 pretty much run the show. To give you an idea, I'll try to explain everything that is going on all at once.
During the course of the day, spread out between other events, each grade level has races. There are 4 teams: white, blue, yellow, and red, but white and blue are both white and yellow and red are both red regarding the over-all two team system.
The students running are lined up in the middle of the track.
The four ready to go are in position.
The announcer at the microphone is one of the students.
The people holding the goal tape are students.
There are four students at the finish line with 1,2,3 and 4 jerseys. It's their job to take the appropriate person after the race to the right line.
The score board is managed by students
There are two cheerleading teams or more within the track trying to get the audience to make some noise.
The next group of students for the next event are waiting just outside the track.
When an event is over, the cleanup and prep for the next thing is all done by students.
Basically, the teachers are just supervising, leading the classes to line up when they go on next, and shooting the cap gun to start the race.
This kind of responsibility is not just limited to the sports festival. Students clean their classrooms after lunch, which they serve themselves. The 高学年 clean the whole school based on groups that rotate and have different responsibilities. There are groups with other responsibilities that meet every few weeks after school to do things like sort library books, plan morning assembly activities, etc.
The clubs are run by teachers in elementary school, but in middle school its almost all self run. Imagine a soccer club with no adults. Imagine them doing drills and not goofing off. Pretty unbelievable, but that's the power of the sempai-kouhai system (upper-lower classmen). Middle school is 3 years, and the 3rd graders have the power (and size) to keep the younger kids in line. Respect is key.
So what's so amazing about these sports festivals? Japanese schools put a lot of emphasis on responsibilities of the children; especially the 5th and 6th graders, or kou-gaku-nen 高学年 (1-2: 低学年 lower grade level, 3-4: 中学年 middle grade level, 5-6: 高学年 upperclassmen). The 高学年 pretty much run the show. To give you an idea, I'll try to explain everything that is going on all at once.
During the course of the day, spread out between other events, each grade level has races. There are 4 teams: white, blue, yellow, and red, but white and blue are both white and yellow and red are both red regarding the over-all two team system.
The students running are lined up in the middle of the track.
The four ready to go are in position.
The announcer at the microphone is one of the students.
The people holding the goal tape are students.
There are four students at the finish line with 1,2,3 and 4 jerseys. It's their job to take the appropriate person after the race to the right line.
The score board is managed by students
There are two cheerleading teams or more within the track trying to get the audience to make some noise.
The next group of students for the next event are waiting just outside the track.
When an event is over, the cleanup and prep for the next thing is all done by students.
Basically, the teachers are just supervising, leading the classes to line up when they go on next, and shooting the cap gun to start the race.
This kind of responsibility is not just limited to the sports festival. Students clean their classrooms after lunch, which they serve themselves. The 高学年 clean the whole school based on groups that rotate and have different responsibilities. There are groups with other responsibilities that meet every few weeks after school to do things like sort library books, plan morning assembly activities, etc.
The clubs are run by teachers in elementary school, but in middle school its almost all self run. Imagine a soccer club with no adults. Imagine them doing drills and not goofing off. Pretty unbelievable, but that's the power of the sempai-kouhai system (upper-lower classmen). Middle school is 3 years, and the 3rd graders have the power (and size) to keep the younger kids in line. Respect is key.
2008/09/29
Sports Festival Part 1
Saturday I went to both my schools sports festivals. These schools are in the middle of Tokyo surrounded by big buildings, and one in particular has a very small track area to cram all the kids and parents.
Chiyoda is the cream of the crop, though, in terms of public schools in Japan. Parents with the means will try to get their kids in these schools because of the predetermined path from k-12 and into universities. It isn't that unlike the US, except that the US is so much bigger that there are a large number of different paths, and few paths lead past high school. Usually after high school you're kind of on your own depending on how you did. Imagine how that might be different if the US was only the size of California. The best public high schools would be well known by the universities and all the parents would try to get their children in as early as possible.
Elementary schools in Japan are far superior to those I have seen in the US. Even the poor ones in Saitama were better than the one I went to, but the ones in Chiyoda are (pure speculation) better than our private schools in the states. I say that for a few reasons, but this time I'm only going to talk about the sports festival that happens in every school once a year.
This event is from about 8:30am-3 or 4pm with lunch in between. All the parents and anyone off the street who feels like coming show up, and there are a series of events, some competitive and some not. In most schools the children are divided into two teams: red and white. Cheer leading is a big thing, but cast away all your preconceived notions of 'cheer leading' from the US, because it is nothing like that. The famous song the red and white team sing together is awesome too. It has two parts that overlap beautifully (click here for mp3.. ). First Red sings, then white, then together. (Red = aka, White = shiro). Translation by me.
Edit: Note that the sun is considered Red in Japan, not yellow.
（１番 あか組）
ぼくらは かがやく We will shine
たいようのように like the sun
もえあがる きぼう with burning aspirations
ちからいっぱい がんばろう full of strength we do our best
あかあかあか ゴーゴーゴー Red red red Go go go!
あかあかあか ゴーゴーゴー Red red red Go go go!
もえろよ もえろ Let's burn! Let's burn! (Let's get fired up?)
あかぐみ Red Team!
（２番 しろ組）
ぼくらはしろい いなずまだ We are white lightning
つきすすむ ひかりのや a plunging white light
かみなりのおと とどろかせ the roaring sound of thunder
げんきいっぱい がんばろう full of energy we do our best
ゴーゴーゴー しろしろしろ Go go go! White white white!
ゴーゴーゴー しろしろしろ Go go go! White white white!
ちきゅうをまわる いなずまだ We are lightning that cracks the earth!
しろぐみ White team!
Great song. The mp3 doesn't do the it justice compared to see hundred of kids sing it at once.
Anyway more later.
Chiyoda is the cream of the crop, though, in terms of public schools in Japan. Parents with the means will try to get their kids in these schools because of the predetermined path from k-12 and into universities. It isn't that unlike the US, except that the US is so much bigger that there are a large number of different paths, and few paths lead past high school. Usually after high school you're kind of on your own depending on how you did. Imagine how that might be different if the US was only the size of California. The best public high schools would be well known by the universities and all the parents would try to get their children in as early as possible.
Elementary schools in Japan are far superior to those I have seen in the US. Even the poor ones in Saitama were better than the one I went to, but the ones in Chiyoda are (pure speculation) better than our private schools in the states. I say that for a few reasons, but this time I'm only going to talk about the sports festival that happens in every school once a year.
This event is from about 8:30am-3 or 4pm with lunch in between. All the parents and anyone off the street who feels like coming show up, and there are a series of events, some competitive and some not. In most schools the children are divided into two teams: red and white. Cheer leading is a big thing, but cast away all your preconceived notions of 'cheer leading' from the US, because it is nothing like that. The famous song the red and white team sing together is awesome too. It has two parts that overlap beautifully (click here for mp3.. ). First Red sings, then white, then together. (Red = aka, White = shiro). Translation by me.
Edit: Note that the sun is considered Red in Japan, not yellow.
（１番 あか組）
ぼくらは かがやく We will shine
たいようのように like the sun
もえあがる きぼう with burning aspirations
ちからいっぱい がんばろう full of strength we do our best
あかあかあか ゴーゴーゴー Red red red Go go go!
あかあかあか ゴーゴーゴー Red red red Go go go!
もえろよ もえろ Let's burn! Let's burn! (Let's get fired up?)
あかぐみ Red Team!
（２番 しろ組）
ぼくらはしろい いなずまだ We are white lightning
つきすすむ ひかりのや a plunging white light
かみなりのおと とどろかせ the roaring sound of thunder
げんきいっぱい がんばろう full of energy we do our best
ゴーゴーゴー しろしろしろ Go go go! White white white!
ゴーゴーゴー しろしろしろ Go go go! White white white!
ちきゅうをまわる いなずまだ We are lightning that cracks the earth!
しろぐみ White team!
Great song. The mp3 doesn't do the it justice compared to see hundred of kids sing it at once.
Anyway more later.
2008/09/25
Palin Blows it on CBS
Wow...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/24/eveningnews/main4476173.shtml
She evades questions and is full of crap. Nothing but soundbites. My favorite quote:
Couric: I'm just going to ask you one more time - not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation.
Palin: I'll try to find you some and I'll bring them to you.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/24/eveningnews/main4476173.shtml
She evades questions and is full of crap. Nothing but soundbites. My favorite quote:
Couric: I'm just going to ask you one more time - not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation.
Palin: I'll try to find you some and I'll bring them to you.
2008/09/15
2008/09/10
Lies
I am so pissed that this is not front page news on every news channel. How can she get away with so many lies in her FIRST speech as the VP pick? Most people will never hear about this crap because I bet FOX news won't even mention it, but CNN isn't much better with their casual way of laughing it off. "Oh yeah, we should probably fact check the other stuff she said.. la de da, oh well that's all the time we have.."
We are gonna lose this thing. Why? Because despite having great candidates the right will always have one advantage in America. They can say ANYTHING they want with no accountability. I will be happy when I see a Sarah Palin or McCain article in a major news source with the word "LIES" in the title. I should have to settle for nothing less.
2008/09/06
More Political Videos
Watch all of these if you haven't already. Hell, some of them are good the 2nd or 3rd time.
Daily Show reveals republican hypocrisy.
Joe Biden responds to the RNC.
McCain campaign guy at a loss for words.
Obama Accepts Nomination (good speech).
Daily Show reveals republican hypocrisy.
Joe Biden responds to the RNC.
McCain campaign guy at a loss for words.
Obama Accepts Nomination (good speech).
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