Helen Cheng's Blog

Teachers need to teach subjects they were trained in

Helen — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:15:49 +0000

Okay, controversial title right? But according to general concensus, teachers themselves believe that they do not know what they are doing unless there is another teacher guiding them. Most of these teachers are teaching irectly off of a textbook, and really, if students fully understood the textbook, what are teachers for?

The students also do not get the education they should have. Are the schools just trying to push the teachers to the maximum and get the school’s money worth? Or is the hiring process just too hard? I think it is the former.

Students do not enjoy their experience in class. Yes, most students don’t like school, but would we not have more reason to do school is the teacher just can’t teach?

Teachers need to teach subjects they were trained in

Helen — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:15:42 +0000

Students do not enjoy their experience in class. Yes, most students don’t like school, but would we not have more reason to do school is the teacher just can’t teach?

Ninja Assassin and the Korean Male Lead who doesn’t speak more than 5 words at a time

Helen — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:09:24 +0000

Rain, the Korean male lead for the Hollywood blockbuster, Ninja Assassin, apparently did more training for the 80% violence and stunts in comparision to learning english. After all, he didn’t speak more than five words at a time.

It is the dream of all celebrities to be well-known around the world, and maybe Rain’s first step is just supposed to be the Korean acting as a Japanese boy trained to be an assassin. From what I saw on the clips of the movie though, his english was actually pretty good.

Is there really a steretype that prevents people from watching Asian movies if there is neither lots of sex or lots of violence? Even in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, the excessive sex scenes frew in a large crowd and awards despite the not-so-good story line, personally. Do people really need to exploit themselves or push themselves as Rain did to succeed?

Episode Ratings

Helen — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:07:25 +0000

Now who do you think is Mi Nyu dressing as Mi Nam (By the way, the same actress portrays the two)

Now, an extention from the “You’re Beautiful” drama, its episode ratings are around the 10% area. Now I have found that episode ratings really vary in different countries. For example, in China, a rating of 2~3% is exceptionally high. ( I wonder what the other 97% goes to? ) But in Korea, I don’t think there ever would be a show or drama that has a 2~3% rating or else the entire thing would be cut from broadcast. Is there a different form of measurement? I thought that percentages were just out of the people who are currently watching tv, what percentage is watching the show/episode? This is really interesting.

I know that “You’re Beautiful” has very strong competition from another drama named “Iris.” This drama is full of experiences actors that had made names for themselves, a very well-known director and a popular writer. It has the same time slot as “You’re Beautiful” on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9:55pm and is getting ratings closer and closer to 30%. I believe that if Iris is moved to a different time slot viewers would not have to choose between two VERY good dramas. I know that both are exceptionally popular because in the internet community, where people can watch both of the dramas instead of being forced to choose, both dramas have good feedback. I would think that if these two dramas had different time slots, the ratings for BOTH would also increase because a lot of the people who watch one of these dramas would want to watch the other, as so many others do.



You’re Beautiful
Helen — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:03:38 +0000
I will now go on a rampage on a Korean drama called “You’re Beautiful.”


It is a drama about a girl called Go Mi Nyu (In korean it means Pretty Girl- funny name right?) would impersonates her twin brother, Go Mi Nam. (Guess what this one means?  …… If you though Pretty Boy, you’re right!) 
Now why does she impersonate him you would ask?  It is because he brother is striving to become a singer, someone famous so that he can find their mother who abandoned them.  However, when he did some cosmetic surgery that went wrong, he fled to the U.S. to recover while his manager went to find Mi Nyu, the twin sister that was training to become a nun.  (Funny right?)  So this drama is basicaly about the trials of her and the bandmates, one of which found out that the “Mi Nam” in the group was actually a girl but never said anything.  Of course he fell in love with her and helps her behind the scenes.  Then there is band mate #2, the main male in the drama, who found out early through a webcam that was left accidentally on in a room where Mi Nyu was trying to reposition several balls in her pants to make her seem more male.  (Ultra funny)  He of course tries to expose her but instead gets pulled into the mess.  The third bandmate is the funniest and most cluesless of them all.  He not only did not find out that she was a girl, he thought that the other two bandmates were gay through Mi Nyu and their interaction.  At one point he falls in love with her two and accepts that he, himself, is gay as well.  (Really Ironic).
Okay, now all of this summarizing, you are probably thinking what is this relation to my Keystone project?  I don’t really know, but i do know that dramas are so exciting!  Why do they captivate people so much?  Is it an escape of our own life and live in the story that is presented through the drama?  Is it because we know that the hot guys and girls only exist in the drama as celebrities and not in real life?  This phenomenon is present around the world.  
What is up with that?

         


Choi Jin Shil – “Suicide of a Nation’s Actress”
Helen — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:28:30 +0000
Is there really no truth and justice in society?

A little over a year ago, an actress in South Korea, Choi Jin Shil, committed suicide in her bathroom, leaving behind two young children. She had divorced her popular baseball player husband in 2004, and because South Korea is very conservative about single moms, her career was impacted heavily as well.
Netizens gossiped online that Ms. Choi had in fact caused a fellow friend and actor’s suicide because of monetary issues. Because of the stress of being abandoned by the nation that she had entertained for almost twenty years and of the gossip only, she hung herself in her bathroom.
Out of all of the industrialized nations, South Korea had the highest suicide rate. Since it is so prevalent in celebrities, the citizens of Korea follow the same thinking and turn to suicide to end their problems.
I believe that it is a sad day when the Korean government ignores all of the underhanded tactics people use online to cause the downfall of a person reputation and career. Only after Ms. Choi’s suicide did the legislature create a law enabling them to prosecute crimes made online. This issue had graces covers internationally, as seen from the Times article this information came from.
Why are there so many people that enjoy spending hours in-front of a computer to do nothing but defame and denigrate someone they do not even know?  Is it apart of the Korean culture to speak their negative thoughts online, where everything is supposed to be anonymous?  Or is it something that just grew unrestrictedly with the development of online communities?
If I were to use this topic as a keystone, I would dig deep into this sad issue and see whether the “taboo” of psychiatric illnesses is the cause of these events.  Do netizens seem normal in person but turn psycotic online?  Why is there so little being done within the government other than publicing that they have creating new laws?  Why does there seem so little action?

         


Recollection of my posts
Helen — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:09:02 +0000
In my very first post, I talked about the power online “netizens” have on celebrities.  I also talked about the horrors of applying to college and finding the funding for college.  In my last two posts, I wrote about food.  
If I were to choose a topic next week and pursue it, I might write about the netizens issue.  I can imitate the contorversy with Jae Bum Park.  There are many situations that netizens slandered the celebrities only and even drove many to suicide.  The suicide trend in Korea is astounding.  As a medium for this potentioal keystone, I might chose a blog.  In Korea many people use cyworld or minihompys to record their life.  These are similar to the Facebook or twitter or wordpress that many people use in the United States.  I would create a fictionalized celebrity and the comments or forums would have negative comments – some even brutal.

         


Korean food: Spicy, Healthy, and Delicious
Helen — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:35:33 +0000
Oh lord, looks good, but its all spice!


If you do not know me already, I love food.  I’d rather go on an eating spree with my friends than going shopping with my friends.  …. Or maybe both on the same day.

On the link above, you will see a whole list of popular Korean foods with pictures.  Now, the majority of the pictures are red, and that is because Koreans eat a lot of spicy foods, and I mean A LOT!  Koreans generally eat a lot of the following: noodles in black bean sauce, ramen (instant noodles), stews, and grilled pork or beef.  
When I go to Korea, will I become adjusted to this food?  I generally can’t eat Korean food because the food that is more reasonably priced include fattier slices of pork (not beef), noodles with sauce and spicy stews.  I can’t tolerate spiciness and I need veggies.  What to do oh what to do?  A lot of Korean food is healthy, but looking at the ingredients, it doesn’t seem to be so.  Is it the soybean paste or the chili powder?  I know most health trainers do not recommend Korean food for dinner, so is it okay for breakfast or lunch?

         


Smoothies
Helen — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:12:37 +0000
Isn't it a wonder that we are always drawn back to it time and time again?


According to Caloriecounter.net one cup of fruit smoothie with fat-free milk has 205 calories.  One fruit smoothie with fat-free yogurt is 220 calories.  It takes about 19 minutes of walking to work the calories off.


This calorie count may seem reasonable, but that is only if the ingredients in the smoothie is just right.  If there are extra ingredients added, like the popular chain, Jamba Juice, then expect to have several hundred more calories to be added to that number.  

Personally, I love smoothies, but I really dislike the expanding of my waistline everytime i drink a medium serving of a smoothie off the smoothie stands.  It seems the best way to have a smoothie is to make your own.  Dig out your blender, buy some berries and freeze them, get some skim milk, ice and viola!  It only takes a few minutes.  But I wonder what types of fruits go well with each other and which has the most nutrition?  So far, my favorite has been banana, blueberry and papaya.  These are three fruits that give you a lot of vitamins we usually don’t eat.  Fruits such as pineapple generally are not too good for you because they raise your cholesterol count.  So watch out!

         


What are the Chances?
Helen — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:12:21 +0000
Will you be here?


In the lotto, everyone knows how much of a chance you have of winning.  I mean, it is “one in a million.”  Then there are those sub-categories like the “Take Five” and the “Daily”s.

Now for students applying for scholarships for scholarships?  I would think that it won’t be “one in a million,” but rather “one in a couple hundred thousand” depending on the scholarships one applys for.  Questbridge here offers some pretty great packages.  If accepted in the College Match program, and into one of their 26 college connections, the student is full speed ahead with a full scholarship with room, board, and textbooks paid for.  How great is that?  
But if it is so great, and open to the ENTIRE United States, what are the chances?
It is a very long applications with MANY short answer questions and essays.  A student has to be pretty dedicated do they not?  I am off to college next fall and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, but why do I feel like I don’t be one of those lucky 260 students that will get accepted?  
I wonder how many people actually apply for these scholarships and whether they will vary based on money and the length of the application… I guess I will be one to experience it all in the next few months won’t I?