Never Sorry

Has anyone watched this yet? I just saw it, loved it. I think for me its part following your conscience, part rebel, part artist that makes me love Ai WeiWei. I recommend the film.

A short video I made.

Here is a short video that I made. Bonus points for anyone who tells me who the opening seen pays homage to.

Great Documentary on kung-fu movies.

This from Netflix, where you can stream it: An animated but earnest kung fu fan (who knows all his trivia) narrates this documentary tribute to the great martial arts stars and their films. The movie includes scenes from more than 200 movies featuring Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and other stars.

Hidden China Film Series at Jacob Burns Film Center, Pleasantville, NY

October 4-25: Jacob Burns Film Center Announces “Hidden China” Film Series, an Unprecedented Look Independent Chinese Cinema

Series curated by latest International Fellow Zhu Rikun

Pleasantville, NY – September 24, 2012 – Producer Zhu Rikun and filmmaker Wang Wo, both natives of China, are the two newest international fellows to take up residence at Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) this October, coinciding with our “Hidden China” film series. Zhu Rikun is one of the best known figures in Chinese independent cinema. In 2001 he founded Fanhall Studio, a production and distribution company whose goal was to stimulate the development of independent Chinese cinema. He produced many of the hardest-hitting Chinese films in recent years, including such major works as Xu Xin’s Karamay and Li Hongqi’s Winter Vacation. Rikun was the organizer of the Beijing Independent Film Festival and the Songzhuang Documentary Film Festival, both of which helped flourish Chinese independent film. Wang Wo is a filmmaker and artist, and a teacher at the Li Xianting Film School, the first independent film school in China. Rikun and Wo will be at JBFC throughout the month of October.

While at the JBFC, Zhu Rikun will work on postproduction of a new film with Wang Wo, a close associate and designer of Rikun’s Fanhall Studio complex.

Rikun is the curator of the JBFC film series “Hidden China,” a special look at a group of uncompromising movies that reveal a China we might not otherwise see. The series, which runs from Oct. 4-25, includes 17 programs with introductions and post-screening discussions with Zhu Rikun, Wang Wo, and other figures in Chinese cinema. This series includes four films by Chinese activist, artist, and filmmaker Ai Weiwei, three films by current JBFC Filmmaker-in-Residence Wang Wo, and a program on Chinese animation. What makes “Hidden China” so unique is the fact that many films in this series have never been screened in the United States and, according to a recent New York Times article, are just as difficult to see in China. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/business/global/indie-filmmakers-feel-heavy-hand-of-beijing.html?pagewanted=all 

“This is a look behind the scenes, an uncensored and uncompromising vision of one of the most dynamic and rich cultures on earth, but one that remains largely hidden for most of us behind the high walls of language and distance and official censorship. It’s a very rare opportunity to see these unflinching films guided by our latest international Fellows: Zhu Rikun, one of the most influential producers of independent Chinese Cinema, and Wang Wo, a celebrated documentarian,” said Brian Ackerman, JBFC Programing Director. For more information on “Hidden China,” please visit the series page on the JBFC website. http://www.burnsfilmcenter.org/films/film-series/detail/56644

Reel China Biennial at NYU

The 6th Reel China Documentary Biennial will be held at NYU on the weekends of October 19-21 and October 26-28. 721 Broadway, 6th Floor, Michelson Theater. Curated by Profs Angela Zito and Zhang Zhen. The program has not been finalized yet, but if you are interested - and will be in the NYC area - the program is open to the public, as far as I know.

Preliminary list of films is at the website: Reel China Biennial

I will be there both weekends. If anyone wants more information, go to the website or you can email me and I'll let you know as soon as I know more.

NYT article on Beijing Film Festival and the Chinese government

A Panoramic View of China's Cultural Revolution

Nancy Jervis asked me to post this for her...A Panoramic View of China's Cultural Revolution.

> > http://www.sgvtribune.com/highlanders/walnut/ci_21362885/walnut-high-teacher-has-very-busy-summer
This is a link to an article that a local paper did on me after my district PR person sent out the press release Nancy & Susan provided.  Actually, an online article was published, too, as well as the City Council invited me to their meeting yesterday and gave me one of those fancy proclamations to hang in my classroom to honor me for having gone to the institute.  I was amazed!

The Olympics were great by the way.

I hope everyone got home smoothly & safely.  I know I'm back to work.

-Joanne

Your heart might be all aflutter after you read this...

The latest info on Wong Kar-Wai's latest venture, The Grandmaster.

New Take on Great Leap Fwd....

A student is writing about the Flu Epidemic of 1918 for her Extended Essay.  I got this email from her and thought you all might appreciate it.  If anyone wants, I can get the citation from her:

I was working on my extended essay and decided to read past the 1918 part of one of my books. It talked about how most epidemics and pandemics started in China and researchers are starting to believe that a large number of the deaths from the Great Leap Forward were from the Asian flu (1957) along with the deaths by starvation.

Films for Action

Thought all you movie buffs might be interested in this site that has over 1000 films streaming that are "dedicated to social change." It's free.

The Wonder of sharing film....

Heard this talk on the radio and it hit home with me after our NEH experience...http://www.ted.com/talks/beeban_kidron_the_shared_wonder_of_film.html

China's Quest for Olympic Gold Takes Toll on Athletes

"Many of China's athletes are sent as adolescents to live at state-financed sports academies, where the training is grueling, and they do not see their families for years."

Full text of NY Times article

Wuhan, Hubei Province

There are a couple of us who have spent time in Wuhan and thought people might be interested in this story from NPR.

Runge student film.

This is a way for a kid to mock a teacher and get away with it. The camera work and editing are my favorite, but the whole thing is just well done. I cannot stand the whole "dream" thing, as it has been done to death. But he just did that the cheese me off further!



I'll miss that boy!

Children of the (experimental) Corn....

Resources I Mentioned and a few more

Some additional resources.

Free Technology For Teachers

This guy is absolutely amazing.  I don't know how he maintains this valuable list of resources in addition to being a full time music teacher and a fairly in-demand speaker and trainer.

Discovery Streaming

This is the site I mentioned that I use to gather film clips.  Huge collection of lesson plans, videos, and resources.  All are downloadable.  I'm not sure how to obtain a passcode, but, I did set up an account for my students, so if you'd like access, email me and I'll send you the username and password.

My Teacher Wiki

I put this together during my tenure as a technology coach.  Included are some of the in-service academies that I've run for my district, tutorials, and just some fun sites.

Enjoy!

Kung-fu Presentation.

Here is my ppt for the kung-fu presentation that I made last night. The videos didn't upload, but you have enough information to find some online. Remember all dates are approximations in the histories I've given.

"Air-Sea" Battle with China

August 2, 2012 Washington Post 

U.S. Model for future war with China (link)

The Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment ponders worst case scenario for war with China. 
Washington Post article describes US preparations for taking out China. Dark 
change of pace from articles on Chinese Film. Looks like some people really don't care for Chinese Film and Society...

Valerie's Pictures.

OK Go

Ok Go - This Too Shall Pass (Rube Golberg version)
Wikipedia Article

Ok Go - This Too Shall Pass (Notre Dame Marching Band version)

Ok Go - Needing/Getting
Wikipedia Article

Ok Go - All Is Not Lost (featuring Pilobolus) - note, I've dubbed this video a celebration of the buttock!
Wikipedia Article on Song
Wikipedia Article on Pilobolus

White Knuckles - All dogs are shelter rescues, furniture by IKEA
Wikipedia Article

Here It Goes Again - The video that started it all
Wikipedia Article

The Last Leaf - stop motion animation

These are the ones I refer to constantly.  Obviously, one could use thousands more, but I find these super creative and fitting to my music curriculum and to the songs itself.  If there are any physics teachers out there, the Rube Golberg video is incredible to show.

Propaganda Poster Project

Here is a link to my project. Feel free to redesign it however you want to.

Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest

Since this was originally introduced to us as a five-hour long film with no dialogue, I had to find out more. It's actually a film in five parts, with each one ranging in length from 30 to 70 minutes. Total running time about four hours. Also, there is a narrator, so it is not without human voice. There is a clip on the Asia Society website for the initiated:

Asia Society - Yang Fudong and Seven Intellectuals film

No information on how to view the film as far as I can see, though.

Taiwan Cinema

Taiwan Cinema

An interesting article by Douglas Kellner on some of today's topics.

NPR: Ever-Growing Past Confounds History Teachers

Interesting rumination on when something becomes "history" and how to teach it. The full segment is about 16 mins long.

Here is the link to the full radio segment.

Chinese documentaries - article in film journal

Senses of Cinema, Issue 63:

Street Level Visions: China’s Digital Documentary Movement

 In 2012, the 61st Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) will feature “Street Level Visions: Indie Docs from China”, a retrospective of seven digital documentaries produced over the past eight years by independent Chinese directors. Prominent filmmakers Ou Ning and Wang Jiuliang will also be in Melbourne as guests of the festival. The curator of the season, Dan Edwards, takes a look at the seven titles appearing at MIFF and considers their place within China’s burgeoning independent documentary field.

Read the full article here.

Lunch at the Red Herring with live Entertainment

Minnie makes her stage debut singing a duet....

Chinese Artifacts at the Chicago Art Institute

Went with Jess and Valerie to Chicago this weekend.  Snapped some pics of Chinese artifacts at the Art  Institute.  Thought you might enjoy....

China At Brookfield Zoo

In the bird house...

Gary's ppt template for Facebook.

Here is a great resource for your kids to use on a Facebook project. Thank you, Gary!




Here is a link to the ppt if you want to download it.

China on Frontline

I did a search for "china" on the Frontline web site and here are my results...

Young and Restless in China

I just received this in my Facebook feed. I think it was mentioned in class. It's a Frontline documentary by Sue Williams (The Mao Years) and you can watch the whole thing streaming.

Recent Protests in China

Recent protests in China: BBC

A BBC article on a growing number of protests.

The Chinese Legal System and Nail Houses

Nail Houses and the Chinese Legal System

This is the richest article I have found on nail houses, legal battles and the evolving Chinese system of justice. It is from a scholarly journal, so researched and peer reviewed.

Mao (1973)

Mao (1973) - Andy Warhol

Art Institute of Chicago

Reposting for posterity!

Self righteous.

I'm glad that Paul warned us about self-righteousness. I am angered by some of the actions in the films we watch, and I forget about the plight of some Americans.

I couldn't find any statistics on what the US spends on putting down protests, riots, etc., but if this web site is accurate there were 180,000 protests in 2010 which means this: China’s Spending on Internal Policing Outstrips Defense Budget.

Creating Fake Facebook in Class

Hi Everyone,

Mark R, Gary and I were discussing fake facebook style pages as an assessment tool or activity before our afternoon session started.

The following is a link to my school website where I did an activity with one of the 7th grade language arts teachers on Tom Sawyer.

Students had to create a four-square poster on superstitions, "text message" a plot diagram using Keynote or Powerpoint, and then create a fake facebook wall for a character from Tom Sawyer.  My website has all of the details, including all of my templates that I created for it.  If you don't have Pages 08 or Keynote 08 and would like a copy you can use, just let me know and I'll convert it for you.

This took up four days in class, was the culminating activity and assessment for Tom Sawyer and students had 3 additional days to turn it into Moodle.

All of the information is here, with links to the additional pages at the bottom.

http://www.wssd.k12.pa.us/webpages/JPugliano/tom.cfm?subpage=120827

Nail House Hero!

Signs around China in June 2008

China Beat and the earthquake

China Beat is a blog subtitled "Blogging How the East is Read" in which scholars, journalists, etc. comment on how China is being covered in the mainstream press. The link will take you to their review of the documentary.

http://thechinabeat.blogspot.com/2008/10/best-reporting-on-sichuan-earthquake.html

The Best Reporting on the Sichuan Earthquake You'll Never See

By Angilee Shah

Busan, Korea – Pan Jianlin's documentary about the earthquake that struck Sichuan province on May 12 made a quiet debut on a Sunday morning, at 10 a.m., the third day of this year's Pusan International Film Festival.

With its not-so-great timing and grim title, Who Killed Our Children was a blip on the festival calendar's 315 films and 85 world premieres. And if you happened to miss the documentary in Korea, it's possible you will not have an opportunity to see it again.

Pan’s film’s subject is as simple as its title, examining the collapse of one of the many schools that became deathtraps for thousands of children after the quake. That subject has been a closed one in official Chinese media since mid-summer which makes Pan's exploration of the subject very significant.

Read more by clicking on the link.

China Blue

Here's the PBS Independent Lens site for China Blue. The film can be watched here.

Another good video to watch is Please Vote for Me. Unfortunately, in a quick search, I cannot find this streaming. The clips are pretty great, though.

Computer classes and google stuff.

I was telling some people about Nerdcore (I call it this as a term of endearment!), and here is a link to their site. I learned much by doing this: http://www.summercore.com/.

Speaking of education....

This is a picture of a sign I saw in Shanghai in 2008.

Han Han

This is a link to a site where Han Han's blog appears in translation.

Han Han Digest

QAF Beijing

Link to the Youtube Site:

http://www.youtube.com/user/qafbeijing

Queer Comrades Website

http://www.queercomrades.com/en

Yasakuni Shrine

I wanted to write a bit about Yasakuni shrine since I think our speaker’s description of it today was not given in the proper context and I have some personal experience with this topic. I have visited this shrine on a number of occasions and I have also visited the museum which is on the shrine grounds, it is one of only a few museums in Japan which include material about WWII. The museum has been highly criticized for not including the atrocities of the Japanese, but portraying only the positive stories of Japanese soldiers. In my opinion that is true, though the inclusion of a Japanese Zero and headbands of the kamikaze are not in bad taste in my opinion, the lack of a more balanced inclusion of history is. The shrine itself is by their own words a place where people can honor the, “souls of men who made ultimate sacrifice for their nation since 1853 … to 1951. These people, regardless of their rank or social standing, are considered to be completely equal and worshipped as venerable divinities of Yasukuni.” For Americans a similar parallel might be made the Tomb of the Unknown soldier which is a, “grave in which the remains of an unidentified soldier are interred, dedicated to the common memories of all soldiers killed in any war” Many people who worship at the shrine do so to honor common soldiers killed in WWII. The big controversy comes because of the more than 2 million souls enshrined about 1,000 are considered war criminals. The irreversible decision to include these people was wholly that of the monks at the shrine in the 60’s and 70’s and even during that deliberation there was great debate. It was finally decided by them that by the rules of inclusion at the shrine they could not exclude those criminals. There have been many publicized visits to the shrine by high ranking officials. A visit by the Prime Minister, Koizumi, in 2001 was widely reported in Chinese media and led to popular anger. That same year Koizumi met with China's President and agreed to make a symbolic trip to the Marco Polo Bridge outside Beijing to honor Chinese soldiers killed during WWII. Then Koizumi visited the Yasukuni Shrine again in the spring of 2002 and it led to a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. Prior to that there had been protests of visits to the shrine, but this instance is what lights the fire under most Chinese people today. I think our speaker was right in saying that it’s a political move on the part of Japanese politicians. However, to paint a picture that the Japanese are unanimous in their support for the shrine is misleading. Emperor Hirohito refused to visit the shrine up until his death and the current emperor Akihito has also not visited. Many Japanese people today don't visit it. Yet strangely even the Dalai Lama has made a visit. There is actually a film called Yasakuni which is largely funded by Japanese and made by a Chinese director. I would love to see it, but haven’t been able to find a copy. It appears it is on Netflix.

Some student work from Mark R.

Here are som links to a variety of some of our kids' work that I found on YouTube:
Guatemala 2012, which is a documentary (the visual candy kind) of a group of our kids in Guatemala.
American Ice Cream, which was made and submitted to a Dali show.
Blue Justice is a great collaboration between one of our film kids and the Theatre Department kids.
Mozel Tove Jesus, which was one of my favorite films this kid did, and not just because I have a starring role!
Wash Me is just what it is.
Ready, Set, Perform! A Theatre Mockumentary was done this year by a first year film student that graduated this year. Which means she took beginning film class and we worked her hard because she was a senior. She also worked closely with the Theatre department. I think it is a great job.

A day to remember.

Here is a junky version of "A Day to Remember." I would love to see your responses about how and what you would teach using this short film.

If you, like me, have a passion for the music of the Mao Era, you'll enjoy this site:

http://www.wellesley.edu/Polisci/wj/China/CRSongs/crsongs.htm

HI , did you see the website of China digital times?

Hi, please check on the website. It has a lot info. you may want to use.

http://chinadigitaltimes.net/

Valerie and I created our own modern art

Chen Kaige on his new film.

This one is right up our alley this month . . .Headline below, then link to link . . .


Q&A: Chen Kaige on the Future of Chinese Film

http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/07/qa-chen-kaige-future-chinese-film/

A Most Excellent Debate . . .

From China Digital Times . . .  a great debate between two great Chinese minds . . . the link is

Eric X. Li vs Minxin Pei on China and Democracy

The Aspen Institute has posted the full video of a debate from its Ideas Festival, which ran from June 27th and July 3rd. The discussion pitched venture capitalist Eric X. Li against professor of government Minxin Pei on the subject of “China and Democracy”, moderated by James Fallows. Fallows advised readers of his Atlantic blog to look out for the debate shortly after it took place:

The formal topic of discussion was “China and Democracy”; in effect, it was a debate about whether China was nearing the limits of its current authoritarian single-party guided-growth model, or whether it was still gathering steam and had plenty of success still ahead. I am biased, because the subject is of great interest to me and because I was on stage as moderator / referee. But I thought this was an unusually clear, informed, and vigorous airing of contrary views on China’s present and future. They pretty much agreed about its past.

Seriously, if you would like the most concise introduction to the case for concern about China’s development, you can listen to Minxin Pei’s side of the argument in this 80-minute (including audience Q&A) discussion. If you would like an unusually forthright statement of the “China knows best, and don’t lecture us when you have such troubles of your own” perspective, listen to Eric Li — and watch the way they parry each other’s arguments. “Debates” at high-toned conferences are often something more like polite seminars. This was an actual contest of views, perfectly civil but with no softening of the hard edges of disagreement. Check it out.

A show of hands suggested that few in the audience had been swayed from their initial positions by the end, but that more had swung towards Li than away from him. Asked by an audience member whether a similar conversation could take place in Beijing, he insisted that it could, though many others could not. But, he said, he wanted to “break the spell of so-called freedom of speech”: “speech is act”, he said, it “has harmed since time immemorial”, and should be managed and regulated accordingly. Pei also said that the conference could take place in Beijing, but that the US government would have to rescue him immediately afterwards.

Video is at: http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/07/eric-x-li-vs-minxin-pei-china-democracy/

How to post to blogger.

Write your post

Watch a video on how to post to your blog

Once you've signed in to Blogger, you'll see your dashboard with your list of blogs. Here's what you need to do:

1. Click the orange pencil icon to write a new post, and enter anything you want to share with the world.
2. Next, you'll see the Post Editor page. Start by giving your post a title (optional), then enter the post itself:
   
3. When you're done, click the Preview button at the top to make sure it's ready to go, and then click the Publish button to publish your post.

Add an image

You can add an image from your computer or the Web to your blog. Click the image icon in the Post Editor toolbar. A window appears prompting you to browse for an image file on your computer, or enter the URL of an image on the Web.
Once you've selected your image, you can then choose a layout to determine how your image will appear in your post:

• The 'Left', 'Center', and 'Right' options allow you to customize the way your blog text will flow around your image.
• The 'Image size' options will determine how large the image will appear within your post.

Click UPLOAD IMAGES to add your image, and then click DONE when the notification window appears telling you that 'Your image has been added.' Blogger will then return you to the post editor, where you'll see your image ready to be published to your blog.
You can also publish images to your blog using your mobile device, Google's free photo software Picasa, or a third-party service like flickr.Learn more.

Add a video

To add a video to your blog post, click the film strip icon in the Post Editor toolbar above where you compose your blog text. A window appears prompting you to 'Add a video to your blog post.'

Click Browse to select the video file from your computer that you'd like to upload. Note that Blogger accepts AVI, MPEG, QuickTime, Real and Windows Media files and that your video must be less than 100MB in size.

Before uploading your video, add a title in the 'Video Title' box and agree to the Terms and Conditions (you'll only have to do this the first time that you upload a video with Blogger). Then click UPLOAD VIDEO.

While your video uploads, you'll see a placeholder in the post editor showing where your video will appear. You'll also see a status message below the post editor letting you know that your upload is in progress. Depending on the size of your video, this usually takes about five minutes. When it is complete, your video will appear in the post editor.

Want to see this in action? Click the link to watch a video on how to add a video to your blog post:

Adding a video to your post

Thank you Getting Started Guide from Google.

Basic Economic Relation Between China/US

This article I read yesterday is interesting considering what Minnie and some other said. Consumption in China in terms of quantity is low, but in terms of quality they more than match the US consumers per capita. Conspicuous consumption such as owning a Prius or putting solar panels on the north side of your house because that is the side that faces the street are clear markers that we can associate with. In China these messages take similar though slightly different paths like putting on a lavish funeral for your parent. The basic problem with the economic relationship between America and China is that they are juxtaposed. America is a debt society that spends more than they make and China ships a vast quantity of goods to the US to meet that demand. China is a savings society so there is very little in the way of domestic consumption which stymies the US because they can't get the Chinese to spend on their products like they would want them to. This has created a huge trade imbalance with the US as the loser. Usually this would cause a depression in the value of currency, but China buys US government bonds to keep the value of the dollar high. Not only does China manipulate its own currency, it manipulates the dollar as well. In turn it is favorable to China since a strong dollar allows US consumers to keep on consuming Chinese goods. There is a market of 1.3 billion that everyone wants to see spend, but there is a major problem. The problem is, as Stanley discussed with us, there is no social safety net in China. People save their money for a rainy day, therefore they can't be encouraged to spend more. They save like crazy. The average of the people I knew in Shanghai was something like 30-50% of their salary. If China wants its domestic markets to increase in consumption they will have to eliminate the need for people to save, which means providing safety nets. If any of you have more questions on economics, or environmental economics I would be happy to have a conversation.

Valerie's pictures.

Copyright issues.

Here is an interesting article that augments our copyright discussion: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/theater/threes-company-lawyers-object-to-the-play-3c.html?smid=pl-share

Copyright clarity.

Here is Suzanne's link for the Copyright Clarity information.

Recording your computer screen.

Here is a link to make videos of what you're doing on your computer screen.

Thanks, Morgan!

Funding my trip.

Last year I wrote a paper ("Innovative Talents: Cultivating Creativity Across the Curriculum") and presented it at the "Dialogue of Chinese and Foreign Prominent Principals Conference" in Nanshan, PRC. The conference was sponsored in large part by the Ameson Education Foundation. My school paid for my paperwork and to get me there, and Ameson paid for my hotels and meals for almost three weeks. Plus, I traveled from Shanghai to Senzhen, which Ameson picked up. Ameson was a good source for funding my travel in China last year.

Chen taichi.

This is a version of the taichi that we are learning.

An old soul, he has.

The first.

Getting started!