Young Sherlock

Young Sherlock is based upon the Judge Dee stories.

The Chinese drama is intriguing. Yet can movie along slowly. So there are three main plots, essentially.

One is the Di renjie storyline with all the mysteries.

The second is the Emperor and the palace.

The third is the people in the cave. These people are lead by bird guy. We don't find out much about him until the end. I'm only on episode 23 out of all fourty.

I did skip to the end out of boredom. Spoilers ahead.

The ending is a cliffhanger. Sorta. The love interest of Di, named Wan Qing, runs away. I don't know why, other than she thinks they shouldn't be together. So she becomes a nun again. She was raised in a nunnery until Di and his friends solved a mistery there, so she joins them. So, the drama ends with Dee keeping his promise at the beginning about wanting Wan Qing to come back. So he goes out to search for her.

The ending should have had another episode where he spends "forever " looking for her and he finds her at last. But we will never know. Since it just shows him riding a horse and the voice over going : " I will definitely find you and return. Li Wan Qing." Does this mean there will be a part two? What if he never finds her? There is no producer who will clarify that ending. (Unlike how Bryan and Mike dispelled any ambiguity for The Legend of Korra.) I'm just so agitated. Just have them meet and make up and walk into the freaking sunset.

So throughout the drama, he solves cases. He is successful on all of them. Even it takes forever. I mean several episodes.   With that said, this is a good drama. Unfortunately, it's not subbed in English. So sometimes even I have no idea what they're saying.

The Shade of the Moon Part B

So Jon is still an ass in my mind after a week later. He thinks that I love you equals sex. So first, poor Juile gets hurt. Then Sarah. This guy has no sense.

So, my long rant comes down to this. Don't waste your time reading this book.

Review : The Shade of the Moon Part A

I just finished reading the fourth book in the Life as We Knew It series. So this review will refer to all four books. More or less.

The main character in this novel, Jon (Jonathan) Evans, is the biggest asshole of a protagonist that I have ever encountered in a book and/or movie. He lived his full life as a spoiled child. So when the moon was hit by a meteor, his life changed for the worst. He and his family survived on nothing. One would expect that when he was able to live I'm comfort again, he would cherish it.

Back to the beggining of the series. In the first and third books, we were told the story from Miranda's point of view. In the second one, Alex told his story. Alex and his two sisters and brother were from NYC and Miranda and her family are from Pennsylvania. People died and food became scarce. The family did what they did to survive.  Eventually, the characters in book one met the characters of book two in book three.

I liked the Miranda and Alex. The author planned to pair them together from the start. Which I agree with. They have given up a lot to become lowly bus drivers and a greenhouse gardener instead of a chance to live in the town of Sexton. With that said, they aren't perfect characters. Alex has stolen from his neighbors to feed his sisters. Miranda had her selfish moment when she ate a whole bag of chocolate. Mind you, in a world where they don't make chocolate anymore, indulging like that is terrible. Anyways, they have a baby girl that was kidnapped by the rich people of the "enclave" of Sexton. Fortunately, asshole Jon with the help of Sarah, his girlfriend, was able to rescue his sister's baby. Miranda had some issues with her mother, Laura, at the beginning of the series, but the whole natural disaster struggle mended their bonds. Miranda suffocated Julie, Alex's sister, to prevent Julie from suffering in pain after being paralyzed by a tornado. Alex ran away after hearing what she did.

There's so much of the story to tell. Laura, by far is the most selfless person. She gives up her meals so that her children can eat. Seriously, she'll go days on end without eating if Miranda and her other son, Matt let her. These two have sense. Jon may have let her starve. After the family relocated to Sexton and the outside "grub" town/ shanty town of White Birch, she became a high school teacher. This lady fought the guards from letting them take her students to become house servants. They killed her. I don't think Jon felt as bad as pregnant Miranda did. She's pregnant! She could have had a miscarriage... Despite being divorced, she had no hatred towards her ex-husband's new spouse. Laura would do anything in her power to help people she cared about. This lady deserves a long moment of silence.

Lisa, is the wife of Harold (Hal). Hal died of exhaustion en route to the settlement.  She has been portayed as a nice and caring lady. But, she is a stepmother, so at first, I didn't trust her. In this fourth book, we see that she also will do everything to help her family survive, even if they are her step family. She did have a son named Gabriel (Gabe) with Hal. She, Gabe and Jon went into the town of Sexton to become "Clavers" because Alex had given up his passes that were for him and his two sisters. So with these passes, they became akin to people in the Second Estate of Pre-Revolutionary France. Lisa first works as a low class clerk in the Administration offices, later being promoted to the Head of the Domestics. She deals with house servant issues. So, she has Gabe in the first book. Lisa doesn't like having Domestics in her house, but she has no choice since she can't work ten hours a day, six days a week and be able to clean and cook. So, knowing Miranda is pregnant, she arranges for Miranda to become a Domestic in their house. I understand this, at least the baby can be looked after and Miranda can be guaranteed decent food that can not be procured in the "Grub" town. But who would want to be a slave for their own family? Fortunately, she never does because the living members of the family move to a new settlement that doesn't have the oppressive Enclaves.

There is a riot between the Grubs and the Clavers and many laborers are killed. So, the children of the highschool are needed to be the new workers. And Laura gets killed. Lisa feels really bad about this, but is torn between her job and indirectly killing her dead Husband's ex-wife. Who wouldn't? Eventually, this guilt gets to her and she commits suicide. Partially, the suicide is a cover up for Jon, Gabe, Alex and Miranda's escape. She was a good woman. A standing ovation goes to her.

Jon should be greatful of having a mother and a stepmother who killed themsleves to let an ungrateful son live as close to a normal life as possible in this dystopia.

Repetition or Variation?

Every single Karate class, we will start with Kihon (basics), we do each technique seven times facing forward, then turning around and continuing backwards. Sometimes, I think fourteen times is too much for three reasons: a) it is time consuming, b) it bores the hell out of the younger students, c) students do not see this as a time to improve themselves, but only a warm up activity that takes fifteen minutes. 

Things learned in isolation does not always allow a student to learn. Many of these students do not know how or why to combine techniques. They see no need to. In schools, when each subject is limited to only that subject, children feel bored. Math does not have to be learned in math class, it can come from cooking class or wood shop. Social studies/ history shouldn't be reading from a textbook about people from "once upon a time". Of course, history isn't a fairy tale, but most kids see it as that because they never get a chance to experience the culture of these historical events. 

This applies to Karate as well. Kata isn't just a dance, it's defense against counterattacks that exist in the form of Bunkai. If Dojos, Dojangs or Halls don't teach the significance, no one will. 

On the other hand, if every single class, we do something different, then students still will not connect these lessons. Every class has to build on the last. 

Someone will ask, what about the new students? If schools are scheduled around rank, then, that isn't an issue. On the other hand, if the school is like mine, where we are dependent on the Parks and Recreation department for students , so we can not have different classes, this becomes an issue. The class is too small to have many classes, but it is too large for each student to receive individual help. Students get left behind. Fortunately, there is an advanced class, but it only is beneficial for senior ranks. In the advanced class, we do a variety of things, not just Kihon and Pinan Shodan all class long. 

I am at a loss of what to do. It is too difficult to have a full class of nearly forty students, with two thirds of the students being low ranks, and be able to teach these kids and adults something new every single class. These students want something new, but they do not necessarily understand the basics of these basics that they are doing. I know the instructors are aware of that, but what can any of us do?  

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times. " ~ Bruce Lee 

There are days where this quote is spot on with how the students feel. They want to learn 10,000 different kicks and only practice it once. But we only teach them six or seven of the same ones again and again. The problem is, doing 10,000 things does not mean that you understand 10,000 things. Understanding only one thing is also undesirable. Knowledge comes with repetition, but variation is needed to become a master. 

The "Magic" of Black Belt

I got my black belt today.

There is this myth that when you become a black belt, you become a god. Seriously.

But in reality, you have not changed the least bit. All you have is a new color belt on your waist. You are not special. You are not better than before.

In some senses, I feel unworthy of my black belt. I have not achieved the theory of "10,000 hours to mastery". I probably barely make the 1,000 hour mark by a few hundred hours. I only have a thousand something hours after six years of training... That is not much. If anything at all. Then again, this is already more than most McDojos.

Ah.... Well. I suppose the only thing left to do is to try harder.

One Week Left

Oh dear.

There is one week before my test to black belt. One week. I feel so nervous. And slightly paranoid. Which is not a goodthing.

I need to practice more. It's bad to say that now. A week isn't much time.

A haiku:

Will I pass the test?
Will I be happy with it?
Will things be the same?

With rank comes responsibilities.

Everything is Illuminated : Review

Everything is Illuminated (2005) was a great movie. It's based on the book by Johnathan Safran Foer of the same title.

Each of the three main characters, Johnathan, Alex and Grandfather all have conflicts. They all are internal conflicts about their identity. The final reveal shows that all three are connected to a village called Trachimbrod.

Alex, is part of the family business of being a tour guide. He has aspirations of being a first class accountant. His issue is an identity crisis. He wants to be an American, but rejects being a tourists. Tourists don't belong places. Alex wants somewhere to belong. Surprisingly, he finds his roots. And chooses to live life as one of the Jewish faith. And at the end, it is revealed that he is the one writing the novel. He's also the translator for Johnathan.

Alexander (Baruch), the grandfather, has retired from the family business of helping Jewish families reunite. But his son begs him to take this tour. So he and his grandson, Alex take Johnathan on a tour. Baruch is "blind". He has shed his past of being a Jew to avoid persecution during the second World War. When he discovers his past, he commits suicide, knowing that he has no more skeletons in the closet.

Johnathan, knew about everyone in his family. Except his grandfather, Safran. So, he goes to Ukraine to meet the woman in the picture with his grandfather. Only to find out that she was killed by the anti-semitic army. But, he meets the sister of the woman, Lista. He discovers the atrocities of the war and how lucky his grandfather was to not have died. Through his journey, he learns so much about his familial past. At the end, he brings the earth of Trachimbrod to his Grandfather's grave to complete the cycle of life.

This movie had so much symbolism in it that even if the movie was watched a hundred times, there would still be more not seen.

8.5/100

Book Review : Four

I've just finished Four By Veronica Roth.  It was strange to re-read Allegiant again from a different point of view. In some ways I prefer Four's point of view over Tris'.

So Four is one part of the whole Divergent trilogy. This book wasn't part of the original three books. Unlike the other three books, this one is told in Four's perspective. In the other three Tris was the narrator. Except for Allegiant where Tris and Four alternated in narration.

This was a nice way to relive the series. Especially after the ending to the series. I wanted Tris to live. But her selfless Abnegation personality caused her to give herself up. So everyone lived. But her...

You need to read the trilogy in order to fully understand what happens in this book. Since all side stories are just side stories. They may or may not make sense without knowing the full back story. So give it a read if you want.

Rate : 6/10

Of Blogs and Black Belts

AGH. In six weeks, I will be testing for Shodan-Ho. Or at least I should be if I pass the pre-test(s). So, this has led me to my usual frenzy of finding information about whatever topic that I happen to be interested at that time. So, now it's black belt requirements. I've found that different schools have different requiremnts. Despite being of the same type of Karate. Or the same type of Tae Kwon Do, Ju-Jitsu, Judo, etc.

So, I was reading one school's requirements that stated a Godan (5th Degree Black) would only need a total of sixteen years to be eligible. While another school needed thirteen to even be considered for black belt. That's really a huge gap in years. The Godan school seems to have a faster rate of progression than the school with the thirteen years. Mind you, it's minimum years. But still.... That could result in some pretty young Godans. There's nothing wrong with young black belts. To an extent. They should not be owning their own school, or be holding a bajillion-dan black belt. Young, I would define as 30 is too young to be a Roku-Dan (sixth degree.) Maybe even Godan.

Within the school that I attend, 35 is the minimum age needed for Yondan. So, Yondan here may be older on average than some other school. But I do not actually know. Because I don't have a black belt, so I can't be qualified to make judgement about qualifications.

Either way, I hope I will be taking my Shodan Ho (Junior Black Belt) in six weeks and passing it on the first try. And not end up like the poor guy who forgot how to do Seisan halfway through the kata. Everything went downhill for him after that.

And instead of doing my homework, I'm writing this post and reading stuff about black belts. This site is a pretty good site about the philosophies of karate. See here. It's an online magazine called The Shotokan Way.

School Should Be This Way

I don't think my idea is revolutionary, but it would be interesting. School should be four weeks long, then a two week break. Then repeat.

For all the teachers and professors, it would allow them to teach things in one block at a time. There would be no odd weeks with only one or two days. So, it would be more convenient.

As for the breaks, having too long of a break can be boring for students. Also, two weeks is enough for everyone to recharge.

This method would result in less school days per year for some districts. But it would allow for schools to have major off site trips for the students without the hassle of missing class.

It sounds great. I don't know how it would actually work. But it isn't bad of an idea. The current way that school is set up revolves around the old planting and harvesting schedules. Most families don't live on farms anymore. So why not be modern?

Free

At what point does a free item become not worth it to receive?

 If it takes a tremendous effort, like hiking ten miles to receive a free television, would you do it? I personally wouldn't.

What about buying an expensive item? If it is a value for it's price, I would buy it. There was a study done on the longevity of clothing. The results found that buying expensive clothes was actually cheaper than the cheap articles of clothing.

What about if store A sold cereal for $5.50; whereas store B sold the same one for $5.80? Store A sounds better.

Let's say that store A required a ten mile drive. Store B was a half block walk? How about now? Store B sounds better due to the cost of gas is way more than $0.30.

So the overall idea is that : Do the cost of time and travel justify the savings of the product in the long run?

Voicing Thoughts

When is it okay to voice our opinions out loud?

If we do, should it be constructive criticism or outright slamming or shaming of the other person? Or do we just imply our thoughts?

Usually, when our thoughts are positive, we don't give a second thought about it. But if it's negative, people may hesitate.

Personally, I would like for people to be honest and tell me the truth. But not to the extent of saying negative things about me for their pleasure.

So, sharing our opinions is a good thing. But we must be considerate.

Life Hacks

If you haven't seen the millions of reposts of life hacks, you're quite behind.

The problem is, once you see the first few articles about it, the next are all repeats. I've seen the same hundred or so pictures being reposted. Kinda gets irritating after some time.

Some, I highly doubt even work. But if they do, they are pretty cool looking.

My search for new life hacks have lately been turning up empty handed. They're all the same. Someone post new ones. Or at least stop reposting the old ones. Thanks.

Questionable Pieces of Advice

When life gives you lemons, squeeze lime juice in its eyes.

Compare your strengths to people's weaknesses. That way, you'll always be better.

Get in someone's way so that you get all the light and glory. They will have to live in the shadows.

Acknowledge when someone is wrong. Then shove it down their throats.

When you're done feeling sorry for yourself, go give it to someone else to feel.

I'm Not Aware

When I read blogs like this. I wonder if I am as silly as these people. Am I that inconsiderate?

If I ever am, I apologize to those who would have to put up with me. And I apologize those who have to work in retail or other types of customer service. You folks definitely deserve better treatment. So, thank you for putting up with shitty people.

And for everyone else, be mindful of your own conduct. You probably are more unaware than you think.

Home

Home is wonderful.
It is comforting and open.
I love it so much.

Tired

I am so tired.
I just want to go to bed.
But, I have to work.

Blogging

Since I feel like writing haiku's today, here we go:

Writing this poem, 

Gives me a larger purpose. 

The fog has lifted.

Burnout

Burnout is not good,

It can ruin your rhythm,

Resulting in loss.

Allegiant, Insurgent, and Divergent.

Yes, I'm aware I put the order of the series backward. 

SPOILER ALERT. 

Okay, for those who who are still reading on, the Divergent trilogy is by Veronica Roth. The book is generally speaking, fast paced. I like how Roth gives Allegiant two points of view, not one. That is unique. Tris dies. I can't believe that they would have to kill her off. Yes, yes, she was selfless for her friends and family, blah, blah, blah. But still. WHY? Why let poor Four have to suffer in life by himself? 

I don't know why but after reading The Hunger Games,  Battle Royale, Gone, The Lost Survivors, Oryx and Crake, Enclave, Incarceration, The City of Ember ect; with these Dystopian or Utopian themes, it just feels all the same. Then add the romance in all of these books. Most of them do work out, but at a cost. Someone dies, whether it be one of the pair or another key character, it frustrates me to death. 

Why can't authors write a book with a happy ending with no deaths? I understand it doesn't sell well because there is no action, no emotional pull, but really, really, for once make some happy dystopian ending. 

Okay, back to the series, the society is very much based on one choice, which is the choosing of their "tribes". In some ways, it is taboo to switch tribes in the coming of age ceremony.  These transfer kids are bullied constantly. Then, there is the oh so common problem of someone not being happy, thus creating a revolution.  in this case, the Erudite "tribe" kills off the Abengation so that they can find the secret.

Abnegation " People die, the rest are divided, blah. They make a discovery, blah. Changes people more, blah. Main character and company try to fix it, but fail. Later on, with support, they win. In Insurgent, then a different underground group, the Factionless take over. Their reign is also temporary as dissent grows. And more this, and more that. Then. Tris and her friends find out that they were an experiment. This undoubtedly upsets everyone. And it's a bigger blow when everyone except Tris is found to be genetically flawed. So, they hatch up another plan, which somewhat succeeds but results in Tori dying. At least Four gave her a proper send off. 

I need to read a different genre of books.

Guilt Tripping

Have you ever been persuaded by those commercials that want you to help a poor child or animal?

Yeah? I feel sorry for those poor children and pets. The problem is. I don't have money for it.

Though, when I have classmates bothering me to donate to their club, I usually can find money. Weird isn't it?

So, in person guilt is more effective than TV commercials? Or is it? Now I'm curious.

Meal Plans

College meal plans are quite expensive. If you calculate how much each meal costs, it will cost $7-8 a meal. Sure, at your standard restaurant, that's the lower end cost of entrées, but it's not realistic to eat out at a restaurant at every meal for a college student. Depending on the school, $5,000-6,000 is the cost of their premium gold meal plans. That means that 19 (or more depending on the school) meals will be served a week.

But the problem with this usually mandatory plan is that it's not cost efficient for the student. Nor is it a profit maker for the school, surprisingly. I would have thought that they would make more money with those unused points and uneaten meals.

If I were to take the money that the average student had to pay for a week's worth of cafeteria food and spend it elsewhere, here's how I'd spend it:

• One three course meal at a upper scale restaurant
• Two bars of dark chocolate (Dark chocolate is wonderful.)
• Seven boxes of pasta
• One jar of pesto sauce
• Three bags of bagged spinach and/or kale
• 2 quarts of yogurt 
• 5 pounds of oranges
• 2 florets of broccoli
• 2 boxes of granola bars
• 1 family pack of chicken
• 2 dozen freshly baked cookies (a must)
• 3 cans of baked beans (why not?) 
• 1 bag pretzels (I like salty food.) 

Yes, I threw in the fancy restaurant part just to point out the ridiculous extra amount of money that's being spent unnecessarily on the overpriced meal plans. I'm sure that I would have at least $10 leftover every week from buying must own food instead of depending on the college cafeteria.  If I didn't go to the hypothetical restaurant, I'd probably have more than $70 saved a week. $70 x 35 weeks = $2, 450 saved. Then again, I'm splurging, so if I cut back even more, I wouldn't spend more than $1,000 on food a year. But living a life like that is not enjoyable. 

So, if I can, I'd opt out of these meal plans. I don't need an extra $3,000 a year in debt. I'll go the frugal, debt free route.

Is USSD a scam?

USSD, also known as the United Studios of Self Defense, is probably one of the most well known chain dojos around.

If nothing else raises a red flag, that the head instructor, Mr. Villari, has a 12th Dan which is impossible. Or at least rare. Because 10th Dan is the highest possible rank in most martial arts. And are usually give to people older than 60 years old. For a lot of grandmasters, the rank will be given maybe less than ten years before they die. Or even posthumously. I can't find out how old Villari is, but if Sensei Cerio died in 1988 and Mr. Chow died in 1987, we can assume that Villiari can't be older than 60. On a side note, Chow did have a 15th degree black belt by the time he died. So, an influence maybe? A seventy plus year old with a 15th degree black belt... I honestly give up on this.

Another thing, now that I'm nitpicking, is that, in the pictures, I've seen quite a few kids with incorrect fists. Maybe it's the style, I don't know. But their thumbs will get caught in something and break.

SHODANS AND NIDANS BEING SENIOR INSTRUCTORS... *SIGH* Now, this, is just simply the USSD spreading out their influence by getting any possible person just to start a new school... Sigh again.

Though their DVDs and Student Manual seems so wonderful. *sarcastic spaz* All joking aside, they seem useful to the students as memory aids. So, I'd like some of that instruction material please. But I won't pay that astronomical amount.

Okay. Enough ranting. McDojos exist everywhere.

March

It's March already. And I haven't posted much blog entries. Shame on me. But then again, I have nothing to say.

Enjoy March.

Cookie Clicker

There's this game called Cookie clicker and it is way too addicting. Someone help me stop. For the rest of you, go play it.

I've been playing the game for the last few weeks. And I can't stop. But after awhile , the powerups get expensive. Also, it's overly time consuming, if you haven't guessed.

Go play the game. Go.

Stumbleupon

I spend way too much time on stumbleupon. But it's I so addicting. And I actually do learn stuff. Like how to get a better score on my AP test. Or how xyz book has changed the world. That type of things. So yes, most things aren't really applicable to 99% of life, but that one time is good enough. Now I should really go do my homework.

Winter Complacency

Sigh. For the last two weeks. There was been no karate practice. And I've only spent 15 minutes practicing during these two weeks. So, I haven't had any exercise at all. Except for a few strolls around the mall... Ugh. I'm getting fat. I'm not going to perform too well in tomorrow's class. The first class of 2014.

Happy New Years

2014. Another year has passed. Time goes by faster and faster as you age.

On the bright side, I hope everyone has a happy year.

Remembering Katas

In some ways, recalling things that you've only seen or practiced once can be the most difficult thing ever.

As in my case, I can't remember how to do Itosu Lohai (Rohai) Shodan. Well, at least a specific part of it. YouTube videos are not helpful in jogging my memory because the kata shown is different than what we do in our dojo. So I'm figuratively pulling my hair out trying to remember what the move is. I guess it's normal not to remember since we practiced this kata for half a class two weeks ago for the first time. But I was so confident I could remember. And now, I'm stressing over forgetting the kata.

Are there any good methods for remembering forgotten things?