About one and half months ago, my roommate invited me to play a game called WOW(world of warcraft). At that time I barely know nothing about the game, I just knew it is a Blizzard game and I play Overwatch which is another good game made by Blizzard entertainment. My friend told me if I can play with him, he will pay for the first month of play time for me, I said ok, I will.

The first day I played this game, I spent almost four hours sitting in front of my computer and all I could think about was this game. When the editing assignment asked me to do a video with any kind of topic, I had a sudden enlightenment in my mind, I can do a montage style editing for this game! Then I downloaded every materials of the game CG as more as I can find and I chose one of my favorite song from a movie called ‘The Hunger Game’. Finally, I finished my first montage video.

After I found some interesting ads that made by the NISSIN cup noodle company, I found a collection of its cup noodle commercials on Youtube. I am so curious about the advertisements this company made, I wonder if there are more interesting ads like the one I watched before. Just as I wished, I find a really interesting one.

This Commercial is made for the market in Japan, and that is also why this commercial used many Japanese anime elements. Not only that, but it also invited one famous idol for the first half part of the commercail. The actress in the first part showed us the Sailor Moon aesthetic to the audiences. The most interesting thing is in the latter half of this commercial, it cracks me up and I am also impressed by the way the commercai shows its products to customers. If you want to know what happened, please check it by youself!

 In these days, I want to buy some cup noodles and restore them for emergency uses. While I was deciding which brand of cup noodles tastes better, I watched a commercial that made by a Japanese cup noodle company called Nissin. The name of this commercial is Samurai in Brazil.

In this commercial, the first scene is a man who wears samurai armor and walk on the street of Brazil. According to this title we could guess that this commercial is going to be played on Brazil TV channels. When he walked to a playground, he asks the kids there to pass the soccer ball to him. In this scene I realize the ad maker wants to make a subconscious feeling to people that this is a collision of Japanese culture and Brazil culture. And the representatives of each culture are Samurai and Soccer. When the kid passes the ball to the samurai, he plays football freestyle and impresses both the kids and audiences. This scene means the combination of two culture, it changes the minds of the audiences that Samurai can play football, too. The skilled freestyle stunned everyone in the upcoming scenes and they all cheer up for the samurai. I can even see a girl kisses him when he took off his helmet.

Those scenes in this commercial presented a harmony between Japanese culture and Brazil culture, that may make audience have this subconscious feeling: if I eat this cup noodle, I can play soccer as well as he did. As a TV commercial, it can present more information to people who watch it, and it can even increase the curiosity of audiences by showing them the Samurai or the title. And I finally decided to buy some Nissin cup noodles for myself:)

I cooked one of my favorite dishes in China, it is called pig’s feet 🙂  it may sounds wired but I found the material here and I also have the  seasonings…. so why not to cook it?
That’s the first time I cook this, so I followed the steps within a chinese cooking vedio. And the materials you all needs list below:
1.  A saucepan.
2. One pig hoof.
3. One or two pieces of rock candy.
4. Two pieces of Cinnamon, two pieces of bay leaf, one small piece of ginger.
5. Some light soy sauce, pepper, salt, and vinegar.

First you need to put the hoof into cold water in the pan, then boil the water with the hoof for 5 minutes. Secondly, take out the hoof and  pour out the water, after that, heat up 150 ml oil in the same pan and put the rock candy into it. When the color turn to brown, put the hoof into the pan. Use moderate heat and stir briefly and add cinnamon, bay leaf, and ginger. When you can smell the flavoring of the dish, add pepper, soy sauce and vinegar. Then you can add 200 ml water or half a bottle of beer, depends on you. Cover the lid, boil it and turn to moderate heat again for 5 to 10minutes. After that, you can keep cook it until the water reduced or you can just start enjoy it!

Here is the picture I took for the dish I made:

After I finished my course project last sunday. I tried to find some good movies to watch. So I asked my friend Qiu for some advises. He recommended me the film called Pulp Ficiton which is a Quentin film that made in 1994. Before I watched this movie, I read the commits below it. Most of thme are saying how good this movie is, and what kind of way it used while filming. I finished this film with high expectations, and it really worth it. My favorite scene in this movie is Jules and Vincent went to collect the suitcase for their boss. This scene includes many clues that lead to other parts of this movie. The suitcase they collected, the miracle that protect Jules and Vincent, and the black guy who get a ride with them later. All small things shows clues to audiences. And I really like the part Jules reading the Bible, the emotional words he said at this moment is totally different than when he said it to the restaurant robber. I really enjoy the way Quentin tells stories!

On 19th April, I tried to finish my homework at this afternoon. I trun on my computer and search some classical opera songs to make me clam and get some inspirations. I searched one of my favorite opera arias called Nessun Dorma. I tried different versions on Youtube and want to get the best one for myself. Then I found one that was sung by a little girl. Before I hear what impressed me, I was curious that how the song sounds if the singer is just a 9 years-old young lady. When the video was playing and I heard her voice, I was shocked. Just like the audiences at that time, I just opened my month without a word. I cannot beleive that voice came from a little girl. Its like a young voice with old soul in it. And that voice with the scene that she wearing a silk cream dress makes people feel that is the angel who is singing! It is so pure and beautiful, and its like there is only she who standing on the stage.

The best parts of the film are the supporting characters :

1. the empty town street suddenly ran out with a broken hand in the mouth of the dog, the pace of rhythm is not disorderly, not afraid of people, firm eyes.More expressive than the fallen leaves, the closed doors of shops, and the corpses that filled the streets, the smell of death was chilling.

2. The official from the house with the word “phan” on the door, jumping up and down in small steps, always rubbing his hands together, swinging from side to side like a monkey at the side of the warrior, and speaking in a cheerful tone, was the broker who strengthened the two groups.Toshiro Mifune ends up berating him for hanging himself, but only by saying that such an environment would attract such a person, like rotten smell attracts flies.

3. Inokichi, Ushitora’s younger brother, seven samurai film ora justice role, in this film, his eyebrows deliberately painted black close, pout, ugly, three boats in the rescue of the woman, is to take advantage of his more idiot point, and was the owner of a restaurant, silly to help him carry the coffin, are funny.

4. the opening film was killed by Toshiro Mifune Ushitora’s three death row thugs, dressed up with their own characteristics, a few lines, the interpretation of the real desperado. After watching many films of akira kurosawa, I think his vision of choosing actors is unique and first-class, only to choose the right, rather than like now, to choose the famous, and then let him play the right role.As the saying goes, the devil is in the details, and the supporting characters in a movie make the difference.The peasants in the seven samurai;Chaos inside the old city Lord side of the clown, the man who stepped on the tail of the back of the small man, gave me a deep impression, and lead the audiences to endless aftertaste!

And I will post the vedio of the last battle I found on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCjsazHO0c0

The story takes place during the fall of the tokugawa shogunate in the 1860s, when samurai are reduced in status and forced to wander from town to town making a living as YOJIMBO (” goons/bodyguards “). Mifuna succeeds in playing this awkward role. Although kurosawa uses a lot of comedy elements (music, action, etc.), there is a subtle, but not negligible, side to the witty tone that underlies a bitter elegy for the decline of the samurai spirit. Japanese film scientist Donald Ritchie sees YOJIMBO as a rebellion against traditional samurai films. We know that forms the core of the Japanese samurai spirit is “Loyal, Brave, Justice,” one of the most important is “Loyal”, which means loyal to the master, and loyal to the samurai responsibility. “Brave” and “Righteousness” is in the service of the faithful, three ships as warrior can completely does not depend on the highest standards of the samurai “loyalty”, he is nothing, women and money is worthless in his eyes, he came to the village is unconstrained, completely opening threw a stick as a guide, deft manoeuvre between two groups in wrestling. After the end of what is not worried about, just said “this place is back to peace” and then set foot on the vagabonding journey, bushido spirit was dispelled only “brave” and “righteousness”, warriors also more human attributes, this seems like our country liang shan hero. The gun-toting warrior played by nakaida has a deeper historical context. The traditional warriors with cold weapons in the face of the invincible pistol seems to be overshadowed, even three ship’s face also looming a few lines of concern, which can not be said to be the decline of the samurai era another portrayal. At the end of the film, there is a scene that makes people feel very shocked. Mitsuaki hands over the pistol to nakagata. He doesn’t know there are no bullets at that time. When Nakagata use the pistiol to aim Mitsuaki, he does not scared. YOJIMBO has undoubtedly become a classic of the genre, with even Ritchie saying that a group of samurai warriors can turn into a group of gunners, and that rural ancient Japan can turn into the American west. Akira kurosawa actually borrowed from western movies to make this classic.

The things happened during a month and half at the beginning of year 2020 are terrible. The wild fire in Australia almost reach its capital, and more than 500 million animals and counting estimated to have lost their lives so far. The coronavirus in China has infected about 60 thousands people. A plague of locusts is spreading across East Africa. And earthquake happened at different places around the world. Such one and half month is really horrible.

Max created an app that can break his comfort zone and push him to wherever the app choose to go. At first, he created the app that will only made him go to some new places in San Fransisco. Then he thought why shouldn’t he try some new kinds of living styles such as let the app choose where he would live. So he went to different countries and did different things every day. This makes he thought about how did we define “random”. Although he jumped out his usual comfort zone, but it is like a circle that draws surround a small one.