Slave Leia PSA starring Kaley Cuoco

Very Funny!!

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

Amazing and thoughtful discussion of the problems with modern education.

I want to read more about this topic and think about it more,
as I continue my career as a teacher.

Wonderfully animated as well - what a great idea!!

Enjoy!
-Jason

The Exotic Jedi from Japan,Old style Kenjutsu "Tenshin Shoden Katori Sh...

For all my students and friends who are into Kendo...

A fun video combining kendo with Star Wars!!

Enjoy,
Jason

Jason loves Pizza!

Jason loves Pizza!
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

So I assigned my freshman English students to make a pizza for their homework. The "English learning" part of the assignment was to read the recipe in English and follow the instructions to make a "traditional pizza" including the crust.

Some students made their own style pizza, on toast or gyoza skin, completely missing the point of the assignment, but most of my kids did a good job. They had to take a picture of the pizza and post it to our campus forum for my class.

Two students made this pizza and told me it was called the "Jason love pizza." :)

It's nice to know someone cares. ;D

-J

LEGO Sandcrawler

Amazing custom-built Lego Sandcrawler from Star Wars: Episode 4.

Not the most exciting vehicle in the Holy Trilogy, but
an amazing job that took 9 months and contains over 10,000 Lego pieces.

I had some pretty awesome Star Wars toys when I was a kid, but
I was already 8 years old when the first one came out, so most
of the toys were bought for and played with by my younger bother, who was only 2 years old when Star Wars: Episode 4 came out in 1977, but was the perfect age of 5 when The Empire Strikes Back came out in 1980.

CARS in Japan

Looks like CARS are coming to Japan in this clip from the sequel to my least favorite Pixar movie.

But anyone that's encountered a Japanese washlet for the first time can relate. :)

fun pics from my keitai (cell phone)

card from absent student
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

My new smartphone from AU in Japan has a pretty good little camera inside and it's much easier for me to snap the occasional random picture now, since I almost always have my cell phone with me.

Here are two recent, very random pics from my keitai.

Click on the picture to be taken to the Flickr page with a description of the picture.

Cheers,
Jason

Weird picture of the day

anime eyelids
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

strange pic of a girl with "anime/manga eyes" painted onto her eyelids...

just thought I would share. :P

-J

日本語 Shimane AJET Charity Hike on May 15th

sajet_poster_japanese_large
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

Information in Japanese about the Charity Hike at Mt. Sanbe in Shimane on May 15, 2011.

Please click on the picture above to read more.

-Jason

Shimane AJET Charity Hike on May 15th

SAJET Poster - Within Japan English (large)
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

Please click on the picture above to be taken to a larger version. Information about donations (accepted from anywhere in the WORLD) is in the post below, just under the YouTube video for the event.

Thanks for reading!
-Jason

Shimane AJET Charity Hike

If you are not in Japan, but would still like to help,
please consider donating to my friends in Shimane
who are raising money for the children and victims
of the March 11th tsunami.


Donations - Click Here

Thanks!
-Jason

Cathy's House - Wonderful day

And people wonder why I don't watch alot of Japanese TV... :P

This is seriously wacky!

-J

Snoopy toys in Japan

Snoopy toys in Japan - 4
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

I love collecting the free incentive toys and charms you get for buying certain bottled beverages in Japan.

This is a new series of Snoopy and Woodstock toys attached to bottles of Pepsi cola.

Each toy represents a country with a typical food that Snoopy or Woodstock are sitting in or on top of.

I got all 8! :)

Donations Update and Contest Winners

My newest vlog, where I discuss how the donations are going (they're going great!) and I give away a few Japanese toys to some viewers who left a comment on a recent video.

Thanks for watching!
-Jason

東日本大震災 千葉・旭市で車載カメラが津波にとらえる

wow

Help me HELP JAPAN

Trying to do my small part to aid in the relief and recovery effort in Japan. Go to YouTube to leave a comment and thus donate .50cents to the cause.

Peace,
Jason

the furture of education online

In the back of my mind, this is where all my seminar lectures and teaching experience and YouTube videos would lead - some kind of online forum with information that could help a broad spectrum of people that I will most likely never meet.

A very good vid and very inspirational for me.

EQUALS

Fantastic PSA by Dame Judi Dench and James Bond (Daniel Craig), who appears in drag in the end.

Let's get social: Networking frames - scanners

Let's get social: Networking frames - scanners

So often people don't quite understand when I'll go on and on about a particular film I like.

Sometimes it can be something intangible - some connection to the film I have on a personal level that others may not share.

Other times, my appreciation is born out of a deliberate attempt by a gifted filmmaker (in this case, the ridiculously talented David Fincher) to infuse his/her film with subtle elements that add to the narrative and give the film a depth that resonates long after you finish watching it.

My favorite film of the past 6 months has been "The Social Netowrk," a film that could be easily dismissed by some as too "talky" or a movie where "not much happens."

But the film is alive with interesting characters and whip-smart dialog, courtesy of the brilliant writer Aaron Sorkin, who also created TV's The West Wing.

And two other more subtle elements are the soundtrack/score, which very deservedly won an Academy Award, and the editing, which did not.

The above article also highlights the framing and camera angle and set up choices that make the film more than just two people talking in a room.
Give it a read if you want to more fully appreciate a stellar film.

-Jason

The BRIT Awards 2011 - Adele sings Someone Like You

Adele is my favorite recent singer. I got her debut album, titled "19" since she was 19-years-old when she recorded it, and fell in love with her voice, especially on the Bob Dylan cover song "Make you feel my love."

This is the lead off single from her new album, performed live at the Brit Awards in February.

Enjoy!
-Jason