Digital Literacy

Digital literacy

It is very interesting to read and discuss in the class that how technology influence our literacy journey and life.

Tracing back, while I first learn English in junior high school, our foreign teacher encouraged us to chat with non Chinese on ICQ to practice communication in English. I did. It was indeed much fun. I remember I chat with a Spanish once and Turkish once. I felt like getting more confidence through internet using English. With much confidence, I was obsessed with chatroom. It needed high speed typing and fast feedback. People were all commended my English. Well, it made me feel so good. Then the picture comes to university. I fell in love with blog. There is a space that I could jog down my feelings, opinions, and any thoughts. I loved to write something that nobody will understand. It does make sense. But you never are able to get into the bottom of my heart. I loved write prose and poems on my blog. Not just keeping daily journal which makes me bored. Digital literacy is very unique for it creates lots of new discourse and words. After I came to Canada, I have kept the habit to keep logging on the internet regularly. My parents and friends in China get to know my life through my blog. Especially my parents, they are my loyal fans. The words I put down give them the picture that their daughter’s life in a foreign land. Even I express my love to them; we Chinese barely show our affection to loved ones. But I could write them to my parents. I love them. I miss them.

This is also a place I practice English. I love writing though having nothing with academic writing. It is such a precious time that I could sit quietly for an hour to jog down my organized thoughts, well, sometimes it does is a bit messy. 

Literacy artefacts–tatoo

We are required to bring some literacy artefacts the second class. i brought pics of celebrity tatoo. i love tatoo. once i almost had my own when i just finished high school. i love being cool and trendy. besides, tatoo is rich with stories. it may tell you who this person is. it may tell you what he or she loves or longing for or fighting for or even identiy. it may tell you the relationship he or she has been. it just lure me to dream and have one. and it is irremovable which makes it endure for good. though you can remove it with extremely pain. i wish one day i have the gut to get my own tatoo.

here are Angelina’s and David’s tatoo. love it!

Cited from http://www.freetattoodesigns.org/angelina-jolie-tattoos.html

Angelina Jolie is a famous actress with a serious love for tattoos, she’s regularly featured in celebrity news magazines and websites with one of her new tattoo designs. She has at least a dozen tattoos over her body and she also has quiet a lot experience with tattoo removal (see the end of this article for the tattoos that she had removed).

When shooting a film, her tattoos are covered with makeup. Each one of her tattoos have a special meaning.

Here’s an overview with pictures of Angelina Jolie’s tattoos:

This Gothic letter tattoo between her shoulder blades says “Know Your Rights”. It’s the title of a song of her favorite band.

This tattoo on her left shoulder blade was, just like the tiger tattoo, done by tattoo artist Noo (aka Sompong) Kanhphaiin in a hotel in Pathum Thani, 16 miles north of Bangkok. It is a Buddhist Pali incantation written in Khmer script, the language of Cambodia. It is there to protect her and her adopted Cambodian son Maddox from bad luck.

Here’s the translation:

May your enemies run far away from you.
If you acquire riches, may they remain yours always.
Your beauty will be that of Apsara.
Wherever you may go, many will attend, serve and protect you, surrounding you on all sides.

This cross tattoo covers the little dragon with the blue tongue she had done in Amsterdam. Next to it is a phrase in Latin:

“Quod me nutrit me destruit”, meaning “What nourishes me, destroys me.”

Angelina Jolie had the cross tattoo done the day before she married Johnny Lee Miller in 1995. In her own words: “It was all symbolic, and it was a good thing, nothing dark.”

This Arabic script tattoo on Angelina Jolie’s right arm means “Determination“. It covers up the abstract lines tattoo she had done together with her ex Billy Bob Thornton.

Several websites say that it means “Strength of Will“, but that is wrong.

This tattoo on her left underarm is the Roman number 13. She had it done because she doesn’t believe in superstitions.

Later she had V MCMXL added to the tattoo. 13 May 1940 is the date when Winston Churchill gave a famous speech, in which he said: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”.

This tattoo on Jolie’s left arm are the words of Tennessee Williams:

“A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages.”

Angelina Jolie had this tattoo done in the presence of her mother.

These numbers are the geographical coordinates (longitudes and latitudes) from the locations where her children first entered her life.

1. N11° 33′ 00″ E104° 51′ 00″ : the place in Cambodia where Angelina Jolie’s eldest son Maddox was born.
2. N09° 02′ 00″ E038° 45′ 00″ : the place in Ethiopia were her daughter Zahara was born.
3. S22° 40′ 26″ E014° 31′ 40″ : the place in Namibia (Swakopmund) where Angelina gave birth to her biological daughter with Brad Pitt, Shiloh (Hebrew for “the peaceful one”), was born.
4. N10° 46′ 00″ E106° 41′ 40″ : the place in Vietnam where Angelina’s son Pax Thien was born.

The coordinates tattoo covers the place where the dragon tattoo and name of her ex husband Billy Bob used to be before they got lasered off. You can still see the dragon a bit.

This 12-inch long, 8-inch wide Bengal tiger tattoo on her lower back is Angelina Jolie’s latest. It was done in Bangkok on July 8, 2004, during a 2 hour session by tattoo artist Sompong Kanhphai who also blessed it by chanting an ancient hymn. Sompong also did her Khmer tattoo. She had the tiger tattoo done to celebrate her Cambodian citizenship.

The tiger tattoo was done in the traditional Thai tattoo style with a manual needle. The tiger’s tail covers her blue window tattoo.

Angelina wants to have yet another tattoo done in Thailand.

cited from http://hubpages.com/hub/david-beckhams-tattoos

David Beckham’s Back & Torso Tattoos

Beckham has had several pieces of ink added to his back over the years. They include:

Brooklyn – the name of his first-born son runs across his lower back.

Romeo - the name of his second son sits just below the base of his neck.

Cruz – the name of his third son is placed just below the winged figure.

Guardian Angel – this is how Beckham has described the figure with arms outstretched that sits between his shoulder blades. This tattoo was later expanded to include larger wings.

Winged Cross – Beckham was in the midst of the 2004 World Cup when he had his UK tattooist, Louis Malloy, flown in to do this piece on the back of his neck. The British fans’ reactions were a bit mixed, with some saying this tattoo and his shaved head made Beckham look like a hooligan.

Chinese Characters – this one is the very latest tattoo (revealed March ‘08), coming close on the heels of the full left forearm he had done in early 2008. Sources say the tattoo seen running down the left side of his torso on his ribs is Mandarin Chinese and reads ‘Death and life have determined appointments, Riches and honors depends upon heaven.’ The work was done in Hong Kong as the LA Galaxy did some pre-season appearances.

stressed out

Having been isolated for a long weekend, I still am under a great pressure of final project. I want it done prefectly. but I just dreadly fear the huge amont of reading and writing. I have no idea where I coulld start. Writing a paper has been always my innate nightmare. I flee, flee to movies, TV shows. but eventually, I have to face it. I have to accomplish it.

Just leave me alone. I can hardly breathe.

Just leave me alone. I can hardly break through a way.

Just leave me alone, life or death is an unanswered question.

First class and some thoughts on reading

Sep 2^nd, Tue. The first class.

Bonnie asked us to write a bit reflection on our summer vacation.

This summer I kinda had a busy yet rich summer. Despite being a cultural assistant, I enjoyed to get to know bunch of new friends. I went to the island a few times. I was so close to thrilled-death in PNE on crazy rides. By all means, what blow me most is people. I traveled, partied, and also went through frustration in relations. One thing I will never sick of is connecting with life. Humankind is the very living creatures which always fascinate me to explore deep and wide. I love hang out with friends. I love share life with people. I love to listen to an open heart. Though lots of activates are going on, it will be meaningless without people.

Code-switching

It seems common that people speak more than one language, too often, there will be words from other language borrowed. Once I didn’t understand how come people who have overseas background speak with adding English words. Once we despised those people with showing off their English. While now I am in Canada, exposed in English, I got understand. My mother tongue Chinese and English as a second language both are in my mind. Sometimes spontaneously I speak with code-switching. Talking with my parents on the phone, I always blurt out some English words, I didn’t mean that. My parents don’t understand any English. I’ve already try hard to avoid English in our conversation. But sometimes I just am at loss of words. The same thing also happened while I speak English, especially with Chinese. I feel comfortable add some Chinese words while I don’t know how to say it in English.

While I am on the journey of learning and improving my English as a second language, there are too many times what I read in some books I barely heard in daily life conversation, so that I use it in an inappropriate way, especially some slangs and idioms. I am trying to enlarge my vocabulary, I mean, I could read most of readings knowing many words. But in my oral, I guess I just use a small part of vocabulary as well as in writing. I have to use the words. Use it so as to master it.

This course topic is fairly interesting, equity issues in language and literacy education.

“The future of English” summarizes why and how English became a global language. I got insight from it. I was always wondering why Chinese isn’t able to become a global language. We were whining sometime if it comes true, we don’t necessarily learn English as a nightmare. The number of population speaking Chinese as the first language is the biggest in the world. But why can’t it be a global language? Well, now I get it! A language only is able to be take into account of global language when it is made official in most of country and in the meantime, it is a priority in a country’s foreign language teaching. Political and educational intention enable a language widely use in global sphere.

The first post

It’s just a post to inform i get start to blog!  I’m just a bit exicted to start an English blog. I have had a blog at myspace for quite a while. The most two sincere fans are my parents. They are able to get know my daily life oversea. They are able to witness my joy with friends and places where i have been through tons of pics i uploaded. i could write something that quech the curiosity of my friends in China. I started for a very reason which i could witness for Christ. I am a person who can’t really committed for long time. well, i will give it a shot to keep this blog.

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