REFLECTION JOURNAL 1 - VOLLEYBALL

VOLLEYBALL

In this journal, I want to inform you about my favourite sports- volleyball. Volleyball has a considerably important role in my life, because it is the only connection between me and the sports. Although I do not like sports and anything related to it, I find volleyball very entertaining and useful in terms of social life and athletic improvement. According to me, it is not a sports branch but a passion which makes the world a livable place for me.

Volleyball is one of the most prominent and common team sports in the world. Among the sports branches in championships and Olympic Games, it is the most essential and indispensable element for me. I will inform you about volleyball’s history, basic rules and its place in the world of sports. Volleyball is played by two teams which is separated by a net. Each team has six players, and just as in any other sports, each player has a specific role in the game. We call these roles as positions in the game. These positions are : setter, outside hitter, opposite hitter, middle blocker, and libero. In volleyball, the team which gets 3 sets in the match becomes the winner. Each set consists of 25 points under normal conditions ( the game might be extended if the point difference does not go beyond 1 such as 24-25). The team which manages to ground the ball on the opposing team’s court by conforming the rules scores a point.

Originally, volleyball was created and developed in 1895 by William G. Morgan who was the physical education director of YMCA ( Young Men’s Christian Association). In the beginning, the game was organized as a pastime activity which was convenient to be played indoors and was called “Mintonette”. By the time passed, the game evolved, its rules and name was changed and with the continued developments, it took its modern form. In this process of developments, volleyball has been affected by handball and tennis and its playfield has gone beyond indoor sports hall. Currently, it can be both played on the beach and artificial grass field.

As I stated before, volleyball takes an important place in the sports world. In 1947, FIVB ( Féderation Internationale de Volleyball ) was founded in Paris to regulate the rules of the game and unite all the organizations related to volleyball. Thus, volleyball has become an organized and eminent branch of sports in the world. The first World championships matches were held in 1949 for men. It was in 1952 for women, and this championships goes on being held in each 4 years. America, Brazil, Russia and China are the most successful countries in volleyball. We can regard them as the authorities of the game. All in all, although I had to give up playing volleyball due to my dense exam calendar when I was on the 8th grade , I am still keeping up with it by watching the matches, reading the comments on the matches and following the celebrities in the volleyball world.

( a rudimental volleyball game)

REFLECTION ON THE BEST SONG EVER!

LOSING MY RELIGION - R.E.M.

       After thinking for a while on a video which would attract readers' attention and be beneficial for them, I came across this song on the internet. 'This is the song of my life'. This sentence can be quite pretentious, but it is totally true. Whenever I listen to that song, it manages to keep me away from all the sorrows of daily life. When I listened to that song for the first time, I was in high school, and I could not help but listen to the song over and over again for days. Its lyrics are very meaningful and touchy. The melody is like a story that drags somebody to sleep in peace. What makes the song perfect is the combination of the wonderful melody with the lyrics. In addition to the perfect combination of the lyrics and the melody, the band added a video clip for the song a few years later. Although I am not interested in watching the clips of the songs, I could not stop myself from watching this song's video clip, because its scenario and technical adjustments are handled in a very professional way. While listening to the song and watching the video at the same time, it feels like I am living what is told in the song. It feels like a film! The band- R.E.M.- who produced the song is comprised of very famous and talented people. I like the other songs of this band, as well, but not as much as ' losing my religion'.There is an interesting event which resulted from the name of the song. A few friends of mine who are not efficient in English misunderstood the lyrics and refused to listen to the song, which is quite ridiculous. All in all, I thank God for making people so talented as to produce such songs. I recommend everyone to upload this song to their mp3s and listen whenever they want to feel relieved.

REFLECTION ON THE ACADEMY AWARDS

     As a person who likes to watch movies very much and is interested in actors and actresses, I would like to inform you about the Academy Awards, which I take a great pleasure in watching and reading about. Known as, informally, The Oscars, Academy Awards are a group of awards given yearly according to the greatness of the cinematic productions. The awards are given at a formal ceremony, and many actors, actresses, film directors, scenarists and producers take part in this ceremony with a great excitement. This awards are being given since 1929. Just like me, many people all around the world wait for the Oscar Awards ceremony impatiently and watch it on their televisions live. We can call the Academy Awards a ‘visual feast’, because participants consider this event very important and start to get prepared for this special occasion months ago. How the people got dressed or put on their make up is mentioned on magazin programs and journals for weeks. The reason for why the Academy Awards are taken so seriously is its members who work pickily with a complete attention. The members who have the right to vote on the films are selected according to their experiences and excellence in cinema. Currently, there are 5830 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. To be a member of the Academy is so hard that getting a high grade from all of them is a really praiseworthy success. The awards are given  in many categories. Some of these are: best film, best actress, best actor, best design, best scenario, best feature, best film editing…  This year, Academy Awards ceremony will be held on February 24, 2013. I highly recommend everyone to watch this visual feast to broaden their horizon internationally.  

                  

CORRECTION OF JOURNALS

I have corrected both of the journals, journal entry 2 & 3, i made the corrections on the original entry without opening a new heading for them.

MULTIMEDIA REFLECTION 3

    CHARLIE CHAPLIN

 Charles Spencer Chaplin was an English comic actor, movie director and composer. Chaplin is one of the most important figures of the silent movie era.  He is among the essentials of the early days of Hollywood.

     He was born in London in 1889. His mother and father were music hall performers which made him accustomed to stages and help him be discovered by others. Chaplin’s mother had mental problems and spent most of her life in asylum which led Chaplin to move to America.  

     Though he was born in England, he started his acting career in America. The character, Charlot, which is the most popular symbol of the silent movie era, is portrayed by Chaplin. Most of the people remember him as ‘Charlot’. In addition to Charlot, he took part in many films both as an actor and director. He can be counted among the most     prolific artists of the film sector 

     There are two main reasons why Chaplin is considered among the most talented film makers of the history. Firstly, he was an innovative actor. He used many different methods, choreographies and acrobatic gestures in his movies, which most of the people would regard as impossible. Another reason is the time of his debut which coincides with the end of the First World War. At that time, people needed fun, laughter and relief, which was brought by Chaplin to them as a gift. To sum up, Charles Spencer Chaplin arose as a talented comedian and managed to provide the people with a sense of humour, which makes the world a livable place.

VIDEO REFLECTION

I chose this video, because the best known character portrayed by Charlie Chaplin -Charlot- takes place in this video. One can imagine how people used to watch movies in the past when there were not sound movies. It is easy to see in this video that making people laugh is harder when the sounds are not involved. I would like to have stated a better version of Chaplin. However, due to the impossibility of reaching to the resources of these movies, I found this one appropriate.The lack of quality of the scenes is obvious, which makes the old films more valuable, because it shows what kind of periods people experienced before reaching the very well developed technology of the current period. I hope my journal about Charlie Chaplin has entertained you while reading and led you to learn more about him. 

I commented on 4 journals of my friends. These are:   http://bayraktarayla.blogspot.com/  (metu slogan), http://emel3celik.blogspot.com/ (Hesse for a good start to German Literature),  http://lifeasgnc.blogspot.com/     ( lana del rey), http://orhanaydin61.blogspot.com/ (orhan in metuland)

MULTIMEDIA REFLECTION 2

THE PIANIST

    I like to watch movies both as a pastime activity and a way of being a person of general information. My particular interest is for historical movies and among these movies, The Pianist has a special meaning and value for me. I would like to enlighten my friends about this masterpiece which evokes striking feelings and pushes people to think about the bloody history of racial and religious segregation. The film is adapted from the book ‘ Death of a City’ and is based on a true story. The Pianist tells the story of a Jewish musician, a very brilliant pianist in Poland, who experienced very harsh and unbearable events throughout the German invasion of Poland. The main character is Wladyslaw Szpilman, who lives in Warsaw  with his family in the course of inhumane implementations on Jews by the Nazi Germany. Polish Jews are exposed to persecution, forced to leave their homes,deported to ghettos ,which is separated from others by walls, and sent to death camps as the final step. After being deported to a ghetto, Wladek ( Wladysalw Szpilman) is obliged to quit his job and he and his brother try to make some money to meet their  family’s basic needs such as eating, accomodation by selling books.Unfortunately, he is under the necessity of selling his piano. A friend offers him a job in the Jewish police force which is in charge of regulating the ghetto; however, he declines the offer, because he is against violence and has the spirit of an artist. While people in the ghetto were being taken to extermination camps in a mass, including Wladek and his family, one of Wladek’s close friends, who was an official in the Jewish police force, saved his life. He had to hide as a refugee under harsh conditions until the oppression and invasion was over. He managed to sustain his life despite all the difficulties he faced.

   The leading man , Wladyslaw Szpilman, is portrayed by Adrien Brody. The film is a co-production between Poland, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is directed by Roman Polanski and written by Ronald Harwood. The movie is praised by critics with admiration, and received many awards and nominations. The film was awarded the Palme d'Or at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival; Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor at the 75th Academy Awards; BAFTA Award for Best Film, Best Direction in 2003 and seven French Césars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. I strongly recommend everyone to watch this masterpiece.

         

                                                         VIDEO REFLECTION

This part of the movie is a very impressing one. It is the moment of emancipation from all the terrible and heart rending events that Wladek went through. I was deeply scared by the idea that he would not make it through after  all those things he suffered from. Wladek's helplessness turns into a hopeful anticipation for a better future with a miserable smile on his face when he hears the sound of a car with the National Polish Anthem.He gets curious and gets out to see what is going on. When he sees the people going around freely after such a long time, he attempts to go towards those people and try to hug them in an affectionate manner; however, those people think that he is a German because of the coat on him. Polish Officers fire their guns to shoot him, luckily, he manages to make his voice audible and tells them he is a Polish. When the officers ask him  why he wore that coat, he answers ‘ I AM COLD’. This is the moment when everyone who watched the film, including me, burst into tears.