Kelly’s blog

     The article “Cynicism and Mistrust Tied to Early Death” describes the psychiatrist Dr. Redford B. Williams’ idea that people who are angry and hostile, rather than stressful, are much more likely to die early. According to his research, he challenges the theory that “Type A” people who under stress has a premature death.

     "Type A" men were identified by two cardiologists in 1970s. They considered "Type A" were twice as likely to suffer heart problems than "Type B" men. However their theory failed because some studies in 1980 showed there were no direct connection between that kind of personality and heart disease.  

     Williams conducted his experiment to support his hypothesis. He took a 25-year study of 118 lawyers. Finally, he found that among all personalities, only people who characterized the cynical mistrust, anger, and angry behavior were connected to premature death. Then, he mentioned one example to prove cynicism and anger are expressed in everyday events. When angry people find other people have more than allowed number of items in the checkout line at the grocery store, they will not only be upset but also act on their anger. Williams later said that hostile and nonhostile people seem to have different nervous system. Nonhostile people's system acted like a "stop switch" when they became upset. While hostile people would continue to feel angry.

     Williams claimed the differences appear in infancy. And also hostile people have high blood pressure than nonhostile people. This may lead to the heart damage. At last, Williams emphasized that hostile people were more likely to die young than the Type A men, and we should abandon the Type A hypothesis.

     In my point of view, I think nonhostile people difinitely can live longer. Because they can control their mood, in other words, they have good EQ. However, I think one can learn how to trust or treat others kindly through many ways. For example, attend some spirit grow class or chat with people who has the same problem. By this way, the hostility in their mind will be decreased, and they can lead a happier life.

     In my point of view, creativity comes from one's real life experiences or living environment, just like a coincidence, or a shooting star which happens to inspire your muse. I would like to introduce Hayao Miyazaki to see where the creativity comes from. Hayao Miyazaki is the most famous animator across the east Asian. He made many popular movies with his creativity such as Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Howl's Moving Castle, etc.    

     According to his interview, he mentioned that his creativity was inspired through the environment he lived. He was born in Tokyo during the world war two. His father was the director of Miyazaki airplane. Therefore, his started to draw airplanes and therefore aviation became the recurrent theme in his film later. His mother often questioned the socially accepted norms. His questioning and skeptical mind was influenced by her. The film My neighbor Totoro described a family whose mother was suffered from disease was actually based on the disease of his mother.

     He studied political science and economics in university. Then, he became a member of Children's Literature research club where he learned how to draw his figures. Later, he got a job in Toei's Animation. His majors in university seem not relate to his occupation. But in his films, we can see some political issues. War, peace, and humanity are issues he often disscuss in his work. 

     The themes in his movies ofter concern about the relationships between people and environment. He wants to provide a way to remind us of something. After watching his movies, we can not only be surprised by his creativity but also consider what's the educational meaning he wants to tell us. I have seen many Hayao Miyazaki's films in my childhood. Each of them impressed me a lot. I always felt so touched after watching his films. In short, I think his films are not only interesting but also meaningful. From his films, I was able to learn some lessons which I hardly thought before. 

     In conclusion, Hayao Miyazaki caught his inspiration in the world he lived. He mixed some of his experiences and some of his imaginations to make his innovative masterpieces. Although he has retired, his past movies still can catch our eye and touch our heart forever.   

     To be an ideal national leader is not as easy as talking. A leader should have some characteristics or abilities so that he can navigate a country well. In my opinion, vision, the skill of negotiation, dignified personality, courage and responsibility are the basic characteristics a leader should have.

     First of all, I think a leader should have a great vision and intelligence toward international events and trends. Nowadays, the whole world has become a global village. A war in west Asia may result in the shortage of petroleum; a poor harvest of wheat in America may lead to the raise of price of some daily food; what's more, the relationship with European Union may has a great effect on the export trade from country to country. A leader should pay more attention to those events and find way to improve the benefit of his own country. 

     Second, the skill of negotiation is very important. Every leader has to negotiate not only with the opposition parties in their own country but also with the diplomatic representatives worldwide. If the leader can't make a compromise between different parties, he won't get his policies moving, because every party has their own standpoints. Diplomatic negotiation also has many influences to country: for example, the economic, military equipment, or the research of medical science. Sometimes wrong words could lead to war so a leader should be careful.    

     Third, he should have dignified personality such as honest and humble. Honesty is the best policy. It is because of honesty that a leader can get the trust and support of his people. Pride leads to loss while modesty brings benefits. A leader should be humble so that he won't be too arrogant to adopt anothers' suggestions. 

     Then, most important of all, he should have courage and resolution to take his responsibility toward his country and people. As a leader, he is reponsible to the policies or the decisions he make. A policy might have many criticism at first, but it turned out to be successful at last. However, most of the time, it was the opposite. Once there was a wrong policy the leader made, he should take the responsibility sometimes he should even resign his position.

     A leader is in the name of our country. It's difficult to determine how to be an ideal leader for all citizens. But in my point of view, I think a leader who is foresighted, skillful for negotiation, dignified, courageous and responsible can be an ideal leader.

The four reports I read:

1. When people feel pressure, the urge to take ACTION is powerful. But in many instances, the best way to respond is to DO NOTHING.

2. Shadows of Humans Haunting World's Seas

3. A Daring Treatment, a Little Girl’s Survival

4. Pineapple Dreams 

Sometimes, Doing Nothing May Be the Smartest Move

     Among the four reports, I'd like to share the first report with you. This report takes goalkeeper for example to show how emotions influence people's financial decisions. According to Mr. Azar's experiment on goalkeepers, when goalkeepers face penalty kicks, they'd like to move to one side instead of remaining in the center, where he would have had a greater chance of stopping the ball.You may wonder what leads to such an irrational decision? Because there is "action bias". People feel a deeper emotional pain when not taking actions.  

     "Action bias" can not only apply to goalkeepers but also investors as they decide to sell their stocks or leave their investment untouched. Psychologists found that people had more regrets when they lost $1200 because they chose to act than people who lost $1200 because they left their investments untouchecd. I think it's very interesting. On one hand people want to take action to change the poor circumstance, and on the other hand they will have more regrets if their decisions lead to bad consequences.

     There is another important point. A social psychologist has found that a bias toward action or inaction often depends on whether a previous result was good or bad. I think that's why the goal keeper choose to pick one side instead of in the middle. The point on goalkeepers also help economist understand the way emotions influence people's economic choice. 

     After reading this report, I admit sometimes doing nothing may be the smartest choice. But I think it cannot be the excuse when you really don't want to do anything.       

The seventeen pieces I have listened to:

China232

1. getting dumped

2. rookie mistake

3. big move

4. Lance armstrong

5. holidays

Bob and Rob show

6. guns

7. Shakespare

8. bobrob08-03-14

podcastsinenglish.com

9. dog and duck

10. gold

11. films

12. university1

Englishpod.com

13. epod_biz140_B36

14. epod_biz141_D29

15. epod_biz144_C24

16. gidg020_todolist

17. love_songs

     I'd like to share the three pieces I loved the most with you. First is rookie mistakes. The two hosts talked about a relationship problem between a boy and a girl. The most interesting thing is that a girl who says what she wants and what she actually wants is two different things. So when you cannot understand what the girl actually wants you may make a rookie mistakes. Second is Shakespare. In this show, Bob and Rob introduced Shakespare. There are many words we used today coming from Shakespare's plays. Some of those words are very common and I have never thought it before. Third is dog and duck. The hosts mentioned a lucky duck. The duck was shoot by a hunter and then it was put in the refrigerator. After several days, when the hunter's wife opened the refrigerator, the duck was still alive! It's amazing. Then, the hosts talked how dogs improve their masters' health. I think that since dogs can do we good, maybe someday there will be no stray dogs.  

     When it comes to blue jeans, every one think of a famous brand: Levi's. This brand originated in west America and it was designed for the gold miner more than one hundred years ago. How Levi's changed into a symbol of fashion? Why does Levi's not fade away as time goes by and still remain so popular and successful? 

     In my opinion, the reason that Levi's lead the trend of fashion is their good promotions. Nowadays, media have a great power to influence people's decision. When you want to buy a product, you can easily make a initial comparison among different brands simply by their advertisements provided on TV, Internet, or magazine. How to catch customers' eye is a very important key toward success. Fortunately, Levi's did it. Since 1950, thanks to the prosperity of TV shows and films, they have become associated with rebellion in young generation. Besides, they invited many superstars to be their spokesmen. For example, Jolin is the spokesman in Taiwan. Since superstars are attractive to fans, their clothing turns into a style.

     In addition to promotions, they have the ambition to expand their business. In 1965, Levi's international and Levi's far east were established. The company begun their business in Europe and Asia. These days, there are countless Levi's shops all over the world. You can buy their blue jeans wherever you are. You can even buy its product through Internet as well.

     Most important of all, it's the core values this company lives by. There are four fundamental values: Empathy, Originality, Integrity and Courage. Empathy begins with listening. Listen to the customers and pay attention to what they need. Originality is  the ablity to be innovative. In such a competitive world, if your product cannot find new and creative ways to reform, it will soon fade away. Integrity is the company's promise. Levi's claims they are honest and trustworthy not only to their products but also to the society. Last but not the least, it's courage. Actually, Levi's was sold dry goods before. But they transformed the company to sell jeans and western wear. I think they would not succeed without courage. 

     In short, with all of the above elements, I think Levi's will remain their success in the field of fashion.

     In winter vacation, I let myself keep contact with English by reading some English magazines, watching movies, and playing games on Internet.

     I think watching films is a good way to learn English so I saw several films during the holidays. For example, Hotel Rwanda, The Truman Show, and About a boy, etc. Among these movies, I like The Truman Show the most. Truman show was a very popular 24 hours TV program and Truman was the chief actor who didn't know he himself was an actor. Truman lived a life without any privacy. All of his life is a fake. His hometown was actually the biggest studio in the world. His family and friends were professional actors and actresses who played the roles according to the script. It was so touching when Truman finally overcame the countless frustrations and found the way to leave the studio. I cannot imagine a life filled with lies and cameras just like Truman's. In my opinion, though there may be more frauds in the true life than in the drama sometimes, we can still find something good or someone who cares for us sincerely.   

     At last, I found there was a series of interesting games on Internet called Arcane the stone circle: Ophelia was invited to enter the international violin contest in London, but there was something strange in the message. Since it is a good opportunity to be a violin musician, Ophelia decided to go there with Prescott and her father. What dangers they will meet? Can you help them run away from the evil's power? There are eight episodes in this game. It is a kind of difficult for me but it's also very exciting. Now it's time to challenge your intelligence.  http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/arcane/home.jsp 

     Last Friday, I went to watch the department of foreign languages and literature class 2008 senior play. The performance was so wonderful that I wanted to share it with every one.

     The drama was The House of Bernarda Alba. It is a story about repression that happened in the country of Spain. In the beginning, Bernarda was holding the funeral of her second husband. After the funeral, she told her five daughters that in order to mourn for their father, they cannot go out for eight years. All of the five daughters didn't want to obey their mother's commands. The eldest daughter, Angustias, was proposed by a young man after she inherited her father's legacy. However, except Angustias, there were two other daughters, Matirio and Adela, who loved the young man. Adela had the great courage to pursue her love in spite of the others' eyes. When Bernarda knew the relationship between Angustias's fiance and Adela, She was very angry. She cheated Adela that she has already shot the young man. Then, Adela committed suicide in her room. At least, the only thing Bernarda could do was claim that Adela was died in virgin.

     I think this story is quite ironic. All the daughters want to get married and to find freedom, but they cannot run away from Bernarda's control. Because of Bernarda's control, these daughters couldn't pursue their love. So when the young man appeared, three of the daughters love him. They were jealous of each other. The tragedy happened to Adela is a rebellion against Bernarda's control. 

     All of the actors performed very well. Among them, I like Bernard's maid, Poncia, the most. She understood everything happened in the family. And her words could always point out the others' thought. Adela is the other role I like. I admire her courage to pursue her own love. 

     Finally, I think it was a really successful performance.

     Imagine a virus killer which can enter your body and kill all bad virus before you get sick without any uncomfortable feeling. Well, it seems impossible to people nowadays. But with the development of nano technology, the dream of making this kind of medical robot may come true in the future.

     This medical robot is put in a small capsule. Its appearance looks just like the above picture. The robot can tell the differences between normal cells and the cells infected by virus with the tiny computer in its head. Besides, it can shoot light from its mouth to kill all bad things. When you want to use it, just swallow the capsule. Once the medical robot enters your body, it starts searching for virus and bad bacteria which cause diseases and trying to kill them. The robot can defeat nearly every kind of virus we know and eliminate bad cells , even if the cancer cells. With this great invention, every one can keep the threaten of diseases away and lead a healthy life.

     Though it is a good tool to maintain one's health, some people may worry that if the robot is suddenly out of control inside our body, we may die. But don't worry, scientists have already found the solutions. They developed a system which can monitor the robot. When the system finds the robot has problems, It will decompose the robot. By the way, this system is put in the robot's foot. 

     Virus killer can create a medical miracle. People who use it can get many advantages toward health. To someone who suffers from cancer and has to eat medicine or does chemotherapy all day long, it is a new savior. I think this new invention could save many people from the misery of disease. Every one wants to stay a healthy shape. With virus killer, you can achieve this hope easily!  

     This Wednesday, one of my high school classmates came to visit Tsing Hua. It was the happiest thing during this week because I had not seem her for a long time.

     She lived in Taipei so she took bus to went to Hsinchu. She said she would arrive here at about twelve o'clock. Therefore, as soon as the bell rang, I ran out from the classroom on the hill to pick her up.

     It was warm and the wind was not as cold as several weeks ago. Everything seemed to make us feel comfortable. We fooled around in the campus of Tsing Hua and chatted about our college life. Though I have lived in Tsing Hua for three months, I didn't walk through all the big campus until my friend came. We took a stroll along the lake shore of Cheng gong lake at first. The sunshine sparkled the lake and the trees were waving in the wind. There were also bride and groom trying to take their wedding pictures beside this beautiful lake. Then, We started to climb the hill to go to the college of HSS. Different from Cheng gong lake, Xiang si lake gave people a kind of quiet and mysterious feeling. We just walked and talked as though the time did not exist.

     My friend now is the freshman of Taiwan University. She said the campus of Tsing Hua was totally different from Taiwan University. In Tsing Hua, the scenery was more beautiful. We also chatted about what we have learned so far in college. She majors in business administration so she have to study economics and accouting. We also chatted about the student clubs. She mentioned that there were more than three hundred student clubs in Taiwan University. To my surprise, we joined the same student club!

     I think friends play an important role in one's life. It's very interesting to share the learning experiences with friends. And now, I start making a plan to visit Taiwan University : )