Saturday, July 18, 2009

Indiana Jones Trilogy ショウ


Hell of a ショウ.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

focus

Indy's intense focus on the sandbag and the golden treasure, in the first scene.

correct

does Indy use the correct amount of sand? Er, no.

few

Just a few more grains of sand would have done it...

hinder

Bellock: "Once again Dr. Jones, we see there is nothing you can possess which I cannot take away."

refined

Despite being such a scoundrel, Bellock plays himself off as a refined French gentleman throughout the film.

prosperous

Indy isn't very prosperous in the first major scene. (the golden idol gets taken away)

marsh

Marsh makes me think of the tropical jungle in the beginning of the movie.

ford

Indy running/swimming across the ford to the airplane, native arrows whizzing around his head.

imperial edict

The nazis orders to recover the ark at all costs. "Hitler's been collecting religious artifacts, he's nuts on the subject"

badge

The scene where the government agents show up in the beginning - flash of their badges

patent

In the scene where the two federal agents display their ignorance on the bible, Indy in turn shows off his patent knowledge of biblical history. (patent in this kanji meaning easily recognizable; obvious)

wee hours

Indy arrives at his ex's hut in Nepal in the wee hours of the night.

extinguish

For what it's worth, Marion really should have kept a fire extinguisher in her bar/mountain hut/"sty" (as she calls it).

bake

Marion's cabin gets "baked" (burnt) to smouldering ashes.

wound

the coin wound embedded on the nazi's hand.

accompany

"I tell you what, until I get back my 5000 dollars, you're gonna get more than you bargained for. I'm your goddamn partner!!" - Marion

victory

Indiana in one of my favorite, all time scenes of victory: the black swordsman shows up in the street and waves his sword around - Indy just sighs and shoots him.

measuring box

Not a box, but a coin, with measurements inscribed on it. (it is for finding a certain box though)

well

The Well of Souls - a.k.a. snake pit with obvious glass divider.

laugh

The scene where Bellock and Marion are drinking, while she wears the white dress. They are laughing hysterically, but suddenly she pulls a knife and makes jokingly threatening face. They just keep laughing!

exhort

I exhorted Indy all throughout the famous helicopter fistfight scene!!

bed

A bed-ridden Indy, on the ship, with Marion nursing his wouds.

make a deal

Indy, holding a bazooka, threatening to blow up the arc.

shining

The ark shining.

illuminate

The ark illuminating.

detailed

The detailed last scene of the movie, with the Ark being put in a warehouse full of identical boxes.

Temple of Doom


symptoms

The first major scene of the movie. Symptoms of being slipped poison may include intense action scenes...

blue

The blue vial of antidote. Or the semi-attractive (but failure of an actress) who is the main heroine of the film's blue eyes.

little

Shortround.

appellation

Seriously. Indiana and short round. Nice appellation, guys.

elephant

Indy, riding an elephant out of the Indian village.

skirt

Who wears a skirt like that in India? Really?

extract

Indy finds an extract that tells of the 5 magic stones in sanskrit... brought to the village by a dying child.

voice

"The biggest problem with her is the noise" - says Indy of the annoying blonde. Her voice is pretty irritating.

sex

"I'm not that easy you primitive ape!"
"I'm not that easy either"
"Five minutes! You'll be back here in 5 minutes!"
"I'll be asleep in 5 minutes."

nitrate

The inners of the cave/volcano area.

chant

heart-taking-outing-scene.

char

Sacrifice charred in a volcano.

auspicious

All ancient religions have their strange, auspicious ceremonies. This one just happens to resemble the aztecs...

inter-

Indy and his shortround's interactions.

manipulate

In order to manipulate Indy, they feed him that evil blood drink. [image: him writhing around on the stone bed surrounded by candles]

cosmetics

How exactly does she manage to keep a fresh plate of make-up on throughout the entire film? (Or the laughable makeup of the cult priests)

collide

The mining cart almost colliding with the wall, as Indy stops it with his shoes.

rise up

Indy can rise up from the bottom of the cut wooden bridge. (the whole final action scene)

above

See above.

The Last Crusade


evidence

The tablet is seen as evidence that the holy grail really exists!

reparation

reparations for finding a 500 year old gold cross? Dinner and champagne. (also a general theme: he is always making mention of his payment for getting artifacts to the museum)

seduce

Dr. Snyder. Oh yea

beckon

See above

bell

Dr. Snyder, looks a southern-bell for a woman with a thick German accent

pure

The pure beauty of an afternoon lunch in Venice, ruined by Dr. Jones and Dr. Snyder crawling up out of the sewer. (outside of the library/church. Everyone in the scene is weairng pure white colors)

acquiesce

Indy acquiesces the nazis by handing over the book in exchange for Dr. Snyder's life! BIG MISTAKE!

resemblance

Is there any resemblance between Indy and his father? Really?

leader

Indy and his father are constantly bickering over who is the leader!

sparkle

The real holy grail is not one of the many sparkling cups in the last scene.

General Indy


attire

There are so many scenes to choose from. Any time Indy dons his hat, jacket, whip, any of his classic attire.

life

Indy risking his life again and again throughout each film.

star

He's the star. He has the luck of the stars to not be dead 100 times over already.

prize

He's always going after some sort of prize.

esteem

You can't help but hold Indy in high esteem; He's a believable yet noble hero, with somewhat flexible morals. (shooting nazis is 100% ok?)

surname

His surname is just fine. Really, there's nothing wrong with Jones. It's the Indiana part that is just plain weird.

politics

Nazis.

reef

Surfs up Indy! I imagine him holding a surfboard. Surely I won't forget.

introduce

(don't need a story - 紹介する)

pine tree

I imagine Indy and his dad, gathered around a pine tree for Xmas

sue

We oughtta sue Spielburg for Indiana Jones 4. Seriously, f**king aliens??!

artisan

Steven Spielburg (in the 80s)



**RTK3**

small craft

scout

whisper

harlot

shire

rubbing

spoils

yearn

iris

banana

mallet

balancing scales

concubine

Chinese panpipe

soy sauce

hoe

rust

cluster

saddle straps

accolade

lick

soar




Notes:

All finished! If I'm not mistaken this is the biggest on-yomi group, so WHEW. おつかれ. For the two people who follow my blog, I hope you enjoy it. :)

Friday, July 3, 2009

Ghostbusters キ


キ 53 characters.

"I am the キmaster... are you the gatekeeper?"

how many

How many ghosts are there in this movie? How many people get marshmellowed?

strange

Egon is the epitome of strange.
Venkman: "This reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole in your head"
Egon: "That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me."

draw near

As slimer draws near, Venkman really should have moved. Eww!

equestrian

I thought there was nothing remotely equestrian (related to horse riding) in this movie, but one scene with Rick Moranis talking to a horse comes close!

mechanism

The traps, the zappers, this movie is loaded with awesome mechanisms.

spirit

I ain't 'fraid of no ghost!....or spirit!

vapor

"At noon, 10 people witnessed a free floating full torso vaporous apparition!" - Ray, about the library ghost. Or you can think of vapor as dry ice, one of the most overused special effect of the 80s, and this movie is no exception.

desk

Venkman giving the poor guy with the fro electric shocks from across the wooden desk. or the secretary's desk in the GBs HQ.

hungry

Slimer is always hungry!

previously

The GBs get kicked out of their previous college facilities. So, they take a previously run-down firehouse and turn it into HQ!

hope

Sygounrney Weaver hopes that the ghostbusters can help her!

standard

The GB's set the standard for "paranormal elimination" in NYC

dangerous

Don't cross the streams! It's too dangerous!!!

scribe

Janine Melnintz, the secretary, is a memorable scribe. I think of that scene where Egon pops out from under her desk. *AHEM*

self

Ray: "We really haven't had a successful test of this equipment
Egon: "I blame myself."
Venkman: "So do I."

rouse

The scene where Ray is roused from his sleep by a female ghost undoing his belt... I don't seem to remember that from when I was a kid, hmm...

chronicle

Chronicle sounds like the name of a newspaper, so, the various newpaper headlines involving GBs that pop up during the montage.

mourning

When Bill Murray thinks his girlfriend his dead (And doesn't know she is alive inside a crumbling shell of a statue)

national flag

I imagine the national flag of zuul looks something like this.

chess piece

Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis play characters who are used like chess pieces: the keymaster and the gatekeeper.

fundamentals

The fundamentals of ghostbusting: aim steady, set the trap and don't cross the streams!

period

Both Moranis and Weaver's characters (keymaster and gatekeeper) are possessed for a period of time in this movie.

branch off

Venkman's expertise branches off into many fields, but mostly ghostbusting and lady killing.

brandish

The GB's brandishing their badass zappers.

radiance

This could reference many of the paranormal scenes of the movie... when Sigourney Weaver's characters sees the radiant light behind her door.

abandon

The GBs are forced to abandon operations when they get arrested!

seasons

This kanji reminds of me of changes in weather, so I think of the dark clouds, storms and all around hell-breaking-loose weather that comes when Zuul is in season.

undertake

The GB's undertaking their first case, in the hotel.

homecoming

The end of the movie.

precious

Dr. Venkman, in the beginning of the movie, is loathe to collect the precious ectoplasm. "Somebody blows their nose and you wanna keep it?"

rut

The GBs are in a "rut" when they are overloaded with work.

rejoice

All of NYC rejoices when the Stay Puff Marshmellow Man is defeated!

utensil

utensil... this kanji is also used for weaponry. Hence, the GBs zappers (or protoplasm emitters if you prefer)

ghost

I ain't afraid of no ghost!

tortoise

It just doesn't fit the flick, so, I imagine some kind of funky tortoise ghost, maybe Slimer's 2nd cousin twice removed...

pray

when the catholic priest shows up in the mayor's office! "I'm not gonna call a press conference and tell everyone to start praying."


**RTK3**

break 毀
overjoyed 嬉
hollyhock 葵
glitter 暉
zelkova 槻
rocky beach 磯
sparse 稀
peep 稀
winnowing fan 箕
ornate 綺
kneel 跪
tuna 鮪
fish fin 鰭
giraffe 麒
capital suburbs 畿
stalwart 毅
cheer 煕

--


Notes: As you may have already noticed, I've added lists of kanji from Remember the Kanji 3 (an expansion of the first book with another 1000 characters) that match my on-yomi groups. My plan is to go back and make stories for them, most likely next year after I've learned them sufficiently. It will also be a good chance to review my old templates.


Notable, recurring correlations: 己、棋 (right side)、奇。This template is much more random than some previous ones.


This movie is just plain fun. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did, (if not for studying, than for the nostalgia!) I'm a busy man, but I'm trying to generally update once a week. See you next time...

The Shawshank Redemption カ


カ 44 characters.

add

Andy can really add! He crunches numbers, and wants to add funds to the library!

can

Morgan Freeman's first narrative line in the movie: "There must be a guy like me in every prison: I'm the guy who can get it for ya."

what

Red (Morgan Freeman) can get what you need.

baggage

The emotional and physical baggage that Brooks (the old man) takes with him, leaving Shawshank.

song

The whole bit with the opera song being played over the prison intercom!

river

River - up the river - prison - this movie!

change

Prison. It changes a man. Many men, in fact, in this film.

flower

The young buck Andy teaches for a year, a ripe flower in his youth, shot down on the Warden's orders.

freight

It's a prison movie. Vagabonds riding freight-cars to get around isn't such a big stretch.

shoes

Morgan Freeman: "I mean, seriously, how often do you ever look at a man's shoes?" [scene: Andy wearing dress shoes, not prison shoes, just before escaping.]

overdo

The fat guy getting beaten to death at the beginning of the film... talk about overdoing it, sheesh. Or any of the other harsh punishments in this movie... 2 months in the hole for Andy, killing his potential witness, etc.

whirlpool

Whirlpool -> intense flows of water -> when Andy slips out of the pipe, 500 feet of raw waste, into a river during the storm.

calamity

It was a real calamity when old-man Brooks was released after 50 years, and hung himself.

house

The first scene of the movie. Andy, gun and liquor in his lap, sitting outside his wife's lover's house.

marry into

One could say that Andy has "married into" his problems in this film. (unfaithful wife, framed for murder, etc.)

earnings

Andy is the #1 guy when it comes to calculating earnings for prison guards (and preparing w2s)

summer

The scene where they are tarring the roof, and enjoy some cold beers on a hot summer day.

widow

The Warden's wife will be a widow after he blows his brains out!

fruit

The "fruits" (pardon my language) attacking/stalking/raping Andy. (Red calls them "the sisters")

chapter

How many chapters of the bible did Andy cut out to hide his rock-carving axe?

candy

The "fruits" (sorry again) treat Tim like a piece of candy in this movie. Eck.

erect

I don't think this needs to be spelled out. =/

item

Morgan Freeman - the man who can get any item you need, for enough "smokes."

melon

melons -> breasts -> something there is little to none of in this movie.

below

This movie is all about life below the surface. Life in jail.

fire

A fire. There are so many possibilities... and you probably already know it from 火曜日, but, for the sake of consistency: Andy lights a fire under young punk's ass to get his high school diploma.

department

Andy makes the library department of the prison something amazing!

splendor

The splendor of sweet, sweet freedom - this scene.

provisional

The Warden's infamous provisional workforce, "the inside out program," where prisoners worked for nothing!

excellent

Andy really had an excellent idea talking to the guard and suggesting he take a tax write off.

value

Andy really understands the value of things: music, money, hope, etc.

spare time

In his spare time, Andy likes to carve chess pieces.... and plan prison breaks!


**RTK3**

eggplant 茄
bullying 苛
hackberry 榎
birch 樺
shrimp 蝦
pot 鍋
haze 霞
stretcher 駕
applaud 嘉
plentiful 夥
Sanskrit ka 珈
jeweled hairpin 迦

Notes: One of the first tricks I ever learned about reading kanji from my first teacher was this: sometimes you can find a "katakana clue" in the kanji to how it is read. Notice how many of the kanji in the カ group are pronounced as such.

Another tip, which may be painfully obvious but I'll mention it anyway, is when kanji share radicals or primitives, they tend to (it's by no means a golden rule) share pronunciations. There are 5 examples in this post: 可, 化, 過, 家, 果. The idea here is not to try to force each kanji into memorization, but to remember what I can, and with several similar kanji, remembering one can be the key to reading all of them. In other words, if only one of 3-5 stories stick where the kanji share primitive, I consider it a success (and you should too!).


--

Two really serious dramas in a row - expect something light-hearted, fun and from the 80s next week!