More Writing Emergencies--

Furthermore, book 1 of my revision (with my suggested title) of the textbook First Class Service: English for the Tourism and Hospitality Industry 1 will be coming out on Oct. 26th, with the second book emerging shortly afterwards.
There's a tale to tell with the recording last Friday of the first book's 2 CDs, along with darling daughter Coral, but I want to report it first to my family. It went well and I was delighted. I want to be a professional voice actor (surprised?). I may have a chance (Surprised??).

Best to all organisms!

Chris's Writing Emerges. . .

NEW NEWS!

Sept. 28th, 2007: A book of essays that I am contributing to is coming out soon! See the page about it from Rodopi, an American/Dutch publishing house.
Also, my dissertation is being considered in a prize competition (for best dissertation/thesis of the last school year) at Sun Yat-sen University.
Many thanks to my advisor, Rudy, for both of these!!
Chris

A line of Funnies--"Brevity"

I don't know--I'd never seen these before. Maybe you like these already.
Try here and keep clicking the right handed
Chris hand.

Coral's Kickery--Past, Part Two!

Hi. This new post has the same movie, but it may look better when you watch it from YouTube.
Chris


You can also see the video at its own page, from which it can be watched in "fullscreen" mode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFAF3wWyuzs
Thanks. . .

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Coral's Kickery--Award Winning Plywood Attack!

Hi. I've posted a new video on the Web of Coral's Tae Kwon Do competition. We hope you admire her.
Chris

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A parody

Report on Coral's Competition pt. 2

"You're great, Coral!"

Hi, Coral did not win anything this time, and she says she's a little disappointed, but she sure did well for her very first competition, don't you think?
We do!

Our Winning Kids!

Coral O'Brien: Chairgirl of the Board

It hasn't been a quiet week in Central Taiwan!

On Friday I took Eowyn to Taipei on the bus for her catalogue photo shoot, and Mommy joined us soon afterwards. The shoot went fairly well and they got some adorable shots in Disney clothing, though she wasn't quite in a grinny mood. She was cranky on the way home, but she's better now.

We got home from that around 12:30 AM on Saturday morning.



Then we got up around 6 AM for Coral's Tae Kwon Do competition; this was a county-wide one. There were visitors, blackbelts from Jordan, doing demo tussles (See Fig. 3). Coral had two events: the board-kicking thing, and a sort of choreographed TKD routine. She won trophies for both of these events! One for 3rd place and one for 2nd! As a two-trophy winner, she was asked back for another set of competitions today on Sunday morning, and she isn't yet back from that. I'll let you know later. She was very excited by her accomplishments yesterday, as were we all; Coral was up shortly after six today, an hour earlier than we wanted to get up, full of vim. We were rather less vimful. However, we're very proud of her and will soon have a video of her board-kicking event. It kicks plywood! (See Fig. 1)

The demo inspection of Amy's school was imperfect, but not too bad, and it's done; however there'll be much more to prepare for as the real inspection is coming up some time. . .I'm not sure when. And now Amy has more reports and stuff to do for school.

With her I am planning to do a new class at her school, along with an e-learning, web-based course thing for next semester. Listening and speaking and intonation. You'll have the link when it's ready. Sounds like lots of preparation time, but worth it for the experience, I hope. You can see my Google teaching homepage and the schedule for next semester if you are full of sounds and curiosity.

All the best to all of you!

Pimento or Pimiento? You be the judge!

Actually, this entry is really about the busy week I've been having. Amy's school is going to be reviewed by the ministry of education and if they are approved they'll be upgraded from a "Institute of Technology" to a "University of Science and Technology;" they'll graduate, in effect, or be promoted. The chairperson of her department has been left basically all to herself to prepare for the departmental review, so Amy and I have been giving a hand most days this week. The mock 'practice review' will take place tomorrow morning.
The normal teacher is out today and tomorrow so I took her place here at our school, and then five hours of English classes. . .
No, wait, my evening student's mom just called to say that the kid was again in a bad mood and wouldn't come to class!
Amy's still at work and it's 7:45 PM. . .
On Sunday we were both at Transworld and I was able to get most of two new "Hueis" (practice tests) for the GEPT project. Also I was teaching Amy's classes on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at Transworld.

BTW, can you find me in this graduation photo??

This post is adapted from one at my C'est Huat? blog at Yahoo.

The very model of a modern mixup

Late Monday night Amy got a message from our modeling agent friend who said there was an op for Coral to audition for an ad. So Tuesday Grandma took her, Eowyn, and cousin Tina up north for the audition. After they all got back safely, (I drove the rickety VW in constant apprehension) we got a message. An O'Brien got the job. . .but it was Eowyn, not Coral!!
So we may go back up on Friday to do the job, though the fee will be very low--1500 NT dollars--less than the cost of transportation. Then again we may just blow it off as it's hardly worth the income.
Amy and Chris have been coming to Transworld every day to help prepare for the upcoming Ministry of Ed's inspection, translating lots of things and doing endless scads of paperwork. I've been teaching Amy's classes too. Exhausting work and boring too. And the swine students are hardly worth the pearls of learning I'm casting to them in scoopfuls.
Wish us all luck!
Chris

PS. I finished City of Night, the 2nd Dean Koontz's Frankenstein book and it was . . . good reading but not too eventful.
Now starting "The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson about the 1893 Columbian Exposition. No real opinion yet but seems to use a similar approach to The Professor and the Madman and The Map that Changed the World.