Here are the pictures ...

Contact Information

Julia:
Facebook: Julia Fleckenstein
E-Mail: julia.fleckenstein@hotmail.de
iMessage: jul-fleck@hotmail.de
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Kenny: devilliu@126.com instagram:devilljy_popbts
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Kevin:
Facebook: kaoyenchun@hotmail.com
Instagram: KKAO0208
Line: kao112233
wechat: kkao0208
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Becky：
Facebook: becky725@163.com
Instagram: HEYBECKYX
Wechat: heybecky_xy
QQ: 617224022

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Addison:
QQ:531354875
e-mail:531354875@qq.com

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Massy:

Mail: not.masiko.but.masuko@gmail.com

Facebook: you can easily find me by searching "tetsuyuki masuko" in Facebook:)
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Ashley
email: ashleyranchang@hotmail.com
Instagram:ASHLEYRANZHANG
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Kris:
Mail: 418945133@qq.com  or   jiangpeihaosummer@163.com
Facebook: Kris Jiang
Wechat: kris.
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Masha
Facebook: Maria Segal
Email: maria.segal@gmail.com
Instagram: maria_segal
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Guo
Facebook:Harvey Guo
Email: harvey_song@126.com
Instagram: harveysong
phone number: 008618602927355

Class Dinner

What a wonderful evening everyone! Thank you all for coming out to Build and I hope you enjoyed yourselves. Here are some photos:

Peter

Enjoying our dinner

It seems some of us had some urgent business to take care of...

Creating faces with a cool app from China

Our class photo. Great shot!

Questions (Daniel)

Q1. Why state legislatures banned the practice of tipping when wealthy Americans brought home the practice of tipping?

A1. That was because state legislatures considered it bribery.


Q2.  Can you give a few examples of "Opening presents"?

A2. Birthday , Christmas


Q3. Why does Peter think that painting something is important for students?

A3. That's because painting something is one of the expressions of your personality and your opinion.

Word list for The Palace of Fine Arts (Addison)

junk heap- a pile of rubbish, meaning something that has been deserted
grandiose- larger and containing more detail than necessary, or intended to seem important or splendid, excessive
chicken wire- netting (= material in the form of a net) made of metal wire, which was originally used to make closed areas for chickens. It also refers the materials that don't have a good quality or aren't durable
plaster- a substance which becomes hard as it dries and is used especially for spreading on walls and ceilings in order to give a smooth surface
burlap- a type of thick rough cloth used for things and coverings which must be strong
demise- the end of something that was previously considered to be powerful, such as a business, industry or system
mogul- an important person who is very rich or powerful
wrecking ball- a huge metal ball that is used to wreck on the building that is to be destroyed. It also refers to being destroyed.
last legs- a structure that is about to fall
philanthropist- a person who helps the poor, especially by giving them money
mold- a soft green or grey growth which develops on old food or on objects that have been left for too long in warm wet air

Vocabulary by Guo and Song

1. Cobbling together

   put together hastily

2. Was very much on board

   If a person or group of people is on board, they support you and agree with what you are doing. 

3. feasible

• •    capable of being done with means at hand and circumstances as they 

4. nobleness

•     the quality of elevation of mind and exaltation of character or ideals

5. excursion

•   a journey taken for pleasure

  
  

Wordlist for San Francisco Sourdough Bread (Kenny and Alex)

Yeast:  a kind of fungus which is used to make bread rise

put sb. well on the way to do ....: give sb a great start to do sth.

starter:  a culture containing yeast or bacteria that is used to start the process of fermentation or souring in making butter or cheese or dough;

delicacy: a  food that is considered especially nice and delicious to eat. 

aficionado: fan, enthusiast.

Vocabulary of How a Cable Car Works (Rebecca Ashley)

to catch on - to become popular

pulley - a piece of equipment used for lifting something very heavy. It consists of one or more wheels, around which you pull a rope or chain that is fastened to the thing that you want to lift

to disengage - to separate someone or something from the person or the thing that holds them

delegation - a group of people who represent a country, government or organizarion

pliers - a metal tool that looks like a strong pair of scissors, used for holding small objects or for bending or cutting wire

Vocabulary of John McLaren (Masha and Kevin)

stookies - something like a statue

savvy - understanding, common sense

quirkiness - unpredictable behaviors

perk - an advantage or extra thing, such as good or money; privilege

tenure - the holding or possessing of anything; being in charge of smth

squabble - to argue

Vocabulary of Bison in Golden Gate Park (Daniel and Kris)

slaughter - the killing of animals for food

It is not a moment too soon - It is almost too late. In other words, it's the perfect time.

brag - say in a boastful manner

quarantine -  to impose isolation on a person or animal

unleash - release from a restraint

renaissance - a revival of interest in something

Vocabulary of Japanese Tea Garden (Becky and Julia)

a tranquil situation -restful, peaceful, calm situation
rotundas - a round building
minarets - tower of a mosque, where the muezzins call out to prayer
whirling dervishes - Muslim of a religious order

(those were not on the board:)
hitherto - previously, earlier
siphoned - pick, chose
incandescent lights - an electric light, which produces light because of high temperatures
iteration - repetition
dissonance - difference, disagreement

Vocabulary of Alma Spreckels (Massy and Tim)

1.best (verb)
To beat someone in the game of match

2.philanthropic
generous, goodhearted

3.pronounced
clear, strongly marked

4.glitch
problem, malfunction

5.latent state
The state that our bodies remain normal in spite of our catching of viruses of some deceases.

Vocabulary (Jeremy and Hill)

1.exhilarating
something make people feel very happy and excited (adj)
2.exterior
outside the surface (adj)
3.prolific
to describe somebody or something create many things (adj)
4.undemocratic
not democratic; without democracy (adj)
5.imbiber
the person who drinks something (n)
6.go-getter
to describe person who are very energetic and eager to succeed (n)

Homework for Monday, August 11

• Read the articles on The Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz in your reader (pages 101-134)
• Post the vocabulary from the board to the blog with definitions (do the words you and your partner put up)
• Revise and re-post quiz questions to the blog. Do these in blue so I can see the updated version. Have a total of 3. 

*note: except for cable cars and bison, do not post quiz questions related to the 'pair readings' from last night.

TWO QUESTIONS (Kris)

QUESTION: What is the general guideline for excellent service when you tip,what about solid service and bad service?
ANSWER: The general guideline is 20% for excellent service, 15% for solid service, and 10% for bad service. On average, people tip 18%.

QUESTION: In the story about "man travels across the US giving hundreds of dollars to waiters", why he decided to give so many tips to random waiters?
ANSWER: Because his brother's dying wish was that he give "an awesome tip" to some random waiter---adding in his will.

QUESTION: In the record about Peter's trip to the amusement park, did Peter have a try on the roller coaster? what happened to Peter's daughter at the end of the day?
ANSWER: No, Peter didn't have a try, he just accompany the children.
                   Peter's daughter got crazy and drove Peter mad, which is a nightmare to Peter.

Quiz questions (Addison)

1. Where was the archaeological achievement found in the art museum?
Israel.
2. What was Peter curious about when he heard of his car had been stolen?
Not the stolen car but how it was stolen.
3. What kind of bridge is the Golden Gate Bridge?
The suspension bridge.

Quiz Questions (Song)

1.Question: Correct the sentence
            For instance, to welcome the summer's coming, some brands will make               some attractive plans to celebrate summer's coming and entice people             to buy their newest summer apparel.
  Answer:   For instance, to welcome the summer's coming, some brands will have               some special offers to celebrate summer's coming and entice people to             buy their newest summer apparels.
2.Question: match the vocabulary words to appropriate definition.
            1.gradation
            2.rotate
            3.collapse
            4.oblige
             something turn with a circular movement

              small difference or change in things
             
               be helpful to others by doing what they ask for
           
              something falls down very suddenly
 Answer:2/1/4/3
3.Question:How did Peter feel when he found his car was stolen
   Answer: He did not feel upset, on the contrary, he felt even a little bit excited because he had good reason to persuade himself to buy a new car, and he might get some insurance benefit.

TWO QUESTIONS (Tim)

1. In the Donner Party reading, what advice did James Clyman give to James Reed?

    Ans: not to take Hastings way

2.Why Sam Brannan could become rich man during Gold Rush?

   Ans: He spread the gold news quickly and sold the tools for digging such like pan.

Two questions (Alex)

  Q1: In the Spanish period, the Pacific Ocean was called the "Spanish Lake".

       Ans: True

  

  Q2: Which historical event made the U.S recover from Great Depression?

       Ans:  World War II

two questions ( Kevin)

1.
Find out the error and try to correct it.
However, my English skill is not enough to speak whatever I want to say, so I have to improve the skill because I want to talk with her more fluently.

A: However, my English is not good enough to express whatever I want to say, so I have to improve because I want to talk with her more fluently.

2.
English is the official language in the United states of America. ( True/False)

False

Quiz Questions (Ashley)

1.    Question: The fire which destroyed most of San Francisco started right after the earthquake.

Answer: False. The earthquake happened in the morning and the fire started at noon.

2.    Question: What is Uber?

Answer: Uber is a mobile app that connects drivers and passengers for drive-sharing service.

3.    Question: If you used any coupons or discounts, you should calculate the tip based on how much you have to pay.

Answer: False. Although you may have to pay less, the server still do the same amount of work.

Quiz questions by Rebecca

1. List three common knowledge that you know about tipping a server at restaurant.

Answer: 1. Generally, we should pay 15% to 20% tip on our orders.
             2. If there is a tax on your bill, you should technically calculate the tip based on the pretax amount.
             3.Pay with cash if you can, instead of using credit card.

2. In our field trip to the gallery, we have experienced many wonderful artworks and met a real artist named Marian.With the inspiration the display may give you, think about one thing in our daily life that you wanna show to people in the future to represent lives of our generation  and give two reasons.

Answer: it's kind of an open question. For me, the answer may be some market coupons, or maybe some pictures or receipts of giving tips because tipping may disappeared gradually in the future.


3. Vercab

 Cobble together___  to catch on____ prolific____ imbiber____ go-getter____

a. to become popular

b. to describe somebody or something create many things 

c. put together hastily

d. the person who drinks something

e. to describe person who are very energetic and eager to succeed

Answer:  c  a   b   d   e

Quiz questions (Becky) updated

1.

Q: (From presentation) True or false: Women in 1950s-1960s developed the mass market.

A: true.

2.

Q: Which of the following statement is TRUE?

a. The Golden Gate Bridge is painted in international gold.

b. The Golden Gate Bridge has no influence on the fog.

c. People are not allowed to drop any object from Golden Gate Bridge.

d. The Golden Gate Bridge connects the City of San Francisco and Berkeley.

A: c

3.

Q: How do you like our trip to the Oakland Museum and why?

A: (It is an open question…)

 

 

 

 

 

Quiz questiones(Guo)

1. What's the word "match" meaning in the phrase "match the number"?

Match in the phrase means equal.

2. What's the difference between the word disease and illness?

Disease means something make people die.
Illness means sickness.

3. What is the meaning of "best" as a verb in a sentence.

  Get the better of someone

1. What's the word "match" meaning in the phrase "match the tips"?

    Match in the phrase means equal

2. What kind of art did we mentioned last week?

   Abstract
   Classic 
   Impressionistic
   Modernism
   Imagination
   Subjective
   

   

Questions for The Quiz (Jeremy) updated

1. Why is the Golden Gate Bridge named "golden gate"

Because the bridge is named after the strait where it was built, and the Golden Gate Strait is named by a captain because it reminded him of a harbor in Istanbul named Golden Horn.

2. List at least two kinds of common mistakes or improper use of grammar in our blogs

(Example)
(1). Use sentences too long, which make it hard to understand.
(2). Ignore putting a space between a period and its following word.
(3). To begin a sentence with "but", or use a sentence lead by "because" or "and" without logic correlation.

3.What is Alcatraz and why is it famous?
Alcatraz was a prison located on an island in San Francisco Bay. It was famous for its maximum-security and most notorious inmates in the USA before it was abandoned.

Questions for the quiz (Masha)

1. Q.: The Great Earthquake started in the afternoon, when the most people were outside. True or false?
A.: False. The earthquake started in the early morning (at 5:13), when the most people were in their beds.

2. Q.: Why does Seth Collins (the guy from reading and video) give very big tips?
A.: Because it was his brother's last wish.

3. Q.: What was the main idea of Marianne Lettieri's (the artist) exibition? (Open question)
A.: She tries to show the value and the meaning of the routine work (possible answer).

Quiz questions (Massy)

•Why Spanish people didn't use the ground transportation instead of using ships, to obtain riches in China?

(Answer)

Using ground transportation like horse-drawn vehicle was too expensive in those days. They must have passed through some countries, and every time they crossed the border they had to pay high tax. So they chose using their galleons to go to China, to avoid spoiling their profit.

•Opening of trans-continental railroad had a big effect on California. Name two of these effects.

(Answer)

1.The number of people who intend to move to California increased further. Though the ticket was pretty expensive, it is much easier and safer to use the trains. No one wanted to face the tragedy like Donner party's.

2.The man who owned the railroad company founded Stanford university.

•Select two INCORRECT sentence from the statements list below. All the statements are related to 1906 great earthquake in San Francisco.

1.The earthquake was so large that the shock was felt even in central Nevada.
2.Several buildings were exploded with dynamites in order to stop the fire.
3.Mayer Schmitz insisted that the people who intended to steal something from the ruins should be shot and killed by soldiers or policemen without hesitation.
4.Because of the shock of earthquake and the fire, all the major newspapers couldn't print their newspapers until the fire stopped.
5.Some prisoners in Alcatraz escaped from the prison easily, because few policemen could pay attention to their behavior.
6.After the earthquake period, President Theodore Roosevelt declined the donations from other foreign countries.

Answer:4,5

3 questions and their answers (Julia)

1.) Why was Peter surprised that his car was stolen? Name two reasons.

Possible answers: old car, a car with a stick shift, very small or close parking lot


2.) Why does Julia Morgan play an important role in the history of California? 

Answer: Julia Morgan plays an important role because she was one of the first women who graduated at the University of California at Berkeley. She was the first women who had a license to practice architecture in California (in 1904). Moreover she built up several buildings for women's colleges and feminist organizations. Probably she has been Americas most successful female architect.

3.) Vocabulary:

1.) exhilarating
2.) exterior
3.) prolific
4.) best (verb)
5.) philanthropic
6.) pronounced
7.) glitch
8.) a tranquil situation 
9.) rotundas 
10.) minarets


a.) tower of a mosque, where the muezzins call out to prayer
b.) something make people feel very happy and excited (adj)
c.) To beat someone in the game of match
d.) clear, strongly marked
e.) a round building
f.) outside the surface (adj)
g.) problem, malfunction
h.) restful, peaceful, calm situation
i.) generous, goodhearted
j.) to describe somebody or something create many things (adj)

Answer: 1b, 2f, 3j, 4c, 5i, 6d, 7g, 8h, 9e, 10a

Quiz Question by Kenny

1. What prevents San Francisco becoming a ghost town after the gold rush?
(Sample answer) Because of the diversity of economy, San Francisco's economy not only relied on gold, but also on other products such as agriculture, timber (red wood), cloth (levis) and so on. However, those ghost town's economy totally depended on mining and gold.

2. What does 'Uber' (the application) mean? What does 'Über' originally mean in German?
(Sample answer) 1.Uber is a company or an application on mobile phones that connect passengers with drivers of vehicles for hire and ridesharing services.
    2.'Uber' is a German language word meaning "over", "above" or "across".

3. True of False
  Golden Gate Bridge uses reversible lanes and the bridge has a total of six lanes.
  True.

  Alcatraz inmates were not allowed to see visitors because those inmates were too dangerous.
 False.

Although some inmates died at Alcatraz because of death sentence, many inmates died due to natural illnesses.
False.

Questions and answers (Hill)

1.What are the negative aspects of tipping? List 2 of them.
Answer:1.Tips make discrimination happen. Serves therefore discriminate against customers.
       2.Tips let restaurants pay their employees less.

2.List 3 things that we like in America.
Answer:1.American people are willing to talk about feelings.
       2.American people are very open and friendly.
       3.Air quality is good.

3.Make sentences using the words below.
    exhilarating undemocratic prolific
Answer:1.It is exhilarating to have a party tonight!
       2.Undemocratic ruling regimes wolud lose the support of the people.
       3.She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories. 

Homework(8/6 Wednesday posted by Hill)

Hello everyone, this is homework

1.Reading in pair and be able to discuss it tomorrow.
2.3 more chapters of Cannery Row.
3.Write 2 questions and answers based on anything we discussed since last quiz, post them to the blog.


Have a nice day!

Rose Window （Addison)

To be honest, haven't realized that rose window is something sacred in religion.It comprises of pin cushions, muslin, plaster and hand etched mirrors, yet I simply regarded it as a flowered shaped pattern, just creative.

Then I gasped when Masha elaborated its religious meaning. Housing in a Gothic building, Marianne, the artist showcased the pin cushions in the icon of rose window, uplifting it to a more holy status. When we focus on the materials of the rose window, everything is old, cheap and ordinary, yet the artist creatively revitalized them into a more splendid and thought provoking combination.
After a deep conversation with the artist, I got the message that the artist tend to convey. The meaning of collecting all these antique stuff and then redecorate them is far beyond nostalgia. Marianne not only get inspired from the archaeological achievements from Israel to mirror them to out contemporary life, but she also treasure the ordinary things and find extraordinary meanings in it. Anything ordinary, subtle or even repetitive can be translate into something grand when you add up the time. For millennia, human beings are actually repeating the same things every day. No matter how swift the technology has been developiing, fundamental things never change. Also, the pin cushions reminds us that the consumeristic society today is not environmentally friendly and that individuals today are so blinded with money and fame that they can't slow down their pace of life to rethink about who they are. The art museums are likely to become the last settlement for us to have a break and meditate.

27,000 breaths by Rebecca

The following piece of artwork is one of my favorite in the gallery. Its name is 27,000 breaths. There are two main parts of it, just like the picture I took today showing. The first important component is an old sewer machine being placed on a table, just above the sewer machine, there is a 27,000 inches red bias tape hanging on the wall. Why is 27,000 inches, instead of 17,000 or any other length? Because one person a day will breathe 27,000 times totally, and one breath matches one inch of this red bias tape, so we have this 27,000 tape. It represents a length of day, and also a length of life. I was deeply impressed by this, and it makes me rethink about my daily life. One day time, it can be short because there is only 24 hours equally to everyone. One day time, it can also be very long, matching 27,000 inches tape. We should make full use of everyday life.

What’s more, this old sewer machine reminded me of my grandfather. There is a similar sewer machine reserved in my family, used to belong to my grandpa before he passed away. Usually it’s women’s job to make clothes using this kind of machine, but in my family my grandpa really was good at this. I still remember his shadow on the ground when he sewing some toys for me in the midnight. I really miss my grandfather a lot.

The art posted by Guo

The art I saw is like a picture in frame. Actually it is an embroidery with picture on it. The main picture comes to my eye is a lot of regular dots in my first sight. There is one dot in the first line and then the one dot becomes two in the second line and the two dots become four dots in the third line....it seems to show a kind of mathematical regularities. The background of the picture is the 26 letters by embroidery. Every letter changes a little which is also like a small embroidery pattern. I remember that the artist say she creates the art but it belongs to everyone and different people have different understanding of the art. For me this art called hyperbolic crochet means the world with the perceptual and the rational in human. The letters which look like pictures show the culture people create and the dots which show mathematical regularities represent the ratioanal skills that human have to make the society progress. The dots are more easy to be seen which I think means the rational skills are more important for human beings.

Last Winter (Becky)

This artwork impressed me a lot at the first sight. It is named “Last Winter” and made from gas space heater, wire, rust, paint, wood, muslin, plaster and glass beads. From the photo, you can notice that the upper part of the artwork is a “tree” made from wire, rust and glass beads. Though there are no leaves on the tree. It still gets little “buds” on each branch. Below the tree is a small and old gas space heater. The roots of the tree, which are also made from wires, stretch themselves to both the outside and inside of the heater. It seems that the tree just grew from the heater.

 

When I first saw it, the rust made me feel a little sad. Then I noticed its name “Last winter” and considered it as the final winter, which made me think of death in winter and get much more negative mood. When talked with Marianne about this, she appreciated my thought and told me that she wanted to remind us with the memory of our previous winter memory. That really makes sense when I went right back to the artwork and observed it again. The color of the heater and all the grains on it make it like a rock. And it is also a used heater in winter. Meanwhile, the tree is similar to a tree in winter. Imaging that I sit on the chair by a heater, looking at a bare tree out of the window, I started to recall my memory of my last winter.

 

Art is full of imagination and everyone may have his or her own opinion on an artwork. Marianne focuses on human beings’ daily life and uses her imagination to create her art. These masterpieces tell visitors one story after another, which is both special and common in our day to day lives.

Hide and seek (Kris)

I want to introduce the artwork to you called hide and seek.
It shows a dressing screen frame which was used 100 years ago. People didn't have enough private space for dressing, so they used dressing screen to separate themselves from others.
As is shown in the picture, there are nine mirrors sewed in the cloth. Some of them are front side, else are back side. Comparing mirrors to people, we all want to show our positive image and hide negative image. As if a woman is standing in front of you, you are unable to figure out what she is thinking about, either front side or back side.
When I look at the artwork in detail, I notice several interesting things. Rough untidy frame and clean white cloth form a sharp contrast, which is similar to the contrast between backward facilities and pursuing bright future.

Marianne said this work is her second favorite one, which shows great ingenuity. I like this work because it is full of imagination and creativity, and I can realize what the artist want to convey to us.

Grasshopper Leg (Ashley)

This art work is made by paper, text and photo. The text is king of a memo for things to do but the letters are sort of vague because it was written in pencil and faded throughout the years. But we can still see that even people in the past use that memo thing. And there is also a photo, actually I think it is just a part of a photo, showing a grasshopper’s leg and hand. Although it is a photo taken a long time ago I can still see the grasshopper leg on that person’s hand. There is also another piece of paper in the middle and I actually did not quite get the point of it being there for the letters are too vague to read. But the dots in it are really clear and I think it has the same meaning as the dots on the envelop in Missive that Hill wrote about. 

The first thing occurred to me was definitely how good the camera was at that time for I can see a tiny grasshopper leg that clearly.

And the other thing is I think one of the instructors I have in my college lied to us a little bit. In his opinion, we have a really bad memory that we have to use things to help us remember things. He also thinks that the reason we have such not good memory is that we rely too much on cellphones and computers nowadays. But after seeing this piece of art, I think I have an evidence to tell him that not only us have not good memory but also people in the past need a memo to help them remember things.