Reflection: British Food

Today we watched a short cooking show on how to make Italian Trifle. I thought it was really interesting to see the differences between Japanese cooking programs and British cooking programs.

A few interesting points:

I noticed instantly the filming techniques. While she was cooking the camera would cut to different zoomed in shots of the mixing bowl and of different cooking equipment along with the different ingredients. There were actually times in which the camera would lose focus and trail across the kitchen before regaining focus on a new object. I thought this was the most interesting thing for me.
The next thing I noticed was the level of informality used. The show was filmed in her kitchen. She was talking while cooking and it was kind of funny the way she described the different foods and the methods she used. She also at one point licked the spoon after mixing everything.
I also noticed the method in which she cooked was different. She did not really measure any of the ingredients and did a lot of estimating on what the proper amount should be.
I think the most surprising thing about the cooking was the amount of sugar used! She used so much and then continued to add more. I think that what she made would taste good, but I am 100% certain that it is very bad for anyone to ever eat it.

Holidays in Britain

I think Britain's holidays are very interesting. One holiday that really caught my attention was Bonfire day. On this day in November, Everyone gets together and stacks a large pile of wood for a bonfire. Then they create a doll and place it on top of the bonfire to be burned. The doll is made to resemble a terrorist named Guy Fawkes who tried to kill the king and politicians about 400 years ago in Britain. I thought this was very interesting and it seems like a lot of fun. I remember making giant bonfires at my high school and middle school during spirit week.

Sir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee

Mr. Berners-Lee was born in London, England on June 8, 1955. From 1973 to 1976 he studied at The Queen's College in Oxford and earned a degree in Physics. After, he became a British Engineer, computer scientist and a professor at the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

On 25 December 1990 Mr. Berners-Lee, with the help of Robert Cailliau, a student from the European Organization for Nuclear Research, was able to successfully run the first communication between an HTTP client and server by way of the Internet. This is how he became known as the inventor of the World Wide Web. Still today he continues to work on further developing the World Wide Web.

I think his accomplishments are amazing. While researching, I discovered that not only has he made is very important advance in global communications and technology possible, but still today continues to research and further develop internet technology. Still today he is being recognized for his work. Because of this, I expect that he will continue to be famous and recognized in the future.

"Being British"

"Being British" is not easily defined. Over time the population of Britain has changed to include many people from different parts of the world and still today demography is changing. The British society has also been greatly influenced by the cultures of immigration over the years. One of the most influencial minority groups in Britain today is from Indian. Their influence has become so strong that the number one dish in Britan is a rather famous dish from India.
So now what makes a person British is not where they come from or what they look like, but rather the commmon enviroment and land they share and the ideals they have created in their common enviroment. I think it is wonderful to be able to go to a new land and become apart of that land and people.

Historical Britain

There are many very interesting places in Britain and because of its long standing and interesting history, you are able to find many different historical buildings. I think it is very important to preserve history and historical sites for future generations. Also it is important to remember the past. It is nice that Britain takes such good care of and places such a high value on its historical sites. From the buildings we researched today, I think my favorite place was the Royal Albert Hall. This place has a very interesting architectural structure and it has the feeling of old Roman architecture.