Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Indiana Jones Papercraft



Indiana Jones is giving it out another try next Memorial Day (2008), entitled Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Yes, the 65 year old Han Solo (aka Harrison Ford) will reprise his role as "Indy", along with his trademark fedora, bullwhip (sometimes a machete), leather jacket, and of course, his extreme fear of snakes. He'll also be accompanied by that Transformers kid (Shia LaBeouf) and two top heavyweights of Hollywood would be working their magic on this one, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Today, We've got a new one from Ninjatoes, it's an Indiana Jones papercraft model, when completed it stands a whopping 13 inches. This paper model is available for free download at Ninjatoes web site.

Indiana Jones Papercraft [ninjatoes]

Chobits: Chi 02

chobits cosplay - chii aka elda 02One of my readers, who wishes to remain anonymous, contributed this cosplay of Chii. No, I don’t think that the contributor is the cosplayer because one, the contributor is a guy and two, the contributor found this off a website he can’t remember… This was just sitting in his hard drive apparently…

This Chi is probably as cute as the other Chi I featured… I really love her dress! That must have taken a long time to sew.

Great cosplay, great photography! And I really love the additional effects added to the photograph… It really does look like an official Chobits illustration!

EDIT: Big thanks to radioactiveKIRA for informing me about Jumplove! Jumplove and King Crimson cosplay together and they have a huge gallery on their site. I’ll be sure to feature more of them soon!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Carnival time


Carnival of Homeschooling is hosted at Sprittibee's. this one is the "yearbook edition"... beautifully done.

Carnival time


Carnival of Homeschooling is hosted at Sprittibee's. this one is the "yearbook edition"... beautifully done.

Chobits: Chi

chobits cosplay - chi aka elda Chi is probably one of the most cosplayed characters from an anime series, and yet there are very few people who can cosplay her accurately.

I suppose not everyone can pull off a cute and innocent looking face…

This cosplayer though… I like her very much, even though she has a silver wig on. One could probably argue that this is a manga version of Chi, right?

Chi is a persocom, or a personal computer who is an android. In the Chobits world, PCs and Laptops/Notebooks are in the shape of a human robot, and they can virtually follow you everywhere. An interesting note is that the persocoms are solar powered, getting their energy only from the sun.

This Chi is so cute… Makes me want to have Chobit ears too…

Found in Photobucket!

Fushigi Yugi: Yuki Miaka

fushigi yugi curious play cosplay - yuki miakaI can’t believe I missed a nice source of cosplay pictures… Photobucket! What could have been more obvious right? But yes, I suppose I’m pretty clueless that way…

Talk about classics on this one. I remember the time when Fushigi Yugi aka Curious Play first aired on the local network… You won’t believe how many people were swooning over Tamahome, Hotohori, and the other bishounens you’ll find in the series.

Too bad most people hate Miaka… She’s such a clueless, bottomless pit sort of girl who had all the boys eating out of her hand. I suppose that’s the reason why people hate her so much.

But this cosplayer is cute though! I love the roses in her hair… I wonder what happened to her uniform’s bow?

Monday, October 29, 2007

Tetra Pak Papercraft



It was first used to store and transport milk, now it's known globally as one of the most versatile innovations in the area of aseptic liquid food packaging, what is it? why it's the Tetra Pak (company namesake). What does it look like? well, it's that paper carton that holds your milk, orange juice (frozen or not), yogurt, chocolate drink, etc.. Many people might not have known or heard this name but I'm pretty sure you've come in contact with it on your trip to the supermaket or convenience store. In honor of this humble product, Tetra Pak Taiwan is providing this free Tetra Pak papercraft model, complete with inserted straw, for free download. There are two PDF files, one for the simple instructions and one for the pattern. Also, two download links below, one from the actual site (it's the red arrow on the bottom left corner) and the other to a free file server (just in case we eat up all the bandwith on the first one :)

Tetra Pak - [Download Page] [Mirror Download]

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Speed versus accuracy in math

Just go read this very interesting story at Ragamuffin Studies blog: Taming the speed demon.

Speed versus accuracy in math

Just go read this very interesting story at Ragamuffin Studies blog: Taming the speed demon.

Up for some challenge in math? Try contests!

Could a nice math contest spark up some interest and motivation in your student(s)?

I really like the idea of math contests and problems of the week. When my kids get a little older, I'll probably use some problem of the week contest from the Internet.

Typically with problem of the week contests you simply do the problems at home and send the solution over the Internet. You, as the teacher, can be in control of time and additional resources used.

The contest problems are more challenging than standard textbook problems. They "stretch their brain", perhaps even strech mom's brain! But that's all for good. We must not let our students live under the impression that all word problems are solved by the method just studied in the lesson.

I've written about the need for challenging and open-ended problems before. You might want to check those posts out as well.

Some contests publish the names of those who solved it right and some simply publish the right solution. Either way, kids can feel a sense of accomplishment if they get the problem right.

Problem of the week contests are excellent for finding challenging problems and for motivation. There exist several:




Math Kangaroo


And, talking of contests, right now there is a great opportunity to take part in a math contest called Math Kangaroo. It is open for all kinds of students, homeschooled or not. Math Kangaroo is probably the most popular math contest in the world with some 3 million students participating worldwide.

This one is not handled over the Internet, though. The contest is held in dozens of locations across USA and many more around the world. The next competition is held on March 27, 2008, and registration is open at MathKangaroo.org.

All children participating in Math Kangaroo will get a certificate of participation, a Math Kangaroo in USA T-shirt and some other souvenirs. The top winners get a certificate of excellence and prizes.

So this sounds like an excellent opportunity for students to experience mathematics in a little different way. The website has past problems that you can use for practicing up for the contest — or just use them for additional challenging word problems.

Up for some challenge in math? Try contests!

Could a nice math contest spark up some interest and motivation in your student(s)?

I really like the idea of math contests and problems of the week. When my kids get a little older, I'll probably use some problem of the week contest from the Internet.

Typically with problem of the week contests you simply do the problems at home and send the solution over the Internet. You, as the teacher, can be in control of time and additional resources used.

The contest problems are more challenging than standard textbook problems. They "stretch their brain", perhaps even strech mom's brain! But that's all for good. We must not let our students live under the impression that all word problems are solved by the method just studied in the lesson.

I've written about the need for challenging and open-ended problems before. You might want to check those posts out as well.

Some contests publish the names of those who solved it right and some simply publish the right solution. Either way, kids can feel a sense of accomplishment if they get the problem right.

Problem of the week contests are excellent for finding challenging problems and for motivation. There exist several:




Math Kangaroo


And, talking of contests, right now there is a great opportunity to take part in a math contest called Math Kangaroo. It is open for all kinds of students, homeschooled or not. Math Kangaroo is probably the most popular math contest in the world with some 3 million students participating worldwide.

This one is not handled over the Internet, though. The contest is held in dozens of locations across USA and many more around the world. The next competition is held on March 27, 2008, and registration is open at MathKangaroo.org.

All children participating in Math Kangaroo will get a certificate of participation, a Math Kangaroo in USA T-shirt and some other souvenirs. The top winners get a certificate of excellence and prizes.

So this sounds like an excellent opportunity for students to experience mathematics in a little different way. The website has past problems that you can use for practicing up for the contest — or just use them for additional challenging word problems.

Transformers Papercraft - Ravage



Just an in-between to our Halloween posts, you might remember this post which included Ironhide, Ratchet, and Soundwave from three weeks ago and now here's an update from PaperInvaders, this is the original Ravage (Transformers/Decepticon) which was Soundwave's cassette tape that transformed into a jaguar in robot mode.

Ravage - [Download Page]

Friday, October 26, 2007

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Soryu Asuka Langley

evangelion cosplay - soryu asuka langleyThe beautiful pilot of Unit 02 in her school uniform, Soryu Asuka Langley is perhaps the complete opposite of Ayanami Rei when it comes to their personality. Asuka is a cheerful girl who isn’t afraid to speak her mind with a bit of an egotistical attitude… At least, that’s how she wants people to think of her. Deep inside, she’s actually quite insecure, due to her traumatic childhood.

There have been a lot of cosplays of the 2 famous Neon Genesis Evangelion girls, but this is one of the most impressive Asuka cosplays I’ve ever seen. Really great job on this one! I can arguably say that’s a mischievous smile on her face… Just like Asuka!

EDIT: Thanks to SoL for letting me know the coplayer’s name is Kipi!

Halloween Papercraft 4

Skeletons? check, vampires? check, zombies? check, hmmmm, everything seems to be in here. You can't go wrong with RavensBlight, Ray O'Bannon's personal ghost town and art gallery. A huge variety of papercrafts to be found on the town's Toy Shop, there are horrifying masks, paper coffins, a mechanical bat (paper automata), dioramas, paper models (battle hearse, splatterbot), and my favorite, the moving sculpture illusion.



After visiting the macabre, you can lighten up a bit with these cute Halloween box models from PaperBoxWorld that would look great on your office desk - they've got the scary skull, pumpkin, and bat paper models.



And finally, we visit Steam Crow Press, by Daniel Davis (monster illustrator/rogue indie publisher). On the Freebie section of the site you'll find some Halloween masks, there's a sorceress, pumpkin boy, lagoon creature, frankenstein, dr. vampiro and many other paper craft stuff. If your a really big fan of monsters and Halloween in particular, you might want to check out Mr. Davis' books "Caught Creatures" and "KlawBerry". Go and visit all these great and wonderful sites and hopefully we'll find some more Halloween papercrafts later on. Boo!




RavensBlight - [Download Page]
PaperBoxWorld - [Download Page]
Steam Crow Press - [Download Page]

Thursday, October 25, 2007

OS-Tan: Windows 2000 03

os-tan cosplay - 2k-tan windows 2000

More requests have been added for 2k-tan and XP-tan cosplays. Unfortunately, I haven’t found any cool looking XP-tans in a while, so this 2k-tan will have to do for now.

There have been two 2k-tans so far on this blog, the first one you can find here, and the second one here. But I’m not sure which to pick… I may coincidentally like the second one better than the this one… Though this cosplayer followed 2k-tan’s design more accurately. It’s really quite hard to choose.

First found on 0PERAT1VE!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Halloween Papercraft 3

Last year we didn't have any Halloween posts so I'm making up for it by posting as many as I can find all throughout this week, leading to the 31st. I was looking around my local movie theatre and just like last year, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3D is being shown in theaters across the country (i think?) just in time for both Halloween and Christmas. I saw the original along time ago and I would say that it was good, it's still the same story but I really dig this newer and better version because the 3D experience adds more than just icing on the cake. In connection with this movie here is a Zero (ghost dog) papercraft from chamoo232.



Also Check out these other great paper models from the Webdude such as, Sam Hain (Spirit of Halloween), Grim (Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy), and Frankenstein Jr. (Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles).

Zero Papercraft - [Download Page]
Sam Hain Papercraft - [Download Page]
Grim Papercraft - [Download Page]
Frankenstein Jr. Papercraft - [Download Page]

Paperkraft.net Contest Winner



We started our first ever Paperkraft.net contest last Thursday and many of you signed-up for it, 302 (valid) entries to be exact. On Monday I started printing the list of emails that signed-up, I mentioned the word "valid" because I was surprised to find out that 17 of the entries opted for the anonymous route. I had to take them out of the list because it would be pointless to include them, if I can't see your email then I wouldn't be able to contact you if you win. Moving on, I cut them up a line per email, put them in our magic box and randomly selected a winner. Btw, the prize is a Page.A.Day Origami Calendar by Margaret van Sicklen.

And the winner is Vy Huynh of Washington. I've already contacted her and she has emailed us her mailing details, so Congratulations Vy!

To all that didn't win, better luck next time. But don't fret, our next contest is just a few days away. Keep an eye out for it.

Fate/Stay Night: Saber a.k.a. Arturia Pendragon

arisa mizuhara in fate/stay night cosplay - saber aka arturia pendragonMy apologies for flooding the blog with Arisa Mizuhara’s cosplays, but this is a rare opportunity to show a really good Fate/Stay Night cosplay of Saber. And, might I add, this is also a good time to post a requested cosplay image.

It’s quite difficult to look for a nice cosplay of this character (who is my very favorite!). I’m not entirely sure why. It may be because of the costume or the hair, but whatever the reason… This cosplay is done very nicely.

Alright, so her eyes aren’t the same color as the original character’s. And the sword can use some work. But really… The cosplayer herself is breath-taking, don’t you think? A really nice camera angle too… No wonder Arisa is a professional cosplay idol.

Bleach: Hinamori Momo

bleach cosplay - hinamori momoThis is probably the one shinigami I really feel sorry for… Hinamori Momo.

And I also keep forgetting to post this..! It’s been in the Bleach Blog for a long time now, and I have asked permission from Rukia to post it already…

And yes, we clarified that this is Mei Wai, the same cosplayer who did Lineage II’s Light Elf and Dark Elf… Makes you wonder if the girl could ever possibly do a bad cosplay (I hope that never happens).

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Multiplying in parts and the standard algorithm

I haven't blogged for a while but I've been thinking about this topic for a little while now. It is your multiplication algorithm, also called long multiplication, or multiplying in columns. I also happen to be writing a lesson about it for my upcoming LightBlue series 4th grade book.

The standard multiplication algorithm is not awfully difficult to learn. Yet, some books advocate using so-called lattice multiplication instead. I assume it is because the standard method is perceived as being more difficult. But let's look at it in detail.

Before teaching the standard algorithm, consider explaining to the students multiplying in parts, a.k.a. partial products algorithm in detail:

To multiply 7 × 84, break 84 into 80 and 4 (its tens and ones). Then multiply those parts separately, and lastly add.

So we calculate the partial products first: 7 × 80 = 560 and 7 × 4 = 28. Then we add them: 560 + 28 = 588.

If you practice that for one whole lesson before embarking on the actual algorithm, how much better prepared the kids will be!

Next, they will see the standard way of multiplying:


2 
84
× 7

588


Obviously, the steps here are the same. You multiply the ones first: 7 × 4 = 28, write down 8 of the ones, and carry the 2 of the tens. then you multiply 7 × 8 = 56, add 2 to get 58 and write that down in tens place.

What about this way of writing it down?


84
× 7

28
+ 560

588


It uses a little more space, but the underlying principle of multiplying in parts is more obvious.

It works with two two-digit numbers as well:



 84
×   47

28
560
160
3200

3948


Now, the individual multiplications are 7 × 4, then 7 × 80, then 40 × 4 and lastly 40 × 80.

Lastly, I'll touch on lattice multiplication. It uses the same exact principles; however I am not sure if it makes the underlying principle any more obvious to the students than the standard algorithm (and it does take more time and space).

8 4
+---+---+
|5 /|2 /|
| / | / | 7
5 |/ 6|/ 8|
+---+---+
8 8

Answer 588.

Check out Lattice Multiplication to learn how it's actually done; it's hard to explain without images.

Either way, you NEED to explain multiplying in parts to the students. In this case it's not enough just to be able to go through the motions of an algorithm, because multiplying in parts is so needful in everyday life, and later in algebra (distributive property).

Consider for example these mental multiplications you might encounter while shopping:

5 × $14.
Just do 5 × $10 = $50 and 5 × $4 = $20, and add those. Answer $70. I'm sure most of us are quite used to doing such simple products mentally.

4 × $3.12. Go 4 × $3 = $12 and 4 × 12 ¢; = 48 ¢, and add. Answer $12.48.

Multiplying in parts and the standard algorithm

I haven't blogged for a while but I've been thinking about this topic for a little while now. It is your multiplication algorithm, also called long multiplication, or multiplying in columns. I also happen to be writing a lesson about it for my upcoming LightBlue series 4th grade book.

The standard multiplication algorithm is not awfully difficult to learn. Yet, some books advocate using so-called lattice multiplication instead. I assume it is because the standard method is perceived as being more difficult. But let's look at it in detail.

Before teaching the standard algorithm, consider explaining to the students multiplying in parts, a.k.a. partial products algorithm in detail:

To multiply 7 × 84, break 84 into 80 and 4 (its tens and ones). Then multiply those parts separately, and lastly add.

So we calculate the partial products first: 7 × 80 = 560 and 7 × 4 = 28. Then we add them: 560 + 28 = 588.

If you practice that for one whole lesson before embarking on the actual algorithm, how much better prepared the kids will be!

Next, they will see the standard way of multiplying:


2 
84
× 7

588


Obviously, the steps here are the same. You multiply the ones first: 7 × 4 = 28, write down 8 of the ones, and carry the 2 of the tens. then you multiply 7 × 8 = 56, add 2 to get 58 and write that down in tens place.

What about this way of writing it down?


84
× 7

28
+ 560

588


It uses a little more space, but the underlying principle of multiplying in parts is more obvious.

It works with two two-digit numbers as well:



 84
×   47

28
560
160
3200

3948


Now, the individual multiplications are 7 × 4, then 7 × 80, then 40 × 4 and lastly 40 × 80.

Lastly, I'll touch on lattice multiplication. It uses the same exact principles; however I am not sure if it makes the underlying principle any more obvious to the students than the standard algorithm (and it does take more time and space).

8 4
+---+---+
|5 /|2 /|
| / | / | 7
5 |/ 6|/ 8|
+---+---+
8 8

Answer 588.

Check out Lattice Multiplication to learn how it's actually done; it's hard to explain without images.

Either way, you NEED to explain multiplying in parts to the students. In this case it's not enough just to be able to go through the motions of an algorithm, because multiplying in parts is so needful in everyday life, and later in algebra (distributive property).

Consider for example these mental multiplications you might encounter while shopping:

5 × $14.
Just do 5 × $10 = $50 and 5 × $4 = $20, and add those. Answer $70. I'm sure most of us are quite used to doing such simple products mentally.

4 × $3.12. Go 4 × $3 = $12 and 4 × 12 ¢; = 48 ¢, and add. Answer $12.48.

Vocaloid 2: Hatsune Miku

vocaloid 2 cosplay - hatsune miku

Double post day perhaps? You know I have something really good when I double post… More to my amusement really.

To the fans of my previous cosplay article, including: The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi: Suzumiya Haruhi, Gundam Seed Destiny: Meer Campbell 03, Inuyasha: Kikyo and Inuyasha, Inyusaha: Inuyasha… I give you, the name behind the cosplays… Arisa Mizuhara!

I was only able to find her after reading up an article on Vocaloid 2, which is apparently a “singing” synthesizer. But anyway, the character they made, Hatsune Miku, is rather cute and I thought I’d look up to see if anyone cosplayed her yet.

That’s how I found Arisa… Thank you, Google!

Please visit Arisa’s site, which has a lot more impressive cosplays!