Shortly

Well, Ian and Violett, the two... are simply perfect! Yes, there's no else. They are everything.

Their hobbys, their interests, are completely identical. Both like travell, both are friendly and both like go to: the cinema, a concert or a restaurant.
He loves Italian food, she too. Both are interested in modern art. She likes Picasso. He too. They are very similar! Simply perfect.

Naturally, there's a little differences. But it doesn't matter. It's absolutely normal.

She loves Woody Allen. He finds  him a bit neurotic. And what? He can often watch a Woody Allen film, of course!

He prefers mystery ones. She found it very weird. But she thoughts that kind of films are interesting with intelligents crimes and she enjoys it.

It's everything a question of tolerance. This little differences aren't a problem, unlike, it's a good theme for a discussion, an interesting debate.

Their jobs are similar too: He is teacher of PE so he has always a funny story about the school. She is journalist and meet often with important persons as politicals or sportsmen.

Some differences are even complementary. He is early at home and cooks very well, She cames later and can wash the dishes easily and in few minutes. Howevery, she hates iron, but he makes it funny. It's fantastic, isn't it?

Summary of some chapters of 'Ghosts of Spain' (Giles Tremlett's book)

7th Chapter ‘Clubs and Curas’

This “second” chapter is a completely surprise, because the autor starts talking about the prostitution and his interest in learning more about this theme, Giles Tremlett visits prostitutions clubs, asks a lot of girls who works in this cruel job and does a lot of things to learn more about all this. But, Tremlett doesn’t want to talk about this theme concretely, but Giles Tremlett uses it to talk about the past of Spain, its ghosts: dictatorship. In this point, the author makes a cruel critique about all the problems and the discriminations of everyone who lived there.

8th Chapter ‘Men and Children First’

After living 5 years in Spain, Giles Tremlett thought that he wasn’t to find another aspect of Spanish culture which catches him, but he was wrong.  As at the previous chapters, Tremlett starts talking about a theme (in this case about the Spanish woman), however he will focus on other topic: the pregnancy and Spanish childbirth.  So, in this “third” chapter, Giles Tremlett will tell us in a very funny way, his problems in the pregnancy classes (he was the only man in the classes and things of that kind) and, over all, his own problems with the childbirth and education.

Assassin at UJI

Murder at UJI             

An 18-teenager found a classmate taking up a gun and completely bloodstained and in front of them, their teacher of IT with a shot in her stomach.

The police interrogated the classmate, Character One of nineteen years old, who said that he got a gun and chased the IT teacher Cristina Gomis through the halls of the third floor in the UJI. Character One drew his gun of 30mm and shot two times to her teacher, just one of the shoots reached his target but it was a fatal injury – a huge hole in her stomach. Cristina died at 9.17 of the 6th Monday morning.

Recipe! Chicken with style!

Crunched Poullet avec Vin mossêux.

Ingredients:

·        2 Chicken breasts.

·        ½ Onion.

·        3 Sweet red peppers.

·        2 Garlic cloves.

·        1 Cup chicken stock.

·        ¼ Cup red wine.

·        1 teaspoon sugar

·        3 tsp. oil

·        Salt and cumin.

Cut the chicken en two thin slices. Season salt, cumin and garlic. Heat the 3 tbsp. of oil in a  pan (9 ½ “ diam.). Add sugar until it coats in caramel. Add red peppers, onion and chicken. Brown the chicken. Cook for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock and wine (put the lid on). Cook for 15 minutes. Makes for 4 servings.

Onion Head

                                                                 

Who doesn't watch this little friend at some web page? You cand find at almost everywhere as smiley, as wallpaper, as profil image, etc! It seems that (and maybe it continues being) a trend.

Abu, as known as Onion Head, is the a character that appears in a lot of Japanese mangas (where did you try to find an onion making laughs and a mess, huh?) The procedence of  the idea of our little onion buddy still unknown, and the author's ID too. Ethan, the author of this pict, draw himself on his / her own mangas and he / she appears like he /she decided... Well, it's easier look this:

                                                            

And something more strange is the question (very original) that you can read at the mangas.

                                     
But don't think that the Onion Head's world just have two characters,  there is another 'Onion Head', but this time will be a woman: Meiya, the girlfriend of Onion Head.


                            

Together they will solve a lot of problems and will live a complicated and funny adventure. However, what makes so popular this onion?  In my persona opinion, I think that its al the merchandising and the emoticons, wallpapers too, over all, the funniest is the manga! (I recommended it you). Onion Head have thousands of faces and expressions, and he will make you laugh and surprise many times.

Thoughts

This time, I didn't turn up the alarm clock, I didn't open the window in order to the sun's light wake me up. I didn't want to get up... but I couldn't. She came, like everyday, to cheer me up, to mess with me kindly. She reminded me that smiling was worthed and forget any bad thought. I didn't want to stay there and I couldn't. There were too many things to do.



I can't wait forever.

Worksheet of the English Audiobook: 'Trucker' by Terry Pratchett

This is a little information about the book 'Truckers' (the first one of 'The Bromeliad Trilogy' a.k.a. 'The Nome Trilogy' in the UK) by the famous writer Terry Pratchett. This worksheet of my English calss includes a plot summary, the duration, the audiobook company and also other interesting things and my own opinion about listen this audiobook.

AUDIOBOOK WORKSHEET

Book  title : Truckers (first part of ‘The Bromeliad Trilogy’)

Author:  Terry Pratchett                                           Publication date (year): 1990

Read by: Steven Brinks

Original book publisher: Collins Smythe

Audiobook publishing company: Isis audiobooks

Duration of audiobook in hours: 5 hours

Format (MP3, CD, other): CD

Number of chapter/section divisions: 6 chapters.

Fiction or Nonfiction? Fiction

If fiction, main characters in book:  Masklin, Torrit, Granny Morkie, Gurder, Arnold Family/Brothers, Angelo, Duke Sedo, Dorcas del Icatessen.

Summary of contents  (approx 200 words) :

The Nomes, a race of tiny people, live hidden in his world safetly until they discover that ‘The Store’ – all their own world – is going to be destroyed. This will make react to the main character Maklin, who will have to make a plan to save all his partners.

The unique possibility to the nomes is escape to the Outside; a completely unknown world for the store’s nomes to whom the sun, the night and the stars are just fairy tales.

The book starts in a field, where a young nome works hard to sustain his family and the elders. But,

·         Why did you choose this particular audiobook?

Because a classmate recommended me and I like the author.

·         (Approximate) date on which you began listening to the audiobook:

2nd or 3th of April.

·         (Approximate) date on which you finished listening to the audiobook :

Tuesday, 12^th of April.

·         Do you have a written copy of the book you listened to?    

No, I have other books of Terry Pratchett, but no this trilogy concretely.

·         If your answer to the previous question is yes, did you use the written copy of the book to follow along as you listened to the audio version?

·         If your answer to the previous question is no, did you read the written version prior to listening to the audiobook?        No                After reading the audiobook? No     Not at all?  I say no! Really, I haven’t read anything about this book.

·         Listening habits.   Did you listen to your audiobook very systematically, i.e., one or two complete chapters or sections at a time before stopping the recording, or did you stop the recording at random places without taking chapter/section divisions into consideration?

I shall do it, but sometimes the reader start to shout and try to make the book more attractive making changes at his voice and I think that’s a great idea, however I have often to stop the player and back to pay more attention.

·         Where did you listen to your audiobook? (at home/on the train/while out walking, etc.) 

At home and at the car.

·         Have you consulted a translation (written or recorded) of the audiobook you listened to?

No

·          Did you find it more or less difficult to understand your audiobook than to understand the dialogue in the films you viewed last semester in English? (Please elaborate.)

The audiobooks was easier, because  I put on my headphones and pay attention to the reader’s voice – which was very clear and strong, very easy to understand; except for the names of the characters – and when you listen the audiobooks you haven’t the problem of background sounds (shoots, explosions, loud music, etc)

·          Did you enjoy the experience of listening to an audiobook?  -- Why or why not? – Would you listen to another audiobook of your own free will? In English, or in another language?

I like the experience a lot. Seriously, I thought listen an audiobook was difficult and I was a bit scared… but, for my surprise, it was easy and I could do other things while I was listening the CD so it wasn’t boring. It’s a good choice to learn vocabulary and have fun at the car if you haven’t a good conversation.

Classical music Vs. Crime!

It's said that music soothes the savage beasts, but what would also be possible that with her beauty, did deter the criminals of their intentions?
In the case of a stop of the "light rail", "tram", "thing going on rails but it is not a train or a subway train" or as you call Portland!, Oregon (USA) seems be yes.
Authorities say vagrants, criminals, drugg addicts and men of low moral  was wandering in that station terrorizing travelers. How they can stop crime, then?
The officer John Scruggs, no friend of repressive measures and used to practice in a neighborhood with little security, which had once read that in cities where public transport stops could hear classical music to prevent passengers of going tense to work .Just thought that maybe Mozart, Verdi, Puccini and all the "Pandi" could exert a beneficial influence on potential aggressors.
The funny thing is that since has installed a speaker that emits music such crimes have virtually ceased to exist. So authorities are satisfied that it is possible that the measure be implemented at other stations and stops.
What happened?, How criminals have suddenly become sensitive souls, or maybe the criminals go to other places to drink their beers,  or listen to their satanic music? The truth is that we have no idea, but we fear that some day the thieves will adapt and return with all their power, but this time with sticks, vests and monoculars ... or as the band that the film "The Mechanich Orange" that of "Cubrish" ...

Everyone wants a Geminoid!

The Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro of ATR and the Tokyo firm 'Kokoro' created in 2005 the first human look robot: geminoid HI-1. A geminoid is an android designed to look exactly as its master, and is controlled by a comoputer system that replicates the facial movements of the master in the robot.

And... that is not all, in the spring of 2010, a new geminoid was created: the new robot 'Geminoid - F'. A simpler version  than the original HI - 1. The second one, Geminoid - F, has a human aspect more real. However, none could be such good as the last geminoid...

Geminoid|DK will be the first the first robots of this kind outside of Japan,and with this last robot is trying to advance on android science and - as they said - pshilosophy, in searching the answers to fundamental questions, many of which had the Japanese researchers. The most importan questions are:

- What is a human?

- What is a presence?

- What is a relation?

. What is identity?

They are traying to get the answers to these questions through looking at areas such as emotional responses in their androids - the novel concept of Blended Presence - and in studyin cultural differences in the perception of robots.

He / It has some forced moves, of course, it's still shocking how the robot developers have managed to be able to make so many facial movements.

Maybe, some day, we could buy a friend, literally...

Oscars!

At the last Sunday of April, we could watch the prestigious Oscars, wich awards the best films of the last year (or it should as I say...). It seems that eventually almost every  film that came out at the last 2010 has been nominated (If we took that films has been released in the US, because here always come later).

The ceremony, hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway - young players that are intended to give good atmosphere to it - but they didn't ahice it very well... The ceremony lasted about 3 hours, because in the end if you don't make an effort, you'll end fondled on the couch!


So... you've got here the winner list!:

Oscar for best picture: The king's speech.Oscar for best actor: Colin Firth by the king's speech.Oscar for best actress: Natalie Portman black swan.Oscar Best Director: Tom Hooper for The king's speech.Oscar for best original song 'We Belong Together' Toy Story 3.Oscar for Best Editing: Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter's network.Oscar for Best Special Effects: Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb by Source.Oscar for best documentary: Inside Job.Oscar for best short film: Luke Matheny by God Of LoveOscar for best documentary: Strangers No More.Oscar for Best Costume Design: Colleen Atwood and Alice in Wonderland.Oscar for Best Makeup: Rick Baker and Dave Elsey and The Wolfman.Oscar for best sound editor Richard King by Source.Oscar for best sound mixing: Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick by Source.Oscar for Best Original Score: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the network.Oscar for best delivery sctor: Christian Bale in The Wrestler.Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film: In A Better World in DenmarkOscar for best original screenplay: David Seidler of King's speech.Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin for the network.Oscar for best animated movie: Toy Story 3.Oscar for Best Animated Short: The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann.Oscar for Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo for The Wrestler.Oscar for Best Cinematography: Wally Pfister by Source.Oscar for Best Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland.


There are things that are not surprising, as the undisputed triumph of 'The King's Speech', because as you can see the Oscar s was more important. It was also the night of Ntalie Portman with her Oscar as best actress - personally, I haven't seen the movie, surely she deserved it!. 'Toy Story 3' is neither other surprise, this films had just being chosen to the best animated film. The best fail is for 'Tru Grit', which with 10 nominations has not taken any award. We haven't forget the Oscars for the best supporting actos, as both have fallen on the side of ' The Fighter '.


But there are many things that can surprise me, as the award for the best sountrack. Comen on guys... the soundtrack of 'Inception' by Hans Zimmer is greater than  'The Network' - that I admit that Network's soundtrack is not bad, but you can not compare to the talent of Zimmer because everyone knows that if this man takes part in a movie, the good music is assured.

Promos of 'Game of Throne'

The title of the post say almost everything. The first trailer is just a simple teaser that will show us a lot about the characters in the serie: their names, their customes, their voices and some scenes!
If you don't  undertand them very well, I advise you to read  the comments of the video that in some of them you will discover the more important parts.
The second one is a Making Off  by the Canal+, in which the actors will tell us what they think about the footage and their own opinion of their characters. And the most important fact is: the serie will be at ours TVs in APRIL!

PS: This fact won't sound awesome, if you didn't know that the serie would be at summer... So please, pay attention!