A New Challenge

Learning English is exciting and it’s fun, but not as much as lying in the sun.
(Yes, I know this first line doesn’t make much sense, but it does rhyme).
Steve Jobs taught us "The only way to do great work is to love what you do."
We learnt about travelling with Sir Richard Francis Burton and E.M. Forster.
And we learn about Indian culture watching the film A Passage to India.
Both Leonard Cohen and Sting sang for us; and then, Christmas carols we sang.
We first described a picture, The Fall of Icarus, in the intimacy of our classroom.
And later there we were, one by one, describing a picture at an exhibition of art.
Robert Kennedy and Malcolm Gladwell; corporations…..global issues are the best.
At this moment, it is Noam Chomsky’s turn to give all of us a magnificent lesson.
And Nelson Mandela and Richard Stengel will be spending next Christmas with us.
“Regular, consistent practice and work are the key.”
Those were Emilio’s words at the beginning of this trip.
I’m sure he’s right, and I hope all of us
will be finishing this great adventure together.
If you like trees, have a look at these Xmas trees.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.

CONCLUSIONS OF THE DRAFT

FINDING SOLUTIONS FOR TOURISTS

PURPOSE
The purpose of this proposal is to present a package of measures, which can give solution to the needs and problems of tourists in our area.
The measures included below are mainly related to several subjects such as culture shock, transport, accommodation, eating out and interesting places to visit.
CULTURE GAP
When travelling abroad, people sometimes have problems with what is called the ‘culture shock’ and they feel shocked and disorientated due to a different and an unfamiliar culture.
This will be solved by giving them e free brochure, where they will be explained our customs and beliefs so they will be able to understand and to learn all the differences between both cultures.
ACCOMODATION
There is a wide range of places to stay and they are really easy to find. Nevertheless, finding the appropriate place is not always such an easy task as different people have different preferences.
In order to help tourists, they should be offered an official list of the different kinds of accommodation, indicating both their location and their price. As supply outstrips demand, it should be advisable to offer them special offers and discounts.
EATING OUT
As it occurs with accommodation, there is always an elevated supply of premises of different types. However, tourists very frequently have quite a lot of problems in finding the right place for them.
It is our purpose to offer the information as effectively as possible. Therefore, apart from showing them the exact location of the restaurants in a street map there will be an official classification system for the restaurants which reflects the range and the prices of the dishes served and the kind of menu .
TRANSPORT
It is essential for tourists that they are offered a good system of public transport. They need to use trains, buses, the underground, taxis, etc. Nevertheless, they sometimes feel frustrated due to the time they waste when waiting for them.
It is high time we offered a suitable, practical and easy to use guide with all the information related to all these means of transport. There will be included their exact location, the timetables and the prices. Tourists will be also offered special cards or tickets or even special discounts.
SIGHTSEEING AND ENTERTAINMENT
When visiting a city, there are always lots of interesting places to visit. For instance, historic buildings, museums, galleries and so on. In addition, one can also do a large amount of things, such as going to the cinema or the theatre, and going to a musical or to a sport event.
In order to facilitate tourists their stay, they will be informed about all the sights worth seeing. They will also receive information about the opening hours of all these places and about all the performances that will be taking place during their stay.
INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
In order that tourists will be able to benefit from their visit, they will be offered different and various resources to get the information they need. Some of them are the following:
• Multilingual panels will be located in key places all around the city.
• Free guides both written and audio will be offered for their visits.
• Maps with different itineraries will be also available.
• A magazine for tourists will be at their disposal in several places: for example, tourists’ information offices, hotels, restaurants, and so on.
• Digital information will be offered to them through their mobiles: they can get SMS messages or they can have access to the information by Internet.
• All this information will be also available on a webpage, so it will be easier and faster for them to obtain it.
CONCLUSION
Tourists will be appealed to visit our area as soon as they have knowledge of all the different and varied measures that are to be taken.
To sum up, these measures are in relation to their understanding of our culture, as well as enjoying their stay with all our cultural activities. They are also related to accommodation, eating out and transport.
This packet of measures includes not only information brochures and leaflets but also special discounts and offers for travelling, eating out and cultural activities. What is more, it is important that the use of technological devices should help them have the information they need easily and within a very short time.

HUGGING TREES

The other day Emilio mentioned the topic of hugging trees in class. It really caught my attention so I decided to search the web for some information on this unusual topic. Here you have a webpage where you can find a hug a tree exercise. It doesn't seem to be very difficult and what is more, it doesn't take a lot of time.

The Hug a Tree Project is anoter interesting webpage. If you love trees and nature, this is really the page for you.The Hug a Tree Project was started due to the realisation of the need to promote love, affection, and interaction between humans and nature - especially trees. Hugging a tree is both beneficial for the treehugger and the tree being hugged. The healing power for both of the parties should not be underestimated.

Did you know that hugging trees can improve your health? Should you think that this is not true, I would suggest that you to visit this webpage to learn more about what benefits we can make from trees. Maybe you change your mind. Who knows...?

However, this love for trees and the tree hugging movement is not new. If you dare to discover its origins, go to this link. It's worth visiting.

In addition, if you're passionate about trees, hugging trees and everything related to this topic you can't miss these other pages.

LOVECRAFT

LOVECRAFTH.P. Lovecraft was the forefather of modern horror fiction having inspired such writers as Stephen King, Robert Bloch and Neil Gaiman.
Here you can read a lot of his works; some of them include a spoken version. There is another interesting webpage that collects a lot of his stories.

And if you are really into Lovecraft I recommend you watching this film.
Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown Synopsis
H.P. Lovecraft was the forefather of modern horror fiction having inspired such writers as Stephen King, Robert Bloch and Neil Gaiman. The influence of his Cthulhu mythos can be seen in film (Re-Animator, Hellboy, and Alien), games (The Call of Cthulhu role playing enterprise), music (Metallica, Iron Maiden) and pop culture in general.

But what led an Old World, xenophobic gentleman to create one of literature's most far-reaching mythologies? What attracts even the minds of the 21st century to these stories of unspeakable abominations and cosmic gods?

LOVECRAFT: FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN is a chronicle of the life, work and mind that created these weird tales as told by many of today's luminaries of dark fantasy including John Carpenter, Guillermo Del Toro, Neil Gaiman, Stuart Gordon , Caitlin Kiernan, and Peter Straub.

However, if you are running out of time this very short movie is very recommendable. It is based on the real H.P.Lovecraft character and his nightmares.

Interview with Richard Stengel

When TIME editor Richard Stengel collaborated with Nelson Mandela on his autobiography, "Long Walk to Freedom," he spent nearly three years traveling with the South African president, tying his shoes, straightening his tie, collecting hours and hours of conversation. Mandela let him inside his life, his thoughts and a little bit of his heart. 

  
Stengel talks about what he learned from Mandela, and his new book, Mandela's Way. In this link not only you can read an interview to Richard Stengel but you can also listen to the interview. Hope you enjoy it.  

Old possum's book of practical cats

Talking about animals, this link is not related to birds, even though I know Emilio loves birdwatching, but you can find TS Elliot's Old possum's book of practical cats really awesome if you're into cats. However, even if you're not a cat lover you can find it quite entertaining and they're really worth reading poems.

The Transkei-Mandela's home

The Transkei-Mandela's home

As all of you, I'm reading the book about Nelson Mandela: Mandela's way. It's really very interesting and I've discovered the true nature of a man that I always liked so much, but  I deeply admire now. I'm learning a lot about him and I'm really impressed about everything he did and, above all, how he did it. In my opinion, the author depicts a really realistic portrait of a man of the 20th century that tries to leave his footprint in the 21st century. And I'm sure he's just done it. The Transkei is mentioned in several chapters and it seems that it has influenced Mandela's character and personality. So I decided to surf the net and find the place that is so important for Mandela.  Here you have the introduction of the page where you can locate the Transkey in a map.

The Boy From the Transkei. The rolling green hills of the rural Transkei (see map) is the place Mandela thinks of as home; it is there he has built his retirement house. Growing up in the royal kraal of the Madiba clan, Mandela was groomed to be advisor to the King of Thembus.

The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela

FRONTLINE profiles the most widely known and revered political leader in the world--Nelson Mandela. Credited with the reversal of apartheid in a South Africa controlled by two generations of stern Afrikaner leaders who enforced the ideology of racial separation, Mandela stands as an all-embracing giant who brought about his nationÌs extraordinary peaceful transformation to democracy.

In the most in-depth film biography of Mandela ever undertaken, the broadcast tells the story of his life through interviews with intimates--from his most trusted associates to his jailers on Robben Island, the prison where he was held for twenty-seven years. The two-hour film offers an insider's account of his extraordinary will to lead and of the great risk and personal sacrifice he endured to achieve democracy and equality for the people of his nation.

You can find a very interesting interview with Richard Stengel. I haven't read it all, though I'm sure I'll do it, because it can help me understand the author's admiration for Mandela.

And in addition, you can find an intimate portrait of one of the 20th century's greatest leaders: Mandela, the revolutionary; Mandela, the prisoner; Mandela, husband and lover. Hope you enjoy it!

songs about globalization

Songs about Globalization

Citizen of the Planet by Alanis Morisette

Quite a powerful song in terms of style, in rock and roll fashion. The visual, for those who know what is editing, is done quite stylistically too, disembodied parts of people as well as the lack of a human figure to empathise with, shows how 'alienating' and 'placeless' globalization can be. Aptly named "Citizen of the planet". No mentioned of countries at all.

Citizen Of The Planet Lyrics
I start up in the North
I grow from special seed
I sprinkle in with sensibility
From French and Hungarian snow
I linger in the sprouting until my engine’s full

Then I move across the sea
To European bliss
To language of poets
As I cut the cord of home
I Kiss my mother’s mother
Look to the horizon

Wide eyed, new ground humbled by my new surroundings

I am a citizen of the planet
My president is Kwan Yin
My frontier is on na airplane
My prisons: homes for rehabilitating

Then I fly back to my nest,
I fly back with my nuclear
But everithing is different

So I wait, My yearn for home is broadened,
Patriotism expanded
by callings from beyond

So I Pack my things nothing precious all things sacred
[Citizen Of The Planet Lyrics on http://elyricsworld.com ]
I am a citizen of the planet
My laws are all of attraction
My punishiments are consequences
Separating from source the original sin

I am a citizen of the planet
Democracy’s kids are sovereign
Where the teachers are the sages
And pedestals fill with every parent

And so, next few years are blurry,
the next decade’s a flurry of
amells and tastes unknown

Threads sewn straight through this fabric
through fields of every color
one culture to another

I come alive and I get giddy I am taken and globally naturalized

I am a citizen of the planet
From simple roots through high vision
I am guarded by the angels
My body guides the direction I go in

I am a citizen of the planet
My favorite pastime edge stretching
Besotten with human condition
These ideals are borne from my deepest within

Using Songs to Build International Understanding and Solidarity

By Bob Peterson
Songs, like poetry, are powerful tools to build consciousness and solidarity on global issues. We begin everyday in my classroom with our "song of the week." Students receive the song lyrics and keep them in their three-ring binders. The songs generally relate to topics of study. I allow students to bring in songs as well, although they must know the lyrics and have a reason for sharing the song with classmates. By the end of the week, students may not have memorized the words to the "song of the week," but they are familiar enough with the lyrics and music so that the song becomes "theirs." Even with some of the songs that I would imagine the children think poorly of - say, some of the slower folk songs - by the end of the week the children demand to hear them a second or third time each morning.
When I introduce a song, I go over the geographical connections using a classroom map. I also explain any vocabulary words that might be difficult. Finally, and most importantly, I give the social context. Depending on whether I use the song at the beginning of a unit of study, or in the middle, the amount of "context setting" varies greatly. For example, I use Nancy Schimmel's "1492" as a way to introduce the Columbus controversy. We ultimately locate the geographical origin and learn something about the Native nations she mentions. The following is a listing of songs that teachers and activists might find useful as they teach for justice in an unjust world. This list is in no way comprehensive, and I would appreciate receiving any additional suggestions. (Visit www.rethinkingschools.org/rg for an updated list.)

Music is an effective tool for raising awareness, expressing emotions and prompting action. Many musicians are very conscious of the environment. Here are 8 top songs about climate change. The songs are new and old, fast and slow, funny and serious, by the famous and the unknown.


I hope you can enjoy all these songs. They're really worth listening.

Kennedy's speech on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

I know I told you I was going to talk about global issues in my next entry. But I have watched Bobby Kennedy's speech on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and something has grasped my attention. He mentions  Aeschylus and then recites a few lines of a poem:

"Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."

 Here you have the original poem.

Wisdom comes through suffering.
Trouble, with its memories of pain,
Drips in our hearts as we try to sleep,
So men against their will
Learn to practice moderation.
Favours come to us from gods.

Aeschylus (525-456 BC) Greek dramatist (Æschylus)
Agamemnon, l. 179

Alt. trans.:
"He who learns must suffer
And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget
Falls drop by drop upon the heart,
And in our own despite, against our will,
Comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God."

I have found out that the above alternate was misquoted by Robert Kennedy in his speecn on the assassination of Martin Luther King (4 Apr 1968). Kennedy's family used it as an epitaph on his grave Arlington National Cemetery:

"In our sleep, pain which cannot forget
falls drop by drop upon the heart
until, in our own despair, against our will,
comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."

climate change

Global warming: climate change

I don't want to discuss cause and effect; it's quite late for that. What is essential is to find a solution and to move on. For instance, what do we make of it "IF the ice caps melt "and all that fresh ice water goes into the ocean currents near the poles? Do you really think the currents will drop temperature? Or will we get more evaporation causing more cloud cover and heavier rain and storms? Will the water levels rise a massive amount in a short space of time? Will the planet self regulate and we are panicking over nothing? Will the planet heat up and destroy our environment? To my mind, it is obvious that global warming is a reality. The key question is wether this is due to natural causes or to human activity.
Watch this video and think about it.

After watching this video, there seems little doubt that this recent, deep rise in temperatures is due to human beings. Moreover, it's very clear that hadn't it  been by our own actions, there would have been found less temperature changes. I completely agree with Richard Attenborough when he explains that the variations in "the climate are enduced by human activity". A group of climate scientists prepared a graph in which they explain the process. Up to the 1970s the variations of the climate can be explained by natural causes. However, from this decade on what causes these variations is the human factor.


Nevertheless, who is really to blame for global warming? That's another key question to which I'll try to give an answer in my next entry.


 

Iñaki Gabilondo

Here you have a short video, it lasts about 36 seconds, in which you can listen to Iñaki Gabilondo. To my mind, he's one of the best journalists in our country. I have always admired him, but one of the things I like best is his voice: a deep kind voice...

Celtic trees pictures

Yesterday afternoon, following Emilio's recommendation, I decided to have a look at Alberto's blog. To my mind, he has posted a very interested article about The Celtic Tree Calendar by Michealín Daugherty. I started reading it and, as I was doing it, I tried to make a mental picture of all these trees. It was impossible! I felt really frustrated. So I decided to look for these pictures on the net. And I discovered a very interesting web page with these Celtic trees pictures. But I got amazed when I found out a lot more revealling and surprising information about the Celts. Therefore, if you're really into Celtic culture this is the webpage for you. You can find different links about all the Celtic Symbols, the Celtic animals, the Celtic Archetypes, the Celtic astrology, the Celtic knots and other miscellaneous data that can help you understand deeply their way of living and, above all, their strong connection to nature. Hope you enjoy it!

Nuria

"If you want something in life reach out and grab it."

The sentence shown above has been said many times, but it can be interpreted in different ways.  This phrase can be more for people that have things that are readily available to obtain, but the person is too shy or too lazy to just get, or at least try to get what they want. Moreover, to grab is a metaphor; in this context means: if you want to have something, then do all necessary to get it. That means that if you really, really wan't something, then you should grab it, you should never miss the appretonitie. That also means that you have maybe only one chance; you have to work hard to get it! You have to stick for it and never let go! To some extent, applied to life in general it means: never give up, never let others decide for you, never be afraid to make mistakes; but learn from them and do it better the next time.  Unfortunately, this phrase is simply not true (in many cases at least). Many times people want things which they can never have, no matter what they’ll do. It’s frustrating but that’s how it is. The ancient Stoic school explained that the problem, in fact, is our desire to possess things we can not have, and if you accept things as they are (the opposite of “grabbing it” !), you’ll be happy. In conclusion, the final point is to never just wait for good things to come to you, if you see any good opportunity, take it. Life is too short. If you let things you want slip away, you may never get a crack and have them again. It means that if you sit back and expect life to come to you, you'll be disappointed... If you want things, you need to grab them for yourself... The phrase means you have to try to get what you want and you can't just sit and wait. Don't let opportunities pass you by...If you feel it's right for you go for it.

 

Here you have the soundtrack of the film  Into the Wild . The message is : find the people in your life that are “magic”.  And then show it to them.  Live it.  Reach out and hold on with your love.

 

.

Raining again: when it rains there are people, like me, who prefer to stay at home in their free time. And there are loads of things you can do while being at home. I'm not going to write you here that list; better than that, I'm going to give you a clear example. One of my favourites is listening to good music. Here you have one song that is very approprite for a rainy day like this one. Hope you enjoy it ! You can listen to it even if it isn't raining.



QUATRAIN

Surrounded by intense lights, surrounded by deafening noises,
I can't see my inner light, I can't listen to my inner voice;
Smells, tastes, lights, sounds...Where are You?
I want to feel You, Happiness, I need to sense You.