TURMA DE INGLÊS

Reading Log - 2nd and (at) last

Yes, maybe I'm being and idiot because I'm doing this after the grades have all been set and this may not count for anything, but I thought to myself: "Joana, you really need to do this, so start to work!". So, my dear collegues, this is my last entry... about the book.

WAR AND PEACE
(2007 series)
So much to say, few time to do it.
This book was writen by one of the greatest minds of all times, the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, and it's a major classic which I thought I really had to read it before I die. An so I did, I read 1392 pages of pure emotion alied with (sometimes) addiction to those little words printed on fragile papper.

First of all, I already knew a bit of Tolstoy's life, but while I was reading the book I got more interested in this fascinating man, so trying to know him better was one of my goals. The other of many was to relate the story with my personal life (how so?). One of my first conclusions was that Tolstoy's wife suffered a lot with him; he had a troubled personality, it very strong and with clear ideas about others, God, him and life itself.
Following what I said, research was the basis of my work, and it added a lot of unknown and useful information in order to understand the story better. The story happens in the period of time between 1805 and 1014, during the Napoleonic wars and Russia's invasion by his troops.

So, the story is divided in three tipes of structure, which are:

• Character's story
• Historical events
• Author's philosophical thoughts

Character's Story

Right from the beginning some of the almost 500 characters of the book are introduced; later on, it's noticeble the that the story is centered on 5 aristocratic Russian families:

• Bolkonsky
• Rostov
• Bezukhov
• Kuragin
• Drubetskoys

Of course they complement each other and they're lifes are attached. I even made a kind of family tree because the characters were so many and had such difficult names I had problems to follow who was doing what.

Although it refered 5 aristocratic families, the most important characters were just 6, but even more profoundly (if I can say so) were the ones marked in blue:

• Pierre Bezukhov
• Prince Andrey Bolkonsky
• Princess Natasha Rostov
• Prince Nikolay Rostov
• Princess Márya Bolkonsky
• Sónya

Pierre Bezukhov iss the major character, but for me it isn't. Pierre was like the week side of us all, and initially I felt pity for him. He was a person with no direction in life, unshore of what to do, how to behave and how to be. The son of a noble, who by the way didn't raise him and so Pierre's role model was the one and only, Napoleon Bonaparte; Napoleon was everything Pierre was not - charismatic, strong, a fighter - and even more. Pierre seeks for "inner harmony".

Andrey Bolkonsky is my favourite character. He's "down-to-earth" or, as others think, a pessimist. He seems to be very strong mentally and phisically, but is just appearence and much of all bad repution given by people who don't know him at all. He's sensitive and cold dued to his father who is selfish and doesn't like to be with other people, so he closes in himself. Because Pierre was always isolated, he tryes to run from it to join the army, but he realised he was alone even in the battlefield. He believe life is pointless whithout loving once, even though he doesn't accept happiness exists.

Natasha Rostov is the perfect woman, the ideal for Toltoy. Beautiful, strong, a good lover and innocent in her unique way. I think of her like a small Marilyn Monroe, because she had a sad life carried with disappointment and high-expectations for te future with somebody else - men, mostly. I also felt very sad for her and the way her life was by the end of the book I must say was kind of surprising, iet I predicted it somehow, but I didn't want to believe how she "ended".

The other characters are, respectively, Natasha's brother, Andrey's sister and Natasha and Nikolay's cousin, and the three are important to the characters I refered before.

HISTORICAL EVENTS

Like I said, the story takes place during the Napoleonic wars, and to comprehend better I researched a lot, really a lot. The book mentions the Battle of Austerlitz, the Battle of Borodino, the invasion of Russia by Napoleonic troops, the trades between France and some countries, the Colligations, the Battle of Leipzig and many more. Internally, it's depicted Russian society and its unfair social standards and people deprivations.

STYLE/LANGUAGE

Tolstoy prives for realism, so he recurs to facts, along with fiction that could work out fine in reallity because the book is all about that: real life, real people, real feelings. The environment is detailed at the maximum, focusing the battles and the soirées. Russian is the predominant language, although French is used by some fancy aristocrats because it was seen as the language of the wealthy and intelectual people. The differences between the two languages are a bridge to the cultural transformation in Russia (it's kind like Os Maias, though Russian society was proud of their culture).

BEAUTIFUL PASSAGES

Again, so many, few to pic.

•“- How easy it is, what little effort it takes to do so much good and how little we trouble ourselves to do it!” - Pierre
•“Rostov had seen tears in the Tsar’s eyes and he heard him say to Czartoryski in French has he rode of, ‘What a terrible thing war is, what a terrible thing!’”
•“- Who’s right and who’s wrong? No one is. Just live for the day… tomorrow you die… I could have died an hour ago. And why worry when you’ve only got a second to live on the scale of eternity?” - Andrey
•“’What’s happening?... I think I’m falling… My legs are going’, he thought, collapsing on his back. He opened his eyes (…). Was the gunner killed or not? Did they get the cannons or were they save? But he saw none of that. Above him was nothing, nothing but the sky – the lofty sky, not a clear sky, but still infinitely lofty, with grey clouds creeping gently across. ‘It’s so quiet, peaceful and solemn, not like me rushing about’, thought Prince Andrey, ‘not like us, all that yelling and scrapping (…), those clouds are different, creeping across that lofty, infinite sky. How can it be that I’ve never seen that lofty sky before? Oh, how happy I am to have found it at last. Yes! It’s all vanity, it’s all an illusion, everything except that infinite sky. There is nothing, nothing – that’s all there is. But there isn’t even that. There’s nothing but stillness and peace. Thank God for that!’”
•“No, nothing is certain, nothing but the nothingness of all that we can understand, and the splendour of something we can’t understand, but we know to be infinitely important!” – Andrey
•“’What have I done?’ he asked himself. ‘I have killed her lover… I’ve killed my wife’s lover. I really have, Why? How did I get into all this?’ By marrying her, came a inner voice. ‘It’s not my fault, is it?’ he asked himself. Yes it is. You weren’t in love with her when you got married and you pulled the wool over your own eyes and hers.” - Pierre
•“The only thing we can know is that we don’t know anything. And that is the summit of human wisdom.” – Pierre
•“’Here on earth, this earth here’, (Pierre pointed to the open country) ‘ there is no righteousness – it’s all false and wicked. But in the universe, the whole vast universe, there is a kingdom of truth, and we are two things – children of earth here and now, and children of the universe in eternity.’”
•“On the journey there he seemed to have reconsidered his entire life and come right back to his first conclusion, which was as reassuring as it was devoid of hope – that he needn’t bother with anything new, all he had to do was live out his life without doing any harm, free from worry and any kind of desire.”
•“Let the dead burry the dead, but while ever there is life, you must live and be happy.” – Andrey
•“If we’ve been angels, why did we fall down so low?” – Nikolay
•“My Hélène has never cared for anything but her own body and she’s one of the stupidest woman in the world, yet everybody thinks she’s the last word in intelligence and sophistication, and they all bow down to her. (…) Oh well, it’s the way of things, I suppose. But there am I – what can I do with myself?” – Pierre
•“Platonic love… passing clouds.”

THEMES

Every time I read a 19th century story I get the feeling that the writers had lots of times to think in banalities and transform them in big monsters, eager to dramatize more and more. But, as always, I have to put in their shoes and think about how their thoughts changed minds and actions. So, briefly, the themes were:

•Free will Vs necessity
•Death
•Personal growth
• Self-reflection
•Evolution of civilization
•Nihilism Vs Christian values
•Love and compassion
•Materialism as a obstacle
•Fate / destiny
•War brutality
•Our place in the world

The themes in Bolt are the highlights of the narrative; personal growth dued to the characters moral changes through 15-20 years, Nihilism and Christian values are religious dualities portrayted by Andrey and Pierre (respectivally), materialism as a obstacule to achieve happiness (Toltoy's personal way of life, far from temptation) and our place in the world logically connected with the characters insered in History and in their lifes, so as Leo Tolstoy.

Summing up, the author tried to achieve truth by showing to people how some facts occurred and how it affected society, mixing History (Napoleon and others personalities biography and speeches, historians essays, chronicles of the time) and fiction. He also gives to the Russians the so needed cultural exhaltation for them to develop and improve it so it won't get lost. Finally, the figure of Napoleon is demystified and even teased:

• “The Emperor Napoleon was still in his bedroom, finishing his toilet. With much snorting and harrumphing he twisted this way and that, offering his fat back and then his flabby, hairy chest to the flesh-brush wielded by a valet who was rubbing him down. Another valet held one finger over the mouth of a little bottle as he sprinkled the Emperor’s pampered person with eau the cologne, and the look on his face suggested that he was unique in knowing where and how much to sprinkle. Napoleon’s short hair was wet and matted down over his forehead. But his face, for its sallow puffiness, glowed with physical pleasure. ‘Go on, harder, keep at it…’”

FINAL THOUGHTS

I really like the book, and I will read it again, but in some years from now because I want to get another perspective and live it differently, I suppose. Tomorrow I have to deliver the book to the teacherm because it's hers, not mine, unfortunately. I have to take off the post-its and hand in this wonderful book I carried on my bag for so long. Farewell War and Peace, hello Mrs. Dalloway.

Reading Log - 1st!

As you all know, or not, I'm reading Toltoy's "War & Peace", while I do my log, which is basically writting some point of views or some beautiful passages on post its (pink pappers).

A beautiful passage:

Tsar in a battlefield, helping a hurted man - "How terrible war is!"

And that's all, I'm not going to spoil my presentation.
But truth be told, it's a hard book because of the characters (they're so many and intense) and because of the writting, full of adjectives and facts.

April 21st Movie Session

"A Waltz with Bashir" was the movie our class watched last Wednesday. It was teacher's recommendation, so we had to respect her decision og bringing it to the class... bad idea (joke). Everyone was falling asleep, or talking, or laughing, or simply distracted with something else. Yes, it was a hard movie, but even hard movies can be more interesting. I don't know if I didn't like because of the animation, or because of the story itself, but simply didn't catch my attention.
But, as I said when the movie ended and we started discussing it, maybe if I had watched at the cinema I would have different opinion.
I just liked two things: the way the "actors" narrated - their voice were more real, the way they reacted, like a man (I don't recall who) who during his report made a sound like saying "Ffhhh, I don't know...", which appeared very natural; the second thing was the music - I love when they add classical songs with slow motion scenes.
Watch this trailer, then the movie if possible, and make your own conclusions.

"Take a sad song and make it better"

Music moves people... unbeliavable.





(Hate this music, but I have to admit it's an original way to promote a concert.)



Even in Portugal...



Though in this case those were the few Portuguese who joined the "cause"...
1: The dance wasn't that good; 2: Portuguese need to loosen up!

"Taugh Catch" TIMES article - Poor tunas...

The principal purpose of the article is to demonstrate the importance of animals (in this case tunas) for a balanced environment.
It gives us the reality of some relevant companies, particulary their struggle to catch Yellowfin and Bluefin, two endangered tuna species.
On one side there's the fisherman, who need to catch this species to survive, and on the other there's WWF, the scientists and even fishermans who defend sanctions to limit the number of fish getting caught.
The business is run like this: first tuna is caught, then washed, beheaded, gutted and packed with dry ice to be put on 10.30 a.m. Manila's flight, to be finally on the market in such places as Tokyo, Seattle or California. Mainly this kind of species come from Southern Filipines where the biggest and best tuna can cost around seven hundred dollars or more!
The way tuna is captured has changed through years; in the old days, fisherman used to go out to sea in the morning and by night came back with two or three tunas weighing each seventy kilos, whereas nowadays even to catch small kinds it's a two/three day trip out of sea due to the massive exploitation. The country which exhides normal ratings is Japan, a country which population much depends on the resources of the sea and, most importantly, of sushi restaurants. This country consumes 80% of the 6 000 tons of Bluefin caught worldwide, which is used for Sashimi.
Although the number of species has increased, the number of boats are rising, and so is the distance permitted to fish, invanding sometimes protected areas (and that's why contolling is so hard).
To solve this problem of possible extinction, European Commission advised a Global suspension of fishing Atlantic Bluefin tuna, which was denied by Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Spain, France and Italy because they think the measure would be a disaster economically; this measure would give time to recover the species. The most worrying method to catch them is by dragging to shore (a technique invented on the Mediterranean in 1996) which is called "Tuna Ranching"; it consists on dragging the fish with aditives so the price gets higher the heavier it gets.
But, and though they're endangered, Bluefin isn't people's first choise; they first pick canned tuna, the Slipjack and Albacore species.
Another method used to produce more fish is Aquaculture, which experts say that is wasteful and expensive. The only system which seems to respect and protect these species are handline fisheres.
Summing up, the greed for tuna is hindering not just these species, but food chain too, and if this problem isn't solved, many animals will disapear quickly.

P.S. - As you may have notice, this summary wasn't really a summary. The reason why? Well, I think that all I've written matters. That's all.



This is how Americans sell canned tuna:

Damn!

3rd term has started and I'm feeling kinda depressed... yeah, already! Vacations were great, but I want more(!).

Pain never ends, right? Yes, I'm overreacting, BUT... there's no but, forget it.

So, enjoy school because it's coming to an end (at last!).

Bye, see you later, as always.

P.S. - Fortunetelly, I'm not feeling as bad as this guy.

Assessment-Self My

I'm soooooooooooooooooo gratteful the term as ended that I can't put in words what I'm feeling!
So, self assessing me, a hard thing to do, mostly because I have bad memorie, or maybe I try to, so I'm not the best person to evaluate my work. But I can give an opinion about it right?
As you can see my blog entries are always super interesting, clever and serious. In class, I tend to share my opinions only when I think it's relevant or when the teacher asks me to. Impecable caligraphy I have, yes. My writing got better I think. (Don't judge only this entry, please). I don't think I presented anything besides the debate of the movie "Invictus" (poem, comentaries, that kind of stuff).

I don't know, really. I just know that I made an incrediable effort to be better and it pulled through in some cases. Yes, it was a long term, but I liked very much because of the projects we got into, besides the presentations which enriched culturaly. Yeah, my grammar needs some work... some, pff, modesty. (Maybe 16?)

Well, it was good, very pleasent and educational, but I think we all need vacations... me specially. I'm thankful for me not having any negative grade and ending this term reflecting about what comes next, which is my trip to _____. I'm not going to reveal because if I do people will say I'm being a "show of".

For everyone who follows this blog full of pointless issues, enjoy your spring vacations, they only last 2 weeks! Goodbye.

"I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shine ain't always gonna be gold I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good..."

Whatever works for you is good by me!

"Whatever works" was the movie our class saw last Wednesday. I think it was a awesome class because it wasn't boring, the "debate" slash coffee brake conversation was relaxed and like some people said, yes, it's a "feel good movie".

It's not just about clichés, it stands for the necessity of people trying to insert in some stereotyped group in society too, and it made me think what is dumness and what is inteligence. And more significantly, can they work together?

Or another cliché, do the opposites attract each other?
Summing up, Woody Allen (the director of it) is trully, simply and "undenniably" genious! So, "Whatever Works", I recommend.

Oh, and by the way, his geniousness didn't remained only in the type of movie and the argument he arranged, but also in the choose of actors: Larry David, the best of the bests!

What do I think, it's what you're askin'?!

I'm gonna state some opinions about some presentations of this term.

Pedro and Tiago (people with charisma):
It was really good, they were enthusiastic about te theme, or the personality they were talking about, and it was very original; who would think that someone would consider a pedophile and also a murderer as a charismatic person - Jim Jones.

Mário (people with charisma):
Well, the teacher knows my honest opinion... and harsh too, but I can't lie, I didn't like that much as everybody else. Yeah, Mário chose a crowd pleaser, and that's why he caught everyone's attention. But overall the idea was good and different, although someone else had started presenting works with fund music (guess who) so, originality... uhm. Ah, and he presented a lot of charismatic people, all of them rock musicians.

Bernardo and Sara (people with charisma):
It was one of the best presentations ever. Really, it was fresh and different. I didn't know much about Japan and it's culture, even less about their actual prime-minister Yukio Hatoyama, but with their explanation I got into it and absorved every information and curiosity. I'm repeating what all people say, but Bernardo as always was brilliant and so was Sara. She presented the fashion part so calmly iet clearly to the audience that I have to say: Sara, you should do presentations more often, and by presentations I mean about Art pr fashion. I know I'm not forward to relate image with presenting a good work, by I have to admit that the way Sara was dressed that day caught my attention too. Yes, I noticed (ahah); she had a beautiful skirt, old-fashioned with a kind of corset (don't know if this is the right word for it), and a jacket which covered a black top... I don't know, I just have to say: a refined choise Sara!

Marta Prino (reading project):
I thought she presented an interesting book, which would not be my first choice to read, but she changed my mind. I have to admit, I didn't pay enough attention, but I think its interesting the reason why she picked that book: most of all, because of mother-daughter relationship issues. Sorry I don't remember the title of the book.

Inês Peixoto (reading project):
Dracula. We all have multiple notions about what Dracula is, and what does the story talks about, or if it was real or not. Well, Inês destroy all that conceptions by telling us the true facts about... the book, and also the character(s). She was catchy, clever by explaining the story resourcing to the movie "Dracula" of 1992 and comfortable presenting. I don't like the movie that much, but the story of Dracula seduce and enchants people. A myth? For sure, but a great one. (Great presentation, sorry Inês, if Karina and I talked too loud).

Final Task - What is Art (hate cubism)

"Castelo en La Roche - Guyon" - by Georges Braque

It has fast brushstrokes. Maybe because the green of the trees or bushes would not last like that forever. As all the other drawings of the book, the lines are fixed and straight, printing buildings unmoving nature.

The colour selection shows us that, even if the reality painted is not so clear, the green is for the trees and the brown for the houses. So, it's not very colourful.

It was painted with oil on canvas, a form of painting which I don't know nothing about, and it's from 1909. I think the painting has a medium size (92x73 cm).

This painting is a portrait of a real Castle, at La Roche, in North France.

This is the real Castle which Braque painted.
I'm asking myself why did I chose this painting... what's goin' on with my mind?

So, this final task is going to stay this way, without too much information, or even with any information... just the basics.
Yes, and I'm just laizy by now, but it's really hard for me to interpret this painting because is so obvious... "boringly" obvious!

And that's all. Nothing more to say. Don't know why I took so long...

Test composition 2

(I just have to say that I didn't predict to write either on the blog or on the test a composition about this... I just had to do it, it's my uncounscience, it really is. Now, enjoy, again.)

Writing 19.
"They had nothing to say to each other"

Two best friends were about to start a project, a big, inspiring and fantastic project. Its main purpose was to amuse people and to push their boundaries. Their names are, yes, Kenny and Spenny.

They had it all: great jobs, beautiful women, marvelous houses... their lifes were made from heaven. One day, suddenly, one of them started questioning - "What about my friend? I'm not giving him the importance he gives to me. I'm gonna change it!". This guy was Kenny. He talked then with his great buddy, Spenny. When the show was ready to start, it came as a major surprise to Spenny, he could not believe that his friend was trying to help his career as a comedian by mainly... humiliating him!

The show was about competition and looser's humiliation. Of course, all we could guess when we first saw them was that, definetely, Kenny would always win, either fair or not. But, surprisingly, Spenny started winning the competitions; the choice of the competition theme would variate with their mood, like the episode when they had to sell more Bibles than the other. But, in this particular episode we saw Spenny changing, to a less confident man. It was devastated to see such a bright guy falling in Kenny's pranks... which were in some cases hilarious.

When we (fans) realised Spenny was having a mental breackdown: Kenny hasn't spared him the stupid, childish humiliation. It was the near end, and by that time they had nothing to say to each other, just mean and painful words, bad ones, disgusting too.

Well, but they worked out their problems, not with counselling, but with more funny episodes and sick humiliations. So, the question is, what are friends really for?

Test composition

WRITING Part 2 - Topic 2

"Video killed the painted stars" is an original way to prove that all of us can do Art, even if our Art is simply changing images which are not ours.

Like the image of a video (I presume), we all want to draw moustaches on women and boobs on men. Why? Because it goes against the standards of outr society. Everybody knows that Monalisa is a work of Art, but what if someone drew a moustache and an eyebrow, would it still be a meaningful painting?

So, what can Art be? Art can, no, is a mix of ideas which are brought alive by an artist, could it bea painting, a movie, a remarkable porcelan plate, a hair do, a graffiti, whatever gives us the feeling of Art, or just a random feeling.

But in this kind of "Art" (changing in some way someone's work of Art) I think that provoking and somehow scandalising the old-fashioned art critics or/and Art lovers. And in this case, just the title of the work "Video killed the painted stars" recalls other type of Art: music. So, the author changed the title of the hit music "Video killed the radio star" to "painting star", which is more appropriate. And deeply, the title sends another message, with underlined thoughts of evolution; we prove it wuth historical facts: tapes preceded turntables, tapes preceded cd's, and cd's preceded virtual music in mp3 players.

So, with all the technological advances, the world of Art changes too, plus the editing of pictures or movies.

But even with this transformation, Art concept follows every generation, so in my point of view there is no way any type of Art can kill another. Simply we adjust our ideas with the tools we have in hand.

Today I had the need to write

Today I had the need to write. This time is different because I'm writing directly on the computer, instead of my regular papper friends. Usually, I don't like to share my state of spirit, but today... well, today is the day.

So, by now I'm feeling nostalgic. I hate to think, it hurts sometimes (and no, I'm not trying to be stupid, I'm just... a "self-unknowing" stranger, if that means anything at all).

"Meto-me para dentro, e fecho a janela.
Trazem o candeeiro e dão as boas noites,
E a minha voz contente dá as boas noites.
Oxalá a minha vida seja sempre isto:
O dia cheio de sol, ou suave de chuva,
Ou tempestuoso como se acabasse o Mundo,

A tarde suave e os ranchos que passam
Fitados com interesse da janela,
O último olhar amigo dado ao sossego das árvores,
E depois, fechada a janela, o candeeiro aceso,
Sem ler nada, nem pensar em nada, nem dormir,
Sentir a vida correr por mim como um rio por seu leito.
E lá fora um grande silêncio como um deus que dorme."

No, this poem is not mine, I'm not as genious as Fernando Pessoa, a.k.a. Alberto Caeiro.

And now... what now? Uau, being a teenager is the worst thing I've ever been. And how abou that?! This hole sentence is so like teenager... god. Why did I said this if I'm an unbeliver? I need long, very long vacations.

Oh, and yes, I'm having problems to sleep, maybe because I just slept one hour on Sunday because of the Oscars, which were by the way so unfair in some categories, such as "Best Actress in a Leading Role" in which the winner was Sandra Bullock (Sandra Bullock?!) and the Best Director, categorie that was influenced by this vague of "changing" and as so the Women's Day (it looks good in the picture), so is not that hard to guess who the winner was: Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker"). Oh, and she's James Cameron ex, so it felt like a slap in his face. And yes, maybe I'm being too harsh with her, she's a good director, I'm just defending Taratino because "Inglorious Basterds" is his materpiece and in my opinion he should have won.
Ah, and Monday and yesterday I just slept a total of 7 hours (insomnias), and I'm trying to compensate with afternoon naps, which is stupid because when I get to bed at night I can't sleep. But I can't be awake in the afternoon 'cause I get so sleepy. Yes, what a martyr I am...


So, the message of this post was very clear, wasn't it?
"Control yourself, take only what you need from it"

P.S.: I have the amazing skill of falling asleep anywhere... really, anywhere.

Humiliation time!

You know when you get hooked on something in which you can't get off?! This is a fact to me, more particulary because of a comedy's serial. It's more than perfect... or awesome... now that I really put my mind into it I understand: there's no definition! It's like this, or you absolutely love it, or you hate it so much that it makes your stomach sick. And that show is........

KENNY Vs. SPENNY!
It goes like this:
1 - Kenny and Spenny, two best friends choose something to challenge each other, like "Who can drink more beer?" or "Who can kiss more girls?";
2 - then, mostly because Spenny wants to, they make rules to limit challenge's fairness;
3 - they compete with all the criativity they got;
4 - finally, the WINNER humilliates the LOSER - that part is called "Humiliation".

Main message: THE WORLD IS CRUEL, my friends.

One of my favorite episodes ever is "Who is more funny?"
This one is "Who can imitate the other guy better?".


One of the most hilarious episode ever is "Who laugh first loses", specially this part. I don't understand howcome didn't Kenny laughed.



Well, for those who are curious about this show, you can watch it on FX channel, I don't know the schedules because I record entire seasons, or you can visit http://www.kennyvsspenny.tv/. Now, people, isn't it funny? Come on!...

Stupid words

I was watching a portuguese tv news when suddenly I hear some Madeirense man say: "Well, I was so enthusiatic about the idea of a flood that I had to see with my own eyes, that's why my family and I came to the quay." and then, because this statement was not enough, some old lady appeared with a smile on her face, and pronounced: "I was so sad when I came here and nothing happened, I was waiting for an inundation...". And that's not all! The main new of this... reporting was "Many curious people fill up the harbor of..." some little undeniably fools madeirense town.

Really, they should have been swallowed by the waves, just to make me happy while they were gracefully drinking sault water. Uhmmmm, what a delight!


Well, but see it on the bright side, "fun moments" in disasters like this should always happen to alleviate the ambience.
Specially because big catastrophe prevails...

Invictus

Our class went to the movies on the February 3rd to watch a Clint Eastwood's film, "Invictus".
First, I let you with the trailer. Ah, and sorry for the stupid quizz "A tua minhoca é grande?", it's beyond my control.



And the poem in which Mandela's was inspired to keep alive mentally, by the author William E. Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.


What I liked most about the movie was the idea of two kind of leaders, with (at first sight) different leadership skills but running for the same purpose: unity.
With Mandela, or MADIBA, we see a leader trying to unit South Africa nation, with the underlined vision of a "rainbow nation"; with François Pienaar (the national rugby team captain) it's all about the rugby and the effort to elevate his team's morality... and helping Mandela's conquering his dream.
It stands out the forgiveness needed to achieve a safe, strong and cohesive country; the position of those who didn't understand why Mandela forgave the people who tortured him and his partie's followers changes all along the movie, for example with his security guards.
In François's family there are changes too; the black maide, who was somehow "forgotten", is embraced by them the moment his parents (specially his father) understand that times had changed.

Besides, the rugby parts were great, and sports really unites people of every colour and every class. But when the match ends, what's left? Does the feeling carry on for a long time?...
And what kind of victory did South African nation got?

Madiba and François Pienaar, Rugby World Coup (1995)

Debate: to ban or not to ban, that's the question!

Because I'm not feeling up to do a well structured commentary, today I'm just going to copy the one I delivered to the teacher.

No, wait, I have one comment I'm dying to reveal: NO WAY I'M GOING TO BE THE SPOKE'S PERSON AGAIN! Ok, that's all by now.

I kinda felt like Hobbes... {thanks for not listen

FOR the banning and AGAINST the banning parties

Yesterday our class had a debate about extremist parties, specifically about either banning or not. On one side we had the ones who were for the banning, and on the other side we had against the banning group.
The people who were agaisnt the banning enphasizes that it's fair for those parties to exist because we live in a democratic system, which believes in such values like freedom of reunion and political choice.
"For the banning" tried to explain how the existance of these parties was anti-democratic because of the violence involved in it and their values or ideas for their idealistic society.
In common I think they didn't have much, but maybe both agreed that they didn't defend these parties ideas, but their existance, or not. Just by defending its existance doesn't mean people agree with what extremist parties represent, but saying "their existance compromises people's life" without explaining properly and by being contradictory wasn't the best moment for those who were "for the banning".

15 January 2010

Apart from this, I would like for everyone to understand that researching is the most important act when we have a debate. Relax?! Go to spas, there are many good ones.

Share, share

Because on Sundays I do... nothing at all, sometimes it gets very depressing. So, because I like to change my daily (or not) routine, I visited my collegues blogs; I have to admit some are excelent, and some are just not that great. But all this is to say that I have to keep up with all those guys/girls if I don't wanna stuck (not in the middle with someone, like Bob Dylan) in a crappy blog... what a stupid joke. What the hell Joana?!

Oh, and I'm going to tell you how I fight boredom: watch full "My name is Earl" episodes! Today I'm delighting season 1.

News Report - European Press says Swiss ban sends wrong signal

It all started with a proposal supported by the Swiss People's Party in order to ban minorets in Switzerland.

The country has chosen in favour of the ban, a decision which has brought a lot of controversy among the European community, and even more in Switzerland!

If on the one hand there are the opponents who claim that this decision goes against the national constitution ("Every person has the right to chose their religion") on the other hand, there are the people who refute that this is not against the Muslims, but against the minorets as political symbols of the Sharia law.

Yesterday, the decision had "cross" European countries, and the response to that was not positive at all. The French press focused the freedom limitation in Switzerland, a country which is well-known for its high importance given to Universal Human Rights; in England the reaction was the same, a population with major number of Musslims people disagreed entirelly with the ban; in Germany the discussion was related, but a little bit diferent, because the country was debating to build one of Europe's largest mosques in Cologne.

This new law, as some say, "sends a wrong signal to the Musslim population, and to who defends freedom of religion". The question that is on everyone's mouth is if this will rebirth and outline even more the diferences between the East and the West and worse, between Christians and Musslims.

2009/12/01

Declaration of Human Rights

I was trying to remember why my teacher remembered to remember the Declaration of Human Rights... (in what context) was related with some talk we had during classes? Well, it really doesn't "ring a bell". So, I'm just going to make the World's smallest dissertation...

Human Rights, ahah, what a laugh! Yes, it's a cliché, but all the concept of human rights is theorical (except when they're really taking seriously) and sometimes I wonder if politicians and all the world leaders (I'm talking about the very wealthy people, the ones who live underwater in Dubay) live or think they live in a "Forever Dream Land" also called Earth (for "us", the regular people) where we all live happilly ever after. The diference is that the "ever AFTER" and even the "happilly" parts are hard to achieve, mainly because of all the unhuman activities we see everywhere, and every single day. Yes, this is full of negative... or real statemants. But the worst thing is that everybody talks about the 3rd World countries and aparently forgets that his neighbour is beating on his wife, or some tramp is starving, or an old couple is being misstreated by public home.

Universal rights my *ss. (Sorry to whom are sensible).

Hello hello

Hi again! As you may already know, we're in a new year (2010) and I haven't posted anything... as always, post late.

New Years Resolutions? ... Nah. Ok, just one - stop biting my nails. But I'm a Karma girl, so I believe if you do good things, good things will happen to you. Otherwise... you know the rest.

No excuses, I'm going to post new magnificent stuff... or maybe not. Well, stay tunned.

Compliments from the worst "blogger" (person who has a blog) ever.

Joana Di Duarte