loles

Telling stories

2008-04-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

Many years ago, in summer of 1974, my husband and I travelled to Sweden. We went to visit some friends who lived there. Actually, one part of these friends were acquaintance because we only met once. It was the year before, when the Pinochet’s coup d’état took place in Chile. We met a curious couple formed by a Swedish blind woman and a Swedish catholic priest who had visited our country in order to make campaign for people who fought against Pinochet. These people were really friendly and open minded, so they offered us their home in Sweden.
The day which we arrived in their city, named Lund, it was very late, near midnight, and therefore we didn’t dare to go to their house. It was very cold and dark and we decided to sleep in a kind of garden near to the rail station. Luckily we had a warm sleeping bag and we didn’t feel cold.
During the night we heard many young people singing and shouting because, in Sweden, on Friday night is free drink and people were used to drink like a fish and became completely drunk. Despite the noise we slept like a log but suddenly I noticed something besides me. As I didn’t see anything I touched around and I could perceive a hedgehog with sharp spikes covering its back. I was really terrified and in this moment it began to rain, therefore we woke up and ran through the garden. In that moment, we just couldn’t believe our eyes! We weren’t in a garden, we were in a cemetery! For a long time my heart was in a crazy speed.
We went outside the cemetery and we walked to the bus station where we got the first bus in the morning to our friends’ home. When we arrived we explained to our friend our adventure and they even nearly laughed head off.
Looking back on it, it was one of the funniest things that’s ever happened to me!

Happy Saint George's day 2008!

2008-04-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

What if the princess wasn’t as beautiful and pretty as everybody thought? What if the cavalier George was really dull and mood? What if the dragon was vegetarian?

Discuss about it?

Happy Saint George's day plenty of roses and books!! !

ART AS FOOD FOR THOUGHT

2008-04-17T21:27:00.000-07:00

“My painting is visible images which conceal nothing; they evoke mystery and, indeed, when one sees one of my pictures, one asks oneself this simple question 'What does that mean'? It does not mean anything, because mystery means nothing either, it is unknowable."

René Magritte

Many years ago there was an exhibition from Rene Magritte in Barcelona, concretely, in Miro Fundation. It was really successful and for me was a marvellous discovery. Magritte’s paintings had been printing in my mind since I saw that exhibition.
Rene Magritte was a prodigiously talented master, but his mainly feature is as a cerebral painter; his paintings served as vehicles for the translation of abstract ideas into visual form.

There are many Magritte’s impressive paintings, however I’ve chosen The Human Condition because is an example of how Magritte appeals to our mind.

In this painting we can see the landscape which is painted mix with the painter’s easel and the painting itself. It means: what is the relationship between reality and image? Magritte makes us question whether the external world we take for reality is not merely an image itself. His work means that reality itself might only be a dream and, conversely, our dreams and desires are the stuff of which reality is made.

Moreover, with Magritte’s paintings I understood a very important matter: whether the reality is part of us, everyone can see the reality in a different way.

Urban legend

2008-04-14T11:41:00.000-07:00

I remember that in my childhood, time to time, I received a letter that asked me to distribute some copies to my friends or acquirers promising good luck if the letter was replicated and bad luck if it was not. These were named chain letters.
Common methods used in chain letters included emotionally manipulative stories, get rich very quickly, the exploitation of superstition to threaten the recipient with bad luck or even physical violence or death if you "breaks the chain" and refuses to adhere to the conditions set out in the letter.

This kind of stories could be considerate urban legends because people didn’t know if it was true or not. Urban legends, like chain letters, are sometimes repeated in news stories and, in recent years, distributed by e-mail.

Looking for Internet I’ve found this fun chain letter. Have a look!

"This chain letter was started in hopes bringing relief to other tired and discouraged women. Unlike most chain letters, this one does not cost anything. Just send a copy of this letter to five of your friends who are equally tired and discontented. Then bundle up your husband or boyfriend and send him to the women whose name appears at the top of the list, and add your name to the bottom of the list. When your turn comes, you will receive 5,625 men. One of them is bound to be better than the one you already have.
At the writing of this letter, a friend of mine had already received 184 men, 4 of whom were worth keeping. REMEMBER: this chain brings luck. An unmarried woman was able to choose between an orthodontist and a successful gynecologist. You can be lucky too, but DO NOT BREAK THE CHAIN! One woman break the chain, and got her own husband back again."

What a coincidence!

2008-03-28T16:41:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday in the English class we are practising vocabulary, collocations and how to plan a party. Different class-mate groups explained to others what kind of party they threw; some different parties were: a Mariona’s farewell party, a mushroom’s party, a rain's party, a Pedrera’s party, a special fancy dress party (sort of dress beginning by “M”), a cava’s party, and so on. Walking home, I was still thinking about these kind of parties I enjoy going to most of them when I run across my friend Maria. What was my surprise when she invited me at her divorce party. Obviously, I was very shocked and when Maria notice my astonishment said: I’m part of a trend of women and men embracing their breakups with divorce parties. "A new season, a new me, a new beginning: That's why I wanted the party; I wanted to celebrate my new life."
-I asked her: have you sorted out everything for your divorce party yet? Do you need a hand with anything?
-Maria said: Don’t worry. For me the party is a great way to thank all the people who stood by me through the ordeal of separation, so I’ve decided to hire the company services.
-Well, I said, very well. I'm looking forward to it. See you soon.

When I arrived home I was looking up in internet if really there was this kind of companies. I just couldn’t believe my eyes. I found a lot of webs that held you a divorce party. Besides, there I could see many people who were on the same Maria’s wave length and wrote things like this:
“My divorce party brought much needed closure to a horrible time in my life. It helped me turn the corner and start living again.” (Rhoda)
“After my divorce, I was bad-tempered and slightly crazy for months. My divorce party was cathartic. I finally let go of all the anger, sadness and regret. It marked the end of a difficult chaotic time.” (Rick)

Good for Maria!

It's a free world

2008-02-25T23:08:00.000-08:00

I’m up to my eyes because the second term is ready to end, so I have been absent from my blog for two weeks. Last Sunday, I look for a film in the newspaper. I read and saw the advice of Nuria about the film “Once”, but I go to the cinema with a friend who hate the musicals. So, I look for another option, of course, an original version in Yelmo Ikaria because is the only place where there are cinema in the Sundays morning.
The film I choose was “It’s a free world” directed by Ken Loach. Ken Loach is known for his naturalistic, social realism directing style and for his socialist beliefs. He made long time ago a famous film about the Spanish Civil War named “Tierra y Libertad”.

The main character is Angie, a working class woman, who is having been unjustly sacked from her job in an employment agency. So, she decides to set up her own agency with her flatmate, Rose. Taking advantage of the desperation of recent Polish immigrants, Angie build a successful business extremely quickly.

Honestly, I can’t recommend this film because it is very hard. But I’m keen on Ken Loach’s films although he shows the worst side of the human being.

An uncanny story

2008-01-28T04:53:00.000-08:00

When I was a child I used to live in the family’s country house all my summer’s holidays. Very often I felt unhappy because I was away from home and I missed my family, especially my mum. That means I was homesick. In fact, I hadn’t any reasons for feeling bad because my grandmother and my aunt made me feel comfortable at home by doing all that I wanted and even buying me all I asked for. Although I was only nine, I can remember perfectly how they pampered me all the time. My cousins made fun of me about my sadness, specially, my cousin Maria used to tell me scary stories and silly tales in order to make me laugh.
One day, we were sitting down on a bench opposite the house, the sun was going down and there were wonderful colours and lights in the sky when several insects began to fly around us. Suddenly, we saw a humble-bee and Maria said: “you are lucky because this humble-bee is brown and a good thing will soon happen. But take care when you see a black humble-bee because then a bad thing will happen”. Although her words sounded as a joke I paid attention to her and I thought: “I wish my parents come soon!”
It was no longer than past eleven when I went to my room to sleep. Suddenly I heard a car. It stopped in front of the hause and after a while I could hear my mum’s voice. I jumped out of my bed and I run to give her a great big hug.
Some days after, in the evening, we were playing in front of the house again when I saw a black humble-bee flying around the light. I felt very bad and I was afraid for my family. After dinner my aunt was on the phone for a long time and when she finished she told me that my mum was in the hospital because she had had an accident.
Was it a coincidence or do you believe that some kind of animals can announce you positive or negative events?

The Girl with a Pearl Earring

2008-01-16T13:17:00.000-08:00

Following the advice from the teacher and the classmate Island Castaway and Generation X, I decided to watch a film last week end. I think it is really useful in order to improve my English and besides it is amusing and interesting. In fact, I have never practiced so much like this course, writing on the blog, reading the texts from my classmates, watching films, and so on.
While I was looking for a film I though that I could be practical and watch the film “The Girl with a Pearl Earring” because I needed to watch it in order to make a comparison with the book.
To understand the film was not very easy for me, but I soon realized that in this film the silences, the looks, the light…were more important than the words. Watching the film, the feeling is the same as making a tour in a gallery of paintings, to enjoy repeatedly the beauty of light and shadow and colours. Most of the feelings and sensations of the characters are transmitted through the looks and expressions.
Soon the two main characters –Johannes Veemer and Grief – were involved in the same wavelength and they became very close. The most representative quote about this is when Grief, looking to herself in the painting, said “you looked inside me”.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2007-12-25T04:01:00.000-08:00

Mery Christmas and a Happy New Year! These days you can heard this sentence in the street, in the shops,… everywhere. The thing is whether we live these dates such as religious or traditional celebration or it is only a shopping pretext. Unfortunately, our society has become more and more materialistic and the citizens are important if they are able to buy a lot of things.
I like Christmas because it symbolises values like tenderness of a little child or solidarity between poor people. But, on the other hand, I hate Christmas because the consumption’s society makes us to waste our money and our time shopping and becoming crazy looking for a gift.
The custom of giving gifts to relatives and friends on a special day in winter probably began in ancient Rome and northern Europe. In these regions people gave each other small presents as part of their year-end celebrations-; nowadays, this custom goes up and it becomes a very great business.
That’s why I try to simplify Christmas –as possible as I can— by focusing less on stuff and more on connections with family, friends, fun, peace, and even a little rest and relax.

I whish you happiness in spite of Christmas.

Steve Jobs

2007-12-16T13:21:00.000-08:00

Last weeks I have been very busy. Therefore, I haven't had time to write anything in my blog. However, I'd like to coment --before Christmas-- the speech of Steve Jobs during the graduation Ceremony at the University of Stanford because I found it very interesting. Firstly, Steve Jobs explains that whatever you do in life feeling like becames usuful in one time or other. I can say that this is true. I had studied sciences and I was bored about it. Then I began a letter career and I thought that never I had studied before could be useful to me. Now, I have to admit that sciences subjects had made my mind well done.
Secondly, Steve Jobs explains how one failure could became an open door to another oportunity. So, when you have a problem, in spite of the drawback you should go ahead.
Finally, in this third story he reflects about life and death and he gives us some very important advice: realize what is important in your life; don't waste your time. This kind of advice can only be given by somebody who has undergone the situation. In fact, when people know that they are going to die --as Steven Joes-- they value the important things in their lives and through away that isn't worth. What do you think about that?

Flood

2007-11-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

I can’t write, as a personal experience, about exceptional natural disasters very famous in the world which we has been seen in all TV programmes. I am talking, for instance, about recent catastrophes like the Indian floods, the Peru earthquake or the Californian forest fire.
However, some years ago I lived a local flood in my city and I can say that it was really horrible. The causes of this flood were the prolonged and abundant rain in the up-river of Llobregat. After raining for many days in the area the water of the river overflowed and covered much of the city for many days. Luckily, no one’s been hurt because it happened during the day and people were awake, if not many people could be died.
Even now, when I close my eyes, I can see the dirty river’s water destroyed everything in its path.
Actually, Many months after the flood we knew that it happened, above all, because the Llobregat river was very dirty. What’s more, we found out that a building company threw rubbish in the river and hindered its normal flow.
After living this kind of experience let me ask an important question: are the natural disasters always inevitable? Why don’t human beings respect nature more?

Naomi Klein

2007-11-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

Last week while I was looking for information about the war and its consequences I found various interviews to Naomi Klein. I thought that it would be worth to share it with you. What is more, I'll try to post a video to my blog.

Naomi Klein is a Canadian journalist, well known for her political analyses of corporate globalization. I knew her first book “Non Logo”, published in 2000, which for many people became a manifiesto of the anti-globalization movement. The book analysed the publicity of the large corporations and try to create a consumer culture. Klein criticized these corporations, like Nike, which are also often guilty of exploiting workers in the world's poorest countries in pursuit of ever-greater profits.

These last weeks Naomi Klein was in Barcelona to present her last book The Shock Doctrine, The Rise of Disaster Capitalism published on 4 September 2007. The book argues that governments introduce repressive legislation at times of national and international crisis. The Shock Doctrine explain how America’s “free market” policies have come to dominate the world-- through the exploitation of disaster-shocked people and countries.

After writing the book, Noemi Klein with her friend Alfonso Cuaron made a short film in order to diffuse the theory of the book. I found it really hard but very interesting. You have it there:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kieyjfZDUIc&eurl=http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine/short-film]

Against the war!

2007-10-21T02:41:00.000-07:00

I don’t know what to say after seeing an excerpt of the documentary called War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death based on the Norman Solomon’s book of the same name.

In my opinion, the most important concludes are that through 50 years the United States government has used the same arguments to continue the war. All the presidents lie and manipulate sufficiently to get the war started and go on it and, even, to avoid the withdrawal of all American forces. From the Vietnam’s war in the sixties to Iraq’s war recently, the efforts of the various administrations have been to justify, and retain, public support for war.

Reading and listening the interview from Amy Goodman to Norman Salomon, what made me think was the Cindy Sheehan’s story. I didn’t understand why she was disappointed by the Democrats. I have heard something about her but I didn’t know her story, so I found out some information.
Cindy Sheehan is the California mother who became an anti-war leader after her son, Casey, was killed in Iraq and she was walking away from the peace movement.
Sheehan achieved national attention when she camped outside President Bush's home in Crawford, Texas, throughout August 2005 to demand a meeting with the president over her son's death.
While Bush ignored her, the vigil made her one of the most prominent figures among opponents of the war.
Nowadays, she is disillusioned by the failure of Democratic politicians to bring the unpopular war to an end and tired of a peace movement she said "often puts personal egos above peace and human life."
"I have tried ever since he died to make his sacrifice meaningful," she wrote. "Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives.
"It is so painful to me to know that I bought into this system for so many years, and Casey paid the price for that allegiance. I failed my boy and that hurts the most."

Hiking the way of Saint James

2007-10-18T12:10:00.000-07:00

The title of my presentation was “walking” because I hope to walk beside you, this course, in the English class. I still notice that I will make a big effort to follow your high level. However, I’m sure I’ll enjoy in our class like hiking in the mountains.

I think that creating a blog to improve our English learning is a great idea, although we have to work a lot. I’ll try to do my best.
In this new text I want to talk a little about me. But the problem is that I don’t like describing myself because, sometimes, I think I don’t know myself enough. In certain situations I am stronger than I believe I am. But in other cases I am weaker than I think. When I was a child I thought that people grew up and became perfect, wise, secure, ... but now, I realize that it was to build up hopes...

Anyway, thinking about how I could show you some of my distinctive features I suggest you find it out through my passion to the way of Saint James. There are a lot of reasons that I feel like doing this route; the first is that it implies the movement of the whole person: body and spirit; secondly, I carry only the necessary on my back, I clear the useless things off, I leave what is not essential. What is more, I can enjoy with the silence, peace and beauty; I can try out that walking is a patience school. It is the picture of our own life, every stage is a challenge, it is a question of progressing day after day courageously…; Moreover, everyday life acts have another flavour, like drinking, having a wash, welcoming a smile on our way... Mutual aid is also to be learned like showing the way, sharing food...; finally, walking this way gives many great occasions to live deep meetings with other persons.

What do you think? Is it possible to apply this way of life to every day?

Walking

2007-10-10T10:18:00.000-07:00

My best hobby is go for a walking in the mountain.

I always feel like going for a walk in the mountains on holidays everywhere. You get fantastic highmountains and panoramic views all the time. But every season has its charm. For example, in summer you can find lakes and take a bath in the frozen water.

In spring you can enjoy with the flowers and the waterfall. In winter, the season when the weather is colder, besides walking, you can practice sports like skiing. Sometimes the worst problem is the cold wind that hits your face.

From September to November, the light and vegetation gradually change as the valley and surrounding mountains slowly and serenely adopt their rich autumn colours.

Autumn is an ideal time for mountain walking but it is very important that you look for information about the weather before setting out because in this season the weather conditions are very changeable.