What is Scientology? (according to Alan Shore)
Girls, this video (00:02:39 long) is from "Boston Legal," a fantastic American legal drama-comedy created by David E. Kelley.
The script is delicious! and this character in particular, called Alan Shore and played by James Spader, is a lawyer of great intelligence and wit who will give his particular point of view as regards Scientology (a body of beliefs and related practices created by American science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard). This ideology has been lately adopted by some Hollywood stars, being actor Tom Cruise one of the most well-known Scientologists.
I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did, and still do!!!!!
Link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPBiGtVmir4
Activities:
1. Pay attention to stresses, pauses, emphasis and intonation. Please don't miss the punch line! Just, enjoy it.
2. If this is the first time you hear about this topic, read some on it. Then, give a short response to the lawyer as if you were Mr. Cairns (try to apply some of the expressions we've been dealing with when giving opinions)
3. Extract at least three expressions or specific terms you would like to remember.
MARÍA :-)
lunes, 3 de noviembre de 2008
sábado, 1 de noviembre de 2008
"Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color." What a deep thought! Thanks Anto for your contribution!!! Great job!
EDI. Practice Work: Blog activity.
1. Look at the picture and jot down any words that come to your mind.
2. Use those words to form a sentence that tells us what these children are trying to say, that is, what they are thinking about.
3. What is the point it is trying to make? What do you think this picture is telling us?
4. Now, read the paragraph below the picture and react to both, what it says and the picture. How do you feel about it?
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
http://www.miamibuenavistalions.com/images/KidsColour.jpg
1. Look at the picture and jot down any words that come to your mind.
2. Use those words to form a sentence that tells us what these children are trying to say, that is, what they are thinking about.
3. What is the point it is trying to make? What do you think this picture is telling us?
4. Now, read the paragraph below the picture and react to both, what it says and the picture. How do you feel about it?
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
http://www.miamibuenavistalions.com/images/KidsColour.jpg
viernes, 31 de octubre de 2008
Hey!!! Get pen and paper to work with Florencia's contribution!!! Very interesting. Let her know what you usually draw.
<YOU ARE WHAT YOU DRAW!!!
Before beginning reading what I prepared for you, you have to take a piece of paper and draw whatever you want. Please don’t read the text below.
Ok!! Have you finished to draw? Now you can read the information.
According to some graphologists at any rate, doodles may hold the key to your responsibility. The underlying idea of graphology is simple: writing is an automatic action controlled by your subconscious. Whether you loop your letters or angle them, how you join them together, how you spread them over the blank page, indeed every tiny twitch of your writing fingers may betray something of your inner turmoil. While the finer points of graphology have never stood up to hard scientific testing, its basic premise is hard to deny, as anyone who has received a letter written in scrawling block capitals in green ink will confirm. So while I would not go so far as to claim absolute validity for what follows, it may be worth taking some notice of it.
-The first thing to look for is the position of the doodle on the page:
Extroverts doodle on the middle of the paper, showing their need to be at the center of things and the need for space.
Doodling at the left of the paper is sign of worry and fear for what the future may hold.
Doodling at the right shows impulsiveness.
If you draw at the bottom, it shows critical and practical approach, at times depression.
Drawing at the top of the page is a sign of enthusiasm, spirituality, and an unpractical approach.
-Now comes pressure: turn your paper over and hold it up to the light. Can you see a firm impression made by your pen or pencil?
§ HEAVY - could express energy, activity, at times aggression.
§ MEDIUM - points to a well-balanced personality.
§ LIGHT - could be evidence of sensitivity.
§ IRREGULAR - might indicate that the person's inner energy is not altogether regulated. A lack of stability and frequent changes in moods, restlessness, and impatience.
-Now, you have to look at he pictures and read their explanations, they are related to common shapes.
1. GEOMETRICAL SHAPES
Triangles, squares, pattern formations: organized brain, clear thinking process and planning skills, meticulous planning on one's steps, efficiency, purposefulness.
2. VARIOUS TYPES
Stars, sun, moon, celestial bodies: optimism, ambition, a need to prove and advertise oneself.
3. ABSTRACT SHAPES
Tension, difficulty and disturbances in concentration.
4. GAMES
Noughts(zeros) and crosses, chess: competitive, plays to win
5. DRAWING GOOD-LOOKING FACES
Love of people, sees the positive in people and situations, optimistic, humane, good-natured, sensitive to his fellowmen, capacity to show empathy, friendly, enjoys social activities and events. He is interested in other people, has a need for closeness and social involvement. He has a keen sense for aesthetics, sensitivity and consideration in others.
6. DRAWING FACES WITH OPEN MOUTHS
Talkative, loves the sound of his own voice.
7. DRAWING UGLY FACES Suspicious, bitter, dislikes people, doesn't trust them, rebellious, lacks self-confidence, does not delegate and does not work well in a team. Bad-tempered, feels offended and deprived. He has a negative approach, looks for the worst in everyone and every circumstance and does not enjoy himself. He is highly judgmental, defensive, and tends to distort reality as a result of his "dark" view of things.
8. ARROWS AND LADDERS
Much ambition; a strong drive to prove himself; the end, in his opinion, justifies the means. Impatient for prolonged processes and aims for the nearest goal.
9. DRAWING HOUSES
Search for a home. A need for family and willingness to invest in his family. A need for a spiritual shelter and search of self. Feelings of insecurity (could be temporary).
10. MUSICAL NOTES Love of music.
11. REPETITIVE SHAPES
Patience, perseverance, methodical, developed ability to concentrate.
12. PLANTS, FLOWERPOTS, FLOWERS
Friendly, sociable (motifs used extensively by social workers), sensitive, humane, warm, open.
13. PUPPIES, CUBS, AND ANIMALS
Likes to defend others (Social workers). Love of animals, A need to take under his protection. Sensitivity, consideration. Needs peace of mind.
14. HEARTS
Sentimentalist; when in love, there is an understandable tendency to sketch hearts.
15. VARIOUS TRAVEL VEHICLES
Desire to travel, an urgent need for a holiday.
16. BOOKS BALANCED ONE ON TOP ON ANOTHER; BUILDING RESTING ON A BRICK OR TWO
A person who is under great stress and under the impression that the smallest of tremors might cause him to collapse.
17. FOOD
Person who likes to eat or who is dieting.
18. BARS
A sense of suffocation, a need to escape, a desire for freedom, a feeling that his actions are restricted.
19. PISTOLS, CANNONS, SWORDS
Competitiveness, the need to prove virility, sexuality.
20. STAIRS
Ambition, a need to advance.
21. PHALLIC SHAPES
Strong libido, sexuality. A need to demonstrate masculinity.
After reading all the information, I would like you to analyze your own drawing. You have to write a paragraph in which you include your analysis and what do you think about this kind of study. Then, you have to give me your drawing and paragraph. Thank you girls!
I hope you will enjoy what I prepared for you.
Flori.
Before beginning reading what I prepared for you, you have to take a piece of paper and draw whatever you want. Please don’t read the text below.
Ok!! Have you finished to draw? Now you can read the information.
According to some graphologists at any rate, doodles may hold the key to your responsibility. The underlying idea of graphology is simple: writing is an automatic action controlled by your subconscious. Whether you loop your letters or angle them, how you join them together, how you spread them over the blank page, indeed every tiny twitch of your writing fingers may betray something of your inner turmoil. While the finer points of graphology have never stood up to hard scientific testing, its basic premise is hard to deny, as anyone who has received a letter written in scrawling block capitals in green ink will confirm. So while I would not go so far as to claim absolute validity for what follows, it may be worth taking some notice of it.
-The first thing to look for is the position of the doodle on the page:
Extroverts doodle on the middle of the paper, showing their need to be at the center of things and the need for space.
Doodling at the left of the paper is sign of worry and fear for what the future may hold.
Doodling at the right shows impulsiveness.
If you draw at the bottom, it shows critical and practical approach, at times depression.
Drawing at the top of the page is a sign of enthusiasm, spirituality, and an unpractical approach.
-Now comes pressure: turn your paper over and hold it up to the light. Can you see a firm impression made by your pen or pencil?
§ HEAVY - could express energy, activity, at times aggression.
§ MEDIUM - points to a well-balanced personality.
§ LIGHT - could be evidence of sensitivity.
§ IRREGULAR - might indicate that the person's inner energy is not altogether regulated. A lack of stability and frequent changes in moods, restlessness, and impatience.
-Now, you have to look at he pictures and read their explanations, they are related to common shapes.
1. GEOMETRICAL SHAPES
Triangles, squares, pattern formations: organized brain, clear thinking process and planning skills, meticulous planning on one's steps, efficiency, purposefulness.
2. VARIOUS TYPES
Stars, sun, moon, celestial bodies: optimism, ambition, a need to prove and advertise oneself.
3. ABSTRACT SHAPES
Tension, difficulty and disturbances in concentration.
4. GAMES
Noughts(zeros) and crosses, chess: competitive, plays to win
5. DRAWING GOOD-LOOKING FACES
Love of people, sees the positive in people and situations, optimistic, humane, good-natured, sensitive to his fellowmen, capacity to show empathy, friendly, enjoys social activities and events. He is interested in other people, has a need for closeness and social involvement. He has a keen sense for aesthetics, sensitivity and consideration in others.
6. DRAWING FACES WITH OPEN MOUTHS
Talkative, loves the sound of his own voice.
7. DRAWING UGLY FACES Suspicious, bitter, dislikes people, doesn't trust them, rebellious, lacks self-confidence, does not delegate and does not work well in a team. Bad-tempered, feels offended and deprived. He has a negative approach, looks for the worst in everyone and every circumstance and does not enjoy himself. He is highly judgmental, defensive, and tends to distort reality as a result of his "dark" view of things.
8. ARROWS AND LADDERS
Much ambition; a strong drive to prove himself; the end, in his opinion, justifies the means. Impatient for prolonged processes and aims for the nearest goal.
9. DRAWING HOUSES
Search for a home. A need for family and willingness to invest in his family. A need for a spiritual shelter and search of self. Feelings of insecurity (could be temporary).
10. MUSICAL NOTES Love of music.
11. REPETITIVE SHAPES
Patience, perseverance, methodical, developed ability to concentrate.
12. PLANTS, FLOWERPOTS, FLOWERS
Friendly, sociable (motifs used extensively by social workers), sensitive, humane, warm, open.
13. PUPPIES, CUBS, AND ANIMALS
Likes to defend others (Social workers). Love of animals, A need to take under his protection. Sensitivity, consideration. Needs peace of mind.
14. HEARTS
Sentimentalist; when in love, there is an understandable tendency to sketch hearts.
15. VARIOUS TRAVEL VEHICLES
Desire to travel, an urgent need for a holiday.
16. BOOKS BALANCED ONE ON TOP ON ANOTHER; BUILDING RESTING ON A BRICK OR TWO
A person who is under great stress and under the impression that the smallest of tremors might cause him to collapse.
17. FOOD
Person who likes to eat or who is dieting.
18. BARS
A sense of suffocation, a need to escape, a desire for freedom, a feeling that his actions are restricted.
19. PISTOLS, CANNONS, SWORDS
Competitiveness, the need to prove virility, sexuality.
20. STAIRS
Ambition, a need to advance.
21. PHALLIC SHAPES
Strong libido, sexuality. A need to demonstrate masculinity.
After reading all the information, I would like you to analyze your own drawing. You have to write a paragraph in which you include your analysis and what do you think about this kind of study. Then, you have to give me your drawing and paragraph. Thank you girls!
I hope you will enjoy what I prepared for you.
Flori.
lunes, 27 de octubre de 2008
Sofia's contribution!!! Thanks. Good job!
Read the following text taken from the book “For And Against” (L. G. Alexander)
Once upon a time there lived a beautiful young woman and a handsome young man. They were very poor, but as they were deeply in love, they wanted to get married. The young people’s parents shook their heads. “You can’t get married yet”, they said. “Wait till you get a good job with good prospects”. So the young people waited until they found good jobs with good prospects and they were able to get married. They were still poor, of course. They didn’t have a house to live in or any furniture, but that didn’t matter. The young man had a good job with prospects, so large organizations lent him the money he needed to buy a house, some furniture, all the latest electrical appliances and a car. The couple lived happily ever after paying off debts for the rest of their lives. And so ends another modern romantic fable.
We live in a materialistic society and are trained from our earliest years to be acquisitive. Our possessions, “mine” and “yours” are clearly labelled from early chilhood. When we grow old enough to earn a living, it does not surprise us to discover that success is measured in terms of the money you earn. We spend the whole of our lives keeping up with our neighbours, the Joneses. If we buy a new television set, Jones is bound to buy a bigger and better one. If we buy a new car, we can be sure that Jones will go one better and get two new cars: one for his wife and one for himself. The most amusing thing about this game is that the Joneses and all the neighbours who are struggling frantically to keep up with them are spending borrowed money kindly provided, at a suitable rate of interest, of course, by friendly banks, insurance companies, etc.
It is not only in affluent societies that people are obsessed with the idea of making more money. Consumer goods are desirable everywhere and modern industry deliberately sets out to creat new markets. Gone are the days when industrial goods were made to last forever. The wheels of industry must be kept turning. “Built-in obsolescence” provides the means: goods are made to be discarded. Cars get tinier and tinier. You no sooner acquire this year´s model than you are thinking about its replacement.
This materialistic outlook has seriously influenced education. Fewer and fewer young people these days acquire knowledge only for its own sake. Every course of study must lead somewhere: i.e. to a bigger wage packet. The demand for skilled personnel far exeeds the supply and big companies compete with each other to recruit students before they have completed their studies. Tempting salaries and “fringe benefits” are offered to them. Recruiting tactics of this kind have led to the “brain drain”, the process by which highly skilled people offer their services to the highest bidder. The wealthier nations deprive their poorer neighbours of their most able citizens. While Mammon is worshipped as never before, the rich get richer and the poor, poorer.
1. Think of a suitable title for the text you have just read.
2. Infer the meaning of the underlying words.
3. Watch the following video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpAcz2tKaSM`
What is Madonna saying in this song?
Do you think she is being ironic here? Why?
4. Make a brief coment on both the text and the video saying if you agree or disagree on their ideas.
Once upon a time there lived a beautiful young woman and a handsome young man. They were very poor, but as they were deeply in love, they wanted to get married. The young people’s parents shook their heads. “You can’t get married yet”, they said. “Wait till you get a good job with good prospects”. So the young people waited until they found good jobs with good prospects and they were able to get married. They were still poor, of course. They didn’t have a house to live in or any furniture, but that didn’t matter. The young man had a good job with prospects, so large organizations lent him the money he needed to buy a house, some furniture, all the latest electrical appliances and a car. The couple lived happily ever after paying off debts for the rest of their lives. And so ends another modern romantic fable.
We live in a materialistic society and are trained from our earliest years to be acquisitive. Our possessions, “mine” and “yours” are clearly labelled from early chilhood. When we grow old enough to earn a living, it does not surprise us to discover that success is measured in terms of the money you earn. We spend the whole of our lives keeping up with our neighbours, the Joneses. If we buy a new television set, Jones is bound to buy a bigger and better one. If we buy a new car, we can be sure that Jones will go one better and get two new cars: one for his wife and one for himself. The most amusing thing about this game is that the Joneses and all the neighbours who are struggling frantically to keep up with them are spending borrowed money kindly provided, at a suitable rate of interest, of course, by friendly banks, insurance companies, etc.
It is not only in affluent societies that people are obsessed with the idea of making more money. Consumer goods are desirable everywhere and modern industry deliberately sets out to creat new markets. Gone are the days when industrial goods were made to last forever. The wheels of industry must be kept turning. “Built-in obsolescence” provides the means: goods are made to be discarded. Cars get tinier and tinier. You no sooner acquire this year´s model than you are thinking about its replacement.
This materialistic outlook has seriously influenced education. Fewer and fewer young people these days acquire knowledge only for its own sake. Every course of study must lead somewhere: i.e. to a bigger wage packet. The demand for skilled personnel far exeeds the supply and big companies compete with each other to recruit students before they have completed their studies. Tempting salaries and “fringe benefits” are offered to them. Recruiting tactics of this kind have led to the “brain drain”, the process by which highly skilled people offer their services to the highest bidder. The wealthier nations deprive their poorer neighbours of their most able citizens. While Mammon is worshipped as never before, the rich get richer and the poor, poorer.
1. Think of a suitable title for the text you have just read.
2. Infer the meaning of the underlying words.
3. Watch the following video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpAcz2tKaSM`
What is Madonna saying in this song?
Do you think she is being ironic here? Why?
4. Make a brief coment on both the text and the video saying if you agree or disagree on their ideas.
Art: Diego Rivera. What a great painter!! By Meli Lasorella.
Diego Rivera's Man at the Crossroads (1934)
By 1930, Mexican muralist Diego Rivera has gained international favour for his passionate murals. Inspired by an intense devotion to his cultural heritage, Rivera creates boldly hued masterpieces of public art that adorn the municipal buildings of Mexico City. His outgoing personality puts him at the centre of a circle of left-wing painters and poets, and his talent attracts wealthy patrons, including Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. In 1932, she convinces her husband, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., to commission a Rivera mural for the lobby of the soon-to-be-completed Rockefeller Centre in New York City. Rivera proposes a 63-foot-long portrait of workers facing symbolic crossroads. Once finished, the Centre’s building managers order Rivera to remove the offending image. As he refuses to do it, the mural is first covered and then demolished. Rivera never works in the United States again.
Now, look at the mural and try to guess why the company’s directors as well as Rockefeller himself were so hungry and decided to destroy it.
To give you some help, try to find these faces in the mural, some of them appear, others not.
Leon Trotsky
Charles Darwin
Pancho Villa - Mexican revolutionary leader
Abraham Lincoln
Vladimir Lenin
Frida Khalo
After making out which faces appeared, surely you are able to tell the reason why this work of art was destroyed, aren’t you? Please, write a brief response to the painting expressing if you like it or not and whether the image means something to you. What would you have done if you had been in Rivera’s place? Would you have been loyal to your ideals or to the people who entrusted you a mural? Don’t hate me; use the energy to express it in only a hundred and fifty words.
By 1930, Mexican muralist Diego Rivera has gained international favour for his passionate murals. Inspired by an intense devotion to his cultural heritage, Rivera creates boldly hued masterpieces of public art that adorn the municipal buildings of Mexico City. His outgoing personality puts him at the centre of a circle of left-wing painters and poets, and his talent attracts wealthy patrons, including Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. In 1932, she convinces her husband, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., to commission a Rivera mural for the lobby of the soon-to-be-completed Rockefeller Centre in New York City. Rivera proposes a 63-foot-long portrait of workers facing symbolic crossroads. Once finished, the Centre’s building managers order Rivera to remove the offending image. As he refuses to do it, the mural is first covered and then demolished. Rivera never works in the United States again.
Now, look at the mural and try to guess why the company’s directors as well as Rockefeller himself were so hungry and decided to destroy it.
To give you some help, try to find these faces in the mural, some of them appear, others not.
Leon Trotsky
Charles Darwin
Pancho Villa - Mexican revolutionary leader
Abraham Lincoln
Vladimir Lenin
Frida Khalo
After making out which faces appeared, surely you are able to tell the reason why this work of art was destroyed, aren’t you? Please, write a brief response to the painting expressing if you like it or not and whether the image means something to you. What would you have done if you had been in Rivera’s place? Would you have been loyal to your ideals or to the people who entrusted you a mural? Don’t hate me; use the energy to express it in only a hundred and fifty words.
viernes, 24 de octubre de 2008
Quite an interesting reading passage by Virgi! More practice for you!!
Article from “The teacher ´s magazine”. Year 2008. Number 90. Ediba Editorial.
- Before reading, what do you think the text is going to be about?
“From an animal to mankind”.
I am writing to you, human being; although you look like one of my brothers, I cannot call you human animal, because an animal would not do what you have done for such a long time. Mother Nature has given you a perfect world: vegetation, animals, land, water, sky, air and all its elements in place, the entire planet in harmony. What have you done in return? You have wasted and destroyed it; you have destroyed me, my brothers and my world. Every day, I suffer when you chase me and hunt me for pleasure or sport, not for necessity. You steal my only shelter , my skin from me. You have settled in my home, my habitat, and destroyed it to build yours; you have killed all the animals you think dangerous for your cattle and yourselves. You have felled my trees, which were my refuge and my food. You have introduced foreign species of plants and animals which have changed my habitat. There are not rainforests where there used to be! You have poisoned the air and the water with weed killers, pesticides and other toxic substances. As a consequence, brothers of mine are born malformed or die before they can see the sunlight. You have polluted me and spoiled my soil. What you do not realise is that the world is so devastated that we are already witnesses of terrible catastrophes due to severe climate changes. Your own kind is at risk of extinction and we, animals, continue dying, unnoticed… Despite your best efforts to “help” us, you have confined us to zoos and circuses, where people mock at us. On behalf of all animals I say it is high time for you to do something for us and for yourselves. We want to live freely, enjoying our habitats. We want you to live in harmony with Nature. No more invasions. No more death. I only wish you wisdom to be able to see the terrible things you have done to the Earth. I do hope that day will not be too late!!
Activities on the article:-Try to infer the meaning of the underlined words. Then look them up in the dictionary.
-Write a letter in response to the article as a human being.
- Before reading, what do you think the text is going to be about?
“From an animal to mankind”.
I am writing to you, human being; although you look like one of my brothers, I cannot call you human animal, because an animal would not do what you have done for such a long time. Mother Nature has given you a perfect world: vegetation, animals, land, water, sky, air and all its elements in place, the entire planet in harmony. What have you done in return? You have wasted and destroyed it; you have destroyed me, my brothers and my world. Every day, I suffer when you chase me and hunt me for pleasure or sport, not for necessity. You steal my only shelter , my skin from me. You have settled in my home, my habitat, and destroyed it to build yours; you have killed all the animals you think dangerous for your cattle and yourselves. You have felled my trees, which were my refuge and my food. You have introduced foreign species of plants and animals which have changed my habitat. There are not rainforests where there used to be! You have poisoned the air and the water with weed killers, pesticides and other toxic substances. As a consequence, brothers of mine are born malformed or die before they can see the sunlight. You have polluted me and spoiled my soil. What you do not realise is that the world is so devastated that we are already witnesses of terrible catastrophes due to severe climate changes. Your own kind is at risk of extinction and we, animals, continue dying, unnoticed… Despite your best efforts to “help” us, you have confined us to zoos and circuses, where people mock at us. On behalf of all animals I say it is high time for you to do something for us and for yourselves. We want to live freely, enjoying our habitats. We want you to live in harmony with Nature. No more invasions. No more death. I only wish you wisdom to be able to see the terrible things you have done to the Earth. I do hope that day will not be too late!!
Activities on the article:-Try to infer the meaning of the underlined words. Then look them up in the dictionary.
-Write a letter in response to the article as a human being.
Who is Dr. Pausch and what does he talk about? Find it out and tell Melina Marengo!!
The Last Lecture by Dr. Randy Pausch
1. Watch the following video paying careful attention to the speech of Dr. Pausch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9ya9BXClRw
2. After watching the video answer the following questions:
a. Why is it pathetic for Dr. Pausch to give “the last lecture”?
b. What is the speech about?
c. How was his childhood? What does he express we should not loose?
d. What expression does he love?
e. What did he learn from being fifteen years trying to be part of “The Imagineering Team”?
f. What did his mother discover when she was going through his father’s things? What could he learn from that?
g. What did his parents allow him to do? What did they teach him?
h. What does he say about having fun?
i. What advice does he give to those who want to achieve their dreams? What are the main points?
j. What anecdote does he narrate about “gratitude”?
k. What can you choose to do with your finite time?
l. Why does he give the talk?
3. Comment on Dr. Randy Pausch’s speech.
1. Watch the following video paying careful attention to the speech of Dr. Pausch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9ya9BXClRw
2. After watching the video answer the following questions:
a. Why is it pathetic for Dr. Pausch to give “the last lecture”?
b. What is the speech about?
c. How was his childhood? What does he express we should not loose?
d. What expression does he love?
e. What did he learn from being fifteen years trying to be part of “The Imagineering Team”?
f. What did his mother discover when she was going through his father’s things? What could he learn from that?
g. What did his parents allow him to do? What did they teach him?
h. What does he say about having fun?
i. What advice does he give to those who want to achieve their dreams? What are the main points?
j. What anecdote does he narrate about “gratitude”?
k. What can you choose to do with your finite time?
l. Why does he give the talk?
3. Comment on Dr. Randy Pausch’s speech.
DREAMS!!!!! Here's what Nati prepared for you girls! Enjoy it!!
The Importance of Dream’s Analysis
Warm-up activity: Answer these questions.
1) Do you usually remember your dreams? What are they about?
2) Do you think dreams are important in our lives? Why, why not?
3) Have you ever tried to analyse any of your dreams?
This short video will provide you with some information about the importance of dream’s analysis.http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vp4SDp_knI&feature=related
Interpretation of Dreams.
Listening Comprehension Activity: Answer these questions and/or complete the statements after watching the video.
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=V_TpAR_01zs
1) How does the dream interpreter define dreams?
2) He considered their are a sort of …
3) How do they “talk” to us?
4) What do they usually represent?
5) What do we have to consider when analyzing a dream?
6) It symbolizes the way we are emotionally trying to solve a problem. They are a way of ……….
7) What can they put us in contact with?
Five Easy Steps to Understand Dreams:
Decoding Dreams.
Watch this video and analyze a recurrent dream or nightmare you have had considering this steps to decode it. Then, describe it briefly and post it in the blog.
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqx7GWyAnlA
Warm-up activity: Answer these questions.
1) Do you usually remember your dreams? What are they about?
2) Do you think dreams are important in our lives? Why, why not?
3) Have you ever tried to analyse any of your dreams?
This short video will provide you with some information about the importance of dream’s analysis.http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vp4SDp_knI&feature=related
Interpretation of Dreams.
Listening Comprehension Activity: Answer these questions and/or complete the statements after watching the video.
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=V_TpAR_01zs
1) How does the dream interpreter define dreams?
2) He considered their are a sort of …
3) How do they “talk” to us?
4) What do they usually represent?
5) What do we have to consider when analyzing a dream?
6) It symbolizes the way we are emotionally trying to solve a problem. They are a way of ……….
7) What can they put us in contact with?
Five Easy Steps to Understand Dreams:
Decoding Dreams.
Watch this video and analyze a recurrent dream or nightmare you have had considering this steps to decode it. Then, describe it briefly and post it in the blog.
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqx7GWyAnlA
jueves, 9 de octubre de 2008
Great contributions!!!
Hi girls!! Enjoying life I guess!
Two contributions from classmates for you to work with.
Here they are:
Gisela Cubilla's:
My contribution to the blog.
Watch this video and give your opinion.
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=0C1lEv7yPc8
Try to look for an article dealing with the topic, either in a positive or negative way and comment briefly on it, comparing or contrasting with the video. You can include pictures to illustrate you points.
THANKS GISE!!!!
Now... we have Paola Magnarelli's ideas for you:
Activities:
1. Watch the following video just for pleasure without paying attention to details. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2JAEGhZxlM&feature=related,
2. Play it again but now close your eyes.
3. Write the words, expressions, feelings, memories that came to your mind while you were listening to it.
4. Imagine what happened to the woman. Make up a story about her. Write no more than 200 words.
CONGRATS PAO!
Two contributions from classmates for you to work with.
Here they are:
Gisela Cubilla's:
My contribution to the blog.
Watch this video and give your opinion.
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=0C1lEv7yPc8
Try to look for an article dealing with the topic, either in a positive or negative way and comment briefly on it, comparing or contrasting with the video. You can include pictures to illustrate you points.
THANKS GISE!!!!
Now... we have Paola Magnarelli's ideas for you:
Activities:
1. Watch the following video just for pleasure without paying attention to details. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2JAEGhZxlM&feature=related,
2. Play it again but now close your eyes.
3. Write the words, expressions, feelings, memories that came to your mind while you were listening to it.
4. Imagine what happened to the woman. Make up a story about her. Write no more than 200 words.
CONGRATS PAO!
miércoles, 13 de agosto de 2008
EMPATHY: LEARN MORE ABOUT IT AND HOW TO TEACH IT
Hi girls! I've found this interesting recording about empathy. These are the tasks you have to carry out by August 29: 1- Listen to it and transcribe it. We are going to compare versions in class. 2- Choose at least 3 expressions that you would like to learn or incorporate to your everyday language. 3- Write a short response to the recording (no more than 100 words - to be shared in class). 4- Design an activity for your classmates. It can be on phonetics, vocabulary, grammar, comprehension.... whatever creative comes to your mind!!! 5- VERY IMPORTANT: ENJOY AND LEARN FROM IT!!!
domingo, 3 de agosto de 2008
More fun!!! More laughter!!! That's the way to live girls!
María posted a comment on the article about classy language which I really enjoyed reading!!! THANKS MARIA!! So, just in case you don't read her comment, I've taken the liberty to select some of it and post it here.
María wrote:
Now...check these out girls!!!
Woody Allen’s:
I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.
I believe there is something out there watching us. Unfortunately, it's the government.
I don't think my parents liked me. They put a live teddy bear in my crib.
When I was kidnapped, my parents snapped into action. They rented out my room.
I had a terrible education. I attended a school for emotionally disturbed teachers.
I have bad reflexes. I was once run over by a car being pushed by two guys.
I was nauseous and tingly all over. I was either in love or I had smallpox.
I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead. Not sick. Not wounded. Dead.
I'd never join a club that would allow a person like me to become a member.
Bisexuality immediately doubles your chances for a date on Saturday night.
I'm astounded by people who want to 'know' the universe when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown.
I'm such a good lover because I practice a lot on my own.
If my films don't show a profit, I know I'm doing something right.
In my house I'm the boss, my wife is just the decision maker.
Most of the time I don't have much fun. The rest of the time I don't have any fun at all.
My luck is getting worse and worse. Last night, for instance, I was mugged by a quaker.
My one regret in life is that I am not someone else.
Not only is there no God, but try finding a plumber on Sunday.
Sex without love is a meaningless experience, but as far as meaningless experiences go its pretty damn good.
María wrote:
Now...check these out girls!!!
Woody Allen’s:
I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.
I believe there is something out there watching us. Unfortunately, it's the government.
I don't think my parents liked me. They put a live teddy bear in my crib.
When I was kidnapped, my parents snapped into action. They rented out my room.
I had a terrible education. I attended a school for emotionally disturbed teachers.
I have bad reflexes. I was once run over by a car being pushed by two guys.
I was nauseous and tingly all over. I was either in love or I had smallpox.
I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead. Not sick. Not wounded. Dead.
I'd never join a club that would allow a person like me to become a member.
Bisexuality immediately doubles your chances for a date on Saturday night.
I'm astounded by people who want to 'know' the universe when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown.
I'm such a good lover because I practice a lot on my own.
If my films don't show a profit, I know I'm doing something right.
In my house I'm the boss, my wife is just the decision maker.
Most of the time I don't have much fun. The rest of the time I don't have any fun at all.
My luck is getting worse and worse. Last night, for instance, I was mugged by a quaker.
My one regret in life is that I am not someone else.
Not only is there no God, but try finding a plumber on Sunday.
Sex without love is a meaningless experience, but as far as meaningless experiences go its pretty damn good.
sábado, 28 de junio de 2008
Classy language!!! Enjoy it! (No comments required!! unless you feel like making one)
When Insults Had Class (no 4-letter words !!)
These glorious insults are from an era when cleverness with words was still valued, before a great portion of the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words.
The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, "If you were my husband I'd give you poison," and he said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."
A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease." "That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "whether I embrace your policies or your mistress."
"He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr
"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill
"A modest little person, with much to be modest about." - Winston Churchill
"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." Clarence Darrow
"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).
"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" - Ernest Hemingway (about
William Faulkner)
"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain
"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." - Oscar Wilde
"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend.... if you have one." -
George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill
"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one." - Winston Churchill, in response.
"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here." - Stephen Bishop
"He is a self-made man and worships his creator." - John Bright
"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." - Irvin S. Cobb
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." - Oscar Wilde
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
"He has Van Gogh's ear for music." - Billy Wilder
"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." - Groucho Marx
These glorious insults are from an era when cleverness with words was still valued, before a great portion of the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words.
The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, "If you were my husband I'd give you poison," and he said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."
A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease." "That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "whether I embrace your policies or your mistress."
"He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr
"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill
"A modest little person, with much to be modest about." - Winston Churchill
"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." Clarence Darrow
"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).
"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" - Ernest Hemingway (about
William Faulkner)
"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain
"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." - Oscar Wilde
"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend.... if you have one." -
George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill
"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one." - Winston Churchill, in response.
"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here." - Stephen Bishop
"He is a self-made man and worships his creator." - John Bright
"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." - Irvin S. Cobb
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." - Oscar Wilde
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
"He has Van Gogh's ear for music." - Billy Wilder
"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." - Groucho Marx
lunes, 23 de junio de 2008
What do you think about this experience?
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Published: June 23, 2008 in The New York Times.
Brighton, N.Y.
THE alarm on my cellphone rang at 5:50 a.m., and I awoke to find myself in a twin bed in a spare room at my neighbor Lou’s house.
Lou was 81. His six children were grown and scattered around the country, and he lived alone, two doors down from me. His wife, Edie, had died five years earlier. “When people learn you’ve lost your wife,” he told me, “they all ask the same question. ‘How long were you married?’ And when you tell them 52 years, they say, ‘Isn’t that wonderful!’ But I tell them no, it isn’t. I was just getting to know her.”
Lou had said he gets up at six, but after 10 more minutes, I heard nothing from his room down the hall. Had he died? He had a heart ailment, but generally was in good health. With a full head of silver-gray hair, bright hazel-blue eyes and a broad chest, he walked with the confident bearing of a man who had enjoyed a long and satisfying career as a surgeon.
The previous evening, as I’d left home, the last words I heard before I shut the door had been, “Dad, you’re crazy!” from my teenage daughter. Sure, the sight of your 50-year-old father leaving with an overnight bag to sleep at a neighbor’s house would embarrass any teenager, but “crazy”? I didn’t think so.
There’s talk today about how as a society we’ve become fragmented by ethnicity, income, city versus suburb, red state versus blue. But we also divide ourselves with invisible dotted lines. I’m talking about the property lines that isolate us from the people we are physically closest to: our neighbors.
It was a calamity on my street, in a middle-class suburb of Rochester, several years ago that got me thinking about this. One night, a neighbor shot and killed his wife and then himself; their two middle-school-age children ran screaming into the night. Though the couple had lived on our street for seven years, my wife and I hardly knew them. We’d see them jogging together. Sometimes our children would carpool.
Some of the neighbors attended the funerals and called on relatives. Someone laid a single bunch of yellow flowers at the family’s front door, but nothing else was done to mark the loss. Within weeks, the children had moved with their grandparents to another part of town. The only indication that anything had changed was the “For Sale” sign on the lawn.
A family had vanished, yet the impact on our neighborhood was slight. How could that be? Did I live in a community or just in a house on a street surrounded by people whose lives were entirely separate? Few of my neighbors, I later learned, knew others on the street more than casually; many didn’t know even the names of those a few doors down.
According to social scientists, from 1974 to 1998, the frequency with which Americans spent a social evening with neighbors fell by about one-third. Robert Putnam, the author of “Bowling Alone,” a groundbreaking study of the disintegration of the American social fabric, suggests that the decline actually began 20 years earlier, so that neighborhood ties today are less than half as strong as they were in the 1950s.
Why is it that in an age of cheap long-distance rates, discount airlines and the Internet, when we can create community anywhere, we often don’t know the people who live next door?
Maybe my neighbors didn’t mind living this way, but I did. I wanted to get to know the people whose houses I passed each day — not just what they do for a living and how many children they have, but the depth of their experience and what kind of people they are.
What would it take, I wondered, to penetrate the barriers between us? I thought about childhood sleepovers and the insight I used to get from waking up inside a friend’s home. Would my neighbors let me sleep over and write about their lives from inside their own houses?
A little more than a year after the murder-suicide, I began to telephone my neighbors and send e-mail messages; in some cases, I just walked up to the door and rang the bell. The first one turned me down, but then I called Lou. “You can write about me, but it will be boring,” he warned. “I have nothing going on in my life — nothing. My life is zero. I don’t do anything.”
Peter Lovenheim, the author of “Portrait of a Burger as a Young Calf,” is writing a book about neighborhoods.
That turned out not to be true. When Lou finally awoke that morning at 6:18, he and I shared breakfast. Then he lay on a couch in his study and, skipping his morning nap, told me about his grandparents’ immigration, his Catholic upbringing, his admission to medical school despite anti-Italian quotas, and how he met and courted his wife, built a career and raised a family.
Later, we went to the Y.M.C.A. for his regular workout; he mostly just kibitzed with friends. We ate lunch. He took a nap. We watched the business news. That evening, he made us dinner and talked of friends he’d lost, his concerns for his children’s futures and his own mortality.
Before I left, Lou told me how to get into his house in case of an emergency, and I told him where I hide my spare key. That evening, as I carried my bag home, I felt that in my neighbor’s house lived a person I actually knew.
I was privileged to be his friend until he died, just this past spring.
Remarkably, of the 18 or so neighbors I eventually approached about sleeping over, more than half said yes. There was the recently married young couple, both working in business; the real estate agent and her two small children; the pathologist married to a pediatrician who specializes in autism.
Eventually, I met a woman living three doors away, the opposite direction from Lou, who was seriously ill with breast cancer and in need of help. My goal shifted: could we build a supportive community around her — in effect, patch together a real neighborhood? Lou and I and some of the other neighbors ended up taking turns driving her to doctors’ appointments and watching her children.
Our political leaders speak of crossing party lines to achieve greater unity. Maybe we should all cross the invisible lines between our homes and achieve greater unity in the places we live. Probably we don’t need to sleep over; all it might take is to make a phone call, send a note, or ring a bell. Why not try it today?
Peter Lovenheim, the author of “Portrait of a Burger as a Young Calf,” is writing a book about neighborhoods.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/opinion/23lovenheim.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&th&emc=th
martes, 3 de junio de 2008
Have you enjoyed the trailer yet? Great! Here's a few questions for you!
"My family and other animals". Movie based on the story by Gerald Durrell
Answer the questions or provide the information required.
1- Where’s the family in the first scene?
2- What’s wrong with: * Margo
* Leslie
* Gerald ?
3- Time of the year:
4- Where does Larry get the idea of moving to Corfu from?
5- Mother’s comments about moving to Corfu:
6- Comment on the customs scene.
7- What’s the dog’s name?
8- What’s the customs officer’s excuse for not giving mother her suitcase?
9- Why does Margo get upset at the table?
10- What explanation does Larry give for the taxi drivers behaving in such a crazy way?
11- How come the taxi driver, Spiro, speaks English? Characterize his driving. What’s his attitude once he gets to know the family?
12- Why do they move to another villa?
13- What do Larry and Leslie think of mother?
14- Why do they look at her feet?
15- How old is mother?
16- Find at least 5 phrasal verbs used by the characters.
Deadline: June 26
Do not post your answers. We'll discuss them in class!
Answer the questions or provide the information required.
1- Where’s the family in the first scene?
2- What’s wrong with: * Margo
* Leslie
* Gerald ?
3- Time of the year:
4- Where does Larry get the idea of moving to Corfu from?
5- Mother’s comments about moving to Corfu:
6- Comment on the customs scene.
7- What’s the dog’s name?
8- What’s the customs officer’s excuse for not giving mother her suitcase?
9- Why does Margo get upset at the table?
10- What explanation does Larry give for the taxi drivers behaving in such a crazy way?
11- How come the taxi driver, Spiro, speaks English? Characterize his driving. What’s his attitude once he gets to know the family?
12- Why do they move to another villa?
13- What do Larry and Leslie think of mother?
14- Why do they look at her feet?
15- How old is mother?
16- Find at least 5 phrasal verbs used by the characters.
Deadline: June 26
Do not post your answers. We'll discuss them in class!
lunes, 2 de junio de 2008
martes, 20 de mayo de 2008
lunes, 19 de mayo de 2008
My students' favourites.... phrasal verbs!!!
Here's a little something for you to enjoy and.... why not write another creative piece to share with us!!!
It's easy to understand the use of the word "up" in "sit up" or "stand up" or "get up", but why do we wake up? Why, in a discussion, is a topic brought up? Why do we speak up? Why are we up for election? And why is it up to the secretary to write up the minutes?
Frequently the word is not needed: thus we brighten up, freshen up, light up (though not so many of us these days), polish up the silver, fix up the car and lock up the house. Some people stir up trouble. We queue up for tickets, work up an appetite, think up an excuse, get held up in traffic and tied up at the office. To be dressed up is different from just being dressed. But we open up a drain if it is blocked up. We open up a shop in the morning and close it up at night, for closing down means something quite different. We appear to be thoroughly mixed up about the uses of "up".
If you want to be up on the proper use of up, look it up in the dictionary. In one dictionary it takes up half a page, the definitions adding up to around 40. If you feel up to it you might try making up a list of all the ways up is used. It will take up a lot of time and if your don't give up you might have to hurry up and make up after the bust up with your spouse for using up so much effort when you could be better employed washing up. So cheer up or you could wind up up the pole.
Anon.
It's UP to you!!
It's easy to understand the use of the word "up" in "sit up" or "stand up" or "get up", but why do we wake up? Why, in a discussion, is a topic brought up? Why do we speak up? Why are we up for election? And why is it up to the secretary to write up the minutes?
Frequently the word is not needed: thus we brighten up, freshen up, light up (though not so many of us these days), polish up the silver, fix up the car and lock up the house. Some people stir up trouble. We queue up for tickets, work up an appetite, think up an excuse, get held up in traffic and tied up at the office. To be dressed up is different from just being dressed. But we open up a drain if it is blocked up. We open up a shop in the morning and close it up at night, for closing down means something quite different. We appear to be thoroughly mixed up about the uses of "up".
If you want to be up on the proper use of up, look it up in the dictionary. In one dictionary it takes up half a page, the definitions adding up to around 40. If you feel up to it you might try making up a list of all the ways up is used. It will take up a lot of time and if your don't give up you might have to hurry up and make up after the bust up with your spouse for using up so much effort when you could be better employed washing up. So cheer up or you could wind up up the pole.
Anon.
domingo, 18 de mayo de 2008
Some information about the painters' lives.
Antonio Berni (1907 - 1981)
Nationality: ArgentineMovement: Modern Latin American School
Biography: Antonio Berni was first trained in Buenos Aires before studying under Othon Friesz and Andre Lhote in Paris. He helped form the Argentinean art group, the Grupo de Paris in the 1920’s and also became involved with the Surrealists. His other influences included the work of Georges De Chirico and the Italian 15th century muralists. Concerned with Marxism and the Spanish Civil War, Berni’s later work began to reflect social issues. In order to truly represent his disheartenment, he used coarse materials such as burlap and unique perspective.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born on 25 February 1841 in Limoges. In 1844 Renoir and his family moved to Paris where Léonard Renoir earned his living as a tailor.
In 1854 Renoir left school and begin his apprenticeship as a porcelain painter at the firm of Lévy frères. He attended the studio of Marc-Gabriel-Charles Gleyer,. At the same time Renoir enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. At Salon Renoir had his first success - the painting entitled Esmeralda Dancing with her Goat around a Fire Illuminating the Entire Crowd of Vagabonds, which he destroyed after the exhibition.
At the end of 1865 he was introduced to the seventeen-year-old Lise Tréhot who became his lover and model until her marriage in 1872. She posed for a number of works :Diana, Lise with a Parasol, Summer, Bather with Griffon and Woman of Algiers.
Three years before Odalisque won a place in the Salon, an annual government-sponsored exhibition in Paris, the Salon jury had rejected Renoir's Diana. The female nude masked as a mythological subject had offended conservative jurors. But Lise's turn in Odalisque--overtly eroticized even though fully clothed--met with their approval. Such exotic fantasy proved to be popular during the 1870s.
Renoir died on 3 December 1919 in Cagnes, aged 78. His sickness was not the immediate cause at his death. He had a heart attack.
http://www.renoir.org.yu/biography.asp
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2004/artexchange/artexchange_ss22.shtm
Claude Monet
Born: November 14, 1840 - Paris, France
Died: December 5, 1926 (aged 86) -Giverny, France
Nationality: French Field: Painter
Movement: Impressionism
Claude Monet also known as Oscar-Claude Monet or Claude Oscar Monet was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plain-air landscape painting. The term Impressionism is derived from the title of his painting Impression, Sunrise.
Remedios Varo
Remedios was a Spanish-Mexican surrealist painter. She was born in Anglés Cataluña, Spain in 1908 and died from a heart-attack in Mexico City in 1963. During the Spanish Civil War she fled to Paris where she was largely influenced by the surrealist movement. She was forced into exile from Paris during the Nazi occupation of France and moved to Mexico City at the end of 1941. She initially considered Mexico a temporary haven, but would remain in Latin America for the rest of her life. She had an early abortion due to her economic realities of her life. Due to the abortion, she could not become pregnant again. In Mexico she met native artists such as Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. After 1949, Varo developed into her mature and remarkable style, which remains beautifully enigmatic and instantly recognizable. She died at the height of her career.
Nationality: ArgentineMovement: Modern Latin American School
Biography: Antonio Berni was first trained in Buenos Aires before studying under Othon Friesz and Andre Lhote in Paris. He helped form the Argentinean art group, the Grupo de Paris in the 1920’s and also became involved with the Surrealists. His other influences included the work of Georges De Chirico and the Italian 15th century muralists. Concerned with Marxism and the Spanish Civil War, Berni’s later work began to reflect social issues. In order to truly represent his disheartenment, he used coarse materials such as burlap and unique perspective.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born on 25 February 1841 in Limoges. In 1844 Renoir and his family moved to Paris where Léonard Renoir earned his living as a tailor.
In 1854 Renoir left school and begin his apprenticeship as a porcelain painter at the firm of Lévy frères. He attended the studio of Marc-Gabriel-Charles Gleyer,. At the same time Renoir enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. At Salon Renoir had his first success - the painting entitled Esmeralda Dancing with her Goat around a Fire Illuminating the Entire Crowd of Vagabonds, which he destroyed after the exhibition.
At the end of 1865 he was introduced to the seventeen-year-old Lise Tréhot who became his lover and model until her marriage in 1872. She posed for a number of works :Diana, Lise with a Parasol, Summer, Bather with Griffon and Woman of Algiers.
Three years before Odalisque won a place in the Salon, an annual government-sponsored exhibition in Paris, the Salon jury had rejected Renoir's Diana. The female nude masked as a mythological subject had offended conservative jurors. But Lise's turn in Odalisque--overtly eroticized even though fully clothed--met with their approval. Such exotic fantasy proved to be popular during the 1870s.
Renoir died on 3 December 1919 in Cagnes, aged 78. His sickness was not the immediate cause at his death. He had a heart attack.
http://www.renoir.org.yu/biography.asp
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2004/artexchange/artexchange_ss22.shtm
Claude Monet
Born: November 14, 1840 - Paris, France
Died: December 5, 1926 (aged 86) -Giverny, France
Nationality: French Field: Painter
Movement: Impressionism
Claude Monet also known as Oscar-Claude Monet or Claude Oscar Monet was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plain-air landscape painting. The term Impressionism is derived from the title of his painting Impression, Sunrise.
Remedios Varo
Remedios was a Spanish-Mexican surrealist painter. She was born in Anglés Cataluña, Spain in 1908 and died from a heart-attack in Mexico City in 1963. During the Spanish Civil War she fled to Paris where she was largely influenced by the surrealist movement. She was forced into exile from Paris during the Nazi occupation of France and moved to Mexico City at the end of 1941. She initially considered Mexico a temporary haven, but would remain in Latin America for the rest of her life. She had an early abortion due to her economic realities of her life. Due to the abortion, she could not become pregnant again. In Mexico she met native artists such as Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. After 1949, Varo developed into her mature and remarkable style, which remains beautifully enigmatic and instantly recognizable. She died at the height of her career.
Remedios Vano's Armonía
My life in this song
(Lyrics by Sofía Galoppo and Virginia Cagliero. Sang to the tune of the song “I will survive”)
Once upon a time
I was a pop star
singing, dancing
money, women were all part of my life.
But so arrogant was I
that my fans forgot me
I lost my fame because of that.
As a result, I got depressed.
I will survive, I will survive
for there is nothing that can stop me
I am sure of that
I want to have my fame again
I want to return to those days
I know it is hard
but I want to be a new good man.
One stormy night,
I was sent to prison
for being discovered consuming drugs
and I could not give my reasons.
I had to spend so many nights
In that nasty and ugly jail
I used to cry
because I felt a lot of pain.
I will survive, I will survive
for there is nothing that can stop me
I am sure of that
I want to have my fame again
I want to be a free man
I know it is hard
but one day, I will be released from jail.
Some days have already passed
since I was liberated
I feel happy now, full of energy and exhilarated.
I have returned to my old house
I am at home again
I cannot believe my eyes
I am not in that ugly jail.
I will survive, I will survive
for there is nothing that can stop me
I am sure of that
I am now a new man
I am now a free man
I will never be a conceited man
I promise you that
Once upon a time
I was a pop star
singing, dancing
money, women were all part of my life.
But so arrogant was I
that my fans forgot me
I lost my fame because of that.
As a result, I got depressed.
I will survive, I will survive
for there is nothing that can stop me
I am sure of that
I want to have my fame again
I want to return to those days
I know it is hard
but I want to be a new good man.
One stormy night,
I was sent to prison
for being discovered consuming drugs
and I could not give my reasons.
I had to spend so many nights
In that nasty and ugly jail
I used to cry
because I felt a lot of pain.
I will survive, I will survive
for there is nothing that can stop me
I am sure of that
I want to have my fame again
I want to be a free man
I know it is hard
but one day, I will be released from jail.
Some days have already passed
since I was liberated
I feel happy now, full of energy and exhilarated.
I have returned to my old house
I am at home again
I cannot believe my eyes
I am not in that ugly jail.
I will survive, I will survive
for there is nothing that can stop me
I am sure of that
I am now a new man
I am now a free man
I will never be a conceited man
I promise you that
Each wall of my house reveals
special moments
and through them I can remember
the wonderful world
I was the owner of.
Women, treasures, happy days
glory, money, all my dreams
it is hard to believe
they were still waiting for me.
I will survive, I will survive
I have all my things again
I am now a new man
I feel strong
I will survive.
Monet's Coming out of Saint Lazare Station
One way ticket
Caroline’s body seems to be that of a statue. She does neither move nor produce any sound. Her red blood-shot eyes gaze into space without blinking as opium smoke gets lazily out of her purplish lips. Another grey winter night she spends at the cold, deserted train station waiting for him to come.
The rhythmic sound of the engine announces the last train approaching the station. She feels it getting closer and closer. Tonight must be the night. Her accelerated heart beating and her muscles shaking show the excitement running through her veins. Fourteen years have passed since she last saw him. There is a dark figure hidden behind a column.
That who is spying on her decides to revel herself just as the train is arriving and firmly grabs Caroline’s arm. She is dragged over the dusty floorboards. Her mother, Ms Zulma, violently gets Caroline into the car, drives home and locks her in an empty room leaving her in pitch darkness.
After a few minutes, her eyes get used to the lack of light. The glow of the moon reveals her the shapes and shadows of her mother’s old untidy sewing room. Grief and guiltiness are the only things that are at the back of her mind. The rattle of the ancient windows being the only sound she hears, surrounds her in a deep feeling of loneliness. Her soul is in despair. A few steps from her, a shining surface calls her attention.
Caroline’s body seems to be that of a statue. She does neither move nor produce any sound. Her red blood-shot eyes gaze into space without blinking as opium smoke gets lazily out of her purplish lips. Another grey winter night she spends at the cold, deserted train station waiting for him to come.
The rhythmic sound of the engine announces the last train approaching the station. She feels it getting closer and closer. Tonight must be the night. Her accelerated heart beating and her muscles shaking show the excitement running through her veins. Fourteen years have passed since she last saw him. There is a dark figure hidden behind a column.
That who is spying on her decides to revel herself just as the train is arriving and firmly grabs Caroline’s arm. She is dragged over the dusty floorboards. Her mother, Ms Zulma, violently gets Caroline into the car, drives home and locks her in an empty room leaving her in pitch darkness.
After a few minutes, her eyes get used to the lack of light. The glow of the moon reveals her the shapes and shadows of her mother’s old untidy sewing room. Grief and guiltiness are the only things that are at the back of her mind. The rattle of the ancient windows being the only sound she hears, surrounds her in a deep feeling of loneliness. Her soul is in despair. A few steps from her, a shining surface calls her attention.
Suddenly, everything seems to make sense for her. She knows exactly what she has to do. For the very first time she feels she is the one who decides. Caroline walks slowly towards that which gleams; it’s the old pair of scissors, the only inheritance from that old woman whose wrinkled face trembled when she introduced herself as “grandma”. Some blood drops begin to splash on the floor covered in filth.
Zulma is lying on her bed half asleep. Images creep into her mind. Everything is becoming blurred. Nicholas appears unexpectedly in her dreams, his booming voice tells her:
“Why do you still blame Caroline for my accident? As I slipped on the rails, the train ran over me. However hard she tried to get me, there was nothing to be done, it was too late. You have already lost your son, and now you are just about to lose your daughter, she doesn’t have much time left. A second tragedy will strike this family unless you do something... NOW!!!”
Zulma jumps out of the bed and desperately rushes to the old sewing room. The stairs creak under her heavy steps. She unlocks the door and finds Caroline stabbing herself for the second time in the chest. She is already too weak to be saved. Again nothing can be done. Caroline sighes with relief, leaving her mother the curse of bearing that oppressing feeling of knowing that a life was in her hands, but she couldn't save it.
By Paola Magnarelli & María Sarasín
Zulma is lying on her bed half asleep. Images creep into her mind. Everything is becoming blurred. Nicholas appears unexpectedly in her dreams, his booming voice tells her:
“Why do you still blame Caroline for my accident? As I slipped on the rails, the train ran over me. However hard she tried to get me, there was nothing to be done, it was too late. You have already lost your son, and now you are just about to lose your daughter, she doesn’t have much time left. A second tragedy will strike this family unless you do something... NOW!!!”
Zulma jumps out of the bed and desperately rushes to the old sewing room. The stairs creak under her heavy steps. She unlocks the door and finds Caroline stabbing herself for the second time in the chest. She is already too weak to be saved. Again nothing can be done. Caroline sighes with relief, leaving her mother the curse of bearing that oppressing feeling of knowing that a life was in her hands, but she couldn't save it.
By Paola Magnarelli & María Sarasín
Renoir's The Odalisk
“The Whitechapel Murderer”
Mist was flooding the East London streets as every evening in that ill-fated autumn of 1888. Bohemians went out of their dens to seek for another adventure under the night’s ancient light. The best place in Whitechapel area to satisfy their deepest and most perverse pleasures was Satin.
The brothel had a sordid atmosphere. Red bulbs illuminated the walls’ peflaking paint and the ragged curtains that functioned as the rooms’ doors. Almost naked women wandered around the place, while strange personages murmured something to their ears. A thin, pallid/pale man sat at the piano playing the same dull melody over and over again while a group of drunk men kept on prattling.
However, beyond that fake joy, there was something else. Horror had entered their careless souls after hearing about the fifth murder committed by the infamous “Leather Apron”.
The front door opened slowly with a creaky noise. A burly figure stood firmly at the entrance. His defiant look paralyzed the habitués who could conspicuously perceive an evil aura around him. No sooner had he stepped into the room than Thelma, the procurer, grabbed his arm took him upstairs. He was one of Satin’s renowned clients. Thelma, praised for being the best belly dancer in London and, as such, known as The Odalisque, was to begin her vengeance.
She had spent months, more precisely since the 31st August, the day the first murder took place, watching cautiously and patiently this man’s moves. Her wrath had reached levels that were beyond description when she got to know about the horrid nature of the crimes. This had led her to cleverly plan every detail so as to wreak revenge on Jack the Ripper.
Once upstairs, she closed the door behind her.
“Make yourself comfortable,” she muttered, giving him a sharp look.
She handled him some opium to smoke and laid down on a thick with dust old sofa. Thelma stared at him suggestively while she sweet-talked him.
The odalisque started shaking her hips skilfully in a provoking way. Strangely, Jack began feeling dizzy although he had regularly smoked this herb before. Meanwhile, the odalisque continued with her vibrating and sinuous movements while he laid on a ramshackle bed with his feet too numb to run away, but still not sleeping.
When she realized his dizziness, she stopped dancing and, with a sudden movement, she clutched at a candelabrum and violently hit Jack the Ripper’s head making him fall off the bed. Blinded by anger, she kept beating the inert body screaming bloodcurdling curses at him until her strength abandoned her.
By: Gisela Cubilla & Melina Lasorella
Monet's The Walk. Woman with a Parasol
The Shadow of a Doubt.
“Am I imagining all this or did I really see him?,” she kept constantly asking while walking calmly down the prairie. The sun was shinning brightly on the never-ending field and the gentle breeze brought her the sweet smell of the lilies in blossom. All she could hear was the vivid twittering of birds.
Earlier that morning, she had woken up with a deep sense of loss. Silently, she had got dressed and, before leaving the room, she had kissed her husband softly. Going down the stairs, she had thought “Nothing in our happiness but this…” Once in the study room, with a hot cup of tea in her hands, gazing out of the window at the countryside, she had recalled the last time she had felt that unforgettable sensation.
Mrs. Robinson could not put her memories aside. Instead of going away with the fresh air, they remained vividly in her mind. She had been deeply affected by past situations although her husband had always tried to encourage her to never surrender. She knew she was the only one who had changed after the doctor had told her the appalling news. Her body had been showing signs of weakness and she would no longer be as healthy and lively as she used to be. Since then, she would never be what she desired most.
She realized she was not alone in the vast expanses of farmland. Someone was trying to hold her hand. Nervously, she turned around and, after a few seconds, which seemed to last forever, she recognized that innocent face. That little boy, only seven years old, was the one she had always dreamt of, the one she would never forget. She drew several deep breaths, feeling a faint aching just above her heart. With a lump in her throat she asked him “Who are you?”
She despaired of ever being a mother and asked herself “Why is it that life gives some what they will never appreciate while others, knowing it will never happen, keep waiting for it all their lives?” “Why is it that I cannot give up my illusion?” “Will I ever let the past go?”
By Antonela Falchini & Natalia Fito
“Am I imagining all this or did I really see him?,” she kept constantly asking while walking calmly down the prairie. The sun was shinning brightly on the never-ending field and the gentle breeze brought her the sweet smell of the lilies in blossom. All she could hear was the vivid twittering of birds.
Earlier that morning, she had woken up with a deep sense of loss. Silently, she had got dressed and, before leaving the room, she had kissed her husband softly. Going down the stairs, she had thought “Nothing in our happiness but this…” Once in the study room, with a hot cup of tea in her hands, gazing out of the window at the countryside, she had recalled the last time she had felt that unforgettable sensation.
Mrs. Robinson could not put her memories aside. Instead of going away with the fresh air, they remained vividly in her mind. She had been deeply affected by past situations although her husband had always tried to encourage her to never surrender. She knew she was the only one who had changed after the doctor had told her the appalling news. Her body had been showing signs of weakness and she would no longer be as healthy and lively as she used to be. Since then, she would never be what she desired most.
She realized she was not alone in the vast expanses of farmland. Someone was trying to hold her hand. Nervously, she turned around and, after a few seconds, which seemed to last forever, she recognized that innocent face. That little boy, only seven years old, was the one she had always dreamt of, the one she would never forget. She drew several deep breaths, feeling a faint aching just above her heart. With a lump in her throat she asked him “Who are you?”
She despaired of ever being a mother and asked herself “Why is it that life gives some what they will never appreciate while others, knowing it will never happen, keep waiting for it all their lives?” “Why is it that I cannot give up my illusion?” “Will I ever let the past go?”
By Antonela Falchini & Natalia Fito
Berni's Ramona and the Fortune-teller
On an early foggy morning in July, a young woman in pain, named Ramona, decides to visit a well-known old fortune-teller looking for a beacon of hope in her miserable life. Having arrived at the odd Gothic house, Ramona sees an ugly woman, dressed in black, mixing some strange substances.
Fortune-teller: (Staring at the girl because of the way she looks) Oh! Finally you’re here! I’ve been waiting for you for days!
Ramona: That’s great! I really need your help. I don’t know what to do with my life anymore.
F: Well, let’s sit down. We can’t waste our time.
(The old woman concentrates and stares at the crystal ball)
F: I see a future full of love in your life! You don’t have anything to worry about, kid.
R: Really?! I thought everything in my life was messed up. Well, tell me more, please. What can you see there?
F: There’s a wealthy gentleman… and you already know him!
R: Oh! Let me think (She thinks for a while) May be he is… No, It can’t be him (The girl murmurs) How is his personality? Is he a good man?
F: Oh! Yes! He is very popular with the local people.
R: Could he be my future husband?
F: Let me see… (Showing off) Yes, yes, I see a beautiful family living in the countryside.
(There is a sparkle of hope in Ramona’s eyes)
R: I can’t believe my ears! That’s everything I’ve ever wanted!
F: You must know who he is. Think Ramona! He asks for your services very frequently.
(Ramona is staggered)
R: Alfredo Manuel! So… my feelings are true! He has always been in love with me. I’ve finally found my significant other!
(The fortune-teller stares at the crystal ball wide-eyed)
F: Wait, wait, wait.
R: What happens? What can you see?
F: (Trying to be sympathetic) Oh dear, I’m sorry to tell you that it’s not as easy as it appears to be.
R: I don’t understand. What do you mean?
F: Well… this gentleman has a family.
(Ramona’s illusions fall apart)
R: B-b but (she stutters) you’ve told me he is the love of my life!
F: I know, I know, dear. Don’t despair! I think I have the solution to this inconvenient. Trust me, everything will be fine.
R: All right (hopeless).
(The fortune-teller moves towards the shelf behind her, takes a little phial and returns to her seat)
F: Now, listen to me. This is a love potion. The only thing you have to do is to give him fifteen drops of it and his family will immediately disappear.
R: But what about Alfredo? Won’t he be worried about his family?
F: Let me finish! (The woman interrupts her) He won’t have memories of his family. Alfredo’s heart and mind will be only yours.
R: Wow!
F: Now go. You should do this as soon as possible.
R: Yes! Thank you lady! You’ve been very helpful; I don’t know how to pay you back.
F: It’s all right dear. But don’t thank me before everything is done.
When Ramona goes back to her precarious house, the old woman approaches the shelf to continue the work she was doing before the girl’s arrival. It is on that precise moment when the fortune-teller realizes that the potion she gave Ramona is not a love one…it is the most dangerous poison that the old woman has ever made.
Fortune-teller: (Staring at the girl because of the way she looks) Oh! Finally you’re here! I’ve been waiting for you for days!
Ramona: That’s great! I really need your help. I don’t know what to do with my life anymore.
F: Well, let’s sit down. We can’t waste our time.
(The old woman concentrates and stares at the crystal ball)
F: I see a future full of love in your life! You don’t have anything to worry about, kid.
R: Really?! I thought everything in my life was messed up. Well, tell me more, please. What can you see there?
F: There’s a wealthy gentleman… and you already know him!
R: Oh! Let me think (She thinks for a while) May be he is… No, It can’t be him (The girl murmurs) How is his personality? Is he a good man?
F: Oh! Yes! He is very popular with the local people.
R: Could he be my future husband?
F: Let me see… (Showing off) Yes, yes, I see a beautiful family living in the countryside.
(There is a sparkle of hope in Ramona’s eyes)
R: I can’t believe my ears! That’s everything I’ve ever wanted!
F: You must know who he is. Think Ramona! He asks for your services very frequently.
(Ramona is staggered)
R: Alfredo Manuel! So… my feelings are true! He has always been in love with me. I’ve finally found my significant other!
(The fortune-teller stares at the crystal ball wide-eyed)
F: Wait, wait, wait.
R: What happens? What can you see?
F: (Trying to be sympathetic) Oh dear, I’m sorry to tell you that it’s not as easy as it appears to be.
R: I don’t understand. What do you mean?
F: Well… this gentleman has a family.
(Ramona’s illusions fall apart)
R: B-b but (she stutters) you’ve told me he is the love of my life!
F: I know, I know, dear. Don’t despair! I think I have the solution to this inconvenient. Trust me, everything will be fine.
R: All right (hopeless).
(The fortune-teller moves towards the shelf behind her, takes a little phial and returns to her seat)
F: Now, listen to me. This is a love potion. The only thing you have to do is to give him fifteen drops of it and his family will immediately disappear.
R: But what about Alfredo? Won’t he be worried about his family?
F: Let me finish! (The woman interrupts her) He won’t have memories of his family. Alfredo’s heart and mind will be only yours.
R: Wow!
F: Now go. You should do this as soon as possible.
R: Yes! Thank you lady! You’ve been very helpful; I don’t know how to pay you back.
F: It’s all right dear. But don’t thank me before everything is done.
When Ramona goes back to her precarious house, the old woman approaches the shelf to continue the work she was doing before the girl’s arrival. It is on that precise moment when the fortune-teller realizes that the potion she gave Ramona is not a love one…it is the most dangerous poison that the old woman has ever made.
By: Melina Marengo and María Florenica Gaitán.
miércoles, 23 de abril de 2008
Story writing.
Let's work with ART!!!
I gave my students paintings to select from and then write stories based on them.
Have a look at the paintings and what they wrote.
How about changing any of the stories? Can you give it a different end?
Looking forward to your postings!
I gave my students paintings to select from and then write stories based on them.
Have a look at the paintings and what they wrote.
How about changing any of the stories? Can you give it a different end?
Looking forward to your postings!
Liliana's class
Hi everybody!!!
This is a space where I would like to communicate with my students outside the class and share their work with other people. It's gonna be fun!!!!.. I'm sure.
I teach English Language III at Instituto Superior del Profesorado Nº2 (Teachers' Training College) from Rafaela, Argentina. My students are studying to be English teachers.
Let's do some collaborative learning... so you are all welcome to post your comments or help us with our English, our creative skills and critical thinking.
Thanks a lot!
Liliana
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