Last corrections

Maria José:

My favourite piece of technology

I use technology in my life, mainly for work(t) and entertainment. For home labors it’s important because it’s easier and faster.

Computers are the most used piece(sp) of technology in the word(sp) (sm)myself included. This is mainly because this piece of technology is used for communications in e-mails, chat, messenger software (voice and writing), many special software’s (nn)that help people’s work,(x) as source of information and video games.

I have used computers for many years, I can’t remember for how long. My life would be very difficult without the computer, work and communications need computers on this(f) times. Without my computer I would be lost in the cyber world.

But my favourite piece of technology is much simpler. I enjoy music very much, for this reason pen drives, mp3s and iPods are for me the best choice. I remember when(sm) having a portable CD player was really the best, but you couldn’t move them too much or the tracks would skip. Now portable music players are smaller and have several times(wws) the capacity of old CD players and the MP3 format allows to store hundreds of songs on a small and very portable device.

I had a very small pendrive that dind’t(t) play music, but a couple of months ago I got a new pendrive with a lot of capacity and that plays music files. I love it, I can listen to my favortite songs while I go to University and I also use it to store my assignments and documents. Without it, it would be harder to transfer my documents form(ww) one computer to another, and I wouldn’t be able to listen to all the song I like while I’m not at home.

William:

My possible future.

Well I always have the same problem when somebody ask me this type of questions(p) but I always answer different(p) for this reason in my opinion I think that in 5 years later I will be Living(c-l) in another country, and maybe studying another career or studying a post grade(ww) but I believe that I could be working for a public sector company or for an university, I am not sure right now.
Ideal future.
I do not have a ideal future but the only thing that I can say is that in the future I would like to be happy and I can not define what kind of life will bring me happier sometimes I think that living in the countryside far away from civilization living like a hunter, fishing, cutting firewood, in short living a simple life but this is only an aspiration because I know that this type of life can not be possible in these days, I believe.

Uch posts

María José:

I am a cinema fan. A good film to me is “Underground” from Emir Kusturica. I saw this film for first time mmmh... four years ago, with a friend, in(ww) the Cine Normandie, this place is a tradicional art cinema in downtown santiago.

I remembered this day, because I ate a bad brownie, it was decomposed. And the day was hot. I have(t) been in the cinema for almost 3 hours, it was very nice.

It is a very complete and diverse film. It’s hard to catalogue it,(p) because it’s a political movie,(x) with drama, comedy, action, musical and surrealism(sp). It provides a mix of emotions for the spectator.

Buuf ... Any attempt to do a synopsis is complicated enough(wo). The arguments, the music, and the magnificent conjunction of the historical facts (the wars) and the story itself. All that makes the film a masterpiece and very a(wo) entertaining experience(sp).

Is(sm) the metaforic history of Yugoslavia. The trama is about Blaky, a married man, he has a romance with a frivolous actress whos(sp) name is Natalija. But Blaky has a friend, Marko, but he also is in love of Natalija and they use the ward, together they cheat it, whith(sp) a group of underground(sp) people. And they take advantage, making them work, forming a clandestine weapons industry(sp).

Favorite Website

The web site I cannot live without is letras.terra.com.br Here you can find any lyric you could be looking for. This is a Brazilian website that I found three years ago when I was looking for an Aretha song (sm)“Chain of fools”. After I knew (sm) it, I just fall(t) in love with the page and (sm)it is(ww)(sm) my main source of lyrics since then(wo).In this page you can find lyrics of almost every type of music: anime, Celtic, soul, blues, rock & roll, regeton(sp), gospel, and soundtracks, everything you want. How would I not love this page?? The only problem is that sometimes there is only the Brazilian version available…I try to visit this website every time I can because it helps me to update my personal lyrics notebook. Unfortunately as I do not have internet at home anymore, it is difficult to have free time during the week to visit it.

Original:

The web site I cannot live without is letras.terra.com.br Here you can find any lyric you could be looking for. This is a Brazilian website that I found three years ago when I was looking for an Aretha’s song “Chain of fools”. After I knew it, I just fall in love with the page and it is my main source of lyrics since then.In this page you can find lyrics of almost every type of music: anime, Celtic, soul, blues, rock & roll, regeton, gospel, and soundtracks, everything you want. How would I not love this page?? The only problem is that sometimes there is only the Brazilian version available…I try to visit this website every time I can because it helps me to update my personal lyrics notebook. Unfortunately as I do not have internet at home anymore, it is difficult to have free time during the week to visit it.

The Austrian Monster(correction)

News(sm) that caught my attention was the case of the Austrian girl that has been kidnapped and raped by his father for the last 24 years!!! As (sm) result of this (f) continues violation (f) she had seven children of(ww) his father. I just cannot conceive the idea of a father doing those horrible things to his (sm)daughter, he is a sick man,(p) he deserves the worst of the punishments(sm).

Original:

News that caught all my attention was the case of the Austrian girl that has been kidnapped and raped by his father for 24 years!!! As result of this continues violation she had seven children of his father. I just cannot conceive the idea of a father doing those horrible things to his daughter, he is a sick man, he deserves the worst of the punishments.

UCH students

William's post correction:

Learning English: my experience.

Well my experience learning English was when I went to the kindergarten called wendolin(f) this time was the first that I began to learn English in this period I was 3 years old and I can’t remember who was my first teacher(wo).

In my opinion the first time that I learned English really was(wo) when I won a grant sponsored by the ministry(f) of education)f) and(x) (p) then I really learned English in an institute called I.L.S that mean(f) international(f) language(f) service(f) this happened when I was nine years old(p),(x) I remember a lot of teachers but specially Mr. John Penhollow (sm) with him I learned the base of my current English(wo).

In(ww) the beginning I like(f) a lot to learn English because always I (wo)had a special talent to learn other languages(p) in(ww) the(x) school(p) this subjects(f) was (sm) the(x) better(ww) mark like an A+ in Chile a 7(wo)(p) but when the English course was(ww) more difficult I had serious problems to made(t) compatible the primary and secondary (sm) with the English course an for this simple reason I began to hate the(x) English, till I finished the English course(p) this happen when I was fourteen years old.

I like to learn with a teacher and practicing whit(sp) my classmates but when I learned better is when I listen (sm)English music and especially when I played(t) pc games in English with subtitles, so I can say that I am a cyber learner.

I think that is difficult (s.m) understand the different accents of the(x) English speakers, in(ww) this moment the only person that that speak(f) in English is my teacher Simon,(p) in my case(ww) English is very useful because there are a lot of texts, books, games, TV series, works, papers that are in English and the only solution is (sm)speak English and for this (p)in my opinion(p) English is fundamental.

Maria Jose's post correction:

Abstract: Desert cities are living on borrowed, UN warns

Desert cities are living on borrowed time, the climate is in constant change and it’s essential to have knowledge of the(ww) environment.A lot of people live in such places so it's very import(f) to generate enough electricity and water. Physical(ww) characteristics(ww), like soil and water, are precious.

Desert cities have a lot of problems with water management; (sm) water salinization(ww) and the reduction of glaciers are common.

The end?

Billy buried Kes. Then, he went to the place where he first saw his dear bird. As soon as he out his eyes in the old building his memories and tears begun to run into his mind and face. “How could Jud be so cold?” Billy asked to the warm wind.

The poor child was so sad that he did not notice that a blurry shadow was looking at him from the old building. Suddenly, the shadow became a bird, actually it was a kestrel. Billy thought that his mind was playing with him, but when he focused his gaze he realized that it was another kestrel bigger than his young dead one!!!

From that moment on his mind and soul begun a discussion; what should he do about the kestrel? “Should I capture it or leave it there?” That was the constant question in Billy’s head. Thus, the memory of what Jud did to his dear Kes hit him like a strong kick in the stomach… He did not want to risk another bird’s life by taking it anywhere nearer to his evil brother. Therefore, Billy decided to leave the Kestrel in the old building, but with the unsaid promise of visit it every time he could.

After he felt a bit better, Billy thought it was time to return to his house and get some sleep. Tomorrow would be another day, life must go on, but he would never forget about the only being that brought some light into his dark life, a kestrel named Kes.

Ever Ever After

A helpful tool

It is been a real challenge for me to correct others mistakes because it is difficult to put in others’ mind in order to understand what they are trying to say. However, it has been very helpful to me correct others learners mistake mainly because through their errors I could see mines; consequently I could improve my English. I hope U Chile students have seen the advantages of having someone editing their writing. When someone edits your works you learn…

MY correction

My favorite gadget

Honestly, I don't have like(x) a "favorite" gadget, but something that helps me a lot is my MP3.
There I can record new songs from the choir, listen to my favorite songs and also have a background of all the papers, essays and readings for each semester.

New technologies allows(f) people to organize their lives in a better way and(x)(p) also these things give a chance to relax by listening to your favorite music...

Corrections II

William:

In my opinion a great, (p) and interesting film is AI (artificial intelligence) directed by the experimented (ww) Stanley Kubrick and the Midas king of Hollywood Steven Spielberg (p) this movie is about a new type of android that has the ability of (ww) love. This story is set in a near future, (p) where the (nn) global warming has led to ecological disasters all over the world, (p) and a drastic reduction of the (nn) human population (p) for this reason the Cybertronics company create (f) droids with different characteristics like prostitute droids or droids with the boy appearance (p)in this context a family lost his first and unique son and try to replace him with a droid (p) that (ww)’s the beginning of the story.

I remember(t) that I saw this film alone last year(p) and(x) when I saw this film (nn) (sm) I was surprised because this film is about science fiction but the argument is very realistic(p) because(nn) I think in some decades this could be real and maybe machines shall(ww) replace us.

Carry on with the story the droid kid called David conquest the heart of Monica; David’s adopted (f) mother (p) he has a good life with another droid with the appearance of a teddy bear called Teddy(p) after a short time the real son of the family recover(f) his health and he become(ww) jealous about David and a very sad story continues(ww) … (sm)better see it.

P: punctuation
Ww: wrong word
Nn: not needed
Sm: something missing
F: form

Maria Jose:
I and the future (wo)

In the future… I would like to be working in my profession whit(sp) environmental thematic(ww). Always I liked (wo) (sm vt)the PDI (Policía de Investigaciones), maybe I will to(x) work in this institution.I would like to publish paper(f) with my investigations,(p nn) to reach with the community in urbanism and environment.

Personally… I would like to live alone, (p) or may be with some female friend, (p)in the city, but a(x) (sm) don’t liked the city life, (p) because is very uncomfortable for the(nn) health,(p) in many years in the future I will live in the periphery zone, (p) with a good system transportation(wo) to(ww) the city.

And(ww) to star an athletic life, it´s important for(nn) to be in form(ww),(p) I begun to practice sports, I am trying, but is very hard for my, I am lazy.

I would like to be different things or to return(ww) to do activities that I have left (ww) (sm). I am keen to return (sm)

Sm: something missing
Sp: spelling
Ww: wrong word
Vt: verb tense
P nn: punctuation not needed
x: this should not be used here!!!!

Kes essay

This story is about a boy who wanted to train a kestrel. The main theme in this book, for me is abandon. Firstly, how Billy’s family interact Jud the oldest brother is a bully, the mother still lives as she was not a mother at all and Billy has to look for his own education, quality of life and needs.

The story begins with the two brothers sleeping in the same bed in a house in bad conditions. After Jud goes to work, Billy gets up and realized that Jud has taken his bicycle, so he will have to deliver the newspaper on foot.

After he returns to his home, he goes to a shop looking for a book about training kestrel because he found a nest during one of his walks. As he was not a member of the public library and he did not have enough money to buy the book, he stole one from a shop. Then, at night he went to the place where he met the kestrel and also stole the bird. In this part the flashback ends.

Later on in the same day, Billy is at school. He said something while one of his teachers was taking register, and what he said provoked that the teachers said a name wrong. In the break Billy goes home and practice with his birth; he is very happy with the idea of finally having someone to share experiences.

To conclude, until this part of the story what has happened with Billy and all the situations that he has had to face with his brother, mother and at school, can be interpreted as the search for some changes in his life; his life is everything but happy. Therefore Billy, as any human being who is not happy with their life, want to feel that his life is worthy, the best way to accomplish this is by raising or training another person or in this case a bird.

Corrections

Maria Jose:

Hello!

The (extra word, it is not necessary) ¨Fiestas patrias¨ are (ww) a typical celebration of Chile (wo). In this day it(extra word) is celebrated the independence day, but(sm) really is the celebration of de firth(misspelling) national meeting, (p) the date is the 18 of September (wo) (ww).

Many Chileans people,(p) don’t know your(wf) (sm) history,(p) (sm)only celebrated(wt) in this date.(p) And remembering that are Chileans,(p) The typical folklore dance, (sm)¨Cueca¨, only is danced for the people is this date (wo),(p) in the year,(sm) they forget (sm)it the cueca(wo for almost all this paragraph).

When (sm) was a child, I liked to dance cuenca in the(ww) school,(p) all years in this date I danced cueca… and my Qualification(ww) in sports was good.

The last year I celebrated (sm)with my family, (sm)is very funny,(p) because all are(wt) happy. Sometimes (sm)do(ww) empanadas (typical food Chilean). But (sm)is very slow, then we buy(sm).(sm)Is easier to do a barbecue, (sm)we do ¨anticuchos¨.

So, with the(extra word) ¨chicha¨, typical drink (sm)of grape, the(extra word) people drink a lot and dancing(wt) cueca. In the Park O´higgins is located de fondas(wo),(p) in this place many people re-joins(ww) to celebrating(wt), the(extra word) children fly a(extra w) kite(s),(p) because the wind in September is very(extra w) favorable,(p)(sm) in the sky the view is beautiful,(p) (sm) is very colouring.I prefer not (sm)going to the(extra w) fondas.

William

Being Chilean is very difficult(p) we always have troubles in the football (extra word) soccer an example is the defeat last Sunday 0-3 before (ww) the Brazilian selection (p) but not only this meant to be Chilean, we have a lot of (ww) traditions and(ww) (p) the greatest is the Fiestas Patrias or independence day (extra phrase), colloquially called by the Chileans “el dieciocho” this special week, yes!! (mw)Is a week of celebrations, even when “el dieciocho” is in a bad date(ww) (p)for example Tuesday(p) the(extra w) politician vote(vt) immediately to create a public holiday to prolong(ww) “el dieciocho” , I wonder why this people vote immediately (ms)this type of things but when they must vote (mw)a essential law they create (ww) a lot of obstacles.

The typical(extra phrase, it is not clear) Chileans always go to “fondas”; (mw) a type of tent where the(extra w) people can dance the typical Chilean dance (wo) called “la cueca” (p)as well we can eat a lot of things like empanadas or anticuchos and obviously drink a big glass of chicha, I remember when I was a child that sometimes I go(vt) with my parents to the Fonda in Parral (p) but I always fall (vt) asleep for this reason my parents usually went alone.

In this time I’ll have my vengeance(ww) and I will do what I want (ms) maybe go to the fonda or go to my relatives (mw), have some fun, make a good barbecue and put on (ww) weight or perhaps (mw)stayed in my (ww) home alone studying for the exams. I don’t have a special “dieciocho” because in my opinion each new(extra w) dieciocho could be better.

Posts

Maria J is still making the same types of mistakes like misspelling, word choice and plural, pronouns and sentences length. However, her ideas are easy to understand, but she is still thinking in Spanish when she writes.

My second student literally translates from Spanish to English, there are some mistakes related to language use. By this I mean, I understand what he is trying to say because we have the same native language, but in English there are a few things that have their own order. The types of error that he makes are almost the same. For example: misspelling, word choice and word order.
While I read the UCH’s posts I remembered when I was in first year and I made the same kind of mistakes, actually a not so long time ago I was still making the same type of mistakes…

Common Mistakes...

The tyes of mistakes are almost the same in both students.

William tends to make the same mistakes all over his writing. The main ones are sentences length, wrong use of words and word order. It is weird to analyze others’ mistakes because I used to have them a not so long time ago.
The wrong use of words could be because of the lack of vocabulary. The length problem occurs because in Spanish we have a tendency to write more than we need.

Maria Jose’s mistakes are mainly word order and no needed words in her writing. However, she does it very well with sentences length. She also needs more vocabulary and pay more attention to the use of preposition and the multiple meanings that words can have.

Wednesday 20th

First day reading UCh's blogs. It was interesting becasue I read mistakes that I used to do when I was begining to learn English.

I am sure how is this activity going to help in the future, mainly because I do not have expectation, but I realized how much I have improved my English in these years...

To include the use of technology in classes is a cleaver decision. Today we are living the computer era. Therefore, it is necessary to be in contact with what is out coming from it. As a tool for English teaching to implement technology in the planning of the classes could have advantages and disadvantages.

First, the use of blogs in classes has been a helpful tool to improve some of my writing skills. For example, to write short post in a reduce amount of time. Although, at the beginning could be difficult to accomplish the goals the teacher has set, it is a process that has have rewards. One of them is to be able to write short essays in an hour and a half.

Moreover, blogs in classes gave the opportunity to know a bit more about the way my classmates think. The different topics developed throughout the semester were based on personal opinions and things we like. In addition, the way the different blogs are organized also provide a view of how the others think. In that sense, it has been interesting to work with blogs.

On the other hand, the problem with working with internet is the temptation it represents. By this I mean it is difficult to focus on finishing the day assignment when the possibility to have access to other types of information and pages like face book is only a click of distance. To me, that has been the only disadvantage I can think of because in general, the idea of working on blogs has been a pleasant novelty that has given me the chance to practice my writing and thinking in everyday themes.

To conclude, blogs can be a fun way to learn English through writing about topics we feel attracted to. For that reason I believe that the use of technologies in classes is more an advantage than a disadvantage. To have the chance to work with elements you already know like internet, is something teachers have to consider, although most of them do not feel attracted to work with new technologies.

Working class mini-essay

Each country has different characteristics that make them unique. However, there are some elements that do not change. One of these is working class. In these two novels; The Commitments and Rumble Fish, working class is represented from two points of view. The first one is the way families are conformed.

In the first novel the family type was nuclear: two working parents and siblings living together in a house, where the father was the head of the family. At the contrary, Rumble Fish showed a dysfunctional family. That means, a drunk father (that did not accomplished his role as father), a mother who left her house and two lonely boys, that had to find what they did not have in their house on the streets. Although, family types do not have a particular social class, in these novels are a helpful tool to understand why the main characters behaved in the way they did.

The second point is the relationship between the characters. The manner they talked and the words they used were characteristics of working social classes. For example, in low classes education is a privilege that not everyone can afford. Therefore, the vocabulary that people have is not enough to keep a conversation without using curse words.

To conclude, The Commitments and Rumble Fish showed the different characteristics of the working class either in Dublin or United States. Moreover, these novels summarized the differences between the same social groups, allowing the reader to have a more complete idea about the background of the main characters.

Moais

Moais call my attention not only for their beauty, but also for the mysteries they have. The first time I saw a picture of a Moai was when I was ten years old. Since then I cannot stop thinking about their origins and how they were made.

They hide a mysterious beauty in the way they were made. Their silhouette, the way their eyes are looking, why they were situated in the place they are. Everything about them fascinates me.

Every time I look a picture of them, my mind flies to imaginary places where you can feel free and peace is everywhere.

My least favorite subject

If I have to talk about a subject that I hated when I was at school, I may say Chemistry. To begin with, the teacher was no a chemistry teacher, so it was very difficult for the teacher and for us to understand all the topics he tried to “teach” us. Secondly, I never got a clue about the main concepts of chemistry. Because it was my least favourite subject, I never paid enough attention to the teacher and what he was saying in his classes. I remember that I used his classes to get some sleep or do some homework for the next class.

I will always remember his face of frustration when in one test everybody got red marks. That was the beginning of a war against him. As tends to happen, he was a very kind person, but He was not a teacher!!!!!

I studied chemistry for nine years!!!!!! From 4th basico to 4th medio. The funny thing for me is that in primary school I was good at chemistry; in high school, I did not have bad marks, but I hated!!!!! The main reason was the teacher. My teacher in primary was a chemistry teacher; in high school he was not even a teacher!!!

Rumble Fish

Rusty James: He is the main character of the movie. He has a strong personality, loves fights and his dream is the time of gangs will return and he would be the president as well as his brother was.

The Motorcycle Boy: He is an important character of the movie. He is the brother and role model of Rusty James. He lives in his own world. His name is because he loves riding motorcycles. The Motorcycle Boy is very special; he cannot see colours and is half deaf.

Steve Hays: Rusty James’ best friend. He is completely different from Rusty James character. Steven did not like fights, he was a good student and his family was different from Rusty’s.

Patty: Rusty’s girlfriend. She really loved Rusty, but how he lived his life was not ok with her because she did not like fights. Patty had to take care of her sisters while her mother was at work, so it was very difficult to be alone with her boyfriend.

Cassandra: The girl in love with the Motorcycle Boy. She followed the Motorcycle Boy every time he was around. The problem was that she used drugs and Rusty James could not stand her. Drugs were an issue because both the Motorcycle Boy and Rusty James did not agree with the idea of consuming drugs.

Patterson: The police man that followed the Motorcycle Boy. He was the one who killed him. Patterson was angry at he Motorcycle Boy because he was the only “black mark” on his record.

Smokey: Part of the group and Rusty James’ friend. He was worried about gang violence. At the end, he told Rusty James that if the gangs where still alive, he would be the president instead of Rusty. Smokey was the person who set things up to make it seem that Rusty was cheating on Patty so she would dump Rusty.

Rusty's parents: In a way, they were the reason why The Motorcycle Boy was the way he was; and why Rusty James was so obsessed with the idea of look like his brother once he was older.

What should be keeping eyes on...

We all know that technology can be either a great and helpful tool for young people, or a very dangerous "sub world" for them as well. Nowadays, children have access to everything on the web, there are ways to rate what they are expected to look at according to their age, however, it is really hard to set limits for them not to see inappropriate material. Even though there are websites aimed for children, most of them create profiles in web pages for older users.


What if we ask about parent’s role...

Even though they know that there are many benefits in the internet use, they don’t want to know about the damages that it carries. Therefore, if they let their children go online without supervision, they would need to know about the risks their children are running.

What should be keeping eyes on... (original)

We all know that technology can be either a great and helpful tool for young people, or a very dangerous "sub world" for them as well. Nowadays, children have access to everything on the web, there are ways to rate what they are expected to look at according to their age, however, it is reallly hard to set limits for them not to see inappropriate material. Even though there are websites aimed for children, most of them create profiles in webpages for older users.

What if we ask about parent`s role...
Even though they know that there are many benefits in the internet use, they don`t want to know about the dangers that it carries. Therefore, if they let their children go online without supervision, they need to know about the risks their children are running.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/apr/02/socialnetworking.ofcom

Classmate's blog...

Cristina’s blog is very nice. It has one of my favourite colours, pink, so how cannot like it? If you take a look at, you could see that her posts are about what we had done in classes… But also it shows you what her likes are and a bit of how she is deep down…
If you carry on looking it is possible to find interesting pictures related to the posts she had made.
In practical terms, her posts follow almost the same characteristics, black colour and pink titles.
However, I would like to see more linkers in the blog. I mean more “extra” objects in the page… For example: this little presentation of flowers and pictures that the page has in the setting part. That would give the blog more “life” and make it more attractive to look it up.
In general, I enjoy reviewing her blog; you have done a really good job Cristina

Why him?

Although I am not a very religious person, I would like to meet Pope John Paul II. He was and still is the person that makes me wonder if there is God in heaven. Also, with just one look at his face, a warm feeling grows in my chest. He gave me peace every time I looked at his eyes.

He is not a catholic figure to me, but he had that “something” that called my attention.

If I had had the chance to talk with him I am sure the topic would be faith. About why people do not believe or having hoped that it could be something better than this life.

I would do a lot of things with him, besides talk. For example, a long walk in a beautiful park and enjoy the magnificent of nature, eat fruits from the trees and do something I never do, pray.

The Austrian Monster

News that caught all my attention was the case of the Austrian girl that has been kidnapped and raped by his father for 24 years!!! As result of this continues violation she had seven children of his father. I just cannot conceive the idea of a father doing those horrible things to his daughter, he is a sick man, he deserves the worst of the punishments.

If you have the chance...

Huilo- Huilo Salts
This is wonderful place located in the south of Chile. It is close to Panguipulli Lake in the X region.
The first time my family and I got there was just by luck. The idea we had in mind was travel around the seven lakes of the south of Chile. We were in Panguipulli and we were looking for a place to spend the night so we started to look for camping and things like that. My father did not realized how much time we were looking for a place when we saw a sign in the way “To the left Saltos del Huilo- Huilo; to the right Choshuenco” So we decided to go to Choshuenco. This is a peaceful place located in the River of Panguipulli Lake. People here are very nice and kind.

Then we decided to visit Huilo- Huilo Salts.

It is an absolutely beautiful place. We fell in love quickly with it. It is surrounded by trees and is amazing how you can breathe peace and a piece of Nature.
This is definitely a place to go every time you can…

The Commitments

There are several differences between the movie and the book. First of all, the beginning of the movie is different from the book. In the book, is Derek, Outspan and Ray arguing about the name of the group, they were called And And And, but Ray wanted to call the band And And exclamation mark And.

The movie showed Jimmy walking around the city and he met the guys (Outspan and Derek) in a weeding where they were playing. The way the audition for the new band was a bit different too. In the book, the audition is not as important as the fact that Jimmy contact to the rest of the band. But in the movie, the audition part had more emphasis.

I could be forever telling the differences between these two versions (written and film). If I have to choose one, I prefer the book because it gives more details about the band and also gives you freedom to imagine any sight of the story.

For me, the movie was a great musical based on soul hits, as same as in the movie The Blues Brothers, where James Brown actually appeared as a priest. In the movie The Commitments, James Brown was the mentor to follow, mainly for his voice, passion song and lyrics.

Although the fights occurred in different times in the book and songs are different too, the film took them and put them in special places to make sense and to catch the attention of the watcher. However the end is different in the book. In the movie, the group divides and every one follows their own way. They do not end up together or with the idea of get back again as a group. The book does. Jimmy, Outspan, Derek and Mickah were back together and they would include the girls again. Actually the book finishes when they decided the time of the rehearsal.

The author gave us an open ending while the film finished with everyone carried on with his or her life. As I said before I prefer the book to the movie, it has great songs though.

Cooking!!!

Cooking is one of the most relaxing activities if you are suffering of stress or something is breaking your nerves. The idea of creating something unique and special can take your mind away from the daily problem you are facing. Although, I do not have enough time to practice it, every weekend I try to cook something for my family, I love the smell of the cake when is almost ready or how the meringue above the lemon pie turn brown in the oven. It is very relaxing to stir the tomato sauce while you are waiting for the water to boil.

Cook is an art as well as singing, painting, dancing among others. I think that because you have to use your imagination to create new recipes or to improvise one when you do not have the ingredients that you need. Also you feel pleased when you see the smile in someone’s face when you serve what you have prepared. That is therapy! Everything could be wrong in your academic life, but the kitchen will always be a place where you can find motivation.

BBC website

Wow! This is a very complete webpage when you can find almost everything you want about education. I never thought that I could find news and learning together in one page. For foreign learners this is a good opportunity to have another source where you can be in touch with the language. You have a blog, other links, related to sites to different countries all over the world. I just love this page!
Also you can find quizzes to test your English, that is fantastic because is very difficult to have the chance to do something like that. Moreover, there is a link to lesson planning, I found this wonderful for us as teachers to be.
This is a complete webpage where you can develop the 4 linguistic skills and also take some ideas for your future classes. I think is great to have pages like BBCs because help us a lot to increase our knowledge about the second language.

Do schools kill creativity?

Sir Kent Robinson makes an interesting critized of how schools do not promote childern’s interests and abilities. Schools kill them by no paying attention to students capacities and make students feel that if they do something in order to improve them, they are making a mistake. Actually, education teach children “Out of their created capacities” and do not allow them to make what they really want to do.

Favorite website

The web site I cannot live without is letras.terra.com.br Here you can find any lyric you could be looking for. This is a Brazilian website that I found three years ago when I was looking for an Aretha’s song “Chain of fools”. After I knew it, I just fall in love with the page and it is my main source of lyrics since then.
In this page you can find lyrics of almost every type of music: anime, Celtic, soul, blues, rock & roll, regeton, gospel, and soundtracks, everything you want. How would I not love this page?? The only problem is that sometimes there is only the Brazilian version available…
I try to visit this website every time I can because it helps me to update my personal lyrics notebook. Unfortunately as I do not have internet at home anymore, it is difficult to have free time during the week to visit it.



http://letras.terra.com.br/

Sharing a bit

This is a song that has left a mark on me, it was with me in the two hardest moments that I lived last years and I'm still getting into tears when I listen to it....
Just to share something with you guys, I know I'm not the most communicative person, but sometimes life keeps hitting you over and over again and you have to learn every time it hits you at all costs...otherwise you would get nuts jajajajajajajaja, and sometimes you change, and that is what happened to me.....

Be happy and take care!!!

Here is the link if you wanna listen to......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv2YTXB_32Y&feature=related

Sober

Kelly Clarkson

And I don’t know
This could break my heart or save me
Nothing’s real
Until you let go completely
So here I go with all my thoughts I’ve been saving
So here I go with all my fears weighing on me

Three months and I’m still sober
Picked all my weeds but kept the flowers
But I know it’s never really over

And I don’t know
I could crash and burn but maybe
At the end of this road I might catch a glimpse of me
So I won’t worry about my timing, I want to get it right
No comparing, second guessing, no not this time

Three months and I’m still breathing
Been a long road since those hands I left my tears in but I know
It’s never really over, no

Wake up

Three months and I’m still standing here
Three months and I’m getting better year
Three months and I still am

Three months and it’s still harder now
Three months I’ve been living here without you now
Three months yeah, three months

Three months and I’m still breathing
Three months and I still remember it
Three months and I wake up

Three months and I’m still sober
Picked all my weeds but kept the flowers



For Eliu......

The Queen of the Blues!

Koko Tyalor is the biggest female singers of blues that would ever exist in this life.

As a blues' fan, Koko is a complete icon of this style an dothers. She had such a great lower tones and could sings as nobody could ever do it again.

Together with Aretha, they are the female royalty of soul and blues (for me).....

As I can't sing like them (ja!) I'm just happy to celebrate their music....

I leave you a link to hear some of their music if you want to...

take care!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajEaxCS3iB4 (KOKO)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNG9UPx4WlY (ARETHA)

The horse chestnut tree from Hampshire has been infected by a bleeding canker that is a virulent new disease that appears through Britain's much-loved conker trees.

Unfortunately, almost half of the tree population has died because of the bacterial disease and yet there is no clue of how the bacteria enters in the tress and spreads all over the places.

There are some tragic ideas about how this uncontrolled illness will destroy one of the most iconic British trees and will leave a scar in the land as well as the Dutch elm disease that destroy the native elm population.

Although, The Forestry Commission has been working in order to find a cure and save the horse chestnut tree. They have called to start working so what happened to elms trees does not occur with the horse chestnut tree. The sooner they find a how the bacteria work, the better the investigation will go.

ARTICLE: Bleeding Disaster

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/02/conservation.wildlife

My favorite gadget

Honestly, I don't have like a "favorite" gadget, but something that helps me a lot is my MP3.

There I can record new songs from the choir, listen to my favorite songs and also have a background of all the papers, essays and readings for each semester.

New technologies allows people to organize their lives in a better way and also these things give a chance to relax by listening to your favorite music...

Starting the new blog

Hello everyone!

I hope this system works during the semester.

I have no idea how are we going to use it, but I like the idea...

Take care, see ya around!