Blogs in english class?

It is a blog the best way for understand the English language? is a blog a way to learn in general? Definitely yes, because the use of the blog, in general, has been a good tool for improved the formal aspects of writing and the way of express opinions or different topics of interest.

In the case of the blog done over the course of English, the experience meant a practical use of what we learned in class. Therefore both, the formal part of teaching (the forms of grammar taught in the classroom) as the use of this unconventional way learning (its subsequent application in the blog) have made of the class an effective and interactive course. This allowed us to create the capacity of communication that provides the constant opportunity to write about subjects of our own interest, and the consequent opinions that this generate in our self plus the possibility of receive comments that promote the debate, helping us to learn some interesting tips and even to change our perspective.

For me, the use of blog in our course led me to increase the vocabulary that already had, which, was not sufficient to communicate with my words (my way of writing) what I thought. Moreover forced me to be quicker and have a more fluid use of the English.
That is why I believe that the use of the blog should be in all those courses that necessarily imply the expression, both oral and written, as a quick and effective way of learning.

Two days in Paris

A couple of days ago I saw a movie that, while is not widely known and did not stay in the cinemas for a long time, it is really good and different from the others.
It is called "two days in Paris" and is about whay happens to strange couple when they go to Paris to visit the family of one of them. In the process of meeting each of the members of the family the boyfriend of Marion (represented by actor Adam Goldberg) realizes that his girlfriend (role done by the French actris Julie Delpy) is pretty eccentric and has had a large number couples with which, unfortunately for him, usually see. At the end of the story, and after a strong discussion between the two, they deciden stay together ... But very far from Paris.

This film, despite being simple and not have many photographic effects, it is very funny and entertaining, showing how is the way of be of the Frenchs and how this tends to clash with the rest of the world, it is almost a caricature of the bizarre that the Europeans can be.
This is exactly what I most like about this movie, and, because it was made by a French woman (July Delphy), the perspective of the archetype of her race is quite true and has a place in the reality.

If you want to laugh for a while without having to think a lot, I recommend you to see "Two days in Paris," you will not regret it.

To the "Second time"

Even if you are "new" in the English lab blogs, definitely you aren't in this matter. I saw you had other blog. Mmm interesting, I guess I will have to read it.

Whit the intention of be brief, I am going to pluck all the ideas I have about this, your "second time" site.

• Design: Been honest, I doesn't agree whit all this green. It is too much, don't you think? You could mix some other colors like red or blue, put more pictures on the side to give contrast to the tones that already are or something about your self (like you did whit the Lucybell image). Even so, I really like the staff that you used, is kind of formal and casual, just like you!

But as we know that the shape is less important than the bottom, let's talk about your ideas.

• Ideas and expression: There is not much to say because you didn't wrote that much , so I'm going to focus on your last post, which it is what I like the most. I remember that class too, I was not very attentive either (I must say I never was interested in the religion classes), but like you, I loved the movie. No wonder you like Frida Kalho, was a great woman, those who come and go quickly and in a very sad way, as if their existence was only an excuse for the transcendence of their works. What better than a woman to praise an other right? That it is why I'm glad you've written about it.

• Comment: You do not have many comments ( one is about grammatical errors, a topic that I can not criticize because I also make a lot of that kind of mistakes). I liked what your friend said about that It is true that she makes of her work a Self Portrait, but I do not agree with the fact that she has made a division between two worlds. I think and I value her capasity to externalized everything, from his passion for Mexican folklore to her love and disappointment for her husband, and live as she felt everyday.
  

I hope not have been very fault- finding in this lines.
Kisses

William Klein

This image was taken by William Klein.
Klein was born in new york in the 20s, spent part of his youth studying. After a while he graduated from the City College of New York and the Sorbonne. His studies in art history, allow ed him to meet a large number of important painters of his time, even giving him the opportunity to show some of his paintings at the Gallery Il millions of Milan (1952). But it was not until some years later that his real career began, photography. Through his work he has could participate in several fashion magazines and publishi books with what he calls "serious work".

The time I first saw his work was precisely with this picture. I was walking down a library when I saw on the wall some photographs, all in color, except for this one, but what impressed me most was that the image included the threatening expression of a child with a gun in contrast with that another child who looked so quiet and normal. That is why I liked, the contrast that generate two expressions that are not normally seen together, at least on the streets of a big city like New York and how a child is able to demonstrate that kain of anger, using objects that should not be on his hainds, which make him look like a man when his image is still of a child. Even if does not fix at all, remains an "harmonic" image, where the composition it is not overloaded.

U.S. Considers Cash Injections Into Banks?!!!

The Treasury Depertment of USA is considering taking an old route for this new problem, that is why it is injecting cash into all those private banks that request it, turning ownership whit the intention of restoure confidence in the financial system. Which is the same decision that nation like England are taking, offering banks like the Royal Bank of Scotland, Barlays and HSBC Holdings $87 billion to shore up their capital in exchange for preference shares, measure that also would provide a guarantee of about $430 billion to help banks refinance debt.
All this economic and political decision are become in a coordinated action of central banks around the word to reduced their benchmark interest rates by one-half percentage point, even so some groups are pushing to lower interest rates to nearly zero.

The week close whit the disturbing words of the president’s Bush chief spokeswoman, Dana Perino, associated with the financial rescue plan and how this goes against the natural instincts of the capitalist system: “But when presented with the evidence that the financial crisis about to hit the United States would affect every single American up and down the economic food chain, this president decided that it was important that the government take robust action. That’s why we worked with Congress to establish the rescue package.”

A hail of critics, a hail of ideas for repair it, the collapse of a market that should be perfect or at less adjusted by its self, makes me think that maybe is not the best solution to mainthein a global economy... should we choose a diferent way and move on?

Source, the New york Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/business/economy/10fed.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Punch!

When I am on the web there is one place that I never forget to visit (beside my email), it is called the Punch.
Punch is the web site of a very... very old magazine full of sarcastic humor and political cartoons, including the most important cartoonists of the century (Thackeray, P G Wodehouse and P J O’Rourke among others), and it is basically a response to the british society and their established order. The first edition was pubished in 1841 whit a lot of problems relating to its financing, however because its ability to find the wavelength of an age, punch keep on the road of it irreverent view of the life in the 19th and 20th centuries. But whit the pass of time and the new technologys, the magazine stop its publication and took the desicion to open a web site: http://www.punch.co.uk/

So how did I found this site? well, I am huge fan of John Tenniel, one day I was looking for some of his draws and suddenly "Punch" appear on the screen, since then I visit the site every week, because is the perfect place for laugh and learn at the same time.

As you can notice Punch use the irony for express the contradiction of the political desicion, making the mistakes obvious. Therefore, the sarcasm its the mean for criticize the established order.

Anyway, I am not quite sure if the comedy should be on the political issue, it could be misunderstanding as a very informal and less serious way of see the problems that affect to all the population. Even so, sometime you can not do more than laugh. A perfect example of that is this video in response of the E.E.U.U crisis: http://www.clarin.com/diario/2008/10/01/um/m-01772238.htm, take a look is really funny.