Describing a picture

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This picture was taken in the Greek island of Santorini. In the foreground you can see many white houses and buildings. Three of these buildings have a navy blue dome with crucifixes on top, for which I assume they are religious places. Farther away there are some windows that are also navy blue. There are stairs between the houses and some plants on both sides of them. The stairs are quite narrow. This village is located in a very precipitous and mountainous area. In the background we can see more mountains and a beautiful deep blue sea. Across the sea there are more mountains that could be a part of another island. It is sunny and the buildings look bright. I think this picture was probably taken in the summer. Overall, it seems like a really nice and lovely place, specially for holidays.

I've always wanted to visit the Greek islands. I think that they're really beautiful and warm, specially during the summer. I've never had the opportunity to go there, but if I did, I would want to visit a lot of them, specially the ones that have cultural places and great beaches. I find the Ancient Greece culture very interesting, with their mithology, lifestyle and art. I would like to visit Santorini, Crete, Hydra, Corfu, Milos, Delfos... I would also visit Athens, of course.

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US PRESENTATION

This is the presentation that Rosó, Sandra and I made for the gap year project. I think it was good, althought we had some technical problems.

NEWS: Is this Britain's most painful job?

This piece of news was written by Claire Carter on 5 of March for the Daily Mail Online newspaper.

The news is about Jordan Wills, a 19-year-old young man who works as a paintball target and wins 16,000 a year approximately. Despite how painful this job may seem, he's okay with it and UK Paintball, his employers, actually received a lot of applications for the job.

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Jordan was chosen for this job after the company interviewed eighteen candidates, mainly because he was athletic (he's a rower at Kingston University), had a high threshold for pain and already knew a lot about paintball.

His friends think that he is crazy, but he says he loves his job. He works two days a week and one shift is around 1 or 2 hours. Professional shooters use him as a target at a short distance to test the manufacturers' enterprises products (the "bullets"). Jordan only wears protection in his eyes and wears just a T-shirt. He says that the pain is bareable and that it only lasts for a few seconds. Sometimes it takes longer for the marks to disappear, between three or four days, but he rarely gets hurt. The company makes sure that Jordan doesn't get hurt and if he did they'd stop his shift. The student makes a report on the bullets' effect so the companies know what to improve on.

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Jordan is a fan of paintball and has played for many years. He had a wide knowleadge about the subject and that's what allowed him to get the job. Many people applied to it, but it was necessary a high threshold for pain, which Jordan has.

Personally, I am surprised to see that someone does this kind of job. I thought that the companies used sponge figures to test their products, not people. But if Jordan is cool with it and likes his job then I don't see any reason why it should be wrong.

VOCABULARY

Threshold: the point at which something begins to take effect.

Salary: a fixed amount of money payed regularly to a person for work.

Wage: money payed or received for services.

Aim: to point (a firearm, ball, etc.) so that the thing discharged or thrown will hit a target.

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NEWS: A picture worth dying for?

This piece of news was written by Callum Paton on 5 of March for the Daily Mail Online newspaper.

Jack Fox, a 14-year-old boy, fell of a mountain's cliff when he was taking a picture of the Alps' landscape while in a school trip. He survived and so did the phone with the picture that nearly cost his life.

Jack's picture

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The boy survived without severe injuries, just iceburns in his arms, after falling 2,500ft. He later explained that he slipped when he was stepping back so he could get a wider range for the picture. He asked for help, and his classmates were horrified when they saw him falling down the mountain. He was airlifted off and taken to the Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

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Amanda, his mom, says that Jack hoped that he would get a new phone, an Iphone 6 more specifically, but sadly for him, his Iphone 4S had survived the fall without any crack. The best part was that the picture was in it.

Jack and his mom say that he was lucky to be wearing his helmet, as many people at the top of the mountain weren't wearing it. After the fall it was destroyed and it had protected Jack. Nobody know what could had happen if he hadn't worn it.

Personally, I think that he is very lucky. He could've got a lot more hurt and he could've even died. People should be more careful when taking pictures. They just look at the phone screen and worry about anything else but a good angle. What I think is a bit stupid is that getting a new phone was the only thing that Jack was worried about. He was alive and he just thought he wanted and Iphone 6, unbelivable.

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VOCABULARY

airlift: the act, process or system for transporting persons or cargo by aircraft, especially in an emergency.

helmet: a usually strong and hard covering worn on the head for protection.

to be after something: to want something and have the objective of getting it.

ice burns: wounds caused by friction with snow that causes a burn.

NEWS: "Who killed Farah the kitten?"

This piece of news was written by Jennifer Smith on 5 of March for the Daily Mail Online newspaper.

Neil Tregarthen has hired the services of private detectives to investigate the death of Farah, his daughter's kitten, because the police is not competent enough to find who was it's murderer.

Neil Tregarthen

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It all started around the end of September, when Farah, the little kitten of Aylish, Tregarthen's daughter, returned home badly wounded. The animal had been playing in the garden when someone supposedly shot it with an air rifle. The vets couldn't do anything for her and she died.

Neil went to the police and asked for a full investigation to find the murderer. Even when he gave them a potential suspect (with a witness supporting the accusation), the police of Exeter couldn't get to the bottom of it. That's why Tregarthen went to Focus Investigation, an office of private detectives. He payed them £10,000. Neil also put papers all around the city offering a reward of £1,000 to anyone who gave reliable information about the murder. 

Tregarthen's reward papers

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Focus Investigations made a report six weeks later, with the witness' declaration and other evidences. The police of Devon and Cornwall defended itself saying that they did do everything that was in their hands to discover the murderer (they even went to the RSPCA), but they couldn't do anything. When they told Aylish she understood.

Farah

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Aylish, however, said that she was angry at the police because they weren't investigating Farah's case. She thinks that police should condemn actions like this because they're illegal and some other day something worse could happen.

Personally, I think that is very cruel to shoot an animal with an air rifle. I mean, what reason could someone possibly have to do that? They should find whoever did it to punish him or her. Althought I find Tregarthen's reaction as a bit exaggerated, I understand it. An animal can become really important for someone.

VOCABULARY

kitten: a young cat.

to move on from something: to accept something and carry on with your life.

report: a detailed account of an event, situation, etc., usually based on what one has observed or asked questions about and written or said formally.

YOUR SAY: A temperature issue

Don't you love it when it's so cold outside that even your eyelashes freeze? Oh, and what about when it's so hot that you feel yourself on fire?

Seriously, I just can't stand extreme temperatures. We live in a Mediterranean area where climate is one of the best features, but in some seasons it's not like that for me. I don't like cold weather, and my cold threshold is very low but, on the other hand, so is my hot threshold. So, what if I lived in Iceland? What if I lived in Nigeria? Or the Philippines? Or Greenland?

this would be me if I was told I'm moving

to a place like that

In my opinion, when it comes to extreme temperatures, maybe cold is better than hot, because you can always take more blankets, jackets, sweaters, etc. to protect yourself. But there's no escape for hot, there's no that much clothing that you can take off.

For example, one of the hottests spots on Earth is the ghost city of Dallol, in Ethiopia. It has an annual average temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit. People used to live here back in the 60's, but nowadays it's empty. There's also a volcanically active area near there so it gets worse.

Dallol, Ethiopia

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Then we have Verkhoyansk, in Russia. This is one of the coldest places on Earth, but this one is actually inhabitated, with a population of more than 1,000 people. That seems crazy knowing that some recorded temperatures go from minus 50,4 degrees Fahrenheit to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Verkhoyansk, Russia

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Watching this places I've come to the conclusion that I don't think that I'll ever be able to live in a place like that. I prefer the tempered Mediterranean climate and I hope that global warming eventually stops.

YOUR SAY: To cruise or not to cruise?

Everybody knows what cruises are, right? Gigantic ships that carry tourists all over the world. They offer trips where you can visit more than one place, like different countries, cities or islands. The inside of these ships is usually very impressive, with luxury everywhere. They are prepared to hold a lot of people and they have restaurants, pubs, swimming pools... It's like a travelling city.

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I've never went on a cruise trip, but I'm not sure that I would enjoy it. I mean, all the luxurious things are very nice but the trip itself is a bit annoying. You usually have just one day (half a day, more likely) to visit the destinations, because the trip has to continue. This has you either running all over the place to take pictures of all the touristic points or resigning yourself in the souvenir shops. I love to travel and visit the most important places of the destination I go to. If there's a fine monument, I'd like to have the time to visit it.

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I know I said I've never been in a cruise, but I know people who have and have told me all this. They arrived exhausted at the ship. There's also people who prefer to stay in the ship because it already has a lot of entertainment.

Also I think I would feel a little bit of claustrophobia in a cabin (let's face the truth, I don't think that I'd be in a suite) and the open sea is a bit too overwhelming for me. Also, remember this?

I know, I know. That's too dramatic. But I've seen Titanic and we all now how it ends (Never let me go, Jack... just... no). Don't worry. Cruises are safe. They have a lot of security systems and protocols so there's no Titanic 2 for the moment.

REVIEW: The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is the tragic story of a billionaire and his undying love for a woman that is already married. It is a good film that brings to life the famous novel by Scott Fitzgerald also named The Great Gatsby.

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The story happens in the 1920 decade and is seen through the point of view of Nick Carraway, a young man who moves to Long Island, New York. His neighbour, Jay Gatsby is a mysterious billionaire who is obsessed with Daisy Buchanan, Nick's cousin and Tom Buchanan's wife. Gatsby befriends Nick and then he starts trying to get Daisy's love back.

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I really liked the scenography of this film. It was very impressive and colourful. I loved the character of Jay Gatsby, because it made me feel that there were many things about him that were untold, and that gave him sort of a background feeling of mistery. I also liked the idea of using Nick as the narrator when the main storyline is about Jay and Daisy. I think the acting was really good in this movie.

What I didn't like about the film is that there were some parts that didn't had a clear meaning. I guess I could also say that I didn't like Daisy, because I thought that she played dumb too much.

To sum up I think that The Great Gatsby is a very beautiful and enjoyable film. Not everyone likes it but just the scenography is already  worth a try. And if you like it, I'm sure you'll end up tearing up and loving it just like me!

Here's the trailer!

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YOUR SAY: Stop the tape and rewind

Have you ever had that strange feeling that you've already lived a situation before? If the answer is yes, you've suffered what is commonly known as déjà-vu, a French word that means "already seen". It's a feeling of familiarity that you get towards a situation that you haven't lived yet. It's a very usual sensation (70% of the population has déjà-vus), but scientists haven't found an explanation for this phenomenon yet. 

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Dr. Arthur Funkhouser, a Swiss psychiatrist, has classified the déjà-vu in three types:

-The déjà vecu, the sensation of having already lived a situation, including people, details, places...

-Déjà visite, the familiarity with one location, place or object.

-And déjà senti, which focuses in the senses, such as remembering a smell or a feeling.

Many scientists think that it is a paramnesia of our brain, a false recall caused by a lapsus in the storage area of our brain. Others, mostly parapsychiatrists, think that déjà-vus are memories of a past life. According to this explanation, the very same situation or a very similar one happened then, and we get the feeling of familiarity after having died in that past existence and come to our life.

A déjà-vu and your brain's reaction

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Personally, I think that déjà-vu is a very strange and interesting phenomenon. I've had many déjà-vus and they always come with a really strong sensation of familiarity, as if I knew what will happen next, what will someone say... I myself am not able to give this phenomenon any explanation, but I've always thought that scientists should study it more. The explanation of the past life is very thrilling and weird for me, and a bit creepy as well. Are déjà-vus a memory of another life? If that was true it would change the way we think about a lot of things, right? It would mean that reincarnation is true. But let's wait until scientists really find an explanation to it.

Memories of a past life?

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YOUR SAY: Superpowers?

I'm sure all of us have at least once thought that it would be cool to have superpowers. But do they exist? There are some people who affirm that they do. I''m talking about psychic abilities.

You've probably heard about them, but you may not know that there are a lot more than the famous telepathy, which consists in the ability of exchanging thoughts, feelings, memories or sensations with another individual using your mind. There is also telekinesis, the ability of moving things with just the will of your mind. Here there's a list of nearly all of psychic abilities, and I thought it would be interesting to comment on some of them and what would I do if I had that ability.

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Let's start with Astral projection. This is based on the belief that humans have two bodies: one that's physical and another, the astral body, that is spiritual. People who have Astral projection are able to separate their astral body from their physical one and "travel" with it in a spiritual way. Well, I'm sorry to say this, but if I had Astral projection I don't think that I'd pay much attention to my teachers at eight in the morning. I'd rather travel with my astral body to anywhere else but highschool. I would also go to more parties, those that my mother wouldn't let me go to, and I'd sneak into the cinema to watch films without paying.

Then I've chosen Aura reading, the ability to perceive the energy fields surrounding people, things and places (as it says on the list I've linked above). An aura is an energy that something or someone sends from the inside of them to the outside. This means that if you have Aura reading you can know what are their feelings towards you or the situation. I'd totally use this, specially with my mom and sister, who are very moody. But I'd also know when someone's mad at me, annoyed or sad, and those are things that I could help to solve.

And last but not least, Apportations. This is the ability of materialising or teletransporting something from one place to another. I think that this is a very useful aptitude. I am very forgetful so it would be perfect for me. Also, I would go to a lot of places I've never been to. I could travel all around the world!

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But I don't think that this psychic abilities are real. Maybe some of them could be one day, because it is a known fact that we just use a part of our brain's total capacity.

I came up with the idea of this post because I've recently seen a movie called Chronicle, and I really liked it. Here you have a video of the film where you can see telekinesis!

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YOUR SAY: How do we lie?

We probably have lied at some point in our lives. If you just thought to yourself: "Oh, pff me? Lying? No, that never happens, I've never lied to anyone". Well, not to burst your bubble or anything, but that is a lie. We are all liars, but some of us are better trained than the others. Not everyone can have a poker face while lying to someone, but we all master the use of little, delicate, apparently innocent white lies.

A white lie is a lie that we tell to hide something for the good of the person we're lying to. Some say: "There's no excuse, a white lie is still a lie and he or she who uses them is a L-I-A-R, liar!" , but, are they really bad?

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The most obvious example of a white lie, more or less, could be Santa Claus or the Three Wise Men. Why do parents tell their children that an old bearded man enters their house at night to leave some presents for them? Is there any specific reason to say that? It does sound a bit weird but for children it's a fantasy, something to hold on to and to dream about. They do believe that Santa exists, that he brings presents to all children around the world. There is a magical element here, but magic is a little bit of a white lie, too, to explain what escapes science and our reasoning.

Another really famous white lie is the answer to this question: Mom/Dad, where do babies come from? ... Needless to say. No matter what answer you give that little child, it is most likely going to be a lie. This includes all those questions that children make and are not considered mature enough to know the truth of. But why? They will have to know the truth soon or later. Are we protecting the children? No, we're protecting ourselves, because we fear those questions and society has made us think that they're not appropiate.

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We also use white lies when we want to skip from doing housework, when we want to calm a really angry parent/friend down... We always use them but, is that good?

As I see it, they're not right, but neither are wrong. I mean, if you told those excited children the day before Christmas that Santa doesn't exists, that the parents are the ones who put the presents under the Christmas tree, the normal thing is that they would instantly start crying. Truth can be really hurtful. If a white lie has the power to hide the truth without it having consequences or doing wrong to anyone, it's sort of a quick escape to those bad situations. But the more we escape from them, the more obvious the answers will get and, therefore, the existence of the lie.

Even when white lies seem good, they're not always like that. Would I go up to a kid in the street and tell him the truth about Santa? No, I'm not into public drama. Also, when I remember the warm feeling I got at Christmas morning when I was a little child, I think that it's an illusion worth lying for. But other than that, white lies aren't good. In many situations lying is not the only way out. Truth can be less hurtful if we know how to choose the right words.

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To sum up, I believe that white lies are really extended in our society and that, althought we say we don't like to lie because lying is bad, we do it and will do it anyways. Some white lies are better than others, but if we analyse them we see that they are just a way of protecting ourselves and the ones  we care about (and not always).