Scenography

When going to the cinema or watching a movie at home, we mostly think of how great the story was, or how good was the actors performance. For the past two years, though, I discovered a hidden passion that I didn't knew I had, but that had always been there, and that is scenography and production design in general.

Did you see how great did the place look? Oh, the costumes, how beautiful! Always the same, binge watching the "behind the scenes" part of my DVDs at home. In my opinion, a movie without a good production design behind, specially those who need to show an original setting, can't be a good movie. The atmosphere and the aesthetics of the film have to work well together. That also applies to the period of time that we decide to set the stoy in. For example, you can't make a good film settled in the city of Paris in the 18th century if you don't know 1) how the place was back then, and 2) how society was back then. You can't let those things slip, you have to master them, because they give the film its true essence.

The Panthom of the Opera was great

Without a good setting, there's no way a good story can develop. In fact, there are films whose camera cuts revolve around the will to show things that tell us more about the story than just the plot itself. Details can speak of many things, things that are left unsaid in movies, but that can tell us a parallel story of how that world is. This concept that relates space and time with the story that is being told is called chronotope, and I actually used it a lot when I was doing my research paper about the fantasy worlds in young adult literature (if you notice, I chose this because, in a way, it had to do with scenography).

This one had a really interesting

production design

Now I'll show you some examples of movie sets that I really like and that have a lot of hard work and art behind.

Let's start with Crimson Peak!

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And then we have Anna Karenina! In this film, the majority of the set is a theatre, to represent that the lives of the Russian aristocracy are just like performing on a stage for each other!

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There are many films whose scenography is great and I could talk about them for hours but these are the two that I came up with! 

Personally, I think that scenography is a great art that combines a lot of things, while allowing to narrate different stories all at once. It's beautiful the way that we can craft stories to real life by giving them a space to really expand and show their true essence.

Prisoners Review

Prisoners (2013) is a movie directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, Terrence Howard, Maria Bello and Viola Davis. This film is a thriller that follows the investigation of the abduction of two little girls in a small town. Keller Dover is one of the little girls' father, and he will do anything to get her back. This is a great film that left me speechless. It's actually one of my favourite films and the best thriller that I've seen so far of this kind.

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On Thanksgiving, two families meet to celebrate together as usual. Everything is fine until the two little girls go outside to play and they don't come back. When the evidence that they are, indeed, gone kicks in, one of the girls' father, Keller Dover, feels angry and helpless towards the police investigation. Detective Loki, who's in charge of the case, will have to keep an eye on every clue, on every suspect, as the girls' lives is more threatened each minute, if they're still alive. When Keller Dover, however, desperately decides to carry out his own investigation on his daughter's abduction.

Personally, this film really striked me as one of the best thrillers I've seen. Sure there are many great thrillers out there, but I think that what makes this one so special is, particularly, Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal's performance. You can see raw emotion in Jackman's desperation, and condused helplessness in Gyllenhaal's detective Loki. On the other hand, another great performance in this film is Paul Dano's. I think he plays a difficult character, that has to transmit a lot of things with a condensed expression. The setting of the film, a quiet village with a cold weather, where no one sees anything, seems just like the best place for this movie. The feeling of uneasement was heartreding.

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To sum up, I really reccommend this film, if you're into this kind of story. My opinion is that, regardless of your preferences, it will, for sure, not leave you without thoughts on it.

Here's the trailer!

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Money, money, money

Recently I saw a lottery advertisement on the TV. The slogan of the campaign was: "National Lottery. Because our dreams aren't cheap". I found it funny, because it's actually true. Many of us dream of expensive things that we think we'll never have or achieve. But what if we won the lottery today and had enough money to live out our days without a worry? And lottery is about that: we buy a ticket hoping to make those "what ifs" come true. So, with no further introduction, here's what I'd do if I was a millionaire (billionaire would be better, though).

This would be me.

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First of all, I'd help my family and friends to make their lives better. Being able to help the people you love is probably one of the most rewarding things in life. Also, I'd give money to charities, of course, because they need all the help they can get.

After helping others, I'd grant myself a wish and I'd travel all around the world. And when I say all of it, I mean all of it. I'd take my time to experience everything that the world has to offer, without worries and without hurries. Travelling is one of the things that I like the most, if only I could do it more often. The first place I'd go would probably be Prague, because I've always thought that it looks like a really beautiful city. Another place on my list is Thailand.

Beautiful Prague

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Afterwards, I'd do something that I've always had in mind when daydreaming about being a billionaire (yes, billionare, dream big or go home). This dream of mine would be to produce as many films and TV series as possible. But it wouldn't be any film, it would have to be good films and series. I'd have a cinema at home, as well because... why not? Isn't that everyone's goal? So that's it: film and Tv series producer.

To sum up, there are many things that I would do if I had a lot of money, but then again it's unlikely that I ever get the chance to win the lottery. It's all about keep trying, anyways, so let's just not lose our faith just yet, shall we?

And then one day...

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Home / alone

Summer is coming (no, not winter this time, sorry Game of Thrones) and I'm sure that most of us are more than willing to end with the torture that we call exams and selectivitat. Not to annoy anyone, but I'd like to talk about what comes next, after two months of procastrination and sunny beaches with transparent water. As Green Day said, we'll all be asking our parents: "wake me up when september ends". 

But not everything about starting again is bad, right? Independence? Now that is what I'm talking about. The real question here is: are we going to take a step forward and leave to live on our own  or are we going to stay home while we are at university or studying something else? Now that we're becoming adults with 18 years of experience, we can decide on this matter.

First of all, technically, living in an apartment with your friends at your first day let's just say, for example, at university is not "complete independence". The majority of us will still depend on our parents for economic support and, in some cases (not mine, though), one tupper of food or two every once in a while. However, learning to manage housekeeping and taking responsability on your schedules is a part to develop of your new-found freedom. But one thing that some people consider good about leaving home is that you learn more about yourself. That's because you find yourself in situations that you are not familiar with and, if you live with friends, then you learn how to get along better with the person you live with.

When you keep going back home even

when you're not supposed to

On the whole, I think that it's better to live on your own (I mean without your parents, not completely alone). Sure living at home with your parents has a lot of advantages, but fleeing the nest will allow you to experience more of life than if you don't. So when September comes I'll leave home, but knowing how homesick I always get, my parents won't have to worry so much about me disappearing from their lives, because I'm sure that I'll visit every weekend (we'll see, though).

First day alone in an apartment and

your parents decide to visit.

Bukowski

"Some lose all mind and become soul, insane.

Some lose all soul and become mind, intellectual.

Some lose both and become accepted."

- Charles Bukowski -

As much as you may like or dislike this quote, it is bound to be interesting, isn't it? The first time I came across these few words from Charles Bukowski (poet and writer) was when I was reading Beautiful Creatures, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and they striked me a little bit. I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but as I've grown older (now I'm speaking as if I was some 107-year-old woman) I think it has acquired a different meaning for me. The more I think about it, the more realistic these words become to me, or at least that's what I feel when I look around. Now I'll try to explain my view a little bit.

Some lose all mind and become soul, insane.

Let's start from here, shall we? This part makes me think of those who allow themselves to drift away, to dive into a sea of emotions without a worry about what the world may think. There's no rational space for this kind of person, there's only the thrill of their feelings. They will express themselves openly, and it won't matter if they're the happiest they've ever been or they're at their worst. But feeling in such a strong way, with such passion, can be both rewarding and damaging, and that's why, in the end, these souls have no control over their emotions, hanging by a thread. I think this is why Bukowski says that they're insane, because society sees them as someone who can't restrain themselves, who can't control what they do because they're driven by emotions.

Too dramatic?

Some lose all soul and become mind, intellectual.

On the other hand, there are those who shut their hearts out, who forget about emotions and throw themselves into a will of knowing. They are content when they can expand their minds. They tend to rationalize everything, because it's safe and true, because it's how things should be. There's no point in worrying about feelings or emotions, because they're only as important as you want them to be. This, too, can be both rewarding and damaging. It's obvious why Bukowski says that they're intellectual, because they're centered in what will the most efficient ways be, what will the most rational answers be. And for this, society sees them as someone insensitive, someone that is hard to communicate with.

Not bothered by a storm of feelings

Some lose both and become accepted.

Now this is the point where I wanted to get to. It doesn't matter what you are: a soul, an intellectual or something else. Society will always find a way to label you even in your most personal space. Too expressive? Bad thing. Too rational? Bad thing. But if you learn to restrain both your feelings and your thoughts in order to please those around you, then you're good to go. It's like we are kept on a tight leash. But the truth is that in the end it doesn't matter at all. It matters as much as we want it to.

To sum up, I think that society is always judging and we are too prone to care about it. If we lose both our soul and our mind, what else is left of us? We become something else that society is fine with but we should not. And what is that? A bad thing.

When you stop worrying so much

Hail, Caesar! Review

Hail, Caesar! is the last production of the Coen brothers, starring Josh Brolin,George Clooney, Scarlett Johanson, Ralph Fiennes, Alden Ehrenreich, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill and more. It's a comedy that follows the kidnapping of Baird Whitlock, an actor in the 1950's, and how Eddie Mannix, a Hollywood fixer for Capitol Records, has to deal with the problem before the news reach to the media while keeping all the actors of all the productions in line. It's a fantastic comedy that clearly has the name of the Coen brothers stamped on it. If you like their humor, chances are this can be a good film to watch for you!

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Eddie Mannix works for Capitol Records in the 50's, in the heart of Hollywood. His work consists on having everything under control in all the productions. In particular, he keeps an eye on actors and directors, having to deal with their problems himself so the show can go on. Baird Whitlock, a well-known actor, is starring as the main character in the companies' latest production: Hail, Caesar! But, as a result of a hidden conspiracy, he is kidnapped and taken away. Eddie Mannix has to find a way to solve this problem before anyone else realises that the actor has gone, indeed, missing.

George Clooney as Baird Whitlock

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Personally, I really enjoyed the humor in this film. However, I understand that it's not the kind of humor that everyone likes. The story was simple but well developed, with some twists here and there. The characters were outstanding on their own, specially Eddie Mannix played by Josh Brolin and Hobie Doyle played by Alden Ehrenreich, in my opinion. The performances were all great and made the film funnier and with a good final result. I had seen George Clooney in another Coen's film, Burn after reading, and I was glad that they chose him again for this film (just the faces he makes are priceless). I also liked the way 50's Hollywood was shown in the movie. You could see all the sets and the little problems between the actors and the directors. This is why I found Eddie Mannix's character so interesting: he was the man in the shadows that everyone knew and trusted with their problems. On the other hand, my favourite performance was Alden Ehrenreich's Hobie Doyle, he was by far the funniest character and he did a great job portraying it.

Here's Alden Ehrenreich and Ralph Fiennes as Hobie Doyle and Laurence Laurentz.

In my opinion, one of the funniest scenes.

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One thing I didn't like about the film is that the story could've been more developed. It had more potential, in my opinion, that it was given. It was still a good story, it's just that I expected something more. Anyways, I enjoyed it and laughed a lot.

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As a conclusion, if you like comedies with silly characters and plot complications that no one had thought about, then this film is for you. All I can say is that the Coen brother's films never fail to surprise me, and this has been no different!

Here's the trailer!

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It will only cost your privacy

In 140 characters people can share their opinion on anything they want thanks to Twitter. They can share their life, what they are doing, who they are with, who's their friend and who isn't... There are many social networks through which we can express ourselves.

However, what happens when all your life is exposed? When everyone feels free to give their thoughts about you away on the Internet? Imagine they're interested in you, they want to know everything and even more about your life, they make speculations on your actions and analize your every move. It would be extremely bothering, right? Well, at least that's how I see it. Regardless of how unfamiliar this may seem to most of us, that's what fame is about nowadays.

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More than ever, famous people are followed and stalked not only by paparazzi, but also by their fans. More over, the total freedom of the Internet and social networks creates a bigger exposure to every kind of opinion, both good and bad. From the safety of our their homes, some people feel untouchable and powerful on the Internet and they forget one thing that is baseic to every human being: respect. In my opinion, the fact that someone is on the spotlight and their life may be the centre of the public eye doesn't give us the right to disrespect them whether it's stalking them lika a crazed fanatic (I'm talking about extreme cases, of course) or criticizing their person and actions without taking into account how bad it must feel. After all we are all humans, we're the same, and that means famous people can be as hurt by unnecessary hate as anyone else. That is wrong and not only if it happens to famous people but everybody.

Of course, on the other hand, social networks have become a major boost to a lot of celebrities. They can be closer to their fans and have more interaction with them.

As a conclusion, I think that social networks are helpful for famous people to connect with their fans, but they're also a great source of problems. Too many people take the Internet as a lawless territory where anything is allowed but, as humans, I think that we shouldn't forget to respect one another so easily.

Here's a video of Jimmy Kimmel's TV talk show that I think sums it up!

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Art or crime?

Take a look at this picture:

by Borondo, in India

What about this one?

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I'm sure you've seen a lot of these as well:

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We all know graffiti, but is it art or crime?

Some people say that graffitis damage the visual impression of the buildings in which they're painted. It is considered a crime because it modifies private (or public) walls without any permission (not all of them, though).

On the other hand, there are people who think that graffitis are another way of art. This is actually what I think, and now I'll try to explain why.

For me, graffitis can revitalize the city (or anywhere really) with art, using new shape and color. As any kind of art, it's a way of expression that can give many different stories to the boring walls that we see everyday. Graffiti is not only a diversion for some people, it is also used as a way to vindicate and call society out.

An example of this vindicative art is the work of Banksy, an artist that has become famous around the world for his urban art pieces with deep and meaningful meaning against society. Here I'll show you some examples:

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He has made a huge impression with these paintings around the world, and has won recognition as the artist he is. Last year he was able to open an art project by the name of Dismaland, located in Sommerset and mocking the amusement park of Disneyland, though it is anything but amusing. He wanted to do the same that he does with his art: open your eyes to how our society is.

Additionally, a lot of graffitis are stunningly beautiful and some of them could be considered masterpieces. One way or another, it's art, just like any painting that you'll see in a gallery for an insane fee. This kind of art is totally free. It's made by the people and for the people, with a wish to express.

One thing that really impressed me about graffitis was the remainings of the Berlin Wall. During our 4th ESO trip, we visited the monument and it was all decorated with artsy graffitis  that I loved. Here I have some of the pictures I took:

Well, I know that these are not the typical type of graffiti. On the other hand, I know that many street art pieces have a lot of street and very little bit of art. But just the fact that some artists aren't really good doesn't mean that graffitis should be banned! That would be like saying that no one should have been able to paint if their art didn't look like Leonardo's, Van Gogh's or Turner's.

So if you are an artist in need of inspiration remember that the street can also be your canvas!

Vikings

Like I did with Fargo, I'm going to introduce you another of my favourite series: Vikings, from History channel. Soon the 4th season will be aired, and the show is still great.

The series follows the story of Ragnar Lothbrook, a Viking farmer and warrior whose ambition and interest in sailing to other parts of the world drives him and his people through a lot of events, cultural shock and battles (many battles). The journey starts with the discovering of Britain, where he captures a monk named Athelstan and makes him his slave. Ragnar has an unusual willing to learn from Athelstan's culture: language, politics and, what is more controversial and shocking for both sides, religion. We see very different evolutions: a Christian having to adapt to the Vikings' ways and a Viking making strategies using knowleadge of a culture from another land, and all this while dealing with civil wars and betrayal. Here's a good trailer I found for season 1!

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One of the best things of Vikings is its historical accuracy. History Channel, honoring its name, has taken special care in showing the Viking culture as it was, and also, reproducing the story of Ragnar Lothbrook (a real legend in Viking history) as closely as posible, while introducing other characters from real history (Rollo, Bjorn, Lagertha...). This is probably what I like the most of this series, because I can imagine the way this people lived and how his society and culture worked. I've learned that the Viking society was really familiar and about bonding, without too much restricting rules, but with the same cruelty and ambition as the Christian kingdoms. It's another way to see what history has many times called "northern barbarians".

On the other hand, I also find the characters really interesting. Starting with Ragnar, I'm amazed of how he always has a strategy in mind, surprising everyone in the last minute. He manages to rise with his ambition and follow his dream, involving everyone in it. He is cocky because he can see through everyone's intentions and he is cleverer than most of them think, with this being his main weapon to defeat others. The many turn of events he has caused has driven the viewers crazy since season one. The other side of the coin is Athelstan, the Christian monk that is captured by the Vikings and turnt into a slave. His will to survive in this new society he finds himself in without renouncing to his religion is something really difficult. In this two videos we can see the different points of view that the story has through this two interesting characters:

Meet Ragnar

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Meet Athelstan

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As a conclusion, if you enjoy history and adventures with a more serious tint this is probably one TV show that you'll love. Let's just hope that season 4 is good to the characters!

Ragnar is also eager for the next season to start.

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Fargo

So I'd like to talk about one of my favourite series: Fargo. I'm still going through season 2 but exams make it difficult to watch the new episodes. That's why I will focus on season 1, which I loved.

The series is an original adaptation of the award-winning movie Fargo (1996) and it was directed by the Coen brothers (one of the reasons why I love it). It's described as a black humor comedy and crime drama series. Here's the trailer!

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Fargo follows the story of Lester Nygaard, a salesman from Minnesota who's always been nagged by other people: bullied at school, unappreciated by his wife and brother... He's not the man everyone wants him to be. An unfortunate incident with Sam Hess (his school bully) results in a broken nose and a hospital waiting room, where Lester meets a strange man: Lorne Malvo. There he tells him what happened and Malvo starts asking him why doesn't he stand up for himself. Later on the conversation, Malvo suggests killing Sam Hess for him, and althought Lester doesn't agree, he doesn't clearly refuse either. When Hess appears dead a few days later, Lester finds himself involved in something dark that doesn't only include Lorne Malvo, but also himself.

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Personally, I've always preferred crime series that are more realistic and follow one single case throughout the season. In that way, you can make your own theories on who's the killer, where is the kidnapped person... I believe that they have a lot more emotion and cause more involvement from the viewers that the typical detective/cops series that are able to solve a crime in one single episode. In my opinion, that is a good thing if you want to watch one, two, or even three episodes, but, in time, it gets boring, because you always know how it'll end: they get the bad guys and lock them in prison. But when you find yourself with a case that is thrilling and seems too clueless and complicated to be solved in one episode, you become, along with the characters, a detective. You can't stop thinking about why this character did this thing, if it's too unlikely for someone to be the killer, if that apparently innocent person is hiding something from the detective... There are many possibilities, and the curiosity of "what will happen next" always drives you to binge-watch the show. Some of these series that I totally love are: The Killing (on of the best in my opinion), The Missing, Broadchurch, Happy Valley, True Detective, Fargo, The Tunnel, Fortitude (this one is a bit different, though), Top of the Lake...

Something that I really liked about Fargo is how the characters surprised you more and more throughout the season, specially Lester Nygaard, who suffers a dramatic change. I find this interesting, because you see the evolution of a man who has always been told he's weak, less than others and a complete loser after being involved in such dark events. Also, Lorne Malvo's insensitivity gives his character an unpredictable storyline.

This pretty much sums up every character's

thoughts in Fargo

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Plus, the series is full of interesting reflections and riddles that leave you confused and willing to resolve them, like this one right here:

My reaction and the cop's were the same.

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To sum up, if you like crime series and dark humor, this is a good choice, I guess, at least I know I really liked it! One thing is certain: it won't leave you apathetic.

YOUR SAY: Wattpad

Wattpad is a quite popular social network amongst young writers. It allows you to post long lenght texts that you have to divide by chapters. The point of this website is that you're able to post a whole book if you want and for free.

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One of the most attractive features of Wattpad is the feedback. If you like to write but you're not sure of whether your work is good enough or not, this network can get you new readers. Whoever reads your posts can comment on them and also like the story, so that way you can see how your writing is received by other people. Stadistics say that this website is getting 16,9 milion visitors every month, so you can imagine the huge possibilities this can give you.

Also, the chapter-by-chapter mod to upload the content creates a serialization of your work that will help you to make your readers engage with the story. There's an option in Wattpad to "become a fan" of a writer, something like following another user's work so you can keep up with it. As a consequence, you must be active and post regularly so you won't lose your followers. This feedback mentality will connect you to people with your same interests.

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You can also add links to your book or, even, to your Amazon profile so they could buy it. Recently, Wattpad included a new feature in their website which is "Fan Funding". If you are a writer and you have a dream that you really want to become true but don't have the money to pay for it, your readers can support you now by donating money for your project.

Wattpad's Fan Funding from Wattpad on Vimeo.

The dominant genres in Wattpad are Science Fiction, Fantasy and YA (this stands for Young Adult Literature).

However, there are some people who are afraid of having their work stolen by someone else, as it's posted on the internet and access free. Even if you are the one putting your writing online, it's terrible to see that your stories are being used without your consent. That's why Wattpad has a copyright report section where you can denounce a plagiarist.

I personally fell in love with this network. I'd like to become a writer someday so I would give this website a go and try to post some piece of writing on it, just to see what happens. I think that it's great to be able to have feedback from other people who are interested in your stories. It would be a really good test to a writer's ability.

My reaction when I found out about Wattpad.

YOUR SAY: Life's playlist

Music is everywhere we go and is one of the most global ways of art. Every single person in this world can be emotionally moved by music, find a genre that they like, or even the most creative ones, express themselves with its composition.

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Different kinds of music can induce to certain atmospheres: relaxing, sad, happy, angry... Our brain connects the sound of it to emotions and feelings, creating a deep understanding that can differ from one person to another. That is to say that music has two meanings: the main one that can be fathomed by everyone and is about the mood it sets, and the personal one, that is related to our inner interpretation of the feelings it can provoke. A specific song can make us remember a moment of our lives like, for example, an afternoon that we spent with friends having lots of fun. It can also bring to mind a person, a place...

Let's continue with our behaviour when it comes to music. When we are sad, we tend to either listen to sad music and probably end up crying or happy music to get cheered up. Something that happens to me, for example, is that whenever I'm going to a party I put some club-like music to get in the mood (specially when I'm really tired and don't feel like going).

How music can change a film

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Also, when it comes to lyrics, a song can be really sincere and heartfelt with some particular topics. These are less interpretable, but can also be produce very personalized feelings and emotions.

For me, music is something incredibly awesome. It can make you cry, but it can also make you smile. I believe that every song is a story that is different for each person, and while we all enjoy it in different ways and genres, we all need it, because it speaks when words can't.

YOUR SAY: Fright night!

"Hey do you want to come over to my house? We could watch some people get killed, haunted by ghosts, getting a nice exorcism done... You know, just a lovely afternoon activity to have a good sleep at night."

"Emm... How about no?"

I think I'm not that good with examples, but I just can't help it, horror movies weren't made for me. On the other hand, there are people who really enjoy this kind of films. If you think about it, it's quite a strange thing that we like to sit at home or at a cinema sweating in pure terror while we cover our faces with whatever comes in hand. But, what's most unbelivable is that, although we know that we're going to get scared, we keep watching.

Even if I'm not quite fond of them, I can see that there are good things in horror movies that even a chicken like me can notice. Firstly, they give us a great rush of adrenaline due to the tension we are under. More over, it's probably one of the few movie genres that can get us really involved in the story and empathize with the characters.

Of course, I'm only considering good films, and not the ones that would make you burst out laughing instead of scaring you. The skills of the director are really important in these movies, because they must have the ability to set the right atmosphere and mood while mantaining the tension throughout the film.

Personally, I'm quite reluctant when it comes to horror movies, but I do like some of them. Do I get really scared? Yes. Do I sleep at night? No. Is that suspicious shadow just my chair or is it a murderer? It's obviously a murderer but if I don't move a muscle and cover myself with a blanket he or she won't be able to hurt me. But the more I watch a horror movie, the more I like it (probably because I already know in which scenes I can get scared), and althought that wouldn't be a great point, it's my own way to enjoy them.

What a lot of us do after watching a horror movie.

YOUR SAY: "Knock knock. Who's there?"

Nowadays technology has taken over many fields (if not all) of our lives. We use it for everything. Specially, human comunication has changed completely. Whether it's on our computer or over the phone, we can talk to other people instantly and at long distances.

This kind of comunication has also allowed the appearance of a new kind of relationship: internet friends. Now, being able to meet new people with your same interests from every corner in the world is a great thing. It's a really enriching experience that we can all profit greatly from. It won't be so weird iff someone tells you that they met their best friends or their soulmate through the internet.

Here's a beautiful compilation of internet friends

meeting for the first time.

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But, like every technologic progress, it has its bad side too. In the last decade, approximately, the number of people who've had problems with internet users who held a fake identity has increased a lot.  The term to describe this kind of emotional hustle is "catfish". To be "catfished" means to be fooled, and that's exactly what this concept is about. It consists on a very personal relationship between two people through the internet, with the inconvenient that one of them is faking his or her identity in order to bully the other person (cyberbullying), to swindle them or just for fun. This "so called friend" usually adapts his or her personality to draw the victim to them, building a relationship based in lies.

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There is a show on MTV, Catfish, that shows how many people follow the thread of this internet friend to discover their real identity. Sometimes (very rarely), they end up being happy because their friend didn't lie to them, as was suspected. In most of the episodes, though, they discover a diferent person from the one that was expected.

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Personally, I think that being catfished must feel really bad. Anyways, I don't think that I'd trust someone so much over the internet. I mean, you can make very good friends, I have some of my own that I really appreciate, but you must always be careful. Not everyone out there has good intentions towards us, even if we haven't done anything wrong.

So, to end this post I thought that it would be a good idea to include a video of the TV show Catfish. Enjoy!

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YOUR SAY: Inked

Now that we're nearly eighteen we start planning the many things that we'll do. But, nowadays, a lot of us would answer the same thing: "Mom, Dad, I don't care what you think. I'm getting a tattoo done."

In recent years, tattoos have become the new fashion trend. People used to get them out of love, representing their hobbies or the important things in their life. Now, they get it done for nearly anything. Is it a bad decision though?

Notice the musical motives?

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I believe that tattoos are beautiful as a way of art. They allow us to externalize our inner self in any way we want. We make our skin a canvas to paint the story of our lives or the world that's in our heads. Despite the fact that some part of society finds them irresponsible, it's another artistic form that retains personal emotions, just like music or paintings.

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On the other hand, I personally would never get a meaningless tattoo done, as many people seem to enjoy doing. I sometimes wonder if they actually think it through or they just choose whatever drawing or quote comes to their mind. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that they shouldn't do it, let people express themselves in the way they want! As long as they're okay with bearing that tattoo all their lives, it's fine.

Just wow.

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As a conclusion, I think that when out skin starts to get wrinkly as we grow old, we should never feel ashamed of the tattoos that we decided to get done some crazy day. Instead, we should feel proud about them and say: "Mom, Dad, look. This tattoos represent the greatest work of art that I'll be able to inspire: my soul."

Different lives, different meanings.

If you want to have a laugh you can also check out this gallery of tattoo fails!

I just can't figure out what they were thinking.

YOUR SAY: Horoscopes

We all know what horoscopes are. There are twelve signs and you are assigned one according to the date of your birth. The signs are all represented in star constellations that change with the seasons of the year. Each sign has a personality that can be extended to anyone with that sign. Also, the stars are supposed to tell the future of each sign and that's how horoscopes become so popular in magazines and newspapers. Whether it is monthly, weekly or daily, horoscopes tell people what will happen to them in the future. They are usually divided in different topics and the most common ones are love, friendship, family and work. They are also used to measure the compatibility between signs comparing their personality traits. But, do you think that horoscopes really apply to people?

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There are a lot of people who think they do. They truly believe that the future that is being told for their signs is actually real. Althought sometimes it does seem like what is being told to you kind of relates to your present situation, horoscopes are just made by a bunch of people who have to invent something different for each sign every month/week/day and are probably typing whatever comes to their minds. It's not the stars plan if you're going to "find that special someone in an uncommon situation" or "you should work a little bit more or you might get fired at your job". The thing is that we make our own destiny. If we live up to horoscopes and have so much confidence in what they say, we will stop making decisions for ourselves. Of course, I'm not saying that everyone does that. In fact, I don't think that there's much people out there that believe so much in this things.

Whenever someone doesn't like their horoscope

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More over, there's the signs personality traits. I am a Sagittarius (my birthday is on 7th December) and, for example, I'm supposed to be adventurous, honest (a little too much and can come up as rude), too independent and moody, creative, generous, careless... The list goes on, but I think you can understand what I'm talking about. I do consider myself honest, but I don't think that I'm tactless. Careless? Well that doesn't sound like me, but I guess if my horoscope says so... Independent? Okay maybe a little bit. I don't disagree with everything there is on the list, but that's the problem: we are more than a list of virtues and flaws. And those qualities that we own can't define us. It is what we do with our qualities, time and experiences what really tells the world who we are and builds up our destiny. Not the stars, not our birth date, but ourselves.

As a conclusion, I think that horoscopes are funny and entertaining but not real at all. If everyone could be classified by their birth dates and personality traits this could be the next Divergent movie. We all skip the pages of our magazines to read our horoscope (you know you do that, everyone does) because we are curious, but I don't think that many people take it seriously.