Hi guys!

Newly I´m writing in the blog. My question was
What do you plan to do in English after you finish level 6?

Well I´m planning take advance course of “fonética”, because for me is very difficult to understand and speak in English and I think the best way for improve that skill is understand the correct form for pronunciation.
My final goal is can apply for a grant to go Japan, I know… is strange that I need English and not Japanese but they require is to know English rather than Japanese.

Well, That´s all friends!!!
I hope that you can achieve your goals for the future!!!

Our last class

Hi everyone!

The last class we saw a couple of trailers, the half of the group just listened to the video and the other half just saw the video, then we shared our points of view about what was about the video.

We also disccussed about polemic problems and we gave ours points of view againts and pro the problem.

The lab was very hot yestarday, but I had a great time.

Alicia

Thank you - and a reminder

Hi everyone!

Thank you to all those who posted their essays - I hope that many will take the time to read them - they are worth reading!

I also want to remind you to investigate Doctor Who. Who/what is he? What is the TARDIS? What does Doctor Who do?

We'll be watching an episode of this TV series next Tuesday - don't miss it!!

Learning styles

What is your learning style?

Before I answer my question I´m going to explain in few words what is a learning style.

Each person prefers different techniques of learning, one by one these methods are interactions that respond the learning environment.

Basically there are 3 styles among others

Visual: In this style people learn by watching images, pictures to organize information.
Aural: In this style people like to work with sound or music.
Physical: This style people use their body and sense of touch to learn about the world around us.

Definitely each of these styles have more characteristics that I have mentioned so if you want to know more about you can search it on internet.

Well, attending my question I have a mix of each style but finally most of my learning skills match better with kinesthetic style (Physical) because it´s easier for me to learn something by doing or practicing.
As a result of kinesthetic method when people face the issue is more simple to learn it and of course understand it.

Classic Cinema versus Contemporary Cinema

Throughout this essay I will explain the main characteristics of the Cinema Industry. From the brith of cinema at the end of the nineteenth century to nowadays, Cinema has been transformed radically, from silent films in black and white to digital movies like “Avatar”. However, are contemporary films better than classic films?

The Development of technology has been really amazing. Today we can find in a film, things that for many years were only possible in the imagination of the most adventurous dreamers. “The Lord of the Rings”, “Avatar” and “Matrix” are examples of movies that are famous among a long list, which use very advanced technology in the creation of imaginary worlds full of life.

However, the seventh art not only recognizes the use of technologies, but the interpretation and description of human feelings. In the seventh art, the most important aspect is the interpretation of both, the actor and reality; the most fantastic stories are metaphors of society which the different directors create.

The most important thing is that technology opens the possibility of creating fantasy environments. Nowadays low budget films are filmed but with an extraordinary interpretative intelligence; “Dogville” by Lars von Trier is an example of that. That Film assembled in a small set with more theatrical than “cinematic” characteristics, describes in an intense way some instincts or conditions of the human being.

Moreover, a good movie is not only judged on how much technology is artfully used but also on the effect it has on the viewer. For example, one of the best films considered in classical cinema, is “Ladri di Biciclete” directed by Vittore de Sica in 1949. This film tells the story of a laborer without work during the postwar in Rome; this character, in order to survive, gets a job putting up posters. To do this, he needs a bicycle, but someone steals his bicycle. In company of his child this man experiences a series of misadventures in the struggle to bring food home.

In the end, the film closes with an incredible and very depressing shot, where hundreds of people, in the central square, are going about their daily activities; meanwhile, the main characters are lost in the middle of the crowd, allegorical scenes of the economic crisis and at the same time, making emphasis on the fact that Italy is still alive.

Meanwhile, in Contemporary Cinema “The Hurt Locker” directed by Kathryn Bigelow, is an American war thriller made the last year. The film narrates the activities of a bomb detection team (EOD, Explosive Ordinance Disposal) that belongs to the American Army in the Iraq War. This complex film describes a social and psychological problematic for U.S. soldiers in Iraq. It has perfect performances and an artistic and very careful editing.

In conclusion, both films will become part of the cinema history, because the most important thing is the interpretation of the world that we live in and dream in every day. I think that the best movies are those that transcend the years. But, I prefer to see Contemporary Cinema because they tell us about our stories and our world.

A post from Lourdes Vega (via me!)

In what ways do you think free writing has helped your English?

A few years ago, I used to think that English was just a way to spread my culture. In fact, the main challenge that I had had was reading. I was very comfortable reading and translating some scientific literature. However; soon I resigned from my old job and got a new one, better and more interesting than the first one.

Nowadays, speaking and writing English to people in the United States are two of the main tasks that I have to carry out almost every day.

At first I was terrified because I used to think that I never could give a clear idea of my requests and then lose credibility of my costumers.

I want to recognize that freewriting has improve the way to promote myself and my business, I can tell others my expertise and I spend less time explaining and clarifying, and more time working and earning.

I could see results in the short term. For this reason I hate lose an English class: I know that every single class is an extraordinary opportunity to improve my career as a result of improving my English.

Link

Hi!!

I was suffering by internet and I found a interesting web that I would like to share:

http://www.ted.com/

Magazine article

History about films is particularly interesting; it is the history of technology. It is due to the fact that the way to make films depends on the gadget available during the period that film is made.

Cinema from 1900-1930 consisted in silent movies. In my opinion, it was very ingenious and creative because movies had to supply sound with quality in thematic and action. During that period there were wonderful actors like Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, etc. On the other hand, modern films are made with spectacular technlogy and we can find that most films are based on special effects. Several films have impressive sound effects and images; however, they have poor acting, essence, history, etc.

The next period (1930-1970) started with sound cinema. My knowledge about world cinema in this period is very limited, that is why I will talk about Mexican cinema because it is the case I know better. The most important films from Mexican cinema pertain to this period, so this is called the golden Age of Mexican cinema. I think that the better Mexican actors pertain to this period, as well as the most interesting films. Despite the great technology and innovation, modern Mexican movies can not surpass those classic movies. In my opinion, this is due to during that period, films were concerned with weft, action and representation of the true Mexican lifestyle. Nowadays, the majority of films are focused on controversial topics in order to attract the public and they do not represent our country.

Finally, in my opinion classic movies are better than modern movies. I would like to watch modern films with a quality similar to the golden period and films representing our culture.

Modern-Made Films Opposed to Classic Cinema

Movies are a special manner to expressing emotions, experiences, ideas or philosophies of life to share and spread them abroad. Like a book you can share a concept but you can also illustrate it with images that penetrate the mind; in this way you can remember the concept or comprehend it more deeply.  For example, when you read in a book about a prairie with a beautiful sunset, you can imagine what you want but also you can present that scene in a picture as you want and draw it as you have it in mind.

I like old movies; I think many of them can touch your soul and heart in spite of the color (B+W).  I think their directors were more concerned about the message contained in them than only  in the things that will help them to attract the mind of the people to them. For me, a good movie is not that which uses scenes of passion to take the attention of the public but those which contain scenes of courage, loyalty and enduring life. “Casablanca” is one classic I like.

On the other hand, another issue is the special effects throughout the movies; obviously, in these times they are not only fantastic but also realistic. They can give that special touch to a character to achieve something unimaginable. For example, from a man who can fly or execute  wonderful movements  to a realistic imaginary city full of creatures that only can exist in the mind of the director and in that place.

Although there are many opinions about advantages with technology in our time, old movies reflect not only a good job with the “ancient high tech” but also the art of good minds. I think they didn’t need to have any software to create good films. I think they are more authentic in their content and in this aspect they were better tan many of the movies of our time.

Opinion on modern music as compared to Classic Rock of the 60’s to 80’s.

As far as I can remember, Classic Rock of the 60’s to 80’s includes music from bands and singers like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Kinks, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, etc.

Each one of them has their own style and I can´t imagine a definition of Classic Rock that could include all those singers and bands who have their particular characteristics.

On the other hand, I think, we can say modern music (or Modern Rock, to be more specific) refers especially to Rock Music from the 1980’s. So the main difference between Classic and Modern Rock is the period they were created in, and what all this these bands and singers have in common is the time when they created their music.

Well, since I was young, I mean that is to say, eleven or twelve years old, I started to listen to music on my own, tunning tuning into some radio stations I liked, I got my own records and my favourite Rock Music. Due to this fact, it was since a los time ago that I liked Classic Rock more than Modern Music.

In brief, these are my reasons to explain why I think this way:

First of all, Classic Rock is not full of new electronic sounds; second secondly I think the lyrics in the Classic Rock make more sense; finally, and very personally, I grew up with Classic Rock music.

Since I don’t know much about Rock Music, I can´t say if Classic Rock is better than Modern; but, at least for me, it’s more familiar and for my old ear is very pleasant. In addition, my parents like it and when I was a child I would listen to that music very often.

Nowadays you can find a couple of guys who make music with electronic devices and they sound like a group of five guys, and when they play they just push some buttons and that’s all; it is pretty amazing indeed, but so simple. I prefer “Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf instead.

Classic Mexican movies vs modern ones

The Mexican cinema started at the beginning of the 20Th century, by several people who documented historical events; basically The Mexican Revolution and the products were “silent films”. Many of those films have been lost.

But, when somebody talks about classic Mexican movies, he or she is talking about the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema that began in the 30’s.

Jorge Negrete, Pedro Infante, Dolores del Río, Pedro Armendáriz, Gloria Marín and María Félix for instance, starred in the most famous films of that era.

The main characteristic of this kind of movies has been the remarkable exhibition of emotions supported by excellent sound tracks, the endless fight for goodness and the influence of religion in the life of its stars. They are naive films that can be seen by children (modern children). Even though they were in black and white, many people still enjoy them.

The “Golden Age” finished in the 50s and a new era started for the Mexican cinema. During the 60s and 70s horror and action movies were produced, they were extraordinary productions at that time, but in the late 70’s the decadence of Mexican movies was very obvious. The period which spanned from the 80s to 90s was the “abominable era” of Mexican cinema. “Sexicomedias” were produced in this period of time and Sasha Montenegro was the most famous “actress”.

The New Mexican Cinema (Modern Mexican movies) first took place in the early 90s, with the film “Como Agua para Chocolate” which is considered a high quality film. In general, modern Mexican movies are less emotional, more cynical and supported by technology so they look spectacular sometimes. In many modern movies there is not a moral learning. Stars abuse bad words and almost all of them are not recommended for children and adolescents. Additionally, I really do not remember the name of any actor/actress who has starred in a good Mexican modern film.

My opinion after my brief description of classic and modern Mexican movies is obvious; I like classic Mexican movies more than modern movies, even though they could be a little bit exaggerated showing feelings.

I think that young people need good norms and stars who can serve as models. Nowadays we are suffering from an unprecedented physical, verbal and psychological violence, so I think that film producers and writers could help avoiding violent movies and encourage films with moral content (Although this does not mean religious topics).

Modern and classic music

Many people think that modern music is jus a bunch of sounds and beats with no rhythm and sense. They say that classic music is better than modern music. If you don’t believe, all you have to do is talk your parents or your grandpa or grandma, and ask them! But that isn’t true. I’m not pretending to make a universal point of view about modern and classic music: this is my own opinion about it.

From my perspective as a lover of music, I have found that modern music is a sort of evolution of classic music. This means that modern music has its foundations in classic music. In this perspective, we aren’t allowed to say which is better, the former or the latter. I think it is hard to say which the best is, or the worst: classic or modern.

While old-middle aged people prefer classic music –most of them-, younger people prefer modern music. Whether they prefer this or that music is not our business, the truth is that new sounds were invented or played in the past, it is just that the music has been changing over the time.

It is the same with the human being’s behavior, in the biological sense, and, of course in the social and cultural meaning. Institutions are changing and adapting to the new life style. Thus, music in different stages is reflecting life in those stages.

For example, rock music which was born during the 50’s but had its momentum at the end of the 60’s, when the most famous band, The Beatles, appeared in the social life scene, was taking hold among younger people; they took the music as a way to express their feelings about the social and political circumstances, like the cold war, or, as a whole idea about the consequences of the social movements and putting them in their songs (psychedelic, grunge, punk).

In brief, modern and classic music both have elements that we can highlight, but not in order to say which is better. Modern music has its roots from the classic; as modern is the classic’s evolution, some years forward, modern is going to be, likely, the classic music.

What is better cinema, older films or modern films?

Now, with approximately 100 years with all kinds of films, we must make a question: are the movies made in the 30’s to 60’s better than the modern films?
First of all, we can talk about the scripts. I think you can always get excellent original stories that underlie a great movie, but I think today they make more films than before, and that’s why sometimes they have to do remakes. Just as there have always been great actors, great directors have always existed; that’s why we can see classic movies like Citizen Kane, Gone with the wind or Ten Commandments and also Mexican movies from the Golden Age with the Soler brothers, Pedro Infante, María Félix and Rosita Quintana among others; or Tin-Tán and Cantinflas movies.
Maybe some people don’t like musicals, but there a classics too, movies with Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra or Gene Kelly; musicals like The West Side Story or The Sound of Music left a mark on viewers and they can be compared with Grease or recently with Mama Mia!, but it is a not very used genre nowadays. I must say I love musicals and these three last movies are from my favorites.
The movies about wars have had great impact maybe because war is a disturbing topic on its own. Independently to special effects, the scripts have enough strength for these movies and the edge doesn’t matter, they still have been disturbing. So we can mention across the decades Gone with the wind, Casablanca, Apocalypsis now, Full metal jacket, Schindler´s list, and recently, Saving private Ryan and Inglourious basterds.
With the new special effects by computer we can see things that we could only see in our imagination, like a transformation of a man in a werewolf whit amazing realism, or intergalactic wars, but it doesn’t guarantee a good movie; I still prefer the version from 1977 King Kong, with a mechanical arm of the gorilla, over the new Peter Jackson movie 2004 King Kong with all the new technology. I think we must make special mention of the new animated movies like Shrek, Finding Nemo, Toy story, Monsters Inc., Cars or Up, from Pixar and DreamWorks, they are simply exceptional.
Summarizing, every era has its own magic, and both are good, but I thing the older movies have a little air of nostalgia, some kind of reminiscence for something we have lived when we were children or because they remind you of someone or something special, moments that we haven’t lived (like wars or the time of the Mexican Charros), but are familiar because we have seen movies, heard experiences from our relatives or simply by reading. On the other hand, we can live the new technologies to make new movies like Avatar, or the new effects by movies in third dimension (although the 60's had films in third dimension, they were not like now), that in our time will be specially remembered.That’s why I couldn’t say one of these are better; I enjoy older and new movies and for me, both have good and bad films, so my final verdict is a draw.

Classic Rock vs Modern Music

Have you ever thought about a comparison between current music and Classic Rock of the 60's-80's? Well, I have two different points of view, check them out:
1. On one hand, Rock and Roll, which many experts of music and some historians think was born in the Unites States, is mainly the root of modern culture. However, rock and Roll has existed since 1940, with a lot of bands that made particular sounds.
You can realize that in the 60's, flowers were a better ornament for you than gold, music flowed at the same time your hair moved with the wind; people were against the war, looking for freedom and peace from the most beautiful art: music; also that was the time when a lot of demonstrations and massive protests took place, trying to change violence for peace and love, expressing your spirit.
Furthermore, in the 80's, the "X generation" was born; a kinda lost period of social transition. Many musicians of Europe and United States came to explore the music art more, creating sounds with the technology of the age, giving more opportunities to the modern music to improve their sounds, which are mainly the copy of music of the 60's and 80's. For example, bands like The Doors, The Beatles, Creedence, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and many more, are the icon for new artists, namely Lady Gaga, who confessed in an interview that she was inspired by "Queen" to write her songs.

2. On the other hand we have that although much of modern music is inspired by other music, from the 60’s or 80’s, you can realize that “copying ideas” is not a demonstration of your talent. For example, other waves of music are original, like EBM/industrial, and not well-known commercial bands, as neoclassical music (for example, Caprice from Russia, and other bands).
As the name properly says, pop music is “popular”; you can follow the flock, or be a different sheep, listening to another kind of music, not only music that is a copy of another one who has the “greatest brain” to create his/her own music, not expecting that a silly clumsy guy came to steal his/her ideas.
Modern music is not in conflict with oldies hits (rock, for example). There are still people who have a great talent for creating songs and original music. If you want a name, you have Tarja Turunen (ex-female voice of Nightwish) and her album “My Winter Storm”, Diorama and their “World of Ice” (Electro-dark music), London After Midnight and their “Violent acts of beauty” (Gothic/darkwave), or you can try with Celtic sounds, like Era or Within Temptation with the album Mother Earth, which is a mix of metal and Celtic sounds.
Anyway, To conclude this essay, I can say that pop music is not always the best option, or something else. You can try more music, non-commercial or other genres, it would be great to increase your music culture.
You can do it!!! Or if you prefer classic rock, it’s fine; the Greatest rock bands will never die. Rock and Roll Rules! ^^

Is modern cinema better than classic cinema?

The cinema is appreciated around the world and has been considered to be ‘The Seventh Art’. In fact there is a cult around it. Nowadays there are people in charge of determining those characteristics which a film must have to be a work of art or bad movie. This debate has given place to the question: Is modern cinema better than classic cinema?

My opinion about the former question is expressed below, but before starting, it is important to define what classic cinema and modern cinema are: classic cinema: movies made before the 60s and modern cinema: movies made after the 60s.

Personally I prefer the modern cinema, because I know more about its historical, social, political and economic context. Furthermore, I love special effects (optical effects are images superimposed or drawn in the film frames and the mechanical effects are techniques with makeup, machines, atmospheric effects, scenery and scale models, mainly) and soundtracks. Moreover, the new technology for cinemas (3D and digital sound) has helped make films more interactive.

Also I must say that I grew up with the modern films and I myself identify with them, because they have marked my generation with movies in which we found teaching and moments that made us laugh (Shrek, 2001. –This movie is very funny because it does parodies of other films–), cry (Schindler's List, 1993. –This movie shows the compassion versus cruelty in the Second World War–), have nightmares (The Silence of the Lambs, 1991. –The film is about a psycho who is a serial killer–), love and dreams (Titanic, 1997. –This film became an icon of the romantic movies, above all for its love scenes and the Titanic theme song ‘My heart will go on’–).

However, I can’t say modern cinema is better or worse than classic cinema. I think that the topics of classic cinema were very interesting because at that time there were not enough technological resources to catch viewers’ attention. The director and actors had to find a way to obtain shocking scenes, and scripts had to be complex and attractive. Proof of this is that some old films nowadays have been readapted in order to allow new generations to appreciate them.

In my opinion classic cinema is the foundation of modern cinema and its greatest merit was its own existence, the development of images in movement through projections (the first film with movement The Great Train Robbery, 1903), addition of music (the first film with music The Jazz Singer, 1927) and color (the first film in color Becky Sharp, 1935). So then really I can not compare them! The actors at that time have become legends (Marilyn Monroe, 1926 – 1962; Charles Chaplin, 1889 – 1977) now, but probably the current actors will become a legend too, 50 years later, and the same will happen with the stories, which in their moment became unrepeatable classics by their impact and magnificence or films that created a new genre and this now is used to create new films (such as Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, 1922, the first film that was about vampires).

We mustn’t forget that classic cinema is the cinema of our parents; therefore I like to think that classic cinema is the father of modern cinema, the second is there thanks to the first, and both have a common history that will continue over many generations.