My English competence in 2016

From my point of view, my best writting contribution to my blog was the Gantz's recommendation because I felt proud of myself after finishing it. It was truly a good post since the content was very mature, the vocabulary was appropiate and I looked for some words in the dictionary, the structure was correct and the grammar okay. However, I think that BioShock's and Silent Hill's recommendations were accurate posts too.

Gantz recommendation.

Finally, about my oral presentations I don't think they were good enough to pick a best one. In addition, all of them were average not excellent and they're almost the same, I feel nervous and I mess them up. However, If I have to choose one It'll be the first term's one.

My progress from 1bat to 2bat

First of all, my earliest written task was an E-mail to my teacher and my last one was the Japan's description. The main differences between both compositions are the lack of connectors in my initial writting, the use of more complex grammar structures, the addition of more formal words and synonyms...etc.  The only element that back then was still okay is the structure, whereas the maturity of the content has greatly increased and so the vocabulary and grammar.

Regarding the oral presentations, the first one was an oral presentation with Aaron and Yuri and the final one was about my research paper. Both presentations are pretty similar, however, the principal contrast between them is that lately I've been feeling more secure when  I have to talk in front of my classmates and the improvement of my language variety. 

Description (place)

Batxillerat's end is nigh and as a consequence I should start thinking of a place that I'd to visit this summer. One of my favorite options is Japan, because I've been astonished by all the breathtaking and varied places that I have watched in films or photographs.

First of all, I'd like to visit old Japanese temples because of the serenity, quietness and peaceful atmosphere of this mystical buildings. In addition, the integrity of the temple with his environment is usually excellent due to the nature which perfectly combines with the Japanese mystical buildings. 

Besides, cities like Tokyo look pretty cool for me, the crowded streets, full of lights and many diverse places to have fun. However, I'm mainly interested in Japan since their culture is very peculiar and there are lots of modern areas with advanced technology and art.

In conclusion, Japan is a place with a mixture of unalike spaces and all of them seem very intriguing in a different way.

Human rights

Human rights are universal moral values or norms that determine how human behaviour should be like and what do we own for the simple fact of being a humans (inherit rights) , and in addition they cannot be taken away because it's against international laws regardless of the individual's status.

Most of the ideas that energizedthe human rights movement came as a product of the Second World War consequences and above all The Holocaust. Therefore, The United Nations adpoted the Universal Declaration of The Human Rights which consists of thirty articles and it's formed of civil, political, economical, social, cultural... rights.

As a whole, The Universal Declaration of The Human Rights is composed of thirty articles, but I'm going to focus only in one of them, the article 5: no one should be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

I understood all the words of the video, the vocabulary was very simple. This human right isn't respected in some schools (I think that in every school but I don't want to be so negative) because of bullying and in some police investigations, in order to get what they want cops may hit, torture innocent people. However, from my point of view, this right is respected in many places as normal people don't hit others.

Education is the key, School is the lock

"Education is about inspiring one's mind not just filling their head"

From my point of view, education shouldn't be just reminding facts and dates that has no use, in contrast it should be similar to Rousseau's conception of education, in other words, by ourselves, not filling our minds, but helping us to develop our mind with only the necessary assitence. In addition, the only way that we'll truly create new and innovatine stuff is if we let future generations -well, and everyone else- think by themselves, not what we want to. In other words, they just have to let everyone the freedom to think, new ideas, inspiring them...and so education doesn't have to make us remember unuseful information in order to stress us, this isn't really education, It's programming machines full of unneccessary data.   

Greece passes tax and pension reforms

Source

Controversial new pension and tax reforms were passed by Greece's parliament on Monday.

The measures are needed to unlock further international bailout money, to be discussed at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Monday. But they are unpopular with Greek anti-austerity campaigners and unions. 

"We have an important opportunity before us for the country to break this vicious cycle, and enter a virtuous cycle," Mr Tsipras told MPs. Monday, he said, "is a very important day. After six years, the Eurogroup will meet to discuss debt relief". The meeting will talk about new debt relief measures with a view to avoiding the prospect of a default in July, when Greece is due make its next major repayment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank. 

The reforms agreed by parliament include:

-Changes would not affect the majority of pensioners and moved towards a "sustainable" system.

-Before the vote, protesters in Athens threw petrol bombs at police, who responded with tear gas.

-Trade unions say the country cannot bear another round of austerity.

From my point of view, since 5 o 6 years ago we’ve been in recession almost around the world. One of the countries that have suffered this crisis the most is Greece.

The Issue is that Greece has to ask for loans and with these loans they only achieve more debts. This is why Tsipras says that they are in a vicious circle.

TED talks: Can technology solve our problems?

The editor in chief of publisher of MIT Technology Reviews, Jason Pontin starts his TED talk saying that we used to solve big problem, for exemple the problem of travelling to the moon. 

They didn't bring much back from the moon but they did because it was hard.  However, the first half of the 20th produced many technological triumphs such as: penicillin and vaccune for tuberculosis, polio was erradicated and smallpox eliminated... Nevertheless, this trust in technolgy vanished because no one could travel faster than the Apollo 11 crew in 1970. They promised to travel to Mars whereas they solved trivial issues. So what happened? Silicon valley says that it has been funding less ambitious companies, the markets are to blame...In addition Jason says that people prefer small investings rather than a long term. 

Technology advances had made great discoveries and achievements but they haven't solved humanity's big problems. There are four elements that don't allow us to solve problems: sometimes we choose not to solve our problems, sometimes our political system fails, sometimes the problem isn't really technological and sometimes we don't understand the problem. We have to understand that things aren't as their were before, so the solutions of the future will be harder won.

Explanation of a landmark

One of the places I enjoyed the most was the Madame Tussauds wax museum, it was expensive but worth it. The building was divided into diferent sections: film and TV, world leaders, pop culture, Marvel 4D Experience...etc. The first part was set in the Oscars ceremony, so there were wax figures of Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt...etc, I really liked it because most of them were very realistic and I love cinema. Nevertheless, everything was quite similar, except for the Marvel 4D experience which I have to say that I've never seen something like that before. The 4D Experience was a short animated movie which had the same effects of a 3D movie and the seat moved according to what was happening on the screen....truly amazing. Finally, I regret not having gone to the Star Wars zone but we didn't have more time left. 

Informal/nip-tuck dialogue

Characters: 1.Big Moris/ 2.Lil Mich/ 3. Dj Faron

3 old friends meet at the park...

3. Sup fellas. How ya'll doin'?

1. Doin' great. I'll have a lipo next week, because of my obesity and breathing probs.

2. WOW! Now you'll be able to pass through my house door.

1. Ha-Ha fucker. At least my gf is pleased with me

3. Hey guys! Be cool!

2. Dont worry bout that. It won't last too long.

1. What do you mean?

2. I'm gonna have a penis size enlargement.

3. You kiddin' ain't ya?

2. Nope man, I mean it.

1. My prob is serious business, I can't stand guys who do stuff...

3. That's stupid!

2. Do you guys realize how insecure I feel in the bed game?

1. I can imagine, don'cha Faron?

3. Don't be a dick with'im! Don't make fun of it.

2. Well I'll think about it.

1. Dont try so hard, will ya?

Can technology make a better world?

Nowadays technology -fortunately or unfortunately- is accessible to almost everyone in the world. Due to the impact of technolgy we can consider it extremely important so here's a tricky question: Can we use technology to make the world a better place?

First of all, I think it's vital to highlight some disadvantatges because many people only care about the benefits of the technology progress. Materialism, in my opinion, we care more than necessary about our belongings. You may agree about materialism or not, but we all know that many of us when a new phone model of our favourite company comes out, we buy it instantly whereas waiting until the price is lower. 

Another thing highly related to the first negative point is the dependency, from my point of view, we're obsessed with screens and so we don't pay attention to the real world. Owing to the dependency of technology, we are losing espiritualism and consequently our love towards nature.

As technology grows, human workers decrease. An uncountable number of workplaces have been reduced because machines automate processes and do the world of many people only with one computer, therefore companies think don't need employees as they get the job done, furthermore usually it's cheaper.

On the other hand there are some positive points about the increase of accessibility to technology such as the communication, cost efficiency, convenience in education, change in the health industry...etc.

In conclusion, as I said there are some negative and very important issues regarding the evolution of technology in our society. Nevertheless, there are advances that we can take to improve our lifes. So it would be incredible to use technology and minimize the harmful effects.

London trip

Safestay Holland Park Location

Property facilities:

Free WiFi, Cafe/Bar, Lounge, Internet terminals, heating, Lift, Drink/ Snack machine, Secure key card access...etc.

Room facilities: 

Bank privacy curtains, bed linen provided, personal power sockets, personal reading lights, Personal storage, Free tea, towels provided in private rooms..etc.

Good to know:
We work hard to Provide everything to make your stay go like clockwork

Check-in:
From 14:00 hours

Check-out:
Until 10:00 hours

Reception opening times:
Reception is staffed 24 hours

Children and extra beds:
All children are welcome. There is no capacity for additional beds in the room. Families with Children under the ages of 16 are welcome They must however book & pay for ALL beds in order to make the room private.
pets
Pets, Including assistance dogs, are allowed only in private rooms

Groups:
When booking for more than 10 persons, different policies and additional supplements apply May. Groups See below

We can visit: Hyde Park, National History Museum, Victoria and Albert museum, Science museum ....

About Piccadilly circus is 17/18 minutes by car from the hotel and by bus is About 30 minutes. So it is not at all nearby.

There are many places to get the bus, it is very accessible.

I'd like to go to Madame Tussauds, which is the most famous wax museum in the world. It has the largest collection of celebrity figures. The museum headquarters is in London, but there are also establishments in other major cities around the world. We can get there by underground, it won't take long.

I'd also like to go to the Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in the district of Hammersmith and Fulham, London, England, and it's the Chelsea's home. The stadium is located in the urban area of Walham Green and is dubbed as The Bridge by followers of club.The stadium's capacity is 41,837 spectators. We can get there by underground or by bus, the stadium isn't far from the hotel.

Finally, if I'd to choose a third place it'd be the Sherlock Holmes Museum which is a privately run museum in London, England, dedicated to the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. It opened in 1990 and is situated in Baker Street. It's near Madame Tussauds.

Regarding the musical, I don't know musical titles at all. However my English teacher recommended me to see the Phantom Of The Opera, she told that It's stunning so I'd like to check it and see if It's that good. The thing is that It'd cost around 40 pounds or more....

Research project presentation.

Comics adapted into films presentation.

I haven't finished my research paper althought here's my oral presentation about my project.

Oral presentation

There isn't much to say about my presentation. I think that overall it was okay: structure, vocabulary, body language were fine. Nevertheless, it had some negative points.  My weaknesses were that I felt was nervous (as always) and my research paper isn’t finished, that's why it seemed an empty presentation.

Research project presentation.

Comics adapted into films presentation.

I haven't finished my research paper althought here's my oral presentation about my project.

Oral presentation

There isn't much to say about my presentation. I think that overall it was okay: structure, vocabulary, body language were fine. Nevertheless, it had some negative points.  My weaknesses were that I felt was nervous (as always) and my research paper isn’t finished, that's why it seemed an empty presentation.

Oral Presentation and Self-evaluation

One of my weaknesses when I do an oral presentation is my confidence, I always get nervous and as a result I make some silly mistakes. Leaving aside some mispronounced words, the simple power point and the connection between the programs. However, we were the first group to present and I think it wasn't a bad presentation at all.

Joke podcast

Actually, I was trying to remember this joke "A kidnapper was dragging a child into the woods when the kid says, "Mister, these woods are really scary." The kidnapper says, "Yeah, I know. And I have to walk out all alone." But I kinda failed. 

I couldn't embed it, the link just doesn't work If I do it.

Is humour necessary?

Is humour necesarry? Humour is commonly present in our everyday life. It appears on television, radio, literature...etc. So there's no way that's just a simple coincidence. We all like humour and it has several benefits.

First of all, scientists have proved that we change psychologically when we laugh. We stretch muscles througout our face and body, our pulse and blood presure go up, and we breath faster, sending more oxygen to our tissues. In other words, laughter has the same benefits as a workout.

Secondly, scientists have justified too that laughter burns calories. They discovered that we burn aproximately more than 50 calories in 10-15 minutes.

What's more humor is good for difficult times where we have to deal with stressful situations. It promotes positive mood and helps to override negative emotions. It also helps to see the funny side in adverse situations.

In conclusion, I think It's pretty obvios why humour is necessary, it only has benefits and it makes us feel good as good as workout and it helps to relax in tough moments.

Beauty/Dorian Gray writing

It's pretty clear that a problem in our society is beauty, as a matter of fact masses want to be young forever. But not young mentally, only physically.

But for me beauty hasn't got an age, in other words, we can be elder and maybe someone would think that we're beautiful, so obviously beauty because there isn't a valid guide about "How to be beautiful?" that works out for everyone.Every each of us is capable of finding beauty in everything, beacuse beauty is only a matter of perspective, not age.

Finally, the Dorian's Gray issue is still present nowadays, many people take care of their look but in a obssessive way. However, that's useless because beauty can be found elsewhere it just depends on the viewer.

Summary: The key to success? Grit

http://www.ted.com/playlists/158/graduation_now_what

Angela Lee Duckworth left a very demanded job for a more demanding job: Teaching. So she teached maths to seventh graders, then she realized that some of the smartest students weren't doing well and some of the best performers didn't have the highest IQ. After several years of teaching Angela realized that they need a much better understanding of students and teachers and if we do well in studies and in life it depends on much more than IQ. 

Then Angela became a psychologist and in every study she asked herself the same question: Who is successful here and why?.After studying many situations one characterisitic emerged as a significant predictor of success: grit.

Grit is the perseverance to achieve long-term goals. Grit matters in everything, so school isn't a exception because according to a study she made, gritter students are more likely to graduate.

The problem is that nowadays we still don't know how to build grit. We know that talent doesn't make us gritty. Angela things that the best way to build grit in kids (so far) is "growth mindset" which means that the ability to learn isn't fixed that it can change with effort. So basically, she means that the key to success is being gritty and we can achieve it with effort.

Mail about dreams

Hi Sonia,

I'm Michel Paris and this first time I'm writing this mail about my dreams and ambitions.

Dreams, everyone have dreams, some of them are easier to accomplish than others but in the end it doesn't even matter. Some things may be too complicated but all things are difficult before they are easy. However,  the important thing is to fight for them so they stop being dreams and they become reality. 

When I look to the future, I see my future self related to arts things and that's why I'm looking forward to study audiovisual communication. I'm not completely sure about what I want to be in the future, although a movie director or a videogames director sounds good to me. 

On the other hand I also like music and more or less It's been a year since the first piano class that I took. My goal is to be as good as Ray Manzarek from The doors or Jon Lord from Deep purple or even better! Nevertheless I know that's a very ambitious dream but Rome wasn't built in a day, and for me, giving up is not an option.

Finally I'd like to go to Japan, pass the advanced English test and I'd also like to take some Italian classes because I lived there when I was little. I'll carry on, everyday I'm a step closer to accomplish my dreams, so I'll keep swiming otherwise I'll be sinking like a stone. Therefore I'm sure that I can and I'll make them real.

Well, that's all I hope that now you know me a little better. 

See you in class.