Impatient for next year!

"And that's what makes my life so freaking fantastic!"

"The Fear" - Lily Allen

Thank you so much for reading this blog! This is the fortieth and definitely last entry of Littlest Things, the place where all kinds of English tasks and thoughts/opinions of myself have been harboured throughout all of 4th of ESO (which upsettingly can also be said as "the WC where my brain has been defecating during the brownish amount of time of nine months...")!

Today it's Friday the 11th of September, which means the 2015-16 school year is just a weekend away from beginning! Taking a look at Littlest Things, and trying to find a word or some to describe what I feel about the upcoming chance of the creation of its successor, I can only think of "amazed," "nervous," and, specially, "curious!" Curious for seeing what my next blog could be about, curious for seeing what's to come, curious to feel what I'll feel, curious for interaction and curious for conversation, curious for knowledge and curious for learning, curious for love and curious for yearning... Just curious about everything, actually!

So, right now, Littlest Things is on a hospital bed screaming out of pain and physical suffering for a (maybe too big) baby to come out of her... mp3 Goear audio file, and cursing off whoever caused her grief (thanks, English Department, for getting my 1 year old daughter pregnant...) from scream to scream. So, leaving this disturbingly painful jocose metaphor behind (and hoping it landed without offense), you'll be able to find next year's blog in a gadget on the right-hand side of this blog (unless Google decides to rearrange blogs' design completely and it moves to a far plane where only spirits of madness and random parenthesis-filling can find it along with other forevermore lost gadgets) with a linked image accompanied by a description which comes to mean that it's a link to the so mentioned blog. It takes a genius to find, right? Well, actually, [at least from this computer] it seems the image is broken, so... just click the broken image. That one, not my profile image, regardless of how sexiness makes it considered broken, duh.

As a premise, look at this cat:

So, long story made short: see you this year, my unexistant if-existant-forever-silent fans! I love you! Now marry me! Or not! It's your life isn't it!

From Heathereia to Littlest Things

"I wouldn't want it any other way

But now you're gone and I'm all alone

Lying here naked and staring at the phone."

"Goodbye To Yesterday" - Elina Born & Stig Rästa 

These two years (3rd and 4th of ESO) have been weird in a lot of different aspects. It might sound conceived, but the idea of a blog per student is great and really made this years better; it's true that it was not programmed for 3rd, but I did it because I thought it would be fun: it was, even when, at some point, it got surprisingly serious (it went from random humor stories to disordered and full-of-rage writings which were quite similar to the "my world"s you can see in Littlest Things).

The blog I made in 3rd was Heathereia [LINK]. I'm not precisely proud of it, since it clearly shows how stupid I was just a year ago, but still it's work I did and appreciate from myself. But, over all, it's different from L.T., and that's what amuses me the most. Actually, in just a summer my English became much more refined and precise. I'm not saying that Heathereia is inherently worse than Littlest Things, but sometimes it clearly was. Still one can really have a laugh with "The Labyrinth Of Doom" (my first English blog post ever!) or "Heather Reacts To: Mr. Ando Of The Woods"...

Heathereia also reminds me of what it means to use one's creativity in a funny way: I remember the flying orange whose life I wrote as a project about King Arthur (don't ask me why), the adventures of the girl who became Beyoncé and had a dance fight with Britney Spears, all the things I wrote but didn't upload because of laziness (which will be uploaded this summer in Heathereia under the tag "Unforgotten Files")...

Wow. It's true that, at least at the start, Heathereia was much funnier than Littlest Things... Maybe it will come back some day, not as a school blog, but as what it was meant to be: a random humor blog.

A different sight on what I said before

"I'm embarrassed to confess

I am a jealous girlfriend"

"Jealousy" - Marina And The Diamonds

Revising all my My World texts, I see that, even though I wasn't really that wrong in most things I said, there are some things in my posts that were clearly said too quickly and deserved a second thought and some empathy to be spoken about...

The first thing I can think about when it comes to mistakes I've commited is the post "How To Make Real Life Interesting" (LINK): I must say that the post hid some personal issue of mine in it, but thinking slower about it there are some points where I clearly messed up:

• When I said that someday one would want to draw actual animals instead. Well, the simple possibility of drawing an actual 100% animal with the aim of creating pornography is messed up itself. I hope everyone got that what I meant was that, actually, one should not be trying to create that kind of content while being underage. It's OK to draw furries, just keep it safe ;)
• Everything I said about porn is EXCLUSIVELY directed to underage people. After one gets some psychological baggage, they probably won't get influenced by what they see and, actually, have already had real experiences related to the topic. Whatever; what I mean is that the four things I mentioned (manga/anime, video games, the Internet and porn) are not inherently bad but can literally mess up one's life when in excess. Anyway, as I've always said, everyone can do whatever they want with their lives while it doesn't affect any other (friendly reminder that the first point of that post was especifically regarding people who economically depend on others but spend their whole life unemployed plugged to a computer) :_D
• I'm still not sure about the video at the end of the post. Some time ago, I saw a study shared on Facebook that concluded that porn wasn't bad per se. Anyway, I didn't think about the possibility of making this post back then, so I lack the link of it. I recommend searching for different scientific views on the topic and taking a conclusion for oneself.

Another post that lacked some thought was "How To Get EQUALITY" (LINK). This doesn't mean I don't think feminism is stupid anymore, since it would be publicly saying that I accept and encourage every form of abusing on men as a revenge for the patriarchy, which I don't. No, the point I failed on was another:

• An open relationship might not be that easy. I literally said one could happily allow their significant other to have sex with others and... well, maybe some people can (heroes, really!), but I must confess it's not my case. By the time I wrote that post, I'd spent much time as a single person and quite angry with love itself for the sentimental kick my relationship with my ex represented for me. Well, a lot of things have changed in the last months, and that's one of them. Right now, looking at my feelings, I must say that I'd feel really bad if my boyfriend told me he's been doing that with another person. It's not that I want to own him; I just want him to be happy, I swear; it's just that the fact that he loves me and only me makes me feel special and I love that. Maybe it's something society pressures us to feel, I don't know. I'm simply not that strong, sorry.

Those are the most significant mistakes I can think about. If you disagree with anything else I said, I encourage you to tell me by commenting on the concrete post you don't agree with :)

An Oral Presentation

 "Oh, all these things that humans do
To leave behins a little proof"
"Immortal" - Marina And The Diamonds

This is the powerpoint I used for the presentation we had to do about a photographer we like (chosen from the list of Magnum Photographers). The one I chose is Hiroji Kubota.

The presentation relied in the speech rather than in the powerpoint, so the file is just a scheme of the "skeleton" (to say it somehow) of it.

Hiroji kubota, life and work from Heathie

A Beautiful Picture

For today's task, we've been given a list of links through which we could choose a photo we liked to describe it. The picture I chose is Nemophila Harmony, taken by Takeshi Marumoto in the Hitachi Seaside Park, Japan. It can be found in the National Geographic website (link).

I think the most striking and eye-catching aspect of the photo is the use of blue, not only in the sky but in the field of Nemophila flowers which create the harmony the title mentions. This one-color composition is only broken by a tree in the right-hand side; the clouds, that occupate fragments of the right-hand side and the middle, getting more diffuse as the sight gets to the left from the center and disappearing by the leftmost; and green strands of grass seen under the flowers themselves.

We made a trailer of Romeo and Juliet!

“Are you mine? Are you mine?
Cos I stay here all the time”

 “Who'd Have Known” - Lily Allen


So, as a final project for last unit, we had to make some kind of video or podcast related to our English reader this year: Romeo and Juliet.
 

Our reader, though, was rather an adapted version for non-English 1st or 2nd grade students, or maybe retarded people in general, but it was not the original version whatsoever.

The thing is that our trailer is by far more full of feeling than our reader, and it isn't really that much tearjerking...
 

 

This trailer was made with Marina (her blog) and Aida (her blog).

Traditional vs. Digital books

"Everything you say

Is old and late"

"Undercover" - Nelly Furtado

As a task, we had to discuss about the pros and cons of traditional and digital books.

My vision's very clear: I prefer digital books. This may seem ironic, specially for the fact that I actually never got to use one but I've got my reasons to say this:

• Free books. Yes, I know piracy is illegal, but people who really like the artist are the ones who are going to pay for their art (call it book, call it album, call it movie, call it whatever), and there are very few occasions when that's me (barely Marina And The Diamonds' albums and mandatory school readers).
• One single side. Getting to read a page without another one on the side has to be simply amazing, honestly. When I read a traditional book, the only way to avoid the annoyance from the side page is folding it so it gets in the back of the book, which puts me in actual danger to break it... so it's definitely annoying whatsoever.
• Light! Reading at night, when it comes to traditional books, requires turning on a light or two, which, unless you live all alone, is probably going to annoy someone, specially when the people you live with are your parents willing for you to sleep at once. And, actually, I would say that, if there's an external light, the user is able to disable this feature. To be honest, I think Kindles don't work with light but with moving ink...

Even though, I can also think of reasons why someone could prefer traditional books in certain occasions:

• Actual library. Seeing your books in your room, right on your shelf, is a privilege only traditional literature allows. I must say, though, from my humble point of view, that then the books that mean so much to the reader get reduced to decoration. Plus, if a reader is avid enough, they could read, for example, fifteen books a year. Within eighty years, that would be one thousand and two hundred books. Is a shelf enough space for that?
• Touch, smells. I guess some people like the touch of pages or the smell of new books. That is fairly respectable, but I have to say you can also touch a Kindle. It doesn't feel the same way, and it barely smells like anything, but it is actually possible.

I got FROOT!

"Froot!"

"Froot" - Marina And the Diamonds

 

Last Thursday (yesterday, to be honest) my parents gave me a very special gift: they bought me FROOT! Yes, FROOT, Marina and The Diamonds' new album! I was the happiest thing on Earth (and still I am!)!

The Deluxe Edition of the album includes a booklet with the lyrics of all the songs, which make a rainbow effect: each track's lyrics are written in a color, from yellow and orange ("Happy" and "Froot", respectively) to dark green and warm green ("Savages" and "Immortal"), passing through light red ("I'm A Ruin"), dark red ("Blue"), pink ("Forget"), strong pink ("Gold"), purply pink ("Can't Pin Me Down"), purple ("Solitaire"), dark
blue ("Better Than That") and greensh blue ("Weeds").

I love all of the tracks in the album ♥ ♥ ♥ ! My personal favorites are "Gold", "Immortal", "Forget", "Blue" and "Savages".

♥ A M A Z I N G ♥

I've been to Italy!

"I just wanna be able to say that I have lived my life"

"Immortal" - Marina And The Diamonds

.

We went to Italy on a school trip two weeks ago, and it was fantastic! We went from Bologna to Rome through Pisa, Firenze (Florence) and Siena in five days and then came back to Spain.

So, for today's task (as if it wasn't typical to turn special occasions to tasks), we had to choose a photo from the ones we took during our trip (from that whole lot of selfies and lamely focused pics, I mean) as our favorite and explain it.

The photo I chose is from Florence, and it portrays the base of the street lamps near the river Arno. We had just arrived to Firenze in the morning when we walked near the river and saw it. To be honest, I took my time to notice that detail in the street lamps, but once I saw it, it was amazing!

The reason why I chose this picture and not, for example, one of the Duomo of Siena (which I also loved because of the lines that paint it, which make a really amazing effect), is that I found it curious and awesome. Some of my classmates said it was slightly spooky or even creepy, but I think it's the best thing I've seen in my entire life: I think putting lion legs to street lamps was a great idea and definitely something beautiful and curious for people to see.

So, definitely, whenever I'm reminded of this trip to Italy, the first thing that will come to my mind is the base of the street lamps near the river Arno in Firenze (I realise how weird this sounds like, though)!

What if I was an animator?

"Imagination, life is your creation"
"Barbie Girl" - Aqua

Lately I've been thinking about starting making animations based on my drawings and thoughts. I've been thinking, also, about animation in general: apart from made-for-children animation, I can see a lot of people expressing thoughts and views through stories, sometimes in a quite subtle way and sometimes loudly and clearly.

Jack Croc meets clothing!

So, what if I created a world for my characters? They would stop being empty bodies, they would have their own thoughts and opinions, which would lead them to act in different certain ways (I guess J. Croc would start wearing some kind of shirt at last!)... And that's simply wonderful! I'll always say creating a virtual world is a very special thing (hello, science fiction authors) which really helps a human to grow, so I've started to work on my first animation. I've already done the script (in Spanish, though) and I'll end the characters' design in some days (I've got two characters out of four!).

Regarding movement and animation, I guess it will have to wait until I get the possibility and experience to do it right, but I'm sure it's going to be worth it!

Romeo and Juliet: book vs. 1996 film

 "I know you'll come
With the speed of light
You're my everything , all that I need."

"I'm alive" - Elhaida Dani

 
For today's task, we had to note the differences between the reader of this year, Romeo and Juliet (a simplified version for non-native students), and the 1996 movie with the same name.

 

The first notable difference is the setting: while the movie shows a modern society, marked by miamian stereotypes (actually, Verona is renamed as Verona Beach), the book is a quite good example of the society of the Renaissance, not only because of the looks of the city but also because of the ambient and attitude of some characters.

Another aspect that makes the two features unlike each other is the use of images and metaphors, such as the connotations given to water (representing peace between the two families and the love between the main characters, like in the pool where they first kiss each other) and fire (representing war, like in the gas station just after the fight in the beginning) in the movie.

Yet another difference is the language, since, even though some characters and situations still keep the language and lines from Shakespeare's play, some show a modernized street-like language; the book, in contrast, uses the original cultured language in all of its dialogs.

A scene which shows especial contrast between the book and the movie is the party held in the Capulets' hall. While, in the book, the costumes have the sole role of hiding people's faces, in the movie some are given a humouristic connotation (especially Mercutio's costume).

Other elements to bear in mind while mentioning the differences between the book and the movie are, for example, object changes like swords for guns or carriages for cars or features like elevators, gas stations or caravans, which didn't exist back in the XVI century. There are also certain differences referring secondary characters such as the friar (who grows plants in the movie but not in the book) or the apothecary (who is, in the movie, a drug dealer).

No matter what you say, I will say the opposite

 "Question what the TV tells you

Question what a pop star sells you

Question mum and question dad

Question good and question bad!"

"Sex Yeah" - Marina And The Diamonds

I've always said education is undeniably a form of manipulation. Of course there are some objective things you learn from it, but there are lots of other subjective ideas and opinions parents, teachers and role models tack on us.

That's why I've been thinking and finally came out with this idea: every time you're told something you didn't know, search for arguments against it, even if it actually convinces you, try to refute it. There will always be absurd things being taught as absolute truths, mostly in the Internet (don't get ideologies 100% from the net!) but also in words from celebrities; what you learn in school is mostly an actual truth, but you won't get very far if you assume everything a grownup tells you, and there are always subjective ideas that aren't true for everyone (especially in History and languages classes), so you'll want to find your own truth and, if you're confident enough, share it with your teacher. You'll always learn something new!

"So, how can I be aware if a celebrity or someone in the Internet is actually lying?" First of all, you should understand that there are certain things that are true just for some people: everyone has an opinion, and all opinions are different; that's what makes this world interesting! So you're never sure if what you're being told is actually your truth. If it looks objective, you can always look for information from other sources (including real people outside the Internet!)... actually, you should really do that. Otherwise, just look for other people's opinions and see which one convinces you. Maybe there will be certain points from different opinions that you find convincing... and that's great! That means you can use those points to build your very own opinion!

"What if I see a negative opinion about something I don't really understand?" Well, there will always be facts and collectives you shouldn't really give your opinion about (let's see, if you're a white cisgender straight male, why would you give an opinion about transgenders? Does it have something to do with you? No? Then chill!) since you most probably don't really know anything about it (unless you know someone who lives or lived it and can tell you). Then what you should do is either look for opinions from people who knows about it: for example, if you're trying to build an opinion about the furry fandom, what you should do is look for a furry fandom member's opinion; or just don't opine about it: no one told you to, nobody will blame you if you admit you don't know about it.

So, when it comes to making your own opinion, the solution is quite simple: search for information for yourself and, if the topic doesn't really concern you and/or you can't know about it, just stay away from it.

How to get EQUALITY

[AUDIO COULD NOT BE FOUND]

"FUCK EM
Fuck feminists
Fuck the left
Fuck the right
Fuck anyone in between who feels men don't deserve rights
Fuck everyone who claims men need to be fixed
Fuck everyone who ignores that men suffer right along side women
Fuck anyone who thinks they can define men or masculinity"

"Fuck Feminism" - Jared White

There's quite a lot of people complaining about a problem nobody is moving a finger to solve... As I said in "Time to fight for men's rights" (LINK), what we call 'feminism' is not useful anymore: yeah, if we called it 'equalism' or 'egalitarism' instead of 'feminism', we'd erase all that it historically means... Because that's precisely the point! Feminists WERE fighting against a male chauvinist society... which doesn't exist anymore! What we need now is not feminism, it's egalitarism.

I still hear some people (if it's fair to call them people, which I doubt) saying that "men are already empowered and the fight for equality is only for women"... NO, simply NO. Read the previous entry (the one I linked in the first paragraph) and you'll see how women, instead of getting to the same level of men, are trying to be the crap they complain about. Men are not free of oppression: you can complain about men if you are a girl, but if you complain about women as a boy...! So NO, there is no such thing as male superiority anymore, deal with it: I know some people enjoys being oppressed, because if you are you have something to victimise yourself about, but, no, girls, we're not oppressed anymore, stop crying already.

Do you know how to get the equality you ask for? It's very simple: both males and females should have the right to choose: I have to be able to choose to be a housewife without 'feminists' calling me 'tamed' or 'destroyer of equal rights' and my husband has to be able to choose to be as stereotyped as he wants to without a bunch of crying 'feminists' calling him 'male chauvinist' as well as we have to be able to choose to be the brain-washed 'liberals' 'feminists' want us to be; of course!

So, now, if you really want equality, let me allow my husband to have sex with all the women he wants to and be free while I do whatever I want as well, even if that means doing the cleaning, cooking and staying at home (as long as it's healthy and I really want it... otherwise, see "Why do men cheat on women?"): because it's my decision and you should NOT be able to forbid it legally nor socially, and if it's not right or a mistake I'll end up realising by myself and learning from it.

Thanks.

Valentine's Day Task

 "I’m your carnal flower, I’m your bloody rose
Pick my petals off and make my heart explode
I’m your deadly nightshade, I’m your cherry tree
You’re my one true love, I’m your destiny"

"FROOT" - Marina And The Diamonds

For the task of today, we've had to visit this site and do the exercises of, at least, one of the proposed links. I chose the 'Elllo has a nice listening game about Valentine's Day Gift Hints' and, after listening to a speech full of gender stereotypes and 'things that work for girls' that would honestly work for both genders (men like to feel loved too!), I answered all the questions correctly without any mistake (it wasn't that hard...).

So, here's the screenshot of the result:

"Power And Control"

"Give a little, get a lot,
That’s just how you are with love.
Give a little, get a lot,
Yeah, you may be good looking
But you’re not a piece of art.
   
Power and control,
I’m gonna make you fall.
  

[...]

Women and men we are the same,
But love will always be a game,
We give and take a little more,
Eternal game of tug and war."

"Power And Control" - Marina and The Diamonds

 

For the task of today we had to write about a love song we like, explaining the kind of love it is. I chose "Power And Control", from Marina And The Diamonds' second album Electra Heart (2012), which focuses in dysfunctional love and 'hoolywoodian' female archetypes from the second half of the XX century (especially the '50s and the '70s).

This concrete track is seen from the perspective of a girl engaged in an unhealthy relationship where both her and her pair are trying to get 'power' over each other. Marina said the song was about "the power struggle in relationships [where] there's always one person who wants the upper hand." Love in this ludic and unhealthy relationship is described as "eternal game of tug and war."

The music video illustrates it quite well. Marina is seen in a mansion with her man, with whom she plays mind games. The self-empowering overtaking is represented by a bucket (firstly full of paint, then full of water) thrown at a canvas by him at the first occasion and at him by her at the last chorus.

"Power And Control" is, then, an example of a relationship where the important isn't really love but the power and control one lover can exert on the other, treating it like a game; it is, then, an example of ludic unhealthy love.

Here are the lyrics, translated to Catalan:

ENGLISH CATALAN

(Power and control) (Poder i control)
Give a little, get a lot, Dóna una mica, pren molt,
That’s just how you are with love. És exactament com ets amb l'amor.
Give a little, get a lot, Dóna una mica, pren molt,
Yeah, you may be good looking, Sí, potser ets guapo,
But you’re not a piece of art. Però no ets una obra d'art.

Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.
Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.

Women and men we are the same, Dones i homes som el mateix,
But love will always be a game, Però l'amor sempre serà un joc,
We give and take a little more, Donem i prenem una mica més,
Eternal game of tug and war. Joc etern de conflicte i guerra.

Think you’re funny, think you’re smart, Penses que ets divertit, penses que ets llest,
Think you’re gonna break my heart. Penses que trencaràs el meu cor.
Think you’re funny, think you’re smart, Penses que ets divertit, penses que ets llest,
Yeah, you may be good looking, Sí, potser ets guapo,
But you’re not a piece of art. Però no ets una obra d'art.

Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.
Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.

Women and men we are the same, Dones i homes som el mateix,
But love will always be a game, Però l'amor sempre serà un joc,
A human vulnerability... Una vulnerabilitat humana...
Doesn't mean that I am weak? Això no significa que sóc dèbil?

That I am weak, I am weak, Que sóc dèbil, sóc dèbil,
I am weak, I am weak, weak, Sóc dèbil, sóc dèbil, dèbil,
(Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), weak, (Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), dèbil,
(Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), weak, (Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), dèbil,
(Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), weak, (Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), dèbil,
(Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), weak, (Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), dèbil,

Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.
Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.

Women and men we are the same, Dones i homes som el mateix,
But love will always be a game, Però l'amor sempre serà un joc,
We give and take a little more, Donem i prenem una mica més,
Eternal game of tug and war. Joc etern de conflicte i guerra.

Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure..
Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.
I’m gonna make you fall, Et faré caure,

We give and take a little more, Donem i prenem una mica més,
‘Cause all my life I’ve been controlled, Perquè tota la meva vida he estat controlada,
You can’t have peace without a war, No pots tenir pau sense una guerra,
Without a war, without a war. Sense una guerra, sense una guerra.

The Acropolis of Athens

"But if the earth ends in fire

And the seas are frozen in time

There'll be just one survivor

The memories of our lifetime"

"Immortal" - Marina And The Diamonds

For today's task, we had to look for a place we'd like to visit in the Unesco World Heritage List (UWHL) and describe it explaining why we'd want to be there. I chose the Acropolis of Athens. In Ancient Greece, an Acropolis was an elevated part of the city-state (polis) where people could spend time praying in several temples; in Athens, its most known one is the Parthenon.

The reason why I would like to visit the Acropolis of Athens is that I find Ancient Greek culture very interesting and indubitably a part of human philosophy we need and we're missing. I also love how Ancient Greek architecture expresses the ideal of beauty and harmony its culture professed.

The Acropolis of Athens was inscribed in 1987 as cultural site. Its official page in the Unesco can be found in this link.

Time to fight for men's rights

"Is there any possibility
You'll quit gossiping about me
To hide your insecurities?
All you say is "blah, blah"

Girls they never befriend me
'Cause I fall asleep when they speak
Of all the calories they eat
All they say is "na na na na na" (na na na na na)"

"Girls" - Marina And The Diamonds
       

Well, I come from taking a look at the most absurd law in all of Europe. It's Spanish, as it couldn't be any other way, and it's called LIVG or Ley Integral contra la Violencia de Género (Integral Law against Gender Abuse, for non-Spanish friends). For its name, it sounds good... What am I saying? Good? It sounds GREAT! The Above Lie bless LIVG!... Oh, wait, then "why would Heather call it absurd?" Sit back, relax and see... And better take some sandwich because this is going to be LONG.

Let's imagine the following situation: a healthy relationship, without any kind of abuse: John and Martha. John and Martha have two children: Britney and Marina (such original names); Marina loves her father and Britney spends a lot of time with both John and Martha. Let's say now Martha knows another man, Spencer. Martha and Spencer fall in love with each other and she decides it's time to express her feelings to John and the girls: the three understand the woman and, sad, John accepts divorce. Let's now say John loves Martha too much and doesn't want to divorce; then Martha asks for a lawyer's help. Since they're in Spain, the lawyer looks for a way to benefit his client... CHARGE JOHN WITH GENDER ABUSE! Regretful, Martha is waiting for the judge to identify the lawyer's lie, but... what does LIVG say about this?

It DOES happen

• The woman's accusation is enough to send the man to preventive prison for 48 hours, which already counts as criminal record and disallows him to get certain jobs and degrees/courses. This happens before checking if it's a false accusation.
• The man's presumption of innocence is not applicable, which means he's taken as guilty whether there are evidences or not.
• The man's statements and defense are not valuable. The only factors that condition the penalty are the woman's accusation.
• There is no penalty for false accusations.
• LIVG doesn't work if a man is being abused by a woman; however, if a man accuses a woman for gender abuse and the woman, without any evidence, says it's a false accusation, it will probably be taken as of it and the abused man will be sent to prison.

So, thanks to LIVG, our poor John is sent to preventive prison and loses his job and university certification. When he's sent out, the sentence forces him to abandon all possessions (home, car, ...) as well as Britney and Marina's tutelage to Martha. He's also forced to pay a monthly rent to her. He's now homeless, unemployed and unable to rebuild a stability. He finally commits suicide. Regretful, Martha, seeing what her lawyer has done, does as well. Britney and Marina are given to another family, with the ever-chasing trauma of witnessing their parents' suicide. Good job, Spain, you just arranged a family! That law is JUST WHAT THEY NEEDED TO BE ALL HAPPY! You might think this is an exaggerated example of what happens with LIVG... but no, this literally happens.
    

But this only affect Spanish people, doesn't it? Well, this afternoon I've seen a video of a man ignoring his woman in "Kiss Cam" (a U.S.-made thing you should get information about because I'm too lazy to explain). By the third time Kiss Cam showed the pair and the man ignored her, the mascot picked her and, for its actuation all along, I would say it was saying something like "I'm gonna make her happy". Everyone else agreed and laughed and nobody acted like it was wrong at all...

Let's imagine the next situation: a woman is ignoring her man while being shown on Kiss Cam, even though he's showing his eagerness to kiss while shown. During the third time this happens, a woman appears, picks the man and says "I'm gonna make him happy". Can you guess what would be the reaction of people? Exactly, beer cans and hot dogs thrown to them and the words "whore", "bitch", "cheater" and "bastard" becoming the new anthem of the game!

But, if I was going to put examples of all ambits (which I AM NOT since, as I said, Heather be too lazy to use "to be" correctly) we'd be just getting started! Yeah, women have been suffering really hard and, in some cases, they're still to get equality, but we should not accept this kind of chauvinism. Because it's not feminism anymore; it's REPULSIVE, AWFUL AND UNRESPECTFUL CHAUVINISM. If you want respect, respect others first; thanks.

Shakespeare's biography

"But with all my education I can’t seem to command it
And the words are all escaping, and coming back all damaged
And I would put them back in poetry if I only knew how
I can’t seem to understand it"

"All This And Heaven Too" - Florence + The Machine
   

William Shakespeare, considered the greatest writer in the English language, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. During his lifetime, he wrote 38 plays, 154 sonets and some other poems. He is best known for his plays, which have been translated to every major language.

He married Anne Hathaway when he was 18 years old, and they had three children. After he went to London to work as an actor and as a writer, the Globe Theater was built, in 1599, near the river Thames; it was where some of Shakespeare's plays were first performed. 14 years later the theater was destroyed by a fire.

Shakespeare is still known all over the world nowadays, maybe because of the fantastic element of his stories or the action in them...

Source: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/uk-now/read-uk/shakespeare

How to make real life interesting

"It's for the kids who have low self esteem
They've got no concept of reality
Living their lives inside a fantasy
'Cause they have troubled minds, troubled minds

Wipe the white golden dust into these broken hands
Must depend on a friend that will understand
Like the glitter making love to the gleam
Just remember things aren't always what they seem"

"Troubled Minds" - Marina And The Diamonds 

Boom! The 21st century has arrived! We've spent the last two decades letting our teens get stuck in videogames, porn and the Internet and now it's time to eat the feces of our mistake: our teens have been trapped in fantasies, letting go of reality and leaving their dreams rot in the hell of actual existence. Now most guys (and some girls) have their manga/anime imaginary boyfriend or girlfriend and, obviously, since everything is inside their computers, why should they ever go out of their room or get a job? That way, life before 30 consists basically on testing how long your parents can keep you alive. It might seem legitimate at first, but, in most cases, your parents are neither a money factory nor immortal entities, so keeping that lifestyle long enough is pretty impossible unless you can survive as a vagabond... and if you've reached that

I'm on my way :_D !

point you probably can't survive without a computer.

So, how to get out of that circle of destruction and virtual sexual attributes? Easy: find a reason to stay in real life! If you like drawings of girls with big breasts or boys with big muscles, try to create them yourself! If you like songs, try to compose one! Mix what you like about your fantasy and make it real! Slowly, you'll start to appreciate other things out there: one day, instead of drawing a bulky furry maybe you'll want to draw an actual animal (which doesn't mean all furry artists are troubled... but if you're under 18 and drawing porn, YOU ARE)! Instead of writing a love story maybe you'll find your own! Giving it a try can only give positive results whatsoever!

"So, how do I start?" Once you've spent enough time in it, getting out of the trap requires some adaptment, just to dare to step into reality. So, after finding a hobbie to make real life get some appeal and making it come true, apart from keeping it up, what should we do? Well, that's the hard part: you'll have to get rid of the toxic part of that lifestyle: try to spend less time playing videogames, on the Internet, watching manga/anime and, if you're underage, absolutely no porn. Masturbation is healthy, but it gets even healthier if you use your imagination, so give it a try.

"Hey, what if I'm OK with this? Can't I just carry on?" Of course! In its measure, all those modern life idiosyncrasies can be harmless; just make sure you're aware if it messes up with your life and social relations! Videogames, anime and the Internet can be actually good and healthy... just remember porn can't, regardless of your age, and so the rest if abused.

And if you still wonder why I said that about pornography, I think you should check this out:

The best moments of Christmas holidays!

"My loneliness is killing me

I must confess I still believe

When I'm not with you I lose my mind

Give me a sign"

"... Baby One More Time" - Britney Spears
 

There aren't many times one can really enjoy their school work, and this Christmas I found myself doing one of those special homework tasks that can make your imagination flow freely enough to let you smile, cry, fall in love and get angry with your own characters.

This concrete work consisted in five pages of an imaginated character's personal diary. I chose to write from the perspective of a tiger girl who lives in the Rool Woods, near a city where humans live. Alone in the woods, she finds the diary, which quickly becomes her only way to express her feelings. Even though, she's about to discover she's maybe not the only animal-human in the Rool Woods... I normally don’t care about these kinds of things, but I hope our Catalan teacher enjoys reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

So it was that Catalan work that made these holidays truly especial! I really hope there'll be more of this kind of things in the rest of this school year!

My 2015 resolutions

"I wish I had one good reason why
I should stay
How'd I get myself
Into this place?
I wish had qualities like
Sympathy
Fidelity
Sobriety
Sincerity
Humility
Instead I got lunacy"

"Cheryl Tweedy" - Lily Allen

2014 hasn't been a good year whatsoever, and 2015 brings plenty of new possibilities and hopes that I would like to profit! That means a quite big effort from my own... and maybe a little of help from others, but what it sure means is a good year!

So, to make 2015 even more interesting, here's the list of resolutions I want to achieve:

• Gain weigh. I want to be curvy, that's for sure. The huge problem is that, before I start my transition, fat goes to places it shouldn't be! So, for now, it's quite hard to get weigh without getting complexes in the way... So, in order to achieve that, I have some strategies:

Just two years, eigth months and thirteen days!

• The best option to not get complexes from the mirror: not looking at it! So, obviously, I can't get blind every time I'm in front of the mirror, but I can just not pay attention to it. I can do nothing to help how my body distributes my fat right now, so maybe the best option is to ignore the issue until I can actually help it.

• Waiting would help too. Maybe I should just admit I can't achieve this in 2015... actually, not until late 2017! So perhaps I'll just not gain until I get that beauty-beauty Meghan Trainor deals about in "All About That Bass"...

• The fastest but hardest and most harsh one: getting over it! I can't just think about the bad side of things and ignore the good one because I'll get neurotic sooner or later in life, I have to ignore the bad side and get all these things over with!

• Stop trying to make others happy. To be happy with my social identity, I have to make sure I get assertive. My way of relating so far, based on passivity and self-slavery for the sake of my friends, has been undeniably frustrating and it's time to be something more than just a ego-rising pet.

• I need to learn to say "no". I have to make my ideas and opinions 'important': not imposing them, but letting my friends know they exist and they are sometimes different than theirs.

• I'll have to find my own happiness! I can't depend on others just to stay alive, so I have to look for a way of happiness and entertainment that involves me, just me and only me.

• I have to get myself thinking "I'm worth it". It might seem silly, but I would really swear this problem comes from my lack of self esteem, so I should focus on it!

• Not make any resolutions! The easiest way of success is not thinking about it, and having plenty of things to do is quite depressing...

• So the best way to do this is relaxing, taking a deep breath and taking a long look at my capacities. That way I'll know what I can want myself to do and what I'll have to admit I can't. If I expect too much from me, probably I will get positively ambitious... and probably I'll just want to give up on absolutely everything in life, so it'll be much better to take it easy and do what I can do!

• Maybe being ambitious is way better than taking it easy! I think I'd maybe get some more goals: impossible ones, hard ones, challenging ones; of course! And if I fail, I will try another!

• Even better: accept "impossible" resolutions to find other ones in the way!