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).