THE OBESITY (MY ORAL PRESENTATION)

Do you remember "Shall we dance?"

-Hey JOHN! Do you remember the film we watch last night?

-Of course I remember it...it was wonderful!

-Would you like to replay the best scenes with me?

-Ok, I'll do it.

-OK. I have the dialogues right here. I will be Mrs Clark and you will be the private detective, right?

-Ok...So, you start talking.

<<-Dance lessons? My husband is taking dance lessons?

-Well…I saw worse things in these years. Consider you lucky!

-And who’s that beautiful girl, woman? Who’s she?

-Hmm…She’s his teacher.

-Anyway, why you think people get married?

-Passion!

-No…

-Oh, interesting! Because I was taking you for a romantic woman.

-People get married because we need a witness to our life. Because there’s million people on the world but we need someone to take care of us always, everyday…>>

-Let's do another scene, please!!

-OK, but do you promise it will be the last one?

-I promise.

-Ok...and who I am supposed to be now?

-You'll be Babi and Mr Clark and I'll be Babi's daughter Tina and Mrs Mitzzie. Let's start!

<<(Tina)-And it’s getting so boring mum…

(Babi)-Shut up Tina

(T)-No, you shut up. (To the others) She’s working 20 hours a day, cleaning, and buying her crazy costumes and at night she plays Cinderella in the theatre.When are you going to rest at home?

(B)-I don’t need to rest

(T)-Oh, and I know you Mr Clark. She talked me about you and about your sweet smell.

(B)-Oh, ok…kill me now!

(Mitzie)-No, it’s alright. I smelt him too and it’s no bad. I mean he don’t smell like flowers after spring rain but it’s ok.

(Clark)-I’ve never talked about this…>>

-Oh, thank you John! I had a lot of fun with you!!!

-Oh...you're welcome! We can repeat it another day if you want to.

-Really? I'd love to!!!

MY MAIL

Hi Elizabeth! Is everything alright? I hope so =)

I don’t know exactly how to begin this mail because I want to tell you many things! Perhaps, introducing myself would be a good way to start.

As you should know, my name’s Ariadna Vilà and I’m seventeen years old. I live in Sant Pere Pescador and I have two brothers, the old one is twenty six years old and the little one is only eight. I study in “Ies Castelló d’Empúries” since I was twelve but this will be my last year here. I have enjoyed very much my years spent in this school and I’ve met wonderful people as well.
However, I want you to talk about my future, about my dreams, my purposes…

Last year I was really scared because most of my friends knew exactly what they wanted to study or what they would do in their futures but I couldn’t see clear my way yet. I though that it would be a great problem: time goes very fast and in the twinkling of an eye I would be in a college studying anything which isn’t for me.

I needed ideas, and especially, I had to talk about it with people who were able to help me. This summer I worked in my parents’ restaurant, so I thought very much in my future and I asked my cousins to give me help (they worked with me as well).
Finally, I could see everything clear. The first question anyone can ask you is…What do you like, maths or languages? I have no doubts with it. I love languages and everything related to them. Secondly, I promise myself to study some thing which really cares for me and don’t ever have to be sorry of my decision. It took me few months but now, I know what I’m going to do.

I love languages (learn, speak, write…) they are absolutely my favourite subject but I’m afraid that nowadays “translation and interpretation” career doesn’t have much request. I decided to study “journalism" career. Anyway, my biggest challenge is study languages while I study my career. Obama’s video let me think about my goals, and this is my main goal right now. I know it’ll be a hard work, but if I want to get it I will have to prove I really deserve it.

I’ll try to believe in myself even when things will go wrong. I’ll refuse to give up on myself because now I know that there’s no excuse for not try. In a future, if I want to pay my bills and make my sons proud of their mother I have to work with all my own. It definitely will be a hard struggle, but I’ll do it for me and for my loved ones. Of course, everyone knows that college years are the best time of students’ life, and I’ll enjoy them as much as possible.

I’m sure I’ll have failures, I will be scared of a lot of things and sometimes I will feel that my fight has no sense. But when I finish with everything I’ll be able to look back smiling regretting nothing because every second of my struggle will be worth.

Best wishes,
ARIADNA
xxx

A MAN IS KNOWN BY THE COMPANY (THE COUNTRY) HE KEEPS (HE LIVES IN)

Every country has its own traditions. Today I want to compile the most original ones to me. I decided to write them as a Top Ten list, so here I go…

10# In Singapur is illegal chewing gum.

9# In Saudi Arabia is illegal kissing an stranger.

8# Canadian laws band watering the grass when it’s raining. It may sound unbelievable but in Ontario symptoms of affection in the street are forbbiden on Sundays.

7# In Jamaica, people bury their loved ones in the garden and they make them a farewell party. They never weep for the loss of anyone.

6#In Italy you cannot show your driving license if you aren’t able to ride a bike.

5# In Australia is forbidden using pink mini-shorts afer a Sunday morning. People cannot change their light bulps on their own, they have to call an especialist to do it. If they don’t do it they will have to pay a fine. Moreover, in Tasmania is illegal being homosexual.

4# Tailand laws band throwing gum in the street with imprisonments. If you someday go to Tailand, don’t ever lean on a threshold because gods are living there.

3# Chinese people use to blow their nose (even when they don’t need it), burp, fart or pick their nose in front of anyone and with a total lack of consideration.

2# In the U.K. women cannot eat chocolate in a public transport because it’s illegal. It’s forbidden name a pet Queen or Princess without a royal permission as well.

1# U.S. FUNNIEST LAWS:

If you are living in Arizona and you cut a cactus you can be sentenced even 25 years’ imprisonment. In Arkansas men have right to beat their wifes once a month. Dogs’ barkings are also forbidden when it’s after six o’clock. Californian people must have hunting permit if you want to put mousetraps at home. In Colorado is illegal lending the vacuum cleaner. In Massacusetts you cannot eat more than three sanwiches when you’re in a funeral. Michigan women need their husbands permission when they want to cut their hair.

Unbelievable…but it’s true! Even though these are only some of them. Perhaps we should worry about most important things as poorness or diseases and star making a better world once and for all!!!

THE LOVELY BONES,,

Susie Salmon is a beautiful twelve year old girl. She’s innocent, kind and a little shy. Their parents adore her and she also has an old sister and a little brother. Photography is her biggest passion. She likes taking photos of anything and then develop them. Susie is already a big girl and, as a big girl she’s in love with a boy. This boy is handsome and always tries to talk to her. But it’s not easy because of Susie’s shyness. Anyway, they finally have a date and this is the most exciting thing for a twelve year old girl: the first date. Unfortunately, this date cannot ever exist.

Susie has a common life in general. She goes to school and she has plenty of dreams to come true. From the first moment she seems a happy girl and this happiness always spread everyone around her. Everything is fine but the worst is coming.

Susie has a middle-aged neighbour called George. He’s apparently kind and inoffensive but this is only his external image. He’s actually a dangerous psychopathic and his obsession are the young girls. So, when he feels attraction to a girl like this he kills her and he hides her body. Then, he escapes to another city. He has done it all his life but police haven’t caught him yet. Susie is his neighbour but he never had paid especial attention to her until that day. That day, Susie was riding her bike and taking photos of her neigbour’s George roses. She was there with her parents but no one suspected about George’s behaviour. It was when he got obsessed with Susie. He was every day thinking of her and he finally decided to set her a trap to be able to kill her without arousing suspicions. He spent some weeks preparing his perfect plan. When he had everything done he set his plan in motion. He knew that Susie was really innocent and imaginative so he built a kind of cabin below ground, the perfect place to be completely alone. He also knew that Susie would be there because she always go this way to come back school.

One day he’s waiting for her right there. Susie, at first, doesn’t suspect anything. He tell her he’s bulding a secret cabin for their neibourhood’s children and he looks intrested in let her visit it. Susie thinks this is a wonderful idea but when she gets into it she feels a little scared. She perfectly knows that something isn’t right so she tries to leave. Unfortunately it’s impossible because fear doesn’t let her move. She says she should better come back home and George gets really nervous about it. Susie tries to scape for the last time but George catches her agressively and he kills her. Following this, he hides her body in a strongbox and he leaves it on his house basement. Susie’s parents get desesperate when she doesn’t come home because she’s a very responsible girl. Time goes by but they don’t know who killed their daughter yet. Susie’s family is living the worst days because they don’t have any prove about Susie’s disappearance. Even so Susie’s father Jack begin having suspections about his neighbour because he’s behaving extrangely since Susie has gone. These suspects are rounding his thoughts all day and it causes a matrimonial crises. However, he doesn’t give up and he carries on his investigation.
For his part George realize he can be denounced so he sat a tramp for Jack as well. The only one who has always believed Jack is his other daughter Lindsey. She has grown up and now she’s able to help his father. Then, the neighbour get obsessed with her as well and he’s always following her every where. This is the last reason she needs to realize he has killed her sister. Linsdey doesn’t know exactly how to getting proves but one day she decides to enter at George’s home when he has gone out. There she find articles talking about him and his muderers but unfortunately he comes back in that moment. He discovers her and he tries to kill her in vain because she escapes from him. When he knows he’s going to be arrested he runs away. In another city he tries to kill a girl but he accidentally falls down in a precipice and he dies.

During the film dead Susie is talking about her feelings and thoughts from the Limbo all the time. She shows what happen when we die and it’s really different than the idea of a paradise. Death, as life, is stages. You have to accept that you’re dead to be fine and feel good in dead people’s world but this is not as simple as we believe. Finally, Susie’s story has a happy ending. She accepts her death so she can feel free. Her parents make up they live happily knowing her daughter’s murder has what he deserves.

In my opinon this is a five star film. I don’t have words to describe it. To me, it’s absolutely a wonderful movie. The actors are brilliant and the way to talk about death is really new and touching. I can assure this is one of the best films I’ve ever seen and I recommend it to everyone. Furthermore, it’s really interesting because is a thriller so you never know exactly what is going to happen and when you know it you get scared because you didn’t expect it in that moment. Films like this make us realize that we have not trust anyone because even the most unexpected person can turn out being as Susie’s neighbour. We cannot believe in the appearances because they are usually deceptive. Death’s topic is very outstanding as well. They look at it in a different way and I love it. In fact, Susie’s death is the driving force of the whole story. In conclusion, I enjoyed very much this film and I hope you can enjoy it as well.

Finally, I’ll write my favourite quote of “The Lovely Bones”: “I was in the blue horizon between heaven and earth. The days were unchanging and every night I dream the same dream. The smell of damp earth. The scream no one heard. The sound of my heart beating like a hammer against cloth and I would hear them calling, the voices of the dead. I wanted to follow them to find a way out but I would always come back to the same door. And I was afraid. I knew if I went in there I would never come out”.

AS CRUEL AS A SCHOOL CHILDREN,,

When someone talks about children this use to remind us of innocence, kindness…in short, they are little people who never are up to no good. Even though nowadays children aren’t as sweet as they were in the past. Now they’re growing up too quickly. Children are exposed to a lot of information since their tenderest years.

First of all, they watch television many hours and it isn’t very recomendable. Actually, cartoon chanels of these days are made for older kids because they often show violent scenes, inapropriate dialogues, adults’ jokes…and children shouldn’t watch it when they aren’t even ten years old. The same happens on the theaters: there are only few companies which exclusively make films for the little ones. Unfortunately, the other companies make films which are recommended to nine year old children and they especially have sex scenes, blood, fights and a vocabulary completely inapropriated for the youngest spectators. Children are easy to convince and the greatest industries use films or cartoons to persuade them. They know exactly children’s weakest points so they send them subliminal messages through their favourite actors or cartoons. It’s really common on kids the wish of having everything the others have, especially when a fashionable caracther say they must have it. Even if it sounds unbelievable, industries earn lots of money selling this kind of products (usually useless or similar to others) like that.

However, there are worst things which have the control of kids’ behaviour. The most time-consuming technology is not only television because playstations, nintendoes and computers also have an important role in their lives. Children prefer spending hours and hours in front of a game machine than playing with friends or doing other activities as paiting or drawing. It means our society is making unsocial individuals who are incapable of doing anything on their own because from the first moment they have been depending on a machine.

As I said before kids watch a lot of violence and adults’ behaviour on television and when they’re interacting with other children they use this inapropriate behaviour as well. That’s the reason why nowadays little boys are all day fighting for anything and little girls play being the perfect woman. Anyway, it isn’t worrying when they are in school. It’s in the college where everything absolutely changes. Girls start dressing and making up as they were big women. Moreover, They want to smoke, have a relationship, go out…when they shouldn’t be thinking about it. both boys and girls try to look older bigger than they are.They usually try to copy older people’s behaviour: a famous person, a big brother/sister or a friend. They believe acting like this will bring them happiness and satisfaction but they often became upset because in fact they’re still children. They don’t want to accept it but they’re a child trapped in a teenager’s body.

Influences aren’t really positive at their age. They are living a hard situation because their personality isn’t well-defined yet. So, the great majority of these “big children” has low self-esteem. It makes them confused and insecure and they try to resolve it being accepted for the others. This acception is never easy. Sometimes children can live really traumatic moments when they feel the others’ repulse. Eldest people label children impolite when they just say what they think. In fact, little children still conserve inocence and they don’t say things to hurt people’s feelings; they only say what they heard at home. However, while they’re growing up they often became rude and then, eldest people are right. Now, when they’re a little bigger they say almost everything on porpuse to touch where it can really hurts. This is really dissapointing. Everyone is guilty of it because if we wanted to stop it we would have already done anything.

Unluckily, the problem is getting bigger year after year. The worst consequences happen at college. There are not only some fights or insults but bullying cases have increased recently. Those happy times have gone. Children commonly have a group of friends and in the group they are all quite similar. In the past children used to be all friends but now they make their own groups and when they meet someone who is quite different than them they considere immediately that person “freaky” or worst words. It seems to have no problem but I swear it has. When children see another child who’s extremely shy, introverted, who has other interests….they automaticaly avoid contact with that person. They laugh at the different child’s behaviour, they use him/her to make fun of anything, they manipulate him/her to do whatever they want through threats and they also cold-shoulder the ones who try to talk with that person. Do you think this is infuriating? Well, I haven’t finished yet. Insults, threats, shouts, humiliation…became common on the victim’s life. But when children get tired of it they start using violence. This violence includes punches, campions or even beatings. Many times they like recording it with their mobile phones, show it to everyone and laugh at it. They are little monsters and the worst thing is their parents almost never realize about it.

These “different children” are living hell just because they don’t want to be like the rest of children. And it isn’t fair!!! I agree our society is developing very quickly and we are growing up with a lot of information around us every day but it doesn’t justify this behaviour! Bullying victims have traumas, depressions and many more problems for life. Furthermore, in the worst cases they can’t stand and they commit suicide. A lot of children are victims of bullying nowadays and it has to stop soon. We have to teach children being good people, being polite, respecting the others… Our society is in decline and that’s only a little prove. We are living in a world plenty of injustices and it cannot last much more.

I only wish with all my heart justice for these innocent children and I hope those little mosters some day get their deserts. I always believe in karma. So, everything we do will sooner or later come back to us.

LET'S TALK ABOUT...OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER

From the 14th to the 16th century society believed that people who had O.C.D. symptoms was possessed by the devil. Otherwise, in the early 90’s Sigmund Freud associated Obsessive Compulsive behaviour to unconscious conflicts which were manifested as symptoms. He described a typical case that he called “touching phobia” and it starts in little children. It happens when someone wants to touch a specific item and without a reason this person forbids himself touching it. Furthermore, Freud discovered this prohibition doesn’t calm the person’s desire to touch. Quite the opposite, the desire becomes more and more intensive.

O.C.D. has become the fourth-most-common mental disorder. In the U.S. 1/50 adults suffer from it. Also, there are hundred million O.C. sufferers in the whole world. These people are meticulous, perfectionist, fixated on a cause or on someone/something.

Nowadays, O.C.D. is usually associated with people with higher I.Q. because they have more capacity than the other people to get obsess with something. Their mind is enough strong to think compulsively about certain things, maybe a thousand more times than our mind would do.

Generally, people consider obsessive compulsive persons paranoid or even psychotic. Nevertheless, O.C.D. sufferers recognize they’re acting in an irrational way and they might become even more distressed because of this realization.
O.C. people have repetitive and distressing thoughts which are called OBSESSIONS. Possibly, they do the same over and over again to try to make the thoughts disappear.
These repetitive actions are called COMPULSSIONS. They both interfere in their social life.

These people realize they have a problem. They use to feel guilty or ashamed about their incontrollable behaviour. Sometimes their families want to help them trying to make out the existence of O.C. symptoms or even collaborating in their rituals. Anyway, these are counterproductive actions.

Movies and television often make films or series about O.C.D. They’re aimed to make people aware of the existence of this illness and also try to make them understand and sympathize with the feelings and worries of people who are suffering from it.
My favourite movie about it is “As Good As It Gets” which is starring Jack Nicholson. He’s a magnificent actor so he performs his role perfectly. When we talk about a disease it seems a dramatic thing but this movie is completely the opposite side. They have created a comical story to tell of the experiences and worries of a middle-aged man who is the perfect example of an obsessive compulsive person. At first, everyone hates Nicholson’s character but while you’re watching the film you feel a kind of affection to him because you know that he cannot avoid his behaviour. I think that comedic films are the best way to talk about important things such as O.C.D. because people are able to learn about it and know the good side of the illness as well.

THINGS YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER...

-What is it?

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder.

-O.C.D. is characteristic for its...

OBSESSIONS: Their main obsession is thinking or imaging that someone close to them could die if they don’t perform their habits.
There are also other obsessions: they sometimes believe that someone or something such as God, the Devil or diseases could harm them and their loved ones. Even in some cases they can feel that inanimate objects are alive.

Some people with O.C.D. experience sexual obsessions such as thoughts or images. In their mind they’re performing these actions with strangers, parents, children, friends…They can include contents of any sexual orientation with persons of any age. When an O.C. person is thinking about or imaging this can have obsessive fears and can live a crisis of sexual identity.

COMPULSIONS: They inexplicably feel they have to perform compulsive rituals. However, they believe that acting compulsively can sometimes mitigate their particular obsessive thoughts. Some common compulsions include specific things such as foot steps in specific ways and doing other repetitive actions.

-Who can suffer from it?

This illness is common in males and females. It often begins in the late teens for males and in the earlier twenties for females. However, some people begin having obsessive compulsive symptoms when they’re only a child.

-Causes:

Investigators believe that brain circuits may not work properly in people with O.C.D. It can be hereditary as well.

-Possible symptoms…

-Repetitive hand washing
-Extensive hoarding
-Preoccupation with sexual or aggressive impulses
-Preoccupation with particular religious beliefs
-Aversion to odd numbers
-Excessive skin picking
-Excessive hair plucking
-Excessive nail biting

They also can have atypical habits such as:

-Open and close a door certain number of times before they enter or leave a room

-Be really obsessed on having everything tidy and make it sure.

-Turn lights on and off

-Touch objects a certain number of times before leaving a room...

All these symptoms can be alienating. Moreover, these routines can be really time-consuming so they can cause instability and extreme preoccupation. These obsessions are not only temporally, they have to perform them every day. In short, O.C.D. can control a person’s life.

Many people can have these symptoms but an obsessive compulsive person feels he has to perform these irrational compulsions to avoid feelings of panic or dread.

-Is there any cure for this illness?

Treatments which combine medication and therapy are often effective. There are also a lot of people investigating about its causes and trying to find new therapies.

SOME EXTRA INFORMATION….

-Sometimes O.C.D. can be diagnosed with other mental diseases as anorexia nervosa or major depressive disorder.

-Patients with this disorder use to hid their symptoms a lot of time.

-Different types of O.C.D. :

• Washers and cleaners: These are people who eat away obsessions related to contamination by certain objects or situations.

• Verifiers: are people who inspect excessively in order to prevent a specific disaster occurs.

• Repeaters: are those individuals who insist on the execution of repetitive actions.

• Computers: These are people who demand that things around them are prepared in accordance with certain strict guidelines, including symmetric distributions.

• Batteries: collect objects insignificant, which can not discard.

• Mental ritualized, tend to appeal to repetitive thoughts or images, called mental compulsions in order to counteract their anxiety-provoking ideas and images, which are the obsessions.

• Paragraphs: searching for meaning to the numbers around them, summing, subtracting, and changing them until a significant number given to them.

• Philosophers: With trends somewhat uncertain. They live in a metaphysical process that can not discard.

• Tormented and pure obsessive: experience repeated negative thoughts that are uncontrollable and quite disturbing. However, unlike those who suffer other types of OCD behaviors are not delivered to repetitive physical, but mental processes only repetitive.

• Sex: recurrent sexual thoughts cover all the particularities and sexual behaviors, such as unfounded ideas about having sexual dysfunction or may not be desirable.

• Sexual Orientation: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is referred specifically to doubts, compulsions fixed ideas about homosexuality.

LITTLE JOHNNY'S JOKE

"Jesus Is In The Bathroom"

A Sunday School teacher of preschoolers was concerned that his students might be a little confused about Jesus Christ because of the Christmas season emphasis on His birth. He wanted to make sure they understood that the birth of Jesus occurred a long time ago, that He grew up, etc. So he asked his class, "Where is Jesus today?"

Steven raised his hand and said, "He's in heaven."
Mary was called on and answered, "He's in my heart."
Little Johnny, waving his hand furiously, blurted out, "I know! I know! He's in our bathroom!!!"
The whole class got very quiet, looked at the teacher, and waited for a response. The teacher was completely at a loss for a few very long seconds. He finally gathered his wits and asked Little Johnny how he knew this. And Little Johnny said, "Well...every morning, my father gets up, bangs on the bathroom door, and yells 'Jesus Christ, are you still in there?!'"

TRE METRI SOPRA IL CIELO*

New Year, new books, new responsibilities… but there’s something which never changes. I still adore Federico Moccia and all his books!
I heard about him last year, when I was having two weeks holidays in London. It was summer and I was there with my best friend. We weren’t at the same class but people there was really pleasant, so I could make friends quickly. Most of the students of my class were from Italy and in my opinion it was wonderful because I love his culture and everything related to them.

Well, I talked about this the last year in my old post. I’m not exactly talking about the same but I’d like to begin this post with my best memories. What I tried to explain before is that in my class there were also Spanish and French people. There, I met a nice Spanish girl called Berta and I liked very much talk with her because our interests were really similar. One day, we talked about Italy, about Italian songs and about our new Italian friends. While we were chatting, Berta told me she reading a great book. It was called “A Tres Metros Sobre el Cielo” (Three Steps Over Heaven). She said it was written by Federico Moccia, a well-known writer in Italy and she told me what it was about as well: Moccia wrote a love story. Their main characters were Romeo and Juliet of nowadays and the scenes took place in the beautiful city of Rome.

I made the most of my last days in England and when I came back home I couldn’t wait to buy that book. Berta was right, it was absolutely gorgeous! Until nowadays this is my favourite love story and I think it will be my favourite one for a long time. It’s hard to summarize everything in few lines, but I’ll try…

This story is about Step and Babi. Stephano Mancini is a member of the most problematic band in Rome. Their friends and he are always in troubles: fighting, stealing…with no reason. They go everywhere with their motorbikes because with them they can go as fast as they want and they can feel free for a while and forget all their worries. Step went everywhere with his best friend, Pollo. Step had a traumatic experience some years ago: he saw his mother in his neighbour’s flat. She was wearing few clothes and her hair was in a mess. When he saw it, he was beside himself and he almost killed his neighbour giving him a terrible beating. He could never overcome it.

Babi was completely different. She was a nice girl and their parents were really proud of her. She was very responsible, polite and she had good marks. They believed that she was an exemplary daughter, but Babi wasn’t as innocent as their parents thought. Babi’s best friend is Pallina and they’re inseparable.
One day, Pallina and Babi went to a party organized by a girl of their class. They’re having fun, but suddenly some juvenile delinquents appeared there. Step and Pollo were between them. Pollo tried to steal Pallina’s purse but she realized and she told off him. He just laughed at her and then, he asked her for a date. Step found Babi fascinating but this feeling wasn’t reciprocal. Party turned into a completely disaster and the problematic boys escaped with their motos. After their date, Pollo and Pallina fell in love. Pollo knew exactly hoe to make her the happiest girl. Because of it, Babi had to meet Step very often. At first, she hated this idea. However, she was feeling something new inside her when Step was around her. It was only necessary few days to fell in love one with each other. They were opposite people but when they were together everything was like a dream. The fist months were gorgeous: the first kiss, the first tattoo, the first night together…It seemed their happiness wouldn’t have an ending. They felt invincible but they were wrong. Babi was really temperamental: she could shout or get angry even for the smallest nonsense. In spite of this, Step loved her and he knew exactly how to calm his girlfriend.

Even thought their love was able to overcome anything, everything changed early. One night Pallina called them crying: she told them that Pollo and she had gone in a illegal nocturne competition of motorbikes. Pollo had lost his motorbike’s control and he had a terrible accident. He was lying on the floor unconscious. Babi shouted Step telling him she couldn’t stand his life style any more. Step was beside himself and slapped her. Babi couldn’t believe it, so she decided to leave him for ever.

Step felt his world was breaking down by the minute. He couldn’t understand why life had decided to take everything he loved from him. His only hope was Babi wanted him far away from her life so, it was hard to make his wish come true, but not impossible.
The story has a tragic ending although I won’t go into details. If you want to know what happens exactly I’ll recommend you to read this book. I know, it’s quite dramatic, but I felt identified with some parts of the story. Federico Moccia’s lyrics are lovely and he’s very down-to-earth.

Sometimes we cannot have everything we want. Perhaps it’s too late and we don’t deserve it or perhaps life isn’t fair with us. Unfortunately, life works like this.

ISABEL COIXET: HOW TO SUCCEED BEING YOURSELF

Isabel Coixet has become the perfect example of excelling nowadays.

In her beginnings she was a journalist but then, she decided to collaborate in advertising commercials. She was brilliant on it and she could make publicity even for the best makes in Spain as IKEA or McDonalds. However, Coixet wasn’t satisfied enough with this, she wanted to face up to new risks and challenges. She set about working in films industry but away from Hollywood. She has made films based in her feelings and her stories. From the first moment, Isabel Coixet knew that it wouldn’t be an easy task and that she would have to work really hard to get a fair recognition. She is a woman, and sometimes is quite difficult to be heard in our society if you’re of the female sex. She was aware of this, so she never gave up in herself. She was good enough to triumph and that’s exactly what she did. Her films are able to touch the deepest human feelings and they talk about well-known topics in people’s lives. She likes to work with novice actors as well as with celebrities who ask willingly to work with her. As a result, she has done magnificent works as: “My Life Without Me”, a dramatic film which talks about real problems (in this case about cancer) but always with a special touch.

Isabel Coixet knows exactly that she’s making a sad film and because of it she tries to turn this drama into a hypnotizing transparency based on hyper-reality. That’s her perfect formula to mix human fears and the strongest feelings. She is not only able to do it; she can do wonderful films tackling infinity of different topics as well. Of course, she does everything on her own way.

We could say she is a genius, but a really discreet genius. Her fragile appearance conceals a woman who believes in herself and who has gift for succeed in all her aims. It seems she feels like telling to the whole world her hidden thoughts through her films.

Otherwise, she is a great fan of Japan and Japanese culture. That’s the reason why her production company is called “Miss Wasabi”.

Isabel Coixet is a fighter woman and never refuses to know other cultures, other languages or new experiences. Perhaps she is the greatest example of the Catalan character.

MY LAST WRITING,,

This year I start studying Batxillerat. At first, I wasn’t really motivated, but then I saw everything clear, and I tried to work hard. It doesn’t seem to care, but I can assure that any little effort can be a great help to us. Learn something new will always be useful for us. My favourite subject is English, of course. From the first day I was giving my best to learn much and be able to improve my English level!

I really believe that I’ve improved my English a lot this year. The best example of it is my blog. My blog is my way to go away from everything. I like to write all my thoughts there because there are always so many things rounding my head that it’s impossible to do not write them down. I often talk about feelings, especially about love. The reason why I have so many writings about this topic is that I feel really indentified with it, and probably the great majority of my thoughts are related to it. Moreover, I think that if I talk about something which really matters to me I will be able to be interest in it much more in my redaction and also I will try to express my true opinion about it properly.

Maybe I saw a great change in my writing comparing my first your-say with my last your-say. My first your-say was a Coldplay’s song called “Fix You”. It’s a lovely song and I like it very much, so I decided to start with it my blog. Now, I’m writing this post again and I can believe how much my your-says have changed during this year. In this post I only wrote a short opinion which deals with feelings. To write it I used simply adjectives and quite repetitive sentences in order to get a nice opinion. From this writing until now I have learnt much more vocabulary, linking words or phrasal verbs. So, with them it’s easier to do better writings. And even I’ve learnt expressions and idioms as: “In the twinkling of an eye” or “what goes around…comes around”

On the contrary, when I read my post called “A BRONX TALE” I’m not able to remember how I could make up it. This time, I tried to use many more linking words, 1st and 2nd conditionals (because we’re studying them in class), short and long sentences but well sorted out and especially new vocabulary. I also wrote down two important morals, and I explain them from my point of view. Since 2009 until now my English has become terribly changed! And I’m really happy for it!

In “Fix You” I wrote sentences as “FIX YOU talks about sadness, about how difficult is love, about real down feelings, about how difficult is to find the happiness” or “There's always someone who wants to make you happy”

but in “A BRONX TALE” my sentences were as: “Everyone knows that Sonny is really vengeful and that he has no qualms”, “he tries desperately to stop it and make his son realized that he’s heading for a trouble” or “once more: if you sometimes try to stop thinking selfishly in yourself and give your help to the people who really need it, always remember that your acts won’t be on vain”
“FIX YOU”: http://somewhereonlyweknoow.blogspot.com/2009/10/fix-you-coldplay.html

“A BRONX TALE”: http://somewhereonlyweknoow.blogspot.com/2010/05/bronx-tale.html

If I had to say an effective way to learn English it would be my blog with no doubt. I’m really interested in English and I know I still have a very low level of pronouncing and writing. That’s the reason why I’m always looking up new words, or trying to add things I’ve learnt in class during this year. Probably, the best reflection of my improvement is one of my 3rd term writings: “THINGS WHICH MAKE LIFE WONDERFUL”. Before writing it, I couldn’t imagine that I would get a post like this! To me, I got a pretty good result! I want you to explain how I wrote it…if I remember well, it was a typical Tuesday or Wednesday, I was in my grandma’s house studying because the next day I has a difficult exam. I wasn’t very concentrated on my notes because as usual I was in my own world. Suddenly, an idea appeared in my head: How many things make life wonderful? Would it be a good topic to talk about? And following it I caught a paper and I started writing every sentence which was in my thoughts. The final result of it was: “THINGS WHICH MAKE LIFE WONDERFUL”, as you can see: http://somewhereonlyweknoow.blogspot.com/2010/05/things-which-make-life-wonderful.html

However, read some books (The Diary of Adrian Mole, Frankenstein and Sense & Sensibility), speaking English in class, do oral presentations and listenings are useful to learn English. Furthermore, another useful way to learn a language (apart from writing a blog) is watch TV and movies in English, or in the language you want to learn. I prefer to have subtitles on it, because I can see exactly what the characters are saying and I try to remember new words and expressions. My eldest brother likes to watch TV in English since he was living in Australia, but he prefers to see it with no subtitles instead of reading them. So, when I’m with him we watch TV series or movies in original version. Therefore, I believe that they’re both good ways to learn.

The best pieces of advice I can give you is that every little thing you learn will never be useless. Everything you learn will give you more knowledge and might be useful to you in the future. So, don’t ever thing that a writing or maybe a simply song won’t give you anything, because even if it seems quite difficult, if you carry on doing it, you will learn very much!

Finally, I would like to do again a blog the next year. Now, I’m afraid because I think I won’t have new topics to talk about. But summer is coming, and I still have to live many more experiences! Also, the world doesn’t ever stop for a minute…so, next year, I might write about lots and lots of things!

GOD SAVE THE KING!!

Michael Jackson’s death has caused a lot of rumours. He had been found unconscious in his luxury mansion situated in Bel Air (L.A.) the last Thursday 25th June. Then he was moved at he UCLA medical centre where he was pronounced dead two hours later (exactly at 11.30pm)

Jackson, who had suffered from healthy problems, was staging few comeback concerts in the UK. These concerts had to begin on the 13rd July.
Firstly, concerts had to be performed earlier, but organisers insisted to move the dates because of the complexity of staging the show.

These kinds of concerts seemed to be too much for an unhealthy body of 50 years old. Michael was wishing to do it because these concerts were a way to feel that he could be the old Michael Jackson again.
Here comes the true story about Jackson’s death…

Michael Jackson was preparing his amazing last concerts in UK. He was 50 years old but he felt that he needed to do it. Doctors began to prescribe medicines to Michael when he had suffered the break of one of his vertebras and one of his legs. From that moment Michael was addicted to prescribed medicines. While Michael was practising his show he was overdosing himself to be able to arrive in perfect conditions at the concerts. This was the worst thing because the singer had medicines on his arrangement in every moment. The singer was really addicted to a painkiller called “Oxicodona” and a diary injection of it had been given to him with another painkiller called “Demerol”
Demerol, similar to morphine, has analgesic proprieties and works as a depressor of the Nervous Central System. It is used to relieve pain of medium or high intensity. Demerol belongs to the group of “Methadone”. It causes addiction and abstinence syndrome, so the dose has to be reduced in a gradually form.

The last days before his death Jackson arrived always late to his practises and his mates said that he looked weak and a bit tired. On Thursday, Michael was practising with pain and he was strongly medicated until few hours before his death. Because of his serious condition his personal doctor decided to give him a bigger dose of medicines. It caused his death.

Michael received a dose too big of narcotics the day of his death. The singer stopped breathing some minutes after the injection. His personal doctor was trying to revive him in every way but he didn’t succeed.
Conrad Murray (Jackson’s personal doctor) had been found with the singer when someone called to urgencies asking for help. Maybe Dr. Murray was the only witness.

Michael was completely in cardiac arrest in his mansion. Dr. Murray’s behaviour was really questioned (he disappeared after all without accepting his acts) Jackson’s family was annoyed and frustrated because of the silence of Murray.

The official autopsy of Michael Jackson has been done by the “forenses” team leaded by Dr. Lakshmann. Police found a great quantity of medicines in Dr. Murray’s car. Until nowadays Murray has taken statement twice and finally, he has been doomed with prison. But nobody knows how long it will take his sentence yet. Police are still investigating some people of the singer’s nearest circle.
Also the web “TMZ” (the first mean which informed about singer’s death) told that Police could be looking for another doctor, Dr. Thome Thome, singer’s friend and a possible indirect participation in the facts.

While Michael was in the hospital several hundred people were outside showing their support to the king. They were remembering him with the best way: singing his songs, performing his famous dances…

Singer’s family had been trying for months to take care of Michael but people who surrounded him didn’t let this happen.
Liza Minnelli, a good friend of Michael Jackson said: “It’s a good job we’re celebrating now his memory, because when everyone knows the result of the autopsy all hell’s going to break loose”

But…the biggest question asked was:
“Why wasn’t Michael on the floor instead of being in bed?” A doctor should know that revive someone on the floor has many more possibilities to be effective.


THINGS YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT MICHAEL…

REAL NAME: MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON

BORN: August 29, 1958, Gary, INDIANA, US

DEAD: June 25, 2009, Bel Air, L.A., US

ALSO KNOWN AS: The King of Pop, Wacko Jacko

BIGGEST HITS: I Want You Back, Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough, Thriller, Billie Jean, Bad, Black or White…

OBITUARY: REMARKABLE TALENT.

Jackson began his career as a child in his family group: THE JACKSON 5. Then, he got global fame as a solo artist with famous hits as “Billie Jean” or “Bad”. Thriller (made in 1982) is the biggest selling album of all the time. (65 million copies sold) according to the Guinness Book of World Records. He got 7 UK number ones and he won 13 Grammy Awards as well.

He was arrested in 2003 accused of an abuse of a 14-year-old boy, but finally he was found not guilty. This accusation caused him several problems and from that moment media got on top of him. All this affected very much his artistic career and caused him a big depression.

The star had three children: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. (Prince Michael I), Paris Michael Katherine Jackson (Paris) and Prince Michael II (Blanket).

Michael Jackson was not treated fairly by the media, but even when his world was falling down he never gave up. He fought to show that he was more than a public character and the most important thing: he never stopped his fight for the rights of people and to make the world a better place.

He was The King and his job will be never on vain. As me, millions of people will always have his memory inside their hearts.
GOD BLESS YOU MICHAEL!!