IS SPORT AS GOOD AS IT SEEMS?

The idea we have about sport has changed drastically over the last few years. Some time ago only rich people could afford to practice some sport apart from football, which was the only one that poor children played on the streets. The ones with enough money to buy some equipment practiced tennis, ski, squash... they were considered to be the exception. However, now the strange thing is not to practice any kind of physical activity.

The image that the media offers us of famous sportsmen who always look fit, healthy and happy, makes us want to be like them, that´s why going to gyms or doing different sports is getting to be more and more popular as a way to lose weight. Of course this has its good side, such as health, or better self-esteem. On the other hand, it can also make us obsessed, or cause psychological disorders such as “vigorexia”, which leads to an excessive practice of sport, as well as stopping eating in order not to spoil the results of our physical efforts.

How can we know when we have crossed the thin line between looking healthy and going over the top? Especially now that summer is getting near and everybody wants to have the perfect body desired by everyone. We must not forget that our health is more important than looking sexy for a few months. Therefore, be clever, don´t punish yourself doing strict diets combined with long exercise sessions, enjoy your time eating, drinking or going out with your friends - it´s much better and within a few years you'll realize you made the right decision.

BOURNEMOUTH 2010

The 19th of June of 2011 we will start our first experience together outside the country, in Broadstairs, England to be exact. For those who have not been in England yet, I would like explain a little bit how it works.

Last summer I went to a campus in a town, Bournemouth, in the south of England. I went to the Bournemouth University campus (BU), because it was the first time I travelled abroad alone and I preferred to stay there rather than with a family. I spent three whole weeks of July there, and they were almost the best weeks of that summer.

We lived in little houses for four which had two floors. On the ground floor we had a bedroom, a kitchen and a small room for all of us. Upstairs there were three more bedrooms and two toilets.

I went with a friend and we stayed together in the house with two more girls, one was from Germany and the other from Kazakhstan.

The first day we did an exam (grammar, oral and expression) to put us in different levels.

A normal day there was:

We woke up early in the morning and had breakfast; then we had some time to get ready before classes or activities. At 12:30 we had lunch, some free time and then activities or classes again up to 18:30, when we had dinner. Then some activities like films, games… and then free time again. At 22:30 more or less we had to be at home, but we never made did it!

We had classes in the morning the first and third weeks, and in the afternoon the second one. We had two different teachers a day, 1 hour and a half with one, a small break of half an hour and another hour and a half with another teacher. All the teachers were native, they were fantastic, and some activities we did there were similar to the ones we are doing here in the high school.

The rest of the time we had activities (sports, games…) with the staff of the campus and free time, when we could go all around the campus, to the houses …

The worst thing was the food. Everything is fried: chips, meat, fish… and it did not taste as good as here, it is something strange, you will see!

Most of the time we were with people from all over the world, it was great, we learnt things about their countries, we practised the language, we enjoyed ourselves a lot.

I hope you have enjoyed the post and you learnt something about England, thank you for reading!

Why don´t they win an Oscar?

Have you ever seen a funny film like Leslie Nielsen’s winning an Oscar or any important prize? I have not seen it yet. When I decide to go to the cinema with my friends I want to have a laugh, to have the feeling that I haven´t wasted my money. When I see, rarely, the Oscar ceremony I don´t see any funny films winning one. I don´t know if the jury likes funny movies or not, but ordinary people do.

There are many types funny movies, but many of them are parodies of famous films. One of the best actors who has ever acted in those parodies, from my point of view, was Leslie Nielsen. He was the most famous actor in comic cinema.

He died one year ago; that was a great loss for the cinema. He made many films, such as “Wrongfully Accused”. This is one of the funniest films I have ever seen. However, the director, or even Leslie, didn´t received any mention. There is another series of movies of “Scary movie” or “American Pie”. Even though I have defended these kinds of films I must say that there are not ideal candidates for an Oscar. They are imitations of a real movie, and sometimes they include nasty things or improper scenes such as uncontrolled criticism.

Apart from the parodies there are other movies, with an original and interesting plot, which are serious and funny at the same time. One good example is “RED”. It is a story of retired C.I.A. agents who are investigating why the C.I.A. wants to kill them. It seems to be a tragedy. In part it is, because there is some blood and violence.

However, there are many funny parts which make you laugh a lot. Apart from this film, there are other films like that; films that make the cinema one of the best relaxing activity you can do.

Perhaps, one day, in a far or close future, these films will be given a prize.

CURIOUS LAWS IN THE USA

I‘ve always thought Americans were a bit strange and weird, very different from us. But after reading this I’m sure you’ll change you minds and you’ll start to think they are in fact completely mad. If not, take a look at some of their crazy laws:

In Washington lollipops are banned, you are not allowed to sleep on a refrigerator in Pennsylvania, in Nevada you cannot ride a camel along the highway and in Florida you may not fart in a public place after 6:00pm on Thursdays.

And you would say, these laws must be old and in disuse. It is true that many of them were made in old western times such as; not sleeping with your shoes on, not standing upright at a bar (if you are a man) or singing off key. But at the same time they are all still in force now.

There is a kind of obsession for introducing laws on a certain topic. For example, there are several regulations related to Sundays: not working on this day, except to sell light bulbs or riding a merry-go-round. At the same time, you are neither allowed to sell cars nor sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer.

Women have certain old laws just for them too, as they must have their husband’s permission to wear false teeth or they cannot wear a red dress out in the street after 7:00 pm! There is also a special law which prohibits unmarried women to go parachuting on Sundays.

If a child burps in church, his or her parents are the only ones responsible and will be arrested.

In my opinion the most curious laws, and I think you’ll agree with me, are the ones based on Bathtubs: they must have feet, sing in them is forbidden in Pennsylvania and donkeys cannot sleep in them.

To conclude, although there are plenty of silly, senseless American laws, it is important for a country to have a legal system like the USA’s.

And here I finish my post with the funniest Texan law. Criminals may give their victims 24 hours warning, either orally or in writing, explaining the nature of the crime to be committed.

Alternative Rock

When we talk about music, I think that we don’t know everything about it. Yes, we all like pop music, but do we really know why we like it? There’s a very simple reason: record companies want us to buy it, that’s why it’s called commercial music.

However, I think that the best type of music is ALTERNATIVE ROCK. Not many people really know what this kind of music consists of; if you are one of them, don’t worry, I’m going to explain now.

Alternative Rock is a musical subgenre of Rock music. It was created during the 60s, although it didn’t reach the height of popularity until the 80s. Its name is a mix of Rock, because it is a subgenre of the first, and Alternative because when it was first created it was outside mainstream music. It has some subgenres like Indie Rock and Noise Rock. Alternative Rock musicians use instruments like electric guitars, bass and drums.

Some famous groups which use this style are: R.E.M., Muse, The Strokes, The White Stripes, Depeche Mode, Panic! At the Disco, Foo Fighters and the Arctic Monkeys. An example of a Spanish group is Lori Meyers.

Some of their songs have cover versions by other groups. This is a cover of Depeche Mode’s song, “Enjoy the Silence”, by Nada Surf, an American Alternative Rock group which has a Spanish member. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijiCZAN2ntY

Here I leave you links to my favourite songs:

- “The Ballad of Mona Lisa”, Panic! At the Disco. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOgpdp3lP8M

- “Brianstorm”, Arctic Monkeys. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30w8DyEJ__0

- “Under Cover of Darkness”, The Strokes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l09H-3zzgA

- “Undisclosed Desires”, Muse. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8OOWcsFj0U

ENJOY THE MUSIC!

The Monkey Buffet Festival

Hey!

How are you? I´ve been searching for strange and funny traditions and festivals around the world. Among all the strange traditions, like throwing breakable dishes at your neighbour’s door in Denmark, or tumbling 200 yards to the bottom of a hill… there is one that attracted my attention. It is called the monkey buffet festival and it takes place in Lopburi (Bangkok) on the 28th of November. Over 3,000 kg of fruit and vegetables are offered to every monkey that lives in Lopburi in honour of Rama. More than one thousand people go every year to the festival to enjoy a wonderful day seeing how around 600 monkeys eat what you offer them. I also think that it is a good experience because you can learn a bit of culture, see the ruins that are next to the square, and also visit the rest of Lopburi.

I hope I’ll be able to go some time and watch such a great show!

Here is a link to see the festival!

"Tonterías las justas"

I’m going to talk about a Spanish entertainment program that many people know and like, but not everybody watches it. This program is call “tonterias las Justas” and it is broadcast on “cuatro” from Monday to Friday. This program is basically about jokes and about things that appear on television. They show videos to the spectator and then they talk about them.

When they are talking about the videos Daniel, Anna and Flo sit around a big table. There is a girl that is called Romina who interviews famous people.

Another section that you can find in this program is “el blog de Agueda” where a group of old people make their own videos. You can also find a section that is called “ranking” where they show videos about people falling and they also make comments.

I usually watch this program and I like it because they make me laugh. Sometimes they act naturally and they talk about their lives outside work that makes you feel comfortable. Another thing that I like about this programme is that they change the sections, so that people don’t get tired of about them. Sometimes they bring famous people to the programme and I also like this because it makes each day different. I think that this is the type of program that other channels should have instead of people shouting at each other and arguing about stupid things.

So, after reading all of this, tell me…

Do you prefer funny programs or discussion programs?