That’s all folks

Hello classmates and teacher

Well, first I must declare that I’m not the kind of person who enjoys writing stuff on public internet page like facebook, twitter or discussion forums, although long time ago I try to keep a blog about current topics in Chile. I only achieve to publish one post. That’s why I found it not very pleasant to write a post every week. Then, the task of writing every week was a double effort for me because I can’t think the phrase directly in English, so I first think in Spanish and then I have to translate it.

Although I didn’t enjoy the blog task, it helped me to learn vocabulary that I didn’t know before. Also, thanks to the blog I learn to use some online dictionary’s and translators (like wordreference and google translater).

I think that one of greatest advantages is the possibility to use online resources that are more interactive and dynamic than the traditional classroom dynamic. Now, as a disadvantage I think that the time spent writing the blog could be used for learning grammar and vocabulary in a more systematic way, not as freely and voluntary as it was.

Finally, I would like to recommend a web site for learning English with is complete free: http://duolingo.com/

the best 3 tips for recycling

1.- Use a bag for life (like the green bags that are sell in Jumbo)
2.- Wash plastic bottles before leaving them for recycling
3.- try to minimize the waste by buying stuff with minimal package

Sloth

Although my blog title says that my only friend is my dog -i don't have one- and i don´t really have a favorite animal, so I would like talk about a freak animal, called Sloth. This animal lives in Central and South America, specifically in the jungle because it is an arboreal animal. He is a mammal, herbivorous and is a parent of Anteater.

Their physical characteristics are: hairy body, long arms and short legs, big claws and little head with a big smile.

I like the Sloth because represent the opposite values of the modern society, everyone says: I would like to be as fast as a jaguar, as strong as a bull or brave as a lion. But no one says, I would like to be as lazy and slow as a Sloth.

I must confess that I would like to have Sloth as a pet, but I found it cruel because he need of the jungle to survive.

Finally, as a special characteristic, years ago I saw in the “Profesor Rossa” tv show that it takes two days to a Sloth to get drowned, because their organism function really slow.

Thanks for reading my blog.

I would like to go to Peru and especially to Machu Pichu because I think it is a very interesting place. Few years ago, the ruins of Machu Pichu were declared by the Unesco one of the seven wonders of the world, and they are totally right to name it a wonder, because is a really heroic thing to build such a city in the top of a mountain.

There are several ways to get there. The one that I like most involves  to first take a bike and ride around the towns of the countryside, to then hike and trek all the way up to the ruins.

I would like to go with my girlfriend and some others friends because I have always thought that a long trip is a good and nice way to really get to know your friends.  Although, for what I heard, the trip is not recommended for anyone, because it requires a good physical condition, and to be willing to get more than one insect bite.

I think that is very possible to go there in a very near future (for example during spring break) considering that I regularly work as a computer technician  and I earn good money, which I can save because I don’t have large expenses due to I still don’t live by my own.  

Hello classmates and teacher

Today I will talk about a person, who was expert in the political economy, history and philosophy, called Karl Polanyi. This person was born on October 25, 1886, in Vienna, when this country still belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His life was marked by the World Wars and the economic crisis. For this reasons, Karl Polanyi had to emigrate two times. The first time was when the fascist influence began to grow in Vienna, so he moved to London, where he was a teacher at Oxford University. The second time was when the Columbia University offer him a teacher position, so he and his wife planned to move to USA but due to the political activism of his wife (who was communist), she couldn't obtain a visa, forcing the couple to move to Toronto, Canada.

Karl Polanyi is recognized by the book The Great Transformation. This book is a direct criticism to the liberal model of economy. His main argument is the naturalization of the hommo-economicus. His work is based in statistical, historical, philosophical and economical data. And I like him because he worked with information from different fields of knowledge.

Thanks for reading my blog.

My favorite movie is called “The Prestige” and is classified as a Drama, Mystery and (or) Thriller according to IMDB.com. The film premiere was on October 20 of 2006. The director was Christopher Nolan (also known for directed “BATMAN The Dark Night” and “Inception”). The movie is starred by Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson and Michael Cain. The film is about the history of two magicians (Robert Angier and Alfred Borden) who compete to be the best magician in London of the late nineteenth century. Both started in the illusionism world working together for a senior magician. At that time, they both had a professional relationship, that changes completely when someone died (I don’t want to spoil the surprise, so I won’t tell who dies) because of a negligence during the magic show.

I like this movie because is a great history, and has a great particularity: it’s told in a nonlinear way (in fact, the movie start with some of the final scene of the history).

My favorite photograph is related with the new internet phenomenon, called "meme". This picture was taken in the last year by a Reuters photo-journalist, in the Buckingham Palace. In the press photograph you can see the president of EEUU Barack Obama and his wife (and first lady) Michelle Obama during their visit to the Queen of England on May 24^th, 2011. What made this image famous is the strange and funny face of both of them.

I like it because this photo is the base of a lot of comic pictures created in internet under the name “meme”. The “meme” is a cartoon that express a simply emotion, just with an expressive face. In this sense, the face of Barack Obama represent the expression “everything went better than expected”. On the internet, the image is accompanied by the phrase “not bad” (as shown in the following image).

For more clarity about the "meme" concept (in special to the Obama meme), I select some pictures as an example of how to use this concept.