SELF EVALUATION ABOUT THE DREAMS PRESENTATION

After watching the video of the presentation I did with Paula Caball last week, I can comment a little how it went and evaluate ourselves.

First of all, I think our visual resources were good: we used a Prezi and we also used a video to finish the presentation, which showed some curious facts about the topic. Also, I think we did it good in the part of body language and eye contact. We tried not to read our notes and to explain the things in our way, that's why we didn't memorize the notes exaclty, we only memorize the idea we had to explain and then we tried to explain the way we were comfortable. I think that's why we talked in a natural way and it was easy to pay attention to the presentation. 

About the structure, our presentation had a quite clear structure: we started explaining some theories of why we dream and then we extended more the information in Freud's theory, which is the most famous and interesting. I think that in this part we could have improved a little using more connectors than we did.

In my opinion, the content of the presntation was interesting. I find the topic about dreams very curious and I think a lot of people like to know about it and a little about our brain. We tried to explain the information in a way in which it could be understood and not too technical, because it would have been maybe boring. We also tried to use curious examples to make it a little bit more entertaining. 

In general, I think the part we could improve would be the language part. We did it well, but maybe we could have used a more varied vocabulary, with idioms or phrasal verbs, or again, more connectors and fillers. About the pronunciation and intonation, I think we pronounced the words quite well and, in my case, I think that if I tried to speak louder and more expressively, it would improve. 

In conclusion, I think we did a very good presentation but, of course, we can always improve things, for example some aspects of the language. 

PLASTIC BAG TAX IMPACT

In October 2015, a charge of 5p for plastic bags in the shops was introduced in the UK, and recently the conservationists have talked about the impact it has had on the beaches.

This tax was already in use in other parts of the country, such as Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland, and in the last place, they introduced it into England too.

After a little more than a year later, the Marine Conservation Society has informed that the amount of plastic bags on the beach has decreased a lot and the number of bags they found is the lowest they have found in 10 years time, and they are quite sure it is thanks to this charge. During the Great British clean, an annual beach clean, thousands of volunteers helped and cleaned the beach, which allowed seeing the actual impact this tax has had on the beaches, specially in England and Northern Ireland, where the number of plastic bags has decreased the most.

Therese Coffey, the environmental ministre, declared that the establishment of the 5p tax has been a such a success, not only because of the beach and environmental care, but for the money they have collected from the charges, which is destinated to charities.

But this tax is not the solution to everything the volunteers in the cleanings have noticed a rise of drink containers. That means that, even though the amount of plastic bags on the beach has been reduced, the problem of the drink containers and other kind of litter still needs to be solved, because it is harmful for the nature and for the animals, that can actually die because of this litter.

PERSONAL OPINION:

I think this is good news and I agree with the tax they imposed. This charge makes the people use more cloth or other reusable bags, which helps in the waste of less natural resources not renewable and in the preservation and no-pollution of the planet. But as the news says, this is not the final solution because there is still a lot of litter on the beaches and other natural spaces, which we should try to avoid.

VOCABULARY:

· Herald: proclamar

· Vindicate: justificar

· Levy: impost

LINK: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-38053404

VAN GOGH'S SKETCHES

Recently the experts of the Van Gogh Museum, in the Neederlands, have claimed that some sketches that are attributed to the artist are not really by him.

Those sketches were published in a book by the art historian Bogomilia Welsh Ovcharov and on the book she presented them as sketches that the Van Gogh had painted during a stay in a french museum, in the city of Arles.

However, the experts working in the museum decided to study them in depth and they got to the conclusion that they were imitations. There are several reasons that make them believe this. They claim that the style of the drawings is not the one that characterises the period they are supposed to be drawn and also they are made with a brownish ink that has never been found in his drawings.

The author of the book and the publisher still stand up for the idea of the sketches being original, and say that the musem has been wrong other times. But even though the musem experts are quite convinced that they aren't, they are going to respect their opinion.

PERSONAL OPINION:

I found this news curious and it caught my attention the little “fight” between the musem experts and the author of the book. Of course, I can not take sides, because I know only a little about Van Gogh and his art and that's not enough to give a solid opinion, but I think the fact that the experts have studied the sketches deeply maybe gives their theory some strenght. However, they can definitely be wrong and mistaken.

NEW WORDS:

· Unveiling: inauguració

· Unrefined: incult, bast

· Depicted: representat

LINK: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37989885

"REVÀLIDES"

About two weeks ago, many high school students were in strike to protest against the called “revàlides”, that the Government wanted to implant for next year. Those are exams, which have to be taken at the end of ESO and Batxillerat, and that students need to pass in order to carry on studying. The strike had an effect on the Government, and finally they withdrew from his position and declared that the “revàlides” would be modified and taken down as the concept they were at the beginning. At the end of ESO, it will be just a diagnosis exam, to know the student's level; and in Batxillerat, it will replace the current Selectivitat (PAU).

Even though they have been finally removed, I would like to give my opinion about the “revàlides”, just as if they were still going to take place.

First of all, I think it's unfair that you have risk it all in just one exam. If you pass the subjects of Batxillerat, in principle, it means that you have the level you need to have, so there's no point in making you take an exam that, if for any reason you fail, won't allow you to keep studying. We can all have bad day and do a bad exam, but it doesn't mean we don't have the level that is required. However, although doing a bad exam in Selectivitat can also be prejudicial for you, it doesn't force you to stop studying and to be out of chances.

And the same happens with ESO, if you have been passing all those years, and you have passed all the subjects, why shouldn't you be able to do batxillerat?

Approving the “revàlides”, means that there won't be Selectivitat anymore, so the way to get into university will be taking an exam directly in the university you want to study. In my opinion, that's not practical. When they finish Batxillerat, a lot of students don't have 100% clear what and where they want to study. A lot of them are guided by their results in Selectivitat. Depending on the mark they get, they will be able to get in a degree or not, so once they know the results, the choice becomes easier. And the same happens with the universities: a lot of students maybe have a vague idea of where they want to study, and

they normally permamently decide after knowing the results, and after knowing in which universities they can get in. So having to decide a degree and a university in order to go there to take the exam, it's a lot more difficult. Adding the fact that maybe you won't pass that exam, so you should probably take more exams at other universities, which is more work, while Selectivitat is only one exam for each subject and then, after the results, it's easier to choose. Although I don't totally agree with Selectivitat system, it is much practical and it's better than “revàlides” system.

After declaring that they would remove the “revàlides” they considered at first, the Government talked about some changes in Selectivitat exams. The main change, which makes PAU exams more silmilar to the idea they had of “revàlides”, is to make the same exam for all the country. Currently there is a different model of exam for each autonomous community, but they talked about removing that and making only one model for all the

Spanish students. I don't agree with that neither, because even though there are things that are important for all the students in the country to know, there are other things that are only important in specific communities. For example, in Catalonia, it's important the catalanism topic and it's necessary to dedicate time explaining it to the students. But this topic is not as important in Extremadura, for example, and teachers there can mention it and explain it briefly, but they obviously won't dedicate as much time as catalan teachers do. That's why I think it isn't a good idea to have only one model of exam for all the country.

But luckily, it seems that this change won't be carried out at the end.

Fortunately, at the end, the “revàlida” in ESO won't have any effect on the students' grades, and the one in Batxillerat will be practicly the same as Selectivitat (I find quite stupid and illogical to change it, if practically it will be the same, but well this how they do the things in this country), which I'm happy about, because I think “revàlides” were such a bad idea. 

NEW TECHNOLOGIES

If we look back to some years ago, we'll see that our dependence on technology has increased a lot. Back then, technology was something useful that could make your life easier, but you could live without it.

Now, this has changed. Nowadays we depend so much on technology that we feel so lost when something happens and we can't access to it. We are at a point in which we tend to use internet for everything, even if it's something we could solve without it. And not only to solve problems, also in our free time is usual to use the internet or any other technology before doing an activity that doesn't require it. For example, let's say you have free time and you can choose between reading a book and sufing on the internet, a lot of people would choose the internet, although they don't actually want to look up for something specific, they'll just spend the time there.

I don't thing using the internet that much is bad: it's a useful tool and it increases a lot the activities you can do. But I think we should try to not to depend so much on it, because if one day we can't access to it, there will be a collapse of everything and a huge breakdown.

An little example of this that I have seen in the last weeks, is that recently, in the high school

there is a new rule: we can't use the mobile phones inside the buildings. When they told us, there was people who complaint and that was disgusted by this new rule. In my case, I rarely bring my mobile phone at school, because I don't feel like I really need it, but I can understand that people who are used to bring their cell phone at school don't agree with this new rule. They don't agree because it bans something they normally do and that is normal and usual for them. But in some people, it allowes you to see the dependence on the phone that they have. When you are inside the high school, between the classes, you practically don't have time to look at your mobile phone, only during the break time, which you spend outside, so you are allowed to use your mobile phone. So I thing this rule is not a big deal, and we should all be capable of being at least three hours without needing to check our phones. 

In conclusion, from my point of view, the internet and technologies are such good and useful tools, and we have to take advantadge now that we have them, but we have to be aware of how much we use them, in order not to create a situation of dependence and to be able to carry on with our normal lives in case one day we can't have access to it anymore.  

USA ELECTIONS

Yesterday, on the November 8^th, 2016, the United States elections for president were held, after seven years of Obama's presidency. The Democratic party was lead by Hillary Clinton, and the Republican one by Donald Trump, who finally won the elections and has now become the 45th US president.

In his victory speech, he adressed to all the people who didn't support him, saying that now it's time to work together to make the country better. He also mentioned his beaten opponent, Hillary Clinton, recognizing her hard work during the electoral campaign period, and he thanked her for all the effort. As they say in the news, this has been a major shock for the majority of the population and for the media, after all the forecasts had pointed out Clinton's victory. They compare this shocking results to the ones in the Brexit vote, in the UK.

Trump is not a conventional president at all. He was a reality TV celebrity, and he was rather new in the political world. But as we can see, this didn't stop him of beating other Republican candidates, who have been into poltics for years, and finally, of becoming the new US president. Another thing that makes him different was his kind of campaign, in which he counted with a small and disorganized group behind him. Also, the way he talked in his speeches and the things he said made him cause a major controversy, specially on the Internet, where most people were against him because of his ideologies. He is seen as a racist, homophobic and a misogynist. But on the other side, there was also people who gave him support, mainly because his determined personality, and for the declarations he made about United States needing a big change, and a government repair.

The news reports that the majority of Trump supporters are non-educated white people and that the fact that he was accused of sexual women assault, caused a decrease of women who voted him. Then, there is a mention to the famous wall between Mexico and US, that Trump said he would built if he became president.

Finally, the news concludes remembering the certainty a lot of people had of him not becoming the president of the country and his response to these thoughs, in which he showed that he was confident with himself and trusted in winning the elections, which he finally did.  

PERSONAL OPINION:

I'm not fully informed of all the election process in the United State, and I don't know a lot about the political programme of each candidate. What from what I know, I'm not very keen on neither of them, but if it's necessry to choose, I definitely choose Hillary Clinton. I think it's a shame that a person like Donald Trump, who is racist, misogynist and homophobic has become the president of the United States, and it actually scares me what can happen next, considering the importance and influence of that country in the whole world.  

VOCABULARY:

· Gleefully: alegrement

· Upend: enderrocar

· Flout: desobeir

· Forsee: preveure

LINK: http://time.com/4563685/donald-trump-wins/

HUMOUR

It is a well-known fact that humour has plenty of benefits, physical and psychological ones, but does it really play an important role in life?

In the first place, I believe that anything that has any kind of benefit is important in our life. As I see it, it is important to let go all those things that have a bad impact in our life, and to hold onto what can improve it, such as humour and laughter.

Secondly, I feel life would be sad without humour. Some people think that humour is a secondary thingm, less important than other “serious elements”, and that it is not important for us to go on with our life. In my opinion, however, life needs to be a combination of serious and “relaxing” moments, in which you can let yourself ho and enjoy. And laughing is one of these relaxing moments. It is sometimes necessary to disconnect and to laugh until your belly hurts, just to be able to get strength and carry on.

It seems to me that, as a result, things will become easier to overcome and life will feel more complete.

All in all, I strongly believe that humour plays, not only an important role, but an essential role in our lives, because it only provides good things and because of its importance in making our lives complete. 

CLIENT-FACING WORK

Client-facing work is complicated, both for the clients and for the way you have to act.

Sometimes there are clients that are just so annoying and disrespectful, as well as there are employees like this. And that's something that I hate.

On the one hand, if you work in a job in which you are facing the public, you should try to be polite and to treat your clients well, so they'll come again. I know that it can sometimes be difficult, because of some kind of clients that just make you lose your nerves. But I think that one of the main things if you work facing the public, is to have patience and to know how to put a smile on your face and still be kind even if you are exhausted or tired of the clients.

In my opinion, it's annoying when you go into a shop and the employee answers you in a rude way or just in a way that doesn't make you feel good. And another thing I find annoying is when the employee follows you to control that you don't steal anything. It's understandable, becaue employees are human and they can have a bad day; and it's also understandable that they want to aviod people stealing. But I think they should try to control that, because, for example, in my case, it makes me feel intimidated and uncomfortable, and it doesn't make me want to go again into that shop. Of course, everyone can have a bad day, but the problem comes when someone uses this excuse to be always rude.

On the other hand, as a client, I think we should all try to be understanding and to bear in mind that we can all make mistakes or have a bad day. If an employee makes a mistake, it's not necessary to go there and shout or complain in a bad way; you can just say, politely, to the employee that he has made a mistake. And also I think that is important to understand that, most of the times, employees are not the boss, and they are just doing what they are told to do. It means that maybe they don't agree in the way they have to do something, but they can't decide to do it in another way, so it has no point complaining about something they can't change.

After all, I think it is, as many other things, a matter of empathy, which I think it's not abundant in the nowadays society. We should all try to walk in other people's shoes, to see their difficulties and to act in a reasonable way. This way, we would be so much understanding with everyone, and we'll all feel better with each other, avoiding fights and arguments.

METEOROLOGISTS TRAPPED BY POLAR BEARS

Five meteorologists have spent about two weeks trapped in their laboratory located in a remote Russian island due to a herd of polar bears that stayed ouside the door. The island is part of the archipielago of the Izvesty TSIK Islands, and it's a place where polar bears are common. Even so, this year the population of these mammels has increased a lot.

The meteorologists have run out of flares they normally use to scare the bears, what makes them be choiceless in the face of the bears. Thses bears have been sleeping outside the windows of the laboratory, as the men have reported to a news agency via satellite phone.

In order to not harm them, the meteorologist's only option is to wait for a boat from the city of Arkhangelsk, which will bring flares to scare the bears and release the weather experts. The boat will take about a week to get there, and meanwhile they have had to stop doing work that requires going outside.

Some environmental experts have declared that polar bears are an endangered specie, affected by the global warming which melts the ice where they normally live, making it difficult for them to hunt. That's probably why they have gone near humans: to get food.

PERSONAL OPINION:

I found this news curious and I hope everything goes fine and anyone gets wounded. I like the fact thay refuse to harm the polar bears, even though they have the weapons to do it. I think it's exacly what they should do, as bears are an endangered specie. Also, apart from finding it curious, it also makes me sad, becaue it is a sign of what polar bears are suffering because of global warming.

VOCABULARY:

· to swarm: moure's en ramat o grup

· flare: llum d'emergència/ balisa

· chief: líder, cap

LINK: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russian-meteorologists-are-trapped-polar-bears-2-800-miles-moscow-n647366

COULD 3D PRINTED HAIR FOLLICLES HELP WITH HAIR LOSS?

The company L'Oreal has considered the possibity of use 3D printed hair follicles as implants, and that's why it has partnered with the bio-printing company Poietis, which has already created some cell-based objects.

Even though, as they say, it is too early to be getting excited, they believe that maybe in a period of three years the process of printing hair follicles will be possible and adapted.

If everything goes as it is planned, after having printed hair follicles they expect to be able to study them and to answer some questions about hair loss, in order to fight and prevent it.

If they are able to get this, the next step will be to implant those follicles. They will use a specific technique that has been already used by Poietis several times, which allows the printing of organic material. This technique uses a laser and requires a previous digital map, the needed printing tools and a quite complex method, and Poietis says it normally takes about 10 minutes to print a small piece of skin, but in the hair follicles case it will take more because of its complexity.

The charity Alopecia UK stated that this is a good idea and it's fantastic that an enterprise is using money and time to help the people with hair loss problems, but they also think it is too early to get excited about it. And also, they are concerned about the price the treatment will have, in case it becomes a reality, because it will probably be possible only for a few people.

PERSONAL OPINION

I totally agree with Alopecia UK, I think it is very interesting and it is good that a company is studying the hair loss and working on the prevention and solution for it. But in case this is finally a possible, not everyone will be able to afford it, and it will only be available for some people.

But even though that will maybe be a problem in the future, I still believe this is a good initiative and helpful to explore it. Because I think that, once it has been possible and they know how to do it, they can try to find a way to make it cheaper, so more people can afford it and benefit from it.

VOCABULARY

· Tissue: teixit muscular, múscul

· Droplet: goteta

· Nozzle: tovera (boquilla)

LINK: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37484835 

JOKE

MY GOALS

Dear Lourdes,

My name is Mar, I'm seventeen years old, and I'm studying 2^nd batxillerat in Castelló d'Empúries. In this mail I'm supposed to talk about my goals but this is actually a bit difficult for me. Focusing in short-term goals it's easier, for example one of my goals is to finish the Treball de Recerca, be proud of the final result and of course, get a good mark. Another one is to finish this school year with the same or even better results than I had last year. In each one of these there are possible challenges that I can find on the way, such as lack of time because of too much work, difficulties in the process of edition of my practical part of the project, that doesn't allow me to get the result I wanted, or other kind of challenges. To overcome them I should organize myself better with the time, to put effort on those things and also try to find other alternatives when I can't get what I wanted. In these cases, what's most important is that I work hard, even though teachers or my TDR tutor can help me to stay on track.

When it comes to long-term goals, it's more difficult. I can't really think about something concrete that I want to achieve. I don't really know what university degree I want to get and what I want to work as when I finish. I guess I could say my goals are to study a degree I like and to have a job I like, but I can't specify more. In this case, what I need to do is to have good marks in batxillerat and in Selectivitat in order to be able to choose a degree I like. But apart from that, I don't have in mind any other concrete goals. I would say may main goal in life is to be happy. I know it may sound so hipster, but in my opinion it's the most important thing in life. You will have to face different challenges, but I guess that to be able to overcome them you have to try to take advantadge of the good and bad situations, and to try to concentrate on the good things you have. You can try to achieve as many goals as you want, and you will succed in some of them and fail in others, but if at the end, you are happy with your life, I think it's more than enough.

"And you won't necessarily succeed at everything. That's okay."

I would like to comment this sentence because I agree with it. I think that a lot of times when we fail at something, we tend to think that we're not good at it, that we will never get it and that it's not worth trying again. And we aren't the only ones who think this. We all tend to think this about other people, and this can be even worse. If you fail once or twice, and have a bunch of people by your side telling you to stop trying because it's not your thing, you will probably stop trying and you will never get it. That's why it's important to keep in mind that it doesn't matter if we fail a hundred times, you never know if at the hundred and one try you will achieve it, so if it's something that you want, you should fight for it.

I look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,
Mar

TED TALK: WHY 30 IS NOT THE NEW 20?

In this talk, the psychologist Meg Jay talks about the 20s decade and goes against the popular belief that the "30s are the new 20s".

Nowadays things like marriage, having kids or finish your degree and start working happen later than it did years ago. Some time ago, people in their 20s did all those things and everything happened earlier in life, but nowadays people tend to settle down and in their 30s. Because of this, some people sees the 20s decade as some throwaway decade, in which the things you do don't have to be necessarily important or relevant for your future life. That's why they believe it's okay to, for example, according to Meg Jay's thoughts before, date any guy or sleep with whoever you want, even if they're not good for you, just because you know that, as it is happening in your 20s, it won't be relevant in your life.

In this talk, Meg tries to make the people see that your 20s are still an important decade, in fact, as she says, those years are the key years in the development of the adult version of a person and the things that normally happen in the 20s decade are the ones that have the most impact on us. Through examples of two of her twentysomething girl patients, Alex and Emma, she explains the significance of the 20s and the importance of making right decisions during these years. Jay says that all those life events happening later, shouldn't stop you from start planning and making important decisions in the 20s decade, and she stands out the importance of not living these years like a irrelevant period of time, because then, when you reach the 30s, you will feel pressured and in a hurry to start settling down, and you will not make the decisions sensibly.

After thinking about what Meg Jay says in this talk, I can say I agree with what she says, but with some touches to clarify. I think she's right when she says that we mustn't flee from all the important decisions during our 20s, because as she says, then we'll feel pressured and we won't think mindfully the decisions we make in our 30s. But I don't think the 20s should be a "30s preparing decade". We shouldn't spend all those years thinking about the future and planning everything for our 30s. It's okay to take advantadge of this events delay in life, and see the 20s as a period of time to form yourself, to have fun, to try new things and to make mistakes and learn from them. But always thinking a little bit about the future, to make sure we enjoy the next different period of our lifes, the 30s.

VOCABULARY:

Twentysomethings: people who is between 20 and 30 years old.

Kick the can down the road: to defer conclusive action with a short-term solution.

Growth spurt: it is a sudden growth.

Arsonist: someone who sets property on fire.

TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/meg_jay_why_30_is_not_the_new_20#t-26167

FEMINISM AND "FEMINAZISM"

I have wanted to talk about this topic for some time now, so I'm going to do it in this post. I'm going to talk about the difference between feminism and the coloquial called “feminazism”.

Let's start from the beginning, what is the feminism? The feminism is a social and political movement that fights against woman discrimination and supports gender equality, wanting men and women to have the same rights and duties and wanting their equality.

Nowadays, feminism is getting everytime more popular and it's gaining a lot of support, either from women or men.

The problem is that some people go further and defend another way of thinking under the name of feminism, although it is not the same at all. This is when the term “feminazism” comes in. These people, normally women, defend the rights of women and complain in case men have advantadges or better conditions, but don't complain when it's women who are having this advantadges.

In my case, I don't agree with them. I think men and women should be equal and have the same rights and duties, because we are all human beings and, of course I cannot say we are equal in everthing, because there are obvious different between the two genders, but this shouldn't be a reason to be treated differently. And, although I'm a woman, I find some situations in which women are being treated with advantadges in relation to men unfair.

But, even though I don't agree with the thoughts of the “feminazis” and in my opinion, if they are against male chauvinism, they shouldn't defend what they defend, I think everyone has the right to think and express their opinions and thoughts. What bothers me is that these people consider themselves feminists and state they are totally in favour of feminism, but they are actually acting in a lot of situations as the opposite of feminism is defending.

So I think they should accept that they are not feminists and don't make other people believe they are when they are defending other things. 

OBAMA VISITS HIROSHIMA

On 27^th May, Obama visited Hiroshima, becoming the first United States president to do this since the nuclear bomb was thrown in the World War II.

The president talked about nuclear weapons and that we shouldn't use them and he said that we must never forget what happened 71 years ago, although he didn't apologize in the name of the country.

Obama visited the Peace Memorial Museum and the Park, spoke with two survivours and even hugged one of them, Mr Abe. This visit has caused diversity of opinions: some people see this visit as a good thing and some Japanese people welcome it, despite the fact he hasn't apologized; and other people say that he made a very idealistic speech, but he is still the leader of the country with the biggest nuclear arsenal.

The same thing happens with the throw of the nuclear bomb, some people think it was good because it brought the war to an end, but other people, amongst which there are people who were directly or indirectly affected by the bomb, who think it was cruel and it shouldn't have been done. 

PERSONAL OPINION:

I think it's something good Obama visiting Hiroshima, because even though he didn't apologize, it's a way to show he accepts whan the country did. Also I like the fact he spoke with survivours and people affected by it, because I think it is a good gesture of him.

And about the if it was good or bad throwing the nuclear bomb debate, I think it wasn't good, because even though it meant the end of World War II, a lot of people died and it had horrible consequences that are still prevailing until nowadays.

NEW WORDS:

· Wreath: corona funeraria

· Complacency: autosuficiència

· Poll: votació

LINK: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36394975

REVIEW: THE FIGHT CLUB

Some months ago I watched a fim that I had heard about before but it never really caught my attention: it was the Fight Club. Someone reccomended it to me, so I decided to watch it and it really surprised me. I ended up liking it a lot!

This movie was directed by David Fincher and it's based on the book with the same name by Chuck Palahnuik.

The story starts when the main character, whose name we don't get to now and who is played by Edward Norton, starts having insomnia and starts attending support groups for problems which aren't even related to him, there he meets Marla, played by Helena Bonham Carter, who is doing the same as him. With that, his life changes a little bit, but then it makes the big change when he meets Tyler, played by Brat Pitt, a soap maker who lives a particular life. Together, they start a fight club that develops into something out of control.

When I started watching the film I was interested in it. Then the middle of it I started to get a little bit bored, and I think it was because I wasn't understanding the whole message of it. But then, there comes a point when there is a huge plot twist that totally surprised me and that I didn't expect at all. From that point I started to really like the movie and I began to understand the things better. The film has a full of ideologies background, that can be hard to understand, but the main ideology that it transmits is the rejection of the consumism and the idea that people are living lifes they don't like because of the system we are living in.

There are films that use plot twists to explain the story using the easy way, that maybe it has nothing to do with what happened before and that's why it surprises the viewers, but at the end it was just a way to end everything easily. This film isn't one of these cases, because if you watch it for a second time you can notice different clues the director puts in scenes previous to the plot twist that subtly warn you of what it's actually going to happen.

In conclusion, it is a film I totally recommend and although it can be a little difficult to understand (it happened to me and I am not sure I understand it fully now) it will surely surprise and shock you.

THE TRAILER:

SELECTIVE XENOPHOBIA

One of our society's problem nowadays is the xenophobia. Not everyone, but there's a lot of people who feels rejection for immigrants, specially on situations like the one we are living right now, when we are not in a good economic moment and some people think that unemployment is caused by immigrants who “steal” the jobs to people from the country.

But we could say this xenophobia is selective, because normally people tend to reject immigrants from specific countries, a lot of times from African countries, who are normally in a worse economic situation. But then, when people come from other European countries, such as France, Germany or the UK, or even people from African countries, but who are rich, this xenophobia disapears and everyone is pleased with them. There is the typical example of the common rejection to the arab immigrants, but the acceptance and fondness to the arab sheikhs, because they are extremely rich and they bring money to the country.

Another example of this, that I saw on the Internet recently and that it made me think about writing this you say, is Donald Trump, one of the USA presidential candidates at the moment. Donald Trump is the representant of a republican party and is totally against immigration. He wants to close the borders of the country to avoid the entrance of immigrants, specially from hispano immigrants who come from the south of the country. But, despite his hate for immigrants, on the 5^th May, when the “Cinco de Mayo” Mexican festivity is celebrated, he posted a photo eating a taco bowl and saying how much he loved this festivity and the hispanics. Or pictures of him with arab sheikhs can be also found, after he has said more than once that muslim people are a danger for the country.

Xenphobia is a problem that exists and that society needs to fix, but I think that total xenophobia is not something common, what is common is this “selective xenophobia”, that lots of times changes depending on the economic situation the person in front of you has.

This “selective xenophobia” is a problem, as well as the “total xenophobia”, but I think it is even worse, because it shows the incoherence and the illogicallity of a lot of people, who show that can't even follow their own principles. If you are against immigration, it's okay. I don't agree with you and I don't think you are right, but at least be coherent and be against all immigration and don't break your principles, even when the thing you don't accept is beneficial for you.

Also, I think it's a shame that someone famous, who totally shows this “selective xenophobia”, is having so much support on being the next USA president. 

WOMAN CONFRONTS NEONAZIS

The news talks about something that happened on the 1^st May in Sweden: Tess Asplund, a Swedish woman, stood in front of a neonazi grup, confronting them while they were doing a march. This took place in Borlänge, a city in Sweden, and the march was organized by a political party which is against immigration, the Nordic Resistance Movement.

A photographer, David Lagerlöf, immortalized the moment in a photo that went viral and quickly spread on the Internet, in which you can see Asplund rising her fist and standing in front of three uniformed neonazis with a firm attitude.

The photographer took the photo and after realizing how powerful it was he posted it on Twitter, after what it became viral. That's when Tess Asplund fully realized what she had done. She says that it was an impulsive act, that she didn't even thought how dangerous it was. The woman states that now, after the impulseveness that moved her, is still happy about what she did, because it has showed to the world what is happing, and she is happy to show that she is not okay with that. She hopes this photo makes other people fight against this kind of marches and against racism, just like she has been done for 26 years. 

PERSONAL OPINION:

Even if it was an impulsive act, I think this woman was very brave for doing what she did. I think it's a shame that after all the nazis did during World War II, there is people who still shares their ideology and exaltates the same values they did, for example the violence. And I think now it is a problem, because with the economic crisis we are living, the refugees situation and other problems we are having in our society, this kind of political parties are gaining everytime more popularity and support.

That's why I really like the photo and I think it's shoking and powerful, because it lets you see that there is still people who fight against what they think it is wrong, even if they are alone, like Tess. Because one little spark can start a fire.

NEW WORDS:

· Hook: ganxo

· Pinch: pessic

· Clash: enfrontament

LINK: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/05/europe/swedish-protest-nazis-woman/

REVIEW: LOVE, ROSIE

Love, Rosie is a film directed by Christian Ditter which is based on the novel Where Rainbows End, by Cecelia Ahern.

The story follows two best friends: Alex and Rosie. They have been best friends since they were little, but growing up, having to make important decisions and the mixture of feelings they feel for each other gets everything more complicated.

Before watching the film I didn't have big expectations on it, but it surprised me in a good way. I found it a very beautiful film, and I felt like it was different from the ones I had seen before.

It is catalogued as a Romantic Comedy, and although it has some funny moments it is not at all like the typical romantic comedies we know. It has emotional parts, but it isn't a drama neither. And I wouldn't say it is a total romantic film, because it is not one of these extremely corny films. It is a mixture of several types of films.

I liked the two main characters because you can see how they commit several mistakes, and then try to fix them, even if it's not possible, and well, they are realistic characters, that could be real life people. I loved the relationship they have, because they are very close to each other as friends, and then start realizing they feel something else for each other, so they have like a lovers-friends beautiful relationship, because they still take care of each other as they always did being friends.

Summarizing, it is a film I totally recommend. Maybe if you don't like romantic films you are not going to like it, but maybe you'll do, because I think it is a little bit different from the typical romatic films, and besides the romantic part, it tells a beautiful friendship story. 

THE TRAILER: