Someone Who Inspired Me

Do you think it can be a conflict listening to hardcore hip-hop after the last hits of electro-dance music?

Or before put any flamenco record on the music player?

Well, no doubts it can be done, I mean, look at myself, I have no problem with mix and enjoy different music genres.

But has never been a problem? I guess that when you look back and you see how you used to be, you think “How dumb and unskilled I was”
I haven’t always have the ability (let’s call it ability, why not) to enjoy eclectic and different kinds of music.
I guess it all started ten years ago, more or less. I had recently discovered an Spanish hip-hop artist called Distorsion M., and as I enjoyed a few of his records, I started following him at Facebook (I guess this is a ritual, nowadays)

Then, few days later, he posted a link to an interview he had done; this link, added to my motivation of wasting five more minutes in front of the computer, made me read it.
And there was, after the typical questions that can be asked to a musician, arrived the one

“-What are you currently listening to now?
-I just discover a few groups of flamenco fusion which are awesome!”

Flamenco fusion? What does it mean? Is THAT even a genre?
Seemed to me like “something only your parents will enjoy”

Really didn’t expect that, and maybe was the shock that made me think “why don’t give a chance?”

So, I gave it a chance, I listened to those groups and surprisingly I enjoyed. After this… obviously not every single group I have listened, I liked; but I can tell you that I discovered awesome groups far away from my mainly music taste.
This is how, Curro Morales, as known as Distorsion M., who I admired as an artist, made me open my music preferences.

Communication (based on personal experieces)

Many things have been said about communication, about how to make a presentation, about what you have to do in an oral exposition in order to hook your listeners.

I’m not going to write any kind of speech guide (I certain don’t have the knowledge) but after reading advices and have done and assisted to several talks (well, the ones I have done were more like little oral presentations in class) I’m going to tell you about the most important thing that a talk needs, obviously, in my opinion.

Enjoying the talking point seems to me the linchpin. Why do I think this? I’ll tell you the two personal experiences that made me think it.
First.
It was like 8 years ago when I had to do my first English oral project , in a little summer course; never did anything like that before, but, since it was a free topic to talk about, and i have prepared well, I was feeling confident.

I’m not going to say that I enjoyed it, I don’t want to be cynical (come on, it’s an exam; it’s not difficult to imagine things that I rather be doing before an exam), but after have been five minutes talking to the examiner about “The Eclectic variety of music genres you can find on the Beatles discography” I said to myself, “well, I wouldn’t mind been talking for another five minutes, or doing it in front of a bigger audience”

My other enjoy-what-you’re-talking-about experience is as an spectator.

Some friends and I assist to a lecture about European economics. I wasn’t really into the topic, in fact, I only assisted because I knew the speaker, and I knew he was an awesome one and that he was mad about economic stuff.

Wasn’t’ wrong. Almost two hours of talking were flying by, even make me get interested in economics .

If you enjoy your speech, and nothing else matters.

E-mail cancelling an arrangement

Dear Kevin,

I’m so sorry I couldn’t contact you before, it was impossible for me to assist to last Thursday meeting.

I’ve been thinking over, about the job you offered me, and sadly I have to refuse.

I don’t want you to take me wrong, It has been a pleasure and an honour work with you this three years, I don’t want you to think that I’m declining because of a lack of interest or money problems, I’m aware that nowadays (and more in a sector like ours) we have to work for a pittance or even for free.

I cant accompany you in this foreign business because of my brothers illness; unfortunately he is dealing really wrong at this moment an it would be unfair and selfish leave the rest of my family the responsibility of taking care of him.

I wish you the best and I hope we could work together in a future.

Application Form

I’m writing in order to ask if there are vacancies in the Film Studio Course, I’ve never studied audiovisual arts or anything like that, so I’m asking to join the “amateur level”. But don’t take me wrong, I’m pretty motivates and enthusiastic about joining the course, I’ve been fascinated with the seventh art since (when I was a little child) an art teacher showed us in class, how Kubrick used the music and the camera in order to create sensations as distress or fear.
From this moment, on every film I have seen, I’ve tried to analyse and realise the elements that the director is using to make you feel in a certain way.

Also, I’m a big fan of independent films, so I think (as was said on the advertisement ) I will enjoy most of the films.

Please let me know if there are still chances to book a seat.

Yours faithfully

Pablo Baraona

Communication based on my ideas

Communication is essential in our lives. Nobody would reject this,  but... have we stopped to think what is the best way to communicate what we mean? As Walt Disney said "Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language", which means that a picture is worth a thousand words said. Me, as I am studying journalism and I think that is something that directly affects me, I’m going to say the best ways to communicate that we have, on my opinion.
We would not understand communication nowadays without technology; yeah, I know it's a recurring theme, but we are not allowed to understand the world, in this moment, without whatssap, twitter or facebook. Social network is winning the race to traditional media, but I have no doubt that there will be other media that, in the future, will remove the ones that we have today. And why are social networks so successful? Because they combine the ability to share ideas by text (this is comparable to the text in newspapers), with the ability to hear what others have to say (as do the radio) and people can also share videos, no matter if they are of their own or from another people (television, audiovisual media).
To conclude, I would say that communication is a constant in our lives, and what should prevail over all these media is the ability to express ourselves; because having expression freedom, is not the same as knowing how to use it.

someone who inspires you

I know it´s not very original to say that someone who inspired me profoundly was a teacher, but it is. In this case, in fact, was one of the biggest reasons why I do what I am doing now.

I am studying History of Art now; I had never studied it in my life till the last year at school (at school, as you all know, in History books the parts dedicated to art are at the end of the units and there´s never enough time to study them, at least in my case). I had it as an optional subject in my last year and I decided to study it along with economics, geography or maths, for instance. I´d always liked it in general, I´d gone to a lot of museums and travelled with my parents, it wasn´t something completely unknown for me, but I had never even read about it. 

I was lucky enough to have a teacher who also teached history and other subjects, but he always said art was his favourite, and you really noticed about it when you listened to him in class. For me, it was a new way to look at images or buildings I had seen all my life, but from a perspective of someone who really knows what he´s talking about and does it with real enthusiasm. He told you anecdotes, he knew how to make you feel curious, ask questions to yourself and to look at things with new eyes. 

When I had to choose a degree, I had absolutely no idea what to do. He knew I liked Art and encourage me to study it and I will never regret it. 

I knew very clear that, above anything, I was going to study something I liked; I didn´t wanted to spend my years at university hating what I was doing, and so as he thought. Maybe it´s not the easiest field in the world to find a job, but as my teacher told me (and as I am finding out by myself now), everything is about working hard and loving what you do, because you never know where life will take you. When someone asks me why I am studying art I always tell this story, because probably if  I´d had a terrible teacher I wouldn´t have gone back to a museum in my life. 

In The Mine by George Orwell

In this story we learn about the perception of mines and miners. The growing England’s industry needed a great quantity of coal, the main fuel at those days. So the activity of extracting coal was one of the most important for the British economy. The work was very hard in the mines, and Orwell wanted readers, living in cities, knew all about that because, as a member of Communist Party, he was very concerned about worker’s welfare and rights.

The Orwell’s purpose in writing this piece was to make aware people about the hardness of working in a mine because the bad conditions of this activity, the lack of rights, and the illness produced by dust coal. The miners were breathing an air plenty of coal dust because they hadn’t any protection and mines lacked of efficient ventilation. So he showed that miners were breathing that polluted air during all their work days. Besides, as the ceiling height was so little in the galleries, the miners, who were strong but small, were obliged to work kneeling what made his work harder, almost unbearable. The height of galleries was just the height of coal vein. Orwell speaks too about the difficulties of walking through the mine for reaching the vein where face workers have their task. For him, a very tall man, it was really difficult to walk in such a small height, and needed to take frequently a rest for stretching himself. But miners, strong but small, could walk more quickly.

As there weree a lot of words only used in a mine, “Fillers”, for example who are the miners that load the belt with the coal detached by others miners, the face workers, Orwell was obliged to describe those activities. This is a vocabulary typical in a mine and it’s not difficult to translate it to other languages, if you know this jargon, of course.

She and Einstein inspired my choice!

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

Albert Einstein 

I still remember the day when Silvia, my last year philosophy teacher at the High School, came to class and wrote this quote on the blackboard. Without knowing it, it changed my life.

Until then, I had studied physics, biology, mathematics, chemistry and other subjects that didn´t make me feel comfortable. I felt out of my place and, although I was not a bad student, the truth is that I couldn´t feel completely happy. I was desperate. In fact, I remember this last year as a horrible experience due to I couldn´t reach my goals and, for many moments, I thought I wouldn´t get the mark I needed to study in the University I wanted.

However, that day, this quote made me meditate and think that it was pointless to continue studying something I didn´t really love. That wasn´t my place and that's why I felt stupid doing it.

That was the reason, I decided to break with everything and change my entire life. The first option I put in my application for a place at university was, surprisingly for all, Advertising and Public Relations. Suddenly, I felt that communication area was the water for the lost fish I had been being.

application form

Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Blanca Gómez, I´m a 22-years-old student from Madrid and I am writing to apply for the Film Studies course from your Adult Education Programe. 

I´ve been looking for some courses to do this summer and I found this one on your website, in which I´m particularly interested.There are several reasons why I would like to do this course:

At first, I love films and I would like to know as much as possible about it.
Secondly, I´m studying history of Art and I have only one subject dedicated to films, so it´s almost impossible to get a wide knowledge about it in only four months. 

In addition, studying it from the point of view of a historician, I don´t have the opportunity to know many things about the technical side of films, so I think this course can be the perfect complement for me. I´m very interested in learning every aspect of all the technical processes of filmmaking, beyond the artistic side, and maybe it could give me a different perspective about future studies or become a new option for my future career. 

Thank you very much for your attention.

Yours faithfully,

Blanca.

NO CLASS MONDAY APRIL 27

Although the CSIM 'calendario' may seem to indicate something different, we have no class on April 27. However we DO have class on May 4.

Why is English so hard

Hi guys,

I've just found this video about the English history as an evolving languaje. I think is really amusing and interesting, and helps us undestanding why Eli sometimes says "even English people have problems with that".

http://mentalfloss.com/article/62995/why-english-spelling-so-weird

See you on Monday,

JJ

End of Course exam

The exams will be in the last two classes, May 18 and May 20. On May 18 you will have Listening, Reading and Use of English. On May 20 you will have Writing and Speaking.

Attendance is COMPULSORY. If you are not going to be able to attend on either of these dates you need to tell me as soon as possible so we can look for another session that you can attend. You will need to provide a JUSTIFCANTE if you need to change to a different date/time.

Jornada Gastronómica

Especialidades culinarias típicas de distintos países, concurso y sorteo de bonos de comida
Los distintos idiomas que se imparten en el CSIM presentan una selección de comidas típicas para su degustación.
También hay un concurso de preguntas sobre cultura y costumbres de los países representados en la Jornada Gastronómica para su posterior sorteo de bonos de comida en restaurantes típicos.
Actividad reservada para los alumnos del CSIM, que recibirán una invitación para ellos y sus amigos y que deberán presentar en los distintos puestos.

Miércoles 22/04 - 18:00 - 20:00. Cafetería de la Facultad de Derecho (jardín).

CSIM CINEMA

This Friday, 10/4, there is a special filmm session for CSIM students, absolutely free.

http://www.ucm.es/csim/noticias/actividades-culturales-marzo/abril-2015

The film is called 'The Sapphires' and it will be shown 16:00. Aula 404 / Facultad Filología A.

The secret world of Lewis Carroll

Hello everyone!!

I don´t usually watch many documentaries, but a few months ago I watched one by the BBC about dance, wich I found very interesting, and since them I´ve seen several more. As Eli told us in class once, documentaries are a very good way to improve our english and they´re easier to undestand than a film or a TV series, and the BBC has great documentaries. They´re not just the typical ones about wildlife, they talk about many different subjects, and I´ve brought you one that I´ve found really interesting.

This documentary is about the life and figure of Lewis Carroll, the famous author of The adventures of Alice in Wonderland.It explores the personality of the writer, his childhood and youth, and the origins of his famous story. This book, due to its particularity, has been surrounded by a kind of mistery, directly related to his also misterious writer. There are a lot of theories about the psichology and personal life of Lewis Carroll, and how them are implicit in the characters he created. The main one, Alice, is said to be inspired by the real Alice Liddell, the youngest of three sisters with whose family Carroll had a special relationship.

I don´t want to spoil you the rest of the story, but I cheer you up to watch it. It is very interesting and I think you all will like it.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Irlpvtwu1Rs

Photography course

Dear Mr. Alex Nikon

My name is David Gorricho and I'm interested in the photography course. I'm 20 years old and I'm studying computer engineering.

Last february, I recieved a reflex camera as a present for my 20th birthday. I thought that it would be easy to take good photos with a camera like that, but I've realised that it's not as simple as I supposed. I have taken a lot of photos with my new camera, some of them are really good, but I have the feeling that they are not good enough. I think that I could do better photos if I'd change some parameters and I wouldn't take the photos in automatic mode. But the problem is that I don't know what parameters I have to change and is because of that, that I'm interested in this course.

The other thing that I'd like to learn in the course are some tips about raster graphics editor. I've installed on my computer Photoshop and GIMP and I know basic things about them. But I know that both of them have a lot of options that I don't know and I'm interested in knowing how to use them. I'd like to know how to change the exposure, brightness, sharpness and all of these parameters to make the photo looks better.

Yours faithfully,

David Gorricho

APPLICATION LETTER

Dear Mr.

Richard Cunninghan,

I am writing in connection with the course of Contemporary English Art that you advertised in "El Pais" newspapers last week.

I am very keen on History and Art and since I am finishing my studies, I have attended a number of courses and masters related to the suject. I am well versed in a huge variety of Art Movements ,such as : Impressionism, Expressionism, Dadaism, Surrealism and Pop Art. Moreover, I have just finished a course in Moderm Art Designer in Ivory Press Gallery.

I enjoy being sourrounded by people talking about Art and I am used to all the vocabulary and material related with the theme.
I would be willing to give you further information about my experience or qualificationes if you required it. I believe that I would be a suitable candidate for this interesting course.
I enclose a brief curriculum vitae , just in case you want to know in deep my knowlegde and profesional experience in this field.


I would be happy to have an interview and I hope you will consider my application favourably.

Yours faithfully,

Charo Vidal.

Application letter

Dear Sir/Madam

My name is Victoria Fernández. I’m addressing this letter to you for getting a founding for the photography course offered in the adult education programme.

After a long labour life, I have obtained my retirement two years ago, and I think this is just the time of doing those things that I couldn’t do during my professional life. I have always been very fond of photography (I enclose a photo at the end of this letter as a little proof of my hobby). But unfortunately I have only got a basic knowledge in the digital system. It will be great if I could attend this course and improve my knowledge in this new technique.

This is why, on seen the advertisement, I thought it would be a good idea to apply for the founding as the only opportunity of attending this course that would permit me to improve my knowledge in digital photography.

On the other hand, as I have a lot of free time and I love to walk on the streets, I could return the value of the founding by rendering some public service to the community. I think it would be useful to the town hall that I would send photos of some problems in the streets, as a hole in the road, a paver out of place, a pool of oil, a broken floor tile, some remnants of a “botellón”…

I look forward to your answer. 

Yours faithfully,

Victoria Fernández 

Interested in learning.

Dear Mr. Cobblepot,

I`m looking forward to join your astronomy course. I would like to be familiar with the astronomy technical language and to learn about the universe as we can see it from the Earth. I’ve study geology at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and I’ve done a couple of courses about geology applied in planet exploration-just for you to know my background.-

I’ve always been fascinated with the night sky. A few years ago I bought a telescope, a Celestron NexStar 130 SLT Computerized Telescope, but despite my efforts I still have problems to use it properly. Please let me know if the Celestron will be enough to follow the practical lessons.

Thank you very much,

Yours faithfully,

Jesús Javier Rey Samper

Creative writing course

Dear Madam/Sir,

My name is Tomás García, and I'm currently studying journalism at the Complutense University of Madrid. I am writing this letter because I would like to take part in the creative writing course you offer.

Writing was always one of my hobbies, since I was a child, and now I have an active blog that I think will endorse what I say (https://notesofthomas.wordpress.com/). Therefore, I would love to enroll in the courses you offer, in order to improve my skills as a writer. The truth is that this type of learning seems essential to me, because in my future career I will be in constantly contact with the writing world.

Also, I want to share with you this little story, one of the most liked, posted on my previous blog:

'Life hit him and knocked him down to the ground. He stood up, faced her and said "you hit like a girl"'

‘La vida le golpeó y le tiró al suelo. Él, se levantó, la enfrentó y le dijo “pegas como una niña”’

Waiting for your soon answer.

Yours faithfully,

Tomás García

Application letter

Dear Sir / Madam,

My name is Jennifer Garcia. I am writing to you  in order to get funding to do the photography course that it is offered through the website of the education programme.

After studying a degree on Advertising and Public relationships, I did a master in Audio-visual Communication. However, it was not until a few years later when I discovered my true passion: photography. Although when I finished my studies at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid I only worked in different companies related to digital marketing and communication in social networks, the truth is that I have developed my passion for photography as a personal desire. In fact, not only do I take pictures in my travels, I also take them at every moment in my life. It is likely simple moments could become single ones with the right lens and an adequate approach angle.  

Here you have a little demonstration, a simple photo I took while I was enjoying a coffee with my friend:

For this reason, on seeing your notice, I instantly seized the opportunity to apply for the funding for doing the photography course. It will be great if I could attend this course and expand my innate capacity for photography with knowledge. Thus, I could become a true professional in this area.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Jennifer García 

ROALD DAHL

As our teacher said....we have to boots our learning this year, and for me,  the easier way is reading in English,
and just when you think that reading in English may be difficult and boring...
I would like to recomend GOING SOLO by  Roald Dahl.

Going Solo, is a note-book of the writer's memoirs during his journey from England to East Africa to take up his job with the Shell Oil company in 1938 and ends at the time he joins the RAF in the Second World War as a pilot.

One of the most intriguing aspects of his book is that you can see the real events and worries that he experienced during this period of his life.The book has even black and white personal photos as well as maps, telegrams, letters to his family that makes the book so personal.

Dahl never describes any horrors of the war. He tells us like a brother or a close friend what happened without any exaggeration and with a true perspective.

It is not a difficult book to read and arouses you interest in the journey and his participation in the war. Sometimes the humour in the face of a bad situation is fascinating.

If you want to know about Africa and the Second World War, I am sure you will be interested throughout the book which can give you a documentary insight into life in those years.
It is well worth reading.

And  as we talked about in class, I would like also, to encourage you to watch this funny video based in a poem of Dahl who say that is better read than watch t.v.
And that is why I like the video.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnRVfEL6178

Writing Coursework

As I said in class, I need ALL STUDENTS to have given me at least five pieces of writing for assessment by the end of April.

So far there are four assignments on this blog. You can hand them in a) on the blog, b) via email or c) on paper. There will be at least two more in class before the end of the course.

If you do any extra writing on the blog this will be taken in consideration. This includes comments on my posts and on your classmates' posts, posts on the reading material I have given you, posts about TV programmes or videos you have watched or you recommend, posts about things you have read and anthing else you would like to contribute!

Social Reportage

We read George Orwell's classic piece about the working conditions of miners in the 1930s.

I asked you in class to find, read and link to a contemporary piece of social reportage, and to be prepared to discuss it in class.

You can put links in comments to this post.

Mens sana in corpore sano

Juvenal, almost two thousand years ago, said mens sana in corpore sano, that is a latin aphorism, usually translated as a sound mind in a sound body. However, he wanted to say something a little different because the whole sentence is orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano, that is you should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body. Nowadays it’s only the second part that we use and it’s perhaps a good beginning for well-being.

Beyond this, each person has his own idea about the meaning of well-being. Some people think well-being is to have a lot of money, but this is only to have economic welfare that doesn’t assure happiness. Other people think the most important thing for being happy is to have a good job, but, if they haven’t any good friends or relatives, they’ll not be happy. Other people think friends or love is the most important thing for being happy, but it isn’t possible to live only with love or friends.

The best indeed would be to have a very good health, to be a good person, to have a lot of money, to have a good job or hobby, to have some good friends and to share life with a lovely person. But it’s difficult to have all that, so I think the real well-being is to have mens sana in corpore sano, that is, in my opinion, taking care of them and not desiring a lot of things but enjoying what you have.

Have you got a problem? Solve it!

Frequently, we’ve a lot of challenges and problems in our life. Some of them are easy problems and we solve them quickly. But others are very difficult problems, problems that when they appear on our life, we say: “It’s impossible”. I want to talk about these problems.

These quandaries can be of multiple kinds; maybe they’re related with an exam, with a relationship...
But it doesn’t matter about what the problem is, we only have to do one simple thing, try to solve it. The only problem that we can't solve is the one that we don't try.
Don’t worry if you fail one time, another, and another… It’s normal. After a new fail, we have to try again until we get it. There aren’t any stone that you can’t use for your own growth.

And don’t mind if the problem seems difficult. Do you think that Gutenberg thought that it would be easy to make a machine that allowed to copy books 6 centuries ago? Or what do you think that Tesla thought about electricity? Or Edison about bulbs? They invented that things because, although it seemed that it was really difficult, they tried.

So, an important as simple advice for your life, always, ALWAYS, try it!

“It always seems impossible until it is done.” – Nelson Mandela

HOW TO BE HAPPY ... WITH YOURSELF!

As Carrie Bradshaw asserts in the popular series Sex and the City, "the most important relationship in your life is the one you have with yourself. Because no matter what happens, you will always be with yourself". There are two simples steps in which not only can you find out how to get on well with yourself but also how to be happy with yourself. Do you dare to discover how get it?

First of all, you must love yourself before you can be loved. Have you ever tried looking yourself in yours bedroom´s mirror every morning before leaving home and drawing a smile on your face? I guess if you do it and you check your body having in mind it´s one of the greatest gifts the life has given you, you are sure to feel really happy of inhabit it.

Secondly, but not less important, you have to overcome yourself every day. Obviously, it´s nice to have idols. Nevertheless, it´s better to forget about comparisons with others and set your own goals due to the fact win is to overcome others, victory is to overcome yourself. Setting a viable challenge every month and reaching it will make you improve yourself and feel more confident. So, remember, it is important to stop comparing yourself with others because, this way, you will discover your own strengths.

Do you dare to try it? Do you dare to be happy with yourself? To be your best friend?