Tim Burton's a Genius!

I've just seen the movie Frankenweenie and I loved it so I highly recommend it to anyone. Don't let the fact that it's a black and white film put you off, it is funny, sweet, sad and just lovely. It's also full of references to the first Frankenstein films with Boris Karloff as The Monster, great films as well.
So I googled some and found out that Frankenweenie is actually a remake of a short film Tim Burton made in 1984. It is on youtube (dubbed in Spanish and the original) so check it out but not until you see the full length movie!
Tim Burton has used the stop motion technique in many of his films (both long and short). This animation technique makes a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own.
It is the technique used in the following 1982 short (under 6 minutes!) by Tim Burton.
The film is called Vincent and it is a beautiful tribute to Vincent Price, who narrates it. He was an American actor best known for his distinctive voice and his roles in horror films, including many Edgar Allan Poe adaptations.
Enjoy!

My name's Bond, James Bond

Are you excited about the new 007 (double o seven) movie? I am, a little. I'm not a great fan of the franchise but I'm really looking forward to this one. Maybe it is because our own Javier Bardem plays the villain ...
let's start enjoying Skyfall: watch the trailer and listen to the theme song by Adele:

A rose is a rose is a rose

The Backbone Zone Posters

The English language evolves so fast and that's not a bad thing. The real language is the one spoken by the people every day and not the one you sometimes find only in textbooks and dictionaries.
I firmly believe that and as a teacher I try to take that into account and sometimes allow my students some formal mistakes because they're really more authentic as they are widely used by native speakers. The more fluent students are familiar with them thanks to video games, television and music. They have learnt them watching their favourite shows, playing video games and listening to songs.
That creates another problem though. Through songs, dangerous words enter the language. They're dangerous because they are used mainly by teenagers, to whom those songs are aimed in the first place. They are also dangerous because they teach them to be discriminatory and violent. By giving positive words a negative meaning we are making associations which only lead to prejudice, inequity, intolerance and bigotry, AND WE MUST FIGHT THAT!!
That is what organizations like The Backbone Zone are doing, and in this case they're doing it brilliantly.
Everybody has a backbone. The Backbone Zone is a project to help students find theirs, and to give them tools to confront gender-bullying, sexual harassment, and sexist and homophobic language when they see and hear it. Check out their webpage, and facebook!

For Malala

You've probably heard in the news about Malala Yousufzai, the Pakistani teenage blogger who was shot in the head by the Taliban in an attempt to kill not only her but women's hopes in her country.
Malala had spoken out in a blog about the Taliban's closings of most girls schools in her country, how human rights were being taken away from women and girls systematically by their regime.
It is a sad world we live in.
Malala has survived this attack but she'll live the rest of her life under death threats.
I cannot express how saddened I feel about all this. Being a woman still is a risk in the 21st century; it seems to me that even more so than decades ago.
I leave you with a few of Malala's words, but you can read her blog here:

"I had a terrible dream yesterday with military helicopters and the Taleban. I have had such dreams since the launch of the military operation in Swat. My mother made me breakfast and I went off to school. I was afraid going to school because the Taleban had issued an edict banning all girls from attending schools. Only 11 students attended the class out of 27. The number decreased because of Taleban's edict. My three friends have shifted to Peshawar, Lahore and Rawalpindi with their families after this edict. On my way from school to home I heard a man saying 'I will kill you'. I hastened my pace and after a while I looked back if the man was still coming behind me. But to my utter relief he was talking on his mobile and must have been threatening someone else over the phone."

—Malala Yousafzai, 3 January 2009 BBC blog entry

"I was getting ready for school and about to wear my uniform when I remembered that our principal had told us not to wear uniforms - and come to school wearing normal clothes instead. So I decided to wear my favourite pink dress. Other girls in school were also wearing colourful dresses and the school presented a homely look.

My friend came to me and said, 'for God's sake, answer me honestly, is our school going to be attacked by the Taleban?' During the morning assembly we were told not to wear colourful clothes as the Taleban would object to it.
I came back from school and had tuition sessions after lunch. In the evening I switched on the TV and heard that curfew had been lifted from Shakardra after 15 days. I was happy to hear that because our English teacher lived in the area and she might be coming to school now."

 —Malala Yousafzai, 5 January 2009 BBC blog entry

The cost of university in Europe

There's a feature in today's Guardian about the number of universities, students, the cost of studying and more interesting information about different European countries. How does Spain rate? Find out here

Are you a lost generation?

With this huge and long-lasting crisis, for many young Spaniards (and not so young) finding a job is an impossible task. Even if they were lucky enough to finally find one, they would most probably be underpaid and overworked. This makes me so sad... To think you will probably have to migrate to be able to earn a living!
It is not a bad thing to go abroad to work, in my opinion it is something everyone should try at least for a period of time. But the reasons you do it shouldn't be because you have no alternative. It feels like there's no future, as the Sex Pistols would say...
Let's hope the answer to the question is NO.
There's an interesting piece of news on today's Guardian about this topic. I highly recommend it so here's the link:
Unemployment Special

Happy World Book and Copyright Day!

"Translation is the first step towards the rapprochement of peoples, and is also a decentralizing experience, teaching diversity and dialogue. Translation is one of the driving principles of our creative diversity, which enriches each language through contact with all the others."

Irina Bokova, Director General
Message for World Book and Copyright Day 2012

By celebrating this Day throughout the world, UNESCO seeks to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright. 

23 April is a symbolic date for world literature, since 23 April 1616 was the date of death of Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. 23 April is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo.

• Source: Unesco's World Book and Copyright Day

  
  

  So there's not much I want to add to that but I do want to finish this post with an English translation of a beautiful poem by Pablo Neruda. Neruda is one of my favourite poets and although it is much better to read poetry in its original language sometimes that's not possible. I thank all the translators who have made it possible for us to enjoy the works of so many different authors. They do an amazing job at translating the sometimes untranslatable.

  
  

  Taken from: Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada (Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair)
  Translated by W.S. Merwin
  
  The poem read by Glen Close:
  
  
  
  Me gustas cuando callas
  by Pablo Neruda
  
  
  Me gustas cuando callas porque estás como ausente,
  y me oyes desde lejos, y mi voz no te toca.
  Parece que los ojos se te hubieran volado
  y parece que un beso te cerrara la boca.
  Como todas las cosas están llenas de mi alma
  emerges de las cosas, llena del alma mía.
  Mariposa de sueño, te pareces a mi alma,
  y te pareces a la palabra melancolía.
  Me gustas cuando callas y estás como distante.
  Y estás como quejándote, mariposa en arrullo.
  Y me oyes desde lejos, y mi voz no te alcanza:
  déjame que me calle con el silencio tuyo.
  Déjame que te hable también con tu silencio
  claro como una lámpara, simple como un anillo.
  Eres como la noche, callada y constelada.
  Tu silencio es de estrella, tan lejano y sencillo.
  Me gustas cuando callas porque estás como ausente.
  Distante y dolorosa como si hubieras muerto.
  Una palabra entonces, una sonrisa bastan.
  Y estoy alegre, alegre de que no sea cierto.
  
  
  English Translation
  
  
  I Like for You to be Still
  
  
  I like for you to be still: it as though you were absent,
  and you hear me from far away and my voice does not touch you
  It seems as though your eyes had flown away
  and it seems that a kiss had sealed your mouth.
  As all things are filled with my soul
  you emerge from the things, filled with my soul.
  You are like my soul, a butterfly of dream,
  and you are like the word Melancholy.
  I like for you to be still, and you seem far away.
  It sounds as though you were lamenting, a butterfly cooing like a dove
  And you hear me from far away, and my voice does not reach you:
  Let me come to be still in your silence.
  And let me talk to you with your silence
  that is bright as a lamp, simple as a ring.
  Your are like the night, with its stillness and constellations.
  Your silence is that of a star, as remote and candid.
  I like for you to be still: it is as though you were absent,
  distant and full of sorrow as though you had died.
  One word then, one smile, is enough.
  And I am happy, happy that it’s not true.