Techno D-Day

I love technology.

Seriously! When I was little I liked Barbies and then, when I probably should have started liking clothes, handbags and shoes, something happened and I started liking technology. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I like music, films and the like, instead of looking pretty... or tidy... (I know it's silly, but I'm just trying to find a reason here, I'm no specialist, OK?)

As I was saying, I love technology. Whenever I bought something new my father told me to wear it when it's cold (as a way of saying I should have bought clothes instead). And I think he is right (unfortunately), because I haven't got many nice clothes to wear for work...

Anyway, my favourite piece of technology has to be my iPod. It's so snob! But I always wanted to have one and now I have it and I can even play solitario on it. I hate solitario, but I love my iPod so I play it anyway because it's in it. And the iPod is so cool! It makes playlists with the songs I like most, which is like the coolest thing ever, because the mp3 player I used to have, said it did the same thing but in the end it played songs I didn't even know why I had put in it in the first place...

This week you have to write about your favourite piece of technology. If you don't like technology you could tell us why (because you have to write something whether you want it or not).

You have to mention:

- What it is.

- When you got it.

- How you use it.

- How often you use it.

- Why you like it.

- What life would be like with out it.

>> 180 words minimum.

>> Include a picture.

>> Comment on at least 2 of your classmates’ blogs.

People Take Pictures of Each Other

I like this picture a lot. I think it really captures they myth that has been created around the person in it. 

That person is Ian Curtis, the singer of one of my favourite bands, Joy Division.

I don't know if you know who he is or if you have heard this band. They were an English band formed in 1976. They only released 2 records, the first one while Ian was still alive, the second one after he had already died. 

His life story is quite interesting. He got epilepsy and that is believed to be one of the reasons why he decided to commit suicide back in 1980 (since the medicine he had to take to keep his disease under control is supposed to have caused him depression) among other things, such as the fact he had a lover and no longer wanted to be with his wife, or something like that (the essence of those troubled times can be felt in one of their best songs: Love Will Tear Us Apart). 

When he died, the band continued to exist, but they changed their name to New Order, in case you know them. However, Joy Division's music is really different from New Order's. Joy Division are considered a Post-Punk band, while New Order played electronic, synthpop music.

Anyway, this photo was taken by Anton Corbijn, a Dutch photographer, music video and film director. He is famous for having worked with U2 and Depeche Mode, so maybe you have seen some of his work... or maybe you haven't xD

The story of the photo is simple, it was taken during one of Joy Division's rehearsals, when Ian was taking a break. That was back in the 70s.

Today, you'll have to choose one of your favourite photos and tell us about it.

In your post you can mention:

- Who took it
- What it shows
- When it was taken
- Why you like it
- Any other information you think is important.

Write a minimum of 200 words.
Add comments to at least 2 of your classmates’ blogs

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If you want to know more about Joy Division and Ian Curtis in particular, you can watch Control, a movie directed by the same Anton Corbijn about Ian's life with the band. This is the trailer:

Down in Albion

You'll never find me in this picture

When I was 16 all I wanted in my whole life was to learn English, go to England and work there doing the dishes at some bar or restaurant. Seriously, with my best friend from school we used to daydream about this (well, I'm not sure she daydreamed about the 'washing the dishes' part, because she's never liked doing dishes in the first place, but she certainly dreamt about being there with me).

We were so silly, really, because we had this strange idea that life there would be different and funnier than life here (as if there were no Sundays in England or something) and that we would meet Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, and Thom Yorke so easily just because we were Chilean, hence, exotic (yeah, right) and we would have their thousand babies and all.

Well, our original plan didn't really include the washing the dishes bit as part of our goal, really. What we wanted to achieve once there was higher education and stuff. We wanted to study film making and become film directors and make movies and meet Ewan McGregor and have his babies also (OK. We didn't really want to have their babies, but we wouldn't have minded...) I know we were kind of desperate back then, but that's one of the things that can happen when you study at a girls school xD

For us, England was a dream. We were young and shallow (the latter I still am, though), we didn't care about imperialism and things like that, we thought our lives would change if we spoke English, we wanted to go to England and visit all those places we'd heard about...

I think we were quite silly, really, but one is allowed to be silly when she's in her teens, I think... so I don't feel embarrassed about it at all.

Now, what you have to do today is tell us what country you'd like to visit. In your post, include the following:

- Which country would you like to go to? Why?
- What do you know about it?
- What would you like to do there?
- Would you like to study/work/live there? Explain.

Remember to:
- Make comments on 2 of your classmates’ posts
- Word Count: at least 180 words

Ask me if you have any queries!!

Mythology (or something like it)

When I turned 19, my best friend from school, who at the time was studying at university with me and now is working with me here, teaching the other section of Argumentative Writing, gave me a very special birthday gift. 

We had class that morning, and she arrived and told me that, as a birthday gift, she was giving me and her matching tattoos of our favourite band as a sign of our friendship (and a token of our madness about the band).

She brought a series of images of some drawings made by the band's singer and his artist friend which we liked a lot and we had already considered getting tattooed. I had to choose one and we would both get it tattooed on the same place of our body. 

It was a sudden decision that was going to last for the rest of our lives, so we discussed it a lot (I think). The thing is that I chose this drawing which is supposed to be a crying minotaur... And that's how we both ended up having something which looks like a Pokemon tattooed on our arms. But it is not a Pokemon, it's a Minotaur!! ¬¬

And that's pretty much everything I know about mythology xD Although I must confess I also looked it up on Wikipedia and I found out some other stuff but I forgot it immediately. 

However, this is an extract about the Minotaur so you understand why it is mythology and not my invention (joking! I know you know I know and we all know it is mythology, we're not that uninformed):

"In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull". He dwelt at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus, on the command of King Minos of Crete. The Minotaur (SPOILER!!) was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus." (taken from "the Bible", aka Wikipedia)

Now, this week you have to write about mythology. Whatever that means... 

In your post you can mention:

- a specific mythological story you find interesting

- why you find it interesting

- what it consists of

- whatever else mythological you can think of

• Please, write at least 180 words on the topic.
• Leave comments on 2 of your classmates' entries.
• Include a photo or something we can look at related to the topic.

Atrocity Exhibition

I have been to a few concerts that have been really important for me (and I meant REALLY), for example the two by Radiohead and the four by Morrissey I've been to. However, one of the shows I have enjoyed most in my whole freaking life was Jarvis Cocker’s. That show was amazing, mostly because the guy is amazing. He’s funny, he interacted with people in the funniest way (making references to Chilean slang when introducing his songs), and he is just the best performer I have ever seen live. Seriously, he’s the best performer ever. He beats grumpy Morrissey, Thom Yorke, amazingly-cool P.J. Harvey and the oh-so-stylish Brett Anderson singing Suede’s first and second album’s marvellous songs.

Just so you have an idea of how powerful his performance is, let me tell you about my friend Felipe.

When we had just entered university, my friends and I had a study session at one of our houses. I don’t know why, but I took a Pulp video (yes, a video!) to that study session, so at one point after all the studying (yeah, right) we decided to watch the video. I think that’s when Felipe saw the light, because after that he wanted to be just like Jarvis, straight like Jarvis and all (though that didn’t go very well), he downloaded Pulp’s albums and listened to them all the time, probably imagining Jarvis twitching on stage whilst he listened. I’m sure he agrees Jarvis’s show was the best ever, even when he didn’t sing any of Pulp’s songs (I love his solo work so that wasn’t a problem) that is a show I wish I had videotaped or engraved in my brain or something (I think I have it in mp3 somewhere).

Today we have two options for the task, but you only have to write about ONE, just like I did.

You can write about a singer/band you like or a concert/exhibition you've been to.

If you write about a band/singer, you have to include:

- name
- what do you know about them?
- what type of music do they play?
- why do you like this artist/band?
- what's your favorite song? why?
- publish a picture or video
- 180 words minimum
- make 3 comments on your classmates posts.

If you write about a concert/exhibition, you have to include:

- what was it?
- when did you go?
- where was it?
- why did you like it?
- mention more details about it
- publish a related picture or video
- 180 words minimum
- make 3 comments on your classmates posts.

Let me know if you have any questions!!