Working for the Man

When I was 16 or something, all I wanted to do in life was to go to Britain and live there and speak English and work doing dishes. Seriously! I had no other ambition or plan. In fact, with my best friend from school (who's teaching this course also) we had this plan where we would go to the USA and do the cleaning there, save money and then go to Britain and meet our favourite artists and marry them all and have their thousand babies. Sometimes I think I would like to have a job like that, you know, and I don't mean having babies, I mean cleaning or doing dishes, without having to worry about studying, marking tests, preparing lessons or writing blogs for the argumentative writing course xD I would spend my weekends relaxing and having fun to start a week of cleaning on Mondays. I'd like that, maybe one day I will do it... or maybe not :S

What about you? Do you have an ideal/dream job you would like to have? For example, as a game tester? Or a wine taster? or an American sitcoms watcher? Maybe you dream of not having a job, like I also do, but we don't really care about those boring not-doing-anything dream jobs, we want to know what you would do if you could do anything you wanted in terms of working somewhere and earning money. 

In your entry you can mention:

- What your position would be

- What your job would consist of

- Where in the world it would be

- Who you would work with

- How many hours a week/day you would work

- Anything else you can think of related to the topic

Write at least 180 words

Post comments on 2 of your classmates' entries

Include a photo or video related to the topic

Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others

For me, the best TV show of all time has to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This TV show tells the story of a girl who suddenly becomes the slayer, a girl in charge of protecting the world from all the demons and vampires on it.

Buffy’s story is very sad, as she had to struggle with a responsibility she never wanted in the first place, having to do things she doesn’t really want to do and being considered as a trouble maker even by her mother, who doesn’t know the truth about Buffy’s behaviour, that is, the huge responsibility she has on her shoulders.

However, that’s not all there is about Buffy! The plot thickens when she falls in love with a vampire, the only vampire who has a soul (hence, he doesn’t kill people). His name is Angel (or Angelus when he becomes an evil vampire). Angel is one of the oldest vampires in the world, who was known for being really evil until he made the mistake of killing a gipsy princess. When that happened, the gipsies put a spell on him giving him his soul back, which made him feel really bad for all the evil things he had done in his past. Because of this, Angel spends his never-ending life looking for the slayers and helping them fight the evil in the world. That’s how he meets Buffy, and eventually falls in love with her. Now this bit is really terrible, as they love each other but there’s nothing they can do about their love, first, because she’s supposed to kill him, secondly because he’ll never die and Buffy will, and third because even when they love each other they cannot ‘consummate their love’ as that is the only thing that can take Angelus soul away, which would make him extremely evil again.

I really liked Buffy! Lots of things happened on this TV show, things that could make you think about life, what’s real, responsibilities, and other things. When I was in my teens, my sisters used to watch this TV show and I would laugh about them because I thought it was terrible, but when I started watching it that completely changed. I became addicted to it. For me, Buffy was a real inspiration, especially when I witnessed unfair things happening around me. For example, one day these people were making fun of a Japanese boy on the bus and I defended him feeling all Buffy. Another day this guy started telling me really gross sexual things on the street and I kicked his ass and hit him real hard feeling all Buffy. Buffy rocks! She was a girl and she fought against evil monsters, she killed vampires, demons and trolls. I really wanted to be like her (even if instead of trolls I had to fight horny men on the street, or racist people on the bus). Buffy is the best and I cried my eyes out when she died (SPOILER). I didn’t even want to eat my hamburger that night and I never lose appetite (especially when there are hamburgers for supper). In the end I ate it anyway (but I didn’t enjoy it, OK? Because I was really sad).

Is there a TV Show you really like? I really hope there is one because today you have to write about it. In your entry, you could include the following things:

- What’s the TV show about

- Why you like it

- How it is different from other TV shows you’ve watched

- How it made you feel

- What the characters were like

- Etc.

• Write at least 200 words
• Please, leave comments on 2 of your classmates' posts.
• Include a photo/video/something visual on your entry.

TV Movie

There are many films that I like, so I really couldn't choose one. I could mention the first movie I saw that made me feel something different from what I had ever experienced watching films, though.

It is probably kind of cliché, but I was about 10 or 11 years old which means I was allowed to feel things with cliché stuff. My 'first' film (which is not really the first movie I saw, but it is the first one I loved) is called Cinema Paradiso (1988), by Giuseppe Tornatore, with Philippe Noiret (heart). I remember I watched it one night on channel 13, when the rest of my sisters where at my parents' bedroom watching something else with them. I remember they used to show that film on TV every year and I had never felt the need to watch it before, but that year it was different.

When I was watching that film I realised movies could make me feel really strong feelings, things I had never experienced before. I loved the story, even when it's a very common concept to explore and it's been done many times in film history up to these days.

This is the typical story about an adult and a child and how this adult influences and changes this kid's life. I remember I cried my eyes out! I loved it so much. I loved what this cinema meant to the people who lived in this village, how they showed it as a place with a history, where different events that where part of the history of the village took place. I still love that story, to be honest. It makes me feel something deep inside my stomach which always ends up making me cry. But it's a different kind of crying; it's a mix of happiness, and melancholy for something I have never experienced. Probably that's the reason why I like this movie so much, because it made me realise movies were more than a story on a screen, as they can also be something you cannot even name, deep inside your stomach that gives you the goosebumps.

Well, this week you'll have to write about YOUR favourite movie or movies in general.

Whatever movie/film/genre it is, you have to:

- Leave a comment on 2 of your classmates posts

- Write about: 150 - 180 words

- Include a photo/video, you know, something we can look at.

The Clash

But not any clash, a culture clash.

Do you know what that is?

Don't worry, because today you'll have to search the web for information on what culture clash is and provide an example of a culture clash that called your attention, that is, the one that you found more interesting/weird/shocking of all the ones you read about on the web.

It's really important that you:

- Explain what a culture clash is

- Provide an example of one

- Say why you chose that example

- Mention if you have experienced a culture clash yourself (and narrate that experience, as well)

• Word count: 200-280 
• Leave comments on 2 of your classmates' entries
• Include a photo or video or anything catchy related to the topic.

Music is my Radar

Music means a lot to me. If it wasn't for music I wouldn't be here writing in English, I wouldn't be the person I am... Who knows where I would be if I hadn't discovered music!

When I first started listening to the music I like now I was 13 years old. Back then I discovered my first favourite band, and they are still one of my faves. I remember I used to listen to them every morning and, as we only had one radio at home, everyone was obliged to listen to them too. That's the reason why my parents and sisters at home know them so well and like them too, even when back then they used to complain because I would take over the radio and wouldn't let anyone else listen to other music at all. They hated me, but I didn't mind.

Anyway, I guess you voted 'music' because it means something to you too, so that's what this week's post is going to be about.

What you have to do is write about Music and how it affects your life. You could mention:

- What music means to you

- When you first started listening to the music you like

- Why you like it/What it makes you feel

- Your favourite band/musician/singer/album/genre

- Who first introduced you to your favourite band/singer

- etc...

In this post you MUST:

- Write 180-200 words.

- Include a photo or video of your favourite band/singer/musician.

- Comment on 2 of your classmates' posts.

Speak in Tongues

Hi all and welcome to another blogging session. We hope the computer 'gawds' are with us today ¬¬.

Today's topic is an interesting one, in a theoretical sense. Maybe for you it's boring, but we don't really care because this is university and here boring is good.

Now, for this topic we won't say much, we'll only give you the theme and you have to find out about it on the Internet to later write about it on your own blog, using your own words. You could, for example, include your personal opinion and experiences related to it, besides referring to what the topic is, of course.  So we could say this is more like a research type of task and what you write about the topic is up to you, just make sure it IS related to the topic, i.e., it's not nonsense or dada.

Well, this week you'll have to write about Bilingualism, something we have also dealt with previously (in last week's assignment, in case you wondered :P)

Please, do your research and write on! 

• Do so in about 150-200 words.
• Include a photo or video or anything visual (and legal) related to it, in order to make your post more eye-catching.
• Don't forget to leave comments on 2 of your classmates' entries.

Thank you and good luck!

Paperbag Writer

Hi all and welcome to this new term!

As you may already know, this term we will be using the lab to work on blogs. The idea is that you express yourselves and interact using them.

The blogs system is quite simple. Each week you will have a task which you will have to carry out. There will be a topic and a specific number of words that you will have to use to develop this topic. Additionally, you will have to post comments on your classmates' entries. This last part is also obligatory!

If you do the whole task during class you will get 2 points for the corresponding blog session. If you do it at home, you will get 1 point*. And if you never do it you'll get 0 points. These activities are part of the portfolio mark, so it is very important that you do them.

In order to start working with the blogs, you will have to create your own blog and customize it. 

To create your blog, go to www.blogger.com. Your blog has to be ENTIRELY in English, so make sure you select that language in the settings of your blog.

Once you have created your blog you can customize it, using your favourite pictures or photos on the background, special fonts, colours, etc.. If you don't know how to do this, explore! This is also a useful way of getting familiar with the blogger's language in English.

Is your blog ready? Send your blog's address to the course e-mail argumentative2012@gmail.com.

Now it's time to write this week's task.

Since this is the first week of the Argumentative Writing course, we want you to write about....

WRITING!! Yes, it took us ages to come up with this idea ;) No, but seriously, this is an excellent way of getting in the mood for what's coming this term.

You can cover these points as a way of helping you develop this topic:

- Do you like writing? Why?/Why not?

- How do you feel about writing in English? Is it easier/more difficult for you than writing in your mother tongue? Why?

- Have you ever had to write an essay or paper in your mother tongue? What about English? How did that go?/How do you think it would go (if you haven't already done it)?

- What do you expect to learn in this course? Do you think it will be useful knowledge? Why? What for?

- Etc.

• Your entry has to be written in 120-150 words. 
• Leave comments in 2 of your classmates' entries.