the butler

The butler is a drama film that was recently on cinemas. Directed by Lee Daniels, it is about Cecil Gaines' life, the White House's butler for more than thirty years. The film narrates the story of this loyal man, who's been at the service of five presidents. It starts with his difficult childhood and ends up... (I'm definitely not telling you!) in 2008.

I really liked this film, it makes you think about really important thinks such as racism and also history issues. The plot is very exciting indeed, and the scene selection is really well done. This film is so moving that you have to make your best trying not to cry, and also disturbing (then you have to hold your breath..).

My advise is to look for some information about the US history, and to ask yourself something: is racism still alive in our society? And of course... do not miss this great film about equality and human rights!

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Have you ever found yourself changing TV channels non-stop and being able to watch two soaps at the time? I have, and it is terribly annoying. Maybe it is not the same in your country, but in Spain you have to keep patient if you want to follow a complete episode of any program.

At first, they allow you to watch a few minutes and get stuck to the plot. But when things really start to happen, they give you an extra dose of advertisements long enough to make you lose faith and change channel! What’s curious is that you will soon find an interesting program that’s just about to finish. OK, perhaps I’m not the luckiest guy watching TV and there may be someone who’s got all the ads and programs schedules under control. However, if they’re able to switch channel and watch soap after soap (I think if this person exists, it must be a lonely, and bored, old person who spends the day sewing and swallowing Latin series) it is because there’s time enough of breaks to combine two programs in an afternoon.

Though I have to say that there are some really funny commercials, that worth it. Such as some moving and even disturbing ones… so you can comfort yourself thinking that there’s someone who does well his job behind this amount of advertisements. 

These are two commercials I really like, the second one is in spanish but it is maybe better not to understand what it says because it is disturbing... hope you enjoy them! 

phone addiction

Imagine you're walking in the street, or staring on the underground... What would you see? I'm sure: a lot of people writing on their mobile, playing on their iPhone or scrolling their BB's central ball. Now, think of this images a few years ago, people would be reading, talking to each other or just staring... Our lifestyle has changed, or better said, something has changed in our lives: mobile phones!

A mobile phone is so practical when you need to talk to someone who's not with you at this time, or even to search for information you are really interested on. But somehow we've turned this useful device to an addiction. And that's what I'm worried about.

In my opinion, we should give more attention to real life and leave our virtual side for those boring moments you really don't know what to do. The first reason is that I find very annoying -and rude- when talking to someone he suddenly takes his mobile phone and starts laughing to a shiny screen (am I that boring?). There's more; you quickly get used to the "easy-writing" of virtual chats, a writing that actually has plenty of mistakes and absurd words such as wrong abbreviations. And the final one, related with the first, is a reason and also a fact: There's a lot of people very kind and confident on chats, but when you meet them you realize they're not that nice nor that chatty, because they're occupied talking on their phones to people they will meet later to show them how fast they type on their phone sending messages to you... (Absurd, right?)  

In conclusion, we use too much our mobiles and pay not enough attention to what's happening around us, and this way... we'll waist our lifetime.

To end up, try something: leave your mobile phone in your pocket, bag or wherever you carry it, and use it only when you strictly need it (difficult, isn't it?)... 

Protest song

Macklemore's "wings" is a very inspiring song that criticises our consumer society and tells the story of a little boy obsessed with nike shoes... Do you think they worth it?

WINGS

I was seven years old, when I got my first pairAnd I stepped outside
And I was like, momma, this air bubble right here, it's gonna make me fly
I hit that court, and when I jumped, I jumped, I swear I got so highI touched the net, momma I touched the net, this is the best day of my lifeAir Max's were next,
That air bubble, that mesh
The box, the smell, the stuffin', the tread, in school
I was so cool
I knew that I couldn't crease 'em
My friends couldn't afford 'em
Four stripes on their Adidas
On the court I wasn't the best, but my kicks were like the pros
Yo, I stick out my tongue so everyone could see that logo
Nike Air Flight, but bad was so dope
And then my friend Carlos' brother got murdered for his Fours*, whoa
See he just wanted a jump shot, but they wanted to start a cult though
Didn't wanna get caught, from Genesee Park to Othello
You could clown for those Pro Wings, with the VelcroThose were not tightI was trying to fly without leaving the ground,Cause I wanted to be like Mike, right
Wanted to be him, I wanted to be that guy, I wanted to touch the rim
I wanted to be cool, and I wanted to fit in,
I wanted what he had, America, it begins
[Chorus:]
I want to fly
Can you take me far awayGive me a star to reach forTell me what it takesAnd I'll go so high
I'll go so high
My feet won't touch the ground
Stitch my wings
And pull the strings
I bought these dreams
That all fall down
We want what we can't have, commodity makes us want it
So expensive, damn, I just got to flaunt it
Got to show 'em, so exclusive, this that new shitA hundred dollars for a pair of shoes I would never hoop inLook at me, look at me, I'm a cool kidI'm an individual, yea, but I'm part of a movement
My movement told me be a consumer and I consumed it
They told me to just do it, I listened to what that swoosh said
Look at what that swoosh did
See it consumed my thoughts
Are you stupid, don't crease 'em, just leave 'em in that box
Strangled by these laces, laces I can barely talk
That's my air bubble and I'm lost, if it pops
We are what we wear, we wear what we are
But see I look inside the mirror and think Phil Knight tricked us all
Will I stand for change, or stay in my box
These Nikes help me define me, but I'm trying to take mine, off
[Chorus:]
I want to fly
Can you take me far awayGive me a star to reach forTell me what it takesAnd I'll go so high
I'll go so high
My feet won't touch the ground
Stitch my wings
And pull the strings
I bought these dreams
That all fall down
It started out, with what I wear to school
That first day, like these are what make you cool
And this pair, this would be my parachuteSo much more than just a pair of shoesNah, this is what I amWhat I wore, this is the source of my youth
This dream that they sold to you
For a hundred dollars and some change
Consumption is in the veins
And now I see it's just another pair of shoes

[...] I first liked this song because how it sounded, but I soon looked for the lyrics and started loving it. It talks about something really important in our society, we are all obsessed on fashion and we often fall in that awful topic: "you worth what you have", and this is quite worrying. But we can change it. It is as easy as love people just because who they are and pay more attention to personality and less to clothes. I also understand, however, that some people like fashion (I actually do) but... you can make your own style without falling into consume's sharp. So... we could try to leave our consumer side in "that" box.

Introducing myself...

I'm Miquel Sarquella, from 1st bat B. I'm sixteen years old and I live in st.Pere Pescador. However, I was born in Palamós because my family used to live there, until I was two that my parents decided to move out because of their job. Now they own two sailing schools, one in st.Pere and the other in Empuriabrava; as a result I also sail. I compete in races on a dinghy called 420. I really enjoy the competitions but what we actually do the most is training... Almost every weekend I go to Blanes (where my club is located) and practice about four hours a day, I have to wake up very early to arrive on time, but it's OK. When I'm not sailing I do some other sports, such as windsurfing or paddle-surfing, but during the week I don't have much time 'cause obviously I have to go to school...

A lot of people don't like school, but I do. I have fun learning new things and I do think that it is very important to posses a lot of knowledge. Although my best skills are maths and physics, I also enjoy learning languages, that's why apart from learning english at school I go once a week to German classes. At first it was very difficult and everyone told me that I would drop the academy as soon as I started with grammar, but after some months of hard work it has become something really interesting and now I'm able to speak a little of german (at least I was before summer..!). I think that speaking some languages will help me to find a job in a future, by the moment I want to study architecture but... Who guess if I may change my mind and need to speak a foreign language?