my time in Castelló

Dear blog: we have to talk... This is over; it's not you, it's me. I'm gone.

As you will already know if you have read my recent work on the blog, I'm finishing baccalaureate. In fact, I already have. I've survived final exams and all there's left to do now is preparing university entrance examinations.

My time in Castelló is over and my path in life starts to define... now it's probably the best moment to look back and check how much have I improved since I started writing on this space. As I consider, there's quite a difference between my first posts on September 2013 and the last stuff I have been publishing these days.

To check this difference, I've searched my first post here ever, titled "My dreams". On that post I talked about my aspirations in life and about some short-term dreams. Compared with my last work it's easy to notice an obvious lack of vocabulary both for adjectives and verbs. The structure of the text was simple and so were my sentences. I've detected mistakes, some of which are possibly typing mistakes, but not all. To my surprise, I've discovered that I wasn't very fond of using capital letters back then!

Apart from the linguistic aspects that you can check if you go to the link above, I've noticed a personal development. I've laughed at myself when I've read that I already wanted to be an architect, however, I did not only want to design buildings, but also challenge the laws of physics! I'm glad to check that I've achieved one of the short-term dreams I exposed there: I've obviously improved a lot my sailing skills.

If we focus now on my current English competence, we could say I've reached the C1 level, which I expect to achieve officially on Saturday 6th of June, when I'll be doing the Advance level Cambridge exam. Referring to writing skills, I feel whenever I write a significant improving on my vocabulary and sentence structures as well as an improvement on my text structures and also maturity. A good example of that would be my post "Every day closer"; rich in connectors, new vocabulary (at least for me) and compound sentences. I've also chosen this post because it illustrates my personal moment now: heading to university.

Finally, I'd like to talk about my oral skills. Although I'm not able to prove it with evidence here on the blog, I can feel whenever I talk that I can speak fluent English. My spontaneous vocabulary has also increased a lot and I think that my pronunciation is every day a bit better thanks to the films and songs I listen to in English.

All there's left to say on this final post is thank you. Thank you for having read my publications, my tasks but also my thoughts. Thank you, teachers from Castelló, for enabling me to speak another language! From now on I'll continue studying English in order to, some day, be able to speak it not as a second language but as a mother language.

Before saying goodbye, I want to wish luck to all my mates, who are also about to walk some of the most important steps in their lives. All the best to you, and all the best to Gemma, Esther, Milco, and, specially, to Sonia, my English teachers!!!

what money can't buy

A while ago we listened in class to Michael Sandel's TED talk titled "what money can't buy". This intriguing exposition that turned into debate when Sandel introduced the following idea: is it good to pay students for reading books in order to enhance their interest in the subject?; left me thoughtful for several days.

As I see it, there's no point in paying children to read. Reading is a passion that grows from inside enhanced by motivations from our background: to see our family enjoying a book, to be provided the books that suit the best for us according to our age, personality and maturity, to present reading as a pleasure, not an obligation...

Going back to the general issue he was trying to introduce, "can money buy everything?" I must say I consider that unfortunately nowadays it is possible to achieve almost everything if you're affluent. Therefore, I'd like to bring in a new question: is it worth the same something achieved with money than something achieved with personal effort?

Obviously, the result is the same: you wanted something and you get something. However, from my point of view, those who achieved their goal working for it feel a great dose of reward that those who achieved it just for the sake of their fortune will lack. The lucky ones who own a great amount of money and get what they want whenever they want will probably feel unsatisfied and their desire to acquire things will only grow and grow indefinitely.

With these words I wouldn't want to lead to misunderstandings, so I have to clarify that I've got nothing against the rich. I just think that even them, should teach their children to work for things, so that they would learn that money is just a tool, an exchange value, not a goal, and that things achieved with personal effort are much more worthy than those just bought.

Let me return to our main concern, money can buy a lot of things, but not everything. We can't confuse the utility of money to exchange work for devices with the materialism we're reaching, where people tend to think that emotions, and humanity can be purchased...

Take a look to Sandel's talk and get your own conclusions.

everyday closer

As you may be fed up of reading posts about my dream of becoming an architect, I will talk today about my dream of becoming an architect;)

I wrote some weeks ago that I could see university approaching and I was quite scared about it. Well, I am still a bit worried about the changes my life will experience in the next six months, however, I couldn't wait for them to come more eagerly.

Two days ago I was looking through information about the grade, when I came across with the official page of the UPC (the University where I'll be coursing my studies), (what a chance, right?) and found the documents where every subject is analyzed and presented to the students. I must confess I was afraid of finding something disappointing. Nevertheless, what I found only increased my excitement about this degree. I was very pleased too to discover that UPC is rated both by students and by official european institutions as the third best university in Spain, and the best one in terms of architecture.

To conclude this last My say about architecture, I will just promise something I hope to fulfill: as early as I will have concluded my first project, I will link it here for you to check it out!

trip to Cadiz

Perhaps I will surprise you a little if I now start talking about my trip to Cadiz, where I went in Easter. Although it is a bit late, I would like to tell you about it anyway.

I had to "skip" school on Friday in order to get there as early as possible. After fourteen hours in the road, we made it to Cadiz. That was a long night... We arrived at ten in the morning. We were warmly received by a lovely temperature of 26ºC. The same day, we unloaded the boats and accommodated in the hotel we were staying in.

We spent the first days training, until Wednesday, the day before the competition started, when we went to Tarifa. I really liked to go there, because it was the first time in my life I ever spotted Africa. The town was a bit like a slum, but the coast was paradisiac. Unfortunately I wasn't able to surf nor kite there, because I was with my sailing team and we wanted to stay together. 

On Thursday the Spanish Nationals started with a ridiculously light wind... on Friday we had almost 30knts and we managed to rise in the classifications, but finally we didn't make it into the gold fleet due to the disastrous result we did on Thursday. However, and although it may sound like the words of a loser, we learnt a lot and we kept on ascending positions every day.

That trip ended on Sunday, with an hilarious party night and a hard way back home... I enjoyed those days of "mini-summer" a lot and I wanted to share them with you. I really recommend to visit southern Spain, it is a beautiful zone with lovely people.

summer 2015

Sometimes, it seems to me that the year of a student consists of two periods: one enjoying vacation, and the other waiting anxiously for summer.

I would like to be an exception, yet I am not. Although I really enjoy school and learning and all that great stuff we're supposed to like, I prefer a thousand times summer. Who doesn't? 

Now that we're finishing off the school year, one of the hardest ones I've ever lived, I'm eagerly planning my summer: I've got a long list of "to do's". First of all I must get good marks in these last exams we're doing this week. Then, after "selectivitat", when this horror will be over, I'll come back to life.

I'd like to get my driving license as early as possible, regarding that I'm already eighteen and my parents have to take me everywhere whenever I can't go cycling. Besides, I'm determined to learn French at last, as well as improve my German skills. Apart from learning, there's much to do, so I'll have to earn some money. To do that, I'll be working part-time in my parent's sailing school both in the bar and teaching. 

With the money I expect to raise I will prepare a budget for going to University, but also I would like to fund a trip to Garda, Italy,  where an important race is held every summer. 

Finally, I will try to enjoy the most my time here, and perhaps I will make scuba diving course in "Cap de Creus". As you can see, many many plans... I'll try to accomplish them all, if not, I will enjoy, for sure, every second of summer, whatever I may be doing.

Pirate Captain Kidd's treasure found in Madagascar

7 May, 2015

 A 50Kg silver bar with inscriptions has been found in Madagascar by the US explorer Barry Clifford.  It is said that the bar belonged to the 17th century notorious pirate Captain Kidd. According to Clifford, his metal detector indicated that the whole cavity where he found the silver bar was full of metal, however, he wasn't able to identify nor spot the metal because of the muddiness o of the water inside the cave.

Captain Kidd was hired in the late 17th century by the British crown to tackle piracy and capture enemy french ships. Instead, he became a pirate. In 1701 he was accused of murdering one in his crew and sinking several British ships; the same year he was executed. It is legend that the rope broke twice before he was finally hung. 

It is extraordinary how the currently forgotten job of explorer can discover such interesting findings, contributing to the amazing world of piracy legends. This, of course, boosts tourism and offers us some more information about how living in the 17th century was. 

As a sailor, I've always been attracted to this kind of legends and when I saw this news report in the BBC, I knew I had to share it. Who on earth hasn't wondered as a child becoming a pirate?       

70 years since liberation

Seventy years back from now, Jersey island was liberated from five years of Nazi rule. Yesterday, the VE day was commemorated with local bands playing, a performance from the cadette's academy and several acts around the clock. 

The Nazi army invaded some of the channel islands during WWII, triggering the exodus of hundreds from their homes. Jersey was devastated, and the Nazi law was imposed. In this news documentary we hear the testimony of some who suffered the shortage of war...

Thanks to commemorations like yesterday's we remind ourselves about the horrors of war, and this motivates us to keep on working for a better society, with a sense of community and brotherhood among all human beings. Related with Human rights, we can't forget the overwhelming violation of them that occurred during WWII. However, we must remember too that, despite living in safe countries, war still happens around the globe and we are all involved in it as long as we refuse to make a difference and try to stop them.

#makelovenotwar

source: BBC

#motheroftheyear

Baltimore mom who slapped son: He embarrassed himself

April 30, riots in protest against the abusive use of violence Baltimore's police did leading to the death of a demonstrator, Freddie Gray, past April.

Toya Graham had told her son not to go to the demonstration, but when he heard school had closed earlier and so had done "the mall", she knew he was there. She approached the police and was behind their shield when she recognized her son's baggy sweatpants. He was in a group of teens covered with hoodies and was carrying a rock. She just lost control.

Press recorded the angry mother slapping and shouting to her son, while dragging him back home. According to Toya's declarations, that was just intolerable: he was allowed to protest for Gray's death,  and to go to his funeral too, still, vandalism was not a way of demanding justice.

Although abusive use of force led by police is absolutely reprehensible, I definitely agree with Toya, no way of violence is good and no violence should be used to call for justice. Find more info in the BBC or check out this video:

"I asked politely"

Alleged Bank robber Dominyk Antonio Alfonseca denies crime because he asked politely - NBC news

Monday afternoon, Virginia. Dominyk Alfonseca committed one of the most curious robberies ever. According to his defense, Alfonseca did not commit robber because he asked politely to the bank teller. As it seems, he handed in a note demanding 150.000$ as well as hurry, regarding that police would take three to four minutes to get there. Besides, he said he'd appreciate if they hit the alarm once he'd left. Police caught him twenty minutes later with a sports bag full of cash.

Evidence of the case haven't been hard to find; Alfonseca videotaped the robber and posted it on Instagram. 

Is it really a crime? Police says so, while Dominyk argues it wasn't because he did not use force nor acted violently. As I see it, it is hard to tell what should the punishment be, however it is clear that he stole a considerable amount of money, so something must be done...

Have you ever wondered how would you steal a bank?

tesla battery

Fossil fuels are going to exhaust eventually, yet we still rely on them as if they were endless supplies. Why? The most popular answer among those in favor of using gas and petroleum nonstop was that renewable energy sources were expensive and transient, besides, the energy they produced could hardly be stored for further usage.

Now, this defence has been blown away by the renewable power billionaire Elon Musk, who has just launched the Tesla Battery, capable of storing up to 10kW hours of energy. This brilliant invention is targeted to domestic use, however, a model for community use that can hold up to 10MW has been developed too. 

Tesla battery production is about to start, nevertheless, its commercialization will be facing difficulties due to pressure to governments from the energy monsters, which are already fighting against this democratization of power. 

It is indignant to see how an invention that could save the future of our planet, which is seriously threatened by greenhouse effect and contamination produced by non-renewable energies, is being rejected from markets or presented unfair difficulties due economical interests. 

Find more information here: IFL science!

nomophobia

How many times a day o you check your mobile phone? Do you constantly need to feel it in your pocket or ensure its battery is topped up?

The word "Nomophobia" is used to describe the fear some people have to losing their cells, not being able to use them, or simply not having one. Nowadays, someone over thirteen who hasn't got a mobile phone is considered rather a freak. Have we all become nomophobiac?

As I see it, we have. Although having a cell phone doesn't necessarily mean we're addicted to it, we tend to overuse this device. A mobile phone should be only used in case of needing it, not to define one's personality. I understand that new phones are very useful and come in handy at any time: to take a picture, to look for info, to call a taxi, to order food... And I'm not saying that we have to stop using them for such practical issues. What I am saying, though, is that we can't let these devices become our only resource to solve problems, an that, overall, we can't let mobile phones replace our social life.

So, next time you use your cell, think carefully if you really need it or if you could interact with someone new for your purpose... Do not let your mobile phone replace your social life! 

tragedy in the mediterranean

Two more migrant boats issue distress calls in Mediterranean

This was the headline in The Guardian's news report last Monday, however, it could have been any other media's opening.

Two migrant boats were rescued from the Italian coast of Lampedusa after one had capsized causing the death of over seven hundred people. The passengers, who were refugees from Libya and other northern Africa countries, were seeking a better life in Europe. Only in 2015, over 25.000 people have tried this journey and more than a thousand have lost their lives trying it.

It is overwhelming to see how these people have to run away from their homes seeking a better and safer place to live. What overwhelms me too is the reaction of the EU, which is close to none. European governments are debating and discussing while this happens. The triton mission is far from becoming a solution.

As I see it, human rights are being neglected by all the countries envolved: those which have such a situation that triggers the exodus of its citizens, those which make an effort to help the refugees but aren't capable of working this situation out, and, overall, all those which simply ignore the problem.

Do we really want a world where people have to run away from home because it is no longer safe? 

a letter to Mariano Rajoy

Av. Balaguer, 48

St. Pere Bufador

Girona 17471

20th April 2015

Palacio de la Moncloa

calle de los Manguis, s/n

Madrid 1234

Dear Mr, Rajoy,

I'm writing to you in order to make a short reminder about human rights; regarding that in four years of legislature your government has threatened almost all of them.

There are thirty human rights according to the UNO, thirty rights that are inherent to human kind. Right to food and shelter, roght to education, freedom of speech, to information, right to healthcare... Do these words sound strange to you? 

As I see it, your government is not very familiar with this list. Am I wrong if I dare say that in these four years you've violated all of the rights above? By privatising education and sanitary system, by drafting laws against public assembly and demonstrations, by allowing banks to control our society and vanish people from their homes, by controlling public media... This is what you've been doing.

To finish, I will only ask you to make a "brief" reflection: how are we to respect a government that in four years has violated most of our rights?

Yours sincerely,

Miquel Sarquella

human rights

Have you ever heard about human rights? What are they?  How many are there?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations in December 1948 and declares that every human being owns a list of thirty rights just for belonging to the human race. These rights are inherent to every individual and were created after the WW II so that such moral catastrophe would never happen again.

The list includes the right to education. Although I already knew this, I want to talk about it because in our society we often take education for guaranteed and forget that we are extraordinarily privileged to have quality public education. The following video reminds us that not everyone has access to education, and that, unfortunately, thousands of children in the world aren't attending classes but working in factories while you're reading this...

cyber security

The Cyber Security Challenge takes place in the UK every year in order to recruit "cyber defenders".

The final stage of the challenge took place onboard the HMS Belfast, where computer terror simulation threatened London's City Hall by targeting it with the cruise's guns. According to the instructions, the participants had 48 hours to determine whether the threat was real, recognize the attack and stop it. 

21-year-old Adam Tonks won the final stage this morning, receiving a recognition plus industry training and £100,000 worthing university courses. As he declared, to win this contest you need a lot of knowledge, but also the ability of responding quickly to challenges, team collaboration skills and communication skills.

From my point of view, this is a very effective way of finding the cream of the cream in that area, as well as a very good initiative to create an interest amongst people for national security and also to make citizens realize how important is to keep safe cyber data and personal information... if a hacker is able to hack into the army, what could he do with our personal computer?

100 posts!

This is my 101st post on this blog!

After three years of posting on this blog, my last news article was the 100th post. To celebrate this kind of "anniversary", I'd like to tell you what does this blog mean to me.

It started just as a school task. Actually it is still something I do for school, but I've reached a point where I do like writing on this blog. As you may know thanks to some older posts, I'm not very fond of writing online and posting my thoughts on the web. Neither do I like to use social networks such as Facebook or twitter, however, I've started to enjoy writing here. At first I thought that no one would ever care about what I would write, but I realized that there's someone out there who reads my posts and that I even get visits from the US or Russia. This motivates me to keep on posting and sharing my ideas and interests with these anonymous people, because who knows if I could make a little change on their lives? Perhaps someone will decide to study architecture too, or to start sailing!

Although I may eventually stop writing on "sailing through life", it will always be my first blog, the place where I can check that during these three years I've improved my English a lot, somewhere where I can talk about myself and get to know other net users...  

21st century school

High schools are often recognized for their massive and prison-like looking (specially mine). The Sandy high school, in Oregon, is now a highlight from the 21st century schools.

The 310,000-square-foot building is perfectly integrated with the forestal area and provides students an approach to nature through architecture, as well as plenty of facilities. Finished in August 2012, Sandy high school is inspired in the old roman constructions, with a central piece that joins three axis in the part where most social activity takes place. In every axis there are classrooms, laboratories, etc. And the building even includes an atrium, gym and an auditorium.

Regarding that my school has a considerably prison-looking, with huge grey concrete walls and grilles in every window, Sandy high school seems to me a perfect place to get inspired and work harder more motivated. A school well integrated in nature, with wooden walls, enhances people's creativity and creates a more comfortable atmosphere.

feeling fat

Facebook responds to a Change.org petition asking to remove the "feeling fat" emoji from the status list.

After more than 17.000 people signed for the petition, the social network has removed the face with double-chin related with the status feeling fat. The petition, started by Catherine Weingarten and the group against negative body image "endangered bodies", has rapidly spread in the net and reached its objective.

The group "endangered bodies" claims that emojis and status like that, which may seem absolutely innocent, are extremely dangerous to those with eating disorders. Catherine Weingarten adds that feeling fat is not only something you feel in front of the mirror and makes you feel uncomfortable with yourself, it is the constant thought that others are judging you for your image and making fun of your body.

It is amazing how movements like that can change the world. In my opinion, emojis that can offend individuals or even communities should be removed in order to achieve a society where being fat or religious is not a fault but something absolutely natural.

Check "The guardian" for more info.

new headquarters for apple

The technology monster Apple is building a new and massive future-like headquarters in Cupertino.

"Campus 2" is set to be finished in 2016 and will house almost 13.000 employees. This building will include offices, innovation centers and development departments, an amphitheater, parks, parking lots, canteen and an infinite list of facilities that will leave few reasons for the employees to leave the campus.

This insule-like structure has been criticized for its spaceship looking and for creating a parallel society inside cupertino city. The company's spokesmen state that this structure has no further purpose than enhancing collaboration among employees and creating an innovation center that will take technology to unknown limits.

As a fan of apple's technology and architecture, I can't really state against this new headquarters because I'll probably admire the building for its functionality and innovations, as well as the products that might be created there inside... Though I also see that this insule-like center is likely to separate Cupertino's community from "apple community" instead of integrating a new social meeting point in the middle of the city. From my point of view, it would be nice chance to renovate Cupertino's downtown and integrate the citizens into the development process.

hello barbie

Talking toys?

Some years ago we met a few toys that were able to pronounce a limited collection of sentences, such as "Hi! how are you?" or "nice to meet you!". But when I was a child I could have never imagined that my talking-whinnie the poo would answer back to my question and would be able to hold a conversation!

Now, the world famous Barbie doll is able to to recognize voices, answer questions, propose games and even chat with a kid! It was first introduced in NY's toy festival and first fears are already appearing. It seems like this barbie records conversations, sends them via internet to a Talktoys center which analyzes them and then uses a program similar to those integrated in smartphones to answer back and learn from its owner.

At first sight, it could seem an amazing toy, it is, indeed, a revolutionary doll, however, privacy advocates defend that this product could misuse the information it records, which may, eventually, be sent to third parties and violate privacy rights. In addition, some consumer associations denunciate that to analyze this conversations has no further purpose than studying the market to develop more effective publicity.

As I see it, we have to consider both sides of the coin: this doll is a revolutionary toy that can help children make fun. However, I understand all this fears and worries, because this doll doesn't sound innocent to me at all... I mean that this product is attractive for children, of course, but from my point of view a toy capable of holding conversations with children could not only misuse the information it gathers (not the toy but the company) but also diminish children's imagination, because if the toy answers back... there's no space left for the kid to think! 

september '15

In my last post I expressed my feelings towards 2nd Bat, and I ended up saying that my lack of motivation was probably due to the fears of dramatically changing my life this new September.

I decided I wanted to study architecture about two or three years ago. Back then, I saw University as a long-term dream, as something that happened in films and that, even though was going to come, something far far away from my comfortable life in town.

Now, I'm just five months from it and and my excitement is boosting day by day, as well as my concerns about it. When last year I said I wanted to study architecture, it was "half a decision" because I was still able to change my mind without any compromise... now, in one month I'll have to apply for university and it'll be almost irrevocable. I'm eager to start this grade, though I have to admit that as it approaches I get more and more nervous. This nervousness makes me hesitate: will I enjoy it? is it the right choice?

 Luckily, this weekend I was able to talk to a cousin of mine who lives in Seville and that is in her last year of architecture. Her advise was really useful, and her point of view on the degree, as well as her experience and reflections helped me to see that all this doubts are, again, the result of seeing university everyday closer... Barcelona, here I come!

the final countdown

This school year is known for being a rush, however, I didn't really figure out how fast it goes until I realized there are less than two months left.

I started 2nd Batxillerat really motivated, ready to prepare myself for university and selectivitat, but I've reached a point where rather than enthusiastic for learning I'm just eager to finish this course. I do like what we're studying, some subjects more than others, yet I feel like I'm just working to pass this torture with good marks and be able to get into a good university. Some content just doesn't interest me and some other is just useless for what I want to study.

Sometimes I find myself in the middle of a class wondering how windy is it outside and if I'd be able to sail. It's not that I no longer want to study, it's just that I ask myself why am I doing it. The answer seems clear to me when I think of myself being an architect of success, enjoying a grade that despite being tough will lead me through a new world and will introduce me to a new view of life, a new circle of people, a new lifestyle... However, other occasions I feel pessimistic and I have the temptation of giving up, just finish this two months and then do something creative, something that doesn't require to study, something that just fills me...

All this reflection may suggest that I'm not really enjoying these days, in fact, I've had better times than two weeks with exams every day... I guess this disenchantment is nothing but the result of stress and tiredness mixed with the fears of leaving high school and moving to a new city, with a new community, the doubts of choosing a path in life... the fears to a dramatic change (to better I hope) in my life.

a soulmate

How should a soulmate be like?

Everyone talks about love and soulmates, everyone expects to find or become a prince charming... Do we all have somewhere out there our better half?

Whether it exists or not, we all think obout it and even have some ideas about how would it be... So do I. For this essay I've had to think about myself and someone who could complement me. After a long reflection, I think I may have found some characteristics someone must gather to be my soulmate.

The first thing that came to my mind was that she must love the sea: there's no way we could ever be together if my soulmate disliked the sea. Sea gives me energy, purifies my mind, sea makes me fly... The sea is my life. However, a soulmate is not only someone who shares your passion, a soulmate is someone who makes you feel safe, at home, someone reliable who looks after you and someone whom you want to look after to too. 

In addition to that, I guess my soulmate shoud be someone easy-going but critical at the same time, funny and ironic but thoughtful. Open-minded. I'd like someone down-to-earth but with its head far away: someone challenging for me, someone enthusiastic, and, why not, a bit childlike. This person must be passionate too, and even though I've had problems to admit my simplicity, attractive. My soulmate must be adventurous, someone non-conformist, someone who surprises me every day and someone able to see the little point of happines in the worst situations...

I reckon it won't be an easy task to try to find someone like this, but who knows if I might meet a person who'd change all my life within a glance? Who knows if I'll meet someone who'll redefine my idea of love? Time will tell!

  

google news

Google news has been removed from Spanish networks.

A recent change in the Spanish law has caused the closure of the Google news service in Spain. This new legislation obliges every publication to charge any website for sharing it, even if only a tiniest title is shown. Therefore, services like google news, which doesn't make money of its activity, have been forced to remove their portals. 

From my point of view, this new legislation, which theoretically tries to protect the authors and help them get money from their articles, is doing nothing but holding up the access to information. The lack of this wide used service is an obstacle when trying to find what's happening in the world... To sum up, a new maneuver from the Spanish government to control the information and keep us, the Spanish citizens, putting up with everything they say or do. 

In addition to that, the Spanish newspapers are now more difficult to find online, therefore, some of them (especially those read by a minority) are struggling to keep up with the global media and are now likely to disappear.

You can find the "boe" on that concern here. And the whole news on this link.

is internet making the world a better place?

Imagine a world without internet. Try to figure out how would our lives be if we went back to the 80's... Do you start realizing the influence that this revolutionary tool has on our lifestyle?

Internet has not only launched a new way of communication, it is creating a huge library, a massive source of data avaliable for all of us. The oportunities that this tool offers to our society are so amazing that we even forget about the drawbacks.Yet they exist.

I'll start talking about the benefits of this network, some of which I've already introduced above. In first place, I have to mention the data that this brilliant resource offers. The times of looking up words in a thick filthy book are gone, as well as buying expensive enciclopedias that fill our bookshelves with dust and thousands of heavy A-to-Z-books. Now we find all this knowledge with a click on the mouse within seconds. Time is money, and internet helps saving time... Besides, the knowledge you find online is so extensive we couldn't write it all down: we find more information in less time. The only drawback here is that there is so much info we sometimes find untrustable data, therefore we have to contrast it and try to look up only in official sites.

In addition to this online library, we find a fast and easy way of communication. A lot of websites and social networks such as Skype, Facebook, etc. enable us to find people and meet online with friends and family, and even strangers... and here is where the con starts: who could these stranger be? Chatting and sharing with our social circles is absolutely harmless, however, when we start publishing about ourselves online, we miss any control on this info we share and it becomes public. Public means that it belongs to no one and to everyone, then we are exposing all our life to the dangers of being stolen and misused.

Related to both of the points I've analyzed so far, I must add that the information is not only knowledge kept in online enciclopedias. The speed of this resource allows us to use it as a newsfeed: the era of immediate information is here. Although physical newspapers are threatened by online services and might even disappear, I reckon "up-to-second" information is better. Furthermore, with the devices currently available we can reach different sources and contrast them without needing to buy annoying newspapers (at least for me, 'cause I'm not able to read a paper without ending with a lot of odd pages flying around!).

Finally, Internet is creating a new way of trading and a lot of business are being founded thanks to the new opportunities it offers. Publicity is very important sector that keeps funding our favorite websites. A new way of trading means, at the same time, a new way of swindling, therefore, we have to be aware that not all that glitters is gold and must watch carefully what we do...

To sum up, Internet is definitely making the world a better place, but at the same time it can become very dangerous and we have to be cautious when surfing the net!

about the presentation

In the last post I told you about my research paper and how I did it. Furthermore, I added the prezi about it. What I didn't mention, though, is that that presentation had a clear purpose: some days after handing in the project we had to present it orally and defend it. 

The prezi that you can find just scrolling the page a bit down is the resource I used to enhance my oral presentation translated to English. This translation's got a reason: I did the presentation in English as well for my classmates!

By now I'm not able to post the video here due to technical problems with my phone (I've changed it since I recorded myself), however, I'll briefly resume my performance.

Basing on my personal impression and on my mates' comments I think that I did the presentation quite well, there were some things to improve, though. In first place, I perhaps talked a bit too fast at some points of the presentation. In contrast, I went blank twice, what triggered an uncomfortable silence. In my opinion, my presentation was really interesting an I performed a nice body language according to the situation, in spite of that, when I was about to reach the end, I noticed some boredom among my audience, what makes me guess that it was probably a bit too long.

Regarding the language and the pronunciation, I wouldn't like to sound pretentious, but I guess I almost nailed it because some of my mates congratulated me and I was feeling confident about that;) 

Overall, I think I did a nice presentation, I must add, however, that I've done some others better and that I still must improve a lot if I want to become a brilliant presenter. 

beyond the last page

What is there beyond the novels we read? This idea used to come to my mind whenever I read a book, therefore, this has been the driving question of my research paper. To find and answer to it, I've written my own text so that I could live the writing experience. 

My project starts by briefly defining the different genres of literature, focusing on the novel, the tale and the nouvelle. Once the different characteristics of each are set, you can find a comparison between them and an analysis of two tales from well known authors (Joseph Conrad's Karain, a memory and Ernest Hemingway's The killers) also comparing the style of this two masters. To finish this theoretical block, my own text is contextualized in the genres commented above.

The practical block consists on my own text, titled L'última pàgina (the last page), and an exhaustive analysis of how have i written it. In this analysis you can discover how the planning, writing and revision processes are. In addition, I developed a quick guide to start writing with some commandments and tips I considered useful.

Afterwards you can find the conclusions of the research (which are based on my experience, an interview to a reputed catalan author and the reading of both theoretical and literary books) and some attached documents, such as a log book that reflects down to the last detail the writing process, a deleted scene from my story and the first drafts I did to develop the plot of The last page.

Here you can find the presentation of Beyond the last page.