Blogging evaluation

Well... Blogging wasn't quite what I expected, it wasn't so bad after all. =)
It was a great way of getting out of the classroom and inside the net.
I think my teacher's way of showing us more than grammar and vocabulary,made me feel freer and,in consequence, more interested in English classes.

I wouldn't say blogging improved my level of English. What I would say though, is that, the experience of posting and reading other people's blogs made me practice much more than I usually do.

In my opinion, we hadn't have english lessons only, but computer ones as well. I've learnt a lot about how to change the format of your blog and things like that.

In conclusion, this way of learning should be definetly repeated and I really do think it was usefull. But more freedom to write about the things we are passionate about would make the blog idea even more successfull!

Layoffs

Many people are used to complain about their jobs all the time. But what to do, when you are layoff and you can't support your family anylonger?
That and other stories are told on this site where enemplyed people can write about their situation.

One story that got my attention was Clint Fiske's, a logger. He used to log for a company, when sometime three years ago. They had to do cut offs because the fees were to high. But the company found a way of fulling the government and everybody was rehired. Unfortunately for the company and everybody else, the government discovered the plot and closed the door on what Clint calls their "little game". After that, Fiske and other employees were laid off. On this site, Clint tells his new way of life and his feelings about it.

Anyway, I think everybody should check it out to have an idea of how does it feel to lose your job. It's not fun, trust me.

New words I learned: stumpagen (fee the coompany pays the government for the logs it removes)and logger (a lumberjack)

This Punk way of life...

Fashion , Rebellion and different political ideas are words that come out of our heads when we think of Punk.
Punk Rock was the way found by British young people in the 70's found to express their anger against the system. To find out more about them, go check those sites out!

About Punk Fashion
http://www.fashion-era.com/punks_fashion_history1.htm#Punk%20Fashion%20in%20the%20Early%20Days%20of%20the%201970s

BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2601493.stm

Lyrics and the History of Punk
http://www.lyricsvault.net/history/punk.html

Rebels

Being a rebel means going against society or laws that you don't agree with. An act of rebellion could be, for example,a student not doing his homework because he finds it useless. But usually acts of rebellion have more important meanings like women fighting for their rights in Afghanistan.

I'm a very calm person, but what makes me feel like rebelling is injustice. I have this NEED to defend people that is considered by some as one of my worst flaws. But I really don't care, it's a part of me and if I see someone being accused of something for no apparent reason I just can't control myself. Anything that goes against my principles id]s for me a good reason to rebel.

But I think there's too much fake rebels in this world. People that claim that are something and actually aren't. A good example is Chorão. Chorão is the lead singer of a Brazilian rock band. In his songs his always claiming to be poor and not caring about it and screw society. But it is society who gives him his pay checks, and he is pretty happy about it since he has become rich.

Well I guess the main difference between heroes and rebels is that heroes are selfless and rebels are usually thinking about their well being when doing acts of rebellion.

Anyway in my opinion rebelling is an important thing to do, as long as you have a reason for it.

Homosexuality and Prejudice

Amanda Lee has her own personal blog. One of her posts got my attention. It's about homosexuality. There she gives her opinion about the matter and sustains the idea that your sexual preferences aren't important.
I find this topic very interesting and I think it's my turn to give an opinion about it. I really do agree with Amanda. People should stop judging each other. And to be honest, it frightens me a little bit that there's still people in the world throwing rocks at homosexuals. It is as stupid as criticizing someone for their color or religion.
Above all things, I believe in happiness. We should all find a way of being happy without hurting anyone on the way.
If someone's happier dating a person of the same sex, why should someone intrude? It's just unfair.
Why can't people mind their own business for once? Life is already complicated without prejudice.

Henry Moore

Henry Moore is one of my favorite artists. Usually I prefer paintings, but his sculptures are amazing! You can look at them for hours and never get tired.

I'm pretty excited because we're going to the Pinacoteca to see his work. And I've never really seen them, so I just can't wait!

Well anyway, Henry Moore was born on 1898 and died on 1986. His sculptures aren't always clear, so you have to analyze them for several minutes in order to figure them out. And that's what's great about Moore's work, you can see several things in one sculpture.

I have linked a site, that tells everything that is to know about Henry Moore, on this post. So go check it out!

UPDATE

Our Visit to the Pinacoteca

So, Friday the 22nd we went to the Pinacoteca to see Henry Moore's expo. It was really interesting,not to mention really funny: We took a lot of pictures next to Moore's sculptures. And class' favorite was definitely "The King and the Queen"... Too bad we couldn't sit on their laps... Anyway, after that,we saw a little movie about Henry Moore's work according to himself.
It was a very good experience and I really enjoyed it!

A hero

What is a hero anyway?

In my opinion, a hero is someone with strong character that is capable of doing things normal people wouldn't do. He doesn't have to be exceptionally strong or extremely handsome. But he has to be courageous.
And I don't mean courageous as in killing dragons and going to war. No,being courageous doesn't mean being fearless, but having the guts to do the right thing.
For example a woman that I met while doing volunteer work. Her name is Mariá das Cruzes and she is my personal hero.
Her daughter told me that once, a little girl (their neighbor) was really sick and in that poor town there were no hospitals. So, Mariá went to the Mayor's house and asked him to borrow his car so she could take the little girl to a hospital in another town. The Mayor helped them and the little girl was saved thanks to Mariá. She is my hero because she went out of her way to help someone else.
In conclusion I could say that everybody has a "hero potencial", we just have to explore it!