3 years, 117 posts... (aka Final Reflection)

...and one crazy German.

You know what? I have mental powers. I can look into the future. And you know something else? You can do it as well. All you need to do is to look into the past. Everyone with memory is able to look into the past. And that, and nothing else, will enable you to look into the future.

The future hasn't taken place yet. 

The future can be shaped in the present by looking into the past.

So... Wait! My mental powers are speaking to me... Let me concentrate.

Refl... Reflect... Reflection? A final reflection?

My mental powers told me that I would be asked in the future to do a final reflection, even when my blog is already finished and there's other stuff to do. What an atrocious destiny...

But as I said. Right now, I can shape the future. 

And therefore, my last yoursay post on this English blog shall be... A final countdown reflection:

Final reflection

Final reflection

Final reflection

Final reflection

Final reflection

What I loved about doing this blog is the creativity. There are tasks, there are news (which, if you're willing to do so, you can abuse to talk about the topics you're interested in anyway) and the yoursays/myworlds. Every term I have had a hard time to try to find topics to talk about in the yoursays. But you know what? Looking back, I liked the struggle and the challenge. It's not that easy to produce posts of high quality and quantity within the last few days before the deadline ;D And at the end of the day, I prefer doing yoursays over all the other posts.

So, a part from all the language aspects which have improved my English (I'm coming back to that later), this blog made me think. It made me reflect. I never wrote in a diary or similar. But this blog obliged me to rethink my opinions and learn to express them. What I haven't done that much in philosophy class or in the missing ethics class is what I've been doing here in the blog all the time. And this getting better with every term.

Of course, at first sight, the English blog is another school work that has to be done and when you begin doing the blog you don't really want to and you want to get it done quickly.

If the blog helped me to explore and train my creativity, it's because I actually wanted to.

Where there's a will, there's a way. However, if there's no will, there cannot possibly be any way.

And after all this time, I firmly believe that creativity - not anarchy, no alternative hippie methods, simply creativity - is one skill that isn't being valued enough in school. And we're supposed to learn from school. You need creativity anywhere. Being a musician as much as being a doctor or a lawyer (especially a lawyer has to be very creative if you know what I mean... nah, just kidding).

You need creativity in your daily life. Why aren't we promoting creativity, then?

Of course, my English has got better thanks to all these posts. Mostly because I was forced to write on a hypothetically regular basis and that means practising. At least while writing, I don't need that much time anymore to think how to express myself in English as I did 3 years ago. And since I wanted to ensure a certain quality and a fluid reading for the ones who check my blog, I had to look up new words, synonyms, etc. on dictionaries and that enriched my vocabulary a lot.

Finally, I wanted to say thank you to the people who actually read my posts. It doesn't matter if it's because you're the teacher who has to correct this blog, if you're just so utterly bored that you prefer looking through other blogs over progressing with your own one or if you're actually interested in my posts.

The important thing is that they have been read by you. That makes me happy. Writing these posts could never have been in vain. But they gain much more value by your time being spent on my blog. Even if you're only a few, maybe 5 people, it already means a lot to me. Thank you.

Having said this, I say goodbye to all of you from this school. We still have some time to spend together, but within a few months we will all be at different places. 

It has been a very special time. Unique, as I like to say. It's a pity that I couldn't have been more open from the very beginning. Maybe I would have experienced more great friendships. But, after all, I don't regret anything. And I'm happy that I could be a part of your life, be that part as tiny as it may. 

I wish you the best.




---




My post was so beautiful the way it ended :( Now I have to play martyr and disgrace the holy death of this blog.

Yeah, well, I forgot to mention that I also tend to dramatise a lot.

Alright, so let's add what the Holy Bible, the Google Docs on the 2batspace site wants:

So, I have to compare my first written document to my current level? Let's have a look at the day when I outed myself as a koala:

 An animal I like very much is the koala. It's a very relaxed animal, they sleep 20 hours a day! Also, they're herbivorous', so they don't have to hunt other animal or fight. We could say they're very pacific animals, just like me. They spend most time in their life sleeping to gain energy. Energy for eating. I can't say I actually sleep and eat all the time, but it's a lifestyle I wouldn't consider bad. If reincarnation exists, I'd like to be born as a koala. It would be a kind of recompense for having worked so hard as a human. They don't have a very long life (female koalas live around 15 years, male koalas around 10 years), but during the time the live, they live well. When people see pictures of koalas like the one in this post, their hearts start to melt down. Yours one, too, right?

Well, to my surprise, it's actually not that bad. There are practically no mistakes (at first sight I've only found "kind of a recompense"). However, the writing style is a slightly more childish, not incredibly different though. One could say that I've conserved my inner child... And that's a good thing, right?

Right?


If I had to choose one post as the best of this blog... Honestly, I don't know. There are many different posts that I like and each of them has its flaws and its virtues... I think almost all the posts of this last term represent my current English level.



As for the oral presentations... Literally worlds between them. Here is my first oral presentation from 4th of ESO: Ready for heading into a dark past? God, we were so cute back then! It's hard to believe how much one changes in 3 years, we were children!

Since then, especially during Batxillerat, I've developed my own style of presenting, while I think that my best presentation was the one about sitcoms (probably the marks on my self-evaluations will contradict this, but anyway, I'm not perfect ;D). It was also the most entertaining topic to talk about. I must say that I still have a problem with speaking too fast, but I'll keep refining that.



And now, I'm finished.













GAME OVER

Formal letter to Mr. Obama

Before I begin with the real letter, I'd like to point out one thing. I love this banner:

Hey, what's up, ma homie? The NSA is going to get me killed for this

Peter Parker

Maple Street 213

Manhattan, New York 10001

Barack Obama

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

May 11, 2014

Dear Mr President,

to begin this letter, I would like to refer to Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

This is one of the fundamental human rights, that is to say, one of the basic rights that should be respected and not violated by any individuum or institution. The objective of a government is to regulate the country in order to ensure a minimum of conditions for all of its citizens. At this point, I shall ask you a question. What kind of government is the one that does not even respect one of the basic rights of its citizens, which are all human?

There is no single reason that might justify the intercepting of private conversations if the people which are affected aren't proved to be a danger for the public well-being. It is a direct offense to the title of "government", that the institution that you direct holds. And it is a direct offense to any other government when this interception reaches a global scale.

I would like to ask you another question. As a family father, how would you feel if someone was observing your woman or your daughters, 24 hours a day, using cameras and other devices that permit hearing and seeing everything they do, as a preventive measure for possible aggressions against the citizens of your country?

I close this letter with the strong hope that you consider that hypothetical situation and reflect seriously about my words and the meanings and objectives of a true government.

Sincerely,

Peter Parker

And now, I ask you to click on the words "Dear Mr President" in the letter before you proceed.

























That's back when I still liked Pink...

Human Rights news: We Need to Show Compassion Toward Immigrant Children

First philosophical question: Is this is a task? Is this a news? No, it's NANANANANANANANANANANANANANANANANANANANA BAAAATMAAAAAAAN.

Talking about completely absurd humour:

It's a pretty cool song, actually

And now, as for the post:

You said it, you get it

The link: Hello! My name is Link. I save sages and a princess. I have a Master Sword.

The news in 50 words:

The writer tells us about her shocking experiences interviewing immigrant mothers, emphasising on the case of a Sri Lankan refugee whose children were brought to the Bangkok Immigration Detention Center once they were discovered in their tiny apartment in Thailand's capital city, remarking the bitter irony of today's Mother's Day.

In order to answer the other questions, I'd like to refer to another piece of news I've found (click here)

As Africans Surge to Europe’s Door, Spain Locks Down

MELILLA, Spain — It is easy to pick out the new arrivals at the shelter for immigrants here on this tiny patch of Spain in North Africa. One man limps by on crutches with a plaster cast on his ankle. Another has a bandaged arm in a sling. Abbdol Cisse, 19, had stitches on his face.

“The police in Morocco were throwing stones at us, at our heads,” Mr. Cisse said recently, explaining his injuries. “They had metal bars, and they hit our legs while we were climbing.”

Ten years ago Spain spent more than 30 million euros building up the barriers around Melilla and Ceuta, its two enclaves surrounded by Morocco on the northern coast of Africa, which offer the only land borders between the promise of Europe and the despair of Africa. And for a while the investment seemed to work.

But in the past year, large groups of sub-Saharan immigrants have been charging the rows of seven-yard-high chain-link fences here with increasing frequency, or trying to swim around them, believing with good reason that if they can just get past they will ultimately end up in Europe. They often end up injured, not just from falls and the newly laid concertina wire, but at the hands of the Moroccan and Spanish authorities trying to stop them.

It's not specifically about immigrant children, but no one should be treated like this, neither children nor adults. As you can see, our own country's police does terrible things to immigrants on the very African continent. Especially in the United States, Latino immigrants that arrive on boats are dealt with quite strictly.

Since this a problem that "only" affects certain areas of a country (basically the borders) and it's about the actions of the police of our own country (who act by law, as it seems), the only possibility I see to provoke a change is through campaigning from the inside of our own country, from the very citizens that were born here. This way, the government should realise that it's actually an issue that concerns everyone, not only the ones who receive the violence. 

Of course immigration has to be regulated in some way, but instead of preventing illegal movements using brute force, there should be institutions to negotiate (in a human way, not like the Bangkok Detention Center by separating children and mother) between the different countries who are stable enough to welcome immigrants and give them the a chance of a new life in better conditions than they had earlier. In my opinion, it's the responsibility of the richer countries to enable immigration, especially for refugees and alike, since it's a way to weaken the influence of the political forces that pressured them to escape. At least I think that's a better solution than sending the own military troops and blow up even more innocent civilists.

News: Could flight restrictions on liquids be lifted?

Yes, please.

Oh, and thanks for video news. This is so comfortable: Why read when you can watch?

So, as the video explains they're going to use a new scanning device in airports that can analyse the content of bottles without opening them. Thus, it's possible that they'll finally lift the restrictions on liquids for flights. They've just started a trial period in 65 airports. Let's hope it receives positive feedback so we can avoid dumb arguments about plastic bags and 100 ml bottles on our upcoming flying trips. And maybe someday they'll accept handcuffs as well. Just saying.

I kind of do understand why they are this strict with liquids in our hand baggage. Around two weeks ago I participated in a little science fair in Girona (we literally had a homemade cloud chamber, one type of particle detector; I might explain that next term in the bl- wait...). There was one teacher from one the schools or universities around who made some simple physics and chemistry experiments and demonstrations. One of them was pretty... impressive.

He took one of those sticks that teachers used before as pointers for the blackboard in class. Then he told us that one day, when he still had one of them, his students were talking all the time. He told them to be quiet, but they wouldn't shut their mouths. He kept warning them, without success, until he finally said: "And then I let the pointer drop just like this" And while he was explaining he let the pointer drop just on its pointing end and then we heard a KABOOOOOOM. And I even saw the little explosion. I saw the fire. It was hilarious. Afterwards he revealed that he had put a very tiny quantity of a liquid explosive on the pointer. And precisely because it's that easy to do, they're so untolerant about liquids on flights.

Nonetheless, why only 100 ml and why a plastic bag? How does that help? If such a minuscule amount is already enough, shouldn't they prohibit liquids completely? Not that I want to convince of this idea... I guess there's a reasonable explanation for this. At least I hope.

However, you know how this scanning device works that they're trying to use now?

You don't?

Particle physics ;P

Well, at least I suppose.

Because I know that they use particles to determine the authentity of old wine so they don't have to open the bottle, which would make it lose its value. And this is practically the same application.

Now come and tell me particle physics isn't good for anything, tehehe.

Oh, the video also features another report about a tourist attraction in Shanghai which consists of a house that's turned upside down, which you can enter. 

Suprisingly enough, this is a copy of another house like that in Germany. China... One of my friends even saw one of these houses (didn't go inside though, too expensive). I must be fair, they're more copies of that attraction in other places in Germany as well.

No new words this time, sorry. Tehehe.

News: Nintendo apologizes for games' same-sex slight

I read that the other day on one of my games news websites, but I just found this on CNN (as it seems it's become a big thing) and I thought I should comment on that one. DON'T WORRY, THIS POST IS NOT SPECIFICALLY ABOUT GAMES DESPITE THE TITLE.

It's-a-me! The link to the news!

I'll sum this up quickly to proceed to my own thoughts. Basically, Nintendo, a video game company as you all probably know, released a certain game some months ago which was called "Tomodachi Life". It is a life simulator, in a similar manner like The Sims. However, many fans complained that it was not possible to have homosexual relationships in the game although the game focuses (among other things) on relationships, creating families, etc. while other games like The Sims feature this option. It is arguable if the lack of gay and lesbian relationships was the result of the company's stance regarding the topic or if its just fruit of the difference of the status of the polemic topic in the different cultures (note that equality and rights for homosexuals has been an important topic in the Western world lately).

Now that it's been confirmed that the game will get released in Europe and the United States as well, Nintendo decided to publish an official apologise. They explain that they can't change this feature without reprogramming almost the whole game, but that they pledge to consider the players' wishes for future games and that they strive to design products that enable all players to be represented better.

From here on, my own opinion:

Ok, so far so good. Now, be honest. Having read this introduction, do you think there's any reason for anyone to be furious? Anyone? Even the homosexual fraction that was upset about the missing feature wasn't, in fact, THAT upset.

"The situation wouldn't be as big of a deal if it weren't for the fact that relationships and marriage are a huge part of the game," Marini said

"[...] Not being able to date and marry the gender that I'm attracted to in real life really takes all of the immersion and fun out of it for me."

Marini has specifically said he's not calling for a boycott of the game, saying it would do more harm than good.

What I can see here is a protest, but as mentioned above, nobody is trying to boycott the game nor Nintendo. And that's absolutely OK. But then you see comments like this:

By the user dcj91x:

I'm still upset that Nintendo isn't letting Mario and Luigi have an incestuous homosexual relationship in the Mario games... I mean really Until they change that I think everyone who has a loving relationship with their brother should stop buying all mario games!!! Seriously though Articles like this want to attack nintendo but seem to not care that Nintendo has right as well and are sticking to "THEIR" morals. Should everyone give up on what they believe because someone else believes something else? If so maybe we should start having goat sacrifices instead of paying taxes? .. No, articles like tese are just attacking a company that is standing their ground for what they believe in. If someone doesn't like the game the way it is intended to be made.. you don't have to play it, or you can make your own. I hear Nintendo is willing to work with Indie developers. Heck Conception 2 on both the Vita and 3DS lets you make babies with guys.

At least someone hit the point; by the user A E:

Equating homosexuality to incest is the trademark of the uneducated fundie.

Another "great" comment:

Based on this article and the actions of most homosexuals, i've come to the conclusion that they're the ones who are uneducated. Wanting to change everything under the sun to fit them? What's next a gay superman, a gay batman, a gay ralph cramden? Don't be stupid. If a company wants to create a game their way, you don't have to buy it or play it. It's a game not a law.

I only want to judge this particular case. And in this particular case, homosexuals complained about a game that consciously thematises relationships as a main element of the game. I believe that it's only fair to include both hetero- and homosexual couples. A part from taking away the possible immersion and identification for players that are actually gay or lesbian themselves, it's also just a missing feature for any player who would like to create a homosexual character in their game. Because, in my eyes, a tolerant player is completely indifferent about the feature and should even welcome it because after all, it's just one more possibility of playing the game. And that is good. If you play a football game, isn't it just good if there are more football teams available even if not everybody wants to use them? (As long as this doesn't obstruct other aspects of the game, for example by straining the games' memory capacity).
Nintendo apologised for not having done that from the very beginning, promises to care about it in the next titles and there the story should reach its end.

But then the media comes and I read news titles like this one in the BBC:

Nintendo says 'No' to gay game characters

Who on Earth said 'No' to anything? They said that they couldn't patch the game afterwards. That's all. I firmly believe that all the arguments about 'gay people trying to change everything under the sun to fit them' are plainly ignorant. 

We're talking about a particular case where relationships are the central element of the game. Isn't it a natural choice to include different possibilites of relationships?

I mean, I am not interested in these kinds of games and even if I was, I would buy the game either way, with or without homosexual couples in it, since it doesn't concern me personally.

What I actually do find worrying are the reactions, mostly coming from the people against the implementation of gay/lesbian relationships. The majority of them seems to apply their general disagreement regarding the fight for equalism of homosexual people and don't even think for a single instant about the validity of their statements in this particular case. 

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly as "extremist" as the actions of gay/lesbian extremists (whom I don't support either, of course). It's exactly this attitude that prevents us from progressing (compare that to the way the Spanish government is handling abortion).


If anybody has the time and is interested in the topic, I invite you to comment on this post and tell me your opinion about this story (I'm pretty sure I'll receive like ln(1) comments) 

mathjokesftw

New words I've learnt:

pledge

strive

stance

Podcast on "What money can't buy. The moral limits on markets"

listen to ‘Blog post, what money can't buy’ on Audioboo

Should everything be up for sale? Are there civic goods that money can't buy?

At the end of his speech, Dr. M. Sandel leaves these questions open for our own deliberation.

Well, I think money shouldn't be able to buy anything. In an ideal society, money should be nothing more than an instrument, a media that enables easy exchange of properties. After all, that is the very reason why money was invented in the first place. In ancient times, it would have been difficult for me to exchange 2 cows for 5 sheep since the other person had to be interested in my cows. So, if my "business companion" already has 5 cows and is looking for hens instead... What do we do? Money is used precisely for that purpose. It serves as a universal tool for trading. And maybe that's where the problems started. Money was supposed to be a tool, but has ended up being a goal. That is why I'd never state as my life dream "getting rich". Of course I appreciate having money, but only because it enables me to enjoy things that I can buy with money. On the other side, without money you can't really live the way our society is built up. But this is a consequence of our system that everyone has to go to work, thus doing their part for the society.
In the end, I think there definitely are some civic goods that money can't buy. Let's take the example of a marriage. There are marriages (possibly more than we'd expect) that are only based on financial reasons. But the difference is: you can buy the marriage, but you can never buy the love of the other person. You can apply that logic to anything. You may buy the loyalty of your people, but once the money stops flowing, the loyalty ceases as well. And that means that you didn't buy their loyalty, but the illusion of loyalty. Civic goods can only be achieved by genuinely human goods like passion, honesty or willingness.

I'm the one who knocks (BaBr2)

Hello! If this is the first post you're reading about Breaking Bad... STOP, ok, STOP! (inside joke)

Nah, but I'm serious, please read the Bromine Barium post before.

You know what's great? BaBr2 actually is a chemical compound... Hihihi.

Ok, so, what did I like about Breaking Bad?

• The characters: The series is absolutely driven by the characters and their evolution from episode to episode. They are all surprisingly credible characters. At no time, you will have the feeling that some of their actions feel out of place or forced by the plot. What's more, you will begin to understand their motives for their actions. If you read my post about Death Note (not that it's about 3 centuries old by now), it's a similar concept. Walter White is, at the beginning, no bad guy at all. But the circumstances make him change. He will do some serious bad stuff and what's great and a little frightening is that you will... kind of understand him. But not only Walter evolves. As the episodes pass you will notice how everyone reacts to the events. The psychological aspect of the series is really great, because every now and then you will start intuiting an alteration in someone's behaviour and later on, when they do something that proves it you'll feel like "I knew they would end up doing that!" Nonetheless, that doesn't mean that the series has no suspense... One specific aspect about the characters that I'd like to point out is the relationship between the two main characters Walter and Jesse. These two will go through quite some problems. On a sidenote, the two actors that represent them (Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul) have become very good friends in real life. 

Somehow they do fit together well and somehow they don't. Walter (left) and Jesse (right) experience each other's good and bad sides in the most dramatic situations and that puts their relationship as a team on the border

• The villians: Technically, the villians are also part of the characters... but they deserve a paragraph for themselves. Just imagine. You live in a state that shares a border with Mexico. You produce drugs. But there are those guys  that have been producing drugs before you. You better don't mess with them... They aren't precisely known for being in favour of a free market.  Especially one of Walter's enemies (I said villians earlier, but the concept of good and evil is much more complex here) is incredibly iconic. I won't spoil you anything about that person, but there will be a lot of epic moments, I guarantee it. Oh, right, the epic moments...

• The action and the badass moments: Since Walter has to deal with some pretty hard guys, he comes up with many ingenious and equally crazy plans to take action by himself. For getting inspired for this post, I watched a video of the list of the Top 10 most memorable moments in Breaking Bad. Before they revealed the number 1 on their list, they made a short tribute to all of those moments that didn't make it to the video, despite being unforgettable. And it's true. You could do a Top 50 countdown and you wouldn't even nearly cover up all the cool moments. When the conflicts reach their climax, there's so much tension you could it with the knife. I haven't EVER, EVER been STARRING at the screen with THAT MUCH SUSPENSE. And you know what's best?

• The series gets better every season: No TV series nor film trilogy nor game franchise I've ever watch/played managed to do this. But Breaking Bad does. The series has a good start in season 1, leaves you without fingernails in season 2, complicates things positively in season 3, blows your mind in season 4 and season 5... Well, to be honest, both season 4 and 5 are practically perfect to me. So, at the end of season 4 you won't be able to deny that this is the best thing you've ever seen in your entire life and afterwards it... Let me explain that with an old gamers' quote:

Sean Connery approved

 But of course, there's one problem about getting better with every season (let's go for the cons):

• The first season is the weakest one: Why is that a problem? It is because, when you start watching like me having heard from all the sides that this is the best series ever produced, after the first few episode you feel like: "Ok, this is actually quite cool. But that good? I hope it gets better." And holy Jesus Christ it DOES get better. It just feels a little slow in the beginning, but at the latest when you reach season 2, you will be totally hooked.  

• Uncomfortable family scenes: Since Walter's family begins to fall apart once he starts to disappear without any warning in order to cook meth, these scenes are absolutely necessary to make you understand how the characters feel. But the thing is, the characters feel uncomfortable in these moments; and so will you. In season 1 this has the biggest effect since there's not that much action yet. Just so you know what I mean, there's another list on the Internet called 'Breaking Bad': 8 unbearably tense dinner scenes. I think I've made my point.

• It eventually ends: Breaking Bad has the ending it deserves. You will be satisfied after the last episode. But that also means that it'll make you sad that it's already over. They're even planning to make a spin-off sequel which will be centered on a character called Saul Goodman who first appears in season 2. It will tell his story before the events of Breaking Bad. While he definitely is a character with a lot of potential, I'm not sure if I like the idea; yet.

And now, I am going to reveal you the true ending of Breaking Bad. At first I thought I shouldn't spoil, but I just can't stay quiet. In the end, Walter gets sick of drug making and of his family and friends and Albuquerque and he finally decides to leave everything behind and move away and start a new family. These are the events seen in the classic series "Malcolm in the Middle":

So he doesn't want to do this anymore...

And then he creates a new family. And really flourishes in that new role. That's why he's looking younger here. Only that.

Sorry for spoiling.




And finally, why should every single one of you reading this post give Breaking Bad a try?

Case 1, you're a male person: If you're a man, then it's easy. Let me repeat: there are drugs, there are badass villians and quotes, there are explosions, WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT? (only a few boobs in no more than one or two episodes though, sorry)

Case 2, you're a female person: You will love it as well, because this series has set a new standard of gripping. It's is actually more than some gunshots and explosions (in fact, it doesn't have THAT many of them). There are so many shocking moments, things will happen that you didn't expect and it's so much fun to try to analyse the relationship between the different characters. Also, when it comes to the most critical conflicts, the series gets quite emotional. Both men and women are bound to cry at one episode or another (of course I didn't).


And I forgot one last thing: there's a lot of Spanish talking. It's so hilarious when you understand them without any need of subtitles. It adds another layer of depth to the series, so if you're following my blog it's very probably that you also understand Spanish and that's just another reason TO LEAVE EVERYTHING AS IT IS AND START WATCHING Breaking Bad RIGHT NOW!
or at least after finishing final exams

Okay, now it's the last thing. They're making a Southamerican version of Breaking Bad: Metástasis. It's... It's a violation, no, IT'S RAPING the original series IN THE FACE. God... Here's the trailer that tells you the story of the first two episodes more or less (NOTE THAT BREAKING BAD IS ACTUALLY LIKE OVER NINE THOUSAND TIMES BETTER):

THERE ARE NO FREAKING CHEMICAL ELEMENTS WITH THE SYMBOLS "Wa" AND EVEN LESS "Él" WITH A FREAKING DIACRITIC