29 years without John

Yesterday, December 8, the world complete 29 years without John Winston Ono Lennon, an English musician, singer-songwriter, and peace activist who became worldwide famous after, with some friends, found The Beatles. John, formed with Paul McCartney one of the best songwriting partnerships of the all time, resulting in the spectacular success of their band.


To The Quarrymen until The Beatles
In 1957 John with his best friend, Pete Shotton, and several school friends found The Quarrymen, a skiffle band. In July of this year, Lennon knew McCartney and invited him to join the band. Paul introduced George Harrison, and he had to insist with John for George to also join the band. Lennon thought Harrison was too young, but accepts.
The band changes its name four times before finally changing it to The Beatles in 1960. Over the years, Lennon’s school friends left the band and it became less skiffle and more rock n’ roll. In 1962 Ringo Starr replaced Pete Best, the older drummer, was formed de Fab Four.
They recorded around 25 studio albums and 2 live albums, won several silver, gold, platinum and diamond records, in country as: England, USA, Canada, Germany and Australia. One of their albums, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, is considered the greatest album of all time for many critics.

John relationship's and after Beatles
John married for the fist time with Cynthia Powell in 1962, in 1963 they had a child, Julian Lennon. But was in 1966 he knew his true love, Yoko Ono. They just beginning to have a loving relationship in 1968, Cynthia discovered and asked for the divorce. In 1969, John and Yoko marry. The others Beatles don’t like her, and it irritates the both parts. John and Paul begin to take different ways and in 1970 The Beatles ended.

Even before the end of The Beatles, John have already his solo career, with Yoko. After their marriage the realized the first “Bed-in for Peace” in Amsterdam, Bed-ins were press conferences for peace, held in a hotel bed, but it didn’t work a lot. Otherwise, in the second, in Montreal, they recorded the song "Give Peace a Chance" which later became an anthem for peace. In interviews he said doesn’t believe in Beatles and Jesus. He also said that Paul’s songs were made to play in elevators. In 1971, John gets success with the album Imagine.
1973 and 1974 were hard years, Yoko wanted a own time and John went to Los Angeles where he sank into alcohol abuse and repeatedly engaged in fights and confusion.
In the second half of 1974 John and Yoko returned to live together and in 1975 was born Sean Lennon. John left his career to focus on his family.
In 1980 Lennon recorded a new album, with his wife. “Starting Over" and "Woman" reached number one in the charts.

Murder
On the night of December 8, 1980 John was approached by Mark David Chapman who shot Lennon in the back four times. The murderer was arrested, because he remained in place, waiting for the police arrive. He was finally sentenced to life imprisonment and is still kept in a cell separate from other prisoners because of death threats he received.


Since then mankind is wait for a new hero.






F.

REC - best thriller ever

I am not very used to watch movies, but one in particular caught my attention. Rec, an horror movie, tells the story of a reporter (Ángela) and a camera guy (Pablo) who goes to a fire station to record a routine night of the firefighters. They recieve a call from a building where the residents claim that an old woman is traped in her appartment. Two cops and two firefighters kicks the door and try to help her, when she suddenly bites a cop's neck and leaves him bleeding. The injuried policeman's partner and a firefighter tries to carry him outdoors, but the government had sealed the place, advising them their not allowed to leave because they're exposed to a biological agent and they must wait a sanitary agent to get inside. The night turns into a hell for everyone in the building.

If you like these kinds of movies which the enemies are the blood-thirsty dead people, then you must watch this masterpiece. It gives you the sensation of claustrophobia and achluophobia. It's full of gore and frights.

The most interesting of this film is that it was recorded with a single camera, held by a character. The intetion was to make the movie look like a report. And it really looks spontaneous.

Here's the spectators reactions.

The movie REC is Spanish. The Americans remade the movie and named it Quarentine.

In 2010 the sequence will be relased in Brasil. I searched for a more precise date, but diferent sources have given me diferent informations. One say it will be on January, other April, March and even October, so i'll just say it will be on 2010.

In the sequence, fifteen minutes have past since the government agents don't recieve comunication from people inside the building. They send a GEO (Grupo Especial de Operaciones, like a SWAT team of Spain) squad to see what's happening inside it.

There isn't much information about it, but a firing squad infers more action than the first movie. Here's a picture of it:

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The Seven Wonders of the World (or the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) is a widely-known list of seven remarkable constructions of classical antiquity. The earliest known version of the list was compiled in the 2nd century BC by Antipater of Sidon; it appears to be based on the guide-books popular among Hellenic sight-seers and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim.

The ancient Greeks loved to compile lists of the marvelous structures in their world. Though we think of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World as a single list today, there were actually a number of lists compiled by different Greek writers. Antipater of Sidon, and Philon of Byzantium, drew up two of the most well-known lists.

Many of the lists agreed on six of the seven items. The final place on some lists was awarded to the Walls of the City of Babylon. On others, the Palace of Cyrus, king of Persia took the seventh position. Finally, toward the 6th century A.D., the final item became the Lighthouse at Alexandria.

Since the it was Greeks who made the lists it is not unusal that many of the items on them were examples of Greek culture. The writers might have listed the Great Wall of China if then had known about it, or Stonehenge if they'd seen it, but these places were beyond the limits of their world.

It is a surprise to most people to learn that not all the Seven Wonders existed at the same time. Even if you lived in ancient times you would have still needed a time machine to see all seven. While the Great Pyramid of Egypt was built centuries before the rest and is still around today (it is the only "wonder" still intact) most of the others only survived a few hundred years or less. The Colossus of Rhodes stood only a little more than half a century before an earthquake toppled it.

However the seven wonders of the world are:

The Great Pyramid of Giza 2500 BC Approximate - Egyptians

Hanging Gardens of Babylon 600 BC - Babylonians - Destroyed by Earthquake

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus 550 BC - Anatolians - Destroyed by Fire 356 BC

Statue of Zeus at Olympia 435 BC - Greeks - Destroyed by Fire

Mausoleum of Halicarnassus 315 BC - Hellenized Carians - Destroyed by Earthquake

Colossus of Rhodes 292-280 BC - Hellenistic Civilization - Destroyed 224 BC by Earthquake

Lighthouse of Alexandria 3rd Century BC - Hellenistic Civilization - Destroyed by Earthquake

20 Years since the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Germany celebrated on Monday 9, the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which marked the beginning of the reunification of Germany and the end of the Cold War.

2009 is a great year to visit Germany and experience history where it unfolded. After more than 28 years of German division, the Berlin Wall fell overnight from November 9-10, 1989, marking a historical event of global significance. Today, 20 years later, Germany, Europe and the entire world look back, in order to look forward. Thanks to the peaceful revolution and the Fall of the Wall, millions of people were united as the two separeted German coutries were reunified.

The balance between East and West was again established.

Germany as a destination has become a country without borders, thrown open to visitors from all over the world. A country which is impressive in the way it connects the past, present and future; a country which also cordially invites you to visit the relics of that time and relive history.

R.

Circus of the Sun

Maybe you have heard about the spectacular “Cirque Du Soleil”, or maybe not. But here, you will get a short look into this magical world, that has shocked and amazed all continents around the world.
It all began when a group of street performers in Quebec (Canada) decided to get together and jointly create a venue for their passion. The leader of the group, Guy Laliberté, has ever since the foundation in 1982, created some of the most thrilling and innovative shows in the world.



Through the 1900s and 2000s, Cirque has expanded rapidly, and nowadays around 4,000 people are working in this huge community, and the artists are from 40 different countries.

Cirque Du Soleil is not a traditional circus with animals. The shows are based on histories and is concentrated on telling the audience a story, full of beauty, elegance and elements taken from the Idea of a Circus, with clowns, fantasy and unreal creatures. All of the artists are elected because of their undoubtful talent in acrobatics and gymnastics.
The shows are influenced by ballet, opera and rock with features from medieval and baroque. All the garment is very colorful and the effects from the make up give a magical illusion of the contortionists, jugglers and clowns.
During the shows there is live music playing and the spoken language is "Cirquish", an imaginary dialect created by the company.

If you want to have a piece of this delightful and absolutely stunning adventure, Cirque Du Soleil is coming again to Rio de Janeiro, january 9th, performing on of their most marvellous shows: “Quidam”!

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/

E.J.L.

It’s decision time

The year is ending… And most students who are finishing high school want to enter a college. In the USA, some universities and colleges use tests like SAT, ACT and GRE. Otherwise, many colleges have rejected these standardized tests; they prefer to evaluate students through other means, such as the grades the student received in a previous school.
In Brazil, the entrance examination is known as Vestibular, each college usually has its own test. The government wants to unify this, with ENEM, the student wouldn’t need to make registration in several college tests.
But, are we, teenagers, prepared to face all this pressure? I don’t think so. A research made by Federal University of Santa Catarina in 2003, with 754 teenagers - vestibulandos and pré-vestibulandos (how students who will take vestibular are called) brought out that 43% of them showed stress symptoms. Young people with stress have been related in different places, like the USA., Turkey, Pakistan, Japan, Sweden, France and South Africa. Some consequences are: low self-esteem, eating disorders, clinical depression, homicide, suicide, antisocial behavior, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia and drug abuse.

All these disorders can be avoided with parents' support, giving theirs sons and/or daughters affection and safety. The parents can’t force a child to become an adult of a sudden. Each thing has its time.
As Jim Morrison would say “Time to live / Time to lie / Time to laugh / Time to die / Take it easy, baby / Take it as it comes”.

F.

This is Halloween!!

Halloween

Halloween is nowadays known as a night (typically 31st of October), when children wear scary costumes such as witches, zombies, ghosts and vampires.
They go from house to house, knock on the doors, with the message “trick or treat”.
This comes from a threat to ask for candy, “give me a treat, or I will play a trick on you”.
This holiday is celebrated in various countries all over the world: Canada, New Zealand, U.K., Japan, Bahamas, United States, Australia, Scandinavia and many Latin American coutries where its known as “Noche de las Brujas”(night of the witches).
Originally, Halloween has its roots from Christian Missionaries, and the Day was called “All Hallows Eve”, which was the night before the Holiday of “All Saints holy day”.
This day was used by the Christian Missionaries to convert Pagan people into christianity.


Jack O' Lantern
During Halloween, it is very popular to decorate your frontyard with a carved pumpkin, which you personalize with a face and put a light inside it.This pumpkin is known as
Jack-O’-Lantern, which has its origin in an old Irish legend. Old Jack was a stingy man and when he died he couldn’t enter heaven because of all his bad actions. So, he carved a turnip and put a burning coal into it, making a kind of lantern to use to find a place to rest in the darkness. Since this time, Irish children carved turnips to scare away witches.
But, when Irish people moved to America, instead of turnips, the children carved pumpkins and put a candle inside to remember the story of bad old Jack and the lantern.

E.J.L

Woodstock 40th Anniversary

40 years ago, more specifically from August 15 to August 18, in 1969, it was held at a farm near the town of Bethel, New York, a music festival which put together almost 500 million of students, artists, workers and people - very high on LSD - celebrating love, peace and music. In spite of it, just 200 were arrested and only 2 of them died.
At first, tickets were sold for US$ 18, around 186,000 people bought it. But on the day of the event, fences were destroyed and it became a free festival.
Under rain and mud, the crowd watched concerts of artist such as Joe Cocker, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Santana, Sly & the Family Stone and The Who. Many bands are no longer on the road or its members have already died, but they surely wrote their names in the history of the music.

Photographed by chance, the couple above became worldwide famous. 40 years later, asked to summarize the festival Nick says, “The main message of Woodstock was: Look, we are young, and this is what we do. We get together and become stronger to protest against what was happening at that moment, and also enjoy and have fun. We help each other, and after we went away in peace".

One of the shows at Woodstock:


F.

INTO THE WILD

This time, we have chosen to write about a famous park founded in 1973 . The name of the park is ‘Ibitipoca’, which actually means cleft in the mountain range. It is located
in the city of Lima Duarte near Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais.
The first inhabitants in the area were the Aracis Indians. They lived in the caves on the mountains, where travelers also settled down when they were passing through the state.
The forest reserve includes several natural attractions like the natural pools, look-out points, waterfalls, caves, ‘beaches’ and mountain peaks, which attract almost two thousand tourists a week.
The fauna and flora have a lot of diversity. There are more than 800 plant species that include bromelias, orchids, lichens, albertina and ferns. Ibitipoca Park has not only
plants, but also a wide variety of animals like the maned wolf, vinaceous-mountain lion, biscutate swift, masked titi monkey, breasted parrot, black howler monkey, silvery monkey, coati.
Some wonderful places to visit are: the 'Caminho das Águas', which has a variety of attractions such as ‘Cachoeira dos Macacos’; ‘Prainha’, with clear, cold water from ‘Rio do Salto’; ‘Lago dos Espelhos’, with water that reflects the sunshine; ‘Ponte de Pedra’, a particular landscape - a huge tunnel that was dug by the force of water; ‘Janela do Céu’, a drop of 20 meters from ‘Rio Vermelho’.
We absolutely recommend this park, because it is a must-see if you are in Minas Gerais. Beautiful, immune and idyllic nature, it will be an unforgettable experience for your inner adventurer.

E.J.L.

Changes...

For the first time in years, the Olympic Games will be held in a developing country in South America – Brazil. Consequently, we will have to spend about 25 billion in the infrastructure needed for the games. Besides that, a great deal of problems like public transportion, violence, lack of rooms in hotels and many others will have to be solved in seven years.

People should remember that the 2014 Soccer World Cup will also take place here, causing expenditures that could triple in a few more millions or billions depending on the situation of Brazilian stadiums.

Many Brazilians think seven years is enough time to make all necessary changes to host games of this level. On the other hand, many critiques concerning the Brazilian Olympic bid are very relevant: lack of a consistent public policy directed to sports in the country, and the need for profound structural changes in Brazilian sport organization.

We just hope the changes to come are better than the 'portuglish' translations on the signs :D

R.

Recycle... Reuse... Reduce...

Nowadays, the concern around nature destruction is growing. For this reason, designers start to think better of the relationship between the fashion industry and the environment. This new trend is called Eco-fashion and usually encompasses clothes made from raw, organic materials such as cotton grown without pesticides, fibers made from bamboo and other exotic plants, reused cloth or materials made from recycled items, for instance, plastic bottles.
These clothing lines show that the planet doesn’t have to suffer with fashion in any way and, not only the designers but also the consumers realized that this alternative can create beautiful vestments with natural resources and zero waste.

E.J.L

Aminoacid found in comet reinforces the theory of extraterrestrial life

It has been proven the existence of the aminoacid glycine in the samples of the Wild-2 comet, collected by the spacecraft StarDust. This aminoacid is used by livings to produce proteins that have important functions in their bodies, from the structure of the hair to the production of enzymes.

Part of the elements to make life exist is formed in space and arrives on planets when comets fall on them. The impact zone would get warm, which is necessary to keep microorganisms alive.

Therefore, that means we might be partially aliens.

G.

Let´s cook!

Our first post is about a typical Greek dish. We chose it because it is practical to cook and really mouthwatering. Although its Greek origin, this dish is reminiscent of Italian food because the south of Italy is located near Greece, thus it causes similarity of many dishes.
In many regions of Greece, pastitsio is called macaronia tou fournou. Pastitsio takes its name from the Italian pasticcio, also known as lasagna al forno in some regions of Italy.
You should prepare this recipe because it is really tasty.

Ingredients:
• ½ kg penne
• ½ kg ground beef
• 1 teacup broth
• 2 spoons olive oil
• 1 big onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 spoon tomato sauce
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese

White Sauce:
• 4 spoons butter
• 5 spoons flour
• 500ml milk
• ½ teacup natural yogurt
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

For the Instructions on how to prepare the PASTITSIO, watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bSOSOLDUZE

E.J.L