The Love Dare by Stephen and Alex Kendrick.

[Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13: 7-8

The Love Dare is a challenge of 40 days for husbands and wives prepare to change their lives and their marriages. The book is really interesting because you are challenged to a task per day. You have to go step by step, day by day without omitting a task. If you follow the instructions for 40 days, you´ll learn to live a happier life with your beloved.
I read the Spanish version “El Desafío del Amor” and I also watched the film “Fireproof” (which is based on the book), and both are a great combination. I dare you to read the book and watch the film. Are you ready?

Butterfly

Music of the sun recorded by scientists

A group of astronomers at Sheffield University in U.K. have just recorded the music of the sun for the first time. According to the article, the shining circle of light seen round the sun is not only that. Rather, it’s filled with coronal loops which vibrate from side to side as what happens when you play a guitar. Using satellite, scientists managed to change the images of the coronal loops to sounds. For that reason it´s heard a kind of melody.
Professor Robertus von Fáy-Siebenbürgen of Sheffield University said that this naturally music not only is beautiful but could also help scientists who are researching on the sun´s functions. (Taken from: www.telegraph.co.uk)

Butterfly

THE MAN OF THE HOUSE by Frank O´Conor

“The man of the house” is the story of a ten- year- old boy who lives with his mother and takes wonderful care of her while she is ill.
The story begins when the boy woke and heard his mother coughing. As soon as he got up, he went to the kitchen and saw his mother collapsed into a little armchair, holding her side. She had made an attempt to light the fire, but it had gone against her. She looked so tired and helpless that the little child ran to her. Immediately, he made her a cup of tea and ordered her to stay at home ( she wanted to go to work) and then, he went to school. When the boy came back, he met a neighbour at home, Minnie Ryan, who worried him because she feared that her mother might get pneumonia. Desperately, the boy called the doctor who, after examining his mother, gave him a prescription. As quick as a flash, the child rushed to buy the medicine, but it was in the moment when he was due to save his mother, that a little girl blocked his way home. She was so pleasant and talkative, that managed to persuade the boy to drink his mother´s medicine. Finally, when he realized that he had made a terrible mistake, he only hoped for a miracle to recover her mother from the illness.
I like this story because it shows how inocent children are sometimes and that when they have a problem they are able to find a solution.

Bryana

The rape of the lock

The poem is about a young girl, Belinda, who is about to suffer the worst fate of all: she is about to lose one of her locks. Her guardian sylph, Ariel, warned Belinda about what is going to happen to her but Belinda pays little attention to Ariel’s warnings. Ariel realises this and promise Belinda to protect her to the best of her abilities. That day, after Belinda got dressed and put her make up on, she travels to Hampton Court Palace, an ancient royal residence outside of London, where a group of wealthy young mare are gathering for a party. Among them is the Baron, who has already made up his mind to steal a lock of Belinda’s hair. He has risen early to perform and elaborate set of prayers and sacrifices to promote success in this enterprise. When the partygoers arrive at the palace, they enjoy a tense game of cards which is followed by a round of coffee. Then the Baron takes a pair of scissors and manages, on the third try, to cut off the coveted lock of Belinda’s hair. Belinda is furious and wants her curl back. So, she initiates a fight between the ladies and the gentlemen, in which she attempts to recover the severed curl but the lock is lost in the confusion. However; the poet consoles Belinda with the suggestion that it has been taken up into the heavens and immortalized as a constellation.
I chose this poem because, through humor and irony, the writer reveals the what society was like at that time. People paid more attention to appearance than to more important values such as virtue and chastity.

Sun

Where to live?

We all know that living in the countryside is not the same as living in a city.
First of all, living in the countryside is more peaceful and you are more in contact with nature. It is also true that in the countryside, you can learn more about animals, plants and fruits. However, nowadays young people prefer to live in big cities. There, teenagers have access to more technology and they are able to communicate using computers, internet, cell phones, etc. Besides, they have in cities more possibilities of finding a good job than they would have in the countryside.
Secondly, cities are far more dangerous than farms because they have high rates of homicide, robberies and violence. Despite that, young people still prefer living in cities.
In my opinion, I would prefer living in the countryside because I love working with animals. Yet, I know that living in a city would give me more opportunities. Therefore, I think it would be best to study in a city, and then work in a small town or village afterwards. It would be wonderful!

Milky Way

The Birthmark- by Nathaniel Hawthorne-

The Birthmark, a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, tells the story of Georgiana, a young and beautiful lady, and her husband, Aylmer, a scientist obsessed with perfection.
Georgiana was beautiful in nearly every respect, almost perfect; her one flaw was a tiny birthmark, like a red hand, on her cheek. When she blushed, the mark would blend in with the rest of her cheek and almost disappear. But when her face returned to its normal pale shade, there was the mark again.
Aylmer was one of the greatest scientists of his time. Once, he had been obsessed with his work, but now he had two equal passions: science and his new found love, Georgiana. He thought that through science he might give his love the gift of perfection. The birthmark shocked him since it was the only defect about Georgiana, and he was determined to get rid of it. He was so obsessed with the mark, that he preferred to put his wife´s life in danger than to have to look at the hideous mark everyday for the rest of his life. Then, he gave Georgiana a potion to make the birthmark disappear. On the contrary, the tiny red hand remained there, on his wife´s cheek.
Despite his intelligence, Aylmer was a shallow man who threw away love and happiness in his selfish search for physical perfection.
The Birthmark leaves us a message that says that we should try to look for inner beauty in people, what they look like from the inside, since that is the only thing that matters in the long run. Looks do not last for ever; inner beauty never goes away, though.

QueenV.

Once upon a time there lived a young scientist, Aylmer, who was among the greatest ones of his time. Such was Aylmer´s fascination for science, that everything he did was carefully studied before, so as to be perfect. But then, that demanding search for perfection overstep the lab; particularly, to his beloved wife, Georgiana. She was thought to be perfect by everyone except for him. Though Aylmer knew she had an overall beauty which captivate most men, there was a slight imperfection on her. It was a tiny reddish birthmark on her left cheek, which would almost dissappear when she blushed. Aylmer became obsessed with that mark to the point he couldn´t even stand looking at it. From that moment on, he began looking for the way he could get rid of the birthmark. What would he risk to make his wife look perfect? That is something you will have to discover by reading this captivating and interesting short story.
(available to read online http://www.online-literature.com/poe/125/ )

IZZIE

FACEBOOK USERS TURN THEIR BACK ON VIRTUAL FRIENDS

A survey made by Facebook revealed that a big number of people are “ defriending” people within the social networking site. Social network users defriend or remove people from their personal pages because they now control strictly who has access to their profiles or photos.
A research shows that half of the Facebook users has defriended someone, and that they are more cautions about friendship, in opposition to the initial excitement of joining and connecting to anyone.
Fcebook users say they feel uncomfortable about people looking through their profiles and lives, and they decide to remove those people not so close to them.
The trend is to protect privacy on the site, and that is why Facebook revised and redesigned its privacy controls and settings page.
Although the maximum of friends on Facebook is up to 5,000, the research shows that many users have an average of 120 friends.
I think that this article points out to something completely true, because people are taking care about their relationships, and sometimes virtual friends are not the same as real ones.

QueenV.

Away from home

Cold Holidays

The other day, while I was reading some papers, I discovered an interesting article. This article talks about an unusual place to spend holidays. It is a curious Hotel in Jukkasyarviin in the north of Sweden. The whole building is completely made of snow and everything in it, except for doors. There is a theatre, a radio station, and a large ice bar. What is more incredible is the fact that rooms have no doors, There is no furniture, no heating, and everyone sleeps on ice beds.Unbelievable, isn´t it. Well if you decide to spend a night it costs 30 £. Would you like to stay in this hotel?

Gocu

Rider Chan and the night river

The short story is about two brothers who were born in a small village near south China. Their father died soon after, and it was their mother who raised them. She loved her sons deeply; she had little time for them because she worked all day long.
When news of the California gold rush reached China, the two brothers, one hard worker and the other lazy, decided to emigrate. The hard worker one became known as Rider Chan for the courage and strength he showed when delivering mail and medicines, while the other brother disappeared into gold country. One night, as he was crossing a river, a spirit suddenly grabbed his ankle and pulled him harder and harder into the water. Even when at first the spirit didn't hear Rider Chan's screams of terror, at the end he released him, when Rider Chan explained how he carried mail and medicines. Rider Chan thanked the spirit, and said that he owed it a favour. The spirit asked the man to bury its body, and as Rider Chan was up to that he saw a knife protruding from the spirit's back. “Who did this?” he asked. The spirit told Rider that it was his greedy, ambitious partner, with whom he struck gold. "He also ate the food I had poisoned for him, so he is dead too", the spirit confessed, and explained that his ambitious partner was Rider Chan’s brother. The spirit asked Rider Chan to collect the gold, which was still safe, and send it to his mother. Rider Chan did so and his mother felt very proud of her children, because she never knew what had happened to Rider Chan's brother. Rider Chan's brother was ambitious and greedy, but Rider Chan, who loved his brother and his mother even more, never told his mother what his brother had done. Therefore, this is a story of ambition and greediness, but this is also a tale of love and courage!

Milky Way

The manhood of the future

Diario Clarín- Suplemento The New York Times. Sábado 26 de Junio de 2010.

While many countries still resist to accept woman´s rights and maternity leaves, more than half of Swedish fathers ask for a paternity leave. Inevitably, this is accompanied by a change in the social roles of men and women.

The paternity leave was first applied in 1995, and it had an inmediate answer on the part of the Swedish citizens. Though fathers were not obliged to stay at home, doing so would mean the loss of many benefits. In 2002, one more month was added to the already existing leave, extending it to two months of lenght. Nowadays, Swedish fathers have 390 days for paternity leaves at disposal. Of course they are paid, and fathers can decide on how to take those days (on months, days or even hours) until their children are 8 years old.

While fathers are asking for leaves of absense, women are becoming more like men; women are reaching higher positions at work, and their incomes are raised every time a man asks for a paternity leave. Such is the case of university graduates who get to an agreement on how they take their leaves. They usually divide them equally so as to avoid any of them having a dominant role or being absent from work too much time.

Though many countries are reluctant to this idea of men taking paternity leaves, some others are studying this model in order to apply it. As European birth rates are increasingly declining, and the shortage of work is growing, this model is being taken into account by many governments. Portugal, Germany and Iceland can be found among the countries who had already implemented this kind of leave.

IZZIE

No one less

No one less is an interesting, didactic, attractive and constructive Chinese movie. This movie is based on a real history which takes place in China. Where a young girl called Wei Minshi, who has no previous experience in teaching English, has to work as a substitute teacher in a rural school. At the beginning, Wei Minshi had many problems with students because she teaches English using a traditional approach, with an inflexible and structural framework. For instance, students copy lessons from the blackboard and there was no interaction among them. Everything was mechanical; there was no motivation, pupils were passive actors in the process of learning. They were not interested in learning anything, but what was worst a ten-year-old student decided to escape from school to the city. So the teacher tries to find this pupil and bring him back as soon as possible. This situation affects everybody in classroom; it is the first time that students and teacher have had the same interest and work together to find out a solution. The relationship between them completely changes; they collect money and work out to get his partner back as soon as possible.
I think that it is a good story to take into account as future teachers no matter if they have experience or not, anyway we should try to motivate students as much as possible. Whenever you teach, it is necessary to give students a real situation, real context that interests them and teach them to work together in order to share their believes, thoughts and feelings.

Gocu