Durangoko Azoka

“Durangoko azoka” euskal literatura eta musika alorrean aurkitzen den azoka nagusia dela esan daiteke, bertan elkartzen baitira, euskal idazle, poeta, musikari….guztiak.

Azoka hau abenduko lehen hamostaldian egin ohi da, abenduaren 6 eta 8aren inguruan normalean, eta bertan euskal kulturako azken berriak saltzen dira, aurreko urteetako eleberri, liburu, nobela, CD eta abarrekin batera. “Durangoko Euskal Liburu eta Disko Azoka” euskal kulturaren eta euskararen erakusleiho nagusi bilakatzen ari da, bertan elkartuz euskal kulturako hainbat alor.

Azokaren Historia:

Azokaren lehen pausuak duela 37 urte eman ziren, 1965eko azaroaren 1ean hain zuzen ere. Andra Mari eleizako arkupean postuak jartzen hasi ziren, oraindik ere Frankoren diktadurapean. Edizio horretan 19 argitaletxek hartu zuten parte, eta Gerediaga Elkarteak antolatutako edizioa izan zen. Azoka honetarako, 100.000 pezetako aurrekontua bakarrik izan bazuten ere, guztia aurrera ateratzea lortu zuten. Aipatzekoa da, gaur egun ere oraindik elkarte honek jarraitzen duela azoka hau antolatzen, beste hainbat erakunderekin batera, hala nola, Gipuzkoako, Bizkaiko eta Arabako Foru Aldundiak, BBK kutxak, Eroski Fundazioak, Durangoko Udalak eta LESA landako erakustazokak.

Gerediaga Elkartearen esanetan, lehen edizioaren helburua “Euskal Herrian zegoen liburugintza eta diskogintzaren ekoizpena ezagutzera ematea” zen. Lehen edizio horrek arrakasta izan zuenez, azokarekin aurrera jarraitzea erabaki zuten.

Hurrengo edizioak ere Andra Mariko elizpean ospatu ziren, eta aurrerago, Merkatuko plazara pasa ziren, geroz eta jende gehiago hurbiltzen zelako azokara, eta horrek Gobernadore zibilekin arazoak zekartzan. 2003an landako gunea inauguratu eta bertan tokia hartu zuten arte.  1980. urterarte azaroaren 1ean egiten bazen ere, urte honetan abenduan egitera pasa zen.

1996 urtean merkatua utzita karpa erraldoi batera igaro ziren, aurrez aipatu bezala, landako gunea ireki zuten arte, 2003an. Gaur egun, gune honetan hartu du tokia azokak, eta urtetik urtera jende gehiago hurbiltzen da bertara, euskal kultura eta bertako kultura eta folklorea indartuz.

Abenduan egin ohi den azoka honetan ez dira soilik liburu edo diskak saltzen, bertan kontzertuak, liburu eta CD sinaketak, eta beste hainbat eta hainbat ekintza egiten dira, bai haur, gazte eta helduentzat.

Jende ezaguna Durangoko azokan!

Bideo honetan ikusi daitekeen bezala, jende asko mugitzen da Durangoko azokaren munduan, bai jende ezaguna (idazle abeslari) eta herriko jendea ere, horiek gabe ez balitzateke posible izango Durangoko Azoka erraldoi hau aurrera eramatea.

Eraztunen Jauna

Post honetan, “Eraztunen Jauna” trilogia azalduko dut. 10 urte inguru izan arren eta nahiz eta “The Hobbit” pelikula atarian daukagun, ezin ditugu film hauek ahaztu. Aipatutako Peter Jacksonen pelikula berriak aurreko sagaren pasioa berriro ere piztu du, eta horregatik post hau eskaini nahi nizueke.

Eraztunen Jauna trilogia zinemaratu egin den saga bat da. Hiru filmez dago osatuta: “Eraztunen Jauna: Eraztunaren Elkartea”, “Eraztunen Jauna: Bi dorreak” eta “Eraztunen Jauna: Erregearen Itzulera”. 2001. urtean agertu zen lehenengo pelikula, 2002an bigarrena eta hurrengo urtean azkenengoa.

J. R. R. Tolkien idazleak idatzitako eleberrian dago oinarrituta trilogia. Tolkienek 1954. urtean amaitu zuen idazten, eta 1978an gaztelerara itzuli zen. Pelikula hauek baino lehen, 1978an Ralph Bakshi zuzendariak Tolkienen liburuaren lehenengo zati erdia zinemara eraman zuen, baina animaziozko pelikula gisa.

Proiektu zinematografiko erraldoiena izan omen da, eta 2900 milioi dolar bildu ziren hiru pelikulak batuz. Proiektu osoa 8 urtez garatu zen, eta eszena guztiak Zeelanda Berrian grabatu ziren, Peter Jacksonen aberrian.

Itzelezko proiektu honek oso mereziak dituen sari ugari irabazi zituen. 17 Oscar Sari, 10 BAFTA sari eta 10 Urrezko Globo sari jaso zituen. Horrez gain, lehenengo pelikulak 870.000.000 USD inguru bildu zituen, gutxien bildu zituena izanik. Bigarrenak, ia 930.000.000, apur bat gehiago. Baina azkenengoa izan zen txapela irabazi zuena, bere diru-bilketa 1.119.000.000koa izatera heldu baitzen. Hirugarren pelikula, “Eraztunen jauna: Erregearen Itzulera”, bilketa handiena lortu duten filmen rankingean dago, 6. postuan, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” aurrean izanik. Beste bi filmak atzerago daude zerrendan, lehenengoa 29. postuan eta bigarrena 20.ean.

Nobelaren jarraitzaileen artetik, kritikak ere jaso ditu. Nobela eta pelikulen arteko akatsak ugariak direla diote. Agertzen ez diren pertsonaiak, eszena oso garrantzitsu ukatuak, eszena batzuk nahasturik euren artean…  Adibidez, lehenengo pelikulan, Nazgûl talde batek Frodo eta bere lagunak erasotzen dituzte. Bat-batean, Arwen elfoa agertzen da protagonistak salbatzeko. Liburuan, bestalde, Glorfindel deitutako beste elfo bat azaltzen da, Nazgûl horiek hil eta lagun-taldea salbu ipintzen dituena.

Inkongruentzia horiek izanagatik ere, trilogiak itzelezko arrakasta izan zuen. Argi ikus daiteke jaso zituen sari kopuruan. Aktoreak oso famatuak dira, eta ederto jokatu zuten euren paperean. Protagonista nagusia, Frodo Bolson, Elijah Wood aktoreak egin zuen, eta bere lagun banaezina, Samsagaz Gamyi, Sean Astin da. Bestalde, hiru kide gerlariak, Aragorn, Legolas eta Gimli, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom eta John Rhys-Davies aktoreek  hurrenez hurren egiten dute euren papera.

Esandako guztiagatik, trilogia ezin hobea gauzatu zuen Jacksonek. Kritika diezaiokegun gauza bakarra, nire ustez, liburuarekiko akatsak dira. Hala ere, jantziak, musika, akzioa, tramaren garapena eta aktoreek bikain daukate, eta horiek guztiek beste arazoak minimizatzen dituzte.

 

Erreferentziak:

• Anon, El Señor de los Anillos. Aurum. Available at: http://www.elsenordelosanillos.aurum.es/film/trilogy/ [Accessed December 14, 2012a].
• Anon, El Señor de los Anillos: La Comunidad del Anillo. IMDb. Available at: http://www.imdb.es/title/tt0120737/ [Accessed December 14, 2012b].
• Anon, El señor de los anillos Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Available at: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilog%C3%ADa_cinematogr%C3%A1fica_de_El_Se%C3%B1or_de_los_Anillos [Accessed December 14, 2012c].
• Anon, Lord of the Rings. Available at: http://www.lordoftherings.net/ [Accessed December 14, 2012d].
• Anon, Los 10 errores garrafales de la adaptación al cine de El Señor de los Anillos. Efecto Tetris. Available at: http://www.efectotetris.com/2011/05/25/los-10-errores-garrafales-de-la-adaptacion-al-cine-de-el-senor-de-los-anillos/ [Accessed December 14, 2012e].

 

Munich and Christmas

Abstract

With this post, I want you to explain a little bit a topic which is related with Christmas. Here, I tell my experience in Munich and its Christmas Markets, giving different details and encouraging people to visit the wonderful city of Munich.

Three years ago I visited by this period of time one city that personally I love it; this city was Munich. Munich is the capital of Bavaria in south Germany and it is famous because of the Beer Celebration “Oktoberfest” and because it is the capital of the well-know  car factory of BMW and the headquarter of “Bayern München” football team. But, the first time, when I visited the city, I only enjoyed visiting the incredible Christmas Market of the city that my German teacher had encouraged me to visit one year before.

The Munich Christmas Market is not the only one in Germany,also there are other Christmas Markets  Central Europe, but it is the oldest Christmas Market of Germany. The tradition of this event set out in XIV century, although the form of today´s market started in 1972. On the other hand, the main Christmas Market of Munich is in the city centre, in Marienplatz, even if all city is decorated and in all areas are different and more familiar Christmas Markets.

The name of the market is “Christkindlmarkt” because it refers to the Jesus Baby, and we have to remember that we are in a very Catholic part of Germany. Apart from that, this character is the character that brings the presents to children in South-Germany, Austria and Switzerland. By this time of the year, people who visit Munich will be able to enjoy listening fantastic choruses of children in markets, but also in anywhere, for instance in “Frauenkirche” Cathedral, or in the streets of the Bavarian capital city.

But, what can we say about different foods? Not only in Germany are sausages, sauerkraut or knuckle, there are other ingredients, other flavors in German gastronomy, and this period of time is a really good time to try out with other recipes of the Germanic country. For example, in Munich, in Christmas and in other cities of Germany, is very typical the “Glühwine”, also the typical Christmas biscuits, chocolates, and so on. On the night, the city become into a spectacular landscape of lights whose central element is a fir tree in the centre of Council Square (Marienplatz) and in front of the “Altrathaus”. What it´s more, if you want, you have the opportunity to visit different nativity scenes in streets of the city; there is as well a market where is specializing in Bethlehem figures.

I have to say that I was only once in winter, in Germany, but I know that there are other different Christmas Markets, for instance in “Köln” (Cologne), where there are other four different Christmas Markets. But, only two are deserved to be visited obligatorily: “Am Dom” near the famous cathedral and the other one: “Alter Market” where the activity is frenetic.
On the hand, and in the same region where Munich is, we have Nuremberg and its Christmas Market. Here, there is an ancient tradition which it consist on a solemn opening of the market. The “Christkind” offers a speech and the market start.

In any case, visit Germany in winter can be a wonderful option to have contact with the old tradition of Christmas Markets. Here we don´t have this kind of tradition, since the markets were an invention against the winter´s cold, so if we want to try out the Christmas spirit, Munich our city. But we have to remember that the majority of markets are usually closed to the Christmas Day.

References:

-El mercado de Navidad de Munich. (2009).Viajeros Barceló. Retrieved from http://blogs.viajerosbarcelo.com/2009/11/el-mercado-de-navidad-de-munich/#.UMdnxPm3Isx

-Gómez, J. (n.d.). El Mercadillo de Navidad en Munich. Sobreturismo. Retrieved from http://sobreturismo.es/2007/12/24/el-mercadillo-de-navidad-en-munich/

-Munguía, I. (2009). Los mejores mercados de Navidad en Europa. Diario del viajero. Retrieved from http://www.diariodelviajero.com/europa/los-mejores-mercados-de-navidad-de-europa

8 mile

8 mile; produced by Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment, is an American dramatic film directed by Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential) and starring Eminem, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer, Taryn Manning and  Brittany Murphy.

The film tells the story about Jimmy Smith Jr.; who is called B. Rabbit by his friends. He, who loves hip-hop music, lives in Detroit, in a poor and predominantly black population.

Bioclimatic Architecture

Today,  we are living a difficult tima for architecture and construction. The Crise is affecting this field harder than others and it is important to know, that in architecture, the quality is much more important than the quantity. Respecting the environment is one of the principal goals that architectura is trying to achieve all along the 21st century. We have made a lot of improvements but there is a lot to do yet.

What is bio­cli­matic architecture?

Build­ing that takes into account cli­mate and envi­ron­men­tal con­di­tions to help achieve ther­mal com­fort inside. It deals with design and archi­tec­tural ele­ments, avoid­ing com­plete depen­dence on mechan­i­cal sys­tems, which are regarded as sup­port.  (i.e. Using nat­ural ven­ti­la­tion or mixed mode ven­ti­la­tion)  Archi­tec­ture that has a con­nec­tion to Nature.

Here we have an example about how to use natural resources like orientation, vetnilation, etc to make a  construction energetically more efficient

But, does it really work?

Tra­di­tional tech­niques work, and in Spain we know it well: the cool­ness inside a thick-walled tra­di­tional vil­lage house at noon in August, the com­fort of a tra­di­tional patio in Andalu­cia on a hot day, or how the sun enters through South ori­ented win­dows in win­ter replac­ing  the need for heat­ing. If this works, don’t you think it could be pos­si­ble, through care­ful house design, to design houses like this today?  Answer–Yes! It is entirely pos­si­ble to design mod­ern bio­cli­matic hous­ing and archi­tec­ture, using nat­ural ven­ti­la­tion, pas­sive solar design, and sus­tain­able materials.

How much does it cost?

A bio­cli­matic house needn’t be either cheaper nor more expen­sive, uglier or nicer, than any other. The bio­cli­matic house doesn’t need the pur­chase and instal­la­tion of com­pli­cated and expen­sive sys­tems, but it just uses the reg­u­lar archi­tec­tural ele­ments to increase the ener­getic per­for­mance and get a nat­ural com­fort. To achieve this, the bio­cli­matic design imposes a set of guide­lines, but there still remains a lot of free­dom to design accord­ing to indi­vid­ual taste. Sit­ing of the build­ing, con­sid­er­a­tion of solar access, col­lec­tion of rain­wa­ter, using ther­mal mass to your advan­tage, cor­rect fen­es­tra­tion and solar shad­ing all can be taken into account when design­ing, and the end prod­uct you have is a much more energy effi­cient while being in tune with its sur­round­ings and Nature.

Then, why is bio­cli­matic archi­tec­ture is not well known?

Clothes mean much more to us that the need for ther­mal pro­tec­tion (started sim­ple and some­times lost to the con­cept of fash­ion), hous­ing means more than the need for a com­fort­able place to live, and may rep­re­sent, for exam­ple, a sta­tus sym­bol. As that sym­bol, it must adapt to the estab­lished stan­dards of sta­tus, some­times ignor­ing the envi­ron­ment (i.e. McMan­sions). Energy sav­ing and tak­ing advan­tage of the sun may not fit into these stan­dards, but hav­ing an expen­sive con­di­tion­ing sys­tem to over­heat in win­ter and over­cool in sum­mer every sin­gle space in the house (even if it is sel­dom used) may seem nec­es­sary. The cul­tural iner­tia of the over­done, is hard to stop, because right now its working.…and energy prices go up.

In despite of spo­radic aware­ness cam­paigns, pub­lic­ity takes pride every day to asso­ciate sav­ing with dis­com­fort and low sta­tus, and waste with easy liv­ing and pres­tige. And it gets the point across: a lot of peo­ple asso­ciate sav­ing energy to poverty. Sci­ence is dis­re­garded, global warm­ing has no real world con­se­quence, energy is wasted, peo­ple pay and pay with­out real­iz­ing it. Now our eco­nom­i­cal sys­tem needs us to con­sume as much as pos­si­ble so as to keep the wheel going.

The pow­ers that be are strong and they have built a legacy they want to con­tinue.  Big com­pa­nies (the legacy industries) refuse to inno­vate, lobby to keep the sta­tus quo–no energy sup­ply com­pa­nies is really inter­ested in new tech­nolo­gies for renew­able energy, just the new star­tups. How will they increase their ben­e­fits? How will they sell energy if you are mak­ing your own, or dont need as much because your new house works better. Air con­di­tion­ing man­u­fac­tur­ers aren’t inter­ested in alter­na­tive sys­tems that bust their tech­nol­ogy, nat­ural ven­ti­la­tion does not make money.

Archi­tects and builders don’t worry as far as their busi­ness goes well, and the con­sumer, with no infor­ma­tion on the topic, can­not demand alter­na­tive prod­ucts he does not know, ever won­der why there is no elec­tric car on your streets or solar pan­els on your roof?  Why would the pow­ers that be want you to get energy for free when they can charge for it?

Slowly, new pro­grams, smart com­pa­nies, eco cit­i­zens are becom­ing aware of the energy waste prob­lem, and things are babystep­ping forward–promoting research on the topic and gen­er­at­ing new leg­is­la­tion and stan­dards. For exam­ple, some­thing as sim­ple as good insu­la­tion in build­ings to keep heat inside is a topic for leg­is­la­tion of increas­ing impor­tance. And in a lot of coun­tries insti­tu­tions (USGBC.org) are appear­ing to per­form research and spread bio­cli­matic knowl­edge among archi­tects and builders (like CIEMAT in Spain). Hun­dreds of books have been writ­ten on the topic, and hun­dreds of projects related some how to bio­cli­matic archi­tec­ture have been imple­mented around the world, and slowly it takes hold.

One of the most important leaders of sustainable architecture is Norman Foster, who is one of the most respected architectural professionals in the world. With his ambitious goals in high tech architecture, he gave Great Britain and the entire world numerous architectural wonders.

                                 

 

media and references:

http://bioclimaticx.com/bioclimatic-architecture1/

http://www.concept-bio.eu/bioclimatic-architecture-buildings.php

http://www.cres.gr/kape/energeia_politis/energeia_politis_bioclimatic_eng.htm

http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/sijpkes/arch304/winter2001/sharve6/passive_solar/

http://www.colorcoat-online.com/blog/index.php/2011/03/norman-fosters-city-of-the-future-sustainable-zero-waste-and-car-free/

Mixology

Mixology

Mixology is the art, skill, science perhaps, of mixing alcoholic drink and turning them into delicious cocktails.  The word is a modern and more sophisticated way of referring to bar tendering. It started thank to the curiosity of people, of experimentation and today remains the same, maybe with some other cool gadgets and Scientifics, but the essence stays unchanged. Many books have been written on this art, and here you will find some drink recipes and some tips for being a good Bar Chef.

The Wild Bunch

The Wild Bunch is considered one of the best Westerns of all time, with a cast of an unquestionable strength. This unforgettable adventure of big general shots and fast action definitely deserves to stay in any films compendium. It stars William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O’Brien, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson and Jaime Sánchez. According to Vincent Canby, he called the film “very beautiful and the first truly interesting American-made Western in years. It’s also so full of violence –of an intensity that can hardly be supported by the story – that it’s going to prompt a lot of people who do not know the real effect of movie violence (as I do not) to write automatic condemnations of it.”

William Holden as Pike Bishop

 

Ernest Borgnine as Dutch Engstrom

 

Robert Ryan as Deke Thornton

Edmond O’Brien as Freddie Sykes

Ben Johnson as Tector Gorch/Warren Oates as Lyle Gorch

Jaime Sánchez as Angel

 

Director Sam Peckinpah opens the film with a group of children who are throwing ants over scorpions and setting fire to the nest, while some robbers disguised as U.S. soldiers arrive at the city. They want to make one last hold-up at the bank before retiring with the booty. When they leave the bank, it occurs a shooting during an anti-alcohol demonstration, among the gang and an unscrupulous bounty hunters (led by Deke Thornton, Pike’s former partner), causing the death of many innocents. Once the gang manages to escape, they realize that the hold-up has gone wrong when they find that there is no money in the sacks. Despite this, they must continue their flight towards a Mexico in war between the army of Mapache and Pancho Villa’s men.

Sam Peckinpah, author of such iconic films like Straw Dogs or The Getaway, made ​​an impressive modern Western about a gang of aging outlaws that look for their site in a new West.

When almost all formulas of Western were used up, Sam uses the genre applying the formula by which characterizes his works: the violence. In this way, anyone could think that The Wild Bunch is a movie out of date.

Warner Bros accepted to produce The Wild Brunch in order to beat Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969) to the theaters.

Thanks to this film, it is occurred a substantial change in the great western genre; the films before this were recreations of historical fact or mere adventures more or less likely, but in The Wild Bunch characters have a past, they have conflicts with law, they are able to show as much aggressiveness as solidarity or friendship: they are, in short, humans.

Wonderfully filmed, with an unforgettable soundtrack, The Wild Bunch is a heart-rending film about honor and camaraderie. There are many extraordinary scenes that remain in history like the final walk of Pike Bishop, Dutch Engstrom, Lyle and Tector Gorch Gorch towards the end of their destiny. It is advisable to see it in original version with subtitles because in this film characters speak both English and Spanish.

References:

Abuín, A., 2010. Sam Peckinpah: “Grupo salvaje”. 12/01/2010. Available at: http://www.blogdecine.com/cine-clasico/sam-peckinpah-grupo-salvaje [Accessed December 11, 2012].

Argüelles, M., 2010. Grupo salvaje (The wild bunch). Sam Peckinpah, EUA, 1969. 01/02/2010. Available at: http://www.elespectadorimaginario.com/pages/febrero-2010/criticas/grupo-salvaje.php [Accessed December 11, 2012].

Blanco Rodríguez, D., 2012. Far West: GRUPO SALVAJE (1969). 14/10/2012. Available at: http://theendfarwest.blogspot.com.es/2012/10/grupo-salvaje-1969-de-sam-peckinpah.html [Accessed December 11, 2012].

MrSambo, 2012. Crítica: GRUPO SALVAJE (1969). 06/08/2012. Available at: http://cinemelodic.blogspot.com.es/2012/08/critica-grupo-salvaje-1969-parte-14.html [Accessed December 11, 2012].

Márquez, J., 2012. “Grupo salvaje”, la desesperanzadora obra maestra de Peckinpah. 28/02/2012. Available at: http://www.ecartelera.com/noticias/10102/grupo-salvaje-desesperazandora-obra-maestra-peckinpah/ [Accessed December 11, 2012].

Schneider, S.J., 2003. 1001 películas que hay que ver antes de morir S. J. Schneider, ed., London: Cassell Illustrated.

Torres, A.M., 2006. Cine mundial, Madrid: Espasa.

Various, 2012a. Grupo Salvaje. Available at: http://www.fotogramas.es/Peliculas/Grupo-salvaje [Accessed December 11, 2012].

Various, 2012b. Grupo salvaje (1969). Available at: http://www.filmaffinity.com/es/film256070.html [Accessed December 11, 2012].

Various, 2012c. The Wild Bunch. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Bunch [Accessed December 11, 2012].

God Save The Village Green

Only a few days ago it was 44 years since The Kinks published in 1968 The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society. The album, believe it or not, was not a succesful record as it did not even get to appear in the UK charts and only sold around 100,000 copies. However, there is a time and a place for everything and the audience consider now this album one of the best (if not the best) the band has ever made and have tried to “understand” its commercial failure stating that the record was out of its time.

Queen

Queen is a British rock band formed in 1971 in London, by the guitarist Brian May, the singer Freddie Mercury, the drummer Roger Taylor and the bassist John Deacon.

This band was very successful, first in United Kingdom, with albums such as “SheerHeart Attack” and “A Night at the Opera”, but later on, that last album attracted attention internationally and as a result, they reached the point of putting the band in first line of the music scene. In 1980 Queen made big impact in the United States, with many successful collections.

Queen is consider to be the first music band doing from their concerts a great and very eye-catching shows, using bomb of smoke, flash pots, mobile lights and the main component, Freddie Mercury’s charisma.

With more than 300 million of CD sold, Queen, is one of the most successful groups of all time. Their album called “Greatest Hits” may be still being the album that most sold in the United Kingdom.

*The Origin

Everything started in 1968 when Brian May and Tim Staffel, two students form the Imperial Collage, created a band called “Smile”.  Roger Taylor joined the group as the drummer.  In 1970, Tim Staffel left the group and Farrokh Bomi Bulsara, better known as Freddie Mercury, joined Brian’s and Roger’s group. They also changed the band’s name from “Smile” to “Queen”. During their first concerts they had several bassists, until John Deacon, joined Queen one year later. And with those four names it was completed the most important British rock band of the history.

*The members of the group:

Brian May:

He was born in 19^th July, in 1947 in London. He is a musician and astrophysicist. He is known worldwide for being guitarist, composer, vocalist and sometimes keyboarder of the British band Queen.

He composed many of the big successes of Queen. He uses an electric guitar made by him and called “Red Special”.  When he was 16, he took the decision of chancing his guitar because with the one he had, he couldn’t play well the songs he listened on the radio and he tried to emulate. But as in those times, he didn’t have enough money to buy one, he decided to make it one with his father’s help who was electrical engineer.

Despite that, Brian continued looking for a characteristic sound and after some experiments he found out that playing the guitar with a coin of six penny, he was able to get a pure and clean sound. Consequently, that was the technique he used in albums and concerts of Queen. As I already said he was member of the group “Smile” before being a member of Queen. And although Freddie Mercury died in 1991, the other members on the group, including Brian May, worked in the project post-Queen and later on, he worked as soloist. He is considered one of the greatest and most original guitarists in history.

Roger Meddows-Taylor:

He was born in 26^th July, in 1949 in Kings Lynn Norfolk (United Kingdom). He was the drummer of Queen and is well-known and outstanding musician of the rock history. Some songs as soloist, he had acted as guitarist and vocalist.

In the band sang and record choirs, as well as, wrote famous songs of Queen, such as, “Sheer Heart Attack“, “I’m In Love With My Car“, “Innuendo“, “Radio Ga Ga“, “A Kind of Magic” and “Breakthru“.

But Roger Taylor, joined his first band in 1965, called “Johnny Quale and The Reaction”. When the singer of the group who was Johnny Quale left the group, Roger became the new singer and the band changed the name to “The Reaction”, which lasted until July of the year 1968. That year he moved to London Hospital Medical School of London, where he started to study odontology. But later, he left his studies in order to study biology in the North London Polytechnic.

As Brian May, he also was member of the group “Smile” until 1970 and he was the one who introduced Freddie Mercury to Brian May. After being member of Queen in which, he was a very influent person when taking artistic and businesses decisions, he started his soloist career.

 

Freddie Mercury:  http://www.freddiemercury.com/

Farrokh Bulsara, that was his real name, was born in 5^th September in 1946 in Zanzibar isle. But after he was born, his parents moved to Bombay. His father, Bomi, was official of the British Supreme Court. In 1954, he went to study to St. Peter School in Panchagani, (about 80 kilometers from Bombay). That was where his friends started to call Freddie, name that his family also adopted.

Freddie Mercury although stand out as athlete and he liked playing cricket, table tennis, hockey and to box, his real passion was art. He loved music and he used to spend hours listening old Cd-s and singing.

The headmaster of the school son found out his quality and convinced his parents to sign up in music classes. Freddie Mercury took part in the choir of the school and learnt to play the piano. In 1958, with other four friends, he formed a band of Rock’n’ Roll, “The Hectics”, where Freddie Mercury played the piano.

In 1962 Freddie Mercury when finished the school, he went back to Zanzibar, but in 1964, he had to immigrate to England because of the prewar situation that there was in the country. There he wanted to study art and he started a course at university.

Freddie Mercury was very friend of Tim Stafell, who with Brian May and Roger Taylor formed a music group called “Smile”. And when Tim Stafell left the group the other members of the group called to Freddie in order to replace Tim. Freddie accepted and after, they change the name of the band to Queen.

As I already have written in 1971, John Deacon joined the band and like that was completed. Freddie Mercury designed the log of the group based on the zodiacs signs of the members of the group: two virgins because of his sign Virgo, two lions because of Roger and John that they are Leo and one crab because of Brian, he was Cancer.

He was the author of the first Queen’s song which reached the British Top “Seven Seas of Rhye”, the first big success of Queen “Killer Queen” and the author of the most famous song of the band “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

In 1983, as Freddie Mercury was able to sing every type of music, he worked with the Royal Opera House in one of Verdi’s work. There he met for the first time Montserrat Caballé, and was fascinated with her voice. And as a result, they worked together, they did a concert in Wembley and in 1987 Freddie Mercury traveled to Barcelona to work with her and like that, they made the song “Barcelona” which was the used for the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992.

In 1991, the 23 of November, he declared that he had AIDS, and the next day, he died in London.

John Deacon:

 He was born in the 19^th August in 1951 in Leicester (United Kingdom) he is a famous musician because of being bassist of Queen. He studied electronic and mathematics in Chelsea College of London University and that is why he had to leave his band formed when he was 14 called “The New Opposition” and later on called “Art”.

While he was studying in London, he found the advertisement of the extraordinary music band Queen, saying that they were looking for one bassist. John Deacon’s passion was the guitars but he was good playing the bass guitar. So, he took the decision of doing the audition, and the rest members of the Queen group Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor, were impressed by him. Consequently, in 1971, as I already have written, John Deacon joined the group.

He composed mythical song for the group, as “I want to break free”, “You’re My Best Friend,” ”Another One Bites The Dust”, etc. Furthermore, he also was the financial administrator of the band.

When Freddie Mercury died in 1991, he decided not to continue with his contribution for the group, although he took part in the concert which was done to pay tribute to Freddie Mercury in 1992 and he also collaborated in the creation of the CD “Made in Heaven” in 1995, composed the song “No One But You” of the Queen Rocks CD and he collaborated in more public events until 1995.

But in 1997, John decided to leave completely the group, and consequently, he was missed in the production of the musical “We Will Rock You” and in the new group’s formation “Queen + PR”.

*Queen’s music career

In 1973 they recorded they first album “Queen”. The songs mixed the religiosity of Freddie Mercury and the typical rock in pure form.

While they were in tour as openers of the group “Moot the Hoople”, they recorded their second LP “Queen II”. They begin a tour form United Kingdom and they did their first tour to United States but also as openers of the same group, “Moot the Hoople”.

After that tour, they recorded “Sheer Heart Attack” in 1974 that resulted to be a huge success worldwide.

In 1975 Queen started his first tour in United States in solitary, and they had to do two shows per day because of the success they received. And in April they began a tour in Japan where they were received by thousands of fans.

In the same year, the launched the single “Bohemiam Rhapsody” which became a big success, because it was number one during nine weeks. “When A Night At The Opera” was on market it became rapidly in a success, giving them their first platinum CD.

In 1976 and until Freddie Mercury died, they recorded a lot of albums that most of them resulted to be a big success worldwide. To pay a tribute to Freddie Mercury, the rest of the band, launched two themes “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “These are the Day of our Lives”. The money they gained with them was for an organization for the fight against AIDS.

In 1992, the 20^th April, also to pay a tribute to Mercury, they made a concert in Wembley, London, and the 72.000 tickets were sold in 6 hours, and it wasn’t known who was going to performed.

In 1995, after 4 years working, they launched the last work with Freddie Mercury, “Made in Heaven”. At the end of this year, the made the last album of the band “Ultimate Queen”, a luxury box with the 20 CD s of Queen. Few months later, they edited they last CD, “Queen Rocks” with a song dedicated to Freddie Mercury “No One but you (Only the Good Die young)”.

*Queen’s bests songs (according to “Rolling Stones” readers)

. Bohemian rhapsody (form the album “A night at the opera”, 1975).

. Don’t stop me now (from the album Jazz, 1978).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM

. The show must go on (from the album “Innuendo”, 1991).

. Innuendo (from the album “Innuendo”, 1991).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sM2sGC9Xuc

. Under pressure (form the album “Hot space”, 1982).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a01QQZyl-_I

.  I want to break free (form the album “The works”, 1984).

. Killer queen (from the album “Sheer heart attack”, 1974).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAf2S6ij2gk

. Who wants to live forever (form the album “A kind of magic”, de 1986)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jtpf8N5IDE

. Great King Rat (from the album “Queen”, 1973).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2ZxV7wul8A

. Another one bites the dust (form the album “The game”, 1980).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEE

But there are more successful songs such as:

.We will rock you

. We are the champions

You have all the albums here  

*If you are interested in more information you can find it here:

http://www.queenonline.com/

http://www.lastfm.es/music/

http://www.rockmusic.org/queen/historia.htm

*Bibliography:

http://www.todomusica.org/queen/

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Meddows-Taylor

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_May

http://www.todomusica.org/freddie_mercury/

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Mercury

http://www.lastfm.es/music/John+Deacon

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Deacon

http://rollingstone.es/noticias/view/las-mejores-canciones-de-queen-segun-los-lectores-de-rolling-stone

James Bond: 50th anniversary

It has been 50 years since the first James Bond film was released. The franchise is one the most successful ones in history and its movies have been enjoyed by several generations. But few people know how it all started and how unexpected its success was.

Ian Fleming published his first book, Casino Royale, in 1953, the name for its main character was taken from the author of an ornithology book Fleming had when he was writing his novel in his villa in Jamaica. Ian Fleming was a naval intelligence officer during the Second World War. He never saw action, but he was involved in the planning for operation Mincemeat and operation Golden Eye.  He later borrowed this name and used it to name his villa in Jamaica.

Ian Fleming wrote 12 novels, his novels were a success, and in 1961 he sold the filming rights to Harry Saltzman. Harry along with producer Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli established EON productions and started producing their first film: Dr. No.

The producers chose Sean Connery for the part of James Bond, however nor the studios nor Ian Fleming liked Connery. Fleming said about Sean “I’m looking for Commander Bond and not an overgrown stunt-man,” adding that Connery was an unrefined brute. However Terrence Young, director of Dr. No mentored Sean and when the movie was released Ian Fleming and the sudios were very impressed. The movie was an immediate success, so Sean Connery starred in another four James Bond movies. However, by the fourth movie conflicts between Sean and producer Harry Saltzman arouse. Sean left in 1967 and the producers started the search for a new James Bond.

The next Bond was George Lazenby, who got the part by sneaking in the producer’s office and asking them if they were looking for a new James Bond. When asked about his previous experience he lied them and said he had worked in Russia, Hong Kong, Germany… Lazenby went to the audition and passed with flying colours even though he was not a professional actor.

After the release of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service he got drunk on success and started binge drinking, smoking and partying heavily until some friends convinced him to join the hippie movement, which he did. After Lazenby left because James Bond was about war and he was a pacifist, the producers begged Sean to come back. Sean accepted to star in one more James Bond film.

In 1973 Roger Moore became the new James Bond. He is regarded as the best James Bond and he is also the one that has starred in more films. He appeared in 7 films from 1973 to 1985. He did very well at first, he even beat the James Bond movie Sean Connery did with other producers in 1983. However in his last movies Bond was starting to look like a caricature of himself.

In 1987 Timothy Dalton starred in The Living Daylights in which the Bond character goes back to its roots and appears more violent. The public did not like this new Bond; they preferred Roger Moore’s charming and witty James Bond. Dalton appeared in another movie in 1989 but as it happened with the first one, it wasn’t a big success.

With the end of the Cold War people thought that James Bond will disappear, and it nearly did. From 1989 to 1995 there were no James Bond movies. However in 1995 Pierce Brosnan starred in GoldenEye which was a success. He made 3 more movies after that and all of them were praised by movie critics.

Pierce Brosnan retired in 2002 and in 2006 a new James Bond was announced: Daniel Craig. The main issue the public had with Daniel Craig was that he was blonde. There was even a boycott campaign against the movie. In spite of this his first movie Casino Royale was a success as well as his last two movies Quantum of Solace and Skyfall.

James Bond has become a global phenomenon and it influences industries like the automotive and clothing industry. At the beginning its success was not clear and the franchise has had some crisis moments, nevertheless after 50 years James Bond movies are more popular than ever.

References:

• JAMES BOND. (2012). Retrieved December 12, 2012, from http://www.ianfleming.com/james-bond-2/
  
• Ian Fleming. (2012). Retrieved December 12, 2012, from http://www.ianfleming.com/ian-fleming/
• Turner-Dave, K. (2012). A brief history: 50 years of James Bond films. 26 October 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2012, from http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/10/26/a-brief-history-of-50-years-of-james-bond-films/

Free topic post: “Trikitixa, a closer look”

I sincerely believe that music grants a deep sense of fullfillment, one that improves life to limitless extents. This, though, is no wonder, since I am a musician myself -it would be rather counter-productive to go against the guild, dont you think?-. My most cherished instrument -of the few I own- is called “trikitixa”, a diathonic accordion typicial of the basque country, whose characteristic sound you must have surely heard. My intention with this post is to enlighten the reader with some deeper understanding of the instrument itself, the way it works, and some personal impressions.

Let us start with some history: The trikitixa is actually a variation of the diathonic button accordion, which has its roots in italy (incidentally, the main manufacturers are italian). Its “Diathonic” nature makes each an incredibly complicated product of luthiery, and thus they are quite costly, but, on the ther hand, if properly taken care of, they can outlast their owners. Because of this, it is not infrequent for the most veteran (and succesful) players to sport real vintages, antique models handed down from generation to generation in their families.

Here are some of the best trikitilaris of the past century, with models of the time.
Image taken from: http://www.absolutbilbao.com/festival-internacional-de-trikitixa-de-getxo/ (accessed: 19.20 13/12/2012)

The diathonic accordion was introduced in the late 19th century by french and italian sailors and/or railway workers, in a time its use was extending all over europe. The trikitixa was developed as the originals suffered some small modifications in tone and bass-notes (and later on the 20th century, also by adding 4 altered notes). It consists of two keyboards and a bellow; the one for the right hand bears individual sounds and the one in the left, chords in different octaves. The sounds are made when the air (either stored in the bellow or from the outside) is made to go through dual windpipes each containing a thin metal sheet, which are sealed in one side so as to isolate notes. These windpipes are covered by a plug connected to its corresponding button through a small lever, thus allowing to play one note at a time, or any combination wanted (so long as the harmonics allow it).

Description of each section with complementary images here.

Traditionally, it has been assotiated with folk music from the basque country, being present in most of the traditional song types (specially “fandango”, “arin-arin”, and “kopla”), and frequently played accompanied by a “pandero” (a hand-percutted frame-drum), though from the late seventies onwards it has been increasingly paired with unorthodox instruments so as to include it in many other genres (pop, rock, jazz, and so on). Here are some examples of the “old” and the “modern” songs:

“Odolaren boza” – Traditional march.

“Kalanbreak” – Pop-rock song by Gozategi.

Personally, I think that it is a complicate instrument to play. It is an acquired taste, one that requires constant practice lest the player get rusty and the fingers sloppy, and there have been cases of people quitting out of sheer frustration. Nevetheless, once it gets to you, it is enormously satisfactory to play it, because of the challenge it suposses. I’ve been playing it for 12 years already, and I still have vast amounts to learn, so that should give you a pretty accurate idea of how tough it is.

And that’s it. I hope you enjoyed it.

Media and references:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5mvcCZCTx8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQZGVndHwUU
• http://www.trikitixa.net/
• http://www.absolutbilbao.com/festival-internacional-de-trikitixa-de-getxo/ (accessed: 19.20 13/12/2012)

The Oscars

Worldwide known the Academy Awards, commonly called The Oscars, are the “paradise” of cinema industry. Hosted annually they decided what film has been chosen because of its quality and impact as the Best Film of the year. On this post, we will try to make a brief summary of what Oscars entailed according to their history, ceremony, curiosities and last edition when The Artist scooped five awards. Next year, the 85th Academy Awards are expected to be amazing, but first will want to know that…

According to the history of the Academy Awards, it must be said that the first ceremony was holdin Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on May 16 of 1929, which great expectations amongst cinema lovers. Next year it was broadcasted into radio and from then on it has been gaining more and more relevance around the artistic world. The 16^th edition was hold in the Grauman’s Chines Theatre in Hollywood and, currently, it is presented from the worldwide known Dolby Theatre, where every year the stars wear their magnificent clothes in order to flashing out audience. First televised ceremony was celebrated in 1953 and it became an international televised event in 1969.

The Oscar actually is a knight standing on a reel of film gripping a crusader’s sword. That iconic statuette has had different heights and weighs and currently is made by 24 carat gold. Numerous are the artist that has won this Award that praise anyone into cinema’s iconic place: Hollywood.

The ceremony which is televised in February and March (just six weeks after the announcement of nominees) reach global attention and is one of the most commented events during the year. As I have already said, the Oscars Ceremony is the best occasion for all the dressmakers to make the world see their designs. In fact, Oscars’ red carpet is sometimes more commented than the awards. Furthermore, millions of viewers from every corner of the world have the chance to watch live performances of the “best original song” nominees and spectacle is always ensured in this show!

BILBOKO BITXIKERIAK

Artikulu honetan, nire helburu esanguratsuena izango da Bilborengan dudan maitasun fidela adieraztea.   Horregatik, Bilboko hiriak  berezko dituen gauzarik berezienak, miresgarrienak eta interesgarrienak azalduko dira, narrazioan zehar.

Bilbon betidanik bizi izan naizenez eta oso gogoko dudanez, ohituretan eta bere esentzia osatzen duten elementuetan oinarritu nahi dut, sentimendu zoragarriak sortararazteko irakurleengan.

Hori dela eta, lehen esan dudan bezala Bilboko izaera osaturiko osagaiak aipatuko ditut xehetasun handiz aurkeztuz, nire sentsazio bera lortu dezaten, eta era berean, hiriaren bitxikeriak ezagutu eta haiengandik ikasi dezaten.

Berezko terminologia gaztelaniaz dagoenez gero, ondo deritzot hizkuntza horretan uztea, betiere azalpena euskaraz egonda.

A really special lighthouse

The emblematic Tower of Hercules is not only the symbol of A Coruna (Galicia), the city where it is placed, but the oldest lighthouse of the world that is still working. Its beautiful facade, its story and the unique views that can be obtained from the top of the Tower, make it receive thousands of visitors every year. In addition, this lighthouse is also famous for having been declared World Heritage site.

¿Qué es la literatura?

La pregunta “¿Qué es la literatura?” no es necesariamente una de esas preguntas que puede ser simplemente respondida una única vez y para siempre. Para preguntarnos “¿Qué es la literatura?” conviene preguntarse también cómo cobran sentido las palabras, y cómo se establece el significado de las palabras y su definición. Esto implicaría tener en cuenta tanto el ámbito de la filosofía como el de la lingüística.

Durangoko azoka.

“Durangoko azoka” euskal literatura eta musika alorrean aurkitzen den azoka nagusia dela esan daiteke, bertan elkartzen baitira, euskal idazle, poeta, musikari….guztiak.

A clockwork orange

A clockwork orange is a film produced in 1971, written and directed by Stanley Kubrick and bassed on the Anthony Burgess novella A clockwork orange. The film shows disturbing and violents images of the young gang that appears in the film.

CAST

Malcom McDowell as Alex 

James Marcus as Georgie

Warren Clarke as Dim

                                                                                                                                         

 

PLOT

The film happens in a futuristic London. Alex, is the leader of a gang called “droogs“. One night, after drinking “milk plus“ in their favourite bar, they go to a writter’s house asking for help, and when his wife opens the door, they come in, rape and kill the woman and torture the writer.After that, they go to their houses until next day, when Alex’s “droogs” believe that he wouldn’t be the leader and face him by leaving him alone in a house while he’s illegally entering it.

After killing the woman, the police finally arrives and sends him to jail, where he almost “recoveres” and is sent to a psychiatric where he is used to proove the Ludovico technique. After this, he ends up worse than he had arrived, because if he saw a little sign of violence around him, made him feel sick, so he couldn’t stand it.

When he goes out of the psychiatric, he discoveres that two of his “droogs” have become policeman, and in a sign of superiority they immerse Alex’s head in water almost drowning him. After being hit and dropped by the policemen at a house he asks for help, and he realizes that he is in the house of the writer. The writher, who is aware od the Ludovico technique, torures Alex until he drops himself from the window.He finally wakes up in the hospital after being practised a lobotomy, so, instead of curing him, they make him stupid.

CURIOSITIES

• Kubrick came up with the idea of the unifor when Malcom McDowell showed him his cricket-player costume.
• While filming the Ludovico technique scene, McDowell scratched a cornea and ended up temporary blind.
• The doctor standing beside him, was a real doctor who made sure that McDowell’s eyes did not dry.
• The only special effect used in the film is when Alex jumps of the window atempting suicide. To film this scene, Kubrick dropped the camera 6 times from the window, so that the scene could be seen from Alex’s point of view.
• Kubrick had to re-edit the film a year after its release for having received death threats.
• The title refers to a say: “as queer as a clockwork orange”. Burgess thought that it could refer to a mechanical (clockwork) human (orang, that in Malay means “man”).

QUOTES 

Alex on a homeless:

“One thing I could never stand was to see a filthy dirty old drunky howling away at the filthy songs of his fathers and going blurp blurp in between as it might be a filthy old orchestra in his stinking rotten guts;I could never stand to see anyone like that. whatever his age might be, but more especially when he was real old like this one was”

Alex explaining their lifestyle:

” There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, sitting in the Korova Milkbar trying to make up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening. Theyr sold milk-plus, which is what we were drinking. This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence”

The last words of the film, by Alex:

“I was cured, all right!”

EXPLANATION OF THE FINAL SCENE

After pronouncing the words “I was cured, all right!“, we can see that, in Alex’s mind, he is imagining an orgy of sex and violence, so it makes us think that he has been sarcastic with that last remark. Also could be, that the cure, by his point of view, was that he could think by himself again, no matter what society said.

 

REFERENCES TO “A CLOCKWORK ORANGE UN “THE SIMPSON’S”

It is a fact that “The Simpsons”  has made a reference to a clockwork orange several times. In fact, Matt Groening(the creator of “The Simpsons”, was a real fan of the film.

 REFERENCES

• Wikipedia. A clockwork orange (film)Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clockwork_Orange_(film)#Further_reading [Accessed December 10, 2012].
• Burgess, A. The clockwork condition Available at: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/06/04/120604fa_fact_burgess%5BAccessed December 10, 2012].
• Flixster. A clockwork orange (1971)Available at: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/clockwork_orange/ %5BAccessed December 10, 2012].
• Hammer, B. Explanation of the ending of A Clockwork Orange. Available at: http://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/678/explanation-of-the-ending-of-a-clockwork-orange %5BAccessed December 10, 2012].
• Agger, R. The power of drug. Available at: http://www.collativelearning.com/ACO%20chapter%2014%20.h

The Pleasure of Drawing

Drawing is an activity well known all around the world. Many people see it as a hobby, just as a way of entertaining yourself, others see it as a method of making money, and a few think of it as an instrument which anyone can handle to free their minds, and let the imagination take over their brains.

To learn how to draw, a teacher isn’t mandatory, and the only required things are practice, a possitive attitude and the ability to observe. Observing grants the capacity of noticing how shapes are formed, how light reacts to different shapes, textures and materials, and with that knowledge, which is found in the every-day life, anyone can start drawing. By practising, the theory is put to use, and the principles learned via observing start to make sense, making the artworks look better. All that information piles up, and the end result is a tool used to recreate anything that the mind can imagine, and another way of expressing oneself.

Once the basics are well funded deep inside the brain, a style starts developing, depending on the rookie artists thougths, personal experience and his or her likings. This defines the person, and, when the style is fully grown and refined, the learning proccess of the artist is finished.

 

One can draw epic medieval battle scenes, portraits, manifestations of feelings… in a true display of imagination allowed by vast range of materials at anyones availability, which goes from the traditional charcoal pencil, to pastels, brushes, watercolors, and even computer programs,  which have an impressive amount options to make drawings in any way desired. Every tool has a different effect that enriches the

piece, making it deeper, and  nicer in every way. It also adds a sense of authenticity which makes the difference between a good drawing and an excelent work that captivates the emotions and feelings that the author wants to express through that picture. Not only that, but it also distinguishes the drawings that get exposed to the public and get sold from the other works that, even if they are great, don’t get exhibited.

 

A portrait is a great example. If the technique and the materials used are good, but the proportions of the face aren’t identical to the model, the piece will not succeed, because it won’t be a top drawing, which is what people are looking for when they are portraited. It happens the same if the gray scales used in the work are not enough, and more dark and pale tones would make the portrait as realistic and professional looking as a photograph.

In the end, it all comes up to what the artist is looking for, and if he or she is happy with the result, the work will be a total and resounding success. Even if this form of art seems difficult, everyone can learn it, and it is one of the best ways of giving freedom to the artistic side of every person, showing the most complex feelings in just a scribble in the corner of an old piece of paper.

Free topic post: Edward Norton

Edward Norton was born in Maryland in 1969. His father was an environmental lawyer and a former federal prosecutor, while his mother was a teacher of English and died of a brain tumor in 1997.

Norton, after graduating from Columbia’s Wilde Lake High School in 1987, attended Yale University, where he was a competitive rowerand acted in university productions in company with Ron Livingston and Paul Giamatti, who nowadays are also well-known American actors. In 1991, Norton graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History and he worked in Osaka for his grandfather’s company, Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit organization.

Later, he decided to move to New York City and begin his acting career in Off-Broadway theater. His first film was Primal Fear (1996), which tells a story of a defense attorney (Richard Gere), who defends Aaron Stampler (Norton), a boy charged with the murder of a Roman Catholic archbishop. Despite the mixed reviews, with this performance, Norton won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In the same year, he appeared as lawyer Alan Isaacman in The People vs. Larry Flynt, a biographical drama film.

In 1998, Norton took on the role of Derek Vinyard, a reformed neo-Nazi, in the film American History X, whichreceived positive reception. His performance deserved him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.Also in the same year, he starred with Matt Damon in Rounders, a movie following two friends who need to earn enough money playing poker to pay off a huge debt.

In 1999 in film Fight Club, Norton played the protagonist, and in order to prepare for the role, he took lessons in boxing and taekwondo. Fight Club made its debut at the 1999 Venice International Film Festival, but it received different reactions from film critics.However, it became a cult classic after its DVD release.

In 2002, he starred in different films: Red Dragon as FBI profiler Will Graham and in 25th Hour.While Red Dragon was commercially successful although it received mixed reviews, 25th Hour was praised by critics.

In 2003, Norton appeared in The Italian Job, and he won critical acclaim for his role in Kingdom of Heaven. Furthermore, he represented Marvel Comics character Bruce Banner / the Hulk in the film The Incredible Hulk, which was released in 2008.

In 2006, Norton starred in two films: Down in the Valley and The Illusionist, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and later, became a piece of media that gained a sudden success when it went into general release.In 2010, Norton appeared in two films again: Leaves of Grass and Stone. He also made other appearances in different comedy shows. His last performance was in The Bourne Legacy, which was released in 2012.

Regarding his personal life, Norton is known for his objection to accept his celebrity status. He is also well-known for his support for environmental causes and different renewable energy projects. Moreover, he put time and money to diverse social activist causes, including improving the quality of living in low-income communities or taking part in charity events.

 

References:

– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Norton

– http://www.biography.com/people/edward-norton-9542130

 

Joaquín Achúcarro

My web communication plan is focused on Joaquin Achucarro, a basque pianist. I decide to speak about him and one of the concerts that he will give the next week at the Philharmonic Society of Bilbao because my hobby is the piano and I will go to Joaquin’s concert the next Tuesday.

“I have only heard this sound from Rubinstein” — Zubin Mehta

“There is something special with Achucarro. Very few musicians can extract this kind of sound from the piano” — Sir Simon Rattle

Joaquín Achúcarro

 

Paris:
“Volupté sonore” “Magnifique!”
London:
“It was a delight to hear piano sonority for once with such a warm and clear and intimate bloom”
Berlin:
“Achúcarro used his fine strength and technical sovereignty to achieve perfect unity with the orchestra”
Budapest:
“The purity of his sound […] Strength, modesty and responsibility of a great artist”
Madrid:
“Joaquín Achúcarro: One of the Greats”
Venezia:
“Achúcarro’s superb performance closes in Beauty the concert series at La Fenice”
Dublin:
“He drew from the piano all the singing quality of the instrument”
Roma:
“With a dazzling technique and an exquisite poetical sensitivity Achúcarro mesmerized the public”
Chicago:
“Achúcarro is the consummate artist”
Toronto:
“Pianist Achúcarro plays pure magic”