sábado, 30 de agosto de 2014

The Necklace, Class Activity and Questions

Class Activity:
I discussed my best experiences with Ana Isabel and Eduarda. Eduarda´s was a concert with her friends from Brazil, and Ana´s is the birthday she had in England. When they asked me what was mine I had nothing in mind. I had to think for a while and I had no idea what my best experience was. I once read in a book that if you have to think about your best experience then it is not that good. After thinking for a while I decided that the best moment of my life has not happened yet.

Questions:
1.- When someone gives away too much of the plot of a movie, that is called a “spoiler.” Would knowing the ending of “The Necklace” in advance ruin the story?
Yes, knowing the end of the story would have ruined it because without the surprise ending there is not much point in the story. 

2.- Mathilde Loisel daydreams and uses her imagination a lot. Is it always good to dream, or can it become unhealthy?
I think that it is not bad to dream because if you don´t dream of better things then you can´t improve what you have right now. But I also think that we should not have our head on the clouds all the time because if we do then when we eventually come down things are going to be too harsh and ugly.

jueves, 28 de agosto de 2014

Musical Styles

This are the five songs I choose for this assignment:

1.-Johann Strauss II. - Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald. T. The music is classical, but it is not really slow. Sometimes it is soft and sometimes it gets louder. This music needs to be played by an orchestra and I think it is hard to play. The only instruments I recognize are flute and violin. This is the type of music that is played in a concert but that you can also listen quietly in your house. It was one os six Viennese waltzes by Johan Strauss II. He was and Austrian composer of music, specially of dance and operettas. He was born on october 1825 and died on June 1899. 

2.- Joy Division, Love will tear us apart. This music is not fast nor slow. I think it is kind of loud. I think it is not that hard to play. The instruments I recognize are guitar, drums, and piano. I think this is the kind of music that you listen in your house with friends. Joy Division is a post-punk british band and they wrote this song in August of 1979. This song represents what Ian Curtis (the singer)  felt about his marriage with Deborah Curtis. The song also represents what he felt in general before he committed suicide in 1980. 


3.- Tinariwen, Toumast Tincha. This song is slow and the volume is normal. It does not sound really hard to play, and the instrument I hear is the electric guitar. I would listen to this song for quiet listening.   Tinariwen is a nomadic band from northern Mali on the Sahara region. They won a Grammy for Best World Music Album for their album Tassili. The band formed in Algeria but later they returned to Mali. They represented Algeria in the opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Because of their nomadic style life the group has never brought exactly the same people to and international tour, although some members go to tours regularly. 


4.- The Beatles, I should Have Known Better. This song is a little bit slow and the volume is normal. I believe it is easy to play and the instruments I hear are drums, various guitars, and the harmonica.  This song is originally released by the Beatles on the UK version of A Hard Day´s Night. The song appears on the scene that takes place on a train compartment. In 1964 the Beatles became aware of of Bob Dylan; later they where introduced and Dylan became an influence on the group one consequence of this short admiration lead to the creation of this   song. 

5.- Frank Sinatra, I´ve got the World on a String. This song is also a little bis slow and it is a little bit loud. I think this song is hard to play and the instruments I hear are trumpet and drums. This song is a popular song from 1932. It was composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics from Ted Koehler and was written for the Cotton Club Parade. It was recorded by Frank Sinatra on 1953 and it reached number 14 on Billboard´s most played list.