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| About Me |
Name: Milenka
Home: Santiago, Chile
About Me: I'm just a regular student, with the usual troubles, just trying to get good grades in her english class!
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miércoles, 1 de julio de 2009 |
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| The role of music in my life |
Music plays a really big role in my life. I can't go a day without listening to some of my favorite musicians. I can't walk long distances, or ride the metro or the bus without something playing on my headphones.
Life tends to be a little monotonous if I'm not listening to music.
My relationship with music It's so close, that I can relate certain songs to some stages in my life. Music brings memories and even some feelings. It can make me happy in a cloudy day, or It can make me really depressed on a sunny day.
So, that's why some albums or artists are for certain moods or seasons. If I'm happy I listen to artist like The boy Least Likely To, Jens Lekman, Los campesinos! and Blur. If I'm feeling a little bit down, I listen to Kings of Convenience, Anthony and The Johnsons and Javier Barría.
I always listen a wide variety of music genres, from chilean folklore to scandinavian pop.
Right now, I really like pop folk or soft pop music from Sweden and Norway, with singers like Ane Brun or Sondre Lerche. I really like brit music too, but I've been listening for some years a lot of indie.
As I said on one of my blogs, indie means independent, and like movies, there's independent music too. When music labels dominate the musicians, the music tends to be too sellable, too popular, and loses It's heart, and the real intentios of the writer behind the lyrics.
That's why indie musicians make really good music, that most people don't even now, because they hardly sell albums or get media support.
The only problem with indie musicians, It's that they don't tour worldwide, and if they do, they do it in the USA and Europe. Sometimes they come here, because Chile has the fame to be a country of poets, and with beautiful cities like Valparaiso and even Santiago, musicians get inspired. Or they get too many e-mails begging them to come to the end oh the world haha.
An example of this, It's the american indie band Calexico. They stayed in Valparaiso a couple of weeks last year, and they wrote songs for their new album, like "Victor Jara's Hands" and "Houses of Valparaiso". Another example It's a french band called Holden, who stayed a summer in Chile, and ended up recording an album. Now they have a really big fan base here.
The last independent musician to come to Chile, was Jens Lekman, but since I'm saving money to go to Depeche Mode in october, I didn't go. I was really sad. The funny thing is that Jens stayed some days here in Santiago, played a show, and he went back to Sweden, but he got a really good souvenir, the swineflu. So he's going to have a very boring summer.
I get most of my music from the internet. I have 11,6 GB of music, or something like 3.500 songs in MP3, so my music library is HUGE. I used to have way more, but my computer got a virus, and all my files got deleted. When there's a really good album, and I really like it, I feel a little bit guilty for downloading it for free from the internet, especially if is music from an independent musician who spends his own money to record albums. That's why I have some cd's, but music It's too expensive in Chile. When I travel to Argentina I buy A LOT of cd's, since It's so cheap there.
I don't go to concerts or music shows that often. I used to go to at least 2 or 3 every year, but now I don't have the money and the tickets are really expensive. Some of the artists I have seen live are Placebo (2 times), Oasis, The Strokes, Kings of Leon, The Bravery, Holden, Moby and Ian Brown.
I went to a little gig some weeks ago, to see a chilean artist called Javier Barría. He is not very famous in the mainstream, but well known in the indie scene. I really love his music, and everyone should listen it, but at the same time I like that I'm one of the few people who have one of his albums, so I don't want that other people hear about him. But, someday he will be playing big shows haha :(
Now I'm waiting for Depeche Mode, and for Blur, because they reunited some months ago, and they are starting a new World Tour. Well I hope I could save some money for that!Etiquetas: music |
posted by Milenka @ 11:14  |
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sábado, 20 de junio de 2009 |
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| A reflection on blogs and english learning |
Through the course we've been writing blog entries in english, every week.
I think it's a very good method of learning because it motivates you to learn new words to explain things, or finding words with the same meaning.
Writing in english always has been a problem for me, because I can't articulate very well what I want to say. I'm used to speak in english, and understanding oral expression, but it's hard to write and think in english at the same time.
Also, I always say that I speak english from an intuitive feeling, or a hunch as americans say. I speak with what sounds good at the moment, and most of the time I can't write down some of the words that I know how to pronunciate while I speak.
So one of the advantages of writing in english, is that now I know how to write what I'm thinking very fluently. An other advantage is that now that I got used to write in another language, I might keep doing it in the future, because I really want to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language this year, and one of my biggest flaws is the writing part.
But, as many things, there's disadvantages too. I think that we don't get too much feedback about what we write, and sometimes I don't know if my grammar is correct, or someone who speaks english as a native language would understand what I write.
But so far It's been a very good experience, and a new one, because It's the first time that we write so much on an english class in college.Etiquetas: language, writing |
| posted by Milenka @ 20:14 |
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martes, 9 de junio de 2009 |
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| Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist |
This movie based on a book by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is starred by Michael Cera and Kat Denning, two young actors that are famous for playing parts in independent movies (or indie movies). These kind of movies are very popular right now, for showing original plots, that are very charming because viewers can identify themseves in the characters, because the story lines are not so unreal as most hollywood movies are.
Indie movies show real people with real problems, living life fully day by day, with ups and downs.
A new trend of movie making started with a young group of directors, that came from outside Los Angeles and didn't have the support of big cinema studios, and directed very famous movies like Juno, The Wrestler and Garden State.
Music is a very big part of indie movies, because directors make their movie soundtracks with the help of independent musicians, mostly folk or soft pop bands. That's why the movie soundtracks are as famous as the movies.
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist follows the story of Nick, a young man whose heart was broken three weeks ago by Tris, a really vain and popular girl.
To forget about his issues, Nick goes to play a gig in a club in New York, where he finds Tris with a new boyfriend, a very handsome guy, and he asks himself: How could she have moved on so fast while I'm so depressed?.
In the same club there's a girl called Norah, who is with her very drunk friend Caroline, taking care of her while she notices Nick playing on stage with his band. After the gig is over, she dicides to go talk to him, but as she is walking towards the stage, she sees Tris and her boyfriend talking to Nick. Tris is Norah's classmate, and they hate each other since they were little girls and compete for everything.
Nick is very unconfortable with the situation, and Norah is too, because Tris is going to make fun of her, because she doesn't have a boyfriend. So Norah grabs Nick's arm and tells Tris that he is her new boyfriend, without knowing Nick is Tris ex boyfriend. Nick plays along, because he doesn't want to look lonely, when Tris is already over their breakup.
Tris gets very suspicious about Nick and Norah's behaviour, and really jealous too.
Here it's where starts a really fun trip around New York, with Nick and Norah running away from Tris, because she wants Nick back. They also drive trough New York's streets with Nick's band looking for Caroline, who is lost and drunk in the middle of the night.
Also, a very popular band called "Where is Bunny?" is playing a secret show in the city, and they're leaving clues all over New York, so Nick and Norah start a quest to find the location of the show.
It's a really fun movie, because a lot of things happen in only one night, and eventually Norah and Nick start to really like each other, and they fight to forget about their broken hearts and own issues to try a new fresh start. The only bad thing about the movie, it's that sometimes it can be really chaotic, because everything happens really fast, and you can get lost in the plot if you don't pay attention.
The music is very good, because each song sets the mood of every scene, that's why the movie it's like an infinite playlist of emotions and situations. Some of the bands in this soundtrack are Vampire Weekend, We are the Scientists, and Bishop Allen.
I totally recommend this movie, but for young people, in their twenties, because it shows issues of this generation, and the bravery of young that make us do really stupid things, that in the end are really funny, and teach us new experiences in life.
Etiquetas: indie movies |
| posted by Milenka @ 12:01 |
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martes, 26 de mayo de 2009 |
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| Oops, Task 4 reloaded. |
I misunderstood our last task, so I'm doing it again, after reading my classmates blogs I finally understood what I need to do.
I choose Lautaro's blog, called Pale Traces.
I think he really likes dark colors, since he's a really big metal fan, like black and red. But these colors make his blog look a little bit scary, or makes you feel depressed when you go read his blog entries.
That's why I like that he uses a lot of pictures to add more colour.
I really like his blog about his favorite painting, "Son of Men" by Rene Magritte, because I think It's a lot like my favorite painting "La Carta" by Pedro Lira, because we can't see the face of this really elegant man, we don't know what's he's hiding behind that green apple. I think he's hiding something really big, like a conspiracy, because he looks like an important business man. Or maybe, he's just a representation of powerful men in the world, that don't show they're real intentions. Like that old chilean saying "Se ven caras pero no corazones" (We see faces but we don't see hearts).
As Lautaro, I think the picture It's a little bit scary, but not that much, It's funny too because it's a parody of power and real intentions.
I didn't like when he said that I made him choose a different painting, I was just saying my opinion about it, so It's not my fault haha.
Also, I think his blog about his favorite website was kind of boring because I don't really like metal music at all, and the web page doesn't even exist anymore. But I really like to download music for free on the internet, so I agree with him, because you can get the latest music albums very fast, before than in a record store. |
| posted by Milenka @ 18:51 |
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martes, 19 de mayo de 2009 |
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| La Carta by Pedro Lira |
I saw this picture for the first time when I was really young, I was around 4 or 5 years old. When I lived in Concepción my parents usually made picnics in the parks of the Universidad de Concepción on the weekends, only if it was a sunny day, because in the south it rains a lot.
In the University there's a small museum of pictures or Pinacoteca, that's open even in the weekends.
So, after we had lunch in the park, we went to the Pinacoteca to see the pictures. There's a room full of pictures by Chilean artists, and there it was La Carta by Pedro Lira.
It's a really old picture, painted in the XIX century, and it shows and aristrocratic woman that is away from the viewer perspective, so you can't see her face. She's holding a letter behind her, trying to hide it from someone that's opening her door. We can't read the letter, because it's too blurry, and we can't see who's entering the room, so everything it's mysterious.
I really like this picture because the woman is faceless, we can't see if she's crying, or scared, or even smiling playfully. I like to think that she has a secret that's she's trying to hide, and she's really scared, because the person that it's opening the door it's going to find out about it. Maybe she has a secret lover, and her father doesn't know, and by seeing the clothes that she is wearing, she belongs to a time where single women coudn't have unofficial boyfriends, they had boyfriends imposed by their parents. So it's a very romantic picture.
I love that pictures allow people to interprete what they're seeing, people can make their own stories.
Pedro Lira was one of the founders of the Museo de Bellas Artes in Santiago, and was the first Chilean artist to paint a retrait from another perspective, from the back of the person.
This artist was really revolutionary in Chilean painting, because he could tell a whole storie, show thousands of emotions without showing the face of the person he was painting. This established that artists don't have to paint faces to send a message.
If you want to see this picture, you need to go to the Museo de Bellas Artes, where the original painting is, and it's free on sundays! I go once in a while to see the new exhibitions and the old paintings like La Carta, that even after many years, I still like, and everytime I see it I find new beautifuls details.
Or you can travel to Concepción to see a copy of it, and you can enjoy a really nice walk around the parks and hills of the Universidad de Concepción, one of the most beautiful university campuses in Chile.Etiquetas: arte |
| posted by Milenka @ 11:39 |
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martes, 12 de mayo de 2009 |
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| Change in estate tax suggested to pay for health care in the USA |
Since Barack Obama won the elections in America, the whole world has been expecting big changes.
One of the most waited changes is in the health area. United States might be one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but american citizens have one of the worst health systems, affecting mainly the poor people.
That's why president Obama has started a new reform in health, by expending more money in the current system. Money that comes from taxes.
But this money it's not comming from all americans, or from every state, it's comming from the wealthiest states and from the 28% of citizens that are in the first two tax brackets.
This way Obama is filling the gap in the budget, to finally help the poorest states, like Alaska, New Orleans or the middle-west of America.
But things are not easy for Obama, because his own political party, the democrats, are arguing about this, because part of this reform considers taking a percent from the budget that goes into charities, and this organizations are very helpful, because they satisfy necessities that the government can't satisfy.
Also, the reforms considers a percent from gifts that some organizations or countries give to public servants, like diplomats or members of the congress, or even the president. Obama expects to raise from this about USD$24 billions over the next 10 years.
In total, this change in estate tax it's going to raise USD$266.7 billions. This money it's going to help a lot of people that right now are out of the MEDICARE system of health, and can't pay for a doctor or even medicines. The ones that benefit the most from this are the elderly people.
But Obama faces a lot of criticism from the republican party, because he's being acussed of trying to impose a new government system, based in welfare state and close to socialist reforms. We need to remember that president Bush tried his best to avoid this kinds of reforms, mainly because of his liberal and conservative type of government.
But Obama has a big support from the people, even after his election, and that's why he can change things without the danger of losing his job. And the acussations from the republicans are nothing but empty words.
This news are important for a Public Administration student because we can learn that public servants can really change big estructures, like in this case, a health system in the most developed country in the world. We can learn that big and controversial changes can be made, like changing the tax estructure, a really sensitive issue in Chile.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/us/politics/12healthtax.html?ref=politicsEtiquetas: economy, taxes, USA government |
| posted by Milenka @ 11:47 |
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martes, 5 de mayo de 2009 |
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| Thesartorialist.com |
Since I was a little girl, I've always been interested in fashion. Even if I don't wear fashionable clothes, I really enjoy watching the new trends of fashion over the years.
That's why I visit almost everyday http://www.thesartorialist.com/, a site that i found surfing on the internet.
This web page contains pictures from all over the world, pictures of people wearing excentric clothes, made by their own, by famous designers, or bought in thrift stores.
I like that the web page shows that you don't have to be rich or famous to dress nice, and that you don't need to be the most beautiful person in the world. Fashion it's about confidence in yourself, confidence in what you're wearing and being happy about it.
Fashion it's not set by the famous designers, people set the new trends. That's why fashion changes from time to time, because people choose what to wear and what not to wear.
I also like that Scott Schuman, the owner of the website, always felt a gap between what he was selling and what was people really wearing. So, over the years, he took his camera and took pictures of really trendy people in the streets, of all ages, from children to seniors.
Designers seemed to be disconnected from reality, so these pictures showed that people don't exactly follow the rules of fashion that the houses of design set.
In reality people don't wear over the top designs, full of feathers or sequins. People like to be comfortable, they like to use wearable clothes, but they must look nice. I mean, clothes should follow a fashion trend at the same time.
With time, the site got famous, and Scott Schuman couldn't travel all over the world to take new pictures, so he recruited a group of young photographers to do the job with him. That's why, now, The Sartorialist covers the big fashion hotspots in cities like Paris, New York, Tokio and Rome. But, this independent photographers also travel to small cities in small countries chasing for new styles.
I really enjoy the photo comments, because people can debate about what's new, and what's coming in the following years. And the page visitors always argue about what's in and what's out, and this debates can get really funny when people take fashion too seriously.
Since The Sartorialist started, there's been a huge increase in fashion and photography blogs. Even in Chile, where http://www.vistelacalle.com/ it's very famous right now. This site shows fashion trends of young common people in the streets of Santiago.Etiquetas: fashion |
| posted by Milenka @ 12:08 |
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