Saint George's Day

Let's talk about the best day in the year: Saint George's Day!
For me, it's the most beautiful tradition that we celebrate in our culture. I think is a magic date because the streets fill up with culture and gorgeous red flowers.
The rose has always been valued for its beauty and has a long history of symbolism. The ancient Greeks and Romans identified the rose with their goddesses of love: Aphrodite (Venus). Besides, Christians identified the five petals of the rose with the five wounds of Christ and it was adopted as a symbol of the blood of the Christian martyrs too... Anyway, it's so perfect!

Above all, it's an explosion of inspiration. How many writings are created when this tradition arrives? This year, I've the honor to work in a book shop...it's crazy but really worthy! Everybody has to read something this day, everybody wants to discover a new book... people look for new stories, new adventures,... only for one day, most of the people believe in the reading's magic.

About the meaning of the word "art"

I've read in my new english book this paragraph that makes me think a lot:

"There was one scene he painted over and over on cavases of various sizes: a group of women in bright pastel head scarves and long flowing silky dresses stood on a beach looking out the sea. I asked him if someone had drowned or were they waiting for something? He shook his head. He didn't know. How could he? He had just put those women there and he wasn't going to interfere with them. That's what he disliked about certain artists and writers. They interfered and pointed to everything as if you couldn't see or read for yourself. Not Van Gogh. Look at Van Gogh."


Just think about it... Don't worry about the meaning of a poem, or a painting, or a writing,... Even the artist won't know that. However, when you saw this painting, when you read this piece of writing...something happened in your head, in your body. If you feel something, I think this creation could be a real work of art. What's art? I can't say it yet. Why? It is a huge word, with a lot of concepts in it. I think art it's a mistery and we have to explore his ways, everything...for understanding it.

Super Size Me

"Super size me" is an American documentary written in 2004 by Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmaker. The thing is he limits himself to only eating McDonald's food. The film documents this lifestyle's effects on his physical and psychological condition. He is supervised by four doctors and a personal trainer: a cardiologist, a gastroenterologist, a nutritionist and a general practitioner. All the health professionals predict the "Mcdiet" will have unwelcome effects on his body, but none expect anything too drastic, because they consider that the human body is "extremely adaptable". In fact, he has some challenges:

• He must consume three McDonald's meals per day.
• If Mc Donald's employees offer him, the supersize menu, he must accept it.
• He will attempt to walk about as much as a typical American, but he can't walk more. If he has to walk more, he must get a taxi.

In conclusion, he consumes 5000 calories per day. As a result, the 32-year-old Spurlock gained 11 kg, a 13 % body mass increases and experienced mood swings, sexual dysfunction and a big liver damage. It took fourteen months to lose the weight he gained.

I think it's a really interesting documentary because it talks about the increasing obesity in the United States that I consider a big health problem. However, it's fun and well done so, you could enjoy it so much.

And the biggest contradiction: his girlfriend (now, his wife) is a vegan chef!!

Happiness

After watching the Nicenet's video about happiness, I would like to write my opinion about it. That's food for thoughts!
I'm not a philosopher but to my mind it's really difficult to define happiness. The woman of the documentary said "That's happiness!" when she talked about little things like an ice cream but how do you define happiness? What's happiness exactly? It's true that sweets bring us pleasure but I think it's so daring to declare it as happiness. Do you agree with me? Of course, there are some values that contributtes with this concept: health, love, familly, work, passions. Some things as tasty food help to it and other things are indispensable as love for example. However I think that maybe we could find this deeper feeling if all the elements walks together at the same time. I've to point that the needs of people are different and they could organisz in different ways but in fact, the secret is finding an harmony.
What do you think about it?
Please, tell me!

Food for thoughts

Strange Fruits

By Billie Holiday and Abel Meeropol (1937)

Southern trees bear strange fruit,

Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,

Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,

Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,

The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,

Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,

Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,

For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,

For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,

Here is a strange and bitter crop.

When we hear "strange fruits" it's easy to imagine an exotic fruit like strawberries, blueberries, pineapples, watermelon... However, in this song you would be wrong. There is a metaphor about some terrible acts that happened in America. The song condemned American racism, particularly the lynching of African Americans that had occurred chiefly in the South but also in all regions of the United States. In conclusion, it talks about all the corpses that hung on trees.

A man's world!

Cafetarium

Sometimes, I feel the unconscious need of saying to the waiter or the waitress that I love that place. But I can't, I'm so shy. And I always leave disappointed.
These feelings always reappear when I frequent "Cafetarium" of Tallers's street of Barcelona. It's a really nice place for writing, studying, reading the newspaper or meeting people while you're having a steaming cup of coffe. I recommend it! It's an interesting coffee shop with quite reasonable prices, pleasant owners, and a funny set: different kinds of weird mirrors, long curtains, undulating chairs and a warm orange lighting. The place is liven up with a relaxed electronic music too. But, the most important thing is the bar of dark chocolate that they always put in the coffee's plate. One more point for "Cafetarium"! I consider indispensable the contrast of sweet chocolate in comparison to bitter coffee!. Definitely, it's perfect.
We usually congratulate a cooker if a meal is nice but why don't we do the same thing with a nice café? I think there are coffee shops that hide a world inside it: how many stories could contain in it? and how many have been written?

Here you have their web if you're interested:
www.cafetarium.com/.../wp_7236d7af.html

Carl Honore and his "Slow Movement"

Just a little comment about the video of Carl Honoré who has made me think. I completely agree with him. Time scares us, so what does we do? We rush more and more. Slowness it's a virtue in our society. He says "less can be more" like minimalists and that's true! In general, we're speedaholics, stressed and rushing towards next task every moment. I'm bored with the phrase "I don't have time". We have it!! We only have to find it.

There's a song called "Relax, take it easy" from Mika that it talks about it.



Slow down please! And explain a lot of bed-time stories to your child (I loved how he praised bed-time stories)!

My life without me

Ann is a 23-year-old mother who cleans the university at night and lives in a trailer with her husband and her two daughters.The story takes place in Vancouver (Canada). Ann has a bad relationship with her mother, she has one single workmate who's obsessed with diets, a father in prison,... The spectator may think that she's sunk with this life but she seems happy, she's used to coexist with this situation.

One day, Ann is diagnosed with a terrible cancer. However, she decides to be strong and to face death calmly. Ann is going to die but she isn't going to cry because she hasn't time. For this reason, she doesn't tell it . She keeps her secret for her. Nobody will know it until the end when she won't be able to hide it. So she makes a list of things that she wants to do before she dies; one of them, very controversial for American public, is to have an affair with another man. In spite of it, Coixet doesn't judge her act! "Why couldn't do it?".-she defends in a interview.-"She has to experiment with it"

My life without me isn't a weepy film as it could be expected. Concentrated, delicate, intensive and incredibly human, Isabel Coixet has written a deeper story about death and life too. The script is full of moments of beauty with great phrases that help us to stop our ways and think a little about our integrity.

I recommend you it if you haven't seen yet!!