New York

This is the city that never sleeps.

Even though I've never been there, it always has a fascination about it and inspires lots of people.

If you are curious to find out about it in a more personal approach go to the blog Funny Learning and you'll discover a few things about it. (the link is in this blog).

See and have fun

English Olympiads

Hello!

The second editon of the English Olympids is coming... On the 3rd and 4th April, in your school "Secundária de Paredes", you will test your English knowledge, in a funny, simple way. Ask your teacher for further information and enter the contest with your team.

Do you really celebrate love?

Saint Valentine's day is coming on the 14th February... how could you forget?

Not even if you wished to do so. Marketing and publicity don't let any single mortal forget the day of LOVE.

Buy, spend your last cent but don't leave your sweatheart without a present...

But think, do you really celebrate love?

Whatever you do don't feel obliged to buy to show love to your loved one

Image is Everything

Well in the fashion industry it is. (... )
Modelling is a dream job for many teenagers. When they think of modelling, they picture the lives of supermodels like Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell – being flown around the world in private jets, followed by an entourage of make-up artists, hairdressers and stylists, going to endless movie premiers wearing thousand-dollar dresses.(...)
FASHION AND EATING DISORDERS Over recent years, the fashion industry has been criticised for the harmful effect it may have on both models and the general public. Although the fad for super-thin ‘waifs’ has passed, models are much slimmer than the average girl. Emily says, "I make my living with my looks, so I watch what I eat. But I don’t struggle with my weight as many girls do – girls whose natural size might be much bigger than models like me, but who feel pressurised to be like the people they see on the catwalk." She says that no one has ever commented on her weight, but admits that every female model knows that if she puts on a lot of weight, she will stop getting jobs.
But how serious is the fashion industry’s influence on young girls? Tom thinks that "It’s possible that the fashion industry could harm people’s self-esteem, but self-esteem is based on many things. If your parents have brought you up well, you will know that all aspects of yourself – from your looks to the way you think – are important, and you are unlikely to be harmed by the fashion industry." As eating disorders are a type of mental illness, your upbringing and genetic factors play a larger part in their cause than the fashion industry ever could.
Futhermore, the fashion industry only presents the images the public wants to see – if people stopped buying magazines full of skinny models, then the magazines would be forced to change. FASHION AND AGE Another aspect of modelling which has caused concern is the young age of those involved. But while most male models are aged between 20 and 23, the average age for girls is much lower – they are usually between 14 and 18 years old. Many girls drop out of school to concentrate on modelling – a career which may well be over before they hit 21. While modelling agencies should make girls aware of this, the decision to leave school is a personal one, which ultimately no one else can be held responsible for. It is up to the girl and her parents to decide what is the right thing to do. But perhaps other countries should change their laws, as Brazil has recently done, so under-eighteen’s can only work as models if they can prove they are still in education. (...)
A CORRUPTING DEMON? So it seems that in reality, the fashion industry is not quite the corrupting demon it has been touted as over the past few years. Although it opens society to certain dangers, many of these dangers are ones which parents and the rest of society are also responsible for. And the industry also brings benefits – fashion is fun and diverting for members of the public and the fashion world alike. While it is not a long-term career option, it is one that is easy to get into. If you have the right look, all you have to do is walk into a modelling agency, and they will tell you then and there if they thing you have a chance as a model. It gives you flexibility, and many musicians, actors and artists use modelling to fund themselves. But many find the sitting around incredibly boring, and for most people, it is not a career which produces any real sense of achievement, or which allows you to progress.

abridged from Mary Glasgow Magazines

The Rise of Real People

The thin and beautiful have had their turn. The hippest models now look more like the rest of us.

This article published by "Newsweek Magazine", calls our attention to the problem of image and the attempt to make fashion designers look at real people not just to skinny models that always make us feel ugly and fat.

Go to the section of culture/ideas on 4 Feb 2008 and read the whole article to find out more, it's worth it

Spacecraft chases highest clouds

Remarkable new images of Earth's highest clouds have been captured by a Nasa spacecraft.


Mars robot digs up microbe clue
Nasa says its robot rover Spirit has made one of its most significant discoveries on the surface of Mars.
Go on reading the articles in: BBC NEWS

Teenage Pregnancy

Last Updated: Monday, 10 December 2007, 12:13 GMT

Pregnant at 13, mum at 14, GCSEs at 15

As calls are made for sex education to be compulsory in all schools Kizzy Neal, 15, is one teenager with a lot on her plate - exams, boyfriends and looking after her seven-month-old son.
She was in her best friend's bedroom when she found out she was pregnant, in the summer of 2006. She was 13.
"I didn't stop crying for three weeks and I was really, really scared," says Kizzy, who is now 15. "I knew I'd done something wrong. Thirteen is not the ideal age to have a baby."
She had been fearful after having sex for the first time, unprotected, with Louie.
"Since I got pregnant, I've learnt so much about contraception, abortions and sex but at school I think I had so few sex education lessons."
While the father of her child rejected being a dad and moved away from Torbay in Devon, Kizzy never considered having her pregnancy terminated.

Kizzy: Mum at 14 As it went on, she became the target of abuse from people. She was spat at and her brothers were attacked because, her father Kevin believes, she chose not to have an abortion.
She lost friends because of her pregnancy, but the girls who had abused her changed their behaviour after she had baby Kaylib in May.
"When I was pregnant it was like 'You little so-and-so' but when I had the baby they were round the pram saying: 'Isn't he beautiful?'
"It was a bit two-faced. Without a baby I didn't want to go out of the house and I was scared, but as soon as I had the baby, the people I was scared of were coming up, being really nice to me."
The birth itself, in May, was the best moment of her life, she says.
"When they put him on my chest, I was so overwhelmed, you don't know whether to smile or cry or laugh or scream, you don't know what to do. It gives you a warm feeling in your tummy."
Sacrifices
From that moment on, says Kizzy's mother Kerry, who is in her 40s, the atmosphere changed. "There was so much negativity about Kizzy having the baby in the first place, then when he was born there was so much joy and excitement and everyone loves him."
Kizzy returned to college in September, leaving her mother to look after Kaylib while she studies for six GCSEs. She wants to be a member of Parliament but if that doesn't happen, to be an occupational therapist.
But although Kizzy may look like any other student in the classroom, she is constantly reminded of her responsibilities as a parent because of the sacrifices she has to make and what she describes as her lost childhood.
"I miss being able to get up and go out when I want to and doing teenage things. I can't do these things as much anymore but I do get help from mum and dad so I get the chance to be a child as well as a mum."
It's hard to let go of your childhood
Kizzy Neal
She has made a programme with BBC Three about her experience to show other teenage girls that motherhood is "not all about cute babies, it's hard work.
"It's hard to let go of your childhood, you have to break away from that, you have grow up really fast, you have to mature quickly. It's hard getting to grips with being a mum and how to look after your child the best you can."
It's even harder without a father, and earlier this year Kizzy took Kaylib to Southend to meet his dad. On her way home, it struck Kizzy that the two probably wouldn't meet again.
"I was thinking about the baby growing up without a dad and thought I'd let him down. It's ideal to have a mum and a dad and to have a proper environment but it's very different for me. He's got as much love as he needs, even without a dad."
abridged and published :

By Tom Geoghegan BBC News Magazine