miércoles, 27 de febrero de 2008

Sweeney Todd: A good film with bad subtitles


Last week I went to the cinema and I saw Sweeney Todd. “The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”. I didn’t know it was a musical, but I realized when I saw the characters singing. It wasn’t a disappointment for me, because I don’t mind, but there was a thing that I didn’t like: the subtitles. I’ll explain myself:

The film was reproduced in Spanish but the original movie was made in English. Moreover, songs are better in the original language, but most of the people in Spain don’t speak English and the songs were subtitled. This is the problem, because the translation wasn’t correct. I can understand that some words can be cut because it’s very difficult to read all the song and pay attention to the scene, but sometimes there is a single word alone with a subtitled very different. For example, in a song for Johanna, the character says “I feel you” and the subtitle says something like “I understand you”. I think it’s better to remove the subtitles before doing this.

But well, apart of this, the film was excellent. I liked the peculiar way to be in charge of two businesses when one can survive thanks to the other. I don’t say anything else because maybe you don’t know this story, with a lot of blood, lots of corpses and a lot of pies. I leave you with one of my favorite songs: “The worst pies in London”.

Mrs. Lovett


A customer!
Wait! What's your rush?
What's your hurry?
You gave me such a...
fright! I thought you was a ghost!
Half a minute, can't ya sit?
Sit ya down!
Sit!
All I meant is that I haven't seen a customer for weeks.
Did ya come here for a pie, sir?
Do forgive me if my head's a little vague.
Ugh!
What is that?
But you'd think we had the plague.
From the way that people
keep avoiding!
No you don't!
Heaven knows I try, sir!
But there's no one comes in even to inhale!
Right you are, sir, would you like a drop of ale?
Mind you I can hardly blame them!
These are probably the worst pies in London.
I know why nobody cares to take them!
I should know!
I make them!
But good? No...
The worst pies in London...
Even that's polite! The worst pies in London!
If you doubt it take a bite!

Sweeney Todd (spoken)

Ugh!


Mrs. Lovett (sung)

Is that just, disgusting?
You have to concede it!
It's nothing but crusting!
Here drink this, you'll need it.
The worst pies in London
And no wonder with the price of meat
what it is
when you get it.
Never thought I'd live to see the day.
Men'd think it was a treat
findin' poor
animals
what are dyin' in the street.
Mrs. Mooney has a pie shop.
Does a business, but I notice something weird.
Lately, all her neighbors cats have disappeared.
Have to hand it to her!
What I calls,
enterprise!
Poppin' pussies into pies!
Wouldn't do in my shop!
Just the thought of it's enough to make you sick!
And I'm telling you them pussycats is quick.
No denying times is hard, sir!
Even harder than the worst pies in London.
Only lard and nothing more-
Is that just revolting?
All greasy and gritty?
It looks like it's molting!
And tastes like...we'll pity.
A woman alone...with limited wind
And the worst pies in London!
Ah, sir
Times is hard.
Times is hard.

Sweeney Todd (spoken)

Isn't that a room up there? Over the shop?
If times are so hard, why don't you rent it out? Should bring in something...

Mrs. Lovett (spoken)

Up there? Huh, no one'll go near it.
People think it's haunted.
You see years ago something happened, something not very nice.

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viernes, 22 de febrero de 2008

Speed, safety and comfort. The new highway designs.



This is a brilliant short made in the 1960, when the 21st century was very far and people imagined a fantastic world with the problems solved and perfect machines and infrastructures which would eliminate hitches and give time to work better or relax and go shopping.

As we can watch, in the utopian future, there would be intelligent highways with different colors to follow depending on the destination to go, giving always a perfect visibility. Cars would be also perfect, without a driver but with all the possible equipments like television, camera, speed control, traffic information, etc. All of this with a non-contaminant motor.

I think there are very fun projects, like ambulances and police, but I think it wouldn’t be necessary to solve those problems because there wouldn’t be accidents. Moreover, it says that highways and bridges would be built in a few hours with the best materials, but I think that it’s impossible because the world would seem a labyrinth.

It’s obvious that this video was made in the 60s, when in a typical family the typical father worked in a company meanwhile mother was taking care of children or shopping or doing housework.

Even so, this is a great video and I recommend you to watch it.

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lunes, 18 de febrero de 2008

We only need to paint it and continue with the parts of the body

I have remembered the time when I was starting to learn English. I think I was nine years old more or less and, in class, we were learning the parts of the body. There was an exercise that we made some times and I enjoyed it very much: The teacher asked to draw a monster for us. The alien’s body had some conditions: the teacher chose the number of parts.

Here you have an example:

You are drawing a monster from Mars and it has got:

- Eight legs
- Three arms
- One head
- Two mouth
- Five eyes
- One ear
- Two noses

Well, I remember the way how I created my monsters:

First of all, I made a very big circle. Then I put the eyes in a row, the noses under that row and mouths below the noses. After that, I started drawing ears around the circle. When I finished the face I draw a thick line that was the origin of as many legs and arms as there were. The result was something like this:



But now I have wanted to know how the monster would be now, after some years. And this is the result:



Maybe mouths don’t look like mouths and eyes don’t look like eyes, but it’s very helpful to learn a new language.

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viernes, 4 de enero de 2008

I don't mind about who has brought this present...


I want to open a debate. Now it’s the time of traditions and customs, but it’s very different than hundreds of years ago, when the different cultures existed separately. Nowadays there are a lot of religions and cultures in the same region. Spain is a very clear example: people used to celebrate the night of the Three Wise Men but now Santa Claus has arrived and that’s confusing the children.


Some people celebrate that the Three Wise Men had come from the Middle East and had brought some presents to the baby Jesus. The night between the 5th and the 6th of January people bring presents to the children after they had sent them a letter saying what they want.

On the other hand, Santa Claus is an old man who lives in the North Pole with his woman and some elves called bendegums working in a workshop making presents for the children. The night between the 24th and the 25th, Santa Claus travels around the world with nine flying reindeers pulling his sleigh giving out toys and presents through the fireplaces.

These are two different traditions from different places but now something is changing because every year people in Spain prefers to believe in Santa Claus before the Three Wise Men. I think it’s good to accept new traditions, but I think that the other one is becoming forgotten. Maybe it happens because Christmas Holidays finish on the 8th of January and children can play with the new toys more time if they believe in Santa. Maybe we should change the day of the first one, I don’t know. What do you think about this?

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miércoles, 2 de enero de 2008

HNY08




Well, first of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I like this year because it ends with 8.
I’ve visited some web pages and I’ve seen the “Top New Year’s Resolutions” for 2008. I’ve never made New Year’s Resolutions but last year I worked about it in class and now I’ll try to do it this year:

1- In the Top Ten, the first is “Get out of debt or save money”. Well, I’m not in debt, so I’ll go for “Don’t worry about money”.
2- The second is “Lose weight”. I am 1, 72 meters tall and 65 kg weight and I think I am well, maybe I’ll say “Grow and don’t get weight”, until I think the first thing doesn’t depend on me.
3- In the third place, “Fit in fitness”. I agree with that. I’ve checked that if I stop moving one week I lose a lot of fitness, then I won’t stop doing exercise.
4- “Quit smoking” is a very important resolution, but there is a problem: I don’t smoke. Then I’ll say “Don’t start smoking”.
5- The fifth is “Get organized”. I like order and I think I am quite organized but a little more order wouldn't hurt.
6- “Enjoy life more”. Well, everybody has got his own viewpoint about life, but I think we should be happier with small things. Maybe I need to add something: “Don’t worry as much about things and enjoy life more”.
7- “Work less, play more”. I think everybody would like this, but I think that’s nearly impossible. Then, I would like to “Enjoy working”.
8- Number eight is “Develop a new skill or talent”. I like this resolution, but I don’t mind if it’s this or “Improve my skills”.
9- In the ninth place, “Change employment”. But I don’t want to change employment this year because I feel very good working in the beach. I’d rather “Keep my job”.
10- In the last place people usually say “others” and I’ll leave it blank because there are a lot of things to change or to intend. Maybe you can give your opinion and propose other New Year’s Resolutions.

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martes, 4 de diciembre de 2007

Dashing through the snow...



Hi again! The first term is ending... how fast has it passed. Christmas is here... Well, it’s on TV since the last month, but I don’t watch it because in a few years we’ll start Christmas the day after the summer.

The streets are full of colour lights and Christmas Trees. When I say “the streets” I mean “in the cities”, because in my village there is a big light on the main street, another one on the church and this year we’ve bought a new one and it’s near the school. I think that’s better because we spend a lot of energy with a thing that we use for nothing. I don’t like a lot Christmas. I don’t know why but I think that everything is very false, controlled by the industries. But there’s nothing to do.

On the other hand, I love snow and I enjoy skiing...but in my village there’s no snow since I was two or three years old.

But the thing that I really like is food. All the bad things are forgotten with a good food. I hope that my stomach will resist one more year because I want to eat a lot this holidays.

So, which’s your favourite thing of Christmas? I’ll be waiting your comments.

Bye!

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lunes, 3 de diciembre de 2007

Bim Bag Boom


Well, I’m going to tell you a new: my bag is dead. She had survived two years and a little bit more, but today she has said the last good bye.

Once, she had been a very strong and healthy bag, but this September there was something different. She was worn out and there were some holes in her body (I admit that it’s very difficult to travel in the bus trunk twice a day).

I weighed her one day and it was incredible, eleven kilos! (Books, a pencil case, and a calculator... well, ok a sandwich and a bottle of water, a deodorant, some sweets, the MP3...TOUGH! ). I think that her pain was very big...

But now she has left us and it’s going in a big refuse lorry, the last way before the bag’s heaven.

Good bye my little bag. I’ll never forget you.

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sábado, 1 de diciembre de 2007

mmmm...

Hi! Well, it’s finished (the week, because I still have two more exams...). So I think the exams have gone quite good. Now I’m going to eat a pizza with anything I’ll find in the fridge and, after that, I’ll play with my new game, Ratchet and Clank! Some people say that it’s a game for children... yes, I’m still a child, and I like it.
Afterwards, I’ll return to the Earth and start again...
Here I leave you with an amazing video. It’s possible but it takes a lot of hours. I would like to draw like this...


And if you don’t like cars, here you have another great job. It’s Jigsaw. (If you haven’t watched SAW I think you don’t know who is he)



And now I go...I WANT PIZZAAA!!!

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