Thursday 29 November 2012

WONDER 11: ISSUU. PUBLISHING DOCUMENTS ONLINE

My wonder today is for a fabulous web 2.0 tool that allows you to publish and share pdf documents online FOR FREE:

ISSUU





Issuu is much more than a publishing tool.

It is a whole community of users who can share their documents in very attractive format.

Each publication can be recorded, shared, commented, rated, etc.

Issuu also allows you to invite friends to read a publication, and create a group to discuss about publications previously shared.

You can even have your own virtual library!

Here you have an example of what a publication looks like:


You simply need to register and start exploring this whole new world for lovers of reading and writing!!


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Friday 9 November 2012

WONDER 10: Krzysztof Kieślowski's THREE COLOURS TRILOGY (1993-1994)

From the field of dance we move on to cinema…
My wonder today is for a film trilogy directed by Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski
Krzysztof Kieślowski

Blue (1993), White (1994) and Red (1994)

The title of each film is directly connected with the colours of the French flag in left-to-right order, and each plot is loosely based on one of the three ideals in the motto of the French Republic: liberty, equality, fraternity. These principles are treated in the trilogy in an ambiguous and often ironic way. As Kieślowski noted in an interview with an Oxford University student newspaper, “The words [liberté, egalité, fraternité] are French because the money [to fund the films] is French. If the money had been of a different nationality we would have titled the films differently, or they might have had a different cultural connotation. But the films would probably have been the same.” In each film, its respective color visually dominates.
Blue, White and Red have been interpreted respectively as an anti-tragedy, an anti-comedy, and an anti-romance.
BLUE (1993)

According to Kieślowski, the subject of the film is liberty, specifically emotional liberty, rather than its social or political meaning.  Set in Paris, the film is about a woman whose husband and child are killed in a car accident. Suddenly set free from her familial bonds, she attempts to cut herself off from everything and live in isolation from her former ties, but finds that she cannot free herself from human connections.
WHITE (1994)

Starting in Paris, the film depicts Karol, a shy man who, after being left by his wife in humiliating circumstances, loses his money, his residency, and his friends. As a deeply ashamed beggar in Warsaw, Karol begins his effort to restore equality to his life through revenge. Equality, thus, is the subject of this film.
RED (1994)

Red is about fraternity, which is examined by showing characters whose lives gradually become closely interconnected, with bonds forming between two characters who appear to have little in common.
 Together with Kieslowski's genius, the films owe their greatness to an overwhelming soundtrack, composed by Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner and performed by Silesian Philharmonic choir along with Sinfonia Varsovia. Below you can listen to Preisner's "Song for the Reunification of Europe" from Blue 

Keep an eye on this blog because I'll publish an entry on Preisner soon! ENJOY!!

Thursday 8 November 2012

WONDER 9: PINA BAUSCH'S "The Man I Love" (1983)

Wonder 9 is for one of the most original and charming performances I have ever seen:
Pina Bausch's rereading of George Gershwin's poignant song "The Man I love" (1928).


Where one would expect a dance choreography, one finds sign language. This is Pina Bausch at her purest, a great example of her ability to create dance out of everyday gestures and express a whole range of emotions: from restrained, unsatisfied desire to melancholy.

Pina Bausch
Here you have the lyrics of the "The Man I love":

When the mellow moon begins to beam,
Ev'ry night I dream a little dream,
And of course Prince Charming is the theme,
The he for me.
Although I realize as well as you
It is seldom that a dream comes true,
For/To me it's clear
That he'll appear.

Some day he'll come along,
The man I love
And he'll be big and strong,
The man I love
And when he comes my way
I'll do my best to make him stay.

He'll look at me and smile
I'll understand ;
And in a little while,
He'll take my hand ;
And though it seems absurd,
I know we both won't say a word

Maybe I shall meet him Sunday
Maybe Monday, maybe not ;
Still I'm sure to meet him one day
Maybe Tuesday will be my good news day

He'll build a little home
Just meant for two,
From which I'll never roam,
Who would - would you ?
And so all else above
I'm waiting for the man I love.

Definitely, a wonder of a performance!

Wednesday 7 November 2012

WONDER 8: TIME TRANSFIXED (La Durée poignardée, 1938) by René Magritte

My wonder today is for a painting by one of the most fascinating painters ever: Belgian surrealist René Magritte.


The title of the painting translates to English literally as "Ongoing Time Stabbed by a Dagger" and Magritte was reportedly unhappy with the generally accepted translation of "Time Transfixed".

This painting exemplifies some of the features characteristic of Magritte’s work:
-          In the midst of an ordinary, familiar setting something odd appears that makes us feel surprised or even shocked. Here, of course, the locomotive with the steam appears not to make sense, yet I cannot keep my eyes off it.
-      The title refers to an concept not directly depicted in the painting yet closely related to its meaning, a meaning which, however, appears rather open.

What does this painting suggest to you? Here you have some ideas that come to my mind:
-          First, the boundaries between the public (train) and private (fireplace inside a house) seem to disappear, creating a sense close to the idea of the uncanny.

-          Second, the realms of fantasy and imagination (children’s, I would say as I associate the train with children’s toys) and reality appear to mingle.

-          Third, the idea of time, evoked by the movement of the train and the presence of clock on the fireplace seem to contrast with the stillness of the inert objects depicted in the painting.
We’ll be delighted to read your interpretations!
Good night!
 

 

Tuesday 6 November 2012

WONDER 7: BRAHMS'S SYMPHONY NO. 3, 3rd MOVEMENT (POCO ALLEGRETTO)


Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Here you have one of the most wonderful melodies I have ever heard:

Johannes Brahms's SYMPHONY 3, 3rd Movement Poco Allegretto.

It is one of the most emotionally intense pieces ever created: tender, at times disturbing and rich in poignancy:


This piece was recorded by  the Berlin Philharmonic under the legendary conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler.

Enjoy!

Friday 2 November 2012

WONDER 6: THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

My wonder today is one of the most magical natural phenomena; the Northern Lights.


I haven't travelled North yet to see this spectacular event. This is definitely in my to-do list...one day!
Here you have a video to get a glimpse of the wonder that may accompany an encounter with the Northern Lights



I’d heard the phenomenon described as moving and mystical. Every northern culture has legends about the aurora. One Inuit myth holds that the northern lights are torches held in the hands of Spirits seeking the souls of those who have just died, to lead them over the abyss terminating the edge of the world. Another holds that the lights are the visible spirits of unborn children playing ball in the heavens.

What Causes the Aurora?

(Source: Wikipedia)

The scientific explanation for the lights may be less poetic, though still fascinating. Auroras are born of the sun, when large explosions and flares throw great quantities of particles into space, carried outward by the solar wind. The aurora is an electro-static phenomenon that occurs during when these charged protons and electrons in the magnetosphere collide with atoms and gases in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. When the particles meet the Earth’s magnetic shield, they are pulled into two great ovals around the Earth’s magnetic poles. As they interact with the upper layers of the atmosphere, approximately 60-150 miles above our heads, the energy that is then released appears as a luminous, moving glow, typically visible in the night sky in the polar zones at particular times of the year.
Each gas gives out a characteristic color when bombarded. Excited oxygen atoms emit yellow-green light, the most commonly observed color. Ionized molecular nitrogen emits blue and violet light, colors to which the human eye is less sensitive. At lower altitudes, excited molecules of nitrogen and oxygen glow with a vivid red. These three primary colors together produce the hues of a typical aurora.



In the north, it is known as the aurora borealis, named for the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas. The name ‘aurora borealis’ was first recorded in 1621 by French scientist Pierre Gassendi, who thought the lights looked like a bright sunrise. Especially in Europe, the aurora often appears as a reddish or pink glow on the northern horizon, as if the sun were rising from an unexpected direction. Its counterpart is observable, though less frequently, in the Southern hemisphere, where it is called the aurora australis, a Latin word meaning “of the South.”

What about you? Is there any natural phenomenon that inspires wonder to you?


Thursday 1 November 2012

WONDER 5: "No te salves" by Mario Benedetti (translation included)

My wonder today is one of the most illuminating poems I have ever read.

"No te salves" was written by Uruguayan poet Mario Benedetti  and included within his 1996 collection El Amor, las mujeres y la vida. Poemas de Amor.





NO TE SALVES

No te quedes inmóvil
al borde del camino
no congeles el júbilo
no quieras con desgana
no te salves ahora
ni nunca
no te salves
no te llenes de calma
no reserves del mundo
sólo un rincón tranquilo
no dejes caer los párpados
pesados como juicios
no te quedes sin labios
no te duermas sin sueño
no te pienses sin sangre
no te juzgues sin tiempo

pero si
pese a todo
no puedes evitarlo
y congelas el júbilo
y quieres con desgana
y te salvas ahora
y te llenas de calma
y reservas del mundo
sólo un rincón tranquilo
y dejas caer los párpados
pesados como juicios
y te secas sin labios
y te duermes sin sueño
y te piensas sin sangre
y te juzgas sin tiempo
y te quedas inmóvil
al borde del camino
y te salvas
entonces
no te quedes conmigo.





English translation:

DON'T SAVE YOURSELF

Do not stay motionless on the side of the road
do not freeze the joy
do not love without wanting
do not save yourself now
nor ever.
Do not save yourself
do not fill yourself with calm
do not set aside from the world
just a quiet corner
do not let your eyelashes fall
heavy as judgements
do not end without lips
do not sleep without being sleeepy
do not think yourself without blood
do not judge yourself with no time.

But, if
after all
you can not help it
and freeze the joy
and love without wanting
and save yourself now
and you fill with calm
and reserve from the world
only a quiet place
and let your eyelashes fall
heavy as judgements
and dry without lips
and sleep without being sleepy
and think yourself without blood
and judge yourself with no time
and stay motionless
on the side of the road
and you save yourself
then
do not stay with me.


DON'T SAVE YOURSELVES!