The future as a journalist

Well, I'm studying journalism, and in this career you don't have a major. But you have to take like 4 or 5 specialization courses in the last semesters. You have many options, but for me the most attractive one is a course called "Documentary filming". I'm very interested in the idea of creating and filming videos, specially documentarys, so this course will be really helpfull for that purposes.

Talking about that, one of my options for my future as a journalist is to work in the audiovisual area. Maybe as independent or freelance, creating my own production company (that would be more difficult), working in a TV channel or in a filming company. For me, it would be really nice to be involved in the creation and filming of documentarys, specially related to subjects that I love, like music, photography or the inmigrant situation.

The most important reason for choosing this job is because I like this kind of  work. Here in Chile Is not very profitable, and is kinda hard to find a job in this area, but I'm really interested in this stuff. Now, that's the plan for my laboral future. Also I like the idea of working in a newspapper, specifically in the cultural area, if the idea of working in a production or filming company doesn't work.

Changing a bit the subject, if I were in a work interview, and if I were asked for my strengths and weaknesses, well... that would be kinda difficult to say. I'm not the kind of person who thinks about that things, but if I'm asked, I would say that my strengths are my capacity for working in team, that I'm always proposing me objetives and goals, and that I'm always open to learn. My weaknesses are that sometimes I really (REALLY) lose the concentration and that I don't work pretty well under pressure.

So, that's it. Greetings :)

Castlevania

When I was younger I was a big fan of videogames, so I played a lot of them. Now, for many reasons, I don't play videogames at all. When I was 14 or 15, a friend of mine lent me a game called Castlevania: Symphony of The Night. It was a game for the Play Station console, and it was really amazing and addictive; actually I played it for almost a year.

The game is about a warrior who enters in an enormous castle where Dracula lives. The purpose of the game is to defeat all the enemies and bosses in the castle and finally defeat Dracula. It is a really long game, full of missions to complete.I like this game because the story is really good and there are a lot of enemies, weapons and stages. Also I liked the music and the visual aesthetic of the game.

I guess that I completed it like 2 or 3 times, I was really addicted to it! So that's all, greetings (:

Bob Brooks

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2012/oct/03/bob-brooks-advertising

The article I have chosen is related to the media industry, and is  about the advertising work, a really
important thing in the press business. The article is dedicated to Bob Brooks, an American film director who died last week, and the author names him as the man who reinvented the advertising in TV, at least in England.

Sam Delaney, the author of this article, talks about how he met Brooks the last year in Monaco, and how important this man was in the english TV. Brooks created some commercials that were very succesful in the 70´s and 80´s, like an advert for Yellow Pages or another called Smash. His commercials, says the author, were always funny and warm, and that was the key of his success.


The author also explains the particular  fame that the director had. Brooks was always aggresive in the studio sets, always screaming or being angry. Delany says that the sense of professionalism he had was the reason of his constant angryness. When Brooks came to England, the adverts weren't looked so seriously, so the workers in the sets didn't realized their task so serious.

Also, the author says that Brooks wasn't able to expand his success in making films. His only attempt was a movie called Tatto, released in 1981, wich was a sort of failure, because Brooks didn't had the diplomacy to deal with the big filming studios, says Delany.

So, that´s it. greetings (:

Michelangelo

Michelangelo, for me, is one of the greatest artists in the story of humanity. He was an italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet, one of the most important exponents of the Art in the Rennaissance, allong with Leonardo Da Vinci. He was born in  1475, and he  died at the age o 88 in 1564.

He is sindicated as the "founder" of the Mannerist painting, a style that was related to the high masters of the Renaissance, like Da Vinci, Rafael or Michelangelo itself. His painting was realistic and naturalistic, but had some twisted details, exaggerating some characteristics of the models. Most of his paintings were orientated to christian religion, being paid by some popes for his work. One of the greatest paintings of Michelangelo is The creation of Adan, The Last Judgement or The Conversion of Saint Paul; all of it are placed in the Sixtine Chapel, in the Vatican

He is one of my favorites painters specially for his perfectionistic work, and for the his enormous artistic heritage. Here is picture of The Last Judgement, one of the pictures of the Sixtine Chapel

Greetings (:

Italy

Well, there are a lot of countries that I would really love to visit; there are so many amazing places in all the continents, especially in America, Europe and Asia. But, If i had to choose one country, i will pick Italy

Italy is a country placed in the south of Europe. It is near to France and Germany, and its coasts lead to the mediterranean sea. Is worldwide known by its food, dedicated to pastes, noodles and spaguetti. Also is known by having historical architectures like te Colisseum, the tower of Pissa or the Vatican.

If someday I reach Italy, i will do a lot of things. The first thing would be visit all the museums, gallerys and the monuments in the country. Also i would love to visit the Vatican and the Sixtine Chapel; i'm not religous, but that place is really beautiful and it has a lot of sculptures and pictures. After that, I would like to visit places like the Toscana, Sicilia or Venecia,and go to some bars or restaurants (I really love the italian food!).

Being sincere, I won't like to study or work there. Is not my country, and I probably will miss my friends and my family. I only like to visit the country, as a tourist.

So that'ts it, see you (:

The best holidays

Well, I've never been a person who makes big travells or anything, so holidays are kinda a strange thing for me. But this year, in the middle of the winter, I and my family had a break and we went to Dominican Republic, for one week.

The idea of going to that place came in late February, when all my family was reunited, and one of my sisters (who went to that place the last year) told  us to go. So we accepted the idea, and we were really excited! I have to spent some savings that I had, and finally we take the plane in the middle of June, I don't remember the exact day. 

Probably one of the best things of the journey was that all of us went to the holidays: It was me, my fathers, my three sisters, my two brothers in law, my four nephews, and  one of my uncles. 

Talking  about the holiday's itself, they were pretty amazing. We were in a hotel in a place called Bayahibe, at the south east of Dominican Republic. All was included: food, drinks (a looot of drinks), and some really fun activities. The hotel was near to the beach, and the water was really transparent and warm (that was so good), so we spent all the day in the beach drinking, eating, or playing with my nephews, and it was really fantastic. In the night, we went to partys and bars, or we went to some activities in the hotel.

It was a really good  and relaxing experience, and in the last day we took this photo, in the hall of the hotel. All of us were really happy (:

So that's it, greetings (:

First half of the year

Well, here we are again. The first semester of this year was cool, and I hope this second semester will be really cool too.

Talking about the university, I've learned a lot of things in the first half of the year. In one of the subjects, I and some classmates were involved in a television program, and I learned a lot of things about audiovisual meaning, and I really enjoyed it. After we finished the program, I realized that I want to work in the audiovisual area, so this helped me so much about finding my vocation.

About free time, the first half of this year was really good. I'm a music lover, and I went to some really amazing live concerts. Probably the best was the show that Roger Waters of Pink Floyd gave in March 2nd. It was a fantastic experience, probably the best show I've ever seen.

 I really didn't have so much problems or challenges, maybe a few issues related to the university or a few problem with some people, but nothing really important. 

So, that's it.

Blogging

So, this is the last time that we're writing on the blog. That's kinda sad, because this was a really good idea, and I enjoyed it a lot. Like most of my classmates (I guess), I really love writing, this is one of the reasons that leaded me to studing journalism, and writing on the blog was a very nice activity.

Probably the best thing was that we were able to write about things that we love, like our favorite movies, our favorite musicians or our favorite electronic devices. This was great, because when you write about things that you like (and obviously, about things and ideas that you domain), the activity is more easy and comfortable.

I guess that writing on the blog helped me to improve my English, because with the activities we did I remembered a lot of grammar rules, and also I learned other rules and tips that helped me to have a better english.

Blogging in the english class has a lot of advantages. Is a really practical  way to exercising about this languaje, you can comment in the page of  the other classmates, and  also Blogspot is a really friendly plataform to upload texts and publications. The disadvantages, mmmmm, I don't really see disadvantages on the idea of blogging.

And that's all, at least for this course. Blogging was a really good experiencies, and helped a lot to refresh my English.

Rockaxis

 

This is one of the sites related to my career that I most enjoy visiting. Rockaxis is a Chilean website (and also a physical magazine) dedicated to rock music and all of its subgeneres. It was founded in 2000, and is one of the most important sites dedicated to music in Chile. The page is divided in 9 sections: the most important are the news, reviews of concerts and albums, and interviews.  There are other subdivisions too, according to some subgeneres of rock music.  The website has lots of images and articles, and has periodical radio podcasts and tv broadcasts. By the way, the site has a forum where the people can talk and discuss about music and anything else.

I visit this page like 5 o 6 times at a week, and sometimes I look for this site everyday. . I like this website because I really love music, especially rock and experimental music. Rockaxis is one of the best resources in Spanish for being informed about rock music, and all things related to it. Also, the website provides  some free music or links to videos in Youtube, so is very nice to get lost in this page once in a while (if you like rock music, obviously).

One hundred years of solitude

I really love reading books, and there're a lot of titles that I like. But my favorite is One Hundred Years of Solitude, written by the colombian journalist and novelist Gabriel Garcia Márquez. It was published in 1967, in Buenos Aires. This is probably one of the most important and representative books of South America, and is a best seller around the world; it has sold more than 30 millions of copies since was published.

The book tells the story of the rise and fall of the Buendia family, and a town called Macondo, where they live. There are a lot of characters, and the novel tells the stories of all the members of the clan. I love this book because the way the events are narrated is almost unique. There novel is related to the magic realism, a kind of writing that mix some surrealistic events with everyday acts. 

there's a fantastic quote of the book, and is also the last part of the novel: 

Before reaching the final line, however, he had already understood that he would never leave that room, for it was foreseen that the city of mirrors (or mirages) would be wiped out by the wind and exiled from the memory of men at the precise moment 
when Aureliano Babilonia would finish deciphering the parchments, and that everything written on them was unrepeatable since time immemorial and forever more, because races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth.” 

And now, a review of the novel taken from Amazon:

 A masterpiece. Classic May 25, 2000

By Christopher A. Smith

Format:Paperback

The beginning of the book contains a family tree of the Buendia family, and if you're like me you'll surely mangle and dog-ear this page as you work your way though the book, trying to keep track of the Aurelianos, Remedios, and Ursulas.

But the struggle is worth it. This was truly the great novel that Garcia Marquez was meant to write; to me everything of Marquez that followed seems like recycled material. I first read One Hundred Years of Solitude years ago before moving to Latin America. Now that I here and have read it again, many of the messages that before were inaccessible now reveal themselves. The Story of Macondo is the story of Colombia and, to a larger extent, of Latin America. The reviewers tell us this, but it is amazing to see it with my own eyes.

The literal and the fantastic are interwoven with a seamlessness that amazes. One compares his style with Kafka before and Kundera after, literary voice established in this novel has withstood the test of time. It remains unique.

The book is at once funny, sad, tragic; it's history and fantasy. But overall it is a marvelous read. Clearly one of my all time favorites. There are very few books that I recommend as highly as this one. A true classic.

I complete agree with him, specally when he says that this book, in a way of another, is a mirror of the history of South América,.

The best concert ever

The past 2nd of March was a really really special day. That day was the first of the two shows that Roger Water, the mastermind behind the legendary band Pink Floyd, gave here in Chile. He and his support band played entirely the classic album The Wall, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. 

The photo under was taken after the concert, and I guess that reflects all the feelings experienced that day. It was taken by one of my brothers-in-law.  I'm in the middle, on the left is my sister Francisca, on the right my sister Patricia, and in the bottom is the stage with an big wall. The three of us are a massive fans of Pink Floyd, and we were really shocked after the show. It was our dream hearing live the music of Floyd, and specially the songs of the album The Wall. And finally that day the dream came true, and we were very, very happy.

 

 The photo is a bit out of focus, but who cares! That was a really magical night, and this picture express how happy we were.

Pulp Fiction

To be honest, cinema is not my specialty, but there are a lot of movies that I love so much. If I has to choose one, I'll pick Pulp Fiction.  This is probably the best movie I've ever seen, and  I've seen it a lot of times. Is a film directed by Quentin Tarantino, and it was released in the year 1994. The cast is composed by John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis and many others.

The film joins the storylines of gangsters, 2 criminals, a boxer, and a briefcase. One of the best thing is that the events aren't narrated in chronological order, so there are a lot of flashbacks and other time jumps. The monologues and dialogs of the movie are pretty amazing too.

Like all the Tarantino's movies (my favorite director), Pulp Fiction is a mixture of drama, black comedy and crime. I really love the ironic sense of humour of the film, and how the violence is presented in a really stylized and highly aesthetic way. Also, the soundtrack of the movie is awesome, full of classic songs.

Here's the trailer of the movie. Greetings!



My mp3 player

Really, I'm not a huge lover of modern technology. I think life was better without computers, expensive cellphones or enormous plasma TVs. But in the other hand, these devices makes our lives more easy and comfortable, so they aren't that bad at all.

If i have to choose one of this devices, i'll choose my MP3 player.  I got it since 2010, almost two years ago. Unfortunately, i'ts screen broke after a few months when i bought it, so it looks really bad; but it work's, and thats the important thing. I use it only when i'm not at home, like in my way to university, my way back home or  in other public places.


I like it because I'm a huge lover of music, so this device connects me always with my favorite bands and singers. Without it, the trips that I make every day would be really boring. But I don't  think  life would be different if I didn`t have my MP3 player, because I preffer to listen my music at home with my cd's or in my computer.

Porcupine Tree

Porcupine Tree is one of my favorite bands of all time. Actually, the name of my blog is inspired in a song of them. They're a band from Hemel Hempstead, London, and they're composed of their leader, singer and guitarist Steven Wilson, the drummer Gavin Harrison, the bass player Colin Edwin and the keyboard player Richard Barbieri. They play a mixture between progressive rock and psychedelic music, with a lot of influences, like trip hop, art pop, ambient and progressive metal. Actually I don't really know why I love this band so much, but one of the reasons is that their music sometimes is so simple and minimalistic, and  sometimes is really complex and exuberating, with songs up to 15 minutes long. So their sound is really dinamic,which is a really fantastic thing. They we're formed in the late 80's, and they have published 10 studio albums since 1991.

Is really hard to pick just one song, all of their songs are pretty amazing! but if I have to do it, i'll choose a song called Stars Die, taken from their third record, called The Sky Moves Sideways. The song is very surrealistic musically and lyrically, and that's one of the reasons why i love it.

Here's a video of Piano Lessons, another great track from them.

This is me

Hello, my name is Javier Valladares, and i'm 21 years old. I was born the 14th november 1990 in Santiago, Chile. I'm the little brother of a fantastic family, wich is composed by my fathers, Egidio and Amalia, and my sisters Paula, Patricia and Francisca. I also had 3 nephews, Santiago, Katia and Luciano. They're very important to me, and their company always make me happy and comfortable.

I've always lived in Lo Prado, in the north east of Santiago. Is a very fantastic place, where I met very funny people and i've made a lot of good friends.

Actually i'm studing journalism in the Universidad of Chile, in fourth grade. When I was a child I went to the Ruiz Tagle School, and when i was in 7th grade, I moved to the National Institute, where I finished the secundary in the year 2008.

I'm a huge fan of music, wich is one of the most important things in my life, alongside with my family and my friends. Since i was eight years old i became a massive follower of bands like The Doors, Pink Floyd or The Beatles, and my musical taste has grow a lot in the years. I love a ton of different music, like rock, folk, art pop, progressive music, trip hop, grunge, post metal and a lot of other stuff. My hobby is to collect records, i have a lot, and I think that i've spent a lot of money buying them.

Since I was fifteen i'm a bass player, and actually i'm attemping to play guitar and to make my own music at home.

and that's all, for now...