Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta The world. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta The world. Mostrar todas las entradas
sábado, 4 de junio de 2011
Tommy Douglas and the 'mice world'
Somebody has sent me an e-mail with this video about Tommy Douglas. It is very interesting because it sets some elements to think about... (Thinking is a necessary exercise for the brain ;-) ) I hope you enjoy it.
lunes, 16 de mayo de 2011
For the lovers of pets: 'Dogs are smarter than cats'
This is from an article appeared in The Times India May 14th , 2011, 12.00am IST (Oritinal site)
A new study by scientists at Oxford University has shown that dogs are cleverer than cats because their friendly character has helped them develop bigger brains.
The researchers have claimed that the intelligence of "a man's best friend" has evolved at a greater rate than the less social cat over millions of years.
It was often believed that the feline pet was smarter than its canine counterpart because it needed less attention but researchers have discovered that cat's brains are smaller because they are less social.
For the first time, scientists have charted the evolutionary history of the brain across different groups of mammals over 60 million years and identified huge variations in how their brains have changed.
They discovered that there was a link between the size of an animal's brain in relation to the rest of its body and how socially active it was.
The study analysed available data on the brain and body size of over 500 species of living and fossilised mammals. The brains of monkeys grew the most over time followed by horses, dolphins, camels and dogs.
It showed that groups of mammals with relatively bigger brains tended to live in stable social groups. The brains of more solitary mammals such as cats, deer and rhino, grew much more slowly during the same period.
"Dogs have always been regarded as the more social animals while cats like to get on with their own thing alone. But it appears that interaction is good for the brain and extends to other species, like ourselves," the Telegraph quoted Dr Susanne Shultz, who led the research, as saying.
"We are even more social than monkeys and apes and it is this ability to get on with each other that has helped us dominate the planet.
This study overturns the long-held belief that brain size has increased across all mammals. Instead, groups of highly social species have undergone much more rapid increases than more solitary species.
"This suggests the co-operation and co-ordination needed for group living can be challenging and over time some mammals have evolved larger brains to be able to cope with the demands of socialising.
All dogs are quite good at solving problems, which gives credence to the traditional image of the cunning fox which is a member of the same family. Dogs descended from wolves which appear to have the biggest brains as they live in large family groups," Shultz added.
The study has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
A new study by scientists at Oxford University has shown that dogs are cleverer than cats because their friendly character has helped them develop bigger brains.
The researchers have claimed that the intelligence of "a man's best friend" has evolved at a greater rate than the less social cat over millions of years.
It was often believed that the feline pet was smarter than its canine counterpart because it needed less attention but researchers have discovered that cat's brains are smaller because they are less social.
For the first time, scientists have charted the evolutionary history of the brain across different groups of mammals over 60 million years and identified huge variations in how their brains have changed.
They discovered that there was a link between the size of an animal's brain in relation to the rest of its body and how socially active it was.
The study analysed available data on the brain and body size of over 500 species of living and fossilised mammals. The brains of monkeys grew the most over time followed by horses, dolphins, camels and dogs.
It showed that groups of mammals with relatively bigger brains tended to live in stable social groups. The brains of more solitary mammals such as cats, deer and rhino, grew much more slowly during the same period.
"Dogs have always been regarded as the more social animals while cats like to get on with their own thing alone. But it appears that interaction is good for the brain and extends to other species, like ourselves," the Telegraph quoted Dr Susanne Shultz, who led the research, as saying.
"We are even more social than monkeys and apes and it is this ability to get on with each other that has helped us dominate the planet.
This study overturns the long-held belief that brain size has increased across all mammals. Instead, groups of highly social species have undergone much more rapid increases than more solitary species.
"This suggests the co-operation and co-ordination needed for group living can be challenging and over time some mammals have evolved larger brains to be able to cope with the demands of socialising.
All dogs are quite good at solving problems, which gives credence to the traditional image of the cunning fox which is a member of the same family. Dogs descended from wolves which appear to have the biggest brains as they live in large family groups," Shultz added.
The study has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
sábado, 16 de abril de 2011
Charlie Chaplin's 122nd birthday anniversary
Today is the 122nd annyversary of Charlie Chaplin. At the site of Google you can watch a homage to him with a little video made for this special event. They have taken away their traditional logo or 'Doodle' and have posted a little video (one minute and a half approximately).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/17/newsid_2512000/2512129.stm
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988499,00.html
If you want to learn about him go to this site.
The following interesting text can be found at:
(attributed to) Charlie Chaplin on his 70th birthday: As I Began to Love Myself
As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth.Today, I know, this is “AUTHENTICITY“.
As I began to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody as I try to force my desires on this person, even though I knew the time was not right and the person was not ready for it, and even though this person was me.Today I call it “RESPECT“.
As I began to love myself I stopped craving for a different life, and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow.Today I call it “Maturity“.
As I began to love myself I understood that at any circumstance, I am in the right place at the right time, and everything happens at the exactly right moment, so I could be calm.Today I call it “SELF-CONFIDENCE“.
As I began to love myself I quit steeling my own time, and I stopped designing huge projects for the future. Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in my own rhythm.Today I call it “SIMPLICITY“.
As I began to love myself I freed myself of anything that is no good for my health – food, people, things, situations, and everything the drew me down and away from myself. At first I called this attitude a healthy egoism.Today I know it is “LOVE OF ONESELF“.
As I began to love myself I quit trying to always be right, and ever since I was wrong less of the time.Today I discovered that is “MODESTY“.
As I began to love myself I refused to go on living in the past and worry about the future. Now, I only live for the moment, where EVERYTHING is happening.
Today I live each day, day by day, and I call it “FULFILLMENT“.
As I began to love myself I recognized that my mind can disturb me and it can make me sick. But As I connected it to my heart, my mind became a valuable ally.Today I call this connection “WISDOM OF THE HEART“.
We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations or any kind of problems with ourselves or others. Even stars collide, and out of their crashing new worlds are born.Today I know THAT IS “LIFE“!(however, after 1 year since this article was created, there are doubts that this beautiful and wise declaration above does belong to Charlie Chaplin after all as much was we’d love to believe it – we are on a quest to find once for all)
OTHER INTERESTING NEWS ABOUT HIM:Today I have received the above message from a friend and I’ve felt right away that is meant to be shared further on .. so we can meditate upon it, and luckily, we start applying some of its (utterly sahaj!!) truth before our 70th anniversary.
Indeed, at that age he managed to remain more firm than ever behind the wheels of his life and all the phrases above are in essence very much imbibed with eternally fresh truths, so I dare to say that his message is totally sahaj.“The Tramp” (check it out) and other creations reflect such an universal and complex truth about life that speaks to our heart, any heart .. And has its message fully absorbed…Also it’s interesting because Chaplin was able to establish his level of peace and to really live up - in his late years of life - to the wisdom that is transparent in the quote above. Yes, he was even able to know and clearly define himself.And if Charlie Chaplin has reached to that sincere realization about his Self that gave him the serene comfort of his spirit, we instead, even as recently as this Aprill 2009, are still fighting the futile war of labeling him post-mortem.As usually one can see the irony: in India he is much respected by movie makers that want to have a statue in his name, maybe the greatest ever dedicated to Chaplin .. while in the same place is a strong opposition for this tribute to happen. The reason?! This genius happened to be officially registered as Christian, though during his life there was another war going on, triggered by the rumors that he might be Jewish or partially Gipsy.We all fight these wars, of course starting with the ‘civil wars’ that happen inside of ourselves: the heart will generously give us a name, while our mind will try to impose its own “title” and our senses will sneak also all kind of “subtitles” to this entity that either way is known and perceived always differently by others.So why not start knowing this ‘personal’ being, by simply beginning to love the core of it, the Self. What we love, we know.. That love will bring the peace of integration that delivers the consensus within.Only then, after knowing ourselves, gaining one distinct voice, we may utter definitions about others .... if those will still matter.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/17/newsid_2512000/2512129.stm
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988499,00.html
viernes, 15 de abril de 2011
Titanic sinking anniversary - 14th / 15th April 1912
A day like this one, at this time, the most famous ship in History was sinking in the middle of the ocean, carrying away many souls to the depths forever. It is one year left to commemorate the first 100 years since its disaster. That is going to happen next year (in 2012, the same year as the Olympic Games in London - you can imagine the special events that Irish and British will do to commemorate this historic tragedy-). Today it is the 99th aniversary.
The largest passenger steamship in the world, the Olympic-class RMS Titanic was owned by the White Star Line and constructed at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland. She set sail for New York City on 10 April 1912 with 2,223 people on board. The high casualty rate resulting from the sinking was due in part to the fact that, although complying with the regulations of the time, the ship carried lifeboats for only 1,178 people. A disproportionate number of men died due to the "women and children first" protocol that was enforced by the ship's crew.
Titanic was designed by experienced engineers, using some of the most advanced technologies and extensive safety features of the time. Adding to the ironic nature of the tragedy is the fact that the liner sank on her maiden voyage. The high loss of life, the media frenzy over Titanic's famous victims, the legends about the sinking, the resulting changes in maritime law, and the discovery of the wreck
Image from the 'Titanic Experience'
Route and location of RMS Titanic
Captain Edward J. Smith, captain of Titanic
Titanic on her way after the near-collision with SS New York. On the left can be seen Oceanic and New York.
General arrangement of the 16 main compartments of Titanic. The double bottom was 7 feet high and divided into 44 watertight compartments. There were additional 13 small compartments above the tank top, e.g. for the shaft tunnels.[132
Sinking of the Titanic by Henry Reuterdahl, drawn based on radio descriptions.
Set of images from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
RMS Titanic was a passenger liner that struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, and sank on 15 April 1912. She struck the iceberg four days into the crossing, at 23:40 on 14 April 1912, and sank at 2:20 the following morning, resulting in the deaths of 1,517 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.The largest passenger steamship in the world, the Olympic-class RMS Titanic was owned by the White Star Line and constructed at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland. She set sail for New York City on 10 April 1912 with 2,223 people on board. The high casualty rate resulting from the sinking was due in part to the fact that, although complying with the regulations of the time, the ship carried lifeboats for only 1,178 people. A disproportionate number of men died due to the "women and children first" protocol that was enforced by the ship's crew.
Titanic was designed by experienced engineers, using some of the most advanced technologies and extensive safety features of the time. Adding to the ironic nature of the tragedy is the fact that the liner sank on her maiden voyage. The high loss of life, the media frenzy over Titanic's famous victims, the legends about the sinking, the resulting changes in maritime law, and the discovery of the wreck
The Titanic anniversary cruise will feature the same route, an identical menu and the same number of passengers as the 1912 voyage Photo: AP
If you want to feel a similar experience (but not the sinking, of course!) ;-) you can join in the 'Titanic Experience', where a new liner (the 'Balmoral liner') will depart from Southampton on April 8, 2012. Tick here if you want to read the information in Spanish. You can ask for a tiket at: http://www.cruceroclick.com/ficha.php?id=270
The Titanic at Southampton - Departure.
Comparative of size (Person-car-bus-Airbus A380-Titanic). From Wikipedia.
This is the Balmoral ship. Picture taken from here.
If you are interested on a more 'modest' but very interesting experience, maybe you would like joining in the commemorative chat about the Titanic between the 14th and the 15th, April.
I also found a spectacular site with incidents happened to ships in all around the world. There you can find images like these (which are from the Balmoral ship):
The new can be read at a digital newspaper here.
Are you still willing to go on a cruise? I better would stay inland...
jueves, 14 de abril de 2011
Easter Vocabulary - Vocabulario de Semana Santa
Easter Vocabulary
Autor: Alexandra Vraciu |
La lección de hoy la dedicaremos a practicar algunas palabras relacionadas con Easter (las Pascuas). He recojido palabras relacionadas con algunas de la tradiciones anglosajonas típicas de estas fechas, como por ejemplo el conejito de Pascuas (Easter bunny), que trae a los niños huevos pintados, golosinas y juguetes, o la caza o búsqueda de los Huevos de Pascua (egg hunt), durante la cual los niños buscan huevos de chocolate o huevos pintados escondidos en la casa o en el jardín, o la carrera de los Huevos (egg rolling), que consiste en tirar rodando unos huevos hervidos a lo largo de una pendiente para ver que huevo resiste hasta el final del recorrido.
Parece que la tradición del Conejo de Pascua se remonta a los antiguos germanos, que lo asociaban con la fertilidad y con valores ascendentes, por sus potentes patas traseras. Una leyenda cuenta que en abril o mayo, unos niños entraron en un granero y, tras ver salir corriendo a un conejo, encontraron un huevo, que pensaron que había puesto él. A partir de ahí se extendería el juego pascual alrededor del conejo y de los huevos.
Este ejercicio está pensado para aquellas personas que estudian inglés de nivel básico.
domingo, 10 de abril de 2011
La noche temática
Due to the anniversary on the 26th, April, of the Chernobyl disaster, TVE 2 at its progamming in 'La noche temática' has broadcasted (Saturday 9th April) two good productions. It's not an activity for our subject since it is not in English, but some of you have been doing activities related to the topic with me. This is some information that may be useful to know more and to be ready to have an informed oppinion. These two reports are very good quality ("La noche temática - La batalla de Chernóbil", and "La noche temática - La pesadilla de los desechos nucleares").
Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin - First human in space- and film about it
Yuri Gagarin's flight over the Earth will have its anniversary on April 13th.... There will be a film about it to show all the details, the problems and the happy end. You can get more information on the page: http://www.firstorbit.org/ where you'll find:
"On 12th April 2011 it will be 50 years to the day since Yuri Gagarin climbed into his space ship and was launched into space. It took him just 108 minutes to orbit Earth and he returned as the World's very first space man.
To mark this historic flight we have teamed up with the astronauts onboard the International Space Station to film a new view of what Yuri would have seen as he travelled around the planet.
Weaving these new views together with historic voice recordings from Yuri's flight and an original score by composer Philip Sheppard, we have created a spellbinding film to share with people around the World on this historic anniversary.
We have partnered with YouTube to host a special global premiere of the film on the 12th April."
"On 12th April 2011 it will be 50 years to the day since Yuri Gagarin climbed into his space ship and was launched into space. It took him just 108 minutes to orbit Earth and he returned as the World's very first space man.
To mark this historic flight we have teamed up with the astronauts onboard the International Space Station to film a new view of what Yuri would have seen as he travelled around the planet.
Weaving these new views together with historic voice recordings from Yuri's flight and an original score by composer Philip Sheppard, we have created a spellbinding film to share with people around the World on this historic anniversary.
We have partnered with YouTube to host a special global premiere of the film on the 12th April."
miércoles, 6 de abril de 2011
advertisements-commercials
Here we have some good imaginative British advertisements (Cannes Festival Award winner):
From Japanese companies:
The weather in Farenheit degrees
This is the weather forecast in:
Tom Scott created a website where you can enter the name of a city and it will show you the current weather conditions in the form of Star Wars locations.
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