The film that made me feel scared

photo by flickr user hunterseakerhk

The one film that made me feel most scared is not really a film but a series of horror films. I saw each one of these series over three consecutive summers in a small cinema in a resort town. The series which I'm talking about is Nightmare on Elm Street.

When I saw the first episode of the series I was fourteen years old, and I was frightened throughout all the film.
Probably, I couldn't sleep well at that night because I still had  in my mind the horrible film's character Freddy Krueger.

The terrifying character Freddy, who stalks and kills teenagers in their dreams was becoming a great success among the young and adult people of the 80s.

The following summer I went to the cinema to see the second episode of the Nightmare saga, but instead of being frightened I laughed at the sight of the film's scenes.

I was so disappointed by that movie that I started wondering why I wasn't being affected anymore by horror films, and I figured out that I had grown up.

If everybody is scared by Freddy, why go to see his film?

The personality of a character of a film

The character whose personality I've chosen to describe is Stanley Ipkiss of the movie The Mask.

Stanley Ipkiss is a generous, law-abiding, shy and romantic bank clerk burdened by his landlady and by his manager.
One day he finds an ancient voodoo mask, that lends whoever is wearing it extraordinary powers and abilities but frees him from inhibitions and amplifies the suppressed parts of his personality.
The man is transformed into a bold, brave, outgoing man but also unpredictable, dishonest and a little bit of maniac.
So, instead of becoming a superhero and tackling crime, he chooses to rob a bank to seduce a gangster's woman .

In the picture a mask depicting Maori facial tattoos
Photo by flickr user anoldent

attribution: Caroline Bonarde Ucci

You might be interested to know that the role of the gangster's woman was played by Cameron Diaz.
Who is your favourite actress?

An article about the film
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mask_%28film%29

Financial security

photo by flick user voobie

The financial security is the possibility to rely on an amount of money in your bank saving account.

To reach a financial security you have to save a little sum of money from your paycheck every month. To be able to save your money you should live simply, avoiding buying expensive tailored suits, and going to elegant restaurants or eating out too many days a week. The only way to reach your goals is giving up or delaying your gratifications.

If you save your money today, you will live more confortably tomorrow.
Only if you own some money, you will afford to pay for growing up your children, for giving a deposit to buy your house, and to live a serene old age.
Money gives you the chance of quitting a job that you don't like, and living without working for the time you need to find a new job that you will enjoy.

On the other hand, there are people who prefer living paycheck-to-paycheck or making debts. These people are always ready to head off for the newest tourist destinations or to change their car to a newer one.

I think that living spending all your monthly income is not worthwhile, in fact owning a sum of money ensures safety.

The money you need to live without working:
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/10/16/what-is-financial-security/

Building your financial security by investing:
http://www.kiplinger.com/features/archives/2006/12/knightkeys.html

Dialog to practice (sympathetic and insensitive) responses

A visitor to your house is embarazzed because has spilled his drink

Visitor: ooh, I've spilled my beer on your velvet sofa.
Houseowner: never mind, I don't like that sofa anymore.
Visitor: are you sure? You spent a big sum of money for this piece of furniture.
Houseowner: don't worry, I'm going to buy a new leather sofa made by Frau.
Visitor: Could you give me your old sofa?
Houseowner: I'm sorry I can't. I think I going to use it as a cat house.

Dialog to practice auxiliary verbs

Mary: Oh, you are doing better now, aren't you?
Joe: Yes, yesterday it was a nightmare experience.
Mary: You have been vomiting all night, haven't you?
Joe: Yes, the worst hangover since I came to Dublin.
Mary: Oh my dear, do not drink wine anymore! Will you?
Joe: OK, There will be only Guinness for me in the future.

Write about the most important person to you

2011-01-11

The people who are most important to me are my parents. They met as young people at school and married when my father was 33 years old.

My parents tought me the values in the life, not through their words but through actions. My mother devoted all hours of her day to taking care of children and house, and sometimes to her husband too.

My father taught me to regard study and work.

I've been very lucky to have had parents such the mine, and I hope not to disappoint them.

For and against studying in Ireland and in our country

 2011-01-07

I came to Ireland in June of last year to study in English, and to see my cousins who have been living in Dublin for 5 years.

My first teacher at the CES school told me that I was a false beginner student, in fact I had studied English at secondary school for three years. Furthermore, I've always been keen on learning the language because my father, as a student, attended a linguistic university.

Studying abroad has many advantages. First of all the teachers are mother tongue, this is good because when you learn a new language you should try avoiding thinking in your own language and then translating from your language in English.

Secondly, studying a language in the country where that language is spoken gives you the opportunity to know about the culture and the way of living of that people. Besides, living in a house with Irish people is offering me the chance to practice speaking and to get accustomed to pronunciation.

On the other hand, if I had tried to learn English in my own country I wouldn't have had to leave my friends and my family.

Furthermore, when the company which I was working for went bankrupt I knew that I could hardly find another employer that would treat me well as the last one. For this reason I decided to come to Ireland, where there is more respect for the people who are willing to work.

In Ireland I won't probably find the same job as the one I had in Italy, but, at worst, if I won't be able to find any one, I will go back to Italy with the knowledge of the English language.

In conclusion, I have always wanted to improve my English, and someone, maybe my guardian angel, has made me seize the opportunity to do it.

Pregnant Statue of Liberty

image from www.celesteh.com

A picture of a pregnant statue of liberty was published on a web site, yesterday.
Behind that shocking joke there is a Modern Art sculptor. This man revealed that his purpose was to raise the attention of people over the issue of a demographic decline that America is witnessing in these last years.
The President Barack Obama said he is in favour of building small pregnant statues of liberty to be set in public gardens to excite people's feelings about giving birth to children.

Ireland Failure

During these last few weeks we have been reading of the worries of the Irish Government about the danger of the failure of the Irish economy (or the Irish Banking System).

The Irish Government is expected to put together a 6 billion euro budget, and to present a plan to Dail Eireann by the beginning of the next month.

The Irish Government is currently under pressure from the international media and the opposition parties. The ministers of the Irish Government are denying that there are negotiations going on between Ireland and European officials to receive help from the financial stability fund.

Brian Cowen, while denying any talk of being given capital from the european fund is, on the other hand, saying that the Government's objective is to bring the banking system to a position where it can access funds at a reasonable price.

To sum up, the time of the Celtic tiger is finished, but Ireland seems not to be in a position as severe as that of Greece.

Technology and human contact

Could technology replace human contact between men?

I think that technology provides man with many forms of media, such as television, radio, computers, and mobile phones.

In these last years it is possible to notice how mobile phones and computers let us talk and see our friends and collegues. In this way it is possible for a computer replace a teacher in a class or to stand in for a business man, who is in another country, at a business meeting.

However, I think, that technology could never replace personal contact between people. I believe that two lovers could never feel fulfilled without seeing and touching each other.

Chile miners rescue

October 2010

Finally, the 33 Chilean miners were rescued, thanks to the economic resource of the United States. Every day in the world there are many deaths on the job. These deaths could be prevented if employers were more sensitive to safety in the workplace.

Compliance with the rules of safety at work cost the companies a price that every country should have to pay. The results would be fewer accidents and less disability pensions having to be paid by the social security system.

For and against seat belts

A seat belt is a safety device designed to secure the occupant of a vehicle against harmful movement that result from a collision or a sudden stop.

It is certainly true that the seat belt, in case of accident, is the most important protective device for who is inside a car. The sea belt decreases the risk of the driver and passegers being bumped inside or that they were thrown out from the vehicle.

The sealt belt coul be dangerous in an accident wheter the car catchs fire. In such cases a knife should be available for passengers to cut the belts, but in my country carring a knife in own car is against the law.

In conclusion, wearing a seat belt is considered to reduce by 50% the probability of death during an accident, and I'm in favour or the use of seat belts.

A father and son picture

Sean and Harry are father and son. They live in a house in a poor area. Sean is an outlaw man, because he steals cars.

Sean and Harry get on well, but Sean had never let Harry had the same life of thief.

Sean has gone to prison. He would like to change his life, and find a good employment.

Harry knows a rich man, who lives in a big house in the wealthy area of the town. This man has promised to give Harry's father a new job. So Sean could become a car washer instead of stealing cars.

hello entry

hi everybody, I'm writing this blog to collect and show all my writings in English.
So this blog's purpose would be an armory of English language, am I too much assuming?  
I really love my English teachers who are John and Bayveen from the CES School in Dublin.