Alternative Rock

When we talk about music, I think that we don’t know everything about it. Yes, we all like pop music, but do we really know why we like it? There’s a very simple reason: record companies want us to buy it, that’s why it’s called commercial music.

However, I think that the best type of music is ALTERNATIVE ROCK. Not many people really know what this kind of music consists of; if you are one of them, don’t worry, I’m going to explain now.

Alternative Rock is a musical subgenre of Rock music. It was created during the 60s, although it didn’t reach the height of popularity until the 80s. Its name is a mix of Rock, because it is a subgenre of the first, and Alternative because when it was first created it was outside mainstream music. It has some subgenres like Indie Rock and Noise Rock. Alternative Rock musicians use instruments like electric guitars, bass and drums.

Some famous groups which use this style are: R.E.M., Muse, The Strokes, The White Stripes, Depeche Mode, Panic! At the Disco, Foo Fighters and the Arctic Monkeys. An example of a Spanish group is Lori Meyers.

Some of their songs have cover versions by other groups. This is a cover of Depeche Mode’s song, “Enjoy the Silence”, by Nada Surf, an American Alternative Rock group which has a Spanish member. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijiCZAN2ntY

Here I leave you links to my favourite songs:

- “The Ballad of Mona Lisa”, Panic! At the Disco. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOgpdp3lP8M

- “Brianstorm”, Arctic Monkeys. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30w8DyEJ__0

- “Under Cover of Darkness”, The Strokes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l09H-3zzgA

- “Undisclosed Desires”, Muse. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8OOWcsFj0U

ENJOY THE MUSIC!

"Tonterías las justas"

I’m going to talk about a Spanish entertainment program that many people know and like, but not everybody watches it. This program is call “tonterias las Justas” and it is broadcast on “cuatro” from Monday to Friday. This program is basically about jokes and about things that appear on television. They show videos to the spectator and then they talk about them.

When they are talking about the videos Daniel, Anna and Flo sit around a big table. There is a girl that is called Romina who interviews famous people.

Another section that you can find in this program is “el blog de Agueda” where a group of old people make their own videos. You can also find a section that is called “ranking” where they show videos about people falling and they also make comments.

I usually watch this program and I like it because they make me laugh. Sometimes they act naturally and they talk about their lives outside work that makes you feel comfortable. Another thing that I like about this programme is that they change the sections, so that people don’t get tired of about them. Sometimes they bring famous people to the programme and I also like this because it makes each day different. I think that this is the type of program that other channels should have instead of people shouting at each other and arguing about stupid things.

So, after reading all of this, tell me…

Do you prefer funny programs or discussion programs?

TRAVELLING - Holidays on the moon

Some experts say it will be possible in four or five years, others say it will happen in 2020 and there are even some agencies who suggest this new phenomena will occur in months. The clear fact is that travelling to the moon on holidays is becoming less and less strange as time passes. It doesn’t sound any more like a science-fiction book or movie but real life.

On an Internet video, NASA is inviting citizens of The Earth to participate in space travel to the moon aboard the Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter (LRO). This new project forms part of NASA’s plan to return to the moon for investigating and researching safe landing sites, different new resources and radiation in its environment.

Europe doesn’t want to be left behind, so it is planning moon travel before 2018. The space mission will be done with no crew on board so as to explore the south pole of our satellite and discover more about it.

The topic that I am sure most of you care about is the question we are all wondering: When and how will we be able to travel in a rocket and watch the stars live?

The future, as you know, is not very clear but what is certain is that a Californian company has already started to sell tickets to see outer space for the “low” price of $200,000 and what is more; Sergey Bryn has paid them $5 million to be the fist one to have the fantastic experience of seeing space.

The latest, most recent news says Russia launched a satellite which could be used in the future as a hotel prototype. The space hotel that has been designed to be formed of several inflatable modules could be assembled by the end of the year 2015 but will cost $500 million dollars to build.

The Hunt!

Hunting is any activity where humans enter in the ecosystem of the animals to try to trap them. Normally the animals that they trap are killed.

The history of hunting is part of the history of humans. In Prehistoric times, people hunted animals to survive; if people didn´t hunt they wouldn’t survive because they wouldn´t have enough food to survive.

Humans improved their hunting techniques as time went by. The first tools used for hunting were a straight stick of wood and at the top a sharp stone and also the first knife was invented then. As time went on, new tools were invented and this led to bows and arrows, a curved stick attached to a taut rope connecting the extremities of the stick. This tool led to the first firearms that were invented for war, but later were used in the art of hunting. These weapons were heavy and only of one shot, but as the technology grew the weight was reduced and the number of cartridges increased to 3 per shotgun.

There are two classes of animal groups for hunting, small game and big game. Then there are other variants such as clay pigeon shooting or pigeon shooting. Examples of small game are rabbits, hares, partridge, quail, duck, fox ... etc

Big game animals that are hunted are bigger and heavier like the wild boar, deer, roe, mountain goats, chamois.... etc.

Hunting is considered a healthy sport, although some people criticize it because they think that animal life is affected, but that is a lie because what hunting does is control the number of species within a boundary so that there is no over population.

I hunt and I find it very exciting and I really enjoy it.