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sábado, 7 de mayo de 2011

“Cry, cry, red, red, silence, silence, fun, fun" (my last post)



-Yesterday I read a little the newspaper and I found an article which left me cold. It’s an article that explains that scientists have discovered that chimpanzees can communicate with humans using sign language and can create small poems (like the title, an alliteration in sign language. A poem made using the sign language).
The Gardner (a U.S. marriage), adopted a chimpanzee (a girl named Washoe). Washoe was introduced in a human environment where everybody spoke the language of deaf people. The marriage bet to harness the natural movement of her hands (the same movement that chimpanzees use in the wild to communicate using their own dialects). Soon they realized that the monkey used the language to talk to herself while reading magazines (look how good looking is this banana!), she teach the language to her friends (other monkeys), insulted when she was angry (you are gross!), and could hold conversations with humans.
I have a dog named "Teula" I've never had a conversation with her (of course), but she understand me perfectly. When she is hungry Teula inform us moving his tail, when he wants to be cared (“acariciar”) she give us the leg; when she is sad, it can be seen and reflected in her face (she bend her eyebrows and raises her ears) ...She often communicate something without using a symbol specifically, just makes a spatial face or a movement and I know what she wants. I do not know if these movements are typical of dogs or she had learned this because she live with us (humans), so she has adapted her live to our customs (we, humans, also bend our eyebrows when we are angry ...).

Of course, with an animal, you won’t speak about politics, culture ... but this “study” has shown us that "we can talk about other things". For example, we could talk about what food we like, we could play, we could draw together, deceive, make little jokes ... In short, we could enjoy of human actions (that we often do) but that are not unique of our specie (but of many animals) ...
 
This new, won’t change any life, but certainly makes you feel less alone. Think that humans are not the only ones who do poetry or communicate (more or less), it takes away a little complex of “superiority”, and it makes us understand that we are not alone in this world. So, ¿ we need to go to find intelligent aliens (as S.E.T.I. do) if we didn’t know since today that in our world, there are animals that can communicate with us? I think humans have a little a lack of intelligence...

Ignasius Bofillus Astroluphitechus


-Here you can see the article:



- Here you can see Washoe learning sign lenguage:


BYE

domingo, 17 de abril de 2011

Welcome to MATRIX

Multinationals have showed us the E-Burru, a new and expensive engine to create a world dominated by machines. FANTASTIC!

 

I am very stressed by physical exams, but I decided to write an interesting text (the typical text I like). I will talk about the E-books because this weekend was the anniversary of my father and my mother has given him an e-book. Although I have not seen it working and I am not an exceptional lector, I'm very angry because my mother is “Arxivera” (I don’ know the translation to English) and, I think, she should defend traditional books...

Technology is changing our world. So everything is changing, even change the book’s format. What was once a paper and ink, now is a tiny screen that fits in a lot of books.

The E-book, how electronic books are called (because only “Apple” sells it), is a practical idea: you can read any book at any place without having to bring your library over. But this is not just an advantage; what will happen with all the library’s workers? What will happen to the promoters, publishers etc… what will happen to literature? And, what would happen if one day the computer system fails?

On the other hand, publishers and developers work hard to publish books, with the electronic book are running out of ability to work. The promoters are afraid that the authors can reach the public directly without intermediaries; they can download your text directly from Internet. That would be a radical change for artist’s business. On the other hand, the paper does not require any type of device for playback. Anybody can ensure there won’t appear a system failure and that one day all books will disappear? Internet is as full of hackers and piracy as oceans was 500 years before. Who can guarantee to the writers that their works will not be pirated? Nobody can, so is easy think about a hypothetic future when make a book will be unviable and nobody will do it.

The E-BURRU breaks all what I think when I say "I'm going to read a book." For me, take a book, sit in a comfortable place, and start to concentrate yourself with a story that is written, you can imagine every detail (with your imagination). For me, take a book is going to read new pages, and the desire to discover the following sheets have not yet read. It’s fantastic feel the smell and touch of a book, read a book is a collection of sensations. For me, picking up a book, means a time dedicated to yourself. To me, when I say “book”, I see pages and pages made of paper, not a small device with a screen. To me, when I say library, the first thing that comes to my mind is a quiet place with large shelves full of books. I cannot imagine how the E-book’s libraries would be (may be a virtual shop? May be “Ares” or “Lemule” will be useful to download some books?).

On the other hand a book is a book. If the story is good, is well written and interesting, will succee
as well in paper format as in electronic format. I also hope that this type of book only will be bought by “frekis” and I like imagine that this type of book will be a new way to be “cool” (as Blackberries). Anyway, this issue (as all these "transcendental" engines) seems like a joke... In conclusion, a new engine for human beings, not for people.

IGNASIUS BOFILLUS ASTROLUPHITECHUS




sábado, 16 de abril de 2011

...HERE THE HISTORY I HAD PROMISED TO PUBLISH



A BIOGRAPHY OF A HEROINE OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Mrs. Tudur (1944-2012) had worked in the advertising industry since 1979. She loved her job; especially devise advertisings to prestigious companies like Coca-Cola, McDonald's or Special K. Although there was nothing she liked more than her job, when she was 67 years old, she decided to retire. As she said to her friends "I have not bought a mattress Lomonoco for getting up at 6 o’clock every day."

The first days of retirement, lady Tudur felt strange: he was not married and she had never cared for herself. For example, she always lunched at work, and she also bought the products that she founded first at the shop (to not having to think). We can say the Lady had lost the "self sufficiency" because she never used it. But all this had changed: Julia wanted to take care of herself.

First, Julia began to think about which brands she should buy, it was not easy but eventually she realized that not all the companies had helped herself in the same way. On the other hand “have a preferred companies is a personality and experience symbol." For example, once she bought All Bran bars because she was moody. The fact is that, although she eat four bars in an hour, go to the bathroom so often make her more moody. So she selected some brands: Special K (for its weight loss plans that had helped her to feel beautiful and because it had been her breakfast all her life" ), Marlboro (because she had been collecting their "limited editions"), Olay (because many times the slogan "because you costs it" had animated her), Repsol (because always had offered her the weather program), and other brands ... In addition, she decided to buy  the more expensive products, "quality is in the price."

So, Julia began to buy only a few brands and their diet was reduced in variety. For breakfast: cornflakes, for dinner: cornflakes and in the afternoon she eat a bowl of cornflakes. Her favorite pastime was take her yellow seat (filling of Repsol petrol) and went on the motorway; sometimes she traversed hundreds of miles, beyond two or three provinces, to buy some cereal in a supermarket. And she had "mini-holydays" going to visit factories like Nutrexpa (Colacao’s factory)...
Gradually, she began to discover the importance of some brands in her life; there were companies as important in her life as a family. The special editions became the decoration of her house and she began to keep the toys included in a big Colacao’s pots. On Christmas 2011, she will give them to the church. Also, she participates in all competitions organized by the company’s "... sends 5 barcodes to win an I-pod"...

Julia was happy. When she mirrors herself she saw a thin woman (maybe because didn’t eat meat, because there aren’t big companies of that product), she saw her hair care because Garnier conditioners, and her skin free of the seven aging signs. In the same way, she smells like vanilla from Madagascar, lotus flower and seaweed patented by Lacoste. Personally, she felt relaxed: an effect produced by the 2 packs of Marlboro that she smoked every hour. Finally, she was proud of been in middle of a battle, between companies, to get their loyalty.
...
After a year and few months, Julia’s health was extremely deteriorated (maybe because she only eats cereals rich in preservatives). She had no friends and she was indebted (to the high cost of her life). In 2012 Julia died alone, at home while she was browsing an IKEA catalog.

Taking the death of Mrs. Tudur, BBVA took the opportunity to seize the Julia’s objects to collect the debt. When the inspectors came to her house, they discovered a veritable commercial treasure: thousands of cornflake’s collections, a room dedicated to the worship of Repsol, etc...


 The press and big busines
s didn’t take long to know about it. The case generated a genuine social phenomenon and a new trend: companies spread the case of Julia as an example to follow. Special K, make a special edition dedicated to Julia and build her a memorial at its headquarters in the U.S.

 



Julia showed us how a seemingly normal and anonymous person can hide a true heroine of the 21st century. And how, even in anonymity, someone can strive himself to improve this world.


Ignasius bofillus Astrolupitechus
ST JORDI (or GEORGE)

This Friday we celebrated at St. Michael St. Jordi. Like every year, we also held the literature contest. But this year there is an acute novelty, I've won a prize! It’s a Pity that David hasn’t seen it; after all, it’s my first award in literature.

I won third prize for literature for writing an English text. The truth is that had never won any prize in literature and did not expect it (less in English text). It's funny because the only difference between my texts of this year and the texts of previous years is that only this year I really wrote my text. I don’t mean that other years I have presented a plagiarism, but it’s true that I always tried to make “beautiful” histories that aimed to please others (not me). Maybe I should be thanking for the award to this blog (because I've always written here with this style) and also, the fact that this year you could write the text as you wanted (poetry, prose ...). I also congratulate all the other people who have obtained an award.


Well, I think it is okay to talk about me. I Just wanted to express my joy over the award ... I will write other text during the holidays but I also will bring up "a heroine of the 21st century”.
GOOD MINI-HOLLIDAYS!!

IGNASIUS BOFILLUS ASTROLUPITECHUS.

domingo, 27 de febrero de 2011

NOTHING BUT THE DOCTOR

NOTHING BUT THE DOCTOR

Now is 16:36 pm. I just read 30 pages of the book "Nada" by Carmen Laforet. This book is horrible, with all my respect Carmen chose a bad topic and unpleasant way to write (too complicated). But surely this book had made me write in this blog.
 
The protagonist of the book is a girl "Andrea" that is in Barcelona to study philosophy and philology. What she finds in Barcelona is not pretty: some crazy relatives and a pitiful city. It is curious that the government make us read this book: it is discouraging me. Maybe is not profitable to pay out the university to young people so the government is trying to cut costs.

Hence little longer I'll be in college and I do not know how the university is. I want to study far away but I'm afraid not find anyone or to have nostalgia. 18 years are not enough to go quietly home.
 
I imagined a thousand times when I would go to college and, of course, I always imagined college as "paradise." But, what would happen if it is not a paradise?

If I have something very clear is that be a university student will change my life: I will go out more often… Maybe I will do things that I never imagined... I’m afraid that being in a city and be 100% free, can make me lose control and leave out important things. I hate studying and therefore I fear that if anyone forces me to study, I would not consider. I say all this because I heard that the university professors do not look if you've done your homework, do not make individualized tutoring...

I guess everyone in the class is a bit anxious (like me) but I also see that most people have a very rigorous method, most people study hard and do not need any kind of "control."

On the other hand I must say that I’m fascinated for study what makes me excited (Biology). Thing that I won’t study math and physics is rewarding but ... what about philosophy and history ... I cannot believe that I’m scared to lose subjects. Is it real?

If I learned one thing doing the exams to get the A1 license, is that all the things I like never suppose me an effort (even the opposite).
Well, I guess I made it clear that I was born in 1993. How can I believe that the screen is a psychologist or a priest willing to listen to me? Well, maybe I will go crazy if I continue thinking about such nonsense. In addition, in short time the “selectivitat” will arrive and it’s necessary to possess a clear head to get good grade.



Ignasius Bofillus Astroluphitechus