Fernando: Scientific advances

I have always felt deep respect and admiration for the men and women that somehow have made life easier and healthier for the rest of their fellow human beings. In many cases, they have devoted half their lives to achieving a specific aim.

Manuel Serrano, a leading Spanish cancer researcher

Chemistry research at UCLA

To my mind, nowadays people - generally speaking - enjoy scientific advances as something that they take for granted. It is kind of an entitlement which is considered part of our common heritage. However, behind every human invention, a medical breakthrough or a scientific advance, there is, without any doubt, a huge amount of work. So all of us should take into account that it is normally a silent and often tedious task which necessarily requires time, effort and dedication, as well as endurance, determination and commitment. On top of that, researchers must keep going steadily, in spite of the many difficulties they have to overcome. But the toughest time comes when they are very close to succeeding and something wrong happens unexpectedly. In that precise moment, they have to retrace their steps and go back to where they were, and try over and over again until they find the right path towards success.

      

Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the extraordinary figure of SANTIAGO RAMÓN y CAJAL, the famous doctor and researcher. He exemplifies what I have mentioned above. Thanks to

his strong determination, painstakingly working in his lab while checking endless samples in his microscope, he managed to discover the close-knit connection between the neurons inside our brain. His remarkable discovery was one step forward into the unknown world of the human mind.

Thanks a lot, dear Fernando, for another fantastic post. Allow me to join you in for a humble tribute to the many committed, hard-working researchers across the world by embedding (if only for the sake of English) this short clip introducing NCRI, the prestigious National Cancer Research Institute in the UK. Hopefully one day soon an effective cure against this deathly plague called cancer will be found!

Sara Collantes: The Sagrada Familia (Barcelona)

“My client is not in a hurry”. That’s what Gaudí used to say when he was asked about the completion of the Sagrada Familia, the worldwide known cathedral of Barcelona and indeed the most important of his works.

La Pedrera

When Gaudí took charge of the project he was only 30. It was one of his first assignments and the largest no doubt. Antoni Gaudí was an extraordinary man, a deeply religious visionary, as well as a truly lover of nature. In fact, it is something easily noticeable in all of his works, such as El Capricho in Comillas, with thousands of sunflowers on its façade; Casa Milá, also known as La Pedrera, with sinuous and organic lines; or Casa Batlló, with its bone-shaped windows. His works were inspired by nature.

The construction of the Sagrada Familia stands on three main pillars: Firstly, original geometric shapes such as the parabolic arch or hyperboloid structures. Secondly, an organic, naturalistic style. And last but not the least important, religion.

The awesome main façade

The position of some of the structures like the entrances or domes is directly related to the holy hierarchy. The usual floor for Catholic churches is a Latin cross: the apsis or “head” faces east and the main entrance or “feet” faces west. Therefore, it has the same form as a human being, in this case Christ. The head would be the apse facing the east and also the holiest part of a church. Likewise, the feet would be the entrance and the profane place in a church. That is why the holy water is located in this place.

The cathedral on the inside

However, the Sagrada familia does not have this kind of plan. Gaudí planned the three different entrances on the basis of chapters of the Bible. As a result, the Nativity façade faces east, dawn that is; the Passion façade faces west, dusk, and the Glory façade, yet to be completed, will face south to the sea.

Numbers are absolutely necessary in the interpretation of religious architecture. They make plenty of references to the Bible in a Catholic church. When the Sagrada Familia is finished, it will have 18 towers, 12 of which will be thin 112-metre-high spires which symbolize the Apostles. There will be another 4 on each façade, eight of which are already standing. The ones on the Nativity façade are dedicated to Matthias, Jude, Simon and Barnabas while those on the Passion façade are dedicated to James, Thomas, Philip and Bartholomew. Over the apse there will be a 130-metre-high dome dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

It will also have four 135-metre-high towers dedicated to the Evangelists, which have a direct correspondence on the inside. There are four pillars which support a dome, each one symbolizing one Evangelist: Luke, a bull; Matthew, a winged man; John, an eagle and Mark, a lion.

John's pillar

That dome will be supported by these four pillars, which will be the highest of the whole 170-metre-high temple and dedicated, of course, to Christ.

Nowadays, both architects and art designers are working on the drawings Gaudí left, although it is not enough. They are using the latest software, such as one used by NASA engineers, to design fitting structures that support the weight and the height of the domes and spires. 

The Sagrada familia is being built thanks to the donations of thousands of people and institutions as well as to a percentage of entrance tickets. So it is worth paying the ticket so as to help complete the cathedral just the way Gaudí wanted.


Thanks a lot, Sara, this post is really enlightening ad you took some fantastic photos of the Cathedral. Now, you sent me two YouTube videos: the first shows what the Sagrada familia might look like when it's completed (who knows when!)

The second is an interesting interview (subtitled in English) with Professor Mark Burry, from RMIT University in Australia, which is helping with the completion of Gaudi's famous Basilica.

Surely many of you guys have been to Barcelona and would like to share your own views on the, to my mind, somewhat overambitious work being done to Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece.

Jelena: Magical autumn in Japan

The custom of watching autumn leaves (kōyō, literally “red leaves”) is deeply weaved into Japanese culture. Thus, besides the rich literary corpus dealing with this motive, there are thousands of publications like collections of art photography and tourist guides that represent woods, temples and parks with the most beautiful deciduous trees.

Every year, usually in late September, a wave of red leaves is formed on the island of Hokkaido, getting almost to Kamchatka, and for the next two months it gradually spreads toward the south.

In November, all parks, temples and university campuses blaze, and the mountains, hillsides and valleys glow for a couple of weeks in all shades of yellow, red, purple and brown, thanks to the mantle of colorful autumn leaves.

That’s when hundreds of thousands of Japanese people will visit parks and temples, go for a weekend picnic to the woods and mountains, or to warm mountain baths in order to enjoy the bright colour of autumn leaves and do something beneficial for their health.

The practice of going to nature only to see autumn leaves comes from the early Middle Ages when both the members of the imperial court and the aristocracy used to go to the mountains and hills near Kyoto, at the time the capital of Japan, to sing about the beauty, but also the transient nature of leaves, comparing them with love and human life.

Japan is probably unique for its weather forecast, which, apart from the facts about the temperature, wind strength, precipitation, and the height of the sea waves, gives also the information about when and where the explosion of autumn colours is going to occur.

Japanese priests and horticulturists carefully choose and arrange particular kinds of trees, like maple and oak, combining them with moss and other plants so as to create the special ambience during autumn.

Autumn leaves are also used like a decoration to arrange meals in some restaurants serving traditional Japanese food.

Chilly yet sunny weather with a lot of bright days, some of which are as warm as those in the early spring, is very specific for November in central Japan. Nice weather and breathtaking landscapes make this month, together with April, the most pleasant to visit Japan, so now is the right moment to pack your bags and spend an unforgettable holiday in the land of the rising sun.

Fernando: my take on the current economic crisis

We are living times of uncertainty, with rising unemployment figures, specially among youngsters. They are, in general, well-trained people who have no job, no prospects, no future. Many of them are fleeing the country in search of new opportunities. Those who remain here live with their parents, and the lucky few who find work usually have a part-time or an underpaid job. 

Frankly, José Luis, this situation is extremely worrying; I have two daughters and obviously this current economic climate matters to me. I firmly believe that EU members should take meaningful measures to create new small businesses which can generate wealth and boost the ailing economy. At the same time, European governments should make it easier for young people with new ideas to develop their projects. Self-employment could be a possible solution. Nevertheless, I always think in a positive way and I do believe that Spain is a great country, full of of hard-working people with brilliant ideas, but unfortunately with bad politicians both on the right and on the left. 

Finally, I must say that I hope our country will overcome this situation, the sooner the better.

A new year ...a new blog

Hello everyone and welcome!

Yes, a new year at school has just started and, as I've been doing for the last 5 years, this is a new edition of my / your "EOI blog". 

Some of you guys (as well as former students of mine) have been asking me lately if I intended to have a go again. A few even told me you were thinking of writing some to get it going. The thing is I had no clue how to start it even if I had something from Fernando, one of my 2º Avanzado students this year, an article of opinion with his personal take on the harsh ongoing economic crisis.

So I was reading the press on my Mac when I came across a headline that caught my attention: "Kismet Diner gana el Manhattan Short Film Festival". Well, it suddenly dawned on me that I had the perfect excuse to kick this blog off!

You know, I had been lucky enough, thanks to a former student (and a faithful follower of my blogs!), to know that this self-proclaimed global festival was held in Salamanca alongside other Spanish cities (madrid, Bilbao and Valencia, no less!). People were cordially invited to attend the screening, during three days, of ten short films, the finalists we were told, among over six hundred productions from nearly 50 countries across the globe, and then vote for our favourite film as well as the best actor / actress. Being all of them in original version, I felt instantly appealed and I went to the venue, the Museo del Comercio. 

I really enjoyed the shorts on offer, different from each other in style and content, featuring different languages, from English to Finnish, from French to Russian, but all of them, to my mind, excellent quality. I've always believed that many times a good short film can move you much more than a 2-hour-long feature, you know, too often the commercial yet mindless Hollywood blockbuster. 

There was one short that I especially loved, Seb Edwards' British production "Friday", the hard yet captivating story of  a teenage boy struggling to come to terms with the loss of his mother on the anniversary of her death. Set in the wake of the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London, the film stars talented young actor Reece Noi. I found the film's cinematography utterly mesmerizing, the story deeply stirring and Noi's performance so compelling, so much so that I had no doubt Friday was my definite choice.

This is the only stuff I've been able to find, the official trailer. Seemingly, it has won many awards worldwide, including one in Spain, in Tarragona to be precise.

I was somewhat disappointed to read that Friday did not win the award (it actually scooped a modest fifth spot) but at least it was kind of small consolation that Noi was voted best actor.

So the winner, as the headline above reads, is another British production directed by English filmmaker Mark Nunneley. Mind you, the truly romantic story seems to be set in an American diner (spelt with a single "n" - a roadside restaurant, that is). Even though I enjoyed the sweet short, I still preferred the much grittier Friday, but I must admit the audience present in Museo del Comercio that evening started applauding the film (Kisnet Diner, I mean) rather enthusiastically the minute it ended. They must have been right to do so since it eventually won the coveted top prize!

So this is the clip of the short feature for you to decide it is a worthy winner of the global festival. Needless to say, it is in original version and subtitled in Spanish. You guys are all welcome to send in your comments about Kisnet Diner. 
José Luis Antigüedad