2015 - 01
Books for a Remarkable Life
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My Financial Goals
5
Musical Recommendation for the Day
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The Community Says
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And the Answer is
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The Vindication of Poetry
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Solving the Urban Sprawl
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The Perks of Having a Sibling
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Computer Ownership
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Car Ownership
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E-Waste Negative Effects
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Books have what it takes to enrich and fulfill everyone’s life. First of all, books create new worlds that improve the readers’ imagination. Subsequently, reading allows people to relief stress caused by every day’s issues. Additionally, readers develop several abilities such as patience, concentration and organization. Furthermore, reading improves the analytical skills, the writing skills and all sort of language abilities. In conclusion, books provide lots of information about several subjects and topics at the same time, making the process of reading much more substantial yet entertaining.
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I intend to use money in the most satisfying way possible according to my needs but also to my dreams. To begin with, I aim to have one or two jobs in my fields, so my salary allows me to save some money while having enough to live well and to give my family and myself some treats once in a while. Then, I mean to use the savings to travel, since I believe the real treasure of life are the experiences we live and not the material possessions we own. Afterwards, I would keep on living the same way, but with the intention of using the savings to have a house in order to have some roots for my older days. At length, I expect to have a beautiful library and collection of movies and music in my house as a result of all the treats I have given myself. At the end, I will have everything I need for a good retirement, as well as the satisfaction of having lived my life at its best.
[5]
For all those admirers of Peter Hayes’
talent,
you
are
recommended to listen not only to his main band, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, but also to his former band —which has also influenced B.R.M.C—, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, in which he played for the Give it Back! Album from 1997. Both bands come from
Peter Hayes
San Francisco, California, and they are huge representatives of the Indie-Rock scene from The United States. The Brian Jonestown Massacre was funded in the early 90’s and they have been characterized by the experimentation with several sub genres and sounds. Similarly, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club was also created in the 90’s and they as well have experimented with certain sounds, most of those which can be heard in their album The Effects of the 333 from 2008. Like The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has had its influences in Rock n Roll, Psychedelic Rock, Shoegazing and Country, and just like them, they also remain as an underground band for most people.
[6]
But let’s not think that we are talking about overly similar bands. Even though they share the characteristics mentioned previously, The Brian Jonestown Massacre has had a wider career and a lot more albums, while Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has had less albums but has
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
gained
more
popularity
worldwide. Also, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has been more constant in their members (they have only changed a drummer once) and they have remained as a trio, whereas The Brian Jonestown Massacre has had several changes of members during their recordings, making their sound more mutable and experimental album after album. Finally, let’s not forget that, however Black Rebel Motorcycle Club tends to make use of other genres like Gospel, Blues and Folk, The Brian Jonestown Massacre uses these as well as Post-Punk, Noise Rock, Ethereal Wave
and
Ambient,
among
others. All in all, amuse yourself with both bands and enjoy the particularities each one can offer to your life. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
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The Community says‌ 24A- 30 Street, Esperanza Avenue Bogotå, Colombia February 26, 2015 Hotel Holiday Inn, 26 Avenue Bogotå, Colombia
To whom it may concern:
I write this complaint to inform that for several months I have seen leftovers of trash at the side of the hotel, specifically in front of the Banco Popular. This remains are not only affecting the appearance and prestige of the hotel and the neighborhood in general, but they also produce a pervading smell that can be perceived from the surrounding blocks. This situation worries the community also because, at length, this can become a health threat. I ask you to be more careful with the disposal of the garbage of the hotel, as well as the cleaning after the recyclers have finished their job and the trash cans have been picked up by the trucks. The community will be grateful for your cooperation and the hotel will become a sign of pride for the neighbors and an example for other hotels and buildings from the zone. I thank you in advance in name of the neighborhood.
Cordially, Laura Catalina Arias
[8]
And the answer is… Holiday Inn. 26 Avenue Bogotá, Cundinamarca 9215 February 27, 2015
24A- 30 Street, Esperanza Avenue Bogotá, Cundinamarca, 25684
Ms. Arias I am Camila Gonzalez, Holiday’s Inn Manager. We already know about the problem with the garbage. We have some troubles with the recyclers because they said that when the trash is outside, it belongs to anyone. To fix this problem with our garbage, we will hire an employee that would be the person in charge of control the sanity and keep this site clean and fresh. Please receive our apologies and we, as the best hotel in the area, thank your desire to keep our neighborhood beautiful and peaceful.
Cordially
Andres Felipe Torres
Edison blanco
[9]
We are not indifferent to the disenchantment of poetry in our time. The misconception that poetry is an easy activity, limited to the briefness of feelings and experiences of the author expressed with a certain type of language and structure considered "poetical", without a provided level of rationality or depth to its content, has been spread widely and has discourage both poets and their audiences. However, it is in their hands to vindicate poetry as a rational perspective of passion and emotion, primarily as a result of the internalization of the individual, of the contact with its intimacy. First, let’s consider what it means to make poetry. I recall Octavio Paz’ statement in The Bow and The Lyre (1973): “Poetry is knowledge, salvation, power, abandonment. An operation capable of changing the world, poetic activity is revolutionary by nature; a spiritual exercise, it is a means of interior liberation. Poetry reveals this world; it creates another…” (p. 3). But this creative capacity relies on the language, as it is the one in charge of the creation and composition of the world within, the manifestation of the poet’s spirit. Therefore, even if a poem begins as the result of a brief emotion or sensation, to make it poetry it needs to use the precise images, the correct words, the most accurate composition to give it transcendence, to print rationality in the creation in order to share it successfully with the readers. This process is definitely not easy or ephemeral, but it is born from a particular place and it becomes complex as it carries along several significations within itself. This is why we can consider that language settles both form and content in poetry. According to the previous statement, we could consider the poet as some sort of sorcerer capable of creating new worlds and evoking through them many experiences in the readers. As Cardoza y Aragón said: “With my imagination I set another ones in motion” (Cited by Gallón, Free translation, 2011). But the true poetic manifestation is a product of the complicity between author and reader, since both get involved in it and give several meanings based on their individual and collective experience:
[10]
[The poem] happens during a coming-together, a compenetration, of a reader and a text. The reader brings to the text his past experience and present personality. Under the magnetism of the ordered symbols of the text, he marshals his resources and crystallizes out from the stuff of memory, thought, and feeling a new order, a new experience, which he sees as the poem (Rosenblatt, 1994: 12). Therefore, poetry’s merit not only relies on the poet’s invention, but also in the symbolic interchange made between poet and reader through the poem. Therefore, both poets and readers must be the critics of poetry in order to claim and defend the place where it should stand, as an inexhaustible and outstanding creation of mankind. Some may argue that every poet initiates with poems that might not fulfill what I have presented and that censuring them would mislead and probably extinguish poetry, but that is not my concern. When talking about vindication, I refer to the creation of a more critic spirit when facing poetry, from the creative point of view, as well as from the reader’s perspective. Let the emotions and feelings flow, but revisit them and make the best use of language to create true poetry, and look for poetry that really contains in itself a world that you, with your experience and knowledge, can fill with meaning. Poetry should connect sensibilities through the accurate words and images, expressed in the most careful and thought language. If we do not get involved in the vindication of poetry, of its language, of its place in the human genius sphere, we will adopt an incapacity to create, or as Rodolfo Alonso states, “The current crisis of poetry is perhaps not only the one of a simple literary genre but, something much worse, the greatest manifestation of a deep lack in the spontaneous creative capacity of language from men” (as cited in Pallaoro, Free translation, 2008). Likewise, poets should take into account that poetry should not serve any further factors than poetry itself. All in all, poetry must discover in itself the complex world that constitutes the author and transforms the public through the language; it must be claimed as a connection between intimacies as a concrete way to display a wide and complex world of ideas, emotions, sensations and experiences that compose each person, presented in the most thoughtful and selected language that allows the poetic manifestation as a process that emerges from the author and lasts in the readers.
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REFERENCES Gallón, A. (August, 2011). 'La poesía no es la Cruz Roja del espíritu' [Poetry is not the Red Cross of the spirit] (Free translation). El Espectador. Retrieved March 10, 2015, from: http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/cultura/poesia-no-cruz-roja-del-espirituarticulo-294403 Pallaoro, J. M. (August, 2008). ¿Para qué sirve hoy la poesía? [For what is it good poetry today?] (Free translation). Aromito. Retrieved March 10, 2015, from: http://aromitorevista.blogspot.com/2008/08/para-qu-sirve-hoy-la-poesa-porrodolfo.html Paz, O. (1973). The Bow and The Lyre. (R. Simms, trans). United States of America: Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data. (Original work published 1956). Retrieved March10, 2015, from Google Books. Rosenblatt, L. M. (1994). The reader, the Text, the Poem: The transactional Theory of the Literary Work. Illinois: Southern Illinois University. Retrieved March10, 2015, from Google Books.
[12]
The urban sprawl of some cities have led to the creation of anti-sprawl movements such as the New Urbanism. This movement’s principles offer certain solutions to this matter both in the social and environmental aspects. The social benefits of the proposal of the New Urbanism are emphasized on socialization and civic interaction. As the downtown becomes the central area for events, institutions and businesses, and single and multi-familiar residences are built close to it, people would gather more frequently when buying their groceries or attending to different events. This situations are manifest in Celebration, Florida, where this kind of distribution can be found. As for the environmental benefits, the New Urbanism proposes compact cities that encourage bicycling and walking, which reduces the amount of pollution created. Moreover, the New Urbanism proposes the environmental preservation of the area thanks to the creation the green zones, taking into account the native wildlife and animals, just as it happens in Celebration with the greenbelt that surrounds the city. Finally, the urban sprawl would be reduced thanks to the architectural designs, which focus on having high-density office and residential space in a small area. Furthermore, like in Celebration, buildings use energy-efficient systems that minimize the environmental impact. All in all, the New Urbanism principles allow the consolidation of cities with a planned growth, thinking about the community and the environment that surrounds them, avoiding the negative effects of urban sprawl.
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The presence of a sibling as growing up provides certain benefits, since a sibling can offer company and support, creates a sense of competition and avoids the raise of spoiled children. In an environment of love and respect, a sibling can become a friend for a lifetime. As they spend most of their time together as they grow up, they could not only share their bloodline but also their hobbies and passions and become the biggest support to each other. In my case, for instance, I have found in my brother one of my best friends to whom I have shared both good and bad times and I have found in him the support I needed. Equally important, having a sibling will most likely create a sense of competition among them, and this must be taken as a benefit for them. Competition is basic for everyone’s lives, whether is in school, in college, in the professional life or in the love and social life. We are always in a “race� to get what we want, and growing up with a sibling can develop the competitive attitude in a controlled space and under certain rules. Lastly, it has been proven in many studies that children without siblings tend to be more spoiled that those who are raised with one or more. In this respect, parents with an only child are more likely to give in to the demands of the kid, while parents of more children are less likely to make the same mistake twice and tend to give them equal benefits. In brief, growing up with a sibling is full of benefits, as long as the parents raise and educate them in a responsible way and in a healthy environment where the best attitudes can be developed.
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Computer Ownership
The graphs present information about computer ownership. In the first graph, the information is based on the population between 2002 and 2010, while the second graph is based on the level of education, making a comparison between the situation in 2002 and 2010. The first graph presents a yearly increase of around 15% in the ownership of computers, rising from about 55% in 2002 to about 75% in 2010, analyzing the percentage every two years. As for the second graph, it reports an increase of the computer ownership depending on the level of education. For instance, in 2002, the computer ownership was of 15% for those without a High school diploma, while those with a Postgraduate qualification report about 80%. Although the statistics of 2010 report a similarly increase depending on the level of education, it is evident that the base data has a higher peak, having the lowest percentage for those without a High school diploma in about 40% (a higher percentage than the ownership in 2002 for the High school graduates), and the higher percentage for those with a Postgraduate qualification, which is around 95%. In general, both graphs evidence how the computer ownership increases as years go by and as the level of education gets higher.
[15]
Car Ownership The notable increase in the car ownership has produced considerable issues in matter of traffic mobility and the protection of the environment. For this reason, it is necessary to introduce an international strict control over the ownership and use of cars, as well as develop and encourage other kinds of transportation systems. The traffic mobility is one mayor factor to consider the change of the international legislation about the car ownership. Due to the amount of cars, and taking into account that in most cases these are used by only one passenger, the traffic jams are becoming more common, especially in the cities where the roads and avenues are insufficient to handle that amount of cars. In Colombia, for instance, where most cities do not have the infrastructure to sustain the high amount of vehicles, it had to be implemented an alternative named “Pico y Placa�, which controls the cars allowed to transit in the city according to the last number in the license plate. But the environmental issue is the mayor drawback in the increased car ownership. Although most newer cars are designed to be more eco-friendly, it is necessary to understand that many people do not have the possibility to buy new cars and most, if not all of the old cars, produce an incredibly high amount of pollution every day. Furthermore, taking into account that the majority of the vehicles that circulate every day are older than three years, it is mandatory to understand that prominent amount of pollution that contaminates the cities in which we live. In conclusion, it is necessary to create conscience about the short and long-term effects that the inadequate use of vehicles can have on us as a society, and implement new alternatives to diminish the side-effects of the car ownership by more strict international control, as well as by improving and developing alternative forms of transportation. [16]
With the notable development of electronic articles and supplies, and taking into account that, in order to access to new electronic inventions, most of times we have to get rid of the previous versions because they become obsolete, it has turn out to be more usual the increase in the waste of these kind of elements, known as e-waste. Because of the materials used for these electronic articles, which in most cases are non-biodegradable, their disposal creates several negative effects on the environment and on the health of the population from the countries in charge of the disposal, which are primarily developing countries. Electronic waste contains a high amount of toxic components: “Mercury, Lead, Cadmium, Polybrominated Flame Retardants, Barium and Lithium. Even the plastic casings of electronics products contain Polyvinyl Chloride” (Green Citizen, n.d.: para. 1). Because of this, even though the electronic waste represents a minimal amount of every country’s trash, it represents the biggest amount of hazardous waste worldwide. For the environment, the e-waste becomes a problem in all scenarios in which is disposed. When incinerating the e-waste in order to access certain valuable elements like gold, silver or copper, some “heavy metals and toxic substances [are released] to the air, such as lead, mercury, cadmium and brominated flame retardants” (Thong, 2011: para. 2). Also, when disposed to landfill near the groundwater or the water bodies, it is very likely that the toxins reach these substances and affect the drinking water supplies, like the case of Guiyu, the largest e-waste recycling site in the world, where “the drinking water […] has been imported from nearby town since the appearance of the electronic waste industry (Ibid.: para. 3). Moreover, disposing the ewaste in the landfill causes detrimental damage to the soil and all the vegetation and animals nearby. As for the health issues caused by e-waste, we can mention, among skin disease and lung cancer, “birth defects, brain, heart, liver, kidney and skeletal system damage. They will also significantly affect the nervous and reproductive systems of the human body. (Green Citizen, n.d.: para. 1). When incinerating the e-waste, “a fine particulate matter [is created], which is linked to pulmonary and cardiovascular disease (McAllister, 2013: para. 4). As McAllister (2013) [17]
exposes as an example for this problematic, in Guiyu, “the city's residents exhibit substantial digestive, neurological, respiratory, and bone problems” (para. 5), not to add that Guiyu “has the highest level of cancer causing dioxin and abortion rate in the world.” (Thong, 2011: para. 4). To sum up, the e-waste is a growing risk for our health and for the environment. The inadequate disposal of these elements is now a bigger problem for the developing countries in which e-waste is disposed, but it is evident that with the upcoming increase of it, many more people will become affected around the globe. Therefore, other alternatives have to be created in order to give other use to the material that can be recycled while the other parts are disposed in a less harmful way for the environment and the human health, as well as giving more information about the negative effects of e-waste and possible ways to diminish the damage.
REFERENCES
Green Citizen. (n. d.) Harmful Effects Caused by Improper Computer & Electronic Waste Recycling. Retrieved June 6, 2015, from: http://www.greencitizen.com/learn-more/harmfuleffects/ McAllister, L. (April, 2013). The Human and Environmental Effects of E-Waste. Retrieved June 6, 2015, from: http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2013/e-waste.aspx Thong, K. (February, 2011) Negative Effect Of E-waste. Retrieved June 6, 2015, from: http://kimthong.hubpages.com/hub/Negative-Effect-Of-E-waste
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