Gazette
The Human Brain Project
Follow to learn how to lead
HBP i s a m a j o r Eu r o p e a n r e s e a r c h program which will attempt t o simul a t e -u sin g a supercomputer, a human brain. Is The Human Brain Project, technolo gic al advancement or complete and utter failure?
When you study leadership, the theory is always about the leader you are or the one you want to be, but authors scarcely pay attention to the kind of follower you are or want to become. This is a very important and different point of view that Gwen Moran brings us, showing us that a leader to be a leader, must have been a follower first. Page 2
Page 3
Published in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Filial del Sol
The most important thing in a family vacation is to remember that it s not about quantity, but about quality. Plan activities that the whole family can enjoy.
Year 1 Issue 1 Published in Maracaibo, Venezuela.
The way to the perfect
FAMILY VACATION
By Marcel Curiel
WHAT TO DO STAYING IN THE CITY PRACTICING SPORTS can be a good option and there are many vacational camps related to them: The most popular options are swimming, baseball, football or any extreme sport that could be interesting and different like Kayaking or yoga.
TRAVELLING IN VENEZUELA there are many interesting cities to visit or to make a tour. Try something new and go to places where you ve never been to: a great beach, a remote and colourful town or try the night life of any of the vibrant cities in the country. If you want to save some money, inns are preferred over the fancy and luxurious hotels.
IMPROVING A SKILL OR LEARNING SOMETHING NEW is another option to do this vacation. Learn a new language, learn how to cook or improve your skills or just start an interesting activity for you and your kids. v i n f a m il y. me ti
d
Take some preventions and carrya first aid kit, water and something to chew on.
b
spe n
Plan the Fun. This way you can prepare something new for everyday, save money and get the most of everyday If you are planning to do any activities outdoors keep in mind to have a sunblocker and enough water.
o n would
nnier
DON T FORGET
MOVIES AND HOBBIES are another important thing to explore in the city. Give yourself and your family an evening with the most recent movies on the cinema, in an arcade shop or engage yourself in the fascinating world of on-line gaming.
ati
ay f u
ACTIVITIES OUTDORS is another way to spend quality time with the small ones of the house. The most visited places and available on weekends are the planetarium, the botanical garden and the zoo.
ac
ew
When it comes to family vacation, there are some tips that may be useful to get the most out of it. Don t let your kids get bored at home if you are not going to travel, there are a lot of activities that the whole family can enjoy. The city offers many places to go and have a great time. The first thing to do is to plan the fun. Yes, plan the fun. Try to do something different with your kids as of ten as you can and the planning w ill help you t ake advantage of your time and your budget. A quick and dirty tip is to make a schedule of activities for every week, of course with the help of the whole family. Remember it s not about how much time you dedicate to your children that now have more than enough, but the quality of the moments you spend together; otherwise they would be get more and more bored. The things you can do vary in indoor activities: you can spend time playing with the so precious videogames that cautivate your children. A not her opt ion, t hat is always a topic of conversation, is to travel around the country or abroad and it is always fun for the family. Anyway, plan different activities in order to surprise them . All is a matter of attitude and thinking through the activities to do can wake up the spirit of true vacationers.
If you prefer to GO ABROAD in August, it is important you know the type of climate you ll find. Europe is in the peak season and millions of tourist going from around the world prefer coast zones and countrysides of southern Europe since the weather in that area is excellent. Asia is in the least favourable season because of the monsoon in this time of the year. In America, the weather is likely to be hotter and drier than usual, this time of the year. In Mexico it is usually very rainy and, in the south, in countries like Argentina or Chile, in spite they are also going through a downpour season, the climate is not so rough.
2
Mint s Gazette
@Mint_Campus www.facebook.com/MintCultureCampus
Filial del sol, Maracaibo, Venezuela
Supercomputer simulates brain
EDITORIAL
We work for you Welcome to our f irst edition of our monthly Mint s Gazette, where we ll talk about news of several topics, explain some others; and of course, go completely random on you! Mint s Gazette is a magazine developed for our users, it has eight pages long, most of them with fixed columns and varied notes on dif ferent topics that can goes from Technology to Fashion, the most important t hing for us is to f ulf ill our reader s expectatives. You can find our magazine here in our office and you can go to our social networks and check our issue of the month. Our objective is to give you a new tool so you can learn new words and have a complete new experience with interesting topics and ideas thought to improve your skills. Feel free to write and to send us your articles on something you really like and find interesting. We all in Mint s Gazette would feel pleased to read from you. Most topics from every edition are bound to change, the only constant would be the description of our montly Thematic Week and Elisa s random column, made out of r a n do mne s s f o r ever yo ne t o enj oy. The idea of Mint s Gazette came from our Master Chief, Mr. Santiago Corvaia, always thinking about our users and how to give you a better English experience. This issue could have never been possible without him. We at Mint hope you enjoy each one of our issues, and of course, help you improve your English.
The Human Brain Project, technological advancement or complete and utter failure? Scientists from all over the world have given their opinion on it, some in favor, and others against. The only fact as of now is the controversy the topic has caused. By Samuel Sandrea
HBP is a major European research program w hic h w ill at t empt t o simulat e -usin g a supercomputer, a human brain. The project involves 26 countries and hundreds of institutions and hopefully, it will allow fur ther development in computing technology, as well as map brain diseases, and implement education and knowledge management programs. European researchers of the program believe they will be able to achieve their goal in 10 years with an estimated cost of 1.190 billion euros. As fascinating as it sounds, some scientists differ from that idea, claiming that human brain mapping is out of our reach and it s a complete waste of resources, they base their criticism on the fact that our brain has about 86 billion neurons and trillions of connections, making its mapping extremely complex, an example of that is if one connection is counted per second, it would take three million years to finish. But what really triggers
unease in the scientific community is the fact that far too much of the project will be predicted, no one knows how the brain works, how these ever changing networks set our emotions and thoughts afloat. Which is why critics claim the project will be useless and misleading . However, according to the project manager Henry Markram, these critics are based on fear of changing the ways scientists have worked so far. And he claims they will release the first phase of their project within the next two years, allowing any scientist to contribute with data and run simulations. So far, human brain mapping has been fragmented into smaller bits, making neuroscientists specialists in their own areas, therefore, mapping the brain as a whole has been impossible. His idea is to change the way scientists have been working, combining every bit of accurate information released to the world through publications and use a supercomputer to predict the way it is most likely for the neurons to combine and create our emotions and moods, along other neurological processes.
CREDITS
Writers
Strategic Marketing Vicepresident of Mint Culture Johan E. Alarcón Contreras General Administrative Manager of Mint Culture Pedro A. Chía Díaz Marcel Curiel Regional Director Mikhail Montoya Branch Director in charge Sonia Atencio Administrative Manager Carla Labarca Mint World Master Coordinator Santiago Corvaia Mint World Junior Coordinator Paulo Montiel Editors Samuel Sandrea Marcel Curiel Santiago Corvaia
Darwin Parra
Nomar Norono Eliza Sandoval
Paulo Montiel
Samuel Sandrea
Alejandro Nuñez
3
Mint s Gazette Filial del sol, Maracaibo, Venezuela
Being a good follower makes you a better leader
@Mint_Campus www.facebook.com/MintCultureCampus
The Power of Positive Thinking
Followers are much-maligned, but we're all followers in some areas of our lives. And in that role, we can learn some important skills that make us better leaders. By Sonia Atencio
By Gwen Morán
The relationship between leaders and followers seems pret t y straight for ward: Leaders lead. Followers follow. But , a leadership lecturer at Har vard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government author of Followership: How Followers are Creating Change and Changing Leaders, says that significant shifts in technology and culture have changed that dynamic, giving followers more power. And there s a lot you can learn about being a good leader by learning to be a good follower. [Good followers] support and aid the leader when he or she is doing the right thing, and stand up to the leader--having the courage to let the leader know when he or she is doing something wrong or headed in the wrong direction, says , Ph.D., associate dean of the faculty at the Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California. Here are some skills you learn as a good f o llo wer t hat ma ke yo u a b et t er leader. Awareness Today, leaders need to be aware of var ious audienc es including colleagues, coworkers, customers, board members, and the public at large. Being a follower teaches you how to be aware of the needs of other people as well as their potential to make my life hell from one second to the next, she says. Good followers learn to read people and understand what upsets and motivates them. Diplomacy When good followers encounter a co-worker with rabid political beliefs
or a disagreeable manager, they re probably not going to fight every battle, Kellerman says. Good followers learn how to get along with those who have differences while not ignoring those differences. That s an important leadership trait, too, because a leader or manager can t afford to be oblivious to the attitudes of those around him or her, Kellerman says. Courage Being a good follower means having the courage to dissent if you think your leader, or superior, is doing something wrong-headed, Kellerman says. Being a good follower is complicated in ways that are rather similar to being a good leader. It means being engaged. It means paying attention. It means having the courage to speak up when something s wrong and it means having the energy and activism to support a leader or manager who s doing things wisely and well, she says. Collaboration Followers can "make or break" the leader influencing if and how goals are accomplished, Riggio says. In many business sectors, followers are the ones who are doing much of the creative work, although the leader may get most of the credit. Did Steve Jobs really create the iPod and iPhone, or was it the creative collective of team members at Apple? Today, leaders may be evaluated not only by how much is produced or achieved, but by the quality of the team or organization and its members, he says.
Being a good follower doesn t make you a sheep,
The truth is that most of us are in followership roles regularly.
Positive thinking is a mental and emotional attitude that focuses on the bright side of life and expects positive results. A positive person anticipates happiness, health and success, and believes he or she can overcome any obstacle and dif ficulty. Positive thinking is not accepted by everyone. Some consider it as nonsense, and scoff at people who follow it, but there is a growing number of people who accept positive thinking as a fact, and believe in its effectiveness. It seems that this subject is gaining popularity, as evidenced by the many books, lectures, and courses about it. To use it in your life you need more than just to be aware of its existence. You need to adopt the attitude of positive thinking in everything you do. With a positive at titude we experience pleasant and happy feelings. This brings brightness to the eyes, more energy, and happiness. Our whole being broadcasts good will, happiness, and success. Even our health is affected in a beneficial way. We walk tall, our voice is more powerful, and our body language shows the way we feel.
Positive and negative thinking are contagious We affect, and are affected by the people we meet, in one way or another. This happens instinctively and on a subconscious level, through words, thoughts and feelings, and through body language. Is it any wonder that we want to be around positive people, and prefer to avoid negative ones? People are more disposed to help us, if we are positive, and they dislike and avoid anyone broadcasting negativity.
4
Mint s Gazette Filial del sol, Maracaibo, Venezuela
@Mint_Campus www.facebook.com/MintCultureCampus
Playing football in the dark - no paronomasia intended Whether it rains, quakes, hell breaks loose upon us, or in this case, our everyday s blackout issues. Mint is here for you, and thus we ll talk about our immersion trip; in the dark. This immersion trip was done at Sport and Play, where as the words imply, they practiced a sport and played.. with a football, of course. Now seriously, users and culture agents went there to play a football match, learning its vocabulary while having fun. Although guys, how did you see the ball without any lighting? Anyhow, at first they
talked about the vocabulary they were going to use, the rules of the matches were explained before hand, and it turned out to be a very enthralling and interesting experience for everyone. We got comments from someone who s just had her first immersion trip experience, Miss Zorangel Franco says: I had my doubts in participating on this high skill because I don t know how to play football I really enjoyed this high skill because we learned and read in English some new words about football matches. I think it was one of
my favor ite activities dur ing t his mont h. And another comment from someone whose name you ll probably recognize; Mister Jose Ignacio Ramirez, saying: We learned the basic football vocabulary, from positions to more regular plays, such as goal kicks and penalty kicks. We played alongside girls, the girls of my team played really well and helped us win, even one of them scored a penalty!
Our thematic week I believe that the best way to start an editorial is to begin by explaining the spirit in which it is written in the why and the how, hence I shall commence by telling you, our faithful users, that this article is meant to inspire you to attend this month s Thematic Week not as users but as learners. It fills us with excitement to feel that ours is a place where studying is put aside to give way to something much more important: learning. In the words of Natalie Portman, renowned Hollywood actress: I don t love studying. I hate studying. I like learning. Learning is beautiful . Now, I know Miss Portman is not commonly used as reference for quotes but I believe that in those few words, she sums up exactly what Mint and its different cultural activities are all about.
Auditions, Thematic Weeks, Fitness and Mint s Coffee are all about learning more than they are about studying per se. Being here with us is meant to be a different experience where English is something that comes natural to our users and routines are substituted by different activities that make us be perceived as a place where you can hang out and talk about things that you like with people that you like. Allow me to close this editorial by inviting you to book August auditions before we run out of spots because I can personally guarantee that whatever you program will become an opportunity to learn things that had never been explained in such a way that could make the experience so enjoyable.
5
Mint s Gazette Filial del sol, Maracaibo, Venezuela
What kind of fan are you? During this high skill we engaged into stereotypical football fans, we talked about different kinds of them, such as the haters and the supporters, and we moved on to more interesting types of fans. We also discussed the differences and similitudes to other sports fans; and as it turns out to be, fans are pretty much the same in every sport. We also laughed at how we all knew some, if not all of those kinds and at the very end they mentioned which of those types they were, and why. Mr. Jose Romero said: It was a great high skill, I really like sport high skills because I like sports .
How much liberty can you have? This month s movie mania was related to the Independence Day and it proposes a debate between the ideas of liberty and anarchy in the America of nowadays. To support the discussion, we displayed the documentar y Bowling for Columbine by Michael Moore, which deals with a permissive country when to buying guns policies matter. In the film, Moore investigates the Columbine High School massacre in which 12 students and one teacher were shot by two students in 1999. The two students ultimately committed suicide; 15 deaths occurred from the shootings.
All about word cup finals Seven users were gathered in the high skill Word Cup Finals on July 29th at Mint Culture Maracaibo. They discussed the score, the players who scored them, their timing, and other curious facts of the last seven World Cup finals. Everybody spent a great time sharing information and learning new things they didn t know before. Rafael Semprun said: It was very good, interest ing topic and a really interest ing conversation. I didn t know that much about soccer, but I liked to know more about it. Everybody enjoyed the High Skill today!
Sing along with the independence Independence Day karaoke was inspired by the songs which give you a patriotic sense and make you feel your homeland when singing them. Considering the US Independence Day was this month, we decided to take party in the USA and Amazing Grace to help users work at two di f f erent sp e e ds; singing and sp eak ing. User Carmen Romero said These songs are inspiring... One is slow and deep and the other animated and party-moving. We learned a lot of vocabular y and pronunciation exercises .
@Mint_Campus www.facebook.com/MintCultureCampus
6
Mint s Gazette Filial del sol, Maracaibo, Venezuela
@Mint_Campus www.facebook.com/MintCultureCampus
Step into the gaming world
Harry Potter is back, and all grown up. "Harry Potter" is back, albeit briefly. J.K. Rowling has posted a short story on her "Pottermore" site which gives a glimpse into the life of a 30-something Potter. J.K. Rowling has given fans a glimpse of the Boy Who Lived -- now mysterious, married and going gray -- in a new story posted Tuesday on her website. The 1,500-word story describes Harry, about to turn 34 (his birthday, as fans know, is July 31), attending the final of the Quidditch World Cup with his family and old friends Ron and Hermione. It's the first update since "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" was published in 2007, but Rowling spokesman Mark Hutchinson said there are "no plans" for a new Potter novel. Harry now has "threads of silver" in his hair and a mysterious cut on his cheekbone, related to his "top secret" work as an evil-battling Auror. The story is written in the style of a gossip column for the Daily Prophet by reporter Rita Skeeter. The style allows Rowling to poke fun at the tabloid press, a real-life bugbear that she has accused of invading her privacy and that of her family. Skeeter observes that Harry and friends are "no longer the fresh-faced teenagers they were in their heyday" and speculates about the state of
Harry's marriage to Ginny Weasley. She says Ron Weasley's red hair "appears to be thinning slightly," and notes witheringly that Harry still wears "the distinctive round glasses that some might say are better suited to a style-deficient 12-year-old." The story discloses that Ron spent two years working in the Ministry of Magic but left to co-manage the family joke shop, while Hermione is Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and tipped to rise even higher within the Ministry. There are also updates on other characters, including Neville Longbot tom and the "still delightfully eccentric" Luna Lovegood. There are also glimpses of new generation of teenage wizards -- like Teddy Lupin, Harry's 16-year-old godson and Victoire Weasley, the daughter of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. Rowling has long said that "Deathly Hallows," would be the last Potter novel, but has produced other Potter-related material, including spinof f story collection, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard."
There s a belief stating videogames are a waste of time, but let me tell you, they re not! In this issue, the only genre of videogames it ll be mentioned is RPG (Role-playing games). First of all, let s start by defining RPG: Role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting or through a process of structured decision-making or character development. Actions taken within many games succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. Wikipedia Now that it has been defined, let s look at some of the advantages of playing RPG games. First of all, they have been proved to enhance people s resilience through difficult situations, as well as developing a will to fight against all odds. As it has been scientifically proved during a study at the University of Utah: Kids who played cer tain games showed signs of improvement in "resilience, empowerment, and a fighting spirit. Also, games help improve decision making skills, as most RPGs demand a quick and decisive decision or your characters die. Researchers at University of Rochester in New York suggested games can simulate environments which force the decision-making process to react. Additionally, RPGs increase players creativity, due to the need to develop a sound plan in order to successfully accomplish their goals as it is very uncommon for the developers to lay things down on you. And last but not least, games teach you how to speak and write in the language you play them. Why? Because you are forced to understand what the NPCs (Non-player characters) are telling you. There s usually no in-game point me in the right direction button, if you don t get what they ask you, it s game over for you, as there is no way to continue with the storyline.
7
Mint s Gazette Filial del sol, Maracaibo, Venezuela
@Mint_Campus www.facebook.com/MintCultureCampus
Bring colour and life to your eyes Have you ever wondered why some celebrities look absolutely flawless and look as if they were glowing and chiselled out of a precious stone? By Johana Struve
Well, the answer is: Contouring and Highlighting. This technique is basic and works on all face shapes, with some small variations. What is c ontour ing and highlighting exactly? Well, it s using a product one or t wo shades darker than your skin to create shadows and a product lighter than your skin to bring life to your face. W hy d o y o u n e e d t hi s t e c hni q u e? Well, basically because the face is not twodimensional but three-dimensional and when you apply your foundation you make your face a shapeless, flat surface and you need to add the shado w s and highlight s on t op of t hat. You can contour with cream products underneath the foundation (or over it) and with powder products on top of the foundation. My skin is in the range of Very Pale skin tones.
So I mostly contour, because it s hard to find products lighter than my skin tone. If you are in the opposite situation (your skin is in the Dark range of skin tones), it is better that you only highlight because the contouring will be pointless. Medium Range skin can use the full technique. W ha t i s t h e t e c hni q u e ex ac t l y? Well, for starters, you want loads of light in your cheeks under your eyes, on the bridge of the nose and the center of yourforehead. You want the shadows where they normally appear: on the cheeks, r ight under neath the cheekbone, the sides of your face, the top of your forehead and the sides of your nose. Look at your face with good illumination and see where the light bounces and where there are shadows. That s your contouring. Apply the dark product in the areas I just mentioned and do the same with the light colour. If you are using products in cream, you can use concealers or foundations if you like, apply everything before the foundation that is the same tone as your skin and blend all the lights and darks
Elisa s random Space A gambling firm in Sweden says it awarded a Nor wegian man nearly $1,000 for betting that Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez would bite a player at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. A spokesman for Bettson said the bettor won the prize on a 32 kroner bet (a little less than $5). He also told that the online gambling site had received "six-figures" worth of Norwegian kroner on the Suarez proposition bet. Norway's largest newspaper, AftenPosten,
reported Thomas Syversen as the winner. I woke up just before it happened, so I was not awake, Syversen told the paper. I saw the incident on replays. Following Uruguay's 1-0 win over Italy on Tuesday, a result that knocked the Azzurri out of the World Cup, FIFA announced it has opened an investigation in the alleged biting incident.
with the foundation, respecting the areas, as in, don t move the dark product under your cheek bone to either the center of your face (which you want to keep always light) and don t move the light color from the top of the cheekbone to the shadow underneath. Use small taps over the colours to make the edges disappear but don t mix everything together. If you have shimmer or bronzer finishing powders you can use those, unless you have severe imperfections in your skin, in which case the shimmer will only make them more visible. Apply blush to the cheekbone, not in the apples of your cheeks, and seal everything with a light layer of loose powder. This takes a few tries to get perfectly, so don t get frustrated if you have pr oblem s w i t h i t at f ir st. Enjoy your makeup!
@Mint_Campus
www.facebook.com/MintCultureCampus
High skills of this month Did you participate on our last high skills? If the answer is no, we invite you to read all about our previous high skills, located on page four and five. Where you can see what they were about and how fun they were. Find out what we sang, the movie that was watched, the themes discussed, and how the immersion trip went. Also, remember that we have high skills every last week of every month, come and join the fun.
Gazette
Published in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Filial del Sol
Year 1 Issue 1 Published in Maracaibo, Venezuela.
Experience Maracaibo afterdark The nightlife often defined as a way to escape the routine that many of us live or as a pursuit of pleasure that many of us rarely find, is the part of the day or better said, part of the weekend where we try to have a fun time by dancing the songs we love or just enjoying the company of our closest friends in celebration of only being together, this celebration is very often mixed with the company of alcoholic drinks of course, or "Social Drinks" as many people call it. By Alejandro Nu単ez
The nightlife of our beautiful city; Maracaibo, is some rare and splendid experience that all of us must enjoy just because there is a place for everybody, saying this I'll begin by writing about one of my favorite nightclubs in this cit y, LaBahiaRastabar, this club opened its doors almost six years ago inviting those who like the Rastafarian life or better yet the ones who still follow the great Bob Marley to have a relaxed time playing Marley's songs and other Reggae artists with well prepared cocktails like the popular blue one "Buena Vibra", also LaBahia comes with a large selection of great dishes if you are looking for a bite as well as good
music and share with good friends this is the place to be. Although the club has changed a lot through the years it is still an excellent place to spend the night in. One of the most popular clubs in Maracaibo founded by the owners of LaBahiaRastaBar two years ago is TNT-The Experience, in this cool place you can find a great decoration inspired by the Rock Hall of fame members like Nirvana, Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Beatles, John Lennon and more but despite of its rock n' roll cover, the nightlife in TNT is perfect for electronic music fans (including me) and also for non-stop dancers (not including me).
This great club has an excellent lunch-dinner menu as well. Live the experience in this amazing club. Live Music, Alternative Rock, Good Vibes and excellent food describe one of the newest Bars in our city Live Cafe Rock, if you are the kind of person that cannot forget the 90's and you're often listening the great rock bands that the 90's era had, you have to visit Live Cafe. It offers you a chill environment with great rock classic's songs included. The incredible Maracaibo's nightlife exists because of the most visited street in the city, Calle Carabobo, on this street you can find so many clubs for all kind of minds and tastes. To name a few of the popular ones we have the traditional Bar-Restaurant-Theater Caribe Concert where you have great entertainment and fun, AteneoPop and Electric Bar for those who enjoy the Electronic Movement that is getting more popular everyday with talented Venezuelan Djs playing live for you and Calle Club, amazing place to hangout and have a good time in the company of friends or foes. There are many sites to go in this great city, only make sure to go out with the best attitude and with the best company because these are the two things that can make you have an unforgettable night.