An English Journey

Life is perfect as it is, at least for people like me who seldom foresee a dismal and gloomy future. It is called having a positive attitude towards life. I called it a “Life Is Too Short” attitude. On the one hand, some individuals appear to be hardwired to love their own life whilst others seem to be prone to detest their existence. Consequently, attitude exerts a large influence on living life to the full .  There are, of course, people who occupy the middle ground and that is fine. The crux of life is the resourcefulness of living beings to overcome all manner of hard times, tragedies and misfortunes , though this should not lead the reader to think that creatures are always hardwired to thrive . Dinosaurs  died out millions of years ago and, according to the WWF, species as diverse as the Amur Leopard, the Mountain Gorilla or the Vaquita (the world’s most rare marine mammal) are on the edge of extinction. How can we pave the way for a prosperous and e...

“The poverty line ” is the official level supposedly needed to achieve a basic living standard. Updated by the World Bank in October 2015, the new figure of $1.90 was born as a more accurate approximation of the changing costs of living that people around the world need to cover. Governments may have been forced to resort to facts and figures to explain poverty, which I personally consider completely unnecessary (if not mere misleading information), but we should expect and demand effective action from our leaders. I would not go so far as to say that it is useless or impractical. In some way, statistics can offer some insight into the subject. And yet it is a proven fact that all the measures taken have been thus far incapable of triggering an upturn in wellness, especially in war-torn and famine-stricken countries. In my opinion, the problem arises when we eventually fall into a state of contentment . Mainstream media abounds with opinionated journalists c...

Living is not easy. As long as you are still alive, you had better be ready to make very tough decisions every now and again . When complications arise , some individuals are prone to bury their head in the sand .  You can effortlessly draw a parallel between this behaviour and cowardice , to say the least , but then your comparison would be tantamount to the absurd . From my point of view, more often than not you will have to resort to a bit of imagination if you really want to show sound judgment . Being shrewd enough not to  take a dim view of your fellow's way of tackling problems is again not easy.  Freedom of speech and freedom of thought would have been unthinkable two generations ago. Now that we have these rights, we must be cautious and vigilant about coming to hasty conclusions when assessing whether someone has acted badly or not. That is easier said than done . Luckily, practice makes perfect. 

Once upon a time, people knew the difference between rightness and badness . As if it was an Opera, the history of AI (acronym of Artificial Intelligence) began promisingly, but then things started to go wrong. The opening of AI goes back to ancestry when the Greek mythology created Pandora, the first “artificial” woman. Each Olympus god was commissioned to make a contribution to Pandora’s process of creation with the sole aim of taking beauty into account. During the interlude, step by step, new features and unique gifts were conscientiously added by the band of male creators . They went to great lengths to make Pandora in their own image (a mental image of a sexually arousing creature). Pandora received a jar as a wedding present and was told not to open it. Thinking that it was a mere misdemeanour , she could not help opening the jar, triggering unexpected consequences. To the astonishment of the ancient Greek gods (and goddesses) of the epoch, the sad coda was th...

Prose is thought put to page. In other words, should you have a brain, you can write. Easy-peasy. And yet , each time you face a blank sheet of paper you are in potential danger of running out of steam . It might be a lack of ideas or an excess of niggling worries . Maybe today’s dismal weather or a heavy lunch has made you sluggish . Listing all possible causes would be a never-ending task . Take it easy . You knew perfectly well that blogging was not going to be child's play . Nevertheless, the benefits of writing regularly can easily outweigh the difficulties and frustrations. The beauty of writing or “thinking into paper” is that there are hardly any rules to constrain you. Some time ago, I came across a telling   argument against the so-called “Writer’s Block”, a condition in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. Apparently, laziness is not the chief reason  for this blockage but the disdain that authors have towards their own work. Ob...

I love people capable of enjoying and appreciating every moment to the full . There exists a food-related word that goes perfectly well with the act of lingering enjoyment: savour .  This afternoon I was savouring the embrace of a cosy wing chair when I started asking myself about the definition of thought . After a refreshing siesta, I’m back in front of the computer, determined to type in something aesthetically attractive about thinking and thoughts, brains and minds. Obviously, thought is the act of thinking. To us, human beings, the brain seems to be the closest thing to a magic wand that almost every single creature has. As always, there are exceptions that prove the rule , though. Deep-sea sponges, for example, are devoid of brain and have lived for millions of years successfully. Some scientists now accept as true that they once had a brain but discarded it. Apparently, there are not the only animals without the organ controlling thought, memory, feelings, e...

- “ Dearest Sucre, you know full well that neither will I stand in your way if you want to have intercourse with her, nor am I asking you to pose as an accomplished dog.” Sucre was watching the clock. “Shall I give you a piece of advice?”, I told him tactfully. - “Sure, go ahead” was his quick response. Deep down , I knew he was going to ignore it. - “Please, don’t be so rough, a bit of foreplay would pave the way . Look for a beautiful hideout . ” Later on, it just so happened that his fiancée was only in the mood for a play date . Sucre, unable to think clearly, had a knee-jerk reaction and started to shiver . - “Darling, you look worried; what’s the matter?”, she asked him uneasily . It seemed as though my appeal was going to fall on deaf ears . Without further ado , his gloomy expression apparently did the trick . He was coaxing her beloved girlfriend into stopping the child’s play. He threw caution to the wind and had the cheek to mount her in pu...

I’ve always considered Cartier-Bresson’s photography awe-inspiring . Being a pioneer of Street Photography, he was the one who coined the term “decisive moment”. From then on , it has been broadly used when referring to the split second of inspiration when the photographer comes into his own . In his epoch photography was relatively a new art medium and most of the artists he was contemporary with looked down on photographers, considering the whole medium a fleeting craze , a pale imitation of the classic arts.  I clearly remember the first time I saw the picture of the cyclist, the staircase and the cobbled street. A mixture of patterns finely arranged to create a unique and special snapshot that could linger in my memory forever . And then it was the one of the man skipping a puddle. I became obsessed with lines and patterns, at times seeing the order in the chaos.  So it was little wonder that someday I would try my luck at street photogr...

Since the very instant we arrived at New Delhi’s airport I was overwhelmed with mixed feelings . I was fascinated by the display of hospitality so characteristic of these dwellers but at the same time, I knew I would have run into shocking scenes.   We were going to leave the hotel at the crack of dawn . I am not a morning person but that night I did not sleep a wink and decided to wander around the area. A flood of rickshaws ready to be pulled by skinny riders was the first reminder of how different life must be in India.  Being a child is not the same everywhere. My holiday in India, one of the biggest countries in the world, taught me a lesson . The harsh lifestyle that these human beings have to overcome every minute of their lives is miserable . Living in such conditions could undermine anyone. Astonishingly enough, I have not seen so many children grinning from ear to ear in my whole life as I did in India. They probably have nothing bu...

Had I been invited to choose my Desert Island Disc , I would have undoubtedly gone for Bach's Goldberg Variations. By no stretch of the imagination   could I have picked other than the 1981 Glenn Gould recording of them. Glenn Gould was not fond of live performances. Indeed, he went to great lengths to make it abundantly clear by publishing an essay titled "Let's Ban Applause" in which he stated that "the purpose of art is not the release of a momentary ejection of adrenaline but is, rather, the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity". I totally embrace the message. The problem of live performances is that more often than not , some audience members cough, whisper, and even yell during events. As if that were not bad enough, they dare to hastily resound the concert hall with premature cheers and applause. Yes, I know I may sound pernickety but silence and sound are inseparable parts of music. Next time you went to...

I’d always had mixed feelings about dogs, keeping them away for fear of be ing bitten while aching for having one of them as a pet. Sucre is a birthday present I gave to my wife on 2010, the year before we got married. I’m lost for words when it comes to describing the strong bonds that emerged out of the blue between we and him. Human beings have been domesticating dogs since ancient times. And their unique and special way of communicating with humans has become one of the most successful when compared to any other domestic animal. Maybe there is no clear evidence but based on my intuition I think many of us are hardwired to love dogs. At least, I am. No matter how hard my family had been discouraging me, I finally got away with it. Sucre was still a puppy when he joined our family. At the beginning we struggled to get him poo and wee on the street. By using positive reinforcement we managed to change some of his wayward conducts into good deeds. His nature is ...

The way something looks can  sometimes   mislead the viewer, making him  get the wrong end of the stick . Appearances can be deceptive and often they are.  Politicians have always lied, that’s a fact, a thing we can't deny. Maybe that’s the reason why post-truth has recently become the Oxford Word Of The Year 2016 with Mr Trump and Brexit being the leading exponent of the collocation “post-truth politics”.  We could define post-truth in layman's terms as 'the art of the lie' although the politeness of the renowned dictionary has defined it as ' relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief'. The problem arises when such a term is the  mainstay  of political commentary. It seems like the concern about fake news has diminished among the public opinion. It ’ s a perilous time for journalism, at least for the kind of journ...

A new season has just been ushered in . Thousands of flowers species ready to bloom any minute now. Life can be predictable but nobody could deny its colourful and dazzling display . Yet all that glitters is not gold . Believe me, ask around and you’ll find out how many people suffer from seasonal allergies and many other mood related changes historically bound to this time of year. I would tell them “ look on the bright side ”, at least with the spring equinox nights are going to shrink and this means longer days to let your hair down . A glass of your preferred beverage, a good read and plenty of time to unwind after work . Feeling that you have all the time in the world will help you to focus on those things you’ve being putting off during winter. As Marta says: take care of yourself and enjoy the sun.

Beniatjar, Valencia. Sunday afternoon. Lolling around on the Calvary, the sun glaring right in my eyes , I feel rejuvenated . Our body has been designed to overcome difficulties . The brain can providentially forget those trifling fears that sometimes are able to keep us sleepless , staring up at our bedroom ceiling all night long. Sucre is lying on a stone bench by me, quiet and peaceful. Wagging his tail occasionally as a sign of happiness. Aware of the companionable silence , who knows? No other human being around to talk to, I can free my mind. There is no single niggling worry at the back of my head. I can now do my own thing . Sometimes a bit of self-awareness and selfishness is not harmful. The end justifies the means .

Saturday morning. By the blazing sunshine invading my bedroom through every little hole in the curtains, I guess it may be around ten in the morning. Luckily, oversleeping is not going to cause me any inconvenience . It’s weekend, indeed, a long weekend as next Monday is a local bank holiday . - 'Honey, honey!' I shout to grab Marta’s attention . The door bursts open as she appears. Her radiant smile and the sparkle in her blue eyes , signs of a woman still deep in love . - 'What do you want for breakfast?' she asks almost whispering . I wonder how well she is able to read my mind . Only a raised eyebrow and a freshly squeezed orange juice with a toast is waiting for me in the kitchen. As I prepare myself to get out of bed, a terrible pain freezes me, I’m unable to make the slightest movement. A pain in the neck which is a far cry from those I find at work, pernickety individuals incapable of seeing the wood from the trees . ...

Since last summer, my burning ambition is to become fluent in English. As many of you may know there is a famous English saying that goes " practice makes perfect ". To achieve my ambition I know full well that I need considerable drive and determination. After working very hard with Mrs Robertshaw, my extraordinary online English teacher, I managed to get very high marks on the "Cambridge English: First" exam I sat in December. Then, I decided to continue my English journey by attending Mr Palmer English classes . He is probably the funniest and most knowledgeable teacher I have ever had. Classes apart , I'm constantly exposed to a miscellany of English resources such as podcasts, newspaper articles, TV shows and films, and literature. To improve my vocabulary, I keep a notebook (actually, it's not a proper notebook but a spreadsheet) where I regularly add all the new vocabulary or expressions that I found. Indeed, I can barely catch up ...