XMAS SPECIAL

HARD SELL AND SOFT SELL:


HARD SELL: is an advertisement or campaign that uses a more direct, forceful, and overt sales message. A hard sell is designed to get a consumer to purchase a good or service in the short-term, rather than evaluate his or her options and potentially decide to wait on the purchase.

SOFT SELL: is an advertisement or campaign that uses a more subtle, casual, or friendly sales message. A soft sell is designed to avoid angering potential customers and pushing them away. Because soft selling is a low-pressure sales technique, it may not result in a sale the first time a product is presented.

MY WORLD

This summer I went to a cruise on the Baltic Sea. I visited so many countries: Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden and Germany.

Estonia: I didn't visit a lot of Estonia (only a few places of the capital, Tallinn) because it was the first day and my family and I were so tired (because we had to take a plane on Barcelona and we had to woke up so early). But I have to say that the estonian cuisine (for me) is horrible! I think I didn't like it because it's very different from the mediterranean food. 


Russia: We arrived at Russia the next day and we stayed here for 2 days. We visited St Petersburg. People think that russians are serious people; and yes, it's true. Russian people are very different than Spanish people. For example, I didn't saw anyone laughing, shouting... All the people were serious. And, also, a lot of buildings were grey, a very sad colour. Our guide said that the last year the city council appointed a law that says that no one could build another gray (big) building. A part from this, we visited a very beautiful church, The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, also called the Church on Spilt Blood.




Finland: We visited the capital, Helsinki. It's a very beautiful city! It's small compared to Madrid or Barcelona. People on Finland are so nice and kind, but the prices on Finland are very high! My father bought a coffee and it costed 5,50€. So expensive! In Finland we didn't visit monuments, we just walked arround the city. It was so relaxing.




Sweden: We visited Stockholm. Sweden it's very similar to Finland. The people are also nice and gentile, the products so expensive too... We took a tourist bus and we saw the city. 


Germany: We visited Lübeck, a city in northen Germany. We visited St. Mary's Church and the Holsten Gate and we took a lot of photos! We spend the rest of the day visiting the city.


A part from all the beautiful places we visit, I did some friends on this cruise: Martí, Arnau, Víctor and Marta (Martí and Arnau are brothers and Víctor and Marta are brothers too). Marta and I became very close friends and we still in contact through social networks. She lives in Barcelona. Also, in summer, she came in my house to spend a few days and then I went to Barcelona in her house. We want to do it again next summer and also, this winter we want to go ski together. This were the best hollidays ever!

MY WORLD

LITTLE MODELS

Hi everyone! So, this is my second "My World" and, this time, I'm going to talk you about one thing that I saw few days ago on the Internet.

Well, I was on Facebook and I saw a picture of a pretty 9 years old girl. That girl is a model, and she's very famous. Her name is Kristina Pímenova. I had seen pictures of her before and I already knew her but this time she appeared on Facebook because it was declared the most beautiful girl in the world.

Yes, with only 3 years old, her mother signed up in a model agency, and she administrates her accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (those accounts have like thousand of followers). Now, with only 9 years old she has worked with fashion brands like Dolce & Gabbana, Roberto Cavalli, Giorgio Armani, Benetton and Vogue.


But it's that normal? I mean, can a 9 years old girl wear make-up, heels, jewelry and pose for famous magazines? I don't think so. This little girl is acting like an adult, and that makes her childhood disappears. And the worst of all is that this is not the only case; there are more girls (under 10 years old) posing for fashion magazines like they're adults.

Okay, when I was little I also dreamed of becoming a model, but now I see this girl and I know that she doesn't do the things that she should do at her age (like spend all Saturday with friends playing with dolls). I'm sure that a part of her want to have a normal life, away from the photo shoots and catwalk lights.

I think this had to stop. Modeling should be for adults only, and if a child do that, it has to be only to promote any product or any brand of clothing once or twice. Bringing these things to the extreme is never good, because, basically, these children can't decide what they want to do (their parents are who decided it), and that makes children do not have the childhood that they should have.

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR STORY

1. What is the story of tell-tale heart about?
This story is about a man who lived with an old man who had an eye that reminded eye of a vulture and that made him nervous. One day he decided to kill him. After murdering the old man, he broke it into pieces and hid him under some floorboards.
After that, three policeman knocked on the door because a neighbor had reported hearing a scream. The man invited them to where he had hidden the old man. At first he was quiet but gradually he became more and more nervous, and his heart began to beat. The man thought he was the heart of old man that is still beating and that police were listening too. Finally, the man confess his crime.

2. Who wrote the tell-heart and invented the first macabre stories?
Edgar Allan Poe wrote the tell-heart and he also invented the first macabre stories.

3. What was the first P.H.S?
The first Psychological horror story was The tell-tale heart.

4. When was it first published?
It was first published in 1843.

5. What other story types did the author also invent?
He also invented the modern detective story and he was the pioneer of science fiction.

MY FAVOURITE HORROR MOVIE

JULIA'S EYES

PLOT

The main character of the movie is Julia, a woman who is suffering sort of a sight problem which makes her lose her sight slowly, just like her twin sister, who at the beggining of the movie is found dead in her house. It seems to be a sucide but Julia knows that someone was after her sister and he or she might have killed her.

From this point Julia starts investigating to know what really happened to her sister, while she is slowly losing her sight. Even though Julia is almost blind, she notices that someone is chasing and trying to hurt her. The person who is after her doesn’t get to hurt her, but he or she gets to kill her husband.

She gets an eye operation to recover her sight and she has to spend two weeks with a bandage on his eyes to see if the operation has worked. During these two weeks she feels she is in danger, and she gets very confident with Iván, the nurse who takes care of her. But after this two weeks, she realizes that he is not who she thinks he was and she has to escape from him before he kills her.

WHY DID WE LIKE IT?

Julia’s eyes it’s not really a horror movie, but it has a lot of suspense and it keeps you in tension. The thing we liked the most about the movie is that as Julia can’t see because of her sight problem, in some parts the camera doesn’t show you the faces of certain people so you actually feel like Julia, only hearing the voices.

The part we liked the most is when after the two weeks Julia can see again and she discovers who is really the nurse that was taking care of her, and to be safe she has to pretend that the operation didn’t work and she can’t see. 

MY WORLD

This time I'm going to talk about what I did last weekend (Yes, I know it's typical and maybe you don't interest what I did, but this is the first time that I do My Space and I don't know exactly what to say).

No, I will not talk about all I did last weekend (like I was on primary school), only what I've found more interesting.

So last saturday I went to the cinema to watch the 3th part of The Hunger Games, Mockinjay part I (in spanish, Sinsajo parte I). I've read the books and I have to say that this part is very loyal to the book, that's perfect. I also read comments on the internet about that movie and everyone said that is perfect, better than the book, etc. Mmm... I don't think so. I don't want to be the typical person who says "the books are always better than the movies" (although it's true), but, in my opinion, the book is much better, only because the first part of the last book is boring, because almost nothing happens and the movie it's just that part. Compared with the second film, in this one nothing happens. 

But I'm sure that the best last part of the saga will be much better, because the best part of the entire triology is the end.

Apart from this, I spent all the weekend studying hard for the exams. Yes, such a good weekend...

COMIC RELIEF

1. What is the comic relief?
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work.

Comic relief also usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episode interposed in the midst of serious or tragic elements in a drama.


2. Why is it ofen used in horror films?

Comic relief is often used in horror films to relieve tension.


3. Do you remember laughting in horror films? Can you think of an example?
Yes because I don't like to watch horror fims alone, so I always watch them with friends and we laugh a lot. For example, the last Halloween we watched The Exorcist and there's a part when the girl says a lot of stupid things that doesn't have sense, so we laughed a lot.

SUSPENSE

1. Who's the director of this movie Phsyco?
The director of this movie is Alfred Hitchcock.

2. What type of characters did he often use in horror films?
He often used psychopaths or sociopaths who seen to be beyond morality.


3. What technique did he use with the camera?
He used a subjective technique: shooting from the killer's point of view.

GOTHIC NOVEL

- Who invented the G.N?

The inventor of gothic novel was Horace Walpole.

- What was the first G.N?

The first gothic novel was The Castle of Otranto written by Horace Walpole.

- When was it first published?

Was first published in 1764.

- Which basic elements of horror didn't you include on your list?

The basical elements we didn't include were: Setting in a castle; an ancient prophecy; Omens, portents and visions; overwrought emotion; a women threatened by a powerful male or just a woman in distress...

But we talk about an atmosphere of mystery and suspense, inexplicable events, the metonymy of gloom and horror (we talked about like rainy and windy places, doors grating on rusty hinges, ruins of buildings, the darkness...).

IS YOUR DREAM POSSIBLE?

Hi! I'm Paula and, first of all, I have to say that I haven't got a special dream, of course I have a lot of things that I want to do before I die (my bucket list) but I haven't got an important one.

But if someone ever asks me about what's my dream, I would say that my dream is to visit all Thailand. I've loved this country since I was ten! Last year, in high-school , I did my "Treball de Crèdit de Síntesi" about this country and I learnt lots of things about it, so I just love it even more.

I think my dream is possible, but not yet. Maybe when I am in my early twenty I will do it. I want to do it with my friends or my boyfriend, not alone; because I think it's better do it in company.

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENTS

I did the test and the higher result was the musical intelligence and the interpersonal intelligence. After that, the logical intelligence; kinaesthetic and linguistic intelligence are at the third place; next, the intrapersonal intelligence; then, the visual/spatial intelligence and, at the end, the naturalistic one.

I'm more or less agree with that. I think that musical intelligence is one of the most important intelligences that I have, but I do not stand out in it. Basically, because I play the guitar, I enjoy play it, and normally, I find it easy to learn (of course that it's not simple to play an instrument correctly, but I don't have, like, a lots of problems learning it). Also, I learn very fast the lyrics the songs (even in English) and I love so many types of music. But I don't stand out in music.

I'm agree with the interpersonal smart, because I have a very good relationship with most of my friends, and I think this is very important to know the people around you because, then, you can help them and improve your relationship. Everyone have problems, and it's good share them with friends and family, because they can help you. Some friends tell me that I'm pretty good helping people, knowing and supporting them. 

About the other intelligents, I'm quite good at maths and languages (learning new ones or just improving the ones that I know, like Catalan and Spanish), but I think I'm better at linguistic than in mathematics. I love playing sports, I play in a basketball team in Castelló and I'm quite good, so I'm agree about the results of kinasesthetic. About the intrapersonal intelligent, I'm more or less agree with that, but I don't really understand at all what intrapersonal intelligent is, so I can't evaluate it well.

I like drawing and painting, but I'm not good doing it. So, I'm agree with that result. And finally, about the naturalistic intelligence, I don't like biology, physics, chemistry... and it's hard for me learning it. I'm agree with that result.

THE ANIMAL IN ME

The result of the test was that I'm an otter.

About the physical part, the test says that otters are small and engaging and I agree with that because I considerate me a small person (I'm not very tall and I'm slim) and very friendly.

About the personality about otters, it says that they have positive energy, intelligent, bight, lovable and popular. I agree with most of those things. Well, I'm not a very popular girl in high school, but I have good friends and a good relationship with most of my mates. Also it says that this animals always try to find the good side of the things, always optimistic, but that "sometimes self-doubt and fear of failure can prevent them from showing their true potential" and I'm just totally agree with that!

Another part that I'm totally agree is that in the text says that otters are fine motivators but they try to avoid taking leadership roles. It's true cause most of my friends always say to me that I'm so good motivating and helping people and that I should be the leader in, like,  school works, but normally, I try to not be the leader.

The parts with I'm not agree with them are that it says that otters are lazy, and I'm not, I'm a hard-working person. Also, I'm not agree with the careers because I don't like neither engineering, medical nor design. About the part of hobbies, I'm more or less agree: I love reading, cuddling and surfing on the web, but I don't like building things.

EXTRA TASK

COMMENT OF "WHY I THINK THIS WORLD SHOULD END":

I think this video makes you open your eyes. This guy teach us a very important lesson and he shows us how the world actually is.
In the song, this guy talk about many different things, and I think he's right at all of them. We live in a society that control us. People are doing what people told them to do, not what they want to do. We should watch this video, share it with friends and DO SOMETHING. Not just watch it. If we all do something, even if that something is tiny, we'll build a better world. We can do it, just, do something.

MY HERO

VICENÇ FERRER

First of all, I just want to say that Vicenç Ferrer is not my idol or something, he’s just a man that I admire so much for all that he did in his life.

Vicenç Ferrer was born on 9^th April 1920 in Barcelona and he died 5 years ago on 19^th June 2009 in Anantapur, India at the age of 89. He was a very helpful man who spent his life working to improve the lives of the poor people in the South of India. He fell in love with India in 1950 when he was working as a missionary. After that, he stayed at India in Anantapur, one of the poorest zones in India. In 1969, he created his NGOs, Vicenç Ferrer Foundation. Then, in 1970 he got married with his wife, Anna Ferrer.

With his wife, and his sons (Moncho, Yamuna and Tara) he work on this Foundation to help the poor people until he died in 2009. Now, his wife and his sons are continuing with the organization.

I admire Vicenç Ferrer so much because he has a big heart; he put aside his previous life to start a new one in India, helping people. He basically dedicated all his life helping people. I think you have to be very brave to do that.

MY BUCKET LIST

Hey! I'm Paula and there's a few things that I would do before I "kick the bucket". Here's my bucket list. Hope you like it!

- Have a child

- Go skydiving

- Meet 5 seconds of summer

- Go to a concert

- Go trip to somewhere in the world with my friends

- Speak english, french and german perfectly

- Spend a night without sleeping

- Watch a film marathon

- Go to tomorrowland

- Visit all Thailand

- Have a little and special tatoo

- Play Paintball with friends

- Have a romantic hollidays with my boyfriend

- Have a handshake with Obama

- Cut my hair short or dye it

- Read a large book in one afternoon

- Do all the things of my bucket list