Welcome to the Middle Earth

Today I have the opportunity to talk about something I like. And I really love the stories written by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.

For me, he is the biggest and best writer in the history. He wrote a lot of things about Middle Earth, that is the fictional continent where happen the stories of "The Silmarillion", "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings."

Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892 in Bloemfontein and died on 2 September 1973. During his life, he served in the First World War, had a distinguished academic career and was a professor of literature, Anglo-Saxon and English in the University of Oxford.

Tolkien was a Catholic and a lover of mythology; both elements are fused and used by the author in his books. If you read any book, you look that the stories talk about a fight between “good and evil” or between the different races, who want to destroy the ring against the forces of Sauron. And there are many elements that can be linked to the Catholic religion with a conception of God, as in the creation of Middle Earth in "The Silmarillion ". In addition, it is obvious the influence of mythology to create Middle Earth, their characters and stories. Within the same books, the characters narrate legends and myths from the past. Too, he was a great expert in linguistics, and knew several languages. And he invented many artificial languages for write his books, such as “quenya” (language of the noldor) and the “sindarin” (language of the sindar).

About “The Silmarillion”: Is a compilation of various writings of Tolkien's Middle Earth. The book talks about the history of the Middle Earth, the creation of Arda en the origin of the different races. This book has a five parts: “Ainulindale” (the creation of Ea and Arda), “Valaquenta” (the

 history of valar), “Quenta Silmarillion” (the history of the begin of the times until the First Age of the Sun), “Akallabeth” (history of the Second Gge of the Sun) and “About the rings of power and the Third Age of the Sun”              

About “The Hobbit”: is the history written by Bilbo Baggins. Here he narrated his adventure with Gandalf and a group of dwarfs, where they recovered a treasure guarded by the dragon Smaug. In this adventure is where Bilbo discovers and takes the Ring.

About “The Lord of the Ring”: is the history of Frodo Baggins and his adventure for destroy the Ring. This is divided into three parts; “The Fellowship of the Ring”, “The Two Towers” and “”The Return of the King”.

This three books are the most popular of Tolkien, but he wrote a lot of the others things. And I like Tolkien because his book make me travel to the Middle Earth, and I like think that I am a character into the history.

I think that my favorite book is "The Lord of the Rings", because is the  longest of the books and because it has a complex story full of obstacles, but where Frodo finally achieve his mission. Also, I like it because there are different races and many characters with their own characteristics. It is a story where the races of humans, elves, dwarves, and hobbits were unite to defeat Sauron. It is a story where each character plays an important role, in the case of the characters that help Frodo in his mission, each representing a virtue or a value that is relevant within the mission. Too, I like the movie "The Lord of the Rings" by Peter Jackson.

 Tolkien was really creative to invent all this wonderful and long history, he invented a lot of places, characters, languages​​, and maps of Middle Earth. He devoted much of his life in this masterpiece. For me, he is really a genius.

A website...

Ciudades Planetarias: A Portal of the New Age

Today I have to talk about a web site I like visiting, but the truth is that I don´t really like the internet, so I do not use it much. Well, I use the Internet for check e-mails related to the university and to find information. But, the truth is I prefer spend my time doing other things because I have little time during the class period and when I am on vacation internet bores me. For example, I prefer to spend my time in front of a TV watching movies. Although sometimes I use it to search for images of paintings (I have a lot folders of paintings), and very rarely for see videos, series and movies online. Too, I do not use much internet because I know very little about computing, and about surfing the web.
I use gmail everyday, but definitely more than I use in the internet is the search Google for find pictures of paintings and information of movies and art.

This year I met a very special group of people, they dedicate their lives to the development spiritual through yoga, art and philosophy of life specific for live in harmony between body, mind and spirit. This group is called "Escuela Solar", and three months ago I joined them.
This group has a very interesting site that I visit constantly, in fact it is the only site that I like to check frequently. Here is information about the various events and field trips that they made ​​(which I also have participated), workshops of "power yoga" and "metafisica aquariana" (that are made in different parts of Santiago during the year), about universal history, topics of metaphysic, natural and vegetarian food and recipes, between other things.
In addition, there are various videos of natural phenomena and UFO sightings around the world, too, you can find very interesting films and documentaries about metaphysics, nature, ancient cultures, etc.

Also in this site is an online magazine, which appears from time to time, and has articles about various topics, such as chakras, Futhark runes, seven rays, the ascended masters, the basic principles of the universe, the serpent Kundalini, and a lot of other things.
The site also have an online radio, that transmite every week, three times a week. In the radio talk various topics, everything related with the metaphysics and ecology. And here you can send questions or comments about a particular subject area.
Too, there are some albums for download or listen to new age music, these discs are of the some people of the "Escuela Solar", you can listen the  rock new age of "Miztlitlan" or listen the hip hop new age of "EmoneSkillz and Elhaz".
Well, I really like this site and visit every week, because there is always something new to read, see or hear. Also, I use to listen to the radio.
Finally, if you like and are interested in metaphysics, or you would like to practice yoga I invite you to visit this page.

                                                  http://www.ciudadesplanetarias.com/

The music is revolution...

I really like listen to music, but not everything. I like specifically “CANTO NUEVO” and “NUEVA CANCIÓN CHILENA”…

Some of the singers and groups of music like me are: Patricio Manns, Santiago del Nuevo Extremo, Schwenke y Nilo, Los Blops, Congreso, Victor Jara, Violeta Parra, Quilapyún, etc.

First, I talk about the Nueva Canción Chilena; this is a musical, social and politic movement that lived in Chile in the 60` and 70`. Musically, the movement revives the native Andean sounds and the American popular folklore.  The movement had a politic side, because give an anti imperialism and anti fascist message.

My favorite singer is Patricio Manns, I really likes his songs, because are poetic and social messages. He is singer, essayist, novelist and poet; and a very important exponent of the Nueva Canción Chilena and popular Chilean music.

Patricio Manns is my favorite, but I like a lot of other singers.

I like Violeta Parra and Victor Jara, both exponent of the folklore and the popular Chilean music. I think that the Violeta, Patricio and Victor are the pillar and the three most important popular Chilean singers.

Too, I like the Canto Nuevo, this is a movement later to the Nueva Canción, and lived in Chile in the 70` during the “Regimen Militar”. Then, this is a political and social movement that was opposition to the Dictadura and had a strong socialist message. This movement was persecuted and the singers exiled.

The important of the Canto Nuevo, is that was a way of expression of the social and politic discontent. The music was a way of expressing things that were censored.

Some exponents of the Canto Nuevo were Santiago del Nuevo Extremo, Schwenke y Nilo, Rolando Alarcon, Ortiga, Eduardo Peralta, Quilapayún, Inti Illimani and others.

 Finally, I think that this music is really important in the music history of Chile, and show the relation between history and art.

Life is a picture...

Life is a picture…

Today I talk about a picture. I think that choose only one is really difficult, because the life is a lot of different pictures and is full of special moments.

In this occasion, I want to leave some pictures, those showing moments, places and persons important to me. All this pictures show a part of me, and what I am.

First, there are persons really important to me; I talk about my family and my best friends. And there are pictures showing me with them.  

Second, I with my family have visited various places in the vacation, such a Baños Morales (the picture of the mountains and the most special place to me) and Los Vilos (the images of the “sea sun”)   .  

Third, I really like the art and I consider this is really important in my life. I like painting, acting, singing, and everything is art. For this reason, I want to leave a picture what show my love for art.

Finally, I think that the life is a lot of pictures; I love the idea of save a moment in photography. I think that the moments not only remember, the moment will live again when I look a picture and I feel again all the moment.

All this pictures... I am

About the web quest and my visit to London

This week, I did the first web quest, I thought that the activity was a test with questions and answers, but the web quest was a search of information.

And, in this occasion I traveled for London and I visited different places very interesting. During a week I have time for know the city and some of the most important sites. Well, this visit was only for internet, but I like imagine that the visit was real.

In the web quest I has search the prices, the visiting hours, location, tube station and zone of each place. The activity wasn`t very entertaining, but I could learn more about London.

I really hope visit the British Museum in the future, because I love the history and there are things and exhibitions very interesting. Too, I liked the images of The Kew Gardens and The Natural History Museum, because there are a lot of things for see and learn  about botany and animal world.

A song?...I choose to THE BEATLES!

I don’t really like the music in english, but there are a few rock songs there I listen. The truth is that I like the chilean music, I love the CANTO NUEVO and NUEVA CANCION CHILENA, and my favorite singer is PATRICIO MANNS. But I accept that I like "The Beatles", "Queen", and “Electric Light Orchestra", "Rolling Stones", "The Doors" and others. Although, the group that I more hear is "The Beatles".

I really like this group, and I like a lot of their songs, so it is really hard to me choose a song.  I think that all the albums of THE BEATLES are great and have good songs. Too, I like the diversity of musical styles what have the group in their history. They showed different musical phases, and some of the genres of their songs were the blues, country, skiffle, folk, rock, pop, Hindu music, psychedelic music, and others.

Some of the albums of THE BEATLES are: “Help”, “Rubber Soul”, “Revolver”,”Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, “Yellow Submarine”,”Abbey Road”, “Let it be”, etc. And, some of my favorite’s songs are: “Eleanor Rigby”, “Across the Universe”, “Yesterday”, “Norwegian Wood”, “Michelle”, “A day in the  life”, “Strawberry fields forever”, “Get back”, “Hey Jude”, "Lucy in the Sky with diamonds", and a lot of others. Really, is impossible choose only a song. 

"Images of broken light which

dance before me like a million eyes

that call me on and on across the universe

thoughts wind inside a letter box

they tumble blindly as

they make their way across the universe..." (across the universe, The Beatles)

Some images and videos...

 

about the technology...

Today I have to talk about technology, this topic is not interesting for me, but I think that the technology is very important when you study a society, because it is relevant inside of the any culture.

I think it is really important to understand that the "technology" is anything made by the human; and not only computers, notebooks or mp3. The truth is that I don´t know about technology, and I don´t live thinking in the last inventions, but I confess that the technology made my life more simple. All is technology, until the littlest and most simple’s inventions human.

If I would have to choose an invention, I can mention the radio or anything that I can use for listen to music. I think that is most important the function of the things. For example, the radio, mp3 or personal stereo have the same function. For me isn´t relevant have the last and more modern machine for the listen to music, but I accept that the mp3 is more comfortably, because is little and save a lot of the music. But, I begin to use an mp3 a few years ago, when someone stole my dear personal stereo.

I think the technology have a good side, because made more simple the life of the people; and a bad side, because we “lost” the nature for the technology, and the human destroy your environment for build or made more and more things. Too, I think the technology is negative in the aspect that the people is more sedentary, and I don´t like the industry and the commerce that generate the technology. I think that is very stupid buy anything and reject because to the few days or months appear a new invention with the same function, but only more modern.