Validation

This is another great article written by our student Carlos Mateos.

A short activity in one of our lessons called Say something nice (see this link) reminded me this short film entitled Validation (2007).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao

 

(Automatic subtitles can be enabled, although they don’t work perfectly. Other copies of the video can be found, even with Spanish subtitles.)

It’s 15 minutes long. If it’s too long for you, I recommend watching it in two parts, from the beginning until watching “NOTICE OF TERMINATION” (7:36) and the rest in this link.

I hope you like it. Maybe, it touches your heart!

Do you think the attitude of the main character is believable? Do you like it?

Imagining how it was imagined

Have you ever wondered how a story was imagined by its author?

That’s what some people did in this short film entitled George Lucas in love, creating a funny explanation about how Star Wars was conceived:

(9 minutes long. Automatic subtitles can be enabled, although they don’t work perfectly. Other copies of the video can be found, even with Spanish subtitles.)

In a few weeks, the seventh film of the Star Wars saga will be released. That reminded me about this short film. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know too much about Star Wars, most gags are easy to understand because we all know the characters.

Some years ago a brewing company (beers) made a funny campaign based on the concept of how some customs started. I know five videos (more information in this link):

• The Peace sign is born
• The Lighter Phenomenon is born
• The birth of Scratching
• The birth of Posturing
• The Macarena dance is born

They are quite easy to find in streaming video servers like Youtube or Vimeo.

Do you know any other film about imagining how a something was imagined?

The Raven: Legacy of a master thief – Interactive graphic novel

In the year 2013 as part of the publicity campaign for the video game The raven, the company released a short interactive graphic novel.

If you want to practice your listening (with optional subtitles) in an entertaining way, give a try to this short prologue of a story about a master thief and a policeman obsesed with catching him.

It just takes from you between ten and twenty minutes. You just need to click in some points in the screen during the scenes, nothing else. Some texts can be reproduced clicking again in the same place, others can’t.

http://raven-game.com/en/novel/

For some reason, the web version is not working with current Firefox or Internet Explorer/Edge, but it works with Opera or Chrome.  You can use it in your mobile phone or tablet too.

But, if you prefer just watching it as a movie, here it is:

I hope you enjoy it!

Things my mother taught me

Have you ever wondered how many things you’ve learnt from your mother? They teach us everything we need to know:

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A WELL DONE JOB.
   “If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.”
2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
   “You better pray that stain come out of the carpet.”
3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
   “If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”
4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
   “Because I said so, that’s why.”
5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
   “What’s for lunch, mom? – Food!”
6. My mother taught me IRONY.
   “Keep crying, and I’ll give you something to cry about.”
7. My mother taught me about THE SCIENCE OF OSMOSIS.
   “Shut your mouth and eat your supper.”
8. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
   “Look at that dirt on the back of your neck!”
9. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
   “You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone.”
10. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
    “This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.”
11. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
    “I’ve told you a million times. Don’t exaggerate!”
12. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
    “I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.”
13. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION.
    “Stop acting like your father!”
14. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
    “If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.”
15. My mother taught me ESP (ExtraSensory Perception).
    “Put your sweater on; don’t you think I know when you are cold?”
16. My mother taught me BLACK HUMOUR.
    “When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”
17. My mother taught me WISDOM OF AGE.
    “When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.”
18. My mother taught me VENTRILOQUISM.
    “Stop grumbling, shut up and answer me: why did you do it?”
19. My mother taught me TO BE THRIFTY.
    “Save up your tears for my funeral!”
20. And my mother taught me about JUSTICE.
    “One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!”

As time goes by, we see our mothers in different ways: The images of mother.

Thanks to all the anonymous authors of these sentences for their sense of humour.

And remember that mother, there is only one, so don’t forget yours!

Holophonic sounds / Binaural audio

Have you heard about Holophonic sounds or Binaural audio?

The next recording is entitled “Virtual barber shop”. Put on your headphones, close your eyes and listen to it (remember, you MUST use headphones to enjoy it in the right way).

This recording was created by QSound Labs. They have other demos in their website.

How does it work? Basically, the sound is recorded by microphones situated as if they were the ears of a person, simulating their position and even the shadowing effect of our head. It means that sound is recorded as if we were listening to it. So, headphones are required to take advantage of recordings made with this technique.

In this link, you can watch an advertisement of a BBC Radio programme recorded that way.

You can find other interesting recordings searching things like “holophonic sounds” or “binaural audio” on the Internet. For example, this one:

Did you like any of the recordings? Did they surprise you?

These will be good listening practice, trust me!