The Best Concert I've ever had

Arcturus (one of my favorite bands) at The Metal Fest 2013.

I think the best concert I've ever went was The Metal Fest. It was in 2013 at the movistar arena, and it lasted almost all day starting at 10:00 in the morning to 23:00 at night, and this timetable was for Saturday and Sunday. Of course it was a very expensive festival, considering that was a multi-concert with like twenty bands in total. I went both days with a group of friends and we enjoyed almost every band in the main stage (mostly for take advantage of the money we spent in the tickets). The main reason for me to go was that two of my favorite bands were part of the line in different days, so I didn't think it for too long and I just bought the ticket a few weeks later from the announcement. 

 Even though I didn't know all the bands in the festival, I enjoy every concert and sang (and by sang I mean yelled out of tune) all the songs. The two bands that I waited the most were amazing in stage, and I was very surprised that I wasn't the only person who knew them. There were few moments when I got bored or tired (yelling and jumping are pretty much like sports in metal concerts), so when this happened we went outside the stage to rest and eat some of the very expensive desserts offered by the producers.

The next Monday I couldn't even get up from my bed. I was so tired that I missed a test and few classes at the university, but I regret nothing. 

My favorite movie

McDowell and Kubrick chatting and being awesome. 

This is a very hard question. I can't say I have an absolute favorite movie, but I think the movie that changed my perception of cinematography is A Clockwork Orange. This movie absolutely blows my mind the first time I saw it, because I was used to more "mainstream" action movies with immortal protagonists saving the world from terrorism. This movie shows precisely the opposite part of the story: 

The main character is called Alex DeLarge, a fourteen years old teeneger played by (the always awesome) Malcolm McDowell. Alex lives in a disthopian future where London (and presumably other cities in the world) are infested by numerous gangs. Of course, our main character is the leader of one of those gangs, and the movie focuses in the "misadventures" of this gang in the first act. 

The breakpoint of the story comes when Alex is sentenced to 14 years in prison after murdering an old woman. After two years in prison, Alex offers himself as a guinea pig for a new aversion therapy recently developed named "Ludovico technique", whose researchers claim it can rehab a criminal in two weeks. 

My favorite part of this film is the third act, when the viewers can see the complete "rehab" process of Alex with the Ludovico Technique and its effects. Here the film also shows the consequences of Alex previous crimes, and how this events change the life of his victims. 

 The reason why I like this movie is primarily the setup and art direction. The music and aesthetics of the film are masterfully put together in almost every scene, and also works as a metaphor of how Alex sees his criminal life, more like a "piece of art" than mindless destruction. I also like the acting (specially McDowell), but with a script done by Stanley Kubrick is really unlikely  that the cast could fail in their portrayal. 

Since A clockwork orange is a movie based on a novel, I think this is one of the few times that the film surpasses the original source. The only aspect I kind of miss from the novel is the ending, mostly because I think it is more realistic and do a better job showing that humans aren't inherently evil. This is one of the reasons why Anthony Burgess (the author of the original novel) despises the Kubrick adaptation.

As I said earlier I can't say this is my favorite movie at the time, but the influence in my perception of cinema as a form of art is immense, and I watch this movie almost every time I catch it on cable tv....

(I just realise that I did a post in 2010 about the same movie! OMG! Well, that shows how important is this movie for me ;D.)

Which country would you like to go to?

I don’t have a particular place or country of preference. Maybe I would like to go to China or another Far East place, mostly because my mom's great-grandmother and great-grandfather came from China. Because of that I have a little percentage of Chinese blood in my veins (like 0,00000001%). When I was in primary school I did several dissertations about mythology, typical food and another cultural aspects of China, but to be honest I don't remember anything about them. If I go to China some time in the future, I think I would visit some temples or other important buildings. I love Chinese painting and pottery, so it would be interesting to visit a museum too. Anyway, I don't like the idea of studying or working in China, mostly because the Chinese language is so difficult that not even the native Chinese people could talk it properly. Also, for what I know, the working conditions aren't the best and the salary is really low. China seems to be a very interesting place culturally, but not the kind of country where I would like to live.

Semester 2; Level 4. WELLCOME!

I'M BACK!!! :D Now that I'm finally doing the level 4 in the English class (after a long hiatus), I have to introduce myself: My name is Constanza Pino Leon. I'm 22 years old and I’m studying physical anthropology at Universidad de Chile. At the moment I’m in the 5th year of my career, which means that I should be doing my Thesis, but I have some courses to finish first before I could begin my thesis and start my internship. Since I’m still studying I still live with my parents and my older sister. My mom is a doctor who works in public service (in SML and in an office In Peñalolen), while my dad works at General Electric as an Industrial designer. My sister also works in public service in a district attorney. My favorite hobby is drawing. I draw since I was a little girl, mostly learning by myself anything about proportions, modeling, coloring, etc…I like drawing so much that I always carry a sketchbook in my backpack, so I can practice in the recesses. I think my main weakness in English is that I’m not very good at oral interactions, mostly because I can’t enunciate very well (not even in Spanish).I can understand papers in English easily or even movies without subtitles, but when I try to talk I stutter and can’t finish the sentence. I wish I could speak more naturally at the end of the semester.