“Gulliver’s travels” – Brilliant film art

Over three English classes we have seen the movie “Gulliver’s travels” from 1996. The movie is an adaption of the novel with the same name.

The novel “Gulliver’s travels” is written by Jonathan Swift and was issued in 1726. The book is one of the first published novels ever, and became popular from the very start. A source says that the book has not been out of production since it first was released. The story is divided up in four parts, and these four parts describe Gulliver’s four travels to Lilliput, Brobdingnag, the flying island of Laputa and the Country of the Houyhnhnm’s.

I have read some reviews of the movie on imdb.com. The link is: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115195/reviews. This is a selection of reviews written by different persons that have watched the movie. I read the first two reviews. In my opinion these reviews give a good description of the content in the story and a well-deserved positive critique to the producer and the actors.

The movie tells the story of the sailor Lemuel Gulliver. Gulliver was lost at sea and was away from his wife ande his son for around nine years.  When he comes back he tells some extraordinary stories of journeys to unknown countries and meetings with strange people and regimes. He has changed and is different from when he left, and the people around him think he is a mad man and insane. Because of this is he is sentenced to a hospital for psychological diseases.

Throughout the movie, Gulliver tells his story. In his first journey, he came to a country called Lilliput where the people were extremely tiny and he was like a giant. The second journey went to a country called Brobdingnag where all were giants and Gulliver looked like the people from Lilliput, now he was tiny. The third journey went to the flying island of Laputa, and to the country below it with Indian princesses and a bewitched castle. The last and fourth journey went to a country where Houyhnhnm’s, they were horses, ruled, and humans were like primitive animals called Yahoo’s.

This movie, as well as the book I suppose, is criticising the community in the real world. We see both rulers which make terrible decisions for their country and good rulers that is making decisions for their people’s advantage. We also see how dumb things can turn out if you overestimate both small things, like which side you should break your egg, and important things, like wisdom and knowledge. This can develop into wars and conflicts.

This movie is in my opinion a real piece of art. The producer and the film director have used amazing surroundings and special effects to tell this amazing story. The great acting by a lot of famous and talented actors also lift the story to I higher level. Even though this movie last for three hours, is it not boring, and even though they use a lot of special features, is it not overestimated and gives a good effect to the telling of the story.

I give this movie 8/10, and I really recommend it for you guys!

– Frida

 

Saxophone – One of my spare time activities

I do a lot of different things in my spare time. I play saxophone in a Bid Band and I work out. I do running  in the summer and weight-training, zumba and indoor bandy in the winter. For one and a half year I was at a football team for girls, but I quit.

Me and my saxophone 

I want to write a little about my saxophone playing. I have been playing saxophone for six and a half year now. I got my Yamaha saxophone in third grade, but started to play autumn in fourth grade at the cultural school in my city. My first teacher was the headmaster of the school, who also played saxophone. The reason why I wanted to play the saxophone, was the cool look of it. I also come from a family that is very fond of music and both my mom and my dad have played or play an instrument, so I wanted to play an instrument too.

Some facts                                                                                                  Saxophone is a relative new instrument, and was created by Adolphe Sax, and Belgian-born instrument maker, in 1846. It is totally nine different types of saxophones, but four of them is most known – soprano- , alto- , tenor- , and baritone saxophone. I play the alto saxophone, and have not tried some of the other types.

This is how a saxophone is build up:

Woodwind                                                                                                                    Saxophone is a woodwind instrument. That means that the sound depends on the reed at the mouthpiece. This reed is made by bamboo, and without it, the instrument make no noise at all. Other instruments in the woodwind family are among othrs clarinet, flute and oboe.

Where?                                                                                                                 As I have said I have played in the cultural school in my city for six years, but I quit last year. I have played in the big band for three years now, and it is very funny. AT the cultural school I learned quite a lot classical playing, but in the big band I learn to improvise and play more “jazzy”. I think jazz is more fun than classical, among other things because it invites you to play with tones and scales, and it is important to use your ears and feel the rhythm. I like this better than the classical type of playing.

Future                                                                                                                      I have not thought of a future with saxophone as my job, and really just want to play for fun. I will keep it as a hobby, and look after the things I have learned.

.Frida.

Recipe and example on WORK REPORT

Hi!

Last week we wrote a work report about how we learned the 50 states of the USA. You will see the report under, but first I am going to write a recipe of a work report for you guys!

Start with writing who it is for and who it is from. Write the date of the day you write the report, and write your subject for the report.

After that, write an introduction were you shortly sum up the learning process. Then you write the main part, were you in details tell about your subject. Include facts like dates, mode of operation and such.

In the end you write an ending with sort of a conclusion and thoughts around your subject. And then you write the sources that you have used for the subject.

Now I want to show you my work report of how I learned the 50 states of the USA. This is it:

To: Jan Stokseth

From: Frida Andersen

Date: 26.01.12

Subject: Work report for learning the states of the United States of America

Over around four lessons these two past weeks we have had the mission to learn the states of the United States of America. I thought of this as an exciting and funny task because I only knew a few states from earlier. I used different methods to learn the 50 states, and I am going to tell you about the process in the main part of this report.

In the end of the English class Friday the 13^th of January, Jan told us that for the next lesson, Monday the 16^th of January, we were going to learn the states of the USA. We practised a little that lesson and I understood that I only knew a few states. So I practised also a little in the weekend, for five minutes maybe, by using the map at the back of our English-Norwegian dictionary. It was in the first part of the lesson on the 16^th of January I learned the states accurate. Our teacher Jan recommended a site called sheppardsoftware.com, but I used the geography site on gruble.net to learn them.

It was very fun because I learned them quite fast, faster than I thought. When we had learned the states, we competed against each other in sort of a tournament with two-by-two battles. I came to the quarter-final. The competition gave me a lot of inspiration to practice, and my desire to win gave me inspiration to learn.

This process was very fun and instructive. Now I know all the states in the USA and that can be practical because our world is globalised on a high level.

Sources:

• http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm
• http://www.gruble.net/Flash/geografi/usakart/states.swf

Thanks to SS!

Greatings from FA

The end of “About a Boy”

Now we have seen the last part of the movie About a Boy. It was a happy ending, as a thought.

In the end, several problems are solved. Will talks with Marcus’ mum Fiona and she understands
that she has been selfish in some way, and thought more of herself than on
Marcus. Marcus is going to perform at the school concert because he wants to
make his mum happy. Will is trying to stop him, because he knows that it’s social
suicide to sing “Killing me softly” in front of the whole school. Instead Will is
joining Marcus with a guitar, and it turns out to be Will that is making a fool
out of himself.

The movie ends with Christmas, and Marcus, Fiona, Rachel and Ali are spending the Christmas
Eve. Rachel is Wills girlfriend, and they all seem like a big, happy family.  Will has also invited a friend of him that fit
perfect for Fiona; Will has grown up and he has thought for others but himself!

I think it’s something weird with this movie, something I can’t set the finger on, but on
the other hand, many important issues. I think it’s very good the way both
Will, Marcus and Fiona change in a way because of each other. And that Will
learn that it’s not only he in this world, there are people around him that
cares and he starts to care for them too.

– Frida

About a Boy

The last English class we started to see a movie called “About a Boy”. It’s a funny
story about two boys in two quite different worlds that, because of different circumstances,
meet.

Will is a 38 year old man that lives alone in his own apartment, and he compares himself
with an island.  He doesn’t go to work he earns money from a popular Christmas song, that father
wrote. He has never been involved in a long-lasting relationship with a woman,
and he has no thoughts of more than to have fun and enjoy life. One day he
starts to go out with single mothers, and join a group for single parents, where
he lies and says that he has a two year old son. Here het meets Suzie. I think
the character Will is kind of weird, and he is not at all thoughtful or
reflected.

Marcus is around 12-13 years old, and he lives along with his mother in a small
apartment. The other students at school bully him, among other things because
his mother follow him on the way to school and shout “I love you” after him so everyone
in the schoolyard hears it. His mother is not mentally stable, and Marcus often
visits Suzie, a friend of his mother and, at that time, Wills girlfriend. Marcus
and Will meet when the single mother-club is going out for a trip, and Suzie is
their intermediary between them. When they are going home after the trip,
Marcus’ mum lays on the sofa and has tried to commit suicide. I feel pity for
Marcus and his mum, and if I could, I wish I could have done something for
them.

I have seen this movie one time before, but I don’t remember how it ends. I think it’s a
happy ending. I remember that Will and Marcus became friends, and that
both of them learned something from one another when they got to now each other.

Best regards, Frida

The purpose of life

I just saw some videos on school about a man and a woman, Nick Vujicic and Bethany Hammilton. They are two different persons that have had to manage life in a different way. Nick was born without neither legs, nor arms, and Bethany was attacked by a
shark when she was out surfing.

These folkstalk about their situation in a way that encourage us to think that even though we are not the same and we are different from others, we are worth something, we can fight all the pain and stand on our fight again! This inspires me! They have so much to teach us. Look at these videos with Bethany (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duelon0MF2o) and Nick (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIuz6fUtfRE).

Best regards,
Frida

First post

This is my first post on this blog. This is a school prodject where we were about to make an English blog in WordPress. I don’t no how much I’m going to use this site, but you’ll see. I’m from Norway, so you’ll have to excuse me if some of the spelling is wrong! But I’ll try my best! Norway is at this time filled with trees in all kinds of beautiful colours; red, orange and yellow! It’s beautiful!

Anyway: welcome to my blog! (Follow!!)

Greatings, Frida