"Friends Forever."

There once lived a mouse and a frog who were very good friends. Every morning the frog would go to visit the mouse who lived in a hole inside a tree.  The mouse very much enjoyed the company of the frog, but the mouse didn't  realised that the frog was growing increasingly frustrated because it was always him who had to visit the mouse and never the other way around. The lazy little mouse didn't know it at the time, but he was slowly making an enemy of his good friend, the frog. One afternoon, when it was time to return home, the frog decided that he had had enough of this one-sided friendship. And so the frog tied one end of a piece of string to his leg, and then tied the other end of the piece of string to the little mouse’s tail without telling him. The frog said goodbye to the mouse, and then dived into the pond at the foot of the tree far below. All at once, completely to his surprise, the string pulled tight on the mouse’s tail and he was dragged from the safety of his tree and sent tumbling into the air towards the pond below. The poor little mouse can't swim, and as much as he struggled and struggled to free his tail, he could not untie the piece of string. After much splashing and struggling, the poor mouse finally drowned in the pond. 

‘That will teach you to make a fool out of me, you lazy mouse,’ said the frog.

But this misdeed did not go unnoticed: high up in the sky, a hawk spotted the little mouse floating in the water below. And so the hungry hawk swooped down towards the pond to grab the little mouse for its dinner. Only on that time the frog remembered he was still tied to the mouse by the piece of string.  It was then that the frog realised the error of his ways. In setting a trap for his friend, the frog had also set a trap for himself and sealed his own fate. And now he too would be eaten by the hawk because of his wicked plan.

 There is an old African proverb that goes... ‘Do not dig too deep a pit for your enemy because you may fall into it yourself.’

Punishment. ✗

Delinquent children under 16 could be tagged with electronic devices: the system uses an electronic device, about the size of a large watch, fastened to the criminal's wrist or ankle. It send a message to a monitoring centre which can detect if the criminals goes away from his home or not in some specified hours. It should help to reduce the number of people in prisons.

One time a man was found guilty of burglary in Mississippi, and the judges sayd that he must stand on a street corner for three hours on three days carrying a sign that read "I'm a convicted thief."
This was public shaming. In Arkansas shoplifters have been obliged to stand outside the stores with signs admitting their crimes.
In Philadelphia a butcher had to put and advice which he confessed that he sold contaminated meat.
In Texas a man who raped his wife was forced to make a public apology.
Supporters say that public humilation creates a powerful deterrent to a wide range of crimes, from drunk driving to child abuse. Instead critics think that America is going back to the 17th century Puritan age and say that these punishments are focused on revenge and not on justice.

Some supporters said that judges should be more careful on the victims of crime than crimes, particulary when they decide the punishment.Some people want prisoners working a 40-hour week to pay reparations directly to the victims of their crime. Some other people think that is better if victims of burglary 'steal' something from thieves' house.
In Britain shoplifters have been sent back to work in the same shop and talk to the owners.

However it is also important to take into account the feelings of the victims, many of whom do not want to make contact with the criminals.

Where are they now? Linda Blair.←

In 1973 Linda Blair appeared in "The Exorcist", a film definided as the scariest movie ever. When she had the part of Regan (the child who was possessed by the devil) Linda was only 14 years old. After 35 years, Blair still lives in relative obscury.

Child star.
Linda Blair was born on January  22nd 1959, she started working as a model and as an actress when she was very young, she was only 6 years old. When she grew up, at 12 years old, had appeared in over 75 commercials. When she did the audition for the role of Regan in "The Exorcist" she was just one of the 600 children who applied for the part. Her performance was memorable, specially in the scene which her head spin around. But the reality is that the moviment it's not made by her. It was a dummy while the voce of Regan was dubbed by an older actress: Mercedes McCambridge.

Problems.
Linda appeared in several other films as a teenager and as a lot of teens like her, decided to "live life in the fast line". This led to problems with the law. When she was 18 years old, she went to Florida to partecipate the funerals of the members of the rock band "Lynyrd Skynyrd", who had been killed in a plane crash. In Florida, one of her friends, persuaded her to go with her to buy cocaine. Linda heard that the dealers had also some pedigree puppies, so she called the dealers from her home in Connecticut: unfortunately the Drug Enforcement Agency was tapping the call, and so she was arrested. She received three years probation.

Today.
She continuated to act in films, but she only did "walk-on" parts. She also had others interests: she has written a book about vegan cookery. The name was "Going Vegan!", and she also is a campaigner for animal rights. As for early stardom she now says: "I wanted to be a princess. I wanted to be in Disney movies. I wanted to be in Lessie, I wanted to be in Flipper. I didn't want to be a monster."

 

Pollution✗

Basically, we have a 'polluted life'. Everything about us is polluted: air, water, land.. everything. And we don't really see how dangerous this problem is, that's why we keep polluting.

Other things that are absolutely wrongs are:

- Global warming;

- Greenhouse effects;

- Melting ice;

- Ozone layer.

Global warming is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of Earth's climate system. Since 1971, 90% of the increased energy has been stored in the oceans. the term "global warming" is also used to refer to increases in average temperature of the air and sea at Earth's surface. 

The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. It results in an elevation of the average surface temperature above what it would be in the absence of the gases.

Melting is a physical process that results in the phase transition of a substance from a solid to a liquid. Substances in the molten state generally have reduced viscosity with elevated temperature.

The ozone layer or ozone shield refers to a region of Earth's stratosphere that absorbs most of the Sun's UV radiation. It contains high concentrations of ozone relative to other parts of the atmosphere, although it is still very small relative to other gases in the stratosphere. The ozone layer was discovered in 1913 by the French physicists Charles Fabry and Henri Buisson.

I don't know if there's a resolution for those problems. I just know that if we do right thing, also little things, the world will be a better place.

Body painting.

Body Painting is a fascinating form of art that takes usually a team of people to create a  spectacular art right on the human body. Many artists create the most  innovative and expressive forms of body art in the world.

We have complied some of the best animal body art . Emma Fay from the UK, Gesine Marwedel from Germany and Johannes Stoetter from Italy are just of the artists that have taken animal body art to the extreme. These mind blowing images of body art will prove that these artists and their models are wondrous masters of Body paintings.

Unlike tattoo and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, painted onto the human skin, and lasts for only several hours, or at most a couple of weeks. Body painting that is limited to the face is known as face painting. It is common in militaries all over the world for soldiers in combat scenarios to paint their faces and other exposed body parts (hands, for example) in natural colors such as green, tan, and loam for camouflage purposes.

Many artists work professionally as body painters across the world. Their work is seen regularly in television commercials, such as the Natrel Plus campaign featuring models camouflaged as trees. Body painters also work frequently in the film arena especially in science fiction with more and more elaborate alien creations being body painted. Stills advertising also used body painting with hundreds of body painting looks on the pages of the world's magazines every year.

Crime food.

A new problem of our times is 'crime food'. Criminal gangs are selling billions of dollars of fake food to supermarkets around the world. The food could be very dangerous. In Britain, tons of horse meat ended up in products that were labeled as beef. British police recently found a product that used cheaper peanut powder instead of almond flour. This could kill a lot of people. Infact in China, in 2008, six babies died because of fake milk. In it, there was fake milk powder.
 Gangs can make a lot of money from fake food. It is also safer than selling drugs. The assistant director of Interpol, Michael Ellis, told the BBC that food crime is very similar to the drugs trade. The British government said it was a difficult problem to tackle. It said that using technology might be the only way to beat the criminal gangs.

Bansky←

Banksy is a pseudonymous United Kingdom-based graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stencilling technique. Such artistic works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world.

"We can't do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves."

— Banksy, Wall and Piece

Banksy once characterised graffiti as a form of underclass "revenge", or guerriggla warfare that allows an individual to snatch away power, territory and glory from a bigger and better equipped enemy.

Peter Gibson, a spokesman, asserts that Banksy's work is simple vandalism, and Diane Shakespeare, an official for the same organisation, was quoted as saying: "We are concerned that Banksy's street art glorifies what is essentially vandalism."

Blek expressed a different perspective later that same year, in the documentary Graffiti Wars, stating:

"When I see Banksy making a man with a child or Banksy making rats, of course I see immediately where he takes the idea. I do feel angry. When you're an artist you use your own techniques. It's difficult to find a technique and style in art so when you have a style and you see someone else is taking it and reproducing it, you don't like that. I'm not sure about his integrity. Maybe he has to show his face now and show what kind of guy he is."

Giusy's articles♥

Giusy's articles!

Publish at Calameo or read more publications.

♥ My last weekend (:

• Saturday: I woke up at 6 o' clock. I went to school and I came back home 2:15. I had lunch with my family and at 4:00 I went out with my friends. I ate pizza with them and then I went to sleep at 22:00.

• Sunday: I woke up at 11:00 and I stayed at my grandparents' house. I had lunch with them and all of my cousins. Then we went to the cinema and we had a lot of fun. We came back at 21:00. I went to my friend's house and we had dinner together. We watched TV and we slept from 22:00.

Spring Break♥♥

In the USA, high school seniors do every year their "spring break". It is celebrated between March and April. It's something about sunny days, parties, crowded beaches and teenagers listening loud music. Nothing can compares  to these amazing weeks! You feel free and young forever. Mostly of teenager for celebrate this period go to Fort Lauderdale, in Florida

.

 The first Spring Break was in 1935. The place became famous because of the men's swimming team, which went there and had their party time. Then, it became more famous with the movie "Where the boys are" in 1960, where girls and boys met there for their Spring Break. 

But residents of Fort Lauderdale became very upset because teenagers that went there to have their free and party time, caused damage to the area. That's why in 1985 new laws limited parties and legal drinking age was changed in 21.

Irish culture :)

The culture of Ireland includes customs and traditions, language, music, art, literature, folklore, cuisine and sports. Ireland's culture has been primarily Gaelic, also been influenced by Anglo-Norman, English and Scottish culture. Much of the Irish calendar still today reflects the old pagan customs, with later Christian traditions also having significant influence. Christmas in Ireland has several local traditions, some in no way connected with Christianity. The national holiday in the Republic of Ireland is Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March and is marked by parades and festivals in cities and towns across the island of Ireland, and by the Irish diaspora around the world. The festival is in remembrance to Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The early history of Irish visual art is generally considered to begin with early carvings found at sites such as Newgrange and is traced through Bronze age artefacts, particularly ornamental gold objects, and the Celtic brooches and illuminated manuscripts of the "Insular" Early Medieval period. 

The more spoken languages in Ireland are: Irish Gaelic and English. Celtic languages are most commonly spoken on the north-western edge of Europe: Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall. Is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people.
These languages descend from a common ancestor, spoken in Ireland in the late first millennium BC and early first millennium AD. From about the first century AD the Gaels started to come to Scotland from Ireland . The first Irish Gaels, the Scots, arrived in Scotland around 450 AD from Scoti across the Sea of Moyle settling in Argyll which they called Dal Riata .
In 523 AD, St Columba came from Ulster and settled in the Isle of Iona bringing Christianity to Scotland , England and parts of Europe . The consolidation of the kingdom of Dál Riata and the ancient province of Ulster around the 4th century, linked the north of Ireland and western Scotland together, this of course accelerated the expansion of Gaelic, as did the success of the Gaelic-speaking church establishment . This is an argument which has been hotly debated in recent years, with suggestions of the possibility that Gaelic evolved as a language simultaneously in Argyll and in Ireland has been advanced. 

Celtic knots are perhaps the most notorious and recognizable artwork in Celtic history.They started appearing in history after about 450 AD; the Celtic knots meaning is sketchy at best.


The Celtic Cross, or Ionic cross, has it's roots in a pre-Christian variation of the Solar Cross. Examples of the Celtic cross date back as far as 5000 years BCE. It's origins are not known, but it was known to be an early symbol of the sun god Taranis.



The Triskele of Triple Spiral is a complex Celtic symbol – the triple spiral or triskele is also referred to as a triskelion is one of the most convoluted to decipher as symbolists believe it is reflective of many areas.


A leprechaun is a type of fairy in Irish folklore, usually taking the form of an old man, clad in a red or green coat, who enjoys partaking in mischief.Some folk traditions hold that the leprechauns are descended from the Tuatha de Danann. When the Milesians came to Ireland they conquered the Tuatha de Danann and forced them to live under ground. When Christianity took religious precedence, this may have brought about the decline of importanceof the leprechauns. The leprechaun is said to be a solitary creature, whose principal occupation is making and mending shoes, and who enjoys practical jokes. 

Nicole Kidman goes mad!

Nicole Kidman's career started in 1990 with the movie "Days of Thunder". In this film starred also Tom Cruise which she is both married and divorced. In Nicole's latest film "Stoker" take part also Mia Wasikowska.

'I play Mia's mother, but she's kind of really very hard to read, she's fragile, yet she's kind of needy, yet she has got and elegance, you know, 'cause she speaks fluent French, and knows everything about wine and has been raised with this sort of very... good education and good upbringing, yet she's trapped in this house with this daughter who she has a very complicated relationship with, and that's great way to start a film!

We both said "Next time we'll be nicer to each other in a film!" 'cause it's a mother-daughter relationship that very, very fraught with resentment and anger all of those things that, as a daughter and as a mother, there's tiny little bits of it I can understeand, but it's so foreign for me, si it's like I can kind of act it, but now I want to go and be the mother that nurtures her and is kind to her!" 

The story is about the mysterious Uncle Charlie, who has relationships with the mother and the daughter. Charlie is played by a British actor: Matthew Goode.

● Black History Month ●

Black history month, in America, is an annual observance in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom for remembrance of important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. From the event's initial phase, primary emphasis was placed on encouraging the coordinated teaching of the history of American blacks in the nation's public schools. The expansion of Black History Week to Black History Month was first proposed by the leaders of the Black United Students. The first celebration of the Black History Month took place at Kent State one year later, in February 1970. Americans have recognized black history annually since 1926, first as "Negro History Week" and later as "Black history month." 

What you might not know is that black history had barely begun to be studied-or even documented-when the tradition originated. Although blacks have been in America at least as far back as colonial times, it was not until the 20th century that they gained a respectable presence in the history books.

Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that “the negro was in vogue” which was later paraphrased as “when Harlem was in vogue."

Langston Hughes is widely regarded as “the Bard of Harlem” for vividly capturing the literary ethos and artistic spirit of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 30s. He was one of the most prolific black writers of the twentieth century and possibly the first to earn his living entirely by means of his craft.  Although he wrote in nearly every genre, he was primarily a poet and two of Hughes’s poems, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and “I, Too (Sing America)” have become important parts of the American literary canon.  For his poems, plays, essays, novels, and short stories that together number in the hundreds, Langston Hughes stands as one of the most important American writers of the last century.

Here's one of his poems: I, too.

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes,

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow,

I’ll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody’ll dare

Say to me,

“Eat in the kitchen,”

Then.

Besides,

They’ll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed.

I, too, am America.

♥ Pancake day ♥

Shrove Tuesday in the United Kingdom is commonly known as Pancake Tuesday. It is a time for people to eat pancakes or participate in pancake races. Pancakes in the United Kingdom have some variations. For example, Welshcakes or light cakes are eaten in Wales while many pancakes in Gloucester are made with suet.People who take part in the pancake races carry thin pancakes in frying pans and must race to the finish, flipping pancakes as they go. The winner is the first to the finish line with a pancake that is not burnt. Some people may take time off work to participate in the pancake races.

The Olney Pancake Race is held at Olney in Buckinghamshire on Shrove Tuesday. It is one of the best known pancake races in the United Kingdom. The course for the Olney Pancake Race is about 415 yards long (about 379 meters). Competitors must wear traditional costumes that include a skirt, apron and head covering to run the race. Official Olney and Liberal prizes are then presented at a Shriving service in the parish church after the race is finished.

In Olney, England, the Pancake Race tradition dates back more than 500 years to 1445. A woman engrossed in using up cooking fats (forbidden during Lent) was making pancakes. Hearing the church bells ring calling everyone to the shriving service, she grabbed her head scarf (required in church) and ran to the church, skillet and pancake in hand and still apron-clad. In following years, neighbors got into the act and it became a race to see who could reach the church first and collect a "Kiss of Peace" from the verger (bell-ringer.)