Pubs in Derry - EOI Extremadura inglés A2

1- Café Roc 1, College Terrace

Very fashionable pub that is divided into two parts. The best of these two parts is the ground floor with good music like pop or rock. There is a dance floor and also seats and tables. Although it is not one of the cheapest places in Derry, some days it is too busy and it is difficult to move around inside.

Pint price: 2.20 pounds (except special offers)

Anecdotes: The DJ is so nice that you are allowed to choose the music if there are just a few people.

 

2- Sandino's Water Street

It is more similar to a typical Irish pub at least on the ground floor. It is a suitable place to have your drink and talk without hearing loud music. The first floor is like a disco, where the music is louder. This floor is better for dancing.

Pint price: 2.20 pounds

Anecdotes: This pub is full of photos of Che Guevara, Sandino,…

 

3- The Ice Wharf 22, Strand Road

It is not a dancing venue, but it is a comfortable place to have a drink and to talk.

During the day you can also have meals. It is cheap, and also, every night, there are different promotions. The Ice Wharf is a big place and it has comfortable seats.

Opening hours: open during all day

Anecdotes: It has the best toilets in Derry. They are better than the bar itself.

 

4- Sugar Niteclub ( Downeys Bar) 33, Shipquay Street

Opposite the River Inn, Sugar Nightclub is a nice place playing all types of music to suit all tastes. It has two floors, but there is no difference between these ones.

Like most of the places in Derry, there is a dance floor and places to sit.

Anecdotes: One night they played songs by Bob Dylan, Shakira and Barry White in this order.

 

5- The River Inn Shipquay Street

It is the oldest pub in Derry. Good place, good atmosphere, good people, good offers. It has two floors. One of them is the typical Irish pub (the ground floor), the other one is like a club (the subterranean floor).

Pint prices: 2.20 pounds. ☺ 1.00 pound on Sundays and Thursdays

Anecdotes: One of the waiters has no idea about serving drinks. In the ground floor there are only old people.

 

6- Jackie Mullans: 13, Little James Street

Club with three floors with no difference between them. You only can hear disco, dance, techno music, and it is a really expensive place. The pint price is the most expensive one in Derry. It is really strangely decorated, and it is very hot.

Pint price: 3.20 pounds

Anecdotes: There was a horrible lamp decorated with dead fish.

The seats remind one of the TV programme (with Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox, hummmmmmm…) "Friends".

One of the waiters, apart from being really ugly, is really unfriendly and unpleasant.

 

7- Becketts 26-28 Foyle Street

It is an expensive pub without any interest. We have spent lots of nights there, and we are very ashamed about this. Becketts is the place where the biggest Spanish parties took place. The music is awful. Although the DJ is a very good guy.

Anyway, it is a good place to give up drinking and start studying English!

Pint price: 2.20 pounds

Anecdotes: The bouncers are really rude and they shout a lot. It is something very unpleasant for us.

Source: adaptado de un texto que se encuentra en la siguiente dirección: Isabel Pérez

Reality TV - EOI Islas Baleares inglés B1 resuelto

There's a new kind of programme on television, and it's hardly like television at all! It's called reality TV and, as the name suggests, it is supposed to show us something very real. The participants aren't actors at all, but ordinary people in their daily lives. We, the viewers, might see them eating, sleeping, arguing or having a good time. We can hear all their conversations and watch their every move. Reality shows, therefore, are not regular television programmes at all. Instead they give us a close-up look into other people's lives. 

Why have reality shows become so popular? What makes us want to watch reality shows on TV? To begin with, we feel that we get to know the participants. We know their names from the beginning and gradually we learn more about them. We might even come to like some of them. Others, we might not like at all! Reality shows take us inside the lives of other people. Mostly, people wonder what it's like to be someone else. Experiencing other people's lives can be a great escape from our own. 

Some people say this has a very healthy effect on society and it's a harmless and entertaining way of passing the time. Other people, however, are not in favour of reality TV. Critics say that it is not really entertainment at all. What could be entertaining about two people doing their laundry or preparing the evening meal? Who wants to watch that? Who wants to hear all of their secrets and gossip? Some social scientists even say that reality TV could have damaging effects on society. 

What kinds of people take part in reality programmes? Well, since the participants may win a prize, they might be doing it for the money. There could be other reasons as well. For example, the participants on these shows become well known to the viewers. They may even become famous and find more work in TV after the reality show ends. Not only that, but some people may really like the attention of millions of eyes on them every day and night. Clearly, reality TV is not for shy people! 

New reality shows appear all the time. They can take place on a farm, in an apartment or even on an island. Each time a new show begins, it seems to be even more daring than the previous one. What do you think the future holds for reality TV? Could the next show take place in your city, neighbourhood or school? Eventually, the day may come when we can all be part of reality TV! 

Source: Adapted from article: “Reality Shows” by Chris Dufford.

Le Centre Pompidou à la conquete des villages - EOI francés B1

Et le Centre Pompidou créa… le musée mobile. Mais cette structure nomade ne verra le jour que si les mécènes sont au rendez-vous. Concrètement, le patron de Beaubourg, Alain Seban, doit trouver 3 millions d'euros pour financer la construction de ce musée itinérant… destiné à "amener l'art dans les territoires mal irrigués par l’offre culturelle", comme il l'a annoncé lors de la présentation du projet à la presse, jeudi 5 novembre. Autrement dit, transporter Picasso ou Matisse dans les campagnes.

Pour la construction, M. Seban avance "la fin de 2010", .en observant que "2009 devrait être un record en termes de mécénat pour le Centre Pompidou". La présentation du musée mobile s'apparente davantage à une séance destinée à séduire des investisseurs. Et des futurs clients, qui auraient envie d'avoir des maîtres du XXe siècle chez eux… L'idée est d'installer le Centre Pompidou mobile durant un an dans une région, dans trois lieux différents. Les collectivités locales qui accueilleront la structure devront payer. "Chaque étape coûtera 300 000 euros", précise M.Seban…

Les premiers tableaux, dévoilés par la conservatrice Emma Lavigne, en charge de la première exposition, sont prometteurs.

Celle-ci sera dédiée à la "couleur", un thème assez large pour y mettre ce que l'on veut. Dans l'ordre des oeuvres citées : Nature morte au magnolia (1941) de Matisse, Femme en bleu (1901) de Picasso, La Gamme jaune (1907) de Kupka…

Comment assurer la sécurité des oeuvres, alors même que le lieu doit être suffisamment ouvert et attractif pour faire venir un public qui n'a pas l'habitude d'entrer dans un musée ? Patrick Bouchain a conçu l'objet dans l'esprit d'un chapiteau : une structure en bâche démontable.

La construction s'apparente à un jeu d'assemblage : des formes géométriques très colorées - violet, vert, orange - incarneront chacune un espace… M. Bouchain les appelle des "baldaquins" ou "baldacos", en hommage à ces tentures d'étoffe riche que fabriquait l'Irak, explique-t-il. Chaque zone sera plus ou moins sécurisée : "On peut imaginer que la Femme en bleu sera blindée, derrière une vitrine. Et que des installations de Buren, ou autres, permettront au public de toucher l'art.

"M. Bouchain, au début des années 1990, avait créé des "petites maisons foraines" alors que Jack Lang, ministre de la culture et de l'éducation, avait fait de l'art à l'école l'une de ses priorités.

L'extérieur du musée mobile sera très accrocheur, mais l'intérieur sera neutre pour laisser la place aux oeuvres. Et au spectacle. Des comédiens recrutés localement auront pour mission de "scénariser" le parcours afin d'aider les visiteurs à entrer en contact avec l'oeuvre. Les croquis de M. Bouchain sont prometteurs. Il n'y a plus qu'à attendre le feu vert pour la construction - et l'argent.

Le Centre Pompidou mobile fait partie des dix projets de la Commission pour la création artistique animée par Marin Karmitz (Le Monde du 11 septembre), dont une des missions est de toucher un public qui ne fréquente pas les lieux de culture.

Cette annonce est aussi un pas de plus dans la politique de délocalisation des oeuvres par les grands musées, dans le but, notamment, d'alimenter les caisses. Le Louvre, Orsay ou le Centre Pompidou ont dans un premier temps développé la location d'expositions à des musées riches, au Japon, en Australie ou aux Etats-Unis. Il y a eu ensuite la création de musées-bis, comme le Centre Pompidou à Metz (ouverture au printemps 2010) et le Louvre à Lens. Ou encore l'opération Louvre à Abou Dhabi. Voilà le mini-musée qui viendra frapper à la porte des gens, tel le camionboulangerie dans les villages.

On ne connaît pas encore la première destination du musée. Mais M. Bouchain s'est déjà fixé un objectif : "Etre à Marseille en septembre 2012", ville qui sera capitale culturelle de l'Europe en 2013. 

Clarisse Fabre

Source: Le Monde

Nouvelles technologies: quand le corps se bloque - EOI francés B1

Quelques mois après l’apparition d’une nouvelle technologie, il n’est pas rare de découvrir un problème de santé associé à un usage un peu trop intensif. Récapitulatif des derniers troubles musculo-squelettiques qui guettent les accros aux nouvelles technos.

 

Abus de SMS, les pouces trinquent.

Avec la vogue des SMS illimités, les pouces sont à dure épreuve. Sollicités des dizaines, voire des centaines de fois par jour, ils finissent par s’enflammer. Et une fois l’inflammation déclarée, seul le repos permet de soulager les articulations.

 

Abus de console, bonjour la Wii elbow.

Les amateurs de tennis connaissent bien le tennis elbow, cette tendinite du coude qui guette tous ceux

qui se remettent un peu trop brutalement à l’entraînement. Cette tendinite n’épargne pas les joueurs de console, soucieux de mettre leur avatar à la première place. L’association britannique des chiropracteurs mettait en garde en 2007 contre ces blessures dues à un usage trop intensif. Elle préconisait un échauffement des articulations (poignet, épaules, cou) pour les prévenir.

 

Abus de Smartphone, attention au cou.

Le fait de se pencher sur son téléphone provoquerait des tensions dans le cou.

 

Abus d'iPad, attention au torticolis.

Une étude américaine a montré que l’engouement pour les iPad et autres supports numériques pourrait engendrer torticolis et douleurs des épaules en raison des mauvaises postures.

 

La 3D responsable de maux de tête ?

La 3D nous ferait-elle tourner la tête ? C’est en tout cas le reproche fait par certains chercheurs et utilisateurs, aussi bien du côté du cinéma que des jeux-vidéos.

 

Une immersion un peu trop réussie au cinéma.

En août 2011, un chercheur américain a étudié 400 spectateurs sortant d’une salle de cinéma. Ceux qui avaient vu le film en 3D étaient trois fois plus nombreux à souffrir de maux de tête, de fatigue oculaire et de troubles de la vision. Or, ces troubles ne seraient pas nécessairement compensés par un plaisir plus intense, car d’après les résultats, les spectateurs de 3D auraient eu une expérience émotionnelle similaire à ceux de la 2D.

 

Attention aux enfants.

Le même reproche avait été fait à la console 3DS lors de sa sortie. Selon l’association Robin des Bois qui s’offusque des conséquences de la 3D sur nos yeux, deux populations seraient particulièrement sensibles aux effets de la 3D : les personnes souffrant de déséquilibres binoculaires, par exemple ceux qui auraient tendance à loucher, ainsi que les enfants dont le système oculaire est en cours de développement. Le journal Le Figaro enfonce le clou en octobre 2011 avec un article intitulé : « Les images 3D représentent un risque pour les enfants». Selon le journaliste, près de 20% des personnes supporteraient mal les images en relief !

Alors offrons un peu de répit à nos yeux, tant que la télévision en 3D n’a pas encore envahi nos salons !

 

Devant l’écran, 5 conseils pour préserver son cou et son dos :

Les conseils de l’Association Française de Chiropratique pour contrer ce fléau :

• Faites des pauses fréquentes entre deux usages de l’appareil.
• Soignez votre position. Surélevez votre ordinateur de façon à ce que le haut de l’écran soit au niveau des yeux. Apposez les coudes sur le bureau.
• Ne restez pas trop longtemps la tête fléchie en avant et vers le bas, de manière prolongée.
• Tenez votre téléphone à hauteur de visage lorsque vous rédigez un SMS. Placez vos bras et avantbras à angle droit.
• Etirez régulièrement le dos et le cou.

 Femme Actuelle. Janvier 2012

Edinburgh cafés - EOI Asturias inglés B1 resuelto

Water of Leith Café Bistro

I visited it on a weekday at lunch time and had fortunately booked a table, as people were being turned away. Despite the place being busy, we did not feel rushed and service was very friendly. I had a good courgette quiche, followed by a delicious pear and almond cake. The café is family friendly and there were some noisy kids. Very friendly greeting both on the phone and when we got there. Nice atmosphere, tasty menu and the food did not let it down. We all really enjoyed our meal. Great to chat to the chef afterwards. Thoroughly recommend this little gem.

The Haven Café

This little gem is not that easy to find as it is on the shore at Newhaven and not actually in Edinburgh but it is well worth the trip out from the city. It is small and cosy and tables were never free for more that a few minutes. It is clearly a favourite with locals and visitors alike. The food is excellent. We had the all day breakfast which is a comprehensive Scottish breakfast which is full of flavour, freshly cooked and made with fresh local ingredients. Particularly of note is the haggis which is the best I have had in a long time. You get a large cup of tea, bigger than in most cafés, with plenty of milk on the table. The girls behind the counter work very hard to ensure a great eating experience. We will definitely be back.

Elephant House

Great little café. Obviously, if you're a big Harry Potter fan, you want to come to where it all started, and that alone is well worth the five-star review. The café itself is not catered specifically to fans (though they do have souvenir mugs and shirts for sale), which is nice, still the same atmosphere as when JK Rowling came here to write, I think. Make sure you check out the toilets if you're a fan, though, and bring your camera and a pen with you. For non-Potter fans, this little café is definitely still worth it. Breakfast was fantastic though a bit pricey. I got the pancakes with bacon, an almond croissant, and some tea. My companions got beans on toast and the full breakfast, respectively, and we all enjoyed our food. It's a nice, quiet atmosphere even for such a now well-known place and we stayed for over an hour. The food sustained us all day, so we ended up not eating "lunch" until almost 4 pm! Make sure you check out the view out the back windows, too, you can see the castle!

Ship on the shore

I went to the Ship on Saturday, and I have to say that I’m very pleased with the choice. The place is wonderful, it's like having dinner in a restaurant of centuries ago, candle light, foggy windows… super. Scallops and mussels are AMAZING, we've also had a paella which was OK - the fish was very good, the rice however, was overcooked. I tried the crumble pie for dessert. Price is expensive, but fair for the things you'll eat; good quality fish is expensive. I'll definitely come back.

Wildfire

This is a very small restaurant, with only about 30 places, and not having booked we were very lucky to get a table for two. We had the fish chowder, a steak and steak pie, and all the food was brilliant. Unfortunately, we could not manage a sweet, but they also looked great. The service was attentive and friendly.

Angels with Bagpipes

Fabulous little bar and restaurant. If we had known about it, we would definitely have eaten here as the food looked fantastic. Recommended by the lady on the bus tour.

From tripadvisor

Bats - EOI Asturias inglés B1 resuelto

Many people fear the small flying animals called bats. There are stories about bats attacking people and drinking human blood. However, bats are not dangerous. In fact, they are an important part of our environment. Bats are mammals, just like humans. There are about one thousand different kinds of bats in the world. Some weigh less than ten grams. Yet the largest bats are almost two meters long when their wings are extended.

Most people think bats are rare. That is because they hide during the day and are active only at night. However, bats can be found in almost every part of the world.

Not all bats spend their days underground in dark caves. Some rest in trees or other places that keep them safe from attack and changes in weather. Unlike other animals, their bodies are designed to hang upside down. This is the best position for them to take flight suddenly.

Bats are the only mammals that can really fly. Their wing structure, bones and muscles help them to move quickly. This helps bats in their search for food.

Most bats eat insects. Bats provide one of the most effective controls on insect populations. A single, small, brown bat can catch more than one thousand insects in just one hour. Twenty million bats live in Bracken Cave in the western American state of Texas. They eat about two hundred tons of insects every night.

Some bats eat fruit. Other bats like to eat pollen on plants. They help to make new plants by spreading pollen from flower to flower.  A few bats eat meat. They catch small frogs, birds or fish.

No report about bats is complete without a discussion of vampire bats. Three kinds of vampire bats feed on blood. They live in parts of Central and South America. These bats feed mainly on the blood of birds, farm animals and wild animals. They rarely attack people. The bats bite their victims and drink the blood, usually while the animal is sleeping. The harm from such bites comes not from the amount of blood lost, but from any resulting infection.

Source: The VOA Special English Science Report

Gli anni ‘70

Gli anni Settanta sono stati anni di trasformazione e svecchiamento anche nel campo della musica, dell'intrattenimento radiofonico e televisivo, della satira politica e di costume. Per capire come cambiarono, in quel decennio, i gusti del pubblico (e dei giovani in particolare), basta guardare i dati del Festival della Canzone Italiana o di Sanremo, la manifestazione canora più famosa, e contestata, d'Italia.

Per tutti gli anni Sessanta le tre serate del festival sono andate in onda in diretta sia alla radio che in televisione: partecipavano i big della canzone italiana e si vendevano tantissimi dischi a 45 giri (circa 6 milioni di copie, tra 45 e 33 giri, solo nel 1964). Ma tra il 1973 e il 1980 la televisione trasmette in diretta solo la serata finale: i cantanti importanti snobbano la manifestazione e le vendite dei 45 giri calano a picco (nel 1975, anno 'nero' del festival, vendute appena 45.000 copie).

Solo negli anni Ottanta si ricomincia con la diretta televisiva dell'intera manifestazione, in concomitanza con quello che è stato chiamato "il riflusso". Oggi le serate del festival sono addirittura cinque, e tutte trasmesse in diretta.

Gli "anni bui" di Sanremo riflettono la crisi di cambiamento che in quel decennio investe ogni aspetto della società italiana.

I giovani impazziscono per una trasmissione radiofonica che si chiama Alto Gradimento, andata in onda tra il 1970 e il 1976. Un programma bizzarro, addirittura demenziale, assolutamente diverso da tutto quanto proponeva allora la radio: brani musicali non convenzionali si alternavano alle gag comiche di una galleria di personaggi surreali, il tutto coordinato dai due "presentatori" Renzo Arbore e Gianni Boncompagni e con un ritmo serrato. Molte battute, ripetute a mo' di tormentone, sono entrate nel linguaggio comune e chi allora aveva vent'anni ancora se le ricorda.

Renzo Arbore è anche l'autore di una trasmissione televisiva parimenti rivoluzionaria, L'altra Domenica (1976-1979), trasmessa la domenica pomeriggio sul "secondo canale" della R.A.I. Inventata per soddisfare un pubblico che non seguiva volentieri il programma che andava in onda già da anni sul "primo canale" (Domenica In), decisamente più tradizionale, aveva tra i suoi protagonisti un giovanissimo Roberto Benigni, che interpretava un surreale critico cinematografico (parlava di film che non aveva visto). La sigla finale, poi, era cantata dalle Sorelle Bandiera, tre vigorosi giovanotti travestiti da donna. Il successo era stato travolgente e gli ascolti altissimi, tanto da preoccupare gli autori del programma concorrente, Domenica In.

Insomma, all'epoca si sperimentava, altro che i noiosi e prevedibili format che ci vengono propinati oggi.

I giovani che si divertivano con queste trasmissioni difficilmente seguivano Sanremo. Ascoltavano la musica anglosassone, ma anche quella dei numerosi gruppi nati in Italia proprio in quegli anni: è italiano uno dei filoni più originali di quello che è chiamato Progressive Rock, tanto che alcuni di questi gruppi ottennero successo anche all'estero (ad esempio, la Premiata Forneria Marconi).

E poi i giovani ascoltavano, e suonavano alla chitarra, i brani dei cantautori. Ce n'era per tutti i gusti: canzoni "impegnate" che parlavano di problemi sociali e di politica, brani sperimentali nel testo come nella musica o di carattere più decisamente poetico. Ma anche la 'musica leggera' poteva essere di altissimo livello, come testimonia la produzione di Lucio Battisti.

La musica, come le trasmissioni di cui si è parlato, avevano in comune la voglia di cambiare, di sperimentare. Ma anche l'irriverenza. E, a proposito di irriverenza, non possiamo non citare un giornale satirico nato alla fine degli anni Settanta, Il Male (1977-1982), un giornale che ignorava l'idea del "politicamente corretto". Tanto è vero che le vignette satiriche e gli articoli, feroci e sarcastici, causarono un gran numero di denunce (molte per vilipendio della religione) e parecchi sequestri.

Geniale, in particolare, l'idea di falsificare la prima pagina dei quotidiani più famosi, inventandosi scoop demenziali: famosissima la pseudo-prima pagina del Paese Sera con la notizia dell'arresto dell'attore Ugo Tognazzi perché capo delle Brigate Rosse.

Attualmente non esiste niente di paragonabile, la satira politica è guardata con sospetto e la Chiesa è intoccabile.

Certo, viene da dire... si stava meglio quando si stava peggio.

Giulia Grassi (scudit.net)

Oggi mentire è una virtù

Siamo bugiardi. Mentiamo per dare di noi l’immagine migliore, per apparire affascinanti, competenti, informati. Mentiamo a volte senza rendercene conto perché fondamentale è l’accettazione sociale: vince su tutto, anche sulla verità. Mentiamo per convenzione. Bastano dieci minuti di conversazione per infilarci quasi tre bugie. Esagerazioni? No. Lo dimostra la ricerca dell’Università del Massachussetts, svolta dallo psicologo Robert S. Feldman su un campione di 242 persone e durata quattro anni che sfata anche la leggenda che vede le donne più bugiarde.

Dallo studio americano arriva un’altra imbarazzante scoperta: i più menzogneri sembrano essere i più simpatici e intelligenti, quelli che vengono invitati, ascoltati, ricercati da amici e colleghi (in altre parole, ci si fa strada sparandole grosse).

“Raccontare falsità è diventata un’abitudine che fa parte della vita di tutti i giorni. Questa sorta di legittimazione della menzogna ha stupito anche me”, commenta lo stesso Feldman. Se è così, la bugia perde il suo significato negativo e diventa la scorciatoia socialmente accettata per avere successo nei rapporti con il prossimo. E allora come la mettiamo con la verità, la trasparenza? Che fine fa quel sano impulso di sembrare ciò che si è senza falsi abbellimenti e mistificazioni? Viene da pensare che la sincerità non rappresenti più un bene assoluto. È tempo di mentire o di dichiarare chiaro e forte il valore dell’autenticità?

Maria Barretini, insegnante di Filosofia della comunicazione ed Estetica all’Università di Milano dice: “Il diritto alla verità non è a 360 gradi, va considerato a seconda delle situazioni in cui ci si trova e delle relazioni nelle quali siamo coinvolti. Esiste anche il diritto al segreto, l’esigenza di mantenere nel chiuso della propria coscienza o della famiglia qualcosa di sé. È un principio che voglio ribadire proprio in risposta a chi predica una trasparenza totale che va contro la privacy, il rispetto dell’altro, la difesa dell’intimità. Basti pensare ai vari reality-show, dove imperversa l’esibizione di sé, che di certo non rappresenta un aspetto positivo del nostro tempo.Tutta la verità e nient’altro che la verità va bene nelle sale dei tribunali ma trasportare una formula processuale in un principio etico-morale da applicare nella vita quotidiana è impensabile. Si tratta di un estremismo pericoloso, perché toglie lo spazio ai chiaroscuri, al non-detto, a quell’ambiguità indispensabile del vivere sociale. I moralisti contemporanei che condannano ciecamente qualsiasi cosa si discosti dal vero, rischiano, in realtà di creare un assolutismo spietato”.

“Forse è ora di recuperare una sorta di educazione delle relazioni. Vale la pena, oggi più che mai, di ristabilire la priorità di ciò che conta davvero: l’attenzione, la sensibilità, il garbo verso l’altro. Il che significa tenere conto dello stato d’animo del momento, delle particolari circostanze, al di là dei diktat dei paladini del Vero. Ci sono bugie che non danneggiano nessuno, che non nascondono né calunnie né spietati opportunismi e neanche la vigliaccheria dei tanti Ponzio Pilato che seppure con il silenzio cavalcano le mistificazioni. Sono le bugie bianche, le bugie bonarie, spesso altruiste, che scegliamo di dire quando la verità fa troppo male. Oppure quelle che diciamo per compiacenza. Insomma, non dimentichiamo – né facciamo finta di dimenticare – che mentire appartiene a quel linguaggio sociale che tutti conosciamo e riconosciamo e che continua a intrecciarsi nei nostri rapporti con gli altri”. Gian Paolo Caprettini, docente di Semiotica dell’Università di Torino afferma: “Non ci sono giustificazioni per sostenere l’elogio della menzogna. L’autenticità rappresenta uno di quei valori che vale la pena mantenere se desideriamo che le nostre relazioni abbiano un senso. Detto questo è indubbio che oggi siamo sollecitati a mentire soprattutto per fermare chi cerca di intrufolarsi nella nostra esistenza e per arginare il voyeurismo dilagante. Ma qui si tratta di legittima difesa. Respingo qualsiasi giustificazione che porti a fare della bugia un’abitudine accettata. Dobbiamo opporre una strenua resistenza alla menzogna e ostentare un atteggiamento controtendenza. In altre parole, occorre essere tanto sinceri da sbilanciare le strategie degli intriganti che si muovono nella menzogna e nella calunnia. Lo ripeto con forza: non sottovalutiamo l’autenticità. Perché spesso il suo effetto è dirompente, contagia anche chi è abituato a tacere o a omettere, fa uscire allo scoperto chi ha tenuto dentro di sé angherie subite per colpa di falsità altrui, trascina altre voci e altre verità. Penso che la bugia sia uno scudo per proteggersi perché, in realtà, la debolezza è di chi non riesce a contraccambiare la sincerità delle parole e delle emozioni. E accade spesso, purtroppo. Perché, con il trascorrere del tempo, l’abitudine a fingere e mentire diventa una prigione da cui non sei in grado di uscire. Alla fine si rischia di diventare burocrati dei nostri stessi sentimenti. La felicità non passa certo da qui. C’è da sperare, quindi, che ci sia ancora chi sa riconoscere il valore della sincerità”.

(Da L’Espresso)

Native American tribe reclaims slice of the Hamptons after court victory - EOI Baleares inglés B2 resuelto

From a distance the teardrop-shaped peninsula looks just like any other bit of the famed Hamptons shoreline. Thick woods crowd down to the water’s edge and, through the trees, houses and roads can be glimpsed. But this land is not part of the Hamptons, neither is it really part of the United States anymore. This patch – in the middle of the playground of Manhattan’s social elite – is proudly and fiercely Native American country. Almost four centuries since its first contact with the white man and after a 32-year court battle that has just ended in victory, the tiny Shinnecock tribe has now been formally recognized by America’s federal government. The decision means that the Shinnecock, numbering some 1,300 members, many of whom live in deep poverty compared with their wealthy neighbours, can apply for federal funding to build schools, health centres and set up their own police force. It means its tiny 750-acre reservation is now a semi-sovereign nation within the US, just like much bigger and more famous reservations in the west. In order to qualify, the Shinnecock literally had to prove that it existed, submitting thousands of pages of tribal records. “Why do we need federal recognition to show we are who we are?” said Shinnecock leader Lance Gumbs as he sat in his office in the community centre. “It’s a humiliating, degrading and insensitive process. Why do Indian people have to go through that? No other peoples are treated like that.” Many believe that the lengthy and painful process that the Shinnecock has been forced to go through is explained by the tribe’s position bang in the middle of the Hamptons, the string of Long Island towns where rich New Yorkers come to party away the summers. The difference between Shinnecock land and the rest of the Hamptons is jarring. The reservation, signalled by a line of stalls selling cheap cigarettes, sits side by side with the town of Southampton, heart of the Hamptons scene. On the reservation, some roads are dusty and unpaved. The houses are sometimes ramshackle. Unemployment can be a problem for many Shinnecock members. Outside the reservation, on the streets of Southampton, stretch limos and black Lexuses prowl down streets lined with shops selling Ralph Lauren and Diane von Furstenberg. A real estate agent on Southampton’s main street happily advertises a local house going for $12.2 million. Historically – and indeed pretty much since Europeans first arrived in the area in the 1600s – the Shinnecock has been on the retreat. It lost land steadily as more and more Europeans began to farm its traditional territory, eventually leading to an agreement in 1703 that saw it confined to a broad swath of land around Southampton under a 1,000-year lease. However, in 1859 the pressure of development saw that deal scrapped by the settlers and the Shinnecock reduced to its current tiny holding. For years, tribal members then eked out a living working on white farms or helping local fishermen and whalers.

Now that is all set to change as a key part of federal recognition allows the Shinnecock to do the one thing that has changed Native American fortunes more than anything else in the last 100 years: build a casino. Gumbs now sees real power finally in Shinnecock hands. “We are going after everything we are entitled to,” he said. “I am not a big fan of Southampton. They were happy as long as we were the good little Indians in the corner. Well, that’s changed now.” Some of the Shinnecock feel that federal recognition – and the prospect of a casino – might be the beginning of a wider Shinnecock resurgence. In the white land grab of 1859, an area of land called the Shinnecock Hills was taken. Many Shinnecock held it to be sacred ground. It is now full of rich houses and the famous Shinnecock Hills golf club, with total real estate worth more than a billion dollars. The Shinnecock tribe has sued to get it back. 

Source: © Guardian News & Media 2010 First published in The Observer, 11/07/10