Midnight Special and Dylan played the harmonica

 

Issue of Time with the cover story on Harry Belafonte that Dylan took the scissors and paste to when constructing his section on Belafonte in Chronicles: Volume One.

TRANSLATION from Dylan's Chronicle:Como intérprete batió todos los récords de asistencia. Podía tocar en un Carnegie Hall abarrotado y aparecer al día siguiente en un mitin sindical. No hacía distingos. Para él, las personas eran personas. Tenía ideales y te hacía sentir como parte de la raza humana. Jamás un cantante sobrepasó tantos límites como Harry. Atraía a todo el mundo, ya fueran trabajadores del acero, amantes de la música clásica, quinceañeras o incluso niños. Poseía ese don. Alguna vez dijo que no le gustaba salir en televisión porque le parecía que la pequeña pantalla no hacía justicia a su música, y probablemente no iba errado. Todo en él era grandioso. Los puristas del folk tenían un problema con él, pero a Harry -que les daba sopas con honda sus críticas le resbalaban; en cierta ocasión declaró, públicamente, como si alguien lo hubiese emplazado a dejar las cosas claras, que todos los cantantes de folk eran intérpretes. Llegó a asegurar que odiaba los temas pop, que le parecían basura. Yo compartía muchas de sus opiniones. En el pasado le habían negado la entrada en el archifamoso club Copacabana por el color de su piel, y tiempo después pasó a ser el artista de cabecera en el local. No podías dejar de preguntarte qué sensación debió de producirle todo aquello. Por asombroso e increíble que parezca, debuté como músico profesional de estudio con Harry, tocando la armónica en uno de sus álbumes, Midnight Special. Curiosamente, aquella fue la única fecha de una sesión de estudio que se me quedó grabada en la cabeza. Incluso las sesiones para mis propios discos acababan por desvanecerse en abstracciones. Con Belafonte me sentí como ungido. Obró en mí el mismo efecto que el Guapo George. Harry figura entre esas rarezas que rezuman grandeza y de las que esperas que se te pegue algo. El hombre inspira respeto. Sabes que nunca siguió la senda más trillada, aunque pudo.

As J J Sullivan wrote in the NYT:
Everything Dylan touches turns to fuel. Readers who are into his music (it’s hard to imagine other readers) will get pleasant and in many cases unexpected shocks of recognition as he ticks off the items he was stuffing into his bag. In one memorable scene, Dylan sits and listens to the Robert Johnson album King of the Delta Blues Singers, an advance pressing of which his first producer has smuggled to him. We see him, still practically a child, communing with the dead and at that point largely forgotten singer, whose exquisitely creepy voice “made [him] nauseous.” But there are also pages on Brecht, the early professional wrestler Gorgeous George, and Harry Belafonte, whose indifference to critics’ constant harping on authenticity Dylan notes and files away. 

At Words from Solitude,  a live blog from India, we read:Chaos to Creation: the enigma of Bob Dylan (Part One)Old Dylan began his musical journey with traditional materials, adding his own words to melodies derived from folk compositions and singing them with a thin nasal voice at folk clubs and coffee houses of New York’s Greenwich Village. Besides performing, he was also playing harmonica for many of the senior musicians when they performed at Gerde’s Folk City. In fact, he made his first official recording when he played harmonica for Harry Belafonte in Midnight Special. Dylan held Belafonte in high esteem and described him in Chronicles as a “rare type of character that radiates greatness”. The young omnivorous troubadour was also rapidly absorbing musical and political influences, blending conventional and avant-garde techniques with his natural artistic instincts and intuitions. “The only thing I can compare him with is blotting paper,” remarked Irish singer Liam Clancy. “He soaked everything up. He had this immense curiosity; he was totally blank, and ready to soak up everything that was in his range.”

Parag_1-DESCRIBE the graph_ World values graph

WORLD VALUES SURVEY.

Happiness and Life Satisfaction

The WVS has shown that from 1981 to 2007 happiness rose in 45 of the 52 countries for which long-term data are available.

TASK. DESCRIBE the graph below. 

To understand this graphic we can explain its two axes.  

On the one hand, we have the horizontal axe. In one extreme there are survival values. In other words, they are poor countries for which their principal priority is health, house, clear water... In the other extreme there are self-expression values, that means rich countries whose principal problem or preoccupation is self- fulfillment, university studies, professional career... 

On the other hand, we have the vertical axe. It describes what is in the center of each society. In one extreme we have traditional values that indicate societies whose center are family, religion, nation, etc. On the contrary, there are secular- rational values or, in other words, societies whose center is every individual, every person. 

http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSContents.jsp  

HEALTH_Guardian- LIFESTYLE_Can you boost your immune system with that?

The secrets of people who never get sick

Some lucky folk claim to never get a cold or take days off work. Can we become more like them?  C. Rasmawany -10/02/17

Every now and then one pops up at work, down the pub, in the park, outside the school gate, or in your own family’s mythology. 

The person who claims never to get sick. Colds brush past them without leaving so much as a sniffle. They laugh in the flushed face of flu, spray hand sanitiser in the rheumy eyes of infection, and never take a day off work. 

They appear to be superhuman, with the kind of kickass immune systems the rest of us mere ailing mortals can only dream about as we dissolve another 1,000mg vitamin C tablet and hope for the best. What are their secrets? Can we become more like them? Do they even exist? 

Our unparalleled genetic diversity makes generalisations about stronger or weaker immune systems meaningless. It also throws into question the benefits of all the products out there claiming to boost our immunity; antioxidants, vitamin C, hot lemon and ginger tea, garlic, echinacea, or wheatgrass. Do any of them work?
So why do some people simply seem to be better at fighting infection than others? 

Some comments to (dis)agree:

• “The bottom line is that we simply don’t know,” 
• “Keep your scepticism wrapped around you like a cloak.”

Giles Fraser on ROBOTS at the second machine age

Robots can take our jobs, but they will never render obsolete our love    - 02/02/17

Giles Fraser -Guardian

These days, when I wake in the night, my wife is invariably up, sitting in a chair at the side of the bed, breastfeeding our son. I make tea and say how lovely they look. And then, I usually drift back to sleep or reach for my book to stay awake in an act of silent solidarity. There is not much more that I can do.
My bedside reading is about robots. And it’s probably not a great idea to have it at the side of the bed because it has been nightmare-inducing. I have luddite sympathies and an instinctive distrust of technological innovation, so I don’t get some geeky thrill at the idea of robots taking over the world, taking our jobs and forcing human beings into obsolescence. (...)The stories you need to read, in one handy email

Just wait to see what robotics and artificial intelligence technologies will do to the employment prospects of the human race. Donald Trump tells the US working class that China and Mexico are stealing their jobs. But they’re not: it’s robots. (...) 

What jobs will be left? What jobs could metal and software never do? These were my night worries, churning round in my head. And then it struck me that the answer was quite possibly before me. Could you ever imagine a robot breastfeeding a child? Oh, I’m sure some idiot could come up with a humanoid with an artificial breast that lactated formula milk. But that is only one part of what’s going on at the side of the bed. As well as feeding, the mother is communicating a plethora of unconscious messages about being loved and feeling safe. And in getting up in the middle of the night, sleep-deprived and exhausted, she is putting herself out for our son in a way that a robot never could.

Yes, a robot could be there for the child, obviously – but not be there exhausted. And thus it couldn’t exhibit the love that overcomes exhaustion. In other words, what the second machine age could well do is bring to the fore the moral, spiritual and emotional aspects of being human. When the robots have taken all the hands and head jobs, we will be reminded again of the centrality of the heart.

C1- WR_TASK 2 - OPTION A-B. Women in society and sexism

TASK 2. Choose one of the options.

 WR_Option B. 

  Susanna Schrobsdor at the essay The pursuit of happy-ish  with the title: A distressing summer of workplace sexism reminds us how far we have to go.  

HERE’S A NUMBER THAT MIGHT COME AS A SURPRISE: According to a Pew Research survey released in August, most American men—56%—think sexism is over and done with. More than half believe that “the obstacles that once made it harder for women than men to get ahead are now largely gone.” (...)

(...) Donald Trump suggested in July 2017 that his daughter Ivanka would never put up with sexual harassment—she’d just nd another career or another company.  

Write about 250 words to discuss what Susanna Schrobsdorff raises about workplace and sexism in the last decade and scenarios for the near future.

Also, REACT to any of her columns at   http://time.com/author/susanna-schrobsdorff/

For instance:
November -2016

There's a Startling Increase in Major Depression Among Teens in the U.S.

January -2017

Why You Should Protest Even If the Effect Is Mostly Symbolic

FOLLOW UP.

SOURCE:
 Pew Research survey 
- August 2016

 WR_Option A. 

The statistics below illustrate the degree of Gender-perceived obstacles in the US political parties.


Consider the figures and explain what they tell us about whether women still face obstacles to progress in society today.

Write a text (275 words)  using the data and drawing  FOUR conclusions from them. 

Only mention the figures if needed to support your arguments.

 (Do NOT describe the graph)

Charming Lisbon

Lisbon the capital of Portugal.

PEOPLE. 

Portugal went back to be also an exporter of it's own youth - 

everybody  there can give you news 

of a young graduate who, after her studies, got two minijobs of 300 euros/month here and was desesperate until she got an offer in a country in Europe: a real job  for 2000 euros/month. 

Some of  my friends went through the same: despair there in spite of being highly qualified and jobs you couldn't dream of in England, Switzerland and even Mozambique...

CITY life. An article  written in El País tell us about 

how Lisbon has lost 100,000 people per decade for the last 30 years. 

It is now in the  EU’s top ten most quickly shrinking cities.

 The reasons they list include:

•  poor condition of public services like schools and hospitals, 
• and the fact that property in Lisbon costs 3 times more than in surrounding municipalities. 

10 things we did in  Lisbon

A) Where to get lost:

Besides the obvious sites, where you will end up...

1- Market de Graça 

 on Saturday mornings.

often thought to mean "Thieve's Market" (in Portuguese "ladra" is a woman thief) 

Lisbon's flea market is called locally the Feira da Ladra, 

2- Panoramic View at "Jardim do Torel".  Near "Casa de Galicia"

For example, From Metro Martin  Monitz, go up along Rua Sao Lazaro till Manuel Bento.

B) Where to get walk the little lanes:

Mouraria  curiously remains the most multiethnic neighborhood in the city. It's nonetheless a very authentically Lisbon neighborhood, known as the birthplace of Fado. Another hidden treasure is the interior of the former Colégio dos Meninos Orfãos orphanage on Rua da Mouraria

Alfama / Graça.

Alfama. this quaint medieval district (once the Moorish and Jewish quarter before it became a fishing community) is the oldest neighborhood in EuropeGraça. Set in a visually stunning hill that extends to the neighborhood of Graça, this is Lisbon at its most picturesque and the very soul of the city. 

C) Where to spend the sunset.

Take the ferry at Cais do Sodre and get to the neighbourhood of Cacilhas. Walk some 10 minutes along the river till the lovely coffee place there. From 18 till sunset... get the last sun beams on your face while you enjoy are below the large bridge and a view of the city from the other site.

D) Where to have a bite.

O Eurico  -Largo de Sao Cristovao, 3A little chaotic and crowded inside this little family casa/restautant. Very genuin and the atmosphere was really nice.

LISBON- Alfarrabista . Round up the usual suspects

Lisbon has several book stores with the same purpose of selling old books; we call these shops “Alfarrabista”. Although there are other zones more populated with this kind of shops.Some info:

PIECE-1

Livraria do Simão - A gathering of some preciosities   (A. Cotovio)

the smallest bookshop in Portugal, maybe one of the tightest of the world; believe me, tight is the right word! So tight that it’s impossible for the owner and the client to be inside together! This doesn’t mean the book offer is small; or the choice limited. I was told that
Simão, the owner, has about 4,000 books available here and some of them are rarities. And there are a lot of books in a variety of other languages.
this one unique and worth a visit even if you’re not a “reader”.
Easy to reach when entering the arch to “Escadinhas de São Cristóvão” from “Rua da Madalena”, 

PIECE-2

SOURCE:  http://www.atlaslisboa.com/english-books/

• Bivar Books (Rua de Ponta Delgada 34A) is an all-English secondhand bookstore in Estefânia with a penchant for Penguin editions and a bend toward science fiction titles, which are otherwise very hard to find in English in this town. It’s run by the affable Leena Marjola, who’s actively building a community of book-lovers with readings, exhibits, and more.
• Estrela Hall (Rua da Estrela 10), home to the English-language theater troupe The Lisbon Players, has a shelf of books, many of them in English, for anyone to grab for a minimum suggested donation of just 1€. this community-oriented group doesn’t have much funding. While you’re at it, might as well grab a 1€ copo of wine .

Lisbon markets are also great for finding good deals on English-language book, as well as books in French and German. 

• Feira da Ladra (Campo de Santa Clara, Tuesdays and Saturdays) in Alfama has a ton of used book sellers, so there are bargains galore.
•  Belem Flea Market (Jardim Vasco de Gama, Rua Vieira, first and third Sunday of the month) also occasionally has English-language books.

RIP: Lisbon’s best used bookstore… Fyodor Books (Rua do Loreto 15), close to Praça de Camões, was run by literature graduates who sold carefully selected used books in English, Portuguese, French, and German. I

NEW BOOKS

Livraria Britânica (Rua Luis Fernandes, 14), in Principe Real, is geared toward English language learners and teachers.

Ler Devagar (1300, R. Rodrigues de Faria 103) in LX Factory in Alcântara is one of the most gorgeous bookstores around, with a cafe.  where you can drink wine and smoke cigarettes while you look all smarty-pants. The English selection (all new books) skews toward Portuguese authors and Portugal travel and history books, though.

BONUS TRACK by AtlasLisboa:

10€ SANA Malhoa Hotel

Daily, 7h-22h  Av. José Malhoa, nº 8,1099-089 Lisboa
+351 210 061 800 www.malhoa.sanahotels.com

For 10€ for the whole day, you can use SANA Malhoa’s their sauna, jacuzzi, and Turkish bath.  Also their fitness machines (if you must).