"Tintín and the secret of the unicorn" by Óscar , 6A

Tintín and the secret of the unicorn is my favourite movie.Last Sunday I watched it at the cinema of Los Rosales (Yelmo Cineplex). Tintín, Hadock and Milú found the answer of the treasure of the unicorn. This movie's got action, mystery, intrigue and humor. I love this movie.
Don´t miss it!!!
Goodbye!

Sunday Dinner

15 minutes before dinner
" I want a cookie with frosting" Nico demands.
" Not right now Nico. We're having dinner soon." I reply
"NOOO!!! NOW!!" Nico shrieks, throwing himself against the refrigerator. Daniela rushes in. She starts hitting the fridge with her hand yelling "Ow! Ow!"
Did I mention that I'm trying to cook. And that my kitchen is smaller than an airplane bathroom.
"Listen, you can have a cookie after dinner, but now you need to leave the kitchen so mommy can cook."
"Fine, go cook. And don't watch me!" Nico barks as he opens the fridge and starts looking for the cookies with frosting.
Ok, fine. This can go down the hard way. I grab the cookies and put them on top of the fridge.
"If you are hungry, you can have a cheese stick or grapes. Dinner will be ready soon and you can have the cookie after dinner."
"AHHHHHH!!!!"
Max hears the cries since we are now louder than the TV and comes into the kitchen. If you're keeping track that is now 4 people, 2 of which are hysterical, in the world's smallest kitchen. Max and Nico begin to agrue some more about the cookie. Daniela is still slapping the fridge and yelling. Max drags Nico to his room, but this does nothing to calm him down. I finally cave and bargain with Nico. In exchange for stopping his screaming, he can have one Nilla wafer. Miraculously, it works. I give one to Daniela too and they both run outside. Back to dinner.

5 minutes before dinner
"Ok everyone. Start cleaning up." I yell.
Max stays on the couch, seemingly unaware that I've said anything. Nico is outside jumping on the trampoline in his underwear reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at the top of his lungs. Daniela is drawing on her belly with a magic marker. And Mateo is playing outside with the neighborhood kids. I start herding them in, one at a time, trying to get them to pick up their toys, wash their hands, etc... Finally I give up, sit down at the table where I've put everyone's plate, and start eating by myself. Whatever, I'm hungry.

Dinner
I am eventually joined by the rest of the family. Daniela has brough her bowling game to the table and is busy lining up all the pins.
As soon as he sits down, Nico asks, "Where's my cookie with frosting?"
"I told you, you will get it after dinner."
"Aw...this dinner is yucky." he whines.
"Yeah, it's really disgusting." Mateo adds.
"What are you talking about?" I say nicely. "It has all kinds of things you like. There's meat and cheese and vegetables..."
"YUCK, YUCK, YUCK...I want a cookie." says Nico.
Max and Nico start to agrue about the cookie again. I look at Daniela and tell her to try some of her dinner to which she shakes her head and continues to set up her bowling pins.
Finally a compromise is reached and Nico agrees to eat 4 bites of his dinner because he is 4 years old. Make as much sense as most things he says. Then he will have a cookie. He eats his 4 bites and then changes his mind that he would like ice cream instead. You can guess what Mateo and Daniela did when they saw the ice cream.

3 minutes into dinner
We are all sitting, nicely and calmly, at our kitchen table. Max and I are eating the casserole I made. The kids are all eating bowls of ice cream. A peacful silence settles over us. Just the way I pictured my family Sunday dinners.

Juan Magan by Guillermo 6c.

Hi bloggerssss!!!!!!!! This is Juan Magan. He´s a very famous DJ, producer, singer of electronic music, especially house, R&B, dancehall and hip-hop. He was born in Badalona on September 30th. He´s got many songs. Some songs are Ella no sigue modas, Chica latina or Bailando por ahi.
Bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Halloween celebrations

MJD channelling Natalie Portman vibes.


A Welsh spider lady


An adorable murdered prostitute.


Calavera Franek.

Music Video of The Day: BoA (Day 77)

Today's music video is BoA's Bump Bump, featuring M-flo. BoA is a Korean artist who broke into the Japanese market. This is one of her Japanese songs. I think she was also putting out her English album around this video's time frame. Busy busy.

This music video is pretty normal. Close ups of the face. Dancing. Random rapper man. The only odd thing is that the back-up dancers are wearing creepy clown masks. It's like a scary episode of Doctor Who. Who are they and what do they want? Maybe her sweet dance moves will scare them off. Find out next time on Doctor BoA.

How To Change Clothes' Colour: Part 2 (Day 88)

How to Make a Mint Green Shirt Caucasian Pink.

Note: Caucasian pink is not a nice colour for clothes but it can be useful for making undershirts less visible, or for dressing up like David Bisbal in his early years.

The Steps.

1. Find a high temperature washer and dryer (European washer/dryer preferred)
2. Put your mint green clothing in with something intensely red
3. Wash and dry on the high temperature settings
4. Take out of the dryer. What's this? Where did my green clothes go?
5. Wear under white or semi-transparent clothes.
I suppose it should be noted that this same process turns jeans purple. Your friends will be mad if the jeans are theirs.

Comic-Con (Day 77)

Saturday! Saturday in Manitoba.

Today is a special day. Or rather, this weekend is a special weekend. This weekend, sci-fi/artist/wrestler (why?) celebrities are flown into Winnipeg to be displayed before thousands of their adoring fans. Or not so adoring, but either way they come. That's right, this weekend is Central Canada Comic Con...and I am going.

You are probably wondering if people dress up for these events. The answer is yes, about 40% do.

You are probably wondering what people do at these events. The answer is shop for nerdy things, look at art, play video games/board games, and take pictures of other people's sweet sweet costumes. The picture taking is my favourite. People can be so ingenuitive (sic) and skilled. The patience, determination, and work that it takes to make a good costume is really quite something, and needs to be appreciated.

You are probably wondering what the best part is. Answer: hanging out with friends. Without friends, these events would be lonely and the task of looking through hordes of nerd materials would be done expeditiously. Friends make the pictures more fun and give a pleasant dimension to the nerdiness that is happening around you.

What would make this all better? More free events like episode watching, panels, and random tutorials. For now we don't have those. Can we hope for them in the future? I don't know, but I do know that today should be fun. Maybe I'll even talk to a celebrity.

Yesterday's Ketchup (Day 76)

Or rather, yesterday's catch up. Toda's items are sewing and a story.

I started this skirt on Thursday night and finished it on Friday. It is made of a lovely red cotton weave and a white bedsheet. It is the right shape for swing dancing, and I sewed in pretty decorations. However, it is bunchy like early 2000's camo pants. That means it looks bad, and since it looks bad, will rarely be worn. Now it's best use will be to hang out at home during the hot summer months. I don't really know how it got bunchy either, which is the real kicker. What if I want to use a lovely cotton weave in the future?
And now it is story time. Yesterday, after finishing the skirt, I was talking to my brother. I was all like, "Dance!" (direct quote of recent Super Junior song) and he was like "No.". Then I told him I was quoting Super Junior and he replied, "I know." So I changed it to, "Party, let's party."(direct TVXQ/DBSK quote), and he replied, "That's not Super Junior. That's TVXQ."
Now, to a non-K-pop fan, this story isn't interesting, but to me, it shows me how much I talk/listen to K-pop. My brother recognizes song quotes and knows which group said them, and it's all because of me.

Breakfast #48: Eggs in Anchovy-Butter

title
I have a cousin who needs to travel a lot for work.  Many times all around Europe.  He will try to make you think that it is tiring and oh-what-a-drudgery flying hither and thither is, but I know better.  The fantastic meals of which he partakes and the gastro-bounty he brings back tell another tale.  Since he is a grumbler by nature his bah-humbugs are a common refrain that is easy for me to ignore…especially when he drops little treasures my way (lardo, pancetta, and guanciale…oh my!).

One such wondrous dish he had (in Milan if you were wondering), whose photo is still emblazoned in my memory, was a small silver pot cradling eggs cooked in butter and bottarga.  Just three ingredients but the idea of it, especially for someone like me who already thinks eggs are sublime on their own, was making me lose sleep.

Bottarga here comes at quite a pretty price tag though, and I am never sure just how fresh those vacuum sealed packs are.  So, what is a girl to do?

This.

Eggs in Anchovy-Butter
  • 1 ½ -2 tablespoons butter (this depends on how decadent you are feeling – I would err on the side of generous)
  • 1 – 1 ½ fillets of anchovy, chopped
  • 2 eggs, the best you can find and afford
- Melt the butter in a small non-stick skillet (ideally one that a good snug fit for the eggs).  Wait until the butter froths and the froth then subsides.
- Add the anchovy.  It will spit and sputter like mad so be ready and stand back!  Lift the pan off the fire for a bit if things get too wild.  Using a non-slotted, flat turner smash the anchovy up, smashing and swirling until the butter turns a rusty bronze.
- Add the egg to the anchovy butter.  As soon as the whites set a bit swirl the pan around and with the turner swish and flick the anchovy butter onto the top of the egg.
- As soon as the egg is done to your liking (I recommend a runny yolk…always) slide the egg and anchovy butter onto a shallow bowl.  Enjoy immediately!

Ok.  Bottarga-butter-eggs purist: don’t get your knickers in a knot.  I am not claiming that this has anywhere near the soul-transforming powers that the original dish has.  And it certainly isn't as pretty.  I'm proud of my little ghetto version nevertheless.  Though it may not be near the realm of the original bottarga + silver pot version, it has a gritty decadence all its own.  Everything you need can be bought in any supermarket…even the small cheapy non-stick skillet!

I like to eat this in a shallow bowl, immediately puncturing the egg yolks and eating the mess half-spooned, half-sopped up, with a good slice of bread.  If you live in the Philippines I have to add that this is amazing with a piece (or two) of hot pan de sal.  Use as much butter as you feel is decent to have in one meal…if that meal is breakfast then you are totally justified using as much as you want (you are starting your day after all).  I have indicated 1 – 1 ½ fillets of anchovy here but this really depends on your anchovies and your own taste…you can always add more if you’d like it to be saltier.

I must go pack now as we are off this weekend, leaving in an hour.  Not any place fancy, no silver pots or fancy meals, but good food nonetheless and even better company.  And the beach, and a boat – those are nice too :)  Wishing you a great weekend, a happy Halloween, and fabulous breakfasts - ghetto or otherwise!

Music Video of The Day: Paradise (Day 76)

I was bumming around on Kpop Mondays by martinaandsimon on Youtube when I clicked on this video. Turns out, it's so good it gets to be posted before the topic of the day. Woot.

Infinite put out a new song in September that I liked on the first listen...and the second. The song starts out with some 80's beats and them smooths into a more modern mix of intrigue..ing music. Infinite likes their artsy metaphorical music videos, and they have made this song into such a video. In this one, a nameless woman is walking around depressed and cannot see the seven gorgeous men (in nice suits) being depressed with her. I think she's cleaning out the old relationship, but that's just my theory.

For a music video with very little movement, it remains interesting. The lighting and camera angles provide dynamic movement while the lack of person movement allows you to focus on Infinite's attractive faces and well made suits. The worst part of it is the worrying that the fake smoke will hurt their vocal chords.

So here is Paradise by Infinite of Woolim Entertainment...with fan made subs. You get the benefit of knowing what the words mean. I hope that doesn't change the enjoyment of the music video.

HALLOWEEN ACTIVITIES


On these days we did a lot of activities:

In all the levels we sing songs,act,colour pictures,learn a lot of vocabulary,...
Pre-primary act the songs and made some crafts.
Primary 1 and 2 ate ghosts and spiders. Primary 6 prepared these scary food for them. They said: DELICIOUS!
Primary 3 made "ghosts" for the pre-primary kids. They gave them to the kids on Friday and they sang a song to them too.
Primary 4 watched a film: Winnie the witch and they sang her songs.
Primary 5 and 6 made a game "trick or treat". They got a card out of a pumpkin. If it was trick they had to do an action. If it was treat they had a candy, yummy!
Primary 5 colour the poster Marian did about Halloween. Thank you Marian! You are an artist.

More treat than trick.

Oh hola blog.

Back in Edward Boyle Library. Quiet little study booth. Leeds shines in the sun's light and little yellow leaves are shimmying off the trees.

Needless to say its cold.

Its autumn/fall/otoño and so Halloween is upon us.

Here are some mexican influenced halloween thoughts I have been mulling over.





Pois, a trabalhar eu vou.

31st OCTOBER

CARVE A PUMPKIN

This is the way you can carve a pumpkin. Try it!

Music Video of The Day: Super Junior-H (Day 75)

Super Junior-H.
Short for Super Junior-Happy.
Subgroup of Super Junior featuring Leetuek, Yesung, Shindong, Sungmin, Kangin, and Eunhyuk.
They sing, get this, happy songs.
This song, Pajama Party, is deceptively happy. My favourite part is that the members look so innocent and cute...plus there's a gorilla.
 My not favourite part is that the lyrics can be changed to have a dirty meaning realllly easily.

The CWB Revisted (Day 75)

There are two main newspapers in my area. One is considered more intellectual and one is considered more trashy/tabloidy. As it turns out, they have different biases on the issue of the disollution of the Canadian Wheat Board. The more reputable one favours the CWB and likes to say that it sympathizes with farmers. The less reputable favours the government and the "freedom of the market". This difference is both interesting and healthy for readers. They get both sides of the story if they choose to read both, and it can lead them to search into the issue more.

For myself, it cleared up some things for me. 1) It is unclear what will happen to the CWB. One newspaper said that it would be disbanded and replaced. The other said that it would stay as a voluntary option. What I learned is that I need to look this up more. 2) In times of trouble the CWB can become a whiny being. 3) I am all for farmers having options in who they sell to, aka. a crown corporation or a different corporation. Whether this is being argued or not is in question. 4) The real issue is what do the farmers want. The government is pushing, in bully-like fashion, for no CWB. The CWB is pushing for their survival, in a similar way to how some children tell the teacher whenever someone else disobeys the rules. They want the farmers to vote on whether they stay or not. And, truthfully, this sounds like the most constitutional way to do things. It also sounds like self-preservation.

Getting the farmers to vote whether barley and/or wheat should remain under CWB monopoly and going from there is idealogically the best option. It also sounds like a huge costly hassle. But so does the government and the CWB pushing each other into court. What I want to know in this debacle is are either party focusing on the benefit to and desires of farmers and the people they influence?

LET'S SING



Our scary pumpkins

Hi guys!.
Don´t miss this slideshow!. Take a look at all the scary pumpkins you carved. They are sooooooo creative and sooooo scary!. Thank you very much for your participation.


"Happy Halloween " By Sara P , 6C

Happy Halloween on PhotoPeach

Halloween Games , By Sara P , 6C


Tomorrow , in our English classroom , we´re going to play some Halloween Games :
* Apple bobbing. This game is played by filling a large basin with water and putting apples in the water. We then try to catch one with our teeth. Use the hands is not allowed.

* Mummy Wrap Game :with toilet paper , wrap a partner as the Mummy. Pick one kid to be the mummy, the other kids are the wrappers.

* The skeleton body. It´s like a puzzle. The winner team is the first to complete the skeleton and say its bones . For example. the foot bone´s connected to the leg bone....
It's fantastic to play !. Good Lucky For Everybody!!!.
And HAPPY HALLOWEEN!.

Music Video of The Day: David Bisbal (Day 73)

What do swing dancing and David Bisbal have in common? Japanese television shows of course.

...I'm kidding. But when I think of David Bisbal and swing dancing together I am reminded of an episode of the original Japanese live action show Hana Kimi. In it two characters dance to the Japanese version of Oy El Boom, and it is amazing. I think it is called either Boom Boom Boom or Chacon Con Con by Hiromi Go. Here is a clip of the Japanese version performed by the esteemed David Bisbal.
Here also is Como Olvidar. The best part is when he runs into a dance party. Or maybe the part where a martial artist is attacking him. Or the part where they jump out of the super tall building to avoid the bomb only to theorically plummet to their dooms, because that's what super heroes do. Use the link to go see the bomb jumping. Otherwise you shall have to suffice with this live version in Valencia.
The real point of this is that David Bisbal rocks.

The Perks of Swing Dancing (Day 73)

The Perks of Going Swing Dancing

Like other things, swing dancing has many benefits. Benefits that help convince people to either come the first time, or to return again and again. And to my friend who reads this blog, no this is not to guilt you. I was just thinking about swing dancing today.

The Benefits are:
  • Dancing is fun
  • Most swing dancers are in a university club
    • Thus they are youthful (18-35)
    • And they are educated. Good for intellectual conversations should you so choose.
  • Swing dancing is exercise and is thus healthy
  • It relieves boredom
  • Better posture
  • You get to touch attractive men without being creepy
  • You get to hang out with attractive guys...sometimes
  • Swing dance moves can be used to figure out other moves...like boyband moves
  • You get invited to other events: other swing dancing events, eating out, costume parties, etc.
  • Swing dancers can also be nerds and are thus doubly attractive for being both athletic in a non-althetic manner and for having nerdy interests
  • Costume gazing. Swing dancers often dress in 1920's inspired outfits and are thus interesting to look at
  • Naturally dressing better
  • Learning how to ask people to dance
The best part of swing dancing is going out to dance competently to a fast and fun song with a large group of other dancing couples. You are part of the group, but not. All your home problems slip away. All the social awkwardnesses of the night slip away too. It's just you and your dancing partner in a sea of people, grooving to the best of your ability to the song. It's a very in the moment sort of thing, and the moment can't embarrass or shame you later. It remains a fun memory.

Back on the topic of benefits, some of benefits I noted affect some people more than others. For example, swing dancing gave my brother better posture, a better wardrobe, and social confidence. It hasn't given me those things yet though. I'm still waiting for those.

Onto not swing dancing. In general, I feel like my posts are getting more and more to be just myself shooting myself in the foot. They are not very flattering towards myself and not very interesting to potential readers. I will try to change that problem in the future. If you have suggestions, or maybe more benefits of swing dancing, please let me know.



Radioactiva - Mas Musica Disco Dance Vol 1


Radioactiva - Mas Musica Disco Dance 2011

01.-Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band - On The Beat (Original Mix)
02.-A Taste Of Honey - Boogie Oogie Oogie
03.-Carl Carlton - She's A Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)
04.-Chic - Le Freak
05.-Detroit Spinners - Working My Way Back To You
06.-Evelyn King - Love Come Down (Vocal)
07.-Gino Soccio - Try It Out (12'' Mix)
08.-Jimmy Bo Horne - Is It In (Special Re-mix)
09.-Jimmy Bo Horne - Spank (Original Version)
10.-Leif Garret - I Was Made For Dancing
11.-Patrice Rushen - Forget Me Nots (7'' Edit)
12.-Quincy Jones - Ai No Corrida (I-No-Ko-ree-da)
13.-Shalamar - A Night To Remember (12'' Mix)
14.-The Gap Band - Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)

Compilado By K@no.

K.K. System - Fax U (Clubb Single) (1999)


K.K. System - Fax U (Clubb Single) (1999)

S Club 7 - Don't Stop Movin' (Jewels & Stone Radio Mix) (2001)


S Club 7 - Don't Stop Movin' (Jewels & Stone Radio Mix) (2001)

Tom Jones - She's a Lady (The BT Remix) (2000)


Tom Jones - She's a Lady (The BT Remix) (2000)

Unconditional - Let Get Serious (Thinkin' About) (Nerio's Dub Work) (1998)


Unconditional - Let Get Serious (Thinkin' About) (Nerio's Dub Work) (1998)

Hi-Per - Gimme More (Klubbheads Hi-Pe Klubb Mix) (2000)


Hi-Per - Gimme More (Klubbheads Hi-Pe Klubb Mix) (2000)

Gambafreaks - Down Down Down (Class A Vocal Mix) (2000)


Gambafreaks - Down Down Down (Class A Vocal Mix) (2000)

Moony - Dove (I'll Be Loving You) (T&F vs. Moltosugo Radio Mix) (2002)


Moony - Dove (I'll Be Loving You) (T&F vs. Moltosugo Radio Mix) (2002)

"Halloween" by Alejandra, 6 B



Hi classmates!.
This is Halloween. Halloween is celebrated on October 31st. Is the one night of the year where ghosts, witches and fairies are specially active. Many others countries in Europe and around the world celebrate Halloween. In Scotland and Ireland, traditional Halloween customs include children dressing up.
Halloween comes from the Celtic tradition. They believed the spirits of dead people come alive! Halloween imagery includes themes of death, evil, the ocult or mythical monsters. Black and orange are holiday's traditional colors.
Many families carve pumpkins together. They cut a face in a pumpkin with a knife.They put a candle in the pumpkin to make it light up. This is called a Jack-o-Lantern. They put a Jack-o-Lantern in a window so everybody can see it.
Many people also dress up in costumes. Costumes can be scary or funny. Halloween costumes are traditionally figures such as monsters, ghosts, skeletons, witches and devils.
Children "Trick or Treat" in their Halloween costumes. They go to a door and knock. When it opens they scream... TRICK OR TREAT! Sometimes they say; TRICK OR TREAT SMELL MY FEET GIVE ME SOMETHING GOOD TO EAT! They got candies from each house or apartament!
There are several games traditionally associated with Halloween parties. One common game is dunking or apple bobbing, in which apples float in a tub or a large basin of water and the participants must use their teeth to remove an apple from the basin.
In Halloween, the typical food are candy apples, caramel or taffy apples, made by rolling whole apples in a stick sugar syrup. Happy Halloween for everybody! Look out with the ghosts!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeAko5KyJIg

Music Video of The Day: LPG (Day 72)

Today is a slow mellow day, so today's song will be sad. LPG's I'm Sorry I'm A Noona is just such a song. I also find it to be a happy song because I know a lot of words in it.
Dongsaeng - younger person
Saranghae - I love you
Hadjimma - don't do that
Noona- older sister
bee-ah-neh (phonetically) - sorry (informal)
Abbsa (spelt wrong) - nothing/not
So basically what I understand it is saying is "Younger man, I love you. Younger man, I can't be with you. Younger man, don't come after me. I'm sorry that I'm older than you." The music video is depressing with a hopeful ending.
If you want the lighter end of things, there is also SHINee's Noona Is So Pretty...er Replay..the parody. 

Adventures in Child Rearing (Day 72)

I have recently rediscovered that children are quite maleable and unpredictable. Pretend this is a "how-to" if you like. That is supposed to be the topic after all.

This morning I was playing with my nephew. He's fairly young, being a toddler and all. One of the games he likes to play is that there is a shark that goes around biting people. The people don't like this, so they hire bodyguards/bountyhunters to stop the shark. The bounty hunters are a lizard and a crocodile. Everyone involved is quite menacing since they are soft cuddly beanie babies.
Anyway, to trap the shark, the lizard and the crocodile jump on top of the shark. I thought it would be good if my nephew put him into a prison so I told him to go get a prison. He didn't understand why that would be a good idea. I explained to him that the bounty hunters couldn't just sit on the shark all day. They needed to go pee and eat sometime too. Next thing you know, he's up looking for a prison and wondering where the bathroom is so that the bountyhunters can use it. "They need to pee", as he says. Laughing to myself, I tell him where the bathroom is. The bountyhunters go there. "Where's potty?" he asks. At this, I"m a little stunned. Recovering, I tell him it's the playmobile canoe. The lizard directly sits on the canoe and proceeds to go pee for a minute. "Pssssss", says my nephew. "Pssss pssss psssss". Then it's the crocodile. He doesn't need to go pee quite as much. He only pees for 15 seconds. When both were done, I asked my nephew if they were going to wash their hands. He just wanted to know where and off they went to wash their hands. Then they played cards and the shark escaped.

What I learned from this is that children have no problem playing things that are normal to them. They can go potty, so therefore their toys can go potty.

HALLOWEEN BOOKS



PUMPKIN PUMPKIN

Danni Minogue - Don't Wanna Lose This Groove (2002)


Danni Minogue - Don't Wanna Lose This Groove (2002)

John Silver - Come On Over (Radio Edit) (2003)



John Silver - Come On Over (Radio Edit) (2003)

Klubbhead's - Bounce 2 Da Beat (Vintage Klubbmix) (2003)


Klubbhead's - Bounce 2 Da Beat (Vintage Klubbmix) (2003)

Klubbheads - Big Bass Bomb (Radio Mix) (2000)


Klubbheads - Big Bass Bomb (Radio Mix) (2000)

Enrico - The Disclubber (Original Power Radio Mix) (1999)

Ace of Cakes: Who Knew??


I’ve never been a huge Ace of Cakes fan. I’ve watched the show before and, although I’ve enjoyed it, there’s part of me that gets a little overwhelmed by all those giant sculptural cakes. There’s always this little voice in the back of my head wondering, What do those cakes taste like?? I wasn’t sure how I felt about the whole Ace of Cakes phenomenon, but then I came across this picture on Vince Lupo’s Flickr page and everything changed. The moment I saw this adorable cuckoo clock cake I was head over heels in love! (Check out the fox in the bottom left-hand corner!) And it didn’t stop there! I continued to scroll through Lupo’s images and discovered photo upon photo of some of the most darling cakes that I have ever seen! What wonderful person made these cakes??? And where can I see more of their work?? You can imagine my surprise when I discovered that they were not made by a Scandinavian baking goddess or a hip do it yourselfer, but by Ace of Cakes!! No way! So, I guess I am now, an official Ace of Cakes fan. I’ve actually heard that there cakes are pretty tasty, once you remove the rubbery fondant layer. To check out more pics from Vince Lupo's Ace of Cakes photostream, click here. For more on Ace of Cakes, the show, click here, and here for their bakery's website.


"Nach Scrath" by Óscar, 6A


Nach Scratch is a vey famous Spanish rapper. I love his music. I think that he is very cool. Nach scratch was born in Alicante (1974). His true name is Ignacio Fornés Olmo. In 1999 he published his first album : "En la brevedad de los días".Some songs are dedicated to his family: his sister and his nephew.
His last album ("Mejor que el silencio") is very famous.

Happy Halloween!

"My mum" by Óscar, 6A


Hi friends! I´m going to describe my mum:
My mum's name is Poli. She is 40. She's got long, brown hair and brown eyes. Her fauvorite singer is Amaral. Her favourite food is paella. She hasn't got any pets. She is medium height. Her fauvorite colour is green. She works for the goverment. Her hobbies are travelling, cooking and the photography. She lives in A coruña but she's from Lugo. She is a good person. She's got a son and her parents are alive.

Music Video of The Day: Swing and Ska (Day 71)

On the topic of swing dancing, ska music was really cool around 1999.

...That started out wrong. Ska music still is cool. Today's music "video" is Buck's Truth And Life. Buck was a ska band back in the day. I think I got to see them in concert even, in 2003. Their Youtube music video is really just audio, so you have the opportunity to also watch the International Lindy Hop Championship's 2010 Strictly Lindy Finals...which are amazing. Seriously. Watch them.

Ramblin's (Day 71)

So you noticed that I'm slacking off have you? Well, it is true. I've been slacking. Somehow I've managed to book my time so that blogging happens late at night when there's little time to spare. How did that happen? Bad time management skills is what.

Instead of thinking of a great topic for you, yesterday I joined a field trip of a dairy farm. It was lots of fun. I looked into the grain auger of DOOM (scarier than the pit of death in Star Wars) and got to start a tractor. We pet the dogs, drank chocolate milk, checked out the milking parlour (nifty stuff that), saw the artificial insemination room, and looked at the baby cows. Calves are so cute.
Field trip done, I then went home and, instead of writing you something intellectual or some such, I sewed a skirt for swing dancing. A big problem with swing dancing is that one bounces alot and so jeans/skirt often inch their way done until there is butt cleavage to deal with. Thus, for myself, I made a skirt that goes all the way up to my waist in order to prevent future butt cleavage. I also added special "No Stomach Ache" technology for myself. Now I am excited to use it for dancing...tonight.

The question for today is what is the past tense of pet. Petted is not right, is it?

"My Dad" by Juan Carlos , 6A

Hi friends! How are you?.

I´m going to describe my father , he is the best in the word. He is 45. He is very tall and his hair is brown. He works for Forem Galicia in education technologies. He works a lot but now he has a new bicycle and sometimes we go for a walk with him, my brother and me.

This is my favourite Dad´s project, it is very interesting! It´s created in second life.
HAVE A LOOK!!!!!!!


Music Video of The Day: Wrong Number (Day 70)

On a completely different topic than the topic post, today's music video is a repeat...of a music video that makes TVXQ/DBSK look good. Smooth and cool dance moves, interesting costumes...most of the time, and a catchy song. If TVXQ could have convinced me to like them, this is one of the songs that would have done so. So here it is, TVXQ's Wrong Number.

Incredible Baked Lamb Shanks

title
Although I fell in love with cooking all by myself, far away from home, where I had no choice but to learn how to feed myself or starve, I draw inspiration from many people.  Some I have never met, some I have known all my life.  My great-aunt R falls into the latter category.  She’s my grandmother’s younger sister and has a long and colorful history of great cooking.

As a child, she taught me how to make pineapple upside down cake and apple pie.  When I was older, she demystified the workings of callos and bacalao ala Vizcaina.  Like most cooks of the generation before my parents, she uses no exact measurements or hard-and-fast recipes (except when baking of course…she was a well-accomplished baker in her heyday!).  To learn anything, I had to sit patiently and listen carefully, asking the right questions lest I end up with a whole pig’s leg in my tiny kitchen (“make sure you see the hoof!”).

These days, she is happy letting others do the cooking for her most of the time, despite her souped-up kitchen (which C and I look upon with admiration and envy).  We dine out (she loves swanky French food) or in (she also loves C’s sinigang), and always have a grand time (if you get her, my grandmother, and their other sister together the stories will floor you, as will the good-natured, though at times high-octane, teasing).

Another thing she enjoys nowadays is gifting C and I with food.  The lamb shanks I used here were from her.

Incredible Baked Lamb Shanks
(adapted from Incredible Baked Lamb Shanks in Jamie Oliver's Cook With Jamie)

  • 2 lamb shanks
  • 75-80 grams butter, cold but malleable
  • 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 10 fresh sage leaves
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and finely sliced
  • 1 white onion, peeled and sliced into half moons
  • 2 leeks, sliced (note that I am using the local leeks which are much smaller that the huge Western hemisphere varieties)
  • About a wineglass of red wine
- Set aside 2 sprigs of rosemary and 4 sage leaves.  Pick the leaves of the rest of the rosemary and thyme and chop.  Chop the remaining sage leaves as well.  Mix the chopped herbs with the butter.  You can alternately whiz everything together in the food processor.  Season with salt and pepper.  I like to season this until it is just above your usual level of saltiness as you will be spreading this all over the lamb and it will get diluted by the wine and vegetables.
- Using a small knife, take one of the lamb shanks and cut between the meat and the bone from the base of the shank upwards.  You want to make a hole big enough to put your finger in.  Repeat with the other shank.
- Divide the herb butter between the “pockets” you have cut at the base of your shanks, pushing it all the way in.  Rub the remaining butter all over the shanks themselves.
- Tear off 2 arm-length pieces of foil and fold each in half to give you 2 large pieces of double-layer foil.  Divide the garlic and vegetables between the 2 pieces of foil.  Lay each shank on each pile of veg, crack some black pepper over that and another light sprinkling of sea salt, then top with the extra rosemary and sage.  This is how it will look.
- Carefully pull up the sides of the foil and then pour a swig of wine in each parcel.  Gather foil around each shank and seal shut making sure they are closed tightly. 
- Arrange the parcels in a baking pan and place in a pre-heated 375F oven for 3-3.5 hours or until lamb is very tender.
- You can serve the parcels directly so each person can open their own serving, or transfer everything into a serving dish making sure not to lose any of the buttery juices!

Yet another recipe from Jamie Oliver’s Cook WithJamie.  If you were to say that I am totally enamored by this book you would be absolutely right.  Honest, delicious, earthy cooking…and these lamb shanks are a perfect example.  I’ve changed the quantities, as well as the cooking temperature and time, but essentially the method remains the same.  And what a method it is!  These were some of the softest shanks that ever came out of my oven.  Wrapping the meat and all the aromatics in foil (and see to it that it’s tightly sealed please!) creates a little steam bath that keeps the meat moist and flavorful, and renders it sinuously pliant.  The lamb ends up soft and sticky, drenched in intensely flavored buttery juices.  I plan to try this using other flavor combinations as well.

Aside from the gifts of lamb shanks, we have also received slabs of steak, Campbell’s soup, fresh apples and pears, olives, duck confit, little cans of mandarin oranges packed in syrup, beef ribs cut for kalbi, and rotisserie chicken.  Once she appeared on our doorstep with a whole leg of lamb!  I think it’s sufficient to say that we love my great-aunt R’s generous, if sometimes random, care packages.  Almost as much as we love her.

Family, and those you choose to be your family, are pretty special in my book.  Give someone in your family a hug this weekend! :)

Fight (Day 70)

As I listened to our guests sing this evening I pondered on how people from certain less open countries seem so full of fight, hope, and love. Fight for the spread of God's message, hope in God and His work, and love for God and people. My thoughts really went something like this, "they seem so determined and hopeful in their desire to tell their people about God. Their singing in their mother tongue feels so much different than North American Christians who sing out of a place of physical safety. They understand the trials they will face and they are prepared to face them. Wow. We can learn from them." That's about how it was. I admire that they have hope and determination instead of despair when their work is so hard and so dangerous. They are an example to us.

Music Video of the Day: I Don't Care (Day 69)

Thanks to Youtube, I got to find out today that Girl's Generation's new music video already has over five million hits...and it's only two days old. Super Junior took three weeks to get that many on A-Cha. This made me sad since I don't like Girl's Generation on principle. They helped popularize the skanky-cute girl group in K-pop, and skanky-cute just feels so wrong. Therefore, today's song is I Don't Care by 2NE1. I think this is the song where Dara kind of looks like Ryeowook at one point. This may be the Japanese version.

Personal Crisis(Day 69)

When I was a child, I was the only one with my name...other than those 40 year old women of the same name. Now that I am grown up, I am hearing people have my name more and more. In my workplace. In the local sewing shop. When did this happen? I was so confident for so long that my name was pretty unique and unused. Now it turns out that I was completely and totally wrong and I have to learn to not turn towards people talking to their friend/relative of the same (my) name. I used to think it was a little rough to be one of those people who share their names with two other people in the classroom. Now I am a little jealous of them because they are used to sharing their name. It is neither new nor shocking for them. Maybe this just shows me to be a drama queen. .......

"My sister" by Marianela, 6 C

She is Leonela.Her brithday is on the 24th of March.She's 16 years old.She has got two sisters.she lives in A Coruña.she's tall.Her hair is black and long.Her eyes are brown .She has got a dog called Luna.Her hobbies are volleyball and singing.Her favorite food is lasagna.Her favorite film is Manuelita.She likes music.Her favorite singer is Rodrigo.

"My brother" by Lucía, 6B


Hi classmates:
My brother´s name is Pablo. He's fifteen. His birthday is in March. He lives in La Coruña. He studies in a secondary school. He's tall and thin. He's got big, brown eyes and black, short hair. He's got a sister. Her name is Lucía. He's got a dog call Yuka. He likes playing football and playing with the Wii. He plays for a football team. His favourite subjet is P.E. and his favourite colour is yellow.
Good bye friends!!!!!

" My brother" by Alejandro, 6A


My brother
-My brother`s name is Iago.
-Iago has got short , black hair.
-Iago has got brown , big eyes.
-Iago is thin and tall.
-He likes playing football.
-He lives in A Coruña.
-He plays with for Orillamar football club.
-He doesn´t like school.

The Canadian Wheat Board and It's Big Bossy Brother (Day 68)

Topic of choice today: politics. Here is my rant, born of frustration with how the government is acting. For clarification, the Canadian Wheat Board is a crown corporation and is therefore technically run by the government. It required that all prairie farmers sell it their wheat and barley. I'm not sure how many countries have crown corporations so I thought it would be a good thing to clarify.
The Canadian prairies have long been ruled by the Canadian Wheat Board, the CWB. While a large portion of prairie farmers toiled away under CWB rule, having to sell their wheat and barley to only CWB at CWB prices, farmers in Ontario and other provinces had choices whether to sell to a government organization or not to. Being from the prairies, I took the monopoly that CWB had (only in the prairies) as a proof that Ottawa hates the prairies. Well, not hates so much as has little regard for.
Summary so far: Prairie farmers had to sell to the government. Ontarian farmers could decide to sell to the government or sell privately. There were feelings that the federal government dislikes the prairies.

Recently, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been super determined to get rid of the CWB utterly and completely...by next spring. The current plan is to start a new crown corporation to serve in CWB's stead as one of the options farmers will have. My question is, why not just downsize the CWB? Let the farmers decide who they want to sell their grain to. That is the issue, yes? The government could cut CWB operating costs based on voluntary CWB use by farmers. About 51% of farmers want to keep CWB anyway. A new organization takes time to organize, develop, and function. It takes money to rent the space, train the people, and figure out all the businessy stuff behind what happens (like the purpose statement, contacts, etc.). That just seems like wasted effort when there is a pre-existing building, employees, and business plan.

Summary: The federal government wants the CWB gone now. They want to make a new organization rather than downsizing the old one.

CWB is of course kicking up a fuss...so the Ottawa government is replacing their elected board...which is made up of farmers (who better to represent farmers than farmers). CWB plans to take them to court. Manitoba kicked up a fuss too, but the repercussions haven't occurred yet. Getting rid of the CWB means over 400 jobs lost in Winnipeg and more in the port of Churchill. Message to Manitoban's from all of this = the feds hate you and are treating you as a child that needs to be chastized.

Summary of this: Everyone involved is acting like children instead of discussing things like adults. The government is making themselves look bad.

What can be learned from this? Well, clearly there was a better way to deal with the issue. Now everyone is all tense from disagreeing with each other and they aren't willing to compromise. Is CWB's rebellion against Ottawa a good reason to oust an elected board in favour of government employees? Even though many farmers, somewhere near half, have wanted to sell their grain on the open market for a long time now, is  that a good reason to destroy one organization and replace it with another in a matter of months? What kind of organization will that even be able to be? Business decisions that make that kind of business happen take months all on their own. Then there is the hiring, the training, the contacts to make, the schedule to figure out, etc. etc. Business isn't and shouldn't be treated like something that will magically work. Yes some do, but the really important ones, the ones that support society, don't magically work. People put lots of effort into making them work. Can the government make their forced plan work? How will it affect farmers? And lastly, in a resource based economy, how will it affect the rest of us?

Music Video of the Day: Farmer/Pirate Theme (Day 68)

And now for a humourous look at today's topic. Arrogant Worms is one of those truly patriotic Canadian bands...because they sing about Canada, and they sing about it in a Canadian way. This would be a good time to note that that Canadian way is called humour. The celebrities that we get to keep are usually either comedians or politicians, so naturally humour is part of being patriotic.

Arrogant Worms had a number of truly patriotic songs, one of which was about farmers. It is called The Last Saskatchewan Pirate. They sing it hear with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at their backs, because that just makes sense.

"My sister" by Alejandra, 6B


Hi classmates!.
This is my sister Jimena. She's six years old. She lives in A Coruña. She's a student . She's thin and tall. She's got brown eyes and long, brown hair. She's got a cat, her name is Michi. She loves cats very much. She plays basketball for the school team. She likes playing with her dolls and her toys. She's very fun and she likes playing with me very much. She likes to go to school every morning and she loves to play with her best friend Maya and with her classmates in the playground. Her favourite colour is pink and her favourite subjet is physical education. Bye, bye! classmates! I hope you enjoy!

" OUR SCHOOL"By Dani , 6C.

Hi kids¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡

I´m Dani and I´m eleven. I live in Los Rosales. My school is Emilia Pardo Bazán. My class is 6C. We are a little class. In my class there are ten boys and nine girls. Ou playground is very big. My teacher´s name is Antonio. My best friends are Anxo and Guille. My favourite subjects are: P. E and Art.

Bye Bye kids¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡

Five little pumpkins

Music Video of the Day (Day 67)

Thanks to Youtube and my curiousity, Beyonce's Love On Top is one of today's music videos. It is reminiscent of those 80's and 90's boybands that I enjoyed so much (NKOB, BSB, and NSYNC) in both song, dance, and cinematic style. Plus, the dancing resembles in no way, shape, or form the skanky-cute style of dancing so prevalent in South Korean girl groups. Beyonce can dance, and she dances well. Other than her dire need for breast support, Love On Top is an enjoyable music video.

The second music video is Super Junior's Mr.Simple. Considering that the costumers had to make over 30 outfits for the music video, it is somewhat impressive that only a handful were bad. Namely, the blue and white shirt on Sungmin, and 67% of Donghae's outfits looking like 80's greaser outfits. To balance things, the white, pink, and grey outfits looked really good on Sungmin. It suited him very well. Shindong also has a good outfit featuring pink and green. He so rarely is given a good outfit, it is refreshing. As far as the song goes, the dance is well done with organic shapes and nice backdrops. The song is catchy, but not too catchy, and the men are attractive. Here it is.

HALLOWEEN

DON'T BE SCARED AND CLICK ON THE PUMPKIN....HA HA HA!

HALLOWEEN STORIES

Winnie the Witch



Meg and Mog